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* FourthWallObserver: Ezra, who effectively fills in the numerous blanks in the story.
* IronicEcho: When Ezra "kills" Kat, it's by dropping the incomplete draft of the book he was writing into the bottom drawer of the writing desk. At the end of the episode, Matilda, annoyed at how the story is going... ''does exactly the same thing to him...''
* NestedStoryReveal: Happens twice. The first is when Kat walks in on Ezra deciding to change the main character of his story to Barnabas, having got a lucrative book deal to do so. The second happens when Kat has murdered Matilda and Barnabas to get her book back, and Ezra walks in on the suddenly alive Matilda complaining about how she's having problems continuing ''Ezra's'' story.
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* WritersBlock: Ezra mentions in passing that he was struggling with this while writing on Kat's novel.
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** A later one, as Ezra finds himself dealing with the abrupt return of Kat, is when he heads for his writing room to hear ''Matilda'' declare "I've written myself into a corner..."
* WritersBlock: Ezra mentions in passing that he was struggling with this while writing on Kat'snovel.novel, with it being revealed that it's ''his'' author projecting her own writing problems onto him.
* WritersBlock: Ezra mentions in passing that he was struggling with this while writing on Kat's
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Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* CurseCutShort: Overlapping with KilledMidSentence, Ezra stops existing while in the middle of saying Oh sh-".
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* CurseCutShort: Overlapping with KilledMidSentence, Ezra stops existing while in the middle of saying Oh "Oh sh-".
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* CurseCutShort: Overlapping with KilledMidSentence, Ezra stops existing while in the middle of saying Oh sh-".
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Deleted line(s) 10 (click to see context) :
* AmbiguousDisorder: Lampshaded InUniverse example. Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Lampshaded InUniverse example. Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguousDisorder: Lampshaded example. Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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* AmbiguousDisorder: Lampshaded InUniverse example. Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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* StrawMisogynist: Kat describes her all-male superiors as demoting her because they didn't want her to tell them the truth.
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* ArcSymbol: Cats. The name Kat and her two cats.
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* ArcSymbol: AnimalMotifs: Cats. The name Kat and her two cats.
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* TakenOffTheCase: Discussed. Kat explains that she was taken off a "missing child" case because her superiors couldn't stand to be told the truth by a woman.
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Changed line(s) 55 (click to see context) from:
* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Ezra gets the same harsh treatment from Matilda that he gave Kat.
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* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Ezra gets the same harsh treatment of the "bottom drawer" from Matilda that he gave to Kat.
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this trope is always in universe
Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguousDisorder: An example where the ambiguity is InUniverse: Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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* AmbiguousDisorder: An example where the ambiguity is InUniverse: Lampshaded example. Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguousDisorder: Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
to:
* AmbiguousDisorder: An example where the ambiguity is InUniverse: Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
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Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
* {{Blackmail}}: Kat threatens to [[FrameUp frame]] Ezra for the kidnapping of his stepson if he doesn't finish the novel her way.
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* {{Blackmail}}: Kat threatens to [[FrameUp frame]] Ezra for the kidnapping of his stepson and the murder of officer Gotdon if he doesn't finish the novel her way.
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* HeKnowsTooMuch: Liasson Officer Gordon was killed because she was onto the killer.
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* TheBlank: Katrina's child has no face (or name) because it was never described in Ezra's draft.
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* TheBlank: Katrina's child daughter has no face (or name) because it was never described in Ezra's draft.
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Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* {{Expy}}: Barnabus is one for ''Series/Monk''.
to:
* {{Expy}}: Barnabus is one for ''Series/Monk''.Series/{{Monk}}.
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* CalmingTea: Officer Gordon hands a cup of tea to the upset couple after their child's gone missing.
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* CompartmentShot: The shot from inside the bottom drawer onto Ezra as he drops the file into it.
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* {{Expy}}: Barnabus is one for ''Series/Monk''.
* FakeBrit: In-universe. Barnabus suggests Creator/MattDamon for the role of the British detective in Ezra's story. Defied by Ezra who is against casting an American in the role.
* FakeBrit: In-universe. Barnabus suggests Creator/MattDamon for the role of the British detective in Ezra's story. Defied by Ezra who is against casting an American in the role.
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* LiteralMinded: Barnabus takes the phrase "put the kettle on" literally and wonders if it would fit.
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* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Ezra gets the same harsh treatment from Matilda that he gave Kat.
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* WhamLine: "It's not your house, Kat."
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okay, I rewatched the scene and it fits the trope although the cat creates a major scare which undermines the idea of the trope
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* CatScare: When Kat investigates a noise coming from the kitchen, her cat Kitney Spears jumps out of a cupboard at her.
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that's not a Cat Scare. the name may be misleading
Deleted line(s) 19 (click to see context) :
* CatScare: Kat's cat Kitney Spears jumps out of a cupboard at her.
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* ArcSymbol: Cats. The name Kat and her two cats.
* AsYouKnow: Ezra constantly tells Kat information that she should know: that her full name is Katrina and she's had multiple ex-husbands, for example.
* AsYouKnow: Ezra constantly tells Kat information that she should know: that her full name is Katrina and she's had multiple ex-husbands, for example.
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* CatScare: Kat's cat Kitney Spears jumps out of a cupboard at her.
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* ItsPersonal: One of the many cliches about the missing boy's case that Kat mentions.
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* SlapSlapKiss: Barnabus invokes that he and Kat apparently have a love-hate relationship.
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* TheAlcoholic: One of Katrina's flaws as a cliche DefectiveDetective.
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* TheAlcoholic: One of Katrina's flaws as a cliche clichéd DefectiveDetective.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches in Matilda's novels.
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* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches clichés in Matilda's novels.
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* ClicheStorm: Invoked. Being the product of a mediocre writer, this episode is loaded with detective story cliches.
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* ClicheStorm: Invoked. Being the product of a mediocre writer, this episode is loaded with detective story cliches.clichés.
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* CreatorsPet: Invoked. Ezra ultimately decided Barnabus was far more fun to write about than Kat, and had Barnabus replace her as the protagonist of the novel.
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* WrongGenreSavvy: Ezra thinks he's an acclaimed writer of crime fiction. Matilda says she actually intended him to be a horror author, and very bad at it.
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* AlliterativeName: Barnabus likes his fictional name ''Barnabus Bull'' because "it's so satisfying to say".
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* AlliterativeName: Barnabus likes his fictional name ''Barnabus Bull'' because "it's [[IJustLikeSayingTheWord so satisfying to say".say]]".
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Changed line(s) 9 (click to see context) from:
* AlmostOutOfOxygen: Kat demands an ending from Ezra in which she can have a BigDamnHeroes moment of saving the missing son right before he runs out of air.
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* AlmostOutOfOxygen: Kat demands an ending from Ezra in which she can have a BigDamnHeroes moment of saving the missing son boy right before he runs out of air.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches in Matilda's works.
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* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches in Matilda's works.novels.
Changed line(s) 19,21 (click to see context) from:
* CreepyChildrenSinging: Ezra hears a creepy children's song when he wakes up at night.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describes his creation Kat as a "flawed detective with inner demons".
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describes his creation Kat as a "flawed detective with inner demons".
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* CreepyChildrenSinging: After his son has gone missing, Ezra hears a creepy children's song when he wakes waking up at night.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Side character Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describeshis creation Kat as a "flawed detective with inner demons".
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Side character Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describes
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* LockedRoomMystery: Name-called by Ezra as the theme of his latest story.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latest detective story involves tiles in the basement wrongly re-laid, clueing detective Bull in about a false floor.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latest detective story involves tiles in the basement wrongly re-laid, clueing detective Bull in about a false floor.
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* LockedRoomMystery: Name-called by Ezra as the theme of his latest detective story.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latestdetective story involves tiles in the basement wrongly re-laid, clueing detective Bull in about a false floor.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latest
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* MostWritersAreWriters: Matilda's protagonist is also a writer of detective stories.
* NestedStory: Matilda writes about Ezra who writes about Katrina.
* NestedStory: Matilda writes about Ezra who writes about Katrina.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nine_lives_kat.png]]
A hard-boiled detective and a novel writer find out a bitter truth about their lives.
!!Tropes:
* TheAlcoholic: One of Katrina's flaws as a cliche DefectiveDetective.
* AlliterativeName: Barnabus likes his fictional name ''Barnabus Bull'' because "it's so satisfying to say".
* AlmostOutOfOxygen: Kat demands an ending from Ezra in which she can have a BigDamnHeroes moment of saving the missing son right before he runs out of air.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
* {{Blackmail}}: Kat threatens to [[FrameUp frame]] Ezra for the kidnapping of his stepson if he doesn't finish the novel her way.
* TheBlank: Katrina's child has no face (or name) because it was never described in Ezra's draft.
* BlankBook: Ezra finds out that his novel only contains blank pages as it's only a FictionalDocument whose content is irrelevant to the plot.
* BodyInABreadbox: One of the possible endings Kat presents to Ezra is her sidekick Barnabus ending up as a corpse in a cupboard.
* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches in Matilda's works.
* CatsHaveNineLives: Kat's theme. Ezra tells her she has run out of lives before placing the draft of her story back into the bottom drawer.
* ClicheStorm: Invoked. Being the product of a mediocre writer, this episode is loaded with detective story cliches.
* ConvenientPhotograph: When Kat goes through Ezra's wallet, she finds a photo of him and the missing boy.
* CreepyChildrenSinging: Ezra hears a creepy children's song when he wakes up at night.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describes his creation Kat as a "flawed detective with inner demons".
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Matilda, a side character in Ezra's story, turns out to be the real author.
* EmptyFridgeEmptyLife: Katrina's only item in the fridge is a vodka bottle, a clear indication of her life having gone down the drains.
* FunctionalAddict: Kat describes herself as one, insisting that her [[TheAlcoholic drinking problem]] doesn't interfere with her work as a detective.
* HardboiledDetective: Kat is determined to solve the case no matter what it takes and whose toes she has to tread on.
* HardWorkMontage: A montage shows Kat thinking hard in front of her pinboard.
* HighConcept: Matilda succinctly summarizes the plot as "a hack horror novelist haunted by his own characters."
* JumpScare: Lampshaded by Ezra after Kat gets scared by her cat jumping out of a cupboard.
-->'''Ezra''': Is that really the best we can do? Jump-scares with a cat?
* LockedRoomMystery: Name-called by Ezra as the theme of his latest story.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latest detective story involves tiles in the basement wrongly re-laid, clueing detective Bull in about a false floor.
* MandatoryTwistEnding: Lampshaded by Matilda when she explains to her creation Ezra that "it wouldn't be a Matilda Gordon novel if it didn't have that final twist."
* QueerEstablishingMoment: One of the endings Kat proposes to Ezra is TheReveal that she is in a lesbian relationship with Ezra's wife.
* RageAgainstTheAuthor: The character of Katrina comes alive and blackmails her author to finish her story the way she wants it.
* ShoutOut:
** Kat calls Barnabus the ''Film/RainMan'' for his autistic antics.
** Ezra mentions he liked Creator/JudeLaw in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley'' and thought he would make for a suitable protagonist for the televised version of his latest detective novel.
* StringTheory: Kat has a pinboard on her wall for the missing child case with a map, photos and notes connected via red strings.
* TakeThat: Matilda notes that she attempted to write the new ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' but ended up with an off-the-mill Creator/StephenKing-type novel.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Kat's desired story ending for her character is to walk out of an [[TropaholicsAnonymous AA meeting]] and throw her police badge into the river.
* TomatoInTheMirror: First Kat and later Ezra come to realize that they are only figments of someone else's imagination.
* UnusualEuphemism: Barnabus uses the phrase "Elvis did not enter the building" to refer to him and Kat not having had sex the night before.
* WritersBlock: Ezra mentions in passing that he was struggling with this while writing on Kat's novel.
----
A hard-boiled detective and a novel writer find out a bitter truth about their lives.
!!Tropes:
* TheAlcoholic: One of Katrina's flaws as a cliche DefectiveDetective.
* AlliterativeName: Barnabus likes his fictional name ''Barnabus Bull'' because "it's so satisfying to say".
* AlmostOutOfOxygen: Kat demands an ending from Ezra in which she can have a BigDamnHeroes moment of saving the missing son right before he runs out of air.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Kat is jealous of Barnabus' character because he gets the limelight for having that popular "unspecified mental illness".
* {{Blackmail}}: Kat threatens to [[FrameUp frame]] Ezra for the kidnapping of his stepson if he doesn't finish the novel her way.
* TheBlank: Katrina's child has no face (or name) because it was never described in Ezra's draft.
* BlankBook: Ezra finds out that his novel only contains blank pages as it's only a FictionalDocument whose content is irrelevant to the plot.
* BodyInABreadbox: One of the possible endings Kat presents to Ezra is her sidekick Barnabus ending up as a corpse in a cupboard.
* CatapultNightmare: Katrina and Ezra wake up screaming this way. It's one of the many cliches in Matilda's works.
* CatsHaveNineLives: Kat's theme. Ezra tells her she has run out of lives before placing the draft of her story back into the bottom drawer.
* ClicheStorm: Invoked. Being the product of a mediocre writer, this episode is loaded with detective story cliches.
* ConvenientPhotograph: When Kat goes through Ezra's wallet, she finds a photo of him and the missing boy.
* CreepyChildrenSinging: Ezra hears a creepy children's song when he wakes up at night.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Matilda gets killed by sheets of paper being stuffed into her mouth.
* DefectiveDetective: Besides her obvious alcohol problem, Ezra describes his creation Kat as a "flawed detective with inner demons".
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Matilda, a side character in Ezra's story, turns out to be the real author.
* EmptyFridgeEmptyLife: Katrina's only item in the fridge is a vodka bottle, a clear indication of her life having gone down the drains.
* FunctionalAddict: Kat describes herself as one, insisting that her [[TheAlcoholic drinking problem]] doesn't interfere with her work as a detective.
* HardboiledDetective: Kat is determined to solve the case no matter what it takes and whose toes she has to tread on.
* HardWorkMontage: A montage shows Kat thinking hard in front of her pinboard.
* HighConcept: Matilda succinctly summarizes the plot as "a hack horror novelist haunted by his own characters."
* JumpScare: Lampshaded by Ezra after Kat gets scared by her cat jumping out of a cupboard.
-->'''Ezra''': Is that really the best we can do? Jump-scares with a cat?
* LockedRoomMystery: Name-called by Ezra as the theme of his latest story.
* LooseFloorboardHidingSpot: Ezra's latest detective story involves tiles in the basement wrongly re-laid, clueing detective Bull in about a false floor.
* MandatoryTwistEnding: Lampshaded by Matilda when she explains to her creation Ezra that "it wouldn't be a Matilda Gordon novel if it didn't have that final twist."
* QueerEstablishingMoment: One of the endings Kat proposes to Ezra is TheReveal that she is in a lesbian relationship with Ezra's wife.
* RageAgainstTheAuthor: The character of Katrina comes alive and blackmails her author to finish her story the way she wants it.
* ShoutOut:
** Kat calls Barnabus the ''Film/RainMan'' for his autistic antics.
** Ezra mentions he liked Creator/JudeLaw in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley'' and thought he would make for a suitable protagonist for the televised version of his latest detective novel.
* StringTheory: Kat has a pinboard on her wall for the missing child case with a map, photos and notes connected via red strings.
* TakeThat: Matilda notes that she attempted to write the new ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' but ended up with an off-the-mill Creator/StephenKing-type novel.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: Kat's desired story ending for her character is to walk out of an [[TropaholicsAnonymous AA meeting]] and throw her police badge into the river.
* TomatoInTheMirror: First Kat and later Ezra come to realize that they are only figments of someone else's imagination.
* UnusualEuphemism: Barnabus uses the phrase "Elvis did not enter the building" to refer to him and Kat not having had sex the night before.
* WritersBlock: Ezra mentions in passing that he was struggling with this while writing on Kat's novel.
----
