Line #30 Fanfic/LesContesDeLaNuit


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/les_contes_de_la_nuit_min.png]]
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3	''les contes de la nuit''[[note]]French for "Tales of the Night"[[/note]], also referred to as ''nightverse'', is an Theatre/{{Elisabeth}} fanfic series, written by shadowsnumberless and hosted on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. It consists of mostly canon- and history-compliant fics that explores the possibility of Rudolf becoming a Todesengel[[note]]Death Angel, one of Death's minions in the show[[/note]] after the Mayerling incident. At least one fic involving original characters in addition to canon ones have been planned, as well as potential crossovers with other fandoms.
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5	The series can be read [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/979491 here.]]
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7	''Spoiler note'': This page is continually updated (as a brainstorming space) by the author as she thinks of tropes that are applicable to the fic, which includes stuff that have not been updated yet. Tropes can also be deleted and added per plot and characterization changes.
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9	----
10	!!This fanfic provides examples of:
11	* AdaptationalVillainy: Compared to the majority of ''Elisabeth'' adaptations and fanfics, this Death, being based heavily on Mark Seibert's portrayal, comes off as a glacial SmugSmiler ManipulativeBastard.
12	* AffectionateNickname: Death calls Rudolf "mein Schatz" [[note]]German for "my treasure"/"my dear"[[/note]].
13	* AllLowercaseLetters: The fic and chapter titles are this, barring names.
14	* AnimalMotifs:
15	** Sisi as a seagull, Rudolf as a (black) lark.
16	** Death as a cat. Between his silent, stalking movements [[note]]he's compared to a predator in ''Les Morts''[[/note]], his DarkIsEvil costume, and his intense eyes, he certainly comes off as this.
17	* AnywhereButTheirLips: Enforced between human Rudolf and Death. Doesn't stop them from having ''fun'', though, since in ''Chant'' an invisible Death kisses Rudolf on the neck in public.
18	* AsTheGoodBookSays: Matthew 28:20 makes an appearance twice, quoted as "And behold, I am with you always, unto the end of the world."
19	* BlackEyesOfEvil: Death and the Todesengel sport these, coupled with ReflectionlessUselessEyes since they technically are, well, dead and Death. Rudolf remarks that Death's is "an all-consuming abyss".
20	* BlatantLies: According to Sisi, "Empress Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of the illustrious House of Habsburg and the most glorious state of Austria does not beg." Apparently she forgot ''Totenklage''. "Come, sweetest Death... Accursed Death! Deliver me!"
21	* CatsAreMean: The kitten in ''Chant'' was attacking a black lark, fatally wounding the bird.
22	* DarkIsEvil: The villainous Death tends to dress in all black. [[DarkIsNotEvil Averted]] with the Todesengel, particularly Rudolf.
23	* DeadpanSnarker:
24	--> '''Rudolf:''' In case it had escaped your notice, ''(gestures towards himself)'' I have joined the ''Todesengel''.
25	* DesperatelyCravesAffection: Death seems to think Rudolf is this, and considers him weak because of it.
26	* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: As a Todesengel, Rudolf becomes even more of one than he was in life.
27	* EmptyEyes: Sisi's frightened observation of Rudolf's eyes. Though in ''his'' case in particular, it might overlap with MindControlEyes as well. See MoreThanMindControl below.
28	* EvilIsBigger: Mark Seibert (Death) and Thomas Hohler (Rudolf) have a height difference of 11 cm. Plus, Rudolf spends a good chunk of ''Pavane'' seated on the ground while Death is on a throne/chair.
29	* FascinatingEyebrow: Rudolf arches an eyebrow at Sisi in ''Pavane'' in this manner.
30	* FingerTenting: Yes, described as Death ''steepling'' his fingers together in ''Pavane''.
31	* FootnoteFever: Or, "more author's notes than you'd care to read". The author is prone to these, which sometimes can get as long as half the chapter.
32	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
33	** ''Chant'' has a young Rudolf killing a cat that was torturing a black lark. The lark ends up dead anyway, as its would-be protector winds up too busy with the cat to pay any mind to it. Besides what was pointed out in the text as Rudolf projecting his situation onto the bird, this event parallels his own fate: He tried to fight off Death (both his "friend" and the cat), but ended up committing an act that he dubiously regrets (killing a ''kitten'', and [[spoiler: committing suicide]]).
34	* FreedomFromChoice: "But he couldn’t stop. Even if he had wanted to. His will had been forfeit long ago."
35	* FreudianTrio: ''Pavane'' provides one: Rudolf as the id, Sisi the ego, and Death the superego.
36	* GratuitousFrench: All of the chapter titles.
37	* GratuitousGerman: The German-speaking characters pepper their narration with German terms - "Todesengel", "Kapuzinergruft", et cetera.
38	* HasAType:
39	** Rudolf seems to like smirky green-eyed blonds - Death and Alyssa's face-casts are, respectively, Mark Seibert and Natalie Dormer.
40	** Death likes humans that intrigue and surprise him.
41	* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou:
42	--> "Instead, she glowered at him, as she was wont to do. Death only steepled his fingers together and smiled in response. Ornery as ever, but that enhanced her appeal even more. It delighted him to no end to see those brown eyes blaze."
43	* ItIsDehumanizing: Averted. The Todesengel that appeared to Sisi at Schönbrunn was initially referred to as "it" before she realized it's actually Rudolf.
44	* LightIsNotGood: The light-haired Death is an ''ass''. To put it mildly. At minimum, he's a SoftSpokenSadist.
45	* ManipulativeBastard: Death, full stop. He's shown visibly enjoying the conflict that he creates by pitting son against mother and vice versa, even flat out calling it "an entertainment" to Rudolf's face. [[note]]Not that Rudolf minded.[[/note]]
46	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Franz Joseph's [[DreamingOfThingsToCome dream]] about Rudolf's death was right before the Mayerling incident.
47	* MeaningfulName: All of the Angels have names with bright, positive meanings.
48	** Rudolf: ''famed wolf''.
49	** Minh: ''bright''.
50	** Alyssa: The spelling might have come from the alyssum flower. It's composed of the negative prefix "a-" and "lyssa" (madness) - said flower was believed to be able to cure madness. Lyssa is also quite fond of doing things other people would consider mad. Or it could mean ''noble one'' as an alternate spelling of the name Alicia.
51	** Aiko: ''child of love''.
52	** Luna: ''moon''. [[note]]In her case, it counts as a MeaningfulRename because, in death, she was able to present as her gender. She had not chosen a new name when she was alive. Her deadname was Michael Bennett, after the Archangel who commands God's army and the patron saint of soldiers.[[/note]]
53	** Petr: ''the rock'', after St. Peter, keeper of the Keys of Heaven and guardian at the Pearly Gates.
54	** Natalia: ''natal day'' (Christmas).
55	** Milan: ''gracious, dear''.
56	** Claire. She identifies as a witch, [[{{Seers}} dabbles in divination]], and has the Sight (the ability to see and interact with Angels). Her name comes from the title of the piece itself, and the word ''clairvoyant''.
57	** Claire's wife is named Phoebe, a Titan in Myth/ClassicalMythology associated with the moon. Their cats' names are similarly lunar-themed: Luna, Artemis (Greek moon goddess), and Diana (Roman equivalent to Artemis) in a blatant ShoutOut to Manga/SailorMoon. [[note]]It's accidental InUniverse. Luna the cat was named as such by the shelter workers. Artemis' name was suggested by Claire unaware of the character. Diana, however, was indeed named after both the ''Sailor Moon'' character and Franchise/WonderWoman.[[/note]]
58	* MoreThanMindControl: ''And is it ever.'' Sisi was actually on the money in ''Pavane'' when she accuses Rudolf of becoming Death's creature and Death of twisting Rudolf's thoughts with poison. Rudolf himself veers wildly between accepting and denying it.
59	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Death and his Todesengel.
60	** UndeathlyPallor? Check.
61	** Putting the KissOfDeath on Angels leave them drained. On mortals, this steals their LifeEnergy, resulting in... death.
62	** Death is the equivalent of the VampireMonarch - he can sense the Angels' emotions, and it's implied he's a [[{{Telepathy}} mind reader]] as well.
63	** SuperStrength? Check.
64	** MissingReflection? Check, because they're spirits and do not have an actual physical body for mirrors to reflect. This only applies in the mortal realm, though. Mirrors in the afterlife reflect them normally.
65	** They don't need to breathe, but they still have "blood" in the form of ''ichor''.
66	** ImmortalProcreationClause: Neither Death nor any of his Angels can impregnate anyone. New Angels are made from souls who have recently died and have a really strong motive to stay, hand-picked by Death.
67	** StrongerWithAge doesn't necessarily apply, since the relatively young Rudolf was catapulted to the position of Death's favorite Angel shortly after he gained his wings.
68	** [[EvilDetectingDog Animals either act aggressive or fearful in the presence of any of them.]]
69	** Their morality ranges wildly from BlueAndOrangeMorality (Death) to FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire (Luna).
70	** HealingFactor: Since they can't die, they can recover from injuries that would be otherwise fatal. With proper care.
71	** {{Brainwashing}} with a side of MindControlEyes: Rudolf can attest to Death's ability, both as a mortal and an Angel.
72	** MindManipulation: Rudolf learned the hard way that Death can do this.
73	** VoluntaryShapeshifting: They can take on any form convincingly. Humans with the Sight may be able to see through the glamour.
74	* ParentalAbandonment: As in canon, Rudolf accuses Sisi of this in ''Pavane''.
75	* PowerfulPeopleAreSubs: Sisi is scandalized in ''Pavane'' because post-mortem Rudolf is this.
76	* ThePowerOfBlood: Given that the trope OurVampiresAreDifferent is present, this is as well.
77	** Type A shows up in ''Chant'', in an allusion to [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Persephone]], symbolizing Rudolf's choice to [[spoiler: kill himself and bind himself to Death for all of eternity.]]
78	--> You are bound up in him. You cannot escape.
79	--> How do you escape from your freedom?
80	--> Red runs between your fingers. Blood? The stain of pomegranates?
81	** Types B and O shows up in ''Roi'', with [[spoiler: the symbolic image of child-Rudolf dead from both hypothermia/sickness and a BoomHeadshot that destroyed the back of his head (which was what happened).]]
82	* SecondPersonNarration: ''Chant'' seemed to be written like this, but the author/narrator crops up in the first three chapters, either referring to herself in the first person, or talking directly to Rudolf.
83	* ShoutOut:
84	** [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 "No. The dead exist in the past. She has the eternal present to attend to."]]
85	** [[Anime/YuriOnIce "If I could see him again... Eternity will be born from hope."]]
86	** [[Theatre/{{Mozart}} "The easy path is always wrong."]]
87	** [[Creator/JohnKeats "Darkling, I listen; and, for many a time, I have been half in love with easeful Death."]]
88	** [[Franchise/HarryPotter "It does not do to dwell on dreams."]]
89	** To Myth/ClassicalMythology:
90	*** Death is compared to Achilles and Hyacinth. [[note]]Both of whom had HoYay - with Patrocles and Apollo, respectively.[[/note]]
91	*** "The stain of pomegranates" alludes to Persephone and Hades.
92	* SmugSmiler: Death is prone to this.
93	* VirtualSoundtrack: The fics are titled according to the piece of music that inspired them.
94	** ''pavane pour un prince héritier''[[note]]Pavane for a crown prince.[[/note]]: "Pavane pour une infante défunte" by Music/MauriceRavel.
95	** ''pour Elis(abeth)''[[note]]For Elis(abeth).[[/note]]: "Für Elise" by Music/LudwigVanBeethoven.
96	** ''clair de lune''[[note]]Moonlight.[[/note]]: By Music/ClaudeDebussy.
97	** ''le roi des aulnes''[[note]]The Erl-King/The Elf-King/The King of the Alders[[/note]]: "Der Erlkönig" by Music/FranzSchubert.
98	** ''miroir dans le miroir''[[note]]Mirror in mirror.[[/note]]: "Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt.
99	** ''le chant de la terre''[[note]]The song of the earth.[[/note]]: "Das Lied von der Erde" by Music/GustavMahler.
100	** ''tu es la seule vie parmi les morts'' [[note]]Only you are the life among the dead.[[/note]]: From "Bring Me to Life" by Music/{{Evanescence}}.

Context Fanfic / LesContesDeLaNuit