Basic Trope: A character gets a kiss from another person as motivation.
- Straight: Bob is worried about going into Emperor Evulz's fortress and fighting him, but Alice kisses him and he regains his confidence.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob is suffering a Heroic BSoD, but Alice makes out with him and he's ready to lead the charge straight afterwards.
- After the kiss, Alice and Bob have full-blown sex, she's pregnant now, and the thought of having a child soon motivates him to defeat Evulz.
- Downplayed: Bob is merely nervous about the upcoming fight, Alice promises to kiss Bob if he makes it back alive, and he's able to shake the nervousness off.
- Justified:
- Alice's kiss literally gives Bob strength or power.
- The Power of Love.
- Inverted:
- Bob gives Alice a kiss to reassure her that he'll be fine.
- Evulz gets a kiss from his wife Lilith to give him motivation.
- Alice gives Bob a kiss and it makes him (optionally more) worried that he won't make it back.
- Subverted: It looks like Alice will kiss Bob, but then she kisses his cheek or merely hugs him.
- Double Subverted: She says, "That was terrible; let me try that again," and The Big Damn Kiss happens.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice gives Bob a kiss, and he feels more confident going into the battle, but after he defeats Evulz, she admits it probably didn't make much difference — he'd have won or lost on his own merits. Bob protests, but then Alice kisses him again, and he's more inspired than before to track down The Remnant of Evulz's army and bring them to justice.
- Parodied: Alice, after the kiss, tells Bob "I only did that for motivation. Don't think it was anything more!"
- Averted: Bob doesn't worry about fighting Evulz.
- Enforced: While writing the series finale, the writers realize that Alice and Bob still have Unresolved Sexual Tension that has to be wrapped up, and they think a Pre-Climax Climax would be a bit too much.
- Lampshaded: "Wow... It's strange how much a kiss can pick your spirits up."
- Invoked: The Lancer, Charlie, tells Bob that they'll likely die inside Evulz's fortress, knowing it'll lead Bob to start worrying and giving Alice a reason to kiss him.
- Exploited: The Shapeshifter Caroline pretends to be Alice in order to give Bob a Kiss of Death when he needs motivation. Bob would normally have taken precautions, but Caroline hopes he slips up from nerves.
- Defied: Bob refuses a kiss from Alice.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "Oh, Bob's worrying over the upcoming fight and Alice is coming. Bet she kisses him and he's fine afterwards."
- Implied: On the eve of the final battle, Bob is seen shaking from nerves. Alice calls him over to talk to her offscreen. The next time we see Bob, he's not shaking at all.
- Deconstructed: ???
- Reconstructed: ???
Back to Motivational Kiss
