History FanFic / FailToTheKing

** A minor one, but in Axel's appearance on TV alongside Pleinair and her rabbit chew-toy Usagi, he calls Usagi [[SailorMoon 'Serena']] by mistake.

''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5856060/1/Fail_to_the_King Fail to the King!]]'' is a ''Disgaea'' fanfic written by Varanus and based on the events of {{Disgaea 3}}. The plot’s gimmick is that it’s set after the alternate “Super Hero Almaz” ending, which features Almaz being crowned Overlord and Dean of Nether Institute by Mao’s father and then being abandoned by the rest of the group for various reasons. While it’s largely considered a gag ending by the fandom (you need to jump through a few hoops to get it instead of the normal ending and several characters act very OOC by abandoning Almaz), ''[=FttK=]'' takes the notion of Almaz being Overlord and runs with it, turning Almaz’s DownerEnding into a SequelHook.

* {{Crossover}}: WordOfGod says all the Disgaea characters will be appearing sooner or later. Adell, Rozalin and a good chunk of the cast of {{Disgaea 2}} have already made appearances. [[SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters Gig]] is referred to offhandedly several times before eventually making his own appearance as well and [[RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure Etoile]] features prominently in the backstory of one of the antagonists [[RedHerring At least, that's what we're led to believe.]]

** [[spoiler: ... which turns out to be a RedHerring. The Etoile who died was actually the Item God of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword ultimate gun]] in {{Disgaea2}}]]

* DramaticIrony: Any reader who finished ''{{Disgaea 2}}'' is well aware that [[spoiler: Rozalin is both Zenon, the Overlord that Tav is hunting for revenge... ''and'' the little girl from the Snow Village that he almost gave up his quest to become a father for]]. He isn't.

* GenreSavvy: Well, it ''is'' a {{Disgaea}} fic after all. That said, no-one's realised they're in a fanfic yet.

* MentalWorld: Phoenix enters her own heart at one point, [[spoiler: the inside of which is a [[PhantomBrave Phantom]] filled white-hot iron city built atop a sun, floating in a starless abyss.]] This is directly contrasted to Mao's crystal wasteland in {{Disgaea3}}. Apparently the trick to traversing these worlds is an AlternateCharacterInterpretation of whoever's heart you're in.

* StepThreeProfit: This line:
---> It was a routine plan – Step One, crash in, kill everything inside. Step Two, steal everything that wasn't nailed down. Step Three, steal the nails. He was a little sketchy about Step Four, but Step Five was supposed to be pure profit.

SturgeonsLaw can be a cruel mistress. While popular series like Naruto and Harry Potter have tens of thousands of fanfics and dozens if not hundreds of entries worthy of a spot on the FanFicRecs pages, less-known franchises may never see more than a handful of sub-par stories rife with RougeAnglesOfSatin and infested with {{Mary Sue}}s.

Luckily for ''{{Disgaea}}'' fans, however, the collected works of Nippon Ichi do not fall into the second category; we have ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5856060/1/Fail_to_the_King Fail to the King!]]''

''[=FttK=]'' is a ''Disgaea'' fanfic written by Varanus and based on the events of {{Disgaea 3}}. The plot’s gimmick is that it’s set after the alternate “Super Hero Almaz” ending, which features Almaz being crowned Overlord and Dean of Nether Institute by Mao’s father and then being abandoned by the rest of the group for various reasons. While it’s largely considered a gag ending by the fandom (you need to jump through a few hoops to get it instead of the normal ending and several characters act very OOC by abandoning Almaz), ''[=FttK=]'' takes the notion of Almaz being Overlord and runs with it, turning Almaz’s DownerEnding into a SequelHook.

With an intriguing plot, good fight scenes, interesting use of gameplay mechanics, numerous shoutouts and a sense of humor that’s close to OriginalFlavor, ''Fail to the King!'' stands out as one of the best ''Disgaea'' fics available on the internet.

''[=FttK=]'' is a ''Disgaea'' fanfic written by Varanus and based on the events of {{Disgaea 3}}. The plot’s big gimmick is that it’s set after the alternate “Super Hero Almaz” ending, which features Almaz being crowned Overlord and Dean of Nether Institute by Mao’s father and then being abandoned by the rest of the group for various reasons. While it’s largely considered a gag ending by the fandom (you need to jump through a few hoops to get it instead of the normal ending and several characters act very OOC by abandoning Almaz), ''[=FttK=]'' takes the notion of Almaz being Overlord and runs with it, turning Almaz’s DownerEnding into a SequelHook.

* CosmicPlaything: No, not Almaz actually, all things considered things have been going pretty good for him. Axel, however, is still karma's personal ChewToy.

* HannibalLecture: Tav and Zenon play freaking ''ping-pong'' with these things during their battle in chapter 21; first with Zenon mocking Tav for thinking his despair could ever match hers, then Tav countering with a KirkSummation...
---> ''"Can you really claim to be so lonely with Adell by your side?"''
** ...and immediately launching into his own TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Which is then turned right around and ''thrown back at him'' after Adell performs his own DynamicEntry and Zenon admits that ''he's right''.
---> "Feel this, Etem. Feel the depth of my despair and solitude. May your knees buckle under the weight and let the black tide of sorrow drown you as you fall into oblivion. Take all of my anger, all of my pain, all of my sadness – I have no more need of it. '''''I am free of it!"'''''

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Played with. [[TheAce Jericho]] has spent his long lifetime transmigrating over and over to perfect his skill with the sword, the side-effect being a huge number of useful skill such as healing, sensing mana, StealthHiBye and the ability to create and manipulate Dimension Gates. These skills come in handy a lot in the story, but on the other hand, despite centuries of training every canon main character is ''still'' stronger than him despite the fact they've only been fighting for a few months, tops.

* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler: [[SimpleStaff Cinos]], [[BladeOnAStick Phoenix]], [[AxeCrazy Sienna]] and [[GoodOldFisticuffs Tav]] are Item Gods of the ultimate weapons from Disgaea 3. [[{{BFG}} Invincible]] and [[TheArcher Radiance]] are set to follow.]]

* NotSoHarmless: At first, Monty seems like a joke because of his reference spewing [[spoiler:going as far as getting his arms cut off for the sake of the routine.]] Then he gets bored and [[LetsGetDangerous decided to]] [[TurnsRed actually start]] [[IAmNotLeftHanded fighting.]] And keeps on fighting, [[HopeSpot even after they thought it was over]]. If Almaz wasn't so DangerouslyGenreSavvy, it would have ended much differently.

** Monty, in his sword form, [[{{Bleach}} wraps himself in bandages in lieu of a sheath]]. Lampshaded by both him and Almaz.

** Pandora is a reference to both the Pandora's Box weapon from DevilMayCry 4 ''and'' to BlackRockShooter, the inspiration for her human form.

* AuthorAppeal: Cited by WordOfGod as the main reason [[EnsembleDarkhorse Asagi]] is appearing in the story. [[AndTheFandomRejoiced Not that we mind or anything...]]

* BottleFairy: Tileyfa mentions that the humans of Holt Village see her as one.

SturgeonsLaw can be a cruel mistress. While popular series like Naruto and Harry Potter have tens of thousands of fanfics and dozens if not hundreds of entries worthy of a spot on the FanFicRecs pages, less-known franchises may never see more than a handful of sub-par stories rife with RougeAnglesOfSatin and infested with {{Mary Sue}}s.

* BloodKnight: Monty. Shouldn’t be a surprise, he’s a very deliberate [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Black Knight]] knockoff.

* BottleFairy: Tileyfa mentions that the humans of Holt Village see her as one.

* ChessWithDeath: The image is [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by [[spoiler: Phoenix when she dies and faces the Reaper.]]
---> [[spoiler: '''Gig:''' Hate to break it to ya, but I don't play chess.]]
---> [[spoiler: '''Phoenix:''' Hate to break it to ya. ''Whips spear forward.'' Neither do I.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Aurum vanishes several chapters in and goes on a quest to find his old heroic nature again. It’s a sure bet we’ll be seeing him again sooner or later.
** A slightly more meta version with Aurum: during the Almaz ending, you never see him leave the throne room... [[spoiler: because he didn't]]. Also, [[spoiler:Champloo vanished during the Almaz Ending and hasn't been seen in the Netherworld since... because he was taking a holiday in Rhodonite Kingdom. His first appearance has him giving critical advice to, ironically, Almaz's mother.]]

** Why Adell hates Monty Python.

** Monty himself deliberately invokes the Black Knight skit from MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail during his fight with Almaz. Hilariously, Almaz actually [[OneOfUs calls him on it]] and makes a few references of his own before the fight ends.

* HannibalLecture: Tav and Zenon play freaking ''ping-pong'' with these things during their battle in chapter 21; first with Zenon mocking Tav for thinking his despair could ever match hers, then Tav countering with a KirkSummation...
---> ''"Can you really claim to be so lonely with Adell by your side?"''
** ...and immediately launching into his own TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Which is then turned right around and ''thrown back at him'' after Adell performs his own DynamicEntry and Zenon admits that ''he's right''.
---> "Feel this, Etem. Feel the depth of my despair and solitude. May your knees buckle under the weight and let the black tide of sorrow drown you as you fall into oblivion. Take all of my anger, all of my pain, all of my sadness – I have no more need of it. '''''I am free of it!"'''''
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Played with. [[TheAce Jericho]] has spent his long lifetime transmigrating over and over to perfect his skill with the sword, the side-effect being a huge number of useful skill such as healing, sensing mana, StealthHiBye and the ability to create and manipulate Dimension Gates. These skills come in handy a lot in the story, but on the other hand, despite centuries of training every canon main character is ''still'' stronger than him despite the fact they've only been fighting for a few months, tops.

* {{Omake}}: An extra scene at the end of Chapter 10 explaining why [[spoiler: Adell got the MontyPython references]].

** Almaz is a MontyPython fan. Apparently Axel is too, [[NoodleIncident but we aren't sure how exactly]].

* ShoutOut

** Monty is a giant MontyPython reference-spewing machine.

** [[ItMakesSenseInContext This exchange]], right after [[spoiler: Almaz and the D2 group become good {{friends}}]]:

----> "In the freezer,"

* TalkToTheFist: In Cinos' first appearance, [[spoiler: [[GenreSavvy Sapphire instantly realises trying to debate with him would be a bad idea]] and [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim shoots him in the face with an arrow]]. [[SubvertedTrope Which he catches]]. [[DoubleSubverted Then it explodes in his face]].]]
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Phoenix, realizing Adell's about to use a special move on her, says this word for word.
* WhamEpisode: Chapters 19-21. Lots of big [[TheReveal reveals]]. Mainly that [[spoiler: the {{Big Bad}}s are all Item Gods, and Cinos plans to force Zenon's hand by ''anniliating'' Holt Village]].
** Then in 20, Phoenix can use [[spoiler: ''Chartreuse Gale''. And summons the dead from Rhodonite.]]
** And 21... [[spoiler: Rozalin awakens both Zenon and Etolie's power.]] And Cinos reveals [[spoiler: ''he'' was the one who sent Aria.]] Oh, and [[spoiler: Monty is Kobayashi]], and [[spoiler: Phoenix kills Almaz]].

* YouCanBarelyStand:

* ShutUpKirk: "[[XanatosGambit Remember the pact?]]"

* VillainousBreakdown: Cinos in Chapter 22 when Tav confronts him after [[spoiler: Phoenix had been killed.]] [[ShutUpKirk Unfortunatly,]] [[IGotBetter he got better.]]

** Another case with a different character, Jericho's injury [[spoiler:, a burnt hole where his left lung should be,]] should relegate him to bed rest. Instead, he 'appeals' a petition in the Dark Assembly and, more seriously, [[spoiler: charges off to distract a giant lava serpent from destroying Holt]], all while only being held together by his own [[HeroicWillpower mana and resolve]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sapphire’s CharacterDerailment in the Almaz Ending is explained as the princess being overwhelmed, confused, and angry at the notion that Almaz has become the Overlord she set out to kill [[StepfordSmiler but covering it up with her usual façade]]. Her first major scene in the story has her regretting her actions and trying to get back to Almaz to sort out her feelings.

* TheSwordThatSpeaks: Monty. He claims to be [[ShapeshifterModeLock mode locked]] into his magichange form. [[spoiler: In reality, he's [[InfinityPlusOneSword the Yoshitsuna]].]]

* TheSwordThatSpeaks: Monty. He claims to be [[ModeLock mode locked]] into his magichange form. [[spoiler: In reality, he's [[InfinityPlusOneSword the Yoshitsuna]].]]

** [[spoiler: Subverted. Whatever Monty really is he is NOT Almaz's friend as shown in Chapter 23. At Best it views Almaz as just another thing to corrupt and tarnish. Subverted AGAIN when the real soul of the weapon is shown to actually rather likes the kid.]]

-->My extensive hero research has shown that no amount of mental turmoil can withstand a straight right hook.

---> [[spoiler: Gig: Hate to break it to ya, but I don't play chess.]]
---> [[spoiler: Phoenix: Hate to break it to ya. ''Whips spear forward.'' Neither do I.]]

* {{Crossover}}: WordOfGod says all the Disgaea characters will be appearing sooner or later. Adell, Rozalin and a good chunk of the cast of {{Disgaea 2}} have already made appearances. [[SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters Gig]] has been referred to offhandedly several times and [[RhapsodyAMusicalAdventure Etoile]] features prominently in the backstory of one of the antagonists.
** As of chapter 22, [[spoiler: [[SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters Gig]] has arrived.]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sapphire’s CharacterDevelopment in the Almaz Ending is explained as the princess being overwhelmed, confused, and angry at the notion that Almaz has become the Overlord she set out to kill [[StepfordSmiler but covering it up with her usual façade]]. Her first major scene in the story has her regretting her actions and trying to get back to Almaz to sort out her feelings.

* OneWingedAngel: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] by [[spoiler:Cinos']] true form.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Sapphire’s CharacterDerailment in the Almaz Ending is explained as the princess being overwhelmed, confused, and angry at the notion that Almaz has become the Overlord she set out to kill [[StepfordSmiler but covering it up with her usual façade]]. Her first major scene in the story has her regretting her actions and trying to get back to Almaz to sort out her feelings.

--> Adell: [[{{Determinator}} Ha! That just makes us even!]]

* GenreSavvy: Well, it ''is'' a {{Disgaea}} fic after all. That said, no-one's realised they're in a fanfic yet.
** Special mention goes to Plenair, who knows ''[[DangerouslyGenreSavvy very well]]'' that she has an [[EnsembleDarkhorse inexplicably huge fanbase]].
* GunsAkimbo: Rozalin, with ''[[{{BFG}} Gatling guns]]''.