Izuku Why Are You So Mean With Katsuki???

do you think bkdk have canonical feelings for each other and if so, in what way?

wig ok ive thought about this a lot

honestly, canonical feelings in a romantic way— like love or lust, nah. i don’t really believe that.

that isn’t to say that they don’t have a million complicated feelings piled up when it comes to each other. i definitely believe they care about each other deep down, and even ‘love’ each other platonically. their care for each other factors into their mutual obsession w/ one another that they don’t know how to handle.

as in, it’s clear in canon that izuku has always cared for katsuki. constantly wanting to help him, always reaching out to him if he can. like in season 1, he was literally willing to sacrifice a secret—that could’ve seriously put the entire world in danger—to make sure katsuki’s mental health was okay.

that was something that i don’t think he would’ve gone out of his way to clarify for anyone else, but given the fact that izuku has been frequently running after katsuki his whole life, he feels some sort of entitlement to him. i don’t wanna say it’s ‘love’, because that’s not what being in love probably is, but it’s definitely more than how izuku just ‘cares’ for people. the way he sees katsuki is on another level, imo. and this is just one example.

like there’s also,,,, you know— the sludge villain incident, when katsuki got kidnapped, the final exams arc, etc

meanwhile, on the other hand, i believe katsuki also cares for izuku deep down, while not knowing how to show, or even wanting to convey those emotions at all. his hyper fixation on izuku showed right since the first season— in which izuku began a new life with his new power, and katsuki cared deeply for him and only him at that time. he made izuku’s ‘moving on’ all about himself, demanding to know answers and getting frustrated at the fact that izuku had ‘betrayed’ him. to me, even if katsuki doesn’t realize it himself, that says “i care about you and what youre doing, and i especially care about how you think of me”. that says “i care” in a bit of a messed up way. he feels like izuku is obligated to his benefit.

like ok. who knew he would whine so much and feel so insecure about deku ‘tricking him’ when he originally could’ve ignored izuku completely and focused on himself.

in addition to that, i think subconsciously, katsuki sort of feels some sort of level of intimacy with izuku, and sees him as sort of a ‘safety net’ in a way…?

like. why would he tell all this shit to izuku if he didnt feel something about izuku— if he didn’t feel like he needed him in some way? (like esp the line about todoroki. there was literally no reason katsuki had to tell him that but he for some reason just blurted his insecurities to izuku as if it were nbd, which is a big deal for him considering katsuki originally wants to think he can ‘beat everyone’) (and once again this is just one example of a few times)

listen,,, so basically i sorta went off topic but all in all i think they care about each other deep down, esp each other’s success. i think they ‘love’ each other platonically, while also subconsciously feeling some sort of permanent attachment to one another, because they do need each other— and that feeling is mutual.

On reptile and invertebrate cognition...

Something that bothers me when people talk about the cognitive limitations of certain animals is that vague, human-centric words get thrown around and treated like Indisputable Science. When really, the definitions attached to those words are really important.

Example 1: “Reptiles don’t feel happiness”

Well, what exactly do you mean by “happiness”? Do you mean the exact combination of cognitive and emotional sensation that constitutes human happiness? Reptiles certainly don’t experience human happiness, but neither do canines or birds (which don’t even experience mammalian happiness), and we don’t usually go around saying that dogs or parrots don’t feel happiness. We understand that dogs and parrots experience a positive emotional state that is similar to human happiness.

Reptiles aren’t as cognitively or emotionally complex as dogs, parrots, or humans, but they still experience pleasure and can form positive associations. Should we call that happiness? Is a positive emotional state, characterized by high levels of pleasure, an absence of pain, and all current needs being adequately met not a primitive version of what we call happiness?

Same with “reptiles don’t feel emotions”. Well, no, they don’t experience anything approaching the intensity of human emotions, as they don’t have big, thinky cortexes to attach meaning to the emotional reactions of their limbic system. But recent studies have shown that reptiles do have a primitive version of the limbic system and even the neocortex (that whole “reptile brain, mammal brain, human brain” theory has been all disproved by recent science).

At the very least reptiles experience the primitive emotions of pleasure and fear. There are even reptiles that mate for life and form social bonds (even to the point of caring for offspring that are not their own) and reptiles do actually have their own version of the hormone oxytocin (it’s so similar that vets can administer oxytocin to eggbound reptiles to make them lay). So there’s likely more emotional complexity there than we currently understand.

Example 2: “Tarantulas can’t learn”

What do you mean by “learn”? Do you mean that you can’t train a tarantula to spin on command? Or do you mean that a tarantula isn’t capable of changing its present behavior based on past experiences?

Pretty much any animal that can encode memories of past experiences can learn. Recent science has shown that even some plants may be able to somehow encode past experiences and become desensitized to repetitive stimuli and they don’t even have brains.

Like most animals, tarantulas will dampen their reaction to repeated stimuli. A tarantula that is regularly picked up will eventually have a less dramatic response to the stimulus of being placed into a hand. That’s a type of learning.

Tarantulas can also learn to associate a particular stimulus with an event that repeatedly comes afterward (like Pavlov’s Dogs). They will very quickly attune to the set of stimuli that occurs right before feeding time or their cage being opened. That’s learning.

Fun Fact: Studies have shown cockroaches can learn this way too and that cockroaches can recognize and show preferences for individual humans. Hissing cockroaches placed in the hands of someone they recognize are less likely to defensively hiss than when placed in the hands of a stranger.

This may seem like a silly thing to be bothered by, but the reality is that the way we talk about animal cognition can have a real, tangible impact on their welfare.

People can jump pretty quickly from “reptiles don’t experience happiness/emotion” to “reptiles can’t experience pain/discomfort”. Which can lead to devaluing the welfare of reptiles or assuming that as long as the animal is alive and not actively ill or injured there’s nothing else to worry about. This kind of thinking is a big part of the major pushback against enrichment in certain reptile keeping circles.

Similarly, enrichment is almost unheard of in most of insect and arachnid keeping despite the fact that there is a growing scientific consensus (and even a handful of studies) that invertebrates can benefit from enrichment. There also aren’t any welfare laws governing experiments on invertebrates (except cephalopods) because they’re largely considered to be akin to instinctual robots and unable to feel pain or discomfort.

As people who know the difference, it is really important to use specific language and explain what we mean when talking about the cognitive capabilities of animals (especially often maligned and misunderstood animals).

Squad freshness level: Plus Ultra!! ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

Izuku: Give it to me straight, how long do I have to live?

Recovery Girl: Ten.

Izuku: Ten what?

Bakugo: Nine.

Aen hanse: an armed gang, linked by bonds of friendship; a company.

All Might’s other life long friend from America

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This is my archer character for Dungeons and Dragons. Just drew it to test new brushes. Her name is Ivy btw.

Class 1a: *playing truth or dare*

Kaminari: Midoriya, I dare you to call your dad

Midoriya: Hey siri, call dad

Siri: calling daddy

Midoriya: WAIT NO

Bakugou: *phone starts ringing*

Class 1a: ...

A Gremlin™ appears