First of all, to you, as someone who presumably does not ship KatsuDeku, Iâd like to thank you for coming to my ask box with a calm and respectful question rather than wagging fingers and yelling about how the pairing is disgusting and anyone that ships it is filth; or saying things that people who hate Katsuki and Izuku paired together usually use as an example as to why Katsuki is a pretty terrible person and why they should never be together. So, before I answer your question, i really need to say thank you.Â
Without any more delay, letâs delve into this!
And please, just bare with me, I have a point to all this.
Their relationship was indeed abusive growing up, and anyone that canât see it is either blind, or chooses to be blissfully ignorant. It was a textbook case of bullying, and first I want to say, that by âshippingâ the two of them, that I in no way condone treating another human being like absolute dirt.
With that being said, Katsuki is a strange character. Too many see him as nothing but blind rage, anger, and (in my opinion) his most dangerous personality trait, pride. Izuku was a very young boy when Katsuki began bullying him, and our small green son said himself that once Katsuki had gotten his quirk he began to change.
Iâm not excusing his behaviour, but Katsuki, as an impressionable child (as most are), with his drive and determination to be the best, was encouraged by absolutely everyone, and denied by no one. They didnât just whisper that he was meant for greatness, they loudly exclaimed it, shouted it, and ingrained it into his head. He was told that he would be simply amazing because of his quirk, and then izuku, who didnât have one, matched his fiery spirit all the way, despite HIM being the best.
A childs psyche is easily fucked with. This kid sat there with heavy expectations, and hopes and dreams on his shoulders. He was told he was amazing by everyone, so it must be true right? He treated Izuku badly all because he was quirkless, but no one stopped him from behaving in such a way, despite it being quite obvious as to what he was doing (Katsuki isnât known for being quiet), so he couldnât have been doing anything too bad right?
All that pressure, self doubt, fear of failure, insecurity, and self loathing when he couldnât reach the top comes with those societal expectations and borderline demands. It all builds up inside and itâs been showing in the recent chapters. His treatment of Izuku⌠I donât think Katsuki is as apathetic to Izukuâs suffering as he lets on. Katsukiâs anxiety about his own abilities was never Izukuâs fault, but he saw him as a hurdle to climb over, simply because he unknowingly regarded him as someone who was on par with him, quirk or no. Izuku always met him every step of the way in exuberance, dedication, perseverance despite not being as âamazingâ as he is, and infuriatingly enough, beat him when it came to bravery.
If Izuku really was no more than a pebble to him, Katsuki wouldnât have cared so much about building himself up in comparison, and would have simply dismissed him as another side character, but that doesnât seem to be the case.
Izuku endured years of bullying, both emotional and physical mistreatment from Katsuki, yet this blindingly upbeat, and downright Heroic boy has this amazing gift to see the good there is in a person. He can read a person, and see their pain, and tries to obliterate it with his words. As an example, for Shouto, Izuku saw that he was suffering, and used the only power he had from the start to try and save him; the power of speech and his belief in peoples inner strength (or something equally as MC protag-ish). I think thatâs what heâs been trying to do with Katsuki from the start. I personally believe that Katsuki perhaps knows that, and sees Izuku pointing out these things to him, or admiring them, as him dragging out and mocking what he sees as weakness in himself. Not that âbeing amazingâ is a weakness, but the fact that Izuku sees him, like his front of fury is so transparent that he could stick his hand through his chest, is like heâs being made out to be a fool. Heros are supposed to be strong, show no fear, and unquestionably courageous. Izuku has beat him in every respect as Katsuki sees it now, yet Izukuâs still there, praising him, and âmaking fun of himâ. Katsuki has never needed any real encouragement, as heâs always been at the top. It was just expected respects and due praise to him. He probably has no idea what it means to have someone really believe in him. He was supposed to be the one to make it big, yet thereâs âDekuâ, crushing not just his dreams, but making the voices of everyone around him, and the whispers of the adults of his past louder and louder, reiterating that he is meant to be something.
SO, ENOUGH ABOUT KATSUKIâ
I just had to explain where I was coming from to make my point here, forgive me.
So Katsuki, as fucked up, and down right foul as he can be, isnât completely to blame for becoming what he is. Again, Iâm not excusing him, but Iâm saying that Izuku can see that. Izuku isnât blind to it, at least not completely, because if I was that kid I wouldaâ changed schools a long time ago, but this strong green bean has thought about it- said it to himself- and even said it to atsukiâs face (kind of) that heâs a fucking asshole. Izuku has even gone so far as to think about how he hates the guy.
I completely understand where youâre coming from anon.
I really, really do.
I was also bullied really bad by a few people, but two of them, who were incidentally two of the worst by a long shot, are now some very good friends to me. The only thing I can say about that is⌠people change. They just⌠grew up.
Iâm not saying that everyone needs to go out there and confront their bullies, or people who harassed them, because not all people can make peace with who they were in the past, or perhaps never learned to function a different way, but it happens. You donât need to gain any closure with a past tormentor, and you are allowed to live your life without sparing them another thought. That is 100000% a-okay. But so is forgiving people, and helping them down a better road to becoming a significantly kinder person. People are allowed to forgive as well as cast away, and this is something I have become very intimate with given my âfamilyâ situation. I completely understand that some just can not be forgiven, not ever⌠but in light of those who are undeserving, Iâve learned and become aware of who is forgivable. Katsuki wasnât so bad as to not be forgiven and perhaps be given a chance.
We always forget that children can be so cruel. They can be kind, but they donât even know who they are yet. They canât make executive decisions concerning some basic life choices. We canât expect them to understand what theyâre doing wrong all the time. Hell, even as adults, humans are constantly learning and shaping themselves to their environment and the people around them.
One of my bullies, they were especially crude and mean to me because they âliked meâ. Now theyâve admitted that it was not the way to approach things, and theyâre deeply sorry for the ways they acted in high school. They made my life hell for the few months of grade eight all those years ago. I was on the rugby team with him as well, and he and his friends, who i had to play with, would be especially rough with me. It was fine, I thought. I was capable of handling it. Weâve talked about how the stigma and influence of his father and âfriendsâ drove him to act in those ways. How the âboys will be boysâ and âBoys pick on girls if they like themâ thing was ingrained in his head. It was so influential and potent in his thought process that he thought that me fighting back only meant I liked him too- and drove him to do it even more.
The second of one of my worst bullies was a girl who also went along with the crowd, but now knows that she was a tyrannical queen bee. She had a lot of insecurities, as most bullies often do, and her mother was always on her about being a perfect woman, which now weâve bonded over due to our similar circumstances. She knows what she did was wrong, and despises what she was in the past. We found eachother again when we volunteered as sort of âbig sistersâ to teen girls, and did occasional groups with them as well. She knows she did a lot of bad, but hopes to make up for it now that sheâs realized her grave mistakes. Sheâs since broken up with a lot of the âfriendsâ who were just as toxic in high school, and surrounds herself with body-positive, loving people, and i couldnât be happier to talk to her, and be friends with who she is today, and accept all her past faults and misconducts.
Now, iâm not trying to project my own circumstances here, because I definitely donât want to see a few bullies I had in school, but I also broke one of their noses, and drop kicked another, so I feel like i got a bit of payback.
What Iâm trying to say here,bottom line, with out all the gabbing, is that people can change. Iâm not telling you, or talking down to you like I donât think you know that, but Iâm saying it as a generalization for my conclusion here (and for those who are very adamant that a bad person is permanently a douche canoe).
I donât believe people are inherently bad. Although a personâs experiences and environment can shape the way they see the world, and how they put themselves forth in it, they can improve themselves. As adults, young adults, and perhaps growing teens who are beyond their years, we can look back and take into consideration that everyoneâs issues are at play, and acknowledge that it isnât always a black and white situation. No one is perfect, but we can strive for it as best as we can.
The majority of KatsuDeku shippers focus on Katsuki making amends, and growing past whatever beastly guise he buried âwho he really isâ under. I think I speak for most of the KatsuDeku shippers when I say we only want Izuku to get through to him, and for Katsuki to recognize himself, his wrongdoings, and fucking apologize. Most fics are all about redemption, or placed in a setting where itâs already happened. I mean, yes, thereâs darker fics, every pairing has those, and it may just seem a little more intense given their past with each other, but really, with KatsuDekuâŚ. I get the feeling a lot of us just really want that witty romcom pairing where they kind of piss each other off, but come together to save the world in the end kinda deal. If it was 2005 or something, we could be having this conversation about Naruto and Sasuke or something, who beat the ever loving shit out of each other, yet still had this deep rooted connected between them (that usually translated to each other through fists and screams, like jesus christ LOL).
Katsuki is also filled with passion and drive, and I think heâs more than a little above average on the attractive meter, so there are those fics where itâs purely them, realizing they can rock each otherâs worldâŚ
BUT-
I think we all see Katsukiâs insecurity, and want Izuku to continue to try and ease it- but we also donât want him to be walked all over. We know Katsuki is a nugget of dickcheese. But this kid has also been publicly humiliated in the sports festival, beaten at every aspect of who he is- or what he was suppose to be, taunted and berated by his teachers and peers (which has never been happened before), captured and made to feel helpless, denied of even getting a heroâs training license (so failing at the bare minimum of what he should be doing), and Izuku can understand those feelings more than anyone else iâm sure. Izuku is a fucking VIP in those departments, or at least he was in the past. Katsuki is experiencing what Izuku has gone through, though in different aspects and situations, and Izuku could probably relate on eleven personal levels.
Katsuki and Izuku have history, and share a lot more in common than either of them would like to admit. They arguably have one of the deepest and most complex relationships in the series, and thereâs so much more to them than âthe bully and the victim.â They share pain and experiences, and though Izukuâs was majorly inflicted by Katsuki, heâs a big enough person to work past that, and be there if Katsuki so happens to work past his own issues. Izukuâs a strong willed motherfucker, and heâs the only thing that Katsuki Bakugou has never truly broken. If Katsuki could see that, and how despite himself, heâs used Izuku as his strength and drive to keep going, they could be unstoppable side by side.
Iâd like to see what they could possibly be if Katsuki can manage grow as a person, which he is slowly, but steadily accomplishing. We just want Katsuki to say heâs fucking sorry, and listen to Izuku instead of getting his programmed prejudices, persistent, and intrusive, selfish desires, his need to excel, and pride in the way.
Izuku is strong, and more than capable of taking care of himself now. Heâs made it clear heâs done being bullied, and is more than happy to go head to head with Katsuki to be his equal, though itâs kind of clear Katsuki may have seen him as such from the beginning. Still, heâs always reaching out to Katsuki, trying to raise him up despite his aversion to receiving support, and his determination to be on his own- and be number one. Thatâs the kind of strength one can only muster if they really care about someone I think.
With all that being said, you also asked me why i saw this relationship as healthy. Their current relationship⌠is not exactly healthy, but more dysfunctional than anything. There isnât anything âhealthyâ about their past relationship at all, but now, I think Izuku is capable of pulling his weight. Some good rivalry never hurt anyone in these sorts of animes. This is also fiction. What I see as alright in fictional relationships does not reflect what I think is alright for a real relationship. There needs to be a firm line between fictional relationships and real relationships. Some are easier to establish than others, and it varies in difficulty from person to person.
If I saw two people interacting as Izuku and Katsuki do now, while knowing about their strength and how they butt heads on fairly equal grounds, I probably wouldnât interfere. People are allowed to fight. People are allowed to argue, but hey, theyâre pretty much on equal fighting terms.
If I saw them interacting like they did in middle school, I would be on that so fast, their heads would spin.
Perhaps Iâm a bit desensitized or jaded when it comes to subjects like these simply because Iâve experienced some pretty extreme forms of abuse⌠but when I think of KatsuDeku, I can only hope for the best. KatsuDeku is easy for me to establish as fictional, and even if it wasnât, where both the boys are now, I think they can handle each other. Their relationship isnât so abusive currently that red flags start to fly.
Ever heard of Killing Stalking? Red flags there for me personally. Now, that shit straight up (and I donât use this word lightly because some people just over use it to the point of giving it no meaning and now itâs just a joke to me) triggered me, because before I knew it, I was crying all over myself and having a panic attack, and flash backs, and all that lovely stuff. But itâs fiction. I recognized it as such, and acknowledged that people are allowed to like it, and read it it, draw it, ship it, w/e they want, because chances are theyâre aware that this isnât how a regular couple should function. This isnât me saying âItâs not bad enough abuse for me to dislike it, because look what it COULD BEâ when it comes to our aspiring heros, itâs justâŚ. Izuku isnât some helpless little kid, and I very much want him to prove that. Heâs not a victim anymore.
KatsuDeku isnât the best of relationships right now, but itâs certainly not the worst, and has a lot of potential to grow and shape into something. Canonly; more than likely theyâll just become friends, because everything is very hetero-normative in japan, though thereâs room for a lot more than friendship. Theyâve exposed themselves on so many levels that I think they would be even closer because of their past. Concerning fan works; a shit ton of material to play off of here. A pretty interesting date or two lies in store there, lol.
Iâm sorry if I didnât correctly answer your question, or if I made no sense, or rambled, or left things out that were in my thoughts and didnât quite make it into my⌠lengthy response here. If I ever came off rude up there, that was not my intention, and was just trying to explain!
Thank you for your question! My sympathies to your past bullying experience, and iâm glad you no longer have to deal with that ;A;
If i wasnât clear on anything, or should clarify, donât hesitate to ask!
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