Line #24 Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible


1	[[quoteright:266:[[PimpedOutCape https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/degrees_of_a_pimped_out_cape_9292.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:266:[-A PimpedOutCape can be done in many ways, from simply edging it [[PrettyInMink with fur]][[note]]''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''[[/note]] to covering most of it with [[GoldMakesEverythingShiny gold embroidery]].[[note]]''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 7''[[/note]]-] ]]
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4	A rarely stated, but fairly common, belief here is that some tropes are rigid, and that the only variation comes with PlayingWithATrope. Or some here think that most tropes are rigid, unless "Sliding Scale" is in the name. But it's not really true at all (also the reason we have Administrivia/TheSameButMore). This belief often manifests in examples as citing the trope name, but with emphasis added on a changed word.
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6	Even in the most narrowly defined {{Sub Trope}}s, there is plenty of room for variation, even when playing straight. There can even be degrees of how the trope is applied, which is certainly the reason we don't allow Administrivia/TheSameButMore.
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8	Two of the most common variations for a trope are the scale, and the importance in the story. But, there are quite a few other ways to allow for trope variations.
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10	The only actual thing rigid about tropes is the cutoff between one trope and another, or at least that is what we are striving for. Even when it involves {{Super Trope}}s and {{Sub Trope}}s, or if there is [[SisterTrope overlap with another trope]], those tropes are still separate.
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12	So, the next time you think a trope is separate from another trope, make sure the line is clear. If it's not, you didn't make a mistake, other than to underestimate how flexible tropes are.
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14	Compare PlayingWithATrope, DownplayedTrope, ExaggeratedTrope.
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16	Contrast Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope (when an example doesn't fit the trope no matter how you twist it around).
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18	!!To best illustrate this concept, examples should be straight uses, with only some [[PlayingWithATrope playing with them]]
19	* AllJustADream has quite a broad scope. It can be used for a single scene, entire episodes, entire seasons (''Series/{{Dallas}}''), or even [[MindScrew the entire series]] (''Series/StElsewhere''). It can be a regular dream (''Film/TheWizardOfOz''), a [[CuckoosNest psychotic delusion of innocence]] told by an UnreliableNarrator (''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'') or even a "simulation" (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''; [[Recap/FamilyGuyS6E4And5StewieKillsLoisAndLoisKillsStewie "Stewie Kills Lois"/"Lois Kills Stewie"]]). ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' manages to make fun of this, ''and'' crank it up even further by claiming the series is the dream of a character (played by the same actor) in ''another series'' (namely, ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'').
20	* ButtMonkey means simply a character who things hardly ever work out for, and nothing more. There are people who ''refuse'' to apply it even where it fits, because they mistakenly believe that it is required to be PlayedForLaughs. There ''is'' a type of ButtMonkey that ''is'' required to be PlayedForLaughs--but that trope is TheChewToy.
21	* Many examples of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything are about sexually suggestive things, but that's not a requirement; allegories for historical conflicts, contemporary conflicts, controversial topics or even just mundane unpleasantries are also legitimate examples.
22	* For {{Elemental Plane}}s, the four classical NaturalElements (Fire, Water, Earth and Air) are most likely to come up, sometimes accompanied by secondary ones such as lightning or magic. But that's by no means a requirement, as just about anything else is liable to get its own conceptual plane as well. A dimension of mayonnaise, a world made of diamond, or a rectangular realm of rectangles, you name it.
23	* {{Fanservice}}, though primarily known for its sexual value, also encompasses the usage of EnsembleDarkhorse, PopularityPower, MemeAcknowledgement, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Moments of Awesome]], etc. to appeal to the fanbase's sensibilities in equally exciting ways.
24	* HauledBeforeASenateSubcommittee doesn't necessarily have to involve the U.S. Congress. This trope also covers investigations carried out by other legislatures, real or fictional. For example, the British Parliament has permanent Select Committees that investigate certain areas, including public accounts, hence this page's use of the committee hearing from ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' as its page image. Some examples might not even be legislatures, as long as they concern the nominal governing body with a committee.
25	* IdiotCrows do not necessarily have to use the crow to accentuate a silly or idiotic sentence being said, sometimes other flying animal making stock animal noises and/or dot dot dot trail is substituted instead, especially in Western media who are less familiar with the trope.
26	* IHaveNoSon doesn't necessary mean about the parents disowning their child, this trope can also mean a sibling disowning their other sibling, an uncle/aunt disowning their nephew, and etc.
27	* Despite what the bloody red image might suggest, LudicrousGibs can be used as well in tandem with the [[AmazingTechnicolorIndex Technicolor]] AlienBlood as long as it's shown where it came from, or even for MechaMooks, turning them into a splat of black oily debris instead.
28	* In terms of MalevolentArchitecture, console {{Roleplaying Game}}s tend to have loads of enemies, but rarely any hazards in the buildings, save for the occasional lava floor. On the other hand, ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' is infamous for having loads of traps in every room.
29	* PersonalHorror can cover a wide variety of things as the key component is that the character it happens to is traumatized by their reaction and feels alienated from their sense of self.
30	* PlanetLooters don't necessarily have to target Earth, so examples where humans are looting other planets are still straight examples. The inversion would be if, say, one civilisation was selling its planet's resources to others.
31	* Calling our PlanetTerra is not an explicit case in fiction - it often extends to the Moon and the Sun, giving them the less generic and more sci-fi sounding latin names Luna and Sol. It may also include referring to humans as Terrans, even when the planet is still called Earth.
32	* SexSells has a wide range, from just attractive people in a picture, to acts that just scream "DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything"
33	* A work featuring a StuckAtTheAirportPlot doesn't necessarily have to take place at an actual airport. Any bus or train station can do.
34	* ThatOneBoss, ThatOneLevel, and other tropes listed on ThatOneIndex don't need to be NintendoHard sections in otherwise easy games. They just need to be noticeably hard''er'' than the rest of the game (or most of it).
35	* WackyWaterbed doesn't have to involve literal waterbeds. It can include squishy internal organs filled with a liquid such as water or blood, particularly in some cases of ''[[FantasticVoyagePlot Fantastic Voyage]]'' [[FantasticVoyagePlot plots]], SwallowedWhole, and [[WombLevel video game levels based on internal anatomy]].
36	* WhamEpisode, WhamLine, and WhamShot don't always have to be about negative {{Plot Twist}}s. They can involve positive plot twists as well, like a seemingly villain-aligned character revealing themselves as TheMole to the heroes, or a seemingly-inept companion of the hero finally [[IAmNotLeftHanded revealing their true abilities]]. The important part about these tropes is that they suddenly and significantly change the course of the story, with no prior warning to the viewer/listener/reader/player.
37	* XanatosGambit and BatmanGambit are both about specific types of ingenious plans. The thing is, there is nothing saying they have to be of a certain scale. Using these plans could vary from just getting a promotion from your boss, to [[TakeOverTheWorld world conquest]]. They also have nothing to do with being good or evil, despite their respective {{Trope Namer}}s; heroes can use Xanatos Gambits and villains can use Batman Gambits.

Context Administrivia / TropesAreFlexible