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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

Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#13326: Oct 18th 2020 at 1:21:20 AM

Is the following example from Trivia.The Turning being used correctly, since this film came out in January whilst the other work came out this month in October so can these really be considered Dueling Works?:


And I already posted this in the Star Wars clean-up thread 8 days ago but didn't get a response, so I figured I'd try hear:

Found these on VindicatedByHistory.Live Action Films, these should they be removed since YMMV items can't be played with:

  • Downplayed for the original film, later designated A New Hope, due to a degree of Critical Dissonance. It was dismissed as mere adolescent fluff by many critics who didn't "get it", but many other critics did "get it" and were enthusiastic. Fans of course made it a monster box-office hit, becoming the top-grossing film of 1977 and of all time at the time (unadjusted for inflation; even now, that's still Gone with the Wind) and its reputation as one of the greats, not only as "genre film" but film in general, has only grown ever since.
  • Again downplayed for the follow-up film, The Empire Strikes Back for similar reasons. Many critics still did not know what to make of it. But many other critics (who had liked the previous film instead of dismissing the series as junk) and most fans thought it was an Even Better Sequel, if not just as good, due to factors like the character development of the leads, the new characters such as Yoda and Lando Calrissian, and the new locations such as Hoth, Dagobah, and Cloud City. It became the top-grossing film of 1980, and the second highest-grossing film of all time, behind only the original film. Like the original film, it was also re-released several times in movie theaters, and it also won Best Film at the People's Choice Awards. In later years, after more Star Wars films were released, most critics and fans alike would consider it the high point of not only its trilogy but of the franchise, making it the best Star Wars film, period.
    • Ever since the prequels and especially the sequels, a pervasive myth that Empire was divisive on release has been making the rounds. The evidence speaks for itself on the contrary. While there were some who preferred A New Hope for being self-contained, the response was hardly divisive to the point of dislike and disillusionment as later films would actually create. While Empire did throw everybody for a loop with its cliffhanger climax and ending, with the looming conflicts unresolved, Han's fate uncertain and Vader being revealed as Luke's father, people couldn't wait for the next one. This sort of thing simply wasn't done at the time, or hadn't been done in many years.
  • Inverted for Return of the Jedi, surprisingly. When it was released, many considered it an Even Better Sequel to Empire in turn for wrapping up the plotlines more or less satisfyingly, but this opinion has reversed as people soured on the more kid-friendly and merchandise-friendly elements like the Ewoks. In Clerks (1994), Randal describes preferring Empire over Jedi as "blasphemy", but today that's the majority opinion. Dante was an Author Avatar of Big Name Fan Kevin Smith in arguing why Empire was better:
    Empire had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings. All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets.''
  • For many it's been inverted again with the sequel trilogy and particularly its first movie The Force Awakens. The sequel trilogy may be largely praised by critics and controversially divisive among fans as a whole, but The Force Awakens had a very positive initial reception from critics and most fans. But then the two other sequels which were more divisive for various reasons have caused The Force Awakens and the trilogy as a whole to be seen in a less warm light. While intially trumpeted as an "antidote" to the prequels, The Force Awakens has been criticized from day 1 for being too much like A New Hope at the expense of the wider/previous story, and the following films were criticized for amplifying this last bit.

Also from the same page, is this a correct usage, seeing as how it's saying that the critics and fans who praised it are still continuing to praise it, not that anyone who had mixed or negative opinions on it have changed their minds on it?:

** The Last Jedi gained a warmer reception after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, which was panned by critics to levels not seen since Attack of the Clones. Initially praised by critics and divisive among fans like never before because of (or in spite of) its subversive approach to the characters and franchise with distracting and contradictory subplots, its defenders sung its praises even stronger in light of Rise of Skywalker trying to backtrack to J. J. Abrams' envisioned finale, but including even more contradictory problems with the story and characters without including some of the more ambitious sequences.

Malady (X-Troper)
#13327: Oct 18th 2020 at 8:28:26 AM

Part-X is more likely Uneven Hybrid than Half-Human Hybrid, right?

HalfHumanHybrid.Literature:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia:
    • Caspian's tutor, Dr. Cornelius, in Prince Caspian is secretly part dwarf, and it's implied that Caspian's childhood nurse is also descended from dwarfs who'd avoided Telmarine pogroms by passing themselves off as short humans. Caspian's own son is half star, stars being glowing humanoid beings in the world of Narnia. Furthermore, The Magician's Nephew states that the children of Narnia's first human king and queen married wood-nymphs and river-spirits.
    • In The Magician's Nephew, we also learn that the White Witch—and indeed, all people of Charn—are part giant. But Subverted in Jadis/the White Witch's case, as she only pretended to be part human to assert her claim to the throne. Her non-giant blood is actually genie (jinn), not human.


Same for this?

Admiring the Abomination:

Edited by Malady on Oct 18th 2020 at 8:29:42 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
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
#13328: Oct 18th 2020 at 10:54:46 AM

I think Uneven Hybrid is for when the exact percentage of not-human ancestry becomes meaningfully relevant; in cases where you can't see how the story would be any different whether the person was 1/64 human vs 1/64 not-human, it's not that trope... but for cases where the percentage is unknown, reading the description of Half-Human Hybrid, I'm not sure whether the "half" is intended to be read literally or not?

Edited by wingedcatgirl on Oct 18th 2020 at 10:55:21 AM

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
Tenebrika she/her (Less Newbie) Relationship Status: Not war
she/her
#13329: Oct 18th 2020 at 2:51:45 PM

Reposting from the previous page.

YMMV.Disturbed has a ZCE of Narm Charm, and I want to fix it. Will this be good enough?

  • Narm Charm: The Sickness (especially the child abuse segment of "Down with the Sickness"), thanks to its excessively dark lyrics, carpet F-bombing, and David Draiman's unabashed screaming and raging, can sound overdramatic, stupidly aggressive, or just plain ridiculous. Later albums tone the screaming down a bit but keep the overblown angst, often take a message and bash the listener over the head with it, and include unironic Badass Boasts belted out in the most over-the-top way possible. The attitude, the bombastic gusto, and total disregard for subtlety are the reasons why many fans love the band.

Roseface Since: Oct, 2016
#13330: Oct 18th 2020 at 5:41:56 PM

I found this under Bury Your Gays:

  • Star Trek: Picard: While not explicitly named as gay, Hugh has long been queer-coded by fans and is played by gay actor Jonathan Del Arco who sees the character as queer. When he returns to the franchise, many fans were disappointed to see the character violently killed off after bonding with the young Romulan Elnor. Del Arco even gave interviews saying he believed Hugh was in love with Elnor.

The example admits that the character isn't confirmed to be gay, just that the fans and actor see him as gay. If that's the case, I don't see how it counts as Bury Your Gays.

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#13331: Oct 18th 2020 at 5:54:12 PM

Found this on Western Animation:

  • Oh geez, The Ren & Stimpy Show is back? Let me guess, it's- WAIT JOHN K IS FINALLY RETURNING AND ALLOWED TO WORK ON HIS SHOW AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 13 YEARS?! AND IT'S ACTUALLY A GROWN UP VERSION OF THE SHOW FOR ALL OF THE ORIGINAL FANS TO COMPLETE WITH EDGY CONTENT LIKE SOUTH PARK AND FAMILY GUY? YES YES YES!

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#13332: Oct 18th 2020 at 6:04:34 PM

...Well that's Harsher in Hindsight for numerous reasons.

Why aren't these subpages on Sugar Wiki like the main And the Fandom Rejoiced page, anyway?

[down] Yeah but you can't access DMOS in the drop-down menu on the main wiki. You can do that with ATFR for some reason.

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 18th 2020 at 9:18:30 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
ccorb from A very hot place Since: May, 2020 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
#13333: Oct 18th 2020 at 6:10:08 PM

Dethroning Moment of Suck subpages aren't on Darth also.

Edited by ccorb on Oct 18th 2020 at 9:10:20 AM

Rock'n'roll never dies!
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#13334: Oct 18th 2020 at 6:12:04 PM

[up][up][up][up]Check the history - I seem to recall this was brought up and voted to be cut, which makes me suspect an edit war.

Roseface Since: Oct, 2016
#13335: Oct 18th 2020 at 6:17:42 PM

I checked the history and it only seems to have been added once.

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#13336: Oct 18th 2020 at 7:49:47 PM

Bait-and-Switch Lesbians has an entry about the Lyrical Nanoha franchise that contradicts itself repeatedly, basically saying 'these characters aren't lesbians even though they live in the same house, sleep in the same bed, and adopt a child who calls them both Mama' as well as a Word of Gay entry that disputes a part of the franchise that did engage in the trope.

"The relationship between Fate and Nanoha in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has quite a bit of this. The makers of the show likely didn't want to ruin the True Companions-dynamic with romantic relationships, but they really push the issue by making the female leads share an apartment and even a bed together—not to mention having them adopt a child who starts calling them both "mama".

Nevertheless, the Megami Sound Stages tried to explain that really, Fate was "more of a sister to Vivio" than a mama, and that Fate sent herself into deep space missions in order to "get out of the way." Something the franchise creator and the voice actresses of the characters themselves have declared Canon Discontinuity via Word of Gay through this interview.

The Vivid manga (which take place two years before Force, in the same continuity as the other works in the franchise) retconned the Megami Sound Stages, by the notes along the first chapter (which said Fate and Nanoha raised Vivio together) AND Vivio, who said in the same first chapter that she had two mothers (and acknowledging it's something strange, but they're her mothers), and the last Soundstages released for the C76 Comiket definitely sunk any possibility of the Yuunoha pairing. And in bonus, we have Vivio in this Sound Stage saying in the prologue that she is Nanoha and Fate's child.

At the same time, however, Vivid also returns to this trope with Vivio saying her Mamas are "best friends". The tension is still there, but it's still left for the viewers to decide whether they're a couple with a child or best friends who just raise her together."

Edited by lalalei2001 on Oct 18th 2020 at 10:50:07 AM

The Protomen enhanced my life.
fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#13337: Oct 18th 2020 at 9:50:15 PM

Found this on Duolingo:

Five-Token Band: Some of the language courses have an animated character to pronounce the sentence, and react positively or negatively depending if you get it right. Those characters include a white goth girl with dyed purple hair, a veiled Muslim girl, a fat middle-aged Asian lady, a blonde sporty white man, a black girl with dreadlocks, an Ambiguously Brown short chubby moustached man, a half-shaved tomboyish white girl, a Sikh man, a little redhead white boy... and a bear.

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#13338: Oct 19th 2020 at 2:41:51 AM

[up] That's way more than five, so I don't think it counts. Maybe Multinational Team?

Edited by lalalei2001 on Oct 19th 2020 at 5:42:08 AM

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Tenebrika she/her (Less Newbie) Relationship Status: Not war
she/her
#13339: Oct 19th 2020 at 4:51:26 AM

Calling the Old Man Out has a video example from Avengers: Endgame titled "Tony Calls Cap Out." Is it an example? As far as I understand, the trope is for parents and children, not for teammates.

Roseface Since: Oct, 2016
#13340: Oct 19th 2020 at 6:06:08 AM

[up][up] I don't think that the team must have only five members. The description says that the group simply must be made of people from different races.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#13341: Oct 19th 2020 at 6:11:13 AM

True. The page's own pic has seven characters. Eight counting the dog.

That might be an issue with the snowclone name from Five-Man Band, which does require five members.

Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#13342: Oct 19th 2020 at 7:24:50 AM

[up][up][up]Yeah, that's definitely a shoehorn. Steve isn't even a Parental Substitute to Tony. Might be an example of “The Reason You Suck” Speech or What the Hell, Hero? though (I haven't checked the entry, and I can't remember what exactly Tony is calling out Steve for).

Malady (X-Troper)
#13343: Oct 19th 2020 at 7:36:27 AM

Are any of the following, not Steven Ulysses Perhero? Otherwise I'm moving these selected ones over...

MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.Tropes L To P:

  • Meaningful Name: Many of the characters are named after their talents and behaviors. Although, justified for some, as "The Perfect Pear" reveals that at least some ponies go through Meaningful Renames, such as "Chiffon Swirl" renaming herself "Cup Cake" after marrying Carrot Cake.
    • The Mane Cast in particular:
      • Fluttershy for being able to flynote  and for being... well... shy. She was also once saved by a swarm of butterflies.
      • Rainbow Dash, who has rainbow hair but can also fly really fast.
      • Applejack and family, all named after apple-related stuff. Plus, she gathers apples and makes apple "accessories".
      • Rarity has an affinity for precious gems and jewelry and her personal spell allows finding gems.
      • Twilight Sparkle solved the conflict between the Sun/Day and Moon/Night deities. And her Cutie mark is magic sparkles. One big sparkle surrounded by five smaller ones, just to drive the point home further. Bonus points for her more powerful magic causing sparks to fly from her horn, and her own Element of Magic "ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all".
    • Trixie uses her magic to do tricks.
    • Photo Finish is a photographer.
    • Silver Spoon is a Rich Bitch who doesn't appear to be much good for anything.
    • Filthy Rich, a wealthy businesspony who is the father of Diamond Tiara.
    • Scootaloo, who is a demon on her scooter.
    • Princess Celestia, who controls the sun, and her sister Luna, who oversees the moon.
    • Spitfire and Soarin', two members of stunt-flying team "the Wonderbolts".
    • Cheerilee even lampshades this when explaining to her students how she got her cutie mark, by explaining that she aims to bring cheer and smiles to the little fillies and colts in her care.
    • Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo:
      • Ditzy Doo's name comes from a known piloting maneuver called the dipsy-doodle (bear in mind she can fly) and also comes from her ditzy nature (she went north to get birds that had migrated south, after going west the year before).
      • The dipsy-doodle was commonly employed on the SR71 Blackbird- unfortunately this resulted in many windows breaking as the Blackbirds dipped down to go Supersonic. This fits her character as she often unintentionally breaks things.
      • Derpy Hooves is named for her Derpy expression.
    • Discord creates Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
    • The Flim-Flam Brothers are con artists, and their names are a play on the word "flim-flam", an old name for what we would call a con.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Tenebrika she/her (Less Newbie) Relationship Status: Not war
she/her
#13344: Oct 19th 2020 at 8:42:11 AM

[up][up] Yes. Maybe someone thinks that, since Steve is a hundred years old, technically, he is an old man :D

The video is already listed as an example of Call-Back which is correct, I guess: Tony rants about how Steve wasn't there when they lost to Thanos in Infinity War even though Steve had stressed (in Age of Ultron, IRCC) that the Avengers would win or lose together. Or is this a Continuity Nod?

Also, how do I edit a video example? I've never done that.

Edit: [nja]

Edited by Tenebrika on Oct 19th 2020 at 10:49:49 PM

Ferot_Dreadnaught Since: Mar, 2015
#13345: Oct 19th 2020 at 10:04:59 AM

[up][up][tup]Moving them to Meaningful Name as Steven Ulysses Perhero is when the name improbably foreshadows what role they will play/powers they will get. Twilight is the only one who might fit.

Trivia.The Joker War

  • What Could Have Been:
    • By all accounts, it seems that, if not the swan song for Batman prior to the abandoned "Generation 5" initiative, then it was meant to be the swan song for writer James Tynion IV for the title as he was told that he would be writing until issue #100. From his account, things changed and he was made new head writer.
    • Tying into this, it's rumored that Joker War was initially conceived as the final confrontation between the original Batman and the Joker, as the altered timeline brought about by 5G and Dark Nights: Death Metal was supposed to retroactively age up Bruce (foreshadowed by the glimpses of an elderly Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle seen in Tom King's Batman (Rebirth) run) and lead to a new character (purportedly either Luke Fox or his brother Tim) taking over as Batman. With that in mind, the Batwing story in Joker War Zone seems like it was plotted as a Poorly Disguised Pilot to set up the debut of this new Batman.

Saying it seems to as opposed to Word of God confirming sounds like Speculative Troping which isn't allowed. Should it be cut if not confined.

Does Epileptic Trees and Wild Mass Guessing only apply to in-work thing as opposed to production or meta? If not what if any trope can this be moved to?

Edited by Ferot_Dreadnaught on Oct 19th 2020 at 10:05:12 AM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#13346: Oct 19th 2020 at 10:19:23 AM

[up][up] Is Derpy even an example since her name is ambiguously canon ever since the bowdlerized version of "The Last Roundup" changed her to be nameless?

Edited by mightymewtron on Oct 19th 2020 at 1:19:32 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Malady (X-Troper)
#13347: Oct 19th 2020 at 10:21:50 AM

[up] - So, it's converging on "Move only Twilight"...

Steven Ulysses Perhero might need some cleanup too?

  • Numerous characters in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, including background ponies:
    • Their names always match either their personality, special talent, or both. For example, Fluttershy. What kind of name is that? Clearly, one for a shy pony, who flies, and whose special talent involves butterflies.
    • For bonus points towards this trope, every pony discovers their special talent while growing up, so those ponies whose names don't reflect personality have a good hint what their special talent will be. ...Or would if it weren't for universal Genre Blindness on the matter.
    • It also opens up some interesting naming conventions, such as Mayor Mare and Granny Smith. Both are quite appropriate given who they are (Mayor Mare is female and is a mayor, while Granny Smith is named after a type of apple due to being in the Apple Family and is, well, old). However if taken at face value this means that either they have completely different names growing up (or at least, what remains of their names is really, really generic) or you'd have to imagine two kids named "Mayor" and "Granny".
      • We finally find out in "The Perfect Pear" that Mrs. Cake's name was once known as Chiffon Swirl until she discovered her talent for baking. Ponies aren't always born with perfectly-on-the-nose names as if their parents were omniscient after all, it seems.
    • A rather hilarious and unintentional subversion/inversion happens with Discord. It's an appropriate enough name for a spirit of chaos and disharmony. The subversion comes when Fluttershy helps him reform and he becomes more of an Anti-Hero while still keeping the sinister name Discord. That said, he never fully outgrows his penchant for infuriating ponies and turning friends against friends (he just does in a more personal scale as opposed to apocalyptic World Gone Mad levels), so the name never becomes completely obsolete.
-

Edited by Malady on Oct 19th 2020 at 10:22:10 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#13348: Oct 19th 2020 at 10:33:22 AM

[up] A lot of that sounds too general and also contradictory. "Ponies always have names that match their talents, except when they don't." Given that some ponies change their name after getting their talent or job, some of this seems speculative, and the examples that aren't too general or speculative may fit better under Prophetic Name. (Fluttershy was always shy and her talent is not restricted to butterflies so it's not an example for her.)

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
tropineasily Currently Suspended Since: Sep, 2018
Currently Suspended
#13349: Oct 19th 2020 at 11:25:35 AM

From YMMV.The Odd1s Out:

  • Were Still Relevant Dammit: Sometimes, James might try to attempt to be "hip" and "cool" with his viewers.viewers (Alhough these are used ironically). For example, he is shown dabbing in some of his videos (such as in "Wrong Numbers", "Movies I Thought Were Weird", "Proof That I Can Do Math" and "Peeing Yourself") and sometimes throws in some trends and memes most people are into nowadays (such as the Fidget Spinners or the Mocking Spongebob meme).
For one, I don't think a Youtube channel counts as a long-running franchise and the entry itself points out that these are Played for Laughs.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#13350: Oct 19th 2020 at 11:34:34 AM

A Youtube channel can be listed as a Long Runner, but that channel's only been around since 2014. And since it seems to be mocking trends, it may be more a parodied Totally Radical.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

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