The following are explanations of some vaguer or lesser known tropes. Fanlore links with more expanded explanations are included in the name of the trope. Kinks are not explained, because they're easier to Google. Also these are not hard definitions, just usually how fandom uses them; if you interpret a prompt differently and it inspires you, don't let what fandom's used to stop you.
Listed alphabetically.
- Anthropomorphic - Characters are conscious inanimate objects.
- Ballroom Dance Lessons - One character needs to learn how to ballroom dance for some formal event, and the love interest character helps them. This is mostly fodder for the physical intimacy that is ballroom dancing. Usually ends in character asking love interest to the formal event as a date, but not always, in which case it's good jealousy fodder.
- Bond - Also known as soulbond, it comes with the main trait of two characters are "bonded" together in a way that affects their physical lifestyle. Oftentimes it manifests as a physical distance bond, where physical distance between two characters cause immense pain (particularly headaches) while more intimate physical interaction quells or soothes it, escalating to rewarding with immense pleasure. Other times, this may be accompanied by telepathic communication or detecting/adapting each other's emotions. Alternatively, telepathy/empathy may be the main trait of the bond, without any physical distance/pain.
- Canon Divergence - The fanwork is canon up to a point, until an area of the canon's narrative is decidedly changed by the fan creator. The resulting work thus diverges from canon and explores the aftermath.
- Catboy/Kemonomimi - Listed catboy as well since it tends to be more popular, but mostly just humans with beast ears and sometimes also the respective beast's tail.
- Character Death Fix - Is a character dead in canon? Well, not anymore! This does not necessarily have to explore narrative differences but tends to go in that direction; alternatively, the fanwork can be a narrative solution that fixes the character's death.
- Comedy of Errors - See Identity Porn
- Crossover Fusion - A crossover that occurs between characters of one fandom, and the setting and/or plot of another fandom.
- Daily Prophet Ad - As opposed to a Craigslist ad.
- Denialfic - Something happen in canon that you really, really wish it didn't? That's what a fic like this is called..
- Dominance Hierarchy - Similar in structure to Omegaverse, that everyone is born with an additional "gender"/role that plays a part in the overall social-genetic hierarchy, ex. D/s universe (everyone is born as a Dom, Sub, or Switch), Sentinel AU (everyone is born as either a Sentinel or a Guide), or whatever you can come up with.
- Doppelgangers vs Twin AU
- Doppelgangers largely refers to fanwork where a) a character's personality is split into two doppelgangers, each representing that personality half of a character b) a stranger appears and happens to look similar to the main canon character (or, but less common, c) cloning is involved.) The "stranger" usually has some canon-related foundation, such as Marcel in One Direction's Best Song Ever, or a kpop artist's Chinese or English names, or a same-actor crossover.
- Twin AU is an AU where a character has always had a twin all along. The twin often takes the canonical narrative position of the character in question, while the character we know embarks on a different life. For example, a Panic! at the Disco one, and the better known Lightning on the Wave's Sacrifices Arc (Harry Potter.)
- Drabble Collection - Collections of 100-word scenes/summaries of events, often told as separate vignettes tied into one cohesive story.
- Fairy Tale AU - Follows the narrative beats and general premise of a well-known fairy tale, but does not necessarily have to imitate the setting or fantastical rules. For example, there are at least four modern day movies that have "Cinderella Story" in the title but don't have actual princes or fairy godmothers. Can exist in canon; does not necessarily have to be "AU."
- Femslash/slash AU - My way of saying genderswap (note: not necessarily "sexswap") and still/now gay
- Fever Dream - Due to a sickness, drugs, or any other form of inebriation, the character experiences 'visions' that later may be revealed to be a glimpse into the future, premonitions, uncover a character's hidden emotions for another (these are usually somewhat intimate or sexual in nature), or other mystical half-conscious symbols.
- Five Things/Times - See 5+1 vs Five Things/Times
- Fix-It - Something happen in your canon that you didn't like? That upset you? That's just kinda dumb? If you're writing a fic where that doesn't happen, where unresolved issues get resolved and bad characterizations get redeemed and everyone gets a happy ending, then you're writing a fix-it fic.
- Flangst - fluff & angst
- Forced Obedience/Mind Control - Think Ella Enchanted
- Genderfuck/Sexswap - Character wakes up with not-assigned-at-birth body parts. Usually either get-together fodder or porn fodder. Or both! Or character's body semi-regularly changes genitalia a la Ranma 1/2.
- HDM Daemon AU - Animals representing the physical manifestation of a human's "inner soul"/personality, behave independently, can communicate with their human telepathically. Canonically invisible to most humans (visible to other daemons), but may hold exceptions in fic. Generally the 'opposite' sex as their human, and doesn't stay in a fixed form until the human has matured/in late teens/adulthood. I haven't read HDM, so the Fanlore page probably explains it better and more in-depth.
- Heat/Mating Cycle - See Sex Pollen vs Heat/Mating Cycle
- Identity Porn/Comedy of Errors - a la You've Got Mail, two characters know each other in two separate forms of communication and don't know that they're the same person until BIG REVEAL. Oftentimes characters dislike each other in one medium and get along in another; or ask for virtual dating advice for the person they know in real life and that love interest happens to be on that forum and gives it to them.
- In Vino Veritas - Under the influence of drugs, alcohol, magic, truth serum/potion/spell, fever, or otherwise inexplicable reason, a character reveals their love/lust for another.
- Kemonomimi - See Catboy
- Let Me Be Weak, Let Me Sleep - In ship fic, where one character dreams constantly of another, usually devolving into sexually explicit territory. As a direct result of the dreams' intensity (sexual or otherwise), the character usually suffers from insomnia and their personal/professional life tends to take a toll
- Magic Hybrid Accident - Accident as a result of two (or more) elements of magic with different intents colliding, such as magical potion + magic plant, magical potion + spell, or two spells.
- Mating Cycles/Heat - See Sex Pollen vs Heat/Mating Cycle
- Mind Control - See Forced Obedience
- Mirror Universe vs Role Reversal
- Role Reversal would explore how the narrative would change if two (or more) characters had different roles
- Mirrorverse tends to lift the entire story itself and present many core aspects (at the author's discretion) opposite to canon, whether it be character roles, overall tone, character moral inclinations/behavior, the primary conflict, and any relationships/character dynamics.
- Mythology AU - Characters reimagined as mythological figures or drawing from well-known myths. Though Greek mythology is popular (such as Hades and Persephone, Orpheus and Eurydice, etc.), this can be applicable to mythologies across all sorts of cultures.
- Non-volleyball AU - May apply to all characters or any one (or more) in particular
- Order of the Phoenix - Deals directly with the organization/group that is the Order and its goals, as opposed to the fifth Harry Potter book.
- Recursive Fic - Fanfiction/fanwork of a fanfiction/fanwork.
- Role Reversal - See Mirrorverse vs Role Reversal
- Sex Pollen vs Heat/Mating Cycles are very similar in overall ending result, but:
- Sex Pollen often ends up inexplicable or more ambiguously explained, where one character suddenly develops the spontaneous and urgent need to have sex; the love interest is either in the same state, or is generous/interested in assisting them in fulfilling that need.
- Heat/Mating Cycles has a character whose increased libido is caused solely by the character's biological instinct to mate; the character is usually part animal in some way. The character may have more specific needs when engaging in intercourse, such as knotting.
- Sex Robot - Chobits; love interest character is a robot designed for sexual pleasure but oh no the human's feelings get involved!
- Teamswap - One (or more) character canonically on one team is now in another, ex. Hinata in Seijou.
- Twin AU - See Doppelganger vs Twin AU
- Universe Alteration - As opposed to canon divergence or alternate universe, the fic's universe is largely the same, except for one or a few exceptions. Some examples: a character's age, soulmate AUs in canon-verse, characters canonically not in a relationship are now in an established one (or vice versa). Some of these examples already exist as prompts, but this general one is for you to explore the possibilities as well.
- Win/Loss AU - AU where a team that canonically won/lost a game now lost/won it.
- 5+1 vs Five Things/Times
- 5+1 is often something like "Five Times Dean Told Cas No, and One Time He Said Yes." (I just made this up I don't watch Supernatural.) (ok I've watched one season)
- Five Things/Times is more like "Five Places Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji Kissed."
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