I am bored of the chosen one trope. It is much better to have an average protagonist that succeeded because of their own talents rather than some prophecy. That being said there are still a lot of novels that do this well.
I can't get enough of rogues or amoral characters being the protagonist.
What’s a trope you are tired of seeing?
16 days later
Here’s another trope that is just aNoYiNg!
The unrealistic “Love at First Sight.”
I’m talking about leads who “met when they were young and fell in love right away.” Bah! That’s BS. And recently I saw an extreme and awful version of this in a nicer that just came out.
The ML is a baby. A newborn. He’s not even a week old. (This is a Transmigration/Reincarnation setting in a cultivation setting). Now insert the FL. She’s 16 (but they say she’s actually 10 because of cultivation?! Idk). She literally meet the ML. Again HE’S A FREAKING BABY. And she’s like, “He is cute, I want to marry him.” Fcking hell! WTF?! First of all, she’s a P*do. Second of all, this is so unrealistic and uncomfortable.
BTW, they allowed this weird child to get engage to the ML!? The F-!?
I literally want to scream… I hate this. Also, did I say that the ML is way too OP?! Like his first cry was heard all over the country of something and caused the weather to change alongside some other magical abnormalities idk cultivation novels are so weird and packed with the weirdest tropes.
Ok, let's keep this going... The I -so -much -love -my -wife -that -even -my -child -is -my -love rival. That shit is annoying asf. If you know you'll view your kids as hindrances to your romance, then don't have them.
Evil MCs the ones that kill for no reason or simply to advance like scarecrow blah blah blah. I claim to like badass characters but I discovered I was lying to myself.
Mai0414 yeah I've seen lots like this, the ml sees the fl performing a deed and he's like I love this girl. That's not how love works right?
A great collection here. I think my most hated tropes all have to do with the lack of intellect and logic.
Intellectually brilliant, outstanding in every way, incomparably beautiful male character falls in love with an unremarkable teenager. I simply cannot understand why a 1000-year-old mage/immortal/elf/god would ever fall for a regular 16-year-old? Really? Does anyone else find that weird?
Adult characters behaving like hyperactive kids with no life experience. That is especially hilarious when these characters are leading politicians and military commanders. Good luck to your army with such leaders!
MCs that are only cool because they are physically powerful. What about intellect? Why would I ever read a whole novel about someone, whose only distinguishing quality is 'he can punch hard'?
Mai0414 To be fair, that was no weirder than clans engaging babies to be married before they are born. In her case, she at least saw how powerful and handsome he is in the future and got infatuated with grown him, so decided she wants to marry him when he's grown. Nothing weird about that: it's not like she's doing anything inappropriate to the baby. It's just the typical trope of every woman falling for the OP guy who happens to be astoundingly handsome as well (which is annoying in itself).
SlaveOfTheLord 'Punch hard' is cool...but some sort of character would be a nice addition to the 'punching part' :).
LaoTze for the OP guy who happens to be astoundingly handsome as well (which is annoying in itself).
But most op guys are not handsome. How I miss the days when op guys were average looking nowadays the look of the mc is described every 100 words 
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grimreaper906 It's very blatant self-insert wish fulfilment.
Tomoyuki ouch that hurts 
I feel like a hypocrite my Mc is astoundingly handsome as well
- Edited
TeodoraK The "1000-year-old mage/immortal/elf/god would ever fall for a regular 16-year-old" one really is annoying.
Another one: Using magic (prob golem creation) to "magically" recreate the <insert cool modern technology or Sci-Fi item>.
And: Every member of the harem, who was originally portrayed as "powerful" instantly becomes stupid and powerless once they confess. In some novels the MC even creates magical-girl costumes with "golem creation" that makes them crazy powerful for some reason when singing or something.
grimreaper906 As long as you don't describe your main character every 100 words.
Self-insert is fine, but the trick is to make it not so blatant. Problem with most cultivation stories is that the protagonists get everything handed to them on a silver platter, so it becomes really obvious that the authors are favoring their main characters. They need to actually earn what they get by working hard, not receive everything as a gift from the heavens.
5 days later
Here’s another trope that’s just ANNOYING! And that’s the CEO, Mafia, Doctor, General (Military), story… Honestly, I don’t think they’ll ever stop being produced because they are very popular…
But all of those stories tend to have pretty much the same formula… The helpless FL, her abusive family, an annoying Villainess, a hard childhood, “the OMG we have a misunderstanding we cannot be together and OMG FL is actually pregnant with the ML’s child but she won’t tell him.” Then there’s the scene where the FL decides to go abroad and become a successful businesswoman or something only to return with her GENIUS child or something…. Also, why are these ML’s always have more power than the freaking government?! WTF, I get they are rich but this is unreasonable!
Also, I HATE when the story portrays the FL as strong and capable woman the first few chapters, but when she meets the ML, she becomes the ULTIMATE damsel in distress. Like, she won’t lift a finger to achieve what she wants and instead, she’ll let the ML pave her way. 
Well, OP is adamant on releasing her frustrations here so might as well join the fun.
Bed sheets soaked in blood
Making love, while heavily drugged
Tears fell down like a flood
So this is how it felt to be f*cked
The night came to end
The duo slept and morning came greet
The man touched a bend
Confused, he woke up and saw the feat
Alarmed, a thought came
A spy sent to seduce then kill?
Ruthlessness overcame
Hand he extended but it stood still
He recalled the night
Pity flashed as he dressed up to leave
He looked at her sight
Her beauty made him want to reave
He shook his head clean
Left money on the side and left
Plus something mean
As if the deed he'd done was not theft
Jayne got up slowly
She was awake all along in pain
She dressed speedily
The money? She threw it down the drain
He took her, not her pride
She would never succumb or give up
She read the note beside
The money, sneered, but felt torn up
"This is for last night"
The note said in utmost apathy
A dog that took a bite
Even a dog knows more empathy
Jayne took a deep breath
She held back her tears and called a friend
Good friends till death
They promised to be and each defend
She got in the car
Decided to forget everything
She told it to Star
Her friend definitely had a thing
She tried hard to comfort and smile
But inside was cursing, "D*mned wh*re!"
Jayne was smelling the chamomile
Unaware that her bestie was no more
A month passed and came the news
She was pregnant, though she took the pill
Star had a thought, and blew the fuse
"You shouldn't keep it, come and kill"
Immediately, they went to the hospital
Two operations were done that day
Jayne was unaware, it was fundamental
Extract and implant, that was the way
Jayne went back to her home, she was tired
Her stepmother slapped her in the face
She showed her something; made her riled
She couldn't believe Star betrayed their place
Her father was angry and kicked her out
She went abroad and then came back
She wasn't alone this time at the checkout
A boy was with her with a backpack
The boy was a genius hacker
Never seen before
He started talking as a toddler
Ridiculously mature
Suddenly, alarms went off as fires started
A plane had crashed into the airport
A rock fell on her head and she got muddled
Thankfully, her son took her out the port
Outside, Jayne was still dizzy and looked around
She spotted Star and the man, plus a cute girl
She shook as she fainted without a sound
"That is my child, give it back, that is my pearl"
In the hospital, her son was watching over her
He was hacking the database
Jayne woke up and looked around filled with immense power
She lost her cultivation base
Jayne, now Rose, received Jayne's memories and anger came like a flood
"To think that I, The Heavenly Empress, will have such a day!"
"Don't worry, you are me and I you, I will make them shed tears of blood!"
"And after that, I shall return to my throne and kill! Mercy? Nay!"
Tony was startled by the sudden declaration
Puzzled, he put his hand on her forehead
Rose, now Jayne, patted his head in adoration
She assured him she was fine in the head
Somewhere else, the man woke up and memories appeared and declared
"To think that I, The King of Hell, will have such a day!"
"Wait for me, my dear brother, I will care for you like I've never cared!"
"And you, sl*tty wh*re, you shall burn for ever and aye!"
The man slept alone though he had a wife
He knew she wasn't from that night but she had the child
He kept her to reach that woman without a knife
A woman that could occupy his heart, at that, he smiled
To be continued...
Actually no, discontinued.
Systems. I mean, they are overused, but most of the time they don't even make sense. Why do they always need to be some kind of MMORPG log or something like computer lines using square brackets for everything? The worst is that every MC, and I mean, every one of them, regardless of their setting or origins, seem to magically know the context about what it is or how it works. I mean, some poor peasant in a medieval setting is not going to know crap about what's going on with something like it. Heck, not even most modern people would not know.
There are better ways of implementing progression and moving the plot, and system is not one of them. It's why I barely read webnovels anymore and just stick to traditional literature, preferably Western. Systems were interesting at first some years ago, but every work now is just the same.
- Edited
You know what's the worst thing about systems? They just conveniently drop into a protagonist's lap and make him overpowered. It's lazy writing, and the protagonist is pretty much lazy too. All he needs to do is listen to the system, and voila! He gets gifts, rewards and skills that make him overpowered. Without having to work for it.
It's usually the same pattern. Loser complaining about how life is unfair, how he's weak and unpopular, and have no talent, isn't smart, is poor as f (either has no job or works several part time jobs and gets abused by his boss, or his family is falling apart and he is being deprived of resources because he's "trash"), also gets bullied by his classmates/colleagues/sect mates/family, etc. but he doesn't do a single bloody thing to improve himself or his circumstances. Then a system will magically drop into his lap, and suddenly he turns into a rich, overpowered stud with a harem of women without actually having to work hard. It doesn't feel earned. It's as if all you have to do is bitch and moan about how unfair life is and how hard you have it, and then the heavens will decide to take pity on you and give you a bunch of stuff to turn you into a god. Why should you put in any effort when the gods (or system) will give you everything on a silver platter? That never happens in real life.
At least have the characters work hard and earn their achievements, not give them a bunch of stupid system rewards. What beginner gift, or sign-in rewards, lottery or other BS. It just feels totally unearned and unsatisfying. I prefer to see the characters level up or become stronger through their own efforts, not rely on some magical system or author-given gifts. It's lazy as hell.
- Edited
Tomoyuki should I hide somewhere? Your words are scalding me though for mine, I have a very reasonable reason
Tomoyuki Well said. Another thing about systems are those unreasonable stats. Like the intelligence is 9000+ and the mc still acts like a clueless bitch, who has to rely on the system messages to solve every single problem. Like wtf is going on his brain? Shouldn't some things be obvious to him after an iq boost?
Also, the trope about system trolling the mc... spat the author mentions the system is a "non-human entity" and has no feelings, but never explains why it makes third rate jokes only a degenerate human can make.
If I were to use a system in my novel, It'll only have one feature - measuring the stats of the mc so that he can keep track of his improvement, health, and prowess. Even that, is just adding more words, essentially fillers.