The Way You Used to Do

by edema_ruh

"We're really sorry," his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. "But your friend, Izuku, he's... He's gone, son."

Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, indignation.

"What the fuck are you two talking about? The damn nerd is standing right beside you!"

During a battle, Midoriya gets hit by a villain whose quirk detaches his soul from his body. Stuck in a ghost-like state, the boy enters a race against time in order to save himself from permanently dying. Much to his luck - or lack of it -, the only person who can see and talk to him in this state is no one other than Kacchan.

Alternatively: Deku and Kacchan are soulbound.

Genres: Fan Fiction, LGBT, Romance, Manga, Fantasy, Slow Burn, M M Romance

2122 pages, ebook

Published September 13, 2020

Reviews

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean this when I say that I believe this is the greatest, most in depth, fanfiction that I've ever read. Like seriously, this story is super long, but once I started I literally could not stop reading until I was finished. This story just gets everything right, from the characterization to the tension that comes with each chapter trying to find out what'll happen next. My only complaint is that I can't relive the feeling of reading this for the first time.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, es una biblia Bakudeku por un razón. El nivel de slow burn es infinito.

[Lou91013 · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably the best fanfiction ive ever read

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t care that it’s fanfiction I didn’t read over 600,000 words of slow burn and screaming at bakugo’s emotional constipation for it to NOT count towards my reading goal

[catalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

insuperable, la biblia bakudeku indeed

[victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHAT A RIDE second longest thing i’ve ever read omg.. and the AMOUNT of slow burn it was craaazy

[Aud · Rating 5 out of 5]

2000 pages and 670k words of absolute insanity this lowkey changed my life

[rez · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so so so good. all the 670k words I read, felt like so little it was just so so good ughghghfhf

[♡ India ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh nothing can beat From The Sidelines. Sorry. I'm putting my bets on why this isn't a perfect read on the fact that I couldn't stop myself from comparing the characters from this fic (Katsuki and Izuku mainly of course) to the canon characters. Because this story branches off from canon, I was naturally more reliant on them being closely similar to their series counterparts. And especially towards the end is where I cringed a bit because I just knew they wouldn't do this in canon. This is completely subjective and some may completely oppose me on that one, but that is what I personally think. Also there were some major plot holes? The timeline of when this fic takes place is terribly confusing and just little tid-bits here and there that left me confused.

That being said. For a work of fiction being written without any sort of money or payment involved, this is fantastic. Yes there might've been some moments where Katsuki and/or Izuku were (in my opinion) OOC, but the moments where I didn't think that I heavily enjoyed their development and relationship growth. It was such a reward to see them finally come together in the end. I sort of wish I had read this as the chapters were being released so I could've gotten more of a sense of nostalgia when the fic finally finished. Nevertheless, I find it exceptionally admirable that someone could complete a piece of literature this HUGE (640K words I believe?!?!) for free, no rewards attached?? That's beyond impressive!! Edema_ruh is extremely talented for being able to do this and I look up to her for it!!

I'm glad to say I've finally read this and don't regret it! Reading this I became inspired to read other bkdk fics (cough cough Fire Lily cough cough) that I read a while back so I might just continue doing that for November although we'll see, as I don't keep to my word often...

Also 2000 pages. 2000 PAGES?? I can't believe the longest book I've read is a bloody fic 😭 (honestly not ashamed of that though it's just ironic)

[Maé · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He hadn’t fallen in love. It hadn’t been rushed, or sudden. It had been a stroll, a fieldtrip, a lifetime of wandering the dark with only the light of green eyes shining upon him, from the very first day, until he found himself unable to keep soft green curls and starlike freckles out of his damn mind.”

I did not read a 670k words fanfiction for it not to count for my Goodreads challenge. Especially one as good as The Way You Used to Do. It is one of the best character studies I've ever seen ever, and it made me adore one of my all times favorite characters even more.

It's very descriptive but I ate it up like a woman starved and I just could not stop reading. It's a lot of angst and way not enough comfort, but the ending makes it all worth it. It's simply the most well written character development I've ever seen. It made me adore Katsuki and Izuku so much more than I thought I would.

Definitely one of the best fanfictions I've ever read.

[Pinwino_rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

No suelo leer fanfics ni ponerlos en goodreads pero me ha gustado tanto que quiero que me quede guardado para futuras ocasiones

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

670,230 words of pure slow burn gold. One of the most in depth and extensive characters studies that is not overbearing.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shamelessly adding this, because it's probably the best fanfiction I've ever read and it took me a whole damn week of singularly reading to finish it. This was so angsty, oh my god.

[Jessica Ravikumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOAH ON GOODREADS??? I’m going to make multiple accounts to glaze this fic. Best piece of literature I’ve EVER read.

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a masterpiece. i’m not typically into reading things like this but omg im so glad i got talked into it. everything about this had me captivated. the tension the banter the angst. omg i cried sm i laughed. i gasped. this resonated so many emotions within me. the slow burn BURNED. it was just really well done and an amazing time.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally cannot say enough good about this incredible work.

[maryjka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CANT JEZU doslownie prawie 2 tysiace stron poplacze sie 😭😭 ale mam doslownie obsesje, NAJPIEKNIEJSZA rzecz jaka w zyciu przeczytalam

[Andruu · Rating 5 out of 5]

QUE VIVA EL AMOR, GENTE, que viva el amor ni a ustedes ni a mi nos va tocar pero que viva el amor, todavía existe

[Pali Camacho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se me estaba acabando el tiempo para terminar mi reto del año JAJAAAJ y lo rellene con un fanfic que es más largo que cualquier libro. Ese es mi girl math.

[Brooklynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

im free….

[Lea]

este sa mi nestalo ze by som si po knizke povedala ze uz nikdy nebudem citat. toto bolo asi na mna prilis uputavajuce na to ake to je dlhe a par dni som si bola velmi malo vedoma svojej existencie, ale stalo to za to

[sky ‧₊˚✩彡. · Rating 5 out of 5]

god, this has to be one of my favorite things ever (and also the longest thing i've ever read. 1915 pages??? during a reading slump??? i did it!)

i love the way the author handled bakugou's character development, i love the way bakugou and izuku's relationship evolved, i love it all.

in my head, this fanfic has Three parts:

1. izuku's time with katsuki as a ghost
2. izuku back to "normal" with no memories and quirk
3. bakugou recovering and everything that happened afterwards

and i loved all of them. the first part will always have a special place in my heart. it's just so sweet to see katsuki grow attached to izuku, them both starting to understand each other more and more as they share an empathic bond. the second part is quite angsty - VERY angsty - i had to hold my breath during certain scenes. the building scene was hard to read, but in the best way possible. just hurt, no comfort - even knowing it'd be fine, it didn't feel like it - and i LOVED it. as to the third part, i have to say it warmed my heart. started off angsty, sure, but it eventually gave me the comfort i was waiting for. i never thought i'd be a sucker for established relationship, but i find myself wanting to read more and more on izuku and katsuki as Boyfriends. i will miss this story so very much.

lastly, can i PLEASE get bakugou's therapist?

[opensunflowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with the person who commented that this is absolutely the most in-depth character study of Katsuki Bakugo, ever. This story was so compellingly written, I remember finding it during the pandemic and just sitting for hours greedily consuming it.

The exploration of anger issues and the feelings behind them was so well conducted I began to see my own anger issues differently. If this were an original novel, I’d recommend it to everyone I know. Currently I am limited to just recommending it to others in the fandom.

Also this wasn’t just a slow burn, this was glacial - but absolutely worth it! I don’t think I cared for the very last chapter, it was a bonus I think.

[⋆ ˚luxa⋆୨୧˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my fucking god what was this???????????? how am I supposed to continue with my life now???

No puedo creer que me lei esta wea de case 2.000 págnias en menos de una semana por dios que me pasa?? asi de obsecionada estoy con estos wns.

Este fanfic me hizo sentir todas las emociones posible que se pueden sentir: lloré, grité, me enojé, me rei, lloré otra vez y asi. Son casi 2000 páginas de puro slow burn con el mejor writing que he leido en mi vida en un fanfic. La manera en la que destruyo a los personajes y los volvio a reconstruir...just wow. De verdad que no soy la misma después de leer esta wea.

En fin, viva el bkdk.

[Clary · Rating 5 out of 5]

El mejor fanfic que he leído, todos están dentro de personaje, tanto que se siente que realmente estás leyendo una historia en canon y está tan bien manejada y descrita la relación bakudeku que te enamoras más de ellos y hasta te dan esperanzas de que terminen siendo canon xD. Es increíble, un slowburn con mucho angst y desarrollo de personaje, se disfruta tanto que lo largo no se siente. A pesar de haber pasado ya un tiempo de haberlo leído, aún cuando recuerdo ciertas escenas me pongo muy sensible, ayuda, es genial. En fin edema ruh dios, gracias por semejante obra de arte.

[andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely horrible how dare anyone make such and amazing fanfic with the best characterisation of bakugou and an amazingly written bakudeku relationship development and just post it on ao3 for me to come across and read it in 5 days. I hate it like my expectations for books were way too high already whoever wrote this deserves absolutely everything good in this world but i also hope you realise my whole life was changed by this and the emotions i felt while reading this were unexplainable and now i’m gonna go cry about it for a bit

[Ayat · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You’re my image of a hero, not because of your flaws, but despite them”


I don’t think I’ll ever get over how good this is. I couldn’t put it down, I spent like 20 hours straight going over this. It had everything. Angst, humor, a good ton of hurt/comfort, a well written climax and ending,,,, everything needed for a perfect bkdk fic.

Honestly, it’s everything I needed for them, starting from their current dynamic in bnha, building upon that to reach something legendary. It realistically captured their traits, their thoughts, their feelings. The character study was done meticulously. Delving into their complexities so beautifully to create this perfection. Vulnerable katsuki?? Who’s also emotionally constipated??Oblivious bkdk?? Midoriya’s savior complex???? How the character development unfolded??? and how they’re so similar but opposites bc they’re literally the definition of soulmates? I’m Obsessed. This needs to be canon.

“Did you know that most people don’t fall in love? Most people walk into love.” Thank you Dr. Matsuo for revealing this to oblivious katsuki finally after sm suffering

Also the fight scenes !!! They were really well-written, riles me up abt the pros like actual bnha does so that was also captured. I would die to see this adapted somewhere. A spin off or whatever. It’s so good and so realistic that I can’t now separate its events from the real bnha’s. Honestly I came looking for bkdk fics bc I figured some character development on both sides could actually cook something surreal, thank god I stumbled upon this work. It set the bar too high I don’t think I’m capable of reading anything else for bkdk. I also bookmarked some scenes because they made me so giddy and overjoyed and I’d definitely feel the same way rereading them later on.

And jirou!!! I love how well written she was. It’s exactly how I’ve envisioned her. The writer precisely illustrated her character. Same goes for denki:-))

Some things I’d criticize personally: the slow burn was .. toooooo slow (bruh I was 70% through and //suffocating//), there’s some unnecessary repetition, katsukis introspection can get too redundant (also some of bkdk fights),,also part of me wished we could see katsuki being there for kirishima my man endured a lot (their texts made me laugh a lot though)

Anyway even tho this is a fic but it’s like 9 times the size of the books I read and I don’t usually read fics. To the writer, you delivered gold despite everything you’ve been going through.

[Taina Quirós · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voy hacer un análisis más exhaustivo de un ff, que de los libros de la U, pero no me leí más de 600,000 palabras como para no considerar esto algo de gran importancia.

Pueden haber spoilers abajo,

The way you used to do: Actualización, voy por el capítulo 14, el avance de la relación es bastante nulo y creo sinceramente que Bakugou en realidad no tiene sentimientos reales por Deku (Sí, a pesar de lo que ha "dicho") No puedo evitar pensar que el poco avance que he demostrado de sus sentimientos sea por el simple hecho de que están ligados a los de Izuku. No importa lo que se diga desde la perspectiva de Katsuki, solo pienso que influye mucho el sentir de Izuku. Katsuki a sido y es cruel, punto. (Sí no mantengo esta opinión es porque me retracté)

Ahora sí, si me retracto, Katsuki a partir del cap 14 empieza a explorar sus propios sentimientos, ya no se siente la intervención de los sentimientos de Izuku, sin embargo, siento que al final queda debiendo un poco de desarrollo, no se siente tan completo.
De igual forma rescato mucho el seguimiento del hilo de la historia y la narración, de los mejores fanfics que se pudieron haber escrito, se siente mucho la esencia de los personajes del canon.
El desarrollo de Bakugou aunque es lento es emocionante de leer, es ir entendiendo sus pensamientos, su perspectiva de las cosas y su interés en quienes lo rodean.

PD, Kirishima tiene la inteligencia emocional más grande que se pueda ver en cualquier ff, lo amo.

[maride · Rating 5 out of 5]

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad tense fast-paced

5.0 ⭐ (4.75)

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Don't You love a story where a person who is constipated about his feelings and they go through a journey of self discovery and yes! They are constipated about their feeling BUT they are a softie with his friends and his important person (lover)? Well i am a sucker for those stories and that's why I am a sucker for this story.

The development in my baby katsuki was amazing, even at the end he still have his doubs and was so reasonable... Through all the story I wanted to give a hug to all my babies and I think is not just i could no.


Anyways was amazing, was fantastic and I hope I can have that machine of men in black to forget everything and read all this story all over again...


The slow burn was KILLING MEEEEE

[moreauadorer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today is a month since I’ve read this book. I have no words that I can actually string together and that will make people understand how this ff made me feel. It was legendary. I can’t forget about it. I try to read other works, but nothing can really capture the sting.
To me, Bakugou Katsuki has always represented a deeply and flawed character, full of amazing things but so misunderstood. He has always been a real character, similar to all of us, human beings that exist in the world and that are perpetually trying to find a way to be understood. And at the start he was always so distant from other people, trying desperately to not be considered. And the way he put so much effort into distancing himself to the point of being lonely looked so much like me.
And I think that the real aim of books is to make you relate to someone. And the author was majestic, everything was perfect.
I wanna thank them for the effort put in this piece of art. I wanna thank them for making me understand that you cannot expect to obtain forgiveness, you cannot save people, you can only love them.