Basic Trope: A character looks like they were going to attack someone else, but they're really trying to attack something dangerous that was in the vicinity.
- Straight: Alan sees Betty coming straight for him with a gun. He gets nervous, but it turns out that there's a dangerous monster behind him, and she's actually trying to protect Alan by shooting at the monster.
- Exaggerated: Alan sees Betty coming for him with a tactical nuke, but it turns out she's aiming for an Eldritch Abomination overhead.
- Downplayed:
- Alan thinks Betty is trying to slap him, but she's really trying to kill a mosquito that landed on him.
- Betty is trying to shoot the monster, but not really to protect Alan.
- Justified:
- Alan doesn't know Betty, but since she's coming for him with a gun, Alan assumed that she was going to attack him.
- Exactly What I Aimed At (for Betty)
- Inverted: Alan sees Betty and thinks that she's trying to help him, but she abruptly attacks him instead.
- Subverted:
- Betty shoots the monster, and then shoots at Alan.
- On seeing Alan's confused face, Betty levels the gun at him, saying that she's The Only One Allowed To Kill You.
- Double Subverted: ...by accident; she was aiming at another monster.
- This was just so she could also hit another monster.
- Betty meant it as a simple comment/warning without actually shooting Alan, instead pulling the trigger at more monsters from behind.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig-Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- Betty simply rescues Alan with nothing suggesting she was going to attack him whatsoever.
- Betty does shoot Alan in the heart.
- Enforced: The creators want a way to reveal that Betty was Good All Along.
- Lampshaded: "Gee, Betty! I thought you were gonna shoot me for a while!"
- Invoked: Alan was willing to get shot by Betty if it meant killing the monster.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Betty makes sure that Alan knows that he's rescuing her before she does anything else.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "I thought Betty was gonna shoot Alan for a while!"
Back to Stab the Scorpion
