Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Asskicking Leads To Leadership is the new name of the trope.
Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Henderson:''' You rat someone out, it means you're too weak to deal with them or you just can't be trusted. In gangs, you have [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority your power]] or [[IGaveMyWord your word]]. That's all.
to:
-->'''Henderson:''' You rat someone out, it means you're too weak to deal with them or you just can't be trusted. In gangs, you have [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership your power]] or [[IGaveMyWord your word]]. That's all.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
dewicking per TRS, example does not fit other tropes
Deleted line(s) 15 (click to see context) :
* BandageBabe: GenderInvertedTrope. The Four Winds are hot Asian-American men who wander around [[WalkingShirtlessScene half-dressed in gauze.]] After his death, Roland is similarly (un)dressed in white.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Adult Fear is now a disambig, and this is misuse which boils down to "listing all the scary stuff without context"
Deleted line(s) 14,18 (click to see context) :
* AdultFear: The story runs on this, despite the heavy UrbanFantasy setting.
** You and your fiance are driving home, take a wrong turn, and you run into someone who ran out of gas. [[WoundedGazelleGambit He actually wants to steal your car,]] and he ends up shooting your fiance.
** Cord himself is a mother-lode of adult fear. His parents have been in prison since he was eight, he got mixed up with gangs, he was gay-bashed in high school [[NoBisexuals when he's BI-sexual, not gay,]] and his fiance got murdered a year out of high school. He mentions in ''Bridge-Building'' that he's a month shy of twenty-one and the script's prologue says he's nineteen or twenty, [[HarmfulToMinors so the majority of this happened when he was in his teens.]]
** Juliana is heading over to visit her parents' house, and finds the police fencing it off as a crime scene. She immediately knows that they were hit by a drive-by thanks to the gang sign on her parents' door.
** Rafael Arturo's in his teens. His sister got stabbed, and he calls a ''gangster'' to help him get revenge. Sure, said gangster is a ''nice'' one, but he still goes straight to vigilantes instead of law enforcement. When Hayley Vasquez asks if his parents know where he is, he says they think he's at his cousin's house.
** You and your fiance are driving home, take a wrong turn, and you run into someone who ran out of gas. [[WoundedGazelleGambit He actually wants to steal your car,]] and he ends up shooting your fiance.
** Cord himself is a mother-lode of adult fear. His parents have been in prison since he was eight, he got mixed up with gangs, he was gay-bashed in high school [[NoBisexuals when he's BI-sexual, not gay,]] and his fiance got murdered a year out of high school. He mentions in ''Bridge-Building'' that he's a month shy of twenty-one and the script's prologue says he's nineteen or twenty, [[HarmfulToMinors so the majority of this happened when he was in his teens.]]
** Juliana is heading over to visit her parents' house, and finds the police fencing it off as a crime scene. She immediately knows that they were hit by a drive-by thanks to the gang sign on her parents' door.
** Rafael Arturo's in his teens. His sister got stabbed, and he calls a ''gangster'' to help him get revenge. Sure, said gangster is a ''nice'' one, but he still goes straight to vigilantes instead of law enforcement. When Hayley Vasquez asks if his parents know where he is, he says they think he's at his cousin's house.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* {{Capepunk}}: Cord Cai is obviously a superhero thanks to suffering a tragic loss, being motivated to get justice for it, and becoming a vigilante. But since Cord is Asian, it plays more like a DownerBeginning than a triumphant [[JumpedAtTheCall call to justice.]] He's DrivenToSuicide and [[UnwantedRescue desperately fights the paramedics]] who [[InterruptedSuicide take him to a psych ward]], he feels forced into revenge because the PoliceAreUseless (as a group, if not individually), and holds no illusions that he'll go to jail if he's caught for murder. [[WretchedHive Oakland needs a superhero for a VERY good reason.]]
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* GenreDeconstruction: Cord Cai is obviously a superhero thanks to suffering a tragic loss, being motivated to get justice for it, and becoming a vigilante. But since Cord is Asian, it plays more like a DownerBeginning than a triumphant [[JumpedAtTheCall call to justice.]] He's DrivenToSuicide and [[UnwantedRescue desperately fights the paramedics]] who [[InterruptedSuicide take him to a psych ward]], he feels forced into revenge because the PoliceAreUseless (as a group, if not individually), and holds no illusions that he'll go to jail if he's caught for murder. [[WretchedHive Oakland needs a superhero for a VERY good reason.]]
to:
* GenreDeconstruction: Cord Cai is obviously a Specifically, of the superhero thanks to suffering a tragic loss, being motivated to get justice for it, and becoming a vigilante. But since genre's [[MonochromeCasting lack of racial diversity]]. When the Chinese-American Cord is Asian, it plays more like Cai -- [[GenericEthnicCrimeGang a DownerBeginning than gangster]] who'd be a triumphant [[JumpedAtTheCall call to justice.]] He's DrivenToSuicide stereotypical villain in much of American media -- goes through the classic SuperheroOrigin story by losing his fiance Roland Fujii in a botched carjacking, it's played as Cord's DespairEventHorizon after a long list of family hardships, racism, and [[UnwantedRescue desperately fights homophobia, and he shoots the paramedics]] who [[InterruptedSuicide take him to a psych ward]], he feels forced into murderer in revenge because [[PoliceAreUseless after the PoliceAreUseless (as a group, if not individually), and holds no illusions police fuck up on Roland's case]]. Cord knows perfectly well that he'll go to jail if he's caught for murder. [[WretchedHive Oakland needs a superhero for a VERY feeding Asian-American stereotypes, but [[TragicVillain he thinks he's not good reason.]]enough for anything else.]] However, while he views himself as a failure and a stereotype, his gang [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters works with the police to clean up Oakland's street crime]] and numerous people ask him for help as they would a superhero.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Retooled to Villain In A White Suit.
* EtherealWhiteDress: Roland's spirit shows up in white gauze.
Deleted line(s) 46 (click to see context) :
* ManInWhite: Cord as the Tin Man wears a giant double-breasted coat, the West Wind is a WalkingShirtlessScene wearing [[BandageBabe a bunch of gauzy white strips,]] and Roland's spirit also shows up in white gauze.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* PlotTriggeringDeath: A two for one deal--Harry Lamont shoots Roland Fujii in a botched carjacking, and [[BestServedCold later gets executed himself by a grieving Cord.]]
Changed line(s) 61 (click to see context) from:
* TalkingToTheDead: Literally. Roland's spirit still lives in his and Cord's abandoned house, and East 13 is used to it.
to:
* TalkingToTheDead: Literally. Literally, thanks to the urban-fantasy elements. Roland's spirit still lives in his and Cord's abandoned house, and East 13 is used to it.Cord often visits him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Moving to proper namespace.
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takotsubo_potential_poster_c2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''Despite his own beliefs, he is in fact a hero.'']]
->''"My name is Cord Cai. My fiancé got shot for his car, and nobody gave a fuck except me."''
-->-- '''Cord Cai'''
''[[https://www.hitrecord.org/albums/2879277/ Takotsubo: The story of a superhero]]'' is a {{troper work|s}} by Tropers/{{Sharysa}} on [=HitRECord=]. The main story is a script, but she's also written three companion pieces in prose: The ''Bridge-Building'' stories and ''Gunsmoke.''
''Takotsubo'' is the story of Cord Cai, a young Chinese-American who lives in {{UsefulNotes/Oakland}}, California. After his fiancé Roland Fujii is shot in a botched carjacking by Harry Lamont, Cord shoots Lamont in revenge and then takes on the gangster alter-ego of "the TinMan," leading East 13. It is a ''massive'' {{Deconstruction}} of the superhero genre's [[MonochromeCasting lack of racial diversity]], as well as Cord's specific stereotype of [[GenericEthnicCrimeGang the Asian-American gangster.]]
----
!!''Takotsubo'' provides examples of:
* AdultFear: The story runs on this, despite the heavy UrbanFantasy setting.
** You and your fiance are driving home, take a wrong turn, and you run into someone who ran out of gas. [[WoundedGazelleGambit He actually wants to steal your car,]] and he ends up shooting your fiance.
** Cord himself is a mother-lode of adult fear. His parents have been in prison since he was eight, he got mixed up with gangs, he was gay-bashed in high school [[NoBisexuals when he's BI-sexual, not gay,]] and his fiance got murdered a year out of high school. He mentions in ''Bridge-Building'' that he's a month shy of twenty-one and the script's prologue says he's nineteen or twenty, [[HarmfulToMinors so the majority of this happened when he was in his teens.]]
** Juliana is heading over to visit her parents' house, and finds the police fencing it off as a crime scene. She immediately knows that they were hit by a drive-by thanks to the gang sign on her parents' door.
** Rafael Arturo's in his teens. His sister got stabbed, and he calls a ''gangster'' to help him get revenge. Sure, said gangster is a ''nice'' one, but he still goes straight to vigilantes instead of law enforcement. When Hayley Vasquez asks if his parents know where he is, he says they think he's at his cousin's house.
* AlliterativeName: Cord Cai, as befitting a superhero. Juliana Juarez is also alliterative.
* BandageBabe: GenderInvertedTrope. The Four Winds are hot Asian-American men who wander around [[WalkingShirtlessScene half-dressed in gauze.]] After his death, Roland is similarly (un)dressed in white.
* BreakTheCutie:
** In ''Gunsmoke'' and the script's prologue. Cord and Roland are targeted for a carjacking and Roland gets shot. Cord tries to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge when the police barely do anything, but he eventually [[BestServedCold shoots Harry Lamont in revenge]] and starts a gang as the Tin Man.
** Juliana Juarez is now getting broken, thanks to [[DeathByOriginStory her parents dying in a drive-by shooting.]]
* TheCityNarrows: The setting's in {{UsefulNotes/Oakland}}, California.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Gangsters are violent and harsh, but [[HonorBeforeReason they DO follow street-law.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Everyone gets a few jabs, but Cord is ''especially'' snarky.
* {{Deconstruction}}:
** The "Asian gangster" stereotype is a one-shot character at best, and faceless hero-fodder at worst. Here, the "Asian gangster" is a young man with a hard life and knows perfectly well that he's feeding the stereotype, [[InternalizedCategorism but he feels like it's his only choice.]]
** Even [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters a "nice" gang like East 13]] needs to follow street-law to survive, and it leads to Juliana's parents getting killed by [[GanglandDriveBy the Gatewalkers' drive-by]]. There's also rumors about the Tin Man breaking someone's neck and cursing Harry Lamont's house.
** ''Gunsmoke'' and the script's prologue show how badly the justice system fails minorities--Cord called the police during his carjacking, and they don't show up until Roland is basically dying. Later when he's in the police station, he mentions that he's already been to Roland's funeral -- which means nothing's happened with the investigation for at LEAST a few weeks.
** Years later in the main story, Juliana doesn't even bother going to the police when her parents are casualties of the Gatewalkers' drive-by -- she just goes straight to their headquarters to attempt a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
* DeconReconSwitch: The work is not only humanizing the Asian-gangster stereotype, but pointing out that Cord doesn't even fit it in the first place.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Blake remarks that gangs act "medieval," since Cord refuses to give much information even about a rival gang. TruthInTelevision -- see RuleNumberOne below.
* DespairEventHorizon: This is how Cord's SuperheroOrigin is treated, since it's only the last straw in a LONG string of hardships he's faced as a young LGBT man of color. ''Gunsmoke'' shows Cord rocketing past it, while ''Bridge-Building'' takes place some time afterward. According to the author, the main script for ''Takotsubo'' is going to be Cord's long journey back from it.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Cord Cai is a traumatized and depressed young man who thinks his only choice for justice is to start a gang. His alias? "The TinMan."
* DoubleStandard: Martel warns Juliana that white people think the South Wind's a demon because of his tribal tattoos.
* EvilVirtues:
** Gangs will only acknowledge [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking someone's power]] or [[IGaveMyWord their word.]] Juliana muses that nobody knows why the Tin Man shot Harry Lamont, but they all agree he had a reason for it. They're also fine with outsiders coming in and picking fights, and even people seeking revenge will mostly be driven out instead of hurt or killed.
** East 13 doesn't take kids. When Rafael Arturo comes to them for help because his sister got stabbed, the Tin Man refuses and takes him to a school instead.
* FantasticRacism: Juliana and Martel are twofers of the "minority mage" kind. They both spent years in foster-care, and people frequently state that "nobody wants a kid with powers." Juliana scares off gangsters who don't even know what kind of magic she has, and people called her names when she was a child.
* {{Gangsterland}}: It's set in Oakland, after all. Three fictional gangs have been named--East 13, the Rust Sinners, and the Gatewalkers--and there's probably more to come.
* GenreDeconstruction: Cord Cai is obviously a superhero thanks to suffering a tragic loss, being motivated to get justice for it, and becoming a vigilante. But since Cord is Asian, it plays more like a DownerBeginning than a triumphant [[JumpedAtTheCall call to justice.]] He's DrivenToSuicide and [[UnwantedRescue desperately fights the paramedics]] who [[InterruptedSuicide take him to a psych ward]], he feels forced into revenge because the PoliceAreUseless (as a group, if not individually), and holds no illusions that he'll go to jail if he's caught for murder. [[WretchedHive Oakland needs a superhero for a VERY good reason.]]
* HellIsThatNoise: When the Tin Man teleports around the city, [[LightFlickerTeleportation the streetlights go out]] and we hear static before he finally appears.
* IWillFindYou: Juliana's trying to find the South Wind.
* LightIsNotGood: The bright, colorful superhero aesthetic is worn by ''gangsters.'' But it's combined with DarkIsNotEvil on an occupational level, since the protagonists are NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters.
* ManInWhite: Cord as the Tin Man wears a giant double-breasted coat, the West Wind is a WalkingShirtlessScene wearing [[BandageBabe a bunch of gauzy white strips,]] and Roland's spirit also shows up in white gauze.
* {{Motifs}}
** ''Hearts.'' "Takotsubo" is the Japanese term for "broken-heart syndrome," which is obvious since Cord is suicidal after the death of his fiance. The broken-heart on the poster's concept is mentioned as Cord's chest tattoo in ''Gunsmoke.'' Lastly, his alias is ''the TinMan,'' who is renowned as TheHeart of his companions.
** ''Names.'' Cord repeats "My name is Cord Cai" in the prologue. Juliana and Martel greet the Queen of Names by saying "My name is ___" before giving her food/drink as offerings. When they leave the house, they knock twice and state their names again. The Queen herself is covered with tattooed names in different languages.
* MuggingTheMonster: Harry Lamont clearly didn't know he'd be trying to carjack ''two former gangsters.'' Roland laughed in his face, refused to give up his car, and ''taunted'' Lamont into shooting him. Months later, the despairing Cord tracked Lamont through his gang connections and [[BestServedCold shot him in the head]].
* {{Mythopoeia}}: Two fictional spirits are the Queen of Names and Lady Fury, who watch over foster-care children. There's probably no mythology that portrays the Four Winds as [[WalkingShirtlessScene hot, shirtless young men,]] either.
* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: PlayedWith. East 13 is a gang that basically does police work, because the ''real'' police force are [[PoliceAreUseless useless]] despite individual cops like Henderson trying their best.
* OldDarkHouse: Harry Lamont's house has been sitting abandoned after his murder. People say the Tin Man cursed it with his broken-heart tag, but he tells Juliana that it's only a rumor. Cord and Roland's old house has also been abandoned and tagged by East 13.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: DiscussedTrope. When Cord's in the psych ward, he asks Thad if he's getting out. Thad mistakes it for just getting released from the hospital, but Cord meant getting out of ''Oakland,'' clearly referencing this trope. He then bitterly muses that while the "good" Asians can get out, [[DespairEventHorizon he shouldn't have bothered trying.]]
* RedStringOfFate: In a flashback, Roland proposes to Cord using a red string. When Cord talks about the memory to the nurse Thad in the psych ward, [[TheDulcineaEffect Thad falls in love with him.]]
* RuleNumberOne: Officer Henderson explains that they have to let East 13 patrol the Acorn neighborhood instead of police--too much cop presence would mark the gang as either snitches or weaklings.
-->'''Henderson:''' You rat someone out, it means you're too weak to deal with them or you just can't be trusted. In gangs, you have [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority your power]] or [[IGaveMyWord your word]]. That's all.
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The East 13 gang is themed after ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. Normal members are the Quadlings, Cord is the Tin Man, Lina is Glinda, and Martin is the Scarecrow. Juliana becomes [[Literature/{{Wicked}} Elphaba]].
* StereotypeFlip: Cord is an Asian gangster, a common villain role... [[{{Reconstruction}} but this is the story of a superhero.]]
* SuperHeroOrigin: ''Gunsmoke'' specifically, but the story as a whole is this.
* TalkingToTheDead: Literally. Roland's spirit still lives in his and Cord's abandoned house, and East 13 is used to it.
* ThisIsMyStory: The ArcWords of the prologue, as seen at the top.
-->'''Cord Cai:''' My name is Cord Cai. My fiancé got shot for his car, and nobody gave a fuck except me.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Cord and Roland are LGBT Asian-Americans. Thad Kerry is an LGBT black man. Of the fantastic kind, Juliana and Martel are minority mages.
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Cord Cai is a vigilante gangster [[InternalizedCategorism sorting out his issues]]; Juliana just joined his gang, but is also [[IWillFindYou trying to find the South Wind.]]
* TrueCompanions: In ''Gunsmoke,'' Lina and Martin are his friends, who are implied to have been looking for him since they find him right after he shoots Harry Lamont. All three of them know Cord's going to jail if he's a suspect, [[AFriendInNeed so they grab him and run.]]
* UrbanFantasy: Cord has a [[BatSignal network of alert signals]] via his broken-heart graffiti tags, Roland comes back as a spirit to keep Cord from jumping off the Golden Gate, and there are Asian-appearing men called the Four Winds (North, South, East, and West) who [[BreakingTheFourthWall build the set and act in the play.]] There are also two female spirits called the Queen of Names and Lady Fury, who watch over foster-care children.
----
[[caption-width-right:350: ''Despite his own beliefs, he is in fact a hero.'']]
->''"My name is Cord Cai. My fiancé got shot for his car, and nobody gave a fuck except me."''
-->-- '''Cord Cai'''
''[[https://www.hitrecord.org/albums/2879277/ Takotsubo: The story of a superhero]]'' is a {{troper work|s}} by Tropers/{{Sharysa}} on [=HitRECord=]. The main story is a script, but she's also written three companion pieces in prose: The ''Bridge-Building'' stories and ''Gunsmoke.''
''Takotsubo'' is the story of Cord Cai, a young Chinese-American who lives in {{UsefulNotes/Oakland}}, California. After his fiancé Roland Fujii is shot in a botched carjacking by Harry Lamont, Cord shoots Lamont in revenge and then takes on the gangster alter-ego of "the TinMan," leading East 13. It is a ''massive'' {{Deconstruction}} of the superhero genre's [[MonochromeCasting lack of racial diversity]], as well as Cord's specific stereotype of [[GenericEthnicCrimeGang the Asian-American gangster.]]
----
!!''Takotsubo'' provides examples of:
* AdultFear: The story runs on this, despite the heavy UrbanFantasy setting.
** You and your fiance are driving home, take a wrong turn, and you run into someone who ran out of gas. [[WoundedGazelleGambit He actually wants to steal your car,]] and he ends up shooting your fiance.
** Cord himself is a mother-lode of adult fear. His parents have been in prison since he was eight, he got mixed up with gangs, he was gay-bashed in high school [[NoBisexuals when he's BI-sexual, not gay,]] and his fiance got murdered a year out of high school. He mentions in ''Bridge-Building'' that he's a month shy of twenty-one and the script's prologue says he's nineteen or twenty, [[HarmfulToMinors so the majority of this happened when he was in his teens.]]
** Juliana is heading over to visit her parents' house, and finds the police fencing it off as a crime scene. She immediately knows that they were hit by a drive-by thanks to the gang sign on her parents' door.
** Rafael Arturo's in his teens. His sister got stabbed, and he calls a ''gangster'' to help him get revenge. Sure, said gangster is a ''nice'' one, but he still goes straight to vigilantes instead of law enforcement. When Hayley Vasquez asks if his parents know where he is, he says they think he's at his cousin's house.
* AlliterativeName: Cord Cai, as befitting a superhero. Juliana Juarez is also alliterative.
* BandageBabe: GenderInvertedTrope. The Four Winds are hot Asian-American men who wander around [[WalkingShirtlessScene half-dressed in gauze.]] After his death, Roland is similarly (un)dressed in white.
* BreakTheCutie:
** In ''Gunsmoke'' and the script's prologue. Cord and Roland are targeted for a carjacking and Roland gets shot. Cord tries to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge when the police barely do anything, but he eventually [[BestServedCold shoots Harry Lamont in revenge]] and starts a gang as the Tin Man.
** Juliana Juarez is now getting broken, thanks to [[DeathByOriginStory her parents dying in a drive-by shooting.]]
* TheCityNarrows: The setting's in {{UsefulNotes/Oakland}}, California.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Gangsters are violent and harsh, but [[HonorBeforeReason they DO follow street-law.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Everyone gets a few jabs, but Cord is ''especially'' snarky.
* {{Deconstruction}}:
** The "Asian gangster" stereotype is a one-shot character at best, and faceless hero-fodder at worst. Here, the "Asian gangster" is a young man with a hard life and knows perfectly well that he's feeding the stereotype, [[InternalizedCategorism but he feels like it's his only choice.]]
** Even [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters a "nice" gang like East 13]] needs to follow street-law to survive, and it leads to Juliana's parents getting killed by [[GanglandDriveBy the Gatewalkers' drive-by]]. There's also rumors about the Tin Man breaking someone's neck and cursing Harry Lamont's house.
** ''Gunsmoke'' and the script's prologue show how badly the justice system fails minorities--Cord called the police during his carjacking, and they don't show up until Roland is basically dying. Later when he's in the police station, he mentions that he's already been to Roland's funeral -- which means nothing's happened with the investigation for at LEAST a few weeks.
** Years later in the main story, Juliana doesn't even bother going to the police when her parents are casualties of the Gatewalkers' drive-by -- she just goes straight to their headquarters to attempt a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
* DeconReconSwitch: The work is not only humanizing the Asian-gangster stereotype, but pointing out that Cord doesn't even fit it in the first place.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Blake remarks that gangs act "medieval," since Cord refuses to give much information even about a rival gang. TruthInTelevision -- see RuleNumberOne below.
* DespairEventHorizon: This is how Cord's SuperheroOrigin is treated, since it's only the last straw in a LONG string of hardships he's faced as a young LGBT man of color. ''Gunsmoke'' shows Cord rocketing past it, while ''Bridge-Building'' takes place some time afterward. According to the author, the main script for ''Takotsubo'' is going to be Cord's long journey back from it.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Cord Cai is a traumatized and depressed young man who thinks his only choice for justice is to start a gang. His alias? "The TinMan."
* DoubleStandard: Martel warns Juliana that white people think the South Wind's a demon because of his tribal tattoos.
* EvilVirtues:
** Gangs will only acknowledge [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking someone's power]] or [[IGaveMyWord their word.]] Juliana muses that nobody knows why the Tin Man shot Harry Lamont, but they all agree he had a reason for it. They're also fine with outsiders coming in and picking fights, and even people seeking revenge will mostly be driven out instead of hurt or killed.
** East 13 doesn't take kids. When Rafael Arturo comes to them for help because his sister got stabbed, the Tin Man refuses and takes him to a school instead.
* FantasticRacism: Juliana and Martel are twofers of the "minority mage" kind. They both spent years in foster-care, and people frequently state that "nobody wants a kid with powers." Juliana scares off gangsters who don't even know what kind of magic she has, and people called her names when she was a child.
* {{Gangsterland}}: It's set in Oakland, after all. Three fictional gangs have been named--East 13, the Rust Sinners, and the Gatewalkers--and there's probably more to come.
* GenreDeconstruction: Cord Cai is obviously a superhero thanks to suffering a tragic loss, being motivated to get justice for it, and becoming a vigilante. But since Cord is Asian, it plays more like a DownerBeginning than a triumphant [[JumpedAtTheCall call to justice.]] He's DrivenToSuicide and [[UnwantedRescue desperately fights the paramedics]] who [[InterruptedSuicide take him to a psych ward]], he feels forced into revenge because the PoliceAreUseless (as a group, if not individually), and holds no illusions that he'll go to jail if he's caught for murder. [[WretchedHive Oakland needs a superhero for a VERY good reason.]]
* HellIsThatNoise: When the Tin Man teleports around the city, [[LightFlickerTeleportation the streetlights go out]] and we hear static before he finally appears.
* IWillFindYou: Juliana's trying to find the South Wind.
* LightIsNotGood: The bright, colorful superhero aesthetic is worn by ''gangsters.'' But it's combined with DarkIsNotEvil on an occupational level, since the protagonists are NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters.
* ManInWhite: Cord as the Tin Man wears a giant double-breasted coat, the West Wind is a WalkingShirtlessScene wearing [[BandageBabe a bunch of gauzy white strips,]] and Roland's spirit also shows up in white gauze.
* {{Motifs}}
** ''Hearts.'' "Takotsubo" is the Japanese term for "broken-heart syndrome," which is obvious since Cord is suicidal after the death of his fiance. The broken-heart on the poster's concept is mentioned as Cord's chest tattoo in ''Gunsmoke.'' Lastly, his alias is ''the TinMan,'' who is renowned as TheHeart of his companions.
** ''Names.'' Cord repeats "My name is Cord Cai" in the prologue. Juliana and Martel greet the Queen of Names by saying "My name is ___" before giving her food/drink as offerings. When they leave the house, they knock twice and state their names again. The Queen herself is covered with tattooed names in different languages.
* MuggingTheMonster: Harry Lamont clearly didn't know he'd be trying to carjack ''two former gangsters.'' Roland laughed in his face, refused to give up his car, and ''taunted'' Lamont into shooting him. Months later, the despairing Cord tracked Lamont through his gang connections and [[BestServedCold shot him in the head]].
* {{Mythopoeia}}: Two fictional spirits are the Queen of Names and Lady Fury, who watch over foster-care children. There's probably no mythology that portrays the Four Winds as [[WalkingShirtlessScene hot, shirtless young men,]] either.
* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: PlayedWith. East 13 is a gang that basically does police work, because the ''real'' police force are [[PoliceAreUseless useless]] despite individual cops like Henderson trying their best.
* OldDarkHouse: Harry Lamont's house has been sitting abandoned after his murder. People say the Tin Man cursed it with his broken-heart tag, but he tells Juliana that it's only a rumor. Cord and Roland's old house has also been abandoned and tagged by East 13.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: DiscussedTrope. When Cord's in the psych ward, he asks Thad if he's getting out. Thad mistakes it for just getting released from the hospital, but Cord meant getting out of ''Oakland,'' clearly referencing this trope. He then bitterly muses that while the "good" Asians can get out, [[DespairEventHorizon he shouldn't have bothered trying.]]
* RedStringOfFate: In a flashback, Roland proposes to Cord using a red string. When Cord talks about the memory to the nurse Thad in the psych ward, [[TheDulcineaEffect Thad falls in love with him.]]
* RuleNumberOne: Officer Henderson explains that they have to let East 13 patrol the Acorn neighborhood instead of police--too much cop presence would mark the gang as either snitches or weaklings.
-->'''Henderson:''' You rat someone out, it means you're too weak to deal with them or you just can't be trusted. In gangs, you have [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority your power]] or [[IGaveMyWord your word]]. That's all.
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The East 13 gang is themed after ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. Normal members are the Quadlings, Cord is the Tin Man, Lina is Glinda, and Martin is the Scarecrow. Juliana becomes [[Literature/{{Wicked}} Elphaba]].
* StereotypeFlip: Cord is an Asian gangster, a common villain role... [[{{Reconstruction}} but this is the story of a superhero.]]
* SuperHeroOrigin: ''Gunsmoke'' specifically, but the story as a whole is this.
* TalkingToTheDead: Literally. Roland's spirit still lives in his and Cord's abandoned house, and East 13 is used to it.
* ThisIsMyStory: The ArcWords of the prologue, as seen at the top.
-->'''Cord Cai:''' My name is Cord Cai. My fiancé got shot for his car, and nobody gave a fuck except me.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Cord and Roland are LGBT Asian-Americans. Thad Kerry is an LGBT black man. Of the fantastic kind, Juliana and Martel are minority mages.
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Cord Cai is a vigilante gangster [[InternalizedCategorism sorting out his issues]]; Juliana just joined his gang, but is also [[IWillFindYou trying to find the South Wind.]]
* TrueCompanions: In ''Gunsmoke,'' Lina and Martin are his friends, who are implied to have been looking for him since they find him right after he shoots Harry Lamont. All three of them know Cord's going to jail if he's a suspect, [[AFriendInNeed so they grab him and run.]]
* UrbanFantasy: Cord has a [[BatSignal network of alert signals]] via his broken-heart graffiti tags, Roland comes back as a spirit to keep Cord from jumping off the Golden Gate, and there are Asian-appearing men called the Four Winds (North, South, East, and West) who [[BreakingTheFourthWall build the set and act in the play.]] There are also two female spirits called the Queen of Names and Lady Fury, who watch over foster-care children.
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