Cuanta Vida



Cuanta Vida (abbreviated CV) is a popular Team Fortress 2 fancomic by Kerry Lynn Thompson, also known as Kytri or Heironymus. It started on October 12th, 2008 and ended on December 9th, 2011 with 159 pages.

The story is centered on a BLU Spy (commonly referred to as Bleu) who has just arrived at 2Fort, though he's never been in a war setting before. Finding the similarities between the BLU and RED corporations suspicious, Bleu begins to investigate, and stumbles upon several hidden places, relationships, and, most importantly, a plan to escape the meaningless fighting...

The comic is well-praised for its storytelling, weaving Bleu's narrations into the main events, and especially well-loved for its characters, who are all far more unique than the TF2 classes they represent. It's also loved for its tame but relatively abundant Ho Yay.

Meet the Team like never before. (Link leads to first page.)

WARNING: It's safe to assume that just about any link on this page contains spoilers. Click at your own risk.

"RED Pyro: So he's as flammable as anyone! I need some lighter fluid!"
 * Air Vent Passageway: Seen here.
 * All There in the Manual: One page's update notes establish that the comic takes place around twenty years after the game. This is the information you need to understand why The Un-Reveal below is, well, an unreveal.
 * All There in the Script: Names of some of the characters. But some of those names were originally revealed here.
 * Anyone Can Die:
 * Apologetic Attacker:
 * Art Evolution
 * Artificial Limbs:  The RED Engineer helps.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: This was before
 * Artistic License Medicine: Of the "We Have To Get The Bullet Out" flavor. Pyro removes a bullet from Scout's arm, though this may be justified as Pyro is (probably) not a doctor.
 * Ax Crazy: RED Pyro,
 * And now BLU Soldier may be added to the list.
 * Balls of Steel: "Bad move, child."
 * Barehanded Blade Block:
 * Bilingual Bonus: Bleu. Bleu means blue. But also means green or rookie. He is a rookie in the BLU team.
 * Boomerang Bigot: The BLU Scout spends most of the comic hurling gay slurs at the BLU Spy.
 * Break the Haughty:  first after being severely burned by the BLU Pyro and again when he fails to heal himself with the RED Medic's medigun, realizing he's going to be heavily scarred.
 * Cassandra Truth: "Well, it could be anyone, right? I could 'ave killed 'im." Luckily for, BLU Heavy thinks he's joking about.
 * Chaste Hero: Bleu.
 * Cluster F-Bomb: BLU Scout.
 * Closet Shuffle: "I seem to be spending a lot more time in closets since I got 'ere."
 * Cold Sniper: No Sniper perfectly fits this trope, but the RED Sniper seems to most closely match.
 * Compressed Hair: How can Bleu fit his hair in his balaclava? Maybe he's trading tips with the, who manages to keep his Elvis hair under his hat.
 * Conflict Ball:
 * Justified, sort of:
 * Crash Into Hello: Bleu and BLU Scout.
 * Cue the Sun: The very last panel.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Bleu, of all people.  He's willingly sacrificing his innocence, and for awhile, his sanity, because he knows the other choice will lead to even worse things.
 * Diabolus Ex Machina:  comes off as this (seriously, what a senseless waste of human life--which may have been the point, but still).
 * Dude in Distress: Bleu, frequently.
 * Driven to Suicide:, though he needed help.
 * Dr. Jerk: The BLU Medic.
 * Eyes Never Lie:
 * Eye Scream:
 * Face Palm: Sniper on panel 7 of this page, and Bleu on panel 5 of this one.
 * Family-Unfriendly Violence
 * Fan Service: Bleu and Scout spend a few pages walking around in their underwear.
 * Fascinating Eyebrow: A number of times, most recently
 * Fate Worse Than Death:  view on being blinded by  ; he is now totally useless at his job.
 * Five-Man Band
 * Configuration One:
 * The Hero: Red
 * The Lancer: Sniper
 * The Smart Guy: RED Engineer
 * The Big Guy: N/A
 * The Chick: RED Scout
 * The Sixth Ranger: Bleu
 * Configuration Two :
 * Funetik Aksent: Anyone who has a noticeable accent.
 * Gay Moment: "So start 'splainin', I can sit here all night." "You don't think this is a bit awkward?"
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Engineer to Bleu on page 122.
 * Go Out with a Smile: In the last panel where the reader can see  face, he is smiling.
 * Gorn: So much of the comic is showing us just what Bleu can live through.
 * Gratuitous Foreign Language: The comic's title is in Spanish, as is the word, meaning "red", and Spies and Medics will occasionally speak basic phrases in their native languages.
 * Green Eyes: Rojo's most striking physical trait.
 * Groin Attack: Scout used Groin Attack! It's not very effective...
 * Handsome Devil: Rojo. Mmmmm, Rojo.
 * Heroic BSOD: Bleu when he realized that he
 * Hey, You: The BLU Scout refuses to address the BLU Spy by anything but gay slurs. However,
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Ho Yay: Bleu and both Scouts (though there's far more with BLU Scout).
 * I Just Shot Marvin in the Face:
 * Irony: Page 97 reveals that
 * If It's You It's Okay: Word of God says that
 * It Got Worse
 * Keet: Both Scouts, but RED Scout especially.
 * Limited Wardrobe: Justified, since the characters wear uniforms, complete with the classic Lampshade Hanging of opening the closet to reveal a row of identical clothes in page 111.. But sometimes the characters are seen in incomplete uniforms.
 * Luminescent Blush: Scout here, and Bleu here.
 * Manly Tears: BLU Sniper when.
 * Man On Fire: Seems to be a prerequisite for being a Spy.
 * Meaningful Name: Arguably, this could apply to TF2 classes as a whole, considering their jobs, but really, the Spies' suits aren't the only indicators of their teams. See Fan Nickname.
 * Missing Mom: Bleu's mother died when he was four.
 * Mistaken for Gay: In a way, when Scout misinterprets a conversation Bleu and Sniper have about the latter's relationship with Red.
 * Mood Whiplash:
 * Nightmare Fetishist: RED Pyro does enjoy admiring the results of his own work.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: BLU Pyro gets a bit touchy-feely with Bleu and Demo.
 * Oblivious to Love: Bleu. See here.
 * Oh Crap:
 * Bleu, after learning, and later again.
 * is paid back in full
 * Only a Flesh Wound:
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: The Pyros seem to be the shortest of the lot, but both carry one of the most frightening and damaging weapons on the field.
 * Pyromaniac: The Pyros. But RED Pyro fits this trope more than its BLU counterpart.
 * Bleu, after learning, and later again.
 * is paid back in full
 * Only a Flesh Wound:
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: The Pyros seem to be the shortest of the lot, but both carry one of the most frightening and damaging weapons on the field.
 * Pyromaniac: The Pyros. But RED Pyro fits this trope more than its BLU counterpart.

""I think of most of the characters as being straight, you just wouldn't notice since there's no women around for them to be straight with.""
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Rojo is looking like this more and more...
 * Reluctant Warrior: Bleu makes an effort to only disarm or incapacitate his opponents rather than kill them while on the job. And that's only when he's desperate.
 * Reused Character Design: Some of the characters of Cuanta Vida will have a small part in Kytri's next comic, This Is the Worst Idea You've Ever Had!, and it's prequel, Sin Pararse.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: Peep-peep! To the point he has his own thread on the forum.
 * Rule of Cool: When asked why the comic was called Cuanta Vida, the artist said that it sounded cool.
 * Sacrificial Lion:
 * Scars Are Forever: Bleu has a rather large burn scar on his back from his first run in with the RED Pyro.
 * Time Marches On: Several updated weapons can be seen as the comic goes onward, such as the Ambassador.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses: BLU Medic has these almost all the time, especially on this page.
 * Shipper on Deck: BLU Heavy, towards
 * And as of the second to last page
 * Shout-Out: Several, throughout the comic, to some rather unexpected things. For instance:
 * pages 152 and 153 both contain subtle references to WarGames. (See the title of the comic and the handwritten list of passwords respectively.)
 * the title of this one is a reference to a Homestuck meme. (Read the comments on this one to see reactions from people posting in character as a number of the trolls, and at least two of the kids.)
 * Situational Sexuality: In the words of the author:
 * the title of this one is a reference to a Homestuck meme. (Read the comments on this one to see reactions from people posting in character as a number of the trolls, and at least two of the kids.)
 * Situational Sexuality: In the words of the author:


 * Sir Swearsalot: BLU Scout swears more than every other character combined!
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: Red and Sniper -- they're of opposite teams, after all.
 * Super Window Jump: Drrn.
 * Technical Pacifist: Bleu.
 * : Bleu and BLU Scout.
 * Together in Death:, according to Word of God.
 * Tsundere: is type A for BLU spy.
 * The Big Damn Kiss: On the penultimate page.
 * Doubles as a "Shut Up" Kiss.
 * The Unintelligible: The Pyros, naturally.
 * Unreliable Narrator: "I may 'ave left a few things out."
 * The Un-Reveal:
 * Unseen Audience:
 * Unsound Effect: Frequently. One of the earliest and funniest may be *ignore*.
 * Verbal Tic: In the beginning of the comic, BLU Scout couldn't go a single panel without shouting a homophobic slur. To the point where the artist herself jokingly thought he might have Tourette's.
 * Villainous Breakdown:
 * Visible Invisibility: The "shown as an outline" variety is how Spy cloaking watches are rendered.
 * Waistcoat of Style: Bleu have done this a couple of times.
 * Wham! Episode: Here. count as well. After all,   but
 * What Could Have Been: Cuanta Vida could have started very differently.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: BLU Heavy is disgusted by the thought that RED Heavy doesn't protect RED Medic.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Both Soldiers.
 * What the Hell Is That Accent?: What is the second red spy's accent supposed to be?!
 * Word of God says it's Basque.
 * Why Did It Have To Be Fire: Bleu tells early on of a childhood fear of fire.
 * Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises:
 * Bleu, Later, when the RED Pyro scares the living daylight out of him on page 97.
 * Even
 * Bleu again, after.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:
 * You Always Hear the Bullet: There's usually a sound effect whenever a gun is fired.