Line #42 Main/TropeTrigger


1	A {{Narrative Device\|s}} for handling tropes.
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3	If an author has a trope that turns out to be popular, or that he plans to use frequently, he writes a Trope Trigger into the storyline so that whenever he needs the "triggered" trope he just drops in an instance of the Trope Trigger. Depending on the form of the trigger, it might be used for {{Foreshadowing}}: when the audience sees the trigger, they know the "triggered" trope can't be far away.
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5	Compare/Contrast with MacGuffin, PlotSensitiveButton, or BerserkButton.
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7	The [=MacGuffin=] is nearly always an object, while the Trope Trigger may or may not be. The [=MacGuffin=] usually has no function except as the thing that everything revolves around. The Trope Trigger is defined by the trope it activates.
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9	The Plot Sensitive Button is a physical object that is used repeatedly throughout the work but produces different effects at different times. The Trope Trigger always produces the same effect.
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11	If a character with a Berserk Button simply flies into a rage when the "button" is pushed then it is not a "triggered" trope in this sense. Anger per se is not a trope. If the character's Berserk Button always triggers a specific anger trope (such as AgitatedItemStomping or HulkingOut), then the Berserk Button is also a Trope Trigger.
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13	!!Examples:
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
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17	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
18	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Just be a girl in front of Negi and tickle his nose by accident...[[AccidentalPervert accidental nakedness]] will soon follow.
19	* ''Manga/LoveHina'': Keitaro's {{Accidental Perver\|t}}sions always trigger a MegatonPunch.
20	[[/folder]]
21
22	%%[[folder:Comic Books]]%%
23	%%[[/folder]]%%
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25	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
26	* ''Film/SuckerPunch'' relies on several classic sequences of ButYouWereThereAndYouAndYou. Each sequence is triggered by playing music so Babydoll can dance.
27	[[/folder]]
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29	[[folder:Literature]]
30	* The resident idiot in ''[[Literature/{{Slayers}} The Slayers]]'', Gourry Gabriev, allows Lina Inverse to be MrExposition just by being an average person.
31	* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'': Every time that Sousuke brings his military background into the school (such as StuffBlowingUp), Kaname hits him. This Trope Trigger activates PaperFanOfDoom or WrestlerInAllOfUs depending on how angry she gets.
32	[[/folder]]
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34	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
35	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Several episodes required Clark Kent to become {{Brainwashed and crazy}}. The writers handled this by retooling red kryptonite from the Superman canon, so that instead of having some bizarre random effect on Clark it always turned him into a sociopath. It got so whenever fans saw a red [[GreenRocks glowing rock]] they knew what trope would be in force for the episode.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	%%[[folder:Mythology]]%%
39	%%[[/folder]]%%
40	%%[[folder: TabletopGames]]%%
41	%%[[/folder]]%%
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43	[[folder:Video Games]]
44	* In ''VideoGame/OracleOfTao'', Ambrosia Brahmin is a Trope Trigger for Elias as MrExposition. Ambrosia's average intelligence and amnesia allow TheSmartGuy Elias to expound on obscure details pertaining to the plot.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Webcomics]]
48	* ''Webcomic/CultureShock'': Meinji's appearances usually involve a {{shout out}} to a game.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	%%[[folder:WesternAnimation]]%%
52	%%[[/folder]]%%

Context Main / TropeTrigger