RPing/Writing Tropes

DawnsEarlyLight

Active Member
Excerpt from TVTropes.org
A trope is a storytelling device or convention, a shortcut for describing situations the storyteller can reasonably assume the audience will recognize. Tropes are the means by which a story is told by anyone who has a story to tell.

Tropes are not the same thing as cliches. They may be brand new but seem trite and hackneyed; they may be thousands of years old but seem fresh and new. They are not bad, they are not good; tropes are tools that the creator of a work of art uses to express their ideas to the audience. It's pretty much impossible to create a story without tropes.

What are some of your favorite tropes to write into your RPs and/or written works? What do you enjoy most about writing said tropes? Are there any particular tropes that annoy you? Why do they annoy you? Is there anything else you would like to share about your experiences with tropes?

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you visit https://tvtropes.org/ to learn more about what tropes are, as well as what kinds of tropes are out there. You might even be exploring tropes that you didn’t even know existed!
 
Oh boy, the thread I’ve been waiting for (despite having only been on this site for five seconds). My favorite trope would have to be when a really tough character has been through so much, they just break down in tears. Everyone is so shocked and it’s just the most surprising thing because they’re the brave one. They’re the meanest/baddest member of the team, and they’re bawling their eyes out. And the possibilities are endless. Have they been hiding an injury and just can’t take the pain? Have they been bottling everything up and this was the last straw? Or was the situation someone/something sensitive for them? It’s the greatest.
 
Oh boy, the thread I’ve been waiting for (despite having only been on this site for five seconds). My favorite trope would have to be when a really tough character has been through so much, they just break down in tears. Everyone is so shocked and it’s just the most surprising thing because they’re the brave one. They’re the meanest/baddest member of the team, and they’re bawling their eyes out. And the possibilities are endless. Have they been hiding an injury and just can’t take the pain? Have they been bottling everything up and this was the last straw? Or was the situation someone/something sensitive for them? It’s the greatest.
Very true. It’s easy to overlook that badass characters are often no less emotionally vulnerable than any other character would be under similar circumstances, and that kind of trope (Break The Badass, I believe) definitely serves to highlight that point and can be explored in a lot of creative ways.

One of the tropes I use most often is the Badass In Distress trope. which has some similarities to what you’ve described except that, instead of the Badass in question suffering an emotional breakdown (though such a breakdown can still be involved), the Badass is kidnapped or otherwise put in danger, requiring them to either wait for a rescue or simply break themselves out. BID needs to be handled carefully to avoid making the Badass look too weak (Badass Decay) or making the whole setup look too cheap (Distress Ball), but if handled well, it can really help explore how a Badass might deal with a genuinely sticky situation beyond their control, and/or give other less prominently badass characters a moment in the spotlight, among several other possibilities.

That, and it’s especially satisfying for me to write out the Badass proceeding to kick massive amounts of ass in retaliation upon being freed. :cool:
 
I really like rough characters who aren't arrogant. Having someone who's hotheaded without being a total pain in the rear is super fun to write. And one of my main characters in my original story is like that.
 
Hmm, I always find myself reversing or mixing traditionally feminine and traditionally masculine qualities. I guess I won't get bored of it any time soon.
Also, redemption arcs are something I am always thinking about doing, though I didn't finish any so far.
 
Personally, Im a huge sucker for like two hard-headed, capable, badass characters that hate each other have to suck up their rivalry for a mission
 
Very true. It’s easy to overlook that badass characters are often no less emotionally vulnerable than any other character would be under similar circumstances, and that kind of trope (Break The Badass, I believe) definitely serves to highlight that point and can be explored in a lot of creative ways.

One of the tropes I use most often is the Badass In Distress trope. which has some similarities to what you’ve described except that, instead of the Badass in question suffering an emotional breakdown (though such a breakdown can still be involved), the Badass is kidnapped or otherwise put in danger, requiring them to either wait for a rescue or simply break themselves out. BID needs to be handled carefully to avoid making the Badass look too weak (Badass Decay) or making the whole setup look too cheap (Distress Ball), but if handled well, it can really help explore how a Badass might deal with a genuinely sticky situation beyond their control, and/or give other less prominently badass characters a moment in the spotlight, among several other possibilities.

That, and it’s especially satisfying for me to write out the Badass proceeding to kick massive amounts of ass in retaliation upon being freed. :cool:


I feel like it also really gives a writer the chance to humanize the badass. It takes them from being this impenetrable being with no real weakness, and turns them into someone with real emotional depth. It always feels good to see the badass gain some depth and show some emotion
 
Badass anythings are pretty great. I also really like redemption arcs. A villain who becomes good is really fun to read/write because it's fun to watch them struggle to make the right decisions and grow as a character. Especially when it involves them making sacrifices.
 
I always liked the loud and the quiet trope, or the reserved and joker trope. Basically any characters that are the opposite of one another, and if they're well written characters with more traits than just being quiet/loud, it makes for a good trope.

I also like the red and blue duo = soul mates thing, I don't know what it is but the characters almost always blend so perfectly together.
 
I love love love writing trauma/catastrophic life altering experiences, the fall out, and the recovery (or not) at any stage. It's overdone, but I think when it's written well the behavioral pathology makes characters soooo interesting. I think it ties into my adoration for the 'whump' trope - give me wounded and hurting characters all day. Again, super overdone, but its all about execution. Either way, its a guilty pleasure.
 
I love the "Character in a strange new land" trope.
I think it's so fun to just watch someone be amazed at the simplest things and find joy in stuff others find mundane. It's great reading about someone finding their feet and figuring out how the world around them works.

My least favorite trope is probably the "genius MC" trope. Not because I mind the trope, really, but because it's so easy for people to write it poorly. It annoys me to no end when a character is talked up as some sort of super savant mega-brain, only for them to go around being a moron and only succeeding due to plot-armor. Or even worse, they succeed only because everyone else is even dumber than they are.

I think it hurts more because that trope can be so good when done right, but an author needs to be really on the ball to pull it off, and if they mess up it just makes the whole character fall flat.
 
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Saw this thread, had to post something. One of my weirder hobbies is that whenever I finish a series or book or movie or anime or whatever that I go to TVTropes to read all the tropes that were used.

My favorite one is probably Determinator. I absolutely love character who never give up and who stand up even after they've gotten the shit kicked out of them.

You could say that they....fill me with Determination ;3

....right I'll see myself out now >_>
 
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