History YMMV / Cain

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Bakugou is never given a diagnosis in-story since most of the authority figures who have power over him have actively avoided problematizing his behavior; however, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that his mental state is deeply and pathologically abnormal. Given his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting paranoid delusions, a tentative diagnosis could be made for Narcissistic Personality Disorder with expressed paranoid phenomena, as detailed by Psychology Today's article [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201805/living-the-paranoid-narcissist "Living With a Paranoid Narcissist."]] All of the described behaviors in the article fit this fic's version of Bakugou to a T.

** Was Bakugou crying after the apartment door incident because he was genuinely upset and couldn't understand why All Might disproved of his behavior, or was he on some level trying to manipulate All Might with his tears, given how manipulative Katsuki accuses Izuku of being when he emotes and how much Bakugou projects his own behavior onto Izuku?

* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler:As revealed near the end of the Final Arc of the ''My Hero Academia'', [[BigBad All for One]] is shown to be a ShadowArchetype of Katsuki Bakugou by representing ''everything'' negative of his character before his CharacterDevelopment and a possible outcome if Katsuki isn't forced to accept a big heaping slice of HumblePie and TookALevelInKindness.]] [[spoiler:As Cain!Bakugou demonstrates throughout the fic and by the ending, he's well on his way to becoming a potential [[GenerationXerox All for One 2.0]] in the unforeseen future.]]

* NightmareFuel: While this [[HateSink crueler version of Bakugou]] can be mildly amusing at first for how he gets increasingly negative (for himself) consequences for his behaviour, as he stoops lower and lower into an obsessive and [[SanitySlippage increasingly unhinged]] stalker lost in his InsaneTrollLogic while believing to be in the right, he can become genuinely terrifying. Even before [[spoiler:his attempt to kill Izuku right after the UA entrance exam]], the scene where he [[spoiler:directly threatens even Inko, banging and screaming at the Midoriyas' door and looking like he may even try and break in by using his quirk]] is quite unsettling.

* TheWoobie: ''Izuku.'' He's OutOfFocus since we only hear about him through Bakugou's perspective, which is severely distorted and not at all interested in Izuku's experience outside of causing him pain and humilation. However, we see more than enough to know he goes through a TraumaCongaLine, starting with Katsuki butting into his apprenticeship, straight through to Bakugou stalking him everywhere, physically assaulting him at random intervals, sexually harassing him in the locker room bad enough for it to be uncomfortably close to sexual assault, suicide baiting him multiple times, giving him third-degree burns, trying to break into his apartment to force information out of him and his mother, and straight-up [[spoiler:trying to murder him while he's unconscious]]. Throughout this, every place of safe harbor and method Izuku has of escape or coping is compromised, deprived, or taken away up until he outright quit school and moves apartments, and the long duration of his abuse has left him convinced he still has to make nice with his abuser, whom everyone has said for his entire life will be a great hero.

* CatharsisFactor: For fans who dislike Bakugou, or were dissatisfied with how the canon story managed his harmful personality, it was ''quite'' enjoyable getting to see Bakugou be openly called out by his idol All Might who becomes fully informed of his behavior and history with Izuku. And after giving him a multitude of opportunities to change or reflect, the Number One Hero finally puts his foot down and calls him out for what he truly is: a SpoiledBrat with an unreasonable grudge and obsession towards a disabled boy who only wanted to be his friend.
* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Bakugou is never given a diagnosis in-story since most of the authority figures who have power over him have actively avoided problematizing his behavior; however, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that his mental state is deeply and pathologically abnormal. Given his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting paranoid delusions, a tentative diagnosis could be made for Narcissistic Personality Disorder with expressed paranoid phenomena, as detailed by Psychology Today's article [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201805/living-the-paranoid-narcissist "Living With a Paranoid Narcissist."]] All of the described behaviors in the article fit this fic's version of Bakugou to a T.

* MoralEventHorizon: Given that this takes place before he goes to UA and how his hated victim was able to attract the attention of his cherished idol, Bakugou goes all out with terrorizing Deku. From insulting him, blasting him with his quirk, getting the Aldera students to bully him, stealing his property, telling him to kill himself ''repeatedly''. But ''none of that'' compares to him [[spoiler:trying to murder an unconscious Izuku with a pillow just to keep him from getting into UA]].

* RealismInducedHorror: This version of Bakugou Katsuki isn't terrifying because he can explode things with his hands, he's terrifying because his behavior is reminiscent of real-world bigots, stalkers, and abusers, the kind who go out of their way to deprive their victims of any sense of safety or security, whose raging is hair-trigger and unpredictable, and who could easily kill the subject of their obsession and still blame them for their own deaths. People who behave like Bakugou Katsuki live among us right now in our world, putting the subjects of their hate and abuse through living nightmares. [[spoiler:Even the way Bakugou tries to murder Izuku--smothering him with a pillow while he's asleep--is {{Mundanger}}.]]

* TheWoobie: ''Izuku.'' He's OutOfFocus since we only hear about him through Bakugou's perspective, which is severely distorted and not at all interested in Izuku's experience outside of causing him pain. However, we see more than enough to know he goes through a TraumaCongaLine, starting with Katsuki butting into his apprenticeship, straight through to Bakugou stalking him everywhere, sexually harassing him in the locker room bad enough for it to be uncomfortably close to sexual assault, suicide baiting him multiple times, giving him third degree burns, trying to break into his apartment to force information out of him and his mother, and straight-up [[spoiler:trying to murder him while he's unconscious]]. Throughout this, every place of safe harbor and method Izuku has of escape or coping is compromised, deprived, or taken away up until he outright quits school and moves apartments, and the long duration of his abuse has left him convinced he still has to make nice with his abuser, whom everyone has said for his entire life will be a great hero.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Bakugou is is never given a diagnosis in-story since most of the authority figures who have power over him have actively avoided problematizing his behavior; however, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that his mental state is deeply and pathologically abnormal. Given his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting paranoid delusions, a tentative diagnosis could be made for Narcissistic Personality Disorder with expressed paranoid phenomena, as detailed by Psychology Today's article [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201805/living-the-paranoid-narcissist "Living With a Paranoid Narcissist."]] All of the described behaviors in the article fit this fic's version of Bakugou to a T.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Bakugou is is never given a diagnosis in-story since most of authority figures who have power over him have actively avoided problematizing his behavior; however, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that his mental state is deeply and pathologically abnormal. Given his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting paranoid delusions, a tentative diagnosis could be made for Narcissistic Personality Disorder with expressed paranoid phenomena, as detailed by Psychology Today's article [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201805/living-the-paranoid-narcissist "Living With a Paranoid Narcissist."]] All of the described behaviors in the article fit this fic's version of Bakugou to a T.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Bakugou is is never given a diagnosis in-story since most of the authorities actively avoid problematizing his behavior; however, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that his mental state is deeply and pathologically abnormal. Given his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting paranoid delusions, a tentative diagnosis could be made for Narcissistic Personality Disorder with expressed paranoid phenomena, as detailed by Psychology Today's article [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201805/living-the-paranoid-narcissist "Living With a Paranoid Narcissist."]] All of the described behaviors in the article fit this fic's version of Bakugou to a T.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: '''Bakugou.''' He almost certainly meets the threshold of some kind of diagnosis, given that his obsessive and delusional behavior is very clearly both pathological and ruining his life by the end. The only question is what he'd be diagnosed with--because his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting delusions add up to an extremely complicated psychological profile. [[spoiler:And that's not even touching his willingness to hurt himself and kill another to defeat the plots against him that his mind has cooked up]].

** The AmbiguousEnding of [[spoiler:Shigaraki finding Bakugou's posts about All Might and offering him a chance at revenge]]. This has led to alot of speculation over the possibilities of [[spoiler:Bakugou becoming involved with [[LegionOfDoom the League of Villains]]]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: '''Bakugou.''' He almost certainly meets the threshold of some kind of diagnosis, given that his obsessive and delusional behavior is very clearly both pathological and ruining his life by the end. The only question is what he'd be diagnosed with--because his grandiose sense of self, inability to recognize those around him as equally human, and lack of capacity for self-reflection, coupled with his sadism, near-perpetual anger and spikes of irrational rage, and self-contradicting delusions add up to an extremely complicated psychological profile. [[spoiler:And that's not even touching his willingness to hurt himself and kill another to defeat the plots against him that his mind has cooked up]].

* ShockingMoments: The climax where [[spoiler:Bakugou tries to murder Izuku]] has been the most captivating moment for may readers.

** Bakugou assumes he's academically gifted and his teachers are sabotaging his grades towards the end in retaliation for [[spoiler:his failure to get into UA]]. However, comments on the story discuss the possibility that this is simply another part of Bakugou's narcissistic perspective that his teachers had previously enabled: that his teachers actually originally graded Bakugou's work less harshly for the same reason they disciplined him less harshly, only to stop giving his work special treatment [[spoiler:after his disasterous entrance exam]] just like they stopped giving ''him'' special treatment. Alternatively, it's entirely feasible the quality of his work genuinely did change [[spoiler:in the wake of his failure and the loss of his original goals and dreams,]] and he's just too deluded to accept by the end.

** Was Bakugou actually as good academically as his teachers previously claimed, with them sabotaging his grades towards the end in retaliation for [[spoiler:his failure to get into UA]], or did his teachers actually originally grade Bakugou's work less harshly for the same reason they disciplined him less harshly, and simply stopped giving his work special treatment [[spoiler:after his disasterous entrance exam]] just like they stopped giving ''him'' special treatment? Alternatively, did the quality of his work genuinely change [[spoiler:in the wake of his failure and the loss of his original goals and dreams?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:

** Was Bakugou actually as good academically as his teachers previously claimed, with them sabotaging his grades towards the end in retaliation for [[spoiler:his failure to get into UA]], or did his teachers actually originally grade Bakugou's work less harshly for the same reason they disciplined him less harshly, and simply stopped giving his work special treatment [[spoiler:after his disasterous entrance exam]] just like they stopped giving ''him'' special treatment? Alternatively, perhaps the quality of his work has genuinely decreased [[spoiler:in the wake of his failure and the loss of his original goals and dreams.]]

* TheWoobie: ''Izuku.'' He's OutOfFocus since we only hear about him through Bakugou's perspective, which is severely distorted and not at all interested in Izuku's experience outside of causing him pain. However, we see more than enough to know he goes through a TraumaCongaLine, starting with Katsuki butting into his apprenticeship, straight through to Bakugou sexually harassing him in the locker room bad enough for it to be uncomfortably close to sexual assault, suicide baiting him multiple times, giving him third degree burns, trying to break into his apartment to force information out of him and his mother, and straight-up [[spoiler:trying to murder him while he's unconscious]]. Throughout this, every place of safe harbor and method Izuku has of escape or coping is compromised, deprived, or taken away up until he outright quits school and moves apartments, and the long duration of his abuse has left him convinced he still has to make nice with his abuser, whom everyone has said for his entire life will be a great hero.