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Crapsack World: Difference between revisions
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Although there are countless ways Crapsack Worlds can be depicted (often with [[Scenery Gorn]]), it is usually [[Darker and Edgier|dark]] and on the [[Cynicism Tropes|cynical end]] of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism]], so it will have either [[Grey and Gray Morality]] or [[Black and Grey Morality]], if not outright [[Evil Versus Evil]] in the worst of cases (beware of [[Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy]] if you decide to go this route though). Settings like these are not kind at all to [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|idealists]], who usually get traumatized and/or die horribly when their attempts to change the world through idealistic means [[Deconstruction|meet up with cold hard reality]].
Heroes in this setting are usually [[Anti-Hero|Anti Heroes]] on any level of the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]], and often have at least a bit of the [[Deadpan Snarker]] about them. [[Being Good Sucks|Being good will suck]], and if there are genuinely good heroes in this setting, expect them to be [[Knight in Sour Armor|Knights In Sour Armor]] and/or [[Hurting Hero|Hurting Heroes]] -- more idealistic heroes such as the [[Knight in Shining Armor]] tend to not last long in this kind of setting.
Villains tend to run the gamut from sympathetic [[Anti-Villain|Anti Villains]] (on any level of the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains]]) right down to the most horrific [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]] to grace any kind of media. [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]] are especially common in these kinds of settings, both to represent the misery of the setting in general and to give the [[Anti-Hero]] someone to whom he can look good in comparison. In truly extreme cases, even the most [[Villain with Good Publicity|popular]] or powerful of these monsters [[Being Evil Sucks|suffer just as badly as everyone else.]] And [[Anyone Can Die]].
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From here, these worlds can be depicted by authors in various ways, whether it would be dramatic or comedic, immutable or mutable.
* A ''[[Rule of Drama|dramatic]]'' Crapsack World [[True Art Is Angsty|has plenty]] [[Dysfunction Junction|of angst]] to go around, and often makes [[Woobie|Woobies]] out of its sympathetic cast, particularly the protagonist, as they [[Trauma Conga Line|suffer horribly]] in their attempts to do the right thing or pursue their dreams. Expect characters [[Being Good Sucks|who do the right thing]] to [[No Good Deed Goes Unpunished|suffer for it]]. Expect characters who do the wrong thing to prosper... and ''[[Lonely At the Top|then]]'' [[Pyrrhic Villainy|suffer]]. See also [[World of Woobie]]. Examples: ''[[New World of Darkness]]'', ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'', ''[[Sin City]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.
* A ''[[Rule of Funny|comedic]]'' Crapsack World is [[Played for Laughs]] and is made up of idiots, [[Jerkass|Jerkasses]], [[Butt Monkey|Butt Monkeys]], [[Chew Toy|Chew Toys]] and the occasional [[Only Sane Man]], with plenty of [[Comedic Sociopathy]] to go around. These include the [[Black Comedy]], the [[Sadist Show]] and the [[World Gone Mad]]. The "upside" is that it's usually [[Satire, Parody, Pastiche|parodic]] and [[Crosses the Line Twice|funny in its extremes]]. Though people die left and right, it likely has [[Negative Continuity]] to facilitate the inhabitants' suffering. Examples: ''[[Invader Zim]]'', ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'' and ''[[South Park]]''.
* An ''[[Status Quo Is God|immutable]]'' Crapsack World has agony [[Inherent in the System]], both physically and metaphysically. Trying to break [[The Corruption]] [[Status Quo Is God|will instead always result]] in [[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu|breaking every bone in your body]] [[Downer Ending|and it winning]], and any positive changes that you try to make will ultimately be torn down and revealed to be [[All for Nothing]] -- [[It Got Worse|or even worse]], they will only succeed in [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|making things even worse for you and the people that you were trying to help]], and/or [[Gambit Roulette|even accomplish whatever the villains wanted in the first place]]. Example: ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' and the [[Lovecraftian Fiction]] genre in general.
* A ''[[Screw Destiny|mutable]]'' Crapsack World simply ''starts out'' as crappy, but a determined protagonist and his [[True Companions]], be they the [[Knight in Shining Armor|Knight In Shining]] (or in many of these cases, [[Knight in Sour Armour|Sour]]) [[Knight in Shining Armor|Armor]] or a simple old PI, can actually cause some, but mostly few, [[Earn Your Happy Ending|positive changes in the setting]]. See also [[A World Half Full]].
This kind of world often occurs [[After the End]]. [[Wretched Hive]] and [[City Noir]] are tinier versions of the Crapsack World. A [[Dystopia]] is a speculative Crapsack World ruled by repressive forces modeled after real-life politics. A [[Teenage Wasteland]] is a Crapsack World run by kids. If the Crapsack World's continued misery is caused by supernatural forces, see [[Dark Fantasy]], [[Hell on Earth]] and [[Cosmic Horror Story]].
If a [[Sugar Bowl]] (usually the antithesis of this trope) turns out to be one of these under the surface, then you have yourself a [[Crap Saccharine World]]. A [[Villain World]] is likely to be this, and [[Bad Future]] is a [[Sub-Trope]]. Someone who just thinks the world they inhabit is this is a [[The Cynic|Cynic]] or a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]] (or a [[Grumpy Bear]] if he lives in a pretty nice world).
For worlds that are almost literal sacks of crap see [[The Dung Ages]]. See [[You Would Not Want to Live In Dex]] for other crapsack environments. On a less negative note, the [[World of Badass]] will also be likely to have elements of the [[Crapsack World]], to give justification on why kicking ass is very important to survive.
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