r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 11d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Bad Influencer & Bad Romance!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
Out with the apocalypse, in with working 9-5. Most folks work in some format, averaging 80-90,000 hours in their lifetime. That’s 12-14% of your life–straight. Add on sleep and weekends, and it’s at least a third! Sounds riveting doesn’t it? Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“Would you enthusiastically recommend that a friend purchase something you'd never tested yourself? Probably not. But you may be unwittingly doing this with information every day.” — Dan Ariely, ‘Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things’
Trope: Bad Influencer — Becoming an influence is such a popular goal now that even colleges are offering degrees in it. But not all influencers are good. The grownup sibling of the Phoneaholic Teenager and the cousin of the Sleazy Streamer, the influencer is often the prime example of why Social Media Is Bad and/or New Media Are Evil. Expect them to be image-obsessed, deceitful, manipulative of their audience and those around them, to be shilling bad (if not actually illegal) products, to live under Social Media Before Reason, and to be prejudiced, self-absorbed, and bitchy.
Genre: Bad Romance — A romantic and/or sexual relationship that is truly destructive, breaking down at least one of the lovers, probably both. Looking for further inspiration, can’t post this without Gaga.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone has a valley girl accent.
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 16 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, August 27th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
9
u/AmeliaLP 5d ago edited 5d ago
Trigger warning: obnoxious men
Alpha Fail
Hmm, how to become a better man huh? Maybe I should watch this.
Click!
“ARE YOU A LOSER?!”
Yes...
“Do you wanna learn how to be a better man?”
Well I clicked the video didn’t I?
“Then you need to start being an Alpha male! Let me teach you how. So you probably think when a female is talking she wants to be heard right?”
Sounds reasonable to me.
“WRONG!”
Oh.
“Females want you to tell them what to do. They love being given orders and will respect you for doing it. But there’s more. Alpha’s gain friends faster, they’re more confident and will succeed at everything. Lastly I’d like to mention the dangers of emotion. Some morons will claim being emotional is natural. More and more men are being neutered by society, but I say no more! Emotions are for women! So remember, don’t be weak or emotional, instead be like a wolf, be an Alpha!”
An Alpha huh? It sounds so simple. Maybe I’ll try.
Fred’s stomach growled loudly.
Alright, here it goes.
“Laura! Make me a god damn sandwich!”
“Excuse me?” She replied.
“I said, SANDWICH NOW!”
Laura strode into the room. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Hungry.” Fred shrugged.
“So you decided to bark orders at me?!”
“Uh...yes?”
“That’s not okay! If you act like this again I’m dumping you.”
“But I’m an Alpha.”
“Oh god, you haven’t fallen for that BS have you?”
“It’s not BS. It actually makes a lot of sense.”
“What...”
“Yeah, I’m in charge and you follow what I say. Where’s the problem?”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You seemed so sweet and smart but I guess I was wrong about you.”
“Sweet? You mean weakness! I have none.”
“Okay Fred. I’m leaving. I’ll miss who I thought you were.”
Laura frowned, turning to leave the room. Fred grabbed her arm.
“You’re not allowed to leave.”
“I’m not allowed to?! Fuck off you creep!” She jerked out of his grip, sprinting away.
Bam!
As the door slammed Fred slumped down onto the floor.
I did everything right. I’m an Alpha, but she left me. SHE LEFT ME!
He slammed his fist against the floor.
No... Mustn’t get angry cause anger is an emotion and I’m better than that. Why did she leave? I was just trying to be a better man. This whole situation, it, it just makes me feel so. No. I feel nothing. I am strong. I am an Alpha! She didn’t leave me...I LEFT HER! Yes, yes its all clear now. I’m too good for her. I deserve better. I’m glad she’s gone! But what now?
Fred glanced at his pc.
I must learn more. I need to be better. I must become....
THE ULTIMATE ALPHA!!
WC: 461