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    • Wrong: The Mentor: Kevin is this to Bob in the first episode.
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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

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#5526: May 27th 2018 at 12:41:50 PM

Are these entries under narm for new The New 52 Futures End, fine.

  • The absolutely ridiculous designs of the roboticized heroes and villains, such as:
    • Batgirt's upper body attached to the Bat-Signal.
    • Constantine, for some reason, still having a cigarette in his mouth.
    • Black Canary's head attached to Frankenstein's torso, mainly for all the Fridge Logic on how that's supposed to work.

edited 27th May '18 3:20:40 PM by miraculous

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#5527: May 27th 2018 at 3:10:46 PM

Unintentional Period Piece have many dubious examples.

Is a single old-fashioned accessory enough to qualify the game as an Unintentional Period Piece?

Malady (X-Troper)
#5528: May 27th 2018 at 3:29:41 PM

[up] - If there were clearer indications that it was intended as a reference, instead of just another kind of hat, that needed Flavor Text then yes, one object could be enough.

But, IIRC, UPP works have to be 10yrs old, before we add it?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#5529: May 27th 2018 at 8:46:35 PM

I thought Unintentional Period Piece was about works that are loaded with dated references rather than just having one.

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5530: May 28th 2018 at 12:37:30 AM

I don't think one object is enough. There could be an exception if it's something major that objectively dates it to a certain point and has a significant impact on the story, but something as minor as a fashion detail, no. Fashions are also local trends that don't apply to all regions, age groups, or contexts. Not to mentioned highly subjective.

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Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5531: May 28th 2018 at 3:03:22 PM

I found this on Idiot Programming, and I can't decipher most of it. What do we do with it?

  • The Final Fantasy series is known for its polished production values, but was often coded in bizarre, idiotic ways.
    • There were several issues in the original Final Fantasy:
      • The intelligence stat doesn't work, running from battles, instead of basing it on Luck and Level, is controlled Luck, and the status of the 3rd and 4th player character slots, whoever attacks 3rd, and the health of the 4th character slot, most equipment buffs don't even work, and most spell debuffs don't work. The only one that seems to be an Ascended Glitch due to it not being fixed in subsequent re-releases is that the critical hit rate is tied to the weapon's index in the database.

AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5532: May 28th 2018 at 4:29:56 PM

Would you consider giant devil rays to be the Unpleasant Animal Counterpart to cownose rays as the former rays have a bad reputation and cownose rays are docile and used in touch tanks?

Would you consider Gila monsters to be the Unpleasant Animal Counterpart to collared lizards as Gila monsters look scary, are venomous, and have a bad reputation while collared lizards are docile and appear friendly?

Adam El-Yousseph
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#5533: May 29th 2018 at 7:34:22 AM

Unintentional Period Piece is one of my pet peeves because people add it for literally anything so long as "the work's period can be narrowed down in any way."

So yeah. As we've seen in the past two pages "probably took place before a certain year" is common, but my favorite is one work that had UPP because there was a bridge in the background that only stood for 40 years, therefore it can be gleaned that it took place during those 40 years.

[up] Probably not, they're really not used like that in fiction at all.

edited 29th May '18 8:30:10 AM by Larkmarn

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AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5534: May 29th 2018 at 11:21:42 AM

Unintentional Period Piece is not "can be dated to this period because of this". It's "the entire work feels dated because there are so many details that makes it impossible to see the work as belonging in any other period, and moving it to a different period would require extensive rewriting". It's not about the number of objects. It's about their prominence.

Work based on historical events are by definition excluded. They're intentionally set at a specific date.

edited 29th May '18 11:22:09 AM by AnotherDuck

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sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5535: May 29th 2018 at 11:37:51 AM

Essentially a contemporary work that aged badly enough it can't go anywhere else?

AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5536: May 29th 2018 at 2:09:32 PM

Larkmarn, do you mean giant devil rays and cownose rays are not used in fiction that much?

Adam El-Yousseph
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5537: May 29th 2018 at 2:26:16 PM

Those rays aren't used as counterparts much. And considering how rare they are in fiction, they're often portrayed more accurately.

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AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5538: May 29th 2018 at 5:58:18 PM

Is what I said about cownose rays, devil rays, collared lizards, and Gila monsters accurate?

Adam El-Yousseph
AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5539: May 30th 2018 at 8:11:16 PM

Also, because of vampire bats' creepy appearance, appetite for blood, and bad reputation, do you think they're the Unpleasant Animal Counterpart to fruit bats because the latter bats are cute-looking, eat fruit, and are not creepy at all?

Adam El-Yousseph
Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5540: May 30th 2018 at 9:56:36 PM

Only if they're used as counterparts in media. It's not a real life trope.

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5541: May 31st 2018 at 12:04:32 AM

Bats, any kind or similar creatures, are mostly always used as creepy animals, so I don't think that distinction holds up particularly well.

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Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#5542: May 31st 2018 at 2:44:21 AM

Yeah Unintentional Period Piece probably deserves a short term cleanup or something. I recently removed the Twitter joke from Moana because A) It's a single line in a 107 minutes long movie. B) Twitter has been popular for a decade and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.

dsneybuf (Not-So-Newbie)
#5543: May 31st 2018 at 11:06:07 AM

On YMMV.The Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes, I don't know if the last sentence of this entry really sounds Hilarious in Hindsight:

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5544: May 31st 2018 at 12:02:25 PM

[up]Yeah, I don't really think that fits.

naturalironist from The Information Superhighway Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#5545: May 31st 2018 at 1:46:42 PM

In a work I'm writing up, there's a scene where two straight characters are pretending to be a gay couple. One of the guys wants it to be very clear that he "goes on top", and brings this up several times when it's sort of inappropriate.

Would this be an example of Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?? Since the subtext is that the character views topping as more masculine/"straight", and is insecure about being viewed as gay?

"It's just a show; I should really just relax"
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#5546: May 31st 2018 at 1:48:03 PM

That's quite the shoehorn. Someone insisting that they're "the top" in a gay relationship is not putting on a show of being straight, only masculine.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5547: May 31st 2018 at 4:21:59 PM

Another Duck, what animal are bats the Unpleasant Evil Counterpart to?

Adam El-Yousseph
Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5548: May 31st 2018 at 9:28:09 PM

[up]They don't have to be a counterpart to anything. Not every single thing is an example of every trope.

gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#5549: Jun 1st 2018 at 3:16:20 AM

Question about this entry for the recap page for the Reverie arc in One Piece:

  • Too Dumb to Live: The pirate crew that decides to kidnap a princess that's bound for the Reverie, and later sets their sights on kidnapping Viola as well. Never mind that Viola is fully capable of kicking ass (and would have literally seen them coming from miles away via her Devil Fruit), all of the royal families that are gathering at Mariejois have Marine escorts. Cue Coby foiling their brilliant plan and rescuing the princess. To further add insult to injury (literally), the kidnapped princess started attacking the pirate crew that kidnapped her out of revenge.

As far as I know, Too Dumb to Live is a Death Trope; if they didn't die, they aren't obviously too dumb to live. Would that count as an example or would a different trope apply such as Mugging the Monster?

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#5550: Jun 1st 2018 at 4:48:37 AM

Are voles a Seldom-Seen Species or are they well-known in Europe? I only first heard of them through Warrior Cats, but they're a European animal so maybe they're well-known over seas.

My Zora question from the last page wasn't answered. To clarify, Zora are a semi-aquatic species of humanoid from The Legend of Zelda series. They act in a humanoid manner and can apparently interbreed with humans, so are they too anthropomorphic for Animal Religion?


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