Line #26 Webcomic/CrowCillers


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ccs1.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: Early art from the first printing of the Crow Cillers Season 1 DVD.[[note]]From left to right: [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Doris]], [[DefrostingIceQueen Cortney]], [[WrongGenreSavvy Emma]], [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep That Kid]].[[/note]]]]
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4	''[=Crow Cillers=]''[[note]]Pronounced: "Crow Killers"[[/note]] is a [[MindScrew surrealist]] [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative drama horror comedy furry coming-of-age queer]] {{Webcomic}} by Cate Wurtz (F.K.A. Partydog, of ''[=Asscastle=]'' fame) about a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits group of friends who band together]] to do battle with a [[SecretCircleOfSecrets mysterious and antagonistic cult-like society known as the Order of The Crow.]] Both the Crow Cillers and the Order seek to understand a mysterious [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Creature]], or maybe it's an [[EldritchLocation Eldritch Dimension of Existence]] known only as Ynce Iche.[[note]]Pronounced Yeence Eesh[[/note]]
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6	...At least, that's what it's BASICALLY about. [[GenreBusting Crow Cillers defies the traditional format of a webcomic.]] It's also a meta-commentary on pop culture, often of the past [[AuthorAppeal (particularly the turn of the millennium)]] but also of the contemporary era, both celebrating and poking fun at obsessive fandom, while in the world of Crow Cillers, fiction and reality blend into a confusing mess and nothing is certain, the audience and characters about as confused as each other.
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8	''[=Crow Cillers=]'' can be read monthly as each issue is released at [[https://www.patreon.com/lamezone Cate Wurtz's patreon.]] Alternatively, you can purchase each season in a mock 'DVD' (complete with bonus features) from the official [[http://lamezone.itch.io Lamezone itch.io page]]. The first eight seasons are free [[http://lamezone.net/cco/ on the author's website]]!
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11	!! ''[=Crow Cillers=]'' contains examples of:
12	* AchillesInHisTent: In "Best Fiends Forever," Cortney, feeling excluded from the group and pissed off at Emma for trivializing her [[ParentalAbandonment situation]], and makes plans to make up with her brother and rejoin the Order of the Crow. After a brief [[GoldenMoment heart-to-heart]] with Jill, Emma learns not to treat other people's lives like TV shows and helps Cortney learn who her real friends are.
13	* ADayInTheLimelight: "Fanfic of Horror II", for Final Bloodmaster Alpha. [[spoiler: She gets [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence cancelled]] [[ADeathInTheLimelight at the end]].]]
14	* ApocalypticLog: The journal excerpted in "Campground of Carnage", which belonged to an anonymous Crow left in the woods to starve until he has an encounter with [[AnimalisticAbomination Bloodwolfe]].
15	* ArcSymbol: Scissors
16	* ArtShift: Featured prominently throughout the comic
17	* AuthorPhobia: Ominous checkered tile is a recurring motif, perhaps owing to an incident in the author's childhood, as discussed in "Fanfic of Horror I".
18	* BigBadassBattlesequence: [[spoiler: Season 7]] builds up to a climactic showdown between the Crow Cillers and the Crow.
19	* BlandNameProduct: Oryos, Cosmo Brownies, My Enormous Horse...
20	* BrandX: The Chips, [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Legally Food's...]]
21	* BrokeEpisode: In "Lifestyles of the Poor and Depressed", when [[UnclePennybags Varg's Ex]] stops paying the gang's rent for fear of being found out by the Order.
22	* BurnBabyBurn: On the last page of "Cross My Art and Hope to Die", Jamie throws an old photo from before she came out that her parents put on the fridge as a passive-aggressive gesture onto an American flag the gang set on fire.
23	* TheCameo: Swampboy from [[https://hazlitt.net/comics/little-teeth-pt-1 ''Little Teeth'']] appears in "Lifestyles Of The Poor And Depressed" on a ShowWithinAShow
24	* CannibalismSuperpower: The general method for a psychic to increase her powers seems to be eating other psychics.
25	* CharacterBlog: [[https://twitter.com/darkelaine227 darkelaine227]] and [[https://twitter.com/sourgummymusic Sour Gummy]] both have in-character twitters, darkelaine's being frequently excerpted in the comic proper.
26	* CouchGag: The title pages of Season 4 feature new scenes for each episode
27	* CutAndPasteComic: Subcomics ''Office Crittlers'' and ''As Told By Crittler'' both take this form, with ''As Told'' in particular consisting of the same panel of a girl writing in her diary repeated six times with different dialogue on top.
28	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: A large portion of the characters could apply, but special mention must go to the In-A-Dress gang, a group of characters from existing properties who care nothing for the bounds of their IP, [[NoFourthWall and both exist in and outside of the world of Crow Cillers,]] occasionally [[ShowWithinAShow watching it as a show.]]
29	* CoverDrop: Beloved ends up in the exact pose depicted on [[http://lamezone.tumblr.com/image/170323673474 the cover of Season 4]] in "Mother Lee," when she [[spoiler: {{Heroic BSOD}}s after she first makes contact with another [[PureEnergy Psyform]], and being met with a HannibalLecture from [[AdorableAbomination Fresh Fries]], in which she learns [[WasOnceAMan she was originally human]].]]
30	* DoUntoOthersBeforeTheyDoUntoUs: When Emma encounters an alternate universe's version of herself while fleeing from Fresh Fries, [[spoiler: the clone insists that the only way to stop Fresh Fries is to find the best possible universe and destroy all others.]] Emma is understandably horrified.
31	* DocumentaryEpisode: While "Fanfic of Horror II" is [[spoiler: mainly focused on Final Bloodmaster Alpha]], there are periodic cutaways to the main characters being interviewed about ''Goblin's Crusade: Yellow Rose'', the ShowWithinAShow on which she played the villain.
32	* DramaticUnmask: Played with at the climax of the ''{{Film/Scream}}'' [[WholePlotReference episode]]: when Emma unmasks Fresh Fries-as-Ghostface, she's treated not to her face, but a vision of her origins as [[spoiler: a doppelganger of Harlyn that Harlyn killed as a child.]] Then she wakes up.
33	* DrugsAreGood: It's quicker to list all the characters who ''aren't'' seen taking something at some point. (The misadventures of the In-A-Dress Gang exemplify this trope the most.)
34	* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Elaine was recognizably feline in her first appearance, but over the course of the first season, her initially triangular ears narrowed and blunted into her trademark horns or whatever, along with her fur darkening from orange to blood red.
35	** Bloodwolfe was drastically redesigned between the first and second seasons to be larger, with matted fur and a more blunt snout.
36	** Paisley originally appeared in a tank top with a graphic of some scissors and a dotted line on it, not gaining her CoolShades and purple, fur-trimmed jacket until her character shifted from carefree troublemaker to troubled edgelord two episodes later.
37	** Mintchip was drawn with boobs at first, only for them to abruptly disappear midway through season 2. It's tragic.
38	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Lord Marrow's secret lab, "The Pit," is so-called because it's hidden underneath the ball pit of an abandoned [[FictionalCounterpart Elation]] [[SuckECheeses Zone]]. [[spoiler: After Marrow's death, it becomes the Crow Cillers' home and headquarters.]]
39	* EngineeredPublicConfession: In "Best Fiends Forever," when it becomes clear that Corey is only pretending to be concerned about Cortney in order to re-recruit her into the Order of the Crow, Emma pops out of a nearby trashcan and threatens to upload the whole conversation online and let the Order punish him for breaking their secrecy. Once he's out of earshot, Emma admits to Cortney that she doesn't know how to upload video from her phone.
40	* EyesAlwaysShut: Several characters, notably Mr. Nail, As Told By Crittler, Ambrosia, and Final Bloodmaster Alpha. Red Velvet generally keeps her eyes shut serenely when she isn't in psychic freakout mode.
41	* EyeMotifs: Uniquely drawn eyes are a consistent trait of [[PureEnergy psyforms]].
42	** [[GooGooGodlike Red Velvet]] has ProphetEyes, as does [[AnimalisticAbomination Bloodwolfe]], though the illusory eyes that manifest in [[EyesDoNotBelongThere various places along her body]] do have irises.
43	** EvilHand and [[BigBad Fresh Fries]] both have [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], with Fresh Fries backing it up with [[BlackEyesOfCrazy black sclera]]. Tres evil.
44	* FacelessGoons: The uniform for Crow grunts consists of a grey beaked mask, a fairly baggy BlackCloak, and an optional shaved head.
45	* {{Fandom}}: A major part of the series thematically. The characters are obsessed with bands, animes, and cartoons, the results of fandom like obsessive collecting of merchandise (to the point it becomes an in-universe economy) and ESPECIALLY fanfiction are everywhere. [[ShowWithinAShow Crow Cillers itself has an obsessive fandom within Crow Cillers,]] [[FanGirl Fangirl Darkelaine227 a player within the storyline.]] She, and presumably others like her, go so far as to obsessively seek out scans of art of Crow Cillers characters from limited-edition Poptart boxes.
46	* FakeBand: There's [=Three4One=], the [[TheMoralSubstitute Crow-produced]] pop trio from Pistachio's backstory, as well as lo-fi electronica duo Sour Gummy, which you can listen to on [[https://partydog.bandcamp.com Cate's bandcamp page.]]
47	* FramingDevice: "Fanfic of Horror I" is framed as a fanfic Emma is sharing with her friends, with frequent cuts away to reactions and suggestions from the rest of the cast, who generally don't quite grok what she's doing.
48	* FurryLens: While drawn as [[CartoonCreature vague cartoon animals,]] the characters are frequently referred to as humans.
49	* GlamourFailure: Due to drawing on the target's own unconscious, the puppet doppelgangers generated by Beloved Website Puppet Alpha's phone calls are indistinguishable from the real thing, but only up until the target notices the BeanieBabies style tag, at which point they become visible as crude patchwork imitations.
50	* HereWeGoAgain: At the end of "Fanfic of Horror II," after witnessing [[spoiler:Final Bloodmaster Alpha's [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence untimely cancellation,]] and the creation of her replacement, Final Bloodmaster Beta]], Lisa Simpson makes her way back to the theater where the rest of the Dress Gang has been and picks up on MSTing the previous episode like they were at the start, until eventually clicking to the next page just brings you back to the first.
51	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Settles into a pattern of {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s and shoutouts to influential media, generally featuring the name of the episode's central character from season four on.
52	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After Emma's kidnapping by Brother Marcus at the end of Season 1, she and her friends come to the conclusion that being cult-busting girl detectives is dangerous work, and largely elect to just chill for a bit and let the grown-ups handle it. Emma herself is left with lasting trauma from the whole ordeal, and isn't able to work up the will to take on adventures again until late Season 4.
53	* LighterAndSofter: The first season contains considerably less sex and drugs compared to Cate's previous comic, ''Microwave Planet'', and even when these elements reassert themselves, there's a marked absence of the death and despair of her earlier work. Lampshaded in "Mi-Crow-Cillers-Wave-Planet".
54	* LittleMissBadass: Cortney is the main one, but Gretchen has her moments as well. Paisley wishes she was, but it takes her a while [[TookALevelInBadass to start walking the walk.]]
55	* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: When the Bloodwolfe decides to step out of the sidelines, it quickly establishes its dominance by [[spoiler: devouring Evil Hand, Fresh Fries, and nearly taking down Elaine Jr. as well.]]
56	* MalevolentMaskedMen: The Order of the Crow at large. The standard mask has a curved beak, like a parrot's, but higher-ranked Crows get different designs, like Lord Marrow's scythe-shaped deal, or Master Vein's [[Franchise/SilentHill Pyramid Head]] jawn.
57	* MediumBlending: Frequently dips into photo collages, hand-drawn pages, and all-text pages, as well as a handful of embedded Website/YouTube videos from darkelaine227 toward the end of season 2.
58	* MorphWeapon: [[ShowWithinAShow Yellow Rose]]'s trademark weapon is, well, a yellow rose, which can magically transform into a sword, as well as many other handy tools.
59	* MushroomSamba: While there have not been any particularly hallucinogenic sequences (so far), the characters in the show often do drugs, in two particularly memorable sequences, Jamie introduces Emma to weed, causing her to get paranoid and eventually comforted, and the In-A-Dress gang do MDMA and ruminate on their love for each other, and even embrace some new identity.
60	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The upper echelons of the Order of the Crow is filled with guys with names like Lord Marrow and Master Vein. Averted with Final Bloodmaster Alpha, who despite her name is a fairly professional celebrity and TV personality.
61	* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: The comic's setting, Puke City, is a stand-in for the author's hometown of Topeka, Kansas, and locations there are frequently referenced.
62	* OneSteveLimit: On top of the [[LiteralSplitPersonality many]] [[GrandTheftMe permutations]] [[PowerUpgradingDeformation of]] Elaine, we have one seemingly unrelated Elayne. Confusion between the two becomes a plot point in "The Elayne-Vince Project."
63	* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: In the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Goblin's Crusade]]'' universe, goblins are a cycloptic race of human height who wear masks as like a cultural thing, and who were driven to near extinction by unknown means.
64	* ParodyEpisode: Played for drama in Season 6 when [[RealityWarper Fresh Fries]] attempts to control the cast by trapping them in twisted versions of ''Franchise/DungeonsAndDragons'', FilmNoir, ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'', Franchise/YuGiOh, Series/SaturdayNightLive, and... [[LeFilmArtistique experimental cinema.]]
65	* PathofInspiration: The Order of the Crow. Despite their sinister machinations, the Crow seem generally accepted by the rest of society (albeit with suspicion) and even had enough goodwill to sustain a touring pop group in the past.
66	* PowerPerversionPotential: Discussed here and there.
67	* PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars: Facial scarring is a recurring manifestation of psychic trauma, often coinciding with [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening an increase in psychic power.]]
68	* PsychicNosebleed: A sure sign of having locked eyes with Ynce Iche.
69	* PsychicStrangle: A favorite move of Harlyn's. When Jill ends up on the receiving end of this, she can't help but wonder about the [[PowerPerversionPotential bedroom applications.]]
70	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Averted. Everybody speaks in a very real, down-to-earth manner, complete with "Uhh"s abound. This extends to their texting habits, nerds Jamie and Emma sharing roleplay-style hugs and kisses through text.
71	* RemovedFromThePicture: When Cortney returns to her house to investigate after disowning her family, she finds she's been torn out of a family picture.
72	* {{Retool}}: Season 8 brings ''Crow Cillers: The New Breed/The Next Generation'', which introduces an entirely new cast of characters to explore Puke City.
73	* SceneCover: Aside from the border and the text, [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/afa67cb32bc23dcc8d9e73749b221355/tumblr_o2fr21M6Wv1qfd9wso1_1280.png the cover for Season 2]] is directly lifted from a panel in "Fanfic of Horror I."
74	* ShowWithinAShow: Numerous. Crow Cillers is, itself, a Show Within A Show, even watched by the In-A-Dress gang at certain points.
75	* SeasonalRot: Played with as part of the aforementioned ShowWithinAShow nature of Crow Cillers, in which later seasons, e.g. season 8-12 are referred to freely, [[NoFourthWall even though they do not exist at the time of writing.]] (At least, not in our world.) In-universe, or at least, in-universe where Crow Cillers is a show in-universe, Crow Cillers is a long-running and highly popular TV show that has "glory days" and lame later seasons.
76	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Just to the left. While heavy themes abound, and characters are faced with constant ordeals, generally problems can be solved with effort and the side of good will come out on top.
77	* SwiperNoSwiping: Elaine Jr. seems vulnerable to this, having stopped in her tracks when verbally called out on her current scheme on two separate occasions. Notably, she's often seen strong-arming verbal assent out of others before taking action, so there might be some [[RestrainingBolt supernatural compulsion]] in play here.
78	* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: In "Eye for an Ida", when Joslyn and Emma fall into [[OneWingedAngel Beloveless]]'s clutches, Joslyn launches into a monologue where she [[spoiler: [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight recognizes Beloved as Ida]], and offers her understanding but not forgiveness, shaming her for what she's become.]] Beloved immediately annuls her fusion with the Curse Hand and releases them.
79	* TimeSkip: Season 7 takes place a decade after the events of the first six seasons. [[spoiler: Season 8 jumps ahead even further.]]
80	* TonightSomeoneDies: In "Last Night a TV Saved My Life," a cutaway to TV presenter Final Bloodmaster Beta announces that one of either fan-favourite Doris or underdeveloped side character Coby will be killed, with the outcome being decided by a viewer poll. [[spoiler: Coby gets the most votes, but ultimately her death at the hands of Lord Marrow is averted when [[DeusExMachina Lisa Simpson busts through a monitor in his control room and eats him alive.]]]]
81	* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Leans hard on the "Eyelashes = girl, no eyelashes = boy" type, with the sole exceptions being Ru'mel, (male, eyelashes,) and Bloodwolfe (female, no eyelashes.)
82	** Notably, when [[spoiler: Elaine Sr. [[GrandTheftMe kills Dustin and steals his body]]]] passersby are immediately able to parse her as a woman, despite the only cues besides the eyelashes being the [[RapidHairGrowth suddenly shaggier hair]].
83	** Lampshaded in the pilot episode, in which a combination {{Mon}}s strategy guide and furniture catalog features a pink table with legs shaped like a pearl necklace captioned "SHE IS ONLY FOR YOUR FUCKING"
84	* ThemeNaming: The three members of [=Three4One=] are named after flavors of ice cream.
85	** Major upper members of the Crow are named after pieces of the anatomy
86	* ThisIsReality: Emma got hit with a lot of this in Season 1, sometimes gently, sometimes not so much.
87	* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Psychic powers are a more downplayed example, with Aria insisting that they come with a lot of pain and trauma. In Season 9 [[spoiler: Emma seems to trigger hers specifically by thinking of the things she hates.]]
88	* VagueAge: A mainstay trope of Cate's work. Lampshaded in "Happy Hall-ennui."
89	* VillainSong: Fresh Fries sings a reworked version of "Open Up Your Eyes" from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic during a ParodyEpisode of the show.
90	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The A-Plot of ''The Past and the Plur-ious'' is dedicated to flashbacks showing [=Three4One's=] time with the Crow, notably revealing Mintchip as a trans woman.
91	* WholePlotReference: Seasons 3 and 4 are capped off with special episodes where Emma dreams she's in ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' and {{Film/Scream}}, respectively. The former is largely an exploration of how the film relates to queer identity, coupled with Emma's [[RefusalOfTheCall reluctance to fight the Order]], while the second one is more directly plot-relevant and shakes up the formula by having the [[AndYouWereThere other characters]] being just as aware of the situation as Emma.

Context Webcomic / CrowCillers