Forced Proximity
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | Bound Together, Huddling for Warmth, Cabin Fic, Snowed In, Elevatorfic, Desert Island, etc. |
| See also | Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Pining |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Forced Proximity is a family of fic tropes which 'trap' several characters together, either by isolating them in the same physical location or by creating unvaoidable social, physical or psychic links between them. The characters can enter this situation willingly or unwillingly.
Examples of forced proximity tropes include:
- Arranged Marriage
- Bound Together
- Canadian Shack
- Cave Story
- Elevatorfic
- Fake/Pretend Relationship
- Huddling for Warmth
- Mail-Order Bride
- Only One Bed
- Snowed In
- Soulbond
- Soulmates
- Stranded on a Desert Island
- Etc
Other tropes and settings can lend themselves well to forced proximity, such as Apocafic, in which characters are sometimes the only survivors at the end of the world; Time Travel or groundhog day stories can sometimes mobilize the trope for similar reasons (X & Y are the only humans in this era/X is the only person who understands Y in this era/X is the only person stuck in the time loop with Y, etc.)
In heat fic/sex pollen/fuck or die tropes, sexual activity is often a condition of survival for at least one of the parties involved, leading to a sort of forced proximity, though it is often more punctual than other manifestations of the genre.
More mundane setups for (en)forced proximity might include "having to work with an ex/enemy."
Forced proximity tropes are often used to force characters who would not otherwise declare their feelings to do so; as such it is particularly enjoyable when the characters in question are enemies who are forced to get to know each other, or unwillingly learn to appreciate each other.
Fanworks Example
This article or section needs expansion. |
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Resources & Further Reading
- AO3 Forced Proximity tag (not canonical as of June 2022, it nevertheless contained 24 pages of works posted between 2009 and 2022)
- Recs tagged Forced Proximity at Fancake