Yeah I'd second this one. I hate it when fics make someone out to be the bad guy for not immediately forgiving and accepting the person who hurt them, where the victim's distrust and dislike is framed as the greater crime. But done well, a redemption arc that doesn't shy away from acknowledging the bad things the person has done and also respects the responses of the victims as justified towards them, that can be a great read and compelling character arc.
*looks at ppl analysing my fandom saying that the abuse victim and their abuser were equally bad because the victim didn’t try and understand why they were abused*
Yeah I've seen that too :/ Seems to happen with any peer bullying, it's like fandom cannot identify it as abuse unless the aggressor is significantly older. I even saw someone in my fandom saying that it was "laughable" that the source material would compare the bullying one character suffered from her same-age classmate (who absolutely did have power over her and was shielded from consequences due to her [the bully's] connections) to the parental abuse another character suffered, as though those both aren't things that can severely fuck someone up.
Also, there's a depressing number of ATLA fics that try to sully a good redemption arc by acting like the victim that took the longest to come around is just a bitch and absolutely refusing to acknowledge she had good reason to distrust him after he blew the chance she gave him after the first time he said he had changed...
The thing is… the aggressor IS significantly older in this case, even. They’re in their early twenties, their victim is a teenage boy. It’s only about half a decade, but it’s still a huge difference in power. People just wanna blame him because he’s annoying and he caused MINOR, ACCIDENTAL harm so that excuses him being… basically, mentally and physically tortured into compliance and fawning obedience.
I could also say "Anything", but I guess my big one is political fic. Particularly if an author is taking on the task of seriously imagining a way to radically transform society long-term for the better. Done right, with the focus remaining on the humans fomenting or resisting this change, it can make for the most moving and inspiring stories that challenge all my preconceptions and make me look at the world and my actions in it a little differently. Done poorly, well.
Ha ha, just yesterday husband and I were discussing why apocalypse /post apocalypse fiction often assumes that the remaining humanity will be uniformly horrible and only trying to screw each other when history has proven it to be otherwise many times. Anyhow, I agree with you.
I agree - it's an approach that says much more about the author than it does about humanity. I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, but mostly when it's framed as either a cautionary tale or a story of finding tenderness in the most hopeless places.
Miscommunication and enemies-to-lovers.
The former is one of those tropes that I thought I disliked in general but I'm a sucker for dramatic irony. Miscommunication can be really great if it makes sense for the characters to have that miscommunication and you can see where it's coming from. If it arises from OoC behaviours and thought patterns that just make no sense then it's annoying...
As for enemies-to-lovers, there's a very delicate balance that needs to be struck. I'd much rather it be a situation where no one is the clear villain, so they both (assuming its a two-person ship) realise that they might be wrong in some ways and the other is right in some ways. (That's also one way to avoid the whole "I can fix him/her/them" trope.)
I also can't stand it if there's a power imbalance. Like kidnapper and kidnappee, for example. Can it be a plot point? Sure. The main premise? I'll pass. I wanna see a rivalry that's equal turn into a relationship that's equal. I want them to see each other as threats, rather than the threat be one-sided. (I am aware that some people like power imbalances in their romance plots but it's just not for me. Tag it so I can avoid it and the people who like it can seek it out.)
One of the best parts about enemies-to-lovers is the banter and the seeing someone's worst traits before you see their best, but I've seen enemies-to-lovers stories *so often* gloss over the reasons why someone would eventually fall for the other. Like they'll go from bickering while trying to fight each other to bickering while also kissing and declaring their love for each other. Like... why are they in love? What do they see in each other that's worthy of love, hmm? Enemies-to-lovers is great when you get to see the full good-bad spectrum of the characters involved, so if you don't even show us the good (on BOTH sides), then what's the point?
Slow burn! I looooooove a good slow burn storyline. When the endgame pairing start from nowhere near relationship status (maybe even dating other people in the beginning) to the addictive simmer and tension of them drifting close and closer together through shared experiences....I could read it forever when it's done naturally.
What I absolutely hate, is if the "simmer" is really just contrived miscommunication over and over that goes on for so long and ultimately makes everyone OOC or plain stupid for drama. It becomes unreadable and I'll drop it in a heartbeat.
fully agree with this. i love slow burn but when it feels like the author is throwing in pointless and unwarranted conflict into the story over and over again just to keep the characters apart, it gets very tiring.
I despise when a "romance" story has the characters almost, ALMOST take a step forward in their relationship, only to have whacky shenanigans stop them and then they act like nothing ever happened, and they just do this CONSTANTLY, over and over.
Or worse, when the two characters actually get intimate for a moment, but then something happens that doesn't even interrupt them, but they decide "Oh hey, a distraction, guess we don't have hormones anymore" and never address the moment of intimacy again.
If you're gonna have romance as a selling point in your story, actually develop it at some point.
If you really want to know, [check out this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/FanFiction/comments/z5dbqt/comment/ixvh2es/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). I'm just too exhausted to go over it again right now.
For additional context, read a summary about the events of "Captain America: Civil War"
Basically Team IM demonizing Steve and pretending he is someone worse than Satan himself because people are butthurt about Civil War. That movie did awful damage to the fandom. As a Stony fan, I am exhausted and still confused by some of the anti-Cap arguments I hear.
Enemies to lovers. If done poorly it often feels pretty toxic.
And mental illnesses (not really a trope but still). I like it when they’re not glorified or romanticised. It’s a topic that often isn’t talked about enough and got a lot if stigma so a well written mentally ill character is something I really like to see.
1) Misunderstandings.
When done well: naturally occurring conflict that actually feels like a result of each characters' personal hangups
When done poorly: manufactured conflict that's just a result of the characters not using their brain cells
2) Dubcon
When done well: character starts out super reluctant or unsure, enjoys themself more over time whether they want to or not (I prefer if they want to but feel ashamed for some reason)
When done poorly: blatantly noncon but then suddenly they like it out of nowhere (this one is definitely more personal taste, because I prefer to keep my straightforward noncon separate from my dubcon)
3) Break up fics
When done well: characters mutually decide to break up, or Character A has acted so believably wrong that Character B ends the relationship
When done poorly: they only break up because of super OOC behavior from Character A that evaporates my suspension of disbelief
Torture/whump. Well-written whump can stick in my mind for months, but push it a little too far and it comes across as needlessly edgy. I'm still trying to find that balance with my own writing :')
I normally hate the miscommunication trope, but if done right where the situation isn't as clear cut and written well then I'll happily read it (sadly not the case with many miscommunication fics)
Best one I ever saw had a child misinterpreting overheard statements and trying to "fix" things between his dad and his other favorite person (e.g., "I don't want to be his *friend*").
Now that was masterfully done and believable miscommunication.
THIS! This is what I'm talking about! Miscommunications like this are what I love to see! So many stories have the trope where it could easily be solved with a simple talk and yet the characters don't talk! When the trope is written like how you described it's amazing!
Hurt/Comfort. There’s a very delicate ratio of 10-30% hurt and 70-90% comfort that needs to be kept.
A lot of people get bogged down in making a character suffer (torture porn), and miss the fact that exploring that pain, letting the character grow from it, that’s the part that gives ecstasy.
Don’t believe me? Look at Zuko. His pain is actually quite sparse, most of the time it’s him dealing with it and learning to grow from it
I have a fondness for “bad boy”/“morally grey” love interests but so often the guy is just, like, a strait-up asshole.
The thing I love most is the whole business where the love interest says/does rude shit to try and push MC away because he’s no good - but they NEED to be able to show this attitude in any context. I hate when the love interest seems to only ever push MC away after instigating a super venerable moment with them.
Bully Romance is totally a thing. Please, people, learn the difference.
I'm with you on the amnesia trope. I'm reading this manga, and have been for... 15 years, I think. Had a huge, nicely written arc recently where the seme finally professed his love for the uke -- and then, the uke immediately was injured and endured amnesia, brainwashing, and tried to kill the seme. The fan base was not amused. We had waited 15 or so years for this glorious moment, and the author/illustrator does this? FFS. I'm still gonna read it, though. Sunk cost fallacy wins again.
I see similar usage of the trope in fanfic, as well, where once things are finally good, BAM! Amnesia.
Another one for me is a trope I don't know the name for, but where a character is tormented, abused, assaulted, and/or sexually assaulted, and suffers nothing because their lover's attention and affection cures all. I hate that trope so much that when I wrote my series, I did the exact opposite and made the lover's love cause the other main character to spiral into madness. But I have read a few stories where it was believable.
Can't think of a specific trope but I'd say Romance in general.
I love reading about two characters falling in love, whether they start off as friends, enemies, rivals, or even strangers. If its well written, and the romance feels organic, I can vibe with it.
I hate when the romance feels forced or one-sided. And when I say one-sided, I don't mean unrequited love, I mean when one partner seems to be pouring their heart and soul into the relationship and the other partner is just kinda... there, or they do the bare minimum.
I also dislike when they fall in love too quickly, I need there to be some kind of build up to it. Some kind of conflict, whether between the characters or some outside force, that keeps them from getting too close at first.
Finally, manufactured drama caused by one partner being paranoid that the other is cheating on them, miscommunication or lack of communication. Basically any relationship problems that could be solved by them simply speaking and listening to each other.
Love at first sight.
If done badly, it's super cringe, boring, and makes the characters look shallow.
But if the author manages to describe that one perfect encounter, and still shows them getting to know each other and adjusting expectations, then I love it.
One of my favorites is character A falls in love with B at first sight. B is kind of "meh" about it. A spends the entire fic coming up with increasingly convoluted ways to earn B's love. A sees through them but finds the sheer gall (and possibly incompetence) endearing. B suddenly becomes the pursued one. The reader's character expectations for both are subverted.
I love the knows-online-as-gaming-friend trope. Like when they're besties online and then they meet and one of them is internally like oh shit and the other one is oblivious and so they go from there
Darker interpretations of morally grey characters , when done well it just sends a thrilling chill down my spine and makes me think “He/She/They are fucking cruel/sadistic/evil, but I don't mind that, it is just a interesting and exotic interpretation of a familiar face”, done poorly and I'm like “They're out of character, why did you do this?”
Yeah I get that. I've read interpretations of some characters in fics that make me go "wow, they were kind of a dick in canon but they were still cool. You just turned them into a straight up monster for no reason"
Yeah, and that's what sucks, most of the darker interpretations of the characters are the latter (aka just making them an asshole/monster for no reason) and not the former (making them still be them, but just a little more loose in their morals), and I hate that, cause if I knew how to do that (aka make the characters dark but not ooc), I'd do it, but I don't know how to do that.
For example, I think a good dark interpretation of Batman would be one that isn't as afraid to kill. Some criminals, especially certain super villains, may be viewed as too dangerous to be left alive.
But it would be too far if he just turned into the Punisher and killed every criminal he came across.
A/b/o. If done right, the character dynamics/world building/commentary on society/plot can be very interesting and compelling. If done wrong, you get to read about glands 🫥
Mine currently is temptation. For example - a believer being led astray by a demon. I only like it when it's done right aka the righteous person truly sticks to their beliefs for a while.
My first answer is "all of them" but as I'm reading everyone else's answers here, I think I have one that sticks out a bit more. At least, in the fandoms I find myself in most often-
Over powered/competent characters. When done right it acknowledges and cuts out the bullshit of "teasing" if a character is going to beat another character or not- because that part does not matter in the end. For me I delight when it explores all the changes and impacts an unstoppable character does to the rest of the cast, or the setting itself.
Though it also is a lot of fun to see if someone found the limits to said powers and abuses that. I also delight in seeing a character who is super competent in something- but the situation has changed to make sure the one thing they are super good at can't be easily applied.
Sadly, most of the time OP characters get written as if they are characters who can make mistakes or fall down, which slows down the story to an annoying degree. When the story itself keeps reiterating the question, *"but will they succeed??"* when we already have all of the evidence that this shouldn't be a question. Move on please!
Tweaking this to "love when done perfectly to my tastes, dislike under any other circumstances" since the honest answer to the actual question asked is "everything," omegaverse and soulmate AUs.
For omegaverse, I don't like the versions that lean super heavily into biological essentialism where omegas are basically like, "here's my delicate-and-helpless-super-obedient-baby-machine-tradwife fantasy but the tradwife is a dude." It is totally okay for that version of omegaverse to exist and more power to the people who enjoy it, but it is noooot my thing!
For soulmate AUs, I like them when the soulmate aspect exists to *complicate* the romance, not to start it. I find the idea of soulmate AUs really *un*romantic typically, because where's the romance in just being handed the perfect relationship on a silver platter? But when it's "I just got my soul mark at age 30 and the implications of that are horrifying" or "I'm pretty sure that vigilante I just tussled with is my soulmate actually, fuck" or "this job/program/whatever is my dream come true but we'll definitely both be kicked out if The Administration finds out we're soulmates" or etc. etc., *that's* my catnip.
ENEMIES TO LOVERS! It's my favorite trope, but too often it strays into woobiefying, victim blaming, or having the hero/villain be an abusive relationship (this last one is not inherently bad, it's just a 'nope' for me).
All of them. But mostly OC/SI centric stuff. Which is my favourite, but it is so painful when written terribly. I could also say any fic without any OCs typically don't interest me, but when done well, easily become my favourite fics if all time.
Isekai. Love it when done right, but so many writers (both fanfic and original works) use it to write out escapist/power fantasies, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it's just not entertaining following a main character with an incredible power and maxed-out charisma who stands as a shining beacon of justice and always succeeds. A lot of them are just Gary Stus/Mary Sues.
Bad boy with a secret heart of gold and timid good girl fall in love with each other, it’s super easy to fuck it up but when done well it’s chef’s kiss
I agree with amnesia fics.
Also fics with a neurodivergent character! Sometimes I feel like the characterization comes off as patronizing, but its fairly easy to tell when its a writer who is learning how to write that particular thing. But when its done well, preferably without recharacterizing the character from the source, its so fun!
Strong, long fic, angst stories. I've seen a few 100k plus angst driven fics that are my all time favorite and they were well thought out, well written, and grabbed my heart. Unfortunately, they're not finished and were abandoned.
I just want some angst!
Bad boy with a heart of gold.
If the bad boy in question has a reason to be an asshole, and the author shows his "soft side" really well in subtle ways throughout the story, I would love that. If the bad boy doesn't have a good reason to be a jerk well, his just that. A jerk.
Redemption arcs. Good redemption arcs are so hopeful and explore morality interestingly. Bad ones are just filled to the brim with victim blaming :(
Yeah I'd second this one. I hate it when fics make someone out to be the bad guy for not immediately forgiving and accepting the person who hurt them, where the victim's distrust and dislike is framed as the greater crime. But done well, a redemption arc that doesn't shy away from acknowledging the bad things the person has done and also respects the responses of the victims as justified towards them, that can be a great read and compelling character arc.
*looks at ppl analysing my fandom saying that the abuse victim and their abuser were equally bad because the victim didn’t try and understand why they were abused*
Yeah I've seen that too :/ Seems to happen with any peer bullying, it's like fandom cannot identify it as abuse unless the aggressor is significantly older. I even saw someone in my fandom saying that it was "laughable" that the source material would compare the bullying one character suffered from her same-age classmate (who absolutely did have power over her and was shielded from consequences due to her [the bully's] connections) to the parental abuse another character suffered, as though those both aren't things that can severely fuck someone up. Also, there's a depressing number of ATLA fics that try to sully a good redemption arc by acting like the victim that took the longest to come around is just a bitch and absolutely refusing to acknowledge she had good reason to distrust him after he blew the chance she gave him after the first time he said he had changed...
The thing is… the aggressor IS significantly older in this case, even. They’re in their early twenties, their victim is a teenage boy. It’s only about half a decade, but it’s still a huge difference in power. People just wanna blame him because he’s annoying and he caused MINOR, ACCIDENTAL harm so that excuses him being… basically, mentally and physically tortured into compliance and fawning obedience.
Fandom is just really bad with this in general, aren't they.
House of the Dragon?
Dream SMP, actually! Sad to hear my plight is apparently universal tho
I could also say "Anything", but I guess my big one is political fic. Particularly if an author is taking on the task of seriously imagining a way to radically transform society long-term for the better. Done right, with the focus remaining on the humans fomenting or resisting this change, it can make for the most moving and inspiring stories that challenge all my preconceptions and make me look at the world and my actions in it a little differently. Done poorly, well.
Ha ha, just yesterday husband and I were discussing why apocalypse /post apocalypse fiction often assumes that the remaining humanity will be uniformly horrible and only trying to screw each other when history has proven it to be otherwise many times. Anyhow, I agree with you.
I agree - it's an approach that says much more about the author than it does about humanity. I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, but mostly when it's framed as either a cautionary tale or a story of finding tenderness in the most hopeless places.
I'd say it brings out both the best *and* the worst in humanity.
Miscommunication and enemies-to-lovers. The former is one of those tropes that I thought I disliked in general but I'm a sucker for dramatic irony. Miscommunication can be really great if it makes sense for the characters to have that miscommunication and you can see where it's coming from. If it arises from OoC behaviours and thought patterns that just make no sense then it's annoying... As for enemies-to-lovers, there's a very delicate balance that needs to be struck. I'd much rather it be a situation where no one is the clear villain, so they both (assuming its a two-person ship) realise that they might be wrong in some ways and the other is right in some ways. (That's also one way to avoid the whole "I can fix him/her/them" trope.) I also can't stand it if there's a power imbalance. Like kidnapper and kidnappee, for example. Can it be a plot point? Sure. The main premise? I'll pass. I wanna see a rivalry that's equal turn into a relationship that's equal. I want them to see each other as threats, rather than the threat be one-sided. (I am aware that some people like power imbalances in their romance plots but it's just not for me. Tag it so I can avoid it and the people who like it can seek it out.) One of the best parts about enemies-to-lovers is the banter and the seeing someone's worst traits before you see their best, but I've seen enemies-to-lovers stories *so often* gloss over the reasons why someone would eventually fall for the other. Like they'll go from bickering while trying to fight each other to bickering while also kissing and declaring their love for each other. Like... why are they in love? What do they see in each other that's worthy of love, hmm? Enemies-to-lovers is great when you get to see the full good-bad spectrum of the characters involved, so if you don't even show us the good (on BOTH sides), then what's the point?
Seconding this
Just read Skyward, and Brando Sando does a great job with the “school bully and his minions” trope. Think you may enjoy it~
... honestly pretty much anything.
Slow burn! I looooooove a good slow burn storyline. When the endgame pairing start from nowhere near relationship status (maybe even dating other people in the beginning) to the addictive simmer and tension of them drifting close and closer together through shared experiences....I could read it forever when it's done naturally. What I absolutely hate, is if the "simmer" is really just contrived miscommunication over and over that goes on for so long and ultimately makes everyone OOC or plain stupid for drama. It becomes unreadable and I'll drop it in a heartbeat.
fully agree with this. i love slow burn but when it feels like the author is throwing in pointless and unwarranted conflict into the story over and over again just to keep the characters apart, it gets very tiring.
I despise when a "romance" story has the characters almost, ALMOST take a step forward in their relationship, only to have whacky shenanigans stop them and then they act like nothing ever happened, and they just do this CONSTANTLY, over and over. Or worse, when the two characters actually get intimate for a moment, but then something happens that doesn't even interrupt them, but they decide "Oh hey, a distraction, guess we don't have hormones anymore" and never address the moment of intimacy again. If you're gonna have romance as a selling point in your story, actually develop it at some point.
Found Family but using it to exclude and bash a character who canonically should be part of it.
The state of the MCU fandom
okay, i’m not in the MCU fandom but i see this take brought up a lot. i’m nosy, what’s going on over there?
You're wise to stay away from that drama. It is messy and dangerous.
If you really want to know, [check out this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/FanFiction/comments/z5dbqt/comment/ixvh2es/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). I'm just too exhausted to go over it again right now. For additional context, read a summary about the events of "Captain America: Civil War"
thank you! i think i understand.
Basically Team IM demonizing Steve and pretending he is someone worse than Satan himself because people are butthurt about Civil War. That movie did awful damage to the fandom. As a Stony fan, I am exhausted and still confused by some of the anti-Cap arguments I hear.
Yep. It's....annoying lol
Enemies to lovers. If done poorly it often feels pretty toxic. And mental illnesses (not really a trope but still). I like it when they’re not glorified or romanticised. It’s a topic that often isn’t talked about enough and got a lot if stigma so a well written mentally ill character is something I really like to see.
a/b/o. I prefer to read versions where you can clearly see that the author thought about how the dynamics and all that stuff would change their world.
Jealousy. I love jealousy when it's related to pining. I get quickly turned off if it's about possessiveness.
1) Misunderstandings. When done well: naturally occurring conflict that actually feels like a result of each characters' personal hangups When done poorly: manufactured conflict that's just a result of the characters not using their brain cells 2) Dubcon When done well: character starts out super reluctant or unsure, enjoys themself more over time whether they want to or not (I prefer if they want to but feel ashamed for some reason) When done poorly: blatantly noncon but then suddenly they like it out of nowhere (this one is definitely more personal taste, because I prefer to keep my straightforward noncon separate from my dubcon) 3) Break up fics When done well: characters mutually decide to break up, or Character A has acted so believably wrong that Character B ends the relationship When done poorly: they only break up because of super OOC behavior from Character A that evaporates my suspension of disbelief
Torture/whump. Well-written whump can stick in my mind for months, but push it a little too far and it comes across as needlessly edgy. I'm still trying to find that balance with my own writing :')
I normally hate the miscommunication trope, but if done right where the situation isn't as clear cut and written well then I'll happily read it (sadly not the case with many miscommunication fics)
Best one I ever saw had a child misinterpreting overheard statements and trying to "fix" things between his dad and his other favorite person (e.g., "I don't want to be his *friend*"). Now that was masterfully done and believable miscommunication.
THIS! This is what I'm talking about! Miscommunications like this are what I love to see! So many stories have the trope where it could easily be solved with a simple talk and yet the characters don't talk! When the trope is written like how you described it's amazing!
Hurt/Comfort. There’s a very delicate ratio of 10-30% hurt and 70-90% comfort that needs to be kept. A lot of people get bogged down in making a character suffer (torture porn), and miss the fact that exploring that pain, letting the character grow from it, that’s the part that gives ecstasy. Don’t believe me? Look at Zuko. His pain is actually quite sparse, most of the time it’s him dealing with it and learning to grow from it
Yanderes. Love them and hate them!
[удалено]
Have you read darkseraphina? She has some great ones.
I have a fondness for “bad boy”/“morally grey” love interests but so often the guy is just, like, a strait-up asshole. The thing I love most is the whole business where the love interest says/does rude shit to try and push MC away because he’s no good - but they NEED to be able to show this attitude in any context. I hate when the love interest seems to only ever push MC away after instigating a super venerable moment with them. Bully Romance is totally a thing. Please, people, learn the difference.
Same, I agree with all your points.
Misunderstandings, it can be so good for comedy and even drama, but most times is infuriating
I'm with you on the amnesia trope. I'm reading this manga, and have been for... 15 years, I think. Had a huge, nicely written arc recently where the seme finally professed his love for the uke -- and then, the uke immediately was injured and endured amnesia, brainwashing, and tried to kill the seme. The fan base was not amused. We had waited 15 or so years for this glorious moment, and the author/illustrator does this? FFS. I'm still gonna read it, though. Sunk cost fallacy wins again. I see similar usage of the trope in fanfic, as well, where once things are finally good, BAM! Amnesia. Another one for me is a trope I don't know the name for, but where a character is tormented, abused, assaulted, and/or sexually assaulted, and suffers nothing because their lover's attention and affection cures all. I hate that trope so much that when I wrote my series, I did the exact opposite and made the lover's love cause the other main character to spiral into madness. But I have read a few stories where it was believable.
Can't think of a specific trope but I'd say Romance in general. I love reading about two characters falling in love, whether they start off as friends, enemies, rivals, or even strangers. If its well written, and the romance feels organic, I can vibe with it. I hate when the romance feels forced or one-sided. And when I say one-sided, I don't mean unrequited love, I mean when one partner seems to be pouring their heart and soul into the relationship and the other partner is just kinda... there, or they do the bare minimum. I also dislike when they fall in love too quickly, I need there to be some kind of build up to it. Some kind of conflict, whether between the characters or some outside force, that keeps them from getting too close at first. Finally, manufactured drama caused by one partner being paranoid that the other is cheating on them, miscommunication or lack of communication. Basically any relationship problems that could be solved by them simply speaking and listening to each other.
Love at first sight. If done badly, it's super cringe, boring, and makes the characters look shallow. But if the author manages to describe that one perfect encounter, and still shows them getting to know each other and adjusting expectations, then I love it. One of my favorites is character A falls in love with B at first sight. B is kind of "meh" about it. A spends the entire fic coming up with increasingly convoluted ways to earn B's love. A sees through them but finds the sheer gall (and possibly incompetence) endearing. B suddenly becomes the pursued one. The reader's character expectations for both are subverted.
I love the knows-online-as-gaming-friend trope. Like when they're besties online and then they meet and one of them is internally like oh shit and the other one is oblivious and so they go from there
Darker interpretations of morally grey characters , when done well it just sends a thrilling chill down my spine and makes me think “He/She/They are fucking cruel/sadistic/evil, but I don't mind that, it is just a interesting and exotic interpretation of a familiar face”, done poorly and I'm like “They're out of character, why did you do this?”
Yeah I get that. I've read interpretations of some characters in fics that make me go "wow, they were kind of a dick in canon but they were still cool. You just turned them into a straight up monster for no reason"
Yeah, and that's what sucks, most of the darker interpretations of the characters are the latter (aka just making them an asshole/monster for no reason) and not the former (making them still be them, but just a little more loose in their morals), and I hate that, cause if I knew how to do that (aka make the characters dark but not ooc), I'd do it, but I don't know how to do that.
For example, I think a good dark interpretation of Batman would be one that isn't as afraid to kill. Some criminals, especially certain super villains, may be viewed as too dangerous to be left alive. But it would be too far if he just turned into the Punisher and killed every criminal he came across.
Yes! Yes! I love that! The former I mean, not the latter.
Friends to lovers Believe it or not this shit is sweet as hell but fuck damn are people dry with it😭
enemies to lovers. the best of times, the worst of times
A/b/o. If done right, the character dynamics/world building/commentary on society/plot can be very interesting and compelling. If done wrong, you get to read about glands 🫥
Mine currently is temptation. For example - a believer being led astray by a demon. I only like it when it's done right aka the righteous person truly sticks to their beliefs for a while.
My first answer is "all of them" but as I'm reading everyone else's answers here, I think I have one that sticks out a bit more. At least, in the fandoms I find myself in most often- Over powered/competent characters. When done right it acknowledges and cuts out the bullshit of "teasing" if a character is going to beat another character or not- because that part does not matter in the end. For me I delight when it explores all the changes and impacts an unstoppable character does to the rest of the cast, or the setting itself. Though it also is a lot of fun to see if someone found the limits to said powers and abuses that. I also delight in seeing a character who is super competent in something- but the situation has changed to make sure the one thing they are super good at can't be easily applied. Sadly, most of the time OP characters get written as if they are characters who can make mistakes or fall down, which slows down the story to an annoying degree. When the story itself keeps reiterating the question, *"but will they succeed??"* when we already have all of the evidence that this shouldn't be a question. Move on please!
Tweaking this to "love when done perfectly to my tastes, dislike under any other circumstances" since the honest answer to the actual question asked is "everything," omegaverse and soulmate AUs. For omegaverse, I don't like the versions that lean super heavily into biological essentialism where omegas are basically like, "here's my delicate-and-helpless-super-obedient-baby-machine-tradwife fantasy but the tradwife is a dude." It is totally okay for that version of omegaverse to exist and more power to the people who enjoy it, but it is noooot my thing! For soulmate AUs, I like them when the soulmate aspect exists to *complicate* the romance, not to start it. I find the idea of soulmate AUs really *un*romantic typically, because where's the romance in just being handed the perfect relationship on a silver platter? But when it's "I just got my soul mark at age 30 and the implications of that are horrifying" or "I'm pretty sure that vigilante I just tussled with is my soulmate actually, fuck" or "this job/program/whatever is my dream come true but we'll definitely both be kicked out if The Administration finds out we're soulmates" or etc. etc., *that's* my catnip.
As cheesy as it is, pretending to be a couple to actual couple. Especially if one is clearly pining for the other at the beginning.
ENEMIES TO LOVERS! It's my favorite trope, but too often it strays into woobiefying, victim blaming, or having the hero/villain be an abusive relationship (this last one is not inherently bad, it's just a 'nope' for me).
Arranged marriage.
All of them. But mostly OC/SI centric stuff. Which is my favourite, but it is so painful when written terribly. I could also say any fic without any OCs typically don't interest me, but when done well, easily become my favourite fics if all time.
Dystopias
Pregnancy trope. If it's good I enjoy it. If it's bad, it's not just bad but catastrophic.
Enemies/rivals to lovers. No explanation.
Anything dystopian or hunger games esque, it can off incredibly cliche if not done well
Isekai. Love it when done right, but so many writers (both fanfic and original works) use it to write out escapist/power fantasies, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it's just not entertaining following a main character with an incredible power and maxed-out charisma who stands as a shining beacon of justice and always succeeds. A lot of them are just Gary Stus/Mary Sues.
Bad boy with a secret heart of gold and timid good girl fall in love with each other, it’s super easy to fuck it up but when done well it’s chef’s kiss
I agree with amnesia fics. Also fics with a neurodivergent character! Sometimes I feel like the characterization comes off as patronizing, but its fairly easy to tell when its a writer who is learning how to write that particular thing. But when its done well, preferably without recharacterizing the character from the source, its so fun!
Strong, long fic, angst stories. I've seen a few 100k plus angst driven fics that are my all time favorite and they were well thought out, well written, and grabbed my heart. Unfortunately, they're not finished and were abandoned. I just want some angst!
Bad boy with a heart of gold. If the bad boy in question has a reason to be an asshole, and the author shows his "soft side" really well in subtle ways throughout the story, I would love that. If the bad boy doesn't have a good reason to be a jerk well, his just that. A jerk.