Endzone

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

An Original Character Tournament held in 2007 by Endling on Deviant ART, Endzone was set in the Everafter maximum security asylum and home for the fantastically traumatised. The setting is taken directly from Endling's currently outdated webcomic, Ever After, an asylum for mentally disturbed and dangeorus fairy tale characters. Invited personally by the Big Bad Wolf, competitors fight whether they want to or not. The Wolf isn't big on personal choice.

The winner was unknown-person with the Climber, whose story starts here, with lan-kun's Dood Palette taking second prize (follow the chosen path here).

Tropes used in Endzone include:
  • Adrenaline Makeover - Dood gets a new outfit for the final round courtesy of Selescorp.
  • Alternate Character Interpretation - Minos is a buffoon, Genesis is a raving lunatic, Rikyo and his friends are egotistical douches that only care about who looks coolest and the Climber is a surly undercover agent according to ConcentrationMoon [dead link].
  • Animate Inanimate Object - The Climber is a walking talking mannequin.
  • Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny - Fishies! Unfortunately doesn't work as well when Dood is actually trying to distract her with not-so-cute bunny.
  • Badass Grandpa - Grampy is hip.
  • Badass Normal - Chimbley, Kayla, Skye, Crowley (...kinda).
  • Battle Amongst the Flames - Red and Climber accidentally start one in their final battle, which ultimately destroys the asylum and kills Climber.
  • The Big Bad Wolf - Invites/Drags everyone to the tournament in the first place.
  • Big Damn Heroes - Dood twice in the finale. First to all the contestants still trapped in the asylum when he shows up to seal the inmates, and then again when he shows up to help Climber. Sadly, the second time came too late...
    • Cindy and Aldones try to pull this off to save Dood, but by this point it's more Climber they end up saving after they remind him of the power of friendship.
  • Bolivian Army Ending - The final round was this while Endling was working on the finale. Real life and health complications meant it took him three years to finish.
  • Bonus Material - Several contestants entered spectator entries to expand on their storylines or remain involved after elimination. unknown-person in particular included deleted scenes, backgrounds, explanations and other bonus material at the end of their flashes.
  • British Accents - The Chimbley Sweep.
  • But Thou Must! - "I don't think you have a choice now child."
  • Calling Your Attacks - "SUPER SEWING MACHINE PUNCH OF HONOUR!"
  • Chuck Norris - Inspires Olga to obliterate Bunny-bunny.
  • Cliff Hanger - We never do find out what Dood's big idea is. Oh and the asylum is in ruins with all the inmates running free. Not to mention Rex planning whatever Rex is planning.
  • The Chosen One - To Dood's constant indifference.
  • Cooking Duel - All over the place in the first round, Rikyo defeats Uriel at chess. Dood defeats Cindy through hopscotch. Climber defeats Barrington by moonwalking.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive - Mr. Seles is a Man of Wealth and Taste.
  • Cute Machines - Cindy is downright adorable.
  • Defeat Means Friendship - Many of the losing contestants tag along with the victor. Dood is particularly effective at this.
  • Demonic Dummy - Bunny-bunny. Early on he mistakes Climber for the same.
  • Downer Ending - Clarice was eaten by the wolf and Climber dies before managing to save her, leaving it up to Red and Dood. They do, but Red is dragged back down to the asylum. Luckily, Dood seems to have an idea...
  • Dirty Old Man - Grampy gets mistaken for this a few times, but he's really very sweet.
  • Eldritch Abomination - The Wolf.
  • Eleventh-Hour Superpower - Halfway through Chimbley's match against Climber he gets infected with a parasite symbiote, giving him a giant claw arm to fight with.
  • Enemy Within - What happens to Climber once the Wolf possesses him.
  • Estrogen Brigade Bait - Skye is very pretty.
  • Eyepatch of Power - Mr. Seles has one that constantly informs him of his wealth and success.
  • Face Your Fears It doesn't get much focus, but Climber has to face his fear of fire once one starts in the finale against Red. His devotion to Clarice is so strong it keeps him focused on her even when he is literally burning to death.
  • Fuel Meter of Power - Climber. This trope has disastrous consequences when his power starts failing and he unconsciously borrows from the grimm around him and eventually the Wolf.
  • Grimmification - The premise of the asylum
  • I'm a Humanitarian - Things really start going downhill once the cannibal ward breaks loose.
  • I'm Taking Him Home With Me: Marion to the Climber. She ties him up like a puppet and calls him the cutest dollie she ever had, threatens to wash his mouth off if he doesn't stop begging to be let go, and tries to write her name in his helmet before he is saved by Shado.
    • Ko picks up a few strays too, originally she adores Neverask and wants to go shopping with her, then she keeps Cain as a pet.
  • Idiot Hero - A number of contestants are... Dense. Dosuke may be the worst, and Alice is pretty bad too.
  • Improbable Weapon User - The semi-finalists. Climber's pick-axe isn't too bad, and Dood's paintbrush is magical, but Chimbley is a little boy with a broom and Grampy is an old man with a walking stick.
    • Hero may take the prize here, she uses a turtle on a fishing line.
  • In the Name of the Moon - As Dood embraces his role as the chosen one, he gets better at making speeches and dramatic phrases.
  • Invincible Villain - Mr. Seles, so long as his business remains lucrative.
  • I Will Find You - Climber just wants to find Clarice. Rikyo is trying to save his girlfriend that was taken by the wolf. What the contestants don't know is that all of them had someone special taken by the wolf as incentive, each one being released back to their worlds as contestants lost until only Clarice was left.
  • Joke Item - Barrington's gun shoots melted butter, cooking oil and mud instead of bullets. Actually proves effective when she melts Climber's mouth off.
  • Katanas Are Just Better - Ko-Omote uses two of them. They're Talking Weapons that only she can hear, so it looks like she's talking to herself.
  • Little Red Fighting Hood - Climber's final battle is against Red while possessed by the Big Bad Wolf.
  • Luck Stat - Grampy's is off the charts.
  • Major Injury Underreaction - That was Cain's favourite arm!
  • Mad Scientist - Dr. Crooked is doing all this for SCIENCE!! The Red and Blue scientists that pop up in Grampy's (and once Climber's) battles also count.
  • Missing Episode - Some of the entries have been deleted or put into storage.
  • Mistaken for Badass - Chimbley [dead link] after defeating a god in the first round. By running away.
  • Nice Hat - Barrington wears one handed down from her father and her fathers father.
    • Dood has one that hides his horns. He gets a new one for the final battle courtesy of Selescorp.
    • Hero has a pretty snazzy one too.
    • Aldones has a nice cap along with some Blinding Bangs.
  • Ninja - Shadoboxxer.
  • Ninja Maid - The Washer-Woman
  • No Name Given - There is a Beat when the Washer-Woman, the Climber and the Chimbley Sweep introduce themselves. There's also the Princess and the Woodsman, Neverask, Grampy...
  • Only Sane Man - Chimbley. Poor, poor Chimbley.
  • Our Hero Is Dead - Dood in the fourth round. He gets better.
    • Climber in the end, but he gets better too in time for Law of Talos.
  • Power Source - The Grimm for Climber. Dood also uses it to power up his paintings in his final round.
  • Power-Up Letdown - Rikyo and Jack are still hungry after eating magic beans.
  • Quivering Eyes - Climber in the final round, it's heartbreaking when he realises the effect the wolf is having on him and just how close he is to killing Dood, especially when you consider his eyes are made of mud. He doesn't have tear ducts, he's just that traumatised by what's happening.
  • Rambling Old Man Monologue - How Grampy defeats Kayla.
  • Red Right Hand - Many of the characters. When Chimbley gains a parasite arm the extras have a montage of the cute red-handed girls in the tournament telling him how good he looks.
  • Rule of Funny - All of Chimbley's entries.
  • Running Gag - 4th grade biology
  • Scary Shiny Glasses - Good lord Dr. Crooked.
  • Sentai - Dosuke has technologically advanced sentai armour.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns - Though they make it to the semi-final, Grampy and Chimbley are both shooed for the final round and only make brief cameos on the sidelines for the battle against the inmates.
  • Shout-Out - Climber's entries have several, to Dance Dance Revolution, various fighting games, Monty Python, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann...
  • Shut UP, Hannibal - Climber tells the Wolf to be quiet when he starts lecturing him.
    • In Dood's non-canon finale, he also tells the wolf to shut up, 'You're not my therapist!'
  • Slasher Smile - The Wolf.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism - A large part of Climber's development. He starts out optimistic and hopeful he can find a way out, but as the tournament wears on he begins to lose faith he'll get out of there and the grimm energy starts to take it's tole on his sanity. In the end he decides to believe in the power of friendship and love and, despite killing him, asks Red to save Clarice for him as he thinks she's still a good person.
  • Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness - The first rounds had dance battles and hopscotch. The tournament ends with everybody fighting for their lives and the winner dead in his only true friends arms. Despite how dark the storyline got, however, the scenes always had a measure of humour to balance it out and Dood has a plan for saving Climber.
  • Sliding Scale of Unavoidable Versus Unforgivable - "Your life on the line, and you would still stay your hand...? Would this resolve last, I wonder, were you fighting for another. Would you have enough justification then...? How much blood would you spill? Hahaha...How many people would you lay out at your feet. For her sake." In short, would Climber kill to save Clarice?
  • Street Urchin - Chimbley is a poor and a wretched boy.
  • Stripperiffic - Ko-Omote bonds with Neverask over this.
  • Inner Dialogue - Skye taunts Climber for doing this.
  • Take a Third Option - Some competitors try to use their powers to send their opponents home instead of fighting them. The only success is with Mr. Seles against Lethya. He tells her it's because she was dragged into the tournament instead of coming willingly like everyone else; in reality he wanted to test his portal.
  • Timey-Wimey Ball - Some entries have days or even weeks passing by, while others assume the entire competition is happening on the same day. Sorting out a coherent timeline is next to impossible, especially when factoring in the cameos and crossovers that leave you wondering how Character A got there when he was in Location B throughout round C and D.
  • Wearing a Flag on Your Head - Shado has one on the back of his coat.
  • What Could Have Been - Many of the losing entries. We won't be finding out what happens to Ko-Omote when she snaps, Selescorp isn't going anywhere, and Dood's final entry where the Wolf absorbed all the fairy tale characters with Climber and Dood about to face off against him? Not gonna happen.
  • You Can Barely Stand - This won't stop competitors from moving on to the next round.
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