Shadowing Practice: Fluffy Tropes That'd Be Scary IRL - Learn English Speaking with Video

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What cute or fluffy fanfiction trope would be absolutely horrifying in real life?

For me, it's any variation of the soulmate, eh you?

Like, what do you mean that they're destined to be my other half, whether platonically or romantically?

What do you mean any other relationship will pale in comparison?

Credit to credit user CinderDreams for starting this thread on the fanfiction subreddit.

And let's go read some answers.

Let me know your own, too.

I mean, can you imagine waking up one morning to find someone else's name tattooed on your skin

because fate picked them to be your soulmate?

It's like getting a bad tattoo that you can't laser off.

It'd be terrifying to think about Destiny choosing someone, irrespective of their personality or literal criminal record.

Plus, can you imagine the pressure?

One bad date and you're not just ruining your week, but apparently the universe is planned too.

No ma'am, I'd rather have my Netflix and snacks in peace, thank you very much.

This is probably not relatable to everyone, but the only one bed trope.

I hate sharing beds with people, even when I'm prepared to.

Even in a romantic relationship, I want my own space to sleep in.

I would rather sleep on the floor than be forced to share a bed with someone without any mental preparation.

This is going to be my answer.

I'd rather sleep on the floor than be in the same bed as someone.

And I hate sleeping on floors.

The always positive, pushy friend who pushes the introvert out of their shell and urges for radical physical transformation.

I have no patience for that.

Interfering friends that relentlessly needle and push you to ask out your crush or just generally are very nosy,

might even outright ask you if you like that person right in front of them.

I experienced it, hated it, it just made me uncomfortable.

I can't stand it in any kind of fiction.

It's such a turnoff for me that I'll just stop reading if the friends are too interfering.

Fake dating to appease nosy ass family members.

just tell them you're single and move on.

Ooh, good one.

One of my ultimate tropes that would actually make me so mad.

We have to practice kissing so they believe it.

Huh?

Not exactly horrifying, but I once had someone I had a crush on for years come back into my life and ask me out.

And it was awkward as hell and did not result in anything positive.

Of course, I'm sure sometimes it is something that works out in real life, but in my case, it was the opposite.

But in fanfic, I still love it.

Okay, this might sound cliche, but enemies to lovers.

These fics are my absolute favorite, but in real life, if a person called me every insult under the sun, relentlessly bullied me, hurt my friends or family,

etc. I'm sorry, I am not going to forgive you or suddenly think, well, he called me a dumb bitch before,

but surely he doesn't mean it now.

Nah, you say what you mean, and if you thought so lowly of me before, or thought it's okay to treat people like that, why would I trust you now?

This also includes the plots where a person is mean to everyone but the main character.

No, it's not cute that you're rude to people even if you're sweet to the main character.

You're still a dick.

Yeah, and I also love the idea of the hero character who can't help

but be attracted to the villain despite how much they hate each other, but I can't imagine feeling like that in real life.

If I hate you, then I want absolutely nothing to do with you.

No other underlying feelings.

Pretty much any enemies to lovers.

They tried to kill each other, and now they're together?

Buddy, what?

That's gotta be traumatic.

or variations thereof, like bullies dating their victims.

A lot of people like to write trauma-rebound romance.

I don't, because not only does it not work in real life, but it makes the ship feel forced.

It's why I only ship Korra with therapy, and why I rewrote Disney's direct-to-video sequel to The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Jealousy and possessiveness.

In media, it's lovable or hot or both.

I'd let myself be spoon-fed with that.

But in real life, it's scary AF.

Coffee shop AU, specifically the whole flirting with the barista thing.

It's cute and fic, but flirting with service workers in real life is a whole no. They're doing their job.

A stubborn character being forcibly cared for.

I feel like it would be really uncomfortable doing or receiving that in real life, and it could be genuinely traumatic at worst.

But in fiction, it's like, yeah, you make sure this dumbass doesn't hurt themselves further.

I am the stubborn character, and it is hell.

People ignore your boundaries thinking they know better than you, when they never do in reality, and think they're doing a good thing.

Meanwhile, you feel even worse, because now you're sick or injured, but a loved one violated your trust

and showed they have a very low opinion of you and your abilities to know what is good for yourself.

Probably risking your life to continue to date the one person, after figuring out they have a dangerous job,

mafia, assassin, spy, etc. because you love them.

I couldn't handle knowing I could be a target of kidnapping.

Or, you know, dying.

I like a normal, stable life.

Not sure if this is fluffy, but I'd be miserable in a forbidden relationship scenario.

Mainly because I've been out of the closet for years, and the one time I dated someone that was in the closet, I felt that I had to watch what I said,

couldn't be seen in public, and not feel liked or acceptable when I truly did nothing wrong but exist.

No idea of love is worth making yourselves both miserable.

Doctor slash dentist slash teacher slash professor slash boss ex patient slash subordinate slash student.

Conveniently running into the other person multiple times.

In real life, that's stalker behavior.

In fiction, it's a convenient way to have the two love interests meet.

Or showing up to the same place a lot because you know that's where the other person goes a lot, or works.

I've read a couple fics about this trope.

A is hiding a surprise or funding a trip and had to lie about it to Bee.

I remember two fics that took a realistic approach.

Bee would suspect cheating and get sad and depressed.

Imagine weeks or months of your partner acting shady and maybe everyone else gaslighting you as they are in on it.

And at the end, after all the worrying and sadness and anger, surprise, it was all a trick.

I would have preferred no surprise over all this drama.

I'm with you on this.

Would it be that difficult to say, Hey hun, I'm working on a surprise for you for your birthday, so you're not messing with their emotions?

You can still surprise them.

The Snowdin trope.

Yeah, I get why it's fluff central and everything, but honestly, the idea of being trapped in a small cabin or room with only a small group of people, or just one person.

It makes me shiver when I think of myself being in that situation.

Maybe it's because I'm neurodivergent and need my own space, maybe it's the idea alone of being trapped,

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or maybe I just know too many horror stories that start off with that very same premise.

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I've watched The Shining too much.

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I'd be apprehensive in that situation too.

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Betting on people's relationships?

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It's fine in fanfics, I guess.

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Overused in my opinion but in real life, it's just weird and invasive.

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If I found out someone I knew bet on me getting together with someone else, I'd be pissed.

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Maybe some others might not relate to this, but matchmaking.

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For most of my life, people have tried to play matchmaker for me, and I hate it.

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My best friend is driven mad by the fact that I won't put myself out there to date very much, and it's so horrifying when people do this to me.

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I don't like the idea of anyone but me choosing someone for me.

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I know it comes from good intentions, but unless I greenlight it, I hate when it happens.

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Which is too often.

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Another trope, heavy clinginess.

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It doesn't matter if it's unhealthy codependency or done as a cutesy pestering in a story.

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In real life, it's a lot to deal with when someone is like that.

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All the second, third, and one hundredth chances given to a troubled person who keeps messing things up.

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No matter how difficult and hopeless it all looks, their loved ones persist and forgive and keep loving them.

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Aww, so sweet.

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I guess it would be nice to be this person.

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In real life, I was the person giving chances and persisting in an abusive relationship until it destroyed me.

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0 out of 10, do not recommend.

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I've seen several shows where either the male

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or female leads are really pushy and refuse to take no for an answer

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and do everything they can to win over the counterpart lead.

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It's cute when you know that's the person they're going to end up with.

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When it's literally anyone else, it is annoying as heck, and you just want that person to disappear.

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And it's kind of stalker-ish.

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Person A breaks up with person B, and days or weeks later, B comes back to A and demands they get back together.

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It's cute in fiction that is known for breakup and makeup cycles, but if it happened to me in real life,

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I'd be like, no, I had my valid reasons for breaking up with you, even if you refused to believe them.

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I agree so much on the soulmate AU stuff.

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For me, it's all of it too, but especially the idea of your soulmate having telepathic access to your mind or emotions.

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Like, no thank you, my mind is the only true privacy.

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The f*ing soulmate goose.

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I think I missed that one.

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I think it goes, you and your soulmate encounter a goose that forces you to meet, because it does what geese do and chases you both with relentless frightening aggression.

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That would be horrifying.

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Geese are no joke.

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Any trope that can be found in a Hallmark Christmas this movie, I loathe the very idea of it happening to me in real life.

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To me, all of them.

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Sorry guys, I just don't feel like actual real life romances are my thing.

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Yes, I can't stomach most romance because so many of the tropes are really creepy and toxic to me.

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Now, fighting back to back on the battlefield and patching each other up afterwards is something I can get behind.

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But That's not fluffy.

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It's absolutely fluffy.

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The fluff is just a little bloody is all.

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Me, looking to use all these tropes for horror and fiction.

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It's all about execution.

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Oh, I love executions.

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Big thank you to my Patreon members, my little ruse.

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Gooski55, Nebulatic Vexen, Donko42, John Huang, Laser Scorpio, Night Avenger, Mintara,

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SomniphobicDanny, SavageOtters, Valzy, RGLawsRider, and TerabyteAIX.

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Thank you so much for extra support on Patreon.

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It means the world to me.

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I know at least one of you showed up in the video today, so I hope you enjoyed that.

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I hope you guys are doing well.

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Once again, thank you very much.

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And the same goes to my YouTube channel members, my MiniRuse, AD, Taylor Thompson, FoxStarKiller, and ThisPerson10.

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Thank you so much for extra support.

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I'm so glad to have you be part of my channel.

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And I hope you guys are doing well.

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Keep rocking on and being your best self.

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Thank you to everyone else for watching.

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Let me know in the comments, what is a fluffy trope that you think you wouldn't like to have happen in real life?

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I think I've written quite a few relationships where it's cute on paper, but if I was in that position, if I was in that relationship,

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I don't know if it would be as fun.

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So let me know your examples.

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I think that'd be fun to read.

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I will see you in the next video.

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I wish you all the best.

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And until next time, this is Joey hopping on out.

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What You'll Learn

This video helps you practice casual conversational fluency and expressing personal opinions—key skills for real-life interactions. You’ll also learn to use colloquial phrases like "no ma'am" and "nah" to sound natural, which is perfect for learning English with videos. These phrases add personality to your speech, making you easier to understand in everyday chats.

Listen For These Sounds

Notice how the speaker links words in casual speech, like "what do you mean" becoming "whaddaya mean" and "can you imagine" sounding like "canyou imagine." Reductions like "it's" (instead of "it is") and "they're" (instead of "they are") are common here too. These connected speech patterns are crucial for shadow speech practice—mimicking them helps you keep up with fast, natural conversations.

Say It Like a Native

To mirror the speaker’s rhythm, stress content words like "terrifying," "pressure," and "uncomfortable" to emphasize emotions. The speaker uses a relaxed, conversational pace, pausing briefly after phrases like "I mean" or "okay"—copying these pauses makes your speech flow smoothly. For shadow speak practice, repeat short sections like "One bad date and you're not just ruining your week, but apparently the universe is planned too" to match the tone and stress. This helps you sound more natural, whether you’re discussing tropes or sharing your own stories. Remember, shadowing (or shadowspeak) isn’t just about repetition—it’s about capturing the feeling of the language to connect with others better.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is planned · be forced · be attracted
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've been · I've read · I've watched
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	friend who pushes · person who keeps

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Fluffy Tropes That'd Be Scary IRL - Learn English Speaking with Video

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