History Main / FearOfThunder

** It shoul;d be pointed out that, in the first game, everyone gives a shout of pain from thunder (or any spell). However, Rikku's stands out, as it's not so much a scream as a sigh of death.

->'''Rikku:''' Mm-hm. When I was little, a fiend attacked me while I was swimming at the beach. My brother tried to beat it back with a spell. ''*Squeaks at another thunderclap*'' [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood But he missed and hit me instead!]] It was a Thunder spell -- "[[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud Bzzzzzzt!]]"

* In one episode of ''JimmyNeutron'', a scene shows Jimmy terrified in bed by a lightning storm. Of course, being the genius that he is, he quickly dismisses it with its scientific definition.

* Subverted on ''Dexter's Lab'', while after laying frightful in his bed during a thunderstorm he relaxes himself by angrily declaring lightning is not scary.

* In the Detectives Koshien arc from DetectiveConan, a storm starts when the four detectives are gathered in an old mansion. Once thunder breaks in, Natsuki "Detective of the South" Koshimizu screams in horror and collapses to the floor. [[spoiler: She was actually ''faking'' it, both to make herself look mroe vulnerable than she truly was and to distract the others while she was searching for a piece of lost evidence that could potentially reveal her as the SympatheticVictim of the arc.]]

* Although it's played up for {{fanservice}} and {{Brother Sister Incest}} Mikan Yuki of {{To Love-Ru}} is scared of storms and Rito used to comfort her

* Haruhi Fujioka in ''OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' has a particular hatred of thunderstorms despite having an abnormal lack of fear of anything else. This is addressed in what is either a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, or a HarsherInHindsight [[DeathNote instance of]] HeyItsThatGuy.

* Haruhi Fujioka in ''OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' has a particular hatred of thunderstorms despite having an abnormal lack of fear of anything else.

* If it is not invoked in a shipping fanfic, it will usually be invoked in a [[WAFF family-fluff]] fic as an excuse for a child or younger sibling to cuddle with someone.

* Culturally, fear of lightning/thunder is common in the Middle East (where there is little cover in the desert). For this reason, the US Army experiments with nonlethal targeted-energy electric discharge weapons that resemble arc lightning.

** After having to endure a rather traumatic car ride with [[DrivesLikeCrazy Yukari-sensei]], Chiyo-chan is asked by [[{{Jerkass}} Tomo]] if she thinks lightning or cars are worse during a particularly bad storm, and [[HeroicBSOD promptly suffers a BSOD]].

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia." However, the former suggests a fear of incorrectly-named, four-legged sauropods while the latter, a horror of affordable [[spoiler:British]] German family cars. It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia." However, the former suggests a fear of incorrectly-named, four-legged sauropods while the latter, a horror of affordable British family cars. It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

Augustus had a particularly strong fear of thunder because a slave was once struck right in front of him while traveling. Emperors are recorded as doing any number of things to avert the danger: wearing a bit of sealskin, wearing a laurel wreath, and even (most practically) going underground. (It certainly didn't help that Romans, ''as a whole'', had lots of beliefs and superstitions related to gods of nature. I.e.: Thunder and lighting were associated with Jupiter, the Father of the Gods, and having a pissed off Jupiter on your bad side was something you ''really'' did ''not'' want, according to their mentality).

* For all of the Tropers out there who live in the Midwestern United States, don't say that you haven't had this fear to at least some degree after going through a tornado warning. Or two. Or three.
** Don't forget the Tropers in the Southeastern US. Storms are just as nasty here, and we do get tornadoes. Suffolk, VA tornado, hello!

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia." However, the former suggests a fear of four-legged sauropods, and the latter, a horror of affordable British family cars. It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

** In this case, Rikku's phobias are totally [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that no one can take two steps without getting struck by lightning in the Thunder Plains. This troper felt it a little odd that the party considered her fears childish and annoying after they just spent the last half hour trying to ''dodge lightning by backstepping out of the way.''

* In college this troper was close friends with a [[ManicPixieDreamGirl girl]] who was terribly afraid of thunder. During one particularly bad storm, she came up with an elegant solution: [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong shots]] [[BottleFairy of]] [[HangoverSensitivity vodka]]