“You are in on the secret. Safety now lies in knowledge.” — Spoilers for Devil in the Details follow.
A list of various tropes that can be found in the Good Intentions series by Elliott Kay.
The tropes are primarily cross-referenced to Tropedia. Tropes that are present in two or more works are only listed under § General. The list of tropes is conservative due to the general vagueness in definitions that many trope sites have. Off-page tropes are normally not included.
General[]
- Absence of Evidence: An issue when investigating supernatural crime.
- Jason draws attention to the issue of proving the murder of a vampire when the vampire doesn’t leave any identifiable remains.[1]
- Evan’s cleaning spell is simple, easy, and removes all biological and most physical evidence. It still leaves shell casings and larger non-organic objects, leaving an experienced investigator mystified.[2]
- Acceptable Targets: Everyone looks down on the vampires.
- Ancient Conspiracy: Both the vampires and the Family has been around in secret for a very long time, but in both cases they seem to use most of their power to keep secret.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Often used in the content warnings used for the books and collections, with the last example being humorous or suspiciously specific.
- Astral Projection:
- Aura Vision: Being able to see or otherwise perceive auras. Onyx is an expert in seeing and understanding auras. Rachel often describes auras using smell rather than sight, and Lorelei sometimes use taste. Timothy has an inherent ability to see the auras of angels.[5] See also ¶ Supernatural Sensitivity.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: True for angels, as an angel with higher authority or certain roles will have greater access to power from Heaven.[6] Having more power does however not necessarily mean being more willing to kick ass.
- Auto Erotica examples:
- Rachel riding Alex as he drives through the Iraqi desert.[7]
- Alex fingering Lorelei at the border crossing to Canada.[8]
- Carrie planned to use her car for a tryst with Alex, but she had to park too far away.[9]
- Rachel fellating Alex in the car as he served as the lookout and getaway driver for Lorelei.[10]
- An Axe to Grind:
- Skorri, Bjorn, and Unferth—of Viking origin—are all expert axe throwers and used it as a primary weapon.
- Alex has inherited Skorri’s skill with the axe.
- Sunday uses her hatchet as her primary melee weapon, but is also an expert in throwing it.
- Ballroom Blitz:
- Gabriel and his friends arrive at Sherri’s party, intent on beating up Alex.[11]
- Inverted in the case of the Battle of Blackthorne Manor, as it is the heroes who violently interrupt the gathering of villains.[12]
- The Light bringing out the guns and then opening a portal to Hell during the Practitioner meeting, causing the Battle of the Casino.[13]
- The Family party—another villains gathering—breaks down, first with Gerhardt Stein challenging Alex to a duel and then Rachel crashing the party. Wade sets off an improvised bomb in the basement as an encore.[14]
- Beware My Stinger Tail: The tail of most demons can be used as a cutting or stabbing weapon, and Lorelei is an expert in its use. In some cases it is venomous.[15] See also ¶ Prehensile Tail.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Having sex with a succubus brings “beneficial changes”.[16]
- Black Bra and Panties, as Lorelei likes to show off in black lingerie.
- Blackmail: Several examples.
- Bleached Underpants: Some of the stories were first serialized and released on Literotica.
- Good Intentions initially had rather more scenes involving sex or kink.
- “Naked Justice” lost an entire subplot involving Kevin’s sex life.
- In comparison, Halloween for Life was left mostly unchanged in quantity and quality of sex.
- Bridal Carry:
- Car Fu examples:
- Casual Kink: Lorelei regularly does sexual domination games with both Alex and Rachel. She also uses her power of mind control against Alex for sexual purposes, but also encourages him to dominate her as her master.[24][25] They have safe words but also enjoy more vanilla forms of sex. See also ¶ Spank the Cutie.
- Catch Phrase examples:
- “Got it” is used frequently.
- “Spooky” is often used to refer to the supernatural.
- The Cavalry: Daniel, Jon, Julia, and Marvin during the Battle of Blackthorne Manor.[12]
- Charm Person: A common supernatural ability, found among angels, demons, and vampires. Frequent exposure can cause mind damage or lead to a resistance developing.[26][25]
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Believing in magic is necessary but not sufficient to make it work. Having people around who don’t believe in magic will curtail or even block magic or other supernatural effects.[27][28]
- Comic Book Time: Each book has roughly been set in the year it was released, despite only two or three months passing between them.
- Conversational Troping examples:
- Alex thinks of the risk of being stuffed in the refrigerator.[29]
- Alex and Rachel talk about Alex being Lorelei’s big damn hero.[30]
- Molly, Onyx, and Kevin discuss how he is a Mary Sue.[31]
- Drew likens demons on the mortal plane without skin to glass cannons; Lorelei is somewhat surprised by the reference.[32]
- Wade didn’t want his coming out as asexual to the Crew to be a Very Special Episode.[33]
- Molly and Onyx talk about Alex taking a level in badass in each of his prior lifes.[34]
- A Date with Rosie Palms:
- Deal with the Devil: A common goal of demons on the mortal plane. Examples are Robert Gorge’s various contracts[37] and Evelyn’s assistance to the Light.[38]
- Dehumanization: Wade literally discusses the mechanisms of dehumanizing an enemy before killing the vampire Lucien in cold blood in Good Intentions and then he and Jason talk about the concept and the mental dangers it can bring in Past Due.
- Demonic Possession: Demons on the mortal plane are fearsome but vulnerable. By taking a human skin or shell they become far better linked to the mortal plane and have a much easier time hiding. The process usually kills the original person.[39]
- Reversed in the case of Shannon and the succubus Serena: Serena ended up in Shannon’s body, but dormant. Instead Shannon gained several of Serena’s abilities.[36]
- Sunday was possessed by Nahash, probably using a ritual enabled by Anatole.[40] Unlike other known examples, she still was present in her body, but unable to care or influence his actions.[41]
- Depleted Phlebotinum Shells:
- Vampires have created anti-vampire bullets.
- Hector crafts “specials”, able to hurt demons[42] and shotgun shells able to hurt ghosts.[43] He also goes for the simplicity of using a shotgun loaded with rock salt and regular shells.[44]
- Sunday uses custom bullets made with a mix of silver and iron, usable against both werewolves and djinn.[45]
- Distracted by My Own Sexy: Justified, since it generally follows closely after a magical makeover.
- Taylor who found she was “fucking hot” after Lorelei had worked on her body.
- Shannon after she took in the succubus spirit, though it didn’t distract her from ¶ A Date with Rosie Palms.
- Double Entendre examples:
- Lorelei “can dance around this particular pole” while fondling Alex.[19]
- Victoria showing Alex around in Suite 1705, asking if he needs “extra outlets”.[46]
- Shannon saying she wants to “skip straight to the good stuff”
- Rachel saying that Alex is “getting some munchies” and stuffing his face at a “tempting spread” as he is eating out Carrie.[9]
- Duel to the Death examples:
- Alex goading Cornelius into a duel at the Battle of the Bus Tunnel, with swords.
- Gerhardt Stein challenging Alex at the Family party, with spear and shield.
- Five-Man Band with some variations and developments:
- The Hero: Alex, bold, charismatic, and apt to get off to do his own thing.
- The Lancer: Wade, planner, veteran, gives the impression of a redneck.
- The Smart Guy: Jason, nerdy and science-oriented. Taylor fills in in Past Due.
- The Big Guy: Drew, black belt in kung fu and plenty of street savvy.
- The Chick: Taylor. Amber fills in in Natural Consequences.
- Sixth Ranger: Amber in Natural Consequences; Sierra in Personal Demons and Past Due.
- Five-Token Band: Lampshaded by Jason in Natural Consequences when he says that Alex’s “three best friends are a black dude, a country hick and a Jew”.[47] Then add Taylor, a white female.
- Flaming Sword: The angels use swords made of fire, that are extraordinarily effective against evil supernaturals.
- Frozen Fashion Sense: Jason describes vampires as “wannabe-Goth version of the Village People”.[48]
- Functional Magic: Theurgy, rule magic, alchemy, force magic, and device magic are all in play, though rule magic seems to dominate. There is also some limited wild magic, since magic makes coincidences more likely but also avoids mundane witnesses.
- Fur Against Fang: Werewolves and vampires have been opposed against each other for a very long time, and the reasons are hidden in history.[1]
- Geas: Lorelei and Rachel both are placed under one with regard to Alex by Garrison’s ritual, even if several elements of it only remain for a few weeks before they diminished on their own.
- Glass Cannon: Demons without skins are vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat on the mortal plane.[32]
- Going Commando:
- Good People Have Good Sex: Alex, Lorelei, and Rachel. Molly and Onyx, both with and without Alex. Jason and Amber. Drew and Sierra.[51]
- Grievous Bottley Harm:
- Guardian Angel: The most common role of angels active on the mortal plane. Mind, they need not be good at their job, and the interests of the protected person and the guardian angel are not necessarily aligned.
- Guardian Entity: Rachel towards Alex. Sometimes other guardian angels take on this role towards their wards, though it is very rare.[12]
- Healing Factor: Angels and werewolves have very strong recuperative powers. Lorelei healed very quickly while wearing the iron crown.[55]
- Healing Hands: All angels can heal with a touch. Healing magic is common, but accomplished talent with it—like Molly’s—is still notable.
- Holy Burns Evil: Holy ground hurts demons. Angelic fire and light is very effective against vampires and werewolves.
- Horny Devils: Lorelei, Lydia, and Serena are all succubae.
- Human Sacrifice examples:
- I’m a Humanitarian: Diana consumes Caleb’s heart after killing him. To be fair, they were both werewolves.[60]
- If Only You Knew examples:
- Eddie saying that the age gap between Alex and Lorelei will be a challenge.[61]
- Michelle working out that Lorelei is closer to Michelle’s age than Alex’s.[62]
- Kevin saying that Molly and Onyx aren't going to “fall into anything crazy”. Molly and Onyx had just spent the night fighting in the Battle of Magnuson Park, just a couple blocks away.[26]
- The Canadian border agent saying it seems unwise to go to a vampire party unarmed.[8]
- Nearly everything said by Leticia to Alex and Drew on their trip to collect the armoire.[51]
- Immune to Bullets: Demons are pretty much invulnerable to bullets, though they sting, and can hurt them if combined with wards.[36][63] Vampires are mostly immune unless hit in exactly the right spots.[6] Werewolves can be hurt, but their stamina and healing powers means it requires several point-blank hits from a shotgun to stop an already wounded one.[64] Bullets can however be magically crafted to be deadly to supernatural creatures.
- Instant Humiliation—Just Add YouTube: Jason’s tryst with Amanda that interrupted his participation in an MMO raid was recorded by his teammatees. It became known as the Great Open Teamspeak Mic incident.[56][65]
- Kiss of the Vampire: A vampire can induce either addictive euphoria or pain and terror through their bite.[1]
- Living Statue: The gargoyle automata made by entrapping a soul within a statue.[44][14]
- MacGuffin examples:
- Magical Society: The Circles of Practitioners. These tends to be relatively small—the largest ones have less than 20 members—and secretive.
- Magic Is Mental: Using magic requires an open mind, discipline, and strong intuition. Many Practitioners are still very capable physically.
- Magnetic Plot Device: Since magic attracts magic and other supernatural effects, Practitioners and other people touched by the supernatural tends to have a much higher probability of encountering other supernatural beings or efffects.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Many examples.
- The bathtub[21] and the kitchen counter.[66] Rachel implies that every room and facility in Suite 1705 has been used for sex.[24]
- Alex has had dressing room sex with Audrey, Taylor,[19] Lorelei,[67] and Rachel.[68]
- On a very busy bus by Alex and Rachel.[69]
- Shannon and Michael in the club’s backstage hallway.[36]
- Alex and Lorelei in the King County Correctional Facility, with foreplay at the booking desk and going all the way in a conference room.[70]
- Alex and Lorelei in the restaurant and in the theatre’s storage closet.[50]
- Alex and Rachel on the utility easement behind Palmer’s house.[54]
- Masquerade: Magic and the supernatural is called the Shadows, and prefers to stay there. Mundane observers and witnesses will make supernatural creatures less strong, and magic less reliable.
- Meaningful Name: Many demons take names that hints at their nature:
- Robert Gorge, who usually went by Rob or Gorge, a demon of greed and gluttony.[19]
- Harrow, first warrior of Baal.[52]
- Lester, a demon of lust. Took the name because Lorelei told him Luster was too obvious.[39]
- The scout Squint.[71]
- Cynthia, a demon of lust with “sin” right there in the name.[15]
- Mundane Utility:
- Lorelei uses her supernatural charisma to be a superlative fundraiser for the Conservatory. She very deliberately does not use her powers of mind control for the same purpose. See also ¶ Prehensile Tail.
- Leah built a magical air conditioner into her patio in Las Vegas.[72]
- Evan Murphy's favorite power in Grand Theft Sorcery is probably his magical cleaning move, which removes all organic detritus without a trace.[73]
- Naughty Under the Table: Lorelei to Alex while Alex has breakfast and talks with his mom, to his great chagrin.[74] The unnamed tentacle-legged woman with Alex at the Family party, against his wishes.[75] Mutually by Lorelei and Alex while out for dinner before the ballet.[50]
- Never Live It Down: A very loud minority of readers will immediately complain about Lorelei seducing Bridger whenever the series is mentioned, or even forbid any mention of the series.
- No Body Left Behind: The bodies of vampires and demons—whether they wear human skins or not—turn to ash or fade into nothing when they are killed. Sometimes you have a couple fangs remaining.[76]
- Not Good with Rejection:
- Gabriel, who reacts to Taylor breaking up with him by searching out Alex to beat him up.[11]
- Susan and Olivia at Keating & Rose, who fire Alex from his job due to him saying no to their sexual advances.[76]
- Diana, who intends to kill Alex due to his rejection of her offer to make him her mate.[1]
- Sammal, who thinks killing Alex will let him “regain” Lorelei.[53]
- The Oldest Profession:
- Out with a Bang: The fate of the prey of a succubus, like Malik or Carlos Medina. Averted in the case of Jack the mercenary[36] and Raymond Cordingly.[78]
- Part-Time Hero: Alex and Lorelei would prefer a quiet life with lots of time for sex over supernatural intrusions.
- Past Life Memories examples:
- Alex had a traumatic reawakening of his memories of his many and violent past lives due to an overdose of a memory potion, leading to a Post Traumatic Reincarnation Disorder. A major ritual by Molly and Onyx brought them mostly under control, while still keeping the skills and knowledge intact.
- Onyx always felt a connection with American tanks and stories of World War II. Later on, some of her past life memories were awakened by a spell cast by a member of the Family.
- The Family was a family of powerful sorcerers who could find each other in their new reincarnations, and magically cause the “original” personality to replace the now living person.
- Police Are Useless: Evolved throughout the series, generally becoming more pronounced.
- Initially justified, as the police is mostly unaware of the Shadows, some groups—like the vampires—within it take care to pay off or infiltrate the police. The very few aware cops largely lack the tools needed or are alone.[60][26]
- In Past Due where they chose to protect and not suppress an illegal racist rally.[79]
- Antonia in “Strangers” doesn’t call the cops when she discovered her stalker because she “couldn’t remember a time when police helped her more than they hassled her”.
- The Special Task Force of the FBI turns out to be more concerned with gaining leverage over or charging and convicting suspects than investigating the truth.[80]
- Polyamory: Alex lives in an open ménage à trois with Lorelei and Rachel, and the two encourage him to find casual partners. He also has a developing open relationship with Molly and Onyx. Lorelei and Molly are at least friends with benefits. Lorelei also sees Ted on the side. Jason used to be in a triad with Britney and Brittany.
- Porn With Plot: Several examples in the series, though the novels have increased the plot to porn ratio somewhat over time. These are just some of the most notable examples.
- Good Intentions was originally written for Literotica. The published version had several sex scenes removed, but it still averages more than one sex scene per chapter.
- “Clear Communication” is relationship drama and guilt, resolved with sex.
- Halloween for Life is about Shannon’s self-discovery and sex.
- “The Spirit of Giving” is about the spirit of Christmas, how it is suborned by commercial forces, and sex.
- Power Perversion Potential: Not surprising, given the smutty nature of these stories.
- Lorelei uses her tail for foreplay, ripping off clothing, and for direct stimulation.
- Since Lorelei can sense Alex being aroused or having sex, they have used it as a—rather limited—communication tool.[39][54]
- Lorelei and Shannon use shape-changing powers on their tongues to enhancen oral sex.[36][81]
- Molly and Onyx discusses how attempts to combine magic with sex tended to enhance the sex but make one forget to do the magic.[3]
- Discussed when Sunday asks Evan to explore any “dirty fun” they can have with his magic, apart from increased stamina. The results are yet to be revealed.[80]
- Prehensile Tail: Lorelei uses her tail to shut doors, pick up items, and undress. It also has several pleasurable uses. See also ¶ Beware My Stinger Tail.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Onyx’s deadly and refined disorientation spell causes bleeding from the eyes and ears of her victim.[12][82]
- Rabid Cop:
- Hauser, who is more interested in turning in the Crew than he is investigating the events that brought them to Seattle.[1]
- Sanderson is at first appearance a senior agent who cares about proper procedures and protocol. His main concern is however to find a way to convict the person under investigation.[80] It appears to be systemic within the Task Force, to different degrees.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Using magic can turn the eyes red, but it very much depends on the Practitioner.[3][83]
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Molly and Rachel are red; Lorelei and Onyx are blue.
- Rescue Romance:
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue:
- Alex during the Battle of Blackthorne Manor, in his attempts to first escape and then to save Lorelei from Baal.
- Lorelei after her beloved Lexus had been stolen in “Trust”.
- Safe Word: Discussed several times, but never seen used.
- Sex by Proxy examples:
- Sex Is Good: At least if it is consensual. Sex is used to get over a poor or failed relationship. Rachel claims people were happier when they made more time for sex.[88] Sex is a very capable generator of magical power.[3]
- Sex Slave: What a succubus is to their master.
- Show Some Leg:
- How Lorelei ensures a clean getaway for Molly, Onyx, Alex, Amber, and Jason from Suite 1705, since they assume the place is surveilled.[28]
- Lorelei “stumbles” into two goons in order to steal their concealed pistols, making good use of ¶ Percussive Pickpocket too.[10]
- Slice of Life is used in many of the Patreon short stories:
- In Small Victories, “Live Like This” has viewing an apartment and “This Year, I’m Thankful For…” is about a single morning for Alex and Lorelei. “Lifestyle Changes” depicts a week in Alex’s life in late September, adjusting to the many changes.
- In Habitual Heroes, “Proper Focus” has Alex and Lorelei spending a night at home, going to the restaurant, and then to the ballet.
- In Low-Key Calamities, “A Most Noble Quest” is about how an ill-considered wager plays out over several days, and “The Spirit of Giving” have Lorelei and Alex attempting to work out a Christmas present for Rachel.
- “Can’t Stab Everything” (noncanon) has the Crew reacting to the Coronavirus.
- STD Immunity: What any prey of a succubus gains.[89] The risks of STDs and pregnancies is however discussed at times, with informed decisions being reached.
- Stupidity-Inducing Attack: Onyx uses a spell of confusion and befuddlement on the vampires George Wentworth and Marco during the Battle of Magnuson Park.[16][64] She later uses another spell with the same effect against her vampire prisoners in Grand Theft Sorcery.[90]
- Summoning Ritual: Done several times.
- Good Intentions opens with Rachel and Lorelei having been caught with one. Later Lydia summons Baal, and Onyx and Molly summons Rachel.
- In Skin soul mirrors are introduced, which are magical artifacts that make summoning much easier.
- In Personal Demons, the Light create a circle to summon demons to the mortal plane twice.
- Super Senses: Werewolves have an extremely keen sense of smell and likely also other senses. Diana was even able to detect when a capable demon lied.[12]
- Supernatural Sensitivity: A common ability among angels and demons. Many Practitioners can cast spells to gain this ability. This can discover active magic, supernatural creatures, or the effects of prior supernatural encounters or magic. See also ¶ Aura Vision.
- There Is Only One Bed:
- Amber and Jason has to share a bed after the Battle of the Bus Tunnel, though Jason offers to sleep on the living room couch.[24]
- Sunday plans to take full advantage of a hotel room having only a single bed to seduce Evan. However, Evan falls asleep at once as he lies down, and then their new dog Barstow decides to sleep in the bed too.[91]
- A Threesome Is Hot, with several examples:
- Unequal Pairing and other forms of power dynamics are discussed at several points.
- Alex is a 19-year-old student and a normal human. Rachel is a more than 3000-year-old angel and first his guardian and then even more powerful when she holds Dominion over Seattle. Guardian–ward relations are heavily frowned upon by Heaven.
- Alex is a 19-year-old student and a normal human. Lorelei is a 3000-year-old succubus with vastly more strength, experience, and status. In the beginning, Alex was also Lorelei’s mystical master and owner. He had issues with being her owner;[92] not so much with her being older and more capable.
- Urban Fantasy: The stories are mostly set in modern Seattle. Mundane life in the city is an important piece of the stories.
- Utility Magic: Many magic users simply do not want conflict or to fight. Wards against harm and charms of luck, love, misdirection, and similar is the reliable and common form of magic.[17]
- Wall-Bang Her examples:
- Alex and Lorelei do this frequently.
- Shannon and Michael in their tryst at the club.[36]
Characters[]
- Action Girl:
- Ascended Demon: Lorelei, who first lost the enjoyment in her purpose and then was freed from servitude to Hell.
- Battle Couple:
- But Not Too Bi: Drew reveals that he is bisexual, but no attraction to men has been shown on-page so far.[33]
- Chick Magnet: Alex develops into this. Drew was one from the beginning.[17]
- Chinese Launderer: Mrs. Chang, who runs and owns a laundromat in Las Vegas.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Alex suffers from this. Not all interventions require violence or confrontation, sometimes all it takes is a little money.
- Combat Pragmatist: Alex took Drew’s advice about fighting to heart: be meaner than the other guy.[19]
- Cute Ghost Girl: Katerina Sorrow is an embodied variant.[75]
- Dark and Troubled Past: Lorelei. She grew up unloved, was forced into a marriage where she was treated as a slave, and then served several demon lords as a succubus.
- Dirty Cop: Frank Crosby. His objections to torture and murder are wholly practical.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Alex’s parents divorced when he was about ten. His father has only been a generic card at Christmas since then, at best.[89]
- Distracted by the Sexy: Happens to Alex a lot, though he is learning to manage it, at least some time.[95]
- Dude in Distress: Alex has been kidnapped, abducted, arrested, or taken captive at least once per book. He usually takes an active part in rescuing himself.
- Ethical Slut, with several examples:
- Rachel sees physical love as a positive good, but has seldom been able to act on it. She encourages everyone around her to have more sex, even if she herself is happy with Alex and Lorelei. She is all for Alex “spreading legs and spreading joy”.[96][97]
- Alex loves sex, but also wants consent and an emotional connection.[88]
- Jason telling Britney and Brittany to embrace their talent for sex.[11]
- Lorelei is developing into this, partly due to influence from Alex.[16][33]
- Molly and Onyx, who are on the lookout for the right guy.[21]
- Evil Sorcerer, with several examples:
- Fair Cop: Amber Maddox, who is 24, an FBI agent, and looks younger.
- Fallen Angel: Several Princes of Hell are fallen angels, like Sammael, Abaddon, Adramalech, and Belphegor.[99][100] Nisroc is also a fallen angel.[101]
- The Fashionista: Lorelei always dresses for the occasion, but with style. She takes every chance she gets to dress up, and has improved Alex’s wardrobe.
- Faustian Rebellion: Lorelei, though it developed slowly and over a very long time. A few times she had the oppportunity to act out of kindness, and did.[54] She worked successfully to shield Gerard from Belial’s attentions.[10] Her true break from Hell was however reliant on external factors and Alex’s intervention, and she is less opposed to Hell than she is protective and helpful to her friends.
- Goth: Molly and Onyx are both Goths, but distinctly not Hollywood Goths, and of two separate fashion varieties.
- Gun Nut: Wade’s view of gun control are, in his words, “intricate an’ nuanced”. He also grew excited over Hector’s guns.[42]
- Hot Mom: Alex’s mother Michelle. She is in her early forties and still can catch eyes on the street. Then Lorelei improved Michelle’s looks, making her “uncomfortably sexy” in Alex’s word.[35][74]
- I’m in Love With My Car: Lorelei does not care much for material possessions. She makes an exception for her Lexus convertible, as evidenced by her rampage through the Seattle criminal world when it was stolen in “Trust”.
- I Am Not My Father: Alex most definitely does not want to behave like his father by lying to or hurting people who love him.[89][102]
- Knight Templar examples:
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Rachel (light) and Lorelei (dark), except Rachel swears like a sailor and Lorelei is the socially astute and suave one.
- Living Legend: Lorelei, who is well-known both in Heaven and Hell. “She’s not a duke of Hell, but as succubae go, her name’s pretty much the first anyone would think of. She’s an icon.”[30]
- No Social Skills: Jason has a hard time picking up social cues or naturally following along in a conversation.
- The Pornomancer: Alex, as the prey of a succubus. He is keeping it under control nowadays—generally.
- Template:Tropedai: Lawrence and Hannah are both reasonable, but that does not mean they necessarily agree with each other. But both are ready to listen, try to apply rules fairly, and can recognize good results.
- Sex God: Alex and Lorelei, as the prey of a succubus and a succubus, respectively.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Drew, who wears a suit to a nerd party.[103]
- Shout-Out: Many, see Pop culture references in Good Intentions.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Molly Murray.[28][87]
- Shrouded in Myth: Zafirah, the Thief of Heaven.[104]
- Sir Swearsalot: Rachel swears as much as the rest of the cast combined.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Molly has so far demonstrated to communicate with cats, dogs, raccoons, crows, and red-tailed hawks. She has to adjust to the cognitive abilities of the animal.
- Sword and Gun: Alex usually carries a Colt .45 and either a dagger or his gladius when he is going armed.
- Understanding Boyfriend: Alex to Lorelei and even more Rachel. He knows Rachel has great limitations on what she can tell and do for him, and accepts it.
- Weirdness Magnet: Alex encounters vampires,[105] gets drawn into a conflict between Practitioners,[83] or encounters a supernatural cult[51] when going shopping. See also ¶ Magnetic Plot Device.
- Wish Fulfillment: Lampshaded by Alex, “I am a shallow, adolescent male fantasy”.[103]
Good Intentions[]
In Good Intentions:
- Attempted Rape: The book opens with Garrison intending to rape Lorelei and Rachel.
- Book Ends: The first and the last chapters both ends with Alex, Lorelei, and Rachel walking out of a chapel or church.
- Chandler’s Law: The first two-thirds of the book has Alex facing either a new threat or a new sexual encounter per chapter, largely unconnected to anything that had gone before. In chapter 8 “She’s Trouble” it happens thrice, two times with sexual encounters and a final time when armed criminals enter to kidnap him.
- Distressed Damsel: The book opens with Alex seeing Lorelei and Rachel tortured, chained, and about to be raped.
- Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: How Drew, Taylor, and Jason reacts to Lorelei sucking on Rachel’s finger.[21]
- Life of the Party: Lorelei gets Sherri’s party off to a running start with an impromptu firedance.[11]
- Love Redeems: Lorelei falls in love with Alex and starts the process of repention.[92]
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Drew threatens Alex with dire consequences if Alex’s dick ever comes close to Drew’s mother or sister.[21]
- Random Events Plot: There is a sort of basic underlying plot based on the growing relationship between Alex, Lorelei, and Rachel. The overt plot is however mainly the sudden appearance of people with a beef to pick with Alex or Lorelei, or new sexual opportunities for Alex.
- Rescue Romance: Alex and Rachel. The sex came later.
- Rescue Sex: Alex and Lorelei. The romance came later.
- Technical Virgin: Onyx’s tryst with Alex was her first time with a man.[86]
- Taking the Bullet: Alex putting himself between J’Von’s gun and Taylor.[19] Onyx putting herself between Mr. Woods’s gun and Molly—though Alex shot first.[12]
- Took a Level In Badass: Alex takes several of these during the course of the book.
Natural Consequences[]
- The Art of Bra Removal: Jason complaining that unhooking Amber’s bra is complicated.[26]
- For Halloween I Am Going as Myself: Several members of the Crew at the Emerald City Halloween Ball. Lorelei came in her demon form. Rachel came as an angel, though with store-bought wings and halo. Molly and Onyx came as witches. Drew simply put on a black suit and sunglasses.[103]
- The Infiltration: Amber poses as a UW student in order to approach Jason and through him the rest of the Crew.
- Intimate Psychotherapy: Lorelei used physical affection and love-making to bring Alex out of bad episodes of his Post Traumatic Reincarnation Disorder. It was noted as a strictly temporary solution.[76]
- Origins Episode: An extended flashback shows Lorelei’s origin as a mortal woman and how she was recruited to become a succubus.[77]
- Spank the Cutie: Rachel is spanked by Lorelei and think it’s nice.[87] She also asks Hannah to spank her, but is declined.[26]
- Think Unsexy Thoughts: Alex tries to make himself think about baseball when called for a private talk with his office manager. Too bad his office manager is attractive and has plans of her own.[76]
- Undercover Cop Reveal: When Amber arrests Jason.
Life in Shadows[]
In “Legitimacy”
- Boring but Practical: Hector Kingston’s solution to magical armor is a double-barrel shotgun: one barrel loaded with rock salt to take down any magical defenses, one loaded with a regular shell to kill.
In “Naked Justice”:
- Full-Frontal Assault: Kevin fights crime in the nude.
- Naked People Are Funny: Molly and Onyx steal all of Kevin’s clothes as a practical joke.
- Traintop Battle: Kevin fights a criminal gang member on the back of a moving pickup truck.
- See ¶ Demonic Possession.
Personal Demons[]
In Personal Demons:
- A Dog Ate My Homework: Alex’s second week at the University of Washington begins with missing all Monday classes, not getting a book report in on time, and a fine for a destroyed library book. All because he was sent to Iraq by a botched spell and had his home assaulted by homicidal magical preppers and demons.[106]
- An Asskicking Christmas: Drew and Lorelei facing three demons on Christmas Eve.[32]
- Dead Guy on Display: After Lorelei defeated Azazel, she had Azazel’s corpse hung in his throne room, pinned by iron spikes. Above his corpse were the words “This is your final warning”.[106]
- Ready for Lovemaking: Lorelei to Molly during the New Year’s Party, having been set up by Alex and Onyx. “Come to me, Molly.”[17]
- Battering Ram: Lorelei assaults the Walls of Perdition with both a regular ram and by empowering Hank as a living one.[71]
- Crazy Survivalist: The Light is a group of Practitioners crossed with “paranoid Doomsday planners”.[107]
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Averted when Molly uses her brass knuckles carelessly when hitting Leon, hurting herself with the impact.[85]
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Drew does not want to risk dragging anyone he loves into the Shadows.[17]
Past Due[]
In Past Due:
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Alex and Lorelei protecting the wounded Rachel.[14]
- Dances and balls: The Family party, complete with a live orchestra and announced formal entrances.[75]
- Screw This, I’m Outta Here: Johanna Matthias promptly goes for the exit when Rachel arrives at the Family party.
- A Threesome Is Manly: Lorelei with Ted and Adam.[79] See also ¶ A Threesome Is Hot.
Devil in the Details[]
- Chekhov’s gun: Put in the pocket in chapter 1, bit in chapter 27.[108][109]
- Underground Railroad: Not organized in any way, but there are hints about some demons attempting to help master-less demons escape being put into renewed servitude.[110]
- Viva Las Vegas: Thoroughly averted. Most of the book is spent in regular hotels, homes, and locations. A single casino is visited, but not to gamble. No Elvis impersonator is ever seen. No one gets married.
Days of High Adventure[]
- Barbarian Hero: Fallon as a Conan expy. Eric also receives the vitality of another barbarian as a side effect of the ritual that summoned Eric and Amanda.
- Sword and Sorcery: Deeply inspired—and lampshaded—by the Conan and other pulp fantasy stories. Including having the protagonists turning into a wizard and a barbarian warrior.
- Virgin Sacrifice: Bel-Danab intended Amanda as a virgin sacrifice to the dragon.
Grand Theft Sorcery[]
- The Caper: Evan and Sunday robbing Cornelius’s hoard from Anatole.
- The Chessmaster: Anatole, who clandestinely attacks every other faction of the Shadows in Los Angeles, and then uses his reputation as a mediator to get the role of investigating said attacks.
- Hardboiled Detectives: Harry and Nick, 1930s era private investigators who were turned vampires. By a blonde bombshell vampire femme fatale walking into their offices, no less.
- Hard Work Montage: Evan and Sunday putting some of Cornelius’s old hoard to good use or making sure it reaches better hands.[111]
- Hell Hound: The Black Dog of the Mojave, a large black deadly ghost dog with red eyes.
- Human Resources: Anatole extracts the essence from corpses through various magical rituals, and consumes the resulting potion in order to temporarily gain some of the—magical or otherwise—abilities from the dead being.[91]
- Meet Cute: On Evan’s and Sunday’s first encounter, she bit him and he threw her from a second-story walkway.[40] On their second encounter she beat up and killed four goons pursuing him.[41]
- Opera Gloves: The vampire, actress, and femme fatale Ms. Vivienne Ester wore “a velvet red dress and matching over-the-elbow gloves”.
- Sword and Sorcerer: Evan and Sunday. Evan has powerful offensive and defensive spells as well as healing, but lacks experience. Sunday has close to two hundred years of experience fighting spookies as muscle.
Small Victories[]
In “Rough Day”:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Rachel is caught in an argument between the guardian angels Ryan and Melissa about the problem with interventions and the need to help people, and admits they are both right.
Habitual Heroes[]
In “Outsourced”:
- Hostage for Macguffin: A rival Circle has kidnapped a junior member of the International Circle in order to claim a number of coins of supernatural significance.
In “Proper Focus”:
- At the Opera Tonight: Alex bought tickets to the ballet for himself and Lorelei. Lorelei plans to skip the at least the first act of the ballet, be deeply inappropriate, and hopes to hear gossip about Alex’s being with “some other sultry beauty” later on.[50]
Low-Key Calamities[]
In “Trust”:
- Justified Criminal: Kyra, who turned to car theft to pay for her mother’s medical treatments.[112]
In “The Spirit of Giving”:
- True Meaning of Christmas: The best gift is to be helpful and unselfish. Given the smutty nature of the series, it turns out to have side effects…[68]
Patreon stories[]
In “More Than Friends”:
- Haunted House: House 12573 is haunted by ghost bound to the building.[27]
In “Like a Professional”:
- Professionals Do It on Desks: Lorelei and Rachel after the conservatory lunch. The table had been cleaned first.[9]
In “Wants and Needs”:
- Interrupted Intimacy: Lorelei’s seductive and intimidating domme performance is interrupted by a phone call from Alex’s mother. Inquiring about such things as taxes (see below) and health insurance.
- Intimidating Revenue Service: Even second-hand mention of the need to file taxes can make Lorelei pause.[18]
In “Altered Plans”:
- Everyone Has Standards: Gerard may be a money launderer for criminals, but when he discovered they were into human trafficking he set up a trail of money for the police to find and bust the operation.[10]
- Percussive Pickpocket: Lorelei “stumbles” into two goons in order to steal their concealed pistols, making good use of ¶ Show Some Leg too.[10]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Natural Consequences, chapter 15
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 18
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 “Date Night”
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 22
- ↑ “Rough Day”
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 7
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 13
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Past Due, chapter 10
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 “Like a Professional” (noncanon)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 “Altered Plans”
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Good Intentions, chapter 13
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 Good Intentions, chapter 17
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Personal Demons, chapter 7
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Past Due, chapter 18
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 “Red Flags”
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 16
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Personal Demons, chapter 3
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 “Wants and Needs”
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 Good Intentions, chapter 8
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 29
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Good Intentions, chapter 18
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 9
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Devil in the Details, chapter 13
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 9
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Past Due, chapter 7
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 Natural Consequences, chapter 18
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 “More Than Friends”
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 10
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 6
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Good Intentions, chapter 15
- ↑ “Naked Justice”
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Personal Demons, chapter 1
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Past Due, chapter 11
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 20
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Good Intentions, chapter 3
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 36.6 Halloween for Life
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 10
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 10
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Skin
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 2
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 4
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Personal Demons, chapter 14
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 4
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 “Authenticity”
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 11
- ↑ “Live Like This”
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 8
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 16
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 6
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 “Proper Focus”
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 “Guardians”
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Good Intentions, chapter 14
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Personal Demons, chapter 22
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 “Amends”
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 21
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 Days of High Adventure
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 15
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 18
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 28
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 3
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 9
- ↑ “Don’t Make It Weird”
- ↑ “Good Neighbors”
- ↑ 64.0 64.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 17
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 2
- ↑ “Lifestyle Changes”
- ↑ “Secret Shoppers”
- ↑ 68.0 68.1 “The Spirit of Giving”
- ↑ “On the Bus: Lewd Intentions” (noncanon)
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 3
- ↑ 71.0 71.1 Personal Demons, chapter 19
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 20
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 1
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Good Intentions, chapter 5
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 Past Due, chapter 15
- ↑ 76.0 76.1 76.2 76.3 Natural Consequences, chapter 1
- ↑ 77.0 77.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 14
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 7
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 Past Due, chapter 1
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 80.2 Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 26
- ↑ “Clear Communication”
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 26
- ↑ 83.0 83.1 “Outsourced”
- ↑ 84.0 84.1 84.2 Good Intentions, chapter 1
- ↑ 85.0 85.1 Personal Demons, chapter 23
- ↑ 86.0 86.1 Good Intentions, chapter 11
- ↑ 87.0 87.1 87.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 11
- ↑ 88.0 88.1 “Supportive Relationships”
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 89.2 Good Intentions, chapter 4
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 25
- ↑ 91.0 91.1 Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 16
- ↑ 92.0 92.1 Good Intentions, chapter 12
- ↑ 93.0 93.1 Grand Theft Sorcery
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 24
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 12
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 5
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 27
- ↑ Past Due, Prologue
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 2
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 2
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 18
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 6
- ↑ 103.0 103.1 103.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 5
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 14
- ↑ “Minor Errands”
- ↑ 106.0 106.1 Personal Demons, chapter 25
- ↑ Personal Demons, Prologue
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 1
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 27
- ↑ Devil in the Details, chapter 6
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 20
- ↑ “Trust”