Basic Trope: A character does something horrible and feels remorseful about it.
- Straight: Bob kills Alice, and is in deep regret of what he has done.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob lives with the guilt forever after accidentally knocking off Alice.
- Bob is haunted by the guilt in his every waking moment and has frequent nightmares every night after accidentally slapping Alice.
- Downplayed:
- Bob shows slight remorse after killing Alice.
- Bob nearly kills Alice (accidentally or not) and feels horrible about it afterward.
- Bob makes Alice cry and feels bad about it.
- Justified:
- Alice was an innocent civilian that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Bob vowed to never take another person's life.
- Inverted:
- Bob kills Alice, and feels satisfied with his accomplishment.
- Bob saves Alice’s life and feels satisfied with his accomplishment.
- Bob saves Alice’s life and is in deep regret of what he has done.
- Lack of Empathy
- I Regret Nothing
- Subverted:
- Bob's guilt ends when Charles tells him that he didn't murder Alice.
- Ignored Epiphany
- Double Subverted:
- Bob later finds out that Charles was lying.
- Bob can't ignore the epiphany any more and he breaks down.
- Parodied:
- Bob is weeping regretfully after he realized that he stepped on his neighbor's grass.
- God answers.
- Zig Zagged: Bob's emotions whipsaw between extreme satisfaction and extreme guilt.
- Averted: No one shows any remorse for any of their actions.
- Enforced: "What the-!? I loved Alice's character! Make Bob feel remorse for killing her."
- Lampshaded: "Nothing has been the same since I killed Alice. I don't think I'll ever get over this maddening guilt."
- Invoked:
- What the Hell, Hero?
- The heroes uses magic to give the villain a conscience, causing all their villainy to come crashing down upon them.
- Defied:
- Bob never does anything worth feeling guilty about.
- Bob has himself hypnotized to forget about Alice.
- Bob becomes The Atoner.
- Exploited: Charles bullies Bob by constantly reminding him of Alice.
- Implied:
- Alice vanishes, and Bob is suddenly very depressed. No reason is given for either Alice's disappearance or Bob's sadness.
- Bob usually defends his actions, often very loudly. His silence after the death of Alice speaks volumes.
- Discussed: "How crazy does someone have to be to even kill someone they'll regret killing?" "Well, more likely they just have poor self-control. I highly doubt they were thinking things through if they ended up regretting the murder."
- Conversed: "Why is Bob still upset about Alice? It's been three seasons!"
- Deconstructed: Regretting someone's death you caused ultimately does nothing, since you can never fix it. Even if they were brought back to life, if you truly regretted their death, the remorse stays.
- Reconstructed: Though one can never make up for killing someone, the remorse reminds them they need to be careful and think things through, thus avoiding further murder.
- And if they are brought back to life, then there's a chance to make it up to them.
- Played For Laughs: Everyone is happy that Alice is dead, except Bob, who feels guilty.
- Played For Drama: Bob is Driven to Suicide over his guilt. Without him to lead the rest of the heroes, Emperor Evulz ends up defeating them easily, dooming the world in the process.
My God, What Have I Done?? I've deleted the link to the main page!
