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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.
    • Wrong: Big Bad: Of the first season.
    • Right: Big Bad: The heroes have to defeat the Mushroom Man lest the entirety of Candy Land's caramel supply be turned into fungus.
  • A character name is not an explanation.


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. We don't discuss Complete Monster or Magnificent Bastard examples; please don't bring them up.

Edited by SeptimusHeap on Jul 17th 2025 at 8:59:01 PM

Mrph1 he/him from Mercia (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
he/him
#27901: Jun 5th 2023 at 11:23:13 AM

[up]&[up][up]

It doesn't help that the trope description also says "the permafusion itself doesn't have to be permanent or irreversible; as long as the fusion has the potential to last forever"

...so if it's an Informed Attribute because someone mentions there's no time limit, it still counts?

wingedcatgirl mys. minty from the silly dimension from lurking (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
mys. minty from the silly dimension
#27902: Jun 5th 2023 at 11:55:55 AM

... and we immediately have a new question, also about Miraculous:

  • Perfectly Cromulent Word: Hawk Moth's supervillain-creating butterflies "akuma"s are named after a kind of evil Japanese spirit. "Akumatization" and "akumatized" follow for referring to villains possessed by them. Hawk Moth referring to the action of possessing someone as "evilise" (and Ladybug calling the purification of the butterflies "de-evilise"), however...that's just made up.

Is this a valid use here? The show isn't in any way presenting the word as "fake" in-universe, but the trope description doesn't seem to indicate that this is required. Setting aside for a moment that ultimately all words are made up, Perfectly Cromulent Word isn't an Audience Reaction, so it seems strange to use it in an entirely external manner like this.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#27903: Jun 5th 2023 at 12:23:00 PM

I don't see an in-universe requirement, so it looks like an OK example. The Akuma parts go on longer than they need. Hawk Moth follows the "Akumatize" pattern by saying "evilize". Though a nonstandard word, the meaning of "evilize", evil + -ize, is obvious.

randomtroper89 from The Fire Nation Since: Nov, 2010
#27904: Jun 5th 2023 at 12:42:07 PM

Earlier I had brought up the issue with the Avatar entry on LoveDodecahedron.Western Animation, I want to address the Korra entry now. I was able to trim this...

  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: has this in spades. Where to start...
    • Sequel Series The Legend of Korra
      • Bolin likes The Hero Korra at first sight, Korra, who likes Bolin's Tall, Dark, and Snarky older brother Mako, and Mako, who fell hard for and is dating Uptown Girl Asami but also discovers he himself has some feelings for Korra. The first three comprise a pro-bending team, which Asami, as a pro-bending Fangirl and Mako's girlfriend, has talked her wealthy father into sponsoring in the local Tournament. Not surprisingly, the quadrangle causes both personal and professional trouble when one party decides to make a move on another, and is witnessed by a third, who is devastated.
      • And now Meelo has entered the picture with a crush on Asami as well.
      • This appears to have been resolved by the end of Book One, with Mako and Korra falling in love, Bolin getting over his crush, and Mako and Asami breaking up. Bolin and Asami voice actors PJ Byrne and Seychelle Gabriel even jokingly complained to creators Mike and Bryan about being cut out of the dodecahedron in a Comic Con interview.
      • As of Season 3, neither Korra nor Asami is with Mako. Both girls are now better friends who bond over their shared crush and Mako's awkwardness around them both until episode 3 or 4 of the new season, when they confront him, and he admits he's trying to figure out how to act around them in a Just Friends way. Bolin has a new girlfriend named Opal, who is one of the new Air Benders who has left to study under Tenzin.
      • Season 4 fully resolves the entire situation. With Asami and Korra as the endgame Official Couple.

Down to this...

  • The Legend of Korra: Bolin likes The Hero Korra at first sight, who likes Bolin's Tall, Dark, and Snarky older brother Mako, who fell hard for and is dating Uptown Girl Asami but also discovers he himself has some feelings for Korra. Not to mention Meelo and his kiddy crush on Asami. The first three comprise a pro-bending team, which Asami, as a pro-bending Fangirl and Mako's girlfriend, has talked her wealthy father into sponsoring in the local Tournament. Not surprisingly, the quadrangle causes both personal and professional trouble when Korra decides to make a move on Mako, and is witnessed by Bolin, who is devastated. This appears to have been resolved by the end of Book One, with Mako and Asami breaking up, Mako and Korra falling in love, and Bolin getting over his crush. As of Book 3, neither Korra nor Asami is with Mako. Both girls are now better friends who bond over their shared crush and Mako's awkwardness around them both, and book 4 fully resolves the entire situation with Asami and Korra as the endgame Official Couple.

The problem is that the romance in Korra only reaches a love square and only very briefly, as Bolin drops out of the love rivalry not very long after Asami joins.

Edited by randomtroper89 on Jun 5th 2023 at 2:52:41 PM

Nouct over the front from an east coast Since: Sep, 2014 Relationship Status: Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
over the front
#27905: Jun 5th 2023 at 3:38:54 PM

In ScrappyMechanic.Fate Grand Order:

  • While mostly due to events, players who want to farm from other materials in events more efficiently have to find a friend who has the servant equipped with the corresponding Craft Essence. Seems simple, right? Unfortunately, due to players preferring to stack their servant with the highest-rarity CEs in the event, this means that trying to find a servant equipped with a different event CE is extremely tedious without looking for friend IDs.

My contention is that this is a personal bugbear by the troper that fails to notice this issue has been addressed because there's a menu filter to remove characters with highest tier drop bonuses and only allow characters with low tier drop bonuses. So I think this is less a valid Scrappy Mechanic and more someone failed to notice this in the menu so they went to vent on the wiki about the game's perceived failure to address an issue that could already be fixed.

AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#27906: Jun 5th 2023 at 6:35:57 PM

I made a post here already about how people barely use RPG Maker to make RP Gs and mostly just make horror games with rare compromises to making actual horror themed RP Gs like Fear And Hunger. Can people please comment on this idea?

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Malady (X-Troper)
#27907: Jun 5th 2023 at 6:44:28 PM

I wouldn't say that's accurate, it's just that Horror RPG-s are short enough to be streamed easily and made visible online, while non-horror, longer RPG-s like Ara Fell, aren't as easy to publicize.

https://itch.io/games/made-with-rpg-maker/tag-horror - 565 results

https://itch.io/games/made-with-rpg-maker - 5,014 results

Therefore there's at least 4.5K RPG Maker games that at least aren't tagged as Horror?

And this isn't Trope Idea Sounding Board. eh.

Edited by Malady on Jun 5th 2023 at 6:48:38 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#27908: Jun 5th 2023 at 6:48:53 PM

Ok but luckily I remembered what I want to add was an example for Not the Intended Use so if I drop the "Barely gets used for RP Gs" I can still salvage it.

  • The RPG Maker series of games sees a lot of use for RP Gs but it has also become famous for horror games like The Witches House and even horror themed RP Gs like Fear And Hunger

I need some more horror games to make it more solid but I still want imput if this works out.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Malady (X-Troper)
#27909: Jun 5th 2023 at 7:30:31 PM

Well, in NotTheIntendedUse.Other, if this example counts, then yours should too since it's about a difference in Genre instead of medium?

  • Related, Go Animate was intended to serve as a way for people to make animations for things like advertisement or education - with schools even teaching kids how to animate using it. Of course, one look at its page on this wiki will show just how kids actually used it...

Edited by Malady on Jun 5th 2023 at 7:30:57 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#27910: Jun 5th 2023 at 7:47:21 PM

Good! Thanks Malady!

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
SoyValdo7 I mainly fix indentation issues from La tierra de lagos y volcanes Since: Sep, 2022 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
I mainly fix indentation issues
#27911: Jun 5th 2023 at 9:16:16 PM

From Trivia.The Devils Jesters

  • Lying Creator: When word got out about the anniversary film starting production with a relatively small number of producers in the cast, many producers were not happy about their exclusion. Greg Michaud told everyone that the cast had not been finalized for the film yet. This directly contradicted the latest draft of the script where the cast seemed like it was set in stone. Greg admitted to Tony Goldmark on Skype DMs that, after falsely stating it was because of "scheduling conflicts", the production would be the biggest Channel Awesome had ever made and, had they added another two dozen producers added to the production, it would no longer be financially feasible. This was never admitted to the other producers.

The Devils Jesters was an channel awesome crossover film planned for the anniversary special. It was cancelled due to the controversy caused by the #ChangeTheChannel movement. The only information we have about the project comes from an episode of the podcast "How Did This NOT Get Made?" hosted by Tony Goldmark, at the time a Channel Awesome producer and intended cast member of the film.

For all this, I think Lying Creator's example doesn't count because we can't confirm any of this is true. The latest draft of the script was never made public and, for all we know, may still be subject to change. This is pure gossip.

Edited by SoyValdo7 on Jun 5th 2023 at 10:16:37 AM

Valdo
MathsAngelicVersion Ambassador of Eurogames and Touhou Music from Gensokyo Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Ambassador of Eurogames and Touhou Music
#27912: Jun 6th 2023 at 7:21:55 AM

This was removed from BlindIdiotTranslation.Live Action TV without explanation:

  • In season 24, episode 10 of Pointless, Alexander mentions adding 250 pounds to the jackpot. The Norwegian translator thought he was going for the mass unit and translated it as "113 kg". Another episode had "literary Patricias" translated as "literary patriarchs".

Is it safe to restore it?

Agentofchaos A God Am I from Somewhere in the Universe Since: Dec, 2021
#27913: Jun 6th 2023 at 7:43:33 AM

On The Locked Tomb Secondary under Ianthe's folder

  • Draco in Leather Pants: According to the author, Ianthe is explicitly based on this trope, described as "the hyper-privileged, drawling blonde with daddy issues who sulks erotically in a corner", funny and with sympathetic elements as well as a lot of awfulness. invoked

Should this stay or not, since Word of God deliberately invoked it?

Also it's on YMMV.The Locked Tomb

"We'll meet again" | 🏳️‍⚧️
CompletelyNormalGuy Am I a weirdo? from a place where folks put cream cheese on hot dogs (Oldest One in the Book)
Am I a weirdo?
#27914: Jun 6th 2023 at 10:24:55 AM

[up][up]The "adding pounds to the jackpot" part definitely fits the definition of an overly literal translation that destroys the meaning. I don't think the second part does.

[up]Even if it is an example, there's no context. Draco in Leather Pants is when the audience tones down a character's flaws. The example doesn't state that anyone is doing that. It simply talks about the traits the character has, and expects the reader to assume that the end result would be the audience downplaying her flaws.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
BigBadShadow25 With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg. from Basement at the Alamo (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Desperate
With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg.
#27915: Jun 6th 2023 at 10:34:59 AM

I say cut the Torch the Franchise and Run example on Owl House mentioned a few pages back. Dana brought an end to the show, but she’s gone on record saying there could be a prequel or a sequel.

Actually, I just went ahead and cut it myself. And the example on the trope page too.

Edited by BigBadShadow25 on Jun 6th 2023 at 1:39:14 PM

You’re Gonna Carry That Weight.
Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#27916: Jun 6th 2023 at 11:11:26 AM

So I found this on

I think she counts but I don't she what the bolded part hast to do with a trope about villains being cool or the need to mention the villains from completely different movies? If we do keep it wouldnt it be better like this:

That could just be me though and maybe it is fine how it was. Any thoughts?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
Mrph1 he/him from Mercia (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: This is not my beautiful wife!
he/him
#27917: Jun 6th 2023 at 11:52:58 AM

From Silk (Marvel Comics):

So, as a minimum, this needs expanding to add context and Web Links Are Not Examples.

But looking a little deeper - Cat Fight is:

A battle between two or more female combatants that differs from the Designated Girl Fight only in that it's invoked for Fanservice and/or comedic purposes more than anything else. Though the label may be attached to any girl-fight, a true cat fight generally lacks finesse/combat skill.
That's not what we have here. Black Cat is an Arc Villain for one of the Silk series and the Big Bad for another. Both Silk and Cat are portrayed as competent, and it's not exactly played for fanservice. It's just female hero vs. female villain.

We've got relevant Beauty Is Never Tarnished (averted by the beating and black eye Silk takes from Black Cat) and No-Holds-Barred Beatdown (Black Cat "proceeds to beat Cindy to a bloody pulp in front of her goons") examples listed for their fights.

If it wasn't for the Cat's codename and the punny cover caption, I don't think it would be any sort of example. As it is... is there a valid Playing With option for this one, acknowledging the pun doesn't match the reality? Or do we just cut it?

Malady (X-Troper)
#27918: Jun 6th 2023 at 3:23:35 PM

Is it Urban Warfare if the fight is in a Ghost Town where the sides are "Adventurers that happened to stumble in" and "scavenging, animalistic monsters"?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
CompletelyNormalGuy Am I a weirdo? from a place where folks put cream cheese on hot dogs (Oldest One in the Book)
Am I a weirdo?
#27919: Jun 6th 2023 at 5:40:21 PM

[up]No, that isn't an example.

[up][up]I say just cut it.

[up][up][up]Even your edited version spends too much time talking about other Disney movies. The example should talk about how Ursula embodies Evil Is Cool. Not about how other Disney movies don't have cool villains.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
Malady (X-Troper)
#27920: Jun 6th 2023 at 5:42:38 PM

[up] - Ah, Urban Warfare needs a formal military.

Would it count if a One-Man Army invades a city by themselves, on behalf of the country they rule, and then fight the city's defenders?

Edited by Malady on Jun 6th 2023 at 5:43:21 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
CompletelyNormalGuy Am I a weirdo? from a place where folks put cream cheese on hot dogs (Oldest One in the Book)
Am I a weirdo?
#27921: Jun 6th 2023 at 8:38:10 PM

It definitely needs an actual city. Not just a ghost town. The description make it seem like it's about the slog. The tight quarters. How every building might be full of enemy soldiers, or it might be full of civilians just trying to stay out of the way. If you can get that same feeling with a One-Man Army, then I suppose it could be an example. It depends on how it's portrayed.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#27922: Jun 6th 2023 at 8:50:36 PM

So I should just remove the part about the other Disney villains?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#27923: Jun 7th 2023 at 9:18:15 AM

Would this image of Tangle and Whisper with the background looking like the colors of the lesbian flag be an example of Queer Colors and/or Ambiguously Gay of Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)?

Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#27924: Jun 7th 2023 at 9:19:29 AM

Queer Colors is only for confirmed examples so it can't apply if they're Ambiguously Gay. If that's the only hint of lesbianism I would hesitate to put it under Ambiguously Gay as well; it might have been just because the colors are nice.

Edited by Synchronicity on Jun 7th 2023 at 11:20:28 AM

Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#27925: Jun 7th 2023 at 10:22:03 AM

A Haunting in Venice

i'm not sure if a single replacement in the crew counts as "B-Team Sequel".


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