Basic Trope: Would-be heroes attack a Fluffy Tamer's pet.
- Straight: Alabaster Alice, Bob the Bold, and Shadow Blake see a big red dragon looming menancingly over a cute little pigtailed girl! They rush to her rescue, heroically attacking the dragon — only for the little girl to counterattack! Turns out that Ruby is Cute Kid Carol's beloved pet.
- Exaggerated: Bob and his friends spot an absolutely adorable kindergartener who's completely surrounded by dragons, giant, corrosive flesh-eating slimes, tigers, vipers, Humboldt squid, and other beasties. Naturally, they rush in to help, only to learn that they're all her pets.
- Downplayed:
- Bob only gets as far as drawing his sword before he finds a charging fire wand aimed back at him. Both quickly back down when they realize it is a mistake.
- Bob and company attempt to save little Cute Carol from a big, menacing dog that seems to be attacking her, but it's actually harmless and merely licking her.
- Justified: Prior to this point, all of the dragons Bob and his friends have encountered appeared to be Always Chaotic Evil.
- Inverted:
- Alice, Bob, and Blake see Cute Carol with a little bunny near her. It turns out, the bunny is a Killer Rabbit and is after Cute Carol's blood.
- Slavers try to kidnap Carol seeing her as vulnerable. They overcome her magic through surprise and succeed - at least until an enraged dragon tracks down Carol and shows no mercy to her captors. Soon after Ruby is nuzzling Carol.
- Subverted:
- Alabaster Alice coos and squees over how cutely that little girl's playing with her pet dragon. Then the little girl starts screaming like a banshee as the dragon lowers its head...
- Cute Carol earnestly attacks those who are attacking her pet monster, driving them back, until they realize from her slurred speech, lack of energy, and inability to realize what is going on, that it is draining the life out of her.
- Double Subverted:
- ...However, when Bob and the rest rush to her rescue, they learn Carol was just upset because Ruby accidentally ripped part of her skirt. Bad Ruby!
- Except that the monster isn't to blame; the monster is actually guarding Carol while the poor kid — slowly — recovers from an attack by a life-draining necromancer.
- Parodied:
- Bob sees the two of them playing together and attacks Carol, trying to protect the dragon.
- Cute Carol stubbornly insists that they're 'just playing' even though Ruby is clearly doing its utmost to kill her.
- Zig Zagged: When they first see the two of them together, Bob the Bold wants to charge in and protect Cute Carol, but Shadow Blake points out they're playing. Still, Bob is understandably nervous, and misinterprets their roughhousing as more serious several times. Then Ruby does attack Cute Carol, and Alabaster Alice leaps in to defend Carol — but even though she was hurt, Carol still tries to defend her pet.
- Averted: The creature is not anybody's pet.
- Enforced: "What better way to introduce our new character's The Beastmaster skill then to show her playing with a monster that our heroes have fought in the past?"
- Lampshaded:
- "Come on you have got to be kidding me! That kind of thing should only be possible in fairy tales!"
- "Didn't you see the collar?" "No, I was distracted by the giant fangs!"
- Invoked: Bitchy Betty hires Bob to do some dragonslaying, neglecting to mention that Ruby happens to be Cute Carol's pet.
- Exploited: The Necromancer gives Carol a pet dragon, knowing that Bob will attack it and thus lose any chance of getting Carol's support to attack the Necromancer.
- Defied: Carol always makes sure that Ruby has multiple marks of clear ownership. No wild dragon wears a ribbon with a bow on it!
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "I feel sorry for any judge in a court case where a dragon owner is suing someone for attacking their dragon."
- Implied:
- Carol and Ruby's meeting of Alabaster Alice, Bob the Bold, and Shadow Blake isn't shown onscreen, but there's some noticeable lingering awkward tension. Anyone who asks isn't told the whole story, merely brushed off with vague mentions of misunderstandings and bad first impressions.
- After giving Ruby a bath and scrubbing her scales, Carol coaxes Ruby back into her collar by reminding her "Remember what happened last time you didn't wear your collar? You don't want that to happen again, do you?"
- Deconstructed: Since her pet is seen as a threat, with would-be heroes trying to 'save' her from its clutches, Carol is driven to the edges of society and becomes cynical and mistrusting. Emperor Evulz takes advantage of this to tempt her into joining his forces.
- Reconstructed: Cute Carol comes from a long line of beastmasters that live in the country, away from others. There are signs and such to prevent misunderstandings at home but she and Ruby happened to stray far away when the heroes found her. Her parents clear things up but Cute Carol still prefers the company of dragons to humans.
- Played For Laughs: Carol turns out to be far more dangerous than the massive Ruby.
- Played For Drama: Bob and his friends are sent to slay the 'evil red dragon', unaware that the villagers who sent them already know that Ruby is Carol's pet, and don't care.
Hey, what the HELL are you doing?! Hands Off My Fluffy!!
