Or you could just make a list of tropes. That would work, too. (Especially if you include some examples as to why your character is such a Magnificent Bastard)
Have fun!
Passionario "If you are not the flame, you are the fuel."
An ex-agent of the Bazaar on a road to nowhere.
Assassins Are Always Betrayed: Once a Fist of the Bazaar, now its prey. Bald of Evil Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: There’s a reason why his Steadfast score rarely rises above 0. Complete Monster Eyeless Face: During his irrigo overdose days. He got better. From Nobody to Nightmare: Used to be just another exciting new face in Fallen London. Then he went to the Palace. Things escalated downward from there. Fully-Embraced Fiend Hero Killer Hyper Awareness: Has acute senses as side effect of regular indulgence in Gaoler’s Honey, and a chorus of prophetic voices in his head warning him of danger. Kavorka Man: Despite being described as unattractive, Passionario is both a Scarlet Saint and a Legendary Charisma. Killer Cop: A former neddy man and Velocipede Constable. Kill Me Now Or Forever Stay Your Hand Knife Nut: Watch out for those Waxwail knives. Knowledge Broker: Before working for the Bazaar, he used to be a freelancer in the Great Game. Moral Event Horizon: The martyrdom of Elias Lowe certainly qualifies. Power Degeneration: Similar to the Royal Children, consumption of red honey is slowly turning Passionario into something inhuman, and the prophetic voices in his head are driving him insane. Self-Disposing Villain: "I will claim what is due. I will be my own reckoner and witness". Sinister Minister: Some Midnighters are good, or at least well-meaning people. Passionario, on other hand, is one of those who give the profession a bad name. The Unfettered: There are no more strings on him. Villainous Breakdown: Suffered one after contact with Elias Lowe’s soul. You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Cast out by the Masters after thirteen years of service. edited by Passionario on 7/25/2016
Aristocrats are Evil: A bona fide baron; in fact, the 13th Unfortunate Baron of Hubris Hall, Staffordshire. Also a thoroughly unpleasant person. TheFagin: The Hubris House for Young Troublemakers takes in street urchins and trains them in the field of serious crime. Hair-Trigger Temper: His defining vice. He can fly into a rage at the least little thing, and seldom makes any effort to resist indulging his temper. High-Class Glass: Wears a corrective monocle in his left eye. ImpoverishedPatrician: The Fall, and his own excesses, combined to rob him of his family estate; he considers his involvement in the underworld a reasonable method of regaining his status. Moral Myopia: Still considers himself an upstanding, conservative society gent; after all, his crimes don’t affect anyone who really matters. Wouldn’t Hurt A Child: Has a genuine soft spot for children, and protects and looks after the youths in his employ, in his own way.
There’s probably more I’m forgetting and as a character, she’s still evolving and developing too. So some of these could change after gaining POSI.
*I’m planning for this to bite her in the rear. Also the one I’m expecting to change too. [/spoiler]
Friends with Psychos/ Can’t Kill You, Still Need You - both of these apply to his relationship with Ezekiel.
The Self-Disposing Villan - Mostly because he refuses to run from his enemies and prefers to avoid confrontation by encouraging it.
The Pragmatic Hero - In his own words "I’m not proud of what I did to him, but this was never about pride anyway, I shouldn’t be."
Fool for Love - Eli’s poetry always reflects a more weepy side that he doesn’ often air. He almost have a split personality for Veilgarden.
The Lost Lenore - His wife, who died on the surface in a random act of violence. She was a florist. That’s all he’s got of her.
Arson, Murder and Jaywalking - He’s never really gone to prison for any crime he’s actually commited, he always has to be pinned for minor dismeanors. It really pisses him off, actually.
The Wonka - He can seem to be an idealist, but when people see how (reasonably) well his ideals are put into practice, he does become more than a little strange.
The Sarcastic Devotee - Ezekiel genuinely like Eli and is unflinchingly loyal to him, but he’d never show it and delights in belittling him.
Hopeless Romantic - Goes without question, really. He’s got a lot of unresolved feelings towards love in general.
Belated Love Epiphany - Basically this dialogue between Eli and EZ. "Not realizing it sooner is my failure, Ezekiel. She can never know, do you understand?"
"Actually forgot was talking."
[spoiler/] edited by The Absurd Rogue on 6/25/2016 edited by The Absurd Rogue on 6/25/2016
The Professor - Well, duh. The Smart Gal - specially when compared with her usual companions, like Derek. Omnidisciplinary Scientist - Not that omnidisciplinary, but she s a former chemist from Surface and did fill a library with her own work on Correspondence, Cryptopaleontology, Theosophy and Prelapsarian Archeology. Mad Scientist - She is not a villanious exemple. Most of the time. Badass Bookworm - Watchful and Dangerous are her top stats, Watchful is the higher. Adventurer Archeologist - Her favourite activity out in the Zee. Muscles are Meaningless - She is a bit too short and scrawny-looking for all the feats in the Dangerous storyline, but it doesn’t stop her from wrestling a rhino. Minored in Asskicking - Being a fearsome duelist is just something she does to unwind. Her students and clients for detective services mostly have no idea that this small erudite woman can punch down thugs and do that aforementioned rhino wrestling when the situation calls for it. Bersek Button - Spirifers trying to abstract a soul. Bonus points if it’s - as it usually is with spirifers - non-consensual. Mystery Writer Detective - She earns a quick buck on Veilgarden, eventually, writing mystery short stories and mystery penny dreadfuls under the alias Writing Owl. Her clients don’t know about that either. Celibate Eccentric Genius - Not so much celibate, as she is asexual and need for sex doesn’t even register in her mind. She does prefer not to engage on it, since it’s so boring and gross. Deadpan Snarker - So deadpan that it’s often difficult to know when she is seriously lecturing someone or just snarking. Crazy Bat Lady - Since she figured out how to effectively train them, she started to hoard Sulky Bats. She knows all of them by name. Stern Teacher - She is too old and tired to put up with students’ shenanigans, but she still likes them and wants them to succeed. Older than she looks - The professor is 56, but she stopped aging when she was 30. She looks even younger than that, since women in her family tend to look younger than their real age. Must be Invited - When in bloodsucking mode, a.k.a., Wounds 8 or more. Breaking and Bloodsucking: If the person is unwise enough to invite her in when she is all dead-eyed and covered in wounds.
[spoiler] Berserk Button/Close to Home - Hurting urchins, and children in general. Combat Pragmatist - If you’re gunna fight, fight to win. Fearless Fool - Often doesn’t take the high or the low road, but the stupid road. Knuckle Cracking - She likes to do it pre-ass kicking. Lightning Bruiser - She can take and deal punches, but she’s also quick on her feet. Phony Veteran - She’s about seventeen and she calls herself a lieutenant. Make your own assumptions. Revolvers Are Just Better - Aylen’s got her very own six-shooter. And she’s good with it. Rugged Scar - All across one side of her face. edited by EmberAshe on 6/24/2016
"I’ll just pick a few of these and move on," I said to myself. An hour later…
[spoiler]
Kind Hearted Cat Lover - "I have a tiger. Do you have a tiger?" And eight house cats, a lion, a panther, and an ocelot.
Noble Demon - Well on her way to graduating into one. Won’t hurt children, won’t kill unless absolutely necessary, etc. She really believes in what she’s doing.
Might have been a Lady of War, except elegance is for the Shuttered Palace, and cocky, trash-talking, reckless fun is for the fighting ring.[/spoiler] edited by Lamia Lawless on 6/25/2016
The Good Captain – Because I ain’t playing a villain. An Officer and A Gentleman – In the end we are who we are. Bifauxnen – Because some days you need to be a woman in trousers. Bishonen – Because some days you need to be a man in a gown. Bi The Way – Kind like who I like, that’s all, no big thing. Platonic Life Partners – Ever entangled. Cool Boat – Few know it but the ‘Brazen Hussy’ is magnificent. Neighborhood Friendly Gangsters – Why no, Mr. Fires and the Longshoremen and Zailor’s Union don’t get along… A Father to His Men – Loyalty runs both directions, a good crew makes for a good ship. Wooden Ships and Iron Men – In many ways the Captain belongs to an earlier, more heroic age, an age of boarding actions and daring, an age of exploration and wonder, an age of danger and opportunity.
Sure, I’ll play too. This is for my main character.
[spoiler]
Vengeance is Mine – She came to the Neath for the sole purpose of finding, and avenging, the lover who was slain here for reasons she is only beginning to understand.
Under Deep Cover – Deliberately cultivates deep ties to all the factions, so none of them will suspect what she’s really doing.
Virgin in the Drawing Room – And a very different sort of woman in the bedroom, say with two or three close friends at a time.
Advanced Degrees in Badass – Just ask Feducci, the Ambassador, the Topsy King, and the Boatman.
Tough But Soft-Hearted – She even rescues Grubby Kittens! [/spoiler]
Oops! I didn’t realize I was supposed to look for REAL tropes my character embodies! (That could take forever!) I just made these up…never mind. :-)
edited by cathyr19355 on 6/25/2016 edited by cathyr19355 on 6/25/2016 edited by cathyr19355 on 6/25/2016
Aristocrats are Morally Ambiguous- a minor noble originally from Anglo-Irish stock. May have served in war, it is unknown. Ambiguously evil- His clothing, unusual mix of acquaintances and reputation for brutality speak for themselves, yet he seems so charming up close. Churchgoing Villain- a Christian despite his flaws, or perhaps because of them. Cool Boat- the Rods and Axes is a magnificent, luxurious yacht, also bedecked with hidden armour and weapons. Da Chief- Commander of the Auxiliary Police, an unusual collection of his supporters who assist and oppose the Constables at different times and circumstances. Mooks- his personal bodyguard composed of toughs and Clay men, along with the more general rabble of the Auxie Police
Orphanage of Love- his orphanage, The Cadet School, gets orphans away from crime and towards the Bible and the tenets of National Populism. Putting on the Reich- his uniforms, banners and flags, rallies and speaking techniques, while not in content and only in aesthetics, call on something of the distant future. Right wing militia fanatic- his ‘Squiddies’, the nickname for the League of National Populists, are a heavily armed, heavily muscled, violent faction of revolutionaries, who fight anarchists, neddy men, devils and constables, depending on the time. Visionary Villain – he has a vision for the future should he ever be made Prime Minister, by bullet or ballot. And it follows… Villain has a point- many of his ideas are actually good, nestled in among the more cranky ideals.
edited by The Black-Shirted Radical on 6/25/2016 edited by The Black-Shirted Radical on 6/25/2016 edited by The Black-Shirted Radical on 6/25/2016
Oops! I didn’t realize I was supposed to look for REAL tropes my character embodies! (That could take forever!) I just made these up…never mind. :-)
[/quote]
;) These tropes probably exist in a different name anyway.[/quote]
Oops! I didn’t realize I was supposed to look for REAL tropes my character embodies! (That could take forever!) I just made these up…never mind. :-)
[/quote]
;) These tropes probably exist in a different name anyway.[/quote]
Thanks, Professor! Now that you mention it, those are a really great translation of what I was trying to convey in TV Tropes terms.
I need to look at Wild Card, since that’s the only one I’m unfamiliar with off the top of my head. edited by cathyr19355 on 7/4/2016
I looked at "Wild Card" and it’s not quite what my main character is like–she has more stubbornness and dedication to objectives than than Wild Card implies. She’s closer to He Who Fights Monsters (need not be male, as I see it) in that her pursuit of what she thinks is right is so strong that she no longer keeps track of the moral implications of what she’s doing to achieve it. Or perhaps she’s just someone who commits Van Helsing Hate Crimes against the folk she considers to be the bad guys. (He Who Fights Monsters better explains the coalmen and Vicars she fed to her potted plant, though).
But "Deep Cover Agent" is better still, because that’s how she got onto this path in the first place; she figured it was smarter to carry out her objectives of avenging her lover and harrowing hell by getting as close as possible to everybody – including the Devils – without revealing what she’s really about. And she had high connections with everybody (including Society and Bohemians, before those qualities became key to earning Making Waves, and I try to re-build them up to 100 at least). However, her highest Connections are with the Church and the Constables, in that order (over 1600 and over 800, respectively).
Sorry about not adding the trope links to this post, but I can’t figure out what tags to use that will work. edited by cathyr19355 on 7/4/2016
Don’t worry, I did it just because being a teacher is not a job, it’s a frame of mind. You just can’t resist an intellectual challenge, or the chance to help someone with an information you have easily at hand. (I did some tvtropes archeology not long ago for creating my webcomic’s tvtropes page, so most of them were still fresh in my mind).
Soran
Seeker Archetype - Not that kind of Seeker; they just have a general insatiable thirst for secrets and knowledge.
The Great Detective
Defective Detective - They’re great at what they do, despite being drug-addicted, soulless, and depressed.
The Soulless - And quite content that way, thank you.
Anything That Moves - Guys, girls, mummies, rock people, bees; anything.
Ambiguous Gender - Doesn’t identify as male or female.
Gentleman (well, gentleperson) And A Scholar
Badass Bookworm
Byronic Hero - Tries to be good, but they can be cynical and and ruthless at times, and while "dark and troubled past" would probably be pushing it, their past is still none too happy.
Bat Out Of Hell - Their animal is the bat, they keep pet bats, and they’re Destined to become a bat one day.
Kasha Cairn
Diabolical Mastermind - They aim to rule from the shadows.
Affably Evil - They are awfully charming
The Chessmaster
Moral Pragmatist - Will occasionally do nice things for others if there’s something in it for them.
Asshole Victim - When I deliberately got them buried alive.
Ambiguous Gender - Unlike Soran, Cairn merely obfuscates their true gender to keep their identity as much of a mystery as possible.
The Faceless - Almost no one knows what they look like under those rags.
Clever Crows - Styles themself "the Magpie," and keeps a number of pet ravens.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones - There is one person they genuinely love, and they seem to have a very real soft spot for their pet weasels and ravens.
Zero Hunt
Bunny Ears Lawyer - Acts like a goof, but he’s great at what he does.
Dark And Troubled Past - There’s a reason he has the highest Melancholy quirk of all my characters…
Sole Survivor - The last surviving member of his whole family.
Badass Gay
Cunning Like A Fox - His animal is the fox.
Anti-Hero - One of my nicest characters, but also has a decent Ruthless streak and the highest Bringer of Death quality of all my characters.
Badass In A Nice Suit - A very shiny suit.
The Charmer
Loveable Rogue
Thysania
Knife Nut
Blood Knight
Ax-Crazy
Hair-Trigger Temper
The Hunter - Hunting and killing is all she really lives for.
Terse Talker - Only barely knows how to speak like a real person.
The Unfettered - Literally has no morals, and pretty much no emotional attachments to anything.
Macabre Moth Motif - Her animal is the moth, and as such, she’s creepy, unpredictable, self-destructive, and twitchy.
Seeker Archetype - That kind of Seeker; if the knowledge will burn, she seeks it. edited by Soran on 7/5/2016