royal_musings | [MEME] The Trope Meme (open to all!)

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[MEME] The Trope Meme (open to all!)

[Shamelessly stolen from Bakerstreet's very own Trope Meme.]

The Trope Meme

Behind the cut is a list of common fanfiction and role playing tropes. What’s a trope? If we’re getting technical a literary trope is the use of figurative language. But in the case of this meme a trope is commonly recurring literary device or motif, a cliché. There’s a mix of fluffy, sexy, angsty and gen prompts in the list. Here’s how to play:

- Post with Your Character and any preferences from my character list (+

specification,

hotheaddick,

deceptiveparadox and others I might not have listed yet).
- List any preferences you have. Or list any tropes you absolutely refuse to play.
- Lets play out the tropes to our heart’s content!

Tropes

Accidental Baby Acquisition: One of the characters in your story, by means other than pregnancy or adoption, acquires a child. This could be because his or her parent was killed, or someone leaves the child on the doorstep, or any other plotline. The main idea is that the main characters have to band together to raise the child, even if it is only temporary.

Accidental Marriage: Two of the main characters, who may or may not already be in a romantic relationship, wake up and find that they are married. Often set in Las Vegas, and often there are mind-altering substances (alcohol, drugs) involved. The marriage may or may not be annulled by the end of the story.

Alpha/Beta/Omega: Alpha/Beta/Omega or Alpha/Omega (occasionally Alpha/Beta) is a kink trope where some or all people have defined biological roles based on a hierarchical system, with the terms originating from animal behaviour research. There may be werewolf, knotting, or other animalistic elements involved, or the characters may be otherwise purely human.

Amnesia: Giving a character amnesia is a popular fanfiction story trope. The amnesia is usually temporary with the cure and the aftermath as the climax of the story, but sometimes it is permanent.

Animal Transformation: Animal transformation is a fanfic trope in which one or more characters are transformed into an animal, or else an Alternate Universe story wherein the characters are cast as animals.

Bodyswap: Bodyswap is a plot device or story trope involving two (or more) characters switching their physical bodies by magical, scientific, mystical or unspecified means. The device is used in canon and fanfiction alike, and fanfic may expand upon canonical instances of bodyswap.

Celebratory Kiss: Two (or more) of the main characters kiss at the climax of some event. Often, the action is somewhat spontaneous, and the characters are not in a romantic relationship at the time. The kiss is often the impetuous for the characters to end up together.

Cross-dressing: Crossdressing refers to characters dressing as members of the "opposite" sex or gender. It is used comedically, as a plot device and as a kink, both sexualized and not, in fanworks and in canon.

Curtainfic/Domestic: Curtainfic is a term used to describe fan fiction that focuses on ordinary domestic situations (such as the characters in a romantic pairing shopping for curtains).

Day at the Beach: The main characters spend a day at the beach. This could be a vacation for one or two of them, or it could be a team-building exercise planned by a boss or administrator. Sometimes it is a planned excursion, other times, the characters decide to stay to soak up the sun after a mission or assignment that takes them to the beach.

De-aged: De-Aging is a story trope where adult characters are turned back into children or younger adults. The transformation can be fully physical and mental. It can also be a physical transformation that leaves the adult mind in a younger body; or the opposite, where the mind is reverted to a child-like state, but the body remains as is.

Fake Relationship: Pretend Couple is a trope found in all genres of fanworks. This trope includes all sorts of pretenses; marriages of convenience, undercover identities, investigations, financial schemes, immigration schemes, high school reunion dates, wedding dates, making someone jealous, and many others.

Fuck or Die: Fuck or Die is a fanfiction trope in which the author puts two or more characters into a situation that forces intimacy between them. Like many tropes it can be and often is combined with others such as sex pollen or Aliens Made Them Do It and Virginity Sacrifice. It can result in dub-con or non-con fanworks.

Handcuffed/Bound Together: Bound Together is a bonding trope in which two characters are chained together, psychically or physically, either through magical or technological means. The usual result (in ship fic) of all this one-on-one "bonding" time is that the characters either fall in love or realize they were in love all along.

Huddled for Warmth: Huddling for warmth or blanket fic is a trope that is generally found in both het and slash pairing-oriented fanfiction, and occasionally in some gen Hurt/Comfort. It is mainly used in order to maneuver two characters into a First Time. The advantages of putting your OTP into a "huddling for warmth" scenario are legion. The two characters are trapped in one place with no distractions, alone, and so their attention is focused entirely on each other. The tone of the story can range from fluffy to angsty.

In Vino Veritas: In Vino Veritas, or Confessions Under The Influence, is a trope in fic (which also occurs in canon), where under the influence of drink, drugs, truth serum, truth spell or the like, one character confesses to lust or love for another character. The character whom the confession is about is usually also present in the scene/being confessed to and is often less or not under the influence. A common trope is for the confessing character to forget their confession and the other character having to deal with this new knowledge without giving themselves away.

Kidfic: Kidfic is a sub-genre of fanfic that features children in some way. This may be as children of canon characters (whether they are a part of canon or original characters), sometimes known as next generation fic, the characters themselves as children, or the characters having been de-aged.

Kiss to Save the Day: For some reason, two (or more) of the main characters must kiss to save the day or one of their friends. The impetus could be a villain, or aliens, or some sort of illness to which the only cure is a kiss.

Mind Control: Mind control is a very popular trope in fanworks (and many canons).
In slash or ship fic that uses the trope, one part of the pairing is usually under the mental control of the other -- or is unable to resist orders from anyone, such as in Ella Enchanted AUs or fusions or "obedience curse" fics -- and the other part of the pairing figures this out and either helps the mindcontrolled character resist the urge to obey or takes advantage of them.

Poker/Strip Poker: The main characters play a card game, often poker, against one another. Sometimes it starts out at a friendly game, and eventually descends into a more competitive game of strip poker, sometimes it was originally about the nakedness. Often, mind-altering substances (alcohol and/or drugs) are involved.

Presumed Dead: A fanfiction trope in which a character appears to be dead, only to return later, alive and well. Comparable to a deathfic, only non-permanent, "presumed dead" stories often dwell on the emotional hurt/comfort, and sometimes the physical as well. Sometimes these are written as fix-it fics, resurrecting a character who dies in canon. In more reality-based fandoms, the character's death usually has been faked for various reasons, or otherwise mistaken; in fantasy and scifi fandoms sometimes the dead characters actually have expired, and are resurrected with magic or technology.

Rivals to Lovers: Two characters who were originally enemies or rivals fall in love. Their rivalry could have always been a cover for more tender feelings, or they could have been genuine enemies in which forced proximity showed them a better/softer side. There may or may not be a happy ending.

Road Trip: The characters must go on a long-distance trip in close proximity. There are any number of reasons for this, including a quest, mechanical failure of their original transport, or one of the characters (e.g. Tony Stark) thinks it will be a "good idea" or "fun." This then results in shenanigans or sex or both.

Secret Child: One of the characters is secretly a parent. They may or may not have custody of the child, especially if they have a dangerous job, and they may not have known about the child previous to the story. This includes stories where Character X is actually Character Y's son or daughter. Alternately, one of the characters may get pregnant and then disappear, thinking that her partner would not want the child, or fearful that some agency will kidnap the child once it's born. This trope is especially popular with brother/sister incest pairings, where it is called 'secret incest baby' (or sekrit incest baby).

Secret Relationship: Didn't know they were dating is a trope that shows up in ship-focused fanfiction. Often both parties are oblivious to the fact that everyone around them thinks they've been dating for some time. In other fics it may be that just one party is oblivious and the other party thinks they have been dating (just not putting out yet). In angstier versions of the trope, one party may be pining for the other, especially if they're having what one party (or both) thinks or pretends is casual, emotionally detached sex while the other party (or both) is secretly in love.

Sex Pollen: Sex Pollen is a common fanfiction trope used to bring two characters together in a sexual encounter. It involves one or several characters becoming infected with a pollen of some alien or magical plant, or they might be influenced in some other way (magic, alien technology, mind control, etc.) that causes them to lose inhibitions and/or revs up libido, usually resulting in non-con sex, which may lead to dramatic guilt and misunderstandings, or a resolution of UST.

Soul Bonding: In fanfiction and sometimes canon, a soulbond is a mystic or psychic bond between (usually) two people, who feel drawn to become devoted friends, or (more often) lovers. The bond may be something that brings them together, or something that results from their being together. It is usually portrayed as unbreakable and irresistible, a force that unites two people in a unique way. A soulbond can persist after the death of one or both partners, and through numerous reincarnations. It can be very similar to soulmates, which are two (or more) people who are always meant to be together.

Telepathy: A story in which one (or more) of the characters develops the ability to read thoughts. This ability could be limited to their love interest, or it could be more general. Mindmeld is a more specific form, in which both characters can read one another's thoughts. Depending on the needs of the story, it could require a physical link, and it could be temporary. It is named after the Vulcan Mind Meld in the Star Trek universe.

Truth or Dare: The main characters, often a whole team, play a game of truth or dare, or another game in which secrets are revealed, like "Never have I ever." Usually, mind altering substances (alcohol and/or drugs) are involved, and the situation is used to get two characters to admit romantic or sexual feelings for one another.

Wingfic: Wingfic is a fanfiction genre in which one or more human characters sprouts a pair of wings. Fanfic written for a fandom in which the character canonically has wings (e.g. Good Omens) is usually not considered wingfic. However, as a response to a surge of wingfic, a Good Omens writer came up with wingless fic, wherein canonically winged characters suddenly and inexplicably lose them. Wingfic can be whimsical, but it can also be much darker in tone.

[List taken from Trope Bingo, many definitions come from there as well.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Things were going well so far. That in itself should have been the tip off.

As it usually does, things changed in a split second.

The next thing Clarkie knew, he was being pushed further into the dark hallway while his instincts were telling him to duck and perservere. "And what about you," he asked, his voice louder than he had intended before heading toward this invisible (at least in the dark with normal human vision) door. It felt like forever had passed before he hit that door and twisted the doorknob, wrenching it open and running outside.

He wasn't leaving without Arthur though. He'd be damned if he left the man who had essentially save his life behind.

He knew what he had to do, and that was getting Eames out alive. At any cost. Not that he was planning to pay anything. Not of him or his blood.

Turning on heel, he disappeared into the dark. There were screams, men shouting, another handful of shots. There was the flash of muzzle fire, then silence.

A moment later Arthur burst out of the dark. His gaze was bloody, there was blood on his hands, but he was alive and well.

"Go! Come on," he snarled, grabbing Eames' arm and running.

He fully expected for Arthur to be right behind him but when it took longer for the other man (vampire, his mind oh so helpfully whispered to him) to emerge, he started to worry.

A little.

Then the shots came and that 'little' became something more than just a little worried.

In hindsight, he probably should have been a little more concerned by the bloody gaze and blood on his hands but the fact that Arthur was there and pulling his arm to run with him was all that Clarkie needed to know. Then they were running.

"We need to find a car," he said, after a few moments of running.

He nodded, not wasting time for words. Turning a corner, he tugged Eames with him. His strength seemed more, beyond what it had once been.

"Over here."

He found a large black truck, that was meant to be circumspect by some but made things more than obvious. It was what movies used for Feds, and that actually made Arthur a bit more suspicious.

"I'll drive," he snapped, coming off as more of a snarl. He'd healed Eames but he was vulnerable and probably confused and Arthur wasn't taking chances with his life. "Get in!"

Regardless of the situation surrounding him, he still felt oddly in tune to Arthur. He gave the black track a suspicious look before shooting it over at Arthur.

"Subtle innit," he asked before first trying the handle. He was in that weird space between being exhausted and exhilarated so bits and pieces of slang were slipping out more than he'd personally like. "Unless you've a better way, I'm breaking the window."

He laughed at that, moving into the driver's side. "Do it. No keys and I can hotwire the car," he admitted. "Come on. Hurry."

He knew they were running out of time and eventually there would be bullets flying again.

Clarkie turned away from the window and smashed his elbow through the glass to break it before sliding his hand in and unlocking the door. It took no time to get inside after brushing aside the glass from the seat and leans over to unlock the drivers side door.

"Lets get a move on then." Clarkie didn't want to stick around any longer than Arthur did.

Arthur popped his door the moment it opened, sliding into the car. Leaning over, he jerked on the wires, pulling the ones he wanted and jerking them free. All it took was a spark and...

The car roared to life. Immediately they were up and running and he slammed the car into gear. Stomping on the gas, they went racing along, the rear end fishtailing.

Clarkie just sat back in his seat and held onto the door as Arthur sped off as fast as the car could go. Thankfully before any more shots could be taken at the car before they left. After days of being in that place and making it out of there with everything changed.

Still, Clarkie could feel his entire body sink into the seat in relief. It wouldn't be until they were safe and sound elsewhere that he would fully relax but it was a good start.

For several long minutes, he didn't speak. While his mouth was quiet however, his brain was not and he was trying to process what all had happened in matter of minutes. He could still taste the metallic taste of blood on his tongue and swallowed reflexively.

Arthur's eyes stayed on the road. He slowed as they approached a residential neighborhood, considering their options. He kept his eyes open for a for sale sign, for somewhere they could ditch the car.

"Okay. Here." He pulled up. "Go," he said, pointing a house with a for sale sign. "In there. I'll ditch the car and be right back. Then you can ask anything you want."

Clarkie knew just what Arthur was considering when they rolled into a residential neighborhood and hardly bothered to argue the point when he stopped in front of a house that was clearly for sale.

He looked at the other man. "You ditch me and I will hunt you down," he said, if only to keep some sort of appearance. He studied the other man before opening the car door and heading to the house. He of course looked this way and that to make sure no one who was up at this house was at all aware of what was happening. It wasn't too long until Eames was inside the empty house, waiting for the point to return.

He shook his head. "I'll be right in," he swore, waiting for him to clear the car.

It wasn't that much further down the road when he found a canal. Taking a deep breath, he gunned the car as hard as he could. Waiting. Watching it rush toward the water. At the last minute he dove out, letting it shoot out into the water as his body went tumbling along the asphalt.

Picking himself up, he turned for the house. Moving faster than he should have, racing into the house, darting into the back door. "Eames," he called, seeking out the forger.

While Arthur had been out ditching the car, Clarkie had made his way inside and looked around for anything that would be of use inside the for sale home. Thankfully, it was the type that had furniture inside for the showings but otherwise, it was devoid of any sort of personal touches (as you would expect) and anything resembling real food or first aid kits.

"In here," Eames said from what he would presume was the sitting room or living room. He hadn't really expected for Arthur to ditch him, not after he had promised and swore that he would explain everything but still, it had been a fleeting thought.

He almost wished they were still in the car, still on the run. Then he wouldn't have to face this, see Eames' eyes as they talked about what he was, and the life he's led. What he is. Yet he came in, seeking out the other man as he came into the living room.

"Well, least we'll have beds," he offered, trying to do well and make light of it all. "Until they get here and we have to kill more." He wasn't a fan of killing, he really wasn't, but it wasn't going to stop him.

Arthur wasn't the only one who wished they were still on the run, still in the not-so-subtle car, driving off to somewhere (preferably someplace with alcohol) but they weren't and there wasn't any in sight. He looked over at Arthur when he walked in, giving him a short nod. "More than what we've had for a few days."

"Someone might be coming by for a showing, may need to hit the road by morning or evening at least." He wasn't a huge fan of killing but if the situation called for it, he would do it.

"Might as well settle in," he motioned to the couch and chairs surrounding the biggest feature of the living room, the fireplace. "And you can explain to me what the hell just happened."

Arthur nodded, beginning to check drawers and cabinets, see what they might find. He was quiet, careful, moving through the room with a careful step. He paused, turning to look at Eames. He could think of a lot of lies but suddenly he didn't want to give him more lies. He wanted to tell him what he waned to know.

"I... You know what happened, Eames. Or you could guess with what you know about me and my schedule. Many years ago I met a beautiful woman during the course of a case. I was a private investigator then. She took a fancy to me, and when she decided to move on she gave me what she saw as a gift. That was at the turn of the century."

On the other hand, perhaps sitting on a near spotless couch with clothes that were dirty with dirt and dried blood wasn't the best idea. Instead, Clarkie rest his shoulder against the a wall and watched Arthur with an intense look as though trying to figure him out. Then he talked.

Afterward, he wished he had a cigarette or toothpick or something to keep his mouth or hands busy. "You look good for someone who is a little over a hundred," he said.

It was one of the first things on his mind other than the clear obvious, but never the less true:

Arthur was a vampire.

Clarkie had drank Arthur's blood.

He felt absolutely no lingering effects of their time spent in that place.

Despite himself, Arthur chuckled softly. "I was... Nearly thirty the winter it happened. Just shy of my birthday, actually." And he thought about that every year but he never celebrated.

"It has advantages, of course. I can devote myself fully to my job and so long as I avoid direct and prolonged sun exposure there is little to stop me from wholly putting myself into dream shares. The downsides are many though. Including losing what friends I might allow myself to make. I don't often let myself find friends."

He stepped closer to Eames. "One of the advantages is what I did for you today. It means I can save people I care about. The downside is that if you die with the blood still in you, then you become like me. So try and stay alive, won't you?"

"That is one special birthday present," he commented mildly.

He watched Arthur's face as he explained the benefits and the downsides of being what he was. "Does this mean then that you may just consider me a friend," he asked teasingly before he could truly stop himself. He considered the point as close to a friend as he could for going through what he had with him.

Clarkie felt his lips curl up. "People you care about, hm? Well, I assure you - I have no plans on dying now, thank you." He stood silent for a long second. "What else happens after you share blood with someone, in your case. Other than saving them, that is. Anything?" He wanted to be aware of anything else that may happen until the blood got out of his system.

"You call it special. I'm not sure I can do that. Not with all I've been through." He'd lost too much, including of himself in trying to stay apart from the world so that he didn't hurt others.

"It means I consider you someone I don't want to lose yet," he said softly, almost shyly. "You're important to the life I have now, the one I want. Is that enough," he added in a small voice. Painfully shy in his social dealings and now nervous about how this might change things between them.

"There is often a... connection. A heightening of the senses between the two. It is an intimate act, after all. Especially to some," he added, looking anywhere but at Eames.

Clarkie hadn't been completely serious when he said it had been a special birthday present. He could only truly imagine how much of Arthur's life had changed as a result.

He was, admittedly, a little surprised by Arthur's admission and the urge to wrap his arms around the point man as a response. "No, darling," he said, instead, watching him with an almost fonder look. "That's enough."

It was. It was enough to know that Arthur wanted to keep him around for a little longer and he was charmed at the fact that one of the best point men around was, dare he say it, shy around him.

The part about the connection and heightened senses caught him a bit off guard. Clarkie blinked. "To you," he asked, not able to help it.

The last hour was, quite frankly a blur but he had remembered those moments in which he almost hadn't wanted to stop sucking on Arthur's wrists. He wondered what it had felt like for Arthur, on the other end of it.

He hasn't made these kind of admissions for years. Not to anyone. Now that he was opening him emotionally to Clarkie, he couldn't bring himself not to keep it all quiet. So instead he took a deep, unneeded breath and tried to keep going on.

"The connection is... Yes, it's to me. You can feel it if you try. Since it was a moment of close to death, and you were closer to death than I thought until I gave you that blood, then you may feel it well. A bit of connection between us both like a cord between us. If you closed your eyes, you could feel it. But I wouldn't do that."

He rushed to say the words, voice tightening. "It's a feeling many enjoy and they never want to let it go. They seek it out and if the one they want can't help them, then they seek out others. I don't want that from you or for you."

The thought of Eames going to another for blood taking made him straightening, wanting to attack someone just at the thought of it. "I'll watch you, make sure you're safe, and make sure you don't end up like this."

Clarkie watched Arthur as he spoke. He watched all the little minute motions he made as he talked and explained what happened, what it meant and what it changed between them. He heard the tightness of Arthur's words as he spoke about how others felt about letting someone bite them or wanting to suck on someone else's blood and... what was that? He was sure he could see something flair up in those piercing brown eyes of his.

He exhaled a breath, almost feeling the need to sit down but he resisted for the moment. If he sat down, he wasn't sure he'd want to stand up for a half dozen hours as everything caught up to him. "So, there are those who like it when vampires bite them and those who also enjoy being fed..." he asked, an eyebrow raising a little. In books and movies, he'd seen more of the humans who enjoyed being fed from so it was interesting to be on the other side of that.

It was perhaps telling that that was the first thing he asked. Not how long the connection between them would last or what sort of things they could feel from one another. He was pretty certain he had felt some kind of wave of possession when Arthur visibly straightened.

Clarkie lifted a hand and slid it through his hair, grimacing at the dirt caked in it. It wasn't the dirtiest that he's been but it's among the worst. "How long does this connection usually last?"

It was a lot to take in, a lot to digest what had happened not only over the last few days but the last few hours as well.

Arthur wished he had the right answers. He wished he could tell Clarkie it would be okay and that there was no reasons to worry. Yet he couldn't tell him that. If he was killed before this cleared, then he would become a vampire. He hated the idea of doing that to another, especially one whom he's enjoyed the company of like they have.

"There are actually clubs for those that want lives like that. Vampires who keep pets, others that offer themselves. I've never been a fan of them. I keep track of how often I need to feed and find those that are willing but don't live the lifestyle." He was never sure why they stayed with such a life, and wouldn't risk it wasn't willing and rather was desperation.

"Until it leaves your system. The more you push the blood through your system, the faster it goes through. Exercise. Food. You could sleep and let it pass without feeling it. What would you like to do," he asked, trying to stay tense and not reach out mentally to try and feel that connection. He was rather eager just to feel it, to pull it into him. To feel that vivacious nature that was all Eames.

"So some novels and books got it right then," he asked, then finished the thought, "that's a surprise." Clarkie brought a hand up to his mouth to bite on his cuticle. The action was pure impulse when he didn't have much else to occupy his hands or mouth when he had a lot on his mind. It helped him think. In this case, it helped him think of what Arthur was saying and what it meant to him in the long term.

He nodded. There was a part of him, that curious part of him, that wanted to reach out and feel the connection, feel that bond with the point man. He could... it was like he could almost taste it right there in the back of his mind. But he resisted for the time being and brought his hand back down to his side.

"All of that and more," he said, looking at Arthur. "Other than the blood, I haven't eaten anything in two... three days? And you -- are you...?" Hungry? Needing anything? Not that Clarkie could exactly offer up anything since Arthur had to basically feed him in order to survive the night.

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