#problematic tropes

[writerpolls]

Let’s try this again! Writers: are there any tropes you absolutely hate?

Yes, I just HATE them

No, not really

It’s complicated / other answer

Unsure / can’t decide

See results / I don’t write

Voting ended onJul 22, 2025

[ivebeenmade]

Ollie and Venetia scene #saltburn #edit #viral

Why were people so freaked out by this movie? Barring the fact that I'm a sicko and *miiight* think this scene is kinda...nice...the themes are indicative of very poorly adjusted people doing the same stuff we've seen in teen movies since forever.

[devilw-rites]

Commissions?!

I charge $10 per 500 words, give or take depending on the subject matter. Below is a list of what I will and will not write. Subjects with an asterisk will cost a little extra!

. These things are good to go!

Fluff: Dates/blind dates, anniversaries, etc.; pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood; slice of life moments.

Smut: Kinks and fetishes welcome! If what you want isn't included below or in my "what I won't write," just ask!

• Vanilla sex • BD/SM, sado-masochism, bondage, etc. • Pet play (kitten, puppy, pony, pig, etc.) • Bootblacking • Voyeurism/Exhibitionism • Cuckolding/Hotwifing * Knives, guns, fire, e-stim, and other edge/plays * Omorashi, watersports, piss * C/NC, intoxication, kidnapping, etc. * Balloon/looning and other niche fetishes * Oviposition * Age/Play, CG/L, AB/DL

Angst: Ilness or injury; miscommunication; break-ups, divorces, separations; forced marriage (to a antagonist/undesired character); death of a loved one.

. These things are a no!

I will never write things involving sexual or romantic themes of corpses, animals, or underage characters. Requesting or attempting to commission any of these things will result in an automatic block and a ban from ever requesting/commissioning from me again. These are my boundaries and I will not entertain someone trying to cross them.

[devilw-rites]

Howdy!

Was 0ctober-Writes (sideblog) but then my main got sussed, so here we are!

🍂 October // 19 // they/thon transabinary lesbian 🍁 🍁 willing to write your perverted fanfic ideas for money 🍂 🧡 turning your favs into transbians one fic at a time 🧡

Come check out my Ko-Fi for tips or to grab a commission slot! Also here's my commission info and here's my AO3!

[pixiereblogs]

Pixie Recaps Lower Decks | I, Excretus

[kaz3313]

Gimmie a “problematic” fictional trope (ie: age gap, teacher student, etc) and I’ll tell you:

1. Any of my ships that fit it

2. General Opinion

3. Any ships that aren’t canon it But I’d read w/ the trope

[asocial-inkblot]

Posted over 10 months ago but still applies. I’m not actually sure if the commenter qualifies as one, but this is Azula haters ‘problem’ with and opinion of Azula in a nutshell, in just 11 words. FWIW, the post this is on is a cute selection of three related art pieces that unfortunately display the saddening trope of Zuko getting to have a family, while Azula exists as just a part of his family. A part of his arc. A part of his-tory.

[melsidlehands]

I love writing problematic characters. Nobody’s perfect, and as a writer, I definitely get that, but I’m not going to just write the tired trope every cis white girl loves; the swoon-worthy dark haired and blue eyed character with the tragic past, and the weak-willed female lead with poor boundaries that falls for him. Granted, that’s exactly what it looks like at first glance, but if you look a lot more closely, Hell, even a little more closely, you’ll see that this entire story is about toxic relationships. Not two good-looking men fighting over a woman. It’s just cliché.

The era we’re entering now is one of realizing and addressing the social norms we’ve become accustomed to. This story is really about finding the strength somewhere in us to challenge the notions we are taught from the very beginning. Every character I’ve written has their dysfunctions. Every character has their weakness. The powerful characters in the story are not exempt from their own fuck ups, though it might take longer. And sometimes the people who make the biggest waves are those who are gravely underestimated.

Without giving away too many spoilers, I’d like to remind everybody that (my character) Hades is a very selfish person. Brown waves and blue eyes and tragic history don’t make up for the things he does. Nila/ Elpis may be a sweetheart, but she has no idea how to set boundaries, and that hurts her in the long term. Polaris is kind and just, but in his position he often gets railroaded in order for Hades to get what he wants.

Nobody’s perfect, and that sets the story up for problematic interactions. Part of that is what makes the story interesting, but from another angle one might be able to see how lamentable that really is. Hardship and suffering are interesting. And, whether or not it makes for a good story, some characters make their own pain a defining feature, and that can change the entire course of history.

The issue we face with writing problematic characters is not that they’re interesting, or that they affect the story, but that, even when we love them, not all characters are redeemable. Not everybody is going to find the light and have their come to Jesus moment. And, as a writer, sometimes that’s very difficult, because you invest so much time and energy creating and cultivating even the worst of the characters. We encounter the sunken cost fallacy every time we put pen to paper.

That’s why as a writer it’s very important to pace yourself. When you invest that much time and energy into a project, it’s very easy to get burned out. It’s easy to fall so deeply in love with something and spend so much effort on it that you get absorbed by it and you have no idea how to let it go. So you have to pace. And the reason we pace is because most of us, and here I’m generalizing, are afraid to take the entire transcript of our writings and burn them. In very, very short terms, we are terrified of letting go; we are terrified of losing that investment.

And all that... is because of problematic characters.