Line #53 Webcomic/Superego


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000.gif]]
2
3	->''"Everyone has their bad days."''
4	-->-- MSPFA description for ''Superego''
5
6	''Superego'' is another [[Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures MSPA]] Fan Adventure by [[Tropers/DrVox Jovian]], who's also the creator of ''Webcomic/{{Godquest}}''. Ten individuals, each designated by a [[YouAreNumberSix numeral]], a [[SigilSpam symbol]], and a [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color]], are trapped in a hospital and must work together to get out. But what surprises does the building have in store for them? And what deep, dark secrets lay within their minds?
7
8	Not to be confused with TheSuperego, the former name of a trope about logical, calculating people.
9
10	* Original forum threads: [[http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?38766 Thread I]] [[http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?42548 Thread II]] [[http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?47986 Thread III]] [[http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?57332 Thread IV]], which are down right now.
11	* New forum threads can be found on the [[http://eagle-time.com/showthread.php?tid=1397 Eagle Time]] and [[http://omegaupdate.freeforums.net/thread/42/superego Omegaupdate]] forums.
12	* [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275 Mirror]]
13	* [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bF7IsilgHLIHe3SPweA9YP2FdIlpj1ThnovpZs9oM5w/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1 Info Database]] (contains spoilers)
14
15	----
16	!!This InteractiveComic provides examples of:
17	* AbandonedHospital: {{Justified}}. [[spoiler:It's a virtual one]].
18	* AbortedArc: Cherry was going to tag along with Sam (and she would've gotten into the basement and been present for [[spoiler: Sam releasing the shadows]]).
19	* AllLowercaseLetters: The [[spoiler: shadows]] speak like this.
20	* AllThereInTheManual: [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/tagged/Superego The author's Tumblr tag for Superego]] has many doodles and tidbits that aren't in the threads.
21	* AllWorkVsAllPlay: Percy and Ava, respectively.
22	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Ranging from yellow to orange to pink to blue, none of the characters have normal skin tones. [[spoiler:Or rather, they ''normally'' to have normal skin tones outside of the VR hospital]].
23	* AmbidextrousSprite: Occurs as instances of hairstyle flipping (noticeably with Ava and Rick).
24	* AngstWhatAngst: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Ava, when [[spoiler: Percy interrupts a particularly heartfelt conversation with Quin]].
25	* [[ArcNumber Arc Numbers]]: 301 and 10, not to mention [[YouAreNumberSix the numbers on the characters' hands]].
26	* ArcSymbol: The circle and variations of it.
27	* ArtEvolution: It has developed much better quality through the chapters, and character designs also get a bit of tweaking. Perhaps most noticably [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/25756716741 Percy]], who has gotten a very different head sculpt.
28	** The 'dolls' themselves have gotten more rounder eyes and a more realistic body shape. The early style tended to make the hair more of a big blob, rather than drawing the individual strands. [[http://scalydweeb.tumblr.com/post/78504095076/jovian12-1-february-24-2011-2-march See it for yourself]].
29	** The later [[OminousVisualGlitch glitches]] are much cleaner and have fluid animation, dynamic lighting, and expressive character looks.
30	* ArtShift: Like in ''Webcomic/AlabasterTheDoomedSession'', everyone has their 'vision' illustrated differently. [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/5052553882 For your consideration]].
31	* BigDamnHeroes: By Cherry, [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=1706 here]], although accidental.
32	* BiggerOnTheInside
33	* BigShutUp: Louis delivers one to [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=319 Ava]]. It seems to have affected her.
34	** ...and then delivers a NoisyShutUp later.
35	* [[BigWhat Big]], FlatWhat: Rick has one when Percy has to tell Louis that he (Rick) [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=273 left a bad impression]].
36	* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: At least three groups follow this pattern.
37	** Group 1: Sam (Brawn), Percy (Brain), Ava (Beauty)
38	** Group 2: Cherry (Brain), Rick (Brawn), Helen (Beauty)
39	** Group 3: Quin (Brawn), Grey (Brain), Juliet (Beauty)
40	* BeYourself: Downplayed theme.
41	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation It's hard to see]], [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/5508688207 but]] Ava (blonde), Sam (brunette) and Rick (redhead).
42	* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler:For a period of time beginning on February 11, 2012, Percy's shadow had gotten its hands on the Info Database that Percy was so meticulously keeping up-to-date and pretty much trashed it. At first, it was simply a black-out of the information (which copy-pasting into a text editor could easily undo), but then his edits started getting...nightmarish]].
43	* CastOfSnowflakes: Zigzagged. Some of them have similar body types, but they still have different facial features and hairstyles, and several of them have body detailing to set them apart.
44	** Even when some characters are similar, they have very different concepts. See Rick and Louis, for example. And despite the vast number of [[spoiler: shadow selves]], they're all patterned differently.
45	** It's even visible on the character's color itself. They're never ''one'' color (Percy's orange as well as brown).
46	* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:Louis' deaf ear]] allows Cherry to [[spoiler:sneak up on him and push him into the abyss]].
47	** After the rendezvous at the art gallery, Juliet reveals that [[spoiler:there's a switch that could help them escape the hospital. Suddenly [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275 the title card]] for the comic makes sense]].
48	* ClosedCircle: Literally and not-so-literally.
49	* ColorCodedCharacters: Everyone looks pretty distinct to begin with, but their colors make them almost impossible to confuse.
50	* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: The [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=400 papers]] Percy finds.
51	* CoordinatedClothes: They all wear the same uniform, but with some personal variations thrown in. Sam's collar is askew, Rick tucks in his shirt, Percy buttons up his shirt all the way, Louis rolls up his sleeves, Juliet hates shoes, and so on.
52	* DefrostingIceQueen: A literal example, since Quin's associated element is ice.
53	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The hospital, ''VideoGame/{{Detention}}'' style.
54	* TheDoorSlamsYou: Juliet does this accidentally [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=382 to Sam]].
55	* DysfunctionJunction: Unavoidable when all the characters have [[spoiler:mental illnesses]].
56	* EldritchLocation: The hospital, natch. Through the course of the story, it gets more insane, containing {{Bizarrchitecture}} and GravityScrew.
57	* ElevatorEscape: Sam employs this to get away from Percy and Ava.
58	* EscapeFromTheCrazyPlace
59	* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler:Also happens to be the ShadowArchetype]].
60	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Lots of it if you know where to look.
61	** The [[spoiler:light switch]] Juliet remembers in chapter 4 appears in her [[http://media.tumblr.com/910b346f85d3ee959199f9969efa8c37/tumblr_inline_mxkeexW0rB1qgaal7.gif fleeting]] [[http://media.tumblr.com/dd1daebd1ad03547930b584f9e65bb87/tumblr_inline_mxkegd3spx1qgaal7.gif thoughts]].
62	** Among the basements symbols, [[spoiler:only Louis' is dimmed]]. They also foreshadow the characters' insecurities, as detailed [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/69520343258 here]].
63	** Louis was first seen in [[http://media.tumblr.com/80b159a1e2d3b26708b31ce90568c2e0/tumblr_inline_mxk6gyXqFF1qgaal7.gif this room]]. Notice [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaural the symbol on the wall]]?
64	** The ShowWithinAShow, Vera and the Dragon (Cherry's original story presented as an alternate forum adventure on Eagle Time), was going to be a chunk of this according to [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/33797045282 this]]. Grace (Ava) was going to be shadowy about her past because [[spoiler: her sister was the princess of the elves and she was a HalfHumanHybrid]].
65	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The hours passed can be counted on one hand.
66	* [[FourTemperamentEnsemble Five Temperament Ensemble]]: Ava and Juliet are sanguine; Rick and Quin are choleric; Sam and Percy are melancholic; Louis and Grey are phlegmatic; Cherry and Helen are supine.
67	* FreudianTrio: The first three characters introduced. Percy is the Superego (logical, perceptive), Sam the Ego (doesn't care about others and wants to get out as soon as possible), and Ava the Id (excitable, ''loves'' chatting and getting people's attention).
68	* GeniusLoci: The hospital appears to have elements of this. For example, [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=251 one room]] [[spoiler:traps Ava and Cherry within it]].
69	* GenreSavvy: Sam has clearly watched more TV than the rest of the group. One of the suggestions even lampshades this, referring to him as [[ShoutOut Genre Savvy man]].
70	* [[spoiler:GoneHorriblyWrong: The whole place is Grey's idea that went off rails]].
71	* HearingVoices: Mystery flavor.
72	* AHouseDivided
73	* IncomingHam: [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=201 YOU THERE!]]
74	* [[spoiler:InsideAComputerSystem: The entire hospital is a VR simulation]].
75	* InterchangeableAsianCultures: Louis invokes this, referring to Cherry as Japanese (she's Chinese).
76	* ImagineSpot: Often, with ArtShift and all. WordOfGod [[http://jovian12.tumblr.com/post/5052553882 says]] it was a concept that never happened in ''Webcomic/{{Godquest}}'', finally realized in full.
77	* JigsawPuzzlePlot
78	* JustInTime: Rick is on the brink of falling into despair, when Grey speaks through the intercom.
79	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: See OntologicalMystery below.
80	* LetsSplitUpGang: Done between Percy and Rick, and Cherry and Ava.
81	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Ava and Quin.
82	* MadEye: Vivian.
83	* MadnessMantra: Occasionally uttered by Quin.
84	* MinimalistCast
85	* MissingEpisode: Side content, such as April Fool's updates and Cherry's original story Vera and the Dragon, are now unreadable due to image hosts' links breaking (first Dropbox, then Photobucket) and the MSPA Forums closing.
86	* MissingFloor: [[spoiler:Sam is surprised to discover a basement. So far, only one elevator leads to it]].
87	* MobileMaze
88	* MonkeyMoralityPose: Briefly flashes as crossed-out ears, eyes, and mouth when [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&id=1109 Louis meets Helen]].
89	* MoralityPet: Cherry to Rick. They plan their stuff together, and Cherry acts as his assistant.
90	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After Sam [[spoiler: gets sorted out by his shadow]], he directly realizes how unhelpful he's been. He clearly didn't expect things to go so far.
91	* MythologyGag: Grey [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=1996 says]] the only test he did before was with four individuals...Which showed up in [[http://jovian12.net/Superego/aprfools.gif the April Fool's 2016 update.]]
92	* NeckLift: {{Inverted}}. [[spoiler:A shadowy hand restrains Sam onto the ground by the neck while he's in the black room with the mirrored floor]].
93	* NightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/{{Superego}} Has its own page]].
94	* TheNineties: According to WordOfGod, the story takes place in 1995.
95	** TwentyMinutesIntoThePast
96	* NoAntagonist: Currently, the hospital itself[[spoiler:, along with the demonic voices and tentacles of darkness,]] seems to be the best candidate for one.
97	* OhCrap: Sam, [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=200 meet Rick]].
98	* OntologicalMystery: Everyone has [[YouWakeUpInARoom woken up in a room]] with [[LaserGuidedAmnesia no memory of what happened]] prior to their incarceration other than that they were leaving home for something.
99	* OminousVisualGlitch: It starts very subtle, but when [[spoiler: Juliet loses it]], turns to [[WebVideo/JackSepticEye Antisepticeye]] [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=1628 kaliber]].
100	* PaintingTheMedium: Everyone and their dialog is colored a different hue [[spoiler: while the demonic voices have black backgrounds in their text]]. As things get weirder, filter effects such as smudging and pixellizing are used as well.
101	* PlotPoweredStamina: The story stretches on well past midnight. [[spoiler:Possibly justified as they're all in dream-like VR world.]]
102	* PlummetPerspective: A variation occurs [[spoiler:at the end of the prologue]].
103	* PortalPicture: Just don't get stuck in one.
104	* {{Prelap}}: In [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=158 visual form]]!
105	** And also a [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=669 postlap]].
106	* PsychologicalTormentZone
107	* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: Rick lands a hell of a beatdown on Louis [[spoiler:to avenge his graduation invitation]], but the most that he suffers is a slight nosebleed. Louis then does a big right jab on the coach's face, knocking off his glasses in the process. Even [[spoiler:Rick's inner demon]] knew this right from the start.
108	* TheRival: It is initially made a big deal that Rick does not like Louis. The status of this, considering [[spoiler: they're both missing]] is unknown, since [[spoiler: Louis genuinely went off the deep and Rick got stuck when Cherry's room collapsed]].
109	** Sam and Quin, due to a misunderstanding. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn They got over it, though]].
110	** Ava and Quin ([[spoiler: who is jealous of her]]).
111	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Subverted.
112	* RotatingProtagonist: You could easily divide the story into scenes with certain characters as focus.
113	* RuleOfSymbolism: Rick is one of the only people of the other hospital inhabitants that Cherry seems comfortable being around and talking to due to her [[ShrinkingViolet rather shy and skittish personality]]. At one point they get separated after Cherry has a meltdown when he and Louis start fighting; she goes to search for Rick a few minutes later, only to see another woman now following him around. Feeling replaced, she runs away heartbroken and several walls come jutting up from the floor behind her to prevent them from following. In other words, ''her barriers just went back up.''
114	* SanitySlippage
115	* ScoobyDoobyDoors: The hospital causes the characters to run into these constantly. As neatly summerized by Ava:
116	--> We've been chased by a sentient moving wall, gone upside-down more than three times, got lost and ended up back at the same elevator twice, apparently went up to the roof when we thought it was floor 2, are hearing voices again, walked through a wall, and we STILL can't find my room?!
117	* ShoutOut: The fact that all of the characters trapped in the hospital have numbers on their hands is very reminiscent of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''.
118	** In the old forum threads, WordOfGod had stated that 999 was not an inspiration, but readers bringing up the comparison is what inspired her to play it.
119	** WordOfGod also confirms that ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' is another inspiration for this work.
120	** Other inspirations include ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''.
121	** The narrative asks Helen how '[[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=1222 Stonequest]]' is coming along, much like how ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' itself has an option to [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=007208 ask]] Aranea how 'Cherubquest' is coming along. In both cases, [[spoiler: they haven't been found yet]].
122	* ShyBlueHairedGirl: Cherry is a pretty good example of this.
123	* SigilSpam: Each character has a symbol, which are found all over the hospital.
124	* SimultaneousArcs: To lead up to the [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=133 light flicker.]] Mini [[RotatingArcs Rotating Arcs]] also occur since the cast doesn't exactly like to stick together.
125	* SkintoneSclerae: a good chunk of the cast.
126	* {{Soaperizing}}
127	* SoftGlass: The entire floor of the black room, as [[spoiler: Shadow Quin]] [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=471 demonstrates]]; Sam ends up on a hospital bed without so much as a scratch.
128	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: WordOfGod says that the adventure's title is [[https://twitter.com/JovianTwelve/status/257993943080386560 one word]], not two. Thus, the fan abbreviation "SE" is not actually appropriate.
129	* SubliminalSeduction: During Sam's stay in the WhiteVoidRoom, censored messages start to obscure his train of thought. When highlighted, they appear to be gibberish. [[spoiler:However, if you get rid of the non-alphabetic characters, separate the letters into caps and lowercase, and reverse both strings, you will get two messages. The lowercase one reads, "run boy you should run they are going to get you you do not realize what you have done they want to kill you from the inside out they are the most terrifying things you will ever experience because they are you and only you alone can defeat them sam you better get out of here and quickly quickly," and the all-caps one reads, "I CANNOT POSSIBLY FATHOM TO TELL YOU THE FULL RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING DEMONIC AND YOU WILL REGRET IT SECONDS AFTER YOU LEAVE THIS ROOM I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE FATE YOU HAVE PUT UPON YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU WILL BE LIVING IT FOR EVERY SECOND FROM NOW ON."]]
130	** This happens again after Sam gets struck by lightning, although the text is in [[spoiler:Shadow Sam's]] color and it doesn't need to be highlighted. Although the capital letters don't seem to have a message, [[spoiler:the lowercase ones spell out "sam im very disappointed in you/you have been rude and disruptive and entirely unhelpful/sam theres something you should do this is your last chance/it will help you will be fixed you can live normally sign here/sam sign here sam sam sam sign here sam sam sign sam" over the course of five pages.]]
131	* ThemeNaming: Not including full names (as the cast is rarely called by them in-story), they're ten letters long. Even including aliases (Red Diamond) and initials (Rick L. Worth).
132	* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: Sam is reminded of [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=394 "someone"]] (with a [[CensorBox censor bar]] over the eyes no less) [[spoiler:later revealed to be his [[MissingMom mom]]]] and tries to drop the subject ASAP.
133	** This device becomes more common; even [[spoiler: the comically arrogant Rick]] has one.
134	* UnreliableNarrator: Despite being written in second person, the narration varies depending on the character in focus. Considering the characters' [[DysfunctionJunction mannerisms]]...
135	** Even the character's recollections vary stylistically. Compare how [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=293 Ava sees Sam]] and how [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=458 Sam sees Ava]].
136	* UnsoundEffect: [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=311 EJECT]].
137	** [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=496 QUARTERBACK SMACK]].
138	* WallOfBlather: Percy and Rick are prone to these.
139	* WasJustLeaving: Sam Herbert, like the {{Tsundere}} he is, harshly rebukes any offers of help with all sorts of excuses, including saying that he was about to go.
140	-->'''Sam:''' Look, I don't want your ''help'', okay? I was just leaving!
141	* WhamLine: Sam's realization after [[spoiler:getting sorted out by his shadow]]:
142	-->This is...[[spoiler:virtual reality! This whole thing is virtual reality]]!
143	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
144	** Quin was going to have a bookstore.
145	** There were originally going to be puzzles for the audience to solve, much like other MS Paint Forum Adventures.
146	** There were going to be more "[=NPCs=]" [[spoiler:inside characters' rooms to represent traumas from their past, ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}''-style]]. The author opted for a lonelier feel instead, so the ten main characters are all that's present in the story.
147	* WhatTheHellHero: Rick did ''not'' care about Cherry when she ran away, so Quin pulls this on Rick after he shrugs off Cherry running away from them in tears, despite the fact that they'd been trying to find her.
148	-->'''Quin''': Did you even notice she was crying? Did you even care? You said you were specifically ''looking'' for her!
149	* WhiteVoidRoom: Sam ends up [[http://mspfa.com/?s=275&p=185 in one]]. And immediately gets assaulted by a mass of dark tentacles [[spoiler:that may or may not be his inner demon]].
150	* WrongGenreSavvy: Several of the characters, particularly those who believe they are in control of the situation.
151	* YouAreNumberSix: Everyone has a numeral on their left hand which designates how they have [[spoiler:one of ten personality disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Read more about it [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-IV_Codes#Personality_disorders_.28Axis_II.29 here]] (you'll also understand why 301 is the ''other'' ArcNumber). However, keep in mind that that relation is mostly to tip off the audience, and the numbers may in fact mean something deeper in-universe]].
152	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In only a week's worth of updates, Sam, Percy, and Ava find the exit to the hospital [[spoiler:which leads to a cliff that leads to an abyss. END OF PROLOGUE]].
153	----
154	What it mean?

Context Webcomic / Superego