Romance
In this trope, two characters who initially can’t stand each other eventually fall in love, often due to circumstances that push them together.
What is enemies to lovers?
This is a narrative device in which a significant amount of time passes, without detailing what occurred in that time.
What is a time skip?
A character who is unrealistically perfect and lacking in meaningful flaws. Usually female.
What is a Mary Sue / Gary Stu?
Characters experiencing the loss or suppression of memories due to a traumatic event.
What are repressed memories?
This happens when a character directly addresses the audience or the fictional nature of their world.
What is breaking the fourth wall?
In this trope, two characters are forced to be in close quarters due to unfavorable circumstances, often leading to tension.
What is forced proximity?
A literary device in which an author hints at future events in the story, often to create anticipation or suspense.
What is foreshadowing?
A character destined for a usually heroic purpose due to lineage, gifts, or destiny.
What is the chosen one?
A protagonist who, despite their nobility and moral standing, experiences a downfall due to a flaw or combination of them, often leading to suffering or death.
What is a tragic hero?
A cartoonish trope in which the packaging of a product is either significantly larger or smaller than the object itself.
What is a misleading package size?
In this trope, two characters act as though they were in a relationship, and fall for each other along the way.
What is fake dating?
A plot device in which a seemingly unsolvable problem is solved by an improbable, although convenient intervention.
What is a deus ex machina?
This is described as a young, quirky woman who is the romantic interest for a male protagonist.
What is a manic pixie dream girl?
This tragic trope occurs when a hero has been making a consistent to help a villain turn from their ways, but stops trying.
What is the "beyond redemption" trope?
This line is said in situations where one character is venting their frustrations about someone to another character, unaware that the person they are talking about is nearby.
"Erm..he's right behind me, isn't he?"
This angsty trope features two individuals who's love story is forced to end in tragedy.
What are doomed lovers?
A literary device used to mislead and deceive the audience.
What is a red herring?
A trusted companion to the protagonist of the story, often contrasting them in personality or skills.
What is a lancer?
A character that dies early in the story, but continues to influence the plot and the lives of other characters even after their death.
What is a posthumous character?
A trope in which two (usually animal) characters are on the opposite spectrum of anthropomorphism at the same time.
What is furry confusion?
This trope revolves around the idea that two characters are meant to be together, involving elements of fate and destiny.
Soulmates
A narrative principle emphasizing that every element introduced in a story must have a purpose.
What is Chekov's gun?
A character who is initially unwilling to take on heroic actions, usually due to a preference for an ordinary life, or doubt in their abilities.
What is a reluctant hero?
A (usually) hallucination-induced representation of the unconscious mind of a character, where all their negative feelings dwell and fester.
What is a black bug room?
A joke in which the punchline is delayed and only comes back when you least expect it.
What is a brick joke?