duckprintspress

May Trope Mayhem is a multi-fandom/original creation event open to writers, artists, and creators of all kinds! We’ve put together a list of 30 of our favorite tropes (plus one free day!), one per day through the month of May, and we encourage creators to join us for this month of fun tropey mayhem.

Our goal is to promote motivation and help with habit building, so we’re encouraging authors to keep their ficlets under 1,000 words, artists to stick to making just a sketch, gif makers to only do a single image, etc., as applicable to whatever you’re making.

This event is primarily held on Tumblr, but you’re welcome to participate anywhere Duck Prints Press has an account (you can see all our current platforms here) and we’ll keep our eyes on our tag everywhere!

How can you participate? It’s easy! There’s just a few simple rules:

write a ficlet or a poem, create art, make a gif, or create any other content that you want, aligned with the prompt for the day!
post your correctly tagged fills to Tumblr, and we’ll reblog them! We’ll reskeet works on Bluesky, retoot those on Mastodon, you get the idea. Note: we do not use Twitter.
you must tag warnings such as gore, MCD, sexual content, etc., so that people can make informed decisions!
please also tag fandom and ship, so people can find what interests them!
we ask that you put the tags at the top of your post, so they’re easy to find.
if you write more than 1k words and post the whole text on Tumblr or wherever, please use a read more if the platform allows.
if you create something with NSFW content or potentially triggering material, please put the entire work under a read more.

Ping us (duckprintspress) or tag your creations “#may trope mayhem” and so we can find them! We’ll reblog all fills that follow the above rules and are posted between May 1st and June 8th, 2024.

If you post to AO3, you can also add them to our collection there!

You don’t have to sign up for May Trope Mayhem, just post your fills. You don’t have to be a member of the Press nor do you have to be following us. You don’t have to be part of a specific fandom. We’re open to all ships, genres, formats, etc.! You don’t have to post fills on the corresponding day, though we ask that if you’re creating for a day that hasn’t happened yet, please wait for that day to post.

Participating in May Trope Mayhem? Want to chat fandom, books, creation, and more? Join our Book Lover’s Discord Server!

This is a low-pressure event, held in good fun, and we look forward to seeing what you create!

MAY TROPE MAYHEM Prompt List, with some links and definitions for ones we were worried might be confusing or challenging for folks!

Secret Relationship
Mistaken Identity
Accidental Ownership (Character A accidentally ends up the owner of Character B)
Space Western Setting
Marriage Before Love
Time Loop
Wound Tending
“This is our get-along shirt.”
Reincarnation
Mutual Pining
Forced Proximity
Sentinel/Guide
Vampires
Outsider Point of View
Monster F*ing (censored in the image)
Foodservice Setting
Meet Cute
“Keep your dog on a leash.”
Mecha
The Soulmate Goose of Enforcement
Steampunk
Love Requited Too Late
Bottom Storage (or however you feel like interpreting it!)
Werewolf/Shifter Character
Fake Relationship
Reciprocal Idiots (like idiots to lovers, or however else you feel like interpreting it!)
There Was Only One Bed
OMG They Were Roommates
Soul-Bonding
Homoerotic Swordfighting
Free day!