It's not just a game...
Cutie Clash
is an imageboard-based Interactive Comic that is inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. It is currently a Dead Fic, having begun on April 25, 2015 and lasting 16 chapters with no continuation since August 3 of the same year.
An intense virtual reality dueling game, Cutie Clash, has taken Equestria by storm. And Tactic, who once thought of it as just a silly gimmick, has become addicted to the rush of victory and risen to be a popular competitor in a big-league tournament. However, it's not all fun and games behind the scenes; antagonism between opponents is still present when the matches are over, and there's a couple of miscreants trying to make a profit from bullying and extortion. There's also a rumor that some crazed organization is planning to cause mayhem by infecting the game with a deadly virus...which Tactic discovers is all too real when he meets the virus inside of his own headset.
Tropes used:
- Affectionate Nickname: Tactic is often called "Tic-Tac" by Carver, his good friend and emotional support.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The virus in Tactic's helmet claims to be able to kill him should he ever lose a match. However, she also grows affectionate towards him, and wants to be his "waifu" despite not knowing what the term actually means. It's later revealed that she was never intended to be a virus, and isn't actually capable of killing.
- Air-Vent Passageway: Owl Eyes' preferred method of getting around, which unfortunately leaves her quite dirty.
- Balanced Harem: Tactic ends up with multiple girls finding some form of attraction to him, such as Carver (who he sleeps with), Vivi the virus (who he plays around with), Charmlette (who he spars with), and Owl Eyes (who he bathes with).
- Bathtub Bonding: Tactic ends up washing the grime out of Owl Eyes twice, and even joins her in the bathtub the second time, though Owl Eyes is more concerned about him accidentally choking on soap than anything intimate.
- Big Bad: Decker, a gang leader with anti-Cutie Clash sentiments that possibly connects him to the deadly virus.
- Breakout Character: In the archive's "fanart" section (which includes pictures by the comic's creator), the amount dedicated to Owl Eyes is overwhelming compared to everyone else, to the point that she's used to represent the series more often than main protagonist Tactic.
- The Bully: Short Fuse, in addition to repeatedly antagonizing Tactic, turns out to have also been abusing her "acquaintance" Owl Eyes to help pay off a personal debt.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Carver has some very strong feelings towards Tactic, which are only intensified when he decides to flirt with her. And while he makes it clear that he doesn't want to have a serious relationship with her until his current issues are all sorted out, he doesn't want to string her along if he decides to not commit to her, and still cares about her to the point that he's comfortable sharing a bed...and bodily fluids.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Averted with Charmlette; she's turned on by participating in a Cutie Clash match, but the battles are not meant to harm the players, so her reaction to actual pain is left unknown.
- Creepy Loner Girl: Owl Eyes starts off as one. However, repeated interactions with Tactic and Carver tone it down a little, as they become her first real friends.
- Cute Mute: Double Cone, Short Fuse's little sister. However, she does speak once: when her sister is murdered.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Tactic ends up spending quality time with both Charmlette and Double Cone after beating them in different rounds of the Cutie Clash Championship.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Tactic ends up drinking a lot of cider after Short Fuse's death.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Owl Eyes is first introduced invading Charmlette's room to meet Tactic, but doesn't get any development until a couple of chapters later.
- Femme Fatale: Charmlette, Tactic's second opponent in the Cutie Clash Championship, is also a notorious flirt that gets turned on by virtual fighting.
- Finishing Move: In a Cutie Clash match, removing 2 out of an opponent's 3 hit points supercharges your own weapon and allows for these. It's brought up that this could be seen as slightly unfair for the other party, but it's often ignored in favor of giving Cutie Clash fans a spectacle to look at.
- For the Evulz: Decker doesn't actually need the cash that Short Fuse owes him, but loves watching her squirm and getting to punish her when she fails to make payments on time.
- The Heart: Carver, who wasn't skilled enough to participate in the tournament, but provides emotional support to Tactic and the other players he befriends.
- Insecure Love Interest: Carver, due to a string of prior bad relationships.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: Whether she's winning or losing, nothing quite excites Charmlette like a good fight.
- Irony: Owl Eyes doesn't actually like owls.
- Killed Off for Real: Short Fuse, killed by a glass shard Tactic intended to use on Decker.
- Love Martyr: Carver has dated other "bad boy" types like Tactic in the past, but her relationships tended to fall apart because she'd rather be taken advantage of than risk losing them.
- Mad Scientist: The programmer A.I. is thought to be one by the local police, having been charged with creating a computer virus that can kill ponies in virtual reality. When he makes an appearance, it turns out he's just a nerd who was strong-armed by a malevolent gang into modifying his "virtual girlfriend" program for ill intent. And he didn't even give it the capacity to actually kill.
- My Greatest Failure: Tactic gets one when Short Fuse dies, since it was at least partly due to him taunting Decker over how little he had to gain over just abusing others.
- Ominous Owl: Invoked by Owl Eyes.
- Personality Powers: The "Cutie" in "Cutie Clash" comes from every player's weapon being a manifestation of their Cutie Mark, such as Charmlette's charm bracelet whip.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: After they first meet as opponents in the Championship, Tactic tells the small filly Double Cone that she's been the closest to beating him since he first started playing.
- Plug 'n' Play Friends: Tactic spends at least two threads/chapters really getting to know Owl Eyes when she tries to abduct him. When he wakes up the next morning, he sees her and Carver instantly befriending each other.
- Secret-Keeper: Charmlette is the first to learn of Tactic's virus during an unofficial sparring match, and agrees to keep it a secret and avoid getting him disqualified from the tournament for safety concerns, in exchange for him keeping quiet about...exactly how much the battle turned her on. Later on, Carver also finds out about the virus and agrees to keep quiet, though it helps that she learns of it during the reveal that it isn't capable of harming Tactic in any way.
- Sinister Scythe: Tactic's weapon of choice.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Tactic's Clash helmet is shaped like a bird skull.
- Sweet Tooth: Carver has a bad habit of picking ice cream over more filling meals.
- Tagalong Kid: Double Cone, though she's not really tagging along with Tactic until her sister is dead.
- Weapon Specialization: Charmlette uses blades on a charm bracelet whip as her main weapon.
- Wham Episode: Thread/Chapter 14, in which we are introduced to Decker, and Short Fuse is murdered.
