Not pictured: the constant bickering, fist-fights, goats, and Chunky Monkey ice cream.
Imagine the world of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, only without the Magical Girls, without the Witches, and without the Incubators, a world where the characters could live out their lives normally. Sounds nice, unless your name happens to be Kyoko Sakura, a delinquent girl without a home, without a family, and without a future, who simply exists from one ill-gotten meal to the next and has little hope of finding anything better. That is, until she attempts a grab-and-run on some rich girl with short blue hair...
A Happy Dream
is a Slice of Life AU fanfic by Angel0wonder that centers around relationship between the spunky but heartbroken Sayaka Miki and the rude-and-crude Kyoko Sakura, when the latter moves in with the former. But what sets it apart from other stories with similar concepts is the characterization: everyone is kept almost perfectly in character with their canon portrayals, and without the threat of the original plot hanging over their heads, they're given the space they need to develop their personalities naturally and work out their problems while finding new ones.
See Puella Magi Madoka Magica for tropes specific to canon.
A Happy Dream contains the following tropes:
- Alternate Universe: Well, yeah, what with the whole thing about the Magical Girls being nothing more than a circus act. But beyond that, other differences exist, such as the girls being a few years older and Kyousuke (as far as we know) never suffering his crippling accident.
- Author Appeal: The author sure likes putting Kyoko and Sayaka in the bath together.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Pretty much any time Kyoko and Sayaka are in the same room.
- Big Eater: Kyoko somehow manages to become even more of one than she was in canon, as without her powers, the only meals she gets are what she's able to shoplift or scrounge up from odd sources.
- Blatant Lies: The "garbage trucks" excuse Kyoko and Sayaka use for the poor state they're in in chapter 2.
- Butch Lesbian: Well, Kyoko, of course.
- Chekhov's Gun: In one chapter, Madoka gives Kyoko some high-tech pain medication that has the unexpected side-effect of knocking it's user out for several seconds. Later, Kyoko uses those same pills to take down Ryu.
- Comfort Food: Because of the stress from the whole Love Triangle with Kyosuke and Hitomi, Sayaka bought a lot of junk food to console herself with. Kyoko, however, steals it, kicking off the plot.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: In order to settle their conflict, Sayaka challenges Kyoko to a game of DDR, a game that Kyoko is still just as good at as she was in the series proper, and is noted to be one of the best players in the district. Big mistake for Kyoko, as it turns out Sayaka is the best player in the district and proceeds to completely humiliate Kyoko, who loses her temper and gets them both thrown out of the arcade.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Hair petting/grooming being first described as it was something far naughtier has almost become a Running Gag.
- Emotionless Girl: When Kyoko asks Homura if she even has feelings, Homura answers:Homura: Does not compute.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Sayaka's feelings towards Kyosuke and Hitomi being together, no matter how much she denies it.
- Groin Attack: Let's just say Ryu is going to be walking funny for a while.
- Also happens to Sayaka, during a certain bath incident... although it was an accident. She doesn't take it well for reasons other than pain.
- Heroic Bastard: Sayaka.
- I Resemble That Remark!: Slightly averted here:Kyoko: "I dunno," Kyoko whispered back. "But try not to think it; this girl's got ninja sense or something."Homura: "I do not have ninja sense, please stop talking nonsense."
- Jerkass: Local delinquent thug Ryu's favorite pastime is beating up Kyoko and taking her stuff.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kyoko herself. It takes a little digging, but it's there.
- Lighter and Softer: Played with. The girls are happier and the fact that they don't have to fight horrifying Eldritch Abominations helps, but Kyoko is still a street urchin, her family is still dead or maybe not, and Sayaka has Daddy Issues
- Little Miss Snarker: Kyoko and Homura.
- Mythology Gag: Tons of them.
- Nice Guy: Kyosuke is noticeably much more likeable than he is in canon. Still at first oblivious to Sayaka's feelings though.
- No Social Skills: Downplayed with Homura: she's very socially awkward, so she doesn't like being with many people. Which means: anyone besides Madoka.
- Oblivious to Love: Like in the anime, Kyosuke has no idea that Sayaka sees him as more than a friend. He thinks they have a different sort of relationship.
- Also Played for Laughs with Madoka and Homura.
- Sayaka herself is also this, being oblivious to Kyoko's own feelings for her. In chapter 16, Homura straight up tells Sayaka that Kyoko has a crush on her, and she still doesn't believe it.
- Odd Couple: The two mains have next-to-nothing in common, save for their stubbornness, and yet they always seem to wind up in each other's company. See Vitriolic Best Buds below.
- Official Couple: Kyosuke and Hitomi.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Madoka and Homura have this sort of relationship. Naturally, Homura is pushing for a Relationship Upgrade.
- Robo Speak: Mocked by Homura. See What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?
- Slapstick: A good bit of the comedy is this, when it's not outright absurdity.
- Shout-Out: and HOW. The fic almost goes out of its way to reference every single thing it can, including huge swaths of the source material.
- Stalker with a Crush: Homura comes off this way with her obsession for Madoka, since in this world, she hasn't looped the month dozens of times to save her from a terrible fate.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Kyoko sure likes Chunky Monkey ice cream.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Sayaka and Kyoko are reaching this point, as despite their constant arguments they end up hanging out together a lot. Sayaka does finally say that they are indeed friends.
- Would Hit a Girl: Ryu is not a nice man and that's put in very polite words.
