Sandbox / Well, This Is Not That Wick Check

This is a wick check for Well, This Is Not That Trope.

Reason: It's meant to be a trope for a Bait-and-Switch gag where somebody describes X and then says, "This is not X" or something along the lines of that. However, people often use it for "joke fulfilment links" (see the relevant bullet on Sinkhole) when describing what an actual trope is not. A trip to TRS may be needed, as the title may be making users think it's actually about tropes.

Analysis:

• Correct: 24%
• Joke fulfilment: 46%
• Unclear: 6%
• Other misuse: 20%

Correct

• Funny.American Dad: Stan visits Steve, who is sitting in his room, traumatized:

  Stan: Hey, champ. I wanted to talk to you. You know, about what you just saw. Because things aren't always what they appear. Sometimes when someone is choking, you have to get behind them and give them the Heimlich. This was ''not'' that. I was not helping your mother with a leg cramp. I was not giving her a lying-down hug. I was not helping her look for her contact. I was plowing, Steve.
  Steve: (weakly) Oh, my goodness...
  Stan: See, in the animal kingdom, he who mates is king. And you're many, many years from finding a mate of your own. This is nature, bitch! We're getting primal in this house! A correct instance of the gag.

• JustFoFun.Boil That Aesop: Some things are not other things. The user seems to be aware that the trope isn't about tropes.
• IThoughtItMeant.U To W: Well, This Is Not That Trope is not solely about instances where it looks like the work is going to use one trope, but then uses a different one. Correctly notes that the trope isn't about tropes.
• Fanfic.The Butcher Bird: Most SIs get powers, or start off weak, or any of a multitude of ideas...but all, or at least most, remain human. Most One Piece SIs meet up with the Straw Hats, join their crew, and have some very entertaining adventures. This poor bastard gets neither. Follow Yoshimura Kaneki through the South Blue and beyond, as he joins a crew that, for better or for worse, is destined for infamy... Leaving aside the fact that potholes don't belong in page quotes, this is quoting an actual use of the trope.
• FamilyGuy.Tropes Q To Z: Played straight in "Three Kings":
  Peter: (introducing the final segment for the episode) Remember that movie with the creepy twins, and the guy running around with the axe, and that kid talking to his finger? (laughs) Can't you see Stewie doin' that?! Well, here's The Shawshank Redemption. An actual example of the trope.
• TheRunawayGuys.Other Nintendo: Chugga's intro describes a best-selling launch game for a revolutionary, groundbreaking console... before revealing he's talking about Wii Sports and the Wii. This game, not so much. Correct.
• Fanfic.Girl Days: In chapter 8:
  The walk back was uneventful.
  No, sorry, that was a different walk back. THIS walk back was something other than uneventful. Seems correct.
• Magazine.Mad: In "Clooney as the Bat", it's said that despite having lackluster performances for Batman in Batman (1989), Batman Returns and Batman Forever, this "is no game of baseball like in Casey at the Bat," so George Clooney has a chance to set things right with Batman & Robin. As might be expected, though, Clooney doesn't succeed. Seems correct.
• Anime.Touken Ranbu Hanamaru: At the beginning of every episode, one of the swords explains the basic premise of the series to the audience— and then goes on to say that the series won't be focusing much on it, or are surprised to see that the audience isn't even paying attention. Trope played straight as a Running Gag.
• HonestTrailers.Tropes N To R: The Honest Trailer for The Room points out the bizarrely prolonged scene of people doing completely mundane things:

  Narrator: Most movies cut straight to the interesting parts, but The Room is not most movies. Where, if a man makes a tape, you get to see him set up the equipment... Correct usage.

• Film.The Green Knight: At the beginning, the narrator (eventually revealed to be the fox) recaps how King Arthur drew a sword from a stone, before saying this is not that story. Seems right.
• Literature.Sourcery: "Have you ever been bitten by a snake?" "No." "Then you'll know exactly what it feels like, because it isn't like a snake bite at all." I think this counts.
• Recap.Animaniacs Episode 26: The Warners arrive to fight the dragon.
  Yakko: Did you call for the bravest, most daring knight in all the land?
  King Arthur: Oh, yes!
  Yakko: Well, too bad. You got us.
  Dot: What a silly mix-up! Seems correct.
• Characters.Death Battle Season Two Part 2: When Chuck's analysis begins, Boomstick chronicles an ancient tale of a man born of a dragon, destined to overcome evil throughout the land. That man... is not Chuck Norris, because Norris killed that man. Correct.

Joke Fulfilment

• Starter Gear Staying Power: In many game genres (like Role-Playing Games) the player usually replaces the Starter Equipment with new weapons, armor and items as they progress through the game; constantly swapping out their gear for stat boosts, abilities or whatever other perks are necessary.
  This is not that.
• Manga.Pandora Hearts: You know that manga based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which a virtuous and curious Alice wanders into the enchanting but odd realm of Wonderland, making new friends and finding love along the way?\\

This is not that manga. It's on a work page, so at least the troper probably knew the meaning of the trope and that it wasn't about tropes. That said, it's still joke fulfilment.

• Good Bad Girl: Good girls don't. But she does, and she's not afraid to admit it. Used to say that a trope is not another, specific trope.
• Literature.Mystic River: Downer Ending: You'd think that because Katie's killers were caught in the end, we'd get at least a Bittersweet Ending with heavy emphasis on bitter, right? Wrong. Dave is killed for ultimately no reason other than for Jimmy to find vengeance, leaving his wife widowed and his son fatherless. It's also heavily implied that Sean will be on Jimmy's trail from then on, effectively ruining that friendship and bringing Jimmy back into the life of crime. The troper who added the pothole likely knew the meaning of the trope, and it's not used as an opening gag, but it's still used half-jokingly to go with an example's wording.
• Absurd Altitude: The Big Man (in a dream◊) gets some "unreal" air just by jumping. Well, this is only the background information to the example. In Homestuck, Dave creates a skateboard in the true SBAHJ style (i.e., composed of horrible JPEG artifact recombination), whose name is the "Unreal Air". It simply keeps going up and never comes back down. Again, the user probably knew the definition, but it's still joke fulfilment.
• ComicBook.Gotham Academy: For over seventy-five years Gotham City has been established as a sprawling metropolis bursting at the seams with crime, corruption, and vice. Only the efforts of a few brave individuals such as The Batman keep the city from falling into ruins, at the hands of the infamous rogues that prowl its streets.
  But this comic is not about any of that. Opening gag, but it's on a work page.
• Characters.TNO Germany: Usually, partisans and resistance fighters cooperate. Their fight is public. Not in the case of Revolutionäre Zellen. Not on a trope page, but it's still joke fulfilment of the "opening gag" variety.
• Film.Bright Burn: A happy couple who dreams of starting a family has their wish come true one night when a rocket ship crash-lands near their farm, and a baby boy is found on board. The couple takes him in as their own and raise him lovingly. They soon find out that he has extraordinary superpowers. Sound familiar?
  Well, that's about where the similarities end. Joke fulfilment, but on a work page.
• Violence Is Not an Option: There are a lot of problems a person can solve with violence: evil overlords, bullies, inconvenient walls, high prices at the supermarket...
  Unfortunately, this is not one such problem. Joke fulfilment on a trope page.
• Wrestling.Toru Yano: In NJPW, there are plenty of hot-blooded, well-chiseled, brave-as-all-get-out athletes, from the Purest Ace, to the cockiest rich dude, to the most disrespectful slacker...all have that same fire and determination to win their matches.
  Toru Yano...is not one of those pro-wrestlers. Joke fulfilment, yet on a work page.
• TheProblemWithLicensedGames.Western Animation: While it's no Battle for Bikini Bottom, Creature from the Krusty Krab is a great game in its own right and has gained a cult following over the years. The Nintendo DS version has decidedly not, and for a good reason. Once again, it was scaled down into a 2D platformer. However, for whatever reason, WayForward decided to force touch-screen controls on the game, and it does not work at all. It's a puzzle platformer where you use the touch-screen to do everything, including moving your character with no option to use the D-pad and face buttons instead. Unfortunately, the controls are slow and unresponsive, making for a frustrating experience. Not an "opening gag", but still joke fulfilment.
• Voices Are Not Mental: Sometimes, characters swap bodies. When this happens, these characters will often swap voices as well. This is especially common in animation, due to Rule of Perception.\\

Well, This Is Not That Trope. It's saying that it isn't an actual trope.

• Film.Zombieland: [Lengthy description of zombie movies.] Zombieland is a little more concerned with knocking their fuckin' teeth in. Opening gag, but on a work page.
• Pinball.James Ball 007: "The Pinball Licensed To Thrill"... not. Urgh, joke fulfilment AND complaining.
• HateSink.Live Action TV: Travers, a minor Decima agent in "Control-Alt-Delete" and later ".exe". Most of Decima's named agents are at least somewhat likable, sufficiently badass, or both. Travers is not one of them. He's instead hugely arrogant and condescending, treating everyone but his fellow Samaritan lackeys like subhumans who ought to be grateful for his presence. Not an opening gag, but still joke fulfilment.
• Sinister Sentient Sun: Since the Sun is the main provider of life, heat and energy on Earth, it is a symbol of health and light, and is often depicted as a benevolent being.
  Well, This Is Not That Trope. Standard joke fulfilment on trope page.
• Literature.Kurozuka: History records that Yoshitsune committed suicide after being cornered by Yoritomo's forces. But in this version of events, Kurou and Benkei instead find a mountain hermitage inhabited by a strange, beautiful priestess with a Christian cross necklace centuries before Christianity should have reached Japan named Kuromitsu. Joke fulfilment, but on a work page.
• DarthWiki.The Apostles: [Tells a long story]. This is not that story. Ditto... sort of.
• Fanfic.Aeon Natum Engel: Well, Aeon Natum Engel doesn't. Saying that the fanfic doesn't follow the Fandom-Specific Plot and seems to be joke fulfilment.
• Heartwarming.Final Fantasy XIII 2: The DLC Sazh's Story: Heads or Tails? starts off with Sazh flipping a coin, with the slow-mo title shot displaying the two faces: the goddess Etro (Heads) and a dark skull (Tails). Time freezes, he gets a bit of exposition from the casino owner, he catches the coin, and then flips it again because he didn't get a chance to catch it properly. Slam, peek... "What the...?" And it's a chocobo. Cue Chocobos of Cocoon in the background as Dajh's Chocobo Chick flies up to him. That falls under Funny. Not an opening gag, but still joke fulfilment.
• NightmareFuel.Five Nights At Candys 2: Many players found the Penguin to be rather adorable in the first game, which is helped by the fact that he can unintentionally save you from the other animatronics. That isn't the case at all in this game. Now sporting a much more unnerving appearance, he can briefly disable your camera system entirely, leaving you defenseless against the other animatronics. Few things are as panic-inducing as seeing an animatronic slowly coming toward you and not being able to do a damn thing to stop it. Joke fulfilment, and while it's not an opening gag, it is talking about a trope not applying.
• SoYouWantTo.Avoid Writing A Mary Sue: We call this type of Mary Sue a "Creator's Pet", and there's nothing wrong with some Wish-Fulfillment as long as you know that's what you're doing. This guide is not intended to deal with Creator's Pets. Joke fulfilment, and while it's not technically talking about a trope, many people mislabel YMMV articles as tropes.
• Morally Superior Copy: Clones sure are awful, right? When they're not straight up evil to the core, they have a bad habit of trying to Kill and Replace their natural counterpart. They're a living manifestation of why Creating Life Is Bad, after all.
  Well, This Is Not That Trope. Generic intro joke fulfilment.

ZCEs or Otherwise Unclear

• Fanfic.The Great Alicorn Hunt: The opening paragraph of the first chapter is essentially this, and serving as both a joke and a brief Take That! at the synopsis to Magical Mystery Cure. ZCE
• NOT!: Compare Hahaha No and Well, This Is Not That Trope. Unclear whether they know it's not about tropes or not.
• Radio.Im Sorry I Havent A Clue: Often.
  Humph: Since our special guest today is Phill Jupitus, we all agreed it would be a waste not to make a round to fit his unique talents. ...Still, there you are, that's life. ZCE, and I'm not sure if it's correct or not. Still, at least it isn't being misused as a Trope Trope.

Other Misuse

• Quotes.Police Brutality: This is also the part where I say "now I know that most cops are good," but I don't. Is a subversion of expectations, but it's not describing something and then saying that something else isn't it.
• HateSink.Web Original: The Terrible Trio of the teenage girls Sophia, Emma, and Madison. They cause protagonist Taylor Hebert's trigger event when they locked her in a locker filled with weeks-old used tampons, bugs, and her own vomit as part of their ongoing bullying campaign against her. The three avoid retaliation due to an inept school system, the fact that Sophia was protected by her status as a Ward, and Taylor's refusal to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge with her new powers. While they are definitely not as atrocious as some of the actual villains and inhuman monsters in the story, the hatred from fans comes from the nature of their antagonism and Tattletale's later reveal that she recruited Taylor in large part because her powers told her that Taylor was on the verge of suicide. Well, This is Not That Trope does not mean "a character refuses to do something". The troper maybe confused it with Defied Trope.
• Series.Judge Judy: In one early case:
  Judge Judy: Don't be a wise guy with me, sir. There's only one wise person here. And that's Byrd. Subversion of expectations, but I don't think it quite counts.
• Literature.The Salvation War Hopeless War: You'd assume this would be the case for Humanity given its premise of Religious Horror, right? Nope! It's Heaven and Hell who promptly get their asses kicked. Both Abigor and Michael realize fairly quickly that the demons and angels respectively are doomed, and Michael's entire character arc is trying to save the angelic race from butchery at the hands of mankind. Seems to be confused with Subverted Trope.
• Film.Atomic Blonde: The movie begins with the standard use of Ronald Reagan's Cold War rhetoric ("Tear down this wall!" in particular), along with a description about when the Berlin Wall was officially destroyed. This is subsequently covered with graffiti, which clarifies that this is not that story. Bait-and-Switch played for drama.
• NightmareFuel.Invincible 2021: At first, when Omni-Man first attacks the group, he goes for the kill on Immortal, and later Aquarus, but per typical superhero shows, the speedster Red Rush pulls his teammates out of the way in time and makes his move on the enemy. And then Omni-Man grabs Red Rush's head and starts crushing it, and then you realize this is not your typical superhero show. Dramatic subversion of expectations.
• Creator.William Shakespeare: Just the Way You Are: Sonnet 130, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun", repeatedly subverts the usual flowery comparisons of a love poem to paint a rather unflattering picture of the speaker's beloved... and ends by declaring her uniqueness more beautiful than any stock metaphor. Used just for being subversive in general.
• PlayingWith.The Greatest Story Never Told: The Adventures of Bob spends eighty-nine minutes yakking about how the mark of a hero is one that does his deeds without seeking the spotlight. The final minute is a montage of Bob seeking as much of the spotlight for his deed as possible. That's Bait-and-Switch.
• EstablishingSeriesMoment.Western Animation: For anyone unfamiliar with the comic book or Robert Kirkman's other work, Invincible (2021) may seem like a bright and colorful coming-of-age story about a high school student discovering his superpowers and training under his superhero father, Omni-Man, while trying to balance his two lives... And then it brutally subverts your expectations when the first episode ends with Omni-Man slaughtering the setting's version of the Justice League; the moment he slowly and graphically crushes Red Rush's skull into bloody paste is the moment you realize that this is not a Saturday morning cartoon. General subversiveness.
• Anime.Ringing Bell: Blood Knight: Chirin becomes this. Notably, Wolf, despite being the villain, does not fit this trope at all. While it's not ever shown onscreen, he does consume most of his victims. The rest are killed because they get in his way. Seems to be being confused with Averted Trope.