I have a few:

  • Chosen ones, fate, destiny, &c. When you get down to it, a story with these themes is one where a single person or handful of people is ontologically, cosmically better and more important than everyone else. It's eerily similar to that right-wing meme about how "most people are just NPCs" (though I disliked the trope before that meme ever took off).
  • Way too much importance being given to bloodlines by the narrative (note, this is different from them being given importance by characters or societies in the story).
  • All of the good characters are handsome and beautiful, while all of the evil characters are ugly and disfigured (with the possible exception of a femme fatale or two).
  • Races that are inherently, unchangeably evil down to the last individual regardless of upbringing, society, or material circumstances.
    • StalinStan [none/use name]
      ·
      4 days ago

      The princess who has literally magic knowledge directly from the gods is a dick to nomadic horse archers. She gets her shit wrecked as would be expected in that scenario. Then some immortal demon twink has to do war crimes

      • ssj2marx@lemmy.ml
        ·
        3 days ago

        Was she a dick? She was a child when her father was a dick to them, but their leader took over and most of them disavowed him and she played an active part in the rebellion against him.