History Webcomic / ASofterWorld

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible[[invoked]]: [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1213 "My dream is to create a masterpiece than no one ruins by understanding it."]]

** ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', including the general ''Mother'' [[http://asofterearth.tumblr.com/ series]].

** ''WebSite/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses'' [[http://asoftertgwtg.tumblr.com/]]

%%* {{Nerd}}: Some of the "characters". Possibly the author himself.

** ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' [[http://ahetaliaworld.tumblr.com/]]

* YourCheatingHeart:
** "[[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=714 Or I guess I could try to make some non-married friends.]]"
** [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1216 Homewrecker, noun.]]

* TenPercentOfYourBrain: The narrator of [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1136 1136]] references the myth by wondering how much happier we would be if we could only use 9%.

** ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' [[http://softerpersona.tumblr.com/]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: Invoked by some of the strips, which run on the formula of "Standard aspirational phrase...horribly subverted by the end." Maybe none more than [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=67 this one]]:
--> As a child I learned that books set you free, an encyclopaedia held over my head...waiting in the dark as he crept into my room. ([[AltText long overdue]])

* NeverLiveItDown[[invoked]]: Parodied. Yes, the narrator of 1194 committed elaborately staged psycho-sexual murders... [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1194 but they also have a dog walking company, why doesn't anyone talk about that?]]

* ApocalypticLog: The narrator of 1185 realizes that they're too far from help and that what they're currently saying to their tape recorder are going to be their last words. The comic ends with "[[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1185 [RECORDING ENDS]]". What exactly happened to the narrator isn't explicitly stated, but the photo shows a forest, implying that that they met a typical slasher-movie protagonist end.

* ApocalypticLog: The narrator of 1185 realizes that they're too far from help and that what they're currently saying to their tape recorder are going to be their last words. The comic ends with "[[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1185 [RECORDING ENDS]]]". What exactly happened to the narrator isn't explicitly stated, but the photo shows a forest, implying that that they met a typical slasher-movie protagonist end.

* NinetyPercentOfYourBrain: What if instead of only 10 precent of our brains, we could access 9 percent. Just one percent less, [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1136 how happy we might be.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: The girl who killed herself in [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=46 46]] mentioned the main character in her suicide note in a way that could be read as affection or condemnation: "You were always laughing".

** ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' [[https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/a-softer-despair]]

** 671 takes the form of a broadcast in the aftermath of an unexplained distaste. The narrator warns people that radiation levels are unchanged, so people should stay indoors. They then add, in an oddly sentimental touch for a broadcast, "[[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=671 And be kind to the people you care about.]]"

* AltumVidetur: The alt text of 632 is [[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=632 "post hoc, ergo propter hoc"]], a Latin phrase that's come to name the logical fallacy of assuming that something that occurred before an event caused that event. It's relevant to the comic itself, whose narrator says that sex doesn't ruin friendships, people do: it's a ''post hoc, ergo propter hoc'' fallacy to say that because the sex happened before the friendship was ruined, it was ruined because of the sex.

* AbusiveParents: Jimmy, the narrator's boyfriend in 183, is beaten by his father after he hits the narrator during their fight. The narrator thinks that he's [[DisappearedDad lucky to have a father]], and aims to hit him in the fresh bruises during their next fight.

** In 668, the narrator buries someone in a creepy ancient cemetery and they come back to life, but different than they were before. The narrator doesn't mine though, as the person was "[[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=668 kind of a dick, originally.]]"

** The narrator of [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1055 1055]] compares their love to a meteor impact and a volcanic eruption, saying that they and their love interest aren't going to survive their relationship but at least they wont die bored. In their view, that makes it worth it.

* NinetyPercentOfYourBrain: What if only 10 precent of our brains, we could access 9 percent. Just one percent less, [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1136 how happy we might be.]]

* AltText: Nearly all the comics have unique alt-text. It's usually a toss-up if its depressing, or comedic.

* BlackComedy: When the strips are humorous at all, its with very dark comedy, usually joking about the pointlessness of life and the inevitability of death. It's also common for the actual strip to be poignant but have darkly humorous alt-text.

** 654 twists the phrase "Revenge is a dish best served cold" by saying that accidentally shooting yourself is proof that its a dish[[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=654 best served by someone with at least a bit of experience cooking.]]

* PlatonicProstitution: The narrator of 183 hires a prostitute to play hide and seek with him. While she thinks its some kind of sexual repression thing, he just misses having friends who are girls. He doesn't mind paying her, as he considers it worth it.

* CuteKitten: Used to mock ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' in 427 by supposedly doing the same thing, but with kittens instead of zombies. This creates "PrideAndPrejudice [[RecycledInSPACE with kittens]]. [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=427 No]], Kittens and Kittens and even more kittens, oh my goodness, by Jane Austen."

** ''Anime/AkumaNoRiddle'' [[http://asofterriddle.tumblr.com/]]

* BadassGrandma: The grandma from 226 writes her grandchild coded letters telling steadily more extreme acts she's taking to escape from her retirement home as though it were a prison, culminating in [[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=226 "I made a shank from my dentures."]]

** Strips [[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=26 26]], [[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=227 227]], and [[http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=667 667]].

The strip officially [[https://twitter.com/joeycomeau/status/605353172878684161 ended on June 1st 2015]] after 12 years with ''[[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1243 its one-thousand two-hundred and forty-third]]'' strip, but came back for [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1244 five strips]] due to meeting a [[https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/003/893/403/cccd173c5f01d5ca206c061c9b44fe34_original.png?w=680&fit=max&v=1433085842&auto=format&lossless=true&s=d7d520a2056256aece6a70df3dc8011f Kickstarter goal]] for the Best Of book.

* WarpedAesop: Invoked by some of the strips, which run on the formula of "Standard aspirational phrase...horribly subverted by the end." Maybe none more than [[http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=67 this one]]: