tropes

• Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: ...the boss will then proceed to go down the Long List of regulations the character has bent or broken, capping the list with the one heroic thing they did that will make the boss give them a begrudging congratulations instead of punishment.
• Batman Gambit: A plan that revolves entirely around people doing exactly what you'd expect them to do.
• Beware The Nice Ones: Sometimes, the nicest person in the story gets pushed to the limit of what they can take... and the results are not pretty.
• Big Good: the Big Good is the cornerstone of any heroic faction.
• Brick Joke: Named after an old joke, which seems at first blush to be a pair of unrelated jokes. At the end of the first joke, a brick is tossed away, leaving the confused listener without a punchline. At the end of the second joke, the brick returns.
• Crucified Hero Shot: It's very common for a character who just performed a Heroic Sacrifice to be lying with their arms outstretched like the crucified Jesus.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Any situation which is made to look like another situation — not in the sense that it is mistaken for that other situation by any of the characters, just in the sense that we the audience see the resemblance; the characters do not.
• Deadpan Snarker: A character prone to gnomic, sarcastic, sometimes bitter, occasionally whimsical asides.
• Dented Iron: What happens when you get enough injuries, even if you appear to be Made of Iron.
• Even Evil Has Standards: One of the easiest ways to highlight just how bad something or someone evil is: have an otherwise-remorseless villain reject it.
• Exact Words: When the exact wording of a rule, promise, prophecy, etc. matters more than the spirit of the wording, it's an Exact Words situation.
• Family of Choice: A group of friends are so closely bonded to one another that they treat each other as family.
• A Father to His Men: A mentor to the officers under them, they take a deep personal interest in their welfare and try to keep them out of harm's way. Female counterpart: A Mother to her Men.
• Feeling Their Age: An old and mighty character may still be able to kick butt and take names, but they may then have to stop for a while to catch their breath; they may even say you should have seen them 30 years ago.
• Friendly Enemy: Antagonists have many potential on-screen relationships — white-hot hatred, deep-seated desire for revenge, well-concealed attraction, or bitter contempt — but one of the rarest and most satisfying is not hostility at all, but... friendship.
• Genius Loci: An intelligent (as in, sapient) location.
• Honor Before Reason: Those who abide by this trope more often than not act in a manner that, although in accordance with their code, is far from the most practical solution.
• The Marvelous Deer: Deer depicted as elusive, mysterious, and wonderful animals.
• Not So Above It All: Under no circumstances will they allow themself to be pulled down into the general chaos of those around them. Until they do.
• Old Master: Don't let his age (or his size) fool you; this guy is a force to be reckoned with.
• One-Woman Wail: A solitary, usually wordless wail (possibly to simulate wind or grieving), usually done by either a woman or a child.
• Papa Wolf: If someone threatens his kids, they will soon wish they'd never come within a mile of them. Female counterpart: Mama Bear.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Ignore the ethically wrong orders, then go Save the World anyway.
• Pietà Plagiarism: Subtrope of Art Imitates Art.
• Van Helsing Hate Crimes: What happens when a medium that includes monsters and/or monster hunters calls attention to the fact that, in that 'verse at least, not all monsters are, well... monsters.
• Wise Tree: Some trees offer knowledge.

strawberrycircuits: hello character who is desperate to be a good person; i want to play a game. in front of you is the one person you will never be able to save. you have the rest of your life to make peace with this. there are no defined repercussions if you fail, but we both know you're going to attempt to win regardless. your time starts now
don't worry about the fact it's just you and a mirror in the room.

valtsv: big fan of inversions of symbols of power. the leash claims ownership over the one who holds the chain as much as the one who wears it. the one who places the crown upon your head can also take it from you. with age comes experience but with youth the superior physical strength to overpower you. the sword is double-edged and cuts both ways.

petshopbutch: submissive in the way a livestock guardian dog is submissive to the sheep it kills wolves for

canethatssecretlyasword: i actually kinda like it when a character getting better includes them becoming weirder and less polite and more confusing and strange. no more "domestication" i wanna see the weird guy be weird!!!

cowboybrunch: i love when characters get angry when they're frightened. shelter dog characters. i love when they bite, not able to tell the difference between a hand that feeds and a hand that strikes. there is no difference. a hand is a hand is a fist. i love characters that are deemed unadoptable. unlovable.
and i love when someone loves them. i love when someone sits with them, patient. they don't flinch at the snarling and snapping. they're not trying to fix it—there's nothing to be fixed. this is you, all of you, and [i'll] wait. because one day, one day you'll take the treat. go on, draw my blood. spit and curse and rage. you're safe with me. one day, you'll feel safe with me.

prokopetz: Yes, you're right, "I'd kill for you – please, ask me to kill for you" is a fun relationship dynamic, but where's the love for the classic attack-dog power dynamic reversal? I'd have thought Tumblr would be all over that one, too. The old "I'll kill for you – and kill, and kill, and kill, if needs be – but first you have to tell me exactly what it is you want. You are not permitted moral distance. Tell me what you need from me and admit your soft hands are just as bloody as mine. Say it. Say it."

lady-of-the-spirit: "I'm glad you're okay" but said by someone who has just had the shit beaten out of them, to someone who is not hurt at all, is a brilliant trope and I lose my mind every time.

Top-Tier Villain Motivations

• They will be safe. It doesn't matter who else or what else burns as long as They will be safe.
• I will be safe. The hunger and the cold will never touch me again.
• Fuck any bitch who's prettier(/cooler/better-liked/better at making dumplings) than me.
• Yes, Master.
• Love me. Love me. Love me. Love me. LOVE ME!
• I know the terrible things these so-called "heroes" will do if I don't stop them (← is absolutely wrong)
• I don't want a better future, I want a better past!
• No other way to get performance art funded these days