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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

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#5551: Jun 1st 2018 at 4:36:11 PM

@ Pichu-kun: I had to look up voles, which are enough like other rodents that the only reason I can think they'd be used is this trope, so yes. And Animal Religion looks like it only applies to normally or formerly non-sapient, so Zora don't apply.

From Flanderization.Western Animation under My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:

  • The show itself eventually turned every moral into "Friendship is the answer".
This to me sounds accusative to the point of complaining, and lack context or examples to demonstrate this. And is it really exaggerating something important enough to be in the title?

Does Flanderization only apply to characterization? Is so, is Plot Tumor the trope non-characterization examples of this?

Malady (X-Troper)
#5552: Jun 1st 2018 at 4:43:32 PM

[up] - "This to me sounds accusative to the point of complaining" - Agreed.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#5553: Jun 1st 2018 at 4:48:23 PM

RE voles: they were mentioned in Redwall (by a British author) just enough to confuse me as a kid without being enough to really seem like a familiar element of the series. That's a completely anecdotal single data point, but it does sort of incline me to agree with the notion that they aren't a common used fictional animal in Europe either.

edited 1st Jun '18 4:48:41 PM by nrjxll

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5554: Jun 1st 2018 at 5:40:14 PM

@AdamElY: If anything, bats are sometimes used as a creepy counterpart to some white, medium-sized birds, like doves.

Check out my fanfiction!
Malady (X-Troper)
#5555: Jun 1st 2018 at 5:55:05 PM

[up] - Hmm... Good Wings, Evil Wings. Demonic Black Bat Wings vs, Holy Feathered White Wings...

edited 1st Jun '18 5:55:47 PM by Malady

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5556: Jun 1st 2018 at 10:41:28 PM

Another Duck, thanks for the information about bats and doves.

Also, about the Knight of Cerebus film section, would you put Gaston there because he was considered a Knight of Cerebus in the character page of the cartoon Beauty and the Beast?

edited 1st Jun '18 11:44:44 PM by AdamElY

Adam El-Yousseph
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#5557: Jun 2nd 2018 at 5:39:59 AM

[up] No, you do not put tropes from other mediums on the film page, or vice versa, unless they actually apply to the continuity of the film.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5558: Jun 2nd 2018 at 6:19:16 AM

Fighteer, does that mean Gaston is not a Knight of Cerebus?

Adam El-Yousseph
LegitimateIdiot Since: Nov, 2015
#5559: Jun 2nd 2018 at 7:18:07 AM

Reposting this since I got ignored last time:

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).

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 positively 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.
- I’m most unsure about this entry because this particular troper appears to have a grudge against this character. Firstly, the Take That! claim against Tumblr may be untrue since the stereotypes they embody (writing call out posts, art theft, etc.) aren’t limited to users of that platform, as well as the fact that they’re more of an analog to music streamers. Secondly, the character only behaves harshly against the player in the game’s two bad endings - one of which involves the player inadvertently taking actions that remind them of said false friends.

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.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5560: Jun 2nd 2018 at 8:28:41 AM

Fighteer, does that mean Gaston is not a Knight of Cerebus?
Haven't we been over this one before? It sounds familiar. Maybe it was fit a different version of Gaston, though.

AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5561: Jun 2nd 2018 at 9:22:08 AM

sgamer 82, I was just asking and I am fasting. I meant the cartoon Gaston and not the live-action version.

Do you think giant anteaters and moose aka elk are examples of the trope Beware the Silly Ones?

1. Moose aka elk look silly with their palm-shaped antlers, drooping horselike faces, huge size, and long and spindly legs. They look ungainly and docile. The trope Moose Are Idiots exists for a reason. However, moose can deliver powerful kicks and have sharp and large hooves and they kill more people in North America than wolves and bison. Plus, moose-related car crashes are serious.

2. Giant anteaters look goofy with their size, small ears, long snouts, and long tongues. However, they have sharp claws and can kill people, jaguars, and pumas/cougars.

edited 2nd Jun '18 9:26:08 AM by AdamElY

Adam El-Yousseph
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5562: Jun 2nd 2018 at 9:26:41 AM

I'm that case I'd almost certainly say no.

Putting aside a recent discussion that single films can't really have a Knight of Cerebus in the first place, a knights status comes from how their appearance, their very presence drastically changes the tone of the show, and Gaston does not do that.

[down]Swype keyboard + not always accurate auto correct

edited 2nd Jun '18 10:58:59 AM by sgamer82

AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5563: Jun 2nd 2018 at 10:41:40 AM

sgamer 82, you mean “In that case.”

Gaston was a Not-So-Harmless Villain. The page for Not-So-Harmless Villain said these types of villains can become Knights of Cerebus. Gaston became darker once he showed his true colors when he planned to put Maurice in the asylum and blackmail Belle into marrying him.

But better examples of the trope Knight of Cerebus are Judge Doom, the Evil Queen in Snow White (in contrast to the film’s mood, every time she appears, the scenes involving her are darker), and the bear in Fox and the Hound (he appeared later in the story and when he did, the scenes were darker and the bear was more of a threat to Tod than Amos Slade was).

Adam El-Yousseph
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#5564: Jun 2nd 2018 at 10:43:44 AM

Are the following examples being used correctly?:

From Running the Asylum:

  • Ultimate Marvel: When Jonathan Hickman was hired to write The Ultimates, he said this: "I was pretty exited. When I first started at Marvel, one of the gigs I had looked at as a king of homerun job was the Ultimates. I loved how Brian and Mark had started things off - how real and large the world felt - and I always thought there was a logical next step to be taken. So here we are, one small step..."

From Man of Steel (2018):

  • So Okay, It's Average: Invoked by comic book shops. Despite Bendis coming to DC, many comic shops are playing it safe by not over-ordering, citing his last Marvel works and the lukewarm reception he had gotten from them.

From Fresh Meat:

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#5565: Jun 2nd 2018 at 11:03:48 AM

Gaston was a Not-So-Harmless Villain. The page for Not-So-Harmless Villain said these types of villains can become Knights of Cerebus. Gaston became darker once he showed his true colors when he planned to put Maurice in the asylum and blackmail Belle into marrying him. But better examples of the trope Knight of Cerebus are Judge Doom, the Evil Queen in Snow White (in contrast to the film’s mood, every time she appears, the scenes involving her are darker), and the bear in Fox and the Hound (he appeared later in the story and when he did, the scenes were darker and the bear was more of a threat to Tod than Amos Slade was).
None of that addresses the other point I raised, that previous discussion came down with the idea that one off films, like every one you mentioned, can not have a Knight of Cerebus. I forget the precise reasoning offhand, Fighteer or someone can elaborate, but I remember understanding it as their presence and effect is accounted for from the start where a Knight will usually be introduced later in a more established, light and fluffy series and their entire presence is marked by things getting more serious.

AdamElY from Westerville, Ohio Since: Jan, 2018 Relationship Status: Singularity
#5566: Jun 2nd 2018 at 11:22:24 AM

While the Evil Queen and Judge Doom appeared earlier, the bear appeared much later in Fox and the Hound.

Adam El-Yousseph
crazysamaritan NaNo 4328 / 50,000 from Lupin III Since: Apr, 2010
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
#5567: Jun 2nd 2018 at 2:17:15 PM

I forget the precise reasoning offhand, Fighteer or someone can elaborate, but I remember understanding it as their presence and effect is accounted for from the start
Right; I had started attacking the wicks after the long discussion. The idea is basically that a work needs to have Cerebus Syndrome for a villain to be a Knight of Cerebus.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#5568: Jun 2nd 2018 at 3:06:30 PM

YMMV.How To Train Your Dragon The Hidden World

  • Internet Backdraft: The film recieved it after a full poster was revealed. Many people angrily decried the film as pushing heteronormativity on non-human characters, which they viewed as especially distasteful since it was released on Pride Month. Others merely thought the plot would be cliche.

...I haven't see evidence of this.

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5569: Jun 2nd 2018 at 6:14:17 PM

[up]YMMV examples can only be contested on the grounds of "this example does not fit the trope definition" or "this is factually incorrect".

ADrago Since: Dec, 2015
#5570: Jun 2nd 2018 at 7:51:39 PM

From OvershadowedByControversy.VideoGames:

From my understanding, Overshadowed by Controversy has to be about an out-of-universe event that overshadows the work while this entry is about plot developments that fans didn't like.

SamCurt Since: Jan, 2001
#5571: Jun 4th 2018 at 5:47:49 PM

I found this in Trivia.Sakura Trick:

tl;dr: There's no controversy surrounding the series's ending. It's just the fact it keeps a whole Anthology Comic running, so when it ends, the anthology also folds. I don't think it's an example of Creator Killer, is it?

Scientia et Libertas | Per Aspera ad Astra Nova
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#5572: Jun 4th 2018 at 11:05:01 PM

Yeah, that's not an example. It didn't kill anything. It kept it alive.

Check out my fanfiction!
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#5573: Jun 5th 2018 at 8:02:01 PM

So...it's been about 4 days, any chance someone could take a look at the examples I brought up above [up]x9.

SebastianGray (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#5574: Jun 6th 2018 at 2:54:54 AM

While updating the Necromunda page for the new edition I came across the following:

  • Snap Back: Averted. Unlike the main Warhammer 40,000 game, each model in a Necromunda gangs has individual stats and equipment, which note  can evolve over the course of a campaign as the gang gains experience, injuries and resources.

Is this a valid use of Averted Trope, is it a Subversion, or not even worth noting as it is an example of it not being an example?

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#5575: Jun 6th 2018 at 5:05:20 AM

[up] There's no reason to expect Snap Back to be in play for a tabletop game, so no, it's not a notable aversion.


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