some undeads and redheads
Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses
is an action/urban fantasy series about a tough, dry-humored woman named Lave Faraday, who also happens to live in a city populated by mythical creatures and magic. After taking down a horde of zombies (slightly unusual for a Monday), Lave is tasked with looking after a 12-year-old boy named Jake for reasons no one will tell her.
General Tropes:
- Badass and Child Duo: Lave and Jake.
- Mundane Fantastic: Magic is something you have to pay to use and necromancy is more a scandal in the news than a big supernatural event.
- Never Trust a Title: Lave does wear glasses.
- Urban Fantasy: There are haunted clothes driving taxis and snake people working admin jobs.
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Chapter One
- Action Girl: Lave deals with zombies by running them through with her sword, throwing them off a wall, and simply bashing them together.
- Blind Without 'Em: Our heroine is near-sighted. Not that it will stop her from fighting with a bunch of blurry figures.
- Black Magic: In chapter one, Kest attempts to use black magic (necromancy, specifically), which backfires on him considerably.
- Curse Cut Short:Kest: This is basically all your fault, you crazy bit—
- Deadpan Snarker: Lave certainly has no trouble mocking her subjects even as she’s apprehending them.
- Demonic Possession: Kest ends up falling victim to this at the end of chapter 1.
- Dramatic High Perching: Lave often perches atop trees, walls, posts, or a telephone pole.
- Dropped Glasses: As early as the first chapter. It's hard to fight with glasses without them getting knocked off of your face once in a while.
- Establishing Character Moment: Lave makes her debut saving a goat from being sacrificed, and casually greeting the guy she’s stopping, while petting the goat.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: Just one of the paranormal beings present here.
- Extreme Omni-Goat: The sacrificial goat escapes by eating its leash.
- Fiery Red Head: Lave: red-haired, combative daredevil.
- Hermetic Magic: Kest's spell requires a magic circle, candles, an orb, a spellbook, a skull, a knife, a goat, and enough time that his audience gets bored.
- In Harm's Way: Lave enjoys danger. Kest does not.Lave: Pretty exciting night we're having, huh?
Kest: Exciting? EXCITING? - Instant Runes: Appearing on the bodies of the undead.
- It Tastes Like Feet:Kest: This tastes like carbonated nail polish.
- Pet The Goat: Lave is abrasive to humans, but not to the goat.
- Power Crystal: Kest's magical orb apparently stores some sort of magical energy.
- Power Glows: Necromancy glows green.
- Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: Unfortunately for Kest, in chapter 1 this is subverted, and the undead spirit possessing what was previously thought to be your run-of-the-mill zombie keeps on going without a physical head. Even Lave is shocked by this.
- Rise from Your Grave: Zombies erupt from the cemetery in the classic manner.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The rest of the cultists book it when things go wrong.
- Sickly Green Glow: Indicating black magic is at work here.
- Zombie Infectee: Kest develops a suspicious green filigree after being bitten.
Chapter Two
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Despite saving a life in chapter one, Lave is put on probation in the second chapter.
- Boringbut Practical: Laves apartment.
- Fish out of Water: It's pretty clear Jake is not used to the none humans walking around.
- Intellectual Animal: Lave's roommate is a giant blue bat intelligent enough to read books.
- Social Services Does Not Exist: They apparently do. Which is why Lave is confused about Jake being given to her.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: Gena is this for Lave, though Gena would probably not agree.
- Man Bites Man: Jake bites Lave after she grabs him and her finger gets a little too close to his mouth.
- Promotionto Parent: And Lave's not happy about it.
- Sinister Subway: The 'shortcut* Lave takes Jake down later.
Chapter Three
- Secret Shop: Where most of the chapter takes place.
- Floating Mask: The Clerk.
Chapter Four
- Bazaarofthe Bizarre: The market area Lave takes Jake to is full of non-human creatures.
Chapter Five
