Basic Trope: Somebody asks for a gift that's impossible or impractical.
- Straight: Alice asks for a pet dragon for her birthday, despite living in a setting where dragons don't exist and not realizing how much effort that'd take.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice demands a pet dragon, the Statue of Liberty, a car (despite being 6), the concept of friendship, and an expensive gaming system. She throws a massive tantrum when told she can't get these things.
- On every gift-giving occasion, Alice always asks for something that's strange, difficult/impossible to get, or otherwise impractical.
- Downplayed:
- Alice asks for a rather expensive gaming system for her birthday, despite being aware that her family can't afford it.
- Alice wants a pet that is commonly kept as a pet for her birthday (such as a cat or dog), but lives somewhere where it'd be very difficult to keep a pet and isn't fully aware that giving someone a pet as a gift is a bad idea.
- Alice doesn't ask for anything impossible necessarily, but it is something rather strange, such as a rock.
- Alice isn't fully expecting her request to be granted, but figures that it doesn't hurt to ask.
- Justified:
- Alice is a Spoiled Brat.
- Alice is misinformed and just thinks having a pet dragon would be interesting, despite not knowing they don't actually exist.
- If it's a Christmas present, Alice still believes in Santa and thinks he can magically get her anything she asks for.
- Inverted:
- Alice, who is rich and would be expected to ask for such expensive gifts, actually asks for a very modest and simple gift for her birthday.
- Dragons are commonly given as gifts in the place Alice lives in, so it's actually weirder for her to say she wants to have a toy dragon.
- Subverted:
- It turns out that when Alice said she wanted a dragon for her birthday, she meant a toy dragon.
- It's revealed that dragons are real in the setting.
- Double Subverted:
- The toy dragon she wanted is still very expensive or hard to obtain, however.
- Although dragons are real in the setting, it'd still be very hard to get one as a gift.
- Parodied: When Alice is told she can't get a dragon for her birthday, she decides to ask for a new phone or other item her parents won't let her get. Her parents just shrug and ask "What color do you want the dragon?"
- Zig-Zagged: Alice sometimes asks for impractical gifts, but sometimes she asks for normal ones.
- Averted:
- Getting gifts is never mentioned.
- Alice always asks for reasonable gifts.
- Enforced:
- To add some drama to a Birthday Episode, Christmas Episode, or other gift-giving occasion.
- An Establishing Character Moment to set up Alice as a Spoiled Brat.
- Lampshaded: "You want that?! You know we can't get that!"
- Invoked: Someone informs Alice that she can get whatever she wants for her birthday or Christmas. She takes it literally.
- Exploited: Alice's parents convince her that they will get the gift she asked for, but only if she's on her best behavior for the days leading up until Christmas.
- Defied: Alice decides to just ask for something dragon-related for her birthday, which should be easy enough to do.
- Discussed: "My daughter just asked for a pet dragon for her birthday. Do you know what to do?" "Get her a toy dragon, maybe she'll like that."
- Conversed: "Why is this character insisting on getting a pet dragon?"
- Implied: Exactly what Alice wanted for her birthday is unknown, but her dad Bob is shown saying "I don't think I can get you that."
- Deconstructed: Alice starts acting out when she is told she can't have a pet dragon, and ends up getting in trouble.
- Reconstructed: Since Alice is only 6 and doesn't really know better, though, her parents decide to tell her why it's impossible to get a pet dragon and why it's unacceptable to throw tantrums when you don't get what you want.
- Played for Laughs: Alice shows her Christmas list to her mom, Claire. The list is thicker than the entire novel of War and Peace, is alphabetized, and is loaded with bizarre choices in gifts. Claire simply tells her that she's going to be disappointed on Christmas.
- Played for Drama: When Alice only gets a lesser version of her gift (or doesn't get it at all), she feels upset.
- Played for Horror: Alice asks for a demon to possess her on her birthday.
When you go back to Ludicrous Gift Request, get me a pet chimera!
