r/TopCharacterTropes • • 18d ago

miscellaneous [Interesting Trope] Attempts at fanservice/virality that failed not because they were hated, but because nobody noticed them or cared at all.

1) Hoopy the Hoop, Portal (2007) When you defeat GLaDOS and her room is destroyed at the end of the game, debris rains down in the final cutscene, including a big metal hoop that bounces around a bit. Developer Erik Wolpaw said the team dubbed it "Hoopy the Hoop" and expected it to become the big meme of Portal. Of course, none of the fans paid much attention to the hoop since "The Cake is a Lie" became the biggest meme of the game, and overall one of the biggest video game memes of all time.

2) Burgh, Pokemon Black and White (2010) When designing Burgh, developer Yusuke Ohmura said Gamefreak had many of their female employees give input on his design to create their ideal handsome man. However, as someone who's been in the Pokemon fandom for almost 3 decades, in the 15+ years since Pokemon Black and White released, I have personally never seen any fans swoon over Burgh, or even mention him in general. If anything, characters like N and Colress are far more well-known within the fandom as the most handsome and beloved male characters of Pokemon Gen 5.

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706

u/Trinity9423 18d ago

this guy is like 90% tumblr sexy man im going to be honest

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 18d ago

Tumblr sexymen must be characters that are completely outside of conventional beauty standards. This guy is just handsome. He has a hairdo but that's it. Everything else is normal. Any normal person could consider him handsome.

An actual Tumblr sexyman is Bill Cipher, or Sans.

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u/Timekeeper98 18d ago

Got it

One Pokemon Tumblr Sexyman, Fire Blast style.

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u/Fishy_Solomon 18d ago

That’s my dad!

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u/moontraveler12 18d ago

Your dad is hot, I guess. Idk I'm a lesbian

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u/imahuman3445 18d ago

Even if you're not attracted, the fact that your mind made the objective judgment "That man is attractive" says something.

Like appreciating a fine sports car, even though you personally do not want a sports car.

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u/Mr_Froggi 18d ago

Hell yeah, Larry mention

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u/JoZaJaB 18d ago

Larry actually was a bit of a Tumblr Sexyman for a while around when the gen 9 games came out

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u/ShiroiTora 18d ago

This guy gets it.

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u/Redfalconfox 18d ago

What two jobs does to a mf in this crazy Pokemon world we all live in.

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u/Timekeeper98 18d ago

3, actually. He’s also an accountant/salaryman for the Paldea League.

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u/Redfalconfox 18d ago

That entire country is held up by this one normal guy

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u/Trinity9423 18d ago

when was that like the green guy from the lorax was always called a tumblr sexy man hes conventially attractive where'd you get that defintion from. If the green guy from the lorax isn't a tumblr sexyman no one is

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u/Timekeeper98 18d ago

You mean RTGame Daniel?

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u/cosmictier 18d ago

He's here to help!

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u/Timekeeper98 18d ago

Ah, so we’re fucked. Good to know.

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u/Bamzooki1 18d ago

”I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees

We need a drift king who can build so much speed!”

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u/trash-_-boat 18d ago

I heard that's what they called him in College.

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u/Hugs-missed 18d ago

This guy is who your call sexy?

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u/TotallyAMaleRedditor 18d ago

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u/Hugs-missed 18d ago

Hey i won't yuck your yum, I just don't see it

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u/Opening_Ordinary_110 18d ago

You would not believe the fandom this man has.

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u/JKhemical 18d ago

Ive seen people call this guy "objectively attractive" and like. no

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u/ShiroiTora 18d ago

Yeah /u/Trinity9423 even within this thread was one of them. 

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u/Princessofmind 18d ago

You are right, the Onceler is like THE proto-tumblr sexyman

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u/Trinity9423 18d ago

yah i saw with my own eyes i was around for it people just make up stuff now a days who can i trust?

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u/ComedyOfARock 18d ago

The Onceler, which I believe also had “Onecest”

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u/LuckeVL 18d ago

Oncest, a ship between the Onceler and the "Greedler", so basically the guy as a small business × the guy as a greedy corpo.

Yes, it's just him banging himself.

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u/avelineaurora 18d ago

...You think the Onceler is "conventionally attractive"?

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u/Trinity9423 18d ago

not conentially attractive but its not that he's completely out there either

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u/shadowthehh 18d ago edited 18d ago

The concept of the tumblr sexyman completely predates Bill or Sans and very much consist of conventionally attractive men. Big names include Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant, the Oncler, and Jack Frost.

the idea of the tumblr sexyman instead focuses on the character being vaguely weird and awkward with a bit of comedy. Also largely characterized as a twink, though Sans and others somewhat break that mold.

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u/RabbitStewAndStout 18d ago

Tumblr Sexymen also have to be a little bit pathetic. You have to feel a innate urge to worry or care for them, because you don't think they can fully do it by themselves.

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u/tairar 18d ago

Last year waterboy from dispatch was one of them. Just a sopping wet pathetic mess that barfs water everywhere.

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u/SagaSolejma 17d ago

Basically if you cant in some way shape or form justify calling them babygirl, they're not a tumblr sexyman /s

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u/RabbitStewAndStout 17d ago

Remove that /s. You're absolutely right

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u/Munnin41 18d ago

At least Tennant is actually handsome.

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u/Frogs-on-my-back 18d ago

Those are the same Tumblr sexy-men examples I think of lol. Even Bill Cipher and Wheatley were given fanon human forms that fit the mold

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u/stfurachele 18d ago

The snowman?

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u/shadowthehh 18d ago

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u/stfurachele 17d ago

I forgot he was a thing. I was picturing the Michael Keaton snowman.

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u/NoAim_NoProblem 18d ago

See you say that but one of the top contenders for Tumblr Sexyman 2026 was Ryland Grace, so just Ryan gosling with glasses.

Of course, he lost to a TV in a suit, but still! A conventionally attractive man made the top 3! That’s gotta count for something, right?…right?

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u/SarryK 18d ago

Don’t mind me, just quietly going to add my Pokeman crush. Me also being an adhd biology teacher has me biased, though

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u/WereLupeQueen 18d ago

He is the biology teacher sooo

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u/avelineaurora 18d ago

Yes one would assume that's why they said they're biased.

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u/WereLupeQueen 18d ago

No I was referring a reason why he's hot. Who wouldn't want Jauq?

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u/KRD2 18d ago

I think youre getting at two different ideas of a tumbler sexyman. Its either a personified rhombus with a deep voice or a quirked up conventionally attractive twink. You gave examples of the first, but youre missing guys like Sherlock or The Onceler which are very much Tumblr sexymen.

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u/Frogs-on-my-back 18d ago

Circa 2012 the peak Tumblr sexy-men were Tom Hiddleston, David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc. Basically a lot of gangly guys without chiseled jaws who seemed smart, articulate, and nice

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u/Coolest_Pickle 18d ago

Benedict Cumberbatch? David Tennant? come on

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u/Quiet_Education5918 18d ago

Are you out there chasing people with giant popped collars, big white lapels and pompadours?

Are the 80s classically respectable at long last?

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u/BlatantConservative 18d ago

Who do you think plays Pokemon and obsesses over characters?

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u/KillYourUsernames 18d ago

I was going to say he looks like anime doctor who