Izuku looks between the three of them and smiles as everything falls into place. He also smiles because he knows his next sentence is going to send them into a tizzy. Let the record show that Izuku Midoriya is a bit of an asshole. “Should we continue the movie… or go upstairs?”
“Upstairs? Like upstairsupstairs?” Kaminari asks, like he’s forgotten the layout of his own house.
The last chapter of my OT4 fic! Kiri/Baku/Kami/Deku finally have their extremely sexual “is this actually real life” moment(s) together! Kudos to the shower, the couch, the kitchen, and the bedroom.
Seriously, shout out to Katsuki fucking Bakugou for giving Uraraka the respect she deserved in the ring when AN ENTIRE STADIUM WROTE HER OFF. Like whether you like Bakugou or not, him giving her the fight she deserved is CRUCIAL.
I think I know the work of Yutaka Nakamura when I see it, his style never gets old…
Deku’s. Fucking. Foot. Work.
I need so much more of it.
Like y’all better not sleep on this boy because he smiles like the sun ran out of shine. He’s brilliant.
And I know this ep was great for Baku development (bless) but it was also so heavy on Deku growth, like, he may have said yes to the fight for Baku but he also got to see how much he’s improved, too. Like yes, you ARE this fast now, you hit this hard, you keep them on their toes, kid. Your need to save is great but don’t forget: you got that fire, too.
And how impressed Bakugou looks by them, like, “SHIT, I’m actually getting a REAL FIGHT from one of my peers!” Cuz that’s not what happened at the sports festival, he had some good fights (Uraraka especially), don’t get me wrong, but this?
PHEW!
Like let’s be honest, Todoroki gave up, so there goes THAT real fight. After that was All Might, which he expected to have to go hard on, then the training camp which he was told NOT to fight, the license exam, then this.
Izuku, before: Admired Katsuki from afar, would copy his fighting style then be nervous at the other finding out. Katsuki, before: STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!
Izuku, now: Openly admires Katsuki and says it to his face enthusiastically. Katsuki, now: STOP PRAISING ME!
Character grooooowth?
Bakugou: Hey nerd I got a game for you to play
Deku: Oh?
Bakugou: It’s got a bear, a bunny, a fox, and a chicken. It even takes place at a pizza place for kids
Deku: Cool! Sounds like fun!
Kirishima: Isn’t that-
Bakugou: Shut the fuck up shitty hair let me have this
sorry, i gonna have to come back to this moment because it was such a good moment
bakugou is an angry mess. anger’s a secondary emotion; it’s a defensive reaction to another emotion, e.g. you feel angry because you are hurt, you feel unsafe, etc. bakugou feels angry because he has guilt and self loathing in spades, and anger is the only way he knows how to process it.
this panel could be seen as bakugou’s typical bakugou-ness – a la “i don’t need your help” / “i want to (have to) be perfect and i have to do that on my own, you absolute cannot and are not allowed to help me” – but this time it feels different. the context is different. this isn’t bakugou trying to achieve everything on his own; this is bakugou feeling like everything is his fault.
getting kidnapped. all might’s fall. chaos descending on society. his friends nearly being expelled. if he had just been stronger, then none of this would have happened. bakugou’s always been a proud little shit who thought he was better than everyone else, and yet here is all the incontrovertible proof that he is a total failure. that kind of thinking so easily leads to self-hatred, and here bakugou has been marinating in it for days.
and at that point, when you hate yourself that much – when all you can see in yourself are all the failings, all the bad things, all the ways in which you weren’t good enough and thus the scum of the earth – when you get to that point, someone genuinely caring about you feels like a slap to the face.
it feels like knocking all the breath out of you. it feels like adding salt to your wounds. bakugou isn’t just being frustrated with izuku here. he’s hurt. how can izuku ask if he’s okay? how can izuku still care?
bakugou’s in such a terrible mental state that he can’t accept any help right now. at least, nothing but a way to vent his feelings and punish himself at the same time.
i mean, just look at bakugou’s expression here, the way his snarl almost seems like a grin: izuku has just landed a good solid hit on his face, and he’s not even mad about it. he’s getting exactly what he wants.
throughout the series bakugou has expressed himself almost exclusively through attacks (verbal or physical) or by destroying things. it may be the only way he really knows how to give voice to his emotions. izuku shows talent and power during the quirk apprehension test? attack. todoroki doesn’t fight him full power? attack. bakugou is a failure? …
attack himself – or find someone who will do it for him.
i’ve always thought he had something of a self-destructive streak, and here it fucking is.
He’s so hurt and confused and frustrated and he doesn’t know how to handle any of those emotions. his only outlet is to cause damage to those who triggered said emotions to arise. but the thing is, this time it was himself to blame and he’s so lost right now, he’s blaming himself for everything and he’s bottled up all of that self-loathing inside this whole time and that may not be the best way to handle his emotions but that’s the only way he knows how and the part where he kept asking himself why izuku would even bother to help him out after all this time, the confusion and frustration, the “why the fuck would you help me? Why would you still help someone like me” look on his face, this whole fight isn’t even about katsuki wanting to prove he’s better than izuku but katsuki wanting to release, to vent, all of his pent up frustration without saying anything or admitting to it and im so glad izuku understood it and is trying to help him the only way he knows how. The fight maybe meaningless to others, but to them it’s a way of communication and providing comfort to the other.
Also no one asked if Bakugou was ok to begin with. They never do. Ever. Because they think he’s so impressive that he’ll be fine. And it’s been like that since the damn sludge monster. The heroes didn’t ask if he was all right, instead, they complimented him for being able to endure it, even made a comment about him working with them someday. And that’s always stuck with me.
People forget that this is a teenage boy.
Like we see so many people checking on Deku — including All Might, and yeah, I know, it’s his student, but how do you not check on the kid who got kidnapped? And I don’t just mean the “you’re safe now” mid-crisis, I mean after the fact. I can guarantee you, when they took Bakugou to be questioned, he was peppered with “you’re so brave” and not “how are you doing?” Just like the sludge monster, like fuck, they didn’t even escort him home after the sludge monster and he almost died!
People give Bakugou so much shit without stepping back and wondering how he reached that point. He is a clear sign of the world they live in, and thank goodness Deku can see him for who he really is: a kid with a lot of insecurities who needs that release.
This is the story of a geeky anime/gaming gal by the name of Chibi. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for... some sort of ride? Oh! I love to write, and I also love doing crafty things. I go to conventions with my partner and sell woodburned things, clocks, mirrors, and more! So expect to see those on here too :)
