Micro-Tropes…
You saw it coming a mile away! The Female Villain (FV) clenches that wine glass a little too hard, in the next scene she’s throwing on the FMC’s dress. They argue by the pool, someone’s going in.
These are my “Micro-Tropes” not the bigger story line/plot tropes, but the smaller ones that make you start to smile or roll your eyes. Here is my ever growing list :)
Can't recognize a person wearing a wig-In Found You, Heart Thief, Mark Vega’s character Luke can’t recognize the LOVE OF HIS LIFE when she takes off the wig and wears her natural hair and bangs, LOL. And this isn’t a drunken night and now I can’t recognize her it’s an ongoing relationship and still, nothing.
Hiding together in a shower or bathtub from a snoopy person-Ahh, a classic. The FV/Bully has tricked the FMC into entering the men’s locker room of the MMC’s bedroom and when the bully arrives to “catch” her, she hides with him in his shower. He always confronts the bully and shoos them away, but before they leave, someone in their group has the guts to look under the shower curtain revealing only ONE set of legs…cause just in the knick of time the MMC has lifted her into his arms to prevent her from being seen. It would be hilarious if it was the other way around though and the FMC had to give the MMC a piggyback ride to prevent detection.
If he's drugged they fuck, if they're both drugged they fuck, if just she is drugged he puts her into the shower/tub to cool down-This one still needs some work, because sometimes when she’s the only one drugged they do fuck. It would be really nice if Verticals could do away with drugging people all together. It’s a ridiculous premise to begin with. And it irks me the Villains always just have their drugs on their person ready to go without a sketchy buy from some creepy dude in an alley. Or is that just how my born in the 1900’s brain thinks drug buys go, LOL. Anway, drugged sex is rape. Sex without consent is rape, gender doesn’t matter. No consent = RAPE.
The towel drop-They crash into each other and the towel is ripped from his barely clenched hands into a full monty flash right before her shocked eyes. I mean, I don’t hate it. I will say BONUS POINTS when he or she replies with a “like what you see?” followed by a smirk.
Going away to where her Ex will never find her-These are so dumb, just move out of the house Sheila. The “joining a secret program” trope is so silly along with “once you enter the program, Sheila Jones will no longer exist.”
Needing to wait x-number of days before leaving-Girl, get a hotel room. This one is often paired with #5, but it’s so dumb. “Marcus, I’m leaving in 3 more days.” Girl, he is shit today and in 3 more days he’ll be more shit. Just make a choice and LEAVE, don’t wait, go. Some survivors of DV will tell you the waiting between deciding to leave and waiting for the right time are the most dangerous. Now, I am not a DV expert so I’m not going to tell someone what they are doing to SURVIVE is wrong and these are Vertical Dramas and not at all serious, but I hate the “wait” to go. JUST GO!
Divorce processes as quickly as a marriage license-Hahahahah, they are literally divorced and remarried on the same day. That is so not a US thing. I just looked it up, it’s not a China thing either. It looks like both in China and the US, the soonest is 30-days. This is one thing that always makes me role my eyes every single time. It’s been 7 minutes since I signed my name to divorce my husband, hey, you there, marry me? I am a secret wealthy heiress pretending to be average, so I’m sure it will work out just fine!
Not being able to recognize a person because they are wearing a mask-And usually it’s a lace or half mask…Or they think that a lace mask will be enough to hide their identity, LOL. Sure thing! Caged by His Twisted Love I’m looking at you!
FV drugging the FMC but she's saved by the MMC-Again, drugs, not a fan. In this one the FV is intent on setting up the FMC usually to try and end her relationship with the MMC once he sees evidence of what a hoochy the FMC is. Instead the MMC is able to catch her before she gets drugged or immediately after and rescue her from whatever horrors the FV has set up.
FV drugging the FMC but the FV is drugged herself-In this one the FV is working just like she is in #9, but somehow she ends up getting drugged by her own drugs or someone else she hadn’t intended on drugging gets drugged and makes uncontrolled advances on her.
Having sensitive conversations loudly where villains are lurking and listening-Ugh, anytime they talk about their “secret” I’m always looking for who’s listening in? The ex-husband? The FV? The MMC’s brother trying to steal the company that you can only inherit by being married and expecting a baby? LOL, like have this SENSITIVE conversation in the shower with the water running and music playing.
Not being able to recognize a person because they are wearing sunglasses-LOL, this one made me laugh, because sunglasses, but yeah, in Love by Contract, two fighting sisters didn’t recognize each other because they were wearing sunglasses.
She slips and he will catch her-Okay, one time in a story? Cute. Two times? Eye Roll. More than that? Ridiculous. I can’t remember which one I was watching, but she tripped and fell so many times it was like she just turned in her tail and got herself some legs. I half expected her to comb her hair with her fork. Oh yeah, I think it was Marry Again My Billionaire Ex. I remember her slipping being excessive because I watched it on Pine Drama and each episode’s comments were about yet another fall, LOL.
Someone is falling into that pool-There is no reason for anyone to argue next to a pool in a Vertical unless someone is going to fall into it, LOL.
Mistaking a sibling for a lover-This happens all the time in the larger overarching tropes #7 and #8. The FMC has given up their entire lives to protect their one true love’s fragile ego from being more wealthy, powerful, connected, etc and when they finally leave, the FMC’s brother swoops in to cottonball his sister and is instead mistaken for her lover because she portrayed herself as an orphan in order to marry without her family interfering. Sometimes these stories are also part of the mistaken identity trope #6. Mom/sister/cousin is arriving to celebrate the marriage/engagement of a son/brother/cousin and is misidentified as the MMC’s lover instead of family. The FV is abusive and cruel to the FMC until after about 40 episodes she’s finally identified and saved. Not one of my favorite story lines at all.
Security guard or executive doesn't recognize the boss-These show the most whenever there is a banquet or a gala. She has an invite or she’s literally the guest of honor or company owner and one comments from the Villains and suddenly they won’t let her in. They often call the mid-level executive that is new or has never seen the returning boss before and join in on the verbal abuse with the Villains and will try to bar the MCs from entering.
Genius/Top of their field but it's a SECRET from their SO-This shows up in online novels as well, that in the 5 years they were married and he was gone she became the world’s most premier surgeon, then gave it up for him to play housewife but was able to return (no problem) after not having done it for years while she was playing wifey. Also, these are always fields that require YEARS of study, but she’s also just 24 years old, LOL. All these baby geniuses everywhere.
The FV pours a drink on the FMC-Ahh, a classic!
The FV pours a drink on herself and blames the FMC-A classic in framing the FMC by the FV.
The FMC pours a drink on the FV-Just like #19, but the roles reversed when the FMC pours it on herself and blames the FV for example in From Contract Lover to the Billionaire's Bride.
The FV grabs the FMC’s hand and “falls”-The FV LOVES to frame the FMC for all kinds of things, none more dramatic than falling down the stairs.
The MMC kisses the FMC in a dark alley to "hide" from thugs chasing him-The world's worst thugs, easily tricked by a making out couple wearing the EXACT same thing the man they were chasing is wearing. It's so silly.
The FV accuses the FMC or FMC & MMC of being too poor to shop in a store-Nothing more satisfying than when the MMC gets everything for “free” because he’s the secret billionaire and owns the store.
The FV accuses the FMC of stealing (credit cards or product)-The FV is able to convince a store clerk to side with her against the FMC when she whips out her billionaire given credit card and accuses the FMC of stealing it. Or the FV will plant evidence on the FMC to make it look like she stole something.
The assistant arranges an "average" house for the billionaire but it's still too pricey for a blue collar worker-Oh, those billionaire's needing to test their new contact wives to make sure they're not gold diggers are so silly.
