A rarely stated, but fairly common, belief here is that some tropes are rigid, and that the only variation comes with Playing with a Trope. Or some here think that most tropes are rigid, unless "Sliding Scale" is in the name. But it's not really true at all (also the reason we have The Same but More). Even in the most narrowly defined Sub Tropes, there is plenty of room for variation, even when playing straight. And there can even be degrees of how the trope is applied, which is certainly the reason we don't allow The Same but More. Contrast Square Peg, Round Trope. .