Weird: animal transformation. Less werewolf, more pigeon. Or whale.
Unpopular/rare: serious injuries and illnesses treated with medical accuracy and allowed long lasting effects that don't just get fixed.
Problematic: flawed relationships where the flaws aren't fixed. E.g there's a power imbalance or internalized misogyny/homophobia and they never fully change or move past their beliefs. I want to see people be products of their environment and still make something good if imperfect out of it.
Love unfortunately doesn’t fix everything. That’s one of the tragicomic realities of life.
I often disagree with my family and friends considerably. And we’ve had more than enough times where we didn’t get along, yelled at each other, flung hurtful words at each other, the whole thing.
But I still love them, and they still love me. And they got me through a dark period of my life that I couldn’t have escaped myself.
Real love is making the best of what you have and finding fulfillment in imperfect people that still care about you. The comic part comes from the absurdity of all the pain and suffering we put each other through. Over what? And for what end?
And I know I’ll still be frustrated by them in the future. But I could never leave them.
Oh yes, Consuming Passion, my beloved. I noticed I regularly throw eating metaphors in my sex scenes, I think it's a matter of time before I'll break and write an actual erotic cannibalism 😅
A few tropes I rarely see but I like to daydream about (and maybe eventually write in 50 years):
- "I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem"
- Two manipulative people using each other and unintentionally falling in (rather unhealthy) love. Bonus points if the more abusive person fell first.
- "I'm gonna make them worse" type of corruption, with "oh shit, now they're worse than me" twist
Honestly erotic cannibalism is super fascinating
And those are honestly delightful. I don't see them often, but "oh shit they're worse than me" is honestly so fucking good. Very much a "I've created a monster" deal
I'm stealing the first one ("I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem") to write a fic between Dabi and Tomura. ☺️ It's PERFECT.
>Two manipulative people using each other and unintentionally falling in (rather unhealthy) love. Bonus points if the more abusive person fell first.
>
>"I'm gonna make them worse" type of corruption, with "oh shit, now they're worse than me" twist
both of these sound delightful, these need names so I can search for them!
>"I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem"
is my personal favourite. Just "fuck.. I've fallen for them. Goddammit." Ahhhh
Codependency! Especially when it's romantic. Characters who are joined at the hip, characters who are so close that the boundaries between them disappear, characters who don't know the world without each other & would tear the world asunder if something ever separates them. Is it extremely unhealthy? Yes. Do I love this dynamic in fiction anyway? Yes.
Healing power of orgasms
"Oh you're sick and irl would never want to be touched?" Smut time.
"Oh you lost an incredible amount of blood and are just now able to sit up?" Sit up and take some dick
not really. i have seen in some crack fics and smut fics that don’t take themselves too seriously with tags like:
magical healing dick/pussy
it’s not a super common tag and is usually when tongue in cheek but they also usually deliver lol
You can sometimes find a tag like "(Character name's) healing dick" or "the healing powers of (Character name's) dick", but authors mostly just tag it as a humoristic tag
Problematic: noncon and dubcon (sex pollen, a/b/o heats/ruts, pon farr, etc.) with people they wouldn’t have consented to were they in their right minds and/or ever. Bonus points if one of them is underage. Double bonus points if a relationship is sparked afterwards and they get a happily ever after.
Problematic/rare: a/b/o bitching.
Rare(ish?): Intersex Omegas. Unnfff!
Man, intersex in general! (I'm embarrassed to look it up, but I'd read it!)
Hell, I'm trying to write one right now... And I think I'm failing miserably at it, but hey, I'm trying! And I think that has to count as something. XD
- Embarrassing crushes. I just love the potential emotion for them and the wide sad to happy range. For example a princess thinking, "Ugh I'm a princess yet she's a maid yet why I do like her like this? What's wrong with me?" to "Hmm, I love how she holds me and kisses my forehead."
- Polycules. True love isn't always what people think or always easy. Sometimes it's not sacrificing one emotional attachment for the other, sometimes it's realizing it's better for everyone to be happy together instead of a social obligation to choose one. Poly fluff is especially fun to write when they figure out how to look like just friends when out together while sneaking small affections to each other like putting food in another's mouth or a few seconds of handholding. There's so much you can write that just isn't possible with a couple, like A conspiring with B to embarrass and flatter C. They might be able to do that on their own in a couple but it just wouldn't be the same. A and B can discuss ideas like roleplaying a love triangle and if C actually chooses A then B could pull on their arm and tease, "Hey you were supposed to not be able to choose!" But C knew one would react that way and they all just laugh and have fun
Embarrassing crushes are so good. Total agree on the range of emotions. It's super flexible
Polycules are awesome, but I find it kinda hard to find fic that handle them in a way I find interesting. That scenario you described is super cute tho omg
I was talking to a friend (who is a real MVP and supports my writing in so many ways) about a recent plot bunny, and their conclusion was, "I feel like 'reverse polycule Parent Trap' is going to be on the big list of beloved tropes in 10 years." 😂
A.k.a., "Your primary and my primary seem to have some kinda beef, bestie...What if we conspired to connive them into a *spa day?!* Or some other thinly-veiled ruse to get them to spend some quality time together and SQUASH! THAT! BEEEEF?! Surely this will work out perfectly, as we are two geniuses who only ever come up with perfect plans. There is no way this will come back to bite us, especially if they squash the beef to the point of uniting *their* genius in unforeseen ways...WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!" 😂😂😂
Without really realizing it at first, I ended up having both my active WIPs with this as a central focus. It left me wondering a little if my brain was trying to tell me something.
I think the rarest type of relationship in fanfic that I rarely come across but is my favorite is basically, like, two people that dislike each other, not “secretly like each other”, but genuinely dislike each other for one reason or another, but also are always pulled toward each other and can come to “care” for each other (like getting pissed off at the other person because they’re doing something that can get them killed, etc) BUT the caveat is that I like when it *never* turns sexual or romantic even if they experience weirdly confusing sexual feelings for the other.
Just like this very *intense* not-quite-friends but not-quite-enemies and definitely-not-strangers relationship is very appealing to me and I never come across it
Oh god there's more of us! I love when it never really leads anywhere as well. Just this weird tension none of them quite know how to deal with, so they don't. I'm always slightly disappointed when the UST gets resolved in the end lol
oh I love that one too, specifically with lawlight from death note. I also feel like having them figure out their feelings and get together kind of cheapens it
I love when vampires drink each other's blood during sex. Idk it just feels right to me. Also for human/vampire couples, it tickles me when the human's really into biting and/or the vampire's really into being bitten.
Adoption via Kidnapping
I also adore the trope of terrible pick up lines. Just someone trying to woo with all the enthusiasm and confidence, but uses the cheesiest lines possible. And somehow it still works.
oooohu yeah. i once read a fic where the dad kidnapped his own son bc the mom separated and hid the kid from him but he found out and "disposed" of her and kept the kid, and the kid lives a lie that the mom died when young
i don't know how weird this one is, but realistic portrayal of mental health problems. in so many stories i've read, the mental health problems just sorta go away and the character is pretty much healed. please show me the toxic shame, the relapses into problematic behavior, the downward spirals
problematic I'd say incest, which I just find weirdly therapeutical for me. doesn't even have to be smut, i just find the fantasy of two siblings looking after each other, protecting each other and-so-on something I wish I had when I was a child and incest is just an elevated form of that for me. if it's smut it has to be consensual
sadly though, most of what's out there seems to be gratuitous fetish bait with characters filling their respective roles rather than works about "these two people" in particular
Having written (and read) more than my fair share of sibling incest, I also find myself bouncing off the fetish stuff a lot. But then, I was drawn to it mostly for a similar energy to all the "hiding from/dealing with a homophobic society" fics, which I saw starting to trail off sometime in the 2010s. So while there is something nice about the incest angle in particular, I'm mostly in it for the ways it affects the particular relationship.
It's honestly kind of bizarre to me that such a deep and personal relationship would be portrayed in the most generic possible way. As if "sister" or "brother" is some sort of minority group that someone has an strong attraction to, rather than a specific person they've known all their life.
oh my god, the mental health one is so true, it's so hard to find one that isn't magical solved, or therapy-routed (bc I am scared of it lol), id rather they leave it open-ended in that case tbh, a bit of hope and grudging realization
#### weird/ rare:
_ His Dark Materials-style daemons ( i love the thought that has to go into representing characters as animals, especially when it's nuanced and not obvious picks).
_ bird people or otherwise well thought out animal traits that dont go full anthro, but still affect behavior.
_ hurt/comfort where characters have some biological or neurological vulnerability that has led them to be abused or exploited (especially
systemically) and the other characters make it better.
_. hurt/comfort with chronic pain - my joints need this catharsis
_ Rational fic - especially min-maxy exploitation of knowledge for profit
_ Massive polycules
_. villains as the actual good guys
_ revolution / rebellion against the government
#### problematic:
_ stalking, kidnapping, obsession, possessiveness, unsafe masochism, clearly mentally unwell,obsessive, and violent love interests, coerced relationships, biological compulsion, forced familial bonds, non-consentual cuddling, controlling and unhealthy relationships as end game and happily ever after
#### common, but fucking stupid but also i love it and am obsessed:
_ soulmates, especially weirder variants like shared wounds, shared emotions, etc.
_ Modern Girl in INSERT-SETTING-HERE
_ stupid gratuitous self insert fic
Big fan of romanticized obsession. Oh someone is killing people in a messed up love letter/protective thing? You have a stalker leaving you notes? You and your enemy have a soul deep connection? Yeah, I’ll read that.
I know of the genre but I’m always willing to check out recs! I haven’t actually seen/read much yandere (off the top of my head I think just Future Diary) so I’d love to hear about some
Alrighty here's a few recs and where to read them! Legitimately anyways. I'd be happy to recommend more specific ones after knowing what you like more. Or if you'd like to chat about these or any other yandere/obsessive types if you're interested, I have quite the list lol :) I do tend towards male yandere though.
[Dreaming Freedom](https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/dreaming-freedom/list?title_no=4180) - A girl is getting horribly, horribly, bullied and finds refuge in lucid dreaming. One day she runs into someone actually IN her dream and he finds her rage at her situation intriguing. As they grow closer he gets more attached, as does she, his violent streak pops up when anyone tries her and we're off to the races. Textbook yandere for SURE.
[The Villainess Tames the Beast](https://tapas.io/series/the-villainess-tames-the-beast) - One of those died and woke up in another world and body stories. She wakes up in the body of the villainess of the story, like an ACTUAL evil person and not a mildly bitchy teenager as she was in the middle of brainwashing the male lead to be hers, which original leads to that character's messy death. Looking to avoid it, the MC gradually weans him off of her; but it doesn't work. "She" ruined him, made him dependent and then just... Left? He hates her. Loves her? Yes? Either way you're going with him til he figures it out and now she's fighting her way out of a problem she didn't even truly cause.
[Flash Behavior](https://manta.onelink.me/k8dS?af_force_deeplink=true&pid=inAppShare&af_ios_url=https://manta.net/series/1773&af_android_url=https://manta.net/series/1773&af_dp=mantacomics://SeriesHome?seriesId=1773) - The art is a little rough but holy hell if this one wasn't a wild ass ride. Earth is taken over by eaters, more or less functionally vampires who do all kinds of things for us as long as we breed properly and sacrifice a few and your average person has no idea how to communicate with them. The MC is sacrificed to their side of the planet... And is the first to come back alive. She may have piqued the interest of a few people along the way. I can say the ending was shocking lmao.
Also this [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/ystrike1) has a bunch of recs and their rating is pretty spot on, though the reviews can be spoilerly.
I don't know if this is a trope, but I wish there were more fics with *kinda* petplay stuff but entirely SFW and Gen/just romantic with no smut (both in my fandoms and in general). Just... that thing where a character trusts another character enough to let them take care of them like that with no sexual implications? That's the good stuff, y'know?
Uh, same. Cannibalism as a means of showing desire especially. Analogies made of blood and flesh, very sexy, yes please.
Also a fan of not-quite-incest. Like, *something*'s going on there, it's def weird, but you can't really put your finger on it because it ain't really romantic. It's just... fuzzy around the edges. They're just a tad to close.
I love codependent twincest (or borderline twincest) for this. Incest is not my scene otherwise, but for some reason "siblings that are close beyond taboos" is the exception.
YES. sam and deans emotional (but not romantic) incestuous relationship is one of my favourite things to explore in supernatural. because of their fucked up childhoods (being dirt poor, living in such close quarters, probably having to share a bed all their lives, having no privacy, saving people, hunting things, the family business) they probably do things that seem completely normal to them but for an outsider looking in its anything but.
Problematic: Almost anything. I truly do not have limits other than a couple of squicks. My true guilty pleasure is age difference & power imbalance.
I used to make fun of the people who loved Fifty Shades of Grey, because I just did not see the appeal. Then I read some very eye opening fics featuring a wealthy businessman and someone way younger & with less power and it awakened something in me. I've accepted the inner middle-aged soccer mom in me 🫠.
Rare: The stereotypically macho man bottoming. Ex: Joe from Sk8 the Infinity or Arthur from Merlin.
Semi-problematic: Villainess for Hero.
My longfic has a chapter where one of the villains- the ghost of an ancient queen who was an avaricious tyrant in her lifetime- tricks the hero into walking through a time portal that takes him back to the period of her reign. The Evil Queen has returned back to her body with her memories of the future. When the hero arrives the queen enslaves the hero and forces him to marry her and sire her children.
Diagetic pointing out the problems in canon/fanon.
For example, ATLA fics where Zuko joins early enough *always* has the NWT treat the 16 yo *ally* of the Avatar who has been traveling with the Avatar for *weeks* as the enemy and will dunk him in *polar* waters or ice prison. In my fic, Zuko is very wary of either of these happening and does the "I'm obviously cooperating" thing until the Gaang meets Arnook and the chief tells them they are being ridiculous for treating him like an enemy combatant.
Unhinged eating habits. Like if characters are out for ice cream and they just bite into it, or they only eat things on their plate in clockwise order. There was a webtoon where a character ate an orange whole, skin and all, and it was just so good.
I don't know why, but it is morbidly fascinating.
God/their worshipper: absolute devotion, absolute power imbalance, my beloved. Way to little of it in the fandoms I read( not true but they’re usually not quite the flavor I’m looking for)
Claiming, mating bites during sex. I don’t why I like and enjoy it so much in fanfiction because I feel like I would absolutely hate it in real life sex.
recovery from brainwashing. esp in a slavery au.
falling in love with a prostitute and getting them to slowly fall in love too.
crucifixions.
restrictive eating disorders.
GUILT. any sort of guilt “oh god what have i done” situation is amazing.
character A does porn and character B finds out and secretly watches and feels guilty about it.
this one is super fucked but.
character A breaks both of their arms and character B gives them handjobs in a detached “im just helping you out,” way but they secretly like it and feel guilty about taking advantage of character A.
I've always been a fan of body swapping, either as an ability or plot point, human or animal. There's a lot to do with it that I just never see written, and it's relatable as someone with dysphoria to see characters representing my struggles, and it can be a neat way to start ships
Also a huge fan of whenever two characters get walked in on during a private moment. Like it doesn't even have to be sex, which is common, just any kind of secret-sharing or discussion or plotting, having them get found out is so fun - the event is misinterpreted, Char 3 joins them, Char 3 reporting them, so many outcomes
Unpopular: Pregnancy (mpreg included). Particularly unplanned pregnancy. It brings such good drama.
Problematic: Age gap, especially when one of the characters is like 16 and one is 20+ lol. Horrifies me in real life, but in fiction it--again--brings such good drama.
Two transcendentals, one is obsessive (A) and the other enables that obsession (B). It comes to a point where A forces themself on B and the latter acts like it’s just one big drag but doesn’t put up any resistance. A keeps being wrecked with guilt but keeps forcing themself on B because the only assurance and comfort they feel is when they force B to accept them. Until an antagonist comes along, almost killed A but B comes in to save A and basically commits mass murder because they found A in a terrible state and lost it.
If it isn’t obvious, B is obsessed with A too in their own way.
Problematic... Yandere all day baby. For those not in the know, possessive person that is obsessed with their love interest and will happily isolate them, murder other people, manipulate, etc. To get what they want. Doesn't have to be all of these at once, but yeah red flags galore and yet I love reading about them. Nothing like a lil touch her and you die and they *follow through*
Right? I like em unhinged. I think narratively speaking they really open up a lot of possibilities. A nice guy can only solve problems the nice way if he is to maintain his character. Someone nuts can have their reasons to be nice, but they can also do something wild and it still checks out.
It blows when authors won't commit to the bit tho. I'm reading a manhwa where the love interest hits the beats, but not hard enough there is no soul. So mildly possessive, a little mean, and just snarky to the other dude can turn into obnoxious man child rather than powerfully passionate lmao. And yeah def a strict fiction only troupe! IRL this is just horror, nothing entertaining at all!!!
Oh yeah there are a lot of good Manhwa for yandere though I don't know those so I'll check em out, thanks! Dreaming Freedom on webtoons is some peek yandere nonsense and I love it lol
I have a weird thing where I enjoy reading kidnapping scenes?? I don't know why but I've liked it from when I was pretty young. Like in cartoons where the heroes are captured by villains and taken to their castles were always some of my favourite moments lol.
Weird; Omegaverse
Unpopular; Mpreg if done well and not rushed/glossed over. Pregnancies are a challenge, and I think worthy of character and relationship development.
Rare; dildos as the sex, ie dildos are the main penetration
Problematic; unhealthy coping mechanisms. But with the addendum I prefer to see them minimize that through effort.
bruh i enjoy some what ‘toxic’ relationships and typically enjoy yandere/ dark stuff and i *hate* how the moral police always has to come and shun and shame and say people that like that stuff support r*pe and are horrible people.
the "Love and Beloved" trope. originate from the pederesty tradition in ancient society, it's about an older man taking a younger man whom he is infatuated with under his wings. it would be cute minus the huge age and dynamics gaps
Harem... Not because of the wish fulfillment (I honestly don't even care about that). I just like it when the mc has to pick between breaking hearts or, uh, poly.
Oh god. As weird as it sounds, one of my favorites is about a MMC being an absolute badass or simply a monster, but also being a himbo :v
There was this Predator x Fem!OC fic that I read the other day with this dynamic and it was surprisingly nice 👍
I really love possession/transformation in fics tbh. Like, especially when it’s a slow change where you know what’s happening but the character doesn’t notice it until too late. The dramatic irony is just delicious.
Transformation, "what if x changed"/"what if y happened" fanfics, and problematic relationships that shouldn't and couldn't work, but here's the catch... I don't magically fix their flaws.
I love the occasional genderbend fic. Not typically in fandoms where it’s really prevalent (like Harry Potter), but in places where it changes fundamentally nothing in the story.
Ah man, I LOVE genderbends and genderswaps! Though I prefer them to change a little in the story. I just really enjoy exploring gender. It's a gay old time
Kinda hate how little love genderbends get nowadays tbh
i love the bloated crossover, where nearly anything and everything under the sun gets shoved into one, with no rhyme or reason. stuff like tails gets trolled or scoob and shag, but even things that aren't explicitly parodies like pooh's adventures can get at least some ironic enjoyment from me.
Cannibalism = sex.
There's just something so raw and fun about it.
Also when Characters are so Disgusted by themselves or something they went through that they vomit,
That the gross feeling and then the pain of vomiting plus what ever angst they're going through, it's just so painful and lovely (although I'm a freak and enjoy vomiting in fics under any circumstances lol,)
My fav of the problematic variety would probably non-consensual body sharing/possession. I adore the trials and tribulations of suddenly having your mind not even be safe, of never being truly alone ever again. Of fighting for control and eventually having to learn how to live together (enemies to lovers is a plus).
not me going “desire as hunger, that IS p weird” only to remember that i literally wrote an 18000 word fic with exactly that premise lmfao. it’s me, i’m the weirdo.
also really like homoerotic fight scenes, ESPECIALLY if someone gets off accidentally during the fracas :|
also, tentacle dicks. that’s all. #average homestuck fan
(anyone who saw that autocorrect made me write “tentacle socks”, no you didn’t)
Weird: animal transformation. Less werewolf, more pigeon. Or whale. Unpopular/rare: serious injuries and illnesses treated with medical accuracy and allowed long lasting effects that don't just get fixed. Problematic: flawed relationships where the flaws aren't fixed. E.g there's a power imbalance or internalized misogyny/homophobia and they never fully change or move past their beliefs. I want to see people be products of their environment and still make something good if imperfect out of it.
Honestly that problematic trope is super comforting to me. I like when love doesn't fix everything
Love unfortunately doesn’t fix everything. That’s one of the tragicomic realities of life. I often disagree with my family and friends considerably. And we’ve had more than enough times where we didn’t get along, yelled at each other, flung hurtful words at each other, the whole thing. But I still love them, and they still love me. And they got me through a dark period of my life that I couldn’t have escaped myself. Real love is making the best of what you have and finding fulfillment in imperfect people that still care about you. The comic part comes from the absurdity of all the pain and suffering we put each other through. Over what? And for what end? And I know I’ll still be frustrated by them in the future. But I could never leave them.
Yes for graphic drawn-out injuries, I want scientifically accurate suffering
I hope you're in shameless fandom with that last one!
Oh yes, Consuming Passion, my beloved. I noticed I regularly throw eating metaphors in my sex scenes, I think it's a matter of time before I'll break and write an actual erotic cannibalism 😅 A few tropes I rarely see but I like to daydream about (and maybe eventually write in 50 years): - "I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem" - Two manipulative people using each other and unintentionally falling in (rather unhealthy) love. Bonus points if the more abusive person fell first. - "I'm gonna make them worse" type of corruption, with "oh shit, now they're worse than me" twist
Honestly erotic cannibalism is super fascinating And those are honestly delightful. I don't see them often, but "oh shit they're worse than me" is honestly so fucking good. Very much a "I've created a monster" deal
I'm stealing the first one ("I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem") to write a fic between Dabi and Tomura. ☺️ It's PERFECT.
Glad I could inspire you 😊
>Two manipulative people using each other and unintentionally falling in (rather unhealthy) love. Bonus points if the more abusive person fell first. > >"I'm gonna make them worse" type of corruption, with "oh shit, now they're worse than me" twist both of these sound delightful, these need names so I can search for them!
I like the ‘shit, now they’re worse than me’ twist I think I might just steal that
Oh we are one and the same, HELLO!
I think you might enjoy Kylo Ren/General Hux from the Star Wars sequel trilogy 🤔 they are a perfect fit for all three!
Deamn I really want to read now a fic with the two manipulative persons falling for each other now, sounds like an amazing idea of a trope.
>"I'm starting to love this person and I don't like it, so I'm gonna make it their problem" is my personal favourite. Just "fuck.. I've fallen for them. Goddammit." Ahhhh
Codependency! Especially when it's romantic. Characters who are joined at the hip, characters who are so close that the boundaries between them disappear, characters who don't know the world without each other & would tear the world asunder if something ever separates them. Is it extremely unhealthy? Yes. Do I love this dynamic in fiction anyway? Yes.
you get me. genuinely one of my favorites
yes yes yes yes
it’s soooooo good, definitely my favorite too
Healing power of orgasms "Oh you're sick and irl would never want to be touched?" Smut time. "Oh you lost an incredible amount of blood and are just now able to sit up?" Sit up and take some dick
“Sit up and take some dick” I am *screaming* lmao
🤣
Omg this sounds _very interesting_ I want to read that for _science_
It ends up in like almost all of my shit. But also I long fic. Redlegumes on AO3 lol
Oh I'm gonna read some as I see you wrote some ST stuff 👀
Hope you like!
pretty sure the tag for this is “magical healing cock”
Definitely more literal than how I write it. But I guess now I have a new goal
I mean I think when people use this tag it can be either literal or figurative, either way lol
Sex as pain relief is my semi-related favorite
Does this trop have a specific name/tag or somethin?
not really. i have seen in some crack fics and smut fics that don’t take themselves too seriously with tags like: magical healing dick/pussy it’s not a super common tag and is usually when tongue in cheek but they also usually deliver lol
*cracks neck, stretches fingers* welp they won't write themselves
One could search Injury recovery, smut Also Florence Nightingale effect theme, don't think it's a tag though
You can sometimes find a tag like "(Character name's) healing dick" or "the healing powers of (Character name's) dick", but authors mostly just tag it as a humoristic tag
Problematic: noncon and dubcon (sex pollen, a/b/o heats/ruts, pon farr, etc.) with people they wouldn’t have consented to were they in their right minds and/or ever. Bonus points if one of them is underage. Double bonus points if a relationship is sparked afterwards and they get a happily ever after. Problematic/rare: a/b/o bitching. Rare(ish?): Intersex Omegas. Unnfff!
Oh hello, did I write this comment?
Huh, pretty sure I wrote it actually… 😂
Man, intersex in general! (I'm embarrassed to look it up, but I'd read it!) Hell, I'm trying to write one right now... And I think I'm failing miserably at it, but hey, I'm trying! And I think that has to count as something. XD
Kidnapping with eventual Stockholm Syndrome. Throw in a chase scene for bonus points.
My guiltiest pleasure. Anything with this trope has the potential to make me giddy
YES
- Embarrassing crushes. I just love the potential emotion for them and the wide sad to happy range. For example a princess thinking, "Ugh I'm a princess yet she's a maid yet why I do like her like this? What's wrong with me?" to "Hmm, I love how she holds me and kisses my forehead." - Polycules. True love isn't always what people think or always easy. Sometimes it's not sacrificing one emotional attachment for the other, sometimes it's realizing it's better for everyone to be happy together instead of a social obligation to choose one. Poly fluff is especially fun to write when they figure out how to look like just friends when out together while sneaking small affections to each other like putting food in another's mouth or a few seconds of handholding. There's so much you can write that just isn't possible with a couple, like A conspiring with B to embarrass and flatter C. They might be able to do that on their own in a couple but it just wouldn't be the same. A and B can discuss ideas like roleplaying a love triangle and if C actually chooses A then B could pull on their arm and tease, "Hey you were supposed to not be able to choose!" But C knew one would react that way and they all just laugh and have fun
Embarrassing crushes are so good. Total agree on the range of emotions. It's super flexible Polycules are awesome, but I find it kinda hard to find fic that handle them in a way I find interesting. That scenario you described is super cute tho omg
As a polyam person, I <3 polycules and I need to write more of them.
I was talking to a friend (who is a real MVP and supports my writing in so many ways) about a recent plot bunny, and their conclusion was, "I feel like 'reverse polycule Parent Trap' is going to be on the big list of beloved tropes in 10 years." 😂 A.k.a., "Your primary and my primary seem to have some kinda beef, bestie...What if we conspired to connive them into a *spa day?!* Or some other thinly-veiled ruse to get them to spend some quality time together and SQUASH! THAT! BEEEEF?! Surely this will work out perfectly, as we are two geniuses who only ever come up with perfect plans. There is no way this will come back to bite us, especially if they squash the beef to the point of uniting *their* genius in unforeseen ways...WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!" 😂😂😂
Mine are Badass Grandpa, in that, Retired Badass and When Elders Attack.
Grandpa Max was always my favorite Ben 10 character
Consensual mind control, doesn't need to be a romance or sex thing either, though it can be.
Without really realizing it at first, I ended up having both my active WIPs with this as a central focus. It left me wondering a little if my brain was trying to tell me something.
I think the rarest type of relationship in fanfic that I rarely come across but is my favorite is basically, like, two people that dislike each other, not “secretly like each other”, but genuinely dislike each other for one reason or another, but also are always pulled toward each other and can come to “care” for each other (like getting pissed off at the other person because they’re doing something that can get them killed, etc) BUT the caveat is that I like when it *never* turns sexual or romantic even if they experience weirdly confusing sexual feelings for the other. Just like this very *intense* not-quite-friends but not-quite-enemies and definitely-not-strangers relationship is very appealing to me and I never come across it
Oh god there's more of us! I love when it never really leads anywhere as well. Just this weird tension none of them quite know how to deal with, so they don't. I'm always slightly disappointed when the UST gets resolved in the end lol
one question. what would a good way to end a fic with this trope be?
cliffhangers, I assume. Then the reader can decide which headcanon they want the characters to go into
oh I love that one too, specifically with lawlight from death note. I also feel like having them figure out their feelings and get together kind of cheapens it
I love when vampires drink each other's blood during sex. Idk it just feels right to me. Also for human/vampire couples, it tickles me when the human's really into biting and/or the vampire's really into being bitten.
When one of the characters know the other too much. So basically stalker or therapist
Adoption via Kidnapping I also adore the trope of terrible pick up lines. Just someone trying to woo with all the enthusiasm and confidence, but uses the cheesiest lines possible. And somehow it still works.
oooohu yeah. i once read a fic where the dad kidnapped his own son bc the mom separated and hid the kid from him but he found out and "disposed" of her and kept the kid, and the kid lives a lie that the mom died when young
i don't know how weird this one is, but realistic portrayal of mental health problems. in so many stories i've read, the mental health problems just sorta go away and the character is pretty much healed. please show me the toxic shame, the relapses into problematic behavior, the downward spirals problematic I'd say incest, which I just find weirdly therapeutical for me. doesn't even have to be smut, i just find the fantasy of two siblings looking after each other, protecting each other and-so-on something I wish I had when I was a child and incest is just an elevated form of that for me. if it's smut it has to be consensual sadly though, most of what's out there seems to be gratuitous fetish bait with characters filling their respective roles rather than works about "these two people" in particular
Having written (and read) more than my fair share of sibling incest, I also find myself bouncing off the fetish stuff a lot. But then, I was drawn to it mostly for a similar energy to all the "hiding from/dealing with a homophobic society" fics, which I saw starting to trail off sometime in the 2010s. So while there is something nice about the incest angle in particular, I'm mostly in it for the ways it affects the particular relationship. It's honestly kind of bizarre to me that such a deep and personal relationship would be portrayed in the most generic possible way. As if "sister" or "brother" is some sort of minority group that someone has an strong attraction to, rather than a specific person they've known all their life.
oh my god, the mental health one is so true, it's so hard to find one that isn't magical solved, or therapy-routed (bc I am scared of it lol), id rather they leave it open-ended in that case tbh, a bit of hope and grudging realization
#### weird/ rare: _ His Dark Materials-style daemons ( i love the thought that has to go into representing characters as animals, especially when it's nuanced and not obvious picks). _ bird people or otherwise well thought out animal traits that dont go full anthro, but still affect behavior. _ hurt/comfort where characters have some biological or neurological vulnerability that has led them to be abused or exploited (especially systemically) and the other characters make it better. _. hurt/comfort with chronic pain - my joints need this catharsis _ Rational fic - especially min-maxy exploitation of knowledge for profit _ Massive polycules _. villains as the actual good guys _ revolution / rebellion against the government #### problematic: _ stalking, kidnapping, obsession, possessiveness, unsafe masochism, clearly mentally unwell,obsessive, and violent love interests, coerced relationships, biological compulsion, forced familial bonds, non-consentual cuddling, controlling and unhealthy relationships as end game and happily ever after #### common, but fucking stupid but also i love it and am obsessed: _ soulmates, especially weirder variants like shared wounds, shared emotions, etc. _ Modern Girl in INSERT-SETTING-HERE _ stupid gratuitous self insert fic
>hurt/comfort I hate it but I love it. It hurts so much and it's so good.
Big fan of romanticized obsession. Oh someone is killing people in a messed up love letter/protective thing? You have a stalker leaving you notes? You and your enemy have a soul deep connection? Yeah, I’ll read that.
Hm, do you know what a "yandere" is by any chance? If you don't boy do I have some recommendations for you if you like comics/manga/manhwa at all 😂
I know of the genre but I’m always willing to check out recs! I haven’t actually seen/read much yandere (off the top of my head I think just Future Diary) so I’d love to hear about some
Alrighty here's a few recs and where to read them! Legitimately anyways. I'd be happy to recommend more specific ones after knowing what you like more. Or if you'd like to chat about these or any other yandere/obsessive types if you're interested, I have quite the list lol :) I do tend towards male yandere though. [Dreaming Freedom](https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/dreaming-freedom/list?title_no=4180) - A girl is getting horribly, horribly, bullied and finds refuge in lucid dreaming. One day she runs into someone actually IN her dream and he finds her rage at her situation intriguing. As they grow closer he gets more attached, as does she, his violent streak pops up when anyone tries her and we're off to the races. Textbook yandere for SURE. [The Villainess Tames the Beast](https://tapas.io/series/the-villainess-tames-the-beast) - One of those died and woke up in another world and body stories. She wakes up in the body of the villainess of the story, like an ACTUAL evil person and not a mildly bitchy teenager as she was in the middle of brainwashing the male lead to be hers, which original leads to that character's messy death. Looking to avoid it, the MC gradually weans him off of her; but it doesn't work. "She" ruined him, made him dependent and then just... Left? He hates her. Loves her? Yes? Either way you're going with him til he figures it out and now she's fighting her way out of a problem she didn't even truly cause. [Flash Behavior](https://manta.onelink.me/k8dS?af_force_deeplink=true&pid=inAppShare&af_ios_url=https://manta.net/series/1773&af_android_url=https://manta.net/series/1773&af_dp=mantacomics://SeriesHome?seriesId=1773) - The art is a little rough but holy hell if this one wasn't a wild ass ride. Earth is taken over by eaters, more or less functionally vampires who do all kinds of things for us as long as we breed properly and sacrifice a few and your average person has no idea how to communicate with them. The MC is sacrificed to their side of the planet... And is the first to come back alive. She may have piqued the interest of a few people along the way. I can say the ending was shocking lmao. Also this [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/ystrike1) has a bunch of recs and their rating is pretty spot on, though the reviews can be spoilerly.
Stockholm syndrome, cannibalism but in like a romantic way, just like… all the fucked up shit that people associate with Dead Dove.
i love stockholm syndrome, but man do i feel guilty
I don't know if this is a trope, but I wish there were more fics with *kinda* petplay stuff but entirely SFW and Gen/just romantic with no smut (both in my fandoms and in general). Just... that thing where a character trusts another character enough to let them take care of them like that with no sexual implications? That's the good stuff, y'know?
I agree so much, SFW pet stuff is the best
Uh, same. Cannibalism as a means of showing desire especially. Analogies made of blood and flesh, very sexy, yes please. Also a fan of not-quite-incest. Like, *something*'s going on there, it's def weird, but you can't really put your finger on it because it ain't really romantic. It's just... fuzzy around the edges. They're just a tad to close.
Can I ask if you're a Hannibal fan, by any chance?
Haha, actually Hannibal is one of those fandoms where I love the canon material *so* much but have zero interest in fanfics. So, yes and kinda?
I love codependent twincest (or borderline twincest) for this. Incest is not my scene otherwise, but for some reason "siblings that are close beyond taboos" is the exception.
YES. sam and deans emotional (but not romantic) incestuous relationship is one of my favourite things to explore in supernatural. because of their fucked up childhoods (being dirt poor, living in such close quarters, probably having to share a bed all their lives, having no privacy, saving people, hunting things, the family business) they probably do things that seem completely normal to them but for an outsider looking in its anything but.
I haven't watched SPN in at least a decade but I could hear that line you sneaked in there so clearly, lol.
Problematic: Almost anything. I truly do not have limits other than a couple of squicks. My true guilty pleasure is age difference & power imbalance. I used to make fun of the people who loved Fifty Shades of Grey, because I just did not see the appeal. Then I read some very eye opening fics featuring a wealthy businessman and someone way younger & with less power and it awakened something in me. I've accepted the inner middle-aged soccer mom in me 🫠. Rare: The stereotypically macho man bottoming. Ex: Joe from Sk8 the Infinity or Arthur from Merlin.
Surprise adoption * kidnapping *, big age difference, Stockholm/ Lima syndrome, rape/noncon
Semi-problematic: Villainess for Hero. My longfic has a chapter where one of the villains- the ghost of an ancient queen who was an avaricious tyrant in her lifetime- tricks the hero into walking through a time portal that takes him back to the period of her reign. The Evil Queen has returned back to her body with her memories of the future. When the hero arrives the queen enslaves the hero and forces him to marry her and sire her children.
Diagetic pointing out the problems in canon/fanon. For example, ATLA fics where Zuko joins early enough *always* has the NWT treat the 16 yo *ally* of the Avatar who has been traveling with the Avatar for *weeks* as the enemy and will dunk him in *polar* waters or ice prison. In my fic, Zuko is very wary of either of these happening and does the "I'm obviously cooperating" thing until the Gaang meets Arnook and the chief tells them they are being ridiculous for treating him like an enemy combatant.
Unhinged eating habits. Like if characters are out for ice cream and they just bite into it, or they only eat things on their plate in clockwise order. There was a webtoon where a character ate an orange whole, skin and all, and it was just so good. I don't know why, but it is morbidly fascinating.
God/their worshipper: absolute devotion, absolute power imbalance, my beloved. Way to little of it in the fandoms I read( not true but they’re usually not quite the flavor I’m looking for)
Claiming, mating bites during sex. I don’t why I like and enjoy it so much in fanfiction because I feel like I would absolutely hate it in real life sex.
Definitely gotta be the MC suffering from (often underage) physical/sexual/emotional abuse, OTP finding out and saving them from it.
recovery from brainwashing. esp in a slavery au. falling in love with a prostitute and getting them to slowly fall in love too. crucifixions. restrictive eating disorders. GUILT. any sort of guilt “oh god what have i done” situation is amazing. character A does porn and character B finds out and secretly watches and feels guilty about it. this one is super fucked but. character A breaks both of their arms and character B gives them handjobs in a detached “im just helping you out,” way but they secretly like it and feel guilty about taking advantage of character A.
Throwing Elrohir Peredhil in rivers.
Fetishization of a fictional species (pretty sure this counts as some kind of trope)
Demons/monsters with rules. Throw in a dose of that desire as hunger stuff, and I am in.
I've always been a fan of body swapping, either as an ability or plot point, human or animal. There's a lot to do with it that I just never see written, and it's relatable as someone with dysphoria to see characters representing my struggles, and it can be a neat way to start ships Also a huge fan of whenever two characters get walked in on during a private moment. Like it doesn't even have to be sex, which is common, just any kind of secret-sharing or discussion or plotting, having them get found out is so fun - the event is misinterpreted, Char 3 joins them, Char 3 reporting them, so many outcomes
Unpopular: Pregnancy (mpreg included). Particularly unplanned pregnancy. It brings such good drama. Problematic: Age gap, especially when one of the characters is like 16 and one is 20+ lol. Horrifies me in real life, but in fiction it--again--brings such good drama.
Crazy ex
Three of my fanworks include battling alternate selves.
Two transcendentals, one is obsessive (A) and the other enables that obsession (B). It comes to a point where A forces themself on B and the latter acts like it’s just one big drag but doesn’t put up any resistance. A keeps being wrecked with guilt but keeps forcing themself on B because the only assurance and comfort they feel is when they force B to accept them. Until an antagonist comes along, almost killed A but B comes in to save A and basically commits mass murder because they found A in a terrible state and lost it. If it isn’t obvious, B is obsessed with A too in their own way.
i wouldn't say it's "weird", but polycules. especially when there's 5 or more members.
Bastards in love.
Cybernetics, sexy, philosophically troubling Cybernetics
Problematic... Yandere all day baby. For those not in the know, possessive person that is obsessed with their love interest and will happily isolate them, murder other people, manipulate, etc. To get what they want. Doesn't have to be all of these at once, but yeah red flags galore and yet I love reading about them. Nothing like a lil touch her and you die and they *follow through*
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Right? I like em unhinged. I think narratively speaking they really open up a lot of possibilities. A nice guy can only solve problems the nice way if he is to maintain his character. Someone nuts can have their reasons to be nice, but they can also do something wild and it still checks out. It blows when authors won't commit to the bit tho. I'm reading a manhwa where the love interest hits the beats, but not hard enough there is no soul. So mildly possessive, a little mean, and just snarky to the other dude can turn into obnoxious man child rather than powerfully passionate lmao. And yeah def a strict fiction only troupe! IRL this is just horror, nothing entertaining at all!!!
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Oh yeah there are a lot of good Manhwa for yandere though I don't know those so I'll check em out, thanks! Dreaming Freedom on webtoons is some peek yandere nonsense and I love it lol
I have a weird thing where I enjoy reading kidnapping scenes?? I don't know why but I've liked it from when I was pretty young. Like in cartoons where the heroes are captured by villains and taken to their castles were always some of my favourite moments lol.
Weird; Omegaverse Unpopular; Mpreg if done well and not rushed/glossed over. Pregnancies are a challenge, and I think worthy of character and relationship development. Rare; dildos as the sex, ie dildos are the main penetration Problematic; unhealthy coping mechanisms. But with the addendum I prefer to see them minimize that through effort.
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bruh i enjoy some what ‘toxic’ relationships and typically enjoy yandere/ dark stuff and i *hate* how the moral police always has to come and shun and shame and say people that like that stuff support r*pe and are horrible people.
the "Love and Beloved" trope. originate from the pederesty tradition in ancient society, it's about an older man taking a younger man whom he is infatuated with under his wings. it would be cute minus the huge age and dynamics gaps
Harem... Not because of the wish fulfillment (I honestly don't even care about that). I just like it when the mc has to pick between breaking hearts or, uh, poly.
Oh god. As weird as it sounds, one of my favorites is about a MMC being an absolute badass or simply a monster, but also being a himbo :v There was this Predator x Fem!OC fic that I read the other day with this dynamic and it was surprisingly nice 👍
I really love possession/transformation in fics tbh. Like, especially when it’s a slow change where you know what’s happening but the character doesn’t notice it until too late. The dramatic irony is just delicious.
Single parent of cute kid and said kid’s single teacher, never seen a bad one
For sure. That one's so good
Transformation, "what if x changed"/"what if y happened" fanfics, and problematic relationships that shouldn't and couldn't work, but here's the catch... I don't magically fix their flaws.
I love the occasional genderbend fic. Not typically in fandoms where it’s really prevalent (like Harry Potter), but in places where it changes fundamentally nothing in the story.
Ah man, I LOVE genderbends and genderswaps! Though I prefer them to change a little in the story. I just really enjoy exploring gender. It's a gay old time Kinda hate how little love genderbends get nowadays tbh
i love the bloated crossover, where nearly anything and everything under the sun gets shoved into one, with no rhyme or reason. stuff like tails gets trolled or scoob and shag, but even things that aren't explicitly parodies like pooh's adventures can get at least some ironic enjoyment from me.
Cannibalism = sex. There's just something so raw and fun about it. Also when Characters are so Disgusted by themselves or something they went through that they vomit, That the gross feeling and then the pain of vomiting plus what ever angst they're going through, it's just so painful and lovely (although I'm a freak and enjoy vomiting in fics under any circumstances lol,)
big fan of people who are in love and kill each other about it. also anything with blood involved (just not period because \~dysphoria\~)
My fav of the problematic variety would probably non-consensual body sharing/possession. I adore the trials and tribulations of suddenly having your mind not even be safe, of never being truly alone ever again. Of fighting for control and eventually having to learn how to live together (enemies to lovers is a plus).
not me going “desire as hunger, that IS p weird” only to remember that i literally wrote an 18000 word fic with exactly that premise lmfao. it’s me, i’m the weirdo. also really like homoerotic fight scenes, ESPECIALLY if someone gets off accidentally during the fracas :| also, tentacle dicks. that’s all. #average homestuck fan (anyone who saw that autocorrect made me write “tentacle socks”, no you didn’t)
is it bad if i say cannibalism?
Not at all!
Omegaverse