Fanfic / Fire and Water: A Magical Tale

Fire and water, two halves of a whole, the Yin to the Yang.

Two siblings, separated when their home was destroyed by evil, are brought back together through the work of fate and the collision of their worlds. Their ordinary lives end when the power of fire and water are awakened, and they are taken into the world of Magix, where many adventures and a growing darkness await.

Life at Alfea College of Fairies will be far from smooth, that's for sure.

A four-part For Want Of A Nail, My Hero Academia and Winx Club crossover retelling by SilentGhostWriter2017, who also authored Jade Lightning. The first book ‘Fuoco e Acqua’ can be read on Archive of Our Own here. Unfortunately, as of late March 2021, the series was abandoned due to SilentGhostWriter2017 leaving Archive of Our Own.

In mid-August 2021, Archive author TheUnseenKaito99 picked up the first story and gave it a new life, titled 'Fire and Water: The Beginnings'. It can be read here. However, the version by TheUnseenKaito99 was abandoned after the author suddenly left the Archive, but in April 2023, the author RarepairKai22, who also wrote Rise From The Ashes and the remade version of To Love A Frozen Heart, picked up the story idea and reworked it with a new title and premise. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here.

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Tropes in this fic include:

Original fic

• Adaptational Badass: Izuku and Bloom are already badass as it is in their canon storylines, but their badassery is given a significant boost in this fic.
  • In-canon, Bloom’s awakening of her magic forms a protective shield that throws back the ghouls sicced upon her by Knut. Here, the shield was so hot it reduced the ghouls to ashes.
  • When Izuku awakens his powers, it comes out as a geyser of water so strong it kills two ghouls and snaps an oak tree clean in two.
  • Despite having no combat experience, Izuku manages to summon a cleaver and slice apart three ghouls and get a few hits in on the hunting troll during Bloom’s home-invasion, though the first achievement was done blindly out of fear.
  • When Izuku unlocks his fairy form in Chapter 5, he gains access to blood-manipulation powers when he crosses a certain anger threshold.
• Adaptational Diversity: The Specialists in Season 1 (which Fuoco e Acqua is based on) appear rather racially-homogenous in-canon, with the addition of other racially-diverse characters only taking place from Season 2 onwards. Here, the author includes an original specialist character who has dark skin, Rykios. Plus, with Izuku’s inclusion into the Winx Club, the group is significantly more racially-diverse.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: In-canon, Izuku inherits All Might’s quirk, One For All, which is a stockpile of raw power and an assimilation of quirks from its previous wielders. Here, Izuku awakens a dormant water-based power called the Phoenix Tears, as Chapter 8 calls it. When he crosses a certain anger threshold, he has the ability to control and manipulate blood. Woe to the poor souls who are foolish enough to incur his ultimate wrath (i.e. the Trix).
• Adaptation Expansion: Faragonda’s recount of the Dragon Flame in Episode Six, Secret Guardian, is expanded to cover the Mystical Phoenix, a second powerful creature on par with the Great Dragon. The birth of the Mystical Phoenix essentially helped bring life to the otherwise barren, inhospitable worlds created by the Great Dragon.
• Related in the Adaptation: Indirectly revealed by Daphne in Chapter 9, Bloom and Izuku are siblings, though they are still unaware of it.
• Adaptation Personality Change:
  • In-canon, Izuku is a shy, nervous, and reserved teen who slowly gains confidence after inheriting One For All from All Might. Nonetheless, he remains a selfless, kind and caring individual. Here, while he maintains those kind and caring traits with his friends, Izuku has developed a less-forgiving, more dangerous personality towards those who mean him and the Winx harm, especially after unlocking his fairy form. He is also noticeably more savage, especially to the Trix and Riven.
  • Bloom also displays some divergence from her canon personality, one example having no patience for snobbish brats like Mitzi - when said brat came to her mother’s florist shop to demean her, Bloom bodily removes her from the establishment with little hesitation.
  • Another example is Professor Palladium. In-canon, he lacked confidence and was a push-over among the students in Season 1, but this changed from Season 2 onwards where he was portrayed as more confident and not afraid of being strict with his students. In the fic, the author transplanted Season 2 Palladium right into the story, as they said in the ending notes that they didn’t like Palladium’s initial push-over character.
• Berserk Button: Attempt to or actually hurt any of Izuku's friends, and one might have all of their blood forcibly pulled out of their bodies in an excruciatingly painful torture at the hands of Izuku's rage-induced magic.
• Blood Bath: Izuku engages in this when in his fairy form. The first time this happens is during the Back-To-School party in Chapter 5, where Izuku is pushed so far over the brink that he literally pulls the blood right out of an unfortunate Darcy. When his concentration is broken by Faragonda’s sudden intervention, the levitating blood splashes all over him in a shower of crimson gore. This happens a second time when he and the Winx go to rescue Stella from the Trix in Chapter 7. This time, both Icy and Stormy are the victims, the former whose blood was pulled so forcefully from her body that many of her bones were fractured. The latest occurrence takes place in Chapter 10, where Izuku's rage from seeing his friends hurt escalates to the point that the Trix, about a dozen witches, and Riven have their blood pulled out of their bodies in an unprecedented scale of brutality seen thus far.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Izuku single-handedly defeats the Trix with bloody results during the Back-To-School party.
• Downer Beginning: The first chapter covers Izuku’s tough life as a Quirkless individual in his home universe, and ends with his suicide attempt after All Might destroys his dreams of becoming a hero.
• Foreshadowing: In Chapter 10, Izuku unleashes hell upon the Trix, Riven, and the witches who were attacking the Winx and the Specialists in the activation of his blood-bending powers. As he does so, his hair shifts between forest-green and brown, his fairy wings to avian wings, and his fairy outfit to what looked like a suit of armour. According to the author's ending notes, this new appearance will have greater significance in the second book, which is adapted from the second season.
• For Want Of A Nail: Izuku’s role in this fic is pretty much the epitome of this trope, among other changes the author has made from the canon plotline.
  • In-canon, Bloom doesn’t find out that she was adopted until much later in Season 1. Here, she already knows that right from the beginning.
  • Izuku’s suicide attempt throws him out of his home universe into the world of Gardenia, implying significant changes to his universe that have yet to be discussed.
  • Izuku’s arrival in Gardenia prompts the city of Magix to be introduced earlier than in-canon, as Stella brings him, Bloom and her adoptive parents to the city to introduce them to the magical dimension and to get Izuku prepped for life in Alfea.
  • Izuku’s existence in the magical dimension forces a different approach to get him and Bloom admitted into Alfea. In-canon, Bloom masquerades as a student who at the last minute pulled out of admission into Alfea. Here, Bloom and Izuku have an audience with Faragonda and persuade her to admit the both of them.
    • As a result, Bloom’s canon masquerade of Varanda of Vallisto never happens.
  • Tecna speaks with a British accent in the 4Kids dub, here she speaks with a Nordic accent.
  • When the Trix accost Bloom in Magix, she is encased in ice in-canon. Here, Izuku is the one to get trapped in Icy’s ice after pushing Bloom out of the way.
    • This prompts Bloom to unlock her fairy form much earlier than in-canon, to help her new friends in retaliation against the Trix and Knut.
    • This in turn allows Bloom to breeze through her first Metamorphosis class with Professor Wizgiz, while Izuku struggles.
  • In-canon, Bloom was forced to fight the Trix during the Back-To-School party, in the process unlocking her fairy form for the first time. Here, Izuku takes her place, unlocking his fairy form and unleashing hell upon the Trix, especially Darcy.
  • Bloom sorts out her dress for the Back-To-School party much earlier than in-canon.
  • In-canon, the Winx are punished with kitchen duty by Griselda at the beginning of Episode 5, Date With Disaster. Here, this doesn’t happen because Izuku remained behind to ensure none of the ingredients they were prepping for a potion ended up burning.
  • In the same episode, the Trix are successful in stealing Stella’s ring in exchange for letting Stella go unharmed. Here, Icy accidentally destroys the ring due to Izuku’s attacks, and when she tries to attack Izuku out of anger, he turns the tables on her and Stormy by pulling the blood out of their bodies.
  • In-canon, the Winx infiltrate Cloud Tower in Episode 6, Secret Guardian, to retrieve Stella’s ring. They are found out by Griselda and Faragonda, and consequently have their powers temporarily stripped from them as punishment. Here, none of this happens because Stella’s ring was destroyed in Chapter 7.
  • In-canon, when a minotaur summoned by the Trix trashes Alfea and attacks the Specialists, the Winx use non-magical means of taking the beast down and confronting the Trix, as their powers were still absent through their punishment by Faragonda. Here, because the Winx still have their powers, they use their magic to tackle the minotaur and confront the Trix.
  • In canon, Bloom is haunted in her dreams by the ghost of her deceased sister, Daphne. In the story, Daphne appears on Izuku's dreams as well.
    • During one of Izuku's interactions with her older sister's spirit, she refers to him as "Ignalan", possibly being his actual given name before being envoyed to the MHA universe during the Ancestral Witches' attack against Domino.
  • In-canon, during the Day of the Rose festival, Bloom gets tricked by a Timmy imposter (actually Knut under a spell from the Trix) into giving Riven a tampered helmet for the upcoming Race for the Rose, forcing her and Stella to try an intervene before Riven gets hurt. Here, Izuku immediately catches Knut on the act, forcing the Trix to take a more hands-on approach to their plans. Also, the Winx do not directly intervene in the race as in-canon.
  • Stella does not get put under a mood-swing spell that causes the events of the episode, Spelled!, to take place here.
  • Musa does not attempt to run away from the witches after her assault on Icy. Instead, fuelled from the adrenaline and satisfaction of hurting the witch who pushed her Berserk Button, she stands her ground and fights the witches head-on when they attack in retaliation.
  • Bloom awakens the power of the Dragon Flame in Spelled!, forcing the Trix, Riven and the other witches fighting the Winx and Specialists to flee in terror. While this does happen in the story, Izuku's Berserk Button also gets pushed. The power of the Phoenix Tears gets used once again, and the Trix, Riven and the witches all suffer agonising blood torture that paints the entire street in crimson fluid.
• Important Haircut: Izuku gets this during his first trip to Magix on Stella’s suggestion. His once messy curls are now a stylish undercut.
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: Averted. The author makes it staunchly clear with different body sizes for the Winx - namely Flora having a more curvaceous, larger body size than in-canon, and Tecna having a body of someone who worked out regularly.
• Innocently Insensitive: Tecna often invokes this trope. Being driven by logic and not being that well-versed in emotions, Tecna often gives blunt remarks or commentary that can be seen as insensitive given the situation at the time. In Chapter 10, Izuku introspects about this when he wonders if Tecna is situationally-unaware or if she is being purposefully insensitive.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the changes made to the storyline by the author, there are many aspects of the fic that remain the same as in-canon.
  • Bloom encounters Stella for the first time by witnessing the latter’s fight against Knut and his ghouls.
  • Even with Izuku’s additional help, Knut and his ghouls are, regardless, forced into retreat. This happens again with the hunting troll when the Specialists get involved.
  • The Winx battle the Trix for the first time in Magix during their day-out.
  • The Trix still attempt to sabotage the Back-To-School party hosted by Alfea, and their plan is still foiled by the Winx.
  • The Winx’s experience in the Black Mud Swamp is largely the same as in-canon.
  • Stella is still tricked into a date by the Trix, consequently getting kidnapped by the three witches as ransom for her ring.
  • Despite not getting into trouble with Faragonda as in-canon ( since Stella’s ring gets destroyed here and the Winx never infiltrate Cloud Tower to get it back), the Winx are still tasked with cleaning the school. The difference is that it is not a singular punishment for the Winx, rather it is a school-wide exercise involving all of the first-years.
  • The Trix still infiltrate Alfea and summon a minotaur to crash the Winx and Specialists’ party.
  • Despite Izuku almost foiling their plan to induct Riven to their side, Darcy is still able to lure Riven away by coming to his "aid" during the race as in-canon.
  • Despite Stella not getting placed under a mood-swing spell which causes her to say hurtful things to the Winx in-canon, her off-handed comment about Riven in Chapter 10 still prompts Musa to leave campus and head for Magix, indirectly offended by her friend's words as she was still conflicted about her feelings for Riven.
• Love at First Sight: Inverted. Izuku and original character Rykios have been hinted by the author that they will become a couple sometime in the future. However, when they first meet, Izuku is intimidated by Rykios because of the latter’s imposing height, powerful build and ruby-red eyes that resemble Bakugou’s. At the same time, Rykios was initially apprehensive of Izuku since the latter was an enigma whom he had no answers to figure out. That said, their relationship has warmed considerably since that first meeting. Look at Ship Tease below.
• Ship Tease: Between Izuku and Rykios, the following are moments of their relationship thus far:
  • Rykios and Izuku dance together during the Back-To-School party, and Rykios gives Izuku one of the enchanted eggs that the Trix initially tried to sabotage.
  • A few instances in the Black Mud Swamp:
    • Rykios is inwardly disappointed that he couldn't enjoy having Izuku in his lap due to the latter jumping off in embarrassment.
    • Rykios takes care of Izuku after he passes out following his thwarted attack on his classmates Dahlia and her two friends. When Izuku comes around and rants about the girls' horrid treatment of the Specialists for saving their lives from the hunting troll, Rykios pulls him onto his lap and soothes him.
    • Rykios is visibly miffed when his alone time with Izuku is interrupted by the others.
  • Izuku has Rykios' number.
  • Several instances when the minotaur trashes Alfea in Chapter 8.
    • While everyone (sans Riven) is cleaning the main atrium, Rykios chases Izuku around playfully, using their mops as improvised scooters. When Izuku suddenly slips and falls, Rykios is immediately by his side, checking up on him.
    • Once the cleaning is done and the party kicks off, Rykios and Izuku dance, bumping their butts together in time with the music.
    • Izuku throws his soda all over Riven for dissing Timmy's attempt at chatting up Tecna, Rykios is immediately by his side and guiding him away from the brooding redhead. Riven is unable to retaliate, knowing full well that if he attempted anything with Izuku, Rykios will hand him his ass in an instant.
    • Rykios immediately wraps his arms around Midoriya protectively when the dorm shakes following the minotaur's invasion.
    • Despite taking significant damage from the minotaur, Rykios still prioritises Izuku's wellbeing.
    • Once the minotaur is dealt with and ready to be transported away, Izuku bids Rykios farewell and expresses his hope that the specialist's injuries heal quickly. Rykios unexpectedly hugs Izuku, reassuring him that he and his squad-mates will be fine.
  • Again, several instances in Chapter 9.
    • Rykios keeps a hand on Izuku's shoulder to not lose him amidst the crowds in Magix.
    • When a large airship drops a downpour of roses upon the crowds, Rykios picks one up, and places it behind Izuku's ear.
    • When the fake-Timmy (Knut in disguise) attacks Izuku and flees, Rykios immediately catches Izuku, stopping him from falling.
    • Knowing Riven's prickly relationship with Izuku, Rykios offers to come along with him to warn Riven about the Timmy imposter.
    • Relieved that Rykios made it across the finish line unharmed, Izuku hugs him.
    • Izuku and Rykios have a video-call to discuss about Riven and the events from the day.
• Sir Swearsalot: Specially Izuku, Bloom, Musa, Stella, the Trix and Riven.
• The Quiet One: Rykios. He has so far not been seen verbally interacting with his fellow Specialists, or anyone else for that matter. Averted with his interactions with Izuku, so far the only person he has been seen speaking with.
• Token Girl: Inverted. Izuku is the only male member of the Winx Club, and the only male student of Alfea for that matter. He is also the only known male fairy in existence as of now.
• Twin Telepathy: Played with on multiple occasions. The first time this happens is when Midoriya senses something is wrong when Bloom was accosted by the Trix and Knut in Magix. The second time happens with Bloom, when she senses the battle between Izuku and the Trix during the back-to-school party. The latest involves a moment of twin-talk between Izuku and Bloom during the Day of the Rose race. Interestingly, the particular moment takes place after Daphne indirectly revealed that Bloom and Izuku are siblings.
  Stella: You two really love the penis jokes, don’t you?
  Bloom and Izuku, at the same time: With Riven, it’s true and it needs to be said.
• Violence Is Not an Option: Averted. In the 4Kids dub of episode 9, Musa uses a disfigurement spell on Icy after the latter pushes her Berserk Button, causing a wart to appear on the witch's face. This was to censor the original scene in the RAI English dub where Musa slaps Icy hard enough to leave a handprint. Here, not only does Musa assault Icy just like in the RAI dub, but the violence is escalated where Musa punches Icy so hard that she is knocked to the ground and she loses two teeth.
• Vulgar Humor: In Chapter 8, while the Specialists are fighting the minotaur, Stella remarks that they bicker way too much amongst themselves. Midoriya points out that Riven is usually the instigator, and pins it on Riven being insecure about having the smallest penis out of the Specialists, thereby taking out his insecurity on his comrades. Bloom pretends to be scandalised, Stella, Tecna and Musa all laugh, while Flora is innocently confused. Bloom, Izuku and Stella continues this conversation in Chapter 9.
  Stella: You know, they’ve bickered so many times it’s not even funny anymore.
  Tecna: It’s all about machismo and masculinity. One thing I don’t understand about the male sex is their constant need to one up one another, like who is better or who is stronger…
  Izuku: But we should also take note that Riven is usually the instigator. I mean, it’s not anyone’s fault that his little Riven is the smallest out of all the guys, but that doesn’t give him the excuse to take his insecurity out on the others.
  Bloom: Oh my god Midoriya!
  (Tecna and Stella laugh)
  Musa: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!
  Flora: What’s a ‘little Riven’?
  (Tecna and Stella laugh even harder)
  Bloom: (to Flora) We’ll explain it later if you’re up to it.

Fire and Water: The Beginnings, written by TheUnseenKaito99

• Adaptational Badass: Bloom and Izuku, on several occasions.
  • Bloom’s magical awakening creates a shield that, in the canon plotline, would have protected her from Knut’s ghouls. Here, the shield is so hot that it cremates the ghouls instantly.
  • Izuku’s magical awakening has explosive results, blasting Knut and the ghouls out of the clearing and creating a phoenix of water that causes it to rain.
  • As Izuku has amnesia and lacks his canon nervousness, when he summons a kitchen cleaver during Knut’s invasion of Bloom’s townhouse, he manages to maim the ogre and take out a good number of ghouls without a moment’s hesitation.
  • Seeing Izuku getting frozen by Icy’s powers and her new friends in need of additional firepower, Bloom summons her magic to transform into her fairy form and fight against the Trix.
• Adaptational Diversity:
  • In the canon series, particularly in Season 1, the Specialists appear extremely racially-homogenous. It is only in later seasons do we see more diverse race-coded characters being added. This fic deviates from canon by making Brandon Latino-coded, and introducing an original character with dark skin named Marcel, prince of the fictional kingdom of Niongana.
  • This fic promises more inclusive gender identities within the cast. Tecna, for example, is genderfluid who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns, and according to the story tags, one other character will be transgender, though it is not yet clear who that character is.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Instead of inheriting the stockpile quirk known as One for All from All Might, Izuku awakens a water-based magical power after he gets transported to Gardenia. This water-based magic also gives Izuku the ability to manipulate blood.
• Adaptation Personality Change:
  • Thanks to his amnesia, Izuku is far from his nervous, jittery self from the canon series. He does not hesitate to engage in combat to protect the people he cares for, seen thus far when he attacks Knut and his ghouls with a kitchen cleaver.
  • Bloom has displayed some shift from her canon personality, primarily being less tolerant of spoilt brats like Mitzi. She does not hesitate to drag Mitzi through the metaphorical mud and does not put up with her temper tantrums.
• Adapted Out: Diaspro is not present in the character tags, which implies that she won’t be appearing in the story. Pepe the duckling is also missing.
• Amnesiac Hero: Following his suicide attempt and interdimensional travel into Gardenia, Izuku wakes up with no memories of his home universe, save for his given name, which he uses to identify himself.
• Barbarian Long Hair: Sky somewhat falls into this trope, since his hair is long enough to be tied up in a ponytail, a sharp contrast to his shorter hair in the canon series.
• Blood Bath: Izuku invokes this trope during the back-to-school dance. When the Trix push him beyond the event horizon, he loses all human rationality and literally pulls the blood out of their bodies. When his concentration breaks, the blood splashes down upon him in a shower of crimson gore.
• Costume Evolution: The author felt that the original Magic Winx outfits look a little dated, therefore every single member of the Winx has some form of change done to their outfits. Three in particular have significant overhauls:
  • Bloom’s tiara has been switched to a gold wreath of laurels, her skirt has been altered into a half-skirt, and her detached sleeves have been replaced with gold arm bands.
  • Flora’s skirt is now panelled in the shape of flower petals, her detached sleeves are now joined to the main body of the dress, and her boots have been replaced with pink ballet flats with vines as laces.
  • Tecna’s outfit has, perhaps, the greatest overhaul of all the Winx members. Their helmet now resembles a motorcyclist’s helmet and has a visor, their bodysuit has armoured parts for protection, and their original wings have been replaced with two pairs of powder-blue diamonds that levitate from their back.
• Downer Beginning: The prologue captures Izuku’s suicide attempt after All Might destroys his dreams of becoming a pro-hero.
• For Want Of A Nail: The list thus far:
  • Kiko is a puppy in this story, not a rabbit.
  • Bloom does not learn that she is adopted until much later in Season 1. Here, she already knows that right from the beginning.
  • As Izuku’s suicide attempt transports him to Gardenia, it can be assumed that many significant changes will eventually take place in the BNHA universe.
  • Bloom’s encounter with Stella takes place much later, since she finds Izuku first in Gardenia Park and her family takes him in.
  • Sky and Brandon do not swap identities here.
  • The hunting troll that attacks Bloom’s home is taken by the Specialists to be reduced to inorganic matter, when in the canon series, it would have been sent off for interrogation.
  • Mike and Vanessa are able to enter the magical dimension with some help from Stella, when they would have been unable to do so in the canon series. Also, they are able to enter into Alfea with no problems, when canon dictates that individuals who are not students or staff are allowed to enter Alfea only with special dispensation from Faragonda.
  • Bloom’s enrolment into Alfea differs greatly from canon, arguably due to Izuku. While she would impersonate a student that pulled out at the last minute in canon, she and Izuku sought an audience with Faragonda and are able to persuade her to enrol them into Alfea.
  • The city of Magix is introduced earlier than in canon, as Stella takes Bloom and Izuku shopping to buy outfits for the Back-To-School dance, which is also revealed by Faragonda earlier than she would have in the canon plotline.
  • In a move away from outdated gender rules, the author establishes that male fairies exist and attend Alfea, while wizards can attend Cloud Tower. It is also confirmed by Tecna that female Specialists attend Red Fountain too.
  • Bloom would have followed Knut and encountered the Trix for the first time in the canon series, prompting them to attack her. Here, the Trix and Knut seek out Bloom and Izuku and attack them, completely unprovoked.
    • On that same note, it is Izuku, not Bloom, that gets frozen in ice by Icy.
  • Bloom unlocks her fairy form much earlier than she would have in the canon plotline.
  • The students of Cloud Tower are invited to Alfea's back-to-school dance, when they would have been snubbed in the canon series.
  • Bloom has no trouble during her first Metamorphosis class, while Izuku is the one who struggles.
  • Izuku, not Bloom, is attacked by the Trix during the back-to-school dance. This is also when he unlocks his fairy form for the first time.
• Important Haircut: Izuku gets a haircut on Stella’s suggestion prior to his departure to Alfea. His once messy, untameable curls are now a more manageable faded sides style with volume on top look.
• Impossible Hourglass Figure: The author averts this trope by introducing more inclusive body sizes to the Winx. Flora is chubbier than her canon counterpart, and it is apparent that Tecna works out regularly.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the changes, several aspects of the story remain faithful to both canon universes:
  • Izuku is still quirkless.
  • Bloom’s first encounter with Stella remains the same.
  • Knut retreats from his battles against Stella and the Specialists.
  • The first battle between the Winx and Trix still takes place in Magix, and ends with Stella teleporting the Winx away before Icy could finish them off.
  • The Trix still attempt to sabotage Alfea's back-to-school party, even though the Cloud Tower students are invited. This is to cause a massive distraction so that they could steal Stella's ring.

Fire and Water: Tears of the Phoenix, written by RarepairKai22

• Aborted Arc: In what can be described as a rewrite of a rewrite, the premise of this story was not the original version. Originally, the Slime Villain killed Bakugou Katsuki after it escaped from All Might, which triggered Izuku's downward slump. The author then decided to retcon that beginning, rewriting the story so that the Slime Villain never escaped from the bottle All Might used to hold it captive, which means that Katsuki is still very much alive.
• Adaptational Diversity: Based on the tags, the story promises to be more diverse than in the canon series. We already know, from the tags, that Tecna will be nonbinary, while Mirta will be transgender. Additionally, with the inclusion of season 5 character Roy in the original Specialist quartet, the squad is more racially-diverse than its original canon incarnation in Season 1.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • The character of Roy, who was Aisha's love interest in Season 5 and rival to Nex, appears along with the original Specialist quartet of Sky, Brandon, Riven and Timmy when the squad was notified about Stella being attacked by Knut and came in search for her.
  • Season 2 character Avalon is introduced with the rest of Alfea's staff on the first day of school, when he would only appear during the Winx's second year in Alfea.
  • A downplayed version of this trope features Mirta and her friend Lucy, who are mentioned by Flora that they will be attending the back-to-school dance, but so far have not been seen yet.
• Adaptational Late Appearance: The Trix are introduced, though not in name, in the lead-up to Alfea's back-to-school dance, when they would be introduced during the Winx's trip to Magix after their first meeting on campus.
• Adaptational Sexuality: While Izuku has never expressed interest in guys in the canon series, based on the relationship tags, Izuku will be eventually paired up romantically with Roy, who was noted to only have romantic feelings towards Aisha in the canon Winx plotline.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: In the canon series, Izuku inherits All Might’s quirk, One For All, which is a stockpile of raw power and an assimilation of quirks from its previous wielders. Here, Izuku unexpectedly manifests a water-based magical power, although whether the author intends to coin it as the "Phoenix Tears" like in previous versions is still unknown.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • Unlike in the original story and version by TheUnseenKaito99, Bloom does not live in a separate dimension from Izuku. Instead, the quirked universe expands to the city of Gardenia as well, with Bloom living as a "quirkless" individual like Izuku. Her adoptive parents, Mike and Vanessa, have a fire-manipulation and plant-manipulation quirk respectively.
  • Unlike the zigzagged canon information about Kiko having magic, the story gives the rabbit a different backstory which explains his occasional human-like behaviour - that he was a test subject in a quirk experimentation lab who was rescued by a pet shelter and subsequently adopted by Bloom.
  • Also in a shift from the canon plotline, it is revealed that Riven possesses magic, specifically healing magic, which is extremely fitting, as he is his squad's healer who takes care of injuries sustained during training. This is both a subversion and keeping in line with canon information, as Riven was never seen using magic in the canon series, but it has also been established that people within the magical dimension are capable of using magic for everyday things. Additionally, this was possibly to keep things consistent with the fact that season 5 character Roy is also able to wield magic too.
  • While the canon lore establishes Linphea's oceans as home to dangerous and carnivorous plants, this fic establishes Linphea as far more dangerous as a whole. Flora explains during the trip in the Black Mud Swamp that pretty much everything in Linphea could kill someone at the drop of a hat, forcing her and other inhabitants to be crazy prepared should they ever venture out. To put it simply, as one commentator called it, Linphea here is akin to "magical Australia".
• Adaptation Personality Change: Tecna (or Tec, as they want others to call them) is quite different from their canon counterpart. While Tecna in the original series is self-confident, blunt and logical almost to a fault, Tec appears to suffer from quite serious social anxiety, to the point that they can't stand having attention on them, even from their roommates.
  • Musa's character has a more downplayed version of this trope. She does retain her tomboyish personality traits from the canon series, but she is noticeably less sociable than her canon counterpart. Additionally, her tough exterior seems more pronounced here than in the canon series.
• Ambiguously Absent Parent: Subverted. While we have yet to see Midoriya Hisashi in-person (if ever) in the manga and anime, he is very much present in this story. While he is still working overseas like how the canon series has established, Hisashi becomes a visible character when Inko and Izuku move to America and are reunited with him in the arrival hall of LAX.
• Costume Evolution: Just like with TheUnseenKaito99, author RarepairKai22 has made some changes to the Winx's fairy forms:
  • Bloom's outfit, which makes its debut when she transforms into a fairy for the first time when the hunting troll breaks into her home, appears inspired by official release material of the planned reboot with some minor alterations.
  • Stella's fairy outfit appears inspired by that of the outfits worn in Sailor Moon.
  • Tec's fairy outfit, while retaining several key components that made up their canon counterpart's outfit, has been adapted towards a more practical and futuristic aesthetic. Their bodysuit is armoured for protection, their helmet resembles that of a motorcyclist's helmet complete with a protective visor, and most notably, they have physical wings rather than green bars which turn into a glider, shaped like WIFI signals.
  • Flora's fairy outfit appears inspired from both Mirabel and Isabela's outfits (see Expy below for further context), as well as the unaired pilot where her colour palette was purple instead of pink.
  • Additionally, the Specialists' attire appear somewhat different from their canon incarnations, with specific colour palettes for each member of the squad.
• Downer Beginning: It should be noted that unlike the two preceding versions, the story's beginning is less dark in comparison, but still somewhat sad. While Izuku does not attempt to take his own life in this version, he falls into a dark slump after All Might destroys his dream. However, unlike in the previous versions, Inko sees the descent her son is experiencing and intervenes. She packs up their bags and takes Izuku out of Japan, reuniting with Hisashi in America.
• Expy: Word of God has confirmed that Flora's redesigned appearance takes direct inspiration from Mirabel and Isabela of the Disney movie Encanto, with Mirabel's glasses and curly hair forming integral parts of Flora's redesign, and her chlorokinesis magic being a direct reference to Isabela's Gift.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • All Might never dropped the bottle containing the Slime Villain, which prevented it from escaping and taking Katsuki hostage. This subsequently deprives Izuku of the chance to save his former childhood friend when the heroes drop the ball, preventing him from proving his worthiness to All Might.
  • Inko and Izuku leave Japan following Izuku's fateful encounter with All Might, reuniting with Hisashi in America. That in of itself already promises to derail the canon plotline taking place in Japan.
  • Izuku and Bloom's first meeting is different from the first two versions. Bloom nearly crashes into Izuku while cycling in Gardenia Park. After making sure the other is okay, the two teens strike up a conversation, sharing their hobbies, and discovering that not only they are both quirkless, but also next-door neighbours. They hit off a fast friendship as a result.
  • When Izuku and Bloom encounter Stella being attacked by Knut and his ghouls in Gardenia Park, not only does Bloom's Dragon Flame power awaken, Izuku's water-based power also manifests, providing extra power against the ogre and his ghouls.
  • While Bloom struggles to wield her magic at the beginning of the canon series, she and Izuku have the opposite problem here. When guided by Stella on a simple manifestation exercise, Bloom accidentally unleashes too much power at once, setting fire to the carpet in her room, which has to be extinguished by Izuku's water-based magic, something which he was only capable of doing thanks to the panic that ensues.
  • On the same token, while Bloom's initial struggles with her magic results in her unlocking her fairy form only much later in Season 1, specifically during the Back-To-School dance, here she unlocks her fairy form when the hunting troll, led by Knut, breaks into her home. Additionally, unlike the two preceding versions, Izuku unlocks his fairy form at the same time as Bloom, when he would have done so only during the Back-To-School dance in Alfea.
  • Just like in the version written by TheUnseenKaito99, the hunting troll is taken away to be destroyed by the Specialists, unlike in the canon series where it was taken away to be interrogated. Roy later confirms this during the back-to-school dance in Alfea, telling Izuku that he witnessed the euthanised troll being loaded into a cremation machine to be reduced to ashes.
  • Stella takes Bloom, Izuku and their parents to the magical dimension where Alfea is located. Unlike in the canon series, where Mike and Vanessa were unable to proceed because of the barrier keeping non-magical beings out, Stella has a workaround by cloaking the four parents with magic, which tricks the barrier into letting them through.
  • Unlike in the canon series where Bloom takes the identity of a student who withdrew her enrolment at the last minute, Bloom and Izuku seek an audience with Headmistress Faragonda, explaining to her about their circumstances. Faragonda subsequent enrols them both, convinced that both require good education in Alfea to control their newly-manifested magical powers.
  • Word of God confirmed that unlike the canon series, the student population of the three schools in the magical dimension will not be restricted based on outdated gender norms that the canon series was built on. All genders are welcomed in the three schools, with male fairies attending Alfea, wizards in Cloud Tower, female specialists in Red Fountain, so on and so forth.
  • Possibly due to Izuku's enrolment in Alfea, the Winx have their respective roommates switched around:
    • Bloom shares Stella's room, when the latter would have the room entirely to herself.
    • Musa and Flora share a room, when Bloom was Flora's roommate in the canon series.
    • Finally, Izuku and Tec are in a room together, when Musa would have been in Izuku's place in the canon series.
  • The Winx do not go into Magix like their canon counterparts, which prevents the inciting incident where the Trix are introduced for the first time. See Adaptational Late Appearance above for the resulting change.
  • Unlike in the canon series, Cloud Tower is invited to attend Alfea's back-to-school dance, when they would have been snubbed. In fact, the relationship between Alfea and Cloud Tower is much more cordial and warm than in the beginning of the canon series, when it would have taken the Trix trying to take over the magical dimension for the strained ties between the two schools to begin to mend.
  • As Stella took Bloom and Izuku to Magix to buy outfits for the back-to-school dance, Bloom doesn't experience her outfit troubles like in the canon series.
  • Additionally, it is Izuku, not Bloom, who uncovers the plot by the Trix to sabotage the gifts, and is the one who alerts the others of the plan and the Trix's true motive: stealing Stella's ring.
  • While the Winx manage to reverse the curse placed on the gifts by the Trix, here, Musa and Tec are absent, as the former is manning the music consoles, and the latter is nowhere to be seen (later shown to be having a hard time because of their social anxiety), when both their canon counterparts would have joined in to reverse the curse.
  • Ending on a Cliffhanger note, Tec ends up being the Trix's target of retribution, when it was Izuku in the two preceding versions of this fic, and Bloom in the canon series. Thankfully, Izuku hears the commotion and comes to Tec's aid.
  • As it happened, Izuku manifests his blood-bending magic just like in the two preceding versions. However, the trigger in this case is when both he and Tec are frozen by Icy's magic. Pushed beyond breaking point, Izuku graphically pulls the blood out of all three witches, and it is only Faragonda's intervention that spares the three witches' lives.
  • In the canon series, the Trix do not face any actual punishment for trying to sabotage the party and stealing Stella's ring. Here, though, after Izuku reveals the truth about what happened to Faragonda and Griffin, the latter promises to deal with the three witches severely.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Hisashi very understandably requests something stronger than coffee after hearing the unbelievable tale of his only son being an actual fairy, and the home invasion the night before was caused by creatures not from this world. Taking pity on the poor man, Mike procures a bottle of whiskey and pours a generous serving into Hisashi's coffee, which he then proceeds to down in one go.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Izuku is still deemed "quirkless".
  • All Might still destroys Izuku's dream of becoming a pro-hero.
  • Stella is still attacked by Knut and his ghouls in Gardenia Park, and Bloom intervenes, although the difference is that Izuku is also present and provides additional back-up.
  • Knut still leads a hunting troll to scope out Stella and Bloom (and Izuku) in Gardenia, leading to the home invasion where Bloom's house is broken into.
  • Alfea hosts its back-to-school dance like in the canon series, and the Trix still attempt to sabotage Red Fountain's gifts to create a diversion in order to steal Stella's ring.
  • The lesson in the Black Mud Swamp happens largely as it did in canon, though with some notable changes:
    • Tec and Musa are not part of the Winx group.
    • The Specialists have a downplayed role in this event, acting as hidden monitors who are supposed to remain out of sight, but are expected to help any participants if they run into any trouble, instead of being a plot device like their canon counterparts.
    • Additionally, Izuku and his friends are the victims of the shenanigans the canon Specialists get into, not the Specialists.
• Jerkass with a Heart of Gold: Riven. While he is still very much abrasive and rough around the edges, he is also his squad's healer, and does not hesitate to treat any injuries caused during their training and schooling at Red Fountain. He also checks on Bloom, Izuku and Stella to see if they were injured fighting against the troll and Knut, something which surprises Izuku greatly.
• Shipper on Deck: After seeing how close Izuku and Roy have become and their easy banter with one another, Stella immediately confides to Bloom that if Izuku and Roy don't become a couple by the end of the year, she will burn her entire wardrobe. Given how much Stella is obsessed with fashion and her clothes, this is quite the steep bet, which Bloom lampshades by reminding Stella to not make any promises she doesn't intend to keep.
• Ship Tease: Particularly between Roy and Izuku. Izuku, especially, has a blatant crush on Roy, and Roy himself is already extremely protective over Izuku, with the latest example being Roy making good on his promise to beat Riven's ass if Izuku came down with a bad cold after the events in the Black Mud Swamp, despite the fact that Izuku only sneezed, with no further indication that he was coming down ill.

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