#bakudeku endgame

[darkcrowprincess]

Mary's Song (Oh My My My)By Taylor Swift

Is so a bakudeku song. Especially post war where they are a endgame.

She said, I was seven and you were nine I looked at you like the stars that shine In the sky, the pretty lights And our daddies used to joke about the two of us Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled And rolled their eyes and said oh my my my Take me back to the house in the backyard tree Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me You never did, you never did Take me back when our world was one block wide I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried Just two kids, you and I Oh my my my my

A few years had gone and come around We were sitting at our favorite spot in town And you looked at me, got down on one knee

Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle Our whole town came and our mamas cried You said I do and I did too Take me home where we met so many years before We'll rock our babies on that very front porch After all this time, you and I

I'll be eighty-seven; you'll be eighty-nine I'll still look at you like the stars that shine In the sky, oh my my my

[escaping-peril12]

Bro???

[cryiling]

"bakudeku or rodydeku" actually i think both can and should be true

[a-hobit]

It's horrible to be utterly convinced that Katsuki is in love with Izuku without really being able to say definitively that Izuku is in love with Katsuki...aghh there's so much to say about certain hints and very overt things for Mr. "Kacchan Bakugou" but I feel like I haven't seen...or more accurately heard how Izuku feels. I know he loves him but Is he in love with him? Can I say that without thinking I could be wrong? No I don't think I can...but damnit! The parallels to other straight and gay couples in media is so interesting like the Berserk ref in cover 37...or the pretty constant references to taro cards...Izuku the devil in between togachako's lovers ((WHAT DOES THAT MEAN SERIOUSLY)), the three of swords in the blackwhip explosion...the "WAH--CCHAN!!" ref to a romance trope as well as to Blue Flag...the "share a crepe with" line also potentially Blue Flag..."TROY" and the battle being referenced OUT THE WAZOO with Achilles and Patroclus playing out almost exactly as the Illid described ((Literally THE most famous couple of gaybos in all historical literature--they are well known for being speculative lovers! It's mentioned in English classes when you read it))...Katsuki's parents...Katsuki's parents...the way other manga like "name I can't remember..." where they would reference MHA outright with the girl falling down and then refusing to take the male lead's hand to get up. It feels like so much but also nothing at all because all of it (( no matter how overt)) is STILL being read into from subtext. idk I think I just needed to vent.

[lance-space-mommy]

Break The Cycle

Being quirkless sucked ass.

Izuku was simply doing his best to survive in a world where people hated his existence. He honestly didn’t understand their obsession with his quirkless status. It wasn’t like he was a threat to them nor did his existence have any direct effect on them.

Maybe they were jealous that he got to avoid the entire hierarchy by naturally being at the bottom.

Having random people hate him wasn’t Izuku’s problem. He could easily say the unwanted hate was a reflection of the person insulting him rather than it being about him.

The problem Izuku had was how the people he knew and loved dumped him the instant he was quirkless. No matter how much time had passed or the knowledge he gained, he couldn’t understand why people gave quirks so much power.

After all, quirks were useless outside of mundane use and self-defense. If you wanted to use your quirk for a purpose, you needed a license.

Nobody in his life who used their quirk on him owned a license. All the people who gave up on him also didn’t own a license.

They were as worthless as he was.

Inko Midoriya left a trail of scars some of Izuku's worst bullies couldn't compete with.

Despite Inko being a stay-at-home mother and having a husband pay all the bills, she was the farthest thing from a mother. She was neglectful, emotionally abusive, and extremely narcissistic. It didn't help that nothing Izuku did was ever good enough.

No one at school knew that Aldera Junior High wasn't the only hell hole Izuku had to deal with.

It was a cold, but bright winter day. Izuku had just gotten situated in his seat when his three tormentors approached him. Most people would believe Izuku dreaded whenever they appeared, but he found them to be more of a comfort than anything else.

They were a constant in his life even if they called him names or purposefully tried to put him down. They always approached him first thing in the morning and during the school day's last moments.

They never physically attacked him or made him feel unsafe. If anything, their constant presence protected him.

During their first year at Aldera Junior High, some upperclassmen were a threat. No one got a chance to mess with Izuku because Katsuki, Hifumi, and Tejio were already "bullying" him.

"Hey, Deku! You look more sickly than usual," greeted Katsuki, the person Izuku had a hidden admiration for.

"Not a surprise a quirkless loser like you can't handle a little snow," teased Tejio, the guy with spiky teeth for a quirk. It became a habit for him to stick up his nose when it came to Izuku.

Hifumi, the bully with a long-finger quirk, didn't bother speaking. He was too busy typing on his phone. He recently hit it off with a girl and is busy trying to find out where she was in the school.

Izuku looked up at the three with a deep frown, not really having any motivation to give his usual sporadic response of rambles. Katsuki, as observant as ever, took note of the extreme change of attitude. While he was originally irritated, a part of him grew worried that Izuku wasn't just pale because he was cold, but rather because he had a cold.

Before Katsuki could make another remark, Izuku spoke up in a broken voice. "I... uh... I'm."

Katsuki froze, caught off guard by how weird Izuku was being. Hifumi was now paying attention, concerned about what was going on. Sure, he was an asshole and made an effort to ruin Izuku's day, but he knew something was wrong and they weren't the source of his distress.

"Well? I don't have all day," barked Katsuki, crossing his arms as he kicked the leg of Izuku's desk.

"I'm moving... today is my last day here," revealed Izuku in a quiet voice, shifting his gaze to the surface of his desk.

The news of the annoying, nerdy, quirkless kid should have made Katsuki, Hifumi, and Tejio jump in the air and celebrate. Yet, the three were stuck in place, staring at Izuku as they waited for him to say it was a joke.

In one instant, the three teens realized just how important Izuku was to them. It was a disgusting feeling, knowing they formed a strong bond with the person they claimed to hate. Suddenly, the person they'd had around since elementary was now leaving in less than twelve hours.

"Huh? Aunty Inko is really dragging you away?" questioned Katsuki, his sharp tone vanishing into something tamer.

Tejio nodded at Katsuki's question before he backed the blond up. "Not that I care, but this seems very last-minute."

Izuku rolled his top lip in and bit it for a moment, before popping his lips. Flicking his eyes up to the three, he let his fingers brush the soft edge of his notebook. "Yeah, it is pretty last minute, but family problems don't wait for anyone."

"Is someone dying?" asked Hifumi out of the blue. Tejio was quick to jab him in the ribs for asking a question like that so suddenly.

"No! No one is dying... it's just personal things," admitted Izuku, not planning on telling his peers that he was planning on running away.

Hifumi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "There is no way you're leaving because of us."

Izuku shook his head with a weak smile. "No, I'm not. If I was going to leave because of the school, I would have done it in between year change. Besides, I like how close this school is to home."

"So, what fucked up shit has you booking it out of here?" pressed Katsuki, knowing that digging for information was the last thing he should be doing. He didn't want to give off the impression that he was worried. Although, that concern wouldn't matter with Izuku moving away.

"I can't tell anyone about it. My mom doesn't want me talking about it," mumbled Izuku, trying to keep this conversation from reaching the ears of his other classmates. The fewer people that knew the better.

"Damn, it sounds serious," huffed Tejio, rubbing the back of his neck.

Izuku flashed a strained smile in response. "Let's just say it is."

As the school day continued, the harder it was for Katsuki to comprehend that Izuku was leaving. He's never known life without Izuku. Now he was expected to show up to school the following morning and stare at Izuku's empty desk.

The end of the day arrived and Izuku walked out the front doors without looking back. Katsuki watched Izuku walk away, letting the new wave of emotions fester inside him.

He wasn't going to chase Izuku or apologize at the last minute, but a part of him knew he'd regret it.

Hifumi let out a loud sigh before turning to look at Katsuki. "Damn. It's gross that I feel happy for him."

"No, I get where you're coming from. This place is kinda a shithole if you think about it," agreed Tejio, turning to Hifumi.

"I bet Deku snitched on us and his mom decided to just leave," scoffed Katsuki. At this point, he'd say anything to deflect and make himself feel better.

Izuku walked home, up the steps to the apartment, and sucked in a deep breath. This was it. This was going to be the last time he ever walked into his home.

It took weeks of sneaking around to find all his documentation and anything that truly belonged to him. Everything he was taking with him had to fit in his school bag and a small-sized duffle bag. He couldn't raise any suspicion considering he never knew which version of his mom he was going to be speaking to.

Best case scenario she was going to be neglectful and not even say goodbye to him on the way out.

Making his way to the door, Izuku called out to Inko. "Hey Mom, I'll be leaving now."

The sound of rushed footsteps caught his attention. Inko appeared at the end of the hall with a small smile. Tensing up out of fear his mother was in a good mood and was going to ask a bunch of questions, Izuku swallowed hard.

"Don't go for too long," chuckled Inko softly, extending out an arm as she approached. "Come back home right after school tomorrow."

Izuku pulled open the door, refusing to look Inko in the eye out of fear she'd sense something was wrong. "I will, I promise." It was quiet for a moment before Izuku felt a strong urge to say, "I love you."

Not expecting a response, Izuku gasped when Inko happily echoed, "I love you too. Take care."

Suddenly running away felt incredibly hard. He loved his mother and saw how she was struggling with being abandoned by her husband while being expected to raise a child alone.

Despite the part of him screaming to turn around, run into her arms, and sob… he knew he couldn’t. Within the next hour, she could be angry or detached. He was tired of always fearing his mother’s wrath.

Izuku made his way to the nearest train station and started his journey. He took train after train till he was at least 10 prefectures away from the city of Musutafu. Running on nothing but limited luck and hope for a better future, he made his way to a cafe.

He had looked up jobs in the region and found an incredible opportunity. As long as he worked full-time at the cafe, he would be able to stay in the apartment on the third floor. Of course, rent would automatically be taken out of his paycheck, but that wasn’t an issue.

Izuku wore a snow hat and a bushy scarf during his interview. That way his hair was completely covered as well as his freckles.

The owner was kind and gentle. It was clear she loved her job and simply needed an extra hand. Izuku was willing to be that person.

Thankfully, the woman was desperate so Izuku was given the green light to move in immediately and would start working the next morning. Without a single worry, he agreed.

After a box of black hair dye and some full-coverage foundation, Izuku happily made his way down into the closed cafe to sign documents.

Twenty-four hours passed and as the weight was lifted off Izuku’s shoulders, hell broke loose in a small region in Musutafu.

While Katsuki, Hifumi, and Tejio weren’t surprised to see Izuku was absent, the adults were. Before lunch arrived, news broke out that Izuku was missing. Inko was called regarding her son's absence. She tried calling him, but no response.

Inko called her best friend Mitsuki, the mother of Katsuki. Izuku had claimed he was spending the night only to never have shown up. According to Mitsuki, she was never alerted that Izuku was supposed to come over.

Katsuki felt like a bucket of ice water was poured over him at the news. He lied to Katsuki, Hifumi, and Tejio about moving. Izuku most definitely ran away. He couldn’t be sure he wasn’t the cause of it, but he figured Inko was part of the reason.

Last-minute. Family issues. Serious. Inko doesn’t want him talking about it.

Something was fishy about the situation.

It wouldn’t be until five long years later that Katsuki would meet Izuku again. Katsuki was supposed to go on a business trip despite being the number one hero. He was going to be a representative for the Hero Agency as some of the people working on support gear really wanted to work with this Hero Support Department.

All he knew was that was underground, but ridiculously good.

Much to Katsuki’s surprise, the Hero Support building was huge. If his coworkers said that this business was underground, then they were still beyond successful.

Marching into the elevator where he was to be taken to the top floor. He enjoyed not being hounded by the people rushing around. It was clear they prioritized their work over getting an autograph from a famous hero.

When the doors slid open, Katsuki was met with a pretty basic floor plan. On one side of the floor was the office while on the other was the workroom for Support gear.

Assuming the largest office belonged to the owner, Katsuki entered calmly. The last thing Katsuki expected to see was Izuku standing by the windows lining the room.

“Holy shit. Izuku?”

Izuku’s head whipped around, staring at Katsuki. “Kacchan?

Katsuki, in his hero suit and all, raced over to Izuku. Izuku already felt the tears of relief form in his eyes as his chest was filled with uncontrollable emotions. Katsuki pulled Izuku close, crushing him in a hug.

With close to no hesitation, Izuku wrapped his arms around Katsuki and cried. He spent so many years alone trying to navigate the hero world alone. Just being reminded that there was someone who missed him and was happy to see him brought Izuku such joy.

“What the hell Nerd?” croaked Katsuki, pulling back to look at Midoriya’s face.

“I’m sorry, Kacchan,” sighed Izuku softly, looking up at Bakugo with a guilty frown.

Katsuki shook his head, raising a hand to rest against his forehead. “One day you say you're leaving because of family problems and the next you’re reported missing. Do you have any idea how fucking insane that is?”

Izuku nodded stiffly. Katsuki noted that the nodding was less meant for him and more toward Izuku himself. Izuku stepped back to lean on his desk. “It was insane. I was the one who lived it. I couldn’t risk anyone finding out about my plans to run away. I had no intention of ever returning if you couldn’t tell.”

“I got the memo. But still, your mother was devastated… I can’t imagine why you’d leave her without even a note,” stated Katsuki gently despite the rasp in his voice.

Shaking his head, Izuku let it fall forward as a pain-filled smile spread across his face. “Kacchan. She’s the reason I ran away.”

Within a matter of seconds, Katsuki’s world was flipped upside down. Despite his initial suspicion of Inko being involved in the disappearance of Izuku, she had flawlessly manipulated him into a false sense of security. She claimed that Izuku hadn’t been acting any different, that she was happy he was getting out more, and a plethora of sappy mom crap he truly couldn’t have cared less about.

In the end, Inko was the reason. All those days she cried and begged for someone to find her son; she was the reason he was gone. The countless times she was over at their place for dinner, rambling on about Izuku and how incredible he was, she drove him away. Inko played the victim so well and that said everything Katsuki needed to know.

As Katsuki processed the information and the past years without Izuku and his interactions with Inko, Izuku watched. Fierce green eyes lasered in on Katsuki’s expression as the truth sunk in. It was relieving to see that Katsuki instantly trusted him.

“Damn.”

“Yeah…”

Katsuki kicked an imaginary stone before meeting Izuku’s gaze. “So… what did she do? Where did you go? How’d you end up here?”

Izuku smiled, walking to the glass windows lining the room. “She was sometimes good, but she was an extreme narcissist at heart. She was neglectful in all ways you could think of and without fail… every day, she was emotionally abusive.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? You know Aunty would have helped,” pointed out Bakugo. While he wasn’t necessarily trying to victim-blame Midoriya, he wanted to know why Midoriya hadn’t reached out to outlets he had before making such a serious choice.

Stepping back to turn around and face Katsuki again, Izuku scowled. “I’m sorry, but do you have no idea how dumb you sound right now?”

Gawking in disbelief, Katsuki crossed his arms in defense. “Fucking excuse me? That’s a very good question to ask considering you chose to run away without letting anyone know instead of trying to get help if you were in a bad situation.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Izuku shook his head. “I don’t think you are listening to me. I just told you Inko was a narcissist. If I were to reach out to Mitsuki for help, she would confront my mom, and the entire problem would somehow be my fault in the end. If Mitsuki somehow wasn’t fooled, I’d still be forced to come back home and that was the last thing I wanted to happen.”

“Shit… sorry. It’s just I don’t understand how you just decided to leave everything behind,” clarified Katsuki slowly, raising his shameful head to meet Izuku’s disappointed gaze.

There was a heavy atmosphere in the room, but Izuku and Katsuki weren’t about to walk away from the conversation without figuring things out.

Deflating after letting thirty long seconds of silence pass, Izuku stressed, “It was for the best. Being at home was a nightmare and I needed to get out. Trying to survive in the world as a quirkless teen was far less scary than the idea of being under the same roof as Inko for another moment.”

Katsuki nodded slowly, stepping toward Izuku to reach for his hand. As soon as his large soft fingers linked with Izuku's small rough ones, he tightened his grip. “I’m sorry. You deserved better. I bet it wasn’t an easy decision to make and I know you had to work your ass off to get to this point. Fuck Inko and the shit she did to you, it’s clear you didn’t need to stick around to achieve greatness.”

Lip wobbling and glassy-eyed, Izuku sniffled as he squeezed Katsuki’s hand back. “Thank you, Kacchan. It was hard… leaving you behind. I wanted to tell you—I really did, I just couldn’t risk it.”

“You don’t have to apologize for keeping yourself safe idiot,” chastised Katsuki fondly, lowering his head to focus on the small changes in Izuku’s mature features.

“Right,” croaked Izuku, doing his best to not flood his office with tears. “I worked at a coffee shop full time and lived in an apartment on top of the cafe. I had a good paycheck, a place to live, and I was able to use all my free time to finish my schooling online. Once I graduated, I just started climbing the social ladder while doing countless programs in the hero support gear field.”

Katsuki grinned, letting go of Izuku’s hand to rest both hands on his hips. “Not surprised a nerd like you was able to pull all of this off. Still, I’m not planning on letting you disappear on me again.”

Izuku quickly wiped his face before running his fingers through his hair. “Likewise. We will be business partners after all.”

“Huh? You mean you’re accepting my agency's request to have our hero gear produced solely by your department?” quizzed Katsuki, eagerly. While he was more than thrilled to see Izuku again and know that the missing piece of him was no longer missing, he really did want the best for his hero agency and all the heroes working with him.

“Of course! While I do have favorites and you are one of them, I’d never turn down work proposals!” cheered Izuku quickly as he made his way to his desk where stacks of papers were sitting.

“Hell yeah!”

“But just know I’m still expecting compensation for a decade of your bullying,” teased Izuku, raising a contract with a devilish smile.

Shivering with a manic smirk on his face, Katsuki enthusiastically snatched the paper from Izuku. “Sign me up.”

[kakooshi]

Katsuki's smile in the new cover with Izuku is so different from the one he gave All Might omg. Seriously, that's the face someone makes when they're in love. Bkdk is so canon, guys 😭🧡💚

[writerswho]

Bakugou and Midoriya arguing about Mamma Mia, with Bakugou saying it's one of the best movies ever and Midoriya saying that he hates the movie so much that he fantasized about killing Meryl Streep because he couldn't take her (or anybody else) singing anymore. They settle the argument by agreeing that Endgame is the worst shit ever and that they would kill themselves if they had to watch it again.

[numberoneredriotfan]

Bakudeku-antis are so brain dead. "Bakugou told deku to kill himself!" That was six seasons and over 400 chapters of character growth and development ago.

Even if you don't ship it, you cannot deny the obvious close bond they have with one another. Just writing it off as abusive and unhealthy doesn't work anymore.

Bakugou was awful to Deku. Like genuinely. He bullied him both physically and verbally. There's no doubt about that. But Bakugou has come so far since then. Acknowledged how much of an asshole he was. Realized how much his friendship or relationship with Deku means to him. And apologized for everything he did. And didn't stop making up for what he did after he apologized. He spent seven years of time and money so he could see Deku continue his dream, and so they could be rivals once again and stand by each other's side.

Ship or not, they mean a lot to each other. You really can't pretend they don't.

[theophagie-remade]

If i have to be totally honest, you know that buff doge meme? The tiny one is iz//////ch's development and the ultra buff one is bkdk and tgchk's.

"hahaha you nerd/oh? Crush? 😳"

"wah a pretty girl she's so nice/wow thx for always helping me friend 😊"

Vs

"I spent my entire life chasing after you, you are so amazing my symbol of victory, i can never just refuse you/i can have a normal conversation with you i'm so blessed, i'm the only one who can understand your feelings right now" (+you are the reason why i can't control my heart)

"Since the first time i met you i couldn't stop thinking about you, i want to talk about love with you/I envy your beautiful smile, i'll give you my blood for the rest of my life if it means you won't have to suffer alone anymore"

Like, you can't soak dry yeast in water and call it a bread and then compare it with a nicely kneaded dough rising.

Izu//ocha's underdeveloped relationship allegations are unbeatable but Horikoshi fr is now countering the "shonen is so misogynistic it turns gay" ones by having the main female character go gay go crazy go stupid for another girl instead of just letting her be an ornament on top of having the usual incredibly homoerotic boys duo, the grind never stops, heterosexuality truly is the ultimate enemy through and through  💯🙏⚡️⚡️🔥🔥🔥😤😤

[by-lers]

An edit I made which I posted a different version of on my TikTok

@noraeileenpuravo

If anyone's interested !

Enjoy~~

[jaded-ghoster]

missed chance in mha to show the trials and tribulations of the remedial course group just for Bakugo and Todoroki to immediately get charged with vigilantism because they decimated a guy just a few hours before the licensing paperwork was fully processed

[vitaxore]

Pls let him come back omg

Bakugou has been dead for 365 days and counting since August 2nd 2022

[spinji]

This is a reminder that the ending of the manga is less than a week from Bakudeku day.

It does not matter who endgames we have our food, our headcanons, our barbie dolls, our FUN.

Reblog this post as a reminder to drop all final chapter discourse in the trash and celebrate our boys on August 9th.

[rirururu]

Can we talk about how this entire My Hero Academia season 7 stage preview panel was just the voice actors/actresses of Izuku, Katsuki, Toga, Ochako, and Shigaraki discussing Bakudeku and Togachako for 50 minutes? 😭 These screenshots were certainly a choice.

We're getting close to endgame. Season 7 or 8 will probably be the last season. We know Horikoshi had recently confided in Bones on what the ending of MHA was going to be so they could start the production process sooner. Now there's a sudden shift of promotional material and interest towards these two ships in particular which is-- interesting.

Izuocha also briefly appear in the stage discussion but only at around the 40 minute mark near the end. They also made sure to put those screenshots below the Bakudeku apology scene. No hate towards Izuocha of course. I'm just saying: this is not how you treat a pairing in marketing if they were meant to be endgame.

Does this mean anything? Probably not. We've all sung this song before with shounen manga and been hurt in the past. But Bakudeku and Togachako might actually stand a chance here. Regardless if this comes true, I'll still love both pairings and appreciate the time these VAs took to discussing them.

[ilovereadingandstuff]

To all my dear bkdk friends out there...are we taking notice of what's happening?!?!

chapter 428 ENDED UP with the seemingly-about-to-happen introduction of Izuku and Ochako talk, in the same place were just before it started they also shared words to one another...

Do we...do we realize next chapter COULD BE the endgame of it all??!?!

what if next chapter is where we got confirmed of how the character relationships will end like?!?!?!

we could be given four options regarding Izuku's character:

Open ending, no canon ships whatsover related to him.

Izuocha canon

Bakudeku canon

Another one I guess??

Man...this could... be the end of all

I wanna believe what other people are saying, that idea of 'Ochako and Izuku comforting each other as besties and later Ochako giving him the slap on the face he needs, telling him to not let his love one go away, motivating him with the thought that, when she couldn't stay with Toga, at least he can with the one he wants' from my perspective, it would be Katsuki...

But what if Hori doesn't go that way?!?! What if he makes the 'heterosexual couple' canon just because that's how shonen works?"?"?"

or what if he takes on another route!!! and makes canon another I really can think on any couple!???!

Next week....could be the death of me.

[explodo-smash]

Are you one of the people expecting bkdk to be canon? I just learned that there are people that sincerely believe Hori would have Deku and Bkg have an explicit confession of love. That he's going to be the first popular mangaka to have a endgame gay ship. I am in so many mlm ships of shounen but I've never had the delusion that the author would make them canon despite the evidences otherwise. Like I thought it's fine to ship mlm as long as we stayed in our lane and never harassed the author.

After speaking together, we do believe based on the evidence in the series that BakuDeku being canon is not an even vaguely unreasonable conclusion to reach. We think the story is written in a way you can reach that conclusion easily, so much that even casual viewers who aren’t shippers are questioning the nature/potential conclusion of their relationship.

One of the most consistent and convincing lines of evidence for us has been Katsuki taking on roles/positions traditionally reserved for female heroines/love interests (if you’ve seen anyone call him “narratively androgynous,” this is what they’re referring to). In the context of Jump magazine, we have a number of shonen heroines and love interests to compare Katsuki to. The similarities are so striking that many notable people (including the VAs for the anime) have taken to calling him the heroine of the series.

However, we do think things like homophobia (whether it’s the writer or the audience/consumerbase at large– in this case we’re primarily referring to the audience), the safety of everyone involved, and timing are all unpredictable factors people have to take into consideration when writing/reading a story of this magnitude. Needless to say, if Horikoshi is indeed planning an endgame for bakudeku, he’d also have to take these factors into consideration.

Horikoshi has a record of being pretty in-tune with his fanbase. He definitely keeps some eye on bnha’s reception–for example, he mentioned a while back that both the people who love Katsuki and the people who hate him will have something to look forward to in this finale (we can now see what he meant lol). He’s very likely aware of the people who love bakudeku and the people who loathe it. 

Taking into account that he tends to be very intentional with his writing choices, he’s written this story in a way that not only centered bakudeku’s relationship over others (notably Izuku + Ochako’s, the character he’d presumably end up with if things were going predictably?), but also went the extra mile to distinguish their relationship as unique, closer than all their other relationships, the “biggest pillar of the story” (x, x). He didn’t have to do all of this. This extra push is what’s giving bakudeku that undeniable chance at an endgame right now, because it’s come to a point where no one can ignore the implications of scenes like this:

On the flip side, we don’t think people’s hesitation is unreasonable. It’s scary! If bakudeku were to fall flat of all this buildup/our expectations, it wouldn’t be the first time the romantic implications between a pair of boys in a story like this was ignored. Hell it wouldn’t be the first time a popular pair in general, (gay or not) got ignored in favor of what the author just felt like doing, regardless of what any previous developments in the story or interviews or official artwork would have us believe. There’s enough written evidence that canon bakudeku wouldn’t be surprising, but there’s also (at the time of writing this response) still room for things to go another direction, for all of this to be recontextualized and passed as something else. 

As per social norms/patterns of behavior, this would be disappointing as hell but not surprising. Especially for people who have been let down before, we completely understand the need/impulse to distance oneself from the idea/hope that bakudeku may become canon.

In all honesty, if it turns out bakudeku isn’t canon or left open-ended (say, an ending where they’re partners of some kind/the closest to one another without that explicit romantic confirmation), we would be frustrated/heartbroken. Not because we feel like Horikoshi shouldn’t do what he wants, he should. But because there’s been a clear effort to bring LGBTQ+ readers into the fold, and tell and portray our experiences in MHA. Horikoshi has done a beautiful, incredible job of writing various LGBTQ+ and marginalized experiences as a metaphor in his stories. Toga is a prime example. This is something that readers around the world have noticed, and it’s something MHA is special for (see this data x, and the further context/commentary on it given here x). 

We think it’s intentional. This story and the relationships in it have invoked experiences close and personal to many of us. Things are in a state right now where we wouldn’t just feel baited, we feel like readers would have a right to feel unsatisfied.

That being said, feeling unsatisfied doesn’t equate to feeling empowered to harass or bother others. Especially not Horikoshi himself, and also including other readers who had differing expectations. This is really the case across the board. We should all be able to control our anticipation/expectations without becoming assholes. 

It’s not just the shippers, by the way. People who work on the series or work closely with Horikoshi have rooted for bakudeku to go beyond. Izuku and Katsuki have already done what a good chunk of the readerbase thought impossible and became friends. People see their writing, their potential, and they want more. The voice actors (x, x sorry for the crunchy pic it's all i've got atm), academics (x), musicians (x, x) , editors (x) and more have all kind of rallied around Bakugou and Deku’s bond, with a particular sensitivity towards the deeply and uniquely intimate nature of it + how it evokes romance.

We’d like to see MHA exist free of the burdens previous popular shounen series have had placed on them. But that’s a conversation for the ending. As far as the fanbase goes, I think it’s super important people practice humility and caution when speaking to others. We have NO way of knowing what will happen. People who have been traumatized by situations like this in the past have a right to be anxious, people in general are allowed to withhold judgment until we have all the information we need. However, we don’t think having hope or confidence that this narrative might lead us to a canon bakudeku is unwarranted or delusional.

At the end of the day one thing is true, and this was something we had to fight to “prove” much longer than we had to prove Bakudeku had romantic potential - it’s that Kacchan and Izuku’s lives are going to be forever intertwined in this new era of their world that births from the finale. 

They’re forever intertwined in a way that’s not replicable for any other character in the series, and that’s amazing all on its own. We’ll just have to wait and see how far they take it! Thanks for reading if you got this far, and Happy Holidays!