#could you imagine izuku trying to introduce all his family members to his classmates when he's also meeting them for the first time

[owlf45]

I think I’m going to return to Indefinite’s roots of early-chapter batshit humor 

[catlady5001]

My submission for nana’s gen contest!!! @queenangst

Ao3 link!!

Full story under the cut!!

Izuku walks through the shining halls, one hand nervously holding his backpack. The other holds a map of UA’s campus, and it’s supposed to tell Izuku where to go.

He sees the general studies classes lining the hall on either side, the business course just behind him, but where are Izuku’s classes? He nearly gives up when he overhears a girl at the far end of the path asking a hero -Snipe, Izuku’s brain exclaims- where the support course is located.

“Just down that hall and to the right,” Snipe says with a vague gesture.

The girl smiles, “Thank you!” She heads down the hall and Izuku races to follow. She walks into class 1-H just as he turns the corner.

Izuku walks in soon after and he can’t help but cringe away from the noise. A pink-haired girl has somehow caused an explosion already, and another kid is scolding her. Two similarly-dressed students are arguing about who copied who. Powerloader (Powerloader!) watches it all with a resigned air.

Izuku looks around the room, trying to find a calm spot in the chaotic storm, and eventually he sees the girl from earlier, reading at one of the corner tables. He doesn’t know if she’ll let him sit with her but it’s worth a shot, right? She doesn’t even know he’s quirkless yet!

“Can I sit here?” He asks quietly.

“Hm?” She looks up from her book. “Oh, yes!”

“...thanks,” Izuku murmurs. He can’t believe it was that easy. He slides out the chair across from her and pulls out his own notebook. She looks at him for a second longer, then turns back to her own book. They read in their quiet corner of peace until Powerloader-sensei draws their attention, and class begins.

That afternoon finds Izuku sitting against a tree, pencil in one hand and an apple in the other. He glances up when the cafeteria door creaks open. He lets out a small, relieved sigh when it’s just Yaoyorozu. Out of all of his classmates, she’s the one he’s happiest to see, especially since Hatsume stayed behind at the lab.

He waves. She smiles, closes the door with a soft click, then walks over to Izuku, bookbag in hand.

“Good afternoon, Midoriya,” she greets. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No, not at all!” Izuku eagerly assures her. She’s been kind to him all morning, even after the disaster that homeroom had been.

He holds his breath for a moment, anxious that she’ll bring it up.

She doesn’t, instead leaning against the tree, halfway turned to face Izuku. “So, Midoriya…”

Izuku bites his lip and takes a small sip of water as she thinks.

“You’re interested in quirks, right?”

Izuku’s eyes widen. “Yeah! I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember. They’re just so interesting!”

“I agree. Do you know what my quirk is?”

“I know the basic gist,” Izuku says. He tries to tamp down his excitement, too afraid of scaring her off, but his anticipation shines through anyways. “You can create anything, right?”

“Kind of,” Yaoyorozu says. She’s grinning though, so Izuku can’t have been too far off the mark. “Anything I know the chemical composition of, I can make..”

“That’s so cool,” Izuku breathes. Yaoyorozu’s smile widens, somehow. “Can you show me?”

“Yes, but…”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that… well, I haven’t eaten since this morning,” Yaoyorozu starts.

“Is that what fuels Creation?” Izuku checks.

Yaoyorozu nods and rests her chin on her hands. “I meant to grab lunch but I would’ve had to wait around with our classmates.”

Izuku shudders.

This morning had been… it was bad. Powerloader-sensei has everyone introduce themselves. Name, quirk, goal.

It goes fine, for a time. Everyone seems  cool, if a little eccentric. Some people -like Yaoyorozu- have quirks that stick out more than others, but they all seem nice. Everything is fine.

And then it’s Izuku’s turn, and nearly everyone has a sudden change of heart.

Yaoyorozu doesn’t, and neither does Hatsume, another girl.

Everyone else glares.

No one is too obvious about it, what with the hero in the room. In between classes, with the teachers gone and out of sight, classmates would jeer and throw spitballs.

Izuku has years of practice ignoring this, but it still hurts.

His classmates only stop when Yaoyorozu or Hatsume step in, but even they can’t do much. Their threats to tell the teachers are met with scorn.

“Izuku?” Yaoyorozu shakes him lightly, and Izuku jerks out of his memory with a start. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Izuku says. He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Yaoyorozu notices, he can tell, but she doesn’t point it out.

Instead, she goes on to tell him all about her quirk. She even demonstrates it, once he offers her a bright green apple. Izuku is entranced by how cool it all is.

The pair stays out until someone sticks their head out the window to call them inside. Izuku doesn’t know who they are, but he sees the insignia on their uniform- they’re a member of the hero course.

Izuku turns away hastily and heads in after Yaoyorozu. He tries not to think of the hero course, to imagine what it could’ve been like if he’d been there alongside Kacchan. He doesn’t succeed.

The next three days pass quickly, blending into each other. It’s only on Thursday that anything important happens, and even then it’s scarier more than being fun or educational.

Yaoyorozu and Izuku are outside when the alarms blare. Izuku clamps his ears in a fruitless attempt to drown out the noise, but it still reaches deep into his ears and twists around his skull.

Izuku presses in tighter, and that’s when Yaoyorozu hits him with something. He looks down to see a pair of heavy-duty earmuffs on the ground, and he immediately grabs them, sliding them onto his ears. They don’t keep the sound out entirely, but they do a much better job than his hands did.

Thank you, he mouths at Yaoyorozu. She smiles slightly. After a moment, Izuku holds his arms out, a clear invitation for a hug. Yaoyorozu embraces him and together they wait for the screams to stop.

Reporters, they’re told afterwards. Something about that seems off to Izuku, but he doesn’t question it. UA knows what they’re doing, right?

In any case, that Thursday ends with a feeling of tense anticipation hanging in the air.

The next day is stormy, thunderbolts and lightning raining down. Izuku has to be driven to school, and he steps out of the car just as Yaoyorozu’s pulls up. With a quick goodbye wave, he runs up the stairs, and a moment later Yaoyorozu’s steps slosh after his.

Izuku holds the door open at the top, and Yaoyorozu dashes inside.

“Thank you,” she says. Izuku waves it off and together they head down the hall.

It’s stormy, but today will be a good day.

It is not a good day. It was worse for everyone else, Izuku is sure, but still. In the middle of class, Powerloader answers a phone call, and then he puts Yaoyorozu in charge and leaves.

Everyone is confused, clamoring, but Yaoyorozu doesn’t know what’s going on any better than they do so she tells them to stay put. They don’t really listen, of course; too curious for their own good.

Several people leave the classroom, presumably to try and see what happened, while others stare out the windows. Hatsume works on her inventions with the same gusto as always (though there’s a slight shake to her hands that betrays her anxiety).

All they can do is wait. And it is maddening.

Yaoyorozu tries to make small talk with Izuku, but he can’t concentrate and eventually she too falls silent.

It feels like hours but in reality is only about half of one. The Pro’s return to school, though it’s grim when sirens are blaring in the background, an ambulance fading into the distance.

Izuku hopes that everyone is okay, but he knows even now that it’s too much to ask.

When they return to school on Monday, Powerloader-sensei glosses over the attack. He doesn’t even mention it, really.

Instead he starts talking about the sports festival. Izuku is surprised that it’s still happening. The show must go on, he supposes.

Yaoyorozu is brave enough to actually speak up. “Sir?”

“Yes, Yaoyorozu?”

“Why are we still holding the Sports Festival?” Yaoyorozu holds herself up tall, the picture of composure from the waist up.

Her fidgeting feet are the only thing that betray her. Silently, Izuku squeezes her hand, and she shoots him a grateful glance.

Powerloader sighs and draws a hand across his chin. “The school is trying to keep up morale; trying to show that we won’t be beaten easily.”

Yaoyorozu nods, but the second Powerloader turns away, it’s as if she’s a marionette and her strings have just been cut. She practically slumps over and Izuku scoots closer and hugs her. She leans her head back to rest against his chin.

Powerloader continues teaching in the background while Izuku and Yaoyorozu hold each other tight.

The upcoming Sports Festival is certainly going to be interesting.

“Hey, Izuku?” Yaoyorozu interrupts Izuku’s thought.

“Hm?” Izuku looks up from his notebooks.

Yaoyorozu bites her lip. “What do we want to do about the Sports Festival?”

Izuku tilts his head to the side, and she elaborates, “What’s our game plan?”

Izuku’s eyes light up, and he flips to an earlier page in his notebook. He scoots closer to Yaoyorozu and tells her all about his observations and the possible ways the Sports Festival could go, based on the data of past years.

At first Yaoyorozu looks a bit overwhelmed, but she eventually settles and together they come up with a (mostly) cohesive plan.

They sit for a bit once they’re done, relaxed since they have a fair bit until lunch ends.

After a moment, Yaoyorozu admits, “I wanted to be a hero.”

Izuku starts and turns to her with wide eyes. “You too?”

Yaoyorozu nods. Hesitantly, Izuku asks, “Why didn't you get into a hero course, then? You’re definitely skilled enough to make it in.”

Yaoyorozu twirls a strand of hair around her finger.  “My family’s legacy is a support company. Create-It-Enterprise.”

“I’ve heard of them!” Izuku exclaims. “They’re a really big name- oh.”

“Yeah,” Yaoyorozu sighs. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” Izuku says tentatively. “I wanted to be a hero too, you know.”

“I’d kinda guessed,” Yaoyorozu says lightly.

“Am I really that obvious? Wait, don’t answer that,” Izuku says, remembering his analysis notebooks. Yaoyorozu chuckles and leans her head against Izuku’s (admittedly lower) shoulder.

“Either way,” Izuku says, “I like it here in the support course.”

“Me too. I’m really glad we’re friends.”

Izuku smiles. “Agreed. You can call me Izuku. Only if you want to, of course!”

“Izuku,” Yaoyorozu says, testing out his name. “I like it. Call me Yaomomo!”

Izuku sputters, then grins. “Gladly.”

Then the bell rings -loudly- from inside, and Izuku and Yaomomo stand up together.

Just as they reach the door, Izuku says, “One more thing.”

“Oh?”

“There’s almost always some sort of four person event, right?”

“Yes,” Yaomomo says. “We’ll have ourselves and I’m sure that Hatsume will team up with us, but what about the fourth person?”

“I’ve got that covered,” Izuku says with an uncharacteristic smirk. Yaomomo smiles and nods. Izuku revels in her trust. He won’t let her down.

It’s the final round of the Sports Festival. Izuku and Yaomomo are facing off. He takes a calming breath, then another and another until he feels ready.

He and Yaomomo planned for this of course, but Izuku had still had his doubts.

When the first round didn’t go exactly as they had expected, he was certain they were going to fail. But he and Yaomomo had forged their way past all the other obstacles, and it’s all led up to this moment.

Present Mic screaming overhead, Izuku and Yaomomo step onto the pitch.

“Are you ready?” Yaomomo calls.

“As I’ll ever be!” Izuku returns. They grin, a private acknowledgment of their shared plan, and then ready themselves when Midnight counts down.

“Three!” The crowd is chanting alongside her.

“Two!” Izuku digs his heel deeper into the ground.

“One!” Across the pitch, Yaomomo’s grin widens impossibly.

“Go!”

Yaomomo and Izuku race towards each other. The crowd calamors above them, eager for an entertaining battle. When they reach each other, the crowd gets even louder. They fall silent when Izuku and Yaomomo just. Stop.

The pair meet in the middle, clasp hands, and then walk out of the arena. At the same time, they step over the line.

They raise their hands in victory, and though the crowd is confused, they can still recognize what happened.

For the first time ever, U.A.’s Sports Festival ends in a tie.

And when each of them receives half of the first place medal? Their smiles become radiant.

[aerislei]

MHA - Post Season 1 Wrap Up

Season one covered a lot of ground and introduced a huge number of characters.  It’s, ah, pretty ambitious tbh. That’s a big cast to keep track of and keep everyone interested in. And while it looks like they aren’t staying restricted to 13 episode seasons (thank goodness) there is still really limited screentime to work with when you consider we’ve got... Baku, Deku, Momo, Todoroki, ... ... Ochaco, that’s her name. And also... Kirishima, Mina, All Might, Aizawa...Jiru... I could go on and on, at this point.

Most characters are a name, a power, and a big question mark. I’m not going to even try to cover the whole cast, just going to pull a few I have something to say about, but below are a few characters and my current thoughts/theories. I do a more general wrap up at the end as well with what I’m thinking as we go forward.

I’m 13 episodes in, with more than 60 total. I’ve got some work to go yet.

This is the part where I mention (possibly reiterate) that I really don’t mind spoilers (because I am of the mind that it’s not necessarily the bit of information but how we get to it/learn about it/etc that makes the story what it is) and because of that I am somewhat steeped in information about MHA that was not necessarily available when season one was originally released. This is not a blind watching of the anime, and so some of my theorizing is based on information that I know comes into play, but don’t know how. I don’t really go seeking spoilers and I have been slightly more cautious since I started watching, but yeah, some things are inevitable. 

Bakugo

I still think he’s compensating for something. He is settling into class better, after the combat practice episode. But there’s something... hm. He’s not got a good base, and I’m still suspecting some sort of rough place in his history with his quirk bringing positive attention that he craved. ... Or negative attention, even. Anything is better than being ignored right? This is speculation, but that’s where I am with him right now. I was very proud of his actions during the Villain attack, but... his personality remains all sharp edges. Still not sure I like him exactly, but here we are. He’s not a bad character, just a complicated one.

... I really which I knew why Deku keeps calling him -chan tho bc that’s generally a term of endearment and hell if they don’t seem to really not like each other. Like were they actually friendly once? Because all the flashbacks have the friendliness as very... very one sided. On the other hand, it may just be that he calls him -chan because that’s the sort of person Deku is. Hrm.

Ahhhhhh. I’m actually excited to see where the rivalry drives them, I didn’t expect to say that. But the two of them are in a position to push each other very... very far. I still want to see him develop more as a friend of Kirishima tho. He could use actual friends it seems.

Kirishima

It took me a second to remember his quirk, right, hardening. Okay. So! He’s had a combined total of like 5 minutes of screentime, curse of a cast this large. He is intriguing to me. He has a very hero-like attitude, is the best way I can describe it. And by that I mean his general outlook on ... for example, he and Bakugo going after warpgate, he recognized that they got in the way, and it may have been partially their fault that Thirteen wasn’t able to stop things before they were all scattered. He wanted to fix that.

He works really well with Bakugo in a way I’m not sure how to describe. I do hope to see them becoming friends, to an extent because I get the sense that maybe both of them could use a friend. I have a slight guess that he may feel drawn to Bakugo because they’re similar in some ways - but I haven’t quite figured out how because they have very different outlooks, externally.

I kind of ship Kiribaku, despite aforementioned combined total of maybe 5 minutes. Don’t judge me too harshly.

I really wanna know more about this guy, I think that’s all.

Todoroki

Literally a name a power and a question mark. We know he got in on recommendation - of course we don’t know who’s, but I’m not sure it’s important. What’s interesting though, and Midoriya brought it up in the monologue during um, Hero Notebook, I think, and I realized he’s right. We’ve never seen him use the heat portion of his quirk except to release his classmates that he froze in the combat practice episode. He relies almost solely on the ice portion. Now, this could be because freezing people in place is super effective and he hasn’t needed anything more but it’s still... interesting.

Especially when coupled with the burn on the side of his face, around his eye. That scar reminds me of Zuko, ofc (seriously look at that picture. I’m not convinced the imagery was accidental). Don’t know how he got it yet, but I literally cannot imagine that that burn isn’t extremely important - it’s very prominent and honestly I’d be surprised they bothered with something like that on a character that’s already extremely identifiable by his hair alone if it wasn’t important to his character somehow. And I also suspect it’s highly likely that it relates to why he doesn’t use the heat portion of his powers. 

This is partially helped along by listening to ‘Sparks Rise’ and ‘Burn’. Neither of which give any particular details but *shrug*. I’ll leave anyone who hasn’t heard them to consider their additions to what little we see in season 1, because he has more than Kirishima’s screen time but not by much.

So, with that in mind. Ice Zuko Todoroki here, due to comparisons in my own head with Zuko, I’m predicting some kind of family issues. Indeterminate type. And I’m hedging a bet on, he’s either becoming a hero bc his family is pushing him to, or because he wants to get back at a family member for something. Perhaps the burn?

I’m looking forward to seeing if we get to see him use his fire seriously at some point. And, of course, learning more about what made him the way he is.

Midoriya

Okay so our main protagonist, and to be honest the one we know the most about. ... I have questions, of course, like where is his father and do we ever find out? But for the most part, we know he grew up watching heroes and that’s why he’s doing what he’s doing. His ultimate idol All Might is grooming him as a successor and that’s... I mean awesome for him. Dreams come true and all.

Easily arguable as one of the weaker combatants because he can’t use his quirk without half killing himself. But he’s got that, um, ... I think i’m going to go with inspiring personality (one of my friends @that-one-gundam-guy called him a Labrador in human form at one point and tbh that is so accurate). He’s very we can do it, happy go lucky, but he’s also very determined and he is taking this seriously. Even if he is extremely nervous outside of serious situations.

Anyway, he’s got a really good head in a fight. Probably second only to ... Momo and Todoroki, he is extremely good at analyzing a situation and the strengths/potential weaknesses of an enemy. His habit of collecting and analyzing everything about Heroes he can find will definitely serve him well in the field because he can recognize how a quirk can be used and how best to get around it. .... Mind he generally won’t have the tools to get around it himself. Currently, at least.

Aside from the fact that he’s not yet mastered his quirk there’s the fact that he tends to freeze up in certain situations. But there’s time to get around that yet. ... Though I hope at some point he starts to get a style that’s... his instead of just him copying All Might. Like, given the way One For All works, it’s gotta be possible to do... other stuff with it? Stuff that might suit his... much... smaller form better? I mean, yes it’s a close range quirk and he’s going to have to get into close combat, but punches can’t possibly be the only option. Some variation would be good.

All in all...

There’s still a lot of ground to cover and I’ve got a lot of hope for the series. Lots of room for everyone to grow and maybe for some reveals that will expand on some of our characters so they’re more than a power and a name. But there are... like 20 episodes in next season, so there should be more screen time to do all of that in.

Somewhere out there we have Kurogiri and Tomura (see I do know Warpgate and Hands’ names... lol)... and whoever is actually commanding them. But they’re still out there, and that means that they are going to pull their forces together and try to come after All Might again at some point. ... And Tomura certainly took notice of Deku. That’s not going to end well.

Or no, it will. But not before it hurts like heck all, I’m sure. Not sure it’ll be this next season though? Depends on how far they want to drag that plotpoint out for, I suppose. ... And how many times Tomura and Kurogiri strike before they hit gold, so to speak.

I was thinking though, the person they were speaking to when they first got back to their hideout took some serious interest when Tomura mentioned ‘the kid’. Does one of our bad guys know about One for All’s ability to be transferred between holders? Because that could spell trouble for Izuku “I’m-still-breaking-bones-constantly" Midoriya.

Anyway, season one was good, and I’m looking forward to season 2!