Fanfic / Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is a My Hero Academia fanfic by pennydaniels on Archive of Our Own.

Todoroki Shouto has barely started his first year at UA when he overhears some students from another course discussing the "Blue Flame Vigilante". Except that Shouto knows exactly two people in the world other than him who can wield blue flames; his father and his dead brother Touya.

Cue the beginning of a tale about growth, healing, family, and being selfish.

The fic is complete with 41 chapters and 410,170 words.

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This work contains examples of:

• Accidental Celebrity: A tabloid captures Dabi in disguise talking with Hawks in public on his way home. The next day, the whole internet has decided that the masked stranger is Hawks' boyfriend, his - stolen - jeans become a collector's item sold for hundreds of thousands of yen, his anime hoodie becomes an internet sensation, and the specialty bakery he shopped from has at least four times more customers. Dabi's reaction to the news is pure disbelief, shortly followed by rage.
  "He's a fucking influencer what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck."
• Accidental Hero: Dabi is known far and wide as the "Blue Flame Vigilante", targetting traffickers, rapists, the Yakuza, and more. In reality, during those years Dabi was constantly high on drugs, unwittingly getting into incredibly dangerous situations, and set everyone on fire when they pissed him off. For example, when he took down the sex trafficking ring, it was because he was one of the victims, and the kidnappers didn't suspect that the drugged up skinny teenager had one of the most dangerous quirks in existence.
• Adaptational Badass: Shouto can summon blue flames, as he demonstrates during the first chapter, but it takes him more focus to maintain it.
• Adaptational Heroism: Even taking his Adaptational Backstory Change into account, Dabi isn't even close to as consumed by hatred as he is in canon. While Dabi in canon was a vindictive lunatic who completely despised his siblings and was willing to kill everyone just to spite Endeavor, here he's more of a troubled loner who only significantly lashes out at those who threaten him first and still has enough empathy left in him to connect with his siblings over their shared issues.
• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul:
  • Shouto is far closer friends with Kaminari in this fic because he went to him for advice on how to broach a sensitive topic (asking Natsuo for help with finding Touya), and Kaminari's advice ended up being right on the mark.
  • Dabi becomes quite close with his siblings over the course of the fic.
  • Kaminari and Shinsou start dating.
  • And so does Dabi with Hawks after a while.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Dabi inflicts this on himself when Fuyumi asks him if he would marry Hawks.
  Dabi: Yes. (realizes what he just said, then continues in vague shock) Oh shit, yeah. Yeah I think so. Actually fuck it yeah a hundred and ten fucking percent I would.
• An Aesop:
  • Therapy is extremely important. All characters in the fic end up in a therapist's office at one point or another - if not regularly visiting - and it is always depicted as a good and constructive thing that everyone should do.
  • It's okay to be selfish and pursue your happiness.
  • Not everything in life always stays the same, and that's okay.
• Beneath the Mask: Discussed in regards to Hawks. Normally he puts on a front of being a happy-go-lucky dude, but Dabi suspects that he's a Blank Slate underneath or at least he defaults to this when he is "between personalities". Later, Hawks himself admits that he has no idea what his "base personality" is actually like.
• Big Brother Instinct: Dabi kills Stain when he is made aware of how Shouto fits Stain's description of an "unworthy" hero.
• Big Eater: Shouto and Hawks apparently have pits for stomachs.
• Black-and-White Morality: Discussed. Miruko admits that she prefers when this trope is in effect because she is happy when all she has to worry about is kicking villain ass. However, she also admits that Hawks has a point when he says that there are inherent problems with society and the hero system that result in people turning to crime and villainy that need to be dealt with.
• Blank Slate: Shouto, at the start of the fic, has no personality whatsoever because he was never allowed to have one. He was literally never allowed to form opinions, question situations, or given the chance to learn things during his formative years that would have enabled him to do so due to his complete isolation from his family and peers. This is something he acknowledges himself, as he feels that his main personality trait is his Quirk. Dabi is baffled - and delighted - by how empty Shouto is, and spends most of the fic challenging his opinion on things he considered facts.
• Born in the Wrong Century: One of Dabi's clients is a gang family who are descended from a Samurai clan, and still act like it. In particular, when the head of the house was caught by his son cheating on his wife, the son ordered him to commit Seppuku to cleanse the shame, which he does. And then they hire Dabi to cremate the body and the house in some kind of cleansing ritual and even make him wear a ceremonial kimono for it. Apparently such families are quite common.
• The Bully: When she was in school, the teachers forced Fuyumi to sit next to an incredibly misbehaved kid named Rin in hopes of "being a positive influence". Rin cheated off Fuyumi for tests, stole or destroyed her stuff, and even cut her hair in class. After that, Touya went and beat the crap out of him though he denies doing that to this day.
• Career-Ending Injury: After Magne loses her legs to Overhaul, she is forced to take a backseat in the League's operations, and eventually she leaves them entirely.
• Cassandra Truth: When Hawks takes Dabi as his date for a Hero gala, the other pros ask him how they met. Dabi tells the truth that they met when Dabi was burning down a Yakuza compound and then started hanging out more when Hawks tried to infiltrate the League of Villains through him. The heroes think he's joking.
• Character Development:
  • The fic largely focuses on Shouto's growth as a person as he heals from his trauma and learns to express and form opinions and gain a personality.
  • Likewise, Dabi becomes less manipulative over time and focuses more on helping the people he cares about grow and change their lives for the better instead of killing his father.
  • He also makes Hawks start asking himself hard ethical questions regarding the system he is forced to serve and the real source of crime and villainy.
• Characterization Marches On: This is the main reason Dabi and Fuyumi with Natsuo. The two middle siblings still cling on to the image they had of young Touya, and have an extremely hard time reconciling it with Dabi. Likewise, Dabi's image of who his siblings are is quite outdated. It's lampshaded when Fuyumi and Dabi realise that it took them a while to sink in that the person they're talking to is really their sibling. Shouto on the other hand has no such issues because he never actually knew any of his siblings, so he has no point of reference.
• Commitment Issues: In the epilogue, Fuyumi reveals to Dabi that she turned down Haru's marriage proposal, because she realized that at the rate she's going, her life will be exactly the same for as long as she lives, and so far she made all her life choices on the basis of keeping her family together.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Dabi kicks things off by killing Stain during the League's attack on Hosu.
  • Dabi also kills Muscular and Moonfish during the Summer Camp raid.
  • Shigaraki kills Ujiko. This later leads to him killing All For One.
• Differing Priorities Breakup: In the epilogue, Natsuo is forced to break up with his beloved girlfriend because she chose to permanently move to London and pursue a Masters and a career, and Natsuo is not up to commit to that kind of a long-distance relationship. He takes it very badly.
• Disabled in the Adaptation:
  • Shouto's mental issues are more severe, as he frequently suffers from dissociative episodes.
  • Dabi does suffer from motion sickness in canon, but here he has several dietary restrictions due to an overly sensitive stomach. He can't consume dairy, alcohol, caffeine, anything too fat or oily, and he can't eat normal-sized portions - instead, he needs to eat small amounts over the course of the day and heavily relies on supplements. He also suffers from some brain damage due to overusing his quirk, and while it doesn't affect him at the time of the fic the doctors warn him about it in the future.
  • Magne doesn't die, but she still loses her legs.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Dabi insists that he is called Dabi and not Touya. To him, he's simply not Touya anymore and always corrects his siblings.
• Embarrassing Animal Suit: Subverted. Dabi got a raccoon onesie to Shouto as a gag gift, but Shouto falls in love with it, immediately puts it on, and falls asleep while petting himself.
• First-Name Basis: A notable case is when Dabi tells Rei that he's going to call her by her name, as a mother-son relationship isn't going to work between them.
• For Happiness: As the fic goes on, Shouto's stated goal becomes to make himself and those he cares about happy.
• The Ghost: Natsuo brags about his girlfriend every chance he gets, but she's never actually seen.
• Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: Dabi relays to Hawks a story about a Single Mom Stripper who was arrested on false charges for drug trafficking for a gang. She was innocent - and a legal sex worker - but after the police tricked her into a False Confession they sent her to prison. Desperate, she took advantage of a villain break out to escape prison, kidnapped her children from foster care, and ended up actually trafficking drugs for that gang, all because she had absolutely no faith in the system anymore.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Natsuo thinks that he's incredibly lucky Kiyoko said yes to dating him because she is "so out of his league"... even though Shouto's classmates can clearly see how attractive and kind he is.
• Hidden Depths: Dabi is a huge modern architecture fan, with a particular fondness for Frank Lloyd Wright. He's also surprisingly well-read and quotes people like Marx from time to time.
• Hypocrite: Combined with "Not So Different" Remark. During the intervention, Fuyumi and Natsuo accuse Dabi of abandoning them and Shouto. Dabi points out that they also abandoned Shouto first chance they got; Natsuo left the house as soon as he was able and never even talked to him, and Fuyumi never really attempted to connect to Shouto other than taking care of his basic needs.
• I Hate Past Me: Endeavor realizes that the reason he is so annoyed by Bakugou is because his attitude and drive reflect Endeavor himself when he was at that age.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Fuyumi's deepest desires and the motivation of any of her actions. Initially she lies to her boyfriend Haru about the state of her family, hiding any and all information about them. She even lied that her mother is in the hospital because of a physical issue rather than a mental one, all because she wanted to be "normal".
• Ideal Hero: Midoriya Izuku is always described as a selfless guy who wants to help people and give them second chances for absolutely no personal gain or underlying motives; just pure altruism. Other characters such as Dabi and Hawks are completely baffled at how such a person can be real.
• Impoverished Patrician: Downplayed with the Himura family. They are the only remaining branch of a once powerful Shogunate clan that lost a lot of power during the Meiji Restoration and never quite recovered. Even centuries later, while they are still well-off, the Himura family clings into holding on to their old influence and prestige, which is what led to Rei being married to Endeavor; she would have to go through an Arranged Marriage anyway, Todoroki Enji was just the best offer in terms of monetary vallue. Quite tellingly, Rei's parents gave her absolutely no dowry (she only took a necklace and a pair of earrings with her), while Endeavor paid them for her.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Dabi warns Shouto about the attack on USJ via text, but by the point, Shouto actually saw them the signal had already been cut off and the attack was underway.
  • Even though Stain never manages to get his epic "death to all unworthy heroes" spiel out to the world, there are still some people joining the League because of him, which leads to them having the exact same lineup as in canon minus Dabi.
  • Hawks is still sent to infiltrate the League using Dabi as his contact because the Hero Commission is under the impression that Dabi is a member.
  • Dabi is still forced to participate in the Summer Camp raid because he owes the League a favour for using Kurogiri's services.
• Information Broker: One of the things Dabi gets hired for. For example, the League of Villains hires him to tell him what he knows about the Shie Hassaikai.
• Internal Reformist: After hearing all of Dabi's grievances about the incarceration system (such as prison time for non-violent crimes or sending police to deal with domestic disputes even though they're not trained for it), Hawks decides to use his influence to convince other pro-heroes that such changes are necessary.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Hawks eventually figures out Dabi's real identity based on various hints that he dropped.
  • Likewise, Dabi figured out Hawks' connection to the Takami thief.
  • Endeavor realizes that Touya is alive only after seeing footage of the Blue Flame Vigilante and connecting his appearances to Shouto lying to the police about major incidents.
  • The League of Villains had no idea that Dabi's boyfriend is Hawks, which Dabi finds hilarious because they were warning him not to cheat on his boyfriend with Hawks. They find out through a tabloid, and they're not happy about it.
• Interrupted Suicide: When Dabi was still in his constantly high phase, he tried to commit suicide, so he chose a skyscraper with a beautiful view to remind himself of how small life is. And then a gangster with a grudge showed up, having followed him. Dabi killed him, and then got dissapointed because the gangster "ruined the mood".
• Laser-Guided Karma: Endeavor thinks that Bakugou was specifically created in the depths of hell as some form of divine punishment for him.
• Mental Health Recovery Arc: This might as well be called "Mental Health Recovery Arc: the Fanfic." The entire story is about people as individuals healing from their trauma and pursuing happiness in their lives. From Shouto moving away from his apathy and learning to think for himself, to Fuyumi learning to desire things for herself and not just her family, to Dabi slowly letting go of his rage and learning to look forward to the future, there is a lot of mental health recovery here.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Shigaraki warns Dabi not to cheat on his boyfriend with Hawks, having no idea that the boyfriend IS Hawks.
• Morality Kitchen Sink: Discussed. Shouto frequently says that Dabi made him realize that morality is a far more complicated issue than society makes it appear.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Shouto says that Dabi is "exactly like him" and there's nobody who understands them better than each other.
• Obstructive Vigilantism: When Dabi saves Shouto from Stain and later from the League of Villains, Shouto always lies and tells the police that he's "very confused" or "saw nothing", even if other people make it clear they saw somebody with blue flames, all for the sake of protecting his brother from the law. While this doesn't come back to bite him, it's one of the clues that enables Endeavor to figure out Touya's connection to the Blue Flame Vigilante.
• O.C. Stand-in: It's mentioned in canon that Natsuo has a girlfriend but no details are given about her. Here she's named Kiyoko and she is a volleyball player.
• Original Character: Fuyumi's boyfriend Haru.
• Percussive Therapy: Fuyumi has an emotional breakdown in her therapist's office and even ripped a cushion. She was referred to a psychiatrist who prescribed her anxiety meds.
• Please Dump Me: Magne admits that she has self-sabotaged every single one of her romantic relationships because she always expects that they are too good to be true and will lead to a horrible breakup. So she acts horrible to her partners from the start, and they inevitably break up with her due to mistreatment, turning her fears into a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
• Point of Divergence: The main point compared to canon is a change in Dabi's backstory. In canon, he burned in Sekoto Peak when he was thirteen and then remained completely under the radar until he joined the League of Villains. Here, he fled home when he was a couple of years older (though there was also a lot of fire involved), and his later shenanigans made him a famous vigilante. This enables Shouto to find him and also gives him a somewhat better reputation with the authorities, both of which trigger major changes compared to canon events. The biggest changes are the following:
  • When Shouto finds him, Dabi realizes how emotionally messed up the kid is, so he takes him under his wing, initially out of spite.
  • Shouto never shares his backstory with Izuku during the Sports Festival - in fact, it's unclear if he ever shares it with any of his classmates.
  • Shouto is able to talk Dabi out of idolizing Stain by pointing out that his ideology puts Shouto on his "unworthy hero" list. This leads to Dabi killing Stain.
  • Dabi never joins the League of Villains, instead remaining an independent informant and contractor.
  • Hawks never joins the League of Villains as a spy because he tried to approach Dabi and was immediately called out on his lies.
  • The League fails to kidnap anyone during the summer camp raid.
  • Any events of canon after the League finding Gigantomachia straight up don't happen because Shigaraki turned away from All For One's ideology and decided to kill him then leave the country.
  • Unrelated to the Dabi situation, Shinsou has replaced Mineta, which leads to a few changes itself.
    • He is the target of the League's kidnapping attempt at the Summer Camp as opposed to Katsuki due to his villainous quirk.
    • His presence in class 1-A leads to his classmates - like Shouto and Kaminari - being more aware of the Quirk discrimination he faces, leading to them starting a social media campaign funded by Endeavor (who at this point just rolls with whatever Shouto requests) to raise awareness. This also leads to people becoming sympathetic to the League of Villains because Spinner and Himiko used this platform to share their backstories.
• Precision F-Strike: Shouto is normally very proper when talking, but he exclusively refers to Endeavor as "that Fucker".
• Psychological Projection: Izuku thinks that Shouto's older brother is Quirkless, based on genetic research, a lot of invasive research and guesswork, him not associating with Endeavor, and how a fire quirk with ice resistance would have killed him. When Shouto relays this to Dabi, Dabi points out that Izuku is clearly projecting his own past situation on him.
• Resign in Protest: After several conversations with Dabi, Hawks realizes that there's nothing truly stopping him from cutting off the Commission completely - he's an adult, incredibly popular, already very rich, and the Commission can't blackmail him. So he leaves.
• Riches to Rags: Dabi is an extreme example as he went from more or less Fiction 500 to homeless and a sex worker after running away from home.
• Road Trip Plot:
  • After killing All For One, the League decides to abandon villainy entirely and visit all the places in the world they want to visit, such as the London Wheel or the pyramids, by abusing Kurogiri's teleportation powers. Dabi adds his own two cents by putting Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright in the list and asks for pictures if they visit.
  • The epilogue is the four Todoroki siblings going on a road trip across Japan.
• Shout-Out: The author ADORES Naruto. Like, many characters are doing their bonding through watching Naruto and discussing the plot twists.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Dabi inserts the word "fuck" or "fucking" in every other sentence. He doesn't even censor himself in front of Eri.
• Sleepyhead: Shouto can fall asleep anywhere, including standing up. Dabi and Natsuo make a giant poster with all the pictures they took of Shouto sleeping in weird places.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Magne survives her encouter with Overhaul, but she loses both legs in the process.
  • Likewise, Sir Nighteye survives the Shie Hassaikai raid.
  • Since the events following the League finding Gigantomachia don't happen, anyone who was supposed to die past that point in canon is still alive.
• Sophisticated as Hell: Rei describes Dabi as "eloquent, for all he swears like a gangster".
• Staging an Intervention: Played for Drama. Fuyumi and Natsuo call Shouto and Dabi for an intervention with the excuse that Dabi is a negative influence on Shouto due to being a criminal. In reality, the source was their abandonment issues stemming from Touya running away from home.
• Stupid Evil: Dabi's opinion of the League of Villains, if him calling them "The League of Dumbasses" is any indication. He says that they have no clear goals and ideologies.
• Superpowerful Genetics: According to Shouto, pure fire emitter quirks such as his or Endeavor's are actually extremely rare, and he can confidently say that he's related to most people who have them. That's part of the reason why he decides to look deeper into the Blue Flame Vigilante instead of thinking it was just some random guy with a surprisingly similar quirk.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Spinner and Himiko sharing their stories of suffering from Quirk discrimination made the public at large more sympathetic to them as people, as it was obvious that if not for their environment and systematic racism they would not have turned to villainy.
• Unequal Pairing: Enji and Rei's marriage. Enji, being the extremely rich pro-hero Endeavor, practically owns Rei, as she has absolutely no income on her own, no belongings, and no way of obtaining those things as she has no job qualifications. From Rei's description, early in their relationship Enji made absolutely no effort to control Rei's actions providing she gets pregnant at some point (for example she had unlimited access to his bank accounts) so it was somewhat mitigated, but it doesn't change the fact that he has absolute control over several aspects of her life. Unfortunately, Rei presents this as a sense of freedom compared to back when she lived with her family, as they controlled her actions on top of everything else.
• Unfazed Everyman: Fuyumi's boyfriend Haru. Even when he's thrown into the deep end of the Todoroki family drama - complete with the criminal legally dead brother and the pro-hero boyfriend - he takes everything in stride.
• What If?: Shouto and Keigo discuss this trope in regards to what their personalities and nature as people would be like without their trauma. Shouto also says that there's no use lingering on the what ifs.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Enforced. Rei's parents forced her to attend a "finishing school" instead of a high school to make her learn all the things "necessary" to be an ideal wife so they could sell her off.

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