Archive of Our Own

A shadow has fallen over Japan. The Emperor, an immortal god king who wields hundreds of quirks, has brought peace with his law, but that peace is maintained by fear and violence. Superhuman society others those with no quirk, and those with powerful abilities are not spared from hardship, being conscripted into academies where they are taught to kill the Emperor's enemies indiscriminately under the guise of 'heroism', if their quirks are not stolen outright by the Emperor to add to his collection. The people live in fear of their rulers and of the so-called terrorists that oppose them, the revolutionary Paranormal Liberation Front, who fight back any way they can, even if it's a losing fight against such overwhelming power.

Everyone makes a choice when they grow up and step into the real world, including Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Ochako Uraraka. The choices they make as they navigate new adulthood and have the horrifying nature of their world thrust upon them will shake Japan to its foundations. Can the flame of hope survive in a cold, merciless world? Can the next generation grow up to be better than the one that came before, even if cruelty is all they know? Three wanna-be heroes are about to find out.

This AU is planned as a trilogy with a prequel two-shot that's more a supplemental companion piece than an important contribution to the plot. The Liberation AU is a very, very heavily altered universe compared to what you know of MHA's canon. Over three ~300k word fics, I hope to explore this radically different setting and the ways in which my favourite characters in the world have been changed by it; be warned, however, as this trilogy + the prequel will be dark, as I'll be exploring themes of biological determinism, childhood trauma, child abuse, governmental oppression, bigotry, and likely more. I don't intend on going easy on any character, though you may rest assured that I'm not an edgelord who likes darkness for the sake of darkness. Light, goodness, and happiness are possible in this world, they are just difficult, and rare.

That all being said, I hope you enjoy.