#like oh my god the relationship ended for a complicated series of factors how dare

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

have i missed taika/rita drama or is it the same old shit rehashed?

(i say this as a person who had rita in her top 5 artists last year)

Oh no it's the other Marriage. His ex wife came out to say the same thing she's been saying this whole time (i.e. "Thor Ragnarok destroyed my marriage") but in a way that some people are taking to mean means Taika cheated on her even though she doesnt explicitly say that and you guys if she wanted us to know that that happened and be mad about it she would tell us she's had the opportunity. But people are drawing insane conclusions as usual. Rita's not involved at all unless you make some timeline bending assumptions in order to paint Taika Waititi uncharitably.

[driftingglass]

I'm so glad that you also ship BakuDeku! Can you give us an insight as to why you love/ship them? I love reading why people love them! 💖

Oh, my God. 

First off, ah. I just. *Incoherent stuttering.* I’m very, very particular and choosy with ships. I either ship one specific couple per fandom or no one at all. So far I have only two OTPs and I adore both for entirely different reasons: KilluGon from Hunter X Hunter and BakuDeku from Boku No Hero Academia.

I’m. So. Excited. To. Talk. About. This.

This is gonna be long, Anon. I hope you’re ready for it. 

Alright. 

Why do I love BakuDeku? 

Or, why do I love the Katsuki/Izuku dynamic in general? 

Such a loaded question for quite a lot of reasons… 

I’ll do my best to articulate my scrambled thoughts and put them all down here and make sense with them. To start off with, when it comes to ships, I usually have to be drawn to both characters individually. I don’t really like the concept of one character feeling “incomplete” without the other, necessarily. 

In this case, I related to Izuku Midoriya almost instantly, and then, surprisingly, found very similar traits in Katsuki Bakugou that I couldn’t ignore or even want to ignore. I respect both characters individually and absolutely adore their dynamic; the creative potential in portraying them both together and apart is so vast and endless that it just spurs the creative mind with no limits.

To explain this better, I tend to theorize and analyze potential relationships in anime/movies/books/television shows based on their clear connection through flaws, personality compatibility, ambitions, strengths and weaknesses. 

I understand that this factor is applicable to every ship in existence, pretty much, but I firmly believe that, since each mind is unique with its own preference, that the actual conclusion one can come to when applying these principles to their chosen ships can yield multiple different results.

So, back to BakuDeku with this. 

Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya are foils of each other. 

To clear some questions regarding the usage of the word “foil” here, I’m speaking of the traditional literary term. 

A foil in literature is a character that exhibits qualities that highlight and contrast with another character as means of highlighting the traits of that particular character through their personality, actions, etc. 

Usually this is the case with the rival of the protagonist, and so forth. 

Think Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, for example. They are a very typical example of character foils. 

Alright, so. With this in mind…

I value the complexities in character dynamics and the more introspective basis of relationships above everything else when deciding whether or not I ship two characters. So, the contrast between Izuku and Katsuki’s personalities and ambitions are fascinating to me, and as a result, I fell in love with their dynamic as characters outside of the realm of romantic potential.

I’ll get more into the “romantic potential” part later. But, honestly, that part of the context is only the footnote to what I love about these two.

Katsuki and Izuku, despite their differences, are essentially quite similar in what they wish to achieve as characters in their universe. 

I’ll go through both characters individually with their bullet point contrasts that I can think of at the moment.

Katsuki Bakugou is…

He is egotistical, yet insecure. 

He is reckless, yet he is methodical. 

He’s aggressive, yet he’s meticulous. 

He appears like a typical delinquent, but he’s undoubtedly very intelligent. 

He’s straightforward and brash, yet standoffish and focused. 

He is entitled, yet an extremely hard worker. 

He’s presumptuous and self-indulgent, and believes his skills and himself are all he needs.

He is, essentially, the most insecure when it comes to Izuku due to their connection and history. His pride is, ultimately, his downfall.

Now, by contrast, we have Izuku.

Izuku Midoriya is…

He is selfless, yet insecure. 

He is analytical, yet he, too, can be reckless. 

He lacks self-preservation, but sees it as a necessary strength, rather than a roadblock. 

He is emotional, yet also quite meticulous. 

He is an extremely hard worker, yet doesn’t believe he deserves anything worthy of praise. 

He believes his achievements are based on luck rather than skill, and that he can only achieve his dreams based on what others have done for him.

He is too damaging to his own self-confidence for his own good and far too willing to appraise the ego of characters like Katsuki to allow himself room to appreciate his own accomplishments.

Ah. There are many, many more to choose from than just these. I could go on about that particular listing for hours. But, I won’t.

With this all being said, Izuku is constantly chasing after Katsuki in the beginning. He yearns for his approval, for his attention, because of his intense admiration and fondness of his friend. Katsuki, however, could not care less and bullies Izuku on top of saying honestly the most horrible things.

There is one thing I want to make clear about this particular ship. I understand the concerns with the abusive context and I’m never going to defend Katsuki’s actions towards Izuku because they are, most definitely, extreme. 

It’s tragic, actually, how Izuku is willing to be patient with Katsuki and still consider him to be a valuable person in his life and even a close friend. Which, at this moment, they are not. 

That being said… I find it tragic, but all the more admirable of a character like Izuku to ultimately admit that what Katsuki has said and done is truly horrible (taken in context from both the manga and anime) and that he is willing to acknowledge Katsuki as a “jerk,” but also as someone who is, despite all of that, very talented and driven.

Izuku is, himself, driven and ambitious. His reasonings for becoming a hero and Katsuki wishing to become a hero are on polar opposite ends, yet their drives, their passion, their vigor are so incredibly similar in length that I can hardly see that matched in any way by other character dynamics in this series.

And that’s what I love the most about them in general, romantic context aside.

Now, still, the extremely damaged history is also what makes this ship so incredibly complicated. And I love that about it. 

What I want in this ship is to see growth, forgiveness, change, reluctant acceptance, and understanding between two characters who have always been on the same spectrum, but have never acquired the true level of insight to reach that same wavelength.

Katsuki and Izuku could never have a successful relationship at their current age, under their current circumstances, and without any forgiveness or acceptance taking place. 

The road to trusting and respecting one another is long, torturous, and riddled with pain and learning. It takes time, it takes energy, and by applying the romantic context to these two characters outside of their already marvelous and fascinating (albeit saddening) dynamic, it allows a new perspective to take place.

This, my friend, is a perspective that requires no easy path. 

I love that Izuku has such incredible faith in Katsuki and will always want to protect him or defend him at the drop of a hat. I love that we’re slowly seeing Katsuki’s growing respect and acceptance of Izuku as a person in the series, and the incredibly slow and (dare I say, explosive) build to their potential friendship. I love that we’re able to see the unfolding complexities and hurt and anger and passion that have driven them apart with blinded perspectives on both sides. 

I could go on for hours about this, Anon, but I think I kind of summed up most of what I can in one sitting without this going on for too long. 

I hope this satisfies you for now, Anon! Thank you so much for the ask. :)