The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
Dragon Writer
@shima: The reason I called it into question is that to my (somewhat cursory) knowledge of the F4, Reed doesn't use his Rubber Man powers to mate other species or seduce other people, so it doesn't fit in the first two categories I was using. Mallrats is a case of another character is referencing/discussing the matter, not the matter itself.
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
So it's a Discussed Trope. It still counts as an example.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
I find Shapeshifting Lover, Shapeshifting Seducer, and Hot Shapeshifter on Wailord Action to be insufficiently different to warrent three separate tropes. I think all those examples should just be moved to Shapeshifting Lover.
Honestly, one of the first things that popped into my head when I saw this page was "why isn't this YMMV?"
EDIT: OK, I take that back. On further reading I can see how Shapeshifting Lover is its own thing, but I still don't see a distinction between Shapeshifting Seducer and the Hot Shapeshifter on Wailord Action/ Power Perversion Potential category.
edited 3rd Jan '12 9:22:18 PM by ArcadesSabboth
Oppression anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere.
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
We have yet to address the problem that the "Squick" in the title only applies to one third of this trope, as per the description:
One of the cleaner subtropes involves a hero seduced by an exploitative shapeshifting minion. This can also apply to metaphorical shapeshifters, such as people with Jekyll & Hyde complexes. It usually suggests an amount of mischief, if not outright wickedness, since it may not be so much a plan to trick the hero as their own little perversion. There are a few ways for the hero to handle this situation:
- The solicited hero will refuse to be taken in by trickery. (He may get punched in the teeth by the minion but at least his conscience is clean.)
- The solicited hero comments that the shapeshifter shouldn't have to pose as others to get people to like her. At this point, the (female) shifter goes into her default - but still exotically sexy - form and they have a contented snog anyway.
- The shapeshifter convinces the hero, but totally wrecks the mood by turning into the wrong thing.
The other two thirds are essentially covered by Shapeshifting Lover and/or Shapeshifting Seducer. If a rename is out of the question, then either the description should be revised to fit the name (with the overlap shunted to the appropiate tropes), or the trope altogether should be merged into one of those two.
On a tangential note, Shapeshifting Lover is too close in the literal meaning of the title to Shapeshifting Seducer, and both tropes have unhealthy number of wicks and inbounds for what surely is a much more common character type than said wicks/inbounds imply.
edited 13th Feb '12 8:03:30 AM by MarqFJA
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