Basic Trope: A failure to protect his/her protectorate defines the character.
Straight: Jack promised to protect his little sister Jill after his parents' death, but she was murdered while he was working to support her; his purpose in life is Revenge on her killers.
Exaggerated: Jill was just some girl down the block, but Jack feels the need to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge anyway.
Downplayed: Jack promised to protect his little sister Jill after his parents' death, but he always hates himself for not being able to giver her the lift she could have had if their parents were still alive.
Justified: Jack had lost everything else he had to live for.
Inverted:
Jack feels free at his sister's death; he had done everything he could, and now he gets to live.
Jack dies saving Jill from murderers, and Jill feels she must take up his sword to avenge him.
Invertexaggerated! When Jack sees Jill being killed, he yells out, "OH YEAH!"
Subverted:
Jack is sad after the the death of Jill, but he get over it and moves on with his life.
Alternately, the Big Baddid kill his little sister, but Jack has more than just that as a reason to hunt the Big Bad.
Double Subverted: The death of Jill doesn't affect Jack in any way who moves on with his life. This is however just a coping mechanism and Jack is either takes up to drinking or is having nightmares. In the end, he decides to do something about it.
Averted: Jack's reasons for taking on the bad guys have nothing to do with a dead loved one.
Enforced: "Jack really needs a reason to go after the Big Bad. How about we have the Big Bad kill somebody he loves, a sister, perhaps?"
Lampshaded: "After lord Evulz, huh? What he do, kill your sister?"
Invoked: The Big Bad is seeking a worthy adversary, so always leaves one member of a family alive in hopes they will be strong enough to challenge him.
Exploited: ???
Defied: The Big Bad never kills one family member without killing the entire family, in order to ensure that no big brothers show up later to challenge him.
Discussed: "I want to take lord Evulz down, because he's, well, evil. I don't need some dead little sister for that!"
Conversed: "Look, it's another Hollywood Atheist. Bet you anything he's got a dead little sister somewhere".
Deconstructed:
Jack's obsessive guilt reflects his own maltreatment of Jill, for which he can never now atone.
Jack was protecting all his younger siblings, but at Jill's death, he completely forgets John and Jane, who fall into criminal ways and are recruited by the same criminals who killed Jill.
Jack is trying to avenge Jill, but is simply killed by her murderers because of his blind rage.
Reconstructed: Joe eventually pulls himself together and learns from the experience, though it takes him time.
I'm leaving the old Playing With Wiki entry here, just in case;
Basic Trope: A failure to protect his/her protectorate defines the character.
- Straight: Jack promised to protect his little sister Jill after his parents' death, but she was murdered while he was working to support her; his purpose in life is Revenge on her killers.
- Exaggerated: Jill was just some girl down the block, but Jack feels the need to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge anyway.
- Downplayed: Jack promised to protect his little sister Jill after his parents' death, but he always hates himself for not being able to giver her the lift she could have had if their parents were still alive.
- Justified: Jack had lost everything else he had to live for.
- Inverted:
- Jack feels free at his sister's death; he had done everything he could, and now he gets to live.
- Jack dies saving Jill from murderers, and Jill feels she must take up his sword to avenge him.
- Invertexaggerated! When Jack sees Jill being killed, he yells out, "OH YEAH!"
- Subverted:
- Jack is sad after the the death of Jill, but he get over it and moves on with his life.
- Alternately, the Big Bad did kill his little sister, but Jack has more than just that as a reason to hunt the Big Bad.
- Jack is using the girl's death as a pretext.
- Double Subverted: The death of Jill doesn't affect Jack in any way who moves on with his life. This is however just a coping mechanism and Jack is either takes up to drinking or is having nightmares. In the end, he decides to do something about it.
- Parodied:
- Jack has 9001 Dead Little Sisters.
- Jill's literal ghost haunts Jack, constantly harassing him about avenging her.
- Zig Zagged: Joe believes his little sister was killed by the Big Bad - until he meets the Big Bad's Personal Mook and is surprised.
- Averted: Jack's reasons for taking on the bad guys have nothing to do with a dead loved one.
- Enforced: "Jack really needs a reason to go after the Big Bad. How about we have the Big Bad kill somebody he loves, a sister, perhaps?"
- Lampshaded: "After lord Evulz, huh? What he do, kill your sister?"
- Invoked: The Big Bad is seeking a worthy adversary, so always leaves one member of a family alive in hopes they will be strong enough to challenge him.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: The Big Bad never kills one family member without killing the entire family, in order to ensure that no big brothers show up later to challenge him.
- Discussed: "I want to take lord Evulz down, because he's, well, evil. I don't need some dead little sister for that!"
- Conversed: "Look, it's another Hollywood Atheist. Bet you anything he's got a dead little sister somewhere".
- Deconstructed:
- Jack's obsessive guilt reflects his own maltreatment of Jill, for which he can never now atone.
- Jack was protecting all his younger siblings, but at Jill's death, he completely forgets John and Jane, who fall into criminal ways and are recruited by the same criminals who killed Jill.
- Jack is trying to avenge Jill, but is simply killed by her murderers because of his blind rage.
- Reconstructed: Joe eventually pulls himself together and learns from the experience, though it takes him time.
- Played For Drama: While avenging Jill from one group of murderers, Jack becomes a Little Sister murderer himself.
TV Tropes's No. 1 bread themed lesbian. she/her, fae/faer