#fun tropes to explore

[3hks]

Fun Tropes to Explore (And Some Quick Details About Them!)

There are SO many ship dynamics out there and I absolutely love exploring them; so, let's talk about some of the most popular tropes out there!

Best Friends to Lovers

"When did you become something more than a best friend?"

Usually includes: Wholesome fluff, angst, confusion, denial, lots of miscommunication, two dense characters, second-guessing, slowburn

Childish x Mature

"It's oddly unsettling when you don't act as chaotic as usual."

Usually includes: Super cute fluff, less angst, endearing moments, headache-inducing moments, stupid moments, wholesome interactions, some comedy, fun, average pacing

Delinquent x Class President

"You stand for everything I'm against, yet I just can't walk away..."

Usually includes: Fluff, angst, questioning morality, some confusion, second-guessing, lots of character development/change (a bit of character study, even), average to slow pacing

Delinquent x Delinquent

"Why are you in detention all the time?" "I could ask you the same thing."

Usually includes: Denial, initial (and brief) animosity, awkward cuteness and fluff, some angst, tension (iykwim ;)), average to slow pacing, a sad backstory, fun

Notes: This is mainly for spiciness, fun, and clumsy fluffiness with less angst. However, most of the angst tends to revolve around one, or both, of their backstories.

Dramatic x Cold

"I love it when you play hard to get."

Usually includes: Some fluff, some angst, entertaining interactions, obvious character differences, "hate" (usually from the "cold" character), denial, poor communication, average to slow pacing

Emotional x Emotional Support

"Don't tell me to 'chill out!'" "Chill." "Okay."

Usually includes: Wholesome fluff, some/less angst, a unique, but cute dynamic, emotional moments (panic attacks, etc.), fast to average/slow pacing.

Notes: Emotional doesn't mean your character has to be depressed; maybe they struggle with anger issues or psychological problems and your other character helps lift them out of it!

Enemies to Lovers

"I hate that I love you."

Usually includes: Denial, fluff, angst, confusion, miscommunication, secrets, character growth, "odd" obsession with their "enemy", average to slow pacing

Fake Dating

"So, are we like, dating?" "Technically? Yes."

Usually includes: Some fluff, angst, lots of confusion, miscommunication, reluctance to confess, inner guilt, internal conflict, average to slow pacing

Notes: This is an interesting trope to write because the characters aren't actually together, so some of the romantic gestures could or could not be genuine.

Forbidden Love

"Let's keep it a secret, okay?"

Usually includes: Angst, some fluff, a lot of outside factors/conflicts, inner conflicts, some kind of sacrifice, any pacing

Notes: Sometimes the relationship is established beforehand, so the slowburn isn't always getting into the relationship, but being able to maintain it.

Hero x Villain

"Is this right?" "Pftttt, who cares?"

Usually includes: Angst, fluff (not often, but treasured), secret relationship, internal and external conflicts, confusion, tough decisions, some sacrifices, slowburn

Notes: Dangerous and spicy~ We love that LOL (But in all realness, this trope can be hard to pull off realistically because of morality and other factors. Happy endings are great, but not guaranteed.)

Highschool Students

"We're teenagers--we're supposed to do dumb things."

Usually includes: Fluff, angst, BAD mistakes, stupid decisions, average pacing, fun

Notes: I love this trope! It's so silly but heart-wrenching at the same time and has the cutest fluff!

Mafia x Innocent

"In a world full of darkness, you're my only light."

Usually includes: Angst, some fluff, struggles in getting together, awkwardness, a lot of outside factors, complex plot/world details, morality issues, lots of characterization, any pacing

Notes: SPICY~ There are usually obvious differences in both characters' metaphorical worlds. Normally, the one in the mafia lives in the darker side, but that's actually not always the case.

Obsessed x Oblivious

"Oh! We're just friends!" "Yeah, but we're married in my head."

Usually includes: Lots of pining, fluff, less angst, madly in love character, obvious hints, frustration (annoyed about the cluenessness), outright, spoken confession, some ridiculous (and funny) moments, any pacing

Popular x Unpopular

"You live in a world that doesn't see me, but you're also the only one who ever did."

Usually includes: Fluff, some angst, a bit of awkwardness, character differences/contrasts, smaller cast, school or work setting, semi-slowburn

Rivals to Lovers

"I only stare at them because I need to figure out their next moves and how to crush them. Obviously."

Usually includes: COMPETITION, angst (typically not a lot), some fluff, lots of dialogue, tension, denial, average to slow pacing

Notes: This is close to Enemies to Lovers, but the ship in this trope are centered around a similar, if not same, goal.

Soulmates

"I mean... we are kinda meant to be."

Usually includes: Fluff, angst, denial (sometimes)

Notes: Honestly, there's nothing too special about this trope besides knowing what the couple will look like beforehand. And sometimes, the soulmates don't even get together!

Sibling's Best Friend

"If you're going to date someone, you can date anyone besides my best friend."

Usually includes: Fluff, some angst (usually not a lot), secret hang outs (lots of secrets are involved), hesitation, guilt, "off-limits" factor, sibling conflicts, average to slow pacing

Unrequited Love

"I love you with everything I've got, and yet you still don't notice."

Usually includes: A LOT of angst (it hurts), some fluff (it depends), pining, slowburn, some delusion, all-knowing reader, desperation, character growth

Happy writing~

3hks :D

[royaltea000]

Hmmmm…monkey

[huginsmemory]

Like I get why human-Bill post canon redemption fics for Billford are common because it's fun to put Bill in that situation where he doesn't know whats going on and its a way to 'break' Bill into not being a huge asshole through learning empathy BUT I feel like also a big part of that is also people being COWARDS and not leaning into the monsterfuckery of Ford falling in love and getting it on freaky style with a triangle LIKE HE ALREADY DID.

[blackkatdraws2]

The Main Character.

[Blank Scripts AU]

[giantisms]

there's not enough emphasis on g/t interactions with the environment in works. i think. focus is always put on interactions between characters and how they navigate the size difference- which isn't BAD, i'd say it's essential in g/t media even. but i wish we also explored how they do that with the world they occupy

like those little details about how borrowers use small, mundane objects or junk as tools, furniture and etc? LOVE IT. or how they domesticate small animals, traverse the house of a human, how different in volume food and drinks are to them at that size? how a fairy interacts with a (to them enormous) forest flora and fauna?

same for giants!!! i said before that i LOVE when a giant's bigness is emphasized through how they interact with the world - being careful with every step lest they crush something underfoot or cause earthquakes; being as tall as the trees in the forest (if not bigger); getting stuck in (to them) narrow and small places (human infrastructure am i right)

i don't know, i feel like it's rarely acknowledged in g/t works. or at least not enough

[kakooshi]

I feel like enough time has passed...

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Don’t Let The Forest In

YA horror

an anxious Australian boy whose only friends are his twin sister & best friend/roommate returns to boarding school in the US - but his sister is ignoring him, and his friend is acting strange, with rumors of having something to do with his parents�� murder

he follows him into the nearby forest one night - and finds him fighting eldritch monsters from the dark fairytales & art they create together, desperate to stop them from hurting anyone else

ace MC, m/m

[bytebun]

I see a lot of characters older than a teen protag slotted into dad/uncle roles in found family tropes but frankly when I was 15-18 if anybody wanted to parent me I would politely remove myself from the situation. n if they insisted I would probably bite

[mejomonster]

Modu by priest was truly such a good read. If you like romance? It has a sweeping romance, with a well done bisexual and gay lead (and straight best friend) all written in ways that manage to feel realistic, it's got features people likely found it for when looking for a danmei - rich manipulative younger man, older investigator who's got a hero streak, and yet those categories don't really do justice to them (and of course tao ran is the more grounded detective story lead who keeps his theories to himself and worries about dragging others into his mess).

They're so much more... Fei Du is a traumatized young man who's worried he's as monstrous as the people who scarred him, who is preparing to take the leap and cross the line to become an even more terrifying version of himself if it will destroy the corruption poisoning this city and harming so many, Luo Wenzhou is a cop that used to want to be a hero and learned he will fail people and be unable to save people and holds onto Fei Du as someone who reminds him he DOES fail but also reminds him why he wants so hard to keep Trying to help people even when it seems impossible... why trying and putting in effort to care and help Even when its too late to fix things is Worthwhile. Tao Ran is a contrast to them both, Fei Du living in a world where there's only monsters and victims and Luo Wenzhou desperately trying to force the world to be a place where justice CAN prevail and win even as he sees it fail over and over, trying so hard to believe all people have the capacity for everything and are worth trying to save. Even though Fei Du doesm't believe that, being around Luo Wenzhou makes him want to consider it. Tao Ran, their contrast? Believing the world can go either way, and its up to people like him to create any justice at all, any structure at all, or else everything is just meaningless suffering chaos. As characters, the three of them serve to explore how the world works and views on it in terms of a detective murder mystery encompassing the whole city, the small scale version of the world. Modu is a romance, but its also fully commited to being a murder mystery that wants to tackle the kind of themes that come up in the setting it's created. Its characters are so much more than Insert Character Ship types here. These characters were made this way to explore these ideas (just as the villains are all made to parallel and contrast Fei Du to explord these ideas in comparison to our point of view Fei Du moments, our impressions of Fei Du from Luo Wenzhou and Tao Rans varied perspectives, all of them are different lenses to view humanity and how it works, if the world is just or if we have to make it good, if we can be inherently good and if good people will reach out to us if we just keep treading water to survive, if its luck and chaos, and how much... and much more frankly).

Modu is like. If you want a story about a corrupt city and its victims, symbolizing a corrupt world and all of us at its mercy, and you want to see the heart of the people doing something about it. First the main trio, but also every victim Fei Du recruits to help, every murderer recruited to the corruption, all the people in the cases swayed to some side. Thats what Modu is about.

The romance is just one facet of exploring that, the personal debate about what these things mean about the world as told through two people who view this world incredibly differently. Yet find some way to exist in the same space, same mutual world, when together. It hooks you in and doesn't let you go and youre wondering right there with them, left to draw your own meaning in the end. Hopefully that its worth trying, that doing something is worth trying even when its just the trying you can do and not the succeeding, at least thats what I got from it (at least in regards to Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou meeting each other, unable to live up to the pillar they put each other on but trying anyway, is what I felt from them).

Then like? Modu gives you THAT story, which in its own right is enough to make you contemplate.

And if you're like me and care about people, about characters? Well it gives you, like I said, those big themes and a city's nightmares symbolizing the world, and brings them down to an individual level. You read from the mind of the little girl who grew up in this (one of my favorite scenes and when I felt this novel was going to not shy away from dark psychological moments and bringing them to you). You read from the mind of Fei Du when he knows himself, when he doesn't. You read from the minds of all kinds of people, and the heart of much of the investigation is peoples motives and things they'd gone through and how that shaped what they'd do next. Why they'd do it. Leaving you to wonder who's right. Jaded idealist Luo Wenzhou who wants to believe in the goodness of the people he loves, but also is willing to risk that strangers may have good intent? Fei Du who thinks theres only victims and perpetrators and everyone is going to fall into one in the right circumstance? Tao Ran, who feels the world is too messy to dare declare predictable, who thinks even your closest can betray you and even you can accidentally hurt them, nevermind strangers, and the only thing you can control and rely on is your own choices? Some mix? None of them? The side characters as they come up, grow and evolve, do they understand the world better or worse, and is the world they experience different than anothers and justify why their worldview is likewise different? Modu gives you that up close and personal, over and over. Im still thinking about it. And the way its done, they all get to feel like lived in people. Not structures to tell the themes only. But on their own, there's a personal struggle between Fei Du feeling like a monster who'll destroy Lup Wenzhou if he loves him, like his dad destroyed his mom, and Luo Wenzhou carrying the guilt he could never save Fei Du and desperate to believe in Fei Du (and keep trying to save him in that way if only that way) as person who can do good despite not being saved and despite Fei Du's fears. You could cut the entire city's plot away, all of the crimes and make the city calm, and still that core of their plot would be carrying a Lot of weight. Theyre playing a game of "enemies" to lovers sure, or whatever romance story structures they fit into. But they're also made to be deeply rooted into each other, their personal beliefs tied into the outcome of what they hope or fear happens if they are close together. Modu made me care about that. Its like the fears many people might have, abiut theur own flaws, about getting close to others, about trusting and being unsure if that trust is safe to give. Its that and magnified into bigger form, in this landscape of a fucked up city and the tragedy of Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou's meeting and former lives.

Its like. Id love to to read another danmei (Ive got a lot on my to read list). But what's going to give me roo

[un-pearable]

one of the parts of the fanon “PK/DA was an active superhero sometime before DT2017 and donald retired either before or because of the boys” fic premise/microgenre that i think about a lot but have never seen explored is that. chronologically paperinik could very well have been what in the in-universe Darkwing Duck television series was parodying. in a world without actual batman or dc comics to parody the DWD tv show is Paperinik fanfic that later becomes real life again. sorry to break it to you drake but you’re PK through the fandom telephone. i love it.

[lollytea]

The Blight family are so interesting IN THEORY. In execution they are....😬

[floodonthefloor]

working on a gold crown rn. so excited for this one you have no idea

[specialagentartemis]

My favorite genre of sci-fi is “small research team goes to a distant plant/star/space station/black hole/etc to study something weird there, and then the weird thing there Wrecks Their Shit.” Can’t get enough of it. “Small research team goes to a deep undersea research station” and “small research team goes to a deep Antarctic research station” are also very good variants of this as long as they get completely rekt by a weird mysterious alien thing there. I love it every time.

It is also important to note that these stories can range from “TPK” to “lone survivor” to “a few losses but most of the main characters come out of this harrowing ordeal alive, if changed” to “everyone survives this harrowing ordeal and they have a new friend now!” but the more characters survive the better the story better be. If it’s a TPK/lone survivor I eat this up and will love it no matter how bad it is (Underwater (2020) starring Kristen Stewart I am vaguing you here. Stupid movie. Saw it on the big screen and loved it). But if most/all of the cast survives, the writing and the story and the characters better be goddamn amazing (All Systems Red by Martha Wells and Wolf 359 by Gabriel Urbina and Sarah Shachat I am vaguing you here <3 )

[p2ii]

redemption arcs where instead of the character having to do through the arc with the person they wronged and have the end goal be forgiveness they go through the arc with a completely different character that has no involvement in the main conflict with the goal being self improvement>>>

[total-drama-brainrot]

honestly tempted to write a yandere sierra fic, but not in a romanticised way. like, a horror fic about how she relapsed into super unhealthy habits during/after all-stars, until she eventually tries killing either cody himself or the people in his life. or her forcing cameron into acting/dressing like cody in her mania, only to attack/kill him when he doesn't meet her impossibly high expectations.

just. sierra's stalking taken to it's logical extreme, and the consequences thereof.

[citnamora]

Growing up is realizing you don't hate shipping, you just really wish the execution of it was less amatonormative