History Fanfic / FailureToExplode

* NoodleIncident: Much of the actual Star Heart incident is left unexplained, such as what Star Heart herself did to become so infamous, or what the GloryHound heroes did that killed a bunch of civilians.

* EveryoneHasStandards: The Star Heart debacle was so bad that even the HPSC, known for doing a number of morally dubious things, pulled the licenses of all the offending heroes. They also went to U.A. and all the other Hero Schools requesting that they modify admission standards in order to weed out other potential {{Glory Hound}}s.

* ForWantOfANail:
** Due to an incident seven months before the entrance exam where several Pro Heroes tried to take down an infamous big-name villain, leading to several civilian casualties and the Pro Hero that had actually been sent to handle the villain almost getting killed due to having to focus on handling the villain ''and'' saving civilians, the Hero Commission added a new rule where students have to earn at least one rescue point in the exam, leading to Bakugou not getting into U.A. due to him not getting any rescue points.
*** Several other works by the same author allude to a "Star Heart incident"; however, ''Failure to Explode'' is the only one where Star Heart came to Japan. ''[[Fanfic/BuildYourselfUpDontLetThemBreakYouDown Build Yourself Up]]'' has it happen in Paris instead, while it occurred in Edinburgh in the ''[[Fanfic/ThinkBeforeYouSpeakMHA Sticks and Stones]]'' continuity. Said incidents were also less severe, comparatively speaking, though all involved PR-obsessed heroes with SkewedPriorities.
** Monoma is placed into 1-A and ends up sitting behind Izuku. He subsequently learns that he can't copy Izuku's Quirk, and the resulting discussion means that Aizawa and the rest of 1-A know about Izuku's "late bloomer" status; as a result, Aizawa doesn't single him out for his poor control.
** UA sets the number of students to make it to the second round at 40 instead of 42, which results in several hero students, including Mineta, not making it.
** Because Iida went first in the third round of the Sports Festival, Ingenium learnt his little brother had lost and decided to head home early to comfort him, thus missing Stain.
** Izuku winning the Sports Festival results in him getting a lot more offers than he did in canon.
** And instead of reclaiming the name "Deku", while also having to talk about the heavy baggage related to the name, Izuku decides to call himself [[spoiler:the Singularity Hero: Kyuubi!]]
** As for the Internship Arc, [[spoiler:Izuku and Monoma decide to intern under Sir Nighteye, while Ochako goes with Endeavor and Momo with Best Jeanist]].

* AdaptationalBadass: Inko Midoriya in this universe is revealed to be a lawyer, and one who works for a high-class firm at that. As a result, she is able to put Aizawa (who normally does not bows to anybody, not even All Might or Nezu) in his place by [[MamaBear threatening to sue him]] if he does his typical SadistTeacher gag to Izuku, because he ''knows'' it's not an insubstantial threat.

* TheApprentice: If a student can't get into a pro hero high school, one alternative way to become a pro hero is to become the personal apprentice of one. However, this very rarely happens; apprentices of pro heroes are usually family members, family friends, or young people who impress them--not kids who failed to get into regular hero programs. For this reason, Bakugou doesn't consider it as an option.

* HeroWithAnFInGood: Not only does Katsuki fail to score a single rescue point during the practical exam, he actually ends up injuring other students because he didn't warn them to get out of the way of his explosions. Some of the other students manage to score rescue points by protecting other students from ''him!''

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Masaru Bakugou, a timid man known for his gentle nature, becomes noticeably cynical after learning that his son failed to get into his dream school and ''didn't'' apply to any backup schools or programs. Masaru also expresses frustration at Aldera for not trying to temper Katsuki's ego like they requested and how they were unable to help their son directly. His wife is genuinely surprised by his shift in personality.

* InSpiteOfANail:
** Despite Bakugou's absence, the League of Villains still attack [=USJ=].
** Shouto still reveals his DarkAndTroubledPast to Izuku during the Sports Festival who convinces him to use his fire side when it's their turn to fight.

** When Bakugou sees Monoma and Uraraka using the exact same Quirk in the Obstacle Course of the Sports Festival, he rightfully assumes that since they don't look related, one of them must have a Copy Quirk, but wrongly thinks it's ''Uraraka'' that has it until the Calvary Round proves otherwise.

* InstantlyProvenWrong: Izuku and his friends briefly wonder if the Sports Festival will change the Calvary Round for something rescue related in part due to the recent Star Heart Incident. To their lament, Present Mic announces the commencement of the Cavalry Round.

* * FlatWhat: While Izuku doesn't say it, he mentally reacts this way upon hearing that he was the only one to be accepted into U.A.'s Hero Track.

* FlatWhat: While Izuku doesn't say it, he mentally reacts this way upon hearing that he was the only one to be accepted into U.A.'s Hero Track.

* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: ]Bakugou Katsuki and Monoma Neito who takes his place in 1-A are both bombastic blond boys who play major roles in Izuku's life. However, Katsuki's arrogance and self-absorbed attitude ensure that said role is primarily in Izuku's past -- while they [[WeUsedToBeFriends used to be friends]], Katsuki torched that bridge ''long'' ago, and Izuku is more than happy to leave his BarbaricBully behind him. Neito, meanwhile, swiftly proves to be a {{True Companion|s}} whose relationship with Izuku only grows stronger through adversity, as opposed to him ''causing'' said adversity and grief by being callously cruel.

* {{Foil}}:
** Monoma Neito and Bakugou Katsuki are both bombastic blond boys who play major roles in Izuku's life. However, Katsuki's arrogance and self-absorbed attitude ensure that said role is primarily in Izuku's past -- while they [[WeUsedToBeFriends used to be friends]], Katsuki torched that bridge ''long'' ago, and Izuku is more than happy to leave his BarbaricBully behind him. Neito, meanwhile, swiftly proves to be a {{True Companion|s}} whose relationship with Izuku only grows stronger through adversity, as opposed to him ''causing'' said adversity and grief by being callously cruel.
** Shinso Hitoshi, much like Katsuki, starts out rather snidely convinced that he knows just how the world works, and is overly reliant upon his Quirk's strength to secure what he wants out of life. ''Unlike'' Katsuki, he isn't very strong ''physically'', which contributes to his BreakTheHaughty moment at the Sports Festival. And of course, ''he'' got into U.A. where Katsuki failed to do so because ''he'' applied to Gen Ed as a backup measure. Though both of them [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint didn't understand WHY]] they didn't get into the Hero Course immediately, coming up with other excuses to cover for it.

* EntertaininglyWrong: When Bakugou sees Monoma and Uraraka using the exact same Quirk in the Obstacle Course of the Sports Festival, he rightfully assumes that since they don't look related, one of them must have a Copy Quirk, but wrongly thinks it's ''Uraraka'' that has it until the Calvary Round proves otherwise.

* LikeParentLikeChild: Implied. [[spoiler:Now that he has little to no luck becoming a Pro Hero, Bakugou considers going into the fashion industry like his parents]].

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Aldera's principal has this reaction after hearing that Bakugou didn't get into UA, and Izuku did, realizing that now the school is stuck dealing with the fallout of the mess they've created.

** As for the Internship Arc, [[spoiler:Izuku and Monoma decide to intern under Sir Nighteye while Ochako goes with Endeavor and Momo with Best Jeanist]].

* ShamingTheMob: Unlike in canon where the General Ed students got away with harassing Class 1-A, Izuku and Monoma manage to put them in their place by reminding them of how they could have ''died'' during the [=USJ=] Attack.

** When they learn that Katsuki doesn't qualify to make it into U.A., Kan suggests that he can potentially clear another school's Entrance Exam. Aizawa privately doubts that, given how the Rescue Point rule has likely been instated at all the other Hero Schools but notes that "hopefully the kid had the common sense to apply to other places". He didn't.

** And instead of reclaiming the name "Deku", while also having to talk about the heavy baggage related to the name, Izuku decides to call himself [[spoiler:the Singularity Hero: Kyuubey!]]

* DisappearedDad: Downplayed with Hisashi. Izuku doesn't have many memories of him growing up as he'd always be too busy running his business. It was even worse when his Quirklessness was confirmed. Izuku also considers All Might to be more of a father figure then Hisashi.