History SCPFoundation / TropesSToZ

** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/a-suicide-note "A Suicide Note"]], a suicide note left behind by Alto Clef, bemoaning that everyone ''thinks'' he's a Reality Warper that goes on wacky adventures, when he's actually a [[PowerNullifier reality anchor]] that breaks anomalies just by being near them. In one paragraph, he helps shoo out the other "LOL Foundation" clowns: Kondraki ("in a psych ward"), Bright (betrayed the Foundation to the Serpent's Hand and was finally allowed to die), Rights (merged with a biological SCP she was working on), and Crow ({{Mercy Kill}}ed by Clef). Worse still, he claims that all the "LOL Foundation" stuff was a direct result of [=SCP-239=] screwing with reality ForTheLulz. [[spoiler:In the end, the Foundation finds evidence that Clef definitely shot himself in the head... but no body.]]

* ScientistVsSoldier: {{Averted}} with the Foundation itself, whose Mobile Task Forces are proudly loyal to their scientist command. Played straight in the relationship between the Foundation and the GOC, especially over the GOC's responsibility for making SCP-1609 into a dangerous entity. The MTF on their part view their GOC counterparts with absolute contempt and regard them as stupid thugs.

** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5000 SCP-5000]] possibly provides a rare [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]] example of this trope. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, even though Pietro eventually reached his goal, humanity had been essentially exterminated by that point by the [[FaceHeelTurn Foundation]], he is left with no answers, and he could only make SCP-055 come into contact with SCP-579 by dropping the former from a fatal height, causing him to die before his remains were transported to the main SCP universe. Thankfully, this still reset the timeline and saved humanity. However, the DoubleSubversion comes into play when one realizes that, thanks to this timeline reset, whatever entity that the alternate Foundation found within the collective unconsciousness of mankind and was trying to fight by exterminating humanity is ''still out there'', and now there's nothing stopping it from pursuing whatever its goals are in granting humanity empathy. [[RayOfHopeEnding Though since the Foundation has SCP-5000 now, they may be able to rediscover it and find a way to stop its nefarious plans]] without resorting to a FinalSolution.]]
** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5999 SCP-5999]] has a complex narrative presented using a high-tech layout and has ineffective warning systems for what is apparently part of the containment protocols (even though reading more of the article slowly unseals whatever is being contained, there are seemingly no attempts to stop the reader by force.) [[spoiler: It's all completely irrelevant, as it's really a means to invoke this trope and execute [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/sandrewswann-s-proposal Protocol ZK-001]] (simulated using the JumpScare at the very end.)]]

* UnifiedNamingSystem:
** It deals with so many other groups competing for anomalous objects they [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/groups-of-interest listed them all on a page]] for editors' reference. Of them, several are mainly referred to by their acronyms: the Global Occult Coalition (GOC), the Office For The Reclamation of Islamic Artifacts (ORIA), and the Unusual Incidents Unit (UIU) of the [=FBI=].
** Another group of renegade artists known as "Are We Cool Yet?" is usually referred to by OOC editors as AWCY(?).

'''Special Containment Procedures''': You're going to die, you poor dumb [[BreakingPointSwearing fuck.]]

'''Special Containment Procedures''': You're going to die, you poor dumb [[PrecisionFStrike fuck.]]

* WishFulfillment: Articles that are blatantly wish fulfillment for their author tend to get downvoted and deleted, but the more subtle and creative ones can stick around.

** Two of the three agents first sent after [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-953 SCP-953]] were Japanese and mistook her for a lovable [[AsianFoxSpirit kitsune]]. The third and sole surviving agent was Korean and familiar the [[AsianFoxSpirit gumiho]], acquainted with [[GenreSavvy rather more bloodcurdling folklore about fox women]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Several [=SCPs=] take certain popular fictional tropes and show how they would work in a real-world setting.
** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1470 SCP-1470]]. It's a spider who can communicate through telepathy. The Foundation no longer has to keep an eye on it, because it's dead. Spiders of that species only live for four months, and once those four months were up, it died of old age. Similarly, there's [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3774 SCP-3774]], where [[spoiler:the InterspeciesRomance between a human male janitor and a cyborg female mosquito (ItMakesSenseInContext) only lasted for around a month [[MayflyDecemberRomance because that's the typical lifespan of a mosquito]]]].
** In a different vein, there's [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1575 SCP-1575]]. It is a statue/fountain that, over the course of about a month, slowly transforms animals into humans when they drink from it. What sounds like a [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry fetishist's dream]] quickly becomes a nightmare when you look at the concept from a real-world point of view. Simply put, animals and humans are biologically different for a reason. Only three tested animals managed to survive the transformation and only one of those three transformed fully with no unwanted results. The rest died from TransformationTrauma related defects, due to biological differences. Examples include a field mouse whose cardiovascular system shut down because it couldn't keep up with the rate her body was growing, a tiger whose organs failed after just ''four days'' because of the sedatives she was given, a parrot whose skeleton shattered in various places because, like the field mouse, it couldn't keep up with the rest of her (her wings did apparently manage to form a set of pseudo-hands, though) and some undisclosed but horrific incident caused because a dog used for testing was unknowingly affected with intestinal parasites.
** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4974 SCP-4974]] was an attempt to bring [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] to life by means of hundreds of game cartridges, yellow sea sponge remains, the basic organs and cells needed to create a new organism, and 21st-century alchemy. It worked, but instead of giving HarmlessElectrocution to its recipient (the creator's son) as the anime did early on, it just killed the boy outright, something that the creator [[DrivenToSuicide killed himself over.]] Worse, as it's still technically a mutant sea sponge growing in a foreign environment, the Foundation believes it can't even think, unlike real Pokemon.
** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-ex Every now and then]], the Foundation investigates a reported phenomenon that turns out to be a hoax or have a mundane cause.

* SapientTank: Two of mention [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-802 SCP-802]], a French tank that patrols a small region and attacks any who come near it, and [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-516 SCP-516]], a Soviet-made nonviolent (until pressed) tank.

* SchmuckBait: After Dr. Clef tells everyone ''not'' to let SCP-447-2 touch dead bodies, the test log doesn't last for half a dozen entries before someone requests a dead body for testing. Then the researchers decide to get their revenge by throwing ''Clef'' into the bathtub. It does nothing, and he tells them that "after you clean this up you will all be missed".
* ScienceCannotComprehendPhlebotinum: The very definition of an SCP object is the inability to explain what it can do, or how. However, there ''is'' a (very small) list of "explained" [=SCPs=], which are objects or phenomena which have been explained, ceased to exist, or — in one case — was unable to be contained, and affected the whole world, rendering containment procedures moot.

* ScienceIsWrong: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-033 The Missing Number]]. We missed a number. Whenever it interacts with anything electronic or math we use, the number breaks it.
* TheScottishTrope: '''The place that has no name (but would be SCP-4000 if it did)''' cannot be referred to using a name, as it causes all sorts of unpleasant effects.

** SCP-076-1, amongst others, is one such can. It contained SCP-076-2, but it was easily unsealed (it was just a stone coffin), and when SCP-076-2 started working ''for'' the Foundation, it became little more than 076-2's respawn point. Later played straight during the great Mary Sue purge — 076-2 [[spoiler:was retconned into being completely AxCrazy after all, and after they ran out of things for him to do, he started killing all humans on sight. They had to detonate a nuclear bomb and entomb 076-1 under the bedrock under the ocean]].
** SCP-231 is an interesting case, as the SCP ''is'' the can that the evil is sealed inside. And the Foundation will do ''whatever'' it takes to keep said evil sealed up.

** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2217 SCP-2217]] is a holy site for an offshoot of the Church of the Broken God, and was rated Thaumiel because it is intended to combat an XK scenario related to [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-610 SCP-610]], the Flesh That Hates.
** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2237 SCP-2237]] is a set of foundation spaceships intended to be launched several planets (some of which are the ones created by [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1795 SCP-1795]]) in the event of a major problem on Earth.

* SingleAttemptGame: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1315 SCP-1315]], where only one attempt is possible because of some reason other than being lethal on loss. It's an NES cartridge that contains a "game" in which hazards manifest in real life, albeit only to the ones who are playing it. When you die in the "game", you vanish, and it is implied that you become minions for the "game".

** SCP-3470 and SCP-2086 are variations of this trope, as they are predatory organisms that take the form of man-made vehicles, with barely visible drivers inside, to either lure in or catch their preferred prey (humans) off guard; 3470 has taken the form of a Ford Angilia 105E, while instances of 2086 will take on the forms of public transportation, usually buses.
** Downplayed in the case of SCP-973, a police cruiser, as it will only attack anyone that goes over a certain speed limit. However, said limit can vary anywhere from 35 mph - 70 mph, and the Foundation has yet to find a predictable pattern between the ever changing speed limits.

* SleepParalysisCreature: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-932 SCP-932 ("Night Feeder")]]. Normally invisible, they look like featureless, pale children. When a human is asleep and dreaming, a group of them will pin the victim down, wake them up and terrify them to [[EmotionEater consume their fear]].

* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: [[invoked]] The wiki itself slowly slid from a general silly mood to a more serious mood. Early on when things are still messy, articles can often have dead-serious (sometimes ''so'' dark and serious they just seem silly again) descriptions, [[MoodWhiplash then end with a silly addendum]], making things seem rather silly on the grand scale. The ShooOutTheClowns mentioned above purged most of the articles that are deemed "too silly", and newer, more serious writers turned the wiki down the serious path. Nowadays, the wiki as a whole is pretty serious, though individual articles/canons may still have some silly themes, but tend to aim away from being potentially {{Narm}}-inducing like some of the early works and are instead treated in a serious way. That being said, there are still a high number of strange or funny articles, especially among the newer series, though these tend to avoid {{Narm}} by instead more emphasizing the {{Surreal Humor}} of dealing with bizarre things like [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-504 SCP-504]][[note]]a species of tomato [[ProducePelting that violently hurl themselves at anything cracking a bad joke within earshot]][[/note]], [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1472 SCP-1472]][[note]]an anomalous strip club which had one act consist of ''Velociraptors'' in {{Meido}} costumes[[/note]], [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2020 SCP-2020]][[note]]an alien coming up with random sci-fi story ideas[[/note]], [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3922 SCP-3922]][[note]]a device that causes super-powered police to bust into any televised work to arrest lawbreakers[[/note]], [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4950 SCP-4950]][[note]]an ApocalypseCult almost succeeding in using both ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' and an ''Toys/{{amiibo}}'' to summon their DestroyerDeity[[/note]], [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5983 SCP-5983]][[note]]a bizarrely symbiotic connection between explosions within a small county in Wisconsin & the efficiency of the New York City Subway[[/note]], and [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6599 SCP-6599]][[note]]an anomalous individual with the appearance [[LargeHam and hamminess]] of Wrestling/ScottSteiner that initially teleported to and beat up people that they got into arguments with on hobbyist forums before they went into anger management[[/note]] - all of which is almost always described in [[TheComicallySerious an unflappably scientific demeanor]].

* Whateversaurus: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6204 SCP-6204]] makes mention of ''Sapientosaurus'', a species of intelligent dinosaurs that apparently developed a sophisticated civilization during the Late Triassic Period.

!!''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' provides examples of the following tropes:

** ''Wiki/TheWanderersLibrary''

* SerialKiller: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5846 SCP-5846]] is a man who murders numerous serial killers between the 1960s and 1970s, long before their crimes become public.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5312 SCP-5312]], which describes an 18th century woman named Virginia Croft who gave birth to a litter of rabbits, is inspired the real life case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Toft Mary Toft]], who in 1726 tricked doctors into believing she had done just that.

* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Appears to be a staple of the otherworldly Rupertian Empire, featured in[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1835 SCP-1835]] and [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6835 SCP-6835]].

%%* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Appears to be a staple of the otherworldly Rupertian Empire, featured in[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1835 SCP-1835]] and [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-6835 SCP-6835]].

%%* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1835 SCP-1835]] and [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-5913 SCP-5913]].

** Two of the three agents first sent after [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-953 SCP-953]] were Japanese and mistook her for a lovable {{Kitsune}}. The third and sole surviving agent was Korean and familiar the gumiho, with [[GenreSavvy rather more bloodcurdling folklore about fox women]].

* WrenchWench: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-085 Cassy]], the [[ArtInitiatesLife living drawing]] who [[BecomeARealBoy wishes she could exist in the 3D world]]. Her hobby is a car she's building from drawn parts, and when photographed with the camera that shows what the subject wishes to be doing, the result - nearly everyone else's being NightmareFuel or TearJerker material, or a couple humorous exceptions - has her in the real world... doing exactly the same thing.

* WombHorror: [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-231 SCP-231-7]] is the last survivor of seven pregnant women extracted from an ApocalypseCult. Her predecessors underwent progressively more catastrophic [[NothingIsScarier [DATA EXPUNGED][==]]] upon dying or giving birth, such that the Foundation projects that #7 could kick off the Apocalypse. Whatever procedure they use to keep her from delivering, even members of an organization ConditionedToAcceptHorror routinely volunteer to have their memories wiped of the experience.

** [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-055 SCP-055]], the self-keeping secret. Everything about it is unknown, ''except that you can't know anything about it''. The SCP will erase any memories that pertain to it from the minds of intelligent humans who observe it. Its very image, copied onto photographs or drawings, will also become impossible to remember or describe within seconds of looking at it. Any scientific readings about it will be forgotten immediately after viewing them. There's only one hitch. It will not prevent you from remembering what it is ''not'', provided you can be reminded you ever looked at it at all. Given, well, ''forever,'' you could work out what it was by eliminating ''everything'' else. It's considered Keter-class (as a general rule, that means "stuff that could end the world" or "682") because [[NothingIsScarier it's just that unknown]]. If it was something so lethal the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s look like SantaClaus by comparison, nobody would remember!

* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse, one of the "explained" [=SCPs=] was considered explained because it only seemed unnatural to the people who originally wrote it, generations ago. The "phenomenon" was [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1851-ex some compulsion in black slaves to seek freedom]]. As values changed, the Foundation realized this was not an unexplained phenomenon, and gave it EX ("Explained") status.