And I'll take a vow and seal a pact
An index of tropes about promises, vows, oaths, and pacts.
For other kinds of agreements, compare its more mercantile sister, Bargain Tropes.
Tropes:
- If We Get Through This…: A vow to complete if they survive the present situation.
- I Gave My Word
- Oathbound Power: A supernatural power that's contingent on keeping an oath.
- The Promise: A dramatic and plot-important promise.
- Rash Promise: "I gave my word... but not much thought to it."
Manners of solemnizing promises:
- Blood Oath: Drawing your own blood to illustrate commitment to a vow.
- Personalized Pledge: "I swear upon [something personal]."
- Magically-Binding Contract: An agreement made with magic will make at least one side forced to comply, or punished if they don't follow it.
- Pinky Swear: Using pinky fingers as gesture of promise.
Subject matter of promises:
- Childhood Marriage Promise: Two kids promise to marry each other when they grow up.
- Declaration of Protection: A promise to protect someone.
- Fallback Marriage Pact: Two single characters promise to marry each other if they're still single by X age.
- I Will Wait for You: Promising to remain faithful to your lover who's away
- No Matter How Much I Beg: "Promise to follow through, even if I try to back out."
- Reunion Vow: A promise to see each other again one day.
- Suicide Pact: Two characters agree to commit suicide together.
- Sworn in by Oath: Someone joins an organization by reciting an oath, typically which outlines their new role and how they should conduct themselves within it.
- Vow of Celibacy: A promise not to have sex.
Breaking promises:
- Empty Promise: Intentionally and knowingly lying (typically saying "everything is going to be ok") out of kindness.
- Exact Words: "I did keep my word... technically."
- Frequently-Broken Unbreakable Vow: A promise that circumstances force the character to break. Repeatedly.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Offering to surrender as a way to trick your adversary.
- Lying Finger Cross: A character crosses their fingers while making a vow to show they're lying.
- Metaphorically True: "I did keep my word... from a certain point of view."
- The Oath-Breaker: They broke a promise, and that's all anyone remembers them for.
- Releasing from the Promise: The character who received a promise releases the promise-maker.
