Tropes I Can't Stand.
- Non-Morphic Animalxhuman pairing. I have encountered this several times in RPs i've done and I have to ask why...why do I always seem to get paired up with a non-morphic talking animal character or mostly non-human beast-like character? Like gee thanks Sullley, I didn't know I need to have an incestual version of you trying to bang my brains out like that. Like seriously, why? Why? Look I like Gloria the hippo but she's a freaking tallking hippo whose only trait is her ass and that is it, I like Jada Pinkett as a human, not as an animal character who only exists as a fat joke. Which I think is demeaning anyway, i'm looking at YOU, Norm from Norm of the North, as if overweight characters didn't get degraded enough, we get fat animal characters who only exist for butt jokes. I'm sorry Gloria but this anaconda don't want none because he doesn't care about your buns, hon. Please do not pair me up with a non-morphic talking animal character in an RP, ever. Talking animal characters are NOT furry characters, okay? Just because they are animals doesn't mean they are furry characters, alright? There's a difference between Lola Bunny and Simba. Apart from gender differences, notice how Lola is an anthro rabbit while Simba is non-morphic. Yeah, what am I supposed to do with Queen Ellinor from Brave when she's essentially just a non-morphic bear who can't talk but still has human thoughts? Also how is it that she can't talk while all the non-morphic Brother Bear animals can talk? I get Kenai being able to talk even though I don't get why humans can't understand him when he's a bear. But how come Koda, the moose brothers, Tug and the others can speak? Were they also former humans? I can get Kuzco being able to talk while as a llama because as far as I know Yzma's potions don't alter minds. I am sorry but I am not banging Simba, any of the Brother Bear animals, Bear!Ellinor, or Gloria or Moto-Moto and that is it. Besides, we already have a full-figured Dreamworks character, that's Fiona.
- Orphan character for no reason other than solely excluding parent characters for no reason. You have to have a good reason to be an orphan character, you can't just claim that you're an orphan character solely because your parents aren't always there for you and decide to run away from home only to meet some random monster and ask them to be your surrogate parent even though your real parents are clearly still alive and would probably be worried about you. I am sorry but writing it off as 'my parents were abusive' if we don't even see the parents in any form is lazy writing, if you're aware of how unoriginal you are, that's alright, just so you know that you can't always use this same trope over and over.
- Hive-mind when applied to species where it doesn't make sense. Look I am not saying you cannot portray a werewolf differently since that's what Our Werewolves Are Different is for, I am just saying that it doesn't make sense to make a werewolf a hateful biggot that assimilates humans into being like them complete with the same 'grrr two legs bad four legs good' mentality as the wolf that turns them. Four legs good, two legs bad. Yeah I get it, you like George Orwell's Animal Farm, but I don't think you even got what the message of the book is about. Animal Farm's message isn't literally 'mankind sucks and animals are better', it's 'power corrupts and the opressed becomes twice as horrible as the oppresor'. Animal Farm is an allegory for the revolution. Also isn't it hypocritical for a werecreature to hate humans anyway? I mean when you're a were-creature, you're technically still human yourself since werecreatures are typically human during the day. Okay, i'd buy the hive-mind-like mentality if it was a were-insect like you could definitely play around with the trope by having it so they're just temporarily mesmerized when under the influence of the queen/leader of the insects or have it so that only the queen of the were-insect clan can affect transformed people's minds while the lesser ones like workers (to go with the bee motif) can't do it, in my opinion that would make a lot more sense. Also assimilator plots when applied to characters like the Beagle Boys or the Tiger Dancers don't make sense. The Beagle Boys are all male and since we obviously don't see the Beagle Babes in the 2017 Ducktales I doubt that the Beagle Boys would be able to turn everyone into what they are, females and children would obviously be immune since you know with children...we don't see the Beagle Brats in the 2017 Ducktales either, so either you would have to rule 63 your Beagle Boys around females and make a few of them Beagle Babes instead or have it so that their powers can only work on adult men. Same with the tiger dancers. They are mostly all male, there is only female tiger in Zootopia and she is not a dancer, either rule 63 some of the tiger dancers to be female so they can affect female characters or specifically say that 'the powers of these guys only work on human men so women or characters who are already half non-human can't be turned', or that 'children and women cannot be turned unless rule 63 is in play or if the children aren't actually children'.
- Can't decide between having your animal characters walk on two legs or on all fours. I am looking at you 100% Wolf...seriously, not only is the idea of a good werewolf or good werewolves wasted in this franchise, but the werewolves in this keep switching between two legs and four legs. I'm sorry, but either stick with one or the others. You know the rules, what are the rules? Walk on two legs, not on four. Walk on four legs, break the law. What happens when you break the law and what happens when the rules aren't fair? The only place you'll from there is the house of pain.
- Inaccurate Pokemon type pairing/Hot Skitty On Wailord Action. I am sorry but Gardevoir and Krookodile would NOT make a good couple. Gardevoir is a Psychic/Fairy type hybrid and the other half of that hybrid type is what defeats Dark types, i.e Fairy types. I don't care if you think it's in the same egg group, they're not even the same. Krookodile is in the MONSTER egg group while Gardevoir is in the HUMAN-like egg group, they're both too different to be paired up. Flaafy and Ponyta I could understand being a pair because they're both in the field egg group and as far as I know...Fire and Electric types aren't rivals and aren't weak against each-other. Don't pair up Pokemon that aren't even the exact same type or not even the same egg group. Also if the RP is themed around a certain type of Pokemon at least pick a Pokemon that goes with the theme. If it's Psychic types, pick a Psychic type. Lucario is NOT a Psychic type, look just because it has an aura detecting ability doesn't mean he's a Psychic type, having an ability doesn't mean that Pokemon should be classified as that type, everyone knows Lucario is a FIGHTING type and I know you might think it's dumb for fighting types to be weak against their own kind but that's how it goes. Bulbapedia is your friend, use it. Also...seriously a Machoke using Hypnosis? Hypnosis is a Psychic type move, why have a Fighting type use it?
- Yaoi, but in the sense if if it's forced. If the other male character doesn't feel okay with this, maybe you shouldn't do this.
- 'Forced' Love. Yeah but I would never fall for a non-morphic animal character if you force it on me, if you force me to fall for a love-wolf and I don't love the love-wolf back, that's forced and you should feel bad for doing so.
- Brainwashing/mind control. Unless it's used by a character with actual hypnotic powers or if it's subverted in some way...like for example how only people with a mind (so stupid people/idiot characters) can't be affected or the person can't be brainwashed or made to be a mindless minion or embarassing slave to someone else if their mind-power is too strong for the controller or if they are just too annoying for the controller to handle or if they pretend to be brainwashed to fool them. It's okay when I do it because it makes sense, if there is no implication of mind control, and it's just put in there because the person RPing the scene has a fetish for using it to force someone into being their personal bitch or whatever, especially if the person in general doesn't agree with the decision to do it. Yeah i'm sorry but I don't think someone who is being forcibly brainwashed into being a mama love-wolf by another love-wolf would go along with it, she'd probably would be against and that was me i'd berate the original mama love-wolf until she finally shuts her mouth and agrees to let me go. Because I wouldn't let some bitchy love-wolf control me or try to manipulate me into thinking that 'negative' is bad, in fact i'd be as negative as possible and give that bitch a piece of my mind. If it's a character who can hypnotize others naturally like that i'll allow it.
- Fat Idiot. I am very picky when it comes to overweight characters or weight gain scenarios...for instance, I don't like when a weight gain scenario just has a skinny or non-fat character gaining weight and just being a slovenly version of themselves since it's not much of a change, GILF or MILF or even Aunt or BBW stuff I can get because that's kind of sexy, and also I don't like it when there's a whole ton of butt and belly-worship in some of them and there are overweight animal characters who solely only exist to be a walking fat joke or the whole focus is just about their body and in particular their ass, i'm looking at you Norm, Boomer from Wonder Park, and Gloria...seriously, that's all it is with them, them showing off their asses. Hey Norm, you twerking like Miley isn't attractive, I wouldn't be attracted to you even if you did that on me. When they're not being portrayed as idiots that is.
- Face Heel Turn when done without a good reason. If you're one of those Rpers who rps as a version of themselves...answer me this, why do in most if not all of these do you start off as a supposedly good guy only upon meeting the monster of the week to want to become like said monster even if said monster is evil or doesn't want you around? Why do you types insist on doing a scene where you 'resist' being mind-controlled and turned by said monster even though we all know that you willingly let them do it to you and you're obviously just pretending to do it? Why turn Heel now and decide that 'humans suck, humans should all obey us and be monsters'? You started this adventure as a supposedly likable character, why did you decide to turn against humanity and turn heel now of all things? Wouldn't it have made more sense if you were either A: A character with a real legit reason for hating humanity other than 'all humans suck', maybe if they just go with the humans that wronged them in someway being their target instead. B: A character who was wronged or mistreated by a specific type of human as opposed to all humans. C: A character who was a jerk/asshole to begin with but with but a likable one, basically the Bojack Horseman approach. D: Just make the character a flat out villain who pretends to be a good guy to play with his victims and acts as a good guy to convince his victims into befriending him only for him to reveal his true nature and that he has been using the main character the whole time, or even have it so that even if he did come across as being the main character's friend he was only warming him up so he could take advantage of them in order to manipulate them into being his lackey. Or you could do a sub-version of D in which the character is either a villain or secondary antagonist who is sent by the actual big bad to try to get the main character under their influence and he has to do so by pretending to be their friend, but have it so that half-way through when he's supposed to turn him or corrupt him he feels conflicted and comes to realize that he has feelings for the main character who is supposed to be his victim. Or make that the reason that the character decides to side with the monster is because of the monster having similar traits to the character, albeit extreme versions but similar traits, like have the monster have parralels to the character who is going to be turned, that way when you get to the part where your character gets turned and he or she starts out acting exactly like the monster in question and acts all evil only to snap out of it afterwards and realize they've been the real monster the whole time.
- World Domination endings. There are so flawed when you think about it. Okay Mr President Gorilla-Man, your goal is to make everyone into your voters so they'd vote for you and become anthro monkeys and apes just like you, but how do you expect that to work? Here's the thing, presidential elections are an AMERICAN thing, yes other countries have an electoral system and have presidents and leaders of similar titles but how are you going to affect them? Assuming you mean that you are going to turn exclusively American citizens, does this mean that countries such as Europe/the United Kingdom, Africa, Egypt, Japan, and even Australia and New Zealand won't be affected? But even if you are a fantasy creature, at least think your plans through and don't resort to world domination as a goal, it's cliched and unoriginal. Oh I get it, choose the form of the destructor, we have to keep our minds blank. If we think of James Corden, then a giant James Corden will appear and destroy us, then again James is kind of a big squishy human marshmallow already so him as a Stay Puft-esque monster wouldn't be too much of a stretch.
- Dumb teenager characters especially in horror movies. You have no idea how much I wanted the teens in I Know What You Did Last Summer to get killed off.
- Humans Are Evil. I'm sick of seeing this in some creature RPs. Look, you may act like you hate humans Mr Snake-Master but remember this, you were once human once and chances are you probably feel like an idiot for hating humans since well you're anthro and that makes you partially human, so there. Don't you feel stupid for making humans out to be the villains when we're not always like that? Look i'd understand if you were A: Mistreated by a specific human or by a specific group of humans on the level that it made you dislike them because of that. B: Were made to believe that by another monster who told you that because they can't let go of their old human hating ways because of a grudge. Or C: Have some misunderstandings of what humans are like because you've never met them.
- Object-shifting. I've seen people who romanticize turning into an inanimate object and they think it's pleasurable...eew, what's wrong with you? Do you think i'd like to see someone slowly lose all dexterity as their hands and feet slowly turn into large plushy hands and feet as they swell up and their organs are replaced with stuffing? No. You may like it and that's fine but to me it screams 'I hate life and am suicidal'. Because why else would someone opt for being turned into an object other than the fact they hate life or find being animate to be overrated? Other than the fact they obviously feel like they are an object themselves and ha ha...get it, objectified, now he's literally objectified, he felt like he was being treated like a piece of furniture and he got turned into a sofa. Do you think i'd like seeing someone mutate into a copy of the exactly same tacky sofa that their parents own in their living room? No I would be horrified. I admit I do love I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream as a trope, but come on...if you get turned on by that or think it's hot or romanticize it in anyway, eeeeew...you need therapy.
- Shrekking. Look, I love interspecies pairings...but only if it doesn't have the forced ending of 'I cannot join you my love for you are a fish-person and I am a human so therefore I must become a fish-person myself just to be with you'. Heck, it's the only problem I had with James Cameron's Avatar.
- It Was All A Dream. It's such a cop-out, you know.
- Stepford Smiler. Especially when it's done in clown transformation RPs...okay, first of all since when did clown tfs become so popular and why are clowns considered a 'species' unless it's the Killer Klowns From Outer Space, clowns are humans in costumes and makeup, aren't you just turning into a human who put on a costume to entertain children since that is a clown typically is? Why are all clown characters either portrayed as mindlessly happy goons who have no thoughts other than spreading the silliness everywhere like some kind of comedy herpes-like virus or are just mindlessly happy all the time and smiling all the time like that? Also as a theater geek it irks me when some people call a clown's makeup a 'mask' and assumes the person playing the clown is like that all the time, it's makeup you idiots, NOT a mask. Clowns aren't like that all the time. Also Pool-toy/inflatable type transformations that have that are just creepy. The trope can only be applied to characters who are naturally like that and even then it has to make sense or have an explanation as to why they are like that, like how the women in the Stepford Wives are brainwashed/are androids, or how the character who smiles like that is a psychopath who is actually hiding a much more sinister motif behind the smile.
- Downer Endings. I hate game over screens, it was my very first fear ever...game over screens, hence why I dislike Changed so much, it is just downer ending after downer ending and even the supposedly good endings are bad, it's like Dragonsnow made it this way on purpose to be a total Richard to all the players, it even has a downer beginning...seriously a virus that supposedly wiped out half of humanity and the only means to cure it is to lose your own humanity? I am sorry but if given a choice between dying as I am and being assimilated into being a latex goo-wolfy boi like Puro I would rather die as I am than live as a gooey-shell of my former self with no humanity in me. Yeah, how come the first test subjects lost their minds and their humanity in the process and want to inflict it on Collin who also loses his humanity numerous times and also his mind, but Puro still acts like a human being and has an actual personality? Puro acts more human-like, so it's obvious he's not an ordinary Transfur, maybe he is intelligent because he reads a ot and meditates or found a way to keep himself from turning like Dr K did? How come Puro only turns on you in one of the bad endings, you know the one where you don't love him enough? Is it that specific thing that caused him to turn like that in that ending? Is he a mutant Transfur that still has human traits? What on earth is he? I am sorry but I will never like Changed because of how there isn't a single good or happy ending that doesn't result in Collin dying or being forcibly transformed. Also...if the only cure for the virus is being assimilated into being a latex creature, isn't that like if the cure for covid was being bitten by a bat and turning into a werebat? Like yeah I guess it would be a step up from Covid getting any worse if you were a werebat and all but still..wouldn't you still be at risk of having a virus anyway considering were-scenarios sometimes make it that lycanthropy is akin to a virus?
- 'Diseases Don't Exist In My World'....uhhh, yeah i'm sorry but even if you are an animated character that is viewed as a 'toon' you're still taking part in a story that takes place in the real world, and i'm sorry to tell this but Covid exists and it is real. So there. So i'm so sorry if you don't like me not wanting to hug you as the Sherrif of Nottingham or as Baloo, you're still in a scenario tht takes place in the real world, not the world of wherever you're from. Even Disney is aware Covid exists, it's why the park has been closed for almost a year.