Erfworld/YMMV

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Part of the point, the protagonist is fighting for the "Bad" Guys, and the "Good" guys are willing to stoop even lower than Stanley to win. And Stanley stoops low.
• Base Breaker: The fandom is divided on whether Jillian is a full-out Mary Sue, or merely an annoying git.
• Brain Bleach: Erfworld.com's 404 page. ^{[dead link]}
• Complete Monster: Wanda is sprinting towards this hard and fast, while Parson is trying to get as far away from this as possible.
• Crazy Awesome: Parson. His "lateral thinking" approach to Erfworld has resulted in such awesome absurdities as:
  • Setting up a relay system with carefully staggered flying mounts, allowing units to move far beyond their normal move limits.
  • Combining a Dirtamancer (rock-and-earth mage) and a Croakamancer (necromancer) to bring a dead volcano explosively back to life.
  • Allowing an air force to move out of an enemy city's airspace without the move to do so by having the riders kill their dragons in midair and fall into the city proper (to be reanimated by the aforementioned Croakamancer). This doesn't sound like much, but in practice, it means that instead of being sitting ducks for an entire turn's worth of target practice, they were able to engage and sack the city.
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Misty and "Scarlet". The latter of which has now been officially named Lady Sylvia Lazarus.
  • Jack, especially after his wits return to him.
• Evil Is Sexy: Wanda. Her Unlimited Wardrobe helps somewhat.
• Fridge Brilliance: One of the first things that Parson says when he really starts getting into the Chief Warlord job is "And I always did like to play the bad guys". And, sure enough, his maneuvers include breaking a truce.
• It Gets Better: While the comic is very good from the start, it doesn't really make much sense until Parson starts asking questions and serving as The Watson. That happens at around page 25 if you're feeling generous, page 50 if you're not.
• Magnificent Bastard: Arch Enemies Parson and Charlie, among others.
• Memetic Mutation: "I can taste key lime pie."
• Mind Game Ship: The interactions between Wanda and Jillian have traces of this.
• Rooting for the Empire: Unusual in that it seems deliberate by the creator, but Stanley's team is usually cast in a more favorable light than the Royal Crown Coalition. Consequently, a quick look at the forums will show fans cheering whenever Parson's plans succeed and booing whenever Ansom has some success. This is primarily because all factions are equally unlikable, and Parson is the protagonist.
• The Scrappy: Jillian seems to attract a lot of vitriol from some corners of the fandom.
• Tear Jerker: Jillian and Vinny's reaction to Ansom's death. "Hey, you're the only one grievin' right now, right? Right?! IZZAT WHAT YOU THINK?"
  • This is either one, or narrowly avoids it by virtue of snarky hamster.
  • A subtle one, but poignant when one takes the Summer Updates into account: in the most recent update (as of 3/6/11) a portrait of a lady we have not seen before is visible over Don King's shoulder. Instead of being an obvious Transilvitian, however, she has red hair, skin that isn't grey, and dresses in orange as opposed to the normal monochrome of Transylvito. Conclusion? This was Queen Bea of Unaroyal, a close friend of Don's who disbanded herself and her entire side when Wanda beat down the door. This is in a panel where Don tries to convince his Moneymancer accountant to be true to her ideals in vain.
  • King Slately asking Don King for a loan so he can make Tramennis his heir.
    • And Don, preparing to break the news that he can't indulge his old friend's last request.
      • Bunny's heartbroken face at seeing the Don and Caesar at odds a few panels before only adds to it.
• Values Dissonance: In-world: many aspects of day-to-day life in Erfworld don't sit well with Parson.
• The Woobie: Sizemore. He's a pacifist, but he lives in a world of violence and lacks the free will to carry out his philosophy, so he's forced to kill. He's viewed as useless by his master. He's one of the few people who's interested in learning new magic and studying, but lacks the ability to cast anything but the most mundane and ugly. Simply put, he's trapped in a world he doesn't belong in, even more so than Parson.