Trope Idea Sounding Board

idk if i'd say thats a trope in of itself than just a consequence of worldbuilding, as it seems like the character simply ends up following the logic of the world they exist in. Super powers don't exist in Real Life so characters don't have abilities / powers there but they do in these other worlds either by nature (i.e. magic is real in most fantasy worlds) or by exploiting one's knowledge that they are in a different world (the matrix examples).

I have an idea for something called "Sleazy Photo Shoot" - basically when a modeling shoot or something similar turns really off-color due to the photographer or someone else who's there trying to get the model(s) to show more skin than they want to or do things they're not comfortable with. I have a couple of examples (from Perfect Blue and The Incredible Melting Man) but I'm wondering if there's enough examples of this to justify trying to actually make a TLP for it. Does anyone know of some other examples that could apply?

Doesn't Model Scam exist?

I didn’t know that was a thing, but the examples I had in mind aren’t scams, they just turn out to be a lot more skeevy than they start out as. The concept I'm thinking of could be a Sister Trope to that one.

If I hadn’t already shut my computer down I'd post the example writeups I had in mind.

Edited by Willbyr on Nov 8th 2021 at 10:27:36 AM

There's two tropes I've thought about which are Opposite Tropes but nonetheless could be sub-tropes of Stalker without a Crush:

• Law Enforcement Stalker: They go around stalking law enforcement, often due to a vendetta or Revenge, and in extreme cases can lead to being a Cop Killer.
• Stalker Cop: When a cop decides to stalk someone, either for Stalker with a Crush or Stalker without a Crush reason.

Can be found in Stale Beer Spy Fic.

Here's the examples I was going to use for that idea:

• Perfect Blue: Mima does a promotional photoshoot with a photographer who, as her former bandmates note in a private conversation, has a reputation for getting girls out of their clothes. Sure enough, the shoot starts innocently enough, but the photographer gradually talks Mima into increasingly racy photos; by the time it's over, she's completely nude and the photos border on softcore porn. She's revealed to be very unsettled by this, and the photographer is visibly getting off despite having both hands on the camera.
• The Incredible Melting Man: A photographer is shooting outdoor photos of a woman in a tube top and short shorts. After shooting several pics, he tries to talk her into taking her top off. She's not having it, so he gets fed up and just pulls her top down, then starts snapping photos while grabbing her hands so she can't cover herself. Not only is she angered and embarrassed, as she's trying to get away from him she stumbles into the remains of one of the Melting Man's victims, traumatizing her even more.

Edited by Willbyr on Nov 9th 2021 at 10:11:36 AM

Just had an I Need an Index by Monday trope idea that could work:

• Unusual Career Path: How someone got to where they are now in a career is highly unconventional.
• Out Of Order Career Path: They started at a big job at expert level, then got several small ones at entry- or mid-level, then a MegaCorp's job at exper level...

The second one was Inspired by… Pat Sharp, English radio presenter who started out on national radio before doing smaller stations during Turn of the Millennium ansd then being on syndicated radio as of The New '10s.

TLP-ing.

If you have fictional examples, the four ideas , are tropable.

Coulda sworn we already had this one, but start scumming? When a game randomizes your starting circumstances, one might be tempted to restart the game until they come out the way one prefers. Some games actively facilitate it, some try to stop it. (Dungeonmans does an odd mix of both, letting you end your character's career during chargen if you don't like any of the available stat spreads, but since you're never allowed to reuse a name, you're really giving up on them.)

I can verify that's a thing. Star Ocean 2 oi!

Pokemon Shiny hunters do that to get shiny versions of static mons... Well, the ones that aren't Shinylocked anyway.

I just learned about this thread, and I have an idea to post.

Tentative name: "Villain's Fantasy Transformation." Not to be confused with One-Winged Angel or Clipped-Wing Angel. This is where the villain briefly transforms into a monstrous version of themself during a fantasy sequence (usually a Disney Acid Sequence and/or Villain Song.) May overlap with Nightmare Face. It's not so much a literal transformation as it is a metaphorical transformation that shows how monstrous the character is on the inside. I have 4 examples of this, and I'm sure I could find more. Does this sound tropeworthy?

Two of the four examples:

• Cats Don't Dance: During the Dark Reprise of "Big and Loud," at one point Darla imagines herself as a giant monster bursting out of the ground and towering over Danny and Sawyer.
• The Loud House Movie: At one point in her Villain Song, Morag suddenly gains sharp teeth. The camera zooms out to show that she is giant compared to the Louds, and as she scares them away, she fades to black so that her whole body is in shadow except for her eyes and teeth.

Edited by DrNoPuma on Nov 10th 2021 at 11:06:45 AM

I think there might be some merit to a "younger parental figure" trope.

"Inspiration Inversion" — the author was inspired by X from history or previous fiction and put it in their work as Y, but in-universe Y is the cause of X.

We've Seen It a Million Times, but the only example immediately springing to mind is Miraculous Ladybug's Monkey Miraculous, which turns its wielder into a Monkey King Lite superhero, and Word of God is that the actual Sun Wukong was a holder of the Monkey Miraculous in the show's universe.

Not sure whether this would be trivia or a trope.

Edited by wingedcatgirl on Nov 12th 2021 at 1:19:10 PM

For real-life people/events, isn't that just Historical Domain Superperson and Beethoven Was an Alien Spy?

Edited by Orbiting on Nov 12th 2021 at 2:25:04 PM

It is definitely also that, in the case where it's about a real person who has superpowers.

You mean like "these vampire-like creatures are the in-universe cause of vampire legends"? I've definitely seen that — I can think of at least two specific examples. I think it'd be a trope rather than trivia.

I don't think there's currently a trope for bands that only use synthesisers, like pre-1987 Depeche Mode & Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. There definitely should be a trope for this.

Happy belated Veterans Day to all who served without making excuses or getting fake diagnoses.

I've been thinking about Admiral Baby. This might be a YMMV trope. I don't feel like I have it developed enough to take to the launch pad. Maybe this trope should also apply to full-bird captains and colonels or there might be too few examples.

This is when the actor for a flag officer (a general or an admiral) is too young to be at that rank in real life. There have been young generals and admirals in real life, but usually that's in the context of a revolution or rebellion. Thus this trope does not apply to the Rebellion in Star Wars nor the rebellion in the Star Trek Mirror Universe.

In peacetime or in times of long ongoing declared or undeclared conflict, promotion to a flag officer rank in the United States Armed Forces requires first having the rank of colonel or captain (O-6). And that rank has time in grade and time in service requirements.

This trope does not apply to royalty (e.g., Prince Harry had the rank of captain general in the Royal Marines before he left the royal family; theoretically he could have risen to full general while still being younger than the average captain general).

• Black Sheep Squadron "Trouble at Fort Apache" The news reel does say that General Wright is a "remarkably young general." But even so, and allowing for faster wartime promotion, Wright seems way too young to be a general. The actor, Joel Fabiani, was born in 1936. Assuming that his character in this episode that first aired in 1977 is the same age he is, that would mean Wright is barely 41-years-old. Robert Conrad, who plays Major Boyington, is actually a year older than Fabiani.
• In The Simpsons S10 E13 "Homer to the Max", the Simpsons watch Admiral Baby, a new show on Fox. The titular baby orders the ship to go to Candy Island, but a subordinate puts the admiral back in the crib because "you're no good to us cranky." Marge wonders how a baby could rise to the rank of admiral.
• I vaguely recall Guile being referred to as "General Guile" in a Street Fighter movie.

Improbable Age is the general trope.

Being too young is one of the categories of Overranked Soldier.

I wonder if Level Names is a valid trope? Usually a Platformer thing ...

If they're just place names... Like Dance Hall, Church, Clock Tower...

But still, level names exist...

Edited by Malady on Nov 13th 2021 at 10:30:34 AM

Video Game Settings?

I have an idea for a trope called Flashback Opening, where a movie or episode or whatever starts by showing a an event from the past before cutting forward to the present day. It is usually used to set up the main conflict of the plot and I have seen it used several times. Is it a possible trope or not?

Edited by HoloMew151 on Nov 13th 2021 at 7:14:50 PM

How We Got Here?