John Dies at the End: Difference between revisions

{{work}}

{{quote|''"This has our names in it, John."

''"That's right."

''I turned the book over in my hand and studied the cover:

'''''[[The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants|Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants]]''', by Ann Brashares. I glanced over at the chair at the foot of the bed. At my pants.

 

A webnovel-turned-published-book by author David Wong (actually Jason Pargin, head editor of ''[[Cracked.com]]''), written in autobiographical style, narrated by [[Author Avatar|a character named David Wong]] about his and his best friend's adventures featuring the paranormal.

Dave and John are two college dropouts living in the middle of an "Undisclosed" town in Illinois. John is a deranged, irresponsible, carefree, slacker/rocker/drug enthusiast. Dave is an apathetic, bored, snarky withdrawn young man with a traumatic past and the tendency to get dragged along with whatever John happens to be doing. After a run-in with a living hallucinogenic drug at a party, the pair gain the ability to see ghosts, demons, and into other dimensions. [[Hilarity Ensues]]. So does violence. And Monsters. And weirdness. And swearing. And an ''unbelievable'' amount of sexual innuendo.

 

 

 

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Abnormal Ammo]]: When John and Dave get somewhat famous due to the Sauce, people begin sending them bizarre things. One of them is a package of explosive bullets for David's pistol.

* [[All There in the Manual]]: The website and several forum comments by the author (and John Cheese, who, as the name suggests, is who John is based off of) detail the back story and side stories of the novel. Impressively, revelations in the novel make throwaway gags in the preview updates much, much creepier.

* [[Always Someone Better]]: Dr. Marconi, a rich and respected former priest, archaeologist, and ass-kicker of the demonic and undead. He [[Shout-Out|resembles]] the typical Lovecraft protagonist, especially Prof. Armitage, and likely would be the hero in a traditional Lovecraftian take on the story.

* [[And Then John Was a Zombie]]: {{spoiler|Dave}}

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Dave isn't the greatest guy, and he does some [[Heroic Sociopath|pretty nasty stuff here and there]]. However, he does enough good to escape being a mere [[Designated Hero]], {{spoiler|even if many of his bravest deeds were performed by Monster Dave,}} and isn't too bad a guy at all when not forced into universe-threatening circumstances.

* [[City with No Name]]: Taken to an art form; the current splash page image is a sign reading "UNDISCLOSED".

** Interestingly, the city originally had a generic-sounding name, but it was removed after David learned that there was a real city with that name, and his book was leading people to vandalize it. The name was {{spoiler|Rockville}}.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: To earlier versions of the story. The wide release finally reinstates the fan-favorite Badgerconda.

* [[Crap Saccharine World]]: Shit Narnia, {{spoiler|Korrok's home dimension.}} The inhabitants live in peace and harmony, harness biotechnology, are very welcoming and kind... {{spoiler|and serve a psychopathic eldritch abomination, are horribly disfigured, and like to feed people to said abomination.}}

* [[Crapsack World]]/[[Planet Eris]]: The setting of the world is such that anything or anyone could suddenly appear for no explained reason, and 90% of the time it wants to kill you. 10% of the time it's actually friendly but you're so used to the other 90% you shoot it anyway.

* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: This is how Robert North introduces himself.

* [[Dead All Along]]: We don't get to see all of the stuff that happens to them, but it apparently occurs enough that the main duo's attitude to this is "I hate it when they do that." {{spoiler|Especially when it happens to Dave and Arnie.}}

'''David''': Because I sort of looked into Hell, but I still don't know if there's a Heaven or not. }}

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: Invoked at one point when David refers to his Hyundai as a Japanese car; Hyundai is in fact a Korean manufacturer, but this was deliberate to help establish that David is an ignorant fuck.

* [[Dogs Are Dumb]]: Molly, at first. It eventually goes to blatantly self-serving, to the point David thinks it's out to get him killed. {{spoiler|Turns out, it was helping him.}}

* [[Ear Worm]]: Some of the evil racist remixed songs can be catchy, when you think about it. Just don't try to sing along... Three Arm Sally's music, sans the actual music, sounds like it could be pretty awesome.

** "I knew a man / No, I made that part up / Hair! Hair! Haaairrr! / Camel Holocaust! Camel Holocaust!"

*** Let's send 'em aaalllllll ba-ack to Aaaaafrica...

* [[Eat the Bomb]]: {{spoiler|Molly eats the bomb that John and Dave make towards the end of the book, and they feed her some burritos in order to speed up its evacuation. The bomb reappears just in time for their escape from Shit Narnia.}}

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: John and Dave, definitely. Which leads to a lot of the [[Ho Yay]], below.

* [[Ho Yay]]: John and Dave sometimes finish each other's sentences, or speak volumes with a glance. Granted, the Sauce has a lot to do with that, but from time to time the book actively courts it.

{{quote|"Dude, I can't believe you ain't all paralyzed by the pure, naked horror of this place."

After a long, long pause John said, "Uh, thank you." }}

* [[Invoked Trope]]: John and Dave decide (very loudly) to split up while trying to lure out a ghost that has eluded them. John takes a shower while loudly proclaiming that he hopes he does not get attacked while he is naked and vulnerable. Dave decides to take a nap because ghosts love to sneak up on sleeping people.

* [[Jumped At the Call]]: John. Though, in the epilogue, even he thinks {{spoiler|the world on the other side of the gate on the basketball court}} is too lame to save. Don't worry, some kids do it for them.

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Subverted and played straight. {{spoiler|While being held prisoner by Shitload, John and Dave and crew think up a plan to douse him with Molotov cocktails. They're caught off guard by his weird appearance and they fail to throw the bottles on time. Later, when the hateful worm things are trying to burrow into Dave's arm, John douses it with booze and lights it, killing them.}}

** {{spoiler|Jennifer throws a Molotov cocktail but she was so shocked and the throw was so halfhearted that the bottle just hits the ground and rolls away without breaking.}}

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Lots, for various reasons. A popular one ("You heard me" and "Hey, why not?") is to call out the sheer ridiculousness of the story.

* [[Large Ham]]: The possessed pile of meat. A Large Ham in more ways than one.

* [[Magic Versus Science]]: Played with. See trope entry.

* [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]]: John, for Dave.

* [[Name's the Same]]: Jennifer Lopez. Subverted with "Morgan Freeman", who John notes doesn't look, sound, or is even named anything like his namesake (his real last name is "Appleton").

* [[Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book]]:

** In a plan to get away from bullies David invokes this so he can be put in a special class.

* [[Oblivious to Hints]]: At the end, the guy who looks suspiciously like Fred Durst tells Dave that {{spoiler|he's been "dogging" him the whole time}}. Dave is completely oblivious to the implication that {{spoiler|he is talking to Molly in human form}}.

** {{spoiler|To be fair, however, John was the only one on the other side at the time of the explosion, and only a few feet from the exit. As well, the bomb was located fairly deep within the complex as well. They weren't exactly running with flames on their heels.}}

* [[Plucky Comic Relief]]: John. He's also [[The Lancer]], and, [[Word of God|according to the real-life David Wong and John Cheese,]] the real hero of the story.

* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]: {{spoiler|extradimensional conqueror Korrok's first words in person to Dave are "Welcome. Your wiener is even smaller in person." He then goes on to use the word "fag" and giggle way too much. Korrok also has the (telepathic) voice of a small child.}}

** Earlier than that, {{spoiler|Shitload was more-or-less the epitome of a 13-year-old who discovered rap music and learned how to curse.}}

* [[Rape as Drama]]/[[Rape as Backstory]]: {{spoiler|Dave has both [[Parental Abandonment|dead parents]] and possibly rape in his backstory.}}

** "Let's just put it this way. I'll never ever tell you."

* [[Ret-Gone]]: {{spoiler|The main form of attack of the Shadow Men.}}

* [[Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory]] {{spoiler|When the timeline is changed by the shadow men, some people will randomly remember how things used to be, although they'll typically remember it both ways, not just the original way.}}

* [[Room Full of Crazy]]: Several different locations: Marconi's show room in Las Vegas, Robert Marley's trailer {{spoiler|and his hovel at the abandoned mall}}, Dave's tool shed, and Big Jim's workshop. Each one is not only a Room Full of Crazy, but an insight into the personality and life {{spoiler|and often death}} of the owner.

{{quote|"You wants the committee asshole, you better meet with the "chair"!"}}

* [[The Worm That Walks]]: Shitload most critically, though at one point there is a man made of ''cockroaches''.

** For a nerdier comparison: [[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]] + [[Unknown Armies]] / [[Toon]].

 

[[Category:Horror Web Originals]]

[[Category:Web Serial Novel]]

[[Category:Horror Literature]]