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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openThey thought they could control her/him
A powerful established group cooperates with a newcomer and believe she/he will be their front figure, but they can control her/him. As it turns out, they were completely wrong and are now the conttolled ones.
openGreat at Shapeshifting, Bad at Impersonation
Do we have a trope for a shapeshifter or master of disguise who's noticeably bad at the whole impersonation thing?
Basically a character has a knack for disguising, if not outright shapshifting, and those skills are the real deal, but their ability to actually pretend to be the person they're imitating are such that the only reason they're probably getting away with anything is that nobody has reason to believe there could be an imposter in the first place.
We have Paper-Thin Disguise, but that's more about when a known character that should be recognized adopts a poor disguise. Informed Ability is about this type of thing, but much more generally
- The Thrilling Adventure Hour: In the "Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars" episodes, Jupiter spies are notorious for their shapeshifting and infiltration abilities. One in particular, Jib Janeen, is a reoccurring antagonist. However, while his ability to impersonate his targets' appearance is flawless, he does absolutely nothing to change his voice or campy mannerisms. The cue to the audience that Jib Janeen is impersonating someone, besides the fact it's not the character's normal actor doing their voice, is greeting everyone present with the catch phrase "Hi, all my buddies!"
- Red Panda Adventures:
- The Man of a Thousand Faces, known as either Baboon McSmoothie or Brian McSweeny depending on what universe you're in, has the ability to change his appearance to anyone he wishes, man or woman. However, he has a tendency to rely on improvisation when infiltrating, which leads to both versions outing themselves. In "Eyes of the Idol", McSweeny impersonates Dr. Chronopolis's daughter, Anna, without any idea of who she is going in, but knowing she has access to where an artifact he needs to steal is being kept. When discussing the artifact, McSweeny gives himself away by arguing against the findings that had been made regarding the item, discoveries made by Dr. Anna Chronopolis, the person he's currently imitating.
- In "The World Next Door", Baboon McSmoothie has come to Toronto from an alternate timeline's Bad Future in the making to steal an item needed to prevent disaster in his universe. When noticed and pursued, he attempts to trick the Red Panda's sidekick, the Flying Squirrel. While he nails the voice and mannerisms, he slips up by getting the mask completely wrong and referring to the Flying Squirrel as "Kent" instead of "Kit". These errors result from McSmoothie impersonating his universe's version of the Red Panda but not realizing until too late that the main universe's Red Panda has a completely different costume and the Flying Squirrel is adult, female Kit Baxter and not teenage, male Kent Baxter.
- Sakamoto Days: Ex-Hitman-Turned-Convenience-Store-Owner Sakamoto is The Stoic. He's not given to speaking much and even his thoughts are taciturn, as seen through the mind reading abilities of Ex-Hitman-Turned-Convenience-Store-Employee, Shin. Thus, it's immediately clear that something is off when Sakamoto holds an actual conversation with Shin and Ex-Triad-Turned-Convenience-Store-Employee Lu. It's not until the real Sakamoto arrives and quickly deals with the situation that it's discovered the other Sakamoto is a still active hitman with a knack for disguise stopping in for a visit.
openSpinoff takes place in an isolated setting?
A story spinning off of the main one takes place in an isolated setting or is set far away from the main story's setting so that they can't interact with each other in order to keep their stories independent.
Like how Transformers: Rescue Bots takes place in the same universe as Transformers: Prime, but it takes place on a little-known island on the opposite side of the country so that neither of their plots influence the other.
openForced 1 ending
if you didn't come Golden Ending the game became Unwinnable
ex: if you didn't collect 7th Plot Coupon That Does Something the game next level, your allies became the level boss
openWife prevents Star Trek baby name Live Action TV
On last night's Young Sheldon rerun, old Sheldon in his Wonder Years voiceover says he wanted to name his son Leonard Nimoy Cooper, after Leonard Nimoy, obviously. But Amy interjects saying he should be happy she went along with Leonard Cooper, presumably after Leonard Hofstadter.
On JAG, Harriet almost goes along with Bud on naming their first son James Kirk Roberts, because Bud explains it as something something Gaelic. But once she finds out it's after Captain Kirk on Star Trek, she decides they must choose another name.
Is this a trope we already have listed? Or maybe this is too rare a trope. Or maybe I'm defining it too narrowly.
open"Trapped on Earth" plot
A plot in which a character from another world gets sent to and trapped in our own.
open"Asian people are perverts" stereotype
All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles would be a sub-trope; the idea that Asian people are promiscuous, sleazy, have creepy kinks, or are even pedophiles. An example would be that character from Game Grumps who's a Japanese pedophile.
openNot-so-progressive
A character may seem progressive and leftist, but they're ultimately revealed to be a Hypocrite or straight-up using that personality as a facade.
Edited by jandn2014openLiving Mood Ring
A character whose physical appearance, in whole or in some detail, changes in response to their emotions.
openI'll say you kidnapped me
A child blackmails an adult by threatening to call the police and claiming to have been kidnapped
openWide-Eyed Anger
This is a trope where people express surprise or anger by widening their eyes. It may or may not lead to a Death Glare (or worse).
Not to be confused with Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises, as that is more about being terrified.
Edited by MHarringtonopenCalmer and Milder
I wonder what happened to a certain trope where there is less blood and gore than a previous work when I saw it on the Trope Launching Pad. You know, it's the inverse of Bloodier and Gorier.
Edited by Chrononaut70openNaive savage
A savage is easily impressed by a civilized man, who shows some of his gizmos, and thinks that he must be a god of some sort.
openBoard compartment
A wooden board hides some sort of secret compartment behind it.
Edited by jandn2014openOdd suitor out Videogame
The player has multiple potential love interests to choose from, but one is clearly different than the others: they have Non-Standard Character Design, they're much richer/poorer than the others, they have different romance conditions, they're the only Gay Option or such.
openGrowing guy Western Animation
I keep on editing it and it keeps on going to the way it was
A character creates the only means of controlling an otherwise extremely powerful and reckless character that would otherwise be berserk—think Kid with the Leash but an adult.