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Sandbox / Next Thing They Knew Wick Check

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Summary of issue

Category: Ambiguous Name

Next Thing They Knew is basically the same as One Thing Led to Another, except that the former is for the narrative and the latter for dialog. However, both titles are synonymous and non-indicative Stock Phrases that fail to distinguish the two, and which also have non-sexual connotations. Consequently, the two tropes are often confused with each other and misused in other ways, and many uses are Zero-Context Examples or potholes from the phrase.

About 52% of analyzable wicks of Next Thing They Knew are misuse. Aside from confusion with One Thing Led to Another also implicitly requires a Smash Cut, which is absent in some examples. I should note that Cut To Sex, which is much clearer and more accurate, redirects to this page, so I'd suggest renaming the trope to Cut To Sex and making the Smash Cut requirement clearer.

The description of One Thing Led to Another is also barebones and somewhat unclear. Its usage is mostly based on variations of a Stock Phrase, and as some of the examples are not sexual in nature, it is likely that the underlying trope is not the Stock Phrase. The usage and description indicate that not only is the Stock Phrase non-tropeworthy, but also that One Thing Led to Another may actually be The Same, but More Specific to It's a Long Story, as its definition seems to be just "It's a Long Story, but for sex".

Wick check summary

I checked every wick at the time of assembling this list. Here's what I got:
  • Next Thing They Knew (75 wicks, 79 distinct instances)
    • Narrative (correct use): 35/79 (44%)
    • No indication that there is a Smash Cut: 8/79 (10%)
    • Dialogue (other trope): 5/79 (6%)
    • Both plot and dialogue: 0/79 (0%)
    • Non-sexual contexts: 0/79 (0%)
    • Other misuse: 7/79 (9%)
    • ZCE: 18/79 (23%)
    • N/A: 6/79 (8%)
  • One Thing Led to Another (121 wicks, 127 distinct instances)
    • Narrative (other trope): 9/127 (7.1%)
    • No indication that there is a Smash Cut: 20/127 (19.7%)
    • Dialogue (correct use): 25/127 (20.5%)
    • Both plot and dialogue: 3/127 (2.4%)
    • Non-sexual contexts: 7/127 (5.5%)
    • Other misuse: 28/127 (22.0%)
    • ZCE: 29/127 (22.8%)
    • N/A: 6/127 (4.7%)

Next Thing They Knew (75 wicks)

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    Narrative (correct use) 

  1. Sex Starts, Story Stops: Note that this is a narrative trope; it's not to be confused with any sex scene that might be jarring due to lack of build-up.

  2. Sex Tropes: Defined as, "Two characters flirt and the next thing you know, they're making whoopie."

  3. Characters.Tails Gets Trolled: Flirts with Spyro during the weed party by proclaiming that she is good at "balls" while rubbing a poolstick between her breasts. The next scene after...

  4. ComicBook.Alias: Jessica gets drunk in the bar Luke owns, Luke offers to call her a cab...and next thing, they're having rough heavily implied to be anal sex at his place.

  5. Comic Book.Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Under I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship:

  6. Fanfic.Kitsune No Ken Fist Of The Fox: Happens during the eleventh Gaiden, between focus characters Guren and Sagi. After having held conversations on a regular basis for two weeks, Sagi offhandedly asks Guren what she'll be doing for the rest of the evening; Guren invites him back to her flat, expecting there to be nothing more than casual social talk...and then a paragraph later, she's preparing to ride him. Lampshaded by Guren herself at the very start of the chapter, a little while after the sex has already happened.
    Guren: How did it get to this point?

  7. Film.AL Aventure: Sandrine and Fred switch from speaking to each other then in the next scene having sex. Later this also happens with her and Greg.

  8. Film.Bicentennial Man: Andrew tries to convince Portia that she's making a mistake in marrying Charles, and asks for a kiss to prove he's right. After a couple of intense kisses, we cut to both in a bed, expressing how much they enjoyed themselves.

  9. Film.Duck Butter: Multiple times scenes cut from Nima and Sergio talking or doing other things together onto them having sex.

  10. Film.Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles and Carrie flirt a bit while sharing a drink, but swear nothing more will happen. We then cut to them lying in bed together the next morning.

  11. Film.Kimi: Terry comes to Angela's door, has a conversation briefly with her, then the next scene cuts to them having sex in her bed.

  12. Film.Miss Meadows: A scene abruptly shifts from Mike speaking to Miss Meadows, then the pair of them having sex in bed.

  13. Film.Shark Attack 3 Megalodon (2): Under Sex Starts, Story Stops:

  14. Film.The Summer Of Sangaile: The scene cuts from Saulius taking Sangaile to a place they can hear planes, to her having sex with him in his car (as she listens to them). Before, there was no real buildup to this, and it's unexplained why Sangaile did it.

  15. Film.Theresa And Allison: A woman runs into Theresa on the street and kisses her. The scene instantly cuts to them having sex after this.

  16. Film.Young And Wild: Once she denies being a tease after Antonia's accused her of this, Daniela is seen abruptly in bed with her while having passionate sex together.

  17. Hoist by His Own Petard.Anime And Manga:

  18. Laconic.Next Thing They Knew: Setup is boring! Just cut to the bedroom!

  19. LaconicTropeDistinctions.J To R: Next Thing They Knew vs. One Thing Led to Another vs. Romance Ensues vs. Sex Starts Story Starts

  20. Literature.Legend Of The Galactic Heroes: Despairing in the aftermath of the second attempt on his life, Reinhard asks Hildegard to stay with him, telling her that he can't bear the thought of being alone that night. From the context it is clear that he is looking for emotional support, not lusting after her. The next scene takes place the following morning with Hildegard waking up in bed next to Reinhard.

  21. Literature.Marsbound: A rare literary version of this trope, exhibited by the fact that in the span of less than a page, Paul and Carmen went from talking, to talking about sex, to having it.

  22. Literature.Nos4a 2: A young woman comes into the library to ask Maggie about a book. With no interval, we then see her giving Maggie oral sex in the stacks.

  23. Manga.Met My Sister On A Dating Site: The first chapter, original versionnote . They meet up and realize who each other is, they flirt a little, and then cut to after sex at a Love Hotel complete with Modesty Bedsheet.

  24. Manga.My Lovely Ghost Kana: Under Thanks for the Mammary:
    • Used in a surprisingly serious tone in chapter 1, as Daikichi reaches out to point out Kana's lack of scars on her breasts, and to everyone's surprise, ends up making physical contact with her for the first time. Kana laughs it off, and next thing they know, they're very sweetly making love on the floor.

  25. Recap.Game Of Thrones S 5 E 1 The Wars To Come: Under Distracted by the Sexy:

  26. Recap.Peacemaker 2022 Episode 1 A Whole New Whirled: Peacemaker is shown going over to flirt with a pretty woman at the bar. Then the next scene cuts to him loudly having sex with her.

  27. Recap.The Interns S 11 E 20: Lyuba prepares to quit her job and leave due to being too angry at everyone, Kupitman arrives to comfort her. A little of vodka later, they suddenly realises that they just slept with each other... They feels too awkward to comment it in any way.

  28. Recap.The Interns S 12 E 3: Under I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship:
    • In attempt to preserve their friendship, Kupitman suggests to never mention that "incident" again and just restart everything anew via one big, wild party for just two of them. Then they suddenly wakes up in the same bed, again.

  29. Series.Das Boot 2018: Carla comes into Simone's apartment, they share a long soulful look, kiss and then we see them lying in bed together after having had sex. This may come as a surprise to many in the audience, who didn't sense any attraction between them beforehand (though Carla apparently did).

  30. Series.Dates (1): Kate and Erica dance seductively together, then start making out. Then we cut to them in bed together the next morning after they had sex.

  31. Series.Dates (2): Jenny and Christian are talking while on their date, then the following scene has them loudly having sex in his bed.

  32. Series.East Los High: Vanessa going to Freddie, the host of Dance Five, and wanting to talk to him. Cut to them in the bathroom making out and proceeding to have unprotected sex.

  33. Series.Hightown: Jackie is shown chatting with a number of women before it cuts to them having sex (or in one case, lying together afterward).

  34. Series.The Affair: After Noah and Helen break up, he runs into the swimmer who flirted with him in the first episode, who tells him she's now engaged. Commence sex scene.

  35. SonOfTheSannin.Tropes N To T: In Chapter 3, Jiraiya and Tsunade decide to talk about what happened last night, and they end up admitting to have feelings for each other, but agree to take things slow. The next morning, Shizune finds them on the couch...

    No indication that there is a Smash Cut 

  1. Characters.Death Song Characters (1):
    • Next Thing They Knew: Your chance encounter with her leads to a rather x-rated evening for the both of you.

  2. Characters.Lifes A Zoo:
    • Next Thing They Knew: A minute of flirting with Chi Chi led to her jumping on him and them having sex.

  3. Fanfic.Dragon Ball Xceed: After being convinced to lose his virginity, Kai ends up only talking to a girl for about 5 minutes before she jumps into his bed like he's Tony Stark or something.

  4. Funny.Son Of The Sannin:
    • At the end of the chapter, Tsunade and Jiraiya realize that living together has made them start to feel attracted to one another, but decide not to hurry things. You know what happens next...

  5. Recap.Torchwood S 1 E 2 Day One: Owen left alone with Carys. Didn't lead to sex, just him naked, and Carys escaped.

  6. Series.Nine One One Lone Star: In "Studs" (1.05), Zoe mistakes Owen for being gay, he proves her wrong and they end up having sex, well at least attempt to Owen ends up suffering from The Loins Sleep Tonight.

  7. Series.We Are Who We Are: Maggie and Jenny are first seen talking, go into an empty apartment then abruptly start kissing then undress to have sex, with it only having been implied before that either found the other one attractive.

  8. Webcomic.Gangster Mama: It's revealed early on that Bowser went out for drinks 5 months prior to the start of the webcomic and by fate met Jasmine which spiraled into them hooking up at a hotel and Bowser forgetting his wallet whenhe left the morning after

    Dialogue (other trope) 

  1. One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Pothole from a Desperate Housewives on-page example:
    Lynette: God, no! Tom and I went out to dinner, he got me drunk, and the next thing I knew...
  2. One Thing Led to Another (1): The pattern is always the same: Two minor, innocuous incidents, yadda yadda yadda, "...and the next thing I knew, we were having sex."

  3. One Thing Led to Another (2): From an entry for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:
    Will: And then she slipped into something more comfortable, and she's showing me pictures of San-- San something, and then, you know, before I knew it... you know... Ta-dow.

  4. One Thing Led to Another (3): Insane Clown Posse, "Please Don't Hate Me": "One thing just led to another/Next thing I knew, I'm butt-fucking your mother!"

  5. Characters.Death Song Characters (2):
    • Next Thing They Knew: In a letter to your brother, you mention how a chance meeting with a merchant's daughter ended up with the two of you having passionate sex.

    Other misuse 

  1. Characters.Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade Main Story: In her B support with Kent, they plan to meet up to prepare a policy for curtailing intimacy within the army. In their A support, it becomes clear that this is not what happened.
    Fiora: I...
    Kent: You...
    Fiora: ...... Forgive me.
    Kent: No, it is I who should apologize...

    Kent: Fiora... I must ask you one more thing. When this battle ends, if we both still live...
    Fiora: Please... say no more. I... already know what you will ask... Of course. I feel the same way.
    Kent: Really? I am glad... But...about that policy I suggested... What should we do?
    Fiora: Well... Perhaps... It can wait...

  2. ComicBook.Sex Criminals:

  3. Film.BPM Beatsper Minute: Sean and Nathan’s relationship moves pretty quickly and is anything but a slow burn, which is understandable given the circumstances.

  4. Recap.Dark S 3 E 4 The Origin: Under One-Night-Stand Pregnancy:
    • Martha 2 and Jonas share a Big Damn Kiss in Martha's room and Next Thing They Knew they conceived a child in a one-night stand. Adam later calls this moment the "Origin".

  5. Recap.Nine One One Lone Star S 1 E 5 Studs: After Zoe mistakes Owen for being gay, he proves her wrong and they end up having sex, (or at least attempt to). When they have a second date at a sushi bar, they decide to try again.

  6. Recap.The Rockford Files Pilot Backlash Of The Hunter: Jim and Sara start an affair in the back half of the pilot movie. Aside from the obvious motives, it’s suggested that he’s moving the case to the personal column to free her from having to make payments that would be financially ruinous for her.

  7. Series.Dark 2017: Under One-Night-Stand Pregnancy:
    • Martha 2 and Jonas share a Big Damn Kiss in the third season in Martha's room and Next Thing They Knew they conceived a child in a one-night stand. Adam later calls this moment the "Origin".

    ZCE 

  1. Characters.Dragon Quest I: Pothole in a note, not enough context
    • Chick Magnet: Throughout his adventure, there will be at least one female NPC in any given town who'll either be attracted to him or at the very least make comment on his attractiveness. Most notably are the cases of the Princess, a smitten girl in the first town who will actually follow himnote , and the lady in Kol who will offer him a Puff-Puff — an actual one, making him one of the only characters, let alone protagonists in the series' entirety where this isn't a scam or a fake-out.

  2. ChickMagnet.Video Games: Pothole in a note, not enough context
    • Dragon Quest: Throughout his adventure, there will be at least one female NPC in any given town who'll either be attracted to the Hero or, at the very least, comment on his attractiveness. Most notably are the cases of Princess Gwaelin, a smitten girl in the first town who will follow himnote , and the lady in Kol who will offer him a Puff-Puff — an actual one, making him one of the only characters, let alone protagonists in the series' entirety where this isn't a scam or a fake-out.

  3. Fanfic.Cabin Fever Parting Shot: Pretty much how Marcy first hooks up with Paul.

  4. Film.Ghostbusters II: And the next thing Louis knew, he and Janine were having sex!

  5. Film.Lost In Translation 2003: With Bob and the lounge singer.

  6. Film.Shark Attack 3 Megalodon (1)

  7. Literature.A Storm Of Swords: Robb, injured after a difficult battle and grieving after hearing of Bran and Rickon's supposed deaths, is "comforted" by Jeyne Westerling.

  8. Literature.Don Juan: From the description:
    • [...] Finally, one summer day as the two are sitting in their bower together, Julia accidentally touches Juan's hand, he starts stroking her hair as she leans against him, Next Thing They Knew...

  9. Literature.Jennifer Government: Under Driven to Suicide:
    • Buy becomes depressed after the girl to whom he gave money to buy sneakers is killed because of the very same shoes. However, he does not know how to use the (very) expensive gun he purchases, and ends up calling Jennifer and asking for help on making the darn thing work. Next Thing They Knew...

  10. Literature.My Name Is Red: Under Intimate Healing:
    • After Black is wounded by Olive, Shekure patches him up, and, well...

  11. Recap.The Wonder Years S 06 E 22 Independence Day: After arguing and having what appears to be their final round, goodbye forever argument ... well, you know by now.

  12. Series.Good Girls: Happens to Beth and Annie when they achieve pretty heated hook ups in season 2.

  13. Series.Re Genesis: Frequently with David and the Girl of the Week.

  14. VideoGame.Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade: It can happen between Kent and Fiora if you decide to pair them up. While it's not outright stated that this is what happened, it's rather evident that this is the case. You can best appreciate the irony of it all by watching it here.

  15. WebVideo.The Guild: The season 3 finale.

  16. Webcomic.Ciem Webcomic Series: Under Eternal Sexual Freedom

  17. Webcomic.Khaos Komix: Under Kissing Under the Influence:

  18. WesternAnimation.Moonbeam City: Under Will They or Won't They?:

    N/A 

One Thing Led to Another (121 wicks)

    open/close all folders 
    Dialogue (correct use) 

  1. Intimacy Via Horror:
    • Gravity Falls: In "Little Gift Shop of Horrors," Stan's discussion of the trope goes off-topic by continuing into post-film events.
    Stan: Movies are great! You watch the movie, you scare the girl, the girl snuggles up next to you, next thing you know you gotta raise a kid, your life falls apart... Forget that last part!

  2. Next Thing They Knew: The plot counterpart of dialog's One Thing Led to Another.

  3. Sex Tropes: Someone doesn't go into the details of how dating led to sex.

  4. Characters.Scream Recurring Characters: His fling with "Creepy Karen" Kolchak: "We were working late, we were putting away some videos in the porno section and, you know, shit happens."

  5. Characters.The Last Of Us Jackson
    • Their First Time: Presumably she was this to Ellie. If you read through Ellie's journal during the sniper training flashback, it described how Cat was the first person to kiss Ellie since Riley and how Ellie freaked out over it, her not being sure if she could infect people this way, and she then stood guard over a sleeping Cat for the rest of the night, and nothing happened with her. And her next note after this is a simple CAT IS THE BEST!!!

  6. Characters.The Ring Books: How he describes him impregnating Akane. They were simply spending a holiday at a resort, but then one thing led to another and suddenly Akane is pregnant.

  7. Fanfic.Twenty Years Later Reimus Successor: Sarcastically referenced by Patricia as she tries her best not to mention that Jean and Marisa most likely had sex the night before.

  8. Film.Game Night: Michelle describes the night that ended with her hooking up with who she thought was Denzel Washington this way to Kevin.
    "He was really nice. He made some joke about how premium gas is probably the same as regular. I took a chance, and I asked him if he wanted to get drinks. He said yes. We both got a little tipsy. I offered to pay for drinks, and he let me, which I thought was pretty cool. We danced for hours. Eventually, we ended up back at his place, and one thing led to another."

  9. Friends.Tropes A To E: Under Does This Remind You of Anything?:
    • And an episode where Rachel discovers Monica has been shopping with Ross's new girlfriend, and it's treated like infidelity.
      Monica: Look, when it started I was just trying to be nice to her because she was my brother’s girlfriend. And then, One Thing Led to Another and, before I knew it, we were... shopping.
      Rachel: Oh my god.
      Monica: Honey, wait. We only did it once. It didn’t mean anything to me!
      Rachel: Yeah, right.
      Monica: Really, Rachel, I was thinking of you the whole time!

  10. Laconic.One Thing Led To Another: A very short retelling of one's actions leading up to sex.

  11. LaconicTropeDistinctions.J To R: Dialogue trope as character glosses over the circumstances leading to sex.

  12. Literature.Pact
    RDT: He kissed me, and I kissed him back.

    Things went to natural places from there.

  13. Literature.The Secret History: Under Sexy Discretion Shot:

  14. Literature.The Way You Are: Upon being asked how they ended up dating, Robert is mortified at the idea of telling Pete's mother about how he found out Pete's sexuality. Neither he or Pete go into detail.

  15. Quotes.Double Standard Rape Female On Male
    Despite being an obviously comical work, a visual depiction of continued events would generate a shit-storm that I really don't want to ride out, so, rather than the rapeter (which I remind, is intended as a comedic creation) having its wicked way with the hotpants-wearing paleobotanist, let's say the following happens instead:
    The rapeter and the paleobotanist sit down and have a nice, lengthy chat about life on the island, during which the rapeter explains her frustration at the lack of intimate company. The paleobotanist sympathizes with the rapeter, as she was in a similar situation during her younger years at an all-girls' school.
    The paleobotanist invites the rapeter out for an evening meal, initially out of charity, but over the course of the night she recognizes that the two of them seem to share a deeper understanding of each other.
    One thing leads to another...
    ...And they spend a good number of hours entwined in (entirely consensual) intimacy.
    There. That's lovely, isn't it?
    Now here's a mathematician being fucked by a T-Rex.
    — JollyJack,note  Clever Girl

  16. Recap.Friends S 2 E 2 The One With The Breast Milk: Under Does This Remind You of Anything?:
    • Rachel and Monica's argument over the latter going shopping with Julie plays out like Rachel caught Monica cheating on her.
    Monica: Look, when it started I was just trying to be nice to her because she was my brother’s girlfriend. And then, One Thing Led to Another and, before I knew it, we were... shopping.
    Rachel: Oh my god.
    Monica: Honey, wait. We only did it once. It didn’t mean anything to me!
    Rachel: Yeah, right.
    Monica: Really, Rachel, I was thinking of you the whole time!

  17. Recap.Game Of Thrones S 1 E 9 Baelor: Under the folder "I loved a maid as fair as summer, with sunlight in her hair..."
    Tyrion: I was sixteen. My brother Jaime and I were riding when we heard a scream. She ran out onto the road, clothes half torn off and with two men on her heels. Jaime scared away the men easily enough while I wrapped her in my cloak. She was too scared to send off on her own, so while Jaime hunted down the rapers, I took her to the nearest inn and fed her. Her name was Tysha. She was a wheelwright's orphan. And she was hungry. Together we finished off three chickens and a flagon of wine. Impossible as it seems, there was a time when I was unaccustomed to wine. I forgot how afraid I was around girls, how I was always waiting for them to laugh at me, or look away embarrassed, or ask me about my tall handsome brother. I forgot about everything but Tysha. And somehow I found myself in her bed.

  18. Recap.Guardians Of The Galaxy 2015 S 1 E 14 Dont Stop Believin: J'son telling Star-Lord about how he met his mother. Star-Lord's reaction is to Squick.

  19. Recap.Holiday Edition: Out-and-out named by Dawitsu... one moment gaming with Sakuya, next in bed with her... what's the difference?

  20. Recap.Outlander S 1 E 12 Lallybroch: Invoked by Ian when he's trying to explain how he ended up married to Jenny. She approached him in a field saying they were going to marry. He claims that as he was trying to explain why they shouldn't he found himself in front of a priest swearing his matrimonial vows.

  21. Recap.Seinfeld S 4 E 11 The Contest: George describes the incident where his mother caught him as:
    "I came to my parents' house and there was nobody there. I picked up a magazine and started looking at pictures of hot girls. So one thing led to another and I ended up doing that..."

  22. Recap.Yutakas Big Fat Youkai Wedding: Referenced, but not actually played, used as part of Dawitsu's poor choice of words when explaining to a very angry Ran where he was last night (to clarify, he was partying at Hebiko's house, not having sex with her). Context suggests Parodied Trope or Subverted Trope

  23. Series.Hunter 1984: An ex-girlfriend describes to Dee Dee McCall how she once got involved with Hunter by saying, "This lead to this, that lead to that..."

  24. Theatre.The Book Of Mormon: Elder McKinley in "Turn it Off" has the line, "One thing led to another, and soon I would discover I was having very strange feelings for Steve."

  25. VideoGame.Destroy All Humans 1: Pox uses this to explain what happened when an ancient ship of Furons stopped by earth. Particularly, why every human now has a strand of Furon DNA.
    Pox: [...] a Furon ship happened upon Earth on its way back from destroying the Martians. Human society was young and...nubile. Sailors on a foreign planet, letting off steam...one thing led to another...

    Narrative (other trope) 

  1. Caught in the Rain: From the description:

  2. Chess with Death: In the hentai OVA Ane Haramix, a female shinigami comes for the protagonist's life but reveals out of pity that shinigamis have a secret rule: if a human sires a child, his lifespan is extended by several years. Thus, he sets out to impregnate the only girl he knows well, who turns out to be his sister, so things get complicated. One Thing Led to Another, and in the end both his sister and the shinigami end up pregnant, at which point the other rule is revealed: if a human sires a child with a shinigami, his lifespan is extended way beyond natural one.

  3. Common Hollywood Sex Traits: No one ever plans to have sex, unless they really plan and go all out with candles and rose petals. Couples never simply agree that after work tonight they'll enjoy some "together time". There are exceptions like Pete in Knocked Up casually and nonchalantly asking for sex while brushing his teeth, but overall, people in movies rarely have an actual conversation about wanting to have sex. Instead, we have a smash cut from seductive looks to a squeaking bed, or a couple will just start passionately making out for seemingly no reason. It's always an impromptu act of passion, emotion, and perhaps raging hormones.

  4. Characters.The Tudors (1):

  5. Characters.The Wheel Of Time The Aiel

  6. ComicBook.Sex Criminals: From the description:
    • At a fundraising party she meets an interesting man named Jon, who wears glasses and can quote Lolita; one thing leads to another...
      Suzie: Boy, that felt nice.
      Jon: Mmm.
      Suzie & Jon: How are you here?
    • Surprise! Jon can do it too. And what better use for their power than to save their precious libraries by robbing banks?

  7. Headscratchers.The Dresden Files Archive: Okay, Death Masks. I forget the exact circumstances, but Susan gets all vampy from overexertion, requiring Harry to tie her up with some unbreakable rope, which is only prudent, and the only thing keeping her from jumping him and sucking him dry (No, not like that. Well, not yet, anyway). Then, One Thing Led to Another, etc. etc. Harry wakes up later, entwined with Susan, with that unbreakable rope untied, and she's not hungry for blood anymore.

    Mainly because I've gotten into the RPG and have started thinking of the in-book events in terms of game mechanics, how does this work? Did Harry, ahem, wear her out? Did slaking one urge do the job for another?

  8. MenageA3.Tropes M To R: The comic skims briskly from Sonya realising that she’s going on a date with Zii (while denying loudly to Ally that she’s a lesbian) to Zii and Sonya in bed together (with Sonya still denying away). How Zii managed the seduction is never made clear, though Sonya is clearly far less straight by inclination than she ever wants to admit.

  9. WMG.The Lion King 1994: Under "Timeline of the cubs' births":
    • Three months before the end of Scar's reign, Nala meets Simba in the oasis. One thing leads to another, and next thing they know it, they conceive Kopa. (Word of God is that they do have sex during the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" segment). Around the same time, Zira has an affair with a rogue lion and conceives Kovu and Vitani as one litter. Scar doesn't care about this too much (he never really liked Zira anyway, see the question of his sexuality below) and deems the strong cub Kovu as his new heir.

     Narrative, but without indication of a Smash Cut 

  1. ArcWelding.Marvel Universe: The Sins Past storyline infamously Ret Cons that Gwen Stacy secretly had twins with Norman Osborn, though it doesn't try to explain how. Fandom VIP J.R. "Madgoblin" Fettinger, having pored over back issues, posted his theory online of when it could have happened: a certain period when she was on the outs with Peter but after Norman had recently saved her father's life. Maybe she went over to thank him and One Thing Led to Another? He conceded that this wasn't a perfect theory (for example, Gwen doesn't look pregnant when she logically should), but it made more sense than anything else, so the writers made it canon.note 

  2. Characters.Doubt Academy Black Roster (1): Basically what happened in the afterlife after Hotaru ties Taichi to his bed. Wanting to make up for what she did leads to kissing and before they know it it turns into sex, jump-starting their relationship, and Taichi promising that he would stay with her.

  3. Characters.Doubt Academy Black Roster (2): Basically what happened in the afterlife after Hotaru ties Taichi to his bed. Wanting to make up for what she did leads to kissing and before they know it it turns into sex, jump-starting their relationship, and Taichi promising that he would stay with her.

  4. Characters.Minamoto Kun Monogatari (1): Terumi kissing Asahi soon led to hot and steamy foreplay. Happens again but this time with only kissing. Somehow that makes it hotter.

  5. Characters.Minamoto Kun Monogatari (2): Terumi comforting Aoi by rubbing her head for a while led to hot kissing between the two.

  6. Characters.The Tudors (2):

  7. ComicBook.Sins Past:
    • Arc Welding: The storyline infamously Retcons that Gwen Stacy secretly had twins with Norman Osborn, though it doesn't try to explain how. Fandom VIP J.R. "Madgoblin" Fettinger, having pored over back issues, posted his theory online of when it could have happened: a certain period when she was on the outs with Peter but after Norman had recently saved her father's life. Maybe she went over to thank him and One Thing Led to Another? He conceded that this wasn't a perfect theory (for example, Gwen doesn't look pregnant when she logically should), but it made more sense than anything else, so the writers made it canon.note 

  8. Fanfic.A Crown Of Stars: Shinji and Asuka took a shower together a short while after their Love Confession. They were going to wash each other's backs and they weren't planning on having sex, but then they started kissing, and eventually Shinji was pinning Asuka against the bath wall while they humped each other.

  9. FinalFantasy.Tropes I To R: Under Rescue Romance:

  10. FinalFantasyIX.Tropes Q To Z

  11. Literature.Brother Cadfael
    • Surprise Pregnancy: In the backstory of Monk's Hood: Richildis and her husband were delighted to hear that their first grandson was on the way, One Thing Led to Another, and the grandson ended up with a surprise uncle of the same age.

  12. Literature.Glasshouse:

  13. Pantheon.Fighting Mindsets: Under Akeno Himejima:
    • Once Ryouna managed to ascend, she instantly became friendly with Akeno. Events when Akeno, Haruka and Ryouna are fighting each other are dubbed "The sexiest and most violent threeway in the Pantheon". Issei has once witnessed one of these battles, and almost had a huge nosebleed when hearing the three girls moan profusely while exchanging attacks over attacks. One particular time even involved Issei himself in the battle under Akeno's request. Of course, One Thing Led to Another.

  14. Pantheon.Lustful Acts: Under Akeno Himejima:
    • Once Ryouna managed to ascend, she instantly became friendly with Akeno. Events when Akeno, Haruka and Ryouna are fighting each other are dubbed "The sexiest and most violent threeway in the Pantheon". Issei has once witnessed one of these battles, and almost had a huge nosebleed when hearing the three girls moan profusely while exchanging attacks over attacks. One particular time even involved Issei himself in the battle under Akeno's request. Of course, One Thing Led to Another. Issei and Akeno, on their part, have noted a strange similarity between Ryouna and Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Great Satans.

  15. PlayingWith.Defecting For Love:

  16. RescueRomance.Video Games: Final Fantasy IX. Zidane stole Garnet from the castle, and One Thing Led to Another. It should also be noted that the romance between them only really begins to show through after Zidane (and Co.) save Garnet from the Alexandria Dungeon during Disc 2.

  17. SpiderMan.Tropes A To B: Under Arc Welding:
    • The Sins Past storyline infamously Ret Cons that Gwen Stacy secretly had twins with Norman Osborn, though it doesn't try to explain how. J.R. "Madgoblin" Fettinger, having pored over back issues, posted his theory online of when it could have happened: a certain period when she was on the outs with Peter but after Norman had recently saved her father's life. Maybe she went over to thank him and One Thing Led to Another? He conceded that this wasn't a perfect theory (for example, Gwen doesn't look pregnant when she logically should), but it made more sense than anything else, so the writers made it canon.note 

  18. TheWheelOfTime.Tropes G To L: Under Intimate Healing:
    • After chasing someone into a blizzard, Rand has to do the "naked body warmth" variety. The person being someone who had been fighting her attraction to him, One Thing Leads To Another, and this particular woman had teleported herself into a blizzard precisely to avoid that.

  19. WebVideo.Pokemon Pals: Misty gets charmed by a man at a bar, who claims that she was the reason he got into Pokemon. They end up sleeping together offscreen. He disappeared the next day.

  20. Webcomic.Ciem Webcomic Series: Under Prison Rape:
    • Donte's capture, which doubles as an Alien Abduction. While not actually raped; he is stripped of his powers, beaten, aged rapidly, and given cancer. His loss of self esteem upon recovery makes him less concerned about protecting his (and Candi's) sexual integrity, and leads the two of them to sexual addiction to each other in the sequel.

    Both plot and dialogue 

  1. Double Subversion: Robin from How I Met Your Mother invites Barney back to her place. The dialogue suggests she wants you-know-what, although it's obviously intentionally vague. Sure enough, she just wanted to show him a video. And then...
    Future!Ted: So they watched it again. And again. And again. They watched it over and over that night, until finally... [shot of them making out on the couch] they stopped watching.

  2. Creator.William Goldman: Decorated with numerous lampshades in Boys and Girls Together, where Jenny actually says at one point, "In a book it'd say 'their lips met' and then there'd be a double paragraph break and a line of stars," whereupon — their lips meet, and there's a double paragraph break and a line of stars to imply that the characters had sex.

  3. Fanfic.Under Cover Of Darkness: How Ralphie and D.A. get together.
    "Then, one night, it just...happened. A friendly kiss that sparked a deeper one, and next thing I know..."
    "You're doing the horizontal tango."

    Non-sexual contexts 

  1. Declarative Finger: A folk tale has a peasant be mistaken for a doctor through a series of misunderstandings. When several scholars visit to test the renowned intelligence of this doctor, he lies in bed pretending to have lost his voice. One of the scholars goes in and holds his finger up, ready to launch into a long speech on how there is only one God. The peasant thinks it stands for "I'll poke your eye out", and responds with holding three fingers out for "I'll poke out both your eyes and cut off your nose". The scholar returns astonished, for as he was about to prove there was only one God, the doctor cut it short with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

  2. His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Under Adventure Time:
    • As it turns out, Doctor Princess is neither a princess nor a licensed doctor: that's her full name. She just started practicing medicine because of an event she decides not to delve much into involving her checking into the hospital she now works at.
      Doctor Princess: The truth is... I'm not technically a doctor. I don't even have a medical degree. I just came in here one day for an X-ray, and my first name is Doctor, so, well, One Thing Led to Another.

  3. BetterThanItSounds.Film B: Brazil:

  4. Creator.Brian Regan
    I hate when you're trying to read something and you come across the expression "One thing led to another". What in the hell kind of lazy writing is that? Isn't that your job as the writer to tell me how this led to that? You can just throw that in there? "Adolf Hitler was rejected as a young man on his application to art school. One thing led to another...and the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the sovereign nation of Japan." This is some pamphlet!

  5. Memes.League Of Legends: Yo Jensen, body these fools. Explanation

  6. Pantheon.Humanoids: Under Scanty and Kneesocks:
    • Prometheus, due to the fact his and his sister Pandora's temple is very close to them, eventually got fed up with it and yelled at them to keep it down. One Thing Led to Another and one massive fight later, the four gods eventually struck up a reluctant truce. Since then though, a bit of a mutual rivalry grew up between them, due to both pairs having a large following, being Co-Dragons to their leaders, though with an obvious split in loyalties, as well as similar fighting styles (Prometheus and Kneesock's close-range attacks with scythes, Pandora and Scanty's long-range with projectile-based attacks). It helps that they too hate Dr. Weil.

  7. Pantheon.Robots And Automata: Under Canti:

    Other misuse 

  1. Forever Fling: From the description:

  2. Inappropriately Close Comrades: In Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the support conversation between the straitlaced Kent and Fiora has them arrange to hold a meeting to devise a method of curtailing any unprofessional romances from developing between other unit members. If you reach their A rank, one thing leads to another between them, and they mutually decide to scrap the notion.

  3. Pity Sex: In this Sequential Art strip, Pip somehow ends up having pity sex with Kat's disgraced schoolyard rival Hilary.

  4. Self-Abuse: From the description:

  5. Taking the Veil: Zig-zagged in Heavenly Ways by Ivan Shmelyov. Darinka is deeply pious, has a vocation and wants nothing more than to enter a convent, and after solving her financial problems with the help of Viktor she does become a postulant. The problem is she and Viktor are almost instantly drawn to each other, so much that after the beloved old abbess dies, Viktor comforts Darinka, and she leaves the convent to live with him. However, especially since he is married (though separated), she is extremely conflicted about it and admits she has never been truly happy since she left the convent.

  6. BelligerentSexualTension.Western Animation:
    • Moonbeam City: Dazzle Novak and Pizzaz Miller, despite a yearly sex-filled weekend during the annual "Cop Con" police event, involving multiple rounds of love-making. They both pretend that the attraction, passion, and genuine affection they display for each other at "Cop Con" is just a "foolish, drunken, sexually-charged mistake" even though they both show their true feelings when she saves him from an assassin's bullet (then immediately have passionate sex on the auditorium stage, under a covered table). They also make love twice after the event, including within the shrubbery at a "Routes 6 and 9" bus stop.

  7. Characters.A Song Of Ice And Fire House Stark: His first night with Jeyne was the result of hearing about his siblings' "deaths".
    Robb: She... comforted me, mother.

  8. Characters.Azur Lane Eagle Union Battleships BB: Upon reaching "Love" affection, she asks the commander what would he like as a reward, stating whether they choose a kiss or an "unforgettable night", both would be fine by her.

  9. Characters.Doubt Academy Alpha Roster (1): Emiko and Yuu actually slept together before they died.

  10. Characters.Doubt Academy Alpha Roster (2): Emiko and Yuu actually slept together before they died.

  11. Characters.Minamoto Kun Monogatari (3): Terumi correctly guesses Yuu's state of mind when she thinks that Terumi is only talking with her to get into her pants, especially when they're surrounded by love hotels. Thankfully subverted by Terumi himself when he tells her straight out that he only wanted to talk with her over coffee.

  12. Characters.Moonbeam City:

  13. Characters.Vacant Sky: Vel disguised as Auria kisses him and they have sex. Maybe. Needless to say, Vel isn't very pleased and this come to bite him in the ass later.

  14. ComicBook.The Cartoon History Of The Universe: This phrase is used in explaining the origins of sexual intercourse.

  15. FandomSpecificPlot.Good Omens

  16. Fanfic.The Darwin Chronicles: Ten years ago, Scott took Jean camping. Then they ended up sharing a tent, and “things just kind of happened”, after which they began dating. One decade later Scott is still convinced it was an accident, and not Jean's plan all along.
    Scott: Plenty of good things come out of my camping trips. Jean and I finally got together on a camping trip, remember?
    Logan: Jesus Christ. Tell me you weren't wearing a Boy Scout uniform.
    Scott: Shut up, Hairball. She wanted to go camping, and things just kind of happened. The whole thing was kind of an accident.

  17. FanficRecs.Avatar The Last Airbender
    • Synopsis: Oneshot following the fall of Ba Sing Se. Mai decides to get drunk because she hates life in the Earth Kingdom and she thinks that Zuko doesn't like her the way she likes him. Zuko joins her, and they get smashed. One Thing Led to Another...

  18. Freefall.Tropes K To P:
    Florence: Your "one thing leads to another" and my "one thing leads to another" never lead to the same place.

  19. FreudianSlip.Fan Works

  20. Funny.Devil Venerable Also Wants To Know
    • Shu Yanyan, who has to keep Yin Hanjiang from interrupting Baili Qingmiao's meditation without getting him upset, successfully convinces him that three days is an entirely normal period of time for women to spend on changing their clothes and that she could teach him some... special techniques to use with Wenren È in the meantime. When she learns later on that Yin Hanjiang spent a full month in seclusion with Wenren È, she fumes that teaching him her techniques was a waste if he only spent that short a time using them with Wenren È.

  21. Funny.Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya

  22. Funny.Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade
    Kent: Fiora... I must ask you one more thing. When this battle ends, if we both still live...
    Fiora: Please...say no more. I...already know what you will ask... Of course. I feel the same way.
    Kent: Really? I am glad... But...about that policy I suggested... What should we do?
    Fiora: Well... Perhaps... It can wait...

  23. Manga.Fly Me To The Moon
    • Marriage Before Romance: Played with. Nasa and Tsukasa are in Love at First Sight, but they still get married without dating beforehand, which leads to their relationship beginning at the Holding Hands stage and them not yet being willing to change clothes in front of each other. Nasa is even scared of the thought that one thing might lead to another since they're living together. This subject is mentioned by Nasa when he's questioned about why he married her: essentially he intends to prove his love for her to justify the marriage rather than the other way around. Much of the focus is them building their relationship up.

  24. Radar.Anime And Manga
    • In the original light novel of Sword Art Online, Kirito and Asuna have sex after nearly dying. In the anime, the scene was left vague enough so that the censors could pretend they just spent the night together platonically (which, in fairness, was what Kirito had originally intended, but One Thing Led to Another), but it's still obvious what happened.

  25. Recap.Poirot S 10 E 03 After The Funeral: Under "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
    • Part of why Susannah feels so guilty about Cora's death was that she had planned to visit Cora with George on the day of Cora's murder, but One Thing Led to Another and Cora was likely murdered while Susannah and George spent time in a hotel room together.

  26. Recap.Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 07 E 21 When It Rains: Ezri trying to explain to Bashir that her time with Worf helped her realize her feelings for Bashir—who, naturally, jumps to the wrong conclusion before she can finish.

  27. Sandbox.Phantom Fire

  28. Series.Los Simuladores: Under Celebrity Impersonator:
    • The guys pick two Paul McCartney impersonators (one look-alike and one sound-alike) to help a woman leave her post-divorce depression. Hopefully she'll never find out about having given a blowjob to a lucky butcher.

    ZCE 

  1. Didn't Want an Adventure: In Juno, Bleaker says he wanted to watch The Blair Witch Project on TV, but Juno wanted to make out instead, and One Thing Led to Another.

  2. Have You Tried Not Being a Monster?: Runaways played with the trope with Karolina, who felt different all her life without ever knowing why, and there eventually comes the major revelation that she is an alien. However, it turned out she was an alien and gay, and she asked herself this question. When the team had unknowingly let a vampire into their hideout, before Karolina came out to her friends, she mentions to the newcomer how she hates always feeling different and abnormal, and she decides that she wants to feel like a normal teenage girl (and since she is sixteen, and he is cute, and they are alone...). Of course, it is never that simple, and in a very Real Life way (except for the vampire and alien bits) she falls into a suicidal depression when she can not fit in like she wants to, but she also learns to accept herself, and is accepted by her friends, and eventually becomes proud and unapologetic of her heritage and sexuality.

  3. Kissing Under the Influence

  4. Morning Sickness: Episode six of Moonbeam City reveals that Dazzle and Pizzaz had became pregnant during a weekend tryst, but that Pizzaz later lost the baby. Never told about the pregnancy, Dazzle is slapped incredibly hard by a heartbroken Pizzaz ("That's ENOUGH!!") when he unwittingly mentions her symptoms to everyone, musing "Maybe she was sick..."

  5. Shower of Love: From the image caption◊:

  6. Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Under Yandere Kanojo:

  7. Characters.Azur Lane North Union:

  8. Characters.Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade Lyns Tale:

  9. Characters.Gyaru Sen:

  10. Characters.Kaguya Sama Love Is War: This is more or less how she started dating Kazeno, though there (probably) wasn't any sex involved.

  11. Characters.Pact Jacobs Bell Powers: After a brawl between a young Rosalyn Thorburn and Aimon Behaim.

  12. Characters.Shadowside: With Gina Ulrica during their vacations at a Pacific island... Needless to say, their cuddle-friend relationship changed in no way.

  13. Characters.The Wheel Of Time Taveren

  14. Characters.Total Drama Legacy (1): How him and Izzy end expecting a fourth kid after "celebrating" Katherine being in the final five.

  15. Characters.Total Drama Legacy (2): How she and Ezekiel end up expecting a fourth kid after "celebrating" Katherine making it to the final five.

  16. ComicBook.Cybersix: Lucas' excuse for having sex with Rebecca Limon.

  17. ComicBook.Red Ears: A lot of gags start this way.

  18. Fanfic.Doing It Right This Time: Touji and Hikari reveal that Hikari visited Touji after the fight against Bardiel. When she saw that he was feeling awfully depressed and hopeless, she tried to cheer him up... and before they realizing what was happening, she was giving him "something to live for".

  19. Fanfic.Total Drama Legacy: How Ezekiel and Izzy describe the process that led to Izzy's fourth pregnancy.

  20. Fanfic.Wherever Whores Go

  21. Literature.Reborn As A Space Mercenary I Woke Up Piloting The Strongest Starship: Most of Hiro's sexual encounters are described this way.

  22. Literature.The Monk: Raymond's explanation to Lorenzo for how Agnes ended up pregnant with his child.

  23. Literature.What Is This Thing Called Love

  24. Manga.Private Actress
    • Rescue Romance: Shiho and Tomoomi clash at first, but start to warm-up to each other after she rescues him from the punks that beat him up, takes him to her apartment and then tends to his bruises. And then One Thing Led to Another...

  25. Recap.Battlestar Galactica 2003 Razor: Gina's description of how she began a relationship with Cain.

  26. Series.The Secret Life Of The American Teenager: Ricky and Amy's one-night stand and Ben and Adrian's one-night stand was this from Ben's perspective.

  27. Webcomic.Kimchi Cuddles: "There's going to be a lot of processing tonight!" No context for this phrase

  28. Webcomic.Two Kinds: Flora tries to explain her relationship to Eric. Commented out; Weblinks Are Not Examples

  29. WesternAnimation.Hey Joel: How Michele tells the story of her one night stance with Leif.

    N/A 

  1. Stock Phrases: Index listing with no description

  2. NoRealLife.Tropes L To O: An innuendo stock phrase.

  3. QuoteSource.Animated Films: Under Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

  4. Sandbox.Next Thing They Knew Wick Check: This page

  5. Sandbox.Wick Check Project: A listing for this wick check

  6. TimeImmemorial.Tropes O To S: Index listing with no description

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