TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Cleanup thread: Magnificent Bastard

Go To

During the investigation of recent hollers in the Complete Monster thread, it's become apparent to the staff that an insular, unfriendly culture has evolved in the Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard threads that is causing problems.

Specific issues include:

  • Overzealous hollers on tropers who come into the threads without being familiar with all the rules and traditions of the tropes. And when they are familiar with said rules and traditions, they get accused (with little evidence) of being ban evaders.
  • A few tropers in the thread habitually engage in snotty, impolite mini-modding. There are also regular complaints about excessive, offtopic "socializing" posts.
  • Many many thread regulars barely post/edit anywhere else, making the threads look like they are divorced from the rest of TV Tropes.
  • Following that, there are often complaints about the threads and their regulars violating wiki rules, such as on indexing, crosswicking, example context and example categorization. Some folks are working on resolving the issues, but...
  • Often moderator action against thread regulars leads to a lot of participants suddenly showing up in the moderation threads to protest and speak on their behalf, like a clique.

It is not a super high level problem, but it has been going on for years and we cannot ignore it any longer. There will be a thread in Wiki Talk to discuss the problem; in the meantime there is a moratorium on further Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard example discussion until we have gotten this sorted out.

Update: The new threads have been made and can be found here:

     Previous post 
IMPORTANT: To avoid a holler to the mods, please see here for the earliest date a work can be discussed, (usually two weeks from the US release), as well as who's reserved discussion.

  • Why do a cleanup?: This trope definitely exists and has a well documented history of use. That being said, it frequently gets misused to a character who meets one of the components, namely that they are smart, charming while not necessarily even being a villain, or create good plans. While these are components, there is also a certain personality required, not to mention that all of the above are required to be present for a character to be a true Magnificent Bastard. As the trope attracts interest, it unfortunately brings in a lot of misuse and I thought the best way to rectify this would be a Perpetual Cleanup Thread, as is being done and has seen success with Complete Monster.

  • What makes a Magnificent Bastard: Below is a list of the individual components to make this character. Note that they must all be present, not just some, which has lead to frequent misuse:
    • Must be intelligent: Goes without saying, to be a Magnificent Bastard, the character has to be smart in the first place and use their brain to work towards whatever their end goal may be;
    • Must be a Bastard: While going overboard in how vile the character is can be detrimental, a key aspect is the Bastard part of the trope, whether the character is an out-and-out antagonist in the work, some manner of Villain Protagonist, or something in between, they at least have some unscrupulous qualities to qualify for this trope;
    • Must not be too detestable: Again, there is a ceiling on how bad the character can be before they just become too nefarious, blocking out the Magnificent part of the trope. A genocidal racist or child-raping Sadist aren't going to make the cut;
    • Think on their feet: In addition to being a Chessmaster, a Magnificent Bastard, if the character deals with situations in which their initial plan is ruined, has to be able to pull a Xanatos Speed Chess and at least come up with a competent strategy to make up for lost time, otherwise they fail for being unable to think in tough spots;
    • Have charm: Even if they don't necessarily make every character they meet fall in love with them and can even be detested by others, the audience has to find an amicable social relation to the character, or they are failing to make the impact required for this trope.

  • What to do if a character is listed on a page but has not been approved?: They need to be removed, all candidates need to come through the cleanup thread first. The character could well count but they need to be analyzed properly and voted on first.

  • Do we list Playing With this trope?: No; as a YMMV trope, this cannot be Played With, so we only want examples that are Played Straight.

  • What do I do if I want a character to be listed as a Magnificent Bastard?: The greatest success Complete Monster saw for its cleanup effort was from the invention of the effort post format, so, borrowing from that, a troper wishing to propose a Magnificent Bastard will create such a post in the following format:
    • Begin by describing The work, this will help establish the setting the character is in and for the reader to understand what kind of a scenario they are in;
    • Summarize The character's actions, this will provide a listing for readers to understand what they do and how it applies to this trope because charm and lack of smugness are so crucial, this is a good time to be incorporating exactly the flavor of how they operate to explain this;
    • List circumstances in which the character must Think on their feet, these are times where a wrench might be thrown in their initial plan and they have to adapt on the spot or even come up with a new scheme all together, this is also a good time to explain how the villain reacts to defeat when they have to face it, a true Magnificent Bastard won't break down into tears at the thought of death, they should have known such a possibility could occur and be able to handle it with more dignity;
    • The competition, similar to the Heinous Standard dealt with for a Complete Monster, this section is to deal with how successful the character is in carrying out their plans compared to other characters. While, as a villain, they probably are going to lose in the end, it is good to explain how other characters handle the same situation. There is no exceptionalism case to be made for this trope but explaining the variety helps the reader have a better understanding of the proposal.

  • How do you know when the character's arc is done so they can be proposed? When their tenure as a villain or antagonist finishes. This could happen in a single Story Arc in an entire work, a single work of a franchise, or the whole series in general. We'll show lenience to Long-Runners with constantly recurring candidates or series with outstanding continuities (ex. comic books), and it's entirely possible to count in a work or two but not in general for a reason like Depending on the Writer.

  • What about candidates evil because of external sources? Those Made of Evil can qualify if they show enough individuality and tactical acumen — in other words, they have the personality to fulfill the magnificence requirement. Conversely, those brainwashed, especially if they're a better person without it, may fail the individuality aspect and cannot count.

  • What if they are under orders from a higher-up? Depends. If the boss created the plans down to the letter and the candidate is just following them, sounds like we should discuss the boss instead. However, if the candidate takes creative liberties with the orders, adds their own charm and flair to them, fills in holes in the orders, and/or actively deals with obstacles their boss did not talk about, the candidate shows enough individual thinking to qualify.

  • What about Character Development? An MB is something a character can develop into... a nice person who plots well might become more morally gray as the work goes on and hits the "Bastard" criteria, thus making them viable. Likewise, a Smug Snake might shed their ego, become more understanding of the threat others pose and gain the personality or "Magnificent" criteria, likewise making them viable. Conversely, a character who looks like this trope might suffer from a Sanity Slippage or just get outed as not being as smart as they thought they were and become incompatible with MB.

  • Can an MB be a good guy? Not in the conventional sense... it is required they have at least some dubious traits lest they fail the "Bastard" criteria. That being said, a character who pulls a Heel–Face Turn or eventually stops taking villainous actions is still fair game: as there was a point in time where they were both "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and they've merely adapted as time goes on. Now... if such a character begins showing other issues (i.e.: becomes prone to freak outs or starts getting outwitted) then they're compromising their Magnificence and will probably be deemed a cut. What's important is stylishly operating while at least for some time being willing to take at best underhanded methods to see a job done. A Heel–Face Turn in itself isn't a disqualifier but they do have to have been "Magnificent" and a "Bastard" at the same time and afterwards can't start slipping on the former front.

  • What about characters whose stories can take different routes?: When proposing a character in a form of media that has them in multiple story routes. Said character must be consistent with their characteristics in all routes. (ex.: Can't have an example who shows promise on one route yet fails in another.) The only exception is if a later installment of the series confirms the character's actions which made them worth proposing are the canon route.

  • Is there a timeframe rule like with Complete Monster?: Yes, please wait two weeks until after the work has concluded before proposing a character (again, usually using the North American air date). As is the case with CM, we want to give a reasonable time frame so that everyone interested in seeing the work has done so and can participate in the discussion without having anything spoiled.

  • What about groups like with Complete Monster?: This is a point of divergence between the two tropes. While CM does not allow for a single entry encompassing more than three characters lest their heinousness for crimes becomes too watered down, with MB as long as they are treated as one "unit" it is acceptable to lump all characters provided they share acts of charm and intelligence.

  • Can I propose my own work's character as a Magnificent Bastard?: No, this is a YMMV subject and the creator of a content is way too biased to be able to evaluate the criteria we're looking for without a second opinion taking over. That being said, you are more than welcome to encourage someone to consume your creation and if they feel a character counts, are more than welcome to suggest them.

Thread rules

When voting a troper must specify the effort post they're voting on and cannot merely vote on "Everything I missed" as in the past it has indicated the poster didn't read the effort post and is guessing instead of analyzing.

Resolved items

In general, a character listed on this trope is considered "settled". This means they should not be challenged unless information used to list them was incorrect or information was missed in the initial discussion.

However, when re-litigating a candidate, the same rules apply for when they were originally proposed. If they do not have five or more upvotes than downvotes for approval upon a re-litigation, including votes from the initial discussion if they do not change, then they are a cut.

This especially applies to the characters listed below, who have been discussed excessively and repeated attempts to get them listed/cut may result in punitive action for bogging down the thread.

Definitely an MB

Definitely not an MB

  • South Park: The show's frequent use of vulgar comedy and mean-spirited humor leaves any potential candidates devoid of the dignity or charm to qualify.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 31st 2023 at 4:15:22 AM

DemonDuckofDoom from Some Pond in Hell Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
futuremoviewriter Since: Jun, 2014
#30677: Nov 12th 2020 at 11:52:07 PM

Yeah, I can definitely say [tup] to Minion (who’s anything but). I might have been thinking of him myself, but dismissed him. Clearly I was mistaken.

Well Donagan improves and gets a big more dignified by the third film, but he’s probably not on the same level. The third is definitely the weakest of the first three, but it’s a guilty pleasure though. Yeah, other than some of (if not, all of) the Carmen and Juni stuff from what I recall, the fourth one for the most part sucks ass.

Joel McHale must have lost a bet. “Never underestimate the power of puke.” God that line is stupid!

Edited by futuremoviewriter on Nov 12th 2020 at 11:54:24 AM

ryanasaurus0077 Since: Jul, 2009
#30678: Nov 12th 2020 at 11:54:45 PM

Just finished rewatching Wicked City, and I get the feeling Giuseppe Mayart might qualify. Hell, Taki himself admits it at the end.

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#30679: Nov 13th 2020 at 12:43:06 AM

[up][up]I was talking about the Toymaker not Donnegan.

futuremoviewriter Since: Jun, 2014
#30680: Nov 13th 2020 at 1:42:32 AM

@papyru Toymaker doesn’t come off the most dignified. His disguise in the beginning is childish and he has to create different versions of himself to avoid feeling lonely or inwardly talking to himself. He’s probably too manic and crazy.

k410ren Since: Jan, 2016
#30681: Nov 13th 2020 at 5:34:59 AM

[tup]to Minion.

"I'll show you the Dark Side." CM actors and kills
jjjj2 from Arrakis Since: Jul, 2015
#30682: Nov 13th 2020 at 6:28:28 AM

[tup] Copycat. Normally I'd be of the opinion that breaking up a marriage is too petty, but he's doing it to have a chance on the Council of 13, and he seems an easy keeper in all other respects.

Here's a potential quote:

Hunter Gathers (to Brock): (Hunter whacks Brock over the knee with a Baton) "Lesson number one: trust no one. The minute God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was hatched against one of them. Get up, damn you! (throws Brock a jetpack) Strap 'er on kid, your training starts now. When I'm through with you, you'll be a member of the elite agency that's been thanklessly defending this big-ass country since the second American Revolution.... the invisible one. (A door opens revealing they are high in the sky) Welcome to the Office of Secret Intelligence, Samson!''

Perhaps this is better for Crazy Awesome, but I do feel there's a bit of cunning with him whacking him in the knee and telling him to trust no one.

Oh yeah, Happy birthday Satoshi! My advice is if you can find a legal pot dispensary go have some of that instead, less damaging side-effects than alcohol.

Edited by jjjj2 on Nov 13th 2020 at 10:55:26 AM

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#30683: Nov 13th 2020 at 6:51:39 AM

Did Mayart do anything bad though? He acts like a harmless pervert and he’s trying to save the world from Shadow from what I recall.

Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#30685: Nov 13th 2020 at 7:46:58 AM

This week's batch btw:

  • The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Juan Carlos Mendoza is the eventual guardian of young hero Esteban, having saved him as a baby from the seas. Realizing Esteban's connection to the Cities of Gold, Mendoza makes himself a mentor figure to the boy and his companions, manipulating them to lead him to the gold and make himself rich. Growing to care for the kids, Mendoza also constantly outwits the forces of the Conquistadors and even the Olmecs, at one point flooding a village to save it from the evil Malinche's poisoning. Seemingly betraying the heroes to join the Conquistadors at the end, Mendoza in fact goes behind their backs to deliver Spanish weapons to the Inca and give them a fighting chance.
  • Etrigan: The demon Etrigan, reinvented as a ruthless and brilliant prince of Hell, is the son of Belial, father of lies. Learning his lessons well, even as bonded to human Jason Blood, Etrigan frequently outwits enemies with aplomb, even conniving his way into taking over Hell itself twice. Having defeated both the spirit of Gotham itself when summoned by his cousin Asteroth and a resurgence of Nazis by rallying the Haunted Tank and its regimen, Etrigan even connives a war between Heaven, Hell and Purgatory for the enjoyment of seeing demonic rivals fall, later stealing the trident of Lucifer for another attempt to take over hell and enjoy the resulting chaos.
  • Point Break (1991): Bodhi is the zen sage surfer who, along with three of his friends, form the bank-robbing "Ex-Presidents". Thanks to sticking to a minute-and-a-half time frame, in three years they've successfully pulled off 27 robberies without getting caught and pull off three more successfully as well. Bodhi takes in undercover FBI rookie Johnny Utah and helps him connect to surfing on a spiritual level and when realizing Johnny's onto him, Bodhi destroys the first getaway car and a gas station to cover his tracks and escapes Johnny in an extended and harrowing foot chase. Bodhi then has Johnny's new love and Bodhi's ex Tyler Endicott taken hostage to force Johnny's help in committing a final robbery that goes bad, resulting in Bodhi killing a cop. Bodhi escapes from his getaway plane with Johnny in pursuit and escapes after having Tyler released. Bodhi then evades Johnny until Australia and convinces him to let him ride the monster swell, both knowing full well it will likely cost him his life.
  • Jamaica Inn: Francis Davey, the vicar of Altarnun, is a seemingly friend albino man who is the true leader of Joss Merlyn's gang of wreckers. Having sought enlightenment in Christianity, Davey abandoned it for his own form of ancient paganism, secretly masterminding the gang's wrecking of ships and murders of their crew while befriended heroine Mary to both manipulate her and keep his identity secret before murdering Joss and his wife Patience. Intending to flee with his wealth, Davey attempts to push Mary to join him in his religion out of his respect for her.
  • Mad Men:
    • Bertram "Bert" Cooper is a senior partner and co-founder of Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency whose eccentric exterior hides a brilliant and determined mind earning the respect and admiration of his fellow workers. Bert makes his authority clear within the agency by foiling Pete Campbell's plan to blackmail Don Draper by saying that he doesn't care about Don's past, then himself later uses Don's past to successfully blackmail him into signing a contract that would merge Sterling Cooper with a British Agency. When the agency sells Sterling Cooper, Bert and his partners decide to form a new agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), where Bert uses his love for Japanese culture to get them their first major client in Honda. Bert temporally leaves SCDP when Don's ad article puts the agency in hot water before returning again, conspiring with Pete and Joan behind Don, eventually getting Don kicked out from the agency with the help of Jim Cutler. Bert later rehires Don as creative director to foil Jim Cutler's plans to take over the agency before Bert passes away as he watches the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, dying in complete bliss.
    • Bob Benson is a conman who uses his charisma to persuade people into hiring him without looking into his criminal past. Working as an accountant for SCDP, Bob wins Joan Harris's friendship when he gets Joan immediate treatment for her abdominal pain by lying to a nurse that Joan has been poisoned and gets along with Pete Campbell when working on the Chevy account, until Pete discovers Bob's homosexuality and criminal past. Bob remains undaunted by Pete's threats, merely threatening him back and uses his likability to get people to turn against Pete. When Pete believes that his mother was killed by the nurse that Bob suggested for her, Bob becomes disgusted when Pete accuses him of being an accomplice to his mother's murder and manipulates Pete into humiliating himself in front of Chevy, getting Pete removed from the account. Leaving for Detroit, Bob proposes to Joan for an executive position at General Motors before accepting Joan's decision to decline Bob's marriage proposal.
  • Elephant Games works:
    • Mystery Trackers: The Void: Sirius Void is the second personality of Malleus Void, who came to be after Malleus couldn't handle the abuse he was suffering. Stronger and tougher than Malleus, Sirius posed as his twin brother while trying to turn the park Malleus has created into more nightmarish land. Killing the doctor, whom Malleus had hired to suppress him, Sirius manipulates and kills two celebrities who came to Malleus for fame and immortality. Falling in love with Rebecca Thatcher, Sirius committed several crimes in her name and when the Detective arrived to stop him, he tricked her into falling to his deadly traps, nearly killing her twice. Completely "destroying" Malleus by the time of the Bonus Chapter, Sirius breaks free of Rebecca's influence and effortlessly escapes the high security prison by fooling all the guards and the computer system, flying to the ship, which he took over and travels deep into the sea with no one being able to catch him.
    • Grim Tales series: Richard Gray is a powerful occultist and Anna's father. Sacrificing his memories in exchange for resurrecting his Love Interest, Richard goes on to become involved in dark magic to learn its secrets and achieve true immortality. In The Bride, he captures his other daughter, Luisa and uses her to lure Anna to himself, planning to use their life force as the final component for his ritual. After being killed by Anna, Richard returns in The Heir, manipulating Anna into bringing him back as a ghost and guiding her into defeating his father Samuel. Later on, Richard secretly cursed his grandson's wife, Elena, with a deadly sickness to trick Anna into recovering the Soul's Heart, which he planned to use to fully resurrect himself. Trapping Anna in the past, Richard give her a hint how to find him and after she defeated him, he congratulated her on her victory and granted her eternal youth. Coming back in later games, Richard becomes a loyal ally to Anna, saving her numerous times and guiding her to victory.
    • Haunted Hotel series:
      • Eternity: Tobias Irving is the true villain of the game, who orchestrated the events of the plot. Originally caring for his brother Terence, Tobias' heart was filled with grief when he found out that his brother was turned into a seemingly mindless energy being by the scientists of the project "Eternity" and swore revenge. Tracking down one of the heads of the project, Professor Kevin Reynolds, Tobias gained his trust and became the chief of his security. Manipulating the professor, his driver Douglas, who also worked on the project "Eternity", and the Detective into arriving at an abandoned hotel where the experiments took place, Tobias faked his own disappearance and captured the Professor, later on killing Douglas using the same substance the subjects of "Eternity" were injected with, as he forces the Detective to solve his puzzles and learn about "Eternity". Nearly killing the Detective numerous times, Tobias revealed himself and his motivations, while intending to torture the truth out of Kevin, planning to let the whole world know about his misdeeds.
      • Lost Dreams: John Schneider is the head of Schneider's Hotel and Spa and a gifted scientist. Living a happy life with his family, John suddenly lost them to a horrific accident, which killed his wife and put his children in the near death state. Desiring to cure his children, John found the magic crystals, which were capable of transferring the life energy from one human to another and used the Faceless Strider in his experiments. Causing the whole train full of people to crash, solely so he could capture Mark and his wife Jane as the life source for his children, John managed to convince Mark to go along with his scheme, promising to let his wife to survive and when the Faceless Strider broke free, John comes up with the plan to stop it, effectively holding it in one place, while Mark assisted him in defeating the creature, leading to John sacrificing himself to save everyone.
  • Watch_Dogs:
    • Raymond Kenney is a genius software engineer hired by Blume Corporation to create Central Operating System (ctOS). When Raymond learns of the corporation's plan to use ctOS to spy on people and control their lives, he hacks ctOS to show everyone the dangers of relying it, causing the Northeast blackout of 2003 and the deaths of eleven people. Going into hiding in Chicago and taking the alias Theodore "T-Bone" Grady, Raymond allies with Aiden Pearce, helping him rescue his sister from Damien Brenks, dismantle Lucky Quinn's human trafficking ring, and shut down ctOS when Brenks hijacks it. Upon learning that JB Markowicz, aka Default, has sent fixers to kill Raymond in the "Bad Blood" DLC, Raymond tracks him down and turns Default's own trap against him, killing Default. Resuming his crusade against Blume in the sequel, Raymond goes to San Fransisco and recruits Marcus Halloway and his friends to his cause while tasking them with dangerous missions to gain more followers, turning them into a genuine threat to Blume and allowing them to expose the corruption of their Chief Technology Officer, Dusan Nemec, leading to Nemec's arrest.
    • Jordi Chin is a witty yet professional fixer hired by Aiden Pearce to track down Maurice Vega, the man who killed Aiden's niece. Finding Maurice Vega at a baseball stadium and killing his men, Jordi stages the scenario like a gang-shooting before calling the police, distracting everyone while he and Aiden escape and take Maurice with them. When Jordi learns that someone survived their attack and can identify them, he has Aiden infiltrate the prison the witness is being held in to silence him. Jordi eventually betrays Aiden after receiving a contract to kill him, though he does reveal Maurice's location after surviving their scuffle. Appearing in the DLC for the sequel, "Human Conditions", Jordi teams up with DedSec hacker Marcus Holloway in tracking down the Russian Mob, Bratva. Tracking down Bratva's leader at a yacht, Jordi goes in to kill the leader, while pinning his murder on Marcus before escaping.
    • Legion: Sabine Brandt is DedSec's Mission Control who is actually Zero Day, a cyber terrorist who plots the destruction of England. Previously a well-mannered DedSec operative, after realizing that peace in England can never be achieved, Sabine decides to give her beloved country a hard reset and rebuild it from the ground up to make it a better place. Working with Nigel Cass in order to ensure him power over London's police force, Sabine tricks her boyfriend Dalton Wolfe into activating a series of bombs across London, killing him and her DedSec allies to pin the destruction on them. After getting double-crossed by Cass once he's in power, Sabine begins recruiting the citizens of London to from a new DedSec to stop Cass, manipulating everybody into taking down those who stand in her way. Once Cass is taken out, Sabine reveals herself to her allies and hijacks Bagley to detonate every device connected to ctOS, causing widespread mayhem in an attempt to create the peaceful utopia she so desires.
  • Archer:
    • "Tragical History": George Spelvin is a computer programer who manipulates Cyril Figgis into uploading a computer virus onto ISIS's network on the pretense that he will make Cyril a hero in front of his colleges, also bribing Cyril to unsure his loyalty. After Cyril uploads the virus, Spelvin reveals that he has no intention to help Cyril and his true plan was to use the virus to download the identities of all of ISIS's secret agents onto his servers, then sell them for $50 million to anyone willing to buy. With Spelvin's plans nearing completion, Cyril and Sterling Archer attempt to stop him only for Spelvin to effortlessly defeat Sterling with the help of his two bodyguards, and is only stopped by Cyril shooting at his servers before making his escape.
    • "Movie Star": Rona Thorne is a KGB spy under the guise of a famous movie actress who is assigned to assassinate the Soviet Premier. When she learns that ISIS agent Lana Kane was task with protecting the premier, Rona convinces ISIS's director, Mallory Archer, to allow Rona to tag-along with Lana on her mission, under the pretense that it will help Rona for her upcoming spy movie. Rona also exploits Sterling's jealousy of Lana to have him hinder her mission before injecting them both with tetrodotoxin and would successfully assassinating the premier before escaping.
    • "Helping Hands": Hands is a brilliant inventor who created an exo-suit that not gives the user Super-Strength and giving people with disabilities free mobility. Planning on selling her exo-suit to the highest bidder, Hands laces her villa with lethal traps should anyone try to steal it, as shown with the ISIS agents. When Sterling Archer escapes Hands' traps and meets her, the two hang out before Hands attempts to convince Sterling to abandon his allies when they get into a shoot-out with their rivals, JUNO. When Sterling decides to help his allies defeat the JUNO agents before attempting to steal the exo-suit, Hand activates a failsafe on the suit that immobilizes Sterling before re-activating it to deal with the last JUNO agent standing.
    • "Robot Factory" & "Best Friends": Aleister is an assassin hired to kill the ISIS agent Cyril Figgis. To get close to his target, Aleister exploits a job opening to be Sterling Archer's valet, using his skills and charms to win over everyone in ISIS and get hired. Aleister discreetly plants traps for Cyril and later tries shooting Cyril while he's at the haberdashery before subduing and binding Sterling to bait Cyril. Successfully luring Cyril to his trap, Aleister only fails to kill Cyril due to battling with Sterling, where Sterling declares Aleister to be the best valet he ever had before killing him.

Anything I miss grammar-wise? Any potholes anyone wants?

Edited by 43110 on Nov 13th 2020 at 1:27:47 PM

KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#30686: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:13:52 AM

[tup] Copycat

[tup] Alexander Minion

[tup] Sabine Brandt

Now, I have a curious case here. The characters I want to propose are part of a trio of Co-Dragons to a Tragic Villain that is forced into her role. However, I don't know how to handle their entries?

I will EP either one individually and then can you guys tell me how to handle them?

Edited by KazuyaProta on Nov 13th 2020 at 11:33:29 AM

Watch me destroying my country
VeryVileVillian Since: Dec, 2017
#30687: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:22:46 AM

Okay, for Elephant Games, after playing through trilogy of crossover games called Detectives United, i found one more candidate to discuss

What's the Work?

Detectives United is a crossover game series between Haunted Hotel, Grim Tales and Mystery Trackers. The game follows James Blackthorne from Haunted Hotel, Anna Gray from Grim Tales, and Agent Brown from Mystery Trackers, as they unite to solve cases, which can't be solved be either of them separately. The game we talk about today is the very first game in the series, Detectives United: Origins, which depict the formation of the team. The plot starts with Agent Brown being send by Agent Shade to the Royal Palace by the request of the Queen of the United Kingdom, when the mysterious thief called "The Collector" stole one of her treasures, which revealed to be a powerful artifact.

You can watch complete walkthrough of the game here.

My candidate is the villain himself.

Who is The Collector?

Real name, Dr. Theodore Alphardi, he worked at the clinic in Raincliff and experienced loss during one of the rampages of the current keeper from Mystery Trackers, Rafael Brown, who murdered his family for "daring" to try to cure the invisibility of Brown family. Filled with grief, Theodore started to devise a plan to bring his family back, by discovering the existence of powerful artifacts, which if combined can create a Reality Cube, the artifact which can warp and change space and time itself. Learning the locations of most of the artifacts, needed for creation of Reality Cube, Theodore adopts the name of "The Collector and effortlessly steals the first from James Blackthorne and then moves to steal the second from the treasure room in the castle of the Queen. Accomplishing that, he leaves enough evidence to lure Anna Gray, James and Agent Brown to Black Swan Clinic on Black Isle.

There he awaits for Anna to travel to the past to his house, knowing that she would want to discover his identity, and traps her there, freezing her in the past. Agent Brown and James managed to free her only with the help from Richard Gray, the ghost of Anna's father, about whose existence Theodore seemingly didn't know about. As the trio traveled to the Freedom Hotel, where the next component for the Reality Cube resided. Arriving there, the trio discovered that Theodore already recovered the item, as he easily disables all of them and moves to attack the homebase of Mystery Trackers for the final component, Azazel.

(10:10 time mark for the cutscene)

(6:03 time mark for the cutscene)

Easily manipulating all Mystery Trackers agents to abandon their base, defeating Agent Shade, who remained in the base, as he searched for Azazel. There was only one thing that no one in the game knew, Agent Brown specifically took Azazel with him, without the knowledge of his superiors, so that it couldn't be stolen by anyone.

(3:50 time mark for the cutscene of Brown revealing that)

As Agent Brown revealed that he is invisible, the trio created a plan, tracking down The Collector and, as Agent Brown distracted him, Richard Gray tied him up with magic, to hold him while James created an amulet, which was capable of matching the power of an incomplete Reality Cube. Theodore managed to quickly break his bonds, knocks out Anna and Agent Brown and battles James.

(11:40 time mark for the team tying him up and 14:16 for him freeing himself)

Upon being defeated, Theodore activated the incomplete Cube, which threatened to change reality beyond recognition, forcing Anna to travel to the past to save Theodore's family, eliminating the reasons for Theodore to become "The Collector" in the first place, thus changing the events of the present day and saving the day.

Is he intelligent?

Theodore is explicitly stated to be extremely intelligent and he managed to gain enough knowledge about the artifact to time travel like Anna, which he used to freeze her in the past. As he effortlessly manipulates all good guys, including the entire Mystery Trackers agency, Theodore managed to come dangerously close to succeeding in his plan, effortlessly beating the main trio until the finale and only being stop from outright victory by Agent Brown's smart move, about which no one knew about and has no reason to suspect that might happen.

Is he a bastard?

He steals powerful artifacts, tries to kill the heroes and was ready to change reality beyond recognition solely for a chance to save his family, that said everything he does hs a goal in getting him closer to save his family and remove any obstacles along the way. And existing in the same world as approved CM's from Elephant Games Shared Universe, Theodore comes across as very tame in his villainy and outright becomes good, when Anna prevents his tragedy.

Final Verdict?

What do you think?

43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#30688: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:28:53 AM

Yes to Theodore... Kazuya split that into two EPs, it's awkward having points that alternate between the two characters.

Amanofmanyinterests Gotta love Jaws! Since: Oct, 2020 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Gotta love Jaws!
#30689: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:29:39 AM

Happy Birthday Satoshi!

[tup] for Copycat, still reading the Collector and the Ga-Rei duo E Ps.

"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
Bullman Enid Sinclair Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Enid Sinclair
#30690: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:30:20 AM

Yes to Theodore.

Edited by Bullman on Nov 13th 2020 at 10:31:37 AM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#30691: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:31:08 AM

[tup]Theodore.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#30692: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:32:40 AM

Ok, thought I am busy right now. So, wait a while

Watch me destroying my country
Amanofmanyinterests Gotta love Jaws! Since: Oct, 2020 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Gotta love Jaws!
#30694: Nov 13th 2020 at 8:42:45 AM

[tup] Theodore and I THINK the Ga-Rei pair but I'll wait for the EP to be divided.

"For a second there, I mistook ya for a threat... but you're just a dirty little man!"
KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
therealjackieboy from Austin, TX Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
#30697: Nov 13th 2020 at 9:38:09 AM

[tup] Theo

  • Watch Dogs: Legion: Sabine Brandt is DedSec’s mission control who is actually Zero Day, a cyber terrorist who plots the destruction of England. Previously a well-mannered DedSec operative, after realizing that peace in England can never be achieved, Sabine decides to give her beloved country a hard reset and rebuild it from the ground up to make it a better place. Working with Nigel Cass in order to ensure him power over London’s police force, Sabine tricks her boyfriend Dalton Wolfe into activating a series of bombs across London, killing him and her DedSec allies to pin the destruction on them. After getting double-crossed by Cass once he’s in power, Sabine begins recruiting the citizens of London to from a new DedSec to stop Cass, manipulating everybody into taking down those who stand in her way. Once Cass is taken out, Sabine reveals herself to her allies and hijacks Bagley to detonate every device under ctOS, causing widespread mayhem in an attempt to create the peaceful utopia she so desires.

It's Spooky Month!
43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#30698: Nov 13th 2020 at 9:43:29 AM

1 sec, I'll add that to the batch.

jjjj2 from Arrakis Since: Jul, 2015
#30699: Nov 13th 2020 at 10:49:06 AM

[tup]Theodore.

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
futuremoviewriter Since: Jun, 2014
#30700: Nov 13th 2020 at 11:01:22 AM

Happy Birthday Satoshi!

My dad’s birthday is also today!


Total posts: 82,595
Top