TV Trops

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Wheat Loaf: Feb 13, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

Fuego Fish posted:

However the obsession with it on TvTropes is all cargo cult. The villain's elaborate machinations made him the name for the "Xanatos Gambit" trope, and that put the show into the eyes of the tropers as being just as amazing as their Japanese animes.

I think "Xanatos Gambit" has since been renamed. It was originally meant to refer to a scheme where the villain would succeed regardless of the outcome or something like that, but it ended up being treated as "any clever plan" and had to be revised. There was also "Batman Gambit" at one point, which was basically "Xanatos Gambit except a hero did it".

# ? Feb 28, 2014 14:28

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# ? May 23, 2024 08:42

WickedHate: Aug 1, 2013; by Lowtax

Metal Loaf posted:

I think "Xanatos Gambit" has since been renamed. It was originally meant to refer to a scheme where the villain would succeed regardless of the outcome or something like that, but it ended up being treated as "any clever plan" and had to be revised. There was also "Batman Gambit" at one point, which was basically "Xanatos Gambit except a hero did it".

Tropers not really understanding tropes is a such a problem that they actually made an index for trope distinctions. "Lucky" for us, they cover this:

quote:

A Batman Gambit is a plan designed to succeed by predicting the opponent's moves based on the opponent's flaws and most likely actions. It isn't supposed to fail but can if the opponent does something unusual.
A Gambit Pileup can occur when the plans of two or more characters intersect with each other, usually in a manner that makes the plot extremely confusing.
A Xanatos Gambit is a plan that is designed to pay off for the planner regardless of whether it "succeeds" or "fails". The planner benefits regardless of the outcome.
A Gambit Roulette is a plan where the prediction of the opponent's moves breaks the Willing Suspension of Disbelief because it involves factors that people shouldn't be able to predict.
Xanatos Speed Chess happens when a plan has to be altered on the fly in the face of unexpected circumstances

All of these are things that deserve their own pages of examples, apparently.

# ? Feb 28, 2014 17:45

Morkyz: Aug 6, 2013

Has anyone ever pointed out to fast Eddie that maybe if not even the site regulars understand what these articles are about then they just might be shittily written?

# ? Feb 28, 2014 17:53

WickedHate: Aug 1, 2013; by Lowtax

Morkyz posted:

Has anyone ever pointed out to fast Eddie that maybe if not even the site regulars understand what these articles are about then they just might be shittily written?

Does Fast Eddie even give a gently caress about the tropes themselves? It seems like he's more concerned with maintaining the hugbox and holding everything together.

# ? Feb 28, 2014 17:56

Kaiser Mazoku: Mar 24, 2011; Didn't you see it!? Couldn't you see my "spirit"!?

Fast Eddie's rules are:
Don't be mean.
Don't change, alter, or in any way disrespect anything related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the site.

As long as you abide by those, you can pretty much do whatever the gently caress you want for all he cares.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 06:27

Soulcleaver: Sep 25, 2007; Murderer

Also: Don't piss off the advertisers.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 07:29

WickedHate: Aug 1, 2013; by Lowtax

Soulcleaver posted:

Also: Don't piss off the advertisers.

To appease them, get rid of anything with rape in the title, and put them back up when they aren't looking.

# ? Mar 1, 2014 07:35

Darth TNT: Sep 20, 2013

Morkyz posted:

The "Edit banned/Suspended - would like to edit again." thread is just hilarious.

quote:
"Alright, that's enough forever from Soban. Creepiest thing I've ever read posing as a "prayer." Soban has nothing of value for us to hear and is banned from these forums."

I need a more in depth explanation of my ban. Thank you!

quote:

I am very sorry that I came across as rude, condescending, and insulting. I was attempting to open up a deep and important aspect of my faith for criticism in what I thought was an appropriate thread for the criticism that I wanted to receive. It was not my goal to be rude to my fellow poster, to condescend to them, nor to insult them by sharing a prayer of blessing over them and then open that prayer for criticism so that I could pray for them more effectively. I genuinely believed and was trying to be respectful of them. I know that in my experience, if someone from a different faith wanted to bless me, I would accept it in the spirit it was being offered, even if I disagreed with their religion.

In short, I was not attempting to be rude, condescending, and insulting. I am very sorry that I was.

This is infinitely better with the appropriate quote that got him banned. Unfortunately I can't find it anymore and as I am uncertain if I found it via a link posted in the thread earlier or due to one of my searches on their forum for funstuff it's like finding a needle in a tropestack. He wrote a horrible prayer full of prejudice. I wasn't even able to finish reading it.

Also, just some new content and look a possibility for future hilarity to boot.
Your tagline!

Thread starter and currently only post posted:

Pretty straightforward concept here. If you could give your work(s) a tagline, what would you pick?
I personally would go with "Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good."

"are not good"?

Tvtropes sexed To be fair, it's just words and no pictures but I would rather but a redundand NSFW here than a missing one.

Tropers try to help another one old lubricants and different names for the clitoris.

# ? Mar 3, 2014 12:48

Morkyz: Aug 6, 2013

Lottery of Babylon posted:

A troper named Polar in their LGBT rights thread announces she's getting married!

This post has all the soban stuff.

# ? Mar 3, 2014 12:52

Arctic Bunny: Aug 3, 2012; A PERFECT LOOKING NOSE
Can Easily Be Yours

The Soban Saga - now all in one place!
A TVTroper woman is getting married to her girlfriend. Soban weighs in because :spergin:

soban posted:

Polar, I have very mixed feelings about this. One half of me is excited that you are taking a big step towards what you think will be your future joy. The other half is worried that your taking a step that will lead you down a path that will not lead you to Joy. In the end, it is not what I think that is right that matters, it's God's. So, when I go to bed tonight, here is my prayer for you and your family.

Lord, someone who I admire is getting married soon. Polar is a great woman, she is a constant window into a world that I do not understand. Give me better understanding of her. However, lord based on what I think you have told me, I think she's making a mistake. If she knows you, I pray for her to know you better. If she does not, I pray that she does come to know you. In your will, I pray blessings, truth, and wisdom upon her and her family. Bless her life, her wife, and her children with the knowledge of you. Lead them in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Surround them with a hedge of protection. Lead them to a joy and fullness of life that is found in you. Let your plans and purposes for her prevail. Amen.
soban posted:
This is the LGBT rights and religion thread is it not? I feel that the prayer and emotion I feel about this is entirely appropriate to talk about and address here.

Gabrael, you seem to be missing that I want to strike up a conversation about my prayer and why it is right/wrong/tacky/appropriate is why I posted it up here. I was going to pray something like that if I posted it up here or not. I do talk to God about the people on this forum a lot. The question is not if I will talk to God about ya'll but how should I do it?

Second, I'm not 100% convinced that Polar is going to hell. I take a opt-out version of heaven rather then an opt-in one that is so popular today. I mentioned hell nowhere in my post or in my prayer. Homosexuality is not something that is talked about a lot in the bible. Like five verses out of many thousands talk directly about it. I think someone can be both a Christian and homosexual. Just like someone can be a christian and a Liar or a Christian and a adulterer. If you ask me or talk to me about those two issues, I'm going to talk about them to you and shed light on the issue as I believe the Bible talks about it. Just because you do have sin in your life does not mean your going to hell.

Third, I pray that she does see the light of God. If I am wrong, then she needs to be looking at the truth of what the Bible communicates either way. If I am wrong about homosexuality, I fully support her. If I am right, I want her to come to a knowledge of the truth. In both cases, I want her to find truth, joy, and peace.

Gabrael, let me turn the question around to you. If you were a Christian who believed like I do, how would you pray for Polar? Feel free to take the prayer I have and amend it to be both consistent with my beliefs, concerns, and respectful of polar and what she is doing in her life.

captain Ahab posted:

Alright, that's enough forever from Soban. Creepiest thing I've ever read posing as a "prayer." Soban has nothing of value for us to hear and is banned from these forums.

soban posted:

Soban has nothing of value for us to hear and is banned from these forums."

I need a more in depth explanation of my ban. Thank you!

I am very sorry that I came across as rude, condescending, and insulting. I was attempting to open up a deep and important aspect of my faith for criticism in what I thought was an appropriate thread for the criticism that I wanted to receive. It was not my goal to be rude to my fellow poster, to condescend to them, nor to insult them by sharing a prayer of blessing over them and then open that prayer for criticism so that I could pray for them more effectively. I genuinely believed and was trying to be respectful of them. I know that in my experience, if someone from a different faith wanted to bless me, I would accept it in the spirit it was being offered, even if I disagreed with their religion.

In short, I was not attempting to be rude, condescending, and insulting. I am very sorry that I was.

The End. Best story TVTropes has ever written.

# ? Mar 3, 2014 22:55

Darth TNT: Sep 20, 2013

Yeah, that Soban post was funny.

I saw the movie Limitless yesterday and considering it was about a failed writer I couldn't stop thinking about TVtropes. So let's see what they have to say about that movie.

Link to page

quote:

Actor Allusion: Eddie offers his boss a toast point when they are at the restaurant just before having lunch with Carl. Toast points were the Trademark Favorite Food of Baracus in The A-Team, in which Bradley Cooper starred as Face.

Must... connect... dots! It could possibly also be that someone else eats that food because, you know...food?

quote:

Book Ends: The film begins and ends with Eddie and Lindy in a restaurant.

No, no it doesn't. It starts on a ledge.
I'd also point out that a bit further on the page is this trope:

quote:

How We Got Here: The opener of the movie is Eddie Morra standing on a high ledge, thinking back to everything that put him there.

quote:

The Cast Showoff: Bradley Cooper speaking fluent French, which he does in real life.

He doesn't show off, it's barely a 2 second scene. The scene even fits in the movie and he also speaks German, Italian and maybe Chinese at some point. How is cast showoff even a trope?

quote:

Done interestingly since the movie opens In Medias Res: Eddie jumping off the cliff into the sea foreshadows his apparent suicide jump that opens the movie.

No, the cliff jump shows that he can't stay still and feels like he can take on the world thanks to drugs. He probably even remembered seeing someone dive off before or calculated that he could do it. I see no correlation between standing on the edge of a building because a mobster wants to cut you up and not jumping because you want to live and have a better idea and standing on a cliff with water below with friends and deciding to jump for the thrill.

quote:

Instant Expert: NZT-48 allows Eddie to develop expertise in just about any field (from Mandarin to economics) in a matter of hours.

The trope they link to explains that people instinctively know how to do things. This is actually one of the things I like about the movie. He isn't an instant expert he does need to study, he just studies really fast and remembers everything he ever read/saw/heard. Hell, to become an expert on the stockmarket he needed a few days with a higher dose.

part of the second of three reviews posted:

Unfortunately, this movie suffers from a real problem: The protagonist is a jackass. On the influence of NZT, he acts smug, manipulates several people including his girlfriend, makes deals with Russian gangsters, takes mind-altering drugs, and breaks into the business world just by being that good. His decisions all look as if they should have real, tangible consequences, and they do. However, at the end, we suffer an enormous asspull: The main character got off the drugs offscreen, but retained all the capabilities. Why? Because he came up with Phlebotinum offscreen. gently caress that.

He's a jackass because of the NZT. Did you watch the movie? In addition, did you read your own review before hitting the post button? The last part of this paragraph (while true) has nothing to do with him being a jackass.

This also contains a linke to the brilliantly named trope all writers are writers. It's not that bad actually, I just wanted to post the name. :downs:

# ? Mar 4, 2014 09:34

Anticheese: Feb 13, 2008; $60,000,000 sexbot

Speaking of writing and TVTropes, what's happening with Washout Tom these days?

# ? Mar 4, 2014 09:55

HopperUK: Apr 29, 2007; Why would an ambulance be leaving the hospital?

Darth TNT posted:

The scene even fits in the movie and he also speaks German, Italian and maybe Chinese at some point. How is cast showoff even a trope?

To Tropers, skills such as 'speaks another language' or 'can carry a tune' are the kind of rare talents that make everyone jealous, so any actor using them in their work is just showing off.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 12:04

sweeperbravo: May 18, 2012; AUNT GWEN'S COLD SHAPE (!)

Anticheese posted:

Speaking of writing and TVTropes, what's happening with Washout Tom these days?

I think he's gone. I think he's been gone for a while.

(But don't worry, he didn't quit, he just followed orders)

# ? Mar 4, 2014 15:55

Jerry Manderbilt: May 31, 2012; No matter how much paperwork I process, it never goes away. It only increases.

One of these days, he's going to show up in GiP, isn't he? :allears:

# ? Mar 4, 2014 16:04

Penny Paper: Dec 31, 2012

HopperUK posted:

To Tropers, skills such as 'speaks another language' or 'can carry a tune' are the kind of rare talents that make everyone jealous, so any actor using them in their work is just showing off.

I thought that they were trying to say that an actor has an actual talent that gets added into the story. In this case, it's Bradley Cooper speaking French (which, according to this one YouTube interview I saw, he can do in real life). But this is a much better explanation.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 18:17

William Bear: Oct 26, 2012; "That's what they all say!"

I actually groaned reading a thread where tropers take turns asking each other questions, to be answered in character by their main character.

quote:

The questions sat in front of me like a particularly ornery gatekeeper, demanding answers and tribute before I could proceed further. I took a swig from a flask in my pocket. I needed some liquid courage if I was going to be able to suffer these questions, which were more probing than my last proctologist's appointment.

Another barrier in the path of Trigger Loaded, Private Investigator. But then again, you wouldn't be interested if there were no barriers. Conflict-less stories don't attract attention, after all.

(Trigger Loaded, my namesake character. Fourth-Wall breaking private investigator of the 22nd century.)

1. How was your life at home?

Aggrivating. My parents were the sort that should've divorced, but decided to stick together for my sake. All it did was completely screw up my perception of a loving relationship. And screw up my perception of a normal talking volume. Fortunately, I've learned the second one well enough.

2. What's your main drive in life?

Get a case, make a few bucks, not get booted out of my roach hotel affectionately called an apartment by my landlord. And have enough left for beer. And cigars... Maybe some food after that.

3. Do you believe human nature is fundamentally good or evil?

I believe humans are generally a bunch of selfish jerks. Present company included.

4. How do you fight?

With my fists. Or my pistol. What the hell kind of answer are you looking for?

5. Why do you fight?

Why do I fight? What kind of existential moronic question is that? I fight to prevent others from making my life more unpleasant than it already is. Be it through broken bones, gunshot wounds, plasma blasts, or what-have-you.

6. What do you fight?

Whoever's trying to introduce my face to their fist. Or their bullets to my internal organs. Seriously, was this questionnaire meant for characters from some stupid fantasy novel where there's a clear evil villain or something? This is ridiculous.

7. What is your worst fear?

Dogs.

8. What is your most treasured material possession?

My fedora. Do not touch the fedora.

9. Who is your closest friend?

Ahh, Harvey Karrol, my good drinkin' buddy. Him and I go way back.

10. What is your outlook on the idea of love?

Check with my ex-wife. Any outlook I may have had she took from me as part of the divorce settlement.

11. What is your favourite pastime?

Beer.

12. If you could only have one facial expression for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Annoyed indifference. It's what I wear 3/4 of the time anyways.

13. Describe your ideal love interest, or explain your lack of interest.

I believe I mentioned an ex-wife up above.

14. Have you ever thought you were in a "neck deep in trouble" situation?

Generally every time I get out of bed in the morning.

15. Do you believe in all that occult mumbo-jumbo? Sleeping gods, talking with ghosts, mildewed old tomes with weird illustrations, that kind of stuff.

I'm not that kind of a private investigator. I've considered branching out, though. Not because I actually believe it, but hell, more cases, more cash.

16. What is your alignment? Why?

My alingment? Out of. Both me and my car. If I had the cash, I'd go to a chiropractor. Or a grarage. Not sure which one first.

17. Describe your idea of a perfect world.

A beer in one hand, a stogie in the other, and a roach-free apartment. And two fridges. One full of food, the other full of beer.

18. Describe your perfect (romantic) life partner.

A young leggy brunette with a killer rear end who knows how to cook, when to shut up, and won't pledge eternal love only to sleep with the manager at the local Burger Lord, then divorce me and take me for everything I have and then some.

I mentioned I'm divorced, right?

20. What sort of impression do you want to leave behind as a person - what would you like people to say about you at your funeral?

'Here lies Trigger Loaded. He was a tough S.O.B.'

Though with my luck, I'd be lucky to afford a tombstone that didn't have advertising space on it.

I can't say why, but Bill Watterson's Tracer Bullet is better. Maybe because his Calvin and Hobbes strips had more original cliches.

William Bear fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Mar 4, 2014

# ? Mar 4, 2014 18:55

ArchangeI: Jul 15, 2010

Figures that the Fedora would be the most prized possession.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 19:42

Benne: Sep 2, 2011; STOP DOING HEROIN

The difference between this and Tracer Bullet is that Calvin and Hobbes is funny

# ? Mar 4, 2014 22:01

Arctic Bunny: Aug 3, 2012; A PERFECT LOOKING NOSE
Can Easily Be Yours

ArchangeI posted:

Figures that the Fedora would be the most prized possession.

Wanna bet it's ~actually a trilby~

Drinking game! Take a shot when you see a fantasy race that's already been done!

original fantasy races do not steal posted:

Okay, so I was thinking of putting together a fantasy setting, and was looking at the races to go in it. Thus far I have:
Humans - Pretty standard fare, with a few exceptions
Altenans - White haired and pale skinned, they live much longer than normal.
Karijin Babies are born more proportioned (ie, with smaller heads), which means few deaths in childbirth, and quicker physical development, but slower mental development.
Benzar - Short, and often (indeed preferably) 'fat', the extra mass is actually 'water-flesh', allowing them to survive for up to a week in the desert homes without a drink.
Varish - Shortish, slightly hunched and bow-legged, they live in jungles where their unusual adaptations allow them to move about much more easily in the treetops.
Noralin - Shortish and barrel-bodied, they live in cold places where other humans couldn't (at least for long), their more extensive digestive systems wringing far more nutrients from any bit of food.
Whirall - Tall, pale and long-lived, they are humans modified by White Elves to be their servants.
Dwarves - Short, 'bearded' (the beards are actually fine tentacles covering an altogether non-mammalian mouth), gruff and mysterious as per usual, but definitely non-human in biology.
Lightwalkers - taller than normal dwarves, and with a tendency to try to adapt their appearances to look like the locals.
Elves - The dominant race of a past age, only just breaking even in this one.
Vale Elves - Shorter than humans, olive-skinned and forest-dwelling, these guys can be hospitable, as long as you don't attempt to harm their forest homes.
Dryads - Fairer skinned than standard, and more relaxed about outsiders.
White Elves - Taller than humans, white skinned, and snow-dwelling, who consider themselves superior to their human 'followers' in every way, though this doesn't stop them from employing humans as soldiers.
Djinn - About human height, skin of any colour, and can live in many places, although often tied to a single locale (be it mobile or otherwise).
Merfolk - Slightly smaller than humans, and with iridescent skin. They rarely leave their watery homes.
Orcs/Orges - Actually one race (ogres are female orcs), they live in nomadic bands, and far from being the vicious barbarians others portray them as, actually quite cultured.
Goblins - Short, slight and ugly, but intelligent and quick-fingered, they're the settings resident gadgeteers, with a speampunkish level of technology.
Naga/Lizardmen - Another race often counted as two, naga are simply a sub-species of lizardmen who have continuously growing tails.
Gorgons/Medusa (respectively) - subgroups inflicted with a rare disease that causes some of their scales to elongate and go black and floppy, that may resemble hair if not examined closely.
Werebeasts - Human/animal hydrids. Not really an official race since procreation rarely takes place. Almost always a transformation bestowed on another race (often human) by the dryad.
Gnolls - Largish, but hunched and slightly bow legged, gnolls are among the few groups not linked to dryad. Despite their appearance and apparent barbarity, they are normally quite peaceful, and have an actually rather complex culture.
Thirothrope - Human/animal shapeshifters. Another form of 'gift' from the dryad to non-dryads, although somewhat more 'expensive'.
Selkin - Unlike other thirothropes, selkin cannot transform at will, but require magical 'pelts' to do so. They are not limited to only one animal form each though the way others are.
Deep-Dwellers - Look like vampire squid, but without eyes. They are the world most skilled bioengineers, having created the dwarves, troglodytes and lightmimics
Lightmimics - In private they look like D&D Illithids, but in public they can appear like almost anyone. Unlike the dwarves who were almost entirely independent when they surveyed humanity for their masters, lightmimics have a direct psychic connection to their cities, preventing them from even contemplating independence.
Broodkeepers - captured during the dwarfish uprising, these creatures have been reduced to poor fair, kept alive only as incubators for dwarven young.
Demons - Once-humans twisted by dark magic.
Succubus - Petite and short by demon standards, they are often the first, secret wave of demon troops, going forth to distract and disorganise other races forces.
Incubus - Only slightly more massive than the succubi, incubus pre-empt even they, going forth years before and attacks is even planned to set up secret armies of loyal followers (any child of an incubus is bound to his will).
Demonspawn - The child of an incubus or succubus, and bound to the will of their parent.
Imps - Child-like in appearance, imps are erratic in their actions, but their tendency to wander makes them excellent scouts.
Dragons - A former slave-race of the demons who later rebelled.
Tengu - Small, intelligent and feathered. Their delicate physique has led them to becoming excellent engineers to make up for it.
Cestors - Immense, long-lived and almost invulnerable, these giants rarely interact with others even of their own species, instead seeking solitude to contemplate whatever it is that interests them.
Golden-drakes - Much smaller and shorter-lived than cestors but still much larger and longer lived than most other intelligent beings, they are almost the polar opposite of their larger brethren, all but revelling in social contact.
Drachrid - Normally not much larger than foxes in their natural state, drachrids are odd looking, with elements of lizards, birds and insects, though given their skill with magic (especially illusion magic) they're rarely seen like this.
Kirin - A forest-dwelling race about the size of a large pony, the Kirin are generally friendly and helpful provided you don't attempt to harm their forests.
Mocheng - A monkey-like people about the size of a Rhesus Macaque. Although individually not too bright, in groups they can become very intelligent.
Undead - Quite a varied group here.
Borack - The most vital of the undead, they can eat, heal naturally and engage in intercourse (but rarely do). To become a borack, the subject not only has to start out alive, but must also have significant medical and magic knowledge, otherwise the long complex procedure is fatal.
Vampires - Blood-drinkers with super-human strength.
Blood-Knights - Drink blood, but do little else, though they are also not bothered by daylight. Often their mount is their primary source of blood, and if so is fully under their control.
Night-lords - Can turn into a swarm of bats, and control peoples' minds from a distance, but react badly to sunlight.
Lichs - Mages who have sought out eternal life, but have been unable to prevent the decay of their bodies.
Zombies - The most common undead, and with no limits of skill involved.
Borachan Zombie - Almost alive in that they can eat and heal (but not have intercourse).
Passover Zombie - A rare condition where people expire, but their soul does not depart their bodies.
Ghost - A soul without a body. May be bound to a particular place or artefact, or free to wander.
Phoenix - Large colourful birds that can create flames, and if they choose to, bring their eggs to hatching in a moment (though this is fatal for the parent).
Familiar - A normal animal magically imbued with intelligence, and often bound to the person who gave them intelligence, though not always.
Odonfolk - Intelligent dolphins kept by the merfolk as means of long-distance travel.
Wildbrothers - Animals bound much more closely to their 'masters' (not necessarily the one doing the binding) than normal, they often share thoughts, and live the same length of time as their masters (often longer than they normally would).
Animen - Often considered within the same category, but approaching from the other side, these are humans or other intelligences cursed to live out their lives as an animal, but with a human level of intelligence.

I'm not responsible for your liver.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 22:55

Sham bam bamina!: Nov 6, 2012; ƨtupid cat

Arctic Bunny posted:

Intelligent dolphins

Arctic Bunny posted:

kept by the merfolk

So, slaves. :thumbsup:

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:13

William Bear: Oct 26, 2012; "That's what they all say!"

Arctic Bunny posted:

Passover Zombie - A rare condition where people expire, but their soul does not depart their bodies.

Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: How is night different?
Papa Zombwitz: What you think?
Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: Brains! dipped in salt!

William Bear fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Mar 4, 2014

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:21

ArchangeI: Jul 15, 2010

quote:

Borachan Zombie - Almost alive in that they can eat and heal (but not have intercourse)

Of course.

I honestly don't see much wrong with reusing standard fantasy fare races. If you do something interesting in how these races interact, it could be good. Of course, the fact that he just listed a shitton of races with barely any thought as to why they matter to the story means that it would be dull if it was written. Thankfully, it won't.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:25

sweeperbravo: May 18, 2012; AUNT GWEN'S COLD SHAPE (!)

William Bear posted:

Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: How is night different?
Papa Zombwitz: What you think?
Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: Brains! dipped in salt!

Will the zombies not come after you if you have blood painted over your door?

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:30

Political Whores: Feb 13, 2012

William Bear posted:

Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: How is night different?
Papa Zombwitz: What you think?
Lil' Chaim Zombwitz: Brains! dipped in salt!

Has to be made into a cartoon special now.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:31

Sham bam bamina!: Nov 6, 2012; ƨtupid cat

William Bear posted:

Lil' Chaim Zombwitz

This is so close to being worth $7.95.

# ? Mar 4, 2014 23:50

sweeperbravo: May 18, 2012; AUNT GWEN'S COLD SHAPE (!)

Sham bam bamina! posted:

This is so close to being worth $7.95.

Oh my god and I just realized the "Chaim" pun too

I think you should go for it

# ? Mar 5, 2014 00:35

Inspector Zenigata: Jul 19, 2010

---

Inspector Zenigata fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Apr 2, 2014

# ? Mar 5, 2014 00:37

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

The sad thing is that, the amazement of Zombie Passover aside (although I would also read more about Li'l Chaim Zombwitz learning about the season with his loving zombie family), "Passover Zombies" are actually a potent, if not particularly original, horror concept. The concept of finding yourself trapped in an animate but dead, steadily decaying body, with the knowledge that you're going to have to ride this out until your body either disintegrates into nothing or someone mercifully destroys your brain, could be (and has been) used for something really effective... but with this kind of Troper list, you know it's not going to be used for anything at all.

Also, I'm still trying to figure this poo poo out:

quote:

Borack - The most vital of the undead, they can eat, heal naturally and engage in intercourse (but rarely do). To become a borack, the subject not only has to start out alive, but must also have significant medical and magic knowledge, otherwise the long complex procedure is fatal.

So if they metabolize, heal, and reproduce (or maybe just copulate, who knows), what makes them undead and not just immortal? How the poo poo does this even work? Did the writer think about it? Probably not! Gotta fart out more races, after all.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 01:37

Anais Nun: Apr 21, 2010

sweeperbravo posted:

I think he's gone. I think he's been gone for a while.

(But don't worry, he didn't quit, he just followed orders)

Nah. He's still around. Last seen posting in the endless and pointless Writer's Block Daily, where they all talk about their unwritten anime fanfictions and that one troper with a Liv Tyler avatar comes in and keeps asking people what they think about her idea to turn Oliver Twist into a Middle Earth Spacepunk Steam Opera or whatever.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 01:44

Djeser: Mar 22, 2013; it's crow time again

"Can I make Dr. Dickstab, my ghetto supervillain, not racist?"

quote:

Okay, so I'm trying to create a recurring Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain for a superhero story about Cape Busters, a gangbanger turned supergenius who calls himself "Dr. Dickstab". The idea behind the character is a comic relief figure who mixes Sophisticated as Hell with Tim Taylor Technology and the stereotypical behaviors of a ghetto gangbanger (for an idea of what I'm talking about, imagine someone who uses words like "metric fuckton" as scientific units of measurement and who runs all of his technobabble through Gizoogle). I feel like such a character who's Playing Against Type as a mad scientist rather than a thickheaded street thug could be a legitimately funny concept.

What I want to know is if there's any way I can make this character not seem racially insensitive, considering his origins (before anyone jumps to conclusions, yes, I'm well aware that living in the ghetto has nothing to do with race and that there are plenty of white gangbangers). I don't want people to think he's some offensive caricature of any race, culture or minority, but rather just a caricature of stereotypical gangbanger lifestyle (pimps 'n hos etc.), and I want to do this without making him into some white kid acting like a total poser because he's trying to be "gangsta". I want the audience to think he 's funny, not a total tool.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 02:26

sweeperbravo: May 18, 2012; AUNT GWEN'S COLD SHAPE (!)

Djeser posted:

"Can I make Dr. Dickstab, my ghetto supervillain, not racist?"

Start by not writing anymore!

Best,
Everyone

# ? Mar 5, 2014 02:33

Razorwired: Dec 7, 2008; It's about to start!

sweeperbravo posted:

Start by not writing anymore!

Best,
Everyone

Don't worry, all he'll ever "write" is a Trope page and a thread in Writer's Block.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 02:37

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

Djeser posted:

"Can I make Dr. Dickstab, my ghetto supervillain, not racist?"

"I can't make him white because then the audience would be laughing at a white person, which would ruin my plan of making them laugh at the concept that a poor black man who speaks in vernacular English might be good at science!"

# ? Mar 5, 2014 09:32

Darth TNT: Sep 20, 2013

Djeser posted:

"Can I make Dr. Dickstab, my ghetto supervillain, not racist?"

I want a funny black guy, not a white tool. :downs:

Edit: drat my short attention span and Antivehicular posting quicker by about half an hour.

Regarding fantasy races I wonder what the difference between Altenans and Elves will be. :allears:

edit2:
Trope discussion.

asker posted:

One Head Taller vs. Huge Guy, Tiny Girl.
I see these get used more or less interchangeably, often times in the same example.
At what point is a character no longer One Head Taller and instead Huge Guy, Tiny Girl?
Or are Huge Guy, Tiny Girl and Huge Girl Tiny Guy subtropes of One Head Taller?

They get used interchangeably, you know, unlike other tropes that are crystal clear.
But this is a difficult concept. One head taller means HUGE!

the answer posted:

Huge Guy, Tiny Girl and its opposite are intended to be extremes of One Head Taller, generally used for comedic effect. If there is significant overlap, then they are probably being misused.
We may have a People Sit on Chairs issue with One Head Taller depending on how it's being applied.

What?

Darth TNT fucked around with this message at 11:15 on Mar 5, 2014

# ? Mar 5, 2014 09:55

Alpacalips Now: Oct 4, 2013

"People Sit on Chairs" - I'm going to assume some troper is cataloging every time someone sits down on a chair, ever, because TV Tropes.

# ? Mar 5, 2014 14:11

Djeser: Mar 22, 2013; it's crow time again

Alpacalips Now posted:

"People Sit on Chairs" - I'm going to assume some troper is cataloging every time someone sits down on a chair, ever, because TV Tropes.

It's their term for tropes that are broad enough as to be effectively meaningless. Because, the reasoning goes, a work where people sit on chairs is not in any way notable for that fact. I'm sure that tropers have ironically tried to list works where people sit on chairs, though.

It's funny, because that's exactly what I'd consider their One Head Taller page. It could be a vaguely interesting bit of pop culture analysis (maybe how relationships in drawn media often use a height difference as shorthand and how it's often conveniently one head's difference between the partners), but from what I can see the page is just a list of relationships where people are different heights.

Subverted: my girlfriend is as tall as me
Averted: my girlfriend has no physical dimensions
Deconstructed: my girlfriend is in pieces in a bag in my trunk
Reconstructed: my girlfriend lives, she liiiives

# ? Mar 5, 2014 14:28

Kaiju Cage Match: Nov 5, 2012

Cross posting this from GBS, TV Tropes has a page on the game that will never be released, Star Citizen:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/StarCitizen

They consider the "game" making lots of money an "awesome moment".

# ? Mar 5, 2014 15:47

Alien Arcana: Feb 14, 2012; You're related to soup, Admiral.

Antivehicular posted:

So if they metabolize, heal, and reproduce (or maybe just copulate, who knows), what makes them undead and not just immortal?

Because they're subject to Revive Kills Zombie of course!

# ? Mar 5, 2014 15:59

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# ? May 23, 2024 08:42

Regalingualius: Jan 7, 2012; We gazed into the eyes of madness... And all we found was horny.

What was the story behind that, out of curiosity? Was it pretty much the dev got tons more money than expected, realized they would have to spend even more than that to satisfy all of the stretch goals, and bailed out?

# ? Mar 5, 2014 16:04

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