AS THE CREATOR OF THE CHARACTER - *lightning strikes* - ... ahem.
As the creator, I... have to admit that her personality isn't terribly well-developed *.
She is, essentially, both a "-tan" Moe Anthropomorphization, with everything that entails, but also a representation of our wiki, bringing with it a certain vague personality, along with some self-awareness to offset the shallow personality of a -tan.
So based on that, she can be assumed to be: Self aware, curious, analytical, nauseatingly adorable, quirky, energetic, fourth-wall-breaking...
I'd picture her always having a notebook or something at hand to take notes in on anything that might be interesting, and she'd bluntly ask people off-the-wall questions that only make sense to the audience after thinking through a couple of corners.
Quick response is very helpful.
Let's see... "fourth-wall breaking" is pretty much what all my characters do anyway. Thoroughly. The Same But More might work, though.
Trope-tan's "life's work", Lampshade Hanging, is also what my characters do all the time.
"Analytical" made me consider Deconstruction, something my characters do not seem to do. Properly thinking about tropes and their consequences seems in-character here.
Another point I've thought of: Trope-tan would probably note down any trope examples and Fridge Logic for posting to TV Tropes Wiki later. That's what tropers do, anyway.
Thanks for the assistance.
(Picture is not horrible. Picture is awesome.)
Author of The Way Of The Metagamer and Muffinbaked. My troper page.Picture is horrible. Do not question me! *lightning strikes*
... geez, what's up with that.
Now as for "analytical", I was actually thinking in more general terms... making her, in fact, some sort of hobby psychologist. "I see your rival just made off with your girlfriend. How does that make you feel? *suddenly wearing glasses*"
I always imagine Trope-tan as crazy energetic. It would be cool if she were both analytical and hyperactive— contrasting character traits, working together in one awesome anthropomorphic Action Girl!
You mention your characters break the fourth wall, but do they do it literally? You could turn her Up To Eleven and give her command of the comic, pulling apart panels, chewing on scenery, and suddenly materializing where she shouldn't be, because she knows everything about tropes and can manipulate them completely.
I would expect her to Point Things Out...allot. She could also probably airsurf on that Big Frickin' Quill of hers.
Considering the way our little community is seen, Trope-tan no doubt enjoys everything (at least everything trope related), even if she can occasionally be quite vicious to the things she likes. Also she is knowledgeable about points of popular culture that no one else remembers, and laughs awkwardly after making references to Arsenic And Old Lace in the same breath as a reference to Spongebob Squarepants.
So I guess imagine that you were to combine the personalities of Yotsuba and Dennis Miller.
edited 25th Mar '10 4:01:05 PM by Shadowtext
I always thought of her as a Cloud Cuckoolander. The type that while doesn't know how to take trains, but knows exactly when you need a hug.
edited 25th Mar '10 4:54:16 PM by krrackknut
An useless name, a forsaken connection.There's also, y'know, traditional fourth-wall breaking, in which the characters talk about how they're in a comic and stuff like that. They tend to hang a lot of lampshades while doing so.
Scenery-chewing could be fun, though. Nobody's done that yet.
Okay, Trope-tan's appeared in the comic
. Thoughts so far? Does she look right? Are her lines sufficiently in-character?
I think she's our Jenny Everywhere; interpretations vary. She seems like fun, though.
Honestly, she looks a little cluttered with all the stuff hanging off her belt.
An useless name, a forsaken connection.Hmm, this reminds me. I've been meaning to have a go at my piece of Trope-tan fanart myself...
Personalitywise, shouldn't she be sort of like the average troper is considered; enthusiastic about given shows (I'd say a Genki Girl given the amount of enthusiasm we get around here), talkative (because lets face it; we write a lot about our favorite shows), Curious as a Monkey (Do we have that trope? Is that a trope? Can you find examples of this new trope?). Possibly a Blood Knight, with that quill of hers.
TV Tropes's No. 1 bread themed lesbian. she/her, fae/faerAnd the next page with Trope-tan is up!
Trying to incorporate the personality suggestions from this thread, naturally.
Seems good, but isn't it a bit awkward to hold a quill that way? I thought she grabs the shaft and uses the other end as a really light magical BFS.
Edit:
After testing a bit with the nearest household equivalent it appears (with no real knowledge of fighting techniques and thus on the rule of cool undiluted) that wielding the wide part as a blade works best for normal combat and the inky point would be used to add insult to injury for limit breaks, especially if blood is censored out.
"So not only am I all sliced and diced up, I also got some ink on my best fightan' shirt. Great."
edited 31st Mar '10 1:42:13 AM by TheoZXanatos
I figured that if Trope-tan gripped the BFQ at the normal quill grip-point, what you've essentially got is either
- A dagger with a big unwieldy bit on the back: not exactly easy to use, and with little range. Or...
- A feather. Oh my, the terrible tickling attack!
Additionally, she's angling the dangerous pointy bit towards herself, and Trope-tan Sez you should never point pointy things at yourself or others, unless they're evil monsters which must brought to justice.
If you assume that the larger section is rigid enough to grip, she can grab the BFQ at the feathery end and QUILL THINGS TO DEATH with the complete length of the BFQ.
Note that she grips it like a quill normally when writing, and probably would for other precision work such as, uh... assassination.
edited 31st Mar '10 11:23:03 PM by 00Davo
Author of The Way Of The Metagamer and Muffinbaked. My troper page.And another another page
.
I should probably stop posting every single page with Trope-tan on it, since that would imply posting practically every page of the comic from now on.
This'll be the last one I post here, unless there are any objections.
Okay, my characterisation kind of lost the Genki Girl aspects over time. Mostly since my characters almost never move. Working on it.
Another question, though: does Trope-tan have a last name? And is the honorific -tan actually functioning as an honorific, or is it just part of her first name? This is important.
Author of The Way Of The Metagamer and Muffinbaked. My troper page.

I'm going to add Trope-tan to my Troperiffic comic soon, but I haven't really got any idea what she's like. I can probably produce a good visual with the help of existing fan-art, but I haven't got any idea how she speaks and behaves. In the interests of avoiding Character Derailment, I'm going to need a few pointers.
Author of The Way Of The Metagamer and Muffinbaked. My troper page.