Webcomic / Vocational Death Cruise

Two of the organizers, PLOTTING

A letter of obvious origin arrives in the mailboxes of many characters around the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic multiverse. It invites them to join a competition simply titled 'Vocational Death Cruise' and watches as the contestants arrive, each expecting a different outcome. Vocational Death Cruise is a large-scale Ask Blog competition that challenges artists from around the tumblrverse to compete for a prize by drawing comics that meet a specific criteria by a deadline.

The story thus far can be found starting here.

This is a Collaborative Webcomic involving hundreds of authors. Character tropes should to the Ask a Pony page. Interaction tropes are fine. Character Tropes specific to the challenge with no basis in the actual character may also go here especially when considering Krampus as a villain is unique to the VDC and nowhere else

---

Tropes:

• Accidental Pervert: Poor Hawkesho. Ever since the hotel door challenge lead him to the bathroom the now bald Sweetie Belle was in, he is forever known to Sweetie Belle as "Mr. Pervert" even in death.
• All Just a Dream: After Stoner Spike (somehow) dies from not smoking any weed for four days, he wakes up back in his bed at Twilight's house, his experiences on the cruise a dream. Time will tell if this is how future deaths will be handled.
• Anyone Can Die: Stated more than plainly in the rules.
• Art Shift: All over the place since each contestant has a different art style to them.
• Ax-Crazy: Done literally when Pinkie Pyro was in the house of mirrors.
• Back from the Dead: Sweetie Belle convinces Slendermare to bring all the ghosts trapped in his house to life, though it was the final day of VDC for the blog so it doesn't influence much.
• Beam-O-War: Twilight gets into one with Werelight. Though with Werelight, it's more like a Breath O War.
• Berserk Button: When the Oblivion Machine destroys Blight's locket, she loses it.
• Big Bad: Krampus, though individual blogs may have one of his minions as The Heavy and/or Final Boss, such as Diablo for Werelight Shine's party and the Oblivion Machine for Vanilla Flash's party.

• Break the Cutie: Happens to all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders from the 'Ask the Cutie Mark Crusaders' blog. Sweetie ends up losing all her fur and breaks down crying, Scootaloo accidentally hurts Applebloom and is guilt-ridden, and Applebloom is traumatized by the same event. They manage to recover though.
• Canon Welding: More like headcanon welding.
  • In general, it varies from blog to blog rather the events of the Death Cruise are All Just a Dream, an Alternate Continuity from their blog, or actually canon to the blog (which normally requires they actually survive the Death Cruise). Even the survivors vary on which it is.
• Chekhov's Armoury: While not strictly in-world: The prizes handed out after each day and bonus challenges. Notably the VIP passes handed out at the start of the competition and the life preservers which can be used to save another contestant should they be eliminated.
• Chekhov's Gun: In the Day 6 collab between Askmat 2, Askthosesillystickmen, and Sirlintalot, there is a rock in the background. In a move of Fridge Brilliance the mod of Ask-thecrusaders made this rock guide the way of the cruaders' group in day 7.
• Cooldown Hug: Sweetie Belle manages do this to Slendermare, who was just lonely, not evil.
• Cluster F-Bomb: The Scout of the TF2 ponies randomly dropped one shortly after boarding.
• Comical Overreacting: Inkie Pie's reaction to Slendermane. Yes, that Eyeless Face and that evil looking magic can be terrifying, but it's hard to take it seriously when she's spouting out lines like "IT'S HORRIBLE!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!" and "IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL FOR IT TO BE ALIVE!!!"
• Continuity Snarl: Since very few of the authors actually communicate, the players may find themselves overwriting continuity from the other contestants. This happens so frequently, the Moderators created a section to count against it.
• Crisis Crossover: Of various tumblr blogs, which results in some of the same problems.
• Curse Cut Short: When Wing Ace is sent to fight the final boss in day 6

  Ivan: I'm free! Now off you go to fight the final boss! BYE!

  Wing Ace: Wait what the f- *pop!*

• Darker and Edgier: For the blogs that participated that were normally lighthearted, such as Ask the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Slendermare
• Deader than Dead: After Teen Applebloom left the competition and was apparently killed inexplicably (which is the presumed fate of all eliminated or dropped out contestants unless someone else whom's party they were in continued using them), the blog was subsequently shut down. The blog has since been restarted...
• Devil in Plain Sight: She changed forms! In front of you! How is this confusing?

• Dying Moment of Awesome: Discorded Whooves sacrificing himself to save Inkie and Pony!Yusuke from the Horror.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Pretty much anyone who actually survived. But special mention goes to the CMC from the 'Ask The Cutie Mark Crusaders' blog. Given everything they're put through, they definitely earned it.
• Enemy Without: In an earlier entry, Twilight Sparkle exorcised herself of the Windigo spirit inside her. It was then been revealed that Diablo took the spirit when it was released from Twilight's body and brainwashed it, and it took on the form of Werelight Shine. Diablo makes it face Twilight. When things got bad, Twilight had no choice but to remerge with her Windigo Spirit.
• Evil Counterpart: "The Krampus", sometimes "Evil Santalestia" in the VDC, is an actual mythological creature who works alongside Santa, as an evil analog: When the Krampus finds a particularly naughty child, it stuffs the child in its sack and carries the frightened child away to its lair, presumably to devour for its Christmas dinner.
  • This however is slightly averted due to the fact Normal Santalestia was evil, and that both of them are Satan, at least in the belief system that spawned the characters.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Vocational DEATH cruise.
• Face Your Fears: Twilight's team has to face them in order to get to Diablo. Mr. Turnip's fear is Cultural Translation, Twilight's is Werelight herself, and we don't even know what Lazy Pwny's fear is.
• Final Boss: Day 7 pretty much amounts to this, with each group facing off with one. The Cutie Mark Crusader's party faces Slendermane, Werelight's faces Diablo, and Vanilla Flash's faces the Oblivion Machine.
• Final Boss, New Dimension: Twilight's team gets transported to an unknown dimension to face Diablo.
  • The same happens with Vanilla Flash's team, being transferred into a video game for their final fight with the Oblivion Machine.
• Forged by the Gods: Creation's Ashes and Death's Scythe, among others.
• A God Am I: The Oblivion Machine after its mask is shattered.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Old Scratch qualifies, seeing as the Big Bad summons him with the corpse of Santalestia.
• Harmful to Touch: The steam challenge. Inkie Pie even had her face torn halfway off...
• Haunted House: Dr. Whooves, Derpy, Inkie Pie, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders enter one on the final day.
• Hero Killer: Krampus has actually killed several players, according to fan canon.
• Holding Back the Phlebotinum: Most of the useful items in the competition expire quickly.
• Homage: Day 5 is shaping up to be one giant one to Homestuck.
  • Homestuck's and Vocational Death Cruise's use of Old Scratch is actually a reference to a demon of Scandinavian mythology.
• Pony Popsicle: After the Scout flipped the table onto Werelight, she froze her solid in retaliation.
• Idiot Ball: Played with. The players have mixed feelings about the whole event, but they're not STUPID. At least, not most of them.
• It May Help You on Your Quest: What the hell ARE Artifacts, anyways?
• It Was a Gift: Most of the prizes are this in-game.
• Knight of Cerebus: Take a wild guess.
• Laser-Guided Karma: At one point, the Cutie Mark Crusaders got affected with Poison Joke. During the earthquake, Werelight Shine came and rescued them, promising to give them the cure to Poison Joke. But, as the Crusaders were close to figuring out who Werelight really is, Werelight instantly denied having a cure and ran away. Only to run into Poison Joke herself.
• Long Bus Trip: During the weeping alicorn attack, a few characters that had dropped from the competition early were sent into the past and wound up on a battlefield, possibly severely damaging the time line of the world they were flung to. It didn't help that their blogs were among the several that either stopped updating or shut down.
• MacGuffin: The Stone of Starswirl.
• Mini-Boss: Seeing as The Krampus is the Big Bad, some of the Final Bosses may be considered this in a way.
• A MacGuffin Full of Money: The back room challenge. Subverted.
• Monster Clown: The robotic clowns in Day 2, and Big Boss Bozo in Day 5.
• The Most Dangerous Video Game: Vanilla Flash's team gets caught up in one in Day 7.
• The Multiverse: Many personal universes from all over the land of Tumblr continuity get put in the same universe.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Scootaloo's reaction to accidentally hurting Applebloom in a fit of rage.
• Mythology Gag: While playing minecraft, Sweetie Belle learned that the "black tall ponies" wanted a hug. As fate would have it, these were enderponies based on endermen which are in turn based on Slenderman. This fact would later be alluded to when Sweetie Belle saves the day by hugging Slendermare as mentioned in Not Evil, Just Misunderstood
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Slendermare, who wasn't keeping ponies souls captive out of malicious intent, but because he was lonely. Sweetie Belle manages to calm him down by realizing this.
• Omnicidal Maniac: The Oblivion Machine, the Final Boss for Vanilla Flash's party. Apparently, the Oblivion Machines were meant to destroy worlds when they became redundant, but this specific one decided not to wait and to wipe out all universes by triggering every Oblivion Machine at once. It's creators sealed its power away so it couldn't and its entire goal was to break free. Thankfully, Vanilla Flash's party defeat it.
• Potty Failure: While stuck on the ski lift, Sweetie Belle wets herself. Scootaloo comments on it after they get off.
• Rule of Funny: Multiple characters have maimed themselves only to recover later, and one even rips of their face to get a few laughs.
• Shared Universe: Although tumblr contains several separate universes, the island where the event takes place is a nexus universe.
• Shout-Out: LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS VOICE NO ONE EVER SEES!
  • Whatever is in the briefcase, it sure is shiny.
  • "This is impossible, how can this be?" "Open your eyes, and maybe you'll see!"
  • Let's do this! WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
  • Ivan In spite of captions claiming he's not from the Game Overthinker, makes a non-canon cameo in Askmat 2's Day 7 posts and serves as a sterptypical "helper fairy" character and also makes references to Omochao
  • The Happy Mask Salesman Also aids Wing Ace in Day 7, and makes a reference to Ben Drowned that Wing Ace immediately criticizes.
  • Slendermane. It's exactly what you think it is.
  • Wing Ace's, Blight's, and Bright's Sentai/Power Ranger style Roll Call and "Super Sentai" Stance complete with their cry of "Pony Power Posse!" (Except Blight who refused to do the whole thing)
• Shown Their Work: Krampus- At least, for the players, who requested a villain to use and got the pivotal Big Bad.
• Spoiler Title: Quite clearly a lot of folks are going to die. Thanks, title!
• "Super Sentai" Stance Played for laughs when Wing Ace, Blight, and Bright do this after a makeshift roll call as Wing Ace suggested it. Blight, however refused to take part in it◊ thus slightly messing it up◊
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: A running gag with the organizers. Even outside of the competition they deny when a new challenge has been posted.
• There Can Be Only One: Twilight says something along the lines of this trope before she fights with Werelight.
• This Cannot Be!: Diablo's reaction to Werelight's party overcoming his attempt to destroy them.
  • The Oblivion Machine has this reaction when Vanilla Flash's party finishes it off.
• True Final Boss: While Old Scratch is never actually fought or seen, he qualifies as this, playing true to the trope in that everyone would have thought The Krampus was the Final Boss
• Tonight, Someone Dies: Half the cast was killed in one of these.
• Villainous Breakdown: Diablo has one when his attack on Werelight's party are defeated, leaving him in complete disbelief as to how they managed to beat him.
  Diablo: NOOOOOOOOO! I don't understand...I used your biggest fears to cripple the likes of you! I even split myself into three to make them believable! This is impossible, how can this be?
  • The Oblivion Machine begins to subtly slip as Vanilla Flash's party makes it through the game it's trapped them in. It's left in complete disbelief once they manage to defeat it.
  Oblivion Machine Unsealed (?): No… This… But I’m a god they can’t.. G-Game Over for… Me.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: The name is probably just a gimmick. Probably. Right?
• What the Hell, Hero?: The Cutie Mark Crusaders from AskTheCutieMarkCrusaders get one from the ghosts of DrizzleDrips and Hawk. DrizzleDrips gives one to Scootaloo for refusing to help her in the door challenge and Hawk to Applebloom for leaving him alone with the vines, resulting in their deaths. As for the other two ghosts, Neon's death was in no way their fault, he just finds Sweetie Belle annoying and Octavia doesn't really care and is willing to let them go.
  • Wing Ace makes a snarky remark when Vanilla is supposedly killed by the Oblivion Machine and is promptly scolded by Blight. Word of God said he could have easily suffered a worse fate, leading to a small disagreement between the group's mods
• Womb Level: Twilight, Lazy Pwny, and Mr. Turnip end up inside Big Boss Bozo at some point.

---