Line #8 WebOriginal/Zalgo


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3	%% Admin note: DO NOT restore the zalgo markup to the examples section. If it's not readable, it's useless. Clever does not outweigh clear in examples.
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6	[[quoteright:264:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bawwwgo_3270.png]]
7	[[caption-width-right:264:[[Franchise/{{Slenderman}} And all you need to do is collect 8 pages!]]]]
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9	Zalgo is essentially what happens when you combine a Lovecraftian EldritchAbomination with modern-day Internet MemeticMutation and a dash of meta sensibility. Its origins are two strip hacks from ''Website/SomethingAwful'', one of ''ComicStrip/{{Nancy}}'' wherein [[http://shmorky.com/parodies/n3.html she invokes him]] to get out of "walking Aunt Fritzi's turds," turning her and a boy with her into monsters, and another of ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' wherein [[http://shmorky.com/parodies/a11.html Mr. Lodge tells him and Veronica]] to be wary of Zalgo and the end times, with a final panel of his pupils dilated, against a black background, screaming "ZALGO!"
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11	The idea behind Zalgo is that he/she/it represents corruption. Corruption of innocence, corruption of normality, corruption of the world as we know it, the list goes on but you get the idea. Zalgo is the embodiment of that which is right decaying grotesquely into something very wrong.
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13	The internet meme is to have corrupted text indicating its approach. We won't burden you with the font on this site, but you can see it [[SelfDemonstrating/{{Zalgo}} here]]. [[http://eeemo.net/ This site]] will let you easily Zalgo-ify text. If your browser has trouble rendering the Zalgo text, try [[http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/freefont/ here]] or [[http://superuser.com/questions/497262/character-sets-needed-to-properly-display-zalgo here]].
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19	!!Tropes associated with Zalgo:
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21	* ApocalypticLog: Many Zalgo incidents take this form.
22	* BodyHorror: What is implied to happen to most Zalgo victims.
23	* CanonWelding: [[http://ulrycdaretodie.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-post.html This blog]] seems to be an attempt to fuse Zalgo with Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos. The blog is not alone, as comes [[https://www.youtube.com/mmzavp this video series]] where Zalgo followers claim he will escape and end the world soon.
24	* CripplingOverspecialization: According to a [[http://web.archive.org/web/20150109163515/http://butthug.com/post/28955177552/gravityfalls comic]] by the [[Website/SomethingAwful meme originator]], its powers are restricted to affecting cartoons and comics.
25	* EldritchAbomination: The general assumption of what Zalgo is supposed to be. And yet it's [[Webcomic/TheUnspeakableVaultOfDoom too young and too nerdy]] [[http://www.goominet.com/unspeakable-vault/vault/325/ to join the Great Old Ones.]]
26	* EyelessFace: Zalgo is said to have no eyes. Most of the victims reflect that by either having no visible eyes or by having their irises and whites ''drain from their eyes''.
27	* EyeScream: What seems to happen to most things when he comes.
28	* FaceRevealingTurn: Happens in a lot of Zalgo comics.
29	* GenericDoomsdayVillain: It's never explained why Zalgo messes with cartoons and comics. Whenever he is invoked, he does very little else besides corrupting the world he's been summoned to. The Website/SCPFoundation feels a similar sentiment towards Zalgo, as their [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/eldritch-application stated reason]] for rejecting him as an SCP is that he's "overpowered, lacking a hook, and frankly, boring".
30	* HiveMind: More than once, Zalgo has been described as "the Nezperdian Hive-mind of Chaos".
31	* InterfaceScrew: As you can see on the Self Demonstrating page, this is typically present in text representations of Zalgo.
32	* KnightOfCerebus: Considering that it usually corrupts lighthearted comic strips and cartoons, Zalgo could be considered a meta version of this.
33	* TheManBehindTheMan: Some have suggested that [[spoiler:Franchise/{{the Slender Man\|Mythos}}]] answers to Zalgo.
34	* MindScrew: Zalgo text may appear different depending on your browser.
35	* MusicalSpoiler: Zalgo incidents are sometimes preluded by strange otherworldly sounds or music.
36	* RuleOfScary: This is the sole reason for Zalgo's existence.
37	* ShoutOut: Parts of the Zalgo creepypasta are adapted from ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'''s infamous "[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10/ I Hope You Like Text]]" strip.
38	* SpikesOfVillainy: A combination of this and RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver is the most common pattern of Zalgo's fan designs.
39	* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Pretty much a given with the Lovecraftian similarities.
40	* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Also goes along with being like Lovecraft.
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43	%% Admin note: For the last time, Do NOT restore the zalgo markup to the examples section. If it's not readable, it's useless. Clever does not outweigh clear in examples.
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Context WebOriginal / Zalgo