Line #7 PlayingWith/MissingReflection


1	'''Basic Trope''': A monster, usually a vampire or TheSoulless, doesn't have a reflection.
2	* '''Straight''': Vorlak the Vampire doesn't have a reflection.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Someone paints Vorlak the Vampire's portrait and it vanishes as soon as they are finished with it.
5	** Someone finishes carving a bust of Vorlak the Vampire and when they turn around it is suddenly an untouched, featureless block of marble.
6	* '''Downplayed''':
7	** Vorlak's reflection is see-through or a faint outline.
8	** Vorlak's [[TheFaceless face]] or [[EyelessFace eyes]] are missing or blurred in his reflection, but not the rest.
9	** Vorlak's clothing or other objects he's holding will show up in reflections or photos, but not the rest of him.
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** Vorlak doesn't show up on a [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible thermal imaging camera]] because his body temperature matches the surrounding air.
12	** Wilma the Witch cast a non-reflection spell on Vorlak to punish him for his excessive time checking himself on the mirror.
13	** Vorlak is a hologram/illusion, and making shadows is too advanced.
14	** The mirrors Vorlak always looks in are made from silver, which vampires in this setting have a weakness to.
15	* '''Inverted''':
16	** Vorlak turns invisible [[SoMuchForStealth but mirrors still show his reflection]].
17	** People can see Vorlak... but only through mirrors, camera footage, and similar means.
18	* '''Subverted''':
19	** Vorlak fakes having no reflection as part of a ScoobyDooHoax, having a mirror in his room that is actually a window to an identical room.
20	** Vorlak doesn't appear in mirrors and photography film containing silver, but he can be recorded in digital formats or alternative chemistries.
21	** Vorlak actually covers the reflection with an illusion - it is still there physically.
22	* '''Double Subverted''': ...as a blur.
23	* '''Parodied''':
24	** Vorlak checks himself on the mirror every morning, despite being invisible.
25	** Vorlak's house is full of portraits of him and his family. They show nothing but increasingly bizarre floating clothes and items.
26	** Vorlak sends nudes to Alice. The photos show nothing.
27	** People think the reason vampires [[HouseofBrokenMirrors don't have intact mirrors in their house]] is because they [[RageAgainstTheReflection shatter them all upon seeing themselves as nothing]]. The actual reason is because they lose the ability to pass the 'mirror test' and soon wind up arguing and fighting their own reflection. Vampires are majorly embarrassed by this secret.
28	* '''Zig Zagged''':
29	** Vorlak's reflection fades or disappears, either at random or under certain conditions.
30	** [[VampireVarietyPack Some vampires have reflections, others don't.]]
31	** Vorlak has no reflection in mirrors, but can be seen in photographs. He can be seen in video recordings, too, but his voice can't be heard for some reason.
32	* '''Averted''':
33	** Light bounces off Vorlak and mirrors exactly the way mundane physics dictates.
34	** Alternatively, TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf, causing Vorlak to suffer GlamourFailure.
35	* '''Enforced''':
36	** The work creator has researched vampire lore and ShownTheirWork.
37	** [[ExecutiveMeddling The work creator's boss]] thinks that [[ViewersAreMorons the audience won't realize]] that Vorlak is a vampire without some [[CaptainObvious blatant]] and [[ViewersAreGoldfish repeated]] indicators.
38	* '''Lampshaded''':
39	** Alice wonders out loud how Vorlak can use a toothbrush to get the bloodstains off his fangs without the aid of mirrors to see if he missed a spot.
40	** Alice asks Vorlak why he even owns a mirror if he cannot use one.
41	** Alice wonders why Vorlak's clothes don't reflect.
42	* '''Invoked''': Bob creates a vampiric spell that causes him to be invisible to both reflective telescopes and photography to help preserve TheMasquerade.
43	* '''Exploited''':
44	** Bob fetches a mirror and uses it for an ImpostorExposingTest to see who is the vampire hiding among the humans. Alternatively, Vorlak uses a mirror in the same way but to see who is the human hiding among the vampires.
45	** During a ChaseScene through a HallOfMirrors that reveal everyone's position to everyone else, Vorlak has the advantage of stealth.
46	** Vorlak is an avid shoplifter, confident that the CCTV won't record him.
47	* '''Defied''': Bob makes his lifelong goal to design and manufacture a mirror that can reflect Vorlak's image.
48	* '''Discussed''': Alice and Bob are trying to determine if Vorlak is a vampire, and Alice suggests confronting him with a mirror and seeing if he has a reflection.
49	* '''Conversed''': Alice and Bob are watching a movie, and Bob asks why Vorlak would fill his castle with mirrors if he has no reflection.
50	* '''Implied''':
51	** Vorlak's house is suspiciously devoid of mirrors and other reflective surfaces.[[note]]This is in direct violation of Rule 21 of JustForFun/ThingsIWillDoIfIAmEvertheVampire.[[/note]]
52	** After a heist, police releases wanted posters of every other member of the gang based on security footage, but not Vorlak.
53	* '''Played For Laughs''':
54	** [[ThePeepingTom Peeping]] [[GenderInvertedTrope Tammy]] wants to [[StalkingIsFunnyIfItIsFemaleAfterMale spy]] on [[VampiresAreSexGods Vorlak]] [[MrFanservice undressing]] and gets a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periscope periscope]] (which uses [[WatchingTheReflectionUndress mirrors]]) to do so. She DidntThinkThisThrough and is [[GenreBlindness thwarted when the periscope doesn't reflect his image]].
55	** Alice is fixing her makeup in a large mirror. Behind her, Vorlak approaches and [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire gives a friendly greeting]]. Startled, Alice reflexively hits Vorlak, who is either [[AmusingInjuries comedically injured]] or [[NoSell supernaturally tough]]. Alice scolds, "DontSneakUpOnMeLikeThat!"
56	* '''Played For Drama''': Vorlak is a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire about to undergo an ImpostorExposingTest in a room full of humans ready to commit VanHelsingHateCrimes.
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58	Back to MissingReflection
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60	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
61	%%
62	%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???

Context PlayingWith / MissingReflection