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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openAwkward Exposition in the beginning of something
For example, the pilot episode of a show would have a character say "Oh, Frank. Oh, my naïve little brother." so the audience knows that they are siblings, even though almost nobody speaks like that in real life.
openSpear counterpart of Absurdly Elderly Mother
Is there a Spear Counterpart of Absurdly Elderly Mother, or is it just Not a Trope?
Edited by AlfexopenHuman Bowling Ball Gag Western Animation
I think I have seen this gag in several cartoons but it looks like it doesn't have a trope page.
The gag usually goes something like this: A clumsy, unlucky, or just dumb guy, who usually is also fat, tries to play bowling. When he tries to throw the ball, his fingers get stuck in the holes and the momentum carries him into the lane and he ends up sliding all the way down the lane and into the pins. And of course, it is usually treated like he got a legitimate strike even thought this is both dangerous and obviously against the rules of bowling.
I am pretty sure I have seen this gag in several cartoons but most of them I only saw a really long time ago so it would be hard for me to list them. I think I also once owned a toy that was based on this gag, a figure of a cartoon character lying on their belly and clutching a bowling ball in front of them that had wheels on the bottom to make it look like they were sliding.
I was reminded of this gag because it appeared in a Nikiciy video (here), although in that case the bowler tripped on a Banana Peel and rolled into the lane instead of sliding.
Related to Be the Ball but not quite the same thing.
If this trope doesn't exist, I might try to launch it.
Edited by legendaryweredragonresolved Puffed up in the Published Version
A (male) politician decides to publish copies of some of the speeches he's made, but they significantly deviate from what he actually said. He's edited some lines to make him sound more confident than he actually was, and he even adds entirely new passages, some of which approach Purple Prose.
openRetroactively Important Backwater
A work introduces the protagonist or other important character as coming from a place or faction that is a complete obscure backwater, so that it's a surprise someone from there would have such an influence on global events. However, when a prequel comes around, due to trying to reproduce the nostalgia of the original, major characters and plot points continue to originate from that place/faction as if it's the center of the fictional universe rather than just picking new places in the setting to give characters an obscure origin from.
I.e how in Lord of the Rings it's noted to be very unusual that humble hobbits, who mostly stick to their corner of the world, are playing a role in global events, but then in Rings Of Power hobbits are still playing important role even in the second age. Or in The Hunger Games where it's unusual that the protagonist is from District 12 which is mostly forgotten and doesn't produce winners of the games, but then the the prequel centers around district 12 again rather than another of the districts (this doesn't contradict previous canon since it was established there were 2 winners from there, but they still made a choice to use the same district as the focus twice despite it being said to be rarely focused on). Or, I'm not that familiar with Star Wars, but as I understand it was a complaint that the original movies introduced the protagonist as coming from Tatooine which was established to be the middle of nowhere where Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here, but then in the prequels everything important seemed to happen there.
openWorldbuilding Creep
Do we have a trope for when a serialized story starts off with relatively soft Worldbuilding (i.e. the author doesn't hesitate to throw random stuff in for the sake of narrative or just a laugh), which eventually gets harder and harder in the sequels, as the rules of the setting become formalized and ossified? So far, I have found Continuity Creep (which is related, but not the same) and Early-Installment Weirdness (which is only for elements that become obsolete as the world rules get nailed down).
openRomantic Comedy - Sincere advice from Comic Relief Film
Is there a trope for when a comic relief character in a Romantic Comedy, maybe one of the protagonist's Amazingly Embarrassing Parents, stops being Played for Laughs and gives the protagonist an earnest bit of insight/advice about romantic love that's relevant to their relationship with their love interest. Like in Friends with Benefits where Mila Kunis' mom stops joking about not being able to remember the identity of Mila's father and says that her dad was the only man she ever truly loved?
openRigged Funfair Attraction
When the owner of a skill-based attraction (like a shooting range) makes it impossible for the customers to win, unbeknownst to them.
Edited by LyendithopenNo Title
Do we have a trope for when two people are chatting (Alice and Bob), Bob is being very self-deprecating, and Alice uses "I Have This Friend" to tell Bob to not insult himself?
resolved I know you too well
A character is able to tell how another is feeling because they know them intimately. The Social Expert but for one specific person, essentially
openSomeone covers a corpse with a blanket as a final gesture of kindness/respect
Similar to Comforting Comforter, except the one being covered has passed away. Is it even a trope?
openYes/No object
What trope would fit the following situation?
A character has a pillow with the words "yes" and "no" printed in each side and pulls it up when she feels too lazy to answer simple questions.
Searching in google, I found from this Reddit comment, that kind of pillow has naughty implications of Ready for Lovemaking, but that's not how it's being used in this example.
Edited by animuacidopenSwinging Trapeze
The classic circus trope, where acrobats swing to one another with trapeze?
Do we have that trope?
Edited by StoucaopenMisleading Intonation Western Animation
It!s basically that funny dialogue. Say after a crazy event, Person A talks to Person B and tells him a short "Reason You Suck" Speech, as it seems like it’s leading to Person A to counter it with their benefits…but he doesn’t. He just ends it right there. Leaving Person B sad.
Here are some examples https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SChpZdyMpS8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3eHHY_Vk0&t=44s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auw60X3ZmP4&t=47s
openUnintended victim of parents Live Action TV
A man runs a hedge fund, his daughter invests in it and looses all her money. Then her father is sent to prison for his crimes with the fund and its investors, and his wife for the murder of a reporter who would have told the world about it. Now the daughter has no money, and is being threatened by other investors in her father's fund.
openMind, Body, Heart Trio
A trio of three characters — one is smart and logical, one is strong and aggressive, and one is openly emotional and wears their heart on their sleeve. (ex. Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls)
openChimera Transformation
When a character, villain or otherwise, aborbs other beings (or at least their powers) and that person gains a new form with all their victims' features at once.
Pretty much like Ultimate Kevin or Ultimate Aggregor from Ben 10.
openLast seconds well-spent
Is there a trope for when people who are about to die accept it and spend time with the people they love?
One example would be in the song "Neon Glow" by Glass Beach, where the singer goes to watch the bomb drop with the person she is in love with.
Another example would be in the movie Don't Look Up, where the protagonist reconciles with his family and eats dinner with them while the meteor drops.
openDoubt about this scene
My question is if this scene counts as camera abuse or as a rupture of reality since when looking at it closely there is a scene in which the broken glass is behind the two spheres, if it were camera abuse they would be in front, in addition to that at no point do the spheres collide with the screen or get close to it, that's why maybe I think it's breaking reality, since as far as I can remember, the scenes that I can remember are one from the movie Dragon Ball vs Broly in the one where the fighters bump fists breaking reality, but I'm not totally sure.
I put the scenes in this reddit link where I ask the same thing, the ones I'm referring to, the one above is the scene from Sousou no Frieren and the one below is from the movie that I'm giving you as an example.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tvtropes/comments/1cdr7p4/doubt_about_this_scene/
Do we have a trope, where as the creator of a show actually plays as a character for it. Not just limited to self-inserts.
For example, Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls, voices Grunkle Stan, and Soos.
Peter Browngardt, the creator of Uncle Grandpa, plays as Uncle Grandpa himself.
And Dana Terrace, the creator of The Owl House, plays as Tinella Nosa.
Edited by Stouca