Chapter 67: A Dissection of Bakugo/Omake

This chapter will be a little different in format than the chapters before, mainly because it isn't really a chapter.

I know, I know, "Why are you making this and giving us this for our chapter!"

A couple of words to destroy my self-esteem, check. Lots of curse words to follow, yadda yadda yadda. 

BUT, dear fellows, I do have a reason(s) for this, and I imagine you'll enjoy what I have planned for you regardless.

I'll give you the reasons first:

• A Break For The Last Chapter To Settle In

I'm not joking when I tell you people that the last chapter was the turning point of the novel. From this point onwards, if we were in volume 1 before, we're in volume 2 now. So that means extras. And special little chapters to celebrate. Because we made it this far, and what? How?

• I Thought Of Some Interesting Ideas A While Ago And This Is The Perfect Opportunity

I'm planning to use this time to make not only that second chapter of the Omake AU series but also a character analysis of...

...Bakugo Katuski.

I can literally hear the boos from here. But that's why there's going to be an update on Spacetime Shenanigans.

If you don't care for or like Bakugo at all, go read that. 

Here's the link: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/134247/rotten-purity-spacetime-shenanigans/

First off, I'll start by saying this; I've received quite a lot of comments bashing me about my characterization and that's good.

It keeps me thinking and trying to get better as an author. In the end, I was able to reply as to my reasoning in the comment section. But I'm not quite sure if they understood what I replied. I didn't want to make the comment too long, and such after all. So. This is for you guys, if you are still reading this.

And one more thing before I really start digging in and dissecting... My character development model includes and is based on the idea that characters are capable of thinking and reflecting on their own actions. You see it in Deku all the time, but he's the main character and you see his thoughts literally all the time. Meanwhile, Bakugo isn't in the spotlight, so some things may be seen as weird or abrupt.

Well, that's why I'm making this thing.

But it would be appreciated that, throughout this whole ordeal, you would keep the aforementioned fact in mind.

(Also, I do not dare claim this to be the most perfect characterization to ever exist. This is just the thought process that I kept in mind while writing Bakugo to ensure that I wrote the character as I should. So. If I mess up, please be nice about it. We will calmly and politely discuss it, I will feel eternally mortified, but it will be calmly added and marked in here as an edit. Thanks.)

Bakugo Dissection Starting Here:

So, first things first, Bakugo is an asshole. There's no denying that. But he's more than just an asshole at the same time. See exhibit a) He feels guilty when All Might loses his powers as a result of rescuing him in the original. That is undeniably canon. So while I could, and how some people would sum up this whole thing is by doing this: 'OMG, he's, like, this total prick to evverrryyyonnne and I hate him. Grrrrrr.'

Yeah, no, we aren't doing that.

That's because he's not just an asshole as stated above.

So, this isn't going to be a grand adventure of hating on Bakugo, but rather coming to conclusions as to why he was like this in the first place, and how Deku becoming a villain unlike the original has affected him. But to truly get what I'm saying, we need to start at the same baseline. So, teeny tiny toddler Kacchan time.

Before gaining his explosion quirk, Bakugo was a pretty normal kid. He was, well, nice. Crazy, right? But... (And there's always a but) He got one of the possibly best quirks shown in the series so far. Remember, even back when we got that regular classroom wide-shot in the beginning, everybody else's quirks pretty much sucked. So. Best quirk, at least within a thousand-mile radius.

And that leads to pride.

It's pretty obvious, but this next point that I do want to point out is something that I don't think has been explored into much. If Bakugo just had the pow-wow of his genius pride powering his personality, he'd be smug and indifferent. But as it is, he's a bully, as well as a fellow with an explosive temper. This lies in his home environment; he trades barbs and prickly words with his mother all the time.

Inherently, there's nothing all too wrong with this relationship. They don't mean to hurt each other, after all. But that was the young and impressionable Bakugo's only idea of social interaction. You might say, 'But, you just said he was nice a few minutes ago!', and yeah, you'd be right. I'm not saying that he isn't, at this point in time, but his methods of interaction are decidedly rude. You can tell that he's nice beneath it all, but his words are still very blunt. You also, alllsssooo could say that there's his father, and yeah, he is there.

But he's not a figure of authority. Not by a long shot.

So, little tiny Bakugo goes to school, and maybe he was yelled at and punished for his behavior in the beginning. But then, of course, his quirk awakened and he was praised to high heaven. Slowly, under the influence of both his pride and lack of punishment, he lost his sympathy/kindness and gained a superiority complex, transforming into a much meaner, much harsher version of the little nice toddler.

And that's not even discussing the main problem.

The main problem here is that he doesn't realize that there is anything wrong with his interactions. That's what he's been unknowingly taught throughout his childhood, after all. And naturally, his barbed teases were usually harmless. Everyone has had to deal with a couple of jerks or rude buggers throughout their lives; it might make you irritated for a while, but it won't leave a long-lasting scar. So he didn't get a true wake-up call for those guys either.

But then... There's Deku. (The very, very sweet and nice thing that doesn't scream and claw Bakugo's eyes out. Well, he wouldn't have the power too anyway, so that's a moot point. He's in a very sticky situation here, but in the end, he doesn't even think about it. Just want's to be Bakugo's friend. Shame, huh?)

Bakugo keeps pushing and pushing because: 'Why not? It's not like it will hurt anybody.' In fact, that doesn't even go through his mind. He just acts naturally in accordance with the prejudices of society as a whole, targetting the 'sub-human who didn't have a quirk' with free reign. He was the predator and the quirkless were the prey. It was as simple as that. And this prey, in particular, had managed to damage its high and lofty pride by seeking to help it. When it was just mere prey. While the thought process is inherently flawed, it makes sense as to why he took Deku's very existence as an affront to himself.

If it was a normal child, the teachers might have stepped in and stopped it. Maybe. (This society still had a bias against people without quirks, after all.) But because Bakugo had such a powerful quirk, they didn't dare say anything at all. So this carried on for years.

With Bakugo being none the wiser as to what he was actually doing.

The twelfth hour hits; All Might makes Deku finally snap and decide to be the first human to fl-, ahem, I mean, he takes a very serious attempt on his very life itself, seeking to end it all. Very serious. Or not so much as you would think, actually. Or rather, impactful.

Because Bakugo goes into denial.

He knows what leaving the shoes mean, he knows that he is very much gone, but his body hasn't been found. He hasn't been forced to witness visual proof that his dear old pal 'Deku' is as dead as a doornail. So he represses the incident. Very, very deep inside of himself. As a result, by the time U.A. rolls around, he's the same as he was in the original. Just maybe with a couple extra doses of nice and healthy...

Trauma. Very healthy, yum-yum.

You are reading story Rotten Purity: A MHA Fanfic at novel35.com

Or not. It's not healthy, okay-

Ahem.

So, he's the same as he was in the original. Buttt... (I told you there is always a but) this time, Deku's with the villains. And has a rather excellent skill level in guilt-tripping. For the first time, Bakugo is forced to realize that Deku, in fact, was going to commit suicide. It was only because villains intervened and saved him that he did not become a splatter on the ground. The little hero fanboy was a villain.

That's hard for just about anyone to realize, even Bakugo.

Especially Bakugo, in fact.

(Of course, it hasn't exactly clicked yet that it was his fault; he still thinks that it's normal behavior. No, it's the only way he knows how to interact. He was just putting him in his rightful place, after all; it wasn't anything big. Although there's a little bit of him that's doubtful, that's all it is. A little bit. Mostly, he's shocked Deku is the polar opposite of what he was when he knew him. It even makes him a little bit angry. He had changed so much, and even become a villain.

In Society's views, that's unacceptable.)

The anger screws with his brain, hard. And all humans are creatures of habit. So, instead of thinking logically, he does what he has always done when angry; kick things until they break or work again. You must remember, fellow humans, that while Bakugo does have a smart side, his violate temper is the more dominant force in his personality. Basically, he can't think of anything else at that moment besides,

'Hmmm... I know! Let's just clobber him to death! That should snap him out of his angsty, teenage rebellion phase!'

Obviously, I'm being sarcastic, but that's pretty much all he can think about when it all happens at once.

But then... Of course... He loses pitifully and without challenge, not once, but twice. Extensive training on fighting humans, life and death situations, as well as just generally being a mad lad with no regard for life can do that for you. Of course, for Mr. I-Have-A-Superiority-Complex, it's rather shocking. Shocking enough that his prideful and prejudicial worldview collapsed in an instant.

But, for once, he's not focused on himself, nor is he letting that defeat feed the inferiority that exists deep down in his heart.

No, he's more focused on Deku.

That speech of his was very impactful; once Bakugo looked back and remembered it once more, he realized what he had secretly known the whole time but didn't dare admit to: it was his fault. He had already had some idea, deep down. But only once his complex was crushed head-on could he see the truth of the matter. And to be truthful, Bakugo isn't dumb-dumb.

Far from it, in fact.

So while Deku is off wandering around, doing stuff for the League of Villains, Bakugo spends all the time up until the Sports Festival arc researching and learning about what exactly happened to poor old Deku. This is very new, and very crazy information for Bakugo. He had never imagined that humans could be messed up to this degree before. His little, isolated worldview is starting to expand rapidly.

And he gets the idea to use words, instead.

Then, Sports Festival happens. He's incredibly excited, ecstatic even because he could finally fix things by fixing Deku. He was prepared, he knew what to do, and it was going to work. No longer would he be plagued by this horrible sense of gut-wrenching guilt in his stomach.

(Oof, my natural, awe-inspiring transitions aren't gonna work here because I can't think of a way to connect it to the rest, but that moment when he loses to Uraraka and then surrenders to Deku is because of a few reasons. A: He's in a very crushing, defeatist mood right now.

B: He might see his fellow competitors as powerful, but he never imagined that they would actually beat-beat him. Very shocking.

And C: He was ambushed by some rude guys (yes, this is alluded to in that chapter) about how he arrogantly claimed he'd take first. When he came to the arena, his own expectations were crushing and suffocating him. He didn't feel like he could win, and he was very hesitant. Very scared.

Essentially. That's why. Now... Go read the rest of this craziness.)

Except...

Well...

That didn't work. Not even close.

He got the lecture of his life from Deku when the latter was finally, finally willing to give him a chance. And he screwed it up. He knew to use words this time, but his temper still got in the way of everything. In a way, Bakugo was the center of Deku's world. And Bakugo knew that. To see it no longer be the case - back at USJ, he was still the center of Deku's attention. It was just a negative one - that was something Bakugo wasn't expecting. No matter how much the mutt tries to gain its owner's attention, if it cares, the owner can't bring itself to care. But when it suddenly loses all interest, the owner, in turn, feels his interest rise. Because he doesn't have it anymore.

It's not a rare phenomenon. Especially in real humans. I, myself, can count the number of times I've been that mutt.

But that's not what we're talking about today.

The problem was that Bakugo was possessive, and while it's iffy on the morality of that, Bakugo himself made it much worse.

He lashed out without thinking because he was confused and lonely. Without restraining himself at all.

He's confused for a while after that because he had thought that words were the best thing to use. And, in fact, they are. You can't just pummel the mental illness out of someone, after all. Eventually, he comes to the same conclusion after exploding some brain cells in the process. He has to talk and use the right words.

He has to suppress himself for the well-being of another.

And, that's the end of my TedTalk, ladies and gentleman. Any more would be spoilers~

When we get to the next parts of Bakugo's grand development, I'll update this page with more if you bug me enough.

Peace out~

 

 

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