Trope Distinctions/D-F

Part 2 of the Canonical List of Subtle Trope Distinctions. Items are sorted alphabetically by whichever trope is alphabetically first; if you're looking for one in specific, use the "Find" or "Search" function of your Web browser.

Dangerously Genre Savvy vs. Functional Genre Savvy vs. Genre Savvy vs. Wrong Genre Savvy vs. Medium Awareness

 * A Genre Savvy character notices story conventions but otherwise doesn't break the Fourth Wall.
 * A Functional Genre Savvy character is just Genre Savvy enough to accept the story premise.
 * A Wrong Genre Savvy character accepts the wrong story premise and suffers for it.
 * A Dangerously Genre Savvy character "bends" the Fourth Wall slightly as they are able to anticipate story conventions to their advantage.
 * Medium Awareness is when a character notices the mechanics of the medium the story is told in and can directly break the Fourth Wall.

Deathbringer the Adorable vs. Fluffy the Terrible

 * These usually, but not always, refer to creatures:
 * Deathbringer the Adorable has a name that makes it sound scary and / or dangerous, but is actually very docile.
 * Fluffy the Terrible has a cute / funny / nonsensical name but is actually very dangerous and / or sinister.

Dead Person Conversation vs. Mummies At the Dinner Table vs. Of Corpse He's Alive vs. Please Wake Up vs. Talking to The Dead

 * Dead Person Conversation: The dead character speaks to the living, perhaps as a Spirit Advisor.
 * Mummies At the Dinner Table: The living character treats a dead body as though the dead person is still alive. The living person is usually crazy.
 * Of Corpse He's Alive: The living character pretends that a dead body is still alive. This is usually part of some Zany Scheme.
 * Please Wake Up: The living character can't accept or understand the fact that someone has just died. The living person is usually a young child or in a state of shock.
 * Talking to The Dead: The living character is addressing a dead person, not expecting any sort of response.

Death By Sex vs. Out With a Bang

 * Death By Sex: A character participates in sexual intercourse and is subsequently shot to the top of the Sorting Algorithm of Mortality.
 * Out With a Bang: A character dies while participating in sexual intercourse, either because of a heart disorder, or because (s)he's killed by his/her partner.

Death Seeker vs. Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand vs. Please Kill Me If It Satisfies You

 * Death Seeker: A character who wants to die in a fight.
 * Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand: A character is put in a situation where he could easily kill a character he hates. Said other character doesn't want to be killed.
 * Please Kill Me If It Satisfies You: Due to remorse, a character A offers another character B to kill him for something A did to B.

Defictionalization vs. Product Placement vs. The Red Stapler

 * Defictionalization takes place when a fictional product in a media work is turned into a real product in the real world. It is generally pre-planned.
 * The Red Stapler is when the use of a product in a work of fiction creates a demand for the product. The product may be real or fictional, but the effect is almost always unplanned.
 * Product Placement involves real world products being inserted into a work of fiction with the specific purpose of creating a demand for them.

Demonic Spiders vs. Goddamned Bats

 * Goddamned Bats are creatures that delay the player by being hard to hit and/or hard to avoid.
 * Demonic Spiders are Goddamned Bats that also delay the player by being very deadly.

Department of Redundancy Department vs. Shaped Like Itself

 * Shaped Like Itself is an instance where someone expresses themselves by using multiple words that mean the same thing.
 * Department of Redundancy Department is a subtrope in which the same words or phrases are repeated over and over (often for comedic effect).

The Determinator vs. Implacable Man

 * The Determinator is a character who never stops pursuing his goal, no matter how much suffering or sacrifice they take along the way.
 * Implacable Man is a character who never stops pursuing his goal because he cannot be damaged.

Deus Ex Nukina vs. Nuclear Option vs. Nuke Em

 * Deus Ex Nukina is when a nuke is scientifically used to avert a disaster or solve a problem.
 * Nuclear Option is when a nuke is an appropriate, deliberated violent response to a problem that conventional munitions cannot handle.
 * Nuke Em is when a nuke is impulsively and militarily used to destroy a target.

Development Hell vs. Vaporware

 * A work that never seems to be able to be finished. The tropes are distinguished by medium:
 * Development Hell refers to films that never seem to be able to finish production.
 * Vaporware is the video game equivalent.

Die for Our Ship vs. Ship to Ship Combat

 * Die for Our Ship is when fans of a pair of characters twist one of their possible Love Interests into something completely unlike their original character (either in Fan Fiction or just their general view of the character) to make way for their One True Pairing.
 * Ship to Ship Combat is usually an attack on the shipper of a rival OTP.
 * In other words, Die for Our Ship attacks a rival fictional character, while Ship to Ship Combat attacks a rival real person. The end result, in either case, is rarely pretty.

Diesel Punk vs. Raygun Gothic

 * Raygun Gothic was the predominant aesthetic of science fiction from the Real Life 1920's through the 1950's; these days, it's mainly used for sci-fi that's deliberately trying to be retro. It's a relatively shiny and optimistic vision of the (then-) future.
 * Diesel Punk is Punk Punk fiction set in a fictionalized version of the 1920's to the 1950's. It basically bridges the gap between Steampunk and Cyberpunk. It's a relatively recent genre; the term "dieselpunk" was coined in 2001.

Difficult but Awesome vs. Lethal Joke Character

 * Difficult but Awesome: A character/faction has obvious potential, but has a steep learning curve.
 * Lethal Joke Character: A character/faction appears to be a Joke Character at first, but actually has some hidden tricks that can be exploited for victory.

Dirty Business vs. My God What Have I Done

 * Dirty Business: A character regrets knowingly and willingly shooting the dog or otherwise doing something unpleasant but necessary.
 * My God What Have I Done: A character generically regrets something he did. The character may or may not be fully responsible for the actions.

Direct Line to The Author vs. Literary Agent Hypothesis vs. Recursive Canon vs. A True Story in My Universe

 * Direct Line to The Author: The story says that it's based on true events (possibly as related to the author by one of the characters).
 * Literary Agent Hypothesis: Fans interpret the story as the author's retelling of a true story, with no direct support from Canon or Word of God.
 * Recursive Canon: The story contains a story within a story that includes elements of the "outer" story.
 * A True Story in My Universe: A story within a story is based on true events in the world of the "outer" story, as distinguished from real-world Canon or Fanon.

Discontinuity vs. Canon Dis Continuity vs. Fanon Discontinuity vs. Retcon vs. Dork Age

 * Discontinuity: Certain events in a narrative are dismissed and ignored.
 * Canon Dis Continuity: Certain events in a narrative are dismissed and ignored by the work itself.
 * Fanon Discontinuity: Certain events in a narrative are dismissed and ignored, as if they never happened, by the fandom.
 * Retcon: Certain events in a narrative are re-presented so that things happened differently than originally portrayed.
 * Dork Age: Certain events in a narrative are considered an embarrassment or a low point by all involved, and are generally ignored, except for the occasional Continuity Gag or "What were we thinking" reference.

Discredited Trope vs. Dead Horse Trope vs. Forgotten Trope vs. Undead Horse Trope vs. Dead Unicorn Trope

 * Discredited Trope: Parodies and subversions are at least as common as straight uses.
 * Dead Horse Trope: Parodies and subversions are about all you ever see.
 * Forgotten Trope: Even the parodies and subversions are gone.
 * Undead Horse Trope: A very high ratio of subversions and parodies.
 * Dead Unicorn Trope: A trope never was actually played straight in the first place, but is treated otherwise like a dead horse trope.

Disposable Vagrant vs. Kill the Poor

 * Disposable Vagrant is when an impoverished person or persons is killed or exploited by others because anything that happens to them is unlikely to be noticed by the public or authorities at large; moreover, people targeting them usually have a personal goal to attain (i.e. completing a scientific study or research).
 * Kill the Poor is when an impoverished person or persons is killed or exploited simply for being poor; individuals targeting the poor in this scenario deliberately want to eliminate their population.

Dissonant Serenity vs. The Stoic vs. Tranquil Fury

 * Dissonant Serenity is when a character is unnaturally calm, sometimes even happy, when being violent. Insanity is usually involved.
 * Tranquil Fury implies that the character is angry within, but actively controlling and reining in this rage, rather than being outright collected.
 * Both of the above are distinct from The Stoic in that the characters using them will normally display emotions like regular people, but only become chill when a situation is serious. The Stoic is always emotionless.

Does Not Like Shoes vs. Foot Focus

 * Does Not Like Shoes deals with characters who rarely or never wear anything on their feet.
 * Foot Focus is where a work has shots or passages focusing on somebody's bare foot in a sexualised way, to a degree that the work appears to be made by or for foot fetishists.

Dolled Up Installment vs. In Name Only

 * A Dolled Up Installment is when a production begins as a stand-alone project, then someone makes mention that it has a resemblance to a prior story or franchise. So instead of starting from scratch, they buy the rights and change the current script using the names from the older work.
 * In Name Only is when a production is slated from the beginning to be an adaptation, but the resulting production has only a superficial resemblance to the source material, usually with cries of Adaptation Decay.

Don't Fear the Reaper vs. Face Death With Dignity vs. Not Afraid to Die vs. Obi Wan Moment

 * Not Afraid to Die: The character lives knowing they can die any moment but is not afraid of it.
 * Obi Wan Moment: A mentor dies serenely, offering last advice to those remaining behind.
 * Face Death With Dignity: A character accepts dignified death as appropriate punishment for their misdeeds.
 * Don't Fear the Reaper: The Anthropomorphic Personification of death is not scary at all.

Do Wrong Right vs. Even Evil Has Standards vs. Pragmatic Villainy

 * Even Evil Has Standards is when a villain doesn't do something abhorrent because even he finds it too evil.
 * Pragmatic Villainy is when a villain doesn't do something abhorrent because he knows it's not practical.
 * Do Wrong Right is when, in the process of doing something abhorrent, someone points out how they're doing it wrong and then offer advice on how to do it properly.

Dumb Is Good vs. Redemption Demotion

 * Dumb Is Good is about how dumber people are good to begin with.
 * Redemption Demotion is about someone becoming good and then becoming dumb or less useful.

Earthshattering Kaboom vs. The End of the World As We Know It

 * The End of the World As We Know It is any severe catastrophe that renders the world unfit for human habitation.
 * Earthshattering Kaboom is a Sub Trope of The End of the World As We Know It in which the Earth is literally destroyed, as if the planet were shattered into a million little pieces.

Earth That Was / Crapsack World

 * Earth That Was and Earth That Used to Be Better are where humanity has abandoned or near-abandoned Earth for the former, and has started to for the latter.
 * "A Crapsack World is a horrible place where the pessimistic notion of "anything that can go wrong will go horribly wrong" almost always applies, and it corrupts its inhabitants into perpetuating that nastiness against each other". Many examples of Earth That Was are a Crapsack World, but they don't have to be.

Easily Forgiven vs. Get Out of Jail Free Card vs. Karma Houdini

 * Easily Forgiven is when a character (usually but not always a villain) is explicitly forgiven by someone for misdeeds committed earlier in the series.
 * If an actual reason is given for the lack of punishment for said character, that's a Get Out of Jail Free Card.
 * If there's no explanation of any sort given, then the character becomes a Karma Houdini.

End of an Age vs. Gotterdammerung vs. Death of the Old Gods vs. Here There Were Dragons vs. The Magic Goes Away

 * The End of an Age is a Super Trope in which a more childlike golden age of sorts gives way to an age with less wonder and innocence in it. It is not necessarily magical, it can be technological or personal to one character
 * In a Gotterdammerung, the power of the old gods was broken in some sort of cataclysm.
 * The Death of the Old Gods happens more slowly and generally less violently.
 * Here There Were Dragons is the idea that the past was an age of magic.
 * A The Magic Goes Away plot is set at the very end of the era of magic and concerns itself with the last of said magic and how it leaves the world.

Enemy Without vs. Literal Split Personality

 * An Enemy Without is a facet of a character's personality brought out into the physical world.
 * A Literal Split Personality is an entire character split in two.
 * Basic rule of thumb: if you can point to one of the instances of the character and say "that's the original one", it's a case of Enemy Without; if all the copies have an equal claim on being the original, it's a Literal Split Personality.

Epileptic Trees vs. Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory vs. Wild Mass Guessing

 * These all refer to speculation made by the audience about a show, the first two differ based on their subject.
 * Epileptic Trees are guesses about something internal to the show's story - Character A is Character B's father, Character C is really working for Faction D, etc.
 * Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory refers to speculation about the allegorical meaning of the show - Character A represents Stalin, the war is a metaphor for the conflict between science and religion, etc.
 * Wild Mass Guessing is not a trope, but a wiki section where tropers can record their own Epileptic Trees and Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory speculation.

Ethical Slut vs. Good Bad Girl

 * Good Bad Girl is unapologetically promiscuous privately but in no way depraved or uncaring. Almost Always Female.
 * Ethical Slut sees "Good People Have Good Sex" as his/her great mission in life. Can be of either gender.

Even the Girls Want Her / Even the Guys Want Him vs. Gay Moment vs. Stupid Sexy Flanders

 * Even the Girls Want Her / Even the Guys Want Him describes a character who comes across as ridiculously attractive to people usually attracted to his or her gender as well as a disproportionate amount of people who aren't.
 * A Gay Moment is when a straight character says or does something (such as complimenting a member of the same gender's appearance, or partaking in an Accidental Hug or Accidental Kiss with a member of the same gender) that, a second later, he realizes "sounds gay"; Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today ensues.
 * Stupid Sexy Flanders is simply the phenomenon of someone experiencing unwarranted sexual attraction towards a member of a sex they usually aren't attracted to. Usually Played for Laughs. Different from the Gay Moment in that its origins are sexual.

Everyone Calls Him Barkeep vs. Only Known By Their Nickname vs. No Name Given

 * Everyone Calls Him Barkeep is when a character is only known by a term describing their job or some other word. For example, The Mechanist.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname is different in that a character is referred to by any old nickname, as opposed to a word or term that refers exclusively to a person's job or something else that they're known for. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same.
 * No Name Given is when a character may go by title or a nickname, but his actual name is never stated.

Evil Chancellor vs. Treacherous Advisor

 * An Evil Chancellor is by definition an adviser to a ruler, as indicated by the fact that The Grand Vizier redirects there.
 * A Treacherous Advisor is anyone who seems to be an adviser or ally, often to The Hero, only to betray him.

Evil Twin vs. Evil Counterpart vs. Evil Knockoff vs. Criminal Doppelganger

 * An Evil Twin is The Hero's evil identical twin.
 * An Evil Counterpart is an alternate, evil version of The Hero.
 * An Evil Knockoff is an evil copy of The Hero, created by a villain, working for that villain.
 * A Criminal Doppelganger is Evil Identical Stranger who just so happens to resemble The Hero.

Example As a Thesis vs. Self Demonstrating Article

 * Example As a Thesis means an article opens with a generic story describing a generic example of the trope in action, then proceeds with the actual definition second and examples third.
 * Self Demonstrating Article means an article is written in such a way that it's intended to be an example of its own trope.
 * Please don't do either of these.

Expository Hairstyle Change vs. Important Haircut vs. Good Hair Evil Hair

 * Expository Hairstyle Change is when a character's hairstyle/-color or facial hair changes in order to show you (usually subtly) that something is different (usually their personality).
 * Important Haircut is often a subtype in which a character's hair is specifically cut, almost always as a symbolic or otherwise important act. This may or may not be expository.
 * Good Hair Evil Hair is a subtype in which the change indicates a Heel Face Turn or Face Heel Turn.

Exalted Torturer vs. Torture Technician vs. Yandere/CuteAndPsycho

 * An Exalted Torturer is viewed as heroic or as Lawful Good, when his actions are more in line with being a Complete Monster acting as Lawful Evil or even Chaotic Evil or For the Evulz. He is (almost) Always Male with very few female exceptions as far and the combination of the Designated Hero with elements of the Torture Technician, wrapped up in a The Hero Knight in Shining Armor package, and stuck on the "white" side of Black and White Morality.
 * The Torture Technician is simply and only a professional torturer. He exists on the black side of Black and White Morality, or in a universe of Grey and Grey Morality, Blue and Orange Morality, or Evil Versus Evil, and is not specifically defined as someone the audience should be rooting for or supporting even if some do..
 * If the character is an Anti Hero, Byronic Hero, most permutations of the Nineties Anti Hero, or especially Villain Protagonist, he is a Torture Technician and not the Exalted Torturer.
 * The difference between these two is that heroism/being on the "side of good" defines the Exalted Torturer, whereas "professionalism" and skill alone define the Torture Technician. A heroic Cowboy Cop who rapes an accused pedophile as "punishment" with no real knowledge of having had anal sex before, for example, is an Exalted Torturer, even if he has no idea of how to do what he's doing. Said Cowboy Cop would be a Torture Technician, on the other hand, if he was portrayed as the story's antihero or villain or suspect, and he had studied for years on how to conduct the most painful castrations possible and set up a "castration lab" to which he lured his Asshole Victim s.
 * The Yandere and Cute and Psycho tropes often collect female characters who would fall into either trope, because due to a Double Standard, female torturers are assumed to act out of relationship reasons or insanity or derangement 100 percent of the time as opposed to a simple desire to hurt other people. This should be a Discredited Trope, but it is played straight often enough that the Exalted Torturer is Always Male, whereas a female acting in the same way (a heroic torturer) will almost always be played for Fan Service as a Yandere. A female Torture Technician, on the other hand (a torture specialist who is not heroic), will be played for Drama and often Fetish as a mentally disturbed Cute and Psycho individual.

Expospeak Gag vs. Laymans Terms

 * An Expospeak Gag is about complex ways of expressing simple concepts.
 * Laymans Terms is about attempts to simplify complex statements or concepts.

Face of the Band vs. I Am the Band

 * Face of the Band is when only one member of a particular band is sufficiently famous to be recognized individually by the general public, regardless of his or her role within the band.
 * I Am the Band takes place when one individual plays such a prominent role in a band's creative output and musical direction that the other members are largely irrelevant.

Fake Shemp vs. The Nth Doctor vs. The Other Darrin vs. Replacement Scrappy vs. Suspiciously Similar Substitute

 * When an actor is replaced by another actor playing the same character, with no explanation provided for the switch, it's The Other Darrin.
 * When there is an attempt to conceal the switch (e.g. not showing the substitute's face, splicing in stock footage) it's a Fake Shemp.
 * When some sort of Applied Phlebotinum is invoked in order to explain the character's change in appearance/voice, it's The Nth Doctor.
 * If the replacement is technically a different character but is written pretty much with the same role, you have a Suspiciously Similar Substitute.
 * A Replacement Scrappy involves any kind of switch which is unpopular with fans and is seen as bringing the franchise down.

Fake Ultimate Hero vs. Miles Gloriosus

 * The Fake Ultimate Hero is anyone who gets credit for at least one heroic act which they did not do.
 * The Miles Gloriosus is a Fake Ultimate Hero who actively claims credit for lots of heroic behavior, but when put to the test is always a Dirty Coward.

Family Versus Career vs. Never a Self Made Woman

 * In Family Versus Career, a woman with a family and a career is forced to choose between the two, usually in favor of the former and with the implication that that is what a woman should choose.
 * In Never a Self Made Woman, whether or not a woman gives up her career is unimportant. This trope is about female characters always being less important than their lovers, brothers and fathers, and how women as a whole are unable to achieve anything of worth without the help of a man, except homemaking.

Fan Disservice vs. Fetish Retardant

 * Fan Disservice is intentionally unsexy.
 * Fetish Retardant is intended to be sexy, but fails.

Fantastic Aesop vs. Space Whale Aesop

 * The Fantastic Aesop suggests a fantastic course of action ("don't use black magic to try and resurrect the dead") which can't even be attempted in the real world.
 * The Space Whale Aesop suggests a real, viable course of action ("don't perform nuclear tests") by presenting fantastic consequences ("radiation from the tests will awaken an army of zombies").

Fantastic Drug vs. G Rated Drug vs. I Can't Believe Its Not Heroin

 * If the drug doesn't exist, it's a Fantastic Drug.
 * If the drug exists, but is a replacement for a stronger drug, it's a G Rated Drug.
 * If the drug exists, but isn't a drug at all, I Can't Believe Its Not Heroin.

Filler vs. Padding vs. Wacky Wayside Tribe

 * Filler is taking a Myth Arc-based series and interweaving additional stories that ultimately do not influence the Myth Arc. Sometimes, no one ever references the filler material because it was that unimportant.
 * Padding is when the normal story is slowed down to a crawl. No side stories are given but characters might just have a long conversation before they actually get anything accomplished.
 * Wacky Wayside Tribe is when you are in the midst of the main story when troublesome, unfortunate and unrelated things happen just to give the characters a harder time.

The Film of the Book vs. The Movie

 * The Movie is a film spun off from a TV series.
 * The Film of the Book is a film adaptation of a book.

The Film of the Series vs. The Movie vs. Non Serial Movie

 * The Film of the Series uses a different cast. (And is usually out of continuity, unless it's a years-later sequel.)
 * The Movie uses the series cast and is in continuity.
 * A Non Serial Movie uses the series cast but is not in continuity.

Five Bad Band vs. The Psycho Rangers vs. Quirky Miniboss Squad

 * The Five Bad Band is a team of bad guys who are carefully organized to complement each others skills. They are most often the primary group of bad guys that the heroes have to defeat and they include specific tropes such as the Big Bad and The Dragon.
 * The Psycho Rangers are a collective Evil Counterpart to the heroes.
 * A Quirky Miniboss Squad are a group of footsoldiers or Lieutenants to the Big Bad who can include The Dragon as a leader, but in general are just a collection of skilled warriors to challenge the heroes. Their personality quirks don't necessarily dictate their defining role in the group.

Flatline Plotline vs. Revival Loophole

 * A Flatline Plotline is about people briefly "dying" so they can experience death.
 * The Revival Loophole occurs when people briefly "die" to fulfill some condition that would otherwise require an actual death.

Forgotten Phlebotinum vs. Holding Back the Phlebotinum vs. It Only Works Once vs. Plot Induced Stupidity

 * Forgotten Phlebotinum: They introduced a gimmick in one story, and could have used it later, but they forgot to.
 * Holding Back the Phlebotinum: They introduced a gimmick in one story, and could have used it later, but there's some reason why they can't use it.
 * It Only Works Once: They introduced a gimmick in one story, and could have used it later, but they explained that it doesn't work any more.
 * Plot Induced Stupidity: A standard ability of the character could have been used, but they forgot to.

For Halloween I Am Going As Myself vs. Your Costume Needs Work

 * For Halloween I Am Going As Myself is about Halloween, festival or some other occasion where the superhero or paranormal creature can act relatively normal in public.
 * Your Costume Needs Work is when appearing as yourself fails, invoking the trope name as a phrase.

Fragile Speedster vs. Glass Cannon vs. Squishy Wizard vs The Medic

 * A Fragile Speedster can't take punishment, but is (supposed to be) fast enough to avoid it.
 * A Glass Cannon can't take punishment, but can dish it out.
 * A Squishy Wizard can't take punishment, but has supernatural powers that gives it attack power and/or utilitarian abilities to help it out.
 * The Medic can't take punishment, but can heal up the allies who can.
 * Usually there's overlap.

Funbag Airbag vs. Marshmallow Hell

 * Marshmallow Hell is when a well-endowed woman deliberately hugs another person, (un)intentionally smushing their head between her boobs.
 * Funbag Airbag is an accidental collision between the two, which ends up with pretty much the same position (or a rebound effect).

Funny Aneurysm Moment vs. Harsher in Hindsight vs. Hilarious in Hindsight vs. Narm

 * A Funny Aneurysm Moment is when something originally intended as being funny (or lighthearted or heartwarming) makes people uncomfortable when seen in reruns or looked back upon, because of tragic later events in the series or in real life.
 * Harsher in Hindsight is when later events cause a scene that was already dark and disturbing to start with to be become even creepier.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight is when later events (in the fiction or in real life) cause a scene to be even funnier than it previously was.
 * A Narm is a scene that is not intended to be funny to begin with, but ends up being perceived that way for whatever reason.

Funny Animal vs. Petting Zoo People vs. Little Bit Beastly

 * A Funny Animal is an anthropomorphized animal with a bipedal stance and human mannerisms, but their visual style retains something of the animal's proportions. For example, Daffy Duck still has a "duck-shaped" body. Most likely to be a Half Dressed Cartoon Animal.
 * Petting Zoo People resemble a human body with an animal's head and tail substituted. Has human mannerisms. Usually wears clothing but doesn't (necessarily) require them, character posesses the same body fur/feathers/scale as the animal. Very common in the Furry Fandom.
 * Little Bit Beastly characters resemble a human with only the animal's ears and tail present. Has human mannerisms; would be obviously naked without their clothes on.