On TV Tropes, it's very common for editors to misuse appearance tropes, as well as tropes whose names make them sound like they could be appearance tropes.
Meaningful Appearance tropes are often misused in ways that overlook the "Meaningful" aspect, resulting in Zero Context Examples and misuse in the form of examples that have no meaning even if the tropes themselves are not People Sit on Chairs.
The Appearance Tropes Cleanup sandbox covers tropes with potential issues. Tropes that simply require cleanup will go through this thread, while tropes that require more significant action will have to go through the Trope Repair Shop.
April 2, 2023 update: This thread is no longer for making changes to tropes, and was brought back from the Projects Morgue solely for cleanup. Making changes to tropes is still a job for the Trope Repair Shop.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Apr 2nd 2023 at 9:18:26 AM
The series has so many characters that I do not even remember who has what eyes, but other than the Big Bad having mercilessly cold blue eyes, I do not remember any significance attached to eye colours.
"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - Fighteer
Not that kind of doctor
The Brown Eyes wick in Deepgate Codex is potholed in an example listed under Common Eye Colors—that's an index of eye-color tropes, not a trope itself, right? I'm assuming the appropriate action would be to move any valid examples of remaining eye-color tropes to separate examples in the appropriate place and remove the Common Eye Colors entry?
(she/her)
I would sat yes. I believe the ideal is to make Common Eye Colours defunct. It may or may not be worth turning into a useful note though
Off topic but the sooner we get to the mess that is Windowsofthe Soul the better. ...
edited 10th Feb '17 9:29:29 PM by MacronNotes
Macron's notes
World's Toughest Milkman
More importantly, an index should not be used as a trope.
Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.
It might be better named as 'Common Meaningful Eye Color Tropes', also yes an index should never really be linked unless the work uses like most of the index and such.
Indexes can be used as tropes. Whether this particular index should be is a different question. I think not, as the only commonality between these is that they are about specific colours, which are not tropes.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Not that kind of doctor
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Septimus, could you give an example of when an index would belong in a trope list? I know supertropes can be used if the example fits the supertrope but does not fall under one of the specific subtropes, but I thought indexes were just collections of related tropes, so I'm having a hard time picturing what kind of example would belong under the index. Thanks.
Meaningful Appearance. Applied Phlebotinum.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
World's Toughest Milkman
Both of those are broad supertropes which index their numerous subtropes. (Bizarre Alien Biology is another such.)
Applied Phlebotinum is a Trope Of Legend and the regular rules don't seem to apply there—though we should probably either add folders and start cross-wicking or start cleaning up the so-called examples.
Meaningful Appearance was intended as a trope+index from the get-go.
We don't put God Tropes or This Index Is a Bitch on trope lists. Even in a work where all the characters are gods...and bitches. :)
I don't see any way to justify Common Eye Colors as a proper supertrope. If so, it would almost have to be a Universal Trope with only aversions listed. But having common eye colors for your characters is...pretty much chairs.
Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.
Common Eye Colours is probably the next trope (after the current Brown Eyes) to handle here.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Brown Eyes has 123 wicks left. Besides the locked pages, I went through the remaining wicks, removed potholes, ZC Es, and obvious non-examples and changed what I could. The rest were were/are commented out.
~malias: These commented out examples should be removed as well.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Alright, aside from the entry on Ambiguity Index, Brown Eyes has been dewicked as much as possible without some intervention.
The following pages have entries still and are locked: Black Eyes, Final Fantasy VII: Playable Characters, Green Eyes, and Kuzlalala.
The following pages have ghost wicks (afaict): Death Note Supporting Characters and Hazel Eyes.
Characters.Final Fantasy VII Playable Characters: Should the example be removed altogether?
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
I doubt it, character's eyes are important in FFVII since those with green eyes have been poisoned with prolonged exposure to Mako and the Cetra are all characterized with bright blue eyes.
Her having brown eyes basically point to her being normal.
edited 17th Feb '17 9:47:33 AM by Memers
Lost in Space
I don't think that fits. The narrative significance is attached to the odd-colored eyes, not the normal-colored ones. A trope is an active conveyance of information to the audience.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Alrights, that wick is disposed of. Now Brown Eyes is done, so moving on to Common Eye Colors.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
(she/her)
Well we got Green Eyes and Grey Eyes. Someone has raised a query about Creepy Blue Eyes just being a mix between Icy Blue Eyes and Occult Blue Eyes
edited 17th Feb '17 6:26:04 PM by MacronNotes
Macron's notes
We could just merge the blue eyes tropes together. They mostly mean the same.
(So, about Common Eye Colors...)
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
I guess people thought they were supposed to start with the subtropes of Common Eye Colors, Septimus.
So... What exactly is the problem with Common Eye Colors?
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
It is being used as a trope even though it isn't. And it's more a quick fix than the other three tropes.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
We can dewicked any examples from pages.
Isn't Common Eye Colors just supposed to be an index anyway? That means using it as a trope is bad form even outside of the Appearance tropes misuse issue. We don't put Hero Tropes in trope lists either. Or at least we shouldn't.
You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!"
Seems a bit like a coincidence. If it's explicitly said in the story that brown eyes correlate with these traits, then it can be filed under Meaningful Appearance.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman