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silveradeptChallenge #11 asks us to talk about our favorite tropes.
If I had a category that makes a work go for me, it's trope subversions, trope allusions, and creative use of tropes. Rather than removing enjoyment of a work, trope language helps me make connections and see the ways in which the stock element has been changed to suit this particular narrative. Which allows me to do my professional work by making connections for recommendations as well.
Since I do a lot of work in exchange requests and writing, I also end up doing a lot of alternate universe or what-if style writing for assignments. I really enjoy a fanwork that extrapolates from the canon to produce a novel situation, or that takes a decision and turns it around, or that gives the Trinket of Awesome to someone else and sees what they can do with it. It doesn't have to be a full-on Alternate Universe idea.
A lot of the alternate universes that I have seen as popular are essentially collections of tropes under a single heading that most people who come from the same cultural background understand. There was a fascinating piece that I don't remember the origin of, but I'd bet on it being Transformative Works and Cultures, that talked about how the Α/Β/Ω trope of "oh no, in heat and don't have / can't afford my suppressants" is perfectly understandable to a U.S. audience, but in countries where there is a functioning socialized medicine system, the solution would be to pop down to the nearest dispensary/pharmacy and get some, because they would have them on hand and they would be free to anyone who needed them, possibly with the greatest inconvenience of having to be looked up, rather than having their social insurance card on them. Which makes me wonder if there are things like "Cram School AU" or "Studying for the intensely difficult national exam AU" in other countries that have those things that would basically get a shrug in the U.S.
So, yes please, give me princesses who pick up weapons and go to save their domains, turn out to be the real brains behold a particular operation, or who get themselves kidnapped by their enemies or the local dragons so they can save their kingdom from destruction. Let me see a story from the villain's point of view, and even better, disguise it so the protagonist isn't sure whether they're on the right side or not, regardless of what side they end up on. Show us what happens in the game world when the player character's avatar is a top-tier speedrunner using all the tricks in their arsenal trying to go fast and not actually caring about the quests or their karma meter. Make the story about the hero and follow the hero doing heroic things and then make the companion who's never been any good at heroing turn out to be the chosen one, because while they're rubbish at swinging a sword, they're really good at convincing others to swing their swords for him instead, and it turns out this isn't a story about an hero, but a community coming together to succeed where one of them going alone would fail. Play with the medium, so that when there's a complaint about a commercial, or the characters watching television have the in-universe cast cut to ads, let the broadcast do the same. And put more good representation everywhere you go, so that people of color, trans people, neuroweird people, non-men and more can find themselves in our stories, canonically or as fanworks filling the gaps left behind.
Don't be afraid of tropes, instead, show me that you're using them with thought and intention and I'll most likely enjoy the work.
In your own space, talk about your favorite trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.
Tropes can be so much fun but if you want a little guide to articulating your favorites you can check a wealth of them on Fanlore or TV Tropes.
There are clichés, motifs and themes that bring joy to our fannish hearts. Let’s talk about them.
And of course we have kinks which can be more on the non-sexual cliché side or they can be all kinds of sexy. We have ‘em, we love ‘em, we want to talk about ‘em.
A gentle reminder here to say there are reasons the links provided have dozens of tropes, clichés and kinks listed. It is a rich and diverse field so please be respectful if someone’s yum isn’t yours. Also use your discretion if you’re going for the sexy kinks. Pick one topic, pick them all, have fun.
If I had a category that makes a work go for me, it's trope subversions, trope allusions, and creative use of tropes. Rather than removing enjoyment of a work, trope language helps me make connections and see the ways in which the stock element has been changed to suit this particular narrative. Which allows me to do my professional work by making connections for recommendations as well.
Since I do a lot of work in exchange requests and writing, I also end up doing a lot of alternate universe or what-if style writing for assignments. I really enjoy a fanwork that extrapolates from the canon to produce a novel situation, or that takes a decision and turns it around, or that gives the Trinket of Awesome to someone else and sees what they can do with it. It doesn't have to be a full-on Alternate Universe idea.
A lot of the alternate universes that I have seen as popular are essentially collections of tropes under a single heading that most people who come from the same cultural background understand. There was a fascinating piece that I don't remember the origin of, but I'd bet on it being Transformative Works and Cultures, that talked about how the Α/Β/Ω trope of "oh no, in heat and don't have / can't afford my suppressants" is perfectly understandable to a U.S. audience, but in countries where there is a functioning socialized medicine system, the solution would be to pop down to the nearest dispensary/pharmacy and get some, because they would have them on hand and they would be free to anyone who needed them, possibly with the greatest inconvenience of having to be looked up, rather than having their social insurance card on them. Which makes me wonder if there are things like "Cram School AU" or "Studying for the intensely difficult national exam AU" in other countries that have those things that would basically get a shrug in the U.S.
So, yes please, give me princesses who pick up weapons and go to save their domains, turn out to be the real brains behold a particular operation, or who get themselves kidnapped by their enemies or the local dragons so they can save their kingdom from destruction. Let me see a story from the villain's point of view, and even better, disguise it so the protagonist isn't sure whether they're on the right side or not, regardless of what side they end up on. Show us what happens in the game world when the player character's avatar is a top-tier speedrunner using all the tricks in their arsenal trying to go fast and not actually caring about the quests or their karma meter. Make the story about the hero and follow the hero doing heroic things and then make the companion who's never been any good at heroing turn out to be the chosen one, because while they're rubbish at swinging a sword, they're really good at convincing others to swing their swords for him instead, and it turns out this isn't a story about an hero, but a community coming together to succeed where one of them going alone would fail. Play with the medium, so that when there's a complaint about a commercial, or the characters watching television have the in-universe cast cut to ads, let the broadcast do the same. And put more good representation everywhere you go, so that people of color, trans people, neuroweird people, non-men and more can find themselves in our stories, canonically or as fanworks filling the gaps left behind.
Don't be afraid of tropes, instead, show me that you're using them with thought and intention and I'll most likely enjoy the work.
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Date: 2023-01-22 10:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 10:37 am (UTC)I also enjoyed your analysis of A/B/O and it's relationship to and resonances with healthcare in the US. I'm not a big fan of A/B/O generally, but that's an angle that intrigues me. Thanks for pointing it out!
Yes, this! Also, I can't help but point out that tropes are what stories are made of (in the broadest possible sense).
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Date: 2023-01-22 05:31 pm (UTC)I would like to write it at some point, I'm sure, but I'd be much more interested in delving into the social aspects of a caste system than the knotting and the orgies.
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Date: 2023-01-22 06:37 pm (UTC)It makes trope language different. :) (Think of it like this: I have a professional tool box with which to wrench open and examine stories. But I still have to crawl under the story sink and look at it).
Agreed. But I think that all tropes are always only as good as their individual executions and depend on how people read them.
Oh, yes, I'd be very interested in reading something like that.
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Date: 2023-01-22 04:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-22 05:32 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2023-01-31 02:15 am (UTC)In fact, I've seen several such stories featuring an organization for the care of Alphas and/or Omegas that would provide not only medical support but also arrange a mate during the heat. Now you have me wondering if those authors came from civilized countries, but it's not an easy thing to track down.
>>And put more good representation everywhere you go, so that people of color, trans people, neuroweird people, non-men and more can find themselves in our stories, canonically or as fanworks filling the gaps left behind.<<
I write a LOT of that. My fishbowl has had several themes on twisting tropes or expectations, and my fans like to request diverse content.