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.
For cleaning up examples of Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard, you must use their dedicated threads: Complete Monster Cleanup, Magnificent Bastard Cleanup.
Edited by Synchronicity on Sep 18th 2023 at 11:42:55 AM
Reposting from the previous two pages, so it doesn't get lost:
Are the following examples from Pacific Rim: Uprising being used correctly?:
- Arc Fatigue: Of the Four Lines, All Waiting variety: it's generally considered by both detractors and defenders that Uprising has too many subplots stuffed into its screentime. To compare, the first film focused mainly on the characters learning to work out their personal troubles and function as teams of pilots, as well as the PPDC struggling to keep up against increasingly powerful Kaijus. However, aside from these two basic premises, which include the revamping of the latter with Fusion Dance in Uprising, the sequel runs with the additional plots of a younger character trying to cope with her new life in the pilot cadet school, a seemingly evil MegaCorp building rival Jaegers and leading mysterious attacks, and even an inner human conspiration in favor of the Precursors. It can be safely said that this film carries enough material and ideas to produce more than one installment or even a full-fledged TV series, which takes a revealing new light when one remembers director Steven S. DeKnight had only worked in TV series before having his film debut with Uprising.
- Ass Pull: As awesome as the brutal Mega Kaiju is, Newt's contingency plan for the Jaegers overwhelming whatever Kaiju came through really does come out of nowhere. Sure, it's explained that the Big Bad can allocate resources here and there, but there is zero hint of them anywhere or how exactly they work.
Lost in Space
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I haven't watched PRU so I don't want to get spoiled.
Jesus Christ. Cut that page and I'm going to look at that troper's other edits because that's some of the dumbest shit I've seen on this site in an hour.
EDIT: Oh wow, it's the same guy who added that Overshadowed by Controversy entry on She-Ra. Why am I not surprised.
They also added Animation Age Ghetto to She-Ra. Isn't that impossible to apply since, well, it actually is for kids?
Edited by Larkmarn on Jul 18th 2018 at 10:16:00 AM
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
So would anyone object to me removing the Animation Age Ghetto entry and Overshadowed by Controversy entries on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power? Especially since one troper in particular decided to edit the last Overshadowed by Controversy entry to accuse the people defending the new character design of engaging in a "culture war?"
In my opinion, cut them all. Too soon for OBC, and AAG can't apply to a work actually aimed at kids.
From HarryPotter.Tropes J To R: Is this stretching the "Whitey" part of Mighty Whitey too much? I'm conflicted as muggles are the Audience Surrogate so that major part of the trope is there, but as the example points out the Purebloods are closer to the white people in the metaphor.
- Mighty Whitey: Although allegorically speaking, Muggles and Muggleborns are people of color, and Purebloods and Squibs are white people, there is still a bit of this in Muggleborns joining a culture they haven't grown up in and besting the people who have grown up in that culture at magical subjects. Averted with Squibs, who never best Muggles at Muggle subjects.
The entry outright admits that the cultural dynamics behind Mighty Whitey aren't present. Also, I'm pretty sure this trope only applies to individuals, not generalized groups. So, I say cut it.
Cut. Thinking we might need to add a hard time limit to OBC, like we did for Broken Base. Too many momentary controversies that are quickly forgotten get added.
Edited by TheMountainKing on Jul 18th 2018 at 11:05:23 AM
Two entries were recently added to The Legend of Korra:
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: In the final episode "Endgame", Amon removes Korra's bending barring her newly awakened Airbending. Many fans hoped that Korra would have to relearn her other bending forms from scratch, and explore the world seeking bending masters to learn from like her predecessors did. But NOPE! Aang's spirit not only restores her bending, but also granted her the Avatar State as well, basically handing everything to her on a silver platter.
- Strawman Has a Point:
- Unalaq points out to Korra during the festival how she had been secluded by the While Lotus most of her life which mitigates her growth, whereas every Avatar before her had explored the world to learn. Yet Unalaq's valid point is supposed to be treated simply as a means for him to manipulate Korra, not helping the fact that Unalaq's involvement with the Red Lotus was what led to Korra's secluded life in the first place.
Edited by TheMountainKing on Jul 18th 2018 at 1:38:51 PM
No, the other one.
I don't remember the specifics, but from what I can recall, Unalaq was depicted mostly as someone who did have a few fair points, and wasn't completely bad-evil-wrong.
I also agree with the wasted plot not really being a wasted plot as a suggestion for something completely different. And a season or two extra content.
Edited by AnotherDuck on Jul 18th 2018 at 7:41:36 PM
Check out my fanfiction!
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors doesn't need a network of weaknesses and strengths to be an example, right?
Does it have to be element vs element, or does this count, even though, it's one specific enemy type, being weak to one element?
If it doesn't, I'll need to fix my edit to Super Effective...
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: With certain units being extremely weak to or strong against various of the six damage types, like Arcane attacks against Undead, Cold attacks against Drakes.
Edited by Malady on Jul 18th 2018 at 11:24:07 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
My understanding is that it needs both of those to qualify.
There's an open TRS thread about that trope, and I think there was some disagreement about what it actually is. Might want to double check there.
@TheMountainKing: They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot is factually incorrect, so cut. And they agree they made mistakes with raising Korra, so Strawman Has a Point is also wrong.
From "Shaggy Dog" Story.Film:
- The Force Awakens pretty much turns the Original trilogy into this, since everything is pretty much how it was at the start of A New Hope (a small Resistance led by Leia fighting a galactic empire led by a Jedi turned Sith with a mysterious Big Bad pulling the strings behind the scenes).
I think this trope requires the story itself to end this way, with it happening due to later works falling under Happy Ending Override. I can only see shoehorning like that used as a complaint.
Edited by Ferot_Dreadnaught on Jul 18th 2018 at 4:48:14 AM
Lost in Space
It's just a complaint. Kill it.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Are the following examples being used correctly?:
From Revised Ending:
- The ending to X-Men: Days of Future Past is the exact opposite of the comic book storyline it's based on. In the comics, Rachel Summers sent an adult Kitty Pryde's consciousness back in time to prevent the Bad Future they lived in. Kitty succeeded, but nothing changed, and Rachel learned that changing the past only creates an alternate timeline rather than changing her own world. Years later after Rachel became part of the present-day world and joined Excalibur, she went back to the Days of Future Past timeline with the team in tow and they directly defeated the Sentinels to set the world right. If any message can be gained from all this, it's that it's better to confront your problems head-on rather than looking for shortcuts. The movie disregards all this. Once Wolverine prevents the assassination of Senator Kelly, the Mutant Holocaust fades away and we're treated to an optimistic new present-day where the first three X-Men films never happened: the real reason for the time travel plot.
From Sykes:
- Greasy Spoon: The show has the roadside cafe version, where Eric and Hat buy one and try and convert it into something a little posher. It doesn't work as all they do is alienate the truckies. Then they convert it back and rake in the cash but can't keep up the gritty act as part of working there. Then their snobby neighbor Mr. Brown buys it.
From Canceled Too Soon:
- Mainstream Obscurity: Largely defied — Bibbs and Witney state outright that they enjoy reviewing obscurities and curiosities more than well known bombs, which is why they tend to save more notorious shows for special occasions.
- Revised Ending: Cut. It's about someone changing the ending of a work, not an adaptation (already expected to have a different ending and very different throughout) having a different conclusion.
- Greasy Spoon: Yes, that's fine. Could use a bit more detail, but it's really fine as-is.
- Mainstream Obscurity: Weirdly shoehorned. Cut.
Edited by Larkmarn on Jul 19th 2018 at 1:12:36 PM
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
From Titans (2018)
- Never Live It Down: "Fuck Batman." Some even noted that the line may well work fine in context, but putting it in the trailer like some unnecessarily aggressive preemptive strike against "fun" incarnations like Teen Titans Go! just makes it seem childish.
Said trailer dropped a few hours ago. Isn't it preemptive to call for NLID?
Lost in Space
Umm, yeah, that's vastly premature.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
From the same show as above , this was added, but is it too soon for it to be there?
- Signature Scene: This will likely be remembered well. When Robin makes his entrance to a bunch of criminals, we get this exchange.
Criminal: Where's Batman?!Robin: Fuck Batman.
There can't be a Signature Scene if any scenes haven't actually been released, can there?
Friends forevermore
There's no guarantee the scene will make it into the finished series.
A while back I deleted the Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy entry from YMMV.Tomb Raider Underworld, because it was really exaggerating how dark the game really is. Afterwards someone messaged me and said the game is a lot a darker than usual for the series, so we rewrote the entry to what it is now, but I'm still not convinced DIAA is appropriate in this case. Maybe Angst Aversion?
Personally, I still don't think the game is dark enough to warrant a mention at all, and I don't recall really anyone complaining about the tone when the game was released. I only went along with rewriting the example because I thought that since someone added the original entry, and then someone else contacted me about it, then maybe people really do feel this way and I was just in the minority.
- Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: Underworld is easily the darkest entry of Crystal Dynamic's first trilogy, and one of the darkest games in the series overall.
- Rather than globetrotting and uncovering ancient ruins, the plot centers around Lara's quest to uncover the truth of what happened to her mother, who was presumed dead years ago. Along the way, Croft Manor is burned to the ground, an Evil Knockoff of Lara is introduced, Alister is murdered in cold blood, Lara's Disappeared Dad is revealed to have been murdered by the Big Bad, Lara's personal quest ends in tragedy, and The End of the World as We Know It is just narrowly prevented. Lara's enemies include an Evil Former Friend and an Omnicidal Maniac demigod, both of whom like to gloat about the losses Lara has endured.
- The Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow DLCs aren't much better in this regard. Both take place post-game and reveal that both the Doppelgänger and Natla survived the endgame. In gratitude for saving her, Natla commands the Doppelgänger to kill Lara and then kill itself. Lara is able to free the Doppelgänger from Natla's control, and in revenge the Doppelgänger kills Natla for good by submerging her in eitr.
Edited by Primis on Jul 19th 2018 at 11:04:49 AM
Could this work as an entry for Technicolor Eyes:
- Unusual eye and hair colors are common among Magical Girls in Sleepless Domain. Indeed, Power Dyes Your Hair and it's typical to see the Curtains Match the Window, or to at least complement the window. This makes Heartful Punch's eyes stand out, as they are a bright blue in stark contrast to her otherwise pink color scheme. The color is noted by HP as the result of being born while her mother was still an active Magical Girl, as the blue was her color.
I haven't double checked the trope to be sure it fits yet, but I'm also wondering there might be potential for a Commonality Connection, as while telling Undine this, HP also says that she initially wondered if the two of them might have something in common when they first met because of Undine's own Exotic Eye Designs, until she realized they were caused by something entirely different
Edited by sgamer82 on Jul 21st 2018 at 12:43:18 PM
That example doesn't explain the apathy part of the trope. Did all of that lead to you not caring about the characters? How? That would need to be explained.
- Author's Saving Throw: According to Christine Thompson, the series is set in an Alternate Universe, explaining the Spinoff Babies premise.
On a similar case...
The Dragon Prince
The show has just been recently announced. The picture on the main page is literally the only revealed one so far. Isn't it a bit too early to call for rivalries and friendliness in fandoms?