Heartcore is a web graphic novel by T.L. Welker about Amethyst Lashiec, a Fiendlord and princess of Asgar that grew disdainful of her father Royce's methods and decisions ever since the end of the demons' war against the beastmen. Royce, likewise, becomes fed up with his daughter's rebellious attitude and strips Ame of her rank and inheritance and promises the other Fiendlords that the one to bring him the ex-princess' head will become the new heir to the throne, before Ame can try to overthrow him.Has very little to do withHeart Drive.
Tropes used include:
Absolute Cleavage: Every woman exept for Teodora has at some point not been to shy about what they have above below the collarbone.
Abusive Parents: Royce probably didn't pay attention during parenting classes...
A-Cup Angst: Teodora. Being surounded by far bustier women than herself (including Ame, the one woman she hates the most) doesn't help this fact in the slightest.
Alien Blood: Carval's blood, and likely the blood of other salamander demons, is a very dark shade of navy blue. They also have the ability to form bombs using said blood.
All There in the Manual: The side story known as "History of Niefelheim" explores many events that happened before the start of Heart Core, sutch as the death of Lilium, the birth of Ame and the war between demons and beastmen. Some of the events in the story has been stated to appear in the comic.
Anime Hair: Considering that the webcomic has an artstyle based on anime, this shouldn't be a suprise to anyone.
Attack Its Weak Point: Demons have two weak points, their brain and their Heartcore. Destruction of the former or removal of the latter is the only way to kill them.
Author Appeal: Pretty much all the tropes related to female figures and Fetish Fuel. The author has admitted that Ame was created to be her ideal woman, but also put everything "cute" she liked within Teodora.
In addition, the author is a big fan of paizuri, which features prominently in her adult-themed donation incentives.
Badass Beard: Warlord Karlsen, a Beastman who looks like Augus if he dressed up as a paladin. Sure, he probably died just as fast as he appeared after Volaster blew the Beastman capital into ashes (Making his total comic time 4 pages), but he is so far the only mortal character who has been seen causing significant damage against a demon. Not just any demon, but an Overfiend!
Bad Ass In A Nice Suit: To this point, Volsater seems to be the one who fullfills this trope the most.
Badass Princess: Ame, considering how she had to fight every overfiend in order to escape Asgard.
Beam-O-War: Ame/Lilium has one of these against an empowered Royce.
Berserk Button: Royce is set off when Ame blows up the blood storage.
Also worth noting that commenting on Emerald's weight might lead to a fist to the face.
And Ame won't stand for her entertainment being insulted.
Unless you want your forehead to have a date with Teodoras warhammer, don't remind her about the fact that she has the smallest breasts in the entire cast.
Big "Shut Up!": In chapter 8, Ame has started to get enough of Volasters constant talking.
And then there was that one time where Carval unleashed a massive one against Emerald and Goristro so that he could play with his Happy Meal toy in peace.
"...a demon never truly dies...but they never truly reproduce either. It's rare, but when a demon decides to renounce their life, an egg with their reincarnation appears...This egg will also have attributes from another demon they've been in contact with. Within two years' time, the new demon will require the originator's Heartcore, effectively relieving them of duty."
Black Eyes of Crazy: The whites of characters' eyes turn black when fighting. Particularly powerful demons like Lilium and Volaster have permanently black eyes.
Blood Magic: Played with. Salamander demons such as Carval are said to have fire flowing through their veins, and...well, Word Of God says you shouldn't make them bleed.
Bond Villain Stupidity: Royce is guilty of this. Considering his power, he could have easily killed Ame at the very begining of the first chapters, but he thought sending his weaker servants against her in order to make them compete for a position of power would be more entertaining.
Calling Your Attacks: Spells in Heartcore require one to call out its name to execute. More powerful and elaborate spells require long incantations followed by the spell's name.
Cute Bookworm: Considering that she is a princess and that her muse is books, Suko seems to fit this trope preety well.
Cute Little Fangs: All characters thus far, except Ryo and a random human passer-by (it helps that most of them are demons)
Cute Monster Girl: This applies to many characters so far, but mostly Theodora.
Curb-Stomp Battle: The only two Overfiends other than Royce that actually managed to put up a fight against Ame during her escape from Asgard were Teodora and Slade. The rest of them stood little to no chanse.
wile on the topic, the only thing that saved Ame and Suko during their fight with Royce, was the fact that Lilium possesed Ame, giving her the power to make it an even fight. Even then, it served mostly as a distraction just to give them the opening to flee once and for all.
And then there was Volaster vs the entire Beastman capital. Guess who won.
Dark and Troubled Past: Having his mother die of illness, growing up poor and getting his ass kicked for stealing wile only being a mortal child was enought to cause Volaster to blow up his home wich in turn caused him to become a demon and getting found by Royce. Not that Ame cares, of course.
Darker and Edgier: Would you believe that the characters trying to brutally murder each other used to be part of a comedic, gag-a-day webcomic? Or that even before THAT, Ame used to be a Sonic the Hedgehog fan-character before being remodeled into a succubus?
Dark Is Not Evil: The heroes of Heartcore, although you may say otherwise at some points.
Deader Than Dead: The only way to kill a demon is to either destroy its head or rip out their heartcore, Word Of God says the latter is easier.
Demonic Possession: This happens a lot, for example Lilium possessing Ame and Volaster possessing Carval
Royce, as well. His most well-known form is just him possessing the dead body of a beastman.
Domed Hometown: New Ayers, since the atmosphere of most of the world is poisonous to humans.
Dope Slap: Volaster gives one of these to Carval when he doesn't even recognize that they are related and claiming that Volaster had stolen his last name.
Drop the Hammer: Teodora's weapon of choice is a giant, blue spiky crystal warhammer.
Fanservice: Considering that one of the main characters is a succubus, this trope is bound to happen a couple of times through the series.
Fat Girl: While not necessarily fat, Emerald is fairly chubby. This is mainly the result of influence from the character's original creator Cory Holmes, for whom large-bodied girls is something of a kink.
Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: We could be here all night going through the list, but suffice to say that none of the female characters' designs were an accident.
Fish out of Water: Ame has some trouble adjusting to her exile in human society. It's also been said that demons are easily overwhelmed by human sights and sounds, which is why Beastmen are practically required to assist them as tour guides and bodyguards.
Flat "What.": Ryo's reaction when she discovers that Ame doesn't remember her.
For the Evulz: Royce using Ame's body to attack Suko. There is literally no reason for him to have done this other than that he simply wanted to. It seems to be purely for extending Ame's suffering.
Slade, full stop. He once tried to coax a fellow demon into surrendering to him their Heartcore so he could eat it. Why? In his words, "Try ae spot o' fun! See wha' it does!"
Funetik Aksent: Slade has a Scottish accent, for whatever reason.
Gag Boobs: Rip and Tear playing Go Fish on Emerald's breasts along with a few other moments.
Glass Cannon: Teodora. She sure knows how to swing a giant hammer around, but considering her young age, this trope is to be expected.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: In Emerald's case, they detect the true forms of people and can be used to find demons.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Amethyst's face/arms are not covered in red paint as some may belive.
Good Wings, Evil Wings: Demons have wings of various shapes and sizes, from Ame's itty-bitty little red wings, to trueform!Royce's badass prismatic wings.
Gory Discretion Shot: Sukina's face gets seriously messed up by Ame while she is under Royce's spell. We never see the injury, though, as the afflicted side of Sukina's face is cleverly hidden behind Ame's head after she picks her up.
Green-Eyed Monster: Emerald becomes an example of this trope when Ryo ignores her at the sight of Ame.
Handsome Devil: Royce, Asmodai and also Goristro and Volaster to a certain degree.
Hartman Hips: Most members of the female cast tends to have this.
Having A Blast: Carval, who appears to be able to make bombs with vials of his blood
Horny Devils: Asmodai is an incubus, and Ame is a succubus
It Is Pronounced Tro Pay: Amethyst's shorthand, Ame, was originally derived from the Japanese word for rain. Word Of God says Ame's nickname is not pronouned "Ah-May", but instead is pronounced like "aim".
Master of Illusion: Ame has shades of this. Exhibit A: assuming the form of a helpless human about to be harassed by a couple of thugs, then opening a can of whoopass on them.
The Merch: In-universe, Syranon Glaed is famous enough in New Ayers to have merchandise based on him due to his popularity.
Mook Horror Show: The first chapters can be summed up like this for Teodora, Emerald, Carval and Goristro. Sure they might be powerfull demons, but let's see YOU try to fight the daughter of the demon who rules Asgard without crapping your pants!
Morphic Resonance: Even though Ame has the power of shapeshifting into other women and can shape her clothes any way she pleases, her hair must have the same shade of pink or green that she normally has. Also, her clothes must be either the same shade of black, red or white that her normal outfit has. Thankfully for her, she can mix these colors in any design she pleases.
My Name Is Not Durwood: Lutz appears to have this problem, with people merely referring to him by his title rather than by his given name.
Name's the Same: Slade has no relation to Deathstroke. This is lampshaded in the chapter one parody. Word of God says Slade was actually named after the Rat Thief character "Slade" in Shining Force II for the Sega Genesis.
Oh Crap: Almost anytime Ame gets pissed or scary, someone is bound to have this expression. Ame has also sported this reaction a few times when in trouble.
The Only One Allowedto Defeat You: It is implied that Emerald stopped Volaster/Carval's rampage in New Ayers just so that she could have the satisfaction of killing Ame herself.
Our Demons Are Different: The biggest difference between the demons of Heart Core and most other demons in fiction can be seen above in Bizarre Alien Reproduction. Oh and there is also the fact that they used to be mortal creatures at some point.
Pyro Maniac: Nearly all of Carval's powers include fire in one way or another. To say that he really enjoys using them, even in public areas of the human world where everyone can see it, would be an understatement.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Amethyst and Royce are the Red to Teodora and Asmodai's Blue, both in attitude and color.
Reincarnation: According to Volaster, demons do not die, but come back as a different form. When demons decide to give up living, an egg carrying their new form appears bearing attributes of the original demon and another demon the progenitor had contact with. Wait two years, introduce the original demon's Heartcore to the egg and voila! The new incarnation lives on, carrying the consciousness of its original form.
In short, Carval is the reincarnation of Volaster, and to an extent Ame is the reincarnation of Lilium.
Sharp Dressed Man: Carval is forced to wear a suit when inside his own mind, where Volaster resides.
Shout Out: Royce makes an entrance reminescent of Giygas on page 110
Many characters' names harken to classic Sega. The family name Lashiec, for example, comes from the actual translation of the name "Lassic", the villain of the first Phantasy Star. Likewise, Lutz is named after the esper in the same game. Then there is also the afformentioned Slade...
Slasher Smile: A good number of characters have them, but notable mention goes to Carval, who's always sporting one. Also Volaster, Carval's father; to the point where his jaw is dislocated.
Special Guest: Emerald, Sukina, Ryo, and Syranon were created by friends of the author and incorporated into the story, the very latter being created by the author's husband.
Here is a list: Emerald was created by Cory Holmes
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Well, Ame isn't exactly tomboyish, but she's definitely an Action Girl, whereas her sister Sukina is demure and generally a non-combatant.
Unusual Ears: In addition to the Pointy Ears mentioned above, beastmen apparently have animal ears
Villainous Breakdown: Volaster didn't take it well when Ame decided to press all of his Berserk Buttons (interrupting his childhood story and claim that Royce doesn't care about him). In fact, he took it so badly that he tired to destroy the dome that protects New Ayers, the last human settlement.
and in "History Of Niefelheim" Royce had a big one when his arm was cut off, butt also had an even bigger one when he found out that Lilium died and gave birth to Ame, making him unable to eat her heartcore and thus putting a stop to his plans for greater power.
Was Once a Man: The demons of Asgard— specifically the Overfiends— were once humans and other various mortal races who committed vile atrocities in their former lives in order to achieve demonhood.
is a web graphic novel by T.L. Welker
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