Plots - TV Tropes

"If you're sitting in your minivan, playing your computer animated films for your children in the back seat, is it the animation that's entertaining you as you drive and listen? No, it's the storytelling. That's why we put so much importance on the story. No amount of great animation will save a bad story."

— John Lasseter

Plots organize the action of an entire script. Most plots occupy a single episode or Story Arc. See also Plot for a basic definition.

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#-B

15 Minutes of Fame: Someone becomes famous for a short amount of time.
Abortion Fallout Drama: Plotline focusing on how getting an abortion affects the character and her relationships.
Abuse Mistake: Something innocent is mistaken for abuse or vice-versa.
Accidental Athlete: Someone discovers their athletic ability while doing something else.
Accidental Hero: A person performs a heroic action by complete accident.
Accidental Marriage: Someone gets married accidentally.
Achilles in His Tent: A powerful team member quits, but returns to save the day just as the team needs their specific talents.
Action-Hero Babysitter: An Action Hero put in a position of responsibility for children. Typically Played for Laughs.
Adventure Rebuff: One character tries to keep another character out of trouble by forbidding them to go on missions with him, which never works.
Adventures in the Bible: Time travel to events from religion or mythology.
Against the Grain: A character doesn't fulfil their expected role.
All for Nothing: A story's buildup gets its payoff. A later event renders it meaningless.
All That Glitters: Expected treasure turns out to be worthless.
All Up to You: An Unlikely Hero is the only one who can solve the problem.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The villains take over the hero's lair.
Alien Invasion: Aliens plan to invade a planet.
Allegory Adventure: A creative work in which the characters, plot, or both parallel those in another creative work.
Alternate Universe: Other worlds similar to ours, but with key differences.
Amateur Film-Making Plot: Characters try to create a low budget film.
America Saves the Day: A world-wide problem is solved by the United States.
Amnesia Danger: A character would be able to deal with this easily if they had their memories. Unfortunately, they don't.
And Now You Must Marry Me: The villain tries to force a protagonist to marry them.
Animal Athlete Loophole: An animal plays sports since no rule bars it.
Animal Testing: The controversial act of testing medicine on animals.
Annoying Patient: A sick character is really annoying to their caretaker.
Antagonist in Mourning: The villain feels sorry for the hero's death.
Anti-Climactic Parent: A variant of The Reveal in which a character spends the episode getting the cast in an uproar about a parental visit.
Anti-School Uniforms Plot: A group of students protest a newly installed rule requiring school uniforms.
Apophenia Plot: A character misinteprets a series of events and thinks they see a conspiracy where none exists.
Appease the Volcano God: A group try to throw a character into a volcano to appease the volcano god.
April Fools' Plot: An episode set on April Fools' Day.
Asinine Alternate Activity: A character isn't allowed to do something they want, with a boring alternative offered instead.
Assimilation Plot: A villain attempts to eliminate all differences between people.
Attack of the Town Festival: A town holding a festival is under attack.
Awkward First Sleepover: A socially awkward child, teen or adult attends their first sleepover.
Axes at School: Someone brings a weapon to class.
The B Grade: Someone gets upset over getting a grade that is slightly less than perfect.
Bachelor Auction: A bunch of male characters get together for a "date auction", usually for charity. Occasionally gender flipped.
Back to School: An adult character returns to school.
Bad Luck Charm: A character finds an item that is deemed to give bad luck.
Bad Samaritan: Someone takes in the hero and seems (at first) to be helping, but they have ulterior motives.
Bad Santa: Santa Claus has either gone bad or has a villainous impostor or rival.
Badass in Distress: An Action Hero finds themself in the role of a Damsel in Distress.
Band Episode: The characters form a band or a musical group.
The Bard on Board: A work based on the plot of a Shakespeare play.
Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: The villain has the damsel cleaned up before... well, you know.
Batman in My Basement: A character hides out in someone's home. One resident has to keep the others from finding out.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Someone makes a wish and finds out the hard way that their desire has its downsides.
Be Yourself: Someone tries to change who they are to accomplish their goal or so that people will like them better. They learn in the end that they're fine just the way they are.
Beauty Contest: A contest in which people are judged by their appearance and social grace.
Becoming the Costume: People are turned into whatever they're dressed to be.
Becoming the Mask: A character becomes like the person they pretend to be.
Benched Hero: A hero is temporarily removed to keep things interesting.
Benevolent Conspiracy: A secret plan is happening, but for noble reasons.
"Better if Not Born" Plot: Someone is shown what the world would be like if they never existed, and everyone's lives are enriched because of it.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: A bizarre scene that comes out of nowhere, has no significance on the plot, and is never mentioned again after it ends.
The Big Race: Characters participate in a race.
Birthday Party Goes Wrong: A birthday party is getting ruined: the cake is burnt or dropped, the presents are horrible, the guests are annoying... and the birthday kid ends up unhappy on their special day. Unless his family and friends try to make it up for them and cheer them up.
Bizarro Episode: An episode that is weirder than the rest of the series.
Black Like Me: A character disguises themself as a member of a different social group and discovers how they are treated differently.
Body-Count Competition: Characters compete to see who kills the most Mooks.
Body Horror: A plot involving grotesque body structures.
Body Snatcher: A character's body is taken over by some foreign intelligence.
Body Surf: A character possesses multiple people in succession.
Bottle Episode: An episode that saves budget money by going easy on the number of characters, props, locations, etc. that can be used.
Brainwashed: Someone has used Applied Phlebotinum to control the mind of another character.
Brainwashed and Crazy: A brainwashed character is sent to hurt or kill their friends.
"Brave the Ride" Plot: An episode set at an amusement park where a character must get over their fear of a ride, usually a roller coaster.
The Breakfast Plot: A group of characters gets stuck together (in what may or may not be detention) and end up bonding.
Breaking Out the Boss: Members of a gang of criminals orchestrate a plan to free their incarcerated leader from prison.
Breakout Mook Character: A spin-off centering on a Mascot Mook.
The Bride with a Past: A bride is discovered to have been a stripper (or something similar) before becoming engaged.
Bring Help Back: A group in distress sends one of their own to get help for them.
Bring It Back Alive: A character must capture a dangerous creature alive.
Bring News Back: The characters must get information to the right people.
Broken Masquerade: Someone discovers the truth behind a Masquerade.
Broken Pedestal: A person who idolized someone they saw as a hero starts hating their hero after discovering them to not truly be the flawless paragon of virtue they thought they were.
Broken Treasure: A character's most prized possession is broken while they are away, and now the other characters have to fix it or replace it before the character gets back.
Broken Win/Loss Streak: A streak of consecutive wins or losses is broken.
Brought Down to Badass: A super-powered being loses their powers, but is still plenty strong and formidable without powers.
Brought Down to Normal: A character with powers loses or is stripped of them, and must cope without them and/or get them back.
Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: A Superhero in their Secret Identity is taken hostage and has to save the day without blowing their cover.
Bulk Buy Only: Character spends an entire episode trying to get something, only to have to buy massive amounts of it.
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie: Someone has difficulty honoring the last requests of a deceased person.
Busman's Holiday: A character on vacation ends up having to do what they usually wind up doing.
But I Can't Be Pregnant!: A character turns out to be pregnant, despite this being thought impossible.

C-D

Cabin Fever: Characters go crazy from being cooped up in an isolated area for an extended period with no outside contact.
Cain and Abel: Sibling rivalry turns into bitter, murderous hatred.
The Cake Is a Lie: A promised reward turns out to be nothing but a lie.
Came Back with a Vengeance: A wronged innocent returns under an assumed name in order to take revenge on their former tormentors. Inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo.
Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Do something bad? Even once? You're gonna get it, pal.
Can't Get in Trouble for Nuthin': A character wants to get in trouble, but can't.
The Caper: A group of protagonists organize an elaborate robbery.
Caper Rationalization: The group of people doing The Caper have a good reason to steal.
The Captivity Narrative: A Puritan girl is captured by Natives and has to resist their culture. Discredited and forgotten these days.
Captured Super-Entity: Experimenting on captive aliens.
Cattle Drive: An old Western plot involving ranchers having to get cattle to market under dangerous conditions.
Caught in the Bad Part of Town: A character finds themselves in an unfamiliar and run down (and often dangerous) neighborhood.
Caught Up in a Robbery: A plot in which a work's main or supporting characters get wrapped up in a robbery that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs at their location.
Celebrity Is Overrated: Fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Celebrity Lie: Lying about being close to a celebrity.
Celebrity Star: An episode of a show makes the best possible use of its celebrity guest star.
Chain of Deals: Someone has to make deals with a whole bunch of people in order to get what they want.
The Chain of Harm: A character who was abused unleashes the same kind of abuse on someone else.
Changing of the Guard: A sequel which features or focuses on different characters from the original work.
Character Focus: Focusing on one character's development at a time.
Charity Workplace Calendar: Posing for a workplace calendar to raise money.
Charlie and the Chocolate Parody: A work is a Whole-Plot Reference to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The Chase: A plot centered on characters pursuing one another.
Chased by Angry Natives: A character gets chased by angry native population.
Cheer Up Episode: One character is down in the dumps, and the other characters attempt to make them happier.
Chicken Pox Episode: A character comes down with chicken pox (or a fantastic equivalent).
Childhood Memory Demolition Team: A construction team that destroys a character's childhood memories when said character grows up.
Children Raise You: Character Development comes from looking after a kid.
Cinderella Plot: Plots inspired by or parodying Cinderella.
City in a Bottle: A city that is sealed away from the rest of the world.
Class Reunion: The graduating class of a school meet each other again at the school years later.
Clean Up the Town: A new person comes to a rundown town, intending to reduce crime and make it a better place.
Clear My Name: Someone has to prove they're innocent of the crime they're accused of committing.
Clear Their Name: Someone else takes it upon them to prove the innocence of someone wrongly accused of a crime.
Clip Show: An episode that mostly consists of recycled footage from earlier episodes.
Closed Circle: No way to get out. No way to get help. You're on your own.
Coax Them Out of the Closet: A closeted character's peers try to get them to come out.
Code Silver: A gunman takes hostages at a hospital, school, or other important place where the characters work.
Cold Equation: In a survival situation, can killing one to save others be a solution?
The Collector: People version of Collector of the Strange.
Color Me Black: A character is turned into a member of another race in order to teach them a lesson about racism.
Comic Books Are Real: The characters in the Show Within a Show are actually real within the universe that watches it.
Coming-Out Story: A gay or other queer character comes out and reveals their sexual orientation to their friends, family and associates.
Common Nonsense Jury: A wrong verdict is passed not because of ill intent, unfair rules, etc. The jury's just plain stupid.
Community-Threatening Construction: A planned construction site motivates residents to defend their home, which is subject for demolition.
Compromising Memoirs: A memoir is written that contains details about a person that the person does not wish others to know.
The Con: Scams used by criminals to illegally acquire money.
Concert Episode: Characters see a (usually rock) concert together.
Consolation World Record: Someone fails to break a record and gain recognition for it, but in doing so ends up unintentionally breaking a world record anyway.
The Conspiracy: A secret plot from a powerful figure or group is happening and the protagonists investigate it.
Contagious Powers: Side characters gain superpowers so they can fight alongside The Hero.
Contamination Situation: Characters are exposed to a potentially deadly pathogen that infects them.
Contract on the Hitman: An assassin is marked for death by the very people for whom they work.
The Convenient Store Next Door: A store is right next door to the place people want to rob.
Cooking Duel: Two rivals compete over who can make better food.
Cooperation Gambit: Two enemies make a deal with each other without ending their conflict.
Corporate Conspiracy: A corporation is conspiring with another group for an evil purpose.
Cosmetic Catastrophe: A girl experiments with makeup for the first time, with negative consequences.
Costumer: An alternative reality episode that's an excuse to put the characters in period costume.
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: After the conflict is resolved, the characters point out that the problem wouldn't have happened in the first place if they had gone with another solution or explained things better to each other.
Counter Zany: A Zany Scheme is countered by an even Zanier Scheme.
Courtroom Episode: An episode revolves around someone being put on trial for their transgressions.
Crapsack World: The story takes place in a terrible location to live.
Crash Course Landing: A character with no flying experience has to learn how to land a plane safely.
Credit Card Plot: A character gets a credit card and starts spending it irresponsibly.
Criminal Convention: Fan conventions for villains.
Criminal Mind Games
Crossing the Desert: The hero must cross a desert.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: An idiot who can become awesome in situations.
Crying Wolf: Pull too many deliberate false alarms and no one will believe you when you're trying to warn about real danger.
Cryptid Episode: The characters go and search for some kind of mysterious mythical creature.
Cuckoo Nest: A character is convinced they're in an asylum and the events of the work were just hallucinations, making it (sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently) ambiguous as to what's real.
Cultural Personality Makeover: A character discovers something: a photo, a family record, etc., that reveals some long-lost ancestor or unknown relative belonged to some particular unusual culture.
Cutting the Knot: Solving or bypassing a puzzle with brute force.
Danger with a Deadline: An enemy or obstacle is extremely dangerous, but only for a finite period of time. The plot comes from surviving or avoiding this danger.
Dangerous Device Disposal Debacle: Because someone didn't dispose of a Plot Device correctly, it can be freely utilized again for more plot.
Date Peepers: Two people go on a date and are spied on by people they know.
Day in the Life: An episode that follows the characters around on their normal routine.
A Day in the Limelight: A minor character is given focus for the current episode.
The Day of Reckoning: The day when an Evil Overlord is destined to win.
Dead Alternate Counterpart: Character visits an alternate reality where their counterpart has died.
Dead Pet Sketch: Someone has to take care of someone else's pet while the someone else is away. The pet ends up dying.
A Deadly Affair: An extramarital affair that leads to murder.
Deadly Game: When the consequences of losing the game is death.
Deadly Graduation: A character in an evil training program must battle their friend to the death as a final test.
Deadly Road Trip: Ending up in peril while on vacation.
Deadly Upgrade: Character gets an enormous power boost, at the eventual cost of his/her life.
Deal with the Devil: A crooked bargain with an evil person or entity for something one wants, with a bad price attached.
Death in the Clouds: A murder happens on an airplane.
Death Is a Sad Thing: Children learn about death for the first time and are saddened by it.
Death Takes a Holiday: For some reason, The Grim Reaper stops making people die.
Declaration of Personal Independence: Someone attempts to strike out on their own against their guardians' wishes.
Defeating the Cheating Opponent: The protagonist must beat their opponent fairly after the opponent has been caught cheating.
Defector from Commie Land: A character is in need of escape from a land where a dictatorial regime is ruling.
Delayed Family Acceptance: It's difficult for a character's family member(s) to come to terms with a revelation about that character.
Depower: A superpowered character loses their powers.
Descent into Addiction: A character gets involved with drugs or some other substance or experience and descends into addiction.
Deserted Island: A small island that's completely uninhabited.
Despite the Plan: The plan goes horribly wrong, but the heroes achieve their goal anyway.
Destructive Saviour: When a hero causes massive destruction in the course of trying to save a place from a bad guy.
Deus Exit Machina: The plot is prolonged by phasing out the most powerful character for a bit.
"Die Hard" on an X: Bad guys have taken over a place and taken everyone hostage. The hero is in the place, and must save the day by kicking the bad guys' asses.
Digging to China: Someone tries to go to China by digging deep enough into the Earth.
Digital Piracy Is Evil: A work makes it clear that they are against digital piracy.
Dinner with the Boss: A character's boss comes to their home for dinner.
Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery: A disabled person uses the excuse that being disabled means they can get away with being an asshole.
Divide and Conquer: When a villain gets his enemies fighting each other instead of him.
Divided We Fall: Dissension between the heroes gets in the way stopping the villain.
Documentary Episode: A journalist makes a documentary about the characters and their occupation.
A Dog Ate My Homework: A child who has failed to hand in their homework tells their teacher that a dog chewed it up.
Don't Celebrate Just Yet: The heroes defeat a villain but realize they still have to take care of something else that's occurring.
Don't Go in the Woods: Terrible things happen to those who wander into the forest.
Doomed Moral Victor: The Hero dies after making his Last Stand.
Doorstop Baby: A baby left on someone's doorstep gets adopted by whomever lives in the house.
Dork Horse Candidate: An underdog character competes against a more popular opponent in an election.
Down the Rabbit Hole: A character travels to a bizarro world in a plot structure of Alice in Wonderland.
The Dragons Come Back: A (sub)plot revolving around dragons or similar apex predators returning from exile/extinction.
Dreaded Kids' Table: An older child longs to sit with the adults instead of the kids during a family meal.
Driving Question: The core element of a plot is a mystery.
Driving Test: A character has to get a driver's license.
Duel to the Death: Two characters, rivals or enemies, go mano a mano, and only one will survive. Usually.
Duels Decide Everything: All major conflicts in a work are settled by fair, one-on-one contests.

E-F

Ear-Piercing Plot: A young character wants their ears pierced, but is either too scared to do it or is forbidden from doing so by their parents.
Easily Thwarted Alien Invasion: Alien invaders are easily defeated by the humans fighting against the invasion.
Eastward Endeavor
Egg Sitting: Children or teenagers are tasked with looking after eggs, bags of flour, or robots to determine whether they'd make responsible parents.
Election Day Episode: Two or more characters run for an elective office.
Elseworld: A non-canon episode shows a reimagining or "What if" story of the regular continuity.
Embarrassing Rescue: A character finds being rescued embarrassing and is angry with the rescuer for helping them.
Emergency Impersonation: A character who recently died or has been incapacitated is needed for something, so some other character has to impersonate and fill in for them.
Emergency Refuelling: A character is forced to stop their vehicle in order to refuel the gas tank.
Empire with a Dark Secret: A seemingly utopian government turns out to be up to ugly things behind the scenes.
Empty Quiver: A nuke or other weapon of mass destruction has gone missing, and now the race is on to retrieve it before it falls into the wrong hands.
End of an Age: The story is set during the end of a particular era in the story's setting, such as the end of the medieval era or the end of the American West.
Endurance Duel: A showdown to see who can last the longest doing dangerous activities.
Enemy Mine: The hero and the villain reluctantly join forces to defeat a mutual enemy.
Epic Race: The characters have to proceed from a starting line to a finishing line under some set of rules over the course of an extended period of time.
Epiphanic Prison: A prison someone can't escape from unless they have an epiphany.
Equivalent Exchange: Giving up something that is equal to what a character desires.
Escape from the Crazy Place: A character is trapped in a horror setting from which they must escape.
Everybody Must Get Stoned: Most or all of the cast gets exposed to some kind of substance that alters their behavior.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: A work where all but one character is dead.
Everyone Meets Everyone: The first episode shows the main cast coming together.
Everything but the Girl: A character can achieve or gain everything they want with the exception of their love interest's affections.
Evil Plan: The villain's plan to do something evil.
Evil Twin: A character has a twin who is evil.
Evil Will Fail: The Big Bad loses not just because the heroes were stronger, but because it is inherent to nature that evil will fail.
Eviler than Thou: A villain proves they're more evil than another villain.
The Evils of Free Will: Someone feels that eliminating free will is the only way to achieve utopia.
Exact Words: It's revealed that what a person said was intended in the exact phrasing and wasn't an idiom or figure of speech.
Excuse Plot: A plot that's just an excuse for the action happening.
Experimental Archeology: A character tries to prove that an ancient voyage actually occurred by doing it themselves.
Extreme Sports Plot: A show or movie that has the characters doing extreme sports.
Failed Audition Plot: A character fails their audition but learns to move forward and not give up.
Fairest of Them All: A villain who will not stand for anyone being more beautiful than they are.
Fairy Tale Episode: The characters reenact a (parody of a) famous fairy tale.
Fake Relationship: Two characters who aren't romantically interested in each other pretend to be a couple.
Faked Rip Van Winkle: Someone is tricked into thinking that they've woken up in the future.
False Crucible: A character is put through a grueling test that turns out to be fake.
False Utopia: A "utopian" setting that turns out to be anything but, usually with a horrible secret involved.
Family Disunion: Family reunions are a source of major drama.
"Fantastic Voyage" Plot: Curing a sick person by shrinking and entering their body to confront the germs.
Fatal Forced March: Characters are forced to make a dangerous and likely-deadly journey on foot through hostile territory.
Faustian Rebellion: Someone who made a Deal with the Devil decides to show the Devil where he can stick it. Forcefully.
Faux Adventure Story: A story promises adventure, but doesn't deliver.
Fauxtastic Voyage: Characters are promised a trip around the world, but is tricked and doesn't experience a real trip.
Favouritism Flip-Flop: Changing your opinion on something just because someone else has a different opinion.
"Fawlty Towers" Plot: A lie is told which must be propped up with more lies before everything cannot be sustained and goes crashing down.
Fidelity Test: A character tests their spouse's faithfulness to them.
Field Trip to the Past: Someone learns history by experiencing it.
Fight Clubbing: People meet in secret to beat each other senseless.
Fight Dracula: Previously established heroes take on Count Dracula as their latest opponent.
Fight to Survive: Characters struggle to survive a perilous situation.
Fighting for a Homeland: Group of people fight for ownership of a land to claim as their home.
The Final Temptation: A character is given a chance to abandon his difficult life for a better one, complete with imagery for the latter.
Find the Cure!: A plot focused on finding a cure for something.
Finding Judas: A character willingly betrays the protagonists for benevolent reasons.
Firefighting Episode: The characters become firefighters for the duration of one story.
Fish out of Temporal Water: Someone is forced to adjust living outside of their original time period.
Flatline Plotline: Characters make it so they die for a certain amount of time.
Flea Episode: A character has fleas. Itchiness ensues.
"Flowers for Algernon" Syndrome: The improvements you obtain will eventually be reverted, sometimes for the best.
Flower from the Mountaintop: A rare or precious flower that has to be retrieved through a difficult mountain expedition.
A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: A character becomes rich, but then ends up losing their wealth.
For Science!: Doing anything, no matter how unethical or bizarre, for the sake of scientific progress.
Forced Out of the Closet: People who discover or assume a character is gay and in the closet decide that the best thing to do is to publicly reveal the person's secret against their wishes.
Foreign Correspondent
Forgiveness Requires Death: In order to be forgiven for their crimes, the character must die.
Forgot the Call: A character gets amnesia and forgets that they're an action hero.
Forgotten Anniversary: A character forgets the anniversary of their wedding or another significant event.
Formula-Breaking Episode: An episode that departs from the work's usual formula.
Fourth Wall Shut-In Story: A creator gets trapped within their own creation.
"Freaky Friday" Flip: Two people get their brains switched and have to find a way to get their minds restored to the proper bodies.
Free the Frogs: Protesting against frogs being dissected in science class.
Frequently-Broken Unbreakable Vow: Someone makes The Promise or a Heroic Vow, and is forced by some circumstance or another to break it. Repeatedly.
A Friend in Need: A character proves their loyalty and friendship by helping their friend when it would be easier not to and other people would not blame them for not doing so.
Friendly Scheming: The protagonist finds out that everything that's been happening was all part of an elaborate scheme set up by their friends.
Frivolous Lawsuit: Someone makes a lawsuit over a ridiculously petty slight.
From Beyond the Fourth Wall: A character receives help from the author or the viewer.
From New York to Nowhere: A character moves from a big city to a small town.
From Nobody to Nightmare: An insignificant loser becomes the scariest villain alive.
From Zero to Hero: An insignificant person becomes a hero worthy of honor.
Fully Absorbed Finale: A show that didn't end with a Grand Finale is given a final episode of sorts by having the story wrapped up in an episode of a spinoff or a show taking place in the same continuity.
Fumbling the Gauntlet: A character's action against another character in an unfamiliar culture is construed as a challenge to a duel, lethal or not.
The "Fun" in "Funeral": Wacky antics happen during a person's funeral.
Fundraiser Carnival: The characters organize a carnival to raise money for a charity or other cause.

G-I

Gambit Roulette: A convoluted plan that hinges on unpredictable factors actually succeeds.
The Game Never Stopped: The protagonists think the fake test has ended. It hasn't.
The Game Plays You: A seemingly harmless game haunts or harms the people that play it.
Game Show Appearance: Characters appear on a real or fictitious game show.
Garage Band: A ragtag group of characters start their own band.
Garage Sale: To earn money, the characters sell some of their old junk in a garage sale/yard sale/etc.
Garrulous Growth: A sentient, talking protrusion that usually wants to take over the human body on which it grows.
"Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: A boy has an interest in a "girlish" hobby, and his father pushes him to follow a "manly" one.
Generational Saga: A tale spanning multiple generations of the same family.
Generational Trauma: Conflict arises due to unresolved baggage passed down from generation to generation.
Genocide Backfire: An evil tyrant or regime seeks to wipe out a people because they fear they are a threat to their power. Unfortunately for them, someone manages to survive.
Get Back to the Future: Someone is sent to the past and has to find their way back.
"Getting My Own Room" Plot: A child who has always shared a room with siblings finally gets their own room.
"Getting Ready for Bed" Plot: An episode set late at night, where a character readies themselves for sleep... Or the point is getting a restless character to sleep.
Getting Sick Deliberately: A character tries to get themselves sick so that they can get out of an obligation.
Ghost Ship: Creepy and/or haunted abandoned ships.
Ghost Story: Stories about ghosts.
Girls Behind Bars: A female character is thrown into a women's prison, which is often played for titillation.
Girls vs. Boys Plot: Boys and girls battle for supremacy.
Giving Radio to the Romans: Giving modern technology to people in the past.
Gladiator Revolt: Gladiators rebel against those that force them to fight.
Go Among Mad People: A sane person is committed to a mental institution, and needs to convince the staff that they're not crazy.
God and Satan Are Both Jerks: Neither the forces of Hell nor the forces of Heaven have anything good in mind for humanity.
God for a Day: Status as a deity proves to be too much responsibility and absolute power corrupts.
Going Native: A character adopts the customs and morality of a group which they were originally sent to infiltrate.
Going to See the Elephant: A young character travels the world to go see something new and exotic, often learning life lessons along the way.
Gold Fever: A group of characters fall prey to greed and turn on each other while on the hunt for gold or some other fabulous treasure.
Gondor Calls for Aid: The hero prepares for an epic battle by recruiting every friend, ally, enemy, and so on who is willing to help them in the fight.
Gotta Have It, Gonna Steal It: Someone wants something trendy but isn't allowed/can't afford it, so they steal (or attempt to steal) it.
Government Conspiracy: A secret project run by a government organization, such as the military or an intelligence agency.
Grand Finale: The last episode of the series that serves to bring the show's story to a proper conclusion.
Grand Theft Me: Taking control of someone's body to make them do bad things.
Grass is Greener: A character who longs to leave their terrible life behind to go somewhere they think is better.
Great Escape: Someone has been thrown in prison, and must now make good their escape.
The Great Repair: Characters have to repair a vehicle of some kind in order to escape the place where they're trapped.
The Greatest Story Never Told: A character does something heroic or awesome, but nobody hears about it.
"Groundhog Day" Loop: Someone ends up trapped in a loop where they experience the same day repeatedly.
Guarding the Portal: Heroes guard a dimensional portal to make sure nothing goes in or out.
Guess Who I'm Marrying?: A character's single parent has found someone. Unfortunately, that someone is anything but good for the character, and now they need to stop this!
Guilty Until Someone Else Is Guilty: A suspect can only be proven innocent by finding the true culprit.
Gym Class Rope Climb: An activity in gym class that involves students having to climb up a rope hanging from the ceiling.
Halfway Plot Switch: Abandoning one plot in favor of another.
Handcuffed Briefcase: A briefcase is holding something so important, the person holding it has it handcuffed to their wrist.
Happy-Ending Massage: A massage session turns into something quite a lot steamier than that.
Harbinger of Impending Doom: A character tries to warn everyone about something from which they barely escaped, but they just dither until it shows up anyway.
Hastily Hidden MacGuffin: A valuable stolen object, hidden to avoid detection by the authorities (or rival thieves, or whichever party is trying to take it), which the thieves then must scramble to get back.
Have You Tried Not Being a Monster?: The familial rejection in this one is supposed to be well-meaning (assuming the family loves the queer person), but it carries the implication that the queer person can and should change.
He Knows Too Much: Killing someone for getting even a smidgen close to discovering a secret they can't be allowed to know.
Headbutting Heroes: Two heroes who are anything but on the best of terms with each other.
Hell Invades Heaven: The Legions of Hell invade Heaven itself.
Hell on Earth: The Legions of Hell invade the mortal realm.
Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue": Someone tells a story about themselves that depicts them as a ludicrously overpowered badass.
Hero for a Day: A hero loses their powers, allowing someone else to take their place until their powers return.
Hero on Hiatus: The hero is temporarily taken out of action.
Heroes Gone Fishing: The good guys take a break from heroics to do the same pastimes and activities normal people do.
Heroic Rematch: After being defeated the first time, the hero is ready for Round Two against the villain.
Hero's Evil Predecessor: Someone had the hero's mantle or powers before them, but they have since gone evil, and now the hero now has to deal with them.
Hero Stage Show: The main character(s) must take younger siblings to a children's stage show.
Hiccup Hijinks: An episode centered on trying to get rid of hiccups.
Hired to Hunt Yourself: A person sent to hunt down The Mole actually is The Mole.
The Hollywood Formula
The Homeward Journey: The plot revolves around a character's journey to get back home.
Horrible Camping Trip: Someone goes on a camping trip that ends badly.
Hourglass Plot: Two characters on opposite ends of the moral or at least conflict spectrum change roles over the course, but are still opposed to each other.
House Fire: A plot revolves around a character's house getting damaged/destroyed in a fire and dealing with the aftermath.
House Inspection: A character must fix their house before an inspector comes.
How Dad Met Mom: The story of how a character's parents met each other and fell in love.
Humanity on Trial: An alien or supernatural race decides to put the human race on trial, with our continued existence on the line.
Hunting the Rogue: A rogue agent deserts from an organization they served and they're chased as a result.
Hurrying Home for the Holidays: A character needs to get somewhere in time to celebrate a holiday.
Hybridization Plot: A large portion of the plot, or a character's motivation, focuses around creating a hybrid.
Hyperlink Story: Several unconnected and unrelated storylines gradually and slowly merge into a single overarching storyline
Hypno Fool: A person is hypnotized and Hilarity Ensues before it can be undone.
I Am Who?: The protagonist discovers their heroic destiny which had been kept secret from them.
I Will Find You: A character is searching for a loved one who has been kidnapped or has otherwise gone missing.
I Wish It Were Real: Character's favorite toy/video game/show becomes real.
Identity Impersonator: A superhero protects their secret identity by appearing in public with someone pretending to be their alter ego.
Impossible Mission
In Another Man's Shoes: Characters are forced to experience life through another's perspective.
In Defence Of Storytelling: A plot that affirms the importance of storytelling.
In Medias Res: The story doesn't start at the beginning; it's either in the middle or at the end.
In with the In Crowd: A character is invited into a popular, exclusive crowd - but they have to leave their friends behind.
Inadequate Inheritor: The potential heir is seen as unfit for the prospective inheritance.
Indy Ploy: Rather than having a plan ready, the hero makes up a scheme as they go along.
Inept Aptitude Test: A student takes an aptitude test and doesn't get the result they wanted and/or expected.
The Infiltration: A character must get "inside" a bad-guy organization and pass as a bad guy to accomplish a goal.
Innocence Lost: An innocent character is exposed to true evil, or the uglier side of the world, for the first time.
Innocent Bystander Series: A series that focuses solely on citizens rather than the superheroes or villains.
The Inspector Is Coming: A place of business prepares for a visit from an inspector or critic.
Inside a Computer System: Characters go inside a virtual world contained within a computer.
Instant Book Deal: A character writes a book that immediately becomes published and an overnight success.
Intergenerational Friendship: Friendship between two people who have a significant age gap.
Internet Safety Aesop: A character does something irresponsible on the internet and has to deal with the repercussions.
Interrupted Cooldown Hug: A character who has been given a Cooldown Hug is attacked by a Trigger-Happy Leeroy Jenkins.
Intoxication Ensues: An otherwise straitlaced character accidentally ingests a drug, alcohol, or too much of their prescribed medication, and Hilarity Ensues.
Intrepid Fictioneer: Characters breach internal fourth walls to go on adventures in books, films, etc.
Invented Individual: Somebody makes up an imaginary person and eventually has to give up the made-up person by "killing" them.
Invisible Main Character: A story where the main character temporarily becomes invisible.
Involuntary Charity Donation: Stealing from a villain and donating it to charity.
Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: A character starts to imitate someone they admire.
It's a Costume Party, I Swear!: A character is tricked into showing up in costume at what they are led to believe is a costume party.
It's a Wonderful Plot: Someone is shown what the world would be like if they never existed.
It's Personal: Something bad has happened to a loved one, and now the hero wants the villain responsible taken down more than ever!

J-M

Jackie Robinson Story: Someone tries to be the first of their race or sex in a field occupied solely by white males.
Japanese Spirit
"Jaws" Attack Parody: A shark (or any other dangerous creature) threatens a small-town community, parodying the film Jaws.
Jekyll & Hyde: A good person who transforms into a villainous alter ego.
Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: A plot that's fed to the audience a little bit at a time.
Joker Jury: The heroes' enemies put them on trial for the "crime" of always thwarting their evil schemes.
Journey of Reclamation: A character seeks to regain something they lost.
Journey to the Center of the Mind: A character enters the physical manifestation of someone's mind.
Judgment of Solomon: Two people claim to be the true owner of something, and the judge chooses to split it to decide the true owner.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: A character goes evil very quickly after doing some warned-against but otherwise innocuous thing.
The Jungle Opera: A story that takes place in undiscovered or semidiscovered country in the present or "recent" past.
Jury of the Damned: A trial in which the jury is composed of the spirits of the worst people.
Just Fine Without You: A character leaves and everyone pretends that things are going fine without them.
Just One Extra Ticket: A character acquires an extra ticket to an event, and must choose which friend to invite and which to exclude.
"Just So" Story: An often mythic story that explains why things are a certain way.
Just Think of the Potential!: A character has a vision for the future and tries to share their vision with others.
Kafka Komedy: A story where the character's misfortune and misery are played for Black Comedy.
Kangaroo Court: A trial that doesn't follow the proper procedure of determining whether someone is guilty or innocent of the crime they've been accused of committing.
Kansas City Shuffle: A con where the mark figures out an obvious scam only to fall right into a different one.
Keystone Army: If one critical component is damaged, an entire army will instantly be destroyed.
Kids Play Match Breaker: The opposite of Kids Play Matchmaker. The children of a single parent try to sabotage any new relationships.
Kids Play Matchmaker: The children of single parents decide to try to get their parents together.
Kids Versus Adults: Conflict between adults and children.
Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: The hero offers their antagonist a chance to kill them, knowing the other person isn't so far gone as to commit murder.
Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: Someone is killed to prevent them from exposing the existence of supernatural beings.
Killing for a Tissue Sample: Killing someone in order to use their dead body for scientific purposes.
Kingmaker Scenario: When a player cannot win, they decide which side does.
Kudzu Plot: Many plot threads are started at once, and are not resolved for a long time, if at all.
Last Fertile Region: The last place to support life in an otherwise barren world.
Late to the Tragedy: Something bad has happened in the location, and the character arrives too late to prevent it.
"Leave Your Quest" Test: The hero is tested by being tempted into abandoning their mission.
Led by the Outsider: The hero becomes a leader of another group.
Legion of Doom: Several of the hero's enemies team up in a plot to have their revenge against the hero.
Like a Duck Takes to Water: A character has knowledge that makes them able to adapt to another time/world.
Like You Were Dying: A character radically changes their behavior because they're dying.
Literal Transformative Experience: A character undergoes a drastic transformation and sees their personality change as a result of their experiences.
Live-Action Escort Mission: Where the heroes have to get someone (often a spoiled kid) from one place to another, and have to deal with his/her antics along the way.
Loan Shark: You shouldn't have borrowed money from these guys, because they will do anything to make you pay them back - with interest!
Locked Room Mystery
Lonely at the Top: A character gets everything they want, but loses everything and everyone they loved in the process.
Long Game: A master plan that takes a long time to complete.
Lost Orphaned Royalty: An orphan turns out to be descended from royalty.
Lost Wedding Ring: The ring goes missing right before the wedding.
Lottery of Doom: A lottery or other game that you really, really don't want to win.
Lotus-Eater Machine: Someone is trapped in a dream-like fantasy where everything's the way it should be to make the person happy and content.
Love Triangle: Two people love the same person, and only one person can have them.
Lower-Deck Episode: Minor supporting characters shift into spotlight for one episode.
MacGuffin Escort Mission: The good guys get the MacGuffin early, so the rest of the story is about them transporting it somewhere else without losing it.
Macho Disaster Expedition: Men and women go on a stereotypically male-oriented activity. The guys fail miserably due to arrogance and have to be saved by the women.
Mad Science Fair: A Science Fair held by Mad Scientists.
Madden Into Misanthropy: The annoyance of having to put up with certain people causes a person to develop a hatred of humanity.
Made a Slave: A character is sold or forced into slavery, and must escape, be rescued or learn to live with it.
The Magic Comes Back: In a setting where magic has vanished, the magic ends up returning.
The Magic Goes Away: A story with magic in the setting ends with all the magic disappearing.
The Magnificent Seven Samurai: A helpless community under attack hires heroes (usually seven) to protect them, a Whole-Plot Reference to Seven Samurai.
Mail-Order Bride: "Ordering" a spouse over the Internet.
Maintain the Lie: Someone lies about their life and their friends have to help them keep the truth hidden.
Make Room for the New Plot: When one important plot element is abruptly resolved so that the characters can combat a more immediate, dangerous conflict instead.
Make the Bear Angry Again: Mother Russia has become the villain again.
Make Up or Break Up: A couple has to choose whether to stay together or break up.
The Makeover: Being transformed from ugly (or mundane) to beautiful.
Making the Masterpiece: A dramatized version of how a book, painting, movie, etc. came to be made.
Malignant Plot Tumor: What seems to be a minor plot line at first ends up overtaking the others.
Mall Santa: Someone dresses up as Santa Claus at the mall.
Man in the Iron Mask: A character is held prisoner by another, even though the captive threatens the captor by his very existence.
Man Versus Machine: Conflict between humans and robots.
Mandatory Unretirement: A character is forced to do a job they have already given up.
Manufacturing Victims: A therapist gets their patients hooked on therapy to keep the money rolling in instead of actually helping them with their problems.
Masquerade Ball: A dance where a person can wear Gorgeous Period Dress and a mask to hide their identity.
May the Farce Be with You: The work parodies Star Wars.
Me's a Crowd: When someone tries to clone themselves.
Meet Your Early-Installment Weirdness: Characters in a Long Runner meet themselves the way they looked when the run first began.
Mental Story: A story that focuses on what's going on in someone's head.
The Migration: A homeless group migrate to a new home.
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Someone investigates a minor crime, but finds something much bigger going on behind it.
Miss Conception: Someone has inaccurate information on sex and how it works.
Missing Steps Plan: The only parts of the plan that were thought out were how to start the plan and the plan's intended result.
Mission from God: When someone believes their goals were given to them by orders from God.
Mob Debt: A sympathetic person(s) owes money to a criminal entity.
Moby Schtick: A Whole-Plot Reference to Moby-Dick and its story of a monomaniacal captain hunting a whale.
MockGuffin: A MacGuffin that turns out to be worthless.
Mockstery Tale: One or more characters try to solve a mystery but then the mystery turns out to be nonexistent, unimportant, or unsolvable and it turns into psychological horror or similar.
Model Scam: A woman is lured into a trap (usually involving rape) under the pretense of a model shoot.
Monster Is a Mommy: A frightening creature turns out to be a parent.
Monster Protection Racket: A monster or villain attacks so that someone they're in league with can profit from stopping them.
More than Mind Control: A character did something evil because of Brainwashing but they also did it willingly, if only slightly.
Movie-Making Mess: Characters attempt to make their own movie, Hilarity Ensues.
The Moving Experience: A character thinks their best friend is moving to another town and struggles to say goodbye.
Moving the Goalposts: Getting out of honoring one's part of an agreement by adding a last-minute specification to the deal.
Mundanization: Putting the cast of a (relatively) fantastical setting into a contemporary, "normal" one.
Musical Episode: An episode full of scenes where the characters sing songs.
My Biological Clock Is Ticking: When a woman gets to be of a certain age, getting married and/or having babies right away becomes of utmost concern to her.
My Death Is Just the Beginning: Villain lets themselves die so their plan may continue.

N-P

Nasty Party: A person or group of people are invited to a party or any other form of get-together. However, it's just an excuse to get them all together and kill them.
Never Bring a Friend to an Audition: A character's family member or friend accidentally gets a role that they were auditioning for.
Never Learned to Read: A character is revealed to be illiterate and in many cases will try to overcome it.
Never Lend to a Friend: A character loans a friend some money, but the friend neglects to pay them back or the character constantly reminds their friend that they still owe them money.
Never Win the Lottery: A character wins the lottery, or tricked into thinking they won the lottery.
New Ability Addiction: A character gets a new skill or piece of kit and has the urge to use it.
New Powers as the Plot Demands: A character will spontaneously demonstrate new abilities whenever they're needed for the plot.
New Super Power: A character gains a new superpower.
Nightmare of Normality: A supernatural character is deluded into thinking that they're ordinary and must find a way to awaken from the illusion.
Nitro Express: Hauling unstable explosives over dangerous terrain. What could possibly go wrong?
No Antagonist: The work has no antagonists.
No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: A character is unrecognizable after being away for many years.
No Guy Wants an Amazon: Men don't want to be with women who can beat them up.
No Plot? No Problem!: Forsaking any plot or character development so that the game is purely about the gameplay itself.
No Sympathy: A character who doesn't feel pity or sorrow for other people's misfortunes.
Noah's Story Arc: Evacuating a large population of people and animals in order to survive an impending disaster.
Noir Episode: Episode shot in the style of film noir. Black-and-white visuals and first-person narrations are usually mandatory.
Non-Protagonist Resolver: The conflict is not resolved by the protagonist, but by someone else instead.
Not Himself: A character isn't acting like they normally would, usually as a result of an Evil Twin, "Freaky Friday" Flip, or Demonic Possession.
Not Just a Tournament: A tournament with a sinister ulterior purpose.
Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: The other characters pretend to forget someone's birthday to ensure that they're surprised by the surprise party.
Not-So-Imaginary Friend: What was assumed to be an imaginary friend turns out to be a real person.
Oddly Common Rarity: A person is supposed to be unique, but there are a lot of people who share many of the attributes and characteristics they have.
Off the Wagon: An alcoholic or drug addict tries to quit but then starts it up again.
Off to See the Wizard: Plots inspired by or parodying The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, especially the 1939 film adaptation.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: An offer where the choices are, "Accept or die"
Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: The hero is old or borderline old, while the villain is relatively young.
On the Money: Characters in need of money find a contest, inheritance, or job offering the exact amount they need.
One Crazy Night: Plans for a quiet peaceful night turns into a problem that keeps getting worse.
One of Our Own
The One Who Made It Out: A character who managed to rise above their less-than-stellar origins and become a success.
The Only One: The hero has to solve the problem because no one else can do it.
Out-of-Genre Experience: A temporary (and jarring) switch of genres.
Paranormal Episode: The characters find themselves dealing with a paranormal/supernatural situation in an otherwise mundane setting.
Parents for a Day: A baby or something like it is raised, who leaves by the end of the episode.
Parody Episode: Comedic episode parodying something.
Passed-Over Inheritance: The deceased leaves his belongings, not to his closest family, but someone completely unexpected and usually not related.
Passed-Over Promotion: A character isn't promoted upon opportunity, regardless of how qualified they may be.
Passion Play: A re-telling of the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ.
Passing the Torch: The story ends with the hero choosing someone to continue their legacy.
Patience Plot: One or more characters have to wait for something.
Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: When a character's morally shady friends influence him to lower his own moral standards.
Penny Among Diamonds: A commoner (or poor person) is thrust into rich culture without becoming rich themselves.
People Zoo: An alien zoo containing humans and other intelligent life as part of the exhibits.
Perfection Is Addictive: Once you experience complete, utter perfection, it's almost impossible to settle for anything less.
Pet Baby Wild Animal: A younger character adopts an abandoned or orphaned baby wild animal and cares for it as a beloved pet.
Physical Therapy Plot: A character gets severely injured to the point of disability and begins physical therapy. The character tries to become mobile again by pushing themselves physically and mentally.
Pick Up Babes With Babes: A man takes care of someone else's child in order to attract women.
Picture Day: Students attempt to look nice the whole school day so they will look nice for their school photo.
Pilgrimage: A travel to Holy Ground or for a holy purpose.
Pirate Booty: Troves of gold and jewels plundered by pirates and buried in faraway places to await discovery.
Plague of Good Fortune: A character has an amazing series of good things happen to them despite not wanting it to.
Playing Both Sides: One organization or person plays two sides against one another.
Playing Cyrano: A character helps their friend impress their Love Interest by feeding them words to say through an ear microphone.
Playing Sick: A character fakes having an illness to get out of some obligation.
Plot Detour: When the characters, against all logic, ignore the main plot to pursue something unimportant.
Plot Coupon: You need this many MacGuffins to continue the storyline as it is.
Plot-Driving Secret: The entire plot of a work depends on no one knowing the truth.
Plot Immunity: Certain characters won't die or leave because they are needed for the plot.
Plot-Inciting Infidelity: When the plot of a story is kickstarted by having the protagonist catch their partner cheating on them.
Plot Leveling
Plotline Crossover: Two different plotlines become important to each other.
Plot Tailored to the Party: Each protagonist has to overcome an obstacle specifically matched to their specialty.
Plot-Triggering Death: A character's death at the outset of a story puts its main plot into motion.
Plot-Triggering Book: A character either discovers a book or is given one which kicks off the plot.
Plot Tumor: A storyline or plot device that begins to eclipse the entire work.
Poison and Cure Gambit: Manipulating someone into doing what you want by poisoning them and refusing to give them the antidote until they do as you say.
Police Brutality Gambit: Someone accuses the police of Police Brutality as part of a Wounded Gazelle Gambit.
Pony Tale: A story about a girl and her horse.
Poorly Disguised Pilot: An episode focuses on a different set of characters is a clear sign that the episode is intended to serve as a pilot for a potential spinoff series.
Porn with Plot: A work that showcases porn, but does have an interesting story to tell.
Porn Without Plot: A work that exists to showcase porn instead of telling a story.
Portal Book: A book that can transport someone to the world of its story, or the location that is represented in it.
Possessive Paradise: A place that prevents you from leaving.
Post-Adventure Adventure: A story is set up by previous events that could have been an epic story of their own.
Post-Robbery Trauma: A character becomes paranoid after an encounter with crime.
Predatory Business: A large corporate retailer arrives to drive out the pre-existing local competition out of business.
Premature Empowerment: A superpowered group want to induct a new member through Super-Empowering.
Premiere: The first official episode of a series, which may or may not overlap with the pilot episode.
Prevent the War: Heroes try to prevent a war from occurring.
Pride Before a Fall: A character starts out as a insufferable jerk until something happens that causes them to become humble.
Prince and Pauper: Two identical people from different backgrounds switch lives.
Princess for a Day: When a woman dresses up as an upper-class person.
Prodigal Family: Estranged family members show up to complicate a character's life.
Prodigal Hero: A character runs away from home, lives in exile, and returns home to save the day.
Product Delivery Ordeal: The story of a character aiming to deliver a large, heavy and/or fragile product to someone else.
The Prom Plot: A large or significant part of a story involves students attending a prom or adults chaperoning a prom with various hijinks ensuing.
Prom Wrecker: A character tries to ruin the school dance.
The Promised Land: The place that promises to be better than where we are. Where the Grass is Greener.
Property Line: A character finds out that everything their neighbor owns falls on their property line and tries to claim it for themselves.
Protagonist Journey to Villain: The story is about how the protagonist ends up becoming evil.
Protect This House: The hero's home comes under attack.
Pupating Peril: A cocoon is discovered, and much fear is elicited over what will eventually emerge...
Pursuing Parental Perils: A character decides to take up their dead parent's occupation.
Push Polling: Manipulating a poll's result to push an agenda.
Putting the Band Back Together: A team which had previously (and permanently, it seemed) disbanded rallies together once more.
Puzzle Thriller: A plot centered around uncovering roles to a game.
Pygmalion Plot: A character falls in love with their own creation.
Pygmalion Snap Back: A character who was changed by another character to fit their ideals reverts to their original self.

Q-S

The Queen Will Be Watching: Somebody very important will be in the audience at the Show Within a Show.
The Quest: The character leaves home, voluntarily or not, on a big adventure to recover something or search for someone.
Quest for a Wish: The characters go on an adventure to have a single wish granted.
Quest for Identity: A character tries to rediscover who they are.
Quest for Sex: A whole story focused on a man trying to get laid.
Quest for the Rest: A character who is thought to be the Last of His Kind ventures off to search for others like him.
Quest to the West: A character's journey is associated with them heading west.
Race Against the Clock: The heroes have to do something to stop the countdown, or else the consequences will be catastrophic.
Radio Contest: A character tries to win a prize by calling a local radio station that is holding a contest.
Radish Cure: Someone wants something forbidden, and then they're granted it in a way that puts them off of it forever.
Rage Against the Heavens: A character wants the gods to pay for what they've done.
Rage Within the Machine: A character is loyally part of a party or division linked to the government, but begins to doubt if said party/division is right about their beliefs or policies.
Rags to Royalty: A character is elevated (or restored) to nobility.
Railroad Plot: Something gets in the way of a big construction project, and this something must be destroyed to complete the project.
Rampage from a Nail: It turns out the beast was only attacking people because it had something painful stuck in a sensitive part of its body.
Random Events Plot: The circumstances that brought on the plot occurred for no reason.
Ransacked Room: A room is torn apart after the bad guys search for a MacGuffin.
"Rashomon"-Style: Multiple versions of the same story told from the perspective of different characters.
Rash Promise: A character swears to do something without much thought and must choose between keeping their word or suffering the consequences of their lack of foresight.
Read the Fine Print: A character signs a contract without reading the clauses in the fine print which is designed to screw them over.
"Reading Is Cool" Aesop: The story is about someone learning that reading doesn't have to be boring.
A Real Man Is a Killer: A man discovers that he must kill something in order to prove his worth.
Real-World Episode: An episode has the fictional characters end up in real life.
Really 17 Years Old: A minor pretends to be an adult.
"Rear Window" Investigation: A character suspects another character of a crime and waits for that person to leave their home so they can sneak in and look for clues or evidence.
"Rear Window" Witness: A character is caught in a situation where they witness a crime (or what he thinks is a crime) and is powerless to do anything to stop it.
Reassignment Backfire: Someone's attempt to send another person somewhere out of the way backfires when they end up back in the way.
Rebuilt Pedestal: Someone loses their respect for a hero, but starts liking them again after their idol proves that being more flawed than their fan assumed does not mean they're a bad person.
Recap by Audit: The aftermath of an event reveals or sums up what happened.
Redemption Quest: The villain goes on a quest to atone for their misdeeds.
"Rediscovering Roots" Trip: A Child of Two Worlds returns to the motherland to connect with their roots.
Refusal of the Second Call: The hero of the original is available to save the day again in the sequel, but refuses to help.
Reluctant Retiree: An elderly character who is perfectly capable, but gets forced to retire against their will anyway.
Replacement Pedestal: Someone loses their respect for a hero and finds somebody else to take their place as their role model.
Rescue Arc: A story arc centered around saving someone's life.
Rescued from the Underworld: Rescuing someone who is trapped in the afterlife.
Restart the World: The world is just too far gone, so the only way to save it is to destroy it and start over.
Restricted Rescue Operation: Someone is trying to help despite restrictions.
Revealing Cover-Up: Someone's attempt to hide something just makes it more obvious.
Revenge of the Nerd: A unbelievably hot woman seduces the guy who made fun of her in school as a nerdy wallflower, then rejects and humiliates him.
Rightful King Returns: The proper ruler comes back to fix everything after things have gone to hell in their absence.
Rip Van Winkle: A character sleeps for several decades.
"Rise and Fall" Gangster Arc: A story arc that depicts a gangster rising to, and then falling from, power.
Rise of Zitboy: A teenager freaks out over having acne.
River of Insanity: Any river voyage or wilderness journey is a doomed expedition in which the characters alternately die, go mad, get lost, go native, or otherwise barely live to tell the tale.
Road Trip Plot: Everyone goes on a road trip. Hilarity Ensues.
Road Trip Romance: Two characters traveling together eventually fall in love.
Roaring Rampage of Rescue: The character stops at nothing to save their loved one, including mowing anyone in their path.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: A character is pushed so far over the edge and goes completely ballistic on those that hurt them.
Robbing the Mob Bank: A thief steals from another criminal, who tries to get the thief caught.
Robinsonade: The plot is about one or more characters living stranded away from civilization and having to live off the land.
Rogue Juror: One juror's opinion goes against the others', and it's up to them to change their minds.
Roommate Drama: Characters share a room or house, and things go wrong.
Run for the Border: A criminal tries to escape the law by fleeing to another country.
Safety Worst: Someone takes safety precautions to such an extent that they're impractical and/or no fun.
Satchel Switcheroo: Two characters who own the same kind briefcase or any other container get it mixed up with one another.
Save Our Students: A teacher strives to improve the futures of students who attend a horrible school.
Save the Princess: An Excuse Plot for rescuing a princess that has been kidnapped.
Save Your Deity: Saving a god from danger.
Saving Christmas: Someone has to prevent Christmas from being ruined for everyone who celebrates the holiday.
Saving the Orphanage: The hero has to stop a heartless business exec who wants to destroy a local Orphanage of Love.
Scare Dare: A childhood dare consisting of waltzing into spookiness.
Scarecrow Solution: When a character can't fight something, they build something to scare it away.
Scarpia Ultimatum: Someone is blackmailed into having sex with a person who threatens to hurt someone they care about if they refuse.
Scary Surprise Party: Something nasty happens to a character (kidnapped, in danger) but it turns out to be a surprise party.
Scavenger Hunt: Characters play a game where they find a list of items before a set deadline.
School for Scheming: A school that is used as a cover for an elaborate plot-centric scheme.
Schrödinger's Butterfly: Stories where it's never completely clear whether everything is real or not.
Science Is Useless: When science isn't bad or wrong, it just simply isn't helpful.
"Scooby-Doo" Hoax: A monster is revealed to actually be a disguised criminal pretending to be one.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Deliberately defying rules because they go against doing what is clearly the right thing.
Sea Aping: A child character buying a fictional counterpart of sea-monkeys, expecting the pets to have a civilization like they're advertised to.
Seal the Breach: Characters are at or travel to a place that has a breach, whether it is a hole in a dam or a gateway to Hell.
Season Finale: The final episode of the show's season.
Secret Diary: One character finds another character's secret diary and may be tempted to read it.
Secret Pet Plot: A character adopts a pet and tries to hide it.
Secret Relationship: Characters are in a relationship that they don't want their friends and family to know about.
Selective Enforcement: A rule is only enforced at random, which can result in people not being punished for breaking it when they really should be and harshly punishing offenders who otherwise didn't do anything wrong.
Send in the Search Team: Something has gone wrong at an unknown location, and a seach party is gathered to find out what happened.
Separated at Birth: Two normally unrelated characters are revealed to be twin siblings raised apart from each other.
Serial Killer: There's a murderer on the loose, and people are dying one by one. Can the heroes stop the killer before they strike again?
Settling the Frontier: Standard Western plot involving people establishing a colony or settlement in a previously unknown land.
The Seven Western Plots: Westerns often revolve around stories involving railroads, ranches, empire building, cavalry and Indians, revenge, outlaws and lawmen.
Sex as Rite-of-Passage: Characters set out to get themselves laid.
Sex Equals Love: Characters who are in a sexual relationship but not in love will fall in love eventually.
Sex for Services: Trading sexual favors for non-sexual favors.
Sexy Man, Instant Harem: A man who is The Casanova will often attract women.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: A story's buildup has no payoff.
The Show Must Go On: No matter what problems occur during a live performance, the characters do what they can to keep the show going.
Show Within a Show: A work of fiction that exists within the work of fiction.
Sidekick Glass Ceiling: The sidekick can never permanently become stronger than the hero.
The Siege: The good guys must hold off an overwhelming enemy threat against impossible odds.
A Simple Plan: The characters come up with an easy straightforward plan, only for it to fall apart.
Sink or Swim Fatherhood: A character unexpectedly becomes a parent and must learn on the job.
Sinking Ship Scenario: Catastrophic damage a large vehicle forces the characters to struggle to survive.
Skipping School: A student decides not to go to school and goes off to do something else instead.
Sleep Learning: Someone tries to learn information in their sleep.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race: A character loses a race for most of the story, but wins at the end
Slumber Party Ploy: In order to do something or go somewhere they were prohibited from, kids lie to their parents that they are staying over at each others' houses.
Snipe Hunt: A character is tricked into searching for a nonexistent thing.
Snowballing Threat: Must stop something urgently before it becomes too powerful.
Snowed-In: Snow is packed around your building, vehicle, etc., and you are stuck for a while.
The So-Called Coward: A character is passive and non-violent, making them branded a coward by everyone, only for something to happen that proves otherwise.
So Near, Yet So Far: You're already at your destination, but can't do what you need to.
Sorcerer's Apprentice Plot: A young ward's attempts to be like his boss becomes too much for him to handle.
Souvenir Land: A disappointing, cheap Theme Parks that tries (and fails) to ride on the coattails of A-list parks like Disneyland.
Speed Dating: A character tries speed dating in order to meet someone.
Spelling Bee: A competition where the characters try to spell words.
Split and Reunion: A Split Personality gets separated. When it reunites, issues are resolved an teamwork has improved.
Split Timelines Plot: A story that switches between Alternate Timelines after depicting a single diverging event.
Spot the Impostor: One character is seen with their impersonator, resulting in their friends having to figure out which is which.
Start My Own: A character is disgruntled with the way a certain group is run, so they decide to start their own.
Start of Darkness: The moment in a villain's life where they started to become evil.
Stone Soup: Manipulating others via feigned eccentric behavior.
Storm in a Teacup: Failing to get a task done in time. Plot Twist: It wasn't necessary.
Storybook Episode: The characters are cast as fairy tale archetypes.
Stranger in a Strange School: An Ordinary High-School Student who winds up attending an Extranormal Institute.
"Strangers on a Train"-Plot Murder: Two people make a deal to commit each other's heinous crime/difficult task.
Stumbled Into the Plot: The protagonist is the one who finds the Inciting Incident instead of being chosen or summoned.
Stumbling Upon the Lost Wizard: The Protagonist(s) accidentally find a character of great importance when they become lost themselves.
Subverted Suspicion Aesop: It looks like the person who assumed the reformed guy hasn't changed was just being paranoid... But it turns out that they were right to question the villain claiming to be good.
Succession Crisis: The king dies and no one knows who will succeed him.
Sudden Intelligence: A character is abruptly given an IQ boost.
Suicide Mission: A mission will almost certainly end in death for whoever accepts it.
Summon Everyman Hero: An average person is brought into another for a wacky adventure.
Superpowers for a Day: A normal person temporarily gains special powers.
Superhero Episode: An episode where everyone becomes superheroes.
Superhero Origin: The story of how a superhero gained their powers and decided to fight crime.
Suspicion Aesop: The protagonist suspects someone else is up to no good, only to be proven wrong, and learn a lesson about not jumping to conclusions.
Swear Word Plot: Characters start swearing excessively and get in trouble for it.

T-Z

Tag-Along Actor: An actor researches the role of a special profession by shadowing their real life counterpart.
Tag Team Suicide: Two people kill themselves because a failure to communicate causes them both to think the other has died.
Taking Over Heaven: Attacking Heaven and taking charge of it.
Taking Over the Town: The villains take over a town and steal from it.
Talent Contest: Characters participate in an amateur talent contest.
Talking Your Way Out: The hero is caught by the villains, but manages to use smooth talking to get away.
Talk Show Appearance: Protagonist(s) go on a talk show to resolve their issues, become fame or even to make a point. It never ends well.
Tall Tale: A story told so many times it now makes no sense at all.
The Taxi: A taxi cab is used as a mode of transportation for characters.
Teacher/Student Romance: A student and a teacher get into a romantic or sexual relationship. Highly inadvisable in Real Life.
Teach Him Anger: A character who is normally the Nice Guy is taught by their friends to be more assertive.
Technician Versus Performer: Two characters contrast each other because one is all about being accurate and the other just wants to have fun.
Ten Little Murder Victims: A group of people are stuck somewhere. One of them is a killer, the rest are potential victims.
Their First Time: The first time two people had sex in their entire lives.
There's No Place Like Home: A character's main goal is to go back home.
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: A character with not-so-useful powers is put in a situation where they'd actually be helpful.
Thriller on the Express: A crime/espionage/murder mystery story centered around a moving train setting.
Through the Eyes of Madness: Crazy people see the world differently from normal people.
Time to Move: The man of the house decides it's time to move and the rest of the family attempts to stop this.
Time Travel Escape: Saving a dead person via time travel.
Time-Travel Romance: Romance between people from different time periods.
Titanomachy, Round Two: Someone's trying to free the Titans of Greek Mythology to take out the Gods.
To Hell and Back: Part of the hero's mission involves entering Hell or a similar place.
Tontine: A group of people make an agreement that the valuables they've found will go to the last surviving member of the group.
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Soup: Things will end in disaster if a project has too many people involved in working on it.
Too Smart for Strangers: The story is supposed to prevent children being kidnapped or molested by warning them about strangers.
Tournament Arc: A plot arc consisting of characters fighting each other in a competition.
Train Job: Boarding a train in order to steal from it.
Training "Accident": A character undergoes special training only for something to go horrible wrong.
Training the Peaceful Villagers: The Hero trains a local village to fight back against an advancing army.
The Trap Parents: An orphan gains some parents that don't want them to hang around their friends.
Trapped in the Past: Someone accidentally ends up in the past without knowing how to come back.
Trapped in TV Land: Someone gets trapped inside a work of fiction.
Trapped-with-Monster Plot: Characters are in a Closed Circle with something hunting them.
Treasure Map: A map leading to hidden treasure.
Trend Aesop: A character learns a lesson about trying to fit in with the crowd.
Tricked into Signing: A character is tricked into signing an important document.
Trouble Follows You Home: A character makes it home after escaping trouble, only to find trouble waiting for them there.
Trouble from the Past: A plot where future generations have to deal with the mess made by their civilization in the past.
Troublemaking New Pet: New pet is up to no good, blames their actions on the older.
A True Story in My Universe: The events of a work are Based on a True Story, or similar, within the story itself.
"Truman Show" Plot: Someone discovers that their life was part of a film or television show without their knowledge.
Turn in Your Badge: A cop who has stepped over the line is ordered to turn in their badge and gun.
Turned Against Their Masters: Artificially derived beings turn against their creators.
Twelfth Night Adventure: A character becomes a Wholesome Crossdresser to integrate himself/herself into the setting.
Twin Switch: Twins swap roles with each other, such as with a Two-Timer Date. Hilarity Ensues if they are Polar Opposite Twins.
Two-Timer Date: A character schedules dates with two different people at the same time.
Unbelievable Source Plot: A plot where the protagonist relies on a supernatural source of information to solve crimes.
Undercover as Lovers: Two spies pose as lovers as they go undercover.
Unique Moment Ruined: A highly anticipated moment or event is ruined by something.
Unlocking the Talent: A character has a skill that they never use and have to learn to use it to their advantage.
Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Someone is disturbed by the revelation that a woman is actually a man in drag.
Untrusting Community: A whole town full of people who don't like you.
Unwanted Gift Plot: A character is given a gift they don't like, and now have to pretend they like it to not hurt the giver's feelings.
Unwanted Glasses Plot: A character discovers they need glasses, but refuses to wear them because they look uncool.
Unwanted Healing: A character has a terrible illness, but refuses to accept treatment for it.
Unwanted Rescue: The Hero saves someone in trouble only to learn that they didn't want to be rescued.
Unwanted Revival: A resurrected person isn't happy that they've been brought back to life.
Unwitting Test Subject: A thinking subject (human, sapient animal, ect.) is part of a scientific experiment without their knowledge or consent.
Utopia Justifies the Means: A situation where the goal of the Big Bad is the creation of a better world for everyone as a whole, no matter what the cost.
Vampire Refugee: Someone turned by a vampire decides to find and kill the vampire that bit them to reverse the transformation.
Vanishing Village: A location that only appears or is accessible for certain periods of time.
Very Special Episode: An episode dedicating to dealing with a serious subject not usually brought up in other shows.
Vignette Episode: An episode composed of several vignettes.
Villain-Beating Artifact: The villain is invincible to everything but a specific artifact.
Villain Episode: An episode where the bad guy is the protagonist instead of the hero.
Visions of Another Self: The same actors play different characters in the past and future vision scenes.
Visit by Divorced Dad: A divorced father visits his children.
Wake-Up Call: Something occurs that forces a character to develop out of complacency, get their act together, learn a lesson, or some combination thereof.
Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: A Kid Hero has to juggle heroics and their personal life.
War Comes Home: When a war spreads to the hero's homeland, making it personal.
War for Fun and Profit: Instigating a war for one's own material benefit.
War from Another World: When a world and its inhabitants unwillingly gets drawn into a war from elsewhere.
Was Too Hard on Him: A character feels sad and guilty over scolding or harshly punishing someone.
Wayback Trip: The protagonist/s have to fix a change in history but the change has happened for seemingly no reason.
We Need to Get Proof: The heroes discover the bad guy is up to no good, but need to find a way for others to believe them.
We Want Our Idiot Back!: A formerly idiotic character becomes smart, and their peers want to change them back for one reason or another.
We Want Our Jerk Back!: A mean character becomes nicer or leaves, resulting in everyone else deciding that things were better when the guy was still around or still a jerk.
We Would Have Told You, But...: A character has to be kept in the dark about something in order for the plan to work out.
Well-Intentioned Replacement: Replacing an important artifact after it has been destroyed or lost.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: The dreaded words that, when spoken, will certainly lead to disaster.
"What's Inside?" Plot: Characters try to figure out what is hidden inside a locked box or closet.
Who Will Take The Kids?: Parents wonder who would look after the kids if something bad happened.
Whodunnit to Me?: Someone who survives or is resurrected after an attempt to do them in tries to figure out who their murderer or would-be murderer was.
Whole Episode Flashback: Episode consisting mainly of one long flashback to past events.
Whole-Plot Reference: An entire episode copies the plot of a well-known story.
Witch Hunt: A search, often misguided, for a witch hidden among the community.
Working the Same Case: Two teams who are investigating the same case.
Workplace Horror: A setting where unexpected horrors appear while trying do to a mundane job.
World Limited to the Plot: A story that has no context in its setting.
World Tour: The characters travel to well-known places around the world.
Worst Wedding Ever: Someone's wedding turns disastrous.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Manipulating people by pretending to be injured.
Wounded Gazelle Warcry: The weakest combatant rushes in harm's way to motivate the others into action.
Wrong Time-Travel Savvy: Someone mistakenly thinks they know how time travel works.
X Must Not Win: Wanting to avoid letting a particular character be victorious provides fuel for the other character's persistence in fighting against them.
Xanatos Gambit: A plan for which all foreseeable outcomes benefit the creator — including ones that superficially appear to be failure.
Xanatos Speed Chess: Quickly altering plans as needed.
Yearning for a Nemesis: A character desires to find a nemesis.
Yellow Brick Road: The pathway a character has to travel along to get to their ultimate goal.
You Already Changed the Past: Someone attempts to prevent an atrocity from happening in the past, only to find in the end that the atrocity wouldn't have happened in the first place if they didn't go back in time to try and prevent it.
You Are Grounded!: A parent grounds their child.
You Can Keep Her!: A character is contacted by some kidnappers who are holding someone they should care about for ransom, but the character doesn't care.
You Go, Girl!: A girl proves that she's as good as the boys in athletics.
You Have Waited Long Enough: A character is forced to marry someone else when the one they love doesn't come right back to them.
You Know What You Did: A character assumes the worst about someone without bothering to confirm it.
You Wake Up in a Room: A character wakes up in an unfamiliar place at the beginning of the story.
You Wake Up on a Beach: Someone wakes up on the beach with no recollection of how they got there.
Yo-Yo Plot Point: A premise-changing plot point is resolved and unresolved several times over the course of the work.
Zany Scheme: One or more characters tries to achieve some end — usually extricating themselves from trouble — by some kind of elaborate, unlikely plan.
Zany Scheme Chicken: A Zany Scheme gets hatched and countered, and then someone else counters it, etc.

Series Plots (organize the actions of an entire series):

Alien Among Us: An alien living with a bunch of humans and trying to keep their alienness secret.
Blithe Spirit: An unusual stranger who goes to a straight-laced land and teaches others to think differently about themselves.
Changeling Fantasy: A character's real parents are much more exciting than their other ones.
Coming of Age Story: A child or adolescent learns to be more mature.
Fish out of Water: A character is placed in a situation completely unfamiliar to them.
Gotta Catch 'Em All: A character wants to pursue a collection.
Gotta Kill Them All: A character wants to kill everyone on their list.
Limelight Series: A series that stars old or obscure characters from the previous series.
Rags to Riches: A character goes from being poor or living modestly to being wealthy and successful.
Role Swap Plot: An episode switches the roles of certain characters.
Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Altering the past to prevent bad things from ever occurring.
Stern Chase: The protagonist is being pursued and must stay in motion.
Systematic Villain Takedown: A group of villains is taken down one by one during the course of an arc or a story.
"Take Your Child to Work Day" Plot: An episode revolving around a parent taking their child to work. Hijinks usually ensue.
There Can Be Only One: A group of characters have to kill each other until only one remains.
To Be a Master: The protagonist's main goal is to be the very best, like no one ever was.
Vampire Detective Series: Vampires who fight crime.
Vicious Cycle: Bad events occur regularly.
Victorious Loser: The protagonist loses everything around him/her, but the protagonist's spirit isn't broken and achieves his/her goal.
Victory Is Boring: Achieving one's goal has the downside of no longer having the fun of trying to achieve it.
Villainous Legacy: The villain has inspired evil long after they passed away.
Walking the Earth: A character travels the earth, never returning home.
War Arc: A Story Arc that concerns two or more large-scale factions (city-sized at least) in conflict with one another.
Water Source Tampering: Villains tamper with the water supply.
White Man's Burden: A well-to-do white character selflessly works to help an unfortunate person of color.
Withholding the Cure: Someone prevents the cure for a disease from getting to the sick people for selfish reasons.
Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: A single wrong turn lands the traveler in a place far from their original goal.
Wunza Plot: A plot with two characters who are very different and team up to accomplish a goal.
You Are the New Trend: A character's distinctive look or mannerisms becomes the model for the latest hot trend.
Youngest Child Wins: The youngest sibling has the best luck in life.
Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb: Children and teenagers can be pretty stupid.
Zombie Apocalypse: The world ends via being overrun by the undead.

Plots
aka: Stock Plots

Tropes

Series Plots (organize the actions of an entire series):

Alternative Title(s): Plot Tropes, Stock Plots

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Index

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Plots aka: Stock Plots

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Tropes

Series Plots (organize the actions of an entire series):

Alternative Title(s): Plot Tropes, Stock Plots

Previous

Index

Next

Plots
aka: Stock Plots