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
Lord of the Blue Star
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That may be in most cases, but Oda rarely forgets plot details. And such a change was decried by many fans. He might have finally found an excuse to make reference to it.
Elder statesman
"Might have" is not good enough, because Examples Are Not Arguable and one of the example writing rules is "Don't speculate".
Bigotry in the name of inclusion is still bigotry.
Hilarious in Hindsight might still work, since the scene is significantly funnier to anyone familiar with the 4Kids dub.
No, the other one.
Where's the hindsight? Didn't the events occur in the wrong order for that?
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That's true. So I guess it doesn't fall into any of the above unless there's confirmation the lollipop thing was intentional
Lord of the Blue Star
Okay. Now I need to write in to the next SBS then to get what Oda was thinking then. It would be really cool if he answered.
Lord of the Blue Star
Considering the Swords of the Cross in The Dresden Files represent Hope, Faith, and Love, can be reforged by a person or persons who possess that trait deeply, and are empowered by God, would this qualify them for Made of Good? Never mind, I see they are better under Embodiment of Virtue
edited 1st Jul '16 8:05:56 PM by isoycrazy
Just a quickie to check of this is good for See the Invisible:
- Ryoutaro, the male lead of Suki × Suki, is the one and only person who can see Touka Aizuki when she's using her invisibility powers. This would not be a problem in itself, except Touka is unaware of this fact and uses her invisibility to be close to him when she's otherwise too tsundere to speak to him any way except rudely.
There's no special trick being used to see the invisible person, he just can. The story seems to suggest it's because she's his crush, but I figure that would just clutter up the entry.
No, the other one.
Well, it's an unusual example, but it's an example. I think that's the right trope as well.
Fill it in if it gets an explanation, but otherwise it's speculation. It's probably a limited version of True Sight, but it's not known if it's that he can see her even if she's invisible, or if she simply can't turn invisible to him (which would put the limitation on her end).
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Could someone take a look at these examples from YMMV.Jupiter Ascending:
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: There are a lot of interesting side characters that deserved far more screen time, including Kalique (for her cunning), the bounty hunters (just to know their backstory), and Jupiter's family.
- The Un-Twist: Balem being revealed as his mother's murderer is so obvious that it's surprising it was kept as The Reveal.
I think The Un-Twist could use some more context
The Unknown
Currently having a bit of an argument on the YMMV.Fire Emblem Fates discussion page with The Nohrian Dark Knight over an example of They Just Didn't Care that I deleted awhile ago. Just going to leave the example here for more opinions because I honestly think it's fucking stupid (Crossdressing Voices is a standard industry practice for young male characters) and I'm tired of arguing with him.
- They Just Didn't Care: In English, Male Kana is obviously voiced by a woman, despite the Japanese version having him voiced by the male Avatar's actor. Apparently, they just didn't care to cast a male voice actor for male Kana in English, which is what they did for male Morgan in Awakening!
edited 3rd Jul '16 4:07:23 PM by Karxrida
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
@sgamer82 What about the They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character example?
@Karxrida Completely agree with you, I don't think that's a proper example. Besides doesn't They Just Didn't Care have to apply to the whole work and not just one aspect?
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character seems all right enough. Maybe it could use a bit more detail, but that might just be me overthinking the need for context.
Need someone to take a look at this example from YMMV.X 2 X Men United, considering it's a reaction I've seen misused frequently:
- Narm: Striker's refusal to do anything more than walk slowly away from the explosive he's placed in Bobby's Ice Wall. C'mon, old man, you just turned an entire wall into a grenade; could you make your Plot Armor any more obvious?
Grr... <3
That is horrible abuse of They Just Didn't Care. rant:Does ANYONE understand the meaning of that trope? That is not even close to sufficient reason to list They Just Didn't Care. They Just Didn't Care requires a bunch of things to go wrong. And they have to be examples of poor production values. Choice of voice actor is not an example of poor production values.
Um, how is that Narm? No, seriously. That sounds like a scene which plays out the way it is supposed to.
I've got a few recent edits from YMMV.Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice. Is this really Vindicated by History? Because I think it's way too early to say:
- Vindicated by History: The theatrical version of the film was famously thrashed by critics, receiving a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Common criticisms included a very scattered plot and poorly developed motivations. When the Ultimate Edition was released, most everyone agreed it was a better film overall, with almost every apparent plot hole and unclear motivation being addressed in the expanded version.
Also, someone points out that Wonder Woman's theme (or at least a theme that appears the first time she's in costume) is way too similar to Xena's. Is that a valid complaint?
edited 4th Jul '16 8:44:36 AM by DeisTheAlcano
Does Dirty Communists only apply to actual communists? There are a number of examples on the page that look more like examples of Scary Dogmatic Aliens, such as the ones from Star Trek:
- Klingons were originally meant to represent the Soviet Union during the Cold War but have since become the prototypical proud warrior race.
- Star Trek: The Original Series averts this trope when they included Chekov in the crew. He was very proudly Russian, and the Cold War was at its height when the series first aired.
- He may have been proud of Russian culture, but the only things he mentioned were from the days of the Russian Empire. May be a case of Accidentally Accurate: this attitude can indeed be exhibited by some Russians nowadays.
- The Cardassians later take over this role (appropriately updated for the late-80s-early-90s) through their sparse appearances in The Next Generation and especially in Deep Space Nine: vaguely described early on as an impoverished people with "deep spiritual values" who embraced a military dictatorship as a solution. Later, a decaying authoritarian super-power forced to relinquish its hold on the peoples it once held subject. Although the outright genocidal brutality and species-supremacism of their occupation of the Bajorans means that they have quite strong Nazi analogies at times.
- This becomes quite blatant if you listen to some of the lunch conversations between Bashir and Garak, as Garak often takes a Straw Communist position when they debate some matter of politics or philosophy. Also, there is the title what the Cardassian's greatest creative work: The Neverending Sacrifice.
- Star Trek: The Original Series averts this trope when they included Chekov in the crew. He was very proudly Russian, and the Cold War was at its height when the series first aired.
I've been cleaning up some things (mostly indentation issues) on the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar YMMV page and came across the following trope:
- Our Lawyers Advised This Trope: The generic names being changed to ones that can be trademarked. Malerion may be this for Malekith, due to the controversy over who has the patent on the name and character concept of 'Malekith' between Games Workshop's Dark Elf king Malekith and Marvel comics' Dark Elf king Malekith, especially since so many other things were renamed to be copyright friendly (eg; elf-to-aelf, orc-to-orruk and zombie-to-deathshambler). ◦ Halfway confirmed - Malerion was Malekith, renamed after merging with his dragon Seraphon.
- That could be a Watsonian Vs Doylist explanation. (Watsonian) In-universe the name changed due to him forgetting it and fusing with his dragon. (Doylist) The reason Games Workshop took the character in that direction was they weren't confident they could patent the name and character 'Malekith' over Marvel Comics.
- The other renamings are on the Trivia page, as they are considered confirmed rather than speculation.
- Then again, given Games Workshop's track record and the fact that none of the other returning characters got name changes (such as Sigmar, Morathi, Mannfred, Alarielle, Nagash, even Archaon's steed Dorghar; in fact Tyrion returns with the same name despite there being another famous Tyrion in fiction at the moment), it makes sense that Malekith would be renamed and it's not like Games Workshop would admit it if it was true, so how about we count Malekith/Malerion as confirmed? ***Of course, Games Workshop's Tyrion predates GRRM's by at least four years, so that might be why he gets to keep his name.
From what I can gather from the trope page (which is difficult to read due to having been written in legalese) the trope is about messages added to a work for legal reasons but this example is about names in a work being changed so that they can be copyrighted. Is this also an example of the trope?
edited 4th Jul '16 11:24:19 AM by SebastianGray
No, the other one.
If it's a new cut of the same film, it doesn't count as Vindicated by History, since it's not the same content that's reviewed and analysed.
For the latter, is it about the Broken Base entry? For that, it doesn't need to be a valid complaint. It just needs to be an issue that breaks the fanbase into two camps that fight between each other. It's more important whether it's something that causes a fanbase civil war or not. If it's just an issue people disagree on, it doesn't count.
Dirty Communists is as far as I can determine about actual Russians/Soviets, and not fantasy counterparts. As such, only the aversion (Chekov) would be relevant there. Formatting is horrible, though.
Our Lawyers Advised This Trope only seems to cover disclaimers of various kinds, not other legal considerations.
I thought so. Thanks I will delete the example.
Wouldn't it be about both?
The Klingons were literal stand-ins for Russians in the Cold War. Star Trek VI was specifically wrote as if the barriers of the Cold War were falling, then the Berlin War came crashing down while they were filming the movie.
Cardassians are literal Chinese/North Korea style communists, all their media is designed around serving the state and propaganda. All their 'great stories' are about sacrifice for the greater good of the state or everyone dies via execution for betraying the state. Their trials are also a show as well, guilt has already been determined before the trial begins. Heck there is even a secret spy organization that spends more time spying on its own than others in the Obsidian Order.
A coup happens mid series which installs a democratic government which gets quickly pounced on by the Klingons.
edited 5th Jul '16 12:05:59 AM by Memers
No, the other one.
Literal stand-ins are fantasy counterparts. They're not actual depictions of the people of the Soviet Union, which is what the trope says it's about.
Chinese/North Korea style communists aren't the trope either. It specifically excludes them, which indicates it's only about the Soviet Union, and not similar people, such as expies.
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Then it needs a rename, split into 3 and/or a massive cleanup.
edited 5th Jul '16 3:20:58 AM by Memers
Hard to say. It could be, but the 4Kids dub was US made while the chapter was just translated from the Japanese. Plus they're on an archipelago where each island is literally made of sweets.
If it were intentional, and personally doubt it since that depends on the Japanese manga artist paying attention to and caring about an English dub of his work from close to a decade ago. In that case it's either a Mythology Gag or maybe a Take That!.
Occam's Razor leaves me to think coincidence is more likely, which might make it Hilarious in Hindsight.
edited 1st Jul '16 5:54:33 AM by sgamer82