Common Themes/Tropes in Your Writing?

We all have certain themes or tropes that we tend to repeat in our writing, what are common ones you've found you gravitate towards?

Salazar is my first and only character who isn't lonely.

Also, cool thread.

My characters are all mentally unstable, one way or another.

Also, cool thread seconded.

Martial arts, almost always.

None. I'm a god-damn snowflake.

I tend to repeat words and phrases. Something I need to work on.

I like armor.

And robots.

Both Lichter and Nemo are opposite sides of the same coin in the way that both deal with the pressures revolving around paternal relationships.

Lichter's entire life revolved around his desperate attempts to both redeem his family name as well as elude the meticulous machinations of his father, who he is eventually revealed to be a perfect clone of. He never had a mother IC or OOC in the sense that I never wrote one into existence for him. The abuse he received from his clone-dad is eventually passed onto those he interacted with, as his struggle to escape Lichter-1's influence ultimately consumes his life. His function as what basically amounts to a lethal, incredibly strict superhero (to the point of being a supervillain himself) mirrors a severe paternal relationship. He eventually begins to "take care" of the United States, but is only really concerned with punishing disorder. His rejection of himself eventually caused his suicide - mostly because his father, Lichter-1, didn't show him adequate care. It's implied in the last post, though, that the cycle will go on, and Lichter-3 will be one day be just as bad if nobody interferes in the circle.

Nemo, on the other hand, is a more overtly paternal character, though he more embodies the caring aspect of fatherhood than the retributive aspect. He was outright called "the Superhero community dad" in this thread (#49) by Maxwell Hastings, who would eventually become his sidekick. Nemo also has to constantly balance the amount of influence he exerts on society. He wants humanity to thrive, but would abhor taking control of its direction; he has a far more conservative "hands-off" approach to protecting the world. One of the reasons I chose to channel Superman so strongly with the character in both name and look is because Superman is in many ways the archetypal "father" of the superhero concept. Finally, there's the issue of Nemo's own apparent fatherlessness; he is causa sui, or self-created, much in the same sense that Lichter was (if you take cloning to be self-creating). However, his self-creation is far more positive; he brings himself life in order to live fully, whereas Lichter's original cloning was an attempt to avoid death.

@hawkshade: I know another one of yours too!

@yggdmillennia: Tell me tell me.

@hawkshade: The majority of them speak english xD

@yggdmillennia: Got me there lol.

I like you already! I love martial arts too. lol

Swords. Richard is the first character in a long time who hasn't carried a sword.

My one trope might be my usage of supernatural / fantasy elements in my characters.

A lot of my characters tend to suffer from some variation of antisocial personality disorder. And they're usually geniuses, be it in scientific fields, the arts or something esoteric and arcane.

Camaraderie(Theme)- My characters tend to accomplish far more with others. Between Maverick, Asmodeus, Nabuu and even Voracious to an extent, many of my characters grow more powerful with large armies at their disposal. Others, such as Soliton, benefit greatly by teaming up with people who can cover their weaknesses.

Moral Compromise(Theme)- Many of my characters are faced with an issue they cannot solve in a way that is wholly morally justifiable.

The Ends Justifies the means(Theme)- Many of my characters strive for the most ideal outcome, only regarding the means to get there if it significantly impacts the ends. I try to avert needlessly imorality but at times, it is inevitable

Make Due with whatcha got (Theme)- I like think I never make anything up, no matter what I'm going up against, that is outside of a set of paremeters I make for myself with that character. This forces characters to have to rely on what they have to possibly face down seemingly insurmountable or otherwise? Survive or flee as appropriate.

He who hunt's monsters....(Theme/Trope)- Many characters I have must resort to means of combat that are otherwise as bad as the things they face, blurring the lines between them and the enemy.

Power alone does not solve everything (Theme)

Work Smarter, not harder. (Theme)

Logical Weakness(Trope)

Not so invincible after all.... (Trope)

David and Goliath(Trope)- I tend to write characters who fight beings who surpass them in raw power with skill and resourcefulness.

Boxing Lessons for Superman(Trope)-MissMayhem, Jackal, Voracious, Bold , Pax, Soliton Many of my superhuman characters know ordinary skills that augment their powers even further.

Badass Normal (Trope)- Argus, Moya Hawkins,Just an Average Man, The Black Dog, HossDaBoss. I have a thing for normal human characters.

Empowered Badass Normal(Trope)- Jackal, Voracious, Eric Bradshaw [Titanium-Reinforced Skeleton], Jericho Tendency to have the background of many characters being capable humans being given superpower

Improbable Aiming skills(Trope)- Eric Bradshaw, Nemaz, Prometheus, Th3_Sl33per, Jericho, COEUS, various Maverick personel, Voracious.

Gun-Kata/Gun-Fu(Trope) See above.

Implausible Fencing Powers (Trope)- Voracious. Jackal, Nemaz, Maverick Shadow Company in general.

Big Bad(Trope):Asmodeus, Jina and Nabuu. Tendency of evil characters to be able to threaten entire countries (or the entire world) at a time if left unchecked,

Genre Savvy (Trope)

Super speed) All muh characters have had a variation of super speed in the past.

All my white alts were evil :P

@meison_calidus: *Smacks on nose*

Bad

:P

@yggdmillennia: Hey, *dodges* most white made black alts are evil war lords or dictators at best

@meison_calidus: My evil alts have been monsters,robots or aliens

Cuz humanity unite fluff yeah powers!

I feel I bring a lot of Silver Age concepts into modern contexts. Things like the Death Ray, secret identity, scientific jargon in favor of actual hard science, etc.

Mutants, obviously. Since the CVnU has begun I have mostly written characters with an x-gene.

SHOUTING.

I know I haven't done much writing on CV yet but Silver Age stuff is my jam.

Military stuff. Armies and NPCs as "tools."

Bad fathers, and fathers who aren't around, apparently.

Stealth. Most of my characters are either extremely skilled in the stealthy arts or they have an invisibility field or something.

Foreshadowing and callbacks.

I write a lot of sad stuff. Easier to get words out.

Hey, same.

Daddy issues.

My characters always pause in a conversation at least once per interaction.

Great song.

How do you usually convey the pause when you're writing?

@tessa_callahan: I didn't even realise it til I looked back either.

• Arturia - Real Father(s) died when she was a babe. Raised by a man who hated her and eventually tried to burn her down in the home.
• Olivier - Father was Hruoudland, spent a lot of the time helping Charlemagne conquer the world, she basically lived with a friend most of the time
• Abigail - Father used mutant ability to make her a mutant (which she hates), and was basically never around so she was raised by nannies and butlers and the like.
• Shiho - Her father turned extremely cold and treated her like an abomination once he learned she was a mutant
• Anya (Jaegerjaquez) - father abused/neglected her, tried to pimp her out one time.
• Valentina - Father was a deadbeat, then used her in his schemes and also pimped her out to pay off debts
• Trinity - Her "father" is @nordok. 'Nuff said.

I think the only one who had a normal life with both good parents (til she got out there) was Alyssa.

Then there are others who have unconventional births (Antonia, Nastya) and no real, singular father or father figure, and a few others who haven't been detailed to any great degree.

@rosso: I tend to find a lot of things that are common between my characters that I don't realize until it just... clicks. Of course now I can't name one of these things -___-

I forgot how many super solid, super established characters you have. Also... I want to be friends with all of 'em.

Thinking back now

• Cass - birth father murdered, adopted dad (kinda) was Gambler... 'nuff said. Step-dad (bio)... that's confusing - was Sov Son, who was great.
• Whisper - Depending on which universe, but in one of 'em (and this is canon to the current version), her father suffered traumatic PTSD and ended up being responsible for the death of her mother as well as himself
• Whisper - Original version - her father was Lord....something, and... a bad guy in part responsible for snuffing out that universe, stemming from the death of her mother
• Child of Darkness - was cloned from Cass by Darkchild
• Morgaine de Bourbon - both parents died during Space France
• Cassidy O'Rourke (Cerebus version) - dad beat the shit out of her - broke all her fingers at one point after slamming them in a door intentionally
• Ellie - Her dad was Jayden Knightfall 'nuff said
• Isis Liafador - Her dad was Kane Liafador 'nuff said
• Lily LeBeau - her dad was Charlemagne, 'nuff said
• Adriana Huntington - her dad is. Alaric Huntington 'nuff said

I think I have maybe four chars who have good dads/home lives.

@tessa_callahan: Usually in a moment of uncertainty or moment of dramatic effect

As follow

Example A) Well...I'm wouldn't say exactly that

Example B) The thing is...you have to die or the toilet will clog

@yggdmillennia: Ohhh yeah, I do exactly the same thing - ellipsis for a short dramatic pause, or a wavering of the character's thoughts. Very effective.

I read a lotta bad things in that list, but that has got to be the worst.

@tessa_callahan: I worry that I over do it sometimes tbh

@yggdmillennia: I have the same worry, but if it feels natural to your writing you should stick with it. It will help add authenticity and give it a flow if it's natural to you.

As shitty as the initial event was... I loved the arcs that came out of it and wrote one of my favorite blogs that took place during it.

Lots of crappy dads around these parts. Ivana's father was a fairly decent father, except for the whole supervillain thing. Her mother on the other hand.

I've got some of those, too!

@tessa_callahan: Ohh, tell me.

@hawkshade:

• Isis Liafador's mom had been told she was dead for years and only recently learned of her existence, but she (Isis) is part of a serious prophecy and so she will not contact her no matter what.
• Avalonia's parents were both slaughtered when she was a young child.
• Ellie's mom is Grace Knightfall!
• Nikoleta's mom... well you know the whole deal with that - she's a nightmare.

I still remember the story Ivana told to Abigail. It was very moving...until she turned around and acted like a biiiiiiitch.

@tessa_callahan: This convo has inspired a post.

@hawkshade: Ooooooooooh @ me when you write it so I can read!