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Wick Check Project

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So this is a place for people who are interested in helping out, or getting help with, wick checks. Maybe you just want people to double-check your work before you submit it to the TRS, or maybe you have a big project in mind and can't tackle it on your own. Either way, you've come to the right place!

Remember to check out How to Do a Wick Check for a run down. For the list of current and completed projects, see Wick Check Project.

Edited by Berrenta on Oct 2nd 2025 at 9:41:48 AM

VampireBuddha Calendar enthusiast from Ireland (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
Calendar enthusiast
#2301: Jun 24th 2022 at 12:34:02 PM

Hey, I'm pretty sure Boobs Of Steel is being misused. I started a wick check at Sandbox.Boobs Of Steel; unfortunately, I was only familiar enough with 36 of the wicks to determine if they are correct or not, while based on total wicks, at least 51 will need to be checked before it can be brought to TRS (if necessary). I would be very grateful if anyone else wanted to check a few more examples to bring it up to target.

Ukrainian Red Cross
Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#2302: Jun 24th 2022 at 12:42:15 PM

[up] Wick checks are supposed to be a random sample. Unfamiliarity with wicks is actually a good thing when sorting, as you would solely be relying on context within the example to explain the trope (which is what examples should do).

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#2303: Jun 24th 2022 at 1:08:28 PM

If you're unfamiliar with the work and can't tell if the trope applies from the example, it goes into the ZCE pile.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
magnumtropus Since: Aug, 2020
#2304: Jun 24th 2022 at 7:13:45 PM

Could someone provide feedback on my Main Page Entry Analysis on the Flagship Franchise Wick Check page?

GoldenCityBird from the UK Since: Oct, 2018
#2305: Jun 28th 2022 at 10:29:23 AM

I think I've finished off the Evil Genius Wick Check. The examples might need a bit more minor sorting, but I doubt that can save it.

TRS Wick Cleaning
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2306: Jun 29th 2022 at 4:36:12 PM

Started Everythings Better With Dinosaurs Wick Check. Will work on it later, but I'm dumping it here in case anyone's interested. The issue, like with other "Everything's Better With" tropes, is "dinosaurs exist" usage, along with possibly other misuse. 50 wicks need checking.

Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Jun 29th 2022 at 7:36:40 AM

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#2307: Jun 29th 2022 at 5:12:22 PM

Considering doing a check for Super OCD due to an unclear name. I sometimes see it applied to cases where a character actually has OCD, even if it's not a stereotypical portrayal.

Also, it's a bit confusing whether it's about a Hollywood Psych take on OCD specifically or if it's about any character obsessed with order — the definition suggests the former, the usage suggests the latter.

EDIT: Making the check here.

EDIT 2: Knocked this out in an order. A vast majority of examples describe an obsession with order without making it an OCD stereotype specifically. There's also slightly more examples that are about realistic OCD or just OCD in general than stereotypical OCD. This might be worth a rename.

Edited by mightymewtron on Jun 29th 2022 at 9:01:09 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
good-morning Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles from Brazil Since: Nov, 2021
Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles
#2308: Jun 29th 2022 at 7:48:23 PM

[up][up][up][up]It's really well-done!

oh hey how are you doing?
Azorius24 Knight of Solace from the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond (Five Long Years) Relationship Status: love is a deadly lazer
Knight of Solace
#2309: Jul 1st 2022 at 4:39:05 AM

Going to run a check for Bourgeois Bumpkin in preparation for a "Not Thriving" TRS.

It's only got 46 wicks, and can't really seem to decide what the trope is in any case.

"The only thing which is certain, is that something will happen".
Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
(she/her)
#2311: Jul 1st 2022 at 9:04:40 PM

Oh no, I appreciated the help. I just wanted to do the other half of the wick check since you over half of the work already. I plan to finish everything today.

Edited by MacronNotes on Jul 1st 2022 at 12:05:00 PM

Macron's notes
Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
#2312: Jul 1st 2022 at 9:09:15 PM

Oh yeahhh, you did say that!

Well, I'm excited to see the results!

Vehicle-Based Characterization | Grief-Induced Split | Locker Mail
VerySunshine Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#2313: Jul 1st 2022 at 10:16:16 PM

I've just done a wick check for All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs. Most examples are subversions, aversions, and inversions. Different people have different ideas of what a subversion, aversion, or inversion of the trope is. Off the trope page, people tend to use the trope as a longwinded way to mean "female domination".

The person who put this in Tropes Needing TRS also noted that many examples only feature one example of characters engaging in BDSM "without meaning behind that representation". The trope suggests female domination is something audiences might be more comfortable with, as it avoids the idea of overly-agressive men. (This page was created before 2012 — times have changed.) I chose to ignore that part of the definition in the wick check, as it's not mentioned in any of the examples.

I hope I did everything correctly. If I didn't, I appreciate suggestions to improve this.

    open/close all folders 
     Played Straight: In a BDSM setting, all female characters are dominant and all male characters are submissive (7/54, 12.96%) 
Characters/Elementary under Sherlock Holmes:
  • In the first episode we first see him after a dominatrix has left his house, though he seems to have more of an academic interest in bondage than a sexual one.
  • And in the beginning of "The Deductionist", he is being entertained by two dominatrixes, who handcuff him to a chair. Unfortunately they are there for other reasons...
  • He's apparently friendly with a dominatrix, who called him first when she discovers a client's body.
91 Days under Lacrima: Orphan Black: Dyad Associates under Ferdinand Chevalier: Orphan Black: Project Leda under Rachel: What her sexual relationship with Ferdinand was.
  • Bitter Moon: Oscar and Mimi heavily explore BDSM, with her as the dominatrix.
  • Tropes A to D, under Casual Kink: In "The Mile High Job," Nate and Sophie, posing as a married couple, steal another passenger's luggage as their own to board a plane. The TSA officer finds handcuffs and a whip in the carry-on: Sophie says the whip is for her and the handcuffs are for Nate.
  • Chainsaw Man: Denji is the only male whose sex life is explored, and is very submissive to the various women he gets involved with. The only other romantic relationship shown is more reciprocal, and it's between five women. Makima's mind-controlled minions are also reminiscent of subs following their (female) dom's orders, though three of them are women.
  • Series/Conan: During one out-of-studio segment, Conan visits a professional dominatrix and acts out the part of the sub. The entire thing is Played for Laughs, partly because Conan is not just a man, but also quite tall and (while not muscular) very fit for his age, implying that he could have easily overpowered her if he wanted to.
  • Peepoodo & the Super Fuck Friends: Beatrix Dominatrix (The Big Bad She-Wolf) is a dom who leads an army of submissive males.

     Inverted: In a BDSM setting, all female characters are submissive and all male characters are dominant (5/54, 9.25%) 
  • Averted in Clone High when Joan's foster dad Toots is seen whipping Cleo's drunk foster mom as she is tied to a bedpost. Probably more easily-acceptable in this case as Toots is a blind man who would have real trouble doing anything to Cleo's foster mom without her enthusiastic consent.
  • Averted in The Venture Bros., where Princess Tinyfeet is shown to be an enormous masochist. The Monarch is able to get into the Venture compound by bringing her as a bargaining chip to Sgt. Hatred. When Hatred sees her tied up and gagged, he believes she's being held hostage until the two villains reveal that she requested to be brought in that fashion.
    Monarch: She insisted that we drive her here in the trunk! She is a FREAK!
The Kindness Of Devils Main Characters under Erin Hasegawa: Trapped In A Dating Sim The World Of Otome Games Is Tough For Mobs Marie Route under Dorothea Fia Roseblade:
  • All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs: Inverted. The reason Dorothea is attracted to Nicks, is because he is a rare male in the setting willing to stand up to a noblewoman. She wants him to tie her up, and insists on wearing a collar herself at their wedding.
  • Red Lightning: Averted entirely. All Men are doms, and all women are subs it seems. The two BDSM-Themed villains, Torture Man and Leather Girl are Dom-themed and Sub-themed respectively.

     Averted: In a BDSM setting, there are both male and females in either role (11/54, 20.37%) 
  • South Park:
    • An early version of the episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" featured audio of a man saying "Yeah, spank me." Zero Context Example
    • Inverted with Mrs. Cartman and her German fetish videos.
    • Note: I’m including South Park in this section rather than ZCE because of the character Mr. Slave, who plays off of this trope even if it’s not listed here.
Umineko: When They Cry - Meta under Erika Furudo:
  • All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs: Zigzagged with Erika. In Dawn, she acts in a dom-ish fashion with Battler (though with him unable to consent, due to being trapped in a Logic Error). However, in the omake in the manga of Dawn, she's actually a sub to Bern’s dom.
  • Wandering Pilot: Usually inverted, as Shinji's lovers are content to let him pamper them during sex. Played straight with Claudette, who takes complete control in bed, much to Shinji's surprise.
  • Your servant, Mistress: Played straight with Maleficent and Diaval though averted with other people they meet; Diaval mentions that he feared he would not find a female dom at all.
  • Exit to Eden: Subverted. There are men and women in both roles.
  • The Crow: Wicked Prayer: Johnny is largely subservient to Kyra, who he even calls "Mistress." He secretly resents this, though, and longs to be equal or superior to her, and when he falsely believes that he has gained Crow power, he tries (and fails) to rape Kyra, to show her that they are now on even footing and that she is no longer his glorified Dominatrix.
  • He Is My Master: Yoshitaka never succeeds in fulfilling his sick demented fantasies despite his power over the girls (and Mitsuki's apparent eagerness). In fact, he's tied up and whipped by Izumi and Alicia, a French girl he tries to seduce, at one point.
  • Tropes A to C: Doug's admitted that submissive men and dominant women are Author Appeal to him, but he's played with it a few times. Examples:
    • While Critic is still probably the subbiest guy on the site who has it bad for any psychotic woman who'll top him, as most people want him to stay, he and Tamara switch between dominant and submissive, she being hired to hurt him for the views and him trying his best to break her through infantalizing outfits. This is after him completely overriding Rachel in a straightly inverted version of the trope, though she was still naturally dommy with Malcolm.
    • They also referenced and inverted the most infamous subverted example at a con, comparing Hyper Fangirl to Christian Grey and Critic to Ana Steele.
    • At the end of Mad Max: Fury Road, Devil Boner is actually interested in Hyper back (unlike Critic, who is relieved that she moved on to Tom Hardy) and is more than happy to let her take charge. In Cinderella Old vs New, he's the Henpecked Husband but in a healthy, loving, both-are-Ax-Crazy-violent way. And if their cameo in "Freddy vs Jason" is any indication, she also tops.
9* Saints Row: The Third: Subverted. While female domination has more focus (Safeword, for example...) Kenzie mentions having "teacup" as her personal safeword and owns a gimp mask back at her crib, impling that she may be a sub. In addition, female gimps appear alongside the male gimps walking the streets and the player even has the option of making their entire gang out of gimps of either gender. (Or both genders.)
  • Depending how one decides to play a female boss, this can be a dominant (sorry...) theme throughout the game. There's even a costume for it.

     Misuse: Dominant women and submissive men, or the inverse, but no BDSM or sex mentioned (4/54, 7.41%) 
Tales of Xillia under Gaius:

     Zero or Incomplete Context (14/54, 25.92%) 
Das Sporking under Ket Makura: Characters/Heathers under Veronica Sawyer High School DxD: Angels And Fallen Angels under Baraqiel: Kushiel's Legacy - Court of Night Blooming Flowers under Mandrake: Soul Sacrifice under Tortoise and the Hare: THE iDOLM@STER: Million Live! under Tomoka Tenkubashi:
  • All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs: Calls her male fans piglets.
    • The elite male fans get the special distinction of being "The Sky Knight's Brigade". Either the Sky Knight’s Brigade is demeaning or piglets isn’t. I suspect something’s not coming across in translation.
Healthy Dose Of Deceit under Mono-Neko: The same page, under Mono-Inu:
  • All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs: "Gender-flipped" with Mono-Neko. Mono-Inu doesn't have a formal gender but is typically referred to as a "him."
  • High Anxiety: Diesel and Montague.
  • High School D×D: YMMV on this one but one of the latest short stories involve Akeno having a S&M with her father after finding out that he and his wife engaged in that sort of thing every single night. Oh and Azazel joins them, being also a masochist. In short, All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs. Missing Akeno’s role.
  • Kokoro Connect: It is implied in the novels that Inaba enjoys Taichi's submissiveness a little too much...
  • Fifty Shades of Grey: Averted, for once.
  • Princess Lucidity To The Rescue: Lucidity and Estrella to Arty, although in Estrella's case it seems to be a ruse...
  • Venus in Furs: no text. Commented out ZCE
    • on the trope page: A possible explanation for the stereotype is that in Venus in Furs, considered the official Trope Codifier if not Trope Maker of BDSM and the novel that caused the practice of "masochism" to be named after its author, the man is the sub (and hence calling all the shots) and the woman is the dom (and hence doing everything she's told). Note: This is accurate, but confusingly phrased and full of cruft. She's dominating him because he asked her to.
  • I Don’t Like You at All, Big Brother!!: Shuusuke and his father. Commented out ZCE
  • Real Account: During the Re-ACA Live Broadcast.

     Pothole for Fem Dom (4/54, 7.41%) 
Surname A to H: Humon has often mentioned her fondness for sharp-dressed men, fem!dom and larger men. She's gone out of her way when drawing fanservice-y art to portray characters of all sizes and shapes, on the basis that not all attractive people are Bishōnen and women with impossible hourglass figures. In a non-sexual way, she also prominently features multicultural mythology in all of her work, especially Scandinavian legends and creatures.

     Use Not Otherwise Specified (4/54, 7.41%) 
Tasakeru Sentient Species under Skunks:

     Fits Multiple Categories (3/54, 5.55%) 
Aoharu × Machinegun under Tohru Yukimura:
  • Sadist: Played for Laughs, as he writes/draws femdom ero-manga for a living, describing himself as an "S" and treating his fans as an "M" (and labeling Masamune an "M" as well). Contrast with Midori, who plays this trope totally straight. The ero-manga is a pothole for femdom, but the entry implies BDSM shows up in other contexts.
Citadel Of The Heart Digimon Re Adventure under Ishida Yamato:
  • Sadist: Played with. He's the original example of a Sadist played straight in the bedroom with Sora, due to their BDSM relationship being an aversion of the stereotypical All Women Are Doms All Men Are Subs seen in fiction. In terms of genuine hostility towards anyone, however, he's relatively harmless so long as you're not acting out of any form of malice or flat out trying to harm innocents. In that case he'll gladly escalate things into a brutal fight with Gabumon more than willing to defeat any normal challenger; the only issue he had for a while was his fellow band mate Chris. Partially direct trope mention, partially missing BDSM context.
  • Interspecies Reviewers:
    • Played with as Crim notes that while he did enjoy his time with a birdmaid, he found it hard to deal with their submissive nature because he himself isn't all that dominant.
    • Averted with the minotaur women featured at the end of chapter 5/episode 2, which are known to be really submissive.
    • The halfling succu-girl Piltia from the gender-bender establishment has a small streak of domineering sadism, which comes out when Kanchal picks her for his session, as she delights in bending him over and manhandles him sufficiently roughly that it is mentioned in his review. He kind of liked it, in any case.
    • The salamander lady is quick to spot that Crim is interested in her and takes the lead completely as she scoops him up and carries him off, princess-carry style. Crim appreciated her assertiveness by rating her a high "9".

A few questions: 1) If there are sub-bullets that fit into multiple categories, would it be better to split them or keep them together? 2) I'm not sure all of these characters count as "adults" according to our P5 guidelines. Should I remove the entries with ones that might not be?

Edited by VerySunshine on Jul 1st 2022 at 11:34:02 AM

Azorius24 Knight of Solace from the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond (Five Long Years) Relationship Status: love is a deadly lazer
Knight of Solace
#2314: Jul 2nd 2022 at 2:46:20 AM

Bourgeois Bumpkin wick check done, it's got just about every issue a trope can have by the looks of things.

  • It's only got 46 wicks (50 examples overall), despite dating back to 2013, and even then 20 of these (43%) are potholes, ZCE, clear misuse, or indexes. As a result there are only 13 examples on the main trope page.
  • There are only 15 examples (30%) that match the primary definition as a character who complains about being disadvantaged while being privileged. Some tropes appear to think the trope relates to blue-collar US conservatives, or to characters who identify with the working class while being out-of-touch rich people.
  • The name is rather non-indicative of this primary definition, and in some senses it appears to be a duplicate of Angry White Man.

Will add to TRS queue.

Edited by Azorius24 on Jul 2nd 2022 at 11:33:18 AM

"The only thing which is certain, is that something will happen".
Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
#2315: Jul 3rd 2022 at 11:02:41 AM

Is my brain just not functioning right now or is Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb word salad?

Because if it is, I can wick check and slap it in the queue.

Vehicle-Based Characterization | Grief-Induced Split | Locker Mail
ChloeJessica Since: Jun, 2020 Relationship Status: Awaiting my mail-order bride
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2317: Jul 3rd 2022 at 11:55:50 AM

[up][up] Although if you think the name is still unclear then go ahead and do a wick check. Trope Namer Syndrome is definitely a thing that can lead to misuse/unclear use.

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2318: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:03:30 PM

Anyway I've started working on the Everythings Better With Dinosaurs Wick Check. I've checked 5 examples so far and none are correct. Although that could be subject to change, so I'll keep working on it as I get chances.

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
#2319: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:14:53 PM

Oh, I only knew the "All Your Base" line itself and nothing else! My bad. Unsure if I should suggest a rename then, in that case.

Vehicle-Based Characterization | Grief-Induced Split | Locker Mail
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#2320: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:17:46 PM

Sandbox.WTHH Wick Check is done. Out of the 138 examples, 64 were correct, which is impressive until you realize that the combined misuse amount totaled 74, so 10 more examples total.

No clue of any solutions though so I'll just throw it in "completed".

I'm wondering if we should go through and clean out the "needing review" folder.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2321: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:19:38 PM

[up] I've been slowly trying to clean out the completed folder by drafting OPs for them and TRSing them.

I think we could do the same for "needing review" if we wanted, once we review them of course.

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#2322: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:25:59 PM

I mean that we should go ahead and review them and move things out of that folder. It's meant to be temporary, not a permanent placement.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
#2323: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:32:03 PM

I'd lean toward just cleanup for WTHH tbh. Or something like "WTH Protagonist"?

Vehicle-Based Characterization | Grief-Induced Split | Locker Mail
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#2324: Jul 3rd 2022 at 12:33:38 PM

A cleanup thread would be a pretty solid option since most of the misuse involves ambiguous examples.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
themayorofsimpleton Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him from the Island of Koridai (Captain) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
Short-Term Projects Herald | he/him
#2325: Jul 3rd 2022 at 1:04:44 PM

[tup] to a cleanup. Since it's a bigger trope, a thread for that may also get more traction than something like the Cliché Storm thread got.

Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Jul 3rd 2022 at 4:04:56 AM

Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall

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