The love triangle trope frustrates me because it's never an actual triangle, it's just a V 😭

To answer the question of why so many fantasy stories have a medieval European setting, I present you with the easiest answer: Even to this day J.R.R Tolkien has an incredible amount of influence on the fantasy genre.

I married my academic rival. That's how much I love this trope!!!

i'm a simple girl, I see Zuko, I click

Academic rivals to lovers = Anne of Green Gables basically 😁

This tierlist made me realize that I need to read more books.

Friends to enemies is top tier for me as well! I call it "Brotrayal" and I live for it! Vicious is one of my absolute favorites.

Leo: I love academic rivals to lovers Leo: it's even better when one secretly likes the other one Leo: and when someone else insults them they're like oh no you don't Me: *slams hands on table* HAVE YOU READ ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

Dorian Gray could be counted as a hero going down the corruption path.

other tropes i love: -platonic soulmates (who needs lovers if i have you) -corrupted mentor (you don’t know they’re actuality evil and lying) -pressure of greatness (the weight, corruption of morals, destined to something you didn’t chose, isolation etc) -internal conflict (when you’re all on the same side but take each other down for some reason) -broken expectations (failure of the hero, betrayal, villain saves the day, you’re actually on the bad side I JUST LOVE IT)

My absolutely favorite tropes (at least some that I can think of right now): * Redemption arc, * Found family, * Corruption of a hero, * Silent/grupy adult adopt a kid/becomes their mentor, * Rivals to lovers and enemies to lovers, * You have to fight someone you care about, * Funny character is actually hurting inside, * Villains who care about their minions/ have someone they deeply care about (they work together)

"I haven't read any books so far, but I've been reading a lot of fanfic." I felt that cos it's my truth as well this January, lol.

I'm a sucker for revenge tropes, particularly the "He Who Fights Monsters" trope, where the protagonist's revenge path leads to inevitably becoming a monster. It's just *chef's kiss*

For anyone who loves friends/family to enemies; watch the Prince of Egypt! Top tier use of this trope

I think the issue with the "grumpy sunshine couple" that you didn't quite put into words is that the grumpy-sunshine-couple is cute when the sunshine character is optimistic and happy without acting like a child. A really big issue with this trope is that so often, the sunshine one isn't just happy because they want to be, but they're happy because they're naive and stupid, and they don't know that they should be sad. I'd say most of the time when the sunshine character is the girl, she's heavily infantilized, and that makes it hard to watch them because they don't act like romantic partners, and then you feel gross. It's not to say that the men are never infantilized, but I don't think I've ever seen a piece of media that does it even half as bad as most of the sunshine-girls, and also because the story itself usually has a strong tone that it's okay if he kinda acts like a child because women are caretakers, whereas it's okay for the sunshine-girl to act like a child because the guy likes it. When a girl is infantilized, it's that she's innocent, wants sex but doesn't know it, is incredibly flirtatious with the romantic interest without knowing she is "because that's what she really feels," even if she doesn't understand it, but somehow never leads anyone else on except maybe the antagonist, but then it's like "oh how could you ever think she loves you, she's just being nice." When men are "infantilized,"-which I do put in quotes because infantilization has very heavy roots in sexual desire, and that's usually not the reason behind childlike men in books, but men can be treated like children in fiction-it's more-so framed in a way of, "oh he's so spacey and doesn't pay attention to the world and he can't even do his own laundry" and the reason that men are naive is not a lack of understanding, but a lack of paying attention.

The fact you used Captain Swan for enemies to lovers is just chef's kiss 🙌🏻

I get it girl.. villain redemption arc, I GET IT 😭😭😭

I _love_ the villain redemption arc but also, Zuko has set such a high standard for me that whenever I hear that a certain character gets redeemed, I'm immediately skeptical. Because redemption arcs are tricky to pull off and I've never seen anyone do it as well as the creators of Avatar did. I watched She-Ra and I had already gotten spoilers of Catra's redemption and I was kinda anxious. As expected, it wasn't great. I think that a lot of people don't give a bad character enough time to realize their mistakes, feel guilty, face consequences for their actions, and _earn_ the trust of people. The thing that bugs me is usually that the villain does something nice and is like "I was wrong but I'm on your side now!" and the heroes are just like, okay with it? They're immediately best friends with the villain and all is well. Also, I think the makeover trope can be done well if it isn't to increase a person's worth. Basically, an example I can think of is when someone needs to go undercover and they _need_ to look good in order to obtain information or track down a person, or whatever. I think makeover tropes are really good in those situations.

Ok But Friends to enemies/strangers to lovers is an underrated trope that should happen more often, particularly more so when it’s enemies but I get that’s more reserved for the fantasy genre. and when it’s old friends that drifted apart and meet again and fall in love I can’t help but eat it up

Breaking Bad and Attack on Titan also have really really well done hero corruption arcs! And the only villain redemption arc i can think of is Theon Greyjoy from A song of ice and fire/Game of Thrones (and technically Jaime Lannister, if you ignore season 8), i also wish more stories had this trope, it is one of my favourites as well!

For me, Kaz Brekker belongs to the trope 'main character is an evil mastermind (but he is not really evil)'. I love it every time. It all started for me from the Artemis Fowl series, and I've never seen it done better than by Eoin Colfer. It's fun to watch as a hero tries to execute his genius plan, but then something goes terribly wrong, and hero finds himself in a tight, possibly deadly situation.

I NEED a fantasy academic rivals to lovers recommendation cuz I'm in love with it

Fated mates (or soulmates, i think you mean the same trope?) are all about the certainty that somewhere there is someone who has been made to love you. I found that really comforting.

Two of my most hated tropes in stories that haven't been on the list are "conflict through miscommunication" and "not believeing someone without a reason". I have the suspicion these tropes are often used for lack of a real plot.

i LOVED the amount of times you referenced Arcane. That show is a MASTERPIECE and Jinx is the most fascinating character, even through the horrible things she kept doing i couldn't help but think about all the trauma in her life and how deep down she just wants to be loved and have her sister/friends back :'(

As a demiromantic/demisexual person, every time someone says that from a friendship there can't be anything romantic not only I suffer and die, but I question the sanity of allo people XD

Hero corruption arch: Anakin skywalk in Star Wars It’s so good, you understand his behaviour and why he does everything. It’s so heartbreaking. And later you have the little villain redemption arch in the other Star Wars Movies with Darth Vader.

My favorite twist on the love-triangle trope is unexpected polyamory ("why have to choose if all three/four of us can be together") with the background cast having "wait, WHAT?!" reaction.

a better version of “fated mates” is the “soulmate” trope which is way cuter and hopeful. they usually are about something happening to you and your soulmate when you meet for the first time or having matching something (like tattoos) and i find them to be very cute, wholesome and funny most of the times :]

Okay, the fact that you put academic-rivals-to-lovers so high? You NEED to read Today Tonight Tomorrow, it's incredibly well-done and I loved it.

I just recently found this channel and it's been a delight, this video just cemented it. I also greatly enjoy the fact that "Leo" in spanish means "I read", so that's fun

My favorites Friends to Enemies is probably in the show, Smallville. We all know Lex Luthor & Clark Kent end up as enemies but having them start as friends was such a great move in that show!

The girls who get it get it: Star-crossed Lovers. Like when these two people meet (love at first sight is optional), but like they can't be together, so then they have this giant montage of them sneaking around and being cute, while the tension builds up with the rivalry families/clans/etc. and there's this big reveal. All the drama comes falling down and all the tension and buildup comes rushing at you and you just can't stop reading/watching. It's SOOOO GOOOOD!!!! It could be like contemporary with ex like The Kissing Booth (which was pretty meh in my opinion), but like it's wayyyy better in like fantasy or a more dramatic/serious-ish setting

I love the "grumpy loner learns to fit in with people (again)" trope. Sam Vimes from the Disc World novels, Death from the same novels, Ebenezer Scrooge...

I feel like the makeover trope could best be used by an MC that has been struggling with self-confidence, mental health issues, or is pretty average, but after some sort of internal conflict or realization they start to put a bit more effort to take care of themselves. Rather than be a makeover trope, it becomes an important moment of self care the MC may need

13:55 I like when the friends to lovers trope happens when the friends grew up together but at some point maybe in teenage years where they realise they're attracted to each other and start pulling away from each other to not give away their feeling, until something big happens and they're like "well now we have to kiss"

Corruption arc book that you’ve probably read but will mention anyway because it is the best: the picture of Dorian gray

A lot of people don't know the difference between tropes and cliches. They think "tropes" are always automatically 'unoriginal' &/or 'bad' writing. But it takes as much skill to write a trope well, especially in a way that readers who are specifically wanting to see characters or storylines utilizing that trope will enjoy, as it takes to write anything else. And just because you use a particular trope, doesn't mean you're necessarily using it in the exact same story or with the exact same characters[ or etc.] as other people do. (Besides which, having bad writing isn't actually the same thing as having unoriginal stories or characters. Story and character and such are actually a totally separate element from the literal writing itself! [ _Technically_ speaking.😁😁😁] 😅🤣🤣) Lol 😆 ^-^

14:00 percabeth is the Best friends to lovers couple ever. They are the reason i like this trope

Friends to enemies is xmen charles and erik. Superb tragedy 👌🏻

Also Anne of Green Gables for academic rivals to lovers

I clicked for Zuko and I have no regrets about it

My favorite is friends to lovers because I like the idea of them having troubles with finding out their feelings are romantic + I like them trying to get into an actual relationship. Like the person usually has to debate if they want to have a chance at ruining the friendship or just silently suffer with their feelings. Also I'm dating someone who was my best friend so Im a sucker for it

3:25 - Why so much fantasy medieval Europe? Well, the modern fantasy genre started with writers of European heritage looking to THEIR myths and epics for inspiration (eg. Tolkien). A lot of these early examples were really good - seriously, read Lord of the Rings even if you think you are tired of this! - and then EVERYONE copied them. However, since fantasy as a genre is now known and loved around the world, and people are getting bored with this, you're more likely to find a story that is good and creative overall if you pick something that has other cultural influences.

What about the Ron and Hermione friends to lovers tho. I know, basic HP example but I think they move into them being the loves of their lifes quite naturally :)

I recently discovered that "right person, wrong time/not enough time" is one of my favorite tropes 😍 Also, I am a basic beech and I looove medieval europe fantasy settings 🙉🙊

I just want to say about the fated mates troupe,the idea of having a soulmate that's meant to be with you is comforting,it can be done well.

I'd love book recommendations with a grumpy female protagonist because I can't think of any!

Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a great villain redemption arc, it’s one of my favorite character arcs in TV! Also, to me academic rivals to lovers is the top-tier show-stopping bangeranger of tropes. My fave is Anne and Gilbert in both the Anne of Green Gables books and the Anne with an E TV show.

I love how zuko and catra are the only villian redemption arc she can think of when hook from once upon a time is on her screen

Hurt/Comfort is literally so good when done right and I will stand by that. (Love your videos btw!!)

In my (potentially controversial) opinion, the love triangle in The Hunger Games was way worse than the one in Twilight. I still love The Hunger Games more though :)

THE MOMENT YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR BOOK HAS A FEW OF THE ELITE TROPES- 😭✋ I've never been happier I swear-

Vanya Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy and Alice from The Magicians are two hero to villain arcs that I love.

I really *love* the soulmates trope, but for me, I like it when it's either just reading fanfic for fluff, or if it's not revealed they're soulmates until they already have a certain level of familiarity with each other,, like, they already need to have a certain bond and have sacrificed for each other and then it's realised,, or if there is a sign that they're soulmates, but it's not obvious and they only realise later, or they dont know who it is, but have a connection physically/mentally,,, or sometimes if it's less soulmates and more "there's certain people who are more compatible than others",,, but yeah, soulmates is my jam, but I like it when there's a gimmick,, like, for example,, I actually have a book I'll maybe write one day that has soulmates where all the characters have a power, and their soulmates power will be related in some way, could be complimentary or opposing, and when they bond it essentially increases each of their powers,, but the thing is, they don't figure out they're soulmates until there becomes a certain level of trust or act of sacrifice, or emotional bond, and the powers aren't obvious enough to say "oh, yeah, these two are soulmates, and these 5 are soulmates, and these 3 are clearly soulmates",,, so, like, it's a thing, but it's not clear who's soulmates with who,, and also, soulmates aren't necessarily romantic, they can also be platonic,,,,,,,,, but yeah,, here's my pitch for why soulmates is a great trope when done in creative ways

Fated mates can be fun when it's in a context without powerplay. You just have two characters who are incredibly drawn to each other, but they're both fighting it bc they don't /know/ each other. But then they have to spend time together and they slowly do get to know each other, while still trying to resist. And when one or both of them has deluded themselves into thinking it's all one-sided, but then there's a big confession moment where they finally realize that no, actually, we are totally crazy for each other and we can give in 👌 good soup

Villains redemption arcs need to be more common, i love to see the journey of an antagonist finding their way to "goodness" or just plain old self forgiveness, also I need more recommendations of this trope and academic rivals to lovers cause I agree, it's so top tier. PS: you are playing genshin impact?? omg, i'm also super invested in kaeya's and diluc's story, hope we can learn more about it in the future :(

Not Here To Be Liked is an amazing academic rivals to lovers with underdog characters! If you want to pick up any contemporary romances this year I think you'd really like this one

This was such a great video! I loved that you mentioned reading fanfiction because it can sometimes feel like that‘s not viewed as „real“ or legitimate reading. I‘ll spend the rest of my day thinking about my favorite tropes 🙌🏻

The first couple that came to mind in the friends to lovers trope is Chandler and Monica from Friends and they are my favorite so that mean I must love this trope

the way you described 'academic rivals to lovers' is literally anne shirley-cuthbert and gilbert blythe, especially how they're portrayed in anne with an e

Another example of a hero to villain arc is in Heartless by Marissa Meyer! I read it recently and absolutely loved it. Great video!

The Kinder Poison series does a really good job of showing how a relationship changes as the villain tries to become better for the hero while the hero becomes worse just to oppose the villain. There are a lot of places where you're unsure if the hero and the villain are enemies, friends, or even lovers.

season 6 of buffy the vampire slayer has two characters that go down the hero corruption arc, and even though the characters end up coming back more heroic than ever in season 7, their journeys into the darker side of their powers in season 6 is *chef's kiss*

Villain redemption arc I love: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Hadestown Broadway musical has a breathtaking hero corruption arc into a tragedy that is somehow cathartic.

Anakin Skywalker is my definition of the hero corruption arc 🥺🤌🏼

Such a fun video to watch and made me think about what my favorite tropes actually are. I agreed with most of your choices, though I would put the found family trope in the "top tier elite girls that get it get it" rank. I can never get enough of that one ☺

I love this video! Your commentary on the tropes really cracked me up 🤣 Enemies to lovers is one of my favourites as well.

It was a good categorization! It was helpful! Thank you 😊

Personally I LOVE medieval Europe setting. It is because I live in middle europe and there are so many medieval castles. It's just close to me and I like it, but the story has to be good. Book settings are like what you paint on.Even a drawing on the sidewalk can be masterpeace..

you described the PERFECT type of academic rivals to lovers that I cherish with my whole heart, just *chefs kiss* PLEASEE IF ANYONE HAS RECOMMENDATIONS !! GIMME PLSSSS also yes grumpy-sunshine but the grump is the girl trope, I have been LOOKINGGG FOR THOSE

I totally agree on your thoughts on love triangles. If they are there just for the sake to complicate things a bit, then it is usually really bad, but if it actually have a bigger purpose then it can be amazing. I loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Beautiful Ones because it actually delved deep into the complications and hurt feelings a love triangle will make.

Tbh one of my favorite times a trope happened is in ToH, with Luz and Amity, bc it’s well written + it’s almost exactly how you described it in the video lmao

Robin Hobb does an incredible job with tying up povs in Liveship trilogy!

Your channel is such a vibe and I'm here for it

Thank You - this is a great video; I absolutely loved it! I love tropes, so much!!! It hurts me when I don't hear anyone talking positively of tropes for too long.😹 This was so much fun, for me - Thank you!! 💜💜💜

I'm a simple girl. I see Captain Swan, I click. Also, I love how you were struggling to name more villains with redemption arcs when Killian Jones was right there 🤣

Scorpia from She-ra also had a villain redemption arc. Like that did happen. And you can argue Entrapta did too. Granted they were never the main villains, and more the side-kicks to the main villains but they still did a lot of wrongs.

I love the friends to enemies trope. It is amazing, and I always get so much joy reading about it.

This was so fun to watch 🤣 we need videos of books or other media that represent your three tops!

It absolutely shatters my heart that friends to lovers is bottom tier.

anne and gilbert in anne of green gables invented academic rivals to lovers and i will always thank them for that

I love your tier list!! And YES! the trope X to Enemies is just *good soup*

i loved this! made me realize why i like dark academia books so much

I think Wheel of Time is a good reluctant hero example. His reluctance is based on the fact that if he embraces the hero role, and fully explores and masters “magic” then he’s destined to go crazy and turn into a villain.

GIRL!! LITERALLY SAME!!! I am pretty sure that word count wise I have read more words then I have done in quite a long time but my Goodreads will never see the light of those... Ooh well

oh my goodness, i relate so much!!! i was having exactly the same thoughts and then you said THEM!! about nick and jess from new girl being the one time i’ve liked that trope and how i like the trope when the girl is the grumpy one! brb I AM IN SHOCK right now 💀

This was so enjoyable to watch!!😊

Never before has a video touched my very soul

My favorite trope of all time is Enemies to Lovers. But like, well done. Like they need to actually dislike each other, not like how I unfortunately see in many fics where the whole time they secretly like the other and only fake dislike. Like actual enemies. On opposite sides of some topic and they hate each other. But they are forced to interact. And slowly, SLOWLY AND REALISTICALLY, get to know each other; their past struggles, interests, and more. They slowly develop a care for each other even as they try to deny it and fight against it, determined to stick to what they knew. But they eventually are forced to face the reality of their new feelings. I prefer them being friends first before the attraction is fully realized. I love it if they are forced to face off against each other, commanded to fight or kill each other, but they don't. Or they save each other. Mmm. I am writing a book rn and I am writing an enemies to lovers plot thread in it; it's not a romance book, it's an action adventure sci-fi fantasy, but there is a romance plot thread in it.

omg your blush looks so cute

This video was just ✨chefs kiss✨ Also, justice for the training montages. THEY'RE THERE FOR A REASON, PEOPLE!

I'm a loser who plays League. and in original League Lore Viktor and Jayce are amazing academic rivals to lovers bait, man. In some Arcane/League fanfic you can still find the troupe being played out and I love it lmao. (They actually fit quite a few good troupes here. but I don't know where Arcane will take their characters and don't wanna accidentally spoiler anything for anyone who knows nothing about League.)

The Poppy war has that hero corruption arc done reaaaaaally well, 100% recommend

Your medievel europe setting rant gave me life!

I understand from this video that we have very similar tastes in tropes and stories, I will trust your reviews even more haha Close relationship to enemies is indeed the absolute best trope, no arguing on this one 🔥

I agree with all yours I have more favorites : The chosen one ( Paul in Dune, Harry Potter) still love it when it's done well The secret heir with the revenge trope ( hidden truth) Redemption of the villain trope ( sasuke) The relectant hero ( The Mirror Visitor by Christelle Davos) The Quest Deconstruct flaws ( percy Jackson) Use readers expectation against them ( the witcher) Defy the norm with dark choices ( First law by Bayaz)

I think soulmates trope -which i think you included when talking about fated mates - is ELITE if it has no sexual influence. Like it's literally about souls and compatibility and finding your other half but it shouldn't guarantee a successful relationship or the best sex of your life that pulls out your "animal instincts". I love the idea of having someone who is meant to be with you or is your true love in the OUAT sense. The Sarah J. Maas style of mates is NOT it but the soulmate trope is elite for me.

The academic rivals to lovers trope reminded me so much of my favorite anime Special A. I loved it so much when I was little and I was head over heels on Kei Takishima for a very long time

When you mentioned "Tragic Hero" or as you said "Hero going down the path of darkness" I immediately thought of Anakin Skywalker, arguably the best example of this trope. Of course there are other famous ones like Macbeth, Frankenstein, Dorian Grey or Oedipus.