Least favorite cliches or tropes

[DokiDokiTsuna]

-Angelic dead mother. This is something that bugs me about Steven Universe. And I feel like ever time they try to fix this, they take another 3 steps back.

Have you seen the most recent episodes? I think they've done more to paint Rose as a real, flawed person than the entire series beforehand. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing, but still.

[Klaustasya]

Dang, i mostly use high school/university for my romantic stories xD
gotta agree with you on this but at the same time, maybei'll open a thread about this one cause i'm curious about other creators handling this trope

[sararosebr]

I'm pretty sure that the bread and butter of any obsessive BL fan... Also, they know it is, that's why they like it. Like I see it every time I spend more than a little bit of dedication besides viewing the show/reading the book. It's super creepy and it's why we can't have nice things

[joannekwan]

I don't know why you'd get flak, most all the people here who like BL hate the abuse prevalent in a lot of it.

[NickRowler]

Yes, but I still can not stand her character. They try too hard to make her good and have the gems love her.

[DiegoPalacios]

"gotta fry them all!"

[A-weird-girler]

@joannekwan I've gotten criticized in the past for saying that, telling me that it's hot and it's not abusive because they're "in love"

@sararosebr That's horrible! I absolutely hate abusive relationships considering I was in one. I don't get why they would fetishize something so awful

[joannekwan]

wtf @ those people …

[AllynCrowe]

Personally, for me the worst trope, or I suppose 'mistake' is when an LGBT character is identified solely by their sexuality or gender identity. They don't have any other purpose than to be that one gay, lesbian, or trans person: beyond that they are flat and without personality whatsoever.

It's why I like to include gay and non-heteronormative characters without ever telling people about it. Their sexuality/preferences come through as their character develops, so the character isn't developed for the sexuality.

And abusive/arranged marriages are quite the pet peeve of mine. It's not romantic, no matter how much you romanticise it.

[MadamBubble]

High school has been done to death in anime.

[ar-ninetysix]

I think this is a result of a lot of authors using teen characters in anime or manga though. I don't think I can ask you to name the top locations you'd see teenagers in, and not have one of your answers be a school. I would like to see more main characters outside of their teen years in anime lol this is why I really liked characters like Inuyashiki (from Inuyashiki: Last Hero) and Kondo (from Love is Like After the Rain).

[Cavechan]

Is anyone else reading through these and trying to figure out of your comic falls into some of these? lol Well, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to fall into a trope, they're absolutely impossible to avoid completely!

The one I dislike the most... when the setting is a killing game... I really hate those. It seems like such a cheap way to make drama.

I also hate love at first sight.

Main character is introduced to something new and by the end of the first chapter suddenly it's The Funnest Thing Ever and I'm Going to Be the New Thing King! Cool.

[ar-ninetysix]

I think we all are lol at least I am, I'm all "crap, that's like the ninth one I have in mine.." but yeah, tropes aren't inherently bad, it just matters how they're handled

[sararosebr]

I would chalk it up to either a) like with literally any kind of romance, that seems to be a common theme and since BL/GL is just straight with cute gay disguises, it's kind of expected, b) writers know sex sells and this is just another way to get them to "fall in love" quickly with smut, and c) basic economics of supply and demand, artists are willing to sell and it's a thrill to buy, so there is an easy to see demand (which is not help by LGBTQ+ members doing this as a stepping stone to other works that are less straight oriented; not blaming, just noticing a problem)

But either way, to those who do this and enjoy it:

[Zaboem]

My opinion is that any specific trope can be salvaged if properly self-aware and framed well.

Currently, my least favorite trope is the lone female character. This was blatant tokenism before there was a word for such a thing. It's kind of ridiculous that women are 51% of the population but so many superhero teams have exactly one female member, no more and no less. I suppose that Lee and Kirby should be given some credit for having females in their team comics way back in the early 1960s, but it's a formula which expired long ago.

In a Rifts RPG campaign that I run online, we have -- oh, you guessed it already.

[Heliox14]

If there's one thing that's kinda getting overplayed now: traps.

I almost feel the manga creators got lazy with things: "Alright, let's just draw a girl, then add a f** dick! That'll make people love us!"
Don't even get me started on the storylines of "girl is secretly boy, and boy falls in love with girl-boy". That stuff is scary.

[Lady_DarkStar]

I'm the lone female in my D&D group, but on the other hand, all the guys are playing female characters.

[ar-ninetysix]

Currently, my least favorite trope is the lone female character. This was blatant tokenism before there was a word for such a thing. It's kind of ridiculous that women are 51% of the population but so many superhero teams have exactly one female member, no more and no less. I suppose that Lee and Kirby should be given some credit for having females in their team comics way back in the early 1960s, but it's a formula which expired long ago.

On the other hand, this reminds me of having a team be ALL female, I know there's certain people that hate this trope as well. The idea being that they feel like a writer is over-compensating or blatantly pandering to an audience.. I guess they have a point, but these type of people tend to poorly explain their reasoning, so it just sounds like they were looking for reason to get mad to begin with

[lartianmartian1]

I guess just... dead moms. Or bad moms. Or bad/dumb dads. Or dead parents. Or bad parents! With my current comic project 2 of the three mains are going to be a married (hetero) couple with two kids (it'll be a sort of suburban fantasy take on a traditional family sitcom setup). The dad's stay-at-home, and the mom works. Because the mom works most of the time she may not always have the best parenting instincts, but she tries, dammit! So, flaws in parent characters are good, yes, including moms. But they don't have to be terrible. And not... alive. Even in fantasy stories (which this one admittedly kind of is).

Here is some NakeyJakey to reiterate my points (through video games):

[Dreambrush]

Bland and boring protagonist with no discernable/likeable traits that's supposed to be relatable somehow, and has women tripping over themselves for no realistic reason. It's just embarrassing, and not even good, wish-fulfillment.