Line #107 DarthWiki/TheSensuousFrame


1	The Sensuous Frame is an in-progress work by troper Tropers/{{aija}}. It is in very early planning and this page is mostly character sheets an basic worldbuilding.
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4	! '''The Sensuous Frame contains the following tropes:'''
5	[[foldercontrol]]
6
7	[[folder:Series Tropes]]
8	* AlchemyIsMagic: Dr Hussein and Lisette both show a knowledge of alchemy, which is an accessible branch of [[FunctionalMagic magic]] much like ritual spells.
9	* AllWitchesHaveCats: Chloe has at least three, though they live in the shop more often than her flat.
10	** CatsAreMagic: She likes them because they can tell when she's herself.
11	* AloneInACrowd: Aisha becomes this when she tries to go back to her normal life after the [[{{Spoiler}} breakup with Chloe]].
12	* AndIMustScream: Chloe, possessed by a malicious spirit.
13	* ArtifactOfDoom: The labradorite necklace, of the SoulJar variety.
14	** Also ArtifactOfAttraction, at least to Chloe.
15	* AllWebbedUp: A favourite punishment of spiderwitch Lisette.
16	* AnotherMansTerror: A frequent affect of Chloe's powers.
17	* BackupFromOtherworld: Chloe and the Necromancer, [OurGhostsAreDifferent though the ghosts can only interact with them.]]
18	* BattleCouple:
19	** [[{{BadassNormal}} Aisha]] and [[{{DarkMagicalGirl}} Chloe]].
20	** [[{{AlmightyJanitor}} Damon]] and [[{{BadassBookworm}} Lisette]].
21	* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Chloe, the Spirit, and the Necromancer. [[{{Spoiler}} Twice.]]
22	* BilingualDialogue: Lisette often speaks in untranslated French, with Chloe and Damon responding as often in English as French, and occasionally translating for Aisha. Aisha occasionally retaliates by speaking in Urdu.
23	* BritainIsOnlyLondon: Semi-averted, the main story takes place in London but the viewpoint character, Aisha, is from Yorkshire.
24	* CannotCrossRunningWater: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with.]] Running water is used frequently for cleansing, and is just about the only way Chloe could break free of powerful possessions-- whilst she couldn't move, she was able to ''stop'' herself from moving, tumbling into the river and refusing to swim unless freed whilst the running water of the Thames weakened the spirits grip on her.
25	* CantMoveWhileBeingWatched: The ''thing'' that haunts Aisha after she meets Chloe.
26	** BeastInTheMaze: The nightmares she has of it.
27	* CastFromStamina: Chloe and the Necromancer both grow exhausted after exerting their powers, unless they draw power from other sources.
28	** CastFromHitPoints: Using huge amounts of power, with or without a backup source, has a withering effect on the body. Whenever not actively using these powers the Necromancer is generally confined to a wheelchair.
29	** PowerStrainBlackout / FaintingSeer
30	* CastsNoShadow: Dead people.
31	* ClockPunk: The dusty old grandfather clock that sits by the counter of The New Curiosity Shop is a major motif. Chloe pets it at several points, especially after interacting with Aisha, but never clears away the soft layer of dust or swathe of cobwebs. Despite the cracked face and untouched body, it continues to tick.
32	* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: Pretty much all the main characters apart from [[NaiveNewcomer Aisha]].
33	* CrypticConversation: Chloe and Lisette are the worst offenders, though everyone seems to get in on it from time to time.
34	* TheDarkArts: Necromancy, the flip side of psychic mediation.
35	* DarkIsNotEvil and LightIsNotGood: Chloe's powers, uncorrupted, are a rich shadowy black, like the night sky on a cloudy night or the depths of the ocean. The Necromancer's, having been used to drain energy and manipulate spirits, is the glistening uhealthy white of dead trees or stripped bones. [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience When Chloe does exert her powers over spirits, they are tainted with little white flecks.]]
36	* TheCorruption: Necromancy and psychic abilities have an addictive, deteriorating impact on their users.
37	* DamselInDistress: [[{{Spoiler}} Chloe, when captured by the Necromancer.]]
38	* DeadlyBook: Lisette has several of these.
39	* DemonicPossession: Happens to Chloe, frequently.
40	* DemonSlaying: Chloe's side hustle. With some encouragement from Aisha, she begins to devote a lot more time to it.
41	* ExtranormalInstitute: Lisette attended one.
42	* TheFairFolk: It is never confirmed whether they exist or not, but Aisha frequently compares Chloe to a pixie or an elf, in the vein of [[Literature/JaneEyre Mr Rochester]].
43	* {{Familiar}}: Lisette's spiders.
44	* FateWorseThanDeath: Possessions can be spectacularly horrifying.
45	* FirePurifies: One of the main ways of cleansing haunted objects is to burn them, though this will not work on all hauntings-- especially spirits fuelled by fire, such as the one that possessed Chloe. Other forms of cleansing include submersion in running water or immersion in smoke, blowing blessed ashes over something, burying in sigil-inked cloth, or ritual under a half-moon.
46	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Damon (Sanguine), Lisette (Chloeric), Chloe (Melancholic), and Aisha (Phlegmatic).
47	* FrightDeathtrap: The main way weaker ghosts attach psychics. Also possibly used by Lisette.
48	* {{Gaslighting}}: Inflicted on [[PsychicPowers Chloe]] by evil spirits, showing her disorienting and confusing visions which leave her struggling to maintain a tether to reality.
49	* GhostlyChill
50	* GhostlyGoals: Varying. The most powerful ghosts tend to have strong, emotionally driven motives such as vengeance or protection, whereas the wispier, less solidly formed ghosts tend to be watching over something or someone. None express a desire to make it into an afterlife.
51	* GhostStory
52	* GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with.]] A lot of witches seem to have abilities which connect to a specific animal, which they often take as a familiar. Many, if not most, of these are animals which are generally considered creepy or mystical (though the magical connection is not always obvious). This is implied to be a quirk off setting-- residents of the big cityy are more likely to have pets and vermin around to bond with than anything else. It's also implied that Lisette's preference for [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits hiring outcasts]] predisposes her network towards [[ScaryAnimalsIndex the cool and unusual]]. Includes:
53	** DreadfulDragonfly: A tank of them is seen in Lisette's basement library, indicating that somebody uses them.
54	*** As is a cage of rats.
55	** HairRaisingHare: One of Lisette's informants, Josiah Lozhkin, is a burrowwitch. Or, as the others usually say, bunnywitch. In addition to an oversized, somewhat rabid, hare familiar, he seems to have a gift for travelling unseen.
56	** NobleWolf: One of the previously-overlooked details Aisha catches once she becomes aware of magic is the odd way the lab security guard's sniffer dog seems to mimic its owner's movements-- and how she never really questioned what kind of dog it was, all grey and tall and yellow-toothed.
57	*** Another of these is the girl in her local coffee shop who always seems a little more awake than anyone else-- and whose [[PrettyButterflies butterfly hairclips]] seem to be moving, now that Aisha really looks.
58	** OminousOwl: A young woman named Cora Chaucer who can apparently travel completely unheard and unseen acts as a go-between for Lisette.
59	** SnakesAreSinister: Phoenix, a contact of Damon's rather than Chloe of Lisette's, appears to be an information broker who does dealings with a snake dangling from his neck.
60	** SlipperyAsAnEel: The fishmonger near Chloe's flat is a witch, and his eel tubs are implied to be his familiars. Presumably they contain edible eels, rather than electric knifefish.
61	** ThreateningShark: Another of Lisette's informants, Fahad, works at the London Aquarium and tends to linger about the shark tank. Visitors would do well not to look too closely at his pitch-black eyes.
62	** WickedWeasel: Phoebe Tate, a patron of Chloe's shop, has a stoat in her inside pocket. She plays bodyguard for Chloe when needed, and is an absolutely ''vicious'' fighter.
63	* HearingVoices: Chloe Morgan. For the most part, these are [[VoiceOfTheLegion the voices of]] [[OurGhostsAreDifferent the dead]], but some of them are a little harder to explain.
64	* HellIsThatNoise: The scraping sound made whenever the ghost is following Aisha.
65	* HorrifyingTheHorror: How Chloe gets away from the Necromancer.
66	* HunterOfMonsters: Chloe, as a GoodSamaritan, as well as the Necromancer, as a way of finding powerful spirits.
67	* IgnoranceIsBliss: The reason Chloe is reluctant to involve Aisha (or anyone else) in the world of witchcraft.
68	* ImHavingSoulPains: Psychics (primarily Chloe) frequently wake up from visions wracked with the pain of the echo they were experiencing without any physical signs.
69	* ImmortalityImmorality: For psychics, frequently.
70	* InsufferableGenius: Lisette, [[BadassBookworm literally]], and Chloe, through PsychicPowers, have shades of this. ''Especially'' to one another.
71	* IsItAlwaysLikeThis: From Aisha. Met with the traditional chorus of "Yes, pretty much."
72	* ItWasThereTheWholeTime: The spying ghast. When Chloe enters the room, she recognises it immediately, to the horror of the group which have been alking in its presence the whole time, growing slowly colder and colder.
73	* JackTheRipoff: One of the spirits Chloe speaks to is ''almost'' definitely not Jack the Ripper. He probably was Victorian, and very likely a murderer, though.
74	* JunkieProphet: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Chloe refuses.
75	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Lisette (light feminine) and Chloe (dark feminine). [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]], given that gothic medium Chloe is a much less morally grey figure than prim librarian Lisette.
76	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: From Tennyson's In Memoriam A.H.H. 50.
77	* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], The New Curiosity Shop is ''not'' one of these, but the contents seem to move about the shop and change unexpectedly.
78	* LogicalWeakness: Psychics' main passive power is seeing, sensing, and interacting with the spirits of the dead. Naturally this means they can get sensory overload, and be incapacitated by bright or loud projections, that nobody else can even see, up to and including being trapped by restraints that, to their allies, aren't even there (meaning noone can free them).
79	* {{UsefulNotes/London}}: Specifically, Chloe lives and works on Golborne Road in Notting Hill, Lisette appears all over the place but seems to live with Damon in the East End, since he works in Canary Wharf, and Aisha attends Kings College London and lives in Camden.
80	* LonersAreFreaks: All the main characters are isolated from most of society by their connection to witchcraft.
81	* LoveAtFirstSight: Chloe and Aisha.
82	* MagicalGirlfriend: Delightfully gender-flipped when dissatisfied, [[UnluckyEverydude unlucky-in-love]] [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent student]] Aisha meets [[ByronicHero mysterious]] [[WaifProphet psychic]] Chloe.
83	* MagicalIncantation: Frequently used in complex ritual spells (as opposed to the cantrips that come naturally to witches.
84	* MagicalSociety: The Gravetouchers' Society, which operates in splinter cells across the world to collect magical individuals before they can shatter TheMasquerade.
85	* MagicIsAMonsterMagnet / MagneticMedium: Spirits are drawn to psychic energy, and spirits with a goal can only interact with the world through mediums.
86	* MacabreMothMotif: Chloe is associated with moths in the antiques shop, and even passes herself off as a witch with a moth familiar.
87	* MarionetteMotion: Chloe, when fighting possession.
88	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Played with a lot. From Aisha's perspective, Chloe ''does'' seem to know things that she couldn't possibly know without psychic powers, but all her symptoms and traits line up perfectly with her diagnosis of [[{{UsefulNotes/Epilepsy}} temporal lobe epilepsy]]. From Chloe's perspective, the magic is unavoidably real-- but then, Chloe suffers from a condition which causes vivid and realistic hallucinations.
89	** The characters are also pretty aware of this, checking for potential natural causes before interacting with a haunting. Chloe refuses to even check for a haunting until the site has been tested for carbon monoxide.
90	** MagicRealism: There are a lot of elements which aren't even explained by the magic acknowledged in the text which seem to just ''happen'', particularly with items Chloe is restoring and/or exorcising.
91	* MirrorMonster: Several.
92	* ModelCouple: Lisette and Damon are noted to be very attractive by Aisha at several points.
93	* MouthOfSauron: Mediums and necromancers, as a class, act as this for the dead. On a more human scale, [[TheMole Damon]] is frequently this for [[BigBad the Necromancer]], whilst [[TheChessmaster Lisette]] uses a range of allies, including eventually Aisha.
94	* MuggleMageRomance: Chloe and Aisha.
95	* MundaneHorror
96	* MustBeInvited: Ghosts need to be invited to exert any control over someone. [[LoopholeAbuse Unfortunately, they can be very liberal in their interpretation of "invited".]]
97	* MysteriousEmployer: Played with with Lisette-- she is this to pretty much everyone ''but'' the viewpoint characters. [[PsychicPowers Chloe]], [[TheConfidant Aisha]], [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Damon]], and Damon's sister Camille are the only characters who know who the mysterious Spiderwitch really is, aside from some nameless higher-ups in the Society. To all the other players in London, she is the Society's mysterious [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]], seldom heard except through the MouthOfSauron and never seen in person without a cowl or mask.
98	* NeverendingTerror: Chloe. Once torn open by her eight-year possession, she can never rebuild the defenses needed to keep herself safe from the dead, and has to rely on external protections to continually resist their attacks.
99	* NothingIsScarier: The ghost that haunts Aisha.
100	* OccultDetective: What Aisha is planning. Lisette and Chloe both get in on some of this.
101	* OminousFog: Pretty frequent [[JustifiedTrope (it is set in London)]], in addition to being how Chloe sees the world constantly.
102	* OminousOwl: One delivers a message to Lisette, implying that it may be somebody's familiar.
103	* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The Gravetouchers' Society.
104	* TheOphelia: How both the Society and the Necromancer see [[BrokenBird Chloe]]. How much is ObfuscatingInsanity and how much is her actual [[MadHatter trauma and epilepsy]] is pretty debatable-- Chloe is certainly more functional that she lets on to anyone but [[SecretKeeper Lisette]] and her friends, but her health can be genuinely debilitating, as seen when she is [[HeroicBSOD captured]].
105	* OurSirensAreDifferent: Angel Faqir, a Philosophy student also at Kings, who has siren-based abilities-- a CompellingVoice that draws people to her alongside MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily, for when she catches them.
106	* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: {{Necromancer}}. Also, though considerably less evil, Lisette.
107	* ParanormalMundaneItem: Plenty, both as plot devices and littered about the shop where Chloe works.
108	* PossessionBurnout: Immunity to this is part of what makes necromancers like Chloe so special/
109	* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Chloe gets them frequently. Aisha (and other victims of hauntings) also receive them when inflicted by a spirit.
110	* PsychicNosebleed: Chloe, after seizures.
111	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Lisette's recruits.
112	* RegretEatingMe: Chloe's BadassBoast to the Necromancer.
113	* ReligiousHorror: Downplayed, but a lot of spirits, and particularly older ones, can't enter holy ground. Chloe spends a decent amount of time tiding out in churches, but this applies to Aisha's temple as well.
114	* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Played with a lot, the Romantic world of the witches and the society played up in contrast with the more Englightenment-leaning worldview of [[HeroicBystander Aisha]] and [[ScienceHero Dr Hussein's]] scientific minds and modern outlook.
115	* SensoryAbuse: How most ghosts attack.
116	* SpidersAreScary: Lisette's creepiness factor is increased ''significantly'' by her spider-themed magic.
117	* SpiderSwarm: Lisette can control one.
118	* SpookySeance
119	* SquishyWizard: Psychics and necromancers are rendered seriously ill when they use their powers unless they steal energy from other spirits, making them fragile and vulnerable in the aftermath.
120	* StayOnThePath: Chloe and Tamanna tell Aisha at several points to "take the main roads home". She seldom listens.
121	* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Possessed Chloe.
122	* SuperHumanTrafficking: Implied to be a hobby of the Society, who see it as NecessarilyEvil to keep gifted youngsters from causing massive disasters.
123	* SupernaturalTeam: Lisette is already in control of a supernatural intelligence network, of which Chloe is part, prior to Aisha's arrival, but by the end of the book a core team of [[PsychicPowers Chloe]], [[BadassNormal Aisha]], [[LadyOfBlackMagic Lisette]], [[TheMole Damon]], and their mismatch of allies.
124	* SurrealHorror: Chloe's powers tend towards the... ''bizarre''. In addition to more traditional communications with ghosts, there are the other spirits she sees, the ones which have been changed by magic or were never human at all, with too-long limbs and rustling scales, following her in the street or watching from windows. She sees the world blanketed by a grey fog, the gauzy fabric of the dead layered over the city of the living, voices ever-present on the edge of her senses, phantom pains where she brushes against unseen ghosts. To those who can't see what she does, this makes Chloe seem jumpy and distracted, turning her gaze on nothing in particular or whispering words under her breath that nobody but she could hear.
125	* TeasingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier: Aisha is the only main character who does not speak fluent French, which is [[TheRival Lisette's]] native language. She delights in this.
126	* TiredOfRunning: Chloe, with some encouragement from Aisha.
127	* TrueCompanions: Lisette and Damon, from the outset, and eventually Aisha and Chloe.
128	* VaguenessIsComing: Chloe (and the Necromancer)'s prophecies tend to come in this form, in contrast to the much more informative information they can gather from the dead. It appears mostly in abstract visions and flashes of dialogue.
129	* VictorianLondon: The story is set in modern-day London, but borrows heavily from a GothicHorror Victorian setting, with Farsi-speaking flower girls, exhausted young prophets who make rent working in antiques shops, evil necromancers with dapper young gentlemen as their secretaries and mysterious librarians in fine poofy gowns. In addition to the modern pollution, Chloe sees the world obscured by a pea soup fog of ghostly residue. Dr Hussein is a good doctor but a clear send-up of a MadScientist with her fascination with magic and alchemy. There is a magical drugs trade that clearly models itself on a Victorian era OpiumDen. Lisette's information network, consisting mostly of magically gifted young people struggling to make a living, resembles the [[BakerStreetRegular Irregulars]]. Chloe herself is a patchwork of Victorian tragedy tropes, a [[TheOphelia surreally]] broken [[OracularUrchin psychically]] [[WaifProphet gifted]] [[TheIngenue young woman]] who, whilst not exactly a criminal, is a [[ArtfulDodger talented in the art of breaking and entering]].
130	* WelcomeToMyWorld: Chloe, to Aisha.
131	* WhatBeautifulEyes: Chloe's has wide, souldful grey eyes shot throught with blue.
132	* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: The spirit which possessed Chloe punished her when she tried to take control, blaming her for its actions.
133	* WillOTheWisp: All [[BadassNormal Aisha]] can actually see of the magic that goes on around her is foxfire, implied to be trying to lead her to her death.
134	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The Necromancer. Implied to be the norm for psychics and necromancers in general, when they start stealing power.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Character Tropes]]
138	!!Chloe Morgan
139	->''I made me.''
140	A modern prophet-- a girl with tangled hair and shadows under her eyes, with knowledge that might bring gods and nations to their knees and a body wracked with sleepless nights and failing limbs. A mortal soul, shadowed by eternal lights and cryptic voices hanging over her, long ago freed and left behind by the Necromancer. By day, she is an apprentice antiques restorer, living in the flat above the shop with a cat and a ghost. She meets Aisha at the beginning of the first book, and falls in love.
141	* ActionSurvivor
142	* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength
143	* AwesomeButImpractical: On the one hand, Chloe's powers are huge-- she can speak to the dead, control them, cast curses, and even control the weather. On the other, she has seizures, is rendered housebound by possessions, suffers from constant magical fatigue, and can barely ever use her powers out of fear of being completely insane by them. Chloe certainly considers them a curse, though the jury is split amongst the other characters.
144	* BewareTheSillyOnes: The Society, and the Necromancer, think her too damaged to be of use due to the CPTSD and temporal lobe epilepsy she was diagnosed with by Dr Hussein. She plays this up to evade conscription by either party, maintaining a mask of detachment and incoherence when observed. Whilst she does suffer from both conditions, Chloe is entirely functional and extremely powerful. Lisette is the only society member who sees her as an asset, and puts her powers to full use whenever she can.
145	* BadassBookworm: To an extent-- she [[{{BookDumb}} never went to university or college]] but works as an antiques appraiser and reads Romantic poetry for fun.
146	* BadPowersGoodPeople: Abilities ranging from [[{{ISeeDeadPeople}} psychic powers]] to [[{{DeathTouch}} necromancy,]] but is generally sweet, shy, and good-natured.
147	* BlueCollarWarlock: Chloe is a working-class Londoner with powerful psychic abilities, in contrast to wealthy Parisian spiderwitch Lisette, white-collar office worker Damon, and middle-class second-generation immigrant Aisha.
148	* ByronicHero: A magnetic, charismatic young woman with a DarkAndTroubledPast which has left her [[BrokenBird jaded and traumatised]]. Whilst [[AvertedTrope not formally educated]], Chloe is a self-taught antiques dealer and restorer who reads Romantic poetry and uses her PsychicPOwers to study history. [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in the sense that whilst Chloe is TheDeterminator from the beginning, it is only after meeting Aisha that she gains the passion and drive to do good typically seen in the trope.
149	* CastingAShadow: Having not used her powers to drain spirits, they manifest as rich black shadows.
150	* CreepyGood
151	* CursedWithAwesome: A horrifying and traumatic event leaves her with awe-inspiring psychic powers.
152	* CuteWitch: In contrast to HotWitch Lisette.
153	* CynicismCatalyst: The fire that killed her family.
154	* TheFettered
155	* FinalGirl: Elements of this in backstory.
156	* FirstNameBasis: Dislikes being called by her last name.
157	* GoodScarsEvilScars: Heavy burn scars, but on her arms where they're easily hidden by a shirt.
158	* HandicappedBadass: Suffers from epilepsy (as a side effect of her powers), as well as CPTSD.
159	* HauntedHeroine: A more self-aware character than the classic, but nonetheless a fragile-seeming young woman haunted equally by her past and the spirits around her.
160	* HauntedHouseHistorian: An antiques dealer who is also a MagneticMedium.
161	* HearingVoices: Of the [[{{Telepathy}} telepath]] suffering from PowerIncontinence variety, Chloe can hear the voices of the dead near-constantly.
162	* HumanNotepad: Carries metallic sharpies around to scrawl on her arms and legs-- sigils on her palms, her collarbones, her abdomen, all over the pulse points, sleeves tugged down to cover the words of the dead and the thoughts of the future ticking over at the back of her mind all the time, almost unaware of them.
163	* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Between hostile spirits trying to take over her body and her own powers tempting her to corruption, Chloe is ''constantly'' holding the line against evil inside her. She doesn't [[{{ThinkNothingOfIt}} charge for her help]] when people need it despite living on the brink of poverty, never falters when faced with [[{{MindRape}} mental]] or [[{{ColdBloodedTorture}} physical]] trauma, and even acts as [[{{TheChessmaster}} Lisette's]] moral compass from time to time. This puts her in good stead to serve as a foil to [[{{CompleteMonster}} the Necromancer]].
164	* IronWoobie: Chloe has [[{{MindRape}} been]] [[SelfMadeOrphan through]] [[{{TraumaCongaLine}} a lot]], but she just [[{{Determinator}} keeps going.]]
165	* KeeperOfForbiddenKnowledge: Due to her unusually strong [[PsychicPowers]]. Downplayed, since Chloe avoids being an active agent.
166	* LipstickLesbian: In comparison to [[ButchLesbian Aisha]], Chloe is shyer and more feminine in style, as well as working in a less traditionally masculine field as an antiques appraiser.
167	* MadHatter: Overlapping with ObfuscatingInsanity, Chloe is perfectly self-aware of her mental state, takes medication and keeps regular contact with Dr Hussein to keep her mental health in check. Somewhat complicated by the PsychicPowers.
168	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Strong shades of this towards Aisha, when not making an effort to pass for normal.
169	* OracularUrchin: Modern twist on the trope: rather than living on the streets, Chloe is scraping by with rent and food money by working at the owner of her flat's shop using her powers. She remains isolated and disconnected from the world, thin and frail, and catches the attention of the Society just as a more traditional take on the trope.
170	* SafetyInIndifference: Her main FatalFlaw, until she meets [[PowerOfLove Aisha]].
171	* WaifProphet: Physically frail from years of possession and neglect to her body, with mystical insight both from the voices of the dead and the strange prophecies she delivers.
172	* WillfullyWeak: [[JustifiedTrope Justifed,]] as using her powers [[CastFromHitPoints does a number]] [[CastFromStamina on her health]] [[PowerAtAPrice and sanity]].
173	!!Aisha
174	* ActionGirlfriend: To Chloe.
175	* BunnyEarsLawyer: For all her odd quirks and NightmareFetishist tendencies, Aisha is an excellent chemist and talented investigator.
176	* ButchLesbian: Dating [[LipstickLesbian Chloe]] throughout the series, Aisha is a sporty and active forensics student.
177	* BystanderSyndrome: The main source of her conflict with [[IJustWantToBeNormal Chloe]] is Aisha's belief that Chloe should be using her powers to help [[ComesGreatResponsibility more people]].
178	* ByTheBookCop: Well, not ''yet''.
179	* DeadpanSnarker
180	* ICanChangeMyBeloved: Her main FatalFlaw, Aisha can be controlling and demanding of Chloe when she thinks that she is in the right, [[ItsAllAboutMe regardless of Chloe's needs]].
181	* MagicallyIneptFighter: The only main character who doesn't have any magical abilities, but also the only one with real combat training (admittedly as a teenager).
182	* MeaningfulName: "Aisha" means "alive".
183	* NaiveNewcomer: The viewpoint character for most of the book, as the one not previously acquainted with witchcraft.
184	* NightmareFetishist: She is... ''extremely'' attracted to her girlfriend's necromancy.
185	* TallDarkAndSnarky
186	* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: To Chloe, especially when Chloe is out of commission.
187	!!Lisette Lachance
188	* AlliterativeName
189	* BadassBureaucrat
190	* BadassBookworm: She's a librarian.
191	* TheBeautifulElite: A tall, pretty young woman with wide storm-blue eyes and perfect rosebud lips, nails a little too long and sharp, and white-blonde hair that seems to catch the light in a way that isn't quite natural. Lisette's clothing is noted to be expensive and often too fine for the setting, and her disappearances from workspace to workspace without ever seeming to do any work, add up to a perfect caricature of the idle rich with a supernaturally vicious edge.
192	* CulturedBadass: A Parisian pseudo-aristocrat with a Classical education, her cover job is as a librarian.
193	* CuteMonsterGirl: Depending on [[AmbiguouslyHuman how human]] you interpret her.
194	* FriendToBugs: Has a worrying number of pet spiders, to support her spider-based magic.
195	* HotWitch: In contrast to CuteWitch Chloe.
196	* HumanNotepad: Like Chloe, she has sigils traced onto her arm, where they're covered by her sleeves, though hers are done in carefully applied makeup each morning and sprayed neatly into fixed place.
197	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Abrasive, judgemental, and rude, but ultimately one of the good ones.
198	* LovableAlphaBitch: An adult version, who's competitive and something of a primadonna, but a good friend and good leader.
199	* MagicLibrarian: Also HotLibrarian. Also ScaryLibrarian, sometimes.
200	* ManipulativeBitch: Tamanna voices her suspicion that Lisette manipulated Chloe and Aisha's relationship to ensure Chloe would work for her more often. While nobody knows for sure, the other characters agree that this is in character for Lisette.
201	* MeaningfulName: Lisette (Lady) Lachance (Luck). [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], given that this is actually a pseudonym she has been using since she was twelve. Her real name is implied to be Rosette or Rosetta (Little Rose), and [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Damon]] invariably calls her Zetta.
202	* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: Despite being the [[NonActionGuy Non-Action Girl]], Lisette is a lot more [[ManipulativeBastard vicious]] than [[TheMole her]] [[UnderstandingBoyfriend boyfriend]] [[NiceGuy Damon]].
203	* PestController: Lisette is a Spiderwitch-- she has a natural gift for deals and trap magic using threads, as well as a flock of spiders she controls in a swarm.
204	* PragmaticHero: Of the {{Chessmaster}} variety.
205	* PunnyName: See MeaningfulName.
206	* SilkHidingSteel: Proper, well-mannered, ladylike and usually formally dressed, but is [[{{LadyMacbeth}} the leader]] of this specific splinter cell and the main proponent of the fight against the Necromancer. She's also not afraid to [[{{LadyOfWar}} get physical]].
207	* VainSorceress
208	* WorthyOpponent: To the Necromancer.
209	!!Damon Drake
210	* AlliterativeName: Matching Lisette's.
211	* BadassBystander: When he gets involved, since he's an executive assistant who happens to be a superpowered warrior.
212	* MeaningfulName: Damon (sounding like demon) and Drake (a kind of dragon) sound pretty sinister, but the meaning of Damon is "gentle", and the name was chosen to match his much-loved girlfriend-- fitting for TheMole.
213	* TheMole: Works as a personal assistant for the Necromancer and his [[{{TheDragon}} dragon]], but reports back to Lisette.
214	* NiceGuy: In contrast to [[GoodIsNotNice Lisette]].
215	* OurLichesAreDifferent: He is referred to as a "revenant", but aside from the ability to do ritual spells he doesn't show any supernatural quirks or abilities.
216	* UndeathlyPallor: Unhealthy grey undertone.
217	* UnderstandingBoyfriend: To Lisette.
218	!!Camille Drake
219	* LittleMissBadass: Not part of the team, but completely capable of looking after herself.
220	!!Dr Tamanna Hussein
221	* MadScientist: A perfectly respectable, caring, and attentive doctor, who just happens to have a side hustle in [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical experiments]].
222	* TeamMedic: A doctor with magical potential working with Lisette's group.
223	!!The Necromancer
224	* AgeWithoutYouth: Has used necromancy to build power and extend his life, but is left old and frail-- both from age and from the physical exertion of using his powers, growing weaker whenever he goes too long without drawing power.
225	* EvenEvilHasStandards: He draws the line at killing children, leaving 15-year-old Chloe alive after exorcising her and saving infant Camille's life when his magic almost killed her. [[{{TheChessmaster}} Of Course,]] both of these situations put very powerful individuals in a position of debt to him whilst they were still young and malleable, so whilst both of them did turn against him it could be seen as ultimately self-serving. Nonetheless it is clear that even the spirits of children are safe from his hunger.
226	* LifeDrinker: Fuels his powers by draining the energy of other spirits and indeed living people in a pinch.
227	* LightEmUp: After centuries of feeding on spirits, his powers manifest as bright white light.
228	* MadOracle
229	* TheUnfettered
230	* TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive: Knows where Chloe lives and works. Does ''not'' know where to find Lisette, however.
231	!!The Spirit in the Necklace
232	* AncientEvil: Of the ancient EvilSorcerer variety-- an ancient necromancer whose spirit was bound to a labradorite necklace hundreds of years ago.
233	* TheDreaded
234	* MirrorMonster: Appears to Chloe in any surface that reflects the light as a crystal-clear reflection of herself.

Context DarthWiki / TheSensuousFrame