#but there's a comparison made between him and Izuku

[dekusleftsock]

Hey, so you said in your tags about how katsuki is a freak in his own way, could you please expand on this idea a little and when it comes to Izuku?

Sure!

I actually made a post about this very concept semi recently but that post also didn’t really have organization lmao

The main reason I’ve always thought Katsuki as “a freak” as I dub him is for the very foundations of his personality. I think the main reason why no one in the western fandom looks at him and sees him for his (kinda) socially inept aspects is because of a combination between cultural differences and the nuances that hero society throws into Japan specifically.

It’s well known that Horikoshi’s story/world is heavily influenced by American super hero comics. Superman, Spider-Man, Harley, Poison Ivy, Bat-man, Captain America, ant man, etc. are all very obvious influences throughout the story, with characters like Allmight often feeling like a combination of Superman and Captain America.

The reason I bring this up is because the very aspects of these super hero comics is kind of in direct contradiction with Japanese society, especially as those heroics within the world affect the society around them.

Heroes are this curve ball thrown into a society that teaches its citizens to be polite, complicit, and quiet. That’s not to say that this is necessarily a “wrong” way to have a society, but I think it’s with this context that Katsuki’s character (and therefore the intentions behind it) become clearer.

Heroes are bright, loud, and powerful. But long before Katsuki was a hero he already was these things; how does that affect his social life? How do the people around him treat him in the context that he is both not a hero nor having of a quirk? If heroes are the “exceptions” to the society around them, and Katsuki is not yet an exception, then he is an outcast, right?

It’s this context that I feel most people forget. Katsuki understands the people around him, he’s very observant and nosy, but he also just doesn’t care. He is unabashedly himself at all times. Those jokes Aizawa made about keeping him out of the spotlight showcase this perfectly, Japanese society expects a certain standard for the social context around him—which he actively ignores.

It’s a very ironic aspect to his character given that most people admire and/or envy him. It puts a whole new light on izuku saying that he was the one “actually in his life”, that Izuku may have admired him before his quirk for simply being himself. Not to mention how it makes sense that he would believe izuku was looking down on him for admiring him before his quirk, because Katsuki was bullied! I think that’s an often overlooked detail given that he only became “acceptable” to most kids around him when he gained his quirk. The memory this is showcased in is entirely Izuku’s pov, which is heavily biased in the sense that he admired Katsuki. Getting jumped by kids two years older than you though is so weird, and I can’t help but wonder if the perspective might’ve changed were it in Katsuki’s pov.

To me, the idea that Izuku’s memories of Katsuki being this social god come from blind childlike envy and admiration, especially as the contextual things happening (Katsuki is a REALLY big hero fan, he’s rude, he doesn’t remember people’s names, actively terrible at making friends at UA for a good couple weeks, getting bullied to even a minimal extent) in comparison to the words being told. You are told by Izuku that Katsuki is amazing, brilliant, talented, energetic, crass, and in reality (especially when they enter UA), to most people Katsuki is annoying, loud, mean, a little intimidating, and not nearly as cool as he thinks he is. His friends spend the entirety of the beginning of their first year actively making fun of him for thinking he’s tough shit when he so obviously isn’t.

And I think the biggest most important part to this “Katsuki is a bit of a social outcast” discussion, is that the villains thought he was like them! They thought he would hurt people because he screamed “die” and didn’t like winning when he felt he didn’t earn it.

The only reason Katsuki is not as much of an outcast as, say, Izuku, is simply because he won the lottery. He earned that extra point. He caught that curve ball to Japanese society and honed it into something greater.

And, see, Izuku can’t really know/comprehend that Katsuki would be, I don’t know, unpopular to any extent (shown in the beginning of the series when he’s freaking out on the bus that HES being complimented and Katsuki is being insulted), because to him Katsuki always acted like a hero. And in a way, he does! But it’s in the way that hero society throws that curve ball, contradictory to social norms, and of course it makes sense why they still happened at all; the past was dangerous! It was life changing! Disparity and violence and death, desperation fueled this huge monumental change. And what is izuku “I don’t know how to make people like me” Midoriya going to do when this kid, Bakugou Katsuki, acts like one of the heroes on TV? He’s not gonna call the Geneva convention and ask why the hell this child isn’t acting like a normal citizen—he’ll admire him to such a visceral degree because it’s almost like he was born a hero.

I like the concept that, because heroes and villain are cut from the same cloth, relatively similar in concept and strength and past hurts in their history, that this also affects how they are socially. You are outcasted by society: you want to oppose societal norms to live freely as yourself and others as theirselves, you want to make sure everyone can smile at the end of the day because sometimes you or your parents couldn’t, you want to be the best because someone told you that you couldn’t, you want to be just like the hero on your TV, who inspired the hero in your life.

Also you need to be at least a little bit of a freak to be listening in on people’s business all the time because it involves your childhood friend/rival to literally any degree. Like bro what is wrong with you come HERE BBG LET ME PICK YOUR BRAIN APART PIECE BY PIECE

More side note: idfk where I got the Geneva convention thing. I was just thinking about how mha has genuinely had violations against the Geneva convention

[eris-snow]

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬

Tags: Kaleidoscope (Deku's birthday series 2025), angst, izuku x fem!reader, flowers, hero gala 4th July

Masterlist

Someone once told me not to live a life full of regrets.

”What type would you like?”

Bouquets of flowers line the shop, the bright hues of the rainbow dominating his sight in every direction. The natural aroma of flowers brings Izuku back to the glade, and as he looks around at his options, he works his throat and fumbles with his words. “I-I’ll take a look first.”

Even with a hoodie and sunglasses, Izuku is still afraid he’d get recognised. Of course he is, the press was always all over him like white on rice, wanting to get a sneak peek into his daily life when he’d desperately wanted to keep them out.

Some things must be traded for the life of a hero.

He checks his phone, trying to plan his time out as a couple admire a batch of roses. The woman grins, pointing at them, as the man leans down to kiss her.

Izuku averts his eyes.

“Isn’t it great that the Hero Rankings are officially titled today?” He overhears, and he’s ashamed to admit that he started eavesdropping almost immediately. Her partner laughs in agreement. “What, so you can have more eye candy tonight as we watch it televised for our date night? Don’t you want to watch something else?”

“Don’t act like it’s just me who wants to watch it, there are plenty of pretty women on that list and you know it.” She giggles before humming. “You know I just like the view, right? I already have you.”

“Mm, love you too.”

If Izuku could vomit sparkles, he would.

Izuku fell in love with you at a very specific moment in his life. Scratch that, make it the days that he fell in love with you.

At the very start, it was just admiration. You had led him out of the forest when you were little, with him bawling like a baby. No one could get him to calm down until he was taken home to his mother, who thanked yours with tears of her own.

In the sandbox of playgrounds and in the deepest parts of the forest, you were his friend in a way Kacchan just wasn’t. You weren’t mean, actively made him feel like he wasn’t unworthy to breathe the same air as you, and shared your food with him.

Even the day he realised he was never getting a Quirk.

—

“Zuku!” You holler, panting as you slap the branches and the bushes away. A rock trips you, making you face plant and yip. Pain blooms on your knee, but it doesn’t matter, none of this matters.

The pain you feel must be minuscule in comparison to what Izuku feels.

The greenery makes you dizzy as you navigate your way to your clearing. 

The clearing you’d meet with Izuku when the world got a little too loud. 

The clearing he’d stumbled upon the day you stumbled upon him.

He’s there, he definitely is. Inko’s voice echoes in your mind, urging your little legs to move faster.

Find him, please! I haven’t seen him all day!

Heaving yourself up, you continue along the beaten path to the glade only Izuku and you could navigate to.

It’s a heartbreaking sight that graces you. Izuku is hiding at the base of the willow tree, sobbing his eyes out as his body curls into itself like he’s trying to hide from the world. Dirt is plastered on his knees, and there’s an abrasion forming on his elbow.

“Zuku.” You whisper, bending down to embrace him. It makes him cry harder. “I…I-I don’t have a…a—!”

“Shut up, dummy…! Or you’ll make me cry too…!” He hears you sniffle, burying your head in his shoulder.

No other words are exchanged between the two of you for a good few minutes. Izuku never knew arms could be so warm.

Your face, now riddled with tears, pulls away from his shoulder as you stumble to your feet, making your way to the lake. “W-What are you—”

A scream rips out from the base of your throat, and Izuku marvels at the sheer power behind it. Your entire body is shaking, and you’re clenching your arms over your heart like you’re trying to expel all the hurt, all the agony back into Mother Earth. A howl tears itself out of his mouth, and before he knows it, Izuku is letting out cry after cry as you curse the world on his behalf.

The view in the clearing was ugly that day, and Izuku is ever grateful no one but the two of you will remember or even see it. Two shouting children, throwing big tantrums at a cruel world that would never change. 

The pretty glade both of you play hide away to and seek solace in that shields Izuku from everything he was ashamed of…a person that gets so worked up about him, to feel for him and empathise with him…it’s childish and it’s warm, and when Izuku looks back on it, he tucks the memory in the edges of his mind, but always holds it near.

It’s simple, so very simple.

And yet, Izuku couldn’t help but think: Oh. So this is what it’s like to love someone, and to have someone love you.

Because somehow, you seemed to be so much angrier than he was at the world for delegating him to the 20% of people labelled Quirkless.

As he walked back home that day, tugging you down the path back to the city you both call home with voices raw and hoarse, he made a quiet wish.

Please world, if you are hearing this…please never take Starlight away from me.

But then again, the world likes to take away things before giving them back tenfold.

—

To Izuku, who didn’t even know that was possible at that time, it made him enthusiastically stick to you like glue, soaking up the warmth of normalcy your friendship gave him until he was 10.

Until the Quirk Accident happened.

But even that didn’t stop Izuku from falling for you over and over again.

The way you stood up for him in front of his bullies when he was 13.

The way you hadn’t laughed about his dream at 14.

When you helped him train at 15, and your wonderful game of Secrets at 16.

“Don’t listen to them, they’re idiots.”

“That’s so cool! Here, let me help.”

“I’m so, so happy for you.”

Now, he so clearly knows that his relationship with you is not even the slightest bit normal.

“Sorry, sir,” The florist snaps him out of his reverie kindly. “I have to close up soon, got orders to deliver and a family to feed. Do you need help in choosing a bouquet?”

Izuku reddens almost immediately, whipping his head around to scan the area. Damn, how long had he been standing there?

“T-These are fine!” He says quickly, tugging the hood of his jacket over his head even more. The flowers he chose were bright orange and incredibly minimalistic, but beautiful. Izuku had just picked the first thing that caught his attention, so when the florist laughs, his immediate response was to tuck into himself in embarrassment.

“No, no, I’m not laughing at you.” The florist says, gently cradling the flowers as he goes to ring Izuku up. “They’re funny, see, these were the same flowers I got my wife back when I was a teenager.”

“Really?” Izuku sputters in his best effort to seem casual. “L-Lucky coincidence, huh?”

The man shakes his head. “There’s no coincidence in flower picking, young man. When people come into this shop, they either get the flowers based on how they look, or what they mean.” He slides over the bouquets as Izuku swipes his card.

“These flowers symbolise courage. I think you need more of that. I sure did, when I gave these flowers away.” He grins. “She was so adamant about leaving Japan to go overseas to study, so when I caught wind of this after she’d broken it off with me, I caught her at the airport holding up a few of these.”

The man chuckles at his story, shaking his head. “I was a huge fool, to say the least, but I didn’t want to live life wondering what would happen if I didn’t chase after her. A safe life with regrets is worse than being embarrassed for one-tenth of my lifespan. Now, I’m happily married after a 4-year-long-distance relationship with her. How’s that for a love story?”

Izuku lets out a small huff, trying to smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m very happy for you, sir.”

I just hope the story will end just as happily for me, too.

—

“Exploding into the top 10, is a fan favourite hero, Deku!”

The camera's flash, while he flashes a smile. It’s so bright from the stage, everything is hard to see. His hero costume weighs heavily on him, a constant reminder of the responsibility he carries.

Katsuki is scowling in the front seat, but he’s clapping, with eyes squinted as if to say, watch your back. Cheers echo from his ex-classmates and the rest of the world in their own homes. Izuku’s eyes try to find yours, but there are too many people, and soon the presenter is moving along to the next hero after he iterates his thanks.

“I couldn’t have done it without All Might, my mother, my teachers, my friends.” He says, voice firm and confident. “I’m grateful for all the support I’ve recieved, so thank you, truly from the bottom of my heart.”

The crowd roars, and he exhales a sigh of relief. He has everything.

He has nothing.

—

Holy shit.

That’s it, that was all that was on his mind when he saw you. Even in his suit and tie, Izuku suddenly felt severely underdressed as if he’d crawled out of the sewer to order a pizza.

 The flowers in his arms weighed like a ton of bricks, his palms were shaking like he was having a seizure someone didn’t warn him about, and if he were a lesser man, he’d pee his pants.

Your dress has a sleek silhouette, sharp and flattering in a stunning simplicity that made his mouth crack ajar. Shoto, who had spotted you first, not so subtly closed Izuku’s mouth for him. Katsuki takes one look at you and lets out a snicker. “Oh, you’re fucked.”

“She makes shit holy,” Shoto says, glancing over at Izuku. “I should go talk to her—”

“You go there, I slit your throat,” Katsuki says, holding Shoto by his collar as the number 11 hero tries to march towards Starlight.

Shoto freezes, before turning eerily to Katsuki calmly. “If I don’t get invited to your get-togethers, I don’t need to do what you say, Number 12—”

“The system got hacked, you bitch—!”

“I think I’m falling in love again,” Izuku whispers, watching your smile grow wider as you congratulate Momo and Mina on their new rankings. There are sighs full of exasperation and sass, before Shoto kicks Izuku forward, making him stumble. “You stand around all night, I’ll mount myself on a pike just to feel trigger-happy.”

The last thing Izuku thinks is, I’m so screwed, before he stablises himself in front of you.

“Hi, HI!” Izuku stutters, voice pitched high as you turn around to greet him.

(“That doesn’t even make sense, idiot, how are you even ranked higher than me—” Katsuki grumbles in the background)

“Hello?” You say, raising an eyebrow. (A muffled squeak comes from Mina, but Ochaco drags her away before she can say anything)

You look up at Izuku, then look down at the flowers in his arms, before all the colour drains from your face. “Zuku…”

“I got these for you.” Izuku blurts, giving them to you with shaky hands. Strange, he could give a speech in front of a crowd of reporters broadcasting his every move, but can’t muster up the same confidence in front of one person who hasn’t said a word to him tonight.

“Zuku, please don’t do this to me,” You whisper, as he hands you the flowers and tries to collect his nerves. “This isn’t fair to you, I know it’s not fair to you. You could have anyone in this world and you choose the person who can’t even love you anymore. Are you a masochist, or did you lose half a brain in a car crash I wasn’t aware of?”

Arms dropping to your side, flowers in your hands…Izuku didn’t know what he was expecting. Your words are cutting, but they come from you, so he listens, and listens well. “Please move on from me,” you plead. “Don’t make this more painful for yourself, because there’s only so much I can try to care before it becomes disingenuous.”

“You can ask me to stop trying, but you can’t ask me to move on from you.” Izuku breathes, nearing you with a step. “You, for one, know how strong emotions can get.”

A whiff of the flowers, and your eyes divert up to him. It’s evident that he struck a nerve.

“I love you,” Izuku whispers to you, eyes warm despite the pain, words kind to juxtapose your cruelty. “And I will not give up on you.”

You keep the flowers in your arms, cradling them as…something…stirs from behind your eyes, before you shake your head and exhale.

“Thank you for the flowers.” You whisper, eyes casting down to the beautiful tiger lilies. “Don’t ever do this again.”

—

You find a note tucked into the folds of the packaging, a green post-it note popping with colour in the sea of orange.

A man told me to live life with no regrets. I won’t let you become my first.

[quirkwizard]

Hi Quirkwizard! When it comes to parallels and foils, how would you personally expand upon the parallels between Aoyama and Shigaraki? And to ask further, how you expand upon the parallels shared between Aoyama and Midoriya?

I don't really see a point on expanding between Aoyama and Tomura as foils. Mostly because there isn't much connecting the two. I can try to cover over Aoyama and Izuku more though.

So the thing that makes Aoyama a foil to Izuku is their backstories. Both were kids that were ostracized because of their lack of a Quirk. Both then went on to get a new Quirk from the greatest powers within the world. However, both of these came with a terrible price. Both of them are physically overwhelmed by their Quirks because they aren't designed for their body. There is the mental tole as well from the extreme weight their tasks and the secrets they have to keep. In spite of all that, they still want to be heroes. What makes them different is the context of them getting the Quirk and how the two deal with it. Izuku was picked out by All Might because of his exceptional bravery. Aoyama's parents made a deal with All For One for Aoyama's sake. And Aoyama can barely handle it, having far less courage then someone like Izuku. A big part of that journey is him overcoming that cowardice and trying to be more of a proper hero.

The real question is why though. Why is someone like Aoyama made as a foil to Izuku? Besides Hori's obvious favoritism towards Aoyama, that is. It could be to help Aoyama's character. That by comparing himself to Izuku and how he uses his power for heroism, it makes Aoyama feel worse about himself and makes him seem worse by comparison. Though I believe it's to set up for Izuku's conflict about saving villains as well. By making them foils, it gives something for the two to connect with and become friends over in Chapter 168. Then the betrayal happens. Because this makes Aoyama is the closest "villain" to Izuku. Close in how Aoyama was a friend to Izuku, how Aoyama's betrayal caused so many problems in Izuku's life, and how similar of a situation Izuku had to Aoyama. Bakugou even calls out their connection in Chapter 337. So tying them together as characters forces Izuku to deal with a villain that not only is a close friend, but is so similar to him. It's adds more layers to it when Izuku is the only one in the class to reach out and want to help Aoyama. Because he understands Aoyama.

[dark-elf-writes]

Oooh how exactly would Ry figure out that they are Izuku’s cousin?

Through poor Shouta of course.

Shapeshifting quirks aren’t that common and when the kid he met by accident mentions they never had any sort of quirk counseling he asks the only person he can think of that might know how to help.

Ry freezes with their mug halfway to their black painted mouth pointed teeth on display as they gape openly at him.

“A shifter?” They repeat, slowly, as if they couldn’t believe they were saying them at all. “A shifter like me?”

“Mostly. The kid definitely eats more.” Shouta had started “accidentally” bringing a second lunch, packed near to bursting, to their little training sessions after the kid had nearly passed out on him the first time. He still more often than not ended up sneaking half of his own meal to the kid when they were distracted rambling about some quirk or another they had seen. Ry, in comparison, seemingly ran off little more than junk food, terrible coffee, and spite.

Ry’s eyes flickered between the purple they had been wearing that week and his own black. It was the most shock he had ever seen from them and he had once seen them held at knifepoint.

“What did you say the kid’s name was?”

“I didn’t. They won’t give me a name.”

Ry stood, shoving back from their desk so quickly their chair rolled back into the wall. Their chipped mug (kept even after the washing mishap because the misprint of Present Mic’s face had made them laugh so hard they had shrieked.) slamming down so hard on their desk that the coffee sloshed over their fingers. They didn’t seem to notice as they whirled on him eyes now wholly black narrowed in determination.

“I’m going with you. Today. Right now even.”

Shouta didn’t know what else to do other than to agree.

(He regretted it later when his biggest pain in the ass took one look at his recently acquired Problem Child and had claimed them on the spot. He regretted it more when the problem child’s mother came home right when they were dropping the kid off and Ry’s eyes had grown cold and sharp with recognition.

He didn’t regret it at all when Ry had come to him the next day and asked for help with the emergency custody paperwork.)

[class1akids]

I have similar feelings as you re endeavor and bakugou. I sort of dislike endeavour. Kind of neutral on bakugou. Thought he was fine in act 2 but flipped between like and dislike based on whatever was happening in the moment in act 3. Endeavor had more consequences from bakugou since Natsuo distanced himself from him. But for the actual atonement part I was not sold on endeavour at all in comparison. It didn't seem like he did much to improve his family's life post war other than buy them a new house. Which is why a dislike him a bit more.

But when I said I disagreed with some part of that meta I was referring to several points.

The first is toga being an effective character. Touya was certainly effective but everytime toga was on screen since her introduction I could immediately tell some bs was about to happen. Also, despite thinking she got done dirty in the end I think her presence and storyline with ochako actually derailed the ending of this series more than any other character.

Secondly, there was 0 setup or reason for bakugou to want to save villains even if the final arc was about that. His general experience with villains was getting suffocated, several attacks on UA, getting kidnapped, and then temporarily dying because of afo. Deku was able to see a crying child inside tomura, ochako outright sees toga crying and shouto had the misfortune of living with Enji as a dad so he can understand touya. There are 0 signs for bakugou so him doing something like trying to save villains or talk with them to understand makes no sense. Kurogiri scene was utterly baffling. But afo, who at that point had long overstayed his welcome, getting killed was frankly deserved.

This brings me to my next point. And I'm saying this as someone who used to adore izuku and still like him despite everything because I relate to him a lot.

They are right about izuku's lack of response to the apology and the bullying. But that point about deku and bakugou not fighting after the apology because of their different ideologies re saving villains is something I see as a major failing in deku's writing not bakugou's. Because he is the one who's arc is about saving villains, not bakugou. I was fully expecting deku to reveal his intentions to the UA team and to save shigaraki which would have a lot of opposition. Because everyone other than deku went for the kill where possible. Having a dialogue about wanting to save him instead is something that deku needed to do to actually convince us that he would save shigaraki despite any opposition. Hori instead ensured that he was completely unchallenged only to end up killing shigaraki instead. Even here the vestiges played too big a role. Then later the civilians are happy about this without even knowing that izuku was trying to save shigaraki. But we are expected to buy that his death somehow inspired the civilians and magically made the world a better place.

And to me, the decision not to have an actual argument about saving tomura from deku singlehandedly ruined his character. This and the multiple quirks are the most egregious things in his character writing. So while I would love to blame everything on bakugou as I like him much less, I unfortunately can't agree with saying he completely or even mostly ruined izuku's arc. Izuku's lack of reaction to the apology and bullying in general can be blamed on hori trying make it easy for bakugou. Though honestly it also dragged his own arc down.

But the worst aspects in izuku's writing that make his arc feel so undercooked and confusing are related to ofa and saving shigaraki plotline which bakugou is not at all a part of. People argue about the teacher/suit bit. But really the trigger was pulled long before that and recovery would have been very difficult. It was so dissapointing as a fan of so many years.

Also, you mention that it's hard to criticize endeavour and bakugou. But I see weekly huge hit tweets hating on them. And yeah stans would always be arguing under them. Izuku is significantly harder to criticize. Stupid cuck memes and other nonsense humiliating izuku gets likes but the minute you try to say something critical about the way the shigaraki fight was handled or his writing in the final war there would be a bunch of people who's only concern was if izuku and uraraka got together telling you you were wrong and quoting Gran Torino. I could not even vent a little about how a character I dearly loved got done so dirty. It was not even bad faith criticism but just got buried.

Yeah, these are valid points too and I agree that Deku's arc was derailed most by not saving his villain and the story telling us how he showed something, but then what we see is very different.

That that point about deku and bakugou not fighting after the apology because of their different ideologies re saving villains is something I see as a major failing in deku's writing not bakugou's.

Yeah, I do get this. But the fanbook interviews also revealed that this conflict was planned, Shigaraki was supposed to kill All Might and then Deku was supposed to save him from Bakugou's wrath.

Then this was replaced by the "save All Might" moment which was a much bigger highlight for Bakugou than it was for Deku. I don't know if Hori finally kept All Might alive because he just didn't want to kill him off or to give a big win to Bakugou, but in any case, he failed to show us what should have been the central conflict of the final arc - and that in a way that it elevated Bakugou's arc (bc saving All Might credit went to him almost fully) while dragged down Deku's.

and saving shigaraki plotline which bakugou is not at all a part of.

Again, this is debatable. I'm personally of the view that Tomura should have been the one to kill AFO not Bakugou, but that fight / win went to Bakugou because he had no other villain set up, but imho, emotionally it would have been more powerful for Tomura to kill him (and maybe with acting on his rage could also be his falldown in 418 / and saving his soul by Tenko reconnecting to Nana could have been his resurgence / redemption in the vestige world.

So again, it's not just about whether Bakugou is part of the storyline or not, but also which characters could have gotten / didn't get to do certain things bc Bakugou is being prioritized.

Izuku is significantly harder to criticize.

This is not my experience, but I guess it really depends which fandom spaces you are in.

[mudhamster]

CHWHWN: 12. December " ??? "

The chair opposite him was pulled from the table by its backrest, turned and suddenly Izuku found himself in the crosshairs of a very intense, gut-melting stare.

"Deku."

Izuku stares back at Katsuki in amazement over his tea, and then checks if his friends if they could see the same thing when Shouto says, "I see him too," , casting a suspicious glance over the table. Katsuki, ignoring everything and everyone at the breakfast table, gets straight to the point. 

"I got something useless. Again."

Oh. 

"I'm ...sorry," Izuku replied and lowered his cup. 

Kacchan just pursed his lips and grabbed the small pile of cucumber slices on Izuku's plate, shoving them into his mouth one by one as if they were coins and he was a fairground ride. Izuku was silent, blood coursing under his skin, no doubt already red around the ears, wondering if Katsuki would at least tell him today WHAT he had drawn but didn't need.

When the tension became palpable and Izuku saw Todoroki subtly covering his own plate with his cup of green tea out of the corner of his eye, Kacchan finally continued. But it wasn't information about what had been on his note today.

"I'm going home either on the 22nd or 23rd." 

To Izuku's shock, he put the two unknown notes on the table between them. Right in the middle, for everyone to see. Although upside down, so that he couldn't read the text. 

"I could draw two lots for the two or three days we won't see each other before Christmas. One for yesterday and a second one for today."

Ugh, no. Izuku would get an aneurysm if he had to do two of the more extensive things in one day. So, no.

"You can save them for after Christmas," he explained quickly, "I figured we wouldn't see each other that day. That's why you can't open the last piece until all the others are used up anyway. That a … a rule."

"I see."

Red eyes turned into skeptical slits and Izuku shrugged innocently. 

"I'm sorry," Ochako spoke up next to him, "but what are you talking about?" Curiously, she reached for the two pieces of paper in front of Kacchan, but he covered them with his hand in a flash and pretended to bite her fingers.

"Deku made me a calendar," he then embarrassed him without even a hint of hesitation.

"A calendar?"

"Yup. A new damn useless surprise every day."

"How ... thoughtful."

Was he overinterpreting? Or did Ochako sound sweeter than belladonna honey? She and Kacchan exchanged a long look, like two dusty but never quite satisfied rivals. Katsuki's grin grew wide and smug as he cupped his chin in one hand and asked with feigned interest, "What did you get, moonface?"

...oh shit. His head turned to Ochako, who sat frozen next to him. On the other side, he felt like half of his body was being transferred to the permafrost. Time to remind his two best friends that Katsuki Bakugou was not only an annoying bastard who constantly drove him and all his friends to the brink of insanity, but also the only one who had ever enchanted Izuku more violently than All-Might. A weak comparison, but the point should be clear: Kacchan was sugoi and his friends shouldn't tease him. He straightened his shoulders and jumped between the fronts. 

"You're the only one with such a calendar, Kacchan," he said.

Ochako clicked her tongue. Izuku's leg thawed. 

Was he a bad friend if he was happy about Kacchan's mean but very proud grin?

"What did you get Bakugou?" Uraraka asked, tilting her head to the two pieces of paper on the table.

"He can tell you that himself, can't he? Nerd?"

"Yep."

"So no change, then," Kacchan chuckled, and Todoroki's cup was pushed aside, his half of the cucumber sprinkled with chili flakes changing hands in a matter of seconds, "Maybe you had more useful idea for the next batch. See you around, loser."

With a tap on the table, he got up and left the common room, munching on the cucumber in plain sight.

"You made him a calendar?" Ochako asked, eyes still on the departing blonde, "A self-made calendar with handwritten notes?"

Shouto pushed back his cup with a long sigh, "What's in it that he can't ... use?"

"I don't know," Izuku replied, thinking back to yesterday's conversation, "I put a lot of things in there... like a joke or a handshake... but I didn't assume at the time that he would accept it and really stick with it. That surprised me myself."

"He seems to take it seriously enough, to let you know when he's no longer here, but already at home."

That's true. Maybe it was because of yesterday, his puny appearance in front of Kacchan's room door, pathetic as a wet rabbit. Maybe that was it. But maybe not. 

"Yeah. That's... unexpected too," he murmured, sinking back into the hard cafeteria chair, "I was expecting him to forget to draw a note for a few days anyway, hence the rule about the 24-"

Brown eyes burned like lasers at his temple. "What's in the 24?"

"Secret- until Kacchan opens all the other numbers."

"That's clear, but you can tell us, can't you?"

"No," he laughed meekly. No one but him would ever know what he had dared to do if his plan went wrong. But that was okay. Tough. But okay. 

"If Kacchan doesn't open it, no one will ever know what was inside."

[irontragedyreview]

I don't understand you like sasunaru but dislike bakudeku, both ships are the same and sasuke tried to kill naruto, at least bakugou never wanted deku dead.

I'm going to be honest, I don't understand the purpose of this ask. Yes, I ship sns and I also hate bkdk, so I don't understand what you should understand about my taste in ships, people can ship and hate whatever they want and as long as they do it on their own blog and without disturbing others. I'm usually careful about tagging anti content, filtering and blocking blogs I don't like, so I'm not looking for fights either with shippers who do their thing without bothering anyone or those who decide to be a pain in the ass.

However, I'm only going to add something and it’s that sns and bkdk aren’t the same and the comparison you made between Sasuke with Naruto and Izuku with bk doesn’t make sense, especially because it misinterprets Sasuke's entire story and sets a minimum bar for all of bk's behavior throughout much of the manga, because the bar is very low on just saying "at least bk didn't try to kill him with his bare hands", which is a lie considering dk vs bk part 1.

Also seriously beyond the basic comparisons about personality traits and one or another thrope between rivals in shonen, what makes the big difference between sns and bkdk for me is that Sasuke is the first person even before Iruka who sees Naruto not only as a human being, but Naruto should never have shown Sasuke anything for him to think Naruto was worthy of admiration or respect.

We meet Sasuke's character in the third chapter, his main objective at that time was to confront Itachi (outside of the later revelations about the Uchiha massacre), during the main training with Kakashi, he even told Sakura that he didn’t plan on giving up on his plan and that he was going to pass the exercise. However, he fed a bound Naruto, breaking the rules that could have delayed his own plan. During Zabuza arc he literally gave his life for Naruto, even if that meant giving up avenging his clan, which was the dream for which he promised not to die until he fulfilled it, he still stood between Haku's attack on Naruto and that is only the first 11 chapters. Even when you talk about Sasuke trying to kill Naruto you only talk about the action but without taking into account the context.

So yes, sns is very different from bkdk because there is more to it than how you want to justify bk and his actions, be it insecurity or whatever, bk didn’t see Izuku as someone worthy of respect until he obtained the AM’s quirk and even then his only concern was about why someone like Izuku (whom he considered inferior) could get what he believed was his right. I'm not interested in bk's problems or complexes because the manga goes to great lengths to justify them at the expense of his own mc and above all things it’s a ship that doesn’t satisfy me because I don’t see love in it, Sasuke gave his life for Naruto in the first 11 chapters, he was the first to see Naruto as someone worthy, he saw Naruto seeking to connect with others and it made him happy, even when Naruto and Sasuke’s story is not a bed of roses, what matters to me are the feelings. Bk gave his life for Midoriya in a way to develop his redemption after understanding that Midoriya didn’t deserve the things he did to him, the same with apologies, if you want to take them as signs of love and ship them that is up to you, I don't do it and I don't care either, but both ships are not on equal terms.

[angy-grrr]

Horikshi somehow managed to make mha more homophobic and worse than other shounens, its honestly impressive in a way. People often criticize shows like Naruto or Bleach but I dont remember those shows killing off queer characters to use them as tools to further a straight ship. I dont remember narrative shitting on Sasuke's character the way horikoshi treated Bakugo's character by leaving him like a doormat. All those talks abt Horikoshi supposedly being different and progressive for years went nowhere as he turned out to be shittier than even other shonen authors.

I mean, he just made Sasuke straight and told us to understand he is the happiest with a woman, I guess, so idk how thats not homophobic in comparison -im not saying it is directly; but I dont see how that would be better. I would have hated it if Katsuki was made to be with a woman or even giving advice to date one, tbh. There are multiple tropes that could be discussed in these conversations like the difference between bury your gays, queer coding and queer baiting, idk much about Naruto but I think it could fit the last category, as in the anime they added a kiss for fan service; I think in BNHA we have a clear use of bury your gays and queer coding or queer subtext.

The themes of BNHA are progressive, which is why it speaks to us -and we cant just say he is homophobic or directly conservative just bc of 431. While yeah the treatment of the villains was really, really disappointing, and unfair considering the themes, I dont think it means this is good -tbh it felt more like he wanted to give it a bittersweet type of ending in a harsh way, as the characters are not happy with this situation. On another hand, Katsuki's treatment was strange, but he is also a character he uses to break the 4th wall many times in the series, so to make him smile and be happy in 431 would feel unnatural to who he is; he is the one telling us "hey things arent all happy and alright, the protagonist isnt satisfied with this kind of life", and that could be interesting if they actually planned to expand on it. His feelings are so different from 430, that it cant leave us feeling like things are okay even if the extra happened. Or at least I like to see it that way!

But we cant accuse him of being directly homophobic for not making Katsuki straight -he is queer coded at least from my perspective, and we know he wasn't "punished" for 431 (if they wanted to punish him, the previous chapters dont give that impression, making him all cool and sympathetic; the best way to do it would be to just make him regress into being an asshole and unhappy in my opinion). We already know their bond is way stronger than izuku's and ochako's, there's this post unrelated to this but which discusses how in Japanese language you dont have to reaffirm bonds and feelings as it depends on context clues, the history between the characters, etc, and it makes me wonder if maybe thats just what happened -we already know they are the closest to each other, and in fact had it spelled out multiple times thru the series, while izuku and ochako dont really have much developed in their friendship. Making them not really talk in 8 years is also an interesting choice -kinda means this is the only way they could make these characters have a "moment" together. If they kept talking like previously, there would be no scene like this, bc they would be good friends -so, if they really wanted to make this homophobic, making this clearly romantic + bkdk not interact in any meaningful way was one of the ways to go. However, instead, we have the confirmation that Katsuki does yearn for Izuku and worries about him, and that Izuku is clueless to these feelings while he also wants to improve the communication between them.

[altarfates]

sunlight shafts stream through the apartment - decorating the walls in dappled rays of red and orange and yellow. each fragment illuminates some strange aspect of their lives - the all might memorabilia lining the walls, trinkets from their classmates, bits and baubles from the midoriya and bakugo families respectively. their bedroom is even worse, an explosion of their shared interests and eclectic tastes punctuated by the rumpled navy sheets, sleep mussed with 18 pillows (at izuku's behest) scattered throughout. you could easily tell which side of the bed was his - no doubt due to the extra pile of 5 blankets and the singular sheet occupying katsuki's.

both bed dwellers have left, instead loitering in the kitchen around the gently whirring coffee machine. where izuku would normally have already left and been on campus grounds to teach his class by now - summer break affords him the occasional day off, and instead he loiters at katsuki's back, cheek pressed to his shoulder, and strong arms looped about his waist. a scarred left hand flattens upon his bare abdomen, cold wedding band trailing ice in his wake.

"what is on the schedule for today, kacchan?" comes his words, watching as the liquid energy is divvied up between the two matching all might mugs. "or should i say... great explosion murder god dynamight?" each word punctuated with a kiss to the elder's nape, nails tickling down a bare side - reveling, just for now, in the warmth of the bubble they'd worked so hard to earn.

contentment  as  recompense  for  the  perpetual  conflict  waged  between  heroes  and  villains,  at  the  time  they  had  been  young,  vehemently  chasing  dreams  that  felt  almost  within  their  grasp.  Now,  as  one  might  cast  a  meandering  gaze  across  the  eclectic  and  meticulously  arranged  memorabilia  it  felt  like  a  reprieve  even  if  their  days  were  still  filled  with  their  individual  pursuits.  Bakugo  remembers  rather  clearly  that  for  every  all-might  statue  and  each  ornamental  addition  from  their  classmates,  Izuku  had  sedulously  dedicated  himself  arranging  their  display.  Once,  he  would  have  made  a  disparaging  comment  about  it,  loud  and  commanding,  then,  his  fervent  gaze  had  remained  affixed  to  those  scarred  hands  as  they  diligently  sorted  offering  an  off-handed  remark  here  and  there,  a:  you  really  think  that  looks  good  ?  are  you  sure  your  eyes  aren’t  going  to  shit  ?  and  then  he’d  taken  over,  marshalling  Izuku’s  hands  as  they  finalized  their  set-up.  For  all  the  abrasions  they  had,  their  personalities  a  collision  of  shuddering  sparks  and  wreathing,  lucent  power,  did  their  lives  not  intertwine  effortlessly  now.  In  that  quiet  way  he  often  did,  where  the  tumult  of  him  was  subdued  into  a  soft,  intermittent  hum,  he  appreciated  the  places  Izuku  touched  his  life.  It  was  most  prevalent  around  his  finger  where  the  cool,  gold  of  their  twin  bands  pressed  flush  to  his  skin. They’ve  forsaken  their  bed  as  the  first  shafts  of  gilded  dawn  play  across  crumpled  sheets,  Izuku’s  precariously  stacked  pillows  dispersed  between  similarly  amassed  blankets  and  his,  solitary  in  comparison,  haphazardly  shoved  to  the  bottom  of  their  bed  and  hanging  half  on  half  off  of  it.  Coffee  summoned  him  from  the  somnolent  stupor  of  a  long  night  ending  curled  around  Izuku,  an  arm  strewn  carelessly  over  his  waist,  his  chin  resting  indolently  on  his  shoulder.  No  matter  how  calamitous  his  days  were  when  it  came  to  returning  to  his  home,  to  izuku,  he  could  always  find  respite,  as  if  that  fond  smile  and  the  crinkles  around  the  corners  of  his  eyes  were  a  salve.  He  pours  coffee  into  Izuku’s  mug  first,  lurid  and  yellow  with  all-might’s  silhouette  painted  amidst  a  spattering  of  sharp,  stylistic  lines  and  stars  and  then  his,  a  black  one  with  his  catch  phrase  accentuated  with  a  stark,  intensely  coloured  outline.  The  coffee,  much  like  him,  huffs  a  breath  of  billowing  steam  amongst  the  crisp  morning. He  doesn’t  recoil  from  the  affection,  in  fact,  the  relaxed  nature  of  his  posture  invites  it,  as  if  he  were  leaning  into  it  and  wordlessly  demanding  more.  ❝  damn  it. ❞  he  scoffs,  nudging  the  handle  of  the  mug  against  his  fingers  as  if  commanding  him  to  take  his  share.  ❝  you’re  never  gonna  let  that  die,  are  you  ?  ❞  but  for  all  the  whetted  edges  of  his  cadence  was  there  not  the  implication  of  amusement  wreathed  between,  his  gaze  cast  to  where  those  fingers  idled  against  his  stomach  and  the  aureate  glint  of  his  band  as  the  first  -  rays  of  dawn  cavorted  across  the  corrugating  skin  decorating  his  prominent  knuckles.

❝  not  all  of  us  got  the  day  off  today,  sensei. ❞  brandishing  his  title  as  a  riposte,  proffering  the  mug  to  him  before  claiming  his  own  and  relishing  both  the  emanating  heat  and  the  promise  of  caffeine  flooding  his  veins  and  coaxing  his  sluggish  brain  into  full  throttle.  Just  another  of  the  Izuku  shaped  side  effects  in  his  life,  as  calm  as  he  was,  did  it  not  also  take  longer  to  be  fully  prepared  to  pry  himself  from  his  grasp,  to  breach  the  threshold  into  the  new-dawn  and  greet  another  day  of  heroism.  ❝  kick  some  villain  ass,  maintain  the  peace,  somethin’  like  that.❞  and  a  slight  grin  tugs  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth  as  he  takes  the  first  of  many  less  then  tentative  sips.

[dekusleftsock]

Hey, weird comparison might be a stretch

Okay angy-grrr (yes I’m name dropping you and I’m not sorry <3333) I think made a comment a while ago about how this whole thing between Afo and Yoichi felt incestual, and I’d be inclined to agree.

However, however however however, I do have a few bits of commentary on that sentiment. Specifically in relationships to this scene specifically.

And, alright, no this is not some bs like ���pro incest” or whatever, you can talk about topics that are taboo and not necessarily agree with them. I understand that I’m a shipper but I’m inclined to follow my nose where it leads, and my nose says here. So.

We’ve established a lot that the kanji horikoshi used when Izuku says “Give him back!” Is very possessive. Like an ownership over an item.

Okay, because Izuku and afo share one very weird trait—possessiveness. And for literally a month I’ve written and rewritten a post about how I just can’t get behind the idea of Katsuki paralleling afo, because it just doesn’t fucking make sense.

What is it telling us? That Katsuki has become a better person? We already KNEW THAT. The Kudou parallel says something, it says that Katsuki rises ABOVE the fate of the OFA predecessor because he and Izuku accepted their hearts.

Not only that but what is it exactly that we’re paralleling? Afo is defined by ownership (an Izuku trait), an unreliable narrator (also an Izuku trait)—in my opinion, horikoshi isn’t that simply Willy Nilly about parallels. It’s not about shipping to me rn, I’m literally comparing him to Izuku and how Izuku obsesses over Katsuki, IT JUST DOESNT MAKE SENSE.

Besides, wouldn’t this parallel be made significantly earlier, when Katsuki was still acting like an asshole? The kudou parallel was made literally from the start of his introduction, just because he looked so much like him. We didn’t know why this was the case, theories were thrown, and we’re only being told NOW why this parallel exists. But it was built, very carefully, and served a purpose.

And, to add onto this parallel of at the very least afo and Izuku, the portal is very similar to the floating hand.

Especially with the reminder that Katsuki was taken away by dabis hand on his neck (hands always have symbolism in this series after all, it always has a purpose)

If someone, anyone really, could show me some genuine evidence of afo and Katsuki parallels that isn’t just “Katsuki was selfish about Izuku when they were younger” then by all means

But to me, along with the fact that Katsuki called himself IZUKUS NICKNAME, right before a chapter where afo talks about NAMING YOICHI, ummmmmmmm… I gotta say. Things ain’t looking so great in that evidence department. I guess you could argue that Katsuki did the same thing with deku, but deku hasn’t even been said these past few chapters and Kacchan has so????? Idk.

Anyway, this weird overly attached, incestual, codependent relationship is really fascinating to me. I’m not so inclined to say that Izuku and afo are the same since they very obviously aren’t, izuku is just toxic in his silly goofy ways, but I think it’s an interesting thing to point out.

It almost feels like a “fuck you” to people who have been saying Katsuki and Izuku act like brothers for years. Maybe like Horikoshi is saying, “well I guess if they’re brothers they’re incestual too :)”

And that’s gotta be the biggest power move I’ve ever seen. “Oh you wanna read this relationship in that light? How about I show you what that light would look like if it were true :)” AND LIKE. WOW.

I know anime is not new to incest, but I don’t think this is the “random incest for funsies” type of incest, I think this is the incest built off of actually talking about the taboo. The weird. The not so great things we’ve done as humanity, but that exist anyway. Because mha WANTS to talk about the taboo, things we find morally wrong and therefore don’t belong in our stories, but that just makes them all the more incomprehensible were it to be happen in the real world. Art is made to talk about the stories we wish remained unfinished.

[donkeys-waffles]

It could definitely be something he built for himself, like a family most likely. It's interesting also how lost and stolen aren't the same at all in meaning. Yes, both mean to lose something, but one is more of an accidental thing and the other is deliberate. Thats why AFO blames Kudou for stealing Yoichi because from his perspective he was, Yoichi was 'kidnapped' and was in the enemy's possession. All Might never mentions a severed hand, a hand that is most likely preserved in a jar (I really hope it was preserved or it's just a hunk of rotten flesh he carried around, one I don't think All Might would take.) It sounds like from the translation, he just dropped it, lost it but it wasn't really taken. Ya feel me. While at Kamino, he's adamant that All Might STOLE something precious from him, if he was talking about Yoichi's hand, he could have just used the same terminology in that translation, lost. Because of you I lost something important to me.

And that's not taking into consideration the sheer amount of secrecy around what was stolen from him. Why not just say what he stole, it doesn't damage his evil villain image, after all we are talking about a severed hand. A simple lack of information about the true reason for him having the hand leaves just enough blanks to have everyone guessing his nefarious intentions. The secrecy suggests that he's angry, furious even but not enough to tell him exactly WHAT he stole.

It all sounds like a diversion to me, like yeah Izuku has weird shadows in the center of his palm looking a little too similar to someone we know, but AFO only care about the severed hand that fell out of his pocket.

You see, I really don't think All Might stole Yoichi's severed hand. He's not in possession of it, I feel like if he was, we'd know, it'd be brought up as a sort of evidence to 'future plans of evildoing.'

You know what I think All Might is in possession of, something he inadvertently 'stole', Izuku Midoriya.

Izuku Midoriya, the only other person in the entire series that can handle multiple quirks naturally (despite his quirkless status,) who mirrors AFO in fights with Tenko, and sharing the man's love/analysis of battle plans and quirks. They share mannerisms, interests, and a silver-tongue.

Izuku Midoriya, who is treated with such gentleness in comparison to opponents like All Might and even Bakugou. He rips into All Might about his failure as a teacher and his mentor's death, he rips into Bakugou about being in "Izuku Midoriya's shadow" (weird but okay, not untrue.) And then he gets to Izuku, he warns him about how he's going down a 'thorny path,' (okay weird that you care so much about the kid's future, especially considering you just killed off the others without a care.) then proceeds to set off the weakest bomb known to man, easily giving Izuku and everyone else time to get away. In the first war, when he takes over Tenko's body he doesn't aim for the guts like he did with All Might, or even aim to kill like with Bakugou. No, he unleashes the weakest air blast to bat him away like a fly, actually injuring his own hand holding his power back THAT much. No Izuku got a couple of useless comments that weren't even directly said to him but about him to someone else (he REFUSES to confront Izuku directly or address him.) With the comment he made about Bakugou, you'd assume he could think of a more creative insult than 'Useless'. That was such a specific comment, the man has the resources to do real damage to Izuku. But no, he chooses this ONE time to be uncreative.

And the cherry on top is the second war. The fight between All Might and AFO, where AFO says that All Might will "pay for passing on his heroic ideals to children," then proceeds to do nothing to hurt the children, like you'd assume.

It makes me question what he's truly angry about. Is he really THIS angry about losing the hand accidentally or is he THIS angry about All Might passing his heroic ideals onto HIS child.

Idk just food for thought...

I wonder if this what All For One meant when he said “All Might took something away” from him.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

And we’re back! There’s definitely some themes that come up in this chapter that will be echoed going forward, so I’ll try to point them out and explain my thoughts on those a bit. Other than that, I think this is a two-part chapter, just based on an initial skim, and we’re technically in the second ‘arc’ of the series, according to the BNHA wiki - though I have chosen to shove everything before the USJ into the ‘opening arcs’ tag for ease of tagging, since it’s really all just character / setting introduction before getting into the action.

[No. 5 - Smashing Into Academia]

So we get to see most of the top ten scores - Katsuki in first place with all villain points, and Izuku in seventh with all rescue points. We also see some other familiar names: Kirishima (2nd) with 74 points, Ochako (3rd) with 73, Shiozaki (4th) with 68, Tenya (6th) with 61, Tetsu^4 (8th) with 59, and Tokoyami (9th) with 57. I think we’ll get to see the others later, but for now, I’ll just look them up for ease of confusion: Kendo (5th) with 65 points and Awase (10th) with 56 points. So yeah, talk about your high scores!

This raises a few interesting thoughts:

First off, I know that Horikoshi had initially intended to put Shiozaki in class 1a, but either forgot or ended up deciding she wasn’t suited for it, thus the reason we see her name here but don’t see her until the Sports Festival. Also, I like how he uses the cutoff of the 5th and 10th place in order to fit in more 1b students when he comes up with them - it’s not a trick I would have immediately thought of myself, but it makes sense, and gives a good sense that it’s not just 1a dominating in these sorts of events.

[Discord: its cuz her hair was a pain to draw, which like- mood]

...though that then leads to the question of how certain members of 1a and 1b got in with their quirks. Like, I appreciate all of them, but some of the kids just… yeah, I’m not entirely sure what they could do. I suppose that just makes them particularly clever for getting in, which isn’t a shock when the bar for entry is high. 

I… am also surprised Kaminari isn’t higher up there, considering his zappy zappy could take out a whole field of them… though possibly also the people nearby him if he wasn’t careful. I suppose with those scores all in the fifties to seventies, though, even if he took out like thirty or forty points worth, it still would only be enough to get him in, not as a high score.

...speaking of high scores, Ochako only got rescue points from saving Izuku, which is what got her third place overall despite not even hitting thirty villain points. With how high the first ten spots were, and with there only being thirty-six spots overall, there’s a chance she might have missed the cut entirely and have not gotten in if she hadn’t pushed herself to save the person who saved her.

This is a running theme that I’ve noticed about Izuku’s character and narrative effects - he’s not All Might, who makes people feel safe with his presence. He’s not a larger than life figure who stands between villains and the rest of the world. What he is is a plain, unassuming kid who will push himself to breaking in order to save someone, in order to win. And in doing so, we see him in turn inspire others to act, because if this plain, unassuming fanboy can do it, why not them as well? I mean, hell, that’s how he got his quirk!

Recall this? It’s something that we see again and again in the series, something that I think is the core of Izuku’s character development and something he needs to realize in order to really come into himself as a hero and as a person. His greatest strength - that capability to become ‘the strongest hero’ like he desires - isn’t in One For All or in his fighting prowess, but in his ability to inspire others to become better versions of themselves, to push themselves just a bit more, and in so, those ripples end up saving more people and improving the future, one person at a time.

Izuku grew up in a world where his greatest heroes were the Symbol of Peace and (his) Symbol of Victory. While it’s not a title I think he will ever take on in full - I think part of the endgame of the series will be to move on past reliance on a few Symbols to ward off evil and have everyone work together to build up a better world - I do believe he really encompasses the ideals that would make him a Symbol of Hope to Japan and the world. As Hope, he’d give others the belief that they could reach out and be given help, that someone would be there for them if they asked - and, I would like to think, he’d be able to make that world together with his friends and allies, once everything is said and done.

Anyways, I sort of. Got rambling there. Uh. How far are we? One panel? ...ehehehe…

So we get the next two panels, which is the staff discussing Katsuki and Izuku - opposite ends of the spectrum. One got in with only villain points, the other with only rescue points. They note that Katsuki was able to keep going for the whole ten minutes, where most other students were slowing down by halfway through. A true endurance monster. Izuku, on the other hand, is noted to be the first in a while to take out the gimmick, even if others have stood up to it before.

(Also, I love Mic’s ‘kid just makes me wanna go yeah!’ What a mood.)

Hah, they also note that his backlash is like a kid getting a first glimpse of his power, plus how in every other way he looks like a typical failure. However, Mic and… some other staff member (possibly Midnight, I want to say? It makes the most sense) just like Izuku and aren’t so worried about that, while Aizawa chills in the back and thinks they’re all being noisy.

We transitioned to Izuku and Toshinori, 8 pm the night Izuku got the acceptance letter. Izuku is crying as he basically shouts All Might’s name, and Toshinori spits blood and basically has Izuku cover his tracks since, surprise, there are now other human beings here! 

Toshinori that can’t be good for your health oh my god.

But yeah, apparently the news that day (or any point that week, probably) is that the beach was cleaned up by some mysterious do-gooder, so now it’s a good place to go on dates again. I know Izuku said no one came by there (chapter 2), but still, it feels weird to think no one noticed anything at all over the entire ten months Izuku and Toshinori (sometimes as All Might!) was there, especially since I think they were at other parts of the beach when Izuku was doing swimming training? 

I mean like, what about the people who were illegally dumping their trash there? The people who have to cut through there because it’s a shortcut to get home? The people who get lost and accidentally stumble across it? Random villains trying to use it as a hideout or stash for their loot while hiding from the police / heroes??

Ah whatever, it is what it is. Toshinori congratulates Izuku on passing and gives him a high five.

Fucking hell that’s so cute, I already have it saved as a reaction image I love it so damn much. But yeah, Toshinori hasn’t mentioned his relationship with Izuku to the school (though I know this isn’t true because Nezu and RG know… though that might not have been until after Izuku passed and he knew Izuku was going there.) 

Izuku appreciates not having to worry about favoritism, and is excited for Toshinori being a teacher at UA. He asks if that’s why they’re meeting at the beach despite All Might’s office being at a very precise address that Toshinori cuts off. Toshinori then says he couldn’t tell anyone until the school made it public knowledge, and that he’d take the job while looking for his successor.

Izuku remembers that Toshinori mentioned he’d been looking for a while, and that he’d have been looking among the students. Izuku thinks about all their amazing quirks and raw talents, and stares at his hands as he brings up how he broke after a single use of the quirk and that he can’t wield it. Poor boy, no self-worth or realization of how impressive his first use was…

Toshinori points out that of course it’s not an immediate success - if someone suddenly grew a tail, they wouldn’t be able to do tricks off the bat. Izuku asks if Toshinori knew this would happen, and Toshinori says there wasn’t enough time, but everything worked out all right… or, well, All Might. 

What a fucking dad, that was a dad joke, I am so done. Someone stop this man. 

Anyways, Toshinori bends down to pick up some empty spray-paint cans, which shows that while the beach is clean, there’s still a lot of small junk and broken glass and stuff left to clean up, which I imagine was either something Izuku did during the month and a half between the exams and the beginning of the new school year, or something the community ended up doing once they all were coming there. 

He tells Izuku that it’s all for nothing for now, but once Izuku figures out how to regulate it, he’ll be able to put out just what his body can handle - and that the more he temperes his vessel, the better he can control the power. All Might then crunches those cans in one fist, which he’s really lucky they’re empty, or else he’d have gotten paint everywhere. (Would have been hilarious to see, though.)

But yeah, All Might makes the comparison of passing on the Olympic flame, and how the new torch burns weakly at first, but that the trials to come will fan it. 

The same couple on the pier notice All Might and ask where he came from, and All Might panics, running off, with Izuku following confused yet dutifully.

God that running pose is fucking hilarious I am cackling. 

But yeah, he notes that his own flame will wither and die, with his duty fulfilled. I like how you can just see that couple trying to make their way from the pier to try and catch All Might. 

Anyways, a short post, but the next page gets into spring and the beginning of the new school year, so I figure it’s better to cut it off here. Besides, I spent a whole page and a half rambling about characterization and narrative echoes, so shoosh.

[subpar-ghoulfriend]

Live In Nanny

Villain!All Might x Reader

All Might raising baby Deku but is in desperate need of a nanny. 

TW: Yandere themes, breeding kink (our villain is ready to make the reader a mommy), dub con 

AN: literally just took Hero All Might and flipped him upside down. So baseline form is big buff boi and villain form is lanky but retains the strength.

Single father with a nine month old child, seeking live in nanny services. Negotiable pay. Negotiable time off/vacation days.

Toshinori was impressed with your interview. You had over 8 years of experience working with children between babysitting and working at a day care. Plus Izuku took to you immediately. It was just a bonus that you were easy on the eyes.

You agreed to begin immediately, trying not to let on that you were in desperate need of money and a place to stay. You didn't have much to move in. And, in comparison to the huge room you had been given, it seemed like you owned even less. You figured your new boss must get paid well. His house was huge, the largest you'd ever been in.

Your room was next to baby Izuku's. Settling in to a routine with the baby was easy. You weren't sure exactly what your employer did for a living, his schedule was sporadic, he would be in and out throughout the day. Whenever he was available he would stop by to love on the infant. It was clear that he was doing his best as a single parent, but house keeping wasn't his strong suit. You tried your best to help out with the chores and grocery shopping, after all he was paying you graciously and giving you a roof over your head.

The only bump in the road so far has been getting Toshinori's permission to take the little one on walks through the nearby park. According to the father, errands were one thing but what was the point of going to park? Izuku can't even walk, there wouldn't be any benefit. Eventually you convinced him, after rambling about how good it is for babies to be exposed to different levels of stimulation. You could show Izuku the ducks and dogs, plus he could see all the pretty spring time flowers.

The older man was worried, he feared that his child, and you for that matter, would be targeted by his enemies. Plenty of low life's would love to make a move against the notorious villain. But you wore down his resolve. So long as you would tell him before you went. Thankfully he could play it off as being a bit of a helicopter dad. He always has a spare crony he could send out there to watch over you two.

---

"What are you both doing," your bosses laugh filled the air.

You were in a very flattering position, palms on the floor stretching through your hips, ass hiked up with a tempting arch to your back. Then you pushed yourself forward, giving the giggling baby raspberries before returning to your original position.

"Baby yoga!" You smiled, oblivious to the growing bulge in the villains pants. "Right now we're doing downward facing dog and cobra."

He watched you cycle through the motions, hypnotized by your movements.

You took such good care of him and his baby. Ever since you got here you went above and beyond (very plus ultra of you). You even packed his meals to go when he had to rush off to a job. And you did it all with a smile and his kid bouncing away at your feet. The man allowed his mind to drift to the thought of you with his babies, Izuku on your hip and your round belly ready to pop.

You made an amazing nanny but you would make an even better housewife.

---

It wasn't until a week after Izuku's birthday that you learned about your bosses occupation. You were at the park and a stranger approached you to coo over Izuku.

"Such a little cutie, this is Toshi's kid, right?"

That caught you off guard, how did this person know Toshinori? You knew he was a protective dad and there something about this woman felt off.

"Well, either way, this is for you," she smiled as she passed you a manila envelope. "A little birdie wants you to have it."

You skeptically eyed the parcel as the woman disappeared through the park. You shoved it into Izuku's diaper bag before rushing back home.

You decided to peek into the envelope after settling 'Zuku down for the night. You curled onto the chair in his nursery, using his nightlight too sift through the documents. Various photos of Toshinori, your employer, amongst high profile criminals. Photos of the most terrifying villain among his infamous exploits. And finally a piece of paper with a single web address and access code. This was the most damning piece of evidence, All Might - the villain himself - joking amongst his companions before transforming into the man you knew as Izuku's father. Without this video you would have never even guessed. All Might was known for his unassuming nature, his slender frame concealing his god-like strength. Still he looked terrifying, like make children cry type terrifying. Toshinori on the other hand was massive but his sunny attitude made him approachable. For all these months you had been working for a criminal. A criminal with a child. You had been living with him, laughing and raising a baby, taking care of him and his family. Oh god, your late night fantasies of your boss, a total DILF, were fantasies of a sadistic monster.

The betrayal and shame brought you to tears. You should call the cops. Take Izuku far away from this place, from being exposed to his fathers atrocities. But you were torn, he was a good dad, he always put his son first and provided him with only the best. He would tear the world apart for Izuku even if he had to put a target on your back. You shook as you muffled your cries, trying not to wake the baby you cared so much for. Eventually you wrote yourself out, falling asleep in the nursery.

By the time Toshinori made it home it was close to two in the morning. As usual he tip toed into his sons room, shocked to find you curled up in the rocker asleep. He was quiet, surprisingly more so than in his slender form. As you made his way to wake you he was surprised to see your phone still unlocked, you had fallen to sleep with that video on loop. Underneath your phone was the envelope, he didn't need to look to know what was inside. He hadn’t woken either of you, managing to shut off your phone and pick you up with or so much as a peep. He decided rather quickly that he would wait for you to make the first move. At least in the mean time he could pretend you didn't care about his lifestyle and that you wouldn't try to leave him or his son.

"Toshinori," you mumbled as he was about to settle you into your bed. You were half asleep and groggy from crying.

"Go back to sleep, darling, it's late," he paused to sway with you, just like he did when putting down 'Zuku for a nap. He was shocked that it worked and finally escaped your room. You let him lull you back to sleep, further affirming his belief that you would stay.

---

The next morning you creeped downstairs. Izuku wasn't in his crib, meaning Toshinori was him. You found them both in the kitchen. The sight of the pair would usually warm your body but now shivers radiated down your spine.

"Look who's up, buddy, say good morning," he bounced the child, beaming like the happiest father.

Taking a deep breath you decided to rip off the band aid. "Mr Toshinori, I have to resign."

His pause was so long you wondered if he heard you.

"Did the video upset her that much, Zuzu?"

He looked at you with the same warmth he always did. "There's no need to be formal, you were fine calling me Toshi just the other day. Take a seat, I made pancakes, just like you like'em."

You complied, his unchanged demeanor intimidating you into submission.

"There's no need for you to quit," he started. "Nothing has changed aside from your level of awareness."

"I can't work for you knowing that you hurt people."

At that his smile faltered, "Darling, if you truly felt that way, you wouldn't be here. You would've slipped out early this morning."

You were silent. He was right, in a way. Trapped between what was right and what was best for Izuku. You'd never be able to do anything about your boss's criminal activity, even if you did and All Might was locked away, Izuku would suffer the most.

"Give yourself a few days to adjust, okay? If you still want to quit after that, we can reassess."

There's was a glint in his eyes that hinted he wasn't asking.

---

"I'll be back this evening," Toshinori told you a as he kissed Izuku's forehead. He was uncomfortably close as he returned the baby to your lap. "There's plenty of groceries so you don't need to go out today. I have a coworker out front, so don’t worry if you see someone outside."

"What are they doing?"

He placed a hand on the top of your hair, petting you like some cat.

"He'll just keep an eye on things. I need someone to make sure you stay put."

---

A week flew by with your employer pushing off the discussion of your resignation. He wouldn’t leave you unsupervised so just walking away wasn’t an option, besides could you really leave Izuku? 

Then the child came down with some type of bug and was absolutely miserable for several days. You couldn’t get much sleep as a result, even if his father was home for most of the day. 

---

Izuku finally fell asleep around three in the morning. You napped beside his crib out of fear he would wake up if you so much as changed positions.

Then you woke in Toshi's arms as he carried you down the hall.

"Where are we going," You whined, anxious to be away from the child.

"I told you to rest, instead I find you in the nursery."

"'Zuku is sick-"

"But he's asleep, there are baby monitors, not that he won't wake the whole city up with his cries. You've been up for nearly two days with him, time for bed."

But he wasn't taking you to your room. Instead he dropped you on to his bed.

"What are you doing?" You snapped.

"I don't need you sneaking back. I can keep an eye on you here. I'll take care of him if he starts crying." He rolled in next to you.

The bed was huge but so was your boss. "Stop wiggling."

"Well I can't get comfortable."

“Fine,” he said and pulled you into him, “now stop it and get some sleep.”

You burned with embarrassment, turning silent after several attempts at protest. Just as you began to drift off, Toshinori's hand moved to beneath your shorts. You shut your eyes, pretending not to notice. He probably didn't even realize what he was doing. Then his fingers grazed the spot where your skin met your panties.

"I know you aren't asleep yet, darling."

You didn't respond, opting to keep up the façade.

"Mmm, are we playing pretend? I don't mind."

You gasped, pushing at his hand, "I'm trying to sleep."

"I can see that," he chuckled. "I'm just helping you wear yourself out. You've been taking such good care of the baby, let me return the favor."

He jerked your hips, pressing you tightly against his bulge.

"You've been such a good mommy."

God the way you could feel your body responding made you hate that he was a villain.

"'M not-" You gasped as he did his fingers into your thighs. "His mom."

"You sure about that? I know how much you care about him. Always rushing to him when he’s cranky, never taking any days off. You make sure he's a happy little baby and you take such good care of his daddy. Isn't that's what mommies do?"

A moan slipped through your lips, "Stop."

"Are you sure? It seems like your having such a good time," he teased, sliding his hand to find your wetness.

Your body jerked involuntarily. He wasted no time tearing off your layers. Your determination quickly fading.

"I'm gonna take such good care of you," he pushed a finger in to your warmth.

You shivered at the sensation. Before you could register his actions there was another digit. He skillfully maneuvered his fingers to prep walls.

"What a tight like cunt," The man cooed. "So perfect and pretty. Just waiting for me to claim."

You gasped as he curled his fingers in you. Tears of pleasure pricking your eyes.

"Atta girl, I think you're ready to take daddy's cock."

You shouldn't be surprised when you saw how absolutely hung your boss is. There was no way the whole thing would fit inside of you.

Without hesitation All Might slowly began to press inside of you. The head of his cock already made it feel like you were tearing.

"Wait wait wait," You cried. "Too big."

He paused, reassuring you, "I know you can do it baby. You're okay."

You shook your head violently.

With a sloppy squelch he withdrew. He disappeared momentarily, give you much need time to breathe. Then he was back and you felt a cool, slick fluid rub against you. He applied a generous amount of lube knowing full well that if he played his cards right you'd happily be his forever.

Regardless there was still a painful pressure as he forced himself deeper.

"You're doing so good, taking me so well."

He was slowly increasing the speed off his hips. All you could manage was incoherent whines as his momentum bounced you back and forth.

"Toshi, Toshi," You panted.

"I don't think so baby girl," he slapped your thigh. "You know what I want to hear."

You couldn't be rational, not when he was pounding into you. All you knew was pleasure in this moment. How could you not give the man what he wanted when he was fucking you dumb.

"Mmm daddy, hurts so good."

"Ah- fuck yeah. I knew you were a little pain slut. You want me to fuck you like a whore and then treat you like my little princess?"

You nodded, gasping for air.

"You've been such a good little mommy, I think you deserve this little treat huh?"

You didn't respond, stubbornly refusing to tell the man what he was desperate to hear.

He shifted to a painfully slow pace as he would pull almost completely out just to slam back into your abused whole.

"And here I thought you wanted to cum, I can always stop here, finish myself later-"

"No! No no no, don't stop."

"Then repeat after me: I'm such a good mommy."

As you stayed silent until he began to move at a snails pace. So close to losing your high.

"O-kay, okay, I-I've been a good mom-mommy," You cried tried to buck against the giant.

And just like that your boss was pushing you back to the edge of an orgasm. You were sobbing from pleasure and frustration.

"I know,” He growled. “Fucking good girl, taking care of our baby while daddy's working. You're gonna look so pretty knocked up. All glowing and swollen. Bet your tits are gonna look so pretty when they get full. Gotta keep you stuffed with my cum so our little boy can have a sibling."

[irontragedyreview]

I remember that last year when the war and the first clashes began there were a lot of analyzes that said and justified why bk should be there with Izuku saving Tomura. The point was that even throughout the previous year and recent episodes of bk against AFO, this situation would have been stupid (I won’t deny that even Horikoshi can throw some shit to give more spotlight to bk, it would not be the first time), but there is no a real reason for bk to want to save Tomura, because in the manga it was never shown that he thought about villians or even heroes society. I say this as someone who is not entirely satisfied with how the situations between the heroes and villains were raised because even if characters like Izuku, Ochako and Shoto demonstrated to have a broader vision on the subject, their situations are also made as exceptional cases that don’t encompass the rest, I would have liked Horikoshi to have been more about Izuku's thoughts and society in his solo arc that was abruptly cut off by the power of friendship, I think it would have been more interesting.

But returning to the topic of bk, Horikoshi proposed to the character how to grow from the shit that he was and be a hero more similar to Izuku, about the fact of making a sacrifice more importing than the victory, he supposedly achieved that when he "sacrificed" himself in his first fight with Shigaraki and even with ShigaAfo, I also don't think it was innocent that his fight and moment had been with AFO, who is for most readers the villain who isn’t proposed for redemption, bk doesn't have to make a self-criticism of the society of heroes or their corruption if he fights against AFO because society and readers in general do not see him as someone redeemable or a victim of it (debatable considering AFO's backstory). However, the fight was the easiest to resolve without too much moral fight, an AFO already in its last moments and irredeemable, a moment of easy spotlight that leaves no gray spots, that doesn’t happen to Izuku, who until these last moments has repeated that Tomura is still human and that his story matters, Midoriya in this last chapter is the second person to approach Tenko at the risk of disintegrating, the only other person who did so was Tenko's mother, and he also told him that he wasn’t going to let him go and he was there. There is a great comparison for me Horikoshi never developed with bk, bk had to learn that everyone deserves respect, Izuku despite everything always understood compassion, we could see this with Gentle, we could see his thoughts in the war saying If perhaps everything had been different and he would have tried to understand the villains, it’s something he had to learn but he never left aside compassion.

Went on twitter to look at people takes on the newest chapter. Instead getting lots of BkDk people screaming it should have been Deku and 'Kacchan'...

Why did I go on there again?

[haleigh-sloth]

I've felt for a while that Deku is like the Tohru to Shigarakis Akito lol. I feel like MHA and Fruits Basket have so much in common. I love that Deku has met all these people that need help and he is able to be there for them. But kinda like Tohru, he sacrifices his own wellbeing too much and he needs to accept help from others. I also love that characters like Todoroki are similar to Yuki. They receive help from Deku but then grow on their own as well and become a positive force to help others.

!!!!! This comparison has been in my head for a very long time, yeah.

I think that's what turns people off to Midoriya as a protag because he's far more similar to a freaking shojo female lead than a shounen male lead aks;gaskgn Personally I find that both hilarious and great but not everybody feels that way lol.

There are people who hate it because he's not their tough guy kick-ass tough exterior protag, and people who hate it because he's not as complex as the villains..or something along those lines.

Sometimes the protagonist halo of "selfless to a fault" is just who the character is. Either you like the trope or you don't, but trying to make it into some awful crime against the manga is stupid imo and it's better just to admit it's not a trope you like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But tbh I do find it interesting that ✨for some reason✨ it's perfectly fine for Tohru to have that protag halo and people receive it super well in Fruits Basket but god forbid Midoriya have the same type of characterization and because of this specific trope played into him he's just so god awfully written 🙄. What's the difference between the two characters and genre? Lol we'll be up all night trying to figure that out.

No but seriously. I 100% get the comparisons to Naruto and I've made them myself, but I find much more in common with a manga like Fruits Basket, as you said. Especially because much like BNHA, Fruits Basket covers dark topics that can be icky to think about, it covers different reactions and victims, it talks about forgiveness and resentfulness and family dynamics and relationships, connections, bonds, all of that stuff. BNHA covers interpersonal dynamics with much more detail like Fruits Basket. You can go back to early chapters, look at the characters that are in the forefront of the conflict of the endgame and see exactly why each pair of characters was matched up together.

Also you've completely opened my eyes to the Shouto|Yuki comparison. God you're so right. I've mentioned this being one of the things I liked about Shouto's healing so much but he's one of the few characters who has almost complete independence in his healing and his choices to move forward. I love a dynamic where someone is so damn helpless that they're depending on someone else's kind heart to survive, and I'm getting that with the villains, but Shouto himself is a breath of fresh air.

Tomura really is like Akito, where he fights his salvation over and over and over and rejects any implication that someone may want better for him and is just lost in self-hatred to the point that it's going to swallow him-----up until the very last second. Yeah, that's him, and Akito. It's also crazy comparing it because Tohru and Akito didn't interact much to each other, and all they had to go off of was the butterfly effects their actions had on each other and how everything they did eventually reached the other and that's how that connection was strong enough by the end for Akito to accept help. Sounds very familiar to me. Man, wild.

I said I wanted that scene with Rin and Tohru recreated with Tomura and Izuku and I mean that, but I do think Akito and Tohru are more similar a dynamic to the BNHA bunny and cat duo.

Also this is what I mean by BNHA has boiled down to "I can fix him" being the answer LOL

"I (Izuku, Shouto, Ochacko) can fix him (Tomura, Touya, Toga)" 💀

Fruits Basket was very much like that also with pretty much no irony at all 😂

[violetlunette]

BNHA’s Failure of Story Build-up

Okay, so I struggled to figure out how to start this, so this took a while, but I’m here now. So! Let’s talk about “build-up” and how the Main story of BNHA failed to do that.

*BNHA Spoilers

*BNHA Critical

*Ranty opinions

*Long Post

So, what does build-up mean in the context of a story? Basically it’s the material needed for plot points and character development to pay off and impact the readers most effectively. The build-up is important to build tension and emotions otherwise, scenes fall flat and makes the readers confused rather than invested. Without build up, plot twists and emotional scenes don’t work as the writer failed to set things up.

For instance, In the Lord of the Rings, Boromir’s betrayal hits hard for many because the story did its job of setting up the event. We know that Boromir wants to save Gondor and his people and believes the ring will allow him to do so. Every time he mentions Gondor, we hear the desperation in his voice and his heartbreak. However, we also see him training Merry and Pippin and then playing with them. We see how he empathized with the hobbits' heartbreak when Gandalf died, demanding Aragon give them a chance to grieve. So when the betrayal came and he tried to steal the ring, it broke our hearts. And then there’s his death!

BNHA doesn’t have a lot of moments like that because it rarely does any build-up. It just introduced characters out of the blue, then acts like they were a big deal when they just were. it was more, hello, goodbye, oh, I’m dead now. And the publishers seem to realize this as they tend to send all the build up to side materials like Vigilantes and Team Up Missions, which is a huge writing failure that I’ll get to later.

Here, I will focus on three plot points and why they failed to hit the mark.

I did a poll—albeit, a poorly made one as I had no idea what I was doing--a while ago asking five questions;

1: Did you feel that Class 1-A had the second family vibe, particularly with Izuku?

2: What were you thinking when Izuku left UA?

3: How did you feel when Class 1-A came to bring Izuku back?

4: How did you feel about Midnight’s death? (And did you read only the main manga, or the sides as well?)

5: What were your thoughts about Kurogiri’s reveal?

The first three are connected as it’s focused on Class 1-A’s bond.

First off, I don’t think anyone was sad when Izuku left U.A. as the manga didn’t develop the school very well. We saw very few classes and didn’t get to know the teachers, or anything to connect us there, so when Izuku left we didn’t feel the devastation.

(I’d show a comparison of giving life to a school, but the only one I can think of is in HP, but I know the pain is still too painful for people for me to do that.)

But you know what, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the bond between class 1-a and the lack thereof.

The story tries to play up that everyone in class 1-A and their teachers have a special bond with one another, but it’s just not there. Why? Because despite being drawn together, we don’t see them interacting and connecting. Don’t get me wrong, they’re nice to one another, and there are some sweet moments, like Ochako being considerate of Tsuyu’s sensitivity to the cold. They get along, but showing characters just being nice to each other isn’t enough. We need to see them talk and connect.

Look at Hizashi and Aizawa’s relationship; they have less than 30 scenes where they actually interact with each other together in the entire manga, yet they have one of the strongest relationships in the entire series. (No, seriously; surprised me too, but it really is just around 30. Go back and see. Oh, and keep in mind I said INTERACTING, not just sitting together or being in the same area.) So, why do they work to the point where they are one of the most popular couples in fandom? Simple. It’s not quantity, it’s quality. In every scene they’re together Mic acts, and Aizawa responds. There’s a back and forth between them. Even when Mic ignores him, Aizawa is responding to that action. It’s simple, but it creates a bond.

Class 1-a doesn’t do that, at least not as much, and not with everybody. The majority of them especially don’t react to Izuku. There’s a comment or a line, but that’s it.

That being said Izuku does has a connection with half the class; his best friends, Tenya and Ochako, his rival Todoroki, his childhood bully and maybe friend Bakagou, and Yuga, who attempted to reach out to his dorm neighbor. Adding to that there are a few Izuku is friendly with such as Tsuyu, Mineta, Tomoyoki, and Eijiro, but that’s it. Izuku is never shown to even have a conversation with Toru, Rikido, Mezo, Mina, or anyone outside the ones above.

Izuku has a connection to a few characters but not his whole class. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way;

Now some of you may be wondering, why does this matter? Simple. The story says it matters.

When Izuku leaves UA, it’s supposed to be heartbreaking. The audience is supposed to feel sad when Izuku goes off on his own and leaves his class behind, but they didn’t. Instead, they were excited!

Everyone was happy that Izuku left school and was going “vigilante.” True, some felt bad that Izuku was leaving a few people behind (Inko, Tenya, Ochako, Shoto, and Bakgou) but overall, no one cared that Izuku was leaving his classmates.

When Izuku leaves UA and leaves letters explaining the truth, they didn’t feel sad. Most were wondering, “Wait, why is Izuku telling them about OFA?”

This is another moment that was played as a big deal, but it wasn’t. Aside from when Bakagou threw a fit about Izuku “lying to him” there was never any scene that showed that Izuku felt bad for keeping his secret from anyone. Plus, there was nothing to gain or lose from relieving the secret. For all the emotional weight there, Izuku might as well have revealed his favorite color, or that he slept with an All Might plushy.

Then later in the manga, when Class A came to bring Izuku back and theses are the results;

It varied, but only 3 out of 20 wanted Izuku back. The majority either didn’t care or was annoyed. This was supposed to be a big emotional moment where our hearts are breaking and yearning, “yes! Please take him home!” and yet, most of use were the opposite.

The manga plays all this as a big emotional battle, but except for a few people, no one felt the emotion. At least not the ones the manga wanted readers to feel. They didn’t want him to go back to U.A. They wanted to see more of Izuku’s solo adventures. And why? Because the manga neglected to build the relationships needed for that to pay off. (The relationships needed to especially be strong here, as it was battling against the concept of “vigilante Izuku.”)

Contrast this to when Izuku left All Might;

Izuku and All Might’s relationship is the most in-depth and developed relationship in the entire manga (FIGHT ME), and why? Because the story took time to develop it. We saw them interacting, we saw them learn and grow from each other, we saw them connect, and we saw how much they came to love each other as father and son. So when Izuku left to keep All Might safe, when we saw the bento box be rejected and fall, our hearts broke. And the angst part of us aside, most of the readers wanted All Might and Izuku to reunite and be together. We didn’t feel that way for Izuku and Class 1-A. If it was just Tenya, Ochako, Shoto, Bakagou, and maybe Aizawa, that would be a different story. Those relationships were built over the story (though they kinda drifted in recent chapters).

The next part where BNHA fails with its build-up is with Midnight’s death. When I asked about Midnight’s death, the results varied, but the gist was that people were more upset about how Midnight’s death was handled than her actual death.

Not one person out of twenty who only read the main manga was sad that Midnight died. Why? Because Midnight was just a side character you saw once in a while if you just read the main. To anyone who read just the main manga, what do you know about Midnight? Okay, we know she’s fully embraced her sexual liberty and that she dotes over youth, but what else? Did you know that outside of her hero persona she is a woman who dotes on cute things and adores children like puppies? Did you know that because of her costume in high school, a law was made stating that heroes had to cover a certain amount of skin? Did you know that she was one of Aizawa and Hizashi’s best friends? Did you know that she’s been raising a cat that Aizawa gave her to take care of? Did you know that she texts Aizawa daily with pictures of said cat and that those pictures are one of the few things to make him genuinely smile? Did you know that, despite popular belief, it was MIDNIGHT who got Aizawa into teaching at U.A.? No. If you read just the main manga and weren’t spoiled by Tumblr or fanfics, you didn’t even know any of that. Hell, you were probably just confused why Hizashi and Aizawa were so broken over her death. And why? Because all the information I mentioned was in a side series, along with a good portion of Midnight’s character. In BNHA vigilantes Midnight plays a huge role and interacts with several characters. It’s where we learn about her—and sadly, there’s little to no payoff. The payoff is in BNHA where her death fails to make an impact. We don’t see her making a connection with anybody in the main series, so when we see Mina and the others crying over her, the hit meant to be delivered isn’t there. The audience is meant to fill in the blanks as to why Mina was sad when we never saw her have any one-on-one time with Midnight. Obviously, Midnight is the first dead body of someone they know, but what else? Of all the people who died at the hospital raid, Midnight’s death should have affected people the most as she was the one around since the beginning and had a connection to the main characters. But it didn’t. Do you know who’s death did affect the audience more? Twice, one of the villains. People felt worse for Twice’s death than Midnight’s. Why? One; we saw it happen. Two; we got to know Twice as a person. Three; the drama was built up. We saw Twice opening up and reaching out to Hawks who we knew was a spy. We saw their friendship blossom, and when Hawks killed him, it was heart-wrenching. Plus, it’s an important story point as well as an important shift in Hawk’s character arc. Twice’s death had meaning—Midnight’s didn’t. Midnight died happened off-screen and again, everything that would connect readers to her was in side materials. Her death didn’t matter in the story. Midnight died just because someone the readers were familiar with needed to die. And, yes the argument could be made that her death was personal to the kids, but not really. Any teacher could have been killed and it would have had the same effect. The manga failed with the build-up, emotionally and for the story thus it failed Midnight’s death and failed her character.

Speaking of death, let’s move on to Kurogiri. Now, this one wasn’t a poll, however, they wrote in their answers and most people seemed to like the twist.

But here’s the thing; where’s the build-up in the main story? No really, think about it. We know that Aizawa and Hizashi lost a friend in the past, but there was nothing to hint that Kurogiri was their lost friend or even related. Hell, in the main manga we’re not even told what Oboro’s quirk was, so there was no way to hint that these two were the same person. Except maybe the hair.

But okay. Let’s say that the hair was enough build-up, plot-wise. What emotionally? How did the emotions hit?

Well, to anyone who just read the main manga the emotional turmoil came from Aizawa and Hizashi’s reactions, not the fact that Kurogiri was Oboro. Why? Because—and say it with me—the emotional buildup was in the side materials. And here, there’s no excuse for it, at all. The back story could have been put in Chapter 253 when Aizawa and Hizashi were driving to Tartarus. It would fit naturally as Oboro had hinted at and it makes sense that Aizawa would be thinking about his past with Cloud boy as they were going to see “him.” It wouldn’t have slowed the story because A) Aizawa is a well-loved character people want to know more about. B) IT’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY. It tells us about Aizawa’s character, showed us who Oboro is, and helps introduced what the nomus are. Again, no reason why it’s not in the main manga.

The only reason the reveal was so emotional was that we saw how it tore up Aizawa and Hizashi, to who the audience had a connection. That’s the only reason this worked. (That and anime fans know how to predict certain tropes. For instance, a girl is bathing and a guy wants to shower. What happens next? Every anime fan knows.)

There are other things that the manga failed to build up for the emotional impact as well such as Eri being important enough for Aizawa to think of in the middle of a fight when losing his leg, Eri restoring Mirio’s quirk and more. And let's not even get started on Edgeshot in the latest chapter where--no. No, I need more time. Too much stupidity, I just--gfhgfh.

In conclusion, if there are any writers please understand two things;

1: Anything that plays a major role in the story, plot or character-wise, needs to be properly built up.

2: If a reader has to go outside of the series they’re reading to understand important plot points or to get the emotional impact you desire, then you failed as a writer. A story automatically fails if you have to depend on supplementary details to get the whole story. Supplementary materials are supposed to add to a story, not fill in your plot holes, or make up for the leg work that was supposed to be in the main story.

Thank you for your time and especially thanks to those who took the poll.