Unexpected Reactions to This Index

Sometimes, viewers just don't do what you expect them to do. You try to show drama, and people just laugh. You try to give fans what they want, and they complain further. This is a list of all the tropes about the effects of, or causes of, the unexpected.

Note that sometimes, the reaction is Intended Audience Reaction.

See also What Do You Mean It's Not an Index?, It Sucks.


 * Accidental Aesop -- Viewers read a moral you didn't intend.
 * Broken Aesop -- Viewers mock your Aesop because you undermined yourself.
 * Captain Obvious Aesop -- Viewers mock your Aesop because it's something everyone should know anyway.
 * Clueless Aesop -- Viewers mock your Aesop because of the Anvilicious presentation.
 * Lost Aesop -- Viewers mock your Aesop because it was unclear just what you were going for.
 * Space Whale Aesop -- Viewers mock your Aesop because the consequences are ridiculous.
 * Accidental Innuendo -- Dirty mental images.
 * Accidental Nightmare Fuel-- Fear.
 * Nightmare Retardant -- Groaning or laughter.
 * Aluminum Christmas Trees -- Real Life references people think are fictional.
 * Best Known for the Fanservice - someone's merits in a work are ignored because people like the fanservice instead.
 * Cross Cultural Kerfluffle
 * Designated Protagonist Syndrome - The supposed main character is the one the audience finds boring.
 * Disappointing Last Level -- No interest in finishing the game.
 * Do Not Do This Cool Thing -- That horrible thing we warn you not to do looks really freaking awesome!!!
 * Dude, Not Funny -- Offense, instead of laughter.
 * Eight Deadly Words -- "I don't care what happens to these people."
 * Ending Fatigue -- "It's still not over?"
 * Esoteric Happy Ending -- Only the author thinks the ending's happy.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse -- Interest in a (relatively minor) character.
 * Breakout Character -- The minor character is so popular that s/he becomes a major character.
 * Smurfette Breakout -- A lone female character becomes popular and receives more exposure.
 * Fan-Preferred Couple -- Emotional investment in a romance you're not writing (probably in lieu of the one you are).
 * Fetish Fuel -- Arousal.
 * Fetish Retardant -- Lack of arousal.
 * Game Breaker -- Beating the game much faster than intended, or utterly destroying Player Versus Player balance.
 * Generic Doomsday Villain -- A villain with no backstory to flesh out his character.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff -- Popularity in a foreign country or culture.
 * Americans Hate Tingle -- Hatred from a foreign country or culture.
 * Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales -- A culture embraces a caricature intended to mock them.
 * Ham and Cheese -- Your actors realise the movie's bad and make the most of it.
 * Humor Dissonance -- Lack of amusement.
 * Inferred Holocaust -- Finding a Happy Ending to be apocalyptic instead.
 * Ink Stain Adaptation -- Permanent staining of the franchise.
 * Internet Backdraft -- Who knew they'd react like that?
 * Invincible Hero -- Of course the hero will win! There's no way this guy could lose! Ever!
 * Failure Hero -- Ditto, but because this guy never wins. Ever.
 * Invincible Villain -- Compare the two above.
 * Jerkass Dissonance -- Affection and/or admiration for a Jerkass character.
 * Jumping the Shark -- An event so ridiculous that fans start to turn away from the show.
 * "Just Joking" Justification -- Hey, don't take that so seriously, I was being funny when I said that offensive thing.
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch -- A villain's Kick the Dog attempt is aimed at someone whom the audience believes deserves kicking.
 * Like You Would Really Do It — Fans aren't fooled.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain
 * Mary Sue - Anywhere between lack of interest and repulsion.
 * Misaimed Fandom -- Misdirected audience sympathy.
 * Draco in Leather Pants -- The villain is just too sexy.
 * Narm -- Some moment was meant to be serious, but ended up being silly instead.
 * Nausea Fuel -- Sickness.
 * Opening a Can of Clones -- You introduce Doppelgangers, and the fans now think no one will be Killed Off for Real.
 * Periphery Demographic -- A fanbase outside of the target audience.
 * Poe's Law -- You intended it as an obvious parody, yet some people took it seriously. Conversely, you meant every word of it, and get annoyed when people praise it as a witty satire of your own position.
 * Power Perversion Potential -- Uses God never intended.
 * Running the Asylum -- Hate for the current writers and the current plots.
 * Snark Bait -- The only enjoyment comes from mocking it.
 * So Bad It's Good -- Gets fans, but not in the way they intended.
 * Springtime for Hitler -- Oh Crap. The bad, bad show is actually successful.
 * Squick -- Disgust.
 * That One Boss -- Controller throwing.
 * That One Level -- Controller hurling.
 * Scrappy Mechanic -- Controller shot put.
 * The Red Stapler -- Demand for in-show products.
 * The Scrappy -- Hate for the character.
 * Creator's Pet -- Suspicion that the only people who genuinely like the character are the creators.
 * Damsel Scrappy -- ...due to being useless and only being trouble to others.
 * Ethnic Scrappy -- ...due to being an ethnic stereotype.
 * Periphery Hatedom -- Everyone outside a very limited demographic hates the character.
 * Replacement Scrappy -- Dick Sergeant gets heat for not being Dick York.
 * Stop Being Stereotypical -- A member of a group criticizes other members for demonstrating negative stereotypes.
 * Straw Man Has a Point -- Fridge Logic turns the author's victory in The War On Straw to a standoff or defeat.
 * Stupid Sacrifice -- Viewers are angry instead of touched at the character's sacrifice.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot -- Viewers expected a better plot twist.
 * Took the Bad Film Seriously -- An actor gives a more-dramatic-than-needed performance.
 * Unfortunate Implications -- Offense.
 * Unintentionally Sympathetic
 * Unintentionally Unsympathetic-- No sympathy for a character that was supposed to be sympathetic.
 * Values Dissonance -- Offends viewers outside the culture in which it was written, or after a major shift in general attitudes within a culture.
 * Unpleasable Fanbase -- More complaining from fans (and downright hypocrisy if it's the exact same fans).
 * Broken Base -- The fans turn on each other.
 * Unpopular Popular Character -- The fan favorite character other characters don't like.
 * Unprovoked Pervert Payback -- The scene that is supposed to end as Accidental Pervert but didn't.
 * The Untwist -- Twist expected where the actual ending is straightforward.
 * Viewer Gender Confusion -- Carries Unfortunate Implications no matter which way you mistake it.
 * Viewers in Mourning -- Fans treating the death of a fictional character as if an actual person had died.
 * Villain Decay -- People take your villains less seriously than you wanted them to.
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids? -- Assuming a work is for more mature audiences.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Didactic? -- Assuming a work is all about analyzing it.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids? -- Assuming a work is family friendly.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not for Little Girls? -- Assuming a Moe show is intended for young girls because it's cute and sparkly.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Political? -- Assuming a work has political overtones.
 * What Measure Is a Non-Badass? -- You wish he/she was cooler.
 * Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things -- The media creator assume they are doing something nice, and the fans arrogantly treat them like crap for it.
 * Why Would Anyone Take Him Back? -- Instead of squeeing over the Official Couple's reunion, thinking that at least one of them was probably better off single.
 * X Pac Heat -- Hate for the actual people behind a wrestler.