Deus Angst Trauma Conga Line.

I'm a bit blurred with the distinction between Deus Angst Machina and Trauma Conga Line. The description in Trauma Conga Line says the main difference is that Deus Angst Machina usually takes place in the backstory while TCL usually takes place on-screen, but since the examples in both cases usually have the tragedies extend from the characters' backstory, all the way to the main storyline, I can't say I see any difference.

edited 28th Jun '14 8:30:52 AM by theAdeptRogue

• Trauma Conga Line is a long line of trauma-inducing events to break a character. Emphasis on there being a lot of them.
• Deus Angst Machina is a Deus ex Machina trope where whatever's going to break the character just doesn't make sense. Less important that there are a lot of them (though them usually makes it even more convoluted) and more important that they're just thrown in for the sake of it, no matter how random, illogical, or unconnected they may seem.

Well, that's what I can make out of them. There's probably a lot of confusion in the examples.

edited 28th Jun '14 7:58:08 AM by AnotherDuck

Isn't the "random, illogical and unrelated" part subjective?

You can define it objectively, but everything is subjective in perception, as is degree of non-measurable values.

But basically, does it connect to other details in the story? Does it follow logical plot progression? Is there any purpose to it other than angst? Does it break Willing Suspension of Disbelief?

I mean, accidents do happen. And sometimes, for some people, they do pile up. But fiction isn't random.

This is how I think of them.

• Deus Angst Machina: The character has a ridiculously traumatic backstory to justify how miserable he is.
• Trauma Conga Line: The character is put through a series of traumas within the story, with each piling atop the next.

Trauma Conga Line is objective. Whether something qualifies as Deus Angst Machina would seem to be based on how it impacts Willing Suspension of Disbelief.