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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

DanteVin The Time Has Come from Somewhere Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Singularity
#32826: Sep 24th 2024 at 11:53:40 AM

While updating wicks of VideoGame.Devil May Cry, I recently found this example on the Crying After Sex page:


First of all, the example is troping a fan-made image that became a meme. Is that allowed? I mean, is it valid to trope a meme image? Secondly, it was placed in the Video Games folder. Again, because this is a fan-made meme, can it just be moved to the Fan Works folder if it's a valid example? Or should the example be deemed invalid and simply deleted?

With Great Power, Comes Great Motivation
taotruths Live Jet Reaction (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: I sleep in a big bed with my wife.
Live Jet Reaction
#32827: Sep 24th 2024 at 11:57:31 AM

[up]I'd probably delete it, but I'd understand an argument for fan works.

randomtroper89 from The Fire Nation Since: Nov, 2010
#32828: Sep 24th 2024 at 1:11:55 PM

boogie2988: Seems true, but I think the trope is no real life examples. The Harsher in Hindsight example in the YMMV page covers the same idea.

  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Much of Boogie's appeal in his early days came from how, in addition to his Francis videos, he presented himself in his regular videos as a genuinely wholesome Nice Guy in contrast to the character he played. Although given all the revelations about his character that emerged post-2019, a lot of fans now consider that to be an act too.

Arawn999 Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#32829: Sep 24th 2024 at 2:40:41 PM

Seeing how the fan-popular Soul Series ship Siegfried Schtauffen x Hildegard von Krone was removed from Ship Sinking following the revision to that trope requiring it to be acknowledged in-universe, would Fan-Preferred Couple be a better fit? Something like-

  • Fan-Preferred Couple: Siegfried x Hilde emerged as a popular ship in the fandom following the release of Soulcalibur IV, based on the lore that he had destroyed her kingdom as Nightmare and she was looking for revenge, with their paths finally crossing while he was seeking to atone for his sins. In particular, Hilde's story-mode ending involves Siegfried asking her to execute him for his crimes as Nightmare, only for her to spare him on account of his remorse and declare him forgiven of his sins, leaving him speechless as she smiles at him. When Hilde was revealed to be a mother as well as a member of Schwarzwind in Soulcalibur V, many fans excitedly assumed Siegfried to be the father... only for the developers to clarify that no, Siegfried was not the father and that he and Hilde were just Platonic Life-Partners. When Hilde was announced as a DLC character for Soulcalibur VI—a reboot set in a new timeline—fans were hopeful that she and Siegfried would hook up there... only for it to be established that Hilde is engaged—and happily so—to her cousin Wilhelm.

Edited by Arawn999 on Sep 25th 2024 at 9:59:08 AM

gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#32830: Sep 24th 2024 at 3:42:30 PM

This was removed from Characters.Chivalry Of A Failed Knight Hagun Academy:

Does the above count?

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
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?
#32831: Sep 24th 2024 at 3:55:20 PM

[up]It's definitely a zero-context example, so you shouldn't add it back as-is. Because it's zero-context, I couldn't tell you if it's accurate without more information.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#32832: Sep 24th 2024 at 3:57:12 PM

[up] I see.

In the story, swords are pretty common devices even if they're wielded by the main heroes such as Ikki, Shizuku, Stella and so forth.

Edited by gjjones on Sep 24th 2024 at 6:57:28 AM

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
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?
#32833: Sep 24th 2024 at 5:01:13 PM

[up]In that case, it's definitely misuse.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
KonstantinVakhtangov Waiting for the gun to shoot from Eastern Europe Since: Mar, 2024 Relationship Status: Desperate
Waiting for the gun to shoot
#32834: Sep 25th 2024 at 6:47:29 AM

Hello. Can I add Three Days Grace in Nu Metal examples? For you see, at least, their first two albums definitely include that trope mixed with Post-Grunge, don't they?

Edited by KonstantinVakhtangov on Sep 25th 2024 at 6:49:39 AM

02/24/2006
AnoneMouseJr Since: Nov, 2010
#32835: Sep 25th 2024 at 7:41:29 AM

Wrote this entry a few days ago, and I've been trying to figure out... is it an example of All for Nothing, or of "Shaggy Dog" Story?

  • In the Brothers Four song "Frogg" (based on the folk song "Frog went a-courtin'"), a"hip frog" proposes to Molly Mouse, but is turned down. In the sequel song "Frogg No. 2", Frog realizes he isn't as hip as he thought he was and, deciding that jazz musicians are "the hippest people in the world", decides to become one and thus prove himself worthy of Molly. He spends ages becoming a big star, but when he finally meets her again, he runs headfirst into this trope — she still rejects him, this time because of the beard he's grown since she saw him last, depressing him and sending his career into a nosedive.



Until next time...

Anon e Mouse Jr.

If you're responding directly to one of my posts, please ping me to make sure I see it.
Malady (X-Troper)
#32836: Sep 25th 2024 at 8:46:55 AM

Does an Item Get! have to hold up the item? And otherwise it's a Victory Pose + Fanfare?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
MyFinalEdits Delete message from Parts Unknown (Spin-off Series) Relationship Status: Cast away
Delete message
#32837: Sep 25th 2024 at 11:03:13 AM

[up]I think the trope is flexible enough to allow that example.

(Also, maaaan, what'a up with my brain? I wrote three posts with typos in a row. There's no typo here only because I was proofreading sad)

135 -> 180 -> 273 -> 191 -> 188 -> 230 -> 300 -> 311
TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#32838: Sep 25th 2024 at 1:00:42 PM

Do examples of Wrong-Name Outburst count if you simply say the wrong name at a normal volume rather than just scream it?

Also reposting this a second time since it's still unanswered.

CanuckMcDuck1 PEPSIMAN from Japan Since: Sep, 2023 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
PEPSIMAN
#32839: Sep 25th 2024 at 2:27:02 PM

[up]I think it would be Accidental Misnaming instead in that situation.

TrendingToon1: That fits the trope, so it totally can be added.

randomtroper89: I agree that being a positive version of Darth Vader is gonna be a Virtuous Character Copy. But I don’t know if I would call Vendata all that virtuous, since he still commits villainous crimes and is bent on revenge against Jonas. He seems more like an Anti-Villain or even Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain.

Biggby: Ericht would fit for Brought Down to Normal, but the other tropes are tricky. Suletta's not an Antichrist or Anti-Anti-Christ because she's not destined for destruction. In fact, she seems like this world's savior. She's probably a Messianic Archetype, for being a kind-hearted offspring of a God who ends up saving humanity.

dsneybuf: That’s not accurate to Toyless Toyline Character. The trope is for when there are important characters omitted from a toyline, not when an entire show is. Plus, The Acolyte was a far more adult-focused show (especially in its marketing), so it’s not appropriate to have a toyline in the first place.

animuacid: If you don’t think that it’s the right example, it could be split off into Ethnic Scrappy (for Latina’s character) and Lowest Common Denominator (for the low-brow humor). The AI stuff is already mentioned somewhat on the trivia page.

DanteVin: That could be moved to the memes part of Devil May Cry’s YMMV page.

Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Sep 25th 2024 at 3:44:23 AM

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
Arawn999 Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
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?
#32841: Sep 25th 2024 at 6:25:59 PM

[up]Fan-Preferred Couple has its own dedicated thread. You might have better luck there.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#32842: Sep 25th 2024 at 7:43:26 PM

Characters.Friendship Is Magic Major Villains:

  • Knight of Cerebus: While the show has many villains, they at least showed some funny moments and none of them reached the level of King Sombra in terms of dropping the lightheartedness, his actions and prescense always leave a big impact, even Pinkie Pie, who mostly has something funny to say about the situations finds nothing funny when he is involved, he has shown to be more than willing to destroy anyone who pose a threat for his plans. To highlight this, the creators had to tone him down a bit due to being too dark for a kids show in his first appearences in Season 3 and Season 5, however, it's hard to push him into comedic villain territory even after having a more arrogant and pompous side and the so-called "funny" moments he had were mostly because of the other characters and situations, not so much for him. Just Vile Villain, Saccharine Show as not about lasting tonal changes, the series is back to normal lighthearted tone afterward. Also no proof later installments toning him down was due to thinking him too dark.
Characters.My Little Pony The Movie 2017

J79 Since: Jan, 2015
#32843: Sep 25th 2024 at 7:47:35 PM

Would David Kaye being the announcer in the infamous Smilin Bob enzyte commercials count as Creator Backlash ? He did regret doing them.

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
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
#32845: Sep 25th 2024 at 9:26:33 PM

There are a few Shipping namespaces as seen here. However, both pages for Genshin and FE3H are about YMMV shipping tropes while both Lout of the Counts Family and Touken Ranbu seems to be a list of ships but with no tropes whastoever.

What should we do about these?

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#32846: Sep 26th 2024 at 2:51:36 AM

[up][up][up][up]

I don't think King Sombra is Knight of Cerebus and the example has odd unconfirmed trivia. In the show overall, well, Crysalis has the same tone status and she debuted before him, and the series isn't overall more serious afterwards. If within the two-parter, the episode wasn't lighthearted to start with. So he's just Vile Villain, Saccharine Show (the example of which could bring up slavery and inflicted PTSD) like many others. KnightOfCerebus.Western Animation has a lot more details that fit Vile Villain, Saccharine Show better.

Tempest Shadow is Knight of Cerebus because the movie starts with a national party, and then suddenly lighting clouds, invasion, and almost all hope is lost throughout the rest of the movie. The example is ZCE however, and should not be using comparisons.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
animuacid The girl of the window from Astyr residence in Lilysthia's grounds Since: Jan, 2024 Relationship Status: I love you for psychological reasons
The girl of the window
#32847: Sep 26th 2024 at 4:08:22 AM

Re: CanuckMcDuck1: In the end I thought that the Latinos are indeed reading the novel because they heard it's bad, so I rewrote the entry to reflect that. And I don't think Latina can be Ethnic Scrappy for two reasons: the 6 month waiting period because of No Recent Examples, Please!, and that Scrappies are for when people like the work but dislike the character. In this case, the readers are hating the LN as a whole and deep-down, Latina is one of the nicest and smart characters.


I've recently seen several Network to the Rescue examples about the following: Sol Press picks up a Light Novel or Manga for translation, but their business license got suspended in 2021, so the fate of the work remained uncertain until another publisher salvaged it. They are in Chivalry of a Failed Knight and Is the Order a Rabbit?.

Several months ago, I reported a similar Sol Press situation for the Visual Novel Nukitashi, but I used Late Export for You instead of Network to the Rescue like this:

  • Late Export for You: In October 2018, Sol Press announced that they started working on the localization of Nukitashi, but it was a slow process and in 2021 the company was suspended for non-payment of taxes. That left the visual novel stuck in a limbo until Shiravune picked it up and released the English and Chinese translation in June 2023.

Which of these two trivia items is more accurate to all these examples, Network to the Rescue or Late Export for You?

Edited by animuacid on Sep 26th 2024 at 1:09:13 PM

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#32848: Sep 26th 2024 at 4:17:44 AM

Can Master Actor be use for cosplaying when a cosplayer is able to make others feel they are actually that character?

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#32849: Sep 26th 2024 at 7:40:12 AM

From YMMV.Deadpool And Wolverine

  • WTH, Costuming Department?: As great as it is to finally see Jackman wearing the Wolverine cowl, the item ultimately looks cheap and rubbery and inhibits Jackman's acting, as you can't see his eyes and it's not inexplicably expressive like Deadpool's. One can't help but understand why it hasn't been employed in live-action before.

I have never seen anyone say this. Most fans on line love the cowl and how it looks. Am I missing something?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#32850: Sep 26th 2024 at 8:05:55 AM

This Out-of-Character Moment example from Recap.Sponge Bob Square Pants S 4 E 2 The Lost Mattress Krabs Vs Plankton

"In contrast, SpongeBob is incredibly idiotic and oblivious here from beginning to end, compared to the pre-movie seasons and even the first few episodes of Season 4."

It doesn't specifically say why SpongeBob is idiotic and oblivious. Should we extend it so it explains why? Or comment it out?


Also is this a proper example for Recap.The Loud House S 3 E 14 Scales Of Justice Crimes Of Fashion?

  • Frame-Up: Leni ends up fired from Reininger's because Ms. Carmichael thinks she's responsible for the scarves going missing, since they were from Leni's department and went missing in the month she worked there. Knowing Leni would never steal anything, Lincoln and Clyde promise to find the real theif.

Edited by TrendingToon1 on Sep 26th 2024 at 12:38:06 PM


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