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themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#1: Mar 3rd 2023 at 3:52:52 PM

To-do list:

    Original post 
NOTE: The following OP was written by Anarchist 2. Please give credit to them.
Recently, Laconic.Wing Pull was changed from
Yeah, he pretty much pulled those wings out of his ass.
to
A character suddenly reveals a means of flight only when necessary for the plot.
However, the trope description says that the trope is when a character reveals they have wings (and not some other form of flight) when the plot requires it. Not helping matters is how the trope name is a snowclone of Ass Pull, attaching the connotations of that trope to this one. A wick check provided the following results:
  • 3/50 wicks involved a character keeping their wings hidden until a situation comes up where they need to fly. These are the only valid examples by the trope description.
  • 4/50 wicks involved a character only revealing that they can fly when the plot requires them to fly.
  • 8/50 wicks involved a character hiding their wings and revealing them in a situation unrelated to flight.
  • 9/50 wicks involved a character being able to hide their wings at will, but not keeping their existence a secret.
  • 23/50 wicks were ZCEs and potholes.
I suspect that the high number of ZCEs are a product of both the vague scope of the trope and its name. As I see it, there are four possible definitions of Wing Pull available:
  1. The current definition, where a character reveals they have wings when they need to fly, which comes up in 6% of wicks.
  2. The current laconic definition, where a character reveals they have the power of flight when they need to fly, which comes up in 14% of wicks.
  3. A character is revealed to have wings in general, which comes up in 20% of wicks.
  4. A character can extend and retract their wings, with no story reveal required, which comes up in 38% of wicks.
Regardless of which definition is chosen, the trope description needs a rewrite, and the trope will likely have to be renamed to something clearer.

Wick check:

This is a wick check for Wing Pull.

Results:

  • Proper use (just the first folder): 6%
  • Character is revealed to be able to fly when the plot needs a flier (first and second folder): 14%
  • Character is revealed to have wings (first and third folder): 20%
  • Character has retractable wings (first, third and fourth folder): 38%

    open/close all folders 

    Character has wings they keep hidden, which they only reveal when they need to fly (3/50) 
  1. Literature.Towers Trilogy: At the climax of Radiant, after jumping off of Eridian Tower with Xhea, Shai demonstrates the not-previously-seen ability to shape her magic into wings.
  2. Recap.The Simpsons S 10 E 3 Bart The Mother: Just when Chirpy Boy and Bart Jr. look like they're going to be sent hurdling off a building, it turns out they have gliding membranes like flying dragon lizards, which allow them to parachute down unharmed.
  3. Main.Dreaming Of Things To Come: Spoofed in Vision of Escaflowne Abridged, as Hitomi has recurring dreams of a mysterious "naked savior" with angel wings who rescues her from falling, whom she secretly wants to "make [her] a woman." When she falls down a canyon and her companion Van (whom she often bickers with) sprouts angel wings and saves her in a similar fashion, she drops this gem:
    Hitomi: Van!? You're the mysterious naked savior?
    Van: Naked? You wish. My wings can come out just fine with my pants still on, thankyouverymuch.

    Character reveals the ability to fly when it is vital to the plot (4/50) 
  1. Characters.The Iron Giant: He doesn't find out he has boosters on his feet until he accidentally falls off a cliff and they activate automatically.
  2. Characters.The Last Guardian: At one point, Trico is running with the boy on his back as a the walkway underneath them collapses. Finally, with nowhere else to go and beginning to fall as the structure crumbles completely, Trico busts out his wings, which up until this point had been stunted and missing most of their feathers. Sharp-eyed players may notice that at the beginning of this section, Trico's wings look a bit fuller and longer than they did previously. The reveal isn't that he has wings, it's that he can fly with those wings.
  3. Film.DOA Dead Or Alive: Kasumi jumps from the top of her castle wall and into a high cliff below... by shedding her kimono and revealing she was wearing a hanglider apparatus below all along, letting her glide away to safety... and receive the tournament invitation.
  4. VideoGame.Lunar The Silver Star: How exactly are you supposed to get to The Very Definitely Final Dungeon when it's floating way up in the sky? Well, it turns out Nall has you covered, since he's actually a baby white dragon. He always had the wings, of course... he just wasn't big enough for the party to ride on until he gains the ability to transform into a much larger dragon at the very end of the game.

    Character has wings they keep hidden, that they reveal for misc. reasons (8/50) 
  1. Characters.Please Dont Tell My Parents Im A Supervillain: Winged Humanoid: In her first appearances in the backstory, she had skeletal wings tipped with knives. A lot of people in-universe wonder where they went, as they disappeared shortly after she encountered Gabriel. Turns out, she can stow them away easily, and only brings them out when she gets serious.
  2. Characters.Negima Ala Alba: During the end of the Kyoto trip, Setsuna was forced to reveal the wings she normally keeps hidden.
  3. Literature.Good Omens: Aziraphale and Crowley, preparing for the final battle, sprout wings. It's kind of implicit that they had the capability, since they're an angel and a demon, but they've spent the entire story up to this point (apart from the prologue) in ordinary human-shaped bodies. It's only at the end when they face off against Lucifer and think they're going to die that they decide they might as well go out the way they came in.
  4. Characters.Steven Universe Lapis Lazuli: She only reveals that she has wings at the end of "Ocean Gem". Justified because she couldn't summon them previously while her gem was cracked.
  5. LateArrivalSpoiler.Anime And Manga: Negima! Magister Negi Magi: Setsuna's Wing Pull was a surprising twist the first time it was revealed. Nowadays however, you'd likely be more surprised to learn that it was meant to be a surprise. As Asuna herself said, the wings are cool, thus, several pictures featuring Setsuna, like, say... the covers for some of the Video Game adaptations, depict her in all her spoilery winged glory.
  6. TomatoSurprise.Video Games: Used not once, but twice in Photopia. In one part, the protagonist seems to be a normal, if Mary Sue-esque, astronaut, until you take off your spacesuit and feel the wind ruffle your wings. Later, the connection of this to the other plot is explained when it's revealed that these segments were actually stories a babysitter is telling the young girl, with her as protagonist. It explains the Mary Sue-ness and also why the narrator has been defining words for you, SAT-style.
  7. Literature.The Shadow Campaigns: Cayatrid's wings show up out of nowhere, with no previous indications that they are even a thing. Partly justified by this being the demon's One-Winged Angel transformation.
  8. Main.Winged Tropes: The Reveal where a character secretly has a pair of wings (or equivalent).

    Character has wings they can hide/create, with no reveal (9/50) 
  1. Characters.Infinite Dendrogram: Her Embryo gives her a pair of raven wings which allow her to fly at high speeds, and can attack with wind and darkness magic. However, its high MP consumption means that she can't use it for long periods of time.
  2. Characters.Arrowverse Other Entities: He can sprout a pair of wings out of nowhere.
  3. Theatre.Spider Man Turn Off The Dark: The Goblin sprouts a pair of wings for the final confrontation atop the Chrysler Building.
  4. Main.I Am What I Am: Setsuna Sakurazaki from Negima! Magister Negi Magi. She's not particularly ashamed of the fact that she's half-tengu and therefore can sprout wings at will, but she is ashamed of the fact that said wings are white rather than black (it's hinted she may be albino), which marked her as an instant outcast of her demon tribe. Never mind the fact that her True Companions think that the wings are awesome and that she looks like an angel.
  5. Characters.Lucifer 2016 Main Cast: Amenadiel can pull out his wings both as weapons and for travel. Lucifer noticeably flinches whenever he does so.
  6. Characters.Chuubos Marvelous Wish Granting Engine: He could sprout wings of blood and feathers, if he was willing to deal with the implications of being able to do that. Due to being a use of his Supreme Invocation ability, he's likely to reveal them very infrequently, or as a resolution to an Issue, thus fitting the trope even more.
  7. Characters.Powerpuff Girls Z: In his second appearance, his monster form gains wings near the end of the episode.
  8. Main.Tengu: MetroidDread introduces a villainous Chozo named Raven Beak, leader of the still-warlike Mawkin tribe, who takes the resemblance even further. In addition to having dark feathers and a face resembling a raven, he demonstrates the ability to sprout black-feathered wings (though it's unclear whether or not they're part of his body). He even has a nod to the stories of tengu disguising themselves as humans in that he spends most of the game impersonating Samus's Mission Control.
  9. Characters.Immortal Guardians: Unlike Seth, Zach has never hidden the fact that he has wings. While he is capable of hiding them and sometimes does just for convenience's sake, he tends to display them in fights to further emphasize that he is not one to be messed with.

    ZCEs and potholes (23/50) 
  1. Characters.Eden Of The East Commented out ZCE.
  2. Fanfic.The Reaping Of Hatsune Miku: Wham Line: At the end of the last Game, while confronting Gumi:
    Haku: What, does it hurt? Knowing that your violations, your unfair trial, did not go unnoticed? Does it hurt, to hear all your cruelty... coming from the lips of an Angel? (Wing Pull)
  3. Characters.Good Omens: When preparing for the final battle.
  4. WesternAnimation.Monsters Vs Aliens: Insectosaurus at the end.
  5. Main.The Sacred Darkness: Digimon Tamers: Given that it turns his eyes from the more aggressive red into an honest green and gives him wings, one might argue that Beelzemon, who is in the broader canon one of the Seven Great Demon Lords — goes through a "dark purification" as well when he obtains Blast Mode.
  6. TakingTheBullet.Anime And Manga: Negima! Magister Negi Magi: Setsuna does this for Konoka during the Class Trip. Odd in that she managed to do this atop a 30-something story castle when she was on the ground seconds earlier. Maybe justified by her later Wing Pull. Or, considering that she had, earlier in that storyline, demonstrated the ability to jump over buildings in a single bound, it's not that weird.
  7. Awesome.Weiss Reacts: Velvet versus Norn: In order: Velvet and Norn have a high speed clash of weapons, before Norn reveals her wings, [...] Trimmed the full example.
  8. WebVideo.Vision Of Escaflowne Abridged
    Hitomi: Van, why do you have wings now?
    Van: I told you — I'm an awesome Shonen action hero, and I have lots and lots of powers.
    Hitomi: Oh yeah. Angel wings. That's really Shonen. Seriously, is it genetic or something?
  9. Funny.The Runaway Guys Mario Party
    Jon: [as Waluigi] "I just — I just showed my wings. I've had wings the whole time. No one really asked, so I just figured I'd show them now."
  10. Main.Walking Shirtless Scene: Van Fanel from the The Vision of Escaflowne TV series is not a case of this, despite a certain race-related ability that renders shirts unusable. Movie Van, on the other hand, sees the futility of such clothing and instead chooses to parade around half naked — and for that, we thank him.
  11. Recap.Lucifer 2016 S 01 E 11 St Lucifer: The Immodest Orgasm: Amenadiel has one with Maze of the non-verbal sort.
  12. Fanfic.Harry Potter And The Natural 20: Not yet in-story, but savvy readers know that Milo's new Rainbow Servant levels will allow this at some point for certain.
  13. Characters.The Big O: We seem to think that this may be the case given how Gordon Rosewater calls her a Memory, as well as her Wing Pull in the finale.
  14. Recap.Lucifer 2016 S 01 E 01 Pilot: Amenadiel threatens Lucifer by holding the tip of his wing at his brother's throat.
  15. Main.I Can Still Fight: Van Fanel in The Vision of Escaflowne: neither the near-complete destruction of his mech nor his own dangerously serious injuries are enough to dissuade him from trying to rush straight to the battlefield on foot (or rather by wing) while screaming that he can still fight.
  16. Webcomic.Zebra Girl: When Sandra (and everyone else) discovers she can fly.
  17. Main.Page Turn Surprise: Setsuna's Wing Pull in Negima! Magister Negi Magi was specifically kept on the very next page, and hinted at earlier in the volume.
  18. Video Game.Photopia: Unreliable Narrator: Justified, as the science fiction plot is revealed to be a story Alley is telling the kid she's babysitting. Also the reason behind the Tomato in the Mirror and Wing Pull elements.
  19. Main.Spider Man Send Up: Accel World: Haru is a meek, fat nerdy kid who's a magnet for bullies... until he gains access to the Cyberspace world of Brain Burst. There he gains a double life as Silver Crow, where he experiences the joy of zooming through the air (accompanied in the Animated Adaptation by soaring orchestral music). While his wings are unique they're far from a Story-Breaker Power, and his biggest asset in combat is said to be his bottomless reserves of Heroic Spirit lurking beneath the surface. And then he gets infected by a Clingy Costume which slowly grows in influence and threatens to turn him into an insane berserker, but can be rendered inert temporarily by the sound of bells and permanently by sacred fire.
  20. ShoutOut.Weiss Reacts: Norn's Silver Crow Protocol is, of course, based off of Haruyuki's Duel Avatar from Accel World.
  21. Characters.Bloodborne Characters From The Old Hunters: Does this when you reduce down to half its health, at which point it becomes signficantly more powerful and aggressive.
  22. Characters.Weiss Reacts Beacon Other Students: She does this during the Cockerel Festival to reveal her Super Mode.
  23. Anime.Xamd Lost Memories: Even the guy with the wings is surprised.

    Other (3/50) 

Edited by GastonRabbit on Mar 9th 2023 at 3:32:14 AM

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
selkies TOO serious! from Guess, guess, guess Since: Jan, 2021 Relationship Status: Star-crossed
TOO serious!
#2: Mar 3rd 2023 at 4:20:01 PM

I think we should retool the trope to the first two definitions. The last definitions (3 & 4) are chairs without much significance. Would we have enough examples of those with the trope only having 80 wicks?

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themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#3: Mar 3rd 2023 at 4:49:02 PM
Malady (X-Troper)
#4: Mar 3rd 2023 at 5:44:07 PM

Does the situation in the description look similar to New Powers as the Plot Demands for anyone else?

Edit: which is only wicked from Wing Pull in the Web Video quote.

Edited by Malady on Mar 3rd 2023 at 5:45:36 AM

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PhiSat Planeswalker from Everywhere and Nowhere Since: Jan, 2011
Planeswalker
#5: Mar 3rd 2023 at 6:21:14 PM

It's definitely a subtrope of New Powers as the Plot Demands if we go with the "character pulls the power of flight/wings out suddenly".

Oissu!
Malady (X-Troper)
#6: Mar 3rd 2023 at 6:31:46 PM

There might be something about how the writer is using New Powers as the Plot Demands to "repair" a "Broken Bridge", when both are of their own devising, so it's something about authorial... bad writing, that they're not really thinking ahead, and instead writing by the seat of their pants (pantsing) and not rewriting?

And in that way, it's sorta using an 11th-Hour Superpower to fix a problem that was suddenly written in?

Edited by Malady on Mar 3rd 2023 at 6:32:50 AM

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RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#7: Mar 3rd 2023 at 8:56:46 PM

Maybe it could be retooled or expanded.

amathieu13 Since: Aug, 2013
#8: Mar 3rd 2023 at 9:44:46 PM

[up][up][up]agree. if it's "character suddenly reveals they have wings/the power of flight at a crucial moment" that's New Powers as the Plot Demands.

If it's "character with wings hides them as part of a secret identity or to hide they have powers until a crucial moment", depending on how the example is written, that seems like Willfully Weak or Cover-Blowing Superpower.

None of the categories have enough examples (10) to warrant reworking the trope to fit around without TLP, so I say either merge into one of the ones listed or disambig the page.

Edited by amathieu13 on Mar 4th 2023 at 3:33:00 PM

Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#10: Mar 4th 2023 at 1:40:50 AM

I don't believe "A character contrively reveals they can fly" is a meaningful split from New Powers as the Plot Demands, at least not with the current wick count (80).

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GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
BlackMage43 Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
#12: Mar 4th 2023 at 3:59:15 AM

I think a "Could fly all along reveal" can work as a trope, but I agree with the others that the trope is pretty messy as is. Maybe yard the concept.

So, [tup] for Disambig. Aside from what others said, the "Character has wings they can hide/create" examples could also be covered by Retractable Appendages or Winged Humanoid.

themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Berrenta Bejeweled (she/her) (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Bejeweled (she/her)
#14: Mar 4th 2023 at 7:24:51 AM

Disambiguating sounds good.

MadAboutLove97 Since: Jul, 2019 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
GastonRabbit MOD C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#16: Mar 6th 2023 at 4:06:12 AM

Hooked a crowner. We can decide whether to redirect or disambiguate later.

I got a rock for Halloween.
Malady (X-Troper)
#17: Mar 7th 2023 at 8:36:56 PM

I forgotten how crowbers work. Can we close it now that it's at 22:1 for Merge, since it's so unlikely to even out or flip?

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badtothebaritone (Life not ruined yet) Relationship Status: Snooping as usual
#18: Mar 7th 2023 at 9:51:11 PM

[up] Crowner gets called after 3 days. Have some patience.

GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#19: Mar 7th 2023 at 11:10:37 PM

[up]Correct; we have to wait until at least the 9th. The only time the Three-Day Rule is waived is if the page is wick-starved as defined by Administrivia.Wick. Wing Pull's wick count isn't incredibly high at 80, but it's not starving either.

I got a rock for Halloween.
GastonRabbit MOD C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
GastonRabbit C'est la vie. (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
C'est la vie. (he/him)
#21: Mar 9th 2023 at 1:31:34 PM

I moved on-page examples to Sandbox.Wing Pull to make merging them with New Powers as the Plot Demands's on-page examples easier to keep track of, and redirected the main page.

I got a rock for Halloween.
Berrenta Bejeweled (she/her) (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Bejeweled (she/her)
#22: Mar 9th 2023 at 8:50:23 PM

We don't have that many wicks left.

Edit: We just have on-page left.

Edited by Berrenta on Mar 9th 2023 at 11:03:08 AM

Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
#23: Mar 10th 2023 at 7:54:48 AM

[up] Moved a couple that I felt were clearest cut, also took out the few that were already on NPATPD.

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Berrenta Bejeweled (she/her) (Ten years in the joint) Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Bejeweled (she/her)
#24: Mar 10th 2023 at 12:19:39 PM

Okay, that's done, so closing!

Add Post

Trope Repair Shop: Wing Pull
6th Mar '23 4:05:48 AM

Crown Description:

Wing Pull only has a small amount of wicks on top of its name being an unclear snowclone of Ass Pull, resulting in misuse. In addition, there are concerns that it's The Same But More Specific to New Powers As The Plot Demands. What should be done with it?

Total posts: 24
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