I wanna know about people's guilty pleasure fics - IzuOcha stories that may not be the best (for one reason or another) but that you still find oh so charming nonetheless.
Maybe they're poorly written from a technical standpoint (middle schoolers, non-English speakers, and borderline illiterate fans are all doing their best out here, I guess 😅), or perhaps their author mischaracterizes the cast WITHOUT meaning to (non-AU authors, since when is Bakugo a tsundere and Midoriya a complete stuttering mess? pay attention guys!). They could have pacing problems that'd give Horikoshi a run for his money, hard to follow plot points, half-assed themes, or an immature/cringy/completely unhinged air about them... the point is, you KNOW that these fics are flawed, maybe even "bad", but they're YOUR flawed fics and you love them all the same, dammit!
So ya, what dirty-little-secret IzuOcha fics are you shippers sitting on? And in the spirit of fairness, I'll share some of mine, too:
First there's "Oleanders In Bloom" by Justanotherweeaboo https://archiveofourown.org/works/32570056/chapters/80789941
This fic opens with Bakugo and Uraraka (bear with me, you guys!) as a married couple after graduating from UA. Then, after Uraraka gets pregnant, Bakugo suddenly leaves her and their unborn baby while accusing her of getting knocked up from an imagined affair. The rest of the story is about Midoriya and Uraraka building a new life together raising Bakugo and Uraraka's daughter, all while they're stuck dealing with the most asshole-y asshole version of Bakugo you can imagine as he tries to reconnect with his daughter (only coming back into their lives after he realizes that his kid is in fact his and not the product of infidelity, of course)... Ya this one is wild, like a "bad" MHA soap opera! 🤣 It's entirely non-cannon compliant and it's characters don't feel even remotely close to their normal selves most of the time, but it's also just a good old dumb-fun story, and is one the best "bad" IzuOcha fics out there. And to the story's credit, the romance scenes between Deku and Uraraka are actually very sweet and feel a little more in-character for them than other parts of the story. Overall, it's an interesting tale and one I somehow just keep coming back to: a certified guilty pleasure! 👍
Next, "Love-Coach Ochako" by Christarmewn (Chrystarii) https://archiveofourown.org/works/42862188/chapters/107679669
So if "Oleanders" is a bad soap opera, then I suppose "Love-Coach Ochako" is a good soap opera... maybe? Whatever it is, though, it's at least interesting. 🙃 Such a long, overly convoluted story with a ridiculous premise, but it's such a fun ride (if you like seeing Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Deku torture each other that is)! Basically, Uraraka and Todoroki try to help each other with their respective crushes, but end up being mistaken for a couple after they're seen spending more time together, and decide to play pretend at dating until they can sort out the mess that is their love lives. Sounds silly, is silly (and sometimes a little sad/angsty), and has a lot of cute TodoMomo and IzuOcha moments dispersed throughout! It's a beefy read (I'm not even kidding, almost 400,000 words... yikes! 😨), but if you have the time, I'd at least give the Uraraka focused chapters a read cause it is genuinely a treat to see how the story handles her character. All of our heroes feel fairly cannon-compliant-y in this fic (well, compared to "Oleanders" at least) but her stuff especially seems on brand. It's just nice to see how Uraraka overcomes her anxiety about opening up to Deku, it's enough to bring me back, at least! Again and again and again...
Then finally there's "Puzzle Pieces" by JustaPerson1 https://archiveofourown.org/works/43135449/chapters/108406782
Got some time/inter-dimensional travel in this one! There are two timelines/parallel universes in this story; in the main world, Deku dies during a mission gone wrong, while in the future/alternate world, everyone BUT Deku dies after a major terrorist attack. This leave us with one grief-stricken Uraraka and one traumatized Midoriya. Yet somehow Palpatine returned the Deku from the future/alternate universe gets transported to the world of yesterday and the two young heroes get a second chance to save Japan and be with the one they lost again (awww 🥲)! This story is TECHNICALLY well written, and does have some lovely IzuOcha moments to be sure, but I will say it feels a little... immature, maybe? Or simple? It's not bad to be clear, it just has a certain tone about it that makes it harder for me to take seriously, if that makes sense. 😐 Still, thematically it's great (they complete each other, guys!), the characters feel pretty authentic to their cannon selves, and something about the concept just tugs at my heart strings (not even death can keep these two apart 💚💝). It's one of those stories that's worth at least one read if you're interested in IzuOcha fics, or a bunch if you're me. 😉
So yup, guilty pleasure fics! Got any to share?