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 You Know That Show and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
Kidnappers Lure Children With Sweets
Is there a trope for kids being lured into vans by using candy?
How Did You Know
When a character is telling a story from the past, but they are somehow able to tell the story from other character's perspective.
Makes it even sadder
What's more sad than watching a character lose everything they hold dear? Why, seeing how happy they were in the flashback, of course.
You're Nothing Without Me & I Didn't Mean it
You're Nothing Without Me: A stock phrase where a character claim that without them the other person would be worthless.
I Didn't Mean it: When a character delivered a "The Reason You Suck" Speech and immediately regret it.
Example: Bob: "You always scold me for being apathetic and heartless, for never being there when you need me, but the truth is I am constantly saving you, and you would've been dead ten times over if it weren't for me. From the hand of the bandits, from jaw of the orge, from the edge of the cliff; From your own foolishness, from the danger you get into for your 'heroic action' and your 'just cause'. You constantly berate me for being useless, but the truth is: You're nothing without me, you're just a worthless hero wannabe." and Bob sees Alice is on the verge of crying and he goes: "I... I was... I didn't mean to..."
But alas, Alice run away crying before he gets to finish.
Edited by Andermann
No Title
I just deleted this example of Minimalist Cast from CN City:
- Because every city-goer was a named character from a CN show, a few had to pull double duty and take certain jobs; Ed worked as a busboy, Him worked at a barbershop, and Buck Tudrussel ran a gym.
It obviously doesn't fit Minimalist Cast, but it does sound like another trope I've read about but can't remember the name of.
Unbreakable Transferable Curse
A curse that can't be broken but instead is transferred to another victim (usually unknowingly), causing a long chain of victims tricking other people into taking up their burden.
Anime: State the name; pause for effect Anime Anime
I'm watching Hero Mask on Netflix and besides the agonising long stares in conversations, I'm noticing how much characters just say a person's name and nothing more. There's a heck of a lot of "Monica." when she's not there, but also saying the name of someone who's just entered the scene or is leaving (e.g. soooo much "Theo!" at one point). What are these terrible writing tropes that seem to just fill air time?
Edited by FacesOfMu
Hero threatens villain even though he can't do anything?
Whats the trope for when a villain has the hero's friend/girlfriend/relative/ whatever prisoner, and the hero threatens them even though he can't do anything. Example: on Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom on the bridge scene when he tells Mola Ram to let them go but he just says "you are in a position unsuitable to give orders!"
It's old so it sucks
Do we have a trope where a character is obsessed with what's "new", to the point where anything "older" is rejected?
A Man Must Make More Than His Wife
A situation where a man refuses to ask a woman in marriage (or even confess his feelings for her) because she's richer than him/makes more money than him/he's not rich enough to spare his wife from working/is afraid that he'll be seen as a Gold Digger, etc.
Usually played for laughs, with everyone (the woman included) telling him to stop being a romantic idiot and propose already.
WTF Are You Doing
When the team is facing dire situations, and one character, usually The Quiet One, without explaining their plan or what they’re going to do to their teammates and just start doing something dangerous, causing everyone else to panic.
Edited by Andermann
Harmless Zombie
The Zombie Apocalypse came and went... and it turned out pretty well. Apparently zombies just weren't that dangerous to begin with, or alternatively, someone figured out a way to neutralize the threat from a zombie, or maybe from ALL zombies.
This trope has two variants.
-The zombies in the setting just aren't really dangerous to begin with. They're not aggressive, they don't bite, they don't infect people.
—Example from Roadside Picnic: the main character's father, who died before the story started and was buried in what would become the Zone, eventually comes back to life thanks to the Zone's weird powers, and he goes back home and just kinds of wanders around like a senile grandpa, he occasionally talks and he eats at their table and doesn't pose any kind of threat. Instead of being a decrepit zombie, he apparently radiates good health
—Example from The Sims 2: Zombies can be brought to life (either by trying to pay the Grim Reaper for a resurrection but being too cheap, a Genie wish backfiring or an evil spell). The zombies don't bite Sims and spread zombiness. They just groan and shamble around, lose their personality, and inspire disgust, but they can learn skills, take jobs, have relationships, and just keep on (un)living. And they're immortal.
-Zombies are dangerous, but someone figured how to make one harmless and even useful. This can be on a small scale (a survivor removes the jaw and arms of a zombie so it can't grab or bite) or a large one (all zombies have their jaws removed and are used as menial labor).
—Example from Shaun of the Dead: after the zombie apocalypse is dealt with quickly and efficiently, the zombies are given muzzles and used for things like sweeping the floor, operating checkout lines, or in game shows for entertainment.
—Example from Fido: There was a zombie apocalypse thanks to magical space radiation, but things stayed under control and zombies are outfitted with collars that make them docile and people keep them in their houses for, once again, menial labor.
Edited by Commander_Ysenir
Really tough guy/girl cries
Is there a trope for something so sad/disturbing that even a character known for being really tough cries about it? (similar to Vomiting Cop but about sadness rather than disgust)
Photo-roman
When a video is composed of a series of still images paired with sound, similar to a kinetic novel. Examples include La Jetée by Chris Marker, and Koishi Komeiji's Heart-Throbbing Adventure.
Edited by qetuos
It's not the weapon, it's the wielder.
So Alice and Bob are fighting. Alice is armed with weaponry, tech, and whatever other equipment that's superior to Bob's. Nevertheless, Bob wins the fight because he's simply more skilled at working with what he's got.
Wrong amount of food alert
Considering proposing something along these lines to the Trope launch pad, Do We Have This One and if not, is it tropeable?
A character is alerted to something being amiss because another character is preparing either too much or too little food, or because the dining table is set for the wrong number of people. Some examples:
- Moonraker: After narrowly surviving a landslide while visiting the Dover cliffs, James Bond returns to his host's house and finds the host didn't set a place for him at the dinner table during the evening meal, causing Bond to suspect the landslide was actually an attempted assassination.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Harry, Ron and Hermione go to visit their friend Luna and her father Xeno, but Xeno prepares tea for four people instead of five. When Harry spots this, Xeno confesses that Luna was kidnapped by the Death Eaters to give them leverage over him.
- Doctor Who episode "It Takes You Away": The Doctor encounters a man called Erik, who she's been looking for, while exploring an Alternate Universe, and notes that he's preparing two plates of food despite not expecting visitors. The other plate is for his wife Trine, who died in the main universe, and this universe has created an illusion of her to entice Erik into not returning home.
Cut your way out?
A character is eaten by a large beast and cuts their way out
No Title
A man gets a woman pregnant and offers to marry her. What trope is that? There's no third-party so its not a Shotgun Wedding.
Ambiguously Intersex
If a character is implied to be intersex, do we have a trope for that? The closest I can think of is either Ambiguous Gender or Ambiguous Gender Identity, but I don't know which would fit best.
Unacceptable name
Is there a trope for names that are no longer used for the most part due to association with some really bad person? (Adolf being the Trope Codifier)
Give up macguffin to help someone else
After finally getting the macguffin, the main character has to sacrifice it to save someone he befriended while retrieving it.
"Wound but don't kill" capture mechanic
A mechanic in a videogame where, if you manage to get an enemy to low health without killing it, you can perform a special action in order to take it out non-lethally. This is more difficult than just killing the enemy, since you have to avoid accidentally dealing too much damage while also preventing the enemy from killing you, but usually gives you some sort of greater reward. (e.g. more loot, or the enemy joins your side.)
Examples:
- In the Pokémon games, wild Pokémon can theoretically be caught at any health, but are less likely to break free of a thrown pokeball if they are on low health and/or have a status condition. This rewards you with the ability to use that Pokémon in battle.
- In the Monster Hunter games, a monster will start limping if it gets to low enough health, which signals that it can be captured using a trap and tranq bombs. Capturing a monster rewards you with additional loot.
- In the Assassin's Creed games that include naval combat, dealing enough damage to a large enemy ship will immobilize it, allowing you to pull up along side it and board it. Successfully boarding the ship without sinking it will grant you twice the usual rewards, and the option of either repairing your ship, reducing the likelihood of being attacked by pirate hunters, or pressing the ship into your character's fleet.
- In X-Com: Enemy Unknown, the Arc Thrower item can be used to capture aliens, with the chance of it working successfully being significantly higher the lower the alien's HP is. Successfully capturing the alien allows you to interrogate them, giving you research bonuses, and lets you capture their weaponry intact.
A game that gives you a dedicated "tranquilizer pistol" or "stun gun" weapon that allows you to incapacitate enemies non-lethally at any health would NOT count as this trope, unless the weapon is more effective when the enemy is at a lower health.
Kids vs Adults
Some stories treat kids and adults like two separate factions. Usually the adults are authoritative and morally wrong, while the kids are rebellious and morally right. Prime examples include Run Aways, Codename: Kids Next Door and Witch & Wizard
Do we have a trope to describe this kind of plot.
Edited by Namor21