#tsukauchi approved it himself

[tekitothemagpie]

That's why he's one of my favorites.

[greenhappyseed]

MHA #406 review lite

Yeah, normally I do a “leak reactions” post but the timing for that didn’t work out, so instead I’m looking at the full chapter! (Reminder for newcomers: I don’t look at leaked images or fanscans until after the official chapter is out.)

Aoyama and Hagakure are adorable — love how he puts his jacket around her and is using his bare hands to direct his navel laser. Now update me on how Fatgum is doing!!!

We finally get our first view of Gashly and, I believe, our first Ryukyu sighting during this battle!

Tsukauchi is falling apart more and more each chapter. Horikoshi is delighting in torturing this man.

Nagant’s lying down on a rooftop. All Might and Edgeshot are lying down on rooftops. Is the Rooftop Trio on a rooftop?? Only time will tell.

Speaking of not looking so good, Izuku is huffing and has some really dark rings around his eyes. He dramatically says “it ends here, go beyond” and…we cut to Bakugo and AFO just as Izuku looks like his middle finger is about to Gearshift + Air Force flick Tomura into next year.

Love how Bakugo calls AFO a filler character as AFO calls him a pointless pebble. I especially like how the English translation uses the “pebble in my path” phrase that Bakugo previously used to describe Izuku. (I haven’t checked yet to see if the Spanish versions use the same lines.)

I know there’s a lot of discourse surrounding Bakugo’s power up, but it reads to me like it’s not a new “power” so to speak. Rather he’s using his honed instinct and insight into his own body (remember how he’s always coming up with new ultimate moves on his own?). But, instead of focusing on the outcome (e.g., victory, or being the strongest) he’s focusing on the process. Much like All Might recapturing his own smile from the joy of helping others, Katsuki is finding joy in the simple act of pushing himself and his quirk. That’s something AFO doesn’t understand. As much as he wants to live forever and mess around with quirks forever, he really only enjoys simple quirks that combine well with others. AFO doesn’t like the process of exploring his quirks or honing his skills with them.

Seeing Mitsuki and Masaru cry is giving me FEELINGS. Horikoshi didn’t have to include them but he did and oof.

AFO talks about “the hatred I harbor” for Second, whose name is revealed as Kudo. Kudo is, apparently, the one that AFO loathes “above all others” — even All Might, apparently?? — because it Kudo hadn’t reached out his hand to Yoichi, then OFA wouldn’t have been created. This is AFO’s side of the story we heard from Yoichi way back in Chapter 310: “The moment you [Kudo] reached out your hand to me was when One for All was truly born.” After Chapter 369 came out last year, I wrote some meta about why AFO might be crying while he force chokes Kudo, and ventured a guess that AFO harbored a deep hatred for Kudo, either because he created OFA or possibly because they knew each other. I don’t think there’s anything in 406 that changes those posts significantly, though it does seem that AFO’s hatred for Kudo lies primarily in the fact that he reached out his hand to Yoichi….though AFO still knew an awful lot about Gearshift and how it was “supposed” to work…

Ugh, I really, really want the OFA/AFO backstory now. Like if it’s 3-8 chapters of backstory I’m ok with that as a breather/precursor for Izuku vs Tomura (see bullet #5 above re Izuku about to exhaust his body from overuse of Gearshift).

Finally…I LOVE KATSUKI CALLING HIMSELF “KACCHAN���!!!! Izuku reclaimed “Deku” a long time ago with help from Ochako, and now Katsuki is embracing “Kacchan” with help from Izuku. Yes, Bakugo’s hero name is still Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, and that name was fully approved by All Might last chapter. In 406, however, Katsuki is referring to himself as a civilian and using the name “Kacchan” with no fear whatsoever of sounding diminutive in front of AFO (or the cameras) …and it’s absolutely beautiful and I love it. He’s not posturing one bit, he’s free to be fully himself, and even his parents can tell. He gleefully taunts AFO about being senile despite AFO looking like a child, which is just the perfect amount of teen boy prickishness that this fight needs.

[pocketramblr]

An AU where Izuku made All Migh sign papers that turned out to be adoption papers, please. (All Might is adopted as a dad, obviously.)

1- Izuku clues in after the SF that his mom isn't exactly happy with UA and gets nervous about her freaking out and taking him out, especially if she hears that RG won't heal his bones anymore. So, he has a plan.

He gets his mom to sign several papers disguised as report cards, internship permission slips, and costume approvals. Then, he gets All Might to give him another autograph.

2- he's tricked them both into signing adoption forms designating them both his legal guardians. Then, if his mom tries to pull him, All Might can argue for him to stay and at least stall for some time, or help pick a different school to compromise, because Izuku's going to be a hero, dang it

3- then Izuku has to figure out how to notify UA of the adoption without, you know, tipping All Might off about the adoption. The Stain fight and subsequent hospitalization give him an idea. He goes to Aizawa after the break and asks about changing his records because (mutter mutter mutter) he needs to make sure Toshinori Yagi can see him in case of any hospitalization at UA and (mutter mutter mutter.) Aizawa looks at the documents and realizes what they are. He points out there are easier ways to give All Might legal permission to see him if injured. Izuku mutters some more, and he says he'll pass it on to RG and make sure all the changes are made. Then Izuku asks him to not tell All Might- after all, izuku doesn't want him to think Izuku's planning on getting hurt again or anything, just in case-

Aizawa realizes that this is being done in secret. All Might doesn't know he's legally adopted Izuku, somehow. And he decides it's both hilarious and not his business, because technically he doesn't have any proof of crime and this isn't an act of villainy he's required to investigate. Besides, kid deserves something after figuring out how quirk. And he'll learn something from the ruse however it goes. He changes the forms for Midoriya, listing All Might as a legal guardian with the school, and doesn't tell anyone. (Nedzu knows though, of course)

4- All Might isn't allowed to fight Izuku in the final exams because that's a rule at UA about family fights (Juzo can't fight Ectoplasm for the same reason.) He is unaware of this and isn't sure why Nedzu immediately says he can't (he was looking forward to it, for the same reason he likes dressing up as a villain during training and misses sparring with Nana). Aizawa is like "oh right, that rule" and keeps going without explaining. All Might really wants to ask what rule, but doesn't want to be looked at sideways for not reading the teaching handbook and already knowing.

5- It gets discovered after the mall trip when Tsukauchi tells Sansa to reach out to Izuku's guardians, and Sansa is like "hey isn't this that friend of yours" and Tsukauchi stares at the file because Toshi didn't tell him about the adoption! And that kinda hurts! But he figures it probably wasn't a big deal and just for emergencies like this, a contingency, and acts professional. When Toshi arrives and asks Tsukauchi why the police told him his son was attacked by a villain and if he made up a lie to have an excuse to reach him without breaking some privacy law, Tsukauchi stares. He says the name and relation was already on Izuku's file- if Toshinori didn't put it there, who did?

Izuku tries to make himself look very small and innocent.

+1- Toshinori is like "ok what happened" and Izuku, very nervously, comes clean about what he did and why- after Tsukauchi leaves for deniability. Toshinori is stunned because he never really expected this, to be tricked and come so close to having his boy as a son, but never know. It's hilarious, and it hurts, and he has no clue what he's supposed to do about it. Izuku apologizes repeatedly, and Toshinori cuts him off. He's not taking OfA back, he just needs to figure this out - and that means figuring things out with his mother and them deciding something together. Izuku really would rather not, but Toshinori shrugs and says this is what he wanted with them Co-parenting. Izuku is sheepish after that, and Toshinori softens a bit, admitting that he has very few regrets, and Izuku is none of them. He does, however, regret never telling his own teacher that he saw her as a mother. Then, before izuku can react, Toshinori sees Inko arriving, and leaves to go talk to her

[aph-mable]

Part 3 here we go, typing this while sleepy so see how it goes.

____________________________________

The young boy Shoto and Hizashi had captured and brought to the hospital was still being influenced under a medical coma by the hospital. They mainly did this because of the severity of the child's injuries needed to be treated with top teir medical treatment, mainly because of the how dangerous the wounds were infected or placed together wrong.

By the end of everything the doctors had to patch up a vivisection injury and infection, noting that some organs looked mutated or weren't working properly. Next was the issue with the child's vocal cords, turns out the sickos that had mulated this poor boy had surgical placed a tracker/shock device in his voice box, after taking it out it was noted that there was a chance even with multiple professional healers the young ones voice will never fully come back.

Once everything was patched up, healed to the best of the doctors abilities, and report written down did the pro heroes and the police read everything that was noted down...

One police officer nearly threw up and broke down. Tsukauchi was shaking but kept a stone face.

Aizawa was going to hunt down the bastards who would do something like this to an innocent child. His husband agreed, hoping to help make them pay, but for now they had other things to focus on.

The kid had no name or records whatsoever, just a ghost in every system, so it was up to them to give him a name and a proper place in this world.

They decided to go with Sunoboi Mitsu on the reports, it was soon going to be time to let him wake up.

Some how Hizashi already marked him and Shoto down for fostering parents and had sent a message to Nezu who had approved the young one as another ward of the school.

It was going to take sometime to get things setup at home, as well as tell Eri about her new brother, until then he'll be luckily under hospital supervision.

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Danny's eyes slowly flutter open, his body felt numb, not as in feeling nothing, but numb as floating on static from laying too long in one position.

His mind was slowly coming back as his eyes darted around the blurry room, first thing that came back to him was the sound of beeping and breathing, next was feeling a soft and silky bedding underneath him while a heavy blanket laid on top, a werid plastic mask was on his face which was forcing him to breath... finally his eyes adjusted to the room, the floor white but the walls a forest green with shadow cut outs of rabbits and deers flocking scattered around on it.

By the time his mind fully woke up he realized he was in some kind of medical room, panic quickly set in because no matter how calm looking a room is, the fear is still there.

Danny bloted up right and started to try and rip off the breathing mask from his face, the heart monitor going crazy as he tried to rip off any and all wires in his viens. In the midst of his freak out a person in a white lab coat came rushing in, making the young halfa panic more, through the tears he couldn't see their face so he assumed he was back in the GIW labs. He could already feel how his body had been newly cut open and stitched back together, how peices felt moved or missing.

Danny trashed and cried out, trying to get out of the scientists grasps, scratching and begging for them to leave even through no words came out and ectoplasm leaked from his mouth.

Working himself up so much he was having a full blown panic attack, culling in on himself and whining sharply like a wounded animal.

This would have contuined on for hours, being stuck in his own mental torment, but someone pulled him into a soft hug, rubbing his back to sooth him. A unknown male voice was singing a lullaby to calm him back down and it was working, for some reason Danny felt protected now.

Peeking his eyes open Danny saw a man with long messy black hair, except for the scraf around his neck everything the man wore was black as the comforting night. As he focused on the lullaby he could hear someone humming along to help make a soft tune. Looking a little further up he saw another man, this one having sunshine yellow hair but wearing black too.

Danny stared at them for a moment longer before reambering who they were, they were the heros that gage him food and showed him funny cat vedios... maybe, maybe this place is safe, if heros were treating him so nicely then maybe he wasn't at risk of being experimented on.

Danny could only hope.

.

.

.

An unknown amount of days past as Danny was stuck in the hospital, he would leave but his body felt to weak and shaky, it was still healing, properly healing. It also helped that he got three meals a day and even snacks!

It was also partly because tge two heros, Sho and Hiza, visited his daily to make sure he was okay, making sure he wasn't alone and even had some outside time once.

There were still issues of course, anyone wearing a white coat that got close to Danny he would on instinct freak out and become violent or unresponsive, the doctors quickly learned to wear modified clothes if they got anywhere close to him.

Another thing was everyone was calling him Sunoboi Mitsu, he tried correcting them by spelling his name out... but once more they couldn't read what he wrote in ghost, it was getting frustrating again.

At least he was allowed paper and markers to mess with and pass the time. Danny was happy about that because he could at least try to draw out what he means right? There could be a chance one of these heros had seen his own rogues or friends.

Danny worked hard on drawing Wulf, Frostbite, Cujo, box ghost, and even Clockwork. Or tried to at least, tiny hands make it hard but he felt he did a pretty good job of drawing them. He even added their names to it.

Yet whenever he showed the pictures all the adults around him just said things like 'good job' , 'whoa, a little artist are we?' 'These characters are kind of cute'.

Maybe if he started to draw the more abstract ghosts they would get the hint he was trying to find his friends.

.

Danny was trying to draw out Ember, when a man in a brown coat knocked on the door, his name was Tsuka or something.

Lately he's been coming in with Hiza or Sho, mostly to hang out and playing wordless games with him. Danny liked it when they played with the plushies he had been given, mostly favoring a blue dog with green spots on it.

As Tsuka got on the ground to be at Danny's hight a sad look was on his face as he cleared his throat, pulling out two colored cards to hand to him before speaking. One green, one red.

"Hello Miku, I know your busy with your coloring but can you please awnser some questions? Green is yes, red is no alright?"

Danny looked at the cards before holding up the green one.

_________________________________

Hope you enjoyed this.

Dp x MHA prompt/story; ghostly child.

Okay so this idea been turning in my head for most of the day so I'm going to try to write this, anyone is free to add to it too.

Main plot is this; Danny is on the run from the GIW, being injured enough to cause him to de-age to around 6-7 years old. Same power strength and mind, but suffering from pretty bad injuries such as dissection, and having a lightning scar on his arm from the accident, others are from dealing with the other ghosts.

Danny does try to survive by himself, mainly useing the tricks and abilities he learned from his rouges, mostly doing the bare minimum to get by like steal food and clothes, sometimes kick bad guys to the curb but mostly keeps to himself.

He is in the MHA because during his escape he ended up creating a portal, while doing so he was begging for safety and to finally be accepted, the infinite realms awnsered by placing him a universe of heros, though it takes Danny some time to realize that.

Now with that established time to try and start the story, (though writing this while a bit tired)

___________________________________

.

Danny's bare feet echoed as he ran through the rain storm, it made his body shiver yet he kept pushing through as his medical gown was almost causing him to trip due to it being a size a bit to big.

Yet it didn't matter to the young boy as he ran through the dark streets and alleyways, the pitch blackness of the night helped cover his tracks as he pushed his body forward.

All Danny knew was he needed to run, get away from the men in snow white suits, or else his blood will be splattered again.

No, no, that can't happen again, they had already cut Danny's body over a thousand times that he worried if there was anything human left of him.

His hair was already permanently white, his eyes now a sickly green that shined like spot lights in the dark, he even lost the real need to breath which was the only reason he hasn't collapsed yet.

The sickly young boy only stopped running when he slammed into a trash can, causing him to fall over and cry out in pain as his hands and knees bleed out a toxic red and green.

Painful sobs escaped his mouth as he culled up behind a dumpster, useing what little shelter from the pouring rain.

Finally unable to go any further Danny passes out, coughing now and then as he falls into a restless sleep.

--------------------------------------------

The sounds of birds chipping and passing by cars woke up Danny as the sunrise peeked though the clouds.

Rubbing his eyes and sticking to the shadows Danny crawled from his hiding spot to see where he even was, everything felt so much bigger then they used to be and it was kind of scary.

When Danny peeked around the corner what he saw made his eyes widen.

People and humanoid creatures walked the streets, drove in cars, and chatted away like there wasn't a problem in the world, living their lives without a care around them.

How long was Danny locked up? How far has the world move on that both human amd supernaturals could live together without fear? Would he be accepted for once or rejected again and hunted?

Too many questions filled the young halfa's mind, he needed to get away from the crowds and find some where safe, after all the Guys In White was most likely still looking for him.

Backing away further into the shadows Danny took twisting turns and back paths just to try and stay hidden. Ducking behind whatever he could find like a scared beast whenever a loud or sudden noise happened.

After hours of wondering the streets a painful growl came from Danny's stomach, reminding him that he was still human enough to need food, real food, not just literal trash.

Grumbling Danny went looking for an out of way convince store or small food shop, knowing full well he will have to steal from it. He would possibly go to a bigger food chain that wouldn't care as much about a few missing items, but Danny was still scared of being seen by too many people.

Finally finding a shop that was out of the way and didn't seem to have even a customer inside it Danny took his chance.

Pulling at his core and useing what energy he had, turned himself invisible and intangible as he walked right through the door.

Moving quickly he grabbed what his tiny arms could hold, which was a water bottle and twi pre made sandwiches.

Looking at the check out counter he could see a very tired looking young lady with stripes and long fangs, looking close to a wearcat, bored out of her mind. Werid words and colorful posters sounded her like some kind of ads.

Seeing he wasn't noticed yet Danny bolted for the door.

His invisibility slipped just as he passed the store clerk, leaving her only a sight of a small white haired boy in a werid gown phasing though the doors. It took only a second to make her realize he was running with unpaid store items.

Danny could hear distant yelling as he booked it back to the darkness of the alleyways, catching a few other people's attention but escaping.

Once sure no one was chasing him, Danny wolfed down his sandwiches and downed the water. Ancients, he hadn't even eaten or even got a proper drink like that in ages, tye most he gotten was the bare minimum to keep him alive.

Now a bit more fulied and a clearer mind Danny was planning his next move, which was finding a place to well, live in. A place to hide away from and maybe make his new haunt if it stays a good spot.

As he dusted himself off a near by broken mirror caught his eye. Moving forward Danny could see himself for the first time in a long while... it was a bit distressing.

Standing in the reflection was a young boy no older then 7, with snow white hair that was long and tangled with ectoplasm abd blood, wearing an oversized medical gown that was torn at the bottom, showing his recent knee injuries and barely hiding his lightning scar and others. Lime green eyes stared back at him as tears were rolling down his crumb covered face.

Not wanting to look at the monster in the mirror any longer, Danny matched forward in hopes to find an abounded building close by so he wouldn't have to pass out on the streets again.

----------------------------------------------

An unknown amount of weeks passed by, during that time Danny had found an old shack not to far off from a small stream and bridge.

From there he stole the odd blanket or clothing that were left in the wind to dry, making a nest withing the rotting boards. Danny manged to get his hands on a few shirts and shorts that would fit his smaller body better, yet kept the bloodied hospital gown, mostly as a way to cover up a big hole in the wall.

During his raids to get resources Danny did get spotted many more times, especially when trying to snach food, but so far hasn't been chased further then a block or two.

Danny had quickly found out two major factors of this new place; firstly he couldn't read anything, everything looked like werid squiggles and lines, that might be due to him not being good at reading in the first place or the fact he only knew how to read/write ghost since that's what he did to pass the time. Secondly was there were heros and villains, and he wasn't sure who he was more scared of.

Heros were easy to spot since they wore costumes and announced themselves, villains were more subtle most of the time until they start causing trouble.

Danny had a few run in with the latter, mostly just jerks who think a kid would be an easy target. They were proven wrong quickly when Danny knocked them out by barely trying and dragging them to what he thought was a police station.

Heros were much more tricky, Danny mainly blots whenever he sees any, same with police in person, because what if they worked with the GIW? What would happen if they find out Danny was nothing but an abomination, a crime against life and death.

He wasn't going to risk it.

Yet unaware to Danny due to his adventures he had been spotted multiple times by civilian and a few heros too, one or two may have caught a picture of him back when he was still in his medical gown. And with him naturally running whenever a hero was spotted things were getting suspicious.

Heros and officers were alerted to the presents of a young boy who's case was looking scarily similar to another.

Which lead to Danny's main problem now...

He keeps getting chased by heroes!

Danny mostly avoids them by phasing thorough buildings but it was getting annoying. He started to use his intangiblity, floating, and ice abilities more, he didn't use his ecto blasts since he didn't want to cause that much harm. So far he's been stalked and chased by a werid guy made out of wood, a cowboy, and a rabbit lady just this week! That's not counting the police trying to corner him.

The only ones now that weren't giving him any trouble were normal people and the odd villan.

All Danny wanted to do is eat a good sandwich and maybe relax a bit.

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Going to stop here for tonight but might add more later, any suggestions on how to make this story better is appreciated too.

[izusun]

Goblin anon here absolutely screeching over feral quirkless Midoriya, it's everything I wanted

I would like to also introduce a brand (my brand) of feral to Midoriya: pyromaniac.

Imagine Midoriya getting through the entrance exam by saving people, but also by bringing makeshift Molotov cocktails and wrecking almost as much shop as Bakugou.

Imagine the battle trials where Bakugou tries to blow up the building because "that's the only way to keep this little shit down" and in response Midoriya dodges and then sets the building on fire.

Imagine the USJ incident, which goes about the same, but his first instinct is to set the Noumu on fire. Yes he does so. He also nearly sets the stadium on fire at the sports festival so much that they had to evacuate sections of the stadium.

Midoriya (say it with me now) sets Stain on fire. When Tsukauchi meets with the murder trio after the Hosu incident, he just sighs and is like "Midoriya, really?" And this is when we learn that Midoriya has a history of coming across random villains and setting them on fire. When Inko arrives to pick him up she's just like "You're grounded."

There's theories about what Midoriya's quirk, everything from increased intelligence to extremely shitty luck to the ability to make anything he touches explodes (due to his inane ability to make a bomb/lighter out of the most insane things). When it comes out that he's quirkless, it just makes everyone even more afraid, as Midoriya can make a bomb out of some LSD and a rubber duck quirkless-

Pyromaniac quirkless Midoriya.

- Goblin anon

GOBLIN ANON IT’S BEEN AGES IM SORRY IM JUST RESPONDING NOW (ive been so bad at responding asks my god i struggle but thank u for ur au dumps, i love loVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!)

IM IN LOVE WITH THIS AU

feral quirkless gremlin midoriya going through shit by setting things on fire is just the way to go im duwldjwksk

i read midoriya with molotov cocktails and i have not stopped simping for and thinking about this midoriya

genuinely swooning at this ver of him

midoriya probably has a collection of lighters and basically does those hand tricks to calm him down or to take his mind off of things

bakugou and midoriya being more familiar with each other in their middle school days compared to canon and bakugou gifting midoriya with personalized all might lighter god that’s adorable

ok but they’re talking about their favourite heroes and bakugou goes, “shocking that you don’t like endeavour.”

and midoriya just shrugs, twisting his hand and fingers to orchestrate the fire’s dance from his lighter, his viridian eyes brighter and says, “his fire feels wrong.” and they leave it at that

midoriya being inspired by bakugou’s explosions and attempting to copy those so bad that bakugou thought midoriya’s trying out for support classes

OK BUT FIGHT WITH SLUDGE VILLAIN?

he yanks out makeshift molotov cocktails from his bag, lights them up and throws them at the bastard. the sludge villain screams and retreats slightly because not only was he facing the fires but also the exploded glass shards. it gave enough time for bakugou to explode the villain and escape enough to allow him to breathe. in the end, all might still defeats the sludge but he misses bakugou and midoriya who escaped. no ofa for firey green bean.

bakugou helping midoriya create more explosions.

“but kacchba i want fire, not explosions!”

“same difference you pyro asshole!”

midoriya learns them anyways and enjoys it.

THE EXAM!!

i have two ways:

one: midoriya appealed to the staff that he needed support items and they allowed him and they watched in shock as this little boy explodes the arena worse than the explosion-quirked student. of course he passes and aizawa took him on as his student.

two: midoriya appealed to the staff that he needed his support items but the staff did NOT allow him because they’re considered weapons (as if quirks are not genetic weapons but i DIGRESS) and so when the exam starts, he stays at the very back of the other examinees. this was so that when he arrives at the scene, there are already spare parts for him to scavenge so that he can build makeshift explosions (foregoing whatever shit he learned from katsuki because all that’s on his mind right now are molotov cocktails)

so that’s what happens. he scavenges parts and hides inside one of the buildings so that he can focus more on making explosions and be less worried about being attacked. when he was fully geared, he steps out and begins to retaliate.

he works fast as to not waste his time and the makeshift explosions. because of this, others (ahem-aoyama-ahem) had no opportunity to steal his score.

same thing happens: uraraka gets caught and midoriya explodes the zero pointer. this time, however, the robot is utterly destroyed.

aizawa and majima saw midoriya’s performance, adored it, and began fighting for midoriya.

“majima, he’s here for the hero classes.”

“great. now give him to me.”

nezu pretends that he’s not planning on splitting midoriya’s schedule anyways.

BATTLE TRIAL OH MY GOD rip all might i bet you keeled over so bad, you were one second from turning to small might there and then.

all might: ok so one explodey kid to look out for. that’s not bad.

all might, one minute later: this green kid looks familiar…

all might, ten minutes later: what the fuck.

NO BECAUSE bakugou and midoriya being excited to explode things (well, more like midoriya’s excited and bakugou just wants to fight midoriya) and having a blast when fighting each other.

1a’s probably thinking “oh no” followed by “they’re hot” (literally too because yk the building’s on fire.)

MIDORIYA EXPLODING THE NOUMU??? king shit

midoriya saw this monster running to aizawa and he just points a more eloquent looking flame thrower (thank u mei for working with midoriya with that) at this beast and sets it on fire.

it effectively slowed the noumu and gave the others an opportunity to pull aizawa from the hit zone. it also granted all might more freedom when fighting the noumu because it was slowed enough that all might didn’t have to worry about exceeding his time limit.

the fire damaged some of its nerve processes that the scientist and afo had not accounted for. of course this review is returned to them and many of the noumus become fireproof because of this incident.

OK BUT DURING THE SPORTS FEST

midoriya crushing on todoroki because fire.

he was actually very interested in todoroki prior to sports fest but something about todoroki’s fight against sero sparked something more in midoriya. midoriya saw the anger from his ice, now he wants to see the same intensity from his fire.

his spiel of “that’s your power, todoroki” goes differently. todoroki still pulls him aside and trauma dumps on him but this time he goes, without missing a beat, “that fire is a waste on you.”

todoroki full body pauses because that’s not something he’s ever, well, considered to hear after trauma dumping.

“what?” he croaks, confused at the bubbling feeling. it’s a miasma of anger and hurt, but to a scale so unfamiliar.

midoriya shrugs. “fire is unique, more so as an elemental quirk. you think it doesn’t make half of you—well, i mean you’re right. it doesn’t. you make it. you control it. fire is often uncontrollable and yet here you are, having it as your power. it’s yours to control, so control it. use it.”

todoroki’s ears are ringing.

“you have it as your power.”

“so control it.”

and so he did.

midoriya watched todoki’s fire; watched the way the flames lick up up up and leaves no air bathed in heat. midoriya sees the rawness of anger and determination and thinks, “this is how fire should always look like.”

unconsciously he also thinks how todoroki’s fire is far more beautiful than endeavour’s.

midoriya loses and he’s not as sad about it. losing to something sentient (fire, not todoroki), for him, is a blessing.

todoroki advances along with bakugou.

bakugou who is jealous of todoroki because he saw how midoriya eyed todoroki’s fire and knew todoroki’s a competition in other more ways.

bakugou wins again, this time less angry because todoroki used his fire against him.

STAIN THINKING MIDORIYA’S JUST THIS WEIRD HERO STUDENT WHO HAS NO SPECIFIC QUIRK UNTIL HE FEELS FLAME KISS HIS SKIN AND SCREAMS BECAUSE DAMN IT GREEN EYED KID JUST SET HIM ON FIRE

todoroki full on pausing because he thought he’s the one who set stain on fire unconsciously only to follow the fire’s trail and sees it’s from one of midoriya’s many support items.

“shoot i didn’t mean to burn him that fast!”

“that’s your issue!?”

midoriya gives them a “duh?” look and todoroki feels himself warming up (HAH another fire pun) at midoriya’s ease.

flying noumi still comes and picks him up but midoriya also sets this thing on fire. the difference between a winged noumu and a normal noumu is that the wings are far more flammable and midoriya had quite a bit of fun at setting it on fire and hearing the crackling of flames on rubbery wings.

endeavour casts him a glance that speaks of approval and midoriya doesn’t know if he hates it or not.

tsukauchi arrives and sees not only stain, but the noumu and heaves up a very big sigh. “midoriya, really?”

GOBLIN! PYROMANIAC QUIRKLESS MIDORIYA IZUKU IS A FAVE IM SCREAMING

[boss-the-goofball]

i am now asking about the one where inko gets brainwashed by the mla (this sounds very familiar vjdfgngjv im p sure u talked about this in ziggurat)

Hee hee yesssss

1. When Izuku gets his acceptance letter from UA, that's when it's decided that he's ready to live in an apartment alone. All Might and the Bakugous still come to check on him, and they even made sure to put it under the name "Yagi Toshinori" so anyone from Deika wouldn't immediately know that it's Izuku living there. So far things are getting better for him and he's finally starting to move past that mentality.

2. Just before the first day of school, Nedzu calls Aizawa in. Nedzu has also been made aware of Izuku's situation, but he also knows that Aizawa is likely to be gunning to expel Izuku on the first day. So he tells Aizawa that Izuku just escaped a Cult and is working on undoing the mentality that got drilled into him, one where he's fragile and worthless. At first Aizawa protests, but Nedzu tells him that this is one expulsion he will not approve. Even if there is the re-enrollment thing, because expelling Izuku will probably cause a severe relapse and he might go back to the Cult he just escaped from. So Aizawa agrees to not do his expulsion thing this time, but he won't go easy on Izuku.

3. At first those in 1-A actually disliked/hated Izuku because once in a while he will parrot something he's learned while in Deika. Kirishima and Mina especially didn't like him, until they realized that he was talking about himself in most of those phrases. Eventually those in 1-A learn Izuku's full story and they agree to help him.

4. It's actually during Hosu that Inko gets captured and arrested. She had seen the Sports Festival footage and left Deika with a few of her friends to get Izuku back, where he would get a warm reception because he's developed such a powerful Meta Ability. She stays in prison for a good while. The only ones who visits her during that time are Detective Tsukauchi, a skeletal man named Yagi Toshinori, Principal Nedzu, and some scruffy hobo-looking man.

5. After Kamino and moving into the dorms, Izuku seems to have finally put his past behind him. He's working on developing his Me- his Quirk further. That's when he learns that his mother has been captured and he's given a choice. To go see her or have her stay out of his life for good.

[five-rivers]

Long Night in the Valley chapter 12

The scene shifted the moment Tempest woke up. They were outside, on a street in the middle of the city.  Storm clouds circled overhead.  

Tempest stood in front of them, hands in her pockets, a bland expression on her face.  

“So,” she drawled.  “You’re Nine’s friends.”

“Uh,” said Ochako, taken aback.  Right after Four had said she wouldn’t talk to them, this was disconcerting.   “Yes?”

“I’m his teacher,” said Aizawa, stepping forward.

“Yeah?  You think you’re doing a good job raising up little child soldiers?”

“Excuse me?” said Aizawa.  

“You heard me.”  She shifted her gaze to Ochako, then to Todoroki and Iida.  “I bet Souma told you I wouldn’t be talking to you.”

“He did say something along those lines, yes,” said Iida, even as Ochako worked very hard to elbow him.

“I can follow why he’d think that,” Tempest said. “I spent most of my life fighting against the government.  Lord knows I wouldn’t have approved of him choosing a ‘pro hero’ to follow after him.”  She took her hands out of her pockets to make air quotes.  She was wearing brass knuckles.  “Whatever a pro hero is supposed to be.  Government lackeys.  Cops and war criminals with a different name.  I’m shocked he pulled a halfway decent person from the muck.”

“We’re not war criminals!” protested Iida.  

“Oh, yeah?  I forgot, the Geneva convention was nixed, wasn’t it?  They had this big meeting and decided none of it applied to metahumans, and then, bam!  Everyone’s a metahuman, so it doesn’t apply at all, huh?  Neat, right?”

“What we’re doing now might not be what you’re used to,” said Ochako, “but it’s the way society works, now.”

“And we’re not killing people, like you did,” said Iida.  Ochako winced at his combative addition.  

“I did what I had to, to get people out of the torture camps,” said Tempest.  “People like my little sister.  You know what they did to her?  They thought her power was just controlled by her voice.  So, they cut out her vocal cords.”

“They don’t do that anymore,” said Todoroki.  

“You think a government like that is just going to stop doing things?  Without people making them?  Without being forced?”  Tempest laughed and looked up at the swirling sky.  “Maybe you do.  You’re just kids, after all.  But tell me this, do you think they didn’t know exactly what was happening to your family, Todoroki Shouto?”

Aizawa cleared his throat.  “What’s your point, here?” he asked.  “What do you want from us?”

Tempest looked back at Aizawa.  The coldness in her brown eyes made Ochako shiver.  “We could have kept you out,” she said. “That Suzuki idiot, too.  Do you know why we didn’t?”

“Enlighten us,” said Aizawa.  

“Because the way we do it would cause irreparable brain damage.  We know, because we’ve done it before.  I thought it was worth it, but the others didn’t want to hurt ‘Nine’s friends.’”

“Are you implying that we aren’t Midoriya’s friends?” asked Todoroki, frowning.  

Tempest huffed and wind whipped down the road, making Ochako cover her face.  

“No.  To be honest, I’m not completely sold on Nine, either.  He wanted to part of the system so bad, and that’s not to mention—” she huffed again.  “At least he knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the equation.  You four, though… I’m stuck with Nine.  I don’t owe you anything and you’re causing all these problems.  What I want from you—”

Behind her, lightning snapped down from the sky.

“—is to prove to me you’re worth it.”

.

“Vlad, the police were able to find your car,” said Powerloader, holding his hand over the receiver of the staff room telephone.

“Oh, thank goodness,” said Vlad.  “I hate taking public transportation.”  He paused.  “I mean, uh, did they find Yagi?  Is he alright?”

“No, they didn’t find Yagi.”

“Great,” said Vlad.  “So, ask them when I can pick it up.  Why are you making that face?  Did Yagi total it?  I bet he did.  ‘Symbol of Peace,’ my—”

“No,” interrupted Powerloader.  “Yagi didn’t total it.  Or crash it.  It was parked in an alley near the Musutafu entertainment district.”

“Where Midoriya had that fight with Hawks,” said Vlad, putting his head in his hands.  “It got wrecked by one of them, didn’t it?”

“No,” said Powerloader.  “It was parked in an alley.  They found it on a security camera.  It isn’t there anymore.”

“They took it again?”

“The League of Villains took it.”

“You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

.

The bus felt empty with half the class missing. The remaining 1-A students (plus Shinso) were all huddled together at the front, mooching off of the teachers mobile hotspots.  

“Did my email go through yet, kero?” asked Tsuyu, leaning over her seat to look at Denki’s computer.  

“Not yet,” said Denki.  “I’ve got all the pictures you guys sent arranged, but I wish we had more video material.  Ashido was the one with the most…”  He sighed. “Ashido, gossip queen, when you wake up I will apologize for all my comments about your hobbies.”

“I have some videos of Midoriya.”

“Trust us, Mineta, no one want your videos,” said Yaoyorozu.

“Huh?  Why not?”

“Tell us this.  How many of your videos are actually of Midoriya and don’t just have him incidentally in the background while you try to film girls.”

“None of them,” said Mineta, obviously not seeing why this was wrong.  “Why would I film Midoriya?”

“Mic,” said Midnight, “please remind me to sign up the walking lawsuit for some sensitivity classes.  How did Eraser miss this?”

“Unfortunately, Shouta is about as sexual as the average rock, so…”

“Remind me to sign him up for some training, too, then.”

“Will do.”

“Walking lawsuit?” asked Mineta.  

Everyone else sighed.  Then Denki’s laptop pinged.

“Huh.  I just got an email from Principal Nezu.”

The adults, including Green Light, the bus driver, blanched.  Adults were bothered by the weirdest things.  In the end, Nezu was just a guy with a quirk, right?  A hero, even!  Principal Nezu, the Education Hero!

Okay, he’d scared Denki (Mr. Terrible Grades) a lot in elementary and middle school, but really.  

(Okay, the crane thing at the Final Exam had been high-key terrifying, but he was trying to get past that.)

“Huh,” repeated Denki, having read the email. “That’s interesting.”

“What is it, my electric friend?” asked Aoyama, drapping himself sideways across his seat.

“Aoyama-san,” said Midnight, “don’t put your feet on the windows.”

“Principal Nezu sent me a link to an ‘All Might adopt a kid’ fanfiction, and it’s by—”

“Midoriya writes fanfiction?” asked Shouji, evidently surprised into using his real mouth to speak.  

“That’s cute, kero,” said Tsuyu.  “It must have been before he met the real All Might, though.”

“No,” said Denki, “it was last updated just a couple of weeks ago, and, well… Midoriya didn’t write it.”

“So, who did?” asked Yaoyorozu.  

“Not Nezu, right?” asked Jiro, winding her earphone jack around her finger.  

“There’s no way, right, Kaminari-san?” asked Present Mic, nervously.  

“Uh, no, no, it’s, uh, it’s All Might. According to Nezu.”

A beat of silence.

“What?”

Denki inserted his pinky into his right ear, trying to clear it.  Man, if the Bakusquad had been here rather than the quiet half of the class…

“Yeah, it says here that this serves All Might right for working on this during school hours?”

More silence.  

“Green Light, the road!”  

“Oops, sorry!”

“Hey, guys, are we sure that All Might didn’t, you know, kidnap Midoriya rather than the other way around?  Guys?”

.

Gran Torino, also known as Torino Sorahiko, was an active hero.  That meant late nights and late mornings.  He was also an old man.  A very old man.  Late mornings often turned into noons and afternoons.  

Sometimes, during those noons and afternoons, he liked to ignore technology and the outside world for a good long while.  Maybe read the paper a little bit.  Or one of those terrible romance novels Nana had left him in her will.  

Still, he was a hero, one wrapped up in something best described as a two-hundred-year-long shadow war, so eventually he did turn on the news.  

Only to see Toshinori’s boy fighting Hawks on live television.  

Not to mention Toshinori hanging out in the background with a shaved head.  

And the ticker said UA student Midoriya Izuku kidnaps Symbol of Peace.

(Which was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, and under other circumstances, he would have been rolling on the floor laughing.)

Gran Torino was an old man, but, luckily, he only felt like he was simultaneously having a heart attack and a stroke.  His body was more than functional enough to place a not-at-all panicked phone call to one Tsukauchi Naomasa.  

.

Tsukauchi Naomasa was incredibly busy.  That busy-ness was divided mostly evenly between desperately trying to find his best friend (who had evidently decided to make a hopefully brief foray into kidnapping teenagers) and trying to figure out what the commission was taking, because it had to be illegal.  Oh, and putting together a complaint that the commission was infringing on police prerogatives.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how much traction that last would get, since pro heroes had been steadily gaining more and more responsibilities even as the police were losing both them and the power that came with them.  Not to mention Midoriya’s stunt with Hawks… Which… Naomasa just wanted to know why?  What had the point of that been?  On either side?

(Sometimes he wished he were friends with normal people.  Like… he didn’t know… an accountant, maybe?)

(Not that he would give Toshinori up for the world. Just, some normalcy would be nice, too.)

He took a deep breath, remembered what he always told Toshinori about stress, and took a mouthful of room-temperature coffee.

In that thirty-second period, two more problems presented themselves to him.  

One, his cell phone began to ring, displaying the contact information for Gran Torino.  

Two, his email softly pinged, and a message from Principal Nezu asking for any images or videos Toshinori might have sent him slid into his inbox.  

Briefly, Naomasa considered ignoring both of them, but that wasn’t a realistic option and was irresponsible besides.  Contrary to his character.  

He picked the lesser of two evils and answered Gran Torino’s call.

.

Garaki was going to have a mental breakdown.  This was fitting because his car had broken down.  Midoriya Inko was asking him if he thought that his ‘friend’ might come pick them up, if it was safe.  If his ‘friend’ had a car.  

This last had almost sent him into hysterics. Gigantomachia in a car oh-ho!

Except it wasn’t funny at all, as this was almost certainly going to result in his death at the hands of All for One.  No matter that he considered the man his very dearest of friends, he was under no illusions about what All for One would do to him over this inexcusable error.

Perhaps he should just cut his losses and get one of the remote-activated noumu to come for them.  

Then, inexorably and inevitably, things managed to get even worse.

.

“Stop the car!” shouted Tomura.  

“But you said not to—”

“I know what I said!  Stop the car!”

Tomura twisted to see out the rear passenger window. Everyone else turned to follow his gaze, effectively blocking his view.  

“Get out of my way!” demanded Tomura.

There was some awkward, half-hearted shuffling.

“Does that look like anyone to you?” Tomura hissed.

“Yeah!  Like the doctor!” said Toga.  

“I’ve never seen him standing up, though,” said Spinner, dubiously.  “It seems out of character.”

“I didn’t know he owned a car,” mused Compress, rubbing the bottom edge of his mask.  

“Not him!” snapped Tomura.  “The woman!”  He pointed angrily at the rapidly approaching woman with green hair, narrowly avoiding dusting Mr. Compress’s top hat.  

“Eh?  What about her?” asked Spinner.  

“Doesn’t she look familiar to you?”

“To be honest, everyone without mutation quirks looks kind of the same to me.”

“Someone without face blindness.”

“Oh!  She looks like Izu-kun!  Do you think that’s his mom?”

The woman knocked on the window of the car.  Twice, unhelpfully rolled it down.  

“Thank you so much for stopping, we—Oh!”  She took a step back.

She apparently recognized them.  Joy.  He was going to unpack his feelings about this woman later.

“Hey, doc,” rasped Tomura, annoyed.  “What the hell have you been doing?”

“Ahem,” said Garaki, finally stepping out from behind the car.  “I didn’t expect to see you here, Shigaraki Tomura.”

“Because you blew us off and stranded us in the middle of Musutafu?”

“No,” said Garaki, in a way that absolutely meant ‘yes.’  “I knew you were resourceful enough to safely make it out of the city.”

“Oh, yeah?  Really?  You—”

Compress chose that moment to slam his face into the back of Tomura’s head.  Tomura steadied himself automatically on one of the car’s uprights, which cracked dangerously under his hand.  He pulled back as if burned.  

When he looked up, the gremlin’s mother was halfway to the tree line with – What was that in her hand?

He looked back over his shoulder.  

That was Twice’s goddamn mask.  

Compress, for some reason, was also missing his stupid mask (and covering his face like the dramatic weirdo he was), and Toga basically had hearts in her eyes.  Spinner was being Spinner, and therefore ninety percent useless.  He was lucky he was fun to play games with.

How to make her stop?

“Hey!” he shouted.  “We have your son!”

This was a lie, as far as he knew (unless Dabi had snatched him on his way back; it wasn’t impossible), but, he was a villain.

The green-haired woman stopped and turned back, allowing Tomura a full view of her expression.  

He decided that he regretted everything.

.

“Okay,” said Izuku, multitasking by letting Two pick the lock on the League’s safe, “considering Gigantomachia’s ability to track by smell and the questionable running water, we can’t just sneak out.  He’ll find us.  So… I think our best play is getting him to attack Shigaraki, and then when they’re both distracted, we run for it.”

Toshinori nodded and sighed.  “If only we had a giant jug of perfume.  We could throw it at his face and disrupt his ability to smell us.”

“I mean, I found a whole bunch of garbage a way back.  That isn’t perfume, but it does stink.”

“No, no, your plan is superior.  We’d draw too much suspicion if we attacked him like that. Perfume could be written off.”

“Yeah, I can see that.  Because perfume is a ‘nice’ thing.”

“Indeed.”

“It isn’t actually very nice to have it all over you, though,” said Izuku.  

“No,” agreed Toshinori.  “It isn’t.”

The safe popped open.

“I won’t ask if you don’t.”

“Deal.”

“But, anyway, assuming we do get away, what then? Where do we go?  And—Wow.  The League of Villains is broke.  I almost feel bad.”

“I was going to say Deika, but that’s too far, now, and we don’t know if Gigantomachia will come after us,” said Toshinori.  “Drawing him to a place full of civilians would be irresponsible.”

“Yeah,” said Izuku.  He frowned, pulling his head from the safe, and glanced out the window. “What about the Wild Wild Pussycats?”

“What about them?” asked Toshinori.  

“They’re near here, aren’t they?  And they’ve got that whole complex, so, I mean…  I don’t know how they feel about us right now, but it wouldn’t be a terrible place to hide.  Would it?”

“I’d hate to bring all of this down on them as well,” said Toshinori.  “But… That being said, I don’t believe they’re actually there.  They were taking some time off because of what happened to Ragdoll.”

“That makes sense,” said Izuku.  “Should we take the risk?”

“I’m unsure if we have a choice, my boy.  We could try roughing it, but that puts us in a very vulnerable position.”

“And we can’t stay here, with the League.”

“No, we can’t.”

“Okay.”  Izuku sighed and started to thumb through the League’s collection of fake IDs, looking for something he could use.  “Wild Wild Pussycats it is.  We’ve got to convince Machia to attack Shigaraki, and… then we sneak out the back while they’re fighting.”  He shook his head.  “It sounds really unheroic when I put it that way.”

“Under these circumstances, I think heroic is the set of actions where no one dies.”

His mentor was right.  Izuku still felt weird about this, though.  (The pettiness was completely different.)

Not to mention…

He put the last of the fake IDs away and massaged his temples.  “They’re doing something weird in there,” he said.  “I’m going to check on them.  I might be out of it.”

“Don’t worry,” said Toshinori, patting Izuku on the shoulder.  “I’ll keep an eye on things out here.”

(Perhaps all of this could have gone unsaid, what with their connection, but saying things out loud made them easier to organize.)

.

“Hey!” shouted Izuku over the roaring wind. “Stop that!”

“Are you going to fight me, Nine?  All by yourself?”

“No,” said Izuku, somehow contriving to look down his nose at her despite the height difference and the fact that Tempest was floating several meters in the air.  “I won’t have to.  Because I have a secret weapon.”

Ochako could almost see Tempest roll her eyes.

“And,” shouted Izuku, “do you seriously think I just wanted to be part of the system?  Are you serious?  I wanted to help people.  People the system failed.  It isn’t like they’re responsible for the system either!”  He waved his hand to indicate Ochako, Iida, Todoroki, and Aizawa.

“I’d argue about your hobo teacher.  Is this your secret weapon?”

“No, this is, Great-Aunt Miranda.”

Tempest opened her mouth, then closed it again. The wind began to die down.  “I’m – I don’t know what the point of that was—"

“Neither do I!  What’s the point of this?”

“The point is determining whether or not you have people you can rely on, or a bunch of backstabbers who’ll hand you over to a government lab as soon as it’s convenient!”  She stabbed a finger at Ochako.  “She’s just in ‘heroics’ for the money!”  She pointed at Iida.  “He’s only here because it’s traditional for his family.”   She gestured at Todoroki with her other hand.  “He’s doing it mostly out of spite.  And who knows what your hobo teacher is doing this for!”

“There’s nothing wrong with any of that!” protested Ochako.  “You must have your own motivations, too!”

“She does!” shouted Izuku.  “Considering what they are, you have no room to be criticizing Iida!  Besides, you don’t even like me!”

“This isn’t about liking you or disliking!  You’re the—” Tempest visibly cut herself off, then took a deep breath.  She set herself down on the street.  “Knowing what we do now about certain things, a fourteen-year-old would not have been my first choice.”

“Excuse me!  We’re all sixteen!” said Iida.  

“You’re sixteen now, it’s – The fact of the matter is that you’re children.  Naïve children.”

“Oh my gosh, you were younger than I was when you—”

“I was kidnapped and tortured—”

“I know, but why are you taking it out on—”

���By the government that you are trying to lick the boot of—”

“Did you see what they did to Suzuki?”

Ochako felt like she was spectating a very passionate tennis match.  

“If it means anything,” said Aizawa, dragging himself out of the pile of rubble he’d been thrown into by the wind, “I’m just trying to keep my kids alive as long as possible.”

“Then expel them!  Stop them from becoming literal child soldiers!”

“I do,” said Aizawa.

“He does,” confirmed Ochako, who was well acquainted with Aizawa’s reputation.  

“He really does,” seconded Todoroki.  

“I used to see Tensei’s group chat, and every time he expelled someone…”  Iida shivered.  

“Huh,” said Todoroki.  “Is that why you’re so… insistent about rules?”

“Of course not!  Rules are important regardless of why so many students were expelled during the first month of school!”

“So, why didn’t you expel these ones?”

“If you honestly believe the problem child wouldn’t have flung himself at the first villain he saw after that and dove straight into vigilantism, you don’t know him very well.”  He sighed, standing, and brushed dust and pebbles out of his tracksuit. “That goes for these three as well. They’re insane and it’s not my fault.”

“Isn’t saving others what heroes do?” asked Izuku, walking closer to Tempest.  Ochako wanted to run out and grab him, but this whole ordeal had just shown how useless that would be.  “No matter what?”

“Not no matter what.  This is why I…”  She shook her head, sighing.  “Not no matter what.”  She leaned forward, her hands on her hips.  “Don’t die. You do realize what will happen if you die, right?  I don’t have to spell it out for you?”

“N-no,” said Izuku.  

“Besides which, I’m not a hero.”

“You saved people,” protested Izuku.  

“And, as your friends pointed out, I’ve killed, too.”

“I know,” said Izuku.  “But you aren’t a bad person.”

“Lots of people kill during wars,” said Ochako, going to stand by Izuku, “and that’s what you were fighting in, wasn’t it?  I mean, I don’t know a lot about that time, but…”

“You wouldn’t.  It’s been over a hundred years.”

Izuku nodded.  “This fight isn’t doing anything, though.  None of us want them here if the vault opens.”

“The what?” asked Iida.  “The vault.”

“Hopefully,” said Izuku, “you won’t have to worry about it.”

“The fight did do something, though,” said Tempest.

“What?” asked Izuku.  

“For one,” said Tempest, “it made you think. For the other…”  Her eyes flicked over Ochako and the others.  “Everyone you fight will have their own reasons. Remember that.”

.

As they walked down the street, storms still brewing overhead, Ochako kept catching glimpses of children in the alleyways and cross streets.  

“Who are they?” she asked, unable to help herself.

“My sister and I,” answered Tempest, brusquely. Ochako, watching the back of the woman’s head, saw her twitch slightly towards one of the alleys.  “About the time we were taken.”

“Taken by who?” asked Todoroki.  

Tempest laughed.  The sound was entirely humorless.  “That government you’re so eager to serve.  You’ve noticed, I hope, that my sister and I aren’t completely Japanese?”

“Yes?” said Todoroki.  “I’m not blind, after all.”

“Todoroki,” said Aizawa in a warning tone.

“Good for you.  Our mother was Japanese.  Dad was American.  We went back and forth to see the family.  Problem was, everyone on Mom’s side quirks.  We didn’t even realize it.  The government tracked the weather disturbances to our movements and raided our family reunion.  Never saw my parents again.  Never saw anyone, for that matter, except my sister and my aunt – Dad’s side – who tried to smuggle us out and got shot for it.  We spent four years in that hell before Ryuji rescued us.”

“You’re more open about this than I would have expected,” said Aizawa.

Tempest sneered.  “Why wouldn’t I be?  I’m a terrorist, and people only become terrorists if they want to make a statement. Which I did.  Trust me when I say this, Nine, if the hero commission took you into ‘custody,’” she spat the word like it was dirty, “you’d be in the same boat. What do you children think they do to all those high-profile criminals in Tartarus?  The ones that are held indefinitely in a private prison without even a show trial?”

“I know, Three,” said Izuku, far more calmly that Ochako would have been able to.  “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to be a hero.  It’s easier to change systems from the inside.”

“Not this system.”

“No,” said Izuku, “but then I had no idea this part of the system even existed.  They do a lot to hide it, after all.”

“Hm,” grunted Tempest, skeptically.

The buildings began to thin out, interspersed with wilderness.  The road rapidly graded narrowed into a one-lane road, then gravel.  

“Is this normal?” asked Ochako.  

“We have more control over our environments than the other ones.  You’ve noticed that only Eight and Nine had multiple versions of themselves running around and being confusing.”

“I didn’t do that on purpose,” said Izuku.  

“Exactly.  Any of us could send an army of ourselves against you.  Only those two don’t have a choice about it.  Amateurs.”

“Shouldn’t they have had the same amount of time as—” started Ochako.  She broke off as a series of concrete walls topped with barbed wire rose up in front of them, scraping at the surrounding trees, shedding clumps of dirt.  

The trees fell away, leaving a clear, baren space between the walls and the trees.  Slightly beyond the structure moonlight glinted off the surface of a lake.  

“Well.  Welcome to Jinoshi Lake Camp, kids.”  Tempest turned, putting her hands on her hips.  “This is where I met Ryuji.  And…” She glanced up at the walls.  “This is as far as I go.”

“You aren’t going to show us where to find this ‘Ryuji?’” asked Aizawa.  

“I promised myself I’d never go back there.” She jerked her head over her shoulder. “I’m not revisiting it for you.” She started walking away.  “Have fun.”

[pitviperofdoom]

A story where Izuku and Todoroki are childhood friends.

Funnily enough, I actually did have one of these! It was a Pushing Daisies AU.

Basically, Izuku was born with the Piemaker’s power as a quirk, and through a series of unfortunate events he winds up orphaned and taken in by Tsukauchi, after inserting himself into a murder investigation and solving it by waking up the victim just long enough to ask them who did it.

At some point during his childhood, Tsukauchi had to meet with Endeavor about something, and brought Izuku along since he and Endeavor’s kid were the same age. Endeavor, miraculously, approved of this friendship; he sees Tsukauchi’s adopted son and assumes Tsukauchi is raising him as some sort of successor because why else would you care about the well-being of a child, and he figures that it’d be good for Shouto’s future career to start fostering good relationships with the police as early as possible.

Joke’s on him!

[lobster-mobster-aq]

I little thing I wrote on my thoughts on who I think the UA traitor is in My Hero Academia. 

The war arch in My Hero Academia is feeling like it’s coming to a close, and we still seem no nearer to finding out who the UA traitor is. It’s still just something we’re…reminded about every now and again, with no real progress being made on who it is.

People have their theories. Denki, Nezu, and Monoma seem to be the most popular candidates. Monoma because he’s an asshole, Nezu because that would actually be interesting for the plot and make sense, and Denki because…he has electricity powers so he could have been the one jamming communications during the U.S.J. arc.

The whole traitor thing has kind of gotten to the point that there aren’t a whole lot of people it could be without if feeling like the name was selected out of a hat. There aren’t any clues, this side plot isn’t developed, we’re just reminded about it here and there and that’s it. No fingers are being pointed. None of the characters seem to be taking that active of a part to find out who the traitor is. There’s a traitor, we know that. They’ve spied on the students but other than that nothing has been done to figure out who the traitor is.

If it ends up being a major character, it’s hard to imagine the motive will seem natural. If it’s a side character, it’s going to feel like a letdown. The fact that two of the most popular are Denki and Monoma affirm that. Denki and Monoma, two characters where it hardly makes sense. That is how few clues have been offered to us, the readers, that two characters who would make lack luster traitors, are the most popularly theorized to be the traitor.

Out of these three, the only one I kind of like is Nezu. Denki’s is based on one piece of evidence. That’s not much to go on. It would be boring if Monoma was the traitor. Oh, this side character we barely see that hates class 1-a is the traitor. Oh no.

Nezu, on the other hand, has a cannon reason to be resentful of heroes and the current powers at be. Honestly, he has a villain’s back story. It makes sense, and he would be in a good position to help the baddies. The show has also shown that he excels at manipulation and that he, um, kind of enjoys messing with people. It actually makes sense he would be the traitor.

Though, I still don’t love it. One of the reasons is because it almost seems a little…too obvious. Also, the couple of inner monologues where Nezu is like, ‘I must find the traitor to protect my students’ seem kind of weird if he’s the traitor. If he was saying these things out loud that would be fine, but he’s not, he’s weird if he’s the traitor. Why would he have inner thoughts about finding the traitor if he was the traitor? It’s possible Horikoshi just wasn’t thinking about it, which would be a bit sloppy, but all authors do things like that.

So at the moment it looks like right now I’m leaning towards Nezu. He’s is the only character who has motive, and it would be interesting if it turned out to be him. His betrayal would affect and impact the characters in a real way. Denki has no motive and who the fuck would care if it was Monoma?

Or, is Nezu the only one?

Most people when they try to figure out who the traitor is, go at it with a sleuth’s attitude. Who has motive and ability? But I would like to offer up a different approach.

Instead of looking for clues in the story, I’m going to think of this as an author.

Traitors can be a fun thing to throw into a piece of media. They can also be really hard. Make the traitor a character people really liked and had grown attached to, and there’s a chance a lot of people will be angry. Seriously, imagine how many people will be pissed if the traitor ends up being Denki. But, if you make the traitor a side character, you run the risk of the betrayal feeling boring. Sure, that character is a traitor, but it doesn’t feel like a betrayal to the reader/viewer. The traitor has to have some importance to the main characters at the very least. Even if the reader doesn’t know them well, if the main characters do the betrayal will affect the narrative of the story.

The best betrayals affect the way we thought about the story as a whole. Much like good plot twist needs to be more than something happening that we couldn’t predict. It needs to recontextualize how we view the story and the characters. The reason why Ray’s betrayal in The Promised Neverland slaps so much is because it makes us totally revise how we view that character and all his actions. It was a surprise betrayal, yet his motives make sense with who he is once we’ve learned what his motives were. And his betrayal affects how the other main characters act from then on out. If the traitor had been like Anna or something it wouldn’t have been nearly as good.

That’s why Monoma would be boring even though he has…not motive exactly but what he has is more than most characters. If the main characters were from class 1-b his betrayal would be interesting, but will any of the main characters really be that emotionally impacted if it’s Monoma? The answer is no.

And to be honest, at this point it will be hard to have it be someone in the main cast without their actions seeming contradictory. Ray’s betrayal happened pretty early on in the show/manga. If the manga had waited till like, half-way to reveal he was a traitor, it would have been hard to justify some of the things he did over the course of the story. Oh, he was just biding his time. No, it would have just felt like it was time for the traitor to be revealed. That’s why, as much as I like Assassination Classroom, Kaede’s betrayal kind of falls flat. It feels like it comes out of nowhere. She had no build up. She was just being there until it was suddenly time for her to reveal she was the traitor because it was time for that plot to happen. Yes, it recontextualized her character and what she was doing, but it didn’t feel relevant. Ray’s betrayal blew my mind because the story built up to it, Kaede’s betrayal made me go, “oh, so that’s what this character is doing now.”

And that’s why Denki’s betrayal would be lack luster. Even if they gave him a motive, I just kind of feel like it wouldn’t be a natural build up to the revelation. It would feel like it was simply time to move that part of the plot forward.

So are they any side characters where their betrayal would affect the main characters significantly enough? Are there any side characters where they would be in a position that would allow them to have access to the kind of information that he gave the bad guys? Are there any side characters who could have motives that would make sense or at the very least motives that wouldn’t seem to contradict what they’ve done in the past. A traitor that no one would have ever expected because we just can’t see their motives yet? A character whose betrayal would impact they trajectory of the story and the main characters yet hadn’t been involving themselves too much in the story line so it wouldn’t feel like the character was just hanging out until the plot was ready to deal with the traitor?

I do believe there is one such characters.

And his name is Naomasa Tsukauchi.

That’s right, All Might’s detective friend.

Before you say it, yes, as of right now he doesn’t have motive. But be fair, neither does anyone else really. Like, maybe Nezu has motive, (I don’t really count Monoma’s grudge against class 1-a, the manga has made it very clear that’s all it is,) but that’s it. And a bit of a monologue explaining Tsukauchi’s motive would feel less weird than the same thing for anyone else. Other than the fact that he’s a good guy and a bit of stickler for the rules, we don’t know too much about him.

Tsukauchi’s betrayal would devastate All Might. Midoriya may be the main character, but All Might is kind of the central theme of the show. All Might’s best friend being the traitor, much like Stain’s appearance, could radically influence the course of the story. Stain was in a handful of chapters, yet we’re still feeling the effects of his presence. Tsukauchi’s betrayal could be same way.

And oops, now the traitor is one of the few people who know the truth about the quirk All for One. That would already make him a more interesting character than nearly anyone else. What is he going to do with that information? Is he going to use it as a weapon? Tell someone he shouldn’t about it? Oh my this is getting interesting.

Also, if he were to suddenly be in the story more, it wouldn’t feel weird. He’s a detective, and All Might’s best friend. If an arc centered around the traitor were to suddenly pop up it wouldn’t feel weird at all if Tsukauchi was there. If they were needing to do some sleuthing, it would be more than natural. We could get to know him better in the context of figuring out who the traitor was, and it wouldn’t be like, “Okay, why are these two things happening at the same time?”. If Snipe was suddenly more involved in the story when the traitor thing kicked into high gear it would be a bit of a signal he probably has something to do with the traitor. Why involve Snipe all of a sudden? I mean, I guess it could just be a coincidence, but it seems kind of random. Tsukauchi being involved in any traitor sleuthing wouldn’t feel unnatural, and in the course of the story it would feel natural that he would be involved more.

But wouldn’t Tsukauchi being a traitor kind of contradict his rule following lover of justice stchick? Yes, one would think. But he’s leaked sensitive information to All Might in the past in the name of “doing the right thing” so obviously he’s willing to bend the rules for himself. And he doesn’t approve of vigilantism…but he admits he appreciates the Crawlers efforts (the Vigilantes spin off, in case you didn’t know.) We know he’s willing to bend the rules in the name of doing the right thing. Well, what if once we got to know him better we fully understood what he thought the right thing was? After all, he’s a detective, maybe he’s uncovered some things, things that the government and the police chief are keeping silent. What if he found out about Shirigaki’s back story, (the fact that a whole building was turned to dust must be in public record somewhere) but he’s told to keep quiet about it. The police and government kind of dropped the ball on that one, to be honest. We already know, in the context of My Hero Academia, the government will jump through hoops and cover up scandals in the name of keeping up appearances with the public. All in the name of moral of course. What I’m saying here is that it wouldn’t be that hard to come up with a believable reason he decided to help Shirigaki, as long as the story gives him a good reason for thinking helping Shirigaki would be true justice.

This leads into how you could go in so many directions with Tsukauchi’s betrayal. Does he realize now he made a mistake but is keeping quiet because he’s ashamed? Does he still fully believe he’s doing the right thing and still supports Shirigaki? Is he falling somewhere in between, believing that the currently power structure needs to be destroyed but doesn’t quite believe in the destroy-the-whole-world ideology? That third one has a lot of potential to be interesting, especially if his motive is because he found out about Shirigaki’s back story and he was told to keep quiet about it. Tsukauchi believes in justice, but right now those in power don’t, they care more about appearances. There’s just so many interesting ways Tsukauchi’s betrayal could go that I just don’t see for any of the other characters.

And this is what I mean by I’m approaching my theory as an author, not as a sleuth. I’m not trying to pick up on clues. I’m not picking apart the story trying to untangle a web that (the author) has created. I’m thinking about who would make the most interesting traitor. Whose betrayal could result in the most interesting consequences? Whose betrayal could fit in with the themes already being discussed and considered? Whose betrayal could make for interesting drama? Whose betrayal could be handled in a way that was timed well with a revelation that would feel relevant instead of random?

Whose betrayal would make for good storytelling?

The answer, is Naomasa Tsukauchi.

Read it here too!

[granddaughter-ogg-toshi-blog]

Random (mostly naughty) Toshi headcanons

What lies beneath is mostly not-for-kids content. Please take notice.

Nowadays, as his body is frail, he's often torn between the mighty need to rail you within an inch of your life - and his physical limitations. 

1. Toshi loves hugging people. Sure, it does look great on camera - and the greatest showman among heroes remains acutely aware of that fact. That said, he genuinely enjoys it. He’ll hug really anyone; that dazed civilian he’d just saved, the excited kids who lined up to him, asking for autographs, that grandma who wished him a good day and her dog. He’s known to impetuously hug his coworkers or police officers if they get too close. Tsukauchi doesn't really mind. Aizawa, on the other hand, has been taking excessive precautions after finding himself in the crushing embrace of the jolly giant just once.

The same applies to his love life. The hardest part of Toshi’s self-imposed solitude after becoming crippled by All For One was not the lack of sexual intimacy (although that ate at him rather hard), but the absence of cuddles.

2. He sings in the shower. Loudly and terrifyingly off-key, too, even though he has such a powerful, vibrant baritone. Imagine a tone-deaf Johnny Cash.

3. Speaking of sex: He really gets off on being heard and/or seen by other people while doing the do. The thought of the neighbours watchin’ doesn’t stop this man in his tracks one bit. If he wasn’t such a universally recognized celebrity, Toshinori Yagi would probably attend sex parties. That’s because the idea of fucking while having an audience is a burning match next to the pool of gasoline that is his soul.

4. When things get hot, he gets loud. Like, really, really loud. It’s mostly incoherent moans and wails with an occasional curse word or an expression of gratitude thrown into the mix. Likes you to be vocal, too.

5. He’s a generous lover, as much about giving approval as he’s into receiving it. The term “praise kink” might've as well been coined for this one. Toshi is one of those admirable people who make their lover grow ten centimetres taller by showering them with body worship. But he wants to hear how much you want him in return - and needs all the details. The All Might at the peak of his physical robustness basked in this adoration. He was unreservedly proud of his body after all. Toshi’s self-esteem took a vicious blow when his body did, and nowadays it takes more to make him feel truly desired. It’s so worth the effort.

6. He’s kinda-sorta into roleplaying. Cast yourself as the wicked villainess that needs to be corrected in her vile ways and him as the hero destined to do so... and the man will get a boner that’s registered on the Mohs scale.

7. He does have body hair...in certain places. It’s boyishly spare on his depowered form though; soft, flaxen in colour and as wavy as the hair on his head. Fun fact: the All Might form is way hairier. (I mean, he has eyebrows!) Why? Nobody really knows, and Toshi himself is none the wiser.

8. He’s usually the one to initiate kissing, although in a rather prim and proper way; by brushing his lips over his lover’s and awaiting their response. If you’ll react with tongue though, Toshi will grab this invitation and run with it. At the peak of passion his kisses get really sloppy.

9. He’s not big on biting or giving you hickeys. Absolutely adores getting covered with them though, even if it means he’ll have to button up to work in August.

10. His favourite cologne is Aqua di Gio. An appropriately dad-like scent, but sexy still.

11. Speaking of differences between the two Toshi forms: does his dick get significantly bigger in the All Might form? Well, yeah. Everything does. Although the civilian one is nothing to scoff at, ya know?

12. He does get tired faster when having sex in the civilian form. Like most men, Toshi used to be all about pure stamina (and crude enthusiasm) in his twenties. Unlike most men he never really had to say goodbye to this style of lovemaking until much, much later in his life. Nowadays, as his body is frail, he's often torn between the mighty need to rail you within an inch of your life - and his physical limitations. Tread lightly on his pride and allow him to remain on top as long as he doesn’t start to cough up blood, okay? You can always propose a switch to a less taxing position later.

12 a: That doesn’t mean that Toshi objects to a lady riding him; quite the opposite! He’s rather fond of The View.

13. Speaking of which: does coughing up blood means that you should stop fucking? Absolutely not. Toshi coughs up blood all day; at this point he just rolls with it. Just have a stack of tissues at the ready at all times (I mean, those are always handy in the bedroom) and you’ll get used to it too.

I’ll make sure to create another post in this vein if I’ll come up with more. And I’ll probably will.

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

on a server im part of weve been talking about a mic who was adopted by afo-

that when he was a kid hizashi was put through foster care, being bounced from house to house. hes considered too loud for many- a high maintenance child whom no one wants to invest the time in to teach properly

and that proves to be his undoing. the wrong people take an interest in him and sensei starts watching him. he has agents in the foster system to watch out for powerful or unique quirks. children are much easier to disappear than adults are after all

and he has one of his people adopt the little boy. he gets a muzzle to wear that prevents him from talking, and instead of just stealing his quirk afo takes the time to raise him and train him.

the boy never stops dreaming of being a hero, and when afo hears of it he doesnt get angry.

he sees it as an opportunity and enters hizashi into the ua entrance exam.

a mole from the beginning, someone who can build trust from the start

hizashi meanwhile despairs as he makes friends- nemuri and tensei and then later, shouta. they go through ua, they get their licenses and later they become teachers.

(hizashi thinks hes finally free when all might takes afo out. he thinks he can finally live a normal life

and when afo contacts him again he cant even voice his screams)

he knows about the usj incident and their plans to attack before shouta even leaves the building, and he’s so tense about it he’s ready to vibrate out of his skin.  he blames it on too much coffee

and when shouta winds up in the hospital?  hizashi stays by his side the entire time.  he hates that afo calls it good acting and approves of his actions to blend in, but shouta has been his best friend for the past fifteen years and if afo knew just how close they are he’d kill him.  hizashi is a selfish, selfish man who puts his best friend at jeopardy every single day of his life.

hizashi is constantly stressed when hes spying on ua for afo.  if hes caught by nezu then sensei is sure to take his quirk and kill him.  if he betrays afo then same thing.  he’s caught between two hyper intelligent men, and when he’s alone the stress gets to him.  it leads to breakdowns, but because his life depends on his ability to blend in he puts himself back together the next morning.  he styles his hair, dresses in his leathers and pastes on his smile.

some notes- hizashis eyes are red in this au, but he wears green contacts to make himself seem like less of a villain and to cover up the odd lines in his eyes.  his muzzle acts like a directional speaker, and shigaraki can choose when he can speak

(later, shouta watches through a one way mirror as hizashi - cuffed to the chair he sits in - tells his story. tsukauchi presides over the interview, watching the blonde with an unreadable expression. he does not indicate hizashi is lying.

hizashi stares at the table, slumped over in exhaustion thats both physical and emotional. he recounts how he was bounced from foster home to foster home, quickly relocated to the next as optimistic foster parents realized how much harm he could do.

how he met a woman with gentle hands and honeyed words and how he thought hed finally met his salvation. how hed met the exact opposite- she turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg. he breaks off to laugh bitterly and scrub at his red eyes with his free hand, smiling bitterly.

“i should have known better than to trust, even at six.” he tells them. shouta feels cold sweep over him.

hizashi tells them how hed thought he was finally free from Sensei when all might took him down.  yagi, who had joined shouta at some point during the interview, flinches.

“and then he contacted me and i knew that the only way id be free is if i were dead.”

“but you arent dead, are you?” tsukauchi interjects softly. hizashi hesitates.

“not yet”)

                                                             ::

Brb while I go sob at this, okay? I just- This is SO GOOD and I love it SO MUCH and THANK YOU for sharing it!!!

[greenhappyseed]

We need to talk about All Might.

After Chapter 309, everyone seems to be screaming DEATH FLAG (more than normal), and I wouldn’t ordinarily agree given the fakeouts we’ve seen before. However, AM isn’t given much to do yet (except look cute in his sunnies) and doesn’t seem to be in a good position to grow as a person. It makes me sad bc there is a lot of potential with AM, and it all seems pushed aside in favor of Endeavor’s narrative, which I don’t love. As a ::cough cough:: older BnHA fan in a workaholic profession, I want to see the larger hero society narrative use AM to ask if you can be a hero (and therefore of any value to society) when you’re old and/or have less strength/power/endurance than you used to have. What happens when you WERE an equal, and then you lose a step along the way (note there may be a parallel to Bakugo’s/Aizawa’s post-war condition on this theme)? Or, given the focus on teenagers and the role of the “new generation” in rebuilding society, let’s ask whether AM made the right choice in sticking with his teenage ideals through adulthood. Was he right to give up EVERYTHING for his dream, only to crash land into a nightmare? I mean, the dude destroyed himself for years and then watched his life’s work crumble in a matter of weeks. Can he pick himself up, powerless, and still find a new way to help? In BHNA, all of the top heroes have major flaws (a meta for another time!) and a chance at redemption, so I really want to see AM do the same thing.

AM starts the story as the singular, self-proclaimed Symbol of Peace, which was a mission he gave himself as a naive, idealistic middle school student(!!!) Through Nana Shimura, AM received the power to make his teenage ambition a reality and then ... kept at it for 40 years. Alone. Without critical reflection. In Vigilantes, we learn the cost of this relentless pursuit is that AM has no real friends and no social life. Even among other top heroes, he’s not an approachable peer, but the hired gun brought in to clean up the biggest, baddest disasters before he’s immediately called out to the next one. To the extent he socializes after a big win, it’s to talk to the media and sign autographs, not debrief or bond with fellow heroes. The guy has charisma and can do stage banter all day, but he has no idea how to have an actual functioning relationship with colleagues. At the beginning of BNHA, it’s been 20ish years since AM spoke to Torino, 10 years since he spoke to Endeavor, and 5 years since Nighteye. He does keep in touch with Tsukauchi, but he’s more like a “work husband” than a best friend.

When Deku meets him, AM is holding it together on the surface, but is really in mental distress. AM is the first hero in the story whose facade is ripped away (initially to us readers, then eventually to everyone in universe). Unable to do the hero work that defines him for more than 3 hours a day, he seems to spend the rest of his pre-UA time wandering around aimlessly. He’s lost his sense of purpose, has nobody to confide in (he may not “lie” but he definitely doesn’t tell anyone complete truths), and he is indifferent to his own survival. He is certain Nighteye’s prediction is coming true, and he’s looking for a successor because he HAS to before time runs out, not because he wants to. If he can pass on OFA then he can die, ideally in a blaze of glory. And, if not for Deku, he would have let the slime villain kill Bakugo and told himself he can’t save everyone. In Deku he sees his younger self’s ideals and decided his new purpose is to build the next Symbol of Peace, not just do a handoff. With a true successor secured, he can really go for one last big heroic act.

Except it doesn’t work out as planned. Deku — lonely and idealistic himself — desperately needs AM around for approval. And AM, with extra time on his hands, seems to enjoy being needed by his boy, like a parent with a toddler. As hard as they both aim to create the next AM, Deku is his own person (as all children are), which makes the process trickier than either one anticipated. At first AM tries imitating Torino and trains Deku through physical activity and battle, the same way Torino punched a grieving, teenage AM around. AM encourages Deku to sacrifice himself, just because AM also did it for 40 years. But these tactics just don’t work for Deku. AM gets (rightly) scolded by Recovery Girl. Then AM sends Deku to Torino, who teaches Deku Full Cowling and scolds AM for not telling Deku the truth about AFO — and for this one time, Torino is right. Slowly, fuller truths start coming out from AM, and in return Deku learns to protect himself and ask his mentor questions rather than merely imitate. Both begin to grow and change for the better.

After Kamino, Inko uses her leverage to convince AM to stop the blaze of glory nonsense. He wants to be her successor as parent to Deku, and she’s not going to allow it if AM is going to drive her son towards needless self-sacrifice. This seems to take root, and we later see AM openly defy Nighteye’s prediction because he wants to be with Deku. He starts jogging! We even see him confide in Aizawa he has decided to live. Even if he’s not always sure how to give his new life purpose, and he bristles at needing to be protected, he’s accepting his post-pro existence. Progress!

Finally, AM comes into his own as a teacher and member of the old guard with experience to share. He may be using “Teaching for Dummies” as a shortcut, but he’s recognizing his own failings and trying to improve. He tells Deku to quit imitating him, full stop, finally giving Deku permission to become his own hero with his own style. AM takes initiative to teach Deku Air Force, and really guides Deku through the use of the power until Deku becomes proficient. AM also gets actively involved in coaching other students (not as much as he should, but it’s something). AM will similarly counsel Endeavor later, saying Endeavor has to walk his own path and answer for himself why he has his power. AM is building new relationships, new skills, and forming an identity outside of punching things!

Of course, we still see signs AM is a work in progress. Staying up too late at night to do research on prior OFA users for Deku. Diving to protect a woman from a falling streetlight (saved only by a fast-acting Bakugo). At the same time, we see that Deku is coming into his own with his 1A friends. And Deku is no longer looking back to AM for approval (both literally when jumping away and figuratively as part of Deku’s decision-making processes). AM seems both proud and sad, as is natural when a parental figure watches their child become independent.

Fast forward to 309, and a powerless AM leaves all the growth behind to help Deku, Endeavor, Jeanist, and Hawks find the LOV. On the good side, AM isn’t keeping secrets anymore (arguably, telling Jeanist and Hawks about OFA should have involved a consultation with Deku, but okay). Moreover, AM isn’t useless in this fight; he can provide financing, emotional support, police connections, UA connections, and Oracle/guy-in-a-chair backup to the active heroes. But what will this change tell us about AM? Can he ever really get comfortable with this role or is he there just out of duty? Can he actually deliver some hard truths to Deku about AM’s own experience if/when Deku stretches himself too thin? Is this new role respected by the other heroes? If not, will he be tempted to return to battle to be “valuable”? To give his life for Deku so he can claim one last “win” by saving? Or give his life for Deku because he actually loves him and has something personal to fight for? All of these questions bear on where an older, powerless person — that is, an outcast — fits into society and how a lifelong loner can find their role within a group. (Boy, this sounds like a familiar BnHA theme!)

I feel like, if AM dies just to become a vestige, all of these deeper questions are unexplored and we’re just copying Star Wars plot points without any added meaning. I’m not satisfied AT ALL with AM living rent free in Deku’s head and robbing others of his wisdom/experience (which he was just starting to share!!!). Likewise, if AM dies as a plot device so Deku can stand as a hero on his own, or tap into his inner rage or whatever, well, that’s also copied from Star Wars — and it seems to counter what we’re starting to see with Deku calling his own shots and AM supporting. Unlike Torino and AM, who don’t talk for years, I want to see Deku be his own hero AND have his mentor in his life. I want BnHA to keep resisting the absent adult trope, because it’s entirely possible (and realistic!) for grownups to be their own people while having mentors and parental figures in their life. It’s an adjustment for a parental figure to watch their teen become an adult, but it doesn’t mean the parental figure just ghosts and ceases to matter as an influence.

Similarly, if AM turns to sacrifice, it will turn AM’s life story into a cautionary tale with no growth. How can a story about saving people who have done bad things have a good guy succumb to his worst instinct, with nobody to save him? How can AM’s life lesson be “make friends now and learn to give and take in a relationship, otherwise you’ll get too old and it’ll be too late and when you aren’t powerful you’ll have to take a hit to have value”? Even if his sacrifice ultimately allows Deku to win against AFO it feels hollow against the larger narrative. Unlike pre-war Bakugo, we already know AM will self-destruct for others. AM wanting to take on the world alone and die “heroically” is the PROBLEM that drives his pre-Kamino failures, not the solution. And if AM can’t escape this and become comfortable in society post-retirement, who can???

I’m worried we are going to see AM’s growth cut short while Endeavor, Hawks, and the LOV get a shot at redemption, which feels problematic. Of course life isn’t fair, and not everyone gets to have a second act, but it feels wrong for the BNHA narrative to punish someone who is trying (and who wants to help Deku save the villains). Maybe you can argue it’s AM’s fault that the hero society became corrupt, so it’s a cosmic balance for him to die watching it fall. Or maybe the other heroes will realize AM needs their help too (not just Deku) and keep him safe. (Maybe Endeavor will save him in a parallel to Bakugo and Deku.) Much is TBD, but chapters 306-309 make me worry.

[valleyrunearchives]

Binary

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Pairings: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Chapter 6/?

“Binary code is a series of zeroes and ones strung together in a specific sequence. On paper, it’s useless. Annoying. Worthless. But put that same string of zeroes and ones into a computer, and suddenly it’s a language far more complex than the human mind can comprehend. I was the same way. The world decided I wasn’t good enough in the physical plane, so I went digital. That’s why I chose the name Binary. And you should be very,” He smirks at the underground hero on the screen, “Very afraid of the reach I have here. Aizawa Shouta.”

Or

Midoriya Izuku is tired of the world treating him like nothing. So he decides to becoming a hacker to show the world that nothing can be anything.

Featuring Midoriya Izuku as the Genius Hacker Aizawa Shouta as the problem child wrangler Yamada Hizashi as the moral support to his husband Tsukauchi Naomasa as the man who needs a long vacation PLEASE Shinsou Hitoshi as the intentionally adopted one Toga Himiko as the unintentionally adopted one Dabi as the really didn’t want to be adopted one but he guesses this is his life now and Nedzu as the Rat God of UA

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Click here to Read on AO3!

Tsukauchi Naomasa liked to think of himself as a good detective. He tried to be kind, fair, and overall unbiased towards the people involved in his cases. This included coworkers, victims, and heroes alike. He also tried to get them solved in as timely a manner as he could. He knows that the one thing victims and families of victims hate is waiting for justice. The one thing about his cases that he couldn’t stand was the unknown. He hated coming across cases he couldn’t solve or evidence pieces that didn’t fit. Suspects that were completely out of the blue or lying witnesses trying to save themselves or their friends.

So naturally he had quite the dislike for Binary. 

Now, Binary behind the screen could be a perfectly kind individual. But someone who hides so deeply behind a false identity also hides many secrets. Tsukauchi hates secrets with a passion. Not to mention Aizawa’s report of speaking with their illusive hacker. They hacked into Aizawa’s computer at UA (How?! How did Nedzu not even catch it?!) to speak with the man and what the Erasure hero told him left him a bit on the shaken side. Binary knew things about Aizawa that weren’t public knowledge. His name being the biggest one. Since he was underground, his name isn’t public and shouldn’t be known by the general populace. Yet Binary found it faster than anyone he’s ever seen. 

Not only that but they figured out that the man was married. To Present Mic! That’s one of the biggest kept secrets of the police force! Hell, not even other heroes really know that they’re married without Aizawa and Yamada approving of them knowing! Where did they find that information? It just doesn’t make sense! 

He puts that aside for now and heads out of his office. One of his lawyer contacts set up a meeting for him this morning and he’d really like a break from the Binary case anyway. He approaches the front desk to where a tall and lean man with two toned black and blond hair was waiting. He was wearing a fashionable suit and was busy checking the black watch on his wrist. There’s a box being carried under his other arm. Silvery eyes with slitted pupils dart up to him as he approaches. A fanged grin stretches across his face, “Tsukauchi! Nice to see you again, Detective! Wish I could say it was under better circumstances.”

True. “Iwai-san,” he greets the man, “To what do I owe the pleasure of a meeting today?”

Iwai holds out the box to him, “Got a set of evidence for a case I’m working on. Child abuse and neglect from a set of foster parents and a middle school. They claim it’s because the kid’s got a ‘villain's quirk.’ I call bullshit and think they just don’t care as a whole. Was also hoping you’d assist by interviewing them since there’s less of a chance of them slipping away by lying with your quirk.” 

True. Tsukauchi takes the box. He sets it on the desk to open it. On the top is a packet of papers. Upon reading them, he finds them to be a handwritten account of pretty much everything the victim of the case, one Shinsou Hitoshi, has gone through both at home and at school. It’s even signed. There’s also several photographs, both before and after shots, of all of Shinsou’s current injuries and how they’ve been patched up. The dark bruises and deep scratches on his face break Tsukauchi’s heart a bit. Poor kid. There’s also the lip of a large plastic baggie, sitting innocuously under the papers and photos. He pulls it out and feels his heart skip a beat at the contents inside it. It’s a blood splattered muzzle and a padlock. He gives his best ‘what the fuck’ look to Iwai. 

“Person who found him said it was locked onto his face,” Iwai says with a sad shrug, “They managed to pick the lock to get it off of him but, as you can see from the scratches on his face, the damage was already done. Kid said it wasn’t the first time he had been locked in it either.”

True. Tsukauchi shakes his head. Sometimes he doesn’t understand how people can be so cruel. This was a child, not a dog! He sets the muzzle aside and checks the box for anything else. There's also a disk sitting in a case at the bottom. He picks it up and holds it up to Iwai, “What’s this?”

“Video footage of the kid’s most recent attack. From the closest location’s security cameras, they were happy to give it up with the case at hand, and a first person video account of the kid who found him. Kid was being stalked by bullies on the way home from school. They pulled him into an alley to avoid actual people seeing but luckily didn’t think to look around for cameras. Thank heavens for that. Makes our jobs easier,” Iwai replies.

True. “Alright,” The detective says and packs the evidence back away in the box, “I’ll get a headstart on getting this processed so that the case can fall into your hands in court. What about the kid? Is he safe?”

“He’s staying with someone I know. Only I know where they live so he’ll be safe there, don’t worry. The kid’s also been told that under no circumstances is he allowed to go back to his old foster home or school for the time being until the case is resolved. We also told him that an officer and one of my workers, maybe even myself, would escort him to the old home to collect anything he might want at a later date.”

True. Well that’s good. They don’t have to set up an elaborate witness protection order for the kid. Just file it so that he’s marked as safe in a relatively unknown safehouse. For some reason, he can’t help but be reminded of another case similar to this one a few years ago. What was the name of the victim in that case? Didn’t Iwai also represent them for that case too? Oh well, he’ll look in his past casefiles later. Either that or he’s sure he’ll remember it at some point. 

“Well provided the interviews go well, and they should by what you’ve told me, you’ll be in for a swift win. Another mark of victory for the snake of the courtroom!” He jokes.

“Excuse you!” Iwai scoffs good naturedly, “I’m the cobra of the courtroom! Named after my quirk, remember? The misrepresentation from you, I swear!” Iwai laughs loudly, showing he meant no harm in joking back with Tsukauchi. The detective lets a small smile grace his face when he sees the man’s fangs again. He can still remember the first time they met when Iwai resolutely would not laugh or smile - would even keep his lip curled over his teeth while speaking so they wouldn’t show - because he was so often judged by people just by the sight of the cobra fangs. He’s glad things have changed enough that the man feels comfortable with his own quirk now. 

The other man checks his watch again, “Oops! Gotta run! I promised the snakelings I’d make Takikomi Gohan tonight! I need to get the ingredients for it!” 

“What’s the occasion?” Tsukauchi asks as he picks the lid of the box up. Iwai smiles proudly, “Shika got the lead part in the ballet recital! I’m so proud of her!”

“Oh! Congrats to her then! I’m sure she’ll do great!”

“Yeah,” The smile on Iwai’s face softens to something somber, “Her mother would’ve been so proud of her too…” 

“She would’ve been,” Tsukauchi nods. He never got to meet Iwai’s late wife but from the way he talked about her, she was an amazing woman and an even more amazing mother. Her wrongful death and the case that ultimately resulted in her killer getting away is what made him go back to school to become a lawyer in the first place and start his own firm. Anyone who inspires that much conviction in someone must’ve been incredible. He would’ve been honored to meet her but unfortunately, that just wasn’t in the cards.

“Anywho, I should get moving!” Iwai says, “Let me know if you need anything else and I’ll contact you when the victim is ready to go get his stuff from his old foster home.”

“Alright. Thanks Iwai-san.” He puts the lid on the box and picks it up just as Iwai gets out the front door of the station. A second later his head pops back in as he shouts at Tsukauchi’s back, “Tsukauchi-san!”

He looks over his shoulder back at the lawyer. Iwai is staring confused at something just outside the door. As soon as he notices that he has the detective’s attention, Iwai hesitantly asks him, “Uh, did you know there was a box out here with your name on it?”

A what? He stiffens up as his heart sinks to his stomach. “Does it have a return address on it?” Tsukauchi queries. 

Iwai takes a moment to respond, “Not that I can see. Should I be worried that this thing is a bomb?!”

Sounds more and more like Binary again. He winces and passes the box of Shinsou’s case to a nearby officer, asking them to take it to his office. He then moves to the front door as Iwai backs up as far as he can. Tsukauchi looks at the box and, sure enough, it’s the exact same box that Binary sent last time. Same printed label too. “Yep, that’s probably Binary. Don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous just…” He rolls several words around for a moment before settling on, “An inconvenience.” 

“Oh… Binary?” Iwai asks next, highly confused.

“Sorry, Iwai-san. It’s an active case right now so I can’t tell you anything more than this box is safe and not dangerous to myself or anyone else around me. When the case is concluded, I’ll tell you all about it,” he promises the man.

“I expect a glass of whiskey with it if it makes you make that kind of face. Seems stressful!” 

“Deal. Hate to ask because I’m pretty sure you would’ve told me by now, but it wasn’t here when you got here right?” He questions, just to make sure that base is covered.

“Nope,” Iwai shakes his head negatively, “I can say with absolute certainty that it wasn’t there when I got here.” 

True. Oh thank God. That meant the lawyer’s not involved with Binary. He picks up the box from Binary and takes it inside after another farewell with Iwai. After getting back to his office, he sets the new box from Binary up on his desk beside Shinsou’s case box. He swiftly opens it with a letter opener knife he keeps in his desk drawer. Inside is the same combo of a letter - typed except for the signature - and a flash drive that there was when Binary sent the information on the Yamaguchi Brothers. He picks up the note.

[Hope you’re having a good day Detective! Saw you had someone trying to track me down. Good luck with that! Here’s some info I found on a few villains in the nearby area. Tell Eraserhead I said hi! -With love, from Binary]

Tsukauchi huffs out a sigh. Great, more work and another contact from Binary to add to their case for them. He’d better call Aizawa.

[myxherokacchan]

May I ask a scenario or headcanons about a quirkless s/o that has a crush for Todoroki, but she think to be plain and not enough good for him? Angst with happy ending maybe? Thanks and have a nice day!😊

Some headcanons story type thang for you! I hope you like it

Thank you for requesting!!! ﾐ☆( *uωu人)+ﾟ.

Todoroki, Shouto

She first saw him on the television years back when he first appeared at the Sports Festival getting instantly mesmerized by how amazing he and his quirk was.

He firsts spots her in the hospital when he goes to visit his mother, she does volunteer work there and he starts to notice seeing her around more.

Todoroki is the one to speak first, wanting to push himself to be more outgoing and manages to ask if they could catch a movie or lunch sometime.

One date and Todoroki’s heart is pounding in his chest. She’s so adorable and makes him laugh, he asks for another date immediately after and then the two cannot be without the other.

It’s been four years since their first date and they are engaged to be wed!

She’s quirkless and he could careless, he has enough quirk ability for the two of them combined.

He promises to be her hero for as long as she’ll have him.

They are happy and he decided it’s finally time for her to meet his siblings, avoiding the family reunion for years.

Endeavor does not approve of the quirkless woman and when Todoroki leaves her alone for a split second in that home, he destroys her self confidence. “You are not worthy of the Todoroki name…. you will never marry MY son and destroy all my hard work!”

She does not tell Todoroki what happens. It is his father after all.

She hasn’t slept, barely eats, and is distant, Todoroki can tell she is not well and it terrifies him. What can he do for her now? Does he not make her happy any longer? Is she ill like mother? Is this the curse of the name Todoroki?

One day she wakes up and is stricken with grief, she has held in these thoughts of negativity for so long, she cannot stop herself from breaking down and now, after months she tells Todoroki what happened that night which has eaten away at her happiness. Todoroki looses all self control he has had when it came to his ‘father.’

It’s the middle of the night and he’s slamming his way into the home of Endeavor, waking up his siblings and the man himself. Fuyumi has never seen her bother with such a horrific look in his eyes, she calls the police before going after her brother because she knows nothing good is about to happen tonight.

It’s a brutal fight. Shouto and Enji are both bloody, burned and unwavering. Fuyumi screaming for them to stop before someone kills the other but this fight has been long overdue, neither are going to stop. But Shouto’s S/O shows up panting from running inside and is horrified by what has happened all because she dared to love a Todoroki. Shouto catches sight of her and the look on her face forces him to stop in his tracks. “….i’m just like you….” he whispers allowing Enji’s fist to land straight into his jaw.

Naomasa Tsukauchi and a few other policemen arrive just as the two women in the home let out terrifying screams of anguish. Enji is taken into custody and Shouto’s unconscious body is taken to the hospital to get his injuries looked at immediately. He’s out cold for three days straight due to the stamina taken from him to aid in recovery.

Todoroki wakes up and the first thing he sees is your smiling face, all he wants to do is hug and kiss you but his aching body tells him otherwise. “You aren’t worthless to me…I love you with everything I have…” he confesses, because all that has ran through his mind was of her thinking about how she thought she wasn’t enough for him. She was everything that made him happy, he couldn’t loose her. She cries due to his words and kisses the parts of his face that weren’t all bandaged up.

“G-Good because while you were out…. I found out some great new….” she murmurs while kissing his forehead one last time and sits back down, “we’re going to have a baby!” 

Todoroki is crying the hardest he’s ever have in his life, he’s beyond ecstatic and moves his aching frame to pull his woman in for a tight embrace not caring how bad it hurt, he was too happy to care. 

He’ll be a better father than Endeavor ever was.

[mdccanon]

I appreciate that MHA is a deconstruction of Shounen and Superhero tropes, but I can understand how that gets lost in the weeds BECAUSE being a deconstruction means it still has to dance the same dance.

Example: Most fairy tale deconstructions start with the princess in the tower, but then break down some unconventional plots from that... but that's still starting with the stereotype, the cliché. You could deconstruct by starting with ANY other fairy tale archetype: the three brothers, the prince on a journey, the poor boy/girl who saves a beggar that is secretly the king/an angel/a fairy. People reinforce stereotypes so that they can fight against them.

All Might: You are SUPPOSED to ask "Who is Yagi without All Might?" But not because the story accidentally left out details of his life. The story purposefully shows you the man he is: a man who put the world on his shoulders and was never able to find a healthy balance between his duty and himself as a person. The only Top Ten hero with no agency -- closest thing he had to a sidekick was an intelligence officer. A hero with no family. A hero who is timid and awkward around others when he's not All Might. I can't think of an adult that Yagi isn't somewhat scared of... Oh, right, our cinnamon bun Detective Tsukauchi.

So, All Might and Invincible's Omni-Man are both Superman deconstructions: What kind of man devotes himself to a world-wide mission 24/7? Why? Who is he without that mission?

To ask those questions, you have to write that character. Which can risk being tedious to anyone who wasn't wondering those questions. It sounds like you are frustrated BECAUSE the Superman archetype begs the question of who would ever want to be Superman, and you'd rather have a more family-man superhero like the Flash. The Flash family is big, happy, with the least amount of drama in all of comics. Everyone comes home in time for supper: they have super-speed, there is no excuse!!

Which I would love, too! Like I said above about fairy-tales, if you always deconstruct the cliché, you eventually are just as stale as what you are deconstructing. We don't NEED a dozen stories analyzing Superman, Captain America, Batman, Spider-Man, and Tony Stark. Even if you want to analyze superheroes, there are OTHERS standing right besides the classics.

"We never see a true bonding." I'm guessing you are asking for non-plot related stories about Midoriya and All Might. What might you suggest?

"Why Izu wants to be a hero?" His current answer is to be a hero that saves people with a smile on his face. He wants to provide reassurance.

I think the most touching episode for all of this is Season 2 finale, the Mall Encounter. Especially once you know everyone's backstories: All Might, Shigaraki, Izuku, and even Sensei. Shigaraki hates All Might BECAUSE no one was willing to help him because of the reassurance that some police officer or hero would come. "If just ONE person reached out." (The same goes for Stain, Eri, Kai, and most of the League of Villains.)

The laws of this world even promote and reinforce this. NO ONE is allowed to use their Quirks in any heroic (or violent) capacity without licensed approval of the HSPC. Shigaraki talks about this: "Everyone here has a Quirk. Everyone here could start a massacre if they wanted to. But none do. Why? Because everyone believes everyone else shares the same morality."

80% of this show is about the power of reassurance. Everything Shigaraki does is in order to break down Japanese societies belief that heroes CAN always save the day, because its not actually possible for them to always save the day... but everyone feels happy and safe because of the belief that they can.

At the end of the Mall Encounter, Izuku askes All Might if he's ever failed to save someone... And All Might talks about the very real truth that his Symbol of Peace means that there will always be hundreds of thousands more people wishing and hoping that he'd save them than people he's saved. That says a lot about the pros and cons of Yagi's choice. That's an important conversation.

Why are "Suspected Traitor Midoriya Izuku" fanfics so painfully cliché and nonsensical?

The ONLY villain Izuku could be implicated in working with is Stain.

I thought this little subgenre of the fandom would produce a FEW interesting deviating AUs about Midoriya starring in The Fugitive. Instead, what I found was a poorly-written story template that erases 40% of Seasons 1 and 2’s plot points to make Hurt, No Comfort fanfiction about whumpee Izuku Midoriya having panic attacks from police brutality, and then attempting suicide.

The trend popped up in 2020, during the Overhaul Arc, but the fanfics feature so little in-story information and focus mostly on information from the first 5 episodes, with a hard emphasis on middle school. It feels like a MHA whump enthusiast started telling their community about an anime featuring a bullied crybaby and they flocked over. These stories have so little understanding of the actual anime, they read more like the writers only understand the story by other people’s fanfiction. Clips of the show, at best.

So, below are common flaws in these whump stories, how they could be improved, but ultimately how dropping the "He's working with the League" plot point and having them suspect him of working with Stain is far more plausible in-story.

This is all with the FULL UNDERSTANDING that these stories are supposed to be about an innocent Izuku being persecuted, betrayed, and heartbroken so that he can fall into despair, be abused, cry crystal tears of suffering… I’m into that shit. I had already leafed through a hundred or so stories of Bakugou and Shigaraki abusing him. And I wouldn't have read SO many of THESE stories if I wasn't looking for good content... It's just that even the most popular stories on AO3 are SO weaksauce.

Elevate yourself. Do better.

Ignoring Police Procedure because the Authors Prefer Nonsensical Accusations

The authors want to get to police/UA staff beating Izuku in an undisclosed basement as soon as possible… Which I wholeheartedly appreciate, but I suppose its a matter of taste that I don't share their opinion that Izuku's heartbreak is sweeter if the accusations make no sense.

I’d prefer either changing key details in the story so that the investigation has a plausible accusation (actually write the League framing Izuku) OR using the literal plot of the anime and being clever about what accusation could be made and by whom.

I read a story where Izuku was framed with a video of him setting fire to the school and because Aizawa and All Might were so mad, they skipped investigation and a TRIAL and just held Izuku in a sensory deprivation prison for five years. The League has a shapeshifter AND a clone-maker, y'all. I did a find search of the entire story. No one mentions Toga or Twice, not even once.

At summer camp, the League could implicate Izuku as their mole and reveal that kidnapping Bakugou was part of Izuku's payment. Hell, let Izuku run into the portal, restrain him, kill Bakugou, throw Izuku to All for One so that he can be miraculously healed of ALL of his injuries and tell him, "Good luck getting All Might to believe you weren't working with us." Because if the story is ALWAYS going to be "no one bothers to call Tsukauchi The Human Lie Detector until after they've mentally and physically scarred Izuku for life" ... could the prompt for the betrayal be a bit more interesting?

Or after USJ, Bakugou tells Aizawa Izuku’s “I was given a quirk” confession that, when paired with All Might telling him about All for One, leads Aizawa to quickly and quietly detain Izuku. (Which is also a good cautionary tale about why the hell Kacchan gets to be in the loop but Aizawa has no idea what's going on.) I mean, c'mon, the plot of MHA is basically begging for Izuku to confess that he was given All Might's power and Aizawa not believe him because, hello, All Might clearly still has his quirk.

Erasing 40% of the story to make a plot-holes doesn’t make Izuku’s heartbreak any sweeter. Making characters OOC requires massaging the plot, anyway. If you’re going to change Aizawa to foaming-at-the-mouth irrational or change Class A to being “so scared” no one assumes Izuku must have been coerced into working with Shigaraki information… the LEAST you could do is come up with an interesting red herring to explain why an underground hero lost the ability to do a proper investigation?

Izuku Writes Creepy Notebooks

For most of these stories, this is the only evidence that Izuku was working with the League, in some stories, Aizawa beats Izuku for simply having the notebooks; thinking he’s League traitor isn’t even mentioned! I can see why the bloodthirsty whump writers like this: the notebooks are connected to middle school bullying, so Class A resenting them can quickly segue into Izuku having PTSD panic attacks and running to make his first suicide attempt.

These stories also completely ignore that Izuku asks people questions. Authors will write that Izuku wrote several pages about Uraraka but never, ever actually talked to her to answer his questions: Would she lose her quirk if she loses even one finger (like Shigaraki)? Should Hatsume make protection gloves? How about Ashido, Bakugou and Todoroki? Would Todoroki's powers still work with protective gloves like Bakugou?

But, am I a bad person for wanting a bit more meat on this bone? Instead of Aizawa/Nezu expelling/arresting Izuku simply because they fear the notebooks could be used for evil in the future, doesn’t it sound plausible to believe and heartbreaking for Izuku to have to prove that "most of Stain's victims are profiled in the last few of Izuku's notebooks." (It would still be circumstantial evidence since, if Izuku writes profiles on hundreds of heroes across 15 notebooks, some of them being Stain’s victims is just par for the course. But I prefer this idea over “Izuku OPENLY writes in his notebooks every day, but doesn’t that just prove he’s the traitor even more because we’d assume no traitor would be stupid enough to spy on us in our faces? Gyah! His evil genius is staggering.")

PS: If Bakugou points out that shitty Deku has been making these notebooks for so long, #1 is more of a coloring book of his favorite heroes... he either gets called a traitor too and thrown into prison to be beaten or everyone's response is simply "But they exist! They EXIST! They are creepy!"

Let’s Ignore the USJ/Internship Plot, Even Thought the Fanfic is about the USJ/Internship

Izuku passed on information about Class A to Shigaraki... even though a major plot point of USJ was that Shigaraki didn't know anything about Class A's abilities.

Insist that Izuku’s multiple, painful self-sacrificing moments were all just covers for his evil plans. Either that, or don’t mention them at all, because pointing out that he broke his legs to help All Might sounds like too good of a reason to trust him.

Let’s erase All for One, Gran Torino, and the Nomus from the story because we either need All Might to assume Izuku told Shigaraki about his injury or the story features a quirkless Izuku and the accusation that All for One was rewarding him with a secret quirk is too logical to be allowed. All Might/Nezu/Aizawa cannot be allowed a plausible reason to assume Shigaraki seduced Izuku to the dark side.

Completely ignore that Tsukauchi The Human Lie Detector wrote Izuku’s statement.

Izuku did Summer Camp… Because

Since this is the arc that introduces the concept of “a traitor in their midst,” this trend just crammed Izuku into it without making it fit. So now most of the 400 fanfics are stuck rewriting a few templates of Class A and the teachers accusing him for no reason and ignoring what actually HAPPENED at the summer camp to do so. Because… he has notebooks…

Again, insist that Izuku’s multiple, painful self-sacrificing moments were all just covers for his evil plans. Either that, or don’t mention them at all. Because two broken arms, going out of his way to save a little boy, coming up with plans to save several classmates, and contributing to the arrests of two villains sound like too good of reasons to trust him.

Izuku TOLD the Pussycats who the target and was part of the vanguard protecting him. Without that message, Mr. Compass would have still captured Bakugou with NO ONE being the wiser. No, let’s go one step deeper. Izuku could have left Bakugou behind during the final exam so that he would be forced to take remedial lessons. If the kids who failed really were staying behind, Izuku would give that address. If it was just a logical deception, Izuku would give that address.

Honestly, I've never seen a "he told the League where the summer camp was" story that actually talked about what happened at the summer camp. These fanfictions will have CHAPTERS of Izuku having panic attacks from middle school days and never mention Bakugou... the reason for Izuku's lack of self-worth. Authors will give Izuku trust issues with teachers to make his panic attacks because of Aizawa more heartbreaking... and never, ever mention that Bakugou is the reason teachers didn't help him.

Completely ignore that Tsukauchi The Human Lie Detector wrote Izuku’s statement.

Overhaul is Such a Touching and Courageous Arc that it is Never Mentioned

Sometimes, sometimes... the whole "Gyah, Izuku makes creepy notebooks so lets turn on him!" plot happens after the Overhaul Arc... But his actions during the Arc are NEVER mentioned.

I do recall two stories: One where Aizawa accused him of working for Stain, the League and Overhaul at the same time and when Izuku points out that makes no sense, he gets punched and told not to talk back... And in another, they just accuse Izuku being the mole who informed the yakuza of the sting operations... and no one, not even the Big Three mention how little sense that makes.

Everyone shut up. Beating the every-loving shit out of Kaiju Overhaul and single-handedly saving the tortured girl are nothing compared to creepy notebooks.

Assuming Stain and Izuku are mentor and pupil

By using the plot of the anime...

Nezu/Aizawa/All Might assuming middle school Deku imprinted on Stain the moment he heard a “All Might alone is worthy” speech is a much better assumption than … oh, right, without All for One in the story, there is no logical explanation how NEET Shigaraki recruited Izuku, when he couldn’t even recruit decent henchmen for USJ.

I like the idea of Stain disabling the two heroes who didn’t save Kacchan. Two cowards scolding a child for being braver than them? Since Stain’s arc is a year and some change from Ep. 1, if those two heroes were among the first he ever attacked, it could cause someone to double-take that their last patrol before being forced into retirement was featured on the news with two future UA students.

Stain SAVED Deku from Shigaraki. For any Pro Hero to assume that means Izuku was working with Shigaraki instead of Stain is like watching a girl stick her tongue down a guy's throat and doubting they are a couple because you saw that girl snatch a weave off someone she hates in the school parking lot.

Stain followers, in plain view of Pro Heroes, have declared Izuku as equally a true hero as All Might, saved him, or helped him save the day. Not only was Toga instrumental in Izuku's success in the Overhaul Arc (and Uraraka and Aizawa were aware of that) but the only reason she HAD Izuku's blood was because of a discreet little meet-up during the PLE that could have gone completely unnoticed, except Sero, Mineta, and Kaminari loudly said they saw Izuku interact with a naked girl. Shit! Well, now Izuku has to mention Camie to Beast, it would be out of character to NOT ask.

The Mall Encounter implicates Izuku so much, I'm actually getting scared. IS Izuku Midoriya a Stain follower?! Here is the monologue straight from the DUB: "What's the difference? Your goals, your villains... I don't understand you. I don't agree with the Hero Killer either, but I can understand him. Because the Hero Killer and I have something in common. We're inspired by All Might. That night, he even saved me from the flying nomu. He's a maniac, but he doesn't destroy things because it sounds fun. And when things were looking bad for him, he didn't abandon his mission... Like YOU did. Even if what he did was wrong, he held true to his beliefs. That's the difference."

Now, when Tsukauchi The Human Lie Detector took Izuku's statement after the Mall Encounter… because yes, he takes Izuku’s statement after every fucking crisis, people… even if Izuku repeated that monologue word for word, all Tsukauchi would hear was the confused a innocent hero-in-training.

If Nezu/Aizawa/All Might read back that statement, they could EASILY reinterpret it as an idealistic young pupil disappointed that he couldn't convince his master to spare the lives of all of the fake, unworthy heroes he'd profiled for him. (This serial killer killed 17 and injured 24, now. That's a whole lotta people not killed for a serial killer.) How EASY would it be to suspect that Ingenium was only alive because Izuku pleaded his case? How EASY would it be to think Izuku only sent the signal to Class A to get Iida away from his master ASAP before he had to choose between his mission and his new friends?

And just to wrap up in a nice, neat bow how much the Mall Encounter makes Izuku look like a Stain pupil, the fact that it happened at all looks like Shigaraki flaunting how vulnerable Izuku is with his master in jail. A rogue looking to recruit the quirk analyst prodigy he suspects was that asshole's Player 2. "I hate everyone. But the Hero Killer pisses me off the most.” Izuku tried to act as ignorant as possible. “Wasn’t he one of your guys?” But then he dropped character when Shigaraki dared to compare himself to his master. Shigaraki asked why Stain had more YouTube views and Izuku responded with a shockingly personal declaration on his respect for Stain and All Might.

… Seriously, I’ve gaslit myself into thinking Izuku really is Stain’s pupil...

At this point, I’m just working out the kinks on either an actual traitor AU or a reasonable doubt fugitive AU.

Conclusion

I love making characters suffer. I genuinely do. I can tolerate melodrama for the sake of characters suffering. I love OOC because I equally love Aizawa beating Izuku and Aizawa dating Izuku... If someone has a recommendation on both happening at the same time, I'd appreciate it.

But I just don’t understand the appeal of lazy writing or nonsensical characters WITHIN the context of the story being written. Every time someone says "Izuku sold information about us" all I can think about is that Shigaraki has never understood any of Class A's powers. Just write that Izuku wanted the League to kidnap Bakugou. Use the fucking anime.

[simkjrs]

Got any imaginings for your various Izukus meeting one another? How would villain Deku react to BYGGUALOM Deku? To MSU Deku? (Assume villain!Deku figures out something is up with MSU!Deku so he doesn't just treat him as a regular civilian). Would BYGGUALOM!Deku and MSU!Deku end up commiserating over their mutual dislike of publicity if they met?

god… i do have some imaginings. i actually had this conversation with @salvainterra just like last week and it is probably the single most self indulgent and simultaneously gut busting conversation i’ve ever had. sorry everyone i’m like this, here’s the best parts of the conversations with all the keysmashes taken out

simkjrs: actually what needs to happen in this mysterious crossover between all my aus is two izukus vs the third izuku’s insecurities, cage match go

simkjrs: byggualom izuku makes a genuine effort to befriend villain!deku and be there for him, and msa izuku grudgingly acknowledges him as a friend, and villain!deku is immediately gone. just gone

pooch: between all three of them they cover such a wide variety of insecurities im losing it

pooch: oh man dude. dude.

pooch: they swap universes

simkjrs: oh 

simkjrs: no

pooch: i think villain deku frankly wouldnt be able to handle even just hitoki caring about and supporting him. this is deeply upsetting to think about simk. i regret this

pooch: MSA IZUKU ISNT EVEN ALIVE HES DISSOCIATED SO HARD HES SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN MENTALLY

simkjrs: oh no

simkjrs: pooch. 

simkjrs: even disregarding mitoki absoltuely decimating villain!deku’s attempts to keep himself safe

simkjrs: have you considered the sheer DISASTER YOU’RE GOING TO GET WHEN YOU PUT MITOKI AND VILLAIN DEKU IN THE SAME ROOM MUCH LESS ADDING *HATSUME* TO THE MIX

pooch: GFHFHHDJN FUCK

simkjrs: THIS IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, *THE* ACTUAL NIGHTMARE SCENARIO

pooch: WORLD DESTROYING!!!!!!!!! BYGGUALOM IZUKU COMES BACK AND THERES ABSOLUTELY JUST CHAOS

simkjrs: SOMEHOW EVERYTHING IS ALSO BETTER BUT ALSO IT’S COMPLETE CHAOS

pooch: that dude walking into a burnign building with pizza gif

simkjrs:

mitoki: it’s fine, izuku! nothing *important* is on fire! byggualom: the entire building is on fire villain!deku: exactly! 

pooch: IM LAUGHING THEYRE ENABLING EACH OTHER TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!

pooch: byggualom izuku in msa verse: [wakes up in jail] Hm,

simkjrs: byggualom izuku, politely forcing the door open: hello. i believe there has been some sort of misunderstanding

pooch:  

byggualom izuku: [gives them a straight answer when they ask something]tsukauchi: eraserhead:byggualom izuku:tsukauchi: who are you and what have you done with your doppelgänger

simkjrs: wait but does this mean that

simkjrs: msa izuku has somehow, foudn himself, in villain!deku’s place

simkjrs: [finds himself in a world where he is constantly garnering attention and has a huge fan following] fuck

pooch: IM LAUGHIGN THIS IS HIS WORST NIGHTMARE

pooch: 

msa izuku:msa izuku: [climbs into closet] ill wait here as long as it fucking takes. goodbye

simkjrs: byggualom izuku figures out that somethings Up REAL QUICK and u know his vigilante ass is going to go investigatin, whether or not the law approves or not, so he casually breaks out of jail (“im sorry about the door!” he calls as he runs off) and investigates everything. extremely thoroughly

pooch: 

byggualom izuku: can i get a uhhhhhhhhhhh why am i in jail byevillain izuku: [sees texts from friends and associates] can i get a uhhhhhhhh what the fuck?msa izuku: [dead silence from closet. its been hours]

pooch: IM LAUGHINN G UNIVERSAL CONSTANT: JAILBREAKS

pooch: 

byggualom izuku: enters roomhis room: presumably covered in otherworldly runes byggualom izuku:byggualom izuku: am i in a cult

simkjrs: villain!izuku: [gets texts from 5 different ppl asking where he is and if he’s okay] i don’t like this

pooch: 

msa izuku: well at least im not in jailsomeone: [sees him, instantly calls police] someone else: [asks for autograph]msa izuku:

simkjrs: 

a hero: sir– msa izuku, without pause: –all this BULLSHIT about a SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT, so i check the phone and look at this!! LOOK AT THIS!!! *shakes phone at hero* what kind of – self respecting alternate version of myself – would go out actively seeking trouble, what the *hell* – beleaguered hero: sir we’ve been standing here for half an hour now. please climb down and let us arrest you

simkjrs: at least msa izuku and villain!deku can always bond over their lockpicking and breaking&entering skills. trading tips

simkjrs: 

villain!deku: and that model of the lock means, that you can definitely fill it with glitter if you want to, but you have to be careful otherwise msa izuku: the only thing i care about doing to this lock other than unlockign it is breaking it

simkjrs: i feel sorry for msa izuku because he’s self aware enough to be going “oh my god. ohhhh my god. are we doing this again” whenever he pulls his own shit, whereas byggualom izuku and villain!deku are not, so although byggualom izuku occasionally helps msa izuku play straight man to villain!deku, ultimately it’s still msa izuku who ends up being the straight man to all of them. it is a difficult task

end notes: i know this post says it’s for ot3s but if you think about it very carefully the izukus actually slot perfectly into these three roles as well

this isn’t even getting into the sheer hilarity of dropping msa izuku straight into canon during the sports festival, right at the moment izuku wins first place in the race. which is actually such an incredibly funny concept that i am probably going to write it in the near future, at which point you can witness me pandering to myself, exclusively