...AKA my latest attempt to start a trope discussion topic that doesn't devolve into different mutations of the same responses. ^^;
This thread is for discussing tropes you DO appreciate, but DON'T fully understand or utilize well in your own work. What aspects of these tropes do you think you're missing, or what aspects tend to clash with your usual character types or subject matter? What makes you want to use these tropes in the first place?
I'll start:
The Power of Friendship
I think "because reasons" justifications for plot/conflict resolution just feel cheap and lazy to me. In my mind, "because my friends are here" is no different from "because my sword has the ultimate power". =/ Like, friends are people, they can do things; why not make their actions help you towards victory, rather than just their existence...?
HOWEVER-- I do think the symbolic implications of this trope in particular are valid, and make it worth using regardless. ^^ Having people who believe in you and care about you in existence IS a powerful thing all by itself, and a giant hissatsu laser beam is just a way to represent that. And if you use this trope at key points in the plot, to emphasize the bond between the MCs at pivotal moments in their lives (rather than every single time they encounter any problem, no matter how trivial...) I can see it feeling satisfying and appropriate, even in stories for older viewers. I'd like to try to do that someday.
Love at First Sight
This trope actually becomes 1000% more acceptable and fun when you stop pretending it has anything to do with 'destiny' or 'soulmates' and see it for exactly what it is: an unfounded, impulsive decision to love and care for a perfect stranger, and where that can lead.
I've done it just once, AND it ended up coinciding a lot of other commonly-icky romance tropes ('childhood friends to lovers', 'Change Her Mind', 'idiot guy x smart girl', 'damsel in distress') and yet it was probably the most fun I've ever had with any pair of romantic leads. ^^
Of course, I never actually finished either of the stories chronicling their relationship...possibly because it was a little too easy to write for them. ^^; I want to try again someday, though, if only to prove that caring, complex characters with a sense of humor can save even the worst romance tropes.
Talk no Jutsu
"Why would anyone actually WANT to use this trope", you ask. For stories involving stupid conflicts, I answer. ^^
I think if I were actually a professional TV writer, I would specialize in writing for cartoons, because I actually really like to write stupid stories about stupid things involving stupid people. When I'm not working on giant fantasy plots about psychological torment and moral ambiguity, that's how I relax. :9
I don't use this trope (i.e. an antagonist is doing bad things and the protagonists have to confront them...only to resolve the conflict super-easily by simply telling them 'stop, that's bad') as often as I should, though. Probably because I also like slapstick, and I'd rather have the unnecessary fight happen anyway. XD But I think this would probably be better in more 'wholesome-stupid' fare where the protagonists are more peaceful, and the antagonists don't mean any real harm.
Mean Girls
This often comes up when discussing the 'not like other girls' trope, where the natural enemy of a not-like-other-girl is a bratty, privileged, popular girl with perfect makeup and all the other stereotypical feminine traits, who exemplifies what's wrong with 'other girls'.
The obvious conclusion is that neither trope should exist, but...I actually think 'mean girls' are a fun evil caricature to work with, and more people should take advantage of it. ^^
Like, they have a great aesthetic: they're polished and pretty and pink and sparkly and file their nails and talk on the phone...they're meant to look harmless and delicate, like the pinnacle of 'weak femininity', unwilling to do anything that might mess up their hair...and yet they have the darkest, cruelest hearts of anyone in the cast. They are the ones everyone else fears. Doesn't that sound fun?? 8D
I've got...3 characters like this so far. And 2 out of 3 I haven't even drawn yet, let alone written. But they're fun to think about and work on...what distinguishes a 'mean girl' from the traditional 'femme fatale', at least for me, is that a 'mean girl' is all about the shallow aesthetic.
They don't invest large amounts of time and energy into a single target; they don't bother with any seductive tactics that take longer than half a second, because they just don't care that much. ^^; They just want to destroy some lives and then go shopping...so they're more willing to do things like recruiting henchmen or taking impulsive, violent action just to quickly get rid of potential problems.
What's more, they're pretty and perfect because that's how they like to look, not necessarily to strategically attract others...which in my mind makes them feel like a more empowering concept than femme fatales. ^^ I have a feeling I'll be writing a lot of these girls in the future.