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
Something like that.
Btw, maybe we need a pinned post with links to Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions and Laconical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions?
Edited by Amonimus on Oct 31st 2022 at 2:09:50 PM
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Musician/Composer
What is the difference between Kick The Son Of A Bitch, Kick the Morality Pet and Pay Evil unto Evil?
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
the Retromancer
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The comparison is in the description.
- Kick The Son Of A Bitch: A victim so happened to be an asshole.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Specifically targeting an asshole.
- Kick the Morality Pet: Not even related, Morality Pet in the title should be self-explanatory.
![[nja]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/user_ninja_2074.png "[nja]"){kind=small}
Edited by badtothebaritone on Nov 1st 2022 at 9:57:06 AM
Can someone explain the differences between A-Team Firing, Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, and Amusingly Awful Aim?
"Squid has to go to market. He's had to go to market for as long as he's sucked water."
On a surface level, A-Team Firing and Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy is specifically about firearms, while Amusingly Awful Aim is when someone aims badly (regardless of the projectile used) and is called out for it.
Narratively, Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy and A-Team Firing is less about people having bad aim in-universe, and more about showing a loud and flashy battle without actually needing to kill off important any characters. Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy is stated to be a sub-trope to A-Team Firing, where it's specifically about enemy mooks being unable to land a hit on the heroes, while in A-Team Firing, no one gets hit.
the Retromancer
Is Sequel Escalation just a cross-work Serial Escalation?
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
the Retromancer
For the following scenario:
Work A's creators admit that they used Work B as an "inspiration" while in the process of making Work A... (The emphasis or keyword here is "inspiration", as it's a phrase commonly used by the creator themselves nowadays in interviews to justify any similarities of their work to an older IP/game/movie/etc.)
What's the "best" trope or item that covers that?
I feel like these three all fit the same scenario. Is there a way to differentiate them perfectly? Can they all overlap and have the same context (i.e. a part of one trope/trivia example can be copy-pasted on the other, just slightly reworded)?
Another thing to point out is that Inspiration for the Work and Sincerest Form of Flattery both link to Follow the Leader.
With Great Power, Comes Great Motivation
The Ice Queen
Along some of the same lines that were made earlier, what's the difference between Kick The Son Of A Bitch and Asshole Victim?
Discarded and Feeling Blue
Asshole Victim is a supertrope for tropes like that, Karmic Death and Who Murdered the Asshole.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Inspiration for the Work is the most broad trope, covering any kind of inspiration, not just other works. Follow the Leader is a specific subtrope of a work inspiring other(s). Sincerest Form of Flattery is a subtrope of Follow the Leader where the author explicitly says they were inspired by the other work.
Edited by petersohn on Nov 8th 2022 at 10:08:52 AM
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
Something amazing that no one in-story was around to witness v. Characters or narrative indicate something is cool/amazing/scary but the audience doesn't directly see it (I don't see how one can be confused for the other)
Edited by Tabs on Nov 9th 2022 at 11:21:35 AM
Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles
What's the difference between Does This Remind You of Anything? and Allegory? Both use metaphors to indicate something else.
Edited by good-morning on Nov 11th 2022 at 12:49:07 PM
oh hey how are you doing?
Allegory is when an entire work is a metaphor.
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles
So the former is only for a specific scene, while Allegory is for an entire narrative?
I think Does This Remind You of Anything? is a supertrope and it stands for all metaphors.
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us.
Lord Something, Forgetter of Cool Titles
So is Does This Remind You of Anything? just the wiki's name for Metaphor?
oh hey how are you doing?
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
Does This Remind You of Anything? recently underwent TRS
, which ended with a cleanup thread being made. Just noting that here.
(Also said cleanup thread isn't very active.)
Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Nov 11th 2022 at 11:25:29 AM
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall
the Retromancer
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: A situation that is taken literally in work's context, but can mean something entirely different when out-of-context Fridge is applied.
- Allegory: A character or event is a representation of something the author wants discussed.
the Retromancer
Sequelitis is when the quality drops in subsequent installments. Seasonal Rot is when the quality drops in the same installment, just later in its life.
Edited by badtothebaritone on Nov 11th 2022 at 4:06:00 AM
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
@Amonimus So the Meta Guy would be someone who says "This feels like we're in a movie." While someone who was Genre Savvy would say "I've seen enough of x movies to know we shouldn't do y." Is that correct?