Tropescilloscope: Wounded Gazelle Gambit

Pretending to be a victim to manipulate others. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Bittersweet Ending Black Best Friend Male Gaze Black and Gray Morality All There in the Script Wham Line Decoy Protagonist A God Am I Bunny-Ears Lawyer Shout-Out Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Scary Black Man The Place Darkest Hour Stalker with a Crush Men Are the Expendable Gender Monumental Damage Grey and Gray Morality Villain with Good Publicity The Starscream The Smart Guy Pay Evil unto Evil Vacation Films Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Death Seeker Throwing Your Sword Always Works You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Lighter and Softer The Lost Lenore Dark Is Not Evil Plot Hole Sassy Black Woman Henpecked Husband Awesome, but Impractical Expy The Brute Politically Incorrect Villain Green-Eyed Monster Ass Shove Unresolved Sexual Tension Deal with the Devil The Voiceless Expository Hairstyle Change She Cleans Up Nicely Bait-and-Switch As Long as It Sounds Foreign Shown Their Work Genre Shift Captain Obvious The Faceless folderlabel Evil Brit Man on Fire Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Tempting Fate Artistic License – Law The Un-Reveal What You Are in the Dark Novelization Honor Before Reason Italian Films Light Is Not Good Stuff Blowing Up You Killed My Father The Alcoholic Anti-Hero Good Is Not Nice Match Cut The Smurfette Principle Empathic Environment Extreme Doormat Noodle Incident Hoist by His Own Petard Dumb Blonde Mooks The Quiet One The Big Guy "Well Done, Son!" Guy Stylistic Suck Double-Meaning Title I'm a Humanitarian Logo Joke Rasputinian Death Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Historical Villain Upgrade Even Evil Has Standards Self-Deprecation Shut Up, Hannibal! Sanity Slippage Redemption Equals Death Badass Grandpa There Is No Kill Like Overkill Offscreen Teleportation Together in Death Storming the Castle Cluster F-Bomb Punch-Clock Villain Berserk Button Mr. Exposition Suspiciously Specific Denial Hollywood Darkness Kill It with Fire Didn't Think This Through Zombie Stories Alpha Bitch La Résistance Refuge in Audacity Missing Mom Bland-Name Product Parental Substitute Jerkass Has a Point Bound and Gagged Death of a Child The Film of the Book "Awesome McCool" Name Cool Guns Hypocrite Intergenerational Friendship Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Call-Back Police are Useless Reality Has No Subtitles Children Are Innocent And the Adventure Continues Shipper on Deck Offscreen Moment of Awesome Straight Gay Manly Tears Anti-Villain Famous Last Words Mugging the Monster The End... Or Is It? Adaptation Expansion What the Hell, Hero? Evil Is Petty Properly Paranoid Television Movie Index Film Noir timeperiod Obviously Evil Ax-Crazy Evil Sounds Deep Toplessness from the Back Abhorrent Admirer Took a Level in Badass Dogged Nice Guy Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" You Have Failed Me Fish out of Water Humans Are Bastards Made of Iron Dull Surprise Adaptation Distillation Product Placement Adaptational Heroism Those Two Bad Guys Badass Boast Slashed Throat Shirtless Scene Laser-Guided Karma Death by Irony For the Evulz Leave the Camera Running Accidental Murder Happily Married Evil vs. Evil Music Stories Country Matters French Films Black Dude Dies First No-Sell Face–Heel Turn Jerk with a Heart of Gold Killed Mid-Sentence Mighty Whitey Romantic Comedy Funny Background Event Hypocritical Humor Half the Man He Used to Be Failed a Spot Check Unwitting Instigator of Doom Eiffel Tower Effect And I Must Scream Gory Discretion Shot Big Eater Unspoken Plan Guarantee Wicked Cultured Irony Sexy Discretion Shot Dutch Angle Race Lift Love at First Sight Fingore Brother–Sister Incest An Arm and a Leg How We Got Here Only a Flesh Wound Posthumous Character Fat Bastard Fourth Date Marriage Taking the Bullet O.O.C. Is Serious Business Creative Closing Credits Break the Cutie Villainous Breakdown Broken Pedestal She's Got Legs Composite Character Superhero Super Strength An Axe to Grind Victoria's Secret Compartment Worthy Opponent Betty and Veronica And Starring Kill 'em All Off with His Head! Eye Scream Advertised Extra "Shaggy Dog" Story Mundane Made Awesome Totally Radical The Cameo Rated M for Manly Narrator Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Mama Bear Affectionate Parody Deus ex Machina Neck Snap Foil Getting Crap Past the Radar Beware the Nice Ones Riddle for the Ages Laughing Mad Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Deliberately Monochrome Antagonist Title Artistic License – Military Spiteful Spit Darker and Edgier No OSHA Compliance The Dreaded Lock and Load Montage Handicapped Badass '80s Hair Not Quite Dead Sealed Evil in a Can Gorn Aluminum Christmas Trees Chewing the Scenery Dual Wielding Stock Footage Christmas Movies Index Papa Wolf Dwindling Party Film Series Chekhov's Skill In the Back As the Good Book Says... Never My Fault Ambiguous Ending Red Eyes, Take Warning Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Soundtrack Dissonance All Just a Dream Love Triangle Chiaroscuro Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Catapult Nightmare Diabolus ex Machina Disney Death Silence Is Golden I Did What I Had to Do My Beloved Smother Genre Savvy No Name Given Disguised in Drag Ironic Echo One-Man Army Only One Name You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Improvised Weapon Lampshade Hanging Manipulative Bastard Serial Killer Groin Attack May–December Romance Adorkable Coming-of-Age Story Slap-Slap-Kiss Made of Explodium Precision F-Strike Bolivian Army Ending Casting Gag Evil Counterpart Flashback Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Revenge Hidden Depths Fatal Family Photo Film Noir Index Fatal Flaw Off-into-the-Distance Ending Motor Mouth Oh, Crap! Cool Shades All There in the Manual Deliberate Values Dissonance Broken Aesop Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Woman Scorned Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Age Lift "The Reason You Suck" Speech Apocalypse How Arranged Marriage Creator Cameo Woman in White Neck Lift Scenery Porn Jump Scare Sinister Minister Parental Abandonment Artistic License – Geography The Ditz Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Interrupted Suicide Once More, with Clarity! Foregone Conclusion Your Cheating Heart Kids Are Cruel Meaningful Name A.I. Is a Crapshoot Ungrateful Bastard Big Applesauce Ambiguously Gay Air-Vent Passageway The Hero Becoming the Mask Punny Name Anguished Declaration of Love Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Adaptational Attractiveness Here We Go Again! Sports Stories Anachronism Stew "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Bowdlerise Mad Scientist Shell-Shocked Veteran Romantic False Lead Aside Glance Kick the Dog Never Found the Body Not Even Bothering with the Accent Artistic License – History Rule of Symbolism Conspicuous CG The Chessmaster The Atoner Public Domain Feature Films Only in It for the Money Armor-Piercing Question The Musical Alas, Poor Villain Hero of Another Story Too Dumb to Live Artistic License – Gun Safety Damsel in Distress Card-Carrying Villain Tagline Big-Bad Ensemble Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Serious Business Batman Gambit Book-Ends Cat Fight Evil-Detecting Dog Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Animal Title Index Stepford Smiler German Films Determinator Dark Action Girl Agony of the Feet Karmic Death I Have Your Wife Villain Song Broken Bird Nice Hat The Stinger Driven to Suicide Real Life Writes the Plot Big Bad Covers Always Lie No Celebrities Were Harmed The Load Boom, Headshot! Eagleland A Father to His Men Based on a True Story Alliterative Name Karma Houdini Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Spanner in the Works Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Rule of Cool Badass Normal Obfuscating Stupidity Be Careful What You Wish For The '80s Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Black Comedy Rape The Stoic Mexican Standoff Heel Realization The Mole From Nobody to Nightmare Cruel and Unusual Death Soft Glass Determinator aka: The Determinator Dirty Coward Horror Comedy Does This Remind You of Anything? Demoted to Extra Death by Sex Historical In-Joke Loads and Loads of Characters Adaptation Dye-Job He Who Fights Monsters Fantasy Films Sacrificial Lion Genre Throwback Downer Ending Outrun the Fireball Final Girl Friend to All Children Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Villain Ball Retired Badass Obstructive Bureaucrat Psychological Thriller 20 Minutes into the Future Gainax Ending Imagine Spot Maybe Ever After The Casanova Belligerent Sexual Tension Accidental Misnaming Tap on the Head Corrupt Corporate Executive Insistent Terminology Gratuitous English Big "NO!" Award-Bait Song Ghost Fiction B-Movie Grievous Bottley Harm Epic Movie Ship Tease Destination Defenestration Same Language Dub Red Shirt Adapted Out Last-Name Basis Artistic License – Physics Only Sane Man Auto Erotica No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Word of God Fake Shemp Pyrrhic Victory Rape as Drama Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Names to Run Away from Really Fast Adults Are Useless Science Fiction Films Wounded Gazelle Gambit Bad Boss Redshirt Army One-Word Title Vomit Indiscretion Shot The Chick Nice Guy No Ending Breaking the Fourth Wall Slasher Smile Canon Foreigner Actor Allusion Big Bad Duumvirate Body Horror Sci-Fi Horror The Great Depression A Minor Kidroduction Cat Scare Improbable Aiming Skills Token Minority Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Say My Name Hooker with a Heart of Gold Recycled IN SPACE! Silent Movie Jerkass Mystery and Detective Films Abusive Parents Historical Hero Upgrade My Greatest Failure An Aesop Playing Gertrude Dirty Old Man Cold-Blooded Torture Fainting Blood Knight Reality Ensues Kubrick Stare Parental Incest Bloodless Carnage Early-Bird Cameo Well-Intentioned Extremist Epic Fail Reasonable Authority Figure Closed Circle Paper-Thin Disguise Cool Old Guy Faux Affably Evil Even Evil Has Loved Ones As You Know I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Contrived Coincidence Bavarian Fire Drill Military and Warfare Films Chekhov's Gun Instant Death Bullet Slasher Movie Dissonant Serenity Horror Films Manic Pixie Dream Girl I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Psychopathic Manchild Moment Killer Older Than They Look Badass Bookworm Mistaken for Gay Heterosexual Life-Partners Blatant Lies Big Damn Heroes Index of Film Westerns Bullying a Dragon All Men Are Perverts Heel–Face Turn Take That! Heroic Sacrifice Bi the Way Dramatic Irony Not What It Looks Like Anyone Can Die Freeze-Frame Bonus Protagonist Title Married to the Job Distracted by the Sexy Camera Abuse Those Wacky Nazis Meet Cute Arch-Enemy Enemy Mine Extremely Short Timespan The '60s It's All About Me Chase Scene It Will Never Catch On Insane Troll Logic Would Hurt a Child Sadistic Choice I Need a Freaking Drink All Girls Want Bad Boys Re-Cut Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Rich Bitch Smoking Is Cool Cowboy Cop Sequel Hook Eyepatch of Power Race Against the Clock Took a Level in Jerkass Due to the Dead Camp Gay Shoot the Shaggy Dog Bald of Evil Babies Ever After Brick Joke Rewatch Bonus Stealth Pun Black Comedy Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Pretty in Mink War Is Hell Ambiguous Disorder Hair-Trigger Temper Thriller Gone Horribly Right Gilligan Cut Action Genre Humiliation Conga Daddy's Girl Dropped a Bridge on Him Taking You with Me Dies Wide Open Informed Ability Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Visual Pun Freudian Excuse Amoral Attorney Beta Couple Dark and Troubled Past Action Survivor Evil Plan Did Not Get the Girl Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane The Dragon Crapsack World Mercy Kill Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! N-Word Privileges Badass in a Nice Suit Easily Forgiven Training Montage Character Development Fanservice Extra Only Known by Their Nickname From Bad to Worse Wham Shot Setting Update Evil Laugh Asshole Victim Bilingual Bonus What Happened to the Mouse? Very Loosely Based on a True Story Hope Spot Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Adaptational Villainy Disney Villain Death Cool Car Annoying Younger Sibling Overly Long Gag Exact Words Bloody Hilarious Greater-Scope Villain Room Full of Crazy Red Right Hand Leitmotif He Knows Too Much Important Haircut Fun with Acronyms Police Brutality The Hero Dies Actually Pretty Funny The Alleged Car Rousing Speech Guile Hero Anachronic Order The Bad Guy Wins Documentary BFG Scenery Gorn Amusing Injuries Canadian Movies Reality Is Unrealistic Loophole Abuse Spell My Name with an "S" Framing Device Brutal Honesty Small Name, Big Ego Pet the Dog Adaptation Name Change Whole Plot Reference The '90s Knife Nut Author Appeal Smug Snake Bottomless Magazines Drill Sergeant Nasty Arc Words Heroic BSoD Bury Your Gays Bad "Bad Acting" Beauty Is Never Tarnished Never Trust a Trailer Every Car Is a Pinto The X of Y Sir Swears-a-Lot Establishing Character Moment The Reveal Line-of-Sight Name In Name Only Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Overprotective Dad Knight Templar Random Events Plot Scare Chord Calling the Old Man Out Does Not Like Shoes Put on a Bus Not So Above It All The '70s Left the Background Music On Meaningful Background Event Major Injury Underreaction Faking the Dead Facial Horror Red Herring Manchild Mr. Fanservice Ms. Fanservice Bond Villain Stupidity Dramatic Gun Cock Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Naked People Are Funny Roaring Rampage of Revenge Sequel Escalation Celebrity Paradox Author Avatar Spared by the Adaptation Show Within a Show Australian Movies Funny Foreigner Retirony Bare Your Midriff Animal Motifs It Can Think Four-Temperament Ensemble The Ghost Immune to Bullets Improbable Weapon User Truth in Television Almost Kiss My God, What Have I Done? Badass Longcoat Ripped from the Headlines Domestic Abuse Gender Flip Bring My Brown Pants Crucified Hero Shot Cassandra Truth Fate Worse than Death Car Fu Wretched Hive Peek-a-Boo Corpse Curse Cut Short Twist Ending Let's Get Dangerous! Idiot Ball World of Ham Action Prologue The Oner Not So Different The Mafia Flipping the Bird True Companions Sole Survivor Red Oni, Blue Oni Vampire Fiction Undying Loyalty It's Personal Insult Backfire Suddenly SHOUTING! Double Entendre Fiery Redhead Evil Is Hammy Exactly What It Says on the Tin Reckless Gun Usage Deconstruction After the End Crazy Jealous Guy Have a Gay Old Time Continuity Nod Bond One-Liner Disproportionate Retribution Catch-Phrase Mythology Gag Femme Fatale Hero Antagonist The Sociopath Danny Peary Cult Movies List Up to Eleven Dirty Cop Our Vampires Are Different The Power of Love Defiant to the End Drives Like Crazy Vomit Discretion Shot Affably Evil A Date with Rosie Palms Meaningful Echo Drowning My Sorrows Take a Third Option Cloudcuckoolander Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Death by Adaptation Hate Sink Our Zombies Are Different No Antagonist Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Not So Stoic Vitriolic Best Buds Star-Crossed Lovers Skewed Priorities Call-Forward Historical-Domain Character Implacable Man Despair Event Horizon Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Everyone Has Standards Captain Ersatz Defrosting Ice Queen Not Using the "Z" Word Real Life Fan Disservice Rule of Three Leaning on the Fourth Wall Title Drop Department of Redundancy Department Face Death with Dignity Five-Man Band Guns Akimbo Depraved Bisexual Death Glare Nothing Is Scarier Naïve Newcomer Hollywood Law Bar Brawl Earn Your Happy Ending MacGuffin Fanservice Retcon The Lancer Better to Die than Be Killed Hong Kong Films Heroes Want Redheads The Stoner Eldritch Abomination The Cavalry Break the Haughty Daylight Horror Attempted Rape Non-Indicative Name Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Foreshadowing Back from the Dead Your Head A-Splode Yandere More Dakka The Dog Bites Back Make It Look Like an Accident Morality Pet Parental Neglect NO INDOOR VOICE Dramedy Crazy-Prepared Homage Curb-Stomp Battle Villain Protagonist Fantastic Racism The Ace Tranquil Fury Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Ascended Extra Artistic License – Biology Male Frontal Nudity The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Corpsing Creepy Child Central Theme British Films Mood Whiplash Really Gets Around Poor Communication Kills Martial Arts Movie This Is Gonna Suck Fire-Forged Friends The Vamp Developing Doomed Characters Gold Digger Eureka Moment Adult Fear Butt-Monkey Credits Gag For Want of a Nail Villain Opening Scene Shower Scene Costume Porn Dressing as the Enemy Comically Missing the Point Unusual Euphemism Get Out! Malevolent Masked Men Beard of Evil Big Brother Instinct Drugs Are Bad Frame-Up Authority Equals Asskicking Animated Credits Opening Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Translation Convention Unreliable Narrator Needs Wiki Magic Love Spiritual Successor Adaptational Badass One Steve Limit The '50s Russian Films Market-Based Title Those Two Guys Action Girl Biopic Japanese Films Trailers Always Spoil Early Installment Weirdness The Remake In Medias Res Combat Pragmatist Stealth Hi/Bye Intrepid Reporter Demonic Possession Jerk Jock Cool Old Lady Disappeared Dad Suspiciously Similar Substitute All for Nothing Pragmatic Adaptation Pre-Mortem One-Liner Dying Moment of Awesome Pretty Little Headshots Works Set in World War II Unusually Uninteresting Sight Wrong Genre Savvy Deadpan Snarker As Himself Plucky Comic Relief Rule of Funny Big Fancy House Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Video Credits The Bully Brainless Beauty Madness Mantra Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Large Ham Chekhov's Gunman Time Skip Blood from the Mouth Bloodier and Gorier Pimped-Out Dress Psycho for Hire Pragmatic Villainy Kick the Son of a Bitch Dark Reprise Cain and Abel Jitter Cam Would Hit a Girl Mind Screw Hell Is That Noise Blackmail Running Gag Ominous Latin Chanting Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!