INTRODUCTION
As both an author and avid reader, I really really enjoy stumbling upon new-to-me book tropes (and genres) that just makes me want to binge as much of it as I'm able to! Sometimes, after a while of binge reading, my “researcher” side tends to get a little tickled, and soon I'm falling face first into whatever information I can find related to the new-to-me trope!
And so, because I've fallen in love with this new trope, I just want more and more and more people to, at the very least, find out about the existence of this trope too — especially if it's a new-to-them one too!
My reader side also selfishly wants to bring attention to the trope in the hopes that if more authors find out about this new — and sometimes even niche — trope, that they would add their own works and takes to the roster for me to — hopefully — binge on!
My author side also also wants to get the word out about these new tropes I find, so that new readers would, again, at the very least have some basic understanding of the trope, so that whenever my own projects featuring these tropes go live they'll have an idea of what they're getting into!
Basically, I just want to share my love of these tropes, and if more authors — and readers — maybe, also sorta, fall in love with these tropes and in turn, cause even more books featuring these tropes to pop up in the world, then I'm all for it!
This book/blog is basically going to be a collection of all the different new-to-me tropes I've found and fallen in love with, and all the information I've gathered on them organised in one place, because I'm anal like that.
However, this is not a “guide” in the “traditional” sense of the word, because while I would like authors — and readers — new to these tropes to have the basic understanding of the foundation of these tropes before they jump into it. I also adore the creativity of humankind and I love seeing the different spin each author and reader can take, or will take, or has taken, or whatever else, on these tropes!
But before everyone is tossed into the deep end, I really really really want new “traversers” to, at the very least, know about the basics of these tropes, where they've come from, how they might’ve been started (or even what inspired them) and just so that they, you know, have this knowledge at the back of their minds as they explore the different worlds authors come up with based on these tropes.
And I also want folks to understand, or remember at the back of their minds, that while there are a lot of differing interpretations of these tropes that are just so scrumptious and dopamine inducing, the basics are just as cool! And sometimes going back to the basics is a needed reprieve for a lot of us.
Now, I'm very privileged to say that on my binge reading and research excursion on these different tropes, I've been exposed to so many different interpretations and information on them, and I've tried to combine all, if not most, of the knowledge I've gained into this collection, so that everyone can, more or less, have a more deeper — and sometimes even broader — understanding of the tropes.
(For example, if you're a predominantly western reader and author, some of the information I share, especially on the more well known tropes like the omegaverse, will definitely make you question some things you might know or believe about the trope.)
To my western community, while I mean no disrespect, compared to some of the interpretations of these tropes I've seen made by the eastern (especially the manga/manhwa and light novel) communities, you guys are pretty tame (which is fine, because I like vanilla). But oh my lovable and fearsome gods, to all my western traversers, you guys have not lived until you've seen some of the takes the authors and readers on the other side of the hemisphere have made, because those guys are on crack and I’m addicted!
I also selfishly want more eastern and queer concepts to seep into the western community to spice things up, because again, they're just so freaking good and I need more! I'm literally salivating at the mouth at the thought of it!
Now don't get me wrong, I have a deep love for both my western and eastern interpretations, and sometimes I crave one more than the other, I just need a hodge podge of all the interpretations to tickle that spot in my brain.
Again, this book/blog is a collection of all the information and interpretations I could get my hands on related to these tropes and again, I use the term “guide” loosely, because there's absolutely no one way to do things, and neither is there an all-knowing expert on these things.
I just want the foundation of all these universes and worlds to be as stable as they possibly can be before we expand up into the void, and to give both old and new traversers a different perspective!
I also want this book/blog to be a way to show that new things aren't absolutely terrifying, and that even if you don't vibe with something different than your norm, it's a totally cool move to at least read up on it, and expose yourself to it, and understand that the universe is freaking gigantic, and that there's more than enough space for all of us!
Also while the main aim of this book/blog is to share my new favourite tropes and stuff, if you guys have any suggestions of other AU tropes you'd like me to explore do feel free to share, because I just love learning something new!
Okay, now I'm done rambling, let's traverse over to our first universe (and one I think a lot of people will be familiar with).
