Together, They Fight Crime
is a complete fanfic written by Kudzuhaiku in his Weedverse. Yam Spade and Azure Serape are broke. Again. Fortunately a mare comes to him needing someone to find her daughter. Unfortunately, she probably can't pay them enough. They take the job anyway.
Tropes:
- Actual Pacifist: Nougat, a caribou that Yam knew in the Fancy Foreign Legion.
- Affably Evil: Cricket is this, politely explaining his views and trying to turn Yam, and appearing genuinely sorry about the darker side of his actions.
- Beat: After Guacamelee's Big Damn Heroes entrance none of the Mooks quite know how to respond, at least until the "Desperados" make their decision.note
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Yam is warned to be careful about what he uses his finding-sense to discover, because some things are too terrible to learn.
- Big Damn Heroes: After Yam gets captured, several different groups show up, in order, Guacamelee, S.M.I.L.E., and The Wardens. Things become...chaotic.
- Bittersweet Ending: They've found Honeydew and the (surviving) kidnapped foals, but Honeydew and some of the foals have been permanently altered and can't (for now, at least) return to their parents, Warden Hammerhelm has been stripped of her title and Dread Drop has a black mark on his record, S.M.I.L.E. is still hunting Guacamelee and the real masterminds get off scot-free. This pushes Yam into a Heroic BSOD until Twilight Velvet shows up to employ him, intending to make sure this sort of thing can't happen again.
- Blackmail: Used to keep those involved in the conspiracy in line, including Miss Tweedy Penny.
- Booby Trap: Tweedy Penny's lockbox contains a gas bomb that goes off when opened.
- Child Soldiers: Part of the reason the terrorists are kidnapping foals is to build an army they can indoctrinate.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Yam and Azure have a mild version. They really need money, they get offered a job that's unlikely to cover expenses, let alone pay off their debts. But it's to rescue an autistic mare who vanished while being exploited by her employer. So they take the case.
- Cluster F-Bomb: While under the influence of the burro alchemy, Yam encounters a centaur that unleashes a stream of profanity Yam doesn't dare remember for fear of contaminating reality.
- Continuity Cavalcade: While under the influence, Yam hallucinates a paper alicornnote battling a many-headed, chained down alicornnote , while a pale pony looks onnote , Princess Luna chasing a younger version of herself claiming there are some things Pony Was Not Meant To Knownote and he is drowned by an anchornote . There's even some stuff from (at the time) unreleased stories, including Seeing Sunset and Dubious from the unreleased story withnote the title Space Became My Ocean.
- The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Miss Tweedy Penny's death is definitely suicide, according to the coroner. Both the Wardens and the two detectives are very sceptical.
- Crowd Chant: During Guacamelee's Curb-Stomp Battle the kidnapped foals begin cheering her on.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Guacamelee is already inflicting one when S.M.I.L.E. and The Wardens show up, making it a very bad day to be a Mook.
- Dead Man Writing: Miss Tweedy Penny leaves a confession with her airship tickets for the event she is not able to collect them.
- Don't Split Us Up: Defied by Warden Hammerhelm, who uses what's left of her authority to command that Honey Dew and the experimented-on foals not be separated.
- Don't Tell Mama: Played With, Azure threatens to set her mother on Yamnote .
- Dowsing Device: Yam Spade is a living one, rather useful in his line of work.
- Evil Gloating: When he has Yam tied up after capturing him, Officer Cricket takes the opportunity to explain the philosophy of his terrorist group.
- Fantastic Racism: Apparently there are some places that have problems letting burros in. People looking down on Azure because of her race is something of a Berserk Button for her.
- Friend on the Force: Wardens Owleye and Dread Drop have this sort of dynamic with Yam and Azure, as does Warden Hammerhelm (even after she's stripped of her title and reassigned to training duty), despite being closer to The Men in Black than conventional police.
- "Get Out of Jail Free" Card: Part of signing on with Twilight Velvet's bureaucratic campaign is a pre-emptive pardon.
- Good Is Not Nice: Twilight Velvet tried being nice. It didn't work. So a different approach is needed. Like hiring a soft-boiled detective to find Blackmail material.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: When a pegasus tries to get the height advantage on her, Guacamelee prevents him doing so and uses him to clear the rest of the group.
- Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: While trying to blend in as a tourist, Yam wears appropriate attire.
- Happily Married: Despite their troubles, Azure and Yam.
- Harmful to Minors: Given that the villains are kidnapping foals, this was nearly inevitable, but having to see Officer Cricket commit suicide by driving a lead pipe through his own skull is not the best of outcomes.
- Hero Antagonist: S.M.I.L.E. is hunting Guacamelee, much to Yam's disapproval, given who Guacamelee is actually fighting. The Wardens (at least the ones we see onscreen) are more pragmatic.
- Heroic BSoD: Yam has one after the climax of the story, distressed by the Bittersweet Ending. Twilight Velvet's offer snaps him out of it.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: An old burro mare uses an alchemical brew to help teach Yam how to use his finding-sense across planes.
- I Did What I Had to Do: The actions of Officer Cricket's cell are justified this way by their spokespony. Yam disagrees.
- Incoming Ham: Guacamelee, is heralded by a mariachi band and Yam explaining just how screwed the villains are to have pissed off Espíritu de Venganza. Then comes the Big Entrance, rounded off with a top-of-her-lungs Pre-Asskicking One-Liner.
- Insistent Terminology: Azure is a burro, not a donkey.
- Inspirational Martyr: Cricket intends this to be the result of his suicide while under attack by Equestrian forces, intending it to appear he was murdered by them.
- Improvised Weapon: Both a toolbox and a chair come in handy for Guacamelee.
- Jurisdiction Friction: The local police resent the Warden's involvement.
- Karma Houdini: The real mastermind of the story, at least until later Weedverse storiesnote .
- Kung Fu-Proof Mook: The Wardens are increasingly finding people resistant to their powers, something they find concerning.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Discussed but Averted, Azure and Yam are spared S.M.I.L.E.'s attentions at the Wardens' insistence.
- Lawful Stupid: Discussed, but the Wardens aren't this, generally, being closer to somewhat shady goodness, with a dose of Loophole Abuse and (occasionally) Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!.
- Lightning Bruiser: Guacamelee moves quickly and hits like a truck.
- Loophole Abuse: Why Owleye is not Lawful Stupid, she can share information on the case due to having conscripted Yam and Azure.
- Love at First Punch: Yam and Azure met when he offered to buy her a drink and got slapped for his trouble. One minor warnote later, and they were moving in together.
- Lysistrata Gambit: Inverted, Azure promises to make Yam's bravery worth his while when he's reluctant to try Higher Understanding Through Drugs.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: Marrying Azure got Yam disowned by his parents and blacklisted from most reputable agencies.
- Masked Luchador: Guacamelee.
- MegaCorp: AgTech shows some signs of being one of these.
- Mess of Woe: Inverted, at the end of the story Yam and Azure's apartment is ridiculously clean, despite Yam's ongoing Heroic BSoD, due to them being essentially under house arrest and limited on stuff to do.
- Mighty Glacier: The Wardens, in their heavy armour, in contrast to Guacamelee or S.M.I.L.E.
- Mood Whiplash: Immediately after the awesomeness of Guacamelee, the Wardens and S.M.I.L.E.'s Curb-Stomp Battle (in fact while they're just clearing up), we have Cricket's suicide and the horrified reactions of the onlooking foals.
- Mushroom Samba: Yam, while under the influence of a burro concoction designed to Invoke Higher Understanding Through Drugs. It forms something of a Continuity Cavalcade, including stories that aren't written yet.
- Perpetual Poverty: Apparently there's always an eviction notice in the mailbox, and the pair have built up a massive tab at the local eatery.
- Pet the Dog: Despite being involved in experiments on foals, Tweedy Penny did the best she could to keep them sedated and comfortable.
- Plant Person: Honey Dew became one after an accident while researching trollsnote , the experiments on the foals were an attempt to replicate it. Some were successful. Many were not.
- Police Are Useless: At least when it comes to crimes against burros. They just don't care.
- Powers via Possession: How the Guacamelee mask works; it possesses the host, giving them the ability to fight whatever injustice has infuriated them.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Rounding off a Big Entrance nicely:Guacamelee: I AM GUACAMELEE, ESPÍRITU DE VENGANZA, AND ALL OF YOU PUTA MADRES ARE ABOUT TO GET YOUR ASS BEAT!
- Private Detective: Yam Spade is a "soft-boiled" detective.
- Proto-Superhero: Guacamelee, being a crime-fighting Masked Luchador, draws a lot from this kind of character.
- Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: Part of the Wardens' contributions to a fight.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Warden Hammerhelm.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: A common approach in Las Pegasus.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Mister Schmutzig helps Yam get information he needs despite it being against company policy because it's the right thing to do. Later on, Warden Hammerhelm gives Yam orders to retrieve important documents because she has too few Wardens and can't trust the police, knowing that she'll be punished for it. This backfires horribly, as Yam is captured, meaning that rather than a reprimand, she's sacked, taking on all the blame to protect Dread Drop, who could also have been implicated. She still reckons she did the right thing, and outright says that she'll do it again if Yam needs it. This is also the motivation behind Twilight Velvet's new approach after following the rules failed. It doesn't hurt that she has royal backing.
- Sexy Soaked Shirt: The essence of the trope comes across in Yam's reaction to Azure after a shower.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: After having the villain's view calmly and rationally explained to him, Yam expresses his opinion of them.
- Silent Scapegoat: Warden Hammerhelm willingly takes all the blame for the fiasco, protecting Dread Drop.
- Source Music: Guacamelee brings her soundtrack with her.
- Teleport Spam: A significant part of Guacamelee's fighting style.
- This Is Unforgivable!: To Yam, experiments on foals.
- Title Drop: The very last line, to signify the end of a Heroic BSoD.
- Trademark Favourite Food: Yam likes tamales.
- Trash of the Titans: Yam and Azure do not live the cleanest of lifestyles.
- You Need to Get Laid: Yam's opinion of Dread Drop and Owleye. Preferably with each other.
- Unreliable Narrator: Discussed In-Universe, Miss Penny's journals are heavily biased as a source on the reasons for her actions.
- The Un-Smile: Yam is on the receiving end of a Warden's grin... Many, many teeth.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Officer Cricket, and possibly other members of his cell. Their goals are understandable note , but their actions to support it are horrific.
Word of God is that they would not survive the reveal of the identity The Man Behind the Mannote . Cricket's suicide is in part to avoid having to face a world where he's wrong. - Would Hurt a Child: The crimes that Miss Tweedy Penny were involved in included experiments on foals.
- Wretched Hive: Las Pegasus or Manehattan is the most corrupt city in Equestria. Jury's out as to which.
- Xanatos Gambit: Mister Mariner's actions. If the heroes hadn't intervened, he'd have had the benefits of the research and the active terrorist cell. As it is, he's able to push a mayoral candidate he's backing to the top and take advantage of the chaos to solidify his power.
