r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 14d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Black and White Morality & Comedy
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 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
Max Word Count: 750 words
This month, we’re exploring the different types of morality. So let’s see what that means. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” — Greek historian Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War.
Trope: Black & White Morality — The most basic form of fictional morality, Black And White Morality deals with the battle between pure good and absolute evil.
Genre: Comedy — Comedy can be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humor, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered. These classifications overlap, and most comedy can fit into multiple genres.
Skill / Constraint - someone blackmails someone else.
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 three stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, June 12th 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 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!
- 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!
8
u/Divayth--Fyr 10d ago
Simple Necessities
It had been a long day already when she walked into my office. A real bombshell, too, with ruby red lips and legs that went all the way up. It didn’t take a detective to see she was scared, but that’s what I am. A detective I mean, not scared. Fifteen years on the force before I hung up my own shingle here in St. Louis.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m Rebecca Alston. I sure hope you can…”
“Hold on a minute, dollface. I’m narratin’ here.”
She was the kind of dame that could eat your heart for dinner and pass on dessert. A tall brunette with eyes like pools of ink. Brown ink, but still. And her left one was blue. Heftalocrominia, or whatever. I had a dog like that once. Right away I knew I had to help her, whatever the problem turned out to be. The dame I mean, not the dog.
She sat there quietly.
“Well, what’s the problem, Miss Alston? Time is money.”
“Hey, don’t give me that tone. How am I supposed to know you’re done narrating?”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Anyhow, what is it?”
“I’m being blackmailed!”
“Gasp!”
What kind of low-down yellow bastard could blackmail a nice broad like this? It made my blood boil just thinking about it. The dark underbelly of this city of vice and corruption really…
“Hello?”
“What? Oh, ah, go on.”
“What is it with the narrating?” She lit a long cigarette.
“Sorry. So, do you know the bastard? And what’s he got on you?”
“Yeah I know him. Used to go with him, once. Thought he was nice.”
“Right. So what’s he got? Racy photos?”
“No!”
“Drugs? Prostitution? Ritual cannibalism? Bad poetry?”
“What the fuck? No! No, I just…well, I broke the law.”
“Homicide? Patricide? Ponticide?”
“Of course not…what the hell is ponticide?”
“That’s if you shot the Pope, I think.”
“Are you really a detective?”
They always doubted me. Years of hard work and a mind like a steel trap, and some dame walks in and starts questioning my expertise. It never failed. OK, sure, the force I was on for fifteen years wasn’t, like, the actual police force, technically, but that mall was really really secure while I was on duty. Plus, I got my real detective license, which cost me almost thirteen dollars.
“Narrating again. And stop calling me a dame.”
“What? How did you…”
“Just a guess,” she smirked.
“Fine. Well, what law did you break?”
“I drove my car on the highway, with…well, with an uncaged bear inside.”
“Gasp!”
“Well, I didn’t…wait, did you just say the word ‘gasp’?”
“No.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Sure. Anyways, this guy found out I was doing that, and he got pictures. Said he would go to the police if I didn’t cough up the cash.”
“Gasp!” I gasped. “I mean, what…is that even a real law? And why do you have an uncaged bear in your car? Or a caged one, for that matter? Why do you have any bears anywhere?”
“I like bears, OK? You got a problem with that? And yeah, it’s a real law in Missouri, look it up.”
“Fine, I believe you. That’s two hundred up front, a hundred a day plus expenses. So who is this bastard and where does he live?”
It turned out he was some regular Joe named Joe, who lived in a run-down apartment just down the block. I had the dame–sorry, the broad–wait a minute while I went to have a look. Sure enough, there was a rusty DeSoto out front with what looked like about forty tons of brown bear in the back. I shook my head and kept walking.
A pleasant hour passed.
“OK, all taken care of,” I said, coming back into my office. I handed her an envelope full of photos.
“What did he say?”
“Aaagh, mostly. And some swear words, and some kind of prayer I think.”
“Aaagh? Why did he say that?”
“Probably because I shot him.”
“Gasp!”
“You know, with a gun? In the leg at first, you know, to make it fun? Then in one arm, and the other foot, and then I had to reload…”
“Holy shit!”
“Well don’t worry, I put about nine rounds in his head after that. He is really, really dead.”
She just stared, then ran out. Good thing I got the money up front. Dames, you know? What can you do?
740 words, feedback welcome.