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Counter-clockwise from the middle: Amethyst Lashiec,Teodora Radinov, Lilium Lashiec, Royce Lashiec, Lutz Langriss II

"Goddamn, why are you so weird?"
Lutz to Ame

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.

As of late 2013, the first few chapters are being remade since the author wants to make improvements to the story both in terms of writing and drawing. Many of the older pages can be found in her DeviantArt page linked above.

Has very little to do with Heart Drive.


Tropes used include:

  • 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.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: For the remade first chapters, Suko has recived a darker shade of pink for her hair and dress. Her horns has also grown much taller and gone from red to black.
  • 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 HeartCore, 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.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Among the charges Royce brings against Ame are disorderly conduct, harassment, vandalism, conspiracy to commit treason, extortion, and three counts of grand theft (one of those counts involving Royce's birthday cake).
    "But grand theft? You have a birthday cake every day!"
  • Art Evolution: Compare 2009 with 2013 and you are sure to see some differences.
  • Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel sorry for the first humans that Ame killed in New Ayers while in disguise, considering that they were not only going to mug her, but also rape her. And since it was mentioned that they were killed in an area where these things are not too uncommon, one can consider this proof that this wasn't their first time doing something similar to other people.
  • Ass Kicking Pose: A rather alluring one at the end of the first remade chapter.
  • 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.
  • Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: To quote the author, "...Trying to get Carval to pay attention...an exercise in futility ."
  • Author Appeal: Pretty much all the tropes related to female figures. 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.
    • Also, docking. Lots (NSFW) and lots (NSFW) and lots (safe) of docking.
    • A couple of the adult-themed incentive image packs also confirms Welker to be a fan of tentacles.
    • She also likes drawing Pimped-Out Dresses, which can be displayed on the amount of detail she puts into them.
  • Author Avatar: Once again, Ame
  • Bad Ass In A Nice Suit: To this point, Volsater seems to be the one who fullfills this trope the most.
  • Battle Amongst the Flames: One young beastman attempts to do this against Volaster during his rampage in the Beastman Capital. It doesn't last long for the poor mortal or anyone else who tried to fight the Salamander Demon.
  • Beam-O-War: Ame/Lilium has one of these against an empowered Royce.
  • Be Careful What You Say: When Ame is locked up in a dungeon in Asgar, waiting to be escorted to a court martial, Asmodai appears. She says she would rather have anyone but him to escort her, but he then reminds her that the one who was originally meant to pick her up was Slade. Her reaction clearly shows that having Asmodai around is for the better.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Royce is set off when Ame blows up the blood storage.
    • Royce really likes his birthday cakes. Stealing his cakes is considered grand theft.
    • 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. And may God help you if you decide to harm Suko.
    • Unless you want your forehead to have a date with Teodora's warhammer, don't remind her about the fact that she has the smallest breasts in the entire cast.
    • Goristro does NOT take it well if anybody hurts Emerald, even if it is an opponent that he stands no chanse in hell against.
    • When Volaster is telling a story, you better damn listen to every word he has to say! His "son" learned it the hard way!
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Carval might be a childish nutjob, but that doesn't mean that he can't set an entire city block on fire all by himself.
  • BFS: Goristros weapon of choise is a massive sword that he can pull out of his body.
  • Bicep-Polishing Gesture: Ame, after getting healed up by Heartcores. (Warning: NSFW)
  • Big Eater: Emerald has shown to be this, considering her MASSIVE order at a fast food joint.
    • Royce as well, but he's more into fancy foods. Hell, the man has a birthday cake every day and is constantly served one-man buffets.
  • Big Fancy Castle: Fitting for any demon king. The interior is pretty sweet too.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Lashiecs, full-stop. Royce and Ame used to get along swimmingly, until Royce forcibly drained Ame's power and scarred her. Suko and Ame get along well, but while Suko doesn't quarrel with Royce like Ame does, he's doesn't care much for her either. He also forces a brainwashed Ame to nearly kill her, which did jack-diddly to improve Ame's opinion of him. Her mother, Lilium, is not a fan or Royce, either. Not to mention, Carval is her half-brother, being created from Royce's union with Volaster; and he's certainly not above blowing Ame into smithereens.
  • Big "SHUT UP!": In chapter 8, Ame has started to get enough of Volaster's 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.
  • Big Sister Instinct: It's made rather clear that Ame is very protective of her sister Suko.
  • Bizarre Alien Reproduction: According to Volaster:
    "...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 or when they get enraged. Particularly powerful demons like Lilium and Volaster have permanently black eyes, even when calm.
  • Blank White Eyes: Asmodai should have been more careful about where he was placing his fingers.
  • 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 beginning 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.
  • Bouncing Battler: Along with Flash Step, this is one of Slade's powers.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Ame, after having had a spell cast on her by Royce.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Teodora, Lutz, and Carval.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: During the trial of the first remade chapter:
    Royce: ...Extorting the castle staff, wich lead three seperate counts of Grand Theft...
    Ame: Waaaait a minute! I only recall two things that could've landed me Grand Theft.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Lutz ends up doing this to keep the comic's content from getting risky.
  • Bribe Backfire: During the trial, it is revealed that Ame tried to bribe Lutz with a game console in order to get out of Asgard. Sadly for her, he took the bribe, but then ratted her out in an instant without living up to his part of the deal.
  • Bridal Carry: Knowing that Slade is after them, Ame decided that the best way to get Suko out of harms way was to carry her like this.
  • Bullying a Dragon: So, Ame. You thought that the best course of action in order to take on Carval/Volaster in his One-Winged Angel form was to press every Berserk Button that he had to offer? That's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for her! The result was a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown where Carval/Volaster nearly killed Ame with little effort.
    • Teo also loves to mock Ame, especially when the older demoness is locked in a cage. One Death Glare from Ame is enough to make her back off, though.
  • Butt-Monkey: Lutz as well as Asmodai in the remade chapters.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Has there ever been a day since that painful ritual that Ame hasn't done this? She pretty much dedicates all of her time in the castle just to piss off Royce in any way possible, whether it includes stealing his cakes, ruining his artwork, or trying to overthrow him.
  • 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.
  • The Cameo: The characters in the RPG that Lutz plays on page 221 are actually from another webcomic called "Pirate Madeline"
  • Catchphrase: Lutz's line, from which the page quote comes.
  • Cel Shading
  • Censor Steam: Expect this to be seen in nearly any shower/bathscene/Mind Rape scene.
  • Character Tic: Ame likes to lick her chops a lot.
  • Chick Magnet: Asmodai. Considering that he can satisfy a handful of ladies without taking of his clothes, that should say something.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Asmodai. He is an incubus, afterall.
  • *Click* Hello: Ryo does this to Emerald on page 301.
  • Clothing Combat: Ame has the ability to use her loincloth as a weapon.
  • Combat Sadomasochist: Slade; oh god, SLADE.
  • Conflicting Loyalty: Asmodai has this problem with Ame and Royce. In one hand he still has great feelings for Ame, but on the other hand, he has to be loyal to Royce if he wishes to keep his status and life. A fact that Royce makes very clear.
  • Continuity Reboot: Dissatisfied with how the comic was originally going, the author restarted the comic from the first chapter in 2013.
  • Cross-Popping Veins: Ame gets one of these when Emerald insults her for liking Royal Jelly Complex.
  • Cute Bookworm: Considering that she is a princess and that her muse is books, Suko seems to fit this trope pretty well.
  • Cute Bruiser: Teodora. Adorable little girl who fights with a giant crystal hammer!
  • Cute Little Fangs: All characters thus far, except Ryo and Gimlett.
  • 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.
  • Daddy's Girl: Ame thought she was this towards Royce. Boy, was she wrong.
    • Suko on the other hand, seems to be much more favored by their father. Then again, he's perfectly ok with punishing her for things that Ame did.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Having his mother die of illness, growing up poor, and getting his ass kicked for stealing while only being a mortal child was enough to cause Volaster to blow up his home, which 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.
  • Deadly Gas: The atmosphere outside of domed cities such as New Ayers is invariably lethal to humans. Demons and beastmen, however, are immune.
  • Death Glare: Ryo hands these out like candy.
  • Death Seeker: Ryo is implied to be this, considering how she jumped from the top of a skyscraper, only to be annoyed when saved by Syranon. In fact, she has done this many times without dying.
  • 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.
  • Demon Lords And Arch Devils: The Overfiends. Most of the characters we have seen from Asgard are this.
  • 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.
  • The Dreaded: Slade. Even Ame fears the mere thought of even being escorted by the guy!
  • Dying Declaration of Love: Subverted and Played for Laughs when Goristro thinks that Ame has mortally wounded Emerald. Ame snaps him out of it with a kick to the back of his head.
  • Egopolis: The different realms are named after the demon that founded each realm. The ninth realm, where most of the story takes place, is named after Lilium, Ame's mother.
  • Elemental Powers: Magic is divided into eight schools: fire, ice, electricity, nature, earth, psychic, holy, and dark.
  • Enfant Terrible: Teo and Carval are the youngest of the Overfiends and among the meanest.
  • Erotic Eating: Ame likes BBQ Sauce. And we mean she REALLY likes BBQ sauce.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Even Asmodai is slightly appalled by Slade's battle tactics. In fact, none of the other Overfiends like Slade.
    • Ame has a philosophy in procuring Heartcores: "Pick someone they won't miss". She demonstrates this when she kills some would-be rapists for their Heartcores.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Lutz appears to have this problem, with people merely referring to him by his title rather than by his given name.
  • Everyone Is Bi: Word of God states bisexuality is common among demons.
  • Every Scar Has a Story: How the webcomic begins. It shows how Ame, once a happy and cheerful princess, was forced into a permanently scarring ritual by her father, costing her much of her powers and leaving her with large scars on her face and arms that never healed.
  • Evil Redhead: Royce. Are you really suprised by that answer?
  • Eyepatch of Power: Royce gets one after his battle with Ame/Lilium.
  • Eye Scream: Slade doesn't hesitate to puncture one of Ame's eyes during his fight with her.
  • Facial Markings: Goristro sports some in his redesign.
  • Fangs Are Evil: Again, the vast majority of characters thus far are demons.
  • Fanservice: Considering that one of the main characters is a succubus, this trope is bound to happen a couple of times through the series.
  • Fantastic Nuke: Volaster turned himself into one to destroy the Beastman capital and wipe out most of the Beastman race.
  • Fire, Ice, Lightning: The Lashiecs, Asmodai and Teo, and Slade.
  • 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.
  • Flash Step: Slade is very good at this.
  • Flat "What": Ryo's reaction when she discovers that Ame doesn't remember her.
  • Food Porn: Considering that Royce's muse is food, then of course he would be eating stuff that you wish you could gorge into.
  • 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.
  • Freakiness Shame: A fandom example. Though Ame isn't directly ashamed of her scars, they still serve as a reminder of what Royce did to her so many years ago (though she isn't too comfortable of showing them off too much, especially the ones on her arms). Most fans seems to think that she's prettier with them, often mistaking it for regular body paint due to the artsytle of the comic.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Volaster, from a common thief in a small town to Overfiend.
  • Frying Pan of Doom: Suko tries to use this against Slade when he is beating down Ame. It does nothing but a small cut on his face wile giving him a new target to attack.
  • Funetik Aksent: Slade has a Scottish accent, for whatever reason.
  • Gem Heart: The eponymous Heartcores are created by using demonic powers to corrupt a human heart, changing it into a crystalline mass that demons can eat to replenish and strengthen their own Heartcores. It is the source of their power, and their weakness: its destruction or removal will kill the demon.
    • Heartcores can be found in other creatures as well, such as mice, but they are often of a far lesser quality in terms of power when compared to that of humans.
  • Gemstone Assault: Teodora's giant crystal hammer has a tendency to lodge sharp pieces into whatever she strikes.
  • Ghibli Hills: Nifelhiem appears to be as such.
  • Glass Cannon: Teodora. She sure knows how to swing a giant hammer crystal around, but considering her young age (well, by demon terms at least), 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.
  • Graceful Ladies Like Purple: In the remade chapters, Suko seems very fond of applying this color to her attire and appearance.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Emerald becomes an example of this trope when Ryo ignores her at the sight of Ame.
  • Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: The team of Ryo and Syranon. While Syranon is a paladin who prefers swords and holy magic to do the trick, Ryo relies on a wide variety of guns.
  • Hartman Hips: Most members of the female cast tend to have this, including Teodora.
  • Having a Blast: Carval, who appears to be able to make bombs with vials of his blood.
  • Heart Drive: The epynomous Heartcores.
  • The High Queen: According to Histroy Of Nifleheim, things were a lot more stable around Asgard and the sorounding lands when Lilium was around. Take a guess how everything went once Royce killed her and took complete control.
  • Hot as Hell: Applies to Royce, along with most of the cast.
  • Hot Witch: Lilium, in addition to being one of the most powerful women to have ever lived in the demonic realms, is also amongst the most beautiful. Two good reasons as to why Royce married her before mortally wounding her in an attempt to eat her Heartcore.
  • Hunter Of Her Own Kind]]: It is heavily implied that Ryo is a demon, considering how Emerald refered to her as a "Dretch" and how she seems to have powers beyond that of most mortals.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Between Lutz/Suko and a Royce-possessed Ame.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each chapter is named after video game music. To wit:
    Chapter 1: Sinful Rose
    Chapter 2: Cashmere Cannonball
    Chapter 3: Wounded Warsong
    Chapter 4: Nostalgia in Solitude
    Chapter 5: Alien Power
    Chapter 6: Neocity
    Chapter 7: Dangerous Zone
    Chapter 8: Outride a Crisis
    Chapter 9: Force Your Way
  • Important Haircut: Ame cuts her hair short when she becomes her current personality.
  • It Amused Me: The reason to why Royce nearly crashed a giant chandelier over Asmodai's head before the trial.
  • Invocation: Magical spells in Heartcore require an invocation to use. For simple spells like Ame's Fireball, this is as simple as saying "Fireball!" For more complex spells like Devil Drive, the caster needs to recite the spell's incantation first, then call its name.
  • Jerkass:
    • Royce, oh dear GOD, Royce.
    • Slade seems to be competing for Royce's Jerkass throne. The guy is willing to kill his own allies just for the sake of fun and curiosity.
  • Kangaroo Court: In the remade chapters, Royce decides to put Ame infront one of these with all of the Overfiends watching.
    Royce: I, Royce Lashiec, Demon King of The Ninth Realm, shall be both the prosecution and the final judgement in all of this as our law decrees.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: At one point, Emerald has Ame in a good position to shoot her in the head with a shotgun and does think highly of the possibility to do so. However, once Ame reminds her that there is a good chance that she will shrug off the shots (considering how she just survived an encounter with an Overfiend Salamander Demon) and retaliate horrifically, Emerald takes the option of leaving instead.
  • Oblivious to Love: Syranon seems rather unaware of the fact that Gimlett is a bit of a fangirl for him.
  • Official Couple: Ame/Syranon, according to Word of God (NSFW). Counts as Truth in Television, since the characters' creators are married.
  • 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.
    • When Ame learns that Asmodai called in a favor to escort her to her court martial because the only alternative was Slade, she has this look on her face, accompanied by a mushroom explosion in the background of the panel.
  • 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. Sadly, she didn't have the guts to pull off the kill in case Ame would survive.
  • Our Demons Are Different: Demons are capable of Bizarre Alien Reproduction with one another, their exact demonic species notwithstanding. They can also be divided into one of three classes:
    • First-class demons were once mortal, but shed their humanity by committing atrocities. Most demons in the story are first-class: Volaster, in particular, became a demon after razing his hometown.
    • Second-class demons are children/reincarnations of past demons. Ame qualifies, being the child of Lilium.
    • Third-class demons, like first-class demons, are former mortals who were converted into demons by another demon.
  • Out-of-Clothes Experience
  • The Paladin: Due to him wearing an armor with bright colors and having mastery of holy magic, one can say that Syranon is one of these.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: This is how Ame intends to gather Heartcores now that she is in New Ayers, thinking that nobody will care if she only kills criminals. Too bad for her that investigations were still made after she killed her first victims, leading to Demon Hunters Ryo and Syranon to get on the case.
  • Persona Non Grata: We're guessing Ame won't be going back to Asgard anytime soon.
  • Psycho Electro: Slade is this in a nutshell.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: Suko, as well as younger Ame. Teodora also has one during the remake of the first chapters.
  • Pointy Ears: So far, the only character without pointy ears is Gimlett.
  • Pretty Princess Powerhouse: Ame, considering how this once happy and cheerful young royal had to fight every overfiend in order to escape Asgard.
  • Pyromaniac: 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.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Most of the cast being demons, this comes as no surprise. Also, Ryo.
  • Rebellious Princess: Two of them, technically.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Slade. Also Emerald, but only if you make her jealous enough.
  • 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.
  • Requisite Royal Regalia: Color-coded for each overfiend, no less.
  • Revenge: A prevailing theme throughout the story; Ame's rebellion against her father is out of revenge for stealing her life force to complete a possession spell. Same for Volaster, as revenge played a large role in his becoming a demon.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: Meefus, creatures that are an adorable cross between bees and cats. Oh, and they drink blood.
  • Ritual Magic: It is used from time to time in the show, mostly regarding the most powerful spells in the comic. The most notable one being the ritual that scarred Ame for life.
  • Rule 34: Donation incentives often include porn of Ame, which the author, herself, draws.
  • Royal Brat: Let's just say that Teo is rather used with getting things her way and reacting violently when they don't.

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