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 three pages, so it doesn't get lost:
11th-Hour Superpower is supposed to be when a character gains a new power or ability near the end of a story. So is the following example from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) correct, as it's describing a character near the end of the film gaining control of an ability they've had throughout the movie but had previous been unable to control?:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: During the movie, Sonic regularly demonstrates a "power" which manifests as some form of Blue Lightning that appears to allow him to move faster, deal far more damage to objects he spindashes into, and destroy any electrical devices nearby. This power only manifests when Sonic is showing some form of negative emotion (in particular stress/anger) and he doesn't use it when running from Robotnik during the final chase. However, when Tom stands up against Robotnik and states Sonic was his friend, Sonic suddenly erupts with this electrical energy and is able to actually harness it for the final battle which both overloads Robotnik's flying machine (which is using one of Sonic's quills) and allows him to deal serious damage to Robotnik's machine.
To Tropers/sgamer82. Healing Hands can allow someone to be The Medic, but they're not Super-Trope-Sub-Trope.
They're Power, and Personality tropes, respectively?
I'd use both, if they both fit.
Edited by Malady on May 31st 2020 at 4:35:33 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
In that case Healing Hands definitely fits, even if they aren't literally hands. The Medic may, too, but I'll give its definition a read again to double check.
Very Spooky
For Advanced Tech 2000: Do examples where a thing's name is written like "B-2000" or "B2000" still qualify under the trope's definition?
back lol
I don't want to get into an Edit War, but equally, talk pages for tropes sometimes aren't often used, so I've come here (I posted this as a separate thread but was guided to post here).
These are my proposed additions for the main article of trope pages adding to definitions since I'm unsure if it's contentious or not.
I wanted to check since it's about the definitions for tropes rather than just specific examples.
For Webcomic Time (main article):
- Basically, Webcomic Time is about the ratio between real-world time and publishing time. It can be jarring when a work can cover the events of a single night for months on end, but equally, that work is not Frozen in Time - it's just the setting moves along at snail's pace.
For The Stations of the Canon:
- This trope is a Necessary Weasel in works of the Alternate History genre, since, like in a plotline, you need it for leading up to Point of Divergence
and for examples page on The Stations of the Canon:
- In general, on AlternateHistory.com, this trope is necessary, yet unlike other examples on this page, they don't slavishly stick to all the stations, but this is justified because of the genre. Sometimes, they will have a What If? situation, which sometimes follows the stations of the canon, but the person and outcome are very different/divergent because it's Alternate History. It should be noted, unlike many of the examples on this page, some is done with a more academic bent, realistically examining the consequences and what it would really have been like.
For Frozen in Time:
A work that is a Period Piece is not always Frozen in Time, it only covers a short timespan in history, we're only seeing a snapshot of it. If it was Frozen in Time the setting does not change and there could be more Christmases etc. than in the real-life period.
However, for some cases a work needs to be Frozen in Time when covering a historical period, as for example, a work about slavery set in the 1860s or 1870s would have very different implications if given a Setting Update to The '90s or Turn of the Millennium.
These are only suggestions, checking here to see what everyone thinks before adding them.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
, From my understanding, The Medic is about the character's role on a team.
Cross-wired freak
Reposting, since it's a few pages back by now
Does Tropes Are Flexible allow Bathtub Bonding to extend to one character helping another bathe, but not sharing the tub? Because my fanfic I'm trying to trope has a scene where two characters bond platonically in that fashion, but I can;t find anything closer for that.
Listen to my podcast
(she/her)
I think that can count as a downplayed example.
Me Listening to You RN
Since this was ignored, from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas:
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Some Driv3r players found it difficult switching over to San Andreas, as in the former pressing the triangle button applied the brakes, but in San Andreas it made you enter/exit the car - pain ensues for everyone involved if you happen to be driving at top speed when you press it.
Since the example refers to an unrelated series, does it actually count?
I'm helping!
Damn You, Muscle Memory! doesn't seem to define its scope.
... Is there any particular reason this item isn't YMMV? It's happening entirely on the player's end.
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
Drv3r isn't part of the GTA franchise to count
I'm helping!
The description of Damn You, Muscle Memory! doesn't actually say anything about the games having to be in the same franchise. It defines no scope at all, in fact.
From the YMMV page of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as the Western Animation page for the trope:
- Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The Last Airbender introduced not only extremely accurate martial arts but also a level of fight choreography found in action movies and anime/manga , something very unheard off in a mainstream Western TV series aimed at children. In addition to featuring actual deaths of characters, it features rather detailed and realistic injuries such as bruises, torn clothing, burns, and such which was unheard off in an American children's TV series and almost taboo. Furthermore while other children shows already have expanded into worldbuilding, and overall story arc with a specific bigbad, and other more complex storytelling, The Last Airbender wowed audiences in the West with its epic storytelling that eschewed villain of the week format in favor of adventure and an overlying war dominating the plot. Nowadays all these stuff are so common even more upbeat and less serious cartoons such as Steven Universe features this and more. In particular, the once brutal fights and injuries has been surpassed in gore, blood, and general brutality by newer series making it look tame.
I haven't watched Steven Universe so I don't know whether that makes ATLA look tame, but the definition of Seinfeld Is Unfunny is:
There are certain shows that you can safely assume most people have seen. These shows were considered fantastic when they first aired. Now, however, these shows have a Hype Backlash curse on them. Whenever we watch them, we'll cry, "That is so old" or "That is so overdone".
Would ATLA really apply for this trope? Just because other cartoons have adopted serialized storytelling and more action doesn't mean that ATLA is suddenly outdated, given its thriving fan community (rivalling that of way more recent shows) and recent surge in popularity after being put on Netflix. This would be like saying Lord of the Rings is outdated just because Game of Thrones exists.
Edited by geekgecko on Jun 1st 2020 at 12:55:24 PM
Goku Black
Is this example on Buffy the Vampire Slayer correct?
It reads off to me.
- Vanilla Protagonist: Buffy Summers is actually a fascinating character in her own right. She really is. The problem is, she's surrounded by people like Willow Rosenberg (the most powerful witch on the planet), Xander Harris (a Badass Normal who Took a Level in Badass every single season), Rupert Giles (with his Dark and Troubled Past that we only see glimpses of), Daniel "Oz" Osbourne (a stoic werewolf in a rock band), Anya, a thousand-year-old ex-demon, and even her sister, Dawn (who is an eternal Eldritch Abomination forced into human form), and that is not even starting on the villains she faces. Is it any wonder that her merely being a superheroine is seen as kinda boring by some fans?
I'd say remove it. Seems more like Follow the Leader or Genre Popularizer. In particular this bit-
-seems nearly exclusive to Avatar, aside from the character death thing.
(Also, and I know this isn't the point, but the example calls Steven Universe "not as serious" as Avatar, which is very false and makes me think the person who wrote this was grasping at straws.)
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
Being a vampire slayer doesn't exactly say 'vanilla' to me.
Also regarding the Avatar example, that style of storytelling in children's shows is Older Than They Think.
Edited by Twiddler on Jun 1st 2020 at 1:40:07 AM
There is no Planet B
From Southern Belle:
- In one episode of Pokémon, James returns home to his blue-blooded family, who promptly inform him of his engagement to a woman named Jessebelle, who turned out to be one of the reasons that led James to run away from home in the first place. Despite being from Japan's Kanto region, she spoke with a Southern accent in the English dub and was a typical Rich Bitch with a vain, domineering personality, firmly making her a Mauvaise Belle.
I am convinced it's misuse. If she's a Japanese girl, she's can't be American Southern Belle. This is a country-specific (or to be precise, nationality-specific) trope, like for example The All-American Boy, French Jerk or English Rose. A fitting accent is not the only requirement. I'm not familiar with the example and how it's portrayed, but her accent is probably some stylistic choice to emphasize her vain and domineering traits.
Do you agree with deleting the example?
Cross-wired freak
I don't see a problem with it, provided it's solely referring to the localization
There is no Planet B
How come?
From the trope description: A character archetype of an upper class rich girl from the Deep South — or Sweet Home Alabama.
From the disputed example context: Despite being from Japan's Kanto region (...)
Discarded and Feeling Blue
Pokemon is a weird case because it doesn't take place in literal Japan. The characters aren't Japanese and they aren't in the literal Kanto region. They're in a region based on the actual Kanto region- a fictionalized counterpart.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
(she/her)
I still think it counts as I am pretty the dub gave her that accent to reinforce the southern belle archetype.
Maybe not a straight but I think it might count as played with.
Macron's notes
There is no Planet B
If the place is not Japan, then maybe I can see that. Futuristic variations like Recycled In Space or fantasy variants like Fantasy Counterpart Culture are a thing.
But still, you say the fantasy setting is based on Japan and inspired by Japanese culture.
If her accent is the only thing... that she might not fit because Southern Belle also needs the same mindset as others and her family background is also important. Like, her father or significant other should be Southern Gentleman. She should wear the right clothes. Have a huge mansion with certain Deep-Southern look.
I'd just be very careful because this example pushes it, and there was the whole argument about English Rose (Trope Talk and TRS).
Sounds like this part of the example should go, then: “Despite being from Japan's Kanto region”
Edited by Twiddler on Jun 2nd 2020 at 2:13:08 AM
Purposefully Untitled
I'm not sure where else to ask...
I'm troping a fanfic by myself and as I go I noticed I made a lot of Reality Ensues entries. I'm not sure how many of these are valid, so maybe a bit of help?
- Several of Soma's powers are pretty impractical because of this trope.
- He can't use the soul that renders food non-poisonous to stop allergies. He also needs to keep it equipped the entire time the food is in his digestive system.
- He can't use the Super-Speed soul in public because it causes shock waves that cause damage and draw attention.
- Mina points out that since Soma transforms into an albino bat, and they live in a crowded city, several zoologists will notice how unusual that is and will try to capture him.
- When experimenting with reflective surfaces, Mina immediately vetoes Mercury because gathering the amount of Mercury needed would put them in a watchlist. They also veto two-way mirrors, because they have no way to get one. They also can't use a public bathroom (the two live in the dorms) because they are separated by gender.
- Digital archives don't come out of nowhere; someone has to sit down and transcribe them, and it's long and boring work. On top of that, the archiver needs to have a certain set of skills to be effective, and the archives need to be accessible to any users. Which is why Julius ropes Soma and Mina into helping him digitalise Leon's diaries, which are written in Latin, as they two took it as an optional course in college.
- Julius lived as a hobo for over 30 years, so he ended up using the Holy Water container as a reliable source of water (it refilled right after it was emptied). Eventually he came to use it for everything but bathing as a means to save money, which had a significant impact on his body - namely, his ridiculous resistance to Holy. Obviously lengthy and systematic consumption of a specific substance is going to have a lasting impact.
- Kazuya is trying to use as little Magnetite from his personal stock as possible; while he has a lot of it, he has no means to replace it, so running out becomes a real risk.
- Just about everything that happened to Richter Belmont. His grandfather trained him how to fight monsters from a very early age because he was terrified, and that training left Richter lacking in other significant areas. Therefore, when Richter defeated Dracula - with great ease, at that - he was left a man in his early twenties whose entire skillset was now useless, and lacking a purpose in life. As a result, Richter made several changes in the way the clan operated so such a thing wouldn't happen again.
- The only reason the Belmont surname carried as long as it did was because men who married in the clan were forced to take up the surname, if there were no male heirs. For instance, Simon Belmont had only daughters.
- Due to modern construction regulations, the building the cult tries to trap Soma in follow the fire safety rules. Soma takes advantage of this to escape.
- Mina to Soma's plan to let his body sleep while he's studying in ghost form: "Your mind needs to rest as much as your body does. If you spent all of tonight studying, you'd still have to go to class the next day. You'd have over thirty hours of nonstop stimulation." Sure enough, Soma crashes.
- Leon's bad spelling is because in his era there simply wasn't a standard spelling to begin with. Leon did exactly what most Europeans with any hint of education did and used Funetik Aksent in his writing. (for context, he lived during the Crusades)
- After he abandoned his title as a Baron, Leon was left without a money source and was broke.
- How does the Vampire Killer detect the blood relationship with the original wielder even almost a millennia later? Answer is, it doesn't. Instead it "rewrites" the "default" blood with each new wielder; hence why the Morris family, who are also descended from Leon, cannot use the whip without killing themselves - the whip can't track their connection to the most recent user.
- Kazuya points out that while they can generate money, they can't spend too much of it at once - or even carry it - because people are going to wonder where they're getting the money from.
- In addition, said money comes in American pennies, which means they'll have to exchange it, creating even more problems. They can only exchanged it through Hammer, as anywhere else they'd get asked where they got so much foreign currency. (The fic is in Japan)
- Hammer has to sell his guns in secret because unlike the States, Japan has extremely strict gun legislation.
- Hammer points out that Senseless Violins is impractical as a trope because violin cases are not designed to withstand a gun discharging.
- Julius's reunion with his long-lost family didn't go well at first, because the younger members had no idea who he was, and the older ones thought him dead. Him just showing up at the door didn't help matters either.
- The Devil Summoning Program, no matter how mysterious it is, is still a program. In other words, its capabilities are limited by memory space. Kazuya has to use a ton of flash drives to store all the summoning rituals the program has stored.
- Hector did not pass down the art of devil forging for many reasons, including being too dangerous for everyone involved, increasing the number of demons (which was counter-productive) and drawing the attention of the witch hunters.
- Soma points out that trying to swim in his pimp coat is near impossible because the drag is insane.
- Kazuya may be a very hardy guy, but he's not invulnerable to blood loss.
- Soma points out that a Healing Factor doesn't heal hunger.
- The reason Soma is perpetually broke? His parents can't support him because of their financial problems.
- Just because Soma managed to escape from the Mafia, it doesn't mean that they'll drop the problem with his dad's debt to them. They still have to find a way to pay.
- The Belmonts had to hold regular jobs in order to make ends meet.
As per Duplicate tropes cleanup
, Cosmic Plaything is defined as a character suffering multiple bad luck because there is a literal cosmic force (e.g. fate, a divine curse, a Cosmic Entity / Reality Warper, etc.) deliberately making him/her suffer. A lot of the examples are just characters suffering bad luck, which would fit better in other tropes, such as Born Unlucky, Doom Magnet, The Jinx or Deus Angst Machina. Proposal to delete the following examples: