History Webcomic / VaticanAssassins

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: As of 2013, the story is 5 chapters in and there are around a dozen characters, all of whom have something to do with the plot.

* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Staying up all night killing demons is no excuse to miss school

[[http://vaticanassassinscomic.com Vatican Assassins]] is a longform webcomic by Melissa J "MJ" Massey, which has been published online since February 2012. It went through a reboot that started in September 2016.

* {{Action Mom}}/{{Action Dad}}: Seems both Viola and Celesta have these. Viola even has an Action Grandfather!
* {{Action Girl}}: All the female characters so far, except for perhaps Sister Rain
* {{Anime Accent Absence}}: Everyone speaks Italian fluently despite being teens from all over the world. Doubly impressive in that everyone also understands Sign Language enough to communicate with Xy.

* {{Art Evolution}}: And how! The new version is full color <em>hand colored in markers </em>

* {{Blonde Brunette Redhead}}: The three Faeries of Florence are this
* {{Cast Herd}}: With all these kids running around, at least they are nicely organized into groups:

* {{Child Soldiers}}: Although older Assassins are mentioned, most of the characters thus far are between 14 and 17 years old, and have been in training at the Vatican since an even younger age
* {{Christmas Episode}}: Every December, the main story takes a break to do a special "Advent Calendar" story, interestingly told a panel a day. To keep in line with the Catholic theme, it starts on the first day of Advent (not just the 1st of December) and runs till Christmas Eve. They are usually cute, Christmas themed shorts.

** {{Word of God}} proclaims that all the Christmas stories are still canon in the reboot
* {{Christianity is Catholic}}: Averted; Xy is a convert from UsefulNotes/{{Orthodox Christianity}} and there seems to be some sort of Cold War type situation with the Orthodox Church
* {{The Chosen One}}: All Blessed Children, but {{It Sucks To Be The Chosen One}} since it leads to be uprooted from your family and being whisked away to the Vatican to undergo military-type training
* {{Church Militant}}: It is the Vatican's "Secret militia" after all
* {{Combat Stilettos}}: Viola's metal shoes
* {{Crush Blush}}: Fife whenever Celesta is around
* {{Dad the Veteran}}: Not only is Viola's father a great Assassin, but her Grandfather was the first Assassin ever in 1942, and a large portrait of him hangs behind Sister Rain's desk.

* {{Dual Wielding}}: Notably Piccola Albine and Euphonium Sipos
* {{Due to the Dead}}: Assassins are buried with full honors from their home country
* {{Eloquent In My Native Tongue}}: Several occasions, most noteably with Fife, who often lapses back into English
* {{Evil is Bigger}}: All the demons thus far are much bigger than human characters
* {{Famous Ancestor}}: See {{Dad the Veteran}}
* {{Gilded Cage}}: The Vatican, particularly for those born there. Though the characters can and do go in and out, they are always obligated to return
* {{The Gunslinger}}: Half of the characters are this.
** Also {{Girls with Guns}}
** Also naturally leads to {{Bottomless Magazines}}
* {{Half Breed Discrimination}}: Hinted at with the fact that Celesta is half-African, half-Italian
* {{Handicapped Badass}}: Xy is deaf, but this doesn't seem to have much affect on him at all.

* {{High Priest}}: Pope William, and High Priestess Moontide, the head of WITCHNIGHT
* {{Holy Burns Evil}}: Subverted. Demons need to absorb energy from churches to materialize, and often hang out in them.
* {{Kissing Under the Influence}}: Flute and Euphonium are both drunk at the end of Chapter 1/beginning of Chapter 2
* {{Loads and Loads of Characters}}: As of 2013, the story is 5 chapters in and there are around a dozen characters, all of whom have something to do with the plot.
* {{Monster Munch}}: Basically, demons want to eat Blessed Children to gain power and materialize. It is said that if a demon were to accomplish this, they'd be more powerful than normal. [[spoiler: It's also how Flute dies.]] It's hinted that the victim in question has to be alive at the time of being eaten.
* {{Multinational Team}}: Everyone is from different countries
* {{New Meat}}: Tzouras Chatzi is a subversion of this. Though he is a new recruit, he doesn't really seem to care much or be phased by being a Blessed Child. In fact, he's more annoyed by the whole thing than anything.
* {{Nonuniform Uniform}}: Viola wears a boy's uniform jacket which is more loose fitting. Viola, Fife, and Xy also leave their collars open, which no one else does.
** Viola also has {{Zettai Ryouiki}} of the Grade B variety paired with shorts
** {{Custom Uniform}} in the case of the Florence team, whose uniforms are black with white instead of gold and red. In Chapter 1 and 2, Flute is shown wearing the standard Assassin uniform, suggesting that the girls got new uniforms upon reassignment to Florence.
* {{Odd Friendship}}: WITCHNIGHT, a Wicca-affiliated organization, is on friendly terms with the Vatican, so much so that they share technology and do joint missions together.
* {{Parental Abandonment}}: Where is Viola's mom?

* {{Power Trio}}: Viola, Fife and Xy

* {{Redshirt Army}}: The Vatican Medics usually appear as background characters and provide medical support to the Assassins
* {{Precocious Crush}}: 14 year old Fife has a crush on 17 year old Celesta
* {{Separate Scene Storytelling}}: How most flashbacks are told

* {{ShoutOut}}: Tons of them, mostly to Art History, but some are in jokes with the author
* {{Theme Naming}}: Everywhere and anywhere:

* {{Triple Shifter}}: The kids have to go to school during the day and run missions/patrols at night, most of the time going without sleep
* {{Wake Up Go to School Save the World}}: Staying up all night killing demons is no excuse to miss school
* {{You Say Tomato}}: All the time with Fife's "poor Italian"

[[http://vaticanassassinscomic.com Vatican Assassins]] is a bi-weekly longform webcomic by Melissa J Massey, which has been published online since February 2012. It went through a reboot that started in September 2016.

In 1942, the Vatican established a secret militia with 3 goals: to protect the pope and Catholic church; to gather the "Blessed Children", those chosen by the saints; and the fight demons that infiltrate the human world. By "resonating" with their patron saint, the Blessed Children gain powers need to fight the demons, but demons seek to eat Blessed Children to gain incredible power.

Viola di Largolinio, Fife O'Reilly, and Xylophone Phobus are still in training under Sister Rain, the head of the Assassins. While anxious to get more missions, they still have a lot to learn compared to their older comrades. But when an Assassin goes missing, soon the Assassins are up against a powerful foe the likes of which haven't walked the earth for centuries.

In May of 2016, the comic went on hiatus, and returned in September with a rebooted version with the general story in tact, but with slight changes to the plot to remove problematic scenes and elements.

** Viola also has {{Zettai Ryouiki}} of the Grade B variety paired with shorts, even though the girls uniform comes with pants
** Tzouras Chatzi just insists on not wearing the uniform at all

* {{Precocious Crush}}: It's hinted that Fife has a crush on Celesta, one of the older teens.

[[http://vaticanassassinscomic.com Vatican Assassins]] is a bi-weekly longform webcomic by Melissa J Massey, which has been published online since February 2012.

In May of 2016, the comic went on hiatus, and is returning in September with a rebooted version with the general story in tact, but with slight changes to the plot to remove problematic scenes and elements.

* {{After Action Patchup}}: Towards the end of Chapter 2, Viola and Fife sit outside the Pantheon covered in bandages
** After the battle in Chapter 7, everyone ends up in the hospital

* {{Art Evolution}}

** Responsorial Hymn 1:The Miracle is all about how Fife was revealed as a Blessed Child
* {{Benched Hero}}: Both Mandolin and Tzouras as of Chapter 5, though in Tzouras's case it's because he can't resonate yet.
* {{BFS}}: Mellophone Fallon has a giant claymore type sword for his weapon of choice.
* {{Big Bad}}: [[spoiler: Lilith]]

** The WITCHNIGHT Trainees can also be considered this.
* {{Break the Cutie}}: Flute Vermicelli in Chapter 3 [[spoiler: when she is raped and then has to reveal the existence of the Assassins to report the crime. The guilt is so much that she fights with teammate Mandolin and then runs away]]
** If that wasn't enough, [[spoiler: she then is kidnapped by a Satanist cult and eaten by Lilith]].
* {{Cannot Spit It Out}}: Most of the older kids have this problem, leading to a perceived {{Love Triangle}} [[spoiler: Euphonium likes Celesta and Flute likes Baritone, but both think that Celesta and Baritone like each other.]]
** [[spoiler: Baritone liked Flute and was going to confess when she got back from Florence. This becomes impossible after she disappears]]
** [[spoiler: Even when he finds out the truth, Euphonium refuses to tell Celesta about his feelings due to some tragic {{Backstory}}]]

*** Their WITCHNIGHT counterparts: Saffron, Sage, and Rosemary

** The Assassin Staff: Sister Rain, Sister Artemisia, and Pope William
** The Vatican Medics and the Vatican Scientists

* {{Combat Stilettos}}: Why is tomboy Viola wearing metal high heels in battle? In Chapter 8, it's explained that her resonating power produces so much heat, it melts her normal shoes.(The metal heel of her special combat shoes directs the heat away from her feet.))

** Also, Xy around Rosemary
* {{CurbStomp Battle}}: The mission in the Pantheon in Chapter 2 is this for Viola and Fife [[spoiler: until Crystal Glass steps in and saves them]]
** Though not physically beaten, Viola and co are thwarted strategically at every turn by The Byzantine Guard, the latter just being better informed and equipped.
** And in Chapter 7 [[spoiler: against Lilith]].

* {{Dramedy}}: some moments are like this [[http://www.vaticanassassinscomic.com/vatican-assassins/5th-reading-page-8/]], most are like this [[http://www.vaticanassassinscomic.com/vatican-assassins/2nd-reading-page-22/]]

* {{Eloquent In My Native Tongue}}: Several occasions
** Fife often laspes back into English
** At the end of Chapter 4, Euphonium swears in Hungarian [[spoiler: after Celesta kisses him suddenly]]
** In Chapter 8, it's shown that Viola is actually really bad at English. To her credit, she does speak French and Spanish "just finely"

* {{Flashback Nightmare}}: Flute has one of these [[spoiler: of her rape]]

* {{Half Breed Discrimination}}: Hinted at with the fact that Celesta is half-African, half-Italian [[http://www.vaticanassassinscomic.com/vatican-assassins/2nd-reading-page-3/]]

* {{Holy Burns Evil}}: Subverted entirely. In fact, demons need to absorb energy from churches to materialize, and often hang out in them.
** Holy water still works though

** {{Custom Uniform}} in the case of the Florence team, whose uniforms are black with white instead of gold and red. In a flashback, Flute is shown wearing the standard Assassin uniform, suggesting that the girls got new uniforms upon reassignment to Florence.

* {{Parental Abandonment}}: It's looking like this for Viola in regards to her mom, as of Responsorial Hymn 2.
* {{Post-Kiss Catatonia}}: [[spoiler: When a very drunk Celesta suddenly kisses Euphonium, he's left stunned and then swears when Baritone asks if he's okay]]
* {{Power Trio}}: Viola, Fife and Xy [[spoiler: until they are joined by Tzouras]]

** Saffron, Sage, and Rosemary [[spoiler: until Rosemary gets killed]]

** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in a preview image for Chapter 7 where Sister Rain asks a medic who he is, and he responds with "I'm an extra from Chapter 2. Only now I have a face!"

* {{Separate Scene Storytelling}}: How most flashbacks are told, notably Xy's conversion and [[spoiler: Euphonium fighting Celesta's dad after he hit her]]

* {{Stronger Than They Look}}: [[spoiler: Lilith looks like a sack of bones, but she breaks Xy's leg and dislocates Sage's arm...with her bare hands!]]

** The WITCHNIGHT trainees--Saffron, Sage, and Rosemary--are named after spices.

* {{Triple Shifter}}: The kids have to go to school during the day and run missions/patrols at night, most of the time going without sleep as lamented here:[[http://www.vaticanassassinscomic.com/vatican-assassins/3rd-reading-page-5-2/]]
* {{Wham Line}}
** In Responsorial Hymn 2, when Cello asks Harp whether she [[spoiler:would love Viola less if she was a Blessed Child, her answer is "I just might"]]
** [[spoiler: "I'm Lilith. A Prince of Hell."]]

* {{Christianity is Catholic}}: Averted; Xy is a convert from {{Orthodox Christianity}} and there seems to be some sort of Cold War type situation with the Orthodox Church

In 1942, the Vatican established a secret militia called "The Assassins." This is a codename to protect the true nature of the group. All the members are "Blessed Children", chosen by saints to get special powers through "resonating". Only these individuals can fight demons that try to materialize in the human world. The downside is that demons seek to eat Blessed Children to gain incredible power.

Viola di Largolinio, Fife O'Reilly, and Xylophone Phobus are still in training under Sister Rain, the head of the Assassins. Viola is anxious for better missions to prove herself. Everything is going along as normal until Flute Vermicelli, another Assassin, goes missing and sets off a chain of events that results in a dangerous new enemy, the likes of which the Assassins have never seen before.

* {{Combat Stilettos}}: Why is tomboy Viola wearing metal high heels in battle? In Chapter 8, it's explained that her resonating power produces so much heat, [[Smoldering Shoes it melts her normal shoes.]] (The metal heel of her special combat shoes directs the heat away from her feet.))

** [[spoiler: "I'm Lilith. A Prince of Hell.]]

[[quoteright:314:http:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/in-training-team-web_small_6174.png]]
[[caption-width-right:314: Viola, Fife, and Xy, being main characters]]

** [[spoiler: Even when he finds out the truth, Euphonium refuses to tell Celesta about his feelings due to some tragics {{Backstory}}]]

** He does gain the ability to hear when he resonates, but it's nly temporary

* {{Rapunzel Hair}}: Celesta, Piccola

Vatican Assassins[[http://vaticanassassinscomic.com]] is a bi-weekly longform webcomic by Melissa J Massey, which has been published online since February 2012.

* {{Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World}}: Staying up all night killing demons is no excuse to miss school