The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
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openhorror by association
I've seen this across multiple media so I can't necessarily nail down an example. What is it when a scary event is preceded by an audio cue consistently, so the sound itself lends itself to associate it with fear?
openMale Characters are Universally Cruel, Crass, or Creepy Towards the Token Girl
I re-watched the 2003 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen recently, and it struck me how nearly every character in the film treats Mina Harker like dirt — specifically because she's the Token Girl. Allan Quatermain tells Mina he expects she'll be a distraction to the men in the League (because she's a woman). Rodney Skinner uses his invisibility powers to cop a feel (again, because she's a woman). Dorian Gray tricks her into sleeping with him ostensibly to steal her blood, but he's able to steal "samples" of Skinner without sleeping with him. Then during their final battle, Dorian quips "I'd hoped I get to nail you one more time" after stabbing Mina. Dr. Henry Jekyll (who is implied to have developed a bit of a crush on Mina, despite never having spoken to her) has a fraught internal dialogue with Mr. Hyde where the latter promises that Mina wouldn't "ignore him" if Mr. Hyde were in charge, even going to far as to suggest that Hyde would just take what they wanted. The only member of the League who doesn't treat Mina like garbage is Nemo, and he never so much as has a one-on-one conversation with her.
So I'm curious, do we have an existing trope that covers this? Where the Token Girl is insulted, demeaned, objectified or attacked because she's a woman surrounded by men? It doesn't seem like it fits No Woman's Land, that's a trope about societies as a whole treating women poorly. It doesn't seem like A Man Is Always Eager & All Men Are Perverts either, those tropes focuses more on male characters being obsessed with sex than they do the aspect of a female character putting up with all the nonsense.
openSex First, Ask Questions Last
Where two lovers reunite by having sex first but then laying in bed engaging in a lengthy conversation.
resolved Offended by the wrong insult (SOLVED: Insult Misfire) Western Animation
When a character is targeted by a series of insults and takes offense at the least severe, it's I Take Offense At The Last One. But, what if there are many characters, and the insult that offends him doesn't apply to him.
For instance, Charlie is insulting Alice and Bob:
- Charlie: I don't like you - one is a conniving blonde, and the other, a dimwitted thug.
- Bob: What? I'm not a conniving blond!
Seems like a frequent joke to establish characters as Too Dumb to Live.
Edited by Mac_RopenA trope for this characteristic?
A character that admires someone else's good looks. Maybe they're very insecure about the way they personally look, so they admire the other person's looks and wished that they looked more like them. However, not in a jealous or ridiculous way. They actually like and respect the person whose looks they admire. They don't hate them for looking better than them or anything like that. If anything, it makes them like the other person more.
openDon't treat me like a kid
A character who hates being treated like a kid. They're probably the youngest of the group, but people treat them like a five-year-old no matter how old they really are. I'm aware of Baby of the Bunch, but I'm referring to someone who particularly hates being treated this way. Like Pan from Dragon Ball or Ventus from Kingdom Hearts.
openReaching out their hand at the end of a dream?
Character has a dream, they dream of someone they love going away for them and the dreamer reaches out their hand to them as they wake up, finding that their hand is also out as they've woken up.
Examples:
- Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel: In Shirou's dream, Sakura gets on top of him and puts his hand on her breast, and when he wakes up, he is reaching his hand out in the same position.
- Elena of Avalor: Elena dreams of a strange creature (representing Esteban) running away with her mother's tiara and reaches out to it to try to stop it, only to wake up reaching her hand out. Has a Book Ends where the real Esteban reaches out to her before he's forcibly teleported away.
openIs there a trope for this running gag?
When a character has a hard time understanding what other people are saying, but only under certain circumstances. If they're talking over the phone or if there's loud noises in the background, they'll misunderstand what the other person is saying. They'll hear something, but they'll hear the complete wrong thing. It's always used for comedy, though. I can give some examples if needed.
openTrope about ascending to godhood or expressing a desire to do so.
I'm wondering if we have such a trope mostly because I keep seeing tropers use A God Am I as the example.
A God Am I is for when a character has a god complex; it says nothing about when a character wants to actually ascend to godhood.
If we don't have a specific trope for when a character ascends or wants to ascend to godhood, then would it be prudent to create such a trope and launch it?
opentrope associated with being hunted down
by an organization, government, army, w/e
if there's a specific one regarding the hunted possessing an object that is desired by the hunter that'd be cool
openPainful flashbacks?
Do we have this? It seems common enough to warrant it's own trope. Basically this is when, for whatever reason, flashbacks are shown as being painful to the one remembering them. Whether because of repressed memories or something else, the character remembering will cry out and grab their head or something similar when a flashback is triggered. One example is in the old X-Men cartoon episode: Weapon-X, Lies, and Video Tape. Wolverine suddenly starts having nightmares and remembering things from his past as Weapon-X. Every time he has a flashback to this Weapon-X days, he cries out in pain. Thanks to anyone who can help me find this trope or something close to it!
openA trope for this characteristic/dynamic?
Two characters. Probably friends or co-workers somehow. One of them is extremely good-looking, and the other one knows it. This person will carelessly use the other person's looks to get them what they want. Said good-looking person probably knows that's what they're doing, and they probably hate using their looks to get things, but they reluctantly go along with it, anyway. The other person is probably just very confident and conniving and heartless about it.
Here's an example from The Young and the Restless (sorry it's a bit long):
Nick: I think I need to get my ears checked. I think you just said you want me to go on a date with another woman.
Phyllis: Mnh. Hearing's perfect.
Nick: Is this a test? Uh...you know, it's an interesting idea, but... yeah, I'll pass. It's a "no" for me.
Phyllis: I haven't even told you what's in it for you.
Nick: Yeah. Well, you said, "go on a date with another woman," and, Phyllis, you are all the woman I can handle.
Phyllis: Well, that's good to know. But this date has some fringe benefits, uh, that I can't offer.
Nick: Can't imagine what that could be.
Phyllis: It's Rebekah Barlow, the cosmetics-company owner that I told you about.
Nick: The one interested in partnering with Jaboutiques?
Phyllis: We are this close to signing this deal, but first, she wants to have dinner... with you.
Nick: Okay.
Phyllis: She knows you own the lease to all of our locations.
Nick: So, she wants to talk about the properties?
Phyllis: Exactly.
Nick: So, it's like a business meeting? It's not really a date?
Phyllis: Well, officially, it would be a business dinner.
Nick: And unofficially?
Phyllis: Let's just say the way she was looking at you, I don't think she would be upset if your baby blues and your dimples were on the menu.
Nick: Are you saying what I think you're saying?
Phyllis: You know what? If you could just flash your killer smile to persuade her to sign on the dotted line, you would be helping me out... a whole lot.
Nick: I-I just want you to admit it, Phyllis. You are — you're pimping me out.
openNot The Norm
A situation thought to be normal or commonplace at first is later revealed to have been exceptional or happening for the first time.
For instance, an alien wakes up from centuries of Suspended Animation and turns out to have been conscious the entire time. Having understandably gone insane, he violently attacks anyone in his way. When others emerge from their sleep later on, they're surprised that everyone thinks they're going to turn violent as well (it turns out the first alien's stasis cell malfunctioned, all the other aliens feel like they went to sleep a few minutes earlier).
Or mole-men surfacing in a remote region of the Deep South and learning to talk with the locals there, so when the world learns of their existence the mole-men have nearly-indecipherable good ol' boy accents because they thought all humans spoke that way.
In Ooku, the first female shogun to instate the "secret swain" tradition (any man sleeping with the shogun will be executed the next morning) turns out to have been violently raped in her youth by a retainer who didn't know who she was. Unable to fathom that sex could be a non-violent event, she starts the custom in order to protect her descendants (which is later repealed once the story comes out because the Gendercide hitting Japan means they really can't afford to lose any fertile men).
Edited by Chabal2openList Related Terms
A gag where 2 or more people are trying to find/remember the name of something, and they throw out terms that are related or synonymous to the right one, but never hit on it (the audience is usually able to identify it). For instance, two older characters looking for the name of a sci-fi film with space ships and laser swords called 'Space Fight' or 'Planet Battle' or 'Asteroid Conflict' or something.
In Discworld, Twoflower tries to explain the name of an extremely complicated card game to Rincewind, saying that in Rincewind's tongue it means something like "thing you put over water". Naturally, Rincewind names things like "weir", dam", "pontoon" without the word "bridge" ever occurring to him.
openYank vs Limey Rivalry
A rivalry between a British person and an American, with a lot of attention drawn to the cultural differences between the two. I don't know if I've seen this as an official trope yet, but I wanted to make sure before I brought it to the launchpad.
openIs there a trope for a character who's "the favorite"?
A character who's another character's or characters' favorite. It could be something from a favorite child or parent or sibling, to a favorite co-worker or customer. It really doesn't matter who anyone else is, this one is your favorite. You give them extra attention or less of a hard time or let them get away with things that no one else does or give them things for free. You just like them better than everyone else. They're your favorite. Is there a trope for this?
openWhen a choosing artifact unchooses the chosen one
Do we have a trope for when something that chooses The Chosen One unchooses them for whatever reason? I feel like we should have this one, but I can't find anything in my searches.
The story starts with a character finding a deactivated robot in the trash or somewhere else, with the ensuing story usually revolving around their relationship.
Examples include Gunnm, Chobits, Made in Abyss, the French manga Green Mechanic or the more recent Heart Gear.
Related to A Boy and His X I suppose.
Edited by Lyendith