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When he first arrived at U.A., Todoroki would’ve guessed that he would learn the most about how to be a hero. While his guess wasn’t completely false, his friends were proving that he was also learning a whole lot about living like an actual teenager. Or, as close to teenagers as heroes-in-training can be.
From the late study nights that usually ended in video game tournaments to laughing at mash ups of the most awkward Pro Hero interviews, Todoroki was becoming immersed in pop culture.
“Ribbit, did you see the new picture of Mirko and Edgeshot yesterday?”
A loud squeal rings out in the front of the classroom.
“Yesss, they’re adorable! I ship it.”
Todoroki’s eyebrows furrow. What about a ship?
Todoroki wouldn’t say he was out of the loop when it came to memes, manga, or whatever else people his age were so invested in. But, he’s realizing that there was something he was still missing with the internet. Oh well, just another thing to blame on Endeavor.
“No way, Mina! Mirko is a lot cuter with Ryuko!” exclaims Hagakure as she snaps around in her chair to shoot Ashido an indiscernible look.
“Hell yeah! They’re my OTP!” Kirishima declares as he reaches over to Hagakure and shares a fist bump with her.
Todoroki watches curiously as Sero collapses in his seat with a groan.
“You did not just say that, Kirishima. I thought you were supposed to be manly,” Sero complains.
“Shipping is manly, bro! It’s full of passion!”
Todoroki glances around the room to see if anyone else is as lost as he is. Shipping? OTP?
Midoriya pipes in. “Kirishima’s completely right! On the All Might FanForLife forum, I read that shipping is an enjoyable and essential part of the Pro Hero fan bases. According to the post, people should avoid stereotyping shippers as only women and -”
“Oi! Shut up, nerd! No one wants to hear about your All Might fanboy facts this early in the damn morning!” barked Bakugou.
Todoroki opens his mouth to disagree. He would very much like to know everything about this shipping business. What could people be shipping on boats that would make everyone so excited?
“Midoriya, what-”
“Ah. Perfect. You all are already discussing some aspects of your next assignment,” Aizawa says as he walks through the door to the podium carrying a stack of papers.
The entire class snaps into attention and a hush falls over the room.
“Starting today, you will research the fan communities of Pro Heroes to learn about how Pro Heroes engage with their fans and vice versa. You will also choose one aspect of these “fandoms” to focus on and give a presentation on the information you learned.”
Aizawa pauses for a moment.
“The goal of the assignment is to gain an understanding of how and why fans are an integral part of the success for the Pro Hero business. You also need to learn how fans interact with each other so, as a Pro Hero, you will be aware of fan behavior and how your choices impact your fans as well.”
Aizawa takes in the eager faces of his students who he knows are dying to break the silence. He takes a deep breath.
“No, I will not be a resource for you to use. I have no fans and I prefer it that way. Go bug Present Mic or All Might if you want an interview.”
Someone lets out a gasp and a hand shoots up in the air. Aizawa sighs.
“And no, Midoriya, you cannot only use your collection of All Might interviews as your research.”
Midoriya droops in his chair.
“Any other questions?” Aizawa drawls out.
Instantly the flood gates open and words start swimming around the room as everyone spurts out their curiosity and questions.
“Which Pro Heroes can we study?
“What’s the time limit for the presentation?”
“Does going to a fan convention count as an excused absence for research purposes?”
“Can we make our own fan work as part of the presentation?”
“Ooh, what about all the scandals with Wash? Can we talk about that?”
“Aizawa-senseiiii, how are we gonna have time to do this on top of-”
Suddenly, a red glow fills the room. The students shrink in their seats, and Aizawa shouts, “Quiet! You will draw Pro Hero names from this bin,” he gestures to the square box on the podium, “and conduct responsible, professional research accordingly. Any trips for the sake of research must be planned, approved, and chaperoned by a teacher . Any and all research material, including personal projects , can be included as long as they are appropriate and informative for your classmates and myself. The presentation must be five minutes, so plan your time now so you don’t fall behind,” Aizawa pauses and then lets out a long breath. “Now,” Aizawa grabs the bin and walks over to Aoyama, “pick a name.”
Aoyama reaches into the bin and pulls out a folded piece of paper. He opens up the paper. “Merci! I’ve got one of my favorites!”
Students continue to draw names as excitement and disappointment passes through the room as people draw some of their favorite and least favorite Pro Hero names.
As Aizawa holds the box out to Todoroki, all he can think is please not Endeavor, anyone but Endeavor. His wariness must show on his face because Aizawa smirks at Todoroki.
“Don’t worry kid. Just don’t pick the super pointy piece,” Aizawa says.
Todoroki’s hand skims over said pointy piece and he grabs the smoothest piece of paper he can find and pulls the paper out. Aizawa walks off with the rest of the box but not before commenting, “Have fun with that one.”
Todoroki looks down and unfolds the paper in his hand.
The paper reads: Kubo Raiden, a.k.a. “Light Bringer”
Todoroki blinks at the name a few times.
Who is Light Bringer?
The first thought Todoroki has is to ask Midoriya about Light Bringer. Of all the people who knew about Pro Heroes, Midoriya knew the most. He was practically a walking Pro Hero encyclopedia.
Unfortunately, it seems like the entire class has the exact same thought as Todoroki.
As soon as the bell rings to signal the end of class, (mostly) everyone swarms Midoriya as they all walk down the hall to the cafeteria.
“Midoriya! What do you know about the fans for Ms. Joke?”
“Can we share notes on each other’s Pro Hero fandoms? I got Ectoplasm.”
“Deku, I got All Might! Do you wanna help me with research on his fans? I could probably interview you too!”
“Hey-y guys, let's at least sit down-'' Midoriya stumbles out as they continue walking.
“What about Kamui Woods? Does he have a lot of fans?”
“Are there lots of girl fans for Gunhead? Huh, Midoriya?”
Todoroki trails behind the group as they all quickly grab chairs and sit down at an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria. The chatter and questions keep flying as Midoriya turns his head from side to side and hastily answers as many questions as he can. Todoroki can spot drops of sweat gathering on Midoirya’s forehead from exertion as he tries to keep pace with everyone.
Iida stands up from his chair and chops his hand. In his class president voice, Iida says, “Everyone! Please calm down and stop taking advantage of our classmate’s wealth of knowledge on Pro Heroes! You’re causing him stress with your rampant questions! We all must conduct our own thorough research and you should not depend on Midoriya to do all the hard work for you. Work ethic is an excellent skill to build as a hero student!”
The table quiets and Todoroki’s classmates let out a string of mumbled apologies.
“Sorry Deku, didn’t mean to make you stressed,” Uraraka says with an apologetic smile.
Midoriya sheepishly rubs his neck in embarrassment and waves off their apologies. “Ah, don’t worry, I’m glad you guys can depend on me! Plus, I do tend to be…-” Midoriya laughs at himself, “enthusiastic about Pro Heroes,” Midoriya says with a wide smile.
Words of agreement and teases spill out of everyone’s mouths and they all settle down and start eating. Todoroki smiles softly at his friends. He’s glad he gave himself the chance to get to know his classmates. Not even barely a year ago, Todoroki never imagined that he would engage in teasing banter and deep conversation with friends.
But, unlike his friends who stop bothering Midoriya about the Pro Heroes they chose, Todoroki is desperate to know something about Light Bringer. He didn’t even know it was possible that there would be a Pro Hero that he knew nothing about. Todoroki prides himself on his insight, and, with his close ties to the Pro Hero business through Endeavor, he was confused how the name Light Bringer could be a complete mystery to him.
“Midoriya,” Todoroki begins, “do you know who Light Bringer is?”
Midoriya pauses and looks at Todoroki with wide, shocked eyes. In fact, the entire table stops moving and turns to stare at Todoroki. Uneasiness sweeps through Todoroki’s stomach, he felt like he was missing the elephant in the room. Or, he was the elephant.
“You’ve never heard of Light Bringer, Todoroki?” Midoriya asks.
Todoroki stares blankly at Midoriya. “No?”
The entire table blinks at him for a moment, and then it’s utter chaos .
Midoriya holds up a finger and excitedly begins a long rant, “Light Bringer is a newly minted Pro Hero! He has a lightning-based quirk that causes him to only thrive in long distance fighting. He was unknown for a while due to his sparse public appearances since the danger of his quirk leads him to only be called in on incidents that happen outside the vicinity of large crowds-”
Uraraka stands up and leans forward on the table and shouts, “Deku, you’re forgetting the most important thing about him! He’s handsome! And he’s a player!”
Todoroki’s confusion grows. Why would a hero’s looks be so important? And what does “player” mean? “What do you mean by “player”?”
Kaminari answers with food stuffed in his mouth, “He dates like all the Pro Heroes. Or he tries to,” Kaminari sighs, “mannn I’m so jealous of that guy. He even scored a date with Mirko!” he whines.
Midoriya nods along, “Right, and due to his popular dating life, Light Bringer unexpectedly has drawn in a huge fan base! He’s become an internet sensation!”
“I follow almost every fan page of his on Twitter!” Ashido says.
“Did you see the post of him yesterday with Ms. Joke?” asks Shoji.
Ashido nods, “Yeah, but I think they’re just friends. He’s had a thing with Mr. Brave for a while now. Plus, Light Bringer and Ms. Joke just don’t look good together!”
The volume at the table drops a little.
Kirishima interjects, “Ahh I don’t know, Ashido, I think Ms. Joke and Light Bringer would be a power couple!” Some of the table nods along while others quiet down more.
Todoroki watches in fascination as the mood between his classmates seems to shift before his eyes. He’s seen how enthusiastic his friends can be about something and how fierce they all become out on the field, but the emotion he’s sensing now reeks of bitterness.
Mineta pipes in, “I’d say looks wise, Ms. Joke and Light Bringer belong together!”
“What would you know about good looks, Mineta?” snaps Jirou.
Mineta spits out, “Shut up, Jirou.”
“Jirou! Please refrain from insulting our classmate!” Iida says.
“He deserves it,” Jirou grumbles, “plus it’s not just about looks, Mr. Brave and Light Bringer are just more compatible. They even have a more fitting ship name.”
There’s that word again, Todoroki muses. He really should find out why ships have anything to do with dating.
Kaminari snorts. “BraveLight is stupid. I’d say BringerofJokes has a better ring to it.” Jirou shoots Kaminari a harsh look.
Mumbles of agreement and dissent reach Todoroki’s ears. Todoroki glances over at Midoriya, who has started looking oddly uncomfortable.
“No, technically speaking, the consonants and syllables of BraveLight align more,” Iida says while rubbing his chin.
Kirishima groans out, “This isn’t about technicalities, Iida! This is about love! Like Fat Gum told me, “You have to have good chemistry! Like cookies and milk!”” Kirishima states with passion.
Kirishima’s words seem to have a domino effect on the table. One by one, everyone agrees or disagrees with why Light Bringer belongs with either Ms. Joke or Mr. Brave.
“Cookies and milk don’t always go together, Kirishima. Some people are lactose intolerant.”
“That’s beside the point! Ms. Joke and Light Bringer have history! No one else knows Light Bringer like Ms. Joke!”
“Yeah, but it’s not all good history. Didn’t you hear about the big fight they had?”
“They buried that hatchet. They’re different people now.”
“I think Mr. Brave is too old for Light Bringer.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t judge others for who they choose to date.”
“They’re not even dating! It hasn’t been confirmed yet!”
“So? I can still ship them together!”
“No, Light Bringer and Ms. Joke clearly are the best couple.”
“I sense darkness with that ship.”
Todoroki remains speechless as his classmates, his friends, continue to argue and vaguely insult each other. How did him asking a question lead to this mess?
“Maybe you need to check your eyes and ears. Didn’t you see Light Bringer’s interview where he talks about how wonderful Mr. Brave is?”
“The context was different! Plus he could’ve said the same stuff about a friend!”
“You just don’t want to accept that Light Bringer and Mr. Brave are the superior couple.”
“And you just don’t want to admit that you have a complex about love!”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said!”
Todoroki watches as Midoriya swallows, fiddles with his fork, and finally contribute to the argument, “Guys, it doesn’t matter who you ship-”
“Oh, shut it, Midoriya! Now’s not the time to act all high and mighty,” Mineta growls out as he stares Jirou down for her last insulting comment.
Midoriya looks at Mineta with shocked, shimmery eyes. Todoroki calls out, “Midoryia, are you-”
Todoroki hears a faint sniffle from his closest friend. “I’m fine, Todoroki. I’m just gonna go eat with All Might,” Midoriya tells him with a small smile. He grabs his food tray and walks out of the cafeteria.
Todoroki stares at Mineta in disbelief. He stares at all his classmates in disbelief. They keep arguing, oblivious to the destruction they’re causing and the absence of their friend.
Todoroki, unable to listen to the harsh words anymore, stands up and tosses his trash away at a neighboring trash can. He heaves his backpack over his shoulder, determined, and makes his way to the library. He’s going to get to the bottom of this. He needs to know why his friends are acting like they don’t know or care about each other at all.
And it all has to do with this Light Bringer .
After flipping through books, scrolling through website pages, reading through social media comments, and skimming fan pages, Todoroki’s brain feels jammed full of knowledge about fandom, shipping, fan behavior, and the ship wars in Light Bringer’s fandom.
Since a large majority of fandoms and fan activities are online, it was no surprise to Todoroki that he was clueless about what was going on in the world of fans. While Todoroki wasn’t some sort of old man that never touched his phone and avoided the internet like the plague, he was never aware or interested in being social and having fun on the internet. Also, he was too busy with training and…trauma to focus too much on leisure activities. Only recently with his consumption of music videos and social media from the encouragement of his friends has he felt more connected to the entertainment side of the internet and technology.
Also, for as long as Todoroki could remember, he only felt resentment towards the people who supported and cheered on the hero, Endeavor. How could a man that Todoroki held such distrust and anger for have fans who admired him and rooted for him so much? Todoroki never understood fans, not until recently. From remembering how he admired All Might to becoming a fan himself of his friends, Todoroki was learning how enjoyable and exciting it was to be a fan of other people. It provided Todoroki with a sense of hope and fulfillment that he didn’t realize he was missing. And he knows that his friends are fans of him as well. So, he’s also slowly learning that Endeavor fans must see something in the Pro Hero that they admire or support, something that is outside of who Endeavor is as a father. But, Todoroki is still struggling with learning how the hero Endeavor and the father Endeavor are intertwined.
It’s fortunate really, that Todoroki was unaware of how fans can also behave in ways that are the opposite of enjoyable and supportive. It was no surprise though. People have different opinions, they value different things, and they sometimes lose themselves behind a screen. Sometimes people can support something so much that they may be blind to the hurt they could cause.
Todoroki delved deep into Light Bringer’s fandom, and the fandom seemed to be the epitome of what some people call a “toxic” fandom. Todoroki wasn’t so sure that toxic was the right word to use, but the online bullying, harassment, and doxxing were all there in the string of comments and posts. And, from Todoroki’s observation, part of the negative fan behavior stemmed from ship wars, or, as Todoroki learned, hostile disagreements that break out among fans regarding the support and criticism of ships.
Todoroki could see the appeal in shipping, whether the people were Pro Heroes or fictional characters, and he could imagine himself as a shipper too. There was a certain enjoyment for supporting and rooting for a relationship and happiness between people that fans feel a connection to. Plus, with his own family issues, Todoroki could see himself being a shipper as a way to indulge in and learn about positive relationships and how relationships can look different from those he’s experienced.
Yet, Todoroki was still appalled that his class, his friends , could be so invested that they’re blind to the hurt they’re causing. Maybe his friends are taking shipping too seriously? Don’t they know that ships being confirmed as real isn’t the end all be all? Sure, it’s a great feeling for your views to be affirmed, but ultimately shipping is a fan behavior that is meant as another way to enjoy a celebrity fandom or media text. The value of shipping is held in peoples’ own enjoyment and what they share to positively support the ship, not in whether one ship is better or “canon,” a term Todoroki also learned through his intense research.
Well, at least Todoroki knows that he wants to focus on the shipping aspect of the Light Bringer for his presentations.
With all his thoughts and mulling, Todoroki heads out of the library and walks down the hall.
Oh it’s already dark outside , Todoroki realizes as he walks out of the school and makes his way to the 1-A dorms. He must’ve been in the library longer than he thought. He’ll have to go see All Might about missing Foundational Hero Studies.
Todoroki walks into the dorm and notices two things instantly. One, the common area is quiet, too quiet. Two, no one is downstairs except for two people. Bakugou walks around the kitchen with a plate of food in his hands, and Midoriya is on the couch munching on senbei and sipping some tea.
“Where is everyone?” Todoroki asks as he trades his sneakers for slippers.
“Tch. How should I know?” Bakugou scoffs. “After that disaster in class, the extras all ran off to do their own thing.”
“What?”
“You’d know if you didn’t skip out, Icy Hot.”
“I lost track of time at the library. I was researching my Pro Hero fandom after the…” Todoroki throws Midoriya a worried glance, “...conversation at lunch.”
Midoriya looks up at Todoroki. “They were all still arguing in class. All Might decided to use the time to teach us about team communication and it went south from there,” Midoriya sighs out, “I thought All Might was gonna cry.”
“Hah! I’ve never seen the No.1 hero so lost before!” Bakugou laughed.
Midoriya glares at Bakugou. “It’s not funny, Kacchan.”
Bakugou rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I don’t know why they were all so worked up anyways. All I know is it pisses me off because we lost out on training,” Bakugou walks to the row of tables and pulls out a chair. He drops his plate down and pops in his earbuds.
Todoroki walks over to the couch and sits next to Midoriya. Midoriya sips some more tea and stares ahead with his thinking face on.
“Are you okay?” Todoroki asks. “Lunch was a little…awkward.”
Midoriya snaps back into attention as his eyes shoot toward Todoroki, “Oh! Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he says.
“Hmm, sure.” Todoroki gives Midoriya a disbelieving look. “I learned a lot about Light Bringer at the library.”
“That’s good, Todoroki.”
“I was kind of lost with all the shipping talk at lunch. This morning I thought shipping only referred to actual ships on water.”
Midoriya’s serious expression finally breaks as he lets out a laugh. Todoroki laughs lightly with him.
“That’s why you didn’t know about Light Bringer, huh? His fans are notorious for shipping. That’s the only thing he’s really well-known for since he can’t fight a lot in the public eye,” Midoriya says.
Todoroki nods, “Yes, I found out all about that online.” Todoroki pauses for a moment. “What Pro Hero did you get?”
“Gran Torino.”
“Oh.” Todoroki blinks, “does he have fans?”
Midoriya snorts, “Not really. I guess Aizawa-sensei thought it’d be a good challenge.”
“Same. He told me to “have fun with that one” after I drew mine.”
Midoriya and Todoroki sit in silence for a moment.
“Sorry for what happened at lunch, Midoriya. I didn’t know talking about Light Bringer would cause everyone to…”
“Act like mean, condescending, arrogant jerks?”
Todoroki huffs out a laugh. “Yeah.”
Midoriya thinks for a moment and then starts talking again. “After being such an avid All Might fan and following heroes for so long, I’ve seen so many good things that fans can do to support Pro Heroes and each other. But…I’ve also seen plenty of the opposite. Ship wars are a big part of that. I just didn’t think our friends would let it take over like it did today.”
“How do we stop them? Ship Wars?” Todoroki asks. He needs to hear some hope, and if anyone has an answer, it’d be Midoriya.
Midoriya stares into his tea, “I don’t know. People will always have different opinions, but I think it’d help if they were reminded that different opinions can make us more powerful instead of destroying us. We all see love and relationships in different ways, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
“Most people don’t see it that way, Midoriya. At least not where shipping and fandom are involved. Most people just want to be right. And when they’re questioned, it turns into the ultimate defense war,” Todoroki states. “How do we fix that? How can we let people know that their words might be hurting others in a space that’s meant to be positive?”
Midoriya sighs. “I don’t know.”
Todoroki turns to look out the wide array of windows. The trees dance in the breeze as leaves drift to the ground from the approaching storm.
“Well, I’m going to find a way to help. Even if it’s just a little,” Todoroki says.
The first idea Todoroki has is one that he usually would not fall back on. With his poor experience with adults, it was always a hit or miss when asking for help. But, U.A. has shown him the value in letting others help him, and he trusted Aizawa-sensei with his life.
Todoroki woke up early and headed to class as soon as he was ready. He made his way through the U.A. grounds and walked to the teacher’s lounge. He hoped the teachers were already at the school at this time in the morning.
His hopes prove right when he opens the door and sees Aizawa standing at the counter, waiting for his coffee to be brewed. Standing next to a half awake Aizawa is All Might. Todoroki pauses as All Might talks and gestures with a concerned look on his face and Aizawa hums in agreement. Aizawa grabs his coffee and turns around to go to his desk and he spots Todoroki in the doorway.
“Todoroki. Decided to show up today?” Aizawa asks with scrutiny.
Todoroki winces internally. “Sorry, sir. I lost track of time doing research on the new assignment.”
“Hmm. Don’t do it again. One problem child is enough,” Aizawa states. “Why are you here so early?”
Todoroki shuffles awkwardly for a moment before he gains a grip on himself. “I wanted to talk about a problem that has come up from my assignment.”
Aizawa waits for a moment and then gestures as if to say “continue.”
“I asked about Light Bringer yesterday at lunch and my question seemed to cause an…uproar. Everyone started arguing about who Light Bringer should be shipped with and then things turned kind of ugly,” Todoroki takes a breath in, “everyone was avoiding each other when I got home last night, and from what I gathered, there was also some disruption in All Might’s class.”
“Yes, I’m aware. All Might was just informing me of the incident in class yesterday,” responds Aizawa.
Todoroki nods along.
Aizawa stares at Todoroki for a moment. “Were you just bringing this to my attention?” he asks.
Todoroki nods again slowly, unsure. “Yes.” He turns around and begins to walk out.
Aizawa calls out, “Are you sure, Todoroki?”
Todoroki pauses before opening his mouth, “How can I stop ship wars?”
Aizawa and All Might share a cryptic look.
“That’s a good question, Todoroki,” Aizawa pauses. “Let me know when you come up with an answer.”
Todoroki opens his mouth to protest but-
“As for your classmates, I have an idea on how to fix that,” Aizawa says with a cunning grin. All Might face palms next to him.
Great. Class is going to be so much fun.
As Todoroki stands out on Ground Beta in his hero costume, a bad feeling swirls in his gut. The class is oddly silent, with an obvious split between the two groups of shippers minus Bakugou, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu.
“Is everyone still fighting from yesterday?” asks Yaoyorozu.
“Uh-huh,” mumbles Midoriya.
Yaoyorozu sighs, “Illogical.”
“Look at that. We agree on something, Ponytail,” Bakugou comments with a hint of snark.
The bad feeling grows stronger as soon as Aizawa begins to give instructions.
“Listen up everyone. After some discussion about yesterday’s turn of events, it’s clear to me that you all need to be reminded of what teamwork is.”
The class groans.
“Quiet,” Aizawa demands. “Pro Heroes are responsible, respected, and trustworthy. Right now, I just see a bunch of childish pretenders.”
“Harsh,” Uraraka mumbles out.
“For today’s lesson, you will all pair up in groups of four and work your way through a maze. While trying to find your way to the maze, you are also tasked with stopping the other team from finding their way through the maze. To stop the other team, you must tag each of them with one of these,” - he gestures to long pieces of thick colored tape - “and then they are disqualified. But, the entire team must be disqualified, or they’ll still have the chance to win.”
The class nods along.
“This is gonna be a piece of cake!” Kaminari exclaims.
Yaoyorozu comments, “This is too simple. There’s got to be something else involved.”
Aizawa continues, “Astute observation, Yaoyorozu. Since this is an exercise in teamwork, two of the four teammates will be blindfolded and the other two will wear quirk suppressant wristbands.”
Whispers and shock crash over the class.
“You will need to depend on each other to find your way through the maze and stop your competition. This is the ultimate test of teamwork, I hope you all are prepared,” Aizawa says with a curling smirk.
Tokoyami speaks to his left,“Dark energy is spawning between us. It’s making Dark Shadow uneasy.”
Todoroki was right. This is going to be a disaster. The darkening clouds seem to match his gut feeling.
Team groups are announced. Unsurprisingly, Todoroki’s teammates are Midoriya, Bakugou, and Yaoyorozu and they’re up first against Ashido, Aoyama, Kirishima, and Sero.
“Think they grouped us up for a reason?” Bakugou asks.
“Yes. We are not involved in the ship war,” Todoroki answers.
Bakugou rolls his eyes. “That was sarcasm, Icy Hot.”
Todoroki shoots Bakugou a look. “I know. I thought I’d answer anyway.”
“Tch.”
Aizawa walks over to Todoroki’s team.
“All right, Todoroki, Bakugou, you two will be blind-folded,” Aizawa says. “Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, please hold out your wrists.” Aizawa places the quirk suppressors on them.
“This will be a piece of cake. I’m a pro at firing off my explosions with no vision. I proved that with Endeavor,” Bakugou says.
Aizawa sighs. “Yes, Bakugou, but you must listen to your teammates to coordinate your attacks. And you must guard your teammates with your power.”
Midoriya rubs his wristband subconsciously.
“Alright, make your way to the entrance,” Aizawa says as he leaves.
Todoroki’s team waits in front of the start of the maze. Midoriya fiddles with his wristband again. Todoroki searches for words to comfort his teammate. Being stripped of your power can be an unpleasant experience when you grow to depend on it as your second hand.
“Relax Midoriya. Just use your words,” Todoroki comments.
“Yeah, you’re good at that, nerd,” Bakugou says. “You never know when to shut up.”
Yaoyorozu sighs, “Not helpful Bakugou. You two should put on your blindfolds.”
Todoroki nods and puts his blindfold into place. He hears the ten second countdown begin.
“Just listen to our description of what’s happening and we’ll help you coordinate when to use your quirks if needed,” Yaoyorozu says.
Bakugou agrees hotly, “Yeah, that’s obvious, Ponytail.”
Midoriya nods. “All right, let’s go! We’re the strongest team out there, we’ve got this!”
In all fairness, Midoriya’s confidence was well-placed. But, he failed to take into account how poorly the other team would perform.
Ten minutes into the exercise, Todoroki and his team steadily made their way through the maze with no issues. It was honestly a breeze. Probably because they could hear the other team arguing and bickering from a mile away.
It was surprising, really, that the other team hadn’t tried to stop them yet. Yaoyorozu determined it’d be best for them to make their way through the maze without confronting the other team because she hypothesized that their poor teamwork would slow them down immensely. Todoroki’s team could win because their pace would be that much quicker from smooth communication and trust.
Yet, as soon as Midoriya announced that he spotted the exit gate, it all went downhill.
Voices drifted into Todoroki’s ear.
“Bro, I heard Midoriya, we should go fight them like a man!”
That’s gotta be Kirishima.
“Does everything have to do with acting manly with you, Kirishima?!” Ashido shouts. “Let’s just keep going forward!”
Sero grumbles, “We’ve barely gone twenty feet because you guys keep telling us that we’re going the wrong way.”
“Oui Oui, that’s because my internal sense of direction is stronger than your vision,” Aoyama says.
Yaoyorozu whispers, “Todoroki, if you use your ice to cover a wide area at least thirty feet long to your left, we can trap their feet and make them immobile. That should give us time to run through the gate.”
“C’mon, Ponytail, that’s the boring way out,” Bakugou says. “My explosions are a lot more fun.”
“It’s the most effective way, Kacchan.”
“Stop it with the Kacchan, Deku,” Bakugo snaps.
Todoroki nods in agreement with Yaoyorozu. “Right, I can do that. Tell me when.” Todoroki positions his hand out with a clear image of the ice formation in his mind.
Yaoyoruzo nods. “Alright on one. Three…two…one.”
Todoroki releases the ice with his hands and a cold breeze brushes over his face. He can hear shouts of surprise from the other team.
Midoriya shouts, “Yes! Now run forward at a twenty degree angle!”
Todoroki nods and takes off running. A few light rain drops sprinkle his face.
Kirishima shouts, “Ashido! Acid! Acid! Spray the ground with acid!”
Not good. Todoroki can hear sizzling and chunks of ice breaking in the background as the other team escapes the ice.
“Keep going, we’re almost there!” shouts Yaoyorozu from behind Todoroki.
“Aoyama, use your laser!”
“Where, monsieur?”
“To your right!”
“There?”
“No, the other right! Shoot Aoyama! Now!”
Aoyama shouts, “NAVEL SABER!”
Todoroki feels a rush of energy brush past him. To his right, he hears an explosion of rock and rubble as Aoyama’s navel laser strikes something solid.
“Todoroki! Kacchan! Stop!” Midoriya shouts with panic. More creaks and groans of a building collapsing reaches his ear.
Todoroki feels a body ramming into him and on instinct, he raises his right hand above him and releases a block of ice around him and the other person. The last thing he remembers is more shouting as his vision goes dark and he thinks, oh it’s started raining out .
The familiar beeps of a hospital room reach Todoroki’s ears before he opens his eyes.
Todoroki sighs internally. How many more times is he going to land himself in the hospital?
Todoroki slowly blinks his eyes open.
“Oh good, you’re awake, sweetie.”
Todoroki looks to his left and sees Recovery Girl. She hands him a few gummies.
Todoroki groans as he sits up to eat the gummies. He looks around and spots an unconscious Midoriya across the room. A cast is wrapped around Midoriya’s right foot.
Bakugou sits in a chair, grumbling about staying for a simple scratch. The medical assistant pulls another stitch through the cut on his arm and Bakugou yells out, “Not so rough, bastard!”
The assistant smiles sweetly, “I thought it was just a scratch?”
Bakugou rolls his eyes and quiets down.
“What happened?” Todoroki asks. The last thing he remembers is using his ice to shield himself from rocks.
“One of the buildings on Ground Beta collapsed right in front of you. You got knocked in the head with a piece of rubble. Midoriya pushed you out of the way from a large falling boulder but he unfortunately didn’t escape unscathed. A few more inches and U.A. would’ve had a big lawsuit on their hands,” Recovery Girl explains. “Those teachers of yours better be more careful,” she huffs out.
“Teach did nothing wrong, old lady! It was our idiot classmates who got stupid and careless!” Bakugou yells out.
Todoroki’s mind puts the puzzle pieces together. “Aoyama’s laser hit the building?”
Bakugou scoffs. “Yeah, he nearly killed us all.”
Todoroki stares off in thought for a moment. “Has anyone stopped by to check on us?”
“Class Prez and Ponytail stuck their heads in, but everyone else kept yelling at each other even more than they did in Hero Studies class yesterday. What the hell is going on with the extras, Half-and-Half? They’re idiots but they’re not stupid.”
Todoroki sighs. “They all got in a fight about Light Bringer. Everyone’s been arguing about who the best ship is and why Light Bringer and Mr. Brave are a bad match and Light Bringer and Ms. Joke are problematic.”
Bakugou stares blankly at Todoroki for a moment. Oh no.
Bakugou takes a deep breath.
“THEY ALMOST KILLED US BECAUSE OF A SHIP WAR? I’M GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES!”
Todoroki sighs again and lays back down.
After walking back to the dorms and crashing on the couch, Todoroki sits back in thought. He couldn’t believe that his classmates were so far gone on their opinions that they overlooked teamwork. They put their team and his team in danger because they couldn’t separate their ship war from a real-life exercise with real-life consequences.
For one of the first times since he decided to accept himself and make friends, Todoroki was disappointed in his classmates, and he was mad . Everything was just getting out of hand.
Todoroki lets out a sigh and leans his head back on the couch.
The front door opens and Midoriya comes wobbling in on crutches with Iida next to him carrying his backpack and an umbrella.
His two closest friends walk across the room and join him on the couch. They all sit in silence as rain falls in sheets outside.
Iida breaks the silence. “I apologize that my inability to bring our classmates back together brought you both more harm.”
Midoriya speaks softly, “It’s not your fault, Iida.”
Iida frowns. “ Maybe so, but this has gotten out of hand.”
Todoroki waits a moment. Should he tell them about his idea? Todoroki doesn’t know if his idea will help or not, but he wants to try. He trusts that Midoriya and Iida will listen and tell him if it’s a bad idea or not. So, he starts explaining what’s been on his mind since he got back from the hospital room.
Midoriya and Iida nod along and listen intently, waiting for Todoroki to get through his thoughts and asking questions along the way. As he talks, Midoriya’s eyes light up with a spark. As soon as Todoroki sees that spark, he knows that this could work. If Midoriya and Iida believe in him, then he can get the rest of his friends to believe in him too.
Todoroki adds, “But, there is one issue. How do we get the proof? How do we find out if our classmates are also being hurtful online too? How do we show them the hard truth?”
Midoriya smirks, “I know someone in the General Studies department who can brainwash someone to hack into some social media apps for us.”
Iida gasps, “Midoriya, I can’t believe you suggest we hack a website and break the law!”
Midoriya rolls his eyes. “Like all of us on this couch haven't broken the law before.”
Todoroki bursts out laughing and his friends join in.
Todoroki sits in class and listens as his classmates give their presentations over their chosen Pro Hero fandom. Some people talk about cosplay and conventions, others talk about parasocial relationships and marketing strategies related to fans. Midoriya gives a stellar ten minute presentation about how some Pro Heroes have few fans due to the nature of their work while standing on his booted leg. Todoroki thinks that he catches Aizawa nodding along in agreement with Midoriya’s presentation.
Finally, it’s Todoroki’s turn. His presentation was saved for last. Todoroki wonders if Aizawa thinks the class is going to explode in rage and that’s why he’s going last. The same thought crossed Todoroki’s mind.
He pulls up his powerpoint and begins to talk about Light Bringer. Todoroki touches on who Light Bringer is and how many fans he has. He shows video clips of interviews and fan gatherings before moving onto the focus of his project.
Todoroki takes a deep breath and clicks to the next slide. The slide reads: Ship Wars.
Todoroki can feel the class grow tense as soon as the slide pops up.
“An important aspect of the Light Bringer fandom is shipping, and along with large amounts of shipping, there are ship wars. While you all know what these words mean, I did not. I decided to research the Light Bringer ship wars more in depth so I could understand what was happening online and with my friends.”
Todoroki clicks to the next slide. The slide has screenshots of social media comments about the ships in the fandom. The comments are full of insults, derogatory words, insinuations, and bigotry.
“I found these comments on Twitter just recently. The conversation is tagged with #LightBringer and #LightBringerLove, so anyone and everyone part of the fandom will likely see conversations like these on their main feed or under hashtags they may click on if they want to see content for their favorite hero and the fan community.”
Todoroki takes a deep breath.
“Just yesterday with the help of a friend, I discovered that 17% of these comments were written by people in this classroom.”
Several gulps circle around the room.
“As someone who has only recently become interested in joining a fandom and by witnessing first-hand how ship wars can affect peoples’ lives, my goal with this assignment shifted from a simple presentation to a proposal.”
Todoroki pulls up the next slide. A graph is shown that represents various fandoms and bars that show the amount of ship wars that occur each month on apps like Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr. The bars are high for each fandom.
“I propose that social media platforms with a strong fandom presence should increase the awareness and education about fandom culture, shipping practices, and how to navigate and discourage toxic online behavior to improve fan experiences in online fandom communities. Through the spread of information about shipping practices, fandom culture, and awareness of when ship wars may reach a level of danger, toxic shipping wars in the Light Bringer fandom and other fandoms can be mitigated in online fandom spaces."
Todoroki gestures to the graphs behind him.
“These graphs, along with social media comments, historical examples of ship wars, and published articles, confirm that ship wars are made up of elements that can lead to negative online behavior and experiences like harassment that directly impact fans and social media platforms. Fan safety is put at risk and fans may feel unwelcome and choose not to engage in fandoms through social media. With the mitigation of ship wars, there can be a growth of positivity and comfort for fans to experience in online fandom spaces, and fan safety and mental health can improve.”
Todoroki pauses and takes in several breaths.
“The goal of fandom, shipping, and online behavior education is to provide fans with knowledge about how healthy fandoms should operate and feel, and when to recognize toxic behavior like harassment and the negative consequences that toxic behavior has on fans, creators, and social media platforms. Mitigating toxic shipping wars can lead social media platforms to be positive spaces for users and for fandoms like “ Light Bringers” to be reformed and gain reputations of being enjoyable, respectful, and inclusive communities for people to join. Ultimately, the decline in toxic fan behaviors such as ship wars can lead more people to join fandoms, stay in a fandom community, engage on social media, and most importantly, improve the experience for fans.”
Todoroki tugs on his jacket sleeve from the podium. He looks at the faces of his classmates with uncertainty. “Any questions?” he asks.
Dozens of hands shoot up. Todoroki is taken aback. He blinks in surprise for several seconds before calling on people.
Yaoyorozu asks, “How do you plan to implement increased education on social media platforms?”
Todoroki nods, expecting the question. “I have three ideas on courses of action. First, social media platforms can alter their app interface to include an educational page or icon that takes users to informational pages about fandom etiquette and safety as a whole. A second possible course of action is that social media can permit fandom organizations to have ads, posts, and a hashtag campaign for promoting accessible information about online shipping and fan practices. The ads and posts, with a hashtag attached, could also include direct web links or hotline numbers for urgent concerns or questions. Third, social media platforms can take action through fans and fandom social media accounts and pages. Fan accounts can be required to feature credible links in their bio and posts that contain information and resources about shipping and online fan etiquette to encourage others to learn more about fandom culture.”
Yaoyorozu nods along. “Yes, but aren’t those methods costly, especially designing a new app feature?”
“Yes, but I also think the increase of education about shipping practices, fandom culture, and online etiquette can lead to a growth of users in online fan communities. With the facilitation of positive fan experiences as well as respectful and inclusive fandom spaces, people will feel more welcomed and excited to participate in online fandoms through social media. Less toxicity will invite more people into the online fandom space and increase the overall economic gain and usership for social media platforms.”
Todoroki calls on the next person. And the next. And the next.
By the end, Todoroki is mentally and socially exhausted. He doesn't think he’s spoken this much sequentially in his life.
“Any more questions?” he asks one more time.
Bakugou speaks out casually, “Why do you care about this so much?”
Straightforward and to the point. Fitting for Bakugou, Todoroki supposes.
Todoroki thinks for a moment. His mind goes back to that lunch earlier in the week and all he can think of is friendship. He looks down at the podium as he speaks from his heart.
“This issue in the Light Bringer fandom caused my classmates, my friends , to stop listening to each other. To stop trusting each other. To stop caring about hurting each other’s feelings. I know I can’t stop ship wars, and that’s not my goal. I just want people to be able to learn about how to deal with ship wars when they do turn ugly, and I want my friends to know that shipping isn’t everything. Shipping is meant to be enjoyed and shared with others, and if there are slight disagreements, that’s just human nature. There doesn’t need to be a right and wrong in a place where our ideas and thoughts should only meet positivity unless harm is brought to someone else through our ideas. Fandom is meant to be a community where people share their love of something, and friendship is sharing our love, enjoyment, and support for each other. That’s what I want to help guide forward with this proposal.”
Todoroki finishes his speech and looks up. He’s surprised by what he sees.
His friends look at him with glistening, hopeful eyes. They look around at each other and see . Midoriya shoots Todoroki a blinding supportive smile. Aizawa glances around and hums in approval.
“Tch. You didn’t have to get all sappy on me, Half-and-Half,” Bakugou scoffs.
Todoroki smirks at Bakugou and makes his way to his seat.
Aizawa walks to the podium and speaks, “All right class, I think that covers the lesson for today. Come back tomorrow ready to try the teamwork exercise again. Dismissed.” Aizawa raises his hand in dismissal and walks out of the room.
As soon as Aizawa is out, everyone starts jumping on each other with hugs and tears and apologies.
“Todoroki, bro, that was the manliest presentation I’ve heard in my life!” cries Kirishima.
“The darkness is retreating,” Tokoyami mutters.
Kaminari whales out, “Jirou, I’m sorry about what I said! I didn’t mean to insult your ear jacks!”
“Whatever, Jammingway. I’m sorry too.”
Yaoyorozu claps Todoroki’s shoulder. “That was a delightful presentation, Todoroki. You did more than Iida and I could do to bring the class back together,” she says with a smile.
Todoroki smiles back. “I’m glad it helped.”
Iida speaks up from the side of the room. “Todoroki! You never fail to go beyond the limit for all of us! I applaud your “plus ultra” mindset!”
The class lets out a cheer of support, “Plus Ultra!”
Todoroki looks around at his classmates as they chat and laugh together. This was the goal that drove him forward. This was all the motivation he needed. Their happiness (and his).
“And here today, we have special a guest...All Might!” announces the TV show host.
All Might, in his retired glory, steps into the room with a beaming smile. He takes a seat across from the host.
“Now All Might, we hear you have a special message for all of us fans that you wish to share with us.” The host comments excitedly.
“Ah, yes. One of my students has a brilliant idea I want to share with all of you. From all my years as a hero, my fans were one of my biggest strengths. I want to share a proposal created by Todoroki Shouto that I think could shine a new light into the fan communities across Japan and the internet. Let’s begin with the message, shall we?” All Might shoots another smile and wink at the camera. A few miles away, a class of heroes-in-training jump and cheer as they watch the interview huddled around the TV in the place they all call home.
THE END.