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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

FirstAidRules He/Him from House (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Singularity
He/Him
#36276: Sep 22nd 2025 at 10:01:00 AM

Both the Derivative Works page for Sweeny Todd and Sung Through Musical say that Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street film is a Sung Through Musical but the page for Sung Through Musical says it's not as there's multiple bits of spoken dialogue. Should it be deleted?

Hi!
bwburke94 I am mad scientist! It's so cool! from 1.048596% (Y2: Electric Boogaloo) Relationship Status: She does the things you do, but she is an IBM
I am mad scientist! It's so cool!
#36277: Sep 22nd 2025 at 10:48:52 AM

[up][up] Given that this isn't a numbered entry in the franchise, it seems obvious that the gap should count from the end of The Mandalorian, which is only 3 years and doesn't qualify.

2025: the year it all ends?
CybrTroper Reads and Thinks too much Since: Aug, 2023 Relationship Status: Get out of here, STALKER
Reads and Thinks too much
#36278: Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:29:33 PM

I don’t think this fits Gray-and-Grey Morality or I think it’s giving Hell is Us's current conflict a bit too much leeway by calling it such.

Not sure how much of this is spoilers, if any, but just to be on the safe side.

    Spoilers? 
Hell is Us: Both the Palomist and Sabinian sides have their share of saints and sinners, and both sides have legitimate grievances against each other. In the past, the Sabinians have traditionally been heavily discriminated against, often being the victims of Palomist inquisitions and pogroms. In modern times, the Sabinians are hell bent on getting payback against the Palomists and start initiating pogroms and ethnic cleansing of their own. For example, in Jova, the Sabinians invaded the village and wiped out its Palomist population in response to its populace lynching their Sabinian neighbors. They also don't shy away from using incendiary weapons on Palomist cities like Lethe. Meanwhile, in the still Palomist controlled city of Marastan, the majority Sabinian population is ruthlessly oppressed in response to the civil war, to the point where the Palomist garrison regularly rapes Sabinian women as a pastime. Despite all this, there are still bystanders on both sides who are doing their best just to survive the conflict.

I’d argue the setting leans closer to Morality Kitchen Sink with the civil war being closer to Evil vs. Evil due to both sides atrocities and their reasonings boiling down to centuries long grudges and Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence.

Also, in regards to Jova, after reading several documents, the general disposition of most the soldiers, and the kind of guy Captain Vaas is, tells me they would’ve killed the town’s Palomists population anyway even if they hadn’t hung their Sabinian neighbors. They didn’t invade the town in response to the lynching as one document comments on expecting Sabinian residents being in the line of fire, which wouldn’t be a problem if they knew they were dead.

Edited by CybrTroper on Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:34:51 PM

Theriocephalus Amateur Veteran from gimme a map and a moment and I can tell you Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Amateur Veteran
#36279: Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:33:49 PM

Does it count as a Sequel Gap if the films are in the same universe (albeit not directly connected) and there were television shows in the interim? Like how The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars movie in five and a half years following The Rise of Skywalker?

I'm not sure that I'd qualify The Mandalorian and Grogu as a "sequel" to The Rise of Skywalker in any greater sense than being a story set in the same continuity — and in that case, there having been a constant stream of SW material in between does disqualify it as an example, I would say.

costanton11 Since: Mar, 2016
#36280: Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:41:16 PM

This example was added to Characters.Back To The Future Mc Fly Family, regarding the new timeline version of Marty we briefly see near the end of the first film.

  • Demoted to Extra: He is just a minor character from the first movie, while the original timeline Marty is the film's protagonist. He is not mentioned again in the rest of the first film, nor their sequels, not even indirectly.

Since this version of Marty is technically not the same character as the version we follow throughout the films, who is still very much the main protagonist, this example seems like misuse. Any additional thoughts?

dcutter2 Since: Sep, 2013
#36281: Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:52:03 PM

The user who put that there, has a distinct wonk about AU versions films. We've run into with Wolverine in the X-Men films.

That is misuse because as you say he wasn't a main character and then demoted. That version was never a main character.

Considering Lone Pines Marty is only seen on screen for a few moments which are recycled from the start of the film anyway. He's not really distinct enough to need a folder anyway.

The same with "Marty's Past Self in the Revised Timeline", which is just Marty from BTTF 1 anyway if I'm understanding who it's referring to.

costanton11 Since: Mar, 2016
#36282: Sep 22nd 2025 at 12:57:33 PM

I removed that example, but maybe we should discuss the issue further in the character page cleanup thread.

Nejiiuyn Kaiser der Anonymität from The Mysterious Beyond Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
fanman "To watch it all burn." from Earth-Prime/Earth-1218 Since: Feb, 2022 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
"To watch it all burn."
#36285: Sep 22nd 2025 at 2:57:33 PM

Would this example I'm planning for Knights of Guinevere count?

  • Egopolis: Park Planet, the dystopian amusement park where the wealthy amuse themselves at the expense of the people below, was founded by a man named Orville Park.

Theriocephalus Amateur Veteran from gimme a map and a moment and I can tell you Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Amateur Veteran
#36286: Sep 22nd 2025 at 3:30:12 PM

I think that "corporate property named after the corporate owner" is a valid, if maybe downplayed, version of the trope, yes.

I would add a note about how "Park Planet" seems like a regular generic name for a theme park at first until you learn that it's also the owner's surname.

DeadlyEspresso Mister Pendleton from your local Popeyes Since: Apr, 2023
Mister Pendleton
#36287: Sep 22nd 2025 at 9:24:32 PM

This example had been removed from VideoGame.Die Of Death with no explanation on why:

  • Lethal Joke Item: The Banana Peel doesn't seem that useful on the surface, given its 2 seconds of startup and the small hitbox of the banana peel itself, but when used within narrow stretches of land, it can be a menace, forcing Killers to trip and buying Civilians time to fight back or run away. It can be even more dangerous on the Baseplate map, where placing one on the bridge can send Killers plummeting to their death in the water that accumulates in the ravine of the map 1 minute into the match.

The example does explain why the item in question is usually not that useful in most situations, but in some others, it can genuinely be a powerhouse, which fits the definition of a Lethal Joke Item. However, the entry was cut on grounds of "grammar fixes", even though the most recent editor didn't actually fix any mistakes on this specific entry and just cut the whole entry. Is this perhaps a Square Peg, Round Trope situation but the edit reason fails to say this? Does it perhaps fit another trope better?

I literally cannot make out with a television the fuck
TMH-Sir-Iron-Vomit The clown of STEEL from Ichnusa Since: Mar, 2024
The clown of STEEL
#36288: Sep 23rd 2025 at 12:53:27 AM

[up]That might be the wrong trope? It reads more like Not Completely Useless than Lethal Joke Item. The latter is more properly defined as "a worthless-looking item is actually very good if used properly".

Still, the fact that they cut the whole entry without a proper edit reason is concerning (even if it can be assumed they didn't know about Not Completely Useless, and added the wrong reason).

Oo oo ah ah
BigBadShadow25 With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg. from Basement at the Alamo (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Desperate
With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg.
#36289: Sep 23rd 2025 at 8:46:28 AM

For YMMV.The Mandalorian And Grogu, there is a tainted by the preview entry that points out fans complaining about how the trailer was released seemingly as a distraction during Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

You’re Gonna Carry That Weight.
Zarina Since: Aug, 2014
#36290: Sep 23rd 2025 at 11:28:14 AM

I'm skeptical of this example in Black Pearl Cookie's folder over on CookieRun: Kingdom:

  • Corrupted Character Copy: Of Mirabel Madrigal. Both feel out of place in their families because they aren't giving any blessings that would grant them special powers, and both of them take desperate actions to save everyone/get a power of their own. White Pearl Cookie ends up falling into despair and uses the power of hatred and rage to destroy everything in her path, whereas Mirabel ends up realizing she has a gift of empathy and concern for her family and learns that she doesn't need an ability to be loved.

While there are some surface similarities between the two characters, I think this is Fan Myopia. Black Pearl would much more easily be compared to Ariel from The Little Mermaid, down to being the youngest mermaid in a group of sisters who forms a connection with a land-dwelling person. This entry is also ignoring the other reasons that White Pearl Cookie became corrupted, namely betrayal from someone she trusted and the loss of a close friend, which further distances her from Mirabel.

I feel like it's a safe cut, I just wanted to check if anyone knew whether there's a source out there that actually supports the idea that Black Pearl is a Corrupted Character Copy of Mirabel before I do.

dcutter2 Since: Sep, 2013
#36291: Sep 23rd 2025 at 11:36:22 AM

I don't know the game or if that character was introduced later but the page says Cookie kingdom came out Jan 2021 and Encanto came out Nov 2021, so the earlier character can't really be a copy of a later one anyway.

Edited by dcutter2 on Sep 23rd 2025 at 8:35:47 PM

mousegold Since: Sep, 2015
#36292: Sep 23rd 2025 at 11:58:32 AM

[up]Cookie Run Kingdom is a live service game, BPC wasn't a character until 2022. That said, I do agree that the similarities are too superficial for her to be a Corrupted Character Copy of Mirabel

Edited by mousegold on Sep 23rd 2025 at 4:00:39 PM

king15 Have Faun Since: Mar, 2024
Have Faun
#36293: Sep 23rd 2025 at 12:30:55 PM

[up][up][up][up]There's lots of comments mentioning it on the video, but my question would be whether it counts as Tainted by the Preview. The Kimmel stuff isn't anything within the preview, it's just the outside context.

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#36294: Sep 23rd 2025 at 12:38:03 PM

Pretty much everything Disney did during that time was seen as an attempt to distract people from the Kimmel situation (see the new of the Muppet Show revival, for instance).

I'm not sure if the majority will care all that much by the time the film is actually released.

And, judging from the name, I think Tainted by the Preview is for things that involve the film itself (stuff shown in the trailers, things revealed in other promotional stuff, not things done by the company that have nothing to do with the film itself)

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#36295: Sep 23rd 2025 at 1:06:32 PM

[up]Agreed.

Either way, it's a very ROCEJ-violating entry.

lancelot22 from The whirlpool of delusion Since: Jun, 2019 Relationship Status: Abstaining
#36296: Sep 23rd 2025 at 1:41:19 PM

This in the Nihilism folder in the SMTIV characters page

Hypocrite: For being embodiments of despair they seem to enjoy what they do a bit too much if you agree to return everything to naught.

What they do is try to get the MC to make a black hole swallow the universe so when MC agrees to The White LOL but I was still wondering if this counts or if there's a better trope

Edited by lancelot22 on Sep 23rd 2025 at 1:44:38 AM

Buffalo Chicken pizzas and Cheez-It pizzas are the GOAT; Aromantic cynic all the way
Wafer THE HAMLET GLUTTON from the Banjo-Tooie world, meditating (Life not ruined yet) Relationship Status: Non-Canon
THE HAMLET GLUTTON
#36297: Sep 23rd 2025 at 2:15:18 PM

If a character's outfit takes cues from other characters' outfits, is it a Whole Costume Reference or just several separate Shout Outs?

Edited by Wafer on Sep 23rd 2025 at 2:15:39 AM

"She is a girl" - THE HAMLET GLUTTON
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#36298: Sep 23rd 2025 at 2:23:02 PM

[up][up] I feel there's not enough context, it'll need to clarify better how Laughing Mad contradicts their philosophy, because it doesn't sound like a contradiction.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Zarina Since: Aug, 2014
#36299: Sep 23rd 2025 at 2:35:56 PM

I'm going to remove the Corrupted Character Copy entry on Black Pearl Cookie since there seem to be no objections to that.

DeadlyEspresso Mister Pendleton from your local Popeyes Since: Apr, 2023
Mister Pendleton
#36300: Sep 23rd 2025 at 2:57:22 PM

For [1]: Thanks! I did cite your post on my most recent update for my Not Completely Useless entry for Die of Death.

I literally cannot make out with a television the fuck

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