I was wondering how you get this to happen? My character can kiss her but she doesn’t forcibly kiss me.
Still depends for me. I mean, I’m a Naruto fan, and Sasuke was my favorite character, kinda felt like his goals were a extreme but not entirely unreasonable. And then there’s people who think with a greater good mindset and that they’ll prevent another tragedy by getting revenge and so are willing to hurt innocents…
Doesn’t Anara just trust you from the get go already and all you needed to do was resist Lani and she would rip into her? I mean if it’s easier how will that affect my triple digit dark characters? They need to cheat!
Just insult her and date someone.
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Do you mean have a low relationship with her because you can insult her alot of times?
No insult her every time, it raises her bar.
Heck breaking her arm use to raise it until @ParrotWatcher said that was too much 
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I think the main thing to avoid is having a plot that feels contrived, where events happen because the author needs them to instead of because of any internal sense. The reason dreams at the beginning get a bad rap is that too many authors feel they need to grab the reader’s attention right away, but their story isn’t interesting right away, and so some action just gets inserted artificially. It’s not that dreams are inherently a bad device - The Shape of Water uses one to set the tone, for example, and that’s a great movie.
Similarly, Mary Sue characters that can do everything are bad because they’re a lazy attempt to get the reader’s buy-in and wanting to be like a character. Why should you like this character? Because she’s amazing, that’s why! But that doesn’t necessarily mean a powerful character is inherently bad. Gandalf sets the tone of the Lord of the Rings and really makes us feel like we’re lost when he’s gone. The Kingkiller chronicles are about a Mary Sue-ish character, and while that bothers some people on principle, I think it’s not so extreme as to ruin the tale.
Harry Potter’s a Chosen One; that’s a little bad, but the Wheel of Time books phrase this as people being “ta’veren” and having Fate warp itself around these people, which is a cooler way of thinking about it. A Deus Ex Machina is normally bad, but not if it happens after everything important has played itself out, as at the end of Hamlet.
But bad things can still be bad. I just saw the Incredibles 2, and was disappointed by how obvious the plot function of each character was as they were introduced. The badguy’s identity is obvious from a moment’s thought after their introduction. The baby was a big old portable Deus Ex Machina that could get the characters out of anything.
And still, I watched it, and I enjoyed the good parts. (Pew! Pew!) Nothing’s perfect; there’s bad in the good and good in the bad.
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How dare you…Chip, Penny, and Napkin are absolute saints.
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Don’t write like Terry Goodkind.
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Holy shit that excerpt where he breaks that little girl’s jaw…
“I feel sad and sorry for you, little girl, but oh no my thing has awakened and is rising up in me I have to kick you in the face HRAGHHHHH!”
EDIT: I HAVE READ TOO MUCH OF THOSE TERRY GOODKIND EXCERPTS AND WHAT WAS SEEN CAN NEVER BE UNSEEN. @Havenstone WHY DID YOU DO THIS
EVIL NUNS HAVE SEX WITH A MONSTER CALLED A NAMBLE WHHHHYYYY
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I agree with the dream sequences, usually it is a way to establish a theme or tone quite quickly. I have to say i liked the way it was done in choice of robots.
I however disagree with other points you made, or at least some of the examples you provided.
Mary Sue characters are often bad, but that usually is not because they’re too powerful or too skilled. It has more to do with the fact that they can be detrimental to the story or consistency of the world of the narrative due to the fact that the main canon tends to wrap around them, this is also why this is a term better applied to fanfiction characters rather than characters that originate from the official work.
I understand that the term Mary Sue has been overused to the point it has lost its original meaning, which I hate because it has become a cheap way of discrediting any character that has too many skills or personal qualities (and sometimes not even that). Nowadays everyone is a Mary Sue.
Also, Harry Potter is a Chosen One, but his story lacks the problems that usually come from chosen one stories. It kinda subvert the trope by making character the result of a prophecy, but at the same time establishing that this is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it only becames true because some are willing to believe it. In fact, the books clearly state that some other characters could have fulfilled the same role as Harry without any real difference.
Neither does his story work as the usual Chosen One narrative. In the first books the fact that he’s the chosen One affects more how other people treat him, while it’s usually inconsequential for the developing of the plot of the stories. And in later books, by the time the Chosen One thing comes into play, he has enough good and compelling reasons to be the center of the story, which is often a problem that most Chosen One stories face.
I haven’t seen the Incredibles 2 yet, but the problem with a Deus Ex Machina is not that it’s convenient but rather that it’s not established previously, it comes from nowhere. So the term may better be applied to the ending of the first movie, yet it was a scene that I found funny and entertaining.
Point being, that although is understandable to remain skeptical about the quality to story that incorporates some of these elements, it’s a mistake to assume that their mere inclusion would be detrimental to it.
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And when he slaughters the unarmed protesters… 
What a hero… 
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Coincidences can be great to get the character into situations, they’re almost always terrible when it gets them out of them. (I just happened to turn the news to this channel at exactly the right time to catch this announcement that I needed to see for this next scene, I happened to walk by these two guards who happen to be gossiping about crucial information number three at exactly the right time, etc.)
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Author’s favorites. Much more noticeable in interactive fiction and video games, but when the author has a character that is clearly their baby. They are constantly forced into the plot and every scene, always outbests everything they’re involved in, any trouble or perceived flaw is shallow and not really a flaw at all, or the danger was just an attempt to add character; in IF and games you can’t.escape.them, they always know exactly what to say, etc. We all have favorites at times, I just shouldn’t be able to pick out who from the writing.
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Plots that involve a villain who somehow came to amass a great wealth of power only to be some cartoon bobble head of evil, incompetent, are motivated by practically nothing realistic (or ‘da power’), etc. There is now way they would have gotten to their position in the first place or garnered such a large following by being a schmuck or having asinine goals.
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Protagonists that are often pulled into the plot by (un)luck, or happenstance, therefore extremely unqualified and having almost no practical experience that would help, but somehow manage to best a capable opposition because of reasons. I usually dislike teen/high school fantasies, a lot of urban magic, and alien invasions stories for this reason. Basically, incompetent villains or incompetent heroes facing competent villians who come out on top because it’s whats supposed to happen and not by any merit of the protagonist. (Growth happens, and I love a good underdog story, but not that much growth.)
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“I’m a plain girl/boy who has the personality of a wet cardboard box, lack any positive qualities that stand out in anyway, but who has multiple extremely outgoing, gorgeous, charming, life together, girls/guys falling all over me.” It’s one thing when the character has low self-esteem and doesn’t personally notice their positives, but that they still show in the writing by the way they interact with others and problems, but when it’s the former (literally no personality) I palpably retract my eyes.
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“Badass” characters that are actually just terrible people with a mean sense of humor. It’s not impressive to cause conflict in a situation where there is literally none. Or overreact physically to something as trivial as a passing remark and then have no one raise their eyebrows about what a scene you just caused.
I have a lot more because I am personally really picky in my literature (I will spend hours in the library before finding a single book I want to give a try) but these are just a few that came to the top of my head that are the first ‘noooo.’
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I was planning to read his books but after reading this… backs out slowly
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Thank you, Havenstone, for ensuring that others suffer like I have suffered.
On that topic also: don’t write like Ayn Rand.
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Okay, so you want it to be a terrible power that is seeping into the main character’s subconscious and influencing their decisions, right?
You’re literally writing it in a system built for decision-making.
Here are some suggestions that take advantage of the medium you’re writing in:
- The superweapon communicates to the main character by occasionally speaking to him/her directly through decision options. If you choose the option, it disappears (through a simple
hide_reuseandgotosequence). - Every decision is written from the perspective of the superweapon, rather than from the main character.
- Sometimes you pick a decision and the game pretends you picked another one to freak you out before resetting to the original decision.
- The superweapon allows the player to “cheat” by viewing the results of a decision before they actually have to pick, but the visions are cryptic and vague.
- The superweapon gains the player’s trust by informing them about the results of specific decisions (and maybe even grants them a “save state” superpower which meta textually references the ability to save through an
sm_initcommand). Then, later in the game, they deceive the player to get what they want (and disable the save function).
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For me, there are four.
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Any mystery with a female heroine who is not herself a law enforcement officer, but whose boyfriend/husband/whatever is. This trope is overused to death.
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Any urban fantasy with a tough-as-nails heroine whose boyfriend/husband/whatever is a “good” specimen of whichever evil species she fights. Which means 99.9% of urban fantasy.
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Any story in any genre where the heroine gets with the guy who treats her the worst. Why rudeness is supposed to be considered attractive is beyond me.
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Crude or slang terms for body parts. Some of the more printable examples include “mitts” for hands, “yap” for mouth and pretty much any word except “breasts” for breasts.
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@will: Those seem like very interesting suggestions… 
and none of them fit with my game, at all. 
They seem to assume a different timescale for the plot (and indeed plot itself), and different powers and intentions for the superweapon. I guess it might make sense for you to play the game before you start making suggestions as to how to write it? 
(Sorry if I’m being a bit rude. I do realise you’re just trying to help, but the story you’re talking about is not the story I’ve been writing.)
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I feel pedantic for writing about just one snippet of your response, but there are no dragons in the Lord of the Rings trilogy—just Fellbeasts, which are the mounts of the Nazgul. 
They’re not really used to create any “epic” scenes that weren’t epic before they arrived. There is a dragon in the Hobbit, though.
@ParrotWatcher That was such a diplomatic response! 
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Have you got an recommendations of disappointing historical or historical based literature? I love that kind of stuff
I’m afraid that I have to disagree with all of your points.
Nothing wrong with dragon-riding Chosen One that fell in love with a jerkass sarcastic man and an all-good angelic guy. In fact, trope exists not to be hated, but because they’re popular.
In the end, tropes and clichés are just tool.
I simply hate it when author don’t put their time to think about their stories and simply add the trope “just because.” A.K.A. Hand-waving.
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I was initially going to make different lists for games and other works of fiction, but it all got mixed up during editing, so it’s all a mess now, sorry about that.
Summary
- Writing non-protagonist female characters in a much different way than a female PC. You know, those supporting party members that would often be commended for their attractiveness, that would trigger chivalrous feelings and protectiveness in male party members, that would try and get everyone to be friendly and civil with heach other (and if you roll a male character it would always turn out that they are actually meant to be his RO)… Basically, characters that would fill “the chick” role so that the female PC won’t have to. Overlaps with the Smurfette principle, so I don’t list it separately.
- I don’t know the exact term or trope for this, but in a number of works it is actually a thing, for some reason: writing the PC, the NPC’s, their dialogue and pretty much the entire setting in such a way that it would appear as if only 2 types of “conventional” sexuality exist there: heterosexuality and stictly female bisexuality, while anything else is treated as “oh, ok, that’s unexpected, but whatever works for you” (usually for gay females) or just gets ignored/dismissed/never mentioned, ever (gay males, ace, trans, etc.). In the latter case in would be expressed via other characters making assumptions (that the PC can’t disprove, as there is no dialogue option for that).
- “Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty” trope abuse. This one is the most fun, for me. Examples vary from hilarious to offensive, but I’ll go with hilarious here. A single line from a party banter in “Dragon Age: Origins”. A female Warden is described as having “a pair of pretty eyes”, while a male gets “a pair of strong hands” in the same dialogue. Regardless of their class or race. (Imagine. A bookish elven mage, whose Constitution stat contains just enough points so that he doesn’t get blown away by a stray gust of wind and just enough Strengh to be able to lift a wooden staff… “Strong hands”. Yep, sounds about right.
Don’t forget the bulging muscles, deep voice and towering height, too, because, you know. Male). - The “if you spend a lot of time talking to a party member of the opposite gender, you certainly want to bed them, there couldn’t possibly be any other reason you’d want to get to know them” principle. This one is also almost out of date now - most games with romance nowadays contain visible triggers, like heart icons or [Flirt] next to dialogue options, but in slightly older games you had to rely on your intuition and ability to discern which lines the script would tag as “flirty”. (Both ladies and Sky from Jade Empire will never be forgotten, but it was Jack from ME2 who got me. Just in what universe does “I don’t want to bang you, ever, let’s just talk” translate as “I have feelings for you”? If that’s not bad writing, I don’t know what is).
- Sudden shifts in… genre? Or just setting? That you didn’t see coming and don’t particularly care for. Like when you think that this is fantasy you are reading, but then suddenly some obviously outlandish and bizarre (from the protagonist perspective) elements get introduced that you, a reader, recognise as something that should not appear in a fantasy! Like robots using typical sci-fi robo-speak that the protagonist struggles to understand while wondering what kind of magical construct they’ve encountered…
Or a regular (or so it would seem) vampire in a mystical story admitting to actually being an alien… Blood-drinking, sun-intolerant alien. That kind of shift tends to ruin even a perfectly good story to me. - “Idiot ball” trope. Examples are too many to list.
- A “strong female character”… you know, physically and/or mentally, a badass, a stoic, an amason, or what have you… turning out to be a vulnerable shinking violet on the inside. Who needs a love interest (male, as it usually happens) to “complete” her and help her get rid of all of her insecurities (that - who would have thought! - are caused by her being not “girly” enough).
- Similar to the previous one, but this time the “strong female” is not insecure, but hopelessly naive (due to being a newcomer, having spent her life up untill now under a rock, being literally born/created yesterday… take your pick) and very pretty. And also needs a RO (more worldly than her, more experienced and cynical) to protect and teach her about ways of the world. Bonus points if she provides “innocent fanservice”, too.
- “Pair the spares”, so much. As if a group of individuals of mixed genders cannot remain platonically attached to each other. No, everyone must fall in love and do it, maybe even marry and have children that the rest of the group will help raise. Nobody gets to remain single or find someone from outside their circle of companions.
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