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You could paint your numbers with reflective paint, Cal...
That's a great idea!
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Alligators.
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Tropes that stick in my craw- citing them as weird, because they most often crop in entertainment that doesn't even begin to pretend to be fully realized or three-dimensional.
1. Stories told as flashbacks which try to engender suspense about the fate of the person who clearly survived because they're telling us the friggin' story.
2. Repeated countdown announcements, especially in heroic action movies. If these guys ever didn't save the day before the clock ran out, it might mean something.
3. In comic books- and other ongoing media, but I mostly notice it in comics- whenever a new character debuts, there's often a tendency to "feed" them existing characters to defeat with casual ease, thereby making the new character look tougher. Pro wrestling does this too, but often does it with jobbers- characters who aren't meant to be tough, but are meant to be defeated in commanding fashion. Comics tend not to have a solid stable of jobbers, since almost every character is meant to represent a serious threat of some kind or another.In addition, sometimes a hard-fought loss is used in pro wrestling to establish someone as credible- a thing comics have either never done, or done so infrequently that it fails to register in my memory. Not only does this almost never work as intended, it also tends to establish a baseline level of competence that it is either unsustainable- or that the character consistently fails to meet for the rest of their existence. I noticed it first (and worst) as a lad in the early 1990s, but it's a recurring crutch.
4. "This person was involved all along, we just didn't know until now." Used to either introduce new characters of pivotal importance, or to retcon established characters into something they have never been.
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2. Repeated countdown announcements, especially in heroic action movies. If these guys ever didn't save the day before the clock ran out, it might mean something.
Yeah, for me the South Park movie permanently killed this trope when they had the Mole look at his watch and it said "Third Act Countdown". I laughed so frickin hard my friends thought they were going to have to defibrillate me.
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I never saw the movie so I feel left out. Cold. Alone. Despondent. And never liking South Park.
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*shun*
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I like South Park, but it can be hard to watch sometimes.
Because they're usually right.
I always think the Marvel Netflix shows are fun when you can recognize stuff. Like anytime you see a hallway, you know they're about to have a dramatic fight scene.
What annoys me more is the trope that the villain just has the same Powers as the hero but is slightly more powerful.
Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Hulk, plenty more I don't feel like jotting down...
... all... according to plan...Most of the time I enjoy seeing the tropes. I've lost many an hour to the TV Tropes wiki. Some people think of them as lazy or bad writing, but I see them as the basic tools of the trade. Like paints in a palette. And I like it when they're done cleverly and when it all fits together.
But for a lot of people that awareness takes them out of the experience of the entertainment and they don't like it. So I try to respect that.
But a few tropes (like the plexiglass prison) just set me off...
Maximilian, set a course through...
...whenever a new character debuts, there's often a tendency to "feed" them existing characters to defeat with casual ease, thereby making the new character look tougher.
Ah yes, the Worf Effect
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Maximilian, set a course through... The Tropes Hole... all... according to plan...Most of the time I enjoy seeing the tropes. I've lost many an hour to the TV Tropes wiki. Some people think of them as lazy or bad writing, but I see them as the basic tools of the trade. Like paints in a palette. And I like it when they're done cleverly and when it all fits together.
But for a lot of people that awareness takes them out of the experience of the entertainment and they don't like it. So I try to respect that.
But a few tropes (like the plexiglass prison) just set me off...
... ah ... doctor ... we meet again...!
...whenever a new character debuts, there's often a tendency to "feed" them existing characters to defeat with casual ease, thereby making the new character look tougher.Ah yes, the Worf Effect
Not.... quite. Worf was basically an accidental jobber- he didn't get to fight impressively until he was on DS9, where they swung so hard in the other direction it was hilarious. But his pedigree prior to each new beating wasn't exactly informed by having ever amounted to much. He also survived his many, many humiliations, not something that can be counted on in my pet peeve-
Trevor Fitzroy shows up... better have him massacre the Hellions! And his sentinels kill the Reavers! And Donald Pierce! And they take out Emma Frost in what would be her last serious villainous outing for a good long while...
Shinobi Shaw somehow kills Sebastian Shaw, because this is the new, edgy Marvel of 1991!
Fabian Cortez, you say? Better give him credit for killing Magneto (and Mags would actually stay "dead" for over a year!)
The insensitively-named Holocaust is crossing over to the mainstream Marvel universe from the Age of Apocalypse? Better have him kill Rusty Collins, just to show he's bad news! Now, Rusty's a slight outlier, since he was never exactly badass, but he HAD been around for ages and ages.
Onslaught is here! Better have him KO Juggernaut with contemptuous ease, just so we can set him up as a credible threat.
We need to make the Marauders out to be bad news! Let's have them slaughter the Morlocks! You, uh... you weren't using those, were you?
We need to make our new bad guy Bane impressive! Let's have him beat the everlasting crud out of Killer Croc (and, uh, also have Batman spout some line about how he's even worse than the Joker. Try harder, kiddos), and then kill Film Freak (not that Film Freak was all that great, but simply having Bane murder him was a... questionable move). (Note that his breaking of Batman's spine, being the entire point of his first arc, is a little different).
Imperiex is meant to be a foe with Lasting Consequences! So his forces will kill Aquaman and Hippolyta and Guy Gardner and Maxima and Steel! All of whom, of course, get better eventually, but still. They'll also kill millions of nameless and largely unseen people on Earth and uncounted numbers across the universe, none of which seems to matter in the long run.
And so forth.
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...whenever a new character debuts, there's often a tendency to "feed" them existing characters to defeat with casual ease, thereby making the new character look tougher.Ah yes, the Worf Effect
Also called 'new villain stink,' where the new villain (or newly introduced 'omega mutant' hero) is able to take on an entire team by himself and 'the biggest threat we've ever faced,' and, ten years later, is just another dude in a lineup.
My least favorite trope in comics (or TV or movies, stories in general) is unearned victories handed to the protagonist just because they made 'the hero speech' but didn't bother to change their tactics one bit.
It's fine when they get beaten by a superior force at the beginning, go off, do some research, armor up the van and come back with a plan and win in the third act, but when they don't do any of that, and arbitrarily win anyway, because they gritted their teeth and remembered that they are the title character, it annoys me (and makes the 'hero' look unheroic, since they are pretty much being spoon fed their victories, by this point, and doing nothing to earn them, but repeat the same plan/tactics that failed the first time with a pluckier attitude).
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Autotune.
...whenever a new character debuts, there's often a tendency to "feed" them existing characters to defeat with casual ease, thereby making the new character look tougher.Ah yes, the Worf EffectAlso called 'new villain stink,' where the new villain (or newly introduced 'omega mutant' hero) is able to take on an entire team by himself and 'the biggest threat we've ever faced,' and, ten years later, is just another dude in a lineup.
My least favorite trope in comics (or TV or movies, stories in general) is unearned victories handed to the protagonist just because they made 'the hero speech' but didn't bother to change their tactics one bit.
It's fine when they get beaten by a superior force at the beginning, go off, do some research, armor up the van and come back with a plan and win in the third act, but when they don't do any of that, and arbitrarily win anyway, because they gritted their teeth and remembered that they are the title character, it annoys me (and makes the 'hero' look unheroic, since they are pretty much being spoon fed their victories, by this point, and doing nothing to earn them, but repeat the same plan/tactics that failed the first time with a pluckier attitude).
Doomsday.... Best example of that I can think of. (However in the comics he is still in fact a big deal when he shows up but when used in other media yeah that.)
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I am actually very annoyed by 3-dimensional pie charts.
Just... Why...
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Don't you mean: "Just... Z..."?
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Now I'm just a simple outsider from a backwoods outer plane, but it is a fact that every pie {pauses dramatically}... is a 3D pie chart. A pie chart, likely a delicious one, indicating the amounts of the pie eaten and yet to be eaten.
{turns to imaginary jury} Therefore, by his own admission, MageHunter hates all pie.
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<muted mutterings of consideration>
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Now I'm just a simple outsider from a backwoods outer plane, but it is a fact that every pie {pauses dramatically}... is a 3D pie chart. A pie chart, likely a delicious one, indicating the amounts of the pie eaten and yet to be eaten.
{turns to imaginary jury} Therefore, by his own admission, MageHunter hates all pie.
I submit into evidence my diet over the past month.
Living next to a pie place is... Tempting. Just waiting to try a meatball pie...
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No comment.
Except that for Strawberry Rhubarb, what wouldn't you do?
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No comment.
Except that for Strawberry Rhubarb, what wouldn't you do?
I LOVE strawberry rhubarb pie!
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It's my go to staple. I'm more adventurous with the meat pies, but for dessert I know exactly how satisfied strawberry rhubarb will make me.
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When somebody says "Hey, I might be a little late to your social event because I'm dealing with a sick (communicable illness) kid."
I think it's great that they've somehow developed immunity to the festering cauldron of mucus and microorganisms they call "honey" and tuck in at night. But I want nothing to do with it.
And yet there's social stigma against saying:
"I'd prefer you NOT come, bearing trillions of vicious, battle-hardened germs on every inch of your skin, sneezed, vomited, or otherwise excreted out by your vile semi-clone, which you'll proceed to transfer to everything you touch, some of which I will also touch and spend the next 48-144 hours in wretched misery cursing the human agar plate of plague that is your heart's delight and center of your world."
Somehow, *I'm* the bad guy for trying to forestall this socially sanctioned bioattack.
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I get the feeling a lot of your friends are on the internet
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I always say "I'm sorry, we won't be able to attend because our child is sick and we'd prefer to not spread it around".
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I always say "I'm sorry, we won't be able to attend because our child is sick and we'd prefer to not spread it around".
And that's the noble and right thing to do. And it is SO appreciated.
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I get the feeling a lot of your friends are on the internet
Say what you will, at least internet friends won't come over and breathe all over my stuff after reading Patient Zero a bedtime story and kissing them goodnight on their pandemic virus-bursting cheeks.
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I always say "I'm sorry, we won't be able to attend because our child is sick and we'd prefer to not spread it around".
Cap, that's because you're a good parent and a considerate human being.
My standards for good parenting are considerable, as I'm sure you've figured from my many gripes about bad parents, and our previous talks. This is high praise from me. However, based on most of the conversations we've had about the subject, it seems like you and The General are doing an excellent job, so I'm not just blowing smoke. I wouldn't say this to just anyone.
The problem is that the vast majority of parents are just s!~@ at their primary responsibility in life OR they're good at that, and only that, to the detriment of everything else in their life, which is not as bad, but definitely makes me not want to associate with someone.
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It's simple, really.
No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Speak to them as they're intelligent
Listen
Be patient.
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It's simple, really.
No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Speak to them as they're intelligent
Listen
Be patient.
The same strategy works to be a good DM...
No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Wait, what's wrong with these two?
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Wait, what's wrong with these two?No sippy cups
No pacifiers
You ever game with a player drinking his Mountain Dew around a pacifier out of a sippy cup?
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Wait, what's wrong with these two?No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Pacifiers are the worst! They inhibit language growth and stunt socialization, they also inhibit teeth development and promote speech impediments.
Sippy cups are more annoying then anything, there's only a few months where kids spill everything and regular cups teach about physics and promotes increased hand eye coordination.
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Not to mention, all that pacification robs kids of the much-needed edge that anxiety will give them. Most pacifier-sucking toddlers are unprepared for the sudden appearance of assailants bent on stealing their candy (hence the famous proverb), let alone the full-blown collapse of civil society and resultant descent into gasoline-fueled wasteland mayhem.
Thinky, not binky!
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Wait, you mean my eye-hand coordination would now be worse if my parents had used sippy cups with me?
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Not to mention, all that pacification robs kids of the much-needed edge that anxiety will give them. Most pacifier-sucking toddlers are unprepared for the sudden appearance of assailants bent on stealing their candy (hence the famous proverb), let alone the full-blown collapse of civil society and resultant descent into gasoline-fueled wasteland mayhem.
Thinky, not binky!
And now I know the (a) root cause for my anxiety issues.
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And now I know the (a) root cause for my anxiety issues.Not to mention, all that pacification robs kids of the much-needed edge that anxiety will give them. Most pacifier-sucking toddlers are unprepared for the sudden appearance of assailants bent on stealing their candy (hence the famous proverb), let alone the full-blown collapse of civil society and resultant descent into gasoline-fueled wasteland mayhem.
Thinky, not binky!
But has anyone ever stolen your candy?
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You ever game with a player drinking his Mountain Dew around a pacifier out of a sippy cup?
Wherever you have them, get the bloody cameras out of my house.
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*depacifiers*
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Wait, you mean my eye-hand coordination would now be worse if my parents had used sippy cups with me?
All I know is, my kids are 14 and 7 and both can hit a bullseye with a crossbow.
Pacifiers are the worst! They inhibit language growth and stunt socialization, they also inhibit teeth development and promote speech impediments.Wait, what's wrong with these two?No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Source?
They did nothing to inhibit my son's speech or dental development, though I'm sure in some cases pacifiers can be used too long and the chances of tooth position and shape can be influenced.
Source?Pacifiers are the worst! They inhibit language growth and stunt socialization, they also inhibit teeth development and promote speech impediments.Wait, what's wrong with these two?No sippy cups
No pacifiers
Personal observation of my nephews and niece and various articles over the years.
I'd link but I'm too busy exploring the Andromeda galaxy.
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I don't need a source to say pacifiers reek of lazy parenting. Don't bother to actually teach your kid to be quiet in social situations - shove a piece of plastic in their mouth. And don't give me that "but they're only x old" garbage - I have friends with 2-year olds who are quiet in public, and when they're not, the parents remove the child and deal with the issue in a direct manner, instead of shoving an artificial nipple in their mouth.
Oh, wait, I do have a source. Basic operant conditioning says that you're reinforcing the behavior you don't desire with a reward, which means you're teaching them to continue to be a pain in the butt.
The thing is that being a parent is exhausting, so anything that seems like a temporary break, shortcut, hell, five minutes of bloody rest from all the work...you take it. That's why I never had kids; I realize exactly how much work that is, and know myself to know...not my literal limits, because I could do it, but just that I don't want to.
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This reminds me of something that really, really, furiously annoys me....Damn-near infuriates, in fact.
When someone immediately writes off my opinion about how to be a parent simply because I chose to not have kids.
I am an uncle many times over, having helped raise kids from birth to over eighteen, and I went through the entire program for fostering children (classes and everything) before discontinuing the process because my ex-wife and I didn't feel our marriage was stable enough to continue. (We were right.)
I am a former educator, with a degree in psychology, so yeah, I have a good idea of how kids' behavior works. I worked as a camp counselor, an after-school worker after that, and a freaking clown's assistant before I went into education itself as a sub, then a paraprofessional, and finally an elementary school teacher. As a teacher I was considered qualified enough to deal with over 20 kids at a time for half their waking life, which is way more than most parents do, considering even religious zealots rarely break double digits.
However, despite all of this, apparently because I know what f%$#ing birth control is, I can't possibly have an opinion on this subject.
The ability to eject a human being out of your respective genitals does not automatically make you more of an expert on the behavior of young people than people who have not personally shot a mini-me into or out of a birth canal.
And even in the case of people who don't have all the life experiences that I do:
As a comedian once said, I may not know how to fly a helicopter, but when I see one in a tree, I know the pilot f@*#ed up. I can judge something from the outside.
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It annoys me when people go into healthcare careers and then whine about how they have to work nights or weekends or holidays and have to miss out on stuff with their children. Like....you knew all of that was a possibility when you chose this career path, right? Not everyone gets to work 9-5 at a doctor's office/dentist's office/pharmacy/whatever through the week. And in a lot of places, people just starting out are the ones that get the crap shifts. It's not fun but that's generally how it works.
It's even worse when they go on to imply that my free time doesn't matter or isn't as important because I don't have children. Really?
*sigh*
Source?Pacifiers are the worst! They inhibit language growth and stunt socialization, they also inhibit teeth development and promote speech impediments.Wait, what's wrong with these two?No sippy cups
No pacifiers
As far as anecdotal evidence goes, my own kids, having never used a pacifier were both speaking full sentences before a year old.
I have 3 nephews and one niece, all raised with pacifiers in the mouth, not a one spoke more than one word sentences before they were 3.
I have a nephew who is two right now and the only two words I've ever heard him say are "Go away!" and "hello!".