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Have an idea for a new trope, but don't know for sure if it's a good idea? Did Trope Finder give you similar concepts, but not exactly what you wanted? Are you just looking for a focus to a broader idea?

You've come to the right place!

On this thread, you can share your ideas with the masses before making that TLP draft, so if there's any lingering uncertainty about the validity of your idea or you just want some help pinning down a good idea, ask away and help others out, too!

A related sandbox I need to pitch is the Trope Idea Salvage Yard. If you've an idea but can't personally work on it, you can add it to the yard and let someone else create the draft. Or you can browse it yourself if you need more draft ideas, whether or not you feel they should be mentioned here first.

Got ideas for non-trope pages you need help with? Never fear, the New Page Workshop Thread is here!

With that out of the way: Let's discuss some ideas.

Edited by MacronNotes on Feb 27th 2022 at 1:49:11 PM

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4476: Jun 5th 2022 at 11:35:45 PM

Are there enough examples distinct from Artistic License – Paleontology and the like?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
KahnaTura Since: Jun, 2022
#4477: Jun 6th 2022 at 12:26:14 AM

is there a trope that talks about, say, a bitter/cruel/selfish character who turns into a better/mellower person due to the influence of a pure child entering their life?

Not exactly that they turn into a hero, but the relationship with the child (often can turn into a parental relationship) showcases depth or character development previously unseen in this character. or takes them down a more heroic path.

Example: Valjean and Cosette from Les Mis, Batman with Robin in many incarnations, the Ice King with Marceline in Adventure Time, Wolverine with his female protégées in most X Men media, Iyami with the flower girl in Osomatsu, Impmon and his tamers in Digimon Tamers...

It's kinda a mix of Badass and Child Duo Meets a Redemption Arc.

Crossover-Enthusiast from an abaondoned mall (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#4479: Jun 6th 2022 at 1:50:05 AM

I've been slowly working through this idea for a new trope that I'm currently calling Better Partner Assertion.

I have a decent first draft ready (except I only have two examples sad) but I figured I'd run it through here first before I post it in TLP. If anyone wants to see the draft itself, I can copy it to my sandbox or put it in a folder here, just let me know.

Basically the gist is this: Character(s) in a perceived Love Triangle attempt to solve the triangle by listing off reasons they are better than their romantic rival. Sometimes it's a whole dissertation and other times, it's as simple as "I'm better than him/her/them". How truthful these statements are doesn't usually matter, usually because this little stunt doesn't work. It can be Played for Laughs if the reasons given are way out in left field or if the situation is presented in a comedic way.

A step down from Cock Fight (and also not Always Male) as this (potential) trope can only involve one suitor or simply is a verbal altercation. Although, it can escalate into a Cock Fight. Also not related to Homosocial Heterosexuality as this involves two men trying to convince the woman to enter a relationship with them, rather than focusing on their relationship dynamic.

Edited by Hello83433 on Jun 6th 2022 at 7:17:24 AM

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
Traveler123 Don't look back, something may be gaining on you from In the trenches. Since: Mar, 2018 Relationship Status: Gone fishin'
Don't look back, something may be gaining on you
#4480: Jun 6th 2022 at 10:24:46 AM

War Jay, I think Crowd Reaction Shot is tropeable if it's a split from Reaction Shot, which can be for a single person, whereas Crowd Reaction Shot can be for multitudes of people. My two cents.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#4481: Jun 6th 2022 at 11:05:19 AM

Thanks. I might give it a shot if I can remember enough examples. I know I've seen it a million times, just need to scrounge together the details.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Malady (X-Troper)
#4482: Jun 6th 2022 at 11:19:08 AM

Tournament Arc raid? Usually the audience reacts as a group??

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#4483: Jun 6th 2022 at 11:23:04 AM

Eh, maybe. For some reason I was thinking more about like musical performances and stuff. Not that tournament arc battles can't count, they absolutely can, they just weren't on my mind because the reactions that all inspired this idea had to do with music or theatre.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#4484: Jun 6th 2022 at 11:25:02 AM

Does Burger Fool have a Missing Supertrope in Soul Sucking Restaurant Job (waiters, line cooks, hosts for non-fast food restaurants)? In Fire Island the narrator repeatedly flashes back to a posh brunch place where he was treated horribly.

Edited by Synchronicity on Jun 6th 2022 at 3:58:23 AM

Twiddler (On A Trope Odyssey)
#4485: Jun 6th 2022 at 12:55:37 PM

[up] Maybe go broader with it, minimum wage and/or customer service jobs?

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#4486: Jun 6th 2022 at 12:57:04 PM

Reminds me of the "Raining Salesmen" inverse trope we were discussing at TRS, where customer service workers are the ones being bombarded and abused.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
Synchronicity (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Hello83433 (Lucky 7) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#4488: Jun 6th 2022 at 4:38:00 PM

Any feedback on my idea or should I just go ahead to TLP? (I did manage to find more examples so I hit the threshold grin)

CSP Cleanup Thread | All that I ask for ... is diamonds and dance floors
MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
(she/her)
#4489: Jun 6th 2022 at 4:51:54 PM

Your idea sounds tropable to me.

Macron's notes
Malady (X-Troper)
#4490: Jun 7th 2022 at 5:49:13 AM

I wonder if Knives are a common weapon for kids, because it fits their small hands? Or for mages, because they're not as physically strong? Also women, a bit, because Chastity Dagger?

Edited by Malady on Jun 7th 2022 at 5:50:45 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#4491: Jun 7th 2022 at 5:33:19 PM

So this misplaced TF query reminded me of my earlier idea, a specific kind of Alternate Universe Fic that relies on For Want Of A Nail. I've known a few fics that do this, change one small moment in canon that spirals into a variety of other consequences. Twinning With a Twist is one example (because Sugar steals Sammy's parachute, she ends up on a different team than her sister, which changes how the competition progresses). I think it's a specific enough fanfic genre to differ from FWOAN but I could be wrong...

[down] The Butterfly Effect is the same as FWOAN, and all of those tropes listed refer to stuff surrounding FWOAN. I'm talking about a specific genre of fanfic where canon is tweaked by only changing one event.

Edited by mightymewtron on Jun 7th 2022 at 11:00:02 AM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Malady (X-Troper)
#4492: Jun 7th 2022 at 6:00:06 PM

The Butterfly Effect?

Point of Divergence?

In Spite of a Nail?

Something involving The Stations of the Canon?


Serenity_Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

...


Pronoun Confusion, not Pronoun Trouble, a.k.a Perplexing Pluripotent Pronoun Potential:

  • "Chapter Nineteen":
    Of course, that just made it harder on Harry when he betrayed him.”

Edited by Malady on Jun 7th 2022 at 7:54:12 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Type40 Since: Jun, 2020 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
#4493: Jun 8th 2022 at 10:52:53 PM

@War Jay 77 I don't know if what you're describing is the same thing as Universal Group Reaction, but at the least there might be overlap.

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (3,795/50,000)
#4494: Jun 8th 2022 at 11:00:40 PM

See, in all the examples I can think of it's about individual reaction shots. By "crowd" I meant people in the audience of an event, not a literal group reaction.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
NitroIndigo ♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves from West Midlands region, England Since: Jun, 2021 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
♀ | Small ripples lead to big waves
#4495: Jun 9th 2022 at 5:46:39 AM

I've noticed that a lot of Mons Series have a Mon with many evolved forms - Pokémon has Eevee, Temtem has Tuwai, and Monster Sanctuary has Draconov. Is this a common enough archetype, or is this too specific to trope?

MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
(she/her)
#4496: Jun 9th 2022 at 7:33:34 AM

I would prefer to more examples first if there are any.

Macron's notes
Malady (X-Troper)
#4497: Jun 9th 2022 at 8:34:08 AM

[up][up] - Well, it's something like a permanent Mutually Exclusive Power-Ups, or Skill Tree-s... Err, Tech Tree?

Edited by Malady on Jun 9th 2022 at 8:34:15 AM

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
Malady (X-Troper)
#4498: Jun 9th 2022 at 7:24:13 PM

Was reminded that Abnormal Ammo is what we use for Alternate Ammo in general, even if it's not abnormal, apparently, such as Armor-Piercing and Incendiary Rounds.

Splitting out "variant ammo" from "strange ammo" and allowing for overlaps like the following... Or is it bad enough a deviation that it's more TRS?

AbnormalAmmo.Video Games:

  • Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora: Jones uses a Webley Mark 2/3 because it fires a variety of non-lethal ammunition. It starts off with Thud rounds (good for breaking boxes) and progresses to Bubble rounds, a grappling hook, and more.

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576
UzarNaimBer15 Burger King Foot Lettuce (nothing personal, BK; from The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday Since: Jan, 2020
Burger King Foot Lettuce (nothing personal, BK;
#4499: Jun 9th 2022 at 7:57:03 PM

I was wondering if there could be a trope about totems and totem poles and their representations in media/mythologies. Their symbolism, rituals, powers, designs, etc. Also tikis (don't know if they could be related or not), besides the Terrifying Tiki trope.

Edited by UzarNaimBer15 on Jun 9th 2022 at 11:57:57 AM

Eat your vege-tables (┳━┳) and drink sum milk
Malady (X-Troper)
#4500: Jun 9th 2022 at 8:04:14 PM

Tipis and Totem Poles?

Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576

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