What Are The Popular Hope And Landon Fanfiction Tropes To Read?

I've spent way too many hours scrolling through 'Legacies' tags, so maybe I can shed some light. The number one trope that seems to dominate is the fix-it fic, hands down. People really wanted a different ending for Hope and Landon, especially after the show's finale. These stories often pick up after a specific heartbreaking moment—like when he was in the prison world—and rewrite it so they actually get to talk things through properly. The appeal is obvious: the canon gave us so much angst and separation but not enough resolution.

Another huge category is the alternate universe, or AU. High school AUs are perennial favorites, but I've seen a ton of coffee shop or bookstore owner AUs lately, where the supernatural elements are stripped away. It lets writers focus purely on their awkward, sweet dynamic without the apocalypse looming. There's also a weirdly specific but popular sub-trope where Landon isn't a phoenix but some other kind of mythological being, often something more traditionally 'powerful,' which shifts their power balance entirely. I think it comes from a place of wanting him to be more of an equal partner in the supernatural fights.

I've noticed people either love or hate the 'shared dreams' or 'soulmate' tropes for them. The ones that do it well use it to explore their psychic connection from the show, but when it's done poorly, it just feels like a shortcut to intimacy. My personal favorite trope, though, is the 'five times they almost said I love you and one time they did.' It fits their communication issues perfectly and usually ends on a really sweet note.

Most popular tropes? Miscommunication, followed by magical bonding rituals gone wrong. It's like the fandom took their canon inability to have a straightforward conversation and cranked it up to eleven. You'll find endless variations where one of them overhears part of a conversation and storms off, or a spell forces them to tell the truth with disastrously timed confessions. It gets repetitive after a while, honestly.

What I find more interesting are the crossovers. There's a surprising number of fics that plop them into the 'The Vampire Diaries' or 'The Originals' timelines, having a young Hope interact with a human Landon in Mystic Falls. Those are fun because they explore a completely different context for their relationship. Also, post-canon fics where they reunite years later seem to be gaining traction, maybe because they offer a sense of closure the show didn't.

From a writer's perspective, the popular tropes often revolve around fixing the perceived flaws in their arc. A big one is 'Landon gains real agency.' In a lot of fics, he actively seeks out power or knowledge, sometimes from darker sources, to stand beside Hope as an equal, not just as someone to be protected. This is almost a reaction to his damsel-in-distress phase on the show. It's a trope that allows for a lot of internal conflict and growth.

The 'Hope goes dark/evil' trope is another staple, but for this pairing, it's usually framed with Landon as the anchor that pulls her back. It inverts their dynamic in an interesting way, making him the stable one for a change. Then there's the classic 'fake dating' scenario for undercover missions at the Salvatore School, which always leads to real feelings. It works because they're already so terrible at hiding their actual emotions from each other. The tropes that last are the ones that address the core frustrations fans had: the cyclical breakups, the power imbalance, and the lack of peaceful, domestic moments. Writers love to give them that quiet library study session or a simple road trip the show never had time for.

Popular tropes? Hurt/comfort, always. Landon getting injured (again) and Hope panicking while trying to heal him is like catnip for this fandom. Also, 'established relationship' fluff set after the series, where they're just living a normal-ish life together. It's soothing after all the canon chaos. You'll find tons of those one-shot collections filled with soft moments.