I don’t think the fandom explores Deku looking down on Katsuki enough
Because there’s a very small kernel of truth to it, buried under all of Izuku’s admiration and care
While Katsuki was panicking over the fact that he could see all of Deku’s potential and true heroic nature
Deku was seeing Katsuki’s ego, arrogance, and temper for what they were, flaws, the way no one pre UA was really willing to.
He recognized them as unheroic
On top of that Deku saw him as human enough to reach a hand out to, someone that could be challenged, stood up to and called out.
Also Deku does low key think Kacchan’s arrogance makes him an idiot, and he’s not wrong.
Deku got mad at Katsuki for telling him to take a dive because it would ruin Katsuki's chance to be a hero, and because it was cruel and unheroic.
He knew that Katsuki's would favor his left as much as he knew Katsuki's anger and arrogance would make him predicable and foolish, and used it all against him in DvsK1. He also call's Katsuki an idiot for not seeing the situation for what it was.
Deku seeing Katsuki as someone worth striving to keep up with, that doing so would drive him to being a better hero, because to him Katsuki has already achieved hero status.
Deku knows Katsuki’s weaknesses and how to play them, how and when to bet against them.
He knew it was important to their relationship that he give Katsuki and explanation of his quirk immediately after defeating him, so important he'd risk telling All Might's secret
Deku knows that he could focus on fighting Shoto in the Cavalry Battle battle because Katsuki got his pride hurt by Monoma
Blinded by a need to save Katsuki Deku doesn't consider Katsuki's ego when the camp attacks
Later he's extra cautious and has Kirishima take Katsuki's hand in Kamino
Deku breaks curfew to engage in a fight he doesn't want because he knows that Katsuki is tearing himself apart and imploding on himself and that no one else can accept and understand the way Katsuki's feeling
Everyone else believes that Katsuki is too strong to need help, that he can do the impossible task of saving himself from himself without any support
Deku for like half the series bets against Katsuki's self destructive ego and is so right to do so. Deku this never stops or dilutes his belief that Kacchan's amazing, him having faults doesn't tarnish that for him.
The duality and nuance isn't something other people readily accept and see, so to most people Deku seems like an obsessive push over blinded by admiration, and Katsuki see's him as a threat who can see all his weakness and faults like they're written on his soul in neon flashing lights.
Deku is both things though, he thinks Katsuki is so amazing his faults are worth overlooking, he also fully recognizes Katsuki as the very human idiot he is.
I think he even bet on Katsuki not coming to look for him when he left UA, he knew Katsuki was the only one who knew him and his circumstances well enough to track him down, the only one who could convince him to come back. He just didn’t think he’d ever do it
The only time Deku ever underestimated Kacchan
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