I love bkdk, okay— I loved it so much I was sent death wishes (canon experience LMAO)
it’s a strong ship on its own, so let’s not spread misinformation based on misunderstandings, ok?
I’m gonna talk about this scene here
The scene in the forest where Katsuki has been taken by the league of villains, and deku screams at Mr compress to give him back. NOW, there are a LOT of bkdk posts that take it as fact now, that he was saying “give my kacchan back to me” or “give him back!” In a posessive way, but something felt off about it to me. It was just too short and there was nothing implying ownership.
so I went and did my research :3
In both the manga and anime, deku says the phrase" 返せ” read: (Kaese) which, in a very literal sense is like saying “give it.”(back ) It’s a rude or urgent way to ask for something to be returned (or in some cases given to you.) For anyone wondering what the polite version would be it’s “返してください”(Kae-sh-te-ku-da-sai) akin to “give (it) back please!”
Kaese is used in cases where respect is unnecessary or has been traspassed. It’s a very strong term often used when something or someone precious to you has been taken away. In terms of items: a prized locket, the last gift your mother gave you (lol) and in the case of people, this phrase is very commonly used in J-Dramas in the context of kidnapping, because who the hell is polite to a kidnapper? Example: “息子を返せ” (give me back my son!) lit: (Son give back!)
Now, about よ! (Yo) is an imperative in the Japanese language. When you add it at the end of phrases It accentuates the emotion that’s already there, is the best way to describe it. It’s NOT a possessive particle. example with polite ver:
“返してくださいよ! :(“ “Please give it back, okay?!” Lit: “give it please (!!!)”
So, to put this all together, deku’s only lines once meeting Mr. Compress
(tunnel vision, my boy!) are the following:
“返せよ” GIVE (HIM) BACK DAMNIT!”
I really replayed this moment to catch anything else, and nope! So I checked the manga, and nope. So now, hold your horses, because this is still a bkdk argument, but not in the way you’re making it seem. Kaese doesn’t necessarily imply that something directly belongs to you (not with people) what it implies is that it matters to you GREATLY if it is not returned immediately.
Compress points out that Bakugo is his own person, and does NOT belong to anyone, but lets remember, this IS weird to compress, because since Bakugo is not an object the other alternative is that deku is implying he has some sort of strong connection to “kacchan” other then classmates. An emotional attachment. That he’d like to see something dear TO HIM returned safely and fucking now. that’s the difference. Not “his” but “to his” like how saying “my dear” is not posessive, but endearing.
It’s acceptable for you to say this about someone you really care about, family, dear friends, loved ones, but compress has no clue they’re childhood friends! Imagine if you were hanging out with a highschooler, and all of a sudden someone you didn’t even know knew them screamed at you “GIVE MY BESTIE BACK” you’d be weirded tf out! (This is not a hangout either, so the urgency is understandable.)
Anyway, if anyone has anything they’d like to add I’m happy to listen, but I felt the need to add this to the bkdk discussion. lets not take advantage of the fact most people don’t check the raw text just to see what we want to. In my opinion this is still a sweet and heartbreaking moment, In terms of seeing the dissonance between these two at the beginning.