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 the Trope Launch Pad.
Find a Trope:
openShiver Lines of Disgust Anime
Hi, I'm looking for the trope where a character touches or is touched by something they don't like, and a wave of spiky shivers moves across their entire body while they stand frozen. They might react/scream afterwards.
openUnlocking something without buying it/spending points?
Is there a trope for having the option to spend points/money/some other limited resource, to acquire something, but you can get it another way through hard work (which might prompt you to instead spend the resource on something more unique)?
Eg in Book Of The Dead, the rule Tyron has been taught is that you should use your limited supply of Feat choices for things you couldn't do any other way. He discounts the "Minion Controller" feat that promises to improve his control of undead, because through extensive research he has learned how to create advanced undead that retain their intelligence and can direct lesser minions, which he figures will work just as well.
Or in The Bee Dungeon, Belissar gets a choice of three rewards from the gods for completing a quest, and would love to unlock Monster Bee Dancers, but the other options are also very appealing — and then, after consulting with the bees, he realises that they're already doing things related to what Dancers could do, therefore with focused effort it's probably possible for them to evolve a bee into a Dancer manually and unlock it that way.
Edited by ThrawnCAopenCharacters Acknowledge Running Gag Western Animation
What is the trope for when characters recognize and predict a running gag of the show? For example, in American Dad! when one character realizes that his teacher at clown school is going to turn out to be another character due to the running gag of them adopting multiple personas of different teachers
openOriginal Position Vindicated
A trope that could be described as "Original Position Fallacy without the twist": instead of "Bob makes a decision thinking it won't affect him and is proven wrong", it's "Bob makes a decision knowing it won't affect him, and is indeed not affected by it".
For instance, Bob participates in a homeowner's association election despite moving out in a few months, so it won't matter which candidate he votes for. If unforeseen circumstances caused him to delay the move until the next year and so forcing him to submit to the new HOA rules it'd be an OPF, but here there's no such twist.
In Les Innommables, there's a plot by people in the US government to nuke the USSR by surprise since they know Soviet missiles don't have the range to retaliate (condemning Europe to be nuked instead). The plot fails for unrelated reasons, but the point is they went ahead because they knew they'd be safe.
Edited by Chabal2openNot actually a mutual decision
In a couple/duo/team, one person makes the decisions/calls the shots but passes them off as something both parties agreed upon, because they're domineering/obliviously self-involved etc.
Alice: "Bob and I always go to the beach for vacation because we don't like skiing. Don't we, Bob?" Bob: "Well, if I-" Alice: "See? We're in complete agreement."
openOne-Track Mind
A few years ago I launched One-Track-Minded Artist, but now I'm wondering if there's anything for the more general idea of a character being excessively one-track-minded, focusing on something very specific and rarely straying from that subject.
openPrimal Protectiveness Out of Fear and Anger
I'm writing a story about a kid who's suffered various near-death experiences. I'm trying to flesh out the character of his mother more. I'm trying to describe why his parents split up. Is there a trope where someone feels a primal sense of fear for their loved one and anger towards someone that hurt them. I ask this because it plays a big part in why the boy's parents split up, and is a big part of why his mother is so protective of him, which is a big part of her character.
Edited by GhostfreakopenPotentially serious issue found early due to accident Live Action TV
A person goes fishing, and ends up in the hospital with a swordfish stuck in him. A tumor is found in him right at the insertion point.
open"Enemy Mine", but for a common friend?
Alice and Bob hate each other, but have a mutual friend named Charlie. When Charlie is in danger, Alice and Bob decide to set aside their differences to save him.
Do we have a name for this?
openHe tried to kill me? Now that he's n9 risk to me, I don't care. I will help him anyway Live Action TV
A man attacked Dr. Murphy in a bar, and suddenly lost consciousness. Despite no longer being employed by the hospital, Dr. Murphy does his best to help the attacker, including attempting to inform others what his medical issue is (his failure Makes Sense in Context).
openYou're unwilling to stay if the worker under you who you fired comes back? I'm firing you to bring Live Action TV
Dr. Han, the new head of surgery, had fired Dr. Murphy from his department, sending him to the pathology department. Dr. Murphy wants to return to surgery. Dr. Andrews is the president of the hospital. Dr. Glassman had decided to put the issue of firing Dr. Murphy up to a vote at the board of directors.
...
Dr. Andrews: Dr. Glassman is right.
Dr. Han: You're going to propose this motion [to reinstate Dr. Murphy]?
(an unnamed character): Dt. Andrews, I don't think you have the votes to carry it.
Dr. Andrews: I agree. But I don't need the votes. Just as you have the power to fire someone under your supervision, so do I.
Dr. Han: You're going to fire me to save Dr. Murphy.
openDad Mentor
What is the trope/tropes describing a sort of dad-like mentor. A sort of gruff mentor figure, generally middle aged man, probably teaches you how to survive in the wilderness, etc.? Think Owen from the Shapeshifter series.
openHide A Murder With A Massacre
A character hides their crime by making it part of a larger, sometimes unrelated criminal action. Sometimes leads to Moral Myopia on the part of the perpetrators of the larger crime.
It's not Serial Killings, Specific Target since they aren't the ones killing the others.
- One Father Brown story has a corrupt army officer murder a soldier and cover it up by ordering a suicidal Human Wave attack the next day in that area, so the corpse will be believed to have been killed during the attack.
- One Brother Cadfael story has a besieged garrison be hanged by the exasperated king once he takes the castle. However, one man found hanged among the rest wasn't part of the garrrison. The king is not happy to learn that his I Did What I Had to Do moment was used to carry out a murder and demands the culprit be found.
- One Canardo story has an oil tanker taken over by terrorists, with the terrorists announcing they're going to dump the oil in the water if their demands aren't met. The next day the tanker is surrounded by private vessels waiting for the tanker to start dumping so they can do the same (instead of paying for it to be done in the port) and let the terrorists take the blame for the pollution.
openWhat’s the trope about death by being pushed down a shaft (as Emperor Palpatine did)? Film
Perhaps you’ve found yourself at the business end of a Jedi’s weapon. They end up pushing you down the nearest shaft or drop off.
openYoung Immortal
Basically the idea of there being several immortals in a setting (be they gods, vampires, dragons, elves, etc), where some are acknowledged as being old by human standards, but young by the standards of other Immortals. Something like a 200 year old immortal vs a 10,000 year old one.
openThe Bookish Love Interest
As it has been discussed in Asian and Nerdy, certain traits considered nerdy by Anglophones are normalized, or even considered desirable, by East Asians. My recent review of East Asian romance fiction (or in some cases works targeting the Shoujo / josei demographic that's not romance-centric) seems to indicate there's an archetype of bookish love interests; I identified some common features below:
- Usually male, but female cases exist.
- Bookishness can range from Gentleman and a Scholar to plainly nerdy, but in most cases they will be have some level of social skills (if below average in this regard), but in the rare cases where they're actually No Social Skills, they will be considered Endearingly Dorky in-universe. Always in a field considered scholarly in a given context. But it's probably not Cute Bookworm since not all of them are, literally, Bookworms.
- Nearly always on the introvert side of the extraversion-introversion continuum. As a result, they are generally not good (or uncomfortable) with speaking.
openQueer couples that are referred to as "good friends" or "roomates"
Is there a trope for when a gay couple is referred to by outsiders as roommates or close friends? Not necessarily with homophobic intention, can also be used due to Captain Oblivious.
openAsh falling like snow
Looking to see if there is a trope that covers this. Basically very simple: ashes are falling and it looks like snow.
It could be remarked on by characters in the story, who may mistake the ash for snow. For example:
- Alice: It’s September and 80 degrees out, how’s it snowing?Bob: That’s ash. Must be blowing over from the forest fire over in Tropesville.
Or it may just be in the cinematography.
Either way, the point is the juxtaposition between the serene imagery of falling snow, which is associated with tranquility and brings to mind play in the snow; and the violence of whatever must have caused the similar-looking ashfall, whether a natural disaster or human atrocities.
Examples:
- Doctor Who: At the end of "The Christmas Invasion", the people of London are marvelling in the street as snow falls on Christmas Day. The Doctor explains to Rose that it’s not snow: it’s ash from the alien spacecraft that Harriet Jones just had blown up as it was retreating.
- Game of Thrones: After Daenerys attacks King's Landing with dragonfire, the whole city is blanketed with ash falling from the sky. It looks as though winter has finally come, but Dany was the real winter.
- Silent Hill: Averted. Many fans believed that the snow in June was not actually snow, but ash, fitting the real-life inspiration of Centralia, Pennsylvania, where a coal seam fire forced the abandonment of the town. However, the creator has since confirmed that this was, in fact, snow.
- Life Is Strange: Before the Storm: As Chloe and Rachel are celebrating on the road after the play, ash from the nearby forest fire begins falling, illuminated under the streetlights.

Someone tries to make a wish, only to get interfered with where someone else either gets to say the wish first, interrupts them with their own wish mid-sentence, or in some other way denies it. For example, Pilaf is about to wish for world domination only for Oolong to save the day and wish for a pair of Bulma's panties