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
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I agree this isn't obvious enough to count as Captain Obvious Reveal. While I did see people predicting this, it definitely wasn't super-obvious. There was also a moment in the previous episode which seemed like it was intended to put people off this reveal.
I'd disagree with this one as well. The first instalment in the Ultra series is Ultra Q, not Ultraman. Ultraman is the one that inspired almost all of the remaining installments. Therefore, I don't think this is First Installment Wins
she/her
Edit: I'm just never happy with my wording.
Edited by Tenebrika on Feb 21st 2021 at 2:02:49 AM
Very Spooky
Bringing up these examples from YMMV.Holmes And Watson again, since I never got an answer. Not sure if any of these are being used correctly.
- Bile Fascination: Quite a few people went to see the movie purely after hearing just how bad it supposedly was.
- Designated Hero: Will Ferrell as Holmes is very difficult to take seriously as a hero thanks to his constant demeaning of Watson and his harebrained antics.
- Tainted by the Preview: The trailer for the film wasn't exactly well-received, due to the presence of many unfunny gags.
Lots of coffee
Bile Fascination sounds kind of general/anecdotal. I actually don't even remember many people hatewatching that film like they did Cats or The Emoji Movie, to give some examples.
Not familiar enough with the movie to address Designated Hero.
Tainted by the Preview requires the audience to have been initially excited for the product. If nobody wanted the movie from the start, then it's not an example.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
- Alone Among Families: Yeah, I think that can count as a variant.
YMMV.Mamma Mia
- He Really Can Act:
- Amanda Seyfried surprised a lot of people by her ability to sing. In fact, one of the reasons she was cast was because she could pull off a high note during "I Have a Dream" ("I believe in angels..."). Her performance here would later be heavily credited for earning her the role of Cosette in the film adaptation of Les Misérables four years later. Does this cover singing?
- Meryl Streep may have been nearing sixty at the time she filmed this movie, but she knocks "The Winner Takes It All" out of the park and into the stratosphere! By this time Streep was already considered one of the finest living actresses. This can't be an example, right?
Edited by Synchronicity on Feb 20th 2021 at 2:34:36 PM
Lots of coffee
I assume the Streep example was about her singing, and even if that did include singing, I think critics and audiences are broken on how good her singing was in that movie.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Purposefully Untitled
I was going through a Shout-Out page and one of the examples listed was about the band that made the opening theme song making cameo appearances in the show numerous times. Isn't that Creator Cameo?
SpaceBattles.com fanworks (unnoficial) index in my Sandbox.
I'm helping!
Gonna bring back a few old questions that we don't recall getting an answer to:
Is it still an Orwellian Retcon if the thing that was changed is just a chapter title? Those don't really have much to do with continuity, but...?
"If there is any regret in my life, not having no big regret would be my regret."
Ignoring the kinda bad translation, I'm pretty sure this is some flavor of playing with I Regret Nothing, but not which one?
Dwarf Fortress's "loyalty cascade" bug
: Divided We Fall, or some other infighting trope?
how it works if that helps
On Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass:
- Ambiguous Ending: After seemingly defeating the Pulsating Mass once and for all, Jimmy winds up back in his house. From there, he can either select party members from across the entire game and re-enter the dream world through his closet, or he can leave his house through the front door. Leaving this way causes Jimmy to wind up in a world devoid of any color, almost looking like it was drawn entirely in pencil. Jimmy can't re-enter his house from here, claiming he can't remember what the inside looks like, so there's only one direction to go. During this entire segment, you can hear the sound of a heart monitor beeping in the background. After travelling for long enough through the now barren landscape, Jimmy walks over to the edge of the very cliff where Helga woke him up at the beginning of the game. A cut-scene then plays where we're shown a close-up of Jimmy looking over the horizon and saying "I'm Sorry"... which then bends into a straight, flat line. After one last title drop, the game fades to white, and the player is booted back to the title screen.
I still haven't played this game, but it seems pretty unambiguous that you're supposed to read this as Jimmy finally dying. But I watched the ending on youtube and I have to admit it's not impossible to purposefully interpret it otherwise. Does that still constitute an Ambiguous Ending?
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
Yes.
Edit: sorry, ![[nja]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/user_ninja_2074.png "[nja]"){kind=small}
'd!
Edited by Crossover-Enthusiast on Feb 21st 2021 at 4:26:34 AM
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
It seems like Divided We Fall is specifically about infighting getting in the way of fighting an outside threat. So depends how the bug affects their ability to take care of outside threats. If an outside enemy shows up and they put everything on hold to take care of that... on the other hand, if infighting leads to them falling apart before the enemy even arrives...
Is this Stating the Simple Solution, Mundane Solution, both, or neither? Context: Digger and Murai are stuck in a ravine. Murai can't climb. Grim Eyes is at the ravine's edge. Digger has the only rope.
Shadowchild: Hi again!
Digger: Hi, Shadowchild. Look, I'm a little busy right now…
Murai: …the demonspawn… here…?
Digger: That's right, Murai, Shadowchild's here, nothing to worry about…
Murai: …no…shadow…shadow made solid…the demons know…no barriers…
Digger: I'm sorry, Murai, but we really don't have time for mystical—
[Beat Panel]
Digger: Right, I'm an idiot. Shadowchild, can you carry this end of the rope up to Grim Eyes?
Shadowchild: Sure!
and the following page
For Mundane Solution: it's a simple solution, but is it too fantastic? It comes down to the ability to traverse a vertical surface. And I'm not sure about Stating the Simple Solution, because it's not stated in a simple way by the one proposing it.
Captain Cryptic
Some Undertale-related examples. Spoilers are present in the Back in the Saddle, Big Bad Duumvirate, and Pet Monstrosity folders.
- Toriel at the end of the Ruins, in order to prevent you from leaving and getting yourself killed.
- King Asgore Dreemurr presumably hasn't fought anyone since training Undyne before battling the Player Character. Not that he's gotten any worse at fighting.
At present this is misused since Flowey and Chara aren't working together, and the latter isn't encountered until the player's actions have influenced their worldview. It might be possible to rewrite so it focuses on Flowey trying to form one with the player character, but Flowey only ever helps the player from the shadows and gets killed off shortly after opening up about trying to form an alliance. Is there any means of salvaging this example?
- In Snowdin Town's local restaurant, Grillby's, you can find all 5 of the dog mini-bosses you encountered along the way (assuming they're alive, of course). Subverted in that they don't treat you like an enemy anymore and talk to you normally, which makes sense given that Word of God says most monsters aren't actually trying to kill you.
- The Amalgamates to Alphys, particularly Endogeny.
Edited by Vandagyre on Feb 21st 2021 at 11:39:37 AM
"My job here is done." "But you didn't do anything."
I plan to add these to Audience-Alienating Premise, at AudienceAlienatingPremise.Western Animation:
- Buck and Buddy, a silent cartoon launched in 2019 set on a wasteland featuring a beetle and stick insect as the titular duo who have an Odd Friendship proved difficult to market due to its setting (which is unsanitary at best), the characters being All of the Other Reindeer to almost everyone in the setting, The Bad Guy Wins (some of the time), and Amusing Injuries which could be quite horrifying and also the fact it was a silent cartoon (with dialogue being muffled or squeaks) put many off. Add to the fact that its Status Quo Is God Crapsack World setting, and it's difficult to market this to kids.
- Dennis And Gnasher Unleashed, a Continuity Reboot of Dennisthe Menace UK alienated a lot of fans due to the Menace Decay (Dennis is less malevolent, more of an Adaptational Nice Guy), the nature of its setting being more Slice of Life and less about pranks, and everything dialled back; when a Continuity Reboot was announced, it went straight back to the Dennis the fans knew and liked, who hadn't been seen since 1998.
- Space Chickens In Space was a short-lived series that ran from 2018-2019, but it's Gross-Out Show nature and the world being a World of Jerkass Crapsack World and everyone being a Cosmic Plaything in a space camp facility, coupled with unlikeable protagonists and a Dean Bitterman who made things worse meant that this show was just never going to stand a chance, especially as it competed with series such as Steven Universe which wasn't bleak all of the time. It was also very difficult to market since the Deranged Animation and What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? nature proved it to be an uphill struggle to convince kids to watch this. Cancelled after two seasons, a planned Continuity Reboot was scrapped.
Edited by Merseyuser1 on Feb 22nd 2021 at 10:20:55 AM
Audience-Alienating Premise requires evidence audiences were in fact alienated. Space Chickens In Space is valid, the others are not as written.
I'll only add Space Chickens In Space.
These two examples are problematic, this time from a trope page not a work page.
From Soft Reboot:
- The Powerpuff Girls (2016) serves as a soft reboot of The Powerpuff Girls. The girls are still heroes, the old villains are still around, but Pokey Oaks Kindergarten is torn down early in the show and the girls are sent to Midway Elementary School (apparently it's a K-12 school), the girls often fight newer foes instead of the old ones, Miss Bellum is Put on a Bus, their personalities have noticeably changed, and they now can create Hard Light constructs with little to no mention how they could.
but then Continuity Reboot possibly contradicts things a little:
- The Powerpuff Girls has the The Powerpuff Girls (2016) reboot. It is set in the 2010s, is somewhat Lighter and Softer, and features new voices for the titular sisters.
As I understand it, a work can be both a Continuity Reboot and an Alternate Continuity simultaneously, but it can't be a Soft Reboot and a Continuity Reboot at the same time, am I right here?
Lots of coffee
I believe PPG 2016 is set in the same continuity as PPG 1998. The changes made to the formula, like the girls going to a higher-level school or Ms. Bellum's absence, are explained so they don't contradict the original series. I guess it could be Soft Reboot?
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Is this correct?
Characters.Friday Night Funkin (regarding Skid and Pump):
- Black Eyes of Evil: They've got black sclera and beady little white pupils thanks to their costumes, though it's less them being evil and more like them being absurdly gullible, being coaxed into becoming the week's opponents by the Monster.
Edited by Crossover-Enthusiast on Feb 22nd 2021 at 6:39:44 AM
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
Lost in Space
It says they have black, beady eyes but then says they aren't evil, so no it's not a straight example. It might be a subversion if the audience is meant to believe they are evil until it's revealed otherwise.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
pragmatic scientist
Is Intimate Hair Brushing flexible enough to also cover hair drying? Be it using a towel or hair drier but mostly the latter. I've seen such scenes in several shows e.g. Strawberry Panic!
Edited by sohibil on Feb 22nd 2021 at 2:09:40 PM
Humankind is like a train. No matter how powerful the locomotive is, it can only travel as fast as its slowest car allows it to.
Lost in Space
If not, I'd say the trope should be renamed to be broader. There's no need to be that specific about the particulars.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Found this from Daft Punk's Electroma.
- Fan Disservice: The two shirtless scenes involve the subjects killing themselves.
Edited by Bubblepig on Feb 22nd 2021 at 8:27:35 AM
“Boom! Boomboom! Boomboomboom! Bakuage Tire! Gogogo!"
The audience is not meant to believe that — Skid and Pump are just two excited children having a great time, and their animations portray that from the get-go.
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
pragmatic scientist
Is it worth taking to TRS?
Edited by sohibil on Feb 23rd 2021 at 12:19:28 PM
Humankind is like a train. No matter how powerful the locomotive is, it can only travel as fast as its slowest car allows it to.
Lost in Space
I agree that Fan Disservice only counts if one would normally expect such a scene to be fanservice. I'm unclear about the particulars, though.
Then it's just not an example.
TRS has far more pressing issues to deal with. Also, it's more difficult to make a case for a trope expanding because you aren't proving misuse; instead you're proving that there are lots of additional examples that could fit if it were redefined. If you want to do that work, though, your OP should identify such examples.
Would "A blind character who has Super-Senses to compensate for their lack of vision" fall under Disability Superpower or Blind Seer? The description of the latter seems to limit the trope to blind characters with psychic/precognition/clairvoyant powers, but the examples include people like Daredevil, who, AFAIK, doesn't have such abilities.
Edited by Adept on Feb 23rd 2021 at 8:04:19 PM
Lost in Space
It's specifically Disability Superpower. Blind Seer seems to be misused in that example unless Daredevil developed clairvoyance when I wasn't looking.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"