What Popular Tropes Appear In Highschool Dxd Fanfiction?

I’ve noticed a handful of tropes that keep resurfacing in 'Highschool DxD' fanfiction, and they often say as much about the fandom’s desires as about the source material. One recurring pattern is canon divergence — writers will deliberately change a turning point (Issei dying, a Sacred Gear malfunctioning, Rias making a different choice) and spin an entire alternate timeline from that single tweak. Those fics can range from grimdark to feel-good harem rewrites. Another frequent device is OC insertion: authors create original characters who are either overpowered saviors or awkward anchors who humanize the supernatural cast. That leads to power-scaling debates in comment sections and a lot of “OC becomes a devil” plots.

Shipping-centric works are huge, naturally. You’ll find not just Issei-centric pairings but side-ship focus (Akeno/Xenovia, Asia-centric protective arcs), and multi-ship pieces that try to balance everyone’s screen time. Tropes like childhood-friend confessions, enemy-to-lovers, and tsundere softening are common because they fit the emotional beats fans loved in the anime/manga. Lastly, genre AUs — college AU, medieval AU, and slice-of-life domestic AUs — let writers explore characters outside the constant action rhythm, which is where the fandom’s softer, more romantic impulses shine. If I had to give a tip to readers, it’d be to hunt via tags and don’t shy away from long, well-tagged fics: those often explore trope intersections in fun, surprising ways.

I've been lurking through lots of 'Highschool DxD' fanfic and a few short, punchy tropes keep showing up. First, the harem/harem-expansion trope: many stories either embrace Issei-as-center with extra romantic complications or spin alternate leads entirely. Second, power-fics and Sacred Gear AU tweaks: people enjoy giving OCs or canon side-characters extreme boosts, or asking “what if Boosted Gear functioned differently?” That spawns tournament arcs, power-scaling debates, and invented mechanics. Third, crossovers and AUs — authors love dropping these characters into college AUs, fantasy-medieval settings, or mixed-universe mashups for fresh dynamics.

You’ll also find an abundance of hurt/comfort scenes after big fights, redemption stories for darker characters, and missing-scene or canon-fix-it fics that patch up moments the manga/anime left dangling. If you want quick browsing advice, look for tags like 'canon divergence', 'hurt/comfort', 'crossover', or 'OC' to match your mood; and if you prefer clean romance over ecchi, filter by rating or the author’s summary. I tend to jump between silly crossovers and well-crafted hurt/comfort pieces depending on the day.

I still get a little giddy diving into 'Highschool DxD' fanfiction folders — there's this specific vibe that keeps popping up and it’s kind of addictive. One of the biggest tropes is the harem expansion: Issei stays central, but authors love adding more romantic contenders, side-character pairings, or original characters who slot into the roster. That branches into a bunch of related beats like jealousy arcs, split POVs during battles, and the classic “everyone fights for their share” tension. The sexual/romantic content leans into ecchi and smut tags often, but you’ll also find a surprising number of sweet, domestic fics where the fanon world tones down the action and cranks up the cozy scenes — breakfast arguments, awkward confession breakfasts, laundry mishaps.

Power-related fanon is another huge playground. People love re-scaling Sacred Gears, giving OCs or side characters ridiculous boosts, or imagining what happens if Issei’s Boosted Gear evolved differently. You’ll see time-travel or power-reset AUs where canon battles go sideways and characters get second chances. Crossovers are everywhere too: slap 'Highschool DxD' into a multiverse with 'Sword Art Online' or 'Naruto' and watch how quickly authors riff on combat systems and power-synergy. Redemption arcs for morally grey villains, missing-scene fix-its (like “what happened right after episode X?”), and hurt/comfort stories where characters recover from battle trauma are staples as well.

Personally, I adore the slice-of-life slices that pop up between all the supernatural drama — the fandom writes the weird little in-between moments really well. If you’re browsing, play with filters: tag-savvy searches for 'hurt/comfort', 'canon divergence', or 'crossover' will yield gold depending on whether you want angst, power-fic shenanigans, or silly team-ups. It’s a chaotic, warm, sometimes lewd ecosystem, and that’s exactly why I keep coming back.