#up 428

[littlewestern]

hey is it up 428 that's been under restoration for forever at irm? what are they like

It is 428! You can actually donate directly to the restoration effort here!

428 is in a tough position. Steam in particular requires a lot of resources and people who know the machines well to maintain them, and the IRM already has two working steam engines who are a huge draw in their own right. Money, resources, time, and effort are always going to go to the engines in working order because keeping them in steam is a higher priority than restoring something older.

428 is just another in the long line of steam engines the IRM has/had high hopes for. I think the IRM has always wanted to have three steam engines working congruently, but due to circumstance that hasn't always been a viable option. Tuskegee 101 and Commonwealth Edison 5 (not to be confused with CE 15) were both at one time operational, but due to various circumstances outside their control had to be retired from service.

I think this is just one of those things you accept when you're going into preservation. Maybe you get to have a little weekly bridge club with the other also-rans. I can't imagine there's any hard feelings though, since like.. most engines being preserved aren't *expecting* to continue to operate. 428 is just lucky to just be here, and you can tell she knows from her smile! :)

All that considered, I'm imagining 428 as a relentless optimist, which you'd have to be if you spent every day since 1969 in the steam shop being told "we're working on it", lol. I also think she does hang out with Tuskegee 101 and CE 5, because I like the idea of the almost-operational engines having a little informal friend group where they can talk about the problems unique to them. Being operational comes with its own set of responsibilities and expectations not placed on static displays, so I like the idea that they can talk about those problems unique to their station with each other. Tuskegee 101 is especially helpful, I picture her as a pragmatist with a good head on her shoulders. She'd be excited for the opportunity 428 has, but also realistic about managing her expectations. I think it'd be good for the both of them!

If you want to see 428 eventually operational, I do highly recommend checking out the donation link here because as far as I am aware, each restoration project is funded primarily by its own individual resource pool. So like, if you are a member and you pay your $50 to the IRM a year or if you toss a fiver in the tip jar on your way out, that money isn't necessarily going to 428's restoration, it's going to the museum first. I say "as far as I am aware" because this was the model they abided by in the 90s, and it is technically possible they might have changed how they handle funding for their projects, but I sort of doubt it because the IRM is very old and very staid. If they had it their way, nothing would ever change, ever. So if there's a project you want to see happen, it's important to donate directly where possible!

[seagreenstardust]

Next chapter: Ocha tearfully confesses to Izuku that she saved Himiko’s life and doesn’t know how to reconcile her feelings for her yet and she and Izuku commiserate over loving volatile, bitey blondes

Obviously

[detectivekirigirislays]

honestly for people who think that chap 429 will be an "epic izuocha confession scene/shipping moment", ur automatically disrespecting and disregarding toga's sacrifice, ochako and izuku's feelings and pains, and both characters' developments in general.

chapter 428 is a chapter of GRIEF. ochako forces out a smile and covers up her pain, but eventually she lets all these tears out because she can't stop thinking about the girl who showed her genuine and pure love, a girl who sacrificed their blood and their life for ochako. she's crying over HIMIKO TOGA.

I'M NOT SAYING IT'S A TOGACHAKO CANON SCENE EITHER, but i'm saying that as of the moment, what's in ochako's mind isn't romance, crushes, or anyone else, it's about grieving the loss of HIMIKO TOGA.

SHE JUST LOST SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO HER! SOMEONE SHE WILLINGLY REACHES OUT TO! SOMEONE SHE WAS WILLING TO GIVE A LIFETIME'S WORTH OF BLOOD! SOMEONE SHE GENUINELY SAW FOR WHO THEY WERE! of course she will be devastated and grieving, of course she will be crying and clutching her stomach in pain and agony, BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN SUPPRESSING HER PAIN!

izuku would not EVER take advantage of ochako's emotional vulnerability nor will ochako most likely ever confess about her feelings for izuku either, because neither of them think that way: ochako needs a support system, not a confession, not a situation to be forced to confess any romantic feelings, BUT A FRIEND. A FRIEND THAT WILL COMFORT HER.

why would you think izuku is there to confess? that's so fucking stupid. izuku is obvs worried not because "ohhh, he likes her!", but because she's one of his BEST FRIENDS, HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS. OF COURSE HE'LL BE WORRIED? OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO CARE?

AGAIN, I'M NOT INVALIDATING ANY SHIPS! I cannot say whether which ship will be canon and whatnot, but imo, i fully believe that this chapter and the next will not be an izuocha confession, not a romantic scene, but just two teens, two best friends suffering the loss of their villains, and a broken girl coming to terms and acceptance of losing the villain who remains in the back of her mind at all times.

[mettywiththenotes]

Oh they are about to Talk About It

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

BNHA 428: This chapter made me annoyed and yet it was still somewhat better than I expected?

Himichako. I like it, it's a good ship- not one I'm crazy about, but the vision is compelling. I mean, the loved girl on hard times who admires honesty but represses her feelings + hunger motifs, and the formerly wealthy and rejected girl who's honest to herself but masks her sadness from others + drinking motifs? Being so similar at their core from selfishness, bleeding love, admiration and imitation? Yeah, why not, sign me up, it looks fun.

(plus Ochako needed a subplot that would shy away from Izuku because oh boi her writing is messy-)

Then the ending annoucement happened and I immediately went "oh no" when I remembered that tidbit. But. Yesterday, I remembered this page from 424, which in hindsight makes sense:

Shoto moving forward and choosing to not dwell on his past anymore, because he wants to know the man he wants to become alongside his family of choice.

Spinner feeling so much grief for Tomura inside his room, his extra Quirks add up to it. Further gut points as it was all because of AFO, but the wrong person is getting the blame.

Ochako looking lost and dissatisfied, not really saying anything about Himiko's status; then her hidden injury which left a scar that'll never go away, nothing can change that.

And then, well, a sky with a chance to fight for a "bright future". Which is the most ambiguous you can get for anything, really, sequel or not.

(sidenote: is it me or the panel where she's touching her stab wound looks like a tangent line?)

Okay so, I went into the chapter, with Pikahlua's translations. It was A Chapter alright-

If it wasn't the antepenultimate chapter, the "filler" would've been welcomed. But I guess it means we should focus on the smaller details, I guess? Like that 1st year saying Izuku filled him with courage and Izuku immediately thinking of Spinner's pain? Yeah he hates himself and that people call him a hero, when he considers himself a murderer, and will never forgive himself for failing Tenko, therapy for him and everyone in Class 2-A please- yeah it was a fun detail. Also the throb of hiding your pain of "defeating" someone you wanted to save but in the end everything is miserable but everyone else is happy and you don't wanna be a bother. Fun.

Also I wasn't the one to point the out, but looking at the uniform (U.A. uniform blazer for boys + the tie with a dot for girls), the student who's a Izuku fan is probably trans/gnc, which I appreciate a lot :D (Damn Izuku attracts so many queer people I wonder if that's a sign- /hj)

Also, I guess Class A stating "[Bakugou], Midoriya and Todoroki were at the heart of it all" then focusing on Ochako is good foreshadowing on how her own battle wasn't fully recorded? It's like saying in the end her fight didn't matter, but the other ones went "well", so she's trying (and slowly failing) to keep her sadness at bay because, well, everyone's happy, so who cares? Another "throb".

I thought since the Todoroki family issues are out in the open, didn't they record the whole thing? Then I re-read it, they only saw the family stopping Touya from exploding. So they didn't see Shoto trying to talk to Touya, which means none of the LoV were humanized. Fuck's sake.

After that, I get focusing on the first years and civilians wanting to help and all, but it feels like a repeat of everything seconds before Jakku, so I assume it's a way for them to pretend things are normal? But not-quite-quoting Katsuki (<- which I will point out for my sake is very much alive and well and- oh boi LFtR will kill me) and Edgeshot here because it made me smile:

"Will you...go back to the way you were?" "I plan to attain something greater than what I was originally!"

So, yeah I suppose he'll be fine eventually. (Best J. really loving Edgeshot even as a worm, honestly, goals)

Again with Izuku remembering saying "[He'll] bring it all back" and apologizing for "not keeping his promise" and others telling him to not blame himself and they can reconstruct as many times as it takes. Again, gave me a little smile, but not for long-

Finally, Ochako pretending things are fine. Hello there, Sports Festival/Provisional License!Ochako I missed you- /hj (I miss the dorms era in general, actually.)

So... *sigh* Full disclosure: I wasn't looking forward to Himichako as we were getting 5/10 pages for the "conclusions" in the previous two, I thought Ochako would be off about Himiko being depressed about the League. But since she's MIA, red flags are now red herrings, and it's better than the dead outcome. If Ochako got another person dying in her arms that'd just break her character.

A blood transfusion takes hours, she couldn't been doing that for more than 20min, if it was gonna kill anyone it'd be Ochako. Either Himiko ran away or got arrested, and Ochako feels guilty because she doesn't know if she's dead or not. Not great, but until I see a corpse she ain't dead. Besides: Touya, Shoto, Edgeshot, Katsuki, Toshinori, Ochako herself, all physically hurt unlike her, and yet they live.

And then we have Izuku showing up. I'm upset he used OFA embers for this, but eh, it's Izuku, do I expect anything else?

Rolling with the assumption Himiko died (like our POV characters), Izuku would need to face his own failure in Ochako- Failed to save two people like she failed Himiko, but it'd be so. Empty. Ochako was true to herself, while Izuku gave nothing but "I want to save that crying kid" while fighting Tenko. The most they can do is bond with "failing" and "this isn't what we fought for". This is not really a moment where he can be a shoulder to cry on, it'd come across as hypocritical /neg.

The only way it could make sense it without being shallow on Mr. Control = Repress Your Heart's part (as he didn't open up to the two people who died in "his watch") is Ochako telling how Himiko loved yet seeing him repressing this part of his is idiotic? She likes people who are true to themselves, which Izuku hasn't been for ages, leading to him realizing something. I thought it'd be through a DvsK3 but. I'll take it, two chapters left, I just want his thoughts (and for them to talk but that can happen in the last one).

They only recorded Shoto stopping Touya from being a suicidal bomb, Ochako floating a bunch of Twice!Himiko clones and Izuku entering a coccon, popping out armless, getting them back, punching Tenko to death. The "I want to save [them]" wasn't registered, it makes sense they're (well, Izuku and Ochako mostly) weirded out about this, dissatisfied like most readers are (sidenote: why when it comes to the trio either Ochako or Shoto get sidelined? So much could tie their stories together and yet-)

It's still a tough pill. I'm not a villain stan, just wondering if those fights were for nothing- the humanity of Tenko and Himiko? Can't be proved for anyone else, since they weren't recorded.

And I don't know if anyone saw the same thing, but those "city lights" look like the bubbles from Ochako's awakening, maybe we'll get a Blackwhip or Entrance Exam callback? Maybe it's what the tagline meant by "hidden feelings", since she unlocked it to reach Himiko and doesn't think anyone would understand why. I hope it's just a nice visual though.

If Himiko is truly dead though... You know, I headcannoned the characters were telling the story through confessionals/recordings to register it to the world so they'd learn from that, but I guess the interviews Aizawa was talking about seemed more likely, which. Well it's something, but I thought it'd be everyone instead of just Class A. Idk. The idea the LoV didn't change anything, or that they did change things but don't get to see it, is bitter.

So uh. Yeah, those are my thoughts. I'm not sure how to feel about it, on one hand I want Izuku to finally open up but on the other, it feels like it'll be at Himiko and Ochako's expense by involving him in something that's theirs now. And there's a chance we'll get the "nothing is fine" from Ochako- god I'm fearing the discourse next week already :DDDD

... Man, and this is a bad timing to be in the fandom, considering the LFtR episode airs this Saturday (which will be yesterday by the time this post goes up and I'll be crying about that instead-), so uh. Yeah, this fandom will be emotionally devastated for two reasons XD

Okay, so I'll try ending this on a more optimistic note: I think Himiko is alive, and Ochako just doesn't know it, which is why we're getting 0 confirmation and a breakdown. Izuku's confrontation with her can make or break this plot, but as long as 1) we acknowledge the emotional, different stakes between the Himichako fight and Tenko vs. Izuku one and 2) it doesn't end in a confession (and let's be real, it won't), then we're probably good (sadly, if you disregard the LoV status). I still think it's an ass pull for the camera battery to go out though.

But no matter how this goes: C'mon, two chapters left now, this one was wasted on the first years, smh, let this sequel hopium be a reality I wanna know who's the 425 guy, not the poor first year who's gonna replace Shindo Yo in fanfics- /hj

[dukeofthomas]

Robin Jason makes me so sad because he's the one kid Bruce could have actually stopped from becoming a vigilante.

[melmac78]

@starman-john-tracy … I think I caught your luck bug today as far as crane game.

Won 6-7 more spiky bounce balls, and gave those away to kids.

Still at one point did my Kirk with Tribbles impression.

******

(There’s a reason I played it so hard. Today is a day of remembrance, celebration and giving in my family. I’m fine talking about it, but short version, this was the best way I could give to others today. The kids who received them - with parents permission first, loved them.)

[1lizard-onemonkey]

Finished reading the Viz version of the latest chapter

Finally noticed that when the new first-years and the boys were taking about Kacchan's and Shoto's battles, which were recorded, it cuts to Uraraka,

Whose battle was revealed to not have been recorded

No one knows what she went through

No one knows how her battle ended

She's not getting any praise like Kacchan and Shoto but I doubt she wants that

No wonder she's breaking down

And only by herself no less

She must feel so lonely and othered, no one able to understand or sympathize with her

Between Kacchan and Uraraka, she was the only other student who was on death's doorstep

Does the rest of the class even know that?

[batterycows]

Unless Toga’s corpse somehow managed to animate itself and leave she’s not dead 😭

[bzar-bzar]

Shout out to all of the girlies that were thoroughly fucked up by their first lesbian romance. Me too, Ochako.

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

go girl give us nothing

[littleeyesofpallas]

[angy-grrr]

I would like to see in the extra pages something about katsuki seeing the all might vestige! Would be really interesting to me

[cassandralexxx]

Just saw an edit using the scene from Jennifer’s Body when Jennifer and Needy kiss and I’m ngl the YouTube Clip of that went multi platinum on my phone when I was in high school.

[stickiy-note]

So there's a challenge where you draw the characters from your 3 most recent steam games...guess the cafe is in Shibuya now???

[postalpunk]

YOURE KIDDING LMAOOOO