Story 2
Before the Beginning
This story is based around an OC who was born about 30 years after Quirks became a thing and their journey to become a hero in a new age.
I estimate that 120-150 years after quirks is when Midoriya's story comes in.
Quirks vs Quirkless are about 50/50 in the human population at this point. I assume it's a generational thing - so it spreads each generation further. To start maybe about 10%, then about 30% for the next gen, then 50% for the next.
Laws for either are just starting to be put into real practice as a society.
Villains aren't demonised as such just yet, but over the course of MC's life, they are (maybe not long after/before they start on their path to heroism).
There's a lot of chaos with people running wild with Quirks.
MC's parents are Quirkless but they have cousins/other family who have Quirks.
Apprentices under a local 'hero' (more like a Vigilante in BNHA timeline) to learn the ways after they get scouted by a gang.
Yeah, gangs of Quirked are a thing - initially created to protect against Quirkless hate crimes but eventually become a criminal issue.
It's not post-apocalyptic like, but things are definitely not as normal society would be, though Japan is a bit ahead of the ballgame in banning Quirk usage (and MC and friends have to learn to deal with that).
Eventually, MC creates a 'hero gang' with friends they meet in various walks of life- a mix of mainly Quirked but a few Quirkless too.
No hero schools, heroes aren't a hot commodity, etc.
Issues with Vigilante vs Heroes come in after laws are passed discerning Hero/Villain and Vigilante being in a grey area. The politics of such are explored in a more hands-on approach.
Dodging cops because yeah~ Dodging gang turf and mafia because yeah~ Dodging overprotective parents and adults who 'know better' because yeah~
Setting up the future of heroes to come.
Meeting some of the early OFA carriers (3/4) and dealing with (but not actually dealing with) AFO and his minions/bullshit.
Starts out with a diary entry of MC when they're much older talking about the first hero school and how they feel proud to have helped pave the way towards such a thing, but worrying about how society seems to be focussing on the glory and fame of heroes and hoping that it doesn't go too far. MC is like, 70-80 or so at this point (so All Might is probably on the scene or just arrived in the Japanese scene). They talk about how far they've come and how, when they woke up on their fourth birthday, they never imagined all that their life would entail... starting with a simple Quirk...