Mentioning @SnowyStar because this thread was stolen inspired by her question for me!
I hope it’s fine with you! If not… I’ll have this taken down immediately xD
What is a Trope? In literary sense, a trope is any word or phrase that is used in a figurative way. It can also refer to an idea, theme, or device that is overused and recurring in many works to the point that it can become a cliché.
An example of a really popular trope that I personally admit to like reading about is the “chosen one” trope. It has become cliché, but I still like reading a story about someone’s adventure to save the world. A famous example of this trope is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
How about you? What overused tropes do you admit to like in a story?
Do you like to write tropes? If so, what do you do to make it as unique as can be?
Hate to love…
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I love it when people who dislike (okay not hate hate lol) each other or fight at first grow to love eachother.
Irony, as in Game Of Thrones. Every house (even a noble house like the Starks) appears to be one thing when in reality it is something else. I like as it as this trope gives an element of surprise in the storyline.
The Prodigal Son, i.e. a long gone son (or daughter, typically an heir to some family fortune) returns to take back his/her ‘birthright’ back. It can be an easy trope where the character gets their goal easily or a difficult path (such as inbred tensions between family members over a dead person’s fortune).
The Anti-Hero, I seem to like this trope very much. The character (such as Jessica Jones) is usually a cynical loner who (usually) goes through a lot of bad things in their past which make them who they are right now. Their priority is not to be a hero, but to make it through day and night.
I secretly love the rags-to-riches trope (like a transformation), particularly in the context of a birth secret (The Prodigal Child, like @AS007 said) or for a revenge story. I watch too many Korean daily dramas…
I personally like seeing strong female characters who worked their @ss off to become what they are, not those “strong mary-sue” types who became powerful overnight. They don’t necessarily have to be physically strong. They can just be female characters who possess an attribute that makes them a strong character. It’s empowering to see more believable strong women representation on media.
I also like having teams in stories, or what we also know as “found families”. I love seeing the chemistry between all the characters with their respective “found families”. I’ll never get tired of seeing great stories with a team of well-rounded characters.
In real life, women mostly choose the respectful LI, though. Who wants to bang their heads on the wall dealing with a rowdy piece of cr*p bad boy anyway?
I know I am replying so late butthis reminded me of John Constantine too i.e., the blonde magician with a resting b***h-face attitude and a cigarette always up in his mouth as if his life depends on it . Recent DC animated movies have portrayed him so awesomely it’s just surreal to watch him again besides on CW
. Recent DC animated movies have portrayed him so awesomely it’s just surreal to watch him again besides on CW 