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
From the Western Animation folder of Fleeting Demographic Rule:
- In The Simpsons season 5 episode "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", Barney mistakes a cup of quarters for a cup of beer, and ends up swallowing a bunch. As he starts burping them out, one of the patrons nearby says, "Hey, this guy's paying off!" Barney is then surrounded by gamblers picking up the quarters as he keeps burping. This episode aired in 1993. Cut to 2012. After Futurama (another show created by Matt Groening) is Un-Cancelled, there's the season 7 episode "Viva Mars Vegas". The Planet Express crew steals a bunch of money from a casino taken over by the Robot Mafia by having Zoidberg eat everything in the vault, as he's currently invisible. When the crew attempts to wheel Zoidberg out of the casino on a shrimp serving cart, he starts burping out dollar bills. And just like in "$pringfield", a bystander shouts "Look! The shrimp cart's paying out!" before a horde of gamblers follow after it to pick up the bills. In essence, they reused a joke nineteen years later.
I am unsure if this counts given that The Simpsons and Futurama do not have a fleeting demographic.
Edited by Nen_desharu on Sep 16th 2024 at 10:07:31 AM
Kirby is awesome.
Those are two separate shows and writing teams, and as the example mentions, they’re nineteen years apart. This seem less like a fleeting demographic and more just two people thinking of the same idea in a different way. That can easily be cut for misuse.
Trying to avert an editing war by getting thread consensus. This example is currently under Cady for the Mean Girls character page:
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Viewers are expected to be on Cady's side as she extracts revenge on Regina for taking away the boy who she liked. Never mind that the boy was Regina's ex, or that Cady was asked by Gretchen not to pursue him out of respect, or that he barely knows that Cady is even alive.
As you can see in the edit history here
on the grounds that Cady and Aaron were already friends, and Cady only pursued Aaron after Regina told her it was okay, only for Regina to then backstab her. It was then put back because Cady "should've known better." This ignores the fact that Cady was homeschooled up until that year and thus wouldn't know, and, again, Regina said it was fine. Am I good to remove it again?
Can a radar display/airplane failing to attract attention to a specific detail which is a potential emergency, out of a wealth of details which are too much information for a human being to handle, be an example of Poor Communication Kills? (The lack of noticing this for a significant time period resulted in 154 deaths.) If not, what trope would be good for this?
Edited by Someone1981 on Sep 17th 2024 at 1:48:57 PM
Poor Communication Kills is drama between characters, so no. For looking up another one use Trope Finder.
TroperWall / WikiMagic CleanupConsidering that this
got no replies in 48 hours, I doubt I'll get help on this one over there.
If nobody replies it means either nobody (who got to read) knows or we just don't have a fitting trope. You can comment with "bump" once so the question would appear as recent for extra chances.
TroperWall / WikiMagic CleanupI have a question in RWBY Jaune is revealed to be The Rusted Knight from the story the girl who fell through the world, and in volume 9 the story turn out to be real and because of time travel Jaune become part of the story.
so I wonder if this counts as Canon Character All Along.
Edited by Tycoonninja on Sep 17th 2024 at 6:20:57 AM
I was thinking of adding the In Name Only trope to the character page for Annette in Castlevania: Nocturne as aside from her name any similarities to the game version of Annette instead goes to the character Tera, however Netflix's Annette is a lightning rod for controversy. Would this count or would it be more of a YMMV trope, and if it does count what would be a good way of addressing the trope with the Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment in mind?
Just remembered I brought up this example a while back in another thread but never got an answer, so: what's the scope of "unfortunate" in Unfortunate Character Design? Does it have to be (accidentally) inappropriate/offensive in some way (sexual, racist, gross, ect.) or would just looking like something else (making it unintentionally silly ect.) be enough? (to quote Laconic, "The character design looks... problematic") Because the Pokemon subpage has this example:
- Gholdengo, with its yellow-colored body and four dangling tufts of "hair", looks like a giant string cheese snack to some.
Which looks silly in a (presumably) unintentional way, yes, but "unfortunate" by the trope's definition? Similarly, there's also the Hydrapple manbun example.
My favorite failed console tbh
cut
I've wondered how the Iconic Sequel Character trope works in conjunction with a Sequel Series. Is a character still valid for an ISC entry if they made their debut within the sequel's first season? I'm asking since Ben 10 has MULTIPLE sequel shows and some of its most prevalent characters are introduced within the first seasons of their shows. Let's use the first sequel show Alien Force as an example
- Ben 10: Alien Force: Season 1 of the show would introduce Julie, the Highbreed, Argit, Darkstar, Professor Paradox, and the Incursian Empire all of whom would become significant characters throughout the franchise.
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If the answer is no, then how do we handle the differences between Production Seasons and Broadcast Seasons? The first 26 episodes of Alien Force were made as a single 26-episode season, but Cartoon Network chose to split in half for broadcasting, labeling the latter 13 episodes as "Season 2". It's pertinent to make a declaration as Albedo made his debut in the second half of Season 1, what Cartoon Network marketed as Season 2.
Edited by Mariofan99 on Sep 18th 2024 at 10:50:04 AM
So there's an Arc Symbol example that I'm doubtful of it being applicable because the symbol is a logo that is only relevant to the organisation the protagonist works in and has no other meaning besides that. (The work is Agent Ali but I cleaned up the grammar on this)
- Arc Symbol: The logo of M.A.T.A., the organisation the agents work for, has appeared many times, such as when Ali is called by his superiors for a mission. In Season 1, it's seen in the holographic illustration of a mission's description. In Seasons 2 and 3, the logo appears in greater quantity as a part of M.A.T.A.'s HQ building.
There's an entry in DarkReprise.Animated Films that I need to question:
- "The Bare Necessities (Reprise)" from The Jungle Book. It's sung by Baloo and Bagheera as the two both walk off into the sunset after Mowgli bids them both farewell and heads back to the Man-village. Earlier in the film, there is another dark reprise of "The Bare Necessities". Mowgli sings it before Baloo reluctantly attempts to take him to the Man-village.
Yeah the one at the ending doesn't come off as sad to me either (so I say that's a shoehorn). I don't recall the 2nd moment that well but I figure your reasoning is sound.
I found this He Really Can Act entry on YMMV.Deadpool And Wolverine:
- Hugh Jackman once again proves his acting chops and seals his legacy as the actor for Wolverine when he calls out Deadpool for his behavior for most of the movie. The venom in his words to Wade is very palpable and he just sells how livid he is with him in that moment, given how Wade had flat-out lied (or rather, made an educated wish) to him in order to get him onboard with his plan to save his world.
No one I have seen online ever doubted Hugh Jackman's acting abilites before the film released or even afterwards.
Edited by Bullman on Sep 18th 2024 at 12:56:17 PM
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup threadDo initials count for Singer Namedrop examples? I mean, if the singer mentions their initials only and not their whole name in their song's lyrics?
With Great Power, Comes Great Motivation![]()
That's just gushing to me.
The other entry:
- Part of the reason that Cassandra Nova is considered a highlight of the film is Emma Corrin's stellar performance as the character, especially for their first time ever playing a villain, with their ability to swap between being extremely funny to utterly horrifying, or, in some scenes, both at the same time, being praised by many.
I don't think is much better, Corrin's an actor.
The description says "his is what you say to yourself when a comedic performer, a non-acting entertainer, or somebody more known for athleticism or looks than in-depth acting ability gets cast in a challenging dramatic role,"
An talented actor doing a different kind of acting for the first time doesn't really count.
Considering the fact that both Atsuko "Nuku Nuku" Natsume from All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku and Lime from Saber Marionette J are androids voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, does this fit under Actor Allusion or Casting Gag?
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
Probably. He Really Can Act is usually used for actors who aren't taken seriously. But given the acclaim Jackman has already gotten for Wolverine, on top of the rest of his career, it’s inaccurate. Corrin is more unknown than disliked as an actor, so she doesn't fit into the reaction either. It can easily be cut as misuse.
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I’d say it's neither. Unless there’s a specific reference or allusion to Nuku Nuku in Saber Marionette J, I’d say it wouldn’t count. Given how many roles Megumi Hayashibara has played, including other android characters, it would need to be more specific.
Zanreo
BlackFaithStar
BigJimbo
Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Sep 18th 2024 at 2:32:43 AM
Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.From SquarePegRoundTrope.A To D
- Denser and Wackier is about a crazier Tone Shift in a single work (such as a series getting crazier in its second season than its first), meaning examples that involve spin-offs or reboots that are crazier from the get-go do not count.
Considering that Tone Shift and all of its sub-tropes extend to even Derivative Works, limiting examples of DAW to just the work's original source seems unfair. Like say, if an adaptation, spin-off or even Fan Work is tonally wackier than it's down-to-earth source material, does that still count as an example of Denser and Wackier? Plus, the page image for DAW displays two different iterations of Spider-Man, neither of which are connected with one another.
"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.![]()
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I've seen it used multiple times for an actor who, otherwise well-regarded, takes on a very different type of role and does very well. For example, Meryl Streep of all people has an entry under He Really Can Act for She-Devil (bearing in mind this came out after Sophie's Choice) because it was her first major comedic role. For Corrin especially, due to them being a (comparitvely) newer actor and this being their first time playing this sort of villain, I can see why this might be a He Really Can Act, despite them already being acclaimed in The Crown. However, given the description of the trope, it does feel like these sort of examples are misuse, so while I'd like them to count, they probably don't. Still, that's a conversation for elsewhere (whether to broaden He Really Can Act or not). Still, Corrin is a bit of a grey area, but Jackman is a definite remove.

I agree that simply being played by a Jewish actress doesn't qualify. Nothing about Lydia said Jewish to me, though I am the type to overlook minor things about a character. Regardless, that isn't an example and if they want to keep it they need to cite something she does or says.
Check out Bunny Girl Evolution