But there are far worse monsters behind the silver screen than on it, and they're not just metaphorical. "Movie magic" isn't a euphemism—there really is magic in Luli's Hollywood, from huldras kidnapped out of their forests to be leading ladies to studios powered by deals with the devil. And stars that rise can just as easily fall.
Siren Queen contains examples of:
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Non-comedic example. When Harry invites Luli to eat lunch at his house, she assumes it's a case of an older, established star putting the moves on his younger coworker, and goes along with it because she feels she needs a famous white man in her corner. She's completely thrown—though not displeased—when it turns out he really did invite her just for lunch (not to mention it's a double case of Incompatible Orientation).
- The Beard: Luli's friend Harry Long, who's also gay, is forced to marry an actress by the studio. Luli's first stipulation after her star rises is that she will not be doing this, thank you.
- But Not Too Foreign: The studio cooks up several fake backgrounds for Luli, which simultaneously fetishize her Chineseness and downplay it by claiming she's half-white (she's not).
- Exact Words: During her first contract negotiation, Oberlin Wolfe demands Luli give him a kiss. Since he said simply a kiss, not that Luli herself should do the deed, she's able to satisfy his demand by giving him the kiss she received from the former star Maya Vos Santé, which has been on her forehead ever since.
- If I Can't Have You…: Hezibah Wiley weaponized this against herself to get out of her contract on her own terms. She knew that if Oberlin Wolfe couldn't have her dancing in his movies anymore, he would at least take the cachet of having made the only movies she ever danced in—so she cut her feet off. Greta does the same thing, mutilating her face so that Oberlin Wolfe will possess the sole movie in which "Caroline Carlsson" ever acted.
- Literal Metaphor: Becoming a star means actually becoming a star—once someone achieves a certain critical mass of artistry and celebrity, they light up and ascend into the sky.
- Magical Realism: The supernatural aspects of the setting are simply business as usual for the characters.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The fate of Harry, after the fire. Luli believes he didn’t truly die, but she’s also sure she’ll never see him again. Was it a case of Faking The Dead? Something more mystical? Both? Neither?
- Mystical Hollywood: “Movie magic” is not just a figure of speech.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: The new scene Jacko demands be added to the Siren Queen movie is intentionally geared to humiliate the villain Luli has claimed so much power and enjoyment from playing, turning her unrepentant, badass monster into a craven Ain't Too Proud to Beg worm. But Luli turns the tables by acting the hell out of it, transforming the cowardly begging into the poignant mourning of a proud warrior who's outlived her entire people and realizes the last vestige of everything she loved will now be destroyed with her death. It's so iconic she immediately becomes a star.
- No OSHA Compliance: Luli's Siren Queen tail is pretty unsafe—she slices up her fingers and almost breaks an ankle when she has to get out of it quickly. The sets in general aren't great either. At one point she raises the possibility that a director could work her until she faints, and during her first movie, Harry has to force the shoot to stop for the day when Luli gets hit in the head.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Luli Wei is a stage name, semi-accidentally stolen from the main character's little sister (accidentally because she didn't mean to say it while coming up with a list, semi because she didn't say no when Oberlin Wolfe picked that one). All actors end up being this, due to a combination of the studio wanting to give people names that sound cooler and I Know Your True Name. Greta stands out in part because she never answers to "Caroline Carlsson" unless she has to (since she doesn't actually want to be there).
- Troubled Production: In-universe, the titular movie becomes this after an unseasonably early wildfire interrupts a shoot, leading to a cascade of further disasters that forces the project into extensive rewrites and reshoots with a new director everybody hates.
- Working with the Ex: When the reshoots commence, the actress cast to play the new main character is none other than Luli's ex Emmaline. Things were tense on-set to begin with, and this certainly doesn't help.
- Wrong Guy First: Wrong girl first. Throughout the book, there are interjections from a woman named Jane who's clearly Luli's long-time lover, but first Luli hooks up with Emmaline (a fellow actress) and Tara (a screenwriter), in that order.
