"Surprise, Motherfucker!"
— James Doakes, Dexter
Tropes about characters not getting what they expected. (Hope that doesn't shock you too much.)
One of the most useful emotions in a writer's toolbox and so one of the commonest in all sorts of stories.
See also Betrayal Tropes, Plot Twist, Twist Ending. Tropes in those indices will not be covered here.
Tropes
- Banging Pots and Pans
- Big "NO!": Someone hollers "No" in response to witnessing a misfortune they didn't want to happen.
- Big "WHAT?!": Someone reacts to a revelation catching them by surprise by shouting "What?"
- Big "WHY?!"
- Blank White Eyes
- Blue with Shock
- Caught Coming Home Late
- Color Failure: A person is so shocked at what they see that they turn completely white.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind
- Didn't See That Coming
- Don't Sneak Up On Me Like That: Surprised characters accidentally attack their buddies who startled them.
- Dramatic Curtain Toss
- Dramatic Drop
- Dramatic Sit-Down
- Dropping the Bombshell
- Dull Surprise
- Eye Pop
- Eye Take
- Faint in Shock: If the surprise is particularly emotionally impactful.
- Forgot to Mind Their Head: Someone accidentally hits their head by not being careful of their surroundings.
- Friendly Scheming
- Game Changer
- Gay Bar Reveal: A character finds out that they're in a gay bar.
- Gut Punch
- "Hell, Yes!" Moment
- Heroic BSoD
- Home-Early Surprise
- Home Nudist: Finding out that a person goes naked when at home.
- I Think You Broke Him
- Imminent Danger Clue
- Instant Cosplay Surprise
- Introduction by Hookup: That random person the character slept with last night? They're their new coworker.
- Jaw Drop: A character reacts to something by lowering their jaw.
- Just Woke Up That Way
- Kewpie Doll Surprise
- Lightswitch Surprise
- Making the Choice for You
- Matchlight Danger Revelation
- Mirror Reveal: A character is surprised at their own, post-transformation reflection
- Mock Surprise Reaction
- My God, What Have I Done?
- No More Lies
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore
- Oh, Crap!: Character realizes that they are completely screwed.
- Delayed "Oh, Crap!": A character sees signs that they are in big trouble, but the appropriate reaction is delayed a bit.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: A character talks about something before being horrified once the implications of their discussion dawn on them.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": A whole bunch of people freak out after learning that they're screwed.
- "Oh, Crap!" Fakeout
- "Oh, Crap!" Smile: A character smiles nervously after discovering that they are in trouble.
- Ominous Adversarial Amusement
- Open the Door and See All the People
- Paper-Bag Popping
- Personal Effects Reveal
- The Picture Came with the Frame
- Post-Kiss Catatonia
- Refrigerator Ambush
- Scary Surprise Party
- Shocking Moments
- Smoking Gun
- Spit Take
- Stunned Silence
- Superweapon Surprise
- Surprise Jump
- Surprise Party
- Surprise Pregnancy
- Surprise Vehicle
- Surprise Witness
- These Hands Have Killed: A character is upset that they just killed someone.
- This Cannot Be!
- Thunder Shock
- Two Rights Make a Wrong
- Unsettling Gender Reveal: A character is disturbed by finding out that a woman is really a man in drag.
- Waking Up Elsewhere
- Wham Episode
- Wham Line
- Wham Shot
- What Have I Become?
- Why Won't You Die?: Someone tries to kill a person and expresses their frustration at the person surviving every attempt at taking their life.
- Wild Take
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!
- You Monster!: Calling a person a monster to make it clear that you find their actions unforgivably cruel.
- You Said You Would Let Them Go
- You're Insane!: Chewing out a person for their actions/intentions by telling them that they are crazy.
