History Tropers / NoriMori

* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: Even rap music.
* {{Realism}}: I strive for this in all my fiction.
* ShownTheirWork: I'm so addicted to this trope that the work I do on my stories is 95% research and 5% actual writing.
* SliceOfLife: Some of the stories I'm working on have elements of this.

* PhenotypeStereotype (particularly the Americans always having blonde hair and blue eyes)

* AmbiguousDisorder: My mom used to think I had UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome. No counsellor I've talked to thinks that's the case, but I can see why she'd think that. I'm definitely ''off'' — just in a way that apparently doesn't have a name. Though my doc, my mother, and I are now reconsidering ADHD.
** I have now been formally diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive type.

* ''Sans Souci''[[labelnote:*]]"Carefree"[[/labelnote]]: 19-year-old [[PunnyName Miles North]] comes home from a party one night to find a mysterious young man in a trench coat staring intently at his house. The next night, he is walking through the park when he is attacked by a supernatural creature, and almost immediately rescued by the mysterious stranger from the night before. After introducing himself as Neil Donovan, he tells Miles a secret about something that happened four years ago, and Miles starts to question his decision to continue living with his abusive family. Meanwhile, Neil won't say where he came from or how he knows magic — only that he was "thrown out of his home" — but it quickly becomes clear that this is his first contact with normal human civilization, and Miles suspects that he's an alien. Neil soon reveals that in order to avoid being taken back home (something he doesn't want despite missing his family), he has to complete [[TheQuest a quest]], and the most practical way to become powerful enough is to become a HunterOfMonsters. Miles ends up helping him out. Cue {{Fire Forged Friend|s}}ship.

** AllTakeAndNoGive: The Norths took advantage of Miles's sense of duty and desperation for approval/affection to get him to do things for them. By the time the story begins, he is the secondary breadwinner, does a large portion (sometimes most) of the housework and errands, and often helps Carrie and Davis with their homework, all with barely so much as a "thank you" in return.
** AmbiguousDisorder / HollywoodPersonalityDisorders: A lot of Miles's behaviour is consistent with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder borderline personality disorder]]. His father and younger brother show several traits as well.
*** Neil shows some traits that might evoke Asperger syndrome for some people, such as highly logical and literal thinking, monotone and somewhat formal speech, somewhat stiff body movements, and lack of social understanding or social skills. However, these traits are not due to a disorder, but the simple fact that he wasn't socialized (among normal humans, at least) until adulthood; some of them are simply his personality, as well. It also must be kept in mind that there are many other autistic traits that he doesn't have or even has the opposite of.
** AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:A very long time ago, the fey put together all the ingredients they needed to ''eventually'' create someone who would be powerful enough to reclaim Ireland on their behalf, and threw them in the figurative oven. They've been patiently waiting centuries for the timer to go off. Similarly, other conspiracy groups have sprung up around trying to prevent the fey from achieving their goals.]]

** BornOfMagic: [[spoiler:Miles was created by fairies to replace Neil. In fact, he was nothing more than glamour in the form of a human until Shannon vampirized him.]]
** BlueCollarWarlock: Any mage who isn't entrenched in some kind of sect is probably a mostly-ordinary person who happens to be capable of magic.
** CampStraight: Downplayed and zig-zagged with Neil. He's more so InTouchWithHisFeminineSide than actually campy, to the point that if he's wearing "normal" clothing, he isn't really distinguishable from an average NiceGuy who's just not very masculine. But, the way he sometimes dresses has attracted stares and slurs on occasion. Lastly, [[spoiler:while he's not gay, he's also not straight, so...]]
** CannotConveySarcasm: To the uninitiated, Neil's [[TheStoic stoic]] demeanour makes his FlatJoy moments sound like {{Deadpan Snark|er}}ing, and his impassive facial expression look like a disapproving BlankStare. In fact, he rarely uses actual sarcasm or snark, partly for this reason (but mostly because being insincere or unkind is against his nature). However, he sometimes uses his flat affect to troll his friends by making it deliberately unclear whether or not he's being serious.

** [[spoiler:ChangelingTale]]: [[spoiler:Neil was abducted by fairies as a baby, and raised in the Otherworld]].
** ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Most supernatural creatures in this setting seem to correspond to human beliefs about them, whether ancient beliefs, modern beliefs, or some combination; and certain creatures have seemingly "evolved" in ways that suggest they're adapting to urbanization and the Information Age to help maintain the {{Masquerade}}. There is a hypothesis that [[{{Tulpa}} such creatures were actually created by human beliefs]], and might continue to be influenced by them to greater or lesser degrees. This is supported by the fact that creatures whose mythology and existence in popular culture is mostly restricted to or associated with a specific geographical location — such as fairies in Ireland or jinn in the Arabian Peninsula — are indeed only found in those places (or at least only originate in those places; many types can and do travel); to the point that what kind of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/Fox_spirit fox spirit]] a fox will become depends on what species it is and which country it lives in. By contrast, generic vampires, which now permeate pop culture almost everywhere, can themselves come from anywhere (for this reason, in ''Sans Souci'' they are called "cosmopolitan vampires"); while more specific vampire-like creatures that more closely conform to the folklore of a particular region only emerge from that region. On the other hand, there are creatures that don't seem to correspond to any human mythology or folklore; it's not clear how certain types of creatures came by their current traits given highly diverse and ever-changing perceptions of them (e.g. vampires, ghosts, zombies); some creatures seem to be influenced by modern beliefs while others clearly are not (e.g. modern vampires, zombies, and werewolves are broadly in line with modern pop culture; while fairies are just as much TheFairFolk as they ever were, despite centuries of {{Flanderization}} in pop culture); and certain creatures and even magic itself have traits that have remained consistent through documented history and are apparently independent of human beliefs and perception.
** ClonesArePeopleToo: [[spoiler:Miles isn't even revealed to be Shannon's clone until very late in the story, quashing any question as to whether he's his own person. It is noted by Lillian that Miles reminds her of Shannon, but this is as much because of his appearance as because of his personality, and the personality traits they share are partly due to genetics and partly due to them both being vampires.]]

** DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: See NiceJobFixingItVillain!

** DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: One among many reasons that Miles never retaliates against his girlfriend's physical abuse.

*** [[spoiler:Mr. North]] tries to kill himself by [[spoiler:finishing his bottle of beta blockers]], out of guilt for [[spoiler:relapsing, his past abuse of Miles, and the recent realization that Miles himself has become an alcoholic due to said abuse]]. [[spoiler:Luckily, [[BungledSuicide he survives]], and is [[HappilyFailedSuicide glad of it]] once he sees his family again]].
** DrowningMySorrows: While Miles already drinks regularly, he is particularly prone to drinking heavily or binging when something [[INeedAFreakingDrink emotionally stressful has happened]]. Unfortunately, Miles is easily overwhelmed, so this happens with some regularity.

** EnfantTerrible: Miles's parents, particularly his father, perceived him as this. He did have a tendency to act out due to emotional sensitivity, emotional incompetence, and impulsivity, all of which were compounded over the years by trauma and serial abandonment; but he's never been intentionally malevolent.
** ExpendableClone: [[spoiler:Shannon was invaluable from the Fir Bolg's perspective, but she ultimately ended up being expendable thanks to the fact that she had unwittingly created a clone of herself — who better yet was unknown to her enemies and thus safe from them. Miles himself would be equally expendable to the Fir Bolg if ''he'' ever managed to create a clone of himself (though this is unlikely to happen since his own creation was only possible thanks to an extremely unlikely convergence of circumstances). In other words, anyone who has Shannon's genes is considered invaluable if they're the only one, and completely expendable otherwise. From the viewpoint of the Fir Bolg's magic, Shannon's genes are what is important, with everything else being incidental and thus expendable, to the point that from its perspective, Shannon and Miles are considered to be [[{{Twinmaker}} the same person]]: When Miles is reincarnated, he is given Shannon's body, because from the magic's perspective, he ''is'' Shannon. (However, he fortunately retains his own mind and memories.)]]

** FinancialAbuse: Multi-faceted. The family's financial problems are compounded by Mr. North spending so much of Mrs. North's money on alcohol, and by his refusal to either find work or sign up for disability since his heart attack. In turn, Miles feels compelled to give a large chunk of each paycheck to his mother to recoup their losses, which is a large part of why he started working in high school, and stayed home after he graduated high school instead of moving out.
** ForcedIntoEvil: [[spoiler:Neil is forced to help the fey reclaim Ireland.]]

** FriendlessBackground: Prior to meeting Neil, Miles's only friend was Mrs. Bell, an elderly lady he used to play the violin for, and still visits regularly even since he stopped playing. Miles makes friends easily but can't seem to keep them. When the story begins, Mrs. Bell is the only friend he's ''ever made'' that is ''still'' his friend.

** FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent: Miles's family are uniquely terrible to him; but this can also apply to Miles himself.
** FunctionalAddict: [[spoiler:Miles, mostly. Though he is sometimes an emotional wreck, in spite of his drinking he made the Honour Roll every year of high school, and never had trouble holding down a job.]]

** GreenThumb: Neil can create plant life out of nothing. (If you think this has no use in combat, recall the page image for LethalHarmlessPowers, as well as the page description's example of creating toxic plants.)

** IronicFear: [[spoiler:Miles's blood phobia seems to be this, considering he's a vampire, but in fact this is exactly ''why'' he has a blood phobia. When he was too young to understand what he was feeling, the desire he felt at the sight or smell of blood would have been confusing and frightening for him, and may even have been mistaken for fear; over time, conditioning reinforced this fear response to the point of a full-blown phobia.]]
** IrrationalHatred: Miles has been the target of this from his family, and from an increasingly long list of former friends and ex-girlfriends, for as long as he can remember. As if this weren't enough, ever since [[spoiler:his father's heart attack]], his family's treatment of him has only worsened, since they blame him for what happened simply because [[spoiler:Mr. North's anger at seeing his son playing violin in the park]] ''may'' have triggered it.

** KingInTheMountain: [[spoiler:The fey's crusade to reclaim Ireland ends up triggering several of these to awake from their slumber.]]

** [[spoiler:MistakenForJunkie]]: [[spoiler:Miles's siblings believe that he does hard drugs, because his parents used this as a cover story for his many [[BungledSuicide prescription drug overdoses]]. It didn't help that his overdose symptoms often bore similarities with hard drug overdoses, or that his self-harm burn scars resembled track marks.]]

** MysteriousPast: Neil refuses to disclose most details of his past, which is unusual for him, as in almost all other respects he believes in honesty and openness.
** TheNeedless: Neil [[TheSleepless doesn't need to sleep]], because he has an unusually high amount of raw magic energy. If he is weakened enough, or if he is deprived of magic energy for long enough, he will need to sleep like any normal person. He can also reduce his need for food and water if necessary.

** NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Neil, Miles, and their allies unwittingly spent years helping the fey get exactly what they wanted.]]
** NiceJobFixingItVillain:
*** [[spoiler:If the fey had only tried to take Ireland, they only would've triggered one or two [[KingInTheMountain Kings In The Mountain]], which they probably could have handled. But [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat they got greedy]] and tried to use Neil's lineage to also claim Wales, Scotland, England, Spain, and Portugal, triggering several more Kings In The Mountain and thus tipping the scales against themselves. Even better, some of the Kings were only strong enough to actually fulfill their purpose because they helped Neil complete the quest that the fey gave him in the first place.]]
*** [[spoiler:Furthermore, while trying to kill some of the Kings, such as Shannon, was the smartest thing they could have done, in Shannon's case it probably helped ''protect'' Miles, since it removed any possibility of him developing a connection with her that could have led to him being scrutinized and identified as her clone.]]
*** [[spoiler:To add insult to injury, the fey taking Neil in the first place, thus alerting Shannon to their presence, is what led her to Miles, which led to her inadvertently turning him into her HiddenBackupPrince. If that hadn't happened, her death would have put an end to the threat she posed, and they would've had at least one less KingInTheMountain to contend with.]]

** TheOldGods: They do exist in this universe, though it's not clear to what extent they conform to human mythology (or rather, how much human mythology conforms to them), and in most cases you could just as well call them demons, angels, fairies, or genies for all the difference it makes. (Some types do, however, have origins, traits, and geographic ties that are at least partly in line with mythology, and may even acknowledge their human classification within those mythologies, in which case it does actually make sense to call them by a particular name. For example, fairies have explicitly identified themselves as corresponding to the concept of ''aos sí''; even if human myths and beliefs about them aren't entirely accurate, they are in fact the particular type of being the concept encapsulates, and they do acknowledge and respond to terms such as ''fairy'', ''fae'', ''fey'', ''{{the Fair Folk}}'', ''aos sí'', ''aes sídhe'', ''daoine sídhe'', ''daoine maithe'', etc.)

** OppositeSexClone: [[spoiler:Played with. At first it seems that Miles is either related to Shannon or an opposite-sex clone of her; but later it transpires that he is her full genetic clone. He was imbued with Shannon's DNA when she vampirized him, but his physical body wasn't changed and his development wasn't affected. Medically, this is explained as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XX_male_syndrome XX male syndrome]], which is not technically inaccurate since his case mimics every aspect of the condition, including sterility; the only difference is the actual cause.]]

** TheSchizophreniaConspiracy: Averted with Chase, who has what used to be called disorganized schizophrenia. He's never experienced paranoia or delusions, and his most disabling symptom is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avolition avolition]].

** SharedFamilyQuirks: Miles and his father both picked up knitting from Miles's grandmother.

** StopWorshippingMe: [[spoiler:Neil is extremely uncomfortable with being idolized by the Eóganachta and their sympathizers as the High King of Ireland, not only because he dislikes the attention, but more so because he is being hailed for serving a cause he abhors, on behalf of people he despises. It is the first time in his life that he feels something akin to embarrassment and humiliation.]]

** {{Transsexual}}: Neil identifies as genderless, and states that he doesn't actually understand the concept of gender identity at all.

** TheUnfavourite: Miles to his family. Neither of Miles's parents have ever treated his younger twin siblings, Carrie and Davis, the way they treat him. And said siblings also mistreat him.

** VoluntaryShapeshifter: Neil can shapeshift into any [[Humanshifting human form]] or any [[Animorphism animal]] that has a brain (including non-existent animals PartialTransformation, as long as the resulting form's physiology is compatible with life). (This includes changing his [[SexShifter sex]], [[VoiceChangeling voice]], and [[Sizeshifter size]].) He can also shapeshift whatever clothes he's wearing into different clothes (or no clothes at all), but can't morph clothes for himself if he isn't wearing any, so TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter and ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing don't apply.

*** Neil's weakness is heat. If he sustains a thermal burn, his magic stamina temporarily drops to zero, which prevents him from using most magic, including shapeshifting; and his stamina doesn't fully replenish until the burn heals. If his core body temperature rises to the level of fever/hyperthermia, his magic energy drops to zero until his body temperature returns to the normal range. And worst of all, he can't use magic to (directly) protect himself from heat. Which means he can be almost completely magically disabled just by catching the flu, and antipyretic medication would be his only recourse. However, he can still protect himself from heat by ordinary physical means, and ''other'' people can use magic to protect him from heat.

* ''Sans Souci''[[labelnote:*]]"Carefree"[[/labelnote]]: 19-year-old [[PunnyName Miles North]] comes home from a party one night to find a mysterious young man in a trench coat staring intently at his house. The next night, he is walking through the park when he is attacked by a supernatural creature, and almost immediately rescued by the mysterious stranger from the night before. After introducing himself as Neil Donovan, he tells Miles a secret about something that happened four years ago, and Miles starts to question his decision to continue living with his abusive family. Meanwhile, Neil won't say where he came from or how he knows magic — only that he was "thrown out of his home" — but it quickly becomes clear that this is his first contact with normal human civilization, and Miles suspects that he's an alien. Neil soon reveals that in order to avoid being taken back home (something he doesn't want despite missing his family), he has to complete [[TheQuest a quest]], and the most practical way to become powerful enough is to become TheHunter. Miles ends up helping him out. Cue {{Fire Forged Friend|s}}ship.

** EnfantTerrible: Miles's parents, particularly his father, like to make out like he was this. In reality, he had a tendency to act out due to emotional sensitivity, emotional incompetence, and impulsivity, all of which were compounded over the years by trauma and serial abandonment.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: People have been asking about my background more often than I would consider strictly normal since I entered my teens. I've been asked by more than one person if I'm Hispanic. And apparently I'm Ambiguously Brown enough that anyone who's not black[[labelnote:*]]"Sub-Saharan Africa" black[[/labelnote]], white[[labelnote:*]]"Central/Eastern European" white[[/labelnote]], East Asian, or Mainland Southeast Asian, might be liable to wonder if I belong to their race: Brown people have asked me if I'm brown, Portuguese people have asked me if I'm Portuguese, Egyptian people have asked me if I'm Egyptian, etc. Once, a Middle Eastern girl serving me at a Tim Hortons asked me what country I'm from, and seemed surprised when I said "Canada" (despite my complete lack of foreign accent). I guess I look somewhat Hispanic, and it doesn't help that my first name IRL is sort of exotic-sounding and of South American origin.
** Recently (late April or early May 2014) a customer at my work asked my name and then asked if I was Arabic (I assume he himself was Arabic).
** Even more recently (May 2014), yet another foreign (I assume brown) stranger asked me what country I'm from, while we were waiting for a bus.
** Even ''more'' recently (early June 2014), a guy who got on the train with his bike, after asking me if that was actually allowed and then sitting next to me in one of the seats designated for people with bicycles, asked me where I'm from, and when I said "Here", he said "I thought maybe you were Arabic." (Again, I assume he was Arabic himself.)
** ''Less than a week later'', a customer at work, who as far as I could tell was a white Hispanic, asked where I'm from, and when I said "Here", he said, "But your parents, they are Syrian, Lebanese...?" Not even close.
** As if that weren't bad enough, ''the very next day'', an Italian man interviewing me for a job asked (out of curiosity, not as an interview question), "What's your nationality?" If I hadn't been so flabbergasted, I would have answered his question literally and said "Canadian".\\
Five times in less than two months; four of those in less than a month, and two of those in less than 24 hours. That must be a record. This is getting downright unnerving. I'm just ''that'' ambiguous, that ''perfect strangers'' feel ''compelled'' to ask.[[note]]Not that I'm much better: Recently (May 2014) I had a customer who I was ''sure'' must be either Japanese or Korean, based on the people I've met in my life who are Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (and on what little I could hear of her speaking to her children in her native language). Because of my interest in Japan (I thought it might be fun to converse with a customer in Japanese), I asked if she was Japanese. Turns out ''lots of people'' ask her if she's Japanese, and then if she's Korean. She's Chinese. I felt really bad. (And apparently my hearing isn't very good.)[[/note]]\\
As you can probably tell by now, I've always been a little bit testy about such questions. It bothers me that people will ask "Where are you from?" (clarified to "Where were you born?" if I reply "What do you mean?"), as if my answer will inevitably reveal my background, i.e. [[MistakenForForeigner based on the assumption that I must be "from" wherever my skin colour comes from]], as opposed to simply being "from" Canada, like plenty of other non-white Canadians. "What is your background?" bugs me too. Which background? Educational? Employment? Familial? I used to like putting the asker on the spot by replying (again) "What do you mean?", despite knowing perfectly well what they really mean, because I wanted them to actually come right out and say it. Now I don't bother; I've become sort of resigned to the fact that people are gonna ask and are gonna word it that way. No need to make it painful.\\
I don't know why people asking these things bugs me so much. I guess because it's happened ''so many times''. And because it seems like a weird and sort of impertinent thing to ask a perfect stranger in the first place. And I guess I feel like it's weird that people are so curious, let alone this ''number'' of people. Do all my "brown" (Muslim, Hindu, Sikh) friends get asked that so much, if ever? I doubt it. (But then again, with them I'm sure most people can actually ''tell''.) I've asked maybe three people similar questions. The first (a classmate), I asked where she was from, because I ''knew'' she'd moved here from another country and just didn't know which one[[labelnote:*]]Though I did put my foot in my mouth by then asking how long she'd spoken English, assuming because of her thick accent that it wasn't her native language. It was. Dialects, bitches! :P[[/labelnote]]. (And considering we were going to the same school and had chatted a few times, she wasn't a total stranger.) The second (a customer), I asked if she was Afrikaans, because she was white and blonde and had just told me she was from South Africa[[labelnote:*]](funnily enough, we were having this conversation because her daughter shared my name)[[/labelnote]]. The third, well, it's in the note a couple paragraphs back (not my finest moment). Notice that in none of these cases did I ask "What's your background?" Ugh.[[labelnote:long addendum]]\\
Some of my sensitivity about this subject may have simply rubbed off on me from my mother. The first time I applied for a bank card (I was a pre-teen), one of the questions the clerk asked me was whether I was a resident of that city. I imagine this was a standard question, and I don't recall it having been asked in a judgemental tone; but when I came home and told my mom about it (since the question had caught me off-guard), she kind of flipped out, phoned the bank, and yelled at them about the clerk "grilling" me. I'm pretty sure she implied if not outright stated, to both me and whoever she spoke to on the phone, that she believed the clerk had been racist in her treatment of me.\\
A few years earlier, when I was getting off a flight home from my aunt's and was being led with the other unaccompanied minors to where we were meeting our parents, my mom saw me before I saw her and tried to go to me but was stopped by a guard; when she explained that she saw her daughter, and pointed at me, the guard couldn't figure out which child she was referring to, and still kept her back. About a second later I saw her and ran to hug her; within that time frame she had started crying. While it may not be particularly ideal, I think it's natural that people generally expect children to share their parents' skin tone, or at least racial...likeness. If a white woman points at a group of children and says one of them is hers, you're not going to assume she's talking about the brown-looking one. And I imagine the security guard would rather have been safe than sorry. But still, my mother felt unfairly treated on the basis of our differing skin tones.\\
And finally, when I was a baby, when she went out with me she felt that she sometimes received judgemental looks from people belonging to the other side of my heritage, as if I belonged with "them", and not her — or at least, not ''just'' her (i.e. why wasn't the other, non-white half of my heritage — my father — also with me?). Obviously I cannot vouch for whether these looks actually were judgemental, much less whether the people giving them were actually thinking what my mother believes they were. In any case, while it hasn't happened ''much'', my mother has displayed what I feel to be a small level of [[EverythingIsRacist hypersensitivity regarding my racial background]].[[/labelnote]]\\
So, what's the big secret to my Ambiguous Brownness (which is apparently [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale OVER 9000]])? I'm not telling. Being this ambiguous to such a wide variety of people makes me feel a little bit magical, and I'd like to hang onto that. Let's just say that none of the guesses I've mentioned above — in fact, none of guesses ''anyone'' has proposed to me — have been correct.

* BigYes: What I did (literally, out loud) when I saw the third panel of [[http://www.prequeladventure.com/2012/06/2058/ this]] ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' update. I even put the title in as "YES!!!" when bookmarking it.

* DisappearedDad: My whole life, except for a brief period when I was about four. I wasn't even told he was my dad (as far as I remember) until after our last time seeing each other. All I really remember about him is that he tried to teach me how to use a yoyo. It didn't really work. (I maintain that it was because they were shitty yoyos.) When I [[TellMeAboutMyFather asked my mom]] years later why he wasn't part of the family, she said that when she was pregnant with me, they sort of mutually agreed that while he was a NiceGuy, he wasn't responsible enough to be a father. (And the pregnancy wasn't planned, so it's not like they were necessarily ever going to get married and have kids to begin with.)

* MostFanficWritersAreGirls: ...Hi.

*** The above, however, is not actually called a glamour in ''Sans Souci''; it is often called "charisma". In ''Sans Souci'', the type of magic called "glamour" in the story basically means molding magic energy into the form of something else (usually a physical object), with its specific physical properties depending on the creator's specifications. For instance, you could glamour a coat, but while you could make a coat that has all the properties of a real coat, you could also make an intangible coat, or a coat that can be felt but is still pervious to air or heat, or an invisible coat, or an invisible ''and'' intangible coat that still keeps you warm (which is basically a heat charm). Glamours are easy to use and require relatively little energy to create, so they are extremely versatile but can also be very powerful depending on how they're applied. In fact, any magic in ''Sans Souci'' that creates something out of thin air without literally creating persistent physical matter (e.g. magic missile), or turns something into something else without literally rearranging its particles (e.g. illusions) is a glamour, which means that a large portion of the magic seen in ''Sans Souci'' is glamour. (This is not only because most mages aren't powerful enough to have much in the way of non-glamour magic, but because glamour is the ultimate SwissArmySuperpower, is SimpleYetAwesome, and tends to reward WeakButSkilled {{Guile Hero}}es. Plus you can still have all the VisualEffectsOfAwesome you want. Pretty much its only drawback is that anything impressive is DifficultButAwesome compared to most spells.)

** VoluntaryShapeshifter: Neil can shapeshift into any animal (including non-existent ones, as long as the physiology is compatible with life). He can also shapeshift whatever clothes he's wearing into different clothes (or no clothes at all), but can't morph clothes for himself if he isn't wearing any, so TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter and ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing don't apply.

** TheStoic: While he mostly has a normal subjective emotional range, Neil rarely shows much emotional expression (to the point that he has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_affect_display#Blunted_and_flat_affect blunted or even flat affect]]) — in contrast to Miles, who is more reactive and hot-blooded. Even Neil's NotSoStoic moments are pretty subdued.

** DarkSecret: Neil has a few.

** DotingGrandparent: Miles's paternal grandmother, who gave him the affection and approval he'd always wanted from his family, encouraged him to take up the violin, and paid for his violin and lessons until she died when he was 15.

*** Miles has tried to kill himself more than once.

** StopWorshippingMe: [[spoiler:Neil is extremely uncomfortable with being idolized by the Eóganachta and their sympathizers as the High King of Ireland, not only because he dislikes the attention, but mostly because he is being hailed for serving a cause he abhors, on behalf of people he despises. It is the first time in his life that he feels something akin to embarrassment and humiliation.]]

*** His HealingFactor makes it impossible for him to do any permanent damage to himself, but [[spoiler:it meant that a lot of injuries he was dealt by his father healed too quickly for anyone to notice, and that he could still function quite well even after a drinking binge, causing his alcoholism to fly under the radar for years because it didn't affect his grades or his job]].

** AttractiveBentGender: Neil is already attractive, but also fairly androgynous, so he can pass as an attractive woman pretty easily even without using a glamour.

*** Neil is ambidextrous, but when acting reflexively he seems to favour his left hand.

** StopWorshippingMe: [[spoiler:Neil is extremely uncomfortable with being idolized by the Eóganachta and their sympathizers as the High Kind of Ireland, not only because he dislikes the attention, but mostly because he is being hailed for serving a cause he abhors, on behalf of people he despises. It is the first time in his life that he feels something akin to embarrassment and humiliation.]]

*** [[spoiler:To add insult to injury, the fey taking Neil in the first place, thus alerting Shannon to their presence, is what led her to Miles, which led to her inadvertently turning him into her BackupTwin. If that hadn't happened, her death would have put an end to the threat she posed, and they would've had at least one less KingInTheMountain to contend with.]]

** GivingTheSwordToANoob: When Neil first acquires [[spoiler:Freagartach]], he hasn't the slightest idea how to wield a sword.

** FamilyOfChoice: Neil and Miles are this for each other. This also extends somewhat to Marisa, who is a widowed single parent; and to Chase and Denise, who have each other but are somewhat estranged from their parents.

** TheOldGods: They do exist in this universe, though it's not clear to what extent they conform to human mythology (or rather, how much human mythology conforms to them), and in most cases you could just as well call them demons, angels, fairies, or genies for all the difference it makes. (Some types do, however, have origins, traits, and geographic ties that are at least partly in line with mythology, and may even acknowledge their human classification within those mythologies, in which case it does actually make sense to call them by a particular name. For example, fairies have explicitly identified themselves as corresponding to the concept of ''aos sí''; even if human myths and beliefs about them aren't entirely accurate, they are in fact the particular type of being the concept encapsulates, and they do acknowledge and respond to terms such as ''fairy'', ''fae'', ''{{the Fair Folk}}'', ''aos sí'', ''aes sídhe'', ''daoine sídhe'', ''daoine maithe'', etc.)

** {{Protectorate}}: No one seems to trigger Neil's protective instincts like Miles does. The reverse is partly true, though Miles also sees his siblings and to some extent his whole family as Protectorates.

** SpellConstruction: There are multiple levels of spells, which differ in their capabilities and requirements:
** TheStoic: While he has a normal subjective emotional range, Neil rarely shows much emotional expression (to the point that he has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_affect_display#Blunted_and_flat_affect blunted or even flat affect]]) — in contrast to Miles, who is more reactive and hot-blooded. Even Neil's NotSoStoic moments are pretty subdued.

** StrongFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:Downplayed: As deliberate foreshadowing, Neil shares several physical traits with the Norths, while Miles shares almost none. Miles's hair is jet black, while the rest of the Norths have hair colours ranging from dirty blonde to dark brown, and Neil has light golden brown hair. Miles has pale skin, while the rest of the Norths have peach-coloured skin, as does Neil. Mrs. North is left-handed, as is Neil; and Mr. North has green eyes, as does Neil. Miles never freckles despite his pale skin, while Mrs. North and Davis both have freckles[[labelnote:*]]Mrs. North has permanent freckles, and Davis freckles after sun exposure.[[/labelnote]], and Neil gains freckles with sun exposure. Miles himself looks like basically a male version of Shannon Bell, hinting at their [[OppositeSexClone relatedness]].]]

** TheQuest: Neil has one that he needs to complete in order to ensure his family can't take him back home.

** ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Most supernatural creatures in this setting seem to correspond to human beliefs about them, whether ancient beliefs, modern beliefs, or some combination; and certain creatures have seemingly "evolved" in ways that suggest they're adapting to urbanization and the Information Age in ways that help maintain the {{Masquerade}}. There is a hypothesis that [[{{Tulpa}} such creatures were actually created by human beliefs]], and might continue to be influenced by them to greater or lesser degrees. This is supported by the fact that creatures whose mythology and existence in popular culture is mostly restricted to or associated with a specific geographical location — such as fairies in Ireland or jinn in the Arabian Peninsula — are indeed only found in those places (or at least only originate in those places; many types can and do travel); to the point that what kind of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/Fox_spirit fox spirit]] a fox will become depends on what species it is and which country it lives in. By contrast, generic vampires, which now permeate pop culture almost everywhere, can themselves come from anywhere (for this reason, in ''Sans Souci'' they are called "cosmopolitan vampires"); while more specific vampire-like creatures that more closely conform to the folklore of a particular region only emerge from that region. On the other hand, there are creatures that don't seem to correspond to any human mythology or folklore; it's not clear how certain types of creatures came by their current traits given highly diverse and ever-changing perceptions of them (e.g. vampires, ghosts, zombies); some creatures seem to be influenced by modern beliefs while others clearly are not (e.g. modern vampires, zombies, and werewolves are broadly in line with modern pop culture; while fairies are just as much TheFairFolk as they ever were, despite centuries of {{Flanderization}} in pop culture); and certain creatures and even magic itself have traits that have remained consistent through documented history and are apparently independent of human beliefs and perception.

** IronicFear: [[Miles's blood phobia seems to be this, considering he's a vampire, but in fact this is exactly ''why'' he has a blood phobia. When he was too young to understand what he was feeling, the desire he felt at the sight or smell of blood would have been confusing and frightening for him, and may even have been mistaken for fear; over time, conditioning reinforced this fear response to the point of a full-blown phobia.]]

** CannotConveySarcasm: To the uninitiated, Neil's [[TheStoic stoic]] demeanour makes his FlatJoy moments sound like {{Deadpan Snark|er}}ing, and his impassive facial expression look like a disapproving BlankStare. In fact, he rarely uses actual sarcasm or snark, partly for this reason (but mostly because being insincere or unkind is against his nature). However, he sometimes uses his flat affect to troll Miles by making it deliberately unclear whether or not he's being serious.

** ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Most supernatural creatures in this setting seem to correspond to human beliefs about them, whether ancient beliefs, modern beliefs, or some combination. There is a hypothesis that such creatures were actually created by human beliefs, and might continue to be influenced by them to greater or lesser degrees. This is supported by the fact that creatures whose mythology and existence in popular culture is mostly restricted to or associated with a specific geographical location — such as fairies in Ireland or jinn in the Arabian Peninsula — are indeed only found in those places (or at least only originate in those places; many types can and do travel); to the point that what kind of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/Fox_spirit fox spirit]] a fox will become depends on what species it is and which country it lives in. By contrast, generic vampires, which now permeate pop culture almost everywhere, can themselves come from anywhere; while more specific vampire-like creatures that more closely conform to the folklore of a particular region only emerge from that region. On the other hand, there are creatures that don't seem to correspond to any human mythology or folklore; it's not clear how certain types of creatures came by their current traits given highly diverse and ever-changing perceptions of them (e.g. vampires, ghosts, zombies); some creatures seem to be influenced by modern beliefs while others clearly are not (e.g. modern vampires, zombies, and werewolves are broadly in line with modern pop culture; while fairies are just as much TheFairFolk as they ever were, despite centuries of {{Flanderization}} in pop culture); and certain creatures and even magic itself have traits that have remained consistent through documented history and are apparently independent of human beliefs and perception.
** TheComicallySerious: Neil rarely changes his tone of voice or facial expression when he's speaking, regardless of what he's saying or the emotions behind it. Which leads to many instances of FlatJoy, DullSurprise, ThatMakesMeFeelAngry, StunnedSilence, BluntYes, and ColdHam; or perfectly flat deliveries of reactions that normally involve a lot of emotion and expressiveness, such as CutenessProximity or PuppyDogEyes. He also develops a sense of humour that actually exploits his stolid disposition; it mostly involves pretending to take [[RhetoricalQuestionBlunder rhetorical questions]] and [[SarcasmBlind sarcasm]] literally and seriously. (Since this is something he genuinely has trouble with sometimes, his poker face makes it hard to tell when he's doing it on purpose.)

*** This tends to be the downfall of vampires in particular, for several reasons. By drinking blood, vampires "level up" and gain further abilities, and the kinds of abilities vampires get are usually AwesomeButImpractical. Those who don't come from a magic background are awed by these abilities, and probably have no one to measure their power against, so they tend to think that they are extremely powerful. They don't realize how restricted or impractical their abilities are, and may not even know that they ''can'' learn other things (let alone how to do so), or even that other kinds of magic ''exist'', and are shocked when they're practically annihilated by a perfectly average opponent, or find themselves up against powers they've never seen before. Even vampires that really are as strong as they think, don't realize that for all their raw power, their abilities are simply too narrow in scope to serve them well in most fights.

** TheFairFolk: Fairies, according to Neil, are like this. He doesn't even want to talk about them.

*** The above, however, is not actually called a glamour in ''Sans Souci''. The type of magic called "glamour" in the story basically means molding magic energy into the form of something else (usually a physical object), with its specific physical properties depending on the creator's specifications. For instance, you could glamour a coat, but while you could make a coat that has all the properties of a real coat, you could also make an intangible coat, or a coat that can be felt but is still pervious to air or heat, or an invisible coat, or an invisible ''and'' intangible coat that still keeps you warm (which is basically a heat charm). Glamours are easy to use and require relatively little energy to create, so they are extremely versatile but can also be very powerful depending on how they're applied. In fact, any magic in ''Sans Souci'' that creates something out of thin air without literally creating persistent physical matter (e.g. magic missile), or turns something into something else without literally rearranging its particles (e.g. illusions) is a glamour, which means that a large portion of the magic seen in ''Sans Souci'' is glamour.

** HealingFactor: Neil can heal relatively fast because he has so much magic power. He also doesn't need to sleep, for the same reason.
*** [[spoiler:Miles unknowingly]] has this ability, because of [[spoiler:being a vampire]]. Though it's slower than it could be because of his [[spoiler:blood virginity]], it is no less powerful: ''Any'' injury or malady that doesn't kill him first will eventually heal completely, leaving not so much as a scar. [[spoiler:This is part of why his injuries from physical abuse and self-harm often went unnoticed, and is also the reason why Miles has managed to sleep with dozens of women, sometimes unprotected, without contracting a single STD. It's also the reason why Miles has no trouble with heavy exertion despite smoking heavily, why he can hold his liquor far beyond what should be possible, why his hangovers are mild even after a drinking binge, and why he doesn't seem to have any physical dependence on alcohol aside from the initial hangover, despite his drinking patterns]].

** InsaneForgiveness: Neil is a ridiculously forgiving and understanding person, especially towards Miles, whom he will forgive for pretty much anything, usually instantaneously. Often, he doesn't feel that there's anything to forgive in the first place, since he is not easy to anger and almost impossible to offend.

** InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Neil likes feminine clothes, while Miles likes cooking and knitting.

** {{Kuudere}}: Neil is a Type 1 ("Always In Control"). He's quiet and levelheaded regardless of how he's feeling; but he rarely comes across as apathetic or cold, and his default mood is "content", which is usually obvious even if he's not smiling. His mood is usually clear from the vibes he gives off, and if it's not clear, [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry he'll tell you how he's feeling]] if you ask him.

*** Neil is a non-romantic LoveMartyr for Miles, who for all his good intentions and caring nature is also a very flawed and troubled person who doesn't always treat Neil well. In fact, for a long time their friendship is codependent; though Neil does genuinely want to help Miles, he often unwittingly enables his maladaptive behaviours by simply shielding him from the consequences instead of helping him fix them, and he centers his life around rescuing Miles from his problems. However, this is partly due to simple ignorance of the best way to help; the relationship becomes healthier as time goes on, and Neil does later recognize that he enjoyed being "the hero" a bit too much, and did not always act in Miles's best interest partly for that reason. Regardless, overall the relationship is helpful for Miles, even at peak codependency, partly because unconditional love and a constant companion was something he genuinely needed, and knowing that he has someone who will always be there for him actually does a lot in itself to improve his emotional health.

** MagicalGesture: Most spells that create projectiles or affect specific targets will be accompanied by a gesture ranging from a wave or pass of a hand to FullContactMagic. Gestures aren't strictly necessary to any kind of magic in theory, but in practice they make the spell easier to visualize and therefore cast effectively. For some spells and charms (such as basic glamours), enough practice can obviate the need for gestures; but most human mages aren't (and probably never will be) powerful enough to ''never'' have to use them for anything.

** PowersAsPrograms: Most magic (that humans can use) is basically a form of {{glamour}}, which in ''Sans Souci'' means molding magic energy into the form you want to use. Usually the glamour is determined by the human on an as-needed basis, which in ''Sans Souci'' is called a "charm" or "enchantment" to distinguish them from "spells". A spell is a glamour that has a (more or less) fixed form (loosely following rule 1 of VancianMagic). Spells are akin to magic "programs" that the user can invoke whenever they want to; and just like running a computer program (e.g. using a spell-check feature) takes less energy and effort than performing the task manually (e.g. painstakingly proofreading a document yourself), casting a spell is easier than creating a glamour that has the same effect. In fact, a spell often allows the user to perform a task that they could never do without the spell. For example, Neil has an espionage spell that can create a number of invisible and intangible "eyes" (they also detect sound, and can be made to detect smell) and place them anywhere that Neil has seen before (if he has a relative idea of its location). He could create a simple version of this with his own power, but with his spell he could theoretically create hundreds of eyes and place them all over a city within a matter of seconds or minutes, which is something he could never hope to achieve without using the spell. Neil describes spells as "having a contract with magic", and compares the difference between spells and charms to the difference between ready-made products and custom-made products: Ready-made products (spells) can be grabbed off a shelf without any hassle, but might not fit your needs perfectly; whereas custom-made products (charms) can be made to your exact specifications, but take more effort. The analogy isn't perfect, as many spells require far more energy to cast than it would take to create a glamour that has the same effect, but usually the effect is far too difficult or complex for the user to accomplish on their own despite taking little actual energy. In fact, it's often ''because'' the effect is so complex that the spell has a high energy cost as compensation. Complexity is the defining factor: Glamours have a very low energy cost, but require effort or concentration that is usually proportional to their complexity. Spells take most of the effort and concentration out of the equation, at the price of a high energy cost.

** SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Zig-zagged, as Miles and Neil are both InTouchWithHisFeminineSide, but in different ways. Neil is a lot more androgynous than Miles, likes to wear feminine clothing (though not exclusively), and his interests lean a bit towards "metrosexual". On the other hand, Miles is a lot more emotionally expressive and histrionic, and he likes cooking, knitting, crafting, and playing the violin.

** SharpDressedMan: Miles and Neil both like to look nice. For Miles this usually means wearing chinos and/or dress shirts. For Neil this usually means wearing feminine clothing and/or colourful trench coats.

** TheStoic: While he has a normal emotional range, Neil rarely shows much emotional expression (to the point that he has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_affect_display#Blunted_and_flat_affect blunted or even flat affect]]) — in contrast to Miles, who is more reactive and hot-blooded. Even Neil's NotSoStoic moments are pretty subdued. So when they're ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness not]]''...

** ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: If Neil is angry, sad, or excited, often the only indication is him saying so.

** TranquilFury: The first time Neil is shown to be angry, it's quite obvious due to how much tension he's radiating; but he shows so much restraint that without that tension and his eyes being white-hot with rage, it wouldn't necessarily be clear. His voice remains calm and level (albeit tense), he speaks politely even to the person he's angry with, and his entirely sincere (yet calmly delivered) threat to [[ColdHam break all of her limbs]] is the only hint that he's not merely annoyed.

---->'''Neil:''' They're not like your parents. They've never been good people. And they didn't hurt me because they were troubled themselves. They hurt me because it is in their nature to treat people like toys.

** WellDoneSonGuy: Miles is like this with his whole family, doing so much for them out of sheer desperation for their attention, affection, and approval, as well as to atone for what he perceives as his own shortcomings and misdeeds[[labelnote:*]]Particularly "causing" [[spoiler:his father's heart attack]].[[/labelnote]] that have "earned" his family's ire and mistreatment.
** WholesomeCrossdresser: Neil doesn't understand why some clothing is considered exclusively for women, and wears women's clothing fairly often, though in public he usually glamours himself as a woman when doing so, to avoid drawing negative attention. He considers this a hassle, since he has to also glamour his outfit while wearing normal clothes underneath in case of GlamourFailure. Later on, he only glamours himself if he thinks he looks better that way.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/norimori300_7132.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Yo.]]

** ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Most supernatural creatures in this setting seem to correspond to human beliefs about them, whether ancient beliefs, modern beliefs, or some combination. There is a hypothesis that such creatures were actually created by human beliefs, and might continue to be influenced by them to greater or lesser degrees. This is supported by the fact that creatures whose mythology and existence in popular culture is mostly restricted to or associated with a specific geographical location — such as fairies in Ireland or jinn in the Arabian Peninsula — are indeed only found in those places (or at least only originate in those places; many types can and do travel); to the point that what kind of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/Fox_spirit fox spirit]] a fox will become depends on what species it is and which country it lives in. By contrast, generic vampires, which now permeate pop culture almost everywhere, can themselves come from anywhere; while more specific vampire-like creatures that more closely conform to the folklore of a particular region are only found in that region. On the other hand, there are creatures that don't seem to correspond to any human mythology or folklore; it's not clear how certain types of creatures came by their current traits given highly diverse and ever-changing perceptions of them (e.g. vampires, ghosts, zombies); some creatures seem to be influenced by modern beliefs while others clearly are not (e.g. modern vampires, zombies, and werewolves are broadly in line with modern pop culture, while fairies are just as much TheFairFolk as they ever were); and certain creatures and even magic itself have traits that have remained consistent through documented history and are apparently independent of human beliefs and perception.

** [[spoiler:ChangelingTale]]: [[spoiler:Neil was abducted by fairies as a baby, and raised in Arcadia]].

** DrivenToSuicide: One night, after drinking a bottle of whiskey, [[spoiler:Mr. North]] tries to kill himself by [[spoiler:finishing his bottle of beta blockers]], out of guilt for [[spoiler:relapsing, his past abuse of Miles, and the recent realization that Miles himself has become an alcoholic due to said abuse]]. [[spoiler:Luckily, [[BungledSuicide he survives]], and is [[HappilyFailedSuicide glad of it]] once he sees his family again]].

*** More literal with Neil, who until meeting Miles had any friends before at all, since he'd never met anyone outside his family (who can't be considered "friends" by any stretch).

* ''Sans Souci''[[labelnote:*]]"Carefree"[[/labelnote]]: 19-year-old [[PunnyName Miles North]] comes home from a party one night to find a mysterious young man in a trench coat staring intently at his house. The next night, he is walking through the park when he is attacked by a supernatural creature, and almost immediately rescued by the mysterious stranger from the night before. After introducing himself as Neil Donovan, he tells Miles a secret about something that happened four years ago, and Miles starts to question his decision to continue living with his abusive family. Meanwhile, Neil won't say where he came from or how he knows magic — only that he was "thrown out of his home" — but it quickly becomes clear that this is his first contact with normal human civilization, and Miles suspects that he's an alien. When another supernatural creature shows up a few days later, Neil toys with the idea of becoming TheHunter, and asks Miles if he'd like join him. Cue {{Fire Forged Friend|s}}ship.

** {{Kuudere}}: Neil is a Type 1 ("Always In Control"). He's quiet and levelheaded regardless of how he's feeling; but he never comes across as apathetic or cold, and his default mood is "content", which is usually obvious even if he's not smiling. His mood is usually clear from the vibes he gives off, and if it's not clear, he'll tell you how he's feeling if you ask him.

** LoveMartyr: Miles has been in abusive relationships where he took on this role. It didn't work.

** MysteriousPast: Neil refuses to disclose the details of his past, which is unusual for him, as in almost all other respects he believes in honesty and openness.

** OnlySaneMan: Zig-zagged with Miles. He is the only one to acknowledge there's a problem with his father's drinking or anything else his family does, he shares the burden of taking care of the family financially and physically, and he strives to treat them with decency and respect — and in the case of his siblings, even affection — when none of them do the same for him. On the other hand, he has a very impulsive and sensitive nature, which often leads him to make poor decisions or mistreat people he cares about; and due to his abusive upbringing and environment, he has a GuiltComplex, crippling trust and self-esteem issues, and spends a lot of his free time self-medicating with alcohol and sex.

** TranquilFury: The first time Neil is shown to be angry, it's quite obvious due to how much tension he's radiating; but he shows so much restraint that without that tension and his eyes being white-hot with rage, it wouldn't necessarily be clear. His voice remains calm and level (albeit tense), he speaks politely even to the person he's angry with, and his entirely sincere (yet calmly delivered) threat to break all of her limbs is the only hint that he's not merely annoyed.

** WholesomeCrossdresser: Neil doesn't understand why some clothing is considered exclusively for women, and wears women's clothing fairly often, though in public he usually glamours himself as a woman when doing so, to avoid drawing negative attention. He considers this a hassle, since he has to also glamour his outfit while wearing normal clothes underneath in case of GlamourFailure.

** TroubledAbuser: Miles's parents found him to be a very difficult and unlikable child (for many reasons, some of which are justified and some of which aren't), so by the time he was kindergarten age, they were both depressed and emotionally drained, their marriage was on the rocks, and they both seriously regretted having a child at all. This, and their tendency to take their stress out on Miles, made them feel like horrible parents/people, which only aggravated the situation and caused an endless feedback loop. Later Mr. North's

Recently (November 2014), I found [[http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/13674/what-order-should-i-play-the-half-life-series-in this]] question asking what order the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series should be played in. This was a topic that I'd barely even thought of, let alone considered in any depth, since the franchise has a refreshingly linear storyline and release order. The games are chronological (i.e. no prequels or labyrinthine side titles), yet flexible (i.e. playing the ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' series first doesn't cost you much story-wise, any or all of the ''Half-Life'' {{Expansion Pack}}s can be skipped, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things where you play the ''Portal'' games, etc.). However, having recently thought about how the ''Half-Life'' expansions' release order may have affected their reception, and being someone who goes into SeriousBusiness Mode at the drop of a hat (especially if that hat is ''Half-Life''), I began to type out a reply, and before I knew it I had typed a whole damn ''essay''.

** AllTakeAndNoGive: The Norths took advantage of Miles's sense of duty and desperation for approval/affection to get him to do things for them. By the time the story begins, he is the primary breadwinner, does a large portion (sometimes most) of the housework and errands, and often helps Carrie and Davis with their homework, all with barely so much as a "thank you" in return.
** AmbiguousDisorder / HollywoodPersonalityDisorders: A lot of Miles's behaviour is consistent with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder borderline personality disorder]]. His father and younger brother may have it as well.
** TheAtoner: Miles, after [[spoiler:his father's heart attack]], which he feels responsible for causing (and the rest of the family agrees).
*** [[spoiler:The Norths, particularly Mr. North, after they have a collective HeelRealization about how they treated Miles]].
** AttractiveBentGender: Neil is already attractive, but also fairly androgynous, so he can pass as an attractive woman fairly easily even without using a glamour.

** BadMoodAsAnExcuse: Often use as an excuse by Miles's father and girlfriends alike.

** BetterThanSex: Miles claims that playing the violin can be this, which is saying a lot considering how much he enjoys sex.

*** [[spoiler:His charisma allows him to form relationships easily, but this same power tends to repel close friends, so he's spent his whole life making lots of friends only to lose them several months later.]]

*** His [[spoiler:sensitivity to sunlight has made him susceptible to sunburns and heatstroke his whole life, which limits how much time he can spend outdoors on summer days, which upsets him to no end because he loves the outdoors.]]

** DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Mr. North's drinking and abuse worsened after his heart attack due to depression and anger, while he and the rest of the family used his condition to excuse his behaviour.
** DotingGrandparent: Miles's paternal grandmother, who gave him the affection and approval he'd always wanted from his family, encouraged him to take up the violin, and paid for his violin and lessons — until she died when he was 15.
** DomesticAbuse
** DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: One among many reasons that Miles never retaliates against his girlfriend Amy's physical abuse.
** {{Doublethink}}: Years of emotional abuse and failed friendships and relationships have left Miles harbouring many sets of conflicting ideas. He knows his family, former friends, and ex-girlfriends were wrong to treat him as they did, yet also feels he must have done something to deserve it or is just fundamentally flawed. He knows [[spoiler:his father's heart attack]] wasn't his fault, yet feels massive guilt over it, and continues living with his family partly because of it. He was worried about his father after his heart attack, but part of him wished he would have died. He knows that [[spoiler:his drinking]] makes him NotSoDifferent from his father, yet rejects the idea that it is a problem or that [[spoiler:he is an alcoholic]]. Et cetera.

** EnfantTerrible: Miles's parents, particularly his father, like to make out like he was this. In reality, he merely had a tendency to act out due to emotional sensitivity, emotional incompetence, and impulsivity, all of which were compounded over the years by trauma and serial abandonment.

** {{Glamour}}: Because [[spoiler:he is a vampire]], [[spoiler:Miles unknowingly]] has a supernatural charisma that functions in some ways like a glamour, causing people to immediately notice him, trust him, and like him. This is why [[spoiler:he can make friends and pick up women easily]]. However, it comes with a caveat that [[spoiler:it works best on strangers, it wears off the longer and better someone knows him, and can even start to have the opposite effect on people who know him well. This is why he can't seem to maintain friendships or romantic relationships, and part of why his family hated him.]]
*** The above, however, is not actually called a glamour in ''Sans Souci''. The type of magic called "glamour" basically means molding magic energy into the form of something else (usually a physical object), with its specific physical properties depending on the creator's specifications. For instance, you could glamour a coat, but while you could make a coat that has all the properties of a real coat, you could also make an intangible coat, or a coat that can be felt but is still pervious to air or heat, or an invisible coat, or an invisible ''and'' intangible coat that still keeps you warm (which is basically a heat charm). Glamours are easy to use and require relatively little energy to create, so they are extremely versatile but can also be very powerful depending on how they're applied. In fact, any magic in ''Sans Souci'' that creates something out of thin air without literally creating persistent physical matter (e.g. magic missile), or turns something into something else without literally rearranging its particles (e.g. illusions) is a glamour, which means that a large portion of the magic seen in ''Sans Souci'' is glamour.

*** Miles can have one when he's overwhelmed or frustrated.
** HealingFactor: Neil can heal relatively fast because he has so much magic power.

** HeterosexualLifePartners: Miles and Neil.

** LandOfFaerie: Miles and Neil will have to travel there at some point.
** LethalChef: Miles has all the skills of a homemaker but none of the personality, and is an excellent cook thanks to years of practice. Neil is the exact opposite: He has the personality of a homemaker, but none of the skill, so he can't cook to save his life.

** NotSoDifferent: Miles shares his father's love of literature and music. And knitting, as it turns out. Past the animosity, they actually have a lot in common.

** OnlySaneMan: Zig-zagged with Miles. He is the only one to speak out against his father's drinking or anything else his family does, he shares the burden of taking care of the family financially and physically, and he strives to treat them with decency and respect — and in the case of his siblings, even affection — when none of them do the same for him. On the other hand, he has a very impulsive and sensitive nature, which often leads him to make poor decisions; and due to his abusive upbringing and environment, he has a GuiltComplex, crippling trust and self-esteem issues, and spends a lot of his free time partying, drinking, and [[LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces sleeping around]] as a form of self-medicating.
** ParentalNeglect: Miles's parents. Mostly towards him (deliberately), but in many regards towards the twins as well (inadvertently).

** PowerTrio: [[spoiler:Miles, Neil, and Tessa.]]

** SixthRanger: Tessa.
** TheStoic: While he has a normal emotional range, Neil rarely shows much emotional expression (in contrast to Miles who is more reactive and hot-blooded). Even his NotSoStoic moments are pretty subdued. So when they're ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness not]]''...

** SuicidalPacifism: While he doesn't always succeed in upholding this principle, Miles is strongly opposed to using violence or fear to get what he wants, refusing to hurt others even in self-defense. (But he's [[RageBreakingPoint not always in control of himself]].) He'll use violence to defend others however, which is part of why he's willing to fight supernatural enemies.

** ThreeAmigos: Once [[spoiler:Tessa]] joins in.

** TroubledAbuser: Miles's parents found him to be a very difficult and unlikable child (for many reasons, some of which are justified and some of which aren't), so by the time he was kindergarten age, they were both depressed and emotionally drained, their marriage was on the rocks, and they both seriously regretted having a child at all. This, and their tendency to take their stress out on Miles, made them feel like horrible parents/people, which only aggravated the situation and caused an endless feedback loop.
** TrueCompanions: Miles and Neil. [[spoiler:Tessa]] gets added in later.
** TheUnfavourite: Neither of Miles's parents have ever treated his younger twin siblings, Carrie and Davis, the way they treat him. And said siblings also mistreat him.

** AmbiguousDisorder / HollywoodPersonalityDisorders: A lot of Miles's behaviour is consistent with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder borderline personality disorder]]. His father may have it as well.

** SharpDressedMan: Miles and Neil both like to look nice. For Miles this usually means wearing chinos and/or dress shirts. For Neil this usually means wearing feminine clothing and/or trench coats.

** CuddleBug: Neil isn't invasive by any means, but he's about as physically affectionate with his friends as you'd expect a ''woman'' to be. This comes across a bit strangely because he's also a Type 1 {{Kuudere}}. In other words, he's a very subdued, quiet person, who happens to hug Miles more than most guys hug their male friends.
** DarkSecret: Neil has a few, most of them regarding [[spoiler:Miles]].

** DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Mr. North's drinking and abuse worsened after his heart attack due to depression and anger, while he and the rest of the family (except for Miles) used his condition to excuse his behaviour.

** {{Kuudere}}: Neil is a mild Type 1. He's naturally quiet and levelheaded, and not very emotionally expressive; but he never comes across as apathetic or cold, and his default mood is "content", which is usually obvious even if he's not smiling.

** OnlySaneMan: Zig-zagged with Miles. He is the only one to speak out against his father's drinking or anything else his family does, he takes care of his family financially and physically, and he strives to treat them with decency and respect — and in the case of his siblings, even affection — when none of them ever do the same for him. On the other hand, he has a very impulsive and sensitive nature, which often leads him to make poor decisions; and due to his abusive upbringing and environment, he has a GuiltComplex, crippling trust and self-esteem issues, and spends a lot of his free time partying, drinking, and [[LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces sleeping around]] as a form of self-medicating.
** ParentalNeglect: Miles's parents. Mostly towards him (deliberately), but to some extent towards the twins as well (inadvertently).

** SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Zig-zagged, as Miles and Neil are both InTouchWithHisFeminineSide, but in different ways. Neil is a lot more androgynous than Miles, likes to wear feminine clothing (though not exclusively), and his personality leans a bit towards "metrosexual". On the other hand, Miles is a lot more emotionally expressive and histrionic, and he likes cooking, knitting, crafting, and playing the violin.

** TheStoic: Though actually quite sensitive, Neil is usually pretty subdued, in contrast to Miles who is more reactive and hot-blooded. Even his NotSoStoic moments are pretty subdued. So when they're ''not''...run.

** {{Transsexual}}: Neil identifies as genderless, and states that he doesn't actually understand the concept of gender at all.

** TroubledFetalPosition: Miles tends to adopt this position when he's too distraught over something to function properly.
** TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Miles [[spoiler:started drinking sporadically when he was 13, and started drinking regularly at 15]]. He also [[spoiler:lost his virginity at 13]].

*** He worked hard for straight A's all through high school to impress his parents. They barely deigned to notice. At the end of grade 11, his mother couldn't muster up enough interest in his report card to even look up from her book. He might as well have been telling her what the weather forecast for tomorrow was.
** WholesomeCrossdresser: Neil doesn't understand why some clothing is considered exclusively for women, and wears women's clothing fairly often, though in public he usually glamours himself as a woman so as not to draw negative attention. He considers this a hassle, since he has to also glamour his outfit while wearing normal clothes underneath in case of GlamourFailure.