Daymare
by IntrospectiveInquisitor is a My Hero Academia fanfic.
Izuku Midoriya has endured a decade of abuse, ridicule, and social ostracization due to his status as 'Quirkless'. Even his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugou has tossed him aside and made it a mission to drill his uselessness home. But despite his obstacles and the derision of his peers, Izuku will never give up on his dream of being a hero, and will never feel shame for being called Quirkless. Because it's easier than acknowledging that he has a Quirk at all.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Thanks to Living Nightmare, Izuku is capable of much more damage much earlier on than in canon, though it usually takes him out of commission. He's able to defeat the USJ Noumu by himself. Additionally, he actually manages to beat Todoroki during the Sports Festival, without significantly injuring himself. He ends up unconscious afterwards, and Todoroki takes his slot in the competition anyway, but still.
- Adaptation Name Change: Izuku's hero name becomes Starburst instead of Deku.
- Adapted Out: Following the USJ Arc, Mineta leaves U.A. for good.
- Afraid of Their Own Strength: Izuku due to Living Nightmare. He constantly lives in fear about the damage he could cause, leading him to repress it. As the story progresses, he resolves to conquer his fear.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Due to Izuku having a Quirk.
- An Arm and a Leg: Hacking his targets' limbs off is basically Mincemeat's M.O. It doesn't mean much to him since he can reattach them whenever he wants, but it's no less traumatic for his victims.
- Tensei Iida loses his arm to Mincemeat rather than being paralyzed in his legs. Tenya, still driven to avenge him, confronts Mincemeat and narrowly dodges the same fate.
- Mincemeat later cuts off Izuku's arms and reattaches them after altering their anatomy so that Izuku could better control Living Nightmare.
- Apologises a Lot: Izuku is deathly afraid of causing even the slightest offence to anybody and as a result apologizes for nearly every single thing he does, sometimes including mere existing.
- Ascended Extra: Shinsou, thanks to transferring into Class 1-A.
- The Atoner: Bakugou has shades of this due to feeling guilty for almost killing Izuku.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Living Nightmare can easily cause massive destruction and it induces fear in anyone who manages to get a glimpse of it. Despite this, Izuku wants nothing more than to be a great hero and use his powers for good.
- Big Ego, Hidden Depths: Bakugou displays parts of this trope. From his POV, we see that there's a tangle of emotions he feels toward Izuku. During a confirmation with Iida, he even admits that he knows that he doesn't belong in the class due to what he's done.
- Biomanipulation: Mincemeat's Quirk.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Izuku is kidnapped by the League of Villains from the forest training camp on his birthday.
- Break the Haughty: Bakugou goes through this after seriously injuring and scarring Izuku, starting to reflect upon his actions and recognize how cruel he's been.
- Body Horror
- Happens to Izuku when he unleashes the full power of his Quirk.
- Mincemeat's Quirk allows him to freely manipulate organic matter, to the extent that he can survive a direct blow from Living Nightmare by pulling his blood and organs back together.
- Cowardly Lion: Izuku is timid, skittish, self-deprecating, and suffering the effects of past trauma, but he will thrust all of that aside the moment his friends are in danger.
- Death by Adaptation: Sludge Villain and Hero Killer Stain.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Izuku, not that you can really blame him.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The constant fear, self-loathing, and misery that Izuku experiences thanks to Living Nightmare are reminiscent of anxiety disorders and depression. Subverted after he goes to a therapist and actually is diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and possibly PTSD.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: Izuku warns multiple villains against fighting him. They usually don't listen, only to find themselves either terrified out of their minds or, in Muscular's case, facing a Cruel and Unusual Death.
- Dramatic Irony: At one point, Inko has a friendly chat with the grocery store butcher, unaware that he is Mincemeat.
- Easily Forgiven: Deconstructed; while Izuku is willing to forgive and move past Katsuki bullying him for years, this offers no real closure for either of them and eventually spurs an ugly confrontation.
- Eldritch Abomination: At least, this is what some descriptions of Izuku using his Quirk seem to imply.
- Enemy Within: Living Nightmare. Izuku lived in a state of constant fear of his power, repressing it until he could physically feel the need to let it out.
- Facial Horror
- Happens to Izuku, courtesy of Bakugou blowing his face up during a Living Nightmare-induced freakout. Even after a trip to Recovery Girl, Izuku is left with a permanent burn scar on his cheek.
- Later, Bakugou gets his face partially disintegrated by Shigaraki.
- Forgets to Eat: Izuku eats extremely spicy food to counter that.
- Gorn: Izuku loathes having to use his Quirk on living beings, but when he does, the narration takes its sweet time describing their bloody remains.
- His Own Worst Enemy: Izuku's self-esteem is so low that it borders on self-destructive. This is the reason why he is assigned to a therapist.
- Hit Me, Dammit!: Invoked by Katsuki encouraging Izuku to assault him as punishment for all the years he spent tormenting and torturing him.
- It's All My Fault
- Both Tenya and Ochako spend some time blaming themselves for failing to prevent what happened between Bakugou and Izuku in that training exercise.
- Later on, Tenya gets hit much harder by this during the Mincemeat Arc, blaming himself for nearly getting Izuku butchered.
- Ochako finds Hagakure feeling guilty over not inviting Katsuki to the mall with the rest of the class, as it indirectly led to Shigaraki cornering him in an alley and partially disintegrating his face.
- Kirishima feels responsible for not being able to save Izuku from the League of Villains at the training camp, thinking he could have done more.
- Kill It with Fire: Implied to be Mincemeat's weakness, as he wipes the floor with Iida and Izuku but retreats once Shouto arrives, recognizing the Hellfire he inherited from Endeavor.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Most of Izuku's friends count as this, but especially Kirishima.
- Lovecraftian Superpower: Living Nightmare, especially the full transformation.
- Magnetic Hero: Izuku is almost an inversion; because of his lonely background, he gathers friends by latching on to whoever shows him the most basic decency.
- Misfit Mobilization Moment: Despite their personal issues and rough history, Kirishima, Todoroki, Bakugou, Shinsou, and Yaoyorozu all band together to rescue Izuku from the League of Villains.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Izuku goes through this most of the time after using his Quirk on living beings, especially after he ends up killing the Sludge Villain.
- Bakugou also goes through this after he almost kills Izuku during Hero vs Villain training exercise.
- Not Afraid to Die: During the League's assault on U.A., upon realizing that All Might isn't likely to make it in time, Izuku chooses to let Living Nightmare take over completely, knowing that he may never come back out.
- Odd Friendship: Since most of Class 1-A shuns Bakugou for what he did during the Heroes vs Villains exercise, he ends up befriending Shinsou of all people.
- Official Couple: As of chapter 59, Izuku and Eijirou.
- Oppose What You Suffered: Having dealt with his terrifying power for years without telling anyone, Izuku resonates more strongly with the abuse that Todoroki silently suffered under Endeavor.Izuku: I-I know it's hard, t-to... to reach out. W-when you're in pain, when you... h-have a secret, you think 'it's better that nobody knows'. You c-convince yourself you're in c-control, and you're... p-preventing a worst-case s-scenario. You build it up s-so big in your head that j-just thinking about it hurts, l-let alone talking about it. B-but... keeping it inside i-is just going to hurt you more. I-I'm not saying you h-have to tell someone, e-even though I think you s-should. B-but... if it's e-ever too much to carry.. y-y-you can talk to m-me. I-I promise I'll always listen.
- Original Character: Mincemeat replaces the Hero Killer Stain as the main villain threat during what would have been his arc, having killed him and crippled Tensei Iida in his place.
- Prone to Tears: It takes even less to get Izuku to cry than it does in canon.
- Psychoactive Powers: Living Nightmare's potency and effects are shaped by Izuku's intentions and mental state.
- Pulling Themselves Together: Mincemeat is left as two legs and multiple splatters on the ground after taking a direct blast from Living Nightmare. Then all of his parts reconstruct themselves, and Mincemeat looks no worse for wear.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the USJ arc, Mineta transfers out, saying he didn't sign up to become an extra in a horror flick.
- Speech Impediment: Izuku's stutter seems to be permanent.
- Stress Vomit: Overuse of Living Nightmare tends to lead to this.
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: One aspect of Living Nightmare is to amplify fear in both his opponents and Izuku himself.
- Terror Hero: For a window of time Izuku paralyzed Shigaraki with fear when he attacked U.A.
- There Are No Therapists: Completely averted; not only does Izuku see a therapist for his laundry list of emotional issues, but Bakugou is also required to see one in order to deal with his destructive anger.
- Villain Takes an Interest: Although originally requested to kill Izuku by Shigaraki, Mincemeat abandons those plans after experiencing the raw power of Izuku's Quirk.Mincemeat, after reassembling himself: That is strength to be admired.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Mincemeat seeks out those with potential and drives them to become stronger and grow as a person...usually by cutting off and keeping one of their limbs until they're "strong enough to take it back".
