Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,517
edits
Ciem: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (headers to templates) |
No edit summary |
||
| (14 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}{{Cleanup|This page lists multiple works from the ''Ciem'' series; this page should become a franchise page and each individual series should get its own page.}}
{{quote|''"[[Can't Get Away with Nuthin'|No, you]] ''are'' [[Can't Have Sex Ever|a fool]]. But you're my favorite one..."''
|Laurie (to Candi)}}
The '''''Ciem''''' webcomic series was a dramatic [[Pastiche]] [
The series featured the misadventures of the titular Candice "Candi" Marie "Stevens" Flippo-Levens-McArthur / Ciem, a teenage girl in 2019 who finds out that Phaelite aliens mutated her father while he was a baby, which allows her to have centipede powers. From there, she realizes that she is supposed to help her [[Big Screwed-Up Family]] battle their archnemeses: The [[Fantastic Racism|genocidal]] Hebbleskin Gang, made up of Meethlite aliens.
Line 8 ⟶ 9:
[[Resigned to the Call|Willing to go along with it]], albeit on her own terms, she tries to also get into college and manage her love life. Cue [[Doom Magnet|several loved ones being killed left and right]], several [[Apocalypse How|averted apocalypses]], and even a few pseudo-governmental [[Ancient Conspiracy|conspiracies]] [[Off with His Head|to turn her and her sisters into Duke Arfaas' trophies]], and the [[Determined Widow]] becomes more determined than ever to [[Acceptable Feminine Goals|finally settle down]]. In the meantime, she struggles with doubt, compromise, fear, lack of self-confidence, guilt, [[Wangst]], [[All Women Are Lustful|lust]], her boyfriend's health problems, and [[I Just Want to Be Normal|how to help Botan the Plant-Man get his wish]].
The trilogy initially began in 2005 as an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the ''Spider-Man'' [[Spider-Man (film)|film series]], and was a [[Spin-Off]] of an obscure comic called ''The Battle for Gerosha'', before becoming an entity all unto itself. The first webcomic was attempted once in June
Due to its heavy reliance on [[The Sims|''The Sims 2'']] and related [[Game Mod|game mods]] as rendering tools, several tropes from that game are played with and repurposed rather freely. In spite of coming out around the same time as Starline Hodge's much more popular ''[[Candi]]'', the two have nothing to do with each other, [[Strange Minds Think Alike|in spite of some]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20130104221028/http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/Candi_Levens_vs._Starline%27s_Candi remarkable similarities].
Also, in spite the first story's original subtitle, it has absolutely nothing to do with the horror film series ''[[The Human Centipede]]''. In fact, the realization of them being [[Similarly Named Works]] actually resulted in [[Writer Revolt]], where the author of ''Ciem'' decided to create an [[Ultimate Universe]] dubbed "Comprehensive Gerosha" in novella form to justify renaming the first story "''Ciem: Vigilante Centipede''." And while ''that'' was in [[Development Hell]], it got some high marks as a promotional tool for UGO.com, for the fact that nearly every character from the cast can be easily re-created with their HeroMachine software.
In November
Eventually, Comprehensive Gerosha and the concept of a Ciem Trilogy would be abandoned altogether in November
The Phaelite Society of Earth in this version is shown forming an organization to serve as a liaison between itself and the national guard of what is left of America [[After the End]], appropriately dubbing itself "SCALLOP" after the scallop shell that is the Gerosha Stone that is the official symbol of ''The Gerosha Chronicles.'' (SCALLOP, of course, being a hat tip to SHIELD in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.) The series in Cataclysmic Gerosha's timeline that would deal specifically with Candi and her friends (as well as the aftermath of other characters' stories) was initially dubbed ''Ciem: Cataclysmic Horizons'' in early November
More detailed discussion about series history can be read [https://web.archive.org/web/20140818112655/http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Gerosha_Chronicles here], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151016224211/http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/Ciem_in_various_media here], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20151016224608/http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/Gerosha_multiverse here]. More information on ''Sodality'' can be read [https://web.archive.org/web/20150623025040/http://dozerfleet.wikia.com/wiki/Sodality_(series) here]. Links are provided to articles documenting the reinterpretations of cast. DeviantArt panels related to ''Sodality'' content can be found [http://bulldozerivan.deviantart.com/gallery/48943144/Sodality here].
==''Ciem''==
[[File:CiemWebCDCover.jpg|thumb|right|The original poster, including the [[Hilarious in Hindsight|unfortunate former subtitle]].]]
Serving as an origin story, ''Ciem'' tells the origins of Candi Levens, an [[Stringy
One afternoon, Candi decides to show up late for a party that her hacker sister Miriam is going to, so she can practice her [[Waif Fu|centi-fu]] fighting skills and say goodbye to her boyfriend before he goes off to war <s> on an alien planet</s>. She doesn't detain him as long as she would've liked to. But as soon as he leaves, she ends up in a fight to the death with a [[Not Brainwashed]] ex-boyfriend from her grade school years, who is working for the genocidal Hebbleskin Gang. She learns that this Meethlite alien gang, led by Duke Arfaas, wants her and her sisters' heads as trophies, in an effort to fight back against an oracle in which a "Gifted One" of the "[[Prophecy Twist|li Po]]" would destroy Arfaas' last remaining monsters, signifying the end of the Hebbleskin Gang.
Line 32 ⟶ 33:
Arfaas and his gang finally decide that their target, the Gifted Flippo, is hiding somewhere in plain sight. Having taken control of the <s>Dirbine</s> Evansville Police, they decide to send a monster to do everyone else's dirty work, but have trouble finding the perfect take. They eventually create a metallic shrew costume, complete with an evil AI that will turn the wearer into a [[Brainwashed]] killing machine servant. This leads to them abducting Jeraime Malestrom, and turning him into their cyborg's glorified beating heart.
After failing to help an alien experimentation victim named Jeral Cormier, Candi decides to give Denny a chance at dating her. However, the fact that she does so, and the fact that she attends Viron University, [[My Girl Is Not a Slut|led some townsfolk to assume the worst about her]]. Old enemies begin haunting Candi as visions when she cannot overcome her newfound bad reputation. This culminates in Denny barely surviving an attempt on his life [[It's Personal|by one of the very same Meethlites]] that murdered Erin, which causes Candi [[Moral Event Horizon|to feel little sympathy]] when that Meethlite <s> blows himself up</s> dies after losing in battle.
Not sure what else to do, Candi and Denny decide to get married. [[Can't Have Sex Ever|Big mistake]]! Candi soon learns that after about a month of being pregnant, she's been effectively [[Brought Down to Normal]] enough to be unable to protect her new Muggle husband. [[Doom Magnet|And that's when Musaran's killing spree escalates]]! After several more Musaran-related murders leads to both Denny and Angie (Candi's daughter) dying, Candi decides she's had enough, and [[Took a Level
A Mexican community starts cheering for the great ''Ciempies'' that rescued one of their own from a [[Complete Monster]] [[Paedo Hunt|who was fond of children]], so the news begins calling her "Ciem." Candi then learns that her original boyfriend Donte [[Not Quite Dead|might still be alive]], and decides that part of her quest to save her hometown must involve saving Donte from impending doom.
This story was spread around on CD's at some colleges and wherever else it could be spread while the author [[Development Hell|waited for an opportunity to publish it online in its original format]]. It is therefore one of the most aggressive comics pushing for mainstream acceptance of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130405021021/http://www.comixpedia.org/index.php?title=DVD-Storybook_Hybrid_Webcomic DVD-Storybook Hybrid Webcomic Format]. It was also in [[Edited for Syndication|forum syndication]] on a few Internet forums, such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20130707231108/http://dozerfleetprod.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ciem1 The Dozerfleet Forum] and [http://modthesims.info/article.php?t=337623 Mod The Sims Social] - until the Proboards version of The Dozerfleet Forum went offline and left the story only intact on MTS Social. Ironically, its [[Ultimate Universe|Comprehensive Gerosha]] novel series was ''not'' an aggressive push for DSHW [[Machinomics]].
== Ciem 2 ==
[[File:Ciem2coverwiki.jpg|thumb|right|Promotional poster, flaunting the fact that in spite hardware software limitations in the game engine and laptop running it, improved Photoshop techniques allowed the suit in post to have texture this time.]]
In the sequel, Donte is broke and can't seem to get a job. Candi takes pity on him, and after the couple succumb to their sexual desires a few times, Candi begins questioning why they haven't married yet. Donte also reveals that he promised a friend that if that friend and his wife both died, he'd adopt their son. But a pesky gay couple that's stalking Donte won't let that happen, and the judge will only rule in Candi and Donte's favor if they agree to marry.
But not so fast! While Candi and Donte are figuring out the future of their relationship, Candi's sister Miriam finds herself thrust into a ridiculous [[Government Conspiracy]] that involves several close calls with Chinese government agents and terrorists. Donte, now battling cancer, must go to Ploribus for treatment and leave Candi behind to deal with all her life's problems alone. She soon finds herself playing bodyguard to Miriam, while all Hell breaks loose in Dirbine.
Line 61 ⟶ 62:
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[
** Inspired by [[Red vs. Blue|O'Malley]]!
* [[Anyone Can Die]]
* [[The Atoner]]: Nearly ''all'' the good characters, for something. Though Candi disproportionately mentally beats herself up over the slightest moral failures.
* [[Attempted Rape]]: Don attempts to rape Candi. So does Eddie, who also attempts to rape a skater named Amy. Jeff the Invisible had a perfect opportunity, but tried and failed to guillotine her instead.
** Marina was raped (statutory) several times, and it took her [[Babies Ever After|until she got pregnant at 18]] to get her life in order.
** Miriam and Phil avoid the need for this, because both were of the age of consent at the time.
*** This doesn't make Miriam feel any better when Phil commits suicide.
* [[
* [[And Your Little Dog, Too]]: A history of having been near-raped by Don? Whatever. Candi can handle that. Being tossed into a burning building by Don? Fine. Why not be killed by the man that nearly defiled her once before? But when Don threatens to rape ''[[Twin Threesome Fantasy|Miriam]]'', Candi [[Big Brother Instinct|snaps]].
* [[Bullet Time]]
Line 94 ⟶ 95:
* [[Mad Scientist]]: The Phaelites and the Meethlites, but the Hebbleskin Gang and Insila Murtillo (Ploribus' mother) in particular. The only reason that Centhuens, Centhuen Prototypes, Milthuens, Milthuen Prototypes, AI-possessed homocidal maniacs, werewolves, and other types of monster are even possible. That, and Zeran Holes.
* [[Morning Sickness]]: Averted. Apparently, losing one's superpowers (and a general sense of fatigue and loss of courage) is punishment enough.
* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Candi has several moments of feeling this way. Donte, Denny, and even Jeral; also have moments like these.▼
* [[Named After Somebody Famous]] / [[Shout-Out]]: Dolly Malestrom is named after [[wikipedia:Dolly (sheep)|Dolly the Cloned Sheep]]. Her future son will be named ''Gunther''.
** In the Fox animated series ''[[Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?]]''?, one of the villains is named ''Gunnar Maelstrom''.
* [[Oh Crap]]: Nearly [[Can't Get Away with Nuthin'|everyone has this feeling at least once]].
Line 103 ⟶ 105:
* [[Reflective Eyes]]: The Ciem mask.
* [[Roof Hopping]]: Ciem
* [[Sex Is Evil]]: Well, fornication, but not necessarily sex in general. Erin drilled her fear of anything even remotely related to sex into her sisters' heads, until they couldn't take it anymore.
** Knowing Erin couldn't be right about everything and being susceptible to a [[In the Blood|family curse]] that supernaturally boosted their sexual appetites, Miriam and Marina quickly find themselves [[Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places]].
** Candi tries to play her love and sex life according to the rules (God's, but not necessarily all of Erin's.) However, her fear of Donte [[Mate or Die|never having a child before facing death]] leads her to [[I Did What I Had to Do|consider a compromise]], one which she doesn't feel very good about, [[Good People Have Good Sex|especially when she discovers she enjoys it a little too much]].
** Donte initially argues that he'd rather have her [[Nature Adores a Virgin|unspoiled so they have no regrets later on]]. [[Diabolus Ex Machina|Somehow]], both lovers' plans [[Failure Is the Only Option|backfire]].
* [[Sexy Discretion Shot]] / [[Gaussian Girl]]: LOTS of them. To name a few: Miriam and Phil. Candi and Denny (both Candi's [[Erotic Dream]] and the couple's actual [[Their First Time|first time]]. Candi and Donte get a few as well. With Miriam and Steve, their addiction to sex is [[Informed Flaw|only alluded to]].
* [[Shotgun Wedding]]: Marina and Matt, although their affair happens offscreen.
** Same deal with Steve and Miriam.
** Candi and Donte's wedding in the sequel isn't a shotgun wedding in the commonly-understood sense, since Candi doesn't confirm she is pregnant until ''after'' she and Donte have adopted Charlie, ''after'' the wedding.
Line 114 ⟶ 116:
* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: Candi and Donte. They get together once; and he becomes a prisoner of war. They get back together, and he develops cancer. They get married; and there is danger at nearly every turn. {{spoiler|Then, she finally dies.}} Yes, they got together, but [[Doom Magnet|it wasn't easy]].
* [[Superpower Lottery]]: Candi, Miriam, and Marina, in spite looking like identical triplets, are actually fraternal. Candi's egg from Shalia was the "lucky one," that accepted the centipede genetics that were infused into Stan's DNA. The result is that the centipede-tainted sperm finally produced a successful Centhuen Prototype that could span more. The other Flippo children all remain [[Muggles|normal human beings]].
* [[Thriving Ghost Town]]: In spite being fairly well-populated, the Dirbine area seems very sparsely physically occupied in areas were denser populations seem more logical.
** This is due to the video game engine only allowing eight controllable players per lot at a time.
▲* [[What Have I Done]]: Candi has several moments of feeling this way. Donte, Denny, and even Jeral; also have moments like these.
* [[Weaksauce Weakness]]: ''[[But I Can't Be Pregnant|Pregnancy]]'' makes Candi's powers not work right! Therefore, she wouldn't want to be on the pill, even if she believed in it.
{{tropelist|Tropes unique to the first story:}}
* [[Anachronism Stew]] / [[Zeerust]]: The town of Gerosha is slowly catching up culturally with the world around it. Meanwhile, nearly everyone [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|in the year 2021]] is still using CRT computer monitors!
** Handwaved in that the Montinel Corporation still manufactures them.{{verify}} Used in the story because:
*** The IKEA Stuff Pack, which came out in late 2008, [[You Are Too Late|was of little use]].
* [[Bury Your Gays|Bury Your Lesbians]]: Claire Rauscher, who jumps out a window to escape Musaran, and breaks her neck. While she [[Depraved Homosexual|did little harm to anyone]] in the story, Musaran [[For the Evulz|is nevertheless intent on killing her]]. For her, [[Failure Is the Only Option]].
Line 135 ⟶ 136:
* [[Flowers for Algernon Syndrome]]: Musaran made Jeraime very powerful, but also [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|psychotic]]. Jeraime was only freed from Musaran's control [[Blind Without'Em|at the cost of his eyesight]]. Yet, he is just thankful to be alive and have his wife Dolly back.
* [[Foe Yay]]: Kimi's taunting of Candi in chapter 15 of story 1 [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|may seem a bit like]] [[300|Xerxes trying to demoralize Leonidas]].
* [[From a Certain Point of View]]: What Donte tells Merle to protect Candi's secret identity. [[Swiss Cheese Security|How she was able]] to fool security is another matter.
** Suffice to say, she needs a far more elaborate plot to escape in the book, as no [[Real Life]] modern police station would build the city jail to look like a medieval dungeon.
* [["Get Out of Jail Free" Card]]: [[Crazy Survivalist|Dolly]] and Lindsay use dynamite as one.
* [[Grandpa God]]: Sort of. Rev. Wilbur Brocklyn is a kindly preacher (who [[Shout-Out|curiously]] resembles [[Bruce Almighty|Morgan Freeman]] slightly) that [[Badass Preacher|is known]] for the occasional [[Talking the Monster to Death|psychological smackdown]] of his own congregation through his [[Character Filibuster|bizarre sermons]].
{{quote|
** While not God, he is an effective mouthpiece.
* [[Hollywood Nerd]]: Candi, though she's not actually all that nerdy (that would be Miriam.) Nevertheless, she is [[Butt Monkey|hated rather disproportionately]] for someone with her good looks.
Line 148 ⟶ 149:
* [[Les Collaborateurs]]: Merle Hourvitz and his police are Hebbleskin Gang [[Mooks|pawns]].
* [[Magical Abortion]]: Sort of. Angie is born live, but dies a few hours later while battling Kimiyato's evil powers [[The Power of Love|and destroying them]]. This leads to [[It's Personal|a very pissed off]] Kimi, who vows revenge on Candi.
* [[Marquee Alter Ego]]: Candi spends most of the story (the first 23 chapters) without her iconic costume. Even after getting it, she only spends five of the remaining chapters in it at any point in time. It gets a little more use in the sequels, where the suit is now able to be worn in pieces [[So Last Season|instead of all at once]].
** Thankfully, her official costume is only [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|completely destroyed]] in the third story.
* [[Meaningful Funeral]]: For Candi and Donte, Denny and Angie's funeral is a matter of closure and a chance to move to the next phase of their lives. It also keeps them from getting insane about each other too soon. They don't seem able to get many others to want to attend a funeral for Candi's fallen family, suggesting that:
## Viron is [[Apathetic Citizens|made of cold fish]] and
## The Meethlites [[Fridge Brilliance|are still powerful and intimidating]].
* [[Murder the Hypotenuse]]: Sort of. Denny meets with a gruesome death, but it's Musaran, not Donte, that kills him.
* [[Prison Rape]]: Donte's capture, which doubles as an [[Alien Abduction]].
** While not actually raped; he is [[Brought Down to Normal|stripped of his powers]], beaten, [[Body Horror|aged rapidly]], and given cancer.
** His loss of self esteem upon recovery makes him less concerned about protecting his (and Candi's) sexual integrity, and [[One Thing Led to Another|leads]] the two of them to sexual addiction to each other in the sequel.
* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Inverted and Subverted. Musaran shouts it all the time, dead bodies show up everywhere, Arfaas talks of decapitating Flippos, and more. Yet, Jeraime manages to [[Disney Death|survive his brush with electric death]], only at the expense of going blind.
Line 172 ⟶ 173:
{{tropelist|Tropes unique to ''Ciem 2'':}}
* [[Auto Erotica]]: Averted and parodied during {{spoiler|a [[All Just a Dream|dream sequence]]}}. Candi wakes up to find herself in the backseat of a Model T Ford...ALONE! And she has no idea how she got there, but is wearing a dress she doesn't recognize. Then she finds her much-alive(?) ex-husband on top of the ship they're on, [[Titanic|raving like a complete idiot]].
{{quote|
* [[Minion with an F In Evil]]: Teal Hog. He ends up rescuing Miriam from a thug that was about to rape and possibly kill her, and then sets her loose on the street, completely oblivious to the fact that she was the girl he was sent to capture!
* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: In an abstract sense, Miriam's Sniperbadger persona had to be hijacked and destroyed before Miriam could set her life straight. Played with in a particularly cruel manner in which, for her to find redemption for having gotten involved with a porn site, the site's webmaster ends up being the one who dies!
* [[Take That]] / [[
{{quote|
* [[Yellow Peril]]: Subverted. Black Rat, Tin Dragon, and Stung Hornet turn out to be [[Anti-Villain|not such bad fellows]] after all. And [[My Friends and Zoidberg|Teal Hog]], for some reason, [[Minion with an F In Evil|can't even figure out that he's a designated villain]].
Line 189 ⟶ 190:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Sci Fi Webcomics]]
[[Category:Ciem
[[Category:
[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]
| |||