QT Mod - TV Tropes

"Oh hey cutie! I was looking for you!"

—QT

1. Carefree (QT)
2. Careless (QT)
3. Censory Overload (KB)
4. Terminate (KB)

1. Termination (KB) ^note 
2. Cessation (KB and QT)
3. Interlope (Amelia vs. Ashley) ^note 

• 20 Minutes into the Past: QT is born in 1999 and physically around 10 years old in the mod, which puts the events of this mod (and perhaps the vanilla game in extension) in the late 2000s, early 2010s.
• All There in the Manual: Certain information, like QT and KB's relationship, their creators, their birthplace, and the identity of the singer of "Interlope" are only found by Word of God in certain platforms and a series of files buried deep within the mod's folders.
• Alternate Timeline: It is confirmed in the Hazard 24 Termination OST that it takes place in an alternate timeline, where KB never crashed at the end of Terminate.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: You play as Ashley in "Interlope" instead of Boyfriend.
• Androids Are People, Too: Even after The Reveal, Boyfriend and Girlfriend still treat QT and KB as people in "Cessation." KB's offscreen Heel–Face Turn probably contributed to this.
• Antagonist Title: Antagonist is stretching it, of course, but no points for guessing the name of this mod's opponent.
• Antepiece: Careless, with its slower BPM, can be seen as this to Censory Overload, as some parts of the melody are in Censory Overload alongside the charting for that part of the melody. For example, the Leitmotif with the chordjacks ^What? on Careless has the exact same charting on Censory Overload, only faster.
• Bait-and-Switch: When we get to Terminate, the music gets intense... and then KB crashes. Boyfriend and Girlfriend take the opportunity to exit immediately. The song, truly titled "Termination", is exclusive to freeplay.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: "Interlope" takes place in Ashley's mind. In usual Friday Night Funkin' fashion, the fight is depicted as a rap battle.
• Bloodless Carnage: No blood is seen when KB bursts from QT’s back. Justified, as QT is a robot that runs on a battery.
• Brutal Bonus Level: "Termination", the full version of the interrupted story song "Terminate", is absolutely brutal, especially if you aren't used to double notes, jacks, chordjacks, and/or are bad with a dodge button (don't play it if you had trouble dodging the signposts in HD Week 4). Even then, the sheer amount of notes is still brutally high. Not to mention the length, which clocks in at over 5 minutes.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The color of the text in the HorrorSecret files corresponds to a character.
  • Red: KB
  • Teal: Ashley
  • Lavender: Cinder
  • Green: Yama
  • Pink: Dawn
• Cute Machines: QT is a robot, and as her name implies, she's a cutie.
• Dark Reprise: After beating the mod, a more menacing sounding version of the upbeat title theme plays.
• Death Is Cheap: According to a HorrorSecret file, Yama has found a way to revive people from the dead.
• Demonic Possession: According to Word of God, Amelia is a victim of this during "Interlope" by the hand of a mysterious spirit named Cinder, hence the red eyes.
• Disney Death: Although it seems as though QT dies when KB makes his presence known, if "Cessation" is anything to go by, she's fine. She even sings with him at one point!
• Early-Bird Cameo: Ashley, Amelia and all the named characters in the HorrorSecret files were set to play a bigger role in the prequel mod, Inhuman OS.
• Eyes Always Shut: According to Word of God, Amelia never opens her eyes. Ever. Rumor has it that if one sees her eyes, they will go mad.
• Forced into Evil: Hazard24's uploads of the first three songs show QT and KB communicating with one another throughout the songs, and it's clear that these 2 are polar opposites. QT doesn't want to harm Boyfriend and just wants to sing with him in the form of friendly competition, but KB wants the blue-haired rapper dead and forces her to ramp up the difficulty as a means of getting Boyfriend to lose. By the time of "Censory Overload", KB's had enough and emerges from QT in order to finish the job himself.
• Foreshadowing: Throughout "Careless", QT will occasionally let off sparks, hinting at her true robotic nature.
• The Ghost: Due to "Interlope" being from her point of view, the player does not see what Ashley looks like.
• Glowing Mechanical Eyes: QT and KB's eyes glow in the dark, as seen in a few artworks from Count Nightshade.
• Greater-Scope Villain: According to the hidden files, someone hurt other people (via Demonic Possession among other things) to the point where it's implied that even KB wants her dead. If you take most of the out-of-place capital letters on HorrorSecret 9◊, you will get this message:

"CINDERISHERNAME"

• He Knows Too Much: According to Word of God, the writer of HorrorSecret 9, Dawn, was killed due to knowing of Yama's strength, that Death Is Cheap, and of Cinder's existence. She wrote all of that onto HorrorSecret 9 and sent it to Daniel, who also got killed soon after.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Alliterative Alphabetical Theme Naming-type: Carefree, Careless, Censory Overload, and Cessation. The only outliers are Termination and Interlope, but they are bonus songs.
• Identity Amnesia: The HorrorSecret files suggests that KB has forgotten a lot of stuff, his previous identity included, by the hands of someone, implied to be Cinder. Word of God reveals that his case is a downplayed one: KB—originally a human named Daniel—remembers certain things, but he does not remember what they mean to him and why he feels certain feelings towards these things. For example, he knows that his creator Yama did something to him and that something was awful, but he doesn’t remember what that something is. The frustration over his vague memories is the reason why he's such a Jerkass.
• Interface Screw:
  • At one point in "Termination", KB will physically move part of the hit area upwards, changing how long certain notes are on screen for before needing to be hit. He'll even temporarily switch the note lanes around horizontally. They go back to normal for when the speed increases again, though.
  • "Interlope" is all about modcharts, moving the notes and hit areas around like it's no big deal. At one point, you switch lanes with the opponent. Repeatedly. Once in every beat.
• Ironic Nursery Tune: A slowed down version of Pop Goes The Weasel plays in the cutscene before Censory Overload… before KB bursts out of her back.
• Killer Robot: KB, popping out of the back of QT, jack-in-the-box style.
• Leitmotif:
  • After "Careless", some parts of the melody can be heard in "Censory Overload". Same charting too!
  • Close to the end of "Termination", Boyfriend and KB harmonize in the chorus. The added melody is actually a slightly updated leitmotif from the Brutality album, one the mod is a Stealth Sequel of.
• Like Brother and Sister: While not shown in the mod itself, Count Nightshade has stated on Twitter that KB is like an overprotective big brother to QT.
• Long Song, Short Scene: "Terminate" in the Story Mode, as it gets cut off by KB crashing. Subverted in the Freeplay menu as "Termination" can be heard in full there.
• Marathon Level:
  • "Censory Overload" is this and then some, going on for 5 minutes of notes.
  • "Termination" is much of the same as "Censory Overload", but with One-Hit Kill sawblades and even more notes.
• Monochromatic Impact Shot: In the cutscene preceding "Censory Overload", the background shifts to a black void with a spotlight over a silhouette of QT. Once KB bursts from her back with a scream, the spotlight turns from white to red.
• Names To Run Away From Very Fast: KB's full name is KillerByte, and he is indeed designed to kill.
  • KB's birthplace is, fittingly for a place that created something like him, is called Brutality Labs.
• No Fair Cheating: If you try to reach Interlope via the debug menu, you will get a jumpscare declaring you a cheater.
• Older Than They Look: QT looks like a little girl, but she's actually 18-20 years old.
• One-Hit Kill: In "Termination", occasionally a saw-blade attacks you which you must dodge with the spacebar on the third beat. Miss it, and Boyfriend getting blue balled will be the last thing on his mind... in more ways than one. Averted in the 2.0 version, but those saw-blades are still formidable despite that.
• One Last Job: According to one of the HorrorSecret files, KB promises not to kill anyone anymore… except for one person. According to Word of God, that person is Ashley and he succeeds in killing her in-between the main week and "Cessation", hence the blue eyes.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: KillerByte is a Red Baron. As of this writing, his actual name is unknown.
• Playful Cat Smile: The cute and bubbly QT sports these in "Carefree", "Careless" ^note  and "Cessation". She loses the smile when her energy is rerouted to KB in "Censory Overload", "Termination", and some parts of "Cessation", causing her to shut down.
• Posthumous Character: According to Word of God, Amelia is dead long before the events of the mod. Which makes it strange when she is seen alive in To Dust, To Ashes, To Rebuild Once More when she is supposed to be dead at that point. This is because that is not Amelia, but rather an illusion that only Ashley can see. She doesn’t question her presence because she refuses to believe she is dead.
• Promoted to Playable: Ashley, whose name appeared in a HorrorSecret file added in version 1.1, sings Interlope, which was added in 2.0.
• Punny Name:
  • QT is short for cutie, which suits her rather cute-looking appearance at first.
  • KB's full name is basically the word kilobyte but with "kilo" replaced with "killer."
• The Reveal: QT is actually a robot who houses a killer robot called KB, who tried to use her to kill Boyfriend.
• Ridiculously Human Robots: At a glance, QT looks just like a human. She even acts the part. In fact, even KB thought she was a human at first, according to Word of God.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: The 3rd song's name is misspelled, it should be Sensory Overload, not Censory. According to a tweet from Hazard24, it's intentional.
• Scary Jack-in-the-Box: A disturbing example with QT serving as the box.
• She Who Must Not Be Seen: Amelia is barely seen at all during the entirety of "Interlope". Her image only flashes for a split second toward the beginning and the end.
• Shout-Out: In the early versions of the mod, you'll occasionally see IRIS' symbol flashing on the televisions in Censory Overload and Termination. It has since been replaced by a Suspiciously Similar Substitute in the form of the Insecurity eyes since QT's story has nothing to do with IRIS at all. Lampshaded in a Freeze-Frame Bonus in the logs of the YouTube upload of Termination.

  KB: WHAT IS UP WITH THIS STUPID EYE THING ANYWAY?!

• Stealth Sequel: To Hazard24's Brutality album, which seemingly has nothing to do with QT, and is not composed for Friday Night Funkin'. A Leitmotif heard throughout the album appears in "Termination" and the girl on the cover is confirmed to be the Player Character in "Interlope".
• Terminator Impersonator: If KB's second song, and the mod's fourth song, isn't enough of a clue, then the fact that he seemed to use QT as a disguise to lure BF and GF clinches it.
• Unobtanium: The unnamed substance found in the mines that is first mentioned in a HorrorSecret file is stated to be used everywhere in Brutality Labs, according to To Dust, To Ashes, To Rebuild Once More. According to Hazard24, its properties include absorbing the souls of the dead—which prevents them to go to the afterlife—and creating entities called Insecurities that the QT Units are designed to deal with. According to Edwhak, it also happens to have a mind of its own. It is unknown if QT & KB themselves are made of this stuff, however.
• Walking Spoiler: It's hard not to talk about "Censory Overload" onwards without mentioning KB. Same can be said for Amelia, as she is only found in "Interlope".
• "Wanted!" Poster: You can see a poster for KB on the right in the background. This serves as foreshadowing of not only KB's existence, but also Brutality Labs' as well, since you can see their logo on the corner of the poster on later versions.
• Was Once a Man: KB used to be Daniel, the receiver of Dawn’s letter, aka HorrorSecret 9. He, alongside the sender, were killed due to knowing too much, but Daniel's killer chose to seal his brain inside of a robot's head, giving birth to an amnesiac KB.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: The only thing we know about the location of Brutality Labs is that it’s underneath a forest far from civilization. Other than that, there is no mention of even a country at all, as Hazard24 doesn’t know much about geography to confirm its geographical location.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Despite having a sawblade on his back, KB doesn’t use it in "Censory Overload." Averted in "Termination" where KB tries to kill Boyfriend with them.

• Ambiguous Situation: Isn't Amelia supposed to be dead before the fire? Was that Retconned? No? Then what's going on? Is Amelia an imposter? Why is Ashley having these bursts of anxiety and guilt? What is the heart of the laboratory? Most of these, except for the nature of the heart, has been explained by Word of God in a later date.
• Amnesiac Resonance: While she has no memory of such a sin, Ashley feels guilty for causing the fire that burned Brutality Labs into ashes.
• All There in the Manual: The fact that Amelia is an illusion and that Ashley is being possessed by Cinder is only found through Hazard24's Discord messages.
• Big Bad Friend: The story touches upon Ashley and Amelia's—or rather, Cinder's—relationship with one another. Leading a lowly scientist like Ashley to a confidential area is simply a step to groom her into Cinder's perfect vessel.
• Bookcase Passage: Amelia fiddles with a bookcase, opening a door that leads to a secret passage leading to the heart of the labs.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Downplayed. Ashley notes that while she is used to people dying, she cannot stand the sight of corpses.
• A Day in the Limelight: Focuses on Ashley and Amelia, the two characters in "Interlope".
• Dead All Along: Amelia was dead even before the events of this story. The Amelia Ashley sees is simply an illusion.
• Demonic Possession: According to Word of God, it is Ashley who is being possessed by Cinder throughout the story, hence why her eyes unlocks the door to the heart of Brutality Labs; her eyes are that of Cinder's. Cinder doesn't seem to force Ashley to move, just influence her to do her bidding using an illusion of Amelia.
• Determinator: Even with Ashley's bursts of guilt and anxiety, Amelia urges her to keep going.
• Everybody's Dead, Dave: Upon seeing survivors except for Amelia, Ashley feels dread when she realizes that everybody else must have burned to death.
• Internal Reveal: It turns out that Ashley (and possibly the other scientists, if Amelia's words noting that of course Ashley wouldn't know are any indication) didn't know the existence of the substance until Amelia asked her if she knows about it.
• Rank Up: When Ashley asks Amelia if she is supposed to be in the room past the Bookcase Passage, Amelia tells her she's been promoted.
• Unreliable Narrator: According to Word of God, Ashley herself is the unreliable one, hence all of the Mind Screw. Why is Amelia there even though she's supposed to be dead? Because that is nothing more than an illusion conjured by Cinder. Why did Ashley not question her presence? Because she refuses to believe she's dead. How did Ashley pull up Amelia, then? She did not.
• The Unreveal: Ashley sees Amelia's eyes, but their appearance isn't described, making it ambiguous if they're brown like her true eyes or red like Cinder's Eyedentity Giveaway. It turns out to not matter in the end because Amelia is but an illusion. Ashley is the one who is being possessed by Cinder.