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Basic Trope: A villain's main headquarters is within a levitating fortress in the air, in space, or within nothingness.

  • Straight: Lord Bloodstone's castle hovers ominously over Bob's peasant village.
  • Exaggerated: Anyone even remotely evil owns a floating structure, ranging from a small shack floating two feet in the air to Lord Bloodstone's continent-sized citadel in the exosphere.
  • Downplayed:
    • Lord Bloodstone's castle hovers very closely to the ground, but just high enough to be inaccessible on foot.
    • Only an ominous-looking entrance to Lord Bloodstone's lair is on the floating island.
  • Justified: Lord Bloodstone is actually a Knight Templar or a Well-Intentioned Extremist who believes that the higher his castle is, the closer he is to God.
  • Inverted: Lord Bloodstone dwells within the very bottom of an Elaborate Underground Base
  • Subverted: Lord Bloodstone's castle is actually resting on an invisible mountain. The mountain is invisible in order to make the fortress look more imposing.
  • Double Subverted: But when Lord Bloostone begins his evil plan, his castle rises into the sky.
  • Parodied: Lord Bloodstone's "imposing" fortress is actually a small house floating above the world.
  • Zig Zagged: Lord Bloodstone has a castle that can switch between a grounded state and a floating state numerous times.
  • Averted: Lord Bloodstone's castle is always on the ground.
  • Enforced: "We need there to be a reason why no one in Bob's village ever sneaks into Bloodstone's castle."
  • Lampshaded: "A floating castle... am I the only one tempted to spit off the side?"
  • Invoked: "What better way to defend a castle than to make it flying?"
  • Exploited: Natalie offers the heroes a ferry service to the floating island... for a price, of course.
  • Defied: Keeping a floating island in place is inefficient, so Lord Bloodstone instead opts for a land-locked castle in the middle of a dangerous mountain range.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???
  • Deconstructed:
    • Lord Bloodstone begins to suffer from altitude sickness, which makes him unable to fight Bob at full strength and ultimately facilitates his demise.
    • Alternatively, the effects of altitude sickness are what kill Lord Bloodstone.
    • Alternatively, the logistics for getting food and water to a flying castle prove to be Lord Bloodstone's undoing.
    • If the castle never touches the ground, then the only way to reach the castle is to fly. Anyone who can fly to the castle can just as easily fly over the castle's defenses, which defeats the purpose of having a castle in the first place.
  • Reconstructed:
    • Bob also suffers from altitude sickness, so nobody has the advantage in the end.
    • Lord Bloodstone's castle is encased in a force field that alleviates the negative effects of being at such a high altitude.
    • The castle can lower itself to the ground to take on food and water, as well as to allow Lord Bloodstone's troops to enter and exit.

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