𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 | 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙮𝙖 𝙭 𝙤𝙘

☾ celeste's unscripted meta: analysis on my favourite scenes ☾

Throughout 'Love Like You', I had a few scenes that I badly wanted to analyse in my author's notes, but I decided to leave that to you guys to look into. Now that the book has ended, I want to analyse them for the fun of it! I also will point out any 'full circle' moments between chapters if relevant :)

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✿WHY THIS IS CALLED 'LOVE LIKE YOU'✿
Before I begin, I want to explain the whole reason why this book title was chosen. 'Love Like You' is a song by Rebecca Sugar and was first introduced in Steven Universe. The song is known for not having a particular meaning and was made to be freely interpreted according to many online sources.

So this is purely my interpretation, but I liked to view this song as a very human song that anyone can relate to. It's so natural for people feel as though they aren't worthy of love or that there are people who are so much better than themselves. I thought that this was such an amazing representation of Izuku himself, and it ended up being the theme for many of the relationships present in the book; Izuku & Yui, Izuku & Katsuki, Katsuki & Yui, Ochaco & Yui, Masami & Akihito, etc.

Loving like someone else could mean a variety of things such as Yui wishing she could be as empathetic and kind as Izuku, or Izuku wishing he could see the world in the beautiful 'rose-coloured' lens Yui saw it in. This was even evident when Katsuki was jealous of Izuku, thinking 'why is Izuku so special for Yui to love him?', or Ochaco being jealous of Yui wishing she could be like her so she could be worthy of Izuku's love.

It's just such a good song about struggling to love one's self, or understanding why they are worth love from a certain person. It's insanely applicable to any situation, but was so relatable to driving conflicts in this story specifically.

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✿MEETING KATSUKI BAKUGOU✿
[CHAPTER 0.3: his name is izuku]
I love writing Katsuki purely because writing someone absolutely batshit crazy is so fun [I've also had a lot of experience writing Bakugou after 'Zing Boom' and 'Caving In' too]. Writing this scene was so impactful because it was Yui's first introduction into the world Izuku lived in; the world where quirkless people were seen as useless and pitiful.

This scene made Yui - who was usually quite content with the rose-coloured lens that she looked at the world with - question her own usefulness in society, that she'd "never thought of herself as worthless before". If someone optimistic like Yui could begin questioning her worth with one comment, she could only imagine how Izuku felt as a constant victim of such talk.

It was after this scene that Yui's true colours came out: her abrasive and assertive side overtaking her as she became defensive over how Izuku was treated; that she didn't want anyone to feel the way she felt in that one moment.

It was not only an introduction to Katsuki Bakugou, but an introduction to the side of Yui who always sought for fairness in a courageous and assertive way.

✿THE REVEAL OF ALL MIGHT'S SECRET TO YUI✿
[CHAPTER 0.7: a version of you]
This was the first chapter I wrote for this book that consistently kept reappearing for each version of the book I did. Something about Yui absolutely slam dunking on All Might was so satisfying.

In all seriousness, this scene is integral as it's a thought that's implanted in the readers' minds from the start and concepts from this scene is constantly brought back up throughout 'Love Like You'. Tbh, I feel like these concepts have been discussed a lot by now with my whole analysis of Yui and All Might, and All Might's role in Izuku's development.