Line #34 Webcomic/TheFoxSister


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_fox_sister_chapter2_cover_6579.jpg]]
2
3	''[[http://thefoxsister.com/ The Fox Sister]]'' is a {{webcomic}} written by Christina Strain and drawn by Jayd Aït-Kaci. It is described as a "supernatural thriller/dram-edy" by the creator. It is based on the Korean folk tale of the same name, about the shape-shifting nine-tailed fox [[AsianFoxSpirit Kumiho]].
4
5	The comic is set in [[HistoricalFantasy Seoul, Korea, of 1968]]. After having witnessed a Kumiho murdering her family as a child, Cho Yun Hee has grown up a bitter young woman. On her hunt for said Kumiho, who has [[FaceStealer taken the shape]] of her sister Sun Hee, she meets the American ex-soldier Alex.
6
7	Characters:
8	* Cho Yun Hee: The protagonist. Besides being a university student, she works as a Mudang - a priestess of an almost extinct indigenous Korean religion.
9	* Soot Bull: Yun Hee's faithful Korean Jindo dog.
10	* Alex Martin: a former US-Army specialist who after his term stayed in Korea as a [[spoiler: Methodist]] Christian missionary.
11	* Mrs. Park: Alex's neighbor and a member of his church community.
12	* Min: A friend of Alex and another member of his church community. [[spoiler: This is the identity the Kumiho has assumed in her human form.]]
13
14	The comic began in 2011, but stopped updating some time in 2014. In 2017 a news post said the final chapter had been written and an epilogue was in progress but there has been no further update. A backup of the comic can be found [[https://archive.org/details/fox-sister here]].
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16	----
17	!!''The Fox Sister'' contains examples of:
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19	* AltText: The comic image's title tag sporadically contains funny remarks about the respective page.
20	* AsianFoxSpirit: The main antagonist is a Kumiho, a nine-tailed fox spirit from Korean folklore which are typically malevolent and feed on human blood and organs. The one in this story has a habit of [[KillAndReplace killing and replacing]] her victims.
21	* BerserkButton: Yun Hee is very serious in her faith and [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=65 really dislikes it]] if her religion is treated like some sort of ren-fair novelty.
22	* BilingualBonus: For Korean speakers, Soot Bull's name will reveal a PunnyName (see below).
23	* BladeEnthusiast: Yun Hee's [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=97 weapons of choice]] are blades of various sizes. She is quite proficient with them.
24	* BrokenBird: Yun Hee might be warming up towards Alex, but overall she's still quite brusque and closed off.
25	* CanineCompanion: Soot Bull.
26	* CassandraTruth: The comic doesn't actually show it, but it's easy to imagine how Yun Hee's eccentrics after waking up in the hospital are received.
27	--> '''Yun Hee''': "That's not Sun Hee! Kumiho! Keep it away!!!"
28	* CheshireCatGrin: Often [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=25 seen on the Kumiho]] in human form.
29	* ChristianityIsCatholic: Averted with [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=66 Alex being Methodist]].
30	* DemonSlaying: Apparently part of [[http://www.thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=122 a Mudang's job description]].
31	--> '''Yun Hee''': "This is what I am. I kill demons."
32	* DisproportionateRetribution: After Yun Hee harasses the Kumiho by plastering Pujok to ward off evil spirits all over the place, she retaliates by [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=74 messily killing a group of three young men]] right at Yun Hee's front porch.
33	* ElvisImpersonator: Both Alex and Yun Hee are huge Music/ElvisPresley fans, and Alex [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=44 likes to impersonate him]] - with mixed results.
34	--> '''Alex''': "I won my unit's Elvis impersonator contest. Twice."
35	--> '''Yun Hee''': "The judges must have been very kind to you."
36	* {{Fingore}}: The Kumiho [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=106 loses a couple of fingers]] to Yun Hee's knife.
37	* FlashbackEffects: The [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=78 flashback panel to Yun Hee's family's murder]] when she finds the three dead men at her doorstep is reddish monochrome and grainy, with faded edges.
38	* FoulFox: The Kumiho is a nine-tailed fox spirit who's very much malevolent (as they're typically depicted in Korean folklore), disguising herself as a human so she can get close to her human victims and eat them.
39	* FriendlyGhost: Yun Hee is [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=121 possessed by her dead sister's spirit]], who saves her life.
40	* GeekyTurnOn: Alex crushes hard on Yun Hee after finding out she's [[http://www.thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=101 studying biology]].
41	* {{Gorn}}: The Kumiho's kills involve a lot of blood and spilled intestines.
42	* InTheBack: The Kumiho's fighting style of blindsiding an opponent and attacking from behind sure isn't pretty, but effective.
43	* KillAndReplace: It's the Kumiho's modus operandi. She apparently researches and watches people she intends to copy, [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=128 collecting an album full of photos for reference]].
44	* LadyInRed: The Kumiho wears a [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=47 sexy red dress]] when she seduces her first victim.
45	* LetsGetDangerous: Isn't Soot Bull just lovable? But don't let his cuteness fool you! He can be [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=34 scarily ferocious]] if the situation calls for it.
46	* LightningBruiser: The Kumiho.
47	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Combined with TheShadowKnows (see below). The Kumiho is shown in human form, presumably nursing her shoulder [[spoiler:which was hurt in a fight with Soot Bull]]. Her [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=46 shadow on the wall behind her]] shows her fox form, licking said shoulder.
48	* MotionBlur: Used in some action scenes.
49	* MysteriousAnimalSenses: Soot Bull picks up the Kumiho's presence right away whenever she is near; justified as Jindo dogs are excellent hunting dogs.
50	* NiceGuy: Alex.
51	* NosyNeighbor: Mrs. Park [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=85 exhibits some traits of this]]. How severe remains to be seen, though.
52	* OhCrap: The Kumiho of all characters gets a nice moment, when she [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=34 runs into Soot Bull]].
53	* OpenMouthInsertFoot: Alex has a talent to [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=51 say just the wrong things]] to Yun Hee.
54	* PaperTalisman: Yun Hee's [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=64 Pujok charms]] are the Korean version.
55	* {{Permastubble}}: Alex sports a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow.
56	* PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars: Yun Hee's arms, hands and chest are covered in scars which she received when attempting to fend off the Kumiho during their traumatic first encounter.
57	* PinkElephants: Subverted. The vicious, red-eyed canine creature the [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=36 drunk man sees]], is in fact ''not'' just a “stray dog”.
58	* PunnyName: Soot Bull (숫불) in Korean means Charcoal Fire.
59	* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Kumiho [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=33 loves]] [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=67 this]] [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=71 one]].
60	* ReflectiveEyes: When Alex and Yun Hee [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=75 find]] the mess the Kumiho left at Yun Hee's house.
61	* ReligionIsMagic: Yun Hee's charms to ward off evil create [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=92 actual physical barriers]] that the Kumiho is unable to cross.
62	* {{Revenge}}: What the story is all about.
63	* TheShadowKnows: In a few scenes where the Kumiho is shown in human form her shadow reveals her true shape.
64	* SplashOfColor: Used for dramatic effect when Yun Hee is [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=39 looking for Alex]], after learning that Soot Bull was hurt.
65	* TemporaryBulkChange: After gorging himself on Alex's gift of leftover bulgogi, Soot Bull is [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=29 much tubbier than usual.]] Yun Hee even [[LampshadeHanging comments on it]].
66	* ThereIsOnlyOneBed: Alex [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=79 insists on Yun Hee taking the bed]] while he sleeps on the floor when he invites her to stay at his place after the Kumiho turned her home into a crime scene.
67	* TranslationConvention: All Korean spoken in the comic is translated to English, for the readers' convenience. Interestingly, English spoken in the comic, and not Korean, [[TranslationPunctuation is marked by angle brackets.]]
68	* TheVamp: The Kumiho uses the [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=47 attractiveness of her human form]] to bait men.
69	--> '''Victim''': "You shouldn't be out alone at night like this, miss."
70	--> '''Kumiho''': smiling coyly "Is that so?"
71	* WakingUpElsewhere: The opening sequence closes with a classical example, when [[http://thefoxsister.com/index.php?id=8 Yun Hee wakes up in the hospital]].
72	* WebcomicTime: The one-page-per-week update schedule with occasional ScheduleSlip has the story advance by only a few days in-universe in about one and a half years of real time.

Context Webcomic / TheFoxSister