History Webcomic / Namesake

* AbuseMistake: On the part of both Emma and the concierge she talked to, who was very concerned for her, after Emma [[spoiler:woke up in a hotel she didn't recognize with ripped clothing, a note thanking her for a fun night, and ''no'' [[LaserGuidedAmnesia clue what happened.]]]]
* AdaptationExpansion: Oh so much. Namesake was based on an unfinished series of comics (called the "Oziad") posted on the artist's live journal. The Oziad was parody of The Wizard of Oz, featuring as main characters dopplegangers of the author and and her friends, as well as the main characters of ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}''. In Namesake, the Oz story is now one part of a journey through a much larger fairytale multiverse; the cast and scope of the story are greatly expanded; original characters have replaced those based on real people and copyrighted characters; and the tone of the story is more serious, instead of parodic.

** Some of Warrick’s more awkward moments may qualify him for this
* TheAgeless: It's explained that this is the case for Ozites, but since Dorothies are not born in Oz they will remain externally young but still only have a natural human lifespan, so by the time the original Dorothy died she was still physically young but inside was a very old woman.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Emma and Elaine are drawn in a darker shade then the Caucasian characters, and WordOfGod is that Emma's appearance is in part inspired by Creator/MichelleRodriguez. Eventually it's stated that they are [[http://savvyliterate.tumblr.com/post/47007769105/it-sounds-really-interesting-but-ive-just-never-been Latina and French]] (Puerto Rican mother and French Canadian father).
* AmbiguouslyEvil: It’s up in the air what the “ghost” is up to, but so far it’s been painted in a more sinister light
* AndIMustScream: Selva, The Wicked Witch of the East, turned the Munchkin King into a hat box [[spoiler: and Selva herself is turned into a purse]]. Later subverted when [[spoiler:Warrick says she's only still a purse because she wants to be and is just sulking, and she changes back once he apologizes]].
** Subverted with [[spoiler: Hercilia, former Wicked Witch of the East. Selva turned her into a pair of magic shoes, and yet she's quite mouthy.]]

* ArtEvolution : Pointed out frequently by the artist herself. As it is the case with most webcomics, the art is always evolving for the better.
* AuthorAppeal: The artist's blog and past works reveal strong interests for literature, fairy tale adaptations, creepy monsters, adorable magical children and strong female leads with large noses.
* BadassAdorable: Fred. One moment he's excited about how stretchy grilled cheese is, the next [[spoiler: he's yelling at Ben and Elaine to leave while he fights the ghost.]]
* BiTheWay: The majority of the main cast, [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/flame-con as it turns out]]. For most of them it hasn't come up in-comic yet.
* BodyHorror: All the pretty red flowers you see on peoples heads...yeah, they'r actually ''growing out of'' their heads.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:If Anlise wasn't before, [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/don39t-forget-your-hat/ she certainly is now]]]]
** Warrick [[spoiler: has an actual hole in his chest from removing his heart; it doesn't look too pretty. And that's the ''healed'' version. We don't see what it looked like directly afterward, but it was pouring blood onto the floor.]]

* DeathGlare: [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/2010/11/20/the-new-girl-2/ Ben and Elaine pull this off.]]
* DistantPrologue: ''Namesake'' starts off with the Reverend [[Creator/LewisCarroll Charles Dodgson]] and [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Alice Liddell]] when she returns from Wonderland on June 27, 1863.
* DownTheRabbitHole: The main caption of the comic and the fact that the portal to other worlds looks a lot like a rabbit hole.
* DramaticIrony: Any scene where Warrick talks about his sister while holding Emma's purse is this [[spoiler:since Selva ''is'' the purse, and later subverted since he already knew]].

* EldritchAbomination : The “ghost” that’s been haunting Emma so far has flavors of this when she finally sees it up close.
* TheEveryman : The main character Emma is a milder version of this, being a quiet introvert who gets thrust into a situation far over her head.
* ExpositionDump: Chapter 24 finally explains what's going on and why, both on cosmic scale and on Earth. Chapter 20's [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/namesake-relationship-chart relationship chart]] is also quite handy.

* FairyTale: This comic is full of fairytale references
* FeministFantasy: Appears to be heading this way, which makes sense since Oz itself was an early example of such, especially since Baum was married to a Suffragette (and in fact based the character of Jinjur partially on the Sufragettes).
* FracturedFairyTale: The tales don't always conform to the storybook versions.
* GenreSavvy: Emma knows she's in [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] from just seeing the yellow brick road. Though the creators have stated that [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] is the only source of knowledge she has. [[spoiler: justified later when Emma is shown to be an ArtificialPerson created by stuffing a changeling with literature so she's practically made of bottled Genre Savvy.]]

-->[Cut to Emma and company tied to at tree]

* HopeIsScary: [[spoiler: Vanessa/Bird]] starts ''[[InelegantBlubbering sobbing]]'' on [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/healer-tricks/ this page]] when [[spoiler: Banshee]] starts trying to get her to hope again.

** [[spoiler: Emma turns out to an ArtificialHuman MacGuffinGirl who was humanized in large part by her role as CoolBigSis to Elaine.]]

** Also turns out to be very important to Nose, as [[spoiler:One reveals he has given Nose the name Rumpelstiltskin, granting One power over him.]]

* InsaneTrollLogic: Selva lampshades the trope after explaining that her plan to [[spoiler: save everyone from the poppies was to turn everybody into objects.]] In her own words, [[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime "It made sense at the time."]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Nose does this to Emma, making her forget about Oz completely.]]
* LawfulNeutral / TrueNeutral: Adora became the first and only Neutral Witch of the West, [[spoiler:after her heart got broken. Literally as well as figuratively.]] [[invoked]]
* LegacyCharacter: "The Dorothy" and presumably every other Namesake fits the bill as well, seeing as the Alice we see in the present is different from the Alice we see in the prologue.
* LightIsNotGood: Hinted at first with Anlise, the Witch of the North. Recently, it's been revealed that there's a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy good reason]] for her initial suspicious behavior, and that she genuinely does care about the welfare of Oz.

* MacGuffinGirl: [[spoiler: Emma]] learns to her horror that she's an ArtificialHuman created to serve as a "skeleton key" capable of opening all of the Namesake's doors between worlds.

* MindControl: The poppies do this.
* MissingMom: There's no sign of Emma and Elaine's mother in the present day, and there's a photo of [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/so-serious/ Emma holding a baby Elaine]] along with Ben's comment that Emma has always been very serious. In [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/fragments-of-memory/ this]] page we get a memory of young Emma yelling for her mother. In [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/emma-and-her-father/ the next]] we see a family portrait including her mother in the background, and when her father brings up her mother Emma [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/find-someone-else/ starts]] to refer to her as a "bitch", but gets cut off before she can finish. And it's been [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/the-skeleton-key/ confirmed]] that [[spoiler:her mother was a Namesake too]].

* MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere: "Time for my best shocked bystander face"
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: surely a group called "The Rippers" can't be up to any good, but they still insist they're the real good guys, probably because they are all either psychopathic enough to expect you to believe it or sociopathic enough not to care.
* OnlySixFaces: Somewhat averted. The cast is very diverse in both body types, hair styles and faces. Especially when it comes to noses. But there are complaints that some characters still look the same regardless and this can be especially problematic during action moments [[spoiler: And when the Emmas split in half]].
* TheOphelia: As of the book 2 intermission, Alice's family believes that she's this, and she [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/2011/07/30/highly-improper/ doesn't even realize that she's jumped into the pond]].
* OriginalGeneration: Besides canon Oz characters there are also Adora, Selva and Warrick, who are new additions to the cast.

** [[spoiler:Recently revealed to have been caused by giant's blood being splashed on it during his journey. It gives him minor telekinesis.]]
* RegentForLife: It's implied Renge is trying to pull off something like this, [[spoiler:especially she's the one who's been keeping Ozma asleep]]. There's also one point where another character refers to "Ozma's city" while Renge calls it "''my'' city."

* SheIsTheKing: Even though she's a woman, Renge's official title is still The Wizard of Oz, but another character [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/where-is-it does refer to her as "Witch"]], suggesting a Type II, but it's also implied that the "Wizard" title refers to her being the successor of the original, who was a man, rather than her gender, making it a Type III.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Renge turns out to be this, having done everything apparently under Ozma's orders to control "The hole in the world" including taking it into her own body]].

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:If Anlise wasn't before, [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/2011/04/09/dont-forget-your-hat/ she certainly is now]]]]

* AmbiguouslyBrown: Emma and Elaine are drawn in a darker shade then the caucasian characters, and WordOfGod is that Emma's appearance is in part inspired by MichelleRodriguez. Eventually it's stated that they are [[http://savvyliterate.tumblr.com/post/47007769105/it-sounds-really-interesting-but-ive-just-never-been Latina and French]] (Puerto Rican mother and French Canadian father).

* GenreSavvy: Emma knows she's in [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] from just seeing the yellow brick road. Though the creators have stated that [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] is the only source of knowledge she has. [[spoiler: justified later when Emma is shown to be an ArtificialPerson created by stuffing a {{Changeling}} with literature so she's practically made of bottled Genre Savvy.]]

''Namesake'' is the story of Emma Crewe, a woman who discovers she can visit other worlds. She finds out that these are places she already knows – fantasy and fairy lands made famous through the spoken word, literature and cinema. Her power as a Namesake forces her to act as a protagonist in these familiar stories as she figures out how to get home.

The webcomic can be read here: [[http://www.namesakecomic.com/ Namesake]]

* BiTheWay: The majority of the main cast, [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/flame-con as it turns out. For most of them it hasn't come up in-comic yet.

* BodyHorror: All the pretty red flowers you see on peoples heads...yeah, they'r actually ''growing out of'' their heads.

* RedRightHand: Jack has a literal red right hand. So far its significance is unknown.

* GenreSavvy: Emma knows she's in [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] from just seeing the yellow brick road. Though the creators have stated that [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] is the only source of knowledge she has. [[spoiler: justified later when Emma is shown to be an ArtificialPerson literally created out of literature so she's effectively made of bottled Genre Savvy.]]

* GenreSavvy: Emma knows she's in [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] from just seeing the yellow brick road. Though the creators have stated that [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] is the only source of knowledge she has. [[spoiler: justified later when Emma is shown to be an ArtificialPerson literally made out of literature. She's effectively bottled Genre Savvy.]]

* FracturedFairyTale

* HumanityEnsues: Fred undergoes a very gradual form of under Elaines influence, which proves she has writer powers.

* GenreSavvy: Emma knows she's in [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] from just seeing the yellow brick road. Though the creators have stated that [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] is the only source of knowledge she has.

** [[spoiler: Emma turns out to an ArtificialHuman McGuffinGirl who was humanized in large part by her role as CoolBigSis to Elaine.]]

* McGuffinGirl: [[spoiler: Emma]] learns to her horror that she's an ArtificialHuman created to serve as a "skeleton key" capable of opening all of the Namesake's doors between worlds.

* HumanityEnsues: Fred seems to be undergoing a very gradual form of this.

* AndIMustScream: Selva, The Wicked Witch of the East, turned the Munchkin King into a hat box [[spoiler: and Selva herself is turned into a purse]]. Later subverted when [[spoiler:Warrick sats she's only still a purse because she wants to be and is just sulking, and she changes back once he apologizes]].

Namesake is the story of Emma Crewe, a woman who discovers she can visit other worlds. She finds out that these are places she already knows – fantasy and fairy lands made famous through the spoken word, literature and cinema. Her power as a Namesake forces her to act as a protagonist in these familiar stories as she figures out how to get home.

* OnlySixFaces: Averted. The cast is very diverse in both body types, hair styles and faces. Especially when it comes to noses.

* Chapter 24 finally explains what's going on and why, both on cosmic scale and on Earth. Chapter 20's [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/namesake-relationship-chart relationship chart]] is also quite handy.

* WickedWitch: Considering this is a fairy tale theme comic, this is only natural. Although the Wicked Witch of the East can be argued to be a HotWitch.

* {{Yuri Genre}}: Anlise and Renge, which was heavily implied before but confirmed by WordOfGod, which also states that the relationship already existed [[spoiler:pre poppy infection]] and the ramifications will be brought up in story. Alice is also StraightGay and Selva quite strongly voices a crush on her to Elaine and Emma. (It is currently unknown is Selva is bi or Lesbian though)

* NamesToRunAwayFromRealFast: surely a group called "The Rippers" can't be up to any good, but they still insist they're the real good guys, probably because they are all either psychopathic enough to expect you to believe it or sociopathic enough not to care.

* {{Yuri Genre}}: Anlise and Renge, which was heavily implied before but confirmed by WordOfGod, which also states that the relationship already existed [[spoiler:pre poppy infection]] and the ramifications will be brought up in story.

* DateRape: [[spoiler: This doesn't actually happen, but it sure appears like it did to Emma (and the concierge she talked to). Emma woke up in a hotel she didn't recognize with ripped clothing, a note thanking her for a fun night, and ''no'' [[LaserGuidedAmnesia clue what happened.]]]]

* AdaptationExpansion: Oh so much. Namesake was based on an unfinished series of comics (called the "Oziad") posted on the artist's live journal. The Oziad was parody of The Wizard of Oz, featuring as main characters dopplegangers of the author and and her friends, as well as the main characters of ''{{Slayers}}''. In Namesake, the Oz story is now one part of a journey through a much larger fairytale multiverse; the cast and scope of the story are greatly expanded; original characters have replaced those based on real people and copyrighted characters; and the tone of the story is more serious, instead of parodic.

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1rsz_namesake_by_secondlina_4137.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Going down the rabbit hole and beyond.]]