Basic Trope: A character is traumatized after walking in on their parents having sex.
- Straight: Billy walks in on his mom Alice and his dad Bob making love. He is horrified at what he sees.
- Exaggerated:
- Billy accidentally walks in on his parents doing the nasty. He's so traumatized by the experience that he kills himself.
- Billy and all of his siblings walk in on their parents doing the nasty.
- Downplayed:
- Billy only sees his parents naked and not doing anything sexual. He's a little disturbed by seeing his parents nude, but manages to get over it eventually.
- Billy walks in and finds what is going on icky, but not traumatic. He actually laughs at his naive understanding years later.
- Billy only walks in on his parents about to have sex.
- Billy catches one of his parents with their pants down.
- Justified:
- Billy is at an age where he isn't supposed to know about sex. It's no wonder that catching his parents in the act would freak him out.
- Billy's parents were a little careless and forgot to distract Billy or keep him from entering their bedroom before they decided to get intimate.
- Billy's parents assumed they had the house to themselves.
- Inverted:
- Billy's parents are horrified by the sight of their son having sex.
- Billy is traumatized by the discovery that his parents don't have a sex life.
- Subverted: Billy catches his parents having sex and isn't shown to be bothered by it.
- Double Subverted: He didn't react at first because his young age and naivety prevented him from understanding what was going on. Once he realizes that what he saw was his parents getting freaky, he then starts flipping out.
- Parodied: Billy is traumatized by the sight of his parents kissing.
- Zig Zagged: Billy's parents have more than one child. It varies whether each of their children are disturbed by seeing their parents have sex or are ultimately unfazed by it.
- Averted:
- Billy never walks in on his parents having sex.
- Billy's parents only have sex for procreation and are content with having only one child, so there's no risk of their son walking in on them while they're making love.
- Alice and Bob are childless and therefore have no children to accidentally walk in on them having sex.
- Billy's parents are divorced.
- Enforced:
- The creator wants to remind parents viewing his work that having sex in front of their children could be damaging to their children's psyches.
- "We need an adult joke that some people can relate to, so how about we have a scene where Billy catches his parents having sex and reacts badly to it?"
- Lampshaded: "Geez, Mom and Dad! Would it kill you to lock the door whenever you want to have sex while I'm still at home?"
- Invoked: Billy's mean-spirited older brother tricks Billy into entering their parents' room when they've asked him to keep an eye on Billy so they can have sex undisturbed.
- Defied:
- Billy's parents always lock the bedroom door before they have sex while their children are around.
- Billy's parents only have sex when they're the only ones at home.
- Billy makes the instinctive decision to knock every time he decides to enter his parents' room and to cover his eyes when he doesn't get an answer and decides to enter anyway.
- Discussed: "How could Billy's parents be so careless as to not prevent him from seeing them have sex?"
- Conversed: "Given how horny me and my wife can be, I'd imagine it's actually a bit challenging to manage satisfying carnal urges and raising a child without warping them at the same time."
- Implied:
- Billy asks his parents if he can come into their room. He enters after hearing no reply, then walks out of the room while looking shocked and shuddering.
- Alice asks Bob if he remembered to lock the door, stating that she doesn't want a repeat of what happened with their son.
- Billy mentions that when he was a kid, he once walked in on his parents wrestling and/or playing leapfrog while naked, and is only now realizing what that was.
- Deconstructed: Billy's so traumatized by seeing his parents do the do that he develops an irrational aversion towards sex.
- Reconstructed: As Billy matures, he comes to understand that what his parents were doing in the bedroom was normal and that he shouldn't be ashamed of his own sexual feelings.
- Played For Laughs:
- Billy's parents make a big deal about their son seeing them have sexual intercourse, when Billy insists that while he doesn't like what he's seeing, he's seen worse sights.
- Cringe Comedy ensues - may involve Billy's parents trying to awkwardly explain The Talk when he asks what they were doing.
- Played For Drama: Billy's traumatic experience of seeing his parents have sex when he was young causes him to become a serial killer who murders couples while they're having sex.
Be sure to knock before returning to Primal Scene, lest you see more of your parents than you ever wished to see.
