ANNOUNCEMENT: In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Sunday I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicles, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.) Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
Whether you read fanfiction on AO3 or Wattpad, we all know good fanfiction when it hits us. That’s why when we watched Netflix’s Single All the Way, we instantly recognized the signs of tropey goodness that drives the stories we devour on a daily basis. From sharing one bed to fake/pretend relationship, this movie is Christmas gold with a much needed LGBTQ twist; the latter which we need more of.
If you haven’t watched Single All the Way, or have read this far and have no idea what we’re talking about, no worries. We’ve got you covered with a quick breakdown of these favorite tropes and why they work so well in bringing the characters we love closer together and eventually on the road to being a couple or more. Enjoy!
1. Sharing one bed
Sharing a bed is fun because it makes for awkward situations where the two people in question have to decide whether they want to share a bed or not, if someone is going to take the couch or floor, and if there is something they’re hiding that would make sleeping together in the same bed awkward. This trope often leads to moments of self discovery where the two people open up to each other and could lead ot cuddling; the more adorable part of the sharing one bed trope.
2. Mutually requited love
Mutually requited love is basically two people who have feelings for each other. And you think it would be easy because of this but it’s not. It’s actually harder because both sides think that the other doesn’t like them. So they both pine away for each other, making the whole situation harder for themselves and chock-full of delicious angst. That all changes when they eventually find out that they both like each other and realize they could’ve spent less time angsting and more time kissing.
3. Friends to lovers
The sweetest trope has to be the friends to lovers one. This one is built on trust, timing, and patience. It’s the one where after years of knowing each other, something shifts inside the two people and they realize that they want to change the dynamics of what makes them…them. It also opens up the doorways for our favorites to continue being friends but leveling it up with dates, kissing, handholding, and (our personal favorite) forehead kisses.
4. Fake/Pretend Relationship
This particular trope isn’t for everyone. It takes a bit longer if you’re reading a book and it’s a forever angst kind of thing if on a TV show. But a movie is a perfect place for this trope because you know they’re going to get that happy ending after they pretend to date because reasons. Those happen to be family functions or work where they don’t want to go alone…and…that’s about it. But it works for the fake couple in question because as they fake it they realize they wouldn’t mind doing that in real life.
5. Running after each other
There’s something so dramatic about this trope that everyone loves. It comes at the moment where things fall into place for one half of the soon to be couple. But wait, the half they want to speak with is not there. So they have to jump in their car, take a plane, or literally run after the person and declare their feelings as a means of clarifying what they’re feeling after what is most certainly a misunderstanding that happened that lead to said running.
6. (Person A) deserves nice things
This trope is all about someone who have always had bad luck when it comes to things like love, work, or even family. They’re not a bad person or anything. They’re just someone who hasn’t had a good time and bad luck follows them. So, the reader or whomever is viewing this character, wants them to have all the good in the world. That’s where the next trope comes in…
7. (Person B) is a nice thing
Just to clarify, this person isn’t a thing. They’re an independent, kind, or badass person who compliments Person A. And being together brings good into both of their lives. Most of the time Person B shows Person A that there are so many wonderful things in life that they already have together.
Single All the Way is available on Netflix.
Queerly Not Straight posts every Sunday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
