Trope Talk: Greatest Fears
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- čas přidán 10. 12. 2020
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Ahh, fear! What a maligned concept. But everyone's afraid of something, and some stories really like putting the spotlight on what scares their characters the most. At worst it's a very effective halloween episode, at best it turns into a deep and gripping exploration of their character! Let's discuss how the Greatest Fear trope gets used and abused!
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"No Firelord Ozai, you're not wearing pants!"
Honestly, given how egotistical he is...that'd honestly fit. Becoming a figure of mockery.
@@valhatan3907 It was Aang overcoming the nightmare by turning it around.
But did you remember your math test?
Ah I see you are a man of culture as well
Oh my god that WAS a greatest fear episode!
"What's your greatest fear?"
"Being forgotten."
"Wow, that's deep. Mine is the Kool-Aid Man and now I feel very dumb."
kool-Aid man is a perfectly reasonable fear. weve seen his power level, he could take over the world if he wanted.
Someone who can bust through walls without flinching is someone who should be feared.
_Kool-Aid Man crashes through wall_
"OH NO!"
Hey, the Kool-Aid Man isn't just something to joke about. That guy can crash through walls without warning. He's horrifying!
Spiders. Your objection is invalid.
“Pretty commendable badassery”
Shows Batman buying a coffee
It wasn't just a coffee, it was a triple (coffee)! :O
Everything's badass when your batman
He was sleep-deprived beyond what any average human could bear
Batman faces his greatest fear; social anxiety.
Batman + Literally Anything = Badass. Where did you learn your math?
See, I've always wanted a greatest fear episode where it starts off by establishing someone has a "dumb fear" like flowers or puppies or something, but then the actual nightmare hits and suddenly everyone who teased the dude with the dumb phobia is forced to deal with the phobia on a horrifying level. Like, they get to see and feel and experience WHY flowers might terrify the one dude. Maybe there were flowers at a specific traumatic event. Maybe he almost died from a poisonous flower. And at the end of the episode, there could be some reconciliation. Just to show that phobia and tigger warnings, even when they seem silly, are still serious to the person who has them and has to deal with them. Nobody CHOOSES to be afraid of things, and nobody has a fear for no reason...
That is an epic idea, I might have to try that some day
*character1's greatest fear shows a mass of butterflies*
char2: butterflies? really?
char1: its not the butterflies, it's who's in the butterflies
*char1 proceeds to get dead sibling out of butterflies*
I'm reminded of... I think it was Tales of the Abyss. There's a character in it with a phobia of women, and the rest of the party constantly teases him about it. Then you find out the fear comes from when his house was invaded and he ended up trapped under the corpses of all the women of the house, including his sister. Suddenly everyone feels awful for making fun of it.
@@bgreer3067 i was just thinking about my best friend who just so happens to be massively afraid of butterflies.
That reminds me of the Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson
Magnus puts the "cult" in "cult following" and Red puts the "story" in "falling from a thirty story window because my greatest fear is heights"
I wanted to like this comment but can't because it is at 69 likes.
Same. I can say with certainty that heights are my greatest fear. How do I know?
Because heights are the one thing I will do *anything* rather than face.
Magnus...red..hmm
I think you may have Red addiction. That sounds like something she'd actually say. I mean, to be fair, who wouldn't have a Red addiction? She's awesome.
@@VivaLaDnDLogs prey that an avatar of the vast won't find you
Wonder Woman: "Man that vacation was great how were you guys?"
Superman: "I have stared into the abyss. Though I escaped it, the memories shall forever remain."
Wonder Woman: "...I think you need a vacation too."
"You're right! My birthday's coming up, so I think I'll take the day off and head up to the Fortress of Solitude..."
@@Pytas23 But what do you get for the man who has everything...?
(How about an adaptation of an Alan Moore story said author *didn't* hate?)
I still can’t get over how the two adaptations Moore didn’t hate were a cartoon episode and a Saturday Morning cartoon parody.
@@animeotaku307 Pretty easy to understand, really, when you figure out that most of the adaptations turn Moore's intended messages on their heads.
@@jemolk8945 Moore: The world is actually okay and people can be good, and it's important not to forget that.
Moore imitators: The world is terrible, people are terrible, and anyone who doesn't understand that is a fool.
Moore: No...
Red: “meanwhile this character over here is scared of clowns.”
Jason Todd: “hey it’s a reasonable fear to have.”
Tim stoker from. The magnus archives
@@zbee3694I’m gonna eventually have to get used to TMA references in these comment sections but I’m not there yet
@@zbee3694 No, Tim is afraid of geese
Pennywise: Very Resonable
@@CuppaLLX I mean, Pennywise is a threat because of the general fear of clowns rather than the other way around
A flat Earther fears nothing but sphere itself!
… I'll see myself out.
Don’t fall off the edge!
That was GREAT
XD
@@BlackCover95 me monke smooth brain
please explain
sorry for ruining the joke
(Slow clap) Wocka. . . Wocka. . .
At lest it wasn’t plain
Ned Stark said it the best: "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?" "That is the only time a man can be brave."
Master Fung said it pretty well also:
"Courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting in spite of one's fear."
Valor lies just halfway between rashness and cowardice.
Miguel de Cervantes
My dad worked in the fire brigade, and used to say 'there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity, and we try to stick to the stupid side of it'. Because, yes, you can only be brave when afraid, but if you want to do ostensibly 'brave' things a lot, it might pay to just be too dumb to consider whether it's dangerous or not, then try to work out whether you should have been worried after you've done your job.
@@reganator5000
Ironically wise. Doing something brave often means you're aware you might not make it back, and already come to terms. Stupid means you think you can get back regardless of evidence.
This kind of stupid I can respect.
I remember from the wizard of Oz, when Oz, in response to the cowardly lion's request for courage states "Real courage is not to face danger without fear, it is to face danger when they are very much afraid. Every rational being is afraid when faced with danger, and that kind of courage you have in plenty".
"That joke was funnier when I had this episode planned for October."
We all had things planned for October, Red, don't worry about it.
October had planned to be the eighth month, too (y'know, Octo=eight) until Caesar came in and said nope.
@@just-trying-my-best-everyday yeah, the calendar being thrown off by two months drives me insane, because of course the only months affected were already numbered.
2020, the year of broken plans
(cries in Artober)
I don't know why but October was hell month for pretty much everyone I know
To be fair if you live anywhere in and or around Gotham you should have a very legitimate reason to be afraid of clowns
Really tho like, between joker scarecrow and now punchline gotham citizens basically live in the movie It
There was that Batman TAS episode where Joker poses as a party clown called Jekko. The clown did exist but Joker knocked him out and disguised himself as him.
I kept thinking: How the hell are party clowns still in business in Gotham City.
And then The Owl House combines the "Greatest Fear" and "School Dance" episodes into one in a way that gives clear insight into the protagonist while also driving the shippers absolutely crazy.
At least it's the good kind of crazy in the shippers case, because they haven't ruined the show yet like so many others.
Lumity canon , BITCH!
Yeah, I kinda like how Luz didn't actually overcome her greatest fear and from what we've seen at the end of season 2 part 1, it'll bite her in the butt
@@Drums_of_Liberation
Ironically and tragically, it was an anti-shipper (of sorts) who ruined the show by literally cancelling it.
Eyyy I was gonna shout this out
People: “UUUUUUGGH SUPERMAN IS LAME BECAUSE HE’S TOO GOOD ALL THE TIME!”
Red:
Or his Golden Age self.
I think that's kind of a challenge in itself: how do you write someone who is supposed to be perfect but still make a compelling character. Seriously, I thank Grant Morrison for this.
@@bachpham6862 I don't like Superman myself but that is something I have to admit
Agent J36
That’s why he’s one of my favorite charters. When he’s written well, it’s brilliant. Of course, he’s not the easiest to write for. When he’s written badly, you end up with Zach “The Edgelord Hack” Snyder’s petulant man baby.
this was the episode that made me like Superman, actually
You really just said "Could he live in a world of wet tissue paper" with a completely serious voice
And managed to make it a completely serious question in context as well!
That's just how good Red is.
A world without zinc!
One of my favorite examples of this is Raven in Teen Titans. In her episode, she was so afraid of accepting her own fears that she unconsciously created them in reality, which then promptly proceeded to act out those fears in a very real and potentially fatal way.
She wasn't just confronted by her fear; she actively inflicted it upon herself.
Same. I also like the one with Robin. Where he was hallucinating about Slade. That episode gave me chills.
Headcannon I saw on Pinterest and have accepted: The order in which the gang disappears in the episode relates to how scared Raven is of losing them.
Beast Boy goes first because she’s scared to lose him most (be that for shipping reasons or because he is the physically weakest out of all of them in his human form is up to you). Robin is next because although he is very good at avoiding being attacked, when he doesn’t defend himself, he can’t easily get out of his situation for a few seconds and sometimes a few seconds is all it takes. Starfire is next because although she is a Powerhouse, she is very naive and her emotional tendencies are something Raven considers a weakness. Finally, Cyborg disappears, because Raven thinks that, when he isn’t being distracted by food and/or video games, he is the most capable Titan, which is why she never sees him disappear; she can’t fathom a creature that could take out Cyborg when he is specifically on high alert for something that could take him out. Then Raven, left all alone, is made to face her own worst fear - isolation from her friends and from her powers, which are an essential and constant part of her being. Having them all disappear, one by one, and being unable to do anything about it.
Just a little headcannon I found that I have adapted into my own.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
What I like about that episode is the climax where Raven is surrounded on all sides by nightmare creatures of her own making. All she can do is helplessly tell herself she's not afraid, over and over again. Ultimately, when she's backed into a corner, she finds herself meekly admitting two simple words to herself: "...I'm afraid..." But it's followed by the most stalwart line you can say in a Fear Episode: "I'm afraid. But that doesn't mean I can't fight back!"
teen titans go di something similar, untimtly having her have a heart to heart with clasic titans raven about trusting her friends. Cyborg Go helped clasic Cyborg see how cool being a cyborg is. It was a surprisly deep movie
Something similar with the emotions of a character manifesting into the real world as a result of their own fear and unwillingness to confront them was done in the game Library of Ruina. In it, there are monsters called Abnormalities, and you can create weapons and armor from the energy of the Abno's, except those weapons are armor are actually still the Abno, meaning if you use them, the Abno begins to speak inside your mind. If someone's emotional state lines up with the emotions of the Abno too well, the armor can begin to overtake the user, either warping their mind to bring those emotions out more than usual, or outright corroding the mind and basically transforming the user into that monster but with their specific personal context fueling the emotion.
Mechanically, each team you can use is a different floor of the library, and there are 5 Abnos tied to each floor, with a story interaction between the main character of that floor, and one of the two protags occurring after each battle where you learn more about the Protag. For the final battle though, all of the previous conversations build up to something that makes the protag just snap, lose their cool, and the various Abno armor for that floor begins to corrode them, making the final battle you fighting against the protag as they progressively swap between armor sets that reflect the emotions they talked about in the story for that floor.
Like, for one floor, the conversation there reveals Angela has spent so long dealing with an unimaginably horrible and exhausting experience being in a timeloop that literally required her to become cold and actively harm others to escape, and now she's finally escaped and believes she can find "The one book" that will solve every issue she has. In the final fight, the first armor set comes from an Abno that represents "I lost basically everything, and what little I have left is rapidly wasting away", as Angela remembers how she used to be and despises what she's now become as a result of the time loop. You beat that, and move onto the second set, which is from an Abno that loves their friends but had to leave them behind, reflecting how Angela started off wanting to be friends and was quite compassionate but was forced to become jaded and cruel. Then the third armor is from an Abno that is basically a mother spider times a million, hyper protective of her babies and always searching for their next meal, reflecting how Angela has decided she must completely abandon her empathy and use everyone around her as "food" to fuel her pursuit of that one book. The fourth armor is from a pair of shoes that drives nearby people to become psychotically obsessed with them, as Angela is so desperate since she's finally escaped the time loop that the mere promise of "something great" is enough to make her do anything in order to obtain it. Then the final phase is an Abno that has become so overwhelmed by others invading it's privacy and headspace that it's basically shut down emotionally and hides itself behind masks, as Angela similarly has had her hopes and desires crushed so consistantly time and time again that, while all she ultimately wants is a place to just "be herself", she feels that there's no possible option left.
By literally letting her repressed emotions manifest as the armor, she's able to work through those emotions and finally confront them. While she still had a lot more character growth to do on the other floors, because of going through the entire process of the battle, she's able to rediscover her forgotten wish to be a better and kinder person. It's even literally there in the name, as while the first 4 fights are all "A battle against X", the final 5 phase fight is called the Realization.
I kept hearing Hawk Girl as "hot girl"
And I was like... Yah that checks out
I came down to read comments just to see what her name is.
This is extremely funny to me because when I was a child in kindergarten I couldn't pronounce "hawk", so I called her "hot girl" and my teacher contacted my parents because she was concerned
When my wife and I were first showing my little sisters Fullmetal Alchemist (they were teenagers, I realize maybe it could sound like we were showing FMA to eight year olds or something) they kept thinking I was calling Riza Hawkeye "Hot Guy". We started called her "He's-a Hot Guy" as a joke
it makes my day every time red talks about the justice league cartoon because its just so freaking good
Well hello there
Yeah I've been rewatching it recently, it's so good.
I should probably watch it sometime...
*Two*
Trope talks are just good overall
Trope talks we (or at least me) need to exist:
- Split personalities
- Time skips (not confuse with time travel)
- Gods
- Backstories
- Manic Pixie Girls
Time Travel is such a pain. Mission to Zyxx podcast has a twisted time travel issue that will make your head hurt if you don't like time travel.
Manic Pixie Dream girls are just, too sad for their usual genre
Phantom Thieves would be great! Someone else said Assassins/ mercenaries, which is good too.
Also, Secret Organizations.
Manic Pixie Dreams girls would be such a good trope talk, it’s already dissected online to the point of being overdone, but I think Red would have something new to say
I hate time travel. I only enjoy when it is used to see the background of a character.
Concept: We get one of these episodes where the characters have to face their fears, and it seems at first that their fear is something mundane and seemingly silly like bugs or clowns or something, causing their friends to tease them for it. the teasing progressively gets crueler and more out of character as time goes on however, until we find out that not only was the seemingly irrational fear a result of a traumatic childhood event, and not only is said character still being forced toface their fear, but the characters REAL fear was that their friends would think they're a massive looser for their childhood trauma and they wouldn't want to be friends with them anymore and they'd lose their friends and become a massive laughing stock. I'm sure i just basically paraphrased the plot of some episode out there somewhere but hey, it seems like an obvious subversion of the trope so if it doesn't exist, i would be surprised.
I'd totally watch the hell out of something like that. Imagine the angst potential
Oh my god that would be amazing (in a sad way ofc but like)
I've read a fic where this happens if you're interested
@@imabagel7382 I am.
@@imabagel7382 tell us please
“Could he handle a world made of wet tissue paper?”
How you managed to say that completely seriously short of taking at least a dozen retakes to iron out the laughter alludes me.
PRACTICE
XD
OH HI, MY GREATEST FEAR!
@@Toolgirl64209 HELLO DAERKNESS MY OLD FRIEND...
I didn’t realize how hilarious that sounds out of context
The foundations greatest fear Bright becoming even more Genre aware than he already is; oh no!
Sponsored by the Magnus archives
Me: *shrill sounds of joyful horror*
SAME!!! I literally started listening to it because she mentioned it in her Urban Fantasy trope talk
Same, immediately liked the video one second in!
Cosmic digerydu
Legit I squealed
@@lokimemes4694 me too
Red has finally gushed enough about the Magnus Archives to be sponsored by them. What a great day.
Well they are great
She's probably gushed enough about them to get them a few new fans(me included lol) so I say she deserves it 110%.
Really cool, I only got into the Magnus archives because of Red's recommendations
If you all haven't, also give a listen to the Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast. It takes a bit to get going, but it's a fantastic world DM'ed by Alex Newall (voice of Martin).
I love the Magnus archives
You know, you actually made me look at Superman from a new perspective this time and also realize how dumb are recent films. Instead of trying to put Superman against villains equally strong or even stronger than him, a good superman story should focus on how he needs to restrict himself.
Watch the cartoon mate there was an episode for that!
that's why Lex is a perfect villain for him. he could just kill him, but he also... can't do that. And he's a villain with good publicity, so Superman legitimately Cannot Touch Him.
"World of Cardboard" is still the best superman speech, tbh.
To you, and anyone else that sees this comment, read Superman For All Seasons.
There's no physical threat to Superman at any point in this story, but you get to see Clark at his most human.
It's also written and drawn by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, MARVEL colours series).
Turns out his real strength was in his mother's name all along.
"Some of the kindest people I know think they're absolute messes that keep on hurting people" sadly accurate...
Conversely the biggest assholes I've ever met think they are the second coming of christ
My guess is that kind people know what it's like to be taken advantage of and how annoying nuisances can be so they strive to be better often overcriticizing themselves
Partly because there are people out there that tell kind people things like that, to get more kindness and free benefits from the kind person. Which is one reason people stop being kind.
I think it's because they're the one who are the most aware of how they have or could hurt other people and the most conscious of it
My favorite stock episode is when a hero and villain get stuck together somehow and have to work together to get out of a bad situation. Doesn’t matter how many times I see it, I still love it. I’m pretty sure everyone has a guilty pleasure stock plot.
It's even better when an entire subplot is built around it, but an isolated stock episode is better than nothing.
Bonus points if they fall in LOOOOVVEE
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the body-swap episode.
My guilty pleasure/comfort stock plot is the Ballroom episode. You know, fancy situation for the characters, they have to dress fancy and try to fit in... Shenanigans ensue. I love it.
@@just-trying-my-best-everyday Those are cool too, especially when the character no one expects fits in great.
Who wants Red to do a Trope Talk about the “Contrarians” trope, the “Elites/Elitist” trope, the “Paranoid Characters” tropes, the “We have to Win” trope, the “Messiah” trope, the “It’s all a Dream/Illusion” trope, or the “Outside Third Party” trope
yes
Yes to all of those
Warning: Spoilers for Pathologic
Hope she shows the example that Pathologic had for the "It's all a dream"-trope. That one was certainly unique
Plot-twist: These were Red’s plans for the next Trope Talks, but now that they’ve been discovered, Red won’t do them. :-(
@@valhatan3907 not really
The beach episode.
Timeloop.
Heists.
Musical.
The wedding.
Prison breakout.
evil doppelganger.
episode where the protagonists are small.
Are my favorites
-Giants
-Clones
-Race
-Spooky house
-Don’t trust new guy or misunderstood dude that look shady but he is ok
-Kid that shout wolf
@@jamesbajzer9436 something tells me you watched voltron :)
@@user-jf7rk9vu4s I've never seen that lol, does voltron feature all those tropes
@@jamesbajzer9436 it has the third and first one ;)
I clicked on this thinking "I really hope the Magnus Archives is mentioned in this episode, I really enjoy it and it does have a lot of fear related themes and text".
Can't say I was expecting it as a sponsor though
This sponsorship was how I found tma and since then I have been non-stop obsessed
@@davv6628 not same but I am obsessed c:
Shame you don’t get to experience the wonderful discord tho, it’s no longer a thing that exists
@@yumiendercat3685 I know, apparently it's gonna get revamped and eventually be a thing again. Although I've been getting my tma discord fix through an OC RP server instead. And I'm sure there are other ones that are good for talking about tma if you look at the lists.
@@davv6628 I mean, after the chaos of last time I don’t know if it’ll ever be up again. I hope it is, though, there are some users on there I miss
@@yumiendercat3685 Ahh true true valid, I wasn't really on it even when it was up, but I'm sorry to hear you won't be able to talk to them
Being brave isn’t the absence of fear, but confronting fears.
Especially when we got a Scarecrow episode in the original animated Batman that showed exactly why fear is actually a good thing.
No, that's courage. Bravery is indeed having no fear.
that's something that a lot of people hear but few take to heart thank you.
@@dreadcthulhu5 - Not by any dictionary definition. Bravery is defined as having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty, having or showing courage. There may be a connotative difference for you, but not to many people. Denotatively, they're the same.
@@freshoutofcrabs It's really just more semantics.
"Superman already feels like he lives in a world made of cardboard"
Nice.
What I love is the fact that that's a reference to the final confrontation in the show between Superman and a certain someone, no spoilers in case you want to see it and still haven't, so I'll just leave it there.
I wonder if the secondary reference to "man of steel, woman of tissue paper" is also intentional
@@dr0g_Oakblood Believe that's the fact Mateo was referring to when he said "nice".
Best version of this: the Teen Titans episode where Robin starts seeing Slade in places he couldn't be... when Slade had pretty definitively died earlier. It turns out Robin's greatest fear wasn't so much Slade coming back, but his own paranoia alienating his team and leaving him overworked without the help he needs.
This episode was insane in the best of ways, because the audience didn't even know if slade was actually there or not either, not until we see the teams perspective, and there are no bombs in the city, and robin is getting thrown around by, well, nothing. SO we'll done.
@@laurdesz9050 I love that we then believe that Robin really has lost it and Raven enters his POV to calm him down and show him that "See, no Slade there, nothing to f-" cue in Slade suddenly jumping from the dark and punching her and him into the face. The reveal at the end being that Slade wasn't really there, but the hallucination Robin saw was still capable of hurting him.
I love the "hero finds out they're fighting for the wrong side" bc it's the challenging what you've always known and been taught with what you believe in.
Try sheera.
@@galning2768 yesss shera is so good ahhh
Reiner
There is an episode about that now, it's called "Are we the baddies?".
I just love the different perspectives
A MAGNUS ARCHIVES AD AKSNAKSJSJSKQ IVE NEVER BEEN THIS EXCITED FOR CAPITALISM
With a taako icon too? I see u king
@@beleiveinthemagic123 wait fellow taz fans? My life is complete
This reply chain is bangers only. Now we just need a Welcome to Night Vale reference
me: seeing the title
"huh, the magnus archives is a great example of this"
little did I know...
I absolutely love that podcast and got unreasonably excited at the meer mention of it. I really wish people would talk about it more.
Yup
@@meliakanaovicz5494 yes, it really makes washing the dishes an occasion to look forward
@@meliakanaovicz5494 Strongly agree. I've been preaching it to all fans of horror and fiction.
Hello John, apologies for the deception…
1. Another common form of "Greatest fear" that I can think of delves into the previously-discussed Superpowered Evil Side. It's all about the fear of losing control of who you are.
2. I've never watched Justice League, but I can imagine that with Hawkgirl's ability to go literally anywhere she wants thanks to her ability to fly, claustrophobia makes sense since it's taking away a fundamental part of who she is.
“And I’ve known some real jerks who can’t decide if they’re the victim in every situation or the second coming of Christ.” This is painfully true about some people, they’ve always got to be the tragic hero or the glorious hero. Their self-image is so warped that even the psychic nightmare monster wouldn’t get them to introspect.
I mean...have you *tried* inflicting psychic horror monsters on them? No it's not exactly legal, but, can't argue with the results... >:)
Reminds me of my mother tbh
I knew a guy like that in school. Not a single ounce of self-reflection or self-awareness.
Red: talks about how its hard to know ourselves because even *we* are biased and introspection is hard
me: oh thank goodness thats an actual thing, i thought i was going MAD
Not only that, but the result and even the process itself can show us some very frightening things about ourselves and the world we live in. Some people take one glimpse at the mirror and run screaming into the comfort of their own self-delusion.
Everyone gangsta till **stock greatest fear episode**
Katz' Motel.
@@haillobster7154 Courage is still one of my top series of all time
Tfw stock greatest fear episode 😱😱😨
My greatest fear is stock greatest fear episodes.
That's what I loved about that episode with the giant cockroaches in Kim Possible, the fears of Kim and Ron are reverse proportional, Ron is scared of tiny bugs and spiders and Kim makes kind of fun of him at first, but she is incredibly scared of the giant bugs and spiders, and Ron is the one who has to save the day. At the end of it, the other has understood that the other's fear isn't silly, it's just who they are
An interesting episode of Kim Possible about fear was when Ron went with his father to his work and got into risk-assessment and calculated that Kim constantly puts herself into massive danger. So at first he thinks that Kim should stop but midway through the episode he is told that he failed to account for Kim's incredible skill and that that makes her being in constant danger an almost non-risk. But at the same time, the risk-assessers tell Ron that HE on the other hand, has no survival skills and that the adventures they go trough together are an insane risk for him. So he hides under his bed and refuses to come out, being afraid to come with Kim on an adventurer when she needs his help until his father comes in and says "There is something I didn't tell you about my work: Some things are *worth* the risk."
One story I’d like to mention is the Doctor Who Episode “Dalek”. In that, the Doctor- who is at this point a veteran of a war that destroyed his home planet and the enemy force, leaving him the last survivor- finds another survivor of the war, but it’s a soldier of the enemy force, a Dalek. So here, the Doctor is confronted with his Greatest Fear, a surviving Dalek, and it finally forces him to confront the traumas and what he did in the war.
"YOU WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD DALEK."
@@paulgibbon5991 And it's an absolutely bone chilling statement
Tbh I more saw the doctors greatest fear is when he stops being the doctor. And becomes the person who was willing to destroy his own planet. The Daleks aren’t what he’s is scared of it’s what he became to defeat them and occasionally becomes to defeat other foes. With another example being how in the family of blood he didn’t run from the family rather what he knew he would do to them if he faced them directly.
That episode also did a great job explaining how scary Daleks are. Sure, you can set them loose on the city and show how effortlessly they clean the place out.
But the episode starts with the Doctor getting kidnapped (or arrested? I don't remember, it's been forever since I've seen the show) They take him to the cell where they're keeping their dangerous alien and he's just over there like "Alright. Bring him in and let's see what happens. I'll be here if you need me"
Then he sees the Dalek and IMMEDIATELY begs to be let out. No finesse, all of his charisma out the window, he's crying for help for the first time ever. He's always been a capable badass with no less than 100% control of any given situation. But now he's scared out his mind just by being in the same room as a Dalek.
I've never seen the Doctor so fearful for his life until that point so anything that can scare him that badly is nothin to be fucked with.
@@joshm9782 Indeed. He can at least tell himself that no matter how horrible the war was, at least it's DONE. The Daleks are gone. He never has to think about that time or relive it ever again. And then...
"sponsored by the Magnus Archives" this was a crossover of my niche interests I NEVER expected but always hoped
SAME
LICHERALLY
*screams joyfully in Michael Distortion*
i mean red is a fan tho-
I know they mentioned them like once in a trope talk but now its a sponser?! NICE
My greatest fear is the friends we made along the way
Lmao
This is now a writing prompt
A writing prompt appears!
I fucking love this joke, so versatile, works with anything
My greatest fear is this stupid joke never dying.
This greatest fear trope is why i've always liked Luigi. yes, Luigi. in the Luigi's Mansion games, and even in the RPGs, Luigi has been shown to be afraid of a lot of stuff, with ghosts being the biggest one. despite all of the times in encounters ghosts in the Mansion games, Luigi always goes in to save Mario, despite his fear. he's courageous, not fearless. and throughout all of the games, he's shown to still be afraid of this, but he is able to overcome some of it, with how he adopts the Polterpup. He's always going to be afraid, he just learns to cope with some of it.
THEY GOT SPONSORED BY THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES!!! THAT IS SUCH A PULL, IM SO PROUD!
Red: This video is sponsored by Rusty Quill's "The Magnus Archives"!
Me: *Spits out drink*
SAME THO! I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE
I FUCKING SCREAMED OH MY GODD
RIGHT????
YEA
I KNOW RIGHT!!
'This episode is sponsored by The Magnus Archives'
*Squeals in happy tape recorder and Eldrich Horror*
Statement Begins
god what a fucking mood
ofc the fears trope talk was sponsored by tma smh
@@chainattack6412 Hello John, apologies for the deception…
"sponsored by Rusty Quill's Magnus Archives" like how dare you put my two favourite content providers in the same space at once I actually screamed
The fear monster screaming "INTIMACY!!!" really caught me off guard. You've induced an excellent LOL from me. Good day to you.
H.P. Lovecraft's entire life is a giant ''Greatest fear stock episode'' except he never got to that ''overcoming it'' part.
_...a mysterious color unlike any seen on earth..._
So an unfinished greatest fear stock episode
Ah yes, the man who was scared of immigrants and geometry
Nah, he stopped being a xenophobic prick just before he died. Which is kinda sad.
@@sockthief9138 But did he conquer his fear of math?
WAIT YOU GUYS WERE ACTUALLY SPONSORED BY JOHNY SIMS ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW??
(to the commentators I was unaware there was a pornstar with the same name but that's kind of hilarious)
thanks for ruining my favorite character , I haven't finished it but it'll be fun to imagine a p0rnstar battle eldritch horrors from now on . >:(
@@alibiglou9306 what
@@alibiglou9306 what the shit
@@alibiglou9306 what
@@colonelbipiy5702 the writer of Magnus goes by Jonny Sims and theres a pornstar called Jonny Sins
I just want a Greatest Fear thing where someone has a "silly" fear, but instead of making fun of that character, their friends comfort them and junk.
red: today’s episode is sponsored by the magnus archives
me: terrified archivist noises
*Extended sound of brutal pipe murder intensifies*
red: sponsored by the magnus archives
me: *loud banshee screeching*
Yup
*apply Delayed Death debuff: 7 days to everyone in within your range*
Red: today's episode is sponsored by The Magnus Archives.
Me: unholy shrieking.
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking back on my first DnD character - back when I was playing him, I had no idea what to do with him for most of the campaign - and I realized something about him
• His core motivation is figuring out why he's a tiefling and where his wild magic comes from
• His greatest fear is that if he finds that out, he won't like the answer
Gonna be honest, Red could make a video where she just rants about the most random of topic and I will listen to it. Love these videos, even if I am not a writter myself
So, how're you liking the detail diatribes?
Its a bit like Jenny Nicholson, where she can talk about the seemingly most uninteresting topic but its still super interesting to watch.
This reminds me of the Teen Titan episode where Raven had to admit that she was afraid in order to control her power
Teen titans has a bunch of good stock episodes in general if I remember correctly. The body swap episode was really well executed as well.
God I miss this show.
@@corhydrae3238 Then it goes...
@@corhydrae3238 damn. I gotta get to go watching after I finish my archive run of Adventure Time
@@corhydrae3238 same for the split episode. You know, when raven splits into her 5 main emotions?
Thank for saying it! I was really hoping she would mention this in the video, it's such a good example of this trope in that it follows the rules straight down the line but it's just so well crafted that it doesn't matter.
me: *is already up to date on the magnus archives*
red: hey stick around for our sponsor, the magnus archives
me: *sticks around for the sponsor*
I listened to The Magnus Archives and now I'm afraid of the sky.
I honestly had no fear of clowns before listening. Fuuuuuuuuck The Stranger. The only thing that can fix it is fire.
Me: [sees title] Oh she is for sure gonna mention TMA.
Red: THANK YOU TO RUSTY QUILL'S THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES FOR SPONSORING THIS VIDEO-
“This is common for people who have normal phobias.”
A character in one of my AU’s who is super afraid of snakes but has an _extremely_ f**ked up reason behind it: 👁👄👁
1:47: Red's greatest fear-schedule slip. Watch her confront it so casually, and this early in the episode!
And we know blues, cleo being mad : D
@@marocat4749 I thought it was Cleo being mad while on a submarine?
One of my favorite 'joke fears' is that, in the percy jackson books, talia, the daughter of Zeus, is scared of heights
I'd be afraid of heights too if my abusive, negligent father with enormous anger issues was up there.
And *SPOILERS*
Percy Jackson himself, the son of Posidon, becomes scared of drowning at one point.
@@tabathamoonstone8633 See, that one makes sense because he's never had that problem before and doesnt know how to react
@@juliasnyder7284 It does make a lot of sense narratively, but it's also very ironic and kind of funny, and I couldn't help but point it out.
@@theratman1997 Less "scared", more "denial/repressing" was my take. Part of it was values dissonance since he was born in the 40's, and part of it was because he knew his first big crush was never going to reciprocate. His greatest fear, at that point, was probably that he was going to forever be an outcast.
"I must not fear. Fear is a mind-killer. Without this fear, I only die once. I will face my fear and let it pass through and over me. When the fear is gone, only I will remain."
I'm so sorry, but I know this a serious quote from Dune, but my brain is reading in the voice of Chuckles the Space Clown in dn awesome campaign I watched!!
@@firestaranimationsofficial
🤣😂😅
I think hawkgirl's fear is a good choice because that was one of the first times I related to her in the series. Up until that point we didn't know much about her, but giving her that common human fear humanozed her a lot, especially compared to the other jl members whose fears focused on their powers.
Trope Talks tend to contain a lot of stuff from Avatar and Justice League animated series
Guess that's a sign of how good they are.
Building up on that, they are also incredibly complex shows that tackled a large variety of different situations with a cast of relatively tropey but overall very well personalized and explored characters, so it kinda makes sense that both series have a crapton of excellent examples for a lot of different quality writing prompts and trope explanations.
So yeah tldr they ARE really good series, yes.
Justice league. Damn, that show was like my thing as a kid.
“Wonder Woman has no weakness.”
-Batman
I disagree, she has no common weakness sure but its been shown she has one: Rich kids with issues, lots of issues.
@@dcbanacek2 But what if one of Batman's enemies tries to hurt him through her? Clearly dating Batman is FAR to dangerous.
@@sayerglasgow115 The inverse is far more likely. Diana has gods as enemies, not weirdos in silly outfits.
@@deanospimoniful That's the point. Batman was being a dumbass and letting the Bat-ego get out of control.
"SHE DOESN'T HAVE KRYPTONITE, CLARK."
I feel like some extra credit goes towards Hawk Girl's greatest fear as not only is it good for contrasting what makes this badass character flinch and doesn't risk spoilers, its also a normal (relatively speaking) fear that makes perfect sense for her character. Flight and spacial freedom are an integral part of Hawk Girl and her species; being constrained and confined is the diametric opposite of something that is core to her being. It's a fear that is easy to recognize for why it's so terrifying to her.
It was interesting to see the show choose something appropriate given the spoilers ahead while also choosing something that was appropriate for Hawk Girl.
I read a fun TCW fic where Ahsoka's fear was an invisible enemy (the inability to fight back, fear of the unknown), Obi-Wan was claustrophobia (being trapped and unable to save his friends in danger), and Anakin was... well, mirrors (foreshadowing). So it had a good blend of simple fears that were ACTUALLY more complex fears in disguise. Good times! Great tragedy!
Red- "Fear is just a passing thing, the hero can overcome it"
Me- depression remote flashback- i t c o m e s i t g o e s
oh no....
['m not saying red is saying that I just mean it made me think of the price ea depression remote]
"YOU
ARE NOT DEPRESSED
S T O P S A Y I N T H A T"
@@yeethittter1285 are you sure s i r
@@playskahoot (suicide rates plummet to 0%)
_Yes_
@@yeethittter1285 XD ok thanks therapist seeya next never
... because I'm cured...
Does anyone else feel like 2020 started as a fear episode for filler but then the series was put on hiatus so this is the season now?
Ok I know you're joking but the final season of the Magnus Archives actually had to put extra warnings on certain episodes because those episodes dropped conveniently at the same time that shockingly similar events were happening irl. The season was written like, last december
@@jojoslameerrand9305 enough people thinking of disparate scenarios, will eventually cover even the most improbable plot lines. Monkeys and type writers.
that sounds like an interesting concept for an established series to explore, starting a season and early on have a fear episode and then use that to establish the plot of season somehow. though I'm unsure what kind of series would make good use of this nor do I necessarily think it's a good idea. It'd just be interesting
Oh my god this filler arc is never ending...
@@Ekigane the flash season 3 did something similar.
*sees title* "oh haha that's funny i was just listening to the magnus archives hehe"
"this video was sponsored by rusty quill's the magnus archives"
i yelled
My personal favorite Greatest Fear episode is Enchanting Grom Freight in Owl House. The entire thing is framed as a Prom meets deathmatch where a student at the school Hexside has to slay a demon who shapeshifts into their greatest fear. The main character’s greatest fear was the guilt that would come with her mother lying to her.
This is why I love the character of the Scarecrow in Batman media. Because he’s a fear specialist, he gives other characters a personal struggle.
I just find it funny that in the comics he was part of the yellow lanterns for a bit, but was kicked out because he felt no fear and tried to usurp paralax
@@treyatkinson7564 Batman also qualified for both a Green Lantern and a Sinestro Corps Ring.
@@treyatkinson7564 lmao fear dude cheated out the fear gang
Agreed
This comment thread is getting full of villains and I'm concerned.
"I can't tell if the biggest jerks out there think whether they're the victim or the second coming of christ"
That describes someone I know perfectly
Honestly this is such an underrated line
Blue checkmark Twitter accounts in a nutshell.
Basically Kuzco, always placed himself as the victim in the beginning of his narration
You know, thinking about it, instead of saying "Every villain sees themselves as the hero", I think "Every villain sees themselves as the victim" might be better.
Villains are always boo-hooing about how the big mean heroes crushed their dreams of world domination. Bonus points if the villain had a big "might makes right" attitude right up until the moment someone stronger than they were kicked their ass.
@@sayerglasgow115 I'd amend that to "every villain *subconsciously* sees themselves as the victim", because for a lot of them, especially in the "might makes right" neighborhood calling them out on how they desperately build up power as what is essentially a psychological security blanket will make them flip out big time in a mixture of rage and denial. I remember one story where the MC specifically used this against her evil AU self, citing that the reason villains always have to monologue to the heroes about how great they are and how doomed the hero is because they're really trying to prove the point to themselves and how for all her power the AU version was still the scared girl they'd both been at the start of the story while the MC had actually worked through and overcome a lot of her issues.
I feel like a good way to spin the mocking angle is to have the fear be something simple like "Haha, this stoic and silent character is freaked out by spiders!" but then it leads into exploring WHY they're afraid, whether it be childhood trauma or an event that ties DIRECTLY into the story, and them confronting their fear lets them connect deeper with their team and open up, while also really putting egg on the mocker's faces for trivializing a fear they didn't know the source of.
It’s always cool when someone has a seemingly dumb fear that is then revealed to be some good ol fashion trauma. A great example is Edgeworth in Ace Attorney and his fear of earthquakes
me, who listened to TMA: **oh dear that's a very fitting episode for them to sponsor**
Coming from Nikola Orsinov herself?
YOOOO The Magnus Archives sponsored Overly Sarcastic?? This makes me so unreasonably happy.
It has come foul circle
Hell yes! I cant stand horror (or in the Magnus Archives creeping terror) but it's that good I keep coming back. I havent caught up but even now it creeps me out to hear Prentiss.
Yeees, YEEEEEEES!!!!!!
Hell yeah, that surprised me! Love their podcast sm
I watched the video when it came out. The next day I looked MAG up... am now on season 4, it's absolutely riveting.
I CALLED IT HJKSKJSKSJKS I SAW THE TITLE AND WAS LIKE: "OH LIKE TMA."
“Fear itself is a very interesting concept to explore”
As someone who’s made daily embodiments of various phobias every October, I can confirm this quote.
I love the really weird “greatest fear” episode that Psych does where Gus is sleep-deprived and keeps waking up from one nightmare after another where Shawn has ditched him. It’s both character-revealing _and_ hilarious!
"ive known some jerks who cant decide if there the victim everytime or the 2nd coming of christ"
why is this so accurate and obvious yet somehow ive never noticed while in highschool
I know people who think they are the victim AND the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ at the same time.
@@kevinsullivan3448 Ever seen Infinity Train? Simon Laurent fits this to a T.
@@zer0w0lf94 I'm not talking about characters, I'm talking about living humans.
This video is somehow really thought provoking and terrifying at the same time. Red was talking about how everyone sees people differently and people see themselves different to how others see them and I just had like 5 existential crises in two seconds and it somehow helped? I have no clue, good day.
While it's pretty common for the Greatest Fear stock episode to include the protagonists either confronting and overcoming their fear or succumbing to it, those aren't _universal,_ and sometimes picking a middle-ground yields the best outcome. An example I stumbled onto not too long ago was from _The Owl House,_ a quirky Disney-produced TV series about a teenage girl getting stuck in a Hieronymus Bosch-esque nightmare fantasy world while trying to recover her favorite book from a trash-stealing owl (y'know, like ya do.)
Without getting too deep into spoilers (if only because the show is surprisingly good, and this episode especially), the first season's Greatest Fear episode involves the aforementioned teen, Luz, volunteering to sub in for a friend who has to fight a shapeshifting, mind-reading nightmare monster -- while she claims that her biggest fear is that her mentor doesn't think she can handle herself, said monster reveals that her greatest fear is that her having kept the fantasy world a secret from her mother would wind up tearing them apart, robbing her of a much-needed source of unconditional love and affection. Rather than finding the resolve to face that fear, though, she runs from it, and even by the episode's end, she still can't muster the courage to be honest with her mother -- the conflict driving the episode remains unresolved, even though the fight was won.
Now, the big reason for taking this approach, and the reason I think the show's writers did so here, is because the emotional payoff of confronting that fear of rejection and loss is being saved for further down the line. You can spin the reveal a couple of different ways, like with a Liar Revealed moment or one of those mid-climax shots of the oblivious loved one realizing their precious kid is a veritable superhero -- it keeps the emotional tension, and with the way that _Owl House_ ran with the episode, having an introspective moment and feeling of shared phobias between different characters can really deepen the emotional bond between the cast members. Fear may be a deeply personal and solitary emotion, but how we as humans _deal_ with fear isn't always so isolated, and knowing someone you trust has your back even after seeing you at your weakest can make a world of difference.
Now THIS is the kind of essay I love to see in comments! :D /gen
@@catbatrat1760 Thanks! I always worry that I ramble a bit too much and that most people tune out the instant they see the 'Read more' button show up on a comment, but I had a _lot_ to say about this one.
Red: This video is sponsored by the Magnus Archives
Me: **happy toad noises**
I can hear the creepy intro music in my mind every time I see the logo.
Here with the happy rat noises, let's make a band
A Turtle approved these fears.
Everywhere I go i see your face
A teen girl approve of these fears too
Have a good day turtle
What’s this? The new Justin Y?
A Indo approved these fears.
The Magnus Archives: a podcast that watches while you listen.
I WENT INTO THIS EPISODE EXPECTING AN EPISODE OF MY BELOVED TROPE TALKS AND GOT SLAPPED IN THE FACE BY A SPONSORSHIP BY MY FAVORITE PODCAST AND HYPERFIXATION???
"This video is sponsored by The Magnus Archives"!
Me: *unholy screeching*
From watching this episode, my guess is that Red's greatest fear is that these tropes she's analyzed with such great loving care will all be used for gags.
I think it's probably people stop watching her at all. Let people have their fun, there isnt just one way to enjoy the video.
My favorite version of this trope is in the web series Epithet Erased where one of the main villains of the first season Mira has a power that allows her to turn any thing fragile but this also affects her so the more stronger it gets and the more she uses it the more brittle she becomes. When another character pulls the “Let’s see your true fear!” Nothing happens as she explains that her greatest fear is her life continuing to be what it is now unending cycle of pain and constantly breaking. It’s a very good twist on the trope.
"...it's currently in it's final season"
I didn't need the reminder, I'm already terrified about what I'm going to do with myself once it ends
Finally Martian Manhunter gets the recognition he deserves.
“You have no idea what my nightmares are like.”
-Bruce
That was one of the best comeback lines from a show full of great comeback lines.
His nightmares are bright, sunny, and filled with flowers and rainbows and puppies and other pleasant things, without a storm cloud or a gargoyle or any darkness to be seen anywhere.
@@sayerglasgow115 his nightmares are always an ideal world but with a ominous feeling that says that “this isn’t right” and knowing that it isn’t real.
@@shadowstriker6506 He wakes up heartsick and feeling dirty, as if he had done something he shouldn't have. But he can't say what it was that he did. He tells Alfred at breakfast, but can't get him to understand. Then Thomas and Martha Wayne walk around the corner.
His eyes open, and he cries silently in his four post bed, still mourning his loss, until the tears dry and his resolve hardens so that he can face the day and prevent his tragedy from repeating itself with people who couldn't use their resources like he did.
@@andyknightwarden9746 thats why we love batman
Tbh, I'd love to see one of these where the Clown phobia is introduced and you think it'll be a joke, but then it actually does get explored and there's a much deeper psychological anxiety that a clown somehow aplifies or is highly representative of.
For me clowns are unnerving because not only can you not see their face but they tend to be portrayed as unapologetic about invasion of personal space.
I know it’s odd to comment so far after the fact, but I’m curious about using simple fears with characters who are suppose to be young or child like.
My logic being that it’s almost a reminder to everyone that the character in question is still a child even if a lot of what they’re doing is heroic and brave.
I’m mainly thinking back to an episode of the original Ben 10 where it’s revealed his fear was clowns, and I remember Gwen giving him crap however grandpa was gave him the support he needed to overcome it.
And even with my own character’s arc since she’s suppose to be young I’m tempted to have a greatest fear plot line that reveals she’s afraid of the dark (and to some degree silence so fear of sensory denial might be the primary fear), because she’s still a kid and can’t just overcome an inherent and primal fear.
Although I guess that one’s actually not that simple once you dig into it because the simple fear is actually representative of a fear of being alone. There’s even a moment that’s suppose to glue the reader to this when she’s in the dark with a character who sees through echolocation. Since she’s not alone and she can hear the other character she’s not afraid even though it’s just as dark.
Either way I think my ADHD made me lose my original point so I’ll just leave it here and hope there’s something of merit to be had with this comment.
I like it
@@jamesconsumed7277 fantastic
Having a young character afraid of something simple like the dark or bugs is great! Especially with a character whos forced to act much older than they are; it’s a great reminder that despite everything they’re still a kid.
@@firedrakegirl13 I agree. I can see how it might be odd for older characters to be afraid of clowns, but if someone like Robin from teen titans suddenly had an episode centered around him being scared of clowns. He’s still young enough that I wouldn’t be surprised….
…well that’d be due to both the fact that he’s still a teen and there’s the joker…
@@bendurham1973 maybe it was only in my area, but I also remember when random people would wander around dressed as clowns and attack people. Made a lot of people scared of clowns when they weren’t before haha.
i almost choked on my water when I heard the sponsorship oh my god
I'm being sponsored by Johnny Sins!
I like how Red gave the Magnus Archives a shout out so long ago, and now Rusty Quill sponsoring an episode of OSP
Ooo what episode was that?
@@rowen9 Urban legends I think
OSP and TMA coming together is the crossover event of the century
There are 3 possibilities for batman's greatest fear:
1.) reliving the death of his parents and being helpless to stop it
2.) becoming something like the joker
3.) becoming a killer.
I point these out because each reaches to a point deep inside batman, the first one was the entire reason he became who he was, he watched his parents die and couldn't do anything to stop it, being in the same situation again is probably something he's afraid of,
Becoming like the joker is one of them because batman can see himself in the joker, batman broke the day hos parents died, he knows he's crazy because normal people don't do the things he does and joker is yet another broken man, except joker never came back from breaking, he also doesn't want to give up on the joker or any one of his villains because as long as they're alive it means there's hope they can get better, and by extension so can he,
Becoming a killer is the last one because batman's entire no-kill-rule is based on it, he's afraid if he lets himself kill even once then he might start to view murder as the solution to all his problems, because it would be better for some of his villains to just die and he knows it, but it's a slippery slope once you start justifying killing someone.
3 is a pretty popular answer because he tends to think in an extreme about the topic. If you take away his inhibitions, suddenly he goes the other way entirely and you have a downright kamikaze anti-hero on your hands.(Actually, wasn't that even part of the plot of an episode in one of the animated shows? I vaguely recall hearing about that.)