Came To This Because Of A Fic And Was NOT Disappointed

came to this because of a fic and was NOT disappointed

Something that honestly blows my mind about canon bkdk is the shift of Katsuki's mentality about Izuku's eyes. Izuku is starkly remembered/characterized with them, by Bakugou, all the way back in the infamous river scene in Ch 9.

As well as with the sludge villain (not directly, but implied.)

These two occurances expand upon Ch 8 where he first expresses anger at his expression.

And then when the fight reaches its climax, he can't help but mention it again.

We get to see another taste of just how much this bothers him, as he implies that he would purposefully be cruel to Izuku when they were children because Izuku wouldn't stop looking at him and go away.

To skip forward a bit, I've always found it very strange that Katsuki decides to waste a hand to shove Izuku's face away at the end of the Deku vs Kacchan 2 fight. It's honestly not the best way to pin someone, it's kind of inefficient.

But god, in the context of their relationship at that point, I really do think the thought of being that close to Izuku and having him stare at him probably unnerved tf out of him.

It's the biggest aspect of Izuku that he actively dislikes at this point in the narrative, the part of him that Bakugou had thought (until their fight) meant "I'm better than you" rather than "I admire you".

Then Katsuki gets his introspection arc while Shie Hassaikai happens, we get to see some glimpses into his own mental state, Izuku and Katsuki being able to hold very minor conversations, Katsuki waiting up late until Deku comes back (until Kaminari calls him out on it). We know that they're more actively trying to coexist and things don't seem like they've shifted too drastically. Izuku is now comfortable (and happy) at being able to compliment Katsuki. And then we get to see Katsuki's response to all this in the Class A vs B scene.

I'll be honest, I originally was an anime-only, and when I first found out that the anime had fudged/modified these lines to only be "Just watch, Deku", I didn't think it was a big deal.

But in the context of how Katsuki himself has previously dealt with and contextualized Izuku's feelings and actions, this is extremely important.

He's always seen Izuku as having his eyes pinned to his back which consistently angered and freaked him out in equal measure. He's never WANTED Izuku's attention and has, for the majority of their childhood, seen it as a negative. But now we have a genuine case of Katsuki wanting Izuku to not just look at him but to KEEP his eyes on him, to keep watching him, to not look away.

We also get to see just what exactly he wants Izuku to see, and its Bakugo accepting Izuku's part of being a hero, to Win by Saving. And then we get another iconic panel that further implies that Bakugou's change is due to Izuku (which was, again, removed from the anime).

And then finally we get the end of the fight where we get more of Bakugou being a disaster unable to take a compliment and reflexively yelling at Izuku (which also wasn't clear in the anime…).

It's honestly kind of funny bc this idiot literally cannot still directly handle Izuku, but wants Izuku to look at him.

And then we get to see Izuku parallel Katsuki's thoughts, wanting Katsuki to watch him as well (although Izuku doesn't realize it).