Foreshadowing/Playing With

Basic Trope: Something offhandedly mentioned or seen early on is important later.

• Straight: During his first interaction with Alice, Bob casually mentions his grandmother has cancer. Later on, Bob's grandmother dies, so he has to go to her funeral and can't help Alice.
• Exaggerated: Everything Bob says in his first conversation with Alice adds up to a number of reasons for why he can't help.
• Justified: Bob's a nice guy and would want to be at his grandmother's funeral. Wouldn't you?
• Subverted: Bob says his grandmother has cancer, but this is never addressed again.
• Double Subverted: ...until she dies near the end and he is unable to help Alice with an even more important task.
• Inverted:
  • For whatever reason, Bob says his grandmother doesn't have cancer. Later on, he can't help Alice because his grandmother is okay.
  • Or Bob's grandmother has cancer and dies. Alice visits her funeral instead and can't help Bob.
  • Or Bob's grandmother has cancer, but it's Bob that dies instead.
• Parodied: Bob specifically says he won't be able to help Alice in the future because his grandmother has cancer and will die. This comes true.
• Zig Zagged: Bob's grandmother seems to make a recovery, but dies at the last second. Bob leaves Alice to go to the funeral, but bursts into the final battle at the last second anyway.
• Invoked: ???
• Enforced: Bob's actor quits before the final battle is filmed, so they take something he said before and use it as an explanation.
• Lampshaded: "I knew this was gonna happen..."
• Discussed: "Your grandmother has cancer?" "Yep." "Won't that hinder us in the future?" "...Nah."
• Conversed: ???
• Defied: Even though Bob's grandmother dies, he refuses to go to her funeral and helps Alice instead.

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Back to Foreshadowing. Like Bob said, it would happen.