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Twitter meme reveals we're all secretly suckers for these fiction clichés

Don't lie, you all have a favorite.

Sage Anderson

on August 1, 2019

Rivals to lovers. Found family. Mutual Pining. An unfortunate circumstance that requires two people to share a single twin-sized bed.

You know them, you love them — clichés. Even if you claim that you hate overused, blatantly obvious tropes in fiction, they're there for a reason: We keep coming back for more.

For me, it's fake dating. "Oh no, please I have to go to my ex's wedding, will you just pretend to be my partner for a week so no one clowns me for being single?," the character asks a friend. And, fool that I am, I think to myself, "Oh no, what if they... slowly fall in love with each other, but still pretend that the relationship is fake? What will they do?"

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There's absolutely zero surprise when they get together in the end, every single time. Yet I hop along for the ride, every single time. It's about the journey, not the destination. And boy do these clichés take us for a rollercoaster of emotions. Here are the best memes about tropes that make you weak (and don't lie, you all have at least one. You know the one.)

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The meme has also sparked communal responses, with everyone dropping their favorite examples of clichés from Netflix shows, anime, video games, and more. The original post even got a shoutout from the Twitter of Amazon Prime's Good Omens, promoting their own show's (excellent) grump/sunshine trope.

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If you want to see a visual representation of a lot of these beautiful, repetitive, cyclical, and beloved tropes, artists on Twitter had their own challenge a few months back, drawing their favorites, too.

So embrace them fully. After all, you never know when they might be subverted.

Topics X/Twitter Memes

Sage Anderson

Sage is the newest Culture writer on the block at Mashable NYC. They recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and have previously worked for The Dr. Oz Show, NorthSouth Productions, and on Netflix's 'The OA Part II'. Off the clock, they can be found testing out cupcake recipes, collecting dolls, and watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure for the millionth time.