More of this thingy. For context, this is me comparing Atsushi and Izuku's characters to see how similar they are. So far it's mainly just, protagonist stuff.
(and also because I wanted a scenario where they would talk to each other and this was the first thing I thought of)
:D
I feel like my art has progressed since I started this, which on the one hand is a good thing, on the other hand it makes things a little inconsistent... Ah well. Four more to go till this idea I had like, six months ago reaches its conclusion.
:D
the SASS
headcanon that andrew hangs aaron’s mugshot up on the wall of the dorm like a proud parent
Okay. Just a fun fact. During a little research about christianity in Japan i found out something curious.
Anime representation of Atsushi's orphan flashbacks is kinda accurate in some sense
And what exactly i mean
This is his flashback
Ans this is Miyazu Catholic Church
Uh oh! You made the human experiment angry!
Uh…. Good luck?
Izuku: You know there are 42 different ways that Chargebolt can be killed in battle if he didn’t practice long-distance attacks?
Bakugo, just woke up and eating cereal:
Bakugo: I thank God everyday you didn’t decide to take the villain path.
I genuinely think Atsushi would get along with most of the Port Mafia.
Like he and Akutugawa have that whole, thing going on and still trust and care for each other.
And if Akutugawa is okay with him I think the Black lizards would at least try and find him fun.
Hirotsu is just like why can't you guys be as well behaved as Atsushi and Tachihara's like he just hissed at me! While Atsushi looks like the picture of innocence.
Chuuya and Atsushi would probably tease Dazai for his antics. I like to think if Kunikida hasn't already, Chuuya would show him how to throw a correct punch.
They'd be chill, probably pet some dogs together.
Kouyou and Atsushi would bond over Kyouka, how she's being doing and such. She'd probably tease him and he'd dish it out just as good back.
Which I like to think she'd respect, especially if she mentored Chuuya, and they'd get tea together.
She'd probably sigh at his bangs but go nope that's for another day.
Probably sasses Mori without realising it and Mori just laughs like no no go on.
Mori definitely spills some embarrassing Fukuzawa stories and Atsushi can't look at the man for the next week, and won't say why.
And just Atsushi is just that guy I think if he can somehow and somewhat befriend Akutugawa and Lucy, he can end up befriending others.
Imagine it goes so well that they're like erm yeah forget Yosano we want the weretiger plz to be exchanged.
Atsushi: Why would anyone want me?
Everyone: both Port Mafia and Detective Agency.... Who told you that?!
its so funny to me that atsushis pic was in the newspaper like hes kinda locally famous
i mean im sure with teh shit yokohama sees tehy move on from one event to the other real quick, but its funny to imagine atsushi as some type of local celeb like he gets recognized on the street and shit
becuz akutagawa's face is plastered on local police stations all the time
and sskk r besties; like i know wan and anthology arent canon but i feel like them running into each other all the time pretty much is like akutagawas always there
anywho
so its so funny to imagine ppl being like 'whale hero guy hanging out with a MAFIOSO??'
and atsushi is like 'uhh thats not akutagawa the rabid dog of the mafia thats akutagawa the not-rabid-dog-of-the-mafia'
citizen: ...
atsushi: also we're not hanging out; i hate him, he hates me; id die for him, he'd die for me; sometimes we accidentally meet up and go shopping or take a walk and stuff like that. but we're not friends. like i think he's the coolest person ever but he's also a little bitch.
All right, listen. It’s pretty damn funny that two weeks ago I posted all like, “oh I don’t really comment chapter-by-chapter, I’m waiting to see what happens next,” but this one broke me.
This chapter was everything I wanted for bkdk, and it’s so much more tender than I ever dreamed it could be.
This post is not going to be like most of my posts, because I am a flood of emotion. If you’re wanting some detailed, well-researched analysis of this scene, that ain’t coming for a while.
I don’t have some kind of comparative linguistics to show you. I just have my visceral reactions as someone who speaks Japanese and has absorbed Japanese media for many years. I have shared my heart with others in Japanese, I’ve sputtered out words between sobs and felt the many kinds of comfort different people try to offer. I have comforted others who let themselves be vulnerable with me.
In all these moments, just as in English, I wondered if my words and feelings reached them. Each time, I felt the warmth of connection when they looked at me, and I decided that they knew I did my best. They accepted me, even if it wasn’t perfect.
I’m gonna tell you the truth, and I wouldn’t normally say this so directly, but it matters to me: the fan translation for this specific scene is not good. The tone is wildly off in some ways and it outright omits a number of very important words.
The official translation gets so much of it right.
But that’s not really what I want to talk about right now. I want to talk about how people are reading this scene.
I have seen a ton of, frankly, oblivious interpretations of Izuku’s side of things.
Listen to me. Izuku is not making fun of Katsuki for crying, he is not telling Katsuki that crying isn’t like him, that isn’t in the text at all. He is not rejecting Katsuki’s feelings, or belittling them, or ignoring them, or any of that.
Izuku has seen Katsuki cry in-canon a number of times, but every time it was over his own personal failures, and the frustration, anger, guilt, and grief associated with them. We see it in the aftermath of Deku vs. Kacchan 1. We see it during Deku vs. Kacchan 2.
Izuku is shocked to see Kacchan cry because this is the first time he has cried for Izuku.
When Katsuki apologized in 322, he looked Izuku in the eye and told him his feelings with conviction and poise. He was gentle and vulnerable, but strong, because he was asking Izuku to trust them and rely on them. To come back with them and believe in them, like they believe in Izuku. He bowed his head to show his remorse. He caught Izuku when he fell, and he accepted Izuku’s own apology.
He embodied dignity, sincerity, and strength of character. He was a true hero.
This?
This is the raw, honest sorrow of a young boy. It is a tender, earnest, unguarded display of how much Izuku means to him.
These are the tears you shed for someone you cherish. These are tears for when you think you are losing something you can’t live without. Because Katsuki isn’t just crying for the loss of Izuku’s dream—it’s their dream, the future they dreamt up together as kids.
Izuku is almost pathologically incapable of understanding how other people see him and feel about him, but this is unmistakable. He is stunned because there is no other explanation.
There is unmitigated heartache and longing at the core of Katsuki saying, “I just thought somehow we would be together like this, competing and chasing after each other, forever.”
And Izuku is reeling, but so, so touched, and filled with fondness. Look at how his shock shifts to this overwhelmed, affectionate smile.
He’s right—this isn’t the usual Katsuki, and that is precisely why it means so much. We as the audience have been privy to Katsuki’s feelings, but until now Izuku himself has never really grasped the depth of them. This is all the tenderness Katsuki has kept locked up inside, and he is letting Izuku see it for the first time.
To see Kacchan—strong, fierce, and absolutely unstoppable—shed these innocent, helpless tears for him and tell him through sobs that he wanted things to stay this way forever, I can’t blame him for being blown away.
I think Izuku expected Katsuki to be shocked and a little sad that he gave up OFA, both for Izuku’s sake and because it is the legacy of their hero. Before Katsuki even starts crying, Izuku has this small smile on his face, like he was ready to reassure him that he had made peace with his own choice.
But he clearly didn’t expect for Katsuki to weep openly in front of him about it or to confess to wanting him by his side. Izuku had so enjoyed just being allowed near Katsuki, allowed in his life at all—to think that Katsuki could want the same and want it this much, to the point that he worries that things would change, that Izuku would abandon him or deny him? How could that ever be?
In what world could Izuku ever stop chasing Kacchan?
Izuku is a bit of an idiot. He has always thought that Katsuki understood how much he cared for and admired him—that’s why he is so shocked during DvK2 to hear that Katsuki thought he looked down on him for years. Izuku thought Katsuki understood his feelings and simply rejected them.
The way he loves Kacchan is natural and unquestionable. Even now, he can’t understand how Katsuki doesn’t know. It’s baffling to him.
But he still accepts Katsuki’s vulnerability and responds to the intimacy.
This is such an affectionate, loving thing to say. Izuku is being so sweet. I cannot convey to you strongly enough how Izuku telling Katsuki, “C’mon, stop it, this isn’t like you!” reaffirms their closeness.
If Izuku had not said this line and instead skipped straight to this nervous, awkward little attempt at comfort here:
It would have read as so much more distant.
With his tears and his confession, Katsuki pleads with Izuku to not leave him. To be with him always.
And in response, Izuku unabashedly stakes his claim on their bond by being bold enough to affectionately scold him and even assert authority on what kind of person Katsuki is. Remember these?
Chapters 202 and 319
This is such a staple in Japanese media for showing close bonds. Your loved ones know you. They tease you. They scold you. They have that right. You gave it to them.
The people you love cheer you up by reminding you that you’re strong and brave and that even if things feel hopeless and like you can’t go on, that they know you can. Everything will be okay, and they know so because they’ll be right there with you. Of course they’ll be there.
Symbolically, throughout the series, Izuku’s response to Katsuki trying to be closer to him has always been: “Of course.”
He has always accepted Katsuki as much as he is able to, as much as he had awareness for. He is wildly lacking in self-awareness, so it’s certainly not perfect, but by god does he try.
What Izuku is really saying is a mixture of “Really? You want that, too?” and “Don’t be silly!”
One part is him being shocked and touched; the other is him being absolutely certain of his own heart, and showing it as best he can.
He does get flustered and self-conscious, though—because it’s overwhelming to see Kacchan this way, and this is kind of new territory for them. So he switches tactics to reassure Kacchan about how things are now, and make sure he doesn’t feel embarrassed about this outburst. He still has the embers, so it’s okay for now. And their bodies are weak, so of course their heads will be in a bad place too, it’s easy to get low spirits. Of course Katsuki would be feeling vulnerable. It’s normal.
He gives Katsuki so many things here. He gives him as much as he can.
Izuku doesn’t know how long he’ll have the embers for and, frankly, he doesn’t have any guarantee that he will be able to satisfy this longing of Katsuki’s after he loses them. This, too, is a staple of promises in Japanese media: “I don’t know if I can satisfy you, but I want to try. I hope you can accept me.”
Things will be different—the future is always uncertain, now more than ever for their world. But what will never change is what they feel in their hearts.
After this scene, I honestly don’t care if we get something other people see as “bkdk canon.”
What Katsuki says is as good as a confession to me. What Izuku says in return is genuine and pure. This is a messy pair of teenage boys figuring out how to reach each other with words, when they have always been so damn bad at it. This is the two of them both reaching a new point of intimacy and reaffirming everything that came before.
An aroace pride flag?
PERRY THE AROACE PRIDE FLAG??