#like the fandom protrays him as dumb but he’s actually like extremely smart

[vexedmilky]

Something I feel like people never talk about enough in this fandom is the fact that Kaito can speak three languages even though he’s only like seventeen. Like did y’all forget that he’s actually really fucking smart or what?

[autumn-foxfire]

Holy shit I almost choked. Not literal, but all the motions were there. 'also twice removed means something much different in the bnha fandom' You really went and said that huh. Wow. I also think I might show my friend the stardew valley post, she really likes that game. Now for what I actually planned on saying. I support smart Todoroki rights. The constant dumb or extreme baby and can't defend himself portrayals are getting real tiring. Because he absolutely can defend himself. (1/6)

Shouto isn't a coward. He will smack away Endeavor, rant about him freely, and slurp soba and stare him dead in the eye 'oh nasty scar you got there' he is absolutely a smart boi. He just takes sayings a bit too literal sometimes. And hey, I'm socially awkward too! I had a bad childhood too! But if people thought of me how they write Shouto, flinching and cowering and just taking what Endeavor did to him I'd just be really insulted. (2/6) 

He understands a whole lot of things, its kinda a given for us. OP said it all, that conclusion post is super valid too. And yeah what the addition says. It can be tricky to find a balance, most of the time it's always overdone. Can't expect people to get it 100%, it's fanfic. And some people enjoy that. Like I'd be reading a Hawks fic and your so right, they really do that to him. And like, y'all as much as I am for the Commission being shitty and Hawks being baby. (3/6) 

I'm sure canon isn't to that degree. If you really wanna protray Hawks as a victim, please know that's not the only way. And it's insulting to him too. So whenever I see a fic where Hawks oh surprise surprise! Has some actual self-respect, isn't a dumbass and shows his intellect without being a total pushover by the Commission and his entire thought process warped by fanon I'm like heck yeah! That's the good stuff. And hey if you want people to care about him, they can still do that. (4/6) 

Not everyone needs to come off totally broken or like Eri to be a victim. Hawks doesn't need to be confused and slowly guided to know what the Commission did was bad. I doubt he even cares. And at least everytime I've seen people be confronted by their pasts they've all been like 'yeah? I mean, it's all in the past now and I'm doing fine. Thanks though.' But fanfic exists for the reason of people being able to call out situations they don't like. (5/6) 

And canon is 100% okay with the hero training program those guys have and Hawks going on a solo infiltration mission. None of the heroes are gonna bat an eye to that. He's an adult, he did his job. Consequences are your own. Done. That's just how it works, he's doing his risky hero career just like everyone else. Our personal feelings about the unfairness of it all doesn't have a say in how canon accepts it. (6/6)

Okie Dokie! Second time's the charm (mostly because I'm writing this in Notepad and unless my computer freezes, I should be okay)

You're the only one to spot that tag, I'm glad you found it funny (sorry you almost choked or well kinda, though). Also that setup was going to give me nightmares and I don't know how the man did not have anxiety attacks over it. Now to get into the actual answer.

I personally hate it when a smart character is dumbed down for the sake of the plot, whether it be in canon or in fanon. I also hate it when canon characteristics are taken away from the character for plot convienance too.

Shouto is a young man that is awkward in social situations and can be oblivious to jokes or sometimes take jokes to literal (like the time with Mount Lady). He is brave and intelligent. He isn't a cowering child, not anymore. He can and he has stood up to his father on multiple occassions and while he's socially awkward at times, he's learning how to interact with his friends and classmates around him (I recently saw a post about how Sero was discussing trading manga with him so he does have friends outside of Izuku and Bakugo). You don't need to reduce him to a boy that flinches whenever someone raises a hand or is secretly afraid of his father whenever the two of them alone because the way Shouto expresses and deals with his trauma in canon is completely valid too.

It's the same with Hawks. Hawks is aware of his crappy situation and how he was raised, it was even his excuse to join the league (being trapped in a birdcage). He's also not blind to the commission or it's faults and corruption. He even defied an order to allow innocent people to die in order to further his mission because he knew it was wrong. He's also constantly referencing how the commission doesn't give him much choice too. Which is why I'm always confused when Hawks is portrayed to believe the commission is right and needs to be gently guided (usually by the LoV but's that's a rant for another day) to realise this situation isn’t okay. If anything Hawks just needs help untangling himself from the commission’s influence (and the best stories I've read of Hawks doing that have been with the support of heroes, not villains, but maybe I'm just biased).

(Though I'm not sure how okay people would be to learn that both Shouto and Hawks were trained from a young age and reduced to their quirks/worth and Hawks was even told to give up his name. While it's common for teenagers to hone their quirks, especially before the entrance exams to hero schools, I don't think anymore would be okay with six years olds being told to master their quirks to perfection)

Overall though, people can write what they want. If they want to write Shouto flinching or Hawks being completely under the thumb of the HPSC then they can. Hell, sometimes I enjoy those stories myself even so I can't judge. But when I don't like a story I just backspace and then leave it alone because something that I might not like might be the favourite story for someone else. We all have our preferences and perspectives of characters, these are mine.