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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.


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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

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#13101: Sep 29th 2020 at 2:00:10 PM

@Wyldchyld Roman isn't The Sociopath which the entry itself says, an Mercury does seem to show some care for Emerald as he's protective of her when they meet Tyrian, the rest are legitimate examples but they really don't need to be as long as they are. On top of being a way to sidestep Complete Monster, a lot of entries for The Sociopath read like an altered version of existing Complete Monster write ups for the characters.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not very good with the The Sociopath trope myself, but I've tried to rewrite the two longest entries. Will these do as a rewrite? (Original examples here; the Watts and Jacques examples are already about this length.)

  • Cinder Fall is remorseless in pursuit of her goals, murdering without hesitation, massacring a city with sadistic pleasure and smiling when ordering Mercury to record it. When diplomacy fails, she slaughters Faunus to obtain Adam's cooperation by force. She desires power, strength and to be feared by all, believing the best way to show her superiority is by dominating and hurting others; this includes seeking revenge against Ruby for maiming her and trying to kill Weiss just to spite Jaune for almost injuring her in battle. She has no compassion or emotional attachment for others, something Mercury has tried to warn the emotionally-invested Emerald about.
  • Adam Taurus is introduced as someone who is willing to bomb humans even when he doesn't need to. He also doesn't care about the huge loss of Faunus lives in pursuit of Salem's plans if it helps him obtain his goal. He has no interest in Faunus-Human equality, believing in Faunus superiority and seeking instead the enslavement of all humanity; if that means invading cities and tearing down symbols of humanity's power, he'll even kill the White Fang leader, his former mentor, to achieve it. His idea of love is to try forcing Blake to take the blame for his own violence against her, then hunting her across entire continents, maiming her friends and attempting to murder her parents just for leaving him.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Sep 29th 2020 at 10:01:22 AM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#13102: Sep 29th 2020 at 3:38:04 PM

Reposting from the previous page, so it doesn't get lost:

Are the following Dueling Works examples from Trivia.Inhumans being used correctly?:

* Dueling Works:
  • Strictly talking about IMAX releases, there was an unlikely match-up: the first two episodes of Inhumans against It (2017), which came out a week later. Inhumans was doing so poorly for IMAX and It was tracking so well that many screenings of Inhumans were outright cancelled to make room for more screenings of It. The Stephen King adaptation brought in a $7 million opening weekend just stateside (as part of a much larger $123 million opening weekend), more than doubling what Inhumans made around the world. To add insult to injury, Inhumans was filmed with IMAX cameras in some sequences and was explicitly brought to theaters that used the format during what the company imagined was going to be a slow month for them otherwise, while It was a last-minute conversion done in response to the film tracking well before it had a record-breaking release.
  • With Thor: Ragnarok. Both deal with a race of people (Inhumans/Asgardians) whose home (Attilan/Asgard) is destroyed, and the residents must evacuate to Earth. To top it all off, in the first season finale, Black Bolt signs "We the people are Attilan"; in the Thor film, Odin says "Asgard is not a place, it's a people."

Because the first one just mentions that they were released close together, without mentioning any similarities the works may have.

And the second example is comparing two works from two different mediums (a tv series vs. a film) that are both part of the same franchise and made and released by the same studio.

LadyErinNY Since: Sep, 2014 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#13103: Sep 29th 2020 at 4:23:16 PM

Recap.Duck Tales 2017 S 3 E 9 They Put A Moonlander On The Earth

  • Reality Ensues: As the safety inspector points out, the shoddy construction on Glomgold's Ferris wheel means it will fall apart before it can fire its cannon. Scrooge isn't in any danger from it, but Dewey and Webby are.

This definitely feels like People Sit On Chairs but I could be wrong.

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#13104: Sep 29th 2020 at 4:55:56 PM

This is on Sponge Bob Square Pants S 9 E 16 Patrick The Game The Sewers Of Bikini Bottom:

Executive Meddling: This is the first episode that Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli are credited as supervising producers. Despite that, they are now the current showrunners (and they replaced Paul Tibbitt, who left the show after season 9).

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#13105: Sep 29th 2020 at 5:05:04 PM

???????

I can't even call that misuse. That's just straight up not what that trope is.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#13106: Sep 29th 2020 at 6:12:22 PM

I had this Real Life example about iron stars; is Elemental Plane the correct trope for it?

  • Iron (specifically iron-56) has the greatest nuclear stability of any element. If proton decay is impossible, then it is predicted that lighter elements will fuse through quantum tunneling, while heaver nuclei will tend to break down, so eventually the universe will be made entirely of iron, or specifically iron stars.

I'm back!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#13108: Sep 29th 2020 at 7:14:02 PM

Bringing this up again because it got buried, but can I cut examples from Implied Love Interest where the couple actually do end up together at the end, either on-screen or via Word of God?

Oshawott337 Since: Jul, 2020 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
#13109: Sep 29th 2020 at 7:47:23 PM

[up] If they're confirmed in-series and get a Relationship Upgrade, I say yes. Word of God is a bit murkier, but if it seems all but confirmed by the narrative already, then I think it can be removed, too.

"Let’s see who’s stronger: someone that has something to protect, or someone that has nothing to lose."
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
#13110: Sep 29th 2020 at 7:59:51 PM

A Justified Trope is any in-universe explanation, even a flimsy Hand Wave, right?

If a fanfic says "X trope in this fic is because of Y thing from canon (which is not itself a justified trope but does seem to imply X)", does that count? Or does the lack of in-universe explanation for Y disqualify it?

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
TheMountainKing Since: Jul, 2016
#13111: Sep 29th 2020 at 11:49:42 PM

In connection [up][up][up], what about cases where the characters explicitly don't end up together, and even end up with other people. For example, the page lists Finn and Princess Bubblegum, both of whom end the series with other love interests.

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#13112: Sep 30th 2020 at 12:00:18 AM

Well, that particular case does sound like it's definitely playing with the trope, even if it's not playing it straight.

Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#13113: Sep 30th 2020 at 3:23:45 AM

[up][up]That seems like another trope entirely. Maybe a Romantic False Lead?

LaundryPizza03 Maintenance? from Texas Since: Aug, 2020
Maintenance?
#13114: Sep 30th 2020 at 3:30:44 AM

[up]x7 Please elaborate. We do allow speculation about Real Life if it's not too implausible or shoehorned.

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Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#13115: Sep 30th 2020 at 3:41:26 AM

~winged​catgirl: No. A trope is justified if it is required for the in-universe premise of a work to function. One example given is the Power Glows trope. A potential justification is if the characters are fighting shadow beings that are damaged by light. This isn't just a Hand Wave; it's a narrative setup in which the trope becomes necessary.

There can be a fine line between a Justified Trope and a Hand Wave, but "it's in here because I wanted it to be" is absolutely the latter.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#13116: Sep 30th 2020 at 4:13:35 AM

See, the distinction between Justified Trope and Hand Wave I have always used is that a Justified Trope can be inferred from the rest of the story/setting while a Hand Wave can't.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#13117: Sep 30th 2020 at 5:16:21 AM

Is it me or does this example from Harry Hole being misused since it doesn't actually give any examples of the books' Black Comedy elements and just seems to be mostly complaining about the film of one of the books:

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#13118: Sep 30th 2020 at 7:34:50 AM

Found these on Beverly Hills Chihuahua:

  • Casting Gag: This isn't the first movie in which Drew Barrymore voiced the protagonist canine.

  • Reality Subtext: There exists a theory that the only reason this movie was successful, both financially and with audiences, was the fact that it's theatrical run coincided with the 2008 economic recession, and that audiences at the time just wanted to see a silly, feel-good movie to take their minds off of it.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#13119: Sep 30th 2020 at 7:37:34 AM

The second one is false. Reality Subtext requires that the external events influence the production of a work, not its box office performance.

For Casting Gag, I don't see any evidence that the role intentionally "mirrors or parodies" the previous role, which is a requirement of the Trivia item.

Edited by Fighteer on Sep 30th 2020 at 10:38:34 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#13120: Sep 30th 2020 at 8:25:09 AM

Is Camera Abuse flexible enough to count this from What We Do in the Shadows? (I haven't added it yet, just running it by this thread.)

  • Camera Abuse: The show is a Mockumentary, with an invisible camera crew following the vampires around. In this episode, Baron Afanas eats the sound technician, resulting in a few seconds of wonky sound effects and microphone feedback. The vampires later apologize for eating him to the camera crew.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#13121: Sep 30th 2020 at 8:36:59 AM

Do Adaptation Deviation tropes also apply to different storylines between video games? I doubt this example from VideoGame.House Party.

  • Adaptational Sexuality: During the original story Brittney shows only passing interest in guys and a great deal in several girls. In her side story she's suddenly very interested in the PC.

Sounds more like Ambiguously Bi (albeit a rare "mostly likes same gender but might like the opposite gender" version) since the stories take place in the same continuity, even if there are branching paths to get different options.

[down][down] The plot for the game, while raunchy, heavily outweighs its explicit sexual endgame content, so I think we're good.

[down] You know it.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 1st 2020 at 3:14:36 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#13122: Sep 30th 2020 at 8:41:59 AM

Yeah, that's not Adaptation Deviation. I'm assuming the PC is male?

Edited by Synchronicity on Sep 30th 2020 at 10:42:51 AM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#13123: Sep 30th 2020 at 8:43:59 AM

[up][up][up] A similar example occurs on Spaceballs, so either the trope is flexible enough or it's being misused.

[up][up] Frankly, I'm surprised we have an article for House Party given its content, but no, I wouldn't call that an "adaptation" per se.

Edited by Fighteer on Sep 30th 2020 at 11:44:16 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#13124: Sep 30th 2020 at 8:45:51 AM

I thought that was But Not Too Bi as the wiki defined it, but the description was rewritten on May 24 to remove examples of bisexuals leaning more towards one orientation (that should've been discussed somewhere).

Primis Since: Nov, 2010
#13125: Sep 30th 2020 at 10:13:41 AM

I haven't played the game, so I don't know if there's more to this or not, but this Emperor: Battle for Dune example sounds more like Retcon to me than Alternate Continuity:

  • Alternate Continuity: Emperor is treated as sequel to Dune 2000 (as such they are also a separate continuity from the original Dune novels and the 1984 film) but there are some differences between the two continuities. Emperor Corrino's death is depicted as it takes place in the Ordos ending of Dune 2000, but it is mentioned to have taken place in Kaitain. The House leaderships are also Retconned to their Emperor incarnation, which isn't too hard to achieve since we never saw them in Dune 2000. The Emperor, who was seen, is also retconned to having been named Shaddam IV instead of Frederick IV, but Frederick was a pure manual name in Dune 2000, and never actually said on-screen.


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