The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
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openMacGuffin Escort Mission and Live-Action Escort Mission
Does MacGuffin Escort Mission apply to a Living MacGuffin as well? There are several examples listed on that page where it's a person of import instead of an object, but we also have Live-Action Escort Mission as a trope.
openSpinoff for a Different Demographic Literature
I wonder where a trope exists for a spinoff that targets for a different demographic? In my case, a Children's Literature series has a spinoff that remains at the same universe, but is targeted at an older audience.
openSide quest Videogame
What happens where the main characters have to detour from their main goal?
openPower of Blood
What's the trope for a person believing that a blood transfusion will affect them negatively? For instance, there have been some examples of a white bigot being afraid that a black man's blood would turn him black, or in The A-Team, B.A. says he doesn't want a blood transfusion from Murdock because it'll make him crazy, just like him.
openKnowledge as a downside?
The character is actually highly knowledgeable, but this ends up being one of their disadvantages too, as they're so secure in their vast knowledge that if they're ever confronted by something they don't know - or worse, thought they knew but were wrong about - they find themselves completely unable to adapt to this new information.
Is there a trope for this?
openMisapplied Skills
Are there any tropes for when a seemingly-useless character has skills, but is in the completely wrong profession to use them?
For example, a Mr. Fixit with No Social Skills who's in charge of selling cars instead of fixing them, and is awful at it?
Edited by OrbitingopenStory that follows both antagonist and protagonist equally
I'm looking for the name of a trope where a story will alternate between the hero and the villain they are up against and give them both equal time (page space). The closest I found is the Two Lines, No Waiting subtrope under "Heat" but I'm looking for one where they spefically follow both characters and treat them both as main characters.
openRomance Food trope?
Is there a name for the romance trope of the girl being a Lethal Chef, but the guy that is in love with her either eats it anyway or has an iron stomach and thinks its the best food ever?
An example would be Nia and Simon from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Nia's cooking is completely inedible to everyone except for Simon.
Edited by KaylenAldanaeopenNight Blindness
If a character is night-blind (eyes don't adjust to darkness and they're effectively blind in low-light conditions) and always has to carry a lantern with them for when they walk home at night, would they count as Blind Without 'Em, with the 'Em' in this case being the lantern instead of glasses?
Otherwise, is it a variant of Can't See a Damn Thing?
openHostage distracts Hostage Take so hero can take him out
I just watched High Noon. Spoilers ahead: In the climax the villain has the damsel at gunpoint and orders the hero to come out from his hiding place. But then the damsel frees herself of the clutches of the baddie and scratches his face which buys the hero time to shoot the villain. The scene. Does this count as Damsel out of Distress? It's not like she did escape her captor. She only assisted in a Shoot the Hostage Taker. I feel this is a trope of its own. Do we have it separately?
openMentor as a Deux ex Machina Literature
Is there a trope where in a seemingly hopeless fight or unwinnable battle, the hero's mentor suddenly comes in and acting as a deus ex machina, just smashes the enemy or solves the problem? Maybe all the while berating the hero for his inefficiency or something.
openAntagonistic animals calling for backup Film
I just rewatched Pacific Rim for the millionth time. In the end battle - spoilers ahead - at the breach, Slattern throws its head back and calls for backup from Scunner. It's a moment that vividly reminds me of the times in the Jurassic Park franchise when the velociraptors lift their heads and call for their pack members with a sort of barking call. What I'd like to know is, is this a kaiju movie trope, and if so, which one? It's chilling!
Edited by Lemonscience33openCan't find a cartoon that scared me when I was a kid? Western Animation
I think it was a nickelodeon show? I think it's 3d animated, and took place on an island. The only episode I remember is one that scared me as a kid, where there were teeth that possessed you, and an old guy sacrificed himself or something? Also I think there were sheep
openTechnique to swiftly move behind the enemy
Do we have a trope for this? Examples immediately springing to mind are the "Reversal" Action Command in Kingdom Hearts, one of Regal's moves that I can't remember the name of in Tales Of Symphonia, and Splash of all things in Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. I'm sure it's appeared in anime and whatnot as well.
resolved Trying to uphold reputation
Is there a specific trope that mentions a person's inaction due to protecting the reputation of a person/group/country?
openinexplicably English-sounding alien terms
Is there a page for this one? When a word or concept in an alien or fantasy language sounds like mangled English (or other familiar language), despite there being supposedly no relation between the languages, e.g. "this refreshing beverage is called k'uffii". This is one of those that show up all the time in kids' media, but occasionally in other stuff too.
openGood or evil is fine
A character does evil for a good purpose, but is fine if that purpose fails.
For example, a firearms manufacturer runs an unbelievably offensive advertising campaign specifically targeting would-be school shooters (ads showing nerds shooting their asshole classmates, getting revenge on their tormentors, etc.). The logic behind this is to provoke outrage and hopefully better gun-control laws, but if it doesn't, well, they're sure to sell a lot more guns to the high school demographic. That there might be more than those two outcomes is never brought up.
openCharacter having concussion or hemorrhage Web Original
What is the trope for a character getting hit on the head severely enough to have a concussion or hemorrhage? (It doesn't have to be Tap on the Head, since that trope is about a character getting knocked out in the head.)
openWhat kind of derivative work is this? Literature
The situation is as follows:
In 1993, there was a Light Novel series called KZ Shonen Shoujo Seminar (Seminar), which last only a year—in LN terms it can be seen as Cut Short.
Some 18 years later, with Seminar's author's agreement, the basic premise of Seminar was used to write a series of Children's Literature, known as Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note (Note).
While the two series share the same basic premise and characterizations, they're considered unrelated works, especially given an inverted Age Lift was applied to Note so that the cast as an age closer to the new readers.
The Japanese call that a "rewrite," which is also the terminology used in Note's article in this wiki. But obviously this is not rewrite, the trope. In troper-speak, what can be used to characterize the relation of Note in relate to Seminar? Retool or just adaptation?
Edited by SamCurt
Is there a name for a situation where a character keeps important information from the protagonist just so it can be a dramatic reveal later on?