Does this mean we have to fight each other now? I'd really rather not!
Conjuring Cutlasses
is an action-fantasy-romance webcomic about two girls who are thrown into the world of a magical sword-battling tournament known as "the Competition." After being transformed into "Conjurers" — young people with the ability to summon magical swords guided by Spirit companions, the population of Dromelot must battle one another in order to be the last Conjurer standing and reap the rewards of a promised "fame and fortune."
Ren Ramirez, a teenage goth, initially wants nothing to do with the new magical world she has found herself in. However, once Ren is chosen by the shadowy Spirit known as Caliburn and granted Conjurer abilities of her own, she is motivated to partake in the city-wide Conjurer tournament using her unique ability to absorb the powers of those she defeats.
Along the way, Ren befriends the kind-hearted Ida Riggins and is quickly thrust into the difficult decision between making her first true friend or following Caliburn's ruthless advice and manipulating those close to her to achieve victory in the ruthless sword-fighting Competition.
Conjuring Cutlasses contains examples of:
- A Friend in Need Ida comes to Ren’s rescue after seeing her cornered by Celia and her gang of bullies.
- Adults Are Useless Played with. Young people are the only ones said to be able to be chosen as Conjurers so adults literally are useless when it comes to the Competition. The Mayor of Dromelot’s only solution to dealing with the Competition was to suspend school to allow students to get it over with as soon as possible.
- Audible Sharpness Be prepared for a lot of sharp sounds when it comes to the Conjurers’ swords.
- Awesome, but Impractical Many of the sword designs that the Conjurers wield aren’t the most practical. Ren’s sword is a standard cutlass design but with jagged prongs near the blade shaped to resemble Caliburn’s face.
- Beware the Nice Ones Kind and sweet Ida lashes out and sends Ren and Aiden flying when she grows frustrated over the two fighting. Caliburn even warns Ren that Ida is incredibly powerful.
- Big Brother Instinct Arthur gives off hints of this in Chapter 5. He is worried enough for his sister that he packs snacks and a town map for her when he finds out she is leaving Dromelot for the first time.
- Blade Lock Conjurers are frequently seen locking blades against one another during their sword fights.
- Blade Spam Aiden lets loose a volley of blade attacks during his duel in Chapter 4.
- Capital Letters Are Magic The Competition was started by the Spirits who choose Conjurers as their fighters.
- Cheery Pink Ida and Guinevere.
- The Chosen Many A large population of Dromelot’s high school-aged youth have been chosen as Conjurers and granted magical sword-summoning powers.
- The Chosen Wannabe Ren is actually the last Conjurer to be chosen for the Competition. She spends the first day of the Competition sulking about not being a member of the chosen few.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience The main cast seems to follow this. Ren = Red. Ida = Pink. Aiden = Green.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind Ren bounces off of an adjacent wall to attack Celia from behind while she is distracted fighting Ida.
- Cool Sword There are plenty of cool and over-the-top sword designs throughout the series.
- The Corrupter Caliburn definitely seems to be this toward Ren, convincing her not to focus on friendship and to ultimately betray Ida in order to win the Competition.
- Crash-Into Hello Ren happens to bump into both Aiden and Ida for the first time within two days of each other.
- Cute Clumsy Girl Ren’s dour, stoic demeanor is offset by the fact that she is pretty clumsy. She trips and falls. A. Lot.
- The Cutie Ida
- Double-Meaning Title The "Cutlasses" in Conjuring Cutlasses could refer to the type of sword but could also be read as a pun with the protagonists Ren and Ida being lasses who cut.
- Dramatic Thunder A conveniently-timed storm occurs in Chapter 3 when Aiden threatens Ren against doing anything to hurt Ida. Lightning even strikes from behind him as he flashes a threatening pose.
- Exposition Fairy All Spirits to a degree, as they are said to explain the rules of the Competition to their chosen Conjurer. Caliburn takes this role towards Ren and the audience.
- Friendless Background Ren has no friends prior to the start of the story. This is partially the reason she seems so taken back by Ida’s kindness and friendship.
- Frills of Justice Many of Ren’s outfits count as this.
- Goth Ren the protagonist dresses in goth fashion.
- Her Boyfriend's Jacket Ren takes items from Ida’s wardrobe to wear after their sleepover in Chapter 5.
- Hug and Comment Following the duel in Chapter 4, Ren and Ida hug with Ren remarking “You smell like ice cream.” to Ida who just abandoned her shift at Camila’s Swirly Shoppe.
- I Just Want to Be Special Ren’s guiding motivation as explained to her by Caliburn.
- Implausible Fencing Powers Aiden is described as having taken fencing lessons since he was little and he displays some pretty intense moves with his magical fencing sword in Chapter 4.
- Inconvenient Summons Ren can summon Caliburn to appear at will, though Caliburn also chooses to pop in whenever it feels like it, usually to Ren’s annoyance.
- Intimidation Demonstration Aiden swishes and twirls his sword before his duel with Ren.
- Limited Wardrobe Averted. Characters are seen in a variety of outfits. And the two female protagonists even change their hairstyle regularly.
- Love Bubbles These bubbles are used in the background of certain scenes between Ren and Ida. Prominently featured in the climax of Chapter 4.
- Manipulative Bastard Caliburn constantly hovers above Ren, goading her into giving up her morals to become an unfeeling, uncaring master sword fighter in order to win the Competition.
- Meaningful Name Subverted. In a series with a cast named after characters from Arthurian Legend (Caliburn, Guinevere, etc…) The guy named Arthur is the one main character who wasn’t chosen to have magical powers.
- Meet Cute Ren’s introduction to both Aiden and Ida is crashing into them after not looking where she is going.
- Mentor Mascot Zig-zagged. Caliburn is a magical spirit that offers helpful advice to the protagonist to help her succeed in battle but isn’t the most morally sound when it comes to ethics. Or manners.
- Monochrome Past The family photo in the Riggins’ household is black-and-white. Realistically, this was only taken about seven years before the story started.
- Motor Mouth Ida is introduced as this. Caliburn is described as “never shutting up” later on.
- Oddly Shaped Sword Ren’s sword is a somewhat typical cutlass design though it is shaped to resemble Caliburn’s sharp-toothed face for the crossguard.
- Power Parasite Ren and Caliburn’s unique ability is to absorb the powers from the enemies they defeat.
- Red Is Violent Ren and Caliburn with their focus on fighting enemies and getting far in the Competition.
- Refusal of the Call Ren’s initial reaction after being chosen by Caliburn. “Why would I want to do that?”
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming All of the Spirits are named after characters and terms from Arthurian Legend.
- Rescue Hug Ren trips into Ida when she chases after her following the duel in Chapter 4. The catch between the two turns into a hug.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie Ida’s hair is a very low saturation pink with a hot pink dip-dye.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness Caliburn speaks in a rather wordy manner.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation The power granted to everyone chosen as a Conjurer. Conjurers can summon a unique sword themed after their Spirit to fight with.
- Stock Weapon Names Ren’s magical Talking Sword Caliburn, is named for a variant spelling of Excalibur.
- Sword Fight A whole lot of ‘em. At least one major sword fight per chapter.
- Sword Lines Virtually every time a Conjurer swings their sword it is emphasized by a colorful streak of light- usually themed after their Spirit’s signature color.
- Sword over Head Ren holds her sword high above her head when she is about to deliver the finishing blow on Aiden in Chapter 4.
- Sword Pointing Frequently seen in a story where a majority of the cast has the ability to summon swords at will.
- Sword Sparks Whenever two swords clash they let loose a flurry of sparks. The sparks are even color-coded to suit the Conjurer’s blade!
- Talking Weapon Most Conjurers have this thanks to the Spirits living inside of their weapon. Averted with Guinevere, the only sword that doesn't talk. Exaggerated with Caliburn who just won’t shut up.
- Technicolor Blade Virtually every Conjurer’s blade. Even the more metallic-looking ones like Ren’s have distinct glowing hues.
- Thwarted Coup de Grâce Ren is on the ground, about to be defeated by Celia when suddenly Ida arrives to save her. Happens again when Ida arrives to end the duel between Ren and Aiden in Chapter 4.
- Unique Protagonist Asset Caliburn tells Ren that it grants her an ability that no other Conjurers have: the ability to absorb the powers of the foes they defeat.
- Victor Gains Loser's Powers Caliburn’s unique ability is this. With every Conjurer they defeat, Ren’s sword becomes stronger and absorbs any other abilities from the opponent had.
