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'photographs' was the sixth fic posted for 'dark star - an izch anthology.'
Discussion of single parenthood, past spouse death, canon-typical bullying and quirk discrimination, general misogyny themes as they relate to canon BNHA, and age-gap romance, and other triggering content below this cut. There will also be spoilers for the fic, if you want to read it for yourself first.
Fic stats:
~21,000 words
One-shot
E rated (explicit sexual content, age-gap romance, past minor character death and grief/mourning)
Archive Warnings (AO3): None
Canon Setting AU
'photographs' is a one-shot, concerning a canon AU where Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya is childhood friends with Ochako 'Uravity' Uraraka, after their respective mothers meet each other by chance. She becomes his inseparable companion for several years of his life, before she eventually moves back to the western part of Japan with her parents. Now, he is trying to work up the courage to ask her on a date. There's just two problems: Ochako Uraraka is twenty-seven years old, and Izuku Midoriya is twenty years old, and Ochako Uraraka is now Ochako Nakano, widowed by the death of her pro Hero husband a few years prior.
Bit of an odd duck, this one. 'What if Ochako had been Deku's childhood friend in addition to/instead of Bakugou' is one of the most enduring ship-specific AUs for izch fandom. It makes sense, it's a very obvious extrapolation of the themes of the series in my opinion. Despite basically never interacting, Ochako and Bakugou have a lot of thematic contrast going on, and the basis of shipping them, casting them as 'love rivals' for Deku, or casting Ochako as 'the good friend' in contrast to Bakugou as 'the bad bully' all are natural conclusions to draw from their writing in my opinion.
This particular rendition of it was inspired by a piece of fanart by a JP izch artist that has now unfortunately moved on from izch. They now largely draw Deku/Bakugou and 'Dekubowl' content, which I still follow them for! But all their izch art has been functionally obliterated from the internet, which is a huge shame. They drew a specific piece of art that showed Deku, seven years younger than Ochako, and the progression of their lives from him as a baby, to her with him as a young boy, to her in Hero school seeing him in middle school, to her seeing him in the 'Dark Deku' arc of the manga, to him finally coming to her to ask her out. 'photographs' is actually a blunt, direct adaptation, almost beat for beat, and I've been told by a mutual friend that the artist is flattered I enjoyed her work enough to write a fic adaptation of it.
There's other elements, though. At the time this fic was written, the now-famous 'loser Deku's idea of a good first date' manga panel, where he describes taking a girl to an amusement park to hold her hands and split a crepe, was a sensation in fandom. Of course, it was instantly cannibalized for basically any Deku ship, and this fic uses that idea in what I felt was a very thematically entertaining way given their age gap.
I wouldn't really call this fic problematic. It's problematic in the sense that if I knew Deku and Ochako as real people in the situation laid out by the fic, I wouldn't tell them it's a good idea to date. But objectively there's no express power imbalance - she's not his babysitter, teacher, or boss - and both are now adults. It's just a mildly inappropriate age gap between two people who've known each other for years. I think the way we react to age gaps depending on who is involved is very fascinating, and it's funny to me that I could've just posted this fic to my main profile, and I doubt anyone would've even blinked.
It's part of 'dark star' because I wanted people to consider the implications of it all, though. The way Ochako lived a happy life, had a happy marriage to a man her own age, and had a child with him, and now in the ruins of that comes Deku, being a little selfish as he asks her out. The way that Ochako was this incredible person for Deku, and she's never really seen him as his own person, now seeing him come to her 'all grown up,' and how she buys a little bit into this fantasy of his that she probably shouldn't.
It's a little bit inappropriate and toxic, isn't it? Yet it's also romantic. I think these things can be true at once. One goal I had for 'dark star' was for izch to feel 'messy.' Other ship fandoms routinely write fairly brazenly fucked up content of their own ship, often thematically nasty even in a way that mistreats other characters or even marginalized identities (i.e. misogyny, homophobia, etc.), and those ship fandoms will eat that stuff up. Now, personally, I don't really want to write 'thematically nasty' content, per se, but I do want to write thematically challenging content that is reasonably open to interpretation. I would find it very reasonable if someone read 'photographs' and came away thinking 'I don't think these two should've dated, probably.'
There's other things, too. The reality of 'the canon plot' sneaks in at points. Sometimes this fic feels like it has almost no relationship to canon at all, then One for All will creep in to rear its ugly little head. I say that, but I do love One for All and the canon plot of BNHA. BNHA's manga largely collapsed under the weight of bad calls on its side plots, but I think its main plot has generally always been pretty good. I think this shows in this rendition, where the side plots have been largely obliterated to laser focus on 'Deku.'
Without Ochako, there is no Hero named 'Deku.' This is a statement that I would like to tattoo to the forehead of most of BNHA fandom. In 'photographs,' there is a 'Deku,' in the positive sense, but his distance and emotional removal from Ochako has left him more damaged. He presents a strong front, but he eventually admits to Ochako that he hasn't lived a very happy life. He's only twenty, but he's gone through so much no one of his age should, while Ochako has lived a fairly normal, well-adjusted life for someone of her occupation.
There's a moment where Ochako is trying to convey to Deku that she must remain focused on her child, as she is a single parent now. She's successful enough that she can afford that, which is a luxury. And she's self-conscious of her age and of the sexism of Hero society, so acutely aware that 'her life is over' now that she's over twenty-five, a widow, and has a kid. Deku doesn't see her that way, but she sees him as naive, basically like another kid.
Through the date they go on, she sees another side of him. She sees how he's amazing, just like canon Ochako does, but in the transit of Venus-type of way where she goes from seeing him as the little boy she always loved, to a remarkable young man reshaped by One for All. This is both good and deeply inappropriate, and you can feel her fighting with herself through the fic to try and convince both herself and Deku that he should go for someone of his own age, a peer who will see him for what he is.
But nobody else cared about quirkless Deku. No one sees his value. They only see One for All. Only Ochako loves Deku for Izuku, not for One for All. So he clings to his love for her, up until the moment he's ready to let her go, and she finally pulls back, realizing that she can't possibly let him go when she needs him.
I think there's some really good romantic beats in this fic, which I was fairly proud of to read back through in editing this year. I've referenced the famous 'amusement park date' a few times since in other fics, but this fic ironically is the only on-screen direct rendition of it that I've written. It's a little bit perverse in that regard, but I think it's a very mature, textured, difficult take on the subject matter that asks the audience to think critically of the ship, while still asking them to root for them in the end.
Incidentally, this fic borrows a plot point and some general tone elements from ss3dj's (@marcuskay-ss3dj) famous 'Green Tea Rescue.' That fic is probably the most popular and famous rendition of 'izch as childhood friends,' using the common trope of 'Ochako transfers to Aldera Middle School in her last year.' 'photographs' does not use that format, but it does borrow my absolute favorite plot point from GTR (namely 'who is Hisashi?'), and it serves as a sort of soft homage to the early parts of GTR.
I think there will be a handful more fics in 'dark star' that are these sort of light 'breather' affairs. Some of them have very fucked up, dark conceptual themes, like sibling incest or teratophilia, but the actual tack and tone they take with those themes is comparatively light (i.e. as dark comedy rather than drama). It's necessary for me to write these 'breather' episodes, mostly because you can only make so much awful stuff before it begins to feel overwhelming, at least to me. Still, 'photographs' is part of 'dark star' and not just a regular fic of mine because I wanted the audience to think carefully about its theme and message, and to draw their own conclusions.
If you have thoughts about challenging themes, age-gap romance, childhood friend AUs, and other related material, I'd love to hear about it! So if you enjoyed 'photographs,' please let me know! Or if you didn't, I don't mind hearing why. I hope you have something intelligent to say, rather than boring pro-/anti- discourse stuff or 'your ship is bad,' though. These fics are for adults, and I expect you to engage with them like adults.
Just started reading your "Green Tea Rescue" fic after seeing it on TV Tropes. Still kind of new, so what's the Class 1-A roster in it? (I do enjoy it, I'm still in the beginning arcs, though).
Pretty much the canon roster with a couple of additions.
I’m glad your enjoying it so far and I hope you keep enjoying it as you get further in!
I know this is ways off, but I was imagining how the Joint Training Arc might go in Green Tea Rescue, and I couldn't get this interaction out of my head:
Yanagi: Izuku Midoriya! I have been training extensively since our fight in the Sports Festival. Not only is my quirk much stronger, but I am now as physically strong as you. Prepare, for the rematch of your life-
Midoriya; *flares One For All and Boric Pyre for a split second*
With only a couple of days left before class 1-A’s internships wheels are now set in motion. Himiko decides she’s going to get to the bottom of Tenya’s strange behavior and Aizawa is going to use the time to teach the class a few important lessons. And what better way than to use footage from the USJ attack.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 9: The Bloody Queen of Discourse: Unmasked
Summary: With internships now over, everyone returns to school ready for everything to go back to normal. To put what they learned to use and to continue with their studies. Which should be easy. It’s not like Izuku and his friends have any secrets they have to keep. Or injuries they have to explain. Or new whole Quirks to rationalize.
Or phone calls they need to make.
Maybe things aren’t going to be totally normal just yet.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 10: Countdown to Term Finals!
Summary: Term Finals are only four weeks away! It’s time for Izuku and the rest of 1-A to knuckle down and study. Let’s just hope nothing comes up that might be a distraction.
Summary: This is the story of Inko Midoriya. But, this is not the story of a mother who watched her son follow his dream but of how a little girl lived. How she grew and resisted. How she learned to lead, and ultimately, how she fought and died.
It’s the start of the Rising Stars on I-Island arc!
Chapter 49: It’s About F@cking Time Deku!
Finals are over, and as the dust settles, the kids of 1-A can now look forward to some rest and relaxation before it's time to head off to summer camp. There are summer jobs, barbeques, and amusement parks. There are so many options out there for the kids. Though Izuku is about to have a huge gift land right in his lap and, if he knows what's good for him, he'll make the most of it.
Warning! The Following audio contains profanities and should be played with caution. Make sure your grandma doesn’t hear this. You have been warned…
Warning! (again) Headphone users, be aware that this audio gets really loud at points and to keep the sound at a safe level for your ears.
anonymous asked:
I’m really excited about what you have planned!! Also, would there be a chance you could ever do an audio with just Ochako screaming like Bakugou? All cursing and profanity included
“I WOULD LOVE TO FUCKING DO THAT SHIT!”
My first request! Hooray! :D This was fun as I got to improvise a lot with it and had I had fun putting it together. I hope you guys like it! :D
Back on the outfit train! This time not for my own fics…
Back in late 2019 (and I do mean late, we’re talking moments before the New Year), I helped “Green Tea Rescue” author @marcuskay-ss3dj with Momo’s outfit. It’s one of my earliest works of digital art, back when I was still getting the swing of my iPad.
And now I’m back again, this time with Himiko’s new look! I had a lot of fun drawing this out. The Victorian vibes mixed with Utena flares work so well together. I’m very proud of how it turned out.
With only a couple of days left before class 1-A’s internships wheels are now set in motion. Himiko decides she’s going to get to the bottom of Tenya’s strange behavior and Aizawa is going to use the time to teach the class a few important lessons. And what better way than to use footage from the USJ attack.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 9: The Bloody Queen of Discourse: Unmasked
Summary: With internships now over, everyone returns to school ready for everything to go back to normal. To put what they learned to use and to continue with their studies. Which should be easy. It’s not like Izuku and his friends have any secrets they have to keep. Or injuries they have to explain. Or new whole Quirks to rationalize.
Or phone calls they need to make.
Maybe things aren’t going to be totally normal just yet.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 10: Countdown to Term Finals!
Summary: Term Finals are only four weeks away! It’s time for Izuku and the rest of 1-A to knuckle down and study. Let’s just hope nothing comes up that might be a distraction.
Summary: This is the story of Inko Midoriya. But, this is not the story of a mother who watched her son follow his dream but of how a little girl lived. How she grew and resisted. How she learned to lead, and ultimately, how she fought and died.
I tried some Momo redesigns, since i know a lot of people dont like her hero outfit. I dont really have much of a problem with her current design other than its a little bland compared to the other heroes.
I wanted to give her a theme but didnt want to stray too far from her original design. She still as to expose a lot of skin for her quirk but i wanted to add something that would make her recognizable as a hero.
With only a couple of days left before class 1-A’s internships wheels are now set in motion. Himiko decides she’s going to get to the bottom of Tenya’s strange behavior and Aizawa is going to use the time to teach the class a few important lessons. And what better way than to use footage from the USJ attack.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 9: The Bloody Queen of Discourse: Unmasked
Summary: With internships now over, everyone returns to school ready for everything to go back to normal. To put what they learned to use and to continue with their studies. Which should be easy. It’s not like Izuku and his friends have any secrets they have to keep. Or injuries they have to explain. Or new whole Quirks to rationalize.
Or phone calls they need to make.
Maybe things aren’t going to be totally normal just yet.
Green Tea Rescue Volume 10: Countdown to Term Finals!
Summary: Term Finals are only four weeks away! It’s time for Izuku and the rest of 1-A to knuckle down and study. Let’s just hope nothing comes up that might be a distraction.
Summary: This is the story of Inko Midoriya. But, this is not the story of a mother who watched her son follow his dream but of how a little girl lived. How she grew and resisted. How she learned to lead, and ultimately, how she fought and died.
theartofmadeline
romaincrisis
