TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Is this an example?

Go To

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

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
#28351: Jul 5th 2023 at 8:50:19 AM

We're disputing this example of Artificial Stupidity on Tales of Symphonia:

  • Kratos and Zelos are heavily inclined towards physical artes rather than magic. This makes learning their new spells difficult, since a second-tier arte/spell can't be obtained until the corresponding first-tier arte/spell has been used 50 times. Naturally, they either don't cast it at all... or they start it right in front of enemies who will hit them.

We had no difficulty getting Kratos to the requisite 50 casts in our current playthrough by setting his strategy to focus on long-range magic, and while there was some stupid placement happening in the process, this is an issue every caster has in this game rather than being specific to Kratos.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
YourIdeas Since: Mar, 2014
#28352: Jul 5th 2023 at 9:24:10 AM

Thoughts on this Does This Remind You of Anything? entry under VideoGame.Final Fantasy XVI?

  • Clive's ability to take in the power of the Eikon from their Dominant shows signs of sexual intercourse more than once. Benedikta reacts like he had taken her virginity, Jill acts like she is giving her virginity to Clive and Clive reacts like Barnabas assaulted him and Ultima's words afterward do not help.

I didn't really get the impression when playing the game that stealing powers was reminiscent of sex, especially if you consider the other Dominants like Cid, Hugo, and Dion where it didn't have that connotation at all. Benedikta definitely didn't feel like her virginity was taken as well, considering she's either being flirty or seen in bed with at least two men prior to the scene where her Dominant was taken, and her breakdown clearly stems from other issues she had going on.

Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#28353: Jul 5th 2023 at 12:29:55 PM

Characters.Ghost Trick, Rockin' Jailbird

  • Boring, but Practical: Literally. Sure, he is in prison and he gets to have his musical instruments, playing to his heart's content and no one stops him from doing so. However, as time went on, he became so bored in prison that his musical instruments won't keep him entertained or busy in the long run, something which he lampshade himself.

Not seeing what's practical.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
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
#28354: Jul 5th 2023 at 12:32:42 PM

That doesn't make any sense at all, no.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#28356: Jul 6th 2023 at 2:06:12 AM

Bumping this.

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
JBTBFDIG lemon cookie stan account Since: Nov, 2019
lemon cookie stan account
#28357: Jul 6th 2023 at 2:59:11 AM

Look at this example from Recap.Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 6 Jailbreak Evil Spatula.

Apparently Excited Episode Title! redirects to Excited Title! Two-Part Episode Name!, which is supposed to look like this:

  • Part of this title!
    Another part of this title!!
Should I remove this wick?

lemon cookie is best cookie
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
#28358: Jul 6th 2023 at 4:59:16 AM

Yes, this sort of thing is exactly why it got renamed.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
JustNormalMusicLover Just one media nerd (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Abstaining
Just one media nerd
#28359: Jul 6th 2023 at 8:41:40 AM

I noticed in Characters.Bang Dream Pastel Palettes had an entry that mentions Cute Clumsy Girl that Aya does have this but not to the extent of Kanon, but the latter is not mention in the character page containing her (Characters.Bang Dream Hello Happy World).

Oddly enough, I think I have found several text from both the Bang Dream wiki and also official information actually call her as clumsy indeed.

She is very clumsy, can easily become overwhelmed, and has a bad sense of direction.
If that wasn't enough, the trivia section also includes:

Adding to Kanon's clumsy nature, she tends to break her drumsticks quite often.
Which is reflected in the Video Game of the Anime where one of her menu lines says:
"Ah! I broke my sticks...! Oh, now I have to b-buy new ones..."

Even the official Bang Dream twitter account and the official website in EN pokes on this trait:

Twitter post that contains Kanon's profile: She's also a shy, nervous and clumsy girl who loves all kinds of sweet and cute things."
Kanon's profile page on the official website: ...However, she is still clumsy, bad with directions, and has a difficult time turning people down.

There's no doubting it, Kanon is really a Cute Clumsy Girl just like Aya, is she?

Edited by JustNormalMusicLover on Jul 6th 2023 at 11:42:14 PM

Nothing solves a day of depression better than a warm smile.
Agentofchaos A God Am I from Somewhere in the Universe Since: Dec, 2021
#28360: Jul 6th 2023 at 8:58:32 AM

Does Speaks Fluent Animal apply if they can only speak to a specific type of animal, like they can only speak to birds?

"We'll meet again" | 🏳️‍⚧️
CSS1 Since: Mar, 2021
#28361: Jul 6th 2023 at 9:43:01 AM

I think it should. Into the Woods cites Cinderella as an example.

moo
dArtagnanMusic Since: Oct, 2022
#28362: Jul 6th 2023 at 9:44:48 AM

bumping my thing from a couple days ago, and did slight modifications to the paragraph

Is this But Not Too Evil?
* The Imperium of Man from Warhammer 40,000 is supposed to be one of the "most cruel regime imagineable" according to the setting's Opening Crawl that shows up in every book and a satire of fascism that no one should really root for according to Games Workshop themselves. An insane theocracy, bastion of religious fanaticism and xenophobia that has brought pain and misery to the galaxy for thousands of years... and yet compared to the theocracies of real history, is remarkably tolerant of differing religions (as long as the God-Emperor is worshipped as the Top God in some form, the Ecclesiarchy does not really care how specifically), egalitarian when it comes to gender and sexes (women holding positions of power are treated as a perfectoy normal, if uncommon, thing, and trans characters are likewise not singled out as such) and race-blind (characters' ethnicities are only described for flavour rather than as an important thing), and only engages in Fantastic Racism (since "the mutant" it despises as part of its credo are genuinly mutated people rather than simply ones more mundane physical oddities). Presumably because the Imperium is one of the playable factions (and the one recieving most focus from the creators themselves), so making them horrible and evil to the point real-life people would stop playing them is not something Games Workshop wants.

CSS1 Since: Mar, 2021
#28363: Jul 6th 2023 at 9:46:20 AM

Should this scene from The Righteous Gemstones count as the Everyone Is Armed trope? Several characters in that scene conspicuously don’t have guns, to humorous effect. How literally am I supposed to use the trope?

Edited by CSS1 on Jul 6th 2023 at 9:49:20 AM

moo
STARCRUSHER99 The Moron from one of my unhealthy obsessions (Captain) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Moron
#28364: Jul 6th 2023 at 9:46:57 AM

It sounds more like Equal-Opportunity Evil but it doesn't sound like But Not Too Evil - if I understand the latter right the result needs to actually downplay the evil in the process, but the Imperium doesn't get any less evil for not going out of their way to be prejudiced all the time

Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#28365: Jul 6th 2023 at 10:02:41 AM

[up][up]I think it's something like played for laughs/invoked. People brandish weapons in succession, and the ones that don't are still pretending that they're armed and threatening.

Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#28366: Jul 6th 2023 at 11:47:49 AM

Found on WebAnimation.asdfmovie. I don't understand the relation.

The Walrus Was Paul: "Random, nonsensical humor" is the name of the game, and asdfmovie plays it very well.

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
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?
#28367: Jul 6th 2023 at 12:02:22 PM

[up]Yeah, that's misuse.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#28368: Jul 6th 2023 at 2:01:22 PM

Does Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting apply if the character's parents weren't willingly bad people, but they were forced to put their child in a traumatic or neglectful upbringing (i.e. Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You) and now their child refuses to let the same happen to their own child? Does Parental Abandonment in general count or does it only have to be trauma from direct abuse?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
dArtagnanMusic Since: Oct, 2022
#28369: Jul 6th 2023 at 3:09:32 PM

[up][up][up][up][up] i'm more referring to it from an out-of-universe pespective, why Games Workshop haven't made the imperium as evil as they could be.

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?
#28370: Jul 6th 2023 at 3:17:39 PM

[up][up]I'd say that counts.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
AudioSpeaks2 Since: Apr, 2022
#28371: Jul 6th 2023 at 4:45:10 PM

Does this count as Adaptational Species Change?

Edited by AudioSpeaks2 on Jul 6th 2023 at 7:45:43 PM

Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#28372: Jul 6th 2023 at 7:14:47 PM

Found this on Characters.Trails Series Crossbell Special Support Section

  • Took a Level in Badass: She's far more viable in Reverie where her orbment lines allow players to actually deal more status debuffs and physical attacks no longer being terrible compared to her Azure self.

Took a Level in Badass is about a character becoming action oriented, thanks to either training or the circumstances they are. Noel is very action oriented from the get go, so this feels like misuse and likely complaining about her Azure self.

Also bumping this.

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#28373: Jul 6th 2023 at 7:32:24 PM

[up] That looks like complainy misuse.

I guess Has a Type doesn't explicitly require a certain number of people-of-that-type, but comparing several similarities between only two characters is too few. [down] Sure.

Edited by Tabs on Jul 7th 2023 at 4:41:28 AM

Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#28374: Jul 6th 2023 at 10:58:54 PM

[up] Safe to delete the Has a Type example?

Edited by Ayumi-chan on Jul 7th 2023 at 1:59:05 AM

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
INever Since: Feb, 2014
#28375: Jul 7th 2023 at 1:15:56 AM

Does Ascended Fanon require creators/work to openly acknowledge fanon, or can it include fanon that become canon later out of pure coincidence?

I was trying to move these entries from Legend of Link onto a YMMV page since they were incorrectly labeled under I Knew It!, but it turns out they didn't fit the tropes I thought they were in either (Hilarious in Hindsight or Harsher in Hindsight) and found Ascended Fanon instead.

    the entries 
Also while I know how most of the Zelda games play out, it feels like the bullet about Link entering the castle and fighting Ganondorf on the top is a bit of a stretch? The fan movie shows the battle on a rooftop, but the games being referenced are fights with Ganondorf inside the throne room or castle sanctum (top floor yes, but not rooftop but I might be a little too pedantic here).

Regardless, they're cut from the trivia page for not fitting I Knew It! but I'm not sure where to put them now.

Edited by INever on Jul 7th 2023 at 1:16:11 AM


Total posts: 36,649
Top