long-winded ahh yappenings

Kudoichi are an absolutely beautiful and amazing yet tragic pairing, I can't stress enough just how much they mean to me and how they quite literally changed the way I think - uh so ig have my attempt at my takes/reasons as to why I ship them.

Kudo and Yoichi to me embody genuine love, care and compassion which is something I don't see represented much in various media or even in real life - or at the very least I just doesn't resonate with me. Their story as I mentioned is so beautifully tragic I just feel the need to sob violently whenever I think about them. Kudou reaching his hand out to yoichi, a stranger, someone related to all for one - his mortal enemy gives us so much information about him as a character and kudoichi as a pairing.

Kudou, a resistance leader who had the intentions to kill or at the very least harm whoever/whatever was in the vault {him having his gauntlet ready, his narrowed gaze and his initial threatening domineer, etc.} stopped the moment he saw yoichi, his gaze quite literally softened and his first instinctual reaction was to go and help him, to reach out to him. It's not a stretch to say that Kudou was a kind person/was willing to help people out, that is after all a characteristic that I believe leaders possess/should have. But given the circumstances - a war, in the enemies base, unknown person, Kudou should have been at least a little weary of Yoichi. But he wasn't. Kudou let his guards down the moment he saw yoichi, which to me is indicative that he trusted yoichi, trusted that he was a good person from looking at him. Kudou reaching out to yoichi is so significant to their relationship also, if he didn't reach out ofa wouldn't have been born . Not only that but it was a moment that gave yoichi hope - he calls Kudou his hero, he views him as a saviour. From this one singular interaction kudou already trusts yoichi, and yoichi sees him as a hero - if this is what can be derived from one interaction what about the two months they spent together?Horikoshi didn't give us much on what went on during those two months but Kudou and Yoichi were clearly close to each other: the conversation they had about all for one, Kudou crying when yoichi died..

Now I want to talk a bit more about moments in the manga because most of my reasons as to why I ship them comes from the manga panels themselves and the way they're drawn and the text and not just their story.

Let's start with hands. Horikoshi himself stated that hands could express emotions just how faces do and it's so clear to me. Their hands are drawn so gently, it shows not only Kudou's domineer towards yoichi but also now caring he was. The hands are drawn to indicate that kudou didn't rush yoichi, even if they didn't have a lot of time to waste. Yoichi so slowly yet gently going to hold Kudou's hand shows this. But it also shows that he also trusts him, it shows that willingness in this moment. Kudou wanted to save yoichi but yoichi also wanted to go with Kudou.

Kudou and yoichi were actually so close to each other when you think about it. "victory meant life, and defeat meant death" it's clear that kudou was desensitized to death at least to some extent, as he views it as something almost natural to their cause, he also didn't have time to mourn any deaths. Over time a person just starts to get desensitized to it yet when yoichi died Kudou started tearing up. Yoichi meant a lot to Kudou, his tears indicate that he felt strong emotions towards him. Something I think about is Yoichi's name reveal being said by Kudou. This implies that they were close enough for him to know his name and regularly call him by it, so regularly that he's the one to eventually reveal his name, ik bones cut this out to make AFO the one to reveal yoichi's name in the anime but this just goes to show that Kudou was closer to yoichi than AFO was . Kudou was closer to him than his own family.

This is another thing I think about a lot. How Kudou views yoichi, these are from Kudou's pov/in context with Kudou. Yoichi is always drawn inconsistently and I think that's on purpose. It seems as if he's drawn prettiest whenever it's in context with Kudou implying that that's how he saw him.

Also. Kudou and yoichi blend into each other here. And their vestige colors come from the same shade, just different hues. They're eachother's half, no at this point they are one. This reminds me of "yoichi's will is now within me" and how Kudou carried ofa because of yoichi unlike the other users that had the power to defeat AFO. Kudou wanted that's sure, but he continued because it was yoichi, because of yoichi's will.

The first thing he thought of btw!! He was so close to yoichi that he could sense him, his quirk factor inside of him .

Also this panel. The implications here are that Yoichi was no longer all for one's, he became kudou's. Kudou was also referred to "the man who stole Yoichi away."

Also: Kudou becoming softer when he talked to yoichi shoes how much he cares, and how his domineer was always so gentle towards him.

This is a very scattered post ik but I have more to yap about, the ofa transfer. Yoichi didn't know about the quirk but thanks to kudou and Bruce researching it it was concluded that DNA and consent was needed to past down OFA. The transfer had to have happened mere seconds before yoichi died since he had to consent to give his power. Yoichi fully trusted a man he knew for two months to accidentally give him OFA. Such trust is hard to build over two months. Also the implications of DNA needed and the accidental transfer are crazy when you think about it. They really were close. Very close to each other.

Decided to make a post about this because I just want to yap. This will be mainly yoichi focused, but before I start ranting I really want to make it clear that I'm in no way trying to hate on anyone, degrade anyone or paint myself as some all knowing best writer and character analyzer. I'm just someone who wants to yap, if anyone disagrees or has anything to add you can do so freely and I'll respect your opinions.

I want to begin with saying that everyone has different interpretations of characters and that's perfectly normal - out experiances and view points will affect how we see a character. My issue is mainly when the character does something they wouldn't do at all, or when they just turn into a different character completely. I've seen this lately with the way people have been characterizing yoichi and kudo in kudoichi fics or even just smaller things.

I'd like to start with yoichi. I've come across this misconception (?) that yoichi wasn't a part of the resistance, or was in some way sheltered. This isn't true, it's stated in canon (the manga at least) that he was there. I understand if it's anime only watchers or people who do this on purpose, but honestly I'd just want to see more mentions of this fact . This does have to do with his characterization because he's also sometimes painted as some sheltered guy who doesn't understand anything about the world and has to rely on kudo (and Bruce) to help him. This isn't true and it just takes away from the character. Yoichi's story has a lot of missing bits and most of it indeed is up to interpretation - but from what is given, he isn't sheltered. Him and his brother lived on the streets - and the abandoned skyscraper for most of his life. I believe he would have a basic idea of how some things function. I also believe that he would be able to handle himself in rougher situations. Obviously we don't know details of his past but life on the streets would definitely teach him some types of skills that could be useful. For example I think yoichi would learn to be more perceptive of his surroundings/the people around him. Something I don't see much in fics is his life before the vault and really how much it taught him. Yes all for one is mentioned in conversation but I feel like there's so much potential in exploring how he became the person he is, how he developed some habits, how his life before he vault shaped him. It's honestly disheartening to know that there's so much potential that isn't used. Another thing - I want to comment on how yoichi's strong sense of justice also isn't that touched upon, we know his views on the world, why not continue to develop that. Yoichi would be persistent and he would want to always do the right thing, this includes him joining the resistance - helping them, trying to do anything to prove that he is a good person, etc. but it will also show in conversations, yoichi has been shown to have a tendency to see the positive in otherwise bad situations, this mentality of his isn't touched upon I believe. I've seen fics where he is a lot more sad than what he would be imo, yes he definitely isn't the happiest - and a range of emotions is good to show, but he wouldn't spiral into constant negative thoughts. Now I also want to mention things I do like. I like it when yoichi is shown to not understand social cues, it's logical - he most likely didn't get to interact with people before he met kudo and Bruce, so it makes sense for him to not understand how to talk to people, or not understand typical human behavior. There is something about this that I would comment on.. there is a line to this and if it's crossed it just mischaracterizes him. I've seen yoichi be portrayed as dumb. Not understanding social cues doesn't mean he is dumb, he is quite the smart character actually - and he knows much more than he would know given his circumstances, the thing is it's easy to mix those two up, but when it's done correctly - yoichi not understanding social cues is a thing I do enjoy seeing. Last thing about yoichi - I feel like he would know a lot of things from the comics he enjoyed reading, also I think that he didn't only read comics - but that they were still his favorites since they were easiest to understand for him. There's so much potential with this because the way he perceives the world can be tied to the comics. Such as him being more of a visual learner, or not needing to have everything told to him to understand something, using context clues etc. I feel like that could be something interesting to add to fics.

Now. Moving onto kudo. Not necessarily fics but I've seen him be very mischaracterized, kudo is the leader of a resistance - he would have the qualities that make a person a leader. I've seen many fics where kudo isn't the best at showing his feelings or just doesn't do it, would he be nervous, yes everyone gets nervous. But would it be hard for him to share his feelings - no. A good leader is good at communication, this is seen in canon aswell, he's able to communicate with the other vestiges well. I believe kudo would be open about his feelings,. More about the leader qualities - kudo wouldn't be as mean as some fics make him out to be. As a leader he has to be strict and firm, he has to do this so that people trust him. This can be mistaken for being mean, but kudo has never been shown to be mean to people. Most of the times he's serious - yes but he wouldn't shout at people or just be passive aggressive. Yes I have seen people charectarize him like that. Also once I turn 18 I'll address the issues of those um. Smut fics. I'm just going to say this: kudo would NOT say most of the things he does in those. ...

first off I want to say that I believe yoichi should have been more developed and should have gotten more screentime, but at the end of the day we can't decide how much screentime/development he gets. So I'm basing this entire rant on what we do see from him. So here's my take on yoichi's heroism.

Yoichi was born with a strong sense of justice, though I don't think that the narrative insists that he's a brave hero - I moreso agree with the point that it was pushing that he had the right heroic philosophy. And I agree that intentions aren't everything. Yoichi's sense of justice is an innate trait of this quirk (quirks are linked with personality - something mha has shown countless of times). But yes just because it's a trait he was born with doesn't mean he is heroic - actions have to be taken, or at least raising awareness.

Yoichi doesn't address all of these things and yeah it would be better if he did more to prove that he had a strong sense of justice. But he also doesn't really have to talk about these things. There are many characters who bring those issues up - though it may be rushed (that will be for a different rant).

Personally I believe that talking about systematic injustice, racism, discrimination, the problems with hero society shouldn't be things yoichi comments about. Why? Because even if he said anything - he's a vestige now. What will he be able to do about any of these things? What will izuku do about these things? Surely if vestige yoichi talks to izuku about this it would be with the goal of getting him to do something about it? Right?

But even if he talked about all of this and brought it up - I don't think story wise that it would be a good idea for the main character who only faced discrimination for being quirkless to talk about and fix all of the other issues in the show.

Also, yoichi could have very well brought those things up while he was alive - if. He had a different life. I don't think that yoichi would have made a difference yapping about all of this in the vault he was locked in.

And tbf - some of the things you pointed out yoichi never experienced or saw because they weren't a part of society at that time. Does this mean they aren't issues and shouldn't be talked about? No. But someone who doesn't have this experience can not talk ot commentate about it. Just like how it is in real life.

Your second point is a little weird. Idk if you just got the quirks mixed up but yoichi was born with the transferance quirk. And this is significant. Yoichi and all for one have similar quirks. If yoichi didn't have transferance all for one wouldn't have had his quirk, why? Because quirks are genetic. Yoichi's quirk was underdeveloped but it most likely would have been the same as all for one's since they are twins. So no transference isn't just some random quirk horikoshi picked out. .

The quirk he got from all for one also isn't by chance or something random. All for one specifically picked stockpile because it was a quirk that wouldn't harm yoichi. I'm pretty sure all for one himself said that he picked it on purpose.

OFA getting passed down is also more significant than it just being passed down by luck. Yes it was a slim chance that yoichi would be found by kudo and bruce but dumbing down the transfer as happening by "dumb luck" is just wild to me.

OFA can NOT get transferred unless it's by consuming DNA, (and) the user wanting to give OFA, it can also be passed on by force, but mainly those two reasons.

Also yoichi doesn't have to mention that his brother was a killer cause it's fucking obvious???? Also did you forget that yoichi was abused by his brother - but he was still his only family. The person with a strong sense of justice wouldn't idk kill his only family member or something? Idk what you wanted him to do exactly. He was also a child, a frail and weak one so even if he did try to do something physical it would fail. This entire point seems very victim blaming ngl.

The scene of the other users without yoichi going to kill AFO is significant. Yoichi isn't there again not because they could have been better off without him but because again. Even after everything yoichi wouldn't kill his only family. He had many regrets about his brother but it just seems contradictory If he was there to also kill him.

I'm not even gonna comment on your last point.