A thread discussing similar tropes. If thread participants agree that two (or more) tropes really don't seem distinct enough to be separate, one can start a thread in the Trope Repair Shop for further discussion.
Before asking "What's the difference between these tropes?", check the Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions and Laconical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions lists. They may contain the answer. Feel free to contribute to them, too.
I've decided to start a new cleanup thread dealing with trope similarities. This thread is for discussing tropes that appear to be a duplicate of another trope, and if it's agreed upon that the two tropes talked about are similar enough, one should start a thread about it in the Trope Repair Shop.
I'll start with my issue...
Asian Hooker Stereotype and Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow are pretty much the same trope—they both involve a white man and an Asian woman.
Edited by Tabs on Nov 1st 2022 at 10:57:37 AM
the Retromancer
Everybody's Dead, Dave says it's a "realization" trope when characters check the area and there's nobody alive, it's not Sole Survivor since there can be multiple survivors and they can even be outsiders. The examples don't reflect it though.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Everybody's Dead, Dave says "Dave" must be a main character who notices everyone died. Sounds like a subtrope of Sole Survivor.
Everybody's Dead, Dave mentions that there could be more than one survivor. The "you" in the laconic seems to be misplaced.
Edited by eroock on Sep 26th 2022 at 3:51:19 AM
I thought Everybody's Dead, Dave was about a character realizing/being informed that there's been some tragic event. That's the impression I got from the name at least.
More than Meets the Eye vs. Hidden Depths? They both seem to be about a person with a hidden side.
Edited by Adept on Sep 26th 2022 at 9:12:58 PM
A discussion
in the "Real Life Section Maintenance" thread brought up Good Ol' Boy and Half-Witted Hillbilly. The main difference seems to be that Good Ol' Boy tends to be more positive/sympathetic, but they're otherwise extremely similar as "stereotypical rural/southern Americans".
Edited by BeerBaron on Sep 26th 2022 at 11:40:50 AM
Untrue. Good Ol' Boy is not about stupid/slow Americans, it's about a specific personality (old-fashioned and conservative but good-hearted). Half-Witted Hillbilly actually is about stupid characters, but from any rural region (title was likely chosen for alliteration). It's in the first paragraph of the description.
Editing to add: Even if they were about the same group of people, tropes about specific stereotypes are better than a broad "stereotypical X". We wouldn't lump Jewish and Nerdy with Greedy Jew, right? They describe different things.
Edited by Synchronicity on Sep 26th 2022 at 12:54:13 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
More than Meets the Eye 1) is an index, not a trope 2) lists many tropes that are not subtropes of Hidden Depths. (e.g. characters who hide their true natures, characters whose true natures are displayed on the surface but at odds with something else about them)
Officially intimidated
Recurring Boss is a boss you fight more than once during a game. Think of it as the boss equivalent of Remixed Level or Hard Mode Filler.
Legacy Boss Battle is a boss you fight once in a game, again in the next, yet again in another, etc. Think of it as the boss equivalent of Nostalgia Level (note that the trope explicitly excludes series-long archnemesis like Bowser and Ganondorf, since they're expected to be fought in multiple games anyway).
Recurring Boss Template is for bosses that inherit traits from older installments' bosses (in this case, "recurring" acts as an adverb for the word "template", not the word "boss"). Think of it as the boss equivalent of Strictly Formula.
Edited by MyFinalEdits on Sep 26th 2022 at 9:02:00 AM
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What Do You Mean, It's Not Didactic? vs. Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory?
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.I see, so there is a distinction... I was curious because some DMC examples listed under Legacy Boss Battle looked questionable: (I'm not sure if I'll re-post this on the "Is this an example?" thread)
- Devil May Cry
- Both Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2 feature a boss battle against a demon named Phantom. Strangely, Phantom's reappearance in 2 is given no explanation or acknowledgement from the characters despite being killed by Dante in the first game, and you need to fight him to progress the plot, making him something of a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere as well.
- Though it's not exactly the same boss, the true form of Arkham in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is definitely meant to evoke Nightmare from the first Devil May Cry, right down to the Blob Monster aspect of their appearance being nearly identical.
- Lastly, there's Vergil, since you not only fight him thrice in Dante's Awakening, but you also fought him transformed into Nelo Angelo back in the first game. He returns for two more rounds in Devil May Cry 5.
- The first example may be valid, but is there a specific or minimum amount of re-appearances for a boss to be counted as a Legacy Boss Battle?
- The second example admits that the two compared bosses aren't exactly the same, but they have similarities and one evokes the other. Therefore, it fits better as a Recurring Boss Template example?
- The third example is actually about a series-long archnemesis. This means it's already invalid as a Legacy Boss Battle?
Edited by DanteVin on Sep 27th 2022 at 4:45:11 PM
With Great Power, Comes Great Motivation
Berserk Button: misusing Berserk Button
Sadistic Game Show vs Immoral Reality Show?
One of these days, all of you will accept me as your supreme overlord.
from where I stand
- SGS = the game show itself is cruel, but in a mundane way. the games will be rigged against you, they will be degrading and humiliating but not necessarily dangerous.
- IRS = the show itself is actually dangerous and violent with you being at risk of dying on national TV.
though I do think that SGS is kind of written in an overlapping way, specifically this line "Ultimately, the goal is now not just to win, but to survive, both physically and mentally." I'd be in favor of a wick check to see if there's confusion between the two/if they're being used the same
Edited by amathieu13 on Sep 28th 2022 at 4:59:47 AM
Officially intimidated
I didn't play any of the DMC games, but judging from the current wording, Phantom qualifies as Legacy Boss Battle (it's okay if the boss only reappears once after one game), while Arkham fits better under Recurring Boss Template (since it's referencing a different boss by borrowing its appearance) and Vergil falls under Recurring Boss (in both 3 and 5 he's fought more than once, and yeah it doesn't fit as a Legacy Boss).
I hope that helps!
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i'm at the combination she and it
Geeky Turn-On is about the turn-on itself being geeky (like being able to speak klingon or something) while Nerds Are Sexy is about geeks in general being considered sexy regardless of the specific turn-on
but isn't the reason why nerds are attractive in Nerds Are Sexy specifically because of their nerdiness? Is that not why sapiossexual is linked in the description?
the Retromancer
- Geeky Turn-On: Their knowledge is hot.
- Nerds Are Sexy: Their appearance is hot.
that definition of Nerds Are Sexy seems to be the exact opposite of sapiosexual, which the description says is the real world analog for the trope. And several examples on the page do not specify anything about how the nerd looks.
the description of Nerds Are Sexy on Endearingly Dorky for example also says "Compare Nerds Are Sexy for when intelligence and geekiness are attractive"
Edited by amathieu13 on Oct 1st 2022 at 8:59:45 AM
Did anything ever come from the discussion about Make Me Wanna Shout and Make Some Noise? Last I heard from it, they were being checked for overlap.
What’s the difference between Hollywood Law and Artistic License – Law ?
my understanding is that Sole Survivor is a character trope while Everybody's Dead, Dave is a plot trope, though the difference isn't really clear to me beyond that distinction