Line #32 Main/WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes


1	%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=7rp5mrt1
2	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1536945847098568300
3	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
4	%%
5	[[quoteright:299:[[ComicBook/NewAvengers2015 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terry_squirrel_phobia.jpg]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:299:Boy, did ''you'' pick [[ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl the wrong girl]] to tangle with.]]
7
8	->'''Agatha:''' Yesterday you took out a whole army of war clanks!\
9	'''Gil:''' That was a ''small army''. This is a ''big spider!''
10	-->-- ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''
11
12	A seemingly invulnerable character reveals that they are deathly afraid of ''X''... therefore, ''X'' is certainly going to be a recurring obstacle, [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere no matter how unlikely]]. The {{Trope Namer\|s}} is a line in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', reminding us that Franchise/IndianaJones is terrified of snakes ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophidiophobia ophidiophobia]]) when he discovers that the Well of Souls is crawling with them.
13
14	A subset of FatalFlaw. FearOfThunder (also known as brontophobia), SpidersAreScary [[http://www.fearof.net/fear-of-spiders-phobia-arachnophobia (arachnophobia)]], {{Claustrophobia}}, AfraidOfBlood (hemophobia), AfraidOfClowns (coulrophobia), AfraidOfDoctors (iatrophobia), BeeAfraid (melissophobia), EekAMouse (musophobia), and AfraidOfNeedles (trypanophobia) are specific sub-tropes of this.
15
16	This is common in horror/sci-fi stories dealing with a "master of fear" (such as [[Literature/HarryPotter boggarts]], [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy]], [[Literature/{{It}} Pennywise]], or [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Scarecrow]]), in which the monster [[IKnowWhatYouFear uses their powers to guess their victim's worst fear]], and then use it against them to make them a [[CowerPower quivering heap]]. Enemies who know about this weakness are prone to use FlawExploitation and as [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk a way of coercing the hero]]. It can also overlap with TheDreaded. If an innocuous object causes fear that renders someone helpless, it may overlap with WeaksauceWeakness. Also compare AbsurdPhobia, where an unusual (and usually non-plot relevant) fear is PlayedForLaughs. Also often played as AnAesop about how FearIsNormal.
17
18	As you can imagine, TruthInTelevision. Compare PrimalFear for examples where common phobias are gleefully exploited in horror fiction. No personal examples, please. Not to be confused with ReptilesAreAbhorrent, but it helps to explain it some.
19
20	Compare TraumaButton. For characters with haphephobia, see HatesBeingTouched.
21
22	----
23	!!Examples
24
25	[[index]]
26	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/AnimeAndManga
27	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Comics}}
28	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/FanWorks
29	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Film}}
30	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Literature}}
31	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/LiveActionTV
32	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Music}}
33	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Podcasts}}
34	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/ProfessionalWrestling
35	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/RecordedAndStandUpComedy
36	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Roleplay}}
37	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/TabletopGames
38	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/VideoGames
39	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/WebAnimation
40	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/{{Webcomics}}
41	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/WebOriginal
42	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes/WesternAnimation
43	[[/index]]
44
45	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
46	* The eponymous character of ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'' is afraid of balloons popping, which Adu Du exploits in episode 6 to get him to say what the formula to Tok Aba's cocoa is, using the balloons popping as a torture device.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
50	* ''ComicStrip/MadamAndEve'': The sight of a single Parktown prawn ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parktown_prawn African King cricket]]) is enough to turn all of the characters into nervous, quivering wrecks. [[http://www.madamandeve.co.za/cartoons/me000548.gif Demonstrated here.]]
51	[[/folder]]

Context Main / WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes