Enemies to lovers, bomb timers stopping at one second, the badass with a heart of gold.
Let’s discuss our most/least favorite tropes, then write some stories with them!
During the last stream, the subscribers voted that we discuss our favorite/hated story tropes then write a story using them
Check out the video here for our discussion, or scroll down for the story we wrote.
Chat came up with a bunch of great tropes, both loved and hated, but they voted on these three to use in a story:
- The Paragon (someone who tries to get others to help themselves, someone who gets others to rally around them, like a Batman/Spiderman)
- Badass Normal (no superpowers, just intellect)
- Bouncers wearing sunglasses and standing with the crossed arms. As a former bouncer, you get shouted at by your manager for doing that.
Here’s what we came up with:
I’d never been more proud of a disguise that I’d created. Black sunglasses, tight-fitting suit, earpiece that dangled uselessly into my collar. Standing outside the Secret Laboratory, a club for villains, I looked like the perfect bouncer.
Call me a chameleon, because I was blending in. Tonight was the night The Holy Ranger would finally capture the Urchin.
That poison bastard had terrorized the city for too long. It seemed like every day there was another victim, poked full of holes. Myself and my comrades were always too late to take down the spiny nuisance, so we decided to try a more subtle approach. If I could just corner him here, at the place we’d heard rumors he’d frequented, then I could summon the Sword of Justice out of thin air and slice the miserable cretin’s spines right off!
Until then though, I had to play it cool. It took all of my willpower not to stop any of the other horrid fiends as they shambled into the dark alleyway, then through the rusty door I guarded into the bass-thumping club. There was The Anchor, with the power to turn as heavy as led and crush people. Nitro, the man with the literal explosive temper. And, most terrifying yet, The Southward Swan with her bite strong enough to cut through steel and a never-ending hunger for bread.
But I couldn’t waste time with them. I had one goal for tonight: the Urchin. If everything went according to plan, we’d be eating uni sushi tonight back at base.
“Um, excuse me,” came an unfamiliar voice. “But who the hell are you?”
It was a young woman dressed in a completely normal outfit. More than an outfit, her shirt and pants just looked like regular-people clothes. I’d never seen her before; she must’ve been a new villain to the scene.
“You can go in,” I said as stoically as possible, ushering her with a passive palm. All she did was glare at me.
“I don’t know who you think you are,” she said, “but you need to either leave or go inside immediately.”
This wasn’t good. Some newbie villain was already trying to pick a fight. I could’ve easily sent her flying with a single smash from my summoned Shield of Justice, but I didn’t want to blow my cover just yet.
“You’re just drunk,” I told her. Then an idea hit me for how to get rid of her. “Actually, it looks like you’re a bit scuffed up. Have you been in a fight? Maybe — because I’m the bouncer here — I should call you an ambulance?”
There was nothing a supervillain feared more than the hospital. After all, it’s not like villainy came with a health insurance plan.
But this woman stared me up and down skeptically. “Sir, I need you to show me your security pass while I talk to the shift handler.”
With a quick glance down the alleyway, I didn’t see any other villains approaching. If I could make quick work of this little one and hide her away in a garbage can for a while, then I could be back at my post, post-haste!
I thrust out my rock-hard fist and beefy arm, then spoke the magic words to summon my golden sword and silver shield.
“Light of Judgement, as I am your sword, and so materialize my will! Dream of Justice I am your— OW OW OW!!!”
A horrible pain shot up from my wrist. The next thing I knew I was flat on my back, my holy armaments clattering to the asphalt beside me.“Okay, that’s enough grandstanding,” the woman said, somehow holding me in place. “You’re going to be the police’s problem shortly.”
She whipped out a walkie-talkie from her belt and started speaking into it. I didn’t know what kind of superpower this villain had, but if it was enough to incapacitate me, then she had to be stopped here and now!
“Well, well,” came a hiss from behind me. “If it isn’t the Holy Ranger. You’ll certainly be full of holes soon enough!”
It was the Urchin. His poison spikes shot out from all over his body, sizzling with white smoke at the tips. He grinned down at me, his yellowed teeth reflecting the dim alley light. And I could do nothing to stop him.
“Please!” I cried out to the woman holding me in place. “Let me go. I must defeat this dastardly fiend!”
She looked up to the Urchin, but didn’t move her hands from her painful grip. If the two of them were in cahoots, then I was done for.
“You again?” she said, glaring at the Urchin. “I know what to do with you.”
She released me and stepped toward the Urchin. I jumped back on my feet and tried to summon my weapons to my hands, but all I got was wisps of light that were quickly extinguished. The strength of my holy sword and shield was based on the strength of my ego, which had taken a huge hit for the moment. All I could do was watch the girl and the Urchin face each other down.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” the Urchin said, glowering at her hungrily. He ran at her, spikes sharp and dripping with poison. I reached out, trying in vain to stop another death, but was too late.
They collided against each other. And the Urchin made a very strange noise. It was purring.
I had no idea what I was seeing. The woman was brushing her hand against the Urchin’s skin — his shoulders, arms and hands — but deftly weaving her fingers around his deadly spikes.
“Stop!” I cried out. “He’s dangerous, you know!”
“Not if you know what you’re doing,” she said. “And I handle plenty of these guys every day.”
The Urchin was drooling poison out of his mouth as he spoke. “All I ever wanted was a little human contact. But these spikes always got in the way! Alicia saved my life.”
Alicia removed her hand and looked sternly at The Urchin. “Now what did we talk about last time? Remember?”
“Every person I don’t kill gets me a minute of petting,” he said. Alicia nodded.
“That’s right. Your two minutes are up. Try a little harder this week, okay?”
The Urchin nodded and waddled into the club, caressing the hand his beloved bouncer had touched, and disappeared behind the pounding, rusty door. I finally managed to get up on my feet and confronted Alicia.
“I need to know,” I said. “What is your superpower?”
“Out there,” she said, gesturing to the city. “None. But here in this club, I’m a god. I’m The Bouncer.”
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Featured image: Pakutaso