According to Wikipedia, a literary trope is “…the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works.”

Tropes can be overdone (*cough cough* Love Triangles *cough cough*). They can be lame. They can be ridiculous.

But…there are some tropes that I personally enjoy. And I’ll be the first one to admit that some of these tropes are silly and dumb, but just because they’re guilty pleasures doesn’t mean I’m not going to talk about them!

Let’s start with maybe the guiltiest trope on this list…

There was only one bed!!

There’s been sexual tension between two characters. Then maybe they’re running from some Big Bad thing and they’re finally able to get some rest.
Except…THERE’S ONLY ONE BED.
How these characters react to that situation might differ. Maybe someone will insist on sleeping on the floor…or maybe Person A tells Person B they don’t want to be alone and then they both lie there on the bed and stare awkwardly at the ceiling.

But when they first open the door and take it all in? When they start to panic about the situation they’re walking into? I eat it up.
And you never know, this could be the moment between characters who, until now, have been denying their feelings.

This trope also is equally entertaining if it’s turned around a bit. It’s just some friends traveling together and maybe they have to stop for the night. There can be an argument, or maybe they play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to sleep in the bed. Maybe Friend A has to sleep at the foot of the bed, or they make a wall of pillows between them.
Neither of them sleep well; they’re annoyed and uncomfortable. Person B snores too loudly and Person A is a blanket hog.

It’s just a fun trope!

Angry small, shy tall

Bonus points if the small is a red-head, for…some reason.

I like this one so much that it accidentally made its way into my work-in-progress, auburn hair and all.

Height differences in relationships are adorable. I don’t care if it’s a platonic relationship or a romantic one; it’s just cute. There are so many opportunities for dumb jokes and getting on each other’s nerves. The angry small can and will find ways to get the thing the shy tall is holding out of reach—and whose fault is it when it’s violent?

Plus when you have a shy tall, you get someone like Ned in Pushing Daisies and this adorableness —>

Sassy sidekick

Who doesn’t love a sassy character? And a sassy sidekick can be there to break some of the tension; they’re fun to have along for the ride, even if they don’t really further the plot too much.

Pascal in Tangled is super sassy even though he doesn’t talk.
Merry and Pippin fall into this category; it’s fair to say that they’re there for comic relief for a while. Later on, they definitely go on to do some pretty great things on their own.
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I think most of the characters could be considered the “sassy sidekick.”

But this trope isn’t perfect.
When the character only exists to be sarcastic and funny, it falls apart a bit for me. I want them to have their own motivations, their own arcs. If they’re so important to the main character (or the villain), I want to see why.

The sarcastic Bad Boy who actually does have feelings

Say it with me, friends.

Han Solo.

I could say more, but I’ll just leave you with some of my favorite GIFs of the man instead.

Whump

For those of you who might not know, whump is also referred to as a “hurt/comfort” trope. And it’s definitely a guilty pleasure of mine.

It often involves the strong, stoic character getting hurt and the other having to help them recover.
It can be absolutely ridiculous.
There’s a scene in the Ella Enchanted movie that comes to mind whenever I hear about whump. Prince Char hurts his arm defending Ella; he has this little scratch on his arm.

So what does he do?
The man takes his entire shirt off while she helps him fix it.
It’s ridiculous—but Hugh Dancy is pretty, so I’ll let it slide.
And where you can find whump, you can believe that “let me tear off a piece of my shirt for you to use as a bandage” isn’t far behind.

Peeta and Katniss also come to mind when I think about something whump. And while it’s all fun and games to read about, I wonder if it might be encouraging co-dependent relationships. 🤔

Friends-to-lovers

Keep your star-crossed lovers and enemies-to-lovers; I want good, old-fashioned friends-to-lovers. The “girl next door” who becomes your bestie, and then later on in life you realize you have feelings for her.

Think 13 going on 30, Chandler and Monica, or Ned and Chuck in Pushing Daisies. There’s something very sweet about all of the years of happy memories together and loving someone as they grow into the person they’re meant to be.
And that moment when they realize that their feelings have changed to something more than just friends? Oooh—I love it!
How do they react to it? Do they deny that that could possibly be true? Do they confide in a mutual friend? Are they super obvious about it so that everyone except Person B realizes it?

I. Love. It.

Mom friends

Would you go to them for advice?
Do they make sure you’re taken care of—even when you insist you’re fine?
Would they give you the shirt off their own back—and then tell you to go take a nap while they clean up?

Have you heard them say things like, “Have you eaten?”
“You need your sleep!”
“Drink water!”

Congratulations! You’ve found yourself a mom friend!

Mrs. Hudson on Sherlock. Steve Harrington (and Hopper) in Stranger Things. Rin from Blue Exorcist. Sypha from Castlevania.
This trope is sweet, and my favorite part is that sometimes it comes from characters you wouldn’t expect to be so nurturing.

I could go on, but we’d be here all day!

Tell me! What tropes do you like? Do you have any guilty pleasure tropes? (Don’t worry, I won’t tell!)