Post-Apocalypse/Dystopia AU
So I’ve been doing a lot of pondering on @my-headcanons-academia OFA headcannon and I’ve come up with an idea. Basically the whole thing was “what if OFA didn’t have to be passed on consensually?” Check out the thread here.
Trigger Warning: Gore mentioned, Traumatic experiences mentioned
Izuku’s DNA somehow mutated the OFA quirk to no longer have to be passed on consensually
Anytime he sneezes, coughs, etc. a bit of OFA is released
So if the DNA lands on a person, their quirk is powered up for a bit and they might (it’s rare) see flashes of the past users
The villains get wind of this since it’s not hard to pin down. Everyone around Izuku has experienced a power up at some point.
Witnessed this first hand at the USJ incident when Izuku’s blood got on some of his classmates, Aizawa, and All Might
USJ was an experiment planned out by AFO, he needed to see if it was legit
Once the majority of the LOV was wiped out at USJ, AFO got Giran to find more villains with decent quirks, not really caring if they were up for the job or not
They eventually built up an army
They dug up some intel on Izuku and uses Toga and Twice to scout out UA
They notice his connection with Katsuki
LOV plans to kidnap Katsuki at the training camp
Canon-Compliant: At the training camp, Katsuki is kidnapped
Izuku, Kirishima, Iida, and Momo go to rescue him
All Might fights AFO and becomes Small Might
A group of Nomus is sent after Kirishima, Iida, Momo, and Izuku
They’re too strong to take down and Izuku is taken
The rest of the group rescue Katsuki (it wasn’t hard, they just left him there)
Once Izuku is taken, AFO warps away from All Might
Once The Doctor gets Izuku, Izuku is set up to be drained of every ounce of DNA gradually, so that it can replenish in enough time. Izuku is turned into a renewable power source for quirks, mainly powering up Nomus, the LOV, and occasionally a stray villain who pays well.
Eventually the Doctor starts turning the LOV into Nomus
Once the entire army is turned Nomu, AFO releases them onto Japan and sets about turning civilians into Nomus
Once Japan recognizes AFO as the authority, he sets about perfecting that role and effectively ruling over the country
Once AFO officially becomes the leader, hero society is no more.
Hero agencies and hero schools are demolished and support items were confiscated and destroyed
Anyone who called themselves a hero or vigilante were kidnapped, stripped of their quirk, and killed or went into hiding
Class 1-A was split up when their school was bombed (they were in their Training Course at the time):
Satou and Kouda were killed in the blast
Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Ojiro, and Mineta went into hiding together
Iida went to his family and they started to form a rebellion (but they were all killed)
Kirishima, Mina, and Sero were in hiding together
Kaminari would have went with them but they were separated amongst the destruction
Kirishima went searching for Bakugo and Mina and Sero were killed in his absence
Kirishima blames himself for their deaths
Todoroki went to find his family and search for Izuku along the way
Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Hagakure went in hiding together
Tsuyu and Hagakure were killed and Urakaka narrowly escaped. (Hagakure’s quirk was tracked down since it was easy to detect and beneficial for advancing Nomu defenses)
Tokoyami and Shoji went to search for any remaining family and Hawks for guidance
Aoyama ventured off to find a way back to France and to see if AFO had taken over the world rather than just Japan
Katsuki ventured off to find and rescue Izuku.
He feels responsible for his kidnapping
Finding Izuku would also bring back order to the chaos
Along the way, Katsuki (unwillingly) forms a group.
Todoroki is the first to be spotted.
At first, Katsuki is relieved to see one of his classmates is still alive and the lack of social interaction gets the better of him. He begins to approach, but then trudges off because he doesn’t need anyone “dragging him down.” Fortunately, Shoto spots him and catches him, also relieved to see one of his fellow classmates, Katsuki no less (I imagine they have a kind of close bond due to their similar rankings in academics and such, Katsuki respects him but won’t admit it). They were heading in the same direction so they stuck together. Katsuki was externally reluctant, but internally grateful for the company and help. (Plus, Shoto was searching for his family, including his father, and his father would be an excellent asset to have).
Next, the duo stumbles upon a struggling Ochaco. (They had their hero costumes on when the blast happened, so she still had on those ridiculous boots). Shoto is relieved to see her (c’mon, they’re besties) and Katsuki goes “I-don’t-care-about-you-but-I’m-actually-a-caring-person” mode on her and exasperatedly searches for gear for her. Once she’s settled and she reports Tsuyu’s and Hagakure’s deaths, they all come to the conclusion that she has nowhere to go so she is accepted into the group. (Of course, once she finds out they are going to save Izuku, that becomes her main mission as well. Again, besties).
(Tall and lanky x short and chubby platonic duo. See also, girl needs money, boy willing to steal his abusive father’s credit card (based on headcanons)).
Eijirou is next, his main goal being to find Katsuki and bring him back to the Bakusquad. He was successful in the first part of his mission and he wants to help save Izuku, but he wants to get the rest of the Squad first. Katsuki denies it, telling him that they’ll lose too much time and promises to get them after Izuku, so Eijirou just stays, hoping his friends will remain safe.
As mentioned, once he learns Mina and Sero died when he left he blames himself. His character stays relatively the same, being motivational and a bit of a meat-head, but only because he represses his grief. He’s got eye bags from the lack of sleep and he’s picked up a few nervous habits such as chewing on his lips (and because of his sharp teeth we can see how bad that is). Katsuki knows what’s up with him because he’s a pro at emotional constipation and there’s a little bonding there. “If you’re gonna blame anyone, blame me. I’m the one who didn’t want to go back.” (And some more trauma for Katsuki, he’s blaming himself for a lot of people’s deaths and misfortune...)
Whenever they go gear-hunting, Ochaco searches for hair dye and gel for Eijirou since his staple look has been put on hold since the apocalypse. (This is how he’s able to maintain his signature horns and the brightness of the red part of his hair, but not his roots. Hair bleach is impossible to find and it would take too long to use).
Some Pro Heroes in the mix too:
All Might (but not really...)
After his endeavor with AFO, Toshinori aims to find Izuku. He feels responsible, especially since he didn’t catch on to the odd mutation of OFA immediately. Once AFO’s plan begins to take place, all of his failures catch up with Toshinori. He failed Izuku and he got kidnapped, he couldn’t save everyone from AFO, and he was no longer the symbol of peace. Toshinori goes into hiding and gains a new identity, essentially becoming a vigilante. He’s going to save Izuku and he’ll do it his own way, the world can wait. Correcting one mistake at a time, right? All Might, the symbol of peace, has officially disappeared, leaving Japan hopeless and desperate.
His sudden disappearance causes Katsuki to lose all respect for him. Once Izuku learns that Toshinori paused saving Japan to rescue him, he loses respect too.
Enji turns into a bit of a badass. Think of your stereotypical, ripped apocalypse survivor and you’ve got Endeavor. He probably has a bunker, if not multiple, filled with supplies. He’s taken the new role of being the number one hero very seriously (though, he’s more of a vigilante now. Also he doesn’t have his hero costume, it’s too eye-catching, think cargo pants and sweaters). and is planning on taking on AFO and bringing the world back to how it was. He’s skilled and quick, but of course he’s not alone. His quickness is aided by the fastest pro hero, Hawks (he doesn’t change much, his character is canon-compliant, maybe a bit more cocky though). These two rip through Nomus like they’re nothing and it pisses AFO off to no end. (Hawks and Endeavor are the stereotypical main characters of the post-apocalypse trope, but they’re not the main characters here...if you catch my drift; a bit of irony?). Endeavor’s desire to save the world is definitely helping him heal his past ways and he’s hoping to fix Japan before he gathers his family again.
Aizawa/ Eraserhead (and Shinso)
Aizawa is doing what any good teacher would, do. Traveling the lengths of Japan in search of his deserted students. Mainly Izuku whose rescue would put an end to this hellish atmosphere. Before the blast, Aizawa had stepped out of the gym for a coffee break. The first bomb had dropped on the main UA building and Aizawa rushed to help save any survivors. The general studies students were in the classroom closest to where Aizawa was and he found a few students, Shinso included. He was badly hurt, his eye almost gouged out, his elbow bent in a gruesome manner, his shoulder dislocated, but most importantly his neck. Shinso had been leaned over his desk asleep when a pile of rubble fell on top of him, knocking the breath out of him and bruising his spine, but also thrusting his neck harshly into the edge of the desk. Since then it has been difficult for him to speak, rendering him almost quirkless. After digging Shinso out, the second bomb fell on the gym grounds and Aizawa watched as the building his class was in crumbled to the ground. After that, bombs dropped repeatedly, one after another, causing any survivors to hurry and duck for cover. Fortunately, Aizawa noticed a few moving forms in the gym his class was located in.
Shinso and Aizawa didn’t have any trouble communicating since Shinso didn’t speak much as it was due to insecurities about his quirk (a wonderful headcanon, not made by me: here)
(If you’re curious about where Eri is, she’s with Present Mic, other Pro Heroes and civilians in a bunker somewhere, safe from Nomus for now).
Under AFO’s “rule” a lot of things were changed, even the environment suffered.
With numerous bombings (lots of hero representation in Japan), lots of smog and ash was created, blocking out the sun. This cooled the temperature and made the air thinner, making it difficult to breath. Face masks (gas masks for the edgy and cool people) and sweaters are not uncommon to wear now. (I’ve also drawn out character designs for the main crew, Katsuki, Eijirou, Shoto, and Ochaco. I’m thinking about doing the minor characters. I’ll post it soon).
These Nomus are more developed than the ones seen in the manga, think of the Nomus that could speak and counterattack efficiently.
Nomus have multiple quirks and the majority of them have quirks surrounding surveillance and stealth (hence why Hagakure was targeted). The most common is a quirk that detects the use of emitter quirks (they sense the surge of power) or a quirk that senses a constant use of a quirk (constantly active quirks, like mutation types), making it almost impossible to use one’s quirk without being caught and killed.
Obviously I’m not done generating this idea, I still want to talk more about the LOV and maybe add in other characters as well as address major plot points. So I’ll just edit and reblog this post when I do!
