Nothing special or anything... but, she's kinda endearing in an awkward sort of way, huh?
"Why, this is the most convincing fake I.D. I've ever seen! Please, do go right ahead."
— Club bouncer, Blindswipe
"I know there's a difference between doing something because you have to and doing something because you need to."
— Snackervark, The Ceramic Egg
Well... I have trouble doing the embedding thing using articles with single-word names. That's the most important TVTropes-relevant thing. Sometimes I do something I'm proud of, but it always seems to be related to coming up with random story ideas. And pulling two M&Ms of the same color out of a bag. If you Google me you'll probably find a song I made in about 20 minutes for a royalty-free music YouTube channel titled "Never Goodbye." Which is fittingly named because it'll never stop following me or my username. I also made a few pony vectors in 2012 or so.
I like Worldbuilding and then promptly doing absolutely nothing with the ideas I get. Maybe someday I'll bother establishing a canon for them... but probably not.
The "Ideas" in Question
Blindswipe is a lighthearted video game filled with teasing references and humorous takes on game and narrative conventions. It follows the adventures of Ress, a Nerd who gets into all sorts of trouble when she plans to do anything beyond the most basic activities. And sometimes even then, there are surprise stumbling blocks. It mostly has a Random Events Plot, with only a few thematic motifs and recurring characters tying everything together.
The Ceramic Egg is a sprawling written work, primarily featuring the adventures of Journey and the various characters she meets along the way to find where she was born, and if it's where her home really is.
Neither actually exist, but they're fun to play with.
Blindswipe
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Many, many times.
King: Are you telling us it's our only option? We have to... blindswipe them?
Ress: Well, considering it's the game's title... - Cloudcuckoolander: Captain Starboard says Ress is a few bees short of an apiary.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Strawberry Shortsweet hates being called "Strawberry Shortsweet," but she changes her moniker so frequently otherwise it's the only name that sticks with her.
- For Science!: The justification for Dr. Stroop's early experiments and inventions. He considers most of his past work an Old Shame he made when he was young and foolish, and generally refuses to talk about the wacky, inscrutable machines still lying around his workshop.
- Friendly Sniper: King tries to be this, but his timidity in social situations presents a challenge. He grows out of it over the course of the game.
- Hungry Jungle: When the characters are shipwrecked on Fundeath Island.
Captain Starboard: Ya know, there's just some people in the world who, if they're ever stranded on a desert island with other people, will volunteer to go into the jungle to find food for everyone, and immediately get hopelessly lost.
- Ignore the Fanservice: Ress barely pays attention to Calico's attempts to woo her. Justified, as she's asexual.
Calico: Oh come on! Just look at me already!
Ress: Hey! I know you're desperate, but you don't have to tear up a perfectly good shirt to prove it! - The Last DJ: Despite being a walking stereotype, Captain Starboard is a Father Neptune who's happy to sail for free, unlike all the other pirates at the docks, who are Only in It for the Money and aren't interested in having adventures.
- Ominous Save Prompt: After shipwrecking on Fundeath Island, one of these appears when the player attempts to enter the jungle. Played for Laughs, as immediately after saving, the characters walk straight into a clearing with everything they need to leave the island and no dangerous beasts or threats in sight.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Strawberry Shortsweet parodies this, as she keeps trying to invent more and more terrifying names for herself.
Ress: Oh no, it's Straw- Uh, I mean, it's Lachrima!
Strawberry Shortsweet: No, I have tired of that name. You will call me... The Black Dagger!
King: Don't you think constantly changing your name probably generates more confusion than fear? - Nerd Action Hero: King eventually becomes this.
- One-Winged Angel: The Big Bad attempts this, but it backfires, as she uses up all her energy to ascend and dies anyway.
Strawberry Shortsweet: It's time for my final form!
Ress: Alright, do it! We dare you! ...Unless it's really big and powerful! - Paper-Thin Disguise: Subverted, then parodied with the club bouncer. The incident provides the page quote.
- Pirates vs. Ninjas: A fight breaks out before Captain Starboard can leave port between pirates on the docks and a surprise ninja attack attempting to capture Ress. Once the pirates realize who the ninjas are trying to go after, they figure it's a good excuse to get rid of Captain Starboard too, and team up together.
- Sequel Hook: Parodied.
Strawberry Shortsweet: You may have won this day, but I'll be back in the sequel!
Ress: But this is a standalone game. They're not making a sequel.
Strawberry Shortsweet: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!- There's also a sign on Fundeath Island's exit beach reading, "Resident monsters temporarily relocated while surveying possible areas for Blindswipe 2. We apologize for any convenience."
- When Captain Starboard gets stabbed by Samurai Samantha and seemingly inexplicably recovers, he claims no one can kill him off for the simple reason that he's "already got a contract to appear in any sequels they make."
- Sequelitis: Referenced during the ending, when the protagonists part ways.
Ress: I'm gonna miss you guys.
King: Who says this is the last time we meet? After all, if this game garners any kind of fandom, I'm sure we'll all be back in a widely-panned, slapdash sequel. - Shout-Out: Several.
- King references the punchline of The Longest Joke in the World when he returns to help Ress.
- Dr. Stroop, a huge classical music fan, yells at one point, "The greatest composer of all time died on March 9th!"
- The gangsters secretly running the club are playing Pandemic when Ress and co. break into their hideout beneath the building.
- When King mentions how everyone's eyes are glued on Calico in the club, Ress responds without looking "I bet he looks real silly with all those eyes glued on him."
- Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: Fundeath Island's jungle is filled with goodies and level-ups, and the characters even discuss how incredible a find it is. They take what they need, prepare to leave, and... absolutely nothing happens.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: The Dual Boss fight with Samurai Samantha and Quartermaster Quincy. They form a Force and Finesse duo, plus it's almost impossible to knock the Quartermaster out without first taking care of Samantha (who blocks every attack aimed at Quincy and only takes half damage from those attacks). This example isn't necessarily Surprise Difficulty so much as it is a reminder that just because the game is silly, doesn't mean it's easy.
The Ceramic Egg
- Arc Villain: While Natril isn't the Big Bad, he's a minor villain early on (though he has no real reason to fight the protagonists yet), and he becomes the main villain when Suben is defeated. His goals are a little less destructive than Suben's, but he still wants to rule the planet.
- Arc Words: "Something more than memories."
- Beautiful Void: When the characters enter Gibbous' mind. The landscape is Wax and Wan's doing, as neither are willing to fight each other but refuse to reconcile.
- Brains and Brawn: Madame Tetra mentions this trope by name when she explains why she wishes to team up with Journey to fight Suben. Journey isn't thrilled Tetra considers herself the brains of the two.
- The Chosen Many: The party is told repeatedly they aren't technically fate's first pick, but rather alternates in case the actual Chosen Ones fail. It's implied there are several alternate teams like this in case something goes wrong with the first group. However, just because they aren't the Chosen Ones doesn't mean they can't still do good.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Sparky. He eventually overcomes his predisposition toward violence, though he still thoroughly enjoys fighting when given the opportunity.
- The Don: Snackervark.
- Driven to Suicide: Harmonie was planning to kill herself shortly before meeting Journey. Their friendship and Journey's encouragement make her decide to keep living so she can help Journey find home.
- Driving Question: When the protagonists are trying to learn more about Suben's backstory: "Can memories become something more?"
- Elves Versus Dwarves: The conflict between Kenorans and Expani. Somewhat played with as while Kenorans have denser urban centers and factories, they dislike the Expan worldview that people only listen when there's the threat of force, and while Expani live mostly in Ghibli Hills, they have no real interest in or appreciation for tradition and diplomacy. Granted, most of this information comes from a Kenoran, so it's hard to say for certain.
- Evil Feels Good: Sparky has a lot of trouble accepting Snackervark's occasional diplomacy as a means to resolve conflict and gets incredibly antsy when an opportunity to shed blood slips away from him. He eventually learns to control his impulses better, and once he does he begins wondering if maybe part of the reason he doesn't have friends is because of his own behavior.
- Evil Versus Oblivion: Such a scenario forces an Enemy Mine with Madame Tetra and the protagonists against Suben.
- The Exile: Journey. Being exiled from Expan starts her quest to find her original hometown.
- Exposition Fairy: Harmonie seems to act in this capacity, telling Journey about cultures in Kenor and acting as a diplomat for people Journey needs to talk to. The reason she knows so much about Kenor is because she previously accompanied another adventurer who died while she was with him, giving her a massive dose of survivor's guilt.
- Godzilla Threshold: An early-story example; Journey considers getting Snackervark, the leader of a dangerous international mafia group, involved in the fight against Madame Tetra this. After Journey is exiled from Expan, it becomes a necessity.
- Hope Is Scary: Discussed by both Wan and Snackervark, the former explaining the pain that comes when you start believing in something again after losing faith and the latter coldly stating the easiest way to subjugate someone is to constantly tempt them with what they want before snatching it away from them.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Journey.
Journey: Most people do the right thing when it's easy. Good people do the right thing when it's hard. Heroes... Heroes do the right thing when it's impossible.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Suben attempts to put Harmonie in one so she can't warn Journey he's coming. She breaks free because Suben assumed she'd be more than willing to enjoy a Happy Place, when Harmonie doesn't have a Happy Place and immediately rejects it.
- Our Souls Are Different: "You may still remember pieces of who you used to be, but it's merely the contours of the hole where your soul used to reside. You can trace its imprints and see what once was, but it no longer belongs to you."
- Pull the Thread: Snackervark does this with incredible finesse when confronting Madame Tetra, complete with And Then What? and a Villainous Breakdown.
- Refusal of the Call: The reason why the gods switched to The Chosen Many when making plans.
Nebra, Goddess of Fate: You... don't want to save the world? Ummm... hmm. Well, this puts a damper on our plans...
- The Sacred Darkness: Darkness is established as a positive force of kindness and good, while light is characterized as harsh and chaotic.
- Imp #1: Darkness good!
Imp #2: Darkness comfort! Darkness understand... Light show your secrets to everyone! Darkness not tell secrets to others. Darkness not watch you, leave you do what you like. Companion when alone, embrace you but not smother you. Not blind you.
Imp #1: Yes! Darkness excite, get to discover mysterious new things! So much more than your hunting grounds, your burrow, in outside darkness. Other lands, other worlds lie past darkness, through darkness. Darkness good.
Imp #2: Darkness very good.
- The Scrounger: Gangini.
- Survivor Guilt:
- Gibbous grapples with this, as she struggles with the idea of living after torturing so many people while working for Suben. It manifests in her consciousness as Wan, an Empty Shell who would kill herself but for her inability to even move.
- Harmonie also suffers from it, having accompanied a previous adventurer all through Kenor until he was killed battling a monster. She blames herself for not being fast enough or quick enough to save him, and was nearly Driven to Suicide before joining Journey. As they become friends, she becomes increasingly worried the same thing will happen.
- Torture Technician: Gibbous. She's actually a Punch-Clock Villain; the only reason she works for the Big Bad is because she's afraid what she's done will ostracize her no matter what she does otherwise. Even after becoming an ally for the protagonists, she refuses to provide help in any way related to her previous occupation, since it constitutes Jumping Off the Slippery Slope for her. She gets better after they enter her mind and reconcile her battling halves.
- Wham Line:
- Harmonie gives one when she reveals her real reasons behind wanting to help Journey find her hometown.
Harmonie: Have you ever told someone a lie, just so they would stay your friend?- "I'm afraid the original Journey is dead. She's been dead for centuries."
- Gibbous later gives one when warning Suben about Journey, revealing she knows some very closely-kept secrets.
Gibbous: Expect her like you expect the first Journey to come back. She's coming, Suben. You'd better be ready for it. - World Tree: What Suben wishes to destroy, and later Natril wants to take control of to rule the world.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Despite being a Knight in Sour Armor, Journey doesn't hesitate to tell people why she thinks they're something special, especially when they doubt themselves.
- You Are Not Alone: A recurring theme, especially with characters who perform a Heel–Face Turn. Harmonie says it word for word more than once to villains when she offers them the possibility of friendship. She affirms why to Journey, as she was nearly Driven to Suicide before meeting her.
Journey: I'm not sure I even want to ask why you had to save your entire city from aliens, just so you could get a couch into your living room.
Ress: Yeah... My life tends to get pretty weird.
Journey: Well, I suppose one's life comes to resemble who lives it.
Ress: Yeah... My life tends to get pretty weird.
Journey: Well, I suppose one's life comes to resemble who lives it.
