Duplicate tropes discussion thread

How are Friendly Scheming and We Could Have Told You But any different?

I fail to see how they are similar. One is a prank where the threat was fake, the other is hiding The Plan from an ally so they'd act in specific way.

I'd argue that the difference between Converted into a Weapon and Equippable Ally is more that the former is a permanent state of affairs, while the latter has a life outside of being used to hit people.

() Courtesy link to the actual trope, We Would Have Told You, But...

Saying Too Much and Loose Lips?

Loose Lips is a subtrope that seems to be specifically about revealing secrets to the enemy, while Saying Too Much is generally saying something you shouldn't.

A bit confused between Throw It In! and Left It In.

This line from the Left It In page seems like a good explanation:

Contrast Throw It In!, when a Real Life unscripted performance is included in a production, whereas Left It In is an In-Universe example of someone requesting or mentioning that the very scene they're in should be cut (and then it's not).

The problem is the rest of the description completely muddies that, particularly this bit:

This could just be a job for TDID, but the examples are weirdly split between out-of and in-universe examples, so there might be a bigger problem (I'd also just prefer a soft-split on Throw It In! between OOU/IU, assuming that this trope is too similar).

^ I see a strong enough distinction here to warrant different pages for IU (lampshaded in-production) and OOU (uncommented/post-production decision) cases.

I think the distinction is that Left It In is when instructions to the post-production team are left in a work, sort of adjacent to Reading Stage Directions Out Loud, while Throw It In! is for any unscripted performance left in a work, which might not even be apparent to the viewer unless it's acknowledged in commentary or otherwise by Word of God.

I think that's a good distinction to make. That'd explain why Throw It In! is Trivia (and it happens during the "acting" stage of production) and Left It In is not.

Same Story, Different Names and Recycled Script?

Which of the two fits the uncannily similar plots for Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel Ghostbusters II? There was a video released here today listing it under Recycled Script.

Edited by eroock on Apr 30th 2024 at 7:23:43 PM

We also have Same Plot Sequel.

Alright, that's even more fitting. Still, I would like to know what sets the two tropes apart in general.

Same Story, Different Names seems to be about authors of books and Recycled Script seems to be about writers of TV shows. Yet, both tropes have Literature and Live-Action TV examples. It would probably be worth bringing Same Story, Different Names to the Trope Repair Shop to merge it with Recycled Script.

The intention seems to be that Same Story, Different Names is about a particular writer falling back on a particular plot because it's easier, somewhat adjacent to Creator Thumbprint, while Recycled Script is about a particular story being recycled from an earlier one for other reasons, but I'm not sure how easy it is to file examples under one or the other in practice, especially given the former trope's name.

Spoofed the Ironic Film Seriously is quite redundant of a trope with Redundant Parody existing.

Edited by Tomodachi on May 1st 2024 at 2:47:29 AM

Looking at the description of Spoofed the Ironic Film Seriously, it says Redundant Parody covers when the parody makes jokes that the original made already. I guess that means Redundant Parody can cover works that weren't comedies, while Spoofed the Ironic Film Seriously is solely for films that were comedies.

Is Wide-Eyed Idealist a worthy split from The Idealist?

Only a usage check can tell, but Wide-Eyed is a character flaw. The Idealist but hopelessly naïve or (shown to be) wrong.

In my understanding a Wide-Eyed Idealist is sheltered and naïve to the point of being Too Dumb to Live sometimes and their idealism stems mostly from ignorance. The Idealist, on the other hand, doesn't have to be ignorant of the harsh realities of life.

At least in theory. In practice, I see people using Wide-Eyed Idealist for any idealistic character.

Edit:

Edited by kundoo on May 2nd 2024 at 9:16:09 AM

I'm not sure if there is a difference between Villain Team-Up and Big Bad Duumvirate

Big Bad Duumvirate: The villainy in the story ultimately comes from two individuals, neither of which is subordinate to the other, regardless of whether they've been shown plotting independently before.

Villain Team-Up: The villainy in the story comes from an alliance of previously established villains, regardless of whether they have a single clear leader.

^ ...I still don't see it. What difference that might be seems redundant

Edited by Ellipsicle on May 4th 2024 at 3:34:46 PM