#choo choo goes the Bakugou Katsuki simp train

[stardust-rust]

Thinking about the inherently self-sacrificial and lonely idea of One for All. That many of the past users were alone in their fight against AFO, and the fourth user even literally turned into a hermit so he could train and not endanger those around him. They all died young with only their legacy living on in their successor, and all of them having to hide the truth of OFA/AFO from all but the most select few. But the very first step to Deku winning the war against AFO? It wasn’t getting OFA, it wasn’t getting to 5, 10, 20%, it wasn’t even unlocking the other Quirks and talking to the vestiges. It was telling Bakugou Katsuki the truth.

And now Deku has revealed the truth to Class 1-A, and he has his entire class standing behind him. He is no longer ‘One’, and despite his best efforts they will not let him be ‘One’. Especially Katsuki, because out of all of them he not only knew the secret first and also suspected the truth of OFA from the beginning, but also understands Deku best.

“Stop trying to win this on your own,” he said, and Katsuki is one of the plainest speaking character in the entire series. There is no subtext, no agenda, no other interpretation except the bluntest one. He saw what secrecy and isolation did to the previous users and he absolutely refuses to let Deku become another number (literally number 9!) in the long list of casualties of a war that began before they were even goddamn born. They didn’t start this fight, but by god Katsuki will make sure they will be the ones to end it.

The way he confronted All Might, and demanded the truth? Holy crap. He’d long since knocked the gilt off his childhood hero but for him to fiercely demand accountability in defense of Deku? He was trying to protect him!! In every detail he was pushing Deku to be stronger and more powerful so he can fight AFO, but also to be there for him in case he stumbles.

It drives me insane, how much Katsuki has grown and developed over the course of the series (and in canon-time, a year) and how he can finally accept Deku’s heart for what it is, and at the same time be what Deku lacks.

Katsuki is smart, he has an incredible sense of combat and instinctual understanding of strategy and even people (like how he knew Shindo was fake) but his biggest blindspot has always been Deku. He grew up so assured of his own importance and strength but after entering UA and getting loss after loss handed to him on his ass, he finally began to see what Deku had that he lacked. And because Katsuki is far more introspective than people give him credit for, he started to understand what makes a true hero.

Deku bought into the idea of the Lone Wolf Hero and thought he could keep his loved ones safe by keeping them at arm’s length, he became what Katsuki used to want - to win ‘alone’. But whereas Katsuki would never sacrifice himself (death would be like losing to him) Deku has always been searching for a cause worth dying for. And Katsuki understands Deku’s self-sacrificial nature like nobody else ever since they were children, and he called it for the bullshit that it is.

He became the person to pull Deku back from the brink of his own self-destruction by mobilising the rest of 1-A to prove to Deku that he doesn’t have to shoulder that weight alone. Their growth is directly complementary and even a little roundabout, but god. GOD. It just gets me how clearly Katsuki sees this battlefield, and he’s out here playing 4D chess to keep Deku safe.

Deku will win not because he masters One for All, but because he will no longer be ‘One’!