Do you have trouble remembering the difference between Deathbringer the Adorable and Fluffy the Terrible?
Do you have trouble recognizing when you've written a Zero-Context Example?
Not sure if you really have a Badass Bookworm or just a guy who likes to read?
Well, this is the thread for you. We're here to help you will all the finer points of example writing. If you have any questions, we can answer them. Don't be afraid. We don't bite. We all just want to make the wiki a better place for everyone.
Useful Tips:
- Make sure that the example makes sense to both people who don't know the work AND don't know the trope.
- Wrong: The Mentor: Kevin is this to Bob in the first episode.
- Right: The Mentor: Kevin takes Bob under his wing in the first episode and teaches him the ropes of being a were-chinchilla.
- Never just put the trope title and leave it at that.
- Wrong: Badass Adorable
- Right: Badass Adorable: Xavier, the group's cute little mascot, defeats three raging elephants with both hands tied behind his back using only an uncooked spaghetti noodle.
- When is normally far less important than How.
- A character name is not an explanation.
- Wrong: Full Moon Silhouette: Diana
- Right: Full Moon Silhouette: At the end of her transformation sequence into Moon Princess Misty, Diana is shown flying across the full moon riding a rutabaga.
Other Resources:
For best results, please include why you think an example is iffy in your first post.
Also, many oft-misused tropes/topics have their own threads, such as Surprisingly Realistic Outcome (here
) and Fan-Preferred Couple (here). Tropers are better able to give feedback on examples you bring up to specific threads.
For cleaning up examples of Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard, you must use their dedicated threads: Complete Monster Cleanup, Magnificent Bastard Cleanup.
Edited by Synchronicity on Sep 18th 2023 at 11:42:55 AM
Lost in Space
Could you provide a more specific example? In a general sense, an Expy or Captain Ersatz is, by definition, not the same character as the original, and therefore any changes made would not be considered "adaptational".
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
I think you already answered my question to my satisfaction, actually. I never had an example in mind, I just wondered just how broad the "Adaptational" element of Adaptational X tropes was.
But if you really want an example, there's Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat, who is just one of many, many, many Bruce Lee Clones, though I do not know of/remember any Bruce Lee Clone who can wield magical flames and was Badass enough to defeat powerful supernatural entities and Dimension Lords in no-holds-barred combat. Pretty sure the Bruce Lee couldn't do any of that.
edited 22nd Nov '14 12:58:18 PM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Lost in Space
That's clearly not a case of adaptational anything.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
Thought as much. Thanks for clarifying that up.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
Are we supposed to take the "Androids" part of Androids Are People, Too literally, or does it extend to artificial intelligences that are not housed within robotic bodies?
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Can a female character be a Warrior Prince?
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Warrior Prince says that it's Distaff Counterpart is Badass Princess, so it probably should go there.
Ah thanks.
A lot of examples of Abhorrent Admirer have to do with characters that have repulsive personalities rather than having repulsive looks. Those are misuses right?
I'm not sure. We don't really seem to have another trope for those sort of examples, so it might fall under Tropes Are Flexible. The description's pretty heavily focused on the appearance side of things, though.
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
The "Magi(c)" part of Magitek includes Psychic Powers in sci-fi settings with no fantasy-genre elements whatsoever, right? I'm trying to figure out whether the Mobile Suit Gundam example listed in the article or, say, the Psychic Armor and other psionic tech in XCOM Enemy Unknown qualify as sci-fi examples of Magitek.
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Queen of Ice
I was writing an excerpt in my own book and was wondering if something was a Kick The Dog moment or a Shoot The Dog moment; I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out which one? It might help me write it. The High Queen of the land has to execute one of her subjects; she's close to this subject and actually likes him but he's done something that's unforgivable in the eyes of the people. Exile is not an option so he has to die... Just still slightly confused on that, and wondering if it would also be a Slave To PR thing as well. Sorry; can't do links.
Sorry, but MY RAMA is NOT BORDERLINE. Thank you.
Lost in Space
Kick the Dog is when a character (usually but not always a villain) commits a pointlessly mean act. It doesn't further their plans in any way; they do it just because they can, or because it pisses off some other character, or because they are a Card-Carrying Villain and it's in the contract.
Shoot the Dog is when a character (usually but not always a hero) commits an amoral act out of necessity. They don't enjoy it, but circumstances make it unavoidable. The Trope Namer is Old Yeller, when the boy's dog heroically saves him from a wild animal but has to be shot in the end because it contracted rabies.
Your example sounds closer to Shoot the Dog.
edited 3rd Dec '14 1:45:35 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Lost in Space
~Marq FJA: Psychic Powers incorporated into technology could qualify for Magitek if the powers aren't given a scientific basis: in other words, if they function like magic in the setting.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Queen of Ice
OK; thank you. Was just confused on the difference between the two. Much appreciated :)
Sorry, but MY RAMA is NOT BORDERLINE. Thank you.
Re: the last example, it does also sound like Slave to PR to me.
Queen of Ice
Thank you so much :) It's really helpful and really appreciated.
Sorry, but MY RAMA is NOT BORDERLINE. Thank you.
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
If you handle it like Minovsky Physics or even give a halfway plausible Hand Wave to make them more science-fiction-y, then they wouldn't be Magitek. But if there's something clearly supernatural about the underlying mechanic that makes psychic powers work, then it would be. I think that's what was meant.
In other words: If they pretty obviously aren't justifiable using science, even bullshit science, then they're "like magic".
INCARNATION OF POWER
Hey, I recently added several tropes to this article and I wish to determine if they all fit the description. I also wish to determine which 'tomato' trope is better as they can't both be one. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/NintendoNightmare
I think we have an actual canned "spoilers off" warning that's a little more visible than just mentioning it in the description. I'll try to find it.
EDIT: Oh, all the examples I'm finding are just the last line of the description, set in its own paragraph, and either bolded or italicized. There's no real consistency, but on balance, I'd go with bold; it draws more attention.
edited 5th Dec '14 11:25:45 AM by SolipSchism
INCARNATION OF POWER
Okay, thanks, what about the actual tropes though.
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
Judging from the long example list in the Real Life folder, is it safe to say that Bizarre and Improbable Ballistics is an example of Truth in Television tropes?
So something as simple as "his brain exhibits unusual structures that seem to have a connection with his Psychic Powers" is sufficient to disqualify it from Magitek?
edited 6th Dec '14 5:52:04 AM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Lost in Space
Let's take a hypothetical, totally made-up example because you haven't listed any actual examples that you want to check out.
Scenario A: Psychic powers are mystical gifts that nobody understands, but they mark their bearers as extraordinary. Someone discovers a special crystal that lets psychics channel their power through machines. Thus is born the Psychic Mecha Corps. Cue spectacular anime battles.
There's no attempt here to justify or explain the powers, just to take whatever passes for magic in the setting and turn it into something run by Rule of Cool. Magitek is a suitable trope.
Scenario B: Some people have psychic powers, and scientists have studied how they work enough to construct specialized devices that amplify and/or channel their abilities. An industry is built up around this concept, with psychics powering and powered by technology. This is not Magitek.
edited 6th Dec '14 7:45:55 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
Scenario B pretty much describes the XCOM Enemy Unknown example that I had previously cited here, actually, though I hadn't thought of saying anything detailed because the whole "scientists studied how they work" thing was done off-screen in a take-our-word-for-it manner (not even Techno Babble involving a nonsensical mishmash of scientific-sounding terms), thus I thought there were no details for me to describe. The Gundam example also fits, though apparentlynote there's less of a deal thrown up about the actual research and the focus is more on the resulting technological applications thereof (more specifically, the military tech). Thanks for clarifying the ambiguity for me.
edited 6th Dec '14 9:22:29 AM by MarqFJA
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Do the tropes Expy, Captain Ersatz, and other similar tropes count for the "Adaptational" part of Adaptational Badass, Adaptational Villainy, and other such "Adapational X" tropesnote ?
PS: A more comprehensive list of Adaptational X tropes is on Media Adaptation Tropes and Derivative Works.
edited 22nd Nov '14 5:27:31 AM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.