#knight of cerebus

[besttropeveershowdown]

The SECOND Best Trope Ever Showdown: Round 1, Side C, Poll 4

Knight of Cerebus

A new character, usually an antagonist, who marks the transition to a darker tone for the work.

Propaganda:

Because wits super funny whenever the show has a light goofy feel to it and then suddenly this character comes in and completely changes the vibe!

Take a Third Option

A character presented with 2 choices finds a way to choose a third thing instead (or something just a character presented with [x] number of choices finds a way to choose something that hasn't been presented to them as an option]

Propaganda:

I will admit when done badly it can be annoying and feel like a cop out to have a character swerve and make an ending or plot point feel really out of left field, but when well done it can be soooo satisfying, to watch a character think their way out of a seemingly limited situation and/or demonstrate that a false choice has been set before them and take control of their own narrative

[ultraericthered]

A key part of the Anohana experience no matter how many times you have to go through it.

[fouralignments]

Cronus’s Warrior

All war is deception.

-Sun Tzu

The midday sun was scorching the sand, reflecting the searing heat upon the combatants in the arena. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky to block the sun’s heat. The roar of the crowd boomed as the final match was about to begin. Waiting for his opponent, Jay stood in the middle of the stadium.

The bronze shield weighed heavily on his left arm, dragging it down a few centimeters, its leather straps rubbed against his skin, leaving it raw with tiny streams of blood trickling down his arm. Sweat and sand stuck to his exposed skin becoming like a second layer, which was not protected by his armor. From his peripheral vision, he could see Cronus relaxing on his throne, eating a couple of grapes, and smugly smiling down at the fights.

Jay didn’t know how he got here or if this was an illusion set up by Cronus. He knew for certain that he had to escape by any means necessary. All that he knew was that in New Olympus park he was taking a stroll, then got attacked but after that everything went blank. Jay suspected that his torment was just for Cronus’s entertainment, and he was the main attraction.

The other combatants had been nothing more than just ash that was given humanoid form, with all the details to look perfectly human. Some fought with swords, others bows, but there was nothing that he couldn’t handle.

The noise of the crowd ceased as a warrior in black leather with bronze plating walked out of the iron gates that were raised to let him out onto the field. Unlike the others, the warrior wore a maroon and black plume helmet that covered every feature of his face except his eyes. Greaves protected his shins. He was an inch shorter than Jay, but he was lanky and thin. On the warrior’s shield was Cronus’s symbol, painted in black, and his weapon was a leaf-shaped headed spear held in his right hand while his shield rested on his left arm.

The warrior stood in fighting stance with his left foot in front and his shield protecting his body and spear held back from his shield. Jay mirrored his own stance with his sword at the ready. His opponent would have the advantage over him because he could hurt him without getting close.

Jay and the warrior began the dance of battle as they circled one another, waiting for the other one to make the first move. ‘The only way I am getting out of this is if I cut off the head of his spear.’ Jay thought. A bead of sweat went down Jay’s face. From under his helmet, he saw pale blue eyes staring at him, studying him.

Spear and man became one as the warrior made the first move, exchanging his footwork so the spear could come flying toward his opponent. Jay instantly knew that this was his chance, and hot sand went into his sandals as he flung his body to attack the spear. When his sword was about to come down, the Warrior moved back with a single step retracting his spear like a frog’s tongue. Before Jay could blink, the Warrior’s shield crashed against exposed chest.

The warrior heard the glorious sound of crunching of bones as Jay struggled to regain his footing. Jay barely had time to move out of the way as the spear rocketed toward him. The spearhead grazed his forearm. Blood gushed out of his wound, stinging like fire.

Jay’s next couple of attacks were blocked or didn’t land on his opponent. His opponent was agile and difficult to hit. No matter how hard he tried, he was awarded nothing for his efforts. He took in short shallow breaths. His opponent didn’t look as if he was breaking a sweat. Dropping his guard for a second, the Warrior flew into a fury of attacks against Jay.

Changing his footwork again, hitting Jay’s shield with his spear. Jay defended himself from the worst of them, but the impacts reverberated throughout his body.  His shield had several dents, the warrior was ruthless. He didn’t know how long he could keep this up for.

The warrior backed up two steps, and Jay launched, skidding across the sand going past his opponent's shield, he slashed across the upperarm, he yelled, clenching his wounded arm. When he pulled his hand away from his wound, there was blood––red blood.

‘This guy is human!’ Jay thought, his eyes widening as he jumped up from the ground. The warrior stepped back, making room between them.

Jay spit out blood that trickled into his mouth, and fury filled his opponent’s eyes. ‘I got him angry now.’ Jay thought as the warrior charged at him, spear at the ready. From under his helmet Jay saw a fiery red glow around his eyes. He put up his shield for protection against the incoming attack. The spear glowed red and pierced through his shield.

The world went into slow motion as he was lifted off the ground and flung over like a rag doll. Jay felt his arm being wrenched out of its socket. He hit the ground dazed and disoriented. Blood streamed from his nose. He saw three figures spinning and then coming together as one figure.

With the heel of his foot, he crushed the tiny bones of Jay’s wrist making the sword slip from his hand. He dug his heel deeper like squishing a bug then swept the sword away from him, making it impossible to reach. With the strength he had left, Jay tried to lift his shield but only succeeded in getting it an inch off the ground. Jay’s mind screamed as hot lightning went up to his shoulder.

The air was sucked out of his lungs when the Warrior stomped his foot on his diaphragm. The warrior aimed his spear at Jay’s jugular vein, but he didn’t kill him and just held the spear a third of inch away. The roar of the crowd ceased when they seemingly disappeared.

Jay heard loud, slow claps getting closer and closer. “You can get your foot off of him, now.” A dark, powerful, merciless voice of a fallen Titan coming from behind. The warrior put more pressure on his diaphragm, and Jay gave a grunt. A couple of seconds passed before the order finally sunk in. He got off Jay’s chest, then went over to Cronus’s right side.

Jay rolled over on his stomach and, with his other hand, tried to unclasp the shield from his other arm. His hand was already bloody and puffy, and Jay couldn’t feel his hand. Every movement of his hand caused more pain to travel to his brain.

Summoning his scythe, the Titan of time went over and held the curve of his scythe under Jay’s chin, forcing him to look up into the red nothingness that were his eyes. “Now, Jay, the only reason you are alive is because I allowed it. You see my Warrior could have killed you within the first few seconds, but I gave him orders to draw out the battle. You got only a taste of his power.” The Titan paused, “Jay, I want you to give a message to the gods. Olympus will fall.” The world went black as Jay fell unconscious.

Snapping his fingers, Cronus ordered, “Take him to New Olympus Park. The heroes will be looking for their leader.” The giants grumbled before dragging off Jason’s descendent.

Cronus turned his attention to his Warrior and asked, “What did you think of the fight?”

“He has talent; I give him that much. But if the rest of the heroes are that easy, overthrowing the gods will be a piece of cake.” Taking off his bronze helmet, the Warrior combed through his purple hair.

The illusion of the Greek colosseum dissipated into the walls of Cronus’s hideout. “What is our next move, my Lord? Will we go to battle soon?”

“No, you're going to school, New Olympus High School to be exact. Do you remember the teens you met at the museum?”

The teen nodded, staying calm and said quickly, “Yes, my Lord,” This was not he had suspect, but this was no time to question why to his Lord about his first solo assignment, after all, Cronus was an immortal, so he shouldn’t question his wisdom.

“I want you to gain their trust, get to know them…to be their friends; I have trained you well. I want this attack to be personal.” Clasping his hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Until you hear my order, act like a normal teenager.” Opening a portal, “This will take you to an apartment in New Olympus.” The teen nodded.

“This mission will be complete, my Lord. After all I am descendent from a Titan.” He gave a squeeze of reassurance as his prodigy left though the portal.

@classofthetitansproject

[dynamobooks]

Dave Sim: High Society (1981-1983)

[piepress]

THERE IS STILL TIME FOR YOU TO MAKE HISTORY! Did you miss out on the LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS: WORDS ONLY Kickstarter campaign? The one that's making history by bringing together some of the most legendary characters and creators of the indie comics era in a book of thrilling prose fiction adventures? Well, this is your lucky day! The LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS project is accepting late pledges, so there's still time for you to leap in, be all historic, and snag some spectacular rewards! Here's the link: http://kck.st/3Y11ZHu

Remember, thanks to the stretch goals, the book will include a DYNAMO JOE story, a SOUTHERN KNIGHTS tale, and black-and-white illustrations to accompany every story! And every backer will get a digital copy of the companion book, LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS: HISTORY AND TRIVIA.

Don't hesitate to jump in and help us make this book the absolute best it can be...all while scooping up fabulous rewards! JOIN THE LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS!

[evilhorse]

Cerebus in Hell? Presents #10

[comicaurora]

Does Bathos ever happen in the other direction? Like, if a scene seems like it's setting up for something silly and frivolous, and then abruptly veers into seriousness instead, is that Bathos?

I'm struggling to come up with examples of this, maybe that part of Mulan where they fun "A Girl Worth Fighting For" song is abruptly cut off by the very real scenes of wartime devastation.

It does, in so many ways it doesn't have a single unified name!

One trope under this umbrella is called "Cerebus Syndrome," where a story that starts off wacky and lighthearted gradually becomes dark and miserable. It's essentially a genre shift. Depending on how it's played it can work very well (reboot season 3) or very badly (almost any story that got Cerebus'd because the writer had some sort of crisis or breakdown.) Has corollary tropes like "Knight of Cerebus", which describes cases where a new character/antagonist is introduced to a formerly lighthearted story who is so thoroughly nightmarish that they significantly darken the story.

Those describe more large-scale shifts to the story, though - the inverse of Bathos would be a little smaller-scale, more of a scene-by-scene thing. For that, you probably want the space of tropes surrounding "Wham Line" and "Wham Shot", a case where a single line of dialogue or change of camera angle radically reframes the scene in a serious direction.

A wham line that reframes a banter scene:

A wham shot that changes the tone:

"Wham Scenes" abruptly interrupt comedic, nonserious situations and force the characters to take them seriously, and in many cases retroactively make earlier silly scenes harsher in hindsight. It reminds the audience and the characters that these characters aren't clowns swatting at each other for our amusement, they're complex emotional beings with depth to their existence, and the way they feel about their story matters, even in the supposedly silly parts.

Of course, Wham Lines are not immune to the danger of accidental bathos.

[swapauanon]

I just had the mental image of Tarn in Earthspark.

Not as a "Knight of Cerebus" but as Megatron's stalker fanboy with far too much free time.

Megatron is just very clearly trying oh so hard not to vaporize this one REALLY annoying fanboy, and then Tarn just breaks down sobbing the first time he hears Dot causally call Megatron "Megs". Just one big whiny fanboy tantrum.

(Only tagging this as "djd tarn" so people know that I'm talking about Tarn the character and not Tarn the polity.)

[picketfurretsartblog]

Spark Gym Leader: Chili Concarne

Finally, we have a design for a character I should have gotten to a LONG time ago, but here's my take on the first gym leader and Knight of Cerebus within A Single Spark, Chili! Be sure to read my Nuzlocke comic here!

Posted using PostyBirb

[besttropeveershowdown]

The Best Trope Ever Showdown: Round 1, Side A

Knight Of Cerebus

Propaganda:

This trope is responsible for some of the most terrifying villains that I have seen including Death from Puss in Boots, Belos from The Owl House and the Lich from Adventure Time

Prophetical Semantics

Made its debut in McBeth, a character is bound by a curse or prophecy and is freed from it by unconventional means, usually due to the specific wording used (no TVTropes link submitted)

Propaganda:

DO YOU FORGET EOWYN’S “I AM NO MAN”?!? Put some respect on her name!!! There are so many fun creative ways to use this trope! Naveen “kissing a princess” by marrying Tiana! “No weapon forged by mortal hands can kill me” and being bludgeoned by a rock! As long as you do the setup, you can twist the plot without it feeling cheap! I love it!

[iobartach]

In a future alternate reality, years from the present day, Miguel O'Hara worked for the Alchemax Corporation as a geneticist, specializing in gene splicing. When an experiment to imprint new genetic code went awry, it resulted in the test subject’s death, which affected Miguel greatly. Attempting to resign in the aftermath, Miguel found himself ensnared by Tyler Stone, a high-ranking executive at Alchemax, who covertly drugged him with the addictive substance, Rapture. Now faced with a crippling dependency, Miguel would be forced to remain at Alchemax, as they were the sole manufacturer of the drug. Not willing to endure this, Miguel decided to risk using the imprinting technique on himself in a bid to be rid of the addiction thrust upon him, rather than remain and continue being used as Alchemax’s puppet. Unfortunately, his efforts were sabotaged by a disgruntled college during the process, the results of which saw Miguel's genetic code spliced with that of a spider, gifting him with abilities akin to the Spider-Man of the past. Re-purposing an old costume for the Day of the Dead, Miguel became the Spider-Man of 2099, battling Alchemax and injustice in Nueva York.

Initially characterized by his biting sarcasm and nonchalant demeanor, Miguel exhibited a cool detachment even when faced with grave warnings. With the creation of his multiverse-hopping device, thanks to the help of his AI assistant LYLA, Miguel began his forays into the multiverse, achieving the means to pass from one reality into a completely different one. As his interests in the boundless possibilities such technology presented to him grew, his explorations of other realities would uncover a unique opportunity; he would find a reality where his counterpart had become a father, but died during an altercation on the street. Seeking to enjoy this chance at happiness, Miguel decided to travel to this dimension and settle there, with the aim of replacing his deceased version, erroneously believing it would be harmless.

In actuality, his actions had changed the 'canon', fixed events that are predetermined to occur across every dimension. As a result, the very reality he sought to savour happiness within began to unravel, claiming the lives of every soul that had ever come into being within its boundaries -- including his variant's daughter, Gabriella. Left emotionally scarred by his inability to prevent such terrible destruction, Miguel went on to establish the Spider Society as a direct result, a group committed to preserving the sanctity of canon events across the multiverse.

Vowing to not let history repeat itself, to this day, Miguel's primary focus remains on the security of the multiverse, a remit he adheres to ceaselessly. When he is not vigilantly monitoring the multiverse, he's out in the field, leading a strike force composed of variant Spiders, with the goal of dealing with, and subsequently cleaning up after, the myriad of threats to time and space that emerge. Racked with guilt by the grief and loss that he has suffered, with time he has grown to become a serious and reserved figure, prone to outbursts and fits of barely reined-in rage. His unyielding determination manifests in his never-ending commitment to returning displaced anomalies to their home dimensions, even if it means turning against his fellow Spider-Men.

Name: Miguel O'Hara

Alias: Spider-Man 2099

Nationality: Mexican-American (With some influence from Irish Stepfather)

Height: 6′9″ (2.05 m)

Weight: 335lbs (152 kg)

Eyes: Red, Brown (formerly)

Hair: Brown

Unusual Features: Pronounced canine teeth (fangs), retractable talons on fingers and toes, spinnerets in forearms, red eyes following mutation, photophobia.

Current Occupation: Leader of the Spider Society, geneticist; previously adventurer, vigilante

Base of Operations: Babylon Towers, Nueva York (Earth-928)

Face Claim: Mark Consuelos

Tropes: Knight of Cerebus, Freudian Excuse, He Who Fights Monsters, Good is Not Soft, Control Freak, Hero Antagonist, Well-Intentioned Extremist

[arataki-neato]

Dottore is shaping up to be a real Knight of Cerebus for Genshin man he is not fucking around

[thepinebox]

the oracle of crowley part three

the foundation of the question is works of the body I am the knight of the body here emerging from the depths hermit's light bright on cerebus' tail the heirophant herald of a new age blocks the way and interference of the mind results leading to a me downed by the power of water out of these depths the knight of fire erupts fire on fire and I will burn unless pull another card you fool do not end it so the goddess arrives stages us one level back to before we went below adjustment leads to victory fire contained in completion

[frauleinandry]

finally finished engage. it was... certainly a game alright. what it did well, it did well, but when it did things badly, it did them badly, and unfortunately, the latter overshadows the former.

tl;dr I’d give it a 6.5/10 overall. the gameplay was solid but had a couple of really irritating aspects that dragged my overall experience down, and the less said about the story, the better.

so, let’s start with the plot, since that’s the worst thing. it’s... bad. very bad. and no, it’s not bad because it’s not a bleak tragedy filled with morally grey characters and interesting ethical conundrums. after three houses (which I love btw), I wanted a stupid, light-hearted game ala awakening. engage’s story also isn’t bad because it was made to be child friendly (although I do find that a dubious decision, given how much the game caters to old-school FE fans, and the typical themes that normally appear in fire emblem games). steven universe is a great example of a show that’s child friendly, yet still tackles some dark content. in fact, while I admit I only watched the first season, she-ra is also a good example of children’s media that handles very similar themes to engage.  

no. engage’s story sucks purely because it’s poorly executed. everything interesting about alear is dropped after like 3 chapters, the pacing is god-awful, none of the lore is utilised to its full potential, the characterisation is all over the place (*cough* zephia *cough*), and the dissonance between the genuinely awful stuff happening (like the near genocide of elusia) and the cartoonish dialogue and characterisation is jarring. for scenes like, say, lumera’s death, the game is trying to make me feel things, but it doesn’t, because there’s absolutely no substance or development behind anything. it’s like IS tried to make a family-friendly story without actually understanding how to do that, and the result is a hot mess.

like. there is a couple of parts that did stand out, such as alear being resurrected as a corrupted, the time travel stuff, sombron’s past, and the way lumera and alear’s adoptive relationship is treated like it’s just as important (if not even more so) than alear’s blood family. most of those elements are completely glossed over though except for the adoptive family stuff (which is one thing I think engage’s story actually gets right). like, sombron’s whole deal with him not caring about elyos because it’s not his homeworld is really interesting! why was it just an off-handed comment in the last chapter instead of a running theme of his character?!

ultimately, I think engage’s story would be significantly better if the game wasn’t trying to be serious. the premise is dumb!! let the game be silly! ditch the war stuff (initially, anyway), and just have it be alear’s goofy misadventures travelling through the kingdoms collecting rings. let ivy and her retainers essentially be team rocket. let the cutscenes be hammy. let lumera be mission control, and actually develop her relationship with amnesiac!alear. then, at around the midpoint of the game, introduce the four hounds, and have them be the knights of cerebus. alear’s almost collected all the rings, but then the hounds take over from ivy (who bore no genuine ill-will towards alear), and lure them into a lethal trap. they take most of the emblems, and lumera sacrifices herself to save the main character. 

*takes a deep breath in* okay, now that that ramble is done with, let’s move on to the characters. they’re... not great, either. most of them are just one trope, and that’s it? sure, fire emblem casts are always going to be a bit tropey, but in engage, 95% of the playable cast has one gimmick which completely defines their every interaction. like, the cast of awakening gets accused of this same thing, but every character also has a bit of something else to them. in engage though, outside of celine, what you see is what you get. like, none of the supports were offensive or anything, and a few were cute/funny, but nearly all of them had no substance. it also really doesn’t help that there’s no paired ending (and ergo no reason to get A-supports), and support grinding in this game is dreadful.

that’s a perfect segway to the next segment - the gameplay. while it’s polished, and there are a lot of things it does really well, it’s got a couple of major flaws which makes engage more of a birthright than it is a conquest. for one, grinding anything, in general, is awful. the game is clearly catered for either iron man runs or for the players to ditch units as they get better ones. while this is subjective, speaking as someone who likes to use all the units they can on a first playthrough to get supports/etc, keeping all my units usable was a pain in the goddamn ass. who on earth thought basing the skirmishes on your highest-level units was a good idea?! the only way to level up weaker units is via the arena, which has very limited uses. the same issues pop up with getting money/supports - since the former requires you to do skirmishes which you can’t complete with your weaker units, it ends up with you getting over levelled (and who wants that?). support points only building from adjacent units was also an awful decision - it was fine in the GBA games when each character could literally only max one support each, but not in a modern title (especially given how bland the cast is - they need all the screentime they can get).

still, outside of that, most of it is pretty good! I was worried the emblems were going to completely destroy the difficulty, but they were balanced perfectly. enough to turn the tides in your favour, but not enough to make everything a cakewalk. emblem ike, lyn, and byleth were probably my MVPS - tanks are a rare luxury in such a player-phase-focused game, and byleth’s utility is just too good. speaking of difficulty, I’ve got to say, this was the first FE game I’ve found genuinely challenging in a while, which is great! i love three houses, but it’s a bit of a cakewalk, especially on a new game plus. engage though consistently kept me on my toes. the map designs were pretty good on the whole too - while they weren’t quite conquest tier, they’re some of the best in the franchise. I admit I still dislike the character art style, but the animations were a huge improvement compared to prior games. the map visuals were neat too - clear, concise, and with none of the murkiness that plagued the 3DS games/three houses.

I do have a couple of other pain points though. I found the somniel infinitely more tedious than the monastery - the rewards are worse, and the way you need to go to it after every map if you want to maximise its potential is a pain in the ass. at least you only really need to visit garreg mach once per month. tbh I think the base camp in three hopes actually did things best - good rewards, a simple layout, and bonus worldbuilding/character stuff that was completely optional. sommie is great though - he’s the best mascot character I’ve seen in a looooooooong time. one of the other dampeners was how player-phase-centric it was. this is purely subjective, but given how many reinforcements appear in this game, I wish there were more than two useful tanks. finally, I think the soundtrack was very generic by fire emblem standards. the music is normally brilliant, but I can’t think of a single song that stuck with me. 

[piepress]

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! Did you miss out on the LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS: WORDS ONLY Kickstarter campaign that ended last night? No worries! We are still accepting late pledges, so there's still time for you to leap in and snag some spectacular rewards! Here's the link: http://kck.st/3Y11ZHu

Remember, thanks to the stretch goals, the book will include a DYNAMO JOE story, a SOUTHERN KNIGHTS tale, and black-and-white illustrations to accompany every story! And every backer will get a digital copy of the companion book, LEGENDS OF INDIE COMICS: HISTORY AND TRIVIA.

Don't hesitate to jump in and help us make this book the absolute best it can be...all while scooping up fabulous rewards! Long live the legends of indie comics!

[apieters]

Bathos vs. the Disney Renaissance or How To Have Drastic Mood Shifts Without It Feeling Forced

So a lot of people online have complained about the trend, often attributed to Joss Whedon, of using bathos inappropriately, as typified by his (in)famous quote

"Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke."

—Joss Whedon

Now, having dark and light elements in the same story isn’t a bad thing—in fact, it’s a defining feature of my favorite films of the Disney Renaissance, and of the dramedy genre. But the transitions between serious and comedic elements have to be executed well, or the audience will suffer mood whiplash and will stop being immersed in the story. For example, a sudden snarky joke offered by two characters who have just had a massive, intimately personal argument is probably not going to do the scene any favors.

So if you want to have both light-hearted and dark elements in a story, how do you do it right? One of the best ways to analyze literary techniques is to look at extremes, and one of my favorite of the Disney Renaissance movies has probably the biggest range of moods I’ve ever seen in any movie: Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. A film with wisecracking animated gargoyles and a genocidal villain who literally kills a woman on the steps of a church and attempts to drown a baby in the opening musical number has given itself quite the challenge in navigating the mood shifts between these sets of characters, and I respect those who think the attempt itself was a fool’s errand.

Yet I loved the film as a child and continue to love it as an adult, and the gargoyles continue not to bother me. Why does this movie work for me? What techniques did they use to make the mood shifts work?

Genre Expectations: It’s a kid’s film. Barely a kids film, but it is what it is. The filmmakers knew their genre and knew they could not make the film a 90-minute angst-fest. And the Disney Renaissance had a really good story formula and a stock of tropes, and light-hearted, funny sidekicks were one of those expected tropes. Writers need to know their target audiences and the audience’s expectations of their genre.

Sudden mood shifts from light to dark work to establish character. There is an early scene in which the gargoyles are encouraging Quasimodo to leave the cathedral and attend the Festival of Fools, and Quasimodo is about to do it when he bumps into Frollo. Immediately Quasimodo’s happiness and confidence turns to fear and the cheering gargoyles turn back to stone. The shift is sudden and jarring, but is used deliberately to establish Frollo as a threatening, life-sucking figure in whose presence joy and happiness do not exist because of his personality. This is a technique that is used effectively often enough that it has its own page on TV Tropes.Com—the “Knight of Cerebus.” However, this technique is asymmetric—almost never can you take a dark figure or moment and then suddenly lighten the mood with the sudden appearance of a clownish character. And to its credit, despite the presence of the gargoyles and their antics after serious scenes, The Hunchback of Notre Dame does not actually do this. This is because they use at least two transitioning techniques, which I will detail below:

First, each dramatic interaction is complete before the gargoyles are reintroduced. Around the midpoint of the movie, Quasimodo talks to Esmeralda about gypsies actually being as good a people as anyone else, immediately followed by a quip from the eavesdropping gargoyles. It’s a gag, but Quasimodo and Esmeralda have already finished their conversation. The dramatic conversation scene is complete and uninterrupted, and this is proved by the fact that the next shot is Quasimodo discussing Esmeralda’s escape, a new conversation topic. The quip itself is not as obtuse as it seems, since it serves as a break between conversation topics and gets the readers mind off of realistic discussions about racial equality and redirects it toward more fantastic story elements, which become plot-relevant in the very next scene: Quasimodo parkour’s his way down the cathedral with Esmeralda and the goat Djali in tow, an unrealistic event that is nevertheless critical to the plot.

Another example of completing a dramatic scene before offering a joke: A little later, Quasimodo and Phoebus get into a fight on the stairwell of the bell tower and have a tense stand-off, establishing both their mutual distrust and their shared concern for Esmeralda’s well-being. This is portrayed seriously and dramatically, and the tension is resolved entirely during a close-up shot of the two men facing off. Only after the conversation is wrapped up is there a gag—the scene zooms out to reveal that Phoebus is being held aloft by his collar by Quasimodo. This gag only occurs after the dramatic elements are completely resolved, and it’s not entirely goofy—Quasimodo is revealed to be terrifyingly and dangerously strong, a plot point that becomes critical to the climax of the movie. This dramatic gag then eases the viewer into the next appearance of the gargoyles.

Secondly, there are transitions from silly to serious as well. In the early scene where the gargoyles encourage Quasimodo to leave the cathedral and join the Festival, Quasimodo mentions that Frollo doesn’t allow it, and the gargoyles react with genuine disappointment before trying to circumvent the problem of Frollo being Frollo. This reaction is a toned-down version of the later mood shift that occurs when Frollo appears in person, priming the viewer’s expectations.

The final battle needs the gargoyle’s antics because it is a kid’s film and the violence needs to be brought down to kid-friendly levels—remember, writers need to know their genre and audience. However, when Frollo, the local Knight of Cerebus appears, Quasimodo is on his own. This is its own trope—“Shoo Out the Clowns,” in which comedic characters are not incorporated into dramatic scenes.

In summary, what did Disney do to make their mood shifts work for me? Finish your scenes and build in mood transitions. Structure your gags to be those transitions.

And for goodness sake, know your audience and genre when you write a story.