Not Thriving: Locked In

NOTE: The following thread was made by ilovewildkratts1. Please give credit to them.

Locked In only has ten wicks, with seven on-page examples. From checking the history of the TLP submission, it was prematurely launched. Seems to be too similar to Locked in a Room.

Proposal: Possible merge with Locked in a Room, or an outright cut.

Sounds like an easy merge so let's do that.

Merge with Locked in a Room.

Merge. This can be Three-Dayed before Regen even gets online again.

Merge

Pinging ~ilovewildkratts1

Merge for the record

There are a few differences about Locked In which may make merging unsecure:

• It doesn't require tension between the trapped characters. If true, it's a common cliche to make romantic interests get closer right before they're rescued, though it doesn't jave examples like that.
• The trope treats the room as a chronic trap, meaning more and more characters consequently check in and are unable tl leave.

I think for the first part Locked in a Room can be loosened slightly to not require initial hostility as long as there's a mutual character development. The second may be Too Rare To Trope or part of some trope I don't recall.

Edited by Amonimus on Oct 24th 2022 at 1:11:58 PM

Perhaps then we could slightly broaden Locked in a Room per your suggestion and then merge, since the other concept doesn't currently have a matching trope.

I'm all for this. Broadening the definition and merging sounds good to me.

Edited by ilovewildkratts1 on Oct 24th 2022 at 3:33:37 AM

I actually think cutting Locked In is the better move rather than broadening Locked in a Room.

As Amonimus pointed out, Locked in a Room is more specific because it's describing a conflict resolution set up. Characters that are already experiencing tensions between them get locked in and the scenario forces them to confront their problems in a way they couldn't organically. A House Divided is described as being it's opposite: people with tension get locked in a room together and it's basically a pressure cooker, heightening tension and animosity until it boils over.

I feel like those are both pretty clearly defined tropes and since Locked In has so few examples and wicks due to the premature launch, I'd rather cut and yard than merge/redefine Locked in a Room.

That or Locked In becomes a Super-Trope for all "people get stuck together in a room for whatever reason" tropes.

Edited by amathieu13 on Oct 24th 2022 at 6:40:34 AM

Super-Trope is a viable idea, now that you mention it.

Are there other tropes that we can use as subtropes? Room Escape Game, maybe?

Edited by Berrenta on Oct 24th 2022 at 7:22:24 AM

Ten Minutes in the Closet seems to be the romantic equivalent.

Given how that one incorrectly links Locked in a Room in the 1st sentence, I'm thinking Locked in a Room may be widely misused as the more general Super-Trope

Edited by amathieu13 on Oct 24th 2022 at 10:54:27 AM

I think I agree with amathieu regarding cutting this or making it a supertrope. It seems like it's already covered elsewhere based on other posts in this thread; the latter would make wick count mostly irrelevant since the wicks would go to subtropes anyway.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Oct 24th 2022 at 11:39:16 AM

"It would be done within the day," you said...

If merging is a no-go for whatever reason, just cut the page and yard Amonimus' second bullet.

Done, so locking.