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Also there do exist strictly subjective tropes,
which are not featured here nor allowed on this wiki
| GUIDE |
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| #A · #B · #C · #D · #E · #F · #G · #H · #I · #J · #L · #M · #N · #O · #P · #R · #S · #T · #U · #W · #Y · #Z |
A
- Aborted Declaration of Love
- A planned declaration which the character ultimately decides against, in the work.
B
- Battle Couple
- Badasses who fight together, stay together
- Because Destiny Says So
- Choosing to believe something 'fated' is the inevitable truth
- Beleaguered Childhood Friend
- You help out an old friend who turns out to be guilty/not who they were
- Belligerent Sexual Tension
- They fight so much a possible romance is kept at bay
- Beta Couple
- Secondary couple to the primary couple of a story
- Better as Friends
- A couple decides their relationship is better off being platonic
- Big Bad Friend
- Your good friend turns out to be the Big Bad, but doesn't want to harm you
- The Big Damn Kiss
- Epic kissing scene
- Birds of a Feather
- Similar people in a relationship
C
- Cannot Spit It Out
- Can't tell you how I really feel
- Chastity Couple
- Together, but not physically intimate
- Childhood Friend Romance
- We grew up together, but then we get older and we fall in love.
- Childhood Marriage Promise
- We're kids and they ask me to marry them and I promise that I will when we grow up
- Common Law Marriage
- They're "married", just not legally
- Conflicting Loyalty
- Choosing one over the other
D
- Dating Catwoman
- A character is in a relationship with an antagonist/former antagonist
- Declaration of Protection
- When the hero's first priority at all times is the protection of 1 person
- Derailing Love Interests
- When a character suddenly becomes OOC in order for writers to break up their (potential) relationship, so their SO can be paired with someone else/someone else can seem like the only option in comparison, 'without backlash'
- Devoted to You
- One character is completely devoted to the other.
- Divine Date
- Dating a god or godlike being
- Doppelganger Dating
- Character is dating someone who looks a lot like another character.
E
- Enemies To Lovers
- "Started from the bottom now we here"
- Enemy Mine
- "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"
F
- Fake-Out Make-Out
- "They're coming this way, quick, kiss me so they won't suspect anything!"
- Fire-Forged Friends
- We didn't like/know each other, then we went through hell and now we're close
- First Girl Wins
- The first love interest introduced in the work is the character's endgame
- Foe Romance Subtext
- In the work enemies have discussions/moments written as romantic ones would be, even though there is nothing romantic about the relationship in question
- Fourth Date Marriage
- We only just met — let's get married!
- A Friend in Need
- Standing by a friend through adversity
G
- Go Through Me
- "If you want them, you have to go through me/us"
- God Couple
- God-like characters get together
H
- Happily Married
- Get married, and are happy together
- Heroes Want Redheads
- Both James and Harry Potter, with Lily Evans and Ginny Weasley, respectively
- Heterosexual Life Partners
- We're not in love, but we put each other before anyone/anything else. Eg. Stucky
- Hug and Comment
- "Did you shower this month"
I
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship
- Either they're not interested or they're scared of losing the person altogether if they should break up
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
- Because I can't be with them, I send them into someone else's arms
- If It's You It's Okay
- Normally attracted to one gender, but someone of the other gender is the exception.
- Interrupted Declaration of Love
- I was just about to tell you how I feel and then a meteor hits earth!
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies
- We can't be together because they would kill you, but you may not even know my secret identity
J
- Just Friends
- "Oh, no we're just friends"
K
L
- Last Girl Wins
- The character's endgame is the last love interest introduced
- Last-Minute Hookup
- They finally got together! And then the story ended
- Like an Old Married Couple
- The Bickersons, who aren't in a relationship... yet
- Lip-Lock Sun-Block
- Kiss in front of a light source to amplify the mood
- Living with the Villain
- Or the villain's a colleague, classmate etc. — in close proximity, but you don't know their true identity
- Lookalike Lovers
- A romance where the characters look similar
- The Lost Lenore
- One of the character's was the love of another but died, and the other is still mourning them.
- Love Across Battlelines
- We are from opposite sides, but together, and have to deal with the outside world possibly not approving
- Love Cannot Overcome
- Something supernatural in your life is too much for your love
- Love Redeems
- Villain falls in love and turns good
M
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl
- Someone comes into a character's life and lights it up with sparkly colours the character has never seen before!, but this new person lacks any substantial characterization
- Married to the Job
- Which leads to friction and sometimes break-ups/divorce
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life
- The hero has to leave their dates/show up later or never, and can never provide a proper explanation because of their secret identity.
- May-December Romance
- Relationship where one is much older than the other
- My Sister Is Off-Limits
- gender neutral
N
- New Old Flame
- Romance, where a new character shows up and is the hero's long lost love/old flame
- Nobody Thinks It Will Work
- Two different people together, [title] but they do. Eg. Dharma & Greg
- Now or Never Kiss
- We might die, so we share our first kiss
- Not So Different
- "We're not so different after all, you and I"
O
- Odd Friendship
- Harold & Maude
- Official Couple
- When a relationship is made canon in the work.
- One True Love
- Works where it is expressly and continually stated that this is a character/characters' true love, destiny etc. Eg. Jafael
- Our Love Is Different
- "They may have been a player, but what we have is different"
- Outlaw Couple
- Criminals in love
P
- Pair the Smart Ones
- The academics/genii/scientists/bookworms etc., eg. Science Boyfriends
- Pair the Spares
- Two characters respectively pursued two people who are now a couple. So, the two characters who didn't win their heart's desire, get together instead
R
- Reckless Sidekick
- The hero takes on a protégé/mentee, and gets exasperated when the sidekick doesn't exactly follow orders/wrecks missions.
- Reformed but Rejected
- "How do I know you're not still evil?!"
- Relationship Revolving Door
- We're in a relationship, now we're not, we're in a relationship, now we're not, we're in a relationship, now we're not etc.
- Romantic False Lead
- A relationship which ends up being "just" an obstacle for the "official couple" to happen
- Ruling Couple
- Rulers in a relationship (royalty etc.)
S
- Screw Destiny
- Despite a foretelling, a character makes a free will choice
- Second Love
- A character gets over a death/break-up with their first love and finds love again
- Secret Relationship
- ♫ Nobody knows it ♫
- A Shared Suffering
- The person who shares your experience, when nobody else can understand
- She Is Not My Girlfriend
- ...but everyone thinks so
T
- Temporary Break Up
- They break up but get back together fairly quickly.
- Third Option Love Interest
- Resolution to a love triangle: a character begins a relationship with a third person
- Triang Relations
- Multiple varieties of intricate love dynamics between 3 or more people. Includes 13 common trope versions.
- True Companions
- More than friendship, they are like family
- True Love Is Exceptional
- People look for and date a certain 'type'/'ideal' and then end up with someone who's very different from that, which they didn't expect
U
- Understanding Boyfriend
- In spite of the gendered name, all significant others who accept and support their love's otherworldly nature/powers and superhero responsibilities
- Unholy Matrimony
- Villains who are a team and in love
V
W
Y
- You Are Not Alone
- Making someone feel better
- You Are Worth Hell
- Can't save you, so am joining your fate
- You Can't Fight Fate
- Something prophesied comes true
- Young Love Versus Old Hate
- Their older relatives feud, while they love/find a peaceful solution/advocate for peace
Z
- Zip Me Up
- Ooh lala