History Fanfic / Antiphony

* OhCrap: Destane's [[KickTheSonOfABitch glorious]] reaction when he realizes Mozenrath has him beat.

** Jasmine. Mozenrath’s [[spoiler:false]] warnings push her to a HeroicBSOD trying to figure out his plan, to the point she starts alienating and lying to her friends in case Mozenrath has a way of watching what she’s doing. She then ends up [[spoiler:losing her memories of Aladdin while delving into the Mirror of Fiereve]], [[spoiler:watching her father nearly die of poison]], and finally [[spoiler:is brutally [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by Mirage for a week]]. And yet despite all this, she ''[[PluckyGirl keeps]]'' ''[[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask going]]''.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask:
** Raniye takes all of Destane’s abuse, Laila’s insanity, and Mozenrath’s mood swings with a stiff upper lip, never letting on how much she’s hurting in turn.
** Jasmine develops into this as well, running herself into the ground trying to figure out what Mozenrath is planning but keeping a cool outward appearance.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** [[spoiler:Destane accidently ends up turning Xerxes into the eel-thing he is today instead of killing him.]]
** [[spoiler:Mozenrath gets temporarily turned into a gargoyle during a chapter in ''Circum''.]]

* PowerPerversionPotential: Invoked and then averted; Mozenrath points out that, as the controller of the dreamscape he visits her in, it would be very easy for him to strip Jasmine naked or force her into [[AbsoluteCleavage more]] [[VaporWear humiliating]] [[GoGoEnslavement outfits]], but he doesn’t.

* FragileFlower: Laila spends her entire introduction scene sobbing endlessly. Probably because she’s TheEmpath and can feel Destane’s sadism.

* [[spoiler:MindRape]]: [[spoiler:What Mirage does to Jasmine. It’s ''really'' horrifying.]]

* MoodWhiplash: Chapter 22 ends with [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Mozenrath and Jasmine working out some of their differences and having a]] SleepCute [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming moment]]. Chapter 23 starts with [[spoiler:Jasmine being [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by Mirage]], which is so startling some readers may wonder if they accidently skipped a chapter.

* BrokenBird: Mozenrath. The differences between him [[WideEyedIdealist as]] [[{{Keet}} a]] [[SpoiledSweet child]] and him [[LackOfEmpathy as]] [[EvilSorcerer an]] [[TheSocialDarwinist adult]] are astounding.

One night, [[EvilSorcerer Mozenrath]] approaches [[BadassPrincess Princess Jasmine]] in her dreams with an offer: figure out his flawless plan in thirty days, and he calls it off. Fail, and she watches as Agrabah burns. With little choice she agrees, and so begins one of the most popular and best-written Aladdin fics, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3488835/1/Antiphony Antiphony]] by [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1032935/Cantare Cantare]]. It deals with some of the darker themes of the show, such as power, control, and how strong ThePowerOfLove ''really'' is, and delves quite a bit into Mozenrath’s backstory.

* [[spoiler:AttemptedRape]]: [[spoiler:What Raeven tries to do to Jasmine.]]

* [[spoiler:BalefulPolymorph]]: [[spoiler:Destane accidently ends up turning Xerxes into the eel-thing he is today instead of killing him.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Mirage]].
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Jasmine fails to save the fifteen hundred sacrificed souls and has to choose between Mozenrath and her kingdom; she picks the latter, knowing she can’t be with the former so long as he remains evil. On the other hand, Mozenrath’s curse is broken, Mirage is driven away, and Jasmine is carrying Mozenrath’s kid, who is hinted to be a MessianicArchetype and what will ultimately lead him to redemption.]]
** SequelHook
* BreakTheCutie: Laila. The suffering the girl goes through drives her insane and eventually turns her into an EmptyShell.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Definitely.

* DeadpanSnarker: Xerxes is one, which is partially why he and Mozenrath become friends so quickly.

* DownerEnding: ''Shards'' ends with the heroes failing [[spoiler:to find Jasmine]].
** ForegoneConclusion: If you’ve finished ''Antiphony'', you’ll know it was coming.

* DualWielding: How Jasmine prefers to fight.
* TheEmpath: Laila’s one. [[spoiler:And as such, she can also channel spirits.]] Usually, it’s regarded as a useful ability, but for a girl in her situation, it’s…
** BlessedWithSuck: Having to feel the amount of pain Mozenrath, Xerxes, and Raniye are in, along with the depths of Destane’s depravity, for six years, ended up driving her insane.

* EnemyMine: Mozenrath and Jasmine temporarily team up to take down Saleen.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:Xerxes calmly going to dinner after [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlives his usefulness]], knowing full well that Destane will kill him. He doesn’t break face once, not even while Mozenrath is arguing for his life.]]
** Earlier, in ''Circum'', he [[spoiler:takes the sight of gargoyle!Mozenrath bearing down on him rather calmly]].
* FallenPrincess: Raniye and Laila.
** Fara from the sidestory ''Sunset'' is this, too.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Destane. Hey, Mozenrath had to pick it up from somewhere, right?

* FreudianExcuse: Subverted with Mozenrath; he does have one, and it’s genuinely horrifying, but the author makes it clear that it doesn’t excuse his actions.

* GallowsHumor: How Xerxes deals with things.

* HeroicRROD: Aladdin working ceaselessly to [[spoiler:locate Jasmine after she disappears]] in Shards until he collapses.

* HumanSacrifice: How Mozenrath [[spoiler: protects Agrabah for fifteen days.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Destane, ''definitely''.

* [[spoiler:LawOfInverseFertility]]: Apparently [[spoiler:having sex just once is enough to get Jasmine pregnant, against all odds. Way to go, Moze.]]
* [[spoiler:LongLostRelative]]: [[spoiler:Although he doesn’t meet her, the epilogue reveals that Mozenrath’s sister Elana is still alive.]]
* LoveMakesYouCrazy / LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Raeven doesn’t deal with rejection well.]]

* MagicMirror: The Mirror of Fiereve, obviously.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Mirage]] is behind Destane’s rise to power and the one who helped him make the gauntlet. This also makes [[spoiler:her]]…
** TheHeavy

* [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]]: Xerxes, Raniye, and even Laila to an extent were all this for Mozenrath when he was younger. Jasmine sort-of becomes his current one—he’s still not above manipulating her, but he tends to be softer to her than he is to anyone else and is more willing to help her out or do her favors.
** [[KickTheMoralityPet Kick the Morality Pets]]: As noted, he has and will use Jasmine for his own gain, and he’s done the same to the other three as well.

* PowerAtAPrice: One of the two overarching themes of the story.

* RichesToRags: What happened to Mozenrath and the other children.
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:The Mirror of Fiereve]] forces Jasmine to [[spoiler:give up either her memories of Aladdin or her memories of Mozenrath]] before she can leave. She [[spoiler:chooses to remember Mozenrath, because otherwise the whole journey would have been pointless]].

* SecondLove: Mozenrath is Jasmine’s, obviously. [[spoiler:She’s his, too.]]

* SexSlave: Raniye is forced into being Destane’s.

* SpoiledBrat: When she was younger, Jasmine.

* StarCrossedLovers: Jasmine even acknowledges that she and Mozenrath can’t be together while he’s on his current path. Doesn’t change how she feels about him, though.

* StepfordSmiler: Xerxes, big time.
* TeamMom: Raniye is this for the other children.

* TragicVillain: Mozenrath.

* VillainousCrush: Jasmine suspects that Mozenrath has one on her.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Raniye takes all of Destane’s abuse, Laila’s insanity, and Mozenrath’s mood swings with a stiff upper lip, never letting on how much she’s hurting in turn.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Mozenrath.
* WrongGenreSavvy: In ''Shards'', Aladdin and the others theorize that [[spoiler:the sultan’s poisoning]] was an attempt to get them away from the palace so whoever was behind it could [[spoiler:kidnap Jasmine]], or that it was a warning for her to hand over the Mirror of Fiereve. Sound plans, but not this time.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Destane, though he also tends to be…
** GenreBlind: ''Really?'' Take on the kid whose entire life you destroyed as an apprentice and not even ''bother'' worrying that he might turn on you someday? ''Really?''

----

* BrokenBird: Mozenrath is a RareMaleExample. The differences between him [[WideEyedIdealist as]] [[{{Keet}} a]] [[SpoiledSweet child]] and him [[LackOfEmpathy as]] [[EvilSorcerer an]] [[TheSocialDarwinist adult]] are astounding.

''“Another firsthand lesson, Princess. Never allow another to have power over you.”''

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Jasmine fails to save the fifteen hundred sacrificed souls and has to choose between Mozenrath and her kingdom; she picks the latter, knowing she can’t be with the former so long as he remains evil. On the other hand, Mozenrath’s curse is broken, Mirage is driven away, and Jasmine is carrying Mozenrath’s kid, who is hinted to be TheMessiah and what will ultimately lead him to redemption.]]

* CurbStompBattle: [[SmallNameBigEgo Saleen]] tries to fight [[MagnificentBastard Mozenrath]]. It ends about as well as you’d expect.

* MagnificentBastard: Destane. [[spoiler:By forcing the children’s parents to acquiesce to his needs, he got three kingdoms to stay neutral in his war, a monthly tribute of [[HumanSacrifice Human Sacrifices]] for his Mamluks, and a SexSlave. He also predicted that they’d bond with Mozenrath, which would in turn make his apprentice weaker and easier to manipulate.]]. The only reason his plan went wrong was because he underestimated Mozenrath [[spoiler:and had no clue about the full extent of Laila’s [[TheEmpath Empathy]]]].

Several other fics are part of the universe: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5885599/1/Shards Shards]], which details some of Antiphony’s events from the perspective of Agrabah’s heroes; [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4780635/1/Sunset Sunset]], a short prequel exploring a bit of Aladdin’s history before he met Jasmine; [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4387522/1/The-Scent-of-Absence The Scent of Absence]], a one-shot from Mozenrath’s perspective that picks up right after Chapter 27 of Antiphony; and [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4291066/1/Circum Circum]], a series of one-shots about Mozenrath’s life that weren’t visited in the story. Cantare has also planned to write a sequel, titled Height of Faith, though it has made no appearance as of yet.

* [[spoiler:AttemptedRape: What Raeven tries to do to Jasmine.]]

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Circum reveals Xerxes as one; he [[spoiler:holds off a polymorphed, berserk Mozenrath while unarmed and manages to change him back into his regular form.]] Though that last part was accidental.

** ForegoneConclusion: If you’ve finished Antiphony, you’ll know it was coming.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Mozenrath looks somewhere between disturbed, disgusted, and angry when he finds out that [[spoiler:Raeven drugged Jasmine to [[BedTrick get her in his bed]]]]. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you later learn [[spoiler:his ChildhoodFriend Raniye was raped multiple times by Destane]], so of course he’d have a problem with it.

** Defied by Destane; he mocks Jasmine, asking how she can judge him when for all she knows he has a really tragic backstory like Mozenrath, right before turning around and admitting he only does evil For the Lulz.

* HeroicBSOD: In Shards, Eden has one when [[spoiler:Jasmine goes with Mozenrath]], believing that if [[spoiler:she hadn’t agreed to keep her activities a secret]] nothing bad would have happened. Aladdin yelling at her really doesn’t help.

** Mozenrath also has a tendency to work himself to exhaustion, particularly when magic’s involved.

* [[spoiler:LawofInverseFertility]]: Apparently [[spoiler:having sex just once is enough to get Jasmine pregnant, against all odds. Way to go, Moze.]]
* [[spoiler:LongLostRelative]]: [[spoiler:Although he doesn’t meet her, the epilogue reveals that Mozenrath’s sister [[Elana is still alive.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Destane. [[spoiler:By forcing the children’s parents to acquiesce to his needs, he got three kingdoms to stay neutral in his war, a monthly tribute of Human Sacrifices for his Mamluks, and a SexSlave. He also predicted that they’d bond with Mozenrath, which would in turn make his apprentice weaker and easier to manipulate.]]. The only reason his plan went wrong was because he underestimated Mozenrath [[spoiler:and had no clue about the full extent of Laila’s [[TheEmpath Empathy]]]].

* MoodWhiplash: Chapter 22 ends with [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Mozenrath and Jasmine working out some of their differences and having a Sleep Cute moment]]. Chapter 23 starts with [[spoiler:Jasmine being [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by Mirage]], which is so startling some readers may wonder if they accidently skipped a chapter.

* TheSocialDarwinist: Interestingly played with; a lot of what Mozenrath says supports the idea that he’s this, but then he goes out of his way to save or help his weaker Morality Pets without getting anything in return.

** Morathai. At age six, his entire family [[spoiler:except one sister]] is killed, his kingdom is destroyed and his mentor pulls a HeroicSacrifice in the span of one day. Then he ends up living on the streets, has his kindness rewarded with betrayal, and is captured by slavers. [[ForegoneConclusion Guess who ends up buying him?]]
** Jasmine. Mozenrath’s [[spoiler:false]] warnings push her to a Heroic BSOD trying to figure out his plan, to the point she starts alienating and lying to her friends in case Mozenrath has a way of watching what she’s doing. She then ends up [[spoiler:losing her memories of Aladdin while delving into the Mirror of Fiereve]], [[spoiler:watching her father nearly die of poison]], and finally [[spoiler:is brutally [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by Mirage for a week]]. And yet despite all this, she ''[[PluckyGirl keeps]]'' ''[[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask going]]''.

* BreakTheCutie: Laila. The suffering the girl goes through drives her insane and eventually turns her into an Empty Shell.

!! ‘’Antiphony’’ contains examples of:

** They also [[spoiler:turn Mozenrath back from a gargoyle in Circum]].

One night, [[EvilSorcerer Mozenrath]] approaches [[BadassPrincess Princess Jasmine]] in her dreams with an offer: figure out his flawless plan in thirty days, and he calls it off. Fail, and she watches as Agrabah burns. With little choice she agrees, and so begins one of the most popular and best-written Aladdin fics, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3488835/1/Antiphony Antiphony]] by [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1032935/Cantare Cantare]]. It deals with some of the darker themes of the show, such as power, control, and how strong ThePowerOfLove ‘’really’’ is, and delves quite a bit into Mozenrath’s backstory.

* ADayInTheLimelight: The side-story Shards gives the perspectives of Aladdin and his friends during the main story, though it’s a lot shorter since the last two-thirds of Antiphony take place in [[spoiler: the Mirror of Fiereve and the Land of Black Sand, respectively]].

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:Mirage and her firecats]] infiltrating and assaulting [[spoiler:the Land of Black Sand]] not once, but thrice. [[spoiler:Mozenrath]] notes that he really should improve his security.

** [[spoiler:Mozenrath gets temporarily turned into a gargoyle during a chapter in Circum.]]

* LastofHisKind: Mozenrath’s the last remaining Hellinthian; everyone else was killed by Destane. [[spoiler:Or so he thinks.]]

* ArtifactofDoom: The Mirror of Fiereve. It was made by a sand witch, after all.

* BreaktheCutie: Laila. The suffering the girl goes through drives her insane and eventually turns her into an Empty Shell.

** Jasmine. Mozenrath’s [[spoiler:false]] warnings push her to a Heroic BSOD trying to figure out his plan, to the point she starts alienating and lying to her friends in case Mozenrath has a way of watching what she’s doing. She then ends up [[spoiler:losing her memories of Aladdin while delving into the Mirror of Fiereve]], [[spoiler:watching her father nearly die of poison]], and finally [[spoiler:is brutally [[MindRape Mind Raped]] by Mirage for a week]]. And yet despite all this, she ‘’[[PluckyGirl keeps]]’’ ‘’[[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask going]]’’.

* BrokenBird: Mozenrath is a RareMaleExample. The differences between him [[WideEyedIdealist as]] [[{{Keet}} a]] [[SpoiledSweet child]] and him [[LackOfEmpathy as]] ([[EvilSorcerer an]] [[TheSocialDarwinist adult]] are astounding.
** Fara from Sunsets; her family disowns her after she tries to marry for love, forcing her to live on the streets and eventually become a prostitute to survive.

* Call Back:

** [spoiler:The ritual Mozenrath keeps failing to perform as a child is finally used successfully against Destane in their showdown.]]

CurbStompBattle: [[SmallNameBigEgo Saleen]] tries to fight [[MagnificentBastard Mozenrath]]. It ends about as well as you’d expect.

* DeadGuyJunior: Jasmine suspects that Mozenrath’s pet eel is named after his friend Xerxes. [[spoiler:She’s wrong. The eel ''is'' erxes.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Mozenrath looks somewhere between disturbed, disgusted, and angry when he finds out that [[spoiler:Raeven drugged Jasmine to [[BedTrick get her in his bed]]]]. Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you later learn [[spoiler:his ChildhoodFriend Raniye was raped multiple times by Destane]], so of course he’d have a problem with it.

FallenPrincess: Raniye and Laila.
** Fara from the sidestory Sunset is this, too.

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:Mozenrath’s mother]] shows him a vision where he was either purchased by Thanon (?) or left Destane to find Thanon himself. [[spoiler:His childhood is ''much'' happier, he stops Jafar’s plot before it begins, ''and'' he hooks up with Jasmine, all while leaving Destane without a zombie army]].

* Mozenrath also has a tendency to work himself to exhaustion, particularly when magic’s involved.
HoistByHisOwnPetard: Destane is ultimately killed by [[spoiler: Mozenrath casting a spell that inflicts all the pain the four children suffered under his hands back onto him]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mozenrath has a very tarnished one, although it’s hidden beneath layers of snark, paranoia, power-lust, and [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinism]], and only ever manifests towards his [[Morality Pet Morality Pets]].
* LackofEmpathy: Destane, ''definitely''.

* [[spoiler:Long-Lost Sister]]: [[spoiler:Although he doesn’t meet her, the epilogue reveals that Mozenrath’s sister [[Elana is still alive.]]
* LoveMakesYouCrazy/LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Raeven doesn’t deal with rejection well.]]

* LoveMartyr: Aladdin, for his FirstLove Fara. It got so far that he ‘’gave up a jewel-encrusted bracelet that would have fed him for a year’’ just to see her.

* LovedINotHonourMore: [[spoiler: Jasmine’s going to put her duty to Agrabah before Mozenrath every time, at least until he does a Heel Face Turn]]. (?)

* TheHeavy

* MoodWhiplash: Chapter 22 ends with [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Mozenrath and Jasmine working out some of their differences and having a Sleep Cute moment]]. Chapter 23 starts with [[spoiler:Jasmine being Mind Raped by Mirage]], which is so startling some readers may wonder if they accidently skipped a chapter.

* PowerPerversionPotential: Invoked and then averted; Mozenrath points out that, as the controller of the dreamscape he visits her in, it would be very easy for him to strip Jasmine naked or force her into [[AbsoluteCleavage more]] [[BareYourMidrift ?humiliating]] [[GoGoEnslavement outfits]], but he doesn’t.
* PoweredByaForsakenChild: [[spoiler:The gauntlet, and it’s less of a “forsaken child” than it is ‘’”thousands of forsaken souls”’’.]]
* PyrrhicVictory: So, Mozenrath, you’ve killed Destane, avenged your people, and won a super-powerful gauntlet in the process. Too bad [[spoiler:you had to kill your girlfriend to do it]]. Oh, and that gauntlet? [[spoiler:[[ArtifactOfDeath It’s going to literally eat your arm before siphoning off your life force]].]] Enjoy your victory.

** Jasmine is [[spoiler:(also)]] Aladdin’s, as revealed by Sunset.

* StalkerWithACrush: Jafar was spying Jasmine when she was as young as [[{{Squick}} eleven]].

** [[spoiler:Mozenrath and Raniye, in his backstory. He’s rapidly becoming a worse person, and she’s Destane’s Sex Slave. It eventually causes them to break up.]]

VillainousCrush: Jasmine suspects that Mozenrath has one on her.

WideEyedIdealist: Xerxes has some shades of this, though he’s capable of being realistic when needed.
TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Raniye takes all of Destane’s abuse, Laila’s insanity, and Mozenrath’s mood swings with a stiff upper lip, never letting on how much she’s hurting in turn.

Antiphony

“Another firsthand lesson, Princess. Never allow another to have power over you.”