Yeah, I think there's something to the idea of "tickling = a bond" since you'll either need to be a family member, good friend, or lover to pull it off. But if the examples don't show that, the trope needs help.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallHonestly, the main Tickle Torture page has the same problem that it's now just listing people being tickled (and in the same just slightly too enthusiastic to pass off as simply adding examples way).
I think the tropes are real, but it probably is worth going through them to edit out the examples that aren't actually torture/bonding, and maybe clarify the content
Looks good, though honestly a wick check might still be needed as a means of preventing further poor use.
Actually, I wonder if that trope is the one that needs wick checking. Sandbox.Tickle Torture Wick Check for when I'm ready
Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallAlright, it's started — with the help of eroock's automated tool. Checked 2 — need to check 48 more.
Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper WallAlso, relatedly, I'm pretty sure that Accidental Tickle Torture straight up isn't a trope. Like, Tickle Torture - where tickling is used as a g-rated form of torture - that's definitely a real trope. Friendly Tickle Torture, where tickling is used to bond with people, at least seems to be pointing at a real trope.
But "something happens and it tickles" really seems to be fit the sit-on-chairs criteria of "has no effect on the narrative, has no meaning, and doesn't change how the work is perceived".

I'm wick checking Friendly Tickle Torture right now over "tickling exists" and fetish example attraction, and now I'm wondering if this is a trope we even need. "Tickling signifies strong bond" sounds tropeworthy, but in practice, a large amount of the examples so far on the wick check are Chairs-y use — but not all.
Before I finish the check and TRS this, I want to ask — is this a concept worth salvaging, or is the potential for further misuse and creepy examples enough to be on board with gutting it? And is the original concept actually tropeworthy at all?
(Previous TRS
, for the record.)
Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Oct 20th 2024 at 6:28:00 AM
Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall