Spottedleaf / Tropers

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Some of my favorite characters chilling in the woods, courtesy of shackwave

...I still have not recovered from that dream where Enchantress stole my Twizzlers. I am a changed woman. -Spottedleaf 2020

Hi. I'm ridiculously passionate about the things I love. My username is taken from my favorite character in Warrior Cats. I enjoy roleplaying, writing, and musical theatre. Oh, and I'm a gal, if you were curious. Because way too many people have called me "he" recently, it bears repeating that I am, in fact, a woman.

Some info about me that doesn't fit under tropes:

Hogwarts House: Slytherin
Patronus: Leopard
Bending Element: Water
Zodiac: Leo/Tiger
Myers-Briggs Thingy: ISFP
I have Asperger's Syndrome, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and ADHD.
I prefer cold weather to hot weather, as I'm better at resisting the former.
I am a Roman Catholic.

And since everyone else seems to be doing this, the three characters that best describe me are: Caitlin Snow (intelligent, blunt, a bit ambitious, typically nice so long as you don't get on my bad side, rather pessimistic, a big nerd, ashamed of the fact that I was kind of a jerk in the past, and very unlucky in love); Newt Scamander (eccentric, socially awkward, better with animals than with people, and not that great in terms of self-esteem); and Audrey Fulquard (a hopeless romantic, fairly innocent in terms of overall outlook, and addicted to sweet and cute things.) (And if I were allowed a fourth, it would be C-3PO.)

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Tropes About Me

Asexuality- My sexual preference is "nope!" To be precise, I'm heteroromantic asexual.
Berserk Button- Mentioning Autism Speaks in a positive context, or implying autism is caused by vaccines, or using it as an insult.
- Saying "real parents" instead of "biological parents", implying adoptive parents aren't good enough.
- On a lighter note, mentioning the Evil!Spottedleaf AU in a positive light is bound to tick me off, as Canon!Nice!Spottedleaf is the character in Warriors I relate to most (and a major comfort character to boot) and I'm sick of how popular the AU has become- seriously, I can't even Google her without it coming up. Just...It's fine if you like the Evil Spottedleaf AU, but please don't bring it up around me.
- In general, don't bash characters I'm a fan of unless you're stating something that's actually valid. Saying you dislike Bellatrix because she's cruel? Fine and dandy, and accurate. Saying you hate Caitlin Snow because SnowBarry shippers are annoying? Not fine, and a pathetic excuse for hating her.
- Shipping Caitlin with Amunet Black. And really, Amunet Black as a character in general.
- Excessively bashing religions you're not a part of. Having issues with a religion is one thing, but mocking someone else's faith- something important to them- leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Broken Pedestal: It's not a perfect one to one, but this is how I sometimes describe my feelings towards Arrowverse these days; I used to hold it in very high regard, but repeated missteps in writing have made it impossible for me to enjoy it the way I once did.
Cat Girl- Haha, I wish. I do sometimes joke that I'm part cat, though, since I can see in the dark pretty well and I get along well with cats. And occasionally I'll wear fake cat ears.
Cloudcuckoolander- I'm known as the weird one in my friend groups.
Cowardly Lion- While my anxiety can be debilitating and sometimes I genuinely can't handle the pressure, I usually find some way to power through whatever's scaring me.
Creepy Loner Girl: Moreso in my younger years than now, though my loud (and somewhat monotone) voice, Messy Hair, and blank expression do still leave some people uneasy. This was probably part of why I had very few friends until high school.
Does Not Like Shoes- I basically only wear shoes if I'm in a public place or if I have to go outside. I don't like the way they feel. They're feet traps.
Does Not Like Spam/ Picky Eater- My Asperger's comes with taste sensitivity, which leaves me with a lot of different foods I can't eat- but my worst are stuffing (I hate how inconsistent the texture is), most potato products (though french fries, potato chips, and tater tots are fine), and peppers (their spiciness makes them physically painful to eat).
The Empath- I feel a lot of empathy for basically everyone. It's not quite on superpower-levels, but it can be very overwhelming and it's both a blessing and a curse. It also makes it hard for me to watch sad movies for long periods of time because I get overwhelmed by how much the characters are suffering. (This is why, despite the fact that Les Mis is one of my favorite movies/musicals, I rarely watch it.) Sometimes it even extends to inanimate objects.
Fanon Discontinuity: As far as I'm concerned, the Split-Personality Merge Caitlin/Killer Frost went through at the end of Season 3 of The Flash (2014) actually stuck.
Fan-Preferred Couple- A personal example: while My Fair Lady seems to want us to ship Eliza with Henry Higgins, I prefer her with Freddy, as though his obsessive tendencies are admittedly stalker-ish by today's standards, he's also much nicer towards her and treats her more like a human being. Downplayed, though, as George Bernard Shaw definitely had Fredliza in mind.
Fragile Flower- My feelings can be pretty delicate.
Friendless Background: I was a social outcast for much of my adolescent years- my best friends were my cats. Luckily, things have improved since then and I have a steady friend group.
Good Cannot Comprehend Evil- or at the very least, Nice Cannot Comprehend Jerk. I will never understand why anyone would intentionally want to be cruel to someone else when being kind is so much easier.
Glurge Addict- It is EXTREMELY rare for me to find something "too cutesy" or "sickeningly" sweet. As such, unless the cutesy thing is masking darker intentions, like ableism or other bigotry, there's a good chance I'll latch onto it no matter how cheesy it may be. It's the reason I can't outright hate things aimed at little girls or are over-the-top inspiring- heck, I even kind of like some Lisa Frank merchandise.
Happily Adopted- The reason for my second Berserk Button. My parents are amazing and I resent the idea that they're "not real parents" just because they didn't make me.
Innocently Insensitive- Sometimes. And I often feel guilty about it for years afterwards.
Intergenerational Friendship- Many of my closest friends are either significantly older than me or a few years younger. Hell, one of my best friends is in her sixties, while as of this writing I'm in my mid-twenties.
Kindhearted Cat Lover- I'm a pretty nice person, and I do love cats.
Loon with a Heart of Gold- Even though I'm the "weird one" in my friend group and am pretty eccentric, I'm usually pretty nice.
Mistaken for Gay- Happens fairly frequently. In the defense of those making said mistake, I've thought of getting a boy-short haircut, I don't like wearing skirts most of the time (my fashion sense usually ranges from unisex to slightly masculine), my male friends treat me like "one of the boys", and I frequently gush about how beautiful other women are. All of these tend to lead people to assume I'm bi or lesbian, but I'm only attracted to men.
Nervous Wreck- I'm a fairly anxious person, and I catastrophize quite a bit. This is partially due to my Generalized Anxiety Disorder, but stressful situations only make it even worse.
Nice Girl- I'm a pretty kind person.
No Social Skills- A side effect of my Asperger's syndrome.
Not Good With People- I still like people, but cats are much easier to understand.
Older Than They Look: I have a "baby face" and I'm not particularly curvy, so I sometimes get mistaken for a teenager. In actuality, I'm old enough to drink.
Old Shame- I sometimes find the way I used to put the Arrowverse shows on a pedestal to be very cringeworthy.
Promoted Fangirl- A minor example: I wrote a Harry Potter crackfic, titled A Flock of Wolves, out of love for the trope it was named after. Imagine my delight to find that it had been added to that very trope page!
Super-Senses- A side effect of my Asperger's syndrome. Contrary to what fiction may suggest, it mostly sucks.
That Came Out Wrong- To the point that some have compared me to Felicity Smoak from Arrow.

Tropes I like

Amnesiac Villain Joins the Heroes
An Ice Person- My favorite of the Elemental Powers.
The Atoner
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other- This trope is adorable and it makes what could otherwise seem like a toxic relationship instantly become a lot more wholesome.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment- when done intentionally for the sake of humor.
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy / Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman- Honestly, I just find seeing historical characters in different contexts very fun as a whole.
Black Bead Eyes- I always find this art style pretty cute. It's part of the reason why I actually like Funko Pop figures.
Celestial Body- I always find this trope aesthetically pleasing. I particularly love it when StarClan cats are depicted like this.
Civvie Spandex: It can look really cool if done right (and it makes cosplay a lot easier). Batgirl's Rebirth-era outfit is a good example.
Creepy Cute / Ugly Cute- I love these types of characters!
Cute Kitten- I definitely find this preferable to the other most common cat trope in fiction...
The Cutie
December–December Romance- I find this cute because it essentially proves that you're never too old to find love!
Enmity with an Object- This one has never failed to make me laugh!
Happily Adopted- Due to being this trope myself.
Heel–Face Turn
The Ingenue- Show me a character like this and my maternal instincts immediately kick in.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
Mama Bear- I have a strong fondness for protective moms in fiction. Moira Queen is a standout example for me.
Paper-Thin Disguise- It's absolutely hilarious whether characters fall for it or not.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage - Honestly, sometimes it's nice to have an arranged marriage not used as a source of drama and to see two people make the best of a less-than-ideal situation.
Pious Monster/ Religious Vampire - Admittedly, seeing the former applied to Abrahamic demons does feel a bit strange to me, but as a whole I still really like this trope.
Reformed, but Rejected
Totem Pole Trench- Honestly, even the phrase "two kids in a trench coat" will usually make me laugh.
Tragic Ice Character- It just makes me want to wrap them in a warm blanket and tell them they're strong enough to weather the storm.
Violently Protective Girlfriend- When it's used less as Clingy Jealous Girl and more as a romantic equivalent to tropes like Papa Wolf, Mama Bear, and Big Brother Instinct. I find it especially fun if the girlfriend doesn't look like she'd be very threatening.
Wimp Fight- Honestly, it's just funny.
Word-Salad Humor- "lol random" doesn't usually do it for me, but elegantly crafted nonsense gets me every time.

BONUS: Favorite Villain Tropes

It feels weird categorizing these under "tropes I like" because I feel like that may suggest some semblance of approval, but here are some of my favorite tropes for villains.

Entitled to Have You/ Villainous Crush/ Yandere- I find villains that fall under this to be absolutely horrifying when done right. Judge Claude Frollo stands out as a particularly terrifying example, but he certainly isn't the only one.
Evil Is One Big, Happy Family- In more comedic works, it can be a nice source of unexpected wholesomeness.
Evil Is Petty- Excellent both as a source of comedy or even when played for drama (eg. Eobard Thawne). So long as it doesn't cross over into Stupid Evil...
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse
The Fundamentalist- But usually only if the heroes are also religious. I find religious fanatic antagonists particularly terrifying because I'm a religious person myself, and it scares me to think I could have ended up like them.
Satanic Archetype- On the other hand, you really can't go wrong with basing your villain on the most evil being in Christian beliefs.
Villain Protagonist- When done well, they can be really entertaining characters, particularly if they're pitted against another villain. Some of my favorites are Roxie Hart from Chicago and Sweeney Todd.
Villainous Virtue: For some reason my favorite examples of this are when a villainous character has a strong sense of loyalty or honor. Even when it isn't used to make the character "sympathetic", even just making them more human makes them far more interesting.

Tropes I hate

Cats Are Mean - It's overdone, ESPECIALLY in animation, and it's simply not true (I've met far more mean dogs than I have mean cats.)
Blind Without 'Em- "Hate" is a strong word, but I find this trope really annoying because of how often people assume it applies in real life. Most people who wear glasses (myself included) can still see decently without them- we just need them for certain tasks, such as reading or seeing things that are far away.
Cessation of Existence- I would genuinely consider this to be a Fate Worse than Death.
Derailing Love Interests: No. Just no.
Draco in Leather Pants- To me, this one reeks of lazy writing. I'd much rather read a true redemption story than one about how (insert reasonably attractive villain here) is just a poor misunderstood little baby.
Hollywood Autism- If you're writing an autistic character, PLEASE do your research. And said research should include more than just the textbook definition.
Horny Devils- As someone who is sex-repulsed and whose religion teaches that demons are very, very real...this trope makes me extremely uncomfortable. I also dislike succubi being portrayed as sexy, given that their original mythology states that they are rapists. I feel like there might be a case of Double Standard Rape: Female on Male at play...
Predators Are Mean- Even as a kid, this one annoyed me. Animals like hawks and cats have to eat meat to survive because they can't produce their own taurine. It's not their fault, and that shouldn't automatically make them villains. (There was a Powerpuff Girls episode that especially annoyed me due to portraying a hawk in this manner.)
Ron the Death Eater
Scavengers Are Scum: I understand this one a bit more than I do Predators Are Mean- there's admittedly something squicky about eating carrion, particularly if it's rotten- but I actually find a lot of scavengers really cool. Vultures, in particular, can actually be downright cute, and some of them, like the California condor, are downright awe-inspiring. Gotta love those majestic chickens.
Stalking Is Funny If Its Female After Male: Personally, I believe stalking can be funny in a Black Comedy context. But if the humor solely derives from the fact that the stalker is female- and if the writers wouldn't want you to laugh if the genders were reversed- that's decidedly not funny. A better way to derive humor for it is to clearly portray the stalker as pathetic or to have them act in a way we don't usually associate with stalkers, such as making them perky instead of outwardly creepy.
Stripperiffic- I don't mind if outfits are a little sexy, but this is usually too much for me. Unless you've got a really good explanation, like how Black Canary's fishnets are part of her rockstar ensemble and she uses the same outfit for both, I'm gonna find it cringeworthy. Huntress's exposed stomach and Power Girl's boob window are the worst offenders for me (mainly due to how some people think "has big boobs" is the only personality trait Power Girl has), which is a shame, because I actually really like both of them as characters. That said, this is more of an annoying trope than an actually hated trope, and the fact that some male superheroes dress surprisingly skimpily (like Vibe having a plunging neckline or how Dick Grayson!Robin didn't wear pants) makes it a bit more tolerable.

Works I like

Justice League of America (Rebirth)
Six: The Musical
Warrior Cats
Harry Potter
Les Misérables
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked
Chicago
The Lord of the Rings
Animorphs
Sweeney Todd- a rare case where I prefer the film to the stage version. I like the dark atmosphere.
Little Shop of Horrors
DC Super Hero Girls
Next to Normal
Carrie (as well as both the 1976 and 2013 film versions.)
The Lion King- One of two Disney movies tied for the position of "my favorite"; the other is The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Encanto
Frozen
The Lion Guard- I didn't expect a lot going into this one but it's...actually good. They've dealt with complex themes like death (Simba attending a funeral for an elephant friend of his) and racism (Kion learning that not all hyenas are bad). It's fairly mature for a Disney Junior show, and while it's not perfect, it's still pretty good.
With the Light- By far the most sensitive portrayal of autism I have ever seen in media. There's a clear sense of research and love put into this, and I love the relationship between the autistic child, Hikaru, and his mother, Sachiko.
LEGO DC Super-Villains- This is, no joke, some of the most fun I've ever had playing a video game. (It's also one of only two console games I know of that lets you play as the Caitlin Snow incarnation of Killer Frost.)
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves- This is exactly what a D&D movie should be!
Some of the better DCEU movies, including:
- Wonder Woman (2017)
- Shazam!
- Aquaman
- Birds of Prey (2020)- This movie was fun and frankly I don't trust people who call it bad.
- The Suicide Squad- Definitely better than the first attempt at a live-action Suicide Squad movie. Despite the gruesome violence, this movie also has a lot of heart.
Forensic Files- I normally don't care for true crime shows but something about this one is addictive. I find it fascinating how many things can be evidence, and both Peter Thompson and Bill Camp have soothing voices that take some of the scare factor away. I also like that unlike most true crime shows, they sometimes have episodes that aren't about murder.
Wayside School- This was one of my favorite books growing up and it still amuses me to this day. It also gave me one of my favorite quotes ever: "You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy."

...and many, many others that will be added later.

Guilty Pleasures

Media that I don't consider "good" from a technical standpoint, but still enjoy, include:

Animorphs- While it's extremely low-budget and fails to capture the gritty war story the books told, it's still fun on its own. It falls under Narm Charm for me, and many of the actors give good performances.
Batman & Robin- Mainly because Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman actually gave pretty good performances. I also don't mind the cheesiness, as it manages to be entertainingly cheesy.
Christmas with the Kranks- I can't hate this movie. It's indecisive about what it wants to be, but it definitely succeeds in delivering humor. I get why people dislike it, but for me, a lot of the jokes are pretty darn funny.
The Star Wars prequels- There is a lot of cheese, wooden performances, and weird dialogue in these movies, but there's a certain charm to all of it. I genuinely like the romance between Anakin and Padme even if it struggles to be compelling, the special effects are pretty darn good, and it's a joy to watch Yoda in a lightsaber duel. (Also Padme is a total fashion icon and I want every single one of her dresses.)
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story- I don't know if I'd call this movie "bad" so much as "weird", but either way I enjoy it. I find it interesting how the premise is mostly Sweet Dreams Fuel- sentient dinosaurs befriend small children and go on adventures with them- and then the villain is pure Nightmare Fuel!
Justice League of America- This movie is so very cheesy, but if you go in knowing that it's going to be a hot mess, you'll have a lot of fun.

Stuff I want to get into

Ships I like

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street:
- Sweenett (Sweeney Todd/Eleanor Lovett): Honestly, it's hard for me to NOT ship these two. Mrs. Lovett's affection for him is somehow creepy and adorable at the same time!
- Johanthony (Johanna and Anthony): So pure! Anthony just wants to give this pretty girl a good life! How could I disagree with that?
The Phantom of the Opera:
- Raoul and Christine: Seriously, these two set the standard for what I want in a relationship. I want to find my Raoul, someone who'll guard me and guide me and all that. These two are so healthy and sweet and I LOVE them. (Love Never dies is not canon fight me.)

Work Pages I launched

Tropes I launched

Ecocidal Antagonist (I originally pitched this one as Anti-Environmental Antagonist.)

Troper Leitmotifs

Most of these are from musicals.

Baisteach: Do You Hear the People Sing?
Eevee Girl Chey: Frank Mills
Bisected 8: What Baking Can Do
Ozbourne: The Ad-dressing of Cats
Dr No Puma: Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town (he seems like a character you'd like)
Autistic Alivia: It Roars
Vengeful Bale: The Music of the Night
Emperor Ing: I'm Alive (the lyrics sound just enough like an eldritch abomination for it to fit your love of them)
Bluethorn: Now and For Always

DC Villains as Vines

Because I don't have anywhere else to post this as of now and I don't want to keep spamming people with it. Just a silly project I'm working on. When I figure out how to edit video clips together, I'll make it a reality. I hope to cover both some well-known characters and some more obscure ones.

Tropers / Spottedleaf

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