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The Trope System

A Trope. Stories are made up of tropes. Tropes are the lifeblood of a story. They're... what makes a story a story. For one Emery Brewer, tropes become more than just a story for reading. He has an audience to entertain, he can't let them down and bore them, now can he? Especially considering his life is on the line...

Turtle034 · Fantasy
Not enough ratings
8 Chs

Prologue(1): Blank Space

I'm in a white space. It's endless, all I can see and seemingly all I will ever see. I look down.

My skin is just... a void black. Sticking out like a sore thumb as it contrasts with the pure, heavenly white of wherever I was.

'You know, I thought I'd be panicking at being dead...' I think.

But, no. I'm calm, absurdly so. I mean, I'm dead. I literally can't feel anything. No heart or brain to make me panic. No hormones.

I pause. 'Is this what it's like to think with an absolutely clear mind?' I wonder. This is pretty cool.

I observe my surroundings. Right, I'm dead. Then, what happens now?

[Roll Gacha for Tropes!]

[Roll?]

I blink. Oddly enough, despite not having a body, I still have a body. A silhouette, or like one of those shadow children. Is this a projection of my soul or something?

I mean, I'm dead, yet I'm still conscious. Which should be impossible, unless souls exist.

I refocus back at the screen. Deciding to heck with it, since there's literally nothing I can do, I press roll with my abyssal dyed hand.

[Rolling...]

[CRITICAL ROLE!]

[Two Tropes For One!]

[Recurring Extra and The Woobie!]

'Those don't sound good,' I muse. I press on the screen.

[Recurring Extra]

Description: You keep popping up around the main cast. You don't have a big role, though that may change. +2 Charisma +1 Morality +1 Mystique

[The Woobie]

Description: The world just loves to kick you while you're down. You'll often find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong times. Some people just like to see cute people cry. +5 Sympathy +3 Grit +1 Morality +1 Edge

[9 More Rolls]

[Roll?]

I press it again.

[Rolling...]

[Unlucky Extra!]

These names really don't sound good for me.

[Unlucky Extra]

Description: You'll often be that one guy caught in the crossfire between giants. +3 Sympathy +2 Grit

I roll again.

[Rolling...]

[Dark and Troubled Past]

Description: Your family is most likely dead, or is going to die. Or maybe something else happened which left trauma that's hard to let rest. +5 Mystique +3 Edge +3 Grit +1 Sympathy

I frown. Why...

[Rolling...]

[Ineffectual Loner]

Description: Team spirit? What's that? You don't need friends. At least you look good making an entrance. +5 Edge +3 Grit +2 Charisma +1 Power +1 Mystique

Seriously, this...

[Rolling...]

[Stumbled Into The Plot]

Description: You're not The Hero. Not even close to being a Protagonist. Hell, all you know is that you are REALLY not supposed to be here. Get out of the way and let The Real Heroes do the job. +3 Sympathy +2 Grit

Stumble where? There's literally nowhere for me to go...

[Rolling...]

[Badass Normal]

Description: You're normal. A muggle in a world of magic. A non-genetically engineered baby born from a womb instead of a test tube. That doesn't matter though, you're still a badass. +10 Power +3 Wit +3 Grit +1 Morality

'That sounds good. Though I'd rather have powers...' It's the first actually good one I got, so I wouldn't complain.

[Rolling...]

[Weak, But Skilled]

Description: You most likely can't take a hit. Thankfully, that's easy for you. Just don't get hit. +3 Wit +2 Power +1 Morality

'Not bad.' I don't like pain, so not getting hit seems good.

[Rolling...]

[Looks Like Cesare]

Description: Tall, dark, and scraggly! +3 Charisma +1 Edge

[Rolling...]

[Misunderstood Loner With A Heart Of Gold]

Description: You're not a jerk. Just misunderstood. A golden heart shines underneath your exterior. +5 Morality +5 Charisma +3 Grit +3 Sympathy +2 Mystique

[Rolling...]

[Only Sane Man]

Description: You have been blessed with sanity and commen sense. Which puts you above 80% of people, cherish it. +5 Wit +3 Morality +3 Sympathy

[All Rolls are done.]

[Say or think Databook]

'Databook?'

Emery Brewer

Role: Sympathetic Recurring Extra

First Appearance: Prologue, Intro-Only Point of View

Rank: 3rd-Tier Character

Stats:

Morality - 12

Sympathy - 18

Edge - 10

Power - 13

Charisma - 12

Grit - 19

Wit - 11

Mystique - 11

Tropes:

[Recurring Extra 4th-Tier] [The Woobie 3rd-Tier] [Unlucky Extra 4th-Tier] [Dark and Troubled Past 3rd-Tier] [Ineffectual Loner 3rd-Tier] [Stumbled Into The Plot 3rd-Tier] [Badass Normal 2nd-Tier] [Weak, But Skilled 3rd-Tier] [Looks Like Cesare 3rd-Tier] [Misunderstood Loner With A Heart Of Gold 1st-Tier] [Only Sane Man 3rd-Tier]

'Okay...? What am I supposed to do with this?' I ask myself.

Then, that's when my world is flipped upside down.