Chapter 8: Story Building: Izuku has a Quirk II

Hopefully the plot progressions weren't too confusing for you kids.

Anyways, there are just so many different ways to change canon based on a different quirk that you might as well call my current setup fatalism. Despite that though, I would say that the greatest cure to this, as per usual, is WORLD BUILDING.

Feel free to ask any questions through PM or review.

Also I'm going on indefinite hiatus unless someone reviews the entire chemical name for Titin :)

NOTE: One for all is one of the biggest plot points in BNHA, if you didn't give Izuku OFA at the same place/time as canon, I would still give him OFA at some point of the story (maybe even right before All Might's battle before AFO). In my opinion, giving OFA to Mirio (without making Mirio himself a main character of the story) sort of underplays OFA and All Might. However, if you plan on keeping Izuku OFA-less, then you will have to add some of your own story to make up for the main premise.

Ah, where were we? Oh yes, we just covered the ten month interval between the slime villain attack (if it happened), and the entrance exam. So, there will be three branches in the next stage - of course there are more ways, but I believe the following would be the most likely in my own opinion: Izuku gets OFA and takes the entrance exam, Izuku doesn't get OFA and takes the entrance exam, Izuku doesn't get OFA and gets recommended.

Entering UA - 5: Okay, if we are at this point, and you, as an author, has chosen the closest possible route to canon, then I have some suggestions that may work in this case.

Izuku has OFA and takes the entrance exam: For this instance, we must first determine how strong Izuku is compared to his canon self.

1. No matter how you write it, Izuku WILL be stronger than his canon self. Even if his control/mastery of OFA is the same, he would still have his fire quirk, which can easily burn the robots and grab him points. The only possible way the entrance exam would be the exact same as canon is cancerous bullshit and author incompetence.

Anyways, considering Izuku will be more confident than his canon self, it is likely he wouldn't trip at all - this will also decrease the likelihood of him beating the 0 pointer, although it could still happen. Of course, considering Ochako was right behind him, their conversation can still take place. Obviously if this were to happen, Izuku WILL be capable of talking back, even if it's just a greeting such as: "Oh you're taking the entrance exam too? Let's do our best!"

This place gets internal monologued fatalist'd all the way to the BLOODY MOON.

IMF (Internal monologue fatalism) is basically what I'm going to use to refer authors wasting their talents in oversaturating canon events with descriptive writing that is otherwise not important to the plot.

2. Okay, after the 'meeting' (if it did happen), it will be time for Present Mic to explain the exam. Of course, the written portion of the exam still exists. Canon didn't really specify when it happened, but we can assume either it takes place right before the practical exam, or if UA decided to be a little bit lax, the written portion of the exam can be held the day before (or just any other day before the practical).

Regardless, if you do not plan on changing this scene (there really shouldn't be anything different here unless you are writing an Edgelord Izuku that is shutting down Lida, or if outlining the relationship change between him and Bakugo once more). If you are doing neither of those, then save the word count, pace better, and just summarize it in a paragraph.

3. After that, the scene should skip to the entrance exam. There are a million possible ways to do this scene and his points. Considering his now two powerful quirks, the chances of him beating out Bakugo becomes very likely (especially if he uses his fire as a powerful AOE - Area of Effect). I would also personally not have him destroy the zero-pointer the same way (if he is going to do this).

Regardless of how you write this scene, I would put his maximum score between 70-100. I've seen certain stories where Izuku gets this ludicrously asinine score of 200 or some other bullshit. Like I get it, you want Izuku to be all-powerful and cool; if you want him to decisively get first place just give him 100 or something.

Skip forwards to the giant robot scene, there are various ways you can have him fight the robot - it doesn't have to be Ochako under the rock (it could be someone else, or even maybe some dumbass trying to fight it and getting his ass handed to him, forcing Izuku to step in).

Anyways, Izuku wouldn't destroy the robot just for the sake of destroying it. If there was nobody in danger, Izuku will retreat, or even use his fire to slow it down.

Let's say we went with the idiot trying to fight the robot (let's say Monoma from 1-B copied Bakugo's quirk and decided he was invincible and tried to take down the zero pointer).

Izuku would probably try to get him to run away first, only to realize Monoma has fucked himself in the ass with that stunt and Izuku will now have to fight the damn thing. Instead of him jumping and breaking all his legs (he is listed to having a fire quirk, so randomly using OFA will be suspicious), he would use OFA to strength his fire quirk, then spew a jet of flame strong enough to overheat the robot and stop it completely.

He would likely earn less rescue points, but he would have a total score higher than in canon, and possibly even higher than Bakugo's.

4. So how many points SHOULD he get? Remember, if you make Izuku score higher than Bakugo, he will have to be the demonstrator for the quirk assessment test AND be the person to make the speech during the sports festival. If we are at this point already, I would suggest him getting HIGHER, as having him score between 60-77 would be, in my opinion, fatalism.

I think having 40~ villain points and 40~ rescue points will be a good score. It isn't some asininely high number but it is still high enough to beat Bakugo.

Izuku doesn't have OFA and takes the entrance exam: Now, in my mind, I feel that regardless of getting OFA, the entrance exam would be rather similar. Of course, you can easily change certain scenes or scores to make his fire quirk the deciding factor.

After all, if he doesn't get OFA or even gets offered by All Might, he wouldn't be as physically strong. However, if he did his own training, it is likely his mastery of his fire quirk will be SIGNIFICANTLY better. Like, breathing techniques, continuous streams, short bursts of quick flame, or literally becoming Madara for a few seconds.

1. and 2. Will likely be the same as the section above. If you want to change up the story a little bit here, you can have him meet another student other than Ochako, or have him sit beside Lida and quietly ask him to sit down (there's a million different things you can do to separate from canon in terms of details.)

3. Anyways, now that we're at the practical, we will have to write Izuku as more of an tactical/opportunistic fighter. Considering he does not have the raw power granted to him by OFA, he will have to target weak points, and not just spray down enemies with massive spumes of flame because that can tire him quickly.

What I would suggest, if you want him to beat Bakugo, is have Izuku use the same tactic Bakugo did. The one where Bakugo used one big explosion to take out multiple villains at the end - Izuku can easily do the same with one massive breath of fire. Of course, being Izuku, he will have rescue points as well. These two combined together can still have him pull ahead of Bakugo.

Honestly, if you plan on giving Izuku a different quirk, I would place him above Bakugo in terms of points. After all, Izuku (the super tactical fighter that can probably analyze quirks better than pro's) likely knows the in's and out's of his quirk better than most people know theirs. This means that the likelihood of Izuku outmaneuver and out-strategizing his opponents is very high.

Considering Izuku will have a different upbringing and circumstance of birth, ripples will be made to the story.

Izuku doesn't have OFA and is recommended: Now, this one, in my opinion, is the most fun. The reason I believe that Izuku wouldn't be both recommended and given OFA is because I feel that is just too much. All Might doesn't seem the type of person to just hand everything to Izuku on a silver plate, nor would Izuku want that much to come easy for him.

If Izuku puts on a good show during the slime attack (if it happened), then it is likely he would impress the heroes at the scene, earning him a recommendation. Doesn't matter who gives it but All Might will probably have the most impact - this can contrast with Todoroki more as well considering he likely was recommended by Endeavor.

Izuku has a fire quirk and was recommended by All Might, that would be a rather interesting narrative between him and Todoroki.

Anyways, at the recommended test, Izuku will likely meet Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Inasa, and the other recommended students there. Remember how Inasa ditched UA because Todoroki was a massive douche to him? If Izuku was at the test, it is likely he could prevent this from happening and still have Inasa join UA (even more so if you wrote those two to have a past together).

One story I read had him join just like that, which was quite a refreshing break from canon.

If you are doing this though, make sure you establish that at least three recommended students can be in each class - making it seventeen from the entrance exam and three from the recommendations.

Now, considering that Todoroki hates Endeavor at this point, his relationship with Izuku will likely be strained since (a) - Izuku was recommended by All Might, who Todoroki was raised to surpass, and (b) - Izuku has a fire quirk that is as powerful if not powerful than his own.

Moving onto the practical exam part (you can just write whatever for the written exam and the interview for him to get in), Izuku will have to race six other students. For more of an impact, I would place him in the same lineup as Todoroki and Inasa.

Now, Inasa hard his whirlwind run and Todoroki had ice skating, so Izuku would have to use his quirk in some way that propelled him at or greater than the others' speed. Considering Inasa won in the recommended, where you place Izuku here could determine some of the relationship factors among them.

Ex. Todoroki might dislike Izuku even more if Izuku beat him.

If you are planning to have Izuku keep up with Inasa/Todoroki, then Izuku (assuming he doesn't have OFA for the moment) would likely be doing something along the lines of propelling himself backwards with his fire breath. Although this means that you will have to add another technique in that prevents Izuku from getting hit by the recoil when he breaths fires normally, because you can't just make Izuku propel himself with his fire breath, just for him to do the same thing and get zero recoil - that would be a plot hole based on quirk technicality.

Anyways, let's say Izuku's lungs are made in a way that actually forces his body downwards, not backwards. Considering Izuku will be physically stronger than his canon self before OFA, then as long as he doesn't collapse from the strain he will be able to keep using his quirk. If this were to be the case, that would mean if Izuku were to angle his body a certain way, he would be able to cancel out the effects of gravity while simultaneously accelerating backwards.

Getting that out of the way, we now have it setup so that Izuku will be able to simply rocket the air and breathe fire to basically propel himself through the race. If he gets tired, he can just slowly descend to the ground then jog along the way until he can use his quirk again - I personally don't think Izuku will be dumb enough to fall unless he accidentally choked in midair.

Depending on how you want to write the story, you can have Izuku blast through the air and get first or come right behind Inasa/Todoroki. Although personally, I would have him come at least in front of Todoroki.

Ex. Inasa won by sliding to the finish line so Izuku can easily cross while being the air. Todoroki wouldn't even notice Izuku until they announced that Izuku was second or him in third.

In between Acceptance - 5.5: Now the reason I have this listed as a .5 is because this particular section is optional. After the test is completed and all the scenes that belong in story segment five is over, then you can just skip straight to where he got accepted.

Of course, different authors will approach the time during the two weeks (or whatever interval of time it takes for the recommendation tests to release their results) differently. For example, there are authors that like to add a scene of fluff and internal monologue every chapter. Sure, you could say that is expands on their character well; however, emphasizing the same parts of traits over and over with different scenes just drags the story on, slows the pacing, and makes it redundant.

Anyways, when it comes to fluff scenes for character development, my suggestion is to not do scenes if it repeats the same message. If you have a scene showing Izuku is a nice guy, you don't need another scene doing the same scene. Remember, if you want to show the relationships between characters, you can easily do it at a more plot-important scene, and not a side scene.

Now, for authors that like a quicker pacing, you can just summarize what happened in the two weeks in a few paragraphs, then go strait to Izuku and his acceptance letter.

Acceptance and Entrance - 6: Once the test results are out, a scene of his (and his parents(s)) would be good here. Considering that he didn't 'just' get accepted, and got number 1 (or close to number 1), they will likely be a lot more excited in canon.

1. For those of you that plan on going with the entrance exam route, this scene will likely be very similar. You can prevent some fatalism by summarizing the message with All Might. Remember, if Izuku had a decent amount of villain points, and likely very points on the written portion, then he wouldn't be as anxious as he was in canon - considering he had zero points in the practical.

You can simply summarize the beginning and then go into detail at the end of All Might's message where he had the top score. Izuku will likely be A LOT more confident than his canon self in this case. Instead of crediting all his efforts to other people, he will likely include his own efforts in training as well (more so if he didn't get OFA from All Might).

This means that if Izuku did not get OFA or trained by All Might, he wouldn't be meeting with him at the beach at the night (it is likely the beach wouldn't be cleaned at all unless you want Izuku to do it himself anyway). For those of you that are planning to go a more independent route, then right after the acceptance scene, it should be Izuku leaving to go to UA.

2. If you went the recommended route, you can easily do the same message with All Might, or just have it be in the form of a regular letter. Regardless, the acceptance can be played pretty similarly to section 6.1. Considering this scene is just a bridge between the exam itself and the first day of class, it should NOT take a chapter by itself. Honestly, if your chapters are between three to five thousand words (like most of mine are), then I wouldn't even give the transition scene more than 1000 words.

If I were to write this story, I would squeeze the in-between, the acceptance, first day of class, and the quirk assessment test all in one chapter.

Remember kids, you ONLY need to rewrite scenes to show the parts that are different due to your premise. Simply summarize the parts that are the same (or very similar). You do not want to meander around unimportant plot points or fill every chapter to the brim with unnecessary description or dramatic who-killed-my-parents internal monologue for every flinch of the hand.

First Day of Class - 7: Let us assume for the sections including and after this one, Izuku was the top scorer in the entrance exam (if he took it). The reason I chose to do this is because I believe Izuku not getting number one will yield too many fatalist elements. Sure, I can change a lot of scenes or add in plot details, but that just seems forced to me. I feel that the best changes should be done in major plot points in canon, allowing or even forcing deviation.

Remember, if you want the entire scene to happen the same way, just summarize it and go straight to the quirk assessment test.

Izuku was number one in the entrance exam: Now, since Izuku was number one in the entrance exam, he is likely to get an even less reception by Bakugo. If you are going to write out the scene though, I personally would change it so Izuku arrives before the other students (perhaps using this detail to show his dedication to his studies), and maybe have him and Bakugo start throwing words after a brief interaction with the rest of the class.

That way, instead of writing out an entire canon scene with a couple changes in dialogue, you can actually make some detail changes to make the scene worth writing, and not just a straight summary, then a couple sentences of dialogue.

Ex. Izuku enters the room and finds he's the first one - short scene of him thinking about the class - first students arrive and he talks to them (this could be the setup for the 'main' group he would hang out with) - Izuku explaining his quirk (and vice versa) to the other students - summary of other students coming in - Bakugo goes in and get in Izuku's face - Bakugo basically about to throw hands - Aizawa shows up and stops the conflict and tells everyone to go to the assessment area.

Izuku was recommended: If Izuku got in through recommendations, he would likely get just as much (if not more) admiration and respect from his peers. This would be especially true if the other students knew he was recommended by All Might himself.

Now, since Izuku did not take the entrance exam, he wouldn't really recognize anyone from it. It is quite possible he will have a more in-depth greeting with Yaoyorozu and even attempt to talk with Todoroki before the other students. If you also decided to add in Inasa for the four-people recommendation, then you can have him too.

Also remember, if you ARE adding Inasa, you will have to kick one of the canon characters out otherwise you end up with an uneven number - will make this harder for you in the 2v2 battle scenes. I have read some stories where the author simply made it 21 students, which IMO, is an awkward number. Anyways, many of these stories make teams go again, or if it's an OC story, make the OC go solo and ABSOLUTELY DOMINATE TODOROKI AND BEAT HIS ASS. Of course, they have to fit it somehow, but that just seems like lazy writing and a stubborn desire to not want to deviate from canon.

Anyways, here is how I would think the scene would go had Izuku been recommended and Inasa joining UA.

Izuku walks in as one of the first students - sees Yaoyorozu - sits close to her because it is someone he recognizes - they could possibly start geeking out about quirks and science-related subjects - Todoroki and Inasa comes in at various times - Inasa will likely sit close to Yaoyorozu and Izuku as well - Izuku (or possibly Inasa) tries to invite Todoroki - Todoroki doesn't reply and just sits in the corner - other students comes in - main group sits close to Izuku and ther other recommended students - Bakugo comes in and rages at Izuku (I can't imagine this not happening unless you established Bakugo and Izuku had a much better relationship) - Aizawa comes and sends everyone to assessment area.

Okay, I'm going to end this here considering the quirk assessment part might be a lot longer to cover all three scenarios. Regardless, I'm going to leave some parting advice and themes from this chapter.

1. Don't meander.

2. Fluff scenes are good, don't keep emphasizing the same traits over and over - this can kill pacing.

3. Don't overly describe or add in unnecessary George R.R. Martin levels of internal dialogue.

4. Show scenes and their changes, if there aren't any, summarize it and move on with the plot.

5. Don't take my word as some sort of holy gospel or law. If you feel that what I say helps you to become a better writer, go for it, and I'm glad I helped you. If you have your own writing style and disagree with what I'm saying, learn what you can and keep true to yourself. Writing is supposed to be creative, if you feel that writing a certain way makes you unwilling to write any longer, then it's better to not change at all - even if it gives me cancer.

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Chapter 8 Done! Next Chapter - Story Building: Izuku has a quirk: Part II

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