Trope Talk: Rule of 3

Characters, gods, worlds, even story pacing tends to come in patterns of three. Is there any rhyme or reason to it, or is it just funsies? Is it an unshakeable rule or something more malleable?
And seriously, why THREE?
A NOTE FROM RED: My next two weeks are going to be… almost criminally busy. I have finals, followed by a week-long trip for an excavation. I most likely won't be able to put out anything for the duration - as soon as summer starts for me it'll be a different story, but this might be all you hear of me for a couple weeks.
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[@deadman8000]

“The Necro cow is too powerful for the step mother to adequately combat.” Never have I thought that I would hear that.

[@boitata2617]

The best part for me is that, for some unkown reason, I read "again" at the end of your comment, hahahahaha

[@Moonstar79]

This is the best thing to read without context

[@weedweeb9211]

In the south-east asian version, the equivalent of the fairy god mother/necro cow did jack shit until the last part when the corpse of the fish-reborn-from-the-mother sprouts a tree with a swing that only responds to Cinderella singing Yeah... non-european tales/folklores are weird to listen sometimes

[@cheddarcheese4159]

Enzo L. That makes it so much better

[@memeboi6017]

im not gonna like this comment cus i wana keep it at 999

[@sanfransiscon]

"Oh this sounds like an interesting love trian-" Then she dies of dehydration "Oh..."

[@AsdfAsdf-mi6ks]

SOMaela 3st: Sempaiternal the way a love triangle should end XD jkjk

[@ronnydon914]

SOMaela 3st: Sempaiternal Ibuki mioda in the OSP comment section, what will she do

[@margaretwalters6757]

Reminds me of the King Arthur video where Red makes the polyarmory joke.

[@Moonstar79]

@Jack Empire A man of culture 👌

[@docterlancedamiray333]

looks like she's too thirsty for the love triangle

[@jirehjirehjirehjireh]

The 3 act structure can literally be as broad as “They were born. They lived a life. They died.”

[@theradionicrevival8068]

This being posted 3 weeks ago with exactly 3 likes is the icing on the cake

[@BigPapaPhilosophia]

@@theradionicrevival8068yours was nine days ago, being three sets of three. It also has three likes, and as a third thing, I’d like to point out I’m making the third statement in this line.

[@RedIsntHome]

"Setup,conflict,resolution"

[@jsange]

"Sometimes, things are born. They live, and then they stop. Forever."

[@quantum7046]

@@jsange nice SAOA reference

[@ShiningStudios14]

I love how instead of saying "So, yeah." You said :So uh, yeah" making it 3 words

[@Moonstar79]

Gaaasp that's so clever

[@peaceandloveusa6656]

I didn't catch that. Epic.

[@sillygoosetaur]

genius

[@sophiaredwood5825]

BAHAH

[@magpie0_026]

Nice attention to detail :0

[@fuddie_duddie7766]

"Hero, best friend, girl." IM GONNA CRY ITS TOO ACCURATE

[@alleyway8627]

i know right?? this trope causes me physical pain.

[@graceoartyo]

I HATE IT SO MUCH!! The girl and best friend often have no charachter at all. They don't exist for any reason other than the hero.

[@rajavni]

*cough cough* Percy Jackson *cough cough*

[@toasturhztoastbunz896]

Either that or it could also be the "3 Outcasts" or "3 dimwits"

[@chaosssssss_]

@@rajavni Percy Jackson actually pulled it off really well tho, all the characters played an important role. Unlike some other stories...

[@tomilant]

3 looks like a common number in literature for another reason: it's the smallest number after 1 and 2. I might sound obvious but just consider this. You never notice it when it's just 1, it's literally everywhere. With 2, you don't notice a sequence, just a duality. 3 is the first available number that gives the feeling of "multiple", and being the smallest of this category makes it the less likely to look like "many" or "too much". That's why it's the ideal number when you want to have a collection of stuff without being not too big to visualize.

[@tomilant]

I got my 3rd like. Let's breathe in all the sweet satisfaction it provides while it lasts 😄

[@luigivercotti6410]

Relevant trivia: In ancient Greek, there were actually 3 multiplicative tenses. Unlike today's singular and plural, they had singular, plural but only for exactly 2, and 3+ plural. It just goes to show that a unit is as different from a bunch as a bunch is from a couple, conceptually. Neurologically, it would probably imply that the neurons associated with oneness, twoness, and threeness are all significantly different (n-ness firing neurons is how you can instantly recognise n, say, 5 of an object without having to actually count. Certain shapes and configurations, like the pattern on the 5 dots side of a die, or the vertices of the letter W, or a regular pentagon are just directly recognised as a set of 5)

[@TheYeetedMeat]

@@luigivercotti6410 so singular, dual and plural?

[@luigivercotti6410]

@@TheYeetedMeat YES! Thank you, I had a brain fart and forgot the proper word

[@TheYeetedMeat]

@@luigivercotti6410 neurological flatulence 😳😳😳😳

[@jose31626]

Modern cinderella would've been so much more awesome with a Necro-cow

[@DavidJoh]

Chinese Cinderella had a necro-fish.

[@jose31626]

now I need to go watch chinese Cinderella....

[@KanaidBlack]

There's lots of videos about that; my personal favorite is one of a series in spanish, "Destripando la historia"

[@jose31626]

KanaidBlack I've never seen that series, where can i find it?

[@lillialuna8651]

There's a Native American version where Cinderella takes care of turkeys and gets her makeover from them, but she fails to return to them by midnight so the turkeys run away forever and Cinderella is eternally heartbroken. It's very anticlimactic.

[@zadjia9868]

"What's your Name?" "What's your quest?" "WhaT'S YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?" That and it's following passages is probably my favourite use of the rule of three after Fairytales.

[@kmt2mgr188]

6:22

[@teddyentropy233]

Zadjia What’s your name? What’s your quest? What’s the unaltered flight speed of a swallow? “An African or European swallow?”

[@thevenator3955]

@@teddyentropy233 I don't know that!

[@teddyentropy233]

RCking22 YASSS QUEEN

[@ClareParkinson]

Red! Wait, no, BLUE.

[@GibusWearingMann]

"the inverse of the lose-lose-win model: have your hero succeed at every step but the last one." _looks curiously at The Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Infinity War_

[@sergeyoneill1344]

Endgame

[@HeadCannon19]

"You can have the first two play out as expected, subvert expectations on the third, and add a fourth"

[@ordhinv.hohenheim5009]

Yeah even in endgame they still lose, need to go to other time to heal the world but the fact they still lose is there.

[@stachuwalczyk6051]

Hello Scout from the best war themed hat simulator.

[@peripheralvission]

@@sergeyoneill1344 I'd say you could almost view Endgame under the lens of an epilogue. The movie starts with humanity soundly defeated by the events of Infinity War. They have accepted that the the events of their past led to what happened and they failed. Perhaps instead of viewing it like an epilogue it's more as if they got a second shot at the last trial. During the epilogue Ant Man has the idea to basically go into other universes, other stories to deny the consequences of their failure. Idk bro, my back hurts. I could use some Oxy

[@bronwynarmitage2137]

So basically, my friends took this too far: They made 3 heroes, made them separated 3 times, get into three trials each, get back together 3 times, fight the bad guy three times, end up getting 3 deities to help them, each deity fights the baddie 3 times with the 3rd one succeeding, has a setup, a conflict and resolution, has 3 main deaths, has 3 bad deities, has 3 minor villains, have 3 main demons and 3 main Angels then, finally, they have the 3 epilogues

[@xirensixseo]

where can i find this

[@chinuaalibatya7345]

^

[@MercuryA2000]

dear god... then, just to annoy everyone, throw a 2 or a 4 in there somewhere.

[@ckaren001araujoh.9]

What the heck?

[@DragonFang409]

*i must read this*

[@iveedoodle]

That moment when you die of dehydration because your husbands are fighting

[@edwardnigma9756]

I guess the rule of three doesn't always work out.

[@calebtimes453]

IvettaB Makes no sense

[@MerlijnDingemanse]

IvettaB still a better story than twilight

[@awsh625]

She was very thirsty ;)

[@rosewing_8149]

IvettaB yeah, that happens a lot

[@mycell695]

Red: Trials are given in groups of 3! Sometimes you can subvert expectations by having 4 or even 5! Heracles: wElL eXcUsE mE

[@wiiuandmii7619]

Champion Link: First time?

[@leothebackgroundsheep3010]

Technically Heracles has 3 sets of 4 trials(or 4 sets of 3 depending on how you look at it) so it could work, From a certain Point of view. Also 4 and 5 were just exaples, she said the number of trials doesn't matter so Heracles falls under any other number.

[@ZoobiethePopplio]

Pokemon gen 7 protagonist: "I have 8 trials."

[@lowercase_ash]

I'm laughing at four am, nooo

[@moadot720]

Ignoring that Heracles is just a bad name, I liked your comment.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

The Sith were the exception. They have only had a Rule of 2.

[@silverdays2909]

Thats why they are evil

[@Ace_Up_My_Sleeve]

I was looking for this comment!

[@Dracomandriuthus]

Except there is a rule of 3. The rule of 2 doesn't account for the padawan training someone to become the new padawan. Which, yknow... Happened. In the movies, even. (Vader grooming Luke to become his padawan)

[@bigmanbossman]

Only Siths deal in absolutes

[@kennyadams5210]

Darth jar jar

[@explosivec4mera52]

Trial 1: What is your name? Trial2: What is your quest? Trial 3: What is your favorite color?

[@Fluffkitscripts]

To this I can only say NI!

[@bladesofderp4649]

What.. is the speed of an unladen swallow?

[@jacksoniansonex9235]

Blades Of Derp African or European?

[@bladesofderp4649]

I don’t know that- AGGHGGHGG

[@Eonflare55]

@@yjun.z It would depend on the windspeed, but their airspeed velocity is around 11 m/s for a European one.

[@theartsy_gamer6729]

“Triple deity’s are also pretty common” *POKEMONNNNNNNNNNN LEGENDARIESSSSSSSS*

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

Birds (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres) Trio Master: Lugia Beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune) Trio Master: Ho-Oh Titans (Regirock, Regice, Registeel) Trio Master: Regigigas New Titans (Regieleki, Regidrago, ??????) Weather Trio (Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza) Trio Master: Rayquaza Lake Trio (Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie) Trio Master: Arceus Creation Trio (Dialga, Palkia, Giratina) Trio Master: Arceus Swords of Justice (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion) Rookie: Keldeo Forces of Nature (Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus) Trio Master: Landorus Tao Trio (Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem) Life/Aura Trio (Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde) Light Trio (Solgaleo, Lunala, Necrozma)

[@attackcrash0787]

@@AnimeboyIanpower You could probably say that the Trio Master for the Tao Trio is the Original Dragon.

[@firstwavenegativity6379]

@@AnimeboyIanpower Then again they also group duos Latios and Latias Cresselia and Darkrai Phione and Manaphy Mew and Mewtwo And then the Tapus are a really unusual grouping of four The Tapus (Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini)

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

@@firstwavenegativity6379 And the new Regis (Regieleki and Regidrago)

[@mousermind]

*deities Adding an apostrophe makes it possessive, not plural.

[@banon9573]

Once is random chance, twice is a coincidence, but three times forms a pattern. Even if we do not consciously recognize it the natural world is ruled by mathematical principles. So when we see the 'three forms a pattern' in any format it feels reassuring and that what we see is a true pattern and not just a random guess.

[@sumowrestler2687]

That`s also part of jokes. For example, in blonde jokes, there are usually three girls: a redhead, a brunette, and a blonde. The first one sets a precedent, the second one reinforces it, and the third one subverts it. Subversion of the norm is the basis of humor.

[@DanateDMC]

Sooo... 1 Hero 1 Anti Hero 3 Power Trio 5 Five Man Band 7 The Magnificent Seven I feel like there is a pattern there..

[@thesupremegentlemanatheist7382]

COUNT THE PRIMES! OVER HEAVEN!!

[@toasturhztoastbunz896]

What about the "2 best friends/douchebags"

[@nicodiangelo3146]

“Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.”

[@placeholder7311]

And foes bear arms to the doors of death

[@joshuakusuma5953]

What about the Dynamic Duo trope? You know, those 2 friends/relatives/colleagues who either always get into hijinks or go on a quest to save something?

[@arinholt5905]

“The necro-cow was too powerful for the stepmother to adequately combat.” Is now my favorite sentence ever.

[@k.5425]

Ukr😂💀

[@Lily-ge4tm]

​@@k.5425timestamp?

[@lapisblue79]

​@@Lily-ge4tm 9:43

[@Scourge728]

Writers seem to REALLY love the numbers 3 5 and 7

[@TheRedMooncorp]

Prime numbers, we all love them

[@theehestia]

Because writers are odd

[@arandomzoomer4837]

I guess if you have four or six characters your gonna have to deal with the even one out.

[@bigwijdsljla]

@@arandomzoomer4837 me, currently writing a story with 4 main characters: *laughs nervously*

[@eastia7518]

I love those numbers

[@andyhunjan]

"You may pass. But first, you must answer my riddles three." -basically every riddler ever.

[@f.i.r.e.5119]

Or, if it's one riddle, it's _always_ "There's two paths. One leads to salvation or riches or whatever, the other leads to certain doom. Each path has a guardian. One guardian will tell you only the truth. The other will tell only lies. You can ask only one question to learn which path to take. What is that question?"

[@city_skies277]

WHAT is your name? WHAT is your quest? WHAT... is your favorite color?

[@andyhunjan]

@@f.i.r.e.5119 Unless they both lie. Then you're doomed. Samurai Jack.

[@andyhunjan]

@@city_skies277 my name is Tony Ravioli and I am on a quest to overthrow Tim Burton and reinstate my cat as the rightful director of his movies. All credit will now go to my cat Cornucopia, who is named after my favourite colour.

[@Ajehy]

Or it’s just one riddle in three parts (looking at you Sphinx)

[@erinkarp6317]

9:44 "The necro-cow is too powerful for the step-mother to adequately combat." That is the best quote possible

[@ginrod9392]

Alvin & The Chipmunks are in Groups of 3’s and the 3 Musketeers and the 3 Little Pigs.

[@RansfieldProdution]

When she said the split was the cow death I thought "The split is alive cow/dead cow, ac/dc

[@ginrod9392]

@@RansfieldProdution Even the Animaniacs are a group of three.

[@cynthiachhoa4677]

"3 Holmes siblings" Oh god no don't remind me XD

[@bakugokatsuki48]

Cynthia Chhoa why you bringing that into it. Oh god no it's all coming back to me.

[@boogleooger9666]

Cynthia Chhoa I fell like I know your name. Been to Denver recently?

[@ane-chan1832]

It is a trauma

[@Bigslam1993]

Why tho?

[@ane-chan1832]

Bigslam1993, I think is because a lot of people didn't like the fourth season plot of Sherlock that included a evil third sister

[@laytonyon5965]

I just realized that in Infinity War subverts the three trials by having the heros fail three times in a row, which is part of the reason why its so unexpected.

[@yunidai16]

It's still a rule of three.

[@Eugene_Black]

@@yunidai16 yeah they still failed three times

[@racool911]

Exactly. In the first Avengers movie Loki wins at the base, then he wins at the Quinjet, and finally loses in New York. Similar for Ultron.

[@vullord666]

Its about the most expected outcome you could get. Final confrontation/hero stories do this ALL the time with the protagonist(s) losing every fight and the antagonist(s) “winning”. Only for the protagonist(s) to pull some shit out of their asses after the cliffhanger and magically fixing everything. I will say it was unexpected in that they had priorly shown far too many heroes as being broken and then completely ignored that. It was really obvious that the writing was FORCING them to lose because the story didn’t want them to win (which is also called bad writing). Just like it was forcing movie Thanos to be a threatening final boss and not a delusional idiot with the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard.

[@mrspiffy8587]

I never thought about that. Thanos already has the power and space stones by the first ten minutes, and he's not opposed when getting the soul stone. That leaves the reality, time, and mind stone. First the guardians fail at protecting the reality stone, then the guardians and Avengers fail at protecting the time stone, then when everyone comes together, they fail at protecting the mind stone The Guardians had a really bad day

[@butthatsjustmyfilthyopinio5083]

"She goes home, returns her magic glam-kit to the necro-cow, and goes about her day." - Red, 2017

[@eclecticdog2k901]

I now need a parody of Paul & Linda McCartney’s “Another Day” about this story 😂

[@mygoodfriendcosmo]

Holy crap Harry Potter is basically just “Three: the series”

[@roo2139]

I demand someone pinpoint all the threes in HP

[@insertusernamehere3173]

@@roo2139 the third book is mostly everyone's favorite because of the platonic love that was everyone. Also there were three deaths, Buckbeak The random person who died My heart.

[@chingamfong]

Except there are four houses....

[@roo2139]

Alright, I found some Threes in the series The main trio The marauder's trio Snape, Lily, and James Love Triangle The Slytherin trio (Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle) Third book being a favourite of many I'll find more and add them when I remember!

[@mygoodfriendcosmo]

Chingam Fong yeah but that’s like one exception. there’s harry ron hermione, neville luna ginny, draco crabbe goyle, snape james lily, 3 deathly hallows, and so many more examples that i’m just too lazy to list. it’s wack

[@taycat34]

7 is my favorite team size. 3 and 3 working together and the leader. Even I've been affected by this "Rules of 3" shit.

[@23iamelvis23]

-So Heroes of Olympus-

[@nicodiangelo3146]

“Seven half bloods shall answer the call” ya’ know

[@VicEntity]

Class of the Titans is the original Percy Jackson!

[@YataTheFifteenth]

I'm more comfortable with 5 or 6

[@bladesofderp4649]

Nico di Angelo To storm or fire the world shall fall

[@maradupras7278]

i don't know why but the folk tale about the girl rescuing the two princes and even immediately dying made me laugh extremely hard and i must find this now

[@oriorchids]

Heaven: Fight Fight Fight! Underworld: Fight Fight Fight! Earth: Ow! No stahp!

[@caesarspeaks]

Raven Feathers you used three words for each of the three worlds

[@liquorsnake]

Or just in simple terms humans suck

[@adwitatherealadwita]

420 likes

[@mariangelafrancini3795]

Is this Good Omens?

[@thegermangirl7780]

@@mariangelafrancini3795 XD my thought exactly

[@ECL28E]

The most classic three: The body, the mind, and the spirit. AKA, the big-guy, the smart-guy, and the heart.

[@softlysnowing3959]

Mind = blown

[@samrevlej9331]

@@softlysnowing3959 Spirit: Roused.

[@samrevlej9331]

Hotel: Trivago

[@valdonchev7296]

There's a moment in Hollow Knight where you see three boss enemies on thrones. One of them jumps down to fight you. Once you beat it, you probably figure, "Just have to do that two more times, probably with some kind of gimmick or something." Nope! The other two fight you simultaneously. Seems like a fun idea for the subversion of the rule of three.

[@sheridanmacon5303]

"Fails two times and wins the third time" Percy Jackson: Fails about 525600 times and succeeds in about 4 books time.

[@user-ss2pj1rh7q]

Haha yes

[@silverbuck9998]

Ash Ketchum.....

[@RF-mc8cx]

Exactly

[@sherbetsparrow422]

Wonderful

[@me_myselfand_i2099]

I saw 525600 and just started singing Rent

[@Omar_ayach]

"3 protagonists is a solid base of characters" **Laughs in Heroes of Olympus**

[@feihtyt2063]

I have a lot of characters for my story... so many relationships to keep track of. Help

[@WWE7554]

@@feihtyt2063 You are making a story?

[@nicodiangelo3146]

**laughs in The Lighting Theif**

[@ethansumner688]

Yeah, the characters aren’t as developed in that series as much, but Leo is a precious boi, so I got nothing.

[@mardiwaits672]

Legit, though. 7 people Jason, Piper, Leo Percy, Frank, Hazel Piper, Hazel, Annabeth And that’s just off the top of my head

[@mannydani9180]

"...and then she dies of dehydration" Best ending ever, I'm totally stealing that!

[@discodog4582]

You guys should try to find someone named Yellow to help make videos on this channel. So then you can be my primary source of entertainment.

[@chamuchamupalchamperry6686]

=_=

[@serubyne57]

I second(ary) that statement.

[@lulupthereturnofthemyths1951]

*I CAN’T!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣*

[@mishiwishu7823]

Disco Dog I’m disappointed that it took me a while to get that

[@WebofHope]

Or Green, since it's all light-based

[@hopeweiss9549]

I think it has something to do with 3 being the shortest way to recognize a pattern and we like patterns a lot

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Really, really under-rated observation! 👍

[@ettinakitten5047]

The absence of a three-act structure in fairytales reminds me of a lot of fanfics. I've seen plenty of fanfics that are basically "I'm just slapping together scenes featuring interesting things happening with these characters I like" with no overarching structure whatsoever. It's kind of opened my eyes to the fact that an enjoyable story doesn't necessarily have to have a conventional structure.

[@TheBlueStarGal2]

🎵"Threeee is a magic number. Yes it is. It's a magic number."🎵

[@majora748]

heh school house rock, i see some one read ready player one. or im to obsesed with it... oR BOTH

[@user-ss2pj1rh7q]

😂😂😂

[@mvmlego1212]

Takes three wheels, to make a vee-HIH-cle called the tri-CYC-le.

[@youtubingjaguar5082]

I love this reference! ;)

[@wisdommanari6701]

"Three - six - Nine"

[@pythonyoutuber99]

Anyone notice the three times Cinderella met the prince?

[@duykhangtran4406]

I did. I'm actually surprised she didn't notice that.

[@cheesecakelasagna]

wait what, I only remember 2.

[@skyhideaway]

The proto-Cinderella story sounds _way_ more interesting than the official one. We need a movie on it.

[@torazely]

Give me a live-action necro-cow!!!!

[@nonnativenarnian]

🤣

[@amadeodante]

Ah yes the rule of three Master, Apprentice and Jar Jar Binks

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@Preston_Hudson (It's actually a joke *cough cough*)

[@whyyouhere4039]

Cough cough... got we all have covid in here

[@thelouster5815]

“Jar Jar’s the key to all this.” -George Lucas

[@booplesnoot1353]

3 cough jokes, WE WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE RULE OF THREE

[@epauletshark3793]

@@whyyouhere4039 actually i am complet- *dies of dehydration *

[@wererat42]

"Three trials" Heracles: Am I a joke to you?

[@SorowFame]

Well he had 12 trials and 12 is a multiple of 3 so maybe it still counts?

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

Divide it by 4.

[@ธนาเดชศุภนัทนพร]

It’s still Rule Of 3 Because 12 divided by 4 is 3

[@yeeyee5057]

Originally had 10 trials but 2 were added because the king is a bitch

[@segtendonerd64]

It's just 3 times 3 and then add 3.

[@explosiver]

You almost forgot the most important part of any story, ever. The Love Triangle!

[@ghalfsharp0]

Well there was nearly one in this video, but the one of the people died of dehydration, so...

[@supreme_king_obama1158]

Ah I see you watch terrible writing advice as well. Not bad

[@Actually_Alice_Orchid]

God i hate those

[@e.v.mahouho2956]

Terrible writing advice? That dude- he kills me

[@championboy4782]

The Live Threeangle

[@thebaconbuizel3598]

Not only do you guys do a really great job of explaining literature, you make it extremely entertaining. Subscribed, keep up the excellent work.

[@sneedfeedandseed2410]

there can only be 2. a master and an apprentice

[@vijaz5559]

spookwagen second and the rogue apprentice. soo its 3

[@owo5869]

TheBaconBuizel And the three act structure make all the love story became Meeting ~ What ever ~ Happily ever after

[@thexsoar]

Don't forget defibrillators! Those darn things never seem to work until you have heartily yelled "AGAIN!", or "PLEASE GOD!" to the heavens and tried a third time. Excellent video by the way. Didn't take you three tries to get it right did it?

[@rollfizzlebeef5384]

I’m just here thinking of the Left 4 Dead defibrillators, which are the polar opposite. They work first try and resurrect the dead.

[@randomsandwichian]

You forgot the call of agony trifecta, *"COME ON, GODDAMMIT!"*

[@lyxthen]

That's why I love folklore. It's so compelling because stuff just happens. I like writing folklore like stories because I can just make stuff up, just as I did when I was a child playing play pretend or making up stories. Sure, I have some more structured writing, but my love for "I will not explain any of this, roll with it" won't ever dissappear.

[@if7723]

"The necrocow is too powerful to adequately combat" is a glorious sentence

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

Stand Name: 「Daijōbu Death Cow」 Stand Master: Proto-Cinderella

[@mariam19554]

I grew up reading the European folklore and in retrospect, it's such a mess. The Cindarella story you told? That was the Cindarella I knew, the dead cow bones and all that. Why the folklore is so confusing is mostly because it was told and not written down, so your story needed to be as long as the audience had the attention span for it. Also, the stories carried trough generations and different families, resulting in many different endings and longer tales that could carry it all. When the collectors of folk tales finally got to writing them all down, they were met with these long frankenstein-stories. Tho, the numbers are spot on. It's always three brothers/sisters and often the numbers 5,7 and 23 are present. (or 21, I'm not quite sure).

[@desert_pete]

Maria M could i get a link to that story please?

[@AudieHolland]

Also, when a story had become a favourite of the audience, the storyteller would probably try to make it longer with more stuff happening. Sort of a 'soap' with a 'guest star' or 'event' for every new part.

[@artofthepossible7329]

@Gao Li You refence Hitler more then any other and it is quite confusing.

[@artofthepossible7329]

@Gao Li As you were explaining German unification instead of talking about the people that gave us a unified Germany (such as Bismarck and Molke senior) your brackets talk about Hitler and the Annexation of Austria, Hitler would obviously pander to Austrians becoming part of Germany because 1. He was Austrian and 2. He was a nationalist that apparently never heard of the 7 weeks war, in which treaty prevented Austria from having any part of the german unification process. It just fealt weird to read.

[@isitnotwrittenthat1680]

9, 9 is also popular, especially in Norse or germanic

[@anonymousperson4214]

I think we tend to forget that folklore is like that because it's basically the precursor to television: i.e. something to entertain people over an extended time, so tangents, subplots, and sequels are a good thing.

[@jackieharkness7369]

Someone write a fanfic where the 2 princes who married the now dead princess fall in love and realize that they were only fighting over the princess to impress each other. The internet, do your thing.

[@anarchomando7707]

Yoei

[@voidnerdvs7660]

Appdragon hunter Why do I need this?

[@mirjanbouma]

I'm not usually into b/b (yaoi?) stuff but I'd happily make an exception for that.

[@evecampbell3069]

Leaving a comment here incase it ever gets written.

[@babblgamgummi6029]

Does anyone know what it's called? I'd write one, but I don't even really know what the first guys curse was

[@Wolfphototech]

jesse , james & Meowth.

[@Hannah-pq3rf]

Wolfphototech Entertainment Girl, hero, best friend

[@noman8412]

Old folklore sounds like grandpa stories. Grandpa tells his grandchildren stories so they go to sleep and just keeps adding stuff until the kids go to bed. Then the kids get old and tell their kids, misremembering bits of the story and adding their own bits until we have magical cow glow-ups after several generations.

[@TyudaiKishasa]

It's also important to note that in medieval european literature the number 3 was used as the number of god. So if a character had a vision, sent to him by god, he would wait untill he heard it for the third time. If he didn't receive the vision for a third time he would know it was sent by the devil. I'm not sure why exactly god's number is three, (maybe because of the holy trinity), but it would seem likely that this is the reason why the number three remained so popular in Europe.

[@marieke3373]

TyudaiKishasa Absolutly because of the holy trinity. Also because of this the number 2 became associated with the devil over time.

[@baileymathews1286]

also three is seen as a sacred number in pagan religions which where widespread through out Europe before the conversion of abrahamic religions

[@GnarledStaff]

TyudaiKishasa i believe the magic of three was a popular magic thing before christianity.

[@Khrene]

bailey Mathews Yup, the Christians didn't have God, the Son and the Spirit until absorbing the traditions of pagan religion to get/force people to convert.

[@DRakshasa]

I always thought that 7 was the number of god. Does anybody have any idea why I think this?

[@MarySue1964]

European folklore was passed on by oral tradition. And each storyteller would each have their own version or add their own details. Those stories were around long before the Grim brothers started writing them down.

[@artofthepossible7329]

So basically there was a general setup for a story, every person that told the story just gave their own fanfic and then two guys decided to try to find the official version with all these fanfics. How did they get anything done?

[@preddyshite6342]

Yeah, because Europe is the cradle of civilization. Makes sense that everything would originate from there.

[@artofthepossible7329]

@@preddyshite6342 Not exactly, Europe is more like the cradle of competition. The Middle East is the cradle of civilization.

[@AntediluvianRomance]

@@artofthepossible7329They must have collected a whole lot of versions and then published the most representative ones. Or maybe restored some generalized version from these.

[@Lord_Of_Night]

@@preddyshite6342 Wow. Just wow. Ever heard of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers? Mesopotamia? Egypt? Indus Valley Civilisation? Maybe you should Google them and where they were. (Or rather, where they weren't.)

[@josephmcklemurry369]

mozart's final opera "The Magic Flute" has lots of things: *Three ladies *Three boys *Three doors *Three trials

[@starentertainment-n4l]

There are also certain storyline where the limit is three days

[@renrenthemadscientist]

All this talk of Harry Potter keeps reminding me of my favorite tropes. Ron the Death Eater and Draco in Leather Pants.

[@rin_3890]

clood lunk | Lol xD

[@snatchadams69]

clood lunk how are those tropes?

[@evalynnmesserli314]

snatchadams69 In fanfiction.

[@whiz8569]

+snatchadams69 I mean, they both each have a page on TVTropes; make of that what you will.

[@snatchadams69]

hmmm...

[@dragonwithamonocle]

In the words of a rather famous author: "It's four, dear." Three little pigs... and the big bad wolf. The three witches... and macbeth. Harry, Ron, and Hermione... and Voldemort. Your three examples... and you. It's four.

[@superafrikanmedialabs8237]

Funny.

[@IntrusiveThot]

The way I was taught this in math class was that one point of data is meaningless, two can only suggest possibilities, but three are enough to establish a pattern and chart on a graph.

[@aboycalledfish]

This is giving me really creepy vibes that I'm secretly living inside someone's fictional story because I am a triplet xD

[@Bruh-ft2sh]

You are

[@Bruh-ft2sh]

Wake up

[@Bruh-ft2sh]

Wake up

[@Scowling_Man]

*Enter X-files music here*

[@privatizitat815]

Are you the youngest though?

[@static2223]

"Most people don't like Ron as much as Harry or Hermione" I thought Ron was literally the best part of the whole movie and would have been happy to have no one but Ron for the whole movie.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

Red is wrong, Ron has a rabid fan base.

[@jazmindodds]

@@TheDawnofVanlife I read or heard somewhere that almost everyone's favorite book character was Ron, but a lot of his personality was changed for the movies

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@jazmindodds He was super dumbed down for the movies. He is a bit of a loveable goofball in the books, but not the butt of every joke and a coward the way he is in the films.

[@roaringthunder115]

Yeah

[@nameslesss]

Weasley is our king

[@potchatokpotchatok6084]

Proto-Cinderella sounds more like tv-series structure with separated arcs, if you think about it

[@catimakittycat5938]

And then there's the Heathers, they float above it all

[@nathancarter8239]

It is interesting to note that Proto-Cinderella kinda does use the rule of three; three dances with the prince, with the third being the one where he steals her shoe.

[@jakobr_]

One is an event. Two is a coincidence. Three is a pattern. If you want to establish a pattern, three is your number.

[@alfae7771]

fairy godjesus™

[@oof-rr5nf]

Alfae that part was amazing

[@sonnyaguilar5593]

You forgot *"Magic Necro Cow"*

[@D.Dragon]

Roses are red Violets are blue See that there? I only used two

[@shysunny6392]

that's nice but violets aren't blue they're violet

[@Justanotherconsumer]

My favorite mangling of that is “roses are red, violets are glorious, never sneak up, on Oscar Pistorious.” Ah, yes, Mr. P. the model boyfriend...

[@mixedmango2870]

Roses are red violets are blue my tongue sticks out and I have no clue

[@ilexater9556]

Blasphemy!

[@Brunozamp]

Darth bane: yes rule of three rly sucks. **CREATES RULE OF TWO** Darth bane: ok now that's better

[@ham2629]

"3 Holmes siblings* *WHEEZE*

[@Valentine-gg4fy]

Wait what trope talk? Count me in!!!!

[@junkrat142]

I was counting on someone to make that joke

[@Valentine-gg4fy]

vomit buddy well then there you go. I don't know whether to say thank you or your welcome 😐:/

[@toxicstarbot6701]

Dapper Carnival 1 2 3 GO

[@gingerinajacket8519]

3:46 "If at first you don't succeed, try (second), try again (third)" Even within idioms there is a 3 pattern

[@cephery8482]

‘The Necrocow is too powerful for the stepmother to combat’ Damn that’s a good sentence

[@twigboat]

The duality of man... Well, the tri-ality...

[@Gordozinho]

the quad-hexa-quintuplet ultradimensional duality of the homo genus

[@twigboat]

The omni-purposity of the spiritual vessel of all things that distinguish themselves from simple elements of the universe to claim sentience upon its own existence

[@Gordozinho]

......damn you beat me.... I'm done....

[@tituspotitius151]

TugCoat More like triviality, am I right?

[@twigboat]

This thread takes me back. Looks like triality is a mathematical term, but standard dictionaries don't seem to recognize it. I myself have no idea.

[@usagibun6564]

In Cinderella in the original tale they danced three times before he decides to find her, ring a bell?

[@minervajeanlupin8755]

I think the best example is the Percy Jackson series. There are three different world and always only three main characters, though these sometimes change: Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson, and later, Piper, Leo, and Jason as well as Hazel, Frank, and Percy (and Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge! There are so many trios in this series!)

[@seesawonezerotwosixonenine7154]

That's because it's universe established that going on a quest with less or more than 3 people is generally a bad idea unless prophecy says so. But yeah you're right

[@ViridianForests]

@@seesawonezerotwosixonenine7154 And even when prophecy says so, it ends up back to being three after two die in one of the stories :/

[@seesawonezerotwosixonenine7154]

@@ViridianForests to be fair the prophecy said "two of you guys will die". Like they went on the mission knowing two of them would die. RIP Bianca Di Angelo and Zoë 😔

[@nicodiangelo3146]

And the seven thing “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call...”

[@kayleeuhles2865]

Not to mention the BIG THREE, Zeus, Posiedon (hi dad) and Hades

[@calacalamari3977]

When she said Egyptian god cards i was like "itS TIME TO D-D-D-D-DUEELLLL"

[@seesawonezerotwosixonenine7154]

3 Egyptian God cards 😏

[@benoitdot3756]

Fun party game: Take a shot every time Red says *three*

[@jackferring6790]

KetchupPuppy 12 depending on how strong those shots are you’ll be somewhere between throughly drunk and dead

[@Nobody-pv9jt]

@@jackferring6790 or both

[@bobtheminecraftnob2303]

They later died of alcohol poisoning

[@arancourt5623]

That’s worse than the Stephen King drinking game

[@positivelink6961]

That’s lethal

[@thekrakenexperiment280]

I just found this channel a few days ago and I love the art style and humor. I'll definitely be sticking around for a while.

[@scifikoala]

Interestingly, whenever there is more than three people in a core group, two of those people are usually siblings, possibly even twins

[@nocturne2029]

That's neat cause it kinda lumps them into one person (since their relationship is already defined maybe?) Man, humans are just so comfortable with threes.

[@dcasey714]

Nocturne Well, yes, actually, we are, you're right. Apparently the human brain is made to function by using the numbers 3 and 7 for a lot of things.

[@fist-of-doom487]

Their is this older book series called Animorphs and they did this even though their were 6 main characters. Two of the characters were cousins and Their was always this 3 person dynamic for the situation. For comedy it was Marco, Tobias and Ax. In that order the types of comedy were a Jokester, an awkward boy and guy with culture shock. One would always end up forcing the other two into a weird or hilarious situation. Serious bits, were Jake, Rachel and Cassie. Each of them had a lot more to loose or worry about. Then their was a 3 part best friend thing. Tobias and Ax hung out a lot, Jake and Marco, Rachel and Cassie. Their were exceptions to this group dynamic for story purposes but this was the general rule of the series.

[@MelodyHarmonyCreeper]

^^; I'm guilty of this with my own characters; 7 main characters with two of them being twins.

[@Rokakiyoshi]

Im as well as guilty with this. 8 main characters and two of them are siblings.

[@autisticdancer]

Red: "Nobody in fiction ever uses filler words" Me: "Unless they do that intentionally"

[@coralia.i9702]

When you talk about the part of relation ships within the trio and I instantly thought that maybe authors put three main protagonists to place a Love Triangle to make the story more interesting.

[@marieke3373]

Please not again! ;) Even though it feels like you're totally right and whether it is the token girl or two girls and a boy, this theme happens waaaaay too often. Dear writers, there are other people outside of the trio.

[@revaryk6868]

Love Triangles are quite a common plot device nowadays. In romance novels, they are... Virtually endless. But they are seen almost all over the place! That crappy Micheal Bay movie about Pearl Harbor? Love triangle. Realistic Fiction? Love triangle. Dating sims? Love triangle (okay, not all the time). There are love triangles everywhere...

[@dracocrusher]

You can never escape the dreaded Love Triangle! Love Triangle will always be there to overwhelm you. There is no world outside of the Love Triangle's reach!

[@forestelfranger]

+Revvyh Frostina. Please did you think you a war movie would be safe from a love triangle? Sorry but nothing is safe or protected from the dreaded love triangel.

[@revaryk6868]

Forest elfranger NOTHING.

[@Matthew_Murray]

I am personally a huge fan of how the rule of 3 is used in the Legend of Zelda. Because it is usually divided into two parts 3 and 5/7, in Ocarina of Time you have to get the three spiritual stones to get in the temple of time. However then the story takes a turn because traditionally that would be the end of it, but now all of a sudden you caused the downfall you were trying to prevent and have to instead now go find the seven sages. Even the final battle is divided into three, Ganondorf, the escape, Ganon.

[@walmartbargainbin]

"What's the best way to tell you've been magically transported to a fictional universe?" I don't get woken up by my screaming neighbour at 4 in the morning because his roommate ate his pizza.

[@Sturm01]

You've just been hit by bus-kun?

[@shadowjerok]

The seven trope that red mentioned is a big in Asia as the rule of three is in the west. There's an anime that I watched where there are 7 people who were raised by dragons but were abandoned 7 years ago, which just so happens to be the year 777. Then later there's a time skip of 7 years. They also have to fight a group of 7 villains and later, 7 dragons. Also the main character is 21 so his age is a multiple of 7. This is kind of an extreme example but the number 7 shows up a lot in anime.

[@s.colins2050]

shadowjerok You're talking about FairyTail, and I'm pretty sure most people here know that, so I'm honestly curious here, why not just mention the name? Cause it might just be a be a thing on my end, but it's severely confusing me as to why you aren't.

[@shadowjerok]

Sara Claymore cause a lot of people despise fairy tail and would swear at you and just generally be terrible if you mention it and I wanted to avoid being subjected to that. Sorry if it was it was confusing though. I figured anyone who'd seen fairy tail would know and anyone who hadn't wouldn't care.

[@jadeharley7190]

Shadow Jerok mmmmmm I see you enjoy fairy tail too. It's my favorite honestly

[@wolfmatic399]

Shadow Jerok I see this was comment posted seven months ago....

[@oriorchids]

The 7th day of the 7th night.

[@odinakazeus]

magical necro cow... that just rolls off the tongue, doesn't?

[@pastelpunk4137]

I've always seen 'The Power of Three' as just a way the human mind recognises patterns. One is a happenstance, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern.

[@a.morphous66]

POSTHUMOUS COW MAGIC.

[@jacob_ian_decoursey_the_author]

That's my bubblegumgrindcore band.

[@susannam3923]

I read this as post-hummus cow magic. which I personally think is just as good

[@blackrose7428]

Yes Yes Yes! New Trope Talk! You know what's funny? I'm told by my teacher to give examples in 3s because it sounds more clever

[@Lycan_the_deerdog]

Black Rose I've heard that too.

[@pinkwings8036]

it works with the pattern she mentioned. One or two examples sounds like you don't have enough data, four+ can drag on. Three is the smallest number of datapoints that makes for viable statistical analysis, so if you have three, you have proven you have a real trend without dragging on your point.

[@blackrose7428]

Pink Wings I'll mention this to her at some point, it makes so much sense now !

[@Gordozinho]

Really? my teachers always told me to use 2 examples

[@GnarledStaff]

Lucas lee 2 works for short works or if you need examples for a lot of things and dont want to drag on too long. For example, making 3 points with 2 examples to back up each point or using 2 examples and 2 counter examples. But the 5 paragraph essay is intro, 3 points and conclusion (or intro, 2 examples, counter to anticipated argument, conclusion.)

[@ValeBridges]

Title - Rule of Three The little Elder Scrolls lore nerd living in my brain: _perks up_ Enantiomorph! 00:23 - "The rule of three isn't really a trope, it's a rhythm in fiction." Brain: _releases held breath_ Myth-echo! Anuad, Convention, Talos! 02:26 - "Common trio formats include: Fighter, rogue, mage-" Brain: _hyperventilating_ Warrior, thief, mage! King, rebel, observer! Is, Is Not, Gray Maybe! Me: "Shut up back there."

[@Kaijugan]

Another rule of 3: Comedy, comedy comes in 3’s

[@giantpinkcat]

Usually being the first 2 being perfectly normal while the last one is just straight up absurd.

[@Kaijugan]

@@giantpinkcat I see someone is familiar with Rick and Morty

[@giantpinkcat]

@@Kaijugan Actually I just know that. Rick and Morty is good tho.

[@sillygoosetaur]

you mean… comedy… comes in 3s?

[@Kaijugan]

@@sillygoosetaur yes. That’s exactly what I mean

[@Ssure2]

6:20 You can't hide that Monty Python reference from me!

[@darthsidious4807]

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

[@loganmason5421]

Darth Sidious European or African?

[@loganbatts9873]

I don’t know that... Aaaaiiiiiiieeeeeeeee! *Sploosh*

[@SharowbladyeGaymerPorate]

Wait what

[@mythosandlogos]

I love the parallel to this rule being a “time signature” of storytelling. Great work.

[@TyphinHoofbun]

The biggest reason for the Rule of Three (in terms of "three chances" and the like) is simple: One sets an expectation Two reinforces the expectation Three subverts the expectation It's the simplest way to get across that the third is special. The two older brothers fail to show that only someone special and heroic can succeed, and that's the youngest brother because *that* subverts the expectation that the oldest male will be the heir and the most capable. Three items is the minimum to set the pattern and show something with it. "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, thrice is conspiracy" is another line I've seen somewhere but can't remember where. If you say "Seven trials", then the audience is basically going to expect seven mini-stories rather than seven parts to a single story, with each trial being an episode. If you try to handle it that way, with having the hero fail six and pull through on the seventh, the audience is going to get annoyed/bored with the six failures and wonder why he's even still in the running or why completing the seventh means anything at all. Basically, Three lets you get that "subverted expectation" with the minimum amount of effort.

[@Yiryujin]

In east, its very common to see rules of three. In Buddhism 3 is special number (mara's 3 daughters, 3 prayer, 3 jewels, 3 category of 8 noble paths, asura has 3 heads, 3 kingdoms of china (romance of 3 kingdom), 3 countries of japan (sangoku era), 3 countries of korea , Many of eastern myth has theme of 3 also, story of Jiraya (frog, snake, and slug). 3 legged crow. 3 pure ones. Mind, Body, and Spirit. (3 path of scholar) ; Person, Sky, and Earth (3 division of world, also 3 color korean flag) . Buddha's face 3 times (Buddha has "serene" face, meaning you'll be serene/forgive 3 times.) There are much more, but that is what i can think off top of my head.

[@AntediluvianRomance]

There are sets of three siblings in some fairy tales too.

[@firstcooommment3675]

"She dies of Dehydration" 2019: Yo She THIRSTY!

[@probablynooneimportant9452]

video: things are in threes me: oh cool video: three Egyptian god cards me: HOLY MOTHER OF OBILISK I SUMMON SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON GREAT BEAST OF THE SKY PLEASE HEAR MY CRY!!!!!

[@anarchomando7707]

Mega ultra chicken

[@RespectYourViews]

@@anarchomando7707 Slifer the executive producer

[@zacharypowell9679]

yay bovine ex machina!

[@jishnusuresh4007]

Whenever a hero uses a hammer to strike something most often the third results ina flash back Rule of 3

[@aidangaughan2835]

Does anyone else notice that the drawing she uses when describing the addition of new members to the group of three look exactly like the characters in her webcomic.

[@hestia_or_adhdsteph]

THANK YOU!!!! I'm not the only one to see it!!!!! I can pick out, during the video, kendal, alinua, erin, falst, dainix, and possibly (probably) tess, but i cant figure out who the 7th in the group of 7 drawing is

[@opheliapurple]

I grew up with this Chinese version of Cinderella where the mom dies, is reincarnated as a magic koi fish, and then is killed and served as dinner by the stepmother. So the Albanian one isn't much of a shocker. I'm just more confused on how the story got to China so quickly.

[@anisa6658]

Im so happy that you’re mentioning Albanian folklore too! Usually in Albanian folklore, while we use the rule of 3 (3 brothers and three wives in “Balada e Murosjes”, drinking fairy milk 3 times to get super strength in “Eposi i kreshnikeve”) a lot, the number 9 and 7 are more commonly used (7 siblings or 9 years in exile)

[@calamusgladiofortior2814]

The English language almost suggests the three-act structure to some degree. What are the parts of a story? Beginning, middle and end. But I agree, a lot of those older stories really don't fit the modern three-act structure. Heck, the weird anti-climatic adventure the hobbits have at the end of Lord of the Rings doesn't fit it either. I remember getting to that point and thinking, "But, the story is over... why is there this much book left?" Even through there is nothing really wrong with the whole return to the Shire bit, it just feels tacked on and unnecessary because it happens after what most modern readers feel is the natural conclusion of the story. That's one of the dangers of subverting the trope - if you're going to play with reader expectations, you really need to wow them. Otherwise, it just feels like serving cake as an appetizer and salad for dessert. There is no reason you can't, but to most people it will feel wrong.