What Are The Most Popular Deku And Dabi Fanfiction Plotlines?

Trying to pin down the most popular Deku and Dabi plotlines is a trip, honestly, because the pairing itself starts from such an unexpected place—hero student and villain, All Might's successor and Endeavor's eldest. The classic, almost foundational plot has to be the secret sibling reveal. Dabi is Touya Todoroki, Shoto's older brother, so a ton of fics explore him discovering Izuku is his little brother's closest friend, or that Izuku is being mentored by their father. The tension there is immense. It's not just typical enemy-to-lover; it's layered with family drama, legacy, and this horrible irony. You get fics where Dabi kidnaps Deku to get back at Endeavor, only to find this kid is nothing like their dad, and the 'caretaker' dynamic twists into something else entirely.

Another massive trend is the time-travel fix-it, but with a Dabi-centric twist. Izuku goes back in time, but instead of focusing on the big heroic events, he zeroes in on saving Touya from the Sekoto Peak fire. Or sometimes it's Dabi who gets sent back, a bitter, burnt-out adult in his younger body, and he's the one who encounters a quirkless, pre-UA Izuku. These stories often sidestep the canon rivalry entirely, building a relationship on shared, hidden pain and a chance to change things. They're less about flashy battles and more about quiet, desperate alliances formed in the shadows of a past they both want to rewrite.

Then you have the darker, more psychological takes—the villain Deku or double-agent arcs. Izuku, disillusioned or manipulated, joins the League, and Dabi becomes his guide or his toxic anchor. These plots thrive on moral decay and twisted devotion. They're polarizing, but incredibly popular for readers who want to explore Izuku's breaking point. The appeal isn't in redemption, but in the slow, terrifying slide, and Dabi is the perfect catalyst, mirroring his own fall from grace. You end up with stories that are less about romance and more about two damaged people enabling each other's worst impulses, which can be weirdly compelling to read, even when it makes you squirm.

A lighter, though still complex, vein is the civilian or coffee shop AU, where the superhero elements are stripped back. Dabi might be a tattoo artist or a barista with severe burn scars, and Izuku is a college student or a quiet regular. The dynamic here hinges on recognizing each other's hidden depths without the masks of villain and hero. Dabi's sharp, guarded nature contrasts with Izuku's empathetic nervousness, creating a slow-burn built on small, mundane trust. It's popular because it lets their characters interact without the weight of the world on their shoulders, focusing purely on the chemistry that makes the ship work in the first place.

Honestly, I'm kinda tired of the 'secret sibling angst' plots that dominate the tag. They all start to blur together after a while—Dabi finds out, threatens Deku, then has a crisis about it. The ones that really grab me are the rare 'role reversal' fics where their positions are flipped. I read one where Izuku had a fire quirk and was cast out, meeting a Dabi who had a powerful telekinesis quirk and was a high-ranking hero. Seeing their core personalities—Dabi's cynical intensity, Izuku's stubborn hope—projected onto opposite sides of the law was so much fresher. It explores the same magnetic pull, but without rehashing canon family drama. Those fics are harder to find, but they're worth digging for when you want a take that doesn't rely on the Todoroki reveal as a crutch.