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Author: Alva

Sep 16th 2012 at 5:23:42 PM

Let's call it Broken Bond.

It made enough of an impression that interpersonal bonds can be broken (in fiction, anyway) that it deserves analysis. While certain there are examples elsewhere, the ones I can think of right now are Twilightian: Edward tried to break his bond with Bella in New Moon, (and opinions vary on whether he partially succeeded given the nature and front cover of Eclipse); and Chelsea does it with every new guard member of the Volturi, so they will feel attached and loyal to their new coven and indifferent to former family members, friends and allies.

In practically every vampire novel I've read, this is what happens to a person when they are turned into a vampire; if it doesn't happen of its own accord, the person will try to sever the bonds themselves out of concern for the still-humans' safety. That could make for an: A) It happens naturally as a consequence of something; B) Someone does it directly, because that is how their superpowers work, with or without consent; and C) An individual tries to cut their own bonds with someone, for whatever reason.

As for Alirea, (which post doesn't show up in a search so I suppose it's deleted), she reminded me of the Soulless Men from The Wheel of Time series; they can escape notice because, in that universe, apparently the soul is what makes someone register as a person in your mind. Simply, one can't notice them because the brain rules them out as irrelevant, even while they kill you. We could call it "What Kind of Lame Power is Irrelevancy Anyway?" if you prefer.

(PS. You can pronounce it "aliray-ad". I agree that it is a bad Trope Name, though.)