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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openMistaken for monster
Is there something like this where it's believed a monster is lurking around but it turns out to be something far more mundane?
Example: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E14DasBus The Simpsons episode where Milhouse thought there was a monster but it turns out to be a boar. In Malcolm in the Middle, Dewey threw rocks at Francis believing him to be a sasquatch.
It's like "Scooby-Doo" Hoax but hoax implies deception was done on purpose.
openThreaten to Slap but Don't Film
I can think of two movies where someone raises their hand like they're going to hit someone just to threaten them into behaving, without actually hitting them or perhaps even intending to.
One is The Princess Bride, where the Man in Black raises his hand as if he's going to hit Buttercup when she says something that makes him mad, but then tells her it was a warning.
The other is Shrek, where the old lady is going to sell Donkey to the soldiers, and he keeps talking, so she raises her hand like she's going to backhand slap him, so he just stops talking. Then she does it again when he won't talk when she wants him to.
I'd imagine there are more, that's just what I can think of right now.
Is this a trope or at least part of some larger trope?
EDIT: Thought of a third example. In Disney's Aladdin, Jafar raises his hand like he's going to slap Jasmine when she rejects him, but then he changes his mind and tries to wish the Genie will make her love him instead.
Edited by thegreatkiwiopenForgotten Language
Looking for a trope where a character knows a particular language, but spends long enough not speaking or hearing it that they forget it?
openStill believes in Santa
Character still believes in Santa (or any other mythological creature) despite being too old.
openThinking Aid
Is there a trope for when a person says they need to have an specific item or perform an specific action because, according to them, it helps them to think better?
openPrison with revolving doors
The series has ended. The big crime boss has finally been stopped, his crimes proved, the police captured him and took him to the prison. And everyone is happy. There's a brief Time Skip, and the official couple is ready for a big wedding finale. And then, a phone call of the villain: he's Off on a Technicality, and will now depart to some distant country.
Does it count as a Karma Houdini? On one side, yes, he was captured and sentenced, and it can be said that he served his time. On the other, that last scene has him leaving scot-free.
openArmor-Piercing Question Already Asked
- Captive: Don't you know this won't bring your family back.
- Villain: You know you're not the first person to ask me that.
openNo Title
What is the trope where a character leaves behind a sentimental object when leaving, or moving out to symbolize moving on and the camera drifts to and lingers on it usually as the end of the scene, called?
Answer: It's All Junk
Edited by AgentAndrew0openRoyalty Trope? Live Action TV
Checking for the first one before I make a TLP:
Is there a trope for where a king is The Scrooge in a setting?
Second trope: In a Mega City in an Alternate Universe, Bob enters a competition, not expecting to win, then finds the king has declared him the winner before the competition has even ended. Bob wonders What the hell?
openHe Probably Lost The Fight
From The Spongebob Squarepants episode:
- Spongebob: I'll have you know that I got this black eye in a fight.
- Sandy: A fight? Well, there's no shame in losing.
openGoes Through Many Phases
A person, typically a child, goes through many phases at a time. This can include rollerskating, then the child could grow bored of that and move onto beyblading, then they grow bored of that and move on the pinball machines etc...
openPrecursor Ensemble
Do we have a trope for some sort of team of Precursors. I've checked the Ensemble and Video Game Characters indexes, and couldn't find what I was looking for. Some examples are the Old Builders from Minecraft Story Mode and the Dreamers from Hollow Knight.
openAncient Rome clothes
Is there any trope for characters that are modelled after roman centurions or gladiators?
openNetwork Vanity Project? Live Action TV
Critic-Proof is when a series gets panned by critics but is still popular enough/makes enough money for sequels to come out. But what's the trope for when a movie/tv show/anime is critically panned and a commercial failure but sequels still get made despite that?
(i.e. the case of Hand Shakers, Seltzer and Friedberg movies, etc.)
Edited by chucknormieresolved Former partner became corrupt Live Action TV
An episode features the main character meeting up with a former partner/friend/whatever. Before the episode is over, it's revealed that the partner is now corrupt/evil/incompetent/whatever. That leads the main character to angst about what happened to him.
Then the bad guy gets punished and is never heard from again.
openPlay on words?
"That's some pretty big talk coming from such a little lady."
"At least you're right about the pretty part."
"The girl thinks she's pretty?"
"I agree with her. I think she's pretty, too. Pretty pathetic."
openBeautiful with weird fashion
Not sure how best to describe this one. You ever see a show or movie with a character played by a gorgeous actress, but her fashion sense is just bizarre? And I don't mean "it was in style at the time," she just dresses oddly. And it's not a "take off your glasses and let down your hair" situation - the attire being a problem is never really acknowledged.
openCreepy animal costume guy
Someone wearing a mascot costume, fursuit, or other full-body animal costume who is depicted as evil or at the very least scary.
Examples: The Bunny Man urban legend, Frank from Donnie Darko, SCP-2774, the serial killer in the backstory of Five Nights at Freddy's.
Hello. I am looking for examples of a subtrope of Evil All Along.
So we have a protagonist. Not a Decoy Protagonist, but a real one. He can be a hero or an anti hero, whatever. There is a conflict with a villain or an anti-villain, whatever. The protagonist either suceeds or fails, whatever. But in some point of the story it is revealed to the audience (either via Tomato Surprise or any other way) that the protagonist, firstly assumed good, was a bad guy all along. After the Reveal the story main shift either to Evil vs. Evil or protagonist may switch side with an antagonist.
Do you guys have any examples? They might be in a literature, might be in a film.
Edited by ThomasWard