Fanfic trope Grading

[galadhir]

stolen from dragongirlg, ask me about tropes!

Give me a fanfiction trope and I’ll grade it:

A: Love it. Spend my time combing AO3 for it.
B: Like it. Not one of my bigger cravings, but it can scratch a certain itch if I’m in the right mood.
C: Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead.
D: Not my favorite. I avoid it if I can, but it won’t necessarily put me off reading something.
F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

Comments

Okay ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Enemies to friends/lovers.

Re: Okay ...

[galadhir]

Enemies to lovers is my top favourite trope - A+, particularly if it comes with either villain redemption or at least figuring out how to reintegrate the villain into society in a more productive way.

[shipperslist]

Kid!fic (either de-aging or having kids in any sense)

Wing!fic

Time travel (past or future)

[galadhir]

Kidfic - C. Not my favourite and I've started reading some truly awful kidfic with children who don't behave or sound like human beings and a kind of saccharine tone that I couldn't bear. But that's not to say that kidfic can't be done well. I have no objection to it if the kids are well written. I would pause before reading but then I'd go on and try it anyway.

Wingfic - C again. Not something I'd look for, but I would read it if the pairing was right, and wouldn't object.

Time Travel - in general a B, but in CQL an A. I *love* all those [character] goes back to fix the plot of The Untamed. I think it's huge fun that there are so many of them and it's every character under the sun. I've read ones where the time traveller was WWX, LWJ, NMJ, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen. I haven't seen a Meng Yao one yet, but that's something I would definitely go out of my way to look for.

[shipperslist]

Yeah, I agree that kiddie can be such a hit-or-miss, sheesh.

Time travel in CQL/MDZS is such fun! I've been reading mostly wangxian time travel fix-it fics for some time now and I'm enjoying myself immensely. I have seen a handful of JGY POV fics but he is a rarity, for sure. I'm yet to see NO Wen Ning time travellers and I'm curious to see if there even is any. :D

[galadhir]

I'm pretty sure I saw a Wen Ning one only a few days ago! Sadly I can't remember where, but it is out there :)

[galadhir]

Oh, I found it! It's Sect Leader Wen Qionglin by Maya_brainstormed, it turned up when I was searching for podfics yesterday :)

[shipperslist]

Oh that was lovely, thanks for the link!

[dragongirlg]

Reincarnation

Soulmates

Modern AU!

[galadhir]

Reincarnation - B. Anything that gives my doomed ships another chance is a favourite, and there's something really nice about them recognizing each other across lives, as though the important things in our lives will come back to us no matter what.

Soulmates - C. I like it when it's done well - when it's a bit of a surprise or initially unwelcome or at least when there's some element of conflict. But I don't like it when it's the equivalent of love at first sight and skips over the potential of lots of relationship drama.

Modern AU - D. I'm not usually a fan. For me the setting is a big part of what I love about any story. I think the setting is as vital as a favourite character, so if you strip it out you lose a big part of what makes the story itself. I will read them because I'll read anything, but it feels like a wasted opportunity.

[dragongirlg]

We are definitely aligned on these!!

[sunshine304]

Friends to lovers

Huddling for warmth

a/b/o / omegaverse

[galadhir]

Friends to lovers - B. I like the people in my pairings to respect each other and appreciate each other's good qualities, so it's a good start. OTOH, as a person who is vaguely aroace, I'm also quite happy to settle for friends to better friends :)

Huddling for warmth - B. I like it because it usually means that they're in peril together and their closeness feels more intense for being contrasted against the bleakness of the surrounds. Would probably want it to be part of a longer fic with plot.

a/b/o - D. I have read some great omegaverse fics but they were all subversions of the trope. I like my ships to be partnerships of equals so a/b/o tends to be the exact opposite of what I want. I would give it a try but I would expect not to finish it.

[sunshine304]

Yes, I also enjoy huddling for warmth if it’s included in some plot with some drama / case / mishap going on. It’s usually quite the treat then. :D

Had to ask omegaverse because it’s usually so divisive. XD I’ve read quite a few (there were so many in Teen Wolf fandom…) but I’m also quite picky about them and usually can’t get into them if they’re really just about “marathon sex with lots of body fluids”. I enjoy some kind of world building around them, especially if it’s played around with or if there is actual social commentary on omegas being either considered “lesser” or rare so that they are protected in a way that makes them feel like prisoners. There have been some interesting deconstructions about the trope over the years!

[galadhir]

Yes, I'm firmly in the camp of 'there isn't anything I wouldn't read out of curiosity' and also 'well, I may not like this kink myself but isn't it interesting that there are lots of people out there who do.' So I'm not sure I have anything that I feel strongly enough about to be on one side or another of a divide.

But yes, one of my favourite fics ever is a Kylux omegaverse which is basically social commentary and a romance that is about how to reconcile with your own sex and that of someone you're attracted to despite a social script that makes the other person repugnant and/or dangerous to you. So although I don't particularly like a/b/o as a trope in general, I would never deny that they could produce some great stories :)