Plot mechanics
I'm very fond of a few of them that appear to pop up in my writing every once in a while. Biggest examples would probably be having characters who are hobbyists at a given art and will refuse to make paid jobs out of it, and having Aces (as in characters expert in a task) always coming in pairs.
That's two of them. There are others, I guess, but these two are the ones I could identify and put words the quickest for.
Why? I
think they come from my time in highschool where I was both an observer and a part of those phenomena, but I'm not totally sure. I guess part of the Aces thing is how having a personal, chivalric rivalry with someone is supposed to bring the best of you two over time.
How often? Apparently an element in at least half of my stories. My two concurrent stories in writing have Ace Pairs.
Playfield, an old story I wrote for Pokécommunity's SWC, ended up having both plot elements sorta occur at once (one of the characters laments having turned his hobby into a job), though I didn't realize it until after about two years from publishing it.
Originally Posted by Kyoe
a vivacious femme fatale who means the undoing of our gruff, world worn hero
Is that one of yours personally? If so: Could you expand a bit on where may it come from and why do you use it? It's admittedly interesting because it's one of those things that feel "classical" at a first look, but even a slightly deeper examination reveals various timeless elements about it.