Per Ask The Tropers, this thread will be used to reduce the number of old, poorly written drafts on the Trope Launch Pad
. We don't want to discuss on the drafts themselves because that will bump them and mix them with active proposals.
Sandbox for the project: Trope Launch Pad Discard Project
Sandbox for discarded drafts but viable ideas: Trope Idea Salvage Yard
The first sandbox page above contains drafts proposed in the thread that are still pending and drafts that we've decided to leave alone, either with no action or a bump.
The second sandbox page is for awful drafts but viable ideas. According to moderators, badly written but interesting/tropeworthy drafts
should remain on the TLP. Rather than allow low-effort drafts to clog TLP, though, the salvage yard was opened to keep just the ideas behind them, in one place.
On this thread, we will mention which drafts we think are unworkable, add enough bombs, and discard (nuke) them. Discarding requires at least 5 bombs. Among the features of "unworkable" drafts:
- There have been no edits for a very long time, or at all
- The draft is low-effort, containing atrocious spelling and grammar and/or little to no examples, e.g. NEVER saw THAT coming (!)
, Nut-Chuks
- The draft was seemingly created so the sponsor could complain
- The topic is People Sit on Chairs, Too Rare to Trope, a search query created by mistake, etc. and therefore not tropeworthy
- The topic is already sufficiently covered by one or more tropes or is a duplicate of a better-written TLP draft
- The draft is problematic in other ways, such being closely tied to a page that has been historically problematic, e.g. Fetish Fuel, Complete Monster
- There's no discussion currently occurring in the comments to improve the proposal
If we decide to discard a draft after discussion via this thread, whoever does so must provide the discard reason in the comment section of the draft, for transparency's sake. Those looking at the discards section won't think it was nuked for no reason.
Also, check out the sister project, Trope Adoption Drive
, where good drafts put Up for Grabs or abandoned can be grabbed, given a bit more improvement, and launched.
Edited by Tabs on Mar 24th 2022 at 12:02:43 PM
I think they might be saying that the header needs updating?
Anyway, no reason we won't hit under 400 pages by year's end...
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Especially if quarantine gives us nothing better to do...
Now that it's been mentioned, the stickied post could use a bit of updating, e.g. explaining the salvage yard and maybe mentioning the sister-project adoption drive.
Edited by Miss_Desperado on Aug 24th 2020 at 11:48:18 AM
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.Well, my previous batch went by pretty fast. There's still two more drafts there that need bombs, though.
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All hot work is welding
is probably covered by Building Is Welding. And if it isn't, it's still a one-line wonder. -
Annoying Townsfolk
was an attempt to make "NPCs accidentally block you in an RPG" when TRS removed those examples from Drone Jam and renamed it to NPC Roadblock. But the actual draft has a very negative tone to it (particularly its name), and it only lists one example. -
Blown Off Badass.
is a one-line wonder that's covered by Underestimating Badassery. -
Cape Hair
is Badass Longhair (and yes, I know that's not a trope anymore). -
Company Store
is Company Town, despite the sponsor's claim that the latter is something completely different. -
Devil in the Details
is "Chekhov's Gun played for horror". -
Desperation defense
is covered by Turns Red. -
EgoEcho
is a one-line wonder. -
Find Where They Aren't
is a decent idea, but the draft has literally no attempt at a description and one half-explained example. -
If That Is Your Name
: Very low effort with one example and a stock phrase name to boot. The idea of "false identity accusation" could be yarded, though. - Lost Cub Story
has a very short description and only two examples.
-
Person-Shaped Soul Jar
is Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can. -
Sorcerous Black Knight
is "Black Knight + Magic Knight", and the former already says in its description that the character might have magic. -
Tall Dark and Damaged
is Troubled, but Cute. -
Vacation Day Hoarder
: No examples listed. -
Who's the Brains of the Operation?
describes itself as "Ditzy Genius + Genius Ditz", but it's also covered by Big Guy, Little Guy.
Edited by Serac on Aug 27th 2020 at 4:12:56 AM
"NPCs accidentally block you in an RPG" sounds like a failure of the dev making them so they don't block you when pathing around.
NPC Roadblock sounds like it's deliberately planned by the dev for this to happen and plot progression will solve it.
I've had NPCs in an inn, keep me from going to the beds, because they pathed in my way.
Edited by Malady on Aug 24th 2020 at 1:38:36 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576Wow, we are crushing it today. Here's some more while we're at it:
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Birds For ScaleYarded.
: I agree with the mod in the comments - discard this and Yard a more general version of "something of recognizable size is added to ensure audience knows something is huge." -
Bonnet shotYarded.
: Abandoned stub for a perfectly good Camera Trick. Discard and Yard. -
Fake Fight, Real IssuesYarded.
: Abandoned stub with no examples in the draft, but plenty in the comments. Discard and Yard. -
Helicopter Spiral Of Death
: Abandoned stub with no examples. -
Hurts To Laugh
: Abandoned stub with no examples. Could be Yardable? -
Hypocritical Ugly
: Abandoned stub with no examples. -
Illiterate Spacefaring Culture
: Low Culture, High Tech. -
In the Shadow of Cool
: Abandoned one-line wonder with no examples. -
Literal Tropes
: Abandoned stub that's not sure if it's a Just for Fun page, probably covered by Visual Pun and Literal Metaphor. -
Mojibake
: Abandoned stub with no examples, maybe not even a trope. -
No Punishment Is Possible
: No Adequate Punishment. -
Nostalgia Crusher
: Abandoned with no examples. -
The paradox is working!
: Abandoned stub with only Zero-Context Examples. -
Protagonist Causes Problems
: Abandoned stub. -
Reuse The Model
: Abandoned stub with no examples, covered by existing tropes as discussed in the comments. -
These are the Clothes of my People
: Abandoned one-line wonder.
Edited by MonaNaito on Aug 25th 2020 at 5:56:46 AM
Also, I have to question the existence of tropes that are "this thing occurs in the work on accident". I thought the whole point of tropes is that they have meaning behind them, and "thing that the creator didn't really intend to add" is the opposite of being meaningful.
Edited by Serac on Aug 24th 2020 at 5:26:10 AM
We can't trope creator intention, so if it's here, we go, "It's here". The meaning is that it changes how the work can be consumed.
Vacation Day Hoarder just sounds like a Workaholic. Or one of The Ditz-type tropes.
No Punishment Is Possible: We Have This... I Swear...
Edited by Tabs on Aug 24th 2020 at 3:36:53 AM
No Adequate Punishment exists.
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576UnderlashesMeaningless appearance trope.
Doting Lover Sickeningly Sweethearts, no examples, never edited, two hats somehow.
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Maybe Means Yes "No" Means "Yes" is essentially the same trope, so I'd say it's covered. Also, only two examples, one is general Real Life stuff, and the other is porn.
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True Scotsman Membership Card Apparently this was one guy's attempt to repost a deleted trope without any discussion or TRS involvement. It didn't go anywhere, has only two examples, and I question its tropeworthiness, personally.
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Japanese Summer Setup Weather Apparently whoever wrote this has never gone outside. There are CLOUDS! In the SUMMER! In JAPAN! An ISLAND nation! Where it RAINS a lot! Isn't that WEIRD?!! Love the two hats, though.
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Supernova Star Killing is the same info presented as an actual trope rather than a "this exists" format. So yeah, covered.
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No Billing For Children This is Billing Displacement made specific to children, and seems to confuse "uncredited" for "not given top billing/publicity." I don't see a functional difference or a need to split the existing trope: most children, who are obviously usually newcomers, aren't well-known enough to get top billing.
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Suddenly Political: I think it's covered by Issue Drift and/or Author Tract for the most part, but in extreme cases Cerebus Syndrome or Creator Breakdown may apply. In any case, I think it's pretty well spoken for.
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Category Crutch Another diversity rant masquerading as a trope. SEEK AND DESTROY.
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Traumatic Mantra This is covered by Survival Mantra and Madness Mantra. One-line wonder with no examples.
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Chekov's Wound/Hit By The Brick "A Brick Joke that ends in death." Not distinct from either Brick Joke or Chekovs Gun. Only one example.
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Seat of State Power I guess you could say it's "Ermine Cape Effect applied to sitting on a chair" but the draft itself gives me a headache.
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May the best child live A hodgepodge of Powered by a Forsaken Child, Playing with Syringes, Evilutionary Biologist, Child Soldier, and Super-Soldier, possibly others. Also a shit stub that never got edited.
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Justice Freak This doesn't even qualify as a one-line wonder. The best I can say is that it isn't blank.
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Edited by HeavyMetalHermitCrab on Sep 1st 2020 at 7:56:51 AM
Well, since it seems like we are killing it, I thought about bringing some more drafts.
-
Aliens Invented Velcro: This is E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi, BUT ONLY FOR VELCRO!! The comments say that this should be a trope, but this has been abandoned for years, and I don't think it is splitworthy.
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Blink While You Shoot: It's just, "actors blink when the shoot, when real gun handlers don't" which I don't see as tropeworty. And teh "May be considered Narm by detractors" sounds complainy.
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Chekhov's Womb: Another Chekhov's snowclone, and I'm not sure there are many examples that won't overlap with Maternity Crisis.
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Death Machines: Low-effort draft that was put Up For Grabs from the beginning.
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Ghost of Christmas Future: "A being that shows a character hot the future will turn out if they don't change their ways." That might be a nice idea, but this is a zero-effort draft.
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Karmic Reversal: Not sure if this was different when this was proposed, but I don't see Karma Houdini Warranty to be limited to trying to make a Heel–Face Turn.
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The Light Side will Make you Forget: Not sure how common this is, seems just like trying an opposite for The Dark Side Will Make You Forget just to make it the opposite.
-
Magic is the Only Option: When All You Have Is a Hammer… but more specific. Even then, it is a zero-effort draft.
- Post-Threat Courage
: "Character runs aways from danger, but then puts on a brave face when it's over". I do think this is actually tropable, if we don't have it yet.
-
Screw the Rules, I'm a Genius: I don't see a practical difference between this and Bunny-Ears Lawyer.
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That was a New Paint Job: Low-effort draft and already covered by Watch the Paint Job and It's Going Down, among other tropes.
-
Token Neighbor: Not sure of the difference between this and Drop-In Character.
Edited by ElBuenCuate on Oct 9th 2021 at 7:06:45 AM
Post Threat Courage sounds Miles Gloriosus-ish?
Edited by Malady on Aug 25th 2020 at 2:57:17 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576![]()
Death Machines looks the same as the more complete draft Night of the Living Machines
.
Post-Threat Courage isn't in bad shape, and I don't think it's exclusive to the Miles Gloriosus. Could go to the Adoption Drive?
In contrast, these drafts aren't going anywhere:
-
Actor-Director Duo
Covered by Production Posse. -
Bullwhip Authority
: Whip It Good explicitly covers this. -
Chekhov 's Wizard
: Abandoned stub with no examples. -
Destructive Realization
: My God, What Have I Done?, but only for physical damage to one's surroundings. -
Drop-In, Drop-Out Character
: This has a lot of effort put into it, but I don't see the distinction between this and Shoo Out the New Guy (or Revolving Door Casting, Demoted to Extra, and the other tropes suggested in the comments). Thoughts? -
Future Minimalist
: The examples are all over the place, from Next Sunday A.D. to 20 Minutes into the Future and even Scavenger World. The way the draft describes "changes (or lack thereof)" means this basically encompasses any way the future can be different from, or the same as, the present. And all the examples are zero-context. -
Hey, It's That Place!
: Hey, It's That Place! -
I Could Drive a Bus Between Those Teeth
: Abandoned stub. -
Inexplicable Multiple Hits.
: Abandoned one-line wonder. -
Method to the Madness
: Abandoned stub with one example that doesn't explain how it's an example of the trope. -
The Music of the Heavens
: Abandoned stub, and conveniently for us, this concept is already in the Trope Idea Salvage Yard, under "Angelic Choir Reveal". -
(Obtained?) Immortality Is Rare
: Abandoned with no examples. -
The Pen Came From The Ass Box
: Abandoned, unformatted draft with only one example. -
Quantum UnmaskingYarded.
: Abandoned, unformatted draft with a valid idea behind it ("Character A discovers the identity of the villain at the same time that, somewhere else, the villain reveals himself to Character B"). Discard and Yard. -
Remember the New Plot Device
: Abandoned stub that a mod put the kibosh on in the comments. -
The Rest Is History
: Foregone Conclusion and History Marches On. -
The Sleazeball
: Slime Ball. -
Slice Of Life Intro
: Easing into the Adventure. -
Tear Teaser
: Abandoned stub, covered by Black Comedy and Dude, Not Funny! -
That Thing Over There Must DieYarded.
: Abandoned stub, but possibly Yardable?
Edited by MonaNaito on Aug 30th 2020 at 5:08:20 AM
Agree to Yard That Thing Over There Must Die and Quantum Unmasking. There has to be some kind of trope to the latter already...
Don't know about Doting Lover being Sickeningly Sweethearts. Is it the trope if it's one-sided, especially if the target of affection doesn't seem to welcome it? Such a trait is usually indicative of emotional issues in someone or some ulterior motive to keep the target around.
Edited by Tabs on Aug 25th 2020 at 6:21:28 AM
- Quantum Unmasking sounds like some sorta Cut.
Edited by Malady on Aug 25th 2020 at 6:45:05 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576That's more of a Bait-and-Switch-type cut, while this reads like a Reveal that's shown to more than one in-universe party. Having no knowledge of any of the works listed, I don't know how often the trope is really used and whether they're tied by this trope.
^^^ EDIT: The draft doesn't say anything about it being one-sided ro even negative, and that the "dark side" of the trope is All Take and No Give. Likewise, Love Martyr. The draft as written describes Sickeningly Sweethearts, just lopsided onto one side of the couple.
This one is long, but all but the first two only need one or two bombs to discard:
Doesn't Go Far Enough So poorly written that no one can figure out exactly what it's trying to say.
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Species Survival Person Between Living MacGuffin, First Of Its Kind, Last of Its Kind, and Only You Can Repopulate My Race, I think this is pretty well covered.
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Comorian Creators: An index with no functioning links.
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Quiet as a Cucumber: "A jump scare with no noise at all." Not exactly a distinct trope from Jump Scare and Don't Sneak Up on Me Like That!, and the name is dumb as hell.
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Forced Complacency with Unrequited Love Extremely inarticulate draft, covered by...well, several Unrequited Love tropes.
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Accidental Prison Break One-line wonder.
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Head to Head Charge Covered by Game of Chicken, Onrushing Army, others.
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Humancar/Autopeople Meaningless appearance trope, barely any effort.
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Rounded Teeth Meaningless appearance trope.
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Double Date Counterparts: Confused mess.
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Creepy Rich Guy: Mostly covered by a combination of Howard Hughes Homage (who exhibited almost all of the criteria), The Wonka, or Eccentric Millionaire.
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Sudden Characterization of Doom Less of a supertrope and more like a very small index.
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Musical Structure and Form Never edited or contributed to since 2011, written like a blog post, contains nothing but a few definitions of music structures. Could be Useful Notes but I think it would be of the "Wikipedia But Worse" variety that we really don't need on this site...
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Extension All Abandoned stub with questionable tropeworthiness.
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Nepotism Failure This is Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!, just subverted or inverted as the case may be. Abandoned stub.
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Absurd Save Points Not tropeworthy, more factoid/"isn't this weird" than trivia.
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Local Celebrity: A Hero to His Hometown.
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Mobile Training Camp Seems awful close to a really specific Improvised Training (which itself has a godawful description). Abandoned stub with no examples.
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Edited by HeavyMetalHermitCrab on Sep 1st 2020 at 7:55:47 AM
I added a fifth bomb to Drop-In, Drop-Out Character
and a sixth bomb to Future Minimalist
. I think they can be discarded for the reasons here
. Anyone against?
Edited by gc10 on Aug 27th 2020 at 11:16:16 AM
Plausible Deniability
: A trainwreck of wiki historynote resulted in this draft becoming redundant years ago.
~Peabody Sam could discard it themself.
Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
- Nuked.
Head Boy Zero-effort stub with no examples, not distinct from Student Council President in any meaningful way.
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Part-time lead vocalist I don't think this is tropeable. Maaaaybe if made IUEO, but even that seems like a stretch as it doesn't really have meaning.
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Extreme Close Up One line wonder with no examples.
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Inspirational Sacrifice Covered by Heroic Sacrifice and Inspirational Martyr.
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Mullet of Metallness Low-effort draft with ZC Es, meaningless appearance trope, and conflates "having long hair" with "having a mullet" (the latter being a rather specific/ugly hairstyle).
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The Chairman: Corrupt Corporate Executive, but also the Big Bad.
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"The Others"
Stock phrase, or trying to trope a generic name. Basically a one-line wonder with ZC Es.
Heir to the Throne: Failed attempt at an index/supertrope. Underdeveloped and low on content, need for this is questionable given that we have Royalty and Nobility Tropes.
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Standard Pop Song Format A poor, stubby, complainy draft that never really got off the ground. Could be an Omnipresent Trope or Useful Notes if it didn't have this air of complaining to it, though the format it's describing has been in existence much longer than what we'd refer to as "pop music".
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Coin Man Squashed Flat but more specific.
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The Non-Impression No description, idea seems to be "An impression, but shitty."
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World Sampler Never-edited stub with no real examples, may be covered by "Nations of the World" Montage if not others.
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Baritone Rocker "A singer has a deeper voice." Pretty sure the timbre of a person's voice is an accident of birth, not a meaningful artistic choice. ZCE magnet.
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Edited by HeavyMetalHermitCrab on Sep 1st 2020 at 7:54:17 AM
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and ![]()
: Thanks for taking care of that. That draft fell by the wayside years ago after the Plausible Deniability trope was rewritten, and I had completely forgotten that it was still in the Trope Launch Pad.

Yep. Hence this project.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall