Where do you go to read the latest about new tropes?
What about old tropes with new names?
How can you find the best but least linked tropes out there?
Worry no more: Trope Report is here.
What about old tropes with new names?
How can you find the best but least linked tropes out there?
Worry no more: Trope Report is here.
Trope Report is a monthly newsletter that intends to showcase works and tropes from all corners of this website. It also aims to keep the troper hivemind updated with pertinent trope changes and discussions.
It's finally spooky season! For October, we reused our Halloween-themed logo from last year and themed many of our entries around Halloween.
Not much has happened on the wiki over the past month, but one notable change is that Image Pickin' threads are no longer auto-locked, as Image Pickin' doesn't have as many issues with new threads as it did in the past.
Other notable changes that have happened over the course of last month are major TRS decisions that have completely overhauled well-established tropes like An Axe To Grind, Plot Hole, Author's Saving Throw, McLeaned, and Nice Shoes. More info regarding those changes can be found in our Changelog section.
Happy troping as always!
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Tropes and Works
Trope Spotlight
Obscure Tropes
This section highlights older tropes that need a boost.- There's a reason October is often called "spooky season", but that doesn't mean everything Halloween-related needs to be horrific. Sometimes, our favorite monsters can be silly, friendly, or... grooving on the dance floor? Yes, we all know that The Dead Can Dance, but a Vampire Dance is a subtrope focusing on bloodsuckers who also like to boogie. Whether it's to set a ballroom scene in a room surrounded by mirrors or just because it's funny, this trope is surprisingly common, but has only managed to get 59 wicks since being launched in 2011.
- Sometimes, the real horror is what's on the restaurant menu. Thankfully, you can usually request they Hold the Unsolicited Ingredient. In honor of National Pizza Month, we hope your slices come with exactly the toppings you want on them and none of the yucky stuff. Launched in 2014, it seems the wicks themselves have been held from this trope.
New Tropes
This section brings attention to recently-launched tropes that could use a little help to really get rolling.- Disguises have a multitude of uses, from trick-or-treating to infiltration. The latter requires commitment beyond a simple costume, however, as uncharacteristic behavior might blow the whole ruse. Perfect Disguise, Terrible Acting describes those who can easily look the part, but not play it. Launched August 26th, this trope is lacking both an image and wicks.
- Welcome to the Extinct Animal Park, where the creatures thought to only exist in the past can now be witnessed in the present! Thanks to the wonders of modern advancements such as genetic engineering and cloning, the people of today can get a glimpse of the prehistoric era in the flesh! Just like the famous Jurassic Park, we've set up enclosures for these fascinating critters to live their new lives, and you get to watch! Just don't get too close to the animals, though; they bite. We opened up on August 7, and we can't wait for you to show up and spread the word of this wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience!
- No pirate trick or treater is complete without a trusty Jolly Roger flag to stake their territory. Black flags with skull and crossbones symbols have been associated with pirates for many years, whether they hail from the sea or the Internet. Despite the concept of the trope being a staple for stereotypical pirate depictions, this trope is very young on the wiki as it was launched on September 19, 2022 (which happens to be International Talk Like A Pirate Day).
Work Spotlight
New Work Page Spotlight
This section covers newer work pages that could use a little help.- Exhibit A is a independent British Found Footage film that chronicles the lives of the King family, as recorded by their daughter, Judith. The strain of living beyond their means leads to an impulsive decision that quickly, horrifically, spirals out of control. Though released in 2007, it did not reach streaming or DVD until 2010. The page is in need of more tropes, an image, and a quote.
- Colorless Poems is a surreal Explorer Horror video game published in 2020. The story follows an amnesiac girl named Akari during a trip to the mountain that's gone terribly wrong. First, her sister Shiori goes missing after hearing a strange cry for help, and then a ghost-like monster starts chasing her as she goes looking for both her sister and her own lost memories. The page needs more tropes, an image, and a quote.
- Horror Shorts Party is a YouTube channel whose content revolves around telling short animated horror stories based on a particular theme or setting, be it festivities, restaurants, leisurely activities, or even well-known celebrities and fictional characters being given Adaptational Villainy. The channel also has a varied list of animations to make each story stand out, with a general animated style mimicking those of popular shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. While the page is well-developed, there are some rough patches that could be cleaned up and YMMV and Nightmare Fuel pages could be made to give the contents of this page some life.
Older/Obscure Work Spotlight
This section is intended to highlight works that may no longer be in the zeitgeist — but that doesn't mean they're any less tropable.- Waxworks (1992) is an Adventure Game by Horrorsoft released for various '90s computers. After the passing of Uncle Boris, you inherit his waxwork museum, but must rid your family of a curse cast by the witch Ixona: for every pair of twins born, one twin would be good and the other evil. Using the waxworks, you enter four specific locations and time periods (Ancient Egypt, Victorian London, a graveyard filled with zombies, and a mine under a mutant infestation) to kill the evil twins, then defeat Ixona once and for all. Although the game is quite difficult and may feel clunky at times, the menacing atmosphere and various, often-graphic deaths really make this worth a try for horror fans. The game was even re-released on Steam as Waxworks: Curse of the Ancestors, in case you'd rather play a modernized, fully 3D experience.
- The Castle of Otranto is considered the first Gothic novel, written by Horace Walpole and released in 1764. The story follows Manfred, lord of the Castle of Otranto, as he becomes obsessed with averting an ancient prophecy that foretells the end of his family's castle reign when "the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it." The tropes in Otranto became hallmarks of the genre, while the book itself was an homage to William Shakespeare's plays, of which Walpole was a big fan.
Works That Need a Page
This section takes a page from the List of Shows That Need Summary. It is intended to spotlight works that people have been talking about enough to link around the site, but don't have a page yet. If the work page link turns blue after this, then we know we've done our job!- Shaye Saint John is a fictional character created by American filmmaker Eric Fournier. A former supermodel who rebuilt her body out of mannequin parts after being in a disfiguring accident, she became the star of several YouTube videos known for their bizarre editing, sound, and content, the most famous being the undescribable "Hand Thing
". Unfortunately, Fournier passed away in 2010, and the channel was taken down on 2017, but reuploads and archives still remain. - Horror web videos are popular for their ability to be presented as real-life events caught on camera. One particular series, Seventybroad, took this fact and ran with it to create a unique work of Metafiction about a guy whose life was ruined by his attempt to make a horror series. Despite being covered by popular horror channel Night Mind, we still have no page for Seventybroad; so if anyone feels like exploring this cool series or if there's anyone out there who's already checked it out, why not show some love and create the work page?
Non-English Work Spotlight
The wiki may be in English, but that doesn't mean non-English media are any less important! This section focuses on works that may have a language barrier to deal with — but are worth it if you do.- Submachine is a series of point-and-click games by Polish developer Mateusz Skutnik. Initially starting as simple Room Escape Games, the plot quickly grows into a much larger story taking place in vast, yet mysteriously abandoned worlds. Though the games were originally developed in Adobe Flash, a Compilation Re-release is scheduled to be released for Steam in the future.
- The Silent House is a 2010 Uruguayan Horror Film. Laura and her father intend to fix up a run-down, boarded-up cottage, only for an unknown attacker to upend their plans. Produced on a minimal budget in supposedly a single take, this film was successful enough to spawn an American remake the following year.
- The Enigma of Amigara Fault is a short horror manga by legendary mangaka Junji Ito. An earthquake cracks open a fault line in the Amigara prefecture of Japan, revealing hundreds of human-shaped holes. They become a tourist attraction, but certain people feel compelled to enter a particular hole when they see it. They do make it back out... eventually. Ito's unparalleled mastery of disturbing imagery and implications will keep this one on your mind long after you finish it.
Creator Page Spotlight
Works would be nothing without the people who make them. This section highlights authors, artists, actors, musicians, and everyone else responsible for trope creation and proliferation.- Gravediggaz was an American rap group comprised of RZA (The Rzarector), Prince Paul (The Undertaker), Frukwan (The Gatekeeper), and Too Poetic (The Grym Reaper). The group is known for popularizing Horrorcore, the hip-hop version of Slasher Movies. Their frightening themes and imagery are perfect for the season, though not for the faint of heart.
- American Murder Song is a music act formed in 2016 by Saar Hendelman and Terrance Zdunich, whom you might know from Repo! The Genetic Opera. Their songs are mostly original Murder Ballads which, together with their music videos, seem to tell an interconnected story. If you're hosting a Halloween party this month, we recommend adding "Pretty Lavinia" and their cover of The Killers' "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" to your playlist.
- Anders Zorn was a Swedish painter who painted the likes of US presidents Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft, using only 4 colors of white, yellow ochre, red, and black. With a limited color range that is perfect for autumn, you can also create a piece using this Self-Imposed Challenge.
- Bray Wyatt is just your average kids' show host, bringing Firefly Fun House to an adoring audience of children. Oh, they might not say much as Bray tells them it's bad to bottle up emotions. Or emote much as he discusses what it means to be a psychopath. Or really react at all as he visibly struggles to keep The Fiend under control. But take our word for it... they're adoring, all right. Wyatt's Subverted Kids' Show gimmick is unique and interesting, and while he's between contracts right now, scuttlebutt says he's interested in coming back to the WWE now that it's out of Vince's hands.
Image of the Month
This section brings you the best selections of the past month from Image Pickin'.
This issue's featured image comes from Blondie, and illustrates Dagwood Sandwich.
████████████████████████████████ Despite the site being called TV Tropes, it's no secret
that we like to write about all types of fiction. And that's
the reason why, when it comes to illustrating tropes,
images that come from works are preferred over images
that don't. That was the context for why the previous pic◊
was replaced. But this pic in particular wasn't selected
just for showing the Trope Namer, it got selected in spite
of it. While it's true that we prefer to show some variety,
this is not really a hard rule, and exceptions have been
made before. And as the clear standout of the thread,
and with an awesome caption to go along, this pic stood
tall against everything else the month had to serve us. ████████████████████████████████
This issue's featured image comes from Blondie, and illustrates Dagwood Sandwich.
A well-balanced meal. If it wasn't, it'd fall over.
that we like to write about all types of fiction. And that's
the reason why, when it comes to illustrating tropes,
images that come from works are preferred over images
that don't. That was the context for why the previous pic
◊ was replaced. But this pic in particular wasn't selected
just for showing the Trope Namer, it got selected in spite
of it. While it's true that we prefer to show some variety,
this is not really a hard rule, and exceptions have been
made before. And as the clear standout of the thread,
and with an awesome caption to go along, this pic stood
tall against everything else the month had to serve us.
Projects and Discussions
Forumwatch
Hey guys! Welcome back to Forumwatch! In this section, we'll be telling you about what's going on in the forums — interesting discussions that may be going on in Wiki Talk, some fun forum games, or lively debates going on in On-Topic Conversations, you name it!
- Writers aren't the only creative species this wiki has plenty of. Many of us are also passionate artists, and artists need to hone their craft just as well. If you want some feedback on your artistic endeavors, visit the Art Critique thread in the Visual Arts forum. The thread is small now, but it only takes a few interested people to bring it back to life, and what could be better than some art advice for your Inktober catalogue?
- It's the month of Halloween, and what forum game would be more fitting to mention than one about horror? Bad Two-Sentence Horror is a game where the first poster creates the first sentence of a story, while the second poster adds a comically non-scary ending. The game repeats over and over. It is certainly a great game to subvert spookiness with during an occasion that isn't as spooky as it seems.
- On TV Tropes, we have a series of Useful Notes articles about the militaries of different countries, all following a "(Nickname) with (weapon that begins with the same letter)" snowclone naming scheme. However, it has been brought up that some of these names are unclear, esoteric, and confusing, and might need renames at best. If you'd like to pitch in to the discussion, come on over to the Useful Notes: States with Snowclones thread!
- It's been one year since Wordle took the world by storm, and in its wake came an enormous number of derivatives. Whether you're an avid player of one of its clones — be it the word-swapper Waffle, the word-searching Squaredle, or the math-based Nerdle — or just prefer sticking to the original, you might want to drop by the Wordle Babble thread, where you can talk about your favorites, discuss strategies and, of course, post your high scores.
Trope/Article Changelog
This section covers renames, removals, redefinitions, hard-splits, merges, and wick cleaning. We'll try to keep you alerted to any major changes to the site, including perpetual projects and Wiki Talk decisions that you may have missed, but if you want to be a part of the process that affects so much of our wiki, then head over to the Trope Repair Shop on the left-hand side of the forum.
- Alien Lunch has been disambiguated and merged with the TLP draft for Weird World, Weird Food. This is due to misuse and overlap with the better-defined draft. TRS thread here.
- Author's Saving Throw has been moved from YMMV to Trivia, and the item now requires Word of God/Word of Saint Paul confirmation of the validity of entries. This is due to misuse and questions about its subjectivity. TRS thread here.
- An Axe To Grind is being split into several new tropes covering different axe-related tropes, with the original name being disambiguated between them. This is due to a very unclear and not tropeworthy definition resulting in several different kinds of use, along with attraction of Zero-Context Examples. TRS thread here.
- Beastess has been disambiguated due to a relative lack of wicks, an unclear definition, and a poor name. TRS thread here.
- Bilingual Animal has had part of its definition, concerning animals speaking human language and producing "natural" sounds for their species, removed, with such examples being moved to Furry Reminder. This is due to an unclear definition and some overlap with Furry Reminder. TRS thread here.
- Clucking Funny has become a disambiguation after being constantly used to denote chickens existing instead of use of chickens as comedy. TRS thread here.
- Credits-Brand Products has been merged with Creative Closing Credits due to a lack of wicks and overlap with the latter. TRS thread here.
- Everythings Better With Dinosaurs has been disambiguated due to heavy misuse. TRS thread here.
- Everythings Better With Llamas has been cut due to an unclear definition, tropeworthiness concerns, and most examples being "Llamas exist". TRS thread here.
- Furry Denial has been redefined — it is now about "an animal denying they're an animal" and has also been renamed to Denial of Animality. This is due to an unclear definition and resultant misuse. TRS thread here.
- Gag Words has been disambiguated due to duplication with Running Gag and Inherently Funny Words and a lack of wicks. TRS thread here.
- Good People Have Good Sex has been disambiguated due to misuse, tropeworthiness concerns, and an unclear definition. TRS thread here.
- Hexagonal Speech Balloon has been disambiguated, with the original idea being sent to the Trope Idea Salvage Yard. This is due to a lack of wicks. TRS thread here.
- Hold On To My Hat has been disambiguated due to a lack of wicks. TRS thread here.
- I Love Nuclear Power has been renamed to Radiation-Induced Superpowers, with the old name redirecting to Radioactive Tropes. The related trope Nuclear Nasty has also been renamed to Nuclear Mutant and has been retooled into a trope about mutant monsters in general. In the former's case, this is due to an unclear name leading to misuse, and in the latter's case, just misuse in general. TRS thread here.
- Lying In The Dirt Together has been cut and sent to the Trope Idea Salvage Yard due to a lack of wicks and a non-indicative name. TRS thread here.
- Mad Lib Metal Lyrics has been cut due to a lack of wicks. TRS thread here.
- Mary Suetopia was merged with Utopia, with the original name and its Suetopia redirect being cut. This is due to attracting complaining, the use of the Flame Bait item
Mary Sue in its name, and unclear usage. TRS thread here. - McLeaned was renamed to Actor Leaves, Character Dies, since its previous name is an opaque cultural reference. TRS thread here.
- The Mean Brit has been merged with British Stuffiness, with the original name being disambiguated between that, Caustic Critic, and Evil Brit. This is due to an overly specific and narrow scope, and a misleading name leading to heavy misuse (some of which overlapped with other tropes). TRS thread here.
- Name-face Name has been merged into Meaningful Name due to attraction of Zero-Context Examples and a generally low wick count. TRS thread here.
- Nice Shoes was turned into a disambiguation due to lack of tropeworthiness. TRS thread here.
- Not Christian Rock has been disambiguated due to inconsistent use and tropeworthiness concerns. TRS thread here.
- Plot Hole was made a definition-only supertrope due to heavy misuse and being covered to some extent by other tropes. TRS thread here.
- Prickly Porcupine has been cut, with the concept of mean or grumpy porcupines sent to the Trope Idea Salvage Yard. This is due to an unclear definition, misuse, a relative lack of wicks, and attraction of low or no-context entries. TRS thread here.
- Seldom-Seen Species has been deemed not tropeworthy and made a redirect to Small Taxonomy Pools. It's an aversion to Small Taxonomy Pools, so the majority of examples do not get moved, but rather deleted. TRS thread.
- Testimonial has been cut due to a lack of wicks. TRS thread here.
- Weekend Inventor has been disambiguated due to misuse and a non-indicative name. TRS thread here.
- Weve Got Ourselves A Blank has been cut due to a lack of wicks from being declared definition-only without discussion, along with being a pointless stock phrase. TRS thread here.
Pages Needing Help
This section highlights articles indexed on the Pages Needing Wiki Magic policy page and sub-pages. Such articles are, at best, under-performing and below wiki standards. At worst, these pages are in violation of the wiki's rules against stubs. If you're an editor, try checking out some of these under-performing trope and work articles to see what improvements you can make to the page.
- This month's birthday is the late poet and playwright Ntozake Shange, known for the choreopoem (a term which she coined) for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Her page would benefit from a list of works and tropes.
- You're not inside a maze... but this shouldn't prevent you from falling in love with Goodbye Strangers, a website and project developed primarily by Felix Kramer. The website revolves around Strangers: odd, vaguely reptilian beings that can only be seen by a small percentage of the population. This context then spirals into a surreal and recursive set of interlocking stories and modules. While its example count is decent for an obscure work, the page has problems with indentation and with Trivia examples and YMMV links on the main page.
- Generally played for horror, comedy, or horror comedy, Senseless Phagia describes when a character eats something while having no idea what it is, their five senses failing them spectacularly. Launched in 2009, the trope is in need of a quote, image, and better description. Its mere 29 wicks mean there's a lot of unknown media left for it to consume.
Project Spotlight
Looking for a project to dedicate some time to, but not comfortable jumping into large threads? Here are some smaller projects, or more recent discussions, in need of a few more hands.
- Recently, closed TRS threads for Difficulty Spike, Ultimate Evil, and Positive Discrimination were brought back due to the wick cleanup efforts being unfinished. The first of those, Difficulty Spike, was moved to YMMV in 2020, and wicks for it, Sequel Difficulty Spike, and Sequel Difficulty Drop are being moved to YMMV unless acknowledged within a work. The second, Ultimate Evil, was renamed to Unseen Evil in 2020, with correct examples moved to that name, and incorrect examples being deleted. (The third was renamed in 2017 to Flawless Token, and had its wick cleanup recently finished). If you'd like to assist, head on over to one (or both) of the two threads and help us out with the dewicking!
- Dingo Pictures is well-known for producing mockbuster films. However, the main creator page for them is very inconsistent with other creator pages, as it contains tropes from their various movies crammed into one page. Aside from that, there's also complaining and snark issues. If you would like to help separate the works into their own pages, as well as gain consensus on examples that look complainy, come visit the Dingo Pictures Cleanup.
- Common Knowledge is a YMMV item for when people, unfamiliar with a work, make mistakes about a work, usually because of Pop-Cultural Osmosis. However, the item has been misused for behind-the-scenes examples that fit better under Pop-Culture Urban Legends and other misuse. If you would like to help clean up the item, come visit the Common Knowledge cleanup.
- Signature Scene is a YMMV trope for the one scene that everyone remembers from a movie or other media. Unfortunately, it has been prone to misuse over the years. If you would like to help clean up incorrect examples, please visit the Signature Scene cleanup thread.
Know the Contributors
- You can't control FernandoLemon, he lives deep inside you, and each day you'll feel him devour your soul!
- War Jay 77 contributed to the newsletter... we think. The contributions were left on a note written in blood, so we're just assuming they were hers.
- gjjones writes for the Project Spotlight section. He also frequently spends his time working on projects whenever they are necessary, cleaning up wiki entries and participating in the ATT and Trope Repair Shop threads.
- 𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕤 writes for the Changelog and occasionally the Obscure Trope Spotlight.
- Psycholy dealer plakythebirb usually writes for Works That Need a Page.
- Excessive-Menace is a spooky scary skeleton who writes for the New Tropes section. When not lurking in graveyards or your closet, they mainly spend their time lurking and editing the wiki, as well as participating in ATT and writing for the Trope Pantheons project.
- The Mayor of Simpleton isn't really all that scary actually, just very mildly unsettling. (He wrote for the Changelog, Projects Spotlight, and Forumwatch this edition. He mostly participates in the Project Threads, TRS, Trope and Wiki Talk, sometimes ATT, and occasionally Image Pickin'.)
- callmeamuffin is a Botanical Abomination who generally writes partially for Forumwatch and Project Spotlight. Outside of Trope Report, you might find his long vines crawling within the Forum Games, Trope Repair Shop, and Image Pickin' forums, leaving behind messes of leaves. You might also find he unpersons wicks to disambiguation pages, but sometimes, they keep on coming back to haunt him...
- Yindee haunts the Pages Needing Help and Spotlight sections.
- alnair20aug93 is a pumpkin cat ghost contributing for the New/Obscure tropes section. Busy drawing for Inktober.
- Chloe Jessica is the thing hiding under your stairs, with fingers like snakes and spiders in her hair. She writes for Work Spotlight and Contributor Spotlight.
- MacronNotes can't afford a Halloween costume so she decided to celebrate spooky season with avatars instead.
- Twiddler BITES and TEARS and CLAWS and MAIMS and makes sure our grammar is in order.
- Crimson Shark is a Blood Dragon vampire fighting to improve his writing content and working for new content in the Trope Pantheons project as well as contributing to the Character-Specific Pages cleanup thread.
This edition of Trope Report is brought to you by Monsters, Inc. Do your kids scare easily? Do they scream when they get scared? This Halloween, the monsters would like to ask you to save their screams, as they are a valuable source of energy capable of powering an entire city.
Interested in becoming a contributor, or have suggestions for works or tropes to feature? Pop by the thread and let us know! We don't bite. (Much.)
and let us know! We don't bite. (Much.)