What if…the battle against Shigaraki and All For One goes sideways, and somehow, Izuku wakes up to find himself in the past, specifically on the fateful day where his journey towards heroism began?
Well, he is going to do it all over again, while beating reality to death in the process with a chair.
Lots and lots of chairs.
Written by RarepairKai22, Do It All Over (while beating reality to death with a chair) is a My Hero Academia fanfic which explores a What If? universe where a battle and mentally-scarred Izuku is sent back in time to change an apocalyptic future for the better. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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This fanfic contains examples of:
- Achievement In Ignorance: As part of his training, Izuku frequents an arcade and uses the dance machine to improve his flexibility and reflexes. However, as he is primarily focused on improving his fitness levels, he never notices that his score gradually increases with each try, eventually dethroning the top player (implied to be Ashido) and rising to the point that no one else can beat him.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: So far, Recovery Girl, Principal Nezu, Aizawa, Gran Torino, Snipe, the previous One for All holders, the Shie Hassaikai, Eri, Sir Nighteye, Shinsou Hitoshi, Monoma Neito and Hound Dog have appeared earlier than their canon introductions.
- Adaptational Karma: Katsuki never faces significant consequences for his horrific abuse and early malicious intent against Izuku in the canon series, something the author takes issue with and rectifies in this fanfic. Here, not only is Katsuki’s bullying and abuse revealed by Izuku to Nezu, the rodent effectively bars Katsuki from even applying to U.A. unless he can prove himself to be rehabilitated enough to meet the standards of the school.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Here, Izuku is set to be in a polyamorous relationship with Shouto, Hitoshi, Neito, and Shirakumo Oboro in the future.
- Adaptation Expansion: Hound Dog's role as the U.A. guidance counsellor is expanded here, courtesy of Chapter 19 when he meets with Kaminari Denki to discuss the latter's previous struggles in an academic setting. While Hound Dog suspects that Denki might be suffering from a condition like ADHD, which is exacerbated by his quirk, he is not in a position to provide a formal diagnosis. Nonetheless, he discusses with Denki about possible accommodations that can be provided so that the latter wouldn't have a hard time in U.A..
- Adaptation Personality Change: Having gone through an apocalyptic future, Izuku is far from the naïve, bubbly hero wannabe that he started off as. Mentally-scarred and traumatised, this version of Izuku who came back in time is a Deadpan Snarker with the singular goal of preventing the previous future from happening again.
- Adults Are Useless:
- Played straight with the teachers of Aldera, who do nothing to rein in Katsuki and Izuku’s other tormentors.
- Deconstructed with All Might and Aizawa. While Izuku effectively drags them through the mud for their shortcomings in the previous timeline, he does acknowledge their good traits. Both men also agree to be better authority figures and mentors to him, especially with Izuku’s quest to change the future for the better.
- Convenient Coma: Sir Nighteye ends up suffering this when his attempt to use his quirk on All Might backfires spectacularly as a result from the blowback of reality being changed so dramatically in a short space of time. Last we hear of him, Nighteye is in a vegetative state, warded in the city hospital's psychiatric unit.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Izuku uses Blackwhip to rip Mineta apart limb from limb and then throws a Three-Pointer onto his remains to burn the evidence.
- Death by Adaptation:
- It is confirmed by the author that the Slime Villain was killed by Izuku.
- The entire leadership of the Shie Hassaikai are killed during a covert operation to rescue Eri, organised by Nezu.
- Izuku kills Mineta during the Entrance Exam, and throws a robot at the corpse to Make It Look Like an Accident.
- Entertainingly Wrong: The patrons of the arcade that Izuku visits to supplement his training think he is a cryptid who haunts the dance and laser tag games, when in reality, it is through Contrived Coincidence that Izuku is never properly seen by any other visitor, which only fuels the mystery behind this unknown enigma who dominates the dance machine and turns the laser tag maze into a horror nightmare. The arcade staff (the only ones who do see Izuku) see no reason to dispel the mystery, as it has piqued their interest.
- Flat "What": This is Hitoshi's exact response when Izuku asks him, without any warning, to use his mind-jacking quirk on him, during the entrance exam.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Despite being on the receiving end of Izuku’s deadpan clapbacks, Katsuki still suicide-baits him as he did in the canon series.
- The Slime Villain attacks Izuku in the underpass, although it meets an untimely end by its would-be victim.
- Izuku still cleans Dagobah beach as part of his entrance exam training, although it is only one part of the overall plan, and he is being properly supervised by professionals who know what they are doing.
- Izuku still trips on his way in to U.A. on the day of the entrance exam. He even lampshades this as he falls forward, before he is saved from hitting the path by Ochako.
- Izuku destroys the zero-pointer robot as he did in the canon series, although he doesn’t use One For All’s super-strength aspect, and instead uses a combination of Blackwhip and Gearshift to yeet a piece of rubble at the robot at half the speed of sound, causing it to explode. It also means that he doesn't need Ochako to save him despite her injured ankle, as he brought Monoma and Shinsou with him to get her to safety.
- Ojiro Mashirao still appears wary of Hitoshi when the latter asks Ochako for permission to use her quirk to aid him in the softball throw test. Whether or not this is a result of bigoted prejudice or past trauma currently remains unclear as far as this fic is concerned.
- Kill Tally: In the meta sense. As the theme of the story is changing the future for the better, the author started a humorous "chair counter" for the number of times reality had been changed (read: whacked with a chair), whether by Izuku or any other character's actions. So far, the count stands at a whopping 1,893, courtesy of Chapter 19 where, according to
Word of God, every single word in that chapter constituted a chair to reality. - Late-Arrival Spoiler: Initially, Izuku was only romantically paired with Shouto. Later, the author updated the relationship tags to turn the pairing into a polyamorous one. See Adaptational Sexuality above for the full list.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Understandably, Katsuki and everyone in Aldera is weirded out that the normally stuttering Izuku has suddenly become a Deadpan Snarker with zero fucks left to give, especially to those who used to bully and torment him.
- Point of Divergence: Good grief. Where to begin with this…
- Unlike many other time travel fanfics, One for All came back with Izuku, although thankfully muted down since he is back to his weak, noodle self.
- Because Izuku killed the Slime Villain, it never escapes All Might’s clutches and takes Katsuki hostage.
- Izuku effectively spoils the entire canon plot (framed as the previous timeline) to Nezu and All Might, setting into motion the wheels of change.
- Katsuki is taken to task for all of the bullying and abuse he inflicted upon Izuku. See Adaptational Karma above for the full details.
- Izuku is given access to the previous One For All holders’ quirks earlier. Additionally, he also has the help of the holders themselves in controlling their quirks.
- The Shie Hassaikai arc ends before it could even begin, courtesy of the United Kingdom’s top hero eliminating the entire leadership using hydrogen cyanide.
- Both instances where Iida Tenya humiliates Izuku before the start of the practical exam result in Izuku tearing Tenya a new one in response.
- The Entrance Exam plays out very differently from the canon series, courtesy of Izuku’s better grasp of One For All’s stockpiled quirks, plus assistance from the previous holders. Furthermore, he walks away from destroying the zero-pointer robot with only a slight ache from using Gearshift and not blowing up his limbs from overusing the super-strength aspect of the stockpile quirk.
- When the results are released, Izuku has scored the most points out of all the candidates, landing himself at the top of the scoreboard. Katsuki, who would've been at the top of the board, has been knocked down to fifth place, courtesy of Izuku's actions during the exam.
- As a result, both Hitoshi and Neito are in 1-A, when they would've been in general education and 1-B in the canon series.
- While Aizawa does put 1-A through the quirk apprehension test, because of Izuku's prior intervention, there is no "logical ruse" to get the students to put in their all during the tests. While the hobo does explicitly state that he will demote any underperforming student down to general education, there is no threat of expulsion like in the canon series.
- As a side note, with a better control of One For All, Izuku does better in the tests than he did in the canon series.
- Shout-Out: Basil and Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective are mentioned in Chapter 13, with the former being involved in rescuing Eri from the Shie Hassaikai and killing off the entire leadership of the yakuza group.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Downplayed with Sir Nighteye. See Convenient Coma above for context.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Izuku has given this to both All Might and Aizawa directly, while doing so indirectly to a host of other characters such as Sir Nighteye. All Might later gives a direct one to Sir Nighteye himself in Chapter 14.
- Nezu, through Snipe, gives Katsuki this in the reasons why he is banned from applying to U.A., with the stipulation that should he rehabilitate and meet the requirements set by the rodent, the ban will be rescinded and he can take the entrance exam.
- Unflinching Walk: Izuku pulls off this trope to the T when he walks away from the zero-pointer robot exploding, with his fellow candidates staring at him in awe. The author even lampshades this trope in the narrative.
