Sister Claire

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Claire shows off her Holy Watergun

Pregnant nun, Holy Crap!

Sister Claire is a web comic by Elena Barabrich (a.k.a Yamino). The genre is dramatic/bizarro comedy, and the series takes heavy inspiration from Junko Mizuno, The Powerpuff Girls, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. Known for its hidden Easter Eggs and homages, Sister Claire is definitely a Shout-Out comic.

Sister Claire is a novice nun, and all she ever wanted was a purpose in life, and a kitty would be nice, too. But when a beautiful blue businesswoman explodes out her toilet and tells her she's pregnant with the new Messiah, this Celibate Heroine realizes she may be in for more than she bargained for: a kaleidoscopic adventure to protect her miraculous baby (and possibly the universe.)

Sister Claire's best friend and mentor, Sister Catharine, is unfortunately extremely allergic to cats, which is why Claire is forbidden to play with them. Unfortunately for Catharine, Claire can't seem to stay away from her best cat-friend Snowy for long, and this brings down harsh punishment from the terrifying Sister Marguerite, who finds every excuse to torment Claire with cruel and creative punishments.

Claire initially crumbles under the guilt of accidentally aggravating Catharine's cat allergies and from the pressure of becoming the mother of the new Messiah. (Her pregnancy is confirmed by a flurry of strange blue babies, who turn out to be rather disposable.) The plot thickens as Sister Catharine appears to be stalked by an evil Cheshire-like cat, who eventually possesses her, turning her into the evil Sister Cat.

After temporarily defeating Sister Cat with her holy Watergun, Claire begins her training in Nun Fu. And as the story continues, it's revealed that there's more going on then let on and much bigger threats on the horizon coming Clarie's way. Will her newfound training see her through before the birth of her child?

Updated Mondays (bar any last minute interruptions or planned trips. Along with other projects, Yamino's still in college. You know how it is).

Tropes used in Sister Claire include:

• Ambiguous Gender: Grim, the Cheshire looking cat. Yamino has stated that Grim doesn't have a specific gender and is mostly refer to as an "it".
• Ambiguously Gay: Gabrielle makes a few subtle passes at Claire. But then again, maybe her real form isn't even female?
  • Later comic pages, however, have Gabrielle being as subtle as a flying mallet
• Ambiguously Human: Sister Catherine, even when she's not being possessed by an evil cat.
• Arc Words: NO ESCAPE
• Author Avatar: If Yamino needs a random-ass background character to throw up or otherwise humiliate themselves melodramatically, she'll usually just draw herself.
• Because Destiny Says So
• Catgirl: Sister Cat A.K.A Grim
• Cerebus Syndrome: It begins to be hinted at around here things are not as bright or silly as they appear. And then the witch trial begins...
• The Chew Toy: Poor Claire just can't catch a break.
• Chewing the Crockery
• The Chosen One: Claire is chosen as the mother of the Messiah by Gabrielle.
• Conveniently an Orphan: Claire's true origins haven't been explained yet, but she was found on the doorstep of the abbey by Sister Catherine.
  • It was later hinted that Sister Catharine might actually be Claire's mother. This also somewhat explains how Catharine had the pregnancy test.
• Demonic Possession Grim (the Cheshire looking cat) to Catharine though going by the ritual and Catherine's words later on, this seems like a willing one. Grim claims its a permanent one though he could be lying. What's more Grim can only take over at night while Catherine regains her body during the day.
• Door Step Baby: Sister Claire.
• Dead Baby Comedy: Sister Claire accidentally squishes a Bubble Boy with her bare hands, but they turn out to be "rather replaceable," in Gabrielle's words.
• Easter Egg: Yamino loves throwing in homages and references for readers to find. Some are more subtle, others are direct homages, such as the Powerpuff Girls 10th anniversary page, featuring Claire and the PPG sharing a cake.
• Femme Fatalons: Sister Cat.
• Finger-Lickin' Evil: Sister Cat on this page.
  • Evil Cat on this page.
• Filler: Gabrielle taking Claire to an undersea nightspot in order to relax. It's a good kind of filler, though, building character and the relationship between the two characters
• Friend to All Living Things: Sister Claire loves all animals, but especially cats. She's a vegetarian for this reason.
  • Turns out the cat thing might not be coincidence.
• Gonk: Would this count?
• Have You Tried Not Being a Monster?: The twins, even going so far as to have deliberate Yuri symbolism all over them. But in their case, it's not forbidden love (...maybe) but forbidden psychic powers.
• Hostile Show Takeover: This. ^{[dead link]}
• Hulking Out: Justified Oh Crap face is justified.
• I Have Many Names: Gabrielle
• Jerkass: Sister Marguerite, AND FUCKING HOW.
  • The artist admitted that Marguerite was based on a nun teacher she once had. She does say she knows that not all nuns are so scary.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover going nearly to Crazy Cat Lady extremes.
• Knight Templar: A few of the nuns toward withcraft. Even if said person isn't truly evil. Justified as the older nuns are still reeling from a war with witches and know that there are some still out there. Considering Clarie's case, this is tragically ironic.
• Les Yay: Word of God even Lampshades it here. Also can carry into Twincest between Rosalie and Marie.
• Little Hero, Big War
• The Messiah
• Ms. Fanservice: While Claire's uniform doesn't allow her to be fanservice-y, she is shot from cute angles from time to time. Gabrielle and Sister Cat, are better examples of this trope.
• Non-Indicative Name: The order Claire belongs to is called the "Sisters of Mercy", so, naturally, they're actually battle nuns who train to fight evil with violence rather than, say, Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
• Noodle Incident: Claire has reputedly almost killed Catharine by accident several times, including the unexplained "watermelon incident."
  • Depending on your definition of canon (or what you include in your own personal fanon), this guest strip may or may not reveal the truth behind said incident.
• Nuns-N-Rosaries
• Nuns Are Mikos
• Nuns Are Spooky
• Nun-Too-Holy
• Obviously Evil: Evil Cat
  • We now have an offical name for her (him?); Grim
• Panty Shot: A minor one on page 100, and two in a row on pages 160 and 161.
• Rule of Three: The Trinity plays a large role in most aspects of the story.
• Schedule Slip: Yamino tries to update her comic on schedule, but she has the occasional slip. Usually she posts to the blog daily and previews/fanart to provide some fresh content in the meantime.
• Sexy Mentor: Sister Catherine. AND Gabrielle.
• Shout-Out: To Rose of Versailles with Sisters Rosalie, Antoinette and Oscar.
  • One is done for The Last Supper, in this comic. Yamino lampshades it in her notes, commenting that the nuns all ran to Claire's side of the table, because they always wanted to pose like that.
  • A good many are made to Star Wars, like this one.
  • One of Claire's books is Defense Against the Dark Arts.
  • The title page of Chapter 2 calls back to The Graduate.
  • Anytime the nuns' students are shown, pay attention; one of them might be Yamino, and the rest are invariably cameo appearances by characters from shows Yamino is particularly into, like Panty and Stocking, or human versions of ponies.
  • Also, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee have made an appearance as students. On the same page, you can also see Ema Skye and Maya Fey.
  • Osaka and Chiyo-chan are seen in the front row on this page.
    • As well as statues of Avatar Aang and Korra!
  • The sequence in the above link gives off a feel like The Crucible.
  • The Smurfs and Tintin here.
  • One of the new banner ads features a kitten dressed up like Nepeta, with the phrase "Got Kitten!" (a reference to the "Got Tiger" meme).
    • Yet another banner ad is drawn in the style of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, with reference to blue ladies.
  • Chuck from Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt can be found here. It's not all that surprising a shout out to that would appear here, really.
  • Several popular cats can be seen on the roof here.
  • ...And Zoidberg here.
  • Here's a fun one. "It's time to save Catharine and live up to FULL-LIFE CONSEQUENCES!"
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Catharine claims Sister Marguerite is one, but it's becoming increasingly apparent that she just really misses her job as a witch hunter, and Claire's mistakes are just convenient excuses to vent her pent-up sadism.
• Sssssnaketalk: Subverted. He has a lisp.
• Strange Syntax Speaker: Talk like Yoda, Mother Superior does.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: "There's nothing suspicious or weird happening!"
• Tears of Blood: Here
• Three Faces of Eve
• Took a Level In Badass: Claire. Their first meeting versus their second.
• Torture Technician: Sister Marguerite, apparently.

When it comes to pain, I'm a professional. And I love my job.

• Valley Girl: Sisters Rosalie and Marie talk like them.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: After immaculately conceiving the Messiah, Claire is sick.
  • As is Yamino, when she sees an opportunity to use theatrics to save the world from Sister Marguerite.
• Virgin Power
• Wacky Cravings: Om nom wooden mugs nom nom.
  • Wooden crosses and wooden rulers are good eating, as well.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Most of the nuns such as Olga and Marguerite and, according to Catharine, Grim.
• What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?: Despite the cute and colorful style, the comic has an edgy quality that may not be suitable for children.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: And again, Sister Claire.
• Write What You Know: See Jerkass.
• Zettai Ryouiki: Grade C on Sister Claire.