Peeks from Under Rocks
Aversions are rarely worth noting unless you're dealing with an Omnipresent Trope.
Subversions, OTOH, can be a valid listing. Work makes you think Cute Kitten, and then shows that it isn't so cute after all? Valid.
That said, most of the subversions listed on Cute Kitten aren't... really... subversions as I understand the trope...
The Ice Queen
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Yeah, most of the "subversions" listed are "horrible thing happens to a kitten", not "kitten that is not cute."
She / Her
I think it's fine to list subversions, just as long as they're not misuse. However, we're generally not supposed to list averted examples, though I believe exceptions exist.
The Ice Queen
My concern is more that the subversions don't seem to actually be subversions in the case of Cute Kitten; they're just examples of kittens being harmed, which does not equate to "you think this kitten is cute, but nope!"
She / Her
Yeah, I saw, which is why I said "just as long as they're not misuse". Thanks for pointing that out anyway.
Logic Girl
"Horrible thing happens to a kitten" would be Black Comedy Animal Cruelty (if a person is doing the bad thing), or Black Comedy Pet Death (if the kitten dies). Not sure about non-fatal gore that happens to a kitten and isn't inflicted by a person, but I agree, it's not a subversion of Cute Kitten.
For every low there is a high.
She / Her
If it's intended to be humourous, that is, though I otherwise agree with you.
Discarded and Feeling Blue
If anything, it's the cuteness of kittens that make violence against them seem so much more upsetting in the first place. I agree it's not a valid way to subvert the concept. (Unless maybe it's an evil kitten hurting other kittens?)
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
A subversion would be something like a character expecting to see a kitten and getting a tiger, or what looks like a kitten being a scary monster in disguise. There are a couple of examples like that on the page, but more examples that are actually straight (showing a kitten being hurt is still playing on the audience's sympathy for the kitty).
Edited by Mouser on Sep 21st 2022 at 12:21:42 PM
The Ice Queen
The examples from The Brothers Grimm, Pet Sematary II, and Drowtales are the ones that are the most immediately out of place to me.
It's safe to assume that a person reading a page like Cute Kitten or Bunnies for Cuteness is doing so because they want to be exposed to wholesome media. Does it really make sense to include descriptions of kittens or bunnies being mutilated on said pages solely because they're "subversions"?