Countless beings have wished they could go back in time.
Reset-OCT is an all species allowed, all media permitted Original Character Tournament on DeviantArt. It is held at an abandoned carnival known only as the Park, which is seemingly owned and operated by a creature of unknown species called Chimera. She has offered the chance to go back in time to the competitor - or pair of competitors - who wins the tournament.
What would you give to turn back the clock?
Reset OCT began in 2014 and concluded in June 2015. The winner was Guidorius and their characters, Ro and Jose.
Reset OCT and its rounds contain examples of
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General Tropes
- Abandoned Area: The Park is stated as such in the group's description, but actual interpretations vary.
- Ascended Extra: Plenty of the individual wisps used in competitors' entries, most notably the one who translates for Szethei.
- All There in the Manual: The competitors page, which also includes those who didn't make it past auditions but occasionally show up as cameos in the auditions of those who did.
- Alternate Timeline: Chimera mentions these in a few entries.
- Also prominent in Round Two, thanks to the prompt.
- Amplified Animal Aptitude: Several competitors.
- Amusement Park: An abandoned one is the setting for this OCT.
- Another Dimension: Many entries portray the Park as one of these.
- Anyone Can Die: So far the death toll includes Frostbite, Nephele, Thols, Mary Ant, and Becky, (though the latter is still around as a ghost), with Sen's fate being ambiguous.
- Art Shift: Fairly common.
- Because Destiny Says So: All the rounds are randomly drawn from a hat belonging to the host, and yet some of them (18 vs. Thols, 18 vs. Ro, and Newt and Scout vs. Juni and Rainy) are oddly reminiscent of this trope.
- Body Horror: Quite prominent in Nomatt's Round 2. Entrails, anyone?
- The Cameo: Very common in OCTs.
- Catchphrase: Not within the tournament itself, but every round journal bears the legend tick tock tick tock at its end.
- Cooking Duel: The first round features a few of these, though more often than not they turn into fights anyway.
- Cool Gate: A common way to get to the Park.
- Deadly Game: Some entries have Chimera refer to the tournament as this.
- From Bad to Worse: Several character arcs, most notably Ro's and Szethei and Zhirrik's.
- Iconic Item: The clock around Chimera's neck. In some entries it is depicted as the source of her powers.
- She even gives identical ones to Ro and Szethei in Szethei's round four.
- Intellectual Animal
- Killed Off for Real: Every time a new round is announced, at least someone will go this way. Somewhat subverted in that the character is only dead in the tournament's canon, and their creator can still do whatever they want with them outside of that.
- Lampshade Hanging: Becky's entry is chock full of this.
- Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My!: Given that the competitors come from multiple different universes, this isn't very surprising.
- The Multiverse: Competitors come from all sorts of different universes.
- Particularly relevant to Ro and Jose, who are actually aware of the multiverse itself.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Plenty of examples, but most notably Zhirrik taking acid to the face.
- Patchwork Kids: There was a contest to create these, and the competitors got creative. In both horrifying and hilarious ways.
- Press-Ganged: When talking won't do the job to get people to the Park.
- Reset Button: Several characters' motivations for entering the tournament.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Another fairly common motivation among characters.
- Talking Animal: Justified and only a few of the animal competitors are explicitly stated not to be able to talk to everyone.
- There Can Be Only One: Or two, as there are several pairs of competitors.
- Time Travel: The entire premise of the OCT.
- Xenofiction
Round One Tropes
- Bigger on the Inside: The fun house in pretty much all entries. Becky even compares it to the TARDIS at one point.
- Blatant Lies: Neither Scout or Newt is hesitant about using these to win, though effectiveness varies.
- Calling Your Attacks: Frostbite does something similar when he throws a plastic ball to intercept Nomatt's acid spray.
- David Versus Goliath: Applicable to: Sen vs Thols and Flip, Goji vs Juni and Rainy.
- Ro vs. Fehu technically qualifies, though the fight played out pretty equally in reality.
- Flashback: Present in both Nomatt's and Thols's rounds. Also in 18's round in the form of a Bad Dream
- Sen's round as well.
- Exact Words: Used by Chimera on Juni in her round to keep her from winning by using Rainy. Also used by her to justify Szethei and Zhirrik's victory in their entry.
- Hall of Mirrors: The round's setting is a fun house, so it makes sense.
- Used in most if not all rounds so far. Some produce visions of the past, some take people back in time, and others seem to be there just to be creepy. It varies.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Becky, especially in her cameos.
- Mirror Self: As shown in the entry of 18.
- Becky's entry also features one.
- Reflective Eyes: Used for Sen's round cover.
Round Two Tropes
- Alternate Self: Juni encounters her own, whose nickname is Jay.
- Comically Small Bribe: Zhirrik uses his ear bands to try and barter with Chimera. Naturally, she refuses.
- Made a bit less comical when it's later implied that he was trying to betray Szethei.
- David Versus Goliath: Once again invoked in Flip and Thols vs. 18.
- Disney Villain Death: Mary Ant.
- Eldritch Abomination: The time monster encountered by Szethei, Zhirrik, and Nomatt.
- Gratuitous Latin: In the form of the Round Four teaser and at the end of the announcement journal.
- Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Averted. While most toons simply plummet to the ground after a fall, Becky had the luxury of a parachute.
- Graying Morality: To a somewhat minor degree with Juni, who doesn't want to hurt anyone, but is beginning to understand that non-violence can't be the solution to every problem.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Nomatt's round gave us a bizarre (and somewhat horrifying) example with eating Szethei's remains at the end of his round. He knew she was sentient once Chimera told him, and he still did it.
- I'm Melting!: The fate of Becky.
- Music for Courage: Harshly inverted by Chimera, who instead sings to 18 to mock him after he's caused the death of Thols.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Apparently Chimera is capable of grafting her own feathers onto others' wings, luckily for 18. Then again somewhat justified as Chimera is an NPC and her powers aren't strictly defined.
- Time Is Dangerous: This round seems likely to invoke this trope, given the prompt.
- Especially prominent in Szethei and Zhirrik's round two, which involves a time-based monster.
- Would Hit a Girl: Ro, who doesn't just punch Becky in the face, but delivers a FALCON PUNCH.
Round Three Tropes
- Badass Boast: 18 reveals that he's killed Thols, saying Ro will be next. When you consider the sheer size difference between the two, that's pretty damn badass.
- Breaking Speech: Ro delivers a short but truly devastating one to Jose after she tries to calm him down after telling him the Awful Truth.
- David Versus Goliath: The hat must really hate 18, because he's been pitted against Ro of all opponents.
- Fate Worse than Death: Said almost word for word by Chimera about Zhirrik, thrown out of sync with time and according to her, condemned to eventually fade from existence entirely while he is unable to see or hear anyone - or be heard himself.
- Flashback: The beginning of Szethei and Zhirrik's round is one.
- Gray Rain of Depression: There's a reason Ro's round begins with this.
- Hostage Situation: Invoked in Szethei and Zhirrik's round, where Zhirrik threatens to kill Rainy unless Juni forfeits.
- It's Personal: At first, it seems Ro has killed 18 because 18 killed Thols, who he was on good terms with and who gave him a vital clue about time travel. Subverted in that he didn't, because he feels he and 18 aren't that different.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Zhirrik poses some questions to Szethei that admittedly, she really should be thinking about.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Zhirrik tried to toss Szethei out of the ferris wheel. Guess what happened to him?
- Power Fist: Juni uses one of Zhirrik's ear rings as brass knuckles to knock him out.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: More or less Zhirrik's reason for finally trying to kill Szethei.
Round Four Tropes
- After the End: The End of Time is, appropriately, described as looking like this in Szethei's entry.
- Asshole Victim: While one might feel a little sorry for the limbo-trapped, frantic Zhirrik, it's hard to say he didn't deserve it.
- Back for the Finale: In Szethei's entry, everyone still alive in the tournament is present when Chimera takes her to the End of Time.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: In Ro's entry, Szethei reluctantly chooses to try to save Zhirrik because she believes she needs him to win in the final round.
- Forced to Watch: A mild version seems to be the fate of all the surviving losers in Szethei's entry, as they are all positioned to watch the final round and don't seem very happy about it if her own past opponents are any gauge.
- In the End, You Are on Your Own: Szethei and Ro, both having left behind their respective companions in different ways.
- Though not for lack of trying on Jose's part. Chimera seems to be stopping her from opening another door to the tournament.
- Last Request: In her entry, Szethei's is to see Fizek one last time.
- Techno Babble: Jose employs some fairly understandable babble when she realizes that Chimera's location exists at two different points in time at once and prepares to rescue Ro.
- Void Between the Worlds: While not quite a void, the dark, empty forest that Zhirrik seems to be trapped in while in limbo may be this.
- What Happened to the Mouse??: Zhirrik makes no reappearance in Szethei's round four, despite the woods he was in being taken along to the end of time.
Character Tropes
- Abnormal Ammo: Nomatt's water gun shoots acid instead.
- Absolute Xenophobe: Zhirrik, so much so that he won't even let someone not of his race treat his injuries.
- Abusive Parents: Zhirrik's dad sure qualifies. You could also make a case for Newt toward Scout.
- Alien Blood: Curiously averted with all the aliens in the tournament, who all seem to bleed red.
- Aliens Speaking English: Averted for Szethei and Zhirrik, who cannot speak English, but in a sense played straight as their dialogue is translated for the benefit of readers. Also averted for Sen, who understands it, but is mute.
- Animals Not to Scale: Fehu looks like a housecat, right? But then you realize he's 27 inches at the shoulders.
- Mary Ant is a gigantic, mutated version of her species.
- Artificial Limbs: Frostbite has an artificial arm.
- Awful Truth: It's been heavily implied that Jose is withholding one from Ro and it involves time travel, but we've yet to get any confirmation of what it is.
- Even Chimera's time travel powers are unable to save his home world, it seems.
- Badass Normal: Several characters.
- Bag of Holding: Scout owns one of these, and only she can take things in and out of it.
- Beware My Stinger Tail: Literally in the case of Chimera, who bears a poisonous, scorpion-like one.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Thols.
- Blackmail: Szethei used this to coerce Zhirrik into helping her. Until he betrayed her.
- The Blank: Flip works just as good without a face than with.
- Blank White Eyes: By the courtesy of the many styles the competitors display.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: There are hints that 18's native world seems to use this.
- Carnivore Confusion: Anton struggles with this and suffers dietary issues because of it, being a wolfman and all.
- Cartoon Physics: Unsurprisingly, Becky.
- The Chessmaster: Arguably Chimera.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Dear god, Scout.
- Combat Pragmatist: Newt, Scout, Nomatt, and Zhirrik all apply.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: Flip draws and writes with his ink blood.
- Covered in Scars: Covered is a bit of an exaggeration, but both Nephele and Braith have significant scarring over their shapeshifter marks.
- Cute and Psycho: Nephele.
- Dark and Troubled Past: A few appear to have these.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Nomatt, so much so that he'd rather live during the apocalypse than in his current life.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Flip.
- Doomed by Canon: Technically, Szethei's brother Fizek died in a previous OCT, Lost and Found. What that means for Szethei is uncertain, depending on how far she plans to go back.
- Doomed Hometown: Ro's planet, which even time travel can't save.
- Draconic Humanoid: Frostbite.
- Eloquent in My Native Tongue: Both Szethei and Zhirrik can speak their own language quite well (Chimera on the other hand can just get by in it) but Szethei can barely even copy the sounds of English comprehensibly.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Nomatt wants to travel back in time to witness it.
- Expressive Ears: The multiple regular and anthropomorphic animals that have been entered thus far.
- Also Nyx in her human form.
- Thols.
- Extreme Omnivore: Mr. B, who eats garbage.
- Fantastic Racism: Newt has this toward anthros who wear clothes.
- Zhirrik has this toward anyone who isn't a member of his species.
- Foil: Szethei and Zhirrik are this to each other. You could also make a case for Thols and Flip.
- Garden Garment: Goji and his leaf scarf.
- Glamour Failure: Nyx has no reflection.
- Gravity Master: Ro. - To an extent, he doesn't have as much control over it as his species counterparts.
- Hammerspace: Becky.
- Hollywood Acid: Mary Ant produces this.
- Horse of a Different Color: Mary Ant, for Nomatt.
- Hurricane of Puns: Chimera is prone to these.
- I Call It "Vera": Nomatt's acid gun is called 'The Wave.'
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Anton.
- Insect Gender-Bender: Goji.
- It Amused Me: Chimera's motivation for what she does in some entries.
- Jerkass: Zhirrik, Newt, and Scout. Becky has her moments.
- Jive Turkey: Flip.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Nyx forgot most of her life before becoming a vampire.
- Just a Kid: Goji is "just an ant".
- Magical Accessory: Juni's pendant, which also keeps her alive.
- Manipulative Bastard: Newt toward Scout when she was a kid, to keep her solely dependent on him.
- Master of Illusion: Chimera.
- Meaningful Name: Chimera and Nyx.
- Mary Ant, named for Nomatt's dead childhood friend.
- The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Mr. Kaesebrot, but only to him.
- Missing Mom: Thols, though the exact circumstances are unclear.
- Mix-and-Match Critter:
- Jera, who is physically a combination of rabbit and fox.
- Possibly Chimera, who is described as canine-like in several entries but also has talons for feet, wings, and a scorpion-like tail.
- Monochromatic Eyes: Mr. Kaesebrot.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Nephele.
- The Napoleon: 18.
- Never Learned to Read: 18, who can only understand numbers.
- Non-Human Sidekick: You could make a case for Rainy to Juni, especially in later rounds.
- No Social Skills: Nyx.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Thols.
- Older Than They Look: By courtesy of being a Cartoon Character, Becky is actually 77 years old. And not acting like it one bit.
- Omniglot: Chimera.
- Only Known by Their Nickname:
- The Puppeteer, Lin and Mr. Kaesebrot.
- For all we know, Thols might not even be his real name.
- Only One Name: Most competitors, Juni being the exception.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Newt, Ro, and Rainy.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Mr. Kaesebrot is a physical one.
- Our Monsters Are Weird: Quite a few characters.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Anton, who's permanently stuck in his wolf form.
- Parental Substitute: Bizarrely, Wicker seems as if they became this for Thols after killing his mother.
- Professional Killer: 18 was this before he became a slave.
- Pungeon Master: Chimera and Frostbite.
- Raised by Humans: Rainy is being raised by Juni. What exactly happened to his real parents isn't clear, but whatever it was, Juni herself is responsible.
- Raised by Wolves: Scout was raised by Newt, a moth dragon.
- Reality Warper:
- Chimera is portrayed with a mild version of this power in several entries, usually to get between universes.
- Jose can also do this to open "doors" in the multiverses.
- Really 700 Years Old:
- Chimera. Exactly HOW old she is is up for debate, but she's been around a while.
- Nyx.
- Rich Bitch: Zhirrik seems to have been a male version before he was beaten and cast out.
- The Scapegoat: 18.
- Scars are Forever: Zhirrik, Nephele and Braith.
- Shapeshifting:
- Nephele and Braith are capable of it, but their abilities are very restricted thanks to the scars covering the marks that give them this power.
- As a vampire, Nyx can transform into a bat.
- Mr. Kaesebrot can shift into whatever he wants.
- Screw Destiny: Ro seems to be developing this attitude since learning that his home world supposedly cannot be saved.
- Shadow Walker: Nyx
- Silent Partner: Thols to Flip.
- Silent Snarker: Thols shows signs of this.
- Ro has a couple of moments in Round Three.
- Smug Smiler: Chimera in some entries.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Chimera and Mr. Kaesebrot.
- Talkative Loon: Chimera, so much.
- Telepathy: Newt's sole form of communication.
- Time Master: Chimera, who can not only travel in time but also stop it, speed it up, or more or less mold it like putty.
- The Pornomancer: (Not Canon) Ro is basically the resident stud of Reset and is the recipient of many a crack pairing, so much so he has been labelled the "Father of Crack Children". Those children had to come from somewhere.
- The Speechless:
- Thols, who communicates via his notepad.
- Sen as well.
- Ro, who communicates via his tablet.
- Vagabond Buddies: Thols and Flip.
- Wartime Cartoon: Becky is a living, breathing one similar to the cartoons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
- Was Once a Man: Anton
- Weakened by the Light:
- If Nyx or Sen are exposed to sunlight for too long, severe sunburn issues.
- Mr. Kaesebrot can fall instantly asleep if the light level is too high.
- Will-o'-the-Wisp:
- Chimera's wisps, who assist her in various ways.
- Paraka also has a few wisps, albeit weaker than those belonging to Chimera, to assist her or cause trouble.
- With Friends Like These...: This seems to be the basis of Nephele and Braith's relationship, though Braith is far more antagonistic toward Nephele than she is toward him. Justified, as she was the one who got them arrested.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Inverted with Newt, who delights in it.
- Wolf Man: Anton is stuck in his werewolf form permanently.
- You Are Number 6: 18.
NPCs and Characters
- Chimera, the host of the tournament.
- Mr. B, the trash-eating janitor.
- Paraka, the candy vendor.
- 18, the pied falconet assassin.
- Anton and Galen, the permanently transformed werewolf and the anthro silver fox.
- Bathai and Olli, the teropoth and the yhitla-yhimet hybrid.
- Becky, the cartoon dormouse.
- Bryony, the lycanthrope.
- Etzli, the ahuizotl pup.
- Fehu and Jera, the cat and the rabbit-fox.
- Frostbite, the draco-agilis.
- Gabe, the canine-based creature.
- Goji, the black garden ant.
- Juniper Lohika and Rainy, the human and the baby dragon.
- Mr. Kaesebrot, the physical ghost.
- Lin, the taiteilija.
- Neal and Lana, the robotic fish creature and the robotic toy hippo.
- Nephele, and Braith the shapeshifters.
- Newt and Scout, the moth dragon and the human.
- Nomatt and Mary Ant, the human and the giant insect.
- Nyx, the vampire.
- The Puppeteer, the daemon.
- Queen Amenset, the egyptian jackal.
- Ro and Jose, the "dragon" and the human.
- Sen, the gray alien.
- Sionara and Kirana, the Gato-Sierpe hybrids.
- Sparda, the dinosaur.
- Szethei and Zhirrik, the "dragon-dogs".
- Thols and Flip, the yeti and the object-head.
- Vladimir, the unknown hybrid.
- Wesley, the ferret dragon subspecies.