Tropes applying to Massive Story Inside (by the Tropers)

Introduction:

So began the moving and true chronicle of DJay32, a then-fifteen-year-old member of the TV Tropes forum.

Could someone.. help? A bit? Please? *Massive Story Inside* is a TV Tropes thread started in November 2010. Initiated as a desperate call for help from an abused teen in a toxic home, the thread grew into an ongoing account of his life and travails as DJay fought to survive and to find a better life away from his tyrannical and physically abusive father.

And when we say the thread grew, we do mean grew. As of this writing, the thread is 115 pages long and counting, with a post count of 2,872 posts covering a period of ten months. In that time, a great number of tropers have come and gone, though a core group has stayed through most of it, and has lead to some Thread Hopping from newcomers.

^Summary So basically, a bit over a year ago D Jay was in a bad spot. And by bad spot I mean being physically abused and neglected, the former mostly from his father. He started this thread, started looking for help. First there as fostering. Response: "We don't foster 16-year-olds". Then there was lots of moving around, and less food. He tried getting in touch with a doctor, and then a thought came up about moving to America, as his green card hadn't expired and his brother Nathan and his girlfriend were moving there to his families old house. D Jay asked Nathan if her could move over there, and they indicated approval. (He did, if not very enthusiastically) D Jay's dad wasn't willing to buy him a ticket, and his green card was near expired...

^Cont. But then two tropers pitched in and bought him a plane ticket to the US. There, he found a crowded house with occupants who were... young. And money was tight, so there still wasn't plentiful food, but it was okay. There was a good school, with a marching band, a counselor who wasn't useless, and friendly people. There was music and slender horrors and happiness, even if he didn't really have a bedroom and it was hard to get to sleep.

^{Even more...} Then came Torchwood, and the army of... wait, no. No. That's not right. Then came increasing financial problems and "the new guy". The new guy who threatened D Jay's life, health, and freedom, who consistently blamed him for every single possible tiny misstep, according to the most exacting of standards. The police got involved. Then came the revelation that Kit and Nathan didn't think they'd actually said yes to Djay's arrival. With the other housemates turning against the student who wasn't contributing money to the house, a variety of options were considered, but ultimately the solution came from the unlikeliest source: JD's father. A plane ticket back to the UK; a return ticket. And JD took it.

^More He returned home to find unexpected peace. His mother informed him that his father had been in marriage counselling while D Jay was in the states. He enrolled in college, and started studying. They've moved to Cornwall, stressfully. And... we come to the present.

^End There, a vague fuzzy summary. Seriously, read the whole thing. (Thanks to Laura for writing!)

The thread provides examples of:

• Abusive Parents: Unfortunately, for the most part they seem to not want to acknowledge it, or simply don't realize what they're doing.
• Adults Are Useless: Several social workers came and spoke with the family. Nothing happened.
  • Subverted by Iaculus
• Angrish: Various reactions to DJay's dad taking control of the discussion with the social worker in January.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family
• Berserk Button: DJay's dad has.. quite a few.
• Blatant Lies: "Don't go to the doctor/do this or that; we're gonna feed you a lot more from now on."
• Brain Bleach: That kid's gonna need a lot.
• Calling the Old Man Out: It's been attempted, but only led to more trouble.
• Crowning Momentof Awesome: Many.
  • DJay might be able to go to America — if he can pay for the ticket. So what happens?
    Iaculus and Antony get together the £809 in less than two weeks, each trading off outdoing each other and downplaying it on the thread.
    OK, perhaps I should clarify this. The ticket ended up costing £809 due to the relatively close date. Mark had agreed to split the price fifty-fifty, but seeing as it was pricier than anticipated, I made it clear that he didn't need to hold up his side of the bargain if he felt this would hurt his wallet too much.

    So he sent me £500 instead.
• Berserk Button: DJay's dad has.. a few.
• Disc-One Final Dungeon: The interview with the social worker.
• Disproportionate Retribution: DJay's father has bruised him for trying to walk out of an argument, to name one example.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: So far, though time will tell if it lasts.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: DJay's father again.
• Hope Spot: Social worker, Spain..
• The Insomniac: DJay has nothing to sleep for, no school to prepare for.
• Ironic Echo: Unintentionally, and yet so fitting. Wow. Just... Wow.
• It Got Worse: Several times. ..more than several. Countless.
• I Will Show You Abuse: Yes, this was actually said by his father.
• Karma Houdini: What with how often the authorities don't do anything, and with even the social services concluding DJay was "not at risk," it's pretty safe to say his father is this.
• Kick the Dog: When DJay's mom tried to strangle him.
• Machiavelli Was Wrong
• Misery Builds Character: Can happen while reading the thread.
  • Or maybe the trope was added because it applies to DJay's life.
• Mood-Swinger: DJay isn't 100% emotionally stable.
• Mood Whiplash: Can frequently happen
• Overly Long Name: "The Fountain in the Presence of Metropolis, pt. 3: The Return of the Giant Count of Tuscany who Lies Down on Broadway," movement twelve: The Willing Well V: Exogenesis part four: The Seventh Degree of Inner Turbulence: Post-Apocalypse in 148/8. ^note Discussing what soundtrack a film adaptation of the thread would contain. DJay suggested a Mega Crossover Progressive Rock piece lasting seven hours.
• Race Against the Clock: DJay's greencard, since he is out of the States, expires on August 7th, 2011. It doesn't look like his parents intend on returning before then, so some tropers chip in and buy him a plane ticket.
• Recap Episode: The thread so far is recapped in a few posts.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Especially evident in the early pages, though the tropers manage to help DJay out of it in most cases.
• Take a Third Option: The choice was between stay in England with whatever new friends DJay might make, or move to an undetermined state in America with no certainty if life would get better. He was able to go back to the state he came from, to finish high school, and without his own family. All thanks to tropers.
• Troll: Averted and lampshaded. "When I first started reading, I suspected that you were a troll, and the whole thing would end in Bel Air. The more I read, however, the more I really, really wished it would."
• The Un-Favourite
• "Well Done, Son" Guy
• Wham Line: "We can't foster sixteen-year olds."
• What Could Have Been: On the very first page, post 21, DJay almost decides to just not post anymore. But after several days, he posts again and hasn't stopped since. The whole thread could have been cut short. Very short. There's no telling what might have become of him.

The thread in its entirety can be read here.