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. 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's post from the previous page:
Those examples of Hype Backlash that don't explain why people think the work isn't as good as the hype claims it is can be deleted due to being ZC Es. Of course every popular work is going to have people who think it isn't as good as people say it is, so Hype Backlash should only be limited to examples that do explain the reasoning.
Reposting this from the previous page since I haven't gotten an answer:
This was just added to YMMV.Pokemon Lets Go Pikachu And Lets Go Eevee:
- * Scapegoat Creator: Junichi Masuda started to become one among the older fans when it became known in interviews that his reasoning for the absence of favorites such as jerk rivals and the Battle Frontier was that he wanted the games to be more accessible to children, and that that mentality was front and center for Let's Go's development. Many made pessimistic predictions about Pokémon's future, while others have outright called for Masuda to be removed from the team, believing him to be completely out-of-touch with the fanbase.
This example doesn't explain why these decisions aren't 100% Masuda's fault, while Scapegoat Creator is for when fans blame the creator for something they didn't like even when it partially or fully wasn't. I know Masuda has said some things that are controversial within the Pokemon fandom lately, even I disagree with a lot of his reasoning, but I don't want any Pokemon related pages to devolve into Creator Bashing against him.
Is this Ambiguous Gender, or something else? Since the real body is not known...
- Dungeon Keeper Ami: Keepers can possess the bodies of their minions, so unless their gender is already known, or someone is meeting them in their true form, their gender is only a guess, unless they confirm it, like Ami does to a troll in "Strange Trolls":
"Err, you are a lady outside of this minion too, right?" At Ami's nod, he continued
- The entire Enlightenment movement is likely this, since tyranny, war, poverty, bigotry and superstition still exist in every country, and it’s unlikely that any real progress against them will be made anytime soon, or even after the same amount of time separating the start of the Enlightenment from the present. Twisting the knife is that every mass movement created to further Enlightenment ideals, and succeeded in changing society forever, either [[RuleAbidingRebel kept the status quo unchanged]] or [[NiceJobBreakingItHero actively made it worse]]. Worst of all is the growing mass movement that’s [[ANaziByAnyOtherName openly in favor of bringing brutal oppression and bigotry back]].
"Likely this" seems like Examples Are Not Arguable. And it seems overly negative disregarding any of the good might have done over the centuries. It also includes No Real Life Examples, Please! tropes, making it further suspect.
Zap it. Other problems aside, the shaggy dog hasn't been shot yet, so it's Speculative Troping.
Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.From YMMV.Devil May Cry 5 Author's Saving Throw.
- Ever since their debut games, both Lady and Trish have been given a hefty dose of Fanservice Pack for each subsequent appearance, with an increase in skin on display and cup-size for both of them to the point that fans who didn't enjoy the fanservice aspects found it excessive. This game returns them to designs that, whilst still having some of that appeal, better match their original appearances and proportions.
The problem i find with is is that Trush overall appearance in the games dont look very different. However Lady i could see since her appearance in 4 looks a bit more sexualized compare to five.
Edited by WhirlRX on Oct 27th 2018 at 7:50:53 AM
Cut Trush then. If someone provides evidence there is a notable difference then they can add her back.
DesignatedHero.Western Animation
- Coop from Megas XLR can sometimes come off as a selfish and lazy jerk rather than a hero, given that several conflicts happen because of him doing something stupidly reckless in spite of Kiva's warnings, he usually only cares about fighting the bad guy because of a trivial slight, and he frequently brushes off the collateral damage caused by his fights.
I don't think the lack of heroism is unintentional, given it's the main source of comedy, Coop's regularly reprimanded for it, and a whole episode is dedicated to him being confused as a bad guy. Not unintentional = cut unless anyone objects.
@ADrago Cut that example. It doesn't have anything to do with Scapegoat Creator whatsoever; feels more like Creator Bashing instead. I have no idea what does Battle Frontier has to do with Let's Go.
Edited by HeatEdgeSword on Oct 28th 2018 at 2:48:02 AM
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He's clearly an Anti-Hero. He ends up doing somewhat the right thing for selfish reasons.
For Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: if a minor villain subservient to the main one is ignorant to just how much the main one outclasses her in power and ability, that the coup against the greater villain is likely to fail, but all she sees of the villain is a weakening, confused old man, does that qualify?
Doesn't sound like it. Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance is about someone who's plainly so ignorant that they overestimate their own ability and underestimate others. Your example sounds like someone who logically concludes she has a fair chance. It just sounds like a fair mistake to make.
Check out my fanfiction!I found Lightbringer on the Horrible.Web Comics page. I'm not sure it deserves to be there, though, since it has a Heartwarming subpage, and the YMMV page says it's So Bad, It's Good and also grew the beard.
Edited by lalalei2001 on Oct 28th 2018 at 12:52:48 PM
The Protomen enhanced my life.WesternAnimation.My Little Pony Best Gift Ever:
- Continuity Snarl: Applejack reveals her hat is a precious gift from her father, an idea the show had earlier Jossed by showing she has a whole bunch of them and didn't care when one got ruined.
Is this a Snarl or a Retcon? How can we tell the difference?
Edited by Ferot_Dreadnaught on Oct 28th 2018 at 10:53:51 AM
Quick question regarding the Franchise Killer entry on High School DXD.
- While High School DXD BorN didn't end the franchise as a whole sales-wise, its polarizing reception and Troubled Production were the reasons why TNK gave up on the franchise. Passione would later produce the anime in TNK's place, starting with the fourth season, Hero, which became yet another smash hit for the franchise and Passione.
Does this count?
Edited by gjjones on Oct 28th 2018 at 5:59:15 AM
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.Since One-Handed Zweihänder says this:
Then this wouldn't count, because a normal two-hander can technically still be used by single-handedly, it's just not good?
- Dungeon Keeper Ami: From "Vampire Weaknesses":
With a thought, she summoned her two-hander, easily wielding the massive blade in her single good hand
Asking this here so not to cause an edit war.
This was in Castlevania (2017).
- And Then What?: While Carmilla's scheme to trap and kill Dracula's forces was well thought out and effective, one has to wonder how she intended to finish the job as Dracula still has a massive Castle full of Magitek relics and weapons, still has soldiers inside, and more than a little out of her league. Even the three badass heroes that tore through the Elite Vampire generals couldn't kill Dracula until he let them finish him. We can only assume that she was overestimating her chances and underestimating how weakened Dracula was. Either that or she only knew that Dracula was powerful and really had not clue just how powerful.
And Then What? is about someone being asked what they will do after The Plan suceeds and they have no idea. I thus took it out because there is no scene where anyone actually asks Carmilla what will she do if her scheme succeeds and she doesn't have an answer.
The entry however was readded under another trope Didn't Think This Through.
- Didn't Think This Through: While Carmilla's scheme to trap and kill Dracula's forces was well thought out and effective, one has to wonder how she intended to finish the job as Dracula still has a massive Castle full of Magitek relics and weapons, still has soldiers inside, and more than a little out of her league. Even the three badass heroes that tore through the Elite Vampire generals couldn't kill Dracula until he let them finish him. We can only assume that she was overestimating her chances and underestimating how weakened Dracula was. Either that or she only knew that Dracula was powerful and really had not clue just how powerful.
Not sure if this falls under Didn't Think This Through either. It kinda reads like audience commentary or something like that. It feels speculative and WMG.
In the show, the heroes teleport the castle away as Carmilla's forces were attacking. This not only disrupted Carmilla's invasion by unintentionally killing a great number of her troops but also separated those still in the castle from the rest of Carmilla's forces outside. Her whole plan was essentially ruined by outside forces beyond her control and knowledge that she could've accounted for.
True, Dracula is proven to be very powerful in the show however with all the chaos caused by the heroes, there's no telling if everything would've still ended badly for Carmilla's forces had there been no interference.
Thus it kinda feels farfetched to say she Didn't Think This Through when the whole situation was set awry by factors that in no way she could've known about.
TLDR
Does this fall under Didn't Think This Through
- Didn't Think This Through: While Carmilla's scheme to trap and kill Dracula's forces was well thought out and effective, one has to wonder how she intended to finish the job as Dracula still has a massive Castle full of Magitek relics and weapons, still has soldiers inside, and more than a little out of her league. Even the three badass heroes that tore through the Elite Vampire generals couldn't kill Dracula until he let them finish him. We can only assume that she was overestimating her chances and underestimating how weakened Dracula was. Either that or she only knew that Dracula was powerful and really had not clue just how powerful.
No. If her plan worked as she had thought it through, then it had a good chance of succeeding. The fact that someone used the exact same writeup on two tropes indicates wanting to shoehorn it in somewhere to me.
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A normal two-handed sword can't be used in combat and expect to come out on top against any remotely competent opponent. So no, I don't think you can say you can reasonably use one with one hand. It'd be different if it was a smaller sword, like a bastard sword or even a longsword, as those can reasonably be used with one hand (even if the latter is primarily intended to be used two-handed). I would not say the same for a proper (especially if described as "massive") two-hander.
Under Values Dissonance for Kids Next Door:
- There's also the character of Count Spankulot, a vampire who spanks disobedient children, who serves as a double example of this. Today, spanking children is frowned upon due to being perceived as child abuse. In addition, the idea of a grown man going around hunting random children can also have some disturbing undertones by modern day standards.
I'm pretty certain corporal punishment was frowned upon at the time of release (the cartoon is from the early 2000s after all), so does it really count?
Sounds like the dissonance there is completely intended.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"From Alternate Continuity:
I added this line to Alternate Continuity:
This is different from an Alternate Universe in that outside of crossovers and What If? scenarios, they generally don't interact with the "main" universe. However, in some circumstances an Alternate Continuity can become an Alternate Universe if the characters crossover.
Is this an example of Living MacGuffin
- In the Fairy Tail fanfic Wonderland the Heart Kingdom has attacked the Diamond Kingdom and infiltrated the castle. Although everyone knew an attack was likely there is no time for them question what it is the Heart Kingdom is after. The head Knight, Wonderland Lucy, is to busy doing her duty to protect the royal family. The protagonist find out later the whole attack was to capture her. Due to the Queen need her along with her brother's magical energy to summon an artifact. Not that the invaders were having any luck accomplishing that, even when trying to do so with her Earthland counterpart.

At the very leastthey both have to be more intentional than "this guy happened to play these roles"
Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 27th 2018 at 1:03:04 PM