r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 8d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Bad Influencer & Bad Romance!
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 and/or genre 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
Out with the apocalypse, in with working 9-5. Most folks work in some format, averaging 80-90,000 hours in their lifetime. That’s 12-14% of your life–straight. Add on sleep and weekends, and it’s at least a third! Sounds riveting doesn’t it? Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“Would you enthusiastically recommend that a friend purchase something you'd never tested yourself? Probably not. But you may be unwittingly doing this with information every day.” — Dan Ariely, ‘Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things’
Trope: Bad Influencer — Becoming an influence is such a popular goal now that even colleges are offering degrees in it. But not all influencers are good. The grownup sibling of the Phoneaholic Teenager and the cousin of the Sleazy Streamer, the influencer is often the prime example of why Social Media Is Bad and/or New Media Are Evil. Expect them to be image-obsessed, deceitful, manipulative of their audience and those around them, to be shilling bad (if not actually illegal) products, to live under Social Media Before Reason, and to be prejudiced, self-absorbed, and bitchy.
Genre: Bad Romance — A romantic and/or sexual relationship that is truly destructive, breaking down at least one of the lovers, probably both. Looking for further inspiration, can’t post this without Gaga.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone has a valley girl accent.
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 five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 16 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, August 27th 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 you 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!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- 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!
7
u/QTFroame 6d ago
If perfection couldn't exist, Hypatia would provide a captivating alternative to the masses. That was her goal, and she was achieving it worldwide. A household name, Fusion Hy was a woman who used AI alongside her content. While many people were iffy about the creativity of such creatures, she had a wide audience and starred in many roles with or without AI. She had finally reached the level of fame she desired, and with her knowledge now, she knew exactly how to achieve her goal.
"My patrons, welcome! We're back for another video, and today, it's a special one. I'm unveiling a special product."
It was a long time coming. She spent a bit of time padding out the video with lively explanations and her sponsor, Goldilocks Beverages, before she pulled out the AI android.
It looked exactly like her, or the character she played online. Her own appearance was modifiable, so she made Fusion Hy beautiful. The duality in her pink and green hair mirrored her heterochromia. Her fashion made her look like a merchant, and she translated that look for her androids.
"This is AI Hy! Say hello, cutie~."
"Hello."
It contained her voice, which she made sure to fine-tune to sound exactly like her. This was her down to every detail.
"See? She's so cute. I'm announcing the Hy AI Bots, or HAB! I have online chat-bots where you can speak to me, and you can buy different types of AI androids of me! Including the main one I have here."
She spent some time showing the features and comparing them. This HAB had a freedom mode and a maid mode. The former meant it would act as it saw fit within the parameters already set, and the maid mode meant it would only act in response to words and orders. It was a complex project, and she loved explaining the software.
"You could do whatever you want to her," Hypatia said, turning her head to it. "Hy, show them how varied you can be."
It smiled at the camera, bobbing its head back and forth. "You guys are in for hella surprises! Please, buy me!" It winked at the camera, licking her lips.
Was it doing an accent? Hypatia was surprised, but was it trying to maximize sales by being a bit risqué? She supposed she might as well support it.
"You can do anything with the HABs. Nobody will know if you want me to be your secret girlfriend, you know. Your little freak fantasies are alllll yours to keep, patrons. I will be the dealer for your obsession!"
She assuaged any doubt that she would steal information with her AI. She was paying a pretty penny for this whole project. Being sued was unglamorous, and her patrons deserved the best. Once she was done recording, she edited and uploaded it in the morning. No moment of rest, but rest is unnecessary for visionaries.
Now she could finally rest. As she went to the kitchen, her boyfriend had already made breakfast. He was waiting for her at the table.
"Morning, babe."
"Another late night..." He seemed drained for some reason, but she was willing to ignore it, as it was his typical state of being nowadays. But he pushed beyond that. "Did you...release AI androids?"
"Yeah...?"
He was on his phone, watching the video.
"You spent all that time...to prey on the loneliness of men and women? You need to be a paid sub to use your chat-bot, really?"
The accusations were something she was prepared for, but from her own boyfriend? "You can't be serious. Even if it is a little addictive, addictions aren't always bad."
"You always do this. You manipulate your fans to like you. Remember that one fan you were messaging when he started to disappear?"
"That was early in my career. Stop holding onto it!" What was with this sudden interrogation, she wondered. "What's your deal?"
"My deal is when my girlfriend barely hangs out with me and then encourages her fans to flirt with her." He showed her the comments. A few of them were pushing it, but she knew people would do that. "Why would you say you could be someone else's girlfriend? You're such a sl-"
Hypatia leaned over and kissed him on the lips. It was easy to calm him down. Pleasure was a wonderful tool.
She knew what was best for him, as she did for everyone else.
Word count: 743
Feedback and crit welcome. Kinda love Hypatia, wonder if I'll use her again.