"They speak in tropes, at sea."
— Stephen Maturin, H.M.S. Surprise
Tropes related to oceans and the deep blue sea.
Because Space Is an Ocean, a lot of these tropes also show up in Space Opera, or have space-operatic equivalents.
Tropes
Media category:
Trope categories:
- Accordion to Most Sailors: Sailors tend to play accordions.
- Alien Sea: The oceans of alien settings are depicted as strange and unusual to emphasize the area's unearthly nature.
- Artistic License – Ships: Ships and their handling depicted unrealistically for plot expedience.
- The Bermuda Triangle: An area of the Atlantic Ocean notable for alleged mysterious goings-on.
- Boarding Party
- Born Under the Sail: A culture whose lifestyle is heavily centered on sailing and the sea.
- Boundareefs: Fence-like, closely-spaced that conveniently bound off the paths you need to take in a game.
- Burial at Sea: People being buried by being submerged in the ocean.
- The Cabin Boy
- The Captain
- Commanding Coolness
- Creepy Old-Fashioned Diving Suit: Old deep-sea diving suits portrayed as uncanny and scary.
- Crescent Moon Island: An island shaped like a crescent moon to show that it's important.
- Cruise Episode: Episodes of a series set on a cruise.
- Davy Jones
- Deserted Island: An island bereft of human settlement.
- The Drunken Sailor
- Eldritch Ocean Abyss: The depths of the ocean are a frightening, alien place.
- Emergency Cargo Dump
- "Far Side" Island: A small sandy hemisphere home only to a single palm tree and to bedraggled castaways.
- Father Neptune: An old, gritty, experienced sailor.
- Flooded Future World: In the future, the world becomes covered by the rising oceans.
- Friendly Pirate
- Hello, Sailor!
- Horny Sailors
- Island Base
- Island of Mystery
- Isle of Giant Horrors: An isolated island home to gigantic monsters.
- Lighthouse Point
- Lord of the Ocean: A Poseidon-like figure who rules over the seas.
- Lost at Sea
- Married at Sea
- Mega Maelstrom: A giant whirlpool that sucks in the sea and anything on it.
- Nautical Knockout
- Not-So-Safe Harbor
- Ocean Awe
- Ocean Madness
- Ocean of Adventure: The sea portrayed as a place of mystery, wonder and adventure.
- Ocean Punk
- Parting the Sea: A body of water is split apart by some fantastic means.
- Pirate: Engagers of seaborne larceny and mayhem.
- Plucky Middie
- Port Town
- Prongs of Poseidon: Using a trident as a weapon. Usually associated with sea gods and others with sea association. (Type I)
- Running the Blockade
- Ruthless Modern Pirates
- Seadog Beard: Sailors usually have beards.
- Seadog Peg Leg: Sailors usually have wooden peg legs.
- Sea Mine: A spherical, studded bomb attached to a chain, which floats in the water and goes boom when approached.
- Sea Monster: Giant hungry things that live in the sea.
- Semiaquatic Species Sailor: Anthropomorphic semiaquatic animals tend to be sailors, pirates, or captains.
- Super-Sargasso Sea
- Superstitious Sailors
- Symbolic Serene Submersion
- Tropical Island Adventure
- Turtle Island: Islands which are actually large, living creatures.
- Viking Funeral: A dead body is placed on a boat which is pushed out to sea and set on fire.
- Waltz on Water
