Fanfic / Timeless Academia

The Chaldea Security Organization. Dedicated to protecting the safety of the world, they venture into Earth's storied past to correct any Singularities that appear to threaten its stability. With humanity's greatest heroes at their side, they prepare to save everyone from a being that seeks to end the human race and create a world of blissful indolence.

So how did a boy with no magic, no family lineage, and not even one of these things called a "Quirk" end up as the Last Master of Humanity?

So begins Timeless Academia, a crossover between My Hero Academia and Fate/Grand Order by MadCrona. it can be found on Archive of Our Own here and SpaceBattles.com here. There is also a spinoff called Team-Up Materials which focuses on Interludes and Omakes (AO3 and SpaceBattles).

Now has a Characters Page In Progress.

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Tropes include:

• Actor Allusion: A Running Gag is Izuku commenting on how several Servants sound exactly the same and him being the only one to notice. This is a nod to how across the Fate Series, some voice actors play different Servants.
• Adapted Out:
  • Fujimaru Ritsuka is replaced by Midoriya Izuku. Also, as per Word of God, Izuku will be the only character from My Hero Academia to show up within the main story apart from Melissa Shield.
  • Elisabeth and Altera do not appear in Septem; Elisabeth is already a member of Chaldea, while Izuku prevents Lev Lainur Flauros from completing Altera's summoning.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Given that Gameplay and Story Segregation is obviously not in effect, many Servants who got negatively hit with it are much more up to par even considering how the Nasuverse usually runs on Older Is Better.
  • David knows the Jacob's Limbs techniques that Martha uses. Of course, as he explains, he's a descendant of Jacob so it's natural that he'd know them, but since he's only been shown as an Archer, it's possible his canon self doesn't have the skill in that class.
• Adaptational Expansion: Most of the early interludes in Grand Order were simple events that didn't have much depth to them. Here, they are, at worst, replaced by different events, but most of the time they are in line with their game counterpart, albeit more detailed by nature.
• Adaptational Heroism: Hector was always on humanity's side even in the Okeanos Singularity.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Izuku now has Magic Circuits.
  • In this fic, Shakespeare's First Folio requires Shakespeare to know about it's targets to better affect them with the mental attacks, something that doesn't seem to be the case in canon. Then again, if you remember that the names of Heroic Spirits also give their weaknesses to their adversaries, you could argue that this is not far off from the original.
• Adaptational Villainy: Shakespeare was an ally at the tall end of the London Singularity. Here, after understanding what humanity was facing, he decides to indulge himself in tragedies, and traps the cast with First Folio before Fran kills him.
• Affectionate Nickname: Caster!Cu Chulainn calls Izuku "Mumbles". EMIYA is also partial to calling Izuku "Problem Child".
• Alternate Self: Due to the nature in which they departed, the Marie Antoinette and Alexander Chaldea summons are not the ones they encountered.
  • There's also the three Cu Chulainns. They are technically the same person, but each has it's own peculiarities: the Caster focuses in fire magic and is a Pseudo-Servant for Odin, which makes him took the name Grimnir to differentiate himself from the two Lancers - the younger one from Prototype being specialized in hunting wild beasts and being called Chulainn, while the older one from Stay Night is more of a generalist and is called Cu.
• Always Someone Better: Upon joining up with Chaldea, Edward Teach explained that he had been suspicious of Hektor for quite some time, but was forced to resort to Keeping the Enemy Close while trying to build up his crew. As he explains to his new allies, he was the most fearsome captain in the Golden Age of Piracy. Hektor is a warrior from the Age of Gods; if Teach had tipped him off too early, the Trojan prince could have ripped through him and kidnapped Euryale easily. Later on, Hektor gives nearly the exact same explanation for why he had been biding his time and going along with Jason. Hektor is one of the Nine Worthies, a great strategist, and overall one of the premier Badass Normals of the Trojan War. But in going against Jason, he would need to face Heracles.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Shortly after Atalante is summoned, Artemis keeps trying to show off the huntress' baby pictures and strong arm the kitchen staff into making an apple pie to welcome her, much to her protests.
• Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: A villainous example in how it interprets Caster!Gilles' Prelati's Spellbook. When Izuku summons Gilles, he arrives in his Saber form as opposed to his Caster self. However, in the following summoning chapter, the book is summoned as its own entity and manages to turn Saber!Gilles into his Caster form. However, when Cursed Arm destroys the book, it reverts Gilles back to his Saber self.
• And Call Him "George": Izuku is so taken with the Mini-Nobus during the GUDAGUDA event that he manages to recruit a hundred of them in the five minutes he was out of sight. He proceeded to go through all of them and give them nicknames based on Pro Heroes.
• …And That Little Girl Was Me: When Izuku sneaks to the training room late at night, EMIYA stops him and decides to address Izuku's Chronic Hero Syndrome and Death Seeker tendencies by telling Izuku about what happened to him pre-Chaldea, and why Izuku reminding him of his younger self is a bad thing.
• Anger Born of Worry: EMIYA to Izuku, several times. Justified in that Izuku is a Master, and thus shouldn’t be taking the risks that he so frequently does. The standout example so far is the aftermath of Izuku and Nero vs. Alexander (where, to recap, Izuku nearly got his arm sheared off), with the two very quickly descending into a shouting match because of it.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Lord El Melloi II has a few scathing ones towards Alba and his supporters in response to the man going on about how he should be the Master candidate and how he would make the Servants into the monsters he thinks they should be.
  Lord El Melloi II: Tell me. When you spoke of keeping Servants under control, was I included in that?
  Alba: O-Of course not! I-I mean, I wouldn’t dare!
  Lord El Melloi II: Really? Why? Do I not count?
  Alba: W-Well...it’s just different with you! I mean, you’re...well, you’re not…
  Lord El Melloi II: Not what? A Servant? My body is made of mana, same as any of the others. I am just as susceptible to Command Seals as the others under contract with him. So what is the difference?
  Alba: It’s...I mean, you’re a Lord of the Clock Tower…
  Lord El Melloi II: Of another timeline. I am not your version of Lord El-Melloi II. So what difference does it make to you if you command me or not? It’s not as if your Clock Tower will ever know about it. And even if they did, don’t you want control over someone as powerful as me?
• Back from the Dead: Contrary to the early days of the game, here it's revealed in Gilles Interlude that people killed in the Singularities are not brought back once story corrects itself. However, in Izuku's interlude, when given the opportunity by Romulus, the Master jumps at the opportunity to avert the deaths of the soldiers in Septem, even if at great cost, experiencing each and every death as the cost for their passage.
• Big Eater:
  • Unsurprisingly, Artoria Pendragon Alter is this, although she tries to justify this by saying that she's getting little magical energy from Izuku Midoriya and needs to eat in order to make up the difference, unaware that this is likely not Izuku's fault, as Chaldea's system is powered by a magical generator in order to prevent Izuku's Circuits from being strained.
  • Izuku eventually turns into one himself, although Leonidas I believes that due to the nature of his Circuits, he would need to eat a lot more anyway.
• Big Brother Mentor:
  • EMIYA has stepped up to be Izuku's primary teacher in combat and worries about him during the Singularities.
  • Caster!Cu Chulainn is also this as of his Interlude.
  • Dustin, one of the few Quirkless in Chaldea, quickly develops this after discovering how Izuku was bullied and abused by his classmates for being Quirkless. His ire is also stoked when he finds out that his childhood heroes, Batman and Iron Man, were retconned so that they now have Quirks, effectively isolating people like Izuku even when consuming media.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • Tamamo Cat's main shtick is this, as she is not only firmly aware that she is in a fanfic, but is also aware about certain of Fate/Grand Order's memes and criticisms.
  • One of the factors making GUDAGUDA Denser and Wackier involves a sharp increase in this. Upon first Rayshifting, Okita and Nobu have an argument that doubles as a Lampshade of the limited backgrounds in the early game, and a breaking of the fanfiction's fourth wall by saying that the author needs to conserve their energy for the actual plot, not in fixing every inconsistency in a joke event. Nobu even gets Okita to apologize for calling this "laziness" in fear of Author's Retaliation.
• Breather Episode: After two intense episodes with Mash having the identity of Galahad revealed to her followed almost immediately by the chaotic battle against Jack and it's aftermath, the What-If 1 story is a light retell of Halloween in a world where Gudako and Izuku are both Masters of Chaldea. By the way, the next episode? Shakespeare performing a Mind Rape in all people in Jekyll's apartment bar Hans, the Medeas and Fran.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: In the Nasuverse, even a Caster Servant - one of the weaker classes overall in the physical department - is way more resilient than a human. Yet, Izuku manages to kill Paracelsus in London, albeit at the cost of heavy damage to his arm and because Paracelsus deliberately left himself wide open to the killing blow without trying to run or truly fight back.
• Chick Magnet: Befitting his newfound status as a Type-Moon protagonist, Izuku finds himself a target of affection of numerous female Servants. Before the start of Okeanos, the list includes Mash, Medusa, Marie, D'Eon, Kiyohime, and maybe Tamamo Cat. Unfortunately, his self-esteem issues keep him from realizing how serious their affection for him might be.
  • Before the start of London, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Mata Hari, and Okita Souji join the list.
• Continuity Nod:
  • During Zhuge Liang's summoning chapter and his Interlude, he talks about the Olga Marie he knows from the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files series.
  • When Heinrich Alba challenges Izuku for his position as Last Master, Waver also recalls that in his timeline the Alba line ended with Cornelius Alba.
  • As Kirei Kotomine demonstrated in Fate/Zero, there is more than one way to utilize a Command Seal: to make you always do something (like, say, complimenting Medusa whenever she was close) to let you heal the broken arm that you just used to punch out a Servant.
  • Shakespeare remarks that he should have learned his lesson from using First Folio against saints.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Izuku and Chaldea's first meeting with Mordred in London occurs with the knight being swarmed by a large number of automatons that she's easily tearing to pieces, several of them literally with her bare hands as she drops Badass Boasts left and right. It's such a curb-stomp that the party is just left waiting on the sidelines for Mordred to finish mopping up...which quickly turns awkward when Boudica's polite clapping when it's over spooks Mordred, who thanks to the magic fog and her battle lust completely missed the fact they were there.
  For a moment Izuku was about to shout that they had to hurry in there and help out. Then the automaton jumped, and the knight cleaved right through them in one quick swipe before they could even touch the ground.
• Cuteness Proximity: Izuku has this reaction upon first meeting the Mini-Nobus during the GUDAGUDA event, cuddling them and defending them from Nobu with Puppy-Dog Eyes. Multiple characters note with chagrin that he's acting like a mother hen in the ensuing event.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: David's Ark of the Covenant is considered this in Okeanos. Anyone who touches the Ark who doesn't have God's direct approval will suffer divine punishment, such that Heracles would lose even his multiple lives instantly if he could be baited into touching it, but David himself has no control over it and, given some of his more controversial actions in life, is also unable to touch it in most cases. The resulting magical energy from killing someone like Heracles would also vaporise the island it's on.
  Blackbeard: "So... less face-melting and more of a full-on Buster Call? Well... it'd definitely work..."
  Dr. Roman: "Yeah, until you ask the question of how you guys are gonna get off the island before it's wiped out!"
  Mary: "Well, I guess when it comes to God, you either go big or go home..."
  • Other examples include suicide Noble Phantasms like La Pucelle and Stella. They are some of the strongest attacks available to Chaldea, but also kill their users, which makes Izuku determinated to not use them at all costs.
• Darkest Hour: London as a whole. Sure, you had grim moments in other singularities and events, but this, even by Word of God, is remarked as the low point in Timeless Temple, where Izuku's fails come to haunt him, where his ideals are put to test, and where even allies can prove to be enemies - as Shakespeare demonstrates.
• Death by Adaptation: Shakespeare in London, as he's revealed to be an enemy to Chaldea. Once that fact is revealed, he's promptly slayed by Fran.
• Death by Irony: In Apocrypha, the first Servant to suffer the brunt of Shakespeare's mental attacks was Fran, which contributed directly to her death. In London, after Shakespeare uses First Folio on the other members of the cast, the living Frankenstein Monster is the one to kill him. He even lampshades this before the killing blow.
• Death of a Child: After all efforts to alter Jack's Saint Graph out of it's Berserker state fail, Mordred is forced to put the spirit out of the misery before it can kill someone. Izuku literally sees her dying on his arms, unable to do anything. Cue Unstoppable Rage against Paracelsus.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: One of the things that Izuku has to deal with is that some of his Servants have a morality that could be considered...outdated by modern standards. Despite that, he's still trying to get along with them.
• Denser and Wackier: Just as in canon, this applies to the GUDAGUDA event. Notably, Izuku himself is almost immediately infected with Guda Guda particles during the prologue; this causes his normal All-Loving Hero nature to escalate into Cuteness Proximity around the Mini-Nobus. He even resorts to Puppy-Dog Eyes to defend them, and manages to basically adopt a hundred Mini-Nobus and nickname them after pro heros the minute Mash loses sight of him.
• Didn't Think This Through: Played for Laughs in the Hot Springs Episode. Izuku, who has just been thrown over the divider of the hot springs into the women’s section (and therefore smack-dab in the middle of the gathering of female Servants), decides to use his towel as a blindfold in order to preserve the women’s modesty and avoid violent retribution – you know, the towel he was wearing to preserve his own modesty. As a result, everyone on the women's side has the visual of a completely nude Izuku - along with everything that comes with it - firmly burned into their minds.
  • Shakespeare's use of First Folio on Georgios is a rather terrible idea, since basically the entire reason why saints become saints in the first place is because they triumphed over a crisis through their faith. Sure enough, Georgios breaks out of the illusion on his own and, upon chokeslamming the bard into a wall, chides them for thinking he would fall victim to a trial he'd overcome before. Shakespeare breathlessly agrees he should have known from prior experience.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Upon reaching his Rage Breaking Point after Jack's death, Izuku, in a blind rage, two-shots Paracelsus and walks out with only a busted arm which will quickly heal. Onlookers both on the field and back at Chaldea are utterly stunned to see it, with the mages back at base almost going into an uproar. Of course, none of them are aware of the specific circumstances behind it.
• Doorstopper: As of this writing in December 2023, with all its main chapters and sidestory interludes, Timeless Academia is clocking in at over 1.8 million words and it's only part way through the London Singularity arc.
• Dramatic Irony: Professor Lev Lainur Flauros tries to tear down Izuku's self-confidence by reminding him about his "shitty" life prior to joining Chaldea, including All Might thinking a quirkless Midoriya isn't capable of being a hero and Bakugo's infamous Suicide Dare. While Mash and Kiyohime believe that this is him lying and trying to get to his head, (especially since the lore on Flauros specifically warns that the demon will lie unless compelled by the proper rituals), both Midoriya and any readers familiar with My Hero Academia know that Flauros is telling the truth about it and how much shit he went through.
• The Dreaded: In Okeanos, the Heracles in the Argonauts side is this. In previous singularities, Chaldea's version was a powerhouse that always pulled it's weight when called to a fight -and that is a nerfed version. The one in the Argonauts side not only is just as skillful, but also has God Hand, meaning he has to be killed multiple times by different attacks, or else he will just get himself together and and keep doing his job until all lifes are exhausted or he reaches his goal.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma: On their first night in Okeanos after meeting Drake, Mash gets absolutely plastered and wakes up hung over... on top of a sleeping Izuku. After a bit of panic, and a lot of rationalizing, Mash brings herself around to leaning for a kiss. A sleepy mumble from Izuku stops her cold before she completes it, and he wakes up right after.
• Early-Bird Cameo: A number of Servants first show up in the first Nero Festival.^note In order of appearance: William Shakespeare, Hans Christian Anderson, Mata Hari, Ushiwakamaru, Sasaki Kojirou, the original Artoria Pendragon, Altera, Medea, Mephistopheles, Euryale, Gilgamesh, and Nursery Rhyme, although only Ushiwakamaru (called Yoshitsune), Artoria, Euryale, and Gilgamesh are named. There's no explanation as to how these stray Servants came to be part of the act, and the author confirmed several times that they would not be arriving in Chaldea immediately after the festivities conclude (although all of them have since had their proper introductions).
• Engaging Conversation: When da Vinci sets up Izuku to give a vial of pepper to Drake knowing how valuable it would be to her, Drake embraces Izuku and asks him to marry her (after fainting from the shock and recovering).
  • Downplayed, but when Izuku's training involves him facing Atalanta in a footrace, his exhausted and breathless claims that he should at least try and keep pace with - and eventually, outpace - her in the race edge extremely close to this given the context of her legend.
• Everyone Can See It: It’s safe to say Mash and Izuku's mutual infatuation for each other hasn't gone unnoticed. D'Eon, in the midst of expressing their own concerns for their feelings towards Izuku, even points out that Mash is "right at the front" for their Master's affections.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • While plenty of the mages generally dislike Izuku and would rather someone else be the Master, they draw the line at trying to kill Izuku and especially threatening to hurt Mash like Alba did.
  • Orion specifically tells Artemis that she should at least give him enough credit to trust him around Medusa. Pursuing one of his father Poseidon's past lovers is too weird even for him.
  • Heinrich Alba may be an arrogant Jerkass, par for the course in mage society, but even he has lines. When Mephistopheles tempts him with the power to all but completely conquer Chaldea, take all its Servants, and revive respect in his family name, Heinrich ultimately refuses on the basis of keeping hold of his pride as well as, begrudging though it is, a mild bit of respect he holds for Izuku due to the latter's extremely fair treatment.
• Famous Ancestor: It's played for laughs, but Nobunaga declared that Izuku was their descendant during their first meeting, based on the fact that he sounds almost exactly like her brother Nobukatsu. Okita tries to point out that there's no way Izuku could be Nobu's descendant, considering they were from a different timeline, but Nobu dismisses that concern. Whether Izuku might be descended from his timeline's Oda Nobunaga is unknown.
• First Friend: Given how badly deteriorated and toxic his relationship with Katsuki has become, Mash and Olga are effectively this towards Izuku, which is why the latter's death has affected him so much.
• Foreshadowing: When Prototype!Cu Chulainn joins Chaldea, Caster!Cu Chulainn decides to change his name so that people don't get the two confused. He changes his name to Grimnir, an alternate name for Odin, who is later to be revealed as using Caster!Cu Chulainn as his Pseudo-Servant in FGO proper.
• Friendly Scheming: Anne and Mary engage in a bit of this for their Interlude, pulling Izuku along on a hunt for William Kidd's treasure. Mash accuses them of doing this solely to "woo" Izuku, which Mary denies - they actually want to get in his pants. Even so, the two recognize that Izuku is getting stir-crazy from being stuck in Chaldea for so long after his Underworld trip, so they decide to bring him on a trip that gives him the chance to stretch his legs with something basically unheard of for the modern time period, and is much less dangerous than his usual missions and risk-taking. That the group may actually find some treasure, plus Anne and Mary get to work on seducing Izuku, is all just a nice bonus.
• For Want Of A Nail: Because Izuku is more proactive in figuring out the identity of Mash's Servant and he likes her a lot, he notices that Mordred has familiarity with the Shielder, leading to the knight revealing Galahad's identity two Singularities earlier.
• Good All Along: Hector was always looking for a way to undermine Medea Lily's plan to destroy humanity, and once Chaldea kills Heracles, he decides helping them is the best way to do so.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Played for Laughs with Alexander, who is jealous of how Izuku already has two teachers and is potentially getting a third in Lord El-Melloi II.
• Heroic BSoD: IZUKU. Like Shirou at the start of Fate/stay night, he's a Wide-Eyed Idealist that is steadfast on his views about heroism. Yet, time and time again, he's put through the wringer. For starters, he's unable to save Olga Marie from her canonical demise, having been Forced to Watch. Then, in Septem, he suffers another one from having to kill human soldiers. Then, there's London, and that's a whole parade of BSOD after BSOD.
• Heroic RRoD: A variant. During Darius III's Interlude, Alexander repeatedly uses Zeus Funder during his fight with the former in order to keep pace with him, eventually crossing the threshold in which he transforms into Iskandar. Said transformation finally allows him to match Darius' brute strength blow for blow, but the sudden increase in mana consumption, combined with the stress of supplying both Servants with enough mana to fight, ends up quickly draining Izuku dry, leaving him a stone's throw away from unconsciousness and nearly killing him in the process.
• Heroic Willpower: Of the people trapped by First Folio in London, only Georgios manages to escape it on his own. However, Mordred seems to nearly escape before Shakespeare is killed.
• Hero-Worshipper: Izuku's admiration of heroes extends to ones of the historical and mythological kinds, to the point where he keeps an autograph book at Chaldea with signatures of the heroic spirits he summons. It's also to the point where, from Olga Marie Animusphere's point of view, this trope sets him apart from other Masters, as instead of treating the Spirits as tools, he at worst treats them all with immense respect and as equals.
• Home Field Advantage: As in the Nasuverse, Servants get stronger when in their territories of origin. Best shown in Halloween with Vlad: though he wasn't in his Lancer class that provided him with even further boosts from one of his skills, he's still strong enough to fend three Servants at the same time, and rather than being properly defeated, he eventually allows the passage of Izuku and company.
• Hot Springs Episode: During the Moon Goddess omake, Chaldea simulates a hot spring for the Servants and Izuku to enjoy.
• Hypocritical Humor: Upon the gang catching Martha out as one of the Servants who prematurely ate some of the missing mooncakes, Georgios wastes no time in laying into Martha in an extremely hammy admonishment. Cue Alexander finding more mooncakes tucked away in Georgios’ camera case, and Martha laying into Georgios with an equally hammy admonishment.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Cerejeira Elron, one of the canon Chaldea records workers, has frequently had this reaction to the shenanigans Izuku gets up to. She is first introduced being told not to go for the bottle after Mash launches Izuku as a Fastball Special during GUDAGUDA.
• Insecure Love Interest: D'Eon is this for Izuku, primarily due to both the number of Servants already interested in him, and their worries over how he'll handle the topic of their gender identity should they enter a relationship with him.
  • Kiyohime post-Septem. The experience in the singularity affected her so much that it even bypassed her otherwise near impossible to reason Mad Enhancement, and makes her question many of her feelings towards her Master.
• In Spite of a Nail: Olga Marie still dies in Singularity F. Per Word of God, one reason is because MadCrona didn't want to make such a big change to the story and find out later that it needed patching to make it make sense, and the other is that in logistical terms it wasn't going to work out - Olga Marie had no reason not to go to Lev, pretty much nothing was going to stop Izuku diving in to save her regardless, and his intervention would mean Lev took notice of him, resulting in a bad end. So Olga Marie stops Izuku herself and makes a Heroic Sacrifice.
• Ironic Echo: After Olga Marie's death, Dr Roman states (in private) that the only reason Izuku is the Master of Chaldea is because there was no one else available, although he does start to believe in Izuku later on. After the Rome Singularity, during which Izuku is shown this exact scenario by Lev Lainur Flauros, Izuku throws his (Roman's) own words back at him, telling him that he doesn't need to pretend he cares anymore. It's only at this point that Dr Roman realizes that Izuku has been undergoing Sanity Slippage since Fuyuki and has been hiding it with a Stepford Smiler facade.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Mash attempts to convince Boudica to pursue Izuku after seeing how she clung to him while she was drunk, saying she would make him happy because of how she cares for him. This only ends up making Boudica worry about Mash and why she isn't trying to pursue her own happiness.
• Mage Born of Muggles: Izuku is an interesting case of this and Muggle Born of Mages. While as per canon he's among the 20% of humans of his era to not have a Quirk, he does however have Magic Circuits and thus can perform magecraft. Dr. Roman explains that this is no coincidence, as when Quirk users began popping up, the Mage's Association did some testing on compatibility and realized that it's impossible for someone to have both Magic Circuits and a Quirk.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Anne Bonny and Mary Read have been thinking about betraying Blackbeard for another captain who won't belittle them and creep on Mary, but initially those plans always fell through for lack of options. Izuku saving Mary prompts Anne to seriously suggest switching to his and Drake's crew, and they wind up going through with it in their next fight.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • EMIYA has this realization at the end of his Interlude. He had made a joke about killing himself, only to later kick himself when he starts seeing Izuku's memories, in particular when Bakugou dared Izuku to jump off the school's roof.
  • Dr. Roman gets a moment of this in the Okeanos Singularity, as Izuku’s drunken ramblings clue them in on the fact that the kid’s past has set up just about the perfect storm to result in a devoted Child Soldier for Chaldea - meaning that their desperate scheming has basically ensured that Izuku will never return to a peaceful life.
• My Greatest Failure: Olga Marie's death is this for Izuku, to the point that - for the first time in his life - he starts to doubt his desire to become a hero.
• Mysterious Past: An In-Universe example with Archer EMIYA. While those familiar with the original Fate/stay night know that he's an Alternate Self/Future Badass of Shirou Emiya, the fic's characters do not know much about his life before becoming a Heroic Spirit.
• Mythology Gag: Just like in canon, Izuku gives an impassioned speech telling someone "it's your power" but does so for basically the opposite reason. Instead of trying to get Todoroki to Bring It and use all of his Quirk to be a great hero instead of holding back to spite his father, it's to give Mash a combination of You Are Better Than You Think You Are and You Are Not Alone so she can take full ownership of Galahad's power and stop living in the shadow of his heroism.
• Never Gets Drunk: One of the side effects of the poison resistance provided by Mash's protection is that Izuku is usually unable to get drunk.
• Old Shame: Izuku views his... prior internet escapades as this, so much that he says he'd die of cringey shame if Mash ever found out. Only Blackbeard and Dr. Roman know this side of Izuku, with the former trying his damnedest to bring it back out while the latter swears to keep the secret.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Much like in his home series, Izuku Cannot Talk to Women and is easily flustered when one gets close to him. The fact that he doesn't concerns Marie Antoinette when she tried to comfort him after he was forced to kill other humans and the amount of guilt he has over committing it.
• Outdoor Bath Peeping: Invoked and subverted. Upon entering the hot springs, Orion promptly rallies the male Servants to "check the wall for holes" - in other words, peep on the women through the divider. Izuku, naturally, shuts this down quick, only for both Cu Chulainns to chuck him over to the women's side as a distraction for his efforts. With EMIYA tying the guilty party up in a lecture, it's implied that the men ended up seeing nothing. The women, on the other hand… (See Didn't Think This Through above)
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Izuku resorts to this when he learns that Nobunaga plans to kill all the Mini-Nobus to regain her full strength. The result is so effective that Nobu complains that it's an unfair weapon that should be banned by the Geneva Convention. Granted, it doesn't hurt that Nobu had decided that Izuku was her descendant after realizing he sounded just like her brother Nobukatsu, and she's admitted in canon that she has a soft spot for family.
• Rasputinian Death: Izuku opts to put Jason's Heracles through one of these instead of relying on luring him into the Ark of the Covenant to burn through all his lives at once. Over the course of a week, Heracles ends up being petrified, trampled twice, blown up, incinerated four times, decapitated, impaled, blasted with cannons, bisected, and finally skullsplit.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Saber Alter gives one to Berserker Lancelot, calling him out on how selfish he is being with his Suicide by Cop tendency with how the entire world is at stake and that Izuku and Chaldea needs him.
  • Heinrich Alba tries one against Izuku during their duel, saying that Izuku isn't a good Master and should give the responsibility to someone else. Izuku counters with a Shut Up, Hannibal! speech of his own and effectively shames the workers of Chaldea about how they are trying to continue with thinking themselves above others because of their bloodlines, pointing out that as long as the world is still burning that doesn't matter.
    • Lord El Melloi II shames Heinrich and the mob as well, saying that everyone should have stopped Alba when they heard he was up to something.
  • Gilgamesh drops an absolutely scathing one on Izuku for having, in his eyes, the temerity to refer to the other Servants as "friends" because that would mean Izuku sees himself as being as strong as them... or the Servants as weak as him. While Izuku just barely bites back by saying he will be as strong as them - something which narrowly earns him the Archer's bare, grudging respect - it's clear in the following chapters that this has horribly damaged the confidence he's just barely been building up to this point.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Heinrich Alba hits somewhere around this point going into London, attempting to offer advice and perspective when Izuku is at the start of the Singularity. It goes over about as well as one might expect, considering his current track record with Chaldea and how his Jerkass attitude still needs ironing out, not to mention Hans promptly eviscerates his given idea. It is, regardless, a marked improvement over his initial appearance.
• Remember the New Guy?: Because Cerejeira Elron's first name, appearance, and personality were not established in canon until partway through the fic, she had to be retconned in in this manner once they were revealed. She later explains to Izuku that the reason he hadn't met her before is because she's been avoiding him so she doesn't take her frustrations out on him.
• Rescue Romance:
  • Anne and Mary begin to catch feelings for Izuku after he saves Mary.
  • Okita also falls for Izuku after he makes sure to carry her out of the blast radius of Arash's Noble Phantasm.
• Running Gag:
  • Izuku commenting on how several Servants have the same or similar voices, and him being the only one who notices.
  • People in Singularities wanting to eat Fou.
• Save the Villain: Izuku rushes to help Mary Read after a gunpowder barrel Asterios threw at Blackbeard explodes and almost knocks her off the ship.
  • He also attempts to do this to Jack. It fails. HORRIBLY.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon hearing that Stheno is on the line, Medusa hides underneath a desk. It doesn't spare her from having to talk to Stheno, but points for effort.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Da Vinci roots for Izuku and Mash, even calling the former her future son-in-law in Italian.
  • Interestingly Played With in regards to Marie: while she herself has feelings for Izuku, she too roots for Izuku and Mash, as well as Izuku and D'Eon, among several others. Justified in that it's Marie, who sees a polyamorous relationship as a viable option.
  • Artemis tries to set up Atalanta with Izuku during the former's Interlude.
  • Mash attempts to push Boudica towards Izuku despite her own feelings for him because she believes that would be the happiest outcome for him.
• Shout-Out: During the fight against the Blackened Heracles, Izuku calls the attention of the Servant for an ambush just like how Dutch taunts the Predator in the climax of the first movie.
  • When Izuku is about to step up in defense of someone about to be convicted at a court trial and initiate a turnabout, there's really only one way he could have done it:
    Izuku: "HOLD IT!"
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Several Servants survive beyond their canonical deaths in Okeanos.
    • Anne Bonny and Mary Read survive their second fight with Chaldea by defecting to them.
    • Hector choosing to betray Blackbeard after Anne and Mary defect instead of waiting until he's been defeated means that Blackbeard survives the betrayal and is captured by Chaldea.
    • Izuku is able to get Mash into position to block Hector's attempt to impale Asterios and Heracles, resulting in Asterios surviving their first fight with the Argonauts and living to the end of the Singularity.
    • Hector betrays the Argonauts and sides with Chaldea to prevent the destruction of humanity.
  • In London, Hans survives the encounter with Solomon because Izuku draws Solomon’s attention.
• Stepford Smiler: Izuku went through much pain during his journeys, yet keeps insisting that he's fine even when it's obvious he should't, refusing to look for help repeatedly. Seeing the same behavior on Mash in the aftermath of Shakespeare's attack is what makes him realize how bad that mindset actually was for a person.
• Suddenly Shouting: Lord El Melloi II upon his summoning breaks out into multiple shouting fits over how Izuku is being kept in the dark about Chaldea, how he suddenly has Magic Circuits and a crest, and how the Aminusphere family is dead. He calms down mostly after finding out he is not in his proper timeline.
• Tender Tears: Izuku sheds these upon listening to the Phantom of the Opera's piano playing, as he reflects on the Assassin's tragic lot in life.
• Therapy Is for the Weak: Despite how obviously he needs it, Izuku stubbornly refuses to get therapy and turns down Romani's offers, much to EMIYA's bafflement.
• They Would Cut You Up: The reason why Izuku is forced to be kept quiet about having Magic Ciruits from Chaldea's outsiders lies with this, as the implication that he was a pure muggle and received his Ciruits seemingly out of thin air would cause him to be a potential target and lab rat.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Izuku's magecraft is this. Lord El Melloi II notes that although Izuku is a definite threat to most mages, especially considering his willingness to fight alongside his Servants instead of hiding behind them, the simplicity of his power and his When All You Have Is a Hammer… tendencies mean that a smarter opponent could defeat him with ease.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Exaggerated.
  • Upon arriving in Chaldea, Caligula (understandably) immediately sparks a conflict with Spartacus, with the two seeming to be a stone's throw away from violence. How to solve this? A full-blown professional wrestling match, complete with a ring, an arena (courtesy of a simulated Colliseum) and officials (starring Georgios as the ring announcer, Gilles as the referee, and Mao Mao and Dustin as commentators), and the two Berserkers end up showcasing an in-depth knowledge of the sport and its rules. Since then, more and more Servants have started joining in on the fun, with Nero Fest even including a battle royale as its main event.
  • In Orleans, after being sent flying by Elizabeth's Noble Phantasm, Izuku is sent high in the sky and grapples a wyvern. Then, in the fall, he manages to suplex the damn thing. Needless to say, people were quite impressedby the feat.
• Writing Lines: When Martha catches Euryale and Asterios attempting to charm Izuku into confessing his feelings, she drags them both to the archive room and makes them write lines. Euryale gets "I will not use my Noble Phantasm on my Master" fifty times, while Asterios gets "I will not listen to everything Euryale says" ten times.

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