Line #34 Webcomic/Whither


1	->''"ItWasADarkAndStormyNight, not fit for man or beast, when someone who was neither of these slunk out of the woods."''
2
3	Emelind is a [[ChangelingTale changeling]], a stranger to the world she’s been cast into – and she desperately wants to go home. However, as she works towards her goal, it becomes apparent that everyone cherishes a wish for something… and every one of those wishes has its cost.
4
5	A story of mangled folklore, broken promises, and belonging, ''Whither'' is an UrbanFantasy webcomic by Danie. Its current version launched in January 2010.
6
7	It can be read [[http://www.whithercomic.com/ here]] or on the author's Website/DeviantArt [[http://whitherling.deviantart.com/ page]].
8
9	Spoilers ahoy!
10	----
11	!! Within Wither the following tropes are hidden:
12
13	* AngerBornOfWorry: Well, vanishing for the entire day is bound to make your doting friend a bit angry, right? Especially if she has {{Tsundere}} tendencies and is distraught already.
14	* AnIcePerson: Some faries are these. [[spoiler: So is Finn, as he discovers a couple of chapters into the story]].
15	* ArtificialHuman: Of the [[RewritingReality magically-created]] by the guardian witch sort. We meet two of them, both are very nice (presumably until the witch tells them to end you).
16	** Later on, it turns out [[spoiler: the entirety of Finn's world, him included, has been created - written - by the original Winnifred, who was Nora's mentor, not grandmother]]. Also, she threatens him with a rewrite if he doesn't do her bidding (as in, she'll rewrite him into someone who does)...
17	* AwfulTruth: The dark secret about Emelind is given to her freely enough - after she's bound herself with a promise to not use it until a condition has been fulfilled.
18	* BadassBookworm: Finn has his moments ([[spoiler:like rushing at a (were)wolf with a knife]]). He's much less of a pushover than he seems at the first glance. [[spoiler: Of course, since he had been written as a guardian of his world...]]
19	** BewareTheQuietOnes: And now [[spoiler: in chapter 16]] he decides to fight.
20	-->'''Finn''': I'm not helpless anymore.
21	* BadVibrations: The arachnid-ish creeps [[spoiler: destroy Celia's building]].
22	* BeneathNotice: What better cover for a shrewd, experienced magic user (who might be the mastermind behind quite a chunk of the plot) than [[spoiler: the guise of a little girl]]?
23	* BestServedCold: [[TheFairFolk Frost]] is of this opinion. Surprised?
24	* BigDamnHeroes: If you doubted the usefulness of having a werewolf friend, Darcy would like to point at [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-6-page-16/ this page]].
25	** Also the elves in [[spoiler: chapter 15]]. We hope.
26	* [[BigFriendlyDog Big Friendly Wolf]]: [[NiceGuy Darcy's]] [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent wolf form]].
27	* BlankBook: "TheFairFolk" becomes one, but only for Emelind. So she has to have Finn read it to her. [[spoiler: Then the book goes blank for him, too.]]
28	* BloodKnight: The one elf who actually befriends the group has shades of this - she collects worms' heads.
29	* {{Bookends}}: For chapter four, "If you keep making a face like this, it will stuck."
30	* CannotCrossRunningWater: TheFairFolk can't, or so Finn thinks. [[spoiler: Darcy has no more problems dragging Emelind across a stream than he would have with a regular girl]].
31	* CassandraTruth: Emelind [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-7-page-15/ sums up the story so far]].
32	--> '''[[MuggleBestFriend Celia]]''': Ems, honey... You know I love you, right? If you don't want to tell me the truth, you don't have to.
33	* ChangelingTale: Emelind is at TheFairFolk end of this trope, although she has misplaced [[GoodParents her human family]] whom she loves and wants back.
34	* ChildMage: Nora. [[spoiler: But she's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld and the guardian of Finn's hometown]].
35	* CleverCrows: One is a (speaking) character. Less [[CreepyCrows spooky than he should be]]. And [[VoluntaryShapeshifting able to turn into a humanoid]].
36	* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: [[spoiler: Emelind is given a cloak imbued with knowledge (she already got a magical ''ability''-imbued hoodie, but now she'll know what she's doing).]]
37	* ColdIron: The people of Finn's hometown use it for anti-TheFairFolk barriers.
38	* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: Emelind has a heart-to-heart with [[spoiler: the real Emelind]], who tells her that [[IAmAMonster declaring herself a monster]] and [[WhatTheHellHero quitting would solve nothing]].
39	* CreepyCrows: And creepy ''things'' that resemble [[MixAndMatchCreatures arachnid legs attached to a scorpion sting]]. Probably Frost's minions.
40	* [[CreepyChangingPainting Creepy Changing Book]]: In a MagicalLibrary, apparently following Emelind, entitled "TheFairFolk". Yup, a creepy book all right.
41	* {{Curse}}: There is one on Finn, although we don't know precisely what it does. [[spoiler: Or if it is an actual curse. It might be just him being a construct.]]. Emelind knows quite a lot about how to break them.
42	* DealWithTheDevil: Offered and [[SubvertedTrope rejected]] [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-8-page-23/ here]] and [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-8-page-24/ here]]. [[DoubleSubversion But the messenger]] [[SarcasmBlind doesn't get the hint]]. Or is having a MookFaceTurn.
43	* {{Dracolich}}: A genuine dragon skeleton, used as framework for a magical train in Finn's world.
44	* EndlessWinter: Winter is fairies time, and they can make it last ''very'' long.
45	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: As of chapter 20, it's still looming over Emelind's world. [[spoiler: Finn's world is, apparently, doomed no matter what they do, but Emelind refuses to admit this.]]
46	* EquivalentExchange: There's a lot of trading in this setting's magic. Experienced magic users are quite cynical about prices and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder cheating]], while the young protagonists quickly grow [[GenreSavvy wary of any deals]].
47	* EvilDoppelganger: [[spoiler: The frosty-looking fairy swaps himself for Emelind to keep Finn's curse in place]]. Darcy isn't fooled.
48	* TheFairFolk: Several varieties.
49	* FakeMemories: Elves can give you those. [[NoSell Unless]] you've been [[GenreSavvy smart]] and not given them [[IKnowYourTrueName your real name]].
50	* FantasticLightSource: Frequent use of Emelind's magic.
51	* FlashbackEffects: Green tint. Rounded corners.
52	* {{Golem}}: The guards of Finn's hometown. Witch's creation - they're made of "pages" (literal, written on book pages), and losing some loses them traits like details of their appearance of memories.
53	* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: It's possible for the paper golems, like [[spoiler:Finn, who had no idea he was one]].
54	* HeartTrauma: [[spoiler: The thing Nora stole from Frost is his heart, which she needed to maintain Winifred's world. And she might have done it the [[LiteralMetaphor old-fashioned way]], too]].
55	* HonestyIsTheBestPolicy: Surprisingly, it's only when Emelind ''tells'' him the entire truth (which isn't either very believable or reassuring) that Finn trusts her.
56	* IKnowYourTrueName: The basis for at least some magic. [[spoiler: Emelind's was [[TakeAwayTheirName taken from the human Emelind]] and given to the changeling by]] Frost who needed a nameless child for trade with the guardian witch.
57	** Alex is too GenreSavvy to reveal his or Celia's, though.
58	* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Used ''completely'' straight.
59	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Emelind puts on a flighty, snarky, not-giving-a-damn façade, but she does care when it gets serious.
60	* LandOfFaerie: The town where Emelind and Finn meet might be part of it's border area. It's certainly more fantasy-land than the town she was raised in, but Finn talks about the hills and [[TheFairFolk hill-folk]]. [[spoiler: Actual elves appear later.]]
61	* LiteralGenie: [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-10-page-14/ Pink, as specified!]] It's the best he could do, and it's good, right?
62	-->'''Crow''': Hey! I'm just the messenger! Don't shoot the messenger-
63	* LiteralMetaphor: Bookworms, quite a problem in the library where Finn works, are [[OurDragonsAreDifferent tiny dragons]].
64	* LivingMacGuffin: RareMaleExample - both the town's guardian and Frost want Finn, very very badly [[spoiler: because he has something of Frost in him that Nora stole]].
65	--> '''The town's guardian''': It doesn't matter what he wants.
66	* MagicalBarefooter: Emelind, sometimes. [[spoiler: The real Emelind, for as long as she's trapped in the PocketDimension. After leaving, she's given a slightly victorian dress and a pair of boots to go with it, and [[AllWomenLoveShoes she loves the boots]] ]].
67	* MagicLibrarian: Finn is one at the beginning of the story.
68	* MagicMirror: Actually, it seems that any reflective surface may be used by TheFairFolk for communication. [[spoiler: And by the ''real'' Emelind - a nameless child is necessary for the making of a magic mirror, since it involves creating a PocketDimension of nameless things]].
69	* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Only in the next chapter do we learn [[spoiler: that Frost has injured Finn, quite badly at that]]. The SecretStabWound makes them pass out half a chapter later.
70	* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: [[http://www.whithercomic.com/comic/chapter-13-page-2/ Here]], but [[spoiler: it's AllJustADream]].
71	* TheMultiverse: It appears there are many worlds, and Emelind has unwittingly crossed into the one Finn lives in, right before the story started. Also, there are "worms" [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace in the space between them]] that eat dead or decaying worlds. [[spoiler: Sometimes they eat through good ones, if they stand in the way.]]
72	* MyInstinctsAreShowing: Even a magical, shapeshifting corvid is still a bird and likes digging in trash for snacks.
73	* TheNameless: The place mirrors lead to is where nameless things reside. [[spoiler: Which is why a nameless child is necessary to create one of these. When Emelind finally gives the real Emelind's name back, she turns into a nameless elf]]. But she's still herself and part of the plot.
74	* NiceGuy: Darcy really goes out of his way to be helpful. [[spoiler: He probably was written that way.]]
75	* TheNicknamer: Emelind calls Finn "Specs" (to be fair, she didn't know his name back when she started, but she still does after he introduces himself).
76	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: The witch's revenants.
77	* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler: Winnifred turns into a pile of paper, because she was a construct made by the guardian witch]].
78	* NotGrowingUpSucks: [[spoiler: The real Emelind]] looks and acts at most eight (she should be sixteen, if not nineteen).
79	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Bookworms. They're tiny, nest in paper and mimic sounds. All the others are extinct, according to Finn.
80	* OurFairiesAreDifferent: They have a [[AnIcePerson wintry theme]] - Emelind doesn't feel the cold, for example.
81	** In [[spoiler: chapter fifteen]] we get introduced to [[spoiler: elves with [[GreenThumb plant]] powers, though]].
82	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change forms at will]], but only in the woods. Out of them, it's [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting always wolf]].
83	* ParentalSubstitute: Winnifred the sweet old librarian for Finn.
84	* PartingWordsRegret: Emelind's last words to her [[ParentsAsPeople parents]] was coldly chewing them out for WhenYouComingHomeDad. Obviously, she's not proud of this.
85	* PlayingPictionary: [[spoiler: Real Emelind's]] only way of communicating with most characters is miming and drawing.
86	--> '''Finn''': ...It looks like a sort of wobbly chicken.
87	* PlotRelevantAgeUp: Magical [[spoiler: for the real Emelind, once she regains her name and leaves the mirror dimension]], she grows up all at once.
88	* PocketDimension: Either that or The Space Between Worlds is where [[spoiler: the real (human) Emelind]] is imprisoned - she can look out into the real world(s) through any [[MagicMirror reflective surface]].
89	** Also, [[spoiler: Finn's world. All of it.]]
90	* PortalDoor: Vital for worlds' health. Portal let the magic flow in and out, preventing stagnation - and if magic stagnates, the world begins to ''rot'' and attract worms.
91	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler: Nora used to be the real Winnifred's (a powerful witch in a setting where witchery means RewritingReality) apprentice. But it seems her mentor's death drove her over the edge.]]
92	* RewritingReality: The guardian witch's power seems to be based on creative writing. Probably why she resides in MagicalLibrary.
93	* SaltSolution: Finn tries to use it as ward from the arachnid-ish monsters.
94	* SarcasmBlind: The crow guy takes Celia's snarky comments at face value.
95	* ShooOutTheClowns: InvertedTrope. The crow guy, who comes into the story rather late, provides more comic relief than anybody else.
96	* TheShortGuyWithGlasses: While at the first glance Finn seems [[StoicSpectacles quite bishy]], he really is a phlegmatic, lovable nerd, so fits this trope better. Though he's not particularly short.
97	* SpookySilentLibrary: Finn's workplace, a little.
98	* StickyFingers: RunningGag - Emelind keeps pilfering Finn's accessories. It's a [[TheFairFolk fairy]] thing.
99	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Finn is not an elf, it's a {{curse}} making him seem like one, now move along, the library is closing, there's a good troper!
100	* TakeAwayTheirName: Emelind. The girl we know by that name is a changeling, and the original owner [[spoiler: has been used by Nora to create a PocketDimension of TheNameless]].
101	* TechnicolorMagic: Both magical cloaks we see are purple, whatever form they take ([[spoiler: Emelind's original hoodie is actually one]]), although they are also made by the same person for the same person, so this may or may not be a trait of all magical clothing.
102	* {{Tsundere}}: Emelind and Finn, for each other.
103	* UnfazedEveryman: Alex remains unfazed by [[AmicableExes Celia's]] weird guests. Yes, even the crow guy. He seems like a hobbyist OccultDetective, really.
104	* UnPerson: Seems to have happened to [[spoiler: Emelind's MuggleFosterParents - until they are found in chapter 23, hidden within trees and in a magical sleep]]. So it's probably WeirdnessCensor at play.
105	* WeirdnessCensor: Fairies wreak mayhem. The {{Muggles}} say it's a freak storm.
106	* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Nora, the witch]], for a given value of well-intentioned. She'll do anything it takes to preserve Finn's world [[spoiler: including theft of a fae's heart and of a child's name]]. But the motive of this devotion may be [[spoiler: inability to cope with her mentor's - who created Finn's world in the first place - death]], which, while tragic, is missing some important points. [[spoiler: Winnifred's ghost seems to see Nora's ExcessiveMourning - flavoured preservation of Winifred's work as squandering her potential]].
107	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Besides [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Darcy]], we have the crow guy. He gets a ''huge'' dose of MorphicResonance, though.

Context Webcomic / Whither