Basic Trope: A line that changes the context of a scene or narrative.
- Straight: A line in a story alters the perception of everything that came before it.
- Exaggerated: Every line, no matter how seemingly insignificant, leads to a drastic change in how the narrative is portrayed.
- Downplayed: The line is important only in retrospect.
- Justified:
- The information given was withheld from either the characters or the audience until that point, and is important enough to force a change in paradigm once shared.
- The most memorable lines in a work are often the most illuminating.
- Inverted:
- Something is relayed that anyone could have seen coming.
- Arc Words
- Subverted:
- The line recaps things already known, or undercuts the narrative in a tension-destroying way.
- The line turns out to be a lie.
- Double Subverted:
- The line seemed to be a lie beforehand, but is then revealed as true.
- The fact that it was said is itself the wham, as it means that the character is The Quiet One instead of The Speechless.
- Parodied: The line is suitably hyped up beforehand.
- Zig Zagged: The line is treated as true at first, but then a second line contradicts it, and another contradicting that one. This goes on until it becomes a challenge to discern which assertions are true and which are false.
- Averted: No lines radically change the context of the story.
- Enforced: The line is framed as an important part of a conversation.
- Lampshaded:
- The characters consider the line important once it's found out.
- The receiver of the information is told to "brace himself".
- Invoked: The line contains important details the characters in the narrative don't know or haven't found out yet.
- Exploited: The line is used to destabilize a character on a psychological level or provide an emotional climax to the story.
- Defied: The story is written in a way that all the important details are known from the start.
- Discussed: "When you tell a story, save the shocking bits for the right times. They're what make the whole thing work."
- Conversed: The line is spoken or read aloud.
- Implied: The line is at or near the end of the story.
- Deconstructed:
- The information given in the line totally contradicts the current narrative logic, and comes off as gimmicky and silly rather than earth-shattering.
- The line is just nonsense with no connection to the narrative at large: "I like bananas, too."
- The line is important, but due to a number of mitigating factors the receiver has no idea what to make of it.
- Reconstructed:
- Once the rest of the pieces are in place, the line's significance becomes crystal clear.
- What counts as the true "wham" line for the story ultimately depends on interpretation.
- The line's full impact is only felt through repetition.
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