In addition to meta Tiktoks that establish participation/interactivity ‘rules’ for (as in the case of the #malonemob), we can also start to identify several styles of ‘narrative-driven’ Tiktoks as seen throughout Parts 1 & 2 of this case study:
- Front-facing ‘TV trading card’ fashioned TikToks that establish or amplify a character
- Source Tiktoks that invite duet interaction by acknowledging an ‘unseen’ character/s off frame or by use of hashtag invitation
- The more ‘cinematic’ TikToks, like those by The Croes Brothers, which present single story beats to add the texture of a narrative (rather than presenting a ‘scene’ within a cohesive storyline)
- The use of this same narrative-texture-driven format filmed in meatspace to present crossover episodes that feature multiple #mafiaoc characters, stitching together various divergent story ‘threads’
- Duets and duet chains that unite characters to march in unison embodying the Power Walk trope
- And a whole lot of breaking the fourth wall within second POV framing
One TikToker that best embodied all of the above techniques (and took them creatively further than most) was cosplayer caoimhemorris whose character Frenchie began to quickly be seen as a ‘main character’ in the midst of the #mafiaoc’s hashtag popularity.
