#also devin - i'm gonna name my first born child after ur typo just so you know

[youre-not-a-cat-youre-a-rat]

Bed sharing, fake dating, secret dating, amnesia, arraigned marriage, and they were roommates. Trope ask!

AHHHHHHH, okay!

bed sharing

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

The whole build up of, “no there’s no reason to sleep on the floor/couch/armchair, we’re adults we can handle sharing a bed” (you fucking liars), and then the awareness when they’re finally in there together, just sittin in the dark trying to ignore how horny they are for the person laying less than a foot away from them, la di da.

AND THEN WHOOPS THEY WAKE UP SPOONING OH NO HOW DID THAT HAPPEN

One of the first grown up romance novels I read (it was a Meg Cabot one) had a bed sharing incident that was also enemies to lovers and had a pretty funny morning after scene.

fake dating

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

Pairs great with bed sharing! Feel the yearn!!

Ahhh when they’ve both always pined for each other and it’s all bittersweet, and they’re sincere in all their actions/words but they just pretend it’s part of the act ahhh

It’s got all the couple-y fluff but also tension! It’s having your cake and eating it too!

Or when it’s just a full on shennanigan and they’ve gotta quiz each other on all these facts about themselves and how to charm their friends/family, and there’s hijinks and teamwork, but then somewhere along the way it stops being fake?

And then the GUESS WE HAVE KISS NOW, WE HAVE TO, OH WELL of it all

secret dating

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

Hell yeah, gimme that Monica and Chandler shit, yuss.

Making excuses to sneak off and make out, being teased by their friends abt who their secret date is right in front of said secret date. Maybe I have a voyeurism thing, cause stealing a kiss or a grope in almost plain view of all the people who don’t know they’re dating.

And the shock of everyone when they find out? Or maybe they’re all “Oh, that was supposed to be a secret?”

amnesia

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

I haven’t read a lot of amnesia fic. I think it depends on the circumstances, like someone actually getting a head injury and forgetting that they’re married, like a The Vow or Chuck situation (I haven’t seen either of those things, but that’s what happens in them, right?) doesn’t really appeal to me for some reason. Pretty sure there was a story arc in Lois and Clark like that which I loathed. But maybe it was just that within a show, it kinda felt like filler that was needlessly angsty? Idk.

HOWEVER, I’ve definitely read a few Hook and Emma fics where one or both of them have been cursed to forget each other and the angst was just *mwah* (that was me kissing my finger tips).

arranged marriage

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

So I started to give that one a “Yes,” but I changed my mind the more I thought about it.

It’s a subtle one! It goes really differently depending on the characters, but seeing how they react to it is what makes it interesting. Are they really resistant (ahh Still Star Crossed, we hardly knew ye)? Is one of them totally accepting of their fate, much to the other’s confusion? Yo, what if one has always been in love with the other, but obviously they don’t want it to happen this way, ahhhh.

And once they’re married, there’s all the underestimating each other, or maybe even the bargaining of “well it’s just a legal arrangement, we can still live our lives separately,” and again the reaction to that changes depending on their relationship before the marriage. Are they both pining for each other? Do they totally mean what they say in the moment but change their minds the more they get to know each other?

And like fake dating, there’s tons of opportunity for bonding through teamwork, which is weirdly my favorite thing. Not the sexiest, but there it is. Actually, no, you know what, teamwork can totally be sexy.

I’ve read a lot of historical romance that uses this trope and the best that comes to mind is Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. It’s technically a marriage of convenience, but the couple do not think much of each other pre-wedding, are disturbingly hot for each other post-wedding night, and then gradually come to like and trust each other over time. Good stuff.

Ooh, good contemporary romance with a marriage of convenience (sorta fake dating-y as well): The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

and they were roommates

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know |

I kinda feel like I could never write this trope myself because whenever I’ve read it, it’s always a longggggg slow burn with loads of excellent pining and tension and maybe a drunken make out that only one of them remembers and agonizes over, and all the “oh nooooooo, they couldn’t possibly like me backkkk”

Bonus points when all their friends can see that they’re perfect for each other, or if it’s even obvious to their terrible choice of dates.

Extra bonus points when they’re blind to the ridiculous shared sexual tension in all the mundane physical closeness that comes out of living together. Falling asleep on the couch together, running into each other in the bathroom, finding each other’s underwear in their laundry.

And obviously, the sex marathon in every room of the place when they finally get together.

A+

send me a trope and I’ll rate it