History Fanfic / Paradoxus

** Those mysterious women talking about how YouCantFightFate at the beginning of the [[Recap/ParadoxusPrologo prologue]]? [[spoiler: they areQueen Daphne and Galadwen, regretting how Bloom and Stella's tragic deaths were unavoidable all along. Also, the unconscious woman they are tending is a grown-up Altalune, newly defeated and nearly killed by Eudora.]]

** Queen Daphne [[spoiler:remembers the original timeline, a BadFuture in which everyone she loves dies and the Burning Legion destroys the Magix Dimension]]. As a result of this experience as well as her duties as Nymph of Magix, she seeks allies to help prevent things from worsening. Her first SecretKeeper is her reliable husband Thoren, her EmotionalCrutch. She picks Flora because, out of all the Winx, she's the most level-headed to resign herself that [[spoiler:they can't thwart Bloom and Stella's deaths]]. When she meets Galadwen, their greater good-geared mentalities cause them to recruit each other in their respective plans. Finally, when her daughter Morrigan is revealed to be the newest incarnation of the Nymph of Time, Queen Daphne tells her the truth and even consults with her about which events in the timeline are immutable.

It {{crossover}}s two franchises that superficially appear mismatching seeing they [[DemographicDissonantCrossover target different demographics]]. However, once one digs down enough, striking similarities will be found. To begin with, both ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' are [[ScienceFantasy fantasy with a dash of sci-fi]] worlds inhabited by magical-wielding people from different races. They are also part of dimensions with several other planets wandering out there and were brought to existence by gigantic deities who disappeared shortly after their creationist sprees -- respectively, the Titans and the Great Dragon. And, of course, a twisted version of them: Sargeras and the Shadow Phoenix. Heck, even the concept of a planet/land ravaged by power-hungry, teamed-up forces of evil is common ground. Domino on ''Winx Club's'' part and Argus, the Outland, and Silvermoon (to name a few) on ''World of Warcraft's'' side. For a more specific example (and exploited by ''Paradoxus''), Daphne, the nymph, has a [[MirrorCharacter backstory pretty similar to that of Sylvanas Windrunner]]: destroyed homeland, cruelly killed by [[TheDragon evil seconds in-command]], and raised as bodiless spirits to haunt the place.

In a very ''World of Warcraft'' fashion, ''Paradoxus'' follows a number of parallel plots that interact with each other, branch off, and ultimately converge. Furthermore, it stars an EnsembleCast made of both canonical and [[OriginalCharacter original]] characters -- most of the latter being FanCreatedOffspring. The [[PowerTrio main trio]] consists of Stacy (Stella's daughter) and Bloom's two daughters: big sister Daphne Altalune[[note]] who, from here on, will be called by her middle name in order to avoid mistaking her with her aunt, Daphne, the nymph[[/note]] and little sister Trisha.

** Thankfully, this trope is {{averted}} with the major canonical characters, i.e., the six Winx plus Roxy, Daphne, and Sylvanas. All of them are [[MamaBear protective]], caring mothers who do their best to raise their children in healthy environments and not impose their own worldviews onto them.

*** Nymph precognition unveiled to [[spoiler: Daphne]] not only about Bloom and Stella's deaths, [[spoiler: but the inevitability of the matter.]] She, along with [[spoiler: Flora of all people and Galadwen]], used that knowledge to pull the strings on Trisha, Altalune, and Stacy's lives so thoroughly that the main plotline and several secondary ones happened because of them! If that doesn't scandalize you, keep in mind Altalune and Trisha (especially Trisha) suffered A LOT due to their manipulations, even to the point of getting part of their traumas because of that.

** [[spoiler: Daphne, the nymph,]] unethical and manipulative ways towards her family's life and feelings which caused them severe trauma in the process. However, if she wasn't willing to take radical measures, there wouldn't be a Magical Dimension anymore and everyone would have died or been corrupted by either Fel or Eudora's Plague. In her case, it wasn't only Bloom and Stella's deaths that prompted her to act like this, but also [[spoiler: Altalune, Trisha, and Stacy's]].

** The [[Recap/ParadoxusPrologo prologue]] opens with a bit of dialogue between two NamedByTheAdaptation, [[OCStandIn OC Stand-Ins]] who by the time the fanfic takes place, are both long dead --Hellis, nymph of the sun, and Nótt Skoð, nymph of time and the void. They are talking about how YouCantFightFate, a CentralTheme of the fic. Their inclusion also serves to establish three facts that are mostly [[RewatchBonus reread bonuses]]. One, the Great Dragon's nymphs are going to be of key relevance throughout the plot. Two, it reaffirms that time travel kickstarts the plot but also foreshadows that [[spoiler:it's part of the reason why things are the way they are]]. And three, it [[LawOfConservationOfDetail brings attention to an important detail]], that Nótt's reincarnation ([[spoiler:aka Morrigan, Daphne's daughter]]) is an important behind-the-scenes player.

* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Eudora vastly overpowers every one of the heroines regardless of which franchise they are from or whether they are original characters. Any attempt to beat her, either idiotically solo or in a group, would end in a humiliating defeat. Exemplified by Altalune [[spoiler: when she decided to stay in the past for a chance of beating Eudora in exchange for her own continued existence (pesky self-correcting timelines)]] -- she promptly gets curb-stomped so badly she would have died if not for [[spoiler: Daphne and Galadwen's intervention]]. This trope is made even more glaring when it's revealed not even Bloom, the bearer of the magic that created the Magix dimension, ever had a possibility against Eudora.

** As for ''Winx Club'': Bloom and Sky had Trisha and Altalune because Daphne was rendered sterile as a product of her years as a bodiless spirit and both Domino and Eraklyon needed an heir. Stella and Brandon got Stacy then Stella found how terribly painful is to give birth and decided to stop there. Aisha and Nex had Niobe then Aisha had the same realization as Stella and, besides, Nex fell ill a few years later. Flora and Helia had Gilliam and, because [[spoiler: Flora was made aware of what was about to happen to Magix]], she decided not to bring another one. Tecna and Timmy got Zoe and that was enough for them. Musa and Riven had Harmony but probably didn't make more babies since Musa realized their relationship wasn't working and it would be a toxic environment for a child. Roxy and Manuel got Rosalie in what was probably just a coincidence since Roxy is not a Bloomix fairy. [[spoiler: Daphne was, after several attempts, ultimately able to conceive, so she had Morrigan with Thoren]].

* FusionFic: The Setting Merge flavor, to be specific. Azeroth and Magix now just happen to exist in the same multi-dimensional universe, it's just they are too far apart that, ''normally'', they would've never interacted at all. Normally. Here we have Galadwen and Eudora's constant interdimensional traveling and meddling ''and'' [[spoiler: Daphne's time travel shenanigans]], so things are definitely not normal (more like deranged). Now, there are already some canon points that keep this idea within the realm of possibility: there are elves in both franchises, [[ObviousCrossoverMethod interdimensional traveling is confirmed and used]] in both of them, and both of them have entities capable of creating entire dimensions (the First Ones for ''World of Warcraft'' and the Great Dragon for ''Winx Club''). Though it's worth noting the Great Dragon is not equal to the First Ones, but to the Titans (like Sargeras), which helps to even out the power scales and avoid a PowerCreepPowerSeep scenario and allows for the [[TeamUpSeries teaming-up plot]] this crossover roots from.

* TheHecateSisters: Played straight with [[spoiler: the three characters pulling the strings behind most of the plot]]. Galadwen is the adventurous, lively Maiden who travels across time and dimensions to fulfill her role as Elune's ChosenOne at all costs and still looks for her place in the world. Flora is the caring, compassionate Mother who is nevertheless willing to take difficult decisions to preserve what she loves. Daphne is the wise, unsentimental Crone who was molded by the memories of her past nymph incarnations and the SadisticChoice she's presented with to save the Magix dimension.
* AHeroIsBorn: The [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 third chapter]]'s opening scene is that of Daphne, Marion, Sky, and Thore in a waiting room while Bloom gives birth to Altalune, one of {{the heroine}}s of the story and Domino's heir presumptive. As it's customary for Domino in this fic, as soon as she's born, the princess' runes are read by one of the realm's elders--they conclude that her path will diverge from that of her mother and that the one who'd inherit the crown hasn't been born yet. The trope is PlayedWith as this is not the actual beginning of the fic, although it's one of the plot-relevant, chronologically earliest events.

** ALL of the children the Winx had are female. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. {{Justified|Trope}}, though, because all of the Winx were gifted (or, in Daphne's case, already had) a spark of the Dragon's Flame. It's stated in-universe said power is passed on matrilineally, so every person with even a mere spark of it is going to have a female firstborn. Of course, only Bloom's daughters will actually inherit it, but her friends and sister have been affected by the Flame nevertheless.

* KilledOffForReal: {{Played with}}. Some deaths will cause the branching of the timeline so two alternate ones end up being created. One where the characters died and another, out of the time travelers' reach, where the characters lived. Such is a nearly impossible feat and, in either case, the characters are effectively killed off and will remain like that. Other deaths, however, are mere collateral damages and thus, can [[{{Subversion}} subvert]] this trope if someone bothers themself to travel to the past and prevent said deaths from happening. [[spoiler: Bloom and Stella's are the former case and play this trope straight. Meanwhile, Altalune, Trisha, and Stacy's are also a {{subversion}} since they died in the original timeline and were saved by Daphne's medling]].

** The protagonist trio (Altalune, Trisha, and Stacy) is this in comparison to the true [[TheChessmaster masterminds]] behind it all (Galadwen, [[spoiler: Flora, and Daphne]]). All of them are on the side of the good guys and don't want the destruction of Magix, but the latter three will bite the bullet and manipulate even their loved ones if that's what is needed to save their corresponding dimensions.

** This trope is also the reason why the Winx women, Daphne, and Marion are the most powerful fairies in the present time.

* OntologicalInertia: Any given timeline is defined by certain key events that cannot be changed without branching the time-space continuity off. Id est, in timeline A, Bloom and Stella were assassinated, while in timeline B, they lived for some reason (Eudora spared them, the Burning Legion invasion never happened, etc.). Thing is, B is an alternate version of A. If you somehow manage to prevent A's defining events (a nearly impossible feat in itself), you are going to jump to/create B instead of staying in a modified version of A. When you travel back from when you came, you'll return to the same future you were trying to change (A's future). To get to B's future, you'll have to go the long way. Unfortunately, chances are you will first fade out from existence and the events there are totally random, meaning you lose any foreknowledge you got from time-traveling. All in all, A will keep existing as a separate timeline because its key events have ontological inertia -- they cannot be undone. In this fic, there are two defining events for the timeline: the aforementioned deaths of Bloom and Stella and the Burning Legion will invade Magix. Besides those two, things can be changed to varying extents though it's not an easy task. For example, [[spoiler: Daphne had to send back her memories so her past self could start planning how to change non-defining events that could potentially save Magix from extinction.]]

** Those mysterious women talking about how YouCantFightFate at the beginning of the [[Recap/ParadoxusPrologo prologue]]? [[spoiler: they are Daphne and Galadwen, regretting how Bloom and Stella's tragic deaths were unavoidable all along. Also, the unconscious woman they are tending is a grown-up Altalune, newly defeated and nearly killed by Eudora.]]

** Both Bloom and [[spoiler:Daphne]]'s daughter are otakus; whenever the narration switches to them or someone thinks of them during their internal monologues, expect a reference to some {{anime}}. In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo07 seventh chapter]], Bloom remembers being weirded out at seeing [[Recap/WinxClubS2E14BattleOnPlanetEraklyon Patchamen]] figurines next to a [[Manga/SailorMoon Sailor Mars]] one she wanted to purchase while in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}. It's a double-layered example because the Patchamen are ''Winx Club's'' version of the ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''.

* SpotlightStealingCrossover: The plot of ''Paradoxus'' spends a considerable amount of time in Magix and the majority of its cast comes from the aforementioned dimension. Even if we only count the more plot-relevant characters, the disparity is conspicuous -- the protagonist trio (Bloom and Stella's daughters), most of the Winx, Daphne, Diaspro, and Sky on ''Winx Club's'' part versus Iladris, Eudora, Galadwen, and Sylvanas on ''World of Warcraft's'' part. In all fairness, ''World of Warcraft'' provides more on the worldbuilding part (the class skills, the NamedWeapons, etc.), the inciting incident of the plot (the Burning Legion's invasion of Magix), and the overall tone of the story. It's just that, barring Sylvanas, all of its characters were DemotedToExtra thanks to the huge canon divergence.

* TwistingTheProphecy: [[spoiler:Daphne the nymph]] gets a vision from an alternate timeline where all of the heroines die and the Burning Legion is successful at conquering Magix. She checks with the nymph of time which events of that timeline are set in stone and which ones can be changed. [[spoiler: Stella and Bloom]]'s deaths are inevitable as it's the entrance of the Burning Legion. However, since [[spoiler:the rest of the Winx and their daughter]]'s deaths are preventable if they are prompted to prepare --elevating their fairy forms to the Etherix for the former and enduring TrainingFromHell in Azeroth for the latter--, then the chances of kicking out the Burning Legion increase exponentially. It's also crucial to protect Solaria's population because elemental light magic trumps the Fel magic used by the Legion's demons. This results in the aforementioned character allying with Galadwen and [[spoiler:Flora]] as well as indirectly setting up the main characters to travel back to the past. She carefully engineers what events are changed and when the important people are informed so the current timeline ends up as way less tragic.

** [[spoiler: Daphne, the nymph,]] unethical and manipulative ways towards her family's life and feelings which caused them severe trauma in the process. Though, if she wasn't willing to take radical measures, there wouldn't be a Magical Dimension anymore and everyone would have died or been corrupted by either Fel or Eudora's Plague. In her case, it wasn't only Bloom and Stella's deaths that prompted her to act like this, but also [[spoiler: Altalune, Trisha, and Stacy's]].

** The [[Recap/ParadoxusPrologo prologue]] opens with a bit of dialogue between two NamedByTheAdaptation, [[OCStandIn OC Stand-Ins]] who by the time the fanfic takes place, are both long dead --Hellis, nymph of the sun, and Nótt Skoð, nymph of time and the void. They are talking about how YouCantFightFate, a CentralTheme of the fic. Their inclusion also serves two establish three facts that are mostly [[RewatchBonus reread bonuses]]. One, the Great Dragon's nymphs are going to be of key relevance throughout the plot. Two, it reaffirms that time travel kickstarts the plot but also foreshadows that [[spoiler:it's part of the reason why things are the way they are]]. And three, it [[LawOfConservationOfDetail brings attention to an important detail]], that Nótt's reincarnation ([[spoiler:aka Morrigan, Daphne's daughter]]) is an important behind-the-scenes player.

%% About one-third into the plot, Harmony gets promoted from fairy to weapon-wielder fairy.

** [[spoiler: Daphne, the nymph,]] unethical and manipulative ways towards her family's life and feelings which caused them severe trauma in the process. Though, if she wasn't willing to take radical measures, there wouldn't be a Magical Dimension anymore and everyone would have died or been corrupted by either Fel or Eudora's Plague. In her case, it wasn't only Bloom and Stella's deaths what prompted her to act like this, but also [[spoiler: Altalune, Trisha, and Stacy's]].
* DecoyProtagonist: The third and fourth chapters make it seem as if Bloom is TheProtagonist or, at least, the first main character until her daughter Altalune takes over the role. Especially as Bloom is introduced investigating a string of attacks by the Burning Legion on Eraklyon; her magical bonding with Galadwen not helping matters either. Alas, it's her daughters whom the plot revolves around; in the [[ParadoxusCapitulo05 fifth chapter]], we go back to Altalune's P.O.V. and it's revealed that the main plot unravels from her and her sister's travel back in time.

* HowWeGotHere: The first four chapters are devoted to partially explaining why Altalune and Trisha have arrived at the conclusion that time travel is the only way to fix things.
** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo01 "Chapter 01"]]: The narration goes back 150 years into the past and switches the POV to that of Sylvanas'. Through her, the key figure that eventually connects Magix with Azeroth is introduced.
** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo02 "Chapter 02"]]: The first contact between Magix and Azeroth is shown; 100 years after Sylvanas is restored to life, Galadwen has been dimension-hopping nonstop seeking potential allies. This leads her to eventually stumble on Magix, where she immediately detects the powerful magical aura of the Dragon's Flame, of which the bearer at the time is Queen Marion of Domino, pregnant with either of her daughters. 24 years later, she goes there again, where she sees the Winx being interviewed about Earth's newly-restored magic.
** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 "Chapter 03"]]: It's explained how Bloom becomes aware of Azeroth's existence and, (implied) through her, the rest of Magix. She forms an alliance with Galadwen and, indirectly, with Sylvanas. It's also revealed that Magix has already attracted the Burning Legion's attention, with three Erakli cities having already been attacked with extreme prejudice.
** {{Subverted}}. The first chapters of the fic have centered around slowly revealing who the corpses in Altalune's nightmare belong to and why she's so hung up on that plan of hers to fix everything. In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo05 fifth]], the narration suddenly cuts back to her point of view—in as much as can be said for a narrator who briefly jumps to other characters' perspectives from time to time—while there are still many unanswered questions. Furthermore, her motivations for traveling back in time are revealed by her musings here as opposed to during the flashback.

** In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo04 fourth chapter]], Bloom inexplicably stops feeling fatigued moments after entering Quel'Danas. ''World of Warcraft'' has a mechanic that allows characters to get an XP bonus after spending some time at a city, garrison, or inn because they feel rested there. In Bloom's case, she's been traveling non-stop for many weeks (normal state) but ends her journey at Undercity, from where she teleports via orb to Silvermoon (rested state).

* ThreeStatSystem: In ''Paradoxus'' there exists three skill branches the characters can master to varying extents. Firstly, armed combat with bladed, kinetic, etc. weapons. Secondly, control of their internal magical affinity, usually elemental (this comes from the ''Winx Club'' canon). And thirdly, wielding of magic from external sources -- i.e., one of the six magical forces of the ''World of Warcraft'' canon. Fairy/witch transformations are included in this third category because, in order to obtain them, the characters have to seek out an external source from the ''Winx Club'' canon. To exemplify this, Altalune (Bloom's daughter) excels at swordsmanship but struggles to fuel her ice magic with positive emotions -- she was able to gain the Bloomix just fine (using it is another matter entirely). Gilliam (Flora's daughter), on her part, lacks any training with weapons and is only an Enchantix fairy, but has superb control over her nature magic and proves to be pretty creative with it (even creating toxins from pollen). Iladris (Sylvanas' adopted daughter) is an accomplished archer and has started to learn how to harness [[PowerOfTheVoid void magic]], but has no innate elemental magic by herself.

* ShoutOut: Both Bloom and [[spoiler:Daphne]]'s daughter are otakus; whenever the narration switches to them or someone thinks of them during their internal monologues, expect a reference to some {{anime}}. In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo07 seventh chapter]], Bloom remembers being weirded out at seeing [[Recap/WinxClubS2E14BattleOnPlanetEraklyon Patchamen]] figurines next to a [[Manga/SailorMoon Sailor Mars]] one she wanted to purchase while in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}. It's a double-layered example because the Patchamen are ''Winx Club's'' version of the ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''.

* ShoutOut: Both Bloom and [[spoiler:Daphne]]'s daughter are otakus; whenever the narration switches to them or someone thinks of them during their internal monologues, expect a reference to some {{anime}}. In the [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo07 seventh chapter]], Bloom remembers being weirded out at seeing [[Recap/WinxClubS2E14BattleOnPlanetEraklyon Patchamen]] figurines next to a [[Manga/SailorMoon Sailor Mars]] one she wanted to purchase while in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}.

* NamedWeapons:
** King Oritel's canonical sword has a name in this fic: Istel.
** Stacy wields the twin daggers Sorrow and Anguish.
** Galadwen's bow is called Delune.

* WorldOfActionGirls: ''Winx Club'' is canonically this trope and so is ''Paradoxus'' -- just adding a couple of ''World of Warcraft's'' canon {{Action Girl}}s and some badass female {{Original Character}}s thrown into the mix. {{Exaggerated}} since there are only ''three'' (out of twenty female badasses), kind-of-plot-relevant male characters who can actually live up to their female counterparts' badassery. Say we were to bar the females we never read engaging in battle in this fic, that'll only take Faragonda (a war veteran) out. The rest? Well...

** Namely, [[spoiler: the assassinations of the main trio's mothers (Bloom and Stella) and the invasion of Magix by the Burning Legion (one key, unavoidable event is the extinction-by-Fel of Isis, Erphem, and Solaria's colony Edelyn)]]. The runes say so and, well, Domino's ancient rune magic hasn't ever lied, which is shown when Trisha consults her own chapter in the Book of Fate only to find the pages about her visit to the past were blank. In all fairness, this result might be similar to what happened to her mother when she tried the same. In Bloom's case, it's because of an unfulfilled prophecy at play whereas Trisha's might be because she never got her mandatory rune reading at birth thus rendering her a WildCard destiny-wise. However, it's later revealed not even magic-fueled time travel can set right what once went wrong (scientific time travel was employed first).

** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 Chapter 03]]:

** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo04 Chapter 04]]: Bloom discovers that she's pregnant with Trisha through her blood pact with Galadwen, meaning that her youngest daughter is also bound to Elune's chosen.

** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo01 First chapter]]: The narration goes back 150 years into the past and switches the POV to that of Sylvanas'. Through her, the key figure that eventually connects Magix with Azeroth is introduced.
** [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo02 Second chapter]]: The first contact between Magix and Azeroth is shown; 100 years after Sylvanas is restored to life, Galadwen has been dimension-hopping nonstop seeking potential allies. This leads her to eventually stumble on Magix, where she immediately detects the powerful magical aura of the Dragon's Flame, of which the bearer at the time is Queen Marion of Domino, pregnant with either of her daughters. 24 years later, she goes there again, where she sees the Winx being interviewed about Earth's newly-restored magic.
** The [[Recap/ParadoxusCapitulo03 third chapter]] explains how Bloom is made aware of Azeroth's existence and, (implied) through her, the rest of Magix. She forms an alliance with Galadwen and, indirectly, with Sylvanas. It's also revealed that Magix has already attracted the Burning Legion's attention, with three Erakli cities having already been attacked with extreme prejudice.