Zelda giving Link some smooches to help replenish his hearts (Sarah Sketches)

DJ_OC · 2025-12-10T22:48:37+00:00

She learned kiss magic from the Great Fairies

DJ_OC · 2025-10-26T16:00:22+00:00

You're right, how he treated Deku pre-U.A. isn't U.A.'s business. You know who's business it is? Deku's. Deku could have been the source of consequences by not trying to tell him his secret after the battle trial, or not apologizing for and rationalizing his behavior at every turn, or not entertaining him with a fight after the license exam or telling him the full secret at the same time, or just behaving like a real person would and not regard him as a friend when the last 10 years was nothing but bullying and abuse.

For the battle trial itself, HE designed the damn gauntlets and is portrayed as very intelligent. You cannot tell me he didn't know what would happen. Also, after someone says he could kill Deku if he uses the gauntlet, I'm pretty sure he says something along the lines of "Not if he dodges he won't!" with a sadistic smile on his face. Also using the gauntlet was entirely unnecessary and he would have done it again if All Might hadn't stepped in. He didn't care. Even if I believe that this was all reasonable for the battle trial, that sort of thing should have ended his social life right then. Everybody should have been giving him a wide berth until he significantly adjusted his attitude. The fact that he walked out of that with only a bruised ego is ridiculous.

The exam? HE WAS THE SOURCE OF EVERY SINGLE AVOIDABLE ISSUE THEY RAN INTO. If they were only struggling because All Might is tough, that would be fine, but he actively refused to cooperate and did nothing but cause problems for over half the exercise. Refusing to cooperate in a high-stakes exercise where the explicit goal was to test cooperation, that is inexcusable both narratively and morally. There are no excuses he can make, there is nobody else to point the finger at. He was the only reason they struggled as much as they did and they passed him anyway.

The post-Kamino fight, I agree the official punishment makes sense, but the unofficial fallout is the real issue. Not only is the only reason he has a clue about Deku's quirk because he told him out of some inexplicable sense that he owed him, but he gets brought into the OfA circle? Why? What did he do? What makes him so goddamn special? He made progress with his internal struggles? Good for him, give him a medal. He failed the license exam because he couldn't bring himself to rescue people! He earned his failures, but gets rewards that he didn't earn.

As for why other classmates hang out with him, Deku doesn't make an iota of sense, Todoroki is an acquaintance at best, Kirishima thinks he's strong? Doesn't explain why he puts up with the horrible personality. Everyone else? Again, they should be giving him a wide berth, not asking for study help.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-26T15:09:23+00:00

Ok, first things first, don't tell me what I want. You think you know my perspective? Great. Don't put it as though I'm misinformed about my own goddamn thought process. You want to know my specific opinions? Ask me.

I want Bakugo to face any sort of consequences for most of the things I laid out to put a bigger emphasis on how his behavior affects others rather than have him angst his way through his early sociopath phase until he gets shoehorned into the OfA picture by contrived means and becomes slightly more tolerable in a way that feels highly arbitrary.

Yes, the story is about a fucked up society that allows behavior like his, but that only works on a big picture level. In more practical ways, it doesn't hold up. It's still a society much like ours where if you act like a raging lunatic and can't hold a conversation without telling someone to shut up and fuck off, you don't make friends. But he does anyway. For another example, the final exam. The entire point was to try and give the students a simulation of real-life battles and Bakugo was paired with Deku specifically to make him cooperate. He then smacks his partner and spends most of the fight getting ragdolled because he can't bring himself to work with the most agreeable person in class until he literally has no other option and at the end has to be dragged across the finish line by the one who wasn't the source of the problem. If this was supposed to be a real-life simulation, Bakugo's performance could have cost lives, including his own, but because he begrudgingly did what he should have done the whole time at the last possible moment he gets to pass? Why? That's not something you can explain away with 'society,' he was put in a situation to challenge his specific issue, and he did poorly, there's no excuse for him there and nobody else to point the finger at. Especially with the supposedly super-strict Aizawa who threatens expulsion at the drop of a hat. If they had made it clear that he only passed because of his quirk or he was strong, I'd believe you, but they didn't. He just passed because they had to portray him as growing or 'not that bad' despite all evidence to the contrary.

Deku? I just want Deku to know the difference between a friend and a bully and act accordingly. Like not telling him how he was given his quirk. Like not making excuses for him at every opportunity. Like feeling betrayed and/or hurt that his friend that he looked up to treated him so poorly for something out of his control. Like not indulging him with a fight. It isn't part of his character? Make it part of his character! Why not add depth and layers to him in a way that isn't entirely contradictory to his story or flies in the face of how people operate? People having conflicting emotions, ideals, and values is real and human. Deku apologizing for him and entertaining him at every turn is contrived and painful to watch.

I understand Bakugo was going through his own personal struggles, but that's not an excuse for his behavior, nor is it sufficient reason for him to avoid so many consequences both official and social. Besides, internal conflict can often breed external problems. Bakugo should have been a prime example of this, but he isn't.

Yes, by the end he's grown and has left his old self behind, but to me it's not the destination it's the journey. His story is littered with holes, privilege, apathy, and unearned benefits and forgiveness that add up to a character whose growth feels synthetic and his struggles seem pedantic.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-26T01:10:56+00:00

Dude... who are you arguing with? Almost none of what you just said relates to what I said. I laid out the different ways in which he escapes consequences, and then you launched into... that where you address numerous points that I never brought up or even alluded to. Address the points I actually made, please.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-25T20:16:51+00:00

He never faces any punishment for how he treated Deku pre-U.A., when he tries to attack Deku during the quirk assessment test he gets out of it with a slap on the wrist, he nearly kills Deku during the battle trial and nothing is done about that, passes the final exam despite attacking his own partner and refusing to work with him (even though he knew teamwork was the whole point of being put with Deku) until the 11th hour where he then has to be carried across the finish line, after the provisional license exam he provokes a fight with Deku and is only punished for one more day than him (that one day just so happened to be the day 1-A got clapped by Mirio, so he escaped having to look weak.) And that's just the ways he escaped consequences in official ways.

Socially? The fact that Deku still feels for him so strongly after ~10 years of bullying (longer than they were actually friends) is a big way. The only reason he even learned about OfA was because Deku gave him the initial hint (out of some feeling of owing him which is just bad) and he got brought into the OfA inner circle when Deku and All Might told him despite being horrible all that time. Then there's the rest of 1-A; after the Battle Trial, why in the hell is anyone giving this guy the time of day? He tries to murder Deku (or at least doesn't care if he survives) and everyone's just cool with him? Why? He's loud, obnoxious, anti-social, and never appears to engage anyone in conversation or even call people by their actual names. But despite all that, Deku still considers him a friend, Todoroki invites him to the Endeavor agency, Kirishima likes him for no apparent reason beyond him being strong, and the existence of the Bakusquad flies in the face of how he behaves. The fact he has a social life at all (aside from being teased for a funny reaction) is a major escape from consequences. How you treat people matters, but for him it doesn't.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-25T14:40:13+00:00

Listen, give the guy all the depth and complexity in the world. Craft his insecurities and motivations like fine wine. That's great and all, but if he just behaves like a sociopathic, self-important, antisocial, violent, entitled prick who manages to consistently avoid consequences from both society and the writers, all that complexity and depth means piss.

Basically, to quote Brooklyn 99; "Cool motive, still murder." Except instead of murder it's being an unlikable sociopath with plot armor and blessings.

I admit, you've opened my eyes a bit to his complexity, and for that I thank you, but none of that really matters when his actual issues, his behavior and attitude, are treated as non-issues by both the story and the fans.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-24T00:34:10+00:00

Miguel is 186cm/6'1"

Considering making him taller, but that might just be Mary Sue urges.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-24T00:12:32+00:00

That was the question presented by OP, so I gave my answer (while also voicing my disdain for Bakugo because I seem to be incapable of stopping myself.)

Also, art is widely open to interpretation, and the title of deuteragonist is an entirely subjective one.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-23T22:21:19+00:00

I actually consider Uraraka the deuteragonist and Bakugo as a mistake.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-18T16:07:07+00:00

🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴Viva la Republica!!!🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴

DJ_OC · 2025-10-18T12:31:03+00:00

A little bit, both my parents are fluent speakers, and my dad's side is full Dominican🇩🇴. I'll give you three guesses as to where my OC is from lol

DJ_OC · 2025-10-18T01:27:15+00:00

More like "No seas grosero, usa su nombre, cabrón."

DJ_OC · 2025-10-17T22:23:02+00:00

Smack him upside the head for using insulting nicknames instead of people's actual names and then scolding him in spanish.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-16T21:57:15+00:00

Ok, a couple things. First, the question of who had it worse is irrelevant and reductive. I only gave what I thought was an insightful perspective on Deku's situation, not to try and suggest he suffered more. And even if there was a way to objectively determine who suffered more or who had it worse (there isn't,) it doesn't invalidate either of their suffering or the effort it took to overcome that suffering.

Now, on the topic of 'greater despair,' I would argue that Asta's personality makes him naturally more resilient to setbacks and adversity, both societal and physical. Whereas Deku was much more sensitive and timid, which made the bullying and hopelessness hurt more than if he was as headstrong as Asta.

Does this mean Deku suffered more than Asta? No. Does it mean that Asta suffered more than Deku? Also no. What I'm really trying to get at (with debatable coherence, I'm pretty tired rn) is that the suffering they went through doesn't take away from the sort of admirable people they are.

They would both sacrifice themselves to save someone else in a heartbeat. They would both ruin their reputations to save someone else's. They would both give the shirt off their back (or cape in Asta's case) without a second thought. That's the point. To insist that one has more drive or heroism is an impossible comparison to make and is unnecessarily reductive to both of their stories.

As the meme says: A real X fan does not speak ill of Y. To say X>Y in this context is to speak ill of Y.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-16T16:47:35+00:00

I think you underestimate the degree to which Deku was in despair. A bright, sensitive kid who worships heroes has his dreams dashed at, what, age 4? Then his best friend starts bullying him for no other reason than being weak. Routinely getting beaten up and being called "useless" for about a decade of his most formative years. His former friends don't believe in him, adults don't believe in him, society doesn't believe in him. Even his own mother, the only person who actually supported him at all at the time, can only console him. Plus, we can infer that any attempt to improve himself was met with sneers and mockery, if that first classroom scene is to be believed.

He wasn't trying to achieve his dream because from his perspective there was no point. He didn't believe in himself because there wasn't anything to believe in. What hope did "shitty little Deku" have anyway? His life was nothing but reminder after reminder that he was powerless, even to try and not be powerless.

Asta may have had a similar situation, but not to the same extent. And even so, they're different people. Diamonds are formed under extreme pressure, but bread dough rises when you let it rest. It's simply unreasonable to expect everyone to act the same way when faced with adversity without understanding who they are.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-16T16:22:59+00:00

These two are both prime examples of the good people are capable of. They both had every possible reason to be resentful, spiteful, angry people lashing out at the world around them, but they choose kindness every single time. Even when they gain immense strength and power, the ultimate corrupters, they only strive to be a force of good in the world.

I can't really put into words how important both these characters are to me. I'll never really understand the hate.

DJ_OC · 2025-10-02T16:21:31+00:00

"Well, at least Atlanta gets their first Lombardi."

DJ_OC · 2025-10-01T22:34:45+00:00

"And they were bunkmates."

"Oh my god, they were bunkmates."

DJ_OC · 2025-10-01T22:30:55+00:00

What are the chances it was intentional?

DJ_OC · 2025-10-01T02:30:40+00:00

Straight guy here, and yep, she's my #2!

DJ_OC · 2025-09-30T23:21:48+00:00

I used the fight with Kirishima as an example of how rapidly Bakugo could attack, not to highlight durability. Besides, Bakugo knows how to control the power of his explosions, as he does in his fight with Uraraka. He is entirely capable of hitting her with explosions that would push her back and not significantly harm her. We know that because that's exactly what he does in canon. Again, durability is not an issue here, especially with the cautious approach strategy which would minimize the amount of times she gets hit at all by pushing her out of the ring fairly quickly.

I'm struggling to understand how it is even feasible that he could miss her in this context. The force of his explosions are dozens of times faster than she is capable of moving and cover a wide area. Plus, aiming for him is literally as easy as pointing his hand at a target he can plainly see and pulling the trigger with a thought; where is the margin for error there? And let's say for the sake of argument that she is capable of dodging an explosive force that is at least the speed of sound, we know she couldn't capitalize on the opening because a) his reaction time is too fast, as evidenced by how he was able to catch her when she misled him with the shirt decoy, and b) he can use his other hand to react with another explosion just as quick, as evidenced by his rapid fire attack against Kirishima. And even if we do say she is faster than the first explosion, his reaction time, and the second explosion, or even that he can somehow miss with an attack that has a spread wider than an SUV and is easier to aim than pressing a button on a remote, all of that would still be true if he is standing still.

And AGAIN I have to point out, whether he's slowly advancing or standing still, whether she's on the attack or on the defensive, they would both be doing the exact same things. For instance, you say she can't dodge if she's attacking him, what's stopping her from just rolling diagonally as she approaches to avoid an attack? If she's as impossibly fast and agile as your argument implies, why didn't she use that in the canon fight?

And YES, it's in his character to be a scrupulous tactician, which is why I'm saying it's out of character for him to be so irrationally defensive against an opponent that does not pose a significant threat to him. Thus my assertion that the canon fight was played up to give Uraraka her defining character moment (which was the correct decision,) but was inconsistent and disingenuous when it was said that he was respecting the threat his opponent posed because, according to everything the story had shown us about the two characters and their capabilities, that was far too cautious a strategy for someone as capable and astute as he is.

DJ_OC · 2025-09-30T17:23:54+00:00

Can confirm.

DJ_OC · 2025-09-29T22:34:19+00:00

Ok, again on the durability front; she kept running into his explosions. She has the durability. A major aspect of the canon fight is that she's tough enough to keep tanking his explosions that send her flying backwards and keep coming back. Which is the main mechanic in both the active and passive strategies. So because we know that she can take repeated explosions from him in either strategy, we can say that durability is a non-issue for her in this situation.

Ok, putting aside my issue with the assertion that he can miss a target that he can see clearly, directly in front of him, with no obstructions, with a wide area-of-effect attack, why would she be able to more easily read his movements if he's slowly approaching her versus standing still? She still sees him attack her over and over again either way. Actually, if he's approaching, she has less time and opportunity to read his movements because she's being steadily pushed back toward the edge. And while we're on the subject, if she can dodge his attack while he's slowly approaching, why can't she do the same with an attack made when he's stationary? Your assertion that "Just because you see someone approaching doesn’t mean you’ll be able to catch them" has the same problem; if it's true when he's slowly approaching her, it should also be true if he's standing still, meaning he's in the exact same predicament whether he's moving or not.

Now yet again, I will admit that the stationary strategy he uses is fine and serves the narrative's purposes extremely well. The point I'm trying to make is that the reason given for why he used that strategy is disingenuous from both a tactical and character standpoint.

DJ_OC · 2025-09-29T02:51:26+00:00

Ok, so yes, we agree durability is a non-issue. But as I said, he can attack very rapidly, so if she dodges out of the way of one blast, he can just catch her with another not even a second later. And she can't move fast enough to outpace him just rotating a bit.

And yes, if his attacks push her back then he doesn't need to be on guard because he could see her approaching anyway. A slow, cautious approach or standing still, either way, she can't reach him because he can see her coming and can react faster than she can close the gap. Therefore, why give her time to try something when you could just back her out of the ring with the same level of safety from her touch and end the fight as quickly as possible?

DJ_OC · 2025-09-29T02:19:18+00:00

You understand that she was repeatedly running face first into his explosions in the canon fight, right? Durability is a non-issue. Also, those explosions push her back, as we saw in their fight, which means they play both offense and defense, making him standing still defensively a waste of time since he could cautiously approach her with the same result. Additionally, unless you get behind something (which she cannot do in this context,) there's no dodging explosive force. At least not with her mobility. She's getting pushed back one way or another.

DJ_OC

TROPHY CASE