It Was a Gift/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character's possession is given significance by having it given to him.

  • Straight: The Reasonable Authority Figure honors Jack for volunteering by giving him a sword.
  • Exaggerated: Every single thing he owns is a gift, and he can't throw any of it away.
  • Justified: The sword is magically bound to Jack
  • Inverted: Jack regards those things he bought or made himself, or won in battle, as superior to gifts, and replaces the gifts as soon as he can.
  • Subverted: The sword was actually cursed, and the Reasonable Authority Figure knew it.
    • The sword is no better than any other sword he could have gotten from a swordsmith.
    • The sword lets him be tracked.
  • Double Subverted: Except that it has good powers too, and he can manage with the curse.
    • Except that the knowledge the king gave it to him means that he gets more support from the people.
    • Which ensures that The Cavalry find him.
  • Parodied: Jack treasures a gag gift.
  • Deconstructed: The villains take advantage of Jack's gullibility by going into disguise and gifting him an utterly useless weapon. Naturally he can't resist using it, and is quickly whipped by foes with superior weapons.
  • Reconstructed: ...Except that he isn't. He wanted to make the giver happy, so he spent so much time training with the "useless weapon" that he ends up using it quite effectively.
  • Zig Zagged: The sword was actually cursed, and the Reasonable Authority Figure knew it. Except that it has good powers too, and he can manage with the curse. The sword is no better than any other sword he could have gotten from a swordsmith...but the knowledge the king gave it to him means that he gets more support from the people. But it can be tracked, and hoofbeats come along to find them while deep in enemy territory, oh no! Wait! The Cavalry has arrrived!
  • Averted: All objects are bought or won.
  • Enforced: "We've got a merchandise deal to produce those emerald swords, so Jack needs to keep his at all times."
  • Lampshaded: "No, Jack, you want to keep that sword; these are just random swords, and that's a gift"
  • Invoked: "I am the champion of the kingdom! I received my sword from the hand of the king, my armor from the hand of the queen, and my horse from the greatest wizard of the land!"
  • Defied: Jack, still annoyed with the king, refuses to accept the stupid sword.
  • Discussed: "Why does he keep that thing around?" "You're asking me? Probably it was a gift or something."
  • Conversed: "Why does Jack use a sword when everyone else has got pistols?" "It was a gift."

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