"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken"
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken"
— William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 116"
Ah, love. One of the fundamental forces of drama, and a key component in Heartwarming Moments. Love comes in many forms, but this index lists virtually all Tropes concerning the most recognizable form, romantic love. For tropes about familial love and platonic love, see Family Tropes and Friendship Tropes, respectively. For the unconditional love felt for everyone, see All-Loving Hero.
Compare Romance Novel, Admiration Tropes, Kissing Tropes. Contrast Hatred Tropes... usually.
Tropes:
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Related indexes and subcategories
Love in general (including non-romantic love)
Romantic love and sexual lust
- Family Tropes: Tropes about the affection and bonds between people who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.
- Friendship Tropes: Tropes about the affection and bonds between people who just simply enjoy each other's company.
- Hug Tropes: Embracement is a common way for any people who really care about each other to show affection, regardless of whatever type of interpersonal relationship they have.
- Kissing Tropes: While kissing usually has a romantic context, it can also be done between family or even friends.
- Reunion Tropes: When two or more people who were close to each other meet again after being separated for a while.
- This Index Broke Up: When two or more people who were close to each other have a falling out.
- Reconciliation Tropes: But then they make up with each other and reunite.
- This Index Is Not My Girlfriend: Are these two people in a platonic or romantic relationship? It's hard to tell.
Romantic love and sexual lust
- Attraction Tropes: Tropes about physical attraction between people, be it mutual or one-sided.
- Dating Tropes: Tropes about activities between unmarried lovers.
- Dysfunctional Romance Index: Tropes about "love" gone horribly wrong.
- The Ex Index: Tropes about ex-lovers and former spouses, and why they split in the first place.
- Infidelity Index: Tropes about adultery and infidelity, or the act of cheating on one's (monogamous) partner by secretly engaging in a romantic/sexual affair with another person.
- Flirting and Courtship: Ways of expressing romantic or sexual attraction to another person.
- Forbidden Love: When a pair of lovers are kept separated from each other due to familial or social pressures.
- Index of Romantic Couples: Types of lover duos.
- Interracial and Interspecies Love Index: Love and sex between two people from (very) different backgrounds.
- Love Interests: A classic character archetype of people who are meant to fall in love with the protagonist.
- Love Is a Crapshoot: Love can be good, but it can also go bad, or complicate things.
- Marriage Tropes: Tropes about the legal union of spouses.
- Wedding and Engagement Tropes: Tropes about ritual ceremonies that initiate marriage.
- Queer as Tropes: Tropes about non-heterosexual romance.
- Romance Arc: An arc of two characters becoming lovers.
- Romance Novel Tropes: Tropes common to romance novels.
- Romance Novel Plots: Common plots in romance novels.
- Romantic Resolutions: Common endings to love stories.
- Rule of Romantic: Unrealistic stuff is fine, so long as it's romantic.
- Sex Tropes: Tropes about sexual lust, which is closely related to (but not quite the same thing as) romantic love.
- Shipping Tropes: Some fans are really rooting for their preferred pair of characters to fall in love with each other.
- The Singles Index: Tropes about individuals without romantic partners.
- Unrequited Love Tropes: Tropes about unreciprocated affection or attraction to another person.
Tropes (A-G)
- Abduction Is Love: Kidnapping your Love Interest guarantees they'll fall in love with you.
- Aborted Declaration of Love: You're about to confess your love for somebody, but then decide not to.
- Accidental Adultery: Cheating on your lover/spouse by mistake, e.g. thinking they were dead when they were actually alive.
- Accidental Hand-Hold: Ship Tease moment where two characters end up locking hands with each other when they reach for the same item.
- Act of True Love: An action done to prove one's love for another.
- Action Girlfriend: Badass girlfriend.
- Adaptational Sexuality: A character's sexual orientation is changed in an adaptation of a story.
- Adrenaline Makeover: The heat of adventure turns a frumpy, uncool character into The Hero's attractive Love Interest.
- After Action Patch Up: Ship Tease moment where a character gets their wounds patched up by their Love Interest.
- Agents Dating: Secret agents fall in love.
- Age-Gap Algebra: Calculating age difference between partners in order to determine compatibility.
- Age-Gap Romance: Romance where one partner is notably older or younger than the other.
- Airplane of Love: An airplane takes off to symbolize unrequited love.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: A strong, tough woman falls in love with a man who is stronger than or just as strong as her.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: Homosexual men are depicted as being incapable of committing themselves to one partner.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Girls fall for guys who are moody or outright criminal.
- All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Guys tend to fall in love with cheerleaders.
- All Guys Want Sorority Women: Much like cheerleaders, men tend to fall for women in sororities.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Romantic affections are not returned.
- All-Loving Hero: A heroic character who has unlimited love and compassion for others.
- Allergic to Love: Love makes you feel sick.
- Almost Kiss: Two characters come close to kissing.
- Alone Among the Couples: One character is single while everyone else around them is in a relationship.
- Always Save the Girl: Saving your Love Interest before anyone else.
- Am I Just a Toy to You?: Person A confronts Person B about how serious their relationship is.
- Amazon Chaser: A guy who falls in love with tough girls.
- Amicable Exes: Former lovers who have remained on good terms with each other.
- Amnesiac Lover: The protagonist's Love Interest gets amnesia and can't remember their own lover.
- Anchored Ship: A potential romantic pairing that's been put on hold.
- Angel/Devil Shipping: Romance between a heroic, sweet-natured character and a darker, more devilish character.
- Anger Born of Worry: When you love someone, you get angry at them for endangering themselves.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Confessing your love for somebody during a moment of angst.
- Animal Sweet on Object: An animal has a crush on an inanimate object.
- Anti-Love Song: A not so sweet song about love.
- Artists Are Attractive: Many folks can't help but fall for a poet, painter, musician, etc.
- Attractive Zombie: Even the undead find love.
- Attractiveness Isolation: A conventionally attractive person has trouble finding love due to people being scared to talk to them.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: No matter how much they fight, they really do care about each other very much.
- Balanced Harem: A Harem Genre story where each haremette is given equal screentime and a shot at being with the lead.
- Balcony Wooing Scene: A lover courts his maiden from below her window or balcony.
- Battle Couple: Lovers who kick ass together.
- Beach Kiss: A couple share a passionate kiss on the beach.
- The Beard: A character who pretends to be someone's lover.
- Beast and Beauty: A couple involving a beautiful girl and a monstrous man (literal or not).
- Beautiful Dreamer: Lovingly watching your lover sleep.
- Becoming the Mask: The Mole genuinely comes to fall in love with the person they were stringing along.
- Belated Love Epiphany: Realizing that you love someone when they're no longer there with you.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Two people are in love, but they mask their feelings behind arguments.
- Best Her to Bed Her: A man must defeat a strong woman in combat if he wishes to romance her.
- The Bet: Love is involved in a wager.
- Beta Couple: A secondary couple who acts as the more stable foil to the main couple.
- Better as Friends: Two people were in love for a while, but then decided it was better that they were Just Friends.
- Better Partner Assertion: Someone tries to convince the person they love that they would be a better lover than their romantic rival.
- Betty and Veronica: A love triangle where the lead's prospective Love Interests are the sweet, reliable Girl Next Door and the more daring, sultry Ms. Fanservice.
- Bickering Couple, Peaceful Couple: One couple are Sickening Sweethearts while another is very argumentative.
- The Big Damn Kiss: A grandiose kiss scene.
- Birds of a Feather: A couple share similarities with each other.
- Bite of Affection: Love for somebody is shown through the form of biting them.
- Bi-Wildered: Confusion about one's own or another's bisexuality.
- Black Gal on White Guy Drama: Relationships between black women and white men tend to be stigmatized.
- Blind Date: Going on a date with someone you never met.
- Bridal Carry: A character carries his Love Interest in his arms and/or vice versa.
- Bodyguard Crush: Falling in love with somebody hired to protect you or vice versa.
- Boy Meets Ghoul: Romance between the living and the undead.
- Boy Meets Girl: A boy and a girl meet, lose each other, then find each other again.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: You must break up with your lover in order to protect them.
- Break Up to Make Up: Realizing your self-worth after pining for an unrequited crush.
- Break-Up Bonfire: Things that remind you of your former lover are thrown into a fire.
- Breakfast in Bed: Showing appreciation and affection for another by preparing them a meal served upon their waking in bed.
- Bromantic Foil: The romantic male lead's foil who's unlucky in love.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: A moody bad boy and a sweet, kind girl fall in love.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Romance between siblings.
- Business Trip Adultery: Using a business trip (one's own or another's) to have an affair.
- Cannot Talk to Women: A guy who has trouble talking to girls.
- Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Refusing to do anything lewd when in the presence of the one you love.
- Can't Have Sex, Ever: You and your lover can't have sex or something bad will happen.
- Can't Live with Them, Can't Live without Them: When you prefer to be alone but find yourself oddly attached to another.
- Can't Tie His Tie: A man allows a woman (who he may or may not be romantic with yet) to tie his tie, showing their closeness.
- Captive Date: Being forced to go on a date against your will.
- Cardiovascular Love: Hearts always represent love.
- Care-Bear Stare: The Power of Love literally weaponized.
- Cartwright Curse: The Hero's lovers tend to die once involved with him/her.
- Casual Kink: BDSM and other fetishes are seen as normal expressions of love.
- Caught in the Rain: Ship Tease moment where a couple seek shelter from the rain and they get intimate with each other as a result.
- Caught the Heart on His Sleeve: Ship Tease moment where one partner grabs the other partner's arm/sleeve.
- Celibate Hero: The Hero who understands romantic love, yet forgoes it.
- Changing Yourself For Love: Changing your image to impress a love interest.
- Chastity Couple: They're in love, but they're not physically intimate with each other.
- Cherry Blossoms: Japanese cherry blossoms are used to symbolize love and romance.
- Chic and Awe: One character assumes that another will be unattractive, but, upon seeing them in person for the first time, discovers that they're incredibly good-looking.
- Child of Forbidden Love: The child from a forbidden relationship.
- Childhood Friend Romance: People who have been friends since childhood get a Relationship Upgrade.
- Childhood Marriage Promise: Childhood Friends promise to get married when they grow up.
- Chocolate of Romance: Chocolate makes a good gift for your lover.
- Claimed by the Supernatural: A supernatural being falls in love with a regular person and "claims" them with some sort of "mark".
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: When the lead hooks up with their One True Love, their other suitors are, often out of nowhere, paired off with other characters.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She tends to be very possessive of her Love Interest.
- Closet Key: A character who makes a person realize that they're actually gay/bi, often they end up hooking up with that character in return.
- Clueless Chick-Magnet: This guy has no clue how popular he is with the ladies.
- Cock Fight: Two guys fight for the affections of a girl.
- Comforting Comforter: Ship Tease moment where someone covers their Love Interest with a blanket when they start to get cold.
- Coming Of Age Queer Romance: A character realizes they are queer and falls for (and ends up in a relationship with) another queer character.
- Commitment Issues: Fear of settling down with a Love Interest.
- Common Law Marriage: A couple live together for a very long time but aren't married.
- Competing with a Corpse: A Love Triangle where one party is already dead.
- Concert Climax: A Grand Romantic Gesture occurs at a climatic event.
- Confession Triggers Consummation: The first confession of love between two characters immediately leads to sex.
- Converse with the Unconscious: Ship Tease moment where a character talks to their Love Interest while they're unconscious, often in a very angsty way.
- Converting for Love: Converting to a religion to be with your lover.
- Coupled Couples: Two couples who are good friends.
- Courtly Love: Medieval style romance where characters love each other from afar.
- Crazy in the Head, Crazy in the Bed: A character is eccentric or outright insane, which makes them more appealing in the romantic and sexual sense.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He can't stand seeing his Love Interest be with anyone else.
- Criminally Attractive: A criminal falls in love with either their victim or an official who would normally bring them into custody.
- Crush Blush: Love causes you to blush.
- Crush Filter: Someone's crush is shown in a beautiful, ethereal light from their perspective.
- Cry into Chest: A Ship Tease moment where one partner cries into the other partner's chest.
- Cuckold Horns: A pair of horns used to show that a man's lover has been unfaithful.
- Cupid's Arrow: Falling in love personified by the love god, Cupid.
- Dance of Romance: A couple dances together.
- Dating Catwoman: Enemies who are also lovers.
- Dating Do-Si-Do: Characters in a long-running show all date each other at some point.
- Dead Sparks: They were once in love, but the romance died out a long time ago.
- A Deadly Affair: When an affair turns into a crime scene. Victim(s) can vary.
- "Dear John" Letter: A romantic relationship is broken off through mail.
- Death and the Maiden: A personification of death falls in love with a woman.
- Death of the Hypotenuse: A love triangle is resolved when one of the prospective Love Interests dies.
- December–December Romance: Elders in love.
- Declaration of Protection: Making a vow to protect the one you love.
- Deconfirmed Bachelor: He vowed to never be in a relationship, but then he met "her".
- Defenestrate and Berate: Throwing out or destroying your ex-lover's belongings.
- Demoted to Satellite Love Interest: A character is Demoted to Extra once they hook up with The Hero.
- Derailing Love Interests: Getting the Official Couple together by making the Romantic False Lead look bad.
- Destructive Romance: A deeply unhappy and dysfunctional romantic relationship (sometimes to the point of being abusive).
- Destructo-Nookie: Lovers have sex so rough, stuff gets wrecked.
- Devoted to You: A character who inspires obsessive devotion in those around them.
- Did Not Get the Girl: The Hero doesn't win their Love Interest.
- Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: Romance between a human and an Eldritch Abomination.
- Differing Priorities Breakup: Despite still loving each other, breaking up because you know you will be unhappy together.
- Disabled Love Interest: A Love Interest who is not able-bodied/neurotypical.
- Discount Lesbians: Nonhuman characters used to represent a homosexual relationship.
- Dismissing a Compliment: A character (often a Tsundere or an Insecure Love Interest) doesn't believe something nice their Love Interest tells them.
- Disposable Fiancé: A Romantic False Lead character whose role is to get dumped by the lead.
- Divine Date: Romance between a mortal and a god.
- Divorce Requires Death: Wanting to leave your spouse means one of you will have to die.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: A Ship Tease moment where one partner tries to comfort the other, only to be turned away.
- Downtime Downgrade: Two characters hook up at the end of the story, only to have broken up by the sequel.
- Drowning Our Romantic Sorrows: Romantic rivals get drunk together.
- Duet Bonding: Two people fall in love when they play music together.
- The Dulcinea Effect: A character falls for someone and instantly wants to protect them with their life.
- Dump Them All: The lead chooses not to be with any of their prospective Love Interests.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Confessing your love for somebody when you're dying.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Eyeing up your Love Interest's gorgeous body.
- Electric Love: Love represented by literal sparks.
- Elite Man–Courtesan Romance: Romance between a sex worker and a person of high class.
- Enter Stage Window: A character visits their Love Interest via climbing through their window.
- Eternal Love: Immortal lovers who have been together for eons.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: Villains are humanized by being loved, especially from a heroic character.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Bad guys love someone, romantically or not.
- Everyone Can See It: It's obvious that these two are meant to be together, if only they themselves saw it.
- Everyone Must Be Paired: The work insists that every single character must end up with a Love Interest.
- Exiled to the Couch: When a couple fight, one partner is forced to sleep away from the bed.
- Fake-Out Make-Out: Ship Tease moment where two characters kiss each other as a way to distract someone.
- Fake Relationship: Pretending to be in a romantic relationship.
- Fallen Cupid: Cupid turned evil!
- Falling-in-Love Montage: A couple is shown spending time together as they fall in love.
- False Soulmate: This person seemed perfect for you at first, but they later turn out to be a mismatch.
- False Start: It looks like you're finally gonna get the chance to confess your love, but something prevents you or you get scared.
- Fan-Preferred Couple: The audience supports this couple more than the Official Couple.
- Fantastic Romance: A romance only possible in speculative fiction.
- Fatal Attractor: This character always seems to fall in love with evil/mentally unstable people.
- Fate Drives Us Together: If two people keep encountering each other, it means they're meant to be together.
- Father, I Want to Marry My Brother: A child expresses an innocent desire to marry a family member, oblivious to the incestuous context.
- Faux Interracial Relationship: They initially seem like a biracial couple, but then they turn out to actually be of the same race.
- Ferris Wheel Date Moment: A couple has a romantic moment on a Ferris wheel.
- Fidelity Test: Testing your lover to see just how faithful they are to you.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: People who are so in love know what their partner is gonna say before they do.
- Fire and Ice Love Triangle: A love triangle where the lead's two Love Interest choices make up a Red Oni, Blue Oni duo.
- Fireworks of Love: Fireworks that go off when a couple is kissing, having sex, or otherwise having an intimate moment.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: Being unable to love again due to emotional wounds from a previous relationship.
- First Girl After All: She knew the lead long before they met their other prospective Love Interests and therefore hooks up with them.
- First Girl Wins: The lead hooks up with the first person they meet in the story.
- First Love: The first person that you've ever fallen in love with.
- Flames of Love: Fire represents the passion in a relationship.
- Flight of Romance: Flying with your Love Interest makes for a good romantic moment.
- Flirting Under Fire: The Battle Couple flirt while in the middle of combat.
- Flirty Stepsiblings: Teenage stepsiblings tend to have romantic subtext with each other.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: A doctor/nurse falls in love with the person under their care.
- Flowers of Romance: Flowers are a great gift for your lover.
- Foe Cooties: Wanting nothing to do with your Love Interest upon knowing they were once involved with your enemy.
- Fool for Love: The Cynic or Knight in Sour Armor falls in love despite emotional wounds from past love relationships.
- Forbidden Love: Romantic relationships which are considered taboo.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Forgetting that you first met your Love Interest long ago.
- Forever Fling: A short-lived, youthful, passionate romance is the yardstick by which all the couple's subsequent romances are measured and fail.
- The Four Loves: Romance is not the only form of love there is.
- Free-Love Future: In the future, everyone has sex with whoever they want without committing to each other.
- Friend Versus Lover: A character is fought over by their Love Interest and best friend.
- Friendly War: Fighting done out of love rather than malice.
- Friends with Benefits: Two people who have sex with each other in a non-romantic relationship without falling in love.
- Friendship on the Set: Actors become good friends while working on a production together.
- From Roommates to Romance: Love blossoms between two people who live together as a result of their close contact.
- Garden of Love: Gardens as a setting for love to take root, grow, and blossom.
- Gaussian Girl: A visual effect where the (usually female) Love Interest is given a blurry, ethereal look.
- Gay Guy Seeks Popular Jock: A gay male is in love with the star quarterback of the school.
- Gay Option: A dating game gives you the option to hook up with someone of the same sex.
- Gender-Bender Friendship: Character befriends their Love Interest while masquerading as the opposite sex.
- The Gentleman or the Scoundrel: A woman's two choices for a Love Interest are the polite Nice Guy and the dangerous, more thrilling bad boy.
- Ghost Shipping: Fans pair a living character with one who is dead.
- Gibberish of Love: Being unable to speak in complete sentences when around your Love Interest.
- A Girl in Every Port: Having love/sex affairs while traveling.
- Girl of My Dreams: First encountering your Love Interest in your dreams.
- Give Geeks a Chance: Nerds are given a chance at love.
- The Glomp: Tackling and hugging your Love Interest tightly.
- God Couple: Divine beings in love.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: A big, elaborate event done for someone to show your love for them.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Realizing you love someone when seeing them with someone else upsets you.
- Grow Old with Me: Lovers stay together to old age.
Tropes (H-M)
- Hair Memento: A character cutting a piece of their hair and giving it away to someone they love (this can be any kind of love).
- Hands-On Approach: Ship Tease moment where someone gets really close to their Love Interest while teaching them how to use something.
- Hands Play In Theater: Putting your arm around your Love Interest while you two are at the movies.
- Happily Married: A married couple who are happy together.
- Happiness in Slavery: Being happy to serve somebody because you love them.
- Harem Genre: A story where the lead is given multiple choices for a Love Interest.
- Harem Seeker: A character who seeks to gain multiple lovers.
- Headbutt of Love: Lovers press their foreheads together.
- Headbutt Thermometer: Ship Tease moment where a character checks their Love Interest's temperature by pressing their forehead against theirs.
- Heart Beat-Down: Using the Heart Symbol, the quintessential symbol of love, as a weapon.
- Heart Is Where the Home Is: Character breaks off a romance with a foreigner in favor of someone from their own country.
- Heartbroken Badass: A badass who lost the love of their life.
- Held Gaze: Lovers look deeply into each other's eyes.
- Her Boyfriend's Jacket: Character wears an article of their significant other's clothing.
- Her Heart Will Go On: They die, but their lover stays strong.
- Hero's Slave Harem: A hero has multiple slaves that are in love with them.
- High-School Sweethearts: They've been together since they were teenagers.
- Historical Relationship Overhaul: The love or relationship of two historical characters is portrayed differently to how it was in Real Life.
- Holding Hands: A classic romantic gesture is lovers locking hands with each other.
- Hollywood Kiss: When couples kiss in fiction, it's always perfect.
- Home Sweet Home: Staying home to settle down with your Love Interest after a long adventure.
- Hooked Up Afterwards: At the end of the story, two characters are shown to have started dating.
- Hopeless Suitor: One who has no chance of winning someone's love.
- Horny Sailors: Everyone at sea is lustful, all the time.
- How Dad Met Mom: Come around, kids, this is the story of how your father and I fell in love.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: A couple where the man towers over the woman.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Someone who regularly antagonizes their significant other gets enraged if someone else wrongs them.
- I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: A character is surprised to learn that their crush actually loves them back.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Unintentionally making someone fall in love with you.
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: Two people who are good friends refuse to get romantically involved with each other on the grounds that their friendship would go south.
- I Got You a Drawer: Two characters are signaled to be getting a Relationship Upgrade when one partner gives the other partner a space in their home to put their stuff.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: The Casanova falls in love with someone who rejects their advances.
- The "I Love You" Stigma: Using the word "love" around your significant other too soon can cause them discomfort.
- I Love You, Vampire Son: A vampire turns their lover into a vampire so the two of them can have Eternal Love together.
- I "Uh" You, Too: A character fumbles their words when they try to say "I love you" to their Love Interest.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Being willing to let your unrequited crush go be with the one they love.
- If I Can't Have You…: Killing someone because they won't return your love.
- Imaginary Love Triangle: Characters are mistakenly assumed to be involved in a love triangle.
- Imagined Innuendo: A character's dialogue is misinterpreted as a Double Entendre by another.
- Implied Love Interest: This character has vaguely romantic subtext with The Hero.
- In Love with Love: Being more enamored by the idea of being in a relationship than actually loving someone.
- In Love with the Gangster's Girl: The Hero loves a dangerous man's girlfriend.
- In Love with the Mark: A Professional Killer falls in love with the target they're supposed to kill.
- In Love with Your Carnage: A villainous or morally ambiguous character falls for someone because of their violent tendencies.
- Incompatible Orientation: Two people can't be together because of their differing sexualities.
- Inconvenient Attraction: A character falls in love when they'd rather not.
- Indirect Kiss: Two people share the same bite or drink as if they're kissing.
- Insecure Love Interest: A character who believes themself to be unworthy of their Love Interest.
- Interrupted Declaration of Love: Character tries to confess their love for somebody but is interrupted.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Someone walks in on a couple having some "alone time".
- Interspecies Romance: Romance between beings of different species.
- Intertwined Fingers: Two people lock fingers with each other, showing that they're in love.
- Intimate Artistry: An artist paints a picture of the one they love.
- It Doesn't Mean Anything: Characters who are Just Friends do something intimate with each other and then insist that it was nothing.
- It's Not You, It's Me: Breaking off a relationship due to feeling unworthy of your Love Interest.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Being with your lover puts them in harm's way.
- The Jailbait Wait: Waiting for your underage Love Interest to grow up so you can properly be with them.
- Jumping the Gender Barrier: A character's sexual preferences change when they undergo a Gender Bender.
- Just Friends: Two people consider themselves to be only good friends rather than lovers.
- Kissed Keepsake: Not wanting to wash a part of your body that was kissed by your crush.
- Kissing Cousins: Romance between cousins.
- Kissing In A Tree: Childishly mocking people who are in a relationship or seem to be in a relationship.
- Lady and Knight: The brave, chivalrous knight defends and falls in love with the fair lady.
- Ladykiller in Love: The Casanova who genuinely falls in love.
- The Lady's Favour: A woman gives her Love Interest an item of hers before he goes off into battle.
- Language of Love: A couple where one partner speaks a different language than the other.
- Lap Pillow: Ship Tease moment where a character rests their head on their Love Interest's lap.
- Last Confession Wins: In a Harem Genre story, the last girl to reveal that she loves the lead is who wins him.
- Last Girl Wins: The lead hooks up with the last person they meet in the story.
- Last Het Romance: A character realizes that they're gay after a failed heterosexual relationship.
- Last-Minute Hookup: Two characters don't become an Official Couple until the end of the story.
- Laugh of Love: The tendency to laugh when in the presence of your Love Interest.
- Laundromat Liaisons: Two characters meet at a laundromat and eventually hook up.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Leaving a room so two lovers can have some alone time.
- Leaving You to Find Myself: Character breaks off a love relationship to go do some soul searching.
- Let's Duet: Lovers sing a song together.
- Let's Just Be Friends: Characters break up, but decide to remain friends because they still care about each other.
- Let's Wait Awhile: A couple waits to have sex until the time is right.
- Level-Up at Intimacy 5: Romance and sex give you power ups.
- Life-Saving Encouragement: A statement of hope/encouragement saves a person literally or spiritually.
- Like an Old Married Couple: These two people are very close and tend to bicker with each other.
- Like Brother and Sister: These two see themselves like siblings rather than as lovers.
- Like Goes with Like: Characters tend to fall in love with those of the same race as them.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: A character's Love Interest is similar to one of their parents, be it in looks or personality.
- Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: Falling in love with your neighbor.
- Little Sister Heroine: A character's little sister serves as a Love Interest option.
- Lonely Together: Two lonely characters bond and fall in love.
- Long-Distance Relationship: Characters who are far away from each other have a romance.
- Longing Look: Glancing at your Love Interest in a yearning way.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: A character who is desperate for love has one failed relationship after another.
- The Lost Lenore: This person is dead and their lover mourns over them.
- Lost Love Montage: A character sadly looks back on an ex-lover.
- Love Across Battlelines: Characters from enemy factions fall in love.
- Love Allegory: A story used to symbolize a love relationship.
- Love at First Note: Falling in love with somebody when you hear them sing.
- Love at First Punch: Falling in love with somebody who beat you up.
- Love at First Sight: Falling in love with somebody the moment you see them.
- Love Be a Lady: A girl, or girls as a whole, used as representatives for the concept of love.
- Love Before First Sight: Falling in love with somebody before you even see them.
- Love Bubbles: An anime/manga effect where the background fills with sparkly bubbles during a love scene.
- Love Can Make You Gonk: Love causes a character to have cartoonishly exaggerated reactions.
- Love Cannot Overcome: The Hero's Love Interest breaks up with them because they can't handle their adventurous lifestyle.
- Love Chart: A chart that details the characters' relationships with each other.
- Love Confession: Character confesses their love for another.
- Love Confessor: Character admits their feelings for their beloved to a third party.
- Love Dodecahedron: Several characters are connected to each other romantically.
- Love Doodles: Drawing love symbols and writing initials and names, indicating someone has a secret crush.
- Love Epiphany: Realizing that you're in love with somebody.
- Love Father, Love Son: Character falls in love with their unrequited crush's offspring.
- Love Floats: Feelings of love cause a character to levitate off the ground.
- Love Freak: Character who is obsessed with the concept of love.
- Love Goddess: A deity responsible for feelings of love.
- Love Hotels: A hotel building where couples can be intimate with each other.
- Love Hungry: A character desperate for love tries to force people to love them.
- Love Hurts: Love causes deep emotional pain.
- Love Imbues Life: Feelings of love cause an inanimate object to come alive.
- Love Informant: A character lets another know that someone loves them.
- Love-Interest Traitor: The Hero falls in love with someone who turns out to be in league with his enemy.
- Love Is a Crime: Romantic love is outlawed.
- Love Is a Drug: Talking about love or a lover as though they were a drug.
- Love Is a Weakness: Love is regarded as a negative influence.
- Love Is in the Air: A Love Potion affects a bunch of people.
- Love Is Like Religion: Using religious imagery/terminology to talk about love.
- Love Letter: A Love Confession in writing.
- Love Letter Lunacy: A Love Letter causes a ruckus.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Falling in love makes you lose your mind.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Falling in love causes poor judgment.
- Love Makes You Evil: Falling in love causes you to cross over to the dark side.
- Love Makes You Uncreative: An artist falling in love causes their work to decline in quality.
- Love Martyr: A person who willingly puts up with someone's abuse because they love them.
- Love Nostalgia Song: A song about looking back on a past love relationship.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: Your Love Interest's parents make your relationship difficult.
- Love Overrides the Law: When you're in love, even the law can't stand in your way.
- Love Potion: A magic potion that makes a person fall in love.
- Love Redeems: Someone is made a better person through The Power of Love.
- Love Revelation Epiphany: Developing feelings for somebody when you learn that they love you.
- Love Ruins the Realm: A ruler's choices in lovers bring about disaster for their land.
- Love Theme: A song that encapsulates a couple's love.
- Love Transcends Spacetime: When love is strong, the rules of the universe get bent.
- Love Triangle: A character is caught between two choices for a Love Interest.
- Love Will Lead You Back: Lovers leave each other, but one remains confident that their lover will come back to them.
- Loved I Not Honor More: The Hero puts their duty before their love life.
- Loved Ones Montage: A character has a vision of all the people he cares about in a dramatic montage-like sequence.
- Lover Tug of War: Two suitors fight over their Love Interest tug of war style.
- Loves Me Not: Picking apart an item (usually a flower) to determine if your crush loves you back.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Someone is in love with a character's alter ego, but not their secret identity.
- Loving a Shadow: Falling in love with the ideal of someone rather than the actual person.
- Loving Bully: They pick on you because they secretly love you.
- Loving Details: Being so in love lets you remember minor details about your Love Interest.
- Lust Object: This person is the object of another character's sexual fantasy rather than their affections.
- Mad Love: Unrequited love where the pursuer is too nutty to take a hint that their crush doesn't return their feelings.
- Magic Contract Romance: Romance between a mage and the supernatural being they contracted with.
- Magnetic Girlfriend: This girl makes an unpopular guy a stud when she hooks up with him.
- Make-Out Kids: A couple who can't go one minute without PDA.
- Make-Out Point: An area for teenage couples to go kiss and possibly make love.
- Make Up or Break Up: A couple has to choose whether to stay together or break up.
- Malingering Romance Ploy: Someone fakes sick because their Love Interest is doting on them
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A peppy, energetic girl who helps a cranky, uptight guy loosen up and they fall in love.
- Married to the Job: A character is too preoccupied with their career to pay attention to their spouse.
- Marry for Love: Getting married because you love that person rather than for money, status, or security.
- Marry Them All: The lead decides to hook up with all of their prospective Love Interests.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Same-sex couple where one partner is more masculine/feminine than the other.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: A couple where the girl is a Tomboy and the guy is In Touch with His Feminine Side.
- The Masochism Tango: Two people claim to be in love, but act like they hate each other.
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: When you're a part of a secret adventurous lifestyle, it cuts into your romantic relationships.
- Massage of Love: A loving couple giving each other an intimate, non-sexual massage.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: A character falls in love with their kidnapper.
- The Matchmaker: The person who tries to arrange a romance between people.
- Matchmaker Failure: Person fails to get two people together.
- Matchmaker Crush: The Matchmaker falls for one of the people they're trying to hook up.
- May–December Romance: Romance between a young person and an elder.
- Maybe Ever After: Did The Hero and their Love Interest end up together in the end? Who knows.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Romance between people of different lifespans, for example an immortal and a mortal.
- Meadow Run: Lovers run towards each other in a beautiful meadow full of flowers.
- Meet the In-Laws: Meeting your Love Interest's parents.
- Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: White men tend to fall in love with Asian women.
- Mindlink Mates: Lovers are so close they can literally read each other's thoughts.
- The Missus and the Ex: Your current lover and ex-lover meet each other. Awkwardness may or may not ensue.
- Mistaken Declaration of Love: Accidentally confessing your love to the wrong person.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Someone is falsely accused of being unfaithful to their lover.
- Mistaken for Flirting: One person believes, in error, that another is flirting.
- Mixtape of Love: Mixtapes are a way to show your affection for someone.
- Moe Couplet: Two people who bring out each other's cute qualities the same way that romantic couples do.
- Moment Killer: A couple tries to have a romantic moment with each other, but gets interrupted.
- Monster/Slayer Romance: A romance between a Hunter of Monsters and the monster they're supposed to hunt.
- More Experienced Chases the Innocent: A more sexually and/or romantically experienced person pursues someone who has very little to no romantic or sexual experience.
- Motivational Kiss: The Hero's Love Interest kisses them in order to give them the courage they need to get through the danger ahead of them.
- The Mourning After: Being too grief-stricken to love again after the death of your lover.
- Mrs. Hypothetical: A girl thinks about having her crush's last name.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: Romance between a magic user and a regular person.
- Muggle and Magical Love Triangle: The lead's two choices for a Love Interest are a normal person and someone of supernatural origin.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Killing off your love rival.
- My Girl Back Home: The Hero's lover is waiting for him back home.
- My Own Private "I Do": A couple gets married before having a big fancy wedding.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: This girl is unable to go out on dates because her brother is very protective of her.
Tropes (N-R)
- Necktie Leash: A guy has his necktie yanked by his Love Interest, showing she is who wears the pants in the relationship.
- New Old Flame: Characters who have a romantic history with each other.
- Nice Guys Finish Last: Women never fall for sweet, kind men.
- No Accounting for Taste: There is absolutely no reason for these two to be lovers.
- No Going Steady: Characters date each other without becoming an Official Couple.
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Men don't want to be with women who can beat them up.
- No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Men find it creepy when the woman pursues them instead of the other way around.
- No Hugging, No Kissing: Romance is absent from this story.
- No Loves Intersect: Characters get with their Love Interest without any messy Love Triangles or other kinds of romantic drama.
- No Romantic Resolution: A romance arc ends without anyone getting together.
- No Sparks: A couple is shown to have no romantic compatibility.
- No, You Hang Up First: An overly lovey-dovey couple argue over who should hang up their phone conversation first.
- Nobody Thinks It Will Work: Two people are in love despite everyone thinking their relationship could never work.
- Non-Human Lover Reveal: A character's Love Interest is revealed to be a non-human.
- Not Blood Siblings: An incestuous relationship is justified by the couple not being related by blood (e.g. being stepsiblings or adopted siblings).
- Now or Never Kiss: Characters kiss and confess their love for each other in a moment where they think they're about to die.
- Oblivious to Love: They don't notice that someone is in love with them.
- Obsessive Love Letter: A Love Letter that is more creepy than romantic.
- Office Romance: Romance between co-workers.
- Official Couple: Characters who are canonically in a relationship.
- Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome: The story's Official Couple go through absolute hell throughout the story.
- Official Kiss: Two characters kiss to signal their Relationship Upgrade.
- Offscreen Breakup: Two characters who were previously established to be a couple are later found to have broken up.
- Offscreen Romance: Two characters are found to have hooked up sometime offscreen.
- Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: A classic romantic date where the couple rides in a row boat.
- Old Flame Fizzle: A character reunites with a previous lover, only to find that that person is no longer the person they remembered so fondly.
- One Head Taller: A couple where one partner (often the man) towers over the other partner.
- One Normal Night: A character bringing home a date asks their embarrassing family to act normal for their sake.
- The One That Got Away: A character wishes they had gotten together with their Love Interest.
- One True Love: The one person you're meant to be with.
- Only Has Same-Sex Admirers: A character is only loved by people of the same gender.
- Open Relationship Failure: A non-monogamous relationship runs into problems directly related to it being non-monogamous.
- Operation: Jealousy: A character tries to get their Love Interest's attention by pretending to date someone else as a way of inducing jealousy.
- Opposites Attract: They're complete opposites but they love each other.
- Orbital Kiss: A couple kisses as the camera rotates around them.
- Our Love Is Different: A character insists that their relationship with The Casanova is true love.
- Outlaw Couple: Lovers who commit crimes together.
- Pair the Dumb Ones: Dumb characters get together because they are dumb.
- Pair the Smart Ones: Intelligent characters hook up with each other.
- Pair the Spares: The characters who don't have Love Interests end up together.
- Pair the Suitors: Two people vying for someone's attention end up falling in love with each other.
- Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: A character desires a romantic relationship, but fears succumbing to their base desires.
- Parental Incest: Romance between a parent and their child.
- Parent-Preferred Suitor: When a parent prefers one Love Interest of their offspring over another.
- Parents Walk In at the Worst Time: A character's parents awkwardly walk in on them hanging out with/having sex with their Love Interest.
- Perverse Sexual Lust: Attraction to and/or falling in love with a fictional character.
- Pining After Protagonist's Parent: A character has unrequited feelings for The Hero's parent.
- Pink Is Erotic: The color pink is used to indicate arousal, attraction, eroticism, and scenes of a sexual nature.
- Pitbull Dates Puppy: A rough and tough character falls in love with someone of a softer, gentler nature.
- Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: The audience picks up romantic subtext between characters that are not meant to be in love.
- Playing Cyrano: A character helps their friend impress their Love Interest by feeding them words to say through an ear microphone.
- Playing Hard to Get: A character tries to attract their Love Interest by pretending to be not interested in them.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: A character desperately pleads the love of their life not to leave them.
- Please Dump Me: A character acts disgusting in order to get their lover to break up with them.
- Polyamory: Romance between more than two people.
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: A character is in shock after being kissed by their love.
- Power Dynamics Kink: A character falling in love with someone whom they can control and punish (or who can control and punish them).
- The Power of Love: Characters are empowered by their feelings of love and affection for each other, especially the romantic bonds with their significant others.
- The Power of Family: Characters are empowered by the love they feel for their family members (related by blood or choice).
- The Power of Friendship: Characters are empowered by the platonic love they have for their True Companions.
- Prank Date: A character is tricked into believing they have a date with their crush.
- Precocious Crush: A child has a crush on someone much older than them.
- Prince Charming Wannabe: A man who deludes himself into believing he's a woman's Prince Charming who will sweep her off her feet.
- Projectile Kiss: A character blows a kiss towards their crush.
- Promoted to Love Interest: An adaptation of a story turns a character's platonic relationship into a romantic one.
- The Promposal: Asking someone to prom in the style of a marriage proposal.
- Property of Love: When being in love makes you essentially your lover's property.
- Proxy Breakup: Alice wants to break-up with Bob, so she has Cindy do it for her. Hijinks Ensue.
- Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Two friends have a close friendship with each other that they could easily be seen as lovers.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: The ex-significant other of The Hero who didn't take being dumped very well.
- Psychotic Love Triangle: A Love Triangle where both suitors are Ax-Crazy.
- Puppy Love: Romance between pre-pubescent children.
- Pygmalion Plot: Falling in love with one's own creation.
- Race for Your Love: A character races to catch up with their Love Interest before they leave them.
- Red String of Fate: Two characters are bound by fate to be together.
- Redundant Romance Attempt: A character tries to woo their Love Interest in a very trite way, i.e. acting all smooth or aloof.
- Reincarnation Romance: Star-Crossed Lovers die and are reincarnated so they may meet each other again.
- Rejection Affection: A character is repeatedly rejected by their Love Interest, but never takes the hint.
- Relationship Compression: The amount of time it takes for characters to hook up is reduced in an adaptation.
- Relationship Reveal: Implied lovers are revealed to officially be in a relationship.
- Relationship Revolving Door: Characters date, break up, get back together, break up, and so on.
- Relationship Sabotage: A character tries to ruin someone's romance, usually out of jealousy or protectiveness.
- Relationship-Salvaging Disaster: Bickering lovers make up with each other in the midst of a time of crisis.
- Relationship Upgrade: Two characters are made an Official Couple.
- Relationship Values: Stats that show how much video game characters like the player character.
- Relationship Writing Fumble: A relationship intended to be written one way unintentionally comes across as the wrong kind of relationship to audiences.
- Releasing from the Promise: Character is released from a promise they made to their Love Interest.
- Removed from the Picture: After a nasty break up, a character cuts their former lover's image out of pictures of them together.
- Removing the Rival: A character ties up or locks their love rival in a room in order to keep him/her away from their Love Interest.
- Replacement Goldfish: A character is replaced with another. In romantic instances, after breaking up, a character starts dating someone who looks very similar to their ex.
- Rescue Romance: Falling in love with someone who saves your life.
- Resurrected Romance: A character's dead Love Interest comes back to life to rekindle their romance.
- Returning the Handkerchief: A classic romantic que where a character drops an item of theirs, and their Love Interest finds it and returns it to them.
- The Reveal Prompts Romance: A character reveals a big secret to their Love Interest, which causes them to commence a relationship.
- Revenge Romance: After a nasty breakup, a character dates someone their ex knows in order to spite them.
- Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: A character's two Love Interest choices are a rich person and a poor begger.
- Rivalry as Courtship: A romance that stems from two characters' rivalry.
- Road Trip Romance: Two characters traveling together eventually fall in love.
- Roaring Rampage of Romance: A romance that causes the deaths of many people.
- Robo Romance: Romance between robotic beings.
- Roll in the Hay: Lovers make love while rolling around in a pile of hay.
- Romance and Sexuality Separation: A character feels unable to love, and have sex with, another character.
- Romance-Inducing Smudge: A character has a smudge on their face, which their Love Interest sweetly rubs off.
- Romance on the Set: Creators behind a show fall in love.
- Romancing the Widow: Getting into a relationship with someone whose spouse has died.
- Romantic Candlelit Dinner: Dinners by candlelight are the definition of romance.
- Romantic Fake–Real Turn: A fake romance becomes real.
- Romantic False Lead: The character who initially gets with the lead, but is later dumped in favor of the official Love Interest.
- Romantic Fusion: Lovers perform a Fusion Dance.
- Romantic Hyperbole: Describing one's love through implausible situations, e.g. saying you'll grab the moon for your lover.
- Romantic Plot Tumor: A romantic subplot that gets in the way of the main conflict.
- Romantic Rain: Rain makes a good backdrop for a love scene.
- Romantic Ribbing: Love interests tease their partners.
- Romantic Ride Sharing: A couple shares a ride on the same vehicle where one drives it and the other hugs them from behind.
- Romantic Runner-Up: The character set up as a potential Love Interest for The Hero, but ultimately doesn't end up with them.
- Romantic Spoonfeeding: A character manually feeds their Love Interest.
- Romantic Wingman: A person who helps their friends out with their love lives.
- Rom Com Job: A line of work that acts as a typical romantic comedy setting.
- Runaway Bride: The bride skips out on her wedding, often because she doesn't really love her groom.
- Runaway Fiancé: A person who runs away from an Arranged Marriage, often to go be with the one they really love.
Tropes (S-Z)
- Satellite Love Interest: This character is made only to be the love interest of the lead protagonist.
- Samaritan Relationship Starter: A character falls in love with somebody upon witnessing them perform an act of kindness.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: A cool-headed often unathletic guy and a bubbly bouncy girl fall in love.
- Second-Act Breakup: The Official Couple breaks up in the middle of the story after a misunderstanding or some other kind of conflict.
- Second Love: The next person you fell in love with after your First Love didn't work out.
- Secret Relationship: Characters are in a relationship that they don't want their friends and family to know about.
- Seduction-Proof Marriage: When two people are so in love and committed to each other, no seducers can steal them away from each other.
- Seductive Mummy: A mummy is a beautiful Love Interest instead of a frightening monster.
- Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: A character who claims to be/thinks they're someone's Love Interest.
- Separated by the Wall: Lovers meet up at a barricade that is separating them from each other.
- Serenade Your Lover: Singing a love song for your beloved.
- Serial Romeo: He repeatedly falls for every girl he meets, insisting that she's the one for him.
- Settle for Sibling: When you can't win someone's love, hook up with their sibling instead.
- Settled for Gay: Hooking up with a gay man due to him being the only one available to you.
- Sex Equals Love: When two people have sex, they'll fall in love.
- Sex with the Ex: A character has sex with their ex-significant other.
- Sexual Karma: A character's morality or lack of it earns them love/sex, e.g. The Hero gets the girl he loves while the villain gets an Abhorrent Admirer.
- Sexually Transmitted Superpowers: Intimate contact with another superpowered being causes a Muggle to develop superpowers.
- Sexy Flaw: Imperfections and deformities serving as a romantic "turn-on".
- She Cleans Up Nicely: The frumpy Love Interest looks beautiful when they get dressed up.
- She Is All Grown Up: The old childhood friend who grows into a real beauty, thus a Childhood Friend Romance ensues.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Two people deny being in a relationship, to the scepticism of everyone around them.
- Shiksa Goddess: A Jewish character's Gentile Love Interest.
- Shipper on Deck: A character who supports a couple being together.
- Shipper with an Agenda: A character tries to hook two people up for reasons other than them looking cute together.
- Shipping Bed Death: Characters getting a Relationship Upgrade ruins the audience's enthusiasm for the pairing.
- Shipping Torpedo: This character is strongly opposed to a couple being together.
- Shock Value Relationship: A character gets into a head-turning relationship purely to surprise people.
- Shotgun Wedding: A couple gets married due to circumstances, e.g. the bride is pregnant with the groom's child.
- Shower of Love: A couple takes a shower together.
- Sibling Triangle: Two siblings fall in love with the same person.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Two people love each other to a Sickeningly Sweet level.
- A Side Order of Romance: A character visits a restaurant, and falls in love with the waitress.
- Sigh of Love: Sighing dreamily when in the presence of or thinking about your Love Interest.
- Signed with a Kiss: A character sends a letter or gift to their Love Interest with a kiss mark attached.
- Silly Love Songs: Peppy songs about one's love.
- Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: A character believes that love and romance are nothing but idealized nonsense.
- Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: An unpopular girl crushes on the most handsome and most popular guy in school.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Being in love with only one person.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Girls fall for sweet, kind guys.
- Situational Sexuality: Characters fall in love with someone of the same sex if there is no one of the opposite sex around.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Characters in love argue with each other then begin to kiss.
- Sleep Cute: Lovers or characters with Ship Tease fall asleep next to each other.
- Sleeping with the Boss: A character is in a romantic relationship with their employer.
- Sleeps with Everyone but You: A character will date anyone except this one person.
- Smithical Marriage: A couple checks into a hotel, signing in as a married couple.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: A teenage girl who crushes hard on a guy.
- Snow Means Love: Snow makes a good backdrop for a love scene.
- So Happy Together: A tragedy strikes right as a pair of lovers have a happy moment with each other.
- Sorkin Relationship Moment: A character acts incredibly awkward when around their ex.
- Speech-Impeded Love Interest: A Love Interest character with a speech disability.
- Spurned into Suicide: Unrequited love results in a person taking their own life.
- Squaring the Love Triangle: When the Official Couple hooks up, the unrequited suitor is then paired with the couple's child.
- Stalker with a Crush: A character who follows the person they're in love with everywhere.
- Stalking Is Funny if It Is Female After Male: A girl stalking the guy she loves is considered to be cute and amusing.
- Stalking Is Love: Stalking your Love Interest is considered romantic rather than creepy.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Lovers who can't be together due to circumstances.
- Stood Up: A character fails to show up for a date.
- Strangled by the Red String: Characters fall in love out of nowhere.
- Student/Teacher Romance: Students fall in love with their teachers or vice versa.
- Students Playing Matchmaker: Students try to find a match for their teachers.
- Stupid Sexy Friend: Somebody you're good friends with that you can't help but feel romantic attraction to.
- Succubus in Love: A Succubus falls in love.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: A character who is cold most of the time, but super sweet when with the one they love.
- Superpowered Date: Superpowers allow a character to take their Love Interest on a grandiose date.
- Supporting Harem: A Harem Genre story where there's a male lead and female lead alongside a supporting cast who are also in love with one of the leads.
- Supporting the Monster Loved One: Love making someone care for a loved-one, despite said loved-one being a monster.
- Surprise Incest: Lovers are revealed to be blood-related after they hook up.
- Sweetheart Sipping: A classic romantic date where the couple share a milkshake with two straws.
- Sweetie Graffiti: Lovers carve their initials on a tree or a wall.
- Sweet on Polly Oliver: A guy starts to fall in love with a guy who is really a girl in disguise.
- Talented Princess, Regular Guy: A romantic pairing consisting of a princess who is skilled and a guy who is pretty ordinary.
- Teacher/Parent Romance: A teacher falls in love with and dates the parent of one of their students.
- Telephone Song: A song about calling somebody on the telephone, often a love interest or ex-partner.
- Ten Minutes in the Closet: Characters get locked in a closet together, romance and make out sessions ensue.
- Terrible Pick-Up Lines: Character attempts to use smooth one-liners to attract their preferred mate. It doesn't go well.
- There Is Only One Bed: Ship Tease moment where characters end up having to share a bed.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Having an idealized outlook on love and romance.
- Through His Stomach: Winning someone's affections by cooking them a delicious meal.
- Time-Travel Romance: Romance between people from different time periods.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: A couple where the woman towers over the man.
- Token Minority Couple: Racial minorities in love.
- Token Romance: A romantic subplot that's put in a story for superficial reasons.
- Top Wife: A man has many wives, but has one that he loves the most.
- Train-Station Goodbye: Lovers going their separate ways say their goodbyes at the train station.
- Trans Relationship Troubles: Being trans causes drama when it comes to romantic relationships.
- True Love Is a Kink: When love is foreplay.
- True Love Is Boring: Conflict among lovers is considered more exciting than them being happy together.
- True Love is Exceptional: A character falls in love with someone who is usually not their type.
- True Love's Kiss: Lovers share a kiss that cures a problem/causes a miracle to happen.
- Tsundere: They're secretly in love with you, but they have trouble admitting it and mask their feelings with a hostile attitude.
- Tunnel of Love: An amusement park ride for couples to go on.
- Twice Shy: Characters who are each other's Love Interests are both too shy to admit their feelings.
- Two-Person Love Triangle: A Love Triangle where the two choices are actually the same person.
- Umbrella of Togetherness: Ship Tease moment where two characters share an umbrella with each other.
- Unbalanced By Rival's Kid: Upon meeting the child of an unrequited crush and love rival, a character becomes angry.
- Unbroken Vigil: A character keeps watch over their unconscious Love Interest.
- Uncovering Relationship Status: A character tries to find out if their crush is already in a relationship.
- Undercover as Lovers: Two spies pose as lovers as they go undercover.
- Understanding Boyfriend: The heroine's boyfriend who knows that she's a fantasy heroine and sympathizes with the wacky antics she goes through.
- Unfocused During Intimacy: Two characters are in a romantic or sexual moment, and at least one isn't entirely into it.
- Unholy Matrimony: Villains in love.
- Unknowingly in Love
- Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: A character never stops loving their unrequited crush.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: A character has an unrequited crush on another then later gets over it, only for their former crush to develop feelings for them.
- Unrequited Tragic Maiden: The romantic female lead who is hopelessly in love with a guy she can never have.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Two characters are obviously attracted to each other, but they never act on their feelings.
- Unwanted Harem: Many people are vying for The Hero's attention, much to their dismay.
- Uptight Loves Wild: An uptight, cool-headed character loves someone who is more crazy and spontaneous.
- Uptown Girl: The rich girl who falls for a poor boy.
- Vampire-Werewolf Love Triangle: A Love Triangle where the two Love Interest choices are a vampire and a werewolf.
- Villainesses Want Heroes: A villainous female is in love with The Hero.
- Villainous Crush: An evil character is in love with a heroic character.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: This girl will not let anyone harm her significant other.
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: An unconventional marriage proposal.
- Wall Pin of Love: A character halts their Love Interest from leaving by pinning their hand against the wall and effectively blocking their path.
- Wartime Wedding: A couple gets married during a time of great war and strife.
- Was It All a Lie?: Upon finding out that their Love Interest was The Mole, a character asks them if all of their good times together were a ruse.
- Weakness Turns Her On: A girl is attracted to guys who are more vulnerable than males are expected to be.
- Wedding Deadline: The Hero must get to their true love before they say "I do" at their wedding.
- Went Crazy When They Left: A character goes crazy when someone they care strongly for leaves in any fashion.
- What Does She See in Him?: People wonder why a character is in love with someone who seems so undesirable.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: A character is unable to understand romantic love.
- What Measure Is a Humanoid?: Interspecies Romance, except one half of the pairing has a human form.
- When Harry Met Svetlana: Romance between an American man and a Russian woman.
- Where da White Women At?: Black men tend to fall in love with white women.
- Why Can't I Hate You?: A character can't bring themselves to truly hate their love rival.
- Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Giving a former lover another chance when they don't deserve it.
- Window Love: Lovers meet at a window and kiss or touch hands through it.
- Wife Husbandry: A man falls in love with a woman he's raised since she was a little girl.
- With This Ring: When a man proposes to his lady love, anything can go wrong with securing the ring.
- Woman Scorned: She was spurned/dumped by her Love Interest and she doesn't take well to it.
- Women Prefer Strong Men: Women fall for men who are strong and muscular.
- Working with the Ex: A character has to work with their ex-significant other.
- Yandere: They're so in love with somebody that they'll murder anybody who stands in their way.
- Yandere Couple: Two people driven murderous with love end up together.
- Yawn and Reach: A guy pretends to yawn so he can wrap his arm around his girlfriend.
- You Are Worth Hell: True love is worth suffering a terrible fate for.
- You Have Waited Long Enough: When a character's true love doesn't return, they're forced to move on.
- You Must Be Cold: Ship Tease moment where a man offers his jacket to a woman.
- Young Love Versus Old Hate: Young people fall in love while their older relatives still cling to hatred.
- Your Favorite: A sign that you really love someone is that you know what their favorite food is.
- Your Universe or Mine?: Lovers from different worlds or countries must decide where they will go.
- Zip Me Up: Ship Tease moment where a man helps a woman zip up her clothes.
