u/Gullible_Ad616

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Just to clarify, sometimes when I ask for gender bender stories I get recommended trans stories instead. I like those too, but they’re not really the same thing narratively.

The easiest way I can explain it is with a food analogy:

I came here for pie, not brownies.

It’s not that I dislike brownies, I’m just specifically craving pie right now.

What I mean is that gender bender stories usually have different narrative traits compared to trans stories.

For example, gender bender stories often include things like:

1. The change is usually forced or accidental

   While there are exceptions, it’s most commonly something imposed on the character.

2. The transformation happens suddenly

   The character changes all at once, without a gradual process, like in .

3. The change is usually physical and complete within the story’s logic

   Whether it’s magic, weird science, curses, powers, or some supernatural event, the transformation fully changes the character’s physical sex.

That’s usually what sets these stories apart from trans stories, where the focus is more often on identity and personal transition.

So if anyone knows good male-to-female gender bender fanfics, I’d love some recommendations.

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Yes, the outfits are terrible on their own, but that’s exactly the point. Early hero costumes are often experimental—they’re meant to help figure out what works best with each Quirk.

Momo: Since the story takes place in Japan and she never seems embarrassed by the design, I think she genuinely wanted her first costume to be that revealing. It fits her practical way of thinking, since she needs exposed skin to use her Quirk as efficiently as possible.

Toru: This is where my main argument comes in. I think the “lack” of a full costume can be explained by the fact that U.A. already had precedents of students bringing their own costumes or at least parts of their gear.

Izuku is a good example, since he basically only requested the gloves, while Aoyama also already had a very defined hero image before entering U.A.

Because of that, when the department saw that Toru only requested gloves and boots, they probably assumed it was another similar case: a student who already had the rest of the costume figured out and only needed a few specific accessories.

So they didn’t prepare anything else for her because they assumed the rest was already covered, just like it had been with other students before.

So yeah, I think both first costumes make sense—not because they’re good, but because they reflect experimentation and also how the support department could have relied on previous precedents..