Line #43 Main/RoadTripRomance


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11	A pair of [[{{Foil}} mismatched characters]], often a [[SeenItAll world-wise man]] and [[TheOjou a high society woman]] (though the gender roles can be altered) find themselves in a situation where they must travel together to reach a goal. For the woman it will often mean [[TheHomewardJourney returning home]], while the man will often travel for the sake of [[HeroismIncentive some kind of reward for his troubles]].
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13	They [[BelligerentSexualTension won’t like each other at first]], [[HilarityEnsues there will be squabbles because of their class differences]], but [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts over time they find a common bond]] and [[WillTheyOrWontThey slowly fall in love]]. The climax will often be after the couple has exchanged their FirstKiss, AlmostKiss, or make love. The man will sneak off in the night to take care of UnfinishedBusiness towards their mutual benefit, only for the woman to [[NotStayingForBreakfast wake up alone]]. She feels betrayed, and finishes the journey on her own. The man will [[HonorBeforeReason forgo his reward]] and [[RaceForYourLove make a dash after her]] for [[LoveRedeems the sake of true love]], maybe even defeat the BigBad, and eventually they live HappilyEverAfter.
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15	So pack your bags; first stop adventure, last stop romance, and we'll pick up some tropes along the way!
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17	May or may not be necessitated by ChainedHeat. Think of this as Buddy Love [[JustForFun/XMeetsY Meets]] A RoadTripPlot.
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20	!!Examples:
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22	[[foldercontrol]]
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24	[[folder:Fan Works]]
25	* The ''Series/ICarly'' fandom has this as a relatively common FandomSpecificPlot. Generally it involves the two people in the pairing going to visit the third. Occasionally it involves the pairing tagging along on a trip with the third member of the trio and whoever they are already involved in a relationship with. [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6694957/1/iHit_the_Open_Road iHit The Open Road]] is an example of a well written Creddie story of the first type.
26	[[/folder]]
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28	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
29	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'': Dimitri plans to pass off Anya as a "fake" Anastasia in order to gain a substantial reward, not realizing until later that she is the real deal. Upon learning of Dimitri's role as a con artist, she leaves him. However Dimitri refuses payment in the end, and once the BigBad is dead (again) they elope.
30	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'', Princess Anna recruits mountain man Kristoff as a guide for her quest to find Queen Elsa and stop the EndlessWinter. They gradually fall in love, but sadly say it can't work because Anna is with Prince Hans. [[spoiler:Hans turns out to be the true villain of the film and never really loved Anna. After he is defeated, Anna and Kristoff start dating.]]
31	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': Gender Role Reversal; Tiana is a low-class working girl with the skills to know how to travel while Naveen is a spoiled prince. Over time they fall in love and Naveen is willing to forgo returning the human form and restoring his wealth in order to marry Tiana. However, he is captured by Faciler’s demons in the middle of the night, and Tiana thinks he has left her in favor of Charlotte. Ray corrects the misinformation, and she rushes to save him, and they live happily ever after.
32	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}''. Blu is a domesticated, human-dependent, flight-challenged bird, while Jewel is an independent, free-spirited, highly-aerial bird. They are being matched to [[OnlyYouCanRepopulateMyRace save their species]], then being [[ChainedHeat chained together]], escape from an EvilPoacher. They meet friends who help them along the way and the two gradually fall in love, to the point where they AlmostKiss at their DanceOfRomance. Sadly, because of a falling out between them, the two lovebirds [[BreakupMakeupScenario begin to part ways]] once their chain is off. Jewel gets captured by [[BigBad Nigel]] again, Blu and the others rush to save her only to be caught themselves. Blu and Jewel break everyone out, Nigel and the smugglers are defeated, Blu learns to fly after he and Jewel [[FirstKiss kiss]], they have children and live HappilyEverAfter.
33	* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'': Shrek, an ugly ogre, risks life and limb to save Princess Fiona so that he can get his swamp back from Lord Farquaad. After misinterpreting Fiona’s conversation with Donkey about "an ugly beast", Shrek sneaks off in the night to bring Farquaad to her. Donkey clears up the misunderstanding and Shrek runs back to tell Fiona he loves her [[SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace at the wedding.]]
34	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': Flynn Rider is captured by Princess Rapunzel (though she doesn’t know she is a princess) and made [[GoingToSeeTheElephant take her to see the floating lanterns]] in return for the tiara he had stolen. The two slowly fall in love to the point of an AlmostKiss. Flynn sneaks off in the night to forgo his reward by returning the tiara to the Stabbington Brothers, who, along with Mother Gothel, turn him over the Royal Guard. Rapunzel thinks Flynn has left her and she returns home with Mother Gothel. Flynn, realizing the scheme, escapes from prison and rides off to save her. Once the BigBad is defeated, they have the first kiss, and after years and years of asking, [[UnreliableNarrator he finally said yes to her marriage proposal.]]
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37	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
38	* ''Film/TheAfricanQueen'' has a British missionary in Africa deciding to convert a tramp steamer (the titular African Queen) into an impromptu torpedo launcher and sink a German gunboat (the story is set during World War I). Throughout the course of the journey, she falls in love with the steamer's captain and this culminates in a hilarious climax. [[spoiler: They're caught by the Germans and request to be married before they're both executed. The torpedos blow up the enemy ship during the marriage ceremony, thus giving the couple a happily ever after]].
39	* ''Film/ChasingLiberty'': She's the daughter of the US President, who's given her entourage the slip so she can have a holiday as a normal person. He's a free-spirited drifter she picks up along the way (but actually he's an undercover Secret Service bodyguard who set up a MeetCute so she'd have somebody keeping an eye on her). Romance ensues.
40	* ''Film/Cherry2000''. AfterTheEnd, Sam's [[{{Robosexual}} prize possession]] is a RobotGirl, the Cherry 2000. When the robot is damaged beyond repair, he ends up hiring a tracker, Edith "E" Johnson, to go into the restricted Zone 7 with him to find a replacement body/chassis. In the end, while escaping from Lester's gang, he finds the robot's personality to be too artificial and he returns to rescue Edith and dump Cherry.
41	* ''Film/CorvetteSummer'', late '70s film starring Mark Hamill & Annie Potts. Both lower class: He's a just-graduated high school senior searching for a stolen Corvette, she's a self-proclaimed "prostitute in training."
42	* ''Film/CountryStrong'' has a quasi example. The plot is about a country music star going on a comeback tour. Two of the musicians opening for her fall for each other as the tour goes on.
43	%%* ''Film/ImJuli''.
44	* The TropeMaker is ''Film/ItHappenedOneNight''. Peter as the hard-bitten reporter, escorting high society dame Ellie back home for a big fat reward. In the end he leaves Ellie in the night to get money so they can marry. Ellie thinks Peter has left for good and goes back on her own. Peter forgoes the reward in favor of the trip’s simple expenses and admits he loves Ellie and the walls of Jericho fall.
45	* ''Film/{{Leap Year\|2010}}'': Anna is trying to propose to her non-committal boyfriend in Ireland on leap year, as is supposed "tradition". However, she lands on the wrong side of the Emerald Isle and has to take a road trip across the country with Declan, who annoys her to no end. You can guess how the story goes from there.
46	* ''Film/OvernightDelivery'' has the hero, accompanied by a stripper named Ivy, driving cross-country to retrieve a break-up video he sent to his girlfriend when he was under the impression she had cheated on him. Along the way, he and Ivy of course develop an interest in one another; by the end he discovers that [[spoiler:his girlfriend ''did'' cheat on him]] and he ends up with Ivy.
47	* ''Film/RomancingTheStone'' is a genre-savvy film given that the character played by Kathleen Turner, the female romantic lead, is supposed to be a romance writer whose works frequently involve the sort of situation the writer finds herself in.
48	* ''Film/SexDrive'' has protagonist Ian and his longtime friend Felicia falling in love with one another as they drive to the home of "Ms. Tasty" with whom Ian is supposed to have sex.
49	* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}''. Lone Starr saves Princess Vespa in order to get the Million Space Bucks reward but forgoes it in the end. Eventually he learns that he is really a prince and races back to marry Vespa.
50	* ''Film/{{Stardust}}'': Tristan captures the [[LivingMacGuffin Fallen Star]] Yvaine, to take back as a present for his beloved Victoria. After many adventures, the two make love. Tristian takes a lock of her hair to Victoria, as a way of fulfilling his promise to her, but admitting that he really loves Yvaine instead. Tristian goes back, fights the Big Bad, the two are reunited and marry.
51	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/ANewHope'', Han Solo is just Luke's ride, and only agrees to help save Leia because of how he could be rewarded; he then leaves after he gets paid, but joins in on the fray to save Luke in the end. Han and Leia are at odds at first but slowly fall in love over the course of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
52	* ''Film/TheSureThing'' is a variation. The two romantic leads, Gib and Allison, are basically the same social class, but [[UptightLovesWild he is a would-be party animal and she is a compulsive planner]]. They are traveling together from the east coast to California, her to meet her fiance and him to hook up with a woman who is guaranteed to sleep with him. Much BelligerentSexualTension is generated between them on the way. [[spoiler: It's not till they return home that it's resolved.]]
53	* In ''Film/WristcuttersALoveStory'' the hero and his friend go on a road trip in the afterlife to find the ex-girlfriend he killed himself over, but pick up a new LoveInterest for him along the way.
54	* ''Film/TheYellowHandkerchief'' uniquely has three characters in the RoadTripPlot, but avoids a LoveTriangle (since the characters are fifteen, seventeen, and ''fifty-something'' respectively). The two teens are both lonely and dysfunctional but fall in love over the course of the journey.
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57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* One possible UrExample is Carl Jonas Love Almqvist's 1839 novel ''Det går an'' (''It Is Acceptable''), about an officer and a working-class woman who fall in love after having to share transportation on a cross-country trip. It doubles as an AuthorTract in defense of [[OlderThanTheyThink the right of couples to live together without marrying and women's rights to independence]].
59	* Averted in ''Literature/{{Lolita}}''. Humbert's wanderings around the United States with Dolores as his abductee are aimless, with the simple goal of keeping Dolores compliant from one day to the next through sightseeing while Humbert molests her in an [[NoTellMotel endless number of cheap motels]].
60	* ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'': An awkward traveling merchant and a haughty wolf spirit team up to travel to her ancient homeland in the north, the both of them developing feelings for one another along the way.
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63	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
64	* [[OutlawCouple James and Alyssa]] of ''Series/TheEndOfTheFuckingWorld'' were technically already dating before they went on their demented road trip, but they barely knew each other (and he was using it as an opportunity to possibly kill her). When Alyssa decides to run away and James agrees to go with her, however, they begin to genuinely connect and fall in love.
65	* One episode of ''Series/TheSaint'', "The Golden Journey", was loosely based on this idea. Simon Templar manipulated circumstances in such a way that the spoilt, entitled fiancee of his friend would be compelled to travel rough with him and learn to be more kind and sensitive.
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68	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
69	* In ''VisualNovel/{{Nightshade}}'', this happens to Enju and the respective love interest, minus the BelligerentSexualTension, as she and the love interest would grow closer while on the run as fugitives and eventually fall in love. Noticeably averted in [[spoiler: Chojiro]]'s route as he spends a good portion of his route apart from Enju and [[spoiler: actively trying to hunt her down under Kondo's orders.]]
70	* ''VisualNovel/PrincessEvangile'': The first chapter of Tamie's route has several elements of this kind of plot. Namely: the class differences between Masaya, a formerly-working class student, and Tamie, a high-class girl, [[HilarityEnsues ensuing hilarity and awkwardness between them]], and eventual feelings for one another blossoming. However, the last one is tragically cut short when [[spoiler:Tamie suffers an accident and is hospitalized at the end of the chapter.]]
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73	[[folder:Webcomics]]
74	* ''Webcomic/TheLessThanEpicAdventuresOfTJAndAmal'' falls directly into this plotline with the story following the two titular characters on the road from California to Providence, Rhode Island after Amal agrees to drive TJ while on a bender.
75	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RoadTripRomance