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1[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TrueMagic.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:330: [[AltText Do I gotta pop a kernel in your ass?]]]]
3
4''[[http://www.true-magic.com/ True Magic]]'' is a humorous fantasy webcomic written and drawn by Aja and co-author :D. It follows the adventures of five residents of Homeville, who for certain reasons have gotten rather adept at using such unlikely weapons as guns and halberds as farm implements. With the villagers of Homeville constantly beleagured by nobles who come by to violently harass them, our heroes finally take it upon themselves to trek to the city of Hometropolis in an attempt to get the nobles to leave them alone.
5
6The original comic ran for about five years, but the entire thing has recently been rebooted with much-improved writing and art. You can start reading it [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=1 here]].
7
8
9'''The main characters, in no particular order:'''
10* Henson: TheBigGuy, uses a scythe to slice potatoes. Often MistakenForGay or a [[DudeLooksLikeALady girl]], initially, due to [[LongHairedPrettyBoy not tying back his long hair]].
11* Jen: TheHeart, uses a halberd to shear sheep. A WholesomeCrossdresser for the sake of pretending to be a noble.
12* Kiku: A FieryRedhead, who wears metal claws to trim faces (and maybe hedges). Really likes [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin hot cocoa]].
13* [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Bob:]] BrainyBrunette BadassBookworm.
14* Joe: TheEveryman, who weaponized all of his buddies.
15
16'''Other characters, who may or may not end up being important. We'll see!'''
17* The proprietors of the Dusk to Dusk.
18* Green-Haired Man: Strangely eager to tell Henson something "of the utmost life-changing gravity." We don't know what it is, yet. [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=485 Page 485]] reveals his name as Gauthicus.
19* The guards.
20* The trio of thieves.
21* Richard, a bard who looks like a BarbarianHero but is really a GentleGiant [[MartialPacifist who detests fighting but will if he gotta.]] Joined Henson, Bob, Kiku, and Joe at the Dusk to Dusk's illegal fighting pit.
22* Martinus The Mad[=/=]Spike: A cheerfully psychotic pit fighter currently [[spoiler: [[DemonicPossession Possessed]] by TheDragon of the as-yet-unrevealed BigBad, a Sand Monster nicknamed "Spike."]]
23* And who wrote the letter directing students to beat on Hometown?
24
25----
26!!This comic provides examples of:
27* ActionMom: So, without the infamous band of weapon-wielding residents to protect it, Homeville must be a piece of cake for bandits, right? Right? [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=83 Dead]] [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=84 wrong.]] [[BadassFamily Well, now we know where Joe and Jen got their skills...]]
28* ActualPacifist: Henson in the reboot, much to the chagrin (and mockery) of his allies.
29** Joe delivers a ''scathing'' ReasonYouSuckSpeech after [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=217 Kiku is kicked into a pit]], pointing out that Henson's pacifism is getting ''very'' poor results.
30* AerithAndBob: Kiku, Henson, Bob, Joe and Jen.
31* AltText
32* AlwaysABiggerFish: Provides the page image. A Giant’s Skeleton snatches up the Direwolf menacing the party.
33* AmazonChaser: The bandit leader [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=84 is mightily impressed]] after Joe and Jen's mother kicks his groups’ collective asses.
34* AristocratsAreEvil: They’re the primary antagonists of the story. Though that doesn't mean there aren't [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=247 some exceptions]].
35* ArtEvolution: The reboot of the comic has much better art than the beginning of the first run.
36* AscendedExtra: Bob and Joe join the group in the reboot, upgrading the PowerTrio (Henson, Jen, and Kiku) to a FiveManBand.
37* AxCrazy: Martinus the Mad. Reinforced by his use of an actual axe.
38* BadassNormal: The protagonists of the story.
39* BadassBookWorm: Bob. [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=47 Catches a sword while reading a book]]. [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=49 He then continues on to later threaten friend of sword thrower, with said book]]. At the time of writing this, Bob is featured on the BadassBookWorm page.
40* BathingBeauty: [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=159 Jen certainly enjoys her bathtub]].
41* BeardOfEvil: The first noble shown harassing the present day villagers sports a goatee. That first nobleman is mocked by his classmates later for having a wussy beard.
42* BerserkButton: Messing with Henson in front of a [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin hot cocoa'd]] Kiku.
43--> [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=119 "That'll teach you! Callin' my buddy a ponce!"]]
44* BlatantLies: "If you ''ever'' threaten a priest again, I’ll smi-" AltText: "He was going to say, 'smile and turn the other cheek'. Honest!"
45** Also, the common citizens of Homeville bluff the noble in the page image by saying that various weapons (knives, scythes, ''halberds'', knife-gloves, and a gun) are all being used [[MundaneUtility as tools]], not as weapons, which would be illegal for them to own. He largely believes it [[KnowWhenToFoldEm because he gets the implication]].
46* BloodKnight: Martinus the Mad.[[spoiler: To the point that Bob gets him to forfeit by pointing out that those who forfeit have to fight another match afterward.]]
47--> Henson (threateningly): "Guess what? That guy you just kicked around [[spoiler: is my best friend.]]
48--> Martinus (hugging him): "Yes! I can s-see why! He t-told me how to fight twice as much every night! ''Why doesn't everyone do it this way?''
49* BrainyBrunette: Bob, the self-educated peasant.
50* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=11 This page]] brought to you the letter L.
51* CallASmeerpARabbit: Lampshaded. The creature that Richard referrs to as a "cave beetle" is not very beetle-like at all, which Joe is quick to point out.
52* CasanovaWannabe: Joe imagines girls flocking around him.
53* CerebusSyndrome: Once the main characters get into the Dusk to Dusk Tavern, things become more dramatic and less funny.
54* ColorCodedCharacters: The nobles wear blue and white; the peasants wear green and brown. It makes it pretty hard for the heroes to improvise a costume for Kiku, but pretty easy for the nobles to choose who to slaughter.
55* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Jen reprimands Kiku for holding a sword in his mouth: "Oh, Kiku. Don’t put that in your mouth! You don’t know where it’s been!"
56** It must run in the family, as Joe, when seeing a BloodSport arena with the prospect of fighting in it, [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=159 can only focus on how a FACE can go "Clang!"]]
57* CondescendingCompassion: The noble that the group meets at the bar [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=103 genuinely admires the peasantry of Homeville]], but does so through a decidedly "noble" lens.
58* CorruptChurch: The priests in the prologue are so corrupt, [[spoiler: they even turn against their own god, Lucideus.]]
59* CloseCallHaircut: [[spoiler: In the first run, Kiku accidentally pokes Joe’s eye out. In the current run, a similar scene is shown, but instead, Joe is only given a CloseCallHaircut. He later gets another one to even up the other side.]]
60* {{Cult}}: The followers of Octopeiedes, the Octopus God. One of their missionaries pesters Joe and the green-haired nob.
61* DeathByOriginStory: Done on a larger scale. [[spoiler: Lucideus may or may not be dead, but his absence is why the priests were able to continue their abusiveness towards commoners, which led to the events of the comic.]]
62* DontTellMama: Invoked. When Henson tries to guilt-trip Joe about what his mother would think if he resorted to murder, Joe realizes that it’s Henson’s way of threatening to tattle on him if he goes down that path.
63* DudeLooksLikeALady: Check out panel [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=88 three:]] Long blue hair? Check. Heart-themed necklace? Check. Frills? Check. Actually a girl? Sorry.
64* DumbMuscle: The two thugs of the highwayman group.
65* EveryoneIsSingle
66* FacePalm: The bandit leader does one [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=68 when his henchmen figure out a workaround]] for the "[[YouMustBeThisTallToRide You Must Be This Tall To Harass The Villagers]]" sign. He doubles down with ''both'' hands [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=69 on the very next page]].
67* FailedASpotCheck: [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=106 This strip]] references the trope, as Joe managed to fail this ''and'' his Stealth check.
68* FieryRedhead: Kiku again.
69* FireStolenFromTheGods: According to legend, the GodOfLight granted [[ReligionIsMagic magic]] to his priests, only for them to form an oppressive CorruptChurch the moment his back was turned. When he threatened to [[GodIsDispleased revoke their magic]], they [[SpeakOfTheDevil invoked him]] over and over en masse until they [[https://true-magic.com/view.php?id=10 ripped his power out of him]] and [[GodIsDead tore him apart]].
70* FingertipDrugAnalysis: Defied [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=172 when the Sergeant slaps some powder out of his subordinate's hand]], pointing out that it’d be easier to analyze ''chemically'', as it could be anything from a variety of poison to his wife’s biscuit mix.
71-->'''Andir''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Why would your wife want to kill these men, sir]]?
72* FlippingTheBird: [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=32 Off-panel]], but in Kiku's defense, Bob ''did'' walk right into that one.
73* FluffyTheTerrible: One of the PuppeteerParasite sand monsters is named "Patches." However, Patches is a [[MinionWithAnFInEvil monster who isn't particularly monstrous.]] Its partner Spike, however, is mean enough for both of them.
74* FriendlessBackground: It later turns out that Higgins (pictured above) only went to Homeville [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=487 to try and impress his classmates]].
75* GenericCuteness: To the point that you have to look at hairstyles and chest shape to tell the boys from the girls.
76* TheGenericGuy: Bob and Joe, more so in the first run. Even in the reboot, their names are catch-alls for TheEveryman.
77* GiantSpider: Kept as pets when the World was dark, mostly because nobody could tell them apart from [[CuteKitten cats]].
78* GodOfLight: The Daybringer was the deity who brought the world light and granted the nobles their magical powers. Ironically, [[PowerStereotypeFlip he is not too bright and is easily tricked by mortals.]]
79* GogglesDoNothing: The AltText for [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=332 this strip]] references the trope in relation to Bob's pince-nez.
80* HaveYouSeenMyGod: Twice. There were supposed to be other gods, but Lucideus can't seem to find them. Also, [[spoiler: no one really knows what happened to Lucideus when the priests sealed him up.]]
81* HeadDesk: The green-haired man [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=130 is driven to it]] by the Octopeides worshipper.
82* HeadInTheSandManagement: Sarge finds the captain’s office empty, with a RopeLadder out the window and an apologetic note. Prior to this, his orders were to make sure that [[spoiler: the deaths of ''all'' the prisoners in their care]] could be proven [[BlameGame to not be their fault]].
83* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: One of the city guards refuses to wear his because "[[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=77 it makes my hair look stupid]]." This is his explanation when his sarge tells him off for getting hit over the head. Kiku later demonstrated [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=119 that the helmets aren’t all that useful]], either.
84* HidingBehindReligion: Some of the priests just like to abuse their powers for the hell of it. When Lucideus admonishes them, one insists that he was setting people on fire "[[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=7 for God]]."
85* HolierThanThou: The priests, to the point of being abusive to their subjects.
86* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: Kiku on hot chocolate.
87* ImprobableWeaponUser: Inverted in an amusing fashion with the protagonists. Instead of using farm implements as weapons, they use weapons as farm implements (and, when the situation calls for it, as weapons...).
88* ImagineSpot: Joe thinking of staying at the nightclub. He sees Bob as a magician, Kiku hunting rats, himself as a ladies’ man, and [[StupidSexyFlanders Henson]] [[HoYay in a thong]].
89* KillItWithFire: Ah, yes. Fireballs. The solution to everything...
90* LandOfOneCity: The Capital is only referred to as "The City." As in, THE city. Meaning the only one.
91* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Henson is lectured by a streetwalker on how to appear male.
92--> [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=95 "...which is why the long-haired gents wear ponytails around here. It’s more masculine, you know?"]]
93* TheMagocracy: The descendants of the Priests of Lucien have become the Nobility of the world, as they're the only ones able to use magic.
94* MistakenForGay: [[spoiler: Henson]] is mistaken for a gigolo.
95* MissingMom: Bob’s got one, [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=295 as the bandit leader is dismayed to find]].
96* MomentKiller: Henson is [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=164 in the middle of a badass speech]], when he’s interrupted by "the therapy bunny".
97* MundaneMadeAwesome: '''''TO THE POTATO SHED!'''''
98* MundaneUtility: The first Miracle the priests do? Heat up some cold coffee.
99* NewFirstComics
100* ParrotPetPosition: Much to his annoyance, a bird in a cave takes a liking to Joe and takes residence on his shoulder.
101* PercussiveMaintenance: [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=141 It always works.]]
102* PlayingPossum: Kiku pretends to be dead after Joe “kills him” with a tickling technique in their match. [[spoiler: The nobleman overseeing the pit matches knows that Kiku isn’t dead when he investigates more closely — but happily declares him dead anyway and throws him into the Pit’s titular pit.]]
103* PuppeteerParasite: The [[spoiler: Cave Beetles]] can insert a spike of metal into a human's brain, instantly killing them. This spike is soaked in magic that allows them to control the corpse while they ride it in ParrotPetPosition.
104* RageAgainstTheHeavens: After commoners complain about the priests’ deeds and Lucideus demands they change their ways, [[spoiler: the priests turn against Lucideus and seal him up.]]
105* ReligionIsMagic: The priests are endowed with magical powers. Makes you wonder about the priest of the octopus god.
106* SapientSteed: A nonverbal example with [[http://www.true-magic.com/view.php?id=20 the postman's horse, Thunder]], who obeys commands but tries to bend them, as well as having the ability to roll his eyes.
107* SecretStabWound: After [[spoiler:the creature manages to draw blood from a poke in the neck]], Henson quickly wipes it on his cuff and says it's nothing.
108* {{Shibboleth}}: Nobles salute each other by making their hands glow. Since peasants can’t do that, it serves to weed out anyone trying to enter The City illegally.
109* ShoutOut: "[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers It buuuuurns us!]]" and [[Literature/{{Discworld}} dogs with orange eyebrows.]]
110* ShowSomeLeg: Fails utterly when Jen tries.
111* StaticStunGun: The guards wield collapsible metal batons that can stun people. Since it channels the nobility’s inherited magic, peasants can’t wield the batons, and receive a shock if they touch it.
112* SureLetsGoWithThat: After using wrassling and then guile to pass herself off as a male student, Jen's disguise finally falls apart when the buttons pop off her shirt. The student who sees this happen just assume that she's from the women's academy on some kind of prank, and she rolls with it.
113* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Quite subverted. The guards might not be paragons of virtue and civic duty, but they see through the group's ruse easily. Not that ''all'' of them are so competent, though.
114* TournamentArc: [[spoiler:The heroes get thrown into an arena known as “The Pit” after getting dragged down into the Dusk to Dusk nightclub.]]
115* UseYourHead: Henson tries this on the [[spoiler:sand monster’s stone]] to break it. It commends for a clever idea, but poor technique.
116* WidelySpacedJailBars: The bars of the Pit’s cells are slim enough that Kiku, Martinus, and Bob can all slip through with ease. Joe can also manage, but not without removing his vest full of weapons first.
117* WhamShot: When Martinus the Mad embraces Henson after being rescued, [[spoiler:he looks up with glowing orange eyes]].
118* WholesomeCrossdresser: Jen, to get into a nobles’ school.
119* WildHair: Kiku's hair is all over the place.
120* WouldntHitAGirl: Played straight with one of the thugs who attacks the heroes (“My mom told me not to hit girls,”) and ''inverted'' with the girl in question (“My mom told me not to hit boys who don’t hit girls.”)
121* YouDontWantToCatchThis: [[spoiler: The villagers put spots made of jam on themselves to keep the nobles away while the heroes are gone, as well as a sign warning of "Peasant Pox."]]

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