fanfic tropes pros and cons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 เม.ย. 2022
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What are the pros and cons for your favorite fanfic tropes? :0
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hi
That shirt is very nice! Where did you get it?
hello
@@ariverbythesea I’m asking the same question
Arranged marriage- REI HIMURA AND ENJI TODOROKI!!!!!!!!!! IT WENT TO SHIT!!!!! COMPLETE SHIT!!!!!!!
Ok but, soulmate au where the characters choose each other even if they weren't soulmates are the best. Has a lot of potential for fluff, angst, slow burn and all that good stuff.
I remember years ago reading a few soulmate AU YuGiOh fics where all the shippings were pointing out a huge potential problem in soulmate settings and it‘s one of my fave fics ever (sadly, in german, so kinda hard to recommend to others). One of the subplots literally was *nonbeliever of the soulmate „bs“ x guy who obsesses over it to the point he doesn‘t allow himself to grow truly close because in this „temporary arrangement“ because he refuses to believe „that‘s *my* real soulmate“*. Some pretty good angst before they inevitably get together after talking it out a long while.
Is this type of plot that rare? I find it in a lot of zosan fics, zoro hates the idea of soulmates and even finds ways to avoid finding his soulmate, sanji is obsessed with the idea of finding his soulmate and tries his best to figure out if every person he meets is his soulmate or not. They then fall in love and sanji respects zoro’s wishes in not finding his soulmate, and depending on the fic sanji either chooses to stay with zoro even if he meets his soulmate or they find out they are each other’s soulmates in the end, there was also one fic where zoro was platonic soulmates with perona and sanji was romantic soulmates with camie but sanji found a way to break these bonds so that zoro and him would become soulmates instead
@@V1G4M1 Yeah, that's pretty good. In one particular fic I've read, person A and person B liked each other but person A was hesitant to take a chance in case person B wasn't their soulmate. 'cuz person A's parents broke up after their father found his soulmate even when their mother was still in love with him... or something. Still, it teaches you that you have the right to choose and not let fate control your life and I like that about this particular brand of soulmates au.
@@kawansiesquad6659 It's rare in the fandoms I'm in, at least. But yeah, I like the idea that one character can defy what's supposed to be set in stone or tied to a red string so they can choose their own soulmate. It makes their love, platonic or not, more genuine, ya know?
Omg, yessss
“Do you guys ever have that awful problem where you finish a tv show or movie you love, and you want more content similar to it, but you just don’t know where to start?”
Fanfiction. Immediately after finishing a good series or movie I open AO3.
For me, it’s not the plot I want more of. It’s those specific characters. 😭
I agree to both of these lol
Fanfiction and fanart. Praise be to our gods the authors and artists
I have only found one show so far with zero fanfiction and it was a very sad day because I loved the show T-T
Well, I say zero, it had *one* partly done fic on Wattpad because I was desperate to find _something_ but that hasn't been touched since 2014.
@@weltato The worst fate
My favorite trope, or at least tag is:
Not actually unrequited love
Its just so nice to see a character that was convinced their feelings were unrequited and tried so hard to be content with what they had, realize that their love is reciprocated. Gets me every damn time
My guy (gender neutral). Buddy. Pal. I was half expecting to be called out about something in this comment section but I was not expecting to get straight up murdered /pos
HUA CHENG MY BELOVED ♡♡♡ This trope is done so well in heaven official's blessing
@@kitsuchu7861 was about to mention Hua Cheng too 😌😌
That’s every fan fic I’ve read with the romance happening between two gay characters (for obvious reasons). I also like this tag but sometimes it’s so poorly written, but when they do get together it has me screaming and pumping my fist in the air 😅
Tgcf??? 👀👀
i think the most unrealistic part of college aus is having an extroverted bff/roommate that drags you places bcs they care about your lacking social life 😅
It happens! I was the extroverted friend dragging others everywhere with me, but I’ve slowly become the one who needs to be dragged places lmao
My first roommate and I clung to each other until we figured out how to socialize with other people, then our socialization became mostly incidental lol. I've had good relationships with most of my roommates, but support was mostly having fun talking until 3 am or me being fine with bugs and helping to get rid of them
Not as unrealistic as you might think. Find yourself in the accidental right group of friends and it can happen. It did for me. Had this one friend that constantly dragged me out for coffee trips and other stuff. Mostly cause I was one of the people that actually had a car.
it DOES happen-- well, it happened to me! except, he lived down the hall, wasn't my roommate. now that i'm home again, i'm back to going absolutely nowhere! lmao
??? what are you talking about, happens literally all the time. "Extrovert platonically adopts Introvert" is such a cliche because half of all writers have personal experience to call upon for it.
As an asexual who doesn't want to have sex, smut is such a funny trope to me. I love reading it, but it's more like how you'd read angst. You don't want to go through what the characters are going through, but you like watching sh*t go down
Also every time I scroll down into the comments I get hit with the realization that people actually want this stuff to happen to them and I just find it really oddly amusing.
"Omg this is so hot!" Like go off I guess but why?? Lol
Dude I’ve literally become that person who will sit around and read smut for a laugh, I felt this
lol this is funny, I relate to this in a different way
I've always liked reading smut, but never in a "putting myself in their place" kinda way, it actually turned me off. So much, that I even considered being asexual (I'm definitely in the spectrum tho)
Guess I'm just a voyeur lmao
Oh same/similar I quite enjoy smut but throw anything irl or outside of a fanfic/book at me and it's a hard nope or not getting it
me exactly. I read smut because I mostly just want to read about the plot outside of the sex, because (presumably) the characters will have romantic scenes without sex, and I live for that. me and my best friend both love fanfic and enjoy reading it together, and (now typing this is sounds a bit weird but uh) sometimes we'd read smut, and we have a running joke about how I ruined some of my friend's fave smut fanfics by just criticizing the writing of the smut scenes, like "that sounds so uncomfortable" and "ugh this dialogue is so unnatural" (which was true btw they sounded like robots) lol.
I literally read smut to see what people come up with and just never take it seriously, but it really does sometimes upset me like, gives me a feeling like I have a bad stomachache
"Oh no, I have feelings.." THIS. THIS CAN'T BE MORE ACCURATE
Enemies to Lovers Pro: The ability to explore just how similar two people on opposite sides can be. Yes we are against one another, and we both absolutely hate the fact that we are mirror versions of one another.
Enemies to lovers Con: People keep writing Rivals to Lovers and think it qualifies as being actual enemies.
PREACH!! There is nothing more disappointing than reading something tagged as enemies to lovers and it just being a mild rivalry. I have trust issues bc of it
Exactly
enemies to lovers is at the start along the lines of actively trying to kill each other or causing meaningful harm whether it's bringing up something from one's past or breaking their nose/punching them to will risk their life to protect the other maybe with some body worship being especially tender to the scars they've given each other.
Rivals and to lovers: (strongly) disliking how they operate or trying to get the same goal before the other to working together and/or understanding
Enemies and Rivals, are the same thing. Just different degrees. So this troupe has sub categories
Another Con: bad pacing, especially with a trope like this pacing and plot control is v important so when it goes from 1 too 100 to quickly is can get frustrating
or they are low key toxic and abusive even when they are “together”
Timestamps:
1:54 Angst
3:17 Fluff
4:37 Found family
5:39 Hurt & comfort
6:43 Smut
7:47 Mutual pining
8:00 Unrequited love
8:44 arranged marriage
10:12 fake dating
11:02 miscommunication
11:30 enemies to lover
12:55 friends to lovers
14:29 childhood friends to lovers
15:40 Love triangle
16:36 only one bed
17:39 slow burn
18:35 Soulmate
20:03 coffee shop au
20:53 supernatural au
21:50 major character death
THANK YOU MY SAVIOR
THANKS
I NEVER FIND HURT/COMFORT THATS COMPLETED SO ITS ALWAYS JUST HURT 😭😭
THANK YOU SO MUCH STRANGER ON THE INTERNET
WHY ARE Y’ALL TALKING IN ALL CAPS
I haven't read that many soulmate aus, but the one I did read that kinda stuck with me was a seeing colour thing.
And people who had already met their soulmates could see exactly who hadn't, because they were wearing clothes that did not fit together at all.
So when the protagonists met, they were so distracted by : "WAIT WHY IS MY FAVOURITE HOODIE NEON ORANGE?!" and "WHAT THE ACTUAL F IS ALL OF THIS SHIT?!" that they just ignored each other and were afterwards like "oh come on!"
It was one of the funniest fics I've ever read.
Oh my god, that's hilarious while also making so much sense!
Yo this sounds really fun what fandom is it from? What’s it called?
@@autumn_3989 I don't remember what it's called or where I read it, but it was a Draco/Harry Muggle au. Wait, I try and see if it's on Wattpad or ao3
@@samrose3476 just leaving my comment to get notification in case you find it
@@gowthher999 SAME LMAO
I call "unactual love triangles" as love angles instead ✨
I call them love corners
I prefer the term "Love Vertices" myself.
i call them “love lambdas” since they’re often shaped like the greek letter lambda lol
Love spikes of doom specially for that mess of a triangle in Wednesday
@@millytheomegawolf6175 accurate
7:38 I want to know if Coley is throwing shades at that one Twitter account who yelled at smut fanfic writers for causing her to get pregnant because the fanfics she read didn't teach her about sex education 😂
What's the girl account
Excuse me WHAT
@@-chenlanying5818 It was three years and they deleted their account I think.
@@sunriseserpent8888 No joke! Expect fanfic writers to baby their readers to be realistic in smut fics 🤷🏻♀️
whattt
I swear I’m that guy that enjoy reading fluff, domestic fluff, and hurt comfort and than the next hour read endless amounts of smut.
My man , I understand you.Not alone
same man, same
This is me
Same my dude
Yep, same here :>
My favorite part of the "only one bed" trope is when one character chooses to sleep on the couch/floor so the other can have the bed to themselves.
I had this funny scenario in my mind where two characters get a motel room with only one bed without realizing it. As soon as one see their only bed, one character just goes like “Nah! I am not sleeping with you. I’m sleeping on the floor, you take the bed.” The other character feels sad the other is sleeping on the floor so he give them some pillows to sleep on.
That the basic idea, I don’t know what happens next.
I always figured that’s what it was until like, last year. It never occurred to me that people would be comfortable enough with being in *any* bed with someone they didn’t love, haha.
what about “both characters are too polite to lay on the bed so they both end up on the floor”
@@wren_. I saw one where they both couldn’t decide who got the bed (they both wanted it, wouldn’t let the other win) so they both ended up on the floor, but the both snuck into the bed at night, so they ended up sharing it anyways 😭
I was sitting here like "I've never read a coffee shop au before, maybe I should look into that," before then immediately realizing I actually have, they were just all blended with superhero/vigilante aus. Wild combo but it works really well for secret identity shenanigans
omg yes i had the same thought until i realized ive already read at least two LONG mha fanfics w the coffee shop au
I love Coffeeshop aus if they are blended in fantastical mystery, maybe enemies/friend to lovers, because you didn't know the vampire you have been hunting was the same pretty guy serving you almond tofu whenever not finding the vampire gets to frustrating
I think another major downside to slow burn is just that you have to be a pretty good writer to make the leadup interesting (aka a lot of text with relatively little action). Like I can handle a one chapter fic that's kinda mediocrely written if it's hot or the premise is interesting but I probably won't read 20 chapters of an unfinished fic if it's not unusually good
Yeah probably my favorite approach is when they're on some level attracted to/fantasizing about each other but for whatever reasons they aren't acting on things intersperse the thirst though not necessarily in a physical sense if that makes sense
@@VoraciousRdr but it also has the difficulty that to make it slow can make the characters seem very oblivious which can get annoying. You have to balance enough stuff happening that it doesn't get too boring but also not so much that it makes the characters seem frustratingly dense.
@@martianpudding9522 I read a fic like this. It had 50 chapters 400k+ words and just SLOW. I read half of it and it was a waste of time. First 6 chapters, it was an entire duration of ONE day in the story. Pacing was non-existent and the author kept dancing around the plot instead of actually progressing it. Paragraphs of useless info dump about feelings and memories the character has already mentioned like 5 times. Not to mention more than 8 paragraphs worth about feelings and responsibility but real time duration was only 5 seconds. An entire chapter dedicated to create tension between the couple but was just annoying and badly executed. It's okay to make characters miscommunicate, but it's annoying when it's a problem you can just solve by talking to each other. There's literally zero reasons not to talk about it. Especially the fact the characters trust for each other is good. Since the story revolves around war, the characters talked about it and how they'll be in the front lines soon, but they're doing ZERO training and will ONLY be training for TWO weeks before leaving. More info dump about past actions, future battle tactics, you know, mind numbing conversation that'll never useful for the plot of the story.
Fml this story isn't even finished yet and obviously still on the tip of the iceberg. Last I checked, it was on hiatus.
i think that's why it's important to have well fleshed out characters with motives beyond just getting into a relationship with the other character. make them friends, give them chemistry, have a reason for people to want them to get together. let them bond before the kissy stuff happens.
yeah! there has a to be a lotta tension too ( at least 4 me)
Well, as a fanfiction writer, I think a fic would be good to contain a little of everything. That is, not to stay constant in just one ambience whether it's a cute fluff or an angst, because it ends up tedious. A teacher of mine once told me that life is not a straight line. It's like a cardiogram going up and down. And so, should be any story we read, weather it's fanfic or regular fiction.
Same. I like to mix it up from time to time
I couldn't agree more. TBH, I hate the constant "OMG my precious baby boi who's my fav character can never have a happy ending. He must be angst 1000% all the way from beginning to end and your opinion is invalid because angst only." I HATE people who are like that. They honestly turned off any want I have of angst because of people like them 🤦🏻♀️
Yup yup! I've recently fallen into writing darker stories with body horror and the like, but mixing that stuff with the fluff and hurt/comfort (especially the comfort) makes the good stuff shine more and be more appreciated in the end. That's why they're the good bits, because the rest is a nightmare. Lol.
T H I S
Like, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy writing angst bc I like seeing the comments of ppl suffering, but even I don’t want to constantly have angst. I enjoy writing more chill fics that have a plot, but there’s also several chapters where we take a break from the chaos and angst and just chill. Not necessarily fluffy, just…chill. Idk how to really describe it, lmao
I agree. The main plot is important to have a clear direction on where the story's going, but that doesn't mean the subplots has to follow suit. I haven't read a single fic yet with multiple genres in one. Anybody wanna recommend me some?
fake dating, arranged marriage, forced proximity:
pros: can be funny
cons: literally nothing stopping them from being together once they figure omg they love me back.... like it just destroys angst... the whole reason i'm reading romance is for the angst...(realising I worded this really badly but what I don't like about these tropes is that it kind of takes away the slow burn)
th-cam.com/video/93Fyv4XAr-A/w-d-xo.html
Finally its here
I mean, yeah! *once they figure out they love me back* being the key here… the potential of resentment, angst, misunderstandings… it‘s huge before that tho! :D also, depending on what you make of it, if it‘s, for example a royal AU, there‘s always the parties that try to break them off because of their own interests that can be implemented as a danger to the now „safe“ status quo
@@V1G4M1 i understand your point but the 'do they love me back' is in like every trope. i will say though i haven't read any fics where there are people trying to break them off and that sounds really good. actually that sounds amazing.
@@igotsomechicken9714 oh I‘m not talking „do they love me back“ I‘m more talking about an enemies to lovers kinda approach. Arranged marriage but they start out by loathing each other and it‘s an angsty slow burn until they finally accept each other as partners.
@@igotsomechicken9714 and yeah, I haven‘t really read fics with „they‘re happy together but their surrounding tries to break them up for their political interest“ either. It‘s such a huge angst potential 😩🙌🏻😌
That's why angst flourishes well when paired with hurt/comfort. Balance them well, add slow burn, and you're in for a long delicious haul of soothing pain. 😅
After I watched your video about reverse fanfiction tropes, there’s been a little brainworm in the back of my head called ‘Slow Freeze’ (partly inspired by the comments section on that video as well). I don’t think it’s an actual recognised trope but like, the potential for angst - a beautiful, loving, happy relationship slowly growing colder until it eventually falls apart.
Every time my friend annoys me I threaten them with a Chilumi slow freeze hehehehe…
😯 actually i have read a lot of those (usually its to destroy one of the side ships, or the relationship one of the protagonist have with someone else), and its true, should be reconize as a trope, couse its very usefull plot device
You ship chilumi?
@@appletart7262 Kind of. I ship both Chilumi and chili, not really seeking out or avoiding either.
I feel like rivals to lovers is underappreciated because you have a similar vibe to enemies to lovers but it's more of a "I don't quite hate you, you're just fun to piss off" kind of thing
you hit the problem with childhood friends/friends to lovers on the nose. Like, don't get me wrong, it's REALLY cute when it's just two flustered idiots trying to confess but failing because they're insecure/shy, but... if you're someone that adores the shit out of platonic fluff and found fmaily like me, this whole thing seriously cheapens friendships. Sometimes it even gives me "this person clearly cannot distinguish romance from friendship and it shows" vibes.
On the topic of lack of realism with the “arranged marriage” trope: it is entirely to be arranged to marry someone you don’t like, and never will.
I gotta admit, I love the trope in the case of both parties being unhappy with it, bonding over that fact and actually finding a way out. Like taking their son tahat they love despite all of it, moving to a far away place together and both finding someone they can love romantically (optional). Especially when they were friends before.
Bonus points if they play Mario kart on their wedding night. Give me a new chapter, you can't just leave it at this amazing opening!
@@evobrand1210 Ooh, I like that concept. I do appreciate tales where characters subvert the expected "eventually they'll be a Ship" and instead Take a Third Option or whatever -- especially if they can manage to stay friends afterwards.
Though also, with regards to the realism of arranged marriage: I find there's a level of ethnocentrism with the way that Western audiences judge arranged-marriage cultures. Like, yes, okay, there's certainly plenty of people who get pushed into marriage for social reasons where the actual feelings of the couple aren't taken into consideration, or are at least sidelined, and there's plenty of marriages that under different cultures would end in divorce or would never have started to begin with. And of course the idea that marriage is the default, and women are made to be wives, and there are no good options for those who don't want to be, etc.
But there's also the more positive side, which is a clan working hard as a group to find a compatible pairing of people who normally would never have run across each other -- where the group considers key factors about the personality and interests of each potential suitor, and bring them together. Like outsourcing a dating app to your extended family, and only showing up for the final date, as it were?
Ravi Zacharias once discussed this with his brother, who was, IIRC, moving to Canada to be with his new bride. And Ravi was like "but what if you don't love her?" and his brother looked at him like he was nuts, and pointed out that love isn't an *emotion* but an *action* based on a decision -- and he had the full intention of loving his new wife. And while certainly you might run across people who are incompatible despite that intention, or where one party is far more invested in being true to the marriage than the other, it feels to me like if you go into a marriage with the full intention of being a good partner and doing right by your mate, then a lot of other concerns are far less of an issue. You can weather the littler things.
So upon reading that anecdote, I had to confront the fact that I've only ever had an outsider's view of arranged marriage, and a very America-centric idea of what all it entailed. And if so many cultures have been using it for so long, and those cultures are still thriving and many of them still using arranged marriage even today, well... clearly it can't be as wholesale bad as many people make it out to be.
(That said, obviously in a fanfic we're gonna dial up the angst and give the participants extra reason to feel conflicted or negative about the union. Wouldn't be quite so much fun if we didn't!)
I open ao3 belike:
+ Angst
+ Major characters dead
+ Hurt no comfort
I'm a platonic freak, its so hart to find one platonic fic for the ship. So i made them myself sometimes
Jep, we are opposites. That sounds like my personal nightmare. No, wait, it is.
But nice if you have fun
Angst and suffering is fun for me but platonic stuff is beautiful too.
Seeing that there's a lack of platonic fics now gives me pain.
@@islandko2402 Amatonormativity can get so annoying/frustrating/boring...
My issue with Soul Mate is that it typically feels like people treat it as DIVINELY/COSMICLY ORDAINED ARRANGED MARRIAGE. To me it's more like suddenly find the person you somehow near instantly sync with as if you're two halves once belong to the same being reunited, choosing each other after soul-searching and confirming their hopes about the relationship to become that "ride or die/ your god shall be my god/with you till the end of line" union, not justs mate in body but more importantly in soul aka SOUL MATES".
Agreed, one of the best fics I’ve read with this trope was one where the characters were enemies before realizing they were soulmates (I think is was like something they tell you written on your wrist or that kind of soul mark I don’t remember 100%) and they were also together in previous lives, but in this one one of them was just like “no! No way, just because we’re soulmates doesn’t mean you deserve my sympathy like I actually hate you” and I think (but I not sure it was a while ago maybe I should reread it) the other one had started to fall for them and it was *not* a happy ending
Not a fic but I read a YA book series once where the female protagonist had two love interests, the first a pretty average guy, the other her "divinely/cosmically ordained" soulmate with whom she had been together with in all/multiple previous lives. She first got together with the first, then (submitted to fate?) with the second but in the end, she "chose to defy fate" by ultimately picking the average guy. I hated that because I believe that you maybe can have multiple soulmates but what defines a soulmate is that when there are two love interests only one of which is a soulmate, you cannot not choose the soulmate. And the series did not make me believe that the average guy was her soulmate as well.
@@EleiyaUmei the DCAU series Justice League Unlimited had the relationship of Green Lantern John Stewart and Hawk Girl which played with this.
The lore with Hawk girl is that she and the hero Hawk Man are tragic reincarnating lovers who are aways destined to eventually reunite and remember each other in every lifetime but often die in the line of duty sometime after, usually at the hands of their reincarnating killer Shadow Thief.
This time around she fell in love with GL John Stewart and eventually settled down to start a family after her romantic rival Vixen heroly die in a tie-in comic, her final word saying they were meant to be. This went along with an episode when the three teamed up with Hawk Man to stop the Shadow Thief. This time around Hawk Girl didn't really remember her ancient lover, and Hawk Man smiled in the distance thinking "I guess can wait another lifetime" as to acknowledge that they work as soul mates even if they weren't fated in the same way.
Does this make sense in any appealing way?
@@jamcalx It makes sense, I don't know about the appealing part, though ^^' But I guess as long as one soulmate is not deemed bad or inferior to the other lover/love interest, the other soulmate choosing that other lover is not painted as them breaking out of a cycle and there is at least the possibility of the soulmates being together in another life/parallel universe etc. (and that last thing seems to be the case in your example), it works for me..
Mutual pining is this perfect mixture of loving it and just utter frustration! 150k words of two characters already being in love with each other but thinking their feelings are unrequited. Its perfect. But I hate it. But I love it.
I swear, hurt/comfort has literally been my favorite fanfiction trope since the moment I read my first fic so many years ago,
Seeing my favorite character suffering and then being comforted by another character just scratches an itch I always have for that type of stuff. I just love seeing other characters realize that my favorite character is going through something and trying to fix it cause they care. It makes me so happy it’s almost all I read and write lol.
When a fic is good and goes exactly how I want it to go, it is *so* satisfying, which is exactly why I enjoy writing my own fics-plus, it has the added bonus of getting comments praising your work.
*Edit:* I also just remembered that I felt this way even before I found out fanfiction existed 💀 When I was a kid, I literally had a dream where Ethan from My Babysitter’s a Vampire got kidnapped and the other characters and I had to go save him but my mom woke me up before we could do it lmao. I also remember being so disappointed when Spider-Man in The Ultimate Spider-Man didn’t get hurt badly enough to satisfy me whenever he got rescued or something, specifically when the submarine-ship-thing got blown up underwater and he somehow made it out okay lol-I’ve always been this way :’)
Sorry for the essay lol, I always have too much to say and I need to get it all out into words or it feels incomplete ✌️
same
i'm a slow as s#!t writer (im trying okay) but i put my favs trew the wringer then patch them up after more time then i can count
I relate to this so hard!😭💕 since I was little I’ve always wanted to save or comfort my fav character either on my own or with other characters I like from that show/franchise, it’s just so goddamn cute to think about. I swear I don’t have a saviour complex or anything😂
oh my word yes! hurt/comfort is the only fan fiction I read. my conscience cannot for the life of me allow me to read smut but give me a heaping ton of whump and my life is complete
SAMEEEEE i love anything that turns on my Protective Instincts™️
@@wannabenovelist THIS
The other biggest issue with Friends to Lovers is that it often stinks of Lead Boy must date Lead Girl, which also undermines male/female friendships. This is less of an issue when it's gay because in those cases, it's not an overdone trope to the point of annoying cliche. Just let boys and girls be best friends without the need to smooch!
True! Plus why not have a awesome pair of best friends(the leads) and one of them can have their own separate friend who they’re in love with. That’s gives potential of either one of the leads feeling jealous(not for wanting to be in a relationship with the other lead, but spending time with them) or wholesome shenanigans of one being a wingman to the other.
Thank you!!👏👏👏👏 I have a pretty lame story where the main female character is best friends with two attractive guys, who she isn't interested in. Because she's been friends with guy A since they were 6, so Westermack Effect, and the other came along later, but neither party is interested. The girl is dating guy B's other guy friend, while the 2 guys end up with different girls. And guy A is pretty much a Casanova and guy B is hopeless when it comes to girls or at least he thinks. The girl is average looking, but guys are still interested in her, 'cause she's somewhat confident.
Whilst I share your snnoyqnce over the marginalization of friendship, I enjoy a good friends to lover story as it gives the relationship a strong foundation to add onto.
ive done friends to lovers i real life and lemme tell you it did not go wellll- that was both the issue with our friendship dynamic being completely uprooted and my change-repulsed ass not liking how fast it moved from that, plus some other weird fast paced stuff that happened. it might just be a me thing but friends to lovers is so unreal to me just cause of that. also, being demi doesnt help because it means i can only ever do friends to lovwrs 😭
"its the idealized version of that"
Sad but true. When I read about people making out, the way its described gets me flustered, but the only thought when I actually did that was "wait. That's it? That's all it is???" Mayor disappointment. 😒
What an ace spec mood
it heavily depends on the level of intimacy, connection, and trust you share with the other person. Also skill and personal preferences obviously.
@@tamatebako_yt I have heard some people say that, but i just cant imagine it. To me it just feels slimy and wet, tastes weird and is boringly repetitive. I did it because my SO liked it and I adored him and wanted to make him happy but.....even now thinking back on it I dont think I ever want to do that again.😅
@@lexa2310 Yeah I mean that does sound to me like you're somewhere on or close to the ace spectrum. I'm allosexual so I can't really relate (it's probably the same for you, only the other way around). I was more or less just describing my own (allosexual) experience with that stuff.
Oh but I can kinda relate when it comes to kissing tho lol. When I had my first kiss it was kinda weird for me cause the sensation was very different from what I had expected. Very soft and pliable, not enough...friction if you could call it that. Tho if you wanna increase the friction it's gonna be noisier and my first boyfriend was really weirded out by that so much so that I never did it again. lol. Yeah that was my first experience with kissing.
One con for soulmate aus for me is that they make me wish we had a 'soulmate system' in this world. There would be the one for you and no more problem. You will find true love. Real life romance is so hard and your soulmate is often not the person you are crushing on or dating.
Then there may be a good chance you never end up meeting that "one" due to coincidences, like just living in separate places or never meeting because of work schedule, or you just dont meet that many people to begin with
I actually saw someone do a mathematical analysis of how likely one would be to actually find their soulmate, assuming a world similar to our own, but everyone is randomly assigned a soulmate who’s within a few years of their age, and they’ll recognize each other when they meet, but don’t have anything leading them towards each other. I don’t remember what the exact odds were, but I remember that they were EXTREMELY low.
i like the "unintentionally secret relationship" trope. its just so funny 2 me especially w outsider pov because the outsiders like "wow theyre such good friends so cool :)" AND THEY T ALK ABOUT THEIR PARTNER AND THEY STILL DONT GET IT AND THE REVEAL IS JUST SO GOOD JDIDUIDW
u just gotta make t believable like ppl r obvlivious but not THAT oblivious yanno?
Outsider POV where they think the characters hate each other, but are actually in love/best friends is one of the cutest things ever and I’m so here for it!
@@ArabellaTurner thats gotta be one of my fave tropes too!
Ok, I'm more of a fan of very comedic tags, I love fanfics and stories that just turns me into the muses from the song "I Won't Say I'm in Love", it's an absolute adrenaline rush getting a chance to fuel the inner cheeky goblin gnawing at a block of cheese. The only con I can think of is that is that it's a nightmare to actually find. :(
For me, miscommunication has to pay off in the same scene or I'll just get stressed out and frustrated. Has to be a very minor detail for flavor.
My jam is melodramatic stories full of purple prose. It's pure indulgence and doesn't pretend to be anything else. Very soap opera.
now that I think about it, the pros and cons of these tropes may also shift or change depending on if it is a multi-chapter fic or a one shot.
I had this thought with the coffee shop au since I usually read those in one shots which might not need as much legwork with mixing it with another au to spice things up.
Just sittin here, takin notes like I watch a documentary and figure out how to use my new knowledge for writing.
Love it
Another strong con for fluff (at least for me) is that it can drag you down even further when you come back to reality. It makes you hunger for a love that you can never have and cultivates unrealistic relational expectations.
Pretty much the same drawback as found family, I’m realizing
And also arranged marriage
Hurt comfort is just like Keeping a blanket on in a cold winter night. My second fav after angst
unfortunately for me, lately I've been getting into a trope that doesn't have that much content (or at least that I can find) which is the 'in love with my siblings enemy', I'm not actually sure if that's the correct name for the trope but an example setting of this could be 'my brother's the head player of an important school/college sports team and the main rival teams top player somehow meets the main character through something like working at the same job, meeting at a game and so on.
I really love this trope because of the endless possibilities writers can do with it. It could be a fluff, angst, smut, college au, a hint of coffee shop au, fantasy/royalty au, some sort of gang or assassin au, super natural au, sometimes a bit of enemies/rivals to lovers is included, slow burn, basically anything works with it.
The fact that there's usually a lot of conflict in this trope keeps the story entertaining. Such as the obvious conflict between the sibling and the main characters love interest, as well as the teams(/schools?). The tension between both main characters when they first meet, pressure to get what ever the goal of the opposing teams is, and the arguments between both siblings before and after the secret of the main characters being together is spilled.
Overall an amazing trope that I believe should get more attention, and if anyone has any good story suggestions of any sort please tell me because the amount of cringe things I've stumbled upon at 3am these past few days is killing my brain cells ✋
Damn I just realized how much I wrote 😶
I
If you haven't already read it, one of the first books I ever read on wattpad is called "knights" it's that trope and it's quite good
Or "knight" it's either of those
sounds kinda like The Kissing Booth...
Dropped everything to come to this one as soon as I got the notification. This is gonna be a fun one how will you both simultaneously dote on and slaughter our favorite troupes on this day?
th-cam.com/video/93Fyv4XAr-A/w-d-xo.html
Finally its here
huh?
Omg her explaining the mutual pining one tho
Pros “OoOooh the yearning~🥺🥰🌸✨” vs Cons “ooo the YEaRNINNgG😬😩🤦😠”
Sums it up pretty perfectly. Double edged sword that one
One thing about the arranged marriage thing: don’t forget that it also isn’t always a good person who you get betrothed to. Or even someone remotely your age. I guess sometimes it could work, but honestly…
Using miscommunication in your writing is like having a giant neon sign pointing to you saying, "Hey guys, I don't know how to write meaningful conflicts!"
Not necessarily. Arcane, for example, does this to great effect a few times. No spoilers. The interesting thing the show does with its narrative is display why these characters are not on the same wavelength. It's usually a deeper conflict than it seems on the surface.
In my experience, the problem with miscommunication is that it's usually petty and shallow and used in surface level ways. There's nothing interesting about two or more people fighting over nonsense, especially when the story is trying to tell you that it's somehow good without justifying why the miscommunication matters.
@@ghostchannel4766
Stories with lame miscommunication conflicts are like bad attempts to mimmic lame realist stage plays from the 1890s.
Unless it's a function of a conflict. Right now I'm writing a triad and Neuro diverse coding them but none of them match. So the "language barrier", so to speak, is an obstacle they become hyper aware of and to an extent end up exhausting themselves trying to compensate for at high tension points. Like, you have to have experienced enough miscommunication in life and have followed through on rectifying or resolving it to right the mechanic in action well.
7:40 I'd call it a fantazied version more than idealized, there's a lot of stuff in there no one actually wants to happen
"If you are anti cheese, it's probably not for you"
Me: *eating a box of cheeseits* first off irony but soul mate aus have and probably always will be my bread and butter
The thing with me and the Unrequited Love trope is that it has to be either Not Actually Unrequited where one character (or both) think there's no way this person has feelings, but they very obviously do. Or it's Unrequited love from third party from the third parties perspective. I think it just scratches this petty itch that wants to see my ship through another random character or oc.
Additional con to slow burn: I feel like a LOT of writers, while conceptualising their story think about the slow burn element first BEFORE thinking about how to structure the plot naturally over a longer period. So a LOT of obstacles that are thrown in the way of whatever the characters want to achieve often seem forced and artificial just to drag out the story longer; also, throw in a usually hefty overdose of misunderstandings and miscommunication and you're in for a FRUSTRATING ride.
im personally an "theres only one bed"-anti and the reason is that ive never read anything where the author played it straight. one of them always sleeps on the floor or on the couch, or they do sleep in the same bed but nothing happens... i get excited when theres only one bed only to get bitterly disappointed lol
Ahhh, my favorite fanfiction expert!
14:29 In friends to lover i have a issue with media... sometimes it is used A LOT with mediocre writting for just give the characters a love interest and dont really develop their relationship. They just give you the info: they are friends... so ship them.
As much as I LOVE fics that blow EVERYTHING out of proportion (like the 2 protagonist’s eyes meet and they’re all of a sudden getting married in the first paragraph of chapter 1), I kinda prefer fics that show a more “realistic” side? What I mean is like, realistically, you don’t meet someone and suddenly fall in love with them, regardless of how attractive or nice they are.
I don’t often find fics where like these two strangers are forced to interact for whatever reason, become friends, and slowly become more (obviously with bumps along the way), but I’m always happy and excited to read fics like that. That’s also kinda the reason why my writing style is like that. Like, sometimes I’ll have an established relationship, but I’ll usually explain a little later how they met and things like that.
Along with this, I love reading fics that aren’t strictly one trope, but multiple tropes in one. Like, for me, I’ll have the main plot mostly angst, but there are times where I get away from the plot for a chapter or two and make a more fluffy chapter, or I’ll make a chapter that’s related to the plot but it’s just chill, and let’s me make certain characters interact more. Like, I’ve read lots of fics where it’s mostly (if not all) angst, and some execute it really well, and others…don’t…
My main advice when writing angst is; make sure not EVERY chapter has something going on, especially when it’s pure angst. Like coley said, it can get really tedious. Every now and again, have a couple chapters where nothing major happens. Give your characters and relationships some time to develop outside the angst. And this isn’t just for fanfics, but for writing any type of fiction in general.
This is really long and I doubt I explained this correctly, sorry 😬
i love that perfect balance of hurt/comfort, bc i do get very picky about it,, like if all the character suffers through is a missed homework and they get comfort like their best friend just died, it’s feels rly fake and unnecessary, same if a character goes through mounds of trauma and is “fixed” by one apology and a hug
Hurt/comfort is my favorite fanfic trope (read into that as you will)
But I think the best thing about it is that it is a combo pack of hurt and comfort, and that they can build off each other and make the other so much more impactful.
When there is hurt and then comfort, it makes the comfort feel so much better, and knowing that there is going to be comfort at the end of the chapter gives you hope and helps you to keep reading through the terrible hurt.
For example hurt no comfort (which is not a bad thing by the way it has its place) can sometimes feel hopeless and all comfort without hope can feel bland and not as exciting or dramatic.
touch-starved is the best trope imo. especially if the character is on denial about it but then something happens and they can't deny it anymore and hurt-comfort ensues. perfection.
okay so i have some very controversial opinions on several fanfiction tropes so if you would like to see that continue but you can skip too
- enemies to lovers (without the friends stage in between) feels very forced and shallow. i don’t mind it when there’s that friends stage in between because there’s actual connection and rivals is also better because they don’t actively hate each other
- angst sucks. this is just because i’m weak and can’t handle pain (sorry lol it just gives me too much anxiety it feels physical)
- hurt/comfort: same if the hurt to comfort ratio is very unbalanced
- unrequited love isnt that sad?? idk maybe it’s because i’m on the aro spectrum and haven’t ever felt unrequited love but i’m very empathetic and idk i don’t feel much while reading about unrequited love (i realise i sound like such an ass i’m sorry 💀💀)
- soulmate au’s are the absolute worst. this is a very personal opinion but one i feel strongly about. my main reasons are
a) i just don’t like the concept of fate in general
b) in a world where everyone has a soulmate there’s going to be so many toxic/abusive relationships and i just can’t keep reading while that just happens
c) peoples’ soulmates might be the ones “best” for them, but they may not be the ones the love the most (or vice versa)
d) i just don’t like the general vibe
- i don’t like arranged marriage at all because as an indian that hits a little too close to home
yeah that’s pretty much it just wanted to share my opinions
i see no issue with the amount of angst i consume / create. my mental breakdown i choose the angst, dont you call me out like that /lh
I feed off angst because pain is delicious don't judge me
To me, hurt comfort feels like the perfect blend of angst and fluff. It gives me an opportunity to explore my own feelings while at the same time giving me the sweetness I crave in my fanfiction
Soulmate aus are one of my faves bc (going on a personal tangent as an arospec person) where I struggle a lot with understanding whether or not I want to be in love, whether it’ll be worth it or if I’ll have the energy for it, so the idea that there’s someone out there who will fit well with me (or someone else) is comforting. The struggles I experience of wondering if I’ll ever be in love or even want to be in love are alleviated through escaping through this au.
Plus I just love watching how they fall together through the au. Do they reject it? Do they pretend they don’t know? Does one person not know while one does? Does it serve as a catalyst to spur their relationship in a fun way? Do other soulmates in their lives (like parents or friends) impact their perceptions or attitudes towards soulmates? There’s just so much potential I feel is often disregarded.
I'm an alloromantic ace but I love this trope for the same reason as well: comfort. It kinda ensures that the soulmates have the same or similar expectations and might never break up or at least have the motivation to work on their relationship and always be there for each other (even if it's "just" (queer)platonically).
I just read Lore Olympus ep 24 and I wanna cry from it. This is making me feel a lot better.
i was just watching one of your other videos when the notification popped up😦
edit: i agree with the love triangle usually not being an actual triangle. smh
A trope that I’ve found I actually really love (which weirdly seems to happen more in canon than fanfic) is “people who really should be enemies and even claim they are enemies, but are too smitten/fond/friendly to actually be enemies” to lovers. It’s basically friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and enemies to friends all at the same time and it’s so fun. (I’m looking directly at you Moriarty the Patriot).
You worded perfectly what I've been thinking and feeling for years, bravo. Can't wait to see more :)
please do part 2! this was a joy to watch over my morning tea
For shorter fics (one shots), these are my jam:
- fluff (I just love to read about wholesome relationships)
- coffee shop au (never read one, but I can imagine they can be really enjoyable)
For longer fics:
- slowburn (obviously)
- hurt&comfort (plotlines like these need time to feel real)
- found family (growing relationships, such a lovely thing to watch)
I feel like I'm more towards asexuality, but I still love to read some fluff romance.
I absolutely love it whenever you upload! I just drop everything and rush to my laptop whenever a new one of your videos releases :)
This is such a fun video idea! It's extremely entertaining, seeing tropes I both love and hate and being able to see each talked about purely objectively, plus feeling like I was able to give my own opinions alongside yours throughout the video lmao. A part 2 to this would be amazing!
A NEW ADDITION TO THE COLEYVERSE CONTENT YES😍😍😍😍😍😍
uff, major character death... I once read a fic and I overlooked the tag. Hit me pretty hard, but the author was absolutely amazing and I still love the fic, but it hits wayyyyy different when you're not prepared lol
My favorite guilty pleasure trope is fake relationship or relationship of convenience. And within that trope, my favorite is relationships that have a specific end or expiration date. So even if they fall in love, there is still a final hurdle to overcome.
Thank you Professor Coley! Seriously, you've got such a good on-camera demeanor going on, you could legit teach a class on this. I love-love-LOVE your analogy of angst as sandpaper, I'm gonna remember that one! It makes the concept make sense in my head - and as someone who once touched sandpaper right after trimming my nails too short... I fully understand the BLEEDING OW MAKE IT STOP side of ppl disliking it XD
i am so ready for this🤩
My favorite fanfiction tag right now is from an Avatar fanfic -> We crashed the angst train and now everything is on fire
And then very close second is -> Zuko is an awkward turtleduck
ok but like... i never would have thought of reading arranged marriage. like it was gonna be just... weird for the soul. a "nope" tag. but them i found some fanart of a fanfiction of one of my favourite characters (who i really need to learn more about), so i... read the fanfic. and just
gOD DAMN!? LIKE.. I LOVE IT>>> never would have thought to read it, but i am so glad i did. it's called Sarracenia, and it's on AO3 (yes its fire emblem)
I loved this!! I am definitely rooting for a part 2!!
lmao i always watch your videos before writing because you get me almost inspired in a way lmao
...have you done a video on that essay "Five Tropes Fanfic Readers Love (And One They Hate)" yet? Because that gave some fascinating insights into trends and comparative tropes and introduced me to some concepts I hadn't yet encountered.
OMG, I'm so happy I'm not alone!!
I love found family and would love to read more of It but it always makes me feel so lonley. Also, great video!
(P.S. best found family in my opinion? When they also are a band! It' just, chef's kiss)
I'd be very interested in a part 2 of this!!! Personally I want to hear your pros and cons of Hanahaki Disease especially
Haha, yeah. That sort of Midsommer situation is what I always used to picture when I imagined a so-called "love triangle" because it makes more sense. I'd love to see you talk about the pros and cons of more fanfic tropes, like maybe the Domestic or Summer Camp AUs.
Enemies to lovers is my ultimate favorite trope. I blame Pride and Prejudice for this. Before I even knew what fanfiction was I always liked this dynamic after having read this book.
rewatching this as i do with many of your videos and talking about the major character death which im firmly objected to mostly along with angst just gave me the best idea for a fic using both. i rarely write them as when i do i am told i really do stab the reader right in the heart. i once wrote a drarry fic and draco was the one who died and my bestie was destroyed by it like she seriously couldnt speak or do anything for the rest of the day. of coruse i also sob my heart out writing t hem and break my own heart but ugh now i have this one and its doubly hard more so than the drarry one i jsut mentioned as its for Loki both my fav marvel character and my deity irl so he will be watching as i write just like "WTF are you doing!!!!!!!" and sobbing his beautiful little heart out. if i end up actually writing and remember i will come back and tell you guys and link it. providing yt allows me to.
I didn't even notice this was 23 minutes long wtf, your videos aways feel so quick
Every time I watch Coley's videos I immediately want to go read a ton of fanfics!
Ennemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, especially when it's spicy and with some angst
The way you reacted to Mutual Pinning was me watching Fruits Basket.
18:54 Well THAT would be an interesting one!
In this AU, the writing on my wrist: "F$%^# off!"
Me, who never swears: "Well... THIS will be interesting!'
I'm in love with your shirt 🥺
It is literally 4 am here. Coley, what time zone are you in girl 😂
My troupes that have happened in real life?
Angst - I literally have PTSD, anxiety, and past toxic relationships. What do you want from me?
Fluff: I have a girlfriend who I got put in a room with for band camp and there was no one else there. We are young and innocent, so lots of snuggles and kissing. And talking about fandoms :D
Hurt/comfort: See above. I finally have some eco-friendly (aka nontoxic) friends, so that’s nice. I also am terrible at regulating my emotions.
Mutual pining: My girlfriend and I were practically dating before we were dating. That’s where that was.
Unrequited pining: I have had crushes.
Miscommunication: I have a sister.
Friends to lovers: My girlfriend makes this true, once again.
Only one bed: There were three beds - we pretended there was just one so we could snuggle.
Slow burn: It feels this way, even though it’s not really. We have been together officially since March (and unofficially since February). It seems like a long time, possibly because it’s a first relationship.
Soulmate AU: Just kidding. Those have… problems… about ninety-nine percent of the time.
OMG I have that same "let the adventure begin mug"!! It's perfect for tea, haha. Personally, hurt/comfort is my favorite, especially when I write it to push back pain onto my characters XD h/c is a tough balance to strike, but it brings me more catharsis than just angst
ur my favourite creator
I think the pro for slow burn for me is to see the buildup slowly, seeing every moment creating feelings. I think it’s beautiful
I have too much empathy to be able to handle heavy amounts of angst. Some themes don’t just make me sad, sometimes they make me physically uncomfortable and anxious.
I am here! For you, you amazing content!
Thank you for pointing out that reading/writting and others forms of art can help whoever is making them explore senarios in a control and safe environment. Many people use that medium to help them process their trauma. And I think it's important to acknowledge that just because you take pleasure in reading about a certain awful situation, doesn't mean you think it's okay to do in real life; that's why Dark Fiction is important for many, it's not for everyone since the topics can be too uncomfortableto read about, but thank you for ponting that out :')
‘Read the tags carefully’…
✨🕺surprise MPreg🕺✨
I adore soulmate AUs where the soulmates don't get together ♡
I hate the idea of characters having to be with someone because "the universe said so", even if they are perfect for each other or whatever. I like my characters to have agency and pick a partner they want to be with themselves.
And yes, sure, I could just NOT read soulmate stories then, but someone living in a world where soulmates ARE real and then making a conscious decision AGAINST following fate is so much better than there just being no fated partner they can reject at all~
Ok you’re too good at this you should write fan fictions
When I was first writing in the Castle fandom, readers started calling me the "King of Angst"
But the stuff I wrote was much darker than that, so now I am the "Dark Lord of the Fic".
If only I knew about the cons of angst, because I was already in a sad mood and decided to write angst to feel better, and I felt more depressy