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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?

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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

razorrozar7 Migrated to Chloe Jessica! from Chloe Jessica Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hooked on a feeling
Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
#8451: May 6th 2019 at 11:23:42 PM

On MCU: HYDRA – Leadership, Alexander Pierce is listed as being a Cool Old Guy. I was under the impression that villains couldn't be Cool Old Guys; am I wrong?

Edited by razorrozar7 on May 6th 2019 at 11:24:53 AM

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
Darkaros Since: Jul, 2009
#8452: May 7th 2019 at 8:54:35 AM

On Characters.Azur Lane Royal Navy for Arethusa-class Aurora:

Additional context, she's the last "sister" of a set. Or at least the last one to actually exist.

This trope's been added (and since removed) on multiple characters on the character subpages; there's been an Ask the Tropers about the use of this trope this way and at this point I guess I just need to ask before acting.

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#8453: May 7th 2019 at 9:02:31 AM

[up]That trope is a dialogue trope.

Merseyuser1 Since: Sep, 2011
#8454: May 7th 2019 at 9:48:38 AM

I was going to add this to Recap.Doctor Who S 27 E 1 Rose:

and modify this from:

  • Jumping-On Point: The Doctor is reintroduced slowly and from the perspective of his companion-to-be.

to:

  • Jumping-On Point: After 9 years off air (if The Movie is counted in Broad Strokes), this gradually reintroduces all the basic concepts of Doctor Who, starting with the companion. Season and episode numbers are reset, so instead of Season 27, Episode 1 it's Season 1, Episode 1 to reflect this. However, it's in continuity with the old series.

I was also going to modify Internal Homage from :

  • Internal Homage: The opening shot, of the Earth hanging in space, references the Third Doctor's first story, "Spearhead from Space", which has a number of similarities to this episode: both the first stories after a hiatus; both presenting a dramatic increase in production values as compared to what had come before; both starting with a new Doctor, companion and setting; both being written as jumping-on points for newcomers; both involving the Autons.

to:

  • Internal Homage: Much like "An Unearthly Child from 1963 in Classic Who, this starts off with the story told from the perspective of the companion, and the Doctor being slowly introduced to the audience, and highlighted as an eccentric, possibly dangerous man. Where it differs, though, is that there is less focus on history and education than "An Unearthly Child", being more action-oriented, and it's also part of a longer Story Arc which Classic Who did not have.

as I wasn't sure if the original was correct. (if we exclude the series after hiatus part).

I wanted to check this was correct before making any major edits to this as I'm aware Doctor Who recaps may get occasional edit wars from users (even though I'm a Whovian myself!).

If anyone could check my intended usage of the tropes is correct, I'd appreciate it.

Edited by Merseyuser1 on May 7th 2019 at 5:50:30 PM

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#8455: May 7th 2019 at 11:07:33 AM

The immediate problem with your first entry, even before getting into whether it's valid or not, is it's two tropes on one line. Per How to Write an Example: "Do Not Add Multiple Tropes With A Slash/Adding Multiple Tropes With A Slash Is Bad"

So remove one of the two or split them off into two separate entries.

Drakos25 Since: Nov, 2017 Relationship Status: I wanna know about these strangers like me
#8456: May 7th 2019 at 12:14:39 PM

This is for a trope to be added to the works page for Miserable:

  • Nice Shoes: As always, Jeremy Popoff, the band's lead guitarist, is rocking his custom-made white-flame sneakers (dubbed "Hot Rods") in the video. After Pamela/Vallery swallows him, she spits out one of these white-flame shoes, which gets treated to a Dead Hat Shot.

Would that work as an example?

Edited by Drakos25 on May 7th 2019 at 12:40:44 PM

Yinyang107 from the True North (Decatroper) Relationship Status: Tongue-tied
#8457: May 7th 2019 at 12:27:20 PM

[up]No, unless the niceness of the footwear is relevant to the narrative, it doesn't count.

Merseyuser1 Since: Sep, 2011
#8458: May 7th 2019 at 2:32:42 PM

[up][up][up] I couldn't decide which of the tropes, I'm looking for consensus as to which fits the Doctor Who recap.

Also, from CanonForeigner.Live Action TV, does this example fit Canon Foreigner (which I'm trying to work on at the moment):

or is it a zero-context example in some parts (I only added Legends of Tomorrow to the last part).

Edited by Merseyuser1 on May 7th 2019 at 10:37:32 AM

WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#8459: May 7th 2019 at 2:47:09 PM

[up]I think a more detail description of who they are might do.

Merseyuser1 Since: Sep, 2011
#8460: May 7th 2019 at 2:48:43 PM

[up][up] I'm not entirely familiar with all the source material except for The Flash (2014) and Supergirl, so this might need some more cleanup, and if anyone more expert than me can help, I would appreciate that.

I think the CanonForeigner.Live Action TV page may need a cleanup anyway, but with people more familiar with source material.

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#8461: May 7th 2019 at 6:10:31 PM

Legends of Tomorrow has - with the exception of an Alternate Self of The Flash - the distinction of everyone being a Canon Foreigner, including Ava Sharpe, who does not exist in any DC Comics continuity and is entirely original to the Arrowverse.

This makes no sense - as it outright says, almost all the characters do exist in the comics (even if some are considerably different).

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
#8462: May 7th 2019 at 6:43:59 PM

Re: Cool Old Guy: Nothing in the trope description says they can't be a villain.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#8463: May 7th 2019 at 7:55:06 PM

  • In Graceland, undercover FBI agent, Mike warren starts dating a pre law student named abby in the first season, despite hearing a lot of backstory from her, she is never shown without mike. She does serve as the anchor for mike, and comforts him when he has dark times, despite this he never tells her hes an undercover cop, and because of this she feels hes hiding something from her. Their relationship is portrayed as very endearing and a healthy one, minus all the secrecy.

Found this on Satellite Love Interest. Ignore the awful grammar; I'm checking to see if this example actually fits, because if it doesn't I'll remove it outright. I'd rather not go through the trouble of cleaning up an example that doesn't fit in the first place, you feel?

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Malady (X-Troper)
#8464: May 7th 2019 at 8:19:27 PM

Devoured by the Horde is Eaten Alive by more than one entity, at the same time, right?

So a lot of examples listed on the former, should go in the latter?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#8465: May 7th 2019 at 10:43:36 PM

[up]x9 If they're unique to that band member and make him stand out, then they count as Nice Shoes. That the shoes are framed in a Dead Hat Shot in a video suggest they're are important to his character, since in Dead Hat Shots, the items shown are iconic so you know this specific character died.

Darkaros Since: Jul, 2009
#8466: May 7th 2019 at 10:44:27 PM

[up][up][up] Graceland example seems legit (esp. at a glance from googling her character). It's just terribly written. You could probably axe about half of that entry and summarize it as a one-or-two-liner like "Abby is never seen without Mike and despite being given backstory, her character on the show is simply his love interest who is kept in the dark about his secret life."

Edited by Darkaros on May 7th 2019 at 12:44:38 PM

razorrozar7 Migrated to Chloe Jessica! from Chloe Jessica Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hooked on a feeling
Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
#8467: May 8th 2019 at 6:42:52 AM

[up][up][up]looks that way to me. im almost inclined to say Devoured by the Horde is just The Same, but More for Eaten Alive, but that's a discussion for trs. for now, if there are examples on dbth that involve people being eatenby a single entity, they should be moved to Eaten Alive.

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
Malady (X-Troper)
#8468: May 8th 2019 at 8:19:25 AM

Whoops, I meant that Eaten Alive seems to have a lot of Devoured by the Horde examples.

I guess I'll clean out dupes when I get the time...

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
razorrozar7 Migrated to Chloe Jessica! from Chloe Jessica Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hooked on a feeling
Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
#8469: May 8th 2019 at 8:33:41 AM

[up]really, that just reinforces my point that Devoured by the Horde is The Same, but More or The Same, but More Specific. ill see about getting a trs thread up later. ill also see about giving you a hand with the cleanup; even if the pages end up being merged, dupe examples are going to have to be cut sooner or later.

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
MasterJoseph Frolaytia X Qwenthur of Heavy Object from Not telling. Since: Mar, 2018 Relationship Status: All I Want for Christmas is a Girlfriend
Frolaytia X Qwenthur of Heavy Object
#8470: May 8th 2019 at 9:34:52 AM

This was on Mobile Suit Gundam 00

  • Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: A complaint lobbed against the series is that many well-liked characters are brutally killed off and that the villains are so unnervingly evil that it becomes hard to care about Celestial Being's cause, especially in the second season.

Should this go or stay?

IPP Wick Check created.
razorrozar7 Migrated to Chloe Jessica! from Chloe Jessica Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hooked on a feeling
Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
#8471: May 8th 2019 at 9:41:12 AM

[up]as written, it looks like it should go. Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy indicates that it only applies if the conflict is meaningless because a) all sides are heinously evil or b) there's no hope whatsoever of a positive outcome, which doesn't sound like the case there.

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#8472: May 8th 2019 at 11:45:45 AM

@ Darkaros: Alright, I'll give it a shot, then.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
pikachu17 He-Who-Must-Be-Named from Somewhere Over the Rainbow Since: May, 2017 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
He-Who-Must-Be-Named
#8473: May 8th 2019 at 2:38:18 PM

I don't really use the forums, or edit pages a lot, so forgive me if this is a bad thread for this, but in the Tabletop Games , the Genius the Transgression example doesn't seem to be much of an example. I've never played it, but none of the points seem to be misrepresenting the game to make it sound better than it is, at least not significantly.

I think it at least could be better if the line "blessed by the spark of day" was potholed to Blessed with Suck, or the downsides of the spark were removed, but I don't know.

I especially think the last line "A great supplement to one of the greatest engines for character-based storytelling in role-playing game history." is bad, since it either is completely incorrect, or means it is not Worse Than It Sounds, barring 'great' having an additional definition I don't know about.

Edited by pikachu17 on May 8th 2019 at 2:42:15 AM

17 pikachus all in a row.
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#8474: May 9th 2019 at 1:45:25 PM

Is this too general? On Fix Fic:

  • There are a large amount of these for various seasons of Total Drama, most of them being the highly despised Total Drama All-Stars. How they turn out completely depend on the person writing them, though All-Stars fics usually make Mal's actions, well, actually malevolent.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#8475: May 9th 2019 at 1:49:38 PM

Yes, that is way too generic. Fix Fic should be part of the description of the specific fic(s), not an example on the parent work's YMMV subpage. The Fix Fic article itself should only have examples of specific fics.

Edited by Fighteer on May 9th 2019 at 4:50:04 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

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