Line #45 Webcomic/Distillum


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Distillum_1587.jpg]]
2
3	''Distillum'' is a webcomic series created by Sarah "Pickles" Dill. While [[http://www.distillum.com/ the page]] is down and Pickles has left [[http://sarahpicklesdill.deviantart.com/?rnrd=10891 deviantArt]], she hasn't taken all the pages with her - at least the first chapters are still there.
4
5	For as long as he can remember, Rob Gallo has always had a strange ability [[{{Psychometry}} to find lost things]], a "kind of clairvoyance" as the narrator, Rob's [[HeterosexualLifePartners roommate]] Jamie Cris, points out.
6
7	One night, when Jamie drags Rob out to the bar, they bump into a young woman (or rather, [[CrashIntoHello she bumps into them]]) on their way there. When leaving, they see the [[CallToAdventure woman's purse on the ground]], and, finding her in a bind, [[BigDamnHeroes save her life]].
8
9	Sometime later, they meet [[OurGhostsAreDifferent something really odd]], which is quickly dispelled by Sidney, a mysterious woman [[GoodIsNotNice with a bad temper]], currently showing very clearly, because Kavitha should have died that night, and saving her has royally messed up the timestream. Which is why Sidney recruits the trio to help her fix the time anomalies that continue to crop up.
10
11	----
12	!!This webcomic provides examples of:
13
14	* AerithAndBob: There's Jamie, Rob, Sydney and Kavitha. Justified by the great American melting pot - Kavitha is of Indian descent.
15	* ArtEvolution: The art from chapter 1 is quite a bit different than the art in chapter 4.
16	* AllThereInTheManual: Extra facts about the characters, such as birthdays, are mostly found either on Pickles' deviantART or in the [[http://www.distillum.com/?page_id=128 Cast]] page on her website.
17	* AntiHero: Sidney is rude, abrasive and seems to have some skeletons in her closet. She is responsible for policing the anomalies and does it with zeal, hence the "hero" part.
18	* BigBrotherInstinct: Any time anyone (Sidney included) enters Rob's personal space, they have to go through Jamie. He's almost as protective towards Kavitha, though.
19	* ButchLesbian: Rough-and-tough Sidney states in chapter 4 that she's "not into dudes". The [[TouchTelepathy memories]] that leak from her imply a failed sapphic dalliance with someone named "Erin".
20	* CrashIntoHello: Kavitha first meets Jamie and Rob when some not-so-random person in the crowd pushes her right into them.
21	* CatsAreMagic: They can tell the anomalies and act disturbed.
22	-->'''Sidney''': Maybe your kitty-cat doesn't like you anymore?
23	* ClockRoaches: The anomalies are time stream's reaction to a disturbance in the flow, i.e. Kavitha's non-death.
24	* DamselInDistress: Kavitha, when kidnapped in chapter 1 by mysterious thugs. The boys saving her is what sets the plot in motion.
25	* DeadpanSnarker: Oh, Jamie. Sidney, too. %%needs context
26	* DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals: The Distillum, represented in the story by Rob and Sidney. They are powerful [[{{Psychometry}} psychometrists]] and experience some sort of a [[TouchTelepathy peek into each other's memories while touching]]. Distillum may also have precognition, but this always [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity bites them]] [[YouCantFightFate in the rear]]. In general, their powers deal with time - they can sense its flow and sometimes even interact with things future or past.
27	* DisappearedDad: Implied in the TouchTelepathy moment for Rob.
28	* DivingSave: When the attempt to lead Kavitha out of the shed goes south and the thugs reach for guns, Rob pulls her out of the way of the bullet.
29	%% misuse - this doesn't make him more attractive * ElegantClassicalMusician: Rob plays the cello.
30	* FacePalm: [[http://www.distillum.com/?p=613 Sidney]], upon learning that Rob and Jamie saved Kavitha's life. Rose just looks aside uncomfortably.
31	%%needs context * {{Foil}}: Jamie to Rob and Sidney to Kavitha. Sidney is also Rob's.
32	%%is it foreshadowing if it's immediately obvious something's up? * {{Foreshadowing}}: Shortly after Rob saves Kavitha from the bullet, there's a minor ArtShift and shhhhh sound. Also, Nina hissing at Kavitha. {{Lampshaded}} in the artist comments about Rob's dad.
33	%%not so much in the forst four chapters, no. Otherwise, explain why* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Rob as the Phlegmatic, Jamie as the Sanguine, Kavitha as Melancholic, and Sidney as the Choleric.
34	%% in what way? * GenreSavvy: Jamie, sometimes Sidney displays this.
35	* GoodIsNotNice: Saving the world is a responsible job. No place for incompetents, as Sidney is quick to demonstrate by not beating around the bush. Ever. Especially not around Kavitha, who (as far as Sidney's concerned) should be dead.
36	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Jamie and Rob are practically brothers.
37	* ISeeDeadPeople: Part of Distillum power set is seeing "[[OurGhostsAreDifferent echoes]]" of people who had had strong experiences in the place an anomaly arose.
38	* InvisibleToNormals: Both Rob and Kavitha hear the anomaly in chapter 2, but Jamie doesn't. He's concerned about it.
39	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sidney, at least according to her grandmother, although towards everybody else (especially Kavitha) she's more of a straight-out jerk.
40	* {{Masquerade}}: According to Sidney, the Distillum have been around for a long time, but in early first century A.D. people started fearing them, necessitating both Masquerade and intermarrying with {{muggle}}s that diluted their blood (weakening the powers) and introduced it to the general populace, causing Distillum to [[MageBornOfMuggles be born in un-Distillum families every now and then]].
41	* MentorInSourArmor: Sidney is cynical, snarky, never beats around the bush and honestly tells Rob there's little she can teach him and he has to learn on the job. But she does seem to care about their task, at least, and standing Rob in an ice-cold stream was the only way she knew to make him understand the Distillum concept of time.
42	* MsExposition: Sidney, by virtue of being the only member of the group who actually knows what's going on and has any sort of experience handling anomalies. And she doesn't suffer noobs gladly.
43	* MyCard: When signing off after their first meeting, Sidney gives the gang her grandmother's card. They live together, so the address is the same anyway.
44	* MysteriousEmployer: The thugs who kidnapped Kavitha have explicitly been paid, and later on an [[MysteriousWatcher unnamed individual]] appears observing the group and commenting that Rob is learning fast. He's on the phone, talking with someone he calls his brother, hinting at a deeper conspiracy.
45	* TheNarrator: Jamie.
46	* TheNicknamer: Sidney never calls anyone by their real name. Jamie, for instance, has been called "blondie" and "cowboy", Rob "you", and she refers to Kavitha scornfully as "the anomaly" on a few occasions. Likewise, her grandmother (Rose) is called Mamee, even in the tags.
47	%%misuse, that's not factory* NoOSHACompliance: The abandoned shed Kavitha was held in.
48	* OneWordTitle
49	* PaperTalisman: Used by the Distillum to dispel anomalies. Sidney has an entire shed pretty much wallpapered with these.
50	* PlayingDrunk: Jamie distracts the thugs guarding Kavitha, so Rob can get her out, by standing by the window and pretending to be a very loud, very amusing drunkard.
51	* {{Psychometry}}: Rob has been using his to find Jamie's misplaced keys. Now, as an apprentice Distillum, he seems more sensitive to moods that surround the anomalies than Sidney is.
52	* RedOniBlueOni:
53	** The boys: Jamie, a friendly fun guy, is reddish, while Rob, a decided introvert, is Blue.
54	** The [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl girls]]: Sidney is a textbook choleric Red: short-tempered, task-oriented, bossy, hard-working {{jerkass}} and TheCynic; while Kavitha is a mellow, friendly and nurturing young woman (who nevertheless won't be bullied around). Her being a DamselInDistress had a direct bearing on the plot.
55	* SherlockScan: Mamee deduces Rob plays either guitar or cello by the look of his fingers and neck. He's suitably impressed.
56	* ShoutOut: In the [[http://www.distillum.com/?p=672 fake ending]], we have [[Series/DoctorWho Ten and the TARDIS]], Franchise/BillAndTed, [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty McFly]], and [[Series/StargateSG1 a Stargate]]. Sidney was not amused.
57	** While undergoing her TrainingFromHell in chapter 4, Jamie irritably informs Sidney that she's not [[Film/TheKarateKid Mr. Miyagi]].
58	* StressVomit: In the aftermatch of rescuing Kavitha and running from the thugs, Rob throws up.
59	* SwordAndSorcerer: Distillum tend to have Pamvani, or bodyguards/assistants, giving them the Glacier and Glass Cannon sort of dynamic. Jamie's growing into the role rapidly.
60	* SupernaturalMartialArts: Sidney teaches one to the protagonists, although this may be just a way to instill discipline.
61	--> '''Sidney''': That's what tai-chi is derived from.
62	* TheTeamNormal: Jamie. Sid's training is [[TakeALevelInBadass giving him]] [[BadassNormal an edge]], though.
63	* TimeyWimeyBall: Well, now it is. Because the boys have played heroes and rescued Kavitha when she was supposed to die, which broke reality (a bit). GoodJobBreakingItHero ! %%maybe not?
64	%%needs context * TitleDrop: In Chapter 4.
65	* WelcomedToTheMasquerade: Sidney isn't happy about it, but she does [[ExpositingTheMasquerade explain to Rob he's a Distillum, what the Distillum are]] and pretty much takes him in as her apprentice.
66	* WindsAreGhosts: Gusts of wind (sometimes strong enough to make Rob fall, even though no one else even feels them) are associated with anomalies.

Context Webcomic / Distillum