Fanfic / OSMU: Fanfiction Friction

OSMU: Fanfiction Friction is an Odd Squad Fan Fic by Flying Saucers.

Omar discovers that Odd Squad fanfiction exists, and while looking through the stories, Opal asks if there are any stories about her and the rest of the Odd Squad Mobile Unit. Hilarity ensues as they discover all sorts of fanfics about them on the Internet and aim to get even more fanfics written about them through various adventures they embark on.

The story takes place before Osmerelda Kim and Orpita (the Little O) join the main cast of the show, hence why they do not appear, although Osmerelda's actress is mentioned.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Accidental Murder: From Todd's reaction when stepping into Basil Valentine's house, it's implied that he's looking at dead bodies. Basil assures him that although he doesn't know who the bodies are, it's likely he over-reacted and got upset enough to kill them, but it's unknown whether he's telling the truth or not.
• The Ageless: The fanfic lampshades this ability of Odd Squad agents, with Basil Valentine seeking to find the answer as to how they never seem to age physically in order to stop himself from aging backwards.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: The Mobile Unit deal with all sorts of oddities on the daily, but Todd talking to his shoe is where they draw the line in conversing with him.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The fanmail that the Mobile Unit agents receive includes 59 requests for Olive and Otto to come back, 53 requests for Olympia and Otis to come back, and 14 requests to see Orla's feet. And one request from a woman who said that Oswald was cute, which he's convinced is his mother.
• Accidental Misnaming: Oksana is referred to as "Oskana" in this story, which is solely an accident of the author and not a rename of the character.
• Adaptation Personality Change: In official franchise material, Oksana is depicted as an Emotionless Girl and a frequent Deadpan Snarker that comes off as The Comically Serious, while also being on the heroes' side. This fanfic has her be more antagonistic, giving Oswald numerous death threats and painting her as rude and snippy.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Mobile Unit comes across a large turtle monster while visiting Metropolis.
  • In Chapter 8, the Mobile Unit encounter a large, black, red-eyed rabbit when they reach Hy-Brasil. It doesn't prove to be much of a threat to them, however, as it only makes a sound imitative of a bus braking, then hops back into the forest.
• The Atoner: Todd is this in the story, and refuses to go back to villainy when he's offered the chance. Of course, like in canon, he is Reformed, but Not Tamed.
• Backing Away Slowly: The Mobile Unit all do this when they see Todd talking to his shoe. Orla tries to stay and ask why Todd talks to his shoe, but she's shunted out before she can receive an answer.
• Bad Vibrations: The appearance of the large, red-eyed rabbit that leaps towards the Mobile Unit is punctuated with the description that when it arrives, it's loud enough to make the ground shake.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Oswald is covered head to toe in blob from struggling to catch loose blobs in Precinct 13579, but Orla manages to catch ten gallons of the stuff without getting a single bit of blob slime on her. When asked how she pulled it off, she simply remarks that due to her having over 400 years' experience with blobs, "one learns their ways."
• Big Damn Heroes: Oprah arrives just in time to pull Todd into the tube entrance that she came out of in order to save him from being cut open by Basil Valentine. Naturally, Basil doesn't take too kindly to this.
• Big Eater: Omar, natch. He ate a five-pound bag of Sour Patch Kids in one sitting and got sick afterwards, but to him, it was Worth It. Chapter 16 also has him engaging in an "all-you-can-eat spaghetti" competition with Oswald, who is also portrayed as this trope just as he is in canon.
• Bill... Bill... Junk... Bill...: While sorting through fanmail, the Mobile Unit agents find regular mail. Omar then finds a fanart piece within the mail pile, and then Orla pulls out a piece of junk mail telling her that the Mobile Unit may have won a prize. Opal tells her to throw it away and she complies, but then she has to ask what junk mail is.
• Black Comedy Burst: At one point in Chapter 6, Oswald hears screaming and asks about it, and Todd responds by saying that he's trying to phase out electro-shock treatments in his Home For Villains™.
  • In Chapter 16, the Mobile Unit and Octavius go to The Nutcracker, and Orla remarks that she doesn't see roast cat on the menu despite it advertising "old-fashioned cuisine". Octavius rightfully reacts in shock by choking on the water he's drinking, and all Oswald tells him is that they refuse to let her cook any more.
• Bland-Name Product: Chapter 14 has Oswald remarking on how Opal and Omar are at Kentucky Fred's Chicken getting dinner for themselves and the rest of the team.
  • Chapter 16 has the Mobile Unit and Octavius eating at The Nutcracker, a mockup of Cracker Barrel. This is a subversion, however, as the author later stated that The Nutcracker is a real restaurant in Ohio.
• Blind Date: To make up for the Interrupted Bath incident, Opal decides to set Oswald up on one of these, initially with Octavia and then with Oksana when Octavia drops out, to appeal to shippers.
• Bookworm: Both Octavius and Oswald qualify, as agents who were (or in Octavius's case, still are) library-museum people. In Chapter 17, Oswald is taken to The Book Loft, which has thirty-two rooms of books, and goes absolutely nuts over it.
• Break the Cutie: Omar goes right into a Heroic BSoD when he finds that the beast from The Book of Ashes destroyed his souvenir cabinet, and all of the souvenirs within it. Luckily, Oprah uses the Reverse-inator gadget to restore the entire cabinet as well as the souvenirs.
• Break the Haughty: Orla is so distraught over what The Book of Ashes did to her that she can't even form a coherent answer to Opal's question of who the demons in the book created an illusion of, and breaks down crying.
• Breath Weapon: The dragon that Oswald comes across at the end of Chapter 8 has the typical fire-breathing abilities most dragons have.
• Butt-Monkey: Oswald, in absolute spades. A majority of the story's grief is targeted towards him, and a majority of it comes from the author himself. And he's well-aware of it, too.
  Oswald: You know that guy. He always goes after me. Terrifying moments, public humiliation, it's always me. The guy has it in for me.
• Catchphrase Interruptus: When a waiter at The Nutcracker comes over and introduces herself to the Mobile Unit, Opal starts to go into her "We're an elite team of agents" spiel, but is stopped halfway.
• Celibate Hero: Orla's reactions to all of the Shipping fanfics she sees are mostly comprised of disgust and contempt, because she's more interested in action and adventure than romance. Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 both take this a couple steps further by having her attempt to prove to readers that she is a fierce warrior and not any sort of Dogged Nice Girl, going to Hy-Brasil and battling a dragon.
  Orla: All this talk of courtship and kissing...I will show them...I am not a blushing maid, I am a warrior...
• Collector of the Strange: Octavius apparently likes collecting old typewriters, although he doesn't reveal why.
• Comically Missing the Point: Oswald, Oscar, Oren and Owen are teleported to the Lab while in the midst of taking showers. Omar tries to bring a positive to the table and fails.
  Omar: Well, at least they're all facing the other way.
  Oona: How is that good? Oren, Owen, your friend Oswald and my old boss Oscar are all mooning Headquarters and half of them don't even realize it!
  Omar: Well, at least they're not flashing Headquarters...I think. Are flashing and mooning the same thing?
  [Opal moans]
  • Oswald sees a Hotter and Sexier Expy of himself on television, and all he can remark about is how his hair doesn't look as bad as it does on his expy.
  • The Mobile Unit agents receive a letter from a fan who enjoys watching Odd Squad and states that Glee Dango (who plays Osmerelda Kim) is her favorite. Oswald takes it as them enjoying the show titled Glee and not the actress with the same first name.
• Comic-Book Adaptation: Chapter 21 reveals that an Odd Squad comic book (of the show, not the organization) was planned on being made, but the idea was dropped due to Oprah fighting with the publishing company over numerous ideas, such as giving the main characters invoked Age Lifts and making them teenagers instead of preteens, adding diverse characters (black, female, and gay characters specifically) to appeal to a younger demographic, and bringing characters' parents into play, among others.
• Commonality Connection: Oksana and Oswald don't get along initially during the blind date, but when Oksana mentions going to see a band called Gastrointestinal Disorder play at the Shmumberland Ballroom later, Oswald becomes interested and the two hit it off over their shared love of the band, eventually going to see them perform together after having dinner at the Confalones restaurant.
• Content Warnings: The fanfic Library Love has a "for mature readers" warning attached to it. Omar and Oswald disregard it, begin reading the story anyway, and it doesn't even take them a minute for them to slam the laptop closed.
  Oswald: I don't think we're old enough to read this.
  Omar: I don't think anyone's old enough to read that. I don't know if Orla's old enough to read that...
• Crazy-Prepared: Orla just so happens to have four necklaces with bezoar stones embedded as charms in order to ward off sorcery.
  • Averted and lampshaded in Chapter 18 when Octavius asks Oswald and Omar if they have any bells on them, causing Oswald to answer him aptly.
  Oswald: No, I don't have any bells on me! Who carries bells around with them?
  Octavius: Well, given the circumstances, it might have been prudent. I brought bells, after all...
  Oswald: Yeah, and you left them in the hallway and didn't tell anybody!
  Octavius: Well, I thought we wouldn't need them!
  Oswald: Well, we do, don't we?
  Omar: Guys, guys!
• Creepy Crows: One sign that shows readers that Omar's about to be in for a bad time in Hy-Brasil is a large flock of crows flying towards him and settling on the branches of trees around him as he makes his way through the forest. Averted in the case of one crow, who guides Omar back to the van on the advice of an old woman known as The Morrigan.
• Deadly Book: The Book of Ashes is rumored to be cursed, and as such, Octavius advises that the last remaining copy should be thrown into the Odd Squad Cursed Book Vault. However, while on the way there, the book falls open and something begins to come out of it, which begins to toy with Orla when she stays behind to guard the book.
• Deadly Ringer: Bells are explicitly stated to be the only thing that the beast from The Book of Ashes fears, and the only thing that can send it back into the book it came from. In Chapter 19, after the bells that Octavius brought are destroyed, Oswald pulls up a YouTube video of a church cathedral which sends the beast back into the book.
• Deer in the Headlights: Oswald freezes up in fear when he comes across a large, fire-breathing dragon that advances on an unconscious and injured Orla.
  • Omar has this reaction to coming across a severely-injured Opal and the dead bodies of Octavius, Orla and Oswald in Chapter 19. He also quite literally can't move, leaving him unable to help Opal and Forced to Watch as she suffers.
• Defiant Stone Throw: Of a sort. In sheer desperation to stop the demon from attacking them, Omar takes a baseball from his souvenir collection and hurls it at the creature. It hits, but it doesn't turn the tides in their favor any.
• Delayed Reaction: Chapter 16 brings us this humorous bit as part of Self-Deprecation.
  Oswald: Can't you get it for us?
  Old man: I'm not allowed. And I'm not sure where it is. I'll get one of the managers. Besides, you don't like my self-inserts.
  Oswald: Okay, fine. But we're kinda...wait, WHAT?
• Didn't Think This Through: Orla decides to brandish a stick as a weapon against a large dragon, and fails because it bites the stick into two with one bite. Oswald then tries the same thing and fails, only he throws it at the dragon's eye in the hopes of blinding it.
  Oswald: Ohhhh...dat did a mistake...
  • Octavius had good intentions with wandering off to look for his overnight bag filled with demon-warding bells, but all it does for Opal and Omar specifically is scare them half to death, believing he's suffered the same fate as Orla when they find him kneeled on the floor of the van.
  • Both Jamie Jam and Ohlm send in fanmail, with Jamie asking to win every once in a while and Ohlm (under the Lazy Alias of Holm Mohl) asking for a story where he destroys Odd Squad. The Mobile Unit agents are quick to sniff out the letter's senders.
  Opal: What's really sad is that they put their return addresses on these things...
• Did You Actually Believe...?: Basil Valentine delivers a Wham Line in this manner at the end of Chapter 12.
  Basil Valentine: Did you honestly think you could trick me?
• Dragons Are Demonic: The dragon that Orla tries to defeat is pure evil through and through, to the point where it wants to make sure she's as good as dead even when she's unconscious but still breathing.
• Dramatic Drop: Oswald drops the flowers he bought in shock when he sees that Oksana is his blind date.
• Eldritch Location: The forest of Hy-Brasil is this, as it's thick and expansive enough that Omar gets lost within minutes of splitting off from Opal and Oswald.
• invoked Ending Fatigue: Chapter 21 discusses this in-depth regarding the fanfic. While Opal wants to keep the story going, Omar tells her that the story has gone on for so long that it's lost its original plot, and that the author wants to move on and write another story. The conversation then moves towards discussion on how to actually end the story, with Opal refusing to let up while Omar, Orla and Oswald come up with ideas on how to end it.
• Enfant Terrible: Basil Valentine, a young child with Icy Blue Eyes who wishes to get in touch with former villain Todd in order to learn the secret of how Odd Squad agents stay forever young so he can prevent himself from aging backwards.
• "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Downplayed. While discussing how to end the fanfic, Oswald states that he's not laughing hysterically for five minutes, and Omar agrees, stating that such an ending wouldn't work well in a print medium. Orla decides to try it by laughing for several minutes, described as "Orla laughed for several minutes. Then she checked." She then concludes that Omar is right.
• Evil Counterpart: Chapter 21 has Opal bring up "fight our evil counterparts" as an idea to continue the story. She is then told that it's "too cliche".
• Expy: The trope itself is lampshaded by Todd in regards to the Mobile Unit, as he asks himself which one of them is the "wacky Scientist". In canon, Oswald is the Oscar expy, but doesn't share the same department.
• Face Death with Dignity: Subverted. A badly-wounded Orla tells Oswald that she fears she's done for and faces her seemingly inevitable death, telling Oswald to pass on the word to Opal and Omar that "I died as I lived, questing for adventure". She doesn't end up dying because the dragon decides to target Oswald instead, who eventually stops it using the Un-Dragon-inator gadget trapped under the creature's foot.
• Failed a Spot Check: Oscar is teleported to the Lab while taking a shower, but doesn't notice because he's too busy chatting away with Oswald. The same goes for Owen and Oren, who also don't realize they're in full view of every agent walking by the lab. The only one who's well aware of where he is at the moment is Oswald.
  • Oswald himself falls victim to this trope in Chapter 20 when he ends up suffering from Sleep Deprivation and puts on an oversized chipmunk costume instead of his usual uniform by mistake, which is then lampshaded by Opal.
  Opal: How do you put on a chipmunk costume by mistake?
  Oswald: [shrugs] No idea. Ask the idiot writing this thing.
• Fictional Currency: Jackalope Dollars, as usual. They don't seem to be Global Currency, however, as demonstrated in Chapter 17 when Opal tries to pay for books at The Book Loft with them and the cashier is unsure of whether the place takes the currency or not.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Orla, just as in canon. She's not sure what fanfiction is, and when she's told it's made-up stories about Odd Squad, she's quick to react and believes that the "miscreants" making up stories about the organization have to be stopped.
• invoked Gotta Ship 'Em All: In this story, one would be pretty hard-pressed to find a fanfic with a main character that wasn't shipped with either another main character, a kid villain (such as Odd Todd), or a popular side character. There's even one fanfic that ships Odd Todd with his reformed self, of all people.
• Flies Equals Evil: The abandoned house that Basil Valentine and his henchwomen meet Todd in has one wall completely covered in flies.
• Flowers of Romance: Before his Blind Date begins, Oswald hastily buys a small bouquet of flowers. He's initially planning to give them to Octavia, but as she has been replaced with Oksana last minute, he is forced to give the Food and Beverage worker his flowers instead, which aren't well-received.
  Oksana: Oh. Flowers. How plebian.
• Foreshadowing: The Fortune Teller Omar comes across in Chapter 9 tells him of a white-striped boy who is going through a battle which the Mobile Unit has to ensure he does not lose. This sets up another plot point in a couple later chapters, where Todd meets up with three villains as The Mole to the Mobile Unit.
• Forgot He Was a Robot: Played with. Orla expresses surprise that the Van Computer is asleep, only for it to respond that A.I.s need to rest and recharge at times. Some computers, robots, and A.I.s do sleep, and the Mobile Unit's van is still flying steadily in midair despite the Van Computer's slumber, but it sleeps like a human would rather than a machine (who would possibly have Instant Waking Skills and be woken up if someone activated it in some way, like saying a codeword or pressing a button).
• Fortune Teller: The woman that Omar crosses paths with, known as The Morrigan, is one of these, and reads his palm to find out his past.
• Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Of a sort. Chapter 20 has the Mobile Unit agents reading fanmail from readers who request for past characters such as Olive, Otto, Otis and Olympia to return, which aren't comments directed at the fanfic itself, but are common requests in regards to the show and the overall franchise.
• Frankenstein's Monster: Appears at the end of Chapter 19 along with what is presumed to be his wife and son, asking if the Mobile Unit can take some cursed gems off of their hands.
• From Bad to Worse: More like From Good to Bad to Worse — Oswald and Orla find a Healing Spring and heal their illnesses and wounds, but then they begin to run out of time to get back to the van before the island disappears, and then they become lost and can't find their way back.
  • Chapter 18 has a straight example with Orla in critical condition following her being stabbed by the demon from The Book of Ashes, then said demon targeting Opal, Omar and Octavius as they realize that the latter's bag of bells, which keep demons away, is completely destroyed.
• Gassy Scare: Oswald develops stomach pain and believes that he's pregnant and it's a baby inside his stomach that's kicking. It's then revealed that he's not pregnant at all, meaning that his stomach pain is clearly the cause of him downing Cheerios and jalapeno peppers in 7-up.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: In her search to find more people (in-universe, presumably) to write about the Mobile Unit, Opal accidentally puts Oswald in one of the most embarrassing situations he has ever faced in his entire life, which leaves him scarred as a result. Orla is rightfully upset at her partner for doing this and isn't above giving an Implied Death Threat to her when the ordeal is over with.
  • Orla attempts to prove to readers that she is a brave and fierce warrior who isn't a sucker for romance. She does this by sneaking away to Hy-Brasil and fighting a dragon on her own, but she gets badly hurt as a result.
• Got Volunteered: Oren, Owen and Oswald are forcefully recruited by Olympia to go and catch blobs that are loose in Precinct 13579. Absolutely none of them are eager to do it, but go ahead and catch the blobs anyway. Oren, being the one that had to catch loose blobs previously to his chagrin, is quick to chew out Olympia when the job is completed, telling her to never make him catch blobs again. Owen is, likewise, just as upset at Olympia, but more on the grounds that Security didn't need to get involved, which Oona counters back with "there are loose animals in Headquarters and catching them is part of your job description". And Oswald...
  Oswald: Why did I have to do this again?
  Opal: Because Omar and I called "not it" first.
  Omar: Hey, rules are rules.
• Harmless Electrocution: Electricity, specifically electro-shock treatments, are thought to be how Todd creates his usual hairstyle. Whether he actually uses it, though, is left ambiguous.
• Healing Spring: After the dragon is defeated, Orla and Oswald go to one of these, a small stream that emits a golden light. The spring heals both Orla's battle wounds and Oswald's Patoisitis instantly.
• Hidden Depths: In contrast to agents who like bands such as Soundcheck, Oswald is in love with a band known as Gastrointestinal Disorder (yes, that's really what they're called). Likewise, Oksana is also in love with the band, and the two agents also love other performers like Alien Open Autopsy and Coprolite.
  • Todd apparently knows quite a bit about copyright law, which is something he apparently picked up from the Odd Squad episode "Disorder in the Court".
  • Orla, being a Fish out of Water and an Ancient Agent, enjoys things from olden times, such as The Lawrence Welk Show and the music of Kate Smith.
• Hospital Surprise: Chapter 17 has Orla stabbed in the back by the creature that comes out of The Book of Ashes and disguises itself as her mother, followed by the other agents stumbling across her. Although she appears to be dead, the next chapter opens up with her in a hospital and waking up from unconsciousness, and she is eventually confined to a wheelchair to heal.
• Hotter and Sexier: Bizarre Brigade, a Show Within a Show which was canonically introduced as a counterpart to Odd Squad with adult actors and not kid actors, gets this treatment in this story. It still keeps the same aspects of Odd Squad, but the adult characters are aged down to teenagers (although invoked Dawson Casting is involved), it's far more mature than its canon counterpart, and it's a revival that is treated as a triple Take That! towards terrible revivals of TV shows in general, people who sexualize minors, and people who make the decision for black characters to get one or two lines in TV shows. All of the characters wear skimpy clothing, and Oprah's Expy character, the Queen B, is in prison for a crime she didn't commit and has hunky bodyguards in bondage gear.
• House Fire: After Todd is rescued by Oprah, the abandoned house Basil and his cronies are in goes up into flames and burns down to the ground. It's never explained how, but it's implied that it's due to them not being human.
• Hypocritical Humor: When Opal tells Orla that she has a solution for getting their adventures made into a fanfic, Orla asks her if she can tell her about the plan, or if Opal will keep it to herself and do something foolhardy that ends in a Near-Death Experience and with the rest of her team restraining her. However, Orla is the one who's known for being the Leeroy Jenkins in the group and being foolhardy, not Opal.
  • Orson is a stickler for personal grooming and expects his agents to have good hygiene, which would be justified...if it weren't for the fact that Orson is a Brainy Baby.
  Oren: Didn't feel so strongly about [personal grooming] when he was smearing strained peaches all over his face this morning...
• I Call It "Vera": Todd calls his shoe Gerald, with another one of his shoes being named Stephen.
• I Can Still Fight!: Upon waking up in a doctor's office, Orla attempts to get out of bed, stating that she has to capture the creature that stabbed her in the back and is now loose in the van. It takes the combined efforts of Opal and Oswald to make her stay in bed and rest, but she definitely doesn't stay down — Opal knows that if she leaves the Ancient Agent's bedside, she'll be successful in getting out of bed and assisting the Mobile Unit in fighting the beast.
• I'll Kill You!: During her Blind Date with Oswald, Oksana bluntly gives the Mobile Unit agent a couple death threats, which unnerves him slightly.
  Oswald: Sorry. My friends are worried about me.
  Oksana: They should be.
  Oswald: [nervous giggling] W-well, you can't blame a person for what they might be thinking...
  Oksana: I can.
  Oswald: [coughs] W-w-well, you can't be thrown in jail for what you're thinking...
  Oksana: I can.
• I'm a Humanitarian: The old woman in Hy-Brasil, known later as The Morrigan, apparently eats humans, and while she doesn't eat Omar, she expresses interest in eating Orla, Opal and Oswald if they somehow end up dying, and if their hearts are full of despair instead of purity (since pure hearts are poisonous to the woman).
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: In Chapter 11, as Todd is planning to put on his old suit that he wore when he was a villain, he remarks that perhaps it won't fit him. Seconds later and he finds out that it does indeed fit him perfectly.
  • Chapter 18 has Oswald become a nervous wreck as he desperately tries to assure his teammates that Orla will be all right following her getting stabbed in the back. When Orla wakes up, Oswald then has to ask her if she's all right, even though it's clear to see that she's anything but.
• Implied Death Threat: In Chapter 5, Orla makes it very clear that she won't tolerate any of Opal's ideas to have fanfic written about the Mobile Unit that cause Oswald to suffer any more than he already has. She punctuates this by gripping her cup of pomegranate juice tight enough for it to snap in two.
• Innocent Innuendo: Upon finding a shipping fanfiction that ships him with Octavius, Oswald tells Omar that he "experimented" with Octavius at the Academy. Omar grows shocked up until Oswald explains that he and Octavius originally wanted to go into the Science department and become Scientists, so they would often perform lab experiments together.
• Innocently Insensitive: Opal asks Omar how Oswald is holding up after being teleported into public view, and he says that his partner is hyperventilating with his stomach expanding and contracting rapidly...just before saying that his stomach moving like that is cute, which earns him a glare from Orla.
  • Once the ordeal is over and done with, Orchid comes up to Oswald and gives him some choice words, stating that she nearly killed herself by slipping on some water. This doesn't help him much, as all he can do is bury his head in his hands in absolute shame.
  Orchid: Hey! Pinky! Next time you and your buddies go streaking, y' might wanna clean up after yourselves! I went in to return a gadget and nearly killed myself slipping on some water!
  Oswald Sorry... [as Orchid walks away] Of all the people in the universe...this day can't possibly get any worse...
  • At the end of Chapter 10, when Todd hesitantly agrees to visit Basil Valentine and find out what he's planning, all Opal can say is how great of a fanfic it will turn out to be. This, naturally, earns her glares from her teammates as well as the Big O.
• Insistent Terminology: When the Mobile Unit enter Metropolis, they run into Mister Mxyzptik, who corrects them by saying that he is an imp, not an elf.
• Instant Costume Change: In Chapter 20, Orla changes Oswald's outfit from an oversized chipmunk costume he accidentally put on to his normal Odd Squad uniform using a gadget from a rack behind her, which wakes him up from his slumber.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Oscar asks Oswald if he would be using the showers in Precinct 13579 if they teleported agents somewhere else. Sure enough, right after he says that, he, Oswald, Oren and Omar are all teleported to the lab while still in the showers.
  • After the showers are teleported back to their rightful place and Oswald gets dressed, Omar tries to cheer him up by telling him no one saw him...and then Ori and O'Duffy walk by and start giggling at Oswald. Omar gives an addendum in the form of "no girls saw you", which is then met by Oksana smirking at Oswald as she walks by.
  • In Chapter 17, Orla gives a warning to The Book of Ashes, stating that she's prepared for whatever it throws at her. That all goes out the window when the cursed book conjures up an illusion of her mother that seems to try and murder her.
• Interrupted Bath: Oscar, Oswald, Owen and Oren are all inconveniently teleported to the Lab while in the middle of taking a shower. The only one who realizes what's happened is Oswald, while the other three boys are blissfully unaware.
• It May Help You on Your Quest: The Fortune Teller that Omar meets hands him a small shimmering pink rock and tells him to keep it, as he may need it later. It turns out to be a magical, color-changing rock that can summon lost people, which helps in finding Orla and Oswald.
• It's a Long Story: Oswald's response to Orla asking who Olive and Otto are.
• I Warned You: While she doesn't rub it in their faces directly, the story ends with Oprah in her office and drinking a juice box, presumably watching the argument between the Mobile Unit agents in the van unfold, as she says aloud, "I tried to warn them..."
• Jaw Drop: Opal, Orla and Omar all go slack-jawed when they see Oswald dressed completely in dark clothing as he leaves to see a couple bands perform with Oksana. They really didn't think their Cowardly Lion teammate had it in him.
  • Orla and Oswald drop their jaws when they see the Hotter and Sexier revival of Bizarre Brigade. Orla is so appalled by her Expy character being a hotter and sexier version of her that she keeps her jaw dropped.
• Joke of the Butt: Omar reads the opening of Omar, My Partner, My Love, which has Opal mentioning how much she loves Omar's adorable butt. Orla pipes up by saying that she doesn't think his butt is impressive, causing him to become offended and blush in embarrassment. He then looks at Oswald, who just avoids eye contact with him, while Opal is rightfully mortified.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: In Chapter 7, Orla orders the Van Computer to fly to a specific location and to not tell Opal, Omar and Oswald where she's going, as she doesn't want to put them in danger. This proves disastrous when she ends up severely wounded and needs her teammates to rescue her, which proves difficult since they don't know where she went or where she currently is.
• Kill It with Fire: Basil Valentine, Ambrosia, and Nectar are all killed off, thanks to the abandoned house they meet Todd in burning down to the ground.
• Literal Metaphor: Chapter 9 has Opal milking a literal cash cow, made out of origami-styled dollar bills.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Omar is unaware of who Todd is, and needs Oswald to bring him up to speed.
• Loophole Abuse: Due to being centuries old, Orla is able to access age-restricted fanfictions. However, the tactic doesn't work when attempting to sneak into R-rated movies at the theater.
• Mandatory Line: Bertram, the Expy of Omar in the Hotter and Sexier revival of Bizarre Brigade, only has one line, which is a Take That! to how black characters in TV shows often get minimal lines.
  Bertram: Oh well. I'm black and I've said my one line so it's time for me to go back offscreen and look for souvenirs...
• Manipulative Bastard: Basil Valentine, by God. He uses some pretty underhanded tactics to get under Todd's skin to try and trigger a Redemption Failure, and he's an absolute master at it. Him having Psychic Powers definitely helps.
• Master of Illusion: Being a cursed book, The Book of Ashes has the ability to manipulate victims by creating illusions out of mist that feel and act real, which are conjured up from the victim's fears or their hopes and dreams. With this power, it creates an illusion of Orla's mother, who claims to have been searching for Orla for many years and has finally found her, and when the agent remarks about how she was scared to be alone for many years and goes to hug her, the illusion's hands become talons that stab her "daughter" right in the back.
• M.D. Envy: Chapter 6 contains an exchange where the Mobile Unit attempts to figure out if Todd is a psychologist or a psychiatrist. He's a therapist, but he doesn't have a legitimate diploma proving he's licensed — his only known license is to repair cars in Iowa.
• Mean Boss: The Workaholic meerkat that Opal comes across in Chapter 8 is this, almost to the point of being a Corrupt Corporate Executive. He doesn't pay his employees and acts upset when they quit, stating that poor people who are given money waste it on "silly things, like food and shelter", and has absolutely No Listening Skills when it comes to interacting with Opal, who doesn't even get a chance to tell him that not only is she looking for Orla in a time-sensitive mission, but she already has a job working with Odd Squad. Since he's a Take That! character directed at Elon Musk, it makes sense.
• Meat Versus Veggies: Octavius is vegetarian, and complains that he doesn't see a vegetarian option when he and the Mobile Unit go out to eat at The Nutcracker. Opal tells him to just get a salad since they're in small-town Ohio.
• Medium Awareness: Oprah, naturally. She's reading this story on her own computer while she contacts the Mobile Unit and warns them that some of the fanfics may be too much for them to handle. She even has active communication with the author himself.
  • Zigzagged with the Mobile Unit. They seem to be aware that they're on a fictitious TV show and that there's established canon in place, but Chapter 15 implies that they don't know they're on a fictitious TV show at all, while Chapter 16 implies that they do know, and Chapter 17 implies that they're actively avoiding playing the trope straight.
• Merlin Sickness: Basil Valentine wishes to obtain the secret of how Odd Squad agents are The Ageless and can seemingly live forever. This is so he can stop himself from aging backwards and eventually disappearing.
• Mind Rape: Chapter 19 has the demonic creature from The Book of Ashes do this to each Mobile Unit agent (and Octavius) by using Ominous Fog to separate and trap them, although they manage to break out thanks to Octavius turning on the microwave.
  • It first conjures up an illusion of Oswald's Naked Freak-Out incident in Chapter 4, twisting it so that everyone — Owen, Oscar, Oren, the other Mobile Unit agents, and even those like Oksana and Oprah — is laughing and taunting him.
  • Omar is treated to the view of a blind, critically-injured, blood-soaked Opal calling out to him before seeing the dead corpses of Oswald, Orla and Octavius.
  • Octavius ends up running from an angry mob chasing after him who are attempting to shoot him dead. A figure manages to grab him and it's revealed to be Xavier, who tears off the mask he's wearing and reveals that Octavius is looked down upon for being a gay Odd Squad agent, dragging him up a scaffold and showing him the hanged bodies of the Mobile Unit agents and his other friends. And then Octavius himself is pushed through a noose...
  • Although Opal is with Orla in a hospital room of sorts, she is also subject to mind-rape in the form of The Shadow appearing in front of her, and beginning to take off her mask. Anyone familiar with the show knows what happens next.
• Mister Seahorse: Defied as part of the plot of Chapter 15. The Mobile Unit agents stumble upon a fanfic in which Otto gets Olive pregnant. Oswald becomes paranoid about the author of this fanfic deciding to make him pregnant, jumping the gun and going right into This Is Gonna Suck mode as he decides to start picking out names for the baby he's eventually going to have, despite Opal telling him that he's a boy and even in this World of Weirdness boys can't become pregnant and give birth. Hours later, Orla and Omar discuss how Oswald giving birth would work, and Orla comes to the conclusion that the baby would have to be delivered via C-section. Eventually Oprah calls the agents up and assures them that Oswald is not pregnant nor will he ever be, as she talked to the writer of this fanfic, who told her that he had no plans for that whatsoever.
• The Mole: The Mobile Unit attempt to have Todd go to Basil Valentine and see what his intentions are for meeting him. Todd initially refuses because he doesn't want to perform a Face–Heel Turn and become a villain again, but he is eventually coerced into going.
• The Musical: Opal gets the idea for a musical fanfic at the end of Chapter 20, but Omar reminds her that it's a fanfic, which is in print — meaning that a musical wouldn't be as well-executed as if it were a TV show or a movie.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Although she wasn't expecting it to be a Master of Illusion and conjure up a false image of her own mother, Orla feels immense regret for falling for The Book of Ashes and its tricks after she promised the other agents that she would guard it and told the book that she was ready for whatever it threw at her.
• Mythology Gag: In Chapter 20, Oswald explains how he has been Plagued by Nightmares in which he is being chased by a vast array of monsters. Orla then pipes up and talks about her own recurring nightmares that involve her eating a massive amount of sweets, Omar states that he has a recurring nightmare of him singing poorly at Carnegie Hall, and then Opal chimes in with a recurring nightmare she has about sorting things at a museum. Once the four agents realize they're having each other's dreams, they touch foreheads so each dream returns to its proper owner. This is a reference to My Dream Is Yours, one of the author's other Odd Squad works, which Oswald quickly takes note of and comments on in true meta fashion.
  Oswald: What was even the point of that? He knows that bit won't work with just four people! And is he just assuming everyone is familiar with all his other stories?
  • When Opal states that no one writes letters anymore, Oyster enters through one of the van's side doors and states that she should keep it to herself because he loves his job, tossing a few letters onto the pile of fan mail before leaving. This mirrors an interaction in the Odd Squad episode "Raising the Bar", where Opal asks Oyster to email the latest copy of the Odd Squad Magazine to her and the others only to be asked to keep that to herself because the Mail Department postmaster loves his job.
• Naked Freak-Out: Oswald is nervous about a fanfic he read about a magical shower teleporting naked agents coming true. So when it actually happens and he, as well as Oscar, Owen and Oren, are all teleported to the Lab and are in full view of everyone, he becomes almost on the verge of a panic attack.
  Oona: Is that...?
  Omar: [whispering] Girls...whatever you do, don't turn around!
• Naked People Are Funny: Apart from the Take That! which fuels the conflict of the chapter and the Deconstruction of what is being made fun of, this trope is more or less why Chapter 4 exists despite the author feeling bad about it happening in the first place. The sight of the naked agents has O'Malley, Ori and O'Duffy all attempting to stifle a laugh as they walk by.
• No Fourth Wall: Goes hand in hand with the story's premise. One could make a bonafide Drinking Game at how many times the characters realize they're part of a TV show or in a fanfic, and how many times they freely talk about it. Especially Oswald, who takes destroying the fourth wall to an entire art form.
  Oswald: Look. It's over, alright? Can't you tell? He's winding this up. The Munsters showed up last chapter. He's trying to end this thing.
• Non-Nude Bathing: After his Naked Freak-Out, Oswald wears a bathing suit whenever he takes a bath or a shower.
• Noodle Incident: Whatever stories Otis and Olympia read must have been horrifying, considering Otis had to question his sexuality and Olympia had a nervous breakdown.
  • Oswald explains that he and Octavius wanted to become Scientists and go into the Science department originally, but while Octavius discovered he loved shushing and transferred to Library-Museum Studies, Oswald transferred there after somehow either causing or witnessing an explosion that took his eyebrows clean off.
  • In Chapter 5, the Blind Date between Oswald and Oksana is considered bad enough in Orla's eyes to where she has to use swordplay to remedy it. It's never explained how she is prepared to remedy it that way, though — not that she needs to anyway, since Oswald states that the date is going fine.
• The Nudifier: Four of the showers that Precinct 13579 has in the boys' shower room have the ability to teleport agents to public places while they're using the shower.
• Oh, Crap!: Opal has this reaction when she realizes that she remembers a story involving a slew of agents being turned naked thanks to a gadget.
  • Chapter 12 is full of these kinds of reactions when Todd's communication line goes dead.
  • Chapter 18 also has a couple instances of these, namely when Octavius can't find his bag of bells and when Omar hears a noise coming from the bullpen, realizing that the beast has come across the bells in his souvenir collection.
• Oh, Crap, There Are Fanfics of Us!: The story's basic premise. Omar stumbles across some Odd Squad fanfiction and invites his teammates to look at it, and they read through the stories and voice their reactions accordingly. Of course, things snowball from there.
  • Oprah in particular deserves special mention — she's definitely seen some stories that have left permanent scars on her, and she's seen whatever disturbing business has gone down on Deviantart. She even explains that she's read stories that claimed she was the reincarnation of a voodoo priestess and accused her of being affiliated with the Illuminati.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Just as Oswald finishes taking a shower and is fully dressed in clean clothes, Gooey Randall races by him and splashes him and Omar in goo. Oswald, not wanting to go through the embarrassment and horror of using Precinct 13579's showers and being teleported a second time, resorts to showering in the van despite it only having pineapple juice as a liquid substance.
• Ominous Fog: In Chapter 17, The Book of Ashes creates a mist that materializes into Orla's mother. Orla is convinced that she is seeing the real deal...up until the "mother" grows talons and rips right into the agent's flesh.
  • Chapter 19 has the book use fog to separate the Mobile Unit agents and Mind Rape them.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: After using Precinct 13579's shower and going through a Naked Freak-Out when teleported to the Lab in full view of everyone walking by, Oswald doesn't bother to mince words when chewing out Olympia and Oona, and even weeks after the incident, he's still upset.
  Oona: Sorry, guys! I promise, it won't happen again!
  Oswald: IT BETTER NOT!
• Overworked Sleep: Orla, Opal and Omar go to Houston, Texas to solve a case of rabbits calypso-dancing, and are so exhausted by the time they solve it and get back to the van that they crash and burn, forgetting Oswald in the process.
• invoked Periphery Demographic: An in-universe example in Chapter 20, which also doubles as Self-Deprecation.
  Oswald: Well, you know, the idiot writing this thing hasn't really paid attention to the outside world since 1998...
  Omar: He's that old? [shakes head] Why does he even watch the show?
• Perky Goth: Downplayed. At the end of Chapter 5, Oswald appears in front of Omar, Opal and Orla wearing dark clothing, but it's only to go see a couple bands perform that night and isn't adopted as his everyday attire.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Orla, natch. At one point, she squeezes a cup she's holding out of anger with enough force to make it break in two.
• Plagued by Nightmares: This happens to every member of the Mobile Unit in Chapter 20 as their dreams become mixed up.
  • Oswald, who has Orla's dream, is chased by monsters such as dragons, trolls, giants and griffons.
  • Omar, who has Opal's dream, is performing at Carnegie Hall — specifically, singing, which is not his area of expertise.
  • Orla, who has Omar's dream, is eating a massive amount of sweets and pastries to such an extent that she wakes up feeling nauseous.
  • Opal, who has Oswald's dream, is sorting through various things at a museum.
• Precision F-Strike: In Chapter 12, Basil Valentine calls the Immortality ability of Odd Squad agents "rather hellish".
• Product Placement: While it isn't canon, TikTok exists in this story, and without a Pun covering it up to boot, like Oddstagram.
  • Taco Bell also exists, as seen in Chapter 11 when Orla is eating one of their breakfast chalupas.
  • The beginning of Chapter 16 directly name-drops Google.
• Psychic Powers: Basil Valentine has this ability, and uses it to read Todd's thoughts as well as send the Mobile Unit van rolling away from the house and onto the adjacent road.
• Race Against the Clock: Opal, Omar and Oswald all have five hours to find Orla on Hy-Brasil before the island disappears and the Ancient Agent becomes trapped on it for seven years.
• Rage Against the Author: Oswald has an extreme dislike for the author, and for very good reason.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Deconstructed. As in canon, Todd is this following his Heel–Face Turn, but it's made very clear that the urges he still has bother him greatly, and as such, he refuses to get into any villainous activity for fear of Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and becoming a villain again.
  Todd: You don't understand. I'm not scared of [Basil Valentine]. But I had to work so hard to give up oddness. It...I still have urges. It's a struggle. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. [shakes head] I don't know if I could put the suit on again. I don't know if I could keep from going over the edge again.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Apparently, the Mobile Unit didn't get the memo that Todd had made a Heel–Face Turn and become good — hence why they treat him with suspicion even though he tells them that he is no longer a villain. To make matters worse, Owen, as well as the rest of Odd Squad, his Home For Villains™ under constant surveillance, and it has been under constant surveillance ever since it opened. By Chapter 11, Orla in particular refuses to trust him.
  Orla: I still do not trust him.
  Oswald: Orla, honest. He's reformed! He's one hundred percent given up causing oddness! All the data I gathered proves it!
  Orla: I do not trust data. I trust my instincts.
  • Basil Valentine uses this trope as a taunting tactic towards Todd in Chapter 13.
  Basil Valentine: What was the point of this? To redeem yourself? You should know that's impossible. You will always be remembered as the monster who betrayed Odd Squad. No matter what you might do from now on, that will be your legacy.
  Todd: I know that.
  Basil Valentine: Do you? Do you really? They'll never forgive you. They'll never stop hating you. They'll never trust you again. And they're right.
• Ret-Canon: Played with, in an example that has an adaptation making something from another adaptation canon. This story canonizes Oscar's parents being Flo and Dr. Forrester, which was made up in Ships Ahoy!. In canon, Oscar's parents are never revealed for intentional reasons.
• Ridiculously Human Robots: Chapter 18 implies that the Mobile Unit van serves as a body of sorts for the Van Computer, as when the beast claws one of the walls, she exclaims "Ouch!" as though she is actually injured.
• Salt Solution: When Todd's comm link goes dead, Oprah orders O'Grady and Oz to use their Salt-inator gadgets and circle around the house while the gadgets are activated. It ends up working against Nectar when she shapeshifts into her wolf form and attacks the two agents.
• The Scream: Oswald lets out a big one when the shower he's in is teleported back to its rightful place.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Oren finishes scrubbing blob slime out of his nails and remarks how the slime gets in every nook and cranny, Omar, realizing exactly what he's washing, is quick to remark that he's out and he doesn't want to see any more of what Oren is doing.
  Omar: I mean I'm out. I've just seen something no human being should ever have to see and I just can't...
• Self-Deprecation: Oh so much of it in the story, and it's all directed towards the author.
• invoked Self-Imposed Challenge: Orla decides to set out and prove herself and her fierce warrior status to readers by going to Hy-Brasil and battling a dragon alone. In spite of her immense strength and battle prowess, she ends up on the losing end of the battle and is badly wounded by the time her teammates figure out where she's gone and catch up to her.
• Self-Insert Fic: Downplayed. The author is a character in his own fanfic as the author penning the fanfic to begin with, but he's not a major character. Nonetheless, Oswald doesn't like it.
  Oswald: He's not our friend. AND KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE SELF-INSERTS, ALRIGHT? IT'S NOT CUTE!!
• Shaming the Mob: Although she's unaware of it, Opal ends up clearing the entire room when she angrily shouts that if people want to see Olive and Otto again so badly, then they can read the fanfics involving them and not this fanfic.
• Shoulder Teammate: While working as The Mole, Todd meets up with Basil Valentine, who greets him while riding on the shoulder of Ambrosia, one of his henchwomen.
• Shout-Out: When Opal remarks that there might be fanfiction about the Mobile Unit, Oswald asks if they're going to meet The Munsters.
  • While looking on the Internet for fanfics of him, Oswald finds that there's a story that ships Orla with Lucas from the React series.
  • In Chapter 2, the Mobile Unit goes to Metropolis and teams up with Superman in the hopes of getting a Crossover fanfic written about them.
  • Chapter 6 has an exchange where Todd stole forty cakes, which is ripped clear from The Super Dictionary.
  • In Chapter 11, Opal mentions how Orla cried while watching WandaVision when proving her wrong about not being swayed by sentimental things.
  • Chapter 14 opens with Orla watching The Lawrence Welk Show, as she wants to learn about the fads and fashions she missed during her time as guardian of the 44-Leaf Clover.
• Sidelined Protagonist Crossover: Superman is revealed to be away on a space mission, hence why the Odd Squad Mobile Unit decides to fight and protect Metropolis in his stead.
• Signature Laugh: Odd Todd's Evil Laugh ("EEHAHAHAHAHA!") is considered to be one. In Chapter 6, Omar asks Todd to perform the laugh for him, but Todd refuses since he's not a villain anymore.
  Omar: Y'gotta hear this guy's villain laugh, it's so creepy...
  Todd: It's just the way I laugh, okay?
• Singing in the Shower: In Chapter 4, as Oren, Owen, Oswald and Oscar are taking showers to clean the blob slime off of them, Owen starts singing "O Solo Mio" to the tune of "Santa Lucia".
  Oren: Why do you have to sing that song?
  Owen: [shrugs] It's public domain.
• Skewed Priorities: Two powerful superheroines are about to engage in battle? Omar says it's time to get a souvenir!
• Sleep Deprivation: Oswald ends up having a rough time sleeping before the events of Chapter 20, and as a result, he accidentally puts on an oversized chipmunk suit instead of his usual uniform by mistake. He doesn't last for very long, however, as he crashes and burns the second after he answers Opal's question of how he managed to mistake a huge costume for his kid-sized uniform, then wakes up when Orla changes his outfit to his uniform. He then confesses that his lack of sleep is due to being plagued by nightmares.
• Snark Ball: Omar grips the ball for a brief moment in Chapter 21 while sifting through fanmail.
  Opal: Go horseback riding?
  Omar: I'm allergic to horses.
• Stress Vomit: Todd vomits out of nervousness numerous times before he goes to meet Basil Valentine and his cronies.
• Stripped to the Bone: Barely averted with Basil Valentine's right hand, which is withered and white and noted to be "almost skeletal", but still has skin.
• Swamps Are Evil: While looking for Orla in the forest of Hy-Brasil, Opal finds herself in a wet marsh occupied by a Workaholic meerkat.
• Take That!: Oh so many.
  • Oswald remarks that the majority of Odd Squad fanfics are bad. Opal tries to amend that statement by adding a "but they mean well" to it.
  • Chapter 4 is mainly fueled by a jab at one person on Deviantart in particular, who was previously known for making stories involving stripping agents of their clothes and teleporting them to random public places. It twists the story by making the agents feel rightfully weirded out and embarrassed at both the concept and the action of being teleported while naked, rather than pleased, and also leaves quite a scar on Oswald when he actually does end up being teleported to the Lab while naked.
  Olympia: I mean, can you honestly imagine [me and Oona], the Big O, and Olive going around to waterparks and using a gadget that makes boys' swimtrunks disappear? [shakes head] Not only is that awful, it's causing oddness! We'd all get kicked out of Odd Squad!

  Oscar: D'you really think I'd be using these showers if they could zap me somewhere else? I mean, obviously I would never. As President of the Scientists, I have my dignity to maintain...
  • In Chapter 6, Odd Todd remarks that Dr. Phil isn't a real doctor.
  • And then in the same chapter, we have two jabs that occur in rapid succession:
  Orla: We have heard rumors someone is organizing all of the villains into a super-group!
  Todd: You mean like ABBA?
  Opal: [shakes her head] No, no. Someone is creating a villain network!
  Todd: Oh. You mean like Fox News.
  • During the rescue attempt in Hy-Brasil, Opal comes across a talking muskrat named Elon Muskrat, who is a Bad Boss that doesn't pay his employees and looks down upon poor people. For extra jab factor, the creature he takes care of is made out of origami-styled dollar bills and needs to be milked like a cow, referencing how Elon Musk is a "money-milker".
  • Chapter 14 opens up with Orla watching The Lawrence Welk Show. When Oswald asks why she wants to watch it, she says that she's 500 years old, to which he responds, "Yeah, that's basically the target demographic..."
  • The same chapter has a Hotter and Sexier revival of the Bizarre Brigade, which serves as a triple jab — to people who sexualize minors, to bad revivals of TV shows in general, and to how some characters who are black only get minimal lines and only exist to help ratings.
  Oswald: [with his head in his hands] Am I just a sex object to these people?
  • Chapter 21 features various exchanges with Oprah and a comic book publishing company regarding ideas for an Odd Squad comic book that are potshots taken at both the comic book industry and the people that work in them, and the head people of various media projects in general. The entire conversation features such gems as:
    • Giving the main characters invoked Age Lifts into teenagers because "kids just don't sell" and are "rude, self-centered, incompetent and stupid".
    • Adding in characters who are black, female, and/or gay in order to appeal to a younger demographic, calling the inclusion of such minorities a fad and stating that in a few months, the characters will be phased out and the comic can go back to the "real characters".
    • Bringing the characters' parents into play by having them supervise their children while they solve odd problems, then using the experience as leverage for telling others what great parents they are. This idea has the publishing company outright state that they don't care about the agents that the comic book is supposed to be about, which makes sense considering that they're a bunch of Child Haters who think that adults are superior.
    • Getting rid of "awful guuurl characters" and "lame 'people of color' agents" that the show writers (referred to here as SJWs) added into the show. Directly after the idea is posed, it's stated that the company doesn't want those kinds of people reading the comics — they want "emotionally stunted middle-aged white guys who don't get out much."
    • Oprah becoming fed up with the ludicrous ideas presented to her and calling the company out, asking them why they are turning Odd Squad into an entirely different and less original show and why they can't just write stories with original characters. The company responds aptly by saying that the story wouldn't be about adults then, and the entire point was to make people see how amazing adults are. Oprah then asks why they can't prove that by writing good-quality stories, to which they respond by saying that doing so is too hard and they would rather keep making stories with expies and copied elements galore.
• Taught by Experience: Opal and Orla come to the conclusion that since most fanfics have Precinct 13579 as a setting, the Mobile Unit should go there to get another fanfic written about them.
• invoked Technology Marches On: Invoked in-universe by Opal in response to Orla, who asks why readers of the fanfic don't submit their fan mail via email instead of physical letters, only for Opal to ask who sends physical letters anymore. Oyster then enters the van, tosses a couple letters onto the pile of fan mail, and leaves while asking her to keep that to herself since he loves his job.
• Teen Pregnancy: The basic plot of Chapter 15 revolves around this. After coming across a fanfic where Otto gets Olive pregnant, Oswald, the resident Butt-Monkey of the story, fears that the writer of this fanfic will make him pregnant. Opal, Omar and Orla try to convince him that he's not pregnant, and that in the World of Weirdness that is Odd Squad, boys can't get pregnant, but it doesn't help him much and it reaches a point where Opal schedules an appointment with the Ottawa Odd Squad precinct's doctor to ease his fears. Oprah then calls them and assures Oswald that he won't get pregnant, as she talked with the writer of this fanfic, who assured her that he would never do that to him.
• Teleporter Accident: In Chapter 4, Oscar explains to Oswald about how Odd Squad was building teleporters, but agents kept on coming back with things placed in the wrong order, so the organization eventually abandoned the concept.
• Tempting Fate: Opal disregards Oprah's warning of the fanfics being a bit too jarring for her and the other Mobile Unit agents to handle by asking "how bad could it be?" She doesn't even get to finish her sentence before she comes across a fanfic titled Omar, My Partner, My Love.
• That Came Out Wrong: When Todd notes each of the Mobile Unit agents' scents, Opal tells him "Never mind our smell!" before backtracking as she realizes that it didn't come out right.
• The Nose Knows: Similar to how he's presented in canon, Todd can identify people by smell. He notes that Opal always wears bubblegum-scented perfume, Oswald powders himself, Omar wears a lot of Axe body spray, and Orla makes and uses her own soap.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Todd asks the Mobile Unit to call him by just that, instead of any labelled names he had previously (Agent Todd, Odd Todd, Gardener Todd or Caretaker Todd).
• This Is a Work of Fiction: When coming across Omar, My Partner, My Love, Opal has to remind herself of what Oprah told her: that the stories she comes across on the Internet are fictitious and none of the ships are real. It doesn't stop her from giving a pitiful moan from having it be on the widely-public Internet, though.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Opal has this reaction when Omar manages to get Oksana as a replacement for Octavia during Oswald's Blind Date. It's so severe that Opal tells Omar to keep the weapons away from Oksana out of fear that she'll kill them in retaliation.
  Omar: I'm not so good at remembering names. She is nice, though, right?
  [Opal rubs her temples]
  Omar: You want me to do anything else?
  Opal: Yes. Hide all the knives. I'll try to figure something out...
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Orla decides to venture out and defeat a dragon by herself in order to prove herself and her bravery to readers. She doesn't bring her teammates with her because not only is there the possibility of them being put in danger, but they would actively try to stop her before she could get started.
• Twisted Ankle: Orla gets a twisted ankle upon landing in Hy-Brasil, which puts her at a huge disadvantage when facing a large dragon that advances towards her the second she lands.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: The Mobile Unit fight a giant turtle monster of Mister Mxyzptik's creation in Superman's stead, and end up winning in a sheer Curb-Stomp Battle. Then worm-like tendrils appear from the ground, and they curb-stomp them too. Even when Mister Mxyzptik actively fights them, they're no match for the agents' gadgets, nor is he a match for all the pies that get thrown into his face.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Nectar, one of Basil Valentine's Mooks, has the ability to turn into a large black wolf and back again.
• Wacky Cravings: In Chapter 15, after discussing whether or not he's pregnant (or will be made pregnant, anyway), Oswald heads to the Mobile Unit van's kitchen to eat some Cheerios and jalapeno peppers in 7-Up that he's craving. Subverted in that he's not actually pregnant nor will he ever be made pregnant.
• Weird Crossover: Although this trope is a staple of the author's other works, this story has the Odd Squad Mobile Unit crossing over with, of all things, Superman.
• Who's Laughing Now?: Played for laughs in Chapter 20, when Omar gets a rather disturbing piece of fanmail and the tables become turned on him by Oswald.
  Omar: Oh, here's one! "I really liked that story where Oswald was teleported from the shower..."
  Oswald: [whimpering with his head on the table] Of course they did...
  Omar: "Could you do another story like that, only with Omar this time?" [smiles tightly] No. No, we can't. Ever. Sorry.
  Oswald: [smirking] Not so funny now, is it?
• Wrong Genre Savvy: In Chapter 8, Omar comes across a run-down shack occupied by an old woman (The Morrigan) who invites him inside. He believes that he's running on Hansel and Gretel logic and asks if the house is made of candy, but it's not, and instead, he ends up walking right into a different kind of trap.

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