#TropeChats Only one bed: I generally like forced proximity tropes, but "only one bed" is frequently about sexual attraction which means as an acespec person I don't always get it or care about it. It works best for me when there are a lot of feelings other than just attraction
@Forestofglory i’m always kinda fascinated by the way bedsharing (or even just roomsharing) has become *so* intimate in modern western culture that we project only one bed trope assumptions into cultures / pasts where bed-sharing happened in all kinds of relationships
@Satsuma @Forestofglory really good point!
when I wrote this trope in a canonverse MDZS fic, I specifically pointed out that it was a small bed and the people sharing it were tall and athletic. 😅 not that I’m claiming the fic was particularly accurate, mind you!
@villainousfriend @Forestofglory ha! i do think its reasonable for characters to have feelings about it, even when its something normalized by the culture they’re in—they’ll just be more hmm like how you might write someone overthinking getting to sit next to their crush you know? “I’m getting a lot more out of this proximity than is socially expected and I’m not sure the other person realizes, or if I even WANT them to realize” rather than “ohhh no beds, the most intrinsically horny place that I cannot help but think about fucking in”
@Satsuma @Forestofglory yeah, I agree! What I love about the only-one-bed trope is how inescapably present the other person’s/people’s bodies are: when they roll over, you feel the mattress move; you have to share the covers somehow; you might have to get into an uncomfortable position to accommodate them, or even to stay wedged onto the bed! It’s a great little crucible for any feelings people might have for one another (especially if they end up sleep-deprived).
@villainousfriend @Forestofglory I also feel like we’re due for a slight trope inversion—imagine WWX traveling with LWJ and babbling awkwardly when he realizes Lan money means they’re NOT going to be sleeping with six other strangers who can safely diffuse the sexual tension
@villainousfriend @Forestofglory inns arent supposed to work like this! he thought he was safe!!!
@Satsuma @villainousfriend @Forestofglory I want this so bad!!!
@Satsuma @villainousfriend I love this idea!
@Satsuma @Forestofglory ohhh, that’s fun 😄