Fluffy the Terrible: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:fluffy-the-
{{quote|''I have created wounded art. An uncompromising weapon that, in a fit of graceful agony, will rend and tear until there is nothing left. This creature '''is''' death.''
''
''I call him Fluffles.''
|'''[http://www.goblinscomic.com/02022007/ Unnamed Guard]''', ''[[Goblins]]''}}
A big, scary, dangerous monster with a bizarre, cutesy name befitting a housepet. Custom dictates for the creature to be introduced by their owner calling for them, the enemies laughing at the creature's ridiculous name, only to be interrupted by [[Bad Vibrations|earth-shaking footsteps]] as the pet enters the scene. The customary response is to [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|run away really quickly]]. [[The Scream|Screaming]] is also highly recommended.
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Sometimes writers will play with the trope by making the monster ''look'' big, scary, and vicious, [[Gentle Giant|and yet be as sweet and lovable as its name suggests.]] Other times, justified because the monster was named when it was not yet big, scary, or vicious.
A.K.A. Big Monster Cute Name. Compare [[Killer Rabbit]]. Polar opposite of [[Deathbringer the Adorable]]. See also [[Fluffy Tamer]], the person most likely to name the critter "Fluffy" in the first place. See [[Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear]] for this combined with [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]. See also [[Plain Name]], [[Tom the Dark Lord]], [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom]], [[People's Republic of Tyranny]], and [[Cute as a Bouncing Betty]], a weapon-specific subtrope of this.
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' featured a genetically-engineered monster named Helen, killed by hired villain Toguro as a display of his power.
* In ''[[Ranma ½]]'', Kodachi has a pet named Mr. Green Turtle (Mr. Scaly Green in some episodes of the anime). It turns out to be a ferocious alligator.
** Also there's Pantyhose Taro.
*** [[The Addams Family|"But it IS a turtle! A nice, cute and fluffy turtle! Why do you look so distressed?"]]
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* [[The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer|Its name is Biscuit Hammer; it is the destroyer of worlds.]]
* A recurring villain in ''[[Kinnikuman]]'' is one of the biggest chojin in the series, a living mass of sand who sadistically brutalizes his opponents. He was responsible for {{spoiler|Prince Kamehame's}} death during the Dream Tag Tournament arc. His name? ''Sunshine.'' (He's named after the Sunshine Towers of Peru.) There are some other dangerous villains with silly names, but at least they have the decency to ''look'' silly, too.
* In ''[[Baccano!]]'', America's craziest and most terrifying assassin has the misfortune of being named Claire which, while not incapable of [[Claymore|being attached to total badasses]], doesn't exactly work that way when the badass in particular is ''[[Gender Blender Name|male]]''. Fans like to joke that this is the reason he [[I Have Many Names|keeps on making up new names]]
** It works when you realize that prior to the 50s, Claire ''was'' a man's name. In 1930, his name would have been normal - the twist only comes for modern viewers who are used to it being a female name, although even in 1930, it was more common for women than for men in this particular spelling.
** Out of omniscience-boredom, a reality-warping [[Eldritch Abomination]] decided to take human form and join the ranks of the Martillo family camorra. It's name is {{spoiler|Ronnie}}.
* [[Durarara!!]] has Celty's headless demon horse. His name is Shooter.
* [[Cool Big Sis|Triela]] of ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]'', was given the nickname "Lepretto" (roughly "bunny" or "little hare") by the GIS Special Forces guys she trained with, after a child's doll that shares her [[Girlish Pigtails]]. When they meet up again on a later mission, a couple of the GIS guys rub her hair and comment how "rubbing a rabbit's foot before mission will bring you good luck". They need the luck, they're going to be leading the charge into a hostage situation in a bell-tower. Triela lets them get away with it (even though they spoiled a moment with her handler), her job is going to be to ''climb'' said tower.
* In ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'' the guard dog of the Zaoldyeck estate is a mindless killing machine to anyone who doesn't come in through the front door, and Gon, who is incredibly good with animals and befriended a bear, is scared of her. Oh, and her name is Miké.
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* The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist from [[Naruto]] last names mean some type of fruit.
* [[Toriko]]: Battle Wolf ''Terry Cloth'' may be a puppy but he can still rip apart foes that ''Toriko'' had trouble with.
* Early in ''[[Blood
== Comic Books ==
* To quote [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209201625/http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=447:a-killer-called-honey-bun&catid=33:weird-science-index&Itemid=37 Superdickery.com]: ''Who, in their right mind, would name their giant mechanized killing machine "Honeybun?"''
* Atlantis in ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'' has a guardian monster, the giant 2-kilometer across crab/kraken.... 'Flaky'. Flaky likes to play with a stuffed plushie of a normal sized crab. [[Berserk Button|Do not mess with the plushie.]]
* In ''The Annotated Mantooth'', the giant robot powered by a uranium core was called "World's Greatest Grandpa." It was also built by [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]], who died in his own [[Death Trap]] with man-eating ducks and peanut butter. The entire Mantooth series was made of this.
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* An unintentional example given that he started out as a good guy, but the name of the character responsible for the most gruesome massacre in the history of comics? [[Miracleman|Kid Miracleman]].
* You'd think that in [[Empowered|a series]] featuring characters with names like Demonwolf or Deathmonger, someone who goes by the seeming innocuous name of Willy Pete would be relatively harmless. You'd be wrong. Dead wrong.
** Nobody familiar with what soldiers mean by "[[Kill It with Fire|Willy]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_phosphorus_munitions#Effects_on_people Pete]" would be at all surprised.
* In ''[[Stanley and His Monster]]'', the Monster was later revealed to be a demon called "The Beast with No Name" that was a pariah in Hell for being too nice. When it accidentally bonded to Stanley Dover and became his friend, Stanley gave it the name "Spot". While Spot ''is'' a pretty decent fellow, a friendly demon is ''still'' a demon.
* In the [[Marvel Adventures]] [[Hulk]] series, Hulk and Rick Jones encounter The Nameless One, a two-headed [[Eldritch Abomination]]. One of his heads is certain that they ''need'' a name, and finds human ones like "Bob" and "Tom" exotic and appealing. The other head is not amused.
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==
* In ''[[Enemy of My Enemy (Fanfic)|Enemy of My Enemy]]'', there are [[Halo|Lekgolo/Hunters]], 12-foot-tall armored warriors that scare the shit out of their foes ''and'' their allies. What does young [[Children Are Innocent|Sarah]] [[Fluffy Tamer|Jennings]] call the pair she made friends with? Jib and Jub.
* Jamie "Rabbit" Rodriguez. A complete psychopath whose death toll was so large that several police officers decided to go vigilante and gunned him down while he was in a public restroom full of witnesses. They gave those police officers the keys to the city. Then he was resurrected as a undead supersoldier and after brutally murdering the people who tried to control him, went back to his old job of hiring himself out to various gangs and promptly slaughtering their rivals and the gang who hired him if he felt like it. His only redeeming point he has a problem with killing kids. Doesn't mean he won't do it but it leaves a sick taste in his mouth. And his nickname is Rabbit.{{context}} <!-- MOD: No title, no fandom, no link, no successful Google searches. If no one can identify this example, it gets deleted as zero-content. -->
* In the
* Some fanfics themselves fit this trope. ''[[Rainbow Factory]]'', ''[[Celebrian]]'', ''[[
* ''[[The Emiya Clan]]'' managed to get Primate Murder, the White Beast of Gaia, First Dead Apostle Ancestor, the creature whose task is to destroy humanity, as a pet. It kind of came as a packaged deal when Altrouge Brunestud forced herself on [[Fate/stay night|Shirou]] as his newest wife. They call him "Primmy."
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* Possibly the trope namer -- "[[Fluffy]]" was a 1965 Tony Randall film about the title character, a full grown household dwelling lion.
* The creature from "The Crate" segment of ''[[Creepshow]]'', [[media:fluffytterrible.jpg|mainly made up of claws and fucking huge teeth]]... and [[Production Nickname|referred by effects supervisor Tom Savini]] as Fluffy.
* The special effects crew of ''[[The Host (2006 film)||The Host]]'' nicknamed their giant tadpole monster "[[Steve Buscemi]]". The resemblance is uncanny.
* In ''[[Kung Pow]]: Enter the Fist'', the main (male) villain was named "Betty". It's actually quite a bit worse than that, his name ''used'' to be "Master Pain;" he then changed it to Betty.
** Which is an hour-long setup for a [[Brick Joke]] of epic proportions.
* In ''[[Winter's Bone]]'' the criminal, prone-to-[[Ax Crazy]]-violence, meth-addicted uncle of the main character is named... "Teardrop".
* The mechanical shark from ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' was nicknamed "Bruce" by the crew. Innocuous enough, until you realize "Bruce" [[Evil Lawyer Joke|was also the name of Spielberg's lawyer.]]
* The diabolical crime lord from ''[[RoboCop]]'' has the unassuming name of Clarence. In keeping with the joke, he also looks like a balding, spectacled accountant.
* In the [[The Muppets|Muppet]] version of "[[The Frog Prince]]", the evil witch has a very large ogre henchman named "Sweetums."
** He's something of a subversion in later
* Prince Nuada in ''[[Hellboy (film)|Hellboy]] II: The Golden Army'' has a large cave troll with a robotic fist on a chain. He calls him Mr. Wink. He's named after Selma Blair's one-eyed dog.
* Audrey II, the giant man-eating venus flytrap of ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]''
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* In ''[[The Unborn]]'', the spirit of the unborn child terrorizing Odette Yustman's character is named Jumby.
* [[Psycho for Hire|Bunny]] in ''Platoon''.
* In ''[[Monty Python and
* The black horse owned by [[Complete Monster|Judge Frollo]] in ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' is actually named [[All There in the Manual|Snowball.]]
* [[Lady and the Tramp|''Lady and the Tramp II'']] featured a large, mean, brutish-looking dog who menaced Lady and Tramp's son [[Scamp]] at one point named Reggie.
** Are you saying the Kray brothers had funny names?
* When your name sounds like "Saccharine", people probably expect you to be as sweet as your name, right? Not true for the [[Big Bad]] in ''[[Tintin (film)|Tintin]]'', where Mr. Ivan Ivanovich Sahkrine is willing to kidnap, murder, and steal all to find the location of Red Rackham's Treasure. {{spoiler|Well, he is Rackham's descendant and possible reincarnation, after all...}}
== Literature ==
* In ''[[
** Other similarly terrifying creatures with cutesy names appear throughout the series; Hagrid has a tendency to treat dangerous supernatural creatures as if they were fluffy little housepets. He's half-giant, and they usually respond quite well to such treatment. The more dangerous the animal, the cuter the name. See Norbert the dragon.
** On the other hand, he named his extremely friendly but cowardly sissy dog Fang.
* ''[[Discworld]]''
*
** And then there's Errol the swamp dragon. He may not be particularly terrifying, but he ''will'' melt a hole in your floor.
** One of [[Those Two Bad Guys]] in ''[[
** In ''[[
** Adora Belle Dearhart. Despite her cutesy name - which she hates - she chainsmokes, prefers golems to people, has a ''very'' dry sense of humour, and can do nasty things to your feet with her stilettos.
* An [[Empathic Weapon]] sort-of example from ''[[Dragaera]]'' - The owner of the Great Weapon Godslayer thinks that its/her name is melodramatic and instead calls her by the name of the person whose personality she has (from eating her soul, no less.) Thus, we get a magical knife that can and does destroy souls entirely accidentally, eliminates magical effects, and was designed to kill the Demon Goddess Verra (who, despite the title, is not a villain, exactly)... and it's referred to as {{spoiler|Lady Teldra}}.
* One of the major plots in ''[[The Diamond Age]]'' revolves about a chinese crime lord suspected to deal in child trafficing {{spoiler|but is actually rescuing tens of thousands of abandoned baby girls and raising them in secret over many years with heavy use of nano technology to be an army of [[Tyke Bomb
* The [[Anti-Hero]] protagonist of the ''[[Burke]]'' novels by [[Andrew Vachss]] has a hulking Neapolitan mastiff named Pansy. This is intentional as authorities are automatically suspicious of dogs with names like 'Killer' or 'Satan,' and tough guys are reluctant to report that they were savaged by a dog named 'Pansy.'
* In the ancient Roman novel ''The Satyricon'', one character has a hulking watchdog whose name translates as "Puppy" and apparently, this was a joke also found in some earlier satirical works. This makes this trope [[Older Than Feudalism]].
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* The [[The Men in Black|Orphan Disposal Agency]] in Sean Cullen's ''[[Hamish X]]'' series are led by [[Those Two Bad Guys|Mr. Candy and Mr. Sweet]]. All the other agents we see [[Theme Naming|keep this in mind.]]
* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', by [[Terry Pratchett]] and [[Neil Gaiman]], Adam, the young man who is fated to {{spoiler|become the anti-Christ}} names his dog "Dog." Dog, however, is {{spoiler|a hell hound.}}
** This slowly
* In ''Hiero's Journey'' and ''The Unforsaken Hiero'', Hiero's morse (a giant, combat-trained, mutant moose riding animal) is named "Klootz." During one fight, it caves in the skull of an equally-large mutant bear with one kick.
* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' features Harry's massive, evil-hunter mastiff/dog-a-saurus cross {{spoiler|and is actually a Foo dog, which is so reliable in its abilities that his glare could be used as evidence in the highest White Council courts}} named "Mouse", whose bark can send shocks through multiple dimensions. Dresden describes this as 'every cell of his body flinching' or something like that. It also scares the ectoplasmic piss out of every other supernatural being in the local vicinity. He also survived a hit from a speeding van and was only mildly inconvenienced at worst by a gunshot wound. Unless there's danger present, he's just a [[Big Friendly Dog]].
* In [[John Ringo]]'s ''[[Posleen War Series]]'' there is a supertank the size of a city block that shoots rocket sized shells with an anti-matter core that's named "Bun Bun." On the other hand it is named after ''[[Sluggy Freelance|that]]'' [[Killer Rabbit|Bun Bun]] so maybe it's a subversion of sorts.
* Shaggydog, a vicious dire wolf, from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', who had the misfortune to be named by a three-year-old. It's actually one of the most feral of all the dire wolves... which makes sense, as the young Rickon has turned somewhat feral himself due to lack of parental supervision.
* In Hannah Tinti's ''The Good Thief,'' Ren becomes pals with a man named Dolly, whom he meets under [[Buried Alive|unpleasant circumstances]]. Somewhat inconveniently for all concerned, Dolly is a murderer-for-hire who has no qualms whatsoever about his profession.
* The titular "kittons" of [[Cordwainer Smith]]'s "Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons" are not very nice at all, and kept heavily sedated to avoid ... accidents.
* The Master-Shark from the [[Young Wizards]] series, Ed'rashtekaresket, is quickly dubbed "Ed" by one of the wizards.
* Most warships built by [[The Culture]]. In fact, most ships built by [[The Culture]].
* Kumiko's enormous London bodyguard in [[William Gibson]]'s ''[[Mona Lisa Overdrive]]'' - "My name, you see," he said, as though this would immediately reassure her, "is Petal."
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
*
* In ''[[Drake and Josh]]'' when Drake is sent to remedial English, one of the other students there has a big, intimidating Rottweiler named Cuddles.
* Spot the dragon from ''[[The Munsters]]'' (never seen in full).
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Doctor Who
** ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S25
* In ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'', misfit henchman Elgar is threatened with being made to play with Scrudley, a never-explicitly-seen monster.
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer]]. She's a tiny blonde who routinely breaks necks, chops off heads, ''[[Groin Attack|slices priest's goods off]]'', and does other things most men named Jed or Dirk would shudder at.
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* Tibbles from ''[[iCarly]]'', the pooch of Fred/Lucas, described by Freddie as being either a large dog or a small bear.
* In ''[[Stargate Atlantis]],'' you knew the child [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!|princess]] was going to be trouble the second you found out her name was "Harmony." She didn't disappoint.
** Also in ''[[Stargate Atlantis|Atlantis]]'', Colonel Sheppard routinely names the big scary [[Space Vampire
* [[Gender Blender Name|Jayne]], [[The Big Guy]] of the ''[[Firefly]]'' crew, is a human example, and he's named his [[BFG]] ''[[I Call It Vera|Vera]]''. Also, the single most dangerous, violent, and destructive member of the crew has the gentle, pastoral name of [[Waif Fu|River]].
** And naming the ship ''Serenity''? Not remotely as comforting as it sounds.
* "Jayne" is also the title character from ''[[The Comic Strip Presents]]: Mr Jolly Lives Next Door'' - he's a hitman.
* An episode of ''[[Life]]'' had a suspect talking about his cat "Fluffy." When Crews returns later, he encounters Fluffy, who happens to be a tiger.
* In the episode of ''[[
* [[Torchwood]] keeps a Weevil, one of the [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|man-eating]] [[Aliens in Cardiff|local aliens]], in their [[Elaborate Underground Base]]. Her name is Janet (Jack was going to call her Barbara, but it just didn't suit her...)
* One episode of ''[[Hustle]]'' had a scary-ass [[Implacable Man]] named Pinky Byrne.
* Inverted in an episode of ''Empty Nest'' where a small lost dog charms the Weston family while destroying the household and the larger family dog Dreyfuss getting the blame. When the real owner appears, he explains to Harry Weston what the little bastard really is and calls him the appropriately named "Satan".
* Twinkles the [[Mega Neko|monstrous kitten]] in ''[[The Goodies]]''.
* The unspeakably frightening [[Big Bad|main villain]] of ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' is a demon who likes to [[Demonic Possession|possess people]] and turn them into [[Serial Killer|serial killers]] who murder and rape the people they love. His name is Bob. Or actually BOB. It's spelled in all caps.
== Music ==
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== Tabletop Games ==
* You'd think that a creature called [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/pansyface.htm The Polka-Dotted Pansyface] would be rather harmless, right? In ''[[Mortasheen]]'', you'd be very, very wrong. The author reportedly did it as a parody of how people think Ladybugs are cute even though they're vicious predators, and reportedly based its design off of [[Warhammer
* ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' contains a lot of [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom|fun]]. The Old Xoblob Shop (Waterdeep) has a bouncer named Guraim the Gentle Persuader, also useful as a rack for candles. It's an iron [[Golem]].
* In ''[[Eberron]]'' the fringe religion of ''The Blood of Vol'' has many sub-organizations like the "Crimson Covenant," the "Order of the Emerald Claw," the "Hornblade Clan," or the "Keepers of Blood." And then there's the much more happy sounding ''"Cult of Life."'' Yes, [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|you should start running now]].
* In ''[[Munchkin (game)|Munchkin]]'', any piece of equipment can be an "x ...OF DOOM" with the right bonus card attached. This occasionally results in a player toting around a Cute Shoulder Dragon...OF DOOM.
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'': "To the camp, it was a fierce and loyal protector. To the sentry's youngest daughter, it would always be her Wuv Muffin." - Flavor text for [http://
* The sample characters in ''[[Toon (game)|Toon]]'' include The Crusher, [[Deathbringer the Adorable|a two-foot tall little green man with a meek voice who nevertheless makes the ground shake when he walks]]. He's not an example of this trope, but his enforcer, a hulking alien brute named Percy, is.
* The ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' game has [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Guard_Dog Guard Dog], a vicious-looking Beast whose name - shown by its doghouse if you look closely - is "Beth".
== Theme Parks ==
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* ''[[Mechwarrior]] Living Legends'' has Mr. Bubbles. Mr. Bubbles is a [[Humongous Mecha|one hundred ton bipedal tank]] with ''three'' ten ton [[Gatling Good|rotary autocannons]] which can shred ''anything'' in the game in seconds.
* In ''[[Tomb Raider]]: Legend'', Amanda has befriended and trained a giant shadowy thing, [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|the origins of which are never explained]], and named it "Fluffy." She taught it to fetch, do tricks and kill Lara. Then again, [[Everything Trying to Kill You|what hasn't?]]
* Several ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games contain a side quest where you need to find/kill a runaway pet named Carrot. Carrot is an absurdly powerful [[Demonic Spider|Malboro]].
** There is a Coeurl, a ferocious cat monster from ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' whose name is ''Meow''. It even makes the sound itself.
* An enemy in ''[[Icewind Dale]] II'' had a pet three-headed chimera named "Precious".
* The Little Sisters in ''[[
** [[
* Tiny Tiger from the ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' games, isn't. He is a hulking genetic mutation engineered by Dr. Cortex created to deal with Crash and is a boss of several games in the series.
* The [[Interactive Fiction]] game ''[[Wishbringer]]'' features a [[Hell Hound]] named Alexis.
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* ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' features a pirate known as Edward "Snugglecakes" Van Helgen.
{{quote|"Mine is the name that pirates fear the most!"}}
* ''[[Psychonauts]]'' features a lake monster known as The Hulking Lungfish: A bizarre, mutated, wart-covered, slime-shedding, ten-foot-tall abomination with a deep, echoing voice. Actually, her name is Linda, and she's [[Gentle Giant|quite friendly]].
* The most menacing-looking characters in ''[[Phantom Brave]]'' is named "Sprout". He's also {{spoiler|the ''penultimate boss'' of the main game.}}
* From ''[[Wizardry|Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant]]'' comes Spot the dinosaur, a nasty boss fight at the end of the Giant Caves. Especially bad if you aren't expecting it.
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* One can easily invoke this trope in ''[[Dragon Age Origins]]'' when naming your [[Badass]] Mabari Warhound. One the game's writers dubbed it "Rabbit". ''[[Penny Arcade]]'' went with "Barkspawn". It's almost certain that some fans have actually named it "Fluffy" at one point.
** The name of the Fifth Blight's Archdemon is Urthemiel, the former Old God of Beauty.
** "Barkspawn" became an [[Ascended Meme]] in ''The Darkspawn Chronicles'' [[Downloadable Content|DLC]], wherein Alistair gave him that name.
* ''[[Drakan]]: Order of the Flame'' leaves this one to the player's imagination - while you never get to encounter its owner, there's a weapon hidden in a cave in the Wartok Canyons level called "John the Monster's Axe" (and given the kind of world ''Drakan'' is and what kinds of enemies are encountered, there's no telling what kind of ''Monster'' this John is).
* The moat monster in ''[[A Vampyre Story]]'' is called Inky.
** Well, Froderick calls him Inky. No one else calls him anything, so it could just be Froderick being derogatory (since said lake monster's defining feature is that he is an inky black amorphous blob).
* One of the most fearsome [[Space Pirate
** On the other hand, Rory got the nickname Redship following a rumor of him painting his ship with the blood of his enemies.
* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Death Smiles]]'' is a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] turned wizard who was stranded in Gilverado and is trying to get back to the real world, and doesn't care if he has to open hundreds of portals to the demon world to do it. His name? Jitterbug.
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* The third season of the ''[[The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police|Sam and Max Freelance Police]]'' games introduced the most horrible and fearsome of the [[Eldritch Abomination|elder gods,]] whose birthing wails shattered the great continent of Pangaea. His name...is ''Junior.''
* In ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'', the Bonnes have collaborated to create the ultimate killing machine and Mega Man's greatest challenge yet: Bruno!
* [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Tabitha Tabitha] the super mutant, from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]''. Nothing looks less like a "Tabitha".
* Speaking of Fallout, there's the helpful [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Mister_Handy Mr. Handy]? Such a cute little explosive robot, yes he is!
* In the "Nazi Zombies storyline of ''[[Call of Duty]]: World At War'', the first ever hellhound is named Fluffy.
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* The bosses in ''[[Darius]]'' are giant, heavily-armed mechanical fish with frequently silly names like "Little Stripes", "Fatty Glutton", and "My Home Daddy".
* The head demons in ''[[Shadows of the Damned]]'' are grotesque abominations which can rip you apart in seconds. They have names like George, Christopher, and for the King of Demons himself, ''Fleming.''
* The player character of ''[[Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies|Ace Combat 4]]'', Mobius One, is often times referred to as "the ribbon" or "the ribbon fighter", after the mobius strip design on his plane's tail. Mobius One is more or less singlehandedly responsible for turning the tide of the war, and in a extra mode in ''[[Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War]]'', is said to be more effective in combat than a squadron of other pilots.
* In the [[Cold War]] simulator ''Theatre Europe'', you have the option to use a massive nuclear strike that will bring about [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. It's called "Fireplan Warm Puppy".
* In ''[[Eternal Lands]]'', there is the Fluffy Rabbit, a [[Shout-Out]] to the [[Killer Rabbit]] in [[Monty Python and
* Trolls in ''[[
* ''[[Fantasy Quest]]'': The angry murderous drawf's name is Mr. Snorri "Fruitloop" Throfssonsson.
* The OTAS Venti in the ''[[X Universe]]'' sounds like something you'd buy at Starbucks
** As a bit of [[Genius Bonus]], the Venti is actually [[Religious and Mythological Theme Naming|named for the]] [[Roman Mythology|Roman wind deities]]. It only ''sounds'' like a coffee size.
* In ''[[Dragon Fable]]'', Sepulchure names his [[Dracolich]] Fluffy.
* Very easy to do in the ''[[Pokemon]]'' games, as you can nickname a Pokeman anything that doesn't cause a [[Scunthorpe Problem]]. So a vicious-looking Mon like Salamence or Garchomp could be named "Fluffy" or something similar.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', while having its share of [[Killer Rabbit|killer rabbits]], has a borderline example of this in the form of the large centipede called
* Dragoon in ''[[
* ''[[Something
* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', Dr. [[McNinja]]'s gorilla receptionist, who is known to take out [[It Makes Sense in Context|hunters of giant lumberjacks and go toe-to-toe with velociraptors]], is named Judy.
* Mr. Scruffy, from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', recently [[Took a Level
* A running joke regarding Virus of ''[[Exterminatus Now]]'' is his tendency toward pets like this, [[Noodle Incident|including a massive combat cyborg he named 'Skippy']], though the only one of these pets to get significant screentime is a Chao that absorbed the DNA of a demonic dog, who he named 'Blasphemy', which is actually quite fitting.
{{quote|'''Eastwood''': The traits you find endearing, most right-thinking people have [[Nightmare Fuel|nightmares]] about.}}
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** The comic also includes a mob boss named Asa ''Sweet'' and little orange tabby over there who massacres a group of people while laughing maniacally? He's known as ''Freckle'' to his cousin.
* ''[[Goblins]]'' supplies the page quote, in the form of an Owlbear, [[Cold-Blooded Torture|tortured]] over months by the guard quoted [[Being Tortured Makes You Evil|in order to make it a killing machine.]] It works, {{spoiler|but [http://www.goblinscomic.com/01102008/ not quite in the way] [[Hoist by His Own Petard|the guard]] [[Karmic Death|might have hoped]]...}}
** A little later in the comic we're introduced to "Mr. Fingers". {{spoiler|This is a very appropriate name since "Mr. Fingers" is an [[Eldritch Abomination]] that is composed of pure [[Nightmare Fuel
** After that, there's Biscuit the Orc. He was named after his favorite food as a child.
* ''[[Sequential Art (webcomic)|Sequential Art]]'' has [[Show Within a Show|in-universe]] [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] "[[Fictional Counterpart|Realm of Lorcraft]]" where the fearsome beast named Pickles scared everyone. An incredibly frightening and powerful creature is a [http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=261 little, bug-eyed chihuahua-looking] ''[[Killer Rabbit|puppy]]'' who can turn himself inside out. (See the start of that storyline [http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=252 right here].)
* ''[[Looking for Group]]'' has the Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead. His name is Richard. His friends call him "Dick" (at their own risk).
** On later days he's picked up the titles "Lord of the Dance" and "Mistress of Magma" as well. He's also the mayor of a small town up the coast, quite scenic in spring... A small town {{spoiler|of the undead}} that's called "Pretty, Pretty Unicorn." It's a work in progress.
* [[
* ''The Scout Report'', a ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' comic, features a hunter detailing the advanced features of her pet in a two-paragraph lecture ending as follows:
{{quote|'''Scout''': ...he can sneak up behind an orc, rip his throat out, eviscerate the corpse, and pee on the bloody entrails in four point two seconds. I've timed it.
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* ''[[A Modest Destiny]]'' has the Vampire Lord Fluffy, [http://www.squidi.net/comic/amd/view.php?series=amd&ep=2&id=1 whose name was enough to strike fear into the heart of even the most brave]. He has [[Villain Decay]] as a backstory. {{spoiler|The decay is later subverted with a vengeance.}}
* Yuki from ''[[Megatokyo]]'' gets a pet [[Fun Size|FunSized]] [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|zombie]] [[Kaiju|'zilla]]. She names him Zom-Zom-chan and ties all the pieces that fall off him back on with ribbons.
* The title character of ''[[The Good Witch]]'' is named [[Villain Protagonist|Angel]].
* ''[[L's Empire|Ls Empire]]'' gives one of the main characters the Ultimate Chimera from [[Mother 3]] as a pet and names it Fluffy.
* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' has the former Ob'enn Superfortress starship, the "Post-Dated Check Loan", capable of outgunning whole fleets at full capacity. Its controlling AI is named Petey. This is in deliberate contrast to the absurdly overdramatic names of most of its race's ships. Incidentally, the next ship the Toughs own is the "Serial Peacemaker", which is a glorified troopship entirely unworthy of its awesome name.
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'''Tucker:''' Fluffy?!
'''Caboose:''' Fluffy! The alien that only loves! }}
* [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Commissar_Dan Commissar Dan], [[Warhammer
* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' v4 has Kenny the bear, whose one and only appearance on the island so far is attacking and killing an inactive student. It's heavily implied he used to have human owners who kept him in the cage.
* In the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'', several Ultraviolents (students with a penchant for violence and blood) keep a twenty-foot-long flesh-eating demonic worm as a beloved pet. They call it 'Fluffy'.
* From the pages of [[Deviant ART]], we get the [http://blaze-drag.deviantart.com/gallery/11850169#/d2mfr0r LemonLoaf]. Most of this guys weapons qualify as [[BFS]], but he has done some [[BFG]] work as well.
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{{quote|I've got a big head, and little arms: I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through... Master?}}
* [[Tiny Toon Adventures|Plucky Duck]] discovers that Montana Max follows this trope in "Return of the Toxic Revenger":
{{quote|'''Monty''': Get outta [[No OSHA Compliance|my factory]], duck dweeb, or I'll sic my dog Muffin on you!
'''Toxic Revenger''': Oh, be still my heart. I'm gonna be attacked by a little doggie named...Muffin? '''* CHOMP* '''
''[[Hilarity Ensues|Maim-arity Ensues]]'' }}
* In ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]'' (remember, this is a [[Mouse World]]), the villain Ratigan has a gigantic cat he often [[Bad Boss|feeds a minion that upsets him]] - called Felicia; she also has a pretty bow.
* In ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', Grodd had a giant gorilla he called "Tiny".
* In the ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' episode "Babel", the rampaging elephant is named Tiffany.
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* [[The Bully]] in ''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]]'' is a [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]] named Tina.
* [[Kaijudo (animation)|Tatsurion the Unchained]] is called Bob by his friends. (Well, relucatntly accepted the nickname, but still...) He's also a giant hybrid monster that combines the savagery of the Beast Kin and the firepower of the Armored Dragons, and probably the most badass monster of the series.
* In ''[[Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures]]'', Fluffy is the name of the vicious three-headed Cerberus [[Expy]] that guards the [[Big Bad]]'s castle.
== Other ==
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== New Media ==
* The infamous SMILE.DOG picture. Its name may conjure up images of a [[Precious Puppies|cute]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20081127040908/http://www.blowinginthewind.com/shop/dbimages/1351-GoldenRetrieverPuppy30pcSmall.jpg smiling golden retriever] or [http://afinebalance.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/up-dug-the-dog-2.jpg something similar]{{broken link}}. If anyone is seriously [[Schmuck Bait|curious]] about the picture, there are links as well as more reliable descriptions of SMILE.DOG on the [[Nightmare Fuel/TV Tropes|Nightmare Fuel - TvTropes]] page...
== Real Life ==
* "Beppo" was the goofy nickname of [[Those Wacky Nazis|Dr.]] [[Mad Scientist|Josef]] [[Complete Monster|Mengele]].
* There was a Viking warlord known as Ivar the Boneless. Theories about the reason for his name range from impotence to having lost his legs to osteogenesis imperfecta (leaving him with no real use of his legs), and the last one is supported by the chronicled fact that he was carried into battle. The point is, whatever was wrong with him, he was a chieftain and a warrior, and apparently well respected, in a culture where physically weak men were despised. How badass is ''that''?.
** The evil Viking king in ''[[The Sea Of Trolls]]'' was called 'the boneless' because he has no spine.
** [[Ragnar Lodbrok and His Sons|Ragnar Lodbrok]] or "Hairy-Breeks" ("Hairy-Pants"), one of the most feared and ruthless warlords of the viking era.
** Harald Bluetooth, who (retroactively) sounds like a computer nerd: his name was given to the device as he was the one who united the Norse factions in his area, just as the Bluetooth device apparently 'unites' electronics.
* In Rome, one of the emperors marched alongside the legions when he was a child. They made the child, a boy named Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, a set of armor that included little leather boots. Gaius received the nickname "Bootsy", or "Little Boots". [[The Caligula|Guess what the Latin word for "Little Boots"/"Bootsy" is]].
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* During [[World War Two]] the Germans planned to build a 188-ton superheavy tank called the Mouse. And designed a 1000-ton monster called the Rat.
** As modern Germans are not too fond of martial sounding names (they are not destroyers, they are really large frigates), many German army vehicles are named after the smallest and cutest predatory animals like fox, weasel, fennec, marten, lynx, and dingo. Exception are the ''leopard'' main battle tank, and the 25 ton ''grizzly'' armored truck.
* In any online competitive video game, players with names like 'KILLA234' or 'xXDarKLordXx' will be cannon fodder (or sometimes cheaters stupid enough to be obvious), but players called 'Fluffy Bear' or 'Pink Kitten' will mercilessly slaughter you. Usually it's because the former are overcompensating 13 year olds, while the latter are more mature and experienced players who aren't nearly as self-conscious. Also, because it's twice as funny for the latter to crush the opposition with the name 'Fluffy Bear', especially if the opponents are the former. And if they [[Ominous Mundanity|don't even have a cute name]]? Nothing will save you from someone called SoccerDad742, JustForFun21, or VolleyballGrrl.
** This phenomenon is mentioned in the ''[http://
{{quote|[Killzone’jaeden]:
[Killzone’jaeden]:
[Killzone’jaeden]:
[Killzone’jaeden]:
[Killzone’jaeden]: But if I ever see, like, "Ain't Misbehavin"
[Killzone’jaeden]: [[Oh Crap|I'm like SHIT]] }}
* The argument can be made for many hurricane names here. I mean, would ''you'' run away from [[wikipedia:Hurricane Mitch|Mitch]], [[wikipedia:Hurricane Wilma|Wilma]], or even [[wikipedia:1992 Pacific typhoon season#Super Typhoon Gay|Gay]] ([[Have a Gay Old Time|Yes, really]])
** Even better are the [https://web.archive.org/web/20091212064619/http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/jma-eng/jma-center/rsmc-hp-pub-eg/tyname.html names of tropical cyclones] (typhoons) in the Asian-Pacific region: if something is called [[Friendly Playful Dolphin|Dolphin]], Usagi or Yu-Tu ([[Moon Rabbit|The Moon Rabbit]]), it's got to be pretty harmless, [[Killer Rabbit|right]]?
** [[wikipedia:Typhoon Tip|Typhoon Tip]] though silly in name is the most intense and largest typhoon on record. At its full size it would be able to (roughly) [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Typhoonsizes.jpg cover half of the US.]
*** Also in the above image is Cyclone Tracy, the smallest and most compact cyclone on record that completely leveled Darwin, Australia in the 1970s.
** Both [[Lewis Black]] and [[Robin Williams]] talk about unthreatening-sounding hurricanes in their standup acts. Robin talks about hurricane Terrence, which sounds like a "slightly gay" hurricane, and Lew wonders why the fuck anyone would name a hurricane Lenny.
** Out of all of these, however, [[wikipedia:Hurricane Fifi|Hurricane Fifi]] has them all beat. It killed anywhere from 3,000 to ''10,000'' people in Honduras alone, and caused $1.8 ''billion'' in
* Similarly, there's the [[wikipedia:Haboob|Haboob]] (which is actually Arabic for "strong wind"). Haboobs are monstrous desert duststorms usually caused by atmospheric disruptions. They're not so much destructive as they are disruptive, but they sure are threatening-looking. So the next time you're in Arizona and you see a six kilometer-tall wall of dust flying toward you at
* See the real life Fluffy the Terrible [http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/12/buyfluff.ART_ART_01-12-08_A1_4191M6R.html?sid=101 here!]{{broken link}} Admittedly, pythons don't move around that much....
* [[wikipedia:Joshua Blahyi|General Butt Naked]], leader of the appropriately named [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1576088/Gen-Butt-Naked-confesses-to-nude-killings.html Butt Naked Battalion]. Names sound hilarious? Right? '''''Wrong'''''. They committed some ''horrifying'' acts. All while [[Full-Frontal Assault|naked]].
* You'd think an animal called a "honey badger" would be pretty docile, right? '''[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/honeybadger.html WRONG.]'''
* And speaking of war machines, how about other ones being given cute nicknames by their drivers/pilots? There's the famous B-29 bomber ''Enola Gay'' (named after the pilot's mother) that dropped the big one on Hiroshima in [[World War II]]. The last remaining airworthy B-29 is named ''Fifi''.
* In [[Cricket]], Joel Garner, the [[Scary Black Man|much-feared 6'8" West Indies fast bowler]] of the 80s, was nicknamed [[Sesame Street|"Big Bird"]].
* The name of the only individual known to have single-handedly exterminated an ''entire species''? [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A11484902 Tibbles].
* The dinosaur Saichania, which is a large ankylosauroid covered in spikes, horns, and thick, bony plates. Its name actually means "beautiful" in Mongolian.
* One of the most unpleasantly spiny plants in the menagerie of unpleasantly spiny plants that covers the southwestern United States and northern Mexico: The Teddy Bear Cholla, so named because when viewed from a distance, the thousands of needle-thin, transparent, barbed spines that cover every inch of the plant make it look like it's fuzzy or [[Light Is Not Good|has a sort of halo]]. To give you an indication of how easy it is to get those spines stuck all over you, the other name for the stuff is "[[This Is Gonna Suck|jumping cactus]]."
* American documentary television series ''Shockwave'' once showed [http://youtu.be/V9gr_rWlgJo an obese man lift a crashed 1600 lbs helicopter]{{broken link}} in order to have rescuers pull the pilot away from the wreckage. The big guy's name: Tiny!
* The U.S. made a habit of giving nuclear devices very innocent names.
** The atomic bombs dropped during World War II? Fat Man and Little Boy.
** The first thermonuclear test device was named [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Ivy_Mike_Sausage_device.jpg Sausage]. It weighed 62 tons and exploded with a force of 10.4 megatons. It created a crater 1 mile across and was the fourth most power test done by the U.S.
** The device responsible for the third most powerful nuclear test done by the U.S. was named Runt.
** The device responsible for the ''second'' most powerful nuclear test done by the U.S. was named Runt II.
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* One of the most invasive plants in the eastern United States is the ''Ailanthus'' tree, commonly known as the Tree of Heaven. While it's pretty, it spreads so quickly that it rapidly chokes out all other plant life, and there is a very good reason that it's acquired the nickname "stink tree."
* The [[Israelis With Infrared Missiles|Israeli]] [[Mighty Glacier|armored version]] of the Caterpillar D9 [[Boring but Practical|bulldozer]], a [[Made of Iron|nigh-invincible machine]] which tears through buildings as if they're made of paper, is nicknamed "doobi", which means "teddy bear".
* In general, the military is quite fond of giving elite units underwhelming names as obfuscation, like the Military Assistance Command Vietnam–-Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), which sounds more like the name you assign to a group of sociologists and logistics experts.
* The Pakistan Army has a long standing tradition of giving "feminine" sounding nicknames to its Artillery guns. Popular names include "Rani" (Queen), "Shazadi"(Princess) and "Soni"(cute girl).
* "[[wikipedia:Katyusha (song)|Katyusha]]" is a Russian diminutive of the name Yekaterina, and there's a popular song about it. It's also the name of [[wikipedia:Katyusha rocket launcher|rocket artillery]] that the Russians used in WWII.
* There was a Royal Navy submarine which sent many Italian and Japanese ships to the bottom of the Ocean. She was feared and respected. Her name?
* Gustave sounds like one of the least intimidating names ever, right? It's also the name of a 20 foot crocodile in Burundi, Africa that's a notorious man-eater.
* "Love waves" sound pretty romantic, hem? They are actually the most destructive of seismic waves. The kind that tears down building foundations, brings down bridges and makes railroads wavy. (In case your wondering, geologists aren't sadists, the waves are named after the man who discovered them, [[wikipedia:Augustus Edward Hough Love|Augustus Love]].)
* Russian soldiers have a habit of putting the endearment -ka at the end of their war machines. Which would be rather as if Americans called a tank "Abrams-sweetie".
* Admiral Arleigh Burke, terror of the Solomon islands and bane of the Imperial Japanese Navy. His first name means "Hare-meadow".
* Admiral Andrew Baines Cunningham, one of Britains greatest admirals in [[World War II]]. His name means village of the milk pail.
* The meaning of the name Manfred is "Man of Peace". [[Red Baron|Yeah, right]].
* Dudley Morton one of the most famous American submariners and one of the most ferocious(on one notorious occasion he strafed castaways in the water) was nicknamed, "Mush".
{{reflist}}
[[Category:More Than Meets the Eye]]
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Hidden Badass]]
[[Category:Subverted Innocence Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
▲[[Category:Fluffy the Terrible]]
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