Dream

Dream is the story of, well, everything. The plot is at times left rather vaguely defined, allowing for some freedom on the writer's part. It covers a lot of genres, being somewhat of a romantic comedy fantasy adventure...thingamajig. The name Dream is a working title, and refers to the source of the idea. The story of the characters in those initial dreams has more or less been completed; however, the real story starts fifteen years later.

Inspirations are wide, ranging from Fire Emblem to House (for an arc) to Point Pleasant, also Heroes, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Shaman King (arguably), and of course, plenty of Dungeons and Dragons mechanics. Oh, yeah, Golden Sun has a part, too, as one of the towns in the second game directly inspired the name of the main character. And Zelda, for the Citadel of Pain (specifically, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time).

The Book of Izumo has begun! Now updating every Tuesday occasionally  never on rare occasions.

Tropes featured in this work (spoiler Tags over those that don't appear until chapters that are still far off, as well as over material that is particularly spoileriffic):

"Dehar: Hey, guys, what did I tell you! Standing and fighting is always the way to win your battles!
 * Action Girl: Alania, although exactly to what degree is sometimes questionable. Marina's Action Girl status, however, is not in question, nor is Kurolanime's in the prequel.
 * Aerith and Bob: Or rather, Quajei and High Priest Bob. Prior to that, it was just a case of As Long as It Sounds Foreign.
 * All There in the Manual: You'll have to read the Chaos Chronicles yourself.
 * Always Chaotic Neutral: The Spirit of Chaos.
 * Ambiguously Jewish: Dragons, of all things, have subtle hints of Judaism to them.
 * And Now for Something Completely Different: The No Fourth Wall Episode; Game 1 of the CLDS; ...yeah, occasionally, things get a bit different.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Everything in the Temple of Calcin arc in the prequel; the Spirit of Chaos.
 * Anti-Hero: Rin'ku actually points this out about Alania, but really, everyone in this story is an Anti-Hero. Some just have looser morals than others.
 * Applied Phlebotinum: Just what can't be an effect of having The Sight?
 * Ascended Extra: Deirya and Souya were the first to get this treatment, then Lina, followed by Quajei, then Senna, and after that, Pinser Forkun, followed up in the Book of Izumo by Liliya and then . And that's just the ones that were originally not ever meant to be part of the main cast. There are also a couple of temporary main cast members that became permanent--Zargon and Oroko. Actually, make that four--if memory serves me correctly, were originally supposed to leave at the end of the Labyrinth of Hoshimaru, but didn't. Not that being separate from the rest of the group necessarily keeps you out of the main cast. Don't forget a revived, powered-up version of  appearing in the Citadel of Pain. That was truly something that the author did not see coming until it happened.
 * Author Avatar: CC and CCX.
 * Back From the Dead: In all fairness, More conventionally, Rievan makes a cameo from the other side in the No Fourth Wall chapter. The plot of the prequel was also reviving legendary heroes from a thousand years ago.
 * Badass Normal: Many in the early going, where S'sessek starts out with no Sight at all and Izumo has so little as to be behind almost everyone. Much later, we have the essentially normal (compared to the other ridiculously powerful characters) Carlos Drzekrzykiewicz, and the completely normal.
 * Bag of Holding: See the entry below on "Unlimited Wardrobe".
 * Big Damn Heroes: Izumo, arriving just in the nick of time against the necromancer.
 * Bland-Name Product: At one point they eat at Scrabblesee's.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: The result of being hit by one of the Shadow Executive's "552-Hour Drone" attacks.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall:
 * The first time this happens, the fourth wall breaks down entirely, creating a chapter of gratuitous weirdness. Later happens with characters receiving nothing more than a scolding from the Author Avatars.
 * In fact, a rule was created: The younger a character is, the more likely they are to break the fourth wall.
 * And 's status as Creator's Pet has been pretty much confirmed by the fact that
 * Spirit sort of has the ability to break the fourth wall without consequences, because he's traveled to multiple worlds and can therefore make references to our world that the other characters don't understand.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Implied between minor characters.
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Izumo. Implied to be some sort of legendary hero, he nonetheless has a kleptomaniac streak and an odd antipathy towards doors.
 * Butt Monkey: Usually Rin'ku.
 * Canon Dis Continuity: Why the hell do you think the first, ahem, "seventy-eight" chapters are continually referred to here as "the prequel"? Because they suck.
 * Can't Catch Up: Julio, Marina, even Alania to some degree. Back in the prequel, Enrique probably got this the worst, being the only first-season main character to never get a legendary weapon. Inverted increasingly often, as characters who start off weak often become the strongest.
 * Can You Hear Me Now: Eventually added in once Hakar introduced more modern technology. Generally played straight, although the fact that they were able to make a call from northeastern Mashishai when that continent hadn't really caught up to Hakar yet was not dealt with (We think it has something to do with the way they can amplify psychic messages to travel long distances), and the fact that the characters' cell phones work in Grjher--and that a Chaotican radio station can be heard in said same world--is acknowledged as being extremely weird. Maybe Grjher is just naturally attuned to electronic signals. (The cell phones don't work in Chaotica, although with all of the chaotic energy swirling around there, that was to be expected.)
 * Cast Herd: Becomes necessary eventually, as more characters get added on--especially throughout the early parts of the Book of Izumo. Including the groups for recurring characters not considered part of the main cast (some of whom get more exposure due to being in the same group as, who are considered part of the main cast as of Chapter 237.
 * Catgirl: And Cat Boy, too, thanks to the fraternal twin nekojin Pallo and Armi.
 * Celibate Hero: Of the "powers depend on it" variant, still one of the most hated parts of the writing in the Book of Kurolanime.
 * Chekhov's Gun: A few still latent. Also, if an entire chapter appears to be apparent fluff, something important will probably happen. Examples: the first generation's night in Mettttt; the first baseball game.
 * The Chick: Sekiya. However, Alania seems to have undergone Chickification over time, while Sekiya has slowly Taken A Level In Badass.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Arden seems to be the main offender.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl:
 * Also Sekiya, at times.
 * Armi, despite the fact that Spirit quite clearly is not interested.
 * Clothing Damage: Happens quite a bit. Sweja calls Arden out for rooting for this in the Designated Girl Fight in the Polaria Tower arc.
 * Conservation of Ninjutsu: Marishkali arc: Four half-demons is a battle that has to be run away from the first time and then takes over a full chapter once they return stronger. Hundreds and hundreds of full-blooded demons is Filler that is completed in a mere three chapters few brief notes from the author explaining that there would be about three straight episodes of pure action coming up if this were an anime, but because it's just written, the next few chapters will not be seen.
 * Continuity Cameo: Many characters from the prequel briefly reappear in the main story.
 * Continuity Nod:
 * Often attacks will recur, and upgraded versions of formerly appearing spells can often be found. In fact, late in the Book Of Alania, Rin'ku uses an upgraded version of Kalcifore, a spell which took practically all of his energy to use in the beginning of the Book of Alania. Also, after the Citadel of Pain battle ends with, Astra comments that
 * Another example appears in Chapter 210, after Elemin and Ramunteko (wind dragons) combine with Renduko (water dragon) on a wind/water paraelemental attack called Tsunami Cyclone. Spirit asks if they'd practiced that move before, and when Renduko says she "just kind of got the insight", the wind dragon twins say that they gave that to her, having seen Erebus and Quahar use it before. Spirit's response, "I've seen it, too...but not as a combo..." is a reference to a character from the Chaos Chronicles with both wind- and water-based powers.
 * Also spawned what would become a Continuity Nod in the author's later fiction: After Chapter 9, the infamous "pancake chapter", the author made note to try to get a pancake reference into chapter 9 of Conn. A&M, only to discover that one was already present in chapter 8. A later fanfic would point out the ambiguity of whether the obligatory mention was supposed to be in the eighth or the ninth, seeing as how Dream has no Chapter 2, and deciding to go with its own chapter 8 because the fanfic was continuing the events of a one-shot and could conceivably seen as the ninth chapter as well. "Pancakes in Chapter 8.5 +/- 0.5" has replaced "Chapter 6 successfully cleared" as the leading Lampshade in the author's fanfiction.
 * Cool Gate: Many times, starting with the gate to Moonshine Valley, continuing to the door between Risu and the Training Ground of Raruk, and now some yet-unexplained "gates" that the heroes have to unlock, presumably for more power.
 * Costume Inertia: Poor Alania...
 * Crossover: With "The Chaos Chronicles", basically a representation of many online roleplaying arcs that the author engaged in with a different set of characters. Apparently, Dream is set considerably later.
 * Dead Little Sister: Cristal Farestorr. Remember, however, that just about everyone in this story can see spirits.
 * Demoted to Extra: With the Cast Herd assembled here, it was bound to happen. The spirits are subject to this most often, but after debuts, there are about ninety pages before any of the dragons have another line other than Balakar translating the new addition's speech. Some of the more mundane characters also get forgotten, especially in battle scenes.
 * Doorstopper: As of May 19, 2009, it stands at 658 pages. And there's still plenty more to write. The Book of Kurolanime only accounts for the first 145, so the story proper (that is, the Books of Alania and Izumo only) is also already long enough to qualify, at 513 pages. Pity the poor artist tasked with turning this into a manga. (Okay, okay, this is just a rough draft, and it will get pared down before being submitted for illustration...)
 * Dumb Is Good: Dehar.
 * Dying Declaration of Love: The foundation of, although that's more of a Heroic Sacrifice.
 * Emotionless Girl: Tillli, usually. Does develop a crush at one point, and starts getting very emotional after the group returns from It's not an Out-of-Character Moment though: She's just
 * Enfante Terrible: Korrig.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: At least, that's what I'm hoping will become; otherwise, we'll end up with a Creator's Pet. I, the author, have absolutely fallen in love with this character that was originally meant to be minor, and that could have some interesting implications. From the prequel, Souya might qualify. Lina, too.
 * Everyone Can See It: Alania and Rin'ku.
 * Everything Is Worse With Bears: Averted when the bears turn out to be sentient. This is because the author just thinks bears are really, really awesome.
 * Expy: The characters descended from characters in the prequel, obviously, but also Julio and even Marina to a degree. Later, we have, a more obvious Alania Expy.
 * Face Heel Turn: Albeit a pretty lame one, as Subberyl makes her Face Heel Turn in the same chapter she's introduced.
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: A few places in the main world in which Dream takes place have real-life equivalents. The Ankes Mountains are, of course, an extremely thinly veiled fictionalization of South America's Andes Mountains, and the culture seems like it might be Native American (or not.) Not as much so as the ursapis culture, however, which seems to work in animal totems (makes sense, as they are animals), and just fits in as a generic Arctic Circle location. Western Mashishai, on the other hand, is a pastiche of the western part of the United States (Kitar is Las Vegas, while Sanlos is, like its name says, a kind of mash-up of San Francisco and Los Angeles). America as a whole, however, is parodied with Happisault, right down to the number of states in the union. The "small independent states" that sit somewhere west of southern Terofan are, in fact, the Middle East (don't worry, aside from a brief mention of the fact that Kabal and Kabar were at war recently, there's really very little said about them). The third continent, Hakachicayokiyoki, is Africa, although all this really amounts to is a lot of desert and whites being a minority there.
 * Faux Death: When, everyone assumes he's dead, fueling Berserk Button moment, but he turns out not to be.  subverts this somewhat in the climactic battle atop the Citadel of Pain, responding to taking a wound that he knows will be fatal by turning a petrification spell on himself, preserving his body to be healed after the battle. This apparent Heroic Sacrifice also finally wins over  heart, although it turned out she was just playing hard to get all along.
 * This is, of course, blatant Fan Service, something that she points out before she does it.
 * Flanderization: Izumo's gradual progression from Bunny Ears Lawyer to Idiot Hero. Eventually reversed.
 * Footsie Under the Table: Who else but ?
 * Foreshadowing: Remember, no matter how seemingly irrelevant a chapter is, it shouldn't be skipped. The best example was in the Poorly Disguised Blatantly Admitted Pilot, when the DM tells Billy that he'll "get his chance". Sure enough, a few chapters later, one of the characters that Billy was playing gets to play Love Martyr without actually dying.
 * Forgotten Phlebotinum: One of the problems with being a Long Runner.
 * For Your Own Good: The reason Alania has to wear the Lunar Leather Armor at the beginning, and.
 * From the Mouths of Babes: Tillli reminds Rrorry that the truth is often something people don't want to hear.
 * Gag Boobs: Misra was highly insecure about her flat chest when she first arrived. She stopped stuffing when she started growing--which means she'll never again reach the size she appeared to be at when she arrived.
 * Game of Nerds: The Hakar Pro Baseball League. 'Nuf sed.
 * Gender Blender Name: A minor character in the prequel is named Alisan. He prefers to go by "Al". Interestingly enough, Rin'ku often applies this same diminutive to Alania.
 * Gender Flip: As mentioned below, traditional gender roles seem to be reversed in Alania and Rin'ku's relationship. In a variation,
 * The Glomp: Common in the Book of Kurolanime, with both Lani and Shurilii, but turns up again eventually with Chisara.
 * Go-Go Enslavement: Subverted: not actually a villain forcing the captured hero into an embarrassing outfit, but the heroes' home village telling our young hero that she needs to wear the Lunar Leather Armor for her own protection. Ceases to be an issue after they go to Hakar. Later, however, she doesn't mind so much.
 * Gratuitous Foreign Language: Japanese Honorifics seem to come and go at random, and sweet-talks his  lover  in every language possible. Also, draconic naming conventions are based on Jewish naming conventions (yes, the author is Jewish), and there are a few characters whose names have a Spanish "ll" or "rr" even though the author states that he cannot actually pronounce the latter.
 * Gravity Screw: The Training Ground of Raruk has two chambers that are like this--one that's a reference to Escher's "Relativity", and one that just does the more traditional shifting gravity.
 * Heel Face Turn: Rakuchaku, and to a lesser extent, Rastafar Heteri. Also, Rose, although the Immortals used to be good and something changed them.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend: Alania, obviously.
 * Her Heart Will Go On: Book of Kurolanime; followed, as per a prophecy that his lineage would continue, with Someone to Remember Him By. Of course, seeing as how Izumo's name is on the third book...
 * Hot Amazon: After Kisalia totally dominates in a battle with some monsters, Arden and Rin'ku have a conversation about what a huge turn-on it is to know your girlfriend could kick your ass.
 * Hot-Blooded: So many of the male characters in a figurative sense; Alania (and presumably Izumo as well) in a literal sense.
 * Hurricane of Puns: The Kingdom of Beatlemania. Also, to a lesser extent, Polaria Tower.
 * Hyperspace Mallet: One of this story's favorite tropes. Occasionally when no one is around to wield the hammer, something else will be substituted. Often Lampshaded. Only appears when something offensive is said, but usually isn't wielded by the offended one, and can even be wielded against a female. In an even bigger subversion, which is of course lampshaded, Rin'ku eventually gets to be on the handle end of the hammer.
 * Idiot Hero: Izumo, although this sometimes appears to be Obfuscating Stupidity. Dehar serves as a sort of comic relief in later chapters as a complete moron who is often insulted by other characters without realizing it.
 * I Do Not Own: Parodied at the start of chapter 1, because it's not a fanfiction. Used straight a few times later on--the first one that comes to mind is the introduction of the HPBL.
 * In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: Another reminder that Spiri Tsunami wrote this page to promote his own work.
 * Intelligent Gerbil: The ursapes are human-like polar bears. Not actually "aliens" like the trope suggests, but definitely far too ursine to be considered Petting Zoo People.
 * It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": As the names get more and more bizarre, dictionary-style pronunciation guides begin to appear where the author deems necessary. One notable enough to be mentioned right here, though, is Tillli. As stated above, the "ll" and "rr" sounds do appear in this story, and that name was constructed to play with that. The first l is an normal l, the second and third are a "ll". Til-yee. (Yes, that's correct; it uses a Spanish "ll", but the first i is pronounced like an English short i. Just go with it.)
 * Kleptomaniac Hero: Izumo
 * The Ladette: Misra
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Each HPBL team corresponds directly to an MLB team, and the entire Book of Izumo manages to skirt around the fact that the original members of the Crystallius and Phoenicis lines in the Chaos Chronicles were Chao. And then there's the Mantle of Calu...
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Dehar Karaoke. Amazingly, it works.
 * It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": As the names get more and more bizarre, dictionary-style pronunciation guides begin to appear where the author deems necessary. One notable enough to be mentioned right here, though, is Tillli. As stated above, the "ll" and "rr" sounds do appear in this story, and that name was constructed to play with that. The first l is an normal l, the second and third are a "ll". Til-yee. (Yes, that's correct; it uses a Spanish "ll", but the first i is pronounced like an English short i. Just go with it.)
 * Kleptomaniac Hero: Izumo
 * The Ladette: Misra
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Each HPBL team corresponds directly to an MLB team, and the entire Book of Izumo manages to skirt around the fact that the original members of the Crystallius and Phoenicis lines in the Chaos Chronicles were Chao. And then there's the Mantle of Calu...
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Dehar Karaoke. Amazingly, it works.
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Each HPBL team corresponds directly to an MLB team, and the entire Book of Izumo manages to skirt around the fact that the original members of the Crystallius and Phoenicis lines in the Chaos Chronicles were Chao. And then there's the Mantle of Calu...
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Dehar Karaoke. Amazingly, it works.

*sweatdrops* What he means is that sometimes if you hang back and try to construct an attack plan, you'll miss a golden opportunity to find an easier solution.

Dehar: Yeah, what he said."

Most other potential power trios end up breaking down due to having four characters. The Book of Alania's original three of Alania, Sekiya and Rin'ku don't fit due to none of them really fitting the role of "id".
 * Little Miss Snarker: Tillli.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: The cast list is kept in a separate document, with every named character listed. The list is eight pages long.
 * Lolicon: Inverted, subverted, and every type of "-verted" imaginable, as is a gentleman, while
 * Loveable Rogue: Doorknob. That is all.
 * Loveable Sex Maniac: A lot of other characters, such as Misra (and in the prequel, Lina) seem to fit the bill, but really aren't. Then there are the ones that are only this in another character's mind (Marina thinks of her brother like this, but he's more of a Chivalrous Pervert, and Alania initially sees Rin'ku this way, but while he does end up unintentionally charming a few of the other female characters when he first meets them, he only has eyes for Alania.) Shurilii may have qualified in life, but she's been a spirit for the entire story so we'll never quite know.
 * Love Martyr: Done without death with.
 * Love Triangle:
 * Happens often early on, back when a lot of characters were exhibiting Mary Sue traits. Still happening notably with the Kisalia/Arden/Sekiya triangle. Feel free to make all of the guesses you want as to which girl Arden ends up with, because even I don't know the answer just yet, and I'm the author.
 * A different type of Love Triangle exists with . Different because, and because , and also because.
 * MacGuffin: The Regalia of Izumo in the prequel, the Trident of Juri, Mantle of Calu, and Shield of Karashti in the Book of Alania, and, well?not even spoiler tags would get me to reveal the Mac Guffins of the Book of Izumo.
 * Magikarp Power: Lani and Zargon both did this in the Book of Kurolanime.
 * Magitek: While much modern technology has joined the world (it's a little unclear as to whether or not the Internet exists, but the level of technology of the cell phones suggests that it's likely), airplanes do not yet exist; all air travel is done using dragons and other magical creatures.
 * Master of the Mixed Message: Alania, for well over 100 chapters. Granted, everyone seemed to think that Alania was just lying to herself about not returning Rin'ku's feelings, but she did give off mixed signals.
 * Massive Numbered Siblings: The Urokais.
 * The Maze: First the Training Ground of Raruk, then the Labyrinth of Hoshimaru.
 * Meet Cute: Kurolanime and Izumo's first meeting, obviously, along with multiple occasions involving Sekiya.
 * Meta Guys: The Author Avatars.
 * Microts: An hour in the story is the same length as an hour in the real world, and a month is still more or less the same length as one of our months, but there are 32 hours in a day (and thus, most months have just 23 days with wo of them having only 22), and there is no such thing as a week.
 * Modesty Towel: Played straight with Alania, but inevitably gets knocked off whenever Sekiya is wearing one. Which, considering her love of taking long relaxing baths, happens often. (Well, actually, the trope only comes up twice, but the baths come up a lot.)
 * Mondegreen: The Bumpalope got its name from one.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Sekiya actually seems to be the subject of more Fan Service than anyone else, which may be because she's got the most morals of any of the girls.
 * Not That Kind of Doctor: Another off-hand mention, regarding the name of a stadium.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: A lot of characters think Izumo is a case of this, but he's never really all that stupid, just a bit rash. Don Gillante, on the other hand, uses this trope frequently.
 * Official Couple: Any couple from the prequel, Alania and Rin'ku, Liliya and Marmoni, Kosuke and Shunuiko,.
 * Old Shame: See above where Canon Dis Continuity is listed. Remember that the author was fourteen when he first started writing this. So, yeah, it's still better than the fanfictions that have never been published, but compared to the more recent material?it sucks. It will get rewritten eventually, though...maybe...
 * Older Than They Look: All ta'agarat, because they age slower. Izumo, because Kisalia Karin, too, because she's descended from elves, or maybe just because it was convenient to the author.
 * Only Child Syndrome: Almost always either invoked (Alania falls into the "only child of two only children" sub-category, and Enrique and Lina in the prequel and Julio, Tillli, Misra, Spirit and Collerius in the story proper are also only children) or averted hard (Sekiya is the eighth of twelve--with her two oldest sisters being major characters in the prequel, around the same age as her traveling companions' parents--and Rin'ku is the oldest of...well, the exact number has never been stated, but it's implied that Lina and S'sessek have been reproducing even more prolifically than Sekiya's parents did, so figure it's at least eight.) Later, some middle ground is reached (three Farestorrs; two Karins.)
 * Our Dragons Are Different: Eastern-style dragons are very human in their modes of thinking. Supposedly, they're better at humans at keeping their emotions under control, but this isn't exactly the case. It's actually noted as a supposed exception when Erebus's brothers Ramunteko and Elemin show up and are discovered to be real goofballs, but they're actually nothing compared to Oroko.
 * Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Yes, they really are...
 * Overly Long Name: A few times, especially in the Polaria Tower arc. Played with at one point where the heroes pretend to forget the name of one of these villainous characters to make him reintroduce himself, creating an opening to attack.
 * Overshadowed by Awesome: A lot of characters end up getting this, but Julio probably got the rawest deal.
 * Patchwork Map: Mashishai's four lands are each determined by a feature: Desert in the east, forest to the south, mountains to the north, and...well, the water temple is in the west, which is a mostly open area. That this resembles a certain video game world is pure coincidence...I think...
 * Patronymic: Dragons don't really have traditional surnames, but they do have patronymics. In a further example of how old-world they are, females change to a spousal name after mating, although Quahar refuses to do this.
 * Platonic Life Partners: Julio and Misra, although they are mistaken for a couple at one point.
 * Pool Scene:
 * Poorly Disguised Blatantly Admitted Pilot: Chapter 189. Due to delay between writing and posting, plans for this Spin-Off had been abandoned (also, the author thought better of the original plan), but now it appears that it may get picked up after the Book of Izumo is finished. Or perhaps after the Book of Kurolanime is cured of its suckiness, if that ends up being the next project.
 * Power Trio: Any of a number of groups of characters can be put into this mold. Ironically, Collerius serves as both a superego (to ego Izumo and id Spirit) and as an id (to superego Chisara and ego Zychra.) Other specific groups that fit, listed in id/ego/superego order:
 * The original three main characters: Izumo/Lani/Masa
 * The three most prominent spirits: Shurilii/Ricco/Masa
 * The Jumovi siblings: Reala/Tomai/Richu
 * The Book of Izumo's Oichi trio: /Alania/Rin'ku
 * The original three main characters: Izumo/Lani/Masa
 * The three most prominent spirits: Shurilii/Ricco/Masa
 * The Jumovi siblings: Reala/Tomai/Richu
 * The Book of Izumo's Oichi trio: /Alania/Rin'ku
 * Prequel: Up to Chapter 78.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Eljin in the prequel.
 * Punctuation Shaker: Everything in Moonshine Valley. Apostrophes appear every third letter. When a name has one letter less than a multiple of three, there will be one grouping of two letters; when it's one more than a multiple of three, it will sometimes have two groupings of two and sometimes have one grouping of four.
 * Random Encounters: Mandated by the plot.
 * Random Events Plot: The No Fourth Wall chapter is like this, and then there's Chaotica, a Random Events World.
 * Rebellious Princess: Armi
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Spirit (red) and Collerius (blue).
 * The Reveal: Details are often revealed slowly. Even ones that should've been simple.
 * Ripped from the Headlines: The entire "Rocket" sub-arc, based on the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal.
 * Sssssnaketalk: Rocket speaks entirely in italics and with an ellipsis after every word.
 * Running Gag: Multiple:
 * There is no Chapter 2!
 * Izumo's inability to properly use a door.
 * Alania's unwillingness to confess her love for Rin'ku even though everyone knows about it.
 * Satan: Yes, he's in here. The whole "Forces of Hell" arc is yet another reason why the Book of Kurolanime needs to be struck from the canon. I'm pretty sure that the Book of Alania can be seen as a stand-alone, or rather, part one of a duology with the Book of Izumo.
 * Schedule Slip: Mandated by real-world technical difficulties. Namely, the author's laptop having to go in for repairs. Four Tuesdays were missed, although with new ideas already forming, this might actually give some extra time for carrying on before the backlog runs out. And now other technical difficulties (and a bit of spaciness, and illness) have caused it again.
 * Second Hand Storytelling: The events of the non-existent Chapter 2 are mostly implied by Chapter 26.
 * Self-Insert Fic:
 * All characters are meant to have some aspect of the author, but Rin'ku is the most obvious self-insertion.
 * This is also a minor form of This Loser Is You, as he is the one character who is merely "cute" in a cast of absolutely gorgeous people.
 * Ship Tease: See the entry on "Love Triangle". One of those two is Arden's OTP, but trying to figure out which one it is...well, that may or may not have even been decided.
 * Shorttank: Quahar the water dragon acts this way.
 * Shout-Out:
 * The slurring of S'sessek's name in one of the drunken scenes in the prequel was specifically constructed to evoke a certain Fan Nickname, although that's not the lone justification for its presence on the above list of inspirations.
 * One of the legendary magical weapons is called "Octaris".
 * Sickeningly Sweethearts: Kurolanime and Izumo.
 * Single-Target Sexuality: Rin'ku for Alania. Seriously, he had plenty of chances to get with one of the other girls (and, okay, did get with Misra at one point), but he continued to remain ridiculously devoted to Alania.
 * Sky Surfing: Arden
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Alania and Rin'ku. In a more familial sense
 * Speech Impediment: Supposedly the founder of a village in eastern Mashishai had one of these, because otherwise there's no good reason for the village to be called Mettttt (you have to stutter it to pronounce it correctly.)
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Colcami/Corcami. Not a deliberate invocation as you might think considering the attempts to be Mangaesque, but this is the reason it was lampshaded rather than corrected when the inconsistency was spotted.
 * Spin Offspring: And thank the Lord for that, eh?
 * Squishy Wizard: While many of the magic-users are also fighters of some sort, Rin'ku, Sekiya, Tillli, and all three of the Jumovi siblings fit this trope. Zargon, Senna, Lina, and S'sessek served this purpose in the prequel.
 * Stepford Smiler:
 * Technicolor Eyes:
 * Another bit of Author Appeal (see: my page). To keep the self-insertion burden from being solely on Rin'ku, these eyes belong to Sekiya.
 * Also, Tillli and Dark Rose.
 * Eyes of Gold: Spirit, though as an avatar of pure chaos, this is somewhat understandable. Remember though, he's Chaotic Neutral, not Chaotic Evil.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Sort of. Jumango Heteri has flame-orange eyes, and turns out to have been the villain all along. also has these eyes, and, but then subverts this by actually taking the time to ask questions before attacking and isn't really such a bad guy after all.
 * Technology Levels: The prequel and the beginning of the main story are set in a typical fantasy setting reminiscent of classic Dungeons and Dragons. However, the other continent in the world, Hakar, is considerably more technologically advanced. Contact between the two continents is only just beginning when they leave; however, globalization is all but complete when they return a few months later.
 * Theme Naming: The Urokai family has twelve children, all female and all with names ending in "-ya". Also, surnames for characters from the Ankes Mountains region all take the form of one of the six elements (earth, fire, wind, water, light, dark) followed by an animal, and names in Moonshine Valley will have an apostrophe every three letters or so.
 * Theme Twin Naming:
 * Kit and Kat, in the Spinoff Pilot.
 * Pallo and Armi, too. See below.
 * The Metric System Is Here to Stay: Both sets of units were initially used, until this was noticed; at this point, it was standardized: lengths/distances would be measured in meters; everything else would be in American. Pallo and Armi come from a different world, however, where the units are different.
 * There Was a Door: Running Gag with Izumo.
 * Time Skip: Right before the Book of Alania begins.
 * Timey-Wimey Ball: Time doesn't flow the same way in Chaotica as it does in ?or in any particular direction at all.
 * Token Minority Continent
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Alania and Sekiya. Later, the focus of the female buddy relationship shifts to and Sekiya. Or maybe Misra and Sekiya, although Misra's a bit girlier than the other tomboys mention here. (Misra and Reala works, too.) Are you seeing a pattern here?
 * Tomorrowland: Polaria Tower is mostly filled with robotic enemies, although remnants of an ancient civilization are found on higher floors.
 * Translator Microbes: Dragons can only speak in Draconic due to the construction of their vocal cords, but can easily communicate with others through telepathic speech, which apparently is in a universal language. However, Balakar is the only one that can understand.
 * Trouser Space: Alania in Chapter 140.
 * Tsundere:
 * Alania. Very much so. Not quite so much in recent chapters, though. (read: since she and Rin'ku officially became a couple in-story.)
 * And now Sekiya seems to be picking up this mantle. It appears that initially, Sekiya and Alania were very similar in personality, with Alania seemingly leaning towards being the Tsundere Action Girl and Sekiya the proper Chick, and they actually ended up going in the opposite directions.
 * Twelve-Episode Anime: The perception by this author was that it was thirteen, not twelve, that was the number, and so it is broken up into thirteen-episode "seasons", usually ending with some sort of cliffhanger.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting: On and off. First occurs when the party splits up to search for the legendary artifacts, then again when gets sent to Chaotica, and then a third time when . Although that last one isn't typical to this trope because it's more like a C-plot in level of importance, except the plot isn't split so it's a B.
 * Un Installment: There is no Chapter 2.
 * The Unintelligible: Not only can not say anything other than his own name, he's immune to the Translator Microbes. However, being a sound-based creature, Balakar the sonic dragon can understand him and translates for the others when necessary.
 * Unlimited Wardrobe: Occasionally lampshaded. Eventually justified with a magical wardrobe that not only can hold a lot more than it should be able to, but can then, once closed, can fold up to be put in Alania's bag. Which may or may not also be magical, since
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend:
 * Foran Alphastar and Jessilux Umiankai. Also, Zychra Nikaba and Torton Rugalu
 * But not Trick Windskunk. That actually is an ex.
 * The Unpronounceable: Carlos Drzekrzykiewicz's last name; the world of Grjher.
 * The Un-Reveal: Not really a reveal, since everyone both in story and out knows about it, but Alania confessing her true feelings for Rin'ku counts as this.
 * The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The Citadel of Pain.
 * Very Special Episode: The one in which Cristal debuts ; the one in which Tillli's change in character is Justified.
 * Victorious Childhood Friend: Rin'ku, obviously, although it takes awhile. Also, Chisara Sakurabi and Marmoni Rugalu.
 * Web Original: This would be the index that this page would be put on if it were going to be put on an index. As discussed above, however, now is not the time to do that.
 * Whip It Good: LumosUmbra.
 * The Worf Effect: Alania, a point that is occasionally lampshaded as she is meant to be the main hero.
 * Write Who You Know: An especially strange example; the twin nekojin, Pallo and Armi, are largely anthropomorphizations of the author's two pet cats, Apollo and Artemis.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: In her villainous form, Rose's hair was somehow simultaneously black and pale pink. Her true form has bright pink hair.
 * Younger Than They Look: Evidently, Alania during the Canon Sue period.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: The Durbi CLCS game. Just...yeah.
 * The Worf Effect: Alania, a point that is occasionally lampshaded as she is meant to be the main hero.
 * Write Who You Know: An especially strange example; the twin nekojin, Pallo and Armi, are largely anthropomorphizations of the author's two pet cats, Apollo and Artemis.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: In her villainous form, Rose's hair was somehow simultaneously black and pale pink. Her true form has bright pink hair.
 * Younger Than They Look: Evidently, Alania during the Canon Sue period.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: The Durbi CLCS game. Just...yeah.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: The Durbi CLCS game. Just...yeah.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: The Durbi CLCS game. Just...yeah.