TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Is this an example?

Go To

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

Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
Twiddler (On A Trope Odyssey)
#6702: Nov 4th 2018 at 9:11:02 PM

From Aggressive Retsuko

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#6703: Nov 4th 2018 at 9:20:04 PM

All of those are just the VAs having character types they're better at. Cut.

Malady (X-Troper)
#6704: Nov 5th 2018 at 6:27:13 AM

Literature.On Fairy Stories:

If this quote from page 18 is the actual source for the presence of those tropes:

If men really could not distinguish between frogs and men, fairy-stories about frog-kings would not have arisen.

Fantasy can, of course, be carried to excess. It can be ill done. It can be put to evil uses.

Then it's not an example, right?

Edited by Malady on Nov 5th 2018 at 11:04:57 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#6705: Nov 5th 2018 at 10:37:25 AM

[up]That just seems slightly off-trope as far as context goes. It claims he mentions it, but no mention of what he actually mentions about it. That's kind of key to the example. And if the quoted part is what's supposed to be what he mentions, it still lacks more context, since it's unclear exactly what's meant by it. If it's explained in the links, feel free, but I'm not digging through other sources at this moment.

Check out my fanfiction!
Malady (X-Troper)
#6706: Nov 5th 2018 at 11:05:48 AM

[up] - So, that's a "Cut, because no one can find any hint that the trope is there." Right?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#6707: Nov 5th 2018 at 12:52:06 PM

I'm leaning that way, yes.

Check out my fanfiction!
Malady (X-Troper)
#6708: Nov 6th 2018 at 1:40:58 PM

Anyone else got anything to add to the above? 'Cause I don't find it good enough to cut. But someone else can do it if they want.


Planning on adding this, but I dunno how flexible Debut Queue is. I guess it just has to not have important characters appear all in the first chapter / volume / part / whatever, and just be spread over a few...

'Cause it's not like each new character gets a whole chapter, but the first few chapters do progressively add more characters?

Webcomic.Rusty And Co:

  • Debut Queue: Each of the main girls, the Princess, Maddie, and Presti, among the other characters, are introduced progressively over the first few chapters, then they start appearing together, in larger plots.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Zuxtron Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel from Node 03 (On A Trope Odyssey)
#6709: Nov 6th 2018 at 2:10:27 PM

Some more questions about Deltarune, this time concerning Alternate Character Interpretation: given how all we have is a demo covering the first chapter of the game, do we really have enough information to judge what a character is actually like? For all we know, the full game might end up disproving some of these interpretations, or confirm them (which would make them not "alternate" anymore).

  • Alternate Character Interpretation:
    • Being a Silent Protagonist, Kris offers some interpretations. Are they suffering from a form of depression? Are they suffering an Inferiority Superiority Complex due to Asriel being The Ace and highly beloved by everyone in town, while Kris by contrast is called a Creepy Child? And how much are they in control of their actions at all? Also, who exactly are they in relation to the canon protagonist of Undertale and the original adopted human child of the Dreemurrs, Chara?
    • Kris catches Susie eating the chalk; this could either be pica, Susie being an Extreme Omnivore, or her eating it for medicinal reasons. Chalk is one of the primary ingredients of Tums, an antacid. Is Susie having a bad stomachache and can't afford regular medicine, or is this just one of her character quirks? It also contains a lot of calcium, and is often eaten by kids that don't have much else to eat - which would give a whole new perspective to Susie's eating habits being focused so much on in general.
    • Why didn't Ralsei turn off the Dark Fountain in his castle? Was it because turning it off wouldn't have restored the balance due to the Big Bad being completely unreasonable, or was it Ralsei not thinking of it?
    • The voice that shows up in the Twitter reveal and the opening sequence is heavily implied, if not stated, to be the legendary W.D. Gaster himself. What has he done? What is he planning on doing? And why? And if it's just an impersonator... then what is its true identity?
    • Susie's aggressive, destructive behavior, combined with her habit of automatically going on the defense, assuming other characters are mocking her when they're doing no such thing, has led some to wonder if she suffers problems at home.
    • "Don't Forget." Who's the narrator of the song? Who are they singing to? Is it connected to Sans and his picture somehow?

The fourth and sixth points, and some parts of the first, sound less like fans coming up with alternate interpretations of characters, and more like speculation about what might happen in the upcoming release.

wingedcatgirl mys. minty from the silly dimension from lurking (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
mys. minty from the silly dimension
#6710: Nov 6th 2018 at 2:30:46 PM

In my onion, zap it all until the full game is either released or confirmed canceled.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#6711: Nov 7th 2018 at 8:09:44 AM

In High School DXD, Azazel reveals that he is the one who hired Raynare to assassinate him in Volume 1. Would that count as a Greater-Scope Villain and when he decides to atone for his misdeeds in Volume 4, would that also count as a Heel–Face Turn?

Edited by gjjones on Nov 7th 2018 at 11:09:54 AM

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#6712: Nov 7th 2018 at 10:22:17 AM

Not sure about GSV, but if he was previously antagonistic towards the heroes and later turned to help them (genuinely, and not as a scheme of sorts), then yes, it's a Heel–Face Turn.

Check out my fanfiction!
WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#6713: Nov 7th 2018 at 11:00:25 AM

[up][up]Didnt Raynare acted on her own to kill Issei?

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#6714: Nov 7th 2018 at 5:05:33 PM

RealityEnsues.My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic:

  • All major antagonists are dispatched in one blow rather than epic clashes.
  • Twilight's lack of combat experience and proper training means she never wins when she tries to fight a major villain directly.

The former are dispatched my magical lasers, which puts reality out the window and the latter sound like an attempt to justify her weakness as opposed to this trope, as it seems more Fridge Brilliance than this trope. To count as Reality Ensues, should it state in-work that it was the realistic outcome OR set up a trope to subvert with reality?

gjjones Musician/Composer from South Wales, New York Since: Jul, 2016
Musician/Composer
#6715: Nov 7th 2018 at 5:24:45 PM

[up][up] According to Rebel Falcon, Azazel did have Raynare assassinate Issei. Here's the history.

According to the quotes from the light novels: "It’s true we Fallen Angels are eliminating those Sacred Gear users who may cause harm to us. As an organisation, it’s obvious right? Sensing that a person may become a threat in the future, then if we know about it beforehand, you’ll want to eliminate him. And because of that you died. The reason is, the human with no talent, you, could have run wild with the power of the Sekiryuutei without being able to control it, and have a bad effect on us or the world."

He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#6716: Nov 7th 2018 at 5:24:47 PM

Reality Ensues is a specific for of subversion of narrative tropes. It's about a situation where it's set up and expected that the story will follow one or several tropes, but instead things happen as they realistically would.

Magical lasers are not realistic any way you put it.

The latter is also so undermined by the rest of the story that it fails to qualify as Reality Ensues, as well as how often that's actually used as a storytelling device. It's not Fridge Brilliance either, because it's way too obvious.

Check out my fanfiction!
Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#6717: Nov 7th 2018 at 9:04:35 PM

YMMV.Time Crisis

Besides being ZCE, it's redundant with Shocking Swerve which already lists this. Seeing Ass Pull cleanups left me to believe Shocking Swerve is out of blue plot twist, but Ass Pull is about out of blue solutions to the plot.

If not, what is the difference between the tropes? I brought this to ATT awhile back?

HeatEdgeSword Since: Dec, 2017
#6719: Nov 8th 2018 at 12:14:28 AM

From the Game Breaker page of Pokémon, I have to wonder do these examples qualify:

  • Your journeys with the five Stat Trainers throughout Sinnoh definitely qualify if you take advantage of them. In exchange for escorting them to the end of their respective areas, they will fully heal all of your Pokémon after each battle and will even back you up with their own Pokémon. As every battle in their "dungeon" is a Multi Battle, your Pokémon get double the experience and double the effort values they would usually get, and since your partner fully heals your team automatically, you needn't waste a single Potion, Revive, Full Heal, or Ether! As long as your patience holds out, you can literally grind up your entire team by over 10 levels each without ever having to stop to visit the Pokémon Center, and then completely crush the upcoming Gym with no effort whatsoever.

The doubling experience and effort value part are misleading, as prior to generation 6, defeating a Pokemon in double battle would actually halve the EXP gained. Also, you don't get double the effort value after defeating a Pokemon in a double battle.

  • Platinum ended up turning the Earthquake TM into this. In the original Diamond and Pearl games, the entrance to the hidden floor of Wayward Cave was blocked by Strength boulders, which meant that the hidden floor, and the Earthquake TM, couldn't be accessed until far into the game when the player receives the 6th badge. This was changed in Platinum where the boulders have been removed; allowing for players to access Wayward Cave's hidden floor as early as the 2nd badge. However, the Earthquake TM ended up staying put, meaning that the player has access to an end-game 100 Power / 100% Accuracy move much earlier than they're supposed to.

TM is still consumed after one use in Generation 4, so I'm not certain about being consistent enough to be a Game Breaker.

  • Want to turn Ultra Necrozma from That One Boss into a Zero-Effort Boss? Send out a Zorua or Zoroark while a Pokémon weak to Psychic (i.e. a Poison or Fighting type) is in the last slot of your party. The Illusion ability will give Zorua or Zoroark the appearance of this Pokémon and the AI will fall for it hook, line and sinker meaning it will do nothing but use psychic attacks which Zorua and Zoroark are immune too. And the Illusion lasts until damage is taken so it will never get removed.

  • Inkay can be obtained right on the first route, and it learns its signature Topsy-Turvy attack early on. With the Totem and UB battles basing their difficultly on certain instant stat boosts, this can turn the majority of them into a complete joke by permanently turning the stat boosts into stat drops if it gets a single opening to use it, with it being particularly devastating on the last battles, where every stat gets boosted, thus Topsy-Turvy will leave them completely helpless. And to add insult to injury, comes with Reflect by default, further leaving the high majority of them unable to scratch it nor the rest of the team, regardless of wether they had attacking boosts to invert or not. It comes especially handy against Ultra Necrozma, who shouldn't be able to KO a properly trained Malamar and can immediately cut in half its damage output and bulk. Inkay also comes with STAB Foul Play to turn the enemy's ATK against them with a massively powerful attack for earlygame.

Zoroark and Malamar entries read more as This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman than an actual Game Breaker example. I'm certain that just being able to defeat Ultra Necrozma with tricks up their sleeves doesn't make them one since it fails to state how useful they are outside of that fight.

Edited by HeatEdgeSword on Nov 9th 2018 at 4:16:53 AM

NNinja from Solar system, Milky way galaxy Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#6720: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:48:09 AM

"TM is still consumed after one use in Generation 4, so I'm not certain about being consistent enough to be a Game Breaker."

Unless something changed since gen 3 TM is used to TEACH ow to use a move to a pokemon, rather than to use the move itself. And given that nothing stops you from using the pokemon that knows the move through the whole game this wouldn't stop it from being a Game-Breaker.

That being said the description says that the move is powerfull but not powerfull enough to compete with the end game enemies. This makes it sound more like Disc-One Nuke than Game-Breaker.

Agreed on the rest though.[nja]

Edited by NNinja on Nov 8th 2018 at 6:58:18 PM

SomePerson Since: Sep, 2016 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Primis Since: Nov, 2010
#6722: Nov 8th 2018 at 12:49:46 PM

[up] I think that's more Self-Deprecation than either of those.

Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#6723: Nov 8th 2018 at 2:26:38 PM

This was deleted off of Common Knowledge:

  • Thanks to the popularity of Eartha Kitt's portrayal of Catwoman from Batman, many people think that Catwoman is always black. Some people even mistook the Catwoman-inspired Fish Mooney from Gotham for Catwoman (Catwoman does appear in the show but she's a white teenager). Selena Kyle is usually white, though she does receive race lifts in adaptations like The LEGO Batman Movie and DC Super Hero Girls, and even a few comics have portrayed her as black. The Catwoman film didn't help, but that Catwoman is not Selena Kyle.

Should it have been removed? From what I've seen a popular perception amongst non-fans is that Catwoman is black.

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#6724: Nov 8th 2018 at 2:54:43 PM

[up]I think largely everybody know Catwoman is white. Especially with popular appearance in DC Animated universe and Arkham Series.

Pichu-kun ... Since: Jan, 2001
...
#6725: Nov 8th 2018 at 2:56:44 PM

[up] But 20-30 year olds aren't the only viewers out there. Common Knowledge is about non-fans after all.


Total posts: 36,649
Top