No Real Life / Tropes T to Z

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T

• Tactical Superweapon Unit ^note While such a thing was attempted, it was felt that the trope attracted shoehorning of real-life examples with all sorts of wonderful toys that either never actually left the drawing board, or quickly became obsolete.
• Take That, Scrappy!^note Attracts complaining.
• Take This Job and Shove It^note Too Common. Also attracted vague anecdotes.
• Takes One to Kill One^note In the real world, while some artillery and such is highly effective in a Mirror Match, nothing can only be destroyed by something of its own type.
• Take Over the World^note Too controversial.
• Take That!^note Too controversial.
• Taking Advantage of Generosity^note Too controversial.
• The Talk^note Sexuality trope, too common.
• Talkative Loon^note Gossip, a stereotype of the mentally ill
• Talking Animal^note Attracted misuse.
• Talking Poo^note Bodily waste doesn't have the parts or intelligence to make this possible.
• Tanks for Nothing ^note Tanks are effective in real life, most of the time.
• Tareme Eyes^note Characterization based on appearance.
• Tattooed Crook^note A stereotype, morality.
• Tautological Templar^note Morality trope.
• Teacher/Student Romance^note Gossip, too common, often rape related.
• Teacher's Unfavorite Student^note Attracted complaining about SadistTeachers.
• Team-Based Tournament^note Too common.
• Team Pet^note Too common.
• Team Rocket Wins^note A narrative trope.
• Tear Jerker^note Abiding by the wiki's "gushing is preferable over complaining" mantra, a page of everything in real life that evokes a negative emotion isn't a good idea. Also too subjective, as one person's tragic tear jerker doesn't bother someone else at all.
• The Tease^note Sexuality trope.
• Technical Virgin^note Sexuality trope.
• Teen Hater^note Morality trope.
• Teenage Pregnancy^note Gossip, sex related (and often statutory rape related).
• Teenage Wasteland ^note There hasn't been a long-term society in which there are no adults.
• Teens Are Monsters^note Morality trope.
• Teeny Weenie^note Sexuality trope.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork^note Too controversial.
• The Teetotaler^note Too common.
• Temporarily a Villain^note Morality trope.
• Testosterone Poisoning ^note This trope is specifically about highly exaggerated “manliness” that doesn’t appear in the real world.
• Terror Hero^note Morality trope.
• Terrorists Without a Cause^note Too controversial.
• Theory Tunnelvision^note Too controversial.
• Thanks for the Mammary^note Sexuality trope.
• That One Player^note Too common.
• Their First Time^note Sex trope.
• Theiss Titillation Theory^note Sex-related, attracted NSFW links and one-handed typing.
• Then Let Me Be Evil^note Morality trope.
• Theory of Narrative Causality^note A narrative trope.
• There Are No Good Executives^note Morality trope, attracted lots of complaining.
• There Should Be a Law^note Attracted ROCEJ violations.
• These Gloves Are Made for Killin'^note Too controversial.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!^note Too controversial.
• They Killed Kenny Again ^note You die only once. The only exception is if a person legally "dies" briefly and is revived, but that is not something that can occur more than once. Hopefully.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!^note Morality trope.
• They Would Cut You Up ^note Should be only for superhumans or supernatural beings afraid of being cut up by the Men In Black, not normal people.
• Think Unsexy Thoughts^note Sexuality trope.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman ^note Requires superpowers to exist.
• This Loser Is You^note A narrative trope, and induces controversy.
• Those Wacky Nazis^note Calling people Nazis apropos of nothing is not a good idea, and listing the historical Nazi Party or its direct offshoots would be redundant.
• Three-Way Sex^note Sex trope.
• A Threesome Is Hot^note Sexuality trope.
• Throw-Away Country^note No real country was designed to be destroyed.
• Thug Dojo^note Too controversial.
• Time Travel ^note While time travel is not definitively ruled out in real life, any Real Life examples are already covered by certain subtropes.
• Time-Travel Tense Trouble^note As far as we know, time travel isn't a real thing. How we'll discuss time travel is a bridge we'll cross when and if we get there.
• Timey-Wimey Ball ^note While time travel is not definitively ruled out in real life, any Real Life examples are already covered by certain subtropes.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl^note Too common, and characterization based on appearance.
• Tiny Schoolboy^note Too common.
• To Be Continued^note Requires there to be "episodes" of some sort that this stock phrase can end, and of course there are no "episodes".
• To the Pain^note A torture trope.
• Token Enemy Minority^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Evil Teammate^note Morality trope.
• Token Good Cop ^note Morality trope.
• Token Good Teammate^note Morality trope.
• Token Human^note Non-human anthropomorphic creatures don’t exist.
• Token Lesbian^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Minority^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Minority Couple^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Non-Human^note Non-human anthropomorphic creatures don’t exist.
• Token Religious Teammate^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Trio^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token White^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Token Wholesome^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Tom the Dark Lord^note Morality, also a characterization trope; it's expected that people in real life would have typical names.
• Tomboyish Name^note Too common, also attracted misuse - the trope requires the woman with the tomboyish name to actually be a tomboy, it's not just for any woman with a masculine name.
• Tome of Eldritch Lore^note No real book contains real magic. The trope also attracted misuse, such as urban legends - no, The Catcher in the Rye is not a "Tome of Eldritch Lore", guys.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring^note Attracted complaining.
• Too Cool to Live^note Impossible in real life, and requires a narrative to portray them as cool.
• Too Dumb to Fool^note It's unkind to call people dumb.
• Too Dumb to Live^note Too common, and attracted victim blaming.
• Took a Level in Jerkass^note Morality trope.
• Too Kinky to Torture^note Sex-related, torture-related.
• Too Much Information^note Too common, attracted poor examples.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth ^note This trope is about a monster, like an Eldritch Abomination, not wanting to eat humans. For a similar trope about general non-human animals not wanting to eat humans, see Humans Are Smelly.
• Tooth Fairy^note Tooth fairies aren't real. Examples from folklore belong in the Folklore folder.
• Top-Heavy Guy ^note It relies on a physically impossible caricatured body shape.
• Torture Technician^note Too controversial, too common
• Totalitarian Utilitarian^note Morality trope.
• Town Girls^note A group characterization trope.
• Town with a Dark Secret^note Attracted misuse, "Something bad happened in this town once" is not this trope, especially if the town doesn't make attempts to cover it up.
• Toxic Phlebotinum^note Phlebotinum tropes are Narrative.
• Trade Your Passion for Glory^note Too controversial.
• Trademark Favorite Food^note Too common.
• Tragic Bigot^note Morality trope, and too controversial as it attempts to humanize bigots.
• Trampoline Tummy^note Real anatomy doesn't work like this. If you jump on someone's belly, you'll just possibly damage their organs.
• Trans Audience Interpretation^note Sexuality related, Gossip, and a YMMV Audience Interpretation trope - it's okay when the fandom of a fictional work often interprets a fictional character as trans, but to apply this trope to a real person would be not respecting their gender identity.
• Trans Chaser^note Sexuality trope
• Trans Equals Gay^note Sexuality trope.
• Trans Equals Hypersexual^note Sexuality trope
• Transparent Closet^note Sexuality trope.
• Trans Tribulations^note Too common and gossip.
• Trapped in Another World^note Although it’s possible to be trapped in a place that you’re not from, this trope requires other dimensions and they don’t exist.
• Trapped in Villainy^note Morality trope.
• Trashy Trailer Home^note Gossip.
• Trauma Button^note Anything and everything can be somebody's trigger.
• Treachery Cover Up^note Too controversial.
• Trojan Gauntlet^note Sexuality trope.
• Troll^note Morality trope.
• Troperiffic^note "Troperiffic" relates to how many tropes are used in a Narrative.
• Trophy Child^note Morality trope.
• Trophy Wife^note Gossip, and attracted bashing these women/men.
• Trouble from the Past^note Too controversial.
• Troubled Abuser^note Morality trope.
• Troubled Teen^note A stock character, and gossip about teens' traumas.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior^note Attracted gossip about children with mental illnesses.
• True Neutralinvoked^note A Character Alignment trope, which are Morality and Too Controversial.
• Tsundere^note Characterization, Morality, Too Common.
• Tsurime Eyes^note Characterization based on appearance.
• Twin Threesome Fantasy^note Sexuality trope.
• Twincest^note A Rape, Sexual Assault, and/or Incest trope.
• Two Decades Behind^note Attracted complaining about people not being up with the times.
• Two-Person Pool Party^note Sex trope.
• Two-Timing with the Bestie^note Gossip, sex related.
• Twofer Token Minority^note "Token" tropes are related to Doylist reasons for adding characters, and are thus Narrative.
• Tyke Bomb^note Morality trope.
• Tyrannical Homeowners' Association: ^note Real life examples would amount to calling real people evil.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm^note Too controversial, attracted complaining and ROCEJ violations.
• The Tyson Zone^note Gossip.

U

• "Ugly American" Stereotype^note A stereotype.
• Ugly Cute^note Too subjective.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife^note Gossip.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter^note Gossip.
• The Unapologetic^note Too common, stereotyping.
• Uncanny Valley^note Too controversial.
• Uncanny Valley Makeup^note Attracted gossip about botched cosmetic procedures.
• Unconventional Food Order^note Too common.
• Underdogs Never Lose^note In the real world, although Dark Horse Victories do happen, they are not as guaranteed as they are in fiction.
• Underestimating Badassery^note Too controversial.
• Unexpected Virgin^note Sexuality trope.
• The Unfair Sex^note Attracted misogynistic complaining and prying too deeply into peoples' private relationships.
• The Un Favourite^note Gossip.
• The Unfettered^note Too Common.
• Unfortunate Character Design^note Real people don't have "character designs".
• Unfortunate Implicationsinvoked^note If this trope is considered Flame Bait in fiction, you better believe it's even more Flame Bait when talking about real life.
• Unfortunate Names^note Too controversial.
• Ungrateful Bastard^note Morality trope.
• Unholy Matrimony^note Morality trope.
• The Unintelligible^note Too common.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley^note Too subjective.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic^note Attracted complaining about people tropers thought were begging for sympathy, or were generally unympathetic.
• Unique Items^note Too common, and a game mechanics trope.
• Universally Beloved Leader ^note One reason they say you cannot please everyone is because many people want something different.
• Unmanly Secret^note Too common, gossip.
• Unnecessary Makeover^note Complaining about people who got cosmetic surgery.
• Unplanned Crossdressing^note Too common.
• Unproblematic Prostitution^note Sex-related.
• Unprovoked Pervert Payback^note Sex-related.
• Unrealistic Black Hole^note By definition, the only black holes in real life are the realistic ones.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee^note A narrative trope.
• Unstable Powered Woman^note Attracted complaining about female politicians that the tropers didn't like, which aside from attracting misogyny, is misuse of the trope.
• Unstoppable Rage^note Too common and controversial.
• Unusual Euphemism^note Too common, and frequently sex related.
• Unwanted False Faith^note Too controversial.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom^note Too controversial, invites calling people stupid.
• Urban Legend Love Life^note Sex-related, Gossip.
• Urban Segregation^note Stereotyping, too common.
• Uriah Gambit^note Too controversial.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid^note Morality trope.
• Utopia Justifies the Means^note Morality trope.

V

• Vader Breath^note Too common, and the trope is stigmatized due to its association with villains.
• Vagina Dentata^note Sex-related, impossible in real life.
• Values Dissonance^note Too controversial, too common.
• Vampires Are Sex Gods^note Sex trope, also impossible because vampires.
• Vampire Vords^note Impossible in real life since vampires don't exist, plus associated with stereotypes of Eastern European accents
• Vanity Is Feminine^note A stereotype.
• Vapor Wear^note Attracted NSFW (or at least risque) weblinks.
• Vegetarian Vampire ^note Once again, vampires don't exist. Sorry, Vampire Vannabes.
• Vice City^note Too Controversial. Also Characterization - No real city was built to be a den of crime, and basically all cities have good and bad neighborhoods anyway.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment^note Too common, attracted sexy weblinks
• Viewer Pronunciation Confusion^note Too common.
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show^note Morality trope.
• Villain Ball^note Morality trope.
• Villain Decay^note Morality trope.
• A Villain Named "Z__rg"^note Morality trope.
• Villain Over for Dinner^note Morality trope.
• Villainous Breakdown^note Morality trope.
• Villainous BSoD^note Morality trope.
• Villainous Crush^note Morality trope.
• Villainous Glutton^note Morality trope.
• Villainous Incest^note A Rape, Sexual Assault, and/or Incest trope, Morality.
• Villainous Parental Instinct ^note Morality trope.
• Villain Protagonist^note Morality trope.
• Villainous Valour ^note Morality trope.
• Villains Blend in Better^note Morality trope.
• Villains Love Entertainment^note Morality trope.
• Villains Out Shopping^note Morality trope.
• Villain Protagonist^note Morality trope.
• Villain Song^note Morality trope.
• Villain Team-Up^note Morality trope.
• Villain with Good Publicity^note Morality trope.
• Vindicated by History^note Too controversial, and related to audience reactions.
• Violence is the Only Option^note Too controversial.
• Violent Glaswegian^note A stereotype.
• Virgin Power ^note Requires supernatural powers to exist, "virginity" isn't a clearly defined concept, and is also a sex trope.
• Virgin Sacrifice^note Sexuality trope, also related to ritual killings.
• Virgin-Shaming^note Sexuality trope.
• Virgin Tension^note Sexuality trope.
• Virginity Flag^note Sexuality trope.
• Visionary Villain^note Morality trope.
• Visual Innuendo^note An innuendo trope.
• Vocal Dissonance^note Too Common.
• Voodoo Shark^note A narrative trope, the real world has no "plot holes".

W

• Wacky Americans Have Wacky Names^note A stereotype.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child^note A group characterization trope.
• Wall Bang Her^note Sex trope.
• Walls of Tyranny^note Too controversial.
• Wants a Prize for Basic Decency^note Too controversial.
• War for Fun and Profit^note Too controversial.
• War Hawk^note Too controversial.
• War Hero^note Too common, a stock character.
• War Is Glorious^note Related to how a narrative portrays war.
• War Is Hell^note Too controversial, related to how a narrative portrays war.
• Wardrobe Malfunction^note A fanservice trope, and attracted NSFW weblinks.
• Was It Really Worth It?^note Too controversial.
• Washington D.C. Invasion^note Should only be for when villains invade D.C., not just "when rival sports teams come to D.C."
• We ARE Struggling Together^note Too controversial.
• We Care^note Too controversial.
• We Hardly Knew Ye^note Means there's a short gap between someone's introduction and their death; in the real world there's always someone who knew that person for much longer.
• We Have Become Complacent^note Too controversial.
• We Used to Be Friends^note Attracted gossip.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!^note Morality trope.
• We Will Have Euthanasia in the Future^note Too controversial, a future prediction trope.
• Weight Woe^note Gossip about people with eating disorders.
• Weirdness Magnet ^note Everyone has odd things happen to them sometimes, but no one specifically attracts them. Also a Characterization / Narrative trope.
• Weird World, Weird Food ^note A worldbuilding trope about fantastical settings.
• Welcome to Evil Mart^note Morality trope.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy^note Too controversial, gossip about people's family dramas
• Well-Intentioned Extremist^note Morality trope.
• Western Terrorists^note Too controversial, a stereotype.
• Wham Episode^note Real life is not scripted.
• Wham Line^note Real life is not scripted.
• What an Idiot!invoked^note Too controversial, invites calling people stupid.
• What Beautiful Eyes! ^note This trope is about beautiful eyes being a deliberate and defining character trait, not for gushing about people in general that you think have beautiful eyes.
• What Could Have Been^note Too controversial.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?^note A stock phrase, attracted misuse.
• What Did I Do Last Night?^note Attracted Gossip about murders performed under the influence.
• What Happened to the Mouse?^note Related to how a story drops plotlines. Missing persons in real life are not this trope.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?^note Too controversial.
• What the Hell, Hero?^note Morality trope.
• What the Romans Have Done for Us^note Attracted ROCEJ violations, including apologetics for various dictatorial states.
• What You Are in the Dark^note Morality trope.
• Where da White Women At?^note A stereotype.
• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant^note A stereotype.
• White Gal on Black Guy Drama^note A stereotype.
• White Hair, Black Heart^note Morality, also characterization based on appearance.
• White Man's Burden^note Too controversial.
• White Sheep^note Morality trope.
• Who Murdered the Asshole^note Morality trope.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?^note Made fun of people for having unusual names.
• Who Shot JFK?^note A conspiracy theory trope.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?? ^note Immortality isn't real.
• Wholesome Crossdresser^note "Wholesome" implies a moral judgement. Also attracted lists of various times celebrities crossdressed, which is not this trope.
• Worse Than It Sounds^note Too controversial.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?^note Too common - everyone has phobias.
• Why We Are Bummed Communism Fell^note Too controversial, attracted ROCEJ violations
• Wicked Cultured^note Morality trope.
• Wicked Heart Symbol^note Morality, also characterization based on appearance.
• Wicked Stepmother^note Morality trope.
• Wife-Basher Basher^note Morality trope.
• Wife Husbandry^note A Rape, Sexual Assault, and/or Incest trope.
• Wild Take^note Needs Deranged Animation; attracted tons of "downplayed" events.
• Windmill Crusader^note Too controversial.
• Windmill Political^note Too controversial.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity^note Morality trope that's impossible in real life.
• With Us or Against Us^note Too controversial.
• Wizarding School ^note The trope is about a specific type of fantasy setting. No real school teaches magic. Clown college doesn't count
• Womanliness as Pathos^note Too controversial.
• The Women Are Safe with Us^note A Rape, Sexual Assault, and/or Incest trope.
• Women Are Wiser^note Too controversial.
• Women Drivers^note Stereotyping.
• The Woobie^note Characterization, would attract gushing and gossip.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds^note Morality trope.
• Woobie Species^note Characterization, would attract gushing and gossip.
• The Worf Effect^note A narrative trope.
• The World Is Always Doomed^note Attracted doomposting.
• World of Badass ^note Not everyone has fighting capabilities.
• World of Ham^note Impossible in real life, and the examples relied on stereotypes.
• World of Jerkass^note Too controversial.
• World of Snark^note Too controversial.
• Worth It^note Too controversial.
• Would Be Rude to Say "Genocide"^note Too controversial.
• Would Hit a Girl^note The trope relies on how hitting women is treated as especially bad – without that it has no narrative meaning (which also makes it a characterization trope).
• Would Hurt a Child^note Morality trope.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit^note Too controversial.
• Wretched Hive^note Attracted complaining about cities with high crime.
• Writers Cannot Do Math^note Too common, attracted ROCEJ violations
• Wrong Assumption^note Too common.
• Wrong Genre Savvy^note Real life has no genre.
• Wrong Side of the Tracks^note Stereotyping, too common.

Y

• Yandere^note Too controversial, a stock character, sex related.
• Yank the Dog's Chain^note A narrative trope.
• Yellow Peril^note Morality trope, stereotyping.
• Yoko Oh No^note Attracted Complaining About Band Members' Girlfriends/Boyfriends You Don't Like.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race^note Too controversial.
• You Are What You Hate^note Too controversial.
• You Can't Fight Fate ^note As far as we know, predestination isn't real.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One^note Morality trope.
• You Get What You Pay For^note Too common, attracted anecdotes.
• You Must Be This Tall to Ride^note Too common - these signs are often legally mandated.
• You Need to Get Laid^note An innuendo stock phrase.
• You Sexy Beast^note Sex trope.
• You're Just Jealous^note Gossip, a stock phrase.
• You're Not My Type^note A stock phrase, sex-adjacent.
• Young Future Famous People^note A time travel trope.
• Younger Than They Look^note Attracted gossip about peoples' appearances.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame^note Morality trope, attracted ROCEJ violations.
• Your Heart's Desire ^note Impossible. Nothing can flawlessly detect, or give you, what you want by reading your thoughts.
• Your Size May Vary ^note Real life isn't off-model, so size cannot vary like that.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters^note Too controversial.

Z

• Zero-G Spot^note Sex trope.