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.
Find a Trope:
openUnnecesary Plot and More Powerful than They Thought
What's the trope where a whole plot develops inside the main plot and isn't relevant at all for the main plot aside of filling the time, like the Sponge Bob movie, when Sponge Bon and Plankton traveled in time to recover the formula, but they got the wrong one and had to go out of water? And the other one when a character (frequently The Hero) has shown to have more power than we thought, and can be oblivious or undifferent of that?
openCharacters whose sole function is to listen to other characters
I'm wondering if there is a trope for a character who doesn't have any other purpose in the story aside from "being the guy/girl listening to the other (much more important) characters" as they talk about... Pretty much anything the author feels like dumping into the audience, but can't find a way to work it into the plot.
Thus, the writer chooses to create a character (or to assign a pre-existing one to this role) who will be in a scene in which the Hero/Villain/Major Character goes on a rant about something of importance to the plot or that serves to help flash out the character's personality . It's basically a soliloguy being watched by one person.
Here is an example: Amber is an unpopular girl who is the butt of many jokes and one day feels like getting things off her chest. The writer knows this is an important moment for character development, but thinks that having Amber recite all of her troubles into the wind would be... weird. Well, no worries! For Amber calls her best friend Marie who immediately sits down to listen to all that Amber has to say. Once the discourse is over, Amber thanks her friend for being a good listener and Marie disappears into thin air until the next time Amber needs someone to hear her out.
Edited by SKBengalTigeropenAn Adaptation that pulls elements from other versions
I'd thought it was Adaptation Distillation, but that turned out to be about simplifying things in order to tell a cleaner story. Adaptation Expansion is about making things up whole cloth, whereas this pulls from other existing versions. Canon Immigrant seems the closest, except it's only about one specific character...and refers back to Adaptation Distillation...which doesn't mention adding new elements at all? I'm a bit confused, now.
openMMO version of OminousSavePrompt Videogame
- [20:56]Upon sitting at the table, several cutscenes will play in sequence.
[20:56]It is recommended that you set aside sufficient time to view these scenes in their entirety.
This is obviously not an Ominous Save Prompt — for one thing, it's not a save prompt, since the game in question is an MMO and runs entirely on autosaves. What trope would this sort of thing fall under?
Edited by wingedcatgirlopenHidden reference to earlier episode Anime
So, still doing up Uma Musume. In episode 9 the girls end up in a rather funny pose... and someone noticed this pose is a throwback to a blink-and-you-miss-it picture in episode 1. What trope should I use?
openSurprise Death
When a character dies when you wouldn't expect it. For example, we just see the characters hanging out and then BAM one gets shot.
openTeacher/Student Romance
Would Teacher/Student Romance be the trope for a student having a one sided attraction for a teacher or is that more Stacy's Mom?
openFans Mistake A Character's Age
Is there a trope/audience reaction for when, due to Dawson Casting, fans mistake a character for older than they are?
openHolding object trope
The 80s Muppet Babies and Ed, Edd, & Eddy both have a scene where a character (Kermit, and Ed) passes by holding the front of a long object, only to be pass again holding it by the rear; is that covered by Wrap Around/Wraparound Background?
openMagnificent Armor...in the wrong hands Anime
There's a scene in Konosuba season 2 where the protagonist commisions a grand suit of armor, puts it on, but discovers that the armor is completely useless since he can't so much as properly exit through the door because of its weight compared to his strength, played for comedic purpose. Is there a trope for when someone is given a mighty tool or weapon, whether it be armor or anything else, but it's discovered to be useless for that person in particular?
openLike a Cool Big Sis
Is there a trope for a character in LGBT works who helps the newly out person learn about being LGBT?
openSelf-flanderization realization
A character realizes the image people have of him/her is an exaggerated version of their beliefs and attitude (e.g. Bob is an avid hunter and bags at least one deer every year, but realizes he's thought of as an Egomaniac Hunter who'd kill squirrels and pigeons for the hell of it). Not Becoming the Mask, since that's when reality ends up matching the image.
For example, in Animorphs Cassie is a Friend to All Living Things and helps run a wildlife shelter. She realizes her friends think of her as an Animal Wrongs Group-type when they encounter a seal in the Arctic (when they're starving) and think she would actually oppose them eating it. Note that it's not even a question of killing the seal themselves, it was freshly killed by a polar bear thus making their perception of her attitude even more out of place.
Edited by Chabal2openPerson gets called by a title and first name?
For example, being called "Dr. Alice" or "Mr. Bob" or what have you?
openTempting Fate?
Earlier, I brought up a personal experience from World of Warships, which petered out at Unspoken Plan Guarantee. Today, I have another one:
In a match where I was playing as the Battleship USS Texas, it eventually got down to just me, and four enemy ships: the Carrier, two Cruisers, plus a third Cruiser that was halfway across the map. As I came in and tried to take them out, sinking the two Cruisers, I managed to withstand over half a dozen torpedoesnote Texas has a 35% resistance to torpedo damage, plus a Damage Control Party consumable (which repairs light damage), making it virtually immune to torpedoes if they're spread out enough across all three ships. Eventually, after running out of health, Damage Control Party charges, and patience, I finally went into chat and shouted "Enough with the torpedoes!" across the entire match. Five seconds later, Cruiser #3 showed up from out of nowhere and OHK'd me with a single HE round. Not a full-battery barrage, nor a hit that lit me on fire or blew up my magazine, but a single direct hit from a single shell.
What I want to know is if this is an example of Tempting Fatenote a smart-ass remark regarding torpedoes gets me blown up by something that isn't a torpedo, an inverse of Be Careful What You Wish Fornote technically I got exactly what I wanted, which was that no other torpedoes were fired after said remark, or some other trope.
Edited by GofastmikeopenWhat do I do now?
So a lesser villain has just turned against their leader and killed/defeated them or a villain was bested by the hero but instead of finishing him the hero has decided to let him live. As the hero(es) turn to leave, the former villain asks, "What do I do now?" The hero(es) may choose to ignore him/her and continue leaving, they may just shrug their shoulders, or they might just even give them an answer. Sometimes they may even answer "you can come with us if you want", offering the former villain a chance to join the good guys on their adventure or (if used at the end of a work) just hang around and be friends with them. Does anyone have any idea what trope(s) this would fall under? Kinda like So What Do We Do Now? but can come in the middle or at the end of a work, and usually revolves around tying up the loose ends of just one person, generally a villain or, in some cases, a neutral. Thanks!
openChanging your mind because someone said something at the last minute
More precisely, someone says something that make a character realize/remember a really simple fact.
That realization makes the character immediately change their mind/decides on something that they have been contemplating over for a long time. Very frequently they will also perform better after this realization.
Example: Pro sportsman frustrated about his recent lack of form. His team-mates and manager all tell him to step up his game. Ask friend/mentor for advice. Friend/mentor said something that made him remember that his job is fun and he loves it. Recovered his form and went on to become a world-class player.
Edited by xmexopenMissing the point of escapism
A character with certain rigid principles in life plays a game where he has some degree of freedom. Even if it goes against the point of the game, there are some actions he refuses to do because of his real-life principles (and may in fact claim it's the game's fault for not accepting his restrictions).
For instance, an RPG where completing quests from various gods is necessary to obtain the Infinity +1 Sword, but he refuses to do so on grounds of being part of a monotheistic faith. Or an Actual Pacifist who does Pacifist Runs even in multiplayer shooters where he only plays medics and never uses a gun, or a vegetarian not eating any meat-based items in-game, or never buys his Sims a television because Old Media Are Evil, etc.
a character with Super-Strength throws another character to space