Fic Recs - Shinsou-centric
Had someone ask me for Shinsou fic recs through a comment, and I just about cackled with glee. If it’s not obvious that he’s my favorite character, well, he is! I just love the idea of someone who is determined to prove everyone wrong about them and keeps pushing towards their goal. And I think there are so many real life parallels to his situation - he really is a great canvas to paint social commentary on. And he’s purple. I mean, come on, that’s a factor! Anyway, here are 25 of my favorite completed Shinsou-centric fics, organized alphabetically by ship (or lack thereof). All but one of these are in Shinsou’s pov, though some switch back and forth. As always, a range of ratings and ships, please mind the tags!
Fics without a romantic Shinsou ship:
and i’m nothing like you by aloneintherain Rated T, 1 Chapter, 9322 words, no / ship
Author summary: Of all the people to have been kidnapped alongside, it had to be this person, this hero, the one person who would never blame him for the things he was forced to do.
“Don’t cry,” Midoriya says.
“Fuck you,” Hitoshi chokes out.
(When Shinsou goes grocery shopping a few weeks after transferring to Class 2A, Midoriya tags along. Because he is, for some reason, determined to be Shinsou’s friend.
Shinsou remains cold and withdrawn in the face of Midoriya’s friendliness—until they’re kidnapped by a woman with a brainwashing quirk who believes Shinsou doesn’t belong in the hero course.)
How to Win the Sports Festival: A Step by Step Guide by mhwright NR, 5/5 chapters, 15783 words, no / ship
Author summary: Short re-imagining of the Sports Festival Arc if Shinso had planned a little better and worked a little harder to win the Sports Festival and if the match-ups had been slightly different. Self-indulgent fic of watching him succeed.
The fic is the title, folks. Shinso Wins the Sports Festival.
I Would Understand by deafmic Rated T, 3/3 chapters, 45,639 words, no / ship
The whole foster kid Shinsou and Dadzawa headcanon is probably one of the most popular for stories that focus on Shinsou as a teenager. This is an old one that I think handles it pretty well.
Author summary: Shinsou Hitoshi had a bit of a problem, and that problem was that he’d gotten attached to Aizawa Shouta. And somewhere along the line had started seeing him as a parental figure, a replacement for all the foster home parents who’d passed him along and never quite done their job.
A kid who's been in foster care his entire life spends a normal, average day after training with the teacher who seems to care a little too much.
Soothsayer by Smurfee Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 10873 words, no / ship
Beyond being a great writer, Smurfee is an incredible artist. They've moved on to other fandoms a bit, but their work is absolutely worth checking out.
Author Summary: Soothsayer - n. / sooth' - saer / : a person who predicts the future by magical, intuitive, or more rational means
Shinsou may not be a soothsayer, but he knows that this is not what the future had in store for him. This isn't how his life was supposed to turn out. He isn't supposed to wind up trapped in this small grey room, with the walls closing in on him from all sides, slowly suffocating him with the knowledge that he'll never become a hero. Not like this.
And he definitely isn't supposed to end up with this annoying freckled visitor, who keeps telling him not to give up.
the night was a gelid, bitter, and biting thing by sonrissa Rated T, 1/1 chapters, 4067 words, no / ship
Author summary: Shinsou Hitoshi finds reprieve on the top of his apartment building, looking up at the stars and the vast expanse of space. Sometimes, he thinks he's a void too, a black hole that suffocates everything that gets too close. It's how he was built.
He doesn't expect company, doesn't expect said company to actually stay, nor does he expect his entire outlook on life to change after one conversation with a tepid stranger.
The night was a gelid, bitter, and biting thing, but it may have saved his life -- his future -- from burning out completely.
The Things You Learn at 1:30 a.m. by purple_insomniac20 Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 6912 words, no / ship
Yes, this is one of mine :)
Author Summary: It was a well-known fact in the 2A dorms that Shinsou suffered from insomnia. The eyebags were not a fashion statement, but a hard-earned badge of honor for the chronically sleep deprived. He could be found rambling around the hallways at odd hours, trying to convince his overactive mind that he was, in fact, exhausted, and it was ok to just shut down for a bit. A change in one student’s work study schedule, however, leads to a series of meetings that change Shinsou’s perspective on warm drinks, random knowledge, and friendship.
In which Shinsou and Midoriya share a love of random knowledge and use it to their advantage.
The World Ended Before it Could Begin (Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds) by borntobemild Rated T, 19/19 Chapters, 72735 words, no / ship
Author summary: It was supposed to be Izuku. He had all the knowledge and the plans he needed to make this work. But circumstances change and now Hitoshi is thirteen again and trying to stop the world from ending while also pretending that he isn't a traumatized adult trapped in a child's body.
You Want it Darker by Ms_Chunks Rated E, 90/90 chapters, 533808 words, no Shinsou ship
This is my one exception to the rule of only having Shinsou pov fics in this list, because this one has one of my all-time favorite characterizations of Shinsou, his family, and his influences. It’s a murder mystery from Aizawa’s pov, and it gets DARK. You REALLY need to mind the tags on this one and read the author’s note at the beginning of chapter one, then decide if this is a good fic for you.
Author Summary: Aizawa hunts a killer and takes on a new student. He gets more than he bargained for from both.
ShinBaku
Fingertips by tangerinelighter Rated M, 20/20 chapters, 106861 words, ShinBaku
The author has another account - tangerinedarker - with fics which are *surprise!* darker in theme. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by them on either account. This story switches between Bakugou and Shinsou pov chapters.
Author summary: Katsuki finds often that most people suck. They’re boring, they’re stupid, they talk too much and never put their money where their mouths are, and they’re just frankly pathetic.
But damn if Shinsou doesn’t have a mean sense of humour, a petty streak a mile wide, and pretty eyes to boot.
Pro-Hero Bakugou Katsuki finds someone to talk shit with and Hopeless Romantic Shinsou Hitoshi realizes he’s a hopeless romantic.
Hard Reset by Lemon_drop_lantana Rated E, 3/3 chapters, 14353 words, ShinBaku
Author summary: Hitoshi achieves his long-term dream of fucking Bakugou Katsuki. Too bad he can't remember it, and Bakugou's probably going to kill him.
How Much Does it Cost to Fall in Love? By useless_donut Rated M, 5/5 Chapters, 11,175 Words, ShinBaku
There are three authors who got me into this ship: useless_donut, walkingcatfish, and ladybugfanfics. HIGHLY recommend anything by any of the three of them. They have a range of ratings so you can always find something that suits your preferences! This one was my first donut bookmark - it switches between Bakugou’s and Shinsou’s pov.
Author summary: Pro Hero Bakugou Katsuki has had a rough day. All he wants is some caffeine, but what he gets instead is a blast from the past in the form of a deeply sarcastic, failed-to-become-a-hero barista named Shinsou Hitoshi.
Shinsou enjoys his part-time cover job at Nocturn Café. It gives him a sense normalcy after the often heart-wrenching jobs he takes on as a top-secret underground hero. A job that Bakugou definitely doesn’t have security clearance to know about.
Too bad Bakugou doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone, and desperately wants to know why Shinsou gave up on his dream. Shinsou just wants to have a relaxing shift at his cover job, but it doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon.
Not as Far by ScentedBooks Rated E, 1/1 chapter, 12599 words, ShinBaku
Author summary: Shinsou only sends the person photos of simple things. Photos of his cats, the coffee he had that morning, or if he sees something nice on the way to work. Or random memes at 3am when he can’t sleep.
The person does the same back. Shinsou can never tell the exact location of their photos.
What if that all changed?
the things you think better left unsaid by ladybugfanfics Rated E, 24/24 chapters, 155,660 words, ShinBaku
My all-time favorite ShinBaku story. EVERYTHING this author writes is incredible, so if you like this ship, you really need to check out their other works. So much emotion, so well written! Definitely a comfort fic for me. I’ve reread it a lot.
Author summary: Shinsou Hitoshi’s quiet mornings in the back of the library get suddenly and annoyingly disrupted by a loud blond at the start of his third year in college. There’s no reason for this loud-ass blond to be as loud as he is, and for some reason, Shinsou isn’t telling him to fuck off.
After two weeks of annoyance, Shinsou gets the pleasure of him breaking into his apartment, and for some reason, he doesn’t kick him out. A week later, he finally asks what’s wrong, and he’s asked a question he was wholly unprepared for.
For some reason, he says yes.
What harm can a fake relationship do him when the guy who asked is attractive and he wouldn’t mind some intrigue in his otherwise boring university life?
U + ME by Deos Rated E, 1/1 chapter, 43016 words, ShinBaku
The summary doesn’t do this one justice - it’s an AU where there are quirks but they're not heroes. Hitoshi is a college student and Bakugou runs a café that serves soup with some crazy rules. One of the tags is literally, “Bakugou the Soup Nazi.”
Author Summary: This is Hitoshi's first impression of Bakugou:
Kinda cute.
This is Hitoshi's second impression of Bakugou:
God, what an asshole.
ShinDeku
All the Words We Couldn’t Say by purple_insomniac20 Rated T, 5/5 chapters, 24796 words, ShinDeku
Yes, this is also one of mine :)
Author summary: Hitoshi was almost at the bottom of the box of mail when he came across an envelope that was different from the rest. It was almost square, and had unfamiliar postage and a handwritten address. He stared uncomprehendingly for a minute before realization hit - he knew that handwriting.
In which Shinsou is overworking himself to cope with overwhelming feelings, until a letter from a friend forces him to face it all.
Paper Agency by The Feels Whale (miscellea) Rated T, 1 Chapter, 47,707 words, ShinDk
I recced this one before in my Quirkless Midoriya list, but it belongs here too, since it’s from Shinsou's pov.
Author Summary: Brand new U.A. graduate, Shinsou Hitoshi, has a lot on his plate between finding a job, looking for a place to live, figuring out what his relationship with his mentors is going to look like now that they're not teacher and student anymore, and why his civilian boyfriend, Izuku, is acting so damn weird.
Or: that one where Shinsou realizes a lot of things have been going on in the wings.
Realizations of the Hopelessly Infatuated by RunawayBean Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 9543 words, Shin/Deku
Author Summary: His brow is creased with concern, eyes spilling over with it, and he looks like he wants to hug Hitoshi but is too afraid to. Honestly, Hitoshi wouldn’t be opposed if he weren’t so worried about getting blood all over everything Midoriya has on. Midoriya’s hands are warm and timid, shaking, when they touch his face and, before Hitoshi is even processing it-
It’s only after Midoriya tilts his head to kiss him more firmly that Hitoshi realizes what’s happening.
The Cute Guy Next Door Might be a Villain by alesyira Rated T, 31/31 chapters, 89707 words, ShinDeku
The author has a couple of sequels for this, some of which are still in progress, and a podfic of it, which is actually how I discovered it! POV switches by chapter between Midoriya and Shinsou.
Author summary: Quirkless, young adult Midoriya Izuku has a problem. Namely, he has a crush on his purple haired, tired-looking neighbor. They keep running into each other and the guy is actually pretty nice under that deadpan facade, has a sense of humor, doesn't seem to judge anyone for their quirk status, and is constantly spoiling any cat in the building that finds him. (He's also a shameless flirt.)
But Izuku has concerns. About the strange bruises and bloodied knuckles. About the weapons he's seen when stopping by for a cup of sugar. About the shady-looking figures he's accidentally spotted his neighbor meeting with. About the fact that right after the news reported a big crime bust, his neighbor came home beat all to hell and looking haunted.
Izuku has a problem. Namely, he has a crush on his neighbor, who he's pretty sure is secretly a villain. And he has no idea what to do with that.
(or: Adult!ShinZuku AU where Shinsou is an underground, undercover pro hero trying to find a lead on a case that may or may not involve the socially awkward guy living next door. Misunderstandings abound.)
ShinKami
Blame it On the Cat by fandomtrashpanda Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 3856 words, ShinKami
This is another author who writes some great ShinKami - check out their other works if you like this ship!
Author Summary: "Do you think if we used the same name for the cat our fans would figure us out?" Denki asked, bumping their hips as he went to get a glass from the cabinet.
"If they haven't figured it out from you wearing the same shirts when you walk through the living room during my streams as you do during your own streams, they don't deserve to know," Hitoshi grumbled, going back to his coffee.
OR
Shinsou and Kaminari are semi-popular twitch streamers, whose fans have no clue that they already live together and are dating.
Kiss Me Through the Screen by Ischemia Rated M, 24/24 chapters, 70,428 words, ShinKami
I absolutely love Ischemia’s sense of humor, and they write a lot of ShinKami. This is just the oldest one I have bookmarked.
Author Summary: Shinsou remembers when he first saw the ad for Ch4rgeb0lt’s services. He was just messing around online when a pop-up appeared with his smiling face, one eye winking and the other brightly flashing with happiness.
“Lonely? Tired of coming home to an empty apartment? Can’t find anyone to listen to your problems? Say no more! For the low cost of $10 per stream, you can have all the company and love you ever wanted. Get a best friend for the best price!”
His first reaction was, “what kind of depressing loser needs to buy a boyfriend?” before he looked around at his empty home and realized he might be that depressing loser.
Letter to the Headitor by Ischemia Rated E, 30/30 chapters, 105918 words, ShinKami
I was reading this one as it was being published and chapter release days were the highlight of my week. I laughed harder at this one than almost any other fic I've ever read.
Author summary: Hitoshi's heart sped up as he imagined how they'd respond to his earlier rude complaint. To be fair, he wasn't prepared to inform them, "I have the emotional maturity of a sponge, and your dreadful blonde sex clown made me feel things I haven't felt in years," so an insult was the next best thing.
In which librarian Shinsou is mesmerized by the world's worst porn actor, despite his better judgment.
Microdose by octobot Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 6078 words, ShinKami
Author summary: Hitoshi has only been a part of class 3A for a few months when Kaminari appears at his door in the middle of the night. They’re not friends, they barely even know each other really, but when Kaminari asks for help, Hitoshi finds himself unable to say no.
Wondering What You’re Dreaming by fandomtrashpanda Rated M, 1/1 chapter, 6281 words, ShinKami
Author summary: "Just to warn you, my family insists that I talk in my sleep."
OR:
Kaminari tends to talk in his sleep. Shinsou can't help but find it endearing.
For several years, jokes and shenanigans ensue.
Poly
Cotyledon by sholosha Rated E, 58/58 Chapters, 232,372 words, ShinTodoDeku
Author Summary: It's his second year at UA, and Shinsou is finally, finally, transferring to the hero course. He's ready, he thinks, or hopes— either way, it doesn't matter, 'cause he's going to show everyone he's got what it takes. And it also doesn't matter that the longer he spends in the program, the more he can't stop thinking about a certain freckled wannabe-friend, and the more he's noticing that a certain stoic classmate is paying him a lot more attention than he'd like.
Whatever. Irrelevant. He's here to be a hero, not make friends. Even if they would be the first ones he's made in...ever. But it's his second year, and he's going to make it count by focusing on what's important.
His name is Shinsou Hitoshi, and he's going to be a goddamn hero.
Homebound by chalk Rated T, 1/1 chapter, 1472 words, TdDkKrBkShin
Author Summary: Hitoshi only planned to stay on their couch for a few weeks.
