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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openDepiction is not endorsement
Detractors of a work claim it contains immoral messages or supports controversial views, despite the work only showing them without supporting one side or the other (or even supporting the opposite view).
For instance, apparently Moral Guardians took offense to the line "There is only power and those too weak to see it" in Harry Potter, despite it being said by the villain.
Edited by Chabal2openVideo Game Caring Reward Videogame
Is there a direct inverse of Video Game Cruelty Punishment?
openAbstract request to Santa
When at least one character during the Christmas Episode requests something abstract on their wishlist, such as "world peace" or "happiness". One example is Spongebob wishing the people of Bikini Bottom will be able to experience a real Christmas.
openProudly ignorant
A character knows nothing about a subject, and not only resists attempts to educate him about it, he's quite proud of his ignorance.
For example, an aristocrat knows zilch about housecleaning because that's knowledge fit for servants, the Proud Warrior Race Guy refuses to become literate on the grounds that it separates him from those Proud Scholar Race pansies, the girl who was Raised by Dudes is glad she knows nothing about makeup, etc.
Edited by Chabal2openMentor Mascot was an antagonist before being Mascot-ified
Do we have (or need) a subtrope of Mentor Mascot, where the Mentor Mascot used to be something else (a demon, a vampire hunter, a magic fox spirit) that was antagonistic to the main characters, but (even if begrudgingly) became an ally after being given a cutesy form, despite there being no immediately apparent reason (at least for the audience) that they should start helping the main cast? It's almost like being trapped in or reincarnated as a plush toy, a doll or a small pet obliges the previous antagonist to be suddenly helpful.
The examples are from Ghost Stories, Eerie Cuties (though in this case Blair's status as a vampire hunter isn't revealed until much later, and he starts out as friendly to the vampires from the audience's perspective) and Gunnerkrigg Court, respectively.
openMyGodWhatHaveIDone, but earlier?
A character does something bad but not awful (be a jerk to a friend, commit a minor crime, that sort of thing), then is horrified not so much by what they've done but by what they might be turning into. A Start of Darkness that's averted, basically. Is this still My God, What Have I Done?, or something else?
openDesignated Nemesis
It's perfectly clear the writers want Dan to be Elliot's ultimate rival...but Dan just doesn't live up to expectations, be it because he's too whiny, or he and Bob never interact until a good ways into the story, or the reader doesn't have a good idea of exactly why Dan hates Elliot so much (Despite emphatically telling the audience how much he hates the guy, every chance he gets. So what the writers intended to be a fitting rival to Elliot becomes a weepy, wimpy, whiny, irrelevant, pathetic little plot tumor, every time he shows up the readers are crying, "Oh, get to the point already!"
openVisions from Touch
Trope for when a character has visions every time they touch something. Example would be in Bloodbound when a character experiences flash backs every time they touch a fragment of a specific portrait.
openSeduced by Modern Society - Trope?
Is there a trope describing the tendency for "sinful" or "evil" characters to get bogged down in modern conveniences to the point where they often either integrate into society, or just get way too distracted.
openTaunting dust-off gesture
A character shows off that he isn't harmed by the enemy's attack by symbolically brushing off some dust off his shoulder. Two examples
Gonna take this to TLP if nothing comes up.
Edited by eroockopenActually terrible advice
Kind of like Guide Dang It!, a game tells you to do something that in practice isn't the best idea. They're not wrong per se, it's just that the advice neglected to mention something crucial. Examples:
Stardew Valley tells you to build a coop and raise chickens. What it doesn't tell you is that you should build a silo and make some hay first, something that is really expensive to buy outright from the store.
Banished tells you to build a farm almost from the start of the game. It doesn't tell you that farms need a lot of people and labour working on it, something that will be in short supply until a ways later. It also doesn't give you much in return compared to foraging. So it'd be a better idea to wait to build it instead.
openPhony War
There's Phony Veteran for the guy who claims he participated in a real war, do we have a trope where the entire war is made up by the guy (for much the same reasons as the Phony Veteran)?
For instance, Top Ten has a bunch of old-school superheroes who saved the Earth from an alien invasion a few decades prior. Investigation reveals the aliens they fought are herbivores who've yet to invent space travel, and the story continues to unravel until the cops discover there was never an invasion in the first place, and the heroes are actually a pedophile ring.
Similarly, The Boys has every hero and villain assembled to tell the press a giant alien satellite has been seen in orbit and they're going to need every single hero's help to get rid of it, so they won't be on Earth for a while. They're actually all going on a hedonistic vacation to drink, do drugs and screw each other on a tropical island for a few days.
A Scotsman In Egypt has the story of the Scottish Empire's slow descent into into chaos after the Hungarian king kills the Scottish king in a one-on-one duel and leads his army to ravage most of Europe, as narrated to a Mongol warlord by a Scottish turncoat. The enormous Mongol army arrives, expecting no more than a token resistance from an empire without leaders and ravaged by plague... only to find that the Scots are not only doing fine ever since the Scottish king killed the Hungarian king, their army outnumbers the Mongol hordes, and the turncoat was a double agent there to distract the warlord while his generals were being assassinated.
openone-classroom school
Only one classroom is seen in the entire school, all students seen are from the same class (almost always justified by Minimalist Cast, but sometimes not)
Edited by CeaselessPhoenicopterineopenOne Backstory, Multiple People Videogame
Is there a trope for when we are given a backstory, personality etc. for a single person, yet multiple versions of that person inexplicably appear in the game?
I am not talking about Only Six Faces or You ALL Look Familiar, where the characters are different, but just look the same. Nor am I talking about anything related to clones or two characters with similar backstories or personalities, Expies etc.
The best examples I can give are from Darkest Dungeon and Plants vs. Zombies. In Darkest Dungeon, there are backstory comics for every class. Are we supposed to believe that all 12 Highwaymen in your roster have murdered their wives and children? Moreover, they all have different names, different abilities, quirks etc. In Plants vs. Zombies, we are given Almanac entries for each individual plant and zombie. Yet, in the game, you can have dozens of the same plant and hundreds of the same zombies on screen at the same time. The Almanac doesn't just give information about type or species, but about personality and past exploits. In the second game, the Almanac mentions that Sunflower is famous. How does that work when you have 12 on your lawn?
openTarget Shot
Trope for when a character is doing target practice and lands right on target, usually a sign of skill or anger?
open"the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions"
Is there a trope page for the thing where a secret agent is warned that if he gets caught his superiors will pretend they have no idea who he is or what he was up to?
When the sequel is adapted before the first installment.