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
If I may ask, does a shield count as a weapon for the purposes of a Mix-and-Match Weapon? A punch dagger with a built in buckler shield for example.
If it's an actual shield rather than an oversized guard it might qualify. Saying it's a buckler isn't enough context for that.
Check out my fanfiction!
This is
◊ the weapon/shield I was thinking of
◊. There is also this
◊ and this
Now that I actually see it, I think those qualify as spiked shields. The thing about shields is that they're not entirely defensive as they are. Punching with a shield is a well-documented feature, especially centre grip shields like bucklers. On the other hand, if things like pole axes and halberds qualify, this probably would too.
Check out my fanfiction!@Another Duck Sorry for the late reply.
It's on the back of a hoverchair before it turns.
Another question about TMNT 2012. In this series, Splinter/Hamato Yoshi gets three Disney Deaths before he is Killed Off for Real. Does this count as Four Is Death? He's also killed at the end of Season 4.
As an added bonus, when he is killed, he's Impaled with Extreme Prejudice and tossed off a building. We see him falling, but not land, though we do see his body on the ground a shot later. Is this Disney Villain Death?
edited 14th Apr '17 2:57:30 PM by jameygamer
That doesn't actually tell me anything about how much it's in focus. Is it in the foreground, main focus of the shot, or in the background? The point of the trope is that it should be hard to notice if you're watching casually, so if there's something that gives attention to it, it doesn't qualify, but if the main point of focus is elsewhere, it can qualify.
Check out my fanfiction!And this got lost in the shuffle, so I'm reasking it.
Does the fake Grail Donovan drinks from in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade count as a Poison Mushroom, a Chest Monster, or something else?
And, does Elsa's deliberate choosing of that False Grail count as her playing the You Have Outlived Your Usefulness card on Donovan?
Lastly, is Donovan an Asshole Victim?
There's a scene in the Hardly Working sketch "Cool English Teacher 3
" that I think is an example of I Have This Friend, but I'm pretty sure it's not a straight example. Would you classify it as a lampshaded example, or a parody, or what?
- Dan: The Catcher in the Rye... now what is it really about? Not a hypothetical; I'm asking for a friend. The friend is me. I've never read it. I'm treading water. If I finish this sentence, there'll be dead silence and you'll see how woefully unprepared I am, so I'm just gonna list my favorite numbers. One. Two. Three. Five. Ask me about four; it's kind of a funny story.
edited 16th Apr '17 8:18:25 AM by TyeDyeWildebeest
No beer?! But if there's no beer, then there's no beef or beans!- Bonus Boss: It's the strongest Pokémon you can fight in the game, and can only be encountered after capturing all the Ultra Beasts. It's also at a frightening high level of 75.
I disagree with it being a Bonus Boss. It doesn't fit. It's a True Final Boss because it's after the final boss, it's the strongest opponent in the game and you have to do a sidequest to even get Necrozma in the game anyway. That's True Final Boss material because you have to do certain conditions of the aftergame to fight it.
Honestly that sounds more like Bonus Boss, assuming Necrozma is the Pokemon being referred to in the entry. Unless there's a story element that's not being mentioned here. Post-game or not, if there's nothing requiring you to go after it storywise, it's not a True Final Boss.
From Bonus Boss itself:
By your description, Necrozma doesn't cover any of these points of comparison vs Bonus Boss.
From True Final Boss:
Honestly I'm wondering if that entry isn't a bit of a ZCE.
edited 16th Apr '17 9:10:58 AM by sgamer82
Does Two Dun It cover cases where more than two people did it? I've come across this on the trope page:
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations has between one and four antagonists for the final case of the original trilogy depending on how you count.
My series of questions:
Does the fake Grail Donovan drinks from in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade count as a Poison Mushroom, a Chest Monster, or something else?
And, does Elsa's deliberate choosing of that False Grail count as her playing the You Have Outlived Your Usefulness card on Donovan?
Lastly, is Donovan an Asshole Victim?
Also, questions about TMNT 2012. In this series, Splinter/Hamato Yoshi gets three Disney Deaths before he is Killed Off for Real. Does this count as Four is Death? He's also killed at the end of Season 4.
As an added bonus, when he is killed, he's Impaled with Extreme Prejudice and tossed off a building. We see him falling, but not land, though we do see his body on the ground a shot later. Is this Disney Villain Death?
I think they do count, but I want confirmation.
edited 16th Apr '17 10:20:26 PM by jameygamer
I came across this example in Trivia.CrazyExGirlfriend...
- Network to the Rescue: It is the lowest rated show on the CW, despite critical acclaim. Most people thought it would get cancelled. And then the CW renewed it for a second, and later third season.
Would that instead fall under And You Thought It Would Fail (which is YMMV)?
![]()
Can you please link the tropes you're asking about? Don't require others to search the tropes you're asking for.
Going by the German version:
- Donovan an Asshole Victim: Probably yes.
- Elsa pulling a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: No; intent is clear but the motive is not.
- Fake Grail: Not a Chest Monster as it is a test, not a disguise. Poison Mushroom seems to also miss the test aspect.
I sort of feel most of the description of Asshole Victim inclines against Donovan being an example, as he is in fact an important villain of Last Crusade.
He's probably an Asshole Victim. The False Grail fucks you up in a cruel and unusual way.

@Crossover Enthusiast: Unless fans are passionately split right down the middle, it's not either one - they're more specific than just 'different fans have different opinions'.
edited 13th Apr '17 10:03:45 PM by nrjxll