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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openDo It/Don't Do It
Is there a trope for where two characters are trying to persuade a third character to do/not do something? E.g. "It's hopeless, just give the villain the MacGuffin already!" "Don't do it, you'll doom us all!"
A bit like Good Angel, Bad Angel, but with actual characters instead of miniature versions of a character.
openGood deeds, bad motives
Character does a good deed and is praised for it... before revealing his motive for it, which is anything but good.
For example, a Blood Knight goes around giving self-defense lessons to women, breaking a misogynist culture... so that when he picks a fight later on they'll last longer. Or a Corrupt Corporate Executive gives huge amounts of money to charities and public organizations, so that arresting him will cause them to collapse. Or a guy campaigning for greater freedom-of-speech... since as a neo-Nazi, he keeps getting told to shut up.
openDon't Name Her Cinnamon... Damn It!
(I will refer to one of the gender-neutral characters as female for ease of use.) In Kinectimals: Now with Bears, if you choose to adopt the Cinnamon Bear, Lina will tell you to not name her "Cinnamon", because Cinnamon Bears hate that. I, being the player that I am, named her Cinnamon anyway, and she loved it! Is there a trope for that scenario?
openDraconic Magic
I'm looking for a trope about magic related to or sourced from dragons. For example: Sorcerers (and others) in D&D, Shouts in Skyrim, most/all magic in A So Ia F (or so I'm told, haven't read it).
EDIT: more examples here http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Magic
Edited by qwertyu63openNot lyrical dissonance Music
I have been thinking about two different versions of what I am calling "Lyrical Disconnect". The first comes from 'The Shawshank Redemption', when Red talks about how he doesn't want to know the lyrics to a Mozart aria because he feels that nothing they could be singing about could be as beautiful as the way they are singing it. Is this already a trope that I haven't found yet, or does anyone know of any other examples, enough to make it a trope?
The second comes from my own life, and it's when I love the music of a song, but hate the lyrics, or love the lyrics but hate the song. Are there any examples of this from tv, movies, etc? There is a short discussion in the forums (Disconnect - love the lyrics/song but hate the song/lyrics) from a few years ago, but that was all that I could find.
Thanks in advance.
openSet from a classic series rebuilt for a new show
Do we have a trope for scenarios where a series features a faithfully reconstructed set from an earlier series/film, specifically one set within the same universe? For example, the Star Trek TNG episode "Relics" and the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly" featured reconstructions of the 1960s bridge set. "Flashback," an episode of Voyager, featured a reconstruction of the Excelsior bridge set from Star Trek VI. The Doctor Who episode "Hell Bent" featured a reconstruction of the TARDIS console room set from the 1960s; the episodes "The Doctor's Wife" and "Day of the Doctor" also featured an earlier version of the TARDIS set. There have also been cases where sitcoms have featured recreated sets from other shows - I believe there was an episode of Blackish recently that recreated the set from Good Times. Another example was the Stargate SG-1 episode "200" that featured a semi-faithful recreation of the Moya bridge from Farscape. I think there are plenty of examples to justify this as a trope if there isn't one already.
openSuperpower Savvy
When the hero awakens a NEW superpower or ability (which is usually an Ass Pull) during a battle and starts using it without a peep
Edited by Suigetsu-SanopenDeath Trope
Is there a trope for when a character dies but the characters cannot say he dies? Like, for example the character is a from anothe dimension but no one else knows so his friends say they went somewhere.
openTwo music tropes
Do we have these tropes relating to music? What are they called?
- When a song starts out with one (or few) instruments, but more instruments come in as the song progresses.
- When a song simply fades out instead of having a proper ending.
openName of trope
What's the trope in this clip from LOTR where balrog in his dying moments lashes out and takes Gandalf with him. I can swear I saw a more specific trope for this than Taking You with Me.
openTropes about treaties
Besides Binding Ancient Treaty, are there any tropes that involve treaties and other forms of international agreements?
openNot-so-fake name
Is there a trope for when a character makes up a ridiculous sounding name, only to find out that someone or something with that name actually exists?
openBrain are Hard drives?
In the show Dollhouse, the Stephen King book "Cell" (and the movie based on it set to come out later this year) and the movie "The Signal" all play on the same idea, that brains are hard drives that can be overwritten, erased, backed up and manipulated. In Dollhouse season 1, episode 13, they even skip 10 years ahead and show the apocalypse that the technology brought about, and it looks a hell of a lot like the movie "The Signal" (which seems a hell of a lot like the book "Cell"). Is there a trope for this?
Edited by FrostyWolfopenSpot The Main Character
Do we have a trope for when protagonists have outlandish designs compared to background characters or lesser characters?
openEnemy Nicknamer
When you don't know your enemies' names, and might not even speak their language, you might come up with nicknames based on their attributes, just so you have something to call them. Hairy Face for a bearded man, the Smiling One for another. Similar to Reporting Names, but less systematic. Anything fit better than The Nicknamer?
openAnti-climactic but not a list
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking is a list of three or more items, ending on the weakest note. What if it isn't three items but only two? What I have in mind is the joke featuring two old ladies discussing something tragic that happened to a neighbor.
Alice: "Did you hear about poor Bob? He fell down the stairs and died!"
Carol: "Died?!"
Alice: "Yes, died. Broke his glasses, too."
Edited by BradyLadyopenPredators and non-predators
If I recall correctly, there was a trope that was talking about that in real life, the whole "dangerous predator" thing from the movies would actually fit something that's not a predator, like a hippo.
Edited by PinkCelebiopenIt's probably not called "disregarded genius".
It's practically impossible that this trope isn't already listed but what is the English term for it? Scientist/artist is not appreciated by his peers or in his own time, but later turns out to have been a genius all along. It can be Van Gogh (but without the madness), too much avant garde for his time. Scientists who are ahead of their peers, like the dork in star gate who is rejected for claiming the pyramids were built by aliens (providing that their once seemingly insane claim turns out to be true). Or real life, dr. Semmelweis who thought washing your hands before performing operations might help to prevent infections.
Their career comes to a halt or their work doesn't sell. Later, they are rediscovered / reinstated postmortem (real life). For example when some unprecedented crisis leaves conventional scientists powerless and suddenly proves the rejects were right all along (Ghostbusters). In case of artists, someone from a new generation sparks off a re-appreciation (often their success was delayed so long that they've already died penniless in the meantime).
There's got to be a term for that, right?
Is there a trope for when characters in a work of media are supposed to be school age and in school, but are rarely, if ever, shown attending classes or doing any schoolwork?