History DeconstructedTrope / WebOriginal

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_jihYz-YgA This video]] deconstructs the trend of Website/GoAnimate videos promoting both YouAreGrounded and DisproportionateRetribution towards "baby shows" like ''WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}'' by having Caillou's dad declare that he's the OnlySaneMan in a house out of control (when, as Caillou points out, he's being punished for watching shows that are "too scary" or light teasing), only to have his wife [[ShutUpHannibal tell him he's utterly out of control]] and slug it out, grounding ''him'' instead and putting him in the closet. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq7qBB_t75k A follow-up]] has Caillou's mom reassure him that he's not in trouble after he and his friends panic in a fire alarm and his teacher threatens to tell their parents for it. She even tells him not to listen to his dad when he attempts to ground him.

* ''Webcomic/DiveQuest'', from the guy behind ''Webcomic/RubyQuest'', deconstructs the usual structure of [[InteractiveComic Collective Games]] by having the "players" exist in universe, as facets of the protagonists personality, accessed through the Orb of Infinite Psyche. This proved so popular that it's been used in several other games. It also provided justification for switching the player character by having the second character find a shard of the orb.

** ConstantlyCurious is deconstructed by the Curious Cat throughout Volume 9: Their role in the Ever After is, as their name suggests, to constantly be curious and try to learn about what has their attention. While the Cat was originally promised by Alyx that she would take them to Remnant and learn about the world, she lied to them and was only using them to get out of the Ever After. Years later when they meet Team RWBY and they tell them about their journey and everything that they had been through at that point including the Brother Gods, the Cat starts asking questions that are InnocentlyInsensitive towards Ruby's current condition and negatively affect her and later reveals that they already knew they were just using them like Alyx did and uses them to gain more knowledge. [[spoiler:When they save Ruby from Neopolitan after Ruby was starting to give up, they reveal that they were intentionally trying to break ruby in order to pull a GrandTheftMe on her to escape to Remnant while telling her that they wanted to know why their creators abandoned them]].

* ''WebAnimation/TheTwins2022'' centers on a SiblingRivalry between two twin brothers. Unlike most stories where the siblings would usually make up, Lucas and Lake never reconcile, and their conflict ultimately results in [[spoiler:one of them dying]].

** [[https://www.deviantart.com/nequ/art/Good-Girl-psychological-horror-transformation-638226846 "Good Girl"]] deconstructed the popular idea of turning someone into a sexy, {{Brainwashed}} pet for some rich and powerful person. It's labeled psychological horror. The writer claims she was inspired by the trailer for ''Film/{{Room}}''.

* This can sometimes happen ''within'' a fandom, such as the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom. The "New Found Form" series is about mysterious runed artifacts which just happen to turn people into sexy animal-hybrid hermaphrodites[[note]]usually[[/note]], because, as RuleThirtyFour says, some people like that sort of thing. One writer came up with [[http://nequ.deviantart.com/art/New-Found-Frost-195081193 "New Found Frost"]] and turned the story into Lovecraft-influenced psychological horror, telling the tale of a fallen-from-wealth Russian family forced to choose between giving up their humanity and dying in their snowbound house. There is absolutely ''zero'' sexy content in the story. And that author does this sort of thing all the time.
** [[https://www.deviantart.com/nequ/art/Good-Girl-psychological-horror-transformation-638226846 Another story by the same writer]] deconstructed the popular idea of turning someone into a sexy, {{Brainwashed}} pet for some rich and powerful person. It's labeled psychological horror. The writer claims she was inspired by the trailer for ''Film/{{Room}}''.

** In Volumes 7-8, General Ironwood is used to deconstruct two tropes:
** NecessarilyEvil: Ironwood declares his willingness to sacrifice his reputation and humanity for the greater good by forcing others to sacrifice for his cause. Characters constantly question the morality of his choices and his own actions create consequences that later bite him in the ass. His lack of concern over his image and the negativity his actions generate serve only to assist [[BigBad Salem's]] plans and increasingly alienate him from the heroes. He appoints himself the judge of what counts as the "greater good", he neglects Mantle's security and makes it increasingly vulnerable to attack by viewing it as less important than Atlas. Oscar lampshades the deconstruction by pointing out that being willing to sacrifice all of Remnant just so "a few can live" is making him just as dangerous a threat as Salem.
** NoOSHACompliance: The heroes quickly discover that Mantle's defences are sub-par and unable to stop the Grimm from entering the city to attack. There is a hole in the wall that cannot be repaired because General Ironwood is redirecting the construction materials to a secret military project hidden in the tundra. Ironwood has massively upgraded all of Atlas' security, but neglected any of Mantle's. The villains are able to exploit the security deficiencies in an effort to try and turn the two cities against each other. Mantle's deficiencies include the security systems, which were designed by Watts and have been so neglected by Atlas that he can easily hack it as it's still using his original code. The BigBad's plan was counting on Ironwood making the same mistake all Atlesians make -- neglecting Mantle's infrastructure and software [[TheParanoiac even when he's paranoid]] -- for it to work, and it does. Characters point out the flaws in neglecting Mantle's infrastructure with increasing urgency until it finally leaves Ironwood abandoned by his allies and at the mercy of his enemies.

** Yang deconstructs HotBlooded. Her Semblance makes her [[EnergyAbsorption stronger the more kinetic energy]] she takes from damage, often leaving her BurningWithAnger. She's an expert in brawls and come-from-behind victories, but her predictable, anger-fuelled style makes her easy to frame as well as easy for Adam to maim when she charges him in an attempt to save Blake. While recovering in Volume 4, her father directly addresses this to teach her to fight smarter and only use her Semblance as a last resort. Volume 6 then revisits the fight with Adam to show she's learned her lesson.
** Ironwood deconstructs NecessarilyEvil. He declares his willingness to sacrifice his reputation and humanity for the greater good by forcing others to sacrifice for his cause. Characters constantly question the morality of his choices and his own actions create consequences that later bite him in the ass. His lack of concern over his image and the negativity his actions generate serve only to assist [[BigBad Salem's]] plans and increasingly alienate him from the heroes. He appoints himself the judge of what counts as the "greater good", he neglects Mantle's security and makes it increasingly vulnerable to attack by viewing it as less important than Atlas. Oscar lampshades the deconstruction by pointing out that being willing to sacrifice all of Remnant just so "a few can live" is making him just as dangerous a threat as Salem.
** NoOSHACompliance is deconstructed in Volumes 7-8. The heroes quickly discover that Mantle's defences are sub-par and unable to stop the Grimm from entering the city to attack. There is a hole in the wall that cannot be repaired because General Ironwood is redirecting the construction materials to a secret military project hidden in the tundra. Ironwood has massively upgraded all of Atlas' security, but neglected any of Mantle's. The villains are able to exploit the security deficiencies in an effort to try and turn the two cities against each other. Mantle's deficiencies include the security systems, which were designed by Watts and have been so neglected by Atlas that he can easily hack it as it's still using his original code. The BigBad's plan was counting on Ironwood making the same mistake all Atlesians make -- neglecting Mantle's infrastructure and software [[TheParanoiac even when he's paranoid]] -- for it to work, and it does. Characters point out the flaws in neglecting Mantle's infrastructure with increasing urgency until it finally leaves Ironwood abandoned by his allies and at the mercy of his enemies.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has a few subjects that break down some tropes. For example, [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-085 SCP-085]] (a.k.a. Cassy) is a living two-dimensional woman in a canvas. When she has MediumAwareness, the trope is deconstructed; instead of taking advantage of it, she slips into a deep existential crisis.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':

* ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' completely tears apart the MindHive trope, showing that if many minds are trapped in one body yet retain themselves they are '''NOT''' going to work together [[EnemyMine unless they absolutely have to]]. Instead they will waste much of their time and progress fighting for control over their shared body.

* [[http://hurricane.methaz.org/tracking/mos_oped.pdf This article]] written by Watson Technical Counseling, in the form of an in-universe ''Daily Planet'' op-ed by Perry White, deconstructs the amount of StuffBlowingUp in ''Film/ManOfSteel'' and many other recent Hollywood blockbusters. It was based on their analysis of the destruction in that film and how, if it had happened in real life, it would have produced a death toll on the order of the Nagasaki bomb and an economic impact close to two trillion dollars.

* Podcast/BlackJackJustice: Trixie is a the love 'em and leave 'em type, and constantly threatens to shoot people. In "The One That Got Away", we learn that [[spoiler:she breaks up with her suitors by way of abuse. And bottles to the head. And gunfire]]. There's almost no humor about this revelation, and Theo points out she's clearly afraid of opening herself up to a man. Turns out the FemmeFatale routine ain't exactly good for long-term emotional satisfaction.

* This can sometimes happen ''within'' a fandom, such as the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom. The "New Found Form" series is about mysterious runed artifacts which just happen to turn people into sexy animal-hybrid hermaphrodites[[note]]usually[[/note]], because, as RuleThirtyFour says, some people like that sort of thing. One writer came up with [[http://nequ.deviantart.com/art/New-Found-Frost-195081193 "New Found Frost"]] and turned the story into Lovecraft-influenced psychological horror, telling the tale of a fallen-from-wealth Russian family forced to choose between giving up their humanity and dying in their snowbound house. And that author does this sort of thing all the time.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Jaune shows how hard it is to be a PluckyComicRelief and being UnskilledButStrong. It is clear from the start that he is leagues behind everyone else in combat skills and knowledge, especially since [[spoiler: we learn he cheated his way into Beacon using fake transcripts]]. He has a strong Aura but has no idea how to use it and his potential does nothing for him until he gets some proper training. He's aware he is seen as a "lovable idiot" and suffers a severe inferiority complex as a result.
** Pyrrha, Jaune's partner and {{Foil}}, deconstructs TheAce. Because she is incredibly talented, pretty and skilled, she is put on a pedestal, constantly treated like a celebrity and she finds it hard to develop a relationship with anyone because no one would talk to her. In addition, she may have made a mistake when not allowing [[spoiler:Jaune to accompany her in her final fight against Cinder. While this was to protect him, she did not take into account how he could have helped her out, such as when she had Cinder in a choke hold and vulnerable to attack.]]
** Volumes 1-3 end up deconstructing RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude. The kingdom's prestigious academies accept students when they're about 17, thus barely skirting this trope. However, Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy seems relaxed in his choosing, allowing Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc in despite Ruby being younger and still inexperienced and Jaune [[spoiler:having cheated his way in by forging documents]]. Thus, there is strife when they're made leaders of their respective teams (Weiss clearly hated Ruby being leader when she should have and Jaune is teased for being the normal guy of the group). Furthermore, Ozpin allows Team RWBY to investigate a possible hideout for villains despite being 1st year students, which ends up getting Vale invaded by Grimm and Ozpin disgraced. To complete the deconstruction, Pyrrha is asked by Ozpin to take up the powers of the Fall Maiden to keep it away from Cinder, who has part of that power. Pyrrha ends up panicking at the possible end results, leading to [[spoiler:Cinder gaining the rest of those powers, Pyrrha and Ozpin's current incarnation dying, Vale ravaged, Beacon destroyed and the remaining members of RWBY and JNPR being forced to find Cinder to fight back.]]
** The events of Vol. 3 Episodes 6-8 prove to be a deconstruction of Yang's BloodKnight tendencies when [[spoiler:she breaks Mercury's leg. Yang thinks that Mercury was trying to attack her and she was putting him down. Everyone saw her attack her defenseless opponent in a fit of unsportsmanlike conduct. Neither realize that this was all part of a WoundedGazelleGambit.]] Either way, everyone now sees Yang as someone unbecoming either a sportsman or a Hunter at the kindest and a bully picking on the helpless at the worst.
** The leaders of the four major Huntsman academies are working together [[BenevolentConspiracy behind the scenes]] to protect everyone from threats people know about and the ones they don't. One of their core motivations for secrecy is to avoid causing panic which would draw in hordes of Grimm. In the Volume 3, Cinder took advantage of the secrecy and exposed it, sowing distrust amongst the people.
** [[spoiler: Salem]]'s faction deconstructs the typical villainous team dynamic by portraying all of the members as regular people, capable of small-talk, friendships, and even taunting the "runt" of the group. In addition, judging by [[spoiler:Mercury and Emerald's expressions in Salem's domain]], the trope EvenEvilHasStandards is also deconstructed in that they are clearly disgusted but they need to continue out of fear.
** [[spoiler:Salem]] deconstructs the concept of a BigBad TeamMom. While in episode one she seemed to care for all her subjects, episode three reveals that she has ''quite'' the temper for even the smallest misunderstanding. Also, her "treatment" seems incredibly painful; and she shows a complete disregard for [[spoiler:Cinder]]'s pain.
** Blake's ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies is deconstructed in the episode "Taking Control" when Sun [[WhatTheHellHero calls out Blake]] on her decision to "protect" her friends by running away constantly. While she might think she is being "selfless" in getting as much distance as possible between her, her friends, and the danger she thinks she's putting them in by being around them, she's instead hurting them by running away.
** The episode "Lost" also deconstructs BecauseImGoodAtIt. When asked, Mercury explains to Emerald that he works for Cinder because [[AbusiveParents his father]] raised him to be an assassin, and that's what Cinder was looking for the day she found him. As far as he's concerned, he's exactly where he needs to be. [[PsychoSupporter Tyrian]] enters at that moment and points out that all it really means is Mercury has never known a life that didn't involve pain and violence, and he's too afraid of trying something else to leave such a life behind.
** General Ironwood deconstructs NecessarilyEvil and TheNeedsOfTheMany, especially in Volumes 7 and 8. [[spoiler:By his own admission, ''any'' act, no matter how unethical or immoral, is necessary if it helps fighting Salem. However, Ironwood arrogantly and stubbornly believes that [[HolierThanThou only]] ''[[HolierThanThou he]]'' [[HolierThanThou knows what the "Greater Good" is]]. His refusal to consider any other alternatives, combined with his callous disregard for anyone he deems unimportant, results in his policies harming the people he should be protecting while enabling Salem's DivideAndConquer methods. By the end of Volume 7, he has become [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no better than Salem]], perfectly willing to let half his kingdom die so he can put the other half under martial law to safeguard the Relics and violently lashing out at anyone who disagrees with him.]]

** Season 2 ''Happy Hours'' deconstructs DarkerAndEdgier, as the Joker brainwashed almost all the characters to become more like Batman. Green Goblin [[ShutUpHannibal tells off]] the Joker since if all characters are dark and there is no LighterAndSofter counterparts, then [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy they lose what made them interesting]] since there wouldn't be any contrast.

** The ''Blood Gulch Chronicles'' deconstructs many FPS-related tropes, including - perphaps most notably - CaptureTheFlag. Nobody knows why the flags even matter, and the Reds eventually decide that capturing one isn't really worth the trouble. This becomes outright {{Parodied}} in seazon 3, with a bunch of...[[{{Noob}} not very competent soldiers]] fighting over the flags for religious reasons.

** SlapSlapKiss is deconstructed by Tex and Church's relationship in later seasons. As it turns out, a relationship where both partners constantly bicker and argue is deeply unhealthy. As well, Tex only puts up with Church as penance for failing hot rescue him from the Director's torture, while Church refuses to let the relationship end and obsesses over her, pursuing her constantly. Ultimately, Church realizes that his obsession with her is unhealthy and lets it go.

* The ChristmasEpisode of the Podcast/{{Sawbones}} Podcast deconstructs the figure of SantaClaus, as Doctor Sydnee ennumerates the numerous serious health problems that would plague an overweight, middle-aged man who consumes prodigious quantities of sugar and dairy, and then spends an entire night trying to maintain control over an animal-driven flying sleigh. By the end of the episode, Justin is traumatized:

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' loves doing this.
** SlapSlapKiss is deconstructed by Tex and Church's relationship in later seasons. As it turns out, a relationship where both partners constantly bicker and argue is deeply unhealthy. As well, Tex only puts up with Church as penance for failing hot rescue him from the Director's torture, while Church refuses to let the relationship end and obsesses over her, pursuing her constantly. Ultimately, Church realizes that his obsession with her is unhealthy and lets it go.
** The ForeverWar and HopelessWar is deconstructed in ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles''. The conflict between the Reds and Blues is completely pointless and neither side actually knows why they're fighting; they're all either too stupid or insane to stop the battle, or have just StoppedCaring. By the end of Season 5, they've largely started treating the other side as [[FriendlyEnemy Friendly Enemies]] and stopped caring about their conflict, with the exception of [[ColonelKilgore Sarge]]. ''Reconstruction'' reveals the entire war was a farce created by Project Freelancer, who used the Reds and Blues and countless soldiers like them for simulations for Freelancer agents, meaning the entire conflict meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
** Season 12 deconstructs LetsGetDangerous. Tucker, Grif, Simmons, and Caboose, while as goofy as ever, are dead serious about rescuing their friends. They also have no real clue what they're doing, since, while they have survived countless combat situations, they haven't fought in a ''real'' war before or had a position of command. They fail to accomplish anything of notice outside of a few victories, and nearly die countless times before they get their act together.
** ButNowIMustGo is deconstructed. As Church comes to realize after returning from one of these, leaving the Reds and Blues to go with Carolina to battle mercenaries seems noble and heroic, but is actually a massive dick move that is extremely hurtful to his friends, who had no idea he was leaving and are saddened about his absence and that he never even said goodbye.
** Felix gleefully deconstructs TakingTheBullet when he reveals himself to be EvilAllAlong. As he smugly points out to Washington, to actually do so would either require above average reflexes or planning in advance. Him doing so a season ago was a deliberately planned move to buy trust which worked like a charm, since everyone took it at face value.
** JustFollowingOrders is deconstructed with Locus, who takes this attitude both so he can hide from the guilt of the atrocities he committed during and after the Human-Covenant War and because this attitude was drilled into him by his superiors during the war, which he fully embraced after he was left with severe PTSD and was unable to return to civilian life.
** The conflict between the Reds and Blues deconstructs the ExcusePlot, with the ArcWords even being "You ever wonder why we're here?". As Simmons points out in the first episode, even if one side were to win or the other side were to pull out, in the end the Victor would simply have ''two'' bases in a boxed canyon in the middle of nowhere.
** Season 13 deconstructs EnemyMine. When the Feds and Rebels, who have been locked in a brutal CivilWar for years, are forced to team up to prevent a third party from killing all of them, both sides still hate each other and are highly accusatory towards and skeptical of the other side's intention. This obviously leads to them having excessive difficulty in working together because of their mutual lack of trust.
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** Epsilon later deconstructs another trope - [[spoiler: namely HeroicSacrifice. While his sacrifice is presented a noble, the series [[AvertedTrope averts]] the DyingMomentOfAwesome by having Epsilon simply shatter into fragments. It also shows how, despite [[NotAfraidToDie not fearing death all that much]], he is not content with that kind of fate, as he will never know if the sacrifice had any real meaning]]

** ForeverWar is deconstructed in ''The Blood Gulch Chronicles''. The conflict between the Reds and Blues is completely pointless and neither side actually knows why they're fighting. By the end of Season 5, they've largely started treating the other side as [[FriendlyEnemy Friendly Enemies]] and stopped caring about their conflict, with the exception of [[ColonelKilgore Sarge]]. ''Reconstruction'' reveals the entire war was a farce created by Project Freelancer, who used the Reds and Blues and countless soldiers like them for simulations for Freelancer agents, meaning the entire conflict meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Washington, Doc, and Donut all deconstruct being the ButtMonkey. After being subject to constant misfortune and numerous betrayals, culminating in having an AI going insane inside of his head, Washington became highly bitter and ruthless, willing to do anything it takes to get back at the man who orchestrated his abuse, and while their misery is played for laughs throughout the series, Doc and Donut wind up both pulling MistreatmentInducedBetrayal{{s}} on the Reds and Blues because of the constant mockery they endured.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has a few subjects that break down some tropes. For example, [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-085 SPC-085]] (a.k.a. Cassy) is a living two-dimensional woman in a canvas. When she has MediumAwareness, the trope is deconstructed; instead of taking advantage of it, she slips into a deep existential crisis.