Every Gif From The New Utdr Newsletter!

This is all I can think about in this drama 🤣🤣

drew this helpful diagram for mha fans who don't understand what a character arc is

Sonic 3 movie Ending

SHDEUSJSVAJAGAH

"I'm proud of you, Bakugou."

thinkin’ about what katsuki said here:

despite the fact that he thought about “sentimental shit” a lot during the final war, he isn’t being hypocritical when he says this to izuku. this is actually a huge example of how well katsuki knows izuku.

katsuki knows how (recklessly) selfless izuku is and how much of a bleeding heart he has. he also knows how irrational izuku can act when he’s “thinking that sentimental shit.”

katsuki’s words above aren’t coming from a place of mutual understanding. he stays surprisingly calm and regulated when thinking about that sentimental shit. here’s him facing off against history’s worst villain yet thinking about his past with izuku.

this isn’t “getting distracted by in battle will make you lose.” that’s just a general piece of advice. this is “i know that you tend to lose control of yourself when you’re emotional. try not to think about your trauma, or you’ll die.”

katsuki knows these things about izuku and gave him genuine advice that pertains specifically to him. through katsuki’s eyes? that’s love.

If you're willing to share can you give a few reasons why you think Bakudeku works so well as a ship? (I also ship them and love your art!)

okay...

I think they just naturally fall into each other’s orbit. Living in each other's minds rent free 24/7. Their entire lives are so intertwined. Even when things were bad between them, there's never been a point where they haven't been part of each other's life in some capacity.

They've influenced each other so much you can see little habits they share and behaviours they've picked up from one another. Izuku acting more like Katsuki when he wants to win is the obvious one, but even little things like the way they think out loud and pinch their lips and stuff are similar.

I don't think it's right to undermine Katsuki's bullying and the falling out between them, but coming from a place where there's a lot of animosity and hurt and then having that turn into a relationship where they both mutually care for each other and challenge each other to do better and be better is really interesting.

I think that's part of the reason it's such a compelling relationship in general, not just in a romantic way. They start off at the lowest point - we see them at their absolute worst and then we get to watch as they mend that fractured friendship and build up a genuine and healthy bond.

To me personally, the trajectory of their relationship was evident as soon as episode two, when Katsuki chased after Izuku after the sludge villain to let him know how much he "didn't need his help." That's the point that I decided I was interested to see how their characters developed as the story kept going, and I think it was such a huge payoff.

I think it also made for a lot of interesting fanworks. In the earlier days especially, you really had to work at it to make things good between them. Canonically, their relationship really is a slow burn lol, so if you wanted to write something that followed close to the actual story, there had to be tons of build up. I've read stuff where the beats felt so similar to what happened in the actual series which is crazy. It's a ship that lends itself to deep and lengthy analysis and a lot of people ended up being pretty spot on because of that.

I also think what's special about them is how intentional they work to make things right between each other again. They want to know each other's feelings, they want to be rivals and fight alongside each other, and be neck in neck and constantly chasing after each other. They want to be close again. Izuku offering Katsuki an olive branch and asking him about his fighting style after their bout at ground beta and Katsuki finally grabbing onto it is such a turning point for their relationship. It's a conscious choice on both their parts to work towards mending what was between them.

And I could go on and on about Katsuki's character arc, but that's a different post lol. For simplicity's sake, his arc is about recognizing for himself where his weaknesses lie, seeing how his actions hurt and shaped Deku, and working not only on himself, but on repairing the rift between them that he caused. He works with Izuku, shares and keeps his secret, trains with him, and eggs him on more and more lightheartedly as the series goes on.

His choice to care for Izuku, let him into his life again, and make up for what he's done is really important. Nobody is really forcing him to atone for his past and it's his desire to do so despite the lack of external pressure that makes that change feel genuine and meaningful. Training with Deku to master his quirks, sacrificing himself for Izuku during their fight with shigaraki, apologizing to him in front of the entire class and letting go of his pride, choosing to call him by his given name, dying with Izuku's name on his lips, fighting the big bad and continuously repeating that when Izuku can't handle it, he'll step in for him - all of these things are so telling of the kind of care he purposefully put into their relationship, and the way he grew and changed throughout the story.

And I think that in light of everything else, the fact that they remain important to each other right until the end is what makes it such a beautiful relationship, no matter what context you want to see it in. They love each other! They can't imagine a world in which the other isn't part of their life, and they actively and continuously work to make that a reality.

They're soulmates that intentionally chose to be so.

Filipino Isekai

This is so insanee like

Do you guys sometimes remember that even back when Katsuki's life was in danger, Izuku still couldn't bring himself to spell out his full name to Mandalay and still called him Kacchan and Mandalay had to broadcast his silly ass nickname all across the students

Their valentines cards are done! 💚🧡 available for purchase here.

So uhm hello dkbk nation!!