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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.
    • 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

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22326: Sep 20th 2022 at 2:40:05 AM

[up](x4) I believe it works because part of why it was written seems to be because he's got ice powers and penguin minions. Also, I recall him originally being presented as a threat before becoming a Harmless Villain.

NitroIndigo ♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves from West Midlands region, England Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves
#22327: Sep 20th 2022 at 5:45:19 AM

Any thoughts on the MLP example on Mixed Animal Species Team?

Also, I said this on the Common Knowledge cleanup yesterday, but no-one responded, so: I added this to YMMV.Star Fox Adventures a while ago...

While this was Rare's last name for a Nintendo console and a Nintendo IP before they were bought by Microsoft, this wasn't their last game for a Nintendo console overall. They released a few games on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, the last of which was Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise.

...But now that I think about it, it's less of a misconception by the general public and more like a fun bit of trivia. Should I remove it?

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#22328: Sep 20th 2022 at 6:02:24 AM

There's a Degraded Boss entry on Splatoon 3 that talks about how a late boss in prior installments is now an early (and consequentially, easier) boss in this installment. I couldn't be 100% sure from the trope description, but it's supposed to be a boss getting reduced in status to less-than-boss (after degrading they'd be at most a mini-boss) within one game, right?

My musician page
NitroIndigo ♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves from West Midlands region, England Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves
#22329: Sep 20th 2022 at 6:05:57 AM

[up]The description says "returns later in the game [...] as a regular enemy", so I think that doesn't count.

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#22330: Sep 20th 2022 at 6:06:52 AM

Alright, I'm removing it

My musician page
Cutegirl920fire Player 222 from the Squid Games (Five Long Years) Relationship Status: Paris holds the key to my heart
Player 222
#22331: Sep 20th 2022 at 7:11:11 AM

IK, that as the draft sponsor, I should've figured it out but I would like some additional help and someone PM'd me to suggest coming here, so here I am.

On my draft, Historical Race Lift, someone suggested this example:

  • Atlanta:
    • Justin Bieber is black in Atlanta's universe, but white in real life.
    • Downplayed as he doesn't appear in person, but Van meets Drake's family and they are Hispanic. In real life, Drake is half-black (African American), and half-white.

Initially, I asked a couple people off-site if living celebrities counted as historical figures and I got a yes. However another person off-site and someone on-site (the latter being the same person who PM'd me to suggest bringing it up here), weren't too sure.

So for the sake of my draft, do living celebrities that still have ongoing careers count as historical figures?

CG for short
BigBadShadow25 With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg. from Basement at the Alamo (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Desperate
With my last breath, I curse Zoidberg.
#22332: Sep 20th 2022 at 7:45:44 AM

Would we say that Stranger Things has evolved into a Teen Drama over the last two seasons? The kids have aged up and are beginning to grapple with more mature themes like sexuality and relationships.

Edited by BigBadShadow25 on Sep 20th 2022 at 11:22:13 AM

You’re Gonna Carry That Weight.
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#22333: Sep 20th 2022 at 8:14:42 AM

[up][up]I've brought up the line between No Celebrities Were Harmed and No Historical Figures Were Harmed regarding famous people from the last century and didn't really get a consensus.

As the sponsor, it's up to you if you want to expand the trope to contemporary famous people.


[up]Please elaborate why you think so. Zero-Context Examples don't help anyone here judge if it's an example or not.

NitroIndigo ♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves from West Midlands region, England Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves
#22334: Sep 20th 2022 at 8:36:15 AM

So I noticed that Dust Devil from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW) is on Non-Human Non-Binary. While this is correct in the most literal meaning of the title, I thought the idea was that a NHNB was an "other". Since there are no humans in that setting, should it be removed?

Nen_desharu Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto Since: Aug, 2020 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#22335: Sep 20th 2022 at 8:42:23 AM

The Western Animation folder for Fleeting Demographic Rule contains examples from animated shock comedies, which generally don't have fleeting demographics.

Should these examples be removed?

Edited by Nen_desharu on Sep 20th 2022 at 11:42:59 AM

Kirby is awesome.
AnotherWanderingGhost (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
#22336: Sep 20th 2022 at 10:01:10 AM

I see a lot of examples on that page that don't seem to involve fleeting demographics: a lot of them are just "this plot was reused" or "this was marketed as being new to the show when it wasn't" without any indication that the creators assumed the audience had changed.

isoycrazy Lord of the Blue Star Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Abstaining
Lord of the Blue Star
#22337: Sep 20th 2022 at 10:57:10 AM

In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law MCU: United States Citizens character page, it has this example listed under the plaintiff Dennis' page:

  • Insanity Defense: Inverted, in that this is an insanity plaintff - Pug exploits how delusional and narcissistic Dennis Bukowski is by getting Jennifer Walters as a witness that can attest to this, in order to prove to the judge that he would actually believe that he was dating the real Megan Thee Stallion instead of the elf defendant impersonating her.

Considering how Dennis was hesitant to use this, should this be under his lawyer as it is Pug who is pushing this over Dennis' desires?

badtothebaritone (Life not ruined yet) Relationship Status: Snooping as usual
#22338: Sep 20th 2022 at 11:52:35 AM

Found this example in Politically Correct Villain:

  • Zig-Zagged with Emperor Belos in The Owl House. He has immense Fantastic Racism towards the witches and demons of the Boiling Isles as one would expect for a person from the 1600s, but he seems to be fairly progressive in some areas. He allows women in positions of authority, Kikimora acting as his right-hand and Lilith the Head of his Coven, despite being from a time and place where women were seen more as brood-mares to be brought to heel. The Boiling Isles, for all of its troubling normalcies, doesn't seem to have any judicial or cultural biases against queer relationships or gender non-conformity. While some of this might be excused as irrelevant considering he was going to kill all of them anyway, he's shown to have some level of respect for Luz, who is a queer, Afro-Latina girl, three qualities that people of his demographic would look down upon in his time.

Am I wrong in thinking this is a big stretch? I don't think Belos treating Luz with basic decency qualifies him for political correctness when he straight up attempts genocide for completely bigoted reasons (I also don't think he knows she's bi, but I digress).

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22339: Sep 20th 2022 at 12:19:40 PM

[up]In my opinion, you're not wrong to think that. I agree that all of this is stretching it (especially the Luz part), aside from the fact he has no issue with women.

Also, I checked, and this entry is listed in his character page too.

Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#22340: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:01:02 PM

While this is correct in the most literal meaning of the title, I thought the idea was that a NHNB was an "other". Since there are no humans in that setting, should it be removed?

Everything I know about the show is secondhand, but is it not the case that ponies are are a sort of human-analogous species in-universe (sympathetic viewpoint characters, audience surrogates, social norms and institutions the audience can best recognise, a point of familiarity compared to the more exotic species who get treated as 'other' until the cast learns a lesson about fear of outsiders, etc)? That's the point of the trope, that being nonbinary is justified by being biologically different from Us. "Non-human" is just shorthand because Most Writers Are Human.

For other examples, Legend of Zelda introducing a nonbinary Hylian (or Gerudo) wouldn't be an example despite being literally non-human and non-binary, but a nonbinary Goron would. (Zora and Rito could go either way depending on context but based on Breath of the Wild I'd put them in the "just humans, but" category. Gorons are the ones with Bizarre Alien Biology.) A nonbinary Warrior Cat wouldn't count, but a nonbinary... owl or demon or something (I don't know I'm not in that fandom either) would. A nonbinary furry in a furry-centred setting wouldn't count, but would if furries were Human Aliens. Etc.

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
Afterword (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#22341: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:03:06 PM

[up][up][up][up] I haven't watched She-Hulk so I'm not sure how well the example applies, but I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be on a character page at all, given that it refers to a single event (the trial) and isn't a trait intrinsic to either character.

Edited because not enough arrows

Edited by Afterword on Sep 20th 2022 at 4:04:00 AM

NitroIndigo ♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves from West Midlands region, England Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves
#22342: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:16:58 PM

[up][up]Okay, to give more context, the non-binary character is an abada. They're from a country that's basically a Geodesic Cast version of Equestria, so while they're still an "other", they're not that different from ponies. Plus, Dust Devil's gender is never addressed in-story, only in a writer's tweet.

Edited by NitroIndigo on Sep 20th 2022 at 9:17:10 AM

Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
we must dissent (it/they)
#22343: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:22:30 PM

Ah, I assumed from the name that there was something more literally supernatural about them. I'm leaning towards not an example, then.

ERROR: The current state of the world is unacceptable. Save anyway? YES/NO
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#22344: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:46:15 PM

Regarding the She-Hulk example, it is not an "inverted insanity defense". Dennis is not found incompetent and placed under medical supervision, so he is not insane, ergo the insanity defense does not apply.

I also agree that it should not go on a Characters subpage in any event, since it is not a consistent trait of either character.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
isoycrazy Lord of the Blue Star Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Abstaining
Lord of the Blue Star
#22345: Sep 20th 2022 at 1:54:11 PM

Thanks. Will correct that matter.

Malady (X-Troper)
#22346: Sep 20th 2022 at 3:33:08 PM

VideoGame.Cross Code: Not a consumable item. Does a enemy count for Joke Character?

  • Joke Item: The "DON'T USE THIS" boss (a parody of Purposely Overpowered content that was Dummied Out in-universe) drops a sandwich (the most basic healing item in the game) and a single credit upon defeat.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
k5972 Jazz Lover 5972 Since: Jun, 2013 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#22347: Sep 20th 2022 at 7:48:36 PM

Regarding She's a Man in Japan:

In the official translation of Yumi's Cells, Writer Cell is male. In the sub of the TV adaptation, Writer Cell is female. I don't know Korean, so I don't know what the character's original gender is. Would She's a Man in Japan be applicable?

While we're at it, PlayingWith.Shes A Man In Japan says it can't be justified. Is "the character looks androgynous, and their gender is not important to the narrative" a possible justification?

laserviking42 from End-World Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
#22348: Sep 20th 2022 at 7:52:11 PM

[up][up]I don't think an item can be raised to level of a character unless it has sentience of some kind.


[up]It can't be justified because the trope arises out of translation issues, not out of any sort of plot related reasons. It is, by definition, impossible for a story to justify a translation issue that happens after the work is created.

Unless there is a certain gender swap from the original to the translation, the trope is not applicable.

I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose me
isoycrazy Lord of the Blue Star Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Abstaining
Lord of the Blue Star
#22349: Sep 20th 2022 at 8:09:33 PM

If a character says, "In the name of my house, House Azazel, I will beat you." And says this sparsely or maybe just once, does it qualify as In the Name of the Moon?

underCoverSailsman Peeks from Under Rocks from State of Flux Since: Jan, 2021 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Peeks from Under Rocks
#22350: Sep 20th 2022 at 8:13:00 PM

[up]No. In the Name of the Moon isn't about the structure of the phrase. It's about a signature challenge phrase that a character always uses, as the trope page says "to demonstrate the righteousness of their cause".


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