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
Oh yeah, I've also seen versions of that with Family Guy of Seth Macfarlane voicing his characters imitating other characters he voiced.
Thanks for playing King's Quest V!There's a recurring theme in Japanese culture and fiction where someone makes it a goal to collect/create exactly 1,000 (or sometimes 100) of something, and that something good might happen once this is accomplished, but more often than not that person will fall short of their goal somehow with only one of that particular thing remaining. I call it the Rule of 1,000. The 1000 Origami Cranes trope is what usually comes to mind when people think of this concept, but I notice that it often extends beyond folding paper into birds.
- 1000 Origami Cranes describes a similar tradition called senninbari; decorating a strip of white cloth with 1,000 stitches in red thread, each done by 1,000 individual women.
- The famous historical figure Musashibo Benkei is said to have collected 999 weapons from warriors he defeated in combat, and lost his 1000th battle with the guy he would later serve out of Undying Loyalty.
- In the Soul Eater universe, an Equippable Ally must collect 99 souls of corrupt humans and one witch soul to become a Death Scythe; weapons given the honor of being used by the Grim Reaper himself. The series begins with the main character and her buddy/scythe almost accomplishing this, but failing on a technicality and having to start over.
I'm not sure if these examples are just different expressions of the 1000 Origami Cranes trope, or if said trope is only part of a larger, undiscussed supertrope about the act of reaching the number 1,000 having some symbolic importance in Japanese culture.
Edited by Unnerving_Posterior on Jun 23rd 2024 at 7:39:40 AM
The "sometimes 100" makes me question if there's any really is or need to have cultural significance, it feels like an arbitrary large round number as an alternative to the Catch Them All type quest.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup"Inelegant Issue Avoidance" <- probably less clever of a title than it feels like, but sometimes video games have bugs and instead of just fixing the bugs (not necessarily possible with available resources) they put in a workaround. EarthBound (1994) has out-of-place moles in certain spots to fix an issue with a no-overworld-damage flag; Dark Souls II has the gender change coffin to handle a rare issue with accidental gender changes when entering NG+.
Main issue I can see is that these are rarely if ever confirmed as being intended as a workaround. Best we can usually do is confirm that the issue exists and the thing does work around it.
Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.![]()
The "unreasonable" version I think fits Drives Like Crazy already, while the subversion looks like a mild form of Culture Clash.
Sounds viable, probably the sort of trivia that requires citations to discourage "They 'fixed' this problem without actually fixing it"?
One trope idea I'm considering is the antagonist using facsimiles of the dead to lure people into their trap, mainly by taking advantage of the fact that these dead people were loved ones which the person grieved and missed. The major example I can think of is in Torchwood: The Lost Files but I see Supernatural did it as well.
I know there is Shapeshifter Guilt Trip, but what I'm looking at is more illusions than shapeshifting.
Is there anything special about illusions, or could you generalize it into hallucination generation too?
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576I've noticed that a few of the examples on Harmful Healing are examples of the healing process working fine but being excruciatingly painful, which I feel is kind of a stretch (the trope itself is about the attempts at healing that fail or have bad or at least unwanted consequences), so I wanted to see if it would be appropriate to make a new trope
Healing Hurts - Healing magic or sci-fi tech is depicted as effective, but extremely painful for the person being healed.
examples
- Delicious in Dungeon - Dedicated healers can shut down the sense of pain while working, so the subject doesn't suffer any pain or discomfort. Marcille is unfortunately a healer by circumstance and not trade, and doesn't want to risk meddling with nerves like that. The result is that her healing magic is extremely painful, which is played for dark comedy.
- The Raven & the Owlet - Healing magic itself doesn't hurt at all, but when Luz gets fourth-degree burns over her entire right arm, no healer is skilled enough to help her and Sylvie Arends (Boscha's mother) instead brews a potion that will regrow the burnt flesh. The downside is that any type of painkiller, magical or mundane, might mess with it and do more harm than good, so Luz has to bite down on something and suffer through it. It starts as a mild tingling as her burnt nerves start to regrow, which quickly transitions into stabbing needles, then burning stabbing needles, and so on until she finally passes out.
- Tolkien's Legendarium - Orcs are surprisingly good at healing given how many of them survive otherwise life-threatening injuries. Their healing is not in any way pleasant though. Their draughts let two hobbits ignore their exhaustion and keep walking but is extremely repellent to taste, while their ointments against wounds is both painful and leaves scars.
^^I'm inclined to agree that "cure has explicitly harmful or unwanted longer-term effects" and "cure does exactly what it needs to do, but the process of taking it is very unpleasant" are reasonably distinct.
My main concern would actually be overlap with Foul Medicine.
- Off Sight Mystery: The protagonist is distracted, hit by Knockout Ambush or asleep. Something important happens off-screen, so after the transition it becomes the next Driving Question.
Really don't mean to sound annoying, but is this idea
tropeworthy and worth being added? Asking because I don't want to submit a dud idea to the TLP.
There is a trope I've seen before (and which doesn't seem to have a page) where a character is so old that attempting to represent their age through the number of candles on their birthday cake becomes problematic.
However, I cannot recall any specific examples of this, and TLP drafts need at least three. Does anyone remember any?
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I'd argue this is distinct from Foul Medicine, if overlapping slightly, because this is specifically about magical or science fiction healing process being very painful, not just the medicine you have to take being unpleasant (though I admit the lotr example I listed was more foul medicine than this trope, my bad)
I'm not sure I can make it myself but would anybody be interested in a trope page for media that depicts the events leading up to an apocalyptic event, which serves as a work's ending? Not Just Before the End, something actively caused by the main plot rather than the earlier stages of a disaster.
I would like to propose “Virtuous Halo/Naughty Halo”: A halo appears over a naughty character’s head as a visual shorthand that they’re trying to be good or are being forced to be good.
- Zootopia: In the “As told by Emoji” retelling, Judy tries to accuse Nick of committing a crime after he hustled her out of $20 for his Pawpsicle scam, but his response is an angel’s halo and a mocking expression because he did everything legally.
- Calvin and Hobbes: While Calvin is a huge troublemaker, he at least tries to behave himself during December to get onto Santa’s good list, with mixed results. In one Sunday strip, he puts on a halo and says, “‘Tis the season to advertise.”
- Captain Underpants: In one of the intro comics, George and Harold explain that Mr. Krupp blackmailed them into behaving with a tape that proves they sabotaged a big football game. They illustrate their point with a drawing of Mr. Krupp forcing them into angel costumes with halos.
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The trope does not require a halo. Even a malevolent being or a mischievous character can walk on Solid Clouds, despite our perception of angelic beings walking on clouds.
A prime example of this is Bowser, who despite being a major villain in the Mario games, has a sense of benevolence and altruism, right down to being a heroic ally of Mario in some games, and Bowser is sometimes depicted as being able to walk on clouds. The same can be said about King Dedede in the Kirby games.
An Ur-example of a mischievous character literally walking on clouds is Sun Wukong the Monkey King from Journey to the West. Yes, Sun Wukong is also a heroic character.
Edited by Nen_desharu on Jun 25th 2024 at 7:52:19 AM
Kirby is awesome.deerhornsaresopretty — I wrote up a few potential examples along the lines of the "battle flag as a morale/stat booster in games" concept I mentioned. I'm not sure how closely they align to what you had in mind, but here they are.
Another thing that occurred to me. Another role of banners in battle is that they help people identify who their allies are — pre-modern and fantasy battlefields are prone to degenerating into chaotic, confusing melees, and when you need to get back to your side it helps a lot to have a big, flapping banner with your side's colors to head towards.
- A Song of Ice and Fire: Battle heraldry plays a major part in Westerosi warfare for the same reasons why it did so in medieval warfare — it helps to identify and direct one's allied forces in battle, and serves as a rallying point for sworn knights and peasant levies in armies where most of the fighting forces are raised by and organized around individual lords. As such, when armies take to the field of battle, they are typically described as doing so under forests of flags bearing the devices of dozens or more of greater and lesser lords, which are also printed on shields, surcoats, horse armor, and every other available surface.
- Warhammer 40,000: Several armies have dedicated units meant to carry their faction's standards, banners, and icons into battle, usually giving morale boosts to their allies:
- Space Marine Ancients are decorated veterans who, through centuries of service, duty, and combat honors, have earned the right to carry the Company's banner — a heavy brocaded thing in most cases, although the Space Wolves use decorated animal skins — into battle. The most honored Ancient is the Chapter Ancient, who carries the Chapter's own banner and usually goes to war as part of the Chapter Master's honor guard.
- The Vexillas of the Custodes are icons in the shape of two-headed eagles, forged in a century-long process before being given to elder veterans to display during war. More so than inspiring courage, which the heavily indoctrinated Custodes don't strongly need in any case, they are technological artifacts that beam a constant stream of tactical data to the power armor of other Custodes.
- Imperial Guard regiments are awarded ornate, blessed banners when founded, which they carry during their founding parade and through every engagement afterwards. As the regiment ages, its regimental standard is further embroidered to list its victories, and can become a religious relic in its own right. Particularly brave and respected Guardsmen are chosen as their bearers, and inspire the troops to fight harder when the ancient cloth is held aloft.
- The Imagifiers of the Sisters of Battle are an unusual case in that they do not carry banners. Instead, they hold aloft religious relics, such as icons of saints, scrolls of sacred scripture, and full reliquaries, to the same overall effect, although elaborate banners similar to the other Imperial factions' also turn up.
- Chaos Icons are blasphemous symbols in the shape of a God's rune or the eight arrows of Chaos Undivided, decorated with or made from bones, broken armor, and the like, and sometimes bearing braziers burning with mind-clouding fumes. These are given to Chaos Marine champions or to cultists "blessed" with especially impressive mutations, and inspire bravery — or suicidal fury — and sometimes explicitly supernatural effects, at the cost of their bearer suffering the full brunt of the Warp's mutative power. The Night Lords, who do not revere gods, instead carry the corpses of slain Space Marines to mock their enemies.
- Acolyte Iconwards are Genestealer hybrids who carry their cult's sacred standard, usually a decorated banner topped by elaborate wyrm shapes in metal, with which they drive their brethren into fearless charges when the day of the uprising comes. They are chosen from among early-stage hybrids, the closest in shape to their Tyranid gods, who display particular intelligence and bravery.
- The Orks are an unusual case in that, instead of trusting their icons to a veteran, the Warboss carries his colors into battle himself strapped to his back, or else gives them to a close Gretchin slave. These are known as Bosspoles, and take the form of heavy metal sticks bearing crude icons of the Boss' personal or tribal symbols, and are often adorned with Battle Trophies from memorable foes.
- Warhammer Fantasy Battle:
- Most units include a dedicated command group, which consists of its standard bearer in addition to a unit champion or officer and a musician who drives the soldiers on with the sound of drums or horns. The standard bearer carries the arms of their unit or regiment, which include traditional banners painted with various faction symbols but also things like lizardman warriors toting huge runic stones on poles or daemons and Chaos warriors carrying staffs topped with occult symbols. Units that include a standard bearer gain a combat bonus to show their strengthened pride and determination to beat the foe, and if the bearer dies another warrior picks up the banner to hold in their place.
- In each battle, one character can be selected to be the army's Battle Standard Bearer and carry the personal heraldry or icons of its lord, province, empire, or god. The combat boost applies to any nearby model instead of to a single unit, and they can also allow allies to re-roll failed leadership and morale tests. Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the Emperor's Champion, carries the Emperor's Standard into battle, a particularly decorated banner bearing the personal iconography of Emperor Karl Franz, that allows him to do this in a larger radius than normal. If a Battle Standard Bearer would be made to rout, they are instead removed as a casualty to represent that the warrior chosen for this honor will fight to the last breath and die on their feet rather than let their lord's, deity's, or empire's precious standard fall into enemy hands.
- In addition to regular, morale-inspiring banners, some armies have magical, unique battle flags or standards such as the High Elves' Banner of Avelorn, woven anew for each Everqueen, which radiates life and strength, or Repanse de Lyonesse's Fleur de Lys Banner, blessed by the Lady of the Lake to drain the magic of enemy artifacts.
I have an idea for a trope titled
There's no shortage of phobias, neuroses, disorders, and mental illnesses in this world. And in some cases those conditions, be it an Absurd Phobia or a legitimate Freudian Excuse, can be very crippling and cause someone to fail at a goal or objective.
Some people decide they want to be cured of their afflictions. And whether it be a case of There Are No Therapists or they simply cannot afford one or simply that they feel a self-designed approach would be more pragmatic, they design and...inflic...their home remedy on themselves.
Be it self-administered electroshock aversion therapy, locking oneself in a tight space to confront Claustrophobia, or lashing oneself to a tall structure to tend to agoraphobia, these people come up with some very...imaginative...and potentially lethal forms of self-administered therapy.
This is not something that should be attempted in real life, but in the world of fiction it has equal potential for comedy or drama, and is equally likely in either case of actually proving effective.
And I need examples. I have a vague memory of a man whose father recounts that he had a case of claustrophobia and/or nyctophobia who locked himself in a closet to cure himself, but I don't remember the work it was featured in.
Any examples and help would be appreciated.
Would "Oxymoron(ic) Joke" be a good trope?
Like jokes on "honest thieves", "honest politicians", "military intelligence"?
Edited by Malady on Jun 26th 2024 at 9:12:47 AM
Disambig Needed: Help with those issues! tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13324299140A37493800&page=24#comment-576

Edited by mightymewtron on Jun 22nd 2024 at 12:20:34 PM
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.