Fandom trope ranking

[igenlode]

I had a go at the fandom trope ranking, but it's tricky as I mainly judge fanfic based on what elements will put me off it, as opposed to actively seeking out stories according to whether they contain certain tropes. I will, in theory, read anything that is well-written, provided the summary sounds interesting and it doesn't annoy me, but those last two elements disqualify an awful lot of material; anything that appears to have been written in order to use the unfortunate canon characters as mouthpieces for the author's own social/political/personal-angst agenda, for example.

• Things that in principle will attract me: Canon Compliance (or a well-thought-out Trousers of Time divergence), Huddle for Warmth (if it *is* actually for warmth and not a sex kink!), Sharing a Bed ditto, actually (I think I have an vicarious craving for the sort of physical closeness I can't tolerate in real life -- though I can't picture that particular trope ever occurring in fanfic save in the name of Unresolved Sexual Tension), Missing Scenes, Ex-ex Lovers where a past relationship is repaired, Established Relationship where the story isn't *about* the characters getting together but about them doing other stuff, rather than just about them being domestic together, Gen Fic where the story isn't about 'shipping' at all, Unrequited Love
  
• Things that I like if they are done well: Arranged Marriage (provided it isn't some 'Marriage Law' fic that is just an excuse to force together two unfortunate characters for the author's pleasure), Fix-it Fic (if it's a 'fair' fix that is true to the canon/characters, rather than just wishful thinking), Near-Death Confession, Time Loop if the implications are thought through, Mutual Pining where the characters have a reasonable basis for believing the other character isn't/can't be interested, Bang or Die, Mission/Case/Heist Fic where the author has actually come up with a canon-worthy plot, Amnesia, Crossover where one side can usefully solve a problem on the other side (and preferably vice versa), Major Character Death that has genuine impact, Fighting Turned Confession so long as it isn't a confession of sexual attraction, Miscommunication where that isn't a synonym for stupidity, Crackfic that makes sense on its own terms, Angst provided that it isn't wangst, Drunken Confession, 5 + 1 (and its numerical variants)
  
• Things that can be done well, but often misfire in fanfic: Love Triangle (hard to resolve in a way that is likely to satisfy), Dark Fic (can be be very effective, especially in an inherently dark fandom), Hurt/Comfort used to strip away a character's pride/defences, Modern Day AU (and pretty much any other AU), Bodyswap, Unhappy Ending
  
• Things that generally take special pleading to get me to like: Friends to Lovers (why aren't people allowed to care for each other without feeling compelled to bang them as a result?), Sex Pollen/love potions/other excuses for porn without plot, Slow Burn where the entire fic consists of pairing two characters off in excruciating slow-motion, most Kinkfic, Genderswap that is no substitute for actual plot, Fluff that is out of character and/or tedious, Porn Without Plot that is just the same generic phrases with random names filled in, Fake/Secretly Dating, Grumpy & Sunshine, And They Were Roommates, Sickfic, Pregnancy Fic, Baby Fic, Soulmate AU, Hurt no Comfort (angst or wangst?), Meet the Family, Holiday Fic where this is a euphemism for American Christmas Fic, Painfully Oblivious, Lovers to Enemies, Enemies to Lovers (not sure which of these two I am less keen on), Idiots in Love, Fantasy AU, Highschool AU, Coffee Shop AU
  
• Things that are an almost-certain turnoff: Mpreg as a kink, Royalty AU, Celebrity AU, ABO, AI-generated fic, X Reader, Bully achieved by making the character OOC
  
• Things that I really don't have any particular view on: Bodyguard, Detective AU, Bookstore AU, Domesticity, Flowershop & Tattoo artist (that's a genre..?), Hanahaki(??), Hitman/Target, College AU, Western AU, Crime AU
  

Comments

[erimia]

Hanahaki is a fantasy desease which makes a person in unrequited love coughs out flower petals. It is cured when the feelings are returned, or else the person suffering from the desease dies. It sounds like body horror for me, but it's a romantic trope, apparently.

[igenlode]

I gathered it was some kind of anime thing (like 'tsundere')....
Having your throat choked with flower petals definitely sounds like a horror trope to me -- like the serial murderer novels where the killer stuffs significant items into the victims' mouths in order to mock the investigators and/or deliver a message. Preferably *after* the death of said victim :-O

[erimia]

My ranking would be:
- Things that in principle will attract me: Canon Compliance, Missing Scenes, Ex-ex Lovers, Gen Fic, Unrequited Love, Friends to Lovers, Lovers to Enemies, Enemies to Lovers, Mutual Pining
- Things that I like if they are done well: Fix-it Fic, Mission/Case/Heist Fic, Crossover, Fighting Turned Confession, Crackfic, Slow Burn, Porn Without Plot, Fantasy AU, Western AU
- Things that can be done well, but often misfire in fanfic: Major Character Death, Miscommunication, Angst, Dark Fic, Bodyswap, Unhappy Ending, Kinkfic, Fluff, Royalty AU, Sickfic, Genderswap, Grumpy & Sunshine, Idiots in Love, 5 + 1, Near-Death Confession, Time Loop, Detective AU, Love Triangle
- Things that generally take special pleading to get me to like: Hurt no Comfort, Pregnancy Fic, Baby Fic, Bookstore AU, Arranged Marriage, Celebrity AU, Huddle for Warmth, Sharing a Bed
- Things that are an almost-certain turnoff: Sex Pollen/love potions, And They Were Roommates, Fake/Secretly Dating, Meet the Family, Highschool AU, Coffee Shop AU, Mpreg, AI-generated fic, X Reader, Bully, ABO, Bodyguard, Flowershop & Tattoo artist, Hitman/Target, College AU, Soulmate AU, Crime AU, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Day AU, Drunken Confession, Amnesia, Bang or Die, Hanahaki
- Things that I really don't have any particular view on: Holiday Fic, Domesticity, Established Relationship