IM MOVING BLOGS! to @angioblasty !!! i’ll be following everyone back + reposting stuff the next couple of days. i will hopefully log out of and retire catsoupki by thursday 9/apr. my queue is still running tho lol
mutuals, feel free to NOT follow me back if you wish to stop being moots (tho please DM me directly, it’s just clearer for me this way, thanks) no hard feelings !! but if you do want to remain mutuals with me, i’ll be in touch! i’ll be shifting everything over there, so feel free to unfollow catsoupki
followers, please don’t follow me if you’re blank, ageless, or lurking. i want interactions, so if u just plan on reading and nothing else, please dni thank u <3 cheers to a FRESH NEW START! prev pinned
You talked about horis willingness to change the narrative based on popularity, would you say bakugos death and revival was one of those examples?? And what other examples would you say that fit?? I always thought it was a weird move killing bakugo considering how popular of a character he is and his role in the story (always thought it was done as a shock factor to raise sales but idk)
Bakugou’s role in general is the result of the pressures of BNHA’s popularity. Horikoshi claims to have changed his mind on Bakugou after he cried after the Battle Trials. It does not appear that Bakugou was being set up as the deuteragonist with a long winded atonement arc in the first arc of the manga, but he was too well received to remain a secondary character. Even after the Battle Trials in the Sports Festival, All for One’s dialogue demonstrates that Shouto was initially meant to fulfill more of a deuteragonist role.
Changing the plan for a character isn’t inherently negative, but the problem is that the audience loved Bakugou for the exact traits condemned by the earlier chapters. That dynamic stunts Bakugou’s reform because it creates a situation where (1) there is a character who fundamentally opposes the themes of the manga who is constantly validated by the narrative and (2) the character has to consistently engage in behavior that contradicts his own character development to keep the attention of the audience.
Horikoshi also did not significantly change the intended themes after inserting Bakugou into the deuteragonist position, which makes the contrast even more jarring.
Bakugou’s death fits into that pattern because his arc was entirely divorced from the expanding heroism to save the villains plot line. Having Bakugou be dead for much of that internal conflict for the savior squad was an easy way to avoid that glaring issue. Deep down, even some of the biggest Bakugou fans were uncomfortable with how siloed Bakugou was from the themes in Act Three. This is the reason many of them tried so hard to find someone who could be Bakugou’s villain when Act Three was being published.
The focus on Bakugou, Izuku, and Shouto as a trio outside the necessity of the Endeavor Agency Arc was also primarily about catering to the fanbase and marketability. It’s especially obvious in how most of the conflicts among these three are never resolved, but they’re constantly in the forefront.
Other than Bakugou, this issue is clear in the flattened characters of its girls between their concepts and what was included in the story. Rei was initially meant to have more agency; her draft version had an affair and had some mutual resentment with Shouto over the Endeavor situation. Lady Nagant was originally intended to have a full volume rather than exploding in three chapters. Ochako’s more unpleasant flaws at the concept stage were transplanted onto a minor character like Mount Lady. These are all choices made to maximize profitability of a shounen manga by avoiding any discomfort teen boys would have with considering the lives of morally complex women. But they are also decisions that made the story worse in the name of catering to the lowest common denominator.
The focus on Bakugou and Endeavor over their victims in their atonement also fits into this pattern. Teenage boys looking to read a power fantasy latched on to characters like Endeavor and Bakugou and weren’t particularly interested in hearing much from a Rei or seeing any vulnerability in Izuku. The narrative once again suffers from its refusal to make good on introduced conflicts out of fear of making the intended audience mildly uncomfortable.
Silly goofy idea where pro heroes Deku, Shoto, and Dynamite (the last against his will) are part of a charity "win a date" raffle. Naturally, you enter all three. You probably won't win, not with the thousands of other fans who have entered, but at least your odds are increased slightly if you enter all three.
Well. Against all odds you win the first raffle. And the second. And the third. So now you have THREE dates with THREE of the biggest pro heroes and... They all want a second date
cw. bakugou x reader. established relationships. talks of body image, physical appearances, and insecurities. self-indulgent.
"do you wanna talk about it?" bakugou's thumb moves rhythmically across your cheek. it grounds you. his other arm is bent, laid on the surface of your couch. his bicep is nicely shaped—smooth, soft, and bulging from his shirt.
the ball is in your court now, and you wrestle with the idea for a bit. experience has told you that nothing he says will be able to resolve your qualms, because these things are irrational. the comfort that you offer others won't work, because you won’t listen, and you won't believe in it.
katsuki is looking at you earnestly, countenance devoid of smirks, frowns, and even the glint in his eyes. in these quieter moments, you're reminded that, despite what the world thinks, your boyfriend is incredibly patient, perhaps more than what you deserve, and more than what you can give back.
he’s different, you tell yourself, so he’s worth a try.
you sigh. “okay,” his thumb has stopped moving, “but promise that you won’t baby me or give me superficial reassurance, ‘cause that’ll just make me feel worse.”
“i promise.”
you open your mouth, but you are silent. the words that have rolled on your tongue for innumerable nights are lodged despicably at your throat. a choked noise emerges, and your cheeks heat under his watchful gaze, you’re embarrassed.
“take your time,” he says, “we’re in no rush.”
“yeah, okay.” you clear your throat. “it’s just that with social media and—you know—society, i’ve been having a particularly hard time with my self-esteem. it’s like i’m in this grey area between fat, thin, and muscular. i’m too thin to be fat, too fat to be thin, and not muscular enough to pass off as athletic. when i try to appeal to everyone, i end up appealing to no one.”
your words are slightly slurred—a result of trying to get the words out too fast. like if you spoke fast enough, he won’t be able to catch onto the meaning and be disappointed in you, too.
“it doesn’t help that, well, you’re very good-looking. i’m not saying that you should be uglier or that i’m jealous at how handsome you are. i feel very lucky that you love me, maybe even too lucky. i just—it’s like—sometimes i wonder if people on the street will see us together, and wonder to themselves if i’m rich, or if you’re really fucked up and can only score someone like me.”
you wait for him to chime in, to tell you to stop talking about yourself like that, like how every other person has. you wait for him to shut down the thoughts that go through your head every time you look into a mirror, and every time you take a picture with him. you wait for him to refuse and turn away from the ugliness of your subconscious, but bakugou is silent. he just grips your hand tighter, an anchor.
“sometimes i ask myself why you even like me. it’s definitely not for my appearance. then i think, oh maybe it’s my personality. but even then, i find myself to be so annoying and frustrating and tiresome. like right now. i don’t know how you put up with me.”
you avoid his gaze. instead, you busy your free hand with the hem of your shirt, whilst looking at the crease in your legs. you feel your own weight, sinking deeper, endlessly, into the uncomfortable surface of your sofa. you are hyper aware of your body, your skin, and you wish to crawl your way out of it.
it’s sudden. you feel the tears well up, a sting in your sinuses, when bakugou wraps you in his arms. tightly, warmly, like he’s never letting go. a silent, meaningful reassurance that he hears you, that he sees your pain. sniffling, your tears dot his shirt, leaving small patches behind.
“i may not know exactly what you’re feeling, but i do know something similar.”
his warm breath fans your nape, broken apart with kisses placed on the crown of your head, into your hair. “i sometimes think that you’re better off with someone who’s more patient, more explicit with their affection. you deserve someone who isn’t as easily angered, you deserve someone who can love you loudly and easily.”
his hand runs soothingly up and down your back. he chuckles. “i don’t really know what i’m getting at here. but i know that these issues can’t be chased away with rational explanations. we’re gonna have to deal with this for the rest of our lives. but, please, know that i love you. it’s like what you always say to me: you are a mosaic of many, many things, you can’t single out one characteristic. and i love you.”
he looks at you again, his lips slightly upturned. his eyes are soft. they roam and search your face for something that you’re not aware of. but, in spite of everything, you smile.
I’m noticing an increase in new fic writers on AO3 who…uh…mayy not know how to format their fics correctly..so here is a quick and VERY important tip
Using a random fic of mine as example..
The left example: ✅✅✅
The right example: ❌❌❌
Idk how many times I’ve read a good fic summary and been so excited to read before clicking on it and being met with an ugly wall of text. When I see a huge text brick with zero full line breaks my eyes blur and I just siiiigh bc either I click out immediately or I grin and bear it…it’s insufferable!
If a new character speaks, you need a line break. If you notice a paragraph is becoming too large, go ahead and make a line break and/or maybe reconfigure the paragraph to flow better. I’m not a pro writer or even a huge fic writer but…please…ty…
This is a good thing to keep in mind! It is often and unfortunate that a really good fic doesn’t get love because its formatting makes it too difficult to read!
AO3's posting form has two modes: Rich Text and HTML. the vast majority of people write in Rich Text editors, aka any normal word processing software (MS Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages, what have you). but when you first open it, the posting form opens in HTML view. if you paste formatted text into HTML view, it erases every piece of formatting, including paragraph spacing.
this is an easy fix. when you go to post your fic, make sure the posting form looks like this:
not like this:
and please spread the word! this is an important piece of computer literacy that nobody is teaching to the new generations and they deserve to know
and the reverse happens when pasting from some places (google doc, ms word) into rich-text where it doubles the spaces between lines.
If you look at the html it generates </p><p> </p><p> tags - an extra paragraph containing a single space, which you can search and replace down to a single </p><p> (end paragraph, start new one).
Also, since sometimes working with the rich text editor can be a pain even when copy-pasting from another rich text editor, there is a Google Docs script that will format your document in HTML and make it appropriate for posting into the AO3 html editor. I swear by this and I use it every time I post to AO3. It's literally just a specific Google doc that you can make a copy of that includes a script where you just select a menu option and it will automatically convert formatting to HTML, and using this script + pasting into the HTML editor has bypassed the issues of "extra line breaks between paragraphs" and "a space after italics where there shouldn't be" for me.
The original google doc is here and it includes directions both for getting a copy of it into your own google drive and for using it to prepare your fic for posting on AO3.
Also be aware that if you write in Scrivener it will not keep your formatting when you paste it into AO3, even in the Rich Text editor.
There's a reason I'm only writing one fic in Scrivener (it's the timey wimey one where I need the corkboards function on Scrivener in order to function).
adding on that if you use ellipsus (online alternative to Google docs) there is a native "export to ao3" function which automatically copies an html version of your fic including the spacing and formatting and opens a new tab for a new work in ao3. Just paste into the text box and you'll be set!
My Hero Academia, Chapter 120 + Motion Sickness, Phoebe Bridgers + My Hero Academia, volume extra || My Hero Academia, Chapter 10 title + My Hero Academia, Chapter 11 || My Hero Academia, Chapter 284 || All These Things That I’ve Done, The Killers || My Hero Academia, Chapter 362 || King and Lionheart, Of Monsters and Men || The Beginning, Animorphs #54, K.A. Applegate || Goodnight, Travel Well, The Killers
the cultural misunderstanding of bakugo getting you a box of very nice strawberries for your birthday and you being like. oh. thanks. and eating all of them in one go, dipped in sweetened condensed milk.
one of your Japanese friends has to explain that was a $100 dollar box of fruit
you're complaining to friends that you thought bakugo liked you but he only gave you fruit, so he must be pushing you away and you stopped responding to his messages and they look at you like. "you guys dont do gift fruit??'
and you go. no? and discover that fancy fruit is a VERYYY nice gift in Japan
head so fuzzy thinking about yuuta trying his best to be soooo patient when he pushes his cock into you raw for the first time. gasping with every slow and torturous inch entering your warm walls, trembling and moaning when he finally bottoms out. forehead to forehead as he can’t help but rut into you while repeatedly murmuring i love you against your lips
just took a shower and couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to shower with bakugou for the first time… he’s so pretty with water catching on his lashes, sliding down his skin, the steam softening everything about him. it’s warm, close—bare bodies pressed together in a way that feels more vulnerable than anything else.
you’re the one who moves first. you lean in, gentle, and press a kiss to his left shoulder—right over his star-shaped scar; your fingers trace over his chest slowly, like you’re learning what constellations he is by touch. he stiffens for just a second, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with something so soft. but then… he tries. his hands find your hips, his grip a little unsure, a little loose—but he holds you anyway.
when you look up at him, his eyes are softer than you’ve ever seen them and his mouth tilts, just barely, into something that isn’t quite a smile but close enough.
it’s enough. more than enough.
so you stay there, close, letting the water run over both of you, letting him get used to being held like this.
