Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Dangerous Drowsiness

 Dangerous Drowsiness
type
FeatureClass
 Dangerous Drowsiness
label
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness
page
DangerousDrowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness
comment
Some symptoms are always dire in Fictionland. Things like a cough, a headache, a nosebleed, feeling cold, being unable to feel one's legs, losing one's hair, and... being tired.
In this trope, when a character feels tired, it's never just Sleep Deprivation or a minor illness like a cold. Nope, it's a very serious condition. At best, it's something that's very drastic but ultimately survivable, such as appendicitis. At worst, it means their days are numbered. In sci-fi and fantasy works, it might mean something otherworldly such as alien mind control or Demonic Possession.
Seeing as many conditions do make you tired, especially infections since your body is using energy to fight the bug, this trope isn't just "sick character feels tired". In order for it to be this trope:
It has to be serious. Diseases less serious than the flu do not qualify for this trope.
It has to be either the first sign (or one of the first signs) that things are amiss, or a sign that the condition is serious. In the first case, the character might start off just a little sleepy and the characters brush it off as sleep deprivation before the other symptoms come on. In the second case, the character might already be established as sick, but if they start to become lethargic, that's seen as them taking a turn for the worse or being more likely to die.
There might also be a danger that if the character falls asleep, they will die, so the other characters try to keep them awake. This trope can be a source of Paranoia Fuel, as tiredness is such a common symptom, and it's also easy to imagine.
Contrast Victorian Novel Disease, for when a woman has a terminal disease but she's just as active (and pretty) as ever. Can overlap with O.O.C. Is Serious Business if the character is normally energetic and Fell Asleep Driving if they're driving as well. Not to be confused with Never Sleep Again and Slain in Their Sleep, for when people are killed in their sleep by outside forces. Can lead to Passed in Their Sleep. If the person is already dead and is mistaken for sleeping, that's Please Wake Up.
 Dangerous Drowsiness
fetched
2023-05-31T17:27:58Z
 Dangerous Drowsiness
parsed
2023-05-31T17:27:58Z
 Dangerous Drowsiness
processingComment
Dropped link to FollowTheLeader: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Dangerous Drowsiness
processingComment
Dropped link to SeniorSleepCycle: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Dangerous Drowsiness
processingComment
Dropped link to ThirstyDesert: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Dangerous Drowsiness
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2250e67e
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2250e67e
comment
Star Trek: Enterprise:
In "Fight or Flight?", when Hoshi's pet slug Sluggo doesn't move much, this causes her and Phlox to suspect that it's dying.
In one episode, Trip and Archer are in a Thirsty Desert and Trip becomes very sleepy. Archer thinks this is a sign he has heatstroke and needs to stay awake lest he go into a coma.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2250e67e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2250e67e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: Enterprise
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2250e67e
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2275c659
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2275c659
comment
House: In "Fidelity", a woman is admitted with symptoms of African Sleeping Sickness, with the wrinkle that neither she nor her husband has been to Africa. Her symptoms get worse, resulting in a coma.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2275c659
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2275c659
featureConfidence
1.0
 House
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2275c659
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_261c8d3f
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_261c8d3f
comment
The Simpsons: The main plot of "Dog of Death" is that Santa's Little Helper has a "twisted stomach" and will die if not given surgery. The first sign that he's unwell is when he walks into the living room with a droopy appearance and flops down.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_261c8d3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_261c8d3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Simpsons
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_261c8d3f
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_27ff9607
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_27ff9607
comment
In the animated series version of Milly, Molly:
The episode "Grandpa's Oak Tree" has Grandpa Peg being slow to wake up. Dr. Smiley says that Grandpa is "wearing out" and "may never live to see another winter" and sure enough, he dies in the episode.
In "Goodbye, Alf", the farmer is immediately worried when he sees his horse Pepper lying down despite it being the middle of the day, and sure enough, she's somehow caught a serious illness. Alf's grandma makes her better though.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_27ff9607
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_27ff9607
featureConfidence
1.0
 Milly, Molly
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_27ff9607
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2e75acab
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2e75acab
comment
"I'm tired" serves as Annie's dying words in Imitation of Life (1959).
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2e75acab
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2e75acab
featureConfidence
1.0
 Imitation of Life (1959)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_2e75acab
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_3a7dd075
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_3a7dd075
comment
Madeline: In the adaptation of the first book, Madeline doesn't ice skate with the other girls. Miss Clavel asks her why and she replies that she's tired. Initially, Clavel thinks that Madeline just stayed up late pillow fighting, but it turns out to be appendicitis. This is different from the book, in which the appendicitis came on suddenly.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_3a7dd075
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_3a7dd075
featureConfidence
1.0
 Madeline
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_3a7dd075
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_4da11f30
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_4da11f30
comment
In Return of the Jedi, when Yoda is on his deathbed, he's very lethargic and talks about wanting to sleep.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_4da11f30
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_4da11f30
featureConfidence
1.0
 Return of the Jedi
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_4da11f30
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_50bcf7a6
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_50bcf7a6
comment
Homestuck: At the start, Jade keeps falling asleep often at the worst of occasions and though everyone thinks she's narcoleptic, it turns out to be Vriska's doing. Vriska's thing is that she has Mind Control powers, but since Vriska and Jade are two separate species, all she can do to Jade is force her to go to sleep. The reason why Vriska keeps interfering with her like this is to manipulate events on the end of Jade and her friends so that Vriska would have a huge powerful antagonist to fight against and defeat on her end (in a somewhat complicated Stable Time Loop - Vriska knows that, no matter what, that antagonist will exist, so she inserts herself into the story as the one being responsible for its existence).
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_50bcf7a6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_50bcf7a6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Homestuck (Webcomic)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_50bcf7a6
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_55145659
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_55145659
comment
So I'm a Spider, So What?: Kumoko gets half of her body bitten off while battling a swarm of monstrous apes. As her HP starts dropping, she feels drowsy and is tempted to fall asleep, but fights it off because she knows that if she does, she'll die.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_55145659
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_55145659
featureConfidence
1.0
 So I'm a Spider, So What?
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_55145659
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_584365d4
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_584365d4
comment
Averted in Melody when Becca yawns early in the story. It’s not from any illness at all, but from being kept up at night by an annoying dripping faucet. If the protagonist offers to fix it for her, this kicks off her romantic path.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_584365d4
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_584365d4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Melody (Visual Novel)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_584365d4
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_5946da61
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_5946da61
comment
I'm Standing on a Million Lives: The party split up to complete their last objective for their current mission: to explore a certain percentage of the map. Expecting it to be easy, they each take leisurely strolls in opposite directions, until a sudden freak blizzard strikes. Not only does this make it extremely difficult to keep uncovering the map, but the cold temperatures start making them slowly freeze to death. Each of them tries their best to keep moving and stay awake, knowing that if they fall asleep that not only will they die, but they won't be able to Auto-Revive while their body is frozen.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_5946da61
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_5946da61
featureConfidence
1.0
 I'm Standing on a Million Lives (Manga)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_5946da61
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6abf16c2
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6abf16c2
comment
In the Big Finish Doctor Who episode "Protect And Survive," Ace and Hex find themselves in an alternate history where the Cold War ended in a nuclear apocalypse, and barely have enough time to seek shelter with the elderly Marsdens before the nearby RAF base is nuked. It soon becomes clear that they've suffered a Fallout Shelter Fail and all of them have absorbed a lethal dose of radiation: consequently, when Albert and Peggy Marsden's initial symptoms (a Headache of Doom and Blood from the Mouth) escalate to crippling fatigue and longer periods of sleep, it's a good indication that they don't have long to live. Sure enough, the next scene features Ace and Hex hauling Albert's corpse out of the shelter. However, it turns out that all four of them are trapped in a "Groundhog Day" Loop, and the Marsdens are alive again — and forced to go through the apocalypse all over again, on each occasion dying in their sleep due to radiation exposure.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6abf16c2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6abf16c2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Big Finish Doctor Who (Audio Play)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6abf16c2
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6e1d5f36
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6e1d5f36
comment
Early in the fourth season of Farscape, Crichton is forced to stay aboard Elack, an extremely elderly Leviathan living out the remaining weeks of his life in the Sacred Space. As Pilots share the lifespans of the Leviathans they've been bonded to, Elack's Pilot has also grown old and spends a lot of her time nodding off; initially a simple case of Senior Sleep-Cycle, as Elack draws closer to death, she begins lapsing deeper and deeper into unconsciousness until it's almost impossible to wake her. In the end, she and Elack are able to marshal enough strength to perform a Heroic Sacrifice and save the main characters.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6e1d5f36
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6e1d5f36
featureConfidence
1.0
 Farscape
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_6e1d5f36
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_73d7930f
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_73d7930f
comment
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: In "Babel", O'Brien feels tired. He thinks he's just worn out from all the chores he's been doing, but it turns out that he's coming down with a virus called the "aphasia virus", which spreads to the rest of the crew and would have killed them if not for the work of Dr. Bashir and others.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_73d7930f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_73d7930f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_73d7930f
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_746814ae
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_746814ae
comment
In the Arthur episode "So Long, Spanky", the eponymous budgie is seen looking droopy. He dies in the next scene.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_746814ae
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_746814ae
featureConfidence
1.0
 Arthur
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_746814ae
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_8e4d2a96
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_8e4d2a96
comment
In The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Prometheus says: "I'm tired now, so tired. It will be good to rest." He then proceeds to die in the arms of his daughter. Bonus points because the aforementioned daughter had just revived him, but he made her let him die.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_8e4d2a96
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_8e4d2a96
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_8e4d2a96
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a0500a06
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a0500a06
comment
In the Rugrats prequel fanfic The Joys and Sorrows of Young Charles Finster, the chapter "The Appendix" has Charles feeling tired. He initially thinks he's just worn out from the exercises his father Marvin is having him do, but then he gets a severe stomachache and his condition is revealed to be appendicitis.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a0500a06
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a0500a06
featureConfidence
1.0
 Rugrats
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a0500a06
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a3d98436
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a3d98436
comment
In Phase IV of Zenith, Dr Michael Peyne is cursed with an accelerating case of Merlin Sickness by the victorious Lloigor, and though he initially feels energized by his newfound youth, his Apocalyptic Log soon mentions how tired he's started to feel as he re-enters his childhood. Eventually reduced to scrawling badly-spelled notes in a barely-legible scrawl, a very young Peyne admits that he's too tired to write anymore and needs to lie down. When Ruby finally arrives to say goodbye, he's little more than a baby sleeping under his adult-sized shirt, and soon succumbs to Death by De-aging.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a3d98436
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a3d98436
featureConfidence
1.0
 Zenith (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_a3d98436
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_af6a4464
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_af6a4464
comment
In The Secret World mission "Contagion," Julia Smith appears to have finally relaxed long enough to have a lie-down, understandable given that the Smiths have been on high alert for the last few days. However, it very quickly turns out that Julia's actually been exposed to the Filth at some point since the disaster in the Carpathians began, and the little sleep she's having is more akin to a feverish coma; in the event that she survives the initial infection, she'll end up transformed into another one of the Filthy Swarm wandering the Carpathian caverns. Thankfully, Emma Smith is reportedly able to save her.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_af6a4464
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_af6a4464
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Secret World (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_af6a4464
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_b137dae0
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_b137dae0
comment
Backdraft: Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey says, "I feel so tired" as his last words.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_b137dae0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_b137dae0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Backdraft
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_b137dae0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_bb8adaef
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_bb8adaef
comment
In the days following the nuclear attack on Sheffield in Threads, Ruth's grandmother — already badly affected by the shock — begins sleeping through mealtimes, and though Mr and Mrs Beckett believe that rest will do her some good, it's obvious that she's ailing. The very next scene with Becketts features her body being hauled out of the fallout shelter by her grieving relatives.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_bb8adaef
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_bb8adaef
featureConfidence
1.0
 Threads
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_bb8adaef
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_c95e9d87
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_c95e9d87
comment
Up: In the beginning, Ellie is too weary to climb the hill for her and Carl's picnic. The next scene has her in the hospital, and in the scene after that, she's dead.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_c95e9d87
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_c95e9d87
featureConfidence
1.0
 Up
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_c95e9d87
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_d1ad2f1d
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_d1ad2f1d
comment
Doki Doki Literature Club!: Sayori's difficulty waking up in the morning is initially played as just a cute quirk, but it's subtle foreshadowing that she has a health issue. One that is not exactly physical and much, much worse than anyone else realised.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_d1ad2f1d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_d1ad2f1d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_d1ad2f1d
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f01bf9d8
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f01bf9d8
comment
In the Mog book "Goodbye Mog", Mog is "dead tired" on the first page, takes a nap, and dies in her sleep. She does get an Unexplained Recovery in the next book, though.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f01bf9d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f01bf9d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mog
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f01bf9d8
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f31d7d98
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f31d7d98
comment
Used in an episode Drawn Together where the pumpkin carriage crashes (Mulan was driving), mortally wounding some of the Disney Princesses. Princess Clara begs Sleeping Beauty to keep her eyes open, only for her to respond with "But... I'm so... tired."
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f31d7d98
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f31d7d98
featureConfidence
1.0
 Drawn Together
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f31d7d98
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f480f310
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f480f310
comment
Books of the Raksura: Flower's constant fatigue in The Serpent Sea is one sign that she's near death from old age.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f480f310
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f480f310
featureConfidence
1.0
 Books of the Raksura
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f480f310
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f502a38a
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f502a38a
comment
The Smurfs (1981): In "Squeaky", after Smurfette's mouse Squeaky saves her from a fire, he's seen with a sleepy expression. The next morning, he's dead.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f502a38a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f502a38a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Smurfs (1981)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f502a38a
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f965bbf9
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f965bbf9
comment
Telepath Tactics, Harynx's death message has mentions of feeling tired, overlapping with I'm Cold... So Cold....
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f965bbf9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f965bbf9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Telepath Tactics (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_f965bbf9
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_fd191ee0
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_fd191ee0
comment
In Charlotte's Web, the eponymous spider becomes listless towards the end, claiming to be too tired to sing Wilbur to sleep. At the very end of the book, she dies.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_fd191ee0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_fd191ee0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Charlotte's Web
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_fd191ee0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_ff9ab17f
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_ff9ab17f
comment
Star Trek: The Next Generation:
In the episode "The Battle", Picard feels tired and he has a headache. It turns out that both symptoms are the result of mind control by some Ferengi, the leader of which wants revenge on Picard for killing his son in a battle years ago (his son had attacked Picard's ship without provocation).
"The Arsenal of Freedom": After attempting to evade an automated hovering weapons system, Doctor Crusher and Captain Picard both lose their balance over a subterranean opening, and fall into a cavern. Captain Picard only sustains moderate injuries, but Doctor Crusher breaks her leg and cannot move. Furthermore, she keeps drifting in and out of consciousness from the shock, where Picard attempts to keep her awake by keeping her talking.
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_ff9ab17f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dangerous Drowsiness / int_ff9ab17f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: The Next Generation
hasFeature
Dangerous Drowsiness / int_ff9ab17f

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Dangerous Drowsiness
processingCategory2
Sleep and Wakefulness Tropes
 Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Big Finish Doctor Who (Audio Play) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Zenith (Comic Book) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Strange New World (Fanfic) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Return of the Jedi / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Threads / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Books of the Raksura / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Charlotte's Web / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Milly, Molly / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Mog / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 So I'm a Spider, So What? / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 I'm Standing on a Million Lives (Manga) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Class Trials Season 3 (Roleplay) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 House / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Star Trek: Enterprise / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 The Secret World (Video Game) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Melody (Visual Novel) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Madeline / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 The Smurfs (1981) / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness
 Up / int_12113808
type
Dangerous Drowsiness