#juxtaposition (Bakugou)

[eris-snow]

6. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞?

Tags: bakugou x fem!reader, juxtaposition, angst, swearing, toaster shenanigans, bakusquad shenanigans

A yellow thread like a soulmate’s cord: So similar, but so different.

Katsuki hates people.

It doesn’t matter if he appreciates a small small small minority of them, he’s fully obligated to bring his thoughts to the grave because Mina and Denki had broken the toaster for the hundredth time, Kirishima’s way too positive for someone going for therapy and Izuku breathes too hard.

“Why do I have to buy the stupid toaster?” He lashes, sweat building dangerously in his hands. “I did nothing!”

“We haven’t hung out properly in a long while, man! Think of it as a…a get-together!” Eijiro told him, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

He’s testing his luck.

Ashido marches ahead of the both of them while playing thumb war with Denki. “And plus-hey!-you went feral when we got the previous previous toaster—Mina, stop it!” Denki chimes in, wrestling with Ashido.

“Who buys a VHS Player toaster? HOW DID YOU EVEN FIND A VHS PLAYER FOR A FUCKING TOASTER.”

“Mhm, uh-huh, yeah, yes, you see?” Ashido responds calmly. “This is why you’re needed.”

Behind them, Eijiro frowns. “I thought that was the 5th toaster, not the—”

“Finish that sentence,” He grits out. “I dare you.”

So yeah, borderline, Katsuki hates people.

He especially hates them when they start asking questions.

“You’ve been a ghost lately, disappearing right after class. What’s going on with you?” Eijiro changes the subject, and looks at him with curious red eyes.

Real, fuckin’ annoying questions.

Katsuki’s brain goes uhhh, and he shrugs off the red-haired’s shoulder to buy time.

“None of your business. If I’m busy, I’m busy. Deal with it.”

His friend gives him an inquisitive look, but Denki’s groan of defeat snaps both of them out of it, and Eijiro backs off. “Whatever you say, man.”

There’s an old street piano that lives right outside the mall. Katsuki’s surprised it’s still there, even after the plaza was stripped bare and renovated, the instrument sat there, creaking and lonely. What a contrast to the shiny, modern building it sat so innocently next to.

Out of nowhere, a splitting headache rips into his skull, and he has to grab the nearest thing (Eijiro) to keep himself from toppling. What the hell?

All he can see is that goddamn piano, multiplying and filling his vision. It flashes, disappears, and then reappears like it’s trying to decide whether it should be there or not. Someone calls his name, but it’s far away. Suddenly, he’s 7 again, showing off to all his admirers how wide his fingers could reach, how beautifully he could play the instrument.

All eyes are on him, and he feels like he’s a third person watching his younger self smile, shift aside to let someone else join him on the seat—

“Bakugou?”

A blink, two blinks, and the image is wiped.

“Bakugou?” Eijiro’s hand is on his shoulder and all eyes are on him. It takes him a second to realise that he’s gripping Eijiro’s arm, and another to unclench his hand. He leans away, and grits out low. “I’m fine.”

“You’re a liar,” Denki refutes, expression worried. “You okay, Bakubro?”

“Headache,” He supplies, gaze cutting back to the piano. It’s still sitting there harmlessly, like it hadn’t given him an existential crisis 5 seconds ago. He filters through his memories, frowning when he grasps at straws. He can’t remember ever playing a duet with someone.

Stalking ahead, he shoots a scowl at the inanimate object and enters the mall. “I wanna be in and out. Let’s go.”

He knows his friends’ expressions. They’re all concerned, because for some reason, Katsuki’s word isn’t good enough for them.

Whatever, it’s not like he hasn’t had lapses like that before.

A store full of green catches Katsuki’s eyes, and suddenly, all he can see is ferns and flowers stuffing the entrance of the little shop greeting the visitors of the mall.

They come back to the dorms with a new, normal toaster, and Katsuki gets a desk cactus.

—

Katsuki’s going deaf. He knows the drill yadda yadda, he’ll be deaf by 35 yadda yadda his quirk is an ass and so is he. However, he prides himself in knowing his eyesight is perfect and better than average. So he really, really hates it when they try to fuck shit up for him by making him see things that aren’t there.

His jacket hanging on the edge of the couch when he was visiting his parents over winter break. (It’s in an old storage unit his parents rented out since he can’t fit it anymore)

A cherry blossom tree siting right outside his old middle school. (It’s in the dead of the winter.)

Random street pianos, showing up at every turn.

And every time he shakes his head and blinks, the objects disappear. He doesn’t even want to get started with his dreams. Scenes from the war have been ending abruptly, cutting off and throwing him into moments of his life he never knew he lived through.

It’s been all he can even think about lately, and his zone-out sessions have earned him a slap to the head by his mother and daily check-ups via text from the shit broccoli nerd and Shitty Hair. He thinks about it, because it’s the same feeling when he hangs out with you. Your presence is so difficult to detect sometimes, he has to steels himself from blasting your face off because he didn’t notice you sitting right in front of him.

He has an internship with Jeanist and 10 articles to write for Hero History. He cannot afford to go crazy now.

—

“Katsuki.”

Katsuki’s eyes open. He spins around and finds a memory, ripped straight out from his life. It’s like watching a scene directly out of a play. His old, junior high classroom, with its rusted cabinets and creaky seats.

His younger self stops, and looks back, obviously annoyed. “What do you want, extra? Who the fuck are you?”

A girl stands there with her face blurred and clipped out, but for some reason, he knows her expression is one of shock and disbelief.

“Katsuki, don’t you remember me?”

Bakugou jolts awake. The sound of someone’s voice he can’t quite hear the words off ring in his mind, and he clenches his shirt as his heart pounds so loud it feels like it’s echoing throughout the entire room. Sweat is everywhere, clinging to his skin like a layer of dust, and a glance at his alarm clock shows 02:31. He lets out a loud groan, glaring at his empty ceiling. He’s definitely not going to sleep anytime soon. With sweat clinging to every part of his body, he swings his legs off and heads to the door. He needs a shower.

And coffee.

—

“Weird dreams? Seeing items not there?” Recovery Girl looks at him thoughtfully. “And you’re positive it’s not a Quirk?”

“That’s what I said,” Katsuki replied through gritted teeth. He’d have known if it was a Quirk. Even some Quirks weren’t touch-based, it was hard to be put under a quirk undetected. This was something else. “If it’s not doing you any physical harm, then my Quirk can’t help you with that. The best prescription I can give you is neuroleptic medications and sedatives for a good night's sleep. Other than that, try to take your mind off training for a while and take the rest of the day off. I suspect that you’re overworked.”

With Recovery Girl’s advice in mind, Katsuki comes out of the infirmary feeling less sane than he originally felt. Overworked? As if. The most eventful thing he experienced this month was him buying a fucking toaster.

With a heavy grunt, he opens the library door and ignores the hall just down the corridor. You’re probably on vacation, or visiting relatives. No point in going there.

If he’s barred from training the rest of today, then he could kill time by learning something new. If he wants to be a top hero, he’s got to be able to communicate. That means in both Japanese and English. If he can read more English books, he’d surely be more fluent in—

He stops short. In front of him, is a yellow thread. It curves and winds and leads him all the way to the back of the library, slung over seats and tables of the nearly isolated room. He’s heard about cringy soulmate manga from Mina, the one where the pinkies of two individuals are connected by a red string. This one, however, is yellow, and looks way thinner, like a spider’s skein.

Yellow.

That was your favourite colour.

Intrigued, he follows it all the way, and when he stops to see what’s at the end of it, he finds an essay shelved in the wrong way buried behind the dusty books that haven’t been borrowed in a long, long time. He almost misses it, but when he does find it, he takes it off the shelf and eyes the title wearily.

Phenomenon: Reset

It’s clearly not a published book, it’s bonded by stapler bullets and it’s written on the old U.A. foolscap that was outdated years ago. It’s more like a log then a book, a diary, even. Katsuki slaps himself mentally. What the fuck is he doing? Playing detective for his delusions? This could be a prank for all he knows, and the yellow skein his eyes playing tricks on him. This was—

‘Not a Quirk, causes people to become nearly invisible to the eye.’

Katsuki blinks rapidly.

Hah?

‘Day 3: I tried to talk to him the other day. It’s like we never met. He asked me if I was a new transfer student. I’ve been in his class for over a year.’

‘Day 4: He forgot our conversation the previous day. The teacher missed my name during attendance and called my parents up today. What’s going on?’

Katsuki skims through the rest of the days, and with each passing page, the handwriting gets more and more illegible.

‘Day 7: I feel like a ghost. My parents still remember me, thank goodness. I don’t know if I could handle it if they didn’t.’

‘Day 16: If this is some sick joke, I hope it ends already. What the hell? It’s like it’s a reset for me every single day. Every time I try to tell someone about it the person straight up forgets me the next day. This isn’t funny anymore.’

‘Day 70: He sees me! I don’t know how this worked but he sees me! I tried probing for more, but I can’t believe it! I’m so glad…it’s been so long since someone looked at me in the eye.”

‘Day 71: He remembers! Honestly, I don’t care that everyone else isn’t noticing me anymore, just having one person is enough.”

‘Day 121: I told him about my situation, and thankfully he believed me. He said he had a feeling about it, something about a watch and the stupid tree in the forest we used to sleep under. He said it kept popping up everywhere and it was driving him crazy.’

‘Day 235: I found an article that’d tried to be covered up. One of the government’s mistakes, back when Quirks were new. It had something to do with a science experiment gone wrong. It might be a lead.’

It goes on and on, from red hairs to dead ends, but through it, Katsuki got a gist of the situation. A science experiment from 70 years ago was conducted to see if a Quirk could be transferred forcibly from one person to another. That Quirk was named Undetected, one of the less destructive Quirks of that time and among the few who agreed to proceed with this experiment.

It might be possible in the modern day, but humans back then were far too uneducated to be dealing with Quirks that were still relatively new. The experiment went wrong, obviously, and it resulted in a glitch of the person’s Quirk and the region the experiment was being carried out in. Victims ended up forgotten with a presence so low that they were basically invisible. Back when this article was still new, there had been questions raised about it, whether these Quirks were more of a curse than a blessing, but with time this phenomenon ‘faded out of existence’.

No one could prove it, and the victims were chalked up to accidents or lunatics. Not many were affected anyway, and almost as quickly as the rumour made headlines, it disappeared entirely from the internet.

Katsuki’s blood runs cold.

Is this what was going on with you?

He leafs through the paper and skips to the last day that was catalogued.

‘Day 435: He said that I looked really pale, and told me that he’d found a way to save me. I was really glad, I was really. I only wish that we could have done it before it was too late.’

Katsuki flips the page over to find nothing else written and almost crumples the paper up in frustration.

He needs to see you. Now.

[marimeeko]

I just spotted this all assembled on a fb post like this...

And I realized, all of the bad memories in Katsukis head were in this dingy, dark sepia filter, but once he envisions the river and Izuku holding out his hand and tries to take it?

BAM. Full, vibrant color. Blues are bluer, greens are greener. Light surrounds them.

[nikxierocks]

Something that I really love abt tdbk is the juxtaposition between how bkg and tdrk present themselves.

Todoroki never loses his cool. He’s always calm, always stoic, always has this neutral expression on his face. It makes so that no one even realizes he’s a sassy little shit cause he’s always so composed.

Bakugou, on the other hand, always loses his cool. Everyone scolds him for being too quick to anger, too foul-mouthed, and too mean.

No wonder Todoroki drove Bakugou crazy. Bakugou was probably one of the first people to realize Todoroki can be just as out of pocket as him and was pissed that no one else realized it.

I can definitely see them getting together Bakugou dedicated himself to making Todoroki lose him composure and it worked a little too well.

[kingkatsuki]

Warnings: 18+, spanking.

Bakugou is constantly slapping your ass around the house. He just can’t help himself, but he swears blind it’s your fault.

“Ain’t my fault you walk around looking all pretty and shit.”

The reply was always the same when you’d give him that look as you’re preparing dinner or fresh out of the shower with that soft, dewy glow against your skin as his hand comes down against your rear.

Soft taps around the house as you both pottered around the kitchen making coffee, neither of you truly awake as you left the blaring overhead light off in favour of the light streaming in from the bedroom. The soft darkness comforting as you waited for the water to boil, leaning into Bakugou’s taller frame as his hands moved to the swell of your ass. Squeezing gently as he rest his chin on the top of your head, wondering whether your jobs were really worth leaving this domestic bliss.

The evenings where you were too tired to speak, the weight of heavy work days taking their toll as you lay on top of his chest, his arm around you as he drums his fingers against the curve of your ass.

Giving your ass a playful tap whenever you were in his path on the way to the bathroom or the bedroom, a cheeky smirk on his face as you’d look up from your bundle of laundry with a scrunched nose and a “Katsuki,” the way his name slipped from your mouth after always had his heart beating a little faster. He swears he does it just for your reaction after, but there’s no denying he enjoys it just as much.

But there’s a juxtaposition between Bakugou’s soft touches and the harder ones, something that indicates his need for you whenever that fire burns in his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbing as he gives your ass a firm smack, his palm lingering against it as he squeezes roughly, the warmth from his hand mingling with the slight sting he created.

“Kats-“ You cried out as he rut his hips against your ass, allowing you to feel his need for you tenting against his pants as he bent you over the counter.

“What?” He replied gruffly, hands splayed against your ass as he massaged the soft skin. Such a stark contrast to his calloused palms.

His hands sneak beneath your skirt now, feeling the blazing heat warm against your skin as he gives a harder smack. The sound echoing around your kitchen as you cry out, the skin tingling as his hand lingers against the spot he hit.

“You like that huh?” He smirks as he gives another smack to your ass, hitting the same spot as the skin began to darken.

Hooking a finger beneath your panties to bunch them between your cheeks to give him more access. Tugging the fabric as it caught against your clit, leaning back to see the debauched position you were in before giving you another harsh smack.

“Fuckin’ hell,” He groans to himself at the sight of you laid out for him.

His warm palms almost soothing as they massage your tingling skin, his thumb brushing the crotch of your panties to feel how wet the fabric is from barely even touching you.

“You’re so pretty for me.” His fingers dip into the soft skin, blunt nails digging against the marks to pull more sweet sounds from your lips as he palms the fat of your ass.

His hands splayed against your cheeks to spread you open so he can see the affect he’s had on you, the way your slick glistens against your skin as he tugs his pants down just enough to free his aching cock. His fingers curling into the fabric of your panties as he pulls them down, allowing them to rest around the swell of your ass as he moves a hand to wrap around his cock. Fisting himself as he slaps the leaking tip of it against your cheeks, watching you grind back against his touch in desperation.

“All mine.” He almost growls as he pushes inside your tight heat, palms splayed against your ass to keep you spread open for him as he starts a rough pace.

Bakugou will always blame you for having such a nice ass, but really he just can’t help himself.

[pansexualkiba]

"Midoriya, I need help." Todoroki requested, gliding into the room.

"What's wrong, Todoroki?" Midoriya asked, looking up from Uraraka's nails.

"I am in love with Bakugou." Todoroki sighed, slumping into Mina's beanbag chair.

"Say no more, Todoroki." Midoriya halted Todoroki's thoughts as he got up, "I'll be right back." And with that, Midoriya ran to his room.

A few moments later, a polite knock came at the door.

"I'll get it!" Aoyama sang, rushing to meet the door. When he opened it, however, he froze in shock.

Bakugou was standing there.

Bakugou broke out into a very normal grin, and the juxtaposition of it being Bakugou's face did not assuage anyone.

"So here's my idea," Midoriya said, it was Midoriya, why did he look like that, what in the fuck, "I'll dress up like Bakugou and we'll fake date so that you realize how awful of a boyfriend Bakugou would be! Foolproof!"

"It seems sound." Todoroki agreed.

"Are we just. Not addressing that you have a perfect Bakugou cosplay just ready to go whenever?" Uraraka asked.

[doodlegirl1998]

I do love send my thoughts here. And I was thinking about the trope the fandom loves to use in fics. "Izu is kidnaped" which I guess could work

But back at the day when Izu solo arc begins...many people were throwing jokes (if it wasnt "hahaha Inko or Ochako will beat him up" then it was "he is going to be kidnapee) and the butt of the joke is Izu needing be saved by friends....

But...BK was kidnaped and people use this to shit on Ayoama...

If Izu kidnap happened...then yeah it would serve to "look at BK saving Izu. He cares" or another joke.

What is my point here? I just dont get the hype for "Izu is kidnaped"?

Hi @mikeellee 👋,

Thank you :) I like answering your asks and hearing your thoughts too.

I think the hype for this trope in fanfics is so that the characters have an opportunity to show how much they (mainly class 1A and Dadzawa) care for Izuku and what lengths they would go to to get him back. It's largely a wish fulfillment story thread relating to the wish to see Class 1A as a family.

However, saying that, it is a very weird juxtaposition to see how fans leapt to dunk on Izuku or make jokes during his expense during the solo arc. Saying things like,

"I bet Todoroki is going to be so mad Izuku didn't confide in him about OFA then ran away. Right when Todoroki needs him after finding out about Dabi too. What a fake friend. 💔."

"I hope Bakugou tells Izuku off and beats some sense into him - how could you leave your soulmate behind, Deku? 🧡💚"

"I bet Uraraka is going to be so angry at Izuku for leaving her. I hope she yells at him and drags him home to UA for a shower! Stinky boy!"

"I hope we see Inko hit Izuku with her slipper for this! Haha."

None of this is funny to me. Izuku essentially was told flat out by AFO that he is a target of his. Izuku left his friends, his mother and his dream school because he felt they would be in danger by association with him. This decision hurt him immensely to take yet most of the fans fail to see this. Class 1A themselves fail to see this and claim mostly that he is looking down on them, while also allowing Bkg (someone openly hostile to Izuku) to lead them in a fight against him instead of approaching the situation empathetically like a friend would. Ok Hori, who is looking down on who here?

Class 1A, like the fans in their majority, only think of what they as Class 1A want in relation from Izuku, so they beat him down (literally and figuratively) -Bakugou gives a shit apology all about himself then Izuku collapses from exhaustion. And they drag Izuku back to UA.

Contrast with Bakugou's kidnapping - no one in the narrative and few fans outside of it recognise Bakugou's own fault in the situation. They use it to shit on Aoyama instead when;

Aoyama still, regardless of being the traitor, gave Izuku Shoji and Todoroki an opening to save Tokoyami and Bakugou from the LOV.

Bakugou refusing to leave the fight/retreat back to base even when named as a target of the LOV, only aided the LOV's kidnapping of him. Him retreating would have made the LOV's job much harder to kidnap him - if not outright prevented it in the first place.

The LOVs interest (mainly Shigaraki's) was only peaked due to Bakugou acting like a rabid Dog and UA being dumb enough to chain Bakugou up and present him to the press instead of fiegning illness for Bakugou or something.

TLDR- the fandom hype for the trope of "Izuku is kidnapped" is wish fulfilment for Class 1A as a family trope, Dadzawa trope (mostly) and some BkDk fans (those who like to see Bkg as Izuku's knight in shining armor in fics.)

How Bkg and Izuku are treated in their absences from UA (Izuku's solo arc and Bkgs kidnapping) contrasted by both the fandom and the narrative is gross.

Bakugou plays more (indirect) fault in how his kidnapping occurred and it is wrong to use this moment as a way to shit on Aoyama.

Izuku plays less fault in what had occurred and always had good intentions about leaving UA. Class 1A failed to show empathy to him in this situation and the fandom focused on everyone else's possible feelings about the situation rather than Izuku's. Which is sad especially as Izuku is meant to be the MC.

But I can't entirely blame them either... How long has it actually been since we have seen the story give Izuku's feelings any insight?

[barid-bel-medar]

OOF, that's painful. The juxtaposition of Bakugou looking down on Izuku and Cloud's idolization of Sephiroth, the fact that Sephiroth remembers and still goes through with the Remake plan, the fact that it almost feels like Sephuku is trying to convince himself that he's too far gone and that it doesn't bother him... It's all painfully gutting. (It also adds a few undertones towards Sephiroth's obsession with Cloud in the Remake and how much more unhinged he is.)

Sephiku's POV bit was super fun to write. I wanted to show how this world succeeded where the LOV, AFO, even witnessing Katsuki's death failed.

He broke, and he broke in such a fashion that no one can save him.

Not even the people he once cared most in the world.

[deusvervewrites]

I just realized something! When you replied to my ask about HF AFO and Izuku's friends and you said AFO doesn't understand friendship and saving because a hero's job is to fight villains. I just realized that is the exact same thing Bakugo believes. To a juxtaposition. I think im using that right. That could be why he gets kidnapped! What a way to slap him with character development when he realizes that he believes the same thing as the villain who retired All Might. Big brain Deus.

The comparison has been made!

Bakugou is actually a really interesting foil to All For One in other ways as well, most notably both of them require external validation. They need other people to buy into their hype or they fall apart. (Bakugou having a breakdown because Todoroki held back against him, All For One's evil scheme literally being to make everyone hate him)

[eris-snow]

7. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝

Tags: bakugou x fem!reader, juxtaposition, angst, swearing, crying

A life behind the curtain is heaven for some, but for others, it’s utter hell. 

L/n!” Katsuki hollers, ripping the curtain open. “We need to talk—oh.”

Katsuki knows what he sees. He doesn’t like it.

You’re wearing that big hoodie and you’re hiding your face, shivering in a corner with a pack of tissues next to you.

You’re sniffling and shaking like an earthquake hit, and his thoughts immediately go blank.

Uh-oh.

Katsuki has been through a war, died and came back. His heart stopped beating for the love of nachos, and he still can’t handle it when he sees someone cry.

What’s worse is that your breaths are quickening and you’re tearing your hands through your hair as your eyes are shut so tightly he’s afraid they might never open up again.

A tiny sob wrecks your entire body before Katsuki says fuck it and kicks his instincts to gear.

“L/n?” He kneels down, forcing himself to smoothen his tone of its rough edges.

No go. You’re still quivering as frantically as before and he thinks it’s getting worse.

“Y/n, hey—” He reaches out experimentally, but you don’t even flinch at his touch. Nothing he does helps, hell, he’s the worst person to deal with this kind of—

Sunshine.

His mind spat out.

Almost instinctively, his mouth followed suit. “Sunshine.”

To his utter surprise, your head snaps up for him to see your face riddled with tears and snot. Your face says one word: Help.

“Katsuki?” you croke, eyes desperate and breath caught.

He nods, right in front of you. “I’m here.”

Your breath doesn’t slow, but your eyes are on him and he needs to do something. He lets go of the decade-old foolscap and focuses his gaze on you.

“Breathe with me,” he says softly, “I need you to stay with me.”

He works you through the exercise for god knows how long, rubbing circles on your hands and breathing, but it’s finally worth it when your breaths coincide and you look lucid again. It’s especially rewarding when you stop quaking like you’re in a frenzy.

He eases himself on the floor, letting your hands go.

“Better?”

Your nod is shameful, and you can’t bear to look him straight in the eye. You look so embarrassed, hiding your face away and shaking your head like you’ve made a fatal mistake.

“This is—you shouldn’t have seen this,” you finally mutter. “Forget this happened, please—”

“No.” Katsuki’s voice is firm, and it holds such authority that it makes you flinch. “I’m done pretending that whatever the fuck going on is normal. Shit’s been weird, and we’re finally going to talk about it. No diversions, no more secrets.” He grabs the foolscap paper at his side and tosses it to you, eyeing your reaction. “I found this in the library. Seen it before?”

Your silence speaks louder than any words could.

“Thought so. I’ve had a real, shitty week with no fuckin’ sleep and too much coffee to be healthy.” He grits out, hands steaming. He’s fed up, and he has every reason to be after being strung along like an idiot. You’re so frustrating that it’s driving him insane.

“I don’t have a damn clue as to what is going on, but I’m smart enough to know that I’m involved in it. So for the sake of my sanity, tell me what is going on.”

You don’t say anything for a good second. And then, you take a tissue out of the packet beside you, blow your nose, and crumple it up in your hand. You look at him, and you look wrecked. Eyes frost cold, the usual warmth stripped and shredded like a glass shattering on concrete.

“You’ve had a shitty week?” You repeat, voice sharp, enunciating each syllable like the words are foreign to you. It’s such a stark difference from the you that would listen to him earnestly, or reply to his banters ever so snarkily.

“I’m sorry you’ve had a shitty week, Bakugou, and I’m sorry that you’re scarred emotionally because of the war, your kidnapping, and being literally revived on the battlefield. But news flash, everyone probably had a shitty week too! And you don’t see them complaining about it, do you?”

“You wanna know what’s happening? Fine! Where should I start? What about when I found this stupid report, hm? Or that time you told Izuku to take a swan dive off the roof? Oh! How about the day you forgot about me.” You’re practically snarling now, and, oh look, you’re crying again.

“We attended the same piano lessons; best in our academy's and whatever. We skipped stones and traded likes as I listened to you rant obsessively about heroes like a sick puppy dog. You called me Sunshine, you called me your equal. Your ideas, your dreams, your friends, you shared everything with lil’ old me even as we quit music. Where’d you think I know All Might’s successor from?”

“Izuku’s been high profile for a long while now—”

“You told him to suicide because he was Quirkless.” You spit. “I was in that classroom when that happened, the same classroom you told me to get lost in because you didn’t remember me.” You laugh. It’s a bitter, dark, humourless one. “I was so confused. Everyone kept ignoring me and so were you. I kept calling out to you in class and you got so fed up with me, you snapped.”

—

Past (3 years ago): Middle school 2nd year,

“Katsuki.”

The ash blond stopped and looked back, obviously annoyed. “What do you want, extra? Who the fuck are you?”

You looked at him in disbelief, face crumbling as fear, hurt and disbelief seeped into your heart.

“Katsuki, don’t you remember me?”

No. No way. Not you too.

He laughed, low and raspy and god damn mocking that it makes your blood boil. “Who do you think you are, hah? I’ve never seen you in my life. Now get lost—”

“Sunshine, remember? Nuvole Bianche our duet?” You pointed to yourself, getting desperate now. If Katsuki didn’t know you, who would?

“You’re a freak,” He spat, shouldering his bag. “Stay the fuck away from me, creep. Talk to me again, and see what’ll happen.”

You stood there in utter shock, watching as he stalked off with his lackeys who flanked him left, right and back, and in a wave of utter panic you called out to him, just one more time.

But your voice was stolen by the wind, and you didn’t even get a glance as he left you alone in the classroom.

—

Present:

“I couldn’t have known you!” Katsuki’s voice cuts deep, and boy, it stings. ”There’s too many missing holes, someone would have noticed!”

Lashing out is the worst thing you could have done with Katsuki. When you yell, he yells back, and everything escalates until harsh words that can’t be taken back spew from both your lips. You’ve always been good at taking, but it’s a pity that Katsuki finds a way to tear down your mask one way or the other.

You give him a glum smile, the fire in you finally fading as you settle back into your corner.

“If everybody forgets, nobody remembers.”

And because of that, Katsuki’s heart tugs.

Katsuki doesn’t know you. He doesn’t know a thing about your family, have a clue about your past or even how this happened.

So why did he call you Sunshine? Why did he come back and visit you every goddamn day when he has internships, school work, training and so much in between?

Why does he feel like even though he knows nothing about you…

He’s drawn like a moth to a flame to this place just so he can see you again?

You seem to blend a little more into your surroundings as you murmur, no longer shouting but instead coming back to grudging acceptance. “Who am I kidding? You read that catalogue. I’m finished, whether you believe me or not.” You slump down, head tucked in between your knees. “I tried everything.”

“You clearly didn’t.”

You glance up to glare at the blond, opening your mouth to snap back when you catch his eyes.

You’ve forgotten that feeling. That feeling of being really seen, of being heard. That look that you’ve long for the past 3 years…is now the look that is being given by one of the most explosive people on the planet.

Something stirs in your chest but you fight it down. Now isn’t the time for past regrets. Now isn’t the time for feelings.

“You have me now, don’t you?” Katsuki refutes, raising an eyebrow as he swipes the log out of your hands. “For someone who supposedly knew me my entire life, you have balls to underestimate me like that.”

He waves the foolscap in front of your face, a familiar, cocky smirk coiling on his face. “We have alumni, teachers, and I have insane fuckin’ connections. This was written by Invisible Shit and his knight in shining armour? Great.”

“Let’s go find them.”

[gentrychild]

I have a question for chapter 276. The panel shows the Todoroki family except for Endeavor. Why is that?

You're talking about that panel, right?

It's happening in the middle of the war arc, just as the heroes are trying to prevent Shigaraki from making another decaying wave. This page allows to present a juxtaposition between the heroes fighting for their lives and their family members (respectively Shouto's sister, Izuku's mom, Bakugou's mom, Shouto's mom, Shouto's brother and Izuku's dad), who are away, safe, and most of them don't even suspect that nothing is wrong.

Endeavor isn’t shown, either because he is in Jakku, really aware of the incoming apocalypse and right next to Shouto, or because Shouto doesn’t care about him. Your pick!

[todoscript]

Can I request headcanons Separate for Bakugou Shinsou and Kaminari where It's their birthday and they run into their crush who didn't know and they feel bad they would have gotten them a present and they're like, name your price anything you want within reason! So they just take advantage of their offer for a gift of their choice and kiss them being all smug like, happy birthday to me

A/N | I tried getting this out on Shinsou’s birthday since Kaminari’s was also like 2 days before his, but not gonna lie, I took a fat nap that day. So happy belated birthday to Shinsou, Kaminari, and Bakugou.

Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou runs into you during the night, where the day has now wrung dry and he’s about to head off to bed, early as always regardless of how special a day is.

No one really made a commotion about his birthday that day except the Bakusquad, and even they couldn’t get the boy to budge and celebrate with a party or even the candlelit of a cake.

After all, he’s the kind of guy to not give a crap about things like that, saying it’s just another day that marks him a year older, or whatever.

So when he sees you hovering around the door to his room, he’s more than confused.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

You turn to him with a fidgety demeanor, pressing the pads of your fingers together before answering.

“Well, I heard from Mina that today was your birthday…”

“Alright, and?” He doesn’t mean for his voice to come out that harsh.

Bakugou doesn’t want you to make a fuss about it, trying to hurry you along, but it’s also because his heart is palpitating at an abnormal rate with you so close.

You’re the girl of his affections and right now you’re here at the foot of his dorm. 

On his birthday.

Whatever happened for these particular events to align, he’s not sure if he’s grateful for or conflicted.

“I feel kind of bad not knowing about it so I was wondering if there’s anything you wanted, y’know before the day’s over.”

He’s taken aback by your offer at first.

You’d think he’d just outright tell you to give it a rest but he’s actually hesitant, contemplating even.

“Come on, name your price. I can get you food or anything else as long as it’s in my budget!” you tell him.

“Anything?” Bakugou grunts.

He’s never acted on any of his feelings before, opting to just admire you through bristled looks and occasionally treating you a tad bit differently in comparison to everyone else.

That’s when a brazen idea crosses his mind.

You nod, “Mhm! Just name your—”

Your words are suddenly taken right out of your mouth.

Quite literally as Bakugou closes the distance between you with his lips on yours and his hands gripping your arms to keep you still within that moment.

When you two part, you’re left with a searing sensation on your lips, your cheeks flourishing a blush.

You stare at Bakugou who looks back with a smirk yet an equally flushed appearance, hands grasping your wrist to tug you toward him so he can whisper in that gruff voice of his in your ear.

“Happy birthday to me.”

Kaminari Denki

It only seems fitting that a party is thrown to celebrate the birth of Kaminari Denki.

The class arranges a get together at the end of the day, with the common room decorated with streamers, balloons, and large colorful letters hung up reading Happy Birthday Kaminari!

Though everyone is all cheers and fun, you’re still bothered by the fact you never knew it was the boy’s special day today, not hearing about it until the girls told you everyone was decorating the dorms later to surprise him.

So even after the class successfully surprises Kaminari and lights the candles on his delicious cake (courtesy of Satou), you’re grumbling off by yourself on the couch with a slice of the confection in front of you.

The birthday boy sees this and, of course, he does not condone watching the girl he likes be so distraught on his special day.

“Hey, c’mon Y/n, why the long face? It’s my birthday you should be celebrating!” He plants himself right next to you, his arm smoothly hanging above your proximity on the couch

“Oh, sorry, Kaminari. It’s just I can’t believe I was the only one that didn’t know it was your birthday today,” you gripe as your fork trifles around the plate.

“Nah, Y/n, it’s no big deal! There were plenty of people that didn’t know, trust me.”

“Still... I wasn’t able to get you anything.”

You start chewing a piece of cake in your mouth. That’s when something daring strikes Kaminari in the back of the head.

He leans in close, leveling the juxtaposition between you two. “Y’know... there is one thing you could still get me for my birthday.”

“What?” you ask after swallowing the cake. When you look up, your thoughts are rattled by Kaminari settling his lips on yours.

All you do is widen your eyes and let the heat on your cheeks take over. He indulges in the sweet flavor abiding your lips thanks to the sugary icing of the cake, eventually separating to witness the near deer-in-the-headlights look on your face.

What breaks you out of your daze is the way his thumb brushes past and swipes off a bit of frosting he missed from the corner of your lips, bringing it to his mouth to lick off.

“Hm, sweet as I thought,” he teases.

“K-Kaminari!”

You lightly punch his arm before hiding your face in his shoulder. Your skin sears what feels like an abashed steam while the birthday boy chuckles a thanks for the “present.”

Shinsou Hitoshi

Shinsou is the newly admitted student in the hero course and now a resident of Class 2-A.

Being that he’s new around here, no one in the class knows that today is his birthday.

Well, except you.

How you came to get a hold of this information was earlier that morning, when you notice Shinsou’s former classmates from the general education department approach him in the hallways right before he entered the classroom.

They uttered their quick Happy Birthdays to him just as you walked past, much to Shinsou’s chagrin.

He didn’t want the class to dawdle about his birthday, since he’s not very familiar with the other students yet. But having the girl he’s crushed on since last year’s sports festival know this fact gave him mixed feelings.

Especially when you confronted the boy later that afternoon during lunch.

“Shinsou! How come you never told anyone it was your birthday today?” you ask, nudging his arm.

He figures you’d admonish him about it. You were too cheerful of a girl to run past a birthday, no matter how much he didn’t want you to hassle over him.

“I didn’t want anyone fussing about it, is all.” Shinsou asserts it’s better not to rile everyone up about a celebration, notably in front of party animals like Kaminari and Ashido.

“OK… but I still think you should do something, y’know, to make the day special,” you muse off, “Oh hey, I’ll just treat you! Yeah, anything you want is on me!”

Shinsou tightens his lips and hears the red-winged devil whispering from his shoulder.

You’re the girl he likes after all, and with an offer like that, he’s edging into temptation.

“You sure anything?”

“Well... yeah! I mean as long as it’s in my price range.”

“Alright, come here.” Shinsou wiggles his finger to beckon you closer. You comply, leaning in, awaiting his wish into your ear.

However, instead he cups your chin and tilts you forward to connect you to a brief graze of each other’s lips. His other hand brushes a strand of hair hanging by your cheek that he uses as an excuse to hold your face to him.

When you two finally lean away, your fingers touch over your lips, now mildly warm and growing hotter after the exchange.

You try to glance at Shinsou, but he immediately flicks your forehead to avert your eyes from the budding blush on his face.

“Thanks for the birthday present, Y/n.”

[134340am]

Kirishima, my beloved, for no. 88? Can we have it angsty, a girlie (me) is going thru it :(

88. kisses in which “i’ll kiss you right now to prove i don’t feel anything for you” but the kiss proves the opposite

kirishima eijirou x gn!reader, 0.5k words, sfw + cw alcohol

you’re pretty sure you’re drunk. or at least very tipsy, because otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to playing truth or dare in kaminari’s room.

and you wouldn’t have found yourself in this precarious situation – empty soju bottle pointed at you, while said owner of the room rubs his hands together gleefully in your periphery.

“i dare you to kiss kiri.” kaminari’s command sounds out loud and clear. there’s no mistake who he’s referring to, because the aforementioned kirishima blushes instantaneously, the tips of his ears blending into a cherry hue that matches his hair.

“ooooh, the lovebirds! cute!” mina exclaims next to you, and it was your turn to blush.

you knew that if you passed on this dare, the next round would be unimaginably worse – evidenced by how denki lost his shirt to the shrubbery downstairs thanks to bakugou.

your head spins, but your next steps are crystal clear.

“we are not lovebirds,” you retorted hotly, climbing over mina’s lap to face kirishima. his eyes flicker up to yours nervously before finding particular interest in a piece of lint on the carpet. your circle of friends cheer around you as you settle yourself warily in his lap, heart about to beat out of your chest.

“no, we’re not,” kirishima mumbles in agreement. a deep breath later, he looks up at you again. “so this kiss is no big deal. we’re just friends.”

was that the sound of someone knocking over their shot glass, or your heart breaking?

“yeah, just friends,” you breathed, before squeezing your eyes shut and meeting his lips.

he touches you like you are precious sea glass; rough hands that come up to cup your face a juxtaposition to how tenderly he regards you. all around you, your friends’ whoops and cheers get louder, but you hear nothing they’re saying – enamoured by the way kirishima kisses you like he’s never wanted anything more.

in that moment, nothing mattered more than the velvety glide of his lips against yours, coupled with his sweet warm breath rolling into your lungs as you breathed him in. the intimacy of it all makes you shudder involuntarily, fingers curling into his shirt.

the kiss didn’t last that long but the two of you were breathless when you pulled apart, palms sweaty and shoulders tense.

“look, we’re good. still friends, yeah?” kirishima asks somewhat hesitantly.

“of course, kiri.” you smiled what you hoped was a genuine smile at him. “a silly kiss won’t change anything.”

oh, but it did.

everything has changed; the energy that ebbs and flows between your being and his now synchronised on a frequency only the two of you are tuned in to.

everything has changed, and yet, sitting side-by-side with your knees brushing, lips tingling, and hearts yearning, it seems like nothing has changed at all.

(series masterlist) (masterlist)

[pikahlua]

Izuku’s Admiration: All Might vs Katsuki Bakugou

In My Hero Academia, Izuku identifies two “heroes” that serve as his greatest inspiration: the number 1 hero, All Might, and his childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugou.

And the narrative has an opinion about that.

On a cosmically ironic level, the MHA story loves to punish Izuku’s admiration of All Might while rewarding his admiration of Katsuki. We can speculate about the reason why (perhaps it’s to highlight how Izuku should be looking to SURPASS rather than merely emulate All Might, and how his major area of improvement needs to be in the “victory” category that Katsuki is so competent at; or perhaps it’s to set up a future Katsuki vs All Might but-not-in-combat dynamic; or perhaps it’s to encourage Izuku’s and Katsuki’s mending of their relationship), but we pretty much cannot deny that the narrative has very, very strong feelings about this.

Let me walk you through it.

(Warning: Long post is long, so I’m just going to cover seasons 1-2 and two specific episodes in season 3. Otherwise, we’ll be here all day.)

Season 1

Episodes 1-2: Never meet your heroes

The first arc of the story establishes Izuku’s admiration of All Might for his heroism in saving everyone with a smile. What’s really odd is how every time he mentions wanting to be like All Might, the next scene immediately punishes him for it. The juxtaposition of the scenes even comes across as humorous to some viewers.

Izuku: Once I get my quirk, I wanna be like him, too! Doctor: You should probably give it up.

Izuku resolves not to let what anyone says about his dream stop him, and then proceeds to laugh like All Might as he marches down a tunnel.

...before he is immediately jumped by the sludge villain.

But eventually, Izuku gets his lucky break and meets All Might. He expresses his dream to his hero and seeks encouragement.

Izuku: I want to be the greatest hero, like you...!

...only for All Might to unexpectedly shatter his dreams.

All Might: I cannot simply say, “You can become a hero even without power.”

Episodes 3-5: Focus on what you can do for now

Izuku’s training to get into U.A. begins in earnest in episode 3 under All Might’s tutelage. At some point during the training montage, Izuku collapses from overwork. He works himself to the bone for the sake of his dream to someday in the future become the greatest hero like All Might. All Might acknowledges Izuku’s feelings, but he also chastises him for overworking his body.

But then Izuku gets into U.A. and has his first day of class in episode 5. Here’s where things start getting spicy.

Aizawa singles Izuku out for having the same “reckless valor” as a certain hero he knows, implied to be All Might. He tells Izuku, “With your power, you can’t become a hero.”

But Izuku takes Aizawa’s lesson to heart: don’t OHKO yourself. He uses his creativity to come up with a way to get a hero-level score on the ball throw.

Interestingly, his score is practically the same as Katsuki’s: Izuku’s 705.3m to Katsuki’s 705.2m.

Only when Izuku could come to use his quirk creatively, just as was highlighted with Katsuki in the earlier 50-meter dash exercise, is Izuku finally judged as having any heroic potential.

Episodes 6-8: Kick his ass, Young Midoriya!

Whereas the first however many episodes focus on Izuku’s admiration of All Might, suddenly we have an arc that shifts his focus to Katsuki.

Izuku gets so many heroic musical swells in his first match with Katsuki they might as well be rewards themselves. This whole match plays like the same event on loop that basically goes:

1. Izuku thinks Katsuki is amazing 2. Katsuki screams 3. Izuku inadvertently checks Katsuki’s ego while simultaneously thinking about how amazing Katsuki is

First, we have Izuku’s judo throw at the start of the match, informed by his notebooks, and we learn Katsuki is also a subject Izuku has analyzed.

Second, we have Izuku successfully hiding from a rampaging Katsuki while having a flashback of their time in middle school when Izuku claimed he didn’t want to compete with Katsuki. And then silently reneging.

Izuku: I take back everything I said!

Then, we have that whole face-off at the end that is just them screaming endlessly at each other but using words instead of just the letters AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Izuku: You’re an amazing person, so that’s why I want to beat you! I want to win and surpass you, you idiot! All Might: These are the first passionate emotions he’s shown other than “I want to be a hero!” I’m sure this is necessary for you to arrive at the future you’re looking at.

Just a note: Izuku speaks in some pretty crude language during this final clash. I mean like Katsuki-levels of extremely rude Japanese. You know, in case you wanted a call-forward to his “I start talking like you when I wanna win” moment.

Even All Might sees how good it is for Izuku to embrace this wild side of himself. We don’t really know why, but All Might’s mental commentary is the closest we’re gonna get to a narrator deadpanning, “And it was good.”

Not only is Izuku’s passion rewarded with a win, but it endears him to pretty much the entire class. You know, that group of people he is immensely intimidated by since he’s starting at the bottom rank? Yeah, no, they love this shit, accosting him the moment he gets back to the classroom.

Episodes 10-13: Act like Kacchan!

Okay, things start ramping up to 11 in the USJ arc.

Like how blatant is that boat scene?

Izuku: [thinking] Act like Kacchan... Izuku: [shouting, jumping off a boat] Die!!!

So freaking blatant. Reward? They won. In super epic fashion.

Another interesting moment to note would be when Izuku rushes in to save All Might from Nomu and Kurogiri the first time, thinking about how he doesn’t want All Might to die because he has so much left to learn from his hero! All Might on the inside is thinking NO YOUNG MIDORIYA DON’T BE AN IDIOT...right before Kurogiri comes in to yeet Izuku for being a dumbass (and Katsuki saves him, HMMMMM).

And then Izuku does it again when Shigaraki and Kurogiri try to rush All Might after Nomu is defeated. Except this time, Izuku jumps in, 100% OFA, broken legs, metaphorical guns blazin’, screaming in that crude Katsuki-esque Japanese again...

Izuku: Get away from All Might!

...which actually buys enough time for reinforcements to arrive, saving All Might. Even though Izuku laments how he wasn’t helpful, All Might pointedly thanks him for this one.

All Might: You saved me again.

Season 2

Episodes 1-2: Am I an idiot?

In the lead up to the sports festival, we have the introduction of Hitoshi Shinsou, responding to Katsuki’s assholery as he proceeds to antagonize the entire school waiting outside their classroom. Katsuki says something that startles Izuku, that none of these people matter because he’s going to be number 1. It causes Izuku to think back on all their classmates who have grown competitive spirits in light of the upcoming festival. All Might couldn’t even get Izuku pumped up to announce his presence as the new fledgling symbol of peace, but Katsuki just being himself gets Izuku thinking. Izuku’s passion during the sports festival can be traced back to this moment.

Episode 3: YEET

Hey, wanna know what the first clip I ever saw of MHA was?

The goddamn minefield.

Izuku: I’m gonna borrow your idea, Kacchan!

Fun fact: My reaction to this moment was “Aww, he got an idea from his mom? That’s so cute I’mma die. I need to check this show out.” Turns out Kacchan isn’t “kaachan.” Oops.

I don’t know what makes my point better than Izuku literally stealing Katsuki’s patented “I WILL USE EXPLOSIONS TO FLY” idea to WIN THE WHOLE DAMN OBSTACLE RACE FAGLHASDHSLJKDHAS.

Episodes 6-7: Is this too loud? Can we try to be subtle here?

Izuku wins his match with Shinsou while thinking “I can’t lose...!” and his thoughts are superimposed over Katsuki’s face, because they were worried you wouldn’t get what was going on here.

Izuku: I can’t lose...! Katsuki: [surprised pikachu face] Shinsou: [getting wrekt]

Episodes 10-12: Come at me, bro!

There is way too much to be said about this series of episodes in other metas so I’ll try to keep it brief here.

On the one hand, you’ve got Izuku wanting to win, to be the strongest hero so he can be like All Might. This is the motivation he reveals to Shouto. But Izuku also wants to save Shouto, and his manner of doing so is...telling.

Izuku: Come at me with everything you’ve got!

...which is something Katsuki would definitely say. Because Katsuki wants a true win, not just a technical win (like Izuku is prone to getting). Thus, Izuku prioritizes Shouto’s psyche over the match.

So what is his reward? What is his punishment?

He loses the fight, missing his goal of living up to All Might’s stated expectations of him at the festival just to save Shouto, to have a fair, complete fight, like what Katsuki is after. And Izuku is rewarded with Shouto’s friendship.

Recovery Girl tells All Might not to praise Izuku for wrecking his body in the process, a clear admonishment, but All Might makes sure to throw in something about how heroic it is of Izuku to try to save Shouto’s heart, even at the cost of the match.

Episode 13: What’s in a name?

When choosing his hero name, Izuku pointedly rejects considering a hero name riffing off All Might’s (he’s even embarrassed at the thought of it).

Izuku: There’s no way I can take on a name like that.

He goes with the name he got from Katsuki, as re-contextualized by Ochako.

Episodes 14-20: Full Cowling is just Katsuki cosplay

If Izuku stealing Katsuki’s explosions to win the obstacle race was blatant, the inception of Full Cowling is just blunt force trauma.

Gran Torino explicitly tells Izuku stop trying to be like All Might. It’s bad. You’re cringe, dude.

Gran Torino: But your admiration for All Might and your sense of duty are like shackles.

And Izuku’s reaction is to wonder “hmm, okay, if my movements are so stiff, then how can I be more flexible?” and just thinks about Katsuki fighting for a solid ten seconds. Just this. Head empty, only Katsuki kicking his ass.

Izuku: Thinking about it another way, what makes movement flexible? Flexible... [flashbacks of Katsuki rampaging]

Reward: Izuku develops Full Cowling, a fighting style that doesn’t break any of his goddamn bones.

And other characters notice! They think very explicitly how Izuku jumps around just like Katsuki. EVEN KATSUKI HIMSELF SEES IT.

Katsuki: My moves! [insert gently holds meme]

Episode 24: This whole episode by itself is just a video essay illustrating my point

Everything until now has just been a prologue to the madness that is “Katsuki Bakugou: Origin.”

Rather than walking you through every moment (because that would be the entire episode), here’s a synopsis:

Recovery Girl: To Izuku Midoriya, All Might is like a god.

Katsuki wants to fight All Might, but Izuku can’t fathom how they could possibly win, so he wants to run. Recovery Girl points out how Katsuki is right and Izuku is wrong. Via her thoughts, we hear the narration of how Izuku admires All Might too much and views him as a god, which is a limiting perspective. It renders him incapable of considering the full scenario without bias.

Recovery Girl points out that Katsuki has amazing grades and combat prowess, implying that not only would he be the best judge as to whether or not they can defeat All Might, he’s probably the one most likely to figure out how to do it. The thing that’s inhibiting him? Something’s on his mind, causing him to rush through the exercise. He’s distracted (by thoughts on Izuku’s rapid improvement/Full Cowling). If he were to focus, who knows how this could all turn out?

So All Might hands them their asses on a silver platter. But Katsuki puts up a much better fight than Izuku, at least. He even learns tactically useful information in the process.

What turns the tide? Katsuki saying he prefers defeat to cooperating with Izuku.

Katsuki’s grudge threatens Izuku’s mental image of Katsuki as his symbol of victory, and he just can’t have that.

Izuku prioritizes his admiration of Katsuki’s spirit over his fear of All Might’s strength, creating the opening for the two to finally cooperate for once oh my fucking god.

And they are rewarded by getting a good hit in on All Might before running for the escape gate.

Izuku takes a debilitating hit to the spine, so we’re treated to some one-on-one All Might vs Katsuki action, until Katsuki saves Izuku from All Might’s impending attack. Izuku is left with the option of easily passing the exercise or going back to face All Might for Katsuki.

Oooooooh, a parallel!

So Izuku rejects All Might, saves Katsuki, and passes the exam!

Season 3

Episode 14: All Might joins the club

All Might finally starts to become a decent teacher after the Kamino Ward arc, and it seems he got the anti-All Might memo too.

All Might: You’re still trying to imitate me.

He doesn’t know what that means, but he’s right. And Izuku starts using his feet and develops Shoot Style! Izuku keeps getting all these upgrades to his fighting style in the form of “All Might = bad.” There’s nothing new to add here other than how All Might himself gets in on the moral of the story.

Episode 23: I’ve connected the two dots!

And lastly, let me point out how this all plays out in Deku vs Kacchan 2.

A heavy portion of this fight is dedicated to Izuku and Katsuki clearly expressing their thoughts about each other, with Izuku explaining in plain terms who Katsuki is to him.

Izuku: You, who had so much that I didn’t have, were an amazing person much closer to me than All Might!

Each time Izuku acknowledges his admiration of Katsuki, he gets a good hit in. It’s almost humorous to explain it like this, but it’s so true. In the above moment, when Izuku tells Katsuki he was the idol actually in his life, he loses control and bumps up to 8% OFA, and Katsuki mentally acknowledges that Izuku has passed him in strength.

Izuku then has his inner monologue about how Katsuki is his mental image of victory, how he emulates Katsuki’s manner of speech when he feels the desire to win outpace his desire to save. This leads directly into their midair clash, as Izuku thinks, “I want to beat you, the incarnation of victory!” and the music swells as Izuku lands a sucker punch on Katsuki. It really seems like Izuku is going to win.

And then Izuku has this thought:

All Might [flasback]: Next, it’s your turn. Izuku: In order to meet the expectations of All Might, who chose me!

And then we see another flashback, but it’s implied to be Katsuki’s...

Izuku [flashback]: One day, I will make this quirk my own and beat you with my own power! Katsuki: Li-...like I’ll lose...!

The moment Izuku’s focus shifts from Katsuki to All Might, Katsuki turns the tables. With Katsuki’s flashback, the implication is that Katsuki has not recognized Izuku has made OFA his own. Izuku cannot hope to beat Katsuki until that happens.

So Katsuki wins, and Izuku is punished with a loss for his admiration of All Might.

Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

[uzumakgi]

something beautiful

[. masterlist ] he sees the eczema scars you’ve been trying so hard to hide.

warnings unedited, body issues, impulsive scratching, blood, self-esteem issues, childhood trauma.

pairings t.shouto x fem!reader

genre, type angst-fluff, one-shot (1k)

“everything alright in there, l/n?”

that was mina, stood outside the stall. her feet shuffling along as she hummed a faintly recognizable radio song.

you croaked out a small ‘yes’ before explaining that it’d be better if they went on ahead without you.

momo’s worried voice suddenly interrupted. “you don’t need a pad, do you? i could make one for you right away, just a m—“

“no it’s alright! i have one, thank you though!” you quickly stated.

after reassuring them, the girls slowly shuffled out. soon, you were left in pure silence and quickly, a choked gulp left your lips.

as you lifted your skirt, the tears began to build at the rim of your lashes, finding the freshly parted skin on the sides of your thighs disgusting. each burned with irritation and droplets of blood dotted the area.

how many times were you going to do this to yourself? the hives were already building like what you’d of a mosquito attack.

this was you; stuck in a stall, completely immobilized by their own body.

a ding cut through your thoughts.

new message from shouto!! <3: hey, i’m outside the school. just tell me when you’re here

you later found him; hair taken by the breeze, allowing for strands to brush up against his delicate eyes. he shifted in his place, one foot shifting back. shouto squinted slightly against the dawning sky, turning his torso and glancing up to see his girlfriend at the top of the UA steps.

in juxtaposition of his beauty, you took your bag and placed it in front of you in attempt to hide yourself.

once you met half way down the steps, he gave you one of his award winning smiles. “hi lovely.” his large hands were immediately placed over yours. “ready?”

“mhm.” you hummed, taking your hand out of his for a moment before pushing your sweater up to your palms.

you took his hands again, like nothing had happened.

the boy looked at you for a moment, and you hoped he hadn't felt how dry your hands truly were.

"are you cold?" he asked and you shook your head in protest to his offering of his jacket.

"oh no, i just like my sleeves like this."

as the both of you walked along, shouto had understood your lack of conversation for being less social today (which he understood, you were a pair of introverts, after all). he naturally began to take lead in conversation, landing on the topic of developing his right side in training more.

and as much as you’d like to pay him mind, you were too self aware of your surroundings at the moment. shouto had discovered a small field behind the dorms a week back and had suggested a study picnic for your next test. the idea was great, and you didn't hesitate in agreeing. until now.

your thighs brushed against the tall grass. the stimulation hurt, sending a shiver up your spine, along with the urge to itch. it was a taunting, only further causing greater inflammation. you accidentally squeezed shouto's hand and a faint moan left your lips as you tried to suppress it.

“y/n?”

"i'm sorry—"

"don't apologize. are you ok?" he looked back at you, worry etching his usually graceful face ever so slightly. he observed you from head to toe.

in actuality, the eczema was only one of the things you've found yourself to be insecure of. shouto and you have never been so intimate as for him to have seen you completely bare. it terrified you to disappoint the one person you've wanted to please so badly.

what if i'm not what you're looking for?

shouto's face contorted into a look of fear and in the moment he took your cheeks, you realized he'd wiped away the tears that'd fallen from your eyes.

"what's wrong, love?"

a forced sigh escaped your lips, with it, all your exertion. "i don't know. i-i don't want to.. i don't want to disappoint you."

"how could you do that?" he chuckled a bit, "where's this coming from?"

"shouto can we please go to the blanket? please?" you were already rushing to get past him when he tightened his grip on your hand, scooping you up in one swift motion.

in a moment, he was setting you down on the blanket with the delicacy of a flower. he was as silent as a ghost as he moved himself in front of you. you peered at him, mouth agape as he dusted grass off your skirt.

"i noticed just a moment ago. are you allergic to grass?" the boy was visibly trying to hide his growing concern, the thought of him putting his significant other in danger creeping into his thoughts.

"n-no. i just... i have eczema." your statement was but a whisper as you nervously inched your skirt over your thighs, "i forgot lotion at home and... i know it looks bad." the fabric did nothing to hide the hives. your skin was ultra sensitive, and red by the rasp it'd taken just a few seconds ago.

there was silence for what seemed an eternity. he's too grossed out to reply.

a big, chortled laugh escaped your boyfriend's lips and he fell back a bit, quickly stabilizing himself. a small 'oh my god' was breathed out into the air.

"what's so funny?"

"no it's just, y-you're talking to a guy with a scar on his eye."

you blinked once. then twice.

shouto tried to hide his big smile, shrugging as he reached for his backpack. you watched him quizzically, ransacking your brain for an answer. he doesn't care? at all?

"you don't.. care?"

"i care about as much as i care about bakugou's routine, empty death threats." he deadpanned, bringing out an item. "may i?"

in his hands, a travel-sized bottle of lotion. "mhm."

he gently took your left ankle in his hands, lathering the cool lotion into the skin, making sure not to over massage the red areas. his fingers gently caressed the sides of your thighs, completely concentrated on his work.

"i used to get scared meeting new people," he whispered, still, immersed on your skin. "i knew they'd never ask, but it was always in the back of their minds... the question, 'what happened to you?' on their faces."

his head of hair faced you, and you couldn't help but place a gentle kiss in his locks, leaning down to his pillowy, soft head and staying there.

shouto stopped for a second, a small blush on his face. "... you're the first to... accept me without questions. thank you."

if shouto had looked up in that moment he’d see his own work; a flustered you with tears of joy coating their cheeks. “no, shouto. thank you.”