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. 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
That's basically a ZCE entry anyway. But remove the Mary Sue pothole, yes.
Edited by mightymewtron on Jul 11th 2021 at 9:44:53 AM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.I just noticed there are other Mary Sue potholes removing all of them.
Asterix and the Big Fight has this for Darkest Hour. Is it accurate?
- Darkest Hour: Just as Asterix realizes Getafix's potion has returned his memory, another menhir lands on him (Obelix figuring that if getting hit by a menhir caused the amnesia, getting hit again would reverse it). Fortunately, this time Getafix is still himself afterwards.
That's very low context. Not knowing the story, I don't know if this is the darkest hour or just a random moment.
Edited by WarJay77 on Jul 11th 2021 at 11:40:52 AM
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallThat still isn't context. I need to know the context of the scene in the wider story.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall![]()
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If "jifted" means what Urban Dictionary says, I'd recommend looking at Troping Under the Influence after sobering up.
Boaz, whatever you are here for is not appropriate for our site. Whether you are trolling or just an idiot is not relevant; it'll get you banned either way.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"It might be worth discussing whether this counts as Fanservice in a less, uh, urgent tone. I'm surprised Fanservice isn't NRLEP, but it's also... not really supposed to be a trope. So.
Edited by mightymewtron on Jul 12th 2021 at 11:51:58 AM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.In Spy Game, Nathan Muir has a quote to his secretary Gladys after the latter snarks a bit about him asking her for burn bags to hold the stuff in his office related to his time with his protégé Tom Bishop to squirrel away:
- "When did Noah build the ark? Before the rain."
His preparedness and hunch proves correct as Gladys later phones him from his office while the latter is interviewing his supervisors regarding Bishop and tells him "it's raining" (read: the CIA is ransacking his office at that very moment looking for intel while he's away from his desk).
My question is, does this count as The Anticipator, Properly Paranoid, Crazy-Prepared, more than one of these, or something else?
The damned queen and the relentless knight.Boaz, I recommend a jaunt through Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement. Troping real life has a set of caveats, and we are generally averse to troping the actions of militaries, politicians, and other controversial individuals or institutions. In addition, unnecessarily calling people (celebrities or not) sexy/beautiful/etc. is frowned upon for being close to gush or "one-handed troping".
I am also surprised Fanservice isn't NRLEP, but I suppose there's a whole Sex Sells aspect to advertising and the like. That's a discussion for elsewhere, though.
Edited by Synchronicity on Jul 12th 2021 at 11:09:42 AM
I suppose using sexy military girls to advertise the military in posters and stuff could count as Sex Sells.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Perhaps. But no links.
Also, I propose renaming Fanservice to Fanservice Tropes or sumfin' like that.
Edited by Delibirda on Jul 12th 2021 at 6:21:44 PM
"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”

From RonTheDeathEater.Harry Potter.
Not the example itself but the inclusion of a Mary Sue pothole I am not sure if this is allowed especially since the trope is Flame Bait. This feels like some way to get past that.
Sorry if this is an inappropriate thread I wasn't sure where else to post this.