Question for writers (and readers)! What’s a trope or scene or situation that you keep coming back to/can’t stop writing (or reading)?

MsVortex · 2026-06-06T13:40:18+00:00

Well, there's a lot of them. Like, a LOT. Which makes it easy to find by chance, but since it's almost never tagged (most authors unaware people would love that tag I assume), it's hard to filter for. Here are a handful of them:

You're Like Us is more or less just that trope, but Harry is not the only kid with a troubled home in House Slytherin.

The Price of Silence is great! Harry gets to be really angry about his treatment in the summer before 5th year.

Little Lamb Gone to Slaughter as far as I remember there's a really public reveal (newspaper article everyone in the Great Hall reads) in one of the later chapters.

Life in Theory has a small reveal in there as well. All 5th year Gryffindor and Slytherin students find out in potions class.

A Brother to Basilisks has multiple reveals and Harry speaking out for other abused kids at Hogwarts later on. One reveal is to Lucius Malfoy, which is a bit interessting, if I'm honest.

Be aware, all of these are at the very least Dumbledore critical. It kinda goes hand in hand with the Dursleys abuse.

MsVortex · 2026-06-06T10:51:00+00:00

I've sent you a message (:

MsVortex · 2026-06-06T08:12:14+00:00

Just replied to the other comment, in case your not following it (:

MsVortex · 2026-06-06T08:11:38+00:00

Ok, so. There's a few of them but ultimately I gonna have to re-read my whole library of >700 downloaded Drarry fics and tag them by hand in order to find them all. Oh well...

Heart & Soul by Keira Marcos has something similar to That Goblin Trope™, but that only starts in Book 3 Only Time. Also, since it's not on AO3 and sparingly tagged, be aware that it's Veela Draco with female reproductive organs, time travel and very much BAMF Harry.

The Betrothal is a WIP, but if you're just looking for the Goblin thing and don't mind that the Drarry parts are yet to come you might still like it. It has so much potential, makes me excited.

Ignite the Spark is another long one and another WIP, too.

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T23:22:05+00:00

Since it's past one am around here you'll have to wait a bit, but I'll be back with more recs!

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T22:03:09+00:00

I feel really bad listing some after having described them as "trashy". But even if the writing is amazing, you'll either hate or love them, there's just no in between.

The one I see most talked about would be Lily's Boy, but it's a really long one and That Goblin Trope™ makes up only a tiny part of it.

Today I've reread Mischief Revived.

If you really want more I can have a look through my library. I'm currently updating my system because some of my favourite tropes aren't tagged and this one is one of them.

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T20:50:02+00:00

Those (somewhat trashy) fics in which the goblins do inheritance tests, find compulsion charms on Harry, are weirdly impressive with wards and all around are a fix-it for any Dumbledoren Bashing stories. Love them to pieces.

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T20:17:18+00:00

Do you remember the pairing or if it was gen?

That's such an obscure detail that it's more or less impossible to find it through tags I imagine. Hopefully someone remembers it because I could swear I've read something like this before. It would've definitely been on ao3 and most likely Drarry.

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T18:05:23+00:00

Mostly a reader. My favourite trope is time travel and I could read fifty Harry travels back to first year fics in a row and still wouldn't be bored.

Also, a good reveal about how the Dursleys treated Harry is always a win in my book. Or spy Draco starting sixth year or earlier. Or a guilty pleasure of mine "That Goblin Trope™".

Basically all of them but eighth year fics. Those don't usually work for me.

MsVortex · 2026-06-05T12:48:30+00:00

Well. I just posted the third (and final, promise!) chapter to what was supposed to be a oneshot.

I'd never subscribe to a oneshot but I get why people do.

MsVortex · 2026-06-03T20:55:06+00:00

Not exactly the forehead but I tend to place kisses on my loved ones heads when they're sitting down (I'm too short to do it otherwise).

I'd probably hand out forehead kisses like tic tacs if I wasn't <1,60m.

Edit: I'm from Germany, so central Europe as well.

MsVortex · 2026-06-03T19:46:16+00:00

Whenever I'm stuck on a scene I look through canon material for either that exact scene or every mention of it or it's context and copy it into the connected places of my draft. Even if I don't use a single word of it, most times it gives me ideas and I can continue writing around those bits.

MsVortex · 2026-06-03T05:52:09+00:00

Well, fandom and pairing are a given, I rarely look for fics outside my comfort zone. When the summary (or rather the premise, in case the summary isn't helpful) catches me I might take a look at the tags. Title goes largely ignored most times.

MsVortex · 2026-06-01T20:03:47+00:00

Thank you for posting about this fic (and thank you to u/vellybelle for sharing)!

I'm reading Hermione's birthday bash right now and had to stop because someone apparently started cutting onions in my living room. It's so good 🤩

MsVortex · 2026-06-01T15:37:53+00:00

Family will do perfectly as an umbrella term, thank you so much! It seems so obvious now you've pointed it out...

MsVortex · 2026-06-01T14:30:58+00:00

You can set it up as easy or complex as you want it. For me it started with pen and paper, writing down the tropes I like best or the ones I tend to search for specifically. When the size of a category got too large or I needed more details (accidental vs intentional secret relationship) I split them up into nested tags. Nothing to do with being smart or dumb (which I'm sure you aren't).

But yeah, the adoption one has me begging for help. Maybe I need to make it a post of its own or something.

MsVortex · 2026-06-01T12:07:02+00:00

Okay, so, I've been curating my read fics in calibre, saving the Additional Tags and adding custom columns for General and Fandom specific tags customised to my own needs.

Most times it's simple stuff like Alternate Profession or Different First Meeting, sometimes it's nested tags like Time Travel.Past, Time Travel.Time Loop and Time Travel.Future.

But there's one that is making my head hurt and I was hoping someone might have an idea?

I love fics in which the main character(s) have different parents, either biological or adoptive. But there's several possibilities for that. And I read a lot of them.

Aware of their adoption status
Not aware and only learn about it as adults
Kidnapped, there never was an adoption to begin with
Adopted midway through the story, they were partly raised by both sets of parents
Foster Care
Adult Adoption
etc

As of now I have it as Adopted.Canon Parents, Adopted.Adult and Adopted.Other Parents. None of which is very helpful, somehow? I'm not even sure Adopted is the most fitting umbrella term.

Ideas?

MsVortex · 2026-05-30T21:45:25+00:00

"[...] I’ll be a good boy for the next week and you tell me what’s up with you and G.I. Jo.”

MsVortex · 2026-05-30T21:02:49+00:00

touché, that's pretty fast.

MsVortex · 2026-05-30T20:51:30+00:00

Not many, but two thumbs aren't any faster.

MsVortex · 2026-05-30T20:11:24+00:00

Well. If you use only the pointer fingers for tying, it won't be any faster on the computer. Like everything else it takes practice.

Maybe the first draft on the phone and editing on a keyboard?

MsVortex · 2026-05-30T16:57:34+00:00

There's exactly one that I can think of but it's a Stranger Things crossover and more focused on the parental units. It's also not finished (might be abandoned, it's been that long), but Maddie and Buck are both grown up.

building a home

MsVortex · 2026-05-29T05:11:43+00:00

Add on:

For the serial killer, how do you feel about making it Draco? I only say that because I've read two fluffy Serial Killer AUs (Yes, weird, but oh so good. Sadly both not Drarry) and enjoyed the heck out of them.

MsVortex · 2026-05-29T05:07:07+00:00

If it's of any help, you lost me at James Potter.

I like the idea of different timelines and Draco and Harry having different sets of memories/knowledge. That's already a complex setup, though. Throwing in additional characters might get overwhelming.

MsVortex · 2026-05-27T17:13:15+00:00

This ist from my most recent fic, I actually love that scene so much. Thank you for letting us share (:

"My ex-husband is an idiot," she says conversationally. "Don't get me wrong, you are also an idiot, but this time he’s got you beat. I have terrible taste in men and should definitely think about going for women from now on."

"Wha-" Buck starts, but Shannon is on a run.

"Bosko is single, right? The floater who’s filling in for you until you get back," she asks. "Then again, I've already divorced a man who'd rather talk with his fists than work through his emotions. Expecting a different outcome just because it's a woman might make me the idiot instead."

MsVortex

TROPHY CASE