Line #4 Main/PhosphorEssence


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lilliandil.png]]]]
5
6	->''"What do stars do? They shine."''
7	-->-- '''Yvaine''', ''Film/{{Stardust}}''
8
9	A character occupies a special place in the story: This character is either exceptionally powerful, exceptionally pure or both. A quick visual shorthand to note this specialness is to have the character glow. Unlike a HolyBacklight, this glow is not from an external source but originates from within the person himself. The character does not necessarily glow all the time; often, the glow is visible only in certain circumstances or to certain people.
10
11	Glowing can be used to signify when someone is about to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence (or already has done so). Often, the glow is white, drawing on that color's associations with purity.
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13	While villainous examples are possible (sometimes with a "bad-coloured" glow, such as red or [[SicklyGreenGlow sickly radium-watch green]]), most frequently the glowing person is on the hero's side.
14
15	A {{subtrope}} of PowerGlows. See EnergyBeings for non-corporeal versions. Compare to BattleAura. Related to HolyBacklight.
16
17	----
18	!!Examples:
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
22	* There's a subtle example in ''Manga/DeathNote'' that crosses with RedOniBlueOni: when Light and L confront each other, or meet each other on the street, Light unexpectedly starts to shine a deep, blood-like red, and L an almost navy blue. Sometimes it appears as a tiny aura around their bodies, other times their hair and eyes glow that color. In later episodes, other characters also glow colours like green (Aizawa) and orange.
23	* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Kari ends up glowing at least twice. One time she's used by a mysterious force to provide exposition. Another time she comes across some enslaved Digimon and helps them become free. This seems appropriate for someone who wields the Crest of Light.
24	* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', every character who goes [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]] glows. While other characters can summon a BattleAura, Super Saiyans are constantly glowing, as indicated by their clothes and skin tone being lighter even when the Battle Aura is off, and the hyper saturation of their hair in the most recent special.
25	* Subtly done in the episodes of ''Manga/FairyTail'' following its studio change from Satellite to Bridge, where Mavis's ghost and the Celestial Spirits are always brightly colored as if they're walking in daylight, even at night or in darkened areas, which adds to their otherworldly nature. [[spoiler:The same applies to Mavis's self-aware illusion of Zera when she's restored in the final season.]]
26	* In ''Anime/MonsterRancher'', monsters and Genki glow when they are charged with power.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
30	* Kida from ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' glows blue when she takes on an energy form.
31	* The gods in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' glow, except for Hades, the villain and god of the Underworld. At the end, [[spoiler:Hercules starts glowing when he regains godhood]].
32	* Joy from ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' is the only emotion to glow, probably because she is the only one that's normally considered a "positive" emotion. She emits a blueish light, though she is yellow.
33	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Sun Yee glows in the astral realm.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
37	* One of the good guy ships in ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars'' has this effect. It's either made of energy itself, or just contains it in a crystalline material.
38	* ''Film/{{Cocoon}}'': In their true forms (after taking off their human disguises) the Antareans glow brightly.
39	* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'', Galadriel glows with a greenish-blue light when she explains how powerful and terrible she would become were she to accept the Ring.
40	* Subverted with Zach from ''Film/SkyHigh2005'': he can glow in the dark... [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway and that's about it]].
41	* ''Film/{{Stardust}}'', as mentioned below, Yvaine, being a star glows; but only when she's happy [[spoiler: or in love.]]
42	* Olivia Newton-John's character in ''Film/{{Xanadu\|1980}}'' does this, due to being TheMuse.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Literature]]
46	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' and ''Malloreon'': The eight gods glow with a faint nimbus when they appear in human form. After [[spoiler:Eriond]] becomes a god, he has to concentrate on not glowing.
47	* Literature/{{Deryni}} auras: Deryni don't have to show their auras, but sometimes they do, often as a means of revealing themselves (since TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse). [[GrayAndGrayMorality Glowing is no guarantee of goodness among Deryni]].
48	* The Great Priest of Ishtar from ''Literature/DragonLance'' is the greatest cleric on Ansalom and is perpetually clad in unbearable light. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that it is much less impressive than it seems.]]
49	* In ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'', before being reduced to twisted wrinkled pseudo-zombies, Elantrians glowed faintly. [[spoiler:After the problem that removed their powers is fixed, they start glowing again.]]
50	* ''Literature/TheFourGospels'': The three synoptic gospels describe that Jesus shines with light during the Transfiguration when Peter, James and John are on the mountain with him ("His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." - Matthew 17). At the same time, Moses and Elijah appear talking to Jesus, and a voice from the sky declares "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (Mark 9), revealing Jesus' divine nature.
51	* {{Inverted\|Trope}} in ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'': Haliax, a legendary and terribly powerful FallenHero from TheTimeOfMyths, is {{Curse}}d to be hidden by shadows, even when he's standing in full daylight.
52	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
53	** As Frodo succumbs to the Nazgûl blade, he perceives Glorfindel (a powerful elf lord) as "a shining figure of white light".
54	** Sam also notes that at times, it seems as if a light is shining out of Frodo.
55	* In the Creator/NeilGaiman short story "Murder Mysteries", angels glow from within. When an angel is killed, s/he stops glowing.
56	* ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'': This marks [[spoiler: the transformation into an orah, or mage of light. Also will occur when an orah is crowned as Prince of Caederan.]]
57	* In ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'', Yvaine is a fallen star who glows more brightly the happier she is. Yvaine herself is not particularly powerful [[spoiler:except in the movie, and only at the very end]]; however, her heart is, and the brighter she is, the more powerful her heart is.
58	* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Kaladin glows slightly when he's using his Surgebindings. In one scene, upon swearing the [[BadassCreed Third Ideal]], he has to pull in a tremendous amount of the titular Light to instantly heal from mortal wounds. The flash thus emitted almost blinds his opponents.
59	* Stella from ''Literature/TheStrangerTimes'' glows blue when she uses her magical powers.
60	* The Delphae in ''Literature/TheTamuli'' trilogy are known literally as "Shining Ones". Their glow came indirectly from their god, Edaemus, who made the lake in their isolated village glow. They had to drink from it, and they eventually started to glow, too. It was originally nothing more than harmless divine foolery, but when people started persecuting the Delphae, Edaemus gave the glow a purpose: a warning that their very touch [[CruelAndUnusualDeath could melt the flesh from your bones]]. From then on, the sight of a Delphae made most people flee in terror.
61	* ''Literature/TowersTrilogy'': Radiants' powerful magic causes them to emit a noticeable glow. This applies even to the ghosts of Radiants, making them the only ghosts visible to ordinary people.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
65	* One vessel of SufficientlyAdvancedAliens who aid the protagonists from ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' is even called the ship of lights.
66	* ''Series/TimeTrax'': [[HumanAliens Procardians]] glow in their natural state. They can willingly remove the glow to appear human, though, although they avoid speaking, since their vocal cords are unable to make believable human sounds.
67	* ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'': When the angels reveal themselves to a human, they glow to make their true nature clear.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Video Games]]
71	* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': A player character who passes the Path of Blood's [[OnlyThePureOfHeart test of purity]] gains an aura of divine {{gold\|AndWhiteAreDivine}}en light, which some [=NPCs=] will remark on with religious awe. [[spoiler:Lucian the [[PhysicalGod Divine]] has an identical aura in the FinalBattle, with GlowingEyes to match.]]
72	* In ''VideoGame/{{Fable}} [[VideoGame/FableI I]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FableII II]]'', a player character who's very high on the KarmaMeter gains a faint blue aura, a HolyHalo, and a friendly cloud of spectral butterflies.
73	* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', powerful Force-users tend to glow when using their abilities, people glow when Force entities possess them, random [[SwirlyEnergyThingy Swirly Force Thingies]] glow, and in general glowingness accompanies any Force effect greater than throwing a rock at somebody's head. [[GoodColorsEvilColors Naturally]], Light Side effects are usually blue or yellow, whereas Dark Side effects are usually red or purple.
74	* In ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesSmashUp'', all playable characters glow. The color of the glow indicates the player number, and the intensity of the glow indicates the amount of health remaining (the stronger, the healthier).
75	* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Hero units glow regardless of alignment to make them more identifiable.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Web Animation]]
79	* The Cherubs in ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' are, logically, the only ones in the series to have this effect.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Web Comics]]
83	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
84	** The [[OurTrollsAreDifferent trolls']] inverse version of vampires, "[[OurVampiresAreDifferent rainbow drinkers]]", [[PowerGlows glow]] a bright white. Later it's shown they can turn off the light, [[ParanoiaFuel looking indistinguishable]] from normal trolls.
85	** When Rose [[spoiler:goes {{Grimdark}}]] in Act 5, she [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005543 gains a black glow]] to show her immense power.
86	* ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'': We never actually see it (possibly because the [[PowersThatBe Powers What Is]] hide just how good she is), but as a child Piffany apparently kept her parents awake with her halo of purity.
87	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The gods have an aura distinct for each pantheon; yellow for [[Myth/NorseMythology Northern]], blue for [[EasternZodiac Southern]], and red for [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Western]]. [[spoiler:And Green for [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Eastern.]] This appears to be very important later, as their color denotes their essence. A creation made with multiple essences is stronger than one made of a single essence. Since the local Eldritch Abomination, the Snarl is made of ''four'' and then killed the Eastern Pantheon, the gods can only create 3-essence creations ever since which can only hold The Snarl temporarily. Their first opportunity in [[TimeAbyss eons]] to make another four-color creation comes when the [[EthnicGod Dark One]] ascends to godhood on his own and develops a unique purple essence.]]
88	* ''Webcomic/WildeLife'': The White-Faced Bear, a powerful entity that watches over supernatural beings in the setting, is surrounded by bright yellowish light. Rather than emitting from him, it looks as though the sun shines brighter in his presence. [[spoiler:As a Witch of Summer, Eliza also has this glow when she [[LetsGetDangerous stops hiding her full power]].]]
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Western Animation]]
92	* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E10TheSpringfieldFiles The Springfield Files]]", wherein the green-glowing space alien who claims to come in peace [[spoiler:turns out to be [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Burns]], who has a SicklyGreenGlow from decades running a nuclear power plant]].
93	* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', "The Daughter" is so thoroughly in tune with the Light Side of The Force that she innately glows. In fact, when [[spoiler:she dies, one sign is she stops glowing.]]
94	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': [[BigBad White Diamond]], supreme leader of the Gems' [[TheEmpire empire]] and [[UltimateLifeForm self-described perfect being]], emits a brilliant white light that obscures her features. LightIsNotGood at all, since [[spoiler:she can focus it to turn other gems into PeoplePuppets]], and [[spoiler:she stops glowing after her HeelFaceTurn]].
95	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / PhosphorEssence