My Hero Academia: Green Light Explosion is a My Hero Academia fanfic by ChewyGlazed on Archive of Our Own. It can be read here
The story involves Izuku having a powerful Quirk called Green Flare that he seldom used throughout his life after a traumatizing incident. However, with the support of All Might and Katsuki, he gives being a Hero a try, willing to prove he can become one with his destructive Quirk.
A several side story titled Our Days of Freedom, a collection of canon oneshots, and My Hero Academia: Green Light Explosion (Data Collection) is an information manual about characters. It can be read here and here
This fic displays examples of:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In canon, Izuku only had to deal with a childhood bully and being ostracized by his peers. Here, he has to live with the guilt he killed people and permanently scared his mom and best friend.
- Even All Might himself admits that he's accidentally killed people by carelessly using his power, and those deaths still haunt him.
- Mina experienced bullying in elementary and middle school because of her appearance.
- Adaptational Badass: Because Izuku controlled One For All and his Quirk, he proves to be formidable to his peers in U.A. He was also able to stand toe-to-toe against Shigaraki back in the USJ.
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- All Might calls in Gran Torino to help Izuku control One For All before he begins U.A. This helps Izuku create Full Cowl very early in the series.
- Hawks makes an appearance in the Sports Festival.
- Ryukyu makes an early appearance in the Sports Festival instead of during the work studies.
- Mirko makes an early appearance in the Sports Festival. She also offers an internship to Katsuki and Mina.
- Adaptation Name Change: Several of Class 1-A's students change their hero names:
- Shoto changes his hero name from his first name to Dual Hero: Frostburn.
- Momo adds Lady to her hero name, becoming Lady Creati.
- Bakugou chooses the hero name Dynamight much sooner than in canon. He also call himself the Explosion Hero instead of Great Explosion Murder God.
- Izuku changes his hero name from Deku to Viridian Hero: Dekiru.
- Hitoshi's hero name is Mind Games Hero: Mindbreaker.
- Mina's name is Pink Queen instead of just Pinky.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Katsuki, while still quite rude, confrontational, and abrasive, is still best friends with Izuku in this story.
- Adaptational Personality Change:
- Momo is shown to be friendly earlier, especially to Izuku, compared to in canon where she did not become friendly until Final Exams.
- Izuku stutters less and seems a lot more confident. However, he still tends to be nervous at times.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In this story, Izuku is shipped with Momo. Izuku becomes friends with Momo as early as the Combat Trials.
- Adaptational Super Power Change: Instead of being Quirkless, Izuku manifests a powerful Quirk that allows him to manipulate green flames and attract existing flames to empower himself. On top of that, he is given One For All after proving himself to All Might. Full Cowl becomes a mixture of Green Flare and One For All, with the latter being the base.
- All There in the Manual: A data collection sheet of characters can be found here.
- Ascended Extra:
- Shinso Hitoshi is a student in Class 1-A, replacing Mineta.
- While Momo was in Class 1-A, she did not have much time to shine. Now, she plays a bigger role and is a part of Izuku’s group.
- Ass Kicking Leads To Leadership:
- Izuku is elected class rep because of his performance in the combat trials. This also extends to Momo, who becomes vice rep.
- Izuku, Katsuki, Momo, and Shoto are called the Elite Four by their peers and teachers after their performances in the sports festival.
- Be All My Sins Remembered: Despite Katsuki telling him that the incident wasn't his fault and he acted in self-defense, Izuku still believes himself unworthy of becoming a Hero due to the incident involving his Quirk's awakening killing ten people, injuring thirty-seven more, and causing massive property damage.
- Berserk Button: During the Combat Trials, Katsuki ends up triggering Shoto's by reminding him of the harsh upbringing he lived under Endeavor.
- Beware the Nice Ones:
- Katsuki visibly shows fear when Izuku is angry. The same goes for Inko as well. Supposedly, they “put the fear of god in anyone’s soul.”
- Ochaco would punt Ryoto to the sun if he did anything to Izuku.
- Izuku glared at everyone and said, “stop me if you can…” while he was in Full Cowl mode. This happened when he was announced that his point value is ten million for winning the Obstacle Race.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Jiro was complaining about Izuku and Momo getting special treatment at a restaurant, Mina replies with “we’re side characters.”
- Create Your Own Villain: When a bunch of first-years block Class 1-A’s door to seek competition, someone named Tatsumi Ryoto steps in front to declare war and tell everyone that the class has a killer. Of course, he was one of the few people who were injured in Izuku’s Quirk incident.
- Demoted to Extra:
- Mineta Minoru is a general education course student, being replaced by Hitoshi. He has only made three appearances with only minor dialogue.
- Since Katsuki chooses Mirko for internships, Best Jeanist doesn’t appear yet.
- Dies Differently In The Adaptation: Instead of being killed in the Paranormal Liberation Front, Native is murdered by Stain's apprentice, Carmilla.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Izuku and Shoto become friends after their battle in the Sports Festival when they were enemies. They also intern under Endeavor together.
- Flaming Hair:
- When Izuku activates Full Cowling, his hair glows white like a flame and is extremely hot, a fact All Might and Eijiro learned the hard way.
- Burnin’s Quirk is literally this.
- Flaming Sword: Thanks to One For All enhancing his base Quirk, Izuku can create a plethora of flame weapons. This was first shown when he materialized a lance when sparring with Gran Torino.
- Friendly Rivalry: Izuku and Katsuki have this in spades. They constantly push each other to be the best and enjoy competing with one another.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Hitoshi's actions are shaping up to make him this way, especially after he defeats Mina in the Sports Festival by insulting her to make her fall for his Quirk.
- Good Is Not Nice: Hitoshi is determined to be a hero, but he isn't above having to be a savage to his classmates in order to do it, as shown during his match against Mina in the Sports Festival Tournament when he calls her out on her skin color.
- Grew a Spine: The time training under All-Might and being reassured that despite the incident, Izuku can still be a Hero, the boy eventually manages to start standing up for himself more. This is first demonstrated when he tells off Iida for calling him out during the Entrance Exam.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Oh boy, Izuku has this in spades.
- Innocently Insensitive:
- After Izuku first awakens his Quirk, the doctor sings praises to him for how powerful it is even though Izuku is currently traumatized due to said awakening causing massive destruction. To the doctor's credit, he does try to reassure Izuku it wasn't his fault.
- Toru makes an offhanded comment that Izuku has ghosts following him around.
- Laughing Mad: Ryoto ends up devolving into this during his fight with Izuku in the Sports Festival.
- Man Hug: Izuku and Katsuki have one during their heart-to-heart talk, even if Katsuki hates it and considers it “sappy.”
- The Mentor: Along with All Might to Izuku, Aizawa seems to have been one to Hitoshi before UA.
- Original Character: Ryoto Tatsumi. A boy with a Wyvern hybrid Quirk who was injured when Izuku awakened his Quirk, he's also the cousin of Ryukyu.
- Parental Substitute: Stain is this for Camilla/Toga.
- Power Incontinence:
- Izuku was said to have trouble using his Quirk at first. All Might trained him to control it to avoid causing destruction.
- Izuku fought a villain who could not control his Quirk. The Quirk made him burn alive, supposedly a defect.
- Precocious Crush: Izuku and Katsuki have hero crushes on Burnin' and Mirko respectively.
- Scars Are Forever:
- Katsuki and Inko were injured in Izuku's Quirk awakening, bearing burn scars that serve to pile on to Izuku's already crippling guilt.
- Ryoto Tatsumi also has permanent scars from the fire, damaging his Quirk so much that he was unable to enter the Hero Course. But unlike Katsuki and Inko, he resents Izuku for his scars, even though it was an accident.
- Shout-Out:
- Izuku, Katsuki, Momo, and Shoto are called the Elite Four by the first years, a reference to Pokemon.
- Mina calls out three popular ships in MHA: Izuocha, Todomomo, and Kiribaku. She was shocked when her shipping chart was wrong as Izuku and Momo goes out on a date.
- When Jiro insults Kaminari by calling him One Punch Man, he says she’s lucky he likes Saitama.
- Sneeze Cut:
- Momo sneezes when All Might explains to Izuku who would appreciate his unmatched hero analysis. It’s a nod to the author pairing Izuku and Momo in this story.
- Happens again when Bakugou thinks how Izuku can get a girlfriend just by hugging her, the next paragraph has Momo sneeze as she rushes to meet the two.
- Suplex Finisher: Momo gives one to Hitoshi during their fight in the tournament.
- Sword Fight: Izuku and Stain have one in Chapter 26.
- Taking the Heat: When Ryoto Tatsumi tries to turn the student body against Class 1-A by revealing the incident in the park, Katsuki confesses that he's the one responsible to protect Izuku from persecution from the other students.
- The Leader: Instead of giving the class rep role to Iida like in canon, Izuku takes the role and offers to help his classmates get stronger. This was shown when Aizawa spotted him helping Kaminari control his Electrification Quirk.
- Training from Hell: Not only does Izuku go through his canonical training regiment under All-Might but he also gets put through the wringer training under Gran Torino to better control One For All before starting U.A.
- Trauma Button:
- During the Entrance Exam, after destroying the Zero-Pointer to save Ochaco, Izuku sees the destruction and flashes back to the incident of his Quirk awakening, causing him to go into a panic attack before Ochaco snaps him out of it.
- When Izuku struck Shigaraki’s hand mask, he yelled that he killed his father, causing Izuku to stand still in fear.
- It's subtle, but in the Calvary Battle of the Sports Festival, Tatsumi freezes when Izuku throws a fire lance at his team, allowing him to grab one of their headbands.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Izuku first awakened his Quirk when he and Katsuki were about to be kidnapped by Villains. Even though it was an act of self-defense, Izuku still harbors deep guilt and trauma due to accidentally killing ten people and injuring thirty-seven more.
- Tsundere: Katsuki towards his classmates.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Izuku hears this constantly from his best friend, his mentor, his new friends, his teachers, and his mother.
- You Are Not Alone: Katsuki, Momo, and Ochaco quickly teamed up with Izuku during the cavalry battle, despite his ten million point value.
- You Killed My Father: Ryoto hates Izuku because his mother and best friend were two of the victims killed in his Quirk Awakening accident.
