#by his standards though he’s not deku by any means but

[moominsuki]

early 20s bakugou and early 20s you meeting the both of you in a decade’s time… you both aren’t particularly close in the present - you orbit around the same friendship groups and katsuki isn’t exactly opening his arms to a warm hug, receptive to your qualms. he has little time for his friends and even less time for new people in his life.

barely eat, sleep, work, repeat. that’s how it is for him after the war and it’s weird knowing him during this stage. he’s still the some snarly, full of bite and venom bakugou from school but sometimes, you can see the lack of sparkle in his eyes when he speaks: when he’s out on patrol with you and he no longer has the energy to snap back at naysayers and snotty nosed kids. he does his job and then he clocks out. simple as that. relationships? dating? they’re not even in his vocabulary.

so it’s easy to imagine the shock in his - both of your faces when he sees 32-33 year old bakugou on the television and the way he is a decade later is antithetical to how he is now. his old personality still shines through (it’s still HIM) but he smiles genuinely when he meets fans now, and the sparkle in his eyes is there all over again - the cheeky sparkle, the one that made you fall for him.

it’s hard to imagine a life in which you’re married to him (self proclaimed mrs bakugou in an architectural digest interview, showing the cameramen around your house while sporting a third trimester bump and gushing over your state of the art kitchen with a fancy le creuset set and an aga that katsuki and friends built for you with their bare hands as a birthday gift) though, it’s probably because the bakugou you know doesn’t even know the bakugou in this timeline. he doesn’t know the bakugou that would joke all carefree and then openly kiss your forehead in the middle of the street.

he doesn’t tell you he wants to know this bakugou.

you guys eventually get back to your timeline, in the present, the one that in which bakugou sneers and he barely eats and doesn’t even know what day of the week it is. it’s only a few, long months later when it’s your birthday and he buys you a gift card for le creuset. he says it’s because you seem to like shitty things like kitchen sets and pots and pans and it doesn’t make sense to him because “they’re all the same shit at the end of the day.”

you laugh a watery laugh that day, tears unshed at his words, though you’re not offended - far from it. you think you can come to love bakugou and you’re excited for when that time will come, no matter how long it may take.

[bicheetopuff]

Shounen was written for young boys to help them to get stronger and find a purpose in life, thats why most shounen series end up in marriage and having kids. Japan's birth rates are dropping each year and you guys want to see Deku and Bakugou end up together instead of Deku and Ochaco getting married and having kids? The stories and media we consume has to match the standards of real life you know.

Wow… this is a lot to unpack. A normal person would just ignore this, but lucky for you, I’m a bitch when I wanna be, and I happen to have time on my hands right now.

1) “Shonen was written for young boys to help them to get stronger and find a purpose in life”

Shonen is literally just a genre that directly translates to “young men.” But I think you’re trying to define the meaning of story telling as a whole, and even still, that’s a very narrow way to view an entire genre.

Stories meant for young men, most of the time, are meant for entertainment. You have anime’s like Dragon Ball and Naruto that’s almost nothing but action scene after action scene with very little thought provoking plot, because at the time, they were written for young boys. Like, they were aired on children’s channels back in the day, young boys. And while I won’t deny that there are definitely some good lessons in both (I can’t speak much because I never finished Naruto and only got about 20 episodes into dbz) they’re not meant to make a boy “stronger.” Lessons in early shonen were meant to broaden world views and increase emotional intelligence in a way that’s easy to understand. I guess it depends on your definition of what strength is, but I feel like strength is built from personal experiences, not watching an anime.

That being said though, the shonen/young boys genre has evolved over the years in the east and the west. Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Attack on Titan, are all shonens, with aot being also classified as a seinen. Those are most definitely not meant for the same age group that Dragon Ball and Naruto and One Piece were written for, given the amount of gore and heavier themes presented. Now, that’s not me looking down upon those stories at all, that’s me pointing out the obvious difference in tone, despite them being classified as the same.

As the genre evolved, authors approaches have also evolved. Literally read any interview from any modern shonen author and you’ll see how unserious they are when it comes to their own stories. Gege didn’t even like writing his story past a certain point and was just trying to push through it, because it wasn’t the story he originally wanted to write. Horikoshi has always said he just wanted to tell a story with no real goal towards the audience. Chainsaw Man is literally about a guy wanting to touch some boobs??? What about any of that screams, “I’m writing this to raise the new generation of young boys into strong husbands and fathers who know their purpose in life!”

Shonen as a whole has grown into a genre meant for young adults, with heavier themes and becoming increasingly more political. It’s not the same genre it used to be, and trying to say that it is, isn’t fair and is lowkey insulting towards authors with a more progressive world view.

2) “Japan’s birth rates are dropping each year and you guys want to see Deku and Bakugou get together instead of Deku and Ochaco getting married and having kids?”

Yeah… you’re right. I’d rather see a well written relationship come to fruition than watch another male author completely disrespect their female lead and ripping away her development. Why the fuck would I, an infertile acespec queer person, give a fuck about using two fictional characters to inspire young people to get married and start a nuclear family…

Also the birth rates are dropping all over the world, don’t pretend it’s only a Japanese issue. In Asia specifically, the birth rate is going down because women are tired of men’s shit and refuse to bare their children, and I’m actually happy as fuck that other parts of the world are following in their footsteps.

Women have been treated like shit in every corner of the world for so fucking long, and we all just dealt with it because that’s what we all thought we were supposed to do. It’s about fucking time we actually put our foots down and protest in the ways that we can, which is practicing our rights to autonomy. Why tf should we be responsible to bear the children of men most of us barely even like? And why is having children a mans responsibility, when women are the ones who have to carry the babies? Besides, why the fuck would anyone want to bring a kid into the shit show that is the world right now?

We’re over populated, have a really fucked up consumption and capitalism problem which causes us to depend on disgustingly unethical ways to find resources to appease everyone, there’s fucking flowers blooming in the arctics, there’s several genocides happening in the world as a result of neglectful and corrupt governments, a literal ethnic cleansing happening, and a carton of eggs costs 12 fucking dollars while the minimum wage stays at only $7.25 and the cost of living isn’t affordable unless you’re making nearly triple the minimum wage. I don’t even wanna be subjected to this shit and I’ll be damned before I subject a child to it against their will. Most of us can’t even afford to take care of ourselves without our parents help right now.

Also, what does a gay pairing have to do with the birth rate at all? Is Deku gonna carry that baby? Or are you seriously just narrowing down Ochaco to nothing more than his incubator? If Ochaco decides to have kids one day, why should it have to be with Deku? Oh and I hate to break it to you, but Ochaco becoming a mother isn’t going to solve any of the issues you presented.

3) “The stories and media we consume has to match the standards of real life you know”

…you’re talking about a story where one of the background characters has a god damn spray bottle for a head…

It’s fiction. Superhero media, at that. None of it has to follow the “rules” of real life, and most of the time, this kind of media does the exact opposite of following societal norms. And you thinking otherwise probably made Stan Lee roll in his grave.

Also, what’re your standards for real life? Because everyone’s standards are different. If yours is to get married and live in a traditional household with five kids and one source of income in this economy, then I think you’re the one being unrealistic here.

We shouldn’t burden children with adult responsibilities. Having kids and being a “good husband” isn’t something a child should have to think about until they’re older and only if they want to. Believe it or not, not everyone’s goal is to get married and produce offspring. We should be encouraging children to do the things they like doing without having to worry about adult shit yet. Not indoctrinating them into believing that the only way for them to be a successful adult, is if they have kids.

Using shonen and other conformative media that is dead set on maintaining the status quo to brainwash kids into wanting to be parents before they even know how babies are made, is weird. Don’t be weird, anon. You sound like one of those “alpha males” with a red pill podcast, convincing young men that crypto scams are a perfectly ethical way to make quick cash.

Literally just say you’re a misogynist, and move on. And get tf out of my inbox.

P.S.

You know gay men exist in real life, right? You’re talking as if gay men aren’t real. Not only are they real, but they also have nothing to do with the birth rate dropping. Find something else to be mad about.

[t3ag3rs]

g e n s o - 0 4.

gosh this is going to be a long year..

you let out a sigh while resting your head on your hands, observing the class yelling. the blue haired guy with a stick up his ass from the presentation was currently yelling at bakugou. sadly, he sat at the left of you and was currently getting and earful for putting his legs on the desk. honestly though.. it wasnt even that big of a deal for him to be yelling like that.

you let out a small laugh as you saw deku turn a bright red once he saw uraraka. oh my gosh hes down badddd..... im so gonna tease him about this later on.

"if your just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now." said a stoic voice from behind deku and uraraka. "welcome to UAs hero course" continued the same voice before unzipping himself from the sleeping bag he had on and standing up. 

"it took 8 seconds for you all to shut up and thats not gonna work, time is precious. any rational student would understand that" he explained walking into the class. you turned your focus to the male talking. 

"hello im shota aizawa, your teacher. alright lets get to it, put these on and head outside." you walked up and grabbed a uniform before heading into the locker room to change.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you widen your eyes as you find out you have to do a quirk assessment test, goddamnt..! i just finally started recovering from the entrance exam and i have to use my quirk again?  

"but how about orientation? we're gonna miss it!" exclaimed uraraka, "to be the best of the best you cant waste time on pointless things, here at UA i get to run my class the way i want to." said mr. aizawa, "youve been taking standardized tests all of your lives" he pulled up his phone, "but youve never been able to use you quirks on those exams before."

"the country is still trying to pretend we're created all equal by not letting those with the most power excel- its not rational. one day the ministry of education will learn... bakugou you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam- what was your farthest distance thrown with the softball when you were in junior high?" he asked looking at him.

"67 meters i think" replied bakugou and you rolled your eyes, god hes a try hard... "right. try doing it with your quirk now."

bakugou walked up and stood in the middle of the circle on the feild. "whatever happens just stay in the circle.. go on, your wasting our time." added mr. aizawa.

"alright.. you asked for it" bakugou stretched his arms before throwing it with an explosion. you rolled your eyes knowing he did that to make the others look. 

"all of you need to know your full potential in order to become better versions of yourselves." he held up his phone to show the distance that bakugou had thrown the softball revealing 705.2 meters.

everyone around you started commenting in awe of his score, but you werent impressed, ill make sure i beat that score just to deflate his ego.

"so this looks fun huh..?" you turned your attention back to the teacher, "you have three years here to become a hero. if you think its going to be all fun and games your wrong. idiots..." he let out a smirk, "today youll be competing in 8 physical tests to engage your potential, whoever comes in last has none and will be expelled immediately." your eyes widen in shock, can he even do that??

"like i said.. i get to decide how this class runs. understand?" you gulped but nodded. "if thats a problem you can head home right now."

"you cant send one of us home! i mean, we just got here!" complained uraraka, "even if it wasnt the first day, that isnt fair!" you looked down, complaining isnt going to do anything right now, but she has a good point.

"and you think natural disasters are? power hungry villians? hm? or accidents that wipe out whole cities? no- the world is full of unfairness. its a heroes job to try and fight that unfairness, if you wanna be a pro your going to have to push yourself to the brink. for the next three years UA is going to throw one hardship after another at you. so go beyond- plus ultra style. show me its no mistake your here."

you clenched your fists, you had to prove yourself today by doing the most you could in these tests.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

the first test was the 50 meter dash, you silently thanked yourself for increasing your cardio as you readied yourself. "runners! on your mark, get set, go!" you sprinted and let the earth beneath you propel yourself forward getting you in first place out of the people you were with. "4.002 seconds!" said the bot next to you, you smirked as you beat bakugous time.

the next test was the grip strength test. you didnt have much to help you with this so you had to think creatively, maybe i could get some rock to surround my hand and use that to add on the pressure of my grip... i have no idea if thatll even work..!

you let out a sigh as the highest you got was 190 kilograms. if thats the best i can get thats fine i guess... ill just have to make it up with the other tests...

the third test was the standing long jump, you smiled as you could use your fire to push yourself forward in this test. you jumped and let your fire push you forward, smiling as you landed on the other side of the pit. 

that was way better than the last test thankfully!

the fourth test was the repeated side steps. you decided to use your earthbending to build walls on either side of you and use air to move yourself side to side. it wasnt your best test, but definitely wasnt your worst one. (cough grip test cough)

the fifth test was the ball throw, you stood in the circle and swung your arm in big circles before grabbing the ball and readying your self to swing as hard as you could. throwing the ball, you left your arm out to let the air continue its throw until you felt yourself running out of air. you let out a proud smile as you saw your result of 1,890 meters.

you turned toward bakugou and made eye contact with him, but resisted the urge in smirking at how you beat him by a long shot. 

you let out a gasp as deku went and saw how his ball barely went far. "i erased your quirk- someone like you should never be able to enroll in this school. the judges who were selecting students werent rational enough when picking you." suddenly deku spoke up, "i know you- you can look at someone and cancel out their powers! the eraser hero- eraserhead!"

you chuckled as the rest of the students had no clue who he was, of course deku would know who he was. 

"your not ready- you have no control over your power. are you just going to break your bones again?" deku let out a defensive disagreement, "you will be nothing because of how reckless you are. your worthless if all it takes is one punch for you to become broken." you stepped up.

"um.. excuse me! look sorry to interrupt, but i think your taking this a bit too far! he has just as much of potential as the rest of us, and he definitely has more heroism than any of us combined! im not saying this to argue with you, but im just saying you should give him a fair try like the rest of us." you explained sticking up for deku.

mr. aizawa let go of deku, "go on and get it over with, dont waste our time." you looked over and gave him a smile before giving him a thumbs up. he walked back to the middle of the circle and took in a deep breath before he swung his arm and threw it with enough force to create a gust of wind. you widened your eyes in shock and smiled, there we go!

you looked at the phone to see his distance of 705.3 meters, one tenth more than bakugous score. you smiled happily knowing he mustve been scathing on the inside for how he scored lower than deku.

"mr. aizawa.." you turned to see deku making a fist with his broken finger, "you see.. im still standing!" "this kid..." replied aizawa with widened eyes and an unsettling smile.

"HEY! DEKU! YOU BASTARD, TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT OR YOUR DEAD!" yelled bakugou as he charged toward deku, you quickly stepped forward to try and prevent bakugou before he was held back by aizawas scarf. "stand down, i would be wise to make not make me use my quirk so much.. it gives me serious dry eye. your wasting my time now.. whoevers next can step up." he let go of bakugou and walked away.

you watched as deku ran away from bakugou as he just stood their frustrated. 

you finished up the last couple of tests that were just based off of physical ability and scored well enough for each of them. you let out a smile as you saw the results and saw yourself in third place, one place higher than bakugou. 

thats what that asswipe deserves.. i hope he never forgets this..

"and i was lying- no one is going home. that was just a way to make sure you gave it your all" mr. aizawa added smiling, you let out a sound of happiness, glad deku didnt have to be expelled.

"that was pretty nerve-wracking if im being honest.." said a black haired boy, "nah.. im always down for a challenge!" said the red haired boy from the presentation. "oh i remember you!" he said pointing at you, you smiled and waved. "your quirk is so cool dude! you managed to score third place out of us all!" you laughed and scratched your neck, "haha.. its not the best i couldve done... but thank you!"

"thats all for today, grab the syllabus from the class, and read it before tomorrow morning." added aizawa before walking away. you turned back to the red haired boy, "im ejirou kirishima, your y/n l/n right?" you nodded, "howd you know?" he laughed, "everyone knows about that stunt you pulled during the practical exam.." you blushed before looking down, "ahhh.. thats so embarrassing..!"

"nah, i thought it was pretty manly of you!" he praised while you both walked back into the building. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you changed out of your training outfit, and put back on your uniform before getting ready to head out. "hey y/n!" you turned around to see kirishima and a pink skinned girl behind you. "oh.. hey!" they walked beside you, "heya! im mina ashido!" the girl introduced while grabbing your arm. you let out a smile as she did so, "im y/n l/n if you havent already heard.." she laughed, "nah i already know who you are! the badass who totally kicked the zero pointers ass!" she exclaimed. 

"as you can see shes very energetic.." sighed out kirishima from the other side of you, you laughed before adding, "its alright though.. it makes her stand out in a way.."

you walked home with them laughing and exchanging numbers. you couldnt believe how nice and chill they were. 

could this be the year things finally get better for you?

previous parts: pt. 0 0 / pt. 0 1 / pt. 02 / pt. 03 next parts: pt. 0 5 / pt. 0 6 / pt. 0 7 / pt. 0 8 / pt. 0 9 / pt. 10 / pt. 11 / pt. 12 / pt. 13 / pt. 14 / pt. 15

[darkonekrisrewrite]

The villains dying is the worst ending

If shigaraki, toga or Dabi die, that would be the worst outcome for everyone who matters in bnha.

And if the heroes win this final war and achieve everything they want, that will only then lead to the "bad ending" where nobody actually gets what they want.

Anything the hero kids are trying to protect and achieve isn't going to exist without the villains.

Specifically their villains.

So far, out of everyone, ochako is at the top when it comes to success in dealing with her villain.

Stopping Toga's threat and getting toga to see that her efforts were genuine in trying to help someone all of society had rejected.

Wanting to understand why toga was a villain and wanting to talk further with her after everything.

But then toga had to save ochako, and if toga does die (though unlikely considering what she and other characters have survived already) then ochako's arc, and any future that had any impact, is over.

Because ochako isn't going to make anything better for people like Toga, for those who have quirks that aren't easy to live with.

(The only logical next/endgame step for ochako's character-

-with the current state of their society's infrastructure, there's no way ochako's parents/construction jobs will be hurting for business and therefore money-

-and aside from deku (in his reckless nature and self-sacrificing personality), the heroes really aren't the ones who ever needed saving.)

Ochako doesn't know enough about what Toga went through yet, and there's no one else who could reliably tell her everything from the perspective of someone born with a quirk that's rejected by their society, what exactly led to toga becoming a villain and what it was like.

Toga's perspective and presence is the only way that ochako's own presence would be more effective.

Because she was barely able to convince the civilians to let deku into the heroes' own shelter, literally begging them to have some compassion for the young hero who's fought for them all this time.

And it only worked with the support of others deku had directly saved. (Kota and the heteromorph woman)

She can advocate for how things should be, use another megaphone and talk about what changes need to be made, but if that's it, just talking and asking, then nothing will happen.

It's the same problem with deku for the same reasons.

The civilians/government don't want to do what would be necessary to make sure more villains like the Lov aren't made and Deku doesn't have any real power to make them.

Or rather he doesn't have the willingness to force what needs to be done.

All-might made change to their society, making it more peaceful (and more apathetic), but that was only because it benefited those in power.

The government wanting to maintain control and order, and the civilians who were absolved of any responsibility to help others in need and abandon anyone who has "villainous" traits.

All-might intentionally gave people exactly what they wanted and unintentionally gave them permission to take the easy way out.

So just because deku or ochako are powerful heroes, that does not mean that they can influence the system/people or government.

If the hero kids commit to saving the villains and changing things, given everything we've seen of the civilians and government so far, there's no reason to think that they'll will go along with any of it.

Because it is the harder path and risks them losing their control and oblivious peace/permission to be their apathetic selves.

Same for shoto too.

Dabi's main beef with heroes is centered around endeavor but that doesn't mean he's wrong about everything else.

The heroes aren't held to a standard or accountable for anything.

They'll say they have to set an example and publicly apologize when things go bad (only if they're found out), but there are never any real consequences to be pointed to from within the system itself, much less any safeguards.

There's nothing stopping another future Endeavor from trying to make another "masterpiece" and thus creating another Dabi.

Shoto is currently still more focused on improving himself and being a hero/helping his family.

Which isn't a bad thing at all.

There's just no "bigger picture" or "this needs to be fixed" view from him yet, despite this aspect of hero society being a big part of his origin.

The civilians and the higher ups in hero society (as well as most all of the pro heroes) don't want anything to change, they all only want their "normal" back, the same state of things that created the core villains in the first place.

So the goals of: helping those with difficult quirks before they become villains, making sure the government helps with that and doesn't start assassinating people again, no more hero rankings/no more emphasis on being better then your peers-

-and overall change for the better can't be done by the hero kids alone.

But their villains, being alive and there in their lives, fixes all of that.

Toga, shigaraki and dabi would inform and push ochako, deku and shoto in the direction they need to go in to make a difference, and give them the force they wouldn't have on their own to ensure it happens.

If ochako (through toga) knows what needs to be done and asks the civilians again to show basic human decency to those who they previously rejected/abandoned and the civilians inevitably (because it's the more difficult path) say: "Yeah...no."

Toga (backed the Lov) would then respond: "Bet?"

If deku really commits to shredding the Rug of hero society and the government has a problem with that, and says no to what Deku tells them needs to happen, as a hero he can't really force them to do anything.

Unless shigaraki comes in behind him saying: "Work with him or deal with me again..."

(Lady nagant could, in theory, fill this roll, but she's not as powerful or untouchable as shigaraki, so the threat is lessened.

Not to mention it wouldn't be as narratively strong.)

If necessary, life or death-future in the balance, change doesn't happen willingly, then it needs to be forced.

As for shoto, he did say that there were still arguments that he wanted to have with his brother, so maybe that will set him on the way to pushing to make sure another endeavor can't get away with any quirk marriages and stop another touya from becoming Dabi.

And if this doesn't happen and heroes/hero kids get their ideal ending, the kind seen in endeavor's vision where everyone is all cool and successful pro heroes with the villains out of the picture?

Then nothing in bnha will have mattered and they're all still going to lose everything anyway.

Not right away but sooner rather than later, hero society's flaws (which again won't be fixed by the hero kids alone) will create another group of villains just like the Lov, putting everything back to square one.

Then after that: Quirk singularity doomsday.

The last plot thread that the heroes definitely can't beat, they won't even acknowledge it as a threat or as truth.

Even through some heroes have seen evidence of it's truth, like at the Provisional Hero License Course where they clearly saw that children were being born with more powerful quirks than before.

The villains know the quirk singularity is real and only the villain side, however evil or immoral they are, accepts this threat and has the knowledge to counter it.

(Through their own power and the doctor.)

Compared to the hero side who has none and no one who would work with them to even attempt to deal with the quirk singularity.

And no, Eri is not a solution to the quirk singularity, they would literally have to sacrifice her body like overhaul did to mass produce anything, and even then it wouldn't be enough for the entire world.

Same with the "AFO and OFA destroys all quirks theory", since the quirks only work through direct physical contact, how would that even be feasible for all of humanity??

Final flaw in this:

It's true that this presently isn't what the Lov want (definitely shigaraki and Dabi don't) but it's been shown, through toga and ochako at least, that the possibility for change is there, it's just that both parties have to make concessions and put in the effort-

-and obviously all involved need to survive.

Because the only way that there's going to be any kind of good ending in bnha is with the core villains being alive and with the heroes.

[brookstolemybrand]

I already talked about Sabo being kind of a parallel protagonist to Luffy, but Koby is in some ways maybe even more so (especially since he was introduced literally in chapter 2)

Sabo is Luffy's dad's protégé

Koby is Luffy's grandpa's protégé

(Sidenote: Luffy kinda took Ace's place as Shanks' and Rayleigh's protégé, arguably; I mean it would have made a lot of sense for former Roger pirates to act as mentor figures for Roger's son, wouldn't it? In a different story that put more importance to bloodlines, Ace would have been destined to be the next King of the Pirates for sure. Ace is kind of a decoy protagonist)

With Koby it's even more obvious when you look at the known SWORD members and how many of them have some kind of legacy position, or at least we can assume so even if we don't know for certain (like with Hibari suspiciously sharing Akainu's dialect). In theory, Garp's grandson would fit into SWORD perfectly.

And of course Garp very much intended this to be Luffy. It's not even subtle that Koby is the replacement grandson lmao

(Say what you want about Dragon's (lack of) parenting, he definitely didn't put any pressure on Luffy. So with Sabo it's not really the same, it's not like Luffy refused to follow in his father's footsteps; he didn't even know he had a father, much less what those footsteps were. But the parallels are still there)

But yeah, I think their personal connections to Luffy, as well as the way they're set up in positions that Luffy plausibly might have had in some alternate timelines, makes them Luffy's counterparts in the Navy and in the Revolutionary Army. Which allows them to function as pseudo-protagonists for the audience when Luffy isn't present and to take on plotlines that would otherwise feel like they should be handled by the main characters (like taking on the Blackbeard Pirates and the Celestial Dragons respectively)

Narratively speaking, as the plot gets bigger, you kinda need these secondary protagonists to carry the parts of the story that Luffy can't be there for

The three of them also represent different shounen protagonist archetypes:

I kinda struggled to phrase this myself (and honestly I just have a very limited reference pool for shounen anime) so I googled it and I'm stealing the terms from this post

Basically Luffy is the "Idiot Hero", Koby is the "Boy Wonder" and Sabo... well actually I think Ace is the "Punk Martyr" (he took the martyr part a bit too seriously rip), and Sabo is the secret fourth thing: the Cool Competent Guy (even though Sabo is also a punk, he just hides it better)

Luffy is a Goku, Koby is a Deku, and Sabo is... idk I guess he would be a Lelouch (look, I'm talking about character TYPES, not saying they're the same kind of person)

... Well actually Sabo is more of an Enjolras, but Les Mis is not a shounen manga—

SIKE, IT IS, I'M COUNTING IT

(That's a really good adaptation of Les Mis btw, I could gush endlessly about Takahiro Arai and how well he understood not only the core of the story but also how to adapt it into a visual medium, really leaning into the vivid metaphorical imagery in Hugo's narration and then adding to it his own, it's SO GOOD)

(To immediately nitpick myself: Sabo is more like an amalgamation of all the Amis de l'ABC but it's easier to say Enjolras for short. Also yes I know Enjolras isn't the protagonist, but he has protagonist energy)

Anyway... what was I saying?

Right, I was gonna talk about the hero thing, because heroism is actually a big theme in One Piece:

Luffy doesn't want to be a hero, BUT KOBY DOES. He might be sheepish about calling himself one, but it was his dream, and by all conventional standards he accomplished it: he's now a Navy Hero

Sabo is more of a reluctant hero; he wanted to be a pirate like Luffy but chose to become a revolutionary instead. He's fully committed to that role though, even willing to accept the title of regicide if it helps the cause (this btw also makes him similar to another character in Les Mis, the Conventionist who... okay fine I'll stop)

As a marine and a revolutionary, Koby and Sabo are on the opposite sides of the whole "hero" thing. Although well, neither of them are extremists so at the same time they're not that opposite either, more like just each others' counterparts on opposing sides, but still

It makes sense that Koby, whose ambition was to become a hero, would gravitate to the conventional and widely accepted form of heroism: military heroism. Meanwhile Sabo, the reluctant hero, was driven to become one exactly because those socially accepted forms of heroism in reality exist to maintain an unjust system and there need to be people who step up to oppose that system, it's heroism out of necessity

You could also say that Koby becomes a part of the system because he wants to be a hero, Sabo becomes a hero because he wants to escape the system...

(Sidenote: I actually have a hunch that Dragon is probably more like Koby in terms of personality and ambitions, he's just a Koby who became disillusioned after learning the truth about the navy. That's the vibe I get anyway)

Either way, both of them are a good contrast to Luffy, who insists that he's not a hero and who chooses to just follow his selfish whims, which is why he's the pirate, he picks the least "heroic" career option. And that's why he's the protagonist, because this is a pirate manga

That said, as it turns out, his selfish whims are pretty heroic anyway, and he ends up being the one who has the most freedom to do exactly what needs to be done, BECAUSE he's not a hero

(Is that extremely dangerous? Sure. Could it end really badly? Yes. But Luffy isn't supposed to be a role model, he's literally a pirate)

But it still helps the narrative to also have heroic characters who aren't only motivated to help people who give them food lol

(I kid, but ykwim)

It helps that there are heroes even if the protagonist isn't one, because otherwise the audience might start wanting the protagonist to become the hero

And then it wouldn't be a pirate adventure story anymore, it would become a hero narrative

....

.... I know I should end the post here but you have no idea how much I'm holding back a rant rn about the marines and how much they suck and why I find Koby so frustrating as a character... That's another post tho

[cartoonrival]

basically though what i was saying is bakugou’s pretty much got a really fucked up case of golden boy/gifted kid syndrome. because he was lucky enough to be born with a really flashy and powerful quirk and so everything’s always come easy to him (he’s also just regular school smart which isn’t specifically relevant to the task at hand but it’s worth pointing out. he’s kind of good at everything). so from a pretty young age he 1) got really used to being praised for everything 2) got really used to being on top and 3) all of this started to lose its meaning — everything he did was impressive even when he didn’t even try, so the only opinion of him that mattered was his own.

he gets to UA, and suddenly not only is he had an elite school where everyone’s talented (instead of just his local middle school where it’s a healthy mix of pretty mid-range to useless quirks), but also this kid who used to always follow him around because of how cool he was, a quirkless kid who bakugou’s gotten REAL USED to being on top of, not only HAS a quirk, but it’s fucking CRAZY. sure he breaks every bone every time he uses it but it’s NUTS powerful and it’s out of fucking nowhere. this begins to drive bakugou insane. he’s not special anymore, and the one person he was really counting on to not be special is actually catching up to him.

he’s still top of his class, but like. that doesn’t even matter. that’s easy. that’s never been what matters. what MATTERS is bakugou’s OWN standards, which are wildly high and impossible. no one else matters. he has to be better and better and better because no logical measure of greatness has any meaning to it anymore. he loses his MIND over his win at the tournament because he didn’t win how he wanted to. it’s not about WINNING! it’s about being stronger than he was the day before, stronger than EVERYONE ELSE.

i’ll be fr i don’t actually remember when he learns that deku inherited all might’s quirk but i mean man. all might is the ONE PERSON who’s opinion still means something to you, your HERO your IDOL and he chose that stupid shrimp as his HEIR? instead of YOU? that’s a kick in the face for your stupid asshole ego.

THEN HE GETS FUCKING KIDNAPPED. that’s so embarrassing. he gets kidnapped and he has to be rescued and his ego is so fucking huge and deku knows this fact so well that he knows the only person who can actually reach their hand out to bakugou and have it seen as something other than an insult is kirishima, which we’ll get to but wow. and then in this battle, this fight which logically would’ve happened at some point, but if your 16 and you were stupid enough to be kidnapped and you almost cried when someone came to your rescue, this is YOUR FAULT— all might dies. like he’s still living, technically, but the legendary hero who gives the entire world and YOU any hope, loses what remains of his power. and that was your fault, because you were too stupid and weak to not be kidnapped by people much older than you.

^ THIS IS A KICK IN THE FACE!!! he’s been thinking this whole time that he has to be better, not really for any particular reason beyond he likes being the best and he sort of sucks, but now on top of this he like. genuinely feels to blame for what happened to all might. because he wasn’t strong enough his hero died, and he had to be saved by a group of his classmates that he is mostly ambivalent towards/looks down upon, one of them he gen srs hates and one of them well he actually likes that guy but that’s not the point rn. point is he’s been humbled in a way that saddles him with guilt and makes him worse. more incoming

[makeste]

BnHA Episode 122, a.k.a. NOBUHIKO YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN

THEY CAN'T KEEP LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH IT!

oh my god.

so first off, let's just get the one big major criticism out of the way: this episode was definitely not up to the same high quality standards as the first third of this season. and hey, I get it! you're doing 24 episodes in all, you're on a time crunch, and you've only got so many animators to go around. and the quality of some of these earlier season 6 eps (118 and 119 especially) was seriously some of the best this series has ever had. by contrast, chapters 284 and 285, while still easily ranking among my favorite chapters of all time, definitely do not go as hard with the visuals as some of the other War arc chapters (that very last 285 page being the one standout exception).

anyway so yeah, it was still a slight disappointment, but I'm fine with it. it does mean Deku vs Kacchan 2 will still retain its crown as my all time fave, but the real meat of this episode was never going to be about the flashy visuals -- it's all about that sweet, sweet character development.

two more very minor criticisms before I get to the OMG nonstop gushing part of this post! one, they did cut out this scene from ch 282 where Tomura originally had TWO quirk-be-gone bullets in his possession and Kacchan actually destroyed the second one.

YOU THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T REMEMBER, BONES. BUT WE DID. so for everyone who is giving Kacchan his well-earned love, praise, and admiration today, don't forget to also give him props for saving Aizawa's other leg, or whichever other appendage this doubtless would have hit. my boy out here lowkey saving his sensei from being ReDestro'd.

and then one final nitpicky little quibble, which is that the anime subtitlers declined to use the "Catch-A-Kacchan" translation, despite it being the single cleverest translation of all time, and by far Caleb Cook's biggest and most important contribution to the BnHA canon. alas, twas not meant to be. BUT ANYWAY NOW ON TO THE GUSHING.

okay so first off, we all know that Aizawa is an absolute badass and the most metal motherfucker in this entire series, and that Shouto has by this point all but perfected the art of swooping in to save the day at pivotal moments, and that the U.A. kids all need ALL OF THE THERAPY GODDAMMIT, and that Deku is a COMPLETE LUNATIC who thinks that HAVING FUNCTIONAL ARMS IS OVERRATED ANYWAYS. yes and yes and yes and yes. and if you wish, you can read all about my thoughts on these things and more, here and here and here and here.

but you already know what I actually came here to talk about today.

first of all, YOU GUYS. the music. THIS FUCKING MUSIC, THOUGH. they used the exact same OST track that was used for the "why was I the one who ended All Might?" speech all the way back in DvK2. THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE "TIME FOR NOBUHIKO TO FLEX HIS VOICE ACTING CHOPS" MUSIC. A TRADITION HAS BEEN BORN.

anyway so if anyone needs me I'll just be sitting here playing this scene on repeat until the end of time. no big deal though. I can quit at any time. not like I'm obsessed with it or anything. I definitely love this scene and this character a perfectly normal amount.

All Might talking about how Katsuki understood from the get-go about how OFA was a secret that could put other people at great risk really hits hard in hindsight. especially when you realize that Katsuki really did know right from the start, and he willingly accepted that risk with no hesitation, and he absolutely did suffer consequences for it (it was his knowledge of OFA that led to him following Deku and subsequently getting involved in this battle). and I don't doubt that he has absolutely zero regrets.

okay but can we seriously just talk for a sec about the way Kacchan's anxiety is practically boiling over when he starts to ask All Might about the Fourth's cause of death?? I feel like this is one thing that kind of got overlooked at the time in the manga because we were so completely distracted by EVERY SINGLE OTHER DAMN THING IN THAT CHAPTER lol. but hearing it again here, you feel how worried he actually is about Deku, and idk why but it all of a sudden just hit me so damn hard.

"I'm worried about him. you are, too." because that truly is what this whole conversation is really about. or at least that's the driving force behind it. behind this whole episode, in fact. it's simple, when you get right down to it: Kacchan is afraid that Deku is going to die. it's literally been the biggest fear on his mind ever since Deku unlocked SIXQUIRKS. right from the start, his mind was immediately going to the worst case scenarios. he immediately deduced that OFA might have a deeper connection to AFO than any of them realized (shoutout to Kacchan for being the original "Deku is a horcrux" truther lol. ONE DAY HORIKOSHI WILL FINALLY REVEAL THE TRUTH AND PROVE US RIGHT). he instantly zeroed in on the sobering fact that all of the previous OFA users died young. and as he reveals here, he took particular notice of the fact that All Might seems to be hiding something about OFA IV's death, and he is goddamn PRESSED about it.

and I absolutely LOVE the way that Nobu voiced this part of the conversation. when he starts to question All Might, his breathing starts to pick up a little, and his voice starts to get louder, and the words start to spill out faster and faster almost like he's in a rush to get it all out, and his voice starts to crack just a little, and he goes from not looking at All Might to hesitantly, almost fearfully glancing at him from the side, and then finally turning to face him head on with his eyes all wary and his teeth gritted like he's bracing himself for the very worst (because he is).

and then he finally just asks him, "was it because you realized something?" and then he takes in this achingly hesitant little breath before finishing with, "...about One for All?" and just. the whole scene is just SO well done. like, he's seriously so fucking scared about this, though. but at the same time he just needs to know, and just. oh my god. and Nobuhiko manages to emote all of this so clearly, and that is such a difficult line to walk when you're dealing with a character like Katsuki who's always so hesitant to show his vulnerability. he has to portray these two separate layers of Bakugou at the same time -- the part of him that is trying his hardest to be nonchalant and matter-of-fact in order to hide his fears and emotions; while at the same time also portraying said emotions which are clearly seeping through anyway, regardless of his efforts.

anyway so yeah. I could talk about this for eighty years and never get sick of it honestly but let's move on.

let me tell you guys, I've been bracing myself for this scene for two full years, and it still kicked my ass. THIS SCENE HAD NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. literally RIGHT IN the feels. direct hit.

"he's always been that way." no, but guys. the regret when he says that. the way he states it with such simplicity and clarity. almost profound. this is just a truth of the world. this is just how Deku is. this is something that took him so long to understand, but now that he does, he can't fathom how he was never able to see it before. and then that ever-so-slight bitterness that creeps into his voice as he goes on to describe how he fucked it all up. ;_;

and then last but not least!!

"ijimeta." one word, in Japanese. it all comes down to that. and his voice gets so quiet. this whole last part of his speech is so quiet and so soft. but when he says this very last part, his voice wavers perfectly on that last word, and it just. sounds so resigned, somehow, but also just... almost faltering, for just a moment. you can hear the regret as clear as day, but you also hear the fear once again as he finally reveals this fact -- literally his biggest shame; the worst thing that he's ever done -- to All Might. his hero. just, damn.

anyway. so needless to say, despite my expectations being SKY HIGH, this scene absolutely met all of them and blew me away. as expected from the best fucking voice actor in Japan, according to me, a single lone person, whose subjective opinion is absolutely definitely not biased in any possible way.

back to the action! and Nobu getting to do his very best Deku impression lol.

can you believe this kid. one single nerdy analysis speech was all it took for him to start emitting such powerful Main Character Energy that even Endeavor got taken in and was just automatically following orders lol.

awesome choice of music here while Deku and Tomura continued to battle and Bakugou laid out his plan. you know it's good when they still manage to make you feel the tension even though this is basically just a generic action scene, and you additionally already know exactly what's going to happen.

I have no idea why, but that part with Deku's "Kacchan... my 'Deku' means 'you can do it!'" speech juxtaposed against the image of him going all out against Tomura with such fierce determination hit me like 100x harder than it did in the manga. I was NOT expecting that to be as powerful as it was. damn near gave me chills.

literally the only time I've ever been on board with the whole "FUCK YEAH, I'LL JUST BREAK ALL MY BONES AT YOU!!" deal lol. it literally makes no goddamn sense but this scene is just so raw.

THEN WE YEET THE ENDEAVOR!!!!

SO ON-BRAND. NO DEKU-INSPIRED PLAN IS EVER TRULY COMPLETE WITHOUT A GOOD YEETING.

and then the next few moments are some of the most legitimately unsettling of the entire series, as we have Tomura screaming at the top of his lungs while being burnt to cinders (and I mean, I love Tomura dearly, but I get it; he literally just Thanos'd tens of thousands of innocent people), followed by AFO's creepy fucking ghost hand reaching out all "LEND ME YOUR BODY~~~" which is a scene that absolutely NO ONE ASKED FOR but okay.

but then right afterwards though! when AFO finally did take over, and you hear that "TV shutting down" sound effect all of a sudden? and then the next few scenes with all the BKDK flashbacks are also weirdly TV-themed? I could not for the life of me figure this out at first, but now I'm actually thinking it could be a reference to the chapter 306 color page?

OR MAYBE NOT? I actually have no idea. anyway though it may have been random af but it worked for me, what can I say.

AND THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH AT LONG LAST.

THIS ACTUALLY IS SO PRETTY THOUGH?? LIKE I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT COLOR COMBINATION AT ALL?

AND IT HAPPENS SO QUICKLY!!!!??? YOU BARELY EVEN HAVE TIME TO BLINK?!?!!

oh. my. god.

THE WAY THE MUSIC SUDDENLY GOT QUIET. THE WAY HIS NARRATING VOICE CAME ON AND, PRAISE EVERYTHING, IT REALLY WAS DEEPER. THAT REALLY WAS THE ADULT HIM. SAME AS DEKU. MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ARE SO FUCKING MUCH RIGHT NOW.

AND THEN THE FLASHBACKS!! THE SCENES OF THEM IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!! AND GROUND ZERO!! AND THEN CUTTING TO THE TWO OF THEM AS LITTLE BABIES, AND THE TV SCREEN ALL OF A SUDDEN SWITCHING TO COLOR??? AND THE HANDS??? THE REACHING?!?!

AND THEN?!?!?!

"HEY MAKESTE, IF WE GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY MAKE THE VOLUME 29 COVER CANON, WILL YOU FINALLY FORGIVE US FOR ALL OF THE HALF-BAKED PAINFULLY OOC FILLER EPISODES AND OVAS?" WELL, STUDIO BONES, YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN, BUT HOW CAN I POSSIBLY REFUSE.

AND THEN THEY FULL ON MURDERED ME!!!!!

that's right bitches. DREAD IT. RUN FROM IT. THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARRIVES ALL THE SAME.

holy shit. and then THE END CREDITS oh my freaking heart. words can't even describe.

Studio Bones out here not resting until they've succeeded in making EVERY SINGLE PERSON feel the MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SADNESS THAT A HUMAN BEING CAN SUSTAIN. their callousness truly knows no bounds.

anyway so there we have it! part one of the spectacular season 6 Bakugou Katsuki Redemption Saga. I laughed, I cried, I cried, I cried, I cried a little bit more, and then I cried a little bit more after that. final verdict: yeah, it was pretty good.

[justatalkingface]

The 'Great' MHA Read Along, Part One (Chapters 1-4)

So, at the request of @lacunammmm, I'm going to be... well, rereading MHA. All of it, god help me. Because the chapter division is stupid and based off giving weekly (and often cheap) cliffhangers rather than smooth storytelling, I'm just going to reread arcs instead of individual chapters (the arcs I'm going to be using are the ones off the wiki, for the record), kinda summarize it, and write out my opinions as they happen in a stream of conscious kind of way.... which is going to be a mess, fair warning. If you've read my take on the War Arc as a whole, that is the vibe I'm going to be going for. Thankfully, the first couple of arcs are only a couple of chapters long, so I get to get some easy stuff as a warm up before it gets longer and more complicated. Anyways, I'll be doing this on and off, and if this gets any attention I'll probably move it up my priority list a bit.

Anyways, first impressions as I read: where the hell was this guy with dragon fire head the entire time? Right at the start of chapter one it has examples of Quirks and there's this guy freaking out, and it's like a fire version of all those dragon covenants from Darks Souls, which is fucking awesome. Seriously, talk about an underused idea.

*clears throat*

But. Anyways. There's some crazy nostalgia seeing normal kid!Izuku; I know he's technically the same character, but he's changed so much from then to now, it's almost like he's literally a different person. It's not just that he's more confident and stuff*, like, all his mannerisms are gone, too. I mean, hell, the only thing that really connects Izuku from then to the current version is him going Kaachan, of all things. There's this kind of disconnect because I can't think of Post War Izuku, or even to some extent before that, really acting like Izuku.

More than that, though, he feels... fleshed out, in the way later Izuku doesn't; this Izuku, for all his flaws, and often (but not just) because of them, feels a lot more like a person that late game SUPER-DEKU Izuku does. Man, I miss this version.

*Actually, now that I think about it, he doesn't actually seem to have grown in confidence, after a certain point. Maybe by BvI2, his confidence, as a person, seemed to have stalled a lot. He's more confident later on, true, but that's more in a, 'I have assessed I can take you' kind of way to various villains, where before he was more nervous and determined; he's more confident in his power, sure, and his power level means he can apply that confidence almost all the time, but beyond that? The Dark Deku bit is something I could see this Izuku doing, if with less confidence, and for him to go on for so long without really getting to value himself at all speaks of some serious lacking growth.

Ah, beginning Bakugou. I did not miss you. And geeze, Bakugou cares way too much about Izuku; that ego is as big as a blimp and as fragile as spun glass. God, I forgot how damn sinister he was early on; that smile while he's burning Izuku (which I note doesn't even to have marred his uniform) gives me 'child pulling fly wings' energy. I really could see early Bakugou going way too far on Izuku and seriously hurting him in that, 'I didn't mean to' kind of a way, only maybe regretting it afterwards, and that is a bad vibe to have. In a less serious note, how does the teacher teach anything with him in class? From the way his friends talked afterwords, the lack of reaction the teacher had to his fits, everything he did except the suicide baiting was standard. Yelling, standing on the desk, exploding shit? None of that registered.

I know he's supposed to get away with everything because the staff likes his potential, but how much of the class does the teacher have to yell over him and his explosions? Or does he patiently wait for him to shut up before the lesson can continue, because clearly Bakugou's not getting punished for any of that.

...Sweet flying fuck, it has just got to hit me how much that must have hurt, the slime villain thing. Drowning is supposed to be a horrible way to die, and I doubt drowning in slime is any better, and to add insult to injury? He calls Izuku 'his hero', fuck. All things considered, that's probably the first time Izuku's been told that since his mom played games with him a a kid, since I doubt it's as common a phrase in MHA as it is now...

...

Now that I think about it, I refuse to believe that some sort of All Might related slang doesn't exist in MHA somewhere, and is this super common thing that people say all the time. It makes too much sense to me, considering the semi-literal worship the man has, and makes me want to laugh too much for it not to be real.

Speaking of All Might, popping out of the sewer, while carrying his groceries, as you do: in retrospect, that's like Superman crossed with your favorite idol popping out of the sewer, dressed in a normal outfit, holding groceries. It is both hilarious and without the reader's context brings up so many questions.

God, I miss this All Might. He's posing as he jump/flies away, long past the time Izuku should be able to see him, delightfully extra about it, and he's just so casual about this interaction, as he checks on Izuku, secures the villain, and even gives him an autograph on sheer autopilot.

I... I think this might be peak!All Might? Like, I know we get more of his story later on (but not by much, and generally just to introduce another character), but as a character I feel like his entire personality just started to flatten out after this initial arc, and by the time the next arc hits he's already getting flanderized into the useless character we end up with. Give it a second, let's get to a bit later in the story and I'll expand on that.

That said, the fact Izuku managed to stay on his leg and not get flattened by the jump or something is amazing.

Ah, instant karma on Bakugou. But, as has been noted, not punishment; he's not being punished for being an asshole, something bad just randomly happened to him, in a way that makes readers subconsciously want to think he's been punished for being an asshole, without having to make up for it in anyways, in a kind of half assed version of the dying for redemption trope.

Alright, real talk time: All Might and turning down Izuku. A lot of people hate on All Might for this, and I mean, a lot. They call him hypocritical and cruel, and like, did you pay attention? The man is being consistent; he didn't become a hero (student) until he got a Quirk. More than that, he tried to let him off gently, told him about how else he could help, and he really was just being honest. He may have been wrong, but he was honestly wrong. The fact Izuku took it so bad was because All Might was his last hope, but you can't blame All Might for Izuku's entire life when this is literally the first time they met.

*side eyes Bakugou*

Anyways, and now we come to it: the big moment. Well, a big moment, anyways; a lot of big moments in these chapters.... but yeah, Izuku saving Bakugou. It's... I feel like hindsight is tainting me here, in all honesty. Because that face Bakugou makes, as all those heroes stand around*, it does get you in the gut, it really does, especially when it drives cowardly Izuku to charge forward to save him. Asshole or not, he is just a kid, and he doesn't deserve that...

But. I can't help but look at that and think, 'This is Hori skipping on characterization'. That is, rather than making him better (though, to be fair, these early parts are the part of his biggest growth), or kinder to fix his character, Hori is hitting us with a poor Bakugou moment to smash some sympathy into us to try and undo all the shit that made us hate him not five seconds ago, while still leaving him as is. I don't know, maybe I'm too cynical, but I can't shake the thought.

But yeah, this is like, the defining moment for who Izuku is as a person, and it still is great at making him feel heroic in this really realistic, yet still impressive and admirable way. I really do love these early chapters. As much as I hate to say it, though, if All Might wasn't there all that would have happened was he would have gotten killed, like, two seconds after that so the heroes kinda had a point yelling at him.

Trying to recruit the recently traumatized victim, though? That is pure shit. Less, 'do you want to work for me', and more, 'Do you have lung damage', please; you're apparently professionals so I'd love it if you acted like it.

*Yeah, I feel like Aizawa would have expected all his students to try and rescue someone trapped by the slime guy, Quirk match up or not; there's certainly enough bad match ups they have in literally every school sponsored fight we've seen that it feels off that someone just said, 'I have a disadvantage' and gave up. I can't tell if this is an excellent demonstration of how half assed the heroes are getting, that UA is just better, or all heroes got flanderized as the series progressed into just charging in all the time anyways and this kind of characterization got forgotten. Some of everything, maybe.

Also. You, Fire Hose Man. Backdraft. Look, you stupid fucker, I get you're putting fires out (the second Bakugou is not responsible is the second his Quirk starts being treated seriously, interestingly; can't light a shirt on fire but once the slime gets to him the city starts burning? After this I don't think he'll ever start a fire again, no matter how hard he's going on someone or how flammable various things are) but you know what might be more helpful? Stopping more fires from happening, and saving a literal child! Two-for-one!

The villain is made of slime. You have access to high pressure water.

Do I need to draw you a map?!

*sigh*

...Sweet fuck in any other context than him being hammier than ham, All Might would be terrifying. How much of that persona is All Might going, 'Don't be afraid, I'm here to rescue you', and how much is, 'Don't be afraid of me, I'm so extra! Clearly I can't single handedly cause natural disasters when I'm not carefully monitoring my strength; there's no way you're going to explode if I touch you!'

God Bakugou, your ego, dial it back. Izuku, why are you complimenting how he refuses to get over himself?

Actually, right before All Might shows up, Izuku basiclly moves on from what... All Might said, which is interesting. He clearly still wants to be a hero, but that moment in itself just seemed really grown up to me. I respect that.

And... ah. I think this is my favorite moment.

'You can be a hero'.

God that's so damn powerful, the way you can see Izuku's composure fail, second by second. And... look at the way All Might is standing, look at how confident he is standing there, even when he's Skele-Might. This is the All Might I like, this is the man who helped get me into this story in the first place; even at his weakest, even after burning past his limit, he's still got the aura of a top hero to him, before promptly being shown as a Real Human, and it's so different from how cringing he seems to get later on, and so different from all these other mentors and heroes. All Might is both larger than life and starkly human in these chapters and that contrast is glorious.

And then the training, and I just hate we can't get this for rest of the series; All Might has that retired coach kind of a feel to him, of a guy who has done everything and knows how it works, and is just surprised and delighted by how Izuku is not only keeping up with, but surpassing his expectations.

The training we see is short, but when Izuku ends up screaming his victory, god it feels like he earned that win, and it's viscerally satisfying to see him improve like that.

'Now eat this', lol.

...What the fuck is UA's budget. They have a fucking town, like, an actual town, to train in. More than one? People could live there. And it's nice to see Iida be a character again, and the little arc he goes through here is interesting; he's well meaning, but abrasive, and in Izuku's mind almost bullying him, but you can still see how he means well; he maybe be a bit of a jerk at this moment, but he's not an asshole, which makes him (for what, one chapter?) a far more satisfying rival character than Bakugou ever was. If the story was spun different, you could really see a competing sort of rivalry between them forming where they both ultimately respect each other even as they try to one up each other, the thing everyone seems to think Izuku has with Bakugou for no real reason.

On another retrospective note, I have mixed feelings about how OFA is working here; when I first read this, I got into it, Izuku's struggles really brought me in. And then he kept struggling. And kept struggling. And the way All Might is suddenly unable to see this obvious problem coming, when he was so competent until Izuku got to UA, for literal months, leaves a bad taste. Looking back, it feels like Izuku is getting nerfed so he can suffer and panic all the time, and All Might is getting dumber so he can be a joke, and that.... ugh.

Uraraka coming in clutch on that rescue, though.

And Bakugou, yet again I'm harsher in hindsight, or maybe just less connected to Izuku's view on him, who would of course expect Bakugou to be the best, but the way it's focusing on his 'sheer battle instinct' and that he ends up in first place just feels like Hori hyping him up just because he can.

And to wrap it up... I'm assuming the 'Your Hero Academia' makes more sense in Japanese, because that phrase just feels...awkward, reading that in English. Was it different in the official stuff, or did it just stay as that weird almost title drop...? I can't quite sympathize as much with Izuku here, because of course he was going to get in, but it's nice seeing him win anyways.

In all honesty, this ended up meatier than I expected for just four chapters; in the future, if/when I keep this up, and the arcs get bigger, I might need to break it into multiple chunks to stop them from getting too big. Or, maybe this intro is meatier into such a short span because it's the intro. Guess we'll have to see.

[generallemarc]

Stop complaining about Deku wanting to save Shigaraki

"He shouldn't be sympathetic! Deku's risking the world for the sake of one person! This ruins his character as a villain!"

In reverse order:

Shigaraki's character has always been heavily colored by the fact that AFO intentionally raised him wrong specifically to make him as hateful and vengeful as possible. This is Deku attacking that past directly.

This is a shonen manga-risking the entire world for the sake of one person/a small group is standard fare here. How many times in Wano did a character turn down help in a fight because they needed to win it their way, risking the outcome of the war in the process? I lost count, and everyone(rightly) considers it to be possibly the best arc in One Piece.

Shigaraki is perhaps the least in-control of his own destiny of any villain in shonen, at least in all the ones I've seen. The first time ever that we saw him do something other than what AFO wanted was in this arc, the final arc of the series. He was created through amounts of mental and emotional abuse that literally aren't possible in the real world thanks to just how much of his life AFO rigged. I get it if you personally don't want to be sympathetic to him-he has done a fuckton of terrible things, after all. But to say that he can't be sympathetic is just dumb.

And all of this is secondary to the heart of the matter, which is that asking Deku to not save someone is the same thing as asking Sanji to kick a woman-even in a scenario where it would objectively be the right thing to do, they wouldn't be themselves if they did it. Sanji didn't fight Black Maria even though he could've easily beaten her because when he says he would never hurt a woman he means never. And when Deku says he wants to save everyone who needs it, he means everyone.

[dekusleftsock]

I am begging you and every other MHA fan to raise your standards cause Kohei gave everyone a yuri couple only to immediately kill one off.

…how many times has horikoshi faked deaths in this series. Because it’s A LOT. Afo, allmight, izuku losing his arm, bakugou, touya, Ochako literally last chapter, like… the story isn’t done yet my dude.

BUT HEY IF YOU WANNA ACTUALLY CRITIQUE HORIKOSHIS WRITING THEN IM ALL FOR IT HAHA

So how do I think horikoshi has seriously failed mha… hmm…

1: her

Her entire character. Well, not entire character. She GOT a lot of screen time and development don’t get me wrong, especially later in the series, and yes I love the fact that bakugou and dekus relationship was more prioritized than Izuku and Ochakos, but does that mean he prioritized her character? No! Nope! NADDA! Ochako is repeatedly sidelined throughout the story, and is also somehow excluded from a lot of arcs that SERIOUSLY RELATE TO HER CHARACTER.

Imagine if ochako was a part of the stain arc at all. She joined for selfish reasons like iida, he has a blood quirk like toga (which could’ve EASILY been foreshadowing to her not being freaked out by blood like most people), could’ve been a great way to show some nuance to her character….

And yet… AND YET…

That brings me to mistake number 2: Shoto Todoroki

Do I think shoto’s character is written badly or wrong? No! Of course I don’t! The entirety of the todoroki storyline, especially with its connection to hawks and the dirty parts of heroics, is really really good! I think it’s one of the most well handled abusive families in all of fiction. It understands EVERYONE in the family, and horikoshi is still able to show so much character and development in just a few scenes, like Natsuo or Rei.

So what IS my problem?

The fact that Ochako, her story, her CHARACTER AS A WHOLE… becomes sidelined due to horikoshi’s choice to prioritize his character over her’s. Again, it’s a great story and I wish he could balance both of them in mha, but he COULDNT, and he made the choice to sacrifice a woman’s character over a man’s.

Though I will say, a note on how ochako could’ve been in the stain arc: toga as a concept was created later and for ochako specifically, so it does kind of make sense as to why she wasn’t involved. Plans change and writers change, their ideas for their characters and what direction they go will ALWAYS change, and sadly you can’t predict that you won’t change a character or it’s direction at any point. It sucks! But that’s how a lot of these really long manga’s go. They have to write and then draw it pretty fucking fast.

And tbh I don’t really know what id do in horikoshi’s shoes with ochako and shoto! But it is definitely a critique we can acknowledge. It would take some seriously extraordinary writing skills to be able to balance, what, 3 deuteragonists? Katsuki, Ochako, AND Todoroki? Especially since one of those characters has a very complex trauma storyline that involves like five other characters? I honestly wouldn’t know what to do in his shoes!

I just wish he had picked the woman out of the two of them, but I think everyone knows that his manga wouldn’t be half as popular were he to have made it focus on two guys and a girl, instead of three guys, one of which is conventionally attractive and has major main character energy.

Anyway number 3: the overhaul arc

Ugh I have such mixed opinions on this arc. On one hand it has some really interesting storylines… when they’re on their own.

From what I understand, horikoshi did this arc because he wanted to try his hands at a longer arc and he had never really done that before. And while it’s great and very obvious he learned things from this arc, it just… takes up so much god damn space and gives us absolutely nothing long term.

Like yeah it makes a few points, like how high schoolers shouldn’t be involved in all of this and kinda sets up the ending rn where the actual adult heroes are sacrificing themselves for the next generation (ex: the guy that I forget the name of who’s now bakugous heart, allmight for deku, midnight for Mina/all the other kids, Mount lady, Aizawa for deku and all the other kids, Mirko for bakugou, etc etc), where as villains sacrifice the next generation for THEMSELVES (ex: afo and shigaraki, overhaul and eri, the gun arm girl for deku, also afo for dabi, etc etc) which is really good to do!

It’s just. Yk. Done by basically every other arc.

AIZAWA REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS, ALLMIGHT REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS, ENDEAVOR REPEATEDLY SHOWS THIS. Like it’s the entirety of Mount ladies arc, learning to be a hero and sacrifice for the next generation. Sacrifice and the fact that we forget 1-A are high schoolers is constantly shoved down our fucking throats; we don’t need this arc that takes so god damn long, only adds more characters that aren’t that important, TAKES AWAY FROM YOUR MAIN CAST OTHER THAN DEKU AND ALLMIGHT, JUST for it to tell you explicitly that “kids shouldn’t be fighting the battles of the previous generation, but they have to”. It just. Ugh.

There’s so much time in that arc fucking WASTED on nighteye or mirio’s character. Do I think the big three are really interesting? Of course! The contrast between mirio to deku is fascinating! It really shows how much deku can’t become allmight.

But you know. We talked about that a season ago mha. Yk. When he learns to use kicks instead of punches. Or yk. Gran Torino’s entire arc surrounds that. Everything about deku is nothing like allmight. That’s the entirety of their characters together. It’s repeatedly shown to be dekus biggest insecurity. He’s not allmight. YOU DIDNY NEED THIS ARC TO TELL YOU THAT AGAIN.

It’s like, everything that matters in this arc has already been shouting at you throughout the entire show, and everything else is never really used again outside of a mention here or there. It’s REALLY CLEAR Horikoshi was just doing this arc to try doing a long arc, not thinking about the long term of said arc.

Hmmm what else is there to complain about…

Eh, I guess the fan service? Which is, yk, in every other shonen anime/manga out there. Sometimes with people far younger than anyone in mha.

Ugh it’s like people like you just want me to be screaming “horikoshi did this! Horikoshi did that!” Every five seconds. I read the manga, I’ve talked about these flaws before on my account. Sorry if I… enjoy the manga???? Wait… omg!

It’s almost like I’m an mha account and it says RIGHT HERE IN MY BIO! Crazy!

Like seriously, what was your point? You were mad at drawings on a screen and someone enjoying that story and just… wanted to make someone’s day worse?

Did you expect me to heave over and be like “yes master anon! Toga is the worst written character in mha and horikoshi is a bad writer!” He’s a capable writer who understands his audience more than people give him credit for.

EVERY story has flaws. Every. Single. One. And because mha is literally everywhere and the fandom can get annoying because, it’s literally everywhere, I can understand getting annoyed sometimes. But you can’t sit here and expect me to solely focus on how bad horikoshi’s writing is because you’re mad at one thing. Toga SHOULD be selfless for ochako, sorry that it means thinking that she’s going to die???? What do you want from me?

I don’t have to “raise my standards” because horikoshi uses a lot of subtext and symbolism. I have other gay media I watch or read.

But like every single lgbtq movement that’s ever happened, it takes BABY STEPS. There aren’t many, if any, gay shonens out there, and if mha wants to be the first one it has to play by the rules. It has to make you think this is every other heterosexual shonen ever.

Shojo didn’t just become gay, it had to have shows like sailor moon censor a lesbian couple to be “cousins” so that other shows could exist. Madoka had to be at least semi subtle about its queer coding.

That whole meme where it shows one show saying “x show walked so that y show could run”, yeah that’s how every gay genre was made. Horror didn’t just become gay, it had to have community and relatability build up over the years, along with those new gay writers remembering where they came from, who paved the way.

My point being: I don’t give a shit if you think horikoshi is an awful writer who you think I can’t criticize. However I DO KNOW that if toga and ochako fully get together you’ll NEVER be able to avoid mha. And that thought makes me smile so much more than just the fact that they’re canon.

[dynmghts]

AND ANOTHER THING ACTUALLY!!!!! i think people underestimate the influence all might has on katsuki.

like yes, he's had plenty of influence from multiple mentors; aizawa's taught him to be patient and cooperative. best jeanist taught him how to navigate the hero world, preparing him for that reality check when he emerges as a new start. endeavour taught him to better his power when he was looking for his weaknesses, developing new techniques that meant he could go faster, hit harder, be stronger.

and all might? all might has taught katsuki how to better himself.

all might has been the ideal that katsuki's strived towards since he was very little, since he's been watching tv. he's always admired all might's strength and that has always been his goal to surpass. even entering ua, we know that he had very little other convictions beyond being the best of the best and proving himself stronger than all might in his prime - i mean, his original motivations for being a hero were money and fame.

but even though all might will always be izuku's mentor first and foremost, he's been there to support katsuki from the START. from their very first lesson with all might, he's been in katsuki's corner, helping him develop as a person - "whether you win or lose, you can always come out ahead by learning from the experience." this is literally in chapter 11.

and in deku and bakugou vs. all might for the final exams. yeah, that was an unfair fight, but all might knew EXACTLY why katsuki was so intent on staying back and fighting: even though he did, in fact, want to win, he gave no consideration to izuku's perspective on running. and that's because he was intimidated by izuku's growth. and i think... him targeting katsuki in such a way was to see whether it would further divide him and izuku from their shared goal of succeeding in the exam, or it would actually bring them together.

that was the first time they cooperated. because all might provoked it in such a way that allowed it to happen.

then we jump to dvk2, after katsuki's being kidnapped, and katsuki admitting that he felt responsible for all might's end... all might actively stopped aizawa from going there himself because he chose to intervene himself. all might is quick to recognise how katsuki feels about what happened in kamino ward, and guess what?

he reassured him that it was okay, and that HE was sorry. because katsuki holds himself to such high standards, and when he felt that izuku was chosen for being "stronger" than he was, he felt more pressure to meet his standards. (also kudos to all might being the only one in this whole manga to hug my boy, because damn, he needed that hug.)

but it's during this aftermath that really pivots katsuki's character: "if you can learn to respect each other and lift each other up ... you can become the ultimate heroes. ones who save by winning, and win by saving."

all might gave that to both izuku and katsuki, and when i tell you that katsuki takes that to heart, he REALLY DOES. he is still very win-orientated, of course, but he has on numerous occasions charged in to secure a save - especially if it means they would win down the track. the first instance we really see this, though, is during the joint training arc, where katsuki gets in the way to protect jirou from a hit and therefore secures a 4-0 victory.

there is just so much that all might's given to katsuki that he's taken to heart and moved forward with. that is his mentor, his idol, his ideal. he is so willing to take on any advice from all might that it's honest to god shaped his character in a very positive light since his and izuku's confrontation in ground beta. especially with the snippet we get right before katsuki bakugou: rising - where all might notices that katsuki is helping izuku train as a means of atoning. and he's the one that flags with him finding the chance to talk.

like, i don't know about you guys, but i am genuinely convinced that katsuki talking to all might there is the reason he was so prepared to apologise to izuku, IN THE RAIN, with all their classmates present. just... the fact that he hates the rain, and none of their classmates would've known the full extent of their dynamic in primary and middle school...

basically: all might may be izuku's mentor first, but katsuki has never had a better person to show him the way to being better.

[lirlovesfic]

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

A My Hero Academia Fanfic by lirloves fic

Canon Divergent AU

Rating: M for swearing (hello Bakugou) and for canon-typical violence

Characters: just about everybody plus some cameos from other manga/anime/tv shows

Pairings: Bakugou/Midoriya, Aizawa/Yamada (Eraserhead/Present Mic), other background relationships

Summary:

When Deku left UA after the battle with Shigaraki, he left his ID behind because, unlike his license which only listed his hero name, it had his real name on it. He didn't need it anymore because from this moment on Midoriya Izuku, son of Midoriya Inko, hero student at UA and member of Class 1-A, no longer existed. He was Deku now, and only Deku. After all, the gift of One For All had come with a price, and because he was the quirk’s last holder, Deku was the world’s last chance to defeat All For One. Like it or not, even though his license was only provisional, he was a hero now. He had to be. He would fight All For One, and he would win. There was no other option.

But that didn’t mean he’d survive the experience.

Midoriya leaves UA to search for Shigaraki and All For One, determined to finally defeat All For One, no matter what it takes.

And Bakugou is having none of it.

Chapter Eighteen

Eyes narrowed, hands on hips, Katsuki surveyed the empty room next to his, trying to find any flaws in the repairs he’d made. Then he grinned. There wasn’t a single one.

The room was perfect.

It had taken the better part of a week for Katsuki to repair the two rooms on the fourth floor, but by late Thursday morning they were finished.

Fucking finally.

He’d spent more than three days patching the walls he’d damaged and then completely repainting both rooms with two coats of the standard white paint the school seemed so fond of. And even though they hadn’t been damaged, he’d even included the ceilings because Katsuki had never half-assed anything in his entire life, and he certainly wasn’t going to start now.

Read More

Start from the beginning

[gojifan97]

Role-reversal AU where Bakugō is the one born Quirkless & Izuku is the one gifted with a flashy, powerful Quirk. But their personalities are the same just like canon.

Everyone fawned over Bakugo when they were young, since he was a prodigy at everything. Therefore, learning he was quirkless, and that Deku had a strong quirk twas a serious blow to his ego.

Since he still received his mom's fiery temper and intense personality, this leads him to swear he'd become the world's first quirkless hero and upstage all the other people at their school.

His friendship with Izuku fractures over the creek incident, though for opposite reasons. This time he wants to prove himself and sees Izuku helping him as him being unfairly propped up. He doesn't bully Izuku, but he's also not friends.

This lasts about a week before he forces Izuku to fight him. Izuku doesn't want to at first, he doesn't want to be a bully, but Bakugo forces his hand.

Izuku tries to apologize after winning, but Bakugo punches him, tells him not to dare do that, and he'd win next time. Izuku thinks this means Kacchan wants to be friends again!

Bakugo goes to any dojo or training place that'll take him to learn how to fight. He also learns a bit about making gadgetry, dance, and any other skill that'll help him become a hero.

Izuku is much more outgoing and confident in this AU. He also does more extracurriculars since he's not worried about others, but he's still primarily a hero fanboy.

He has suck-ups following him. Izuku even thinks they're his friends, but he still has an offputting feeling around them. He much prefers Kacchan. His willingness to cuss Izuku off is quite refreshing (nobody can understand why).

After he lost their fight, Bakugo began playing with Izuku again (to scout the enemy of course). Izuku and him soon become rivals. Nobody is quite sure if they're friends or enemies. Izuku says the former, Bakugo says the latter. Izuku thinks Kacchan's joking. He is the only one to do so.

This conversation happens.

Extra: So...what is you guys' relationship?

Izuku and Katsuki (simultaneous): Best friends/Worst enemies.

Katsuki is actually kind of protective toward Izuku. He warned Izuku that his "friends" didn't care about him, and once even scared away a girl he knew only wanted to be with Izuku for social clout.

He claims this is because he hates those pathetic weasels more than he hates Izuku.

Izuku believes it's because they're good friends.

Izuku and him constantly fight. Izuku always wins, unless he fights without his quirk. At first Katsuki thought he wanted to fight quirkless out of pity, but Izuku explained he actually wants to be a better Hero, which Katsuki appreciated.

At UA, Izuku gets OFA from AM, who thought he was the perfect choice after seeing him save an innocent without thinking. Bakugo is the only other person in the know. When Izuku explained it, his only reaction was:

Katsuki: Offer it to me, and I murder you.

All Might assumes the two are standard Shonen rivals and lets them train together. However, sometimes he wonders if they're quite as good of friends as Izuku believes.

Katsuki fights with the same style as canon thanks to some explosive gauntlets made by a friend he made in an inventing camp: Mei Hatsumei. Nobody's sure if they're legal, but they never ask.

Only Nezu knows, and he's not telling.

Izuku's dad is AFO. His "quirk" is actually the original Blackwhip, stolen off of Lariat's corpse. Izuku wasn't naturally quirkless though. His real quirk is All for One.

He is very happy to rob Nomu blind. And Bakugo is happy to help as long as he gets to blow something up!

(Oh, and Izuku was right all along. They are friends. Bakugo was just in denial)

[darkonekrisrewrite]

Bnha heroes vs villains honest trailer (parody) part 2

Dabi-obviously-not-touya-todoroki, a villain that wants to follow stains will in destroying fake heroes and their place in hero society-

-while listening to every "fXck you dad" song on his way to the hairdresser for all the essentials, because everyone wants to look great on their special day.

Toga Himiko, the evolutionary endpoint of all love obsessed schoolgirls and cosplayers-

-her greatest deception in convincing others that she's just that, instead of a girl driven to madness by her own power and society's rejection.

Also due to the fact that she’s mostly only able to communicate through romantic one-liners.

Together they'll confront the heroes and the heroes will face them, all trying to reconcile their world views while beating the shXt out of each other.

Though Deku spends most of the final War in a Beach Day episode.

And Shigaraki spends it posing like he's a dragon ball z villain.

But taking hits like he's Krillin.

Then the Todoroki brothers face off in a battle of hot vs hot/cold/extras.

Before the whole family gets involved in the fight like it's a reality TV show.

That'll be one awkward family dinner.

And finally, toga vs Ochako takes the series into full Shojo territory, complete with dramatic proclamations and the resulting stabbings-

-resolving in heartfelt confessions and floating light bubbles.

Are there romantic implications when the villain says that blood is her romance, and the hero replies that she'll give her own blood to them for the rest of her life?

Hmmmmm???

So strap in, for a story about conflicting ideals and standards of living, in a world ruled by power and oppression.

Where all of that will fly clear over a lot of people's heads, because the setting doesn't look like a futuristic dystopian landscape ruled by an uncaring well-dressed government that has its children fight for the benefit and entertainment of their society...

Even though it actually kind of does.

Well as long as none of the kids ever get killed, it's not really-

Oh...

Starring:

Memories spoken; no bones left unbroken! 

Every-time we touch, you get to crumbling!

Sans the skeleton

We're halfway there!

The red means I love you!

And Utena Rizzako 

Too cool for hero school

(Left out the closing line, does anyone have any ideas?)

[134340am]

come again, see you soon

todoroki shouto x gn!reader, 1k words, no quirks + cw food + sfw based on this silly little headcanon

“hello, welcome.”

the smooth, deep tone of the new employee behind the counter had you looking up from your phone in surprise. 

as per your usual wednesday afternoon routine, you made it to the on-campus froyo shop just in time to catch their student discount window from two to five p.m..

over the semester, your weekly visit to the humble dessert spot has become the number one thing you looked forward to every midweek—a sweet treat to comfort yourself after the gruelling three-hour seminar you have to put yourself through every wednesday. 

on a normal day, you’d be greeted with the cheerful chirp of a green-haired boy you’ve come to know as deku—who’s been the one to serve you your weekly cup of happiness with a bashful, but genuine smile.  

today, however, you were met with a pair of the most breathtaking grey and turquoise eyes you’ve ever seen, staring earnestly back at you.

“um, good— good afternoon,” you stutter in greeting, and inwardly cringe at how easily you were affected by this new employee’s striking good looks.

aside from his outrageously beautiful eyes that follow your figure as you walk up to the counter, you also found yourself enamoured with the sharp slope of his nose, the cute tufts of red and white hair sticking out from under his cap, and his pouty pink lips that part to speak—

“what can i get you today?” he asks, and you feel your heart clench at the way his voice sounded much deeper up close. his words seem to flow into your ears the way your favourite song does, settling in the back of your brain in a cloudy haze.

while a part of you was still bummed you wouldn’t be seeing deku’s sweet smile today (which also meant you won’t be getting extra toppings or a chance to talk about the new all might movie coming out later—which is probably why deku’s gone, anyway), you were still thrilled at the sight of the handsome young man standing before you. 

what a treat, especially after that hellish quiz, you thought to yourself, and in no way were you referring to the cup of frozen yoghurt you were about to purchase.

“you can take your time,” the pretty boy says. silence ensues for a brief moment, before it was interrupted by the sound of m&ms being stirred around. 

that was when you realised you were spacing out, staring straight at the pretty boy’s face without saying a single word. embarrassment floods your being, and you feel the back of your ears start to heat up. 

“um, sorry ‘bout that. i’m ready to order,” you explain, gaze dropping from the stranger’s face to his name tag. shouto, it reads, void of any decoration. somehow the simplicity suits him. “can i please get an original, regular cup? um, please.” 

pretty boy—shouto, you mean—blinks once, twice. 

“sorry, but we’re out of original.” he points to the signboard behind him. a big OUT OF STOCK, SORRY! :( sign was plastered over it, written in bold blue letters that you definitely wouldn’t have missed, if not for your momentary weakness in the face of one very charming stranger. “we have strawberry cheesecake, though. it’s our new seasonal flavour,” he continues, pointing at the signboard right next to your beloved original flavour.

“alrightsurethen.” your words come out in a rush of air you didn’t know you were holding in. heat rises up your neck to your cheeks, and you cringe again at how unnaturally you were acting. 

if shouto thought anything of your behaviour, he didn’t say anything. you take your time marvelling at the way his broad back tapered down to his slim waist, his plain black tee shirt cinched in by the contrasting soft beige of the froyo shop’s standard issue apron. you made sure to avert your eyes quickly the moment he turned back with your cup, now filled with a towering swirl of red and cream. 

“your toppings?”

“um, strawberries, granola, and…” you trailed off, eyes fixed on the way shouto’s lithe fingers wrap around the little plastic scoop in every topping bin. “...gummy bears.”

he raises an eyebrow at your unusual topping choice, but you decide against saying anything more to avoid embarrassing yourself further.

shouto rings you up and that went by smoothly, thank goodness, because you don’t think you’d be able to handle a minute more interacting with a man as attractive as him. it helped that there was barely anyone in the little shop, with most students still stuck in their afternoon classes.

shouto sets your cup atop the glass counter with a napkin and a loyalty card. on closer inspection, you realised the card had three stamps on it, indicating three visits. free upsize, reads the text compacted in the fourth bubble.

before you could present shouto with your old dog-eared, half-filled loyalty card, or ask him about the two extra stamps he must have given you by accident, you were interrupted by the gentle baritone of his voice. 

“thank you, please come again.” he says, a soft, polite smile adorning his face. 

“yeah, um, you too,” you mumble, your brain short-circuiting, and whatever concerns you had melted away on your tongue when you take your cup from shouto and feel his fingertips brush against yours. 

“i will.”

“sorry, what?” fuck. what did you say again? 

“i will come again,” he nods, eyes shining with a hint of mirth and mischief. “i’ll be here tomorrow till sunday, two to closing. if you want to visit, that is.”

“o-oh! um, sure!” you squeaked out, barely containing your elation. does this mean he wanted you to come back? and see him? “see you, shouto.”

you wave your cup awkwardly, suppressing a yelp when the swirled tower of yoghurt sways precariously, already melting. 

shouto smiles, an indescribable fondness in his expression. “see you soon, y/n.”

a/n: thank you for reading! reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated <3

(masterlist)

[balaroo]

Why did Bakugou see Deku as worthless?

Short answer: He didn’t.

“But doesn’t ‘Deku’ literally mean useless?! Of course Bakugou thought he was a quirkless loser!” I hear you cry but please give my rushed analysis a chance and see if I can convince you of something real quick.

This is mainly focusing on their relationship in the earlier manga but there will be references to newer chapters so spoilers if you’re not caught up!

I’m going to go in a vaguely chronological order and remind you of these panels:

So the first part of this with Bakugou already starting to pick on Deku happens before his quirk manifested and even longer before he finds out Deku is quirkless. It makes me think of when Deku said Bakugou only 'started down a bad path' once he got his quirk but it looks like he was being a little shit before even that.

Why does this fit into it at all, doesn’t this just confirm Bakugou has always seen him as a loser? Well, yes and no. With Bakugou having a squadron of children he thought were lower himself that followed him around everywhere, why did he only ever pick on Deku?

That’s something I’ll come back to soon but a few more moments I wanted to remind you of along these same lines are:

When he learns Deku is applying to UA

In middle school, Deku’s classmates finding out that the quirkless kid applying to the prestigious hero school is hilarious and they think that there’s no way he can get in. But the one person who does take is seriously is Bakugou.

He claims it’s because he wants to be the only person from their school to make it to UA but by saying this isn’t he admitting that on some level he thinks Deku has a chance to get in, even without a quirk?

When he sees Deku has a quirk

Now, up until this point, Bakugou has apparently accepted Deku actually is in UA, even without a quirk. In fact, he’s more shocked to learn that Deku does have one but lied to him about it (which only reinforced the belief Deku was intentionally trying to undermine him) and leads me right back to the point that Bakugou absolutely believed Deku made it to UA with no quirk.

He never saw Deku as worthless because he didn't have a quirk, there was something else at play, hence the meta.

Just to hammer that in further, something interesting I remember from the earlier chapters is Bakugou constantly referring to Deku as ‘a pebble in my path’

That specifically made me wonder why would someone who’s always seen everyone else as ‘extras’ and even went out of his way to remind his teacher ‘don’t lump me in with these losers’ refer to a kid he’s deemed to be useless as having any effect on his path to becoming a hero? It just doesn’t add up.

Though we get a lot of closer looks at Bakugou's pride and it's downfall after All Might loses his power, the reason as to why Bakugou was always so quick to hate on Deku is pretty ambiguous until we get to the newer chapters (spoilers for 285+ beyond this point) and we get this amazing piece of insight into Bakugou’s character:

‘I ignored my own weaknesses so I ended up bullying him.' Not only is he speaking candidly about how messed up his relationship with Deku used to be but he's admitting that he cares about him.

It’s by no means a rousing declaration of guilt but it does put the blame entirely on Bakugou himself which was honestly very refreshing to see. People aren’t black and white, not every mean character has a tragic backstory to explain their actions.

Bakugou may have just been a kid with way too many expectations put on him but that gives no excuse for what he did and he knows that and then he decides to make it right which is why his character is so interesting.

So why would Bakugou pick on Deku in the first place? It’s because he was scared of him.

Deku didn't believe that just because someone has a strong quirk means they should be treated like they're invincible (hence the famous river scene) and he treated Bakugou as he would anyone else which terrified Bakugou.

Bakugou is meant to be a strong hero with a powerful quirk but here's this kid who's quirkless, and so by society's standards should be weak and feeble, showing much more strength and tenacity than he should. It goes against the narrative of the world they live in and Bakugou is worried it'll effect how he's meant to be a hero.

Deku excels in every way that Bakugou hasn’t been able to. He’s kind but never hesitates to stand up for what he believes in, he has the uncanny ability to analyse villains and heroes alike in a way that allowed him to beat Bakugou in their training exercise, and to top it all off he has a strength of will that is honestly just scary.

Poetically, it’s only once Bakugou accepts that Deku has always been stronger than him in this way and they start their ‘Save to win, win to save’ dynamic does he manage to overcome those obstacles and start on the path to becoming a more rounded and stronger hero, as well as atoning for what he’s done.

He’s never going to stop being foul-mouthed or aggressive because that’s part of who he is, but he is a much better person than he was at the beginning of the manga. Saying he isn’t is blatantly disregarding so much of the story and just very, very incorrect.

Whether or not he'll outright say “I’m Sorry.” To Deku has yet to be seen but this route feels a lot more genuine to be quite honest. Not to mention, if he did confront Deku with it the most likely outcome would be Deku saying he’s already forgiven because it’s true but Bakugou wants to earn that forgiveness which is so much better.

Seeing how far their relationship has come since that realisation has been amazing and I can only hope we get to see even more development between the two of them.

This was just meant to focus on how Bakugou never saw Deku as worthless but I’ve already gone off topic. I could write essays on this pair’s dynamic but it’s already long enough so I think I’ll leave it here.

I would love to hear other people’s thoughts on it and thank you very much if you read this far!