TV Trops

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Tunicate: May 15, 2012

quote:

"gently caress meaningful sacrifice."

The complaint is that it isn't meaningful, it was contrived and lovely.

Like most of the rest of the book, actually.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 03:34

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# ? May 25, 2024 22:44

Tyrannosaurus: Apr 12, 2006

HorseRenoir posted:

What is it about metal that attracts sperglords? I've never seen punk or hip-hop fans as anal and dorky as metalheads.

They might not be as dorky but hip hop fans can be huge loving dipshits, too. Check out any given song on Rap Genius and be amazed at the amount of asinine bitching.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 03:38

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

"KGB"

# ? Apr 14, 2014 03:39

Byde: Apr 15, 2013; by Lowtax

Maremidon posted:

I have no idea and we are not the ones to question it.

Anyway have a blast from the past of 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081218133530/http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DarthWiki/ComplainAboutShowsYouDontLike

quote:

This site seems full of cutesy anime fanboys, utter perverts (lolicon is basically pedophilia) and people who fetishize EVERYTHING. I like the listing of tropes but when you're writing 50 pages about Super Robot Wars I start to get scared. Thanks to this site I'm planning to avoid modern anime

Ninjasaurus posted:

Well, I guess our work here is done.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 03:40

tacodaemon: Nov 27, 2006

HorseRenoir posted:

What is it about metal that attracts sperglords? I've never seen punk or hip-hop fans as anal and dorky as metalheads.

I sometimes feel kind of bad for metal bands that have been touring for decades and can remember playing for 1980s crowds of drunken rowdy rednecks and hairprayed libertine young women (you know, the Heavy Metal Parking Lot crowd) and now they look out from their stage and see a roomful of be-hatted tropers and scattered old people.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 03:57

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Sham bam bamina! posted:

"KGB"

I like Afghanistan, Amerika, Samovar, Chechnya and... Well, all the other ones that English either borrowed or lent. Thank God we have a translation in two alphabets.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 04:45

The Vosgian Beast: Aug 13, 2011; Business is slow

Tunicate posted:

The complaint is that it isn't meaningful, it was contrived and lovely.

Like most of the rest of the book, actually.

Yeah that last book was just bullshit. It's funny that the series became just as obnoxiously messagey as Narnia did towards the end.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 05:12

AlbieQuirky: Oct 9, 2012; Just me and my 🌊dragon🐉 hanging out

The guy who was complaining that Lord of the Flies "stunk of every bad castaway film and book he's ever known" doesn't realize that time is unidirectional, and therefore William Golding was not ripping off that Tom Hanks movie where he talks to the volleyball, does he?

He was probably just offended by "Sucks to yer assmar " and other attacks on ur-Troper characters.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 05:40

Ninjasaurus: Feb 11, 2014; This is indeed a disturbing universe.

Pedoshit:

Jailbait Discussion posted:

Do we need another trope for when a very evident minor girl acts or dress as she was a jailbait, and maybe she really belive she can be that (even thought her perception of male-x-female relationship is still bound to fairy tales), but she just results in being ridiculus or, in the best cases, just hilariously cute? Former sample

Jesus Christ.

The Jailbait Wait Discussion posted:

Wanted to put this under real life example but there is none on the Main Page. My friend, who is a girl, has a chart for when she'll be of legal age because she's been dating her boyfriend for two years. And the chart marks every month for another (well, now it's a year) until she'll be sixteen and can legally have sex with her boyfriend.

I dunno, seems like shitthatdidnthappen.txt to me.

Ephebophile posted:

A person sexually attracted to late-adolescent minors. Not to be confused with (and it invariably will be) a pedophile, who is attracted to prepubescent minors (or hebephile, who is attracted to early adolescent minors). Partly this is because pedophiles like to use this term to defend themselves by deliberately blurring the lines between discussion of pedophilia and issues relating to age of consent (see also Lolicon/Shotacon).

loving pedophiles.

They were pedophiles, Dude?

Oh, come on, Donny. They were using the term "ephebophile"!

Uh-huh.

Are we gonna split hairs here?

No.

Am I wrong?

Legal Jail Bait posted:

There are Moe characters whose youth and innocence attract a fanbase of sexual lust in spite of an author's intentions and then there are characters who are meant to appeal to Lolicon tastes. That's what we call paedopandering and it is a bad thing.

Girls (and occasionally boys) who ascribe to this trope are invariably Older than They Look adults, or supernatural beings that are Really 700 Years Old. The narrative takes great pains to remind the audience that they are adults, thereby (poorly) attempting to justify the sexualization of their apparent innocence and youth. Their being technically adults serves as a tenuous excuse to alleviate the reader of possible guilt.

It's not just the guilt of the readers; there are countries where publishing works with drawn underage sex is illegal. This is sometimes as close as the publishers can legally get if they want to sell their work in those countries. Note, however, that countries have differing laws on the matter, and what may be an effective legal dodge in one country may equal jail time in another.

Finally, this trope is also more often than not played for drama as well; the stigma of being a "forbidden object of lust" trapped in a "child's" body when one is an adult with sexual desires is a veritable goldmine of angst-driven drama and plot.

Dollars to donuts this page was rewritten because of Google.

Legal Jail Bait Discussion posted:

Article says "and it's a bad thing.", "(poorly)" and "tenuous". These are at the very least questionable assertions and, more disturbingly, are attempts at cultural imperialism. They should be removed.

The part I bolded literally made me laugh out loud.

quote:

Generally agreed, this is a fairly complex subject not made any less complex by differing laws about how far it can be taken, so it should be handled carefully and neutrally. If TV Tropes really is not about bashing media, then these words violate that policy.

quote:

Thirded. TV tropes is about describing things, not making judgemental or argumentative statements, and while certainly it's nice for articles to have some humor about them, they should maintain a certain amount of neutrality on the subject being described, rather than being a harsh opinion.

I don't normally post in these comment sections at all, but the phrasing of the article seemed out of place enough that it inclined me to check here. I am relieved to see polite and diffusing statements rather than a nasty argument.

quote:

Still there. Can this article please be deleted instead of pushing someones personal agenda in a locked state?

Only pedophiles would call the wording in that article "a harsh opinion" that is "pushing someones personal agenda".

Jailbait, Anime/Manga posted:

In Mirai Nikki, the two protagonists are both 14 years old. However, the story makes it reeeeeeeeeal easy to forget that fact. Besides almost being raped at one point, the female lead is constantly seen in a bra and panties (or less), chapter 52 showcases the two of them having sex, complete with fully-exposed breasts.

Neon Genesis Evangelion features Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, both of whom are 14 and who are repeatedly depicted sans clothes or in suggestive poses. As with the above example, it is a case of values dissonance.

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water's titular character is yet another 14 year old, who spends the majority of her screentime in a stripperiffic circus costume and is depicted as quite nubile, despite her age. This is often used for fanservice, at one point, spending almost two full episodes nude.

Yoko, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's resident Ms. Fanservice, is only fourteen years old.

What the gently caress is up with naked sexualized 14 year olds in anime?

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water posted:

Ms. Fanservice: Nadia is Ambiguously Brown, spends the majority of her screen time in a Stripperiffic circus costume (which includes a loincloth), and is quite nubile for a fourteen-year-old girl. Plus, she's an agile acrobat.

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, YMMV posted:

Memetic Sex Goddess: Nadia: caramel complexion, acrobatic, wears a stripperiffic circus costume that includes a loincloth, and is quite nubile despite being only 14.

Someone certainly has a type.

And to end with something that isn't pedoshit but still classic tvtropes:

Gratuitous Japanese, Real Life posted:

Japan, but it's not considered "Gratuitous" there.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 06:00

Testekill: Nov 1, 2012; I demand to be taken seriously

Why do they insist on calling a 14 year old anime character nubile?

# ? Apr 14, 2014 06:12

SodomyGoat101: Nov 20, 2012

Testekill posted:

Why do they insist on calling a 14 year old anime character nubile?

Ephebophile defense.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 06:27

Ninjasaurus: Feb 11, 2014; This is indeed a disturbing universe.

SodomyGoat101 posted:

Ephebophile defense.

Baka! Being attracted to 14 year old anime characters makes you a hebephile.

Also...

Baka Discussion posted:

T Vtropes just needs a Japan equivalent for Otakus and Japanese culture enthusiasts. It seems like any popular Japanese term is getting or has gotten it's own page at one point. It's a epidemic...

# ? Apr 14, 2014 06:36

Alpha3KV: Mar 30, 2011; Quex Chest

That reminded me of something. TvTropes has a page called SoCalization, which describes the way Hollywood writers often make things in other parts of the U.S. work the same way they do in Los Angeles, when that's not necessarily the case. For example, 187 is not a universal murder code, though it's very well known as a synonym for murder because of this and West Coast rappers. Guess what one of the longest sections is about?

quote:

A teenager will always be "legal" at the age of 18, as if this is the age of consent for the entire country. In reality, that's not even close to the truth. Each state has its own age of consent, and only eleven of them have it at 18, California being one of them. It's 16 in most of them (thirty) and 17 in the others. Also, most states have exceptions if both are younger than the age of consent, or one is at it but the other is slightly below; California, however, has no close-in-age exemptions at all. Also, it is a federal offense in the United States to take a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse.
◊However, it should be noted that Baja California, Mexico (home to stock drunken debauchery site Tijuana, literally just across the border from San Diego), does have a legal age of 14, and some parts of Mexico have it as low as twelve. However, in that case the age is still 16, unless you are paying for it (then it is 18) or you happen to be a minor (then it is your age -4, minimum 12). Very few places worldwide have it as high as 18.
◊Less an effect of state age of consent than the American standard of someone being a legal adult at 18. In areas strictly under the jurisdiction of the federal government (e.g. Americans living on military bases abroad) the age of consent is 16 (as per the Uniform Code of Military Justice) or the age of consent in that State/Nation (whichever is higher).
◊This is a key plot point in the webcomic Treading Ground, where this trope is even name-checked. Half the troubles Nate and Rose went through could have been avoided had they known what the law actually was in North Carolina, where the comic takes place.

I'm sure all of this was included just for the sake of accuracy and without any kind of ulterior motive whatsoever.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 06:47

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

Young Freud posted:

You're talking about "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?", right? And, before anyone says that's wrong, that's the whole point.

My personal favorite explanation is that the real Question was asked by Marvin (who saw it in Arthur's brainwaves):

"Think of a number, any number".

# ? Apr 14, 2014 08:48

Soulcleaver: Sep 25, 2007; Murderer

Oh poo poo I finally found a trope that actually has an analysis page!

I wish I hadn't.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 11:09

Tunicate: May 15, 2012

Alpha3KV posted:

I'm sure all of this was included just for the sake of accuracy and without any kind of ulterior motive whatsoever.

So basically this?

http://www.theonion.com/articles/man-knows-unsettling-amount-about-nationwide-ageof,3716/

# ? Apr 14, 2014 16:29

Hoover Dam: Jun 17, 2003; red white and blue forever

Djeser posted:

It's easier to be gay than to be asexual. Being gay means you're socially and politically marginalized for your relationship status. Being asexual means sometimes people make fun of you on the internet. So, y'know, gays should be glad they're not asexual.

best part is that the whole point of the movie is Steve Carell's character is the most well-adjusted and mature of his friends

# ? Apr 14, 2014 17:24

fade5: May 31, 2012; by exmarx

Soulcleaver posted:

Oh poo poo I finally found a trope that actually has an analysis page!
I wish I hadn't.

God, all the tropespeak on that page is grating as hell to read. Ironically, that's actually a fairly accurate analysis of Tsundere, and it really is a good example of an (unfortunately common) anime trope.

Also, if that analysis makes (to use TVTropes classification) "Type A Tsundere" sound like they have mental or emotional problems, that's because in the real world a "Type A Tsundere" would probably be diagnosed as having a mild form of "Borderline Personality Disorder".

Wikipedia posted:

People with BPD can be very sensitive to the way others treat them, feeling intense joy and gratitude at perceived expressions of kindness, and intense sadness or anger at perceived criticism or hurtfulness. Their feelings about others often shift from positive to negative after a disappointment, a perceived threat of losing someone, or a perceived loss of esteem in the eyes of someone they value. This phenomenon, sometimes called splitting or black-and-white thinking, includes a shift from idealizing others (feeling admiration and love) to devaluing them (feeling anger or dislike). Combined with mood disturbances, idealization and devaluation can undermine relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. Self-image can also change rapidly from positive to negative.

While strongly desiring intimacy, people with BPD tend toward insecure, avoidant or ambivalent, or fearfully preoccupied attachment patterns in relationships, and they often view the world as dangerous and malevolent.

Sound familiar?

fade5 fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Apr 14, 2014

# ? Apr 14, 2014 21:01

Lottery of Babylon: Apr 25, 2012; STRAIGHT TROPIN'

This is what TvTropes thinks "analysis" means:

Analysis: Role-Playing Games posted:

The following is a list of the basic play features of the typical RPG video game, mostly of the Eastern type. It includes playing tips. Note that each game is unique and will almost always include features besides the ones listed here:

I. Saving the Game: To stop playing and continue the where you left later, you must save your progress in a memory unit. In most games, this requires you to take your character to a "Save Point", a place within the game that gives you the option to save. More modern games give you the option to save at any place. Even more modern games incorporate an auto-save.
Tip: Save your game right before doing anything risky, and right after doing something important. Examples: When entering a Town, when leaving a Town, before fighting a Boss, and after fighting a Boss.

II. Towns: A "town" is any area that is safe to explore, that is, it has no enemies that attack you. It doesn't have to be an actual town, it can be anything from a single house to a whole city. Do the following things each time you visit a town:
Find Items: There are usually items hidden around a town for the Player Character to pick up. They're usually inside containers such as chests, barrels, or drawers. Usually you can find each item only once.
Tip: Check out all the containers in the town before buying stuff at the shops. It might save you some money, or might give you some stuff to sell.
Buy Stuff: Most towns have shops that sell adventuring equipment. This includes Armor, Weapons, Accessories (pieces of gear that grant special powers) and consumable Items (things that are used once and then are gone; typically these are medicines that heal wounds, cure poisoning, etc.) Often there are separate shops for each type of equipment.
Tips:
Try to buy one of every item for sell; odds are you'll need them. If you don't have enough money, you can sell your stuff (see below) or return after having fought several enemies.
Buy the cheapest stuff first; this allows you to get more things at a time. Besides, the more expensive stuff is usually not needed until later.
Sell Stuff: You can sell your equipment and items at shops as well; usually it doesn't matter what the shops sell. The price for selling is almost always lower than the price for buying, however.
Tips:
Sell your stuff AFTER you've bought new stuff; otherwise you risk running out of money!
In the vast majority of games, once you sell an item, you CANNOT get it back! So don't sell anything you might need later. In particular, hold onto equipment pieces with rare powers (such as Shields that protect from Fire attacks) and items obtained after difficult quests.
Equip your equipment: In most games, equipment is NOT automatically equipped on your characters when you buy it. Don't forget to use the game's menu to equip it. (Items do not have to be equipped.)
Tip:
Equip your characters as soon as you are done shopping, so you don't forget later.
Give your strongest equipment to your weakest characters, they need it the most.
If you know that certain pieces of equipment will be needed in special areas (for example, Fire-protection armor for an area full of fire-using monsters) equip them before going into it.
Rest and Heal: In most games, characters will lose Hit Points in combat and/or might be affected by bad Status Effects, such as poison; sleeping usually completely cures these. To sleep, you usually must reach an Inn in a town and pay an amount of money. The game then jumps ahead to "the next day" with all your characters fully healed.
In some games, Saving Points will heal the characters instead. And in some other games, there might be Effects that won't be cured by sleep, and might require special items or visiting special "healer" characters instead.
Tip: Make sure all your characters are healed before leaving for the next mission.
Talk to other Characters: The NPC (Non Player Characters) you see hanging around a town will speak to you if you interface with them. This is necessary in order to find clues as to what to do next, though not every NPC says useful things. Talking to some NPCs will trigger events within the game, which are usually necessary to advance the game (but are sometimes optional.)
Tips:
Speak to NPCs AFTER you've prepared yourself (by buying and resting) in case you trigger an event that keeps you too busy (like a fight with a Boss or a mission that takes you out of town immediately.)
Some NPCs have more than one thing to say. Keep talking to them until they start repeating the same things. Their lines of dialogue sometimes change after some events take place, too, so talk to all of them again when you return to the town.
Other: There might be other things to do in a town, depending on the game; for example, many RPGs include "minigames" which are games of a type different from the rest of the game's other activities (exploration and combat.) These are usually optional. Examples include playing card games, messing around with machines in order to get a reward, etc.

III. The Outer World The "Outer World", also known as the "World Map", is a section of the game that shows you what the region of the game's world that you are currently located in looks like. In the older games it was just a map with an icon representing your party on it (thus the name) but in more modern games it's an actual 3D rendition.
Travel: You must move your characters from one place to another to complete the game. Usually, this means traveling on foot, with your choices of direction limited by roads, mountains, etc. Typically however, the characters obtain other methods of travel as the game advances, such as vehicles or "teleportation" spells, allowing them to reach previously inaccessible areas or return to earlier ones.
Encounters: In most games the Outer World is a dangerous place as you'll be attacked by Enemies (also known as "Monsters.") There are two kinds of encounters, "random" and "fixed." Random enemies vary in type and number; fixed encounters provide a specific enemy. Random enemies are usually unseen until they strike, while fixed encounters can usually be seen and avoided. Also, random encounters are infinite; they'll keep showing up as long as you keep walking in their area. On the other hand, it is usually possible to "clean" an area of fixed encounters, giving you a chance to explore it more calmly, at least until you exit it (then the enemies will usually re-appear.) The vast majority of games use random encounters; fixed encounters are usually saved for Dungeons.
In addition, some encounters result in the characters being at a disadvantageous position; for example, a "Surprise Attack" gives the enemies the chance to strike first, attacking your characters for one round without a chance for them to fight back (except with abilities that react instantly, such as Counterattacks). Another example is the "Back Attack" which results in the party's battle row positions being switched around, i.e. the ones in front are now in the back and vice versa. In some games, the characters may also Surprise or Back Attack the enemies.
Fight Enemies: Most RPG combat sequences are either "turn-based" (that is, the game stops while you're imputing the battle commands) or "real time" in which the enemies attack while you're controlling your characters. Some give you the option of switching between the two modes.
Your characters will usually be arrayed in a row (or two) facing against enemies also arrayed in rows. The rows behind the first are harder to reach or harm (but may also have difficulty striking the enemies.) Some games are "Tactical" which means the battles take place in a larger field, and the characters and enemies can be moved around it. Often these fields feature obstacles or advantages; for example, rocks that prevent easy access to parts of the field, or magical effects that increase the effects of some spells but weakens others.
Some games also offer an option of "Automatic Combat" which allows the PCs to fight by themselves. Note that the game's artificial intelligence does not usually allow the characters to fight the best way they can.
Tip: Use Auto Fighting only against normal enemies, not against Bosses, and keep an eye on your character's expenditure of items and magic.
The commands usable in battle vary from game to game, but usually include
Attack- the character attacks using his equipped weapon.
Defend- the character block incoming attacks, reducing the damage received.
Magic- The character uses one of his magical spells (if any.) Note that using magic spells reduces the character's reserve of MP (Magic Points). Once out of MP, it can cast no more spells until replenished (by using certain items) or by resting.
Item- use one of the items carried. (Most game allows any character to use any item, but some limit each character to carry his or her own provisions.)
Run- the character might attempt to escape. If successful, the fight ends (in some games, however, all characters must escape separately). If the attempt fails, the enemy usually gets one round of free attacks on the characters.
Some Spells and Special Abilities cause "Status Effects" which affect the characters' abilities. Bad, or "Negative" Effects cause harm or weaken the character; poison is the typical example. There are also Good ("Positive") Status effects, such as spells that increase the characters' resistance to damage. Most Status Effects disappear after a battle, but some may linger on.
If a character is reduced to 0 HP, he is "dead" (unconscious) and can no longer be used in battle, though he can be revived with certain specific items or spells. Depending on the game, a "dead" character may still be unconscious after the battle, or (more typically) is functional but his HP may be reduced.
The battle lasts until all the enemies (or all the PCs) are defeated (reduced to 0 HP). If the PCs are defeated, usually the game is over (though you can restart from your last save.) Some battles are "special," however, and losing them does not end the game; that depends on the game and its story sequence.
Tips:
When facing multiple enemies, attack the ones that have the least HP first. That way you'll reduce their numbers faster.
Shoot the Medic First. That is, attack the ones that heal the others.
Save most of your MP and consumable items for fighting the game's Bosses.
Rewards/Advancement: After winning a fight, you'll get rewards from the defeated enemies. These usually include: money, "experience points" (EXP) and occasionally items or pieces of equipment as well.
As your character accumulates XP, his "level" goes up, increasing his physical and magical abilities, as well as learning new Special Abilities, usually specific ones for each member of the party.
In some games, however, alternate systems of character advancement are used. For example, the XP might be used to "buy" abilities for the characters rather than simply earning them, giving the players the choice of customizing the characters to their taste. These systems vary greatly from game to game.
Tip: In systems where you have a choice of abilities, try to have the greatest variety possible, so your characters can handle more types of situations.
Other: In some games, other activities may be possible in the Outer World (such as finding hidden items) but this is rare.

IV. Dungeons: A "dungeon" is any area (besides the Outer World) that is dangerous to explore; again, it doesn't have to be an actual "dungeon" - it could be a cave, an abandoned city, etc.
Exploring: Nearly all dungeons are maze-like; finding your way through is often necessary to continue the game.
Tip: To find your way through most dungeons, you can use the "Right Hand" trick. Choose one of your character's hands (not yours; it doesn't have to be the right hand either) and follow the wall that it points to. If you do this, no matter how many turns you take, you'll eventually find your way out. (The reason for using the character's hand rather than your own is that perspective might change when you enter or leave an area, meaning that your hand no longer points to the same wall.) Note that this is only guaranteed if you start doing it at the exit. Otherwise it's not impossible you will end up going in a circle that doesn't pass the exit, but it's still a good rule of thumb. Simulated locations with inconsistent geometric connections can also foil this.
Make sure you check out a room completely before you leave it. Similarly, make sure you've checked an entire dungeon level before you move to the next.
Encounters: There are enemy encounters in virtually every dungeon. They are usually of the random type, but some games use fixed ones instead.
Tip: In fixed-encounter dungeons, you should clear out a room before exploring it carefully. Note that enemies often reappear if you leave the area.
Tricks and Traps: These are obstacles that will block your way. Tricks require some sort of action to bypass; a door might need a key that is hidden elsewhere in the dungeon, for example. Some tricks can be very complicated puzzles. Traps are similar, but may actually hurt your character: for example, a weak floor that gives way beneath your feet and drops your character in a hole.
Tips:
Some tricks and traps require an item or ability to resolve them; if you can't find the solution you probably don't have the means yet. Return to this dungeon later and try again.
If you screw up a complicated puzzle � for example, if you need to reassemble something but can't remember how it was originally set up � leave the room and then reenter; usually, the puzzle will reset to its original form.
Treasure: Nearly all dungeons contain treasure; it's the main reason for going into them. This can be money, items, pieces of equipment, or objects of no value but which are important to the story (keys, objects to complete a subquest, etc.) Most are inside obvious chests. Warning: in some games, some chests may be booby-trapped, sometimes with monsters inside!
Bosses: A "Boss" is a unique enemy that you only have to fight a limited number of times (usually only once.) Most Bosses are important to the story, tough some are optional. They are always 'much' stronger than other enemies in the same area. They are also immune to most Bad Status Effects (to keep them from being beaten too easily) though they may have other weaknesses (such as to particular types of attack.) Some Bosses also have more than one form- no sooner have you "killed" it than it changes into another form! This trick is usually reserved for the most powerful Bosses, such as the last one in the game.

V. Organizing your Party: As you advance through the game, other characters will fall under your control, forming a group called a "Party." Usually, these characters join (and leave) the party on their own; in a few games, however, you can choose to recruit some characters. The position of your characters in the team usually doesn't matter, except that the weaker characters should be put in the second row.
Tips:
Arrange your characters in order of their speed- e,g. from fastest at the top to slowest at the bottom- that way it becomes easier to remember when each will act in the turn, and plan accordingly.
In games where attack priority depends on the party's order, i.e., the enemies attack the first character in the party order more often than the others, arrange your characters in order of their defense, i.e., the toughest character at the top, and the most vulnerable character at the bottom. The first character will then act as the Stone Wall, i.e., they take damage in place of the whole party.

VI. Side-quests A sidequest is any mission that doesn't advance the main plot of the game. They can be skipped completely, but often lead to optional bosses, special equipment, secrets revealed about the part members,or just leveling up the characters more. Sidequests are usually triggered by talking to NPCs.

VI. Other: Other things often featured in RPGs are:
The option to rename the main character (or more rarely, all of the PCs.)
The option of which party member is seen onscreen.
Bonuses when replaying the game (such as optional dungeons).
And many more.

We are an academic literary analysis website, as evidenced by our insightful observation that RPG's often have dungeons where you can fight stuff.

e: Also this:

Analysis: Buffy the Vampire Slayer posted:

The ultimate description of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is its own title

e2:

Ninjasaurus posted:

Please tell me that's just someone copying and pasting an online video game instruction manual and not actually writing an enormous amount of "Oh my god I don't care" bullshit.

I tried Googling a bit of its text, but the only other hit was the TvTropes "How to Play a Console RPG" page, which is identical. Because "RPG's often contain magic" was such important information that it needed to be posted in two separate places. It's not like writing that wall of text up is out of character for tropers; after all, making an endless disjointed list of meaningless isolated things that sometimes happen in media is TvTropes' mission statement.

Lottery of Babylon fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Apr 14, 2014

# ? Apr 14, 2014 21:31

Ninjasaurus: Feb 11, 2014; This is indeed a disturbing universe.

fade5 posted:

God, all the tropespeak on that page is grating as hell to read. Ironically, that's actually a fairly accurate analysis of Tsundere, and it really is a good example of an (unfortunately common) anime trope.

Also, if that analysis makes (to use TVTropes classification) "Type A Tsundere" sound like they have mental or emotional problems, that's because in the real world a "Type A Tsundere" would probably be diagnosed as having a mild form of "Borderline Personality Disorder".

Sound familiar?

See, your post is by far more insightful and interesting than all the :words:

and

in that tvtropes "analysis".

Lottery of Babylon posted:

This is what TvTropes thinks "analysis" means:

We are an academic literary analysis website, as evidenced by our insightful observation that RPG's often have dungeons where you can fight stuff.

e: Also this:

Please tell me that's just someone copying and pasting an online video game instruction manual and not actually writing an enormous amount of "Oh my god I don't care" bullshit.

# ? Apr 14, 2014 21:40

Lottery of Babylon: Apr 25, 2012; STRAIGHT TROPIN'

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Analysis page is great. The first half of it is about how the title of the show is really deep because the word "the" is in the title, and "the" is singular, and Buffy is the only slayer except for the parts where there are other slayers. It's pointless and sophomoric but mostly just boring and unremarkable. But the second half is this:

Analysis: Buffy the Vampire Slayer posted:

Slayer self defense

I think those reading this page would have a fair idea about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For a quick rundown, let's answer a couple of brief questions.

Who is Buffy Summers? Or rather, what is she? Well she said one time she wanted to be a firefighter, a job placement program thought she'd make a good cop, she was a Burger Fool, a school counsellor, worked in a cafe, and...what's the word? Slayer.

Okay, what does a Slayer do? It's their duty to hunt down and kill vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. Must be why her school she'd be good in the police force, except she goes several steps further than any officer has the right to.

What does this have to do with self defense? We can pick up on a lot of ways what she does is good and what she does is bad.

Buffy herself has said how you should Never Be a Hero. In this case she is absolutely right, doing what she does and becoming a vigilante wo\man can get you killed. However with that said you can avoid what would be a mistake emulating her while still seeing how watching what she does can still be applied should you face a similar sitch.

How can what she does is bad, you may ask? She's been doing this for fifteen years, three is more than most Slayers achieve. By going through her actions we can identify what's right and wrong, and how they might apply to us.

First thing's first, how does Buffy usually perform her duty? She goes about at night in the hopes that she will come across some nasty to slay. No no no no no, hell no. I don't care if Sarah Michelle Gellar has a black belt in taekwondo, if she did this in the real world she'd end up killed. Now of course there are no vampires or demons in Real Life, there have been vampire attacks (no, really, check out True True Blood.) There's no Slayers either. Chalk one up to Little Miss Everybody sucks but me, and yes I hated hated hated her attitude in this scene as well. Of all her failings this might be Buffy's biggest one, yes if you are faced with a monster you can apply some of what she does to defend yourself, yes you can use it to defend others. The last thing you want to do is to go around looking for trouble. I'll go into detail about this below.

Now having explained why you do not go out on patrol, let's look at what happens when she does go out on patrol. One way we'll do is is to compare her to Riley when he went on patrol. In his case he acted much different, in that he came across as actively hunting for something. Now this would indicate to would be assailants that there was a predator in their area and he was best left alone. On the other hand one demon might feel threatened by such behavior and feel the need to challenge him. Buffy, and Faith, or Angel, Spike, in fact they can all be guilty of this. Except they are not as obvious about it.

On the other hand the Scoobies and Buffy act and dress normal, for all intents and purposes they do the job better because they do not present themselves as a threat, however they do present themselves as prey. In their case they are able to take care of themselves but the ideal is a happy medium: to present yourself in such a way that will make an assailant have second thoughts about attacking, yet not encourage trouble. There are many ways to achieve this: how you walk, how you dress, act, however this is not a guide to what you can do, it's examining what a Slayer does. One good example of someone who does it right is Angelus in the episode Phases. What's he doing? For all intents and purposes he's just out for a stroll, holding a flower. Several things work in his favor however. One is his size; there are people out there much bigger than him yet he is usually classed as The Big Guy. This would scare off some would be attackers. Another is here he is very obviously the predator, the Nice Guy act is just that, an act, but let's say for a moment it wasn't. He gives no motive for someone to attack him, the fact he's a Complete Monster notwithstanding.

Speaking of which, rep has a lot to do with how someone is perceived, and whether or not they might be attacked. In Angelus' case none of the good guys who know who he is would go after him without backup. The same can be said of those who know Buffy's history: not as a Slayer, but as someone who burnt down the school gym, said to have violent tendencies and have at least two murder charges brought against her. Notice also how she can quickly defuse a situation when she began becoming a Bully Hunter and word got around she beat up others, at the price of many seeing her as a freak (an issue that would become resolved when Sunnydale finally waking up to what was happening.) While not ideal, at least her rep meant she wasn't subject to rape attempts after fighting off would be rapists and her arrest over Kendra's death.

More to come.

I... I really don't understand what they're going for here. Are they really complaining that the vampire slayer granted super-vampire-slaying-powers to slay vampires is using them to slay vampires instead of keeping her head down and letting everyone else die? As much as I hate to agree with the shallow "The ultimate description of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is its own title" first half of the analysis page, it really is right there in the title: you hunt vampires to kill them, not to avoid fighting them. I'm used to TvTropes failing at analysis but this is something else. This is a complete failure to have even the slightest hint of a grasp on the basic narrative at even the most simple, fundamental level. How do you do that?

(And did Buffy even have :tvtropes:

in it? I must have missed that part.)

# ? Apr 14, 2014 22:37

Penny Paper: Dec 31, 2012

fade5 posted:

Also, if that analysis makes (to use TVTropes classification) "Type A Tsundere" sound like they have mental or emotional problems, that's because in the real world a "Type A Tsundere" would probably be diagnosed as having a mild form of "Borderline Personality Disorder".

Sound familiar?

Very, considering my sister has it. And I hate to ask (mostly because I don't give a rat's rear end about it), but would "Type B Tsundere" (where you go from nice to mean) be bipolar disorder?

# ? Apr 14, 2014 22:39

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Lottery of Babylon posted:

(And did Buffy even have in it? I must have missed that part.)

There was an attempted rape in the sixth season, and some guys tried to use mind control to make a woman sleep with them and she called them out as rapist in uh... I think the sixth season, too.

Why do I remember this :psyduck:

# ? Apr 14, 2014 22:40

Lottery of Babylon: Apr 25, 2012; STRAIGHT TROPIN'

FrozenVent posted:

some guys tried to use mind control to make a woman sleep with them and she called them out as rapist in uh... I think the sixth season, too.

Oh, yeah, I remember this one now. Still, it doesn't really fit with what the Analysis page was talking about. Based on what the Analysis page seems to say, Buffy should have been revenge-raped by serial rapists as revenge for foiling their previous rapes and this is the worst sentence I've ever typed.

Penny Paper posted:

Very, considering my sister has it. And I hate to ask (mostly because I don't give a rat's rear end about it), but would "Type B Tsundere" (where you go from nice to mean) be bipolar disorder?

No, my brother is bipolar and bipolar disorder is nothing even remotely like this tsundere stuff. Bipolar isn't about switching between nice and mean like an anime character, it's about switching between manic and depressed (with the manic part being much more dangerous despite being feeling more fun at the time). Bipolar episodes often last a long time and it can take months to switch between states (you're considered "rapid-cycling" if you have more than four episodes in a year), whereas anime characters switch in seconds. They're not even remotely related unless you abstract it out to the level of "has two states".

Lottery of Babylon fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Apr 14, 2014

# ? Apr 14, 2014 22:46

Ninjasaurus: Feb 11, 2014; This is indeed a disturbing universe.

FrozenVent posted:

There was an attempted rape in the sixth season, and some guys tried to use mind control to make a woman sleep with them and she called them out as rapist in uh... I think the sixth season, too.

Why do I remember this

The attempted rape was that completely out of character and retarded scene with Spike and Buffy in the bathroom. I recall reading somewhere that Sarah Michelle Gellar not only hated filming the scene but also hated that it was even written in the first place. I think it was quickly inserted into the episode because by that point Spike was so popular that the fans had apparently forgotten he was still evil so of course the best way to show that was :tvtropes:

(It was not the best way to show that.)

# ? Apr 14, 2014 22:51

Byde: Apr 15, 2013; by Lowtax

fade5 posted:

God, all the tropespeak on that page is grating as hell to read. Ironically, that's actually a fairly accurate analysis of Tsundere, and it really is a good example of an (unfortunately common) anime trope.

Also, if that analysis makes (to use TVTropes classification) "Type A Tsundere" sound like they have mental or emotional problems, that's because in the real world a "Type A Tsundere" would probably be diagnosed as having a mild form of "Borderline Personality Disorder".

Sound familiar?

What's with Japanimine's fascination with Tsunderes? It's like a really creepy and horrifying version of video game's obsession with every RPG hero having plot-twist-hiding amnesia.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 00:23

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

By default, I almost wanna say it was Evangelion (more specifically Asuka, who had a... complicated relationship with Shinji, the protagonist), but my gut's telling me there's probably something that comes before that.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 00:27

Wales Grey: Jun 20, 2012

Byde posted:

What's with Japanimine's fascination with Tsunderes?

It's not that they're rejecting you, they just don't know how to deal with their overpowering attraction for you!

# ? Apr 15, 2014 00:42

Keromaru5: Dec 28, 2012; Pictured: The Wolf Of Gubbio (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

If Wikipedia is to be believed, it goes all the way back to Lum, from Urusei Yatsura.

Which I guess says a lot, if the basis for Tsundere is a psychotic alien from a slapstick manga where much of the humor comes from the characters being terrible, terrible people.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 00:57

DStecks: Feb 6, 2012

Regalingualius posted:

By default, I almost wanna say it was Evangelion (more specifically Asuka, who had a... complicated relationship with Shinji, the protagonist)

If that is the case (and it could very well be), I find it pretty hilarious that a relationship dynamic that was obviously unhealthy, and the product of mental illness, has become normalized into an anime clich�.

(To elaborate, Asuka hates Shinji because all of her self-worth is tied up in her skill as an Eva pilot, and Shinji is an objectively better pilot despite not giving a poo poo. But she also wants his attention, because she has a compulsive need for attention brought on by the circumstances of her mother's death, and she seeks attention through aggressively flirting with him. Shinji hates Asuka because he doesn't get why she hates him, and there's also a hint that he resents her flirtation because he wants to reciprocate it, but is too afraid of rejection. But, he's also a lonely, hormonal teenage boy, and basically incapable of not falling in love with every woman he sees. Their relationship is possibly the most dysfunctional in Evangelion, and that's saying something.)

# ? Apr 15, 2014 01:00

Nintendo Kid: Aug 4, 2011; by Smythe

Byde posted:

What's with Japanimine's fascination with Tsunderes? It's like a really creepy and horrifying version of video game's obsession with every RPG hero having plot-twist-hiding amnesia.

Do you really think "character who acts mean but actually loves/likes other character" only exists in Japan or something? poo poo there's one right in Hey Arnold. Or like a third of all the crappy soap operas and sitcoms out there.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 01:01

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

poo poo Calvin's "girlfriend" from Calvin and Hobbes probably qualify.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 01:05

Political Whores: Feb 13, 2012

It's because it implies innocence and naivet�, that's why you see it invoked with kids so much. The girl has feelings, but doesn't know how to express them, and she can't express them directly, for various cultural reasons (this last part is particularly important in Japan). When it comes to finding it attractive in a sexual or romantic sense, having the character react that way invokes the idea of passion and strong desire, without sullying them with actual honest sexual expression, so that they can remain chaste and ignorant. Tropers and Japanese otaku like it for the same reason they like every other cute infantile thing: because they fetishize innocence and purity.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 01:11

Testekill: Nov 1, 2012; I demand to be taken seriously

FrozenVent posted:

poo poo Calvin's "girlfriend" from Calvin and Hobbes probably qualify.

Susie and Calvin are also six years old and six year olds pick on people that they like because they think that's what they're supposed to do.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 02:24

Swan Oat: Oct 9, 2012; I was selected for my skill.

Is Calvin an ephebophile? My thousand word post on the Calvin & Hobbes analysis page explores this thorny issue -- and so much more.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 03:31

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

Byde posted:

What's with Japanimine's fascination with Tsunderes? It's like a really creepy and horrifying version of video game's obsession with every RPG hero having plot-twist-hiding amnesia.

I'm not an expert (thank God), but I presume it's at least partially rooted in the desire to prolong conflict in romance plots even when the characters involved are obviously attracted to one another. "Characters A and B are attracted to each other, but A is emotionally conflicted/otherwise hostile, so B has to win A over before they can act on their shared feelings" is way more of a scaffolding to support a story than "Characters A and B are attracted to each other and are both functional human beings, they enter into a relationship and it's pretty solid," even if you have to create extremely irritating, implausible personality disorders with which to do it. Sure, there are other conflicts that can keep a romance plot interesting, but, y'know, plausible and sympathetic conflicts are hard to write, and most anime is hackwork, so the tsundere dynamic is an easy well to draw from.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 03:38

Puppy Time: Mar 1, 2005

I just assume it has to do with the crazy popularity of Rumiko Takahashi's work spawning a jillion imitators, and people who grew up with those imitators' works creating their own stuff using the character types.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 03:49

Lottery of Babylon: Apr 25, 2012; STRAIGHT TROPIN'

Susie gets annoyed when Calvin runs a Get Rid Of Slimy Girls club, let me explain why this means she has an anime brain disease

Puppy Time posted:

I just assume it has to do with the crazy popularity of Rumiko Takahashi's work spawning a jillion imitators, and people who grew up with those imitators' works creating their own stuff using the character types.

This is a big part of it. A lot of anime, especially the sort of anime where you're all but guaranteed to see tsunderes, is in a very similar position to American superhero comics where it's very creatively inbred and is mainly written by aging fans for other aging fans.

Swan Oat posted:

My thousand word post on the Calvin & Hobbes analysis page

Don't be ridiculous, Calvin & Hobbes doesn't have an analysis page. That would just be silly.

Calvin & Hobbes: The Series does, though.

Analysis: Calvin & Hobbes: The Series (which is a fanfic pretending to be a tv show) posted:

Shout Outs
One can observe an interesting trend in Calvin & Hobbes: The Series' Shout Outs.
Season 1 often used outright plagiarism from sources the author is known to like - this ends up blurring the line between "plagiarism" and "shout out".
Season 2 mostly used what are obviously references, as most other works do.
* Both Seasons 1 and 2 use the following series for shout outs: SpongeBob SquarePants, Hank the Cowdog, and Garfield.note
* They also use pretty blatant Product Placement and parts of the original strip, though the latter could be excused as a series of Call Backs (and indeed, it already has been).
Season 3, while mostly being the same as above, also has the mostly blatant plagiarism yet - "The Five Calvins", a completely random adaptation of "The Five Doctors". Though there's enough new material to stop accusations of plagiarism, there are still some rough edges (i.e. the title - there are only four Calvins! note )
Seasons 4 and 5 are pretty much the same as the above - no rip-offs here!
* Seasons 3, 4, and 5 all display a shift in tone, and the author's new favorite media was perhaps an early indicator of this - Doctor Who and Red Dwarf are more prominent. On the flip-side, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is referenced with the same frequency as the former two, and there are two separate references to Pajama Sam of all things.
* This may also have something to do with his co-author garfieldodie, whose portfolio is mostly fanfics of these series, while Swing123 is mostly the aforementioned Nick cartoons and comic strips.

Timeline
Given that the story is basically a Continuity Cavalcade based upon the two authors' earlier works, it's no surprise that references to both series come up a lot. But there's a problem - Calvin and Hobbes III: Double Trouble and Trouble Island both had endings that directly contradict the major Cassandra Truth themes on this story! This means that they're probably in Canon Discontinuity. ("The Transmitter Conspiracy" referenced Attack Of The Teacher Creature, mind you.) Or it could simply be that the events of Double Trouble and Trouble Island simply haven't happened yet within the show's continuity.

Wow this sounds like a really great and well-written television show I mean fanfic I'm so glad we analyzed it so well.

Calvin & Hobbes: The ~~Series~~ Fanfic is one of those weird things that nobody has ever heard of and nobody gives a poo poo about but which somehow shows up on every single trope page; presumably the author is a troper. The "Whateley Universe" does the same thing; apparently, it's an X-Men ripoff for gender-changing fetishists.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 04:04

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

Install Windows posted:

Do you really think "character who acts mean but actually loves/likes other character" only exists in Japan or something? poo poo there's one right in Hey Arnold. Or like a third of all the crappy soap operas and sitcoms out there.

Helga of Hey Arnold, Faye of Questionable Content and Dr. Cox of Scrubs are all mentioned as Western examples.

All three of those characters are sent to therapy at some point.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 05:03

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# ? May 25, 2024 22:44

Suspicious Dish: Sep 24, 2011; 2020 is the year of linux on the desktop, bro; Fun Shoe

A dude is a magician

quote:

Ace Cooper from The Magician is one. However, he's also fits Magicians Are Wizards

Rocky and Bullwinkle: "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

"Again?"

One of Kirby's powers in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. His moves include releasing doves, card-throwing and releasing a jack-in-the-box.

# ? Apr 15, 2014 05:32

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