Line #55 Webcomic/DrawYourOwnStory


1	A RoundRobin tradition at the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/index.php Fanatics Forum]], each ''Draw Your Own Story'' episode is a collaboratively-created comic, usually about the CF forum. The notoriously confusing and complex plot tends to involve the authors' [[SelfInsertFic self-insert characters]] combating a villain/seeking out an artifact who/which has incredible power. Lots of explosions and military hardware is usually involved. There is a massive supporting cast, most of which are characters imported from video games, TV shows, comics, literature, and historical and real life figures, resulting in a massive MegaCrossover and/or AnachronismStew.
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3	Also infamous for [[CreativeDifferences personality conflicts]] among the contributors (not so much nowadays) and frequent SeriesHiatus.
4
5	Yes, it has [[http://dyos.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page a Wiki]]. There have been 13 episodes so far, but unfortunately threads for episodes 1-9 have been [[LostEpisode deleted and live on only in memory]].
6
7	The available episodes include:
8	* [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=244426 DYOS 10]] - a story of the [[DigitalAvatar Avatar]] Wars, where people's old forum avatars rebel against their former masters;
9	* [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=330899 DYOS 10.5]] - a {{Sequel}} to the above;
10	* [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=330898 DYOS 11]] - tells about the struggle against a mysterious Hacker who closes the Off-Topic subforum, thus denying the forum users their daily dose of flame wars.
11	* [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=502368 DYOS 12]] - inspired by SOPA/PIPA, a GovernmentConspiracy shuts down most of the Internet.
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13	----
14	!!This series provides examples of:
15	* AbortedArc: The series is littered with these. Contributors sometimes became inactive and left their side-plot unresolved, or they'd forgotten about a side-plot or [[OrphanedSeries simply didn't want to continue it]].
16	** In an example of WhatCouldHaveBeen, [=DaemonDD=]'s Lucifer arc in DYOS XI would have provided a whole new act that brought together many of the story's "secondary" protagonists in a battle to save the universe. Ennui from the prolonged Hacker plot led him to drop it, and he has stated that he has no plans to continue the arc in future threads.
17	** Similarly, Kan' Sharuminar and [=Captain2=] were working on a side story originally intended to carry over into DYOS 12; but with the former apparently quitting DYOS over CreatorBacklash, this is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.
18	* ActionGirl: Seems to be a lot more of them than men.
19	** ActionMom: Hanna Antilles
20	* AllGermansAreNazis: Averted. The Germans fight as hard as anyone against the Space Nazis, and after Berlin falls to Hickten, the Bundeswehr reorganizes under the FWA.
21	** The Space Nazis are in fact [[FakeNationality originally Americans]] inferred to have bought into their fantasy a little too blindly. As Schäffer confesses to Krieger, they "don't know what Germany even ''means''".
22	* AllNationsAreSuperpowers: The many world wars are driven by contributor-led factions with little mention of "neutral" countries. In DYOS 5, this resulted in a plethora of [[SpaceFillingEmpire Space Filling Empires]].
23	* AllThereInTheManual: The Wiki started out having things that happened in comics, and now has way more information than the story itself, in plenty of cases way more than is necessary, much to the annoyance of the Wiki's Creator.
24	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Used so much in DYOS that it's now considered a DiscreditedMeme
25	* AloneWithPrisonerPloy: Feldmarschall Schäffer interrupts his own birthday party for a private audience with a recently-captured Krieger. While the particular scene is Schäffer waxing philosophical, later comics suggest he regularly feeds Krieger crucial information on Space Nazi activities.
26	* AlternateTimeline: A plot twist midway through DYOS 11 involves [[VideoGame/CallOfDuty Dr. Richtofen]] [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight travelling back to 2003 to dissuade [=CivGeneral=] from joining the fight against [=CurtSibling=]]], resulting in the "Tripartite" ascending to world supremacy.
27	* AirVentPassageway: Inverted with Ayane, Amanda, and Zelda when they infiltrated an Umbrella research facility.
28	* AmazonBrigade: The Galava Narratorspace Team consists of six women.
29	** [[AndZoidberg And]] [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals General]] [[TheOneGuy Kwai]]
30	** Hanna Antilles leads a squad consisting mainly of women
31	* AntiMagic
32	* APirate400YearsTooLate: Played mostly straight by [[Webcomic/OzyAndMillie Captain Locke]]. Reynaud's crew looks like an AnachronismStew (and not just of pirates); [[RuthlessModernPirates but let them draw their guns...]]
33	** Depending on the setting, the ''[[WesternAnimation/ReBoot Saucy Mare]]'' crosses over into SpacePirates territory.
34	* ApocalypseHow: Lucifer is attempting to do a Class X-4.
35	* ArtEvolution: Most, if not all of the regular contributors have modified their styles in some way over the years, and not only the pen-and-paper crowd. Toward the end of DYOS XI, Kan' Sharuminar began experimenting with ''watercolour paints''.
36	* ArtifactOfDoom: The Gem
37	* AssKicksYou: Ayane performs this move against the [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] Faye, complete with saying a RussianReversal.
38	* AttackOfThe50ftWhatever: Chuck the Freaking Alien has this as a special ability. Also can be done with an Active/Industrious Beam.
39	* AuthorAppeal: Pretty much everyone has at least one iconic trademark.
40	** [=CivGeneral=] is best known for his love of Franchise/StarWars; in recent threads he commonly works characters, settings, and sometimes [[WholePlotReference entire plots]] from the video games he's currently playing into his comics.
41	** e350tb regularly crosses [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} Nicktoons]] with the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII British Army.
42	** Thorvald has challenged the audience to count how many times he's referenced foxes since DYOS 10.
43	** A risqué example, Stylesrj makes it clear starting in DYOS 11 that [[BuxomBeautyStandard Buxom Is Better]].
44	** Almost every scene with Taniciusfox is a ShirtlessScene.
45	* AuthorFilibuster: Just about everyone at some point. Some people more so than others.
46	* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: If someone is Coruscanti, they're probably this. Coupled with BrooklynRage if you push their BerserkButton.
47	* BackFromTheDead: Captain2
48	** More like OnlyMostlyDead, but yeah.
49	** [[spoiler:Kan' Sharuminar.]] Briefly. He later came back for good.
50	** Stylesrj, but then, for him, DeathIsCheap.
51	** Tama Shepard.
52	** [=SpongeBob=] and Sandy, although the latter was dead for all of two panels.
53	* BadassLongcoat: Commander Laes, Wesker, Rhiza Kalanin
54	* BattleCouple: [=CivGeneral=] and Samus/Jill/Ayane; Stylesrj and Rhiza Kalanin; Spongebob and Sandy (occasionally); Marth & Martha Shepard
55	* BeardOfEvil: Generally inverted. Most of the major male protagonists have facial hair, while bad guys like Hickten and Johnson are cleaner-shaven.
56	** Discussed by the villains in the AlternateTimeline. Perfection grows a beard to prove he's evil, while Thorvald laments that he already ''has'' a beard.
57	** Commander Laes shaved everything ''but'' the goatee.
58	* BeatPanel: Some comics do it right, some overdo it. Often leads to lolz moment if coupled with a PrecisionFStrike in a [[Creator/VinDiesel deep voice]].
59	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Pretty much every character. This is of course due to limitations in the different games people use to gather images.
60	* {{BFG}}: Both [=CivGeneral=] and Stylesrj love this trope. Complete with MoreDakka and/or BeamSpam.
61	* BigBookOfEverything/[[TomesOfProphecyAndFate Tome of Prophecy]]: Lefty's Big Book of CFC, comprising ⅓ encyclopedia, ⅓ history, and ⅓ original "research", written in the form of cryptic forecasts.
62	* BigEater: Gnowel Lawgiver does this a lot. Also crosses with ExtremeOmnivore
63	* BizarroEpisode: There were many, which often led to FlameWar (because little-known forum comic is SeriousBusiness)
64	* BountyHunter: [=CivGeneral=] and his group; Talon Company's combat divisions
65	* BoringButPractical: If this could apply to a person it would be Mr. Crane
66	* BowelBreakingBricks: Literally happened to Spongebob after Kaede showed her vectors to kill the [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 RED spy]].
67	* BrainwashedAndCrazy:
68	** In DYOS XI, Faye Valentine is enslaved to the OS-tan as the assassin Sylux. [=CivGeneral=] and Co. free her by destroying the computer housing the OS-tan.
69	** The Space Pirates try to use [[spoiler:Roxane Rose]] as a ManchurianAgent to assassinate Major Kusanagi and [=CivGeneral=].
70	** One of Tama Shepard's new powers. Works best on {{Mooks}} though.
71	* BrickJoke: Used occasionally.
72	* BroadStrokes: DYOS 10.5 gets this treatment in contemporary comics by [=CivGeneral=].
73	* CerebusSyndrome: The stated purpose of DYOS 10.5.
74	* ChekhovsGun: Remember the Space Pirate Jingal's journal a year back?
75	** That purple box[[note]]holding Thunderfall's soul[[/note]], complete with YouWillKnowWhatToDo.
76	** The Gem.
77	* TheChosenOne
78	** ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: e350tb and Judge_Deadd are killed before they even know they're Chosen. The Clone Guild learns the new identities and immediately embarks on a manhunt, captures taillesskangaru and literally rips the trait out of him, possibly inflicting brain damage.
79	*** Later on, it's found out he's a ChosenOne again. But this time, it pays well.
80	* CityOfEverywhere: Coruscant's fictional capital city; New Port City combines BigApplesauce, TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse, and HollywoodNewEngland (With a touch of LovecraftCountry in the rural-suburban area).
81	* ColonelBadass: Stylesrj, Tama Shepard
82	* CombatMedic: [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Rebecca Chambers]], Martha Shepard, [=CivGeneral=], and Valerie.
83	* ContinuitySnarl: A frequent problem within and between older threads as each contributor tended to have a unique take on the main story and canonical progression was never a serious concern. More recently, DYOS 11 presupposes the events of DYOS 10.5 when the latter thread isn't even halfway through.
84	* CoolAirship: The ''Gogf'', named after a forum member who has a blimp as his avatar.
85	* [[AmericaSavesTheDay Coruscant Saves the Day]]
86	* CreatorBacklash: A few regular contributors, specifically [=CivGeneral=] and taillesskangaru, have [[TenMinuteRetirement intermittently quit the project]], typically due to CreatorBreakdown.
87	* {{Crossover}}: Too many to count.
88	* CrypticConversation: Pretty much everyone when speaking about Mr. Toyoda, including Toyoda himself.
89	* CurbStompBattle: Jill vs. Domination3000. Jill eventually showed him the [[NukeEm power of the glow]]. It was in a non-canon comic though, one of the many "TakeThat, annoying forumers" comics that have been written over the course of the series.
90	** The fight between Marsha Conrad and The Hacker. Complete with dropping a [[{{Swirlie}} toilet on him]] and [[GroinAttack stomping on his groin]].
91	** Implied in many of Stylesrj's comics, so much that most of his enemies just go after easier targets.
92	** Mjcommie's [[Series/StargateAtlantis Daedalus]] tearing apart the Confederation of Space Iranians.
93	* CutAndPasteComic: In the early threads especially before the regular contributors developed more professional styles, as it's quick and easy.
94	* DarkActionGirl: [[VideoGame/SupremeCommander Ivanna Dostya]], Mariko Antilles
95	* DayOfTheJackboot: [[spoiler:Grimsby's coup turns the FWA into a fascist Neo-British Empire, declaring the protagonists enemies of the state.]]
96	* DeathIsCheap: Just how many times has [[TheyKilledKenny Stylesrj died]], exactly?
97	** Not used much any more these days, as processes for resurrection are quite dangerous, expensive and/or just not done for plot reasons.
98	* DefaceOfTheMoon: The Hacker turns the Moon purple in DYOS 11.
99	** Later in the story, the Gnomes' spaceship literally eats it.
100	*** Then in DYOS 12, the artificial replacement gets blown up as part of the war on POPA-SIPPA.
101	* DefrostingIceQueen: [=CivGeneral=], Jill, Marsha, and Spongebob invoked this trope with Kaede/Lucy, complete with FreakinessShame.
102	* DeusExMachina: "An overly convenient plot device. Excellent!"
103	* DidntSeeThatComing: Villains frequently fall victim to this.
104	** In a prime example of DidntThinkThisThrough, the Combine leads an all-out assault on the capital city of Arrakis in the hope of beating Coruscant to the Gem. They didn't seem to register they were taking on an interstellar empire, and in DYOS 10.5 the only reason they're still alive is because [[ObstructiveBureaucrat the Landsraad is blocking Corrino from completing the counterattack]].
105	** [=CivGeneral=] and Company are kidnapped and brought to Enclave headquarters where Dr. Breen tries to prompt a FaceHeelTurn. Not only does he fail, but the kidnapping spurs Coruscant to launch a '''''scary''''' fast assault across the entire United States that drives the Enclave from the continent. Oops.
106	** The Space Nazis anticipate a quick victory in Europe, thinking it's less unified than it really is. What happens? The invasion force wedges itself between two hostile blocs and now fights for survival.
107	** Wesker grants Dr. Richtofen permission to travel back in time with the aim of preventing [=CivGeneral=] from rising to prominence and scuttling his evil plans. While the resulting AlternateTimeline sees Coruscant defeated early in DYOS, Wesker is captured and executed by the Sibling Empire.[[note]]It's also suggested Umbrella was defunct and Wesker on the run for some years prior.[[/note]]
108	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: one example, {{Satan}}'s decapitation by [=GuitarHero=].
109	* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: Parodied.
110	* DistressedDude: Toyoda and Krieger.
111	* DoingResearch: When Hannibal learns Toyoda is more involved in the Gem mystery than the heroes think, he goes to the archives to bone up on the lore. The end of the HardWorkMontage implies he now knows the full extent of the AncientConspiracy, while pretty much every other character is still stumbling in the dark.
112	* DoomedByCanon: DYOS 10.5, being an interquel to 10 and 11, sees this- the Combine must be defeated, the main characters must survive, most plot threads must be resolved, et cetera.
113	* DragonWithAnAgenda: After the destruction of ''Wesker's Hammer'', Mara takes control of Umbrella Corp. with an eye to correct Wesker's mistakes. Mara is in turn [[BastardUnderstudy usurped (violently) by Mariko]].
114	* DuelToTheDeath: Unfortunately, our protagonist did not have a pistol.
115	* EarthIsABattlefield: Self-explanatory.
116	* EarthShatteringKaboom: More times than should be legally allowed. Earth was destroyed at least once in every thread up until the 9th one, usually multiple times. In DYOS 8, it was destroyed, replaced by a [[DirtyCommunists Communist]] version, then destroyed again.
117	* TheEmpire: Combine Empire, the Enclave, the Greater German Space Reich, The Second Galactic Empire, and Transatlasia, to some extent.
118	* EvilBrit: Typically averted as most of e350tb's supporting cast is British, with the pointed exception of [[spoiler: Agent Grimsby]].
119	** Albert Wesker, as voiced by Creator/DCDouglas.
120	** [[UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher The Iron Lady]].
121	* EvilKnockoff: For [[TheHero [=CivGeneral=]]] (multiple instances), Samus Aran and Spongebob.
122	* ExtremeOmnivore: Gnowel Lawgiver can eat anything she wants. Including tanks and people!
123	* EyepatchOfPower: General Leiong Leang got one after fighting ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''
124	* FakeOutMakeOut: Ayane did this to [=CivGeneral=] when they traveled back in time to hide from Major Kusanagi and keep from mucking things up further.
125	* TheFederation: The Eastern Union, Republic of Coruscant, the Free Western Army.
126	* FieryRedhead: Qara Avethokastar
127	%%* FillerStrips
128	* FlameWar: Many happened in the previous threads before more rules were added to prevent them.
129	* ForcefulKiss: [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Rosalina]] does this to Stylesrj eventually. [[OhCrap Even though Rhiza is nearby]]
130	* ForeverWar: Not so much one war eternal as a perpetual stream of new enemies. [=CurtSibling=] is probably the closest example, striving for world supremacy in every story he was featured in.
131	* FramedForHeroism: Marsha penetrates the Hacker's firewall and opens a portal to Xen, saving [=CivGeneral=] from an otherwise InvincibleVillain... or so everyone thinks. In reality, the Eastern Union's IT corps inadvertently stripped the Hacker of his powers through an elaborate back-trace, and Marsha plugged in just after the barrier fell. Given the operation appears to have hacked every networked device on the planet, and that the officer in charge [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight knew she'd probably be fired for it]], the Union likely won't speak up.
132	* FrothyMugsOfWater: Stylesrj's team drinks fruit juice instead of regular alcohol at parties. The intoxicating effects could be claimed on a sugar rush.
133	* FunetikAksent: Regularly PlayedForLaughs with Manfred von Richtofen, Edward Richtofen, and Kim Jong-il.
134	* GasMaskMooks: The Combine and Umbrella Soldiers as well as the Space Pirate foot soldiers.
135	* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: Quoted by Wesker.
136	* GenreShift: Different contributors play to different themes, and the plot can change as soon as the next comic. Some artists even run multiple genres simultaneously.
137	** [=CivGeneral=] went from a mercenary-like character in the early threads into the leader of his own nation in response to escalating powergaming in the so-called Dark Ages. Recent episodes show him trying to revert to his mercenary roots.
138	** Demonstrated most poignantly by lord_joakim's abrupt change from campy comedy to psychotic quasi-MindScrew. And back.
139	** Stylesrj every other month with the Narrator plots
140	** taillesskangaru's entire Gem storyline, notable for being almost completely devoid of any attempt at humour, and for featuring lots of blood.
141	** DYOS 10.5 as a whole. It keeps the humour bubbling on the surface, but the wars and diplomatic manoeuvres are much more nuanced, giving it the trappings of a political thriller.
142	* GISSyndrome: Most prevalent in earlier episodes, coupled with CutAndPasteComic.
143	** Lampooned in DYOS 7, in which Stylesrj uses the "Copy-and-Paste Machine" to mass-produce a (crappy) army.
144	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Corporal Reitan after the Gem led to the destruction of his squad.
145	* GunsAkimbo: [=CivGeneral=] is especially fond with this trope.
146	** His mother also dual wields blaster pistols.
147	* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Rhiza, oh so many times.
148	* HealingHands: Martha Shepard, despite being an [[NinjapirateZombieRobot undead, zombie-slaying cleric]]
149	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Kan' Sharuminar.]] And made only about two seconds after being resurrected by time travel...
150	* HighlyVisibleNinja: The goddamn UsefulNotes/{{CIA}}, complete with ConservationOfNinjutsu.
151	* HitchhikerHeroes: [=CivGeneral=]'s and the Styles Brothers' supporting cast.
152	* WebVideo/HitlerRants: First done by e350tb and Stylesjl as panel comics. Thorvald occasionally submits full videos, typically criticizing his ScheduleSlip.
153	* HollywoodHacking: [=CivGeneral=]'s characters are firm disciples, and a few confront the Hacker in a {{Cyberspace}} setting. [=CivGeneral=] fights the anthropomorphism of his hate in a virtual reality environment.
154	** Averted by Rhiza (although how she ended up physically injuring the Hacker is anyone's guess) and Octavia Deaconescu.
155	* HostageSituation
156	* IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime: Tragically, the fate/origin of many of the comic's [[RunningGag Running Gags]].
157	* ImplausibleDeniability
158	** Mohammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, the Iraqi Information Minister in 2003, appears in comics to do this. He is later imbued with AuthorPowers and reality will bend to conform to his denials.
159	* IHaveYourWife: Happens to Rhiza Kalanin quite frequently. The first time it was serious, the others... Rhiza handled it easily herself.
160	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: What the Lazy Beam does to people.
161	* INeedAFreakingDrink: Invoked by Agent Grimsby after the cock-up on Thear.
162	* InternalReformist: Various characters within Coruscant, at different times over different crises. In DYOS 10.5, Kusanagi confronts the nation's victim complex and a renegade CIA.
163	* KilledOffForReal: A few people actually have died and remained dead, although the only dead among the self-insert characters are [[spoiler: e350tb and Judge Deadd]]
164	* KlingonPromotion: choxorn became the leader of the ZombieApocalypse after vaporizing the original leaders with a KillSat. Mythmonster briefly became the leader of Apolyton after shooting the previous one in the head, then forgot about that plotline as a result of his update schedule of "almost never"
165	* KudzuPlot: So much of it.
166	* LampshadeHanging: So much so that people have even begun hanging lampshades on how much LampshadeHanging there is.
167	* LegendaryCarp: The carp from VideoGame/DwarfFortress is used as a weapon by the Hacker.
168	* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: DYOS 10.5 opens with the world in utter chaos, the perfect opportunity for an invasion by Coruscant's enemies.[[note]][[GeneralFailure At least, it >should < have been.]][[/note]]
169	** Ironically, Coruscant profited as much, if not more: the campaign against the Enclave netted it America and a sizable chunk of the Asian Pacific, not to mention the star systems that flipped after the Galactic Federation imploded...
170	* LimitedWardrobe: Stylesrj used to have this, only wearing the one set of clothes/armour. Then he started changing outfits after he met his wife.
171	** Marth & Martha Shepard are either in their armour or in the clothes underneath
172	** Generals Kwai & Leang. When Kwai went on a date, his normal brown suit was dyed grey.
173	* LostEpisode: DYOS 1-9. The contributors still have a few individual comics from those threads, though, and upload some of them to the side-threads at times.
174	** A good chunk of DYOS 10 is missing, too, due to CFC's Uploads and Downloads Folder being hacked and deleted in 2008, taking a large amount of the comics for the thread with it.
175	** More recently, archives of parts of the missing threads were found.
176	* {{Machinomics}}: Popular engines include ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'', ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'', and ''VideoGame/TheSims3''.
177	* MacGuffin: all the quest items.
178	* MadeOfIron: Rhiza Kalanin. If it hurts her, then it'd have to be pretty painful [[spoiler:or it could be mind control]]
179	** A lot of people fit this trope as well.
180	* TheMafia: The minor villain Scalise belongs to the Mafia.
181	* TheMagazineRule: One of the Hacker's pranks subscribes choxorn to ''Zombie Girls Gone Wild''.
182	* MagicFromTechnology: Magic was banned until DYOS 12, so you see a lot of this.
183	* MakeItLookLikeAStruggle: Marsha and Krieger unexpectedly encounter Schäffer while fleeing the Space Nazi base. Krieger orders Marsha further on before engaging in a mock fight to give the officer an alibi on the security cameras.
184	* MalignantPlotTumor: The Gem arc, introduced in DYOS 10 but grew so fast that it earned its own sequel thread. Thorvald has repeatedly hinted that it has in turn provided the foundation for yet a third act.
185	** Within DYOS 10.5, the Nazi War. Originally intended as filler until lord_joakim could resume regular contributions, a combination of ScheduleSlip, ContinuitySnarl stemming from joakim shifting literally everything plot-critical to DYOS 11, and [=CivGeneral=]'s disinterest in the more delicate facets of the Gem arc saw the war grossly overshadow the "main" story.
186	* TheManBehindTheMan
187	** The Enclave Remnant in DYOS XI under command of General Townes is in turn a front for Chuck the Freaking Alien.
188	** The Hacker does this to ''himself''.
189	* ManlyTears: [=CivGeneral=] shed them [[spoiler:at Spongebob's funeral]]
190	* MarshmallowHell: Both Stylesrj and [=CivGeneral=] experienced this. Spongebob [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant thinks it's a kind of dessert]].
191	* TheMedic: Dr. Terrance Hastings, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach]]
192	* MediumAwareness: Exploited by nearly everyone, especially Thorvald, choxorn and taillesskangaru. Memorable examples include Krieger leaving DYOS 11 to fight in the prequel, Zheng He pondering whether he's in a tragedy or a comedy, and tailless going meta to escape a hostile space fleet.
193	* MegaCorp: Umbrella Corporation and, arguably, the Clone Guild.
194	** Talon Company probably counts, and Toyoda is inferred to run one.
195	* MegaCrossover: ''{{VideoGame/Starcraft}}'', ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', Dick Cheney, ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]], ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'', ''WebComic/OzyAndMillie'', ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', ''{{Franchise/Metroid}}'', ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'', ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'', ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' and of course ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}''
196	* MetaFic: Commonly demonstrated in "Narratorspace", "The Reality Warpers' Club", and "Ask that Ninja".
197	* MindScrew: The Thear arc. Didn't help that E350 lost one of the pages and was too lazy to redraw it, resulting in an AsYouKnow.
198	* MoodWhiplash: With so many different participants, it's inevitable that consecutive comics won't always carry the same tone.
199	* MrExposition: Vyacheslav Molotov occasionally appears to brief the audience on the state of the plot.
200	* MultinationalTeam: Among the characters are nearly every European and East Asian nationality that exists, and a few that don't. Also true of the story writers, whose present and past ranks include around 15 Americans, 4 Canadians, 5 Australians, 2 English, a Scot, 2 Danes, a Norwegian, 2 Swedes, a Pole, an Asian-Australian, a Pakistani-American, an Indonesian, and some people with an unknown nationality.
201	* NoFourthWall: Several of the main characters seem to be perfectly aware it's a comic. Others settle for just [[BreakingTheFourthWall breaking]] and painting the wall.
202	* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: {{Invoked\|Trope}} by Colonel Maxium. Commander Laes does the same to Stylesrj's brother.
203	* NoNameGiven: Most self-insert characters are only known by their username, which rolls into OnlyOneName for a majority of self-insert characters. Though some over time were given surnames, like Stylesrj, or opted to adopt their spouse's name, like [=CivGeneral=]. The hacker in DYOS 11 is known simply as the Hacker.
204	** Regularly defied by [=CivGeneral=]'s minor characters, some of whom get a first ''and'' last name despite a single appearance.
205	* NuclearWeaponsTaboo: {{Defied\|Trope}} in the cruellest irony imaginable: a nuclear-armed Tupolev bomber sets off to strike an Enclave oil rig ''from Hiroshima''.
206	** Sometimes Stylesrj makes a big explosion and explains that it's not a nuke, but an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion N2 mine]].
207	* NukeEm: The above example is only one of hundreds...
208	* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Used often when the contributor doesn't want to spoil something or just hasn't thought of anything thus far.
209	* OnlySixFaces: Frequently occurs in [=CivGeneral=]'s comics, but then, it's a [[YouALLLookFamiliar limitation of the medium]]. Amusingly, the same face model was used for both the Chancellor of the Republic (good guy) and the CIA Deputy Director (bad guy).
210	** A notable LampshadeHanging occurs in choxorn's conversation with Tanaka. Ironically, Tanaka's model was unique.
211	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Major Kusanagi from Franchise/GhostInTheShell. Not only is she the Chancellor of the Republic of Coruscant but she is also an ActionGirl in [=CivGeneral=]'s Mercenary group.
212	** Stylesrj once was president of France (ItsALongStory) and he spent very little of it leading.
213	** Someone once remarked that Thorvald was vying for the [[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]] award for most time in office spent outside the country.
214	* OutGivingBirthBackInTwoMinutes: While Ayane describes it as painful, she's remarkably nonchalant about the whole thing.
215	* OvernightConquest: Just about every war prior to DYOS 10.
216	** The SequelHook to DYOS 10.5 describes the Galactic Federation imploding shortly after the fall of Daiban, with planets flipping to Coruscant or being steamrolled by the Space Nazis.
217	** The so-called Battle of the Bulge sees the Coruscanti army reaching from Chicago to the Pacific in the span of a single comic.
218	** Originally, Mariko took control of Coruscant, Kuat and Kessel on the same day she founded the Second Empire. Recognized as unfeasible at best, this was later [[RetCon retconned]] as an overly-ambitious boast on her part.
219	* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Mr. Toyoda's Security Company, [=CivGeneral=]'s Brotherhood of Steel and S.T.A.R.S. factions, Stylesrj's Space Mercenaries, Talon Company.
220	* PunchClockHero: Most of the FWA troops would rather be fishing.
221	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: used [[MemeticMutation OVER 9000]] times.
222	* TheQuest: the central plot of most DYOS threads, though the story often became so chaotic the original goal was forgotten.
223	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Martha Shepard
224	* RealityWarper: The Hacker, and a few others.
225	* RealityWritingBook: The Collected DYOS Episodes 1–9, the only surviving copy of the threads before the server switch deleted them, is stolen by the Hacker and used to erase choxorn and the zombies from the timeline. Surprisingly little else is made of this potentially catastrophic plot device.
226	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Tons of examples, sometimes even other fictional things writing the plot. A recent one was the volcano in Iceland with an unspellable name delaying an invasion of France (ItMakesSenseInContext)
227	* RecapEpisode: The final comic of DYOS X is the [[MrExposition Convenient Plot Device]] summarizing the story.
228	* RedemptionQuest: Some of [=CivGeneral=]'s sideplots are this in DYOS 11, representing the fight against his [[EnemyWithin inner daemons]] and [[TheAtoner atonement]] for his attitude in the past.
229	* RedshirtArmy
230	* ReimaginingTheArtifact: The '[[PowerUp Luxury Diamond]]' introduced at the start of DYOS 10 returns midway through the story as the mysterious '[[ArtifactOfDoom Gem]]'.
231	%%* RememberTheNewGuy: With the Loads AndLoads OfCharacters, many of them end up being this.
232	* TheRemnant: Some ''extremely'' wayward Enclave survivors reappear on a different planet in DYOS 11.
233	** Averted by the New Avatar Order in DYOS 10.5, who opt instead to drink themselves into irrelevance.
234	* RenegadeRussian: In contrast to his [[GeneralRipper canonical role]], [[VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint General Guba]] actually avoids this, opting instead to berate Thorvald at every opportunity from the comfort of his armchair.
235	* {{Retirony}}: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] with Rodney [=McKay=].
236	* RuleOfCool: Kan' Sharuminar rescuing Captain2 while riding a T-Rex that has been outfitted with a jetpack
237	* RuleThirtyFour: In-story, one of the Hacker's furry henchmen finds a Rule 34 pic of himself and the Hacker (although the actual pic is not shown since it's against the forum rules, [[{{Squick}} and it's not something anyone would want to see anyway.]])
238	* RunningGag
239	** "We're in POLAND!"
240	** [[Creator/TomCruise (Tom) Cruise Missiles]]
241	** "I know all your evil plans!"
242	** [[VideoGame/HalfLife "What's next in the parade of constant interruptions!"]]
243	** Hrmph? Muffy!
244	** [[SeriesHiatus #$%& HIATUS!!!]]
245	** The Iranians will get the joke before the infidels!
246	** [[RecycledINSPACE Meanwhile, IN SPACE]] - this one's straight from Website/TVTropes
247	** "Hey, can I eat this one?"
248	* ScarsAreForever: Tama Shepard's resurrection
249	** Hanna has two scars on her cheek from defending her son many years ago.
250	* ScheduleSlip: Oh so, so very much.
251	* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: Two of [=CivGeneral=]'s past bullies, [[TheBully Bryan]] and [[AlphaBitch Melinda]], are Umbrella's goons. WordOfGod states they are based on an amalgamation of the kids who bullied the poster [=CivGeneral=] in the past.
252	* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: Seen in concept posters
253	* SecurityBlanket: Taillesskangaru in place of Linus in one of the "Why Haven't Contributor Drawn Comics Lately" comics.
254	* SelfDeprecatingHumor: All the writers do this, rather frequently, except for [=CivGeneral=], and even he's starting to do it some now.
255	* SelfInsertFic: Pretty much every major character is a self-insert. The exception is whoever e350tb's main character is at the time- he uses characters from Nickelodeon cartoons as his main chracter(s) instead of himself. He had a self-insert like everyone else for two seconds, but said self-insert was killed in his first comic.
256	* SeriesHiatus: DYOS occasionally suffered from this due to contributors being busy with real life.
257	* ShoeSlap: Happened to Martha Shepard. Hit with a pair of [[Film/IRobot Vintage 2004 Converse Sneakers]] thrown by Stylesrj. Her reaction? [[Film/AustinPowers Who throws a shoe, honestly?]]
258	** She only managed to stop one of them. Even Bush could do better than that!
259	* [[ShooOutTheClowns Shoo Out The Clown]]: Kaede/Lucy did this to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
260	* ShootTheMedicFirst: Mariko's Empire does not hold the Geneva Convention in high regard.[[note]]Although given Rebecca is a CombatMedic, her protest was kinda hypocritical.[[/note]]
261	* ShoutOut: To just about everything at some point.
262	%%* ShrinkRay: The Lazy Beam
263	%%* SirSwearsALot: George S. M***g Patton.
264	%%* SpaceColdWar: Between the Republic of Coruscant and the Combine Empire.
265	%%* SpacePirates
266	%%* SpaceSailing: Admiral Zheng He's Ming Treasure Ship Armada and Thorvald's Golden Fleet.
267	* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
268	** Georgy Kalanin is usually referred to by everyone other than Stylesjl[[note]]even his brother[[/note]] as Georgie, probably due to the audience's English-language bias (''joer-jee'' rather than the Russian ''yeor-gee'').
269	** Manfred von Richthofen is '''always''' spelled Richtofen. Given his brutal character assassination in DYOS V, this may be the contributors' way of separating his portrayal in the comic from the historical figure.
270	* SpinOff:
271	** [=CivGeneral=]'s ''[[http://gensamus.deviantart.com/gallery/32857909 Nozomi Valentine: For the Republic]]'', an {{Interquel}} set between DYOS 11 and 12.
272	** Thorvald's [[http://el-thorvaldo.deviantart.com/gallery/34943973/Alternate-2011 "Alternate 2011"]], based on unrealized plan for the time travel arc.
273	** [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=523212 WRITE Your Own Story]], a sister project started in 2014 by wannabe participants more comfortable with writing than drawing. It's actually OlderThanTheyThink, with the first Write-Your-Own-Story thread airing in 2003; in fact, DYOS started as a spin-off of WYOS.
274	* SpriteComic: Most famously done by Splime, who created an original army set for DYOS IX. Also used by [=Omega124=], and [=CivGeneral=] when his gaming computer was being repaired.
275	* StandardFemaleGrabArea: Subverted with Marsha Conrad. Don't ever try to grab her arm or you will find yourself flat on the floor.
276	* StalkerWithACrush: Jessica Daibijin is Stylesjl's [[AxCrazy Axe Crazy]] Stalker in DYOS 11. Her plans of cutting out Stylesjl's heart with her axe were put on hold to deal with the Hacker.
277	* StomachOfHolding: Gnowel Lawgiver and her High Cleric Juline Sane both have these.
278	* StupidJetpackHitler: The Greater German Space Reich
279	* {{Swirlie}}: Inverted, Marsha spawns an unflushed toilet above the Hacker. Cue in gravity and a moment of [[Film/TheWickerMan2006 toilet water getting into the hacker's eye]].
280	* SymbolSwearing: Justified as CFC is PG-rated. Used in conjunction with {{CensorBox}}es, sometimes as a gag by censoring the word "cake" and other non-swear words.
281	* TakeThat; can get uncomfortable when it's [[TakeThatCritics aiming close to home]]. [=CivGeneral=] tends to be more hash and mean-spirited with his {{TakeThat}}s.
282	* TechnicalPacifist: Rhiza Kalanin fits this trope. Her kills always have been indirectly caused.
283	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Employed liberally by [=CivGeneral=], both with heroes and villains, although the latter often come across as {{Straw Hypocrite}}s.
284	* ThisISForEmphasisBitch: Though the end has SymbolSwearing, Marsha Conrad delivered this line right before serving the Hacker's ass to him.
285	* ThoseTwoGuys: [[Franchise/MassEffect Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko]] and Sergeant Abigail Belmont, of the F.W.A.
286	* TragicVillain: Space Nazi field marshal Kurt Schäffer. While he harbours no love for Coruscant, he adheres to a [[NobleDemon higher ethical standard]] than his fellow officers and works within the system to mitigate the damage as much as possible, even leaking critical information to Krieger.
287	* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The main plot of DYOS 10, when forum avatars revolted against the posters.
288	* {{Tsundere}}: Tama Shepard and Kaede, and [=CivGeneral=].
289	* JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife: InUniverse, some characters even refer this site as the "Site-that-shall-not-be-named".
290	* UnwillingRoboticisation:
291	** This happens to the entirety of Planet Thear -- and many other planets, which were fed by produce from Thear. Well, ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime.
292	** This happens again later in, when [[spoiler:Sandy ends up on the wrong side of an Emergency Roboticiser. [[BreakingTheFourthWall Happily for the plot]], her mind is intact.]]
293	* UnitedEurope: A subversion that tries to play itself straight. The continent is split longitudinally between the Eastern Union and Free Western Army, who work very closely with each other. No UsefulNotes/IronCurtain here, folks!
294	* VerySpecialEpisode: Happens around Christmas time with special edition comics. A few lampooning comics consist of other posters from the forums. Almost all of the special episode comics are considered non-canon.
295	** Stylesrj recently did a parody of a whole bunch of SoapOpera Special Episode themes.
296	* VestigialEmpire: By DYOS 10, Taillenia has virtually ceased to exist, and the Space Fleet last flies the flag in the battle over Earth midway through the story. The survivors reorganize as the Cosmonarmada Vostok in DYOS 10.5, policing the planet of the same name.
297	* VillainByDefault: [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 The Combine]] in DYOS 10, the Space Nazis in DYOS 10.5, [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Umbrella Corp.]] in DYOS 11, and [=CurtSibling=] whenever he appears.
298	* TheVirus: The FEV and various strains of the progenitor virus (T-virus, etc)
299	* VisibleInvisibility: In two flavors, distortion & invisible to the reader.
300	* VodkaDrunkenski: Georgy Kalanin.
301	* WashingtonDCInvasion
302	* WebcomicTime: Often occurs due to the frequent hiatuses- comics months apart from each other can, in-story, take place within the space of a few minutes.
303	* WhamEpisode: They happen from time to time.
304	* WhamLine:
305	** "Toyoda doesn't ''want'' the Gem. [[spoiler:He wants it ''back''.]]"
306	** [[http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=10310988#post10310988 "If you're plotting against Toyoda, >don't< tell the Masakari."]]
307	* [[WhenSheSmiles When He Smiles]]: Averted with [=CivGeneral=], normally he's a PerpetualFrowner. Though he hopes to one day invoke the trope.
308	* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: New Port City in DYOS 10. In later threads WordOfGod placed it on the U.S. eastern seaboard.
309	** Now true of wherever the hell the Zombies' secret base is, although it IS a secret, and it's mostly only this because choxorn updates about once every 4 months these days.
310	* WholePlotReference: Beginning with the Combine arc in DYOS X and up until Wesker's final defeat in XI, [=CivGeneral=]'s stories closely paralleled their inspiring franchises. In order, they are: Combine Insurgency = ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''; The Troubles = ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''; the Enclave = VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}; the Space Nazis = UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; the Space Pirates = ''{{Franchise/Metroid}}''; Umbrella Inc. = ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''; and the Time Travel Arc = ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''.
311	* WhoWritesThisCrap: choxorn sometimes complains about something in the story, at which point he's reminded by someone else that he's the one who's writing this crap.
312	* TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed: And how!
313	* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII: Among the supporting cast are Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Patton, and just about the entire Soviet and Nazi leadership at one point or another.
314	* {{Yandere}}: Jessica Daibijin is the possessive sort.
315	* ZombieApocalypse
316	* ZombieInfectee: Averted by [=CivGeneral=]: the other characters realize before he does, he certainly doesn't deny it, and he's treated and cured before symptoms begin to manifest.
317

Context Webcomic / DrawYourOwnStory