Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context FanFic / HeroesOfTheDesk

Go To

1''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11509060/1/Heroes-of-the-Desk Heroes of the Desk]]'' is a completed modern-universe setup asking what would happen if 14-inch-tall 3D-printed characters from [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzard Entertainment's]] ''[[VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm Heroes of the Storm]]'' came to life, ''[[Literature/TheIndianInTheCupboard Indian In The Cupboard]]''-style.
2
3Now has a sequel, ''Fanfic/HeroesOfTheDeskRepercussions''.
4
5----
6!!Tropes in ''Heroes of the Desk''
7* TwentyFourHourArmor: Johanna alludes to something like this being a consequence of Sanctuary and the surrounding areas being so bad at fighting demons[=/=]there being so many demons in the first place.
8* AccidentalKidnapping: The burglars eventually succeed, and end up grabbing [[spoiler:Li Li]] without meaning to.
9* AerithAndBob: There's the nameless Player, the Heroes (Nova, Valla, Sonya, etc.) and...Bokat-Anne Vizsla.
10* AirVentPassageway: ZigZagged in a {{Justified}} way--the air vents at a university facility are ''not'' large enough for a full-size human (averted), but a 14" tall Hero can crawl through them (played straight--supercomputing buildings need a lot of cooling).
11* AllJustADream: InUniverse, that's what the Player is hoping these walking, talking Heroes figures are, [[ThatWasNotADream but...]]
12* [[invoked]]AngstWhatAngst: Discussed by Raynor given [[spoiler:Nova's]] previous condition. The response? A combination of KindaBusyHere and HeroicWillpower.
13* AnnoyingArrows: Justified since Sylvanas fires at Li Li while the former is small but the latter has been "embiggered" to normal size.
14* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Nova becomes exhasperated with Valla, thinking her to be acting like this despite not being of any relation.
15* ArbitrarySkepticism: PlayedForLaughs by whoever Vizsla reports to. After hearing a team member was allegedly attacked by a toy, expresses disbelief, but as soon as she mentions small, living beings (like the captured Hero in her hand), it's suddenly more believable.
16* ArtifactTitle: If the Heroes' plan goes through, [[spoiler:calling them "Heroes of the Desk" will end up being a misnomer since they'll be normal size instead of 14" tall. They succeed, fully playing the trope straight.]]
17* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Averted. The Heroes fear the arrival of Jake, a dog, will turn into this but nothing bad happens to them (unless getting slobbered on counts).
18* AwesomeButImpractical: Flying drones are fun...until the batteries drain. Thankfully, Nova and Raynor get the drone down before it drops. Nova's GPS, despite being from the [=2500s=] or so, has the same problem in cities that most small GPS (think smartphone) units have--it loses accuracy. Though Gazlowe's traps are useful, that very fact causes even the Player to trip on them, leading to their dismantlement. Triggering an alarm and immediately cancelling it while blaming a "system error" may work in the Heroes' universes, but SPEAR[=/=]WET will not fall for such shenanigans, as noted by Bokat-Anne. Showing up right next to a [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks US Navy carrier group]] without answering hails or identifying yourself is a good way to be [[StopOrIWillShoot shot at]].
19* BadassBoast: Valla tries to talk tough to her captors. Except it doesn't work very well when you're 14" tall... Sonya gets a more appropriate one [[spoiler:as a full-sized Barbarian going up against power armor.]] Sylvanas combines hers with ShutUpHannibal, saying "I already died once. And that just pissed me off."
20* BatmanGambit: Johanna and Diablo know if they fight back against WET, they'll be killed. Which means they'll [[DeathIsCheap respawn in the chest]], hopefully located somewhere they can exploit to escape.
21* BeamSpam: Downplayed. SPEAR[=/=]WET battleships don't have ''lots'' of big guns, but [[ChekhovsGun under the right circumstances]] said guns can fire much more quickly.
22* BeenThereShapedHistory: SPEAR and its predecessors have been maintaining the {{Masquerade}} for ''millennia''--it goes back to feudalism. Other items include the Salem Witch Trials, something involving the Catholic Church, and early 20th-century whaling. Most remain [[NoodleIncident Noodle Incidents]], [[CrypticBackgroundReference Cryptic Background References]] or both, though whaling eventually receives an explanation.
23* BigEater: Brightwing. Even if the food in question is [=McDonald's=].
24* BigRedButton: PlayedForLaughs, since the one person who discovers their PoweredArmor has missile launchers is a scientist...who doesn't even bother to aim properly the first time since he has no idea what it does.
25* BloodKnight: Downplayed, but Valla shows shades of this during the robbery--even supposing to herself that the other Heroes might condemn her for such thoughts. [[spoiler: Brainwashed!Valla plays this straight, threatening to "[[DeadlyEuphemism respawn]]" the other Heroes if they so much as ''[[DisproportionateRetribution move]]'' without her permission. Even after breaking the control through The Power of Hate, she is, if anything, ''more'' bloodthirsty, declaring that everyone in the facility will die and she will burn it the ground as revenge. She also makes a very public declaration that the blood of SPEAR and those who support it "will fill the oceans, the lakes, and the rivers." Escalated ''even further'' when, upon finding the Heroes have no money, she suggests just taking food by force "since we can't die and they're all squishy."]]
26* BoobyTrap: The Heroes put down a good number of them.
27* BrainBleach: Valla repeatedly remembers [[VideoGame/DiabloIII fighting Ghom in the Larder at Bastion's Keep]]. She wishes she didn't.
28* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Played straight with [[spoiler:Valla]], but averted with [[spoiler:Nova]], who instead of becoming a loyal agent enters a state of mental breakdown instead.
29* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: SPEAR apparently did this at least once, building a whole base [[spoiler:inside an underwater mountain on which the wreck of ''Bismarck'' rested, because it made giving said battleship a new life easier]].
30* BreakTheHaughty: Kerrigan gleefully wonders if this is happening to Nova.
31* BrickJoke: Li Li really wanted fish cakes, and finally gets some.
32* BrokenBird: The problems suffered by this character are AllThereInTheManual, but become relevant again as a failed brainwashing attempt drags every horrible memory to the surface, making them useless to the goal of said brainwashing.
33* ChainmailBikini: Sylvanas lampshades this in her fight with Valla, noting the latter is more "appropriately dressed" for fighting than she is, what with her exposed belly and all.
34* CharacterDeath: Bokat-Anne meets her end at the hands of an enraged [[spoiler:Valla wielding a railgun.]]
35* ChekhovsGun: Valla's scarf tears off when she and Nova sneak through air vents in a bathroom. This is later used to track her down. Valla's crossbows also prove useful as impromptu ascension cables, similar to a use last seen in Chapter 2. The [=QuadMaster=] 1000 drone reappears and is useful for [[spoiler:finding the chest by having Heroes jump from lethal heights off its back]]. Plasma cannons fire faster when supercooled by operating deep underwater [[spoiler:and there's no reason that can't also apply if a certain mage dumps prodigious amounts of superchilled snow onto them...]]
36* ChekhovsSkill: The Heroes remember how they took out a certain type of {{Mook}} previously (almost entirely improvised at the time) and apply it again, making the fight much faster.
37* ChildrenAreInnocent: It's hoped using a certain Hero to help explain the previously-hidden supernatural can exploit this trope to get people to listen.
38* ClarksThirdLaw: Discussed describing the uselessness of F-22 stealth against Functional Supernatural Phenomena--"Against that which might as well have been magic..."
39* ClingyJealousGirl: PlayedForLaughs after Jim Raynor receives psychic messages. Kerrigan is ''not'' happy that someone [[VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm might be angling to steal him from her again]]. Turns out [[RecycledPlot her guess]] [[AvertedTrope is wrong]].
40* CoincidentalBroadcast: Justified--WET just bombarded a parking lot outside a convention center in which a woman [[InvisibilityCloak appeared out of thin air]] and a bunch of video game characters showed up in very lifelike form. Everybody notices and won't shut up about it.
41* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: An InUniverse example that also averts NoOSHACompliance. Jaina comes across some flashing red/green lights. As in RealLife, red means stop (you'll get fried), green means go.
42* CoolPlane: Turns out the ''Manta'' undersea transport can also ''fly''... Though, in a nod to [[ArtisticLicensePhysics the possibly improbable physics of such a thing]] (the animal after which this is named is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray vaguely airplane-shaped]]), Raynor hypothesizes that the engines must be keeping them aloft with brute force as what is hydrodynamic isn't necessarily good for achieving powered flight.
43* CrypticBackgroundReference: Combined with [[HistoricalInJoke Historical In-Jokes]], apparently feudalism, whaling, the Catholic Church, and the Roman Empire were somehow related to Functional Supernatural Phenomena.
44* CurbStompBattle: Johanna and Diablo try to take on Bokat-Anne and an embiggered [[spoiler:Valla]]. As predicted, pint-size Heroes versus fully-aware, unsurprised humans working with a full-size Hero ends badly for the small Heroes. However, [[BatmanGambit that's exactly what they wanted to happen]]...
45* CuteAndPsycho: Brightwing, when the subject of [[BigEater food]] comes up. She chides Valla for finding her [[JabbaTableManners bloody mouth]] disquieting (this after Brightwing ate a hummingbird...in one bite)
46* DavidVersusGoliath: Pitting ''Iron Chancellor'' against ''Steadfast Samurai'' makes the former David and the latter Goliath. [[spoiler:Considering it's basically ''Bismarck'' vs. ''Yamato'' IN SPACE (okay, in atmosphere) with the power disparity distorted even more in favor of the latter than they were as real battleships, it makes sense.]]
47* DeadpanSnarker: Dr. Kara Grimes' evaluation of the aforementioned BrokenBird brings out the snark--after reading the character's backstory, her reaction to the brainwashing failure is something along the lines of "Gee, ya think?"
48* DeathFromAbove: ''Steadfast Samurai'' uses its plasma cannons to do this. Crew aboard ''Iron Chancellor'' discuss what would happen if their ship loses power and falls from 60,000 feet.
49* DeathIsCheap: So far, none of the Heroes seems to stay dead, respawning just like they did in their game whenever they are "killed." [[spoiler:They later exploit this fact to their advantage, and the same rule applies even when big; you don't have to be "Indestructible" Johanna to survive being killed.]] The forces of WET and SPEAR also discuss/lampshade the trope as related to the Heroes, [[spoiler:especially after Jaina respawns full-size aboard ''Iron Chancellor''.]]
50* DeconstructionFic: Applies to many "superhero" tropes used in the story. The rest of the world gets shown the supernatural? No UnfazedEveryman--sometimes RousseauWasRight, other times {{Realpolitik}} kicks in. Total inversion of HeroInsurance; things got destroyed and now the rest of the world is a bit pissed.
51* DeflectorShields: J117 power armor has such defenses, making Sonya's blades worthless. [[spoiler:They don't stop Brightwing's polymorph though.]] The ''Manta'' transport also has shields. Given that these ships operate in a place where the pressure is eight tons per square inch, [[invoked]][[FridgeLogic having shields makes sense]] if you have [[InsistentTerminology functional supernatural phenomena]] and[=/=]or super-advanced versions of RealLife technology.
52* DesignatedGirlFight: Sylvanas vs. Valla. It's never really elaborated on [[NoodleIncident why they were fighting]].
53* {{Determinator}}: Jaina hypothesizes that their pursuers will chase them until either the Heroes are captured or those chasing them are dead. The Heroes themselves fit under this trope as well.
54* DeusExMachina: Raynor points out that unlike in their fictional universes, their creators (Blizzard) can't save them, they have to save themselves.
55* DisneyDeath: If only because the "death" straddles two chapters rather than being immediately undone by a respawn in the same chapter, [[spoiler:Jaina]]. Though, as is noted on the PlayingWith page for this trope, it's mostly exaggerated in the form of DeathIsCheap.
56* DisproportionateRetribution: SPEAR finds out someone's invoked TheUnmasquedWorld even though they think TheWorldIsNotReady. In addition to destroying the actual evidence, they also do collateral damage on a large scale, and [[spoiler:may have slagged a whole conference center in the process.]]
57* DivideAndConquer: The Heroes are left with the impression SPEAR may be vulnerable to this tactic.
58* DuelingMessiahs: Johanna knows full-well what she's wading into talking about religion's relationship to the [[TheUnmasquedWorld now-unmasqued world]]. [[TakeOurWordForIt It's left up to the reader to imagine]] what, exactly, she said (and indeed how various faiths reacted).
59* EpicFail: Letting loose all your anti-burglar traps on the wrong target, bad idea. [[MindControl Faustus Serum]] + BrokenBird = nope. Firing massive rifle intended to be used prone while standing = bruised rear after being BlownAcrossTheRoom.
60* EvilDetectingDog: Subverted, then played straight. Jake barks at the mailman (TruthInTelevision). The Heroes take notice of this, and realize that if the dog isn't happy, something might be amiss....which turns out to be true when the crooks actually show up.
61* EyeScream: Downplayed, Johanna nails one of the robbers in the eye with her bouncing shield.
62* FeaturelessProtagonist: The Player character. All we know about them is that they play ''Heroes of the Storm,'' probably live in an American suburb, and have a job whose hours can run long.
63* FightingFromTheInside: It's made clear that [[spoiler:Valla]] is ''not'' happy about being brainwashed, but other than [[Literature/{{Animorphs}} screaming as a prisoner in their own head]] can't do anything.
64* FlashStep: Sylvanas.
65* FlippingTheBird: Nova dive-bombs Sylvanas with a drone. [[RuleOfFunny Somehow]], the elf knows this gesture and employs it on both hands in response.
66* FormulaBreakingEpisode: One chapter switches entirely to an in-match view, though outside normal ''Heroes of the Storm'', depicting said Heroes as fighting of their own volition rather than being controlled by humans [[spoiler:on the author's vision of a ''VideoGame/StarCraft''-themed map]].
67* FreudianExcuse: Sylvanas here is more of a self-centered {{Jerkass}} than her current morally-questionable self in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' because she was tipped over during construction of her model, cracking her arm and rendering her unable to use her Shadow Dagger attack.
68* FunWithAcronyms: WET Bandits (Weaponized Extraction Team), SPEAR (Strategic Prevention, Extraction, and Ablation Regiment)
69* TheGadfly: Brightwing knocks some pills Jaina is sorting into the sink, causing the sorceress to fall when trying to retrieve them.
70* GatlingGood: WET gunships are said to have gatling guns.
71* GenreSavvy: The Heroes are well-aware that they were video game characters, and don't hesitate to lampshade when the real world behaves like the fictional universes they originated in. Raynor in particular seems prone to it.
72* GlassShatteringSound: A sonic weapon meant for breaching windows carried by the crooks does this. In addition to breaking windows, it has the side-effect of causing Jake to whimper and Li Li to complain of painful ''something.''
73* [[invoked]]GoodBadBugs: A glitch widely known in ''Heroes of the Storm'' (since patched) allowing a certain combination of attacks to throw an opposing player ''out of the game'' turns out to work similarly for these [[LivingToys little Heroes]], allowing imprisoned Heroes to escape.
74* GoodNewsBadNews: Gazlowe announces that there are only [[RuleOfThree three]] attackers this time. Except they're all the [[PoweredArmor monster power armor of doom]] enemy type.
75* GunsAkimbo: Valla, as per the game, dual-wields crossbows. Later, she is told about (but so far does not actually do it herself) using two massive MR-7 railguns at once. The latter is [[{{Reconstruction}} slightly different than the usual portrayal]], since it's implied that doing this requires a special addon (the Synchronized Control Targeter) for the weapons, their power is reduced drastically so they can each be fired with one hand, and the sniper is lying prone to do so.
76* GreaterScopeVillain: InUniverse, before it was known who sent the robbers both Heroes and Player believe the incursions to be more than random burglary. They're right. The Player isn't the only one who thinks TheWorldIsNotReady...
77* HeelFaceTurn: Jaina's diplomatic skills enable her to convince [[spoiler:Captain Sirella Martin and the crew of ''Iron Chancellor'']] to switch sides [[DavidVersusGoliath despite the odds]].
78* HeroicBSOD: Use of Faustus Serum on someone with a traumatic past can cause this effect, see [[spoiler:Nova]].
79* HiddenDepths: Apparently, this version of Sylvanas is a little more thoughtful and less, well, ''evil'' than the current ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' portrayal. Even Raynor is surprised since in ''Heroes of the Storm'' she still had {{Jerkass}}, [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] tendencies ("Hold your tongue, or I'll tear it out"[=/=]"You have my thanks...for now"). One also would not expect Jim Raynor to drop a modified quote from the [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] ("Pride goeth before the fall and all that"). The teen [[AllMenArePerverts perving over Sylvanas]] apparently remembers his history too--it helps his great-grandfather was in the US Navy and fought in important UsefulNotes/WorldWarII battles.
80* HistoricalInJoke: Li Li learns that SPEAR (or its predecessors) were involved in concealing magic/[=FSPs=] all the way back to the Middle Ages if not before. Thus, the Salem Witch Trials, the very existence of feudal government as a system, 20th-century whaling and something involving the Catholic Church were all actually related to concealing the supernatural.
81* HistoryRepeats: What SPEAR and WET are worried about with TheUnmasquedWorld, though whatever happened with the Romans remains a [[NoodleIncident mystery]]. Jaina argues that this isn't ''required'' to happen, and suggests trying to defy the trope since circumstances may have changed.
82* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Bokat-Anne Vizsla.
83* HollywoodAcid: Downplayed example in Kerrigan's snake, which appears to ooze such since she modified it. The robber Harry finds this out rather painfully when it is dropped on his head.
84* HollywoodSilencer: Discussed and subverted. Nova repeatedly discusses her rifle lacking such noise-damping, so in order to use it without being noticed they'll have to find some [[ToiletHumor auditory cover]].
85* HumansAreFlawed: A core reason SPEAR believes TheWorldIsNotReady. Often, discussion of this leads to a CrypticBackgroundReference about the Roman Empire.
86* {{Hypocrite}}: The Heroes accuse the Player of this after being questioned as to why they managed to stuff the inanimate Sonya into the chest that turned them all real in the first place. Captain Sulu also likes to think he's done nothing wrong and that his use of force is always appropriate, which is hard to believe after [[spoiler:the reader is left with the implication that he might have ''melted a building full of innocents'']] when the target could have been hit ''without'' doing so.
87* ICantBelieveImSayingThis: Johanna gets the feeling upon wondering how the little Heroes can best [[spoiler:kill or respawn themselves to find out where the chest went]].
88* IWarnedYou: The Weaponized Extraction Teams take this attitude in the modern day once TheUnmasquedWorld kicks in. Those with similar viewpoints been concerned about an [[TheWorldIsNotReady unprepared world]] since [[CrypticBackgroundReference the Roman Empire]].
89* ILetYouWin: It turns out using the hacking equivalent of an IncrediblyObviousBug ''does'' get noticed, but SPEAR let Nova think her Black Sheep Wall had done its job of exfiltrating data without being detected.
90* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: Spoken verbatim by Dr. Kara Grimes, who can't access the embiggering equipment. She's a medical doctor, not an academic one and thus lacks authorization (and presumably training) for such things.
91* InsistentTerminology: Blizzard calls their game a "hero brawler" instead of a {{MOBA}}; characters lampshading this is even the page quote on the trope page for MOBA. SPEAR does not call it [[MagicByAnyOtherName magic]], it's "Functional Supernatural Phenomena."
92* JugglingDangerously: Try juggling eight people, while flying upward, and coordinating between three jugglers.
93* JustFollowingOrders: Discussed in the context of ''Iron Chancellor's'' crew--they're mostly scientists, not WET, but they shoot at the Heroes anyway.
94* KickTheDog: SPEAR, arguably. Plasma weapons are supposed to be more accurate than explosives, but when the "ablation" part comes and something has to be destroyed, the ship doing it causes collateral damage on a massive scale anyway. It's also left unclear [[spoiler:at the end of that chapter whether or not they also liquified a conference center filled with ordinary people]].
95* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Once too many "ablations" end up on [=YouTube=] it sort of becomes a foregone conclusion unless one wants to vault over the MoralEventHorizon.
96* LastSecondWordSwap: Kerrigan [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness decides against]] ribbing Nova, [[spoiler:given the state Nova is in by this point]].
97* LaughingMad: Sylvanas seems quite unconcerned with being trapped in a room full of toxins, but it's justified as she doesn't need the air that said toxins would prevent normal beings from breathing. Her amusement creeps out the {{Mooks}}, though, leading one to compare her to [[Film/TheDarkKnight the Joker]].
98* LawOfInverseRecoil: Subverted for Valla ([[PlayedForLaughs unfortunately for her rear]]); firing a [[{{BFG}} huge sniper rifle]] intented to be used prone while ''standing'' [[EpicFail tends to end badly]].
99* LeaveNoWitnesses: Mentioned to be part of WET's modus operandi [[IDidWhatIHadToDo when necessary]]. [[spoiler:This possibly means that yes, ''Steadfast Samurai'' could have flatted a conference center full of innocent people.]]
100* LifeImitatesArt: InUniverse, it's discussed how much SPEAR is like a [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD certain other]] GovernmentAgencyOfFiction, down to one character actually mentioning Phil Coulson by name.
101* LivingToys: Due to some [[AppliedPhlebotinum thus-far-unexplained magic]], formerly-plastic Heroes of the Storm characters become [[SlidingScaleOfLivingToys completely real]], to the point where they cannot even be repaired using plastic parts anymore.
102* LockAndLoadMontage: Downplayed, as it's more "test the stealth" but before Valla and Nova are sent off to find out where the missing Hero has gone to, the Player runs them through a series of improvised tests to see how their methods of avoiding being seen hold up in various situations.
103* MadeOfIron: ZigZagged; the Player slaps Valla across the room but she doesn't [[DeathIsCheap respawn]]. However, when the Player smacks Jaina (who is trying to be helpful by turning off an [[RingRingCRUNCH annoying alarm clock]]), she respawns from the impact. [[spoiler: Later, Li Li is kicked and ends up respawning.]] It seems what it takes to kill a Hero [[AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe depends on what best fits the moment]] (PlayedForLaughs, PlayedForDrama, etc).
104* MagicAIsMagicA: The chest and Heroes seem to have some well-defined rules (which the Heroes learn to exploit):
105## Any plastic Hero placed in the chest becomes entirely real, though at the scale they were when created in plastic.
106## Any such mini-Hero will not die, but rather disappear in a flash of blue mist and reappear in the chest.
107## The chest's interior is BiggerOnTheInside and can serve as a ''Heroes of the Storm''-style battleground, though it doesn't seem to be permanently configured like this.
108## The rules hold when [[spoiler:the Heroes become normal-size beings, though they no longer respawn ''in'' the chest they reappear near it]].
109* MagicByAnyOtherName: Functional Supernatural Phenomena, as called by SPEAR, though there's some justification as they view it as not merely magic, but something to be [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic analyzed and studied]] even if the result is "[[AWizardDidIt We have no clue how that worked.]]"
110* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: What's MagicByAnyOtherName and what's actually [[ClarksThirdLaw really advanced technology]] in SPEAR's arsenal is left deliberately ambiguous.
111* MeaningfulName: SPEAR does this with some of their ships--''Iron Chancellor'' is made from [[spoiler:the sunken German battleship ''Bismarck.'' Otto von Bismarck's nickname was the "Iron Chancellor." Ditto ''Steadfast Samurai'', being built from the old ''Yamato''.]] The organization itself could also qualify [[spoiler:and at the very end, they wish to avert the trope relative to their original mission by picking a different name]].
112* MindControlEyes: A telltale sign of being under the influence of Faustus Serum is eyes that have turned bright blue.
113* MindWipe: Discussed. Nova's past, [[AllThereInTheManual since erased]], becomes a plot point once again.
114* MissingStepsPlan: Discussed by Jaina as she doesn't think they can all just walk in the front door of SPEAR to be right-sized.
115* MistakenForAnImposter: The entire Hero line-up [[spoiler:when they show up, full-size, at [=BlizzCon=]]]. Needless to say, they fit right in at first glance. Later discussed by parents at a highway truckstop; these must just be "cosplayers" they think--until Nova cloaks and throws someone across the room.
116* MrExposition: Downplayed; Li Li's conversation with scientists does have small amounts of exposition but anyone expecting a full-on briefing of what SPEAR (and its predecessors) does or did would be left wanting more, since the reader is only given a general idea. Li Li herself serves as MissExposition InUniverse to the other Heroes as well (though again the reader is not given any context--only that "Li Li told the other Heroes things").
117* NecessarilyEvil: As explained by two scientists to Jaina, given past threats to human civilization from [[InsistentTerminology functional supernatural phenomena]] some of what has been done in service of maintaining the {{Masquerade}} may fall here when it's not [[IDidWhatIHadToDo We Did What We Had to Do]].
118* NeverMyFault: George Sulu blames Jaina for everything he's done.
119* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Jaina's blizzards supercool a plasma turret on an enemy ship...which lets it [[BeamSpam fire faster]].
120* NoEndorHolocaust: Maybe. Nova tells the Heroes and gathered [=BlizzCon=] fans to "Clear the room" and "Everyone get out of here!" before the next chapter references an [[DeathFromAbove orbital strike]] (even though the ship launching it was only 60,000 feet up--though the Heroes don't know this). However, either the Heroes are then ''[[FailedASpotCheck blatantly ignoring a flaming building]]'' or perhaps the ship didn't target the convention center after all. Or [[FridgeHorror maybe there's just nothing left to save]].
121* NoodleIncident: Finally averted in the case of whaling--it turns out in this universe [[spoiler:Sapient Cetaceans is fully played straight. For reasons unknown (though given human history it's not hard to guess why), they were building complex devices to melt the polar ice caps and deal a crippling blow to civilization.]]
122* NotThatKindOfDoctor: There are a lot of "doctors" around [=SPEAR's=] facility, but many of them are non-medical. The narration even points this out upon introducing an MD proper.
123* NotNowKiddo: The Player blows off warnings of suspicious activity from the white car. This ends up leading to an unpleasant surprise later.
124* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Subverted. There are many types of non-medical doctors around SPEAR's facilities, but they have distinctive fields of study. Raynor gets this reaction upon asking the two scientists they saved whether either of them knows anything about a ''Manta'' transport's engines--they don't, it's not their field. Wane knows about the materials science, but that's it.
125* PardonMyKlingon: Sylvanas drops a line from her games, "Bash'a no falor talah!" ([[http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Thalassian Taste the chill of true death!]]) She speaks Thalassian again later ("Shorel'aran") before venturing off to obtain an evacuation ship, though the [[HeroicSacrifice implications]] are subverted as she returns no worse for the wear.
126* PetTheDog: Minor moments with the robbers, who are somewhat concerned that apparently the Player has at least one child they were not told about judging by the huge number of toy towers they find. One even worries their noise will "wake the kid." They also knock out Jake the Golden Retriever instead of killing him.
127* PoweredArmor: WET has at least one type--called the [[Franchise/{{Halo}} J117]]. It packs shields and allows its operative to carry a {{BFG}}.
128* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Inverted--headshots from the MR-7 are messy. Kerrigan lampshades this, though it's handled in a YouDoNotWantToKnow, passing-reference fashion to keep the "T" rating while still conveying the inversion of the trope.
129* PunchClockHero: Alluded to as per ''Heroes of the Storm''--for whatever reason since entering the Nexus, Nova's loyalties are only to her team of the moment.
130* PunchClockVillain: The narration points this out regarding most of the personnel at the SPEAR[=/=]WET facility. Raynor's response to Sylvanas' attack drives the point home further. Raynor fully discusses the trope warning everyone else that there's no reason to cause excessive harm to the average {{Mooks}} around a SPEAR base. [[BloodKnight A certain person]] vehemetly disagrees.
131* PutOnABus: Two characters introduced early in the story disappear for at least half the narrative, only [[TheBusCameBack reappearing]] in the final chapter.
132* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Admiral Pious [[OneSceneWonder seems]] to fit the description. George Sulu likes to ''think'' he is, [[NeverMyFault but...]] Sirella Martin fits the trope in word and in deed as she [[spoiler:changes sides from WET/bad SPEAR to science/good SPEAR]].
133* RefugeInAudacity: Why SPEAR [[spoiler:resurrected ''Bismarck'']] and built a base [[spoiler:on the mountain where its wreck lay]]. Also referenced with whaling, although exactly why [[CrypticBackgroundReference again remains unexplained]] [[spoiler:for a few chapters]].
134* ReluctantFanserviceGirl: Sylvanas has found out how she is portrayed at conventions and in fanart, thus realizing that she is somewhat of a sex symbol in this world. She does not like it despite [[HypocriticalHumor having no objection to the clothing she is presently wearing]] being the [[ChainmailBikini source of the fanservice]].
135* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Kids at a [=McDonald's=] really like Brightwing.
136* RunningGag: Any time the Player exhales significantly in annoyance/anger, Brightwing is conveniently nearby to be flipped end-over-end (she thinks it's fun).
137* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: {{Justified}}, since the Player is much bigger than Valla (or any of the Heroes).
138* SanitySlippage: Exaggerated--beating {{Brainwashing}} through ThePowerOfHate comes with great danger.
139* ShoutOut: Loaded.
140** Where have we seen [[Film/HomeAlone robbers (including one named Harry) get foiled by traps before]]? The Player even lampshades it after having all of those traps applied to them by mistake. InUniverse, it's discussed how separating Harry and Marv was supposed to ''prevent'' any further failures (it doesn't work).
141** When the robbers arrive, Sylvanas turns on an [=MP3=] player to make them think someone is home that blasts "[[Music/DefLeppard Animal]]."
142** We have the Weaponized Extraction Team Bandits!
143*** One of them is named [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Bokat-Anne Vizsla]].
144** Unknown objects are called [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD 0-10-4s]][[note]]FridgeBrilliance: "10-4" means "acknowledged" or "understood" in [=C/B=] and [[PoliceCodeForEverything police]] shorthand, which is exactly the ''opposite'' of what "0-10-4" means here[[/note]], and an organization created because TheWorldIsNotReady is called "SPEAR."
145** Valla recalls a game from her own universe called "[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Knights and Keywardens]]."
146** SPEAR uses "embiggering" and "[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes transmorgifying]]".
147** Li Li's guide/minder is [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Duran Bowder]].
148** Li Li is interviewed in [[Film/THX1138 Room 1-138]] by a bunch of scientists whose names are all shout-outs: [[Franchise/TombRaider Laura Kraft]], [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD May Linda]], [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wane]] (yes, he realizes this connection exists), [[Creator/JossWhedon Jose Fedon]], and [[Creator/JJAbrams James-Johnson Arbat]].
149** Nova's hacking program is called "[[VideoGame/StarcraftI Black Sheep Wall]]."[[note]]This cheat code revealed the entire map, a fitting name for a hack tool![[/note]]
150** The liquid used for brainwashing is called Faustus Serum.
151** A doctor tells her patient "[[Film/PacificRim These are just memories. None of this is real...stay in the now]]."
152** "[[Film/ANewHope Jim, you're my only hope...]]"
153** The MR-7 [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] is nicknamed "[[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Merida]]" and the necessary addon for DualWielding such weapons is called the Synchronized Control Targeter ([=SCoT=]).
154** "[[VideoGame/BioShock1 Would you kindly]] put this irksome Akarat freak out of her misery?" Bonus points for the person the phrase is used on being under mind-controlling effects at the time.
155** When the Heroes escape, they are referred to as [[Film/JurassicWorld assets out of containment]].
156** WET deploys [[Franchise/{{Halo}} J117 power armor]]. Its InUniverse nickname is even "The Chief." Given discussion of [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD Coulson]], perhaps WET plays the Halo games as well.
157** ''Franchise/StarWars'' apparently exists in ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftI StarCraft]]'', as Raynor quotes ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' verbatim as a form of stalling. It's also suggested he [[CantBelieveISaidThat realizes how dumb it sounded]]. He references the Jedi Order later.
158** The captain of ''Steadfast Samurai'' is [[Characters/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries George Sulu]].
159** Nova telekinetically tosses a suitor named [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} "Sal" who leads off with "Whoa whoa whoas" then shouts "Whoas! Cripes!" after being thrown]].
160** This isn't the [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11304813/7/First-Impressions-Snapshots-and-Other-Such-Instances first time]] Sylvanas' lack of a heartbeat shocked someone.
161** ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': The cold never bothered Jaina, anyway.
162** A random {{Mook}} thinks Sylvanas may be "the female version of [[Film/TheDarkKnight the Joker]]."
163** As ''Steadfast Samurai'' approaches a SPEAR base, the exchange may sound reminiscent of ''Film/{{Serenity}}''.
164* ShownTheirWork: EXIF data is a real thing--most smartphones (and some smart cameras) embed GPS information into their files, making locations easily traceable (assuming the GPS had an accurate lock at the time) if the data is not removed prior to uploading to the internet. Geolocating based on IP addresses is less accurate, but if the IP in question is fixed to a well-known building (like a universty computing cluster) then it becomes a simple matching game. The USS ''Harry S. Truman'' is also in fact one of the RealLife battle groups on the Atlantic side, at least at the time this fanfiction was written. Beale and Nellis are real Air Force bases (in California and Nevada respectively), though the types of units assumed to be present for the sake of the story may fall under ArtisticLicenseMilitary.
165* ShutUpHannibal: Sylvanas and to a lesser extent Jaina get the opportunity to engage in this.
166* SpiesInAVan: The Heroes and Player take note of a white car that seems to spend an unusual amount of time loitering in the neighborhood where it had previously never been seen. The fact that there are binoculars on the dashboard convinces the Player that someone (the Heroes) should watch it.
167* {{Squick}}: InUniverse, reactions to a certain BloodKnight are headed in this direction. Brightwing's JabbaTableManners got this reaction too.
168* StockPhrase: "Hold, please..." [[FunnyBackgroundEvent cue something insane happening]], like ''Heroes of the Storm'' characters fighting on the player's desk].
169* SuddenlyShouting: Sylvanas' ShutUpHannibal quip ends up here after being questioned as to what, exactly, she is (hint: don't call her a [[BerserkButton thing]]).
170* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Aside from [[InsistentTerminology not calling it that]] SPEAR seems to take this view of "Functional Supernatural Phenomena." Even if something escapes ''current'' understanding, the organization refuses to just accept AWizardDidIt without trying to figure it out first. Should that fail, they ''still'' don't like calling it "magic" (as noted under InsistentTerminology).
171* SuperDoc: Subverted; medical personnel at SPEAR are separated into distinct medical fields (such as general practice or psychology).
172* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Justified for Sylvanas as an undead elf--she doesn't need to breathe. Said undead elf points out that isn't true for the rest of her companions, however, when they (in her opinion) dawdle on evacuating. Exploited when the Heroes need to retrieve an escape ship from a flooded area. Sylvanas returns, no worse for the wear (thoroughly soaked) having brought the required vessel up. During a subsequent chase, Sylvanas again points this trope out in her case after Raynor notes that "everyone" will end up drowning should they be sunk.
173* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Its aversion in this universe is lampshaded by Sylvanas--"The world does not stop because you decided to have idle chit-chat" [[spoiler:regarding leakage in the underwater base the Heroes find themselves in]]. She also gives everyone a good DeathGlare for yammering while being chased by [[spoiler:an underwater super-battleship built from the old ''Bismarck'']].
174* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Gazlowe believes Jaina will try this if the Heroes deal with SPEAR, but dismisses it as impractical since SPEAR would (in his view) just pull a ShutUpKirk in response.
175* TakeOurWordForIt: Unless you live under a rock in a cave deep in the rainforest, you ''know'' magic + RealLife religion would be volatile, to say the least. Whatever Johanna said (and reactions to it) aren't spelled out. One implication is clear (see DuelingMessiahs)--there ''will'' be disagreements. Jaina later speaks of trying to mediate between people who confuse "volume for validity," implying the {{Muggles}} of all sorts are not necessarily [[TheUnmasquedWorld taking this well]].
176* TakeThat: Valla takes a dig at Nova for complaining about not being able to keep up with her, while referencing her follower from her own universe never had this problem[[note]]''Diablo 3'' followers tend to teleport to the player if they are left behind[[/note]]
177* TechnicallyLivingZombie: What happens to the creatures enthralled by Kerrigan (four black ants, one house centipede, two spiders, one garter snake, one thumb-size fieldmouse).
178* {{Technobabble}}: Dropped directly by Dr. Grimes--the FSP used on her patient by WET is ''far'' stronger than whatever was used on that character in their universe.
179* {{Telepathy}}: Raynor and later Kerrigan are on the receiving end upon arriving in a SPEAR facility.
180* TemptingFate: The Player runs afoul of this hoping no one would do a robbery in broad daylight. Subverted, as the robbery happens at night. Sylvanas catches flack from other Heroes for doing this by wondering aloud why the robbers have not returned, since they clearly wanted two things but only managed to grab one. She gets an immediate reaction ''again'' for saying that she thinks WET is too busy to notice [[spoiler:the rest of the Heroes who are now full-size thanks to an embiggering device]].
181* ThatWasNotADream: ...they're here, they're real, and they're not a figment of anyone's imagination despite what the Player was hoping.
182* TheAtoner: Sylvanas is starting to show signs of this. Discussed by Raynor, and later Johanna comes to the same conclusion.
183* TheBadGuyWins: Minor example--after all the effort the Heroes put into defending that chest, it gets stolen anyway [[spoiler:along with Li Li]].
184* TheBridge: Played straight for SPEAR ships, however, it being located somwhere ''practical'' where it can't be "shot at or shot off" is lampshaded by Kerrigan.
185* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Subverted by Bokat-Anne; she lampshades how this trope may apply in the video games the Heroes are drawn from, but it does ''not'' apply to SPEAR. Kara Grimes' attempt to wave off the alarm only made security ''more'' suspicious that something was amiss. Discussed by Johanna--Bastion's Keep gets a TakeThat from her for, in her opinion, falling into this trope, while she guesses WET's security won't be like this considering her recent experience with Bokat-Anne.
186* TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar: Played with, since it's not clear whether some of the fancy toys SPEAR uses are science-based or magic-based (in fact, this confusion exists InUniverse as well, see SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic). Either way, it's them versus the Heroes, who themselves are set up to be quite "magical" by comparison, [[InsistentTerminology even if SPEAR won't call it that]].
187* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The ManBehindTheMan ultimately running SPEAR is revealed to be "The Board." [[spoiler:They throw in the towel, realizing trying to control the Heroes is impossible since they're neigh-unkillable and they'd have to resort to increasingly drastic measures to maintain the masquerade]].
188* ThePowerOfHate: How [[spoiler:Valla]] breaks the control of Faustus Serum. Much to the concern of [[KnightErrant Johanna]]. That this character then screams at innocent scientists before threatening to kill people for their food shows how much unhinging breaking Faustus this way has caused.
189* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Jaina drops one on Captain Sulu.
190* TheTease: Nova, as per ''Heroes'', has dropped some of her ConsummateProfessional attitude, much to Raynor's annoyance.
191* TheTalk: PlayedForLaughs when Li Li has to be educated on why this world [[MsFanservice finds Sylvanas so attractive]].
192* TheUnmasquedWorld: The whole point of the Heroes [[spoiler:showing up at [=BlizzCon=], implied to be 2015 due to who's hosting]]. They believe SPEAR is wrong--the world ''would'' be ready if given the chance. They also have an objection to being locked up[=/=]experimented on.
193* TheWatson: Also falls under another trope. The Hero taken [[AccidentalKidnapping accidentally]] ends up in this role, allowing the kidnappers to explain much of what their organization does. This seems silly--why expose all the secrets? That is, until the second trope comes into play--[[spoiler:The constantly-curious child-age Li Li seems innocent enough ''and'' is generally willing to help her abductors thus far since their requests are pretty innocent-sounding.]]
194* TheWorldIsNotReady: The Player invokes this without saying it as a reason for not involving the police even though burglars just smashed a window. Explaining living video game characters would be too much. SPEAR tells Li Li this almost verbatim as the reason they collect things like her or the chest. It's later revealed via CrypticBackgroundReference that SPEAR believes HumansAreFlawed due to something related to the fall of the Roman Empire.
195* ThisIsMySide: Between Kerrigan and Sylvanas. Each stakes out half the player's dwelling to, ahem, ''claim'' any lifeforms that might reside within.
196* ThisIsReality: Nova dismisses Raynor's concerns about the location of SPEAR's facility because "this is 2015" rather than the 2500s-era of ''[=StarCraft=].'' [[spoiler:She's wrong--they are in fact deep underwater.]]
197* ThrowingYourShieldAlwaysWorks: Johanna's schtick in-game translates to reality. First, she nails a WET operative in the eye while pretending to be a toy. Then, she flings her shield into a lab switch [[spoiler:to make herself full-sized]].
198* TimTaylorTechnology: The magnetohydrodynamic engines of a ''Manta'' can be improved by shunting power from plasma shields.
199* ToiletHumor: A big part of Valla and Nova's infiltration of a university computing facility involves exploiting the following (more often TruthInTelevision than anyone would like)...
200## Workplace bathrooms are not a place people want to hang out in, because...
201## ...workplace bathrooms often smell, because...
202## ...[[DisgustingPublicToilet people don't clean up after themselves]], since...
203## ...it's not their house.
204* TranquillizerDart: The robbers know about the dog from their surveillance. Thus, they knock out the canine rather than killing him, in a small PetTheDog moment.
205* UnfazedEveryman: Subverted. The normal people of the world take notice and won't stop talking once the Heroes are made public.
206* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Played straight [[spoiler:at [=BlizzCon=]]] then subverted as the Heroes stick out like sore thumbs when removed from their element. Subverted again when F-22 pilots engage ''Steadfast Samurai''--"Is that a flying battleship?" We're actually treated to a man becoming increasingly agitated by all the weirdness to the point where he shouts "Open your eyes and see the weird [[PrecisionFStrike shit]] in front of you!"
207* IDidWhatIHadToDo: SPEAR's attitude toward their maintenance of the {{Masquerade}} when it's not NecessarilyEvil. Generally, the former viewpoint is found in the Weaponized Extraction Teams while the latter prevails among science types.
208* WellIntentionedExtremist: It turns out centuries of (at least in their view) trying to [[TheWorldIsNotReady save humanity from themselves]] has turned at least some of SPEAR (and most of WET) into unabashed believers in [[IDidWhatIHadToDo We Do What We Must]] to maintain the masquerade. Compare with those who agree TheWorldIsNotReady, but strongly object to both how to conceal the supernatural and what actually merits concealing.
209* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Quite literally, once the Heroes leave the Player's residence, Kerrigan and Sylvanas' broods are never mentioned again.
210* WhatTheHellHero[=/=]WhatTheHellPlayer: [[RingRingCRUNCH Nobody likes alarm clocks]], and while the Player attempts to turn theirs off, they also end up hitting [[NiceGirl Jaina]] hard enough to respawn her even though all she wanted to do was help by turning off the alarm. Valla, Raynor, and Jaina herself call out the player on this, even though it was [[AccidentalMurder technically an accident]] and DeathIsCheap. Jaina calls out scientists who keep saying what WET does is wrong but haven't taken the opportunity to raise significant objections. The Heroes get this when [[BloodKnight one amongst them]] threatens to fill an entire ship with poisonous gas. The BigBad even lampshades it, saying "heroes" don't do that.
211* WhenItAllBegan: The Player sits down the dozen Heroes characters for a chat explaining their origin in the context of deciding to print them as models.
212* TheWoobie: InUniverse, a downplayed version as Sylvanas is seen merely as a brooding, self-centered {{Jerkass}} by the other Heroes until they find out part of the reason she's sulking is [[FreudianExcuse due being tipped over during painting]] that cracked her arm several times. Kerrigan's glee over having a larger set of minions than Sylvanas is thus tempered by this knowledge.
213* WrongGenreSavvy: The Player accuses the Heroes of this after their traps go off by the front door, since ThisIsReality and robbers don't just waltz in the main entrance.

Top