Forbidden romance, especially if it’s a romance with someone who is from an enemy faction. I adore the drama and the secrecy behind this cliche.
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Ok this is going to sound pretty bad, horrible even, but I’m a sucker for angst so… I really like the Brainwashing or Corrupting Good Characters trope, especially once we get to focus on the reactions on the fact that their former ally joined the darkside (can’t resist the cookies it seems). Couple that with the Please Remember the Times we Had cliche then end with a Post Brainwashing hurt and comfort / redemption arc then I am guranteeing a bajillion rewatches / rereads of your story. I have no idea what the actual names of these tropes are (and I was too busy to research) but if I am to think of my favorite pieces of media that used this cliche it is (MCU SPOILERS) Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) and (Earthbound SPOILERS) Earthbound 3 (Claus). Also, they don’t technically have to be brainwashed, it could just be Forced to Fight the ones they Loved or they are just Fallen Heroes (oh hey, my first COG!), but for some reason I just love the angst of seeing the person struggle to remember their friends while said friends struggle with not being able to fight them, ugh and don’t get me started with a cinnamon roll hopelessly believing their brainwased buddy can be saved while others believe they should just kill them, dayum I love that crap! Main reason why I got into fanfiction to be honest since I rarely see this done well in media nowadays besides maybe Star Wars with Darth Vader (though we have a few really good Sith Luke fanfics).
Other than that, a guilty plessure of mine is the Evil Split Persona, like Batman’s Two Face or the classic Jekyl and Hyde. Personally, this cliche feels really edgy for me, or at least its modern incarnations, but I do love the potential of for some good ol’ Psychological Horror out of it if done well.
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I don’t know if this is a trope but, I like that situation when the protagonist discovers they have a terminal disease that is eating them up slowly and they have to finish a task or find motivation do something very important in the last days of their life. It gets even better when a loser goes badass after discovering he is dying of cancer and somehow that makes him more strong than the time when he was normal. （basically, Breaking Bad in a nutshell 
）
Not sure if there’re even any documentation on this, but I really wish for a scene where an old hag oversees the chosen one to sweep her terrace or tend her backyard (or something similar). Bonus point if she goes “Ah!! Not my favorite Bramblebloom you potatohead!"
*bonk bonk walking stick
Basically heroic badass being told to do mundane task, overseen by an elderly who is more proficient at said mundane task.
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I love the true classics saving me a fair maiden.
I like the trope where protagonist and the love one are with the opposing factions… the protagonist end up hurting and betraying the love one due to obligation to a faction , then the protagonist’s faction end up losing the war, while awaiting his/her final fate back in a corner, his/her love one emerge in front of the protagonist, when the protagonist is expecting the love one’s Coup de Grace … the love one end up saving the protagonist instead…
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Tropes I love:
1.Redemption Rejection( I haven’t seen much use of this trope but I really do enjoy the use of it.)
2. Evil vs Evil
3.Black & Gray Morality
4. Dungeon Punk
5. Fantastic Noir
6. Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
7.Then let me be Evil
8. Even Evil has loved Ones
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This thread is super interesting! It’s neat to hear what other people like in tropes!
Most of my favorite tropes are romance-related now that I think about it. Personally, I’m a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers (or enemies-to-friends) trope. Anything that’s like Foe-Yay, tbh (extra points for the Dating Catwoman trope)!
Also a big fan of the Anguished Declaration of Love. Gimmie that angst!
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I am a romance fan and, as such, weak for some really terrible tropes.
Fake Relationship. Have been a fan of that one ever since I was a giddy Mulder/Scully shipper two decades ago, watching the episode in which they go undercover as a married couple (Arcadia). Obviously, bonus points for two colleagues going undercover as a couple. 
Slap-Slap-Kiss. Always found CC/Niles more interesting than Fran/Mr. Sheffield. 
I also tend to go for the COG romances that involve a bit of bickering between the MC and the RO. Naturally, I am both a Jury and a JJ romancer.
Disguised in Drag. For example, loved both A Midsummer Night’s Choice and the visual novel Queen at Arms (you’re allowed to be trans!).
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A mod linked to this thread elsewhere, so I assume it’s okay to cast Resurrection…
Some of my favoritest tropes:
- Twu Wuv and Love at First Sight. Yes, they’re ridiculous, unrealistic, etc., etc.; doesn’t bother me a bit. At heart I’m still a seven-year-old who loves fairy tales and Disney movies.
- Because You Were Nice to Me. I like kindness. I love it when simple acts of kindness have unexpected, far-reaching consequences, especially in works which otherwise lean toward cynicism. Something like this can completely change my opinion of a story.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance. This is an odd one, I’m sure. I love reading stories that were written long ago and far away - not because they highlight the similarities of human beings across time and space, but because they highlight the differences. I find that fascinating; it’s like visiting alien worlds right here at home. And I love it when modern works try to achieve the same effect.
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I don’t know the name of that trope, but I love getting knocked out and / or hurt, to see the RO act all worried and concerned for my safety. Bonus points if I get picked up and carried while unconscious.
Going on the Dree mission with Winter while being severely underprepared and purposefully acting like an assclown, just so I get injured and they are forced to tend to my wounds, has become a new hobby of mine.
I honestly adore the good ol’ enemies to lovers tropes!
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So do I, but I like the “enemies to lovers while still being enemies” subcategory even more!
Come to Germany; we have mastered this art!
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Weaponized bureaucracy.
Okay, maybe it’s a niche trope, but I love it showing up in stories. The sequence with Advocate Bob in Jupiter Ascending may be my favorite version of that anywhere, but I’ve also loved it when the lawyer from T. Kingfisher’s books, Zale, suddenly breaks out a very specific legal argument based on jurisdiction/precedent/sequence of events that can either solve a problem or at least delay matters until another solution is found. And the form-filling scene in that one movie of Hitchhiker’s Guide! Brilliant! Then the Loki show used bureaucracy for humor and horror, which I think is particularly appropriate. Bureaucratic approaches to big serious issues is a great place to build some dark humor.
Characters succeeding by knowing how to navigate bureaucracies, or figuring out loopholes; any time when bureaucratic/legal details create some weird condition where really unusual approaches can work; amusing/ominous details involving paperwork and forms; anything like that. I’m a complete sucker for that sort of thing.
— A friend-zoned/underdog character who has had a crush on a popular LI for a majority of their lives, finally gets noticed when they do a heroic deed on accident.
— An everyday character is thrown into a protagonist position but they are severely underprepared and end up saving the day in endearingly ridiculous ways.
— The main characters supposedly dead best friend turns out to have been the villain all along.
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Like a lot of tropes, I like it rather more in my fiction than in real life, alas!
In related news, I’m going to need to fill out an expense reimbursement form online at the end of next month, for the first time in almost two years, and I’m already dreading it. That process is a thing of nightmares and weeping.
No, I like my wildly complicated bureaucracy to stay in fiction, like the small New England/British towns that have a fresh mysterious murder every week. (Two during sweeps.)
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I actually really enjoy love triangles, especially if they’re literal triangles and not love angles: IE character A is in love with character B, who is in love with character C, who is in love with character A.
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Secret Relationships, whether it be romantic platonic or familial are my kryptonite. Especially if the secret relationship the MC is in is with is a bad guy or apart of a group that is perceived as bad people.
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I LIVE for nonstandard paths to power.
Naruto’s Might Guy, Soul Eater’s Mifune, Rogue Hero’s Aesthetic, give me characters who hyper specialize outside the setting’s preferred medium of combat/magic/study and I’m instantly hooked.
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I love the Worthy Opponent trope so much. The dynamic has a good mix of antagonism and respect while leading to cool character moments from either side (e.g. honor code, declarations of being the only person allowed to kill them, having serious talks before/during/after fights, small truces).
Another trope I can’t get enough of is the All-Loving Hero trope, though I actually prefer this trope when they aren’t the protagonist. It’s fun to have them serve as a foil/mirror/sacrificial lion for a much more “flawed” character, especially in a world that skews towards cynicism.
There’s also Slap-Slap-Kiss, and I was delighted to see that you could actually do that in Tin Star with Preston. This, combined with what I said about Worthy Opponent, usually means I go for enemy/rival/antagonistic ROs.
Honorable mentions:
- (Faux) Affably Evil. They’re fun villain traits.
- The Atoner. It’s cool to see a character trying to do good with abilities they previously used for evil.
- Poor Communication Kills. Miscommunication or the inability/refusal to communicate can add a sense of tragedy when executed well.
- Becoming the Mask. When faking it accidentally leads to you actually making it.
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