History Fanfic / ApertumMortem

* BadassBookworm: Izuku comes off as a pretty harmless nerd who likes jokes and pranks. That is, until he is placed in a situation that requires him to engage in offense, especially when lives are at stake. He's also incredibly StreetSmart due to his [[spoiler: experience as a former vigilante]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Many of the secrets and problems of the fic concerning Izuku and the other characters remain unresolved. This includes things like: an in-depth explanation of Izuku's quirk, Shinso and Izuku's friendship ending in tatters, Iida Tenya's family dealing with Iida Tensei's condition caused by Stain, and Todoroki Rei not having been released from the hospital as of yet.]] The series, ''Dum Spiro Spero,'' for which ''Apertum Mortem'' is the first part, continues where it left off in [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015964/chapters/71216244 Memento Mori]].

* BrickJoke: During the Cards Against Humanity game played at [[spoiler: Aizawa and Yamada's apartment, Aizawa plays a card that ties together two unrelated mental jokes that Izuku makes during USJ concerning Shigaraki]].

* CorruptBureaucrat: The Hero Public Safety Commission is incredibly corrupt, doing stuff like covering up [[spoiler: Endeavor burning Todoroki Touya to death, as well as hiding Endeavor's abusive tendencies in both his crime-fighting work as a Pro Hero, and with his treatment to his family.]]
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Starts out very similar to how canon does but becomes very apparent very quickly that [[spoiler: Quirk and Quirkless discrimination are devastatingly rampant in society. Parental figures have pretty exteriors hiding vile monsters within.]]
* DaddysLittleVillain: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko reveals to the heroes during a police interrogation to be the daughter of the infamous supervillain All for One, who had only done so as a way to mess with All Might. This means that Izuku is All for One's grandson, as well as the grandnephew to the first One for All user]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Izuku has undergone major quirk discrimination from various sources over the course of his childhood, which still follows him into UA. [[spoiler: A major contributor to his traumatic past is both the death of his father, Midoriya Hisashi, when he was three as well as his mother's abuse and later abandonment after said death.]] Seen as an outcast in society, Izuku struggles with many mental health issues such as panic attacks, PTSD flashbacks, nightmares, touch aversion (sometimes even to friends and/or loved ones), and fits of anger when control of a situation is lost. He is also very prone to lying to avoid uncomfortable circumstances due to major trust issues.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: [[spoiler: Midoriya Hisashi, Izuku's father, was killed in a villain attack when he was three.]] It's such a shame given that parent was considered to be one of the GoodParents.

* DrivenToSuicide: For various reasons in Izuku's past, he was driven to suicide, only for [[spoiler: his quirk to bring him back]]. One of the more prominent attempts happens while [[spoiler: staying in the Aizawa-Yamada household. This suicide in particular causes Izuku immense MidSuicideRegret, leading to a HappilyFailedSuicide when he talks to Shinso and Aizawa later that night]].
* DuetBonding: [[spoiler: Shinso and Izuku bond over scaring away bullies by singing a song together.]]

* EvilMatriarch: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko]], who is also considered to be one of the [[spoiler: AbusiveParents]], leading Izuku to be a child who HatesTheirParent.
* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko, who did not put on the weight that she did in canon. She is also one of the main antagonists of the fic. When she loses control of a situation, she also becomes a BitchInSheepsClothing.]]
* FailedASpotCheck: When researching more about Todoroki's family to save his friend, Izuku considers the fact that [[spoiler: Endeavor might have killed Todoroki Touya]], but ultimately dismissed it. Later, he learns that it was indeed the truth.

* FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent: Izuku surrounds himself with friends to fill the family void. When [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko]] shows back up in his life, the bad side of Izuku gets revealed to his friends.

* GasLighting: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko is the queen of this tactic, especially against Izuku and the heroes.]]
* HiddenDepths: Both Izuku and All Might have talents that aren't apparent at first glance. For Izuku, it's his skill with hacking and building tools to help him or others. For All Might, it's his [[spoiler: college education as he made sure not only to focus on heroics, but also to help others emotionally and psychologically. He went so far to achieve this goal that he has the qualifications to be a registered therapist, which he eventually does become at UA]].

* InSpiteOfANail: [[spoiler: The death of Izuku's father when he was three led to the eventual manifestation of his birth quirk, setting in motion the events of the fic]].

* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko only started abusing Izuku after Midoriya Hisashi, her husband, died. With the realization that Izuku was also vulnerable to death and his quirkless nature, she tried to force a quirk to manifest for Izuku through various tactics like brutal training sessions, even going so far as hiring someone to perform actual torture on him as a child. When she reappears after USJ and Izuku lies to her that he's still quirkless, she reverts once again to try and fix him under the guise she's trying to help him. This descent into madness also led to her various criminal activities ever since her husband's death, including killing people that got in her way of 'protecting' or 'preserving' her family]].
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Izuku is incredibly guilty of this, much more so than his canon counterpart. He is unfazed by severe injury such as [[spoiler: during the Sports Festival when he is impaled by ice. He is also similarly unfazed by dying as well, seemingly bouncing back as if nothing actually happened.]]
* MamaBear: Tsuki-chan, a quirked cat, is incredibly protective of Izuku, seeing him as [[spoiler: if she was her own child, literally calling him her Moon Child.]]
* MicDrop: Izuku drops the mic after [[spoiler: scaring away the bullies who surrounded Class 1-A before the Sports Festival with a duet with Shinso. In typical Izuku fashion, he panics when he realizes he might have damaged the mic after dropping it.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: With the threat of Izuku's mother hurting his chosen family and the discovery of his connection with All Might with a few people that shouldn't have eavesdropped, he snaps at his friends due to the stress. This leads to Shinso and Izuku's friendship being in bad shape, leaving them at odds with one another and Izuku regretting his actions.]]

* ParentalAbandonment: Played straight with Izuku, with his [[spoiler: mom]] abandoning him when he was seven.

* ResurrectiveImmortality: [[spoiler: One part of Izuku's quirk is that everytime he dies, his body heals the specific injured portion of his body that ended up killing him and nothing else. While DeathIsCheap concerning how many times Izuku dies in the fic, to Izuku himself, it is a FateWorseThanDeath, especially if someone finds out about his ability only to abuse it maliciously. A major fear of his is being endlessly tortured or experimented on due to his quirk.]]

[[folder: Tropes T to Z]]

* TheMentor: Yagi Toshinori becomes not only a mentor figure for Bakugo Katsuki but also becomes his [[spoiler: therapist]] to help him with his journey towards becoming ReformedButNotTamed. This comes about due to Bakugo and Izuku's shared past as bully and victim.

* VigilanteMan: When Izuku was ten, [[spoiler: he spent a year as the vigilante Switch to take down a quirkless human trafficking ring that tried to kidnap him. He hung up the hoodie after UA allowed quirkless students to attend.]]
* WarriorTherapist: [[spoiler: All Might not only studied heroics during his college days but also specializes in psychology. As Yagi Toshinori, he becomes a registered UA therapist alongside Hound Dog. He helps Bakugo Katsuki with his mental health issues as his therapist.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: During the Sports Festival, Midnight makes a mistake by [[spoiler: chaining and muzzling Bakugo after he refuses to accept his medal, disregarding the fact that he has a potential trigger with having his mouth covered due to the sludge villain. This eventually leads to Izuku saving Bakugo and chewing out the heroes due to their negligence]].

* BadPowersGoodPeople: Both Izuku and Shinso have birth quirks that are seen as villainous in theory according to society, even though Izuku's quirk is unclear concerning it's true nature and capabilities.

* CorruptBureaucrat: The Hero Public Safety Commission is incredibly corrupt, doing stuff like covering up [[spoiler: Endeavor burning Todoroki Touya to death, as well as hiding Endeavor's abusive tendencies in both his crime fighting work as a Pro Hero, and with his treatment to his family.]]

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Starts out very similar to how canon does, but becomes very apparent very quickly that [[spoiler: Quirk and Quirkless discrimination are devastatingly rampant in society. Parental figures have pretty exteriors hiding vile monsters within.]]

* DaddysLittleVillain: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko reveals to the heroes during a police interrogation to be the daughter of the infamous supervillain All for One, of whom had only done so as a way to mess with All Might. This means that Izuku is All for One's grandson, as well as the grandnephew to the first One for All user]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Izuku has undergone major quirk discrimination from various sources over the course of his childhood, which still follows him into UA. [[spoiler: A major contributor to his traumatic past is both the death of his father, Midoriya Hisashi, when he was three as well as his mother's abuse and later abandonment after said death.]] Seen as an outcast in society, Izuku struggles with many mental health issues such as panic attacks, PTSD flashbacks, nightmares, touch aversion (sometimes even to friends and/or loved ones), and fits of anger when control on a situation is lost. He is also very prone to lying to avoid uncomfortable circumstances due to major trust issues.

* FantasticRacism: Izuku is constantly the center of bullying and prejudice concerning his quirkless status. Even after it has been proven that he's not quirkless, he still undergoes the same treatment as if he was. A RageBreakingPoint also occurs that leads Izuku to educating his fellow classmates about the struggles of the quirkless even when it isn't his responsibility to do so.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Two OC characters [[spoiler: have a conversation where one of them tells the other that smoking is going to end up killing them. After a moment, the other man lights his cigarette, effectively blowing up the gas filled apartment, killing both of them.]] This DramaticIrony is also foreshadowed in the previous chapter.

* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Izuku starts out with having no friends in the fic due to quirkless discrimination, but he begins to collect friends, for better or worse.

* ImpossibleGenius: Izuku is a jack-of-all trades genius. He is a seasoned hacker as well as a costume and tool designer that designs his own gear and for others due to both [[spoiler: his father, Midoriya Hisashi, being a Support Designer who owned a Support Company named Kibou Studios as well as his time as a former vigilante.]] Nedzu recognizes his exceptional intelligence, leading to [[spoiler: Nedzu offering mentorship to Izuku during his free period.]]

* LikeASonToMe: All Might considers Izuku to be his son despite [[spoiler: Izuku's villainous familial relations.]] Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi also fall into this category.

* LoopholeAbuse: Izuku excels at finding loop holes in many situations. Examples of this is shown [[spoiler: during the entrance exam where he hacked into a UA server to gain more knowledge about said exam and during the Hero vs. Villain training when he uses the Heroes' own tools to win the match]].

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: During the Sports Festival, Todoroki [[spoiler: tries to forfeit the final match due to the fact that Izuku was the winner of their fight, believing that Izuku deserves to be the one fighting in the finals. When the teachers deny his request due to the fact that Izuku retroactively lost due to being incapacitated for any future matches, he ends up forfeiting the match in the ring against their wishes. Afterwards, he gives Izuku the second place medal since he was the true second place winner.]]

* SuckySchool: Aldera Junior High student body and its teachers perpetuates the violence and bullying directed towards Izuku. For a short time, UA follows suit except that it is only the student body perpetuating the bullying. Nedzu puts a stop to the obvious forms of bullying with harsh punishments, but the more subtle bullying and discrimination still persists.

* TheMentor: Yagi Toshinori becomes not only a mentor figure for Bakugo Katsuki, but also becomes his [[spoiler: therapist]] to help him with his journey towards becoming ReformedButNotTamed. This comes about due to Bakugo and Izuku's shared past as bully and victim.

* VigilanteMan: When Izuku was ten, [[spoiler: he spent a year as the vigilante Switch to take down a quirkless human trafficking ring who tried to kidnap him. He hung up the hoodie after UA allowed quirkless students to attend.]]


* WarriorTherapist: [[spoiler: All Might not only studied heroics during his college days, but also specializes in psychology. As Yagi Toshinori, he becomes a registered UA therapist alongside Hound Dog. He helps Bakugo Katsuki with his mental health issues as his therapist.]]

* WorthLivingFor: Throughout the fic, Izuku severely downplays his inherent worth and right to life. It's only when [[spoiler: Izuku and Aizawa Shouta have a conversation about his suicide attempt that he starts to open up to begin his journey into realizing he matters and has something to live for, namely his friends, family, and saving people as a hero.]] He still struggles with it at the end of the fic, but is getting better.


* YouAreNotAlone: A major theme in the fic is surrounded dealing with mental health and working through it. There is no single solution given nor is anyone's mental health magically gone after recieving help. Instead, options are presented to characters, like therapy and support systems to let them know they aren't alone in their struggle.

[[/folder]]

* FantasticRacism: Izuku is constantly the center of bullying and prejudice concerning his quirkless status. Even after it has been proven that he's not quirkless, he still undergoes the same treatment as if he was. A RantInducingSlight also occurs that leads Izuku to educating his fellow classmates about the struggles of the quirkless even when it isn't his responsibility to do so.

* HiddenDepths: Both Izuku and All Might have talents that isn't apparent at first glance. For Izuku, it's his skill with hacking and building tools to help him or others. For All Might, it's his [[spoiler: college education as he made sure not only to focus on heroics, but also to help others emotionally. He went so far to achieve this goal that he has the qualifications to be a registered therapist, which he eventually does become at UA]].

* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Izuku starts out with no friends in the fic due to quirkless discrimination, but he begins to collect friends, for better or worse.

* ImpossibleGenius: Izuku is a jack-of-all trades genius. He is a seasoned hacker as well as a costume and tool designer that designs his own gear and for others due to both [[spoiler: his father, Midoriya Hisashi, being a Support Designer who owned a Support Company names Kibou Studios as well as his time as a former vigilante.]] Nedzu recognizes his exceptional intelligence, leading to [[spoiler: Nedzu offering mentorship to Izuku during his free period.]]

* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko only started abusing Izuku after Midoriya Hisashi, her husband, died. With the realization that Izuku was also vulnerable to death and his quirkless nature, she tried to force a quirk to manifest for Izuku through various tactics like brutal training sessions, even going so far as hiring someone to perform actual torture on him as a child. When she reappears after USJ and Izuku lies to her that he's still quirkless, she reverts once again to try and fix him under the guise she's trying to help him. This descent into madness also led to her various criminal activities ever since her husband's death, including killing people that got in her way of protecting or preserving her family]].

* MamaBear: Tsuki-chan is incredibly protective of Izuku, seeing him as [[spoiler: if she was her own child, literally calling him her Moon Child.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: With the threat of Izuku's mother hurting his chosen family and the discovery of his connection with All Might with a few people that shouldn't have eavesdropped, he snaps at his friends due to the stress. This leads to Shinso and Izuku's friendship to be in bad shape, leaving them at odds with one another and Izuku regretting his actions.]]

* PromotionToParent: Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi become parents to [[spoiler: Shinso]] after he becomes HappilyAdopted. [[spoiler: Izuku also considers the two as well as All Might to be his dads, but they aren't his official guardians. The three of them could also be considered a type of ParentalSubstitute, but the bond is much stronger than that. He instead gets adopted into the Bakugo family, but still refers to them as his Auntie and Uncle]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Drawn by Axobunny]]

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Izuku's analysis skills are at a genius level due to him having a head-start through [[spoiler: his experience as a former vigilante]]. It's so good that for a time, [[spoiler: the heroes believe Izuku's birth quirk has to do with analysis because he correctly guesses Shigaraki's quirk during the UA breakin as well as figures out the villains' quirks during USJ within seconds of observing them]].

* BadassBookworm: Izuku comes off as a pretty harmless nerd who likes jokes and pranks. Until he enters a combat situation, especially when lives are at stake. He's also incredibly StreetSmart due to his [[spoiler: experience as a former vigilante]].

* BadPowersGoodPeople: Both Izuku and Shinso have birth quirks that are villainous in theory rather than heroic, even though Izuku's quirk is unclear concerning it's true nature and capabilities.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Many of the secrets and problems of the fic concerning Izuku and the other characters remain unresolved. This includes things like what Izuku's quirk is, Shinso and Izuku's previous friendship in tatters, Iida Tenya's family dealing with Iida Tensei's condition due to Stain, and Todoroki Rei has not been released from the hospital.]] The series, ''Dum Spiro Spero,'' for which ''Apertum Mortem'' is the first part, continues where it left off in [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015964/chapters/71216244 Memento Mori]].

* BullyBrutality: Bullies are not kind to Izuku in the fic. Violent beatings are regular and bathrooms are cursed.

* CorruptBureaucrat: The Hero Public Safety Commission is incredibly corrupt, doing stuff like covering up [[spoiler: Endeavor burning Todoroki Touya to death as well as covering up Endeavor's abusive tendencies in both crime fighting and with his family.]]

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Starts out very similar to how canon does, but becomes very apparent very quickly that [[spoiler: Quirk and Quirkless discrimination are devastatingly rampant in society. Parental figures also have pretty exteriors hiding the vile monsters within.]]

* DaddysLittleVillain: [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko reveals to the heroes during a police interrogation to be the daughter of the infamous supervillain All for One as a way to mess with All Might, meaning Izuku is his grandson as well as the grandnephew to the first One for All user]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Izuku has undergone major quirk discrimination from various sources over the course of his childhood, which still follows him into UA. [[spoiler: A major contributor to his traumatic past is both the death of his father, Midoriya Hisashi, when he was three as well as his mother's abuse and later abandonment after said death.]] Seen as an outcast in society, Izuku struggles with many mental health issues such as panic attacks, PTSD flashbacks, nightmares, touch aversion when it comes to strangers and sometimes friends alike, and fits of anger when control on a situation is lost. He also is very prone to lying to avoid uncomfortable circumstances due to major trust issues.

* DemotedToExtra: Mineta is transferred to General Studies due to quirkist behaviors and views.

* FantasticRacism: Izuku is constantly the center of bullying and prejudice concerning his quirkless status. Even after it has been proven that he's not quirkless, he still undergoes the same treatment as if he was. A RantInducingSlight also occurs that leads Izuku to educating his fellow classmates about the struggles of the quirkless even though it's not his responsibility to do so.

* FatalFlaw: Izuku has serious trust issues with others due to his past. This is so bad that he will endure unspeakable pain, [[spoiler: die repeatedly]], and compromise his own safety to keep his secrets to himself.

* FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent: Izuku surrounds himself with friends to fill the family void. When [[spoiler: Midoriya Inko]] shows back up in his life, the bad side of Izuku gets shown to his friends.

* UnaccustomedAsIAmToPublicSpeaking: [[spoiler: Izuku's opening speech at the Sports Festival is sprung on him as no one remembered to tell him he had to do said speech until Uraraka mentioned it. As the nervous bean he is, he informs the crowd of his unpreparedness.]] His speech also doubles as a sort of HeroismMotiveSpeech.

* VigilanteMan: When Izuku was ten, [[spoiler: he spent a year as the vigilante Switch to take down a quirkless human trafficking ring who tried to kidnap him. He hung up the hoodie after UA allowed quirkless students to attend.]]

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Two OC characters [[spoiler: have a conversation where one of them tells the other that smoking is going to end up killing them. After a moment, the other man lights his cigarette, effectively blowing up the gas filled apartment, killing both of them.]] This DramaticIrony is also Foreshadowed in the previous chapter.

* FirstNameBasis: As Izuku starts to collect friends and parental figures, he not only gains AffectionateNicknames from them, but he also reciprocates the gesture.

* FirstNameBasis: As Izuku starts to collect friends and parental figures, he not only gains nicknames from them, but he also reciprocates the gesture.