History WebVideo / TheGuild

''The Guild'' premiered on July 27, 2007 and ran for six seasons until January 8, 2013. For its first season, episodes were uploaded to the show's [=YouTube=] channel and [[http://www.watchtheguild.com/ official website]]. Afterwards, the show entered a partnership with Creator/{{Microsoft}}, and seasons 2-5 premiered on UsefulNotes/XboxLive Marketplace, Zune Marketplace and MSN Video before later being released on the show's [=YouTube=] channel and website in addition to [=iTunes=]. After season 5, Microsoft's business model reportedly changed and Day wanted to keep ownership of the show, so the episodes moved to the channel of her company Creator/GeekAndSundry. The show is also available on DVD and through streaming on Apple TV.

* AmbiguousDisorder: All of the main characters.

* IncrediblyLamePun:
-->'''Zaboo''': "Do you like my helm? It's +5 sexterity... [[{{Beat}} [pause]]] [[DontExplainTheJoke It's like "dexterity". But with sex.]] [[OverlyLongGag In the front. Like a prefix.]] [[BlatantLies I'm a]] [[StealthPun cunning linguist."]]

''The Guild'' is an online VlogSeries-style sitcom created by Creator/FeliciaDay of [[WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog Dr. Horrible]] fame (and credited by Creator/JossWhedon as a large inspiration) after a two year addiction to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Each three to eight minute episode centers on "The Knights of Good", an online guild in an {{MMORPG}} [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed similar]] to ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.

Recognitions include winning the 2007 Youtube Video Award and the 2008 Yahoo Video award. You can keep up with the series at its official website, [[http://www.watchtheguild.com/ watchtheguild.com.]]

A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNyg1ftMIU music video]] called "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" (the TropeNamer for DateMyAvatar) was released to promote the third season. [[ToughActToFollow Without trying to top it]], they went UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} to promote the fourth season, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrN3Rh55uM here]]; it took the top #3 spot in the US iTunes chart and the #1 in the UK on the day of its release. For their fifth season's launch on Youtube, they released "[[ProudToBeAGeek I'm the One that's Cool"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFhgupR565Q&list=UUaBf1a-dpIsw8OxqH4ki2Kg&feature=plcp here]].

After the sixth and final season finished, it was announced that the show was spinning off into a Creator/DarkHorseComics series.

%%* PowerWalk: Parodied in the Season 2 episode "Socializing Sucks." Likewise in Season 3, episode 10.

%%* BareYourMidriff: Both Codex and Tinkerballa in character and Felicia and Amy in "Game On".

* InnocentCohabitation: Zaboo set himself up at Codex's place. Of course, he didn't intend for the innocent part, but Codex insists.

-->'''Valkyrie''': AmbiguouslyBrown ''and'' AmbiguouslyGay

%%* AngryBlackMan: Bruiser

* DeathbringerTheAdorable: Bruiser is a giant musclebound AngryBlackMan. In the game, he's the Axis of Anarchy's healer.

* {{Corpsing}}: Felicia while being showered in gold coins during the "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?" video.

* {{Expy}}: The in-show sci-fi series ''[[Series/DoctorWho Time Rings]]'', with the main character known only as "the Professor", featuring former co-star Madeline as "Charity", herself a loose {{Expy}} of ''(and dead ringer for)'' [[Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures Sarah Jane Smith]]. Actress Erin Gray played Col. Wilma Deering in the 1981 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

* HollywoodNerd: Averted. A lot of the main cast is attractive, but they have serious psychological problems that, while exaggerated and PlayedForLaughs, have some basis in reality. It's not hard to see how Codex can't get a date despite looking like she does because of her ExtremeDoormat tendencies, insecurity, and neuroticism. The utter lack of a BeautifulAllAlong reveal is notable as well.

%%* BastardGirlfriend: Zaboo's girlfriend in the third season.

* FoeYay: An InUniverse example. At first it seems that Riley is just hostile toward Codex...then in "Noobtastic" [[spoiler: she makes a pass at her, and apparently has misplaced anger about Codex "rejecting" her, when it should "go the other way around"]]. And then in "Coping and Stuff," [[spoiler: Zaboo tells Codex that Riley ''wants to have a three-way with her and Zaboo.'']] Then In episode 8 of season 3, [[spoiler:Codex goes into a private chat with Fawkes to try to convince them to cease [[KickTheDog tormenting Bladezz]], but he insinuates that she wanted to speak to him in private for personal reasons and is in denial about her attraction to him.]]

* AscendedMeme: the ''Game On!'' music video features Vork flipping his coat off and on like in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw "Kaaluri Vaanil"]], accompanied by [[{{Mondegreen}} "buffalaxed" Hindi lyrics]].

* NotSoDifferent: Tink to Codex about flirting with guys to get what you want from them.

* RewatchBonus: In Season 4, Codex jokingly asks Fawkes if he's a furry. He doesn't say no...

** Fawkes and Codex, who ultimately [[spoiler:[[ShipSinking don't]] – although it's left somewhat open-ended, given that Fawkes seems to become a nicer person after being rejected by Codex and her main problem with him was that he was a jerk to her]].
** Codex and Zaboo, who [[spoiler:[[ShipSinking also don't]], because Zaboo wants to [[JustFriends stay friends]]]].
* YouGotGuts: Wade Wei praises Zaboo for this after Zaboo challenges him to a fight and holds himself respectably well considering Wade is a professional stuntman and Zaboo is probably the loosest possible definition of 'in shape'.
* YouNeedToGetLaid: The female guildies spend season 2 trying to help Codex get laid. In season 3 it first appears that Zaboo getting laid might actually have helped him become more sane, at least in his interactions with Codex. Then Riley starts becoming more than he can handle, and he gets crazy and ''angry''.

-->'''Zaboo(innocently):''' Kinko'ed.

* StalkerWithACrush: ''[[ExaggeratedTrope Zaboo, Zaboo, Zaboo]]''. He tracked down where Codex lived, Photoshopped himself with her DMV photo, and found her house's floor plan, among ''many'' other things. He eventually tones it down to DoggedNiceGuy, then eventually to JustFriends. [[spoiler: then Codex discovers she likes him...]]

** They ''all'' would be if there was anyone cool to compare them to, but they kind of work this way for each other. Zaboo and Vork are so completely off their rockers it makes the rest of the guild look saner. Tink and Bladezz are so mean it makes the others look nicer. Meanwhile, Codex looks pretty good in comparison, and it's less obvious that Clara is an insane {{Jerkass}}. Also, the Knights of Good work as this somewhat in relation to the Axis of Anarchy. Kwan makes millions by gaming, Bruiser, Venom and Valkyrie all have jobs, and the Axis still has a higher ranking than the Knights, who, with the exception of Tink and Bladezz (who have school), don't have anything else going on in their lives, and play the game full time.

--> '''Valkyrie''': Yes, is there something wrong with that? I play two girl characters because I like ''girls'', I like ''looking at girls'', I'm a ''girl-loving guy''... ...I like your shoes.

-->'''Venom''': Handicapped, The Axis's only female, and AmbiguouslyGay or at least bisexual

** Near the end of season 4, [[spoiler:Fawkes, who has spent the entire season telling Codex he doesn't do "dating" approaches Codex for a second chance. She (rightfully) doesn't give him one. Time will tell if this goes anywhere or if its just a bit of ironic justice.]]
** Given that he shows up in Season 5 [[spoiler: trying to join the Knights of Good]], it is possible the shoe is on the other foot.
** May also occur in season 4 with [[spoiler:Zaboo and Codex. Although Zaboo's attempted romance with Riley was a transparent ploy to get over his [[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited feelings for Codex]] and his JustFriends gambit was overloaded with sexual tension on his part he seems to have finally (mostly) gotten over by the end of season 4, noting how he doesn't feel good that Codex and Fawkes aren't dating but merely bad for her (though this could be IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy). Afterward, he helps (quixotically) tries to help her gambit to keep her job at Cheesy Beard's, gets Codex a new computer after her season long attempt to fix her old one, and stands up to his mother while simultaneously giving her a chance to turn over a new leaf. All of these raise him ''substantially'' on Codex's newly derived "litmus test" for boyfriends, much to Codex's anxiety and Zaboo's seeming obliviousness.]]
** As of Season 5, this is officially the case between Codex and Zaboo.

* WhatTheHellHero: Unless you count [[spoiler: sleeping with Fawkes]] Codex is the only member of the Knights of Good who ''hasn't'' done something morally reprehensible over the course of the series. She was pretty eager to keep Zaboo and stunt guy fighting to give her a sense of self-worth. Zaboo did start it, and it ended up biting her in the ass almost immediately, but it was still pretty iffy considering how badly Zaboo could have gotten hurt.

** Fawkes and Codex of all people seem headed in this direction.
** Codex eventually [[spoiler: has her fill of Fawkes, and now is discovering she's got a crush on Zaboo.]]
** Codex and Zaboo has this throughout the series.

* BeneathTheMask: Zaboo's [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chiefs]] are revealed at the end to be [[SamusIsAGirl hot girls]].

* BodyguardBabes: [[spoiler: It is revealed at the end of season 5 that Zaboo's twin [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chief]] thugs were actually women.]]

* ADarkerMe: Online, Bladezz is an obnoxious {{troll}} who likes to make perverted comments and act like he's cool and edgy. In person, he's still in high school, can't drive, and gets beat up by his little sister. Though, in a departure from the stereotype you'd expect, he's young and attractive (in a pretty, Hanson-esque way), so much that his mother made him do some embarrassing modeling photos to pay for college. Also Valkyrie, an Axis member, who tries to act uber tough in an online chat with the Knights of Good only to be interrupted by his boss. Valkyrie tries to defuse his boss's suspicions he was internet surfing, which quickly degenerates into a conversation about how a client's damask came back coral instead of lavender as she'd requested.

-->'''Zaboo''': "Do you like my helm? It's +5 sexterity... [[{{Beat}} [pause]]] [[DontExplainTheJoke It's like "dexterity". But with sex.]] [[OverlyLongGag In the front. Like a prefix.]] [[BlatantLies I'm a]] [[StealthPun cunning linguist.]]

* JustFriends:
** Codex claims that her relationship with Zaboo is of this nature.
** In season 4, Zaboo tries to act accordingly. Since this ''is'' Zaboo, he takes it ''way'' too far.
** By the end of season 4, Zaboo appears to have grown ''slightly'' more natural about this. Perhaps coincidentally, [[spoiler:Codex is terrified to find she finds him actually attractive now]].
** In season 5, [[spoiler: Codex tries to confess to him, only for him to play the JustFriends card]]

* MistakenForPedophile: Vork was pretty much asking for this when he stopped by an elementary school in his van. Later, when Vork says that if the Knights of Good lose and are disbanded he'll go back to playing Chinese Checkers with the neighborhood kids, Codex shoots him a [=WTF=] look

* MostGamersAreMale: Subverted by the fact that guild is evenly split between men and women. Creator/FeliciaDay has said she did this on purpose to prove a point that there are more girl gamers out there than guys think there are.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The end of the season 2 pilot has Clara's children messing up her computer cords ''set to OminousLatinChanting'' in slow-motion, while Zaboo seduces Codex with the EPICALLY-worded promise of ''buying her a faster internet connection.''

** Bladezz is prone to this, he had a BigDamnHeroes moment in season 1 and seemed to be genuinely trying to bond with the guys in season 2.
** Tink seems to have a tiny, tiny soft spot for Codex, such as when she defends her from Zaboo's mom with "Lay off our healer, she's [[SquishyWizard squishy]]". She also tried to help Codex land a man in season 2, and even though she claimed it was for her own amusement, she did cancel a date and put a lot of effort into it. Also, her HeelFaceTurn at the end of Season 3. By the end of Season 5, Tink seems to firmly consider Codex a friend (at least by her own standards) after Codex helps Tink (mostly) resolve her issues with her family.

* PunchClockVillain: While most of the Axis of Anarchy happily take their villainous personas outside the game with them as they torture the Knights of Good, a few of them are implied to be not so bad outside their feud. Valkyrie in particular seems harmless, and the ScaryBlackMan "Bruiser"'s demeanor ''completely'' changes into a soft-spoken nice guy as soon as the conflict is resolved.

* RightInFrontOfMe Though technically he was [[RightBehindMe right behind her]] Codex's conversation counts as this when while she is playing a demo of a new expansion for The Game. Codex complains to a staffer who tries to talk to her, complaining about how the the new mechanics have Nerfed her player class and how all the new things in the update suck. Turns out that's the creator and he is so upset by this that [[spoiler: he decides to sell the rights to another company.]]
* TheRival: How Codex seems to view Riley, although Riley mostly just ignores her...or so she seems to until "Newbtastic".

* ShipTease: "Game On" is a ''big'' one for the Codex/Zaboo ship. It's followed by [[spoiler:ShipSinking]] in season 5.

** In the second season, Vork shows up out of the blue and asks Codex "Why are you dressed like a harlot?" Then he invades her home and peruses her belonging before randomly turning to her and saying "Cover yourself, woman."
** At the end of the third season, [[spoiler:Codex and Fawkes]] have sex and she discusses it with the guild at the opening of the fourth. In addition to yelling at her for sleeping with the enemy, they call her a slut and attack her for doing so after one date--although she seems to feel this way as well.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with but ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Season four is all about Codex trying to deal with [[spoiler:her one night stand with Fawkes. Despite her misgivings about Fawkes, Codex decides to pursue a relationship with him to save face with the Guild. Since Fawkes isn't interested in actually dating her, he goes along with pretending to date her [[ItAmusedMe for the fun and chaos]]. But when he realizes he really does like Codex, she rejects him and discovers she has a crush on DoggedNiceGuy Zaboo.]]

* BedmateReveal: The Season 3 finale: Codex and...[[spoiler:Fawkes?!]]
* BestHerToBedHer: Inverted, with Codex and Fawkes. After Codex beats him in-game, Fawkes "agrees" to drinks later that night.
* BeneathTheMask: Zaboo's [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chiefs]] are revealed at the end to be [[SamusIsAGirl really hot chicks]].

** And don't ever call Tink a Taint behind her back. Calling her a Taint to her face seems to be okay though.
** Vork also has a few, including not tampering with his network connection ("BLAAAADDEEEEZZZ!!") and not reconfiguring his hotkeys.

* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Both Codex (female) and Zaboo (male) are depicted as having problems with confidence and assertiveness and in some ways being doormats, and these tendencies in both of them are sometimes played for laughs. So far, so good. Zaboo enters a relationship with Riley, who has some rather extreme BDSM fetishes that Zaboo obviously does not share, and their relationship is abusive verging on BlackComedyRape. [[SarcasmMode Hilarious!]] Now imagine that exact same dynamic, only instead of Zaboo and Riley, it's Codex and Fawkes, and the man is the sadistic, abusive, manipulative dom while the woman is the hapless unwilling sub ineffectually attempting to placate her partner into treating her preferences with respect. [[DudeNotFunny Not funny, is it?]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: Wade "Stunt guy" "Guns" Wei happens to be both an in-universe and out-of-universe example. In-universe, despite being a self-obsessed jerk, he manages to come off looking awesome to the Guildies because he's also a real-life badass. After beating the crap out of Zaboo and publicly humiliating Codex, all Zaboo can say is "he's nice" because the guy ''did motion capture for his favorite game'', and was an extra in a B-movie he loved. Then Clara, Codex's friend, ''makes out'' with Wade! Out-of-universe, his "leather pants" status has caused a few fans to think he should end up with Codex, despite how nonchalantly he comments that "she's not worth it" with a wink and a smile. And, in the spirit of equal opportunity, Riley. Her relationship with Zaboo is at best disturbing, and at worst downright twisted; she's violent, manipulative, and scarily controlling - all three neatly illustrated by her knocking Zaboo out, gagging him with tape, and chaining him up in the wardrobe because he forgot to make her breakfast. On the other hand, she's hot. Tall! I meant Tall!

* FoeYay: An InUniverse example. At first it seems that Riley is just hostile toward Codex...then in ''Noobtastic'' [[spoiler: she rather blatantly makes a pass at her ("your skin is so soft" *brushes hair away from neck as she massages her shoulders* ), and apparently has misplaced anger about Codex "rejecting" her, when it should "go the other way around"]]. DidntSeeThatComing. And then in ''Coping and Stuff'', [[spoiler: Zaboo tells Codex that Riley ''wants to have a three-way with her and Zaboo.'']] If that isn't FoeYay, who knows what is. There is also some very unwilling Foe Yay with Zaboo and Vork when they first start living together. Zaboo spends a lot of his time showing off his body and exercising, trying to get Vork to play "manly" sports with him (like wrestling) and changes around Vork's keyboard settings to what he thought were better ones. Vork's interactions with Zaboo are the only times he acts halfway normal (i.e. he gets really annoyed with him). And then there is the fact that Zaboo tried to get in the shower with Vork... Then In episode 8 of season 3, [[spoiler:Codex gets into a private chat with the Axis of Anarchy leader to try to convince them to cease [[KickTheDog tormenting Bladezz]]. Fawkes insinuates that she wanted a private chat for a different reason and is in denial about her attraction to him.]]

* HollywoodNerd: Averted. A lot of the main cast is attractive, but they have serious psychological problems that, while exaggerated and PlayedForLaughs, have some basis in reality. It's not hard to see how Codex can't get a date despite looking like she does because of her ExtremeDoormat tendencies and massive insecurity. The utter lack of a BeautifulAllAlong reveal is notable as well.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Zaboo, but it has nothing to do with looks and everything to do with his lack of emotional maturity and over-the-top stalkery behavior. Although, as of the end of Season 4, he's beginning to look less abhorrent...

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Averted/subverted. Season four is all about Codex trying to deal with [[spoiler:her one night stand with Fawkes. Despite her misgivings about Fawkes Codex decides to pursue a relationship with him to save face from the Guild thinking she's a slut. Since Fawkes isn't interested in actually dating her, he goes along with pretending to date her [[ItAmusedMe for the fun and chaos]]. But when he realizes he really does like Codex she rejects him for treating her poorly, and Codex discovers she has a crush on DoggedNiceGuy Zaboo.]]

-->'''Venom''': Handicapped, The Axis's only female, and AmbiguouslyGay or at least BiTheWay