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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/modest_medusa_by_jakerichmond-d32q57b_4548.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:The titular character.]]
3
4''Modest Medusa'' is a webcomic written by Jake Richmond and featured on Website/TheDuck, although it got [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/ its own website]] on July 29, 2011.
5
6On the night before Christmas, Jake comes home and finds that the toilet has overflowed and flooded his bedroom. While moving his stuff to a different room, he finds a gorgon child hiding in the closet. Because she cannot return to the land she came from, Jake and his niece Marah have to take care of her.
7
8The comic starts [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=25 here]] and shares a universe with Webcomic/GhostKiss.
9
10It spawned a Website/{{Kickstarter}} [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/603898497/the-magical-land-of-yeld funded]] RPG, ''TabletopGame/TheMagicalLandOfYeld'' about [[KidHero children]] who pass through a mysterious door and find themselves [[TrappedInAnotherWorld trapped in the world]] of Yeld. A series of miniatures were also [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/731913424/modest-medusa-miniatures funded through a campaign]].
11----
12!!Tropes featured in this webcomic:
13* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: Medusa's mother. She's introduced ''[[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=557 devouring]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=558 her]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=561 daughters]]'' -- and from the terrified reactions of the other Medusas, she does this ''all the time''.]]
14* AchievementsInIgnorance: When Medusa's snake hair is used to [[spoiler: break open Jake's shackles,]] Jake wonders how that even works. Medusa's response?
15--> "Why ''wouldn't'' it work?"
16* AlphaBitch: The mermaids.
17* AllThereInThemanual: A significant amount of information about Yeld can be found in TabletopGame/TheMagicalLandOfYeld. This includes information about the different races, the war between the Deep and the Prince, the origin of the different aquatic races, and much more. This includes [[spoiler: the death of the Prince years before it was revealed in the main comic]]. It's really more like 15 manuals at this point.
18* AlternateTimeline: The Tower of Autumn is connected to several timelines and said to allow travel to 100 worlds. [[spoiler: While looking for the Arsenal of Winter, Marah meets the keeper to explains the different outcomes and offers her a chance to slip into a timeline where her counterpart is missing. She also encounters to adult versions of herself, one who chose to return to Earth and the other who kept wondering Yeld rather than facing the Prince. They try to talk her out of fighting him, as all the other Marahs who tried that died.]]
19* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The mermaids are shown to have a wide variety of skin tones, with Jenny and Deb having blue and purple skin respectively. Other mermaids are shown with pink or yellow skin, as well as other shades of blue and purple.
20* AnArmAndALeg: Charles, Jake's housemate, gets his arm sewn off by the chainsaw unicorn. In the first season, nonetheless!
21* ApologeticAttacker: Medusa, [[spoiler:when her hair snakes' venom petrifies a mermaid]].
22* ArtEvolution: {{Enforced| Trope}}: The author began taking the comic's art seriously following some criticisms [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=746 weeks before]].
23* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The snakes of Modest Medusa's mom are HUGE. She normally shouldn't be able to keep her head straight.
24* AuthorAvatar: Jake
25* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: When the Medusa has to tell EmergencyServices about the Chainsaw-corn incident, she is asked to start from the beginning. She assumes that they meant the start of her life.
26* BigWhat: Medusa's response to being called a raccoon.
27* BittersweetEnding: "Home". [[spoiler: Marah dies after realizing she couldn't have gone home again anyway, but she manages to save her uncle and Medusa by winning her duel with the Prince, and we see the Drudge Angel taking her off to Heaven.]]
28* BlankWhiteEyes: The reaction of some characters when they first see the medusa.
29* BondOneLiner: Marah seems to be attempting them with increasing frequency, all in a similar vein...
30-->'''Marah:''' I've got a sword I'll stick so far up your butt, everyone will call you "Sword Butt"!\
31'''Marah:''' Why don't you save [the cash] so you can buy a new butt? 'Cause your old one won't work so well after I kick the crap out of it!
32* BrandX: Mostly [[AvertedTrope Averted]], the products. From [[TradeMarkFavoriteFood Chocodiles]] to Arizona Greentea, the food products are real. VideoGame/{{Portal}} and Franchise/{{Pokemon}} have also been mentioned, and even played. Jake even said [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Reshiram]] looks like a space chicken.
33* BusCrash: [[spoiler: We largely only see the Prince in season 3. Memory construct aside, we never see him again. In season 8 we learned he has died, which is a year and a half later in universe and nine years IRL.]]
34* CatapultNightmare: Jake has one that signals that things are about to go downhill.
35* CerebusSyndrome: Lampshaded [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=156 in strips #156]] and [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Drunk-Duck-awards-2013.jpg a companion to strip #1057]].
36* ChainsawGood: The unicorn sent after the Medusa has a ''chainsaw'' [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=108 for a horn]].
37** Called "The Knight of Chains", he may be [[HopelessBossFight unkillable]].
38* CreaturesByManyOtherNames: With a bit of CallAPegasusAHippogriff, the titular character's species is referred to as "hydra" by the Prince of Yeld. Modest's mother's name is Gorgon, and her daughters all call themselves [[PlanetOfSteves Medusa]] until they decide that's too confusing. They're mostly just the [[OurMonstersAreWeird author's own invention.]]
39* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Jake. He's an all-around geek and [[ButtMonkey bit of a loser]], but damn, can he hold his own against chainsaw-unicorn!
40** According to WordOfGod, this was done as a TakeThat at a reviewer who accused Jake of being a MartyStu because he was an AuthorAvatar. So he did this to show what a Marty Stu was ''really'' like.
41** The hair snakes. Sure, they may not talk much and they will eat ''anything'', but if you threaten the Medusa, they will deal with you.
42* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: the Ghost.
43* CuteMonsterGirl: The Medusa.
44* DeathOfAChild: Suddenly and disturbingly. [[spoiler: At the beginning of Season 3, Medusa realizes she has hundreds of identical sisters...who are then devoured en masse by their mother. At the ''end'' of Season 3, Marah dies fighting the Prince of Yeld.]]
45* DiscountLesbians: Despite apparently being five years old, the Medusa giggled when reading an issue Jake's Playboy Magazine. Don't forget that her freakin' hair has been caught [[MaleGaze staring at a mermaid's chest.]]
46* DramaticIrony: [[spoiler: When Medusa tells her mother "I love you, but I will never be like you," her mother cries. Not just because of the note, but because she knows that Medusa ''will'' one day be just like her, and that her efforts to avoid it happening will likely be just as futile as hers were.]]
47* EarAche: [[spoiler: A fairy]] takes an arrow to the ear in Yeld-centric chapter. It's just as painful as it sounds.
48* EarFins: The mermaids.
49* EmergencyTransformation: [[spoiler: The boy who lives with Gorgon. After staying to long in Yeld, he begins to turn into a monster. Gorgon turns him into a horse instead.]]
50** By accepting Urano's title. [[spoiler: Marah ends up turning into a vampire.]]
51* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Medusa's mother does love her. [[spoiler: When she reads her final note, she cries.]]
52* ExtremeOmnivore: The hair snakes may not eat much, but what they do eat, [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=43 they]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=85 usually]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=390 shouldn't.]]
53* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Marah gouges out one of the mermaids eye's with a kitchen knife.]]
54** Also happens to [[spoiler: a fairy]] during a return visit to Yeld. [[spoiler: Twice!]]
55* {{Facepalm}}: Jake does it a lot.
56* FisherKingdom: [[spoiler: "In my kingdom, [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=809 everything good and pure]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=820 becomes a monster]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=888 eventually"]] ]]
57* {{Foreshadowing}}: The green mermaid's curse, after [[spoiler: Marah gores out her eye and her friend turns to stone after being bitten by Medusa's hair.]]
58--> "[[spoiler: You ruiner! I hope everything you love goes bad! I hope your mother eats you! And I hope your friend never gets to go home again!]]"
59* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Both of the mermaids are cigarette smokers, and jerks. However, Marah's mother is pretty cool, despite also smoking them.
60* HeroicSacrifice: Urano dies saving Marah and Medusa from the vampire knights. [[spoiler: Marah perishes in a duel with the Prince, letting her uncle and Medusa go home]].
61* ImmortalityImmorality: Medusa's mother sustains her life by [[spoiler: eating her own children.]]
62* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Medusa. She gets upset when she realizes she's the only one naked, but doesn't really comprehend what it means, and the matter is dropped after the Pokémon arc.
63* InspirationalMartyr: As [[spoiler: the green mermaid]] says, [[spoiler: Marah's]] death fighting the prince serves as proof to the people of Yeld that living in a cruel land under an evil prince doesn't excuse their actions.
64* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: In the short term, the Prince gets away with absolutely everything. The only thing that ends up happening to him is that he gets a slightly bruised ego, but he's still the ruler of Yeld, so countless innocent people are going to be oppressed. Not to mention the whole ''killing Mara'' thing. Later, however, her death is shown to have lasting consequences to his reign.]]
65* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: The Prince was ready to go back on his word and throw Jake back into the dungeon and Medusa back to [[AbusiveParent her mother]] even after Marah defeated him in their little duel. The sight of a Drudge Angel carrying her away causes him to reconsider.]]
66* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler: Yeld sheep are surprisingly vicious, able to swarm and devour [[https://modestmedusa.com/comic/there-and-back-again-part-38/ an armored fairy]].]]
67* KnightOfCerebus: Everything's all funny and witty and then '''suddenly, ''chainsaw-unicorn!'''''
68* LimitedWardrobe: Mildly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=62 here]].
69* TheLonelyDoor: There is a free standing door that connects Earth and Yeld. It is notability harder to leave Yeld than enter it.
70* MaleGaze: The Medusa's ''hair snakes'' fall victim to this. [[spoiler: This is foreshadowing as to their evil nature.]]
71* {{Medusa}}: Guess who. In an aversion to the standard portrayal, she's prepubescent, cute, but very socially awkward. [[spoiler: And it's not her eyes that [[TakenForGranite petrify things]], it's her hair-snakes' venom.]] [[spoiler: The medusa is actually the larval stage of a hydra. When they're young and cute, their human sides are in charge. But, as the snakes grow, the human part of them shrivels up and dies like an unneeded limb.]]
72* MeanCharacterNiceActor: The [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=332 Green Mermaid]] when accepting an award.
73* MurphysBed: Not knowing what the purpose of a toilet is, Medusa chose it as her bed. Cue both parties being shocked when Jake unknowingly pees on her.
74* MyBelovedSmother: The medusa's mother wanted her to come home so bad, she sent a chainsaw unicorn to slaughter her new friends.
75* NoNameGiven: The medusa is only known as "the medusa" or, less often, "Medusa". This was only practical because she was the only medusa present... until she got back home and met her ''dozens'' of sisters, all of which were apparently named "Medusa", too. This is just in time for [[spoiler: her mother to reveal her real name: [[TitleDrop Modest]].]]
76* OhCrap: One of the mermaids, when she realizes [[spoiler: [[TakenForGranite she's turning to stone.]]]]
77** Medusa's sisters have a bigger one when they realize Modest has awakened [[spoiler:their mother]]. And it's not played for laughs.
78* OrganAutonomy: Modest's hair is made of four snakes that have minds of their own.
79* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Rather than be little winged humans or child-like creatures, these fairies are more like bear-cats the size of a tool shed. They're also nigh-invincible [[spoiler: unless you go for the [[EyeScream eyes]] or [[EarAche ears]]]].
80* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They are still incorporeal as you'd expect from a ghost, but they are {{Cthulhumanoid}}s, mind-readers, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and they put people in cocoons to eat them]].
81* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: They smoke, can use "the magic of their pure hearts" to grow legs, and are, at least initially, dicks. But the green one ends up getting a lot of CharacterDevelopment.
82* OurMonstersAreWeird: Medusa's species' ([[spoiler:Yeld's equivalent of an hydra]]) life cycle and biology are kind of weird. [[spoiler:To begin with, they share their intellect with their snakes. The human body deliberately invokes cuteness as a defense mechanism. As they grow up, it is progressively discarded for a giant snake body. In the process, hydras keep memories and sapience, but lose emotions and feelings]]. If they need a male partner or not to reproduce is left deliberately ambiguous. [[spoiler: And while they normally biologically expire rather early, they can sustain their existence practically forever... [[OffingTheOffspring if they eat right]].]]
83* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Urano is part of a band of vampire knights who rebelled against their general when the old king died, in an attempt to save the princess from imprisonment (an act that would give him the nickname "Oath Breaker"). He's unbothered by sunlight, but [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga he doesn't sparkle]]. [[spoiler: Marah becomes one herself after inheriting his power as the Oath Breaker.]]
84* PlanetOfSteves: All the medusas [[spoiler:except the main character]] are named "Medusa". Lampshaded [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=578 here]].
85* PowerIncontinence: Medusa's hair snakes tend to act of their own volition [[spoiler: and when their bites [[TakenForGranite start to petrify a mermaid]] she doesn't know how to stop it.]]
86* {{Psychopomp}}s: Drudge Angels, like {{Valkyries}}, carry away the slain heroes of Yeld into the afterlife. [[spoiler: Urano is led away by one once the force of the kingdom kill him. Marah is taken away next once the Prince kills her in their duel.]]
87* PunctuatedForEmphasis: [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=150 "You are]]...such...a huge...''jerk!''"
88* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Generally averted. Played straight with Medusa's mother's snake hair. [[spoiler: The eventual fate of ''all'' hydrae is to have their morals shrivel up and die with the rest of them, until only the snakes remain.]]
89* RunningGag: Medusa's hair eating things she's holding. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=414 this strip]], where a hair snake steadfastly refuses to eat the ghost residue Medusa has.
90* SamusIsAGirl: Toyed with. [[spoiler: The monster under the school who animates the giant inflatable Halloween cat turns out to be controlled by the mermaid Deb. This isn't revealed until they cut away the disguise. Downplayed that we had seen Deb before, but there was no indication she was involved until the end.]]
91* SeashellBra: The mermaids, of a particularly {{Stripperiffic}} variety.
92* ShoutOut: To the first season finale of ''Heroes'' [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=157 here]].
93** "[[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=432 It's a secret]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI to everyone]]."
94** One arc is called "[[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack The Kingdom Strikes Back]]". [[spoiler:And just like the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movie, it ends with a complete victory for the villains and utter defeat for the heroes. Of course just like ''Star Wars'', the heroes are down but not out.]]
95** The series in general references popular culture left and right, most notably ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. This can be as mundane and literal as standing in line for the [[http://modestmedusa.com/comic/in-line-for-pokemon-black-and-white/ latest Pokemon game release]], or as epic and fantastical as Medusa's magic [[http://modestmedusa.com/comic/there-and-back-again-part-227/ manifesting as Pikachu]].
96* SoreLoser: [[spoiler: The Prince after Mara manages to draw first blood and win their fight. He pretty much goes ballistic on her afterward only stopped when the Drudge Angel threatens to interfere if he doesn't cease.]]
97* TalkingToTheDead: In times of stress, Modest likes to talk to [[spoiler: an imaginary Marah. However, it turns out that it was ''actually'' the snake inside of her starting to take over.]]
98* TakenForGranite: The Medusa lacks her kind's trademark petrifying gaze. [[spoiler:[[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=317 Her hair snakes' venom]] [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=319 has that effect, though.]]]]
99* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler:Urano of the Oathbreakers]] gives his title and charge to Marah in his dying breath.
100** This however has the side effect of [[spoiler: turning her into a vampire.]]
101* TinTyrant: The Prince.
102* ToiletHumor: It starts with Jake's toilet getting backed up thanks to the Medusa. And goes on from there.
103* {{Tomboy}}: The Medusa quickly took a liking to video games. Jake's niece, Marah, seems to be one too.
104* TooDumbToLive: The mermaids managed to convince Medusa to come with them so what was the point of the net?
105* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The Medusa loves [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocodile Chocodiles]].
106* {{Unicorn}}: With a ''[[ChainsawGood chainsaw]]''-horn, no less!
107* WeirdnessCensor: Marah's mother completely ignores the fact that the Medusa's, well, a medusa. Lampshaded by Jake, who mentions that most people don't really seem to care that she's green, has a tail instead of legs, and has snakes for hair. The few who ''aren't'' cool with it just seem to mind their own business until she leaves.
108* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:The chainsaw unicorn]] used to be a boy from our world who got trapped in Yeld. [[spoiler: And he used to be just a horse. Marah likewise has this happen to her as well.]]
109* WhamEpisode:
110** [[spoiler:The introduction of Medusa's [[BigBad mother]].]]
111** "The Kingdom Strikes Back". [[spoiler:In rapid succession, Medusa's mother corners the heroes with both her chainsaw unicorn and vampire knights, Marah's weapon is [[WreckedWeapon destroyed]], Urano, their strongest ally, ''dies'', and Medusa willingly goes back to her mother to avoid anyone else being killed. Literally the ''only'' positive aspect of this arc is that Urano apparently transferred his power of the Oath Breaker to Marah just before he died.]]
112** "Home". [[spoiler: Marah fights the Prince in a duel to first blood. She manages to beat him moments before he all-but cuts her in half, killing her.]]
113** "Return to Yeld". Modest visits her sisters who are in the care of her aunt, Naga. While visiting Naga's cave with the first of her sisters to transform Modest learns the startling truth: [[spoiler: because she has 'boy hair' she will NOT turn into a giant snake. Instead she is a rare type of medusa that will simply grow up, becoming a woman with snake hair and a snake lower half, skilled with spells and able to help her sisters have children.]]
114*** When battling one of the Prince's goons Modest FINALLY taps into her magic... [[spoiler: and creates a Pikachu that battles and defeats her enemy.]]
115*** Finally, with Aunt Naga dead, all hope looks lost until [[spoiler: Marah, now a Drudge Angel herself, arrives and resurrects her. She then later reveals that she can't return home yet but that Modest will see her again.]]
116* WhamLine: From "Eat a Bug": [[spoiler: "Your stupid hair bit me!"]] Followed shortly by [[spoiler: "You're not Marah!"]]
117** [[spoiler: "You have boy hair. Didn't you know?"]]
118* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The "Wither away" arc.
119* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [[spoiler: "A hydra can grow more powerful... can live forever... [[OffingTheOffspring for a price]]."]]
120* WrongGenreSavvy: Marah, based on her experience with videogame and RPG depictions of vaguely medieval fantasy kingdoms, assumes that copper coins are the currency of Yeld. So she brings a bag of pennies, and is surprised when no one will accept them as payment.
121* YouCanTalk: The Medusa. It is later revealed that she didn't talk at first because she was too scared of Jake.
122-->'''Jake:''' I spent hours trying to communicate with you! I fed you an entire box of Chocodiles! And you could talk the whole time?
123* YouDidntAsk: After the medusa finds out the concept of clothes and nakedness. She actually [[DisproportionateRetribution slaps Jake]] for not telling her sooner. He counters he thought ''she knew''.
124* YuriFan: As seen [[http://www.modestmedusa.com/?p=1397 here]], the Medusa ships [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Korra and Asami]].

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