This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Awesome But Practical: From YKTTW
KJMackley: I removed the Firefly example not because I disagreed with it, but because the way it was worded sounded like pure Fan Wank. "Almost everyone are Badass Normals and it's awesome!" I'm not much familiar with the show, but to add a example it should have a moment of practicality besides "they're human" and then a moment of awesome, not just a normal person doing an awesome thing.
Nezumi: This trope seems to be suffering an identity crisis. The write-up is for "it's cool, but it's actually realistic and possible." The examples are split between that, and the opposite of Awesome, but Impractical "It's cool, but also actually useful." The latter is most common under the Video Game entries, but also shows up in the Avatar write-up. I'd just do clean-up, but given the number, I think there's a deeper issue here — in this case, I think a poor name that suggests it's the opposite of Aweome But Inpractical, when it's something else entirely.
KJMackley: The point of this trope is doing an Averted Trope in an awesome way. And like what an Averted Trope says, the aversion happens in the mind of the audience. The trope is when the audience is impressed not only by the skill they use but also how practical and efficient it is, at least in comparison to the typical Hollywood Science. When that skill is something implausible in Real Life but uses Magic A Is Magic A and goes on to be practical and efficient on its own terms, then it can fall under this trope. Same thing with future technology.
Enlong: I agree with Nezumi. I think this trope should probably be renamed, and leave the name Awesome But Impractical to the opposite of Awesome, but Impractical, because otherwise the name will keep confusing tropers. Plus, I'd like an official page to fill with things that are as useful as they look.
Peteman: I tried a YKTTW for Cool Yet Efficient for the flashy things that are still economical, but people seemed to think it was this.
Perhaps the realistic one could be Awesome Yet Realistic?
