Line #38 Webcomic/SnowByNight


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ban_Snowbynight200x40_6984.jpg]]
2
3	->''Sherbourg, capital of the colony of Aradie. 1686. The month of Barebranch...The snow came early that year.''
4
5	''Snow By Night: A Tale Of Colonial Fantasy'' is a webcomic first started up by Eric Menge in 2010.
6
7	The tale take place in Sherbourg, capital of the Saronnean colony of Aradie. Of focus is a pair of rooks, high-minded Jassart [=LeBlanc=] and laid-back Blaise Dansereau. While carrying out a well-planned burglary on a Barebranch night, the two discover that their intended quarry has already been stolen by a PhantomThief, with the only clue being some snow in the chest that held the prize. The two later find out that the thief has been stealing from the wards of various rooks -- a big no-no according to the rook code -- and promptly throwing the treasures aside.
8
9	Jassart and Blaise decide that they can't have a rival rook upstaging their own ventures, particularly not one who shows such disdain for and/or ignorance of the art of theft. The two decide that the mystery thief must be caught, with their main lead being the thief's penchant for snatching items with heart motifs.
10
11	After getting assistance from a wealthy benefactor, the duo set up a trap for the thief. They end up catching their prey, who is revealed to be Snow By Night, a female manitou (or aetheric being) who has taken on physical form in order to search for a heart and know what it means to have human feelings. With this magical being now acquainted with them, Jassart and Blaise strike a deal with her: help them with their thieving missions, and they'll help her find her heart.
12
13	The comic has also featured several vignettes that touch upon the wider world and mythology.
14
15	The series has been on hiatus since 2019, but the author expressed interest in continuing the comic as recently as March 2022. The first strip is [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch1/pg1.php here]], the latest is [[http://www.snowbynight.com/ here]], and the Almanac is [[http://www.snowbynight.com/almanac.php here]].
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17	----
18	!!Tropes in this work include:
19	* ActionGirl: The military has quite the amount of females in it, with Vivienne herself being a captain and Jacqueline being her second-in-command. Snow-by-Night herself is also very action oriented.
20	* AllThereInTheManual: The story has an extensive almanac that deals with commerce, people, culture, places, history and science and updates on a weekly basis.
21	* AnIcePerson: Winter and his daughter Snow By Night, with even her physical body being made of snow.
22	* ArtShift: Every short vignette has a different art style.
23	* BecomeARealBoy: Downplayed. The NatureSpirit wants a heart in order to understand human feelings.
24	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Snow's weapon, naturally made of ice, in the [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch5/pg21.php fight with Laurent and his goons]].
25	* BondCreature: Manitous with their spirit dancers. Harm to the spirit affects the dancer as well, as seen in the vignette [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch10/v1.php "A Berry from the Sun"]].
26	* BrattyHalfPint: Toothy Kit is a little obnoxious, but her heart is in the right place. She and [[ManChild Blaise]] get along pretty easily.
27	* CharacterTitle: Snow By Night is the name of the PhantomThief.
28	* ChekhovsGun: The mask used to "The Trap" is [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch10/v3.php shown again]] in the vignette "A Berry From The Sun", which reveals is the ceremonial mask used by a spirit dancer whose spirit guide was corrupted. [[spoiler: Later, Jassart steals it and becomes Talons-That-Seek's spirit dancer.]]
29	* DownerEnding: Chapter 8, [[spoiler: Jassart betrays Snow-By-Night and Blaise's trust, by having Bertrande the Alchemist attempt to drain Snow of her aether. In aftermath of the fight that occurred, kegs of nearby gunpowder were accidentally ignited, destroying the Alchemist guild shop, killing Bertrande, leaving severe burns and injuries on Jassart, while Blaise is on the run and no one's sure if Snow has survived with enough aether left to return.]]
30	* DeadpanSnarker: Paws-Tread-Lightly enjoys doing this as well. Make note, he's a fox spirit, and his first few appearances had him walking up to Blaise making a FascinatingEyebrow face.
31	--> '''Paws-Tread-Lightly:''' After Blaise comments that he suspects he's having a fever induced dream "You talk to a pair of gems and you find this a dream?"
32	%%** Jassart, often to those who annoy him.
33	* EvilMask: The bird mask from "The Trap". According with "A Berry From The Sun", wearing it can drive the wearer to madness as it channels the corrupted spirit bond to it. It can also absorb other manitou to feed the eagle spirit, making it dangerous for both humans and spirits.
34	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Aradie is a Quebec-like territory on the "New World" continent of Everique. Sherbourg resembles Montreal. It all belongs to the pseudo-French nation of Saronne (across the ocean in Japethe, Europe).
35	* {{Fictionary}}: ''Snow By Night'' has many expressions of [[http://www.snowbynight.com/almanac/aradie_slang.php faux-French and English slang]]. WordOfGod has said that as further regions are explored, that words based on Native American tribes, as well as others, such as Dutch, will begin to appear.
36	%%* FluffyFashionFeathers: Mathilde's [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch1/pg9.php fans]].
37	* GodIsGood: Giavere, the patron spirit of Saronne and Aradie by extension, gave to men art and science. [[spoiler:It's also draining cities of their aether, which is considerably less benevolent.]]
38	* GrimUpNorth: In the [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch1/v1.php Feathers and Frost]] Vignette, Winter is portrayed as a humanoid who makes an annual journey down from what is presumably Corthis' equivalent of the Arctic Circle.
39	* HurricaneOfPuns: Blaise, to Mathilde while outside her window.
40	-->'''Mathilde''': Blaise, what are you doing?
41	-->'''Blaise''': I was in the area and thought I'd '''drop''' by. May I come in?
42	-->'''Mathilde''': No.
43	-->'''Blaise''': Please, Mathilde, don't leave me '''hanging'''.
44	-->'''Mathilde''': One more pun and you're getting the vase.
45	-->'''Blaise''': Awww. Why are you so on '''edge'''?
46	--> [[WrittenSoundEffect '''Sploooosh!''']]
47	* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:Jassart. Blaise wanting to help and be with a manitou, so that the manitou in question, Snow-By-Night, can learn the meaning of having a heart? That's bad and Blaise must be stopped and punished for his "own good". Jassart himself reawakening and freeing Talons-that-Seek, a corrupted manitou, who along with his mad spirit walker, destroyed at least one town, purely for the sake of Jassart's own ambitions? Perfectly reasonable in Jassart's mind.]]
48	* IAmXSonOfY: Snow introduces herself to the Liranequois' hunters as "Snow-By-Night, daughter of Winter". This is very significant since the Liranequois are more respectful to the manitou and she's daughter of the cruelest of seasons.
49	* IndianMaiden: Snow is a somewhat atypical example. While she's not human, she still wears Native American style garb, has an affinity for nature, and has to be taught in the ways of ("civilized") humans.
50	* ItsAllAboutMe:
51	** Jassart is this, wherever he recognizes it or not, as he only thinks in how Blaise's situation with Snow affect ''his'' plans. As Blaise tries help out Snow more, and actually keep his word to her, Jassart plots against them to put Blaise back under his foot.
52	** Becomes even more apparent in chapters 9 and 10, where Mathilde has dumped him, and he's moved right on to Vivienne, who being the Governor's daughter, could allow him a chance at climbing the social status ladder. Of course, when their search for more information on manitou brings them to Alays, a server at the same saloon as Matilde to find out where the Elakanois elder known as Singing Jay is, he taunts her about wanting to do the same thing when she asks for a letter to go learn and become a Scribe with the Order of the Erudite.
53	* JawDrop: The three rooks chasing Blaise each have one when Blaise uses his LeParkour to evade them.
54	* JustThinkOfThePotential: Jassart told to Vivienne about the high potential of aether for medicines. Vivienne, being a member of the military, thinks of the potential of having their own Chimera now that a war with Morante is nigh.
55	* LackOfEmpathy: Snow by Night, and manitou in general. Snow being called "heartless" by a man she met and died in her lake is what drives her to find a heart for herself and understand what he said when he told her he loved her.
56	* LeParkour: Blaise [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch1/pg19.php does this]] to evade three disgruntled rooks. His pursuers are rather taken aback.
57	* LoanShark: Or in this case, Loan Crow, as in Chugan, the first crow, and an intermediate manitou spirit himself. He offers Snow the amethyst that act as her eyes, and source of her physical manifestation's power. The price? Snow needs to bring him baubles and treasure worth 10 times the value of the amethyst stones within one year, or he claims her. [[spoiler: He also tries collecting on it earlier than expected, manifesting in his totem form in the wilderness that Blaise is wandering in his attempt to revive an aether drained Snow-By-Night]]
58	* LoveIsAWeakness: [[spoiler:Jassart starts to worry that Blaise is losing focus the more time he spends with Snow, as he can tell that his feelings for the manitou are clouding his mind.]]
59	* TheMentor: [[spoiler:As a kindred soul living in mysteries, Cienan offers to train Mathilde as a Melaithe priestess, now that he'll be in need to leave Sherbourg soon.]]
60	* MessianicArchetype: The Peacemaker in the vignette "The Peacemaker and the Tree of War". He came to the people with the key for peace but everybody was too afraid, believing he was a spy send to lower their defenses. They said that [[ImpossibleTask if he survived a fatal fall]] they will believe him, but seeing how their hearts were hardened, the Peacemaker decides to cut himself the tree where he's standing over the cliff to mark his point.
61	%%* MixAndMatchCreature: [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch9/v5.php The chimerae]].
62	* MoneyFetish: Jassart was born in poverty so his thievery is in order to get as much money as possible in order to live good the rest of his life.
63	* NatureSpirit: ''Manitou'' They are beings infused with 3 of the 4 Alchemic elements, but are always lacking the element opposite of their most major element. Snow-By-Night is one such Manitou, being the spirit of a northern lake, as is her dad, Father Winter (and is huge given his power, being one of 4 Great Spirits responsible for bringing about the changes of seasons in Everique)
64	* NeverMyFault: Jassart is accused of being this kind of person by Mathilde. [[spoiler: She's ''right''.]]
65	%%* OlderThanHeLooks: [[spoiler:Cienan Yr Tuathal]].
66	%%* PhantomThief: Snow By Night.
67	* PlayingWithFire: Talons-That-Seek (the manitou inside the bird mask) and by association, his new spirit dancer [[spoiler:Jassart]].
68	* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Mathilde [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch11/pg18.php gets quite close and touchy]] with Jacqueline, now that she has dumped Jassart. The author's comments suggest her relationship with Jacqueline would be healthier than that with him.
69	* RedOniBlueOni: The cool-headed Jassart mainly wears blue to match his eyes, whereas the wilder Blaise mainly wears red to hide the stains.
70	* [[HesBack She's Back]]: [[spoiler: Chapter 9 closes with a revived Snow-By-Night, wearing new clothes.]]
71	* SceneryPorn: The opening view of Sherbourg is quite luscious.
72	* SecretIdentity: [[spoiler:Mathilde turns out to be an alias for Anne-Marie Priault, one of the King's Daughters. But instead of marrying she used the money she was worthy of to buy the Harp and Trumpet, and keeps cover by working on her own establishment.]]
73	* ShipTease: Chapter 10 implies a close relationship between [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch10/pg1.php Jassart and Vivienne]], but thanks to [[RuleOfSymbolism hidden hints]], it's implied that Jassart is not on it out of romantic feelings.
74	* ShroudedInMystery: Cienan Yr Tuathal. Chapter 14: Revelations and a Noctune appropriately reveals many of his secrets. [[spoiler:He's from Garthemoor, and is a priest of sorts to his homeland's patron spirit; a job that requires people keeping secrets.]] And turns out, [[spoiler:Mathilde]] has as many secrets as he does.
75	* SoulJar: The amethysts that act as Snow's eyes contains her spirit.
76	* TrollingTranslator: Downplayed. Toothy Kit is Blaise's translator while he's with the Liranequois, but she only says to people the essence of the phrases and she adds some sarcasm in her translations.
77	* UnicornsAreSacred: Giavere is often portrayed as a graceful white unicorn. [[spoiler:Snow, being a spirit herself, sees a [[http://www.snowbynight.com/pages/ch6/pg24.php different image]].]]
78	* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: How Jassart justifies his actions of trying to have Snow's aether drained. According to Bertande, it would've been enough to create medicines to heal a lot of people. Also because he feared that Snow was becoming too dangerous to have around Blaise.]]
79	* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: Jassart in Chapter 8. Jassart in that one chapter alone managed to betray Mathilde, Blaise, and Snows' trusts. He also tried to have Snow ''killed'' and stabbed Blaise. And that's before we factor in the collateral damage of his actions.]]
80	* [[WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou Why Did You Make Me Cut You?]]: [[spoiler: Jassart's accusation to Blaise when he tries to fend Blaise's rescue attempt of Snow from Bertande with his knife, and cut his arm. Blaise immediately calls out his now former friend on this, and points out how insane such an accusation is.]]
81	%%* WillNotBeAVictim: [[spoiler:Talons-that-Seek reveals Jassarts's past in order to understand him better. Turns out Jassart was son of a poor charcoaler, and he despised the nobility and society for breaking the soul of the lower class.]]
82	* WorldBuilding: The focus of the Almanac; bits of it leak into the main story when the plot demands it.
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Context Webcomic / SnowByNight