From the desk of Julia Snrubs

Microtrope Mania

Written by Julia Snrubs | Mar 27, 2024 7:00:28 PM

Things are about to get mighty specific. Here's a list of microtropes in fantasy and romance that WE NEED MORE OF

  1.  Love interests bandaging each other's wounds (Crooked Kingdom, The Selection, Beauty and the Beast, Divergent, Star Wars)
  2. "Who did this to you?" (Shatter Me, Six of Crows, Divergent)
  3. Found family where they're all idiot teenagers but each member also sort of takes on the role of group mom/dad/youngest child/squabbling siblings/father and son thing (Rialta, Six of Crows, The Last Airbender, The Lunar Chronicles, Les Miserables, These Violent Delights, The Clone Wars)
  4. Only one bed (Daughter of the Pirate Queen, Cress)
  5. Sad tragic backstory man and his adopted child. Who's really adopting who at this point? (Mandalorian, Bad Batch, Batman, Les Miserables)
  6. Dagger to the throat (These Violent Delights, The Lunar Chronicles)
  7. Love interests where one is night/dark/black themed and one is day/light themed (Rialta, Shadow and Bone, Phantom of the Opera)
  8. Any kind of character that wears a mask and never takes it off (The Masked Queen, Phantom of the Opera, The Mandalorian)
  9. Characters becoming consumed/corrupted by their newfound superpowers (Shadow and Bone, X-Men, Star Wars)
  10. Female characters who are just besties and aren't in competition with each other (Rialta, Shadow and Bone, the Lunar Chronicles, Sense and Sensibility)
  11. Princess and bodyguard romance (The Lunar Chronicles- Winter, Tokyo Ever After)
  12. A character using their body to physically shield someone they love (ATLA, The Selection, Tokyo Ever After, Divergent, The Lunar Chronicles)
  13. Corruption arcs (Heartless, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Revenge of the Sith, Anna Karenina, Fairest)
  14. Redemption arcs that don't end in death (ATLA)
  15. Characters that slowly go insane (ATLA, The Yellow Wallpaper)
  16. Characters that are absolutely insane/crazy/chaotic but on the good guy's team (The Lunar Chronicles- Winter)
  17. Grumpy/sunshine pairings (Rialta, Six of Crows, the Lunar Chronicles- Wires and Nerve)
  18. Heists (Six of Crows)
  19. Nerdy tinkerer/engineer characters (ATLA, Shadow and Bone, The Lunar Chronicles- Cinder)
  20. Grumpy characters with a heart of gold (Rialta, The Bad Batch, Six of Crows, The Lunar Chronicles-Scarlet, Gone With The Wind)
  21. Lightning/electricity powers (The Red Queen, Shadow and Bone)
  22. The group of characters receive gifts that help them throughout the course of the journey (Narnia, Percy Jackson)
  23. Girl characters disguising themselves as boys so they can join the army/fight/whatever (Leviathan, Mulan)
  24. Couple battles, where their strengths perfectly compliment each other's and they're fiercely protective of the other, working together in tandem (Six of Crows, The Lunar Chronicles- Scarlet)
  25. Unlikely character pairings where two completely opposite people on the same team get sent to do a mission together (The Lunar Chronicles- Cress)
  26. Characters that have living parent(s) that actually care about them and parent the group (Rialta, Crooked Kingdom)
  27. The ADHD comic-relief best friend who is actually a valuable and capable member of the group (Rialta, Six of Crows, ATLA)
  28. Characters that go absolutely feral when their love interest is injured in battle (Six of Crows, Percy Jackson)
  29. Love interests where they can't physically touch due to trauma, superpowers, ect. (Shatter Me, Six of Crows, Elementals)
  30. Two characters who hate each other are forced to work together in order to survive (Six of Crows, Luke and Mara Jade)
  31. An almost-kiss (Pride and Prejudice movie, Shadow and Bone)
  32. Fake dating that turns real (Hunger Games, To All The Boys I Loved Before)
  33. Love interests sharing a room and one has a nightmare and the other comforts them (Hunger Games)
  34. Characters are forced to face their worst fears (Divergent, Shadow and Bone season 2)
  35. Slowburn characters that take forever to get together (Pride and Prejudice, Six of Crows)
  36. Rivals to lovers
  37. Idiots to lovers where they're both in love with each other but either don't realize it or they're too stubborn to admit it, but everyone knows (Rialta, Percy Jackson)
  38. When one character realizes they're in love with the other character and instead of being all giddy and joyful they're like DANG IT WHY THEM ARE YOU KIDDING ME
  39. Characters/love interests in a setting where it's life threateningly cold so they simply HAVE to cuddle for warmth (Six of Crows)
  40. One character is randomly an amazing/terrible cook (These Violent Delights)
  41. One character is amazingly good at some very specific and obscure skill that comes in handy at the most random of times, like lock picking, languages, ect.
  42. A character with a split personality, usually a good one and an evil one, and you see how they struggle with the two sides of them (Jekyll and Hyde, Daughter of the Pirate King, Venom)
  43. The group of characters have a specific hangout spot what they're at all the time (Friends)
  44. Enemy show up at the protagonists door injured with the "I have nowhere else to go" line
  45. Characters that struggle with addiction (Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom)
  46. Two characters that are already low-key attracted to each other accidentally being physically forced together (i.e. other characters bump into them, one falls and the other catches them, they have to work together in extremely close quarters, ect.) and they have a moment or two of extremely intense "are we about to kiss right now" vibes
  47. The Innkeeper/Tavern keeper™️ who knows all the tea and drops bits of information at pivotal points
  48. The extremely talented archer/sharpshooter/sniper whose abilities are practically supernatural (Six of Crows, The Bad Batch, Robin Hood)
  49. Best friends fall for each other but they don't want to ruin their friendship so they pretend it's nothing while they're each pining for the other person
  50. When the male love interest is just a pathetic sad loser boy (often either nerdy or emo) and the female love interest who is confident and capable and goes "ah yes, I want that one"
  51. Male love interest who chugs Respect Women juice and simps over his extremely awesome girlfriend (ATLA, Barbie)
  52. Masquerades (Rialta, Phantom of the Opera, Much Ado About Nothing)
  53. Villain and the hero are shown to be two sides of the same coin, where they had very similar upbringings or pasts or whatever but they each made a different choice for the same reason (Rialta, ATLA)
  54. Male love interest being completely (but respectfully) obsessed with the female love interest, who either begrudgingly tolerates it or even funnier, just hates it (Barbie, Pride and Prejudice)
  55. When the female love interest hurts her foot or something and can't walk and the male love interest carries her home bridal style. Bonus points if that's what makes them fall in love and they were complete strangers before (Sense and Sensibility)
  56. Any kind of dancing scene. Either they hate each other and are forced to dance, they're spies and they have to to not look suspicious, or one doesn't know how and the other teaches them, either way the tension is everything (Rialta, Pride and Prejudice, these Violent Delights, Emma)
  57. The usually blond male childhood best friend love interest cinnamon roll (Rialta, Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone)
  58. The usually dark-haired male bad boy mysterious brooding love interest (Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone)
  59. The usually redheaded or POC flirty charismatic loyal and sometimes rich love interest that always gets friend zoned but everyone in the fandom has a crush on them (Rialta, Hunger Games, Shadow and Bone)
  60. Male and female main characters don't fall in love but instead become good friends and that is all (ATLA)
  61. Characters that have a strict moral code and won't break it for anything, even if it means they have to fight their love interests who have chosen the wrong path or let people they love die in the interests of the greater good (Revenge of the Sith)
  62. A love triangle where two girls like the same guy but they become friends anyways and are positive and support each other without being jealous (Rialta, The Selection)
  63. Main characters that are kind, gentle, and forgiving to everyone, even the villains at times. But it's also hilarious if they have one very specific annoying random coworker who they absolutely CANNOT STAND
  64. Characters with disabilities that are still valuable to the group and awesome in general. For example, Toph is blind but an incredible fighter because of it (ATLA), Tech is almost definitely autistic but the group struggles without him (The Bad Batch), Kaz has a limp and PTSD but uses his cane as a weapon and is a great fighter and leader (Six of Crows), Professor X is in a wheelchair and one of the most powerful telepaths in the world (X-Men), Cress is born without the ability to use the Lunar gift of mind control but it also makes her immune (the Lunar Chronicles).
  65. The "not like other girls" character is legitimately not like other girls because they have weird hobbies like taxidermy or significant social difficulties, but they don't use that as an excuse to put other girls down
  66. Main character is forced to kill one of their friends because they're being mind controlled or it's a simulation or something (Divergent)
  67. Evil twins! Either an actual twin or a clone, and either they're on opposite sides or they're literally the evil version of them, but it's cool when the evil one pretends to be the good one to infiltrate the group and someone notices
  68. Characters dreaming about their love interest (Six of Crows)
  69. The villain literally begs the hero to join their side (Star Wars, Shadow and Bone)
  70. Character finds a old video/photo of a dead friend/love interest or their diary/something else significant to them and breaks down crying (A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes)
  71. "Take off your weapons" *character spends the next ten minutes unloading increasingly ridiculous weaponry*
  72. Side characters end up together, having the most wholesome b-plot romance in the entire series (The Office, Parks and Recreation)
  73. The villain has the hero at gunpoint/swordpoint, all seems lost, then BOOM the character you thought was dead or on the villains side saves the hero
  74. Heroic last stands, where the hero is willing to sacrifice themselves (or actually does it) in order to save everyone else (Avengers Endgame). Bonus points if the character making the sacrifice is considered the selfish or uncaring one
  75. A character doesn't realize they've been stabbed until everyone is celebrating and then pauses and looks at them in horror so the character looks down and realizes they're bleeding out
  76. A character pretending they haven't been stabbed or mortally injured until everyone else is safe and then they collapse and everyone freaks out
  77. "There's no way I'm doing *that thing*. Absolutely not" cut to, the character doing that exact thing (ATLA)
  78. "I know a guy that can help us" cut to that character doing the exact opposite, like losing a fight or blowing up something in a stealth mission
  79. When the love interests go on a date or the male love interest sees the female love interest for the first time coming down a staircase in a fancy dress and is totally starstruck (Rialta, Titanic)
  80. Character confesses their love for someone on their last breath before they die (Attack of the Clones)
  81. When the female main character has a breakdown or something and cuts her bangs terribly or dyes it a weird color or pierces her ears (ATLA)
  82. When the male love interest gives the female love interest a necklace and puts it on her for her (Rialta)
  83. Love interests riding on the same horse (Rialta)
  84. Main character's best friend(s) being a great wingman and doing everything they can to get the love interests together, even if it is a bit obvious (Rialta)
  85. When two characters are sparring or sword fighting or something and it gets a little intense and romantically charged (The Last Jedi)
  86. "Oh no, we're about to get caught, what do we do?" *characters smooch to make the guards uncomfortable and leave them alone* (Captain America The Winter Soldier)
  87. Sibling dynamics. Older brother and little sister, older sister and little brother, oldest/middle/youngest child. The bigger the age gap the more fun (The Bad Batch)
  88. Royalty and their servants/guards being besties. Gossiping with the maids, annoying the bodyguards, ect. but being fiercely protective of them (Rialta, The Selection)
  89. When character A is in jail and character B comes in to see them and character A is mad at them because they're the reason they're there and are mad they "betrayed them," but character B interrupts them with a kiss and uses the proximity to smuggle them a weapon or the key to the cell (The Lunar Chronicles- Scarlet)
  90. When the characters haven't seen each other since they were kids and now they're meeting again as adults and they have a OH NO HE'S HOT moment (Attack of the Clones)
  91. When the masked character finally makes off their mask for the first time and the main character is like OH NO HE'S HOT (The Force Awakens)
  92. Two characters are sitting next to each other on the couch or in a car/carriage or something and one falls asleep with their head on the other's shoulder (Rialta, The Office)
  93. Any kind of underwater kiss (Percy Jackson)
  94. When a character almost drowns and the other gives them mouth-to-mouth CPR (Hunger Games)
  95. The brooding grumpy character is stuck and becomes best friends with the friendly guy who won't leave them alone. Also known as grumpy/sunshine or black cat/golden retriever. (Rialta, Six of Crows, Shatter Me)
  96. Two brothers where the older one is blonde and muscly and popular and the other one has dark hair and is a skinny shark devious little freak (Thor and Loki, The Red Queen, Shatter Me)
  97. Two characters somewhere in the realm of enemies/lovers are linked somehow so they can project themselves to talk to the other person, usually discovering it accidentally (Siege and Storm, The Last Jedi)
  98. When one character loses their memory or is mind controlled or something and the main character is forced to fight them. Usually ends with a kiss (Shatter Me, Divergent) or the main character deciding they would rather die than kill the person (Divergent, The Winter Soldier)
  99. Sunshine character who has a positive outlook on life and is always bubbly and smiling and gets along with everyone and is extremely naive and trusting, only getting by thanks to their best friend/love interest who is the exact opposite but would do anything to protect them (Rialta, ATLA)
  100. The bubbly sunshine character who is actually an incredibly deadly fighter with zero remorse (ATLA)
  101. Hot tall athletic jock girl with short nerdy easily flustered boyfriend
  102. When a character comes from a wealthy and influential family that has secretly lost their fortune, but they're doing everything they can to keep up appearances and trick all their rich friends into thinking they're not dirt poor (A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, Crazy Rich Asians)
  103. Pulling the grumpy old fighter out of retirement for one last battle, or to teach them how to fight
  104. The character that grew up as an orphan on the streets so now has crazy street smarts and weird random useful skills and connections (Six of Crows)
  105. The character with street smarts but no book smarts teaming up with the character that has book smarts but no street smarts
  106. When the stoic and seemingly emotionless character in the group finally breaks down crying
  107. Characters who are smart on their own but the second they're together with their best friend they instantly lose all brain cells (ATLA)
  108. Two characters who only refer to each other by their last name/title finally calling them by their first name during a significant/emotional moment
  109. Flirty charismatic and confident character falling in love with the character who is completely unimpressed with all of that (Shatter Me)
  110. A character who is always flirty and confident and friendly and comic relief because they have the most tragic backstory of all that they're trying to hide (Shatter me)
  111. A couple breaks up because the guy is a loser, the girlfriend moves on and starts dating someone else, the guy works to become a better person and ends up friends with his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend (Venom, Ant-Man And The Wasp)
  112. The old happily married couple who sit on the porch and give great advice to the main character
  113. The mom friend and dad friend of the group falling in love, the other members of the group acting like their feral children
  114. Rich elegant sophisticated and beautiful character falls for the crazy chaotic goblin child who lives in the woods
  115. A group of criminals who has to save the world, bonus points if they hate each other at the beginning of the book but by the end are closer than family (Guardians of the Galaxy, Six of Crows)
  116. The weird/embarrassing backstory of a character comes out only when they're forced to reveal they have an extremely specific skill or contact
  117. Morally upright or religious character either befriending, working with, or falling in love (or all three) with the most chaotic godless trash can character (Six of Crows)
  118. Any kind of seedy cantina/tavern scene where they go to meet up with a mysterious contact and probably end up in a bar fight (The Book Of Boba Fett, A New Hope)
  119. Healthy sibling relationships who will smack the crap out of their sibling for being stupid but also would die for them. "I won't let them use my phone charger but I'd give them a kidney." (Rialta, ATLA)
  120. Any kind of hallway fight scene where it's one overpowered guy against an army and they look cool doing it (Rogue One, the Mandalorian)
  121. Chaotic and dramatic action scene pauses while the characters pile into an elevator, fight resumes as soon as the doors open with a ding
  122. Rich arrogant butthead character is stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere and learns humility with the people in the small town that help them (Cars, Thor)
  123. Potions that make you see your worst fear or fall in love with the first person you see or the next person you kiss. Or turn you into a llama (Emperor's New Groove, A Midsummer Night's Dream)
  124. A royal runs away from their kingdom and hides their identity to preserve their safety/the safety of those they love (ATLA)
  125.  Male love interest teaching the female love interest to fight or use their powers (Shatter Me, The Darkest Minds)
  126. Made-up fantasy holidays/celebrations/festivals that aren't anything like real holidays (Rialta)
  127. When characters explore an abandoned castle or church or something and they see old stained glass windows or murals that tell the world's history or explain what happened there (Percy Jackson show)
  128. When characters are playing chess/poker/some kind of lying or strategy game and you get to see more of their personalities and dynamics with each other (Rialta, Crazy Rich Asians)
  129. Two adult characters playing hide and seek with some kids, one wanted to play and the other was forced to, but they end up hiding in the same place and are whisper-arguing about who got there first and are eventually forced to shut up and hide together or they'll both lose
  130. Popular mean/intimidating girlfriend and their awkward nerdy boyfriend who they genuinely truly love
  131. Royal guards who don't WANT to be royal guards but are duty-bound in some way (The Lunar Chronicles- Winter)
  132. When the male love interest is injured so the female love interest has to take off his shirt to patch up his wounds up is super distracted at the same time (The Selection)
  133. When a character gets hurt and has to go to the hospital and the other character stays by their beside for hours/days not eating so they can be there when they wake up
  134. Characters bonding by playing stupid sleepover games like Truth or Dare, MASH, Hide and Seek, ect. (New Girl, The Penderwicks)
  135. When one character has a secret spot they like to visit and they finally show their love interest and tell them they're the first person they brought there
  136. Alternatively, when the one character has a secret spot they think no one knows about but when everyone can't find them and they went there to be alone, the love interest knows exactly where to find them because they know them so well (The Penderwicks)
  137. When the main couple isn't officially together yet but one catches the other staring at them and they kind of smile while the one staring blushes like crazy and pretends they weren't doing anything at all
  138. When the group is planning a mission or whatever and a character says they have a "contact on the inside" and that contact ends up being their ex gf/bf who hates their guts (The Rise of Skywalker)
  139. A character that 100% believes in mythical creatures and is dead serious even though no other characters think they're real. Bonus points if the mythical creatures in question literally don't exist in the world and are some kind of folklore like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Bonus bonus points if the one that believes in them is the practical or smart character
  140. "Oh. Oh." (Shatter Me, Rialta)
  141. Love interests arguing after one of them has started dating someone else and they finally break down and say "they're not you!" 
  142. When two characters who aren't together yet are arguing and in the heat of the moment one confesses their feelings
  143. "That's my wife!"
  144. Two characters are handcuffed to each other and have to escape
  145. Any kind of truth serum
  146. Characters singing to their friend/love interest as they die (Hunger Games)
  147. Characters idolized or valued for certain skills that they never wanted in the first place. A warrior that hates fighting, a child prodigy who had to grow up too fast, a ruthless leader who never wanted to be king, the chosen one who wanted a normal life (Shadow and Bone, Percy Jackson)
  148. A character's superpowers or abilities are slowly kill them whenever they use them
  149. Characters who sacrifice everything, even becoming the villain, just to save the people they love. Bonus points if they fail or the people they're trying to save turn against them (Revenge of the Sith)
  150. The established book couple and their third wheel who is friends with both of them since even before they started dating but now it would be weird if he wasn't there (Rialta, Six of Crows)
  151. Character couple dynamics where one is like "ooh you want to kiss me so bad" and the other one is pissed off because they're so annoying but they're also so right
  152. "Sweetheart" (derogatory) to "sweetheart" (affectionate). Or insert any other nickname here. (Empire Strikes Back)
  153. Characters that think they're edgy and dark and dangerous (which they are, to some degree) but  also are literally a dramatic teenager (Six of Crows, ATLA)
  154. Sad emotionally repressed character who lost their love interest/whole family learns to love again
  155. A character that grew up in war or was a soldier their whole life finally has to learn how to live in peace and find their new identity (Captain America, The Winter Soldier)
  156. One character is the sun the other is the moon (Rialta)
  157. One character is fire the other is water or ice (Rialta)
  158. The stoic character who always keeps their cool breaking and their eyes accidentally flick to the love interest/their weakness for ONE TINY INSTANT (Six of Crows)
  159. The stoic character keeping their cool while the love interest is in danger in order to save them but once they're safe they completely break down
  160. When the characters are at a ball or fancy party undercover and a fight breaks out so some characters take the opportunity to tear apart their fancy clothes while others freak out because this is the one nice thing they own and all the other partygoers are shrieking and running everywhere, maybe someone cuts down the chandelier for extra chaos or someone falls into a champagne tower or big cake
  161. A character who believes (accurately) that they are dangerous and everyone should be afraid of them and pushes everyone away but still longs for human connection
  162. A narrow rope or wood bridge swinging dangerously over a giant cliff (Shrek)
  163. Boy falls in love with girl who just beat him in a fight (Six of Crows, ATLA)
  164. Found family but they're all criminals and misfits and outcasts (Six of Crows, Avengers, Percy Jackson)
  165. Begrudging found family where there's the one guy who acts like he hates everyone and they won't just leave him alone but he really would die for any one of them (The Bad Batch, Six of Crows)
  166. When they use lightning powers to restart someone's heart (Avengers, Shadow and Bone)
  167. True Love's Kiss™️
  168. When the character is about to sacrifice themselves so they kiss the love interest for the first time right before they do it since they think they have nothing left to lose (Captain America)
  169. When a character kisses the love interest for the first time right before the dramatic sacrifice and then they DON'T die so now they have to come back and awkwardly deal with the consequences of their actions
  170. Any intimate, pivotal character-driven scene that takes place in a mundane or everyday setting, like a bathroom or the kitchen (Crooked Kingdom)
  171. When the love interests have different native languages/cultures/backgrounds so one secretly learns their language and practices when they're not around/learns about and participates in the culture's customs, like weddings/befriends their family and it just makes their s/o absolutely melt (Six of Crows, ATLA)
  172. Characters who have a Creature they've befriended and ride around on and come as a set (ATLA, How To Train Your Dragon)
  173. When one character is tasked to cause a distraction while the others complete a mission and they put their whole heart and soul into the performance. Or they accidentally blow something up and it actually causes way too big of a distraction and almost ruins the plan (Rialta)
  174. When a sick character coughs into a rag and when it comes away there's a little bit of blood. Bonus points if they know they're sick but they hide it from everyone because they don't want them to worry (but chances are they're probably going to collapse or die at some point)
  175. The seemingly mean female characters who are actually mean for a reason, such as a traumatic past, in order to maintain their power, they're the eldest child and were forced to be perfect, they have to do so to protect someone, ect. (Mean Girls, The Selection, Hunger Games)
  176. When a character that normally has glasses takes them off and the love interest is instantly more attracted to them (or alternatively, when they don't normally have glasses but they try them on and the love interest goes bonkers)
  177. Characters who are so self sacrificing that becomes their defining trait until they're basically suicidal and think that's the only way to become worth something (Iron Man)
  178. When a love interest is sick and has a fever/is coming out of anesthesia/drunk and they admit their feelings for the main character, which they may or may not remember doing when they wake up. Bonus points if they just lax on and on and on about how much they find the person attractive
  179. When the trusted ally betrays the main protagonist/antagonist, completely changing the story for everyone (Percy Jackson)
  180. When the characters are starving/dying of thirst and one refuses the food/water even though they're literally dying in order to give it to the other character so they can live instead (LHOTP: The Hard Winter)
  181. "You never returned my letters!" "You sent me letters?"
  182. Anything involving poison. Character builds up immunity that saves them at the perfect time. Character poisons their enemies and themselves but gives themselves the antidote later but there's still terrible consequences. Character thinks they're pregnant but that's not the real reason they're throwing up. Other characters go on a dramatic quest to find the antidote in time. (The Princess Bride, The Cruel Prince, Hunger Games, A Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, How To Train Your Dragon books)
  183. When Heart/Glue of the team keeps it together in front of the gang but then falls apart in private to their best friend/love interest/family member
  184. When the nicest/friendliest/favorite/most innocent member of the group is brainwashed and is actually dangerously powerful once they throw off all their inhibitions/fear of hurting others, and the team has to fight them without hurting them (The Winter Soldier)
  185. The sniper character who has to fight close-combat and losing because that's not their specialty, their teammate has to step in and save them
  186. The team is missing one member and they can hardly function without them, i.e. "so and so was our tech guy/explosives expert/strategist" (The Bad Batch)
  187. The one super sweet character finally snapping (Rialta, The Lego movie, The Lunar Chronicles)
  188. When two characters are running from the bad guys and get backed into a corner and the villain orders one of them to be kept alive so the character instantly holds them at knife point so they can both get away safely (ATLA)
  189. When the disinterested/serious love interest jokes with or flirts back with the character whose been crushing on them and they just stop functioning
  190. Characters that aren't romantically interested in each other sharing a bed out of necessity or comfort (like a nightmare, or just a sleepover) (Hunger Games)
  191. Characters teach each other how to dance. Bonus points if its the boy teaching the girl how to dance (or do something traditionally considered "girly") and the girl teach the boy how to fight (or some thing that's considered "manly") (Enola Holmes, ATLA, The Red Queen)
  192. When two characters in a group who have always had a complicated relationship are the only ones left so they mourn the others and take comfort in each other despite not having liked them in the first place, but they have no one else to turn to (The Bad Batch)
  193. The biological child and the student/learner of the parent adopt each other as siblings- the mentor and their two kids
  194. Two characters touching foreheads after a hug/kiss because they're so glad they're alive (Black Widow)
  195. Henchmen or guards that are just bored and only work here. They're just getting paid. This is their 9-5, they couldn't care less if the heroes take over or if they're on the right side or not (ATLA, The Mandalorian, Iron Man)
  196. Characters acting like an old married couple even though they're not dating yet. Similar to the idiots to lovers dynamic (Percy Jackson, Rialta)
  197. When a character is in disguise and they think they're being really slick and totally pulling it off but someone (maybe the love interest) sees through it right away. Maybe they call them out on it the instant they walk in the door, maybe they have a little fun first (The Cruel Prince, Much Ado About Nothing)
  198. The character everyone thinks is perfect and is idolized by the others and considered morally "right" and the loser narcissist character who points out all their mistakes but can't help but to stick by them despite knowing their flaws (Les Miserables)
  199. Pink girly social butterfly blondie and her introverted brunette realist tech-savvy best friend (Nancy Drew)
  200. Any kind of love interests under an umbrella scene (Miraculous Ladybug)

Did I miss any of your favorite tropes? Are there any books that use these tropes that I didn't mention? Let me know! I may do a part 2...

Autistically yours,

Julia