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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

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5501: May 23rd 2018 at 3:30:41 PM

There's been some discussion about that in the OotS discussion thread, actually (in fact I was prompted to ask the question b/c of that very entry). I think the general consensus is they/them for vaarsuvius vs any s/he or hir stuff.

edited 23rd May '18 3:33:16 PM by sgamer82

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5502: May 23rd 2018 at 3:38:56 PM

[up]Yeah, I'm coming from there as well. "They" would work okay for most of this example, but there's a couple of points where "they" could mean either V or the dragons.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5503: May 23rd 2018 at 3:45:05 PM

In which case, be more specific like the previously suggested V, Vaarsuvius, or "the elf"

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#5504: May 23rd 2018 at 4:23:07 PM

ThunderCats Roar:

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#5505: May 23rd 2018 at 5:23:55 PM

That's one good example. Sure, its redundant but it is well elaborated and isnt THIS SHOW'S CREW ARE THE ANTICHRIST.

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5506: May 23rd 2018 at 5:47:55 PM

Technically it's a ZCE, but there's not much context you can add to a trope like that one.

AegisP Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Kindhearted SSSSSNAKE Man
#5507: May 23rd 2018 at 6:55:09 PM

THAT'S what I wanted to say! Thanks for putting in words what I wanted to say!

As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.
dsneybuf (Not-So-Newbie)
#5508: May 24th 2018 at 5:45:13 AM

Do, "Gael García Bernal sounded off-key", and, "Miguel forgot the words", sound like valid reasons for me to call the Oscar performance of "Remember Me" So Bad, It's Horrible? (I know I already added an entry about it to the Coco Heartwarming Moments page, but I plan to remove it later.)

Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#5509: May 24th 2018 at 7:14:00 AM

Would Zora from Zelda count as Animal Religion or are Fish People too humanoid?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5511: May 24th 2018 at 7:46:35 AM

About the trope Grotesque Gallery, are the wood elves the only examples of this trope in the cartoon Hobbit or would you consider Brother Theodore’s Gollum to be an example of that trope?

Would you consider clowns in general, Smitty in Dumbo, the Chuck E. Cheese costumes, and the animatronics in the movie Dreamchild to be examples of that trope?

Adam El-Yousseph
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#5512: May 24th 2018 at 7:54:04 AM

[up] We can't answer questions like this. You are asking overly broad things without enough context. It seems you need to work on understanding tropes better.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5513: May 24th 2018 at 9:23:30 AM

Speaking of Animal Religion, that has Planet Of The Apes as the image, and an example. The descripion mentions the trope is about Partially Civilized Animal, which those apes are above (i.e. closer to humans). Is the trope actually that wide, or would that be misuse, and in which case the image is misleading?

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AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5514: May 24th 2018 at 10:08:31 AM

Fighteer, Grotesque Gallery is what happens when Ugly Cute characters get a little too close to the ugly side and become creepy due to how messed-up they look.

First off, clowns can be considered Grotesque Gallery due to coulrophobia, their white makeup, exaggerated mouths, large noses, brightly-colored hair, and large shoes.

Smitty from Dumbo could be this trope due to his monkey-like face, orange skin, beady eyes, how widely he opens his mouth, and how his lips protrude.

The animatronics in Dreamchild and the Chuck E, Cheese costumes can be considered that trope as they are ugly and creepy due to how lifelike and stylized/realistic (in the case of Chuck E. Cheese) they look.

edited 24th May '18 10:27:28 AM by AdamElY

Adam El-Yousseph
Malady (X-Troper)
#5515: May 24th 2018 at 5:54:17 PM

Rule of Romantic, trope or index?

It has two examples:

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nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#5516: May 24th 2018 at 6:19:41 PM

I don't see any distinction between it as a trope and The Power of Love, so I'd say index.

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5517: May 25th 2018 at 1:05:10 AM

Rule of Romantic misuses the term "supertrope", since many of those aren't necessarily related to Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Rule of Romantic is a tool to extend the Willing Suspension of Disbelief beyond normal believability. It's about the mood the audience can feel.

The Power of Love is a direct In-Universe power from it. It's about the emotion of the characters.

They overlap if the latter isn't explicit, but they're clearly different.

[up][up]The first sounds like it could be an overlap, but the handwave kind of says it's not The Power of Love. It's something that doesn't make sense, but supposedly works because it's romantic.

The second is pretty much a generic "example" with a specific one tacked on. And it has no context. Deletable.

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Elfkaiser Since: May, 2013
#5518: May 26th 2018 at 8:30:24 AM

From Detroit: Become Human.

Is this an example of Insane Troll Logic?

  • Insane Troll Logic: The protests against androids have the crowds accusing the androids of 'taking their jobs'. While obviously meant to be a Does This Remind You of Anything? regarding a lot of bigotry towards immigrants, it doesn't really work as those androids, by inherent common sense, would have been built for those jobs, and beyond basic upkeep, would require a lot less monetary investment by the companies that make use of them because those companies wouldn't have to pay them or deal with complaints about inhumane work hours and conditions. So the ire towards the androids makes no sense because it literally is not their fault that they have these jobs over human workers.

Don't think it is.

Based on what I've seen from the game itself and the Kamski In-Universe interview, there are legitimate reasons why people would be angry against androids that don't make it Insane Troll Logic.

From the interview:

  • The androids are replacing humans in many fields. For example, they represent more than 80% of all university professors and 63% of all medical staff.
  • Replacing humans with machines has led to a record unemployment of 28%.

If anything else, the reason given by the very example saying that the androids are cheaper and more efficient than using than humans is actually a very logically sound argument for why people would be mad against androids for replacing them in their jobs.

Edit:

From the game itself:

Protestor: 35% unemployment, millions out of work

edited 26th May '18 8:37:43 AM by Elfkaiser

Malady (X-Troper)
#5519: May 26th 2018 at 11:15:41 AM

[up][up] - So, Rule of Romantic is a trope, with currently only a single valid example?

And the listed tropes should be moved to Willing Suspension of Disbelief?


[up] - They should be blaming the manufacturers, but yes, I'd expect people to be angry at the androids.

If they're owned by people, I expect damaging them would lead to property damage lawsuits or something.

Like Luddites for the modern age.

edited 26th May '18 11:18:10 AM by Malady

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AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5520: May 26th 2018 at 12:24:16 PM

[up]Rule of Romantic exactly the romance version of Rule of Funny or Rule of Cool.

Willing Suspension of Disbelief is a supertrope for all of those, and tropes should go on applicable subtropes, with possible exceptions of the examples cover multiple subtropes at once, or if they go outside the subtrope while being within the supertrope.

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LegitimateIdiot Since: Nov, 2015
#5521: May 26th 2018 at 2:16:14 PM

I’m asking about these two entries since I know that the troper writing them has had issues with kneejerk reactions and Speculative Troping. I’ve tapped them on the shoulder already, btw.

From YMMV.Hiveswap Friendsim:

- concerns fans misunderstanding a character’s actions which are only justified in the context of the source material. Not sure if this qualifies for the trope.

From Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:

- the problem with this entry is that the character in question doesn’t actually appear onscreen aside from a few seconds. All we know about him is through Xefros’ perspective who initially describes him as positive but later comes to realise the selfishness of Dammek’s actions. This all comes from the first act of the game (with three more acts to go) and Dammek is set to appear as a main playable character in a sequel sister game, so there’s obviously more to his character.
  • ACT 2 gives us Zebruh Codakk, who claims to be on the side of lowbloods... except for the fact that he still refers to them as gutterbloods, and is most likely pretending to be tolerant of lower castes to mack on Oliveblooded females. This is somewhat justified in that he's a parody of the stereotypical internet nice guy.
- May count as Speculative Troping since ACT 2 of Hiveswap isn’t out yet and his Day in the Limelight has yet to be released, though official information doesn’t paint a good picture of him.
- Possibly the most straightest example but I do want to disprove the statement that the character is a Take That! towards Tumblr since they embody a mixture of various stereotypes that aren’t necessarily limited to the platform’s userbase (writing call out posts, art theft, etc.) and appear to be the troll version of a music streamer.

edited 26th May '18 2:18:27 PM by LegitimateIdiot

This account is dead. I’ve said a lot of dumb things in the past and I wish to forget them. I’m sorry if I’ve ever hurt anyone.
Elfkaiser Since: May, 2013
#5522: May 26th 2018 at 5:31:44 PM

[up][up][up] Just found that the Detroit: Become Human Insane Troll Logic example was moved to the YMMV page.

The reason given for the move was:

YMMV. The contributor makes a great deal of sense, but I doubt anyone who has lost their job will be convinced by the contributor's argument, especially when android automization, in the game's universe, has led to >1/3 unemployment. Androids clearly ARE a problem, and while certainly much blame can be assigned to Cyber Life, or to the US government that has failed to provide a sufficient safety net to unemployed "obsolete" workers, it is not entirely insane or trollish to say that androids took their jobs and have animosity towards them on that account.

In any case, does it belong in the YMMV page as is?

  • Insane Troll Logic: The protests against androids have the crowds accusing the androids of 'taking their jobs'. While obviously meant to be a Does This Remind You of Anything? regarding a lot of bigotry towards immigrants, it doesn't really work as those androids, by inherent common sense, would have been built for those jobs, and beyond basic upkeep, would require a lot less monetary investment by the companies that make use of them because those companies wouldn't have to pay them or deal with complaints about inhumane work hours and conditions. So the ire towards the androids makes no sense because it literally is not their fault that they have these jobs over human workers.

Insane Troll Logic is not a YMMV trope and someone might place it back in the main page for that reason.

Malady (X-Troper)
#5523: May 26th 2018 at 7:25:19 PM

[up] - It's saying there's a Broken Aesop or broken analogy, but we seem to disagree with that person.

Change to Broken Aesop or something. IIRC, that's YMMV?

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Elfkaiser Since: May, 2013
#5524: May 26th 2018 at 11:41:48 PM

Umm... not sure if you're replying to me or the post above mine but the android thing wouldn't be a Broken Aesop.

Malady (X-Troper)
#5525: May 27th 2018 at 4:59:57 AM

[up] - It's talking about a broken analogy of some kind. Saying Does This Remind You of Anything?, then saying how the connection is inaccurate.

Like superpeople prosecution being a LGBTQ metaphor, that breaks down as that'd mean LGBTQ is a Puberty Superpower of possibly deadly abilities or something.

I think that was in Broken Aesop or atleast a similar trope. One of the Aesops?

It's talking about the breakdown of Fantastic Racism at least?

edited 27th May '18 5:02:40 AM by Malady

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