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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
#23676: Nov 10th 2022 at 2:26:59 PM

[up][up]Humanity Ensues seems to specifically involve a non-human becoming human, so I don't feel that counts. Maybe you'll want to see Trope Finder for a replacement; I feel I've seen a trope similar to what you're describing, but I can't recall its name, sorry.

EDIT:[up]I feel that's "absurd" enough to count for Absurd Phobia.

Edited by RandomTroper123 on Nov 10th 2022 at 2:27:51 AM

Malady (X-Troper)
#23677: Nov 10th 2022 at 2:27:43 PM

repost from previous page. I wanna know if these are keepable, or cuttable, because if I can cut them, then I don't have to move the works.

YMMV.Emperor: At the end, the only non-work trope for the Fanfic:

  • Moment of Awesome: many things. Especially, when Oliver Wood (an officer in the Northern Sun's Army) Apparates to some point in the sky to check on enemy positions and then stops his descent using magic.


YMMV.Enslaved: Ditto:

  • It Was His Sled: "A triumphant war party returns with an exotic slave, a gift for the ruling house." The summary doesn't give any indication which one's the slave, and which one's the master, but the fic's popularity ensures that most readers know before they click the link.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#23678: Nov 10th 2022 at 2:56:53 PM

First one does describe a specific moment; second one seems to be incorrect due to the "spoiler" part actually being the premise.

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
#23679: Nov 10th 2022 at 3:13:51 PM

[up] I agree, not a Plot Twist/reveal/Twist Ending, so the example doesn't count

Valdo
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#23680: Nov 10th 2022 at 3:20:34 PM

~Random Troper 123 - I actually made a query for it this morning, and the one person who replied said it was "related to Humanity Ensues" — I wanted to ask here if it was covered by Humanity Ensues, rather than just being related.

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
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
#23681: Nov 10th 2022 at 3:32:16 PM

Humanity Ensues describe a physical transformation of the body. You literally turn human.

Valdo
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#23682: Nov 10th 2022 at 3:43:06 PM

[up][up]I see, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining that to me.

TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#23683: Nov 10th 2022 at 4:38:51 PM

I want to add this video to Chain of Deals... do you think it should start from :15?

Twiddler (On A Trope Odyssey)
TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#23685: Nov 10th 2022 at 6:46:49 PM

What example would best describe the scene in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius when Jimmy realizes his parents never went on vacation to Florida and they've been captured by the Yolkians? The Reveal perhaps? (The viewers already saw the parents get captured earlier...)

Edited by TrendingToon1 on Nov 10th 2022 at 9:47:47 AM

badtothebaritone (Life not ruined yet) Relationship Status: Snooping as usual
#23686: Nov 10th 2022 at 6:57:21 PM

Found this in KickTheDog.Western Animation:

  • In The Loud House, Luan does this every April Fool's Days, where she sets pranks across the household that are downright malicious and fatal.
Ignoring the fact that none of Luan's pranks ever actually kill anyone, I don't think the episodes are using these pranks to underscore her evilness or jerkassery, especially earlier on when her behavior was more extreme; they're just what she does on April Fools' Day.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#23687: Nov 10th 2022 at 6:59:40 PM

Yeah, Kick the Dog is a pointless and evil act done just to establish villainy.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
StarSword Captain of USS Bajor from somewhere in deep space Since: Sep, 2011
Captain of USS Bajor
#23688: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:02:14 PM

~Amonimus, ~Kage Tsuki 88, re: [1]: Unless the definition has changed a lot since it was on Trope Launch Pad, a Fandom-Specific Plot is simply any recurring plot that is specific to fanfic of a particular work, for example Star Trek fanfic where a joined Trill explores the identities of their symbiont's past hosts, following the example of Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

What you would need to show for either of those removals to be valid is evidence that the examples aren't repeatedly used in a particular work's fanficsphere, which is probably best done by PM'ing the tropers who added them to discuss it.

Edited by StarSword on Nov 10th 2022 at 10:04:47 AM

Trust me, I'm an engineer!
Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#23689: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:03:57 PM

~Trending Toon 1 Internal Reveal?

Sidenote, you want Trope Finder for this type of question; this thread is for "I have an existing example for [x], is it really that trope?"

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
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
#23690: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:08:12 PM

Removed The Bus Came Back misuse from the various Miraculous character subpages and sent True 20 (who added it) a slightly-mangled notifier for misuse. usable wiki formatting in notifiers when

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#23691: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:29:45 PM

[up][up]OK, thanks for the heads-up.

Edited by TrendingToon1 on Nov 10th 2022 at 10:30:03 AM

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
#23692: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:46:14 PM

From the Extra Credits Main page (I plan to move them to their correct pages, but for the moment I deleted them):

  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Gajah Mada is this. There's no doubt he was exceptionally talented in battle and intrigue, but was he totally loyal to Jayanagara or was he responsible for his death? While not outright stating the latter, the narrator does admit that it's in character for Mada.
  • Inferred Holocaust: The last episode of the Punic Wars episode mentions that Rome burned Carthage to the ground, but they don't show it on-screen and they don't go into details (such as that the Romans killed off much of the city and enslaved the survivors).
  • What Could Have Been: When describing the events leading to Archduke Ferdinand's assassination, Daniel explains that if the Archduke visited Serbia on a day that wasn't a rallying point for Serbian Nationalists then the visit would likely have gone down as a footnote in the story of a long and successful Austrio-Hungarian Emperor's rule. This claim even includes a drawing of a textbook from an alternate universe (in which Ferdinand wasn't assassinated), detailing what a great ruler he would have been.

For me, none of these examples are valid because they are real life events/people. Extra Credits did not create them, just narrate what happened to them in the past. How well he did his job is up to the viewer, but this is clearly a documentary, not Game of Thrones. I would like to point out the lack of real life examples in the YMMV Tropes pages.

Valdo
harryhenry It's either real or it's a dream Since: Jan, 2012
It's either real or it's a dream
#23693: Nov 10th 2022 at 7:50:19 PM

On Film.Avatar:

  • Cyberpunk: Pandora, despite the pre-stone-age level of the natives, have a world-spanning network. Every native plant is part of a natural internet, every animal has a natural brain implant, and every sapient native has a brain implant that overpowers the will of any native creature, allowing them to be controlled and allowing the Na'vi to tap into their moon's natural plant internet.

Anyone else think this is a huge stretch? I don't think having an interconnected world automatically makes it Cyberpunk, especially since it happens naturally without technology.

Tabs Since: Jan, 2001
#23694: Nov 10th 2022 at 8:03:45 PM

Cyberpunk is a Speculative Fiction genre centered around the transformative effects of advanced science, information technology, computers and networks ("cyber") coupled with a breakdown or radical change in the social order ("punk")
Nothing about natural networks.

ChloeJessica Since: Jun, 2020 Relationship Status: Awaiting my mail-order bride
#23695: Nov 10th 2022 at 8:05:26 PM

it doesn't seem like a good fit for any of the current Punk Punk subtropes, tbh.

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#23696: Nov 10th 2022 at 8:09:07 PM

Reposting because I would like more responses. EDIT: Though I tried to describe something more accurate to what happened, because the cartoon isn't too clear on it.

Maybe this isn't the right thread of this, however on Awesome.Oggy And The Cockroaches, there is a pothole that is misused. I put it in bold:

Would it be ok if I remove it because the main page states it's a Death Trope and nobody died? The show in question is a slapstick cartoon so characters can survive various things that are often lethal in other media (especially non-slapstick cartoons). Also, the part about germs eating the roaches isn't entirely accurate since the cartoon doesn't actually imply it.

Edited by RandomTroper123 on Nov 10th 2022 at 8:26:00 AM

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
#23697: Nov 10th 2022 at 8:13:37 PM

Sound good to me, I think you chance it. Also, I have not idea that pothole can be misuse too.

Edited by SoyValdo7 on Nov 10th 2022 at 10:20:44 AM

Valdo
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Bubblepig Rei from Tokyo (Apprentice) Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!
#23699: Nov 10th 2022 at 10:07:15 PM

The Good Place has a problem when describing a Downer Ending of an episode which I don't know if it's complaining or not. Not the mention that the whole example including the episode name is spoiler marked, making it seems like the whole series end like this.

  • Downer Ending: "Pandemonium", the Season 3 finale. In order to make sure he doesn't jeopardize the experiment around Simone, who had her memory wiped of the season's events, Chidi decides to have his memories erased as well, causing him to forget about his past relationships with Eleanor - and by extension, everything that happened throughout the series up to that point. Add that to Tahani being forced to cope with John Wheaton, who made her life miserable on Earth, Jason struggling with his feelings for Janet, and Michael trying to work through his involuntary new role in the experiment indirectly caused by Shawn, and you have one of the worst season endings to a comedy sitcom in a long time.

Edited by Bubblepig on Nov 10th 2022 at 10:07:23 AM

"Now it's starting to feel like a game!"
TrendingToon1 Since: Apr, 2015
#23700: Nov 10th 2022 at 10:15:45 PM

Is this a good example of Epic Fail?

  • Sesame Street: In Episode 642, Mr. Hooper has a table with one leg smaller than the others, and Big Bird volunteers to saw the other legs so they are even. Each time Big Bird saws, one leg of the table remains shorter than the others like before; by the time Mr. Hooper comes back out, the table is only three inches from the ground, with one leg still imbalanced.


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