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. 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
Is "fridge squick" really banned from Squick, though? It just describes anything that'd make the audience grossed out and uncomfortable.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Murder by Suicide says that suicide has to be an intended outcome. Is there any room for overlap with Accidental Murder, then? In MILGRAM, two or three of the prisoners unintentionally drove their victims to suicide, but they're all acknowledged as murderers.
In Warhammer 40,000's Codex: Catachans (3rd Edition), there's a quote from a Catachan Jungle Fighter
where he describes the planet he's on in terms that by all rights paint a very hellish imagethe quote , only for him to cap it off with "Emperor help me, I love this place, it's just like home!" For context, the "home" he's referring to is his homeworld Catachan
, a Death World par excellence where Everything Is Trying to Kill You is almost literal truth.
Does this count as an example of Paradise Planet mixed with Infernal Paradise? The latter seems to be explicitly about a supernatural hell being viewed as a paradise, rather than a mundane place being objectively hellish yet viewed by some characters as a paradise, so I'm doubting its applicability; that said, it could just be a problem with the article's description.
Edited by MarqFJA on Aug 30th 2023 at 5:53:38 AM
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.- Fullmetal Alchemist: Titular protagonist has a non-magical artificial arm, and Alchemy Is Magic.
Does Acceptable Breaks from Canon also apply to canon spin-offs? Because in the pages for the Steven Universe RPGs (Attack the Light, Save the Light, and Unleash the Light), that trope is used to explain the changes from the show made to make the games easier to play, like Pearl eating Cookie Cats to restore her health, despite disliking eating any food in the show. If that trope is misused, what other adaptation trope better describes these changes?
Edited by TroperNo9001 on Aug 31st 2023 at 3:20:48 AM
Still waiting for someone to break him free...4x
: I don't think so, especially considering the character speaking doesn't describe it as perfect, just nostalgic. (The names of Paradise Planet and Infernal Paradise are using "paradise" in two different senses.)
3x
: Yes, Ed should count.
So I've been trying to keep the Infinity Train: Seeker of Crocus character pages relatively neutral, but every time I return, they just seem to get more biased and biased. That's not why I'm here, though.
Recently, there was an edit to Chloe Cerise's page discussing Achilles' Heel, and the edit added was that... She didn't like Pokémon.
To me, that doesn't sound like an example of the trope, but I need a second opinion. Thoughts?
A general question on Media Adaptation Tropes -
If something's part of the same continuity as the original work, e.g. an Alternate Universe story, do these still apply? I'm not sure they should...
For example, for characters from the 'Ultimate' Fantastic Four comics, an established alternate universe interacting with the main Marvel Universe tales:
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Regarding the incident that gave the four their powers, which was My Greatest Failure for the 616 Reed, while here it was instead caused by Doom, perhaps one of the reasons this Reed eventually decided he can do no wrong.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: As a result of having an abusive dad, this Reed had more of a troubled childhood. But in addition to that, he was bullied at school (616 Reed had a better time at school, generally getting along with his classmates). On the plus side, his mom was still around (616 Mrs. Richards died when he was young).
- Adaptational Jerkass: He initially merely started off as a case of this, as while the classic Reed could be a dick from time to time Depending on the Writer, he was still a compassionate leader and a devoted husband and father. This Reed is far more brooding and standoffish, even before he becomes a full-blown case of...
- Adaptational Villainy: After Ultimatum, he turns against everyone, and essentially becomes the new Doctor Doom. He's even the page image for subpage on the subject for Ultimate Marvel.
(Conscious some of those need cleanup too)
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 31st 2023 at 11:10:06 AM
But still in the same continuity and part of the same sprawling Marvel Universe.
If we accept that these tropes also cover alternate universe stories within the same continuity, great. It's just a confusingly grey area right now, as they tend to be an extension of the same work, not a separate reboot.
I'd argue that pretty much all such works (DC's Elseworlds seem like a similar case on a smaller scale) count as adaptations, since they're almost always introduced as their own thing even if they start crossing over with the original later. I don't know how long it took before Ultimate Marvel and 616 interacted, but I'd bet it was a while.
@Androne-5
: For disliking Pokémon to constitute an Achilles' Heel, this fact would somehow have to weaken an otherwise powerful character. If the example text isn't describing that, it's either a misuse or a Zero-Context Example.
The full story is incredibly long and convoluted, but to trim it down a bit: Chloe has gone through a lot of pains in the past that have turned her bitter, vindictive, and suicidal, with the last part getting a lot more focus later in the story. She initially believes it all traces down to her not liking Pokemon, because it's the POKEMON World, but it's eventually revealed that there are way more factors into the whole idea: Chloe not telling anybody about her problems, expectations on her being connected to them due to her father being a Pokemon Professor, her hyperfixation with horror and demons and trying to get/force other people to like it as much as her, an Original Character who only exists to make Chloe suffer and make her seem better in comparison, her misunderstanding many people around her believing they intend her harm, and so on.
You've heard of YMMV entries being listed on the main work page, get read for... objective tropes being listed as a YMMV entry.
From Ghosts (US)
- Can't Argue with Elves: While the ghosts can be a bit annoying, childish, and overbearing, Sam and Jay, especially Sam, can come across as this trope at times. The living couple are often portrayed as always being right, no matter what, the ghosts' outdated ways are seen as useless and quaint, rendering them as no different than children who need Sam and Jay to school them in how superior their enlightened modern ways of doing things are over their old-fashioned ideas. The ghosts had a minor Screw You, Elves! moment to Sam when she took this trope a little too far and suddenly needed their help, the ghosts forced her to apologize and show a little humility before agreeing to help her.
Can't Argue with Elves is not YMMV so obviously it shouldn't be there. So, is this an actual example of Can't Argue with Elves for me to move it to the main page, or should I just cut it?
Edited by FernandoLemon on Aug 31st 2023 at 1:28:07 PM
I recall it was originally said that the Mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616) and Ultimate Marvel Universe (Earth-1610) would never cross over, but them doing so was finally teased in 2005's Ultimate Fantastic Four #21, where the Reed Richards of Earth-1610 seemingly makes contact with the Fantastic Four of Earth-616 and opens an interdimensional portal to let them visit... only to discover he's been duped by his evil undead counterpart from Earth-2149.
Their actual first crossover was in 2012's Spider-Men, where Earth-616's Peter Parker is accidentally transported to Earth-1610 not long after Earth-1610's Peter Parker was KIA and runs into Miles Morales and his supporting cast.
Edited by Arawn999 on Aug 31st 2023 at 10:00:34 AM
Would this count for Creator Killer? The page says it only counts if there's solid proof or its been 10 years since the trope happened, and it seems there's proof at the moment. If it does count, I'll see if I can get it added to Trivia.Saints Row 2022.
- Creator Killer: The game's divisive reception resulted in Volition's parent company Embracer Group transferring Volition's ownership from Deep Silver to Gearbox Software in November 2022. Volition was later shut down by Embracer in August 2023 as part of a restructuring program.
Edited by SkylaNoivern on Aug 31st 2023 at 7:37:47 PM
If a different voice actor does a character's song on a soundtrack recording than in the show due to music licensing issues, is that The Other Darrin or maybe The Other Marty or something else entirely?
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How is it a ZCE when "this trope" is followed by a lengthy explanation of how it fits the trope?
Edited by mightymewtron on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:47:45 AM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.This, from The Amazing Spider-Man (2022), feels like misuse:
- Continuity Snarl: Kamala’s Heroic Sacrifice hinges on a lesser-known ability of hers: shapeshifting. However, it had been established in recent mini-series since Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit that this power had essentially been burnt out of her, meaning she died using an ability she shouldn’t have had. This is at least given a nod when Kamala expresses surprise that she can still do it.
"I didn't know I could still do that", in-universe, puts it closer to 11th-Hour Superpower, New Powers as the Plot Demands etc., or maybe Ass Pull. But I don't see it as a continuity snarl when the story specifically addresses it?

I agree the game theory squick example is more fridge squick than anything.
Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.