writing tropes

[diosapate]

ever since i was a little girl i knew i liked problematic tropes

[future-crab]

The key to writing good fanfiction is to harbor a deeply humiliating desire, and the trick there is that even pretty basic and societally-accepted desires like “being held” and “being wanted” CAN and WILL be humiliating if they’re intense enough. Become so estranged from human connection that the idea of someone playing with your hair fills you with yearning so deep you feel like you’re going to throw up and you will write some banger fanfiction. It might have some other consequences too but idrk about that.

[honeyfaer]

"theyll hate you for this" "but theyll be alive" is THE juiciest thing to me

[ot3]

shout-out to characters who let their childhood friend situationship dictate the course of their life to a degree that spits in the face of any and all reason. they're doing important work.

[orpheuslament]

oftentimes two guys who want to fuck each other not fucking each other is hotter than if they fucked each other

[melmili]

just wanna say i am a big fan of this trope specifically

[tatsumi-rin]

[radioactive-yuri]

me when the character has a uniquely fucked mindset. me when the character's fundamental views of how the world works lead to them being hurt and/or hurting others and not seeing the problem with this. me when the character is a little freak who does weird shit because their beliefs, inspired entirely by their environment, are fuckeddddd

[radioactive-yuri]

[said with so much adoration in my heart it physically hurts] why would they say that. what do they mean by that. why would they do this❤️ [also said while knowing exactly why they'd do this and, in fact, having done hours of analysis into why they'd do this]

[oblique-lane]

As a creative I must master all three and unlock the secret middle one

[hamletthedane]

Don’t worry, Aristotle’s got you covered:

[mxrr0rball]

living weapon characters who cant conceptualise not being the one who puts themselves in danger for others. living weapon characters who dont understand why someone would ever protect them instead of the other way around. they're flabbergasted the first time someone (e.g. found family) steps in to protect them.

"What are you doing?"

"Protecting you????"

A pause. "What? Why?"

[torchwood-99]

"I love you but you're doing wrong in a way I cannot condone" and "I hate you but you're being wronged in a way I cannot stomach" are top tier and I need more of them.

[valtsv]

obsessed with the concept of being haunted by yourself

[valtsv]

maybe you were someone you hate now, and that person remains a cold hand on your shoulder that says you do not deserve this. perhaps you had to destroy yourself and become someone else to escape something worse - but now they hang over you like a shroud. you abandoned me. everyone did, but you - you were all i had. and you left me to rot. maybe the life you could have had was taken from you - and isn't that a death of sorts? - and now it shadows your every step. you keep moving further away, but it follows. there's a ghost after you, and it wears a frighteningly familiar face.

[theforsakenprince]

Bet it feels good as fuckkk to rest your hand on the pommel of your sword when the newcomer steps a little too close to your lord who you’ve sworn to protect with your life

[valtsv]

sexualising a blade sliding between the gaps in plate armour

[valtsv]

yes it's obviously penetrative imagery but it's also + more importantly about the intoxicating, terrifying helplessness of being violently reminded of the limitations of your attempts to defeat your own vulnerability

[jeaniefranklins]

Sex scene as character study is so good. What is your relationship to your body? What is your relationship to your partner? What lessons have you absorbed from the culture about yourself as a sexual being? How much do you have to trust someone before being comfortable with intimacy? What fears and insecurities come to the fore for you when you take your clothes off? It's so good.

[headspace-hotel]

How do they communicate? How do they expect others to communicate? How well do they understand their body and their own capacity for pleasure? What do they tend to do to make their partner feel comfortable? How comfortable are they showing emotion in front of others? How much insight do they have into what their own emotions mean and are connected to? What are they focused on during the encounter? How conscious are they of exchanges of power and vulnerability? very very very good

[theotherpacman]

not all ships are For wanting them to be in a happy healthy relationship together. sometimes shipping two characters means you want them to be erotically obsessed with each other and become entwined in a mutually toxic love affair for a few months and then horrifically break each other's hearts and never speak again. sometimes you want them to be codependent best friends with enough repression to explode a submarine who only make out/have sex when they're at their worst. sometimes you want them to pine after each other for years, never say anything, and then die. sometimes you want them to kill each other. this, too, is shipping

[liarsblade]

Possessiveness is awesome.specifically if the possessive person is kind of embarrassed and ashamed and turning inwards about it

[liarsblade]

Alpha boyfriend beats the shit out of some guy for touching his discord kitten or whatever <- unfathomably unsexy

Repressed freak has private breakdown about other people being affectionate with their favorite person on earth and has a guilt spiral about it afterwards <- awesome and sexy. To Me.

[liarsblade]

Repressed freak does all of that and then is forced for some reason to say, out loud, with their words that yeah basically I feel like you're Mine and it's very upsetting to me when other people touch you or make you smile or laugh sorry I try not to feel that way I know it's wrong of me sorry sorry sorry <- REALLY AWESOME AND SEXY. TO ME.

[quietwingsinthesky]

the Relationship Ambiguity Zone™️ is a beautiful place to be. safe place to put your characters. put all characters into Relationship Ambiguity Zone. is that guy your mentor or your dad? Ambiguous!!! are you friends or enemies? Ambiguous!!! is it romantic? is it platonic? is it sexual? Ambiguous!!!!!!! never categorize anything ever in the Relationship Ambiguity Zone. just make them fucking weird about each other.