Basic Trope: Someone indirectly threatens to end the life of another.
- Straight: Emperor Evulz tells Bob to stop interfering with his plans, noting that his enemies have a habit of disappearing.
- Exaggerated:
- Emperor Evulz tells Bob to stop interfering because his enemies tend to disappear, it would be unwise to make an enemy of a warrior, no one would know if there was a body buried in the swamp near his castle, his pet monster has been hungry lately, and it would be a pity if Alice were to be widowed before her wedding day.
- Emperor Evulz tells Bob that the hunk of metal being held in the former's arms could easily be the latter if they don't tread lightly. He proceeds to fold it in ways that physics didn't even intend.
- Evulz's death threat is so vague that it flies over even the most cunning of observers.
- "I do not kill my opponents, no matter how much they would've begged for it if they could still speak."
- Downplayed:
- Emperor Evulz tells Bob to stop interfering because his enemies tend to end up horribly injured.
- Emperor Evulz threatens to ruin Bob's life by telling him "I gave you everything" with "and I can take it all away" being the unspoken implication.
- The threat is barely hidden. "Come closer if you do not value your life".
- Justified:
- Evulz is a Villain with Good Publicity; he can't afford to make an open death threat.
- Evulz wants to make a death threat to The Smart Guy without the Idiot Hero noticing.
- Inverted:
- Emperor Evulz tells Bob "I'll Kill You!"... as a dysphemism for something much more minor.
- "You killed my entire army, but you are not ready for their return."
- Subverted:
- Emperor Evulz tells Bob to stop interfering, because his enemies tend to disappear...and it turns out that one of the main tactics used by people trying to attack Evulz is invisibility, which can become uncontrollable if used enough.
- Emperor Evulz warns Bob that his actions will have grave consequences, such as ending up in a literal grave.
- Double Subverted:
- ...and it also turns out that Evulz has all of them killed once he can find them.
- Evulz has Bob buried alive before being dug up, the implication being the next time he will be left to die.
- Parodied: " You see, everyone in my way eventually gets forever naptime."
- Zig Zagged:
- "By rolling a 12 the dice, you can possibly gain eternal life. If you roll snake eyes, then your life will be cut far shorter. Also, rolling a 10 instantly kills you too."
- "Life can be just so short" is both, "I am going to kill you" and "I am willing to die", the latter making the former more effective.
- Averted:
- No one ever makes death threats.
- Death threats are always provided bluntly and straight-to-the-point.
- Enforced: The executives want the film to have a wide appeal and are afraid an open death threat might get more angry letters than a subtle implication.
- Lampshaded: "So you seriously think no one else will see through the thinly veiled threat?"
- Invoked: Dracone knows it would be wiser to threaten Bob without making it clear, so he subtly steers Emperor Evulz towards indirect death threats rather than open ones.
- Exploited: Bob responds with threats of his one, while keeping up the appearance of friendly conversation.
- Defied:
- "You fuck with me and I'll Kill You!! I really hope that was clear enough for you, you fucking idiot, because when it comes to implications you can't seem to understand jack shit ever!!"
- "If you want to kill me, Evulz, just say it! I've had enough of this doubletalk!"
- Discussed: "Why does everyone write their death threats so vaguely? Just tell me you want me dead already!"
- Conversed: "Ok Timmy, the best death threats that you can make are those with plausible deniability. If you say that you will kill someone, you will be arrested. If you say "If you don't stay silent now then you will be silent forever", you can weasel your way out by saying that you technically never made a threat."
- Implied: Bob comes back after a confrontation with Evulz.Alice: What did he say? "Stop interfering, puny hero, or I'll kill you"?
Bob: Not in exactly those words. - Played For Laughs::Evulz: You should stop interfering - the consequences may be... unpleasant.
Bob: You mean you'll kill me?
Evulz: ...Well, I wanted to be all subtle and cool about it, but yes, I will kill you. - Played For Drama: The threat is just ambiguous enough to make Bob unsure about whether Evulz is going to kill him or not, leaving him wracked with anxiety and indecision about his next steps.
- Deconstructed: The ambiguous phrasing of the threat means that Evulz's none-too-bright minions are confused about what to do when Bob keeps interfering.
- Reconstructed: Evulz painstakingly explains his coded language to his minions during training so they always know exactly what he means.
Go back to Implied Death Threat, or you'll never trope again...
