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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openTime-Delay Hypocrisy
A character calls out others for their immoral or socially unacceptable actions. They themselves also engage in such behavior, but only long after the accusation (and may feel apologize to those they originally looked down on).
In The Accursed Kings, Isabelle (trapped in a Sexless Marriage) reveals her sister-in-laws are guilty of adultery (and is accused of acting solely out of You Need to Get Laid-related spite). Years later, she finally commits adultery herself (her sister-in-laws being long dead) and remembers how harsh she was on them, and wonders if she would have been so quick to protect her brothers' reputations if she'd known what it was like to have a lover.
Edited by Chabal2openEmotional Means Guilty
Is there a trope where someone is accused of something has an emotional reaction (getting angry or upset) and that's taken as proof of their guilt, even if they're actually innocent?
resolved Didn't know when to stop Live Action TV
A character goes to legal or illegal casino. He starts out winning some money, gets a lot of chips, wins a fortune, but keeps gambling and gambling in hopes of getting more, until he starts losing, and ends up losing everything. Had he said he had enough, he'd go out a rich man.
openSolution provided by an innocent comment Literature
I could swear we had a trope named after either Sherlock Holmes or House M.D. for the trope of a key insight being provided by an innocent, unrelated commentary by either the genius character themselves or someone else. I've perused the Index of Solutions, but couldn't find it.
resolved People Know What the Author Knows (SOLVED!) Print Comic
I remember a trope in this wiki about authors (especially amateur ones, like Fan Fiction writers) assuming, either consciously or subconsciously, that the characters know the same things they do - the examples listed were how random characters assumed Supergirl was Superman's cousin, even though that wasn't common knowledge - she might be a sister, friend or even just a fan. Another example was the old Star Wars expanded universe, wherein characters somehow "knew" Darth Vader was Luke's father after the fall of the empire, despite Luke never going public - and nobody knowing Vader's real name and background to begin with.
Edited by Mac_RopenFad Episode
I know we have Flash-in-the-Pan Fad and Trend Aesop to describe fictional fads, but do we have a trope (or need one) for an entire episode of a show about a fad being adopted and characters' responses to it?
openDistracted By The Baby
The father is holding his newborn daughter while the football game is on. He's so distracted by the precious sight of the daugther that he even forgets the game on. Even his wife tells him that his team is up by a big margin, he just shrugs and continue to admire the daughter.
openPossibly "A Form You Are Comfortable With"?
Would "A Form You Are Comfortable With" cover instances of a virtual shapeshifter changing their appearance to reflect the race or ethnicity of the person they are holding a conversation with?
The example I'm looking at is from Snow Crash, in which ai-powered virtual assistants and receptionists automatically reflect the race of the clients they interact with. From the text: ''Hiro leaves his bike on the Street, takes the elevator up to the 397th floor, and comes face to face with a receptionist daemon. For a moment, he can't peg her racial background; then he realizes that this daemon is half-black, half-Asian — just like him. If a white man had stepped off the elevator, she probably would have been a blonde. A Nipponese businessman would have come face to face with a perky Nipponese office girl.''
The Description/ Laconic of "A Form You Are Comfortable With" implies that the entity changing their appearance is so powerful or monstrous, communication would be impossible without some form of disguise. That's not quite the case with the virtual receptionists in Snow Crash, but I'm drawing a blank when I try to think of another trope that would cover it.
openNot-So-Harmless ...?
The trope where there's a seemingly harmless character who has a few sociopathic tendencies that are often played for laughs. However, there's a point where they do something seriously messed up and everyone looks at each other in shock and horror because "Oh wow, those earlier 'jokes' they made weren't actually jokes." They may also realize that this friend of theirs is EXTREMELY messed up in a way that they're not okay with.
openAngry underestimated teenager with emotional problems knocks the door of their bedroom?
My parents suck! School sucks! Everything sucks! I hate my liiiiiiiife *slams the door of their room*
Edited by dreamer_drmropenPeriod Piece Episode
Is there a trope for when a show with a contemporary setting has an episode set in a past time period, with the same actors playing similar (but period appropriate) characters? Examples: "Strangled" from Crossing Jordan, "Labor Pains" from Teachers (2016). Some examples are probably dream sequences (like "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" from Moonlighting), but this isn't always the case.
Edited by QuizBowlNerdopenNerd kid, rich adult
Jimmy is a nerd kid. He is bullied and stuff. His parents tell him when he grow up he will be successful because he studies a lot. He actually ends up becoming rich and if he ever meets his ex-bullies again, he's the one making fun of them.
Is there a trope for this?
openGoofy metaphor or simile?
Like, in a song or a poem, there will be an odd comparison, like:
openSomething that's supposed to be an upgrade isn't better
Pistol: Does 4 damage, has range of 50m. Takes 2 seconds to reload.
Pistol MKII: Does 6 damage, has range of 100m. Takes 6 seconds to reload.
On paper it seems like the MKII is better, but because most enemies are within 50m anyway coupled with the 3x reload time the end result is the MKII is worse than the original one.
openLevitation Leg Bend
Is there a trope for the standard pose a character takes when levitating where they usually have one leg out straight, but one will be bent slightly? It's usually used in animation along with Midair Bobbing to show that the character is floating and not aligned with the ground.
openCan't speak own language
Is there a trope where a character can't speak their own native language? Such as an American-born Chinese being unable to speak/understand Mandarin or any other dialects.
open"Glowing Eyes In Shadow Body" Character Look
Before you say "You're thinking of Black Mage." I'm not referring to "character that uses offense type magic."
What I'm looking for is the visual character trope, where a character has has a completely dark (sometimes purple) face, and sometimes body. Whether it's their natural appearance or caused by the robes/armor that hide their face depends. Visually it's when By the Lights of Their Eyes is applied to only this character, even in broad daylight, while others appear normally. This is typically used to make these characters visually stand out as unusual or strange to contrast with other characters that aren't hidden. Whether they're evil or good also depends on the character themselves.
Orko, Vivi, Marvin The Martian, The Heartless, Tinkerbats, Ralsei, and Poes are all the examples I could immediately think of.
Do we have this as a trope? If not, should we take it to the Trope Launch Pad?
Edited by MetroidPeteropenVillain Food Prep Monologue Live Action TV
A hero arrives at their meeting with the villain. The villain is focused on prepping/cooking as they deliver a monologue to the hero. These scenes in my examples are very similar, so similar I’d call it a trope but I can’t find the name for it. It’s not Evil Chef.
Examples I can remember off the top of my head:
Burn Notice, S 4 E 15: Michael returns to the villain’s house and the villain is chopping meat and veggies as he speaks to Michael.
Lost, S 6 E 10: Sayid arrives at the restaurant to find Keamy cooking breakfast.
Heroes, S 1 E 18: Nathan meets Linderman at the hotel kitchen. Linderman is preparing a meal as he speaks to Nathan.
Game of Thrones, S 1 E 7: Tywin skins and prepares a deer as Jamie enters. Tywin lectures about legacy.
I know I’ve seen this same scene a few dozen other times, just can’t remember the specifics.
Edited by Jrm2003openWe Are Not Going There
One character stops another from doing something they’ll regret.
Is there a trope about a gag about a character that refuses to deal with an emergency situation regardless of how much of a threat it is?
Why? bacause they are on lunch and the world will end before they are taken to work earlier. (Sometimes literally).
Edited by ElBuenCuate