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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 

     NPCs and Characters 

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