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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

Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#22601: Oct 4th 2022 at 9:40:53 AM

At Danganronpa — Monokuma

Lacks mention of how are they intentional Expy or how are they corrupted. If it's ZCE or still misused, I can't remove it since I've once already removed it from the page.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Malady (X-Troper)
#22602: Oct 4th 2022 at 10:24:43 AM

Is this still a Fishing Minigame?

  • Sunset Overdrive: The "Mooil Rig" DLC has the Mooil Fishing Challenge, which "fishing" is actually just Scoring Points by "tossing explosive barrels" into the water so they explode and send up fish to collect.

Edited by Malady on Oct 4th 2022 at 10:24:55 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#22603: Oct 4th 2022 at 11:18:25 AM

[up]That’s a real life fishing practice so probably counts under Tropes Are Flexible.

[up][up]Yeah, that’s not enough context.

Edited by Synchronicity on Oct 4th 2022 at 1:20:05 PM

k5972 Jazz Lover 5972 Since: Jun, 2013 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#22604: Oct 4th 2022 at 2:19:26 PM

Is this Toon Town or Alternate Tooniverse?

  • Yumi's Cells: The Cells live in a village inside a human's mind, rendered in CGI. Cells do show up in the real world but are treated as visual metaphors in that context. Yumi has gone to her village in times of relationship troubles, but it's a dream from her perspective.

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.
#22605: Oct 4th 2022 at 2:20:43 PM

Question: what’s out policy for suggesting captions for upcoming works that don’t have pages yet but will? I ask because the Mario movie poster is out today and the trailer is out on Thursday.

Edited by BigBadShadow25 on Oct 4th 2022 at 5:20:52 AM

You’re Gonna Carry That Weight.
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#22606: Oct 4th 2022 at 2:53:27 PM

[up] Wrong thread? Also you logically can't have a caption without a page, so there's no point suggesting one.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
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.
#22607: Oct 4th 2022 at 3:37:38 PM
SoyValdo7 I mainly fix indentation issues from La tierra de lagos y volcanes Since: Sep, 2022 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
I mainly fix indentation issues
#22608: Oct 4th 2022 at 4:22:36 PM

Found this one in the YMMV of Quantum Break (Here)

  • Follow the Leader: The gameplay resembles Singularity.
    • Also, it was released not long after another game where the player had time powers, Life is Strange. To be fair, the game was in development before Life is Strange.

This count as a Trivia? If that's the case, should moved to the trivia page or left them in the YMMV page?

Valdo
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#22609: Oct 4th 2022 at 4:38:42 PM

[up] Bad indentation, ZCE first line, a game developed before the game it's supposedly following

laserviking42 from End-World Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
#22610: Oct 4th 2022 at 4:40:18 PM

  • Don't really think that example is valid, as Follow the Leader is for when media starts openly aping a clear success (like how everything needs to be a shared universe since the MCU made all the money in the world).
    • Also when you see a lone sub-bullet like this, it's almost always natter and cutworthy.

EDIT: and [nja]

Edited by laserviking42 on Oct 4th 2022 at 7:40:49 AM

I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose me
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22611: Oct 4th 2022 at 5:17:54 PM

~k5972 Re: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13543987200A54420100&page=905#comment-22604

I don't think either of those Tropes apply. You might want to take that to Trope Finder. Sorry if this isn't helpful.

Edited by RandomTroper123 on Oct 4th 2022 at 7:22:28 AM

Gofastmike Since: Mar, 2017
#22612: Oct 4th 2022 at 6:36:40 PM

The ones I've got aren't from any work in particular, they're just a few "what-ifs" that popped into my head.

  • Anti-Interference Lock Up: Downplayed. Bob and Charlie meet each other, with Bob being accompanied by Alice. Durning their conversation, Charlie notices that Alice not only has a cloth gag over her mouth, but is acting as if this was perfectly normal. When questioned about it, Bob points out that Alice is a bit of a Motor Mouth, and thus would be disruptive, which Alice silently affirms.
  • Kind Restraints: In one house you can visit, the sole occupants are a man and his young daughter. If you enter the house on the night of a full moon, both of them are curiously absent, and what appears to be a juvenile werewolf is sleeping in the girl's bed with one wrist chained to the bed-post, the implication being that they were both werewolves, but while the man went "exploring", he chained his daughter to her bed to keep her out of harm's way.
  • Mickey Mousing: If you can get a mech to fall down a steep hill of its own accord, as opposed to destroying it yourself and then shoving the wreck down said hill, the Funeral March can be heard among the various clangs and thuds as it tumbles to its doom.

FirstAidRules He/Him from House (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: Singularity
He/Him
#22613: Oct 4th 2022 at 7:55:16 PM

I was wondering if I could add this to Aaron's entry under [1]: Yank the Dog's Chain: The poor guy trained really really hard for his battle with Cynthia and was even reunited with his Beautifly after he abandoned it as a Wurmple...aaaaaaand then in the next episode, Cynthia's team tore through his like wet tissue paper with his beloved Beautifly being the last to fall just to rub it in. Although, the fact that 1. his Pokémon had trouble against Team Rocket initially and 2. Most of his team (with the exception of Drapion has low base stats and especially compared to Garchomp) this isn't a surprise.

Hi!
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22614: Oct 4th 2022 at 8:08:57 PM

[up][up]I don't feel the first one counts, though I feel the second does. The third one is either misuse or lacks details imo. (In case I need to say this, I'm aware these are more so "what-ifs" than things that actually happened in a work.)

EDIT: Adding an arrow since someone posted before I could.

Edited by RandomTroper123 on Oct 4th 2022 at 8:09:25 AM

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22615: Oct 4th 2022 at 8:18:47 PM

[up][up]I don't think it counts. I also don't think we're supposed to make words longer like that or use phrases like "The poor guy" unless it's for a YMMV entry. I'd also make the first letter in "Most" lower-case.

EDIT: Changing something because I changed my mind about the entry.

Edited by RandomTroper123 on Oct 4th 2022 at 8:20:03 AM

Cutegirl920fire Player 222 from the Squid Games (Five Long Years) Relationship Status: Paris holds the key to my heart
Player 222
#22616: Oct 4th 2022 at 9:49:23 PM

Does this example from Go to Sleep (A Jeff the Killer Rewrite) fit Nonconformist Dyed Hair?

  • Randy has a notorious reputation and his hair is dyed blood-red, which makes him easily noticeable.

CG for short
laserviking42 from End-World Since: Oct, 2015 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
#22617: Oct 4th 2022 at 9:50:46 PM

"Notorious reputation" is a context-less phrase that doesn't help illuminate the supposed non-conformism.

I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose me
BlackFaithStar [Hiatus til March] from 🇲🇾 (UTC plus 8) (Less Newbie) Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
[Hiatus til March]
#22618: Oct 4th 2022 at 10:09:35 PM

[up]Randy is a heavily dreaded bully, but otherwise I don't mind the example getting removed.

(Speaking as someone who's familiar with the work since I made the page lol)


Different trope, but it's related to my last post, can Musical Nod work for music-based Shout Outs or must the soundtracks be continuity nods? I'm leaning towards the latter, this should decide what trope I'd put these examples for Friday Night Trepidation:

  • "SDAMOS" stands for "Sweet Dreams Are Made of Screams", a remix of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" (or Marilyn Manson's version of the same song) which is associated with Jeff the Killer. "Lullaby" uses the same melody in a more lo-fi style.
  • The menu music (Version 1.5) borrows the melody of "Painted Smile" by Madame Macabre, her Jeff the Killer song.
  • Version 1.0 of the mod had "Grisly Reminder" by Midnight Syndicate as the menu music.

Edited by BlackFaithStar on Oct 6th 2022 at 3:01:17 AM

When you're alone I'm reaching out to let you know that you're far from strangers, like the savior
Malady (X-Troper)
#22619: Oct 4th 2022 at 10:19:11 PM

Can Freudian Excuse apply to AI, if they don't have a child stage?

  • Sunset Overdrive: When in the early stages of the fight against Fizzy, he blames his murderous impulses on being created by a murderous sociopath.

Edited by Malady on Oct 4th 2022 at 10:19:33 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#22620: Oct 4th 2022 at 10:42:01 PM

[up] That sounds more like a Like Father, Like Son kind of thing than Freudian Excuse. There isn't enough context for the former, though.

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22621: Oct 4th 2022 at 10:48:28 PM

[up][up]To my knowledge, no. I also agree with[up]that it isn't an example.

Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#22622: Oct 4th 2022 at 11:41:57 PM

YMMV.Treasure Island 1988:

Context: Blind Pew is secretly a pirate who disguises himself as a beggar. He comes to an inn where Billy Bones, his former co-pirate who currently holds the Treasure Map, resides and does a typical beggar performance right next to Billy's window (he knows he's there because his minions were spying on him). The song is about "Bobby" and how he's "forgot he's not the only greedy one", which Billy finds offensive and nearby Jim has no idea. Right afterwards Black Dog calls Billy out directly.

Is this really Big-Lipped Alligator Moment? While it wasn't in the original book, it's likely it's not irrelevant or came out from nowhere.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#22623: Oct 4th 2022 at 11:54:31 PM

[up]Considering the context, I don't feel it's a proper BLAM.

TroperNo9001 Dragon in Waiting from the Dollhouse (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: I turn to stone when you are gone
Dragon in Waiting
#22624: Oct 5th 2022 at 4:10:25 AM

Do items randomly spawned by resource buildings/generators instead of enemies count as Random Drops?

Still waiting for someone to break him free...
Gofastmike Since: Mar, 2017
#22625: Oct 5th 2022 at 6:06:14 AM

[up]RandomTroper123:

Could you explain how my example of Anti-Interference Lock Up doesn't fit? IMO, I think the main issue with both tropes is that they do lack sufficient detail, as at the time, I was simply focusing on the "basics" instead of trying to formulate a proper example.

  • For Anti-Interference Lock Up, my main goal was simply making it look like an example of the intended trope, which involved outlining it into three key elements: How Alice was restrained (cloth gag), why she was (keeping a Motor Mouth quiet), and that she was perfectly fine with it (note ). I also noted it to be a downplayed example due to the fact that unlike a straight example (restraining a character to keep them out of the fray outright), Alice's gag doesn't prevent her from doing anything, it just shuts her up.
  • For Mickey Mousing, I was trying to make an environment-based example when said environment was coming straight out of wholecloth as I was typing it. Here's an attempt at adding a bit more detail to it while still letting it be self-contained:
    • Mickey Mousing: When fighting a large, mechanical enemy, if you can trick them into falling down a steep hill before destroying them, as opposed to destroying them first and then shoving the wreck down said hill, you can actually make out the Funeral March amid the various clangs and thuds they make as they tumble down the hill to their inevitable doom.


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