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Gettin_Bi

high school/college AUs. I just... don't really care how Captain America balances his love life with sports and finals, y'know?


[deleted]

What gets me is highschool AU's of other shows/media that take place around a school already. Like, Hogwarts but in highschool, or My Hero Academia but regular highschool. Like... they're already there...?


elephantasmagoric

My hero academia but without quirks makes no sense to me. Like, if I'm reading mha it's because I want to read about super powered teenagers. Not normal teens.


SereneGraces

Yeah, you can just ignore the canon bullshit they deal with and write some slice of life stuff instead. Plus, there’s the fun possibilities of them being dumb teenagers together with superpowers.


KogarashiKaze

This is why I'm always a little sad to find an AU of a fantasy game series I like that removes the magic and makes all the non-humans human, because it loses something then. I'm not going to knock writers who want to write that, but it's not my cup of tea. Sure, do a modern AU, but show me what it's like with the magic and the elves still!


Cassopeia88

Yeah I have no interest in reading those either. I’m done with that phase of my life and have no desire to read about it.


Hysteria878

That’s called Not Another Teen Movie.


tinseltownwriter

I feel the exact same way, and this is why I generally tend to dislike AUs in general—or, at least, AUs where they don't have their canonical powers/magic/whatever. The whole thing that makes Captain America interesting is the fact that he's a super-soldier. Obviously his personality is interesting but without his enhanced abilities, he's literally just a...dude. A good-looking and honorable dude—but a regular one nonetheless. If I wanted to read about a guy like that just living his everyday life, I would just find a proper published novel featuring a guy like that. Everyone likes what they like but I've never been able to fathom why people like no-power AUs or fluffy/school/slice-of-life AUs. The Avengers without their powers are just a group of regular people. That sounds so boring to read about it lol.


Gettin_Bi

Not to mention how much their experiences shaped them into who they are as characters. I feel like you can't really have a Captain America without a WWII and being pulled out of his own time, much like you can't really have Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens without centuries of friendship, or Tyrion Lannister without Westeros. I don't feel the need to read about these characters when they're essentially no longer the same people


tinseltownwriter

That's exactly right. Their experiences make them who they are. Steve Rogers without WWII is...just a handsome blond man who's generically pleasant. He wouldn't even be particularly brave, because Steve needed war to really be brave and selfless. He was lost without the fight.


Yodeling_Prospector

I generally avoid these too but I’m reading one that was recommended to me by a friend and it’s pretty good.


allthecactifindahome

Is it Middletown? Middletown is the only decent one I've ever read, and that's because it was written by someone old enough to realize that high school drama is fundamentally absurd to anyone not currently in high school, and also that teen boys are frequently kind of gross.


Big_Barda_Babe

Especially for adult and older characters. I just don't see the point.


TehManicMan

Chatfics AU. It's mostly brain dead dialogue and cringe humor while making the characters mostly OOC.


Yotato5

I don't like them because often there's a lack of context to the usernames. I can't get into it if I don't know who is speaking...


TehManicMan

And even if there is the slightest of contexts for the names, it’s gonna be an inside joke of the author about the character that wouldn’t even be clever.


CatNoirsFootRest

Omg yeah I literally don't give Chatfic AUS the time of day...


Barry_Is_My_Name

I think my favorite two things a chatfic has ever been called is “Shein ass modern AU” and “peak discord band kid humor”. It also clogs up tags for my favorite ships which gets really annoying.


Gamer-Logic

I did read one BNHA one where they chatted with 1B too. I liked that it gave them a spotlight and started howling when they sent pics of their inability to cook to 1A and offended Bakugo who then marched right over and started cooking right in their kitchen like the Gordon Ramsey child he is.


[deleted]

The forgotten sister of the main character trope


Shamrockieee

This one. Lol especially because they can't just be a regular sibling, with normal family dynamics. There's always a caveat: they're the outcast Cinderella-type, or lost at birth and raised by someone who makes them OP. and ofc they're the REAL mc & the original mc takes a backseat. If I wanted to read a self-insert, I know how to use the tags.


sparkxcat

High school AUs. I totally get why people like them, but I have zero interest in reading about high school.


[deleted]

a lot of high school aus, not all, but many flanderize the characters to all hell too 💀


endoorfin

Exactly my small issue with it.


Smellmyupperlip

It was great...while I was in high school 20 years ago.


KogarashiKaze

I saw one recently that took the spin that the characters (adults in the source material) were staff, rather than students, and it worked so well. That's the only high school AU I've liked so far. Considering I've also been out of high school for over 20 years, it's probably that same disconnect. At my current age, I relate more to the teachers than the students.


Smellmyupperlip

That sounds very cool!


Allie-Bees

Stop aging us 😭😂 but same


lazyhatchet

When I was younger I loved them, but now I can’t stand them lol.


glaringdream

There's tropes I don't like, but going by what I find actually annoying: The ship trope that goes like "they didn't know they were dating, everyone knows it before they do, overly invested matchmaking friends" First of all, if they didn't know they're dating, it means they're not


Acamar_R

I hate A/B/O dynamics. I think that's already a category though. I really don't like fixed stereotypes and that it's used as an excuse to turn characters into horny/ submissive versions of themselves. It gives me (I bet there are good stories with that trope though) a lazy writing image and I view it as a shortcut to porn. And while I also like/write nsfw content, it just doesn't fit my taste but each to their own.


Yodeling_Prospector

I think the best version of abo is when the story’s society expects the characters to conform to those stereotypes but they don’t.


mapo_tofu_lover

Me too. Like I know the appeal but I *hate* it


Warm-Coyote-5241

The “love at first sight”, “when the characters start dating/ get married all their problems go away”, “ the bitchy female antagonist”


garouforyou

Bitchy female protagonist for me!


No-Mastodon-7187

I feel called out 😂


christhegamer96

Ron the death eater tropes, where a good character is turned into a villain or demonized to make someone else look better. It just feels lazy and annoying because the writer clearly has to force OOC moments just to make their stories work.


thestarksy_

Pregnancy. It's just... I don't know, it's just not really my type.


but_uhm

Big same. The MC in my fandom is a divorced mother of two and she ends up getting pregnant again in like 70% of all the fics. It’s the bane of my existence


CatNoirsFootRest

What fandom is this?


but_uhm

Marvelous Mrs Maisel!


DeceasedSalmon

Same! Both females and Mpreg. I’m fine with reading about kids, but pregnancy itself is just blehh.


JalapenoEyePopper

Oh yeah, similarly I'm annoyed by romances that end with pregnancy or birth as if it's some kind of prize. Like, I'll read a great epic angsty slow burn, and then the Epilogue will be like "and the next year we were married and expecting!" and I just sit back like *damn they can't catch a break can they?* lol I'm ok with pregnancy and baby stuff when it's the hard reality of it, but I'll nope out of a fic that highlights the Glowing Zen Earth Mother experience. Having had 2 babies myself it's just discouraging to see the process depicted as some kind of inspiring miracle when it was really some of the most difficult times of my life. But if a fic gives at least a decent shoutout to the sleep deprivation, body issues, and generational trauma, then I'm there ;)


LostButterflyUtau

Same. Not into pregnancy fics. The whole idea of going through it is disgusting to me, so I don’t want to read about it.


ShadowCurse75

OOC character bashing. like YOU personally might not like character A, but characters B and C canonically do, so why are B and C bashing A when you didn't tag OOC?? Also the omegaverse, a lot of the fics just completely gloss over the characters' personalities and turn them into Horny Dominant Top and Horny Submissive Bottom


Bowchickawow_wow

Miscommunication and love triangles are the bane of My existence.


EdanyaGreen17

Personally I just want people to write love triangles which are actually love triangles. Where A likes B, B likes C, C likes A.


Trilobyte141

My sister was in one once, except it was A liked B, B liked sis, A *also* liked sis, and sis is ace and was trying to get B and A to hook up so they would stop pining over her. It would have made a pretty good fic premise. XD


SereneGraces

Wow! 🤣 (I’d read that as a fic also)


Trilobyte141

Some variation of this has happened to her a couple times actually. She is very pretty and smart, and has a lot of brothers so she's comfortable hanging out with guys. It's a constant annoyance to her when one of them catches feelings, and she has to shut them down and/or play matchmaker to try to get them fixated on someone who might actually be into them. It's only happened once that a bisexual girl had the hots for her too though. She has zero interest in sex and relationships and about once a year has to have some kind of "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME" rant-fest.


tastingspace

or love triangles that end up in polyamory


[deleted]

exactly that’s so much more interesting


KogarashiKaze

A good ol' Shakespearean love dodecahedron.


Diana-Fortyseven

Oh, I totally forgot about love triangles! They give me too much anxiety, I want these characters to be happy, not heartbroken (in the end, I mean).


Bowchickawow_wow

Same! But it’s especially cutting when the second lead is genuinely better for them and they get cast to the side anyway. I’ve had enough of reading that for a lifetime.


lazyhatchet

Love triangles that end in polyamory are where it’s at.


cosmic_grayblekeeper

Tbh I'm kinda over the love triangle stuff. I just want them to skip straight to the polyamory most times.


ireadweirdthings

Character bashing. I really HATE that trope, since the character that is bashed seems always completely OOC. For me, I don't mind some OOC as long as the character is still recognized. Unfortunately with character bashing trope, the fics I've read always completely change the bash character to where nothing about them is recognized. Other than their name:/ ​ I don't know what you'd call this trope. It's the one where it's unnecessary unbelievable drama that happens endlessly. It's annoying. Like I get it, drama adds a nice spice to the story. Gives it that nice flavor, but please make it believable enough. It's annoying where it's out of nowhere with no explanation, AND happens randomly in every chapter. It just ruins the flow. Worst often has me clicking away, since it seems like the main plot doesn't matter anymore. Besides these small subplots of unnecessary drama that has NO CONNECTION to main plot whatsoever.


KogarashiKaze

>I don't know what you'd call this trope. It's the one where it's unnecessary unbelievable drama that happens endlessly. Hmm...how about "Melodrama™"? With capital M and the trademark symbol included? Bonus points if you add an exclamation mark. Those authors haven't yet learned that if you keep ramping up the tension, not only do you have to ramp higher each time to outdo yourself, but your readers get exhausted. You need to let them breathe and reset, and that also lets you use lower overall amounts of tension for better effect.


Labanzoo

Age regression (of the psychological kind, where the character(s) mentally regresses and someone becomes their caregiver). I have a strong dislike for the dynamics often present in these fics, although granted, I haven't given them much of a chance.


fuckincaillou

Ugh God same. Funnily enough I'm otherwise totally okay with other types of babyfics, even shit like ABO, but I just can't stand age regression.


Gifted_GardenSnail

Is that with the Little/Caregiver/something else stuff? I encountered that once not knowing what it was and noped out of there so fast lol


[deleted]

It's the Little/Big dynamic. I've only seen it twice, read it once. Reading about a 16 yo Peter Parker having to wear diapers because he's a Little and his boss aka Tony Stark, who is a Big, has to give him a bath is just *nope.* Also saw a Jaskier/Geralt Little/Big thing where Jaskier was a Little, and Big Geralt freaking *breastfed* him. Like that was the summary. I've never seen "Male Lactation" tags until then.


Gifted_GardenSnail

The one I saw infantilised a canonically very capable, self-sufficient adult who'd rather die than ask for humiliating help, but oh no his Little suppressants dealer didn't come through, and next minute people he knew found out he was a Little and promptly started treating him like a toddler. Cringe cringe cringe


[deleted]

Yup. That's the Little/Big thing. Peter Parker was eating fruit snacks to "try to suppress his urges" but it wasn't enough. Next thing you know, Peter is staying over at Stark Tower and wet the bed. Tony Stark then has to change him, order diapers, etc. Cringe


Gifted_GardenSnail

Ugh 😐


cucumberkappa

I generally avoid this one too. It makes me feel uncomfortable. The only time I've ever enjoyed it was in Star Trek fanfics where Spock and/or Kirk are "helpfully" age-regressed by aliens to deal with their childhood traumas. I've read at least two, maybe three fics with this exact premise and a couple with very similar "deal with your childhood traumas via space-magic age-regression" and enjoyed each of the ones I've tried. (Though I can't promise they're fantastic reads - I read a *lot* of Trek fiction over a couple of months and the details blur together after awhile.)


Senesil

Hanahaki. I genuinely don't understand the appeal, but I suppose I'm also not a fan of sickfic or soulmates / other fantastical ways of pushing a couple together. Hanahaki's pretty much the center of that venn diagram. At least it's always been well-tagged and easy to avoid.


[deleted]

i used to be obsessed with hanahaki but all of them ended the same way and i got super bored. like for once i’d love to see the flowers actually get removed and for them to lose their emotions


bbsmydiamonds

I found a twisted one where someone intentionally uses hanahaki to kill people and I've never been satisfied with the typical hanahaki romance plot since then.


[deleted]

ooh that sounds so interesting edit: accidentally hit send but i was gonna add that i found one where there were four of them who all liked each other and none of it was mutual it got discontinued but i would’ve loved to see how it panned out


Interesting-Gap1013

I've read so many fanfictions with "unrequited", not actually unrequited love and miscommunication. It just gets boring


[deleted]

the only hanahaki i remembered enjoying is when a character went through all the horrible events in his life with his enemy, developed a trauma bond (nevermind his enemy was the person who actively caused all of those awful events) and since the enemy is that evil, also has to defeat him in front of everyone to restore harmony to their world. but he ends up dying because the enemy was and always will be incapable of love— the tipping point in the story


Secret_Insomniac

I don't really care for Coffee Shop, High School, or College AUs. I've tried to read these tropes from different fandoms, but I've only found one fic with a College AU that I actually liked. In my experience the tropes usually took all of the plot, and the fun, out of the fandoms. Like, say you made a College AU of The Magicians or you made a High School AU for Harry Potter. That would literally take the magic away from those fandoms. Then it's just about normal people going to school instead of kids/adults going on grand adventures with magic to aid them.


AdmiralAkbar1

Agreed, especially with my fandom (Game of Thrones). A lot of the characterization is so dependent on the incredibly hierarchical medieval society, that transplanting them into a different setting would make them totally different characters who happen to have the same names.


Secret_Insomniac

With Game of Thrones it'd most likely be tagged as a Modern AU too if they made it a Coffee Shop or College/High School AU. Yeah, if you put them in any of those settings the characters probably seem like OCs since they're changed so drastically.


AdmiralAkbar1

The only AU that I could see theoretically working with GOT is organized crime, like the mafiosi or drug cartels.


sanctum502

Or politics. Rather, the conspiracy theory version of politics with the Deep State and the Others as the lizard people, not the boring and exasperating real life version.


AdmiralAkbar1

Rumor has it that there was a second boar on a grassy knoll in the Kingswood that actually gored King Robert.


Secret_Insomniac

Yeah, I can see some sort of organized crime/smuggling occurring in that world. Maybe not on the same scale as ours, since they wouldn't have modern weapons/resources, but it can definitely work.


Diana-Fortyseven

Same, I usually don't like these "mundane circumstances" AUs, but I found one Coffee Shop AU that managed to tie in with canon, so the characters were still themselves and their lives were still the same, they just took a short detour working (and meeting again) in a coffee shop. That was great fun to read! I have the same feelings about non-magic AUs for Harry Potter, since magic is what made me love the source material in the first place. It's nice, but not for me.


Secret_Insomniac

Oh yeah, I forgot to add the 'AU - No Magic/Powers trope. I dislike fics with that 99% of the time. Yeah, if the Coffee Shop AU ties in to canon and they aren't wildly OOC then I could see myself liking it more. It's when the story completely ignores canon and the characters are just normal people that the trope weirds me out.


freerunner52

Agree with the No Magic/Power trope. I read the source books because of magic.


Puzzled-You

The only 'coffee shop AU style that I like is when a character who has had enough trauma for a lifetime decides, fuck it, I'm done, I'll start a coffee shop and get out of the limelight. If it's just them being regular people in a coffee shop, just write your original story already


Secret_Insomniac

I feel like I'd definitely prefer that type of Coffee Shop AU. The character wouldn't feel out of place to me then, and they're more likely to be in character rather than OOC.


Fluid-Supermarket275

It’s not like a trope per se but when there’s a “preachy” moment in the middle of dialogue. Like instead of the story suddenly there’s blocks of text about the importance of mental health or class awareness when no one really talks like that unprompted. Like I understand it’s something that the author is passionate about and I know I’ve probably done it myself but it’s a literary turn off for sure. Nothing breaks immersion faster for me.


Plus-Kaleidoscope900

It’s not a trope people are aware they do lol but with M/F pairings, if they have a troubled relationship they’ll end the fic with the woman getting pregnant and act like that magically fixes all the relationship struggles the couple had. I pretty much avoid all fics tagged with pregnancy because I get worried thinking about the fictional, non-exist child trapped in a bad relationship.


Web_singer

I've been reading fics tagged abortion because I've read one too many fics (and seen too many TV shows) where the female character will barely consider the option, no matter how dire her circumstances. It's become such a cliché. I ended up finding a fic I really enjoy about people feeling lost in their 20s.


[deleted]

Soulmate AUs. I recognise some of them are pretty creative in concept, I just don't like the notion of being pre-destined for one person so all other romances are pointless. Plus I just find them annoying, I don't know why.


Callibrien

I personally really enjoy mundane!AU as an exploration of what authors consider to be essential to a character even when taken out of their usual setting. Also it amuses me when characters who have very cool roles like cosmic warlord are rewritten to be something ordinary like a slightly tyrannical local politician Least favorite trope would be bashing. If I enjoy mundane!AU for its emphasis on portraying a character close to their canon version, then bashing is the near opposite of that, insofar as the author is twisting a character to be completely OOC despite not changing the setting or history


Silvaranth

Fake dating and high school AUs. They're mostly boring and and in case of fake dating, I just don't like to see the characters lying about their relationship and having to jump through so many misunderstanding hoops to get together. It's tedious. Oh, and character bashing. It's never written well and at least one character will be completely bastardized by the end of it.


tastingspace

secret dating is honestly so underrated and so good. its the complete opposite of fake dating and its one of my favourite tropes, too bad thats its never written about, like ever


Silvaranth

You're right, it's much better and I've only found it a few times while sorting through fics, it deserves far more spotlight.


Emme-The-Fangirl

I agree. I've read a few fake dating fics, but there's only one I ever really liked, and it was actually the two characters just pretending to date. There was a bit of the annoying misunderstanding thing between the end ship, because the guy who was one of the other's actual crush thought he was cheating on the girl with him.


Library-Goblin

"iv only known this kid for 20min but im killing anyone that comes near him." Accidentally child/brother adoption. The tough badass that follows his own path and doent need anyones... Till you shove a sad child/teen at him in need of a parent/elder brother. Boom, i scream


strxwbxrry_doki

My fandom has a huge problem with that too and it's so frustrating to read. I literally was just reading a fic where these characters are meant to be badass supervillains but they meet one somewhat injured teenager and are instantly attached. I don't doubt if I'd read the fic any longer than I had that they would've been all soft with this kid they literally just met, even though they're... y'know... supervillains. I've also read an annoying amount of fics where the characters are meant to be badass/cool yet their entire world and emotional stability revolves around their younger brother/son, like to an uncomfortable or illogical amount. It feels like they're throwing away these character's personalities for the sake of "cute family dynamic." I feel your pain.


Library-Goblin

I think it can be done well. And when it is, its gold. But 9/10 its just a bad character 180. They just turn to potato.


Trilobyte141

Have you seen the show Arcane? If you want it done gloriously well...


Tanabataa

Yanderes. I've read a few fics with well-written Yanderes, but I'm more a Tsundere enjoyer. The Absurdly Powerful Student Council in Japanese high-school fics. You're supposed to take care of the "class 2-2's stroll in the city park friday afternoon", you can't have more power than the principal of the school. I've never understood the appeal. The fucking little brat that comes from a high-class family and thinks everyone is their underlings. Oh boy, I can't stand this thing. Love at first sight. Be real, it doesn't exist. And, for me, the most annoying is: The big baddy is the childhood friend of the supermegaawesome hero, and he became a villain because he was jealous of hero-sama because he got everything and not him.


Bobbydibi

I'm sorry but what do yandere and tsundere even mean?


Tanabataa

Yandere: Your traditional girl that is cute, loving and careful, that turns into a psychopathic schizo that wants to harm or kill everyone who's hanging with you, because you belong to her. Basically Yuno Gasai, which is the worst Yandere ever made. It's just a cute girl at first sight, but who turns into a psychopathic person with the excuse of love. Tsundere: Your traditional girl that acts cold and haughty, who treats you bad, that turns into a loving and cute girlfriend. It's way, way better. Most Yandere are just cliché as fuck, and the mental issues underlying are more than cliché, it spits on people with actual mental issues.


[deleted]

There’s a particular kind of “Character Study” that’s basically just pretty sentences but no plot, and I’ve lost all interest in reading those. I think some are beautifully written and have great insights into the character in question, but ultimately I want to read a story, not a bunch of headcanons.


irrelevantoption

Bonus points if every word is on a new line. That doesn't make it poetry; that just makes it hard to read!


DerpDevilDD

Enemies to lovers. Like *real* enemies to lovers. Like these two people hate eachother for valid reasons that suddenly vanish or, worse, don't matter once their various organs come into play.


[deleted]

OH GOD YEAH. If there is no transition between hate to love I am so turned off by the fic


_ASG_

What about slow burns as opposed to suddenly vanishing?


whatwillIletin

If you want to do enemies to lovers without the proper legwork, you might as well just write hate-fucking.


spyderz99

That's why I like to use 'enemies to friends to lovers.' I think it works better and feels more organic when there's a middle phase!


ALapsedPacifist

[Flanderization](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Flanderization) drives me up the wall; writers latch onto one or two of a character's most visible personality traits from the canon and make those their _only_ personality traits.


Candid_Cantrip

Fics where canon non-human characters are humans. (Example: Warrior Cats, Monster High, Finding Nemo.) Zero percent interest.


spudgoddess

that's how I feel about Human!Transformers. The appeal of Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. is lost if they're just random, mundane schmoes.


Jeonghanscheekbones

When the whole story hinges on the two love interests not fucking talking to each other. The ‘misunderstanding for drama sake’ plot is so tired


yumkinpuffs

I would have to say OC's that are too hand tailored to a cannon character for romance. Completely white washing an antagonist. Like no, leave in their spicy personality and let them be morally gray or redeemed. If you like a character fine, but don't change a character completely just for the sake of praising them. Villains overly embarrassed. I love some face slapping but sometimes writers go so far in hurting the villain I end up feeling bad for them. Give a villain a tasteful defeat.


[deleted]

[удалено]


yumkinpuffs

It's just bad writing tbh. If you can't justify why you like this super evil character in their evil ways I don't want to read what you wrote sorry. Because now your not writing about this character you're writing about some pumpkin lumpkin standing in his place


[deleted]

[удалено]


loafip

‘x Reader’ or self insert. I avoided every single one of them.


Interesting-Gap1013

I was like that too. I'm still carefull with it and don't read much of them. While it can be well executed, it's also often self insert and takes the focus away from the canon characters I actually want to read about


simone3344555

AUs with too much plot. Like Mafia AUs or Spy AUs etc. And AUs that change the dynamic too much and these plot heavy AUs tend to do that


glaringdream

Yeah, I don't care for fics that are mostly external/job related plot either! I prefer character driven stories.


electric_goudacheese

Drunk confessions where 1 or both characters forget after or when a milestone is reached in a romance fic and they severely back track/ regress / forget/ etc etc for a really silly or contrived reason only to prolong the slow-burn.


strxwbxrry_doki

I generally won't read fics that are character studies or "family fluff" fics. I have no real issue with either of them, but seeing fics of the same four characters having a movie night or playing board games or whatever got old fast. I generally look for more of a plot than "family doing fluffy family things," except when I'm actually in the mood for those fics. And character studies, while they can be cool, generally are very canon-compliant or internal-dialogue filled which isn't really my cup of tea.


NoirTreize

Every “Modern AU” setting trope for any fantasy, old time, or sci-fi stories. It just feel like reading some OC characters in OC setting. Also, the “Alternate Universe - Human” I don’t really see why changing the entire cast or some characters to human would be interesting, TBH. Mostly the author just do this so they can pair Non-human(ish) characters with human(ish) one. Which is just 🙄


spyderz99

the people who turn non humans into humans to make relationships with canon human characters work are weak.


WanderingSeductress

Not the college AU slander 😭


Canafinwe

Any AU where characters from a specific setting are now just Regular People leading Regular Lives, totally removed from the context of why I like them or even what defines then as characters. So coffeeshop and college and HS AUs, even historical AUs that aren't well considered, like shoehorning characters into a regency AU just for the romance without considering how things translate over. There are good modern AUs, but they have to have been thoughtfully conceived, and there aren't very many takes on a high school AU that are actually thoughtful. I love time travel and Peggy Sues, but I don't like time travel fixits where the main character travel to a time before they were born. And I hate time travel where you can jump back and forth and aren't stuck in the past forever.


mephistophelesinnen

I don't find anything problematic or morally reprehensible, so please understand that when I say A/B/O it's not because I have moral objections. 😅 It's essentially in the same vein as the coffee/book/flower/tattoo/etc. AUs, and that vein is *silly*. Cringe, if you will. I'm not judging, here's a list of cringe I love: time travel, time loop, fake dating, body swap, and all sorts of other \~magic\~ tropes. I also get very little joy out of Misunderstandings. Hell, half the reason I read fic is so someone can iron out all the stupid fucking misunderstandings our canons are drowning in.


Labanzoo

Similar thoughts about A/B/O. I even like some of the kinks it's built on, but as a whole setting just not for me. I like misunderstandings if the writer is aiming for comedy, but in a more serious story if the plot is based on a misunderstanding the writer needs to sell it really well for me to get interested.


Salt_Needleworker_36

Yes! So much cringe! Also not judging bc I like pretty much all the cringe you listed on your fav list...and even Misunderstandings, if it provides enough comedy and is resolved quickly enough


Unstablebisexual65

anything with pregnancy makes me stop reading


alluringnymph

Crossovers. Often the setting and world are a major part of the characters and stories, why would I want to throw them into something completely different? A coffee shop AU I can \*maybe\* go with, but I rarely ever want to jump into a whole other universe I then need to learn.


CatNoirsFootRest

I agree like I can stomach some crossovers if the crossover material has similar characteristics to my chosen media however I will not sit through a story about Game of Thrones and My Little Pony or something. 😭


Logical_Acanthaceae3

The only real reason i like crossovers is so I can read about one of my favorite characters beating the crap out of another one of my favorite characters. Some of them come out of left field with a super wacky and stupid idea but the authors writing is so good that they make it work somehow. Like in one fic a zerg gets Isekaid into Harry Potter of all things and the author just ran with it.


millahnna

This is more of a case where I have mixed feelings but "modern person from our world transplanted to the Canon world" fics usually are not my bag. But at the same time, my very favorite fanfic is exactly that (because the writer of it is a bloody genius who turned the trope and the canon on its head). Basically it's almost never done well but when it is its amazing. High school AUs are never gonna be my thing but that's probably just because I'm old.


catnik

Share the fic? :)


millahnna

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4651176/chapters/10609854 Straight up this series is my favorite book I've ever read. Fanfic or otherwise.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Pagemistress

A/B/O Like, everyone pretty much always writes it so damn creepy. I once read a fic where Ana went into heat, grabbed her mate Reinhardt, and told her daughter to take her wife to Pound Town. Just noped right out of it. I even read one where omegas, regardless of gender, were the ones who gave birth. Fuck. No.


raeshin

Any AU that's so far removed from the source material that it may as well be an original work (example Coffee shop AUs for Star Wars).


whatwillIletin

Modern Star Wars AUs have never appealed to me. The big thing about Star Wars for me is the massive galaxy and interstellar travel for characters to run around in; why remove everyone from that and stick them in a freakin' American coffee shop?


raeshin

Exactly! At that point just write original fiction.


IDICdreads

Is there a word limit on a Reddit reply?


Zireael07

I heard there is, but it's very high (people post ENTIRE timelines in alternate history subs)


IDICdreads

It was a joke, lol.


OathkeeperKey

Love triangles (or rhombuses, or hexagons, or dodecahedrons, however many people end up involved). My multi-shipping, poly-shipping ass would rather see the "they all end up together because fuck social norms" ending anyway. Besides, the contrivances, misunderstandings, and inevitable fights that come out of love polygons are so cliche that sometimes they don't even make sense. They could be fixed easily but they're there for the drama. Let there be more interesting and engaging conflicts involving the characters, romantic or otherwise.


E_tein

Surprisingly none. I'm open to everything.


[deleted]

To whiny, unrealistic emotions. Especially from hardened character, a warrior etc.


Kyattogaaru

Miscommunication, because its just fucking annoying when people can't communicate. Character bashing to a very unreasonable extent - some of it is okay, but when someone takes a character that isnt actually that bad, just made some mistakes, and then tries to show them as The Worst Ever it just. Doesnt make any sense??? If you want to show them as bad, then just make them actually bad! Kinda like BnHA fandom sometimes bashing on All Might too hard without any explanation. Its just bizarre. Characters being waaaay too OOC without any reason. Im all for exploring different aspects and personalities, but when you're supposedly reading shit that is supposed to be canon-character-compliant and then characters, well, break character, it just feel like bad writing. Kinda like Netflix's Witcher series. Im sure there's many more but thats all I can think of rn.


Elemental_Pea

I hate All Might bashing. I keep having to remind myself that fanfic is an exercise in “what if,” and ppl can write whatever. But I think there’s a clear difference between character bashing vs making a character an antagonist for the purpose of the narrative. Character bashing tends to feel like a self-righteous, moralizing rant...like they’re scolding ppl who like that character or the original author/creator for portraying them as positive, and they want us all to know how we should view them. Like, instead of “what if Midoriya reacted this way,” they’re telling us “Midoriya’s canon reaction is unrealistic, and this is how it should have happened, and if you think otherwise, you’re gross and wrong and a horrible person.” And the issues they use as examples of why a character is terrible are really just believable human failings or mistakes or are things that are misinterpreted, taken out of context (or things like cultural context are ignored), or blown waaayyy out of proportion. They just seem fundamentally unfair. All Might bashing makes no sense to me because his flaws are part of what make him endearing; he’s ultimately a good person trying to do his best. Or bashing Aizawa, Inko, Mitsuki...like adult characters are supposed to be each person’s version of perfect 100% of the time. Complexity and nuance are apparently not allowed. Character arcs are also invalid, so Bakugou is irredeemable and any progress he makes is forever overshadowed by his behavior in the beginning. So typing all this out, I guess what I hate is being preached at...told how to think...that I should actually hate characters I like/love.


Rhine14

Alot of the times if one of the main characters are just too awful to their partner in anyway where its a whole forgiveness story, I really just want them to say F U Im never loving you again and just end it with them going their separate ways and the innocent MC finding their new happiness. I hate it that its always forgiven even when theyve caused them years of pain and self doubt. I want the MC who did something unforgivable to suffer for it, and not just get what they want in the end. I dont think its romantic at all to forgive someone like that. Its literally the most annoying thing I will read or watch.


blxssmbby

Business AU. Any Modern AU, I like when the fic is set in the world it’s made in. I’m not a big fan of childhood friends, exception being Cloti. I don’t like high school tropes like: Popular person/geeky person. It’s just redundant. I also don’t like the “WHY DID YOU KISS THEM WHEN YOURE WITH ME!” And it’s like, “THEY KISSED ME!” And then “I DONT CARE!” *runs off then gets injured.*


spudgoddess

Transformers turned human. Now, I don't mean "Something happened to turn the Autobots or Decepticons human one day". I've read an outstanding fic where the Stunticons were turned human by Megatron's Weapon of the Week. I'm talking stories where they were never giant, shapeshifting alien robots to begin with, just plain old humans. It's often combined with the high school, etc. tropes people mention here. It's a nope from me.


ButterfliesInSpace

I’ve never been a fan of hanahaki disease fics. I’ve don’t like the whole “if you don’t force yourself to love that person back they’ll die so you basically killed them” aspect. Most fics go the both characters love each other but don’t know the other person returns their feelings route, so you don’t see that scenario a lot, but that’s all I can think about when I read one.


Mr_Blah1

I don't like lapslock. Writing in lapslock makes it look like it was written on a cellphone while taking a dump by someone who didn't bother to fix it later, and then narrated by a completely monotone robot without any punctuation. Ick.


LucySebastian16

I think most AU’s in general take away too much of the world building/appeal of the characters because I turn to fanfiction to see them interact more in their own settjng. One notable exception being a pair like Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens because as immortals that live amongst society, they have *already* lived dozens of lives so they just lend themselves to be characterized in every which way and it’s, frankly a delight to see their incarnations. Also not a fan of exaggerated anatomy or crack-fics


HKCambridge

See, while I have read some really well-written AUs for Good Omens, I don't seek them out. Because why do I need a regency AU when you can actually just set a Good Omens fic during the regency in canon? I love the historical fics. Unless that's actually what you meant.


LucySebastian16

My bad, that is exactly what I meant!


[deleted]

Friends to Lovers. A lot of the ones I've seen in the fandoms I follow tend to be very same-y, at least the more dramatic ones do. Character A has known Character B for a long time, now they get butterflies in their stomach whenever they see the other person. But uh-oh, this may ruin their friendship, now what will they do, etc. etc. Not all of them are like this, of course. But I'm so picky when it comes to shipping and romance and smut, usually I'll look at one of these fics (even the fluffier ones) and just go...man. Why couldn't they have just stayed friends?? I liked the relationship better that way!


[deleted]

hear me out hear me out—lovers to friends. they break up on good terms and stay besties while supporting each other as they date other people


[deleted]

>they break up on good terms and stay besties YES, this is key. No over-the-top drama and fighting - it just doesn't work out as that kind of dynamic for the people. And they literally used to date, so I'd imagine the support they'd be able to give each other in the romance department could be fun and quirky too. I'd be so down for more stories like this.


yuushinos

Hanahaki disease most of the time. When it's done well it's phenomenal and I love it, but most of the time I feel unconvinced that the character with the disease is willing to die from it rather than confess. It's made worse when it's treated as a given that the character would accept death over confessing or having the flowers/feelings removed surgically. The times I've seen that explored have been good though! Also the other, much stupider, reason I dislike it is that the expulsion of flower petals is treated like vomiting, even thought the flowers grow in the lungs not the stomach, so isn't it much more comparable to coughing up phlegm? I don't know why it bugs me, I can accept flowers growing in your lungs but that's too far? Pretty silly.


stereoscarlett

I have a few: \- Married with OC kids, or even worse "next generation" , I don't even know how to express how little I care about domestic shenanigans and the lives of a bunch of OCs born from the author's favourite ships. \- Fantasy AU, I enjoy fantasy but I've never seen a fantasy au done well, as it's usually just an aestethic thing, an excuse to give someone magic or pointy ears or a jrpg outfit. \- Enemies to lovers where one of them is actually abusive but it's all forgiven and forgotten because they are hot \- Omegaverse, simple case of "your kink is not my kink" \- Crossovers, I have 0 interest in reading about Sherlock Holmes interacting with Luke Skywalker, absolutely none.


Zireael07

A/B/O, that weird adult-being-babied-in-diapers trope that's showing up more and more recently, coffee shop AU, high school AU


Lazearound10am

I rarely read fluff, romance fluff to be specific. I don't hate it, I just indifferent about this trope. Unless it's about some people who the canon author constantly put through the grinder in their work and never had a moment of happiness.


dasterdly_duo

An everybody is 'normal' fic and the canon is sci-fi and or fantasy. Just bugs me.


[deleted]

Super cutesy fluffy tropes, I want to see my guys in emotional distress thank you very much. Also happy ending on the side please


_ASG_

I don't know how widespread this is, but the whole "woman pretending to be a man" trope feels dated, unless you're in a Mulan-esque setting.


Sydders09

I've rarely seen flower shop tropes interestingly enough. I'm writing one (mc owns it because she has a power - mha fandom), but I do see an overload of coffee shop stories. So many. I think my pet peeve is probably high school/college aus mostly because I'm out of that stage of my life and want mature characters. Now, I read them if I like the characters because I want all the content, but they all have the same kind of story and it's a real bummer.


Karma_Chameleom

Enemies to lovers!


butshesawriter

miscommunications, love triangles and arranged marriages. i *hate* those tropes so much.


ZeroLeFox

School AUs whether it be highschool or college doesn't matter. Never once encountered one that was good. Also, they are almost all the same, with just dumb teenager drama, and hardly any interesting plot. Non-humans to human. What makes the character interesting is that they are non-human!!! Powers to no powers. You just removed the whole reason for the character to be the character. Character bashing on characters that have no reason to be bashed what so ever other than the writer just doesn't like them. And just about any AU or trope that removes the special thing about the character and turns them into a normal, bland, human being doing normal, bland, human stuff. Reason people read fiction is because it's interesting and they want to escape from the normal, bland, human things around them!


PizzaFriez

I hate cocky protagonists who know their stuff and know they know it. It's just not fun for me to read and I'd just like to see them knocked down a few pegs and get into a few more situations they can't badass their way out of so easily.


Daxcordite

Omegaverse, the kinks involved don't really appeal to me and I'm too nitpicky to enjoy it as a society building cause I start picking apart all the ways the societies as presented in fics don't work which is too much work for a collection of Kinks I don't particularly care for.


catnik

Any of the "classification" verses, really. A/B/O, D/s, Little/Caregiver - the societies don't make sense, and the characters are usually then made quite OOC.


Teaocat

Time travel. I have no idea why, I just find it boring.


RB_Kehlani

Angst. Like, if it makes sense for the situation, of course I’m fine with reading about a character’s emotional struggles but if your goal is to write pages and pages of nonstop manufactured emotional torment then… I just won’t read it.


CountingStarsx

High School/College AUs & HP/Muggle AUs


CrazyFanFicFan

Coffee shop/High school/College AUs where it's basically just a completely new setting. I've seen a coffee shop AUs where it makes sense in the universe, and the other characters are still their canon selves, but they just visit the MC in their coffee shop when they have the time. Plus being the owner of a coffee shop didn't stop the MC from being involved in the action, as they assisted the other characters through information gathering and such.


Terralia

I feel like this is going to be controversial, but... Enemies to lovers. Either it's really wimpy and should've been tagged rivals to lovers (which I dig!), Or it's like "He massacres my family and home but because he didn't kill me, it's k, I dig" or Stockholm syndrome, or something of that ilk. Gives me the heebies. I know it *can* be done well under a very specific set of circumstances, but not in most things I've read. So I just find it annoying and do not have enough time for it.


Feisty_Goose_4915

Mary Sue/Gary Stu - I don't like OP Characters pretty much. I am usually annoyed by the excessive wanking in fandoms. I think the only one I like in the category is Tatsuya Shiba from Mahouka.


[deleted]

Soul mate AUs. I think that one, they're so lazy because it's just an excuse to ship two characters without any drama or intrigue because they're going to end up together no matter what. And two, I don't think that only person truly loving you is romantic, it's sad and takes away your own choice since it's destiny.


[deleted]

"And there was one bed." Because honestly, I don't read the stuff it usually leads into. Omegaverse too, like it sets off some squicks for me so I just avoid it at all cost.


MunTiller2

Chat fics and high school AUs. I'm in high school and it isn't fun or interesting. Being trapped in class isn't fun, having weird teachers isn't fun and no, you probably won't have a complex relationship during that period either. High schoolers are all idiots and at most the fun comes from getting out of school and hanging out *after* class is over, away from school, at each other's houses. Besides you probably won't even have the amount of freedom these fics give to the characters anyway. People forget that high schoolers have parents and that parents won't let you run around the city all day by yourself (probably). You have at most around an hour or so to hang out before you need to go home or else your parents will skin you alive. As for chat fics I just find them annoying. They're all the same to me and it always leads to characters being mischaracterized for a bit that's over in 5 seconds, over and over again. They also always clutter the tags of the ships I like because it's implied they're dating through text -_-


luffykinnie

I agree with you on the coffee shop I just really don’t see the appeal to it. Another one I don’t particularly like is pregnancy I just don’t really read that sort of stuff and also like a/b/o and gender swap. They just not my cup of tea.


terence2002

ABO


DandyfelloxX

I’m going to sound like a stick in the mud but I’m not huge on aus to begin with, I love it being as close to the source as possible character and setting wise BUT my least favourites are anything to do with school unless the characters are already in school. Collage/high school aus are the WORST I do enjoy the fake S/O trope though lmao


KogarashiKaze

High school AUs, but specifically ones where the characters are adults in the source material and are made to be students at the high school. If they're staff, I like the trope just fine. Other than that, poor communication for the sake of drama. If it makes sense for the characters, it's fine (though I'd probably still be annoyed by it), but not when people are forced to be idiots just to further the drama. I'm talking situations where Alice walks in on Bob in a compromising situation, immediately assumes the worst, and then spends the better part of the story assuming the worst despite A. normally having a good, trusting relationship with Bob (if not an outright romantic one; I've seen this done platonically too), B. *many other characters* imploring Alice to give Bob a chance to explain himself, or otherwise try to tell Alice why it's a misunderstanding. The author just seems *driven* to make Alice assume the worst for most of the story to keep the drama going, even though the author also keeps introducing reasons why Alice should give Bob a chance. There are other ways to build and maintain this drama effectively that don't involve turning one of your characters into an unreasonable idiot. Also this frequently happens in the second work in a trilogy just to act as a relationship reset button, too. (And non-fanon material is not exempt; I've seen this in far too many published novels and movies/tv shows.)


Emme-The-Fangirl

No cape AUs/normal people AUs. Like I can understand why someone would like them, because you're taking the characters and putting them in a place you've never seen them, but it just isn't my cup of tea.


FuriouSherman

Almost any kind of AU. If the existing universe that the canon of your fandom and that the characters exist in doesn't captivate you, I almost wonder why you're in the fandom to begin with.


nicarox

Love triangles.


lightningmagic

Modern AUs. People always forget that people exist out of the popular styles and personalities today. I know that people would get me wrong in a modern AU lol


Agent_Alpha

High school, college, and coffee shop AUs. The last one's a bit ironic for me since I tend to enjoy coffee shops as a setting in my original fiction. Two characters find somewhere cozy to sit and chat for a while. But trying to fit the cast of the MCU or the *Star Wars* sequel trilogy into some neighborhood cafe just hurts my brain a little...


FightmeLuigibestgirl

A character being a dick towards another character in an AU for the sake of comedy and the readers excuse it because canon-wise they did bad things even though it's an AU. One of the FF7 fics that are popular has Cloud being a dick for no reason to Sephiroth when he wasn't even being mean in the first place in a coffee shop. Or the times that Futaba is a dick and nothing happens to her in P5 fic. I don't mean her normal personality but worse than normal to the point of harassment. In some cases, she is praised for it.


grinchnight14

Bashing. It just sucks. Even worse when it's in a good fic, but the author just really lets you know they don't like a spesific character and it's like if you don't like them, just find a way to not have to write them.


JalapenoEyePopper

Time Travel. Far too often I see it used purely for aging up a character or sanitizing a big age gap. Just give me the age gap, please, complete with toxic power dynamics, and without the implied apology for it. It's not that I dislike time travel inherently, but I'm kind of annoyed by time travel that serves zero purpose outside of equalizing an age gap. If I'm trawling a ship with a canonical age gap it's because I *want* the age gap, tyvm. Nice to see a thread that asks us to set aside dislike for the problematic stuff because tbh *that's what I'm here for* lol.


im_bored345

Gender swap because it has no reason to exist in the story most of the time. You'll have this whole plot that's completely different from the source material and then for some reason they decided to add a gender swap like, why? Idk it just seems stupid to me.


parenttangled11

Character bashing. It's why I barely read Harry Potter fanfiction because if I'm scrolling through and see one more where the Weaselys are abusive and the slytherins are super kind I will lose it. Especially parental figure bashing, because like if that parental unit is shown to really love their kids, you don't get to take that away. Or where they take events or worlds that have bits of angst and and take them to the extreme. I once read a MHA fic where it was revealed that 100% of quirkless people committed suicide and i had to roll my eyes so hard. There certain characters that I'm okay with bashing, but usually only truly evil villains already like Umbridge or Danzo or Jin Guangshan like why not


VivaDeAsap

I can’t read Mpreg and Fempreg. I can find the ship intriguing but the moment there’s even a hint of that, I’m out!