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openestranged cousins
Is there a trope on cousins who used to get along as kids, but became estranged over time to the point they don't get along? Not sure if the We Used to Be Friends trope applies here.
For example: Mara Wilson (the actress who played Matilda) grew up with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro (who happens to be her maternal cousin) on the same block, but the two are not on speaking terms since 2003.
openDemonic Trickery
- (Alice and Bob are masterminding a haunted house, with Alice looking disappointed.)
- Alice: This isn't working. Heck, I'll bet that run-down place on Elm is scarier, and it's both half the size of ours, and doesn't even have any actual scares!
- Bob: A) You've clearly forgotten about a certain serial killer. Even if he has been verifiably dead for over a century. And B) If that's what they're looking for, I think I might have something that'll do the trick.
- (He goes over to a chair and sits down, then immediately slumps over as if he'd fallen asleep.)
- Alice: Did you seriously just fall asleep? How is a nap going to help us?
- (She is met with (and frightened by) a combination of three overlapping sounds coming from somewhere inside the house: A cacophony of girlish shrieks; a massive, demonic roar; and an overlapping collection of various sounds and voices that can only be described as "the very fabric of the multiverse being torn apart at the metaphysical level", while also sending countless years worth of dust raining down around the duo. Once this subsides, Bob opens one eye and looks up at her with a sly ";)" kind of smirk.)
- Alice: That was you, wasn't it?
- (Barely moving a muscle, Bob sticks out his tongue in a manner that just makes his expression even cheekier. As various, lingering noises in the background suggest that a large number of people are fleeing the house wholesale.)
openExaggerated Assumed Skill
Alice has a skill Bob lacks. Bob then has a grossly exaggerated view of Alice's skill.
For example, Bob is Hopeless with Tech and goes to Alice every time he has a computer problem, which she fixes by googling the issue as she has no particular training with computers. Then when Bob's computer is held hostage by a virus, he assumes she can fix this as well, and his worldview is shattered when she says it's far beyond her and he has to take it to the shop.
Sometimes seen alongside Omnidisciplinary Scientist where a character with no scientific training assumes a character's skills are much broader than they are (e.g. assuming a heart surgeon can do brain surgery, an electrician can fix a blackout, a Greek historian can instantly translate the Illiad, etc.) or small children (e.g. "My dad can pick me up" = "My dad has Super-Strength").
openRidicoulus plan... "I'm in" Film
I think we all know this scene: A group has a new recruit, the new one stands in front of the other and lists the steps of ridicoulus or ridicoulously dangerous plan: "So you want me to ..." or "so we will ... ". Everybody else just looks and listens and in the end confirms with a simple "Yeah, that's pretty much it" or just nods or something. And the person just says: "Ok, I'm in". Recently featured in the new "The Stand" series (EP 4 and the recap at the beginning of 5), but probably also part of Oceans 1x, Mission Impossible or the Fast an Furious series
openButter's speech about beautiful sadness Western Animation
There's a trope page with the image of Butters from South Park. He's talking to emo kids telling them how he finds the sadness of being dumped by a girl beautiful because he couldn't be sad if he wasn't happy to begin with. He called it a "beautiful sadness." I forget the trope's name. Does anyone know which one I'm talking about?
openAdvice from a stranger Film
Usually happens towards the end of a story. The protagonist is at a low point, and they sit down and pour their heart out while there is a stranger nearby, possibly a bartender. After the protagonist is done, the stranger gives surprisingly good advice, which likely gives the protagonist the second wind they needed.
A specific example I can name is Billy Idol's cameo in The Wedding Singer. That made got me thinking this seems such a specific and often used thing that it should be a trope. The Kindness of Strangers is a related trope, but much more general.
open(YMMV) Angst Subversion?
Is there a specific trope wherein the audience is so used to lots of angst in a work that they expect the ending of a plot point in the story to end up angsty, but the work subverts the expectations and makes it heartwarming/cathartic/fuzzy instead, making the audience pleasantly surprised?
openObsessive Homeowner's Association
Do we have a trope for people who are excessively concerned with the appearance of other people's houses in their neighborhood? They might actually be the Homeowner's Association, or maybe they're just worried about property values going down, but either way they get really worked up when somebody else paints their house purple or has unsightly lawn ornaments. In the most extreme cases they might try to have people evicted (or killed!)
Edited by MonaNaitoopenReferenced and Renamed
When a Movie or TV Show references something popular but renames it to not look identitical. For example in Simpsons they say "Cubecraft" instead of "Minecraft", and in Steven Universe, Steven says "Tube Tube" instead of just saying the real name (You Tube).
Basically when a show parodies something but doesn't use the real name, it's really weird when that happens and i want to see more.
openAtoner with a Crush
This is where after a Heel–Face Turn, a former villain grows a crush on the hero that converted them.
Not to be confused with Love Redeems.
Related Tropes: Foe Romance Subtext, Dating Catwoman
Edited by LiechtraumopenSinging the music? Music
I don't know if this is common enough to be trope-worthy, but. .
Singing the music in a song as if it was part of the lyrics. For example:
Reaching out/ Touching me / Touching you.. / Sweet Caroline (BA BA BA)
Edited by MenaceofMysterioopenMurder By Proxy
Is there a trope regarding manipulating someone into killing someone else, be it by Gaslighting or showing evidence of the intended victim's crimes against the proxy? Obviously, just hiring a Professional Killer wouldn't count, but manipulating someone to hire one would.
openUsefulNotes on Digital TV switchover
Useful notes page for the terrestrial digital television switchover. If there isn’t one, is it really worthy?
Edited by callmeamuffinopenOpening text
A work begins with a line of text that appears on the screen. I know we already have Opening Scroll for longer expository passages and Epigraph and Dictionary Opening for quotes and definitions respectively, but I'm looking for something that simply covers short lines of text that aren't quotes or anything.
open"Someone's been here recently"
Do we have a trope where someone thinks the place is long abandoned, only to find traces of recent presence? Stuff like still-warm fireplace, freshly-made food, a newspaper from the day before, etc.
openSpaceships are Submarines
A trope where spaceships work just as well underwater, despite empty space and the deep ocean being pretty much opposites.
openFranchise namer
First, there was a single, standalone work, with a name. It was a success and was followed by several others. The name is now the name of the franchise or series. The first and original work is then renamed, to avoid confusion. A great example is the "Star Wars" film, now known as "A New Hope".
This is a fairly common trope in works with Jewish female characters. A Serious Man and Glee have Jewish girls angsting over the size of their nose and wanting rhinoplasty.
Edited by Nepworks