Work Text:
The void around the MHA multiverse acts as purgatory until a soul can be collected for reincarnation in one of the many universes or resting. Error is going to be assigned a new role in this multiverse that cuts or makes 'Strings of Fate’, this purgatory is where he will find souls to tie a string to them and send them back to the universes.
{ One Japanese legend tells of an old man who lives in the moon and comes out every night to search among kin spirits to reunite them on Earth, who have something to learn from each other, and when he finds them he ties a red thread to them so they find their paths.}
While Error is waiting for Destiny to finish their work putting him into the codes of this new multiverse, he hears crying and wanders off to find who it is because they sound young. He finds the hitodama (soul that looks like a little ball of blue fire) of a drowned child that has a single healthy string that is connected to a much older soul that represents all their past lives. The older soul has more strings that connect them to others that reincarnate at the same time often, but the little hitodama only has the one as the others are broken or frayed from dying so soon this run.
Error comforts the hitodama and learns their story. Their universe for this reincarnation was similar to a fantasy one they had where the ‘magic’ is now ‘quirks’ people can get young, they didn’t get one and their father was angry. He said he would take the hitodama to the beach to swim but tied weights to them and dropped them off the pier at a beach that was filling with trash, so they wouldn’t be found for a long time if ever.
Error is saddened to hear this and, not knowing the rules of this multiverse yet, offers a soul from his inventory so they can be reborn. To Error, giving/letting a soul go from his strings does that in his old multiverse as it goes back into the codes used to make more universes. This multiverse just needs the new string and does the rest with other gods, putting the soul from another multiverse in the hitodama flames isn’t something that is ever expected to happen and, of course, has unexpected results.
There is a flash of light and the hitodama is now ‘outside’ the rules like Error and looks like a monster, a saltwater elemental, in the vague shape of a little boy with fluffy hair and green/blue eyes shapes like Error. Floating in their chest is their new soul, shaped like an upside down heart made of blue flames.
Error makes them a little outfit as Destiny (after taking all other souls Error has in his inventory to toss back where they belong) is freaking out about what to do about this and decides Error will have a second job of raising his new creation in their old universe.
Error takes to his new godly role easily and raises his son happily, no more war, no more fighting. Just his water son that lost all memories except the name Izuku when he was ‘born’ and learning how the world of quirks works.
Things are great until his son goes to high school.
Why is the loud spiky blond one sad/mad around his son? Oh no, the teacher’s eyes went red and now his son is a puddle on the ground! Why are there so many bad fathers?! Why is a 20 year old gamer fighting children!? Why is a 200 year old man fighting children?!?
Izuku's powers:
-if his soul is undamaged and kept wet, he can reform his body once back in water.
-Being saltwater he can't mix with fresh water, so he can technically still swim as long as it's not saltwater. He appears as a slightly darker bit of water shaped like a kid and wearing whatever clothes he had on. Usually has a wetsuit under his clothes to not get stuff wet.
-If he is in saltwater he can absorb it to get bigger but loses his humanoid shape. Too big and he falls to monster instincts to attack/defend depending on what caused him to absorb the water.
-If he starts to dry out/evaporate from heat, he has a water bag Error made to hold his soul and enough water to survive until he can get cool again or put in more water later.
-He can support saltwater fish and stuff swimming in his body. He has an aquarium tank at home he likes to lay in to relax. He walks with the sea turtle babies and small fish so they can see the world.
-Has properties of saltwater, so he can grow crystals on things left in his water much faster than real seawater.
-He can float orbs of water and make shapes with them. If he ‘swallows’ air he can make little bubbles in his body that float around like a lava lamp and are breathable if needed.
-Food coloring affects him. He learned this the hard way.
-Is, ironically, scared of the ocean and refuses to go in it or to beaches.
-His body was eventually found by whoever All Might trained to be his successor by cleaning the beach and water.
Error powers:
-When in a universe his powers are limited to his physical abilities and strings acting as simple strings he can move and stuff. (Being his main weapon for eons and his godly strength/pain endurance, he is still incredibly dangerous) Can be hurt but doesn’t die, just goes to the void to recover.
-Outside a universe he has all the godly powers needed to make, alter, cut, or change the colors of stings. Immortal.
-He cannot interfere with canonical story events. What happened to make Izuku was an accident before he was bound by the rules of the multiverse.
-He found only using red strings to describe all relationships/connections to be dumb and confusing. So he made different colors for things and arranged them in nice looking sections. (think an IT guy fixing horrible cable management)
-Because neither him or Izuku needs to really eat, he doesn’t understand cultural food rules and his kitchen only has food for Izuku’s pets and salt. Lots and lots of salt.
-Makes little dolls for any heroes Izuku likes and eventually his friends at UA.
-Accidentally picks up the LoV members like stray cats because they remind him of Nightmare and his gang. Hates AFO though and decides stealing his team is good petty revenge.
-Has his own strings that disappear into the void to connect him to his old multiverse. They give him hope his friends and loved ones are still alive out there and they might meet again some day.
-Bonds with Aizawa over looking like hobos when he is in a universe but his ‘godly robes’ outside them are actually nice to look at. Izuku designed it because Error has no fashion sense and Izuku didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of the other gods.
Notes:
-Gods don’t have a set universe like Reapertale or have to live in the void, several just pick a universe to chill out in for a while between working because not much happens compared to Error’s old multiverse.
-Most gods are wary of Error and Izuku because they feel ‘outside’ the rules but are not outright rude. The last god to insult Izuku got punched so hard in the face and split into two smaller gods.
-Bakugo isn’t a total ass because Izuku disappeared when they were kids and his dad admitted to killing him for being quirkless. He realized he was going to end up like that if he kept bullying people over quirks and regrets using Deku as an insult after learning Izuku was quirkless.
-Bakugo is still brash and loud, but he doesn’t see quirks as the ‘end all, be all’ of a person’s worth. His ‘bullying’ at UA is to get people to take being heroes seriously and better themselves.
-Error’s in universe job is a fabric maker. He codes the fabric to work with people's quirks, similar to DNA infused fabrics but he sells it much cheaper because he sees it as a need and not a luxury good for just heroes or those that can afford it. He is very rich because of this but doesn’t care about money because he barely understood G in his last multiverse.
Destiny explained it as ‘offerings’ like what the other gods get at shrines and he accepts this. Izuku is in charge of their spending and takes it seriously (sometimes rare hero merch appears in the house but it’s fine.)
-Aizawa used his quirk on Izuku once, and only once, at the quirk assessment and he fell to be a puddle on the ground. Izuku was frowning up at him as he tried to not get absorbed by the grass and dirt. Aizawa felt bad as he put him in his water bag and took him to the nurse.
-Error became a favorite of the students and teachers because of how nice he is and his dad energy. (The fact he also got in a fist fight with the people that made the overly sexual suits for the girl students and made better ones with his own fabrics helped.)