#bkdk discussions

[coladaminx]

So if you watch this scene izuku and kacchan are sitting on both ends of the couch and what makes this scene so sweet and kinda sad is that izuku consciously or maybe unconsciously brings himself closer to his kacchan with the Manga version you can actively see him scooting closer (HE WANTS TO BE CLOSE TO HIM) and be able to actually talk with him Normally ;A; which we find out later he feels blessed being able to be near him and ya know talk and katsuki didn't push him away THEIR INSANE YA'LL!

[kathrahender]

One of the things I dislike most about fandoms is the hypocrisy of their fans. And this is about ships again, yes (it's about characters too ngl).

Every anti-Bakudeku/Catradora fan says things like "How can you ship couples like these? It's so abusive! It's disgusting! Catra/Bakugo were so mean towards Adora/Izuku! Catradora/Bakudeku is so toxic and you shouldn't like it!" and then, when talking about Hiccstrid people always love them together. Even if Astrid was also a bully to Hiccup. Even if her development was null (don't say she had development, her "redemption" arc was shit and she needed more time in screen and more scenes between her and Hiccup to change from "I hate all the dragons" to "I was wrong about them". And one scene with an OST called "Romantic Flight" is not enough to make her redemption believable). Talking about development, do I really have to say that you hate Catradora/Bakudeku, but at least Catra and Bakugo apologized to Adora and Izuku? Astrid didn't say sorry to Hiccup for bullying him/hurting him. And you should be aware of that.

Bakugo and Catra didn't redeem in one day, they didn't get up one day and decided to be nicer. No, they had to work in their redemption and they also had to work in their relationship with the people they hurt (Izuku and Adora). Astrid didn't do that. All she needed to change was flying in a dragon with the person she used to hate.

Having all of that in mind, tell me, which relationship would be more healthy, logical and believable? The ones where the bully had to work hard to make amends for their mistakes, to heal their scars to make it better for the MC? The ones where the bully apologized to their victim, to the people they hurt? Or the one where all it took to change from "I hate you so much" to "I like you" was one scene, and they didn't even apologize for being a bully/being a bad person? Think about that.

And think about another thing too. A girl hurting a boy is bad. "But she-" No. "But she's not being cruel and she-" Enough. Don't fucking justify female-on-male violence. Violence is violence. If you hate Bakugo/Catra so much for hurting Izuku/Adora, then treat Astrid the same way, because she was not an angel before changing. She's not innocent. She was a bully too. And if you despise Bakugo/Catra's past actions, despise Astrid's past actions too.

Where I also saw Double Standard in media is in shows where there's a female character stalking a male character. Two examples that come to my mind right now are Hinata Hyuga from Naruto and Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous Ladybug.

The thing about them is that a lot of people love them. A lot of people love a female character stalking a male character. Dear God, Marinette learned the daily schedule of Adrien, and she even traveled to another country for him. Because she couldn't bear thinking he was in another country where she couldn't see what was he doing. That's not freaking normal, you guys. "She was a girl" "She didn't know what was she doing" "She's just in love". Excuse me- What. the. hell. Okay. So you're saying you're okay with a girl being so jealous that everytime her "crush" talks to a girl she needs to be around. You're okay with a girl entering her crush's house without permission (Do you know that's a crime, right?). You're okay with a girl having her bedroom full of photos of her crush (and I'm not talking about a fictional character from a show she likes. I'm talking about a real person. Because in Miraculous Ladybug's world, Adrien is Marinette's classmate, not a character from a show). I'm sorry, but if you think that's okay, there's something wrong with you. People can like someone and have a crush, sure, but what she has is an obsession. What she's doing is not normal. (And she can do that in the show, after all she's a character, but don't act like she's a nice person and an innocent person because she isn't. And definitely don't see her actions as a normal thing).

People, please, don't think what she's doing is "iconic" or something like that. If you're watching this show, please, don't do the same as her with your crush because is awful and disgusting. She's not "cute" for doing this. She has a problem, I'm being serious.

If she had a better love story with Adrien, like she did in the movie, I would understand the Adrinette ship because in the new movie it's just beautiful and wholesome and it's actually healthy. But when it comes to the show, the Adrinette ship can't be nothing more than toxic. So stop acting like Marinette's actions towards Adrien are okay (Yes, Adrien's actions towards Ladybug weren't okay neither, but this post is about female characters).

What Hinata Hyuga did -in comparison with Marinette- is not that bad, but even then, following her crush (Naruto Uzumaki) everytime he's with his friends/classmates is not nice. It's not cute. It's not something people should do. And the Naruhina ship honestly makes no sense. Okay, I get it. It's the type of romance we all want to have. We all want our crush to fall in love with us. We all want to have a relationship with the person we used to have a crush on. But if you want to include that trope if your story, if you want them to end up together in a show/book/movie, give them development. The ship has to feel natural.

We have to feel/see the chemitry. And I saw (and still see) no chemistry between Naruto and Hinata. Sasunaru, on the other hand, has a lot of emotional moments together and moments when they bond (their chemistry is right there). And it's not for my own preference, but they would have made a better couple. Mostly because they shared more screen time with each other. Even though Shikanaru and Gaanaru are also good options for a canon ship. Because they also had chemistry. But Naruto's love for Hinata in my opinion didn't feel natural. It was forced.

After all of this, let me say something more. You probably don't care about a girl stalking a boy in fiction. You're probably like "She's not doing anything wrong" "She's a teenager" "Stop being judgmental, she's a good character" "She's a nice person". If what they do it's okay for you, let me ask you a question. What if their gender was reversed? Yeah. Imagine if Marinette and Hinata weren't girls. Imagine if they were boys. Imagine if a boy went to another country to control the actions of another girl. Imagine if a boy entered his crush's house without permission. Imagine if a boy stalked the girl he likes to see if she's talking to another boys. Imagine if a boy had pictures of the girl he likes in his bedroom. What would you think then? Oh- You would think it's disgusting? It would be disgusting for you, right? Why? Because it's a boy?

People, have this in mind:

👏👏👏 If a boy does something bad and a girl does the same thing they both need to be treated the same way 👏👏👏

A girl hitting a boy isn't funny. It shouldn't be played for fun. As well as a boy hitting a girl. Neither of them is funny. And neither of them can be justified.

A girl stalking a boy isn't funny. As well as a boy stalking a girl. Neither of them is funny. And neither of them can be justified.

That's why I ask you to stop being two-faced. If you despise someone's actions, you despise someone's actions, whether it is a boy or a girl. You want equality? Then fucking stop with the double standard.

A bad action is a bad action, no matter who makes it. Period.

[angy-grrr]

A thought about the leaks:

It makes more sense when you think about Izuku Midoriya as an unreliable narrator who wanted to talk about a hero story.

He doesnt want us, the audience, to know about the depth of his own feelings and emotions, because this is the story of how he and the rest of the class kept reaching out their hands to those in need of help.

Something that kind of surprised me when he talked to Ochako was how he would frame it almost like "you are my hero as you have reached out your hand to me multiple times since the beginning, and I want to also be a hero to you too, so I must help you with everyone else"; he wants to be a hero from the beginning to the end, and this act of kindness for Ochako and need to let out her emotions for Himiko is framed as heroic. This is him being a hero.

Who saves the heroes? Other heroes, instead of being alone. And anyone can be a hero. This is a story about it.

Izuku has no intentions of showing off his trauma, his loneliness, his pain, outside of what's heroic; he cant even talk about romantic feelings without going back to it.

It made me feel much better, to see it that way; its not that the whole story ends with what he said, he is literally skipping all he parts that wouldn't be part of a cool hero story.

He parallels AFO after all.

I think it makes sense considering how much different Ochako's feelings and thoughts are depending on who tells the story; when we have her POV while fighting Himiko everything is personal and emotional, but when she explains her feelings to Deku she doesnt even mention anything related to how much she wanted her in her life, besides the childhood friends comment, and even brings up the uses of her quirk. Its like she is comparing herself to Deku? Like if she noticed those things about quirks instead of focusing on the emotional aspect, then maybe she could have helped her sooner. And in the final chapter, when she is mentioned, its about her heroic work, not about how much they talked, or their hangouts, or anything like that.

Izuku skips the handhold, and I want to believe its bc it wouldnt make it for the hero story. He doesnt talk about what he felt when he sacrificed himself for the first time, but we saw his anger and his uncontrolled pain. He doesnt talk about how he forgives him, but we saw how much he always wanted him in his life. He doesnt talk about Katsuki dying. but we saw how someone else had to tell him they didnt lose anyone yet and he was getting help. Control your heart. Izuku hits his chest, black whip makes a heart, and he focuses in what he knows to do: heroics. He will save, and he will fight to save.

Another reason why he wouldnt bring back his own feelings when it comes to imitating Katsuki unconsciously even if he knows others would dislike it; he wants to be selfless hero Deku, and while he does admire Katsuki and cherish his company, he knows he himself wouldnt get a pass to be rude when he isnt as brilliant as him from his perspective.

And like any hero would, he wants his friends by his side, and forever to help others. That's what he wants to represent in his hero academia, another saving hero like his All Might.

(Also apparently Horikoshi and his team were especially pressured by Shonen Jump during these months and he admits he found it rushed, so once again the capitalistic corporation is the evil to defeat. This is just my own interpretation in universe)

[evelynpr]

Hi guys u wanna see my current insanity

The "I want to save you, love you, be like you, forever" love square of BNHA. How these narratives and characters were made so intricately really amazes me.

This is my bakudeku togachako relationships and thematics diagram- and honestly I'm quite astonished on how detailed it is. It is 12:09 am right now and I cannot stop thinking about them

If someone out there is interested in this massive mess, pls do just ask and I could help you decipher my own horrid handwriting. (I'm being genuine and earnest, I'm just also tired lmao)

Also special thanks to @dekusleftsock for how much you've made me love bnha again from just talking about these four. Seriously, I wouldn't be here without you and I hope you continue to do what you love (which I hope includes posting more abour them haha). If you see this, and wanna know more, I would truly be honored.

[mey-star]

Thoughts about the chapter

I wanna share my thoughts about the series right now but I'm also not even sure where I should start from. On one hand, I do have many scenes and moments that I enjoyed, but on the other, some choices just left me like "?????".. For example the battery of the camera dying on such an important moment, unless Toga had been saved or escaped, I don't really see the point in that?

Like in my mind, everything is telling me that she MUST have escaped and is alive, but at the same time I'm here looking at how we only have one chapter left, Deku still didn't get to talk with his mom, he will probably have a scene with Kacchan, talk about the embers, and might see their future selves... Will we even get the chance to explore anything about Toga in that case? (Unless it's left as an open ending..?)

And then in this chapter, although Uraraka cried and got comforted by Deku and eventually the rest of the class, Deku didn't talk that much about his own feelings before getting interrupted, so it's very unbelievable to me that that was enough for him to feel better? Will we get to see him open up more in the final chapter? If this is all it takes for him to move on with his feelings regarding this then I can't say that I'm feeling very fulfilled or satisfied, but I also won't bash the story and will wait for the final chapter to make up my mind.

Also, regarding Uraraka's character, I know that a LOT of my moots like her, but I was left disappointed with the conclusion to her character arc, as others have said already, I'm sure Hori didn't do it on purpose, but the way her character started, how much effort was put into making her her own person with her own goals, just to have her fail them, and then be comforted by the MC's line of "you are my hero", in the context of her having a crush on him I didn't like that at all, and again I'm sure that Hori didn't mean it this way, but it does feel like she's only allowed to succeed if it's related to the MC (and also crush), it kinda feels insulting in a way...

Except that, the one thing that I'm expecting (and HOPING FOR) to happen is a handhold between Izuku and Kacchan, since they're allowed to visit their families now maybe Deku will go visit his mom, and since Kacchan lives near them he might accompany him, they might go back to the place where they used to play as kids, or the river, Kacchan might fall again (whether on purpose or not 👀) and that's when Deku offers his hand and he finally accepts it... Am I expecting too much? Lol

[bicheetopuff]

There's a post from a long time ago asking "was this queerbait or was the ship just really popular" to criticize how people will put the label on anything they swear to god there was gay and "the writers were just too homophobic to make it canon"

and just to add onto your post about kr/////bk, this is exactly what a lot of people in the fandom started claiming, together with saying that Hori did it on purpose and then "threw their relationship away in favor of another".

Like, there's a whole conversation that i think should be had on this thought alone. It's fascinating.

Writers don’t owe their fandoms anything so saying they’re “too homophobic” to make them canon just feels off to me. Most of the time stories are written with outlines so the ending is usually already determined in a loose sense. That doesn’t mean it can’t change, but if an author doesn’t intend to make two characters end up together, then they won’t end up together. It’s their decision at the end of the day.

That being said though, compulsory heteronormative writing is definitely a thing so a lot of ships that seem undeniably romantic, aren’t even considered by authors because of that. While it’s a result of internalized homophobia, it’s usually not purposeful, nor does it come from a malicious place. However, I don’t think that’s the case for kr/bk at all.

I’m not sure what major undeniably romantic moments there are for Katsuki and Kirishima because I wasn’t apart of the fandom when the ship blew up, so I never really saw anyone talk about them much in a meaningful way, but I’ve always seen their relationship as underdeveloped. I think they definitely had the opportunity to have more growth as friends outside of Hori just confirming that they’re such, so their friendship just feels unsatisfying. Then again, Katsuki isn’t the main character so it makes sense that there wouldn’t be as much focus on his relationships with other characters.

While I do think their relationship could’ve used more screen time outside of an interaction once every fifty chapters or so, I don’t think their relationship was tossed to the side either. Bkdk has always been a focal point since chapter 1. Literally almost everything leads back to them in some way and I think it’s kind of juvenile to deny that whether you ship them or not. You can’t really throw something away for the sake of something better when that something better has been there and favored since the beginning. That something better has always been the star but that doesn’t mean the other thing needs to be thrown away, it’s just never been as important as people made it out to be.

No hate to the ship but I can only think of three significant moments between katsuki and kiri and they all happen over 50 chapters apart from each other, and none of it felt romantic to me. If anything, I think their most meaningful connection is how their relationships with Izuku and Mina parallel each other.

I genuinely don’t understand how people can say that Hori cowered away from kr/bk for the sake of bkdk when the story literally revolves around them and I can’t think of any other reason why outside of just pettiness… which just kinda feels disappointing. It’s a fictional ship between two boys who have only a handful of interactions from a shonen anime… it not being canon shouldn’t be the end of the world just like bkdk not being canon isn’t the end of the world. There’s no use in accusing hori of being homophobic just because something didn’t go your way, especially when he was better queer representation than most other shonens.

[kacchanot-fucking-deal-with-this]

me: i just have to power through writing this to get the first draft done, and then i can go back and edit and add scenes that feel missing- the worms in my brain: but you will forget the scenes you want to add if you don't go back and add them right now so you should definitely do that instead

[dekusleftsock]

Toga Himiko - To want a savior

When we think of Himiko, we often come to the conclusion that she is a girl of tragedy. Someone who has repeatedly been rejected by the society around her, and turning her into a “real villain”.

But have we stopped to think that Toga has already chosen to be saved? Let’s talk: the mind and choices to Himiko.

What is a hero?

Now, I’ve kinda talked about being a hero a lot. But I wanna ask the question, what does being a hero mean to Himiko?

Lets go back to our first introduction to Toga, why did she join the league?

Horikoshi often describes Stain as a “dark hero” or vigilante over an actual villain, making Himiko’s inspiration feel out of place (im not completely sure on this, I think he did? If I’m wrong sorry!! Working off of a vague memory I read of an interview). Stain has always had a motive, and that motive is to rid the world of “bad” and “corrupt” heroes. In stains belief system, a Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for the safety of others. Things like monetary pay or an egocentric Justice, things that Iida or Ochako have as reasons to be heroes at the beginning of mha, are villainess things in his mind. (Stain also questions the ideas and boundaries of what “true villainy” is because, to be honest, it’s a pretty relative term. It depends on your morals and ethics over anything else, and that kinda gets muddled and fuzzy the bigger the group. Also, are villains and criminals different? Like aoyama?)

So what does this mean for Himiko? Well, we don’t really know. We’re working off scraps, a vague idea of “being free”. Maybe she believes that fulfilling stains ideas will somehow bring this freedom, because she will only be around “true heroes”.

What we do know, is that she sees Izuku’s sacrifices with his beat up body, and Ochako’s impressive tenacity and empathy for others, and she adores it. She LOVES THAT SHIT. Of course, she could also just be attracted to Dekus blood or Ochakos life, but I think it’s more than that. Other than age, there’s no one in the league or general villains (that we know of) that she has developed these admirations or crushes on. She loves the league, but she certainly doesn’t admire them.

But she does admire Ochako and Izuku.

She “chose” two hero students specifically. Two students that have repeatedly proven themselves for their heroics. They are the ideal heroes in Stains eyes, because they repeatedly sacrifice.

Because Toga Himiko, would like to have someone who would sacrifice for her.

Do you want kill me too?

Himiko doesn’t hate heroes. She never has. Heroes have never been considered to her as a direct issue. Everyone else in the league was somehow done wrong by a hero, one way or another. Usually, this wrongness is then taken in as a vulnerability for someone else (like afo) to nurture into a festering hatred. Shigaraki and Dabi both experienced this, and spinner simply followed in Shigaraki’s footsteps after the (poorly written) fantasy racism that he experienced. (I refuse to just say racism, because it’s not at all an accurate portrayal of how racism works and it will continue to NEVER BE an accurate portrayal. Ever. I want to make that clear)

Himiko, however, has had an indirect grooming to some extent. This puts her in an interesting place of vulnerability; one that afo exploits and Ochako ignores.

Going all the way back to 289, this chapter encompasses two things: Himiko’s crush and Himiko’s hope.

Her crush, not understanding of what she’s saying or asking, is obviously confused by this inadvertent confession. Ochako doesn’t realize until 348’s “unrequited love” chapter what this whole scene meant to Himiko.

Because, not only is this her direct confession, but an inadvertent call for saving. Of course, Himiko’s idea of being saved by Ochako, and Ochako’s idea of saving Himiko, would be very contradictory.

But it’s still there.

This is Ochako’s chance.

And she BLEW IT!

And god, she knew it. She knows that’s what this is, that’s what this realization was.

Because Ochako is supposed to be the hero that makes other people smile, not to be the one smiling.

Her thinking of Himiko during her speech? That was Ochako realizing her call for help.

Thinking of Himiko after her confession to Izuku? She realized that it was, not only a call for help directed at Izuku, but that her previous interaction was a confession.

The real Himiko Toga

So, that begs the question hero, who is the real Himiko Toga?

I don’t think this is about not loving someone. Himiko does love people, she only wanted to “become” Jin when she desperately needed to be. Because Jin loved Shigaraki and Dabi, Jin loved Toga Himiko.

And that’s something that she can’t do right now. She can’t love shigaraki, she can’t love afo, she can’t even love dabi, the man who gifted her that vile of blood. She can’t even love herself because of it.

That is, if love is the only factor here.

She can still love Dabi or Shigaraki, she can still admire afo, but that doesn’t mean she admires their hatred or loves their destruction. Jin loved people, he loved the life he built in the league. Himiko admired that happiness, she loved and cared for him. Thats why she can use his quirk but no one else’s.

What if, she needs to both love and admire someone? What if she never loved Izuku, but admired his heroics, like Ochako?

The scene that ochako thinks of here is actually Himiko calling out Ochako directly on loving someone.

This is about their shared crush, but was that crush ever real? Did it ever even matter? Is it just about their first interaction, Ochako’s obsessive rumination over this one interaction? Is this a callback to “ever since I met you, I just couldn’t stop thinking about you”?

What if it’s all of those things? It’s not so far fetched to believe that Ochako needs to use her thoughts, her love, and her admiration to save Himiko.

Because this is Ochako and Himiko’s acceptance of their crushes, heartbreaks, and admirations. Admiration and love get so muddled over time. There is a difference, especially when that admiration only holds you back, like in Ochako’s case, like in Himiko’s case. But they’re still apart of the same concepts.

Himiko’s love also isn’t just romantic, it’s familial or platonic. She’s rough around the edges, but the Himiko that went to Ochako to see if she would be saved is still there. And that’s why she’s not letting her go anymore.

Because Himiko Toga, the real one, still wants to be saved.

[socalledsomethingorother]

gatekeeping the second user since i see no one talking about him.

you’ve lost your chance. he’s mine now

[obsessive-dumpling]

I know none of you really want to hear this, but it's December...it's time to start thinking about Horikoshi's end game. Because it's coming for us whether we like it or not.

Personally, I can't help but feel like Katsuki's resurrection won't come until just before the end. Which kills me. And the fact that it kills me makes me think even more that, that is Horikoshi's plan.

I have no idea if he will grace us with a time skip to show us where everyone ends up after the war or if it will just be an open ended ending (though I'm more inclined to lean towards the latter), BUT I am more hopeful than ever that it is a real possibility that we get an ending hand holding scene.

What are your thoughts?

[dabideku-tododeku-bakudeku-2023]

Question?

Tell me, which of these would make a better Alpha for an Omega Izuku? Personally, I like both for different reasons.

Bakugou Katsuki: He is a typical Alpha type; strong, aggressive, confident, and passionate. He is certain of who he is and what he is going to do unless Izuku is involved. Because of his previous treatment of Izuku, he feels that he isn't worth the warmth the omega exudes constantly, but he is willing to DIE to protect it, to protect HIM. He will sound angry and cuss up a storm in the eyes of the public. He also sounds like he despises Izuku when others are within earshot, but at home, his voice softens with a hint of an edge to it. At night, in their den, Katsuki will cuddle and speak sweetly to Izuku, especially when Izuku has a nightmare (which given the war, that happens often.) NOTE: The GIF I used for Katsuki was chosen because it looks like he is looking at Izuku, then telling somebody in front of him to back off, or they will get an explosion to the groin!

Next!

Todoroki Shoto: He is not a typical Alpha. Sure, he is strong and he can be passionate, but he isn't wholly aggressive and he isn't all that confident. This comes from his past. As he was pushed to be better than the best, he was told that emotion was a weakness and that he should throw away all weaknesses. His father did his best to make an aggressive, cold-hearted powerhouse that surpasses all, and he was for a time...until Izuku came along. With that fateful fight, and Izuku convincing Shoto that he was his own person and that his quirk was his own, Shoto changed. The aggression eased off some, and his emotions started to resurface. Although confident in combat due to his training, around others, and especially around Izuku, his confidence shatters. He is afraid to hurt Izuku and will treat him gingerly. Upon Izuku accepting him, he will steadily grow more passionate; more passionate about loving him, caring for him, and protecting him. Like Katsuki, he feels less than worthy of Izuku's affection, but also like Katsuki, he is willing to die to protect and prove his love for Izuku.

Conclusion!

Both guys love and cherish Izuku in their own ways; Katsuki is more loud and edgy, while Shoto is more gentle and unsure in his affections. I can think of several stories for both of them! What do you think about what I have said? What can you add in support of them? What can you add against them? Please, I would love to know your thoughts!

[angy-grrr]

wait did hori gave Ochako kind of the “rival” role in the end? What I mean is, she has her own fight separate from him yet their talk is important and interpreted as romantic by some, their talks focus on heroism and in the ways they can try to help others and each other, they are part of the same side in terms of goals, her support is really important to him and viceversa, and they admire each other’s heroic actions and characteristics.

on another hand katsuki has more of the “love interest” role -he’s specifically targeted to enrage him, his character revolves almost exclusively around him, his actions are driven by thoughts about Izuku, his whole character development comes from finding a balance and making peace with his complex feelings for Izuku -which was what I believe many wanted for Ochako, and maybe Hori also planned something like that*- and the insecurities that came from them. Heroics have a meaning in Katsuki’s life when he is with Izuku, he can’t picture being a hero and striving to be the best when Deku isn’t by his side.

So. Just some observations. It just kind of looks like he took the general stereotypical developments rivals and love interests get in shonen, started continuing them and ended up with the complete opposite lol.

*with this I mean we should get back to when Ochako decided to push down her feelings for him; the idea could have been back then that she would end up learning she needed to accept what she feels for him and start acting proud on it, thanks to her interactions with Himiko, and end her development around taking Izuku into her life thru a romantic confession from her end.

However, right now we saw for the last years this hasn’t been the case -her conflict and focus are around her villain Himiko and heroics, and her relationship with Izuku is about how much they inspired each other when it comes to becoming a hero who saves, deeply respecting and caring for each other. On another hand, Katsuki at the start was supposed to learn about being more like a hero, and he has ofc, but it revolves completely around his acceptance of Izuku. At first it was framed as accepting Izuku’s type of heroism, but I believe this has developed into just. Izuku. And what role he can have to be in his life, if he can fulfill it, if he can support him, if this could ever end. Katsuki’s new heroism, protecting others in his own way, accepting other’s help, etc, is exclusively because he accepted those feelings. EDIT:

you know who also held hands in what looked like a romantic way but ended up being meant to be platonic? you guessed it, fucking nar*to and sas*ke

bye

[pikahlua]

Control your heart, but not like how you think

I've tried so many ways to write this idea out before. Hopefully I get it right this time.

There's a widely-accepted fandom interpretation going around a lot lately that I think needs to be challenged. Perhaps I won't be able to express it in its complete version because I don't subscribe to it, but I'll try my best to approximate it and hopefully most of you will know what I'm generally talking about.

It seems like a lot of people believe "control your heart" is a plot line that refers to Izuku's inability to contain his love for Katsuki, that "control your heart" is advice from a well-intentioned but ultimately incorrect adult who wants Izuku to suppress his feelings for Katsuki, and that Izuku is hiding his feelings but will eventually let go and embrace his love for Katsuki in an explosion of anger. Or something. Admittedly this interpretation varies a lot depending on who's talking about it, and I cannot hope to encompass every interpretation of it with one paragraph. But it always boils down to some version of "control your heart is about Izuku repressing his feelings for Katsuki."

Let's discuss.

Table of Contents I. Why I want to challenge this aka false dichotomies II. What Banjou said III. Katsuki's rage IV. Tomura doesn't control his heart V. The AFO connection

I. Why I want to challenge this aka false dichotomies

I want to challenge this interpretation of "control your heart," but my main goal here is not to shoot down BKDKs. I want this to be understood more than anything: the goal here is to help BakuDekus.

You see, fandom and shipping arguments--they're very susceptible to false dichotomies. I believe this is the source of a LOT of certain shipping interpretations that seem to go so far in one direction they fall off the rails.

I'll give you an example. I vividly remember how an anti-BKDK once went for chapter 1 in which Izuku rescues Katsuki. They started with the argument "Izuku didn't save Katsuki because he loves him, he would have saved anyone else in that situation."

This is a false dichotomy. "Izuku loves Katsuki" and "Izuku would have saved anyone else in that situation" are NOT mutually exclusive. It's very possible for both statements to be true (and I would argue they both ARE true). However, in the heat of an argument, it's very easy to accept the framing of these statements as mutually exclusive without stopping to think. You can try to argue against the premise. You can try to argue "no, Izuku saved Katsuki BECAUSE he loves Katsuki, and he wouldn't have done the same for anyone else," but you have to ignore or distort so many canon elements to get there. That makes it very easy for your opponent to point and laugh about how your interpretations are so wrong that they have to bend the story to make them work.

But there's another option: reject the framing. If you accept the framing, you're allowing the other person to dictate the discussion.

What does this look like? Let the evidence lead you to the conclusion and not the other way around. And that's a difficult thing to do. I would never say I'm perfect at it either. But if you are convinced Izuku loves Katsuki, then whatever evidence lies in canon shouldn't scare you. In some way, it doesn't MATTER what happens in canon--in that you're invested in their dynamic together and you'll ship them regardless, because there's ALWAYS an interpretation that will support the ship. But you can read the ship into whatever the canon provides. If someone says "Izuku would save anyone, so the reason he saves Katsuki is not because he loves him," one potential response would be "Izuku would save anyone, and also he saves Katsuki because he loves him." Don't let others control how you interpret the story with their words.

To take this back to "control your heart," there may or may not have been a shipping argument that spawned this--I have no idea. But there doesn't have to be. The point is to challenge the framing of the assumption, because there may still be another shipping interpretation if the original assumption doesn't hold up.

"Control your heart is bad advice that causes Izuku to repress his love for Katsuki and he will end up exploding" is one way to frame this.

But consider this new framing: "Control your heart is about Izuku using his anger/love as a source of strength so long as he doesn't let it control him--just like Katsuki does."

II. What Banjou said

The "control your heart" line comes from Banjou in chapter 213.

But I think people really gloss over the part that comes before:

This isn't about repression. Banjou says, "It's okay to get mad. That rage can be the source." Control here is not about repression at all.

This is about whether or not the rage controls Izuku instead. This is about Izuku going berserk and losing his senses. I've discussed the phrasing in Japanese before:

The phrase in Japanese is "kokoro wo sei suru" (心を制する). The word in question, kokoro, does not have a direct translation into English. It is often translated as "heart," "mind," or "spirit." The meaning of sei suru is "to control," "to command," "to get the better of."

The notion that "control your heart" means "don't let your rage get the better of you" is supported by chapter 367.

Tomura reveals that the reason he wanted to leave Izuku the "presents" of his comrades beaten and Katsuki dead was to anger him--which would cause Izuku to fight poorly. Mirio talking Izuku down after this further supports that "control your heart" is meant to be a good thing, something Izuku should do.

We also see a precursor to this in All Might vs AFO in Kamino (you know, the first one). AFO was determined for years to find something to "steal a bit" of his heart away--and he came up with using Nana Shimura's grandson.

Tomura himself stokes All Might's anger by attacking his students at the USJ.

But each time All Might gets angry, he keeps control and saves the day.

All Might is able to be effective despite his anger--or perhaps even because of it. Izuku needs to be able to do the same.

III. Katsuki's rage

In a weird way, the poster child for using anger as a source of strength is Katsuki Bakugou.

I say "in a weird way" because Katsuki's anger is often used as a front for something else. He hides behind anger. But at the same time, since he seems to be angry constantly, he surprises everyone with how much control he has over himself...

...to the point where Tomura even misjudges Katsuki's veil of anger at the sports festival to be resentment towards society.

And we know a big part of the dynamic between Izuku and Katsuki is about emulation.

We've just had a grand battle between Katsuki and AFO in which Katsuki achieved his strength by emulating Izuku--his battle analysis, his tolerance and willingness to endure pain, his use of his own pain as a weapon, etc.

So what if "control your heart" is the corollary to what Katsuki just went through? What if Izuku's "control your heart" is about him learning to use anger to win in the way Katsuki always does?

IV. Tomura doesn't control his heart

If Izuku does need to "control his heart" to be like Katsuki, this provides an opportunity for a moment in Izuku vs Tomura where Izuku can acknowledge Katsuki's role in Izuku's growth. This will depend on Tomura acting as a foil.

I start with the assumption "control your heart" means “if I want to save the people I love, I can’t let anger in the moment control me. I have to use my anger, which comes from my love, to reach the bigger goal.” In this case, Izuku has to control his heart long enough to get what he wants (to save Tomura), and he may have to go even further by applying this ability to someone else who doesn’t control their heart (Tomura).

I do think Tomura can represent a person who is not in control of his heart--which is why he lashes out and destroys everything. He gives in to his instincts to destroy. He loves destruction. And he represses the child inside him who has to explode out when someone like Mirio says he doesn't have any friends. If there's any character who represses his true desires, it has to be Tomura Shigaraki. He denies the idea that he's human, that he's saveable, that there's a crying child inside him--things Izuku asserts because he has seen the truth of them. So Izuku learning to control his heart may be what allows him to save Tomura, and if so, he can give some credit for that to Katsuki (and to All Might as well).

V. The AFO connection

I think one of the major details people discuss surrounding "control your heart" is this notion that Izuku lied about what triggered Black Whip in chapter 217.

"Any clue what set it off? Maybe something's triggering it." "I dunno..."

There's this assumption by the fandom that Izuku is lying because he should know that Black Whip going berserk was triggered by Izuku's anger at Monoma insulting Katsuki. Honestly, I think this is a misreading of the above scene. I don't blame anyone for the misreading because the scene is written in a confusing manner, but I think this page is talking about something else.

Katsuki isn't asking "What caused Black Whip to go berserk?" (answer: Izuku's emotions). He's asking "What caused Black Whip to become accessible?" In other words, why is One For All evolving in this way now? Why didn't All Might have access to these quirks when he had One For All? Why didn't you, Izuku, have access to these quirks until now?

To which all Izuku can say is, "they [the vestiges] just told me the time was right."

If you think about it, it doesn't make sense that Izuku's emotions triggered the "unlocking" of Black Whip and Izuku's sudden access to all these new quirks. If all that was necessary was for Izuku to have a surge of emotion and the desire to "catch" something to unlock Black Whip, he should have unlocked it back at summer camp when Compress kidnapped Katsuki or when Katsuki was about to disappear through Kurogiri's portal.

So in the above page, we're really meant to hone in on Katsuki's suggestion: "Yeah, something to do with All For One..."

There's evidence to support All For One is connected to One For All's evolution. In chapter 209, right before Izuku's team's match in the joint training exercise (where Black Whip first appears), we "randomly" get a cut to All For One in prison:

There are plenty of hints scattered about that this all has something to do with AFO. Remember, Izuku has a dream where Yoichi spoke to him the night before the Joint Training Arc begins--and the dream included a bit of AFO's backstory. It's very possible this was the true "unlocking." I would argue the best hint we have about what's happening with OFA is AFO's line of "I hear my little brother's voice!"

...because it sounds like the AFO-OFA resonance from chapter 369.

Putting all these pieces together, I would like to share with you my current theory about "control your heart." You don't have to subscribe to this idea, but this is where I personally am at right now.

I think the fact Black Whip went out of control in the Joint Training Arc reveals this evolution is about the resonance between OFA and AFO (the QUIRKS, not the people) that we’re seeing in the story right now. Katsuki’s role in this is that he’s the trigger for Izuku’s anger, which didn’t unlock the quirk factors but allowed them to go berserk in the moment. The idea of "control your heart" most likely means “anger is good, but don’t let your anger control you, you should be the one in control.” And Shigaraki understands this because he tries to provoke Izuku’s anger to defeat him. Izuku has to keep his own anger from interfering with his heart’s desire to save Shigaraki, and Katsuki is horrified that he’s a trigger for Izuku in this way (which is why he freaks out when Izuku attacks Tomura in the Paranormal Liberation War, and why he tells Izuku "stop trying to win this on your own" after he gets stabbed saving Izuku). This informs Katsuki's desire to "no longer stand in Izuku's way," because Izuku can only be triggered when Katsuki isn't strong enough to keep himself from being exploited. Izuku was triggered by Katsuki's death, but he managed to CONTROL his anger, not suppress it. He's still angry, he's just channeling it to achieve his goal of saving Tomura. And it's likely this point could come up in Izuku's attempt to save Tomura as Tomura is someone not in great control of his heart. And in the same way Izuku was an example for Katsuki to emulate so that he could use his pain and analysis as a weapon to defeat AFO, Izuku can use Katsuki's example to emulate "controlling his heart" aka controlling his rage to be his power in battle.

For your consideration.

[mamapyjama]

I woke up thinking about vestige Katsuki casually having a chat with vestige All Might. WHAT THE DUCK was happening there if not something seriously fruity and why did we not circle back to it once we’d got over the fact that his heart had exploded?!

What must non-bkdks think is going on? I’m not even sure if we’ve fully discussed what is going on? Whyyy would he have a vestige if he doesn’t have OFA?

It’s not ghosts because a) ghosts haven’t been introduced as a concept in-universe and b) AM is there and he ain’t dead.

SO WHAT IS HAPPENING? Did we just totally overlook the fact that Hori made it canon that Katsuki either has OFA or just has access to the vestige realm for reasons unknown?

Also why is he fully clothed and able to speak, when poor Izuku spent every vestige scene nude and mute? And why is the background white not black? Vestige purgatory? A vestige waiting room?

I feel like when you suddenly realise you haven’t studied and the class has all moved on to new topics and you’ve somehow missed a key, fundamental part of how The Whole Thing works.

If anyone has meta on this please point me towards it because at this point I’m—

Edit 19.01.23: before anyone else tells me he had OFA in the movie, I know. 😙 I wrote a whole ‘nother bit about it here:

Edit 21.01.23: added All Might’s vestige for reference. ✌️

[habken]

Do you prefer bkdk or dkbk? Or bkdkbk?

nah I’m not gonna discuss top and bottom dynamics on here

[darkcircles4lyfe]

Behind the locked door

In honor of Izuku’s mask disintegrating into rubble, I think it’s finally time for me to really dig deep into his character. I’ve been keeping this one in my back pocket for a while. Amid all the talk about Izuku’s fading narration, the “control your heart” subplot, I’ve been trying to find the words to articulate how I know exactly where this is going, at least on a certain level. Most recently, I read this meta from pika who brings up how the word “control” alone can be misconstrued (by us). And then I thought about how a while back I made a similar point, although I said Izuku was the one who got it wrong. At that time, I was holding back a huge piece of evidence because it was external to the story and I wasn’t sure it would be received well. As a result, my argument fell a little flat. Well, now—after 411, right before leaks for 412—it might be my last chance to play this card.

So about that external evidence. I struggle to bring it up because it’s gonna sound an awful lot like I’m projecting onto Izuku if I don’t do it justice. But… I look at the way his storyline has been going lately and I see a pattern emerging that I’m very familiar with. Fortunately, I don’t have to dump a bunch of personal junk on you in order to illustrate this pattern, because a certain personality typing system already has it all figured out: the Enneagram.

Now, hang on. I’m not one to put people in boxes. My trans ass? I managed to get a different result every time I retook the P0ttermore quiz. MBTI, zodiacs—not my thing. But the Enneagram comes the closest I’ve ever seen to covering all the bases and revealing actually meaningful insight, at least for myself. On top of that, I find it extremely useful for fleshing out fictional characters, hence this post will be taking advantage of that.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, here’s a quick overview: The Enneagram consists of 9 individual personality types, each arranged carefully in a sequential, circular manner. They are also simply named 1 through 9. While this might seem kinda basic, there is actually a surprising amount of nuance and fluidity involved. Typing is done largely through personal introspection (you don’t really have to take a test). Adjacent numbers share some core themes with each other, and according to a web of arrows between them, one type can take on either positive or negative traits associated with other types depending on how emotionally ‘healthy’ they are, causing a lengthy spectrum of different ways each type can manifest. That part gets kinda complicated to explain here, so for more info, the Enneagram Institute website is a decent place to start. I also highly recommend the Enneagram album by Sleeping At Last (and if you really want to dedicate some time, the accompanying podcast) to really get inside the heads of the types on a deeper level.

My interest in applying the Enneagram to Izuku comes from observing how differently one can interpret his character based on whether you read him as a 2 or a 9. And even though no one uses this language to talk about him, the distinction accounts for a bunch of different rifts in the fandom: whether you appreciate bkdk’s relationship, whether you can acknowledge Izuku’s flaws and weaknesses, the severity of his vigilante/rogue phase, and most importantly the gravity of his concealed heart, his rage, and what it all means—what he needs in order to grow and triumph.

Discussion of Enneagram types in the fandom is pretty scarce, but where it exists, I have only seen him labeled as a 2. Type 9 and type 2 can be similar at a glance in a lot of ways (actually, 9s can be mistaken for any type because they are like all of them combined). It’s easy to see Izuku as a 2 because he is the helping hero archetype. He puts others’ needs above his own and he is always ready and eager to help. If you listen to Sleeping At Last’s song for 2, you’ll notice that it’s all about care and noble sacrifice with the underlying theme of neglecting or even harming oneself: “I just want to build you up, until your good as new, and maybe one day I will get around to fixing myself too.” Sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, here’s the thing. You really get to know what your type is by how it hits you where it hurts, so I like to focus on each type’s basic fear and basic desire, first and foremost, as a tell. A 2′s basic fear is of being worthless and unloved. Consequently, their most basic desire is to be loved. And 2s have been taught through their negative experiences that love is conditional, something they have to earn from others. They need to be needed. So let’s say you think Izuku is a 2. This means you consider his heroic, self-sacrificing tendencies to be a result of his growing up quirkless and being told he is worthless and powerless because of it. Through this lens, he is trying to prove himself to the world by being useful. Along these lines, you may also assume he is trying to prove himself to Katsuki. Taking this train of thought even further, you may interpret Izuku’s relationship with Katsuki as an obsession of his, where he is either blind to Katsuki’s more negative traits in favor of gaining his love and praise, or else bitterly determined to prove him wrong. This is how a 2 might behave in an unhealthy relationship with an 8, which, yes, I do think Katsuki is an 8. That’s a tangent for another time, though.

But does Izuku ever “need to be needed?” It’s worth noting that while 2s’ search for validation might seem insincere, it is actually motivated by a deep, heartbreaking insecurity. They think they don’t even deserve love unless they are useful to someone, so they do everything they can to be worthy. Does Izuku show signs of this motivation?

If I stop to think about it, I can’t exactly see this in Izuku’s character. Yeah, his dream is to be a hero, and in his childhood, he was denied that dream. However I think we need to take a step back from that for a second if we want to dig deep. I mean, a lot of the other characters also behave heroically, act selflessly, and strive to help. Does that mean all of them are 2s as well? Of course not. So let’s instead turn to observe how Izuku acts with his loved ones, friends, and peers in other/adjacent contexts:

Inko: He is committed to protecting his mother from fearing for his safety. He wants to be good enough to not cause her to worry, rather than good enough to make her proud or make her love him. Idk about his father but at this point I think it’s safe to assume he is deeply unimportant.

All Might: I would describe their relationship as one of mutual responsibility. Izuku feels a responsibility to uphold All Might’s legacy, All Might feels a responsibility to teach him well. Because of this mutuality, I don’t think it quite makes sense to say Izuku deliberately seeks approval for its own sake. You know what I mean? They may be a mentor and a pupil but in practice they are almost more like co-conspirators. They don’t really have a power dynamic going on.

Shouto, Tenya, other friends: Izuku seems to take an interest in what makes his friends tick, and he sets himself aside in order to both analytically and intuitively determine what’s wrong and how to solve it. Examples include his fight against Shouto in the sports festival, and his stubborn concern for Tenya’s reaction to his brother’s forced retirement. He will put himself in the line of fire specifically when confronted with another person’s inner demons. This is not a labor that is asked of professional heroes, it’s just who Izuku is. You can also extend this observation to how he sees through Tomura to Tenko, but I’ll get to that later. Basically, while 2s seek to help in all kinds of ways, a 9’s strategy is always centered on the realm of the mind.

Kota: Adjacent to the paragraph above, before Izuku literally gets into a position where he needs to save Kota, he becomes interested in the boy’s point of view out of genuine curiosity. He doesn’t go “oh no, this kid doesn’t like heroes, I better get him to like heroes.” Instead he seeks out information as to why he thinks that way, and patiently listens. He’s sorry about what happened to Kota, and he understands. Twice (ch 71 and 72), he recognizes the fact that everyone has their own point of view on quirks, and he can’t really do anything about that.

Mirio: This might be one of the most telling examples. Mirio is the platonic ideal of an All Might successor. He’s “perfect.” He even looks the part. While this initially makes Izuku uncomfortable, he doesn’t become insecure and defensive over it. On the contrary, he easily comes to the conclusion that actually, Mirio should have One for All. Just like that (ch 172). If Mirio hadn’t dismissed the “hypothetical,” he probably would have gone through with giving it to him. That’s not how a 2 would respond. A 2 would double down and aim to be better than Mirio by trying to establish some relationship of need, fueled by the insecurity. Their shared subplot with Eri would have looked pretty different, I think.

Katsuki: I’ve mentioned before that I believe their rivalry only exists because Katsuki put it there. First of all, we can see that after the sludge villain incident, Izuku weirdly takes Katsuki’s dismissal of Izuku’s help as practical advice. Like, “oh yeah, I guess what I did was pretty stupid and dangerous, and I’m not cut out for this hero stuff. Now I can move on and find a realistic career.” Hello?? He accepted that so easily. So Izuku clearly isn’t motivated by a desire to prove himself to Katsuki. Even when he proclaims he’s going to surpass him, it’s like he’s happily mimicking Katsuki, not reacting based on insecurity or pride. Izuku is content to meet Katsuki wherever he is, and he’s satisfied with whatever kind of relationship they are able to have, including a rivalry, so he isn’t vying for his affection either. We can observe this when he gives up the role of reaching out a hand to save Katsuki to Kirishima, and also when he thinks about how “blessed” he is to even have a normal conversation with Katsuki. He doesn’t push things. It’s also stated in Deku vs. Kacchan 2 that Izuku doesn’t excuse or overlook Katsuki’s “bad side” but still admires him for his other traits. This is not at all characteristic of a toxic 2x8 relationship.

When 2s are at their very worst or pushed into unhealthy situations, they tend to become more needy and self-centered, even downright manipulative. But at Izuku’s worst, when he went rogue, he pushed everyone away to avoid being a burden. When the refugees at UA tried to prevent him from returning, he was like, “you’re right” and would have turned back immediately if not for his friends, loved ones, and other people who care about him telling him it was all okay. Meanwhile, Katsuki, in true 8 fashion, was pissed off at being rejected and having to deal with Izuku’s stubborn and evasive side (oh yeah, have I mentioned 9s are actually stubborn as hell?), but he made sure to establish that they are (he is) here to step in when Izuku can’t handle things by himself. Katsuki even opened up and admitted to his own weaknesses to show why mutual support is so important. Tbh, a lot of the above can be construed as just super healthy type 2 behavior, but not this. The way Izuku acts at his lowest, and his dynamic with Katsuki? Totally different. Dead giveaway for a 9.

Let’s get into the type 9 itself in more detail to show how it applies to Izuku more deeply—seriously, it’s beat for beat. One of the key differences is, while 2s seek validation, 9s are actually resigned to the belief that they aren’t important. Similar to 2s, a 9′s basic fear is of separation, but their basic desire is actually just peace or harmony rather than love. Notice how these motivations are just like a 2’s, except they have the “self” part taken out. With that in mind, they “achieve” their basic desire through selflessness in and of itself, without the need for recognition. That’s not to say that 9s are better than 2s. In fact, a 9 can be worse, in a way. If unhealthy, they will seek peace at almost any cost to themselves. In other words, they can be more self-destructive while still under the impression that they are doing just fine. “Peace” may refer to the expression of empathy, fulfilling the needs of others, sheltering someone, or mediating a fight—but also to repressing their own opinions and needs, not “rocking the boat,” ignoring negative emotions, or becoming a vessel for someone else to vent to.

What about inner peace? 9s value serenity, and thus they have a complicated relationship with the most tumultuous of emotions: anger. On the surface, 9s look like the type that is extremely slow to anger and highly tolerant. However, as much as they would like to believe this about themselves too, deep down, 9s are afraid of what might happen if they lose control. My phrase for it is this: I feel like a bottled tornado. Personally, I also think of anger as a basic desire to make others feel your pain—not necessarily sadistically, but in an effort to be known, to be understood. The difficult thing to grasp, especially for a 9, is that this is NOT inherently a bad thing. It isn’t wrong to seek sympathy. On the contrary, it is harmful to tell yourself that getting angry is wrong, because it’s like telling yourself that your pain is wrong, your pain doesn’t matter.

The problem is it doesn’t stop there. A 9, in shutting down their anger, ends up with such a low opinion of their own heart, their other emotions dull along with it. They cry less, laugh less, love less. It’s often said that they “fall asleep” to themselves. It all starts with anger. It’s interesting to note how different this whole mindset is from toxic masculinity—where men only feel allowed/able to express emotions through anger. This is sorta like the opposite. Anger becomes the dam rather than the river. For Izuku, I want us to consider that his suppression of anger carries with it the implication that he is hiding other things, too. It’s a given. There’s a whole sea of feelings out there, and we can only see the waves hitting the shore. This brings me to the whole “control your heart” thing. I do think it is worth mentioning that Banjou didn’t just tell Izuku to exercise control. He also told him that his anger could be useful if it is harnessed. With this added context, “control” here means “to master.” And Izuku seemed to grasp this concept… sorta. I think that if Izuku is like a 9, we can assume he has trouble understanding how anger could be a worthy source of strength. His emotions in relation to Katsuki feel more like a weakness to him, a character flaw in a hero, who is supposed to be detached and selfless. But he’s trying to understand, even though he’s afraid of it. He essentially applied the same strategy he used for mastering OFA itself: incremental strength training. Which, okay. Take a moment to absorb how odd that is, in relation to emotions, specifically. Does one learn to cry incrementally? Does one learn to use anger by bottling a fucking tornado?? Like, what, you think you’re gonna be able to let out juuust the right amount of air to avoid an explosion??? No, man… if you want to be the master of your emotions you have to be willing to sit with them. Confront them. Listen to them. Take them in completely and accept them as a part of yourself.

For someone like Izuku, though, it is very difficult to imagine how this is even possible. Tomura, as with every villain, can be used to reflect his hero counterpart’s greatest fear about himself. Tomura literally touches everyone and everything with his rage, and as a physical manifestation of that desire to pass his own pain onto others, destruction radiates from his fingertips. Thus, losing control in this manner must be Izuku’s worst nightmare, as if he would be completely unable to stop the collateral damage like an infinite line of dominoes. But his anger is not something he can overcome, as such.

An overarching theme in this heroes vs. villains conflict is that the villains are not merely obstacles to be overcome. Just think back to Himiko’s bitter rejection of the heroic sense of superiority. She demanded not to be pitied, condescended to, or lied to. Likewise, the answer cannot be that Izuku needs to restrain himself where Tomura doesn’t. What purpose would it serve to show that Izuku is better than him? Certainly not saving Tomura. If this was a battle against AFO, it might have been a different story. In that case, Izuku would have to overcome his emotional manipulation tactics. Tomura, on the other hand, is not so strategic. With his strangely childlike tendencies, he must relish making Izuku mad because it brings them closer to the same wavelength. It’s his own twisted way or seeking sympathy, or at least, the closest thing to sympathy he can get anymore, because he believes he is beyond saving. With that in mind, Izuku isn’t going to get anywhere unless he rises to meet him. Izuku has to match Tomura’s hatred with equally strong emotions of his own, whatever they may be, or else face the loss of OFA (as established in 305). This is not an easy thing to ask of a 9, once they have started to pull the blood from their extremities, become cold and numb. Bringing back circulation is painful and makes the skin crawl.

In case you’re worried about the focus on anger here, I want to reiterate that concealed anger in a 9 is just one sign of so much more. Back when everyone started fretting about Izuku’s habit of self-sacrifice, which would have been the only thing we need to worry about if he were a 2, I was freaking out because Izuku was also starting to look like a person who has too many secrets. You don’t even have to acknowledge the possibility that he lied about what triggered blackwhip. It’s written all over his face all the time these days. It’s especially noticeable when you contrast him with Katsuki after all his own growth. Katsuki confides in people. He acknowledges his weaknesses. He enjoys being himself. He asserts his place. He thinks about Izuku all the damn time and now he even lets himself be soft about it. All this warmth while Izuku is distant, muted, and blank. I know all too well what this state of mind is like. Man, I hate secrets. You get to the point where you don’t know how to talk about even the simplest most inconsequential shit. And the bigger things? They’re like a growing snowball of words in your throat that cannot possibly fit out of your mouth. The “easiest” way to cope is to simply fade into the rhythm of life. Go with the flow.

Since 9s have a natural curiosity about the interiority of other people, they may choose to focus on that in order to divert their own attention away from themselves. Taken to the extreme, they will lose track of their sense of self. Like I said, you can see Izuku doing this as he fights, analyzing the psyche of his opponent, and his match against Shouto in the sports festival was a fantastic early example. They became friends because of how observant Izuku is. His emotional intelligence and intuition are very strong, but gradually, as he has taken on greater responsibilities and experienced more trauma, he has gotten worse at applying these skills to himself. You know, we go on and on about how his narration has been reduced to nearly nothing, and it’s not just an absence of introspection, it’s an absence of self. It creates a lack of ownership over the narrative—what should be his narrative.

Right now, he’s focusing on trying to see Tomura as a person, figuring him out. I think it would be really satisfyingly ironic if in the process, he ends up uncovering insights about himself instead. It’s about time we learn what Izuku’s secrets are. I don’t actually think that Izuku mastering anger will constitute the emotion that is strong enough to keep Tomura from taking OFA. Moreover, he can’t expect to reach Tomura’s core, Tenko, unless he exposes his own. Rather, anger is the conduit for Izuku to unlock something else. Think of the way he described how Katsuki is his image of victory. The feeling manifests when he asserts a stronger sense of self (the urge to win) and he becomes more free with his words. I have no doubt that Tomura has the power to make unfiltered honesty spill out of him. He knows how to bring out his selfish needs, his pain, his pressure points, his fears, his insecurities. Hell, maybe Mt. Fuji erupting is a metaphor. I want to see Izuku explode while Tomura watches with mad glee. But then I want Izuku to Realize Things such that it finally sets him free. Then, instead of Tomura witnessing yet another person he touches fall apart, he gets to see someone become whole.

"I let the scale tip, feel all of it. It's uncomfortable but right. And we were born to try to see each other through. To know and love ourselves and others well is the most difficult and meaningful work we'll ever do." --Sleeping At Last, 'Nine'