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Ambiguous Name: Cat Smile

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To-do list:

  • Cat Smile was renamed to Playful Cat Smile because the trope is about a character making the :3 face to show playfulness or mischievousness. Remove Zero Context Examples, as well as examples that do not have anything to do with playfulness or mischievousness.
    • Clean up on-page examples.
    • Clean up wicks.

    Original post 

OP by Walk In Shadows

Cat Smile is about a character making the :3 face to show playfulness or mischievousness. However, a wick check showed that it is plagued by zero-context examples.

  • Zero-context or unclear: 35/50 = 70%
  • Misuse: 1/50 = 2%
  • Correct: 14/50 =28%

Solution: This might be able to be fixed with a rename to focus on the playfulness/mischievousness aspect.

Wick check:

Cat Smile is about someone smiling playfully or mischievously with a :3 smile. Examples should describe how this is used to show the character being playful/mischievous.

Appearance trope, may be prone to zero-context.


50/50 wicks checked

Results:

  • ZCE - 35/50 - 70%
  • Misuse - 1/50 - 2%
  • Correct - 14/50 - 28%

    open/close all folders 
    ZCEs and Unclear (35/50) 

    Misuse (1/50) 

    Correct usage / Valid Examples (14/50) 
  • Characters.Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Diamond Is Unbreakable: As a flower, Tama looks a tad disturbing due to its fleshy petals and large eyes seemingly connected to thin stalks, but when it plays with the golf balls Kira gives it or takes a nap in its flower pot it looks downright adorable. It's even better in the anime where it gets a small Cat Smile when it starts warming up to Kira. The first paragraph explains Tama being playful with Kira.
  • Characters.Create A Pokemon: Its masks give Kitsunoh the impression of a sneaky grin and/or a Cat Smile. The Cat Smile is preceeded by sneaky grin, making it a valid example
  • Characters.Goblin Slayer: In the manga, when Goblin Slayer asks if she knew all along about the Water Town goblin nest before hiring him, and admits to having no basis for suspecting any conspiracy and had decided to interrogate all the quest-givers on a whim, Sword Maiden gives a tiny, rueful smirk at having fallen for the bluff and confessing so readily. A rueful smirk does signify a playful response, so valid
  • Characters.Twin Dragons: Both of the twins have catlike mouths, but this best applies to Kaya when she feels mischievous or energetic.
  • Recap.She Ra And The Princesses Of Power S 3 E 04 Moment Of Truth: Befitting of a Cat Girl, Catra makes a couple mischievous smiles that resemble ">:3"s.
  • Recap.Scarlet Lady S 1 E 2 Origins Part 2: Scarlet Lady sports a smile when she declares to her disgruntled partner, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell our story," making it clear she plans to claim credit for all his hard work.
  • Series.Scorpion: Toby freely admits that he finds Happy attractive, but her feelings toward him are more ambiguous. She does Cat Smile to herself when he calls her Halloween costume something every girl does, but still hot. Definitely sounds like she's being playful
  • Supergirl.Tropes C To D: In Superman Vol 1 #338, Supergirl smiles wickedly when Brainiac hits himself with his shrinking ray and disappears.
  • Cute Creature, Creepy Mouth: Tokomon looks like a marshmallow with bunny ears and a Cat Smile. Said smile conceals extremely detailed, shiny red gums and multiple rows of teeth. — Technically correctly and the face in the image linked is a valid example
  • YMMV.Boyfriends: Nerd is this to the point of invoking it to sweet talk his boyfriends. He has Youthful Freckles, is the shortest of the group, and often has a Cat Smile expression. States that Nerd is being playful by sweet talking his boyfriends
  • Funny.RWBY Chibi:
    • Ruby runs out with a smug Cat Smile, just before Yang shrugs off her hypnosis. It specifies that Ruby has a smug look on her face, so it's valid
    • Second, we see the rest of RWBY and the whole of JNPR surprise Yang with a Beowolf-shaped cake. Problem is, she mistakes it for the real thing, causing two-thirds of the cake to explode in one punch. She continues to jab at the remainder, with the rest of the attendees becaked in cake... while Nora starts nomming on the cake again with a Cat Smile on her face. Nora is being playful here
  • Literature.Oni Ai: Ginbei towards a stray kitten at the beginning of episode 9. Aside from making cutesy "nyaa/meow" noises, she even sports a Cat Smile from time to time while spending time with the kitty. Ginbei is being playful towards a stray kitten. So it's valid
  • Characters.Touhou Kanjuden Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom: Has a near permanent one plastered on her face. It often serves to give her a somewhat smug look. Explains that it gives her a smug look making it a valid entry of the smug variety of this trope
  • Characters.Kirby Right Back At Ya: While not always noticeable, Customer Service will sometimes sprout this smile, perhaps as an indication of his smug nature. Valid example as it explains that it gives him a smug look

Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 11th 2024 at 4:01:39 AM

AudioSpeaks2 He/Him (Greenhorn) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
He/Him
#1: Jan 4th 2024 at 1:27:32 AM

To-do list:

  • Cat Smile was renamed to Playful Cat Smile because the trope is about a character making the :3 face to show playfulness or mischievousness. Remove Zero Context Examples, as well as examples that do not have anything to do with playfulness or mischievousness.
    • Clean up on-page examples.
    • Clean up wicks.

    Original post 

OP by Walk In Shadows

Cat Smile is about a character making the :3 face to show playfulness or mischievousness. However, a wick check showed that it is plagued by zero-context examples.

  • Zero-context or unclear: 35/50 = 70%
  • Misuse: 1/50 = 2%
  • Correct: 14/50 =28%

Solution: This might be able to be fixed with a rename to focus on the playfulness/mischievousness aspect.

Wick check:

Cat Smile is about someone smiling playfully or mischievously with a :3 smile. Examples should describe how this is used to show the character being playful/mischievous.

Appearance trope, may be prone to zero-context.


50/50 wicks checked

Results:

  • ZCE - 35/50 - 70%
  • Misuse - 1/50 - 2%
  • Correct - 14/50 - 28%

    open/close all folders 
    ZCEs and Unclear (35/50) 

    Misuse (1/50) 

    Correct usage / Valid Examples (14/50) 
  • Characters.Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure Diamond Is Unbreakable: As a flower, Tama looks a tad disturbing due to its fleshy petals and large eyes seemingly connected to thin stalks, but when it plays with the golf balls Kira gives it or takes a nap in its flower pot it looks downright adorable. It's even better in the anime where it gets a small Cat Smile when it starts warming up to Kira. The first paragraph explains Tama being playful with Kira.
  • Characters.Create A Pokemon: Its masks give Kitsunoh the impression of a sneaky grin and/or a Cat Smile. The Cat Smile is preceeded by sneaky grin, making it a valid example
  • Characters.Goblin Slayer: In the manga, when Goblin Slayer asks if she knew all along about the Water Town goblin nest before hiring him, and admits to having no basis for suspecting any conspiracy and had decided to interrogate all the quest-givers on a whim, Sword Maiden gives a tiny, rueful smirk at having fallen for the bluff and confessing so readily. A rueful smirk does signify a playful response, so valid
  • Characters.Twin Dragons: Both of the twins have catlike mouths, but this best applies to Kaya when she feels mischievous or energetic.
  • Recap.She Ra And The Princesses Of Power S 3 E 04 Moment Of Truth: Befitting of a Cat Girl, Catra makes a couple mischievous smiles that resemble ">:3"s.
  • Recap.Scarlet Lady S 1 E 2 Origins Part 2: Scarlet Lady sports a smile when she declares to her disgruntled partner, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell our story," making it clear she plans to claim credit for all his hard work.
  • Series.Scorpion: Toby freely admits that he finds Happy attractive, but her feelings toward him are more ambiguous. She does Cat Smile to herself when he calls her Halloween costume something every girl does, but still hot. Definitely sounds like she's being playful
  • Supergirl.Tropes C To D: In Superman Vol 1 #338, Supergirl smiles wickedly when Brainiac hits himself with his shrinking ray and disappears.
  • Cute Creature, Creepy Mouth: Tokomon looks like a marshmallow with bunny ears and a Cat Smile. Said smile conceals extremely detailed, shiny red gums and multiple rows of teeth. — Technically correctly and the face in the image linked is a valid example
  • YMMV.Boyfriends: Nerd is this to the point of invoking it to sweet talk his boyfriends. He has Youthful Freckles, is the shortest of the group, and often has a Cat Smile expression. States that Nerd is being playful by sweet talking his boyfriends
  • Funny.RWBY Chibi:
    • Ruby runs out with a smug Cat Smile, just before Yang shrugs off her hypnosis. It specifies that Ruby has a smug look on her face, so it's valid
    • Second, we see the rest of RWBY and the whole of JNPR surprise Yang with a Beowolf-shaped cake. Problem is, she mistakes it for the real thing, causing two-thirds of the cake to explode in one punch. She continues to jab at the remainder, with the rest of the attendees becaked in cake... while Nora starts nomming on the cake again with a Cat Smile on her face. Nora is being playful here
  • Literature.Oni Ai: Ginbei towards a stray kitten at the beginning of episode 9. Aside from making cutesy "nyaa/meow" noises, she even sports a Cat Smile from time to time while spending time with the kitty. Ginbei is being playful towards a stray kitten. So it's valid
  • Characters.Touhou Kanjuden Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom: Has a near permanent one plastered on her face. It often serves to give her a somewhat smug look. Explains that it gives her a smug look making it a valid entry of the smug variety of this trope
  • Characters.Kirby Right Back At Ya: While not always noticeable, Customer Service will sometimes sprout this smile, perhaps as an indication of his smug nature. Valid example as it explains that it gives him a smug look

Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 11th 2024 at 4:01:39 AM

Art Museum Curator and frequent helper of the Web Original deprecation project
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the Retromancer
#2: Jan 4th 2024 at 2:21:15 AM

Just rename to Mischievous Cat Smile. Examples that don't fit could possibly go to cat Animal Motifs.

An argument can be made it could still attract "wears one" examples, but we can't cut appearance tropes for being appearance tropes if they're still valid.

e: I've copypasted "Mischievousness" without intending that wording

Edited by Amonimus on Jan 4th 2024 at 1:24:45 PM

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
GastonRabbit Sounds good on paper (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#3: Jan 4th 2024 at 2:21:36 AM

[up]

Mischievous Cat Smile might work as well, or maybe Playful Cat Smile. I can't currently think of any name that gets both possible traits across, but I agree with renaming either way due to the current name making it sound broader than it actually is, due to it giving the impression that it's about the facial expression regardless of why the character is making that face.

Edit: Ninja'd by an edit to the above post.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 4th 2024 at 4:25:24 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
StalkerGamer Hi! :3 Since: Dec, 2021 Relationship Status: Love is an open door
Hi! :3
#4: Jan 4th 2024 at 2:46:26 AM

[tup] for Mischievous Cat Smile rename

Edited by StalkerGamer on Jan 4th 2024 at 7:46:42 AM

AudioSpeaks2 He/Him (Greenhorn) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
Ayumi-chan low-poly Shinri from Calvard (Apprentice) Relationship Status: Serial head-patter
low-poly Shinri
#6: Jan 4th 2024 at 2:53:24 AM

[up][tup]

She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
AlicornGaia Adora, the High Priestess from Local sun temple Since: Sep, 2019 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#8: Jan 4th 2024 at 5:33:48 AM

Another vote for Mischievous Cat Smile. Use Playful Cat Smile as a redirect just to be safe.

I wish we could preserve alphabetization somehow, but Cat's Michievous Smile feels too different.

CompletelyNormalGuy Am I a weirdo? from that rainy city where they throw fish (Oldest One in the Book)
Am I a weirdo?
#9: Jan 4th 2024 at 12:26:29 PM

I agree with the rename. There's clearly a trope, but people aren't getting it.

Bigotry will NEVER be welcome on TV Tropes.
WarJay77 Bonnie's Artistic Cousin from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Bonnie's Artistic Cousin
#10: Jan 4th 2024 at 12:27:08 PM

I'm fine with either Mischievous or Playful.

Current Project: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#11: Jan 4th 2024 at 1:41:52 PM

[tup]to renaming it to Mischievous Cat Smile because I feel the concept is tropeworthy.

Unicorndance Logic Girl from Thames, N.Z. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Logic Girl
#12: Jan 4th 2024 at 2:14:46 PM

[tup] to Mischievous Cat Smile. Cat's Mischievous Smile sounds too much like an actual cat smirking.

For every low there is a high.
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
Riolugirl Rookie Trope Repairer from whence you came, you shall remain... (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
#14: Jan 5th 2024 at 2:18:24 AM

Mischievous Cat Smile [tup], since that's the personality trait that comes to mind for me.

"As long as I have my comrades with me, I can do anything!" (She/Her)
MorganWick (Elder Troper)
#15: Jan 5th 2024 at 2:31:32 AM

Original YKTTW (retrieved from discussion that got lost in the transition to the Archived Discussion system).

Since I don't know if this is possible in real life (when I looked for myself there was a single Live-Action Film example, a single live-action Web Video example, and no Live-Action TV examples on the page) I'm not sure the reasons for it to happen were ever actually meant to be definitive of the trope, with it dating back to the Wild West days of the wiki and all. At the least, I could see someone unfamiliar with our tropeworthiness standards thinking that Playful Cat Smile (or Mischievious Cat Smile; the former is what I came up with myself when I wrote this) seems too specific, or even that the adjective is just meant to add flavor to the trope name and it "really" encompasses all cat smiles.

BlackMage43 Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
#16: Jan 5th 2024 at 8:16:51 AM

[tup] for Rename

[up] The fact the description also includes UwU and OwO makes it clear the intent was to cover all kinds of cat smiles. I'm unsure if those should remain in the description, since they have different meanings.

As a minor note, coy is pretense of shyness and modesty in a playful and flirtatious manner, so I don't think the single "Misuse" in the wick check is actually a misuse.

Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
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
#18: Jan 5th 2024 at 2:16:41 PM

It can also include examples of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

Edited by Nen_desharu on Jan 5th 2024 at 5:17:02 AM

Kirby is awesome.
Eggy0 Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her) (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Wizards Don't Own Cats (she/her)
DoktorvonEurotrash Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk Since: Jan, 2001
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
#20: Jan 6th 2024 at 6:22:29 AM

[tup]Mischievous Cat Smile is perfect.

It does not matter who I am. What matters is, who will you become? - motto of Omsk Bird
callmeamuffin ❀ Mint, Nuts, and Waffle ❀ from the kitchen (Trinitroper) Relationship Status: Thinkin' about you, muffin
❀ Mint, Nuts, and Waffle ❀
PCD Since: May, 2021 Relationship Status: Mu
#22: Jan 8th 2024 at 12:02:57 AM

Agree with rename on the cat smile tropes. Original title made me think it meant the Cheshire Cat smile that stayed after the rest of him vanished.

Twiddler (On A Trope Odyssey)
#23: Jan 8th 2024 at 12:21:26 AM

The trope also covers cute, non-mischievous smiles, e.g. [1]

AudioSpeaks2 He/Him (Greenhorn) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
He/Him
#24: Jan 8th 2024 at 12:24:02 AM

[up] Which is fine, because that still signifies the "playful" aspect of the trope

Part of the reason some are also vouching for Playful Cat Smile

Art Museum Curator and frequent helper of the Web Original deprecation project
Amonimus the Retromancer from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the Retromancer
#25: Jan 8th 2024 at 12:54:46 AM

Playful is broader than Mischievous, and not all characters with :3 intend trouble, so it's worth considering.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup

Trope Repair Shop: Cat Smile
8th Jan '24 1:30:51 AM

Crown Description:

Consensus was to rename Cat Smile due to misuse. Cat Smile is about a character making the :3 face to show playfulness or mischievousness. However, a wick check showed that it is plagued by zero-context examples. What should the trope be renamed to?

Total posts: 38
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