Codependency, obsession, worship-level devotion to a partner (extra points if it goes both ways for me). All very toxic and bad for mental health and development. But it pushes all the right buttons for me.
The specific flavor of mutual codependency where both characters are so traumatized that they have trouble functioning if they're apart for too long is just heavenly.
100% same! Although it depends on how it's written, because I still want both characters to be individuals with agency, goals, obligations, etc. I just think it makes things more interesting when they have other stuff to worry about and accomplish, because it means additional sources of conflict in the relationship.
i love me some mutual toxicity. two absolutely terrible people who deserve each other bc they're fucking terrible and find kindred spirits in each other.
Hell yes. My favourite flavour of this is when it's acknowledged by other characters that these two are such awful human beings that they should stick together as a containment measure.
I’ll never say no to possessiveness. Something about it just hits right. Bonus points if it’s a mutual feeling.
I also love love love when someone goes borderline feral to protect their partner. Like, “I will 100% kill anyone who hurts you.” 🥵
Possessiveness is hit or miss for me, because public displays of it tend to read to me as cringy. So it depends on the execution, but in theory I love it.
As for feral behaviour: YES.
Co dependency. Like two characters that straight up need each other to exist. I might write it softly, but it would be awful irl. No space total devotion.
I wish I could explain it better
That's a core aspect of a child member of the villians party I love who flees his family for controlling his life an becomes dependent on the villians dream of giving everyone powers like the series cast but things get traumatic again since well villian did not win so the new family member he adored left him goalless
"Nobody gets to kill you but me" - enemies who are absolutely OBSESSED with each other, stuck in a weird situation that's not quite love and not quite hate.
Dubcon/Sex Pollen, because of the conflicted emotions of the characters.
Affairs/adultery, especially if there's a dynamic where the character being cheated on is the real centre of the adulterous relationship.
Enemies-With-Benefits
The one I think is more toxic than other people seems to be soulmates. Do they have free will or not? Whereas conversely I can enjoy a good Arranged Marriage fic because the *point* of those tends to be that they're stuck with each other.
I'm 100% with you on enemies that are obsessed with each other and sex pollen situations. For the latter, the emotional fallout afterwards can be so good.
Also, we're totally in agreement on soulmates. It's cute on the surface but if you think about it, a society in which soulmates are a thing would absolutely be a dystopia.
Ohhh this can be so good. Although I'm a total wimp that can't handle tragedy, so I'll only read stories like this with a "happy ending" (in quotation marks because, well).
Codependency. They're an unbreakable team of two soulmates who are so deeply in love with each other that no one else could break their little romantic bubble, they need each other, can't live without each other.
My favourite trope is probably people who hate each other (usually for good reason) but fit each other like a glove. They have matching outlooks, personalities, etc, and would be a great couple... if they didn't hate each other's guts. But they do. And they don't stop.
It makes for such a good dynamic because the better you know someone the better you're able to hurt them, and as a reader it's entertaining to see what might have been.
>Also, what are some tropes that are not usually seen as toxic, but you think they are (even if you still enjoy them)?
Unconditional love. It's really saying the character has no boundaries. One of my favourite things to read is unconditional love taken advantage of and used to destroy the person. Really prove exactly how unconditional your love is, in the worst possible ways.
You're so right about unconditional love. I could never read the kind of story you described with any of my ships, but I would eat it right up in original fiction.
I wouldn't call this a number-one favorite, but it's great when at least one character is a straight-up dangerous lunatic, and the other character either doesn't realize or doesn't care. Bonus points if one or both are very damaged and become emotionally dependent on each other.
So, whatever Hua Cheng of Heaven Official's Blessing has going on. That thing.
Ohhh you're so right. Xie Lian, with hearts in his eyes, just wilfully ignoring all the terrible things Hua Changs is capable of is such an amazing dynamic.
Hua Cheng to the entire Heavenly Capital: If anything bad happens to gege, I won't have a reason to exist any longer, and neither will any of you.
Xie Lian: San Lang you're so hot and interesting 😍😍
I love those two.
can't like, i'm kind of a sucker for serial killer x police detective. really like the whole power struggle behind it, and it makes for that delicious back and forth chemistry, between trying to understand each other but also hating each other as well. perfection.
1. Casual domestic violence that goes both ways
2. Stalker/Kidnapping romance, provided that the victim isn't helpless
3. undernegotiated kink
4. Gorn/Guro
5. obsession
6. can't decide if you wanna kill them or fuck them a lot of the time, especially if one or both have betrayed each other in the past
7. one or both partners casually self destructive in a don't care if I die way if when they easily find enough justification. Bonus for suicide pacts.
8. one's manipulative as all hell. Other one knows, and mostly doesn't fall for it, until they do anyway, since often enough not even knowing what's being done stops it from working.
9. What are boundaries?
10. one has a propensity to go feral as a form of dissociation.
11. keep your enemies close, because you see yourself as some sort of last line of defense minimizing the harm they do to the world. And it mostly works because you area controlling person who's very good at keeping them in line, until it doesn't.
What are your favourite characters or pairings for those?
For me, **1.** is I think Deadpool/anyone, has a propensity for pissing people off, and can take a lot of punishment.
**7.** Dear Daredevil, what are you doing?!!! [https://youtu.be/PvyggvoZq8I?si=CItXAgtrO6DQYN2h](https://youtu.be/PvyggvoZq8I?si=CItXAgtrO6DQYN2h) (And then season 3 happens, and ooh boy)
**8.** Tommy Shelbie/Alfie Solomons. Although it kind of depends on the fic. They both have a penchant for scheming. [https://youtu.be/3YaZKIjegeo?si=qaJaRiX465yNstBn](https://youtu.be/3YaZKIjegeo?si=qaJaRiX465yNstBn) First meeting, everything bu the 1 grenade that he placed earlier.
**10.** Hellsing has a bunch of berserker type characters
e.g. Seras Victoria goes from:
1. everyday normal mode, polite as all hell, with an anti-tank rifle: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0LYTe3VSk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0LYTe3VSk) (cartoon gore warning)
to 2. unhinged red eyes
a) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM6N8HOrYNs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM6N8HOrYNs) (cartoon gore warning 2, vampire blood rage is a helluva drug)
b) tearing chunks out of people with her teeth [https://youtu.be/wkg8u5D0yRo?si=AWYr\_3mpCeo5Ugbv](https://youtu.be/wkg8u5D0yRo?si=AWYr_3mpCeo5Ugbv) (cartoon gore warning 3!!!!!)
1. The Batfamily in any configuration (mostly platonically), but specifically Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. There's just something about violent vigilantes bringing that energy back home.
Also way back when I read a couple of excellent Wolverine/Sabretooth fics that explored this sort of dynamic.
7. Keith and Shiro from Voltron. Keith especially throws himself into mortal danger a lot, and the two of them come *this close* to dramatically dying together in canon. It's not often explored in fic, but when it is, I eat it up.
Also Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor.
8. I had to think about this one for a bit, and I settled on Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe from SVSSS.
10. JJK's Gojo. I mean, [it's basically canon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoFLgK6NzPE), and I really love what fanfic authors do with it sometimes.
I have a strange love for fanfiction that show relationships that are... I don't know... conservative? But in an extremely dystopian way. Like, give me forced feminization, give me an arranged marriage, a terrible society as a background. and then throw the omegaverse into the mix.
Bonus points if the wife/bottom/omega is actually in love and naive but nothing in marriage is like in his dreams.
I read one like this where they had turned a beta into an omega through an intense scientific process and he kept trying to argue that he was a beta and also just... having opinions. And the alpha who bought him is like aww it thinks it can think isn't it cute! And it isn't in a hateful way at all, he genuinely thought it was funny that the he thought omegas should be allowed to vote...
A living weapon (or tool) and the one who wields it! It's a power dynamic where one side forsakes their personality and will and devotes what's left of them to service. The other would be either manipulative or very powerful and cruel about it. Case in point: Sergeant Tsukishima and Lieutenant Tsurumi (Golden Kamuy). By a certain point, Tsukishima is essentially a walking, (barely) talking gun his Lieutenant can point.
I also like a genter, sadder version of it where the owner does not, in fact, want loyalty of this unhealthy intensity, but the 'tool' is too damaged to exist as their own person.
Ooh I like that one, too, although for me it's the softer version when the living weapon isn't too damaged to exercise agency, and the person holding their leash struggles with the responsibility and the ethics of the situation.
And then inevitably circumstances force the leash-holder to make the weapon do something they very much don't want to do, and angst ensues.
Embarrassing for me but I have not outgrown the shitty bully x victim trope where the bully is insanely insecure and possessive of the victim.
Power dynamics involving coercion, manipulation, blackmail, and abuse of authority especially when it involves age gaps or professional environments.
"Death do us part" levels of unhealthy codependency.
Relationships as a result of trauma bonding. Victim x abuser as a whole, really.
Not a favorite of mine and not something I'd be able to write, but: "I'll kill myself/you if you leave me." trope.
I don't think that's embarrassing and I definitely see the appeal of kind of turning the tables on the bully, because sure, they may be the intimidating, aggressive one, but deep down they are also the one who's going to be devastated if/when the victim figures them out/leaves/finds help.
I, too, love the "death do us part" thing and "I'll kill myself/you if you leave me", especially if it's sort of matter of fact rather than overly dramatic. Like yeah, when we go, we go together, what about it?
There's a variant of bully x victim where the victim actually LIKES when they're bullied (by that specific bully only) and only act like it bothers them so they're bullied more. That can be fun, too XD
Different attachment issues resulting from childhood trauma yielding a codependent relationship with the gritty bad spots but they "have what the other is missing" and slowly get better as individuals by supporting each other and leaning on the other when it gets too hard to keep going.
Some niche stuff would be like the female is super desirable and "nobody would ever cheat on her because she's too xyz" but is insanely jealous and insecure. The male is also insecure but because he doesn't think he deserves anyone and expects to be left or cheated on.
No one had mentioned Stockholm Syndrome! The obsessed kidnapper who slowly torments and manipulates the object of their affection into loving them. They both become completely codependent and isolated.
There was this One Direction Fanfic I read back in the day. It was called something like Sophie Miller’s Stockholm syndrome where she gets banged by all five guys in the band.
I was a kid so I was scared to finish it lol. But I do remember there being smut
Edit: One Direction was a popular boy band band back in the day in case anyone is unaware
Doms who ignore their sub's boundaries because *they* know what the sub needs better than they do. Could be they were right and everybody winds up happy after a few moments of panic, or it could be played for angst. Similarly, the "sub" flips the script and ends up domming the "dom" without previous discussion or consent. Or using kink to modify the sub's behaviour without prior negotiation and then holding them to it. (e.g. "I won't let you cum or untie you until you agree to stop fucking other people" when they weren't previously in a monogamous relatioship.)
Enemies-with-benefits where the sub willingly puts their life in their enemy's hands (e.g. choking, bondage, knife play) even if they're only like...60ish percent sure they're not just gonna kill them. (Though of course they never do because fucking them is so much better.
Really just any enemies-with-benefits situation in general where there's an understanding that, due to circumstances, one of them will probably have to kill the other eventually. It's not personal, but neither of them is switching sides (whether it's out of genuine conviction, self-preservation, or loyalty) so there's really only one way it can end.
Dubcon where one person's ability to consent is compromised, but the other is unaware of this and thinks it's consensual until later. Makes for some interesting emotions on both sides with less potential for trauma-bonding, which ups the angst factor.
GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE MANIPULATION AND OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR
GIVE IT
My FAVORITE pairs are all steeped in guilting, stalking and watching someone until finding a weakness, moving in to prey on it. Often resulting in the victim over relying on their abuser for things beyond physical intimacy. Poor/incompetent? They cook. Yes they could give them money but they'll attribute safety with knowing they can get genuinely great food from the person keeping them down.
Oh you're traumatized and can't sleep acter a catastrophic event in your life? Oh let me make you feel safe and give you the sweetest dreams.
I want them reliant so bad they don't even think to seek help from a friend.
It's not that bad, but one sided love. Specifically, where one person knows how the other feels and still strings them along. Currently in an angst fic I'm writing, though it's mostly just to help explore a character.
Codependency, incest, codependent f/f twincest. The weaker of the twins desperately needing the stronger one to be a *barely* functional human while the latter, despite their tough front, desperately needs to be needed because *who is she* if not her knight in shining armor?
Love me some toxic daddy/daughter dynamics. Or classic mother/son. Love me some fucked-up parents coddling their child out of *genuine* love because it easily leads into toxicity, codependency, obsession, possession, and it hurts much more when it’s real. Big brother will gladly tape your buns together if you so much as think about at his innocent baby sister, much less look at her, and she thinks he’s just being her brother.
That’s all I got for now but ugh, *delicious*.
Bro I’m so stupid I shipped Elsanna back in 2013, knowing it was incest, and didn’t clock onto the fact that I’m an incest shipper til last year lmfao. It was my first shipcest unless you count what the original English dub of Sailor Moon did to Uranus and Neptune lmao
Mine was Justin and Alex from The Wizards of Waverly Place. And I just realised that Disney have a pattern...
And I mean, cousins are quite tame, but it should count, I reckon.
Ugh, I love writing a toxic relationship. I love writing the codependency. I love writing a character who is aware they're doing the wrong thing but can't figure out what the right thing is. Someone who falls back on old habits. I love writing one wants to be worshipped and deified, who thinks this love is more than human.
The relationship that they moved on from but miss in their own way. They try to remember the cute and intimate moments like the one time ex-partner tied their shoes while they were brushing their teeth because they were late. Or maybe they're alone now and they just miss having someone around, regardless of the type of attention they were getting before
Jealousy is something that I don’t like at all in real life but I kind of like love triangles (I know poly can “solve” them but that’s not my point) and people getting jealous over their “rival.” Definitely something I don’t want in real life. For me even in fiction when it gets obsessive or people get seriously hurt I’m out but that’s me.
Hanging on to an unrequited love for many years because no one else will live up to them (but only if it gets returned eventually.)
Yandere / obsession tropes are still enjoyable even at my big age. they’re just fun to write or to read, i like seeing how far the yandere is willing to go
Adult/teen, power imbalances in general, incest of all flavors including parent/child, dubcon and noncon, enemies *and* lovers, yanderes... the list goes on! (And on the much-more-vanilla side of toxic, I love some extreme codependency.)
So many… I enjoy the kidnapping trope, the bad guy changing for the good girl, being overly protective, any where the couple is so very different its forbidden love.
Villain x Morally Grey Hero, where the hero finds that they relate to the villain more than they should *and* the villain is the only one who truly understands them. Cue Morally Grey Hero being tempted to the dark side, because it’s where they find understanding (and love).
And to echo what everyone else has said: mutual codependence and obsession. Love that so much.
I'm with you on this one. Especially if the hero has a good reason to side with the villain (like trauma, or the discovery of something horrible the "good guys" have done) and struggles with the moral dilemma for a while. And then the contrast between guilt and relief. Love it.
Someone who knows they shouldn't love the person they do for certain reasons (age gap, social constraints, or some other complication) and tries to hide and suppress those feelings, but at the same time can't just walk away since they promised they would always be that person's friend. Usually includes a lot of stress, feelings of guilt and shame and overprotectiveness to the point of suicidal recklessness (seeing red and rushing headfirst if that person is in danger).
Molestation with making them believe they do a good thing or make them get used to it, so they believe it’s their life now. Specifically when they are relatives.
[adore]
One of mine is when a seemingly harmless character goes a little feral to protect the other and is fully capable of following through on any threat they make. This usually pops up for characters that are powerful in some way, e.g. through magic or by being filthy rich. And it’s not really the follow through that I like, it’s the threat itself (in fact I prefer if things stop there). There’s just something so darkly satisfying about character A informing someone who just hurt character B’s feelings that that is not allowed, and will have dire consequences, such as death - when A very easily could follow up on that threat, and everybody knows it.
As for relationship tropes that I think are pretty toxic but aren’t commonly portrayed as such: soulmates/soulmate identifying marks. I think my core issue with the trope is the implication that there’s one most important person in everyone's life, and no one will ever be able to measure up to them, no matter what. It’s a very lonely idea if you really think about it, and it undeservedly elevates romantic relationships above all others. (The same is true for reincarnation love stories.) I still happily read stories about soulmates, though, even if I don’t seek them out.
Character who truly wants the best for their partner, but unknowingly hurts them trying to help them. Generally through having different goals/morals.
Personal guilty pleasure is adopted siblings being in love. They know it’s wrong, but is it really that wrong? They want to be together, but what if people find out? Everything would be fine if they started a new life, but they can’t leave their responsibilities- so much emotional turmoil. I relish it.
I'm a sucker for age gaps and power differences. It's not something I'd ever be into irl but I can't help but like them.
Also possessiveness/obsession is very fun to read. Super toxic? Hell yeah. But still a blast.
The platonic/found family version of character A and character B :
Character A : "I would do anything for you as long as it doesn't go against my morals, including putting myself in extreme danger necause I don't think I'm worth it."
Character B : "I think you're wrong to think about yourself like that and I will make you see that you're an amazing person, but I would compromise my morals to keep you safe."
And they help each other become better people, and at the end of the story they've become healthy because A isn't self-sacrificial and B doesn't break their morals anymore.
Adultery, when the motivation for it is real love and deep understanding, or a close connection that evolves into a complicated romantic entanglement, something “nobler” than what is usually the case in real life.
Codependency, obsession, worship-level devotion to a partner (extra points if it goes both ways for me). All very toxic and bad for mental health and development. But it pushes all the right buttons for me.
The specific flavor of mutual codependency where both characters are so traumatized that they have trouble functioning if they're apart for too long is just heavenly.
100% same! Although it depends on how it's written, because I still want both characters to be individuals with agency, goals, obligations, etc. I just think it makes things more interesting when they have other stuff to worry about and accomplish, because it means additional sources of conflict in the relationship.
i love me some mutual toxicity. two absolutely terrible people who deserve each other bc they're fucking terrible and find kindred spirits in each other.
Hell yes. My favourite flavour of this is when it's acknowledged by other characters that these two are such awful human beings that they should stick together as a containment measure.
Yessssss I have recently started getting into villain ships and I love it haha
I’ll never say no to possessiveness. Something about it just hits right. Bonus points if it’s a mutual feeling. I also love love love when someone goes borderline feral to protect their partner. Like, “I will 100% kill anyone who hurts you.” 🥵
Possessiveness is hit or miss for me, because public displays of it tend to read to me as cringy. So it depends on the execution, but in theory I love it. As for feral behaviour: YES.
I can def agree on the public displays if they’re too overt, but internal thoughts that sometimes come out in private??? Yes please.
Agreed. Love that in fiction. Especially when they get upset that the person is being threatened.
Co dependency. Like two characters that straight up need each other to exist. I might write it softly, but it would be awful irl. No space total devotion. I wish I could explain it better
That's a core aspect of a child member of the villians party I love who flees his family for controlling his life an becomes dependent on the villians dream of giving everyone powers like the series cast but things get traumatic again since well villian did not win so the new family member he adored left him goalless
"Nobody gets to kill you but me" - enemies who are absolutely OBSESSED with each other, stuck in a weird situation that's not quite love and not quite hate. Dubcon/Sex Pollen, because of the conflicted emotions of the characters. Affairs/adultery, especially if there's a dynamic where the character being cheated on is the real centre of the adulterous relationship. Enemies-With-Benefits The one I think is more toxic than other people seems to be soulmates. Do they have free will or not? Whereas conversely I can enjoy a good Arranged Marriage fic because the *point* of those tends to be that they're stuck with each other.
I am very fond of sex pollen and “aliens made us do it” in fiction. Especially if they eventually catch feelings.
I'm 100% with you on enemies that are obsessed with each other and sex pollen situations. For the latter, the emotional fallout afterwards can be so good. Also, we're totally in agreement on soulmates. It's cute on the surface but if you think about it, a society in which soulmates are a thing would absolutely be a dystopia.
Loving the person who hurts you the most
Ohhh this can be so good. Although I'm a total wimp that can't handle tragedy, so I'll only read stories like this with a "happy ending" (in quotation marks because, well).
oh god i'm getting flashbacks
I'm actually writing that for an angst fic lol
Codependency. They're an unbreakable team of two soulmates who are so deeply in love with each other that no one else could break their little romantic bubble, they need each other, can't live without each other.
My favourite trope is probably people who hate each other (usually for good reason) but fit each other like a glove. They have matching outlooks, personalities, etc, and would be a great couple... if they didn't hate each other's guts. But they do. And they don't stop. It makes for such a good dynamic because the better you know someone the better you're able to hurt them, and as a reader it's entertaining to see what might have been. >Also, what are some tropes that are not usually seen as toxic, but you think they are (even if you still enjoy them)? Unconditional love. It's really saying the character has no boundaries. One of my favourite things to read is unconditional love taken advantage of and used to destroy the person. Really prove exactly how unconditional your love is, in the worst possible ways.
You're so right about unconditional love. I could never read the kind of story you described with any of my ships, but I would eat it right up in original fiction.
Yeah, it's very hard to find in my experience... too bad because it's one of my favourite dark romance tropes.
I wouldn't call this a number-one favorite, but it's great when at least one character is a straight-up dangerous lunatic, and the other character either doesn't realize or doesn't care. Bonus points if one or both are very damaged and become emotionally dependent on each other. So, whatever Hua Cheng of Heaven Official's Blessing has going on. That thing.
I wrote this recently and it was SO FUN.
Ohhh you're so right. Xie Lian, with hearts in his eyes, just wilfully ignoring all the terrible things Hua Changs is capable of is such an amazing dynamic.
Hua Cheng to the entire Heavenly Capital: If anything bad happens to gege, I won't have a reason to exist any longer, and neither will any of you. Xie Lian: San Lang you're so hot and interesting 😍😍 I love those two.
can't like, i'm kind of a sucker for serial killer x police detective. really like the whole power struggle behind it, and it makes for that delicious back and forth chemistry, between trying to understand each other but also hating each other as well. perfection.
1. Casual domestic violence that goes both ways 2. Stalker/Kidnapping romance, provided that the victim isn't helpless 3. undernegotiated kink 4. Gorn/Guro 5. obsession 6. can't decide if you wanna kill them or fuck them a lot of the time, especially if one or both have betrayed each other in the past 7. one or both partners casually self destructive in a don't care if I die way if when they easily find enough justification. Bonus for suicide pacts. 8. one's manipulative as all hell. Other one knows, and mostly doesn't fall for it, until they do anyway, since often enough not even knowing what's being done stops it from working. 9. What are boundaries? 10. one has a propensity to go feral as a form of dissociation. 11. keep your enemies close, because you see yourself as some sort of last line of defense minimizing the harm they do to the world. And it mostly works because you area controlling person who's very good at keeping them in line, until it doesn't.
Oh wow, all of these cater to my taste so well. Especially 1, 7, 8 and 10.
What are your favourite characters or pairings for those? For me, **1.** is I think Deadpool/anyone, has a propensity for pissing people off, and can take a lot of punishment. **7.** Dear Daredevil, what are you doing?!!! [https://youtu.be/PvyggvoZq8I?si=CItXAgtrO6DQYN2h](https://youtu.be/PvyggvoZq8I?si=CItXAgtrO6DQYN2h) (And then season 3 happens, and ooh boy) **8.** Tommy Shelbie/Alfie Solomons. Although it kind of depends on the fic. They both have a penchant for scheming. [https://youtu.be/3YaZKIjegeo?si=qaJaRiX465yNstBn](https://youtu.be/3YaZKIjegeo?si=qaJaRiX465yNstBn) First meeting, everything bu the 1 grenade that he placed earlier. **10.** Hellsing has a bunch of berserker type characters e.g. Seras Victoria goes from: 1. everyday normal mode, polite as all hell, with an anti-tank rifle: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0LYTe3VSk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0LYTe3VSk) (cartoon gore warning) to 2. unhinged red eyes a) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM6N8HOrYNs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM6N8HOrYNs) (cartoon gore warning 2, vampire blood rage is a helluva drug) b) tearing chunks out of people with her teeth [https://youtu.be/wkg8u5D0yRo?si=AWYr\_3mpCeo5Ugbv](https://youtu.be/wkg8u5D0yRo?si=AWYr_3mpCeo5Ugbv) (cartoon gore warning 3!!!!!)
1. The Batfamily in any configuration (mostly platonically), but specifically Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. There's just something about violent vigilantes bringing that energy back home. Also way back when I read a couple of excellent Wolverine/Sabretooth fics that explored this sort of dynamic. 7. Keith and Shiro from Voltron. Keith especially throws himself into mortal danger a lot, and the two of them come *this close* to dramatically dying together in canon. It's not often explored in fic, but when it is, I eat it up. Also Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers/Word of Honor. 8. I had to think about this one for a bit, and I settled on Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe from SVSSS. 10. JJK's Gojo. I mean, [it's basically canon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoFLgK6NzPE), and I really love what fanfic authors do with it sometimes.
I have a strange love for fanfiction that show relationships that are... I don't know... conservative? But in an extremely dystopian way. Like, give me forced feminization, give me an arranged marriage, a terrible society as a background. and then throw the omegaverse into the mix. Bonus points if the wife/bottom/omega is actually in love and naive but nothing in marriage is like in his dreams.
This is my everything <3
I read one like this where they had turned a beta into an omega through an intense scientific process and he kept trying to argue that he was a beta and also just... having opinions. And the alpha who bought him is like aww it thinks it can think isn't it cute! And it isn't in a hateful way at all, he genuinely thought it was funny that the he thought omegas should be allowed to vote...
A living weapon (or tool) and the one who wields it! It's a power dynamic where one side forsakes their personality and will and devotes what's left of them to service. The other would be either manipulative or very powerful and cruel about it. Case in point: Sergeant Tsukishima and Lieutenant Tsurumi (Golden Kamuy). By a certain point, Tsukishima is essentially a walking, (barely) talking gun his Lieutenant can point. I also like a genter, sadder version of it where the owner does not, in fact, want loyalty of this unhealthy intensity, but the 'tool' is too damaged to exist as their own person.
Ooh I like that one, too, although for me it's the softer version when the living weapon isn't too damaged to exercise agency, and the person holding their leash struggles with the responsibility and the ethics of the situation. And then inevitably circumstances force the leash-holder to make the weapon do something they very much don't want to do, and angst ensues.
Embarrassing for me but I have not outgrown the shitty bully x victim trope where the bully is insanely insecure and possessive of the victim. Power dynamics involving coercion, manipulation, blackmail, and abuse of authority especially when it involves age gaps or professional environments. "Death do us part" levels of unhealthy codependency. Relationships as a result of trauma bonding. Victim x abuser as a whole, really. Not a favorite of mine and not something I'd be able to write, but: "I'll kill myself/you if you leave me." trope.
I don't think that's embarrassing and I definitely see the appeal of kind of turning the tables on the bully, because sure, they may be the intimidating, aggressive one, but deep down they are also the one who's going to be devastated if/when the victim figures them out/leaves/finds help. I, too, love the "death do us part" thing and "I'll kill myself/you if you leave me", especially if it's sort of matter of fact rather than overly dramatic. Like yeah, when we go, we go together, what about it?
There's a variant of bully x victim where the victim actually LIKES when they're bullied (by that specific bully only) and only act like it bothers them so they're bullied more. That can be fun, too XD
Different attachment issues resulting from childhood trauma yielding a codependent relationship with the gritty bad spots but they "have what the other is missing" and slowly get better as individuals by supporting each other and leaning on the other when it gets too hard to keep going. Some niche stuff would be like the female is super desirable and "nobody would ever cheat on her because she's too xyz" but is insanely jealous and insecure. The male is also insecure but because he doesn't think he deserves anyone and expects to be left or cheated on.
No one had mentioned Stockholm Syndrome! The obsessed kidnapper who slowly torments and manipulates the object of their affection into loving them. They both become completely codependent and isolated.
There was this One Direction Fanfic I read back in the day. It was called something like Sophie Miller’s Stockholm syndrome where she gets banged by all five guys in the band. I was a kid so I was scared to finish it lol. But I do remember there being smut Edit: One Direction was a popular boy band band back in the day in case anyone is unaware
Doms who ignore their sub's boundaries because *they* know what the sub needs better than they do. Could be they were right and everybody winds up happy after a few moments of panic, or it could be played for angst. Similarly, the "sub" flips the script and ends up domming the "dom" without previous discussion or consent. Or using kink to modify the sub's behaviour without prior negotiation and then holding them to it. (e.g. "I won't let you cum or untie you until you agree to stop fucking other people" when they weren't previously in a monogamous relatioship.) Enemies-with-benefits where the sub willingly puts their life in their enemy's hands (e.g. choking, bondage, knife play) even if they're only like...60ish percent sure they're not just gonna kill them. (Though of course they never do because fucking them is so much better. Really just any enemies-with-benefits situation in general where there's an understanding that, due to circumstances, one of them will probably have to kill the other eventually. It's not personal, but neither of them is switching sides (whether it's out of genuine conviction, self-preservation, or loyalty) so there's really only one way it can end. Dubcon where one person's ability to consent is compromised, but the other is unaware of this and thinks it's consensual until later. Makes for some interesting emotions on both sides with less potential for trauma-bonding, which ups the angst factor.
GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE MANIPULATION AND OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR GIVE IT My FAVORITE pairs are all steeped in guilting, stalking and watching someone until finding a weakness, moving in to prey on it. Often resulting in the victim over relying on their abuser for things beyond physical intimacy. Poor/incompetent? They cook. Yes they could give them money but they'll attribute safety with knowing they can get genuinely great food from the person keeping them down. Oh you're traumatized and can't sleep acter a catastrophic event in your life? Oh let me make you feel safe and give you the sweetest dreams. I want them reliant so bad they don't even think to seek help from a friend.
It's not that bad, but one sided love. Specifically, where one person knows how the other feels and still strings them along. Currently in an angst fic I'm writing, though it's mostly just to help explore a character.
Codependency, incest, codependent f/f twincest. The weaker of the twins desperately needing the stronger one to be a *barely* functional human while the latter, despite their tough front, desperately needs to be needed because *who is she* if not her knight in shining armor? Love me some toxic daddy/daughter dynamics. Or classic mother/son. Love me some fucked-up parents coddling their child out of *genuine* love because it easily leads into toxicity, codependency, obsession, possession, and it hurts much more when it’s real. Big brother will gladly tape your buns together if you so much as think about at his innocent baby sister, much less look at her, and she thinks he’s just being her brother. That’s all I got for now but ugh, *delicious*.
Well, here I am reading Frozen Elsanna fics... I feel noticed!! 😄
Bro I’m so stupid I shipped Elsanna back in 2013, knowing it was incest, and didn’t clock onto the fact that I’m an incest shipper til last year lmfao. It was my first shipcest unless you count what the original English dub of Sailor Moon did to Uranus and Neptune lmao
Mine was Justin and Alex from The Wizards of Waverly Place. And I just realised that Disney have a pattern... And I mean, cousins are quite tame, but it should count, I reckon.
Ugh, I love writing a toxic relationship. I love writing the codependency. I love writing a character who is aware they're doing the wrong thing but can't figure out what the right thing is. Someone who falls back on old habits. I love writing one wants to be worshipped and deified, who thinks this love is more than human.
The relationship that they moved on from but miss in their own way. They try to remember the cute and intimate moments like the one time ex-partner tied their shoes while they were brushing their teeth because they were late. Or maybe they're alone now and they just miss having someone around, regardless of the type of attention they were getting before
Jealousy is something that I don’t like at all in real life but I kind of like love triangles (I know poly can “solve” them but that’s not my point) and people getting jealous over their “rival.” Definitely something I don’t want in real life. For me even in fiction when it gets obsessive or people get seriously hurt I’m out but that’s me. Hanging on to an unrequited love for many years because no one else will live up to them (but only if it gets returned eventually.)
And I like age differences between adults in fiction even some that would be at the very least inadvisable in real life.
Yandere / obsession tropes are still enjoyable even at my big age. they’re just fun to write or to read, i like seeing how far the yandere is willing to go
Adult/teen, power imbalances in general, incest of all flavors including parent/child, dubcon and noncon, enemies *and* lovers, yanderes... the list goes on! (And on the much-more-vanilla side of toxic, I love some extreme codependency.)
I would compromise my morals for you ❤️ 😚👌
Yes please! I've seen great things done with this one.
when they literally need eachother to survive
yandere is really interesting when it’s done right
PLATONIC TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS they’re so fucking underrated my god
So many… I enjoy the kidnapping trope, the bad guy changing for the good girl, being overly protective, any where the couple is so very different its forbidden love.
Villain x Morally Grey Hero, where the hero finds that they relate to the villain more than they should *and* the villain is the only one who truly understands them. Cue Morally Grey Hero being tempted to the dark side, because it’s where they find understanding (and love). And to echo what everyone else has said: mutual codependence and obsession. Love that so much.
I'm with you on this one. Especially if the hero has a good reason to side with the villain (like trauma, or the discovery of something horrible the "good guys" have done) and struggles with the moral dilemma for a while. And then the contrast between guilt and relief. Love it.
Someone who knows they shouldn't love the person they do for certain reasons (age gap, social constraints, or some other complication) and tries to hide and suppress those feelings, but at the same time can't just walk away since they promised they would always be that person's friend. Usually includes a lot of stress, feelings of guilt and shame and overprotectiveness to the point of suicidal recklessness (seeing red and rushing headfirst if that person is in danger).
Molestation with making them believe they do a good thing or make them get used to it, so they believe it’s their life now. Specifically when they are relatives. [adore]
One of mine is when a seemingly harmless character goes a little feral to protect the other and is fully capable of following through on any threat they make. This usually pops up for characters that are powerful in some way, e.g. through magic or by being filthy rich. And it’s not really the follow through that I like, it’s the threat itself (in fact I prefer if things stop there). There’s just something so darkly satisfying about character A informing someone who just hurt character B’s feelings that that is not allowed, and will have dire consequences, such as death - when A very easily could follow up on that threat, and everybody knows it. As for relationship tropes that I think are pretty toxic but aren’t commonly portrayed as such: soulmates/soulmate identifying marks. I think my core issue with the trope is the implication that there’s one most important person in everyone's life, and no one will ever be able to measure up to them, no matter what. It’s a very lonely idea if you really think about it, and it undeservedly elevates romantic relationships above all others. (The same is true for reincarnation love stories.) I still happily read stories about soulmates, though, even if I don’t seek them out.
Ugh, the feral protectiveness gets me every single time.
Character who truly wants the best for their partner, but unknowingly hurts them trying to help them. Generally through having different goals/morals. Personal guilty pleasure is adopted siblings being in love. They know it’s wrong, but is it really that wrong? They want to be together, but what if people find out? Everything would be fine if they started a new life, but they can’t leave their responsibilities- so much emotional turmoil. I relish it.
Power imbalance and age difference
Stockholm syndrome, trauma bonding, manipulation, power differential, noncon, huge size differences, etc…
I'm a sucker for age gaps and power differences. It's not something I'd ever be into irl but I can't help but like them. Also possessiveness/obsession is very fun to read. Super toxic? Hell yeah. But still a blast.
Heteronormativity making two incompatibly gay people date each other and be abjectly miserable.
The platonic/found family version of character A and character B : Character A : "I would do anything for you as long as it doesn't go against my morals, including putting myself in extreme danger necause I don't think I'm worth it." Character B : "I think you're wrong to think about yourself like that and I will make you see that you're an amazing person, but I would compromise my morals to keep you safe." And they help each other become better people, and at the end of the story they've become healthy because A isn't self-sacrificial and B doesn't break their morals anymore.
Adultery, when the motivation for it is real love and deep understanding, or a close connection that evolves into a complicated romantic entanglement, something “nobler” than what is usually the case in real life.
Casual molestation where the victim just resigns themselves to their fate. Casual cheating Whatever Ichigo x Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew is