#but i've aways been so fascinated learning niche examples of tropes i love

[5eraphim]

I need a support group for people who were sexually awakened by the "let's make a deal" trope. Technically I believe the name for this trope falls under the category of "Dark Bargains," though, in some instances, it's more akin to a gamble than a contract. And thinking more about this trope i startd spiraling and made this meditation on writing these tropes and why they work so well.

My Favorite Dark Bargain Tropes

The Deal with the Devil

A tale older than time. A mortal human makes some kind of agreement with a supernatural entity (not always a devil, but some sort of malevolent entity.) for worldly gain at the cost of one's immortal soul. While putting a lowly human against a powerful supernatural entity sounds like the build-up to a predictable occlusion, this narrative has been interpreted in countless ways to subvert expectations or even to subvert prior iterations of this story.

This is a sister trope to the "chess against death" story, where the protagonist will actively try to beat the devil/death at the cost of their soul rather than taking an assured reward for a secure price. Usually, the two overlap when the protagonist tries to work their way out of the contract, challenging the devil directly. 

Not only should your audience know why the protagonist would sacrifice their own soul for their reward, but what is the relationship between the protagonist and this antagonistic entity. Do they not believe in the afterlife, a hedonistic character only concerned with Earthly pleasure? Are they doing this as a last result, only making such a drastic sacrifice after an entire life of suffering? While the audience must understand the reward, "want," and motivation in question, the "fear" or lack thereof regarding the devil should likewise be understood.

The Bet

This one is super common in media. I remember from growing up and adult media/fiction. IMO, the better the characters, the more compelling the bet. Even one-dimensional characters can work so long as a real rivalry is established. Additionally, the audience won't care about the outcome if one person is written as blatantly overpowered or if this person loses through some cheap last-minute twist. A twist-ending can only work with proper foreshadowing or at least post-justification.

While this definitely falls under the "bargain" category, gambler characters flourish here, as they are all the more likely to risk it all and fight as hard as possible to win. Maybe they are blind to their own shortcomings regarding their opposition, or they don't understand the severity of the bet until they're in too deep. Just because your character wants to win doesn't mean they can't regret entering in the first place!

The genius of the trope really lies in simplicity. A bet can fuel a plot under just about any genre. It could come in the form of a high-stakes action game. The downward spiral of a hero in a tragedy. A high school romance where the (usually) male protagonist is challenged to woo his love interest after his friends bet he can't do it. 

The other critical component is the "punishment" aspect, or whatever fate should befall the loser. The story doesn't even need to show what happens to the bet's loser as long as the steaks are straightforward. Not to say the outcome needs to be played straight! The punishment could be less about harming the loser and more about the winner's amusement. Or perhaps the loser secretly enjoys or finds comfort in their punishment. The bet is far more about the "chase" and less about the "success."

The Fantasy Contract

Very similar to the deal with the devil trope but with slightly less sinister connotations. The idea here is it's more a matter of contracting the supernatural to receive their help and agreeing to follow whatever fantastical laws of the land. 

Typically, the supernatural entity would try to explain the rules and regulations in "human terms" to lure the protagonist into a false sense of security. To get a contract signed without reading the fine print or informed consent. Sometimes to the extent, the protagonist is effectively played like a pawn, just a minor stepping stone in the villain's master plan. The drama unfolds as your protagonist begins to learn they didn't understand what they signed up for and pick up there's more to the contract behind the scenes.

There must be a good reason a character would try to make a contract with the supernatural, whether they believe it safe to do so or not. It doesn't have to be as dramatic as trying to raise the dead, so long as the audience understands why your protagonist is making this bargain in the first place. Perhaps the supernatural entities are "wolf in sheep's clothing" types, telling stories of helping humanity and mortals for ages now, omitting any less savory details.

Get creative writing on how to summon the entity! Fiction gives us no shortage of inspiring and fascinating ritualistic scenes of how to summon spirits and commune with the occult. Or instead of bringing the entity to your protagonist, they need to seek out the creature themself. Whether that means embarking on a weeks-long voyage to another land or a walk across town. Focusing on the setting and the build-up before even meeting the creature help build up anticipation and characterization of whatever your protagonist must invoke.

Working off the Debt

Not necessarily the direct result of losing a bet or bargain, but essentially all iterations of this scenario begin with a character confronted, needing to pay up, but ultimately being unable to pay monetarily. Great diversity for the reason your character wound up here. Maybe they were tricked into agreeing to something without seeing the price first. 

Often in this situation, the protagonist is given board while working off their debt for the antagonist, considering how living under the same roof as one essentially forcing you into servitude could affect your protagonist's mental state. Working under someone's direct control would force your protagonist to remain aware and suffer the consequences of being unable to pay up. Or they agreed to take out a loan to send money to someone they love and cannot pay back their debt now that it's accumulated interest. In the same vein, consider your character agreeing to work off the debt of someone close to protect them. 

Great sense of drama comparing a lone character with a massive weight over their head and pressure to pay off their debt, forced into the service of another person or organization. The fear of eternal financial debt is terrifying to the modern audience, and the idea of physically toiling away under the fleeting hope of escaping living like this. Especially if your character is a "fish out of water" type, the antagonist takes advantage of their naivety or inexperience in their new home.

While the pain of working off debt should be well elaborated upon, consider the build-up to this moment. Has your character been trying to doge the debt collector for some time? How long have they been working up this debt? Not to say every debater should have a long history leading up to the punishment for failing to pay, but to better establish your character's past and how that's relevant to where they've ended up.

As for examples under the "Gambling" sub-genera

All or Nothing

Ironically this trope is perhaps more common in game shows and competitive reality tv shows than in fiction. While it's hard to begin a story with the protagonist ready to bet everything they have on one game, if the audience watches how and how long the protagonist works to acquire what they have, we'll care all the more to see if they win.

Again, this generally works well as a climax/finale to your story, of watching how hard your character had to work for their success. Generally, no one would make such a risky move to possibly lose everything, logically speaking. Is your character so caught up with winning, so blinded by hubris they believe they already have this in the bag? Are they only risking so much to definitively defeat the antagonist? What exactly does winning big or losing everything mean in the context of your story?

You could also interpret this as it's not that the protagonist will actually lose everything if they don't win, but the idea of being "second best" is just as bad as losing everything. A character with pride on the line rather than something physical.

Other questions to consider might include the context of your particular character and the "final gamble" in question. Have they lost this game before? Were they prepared for everything to come to this? How much should your audience know about the challenger making this offer in the first place? While the game in question can be obvious, we don't necessarily need to know as much about the challenger. Playing up the knowableness of the opposition can amp up your character's fear in the situation.

Descent into Addiction

Unlike many other tropes listed, this one is far less neutral and much less likely to be played for comedy rather than drama. (Assuming you're writing something high-stakes.) For most, addiction is a rather somber topic, and when trivialized or written unrealistically, people won't want to see what ultimately happens to the characters.

Essential to understand the distinction between addiction and dependence; and how those factors affect your story. While addiction is about needing more and more to achieve the same outcome, dependence focuses more on taking the same thing without a sure result. Both can be just as compelling, can work in tandem together, and can explain a physical vs. psychological need.

Relapses often play a considerable role in stories about a descent into addiction and can work as the trigger for the events of your story, just as well as the bitter conclusion. "You admire a character for trying more than for their successes." (Coats) A character's recovery history can be just as compelling as their addiction, and if you are writing a character relapsing, this is vital information.

Even people with the best intentions or misguided love can trigger a relapse in another, usually in the form of some kind of enabler. The type of people who don't necessarily intend to cause harm or hurt the addict but will lead to a relapse all the same. Perhaps your enabler could be some kind of foil to a "tough love" character. Show the audience the difference between someone who wants the addict happy, even if they know the consequences, vs. a character who would do anything to save the addict from a grizzly demise, even if that means a lot of pain and tough love along the way.

Fixing the Game

Either in the form of a game rigged from the start for players to lose or fixed by the protagonist's opposition. This particular trope rally flourishes in a traditional casino/gambling table setting, considering the way these places are explicitly engineered to fuck with people's perceptions of time. 

If the protagonist is initially characterized as moral and fair, we could watch what it would take to break someone like this. As in, someone who swears to always play by the rules eventually breaks down by loss after loss until they contemplate cheating. To learn what it would take to "break" them in this sense and how guilt would factor into all of this.

As important as the protagonist, the audience should know who stacks the game against the protagonist. Not to say the motive should be divulged immediately, but rather only in ways relevant to the main character. It doesn't matter if the enemy is a rival player or if the entire casino is in on the heist. It's the intention that counts.

Great way to build tension/suspense for the reader if privy to how the game is stacked, while the characters aren't. Or if subtle clues are laid, leading to the "Ah-Ha!" moment when all the pieces fall into place.

Strip Poker

I have no analysis here. Just always love the tension slowly builds. A relatively neutral conflict can be played for laughs or dread just as easily. Works best if the audience is given a variety of reactions from players. The possibilities are endless to see who would be embarrassed, who is just having a good time, who is hyper-focused on winning, and who would lose intentionally.

Lottery of Doom

A sort of toned-down cousin of the "death game" genre. The idea that a character can meet a deadly execution determined by sheer chance alone is terrifying! 

The idea that this could happen to anyone plays on the natural human fear of disasters or fatal accidents, how any day could be our last. No matter how careful you are or how you try to protect yourself, it's simply impossible to prepare for everything. Sure, your main character might've survived the last lottery and every one before it, but that won't protect them from the next drawing. 

In a more creative twist, you could play with the idea that your main character has won a gruesome lottery, but they don't know about the "doom" part yet. Someone so caught up in winning they only realize what they've signed up for once it's too late. 

This trope is somewhat rare compared to the others listed but has excellent narrative potential nonetheless. While the format of a literal lottery isn't as exciting as gambling, it's the motive we need to care about. Maybe you're writing about a cursed town sacrificing virgins to appease a wrathful god, its pure population control, or just another cruel practice in your dystopian society.