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#quirkless discrimination
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I need more quirkless izuku making quirkless friends and turning them into a badass hero agency.
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diannaphantom27 · 2 years
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Quirkless Paramedic Izuku
Okay. Idea. You know how I’m some cities Paramedics are stationed in firehouses? What if in MHA there are paramedics stationed in Hero Agencies?
So like, Izuku doesn’t get OFA. He still applied to Hero Schools, but only UA even lets him try. He still saves Uraraka, bc he’s Izuku, but it’s much less flashy and dramatic so he only get like 25 Rescue Points. He gets put in Gen Ed. He fights his ass off at the Sports Festival, but is beaten by Todoroki. 2nd year, again makes it to the final round of the Sports Festival and puts up a good fight, but is beaten by a Hero Course student bc no matter how hard he trains, it’s not the same as being trained by Pro-Heroes for the job.
It’s around that time the Teachers realize that Izuku isn’t going to have his dreams crushed and settle into a mediocre desk job like most. And Izuku is angry, especially at Shinso, bc Shinso failed just like Izuku did but he still gets a chance.
It’s Aizawa who eventually points out that there are no Quirk requirements to be a Paramedic like there are for Fire Fighters, Police, Doctors, etc. and that Izuku doesn’t have to be a Pro Hero to save people with a smile (WHICH WAS HIS TRUE DREAM).
He graduates. Goes to the Paramedic academy. Deals with discrimination from his mentors and peers. Is assigned the worst areas. Is pushed into failing. But rises above every time. Eventually working his way to the coveted position of Hero Agency Paramedic just as Class 1-A is finishing their sidekick years.
When Izuku is assigned to a new Agency as one of their paramedics, he expects it to be another attempt to break him and force him out. Of course, that was their intention, but the new agency is one all of 1-A started. They expected Izuku to crack under the pressure of being the medic for 20 new heroes and any civilian casualties they cause (typically higher with new heroes). Instead they put him in the perfect environment to thrive bc some of 1-A remember him and are PUMPED to have him working with them.
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firesmokeandashes · 7 months
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How many people are actually quirkless in My Hero Academia?
We know that roughly 80% of the population had quirks, as stated by All Might in one of the episodes. Leaving 20% of the population without them. Now, 20% might not seem like a lot of people until you put the numbers in your calculator and see just how big the number actually is.
Going off the current population number of 8 billion, 80% of that number would be 6,400,000,000 (six billion four hundred million). Six hundred billion, four hundred MILLION people with super human abilities spread out between 7 different continents!
That's roughly 914,285,714.28571(nine hundred fourteen million two hundred eighty-five thousand seven hundred fourteen point twenty-eight thousand five hundred seventy-one hundred-thousandths) people in each continent with a quirk!!
Leaving, 1,600,000,000 (one billion six hundred million) people without quirks! If spread out evenly between continents, that would leave roughly 228,571,428.57143 (two hundred twenty-eight million five hundred seventy-one thousand four hundred twenty-eight point fifty-seven-thousand one hundred forty-three hundred-thousandths) people in each continent!
Divided up by 195 countries, that's 8,205,128.2051282 (eight million two hundred five thousand one hundred twenty-eight point two million fifty-one thousand two hundred eighty-two ten-millionths) quirkless people in each country, if divided up evenly.
Given the current population of Japan being 123,207,079 (one hundred twenty-three million two hundred seven thousand seventy-nine), the number of quirkless people living in Japan should be a fairly good amount.
Of course, sense Mha takes place in an alternate universe, and in the future, the population is probably a lot bigger, meaning there would be an even bigger number of both people with quirks and people without them.
So basically, what I'm trying to say is, with such a large number of people being quirkless in the world, why do so many people hold disdain towards them?
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lukewarm-beef-stew · 2 years
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hated hero AU
okay so this one is kind of super dark so be warned ahsjdk
CW: quirk discrimination, hostage situations, kinda graphic child death (it's bakugo but it's very much a bad thing), children being affected by the death of other children, PTSD, disassociation, self sacrificial behavior, suicidal ideation, pretty whumpy, aideku and all the warnings that comes with
okay okay listen hear me out
so you guys know wrestling? and you know how the original comic book superheroes were inspired by modern theatrical wrestling, like the costumes, the goofiness, the one liners, etc.? (actually i looked it up to try and find where i had heard this before and i couldnt find any sources that said it outright, but the shift of wrestling becoming more flashy and scripted and less like a "real sport" was happening around the same time as the first superhero comic books were being made, in the 1920's-1930's, and if you look up wrestling costumes from that time and compare them to batman's character design from around that time, there's noticeable similarities so at least for this AU im gonna say thats what happened but that may not be totally accurate to real life ahsjkd ANYWAYS-) and y'all know the concept of "heels" in wrestling? (if you dont know it, it's basically that a wrestler will sometimes take on the role of an antagonist, so that instead of competing with other wrestlers to be the most likeable and making their money by having all their fans buy tickets in the hopes of seeing them win, the "heel" will instead try to be as unlikable as possible and will antagonize people into hating them so bad that people buy tickets to all their shows in the hopes of seeing them get their ass kicked. if you've ever heard the phrase "people will pay a lot of money to shut your mouth", that's what it's referring to. i think it's fucking brave as hell, bc imagine getting up on stage in front of a bunch of testosterone fueled wrestling fans and trying to make as many of them hate you as possible, which is basically what inspired this AU)
so this is a Dad For One AU, but unlike in most DFO AUs he's actually a decent dad and isnt trying to manipulate izuku into becoming a villain but hes also not super great either. like maybe he was just messing around with inko in his spare time but then she got pregnant and he was like 'oh shit' and kinda felt bad so he got married to her and stuck around because he didnt wanna leave her as a single mother. yes ik hes committed war crimes but idk villain morals are weird ahjdkgjfk
but anyways the DFO stuff is kinda background in this AU, really it only matters because it means that izuku has access to lots of pre-quirk era media that really almost no one else on the planet does. neither inko or izuku know that AFO is a villain or over 200 years old btw, he just explains away all his pre-quirk stuff by saying that hes a collector (which isnt technically a lie) and they believe him. and so while AFO isnt manipulating izuku into being a villain, he also certainly does not approve of his kid becoming a hero either. mostly he's just waiting to see what quirk izuku manifests and thinking that he'll go from there, but in the meantime he's gently trying to steer izuku away from heroics. so in his mind he's like "im gonna show izuku how ridiculous heroes are, and then he won't want to be one" so he shows izuku a bunch of wrestling videos from before the rise of quirks and is like "see? look at these idiots in ridiculous costumes, throwing themselves around and shouting these ridiculous things and coming up with these stupid storylines" only he forgot that izuku is in fact a 4 year old child and not a 200+ year old super villain, and izuku fuckin loves it. he gets completely obsessed with wrestling, and AFO is kind of miffed but mostly he's just happy that izuku's focusing on something that isnt heroes so he lets it slide
and then izuku gets diagnosed quirkless, and AFO's response is basically just "welp, that solves that problem" bc obviously a quirkless person can't be a hero, right? only it seems like izuku didn't quite get the memo, because now hes even more obsessed with heroes than before, almost like he's clinging to his dream out of desperation or something. but at this point AFO doesnt really care anymore bc he knows that the HPSC would never give a quirkless person a hero license, so he's mostly just waiting for izuku to grow out of it.
from there most things progress like in canon for a little while, izuku gets bullied, bakugo initiates a friendship divorce, bakugo bullies izuku, etc. AFO is kinda busy with nomus and villain stuff so he's mostly an absent father, but he provides enough money that inko can be a stay at home mom and be there for izuku, so he thinks he's doing a pretty decent job. anyways so izuku and bakugo are decidedly Not Friends by this point, but they lie to their parents and say they are friends because inko and mitsuki are still very close and neither izuku or bakugo want their parents stepping in to try and force them to be friends again. and then one day when theyre both eleven years old, bakugo is like "hey mom i wanna go to the mall and im definitely old enough to go by myself" bc he's eleven and a brat and he thinks he's already the smartest/strongest person on planet earth, like most eleven year olds, and his mom is like "absolutely not, you have to take izuku with you bc at least he's responsible and ik he'll call me if you get in trouble" and bakugo's like "UGH FINE WHATEVER" so he goes and grabs izuku and izuku is very confused, he has no idea what's happening, but he's like "uh ok sure" and gets permission from his mom and then promises bakugo's mom that he'll bring bakugo home safe etc etc yada yada, they go out to the mall-
right in time for a villain attack. yep, it's time for me to absolutely traumatize the fuck out of midoriya izuku again. so there's a whole hostage situation, villains running around with weapons and forcing all the customers of this mall into this one room and then are like "hey polices give us money" or whatever idk point is bakugo is like "yeah fuck that, im a boss ass bitch i'll fight u all myself" and izuku's like "boi if you dont sit the fuck down" and is like frantically trying to get bakugo to shut up and be quiet and not do anything, but of course bakugo ignores him and the closest villain just kills bakugo on the spot. like fr kills like oh damn he dead dead kinda thing. anyways so izuku is sitting there in complete shock, holding bakugo's dead body and just completely dissociating, and of course the polices or whatever see that the villains have started killing hostages and immediately shut down all negotiations, and they send in their sneakiest hero: eraserhead!!
so aizawa super carefully picks off all the villains one by one, there's some fighting, long story short almost all the other hostages make it out safe and sound. only then aizawa sees this kid sitting there holding a corpse of another kid and just completely blank faced and he's like "ah shit" so he goes over and is like "hey buddy, why dont you let go of that and we can go and get you checked out by a paramedic" or something, and at this point in the timeline aizawa's still a rookie hero so he's not quite as detached and exhausted as he is in canon, so when izuku shakes his head and clutches bakugo tighter and mumbles that he can't let go because he promised to bring kacchan home safe? haha yeah anyways so izuku is disassociating, aizawa is distraught, and by this point both bakugo and izuku's parents have seen what's going on on the news and have rushed over, just in time to see izuku being carried out of the building, still clutching bakugo. anyways so bakugo's parents obviously have a bit of a meltdown, the fact that they're crying makes izuku snap out of it enough that he starts to cry, inko is both selfishly glad her son is safe and horrified that her godson is dead, trying to comfort both her son and her friends, and AFO is already planning how to get those villains killed in prison. but by that point, aizawa's work is done, and besides a few nightmares he really doesnt think about izuku very much. just another day on the job, yk how it is.
anyways so izuku's kinda fucked up by all this, but instead of taking away the correct lesson which is that sometimes it's better to keep your head down and stfu to stay alive, his self esteem issues combines with his suicidal ideation and a healthy dose of survivor's guilt and he decides that clearly instead of trying to get bakugo to stfu what he should've done was to be louder than bakugo and direct the villain's attention to himself. it probably wouldve ended with him dead instead, but if theres one thing being quirkless has taught him it's that everyone wants him dead anyways, so he doesnt think it'd be any big loss. and this is where the wrestling thing comes back, because he remembers the concept of "heels" in wrestling and that quote about people paying a lot to shut his mouth, and he decides that he is going to become the most annoying hero ever. he's going to be a hero who pisses off villains, civilians, other heroes, the HPSC, literally everyone, in the hopes that if there's a super hate-able hero, villains will target him (either because they hate him or to win over other people to their cause by getting rid of a nuisance) instead of other more likeable heroes. it's a suicide mission, basically.
so anyways he starts training and stuff blah blah blah, at this point idk if i want to write him going to UA (could be fun to write him imitating bakugo at the sports festival in an attempt to piss people off, which obviously succeeds, but also could be extra fun to have some spicy angst where aizawa finds out that his whole arrogant annoying loud brash personality is just an act, then finds out about his plan, then expels him in an attempt to stop him from becoming a hero and getting himself killed but fails bc either izuku takes the hero licensing exam by himself later or he gets accepted into another smaller hero school or whatever) or just attends a smaller school right from the get go so he doesnt ruin UA's reputation. long story short, he becomes a hero, he puts this plan into action, and it works. (btw, he's still quirkless in this AU, but either he's faking a quirk or he just didn't reveal to the public that he's quirkless yet, idk.) he quickly becomes the most hated hero of all time, not by doing anything actually morally reprehensible but just by being sort of annoying.
first of all, he swears at reporters, he's cocky and loud and arrogant, and when people come up to him for an autograph he sneers and chases them off with some bs about why should he dirt himself by touching peasants like them or smth. second, he becomes quickly well known for blatantly stealing arrests from other heroes (of course, izuku only steps in when the hero is starting to struggle in a fight and it looks like things might go poorly, but he always does it in a way that makes it look like he's swooping in at the last second to take credit for the arrest and then brags loudly about it. the other hero doesnt want to admit they almost died or that they were saved by this idiot everyone hates, and they like the attention they get from people who hate izuku coming up to them to sympathize, so they just pretend like they had it in the bag before izuku swooped in) as well as literally using heroes as a stepping stool, like springing off of them to do dropkicks and stuff, and hiding behind them to avoid attacks (only when they're defense based heroes and he knows they can take the hit, but he still does it in a way that makes him look like a coward full of false bravado). once he gets widely known enough that he routinely encounters people who hate him just on the street (his hero costume hides his identity, and his hero name is probably something pretentious like ozymandias or smth and calls himself king of kings just to really rub it in) he also releases his home address in a full iron man style taunt, daring any villain to come and just try and kill him in his sleep or whatever.
and it is actually his real address, but despite the fact that it looks like a normal house on the outside, it's a veritable fortress. every room is booby trapped, every door and window has silent alarms, etc. he sleeps in a bunker in the basement rather than the actual house itself, and every time someone breaks in to try and kill him he arrests them on the spot, then the next day brags about it to some reporter and makes fun of the criminal for daring to think that they could ever lay a hand on him. it's all an act, of course, and yeah he doesnt exactly feel safe in a house where he knows people are breaking in to try and kill him every night, but he hasnt felt safe anywhere since he was diagnosed quirkless, so he doesnt really care.
some other shenanigans happen, and then finally, he meets aizawa. or rather, re-meets him. what happens is that he ends up getting put on one of those few raids that involve a team-up between underground heroes and daylight heroes, one that needs both sneak and strategy and raw power. and at this point, izuku has only been a hero for one or two years, but he's possibly the most widely known hero in japan that isnt in the top ten of the rankings. in fact, he's at almost the bottom of the rankings every single time, though not rock bottom bc for some god forsaken reason there are a couple people who actually like him as a hero. but anyways point is, the other heroes are dreading working with him, aizawa especially (we're gonna say that in this timeline izuku didn't attend UA). and then aizawa finally meets him and he's calm, quiet, he listens and he helps plan and he's actually comes up with some rather clever strategies. finally they do the raid, it ends up being louder and messier than they would like so of course reporters show up, and maybe this is the raid where they save eri (timeline of the overhaul raid gets pushed back, so even tho it's years post UA and post canon, they still save eri when shes six/seven) and so izuku picks up eri and for a second, his mask slips, and the real izuku that no one has seen since his mom died comes through. he comforts eri, he coos over her, he's soft and gentle and careful as he hides her face from the cameras, and then he sends her off in an ambulance to take her to a hospital and immediately the mask comes back on, and he walks over to the reporters and begins to brag that all you have to do to earn yourself a loyal customer who'll buy all your merch for life is save a kid once when they're young.
the other heroes and reporters are rightfully disgusted, but aizawa saw that mask slip, he knows there's something more going on here, so he pulls izuku aside and is like "wtf was that all about" and at first, izuku isnt gonna say anything, but then he sits down and is like "you saved me once when i was a kid, you know". and aizawa doesnt remember it at all, which izuku expected, so he goes on the explain what happened at the mall and what his thought process was after he left it. and aizawa is fucking horrified, because he's just realizing that this arrogant dumbass that he's hated for years really acts like that on purpose just to shift the target from every other hero in japan to himself, like he's fucking atlas or something, and aizawa is of course immediately like "no, stop that, knock it off" but izuku can't/won't/doesn't bc what he's doing, as fucked up as it is, is working. there are reports that arent available to the public but are easily accessed by any hero, ones that paint a clear picture in their sharp decline. heroes are being attacked on their off hours far less, or at least, heroes other than izuku. bc if you want to kill a hero, you might as well try and kill the one that already has a publicly available address rather than one that you'd have to pay to get the address of. in fact, coordinated attacks against any hero other than izuku have declined sharply, ones that izuku only survives because he lives in a fortress, he doesnt have any family or friends or even pets that could be used as hostages, he keeps his face and name carefully hidden, and he constantly carries less than legal weapons and substances on him to take down villains, everything from sleeping gas to mild poisons to taser bombs etc etc. and aizawa learns all this and then spends a while trying to figure out how he can either help izuku or at least stop him, but there's really no legal way to do either.
and then, eri asks to see the hero who saved her. (same as in canon, aizawa's in charge of eri so he can help her control her quirk) and aizawa remembers the way izuku cradled her, and he has a bit of a lightbulb moment, so he goes to izuku's very public address and knocks on the door. (it's not plot relevant, but he's the first person to visit izuku who knocked instead of breaking in to kill him ahjskdf) and so izuku opens the door and is like wtf?? and aizawa explains that eri wants to see him and izuku is like hhnghghg that's a bad idea, both for eri's safety and izuku's reputation, but honestly he may or may not be a bit lonely at this point so he agrees faster than aizawa expected. also izuku mentions that he's glad aizawa didn't ring the doorbell bc it's covered in a paralytic agent and aizawa's like ??? anyways they go to eri and she doesnt know about what he said to the press but shes just happy that her hero's here!! and she's very shy but the two of them get along perfectly, and aizawa's watching them both just in case but by the end of the visit they're practically attached at the hip, and when he leaves izuku sort of stops for a second and realizes that he just felt safe there for the first time in years. unfortunately, aizawa hears this, and says that izuku can come stay at his house for a night if he ever decides he wants to feel safe. izuku bluescreens, then kind of awkwardly mumbles an agreement, knowing that he will never take them up on that offer.
to his credit, he almost lasts a month before he shows up on aizawa's doorstep with a backpack like a lost kid, without his mask since the first time that they've met and mumbling about something stupid he had to do that day. and aizawa, after taking a second to be very startled about how pretty izuku is, invites him in. despite the fact that he literally showed up there, izuku still manages to be like "are you sure? is it okay if i come in? you dont have to do this you know, i'll be fine on my own" very kicked puppy vibes, and aizawa's like "shut up and come help me cook dinner" and meanwhile eri is just very happy to see her hero again, so they have a lovely little family sleepover and izuku is very awkward but quickly warms up to them, and then it becomes a routine where every once in a while, when he actually desperately needs a good night of sleep, he'll show up at aizawa's house and help make dinner and play games with eri and then pass out for twelve hours ahjdk and he's obviously the most polite house guest you've ever met, so sometimes he brings baked goods and stuff just for fun ashdjk anyways cue bonding and flirting and whatever lol
okay and then we get sad again. bc one day maybe some reporter figures out izuku's identity or his mask slips off during a fight or something and instead of trying to hide, which would not fit with his fake personality, he figures the cat's out of the bag anyways so he just rips off his mask and does a whole villain reveal, cackling about how it took years for any villain to see his face, clearly they're all pathetic posers or whatever and then (after taking a paranoid, winding route to make sure he isnt followed) he goes to aizawa and has a breakdown about it. the loss of anonymity is a very scary thing, but izuku can't exactly do anything about it bc the clip already went viral so he's basically fucked. but aizawa helps calm him down, helps him figure out a disguise to wear when he goes grocery shopping and stuff, and then gently encourages him to retire. izuku obviously shoots that idea down immediately, and they have a bit of a fight about it, and izuku storms off. the next day, he goes out as a hero without his mask for the first time, and for the first little while nothing really changes, besides some extra jeers about his appearance. he acts a bit more loud than usual, sneers and flips off more civilians than he usually would, just to show that he's unbothered by the whole unmasking thing.
and then a reporter stops him, and is like "hey so we figured out your identity already, midoriya izuku, and also we know that you used to be/are registered quirkless, anything to say on that?" and izuku blanks and then is like welp in for a penny in for a pound and he goes "yeah actually, i AM quirkless, and you guys are fuckin IDIOTS for not figuring it out sooner, plus look at how many villains i caught while QUIRKLESS you guys are SO DUMB" and is like laughing in their faces an shit, and then he's like "gotta blast" and scampers away before he can face consequences for his actions lol and then everyone's freaking out, izuku locks himself up in his fortress house, and the commission is panicking trying to figure out what to do. meanwhile aizawa breaks into izuku's stupid fortress house bc he's not answering his phone, and he fights his way past every stupid booby trap and excessive security measure and breaks into izuku's stupid vault and is like "if you're not dead then answer your phone dumbass" and izuku's like having major angst about thinking that aizawa's gonna hate him for being quirkless and aizawa is like literally "when did i ever say that idiot. come here im gonna kiss u" and then they kiss and it's very cute ahjdklf
anyways hero commission temporarily suspends izuku from being a hero while they investigate, izuku says fuck that and just,,, keeps being a hero?? except it's technically unlicensed now so he's technically acting as a vigilante, and now the commission is trying to arrest him bc he's technically breaking the law, only he's too sneaky and they can't get into his fortress house so the police/other heroes are basically playing catch up, chasing him across japan while he's just casually stopping crime. and he's still keeping up the holier than thou attitude, bc now he's got basically all of japan (except some very few people who have suddenly become supporters) out to kill him, and he's like "welp goal accomplished :,D" ahsjdkl so anyways there's a whole thing and uhhhhhhh
i cant think of how to end it lmao but anyways that's my idea for this au ahsjdk i watched a video essay on japanese wrestling (specifically the batshit insane storylines they have) and i literally could not get this idea out of my head but i couldnt think of an ending either (actually i really only had like half of this planned out when i started this post lmao) OKAY THANKS BYE
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cyber-phobia · 1 year
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fic search? was trying to find a fic where the only thing I can remember is that midoriya had to show his id to go to the theater but it still said quirkless on it so he was denied
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north-peach · 8 months
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We updated Fun at Hero Con!
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stillness-in-green · 11 months
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Chapter Thoughts — Chapter 386: I Am Here
Sorry for the lateness on this one, folks. This time it was less Life Happening and more trying to sculpt all of my many, many words about All Might and his mech suit into something at least kind of coherent. I've got a few asks and a meme I got tagged in I'm hoping to get posted before the next chapter, fingers crossed.
Hit the jump!
On “Everyone’s on their last legs” and “No heroes can possibly make it in time.”:
O  I have…  Some issues with these claims.  Let me take the latter one first.
No one can make it in time?  Really?  Iida is being tasked with running across a third of the country in under ten minutes.  Gigantomachia’s ludicrous turns of speed are well-documented.  Okay, Machia’s incapacitated and Iida’s got something else to do, but even setting aside the two of them, Miss Joke turned up at the Villain Cave mere moments after La Brava determined Skeptic’s location because she and the Ketsubutsu kids “happened to be nearby.”  Lady Nagant managed to get from Central Hospital to within firing range of UA, well over a hundred miles away, in what absolutely cannot have been more than two or three minutes.  The supersonic American jets are still perfectly intact, too.
Distance between combatants has been a laughable nonissue for the heroes for this entire fight, but now we’re supposed to believe that travel time presents any sort of problem?
Further, the claim, “Everyone’s on their last legs” is certainly interesting, in that it rather strongly suggests that the villains are winning, or at least doing so much damage that even when they finally lose, it leaves the heroes who were facing them with no energy to relocate.  Like, the travel time is an issue, but it doesn’t seem to be the primary issue; it’s not the one that’s brought up first.  The one that’s brought up first, and twice, is that there’s no one in good enough shape for it.
And like, really?  No one at all?  None of the heroes at Machia’s containment facility, who should all be free at this point?  No one at the arena fight where all the non-important villains were teleported?  No one at the parking lot fight?  No one at all?
Certainly it would be nice to believe that the villains at the other combat locations around the country are doing so well, but that sure hasn’t been reflected in the story thus far, which has been pretty insistent about heroes rather efficiently mopping things up everywhere but the AFO and Shigaraki fights.
I would like to take this as confirmation that Shiragiri did indeed dump a bunch of Himijins on more battlefields than just U.A. and Gunga, but we didn't see any at Kamino, so what gives?
On Dabi’s Immolation and the Evac Boxes:
O  On the one hand, I really like the idea that Dabi is about to destroy himself because of the Phosphor move he copied from Shouto.  It’s incredibly thematically sound!
Touya drove himself to destruction because he was trying to overtake his baby brother in their father’s eyes, despite not having a body type that can perform the types of moves said baby brother can.  Shouto has learned to balance both sides of himself, has spent the whole series trying to come to terms with both the parents he inherited his dual elements from, while Dabi remains focused exclusively on his father’s fire, with absolutely zero concern for his ice side/his mother’s perspective/balance in the family.[1]  Dabi is accumulating heat because he was never trained in how to turn that heat down and isn’t about to start now.  Dabi is on a path that will destroy he himself (again) and destroy his family without intervention that Endeavor doesn’t know how to give.
Also, it’s just really great art of Dabi in general, dramatic tool (affectionate) that he is.
On the other hand, lololol imagine trying to convince readers that the police and their magic sensor machines can accurately predict when Dabi is going to explode.  Dabi!  The guy who survived for over ten years when Ujiko gave him less than a month to live!  And who lived those ten years not even taking it easy, but obsessively training himself with the fire that was supposed to kill him!  But sure, now we’re supposed to really buy that lifespan outlooks are going to be so very reliable.  Okay, BNHA, whatever you say.
O  It is entirely lost on me why Gun Head (no longer occupied with Bowl Cut spy dude, I see) thinks people would be less safe in the metal box that is quite some distance underground than they would be right at the surface when a 5km wide fire bomb set to “burn everything off the map” goes off.  Maybe the idea is to just manually run and try to get out of range?  But there are dozens of people in that box, including elderly and children.  5km is a bit over three miles—call it a mile and a half radius, then.  How fast could you run a mile back in Phys Ed, and would you want your grandmother or baby sibling to have to match that time to avoid being killed in a catastrophic inferno?
Granted, Dabi may or may not be right on top of them, but even if they’re towards the edge of the range, 5km is given as the distance at which everything will be “wiped off the map”—the damage is going to be reduced beyond that range, but it isn’t going to just cut off in a perfect circle!  Also too, if Tsukauchi is right and Dabi did get information from Skeptic, he might well be right on top of them!  He has been chasing Endeavor through the woods for several chapters now—perhaps he knew the spot he was aiming for?[2]
On the other hand, there are already pieces of the ceiling falling and taking out chunks of the interior structures, so maybe the reasoning here is that if they stay, they run a chance of the whole thing collapsing on them and burying them alive?  I dunno; I assume the real reason for getting people above ground is to facilitate the long overdue full Todofam reunion, but good lord, if what’s happening on the surface is so bad that it’s doing this underground, how could it possibly be safer to send people right up into whatever’s causing that damage?
O  Of course, it’s fairly ridiculous to begin with that Dabi’s anywhere near one of these escape routes.  As @itsnothingofinterest pointed out here, the heroes had complete control over where they set these battles.  Why, other than the meta reason that it would be better for the battles to be set in places the audience would recognize, were any of them set anywhere near an evacuation route?
This becomes particularly egregious when you look at the battle map volume extra and realize that all of these combats are happening in a roughly horizontal band across the central, southern parts of the country.  Why not move any of them north or much farther west?  Also too, once those locations are chosen, why send any of those escape cubes on routes that would pass nearby?  The cubes look basically as crowded as a random street scene—people gathered up in clumps in some areas with a lot of empty space in others—so why not just put more people in cubes that are headed on northerly routes?
I’m looking forward to the reunion, don’t get me wrong, but the seams are showing in ways that, taken at face value in-universe, reflect very poorly on the heroes.
On All Might, Quirklessness, and a Fight With AFO:
O  GOSH THIS ALL MIGHT QUIRKLESS STUFF.  Yes, even a quirkless person can be a hero, at least as long as they have millions of yen to burn on transforming mech suits!!!
And okay, maybe that’s reductive; I can see an argument that the point here is that even quirkless people can use what resources they have available to help!  Except that All Might is, by any measure, incredibly wealthy and influential because of the 30+ years he spent being the number one hero with the most powerful quirk in the world.  He has access to resources that no random quirkless kid—certainly not middle school Deku!—could hope to match!  His mech suit car thing is basically a souped-up support item, and support items are strictly, intensely regulated, such that only two categories of people are allowed to utilize them at all.
One category of people is irrelevant for this discussion: people whose quirks interfere with their everyday life.  If you don’t have a quirk at all, obviously you can’t get cleared for a support item through this method!
The other category, of course, is heroes.  Could a quirkless kid get access to support items that way?  Well, Deku seemed to believe, back in Chapter 1, that U.A. allows quirkless people to take its hero course entrance exam; hypothetically, then, a quirkless kid who got into a hero school would then be able to access support items to use in hero work.  However, since they wouldn’t have that access until after passing the exam, they’d have to pass the exam with nothing but their own abilities.
Has that ever happened?  Well, no—Deku clearly stated that there was no precedent.  That implies that it’s not allowed at most schools—or has only become allowed very recently—and that, even at schools that do allow it, there’s never been a quirkless person who’s been able to pass an exam.  Not at U.A., apparently not anywhere.
And that’s not really a surprise.  Diminishing the agency and potential of quirkless people so thoroughly that they lose confidence in themselves is a well-established pattern!  Mirio handily proves that a quirkless person with the right advantage—in his case, his training in Nighteye’s fighting style—is more than capable of facing down a threat even well-trained heroes would struggle against.  Yet Mirio was still either allowed or required to withdraw from hero courses after losing his quirk.
I suspect it’s the same with support items: the right tool could make all the difference in the right hands, but if those hands are quirkless, no one bothers to give them the training or tools that would make that difference, nor do they themselves believe it’s even worth trying.[3]  You see how that works?  Quirkless people need support items to be heroes, but only heroes are allowed access to support items.
Remember, All Might himself said that it was a bad idea to rely on support items, especially if they’re such a central part of one’s persona/skill set that losing them would be cause for hopelessness.  Even if he’s changed his mind since, it’s easy to imagine that that sentiment as being the party line on why quirkless people can’t use support items to become heroes: they’d be so reliant on them that they’d be “helpless” without them.[4]
With all that in mind, how exactly does All Might’s decision to face AFO in a mech suit like nothing the average quirkless person would ever have access to have any bearing on Deku’s question about quirkless people becoming heroes?
O  I note, too, that this is all framed around the idea of “a quirkless person becoming a Hero,” and very much not about the idea of a civilian, quirk or no quirk, stepping up to take heroic action when necessary.  We’ll get some of that in the next chapter, which is nice, but also very tied up in familial responsibility and parental duty, which is not equivalent to a stranger helping another stranger because they’re there and capable of stepping up.  Stepping up with no power was framed as admirable when Deku did it, but his reward was not validation that quirkless people could be Heroes after all, but rather the gift of his very own quirk.  Likewise, All Might stepping up is framed as admirable here, but it doesn’t answer Deku’s question any differently than All Might did the first time.
Back then, he said that, because of the dangers of the heroic career, only people with power can become Heroes.  All this scene does is expand the definition of power to include mechanical augmentation that no one but a Hero would be able to access anyway.  From the first chapter to today, the story is still telling us that being a Hero requires power beyond what a normal person can muster.
A reminder of how this issue reflects on another bedrock problem the narrative is presenting: if only Heroes are allowed to step up and make a difference, then Tenko is still walking.
O  Because of how incredibly faulty I find the attempted callback to the question of quirkless Heroes, I’m torn about how I want All Might and AFO’s fight to go.  On the one hand, I wouldn’t mind seeing AFO kick All Might’s ass for the sophistry of answering Deku’s Chapter 1 question with a mech suit!  He could also defy All Might’s expectations and just fly on by, and that would be funny!  On the other hand, there are a lot of good narrative reasons for AFO to, firstly, be tempted into stopping here to fight, and, secondly, lose.  
There are several arguments I can see for that, many based in the concept of him being influenced by Shigaraki:
AFO cultivated Shigaraki’s hatred of All Might, carefully encouraging it for years for the sole purpose of stealing OFA.  He only ever intended to use it as a tool; for that purpose, he intentionally warped his ward’s psyche.  It’s karmically appropriate, then, that that wrongdoing plays into his undoing, with the hatred he created becoming a trap he can’t escape.
AFO making bad decisions based on emotions he can’t handle underscores the idea of Tomura’s willpower overpowering VFO.  Shigaraki’s strong hatred was too strong for the vestige to handle, and merely moving the conflict to AFO’s mind instead of Shigaraki’s doesn’t change the outcome.  (I also like that AFO falling more under Tomura’s influence reverses the progression that we saw in Jakku, of AFO’s influence gradually overcoming Shigaraki.)
Shigaraki’s hatred spreading down the mental link is a keen parallel to his Decay being able to spread to things beyond what he directly touches.  Shigaraki destroys VFO; VFO is connected to AFO; guess what happens to AFO?
If All Might could beat AFO but get his suit taken out in the process, that would leave the rest of this story to the next generation, and it would be about goddamn time. 
O  Some of those points are in opposition to points that could be made in favor of AFO’s victory, though more in the sense of both being valid points rather than one being a counterargument that defeats the other.
For example, the idea of leaving the story to the next generation works if you believe that Shigaraki should be the final boss.  I do, fiercely, but plenty of other people believe just as strongly that the last fight should be Deku (+/- Shigaraki) vs. AFO.
Likewise, there’s an argument that AFO will win here because the story has set up the idea that he has to give his quirk factor to Shigaraki, so it has to follow through on that plot thread.  A fair point, but you could also say that we already saw Shigaraki defeat VFO and there’s no point in retreading that if the outcome will just be the same, so instead, we have Shigaraki’s hatred/will overcome AFO right here and now, resulting in him getting into a fight he can’t afford to waste time having with All Might.
…One argument I don’t have a counter for is that if a mech suit is all it takes to defeat Prime AFO, why didn’t Hero Society just do that decades ago?  But I suppose Prime AFO wasn’t on a rapidly depleting life timer, so All Mech doesn’t need to be able to decisively defeat him, so much as just stall him.
O  Some of those points are also banking on the AFO/Shigaraki mental bond having overcome the complication of distance.  I mentioned that last time, so to elaborate slightly: in 340, All Might says that the minimum separation they need wrt AFO and Shigaraki is ten kilometers—a little under six-and-a-quarter miles.  The distance from the villa to the spot where U.A. was, meanwhile, is closer to one hundred miles.  Given how much Hawks and company had been managing to stall and delay, shouldn’t the distance at which AFO started mentioning his other self's influence still have been too great for their mind link (and thus, presumably, Shigaraki’s emotions) to be in effect? Pretty sure the characters would have mentioned it if AFO had managed to get that close all the way back circa Machia's arrival!
In that light, it’s interesting that there’s a conflict between what All Might says—that Shigaraki’s influence is what’s making AFO unable to suppress his negative emotions—and what the narration box says—that, according to Hawks’ report, the de-aging process is the culprit.  I don’t know if anything will come of that discrepancy—Hawks has to be guessing, but when was the last time Hawks actually guessed wrong about anything?—but it might be worth pointing out anyway, in case it’s relevant to the theories about AFO having impulse control problems because of his quirk.  Maybe All Might and AFO are just wrong about what’s going on in AFO’s brain!
(Note that a much simpler possibility is that splitting up AFO and Shigaraki was never about their mental link but simply about separating the enemy's two most dangerous combatants. The mental connection is mentioned, but it's not the sole cause for concern. But if that's the case, why mention such a specific distance as ten kilometers, instead of just trying to get them as far apart as possible? If them joining up at all is the problem, the distance is immaterial. So what else can the 10km be if not the maximum range of the mental connection?)
Odds & Ends:
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O This is a really damn good sentiment that I wish the story would delve further into by letting its characters actually express more doubt.  Like, fair’s fair, neither Shouto nor Uraraka have managed to cinch a victory against Dabi or Toga when their actions haven’t matched their desires—squaring up for combat when they want a more peaceable resolution.  However, given that the full extent of doubt we’ve seen is Uraraka and Deku discussing, “Hmm, maybe I’m not feeling so great about beating the shit out of someone I have recently begun to suspect is a human person with human emotions.  But maybe I’m just a big weirdo and I should forget all about that,” it’s pretty, uh, basic?  Maybe we could take more than baby steps, is what I’m getting at here.
(Also, I note harboring that kind of doubt sure as shit doesn’t stop Deku from punching seven kinds of shit out of Shigaraki as long as he can still tell himself it’s AFO in control.  So, you know, he’s doing just fine on the victory front so far, doubts and all.)
O  Shouto’s emotional “stiff upper lip while his lower lip is going all wobbly from All Might praising him” face is cute.
O  Iida clonking Shouto with his mask is also cute.  But also, given that the distance is around two hundred miles—so Iida covering that distance in ten minutes will have him moving at roughly 1200mph—I can’t help but feel like it ought to take more than a face mask to protect someone who isn’t built for speed like Iida is from the wind intensity.
O  I think a lot of people assume the “wayward child” Iida is referring to is Shouto, and that’s a fair interpretation, but given how much Shouto wants to find some way to come to terms with his brother, it’s really far more Touya who’s gone astray.  Preventing that explosion means saving Dabi too, after all, so I think it’s maybe a bit more resonant if Iida is referring to the elder brother there.
O  I say this in complete sincerity: Hawks clutching Tokoyami is a good, emotive panel.  I also say this in complete sincerity: I dearly hope some Himijins catch up to them, STAT.
O  Stain must have either immersion-breakingly superb hearing or an in on the police line if I’m expected to believe he could hear Shouto and Iida’s conversation well enough to render a value judgement on it from the distance he’s at.  Maybe he’s just making some assumptions, since I trust he’s seen the Dabi broadcast like everyone else in the world at this point and thus can draw some basic conclusions from Dabi leaving via warp and Iida picking up Dabi’s brother piggyback-style.
O  Speaking of Iida and Shouto leaving, I notice we got no input from Burnin’ this week or last.  She was still standing last we saw her, so where’s she gotten to?  Maybe she’s getting medical attention for Kido and Onima?  We haven’t seen them since Dabi was doing a very good impression of burning them alive.
I will be shocked if Dabi managed to off a named character of greater significance and personal import to him than Snatch.  Pleased, too—as I’ve said before, Dabi’s firepower gets talked up way too much for how ineffectual it tends to be in terms of concrete, lasting consequences, and I can think of no better candidates to correct that than one or two of Endeavor’s sidekicks.  They certainly don’t deserve to be burned alive, but, well, them’s the breaks when you stand there flapping your gums to a murderous abuse victim about why you personally chose to stand with his abuser.
------------------- FOOTNOTES -------------------
[1] So naturally, he goes and gets ice powers next chapter.  Sigh.  We’ll see how I feel about that when I read the official release and start putting thoughts down in writing.
[2] As, indeed, it turns out he is.  Mind you, typically the person with more control over where a chase goes is the one being pursued, not the pursuer.  Dabi would need to nipping right at Endeavor’s heels to have much ability to turn him in a specific direction, or he’d need to be teamed up with a partner who could also direct Endeavor’s flight.  So it’s actually pretty strange to suggest that Dabi/Skeptic had any hand in this confrontation winding up where it did.  Endeavor is the one who decided to take off in this direction and not veer off in another at any point.  A little more on this topic next time, probably.
[3] You could argue that Deku was an exception to this, but Chapter 1 Deku always comes off to me as someone who was pinning all his hopes on a Hail Mary without even considering his other options.  He wanted to tell himself, At least I tried, but he was already pretty sure he was going to fail, so he wasn’t doing prep he could have been doing to maximize his odds, like exercise, martial arts training, looking into backup schools with easier exams, etc.  I would be entirely unsurprised if Deku didn’t even contact U.A. to see if quirkless people are allowed to test for their Hero Course, or if that was just the earliest hurdle that would have felled him and left him thinking, Well, it didn’t hurt to try.
[4] As if that isn’t true for every hero who ever comes up against a villain that’s a hard counter for their skill set, like all those heroes in Chapter 1 who gave up on even attempting to save Bakugou the moment the “tools” they were reliant on—their quirks—were rendered moot.
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Text
Midoriya-sensei AU
Chapter 12: Sports Day
I've decided I'm going to officially change updates to the 15th of every month, because I just don't have to time to post twice a month considering the chapters seem to be getting longer (who's fault could that be? ^^') and I don't want to disappoint
Also, I made a POLL regarding a minor side plot, so let me know if you're interested or not!
Part 11 | Ao3 | Part 13
[Sunday 8th October]
Me [1812]: I'm sorry im watching ths news and.erm did you jut use YOUR FIRE???
Me [1813]: Thats so amazing you look great I'm so proud of you!
Me [1814]: I will be screaming to you about this next time I see you but for now I'll just scream over text
Me [1814]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1833]: 🔥
***
Izuku, understandably, felt extra excited when he walked into work Monday morning. It had been over a week and not only had Shoto taken what he’d said to heart, but he’d actually started training his fire!
Initially, Izuku had been concerned—Shoto’s replies had been slow and abrupt since their hangout, and Fuyumi had even noticed that he’d been staying back at the agency later than usual—but after his friend’s shift yesterday evening, a phone call had quickly put those worries to rest. It turned out that Shoto had simply spent the past week training his left side; he’d even called for private coaching from Eraserhead and Endeavour, the latter of which was surprising but logical.
‘He’s not a complete bastard wank anymore, and what good is my father if I can’t take advantage of his knowledge?’ He could practically hear the shrug in Shoto’s voice. ‘He was pretty helpful, and Eraser was his usual brutal self. I learnt a lot.’
‘I’m really glad!’ Izuku’s cheeks hurt from smiling. ‘So you’re feeling more confident?’
‘The past week’s been hell, and I still have a lot of catching up to do, but yeah.’ A pause. ‘I feel confident to begin using my… my fire, in the field.’
Izuku honestly couldn’t wait to see Shoto’s growth. He was already so proud of his friend, and he knew his family would be too, especially Rei. It was a huge step—he was going to need to compile a new notebook dedicated solely to Shoto's left side.
He was still grinning about it, even as he walked across the field, setting up the obstacle course for the students.
Part of Izuku was also thankful for the timing, as Shoto's news was what was currently suppressing the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. After all, today was sports day, and while the event was typically one of his favourites in the academic calendar, they were also using it to implement their last minute plan to help Hiru.
They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.
‘Hey.’ Fuyumi walked over, smiling gently. She’d already finished helping one of the other teachers set up the beanbag toss. ‘How’re you doing?’
‘Ask me again in approximately eight hours.’ He chuckled humorlessly as he lined up the tunnels, before positioning the skipping ropes on the other side. 'I'll be honest, I'm feeling a nervous poop coming.'
'You sound like Natsuo.' She snorted, immediately reaching down to help him with the equipment.
‘I’ll take that as a complement.’ He stuck his tongue out in response. ‘Thanks.’
His lower body grumbled with discomfort and he pulled a face. ‘Once this is finished, I’ll pop over. Just the sacks left after this.’
‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll finish off here.’ Despite her kindness, there was an assertive air to her voice which told Izuku that she wasn’t accepting no for an answer.
That was fine with him.
‘Really? Thank you! You’re the best honestly!’ He immediately dropped everything and ran to the building. Once inside, he beelined for the staff toilets. ‘Thank fuck…’
Once he was finished, Izuku checked his phone to find that it was only a few minutes before the first bell. Luckily, his classroom wasn’t too far. Anxiety still lingered in his body—he suspected it would for the duration of the school day—but it wasn’t overwhelming; he still smiled brightly as he greeted his students and took the register, before leading them to the assembly hall. They had all come to school in their PE kits, so it was rather amusing to see them wearing their usual school shoes instead of their trainers, due to being inside.
Izuku then took his place next to Fuyumi, like clockwork, and the two of them watched the other students filter in.
‘Did you get sorted okay?’
‘Yeah, all good.’ She shrugged. ‘Did you have a good poop?’
‘Y’know, I’m still not sure… but I certainly needed it.’ He answered shamelessly. There wasn’t really a filter between them at this point—they’d seen their students do more horrifying things over the years.
The Head soon began with the usual topics—reminding the faculty about the HQA information session that was coming up in a few weeks—before he eventually brought up the giant elephant in the room.
‘I can practically hear you all vibrating with excitement, even without my quirk, so no point delaying. As you’re aware, today is sports day!' He paused while the students cheered. 'This year, however, we’ve put a special twist on it…’
Usually, grades were kept separate—the two classes competing against each other—but this time, there would be four distinct teams: Lemillion, consisting of classes 2B, 3A and 4B; Dynamite, including classes 2A, 3B and 4B; Shoto, of which Fuyumi’s class, 1B, was a part of, as well as 5B and 6A; and All Might, encompassing the final three classes—Izuku had been fierce in his demand to be put on the latter team. So, while each grade would still go around each activity together as a whole, the allotted points they’d accumulate went to their designated teams.
That meant that Hiru and his antagonists had to rely on each other to win, and the prize was a trophy for each winning class.
The formal reason behind the team set-up was to encourage the different grades to support each other and build a rapport. Hopefully, it might also allow certain individuals to reflect on their differences.
Hopefully.
‘Now that you all have your teams, it’s time for the schedule.’ The Head brought up the next powerpoint side, showing a table. ‘Some of you will notice that your homeroom teacher is running an activity. That is why each grade will walk around together. So, for example, grade one will follow Todoroki-sensei, while Midoriya-sensei runs the obstacle course. Make sense?'
A sea of heads immediately bobbed up and down.
The Head smiled. 'Great! Now, your teacher will also have a copy of the schedule, so there's no need to memorise it…'
There were a few more minutes of technicalities—a few kids clearly becoming impatient—before everyone was finally released. While Fuyumi gathered their students together, Izuku quickly made his way back out to the field, along with a few other teachers. Some parents were already congregating around the activities, eager to support their kids. He smiled in greeting and exchanged pleasantries with a few, but otherwise remained silent as he waited.
He rocked back and forth on his feet, imagining all the different outcomes of the day. Hiru was the fastest runner in his grade—probably the older ones too—due to his quirk. That was why they’d deliberately scheduled the whole school for the relay race at the end of the day. That way, they could set it up so each team could cheer each other on for the final event.
His thoughts were interrupted before he could truly get lost in them, as a flock of children suddenly swarmed the field.
There were five other events, not including the obstacle course and relay. Tug of war was fairly self-explanatory, as was dance; along with the bean bag toss—throw as many beanbags into your team’s basket as possible before the time runs out—and the cavalry battle. Admittedly though, the latter wouldn’t be as impressive as UA’s infamous cavalry battle due to the lack of quirk usage.
The event that was often the most confusing for foreign students was oodama, but that was just because of the name, which was just “giant ball”. Essentially, each team had to carry a giant inflatable ball together to the goal point; if they dropped it, they’d have to start again. Izuku really hoped Hiru had brought along his personalised cover for his quills, otherwise they might have some issues with that one.
‘Namaste, Midoriya-sensei!’
He smiled as the sixth graders surrounded him, all bowing simultaneously. They were the year below his previous homeroom class—when he’d had India for global month—so naturally, they’d all joined in during the legendary “Namaste phase” and made sure not to let it die out entirely.
Indulging them, he put his palms together and bowed.
‘Namaste, bachche! How're you all doing?'
He snorted when they immediately began speaking over each other—clearly excited—and waited until they’d all calmed down before taking them through the usual rules. There would be six races, with roughly ten students per race. Then, the winner of each race would enter the final, and points would be assigned based on their placement.
It wasn’t too difficult considering the sixth graders had already done the course before—with just a few minor changes—but once they’d moved on, his next group was the first graders.
‘Hey, Sensei!’ His students greeted excitedly. ‘We just did our dance routine!’
‘Did you?’ He gasped. ‘How did it go?’
‘It went really well!’ Hana jumped up and down. ‘Our parents all watched as well, which was super fun! Okaasan took pictures!’
‘We didn’t win though.’ Haku pouted, crossing his arms as class B joined them.
‘It was really close!’ Fuyumi tried to placate. ‘You were all really good! Like professional dancers!’
‘Like Pinky?’ Izuku offered, knowing his students would appreciate the comparison. When Fuyumi quickly agreed, they brightened up significantly, and he explained the rules.
It ended up being a close one, but after the first set of races, the finalists were decided: four from class B and two from A. Luckily though, Hiru and Touta managed to bag the top two spots, bringing the scores to a tie as they went off to the next activity. Izuku waved farewell as he quickly prepared everything for the second graders.
By the time lunch came around and the scores were tallied, team All Might were in joint second with Dynamight, while team Shoto was in the lead. It was pretty close, which was to be expected—especially to build suspense and competition—but it still made Izuku nervous.
His leg was twitching.
'Stop overthinking.' Fuyumi nudged him from where they were sitting: a picnic bench in the playground, as the children played around them. 'We've set everything in motion, it's up to the kids now.'
'I know.' He sighed, exasperated. 'But I'm a worrier!'
'And I'm not?' She scoffed with a laugh. 'Come on. There's nothing else you can do for now.'
'Only because I haven't thought of something yet.' He argued weakly.
Maybe there was some way he could figure out a plan to have the different grades work together, or set up an ethical way to jeopardise-
‘Nope. Not going there.' Fuyumi interjected, before slurping up more noodles. He must've been staring at his bento for too long and mumbling out loud. 'Tell you what, I'll change the subject. How was your weekend?’
Not even subtle… but Izuku chose to take the bait. Worrying made his stomach hurt.
‘Pretty uneventful…’ He shrugged, using his chopsticks to move his food around. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as his mind recalled a certain hero. ‘Y’know, other than the obvious. You?’
‘Yeah, I was pretty much the same.’ She laughed halfheartedly. 'You really must be nervous for Hiru, considering you haven't even brought up Shoto until now, and that was with some prompting.'
'I've just not had the time to properly gush about it.' He placed a hand over his chest, then eyed his friend cautiously. 'Plus, I wanted to check first: how're you feeling about it?'
She flashed him a grateful smile, then shook her head affectionately.
'It's… I'm feeling hopeful, I think.' She pursed her lips, pondering. ‘It was just… surprising, to say the least. As you know, we were all concerned about him the past week, but then, before he went to work yesterday, he told us to keep an eye on the news and promised that it was nothing bad…' Her tone turned sarcastic. 'That didn't worry us at all.’
‘Of course.’
‘So we kept the tv on during dinner, then all of a sudden, okaasan called my name, and I rushed in, and on the screen was Shoto using his fire to catch a villain, like some kind of fever dream!’
She hesitated then; Izuku tilted his head to the side.
‘Was that good or bad?’
‘Oh, definitely good!’ She was quick to clarify, then looked down at her noodles in thought. ‘We just… never expected it. Shoto had always been so against using it in combat. Something must’ve happened.’
She paused and slowly looked up to meet Izuku’s eyes. ‘Hang on.’
He chuckled nervously.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘You never said what your argument was about when you hung out at the house, just that you disagreed on something. Come on, spill.’
As she looked at him expectantly, Izuku tapped his index fingers together and bounced his legs under the table.
‘He kinda… told me about why he didn’t use his fire, so I kinda… to sum it up, basically called him immature and explained why he was being dumb.’
‘Izuku!’
‘I know, it was stupid, I don’t know what I was doing. I guess I was just…’ He faltered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. 'I was just…'
‘Being your usual self.’ Fuyumi eventually finished for him, causing him to look at her quizzically. ‘He’s needed telling for years, but he’s stubborn and all of us were afraid of the consequences. Our family’s been through so much, we didn’t want to risk breaking it again.’
She sighed. ‘After everything that happened, I think he’d resigned himself to not using his left side… because otherwise he’d have to admit to not “giving it his all” against Touya. He didn't "try hard enough" to save him, if that makes sense?’
‘I didn’t think about that.’ Izuku murmured, guilt immediately washing over him as he slapped his forehead. ‘Of course he feels responsible for what happened, and I was so insensitive.’
He groaned, twitching as he recalled the argument. He made several more little noises of annoyance and shook his head. Fuck, it’s a wonder he doesn’t hate me…
Fuyumi regarded him carefully, chewing the inside of her cheek. She was used to his stimming by now, so didn't mention it, which he was thankful for.
‘I don’t know what you said specifically.’ She began slowly. ‘But whatever it was… it worked, so don’t beat yourself up too much like I know you’re currently doing.’
‘You know me too well.’ Izuku snorted. 'Gahhh, I just… he looked so sad and angry.'
‘He’s been sad and angry for a while, but he used to be worse.’ She conceded, but her tone wasn't accusatory. ‘Therapy has done most of the work to get him where he is today, but he’s always been so adamant about his fire… until now. You don’t need to feel bad for telling him what he needed to hear, promise.’
Izuku tightened his lips and searched her expression.
‘Are you really sure?’
She snorted.
‘If Shoto hated you, you’d know it by now.’ She told him simply. ‘Has he messaged you today?’
Izuku paused.
‘Well, yeah... He wanted to wish me luck.’
‘See?’
‘All right, all right, fine.’ Izuku smiled despite himself, as he took his phone out of his pocket. ‘It was really thoughtful-’
He paused when he realised Shoto had actually messaged him a few minutes ago.
‘Yeah, he fretted over the wording for ten minutes this morning.’ Fuyumi divulged—Izuku doubted her brother wanted him to know that little bit of information—before taking a sip from her drink. ‘So you’ve got nothing to worry about… and I know that smile, you’re looking at his messages, aren’t you?’
‘Hush.’ He stuck his tongue out, but before he could unlock his phone, one of his students suddenly appeared at his side. ‘Oh, hello, Nagisa-chan.’
‘Hi.’ She swung her arms out. ‘What happens when you die?’
Fuyumi choked on her drink, while Izuku just took a moment to process the question.
‘Erm… me specifically, or just people?’ Despite asking for clarification, the answer would remain the same: he didn’t have a clue.
‘Well, is it different for you?’ She tilted her head to the side.
Point taken.
‘I’ll be honest, Nagisa-chan, I’m not sure.’ He admitted. ‘That’s the thing about dying… you can’t really come back and let everyone know what happens.’
‘What about people who die and then they come back to life with the electric oven gloves.’
Izuku’s left eye twitched.
‘You mean a defibrillator?’ He asked, slowly.
‘I like my name better.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ Fuyumi chipped in.
Izuku hoped the name comment would distract her from the question, but alas, Nagisa continued to stare at him expectantly.
‘Er… well, I guess if they’re brought back to life, they couldn’t have been truly dead?’
‘Even Jesus?’
‘Do you… believe in Jesus?’
‘Not really.’ She sighed, looking over at where some students were playing hopscotch. ‘So what DOES happen when you die?’
Izuku bit his lip to prevent any muttering—he could go to various lengths about different religions and their beliefs, along with potential theories—but figured no one would appreciate that.
‘What do you think happens?’ He asked instead.
‘Hmmm.’ She placed a contemplative hand on her chin. ‘Probably… if you’re a good person, you turn into a dog or maybe a butterfly, but if you’re bad, you turn into… a wasp.’
‘A wasp?’
‘Yeah. No one likes wasps.’
‘What about good people who don’t like dogs?’ Fuyumi asked.
‘I guess… then maybe you turn into your favourite animal if you’re good.’ She twirled some of her hair around her finger. ‘And if you’re bad, you turn into something you don’t like.’
‘I can get behind that.’ Izuku agreed, then finally asked what had been on his mind since the start of the interaction. ‘What made you ask the question?’
‘My goldfish died last night.’ Nagisa pouted. ‘Okaasan flushed Floella down the toilet.’
‘That’s sad.’ Izuku frowned.
‘Yes, very.’ She put the hair she was playing with in her mouth and started chewing. ‘Anyway, see you later, sensei.’
Before he could say anything else, she sprinted off to join those playing hopscotch.
‘That was lovely.’ Fuyumi commented, as the two of them watched her go.
‘I think I have whiplash.’ Izuku deadpanned, before finally looking at his phone.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1239]: Hope it’s going well
Me [1250]: So far so good! How’s work?
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1251]: On my lunch now, so can’t complain
‘Mei-chan, don’t you dare put that worm in your mouth!’ Fuyumi suddenly shouted, before bolting off towards the aforementioned student. ‘It’s every other day with this girl.’
Izuku snorted, then scanned the playground. The rest of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves, whilst most parents chatted with each other around the many picnic benches; some families stayed together, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Me [1253]: Same… 7 more minutes left tho
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: That’s rough buddy
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: What time do you get off?
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.
‘Have you finished your lunch?’ Fuyumi was suddenly at his side, a little out of breath. When he nodded, she scooped up his container. ‘No problem, I’ll pop these back in the staffroom while you chat up my brother.’
‘I am not-’ He faltered when she quickly sped away out of earshot, then grumbled as he turned back to his phone. ‘I wish.’
Me [1255]: The school day finishes at 3 15 but I won’t be leaving till half past. Why?
He tapped the edge of his phone as he waited for a reply, periodically monitoring the students.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1257]: Just wondering for when Fuyumi comes home
Izuku tried not to feel disappointed with the answer.
Me [1258]: Fair enough. Anyway, I gotta start rounding up the kids. Speak to you soon!
He quickly put his phone in his pocket and got to his feet.
Once everyone was organised and lunch was officially over, Izuku left the first graders with Fuyumi and jogged back over to the obstacle course, anticipating the fourth graders. In truth, he handled them relatively easily. They were especially boisterous, but the rowdiness didn't manifest into disobedience, and the parents watching from the sidelines cheered them on in good sport.
It wasn't until they left and grade five appeared that Izuku felt anxiety return. He tried not to let it show as he explained the rules to the students, who seemed particularly riled up, as teams All Might and Shoto were currently tying for first place.
'Ugh, I hope those annoying first graders don't ruin it for us!' One rolled his eyes, while his friend groaned with frustration.
'I bet they do! They're so useless!' Hiru hadn't provided him with names, but Izuku knew enough to suspect who the bullies were. 'Especially that mutant porcupine-'
'Have you got something you want to share with everyone?' Izuku interrupted, stern. When the rest of the grade turned to share at the duo, embarrassment flooded their cheeks and they shook their heads. Izuku tried not to pay attention to the way some parents turned to whisper to one another and even point at him. 'Well then, I hope you were discussing the rules, because it’s time to split into teams.'
His smile returned as he continued on with the event. However, his eyes did occasionally scan certain individuals for longer than he usually would.
'Is that him?' He'd hear some of the adults whisper. 'The Quirkless one?'
He'd heard similar questions and hushed comments throughout the day—not all malicious, mainly curious—but right now, Izuku was struggling to ignore them. Maybe it was because there were parents among them who were overtly and dangerously quirkist. Realistically, he knew that he was safe and that he was doing his job to the best of his ability, but he still felt like he was under the spotlight; if he fucked anything up in front of them, then he was setting a bad example for his fellow HQ community.
Luckily, whispers aside, the remaining forty five minutes passed without any incidents, and Izuku exhaled with relief once he was left to pack everything away while the students and parents made their way to the athletics track. It was only a brief interlude—it was easier putting everything away compared to setting it all up this morning—but he welcomed it all the same. It gave him a chance to briefly recharge and gather his bearings.
Once everything was sorted, he—along with a few other teachers who had also been on clean-up duty—jogged over to join the rest of the school. It was loud, many voices cheering and whooping. From the look and sound of it, the third graders were competing, which meant that there were only two more races left.
He hadn't missed the final then.
Izuku spotted the first graders sitting together with Fuyumi, and smiled as he strode over
'How's it going?' He nudged her gently and joined her on the grass, leaning back on his ankles. He tried not to alert the students of his presence so they could enjoy the race. 'Miss anything?'
'Your initial predictions were right, as usual.' She crossed her arms and nodded towards the blackboard by the finish line. 'If team Lemillion win, which looks like it's about to happen, then no matter how team Dynamight do in the grade two race, they still won't be higher than third. That puts our kids competing for the overall first place in the final round.'
'Seriously?' His eyes widened. 'I never expected it to go that smoothly, especially considering I don't know the other grades as well as ours.'
'Yeah, but I distinctly remember walking into your classroom after school to snap you out of your three hour strategizing session because housekeeping was about to kick you out.' Fuyumi shrugged. 'Once you get fixated on something, that's it, so I was pretty confident with what you'd come up with... even if it requires me having to console my poor students after their inevitable defeat.'
'Look, it's not my fault the fastest first grader is in my class.' Izuku grinned when Fuyumi mock sneered at him. 'I just hope it's worth it.'
His friend hummed, but didn't comment further, as the race came to an end. As expected, team Lemillion won—which meant both teams were out of the running for first—but that didn't prevent the second graders from giving it their absolute all in their race for third place. While that was going on though, Izuku tapped his class's four candidates on the shoulder.
'Hey, sensei!' Hana and Tomoyo both exclaimed, while Hiru waved.
'Are you here to escort us to the start line?' Touta asked, straight to the point.
'You bet I am!' He smiled, gesturing for them to get up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fuyumi do the same with her students. 'Are you ready?'
'Yes!' They jumped up.
'Do your best!' Haku called out, prompting the rest of the class to shout their good luck.
'I believe in you!' Nozomi pumped her fist. 'Show them what you're made of, Hiru!'
'Gotta go fast!' The aforementioned giggled, as they made their way around the course.
Instead of the typical 400m relay, they had painted a track half the size; therefore, to run a full lap, each student participating would run 50m. It was the ideal size, as it meant everyone had enough space to spectate, including the parents.
By the time they made it to the starting line, the penultimate race concluded, as teams Dynamight and Lemillion shouted accordingly—the cheers outweighing the groans of the losing team. Izuku wasn't quite sure who had won, until he heard Tomoyo inform Touta that Lemiilion had made a last minute comeback and had beat Dynamight by one point.
'Alright, everyone!' The Head announced through a loudspeaker; Izuku winced at the volume. 'Has everyone enjoyed today?' He paused as the field filled with whoops and excited "yeah"s, before continuing. 'It's time for our final race of the day and the battle for first place! Show some support for the first graders!'
Amongst the noise, the students got into position and the first runners were given their baton.
'I was telling the others about how you can start running before your partner gets to you.' Touta informed Izuku. 'That way, there's no stopping, which could slow the race down, but I also told them not to start running too early. Don't worry, we practised yesterday during playtime!'
'Is that so?' Izuku nodded in understanding. 'How did that go?'
'Very well! I'm confident we'll win!' Touta nodded firmly, before getting on the ground into the proper position, unlike the other student, who was just standing normally and side-eyeing him.
Izuku quickly stepped to the side and gave a thumbs up. Anticipation set in as the Head counted them down, and suddenly they were running. Touta—ever idolising Ingenium—had an intense look of concentration as he hand chopped with each stride; somehow not losing the baton.
True to his word, Tomoyo started running as he came closer—not too fast and with her arm stuck out ready—and the transition was fairly smooth. Despite Touta's start, the race was still neck and neck; the class B girl running against Tomoyo was very fast—Izuku could feel Fuyumi’s smirk from here—so they quickly took the lead. His heart almost burst as Tomoyo’s face went red in her attempt to frantically catch up, but it was no use.
It wasn’t over yet though. Once the baton went to Hana, they were able to make back some of the gap. By this point, everyone was cheering and shouting—Izuku included, whilst trying not to let the desperation show in his voice—hoping for victory. Hana did well to pick up their pace, and once Hiru started running, nothing could stop him; he easily overtook his opponent and sprinted towards the finish line. His quills shook where his sports shirt had been modified, his nose bounced with each step, but his face was determined, focusing only on one goal.
Izuku looked around him, searching everyone else’s expressions. Most were watching with amazement, others with delight, whilst those on team Shoto were clutching their heads in anguish. When his eyes scanned over the fifth graders from earlier, he was glad to see them staring at Hiru with wide eyes; their mouths agape with shock. That was progress, at least, and when Hiru crossed the finish line—an easy victory—they punched their fists in the air and cheered with everyone else.
Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and turned back to Hiru—who was being crowded by the rest of class A—and joined them in their congratulations, making sure to commend the other runners as well. The background noise all mingled into one, so once he'd said his piece, Izuku made his way back to Fuyumi, a smile on his face…
Until he passed the adults.
'To let a mutant participate in this event is ridiculous.' He overheard one of the parents complain. 'They clearly have an unfair advantage.'
‘Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying for the past three years!’ Another chimed in. 'They should have their own category or something, especially when the normal kids aren't allowed to use their quirks.'
Izuku's jaw tightened and he turned.
'Excuse my intrusion.' His heart pounded against his chest. What was he doing? 'But I hardly think a children's sports day warrants any extra categories based purely on physical attributes—we don’t split the beanbag toss up depending on height, after all. Plus, one member of class B's relay team also had a heteromorph quirk, so I don't think there was any "unfair" advantage.'
'Of course you would think that.' The first parent rolled her eyes. 'Everyone has an advantage over someone quirkless, so it's all the same to you.'
Wow, no hesitation there.
That stung, but Izuku wasn't about to submit.
'I have a joint-honours degree in both teaching and quirk studies, with a postgraduate specialisation in the development of quirks.' He replied, easily. 'So I don't think you can just write me off as not knowing what I'm talking about simply because I'm quirkless, which is a prejudiced argument if I've ever heard one.'
'Well if you're so smart, then you should know about how these genetic mutations are illnesses-'
'Illnesses?' He couldn't help but scoff. 'Do you believe everything Speak Out tell you? Do you know the studies they cite are super dodgy and often anecdotal?'
'That's because the scientists doing peer reviews are politically motivated.'
'No, it's because the studies' methods are shi- rubbish, and the word "illness" is thrown around too liberally.' Izuku remained steadfast. Luckily, they hadn't attracted a crowd yet, but he could tell some of the other parents were looking at them. 'Anyone with critical thinking knows that.'
'Are you saying I have no critical thinking?'
'Well, if the shoe f-'
'Midoriya-sensei.' Fuyumi suddenly appeared at his side, her smile placating. 'Why don't you let me take over? Kimura-san and Shimizu-san’s children are in my class. I'll meet you in the staffroom.'
She looked at him deliberately, but Izuku didn't retreat straight away. He held her gaze for a few seconds first, clearly not happy about the situation.
'Alright.'
Casting the parents one final glance, he took his leave. As he made his way through the crowd though, he clenched his fists tightly and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent any angry muttering.
It's always one step forward, two fucking steps back.
***
'So, you told me to ask again in eight hours.' Fuyumi said as they walked out of the school building. 'How're you doing?'
Izuku sighed, kicking a small stone.
'At least the kids are acting in a friendly way.' He tried to focus on the positives. 'Those fifth graders even called Hiru cool.'
'Yes… But that's not what's on your mind.' Fuyumi stated pointedly. 'It's that conversation with the parents that would’ve escalated if I hadn’t intervened.'
Izuku chuckled humorlessly, still staring at the ground.
'You got me.' He conceded, spreading his palms in surrender. 'It was just so frustrating.'
'I know.' Fuyumi waved at the school caretaker over by the bins, prompting Izuku to also wave politely. 'I wasn't able to talk much sense into them after you left, I'll be honest, but I pointed them to the information session we'll be hosting—they said they'll be there.'
'Yay.'
'You stop that now.' She swatted him without any real malice. 'You were the one who…'
Izuku turned to look at her when she trailed off, only to find her staring at the school gate, mouth agape. Confused, he followed her gaze and baulked when he saw red and white hair.
'Shoto-kun?'
The aforementioned was leant against the wall, still in his hero costume, and scrolling through his phone. When he noticed them approaching, however, he pocketed the device and nodded in greeting.
'What a lovely surprise.' Fuyumi sounded almost amused. 'What brings you to this side of the world?'
'Midoriya told me what time you'd both be finishing, so I thought I'd walk home with you.' Shoto answered easily, like this was perfectly normal behaviour. 'I figured if he was going to scream at me, may as well do it in front of an audience.'
'Scream?' Izuku took a moment to process what he meant. 'Ooooh, the texts. I said I'd scream at him next time I saw him because he used his fire… Good screaming.'
'I was beginning to worry.' Fuyumi snorted. 'Good idea. Izuku could definitely do to let off some steam with a distraction.'
Shoto's expression immediately shifted into concern.
'That bad?'
Izuku sighed.
'I'll tell you about it later, but for now…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'Tell me everything about your fire!'
By the time they parted ways—the Todorokis turning left at the crossroads and Izuku going straight on—he couldn't deny he was definitely in a better mood than he had been an hour ago.
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stygianbluu · 1 year
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I am once again in search of a fic.
So, bnha fandom, I tripped and fell back into my dfo phase. However, I cannot for the life of me remember what this particular fic is called, nor can I find it within my bookmarks.
Basic synopsis;
•Begins while Izuku is still training to receive OFA from All Might. He is still 'quirkless'.
•Someone is going around kidnapping quirkless people, and Izuku gets snatched.
•Dfo and All Might end up working together to find their son... Somehow.
•Turns out Izuku has the AFO quirk but was too... Izuku to actually use it - bc while he loves quirks and can think of a million ways he could use them if they were his, he's never gone so far as to wish he had a person's quirk INSTEAD of them.
•That changes when he and a whole bunch of other people are about to become victims of human trafficking.
•He's still the same person he's always been, and gives the quirk back once everyone's safe.
And... That's basically all I remember.
If you recognize this fic please lmk the title and author over on ao3 so that I can read it again! Cheers, ily
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wickedacefae · 2 years
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Gonna admit I hate stories that start Izuku off like "Yeah! I'm gonna be the first quirkless hero!" Then a few chapters in, AFTER he makes it into UA and Class 1-A while quirkless, All Might offers OFA and suddenly it's along the lines of "Well it'd be SeLfIsH of me to not be a hero with a quirk" or some shit. If they do that and he accepts the quirk, I stop reading it.
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aka-lambda · 1 year
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Old but gold. My main BNHA villain oc is still under redesign but you can see her as a butterfly🦋
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soulless-bex · 1 year
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i’m angry that izuku’s past is completely overlooked. so many writers do that to their characters and it’s infuriating. if you gave them trauma then fucking take responsibility. tragic backstory are only cool if they continue to impact the character’s day to day life (to a realistic extent only of course)
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waitwithwaluigi · 2 years
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Why I like Quirkless!Midoriya AUs
TW: explicit mentions of discrimination and bullying against disabled (ends at ***)
TL;DR at the bottom
So I've got mental illness. (I know, I'm a pretty rare find on tumblr) Despite the fun cocktail of disabilities I had, I wasnt diagnosed until later in my teens. As you can guess, school wasn't very fun. I was disadvantaged because I was different. I was treated as less, as if I had something missing and nothing I could ever say or do could fix that. I didn't know what people thought of me though.
Dont get me wrong- I am not my disabilities. But I can say for certain, it's been a huge factor in how I see the world now, how I move around it. The protective rage and resigned acceptance I feel when I see discrimination against minority groups might not be the same as an able person. The desperate kicking and clawing to establish better resources for people like me isnt the same. The frustration and exhaustion I feel when the school board sees my 'condition' listed and having to prove myself competent over and over again isn't the same.
I've had my fair share of Fun!! and Exciting!!! experiences in discrimination!!!!
Like saying hello to the koi fish while trying to rescue my school bag that a teacher had flung out of the classroom after she got tired of my ADHD ass. (I bet you can guess how I felt when I saw That™️ koi pond scene) I was called out to the front of the class and told to unpack my bag and and show my classmates how disgusting I was (I was depressed and decided to just carry all my books around instead of unpack and repack according to schedule). I remember sprinting after my packed lunch but being so depressed and exhausted to keep going for more than 5 minutes. I was made an example of when I forgot my things and had to go back to school during the afternoon classes to grab the worksheet I left in class.
Through it all had to keep quiet. I was less, after all. If I wasn't, why did so many ignore the bullying? Why did they let go of me and say I was exagerating when they found me Too Much To Handle?
(Not looking for pity btw, just giving context)
***
Now, I initially began reading MHA fics because I was a teen who saw pretty people and cool fighting and was like "damn shawty, I'm gonna need more". (All hail Yaomomo) Then I came across the Quirkless Midoriya Izuku tag and was like huh.
Pretty interesting concept, right? So I read. And I read and I read and I read. And something just clicked. It wasnt like one of those mental illness success stories where they where overly positive or ones where I had to keep taking breaks because I kept getting reminded of the bs I went through. It was just removed enough but still relatable to my experience. Midoriya wouldn't be less if he didn't get a quirk.
In these fics, he found ways to work around it. Like yeah, maybe finding a work arounds when fighting your besties with god-like abilities while you have nothing isn't the same as finding a way to study that best suited my ADHD ass. But the fight to be considered equal, the ways I had to find creative ways to problems that my classmates thought nothing of. It resonated with me. (The fantasy and escapism were bonuses too)
It gives me a little extra push when I get too exhausted after the 100th time that day I have to prove that I am just as capable as anyone else.
While I'm not really a fan of Quirkless Villain!Midoriya cuz its typically a little too edgy for me, I do like it when its written well. Fuck the system and fuck the assholes who doubt us, right?
Something Fun!! I've experienced with disabilities is that you sometimes have to ignore any system entirely and just Do It. Just kick people in the shins and carve out the opportunity that nobody would bother giving you. Maybe one day they'll recognise you, maybe not. But you're doing what you've always wanted to do. That's something I feel when I read Quirkless Vigilante!Midoriya fics.
Quirkless AUs aren't like Batman where he's Super Intelligent and has 70 black belts. There isnt as much angst oof. He was just some Dood with determination and some smarts. We get to see him train, see the emotions and struggles all written out. Not to mention, I was a teen when I found MHA so it was extra relatable. I'm very sure that there are superheroes who fit that description but this niche is what I found.
That's why I like Quirkless!Midoriya AUs so much.
Do I think him becoming a hero will change a lot? No, not as much as me becoming a world famous super star would. But it would inspire. Even if it inspired just one person, stopped one person from doing something bad to soothe the ache, wouldn't it be enough? It inspired me at least.
Tl;dr: I seeing people with 'less' ability than their peers be equal and overcome challenges using creative solutions since they arent as 'catered' to, just like a disabled person. Its also easier to read without getting triggered compared to an actual book about mental illness discrimination.
Please enjoy this adorable panel as thanks for reading
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mjbunnyluv · 1 year
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The Scoop, Part 2
Summary: PH!Bakugou, QL!Izuku AU where they are estranged childhood friends and haven’t had contact in a little over a decade. As he couldn’t achieve his dreams of becoming a hero, Izuku has become a hero journalist instead. The entire hero community loves him, but as he becomes more popular, Izuku finds it harder and harder to avoid his former friend.
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“Midoriya,” an excited squeal preceded the bubbly pro hero as she skipped down the hall.
“Pinky!” Izuku grinned at her arrival. He’d just finished setting up in one of the conference rooms at A-Chic, the acid heroine’s personal agency. This was not the first time he was interviewing her. 
In fact, Pinky was one of his number one interviewees, her PR team giving him a call every few months for a new story. The bubble gum haired woman was extremely active in the community - hosting charity events and dinner parties, fundraisers and community nights. During his last interview, Izuku covered the breakdance battle she’d organized to raise money for underprivileged kids. With Mina’s infectious personality and Izuku’s top-tier journalism, the event was a huge success, meeting its goal and then some. The funds were used to build a youth center that provided free meals, tutoring services, and job placement opportunities to school aged kids in Greater Tokyo. And it also helped Pinky rise almost 10 spots in the hero charts. 
“It’s so good to see you,” Mina giggled. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week!”
“Me, too,” the greenette nodded. “I know it’s only been five months since our last interview, but it feels like it’s been forever.”
“Ugh, tell me about it!” She waved her hand dramatically. “Seriously, though, a Pulitzer?!” 
Izuku shrugged, a sheepish smile gracing his lips as a deep blush danced across his cheeks, the bronze freckles dotting his skin popping against the color. The announcement of his achievement last month had come as a huge surprise to Izuku. “I mean…I don’t really think I deser-”
“Nope!” She slapped a hand over his mouth, and emerald eyes bugged out wide with surprise. “None of that. You are the best, period! Deserving of any and all awards that come your way.”
“That’s very sweet of you,” he chuckled, pulling her palm away from his face. 
Mina rolled her golden eyes, “Honey, there’s a reason you’re the only journalist I talk to.” Izuku cocked his head to the side. That couldn’t be right. He swore he’d seen a story from the Tokyo Journal only a couple weeks ago where she made comments about a recent villain fight. “Respect goes a long way, my friend, and most journalists are severely lacking. They all act like heroes owe them every second of their free time after a fight or a gala, or God forbid on our days off. My dude, all I want to do is take a damn breather, and you,” she pointed at the journalist with a big flourish of her wrist, “always make me feel like a person. Like I can be myself and not get judged for it, you know?”
“Well, that’s the goal,” Izuku grinned. “Glad to know I’m doing my job as I’ve always intended.” 
“Seriously, though,” Mina sighed as she took a seat at the conference table. “You are our precious little bean and we will protect you at all costs!”
“Our? We?” The freckled man scrunched his nose as he tried to work out who she was talking about. He got situated in one of the rolling chairs and drummed his fingers on the tabletop.
“The hero community, silly!” The pinkette giggled, lightly slapping his wrist. “Actually, I was just talking to Ejirou the other day- you know, Red Riot – and we were thinking, how great would it be if you covered the upcoming Hero Billboard Chart? I mean, you’d have no problem interviewing anybody and since Dynamight is about to be named Number 1 it would be the perfect opportunity-”
“NO!” Izuku shouted. He clenched and unclenched his hands, cheeks burning crimson at his sudden outburst. Clearing his throat, the greenette stated very calmly, “S-sorry. What I meant to say was, I won’t be in town for the event. I’ve been asked to cover a story on the World Heroes’ Commission and I’ll be traveling to Switzerland during that time.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Mina slumped. “I was really hoping you’d be there. All the other reporters are so stuffy. You’re much more fun to talk to.”
Izuku let out a calming exhale. That was only a partial lie…he really was going to be in Switzerland covering the World Heroes’ Commission, but he hadn’t been asked. In reality, he’d begged for it. As a journalist who primarily covered all things heroes, Izuku always kept a close eye on the charts. And when it started trending that Dynamight would finally be achieving the highly coveted rank of Number 1 Hero, the greenette marched into his boss’s office and practically got on his knees to request that someone else cover the Hero Billboard Charts this season. Was he being a coward? Probably. But was he sufficiently relieved when his request was accepted? Absolutely.
Five years…five years Izuku had been conducting interviews after earning his Bachelor’s in Journalism. And in all that time, he had successfully avoided one hero in particular. Dynamight continued to be his current favorite hero, in fact, he had analyzed plenty of his former friend’s fights and published his excited ramblings on his fanboy blog - the one he ran under the pseudonym Deku. Izuku knew he wasn’t being slick, if anything, the explosive hero would know it was him right away from the old nickname he’d given the freckled boy when they were kids. But whenever it was brought up that the explosive hero was looking to schedule interviews for PR, Izuku made sure he was unavailable for the man’s requested time slot.
“S-So, what did you want to talk about today?” Izuku stuttered, looking over the notes he’d taken from the pinkette’s PR team. “A team up?”
“Mhmm, that’s right,” Mina perked up. “Well, it’s not the type of team up most people would be used to. Not in the traditional heroic sense anyway.”
“How would you classify it then?” he asked, recording device having been picking up everything since just before the heroine joined him. But in true old school fashion, Izuku just couldn’t get away from scribbling down bits of information and quotes in a notebook. There was just something so nostalgic about pen meeting paper. Or maybe it was just a safety blanket. He had been writing down thoughts since he learned how to read and write, and in all honesty, writing things down had saved his ass more than once after a power outage. 
“Oh, it’s a burlesque show.”
Izuku’s hand stopped scribbling. Emerald eyes blinked at the page before slowly lifting to meet golden irises. “A what?”
“A burlesque show. You know, provocative dancing, short skirts, sensual music.” Mina moved her body in a smooth movement bringing attention to the cleavage just above the neckline of her costume. 
Izuku gulped, “F-For charity, I presume?”
“You got it!” She winked. “And the list of participants is outstanding.”
“What are you raising money for this time?” Izuku’s hand resumed scratching down notes.
“Support for the victims of that villain attack a couple weeks ago. The one with Subterranean, you know that guy who caused 9.0 earthquakes, leveled three towns and killed almost 1,000 people.” Pinky leaned back, the chair groaning as she pressed into the seatback. “It was awful. And everything happened so fast that rescue attempts turned into recovering bodies. Sometimes this job weighs on you and you just can’t help but lie awake at night and think what if I was faster? What if I did x, y, or z differently? But I learned a long time ago that those kinds of thoughts don’t help anybody. So, instead I find ways to help the survivors, to do what I can in the aftermath.”
“I’m sure any kind of support would be appreciated right now. I’ve seen that nearby communities have been taking in families who've been displaced by the attack.” Izuku commented.
“Yeah, everyone is doing good things to help their neighbors. One of the things I’d like to do with the money we raise from this show is to build sustainable housing to shelter those who’ve been displaced, and offer free meals as well.” Mina nodded. “Our goal is set at 11 million Yen and I really think that’s achievable. Especially since a handful of agencies have agreed to match donations.”
“Oh really? That’s great! Which agencies?” Izuku’s hand was flying across the page, eyes flicking up every so often to engage with the heroine.
“The usuals,” she shrugged. “Nightcrawler, Creations Inc., Ingenium, Icy Hot.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a little community of your own,” the greenette chuckled. “I’ve been making the rounds with interviews lately and those are all the agencies that come up pretty frequently.”
“Eh, you make your alliances, and they really don’t change unless someone does something really off the rails,” she laughed. “Not surprised my little circle of besties are always hitting you up.”
“You mentioned the list of participants for the burlesque show is,” he flipped back a page, “outstanding. Care to share a few names of who we can expect to see on stage?”
“Oh definitely,” Mina grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye as she stretched forward to lean on her crossed forearms. “I mean, there’s the usual suspects…Nejire-chan, Uravity, myself obviously, then there’s Galeforce and Phantom Thief. Oh, and I can’t forget Illus-o-Camie. Plus, a few surprises. But I don’t want to give it all away, you know. Gotta leave some things to the imagination,” she winked.
“Of course. It’s not burlesque without intrigue, right?” Izuku chuckled as he made note of all the names Pinky had mentioned. 
“See, you get it,” she laughed, slapping his wrist again. “You should really come. I think you’d have a great time, Midoriya. And it’s all for charity, so everyone will be in high spirits. Nothing makes people happier than doing good deeds and heroes showing some skin.”
He laughed remembering the nude calendar featuring the Top 15 heroes that was released last year. Pre-orders sold out in a matter of minutes and once they were released in stores, not a single retailer was able to keep them on the shelves. Even Izuku had a hard time getting his hands on one…he did, eventually and he was still ashamed of the amount of time he’d spent staring at April. Because damn, Kacchan was ripped and the picture was equal parts tasteful and risqué. Hero mask pushed onto his forehead and slicking back that explosion of blonde spikes, dark black kohl rimming his eyes and not a single bit of fabric in sight. Just a well-placed Dynamight gauntlet hiding the most scandalous bits. Izuku coughed to hide that he was getting a little hot and bothered just thinking about that calendar. 
“I’ll think about it,” he told her, and he genuinely meant it. 
“Good.” Mina gave a short nod. A sharp knock caught their attention at the door and a petite brunette appeared in the doorway. The woman was dressed in a colorful pantsuit, her hair braided and laying heavily over her shoulder. Izuku immediately recognized her as the head of Pinky’s PR team. “That time already, Kimi?”
“Afraid so,” she scrunched her nose, making the glitter sparkling across her cheeks dance under the fluorescent lights of the conference room. “Nice to see you again, Midoriya.”
Izuku gave a little wave and turned back to the heroine. “Well, I think I’ve got enough to write a highlight piece.”
Mina squealed and squirmed in her seat, “I know I can count on you to rally the masses.” She hopped out of her seat and gestured for the journalist to come over. “C’mere, I need to give you a hug.” 
Used to her need to shower him in affection, Izuku smiled and stood. The second he was on his feet, the pinkette swooped in, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. And she only let go when he wheezed and patted her back. They pulled apart in a fit of giggles.
“You promise to try to make an appearance at the show?” Mina asked.
“I will do my best to clear my schedule,” Izuku nodded.
“Good, cuz I think you’ll really enjoy the final act,” she winked at him, and the journalist couldn’t help the look of confusion that washed over his face. Mina just laughed, that mischievous glint returning to her eyes. “See you later little bean!”
“Until next time, Pinky!” He waved, watching her skip out the door. As Izuku gathered up his notes and stopped the recording device, he couldn’t help but ponder what the heroine had up her sleeve. Knowing Mina, it was probably her just playing around like usual. And it wouldn’t be the first time she urged him to come out just to play wingwoman or to get him drunk off his ass. Well, whatever it was, Izuku was intrigued.
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likethehorrormovie · 2 years
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My Quirkless Academia CHAPTER UPDATE-
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Chapter 13 - "Nowhere" is finally up 🖤🖤🖤
If you like your post canon Pro Hero AUs with quirkless discrimination, angst, and wholesome father-daughter relationships- you can find the first chapter here. (But do mind the tags, there's a major character death in there)
Also any reblogs to boost, and I will help you bury a body, no questions asked just hmu 👌👌
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jey-chan · 6 months
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Izuku reboted the Bakugo comon sence by haking his way to UA
Itzuku and Katzuki doing homework on a public lybrery because the internet and power had ben gone for almost 2 days ontheyr neibohour.
After a while Katzuke is so done of the super rapid click click of tecles, so he just toke a lock of the nerd computer that it along side of his because this shitty place only have 2 working machines and they are together.
Katzuki:... *confused of what he is seing* Nerd...
Izuku: yea?
Katzuki: what the hell are you fuking doing?
Izuku Haking UA.
Katzuki: oh *2 seconds after* ... WHth the hell?!
Izuku: welll how else i am supost to impres Nesu if the laws are against my favor for entry to our next level of education?
Cute to Katzuki learning about a lot of super fuked up legal laws against quirkless individuals and learn that all his generation had ben gromed on the hate against fellow humans begiongs just because the government is afraid of a fictional no-quirk superhero that could, would, and do if they so desired blow up the planet and all of the timelines and adjunctive dimensions.
Ten sees his little green deku and nods.
Yup, Izuku Midorya was just 1 frog hair to become the villain that the world would not survive.
Better make sure to have this tiny elderish abomination occupied and doing shitti things to villains from the shadows.
Bakugo:... send your creppy notes on him to his personal computer...
Izuku: *with satr on his eyes and a lot of admiration from the blonde* Kachan... YOU ARE A GENIUS!
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