Basic Trope: The gods withdraw their protection over the mortals over a slight.
- Straight: Alex, the leader of the Tropeterian Army prays to Elysium, the goddess of Tropeteria, to give them power over the enemy faction, but Elysium doesn't answer, and he and his men lose the battle.
- Exaggerated: Elysium not only turns away from Tropeteria, but she also makes the lives of her followers a living hell.
- Downplayed: Alex and Tropeteria have done something to offend Elysium, and while they are still punished for it, it’s not as severe as it would normally be were it not for mitigating circumstances (i.e., Alex’s reason for offending Elysium is actually pretty sympathetic, or Elysium fervently believes in the punishment fitting the actual crime rather than dishing out some petty Disproportionate Retribution).
- Justified:
- Alex was The Mole working against Tropeteria.
- Alex as well as the Tropeterians have committed sins, regardless of the severity.
- Inverted: The mortals withdraw their prayers to the gods over a slight, causing the gods to fade out of existence.
- Subverted:
- Elysium is not the one truly responsible for punishing Tropeteria. Something else is.
- Alex and the Tropeterians don't actually think of it as a punishment. Elysium herself might also share a similar sentiment.
- Double Subverted: Elysium is punishing Tropeteria by allowing an outside force to punish Alex and the Tropeterians for their transgressions.
- Parodied: Elysium declares the mortals beyond saving because someone swore.
- Zig Zagged: Elysium brings and withdraws her protection to the mortals periodically.
- Averted:
- Elysium brings protection to her people despite their sins.
- There are no gods in the setting.
- Enforced: The executives want to slam an anvil on the viewers' heads regarding the consequences of offending god(s).
- Lampshaded: Alex can't believe the stroke of insanely bad luck Tropeteria has been suffering from, and one of the other Tropeterians openly wonders if it's because Elysium's pretty pissed at them.
- Invoked: Alex and the Tropeterians asked Elysium to punish them.
- Exploited: Elysium punishing Tropeteria suddenly opens up some opportunities.
- Defied:
- The mortals do everything in their power to please Elysium.
- The Tropeterians realize they don't need Elysium's favor and find new ways of prospering even as she punishes them.
- Discussed: Alex assesses Tropeteria's situation and acknowledges the possibility that Elysium is punishing them for an offense they committed.
- Conversed: "This show is ridiculous. A god decides to punish the mortals because someone peed on her statue?" "Nah, that character is Too Dumb to Live."
- Implied:
- Alex's descendants search the ruins of Tropeteria hoping to find out why their civilization was destroyed and if it can be rebuilt. Elysium descends on them and agrees to grant them her favor, warning that should the Tropeterians ever disappoint her again, she'll be far less forgiving this time around.
- One of Elysium's High Priests suggests that Alex and the Tropeterians did something to offend Elysium, and its only once Alex and the Tropeterians address and atone for the offense do things start to get better.
- Deconstructed: Elysium's punishments being so severe and/or petty it begins driving Tropeterians, both present and future generations, from actively worshipping her and instead decide to pray to other gods, or no gods at all. This weakening of her power base and worship, in turn, results in either her being relegated to the analogs of history where she will never again be anything other than an object of interest for academic research, being destroyed and/or replaced by other gods, or she will simply cease to exist since she needs prayers badly.
- Reconstructed:
- Elysium's punishments were ultimately necessary, even if Elysium herself regrets them a little. The sin in question could have begun as something rather trivial and snowballed into something worse, or the root of the offense ran too deep and for too long that it would have inevitably resulted in the worst possible atrocities imaginable. Alternatively, the sin could have been so incredibly horrifying that it gave Elysium herself nightmares, and either way, Elysium resolved to not only ensure it would never go unpunished, but that Alex and the Tropeterians, should they survive long enough to atone, or their descendants would never allow it to happen again.
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