Ships That Pass in the Night/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Two characters who are, at best, casual acquaintances in Canon get paired up. A form of Crack Pairing.

  • Played Straight: Alice and Zoe see each other now and then, but have barely said two words to one another, and yet are madly in love in a fanfic.
  • Exaggerated: Alice and Zoe are not from the same town. They're not from the same region. They're not from the same country. They're not from the same planet! They're not even from the same universe!
  • Justified: Hey, every Beta Couple began with two strangers, right?
  • Inverted: Alice and Zoe have known and loved each other for a very long time.
    • Alternatively: Alice and Zoe know eachother better than most married couples, but don't have any strong feelings about each other one way or the other.
    • Or: Alice and Zoe, despite barely even knowing each other, become bitter enemies the second their eyes meet, swept up in the emotional roller coaster of hate at first sight.
  • Subverted: Alice meets Zoe, and they instantly hit it off as friends.
    • Alice likes girls who are a lot like Zoe, and vice-versa. It's obvious they'd be perfect for each other if only either of them knew that the other existed... And they're both going to the same place today! ...Except by the time Zoe gets there, Alice is gone, and both return home alone, yet again.
  • Double Subverted: Only to become a couple not too much later.
    • While they've yet to meet in person, it turns out they've had an online relationship for quite some time now... And are starting to think about meeting face to face.
  • Deconstructed: Things could get awkward (and possibly dramatic), considering that they don't even know each other. And what of compatibility? Being in the same place at the same time is not the same thing as being compatible.
    • Alternatively: Their first meeting has all the awkwardness and uncertainty of a blind date.
  • Reconstructed: But somehow, they respect each other's differences, and realize they do have stuff in common. Pretty soon, their relationship evolves and gets stronger every day.
  • Parodied: Alice and Zoe get married or move in together 5 minutes after they first meet.
    • Alternatively: Alice and Zoe randomly pass on the street and pull each other in for a deep, passionate kiss, before going their separate ways like nothing ever happened. When asked who it was she'd just been making out with, Alice replies that she has no idea.
  • Lampshaded: "Have you two met?"
  • Averted: Alice and Zoe are not lovers in this fic, just casual acquaintances, people who have never even heard of one another, just friends, or mortal enemies.
  • Enforced: Crack Pairing
  • Invoked: Mary introduces Alice and Zoe at a party, and Love At First Sight ensues.
  • Defied: Alice and Zoe will only date people they are already friends with.
  • Discussed: "Wait...they've barely said two words to one another!"
  • Conversed: "At least they're from the same universe."
  • Played For Laughs: Alice and Zoe are paired up Just for Fun, even though they have nothing in common and have never spoken to one another.
  • Played For Drama: Alice and Zoe's differences outweigh the commonalities, and the relationship turns sour.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Ships_That_Pass_in_the_Night/Playing_With?oldid=868145"