bakugo values people based on their quirks, but it isn’t hard for him to accept someone as an equal so long as they prove their strength. he underestimated uraraka because of her ‘weak’ quirk, but grew to respect her after they fought, because of her strategy and tenacity. 1/

however, why doesn’t this same frame of thinking apply to deku? it can’t be said that bakugo is predjudiced against every quirkless person. he’s never once shown superiority over the quirkless population as a whole; only over deku. and now that deku has a quirk, even before 2/

bkg found out it ws inherited, deku proved his strength by winning against bakugo. so then why was bakugo not so easily swayed into recognizing deku as an ‘equal’ when he proved his strenghth, and why is it only deku who he showed superiority towards because he was quirkless? 3/

the answer is pretty simple. because deku is the only person who katsuki actually placed above himself, and therefor saw him as a direct threat who he needed to overcome by acting tough and superior. the reasons for his inferiority complex towards deku come down to an array of 4/

societal issues surrounding quirks, and the fact that a person’s value being tied to their quirk was firmly instilled in bakugo’s mind at such a young age. deku was someone who didn’t have a quirk, but still wanted to become a hero, and much like AM did, bakugo saw something 5/

in deku which nobody else did. he saw that deku still has amazing merits without a quirk, and began internally questioning his own value; “without MY quirk, would i still be someone? could I still be a hero? would i still receive praise?” and it’s my thought that 6/

he began outwardly projecting these insecurities into deku in order to overtake him. bakugo values people based on their strength (something which he is overcoming) but what he sees in deku is something else. he didn’t pick on him merely for being quirkless. 7/

he picked on deku because he presented a threat to bakugo’s ego.
on the flipside, deku also saw something in bakugo which nobody else did, (including bakugo himself,) and that is: the merits he has which aren’t tied directly to his explosion quirk. deku saw him as 9/(?)

a person, as a friend, and not just as a walking example of a perfect quirk, a prodigy, & society’s expectation of a future pro hero. because of that, bakugo believed izuku was ‘looking down on him’ and the pre-established inferiority complex did not help. the two continued 9/

their misunderstandings of each other’s perceptions, letting them fester but also guide them in unique ways, until deku vs kacchan 2 where it all came to a head, and they were actually able to see each other’s point of view and become true rivals and ‘equals.’ 10/

overall:
1. bakugo respects ppl so long as they prove their strength (a mindset he’s overcoming) but his issue with deku is different & can’t be overcome so easily.
2. bakugo put deku on a pedestal & vice versa.
3. they both saw something in eachother which the other didn’t.11/

I think I can sum it all up this way:

what do you do when you’re taught to value yourself and others based on quirks, but somebody comes along and proves his worth without a quirk? You get really insecure and lash out. That’s what.

End