Line #4 Literature/Blacklight


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/header_maybe.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:a matter of light and death]]
3	->So here's the deal.\
4	My name's Kihri Vyas, and I'm dead.\
5	That's not really important, it happened ages ago, but it's good to have the context.
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7	blacklight (intentionally lower-case) is a modern fantasy web-serial about family, ghosts, and making the best of a really, really, ''really'' bad situation. It can be read for free [[https://spectrochroma.wordpress.com here]], and updates with ~525 words every T-F.
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9	----
10	!! blacklight provides examples of:
11	* AmplifierArtifact: The hammer [[spoiler:Zarah finds in the power station]] seems to operate like this, granting its wielder increased physical abilities and a near-Wolverine-level healing factor. Whether that's specific to the hammer or something all ghostlight constructs can do is still up in the air.
12	* CombatTentacles: [[spoiler:Paose]] uses these, to the extent that he uses them to carry him around rather than walking.
13	-->'''Kihri, [[spoiler:being more correct than she knows]]:''' What, you don't think 'horny land octopus' is a legitimate avenue we should be investigating?
14	** ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine:[[spoiler:Zarah eventually imitates the technique to kill him]].
15	* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
16	** Right out the gates, there's the body at the steel mill - impaled through the torso with such incredible force that it barely caused any bruising
17	** [[spoiler:Jona Mehrvitz takes the cake, though - after being tied down and mutilated until he was barely recognisable as human, his chest was caved in with a hammer and he was left to bleed and choke to death.]]
18	* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: [[spoiler:Zarah finally manages to create her own (gold-coloured) ghostlight for the first time in Chapter Seventeen, but it's highly unstable, and violently explodes as soon as she releases it]].
19	** GoodThingYouCanHeal: [[spoiler:Not only does it explode, but it does so from ''inside her arm'', tearing it to shreds every time she uses it]].
20	--->[Her hand] had been absolutely ruined, skin and flesh peeled back like a flower unfurling, but it was already starting to stitch itself back together.
21	* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Paose is the main threat throughout the first book, but he seems to mostly be following along with Yanis's plans and goals]].
22	* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Zarah struggles with Brechtin (the in-universe English-equivalent trade language), but seems significantly more capable with Pashtari, her native language.
23	** Kihri, on the other hand, displays fluency in both languages, which she attributes (possibly facetiously) to her high degree of media consumption.
24	* {{Familiar}}: [[spoiler:Luce]] seems to fill this role for Orae - it's mentioned that she has higher-than-average intelligence, enough to understand human language to some degree.
25	* HealingFactor: After getting the hammer, [[spoiler:Zarah]] not only survives [[spoiler:getting thrown through a solid concrete wall, being impaled through the torso, and ''jumping ten stories from one skyscraper to the roof of another'', but heals quickly enough that she's able to stand within a few minutes at most.]]
26	* KillingIntent: Remy unleashes something similar in Chapter Fourteen, rendering Zarah and Orae unable to move - it's specifically noted not to affect [[{{Muggle}} Rinet]], however.
27	* MagicAIsMagicA: The blacklight/ghostlight seem to operate on consistent rules, although what they actually are is still in question.
28	** So far, we have:
29	*** FeelNoPain: well, not ''no'' pain, but it's clearly highly reduced
30	*** HardLight
31	*** HealingFactor
32	*** SuperReflexes
33	*** SuperStrength
34	* MysticalWhiteHair: Averted. Zarah and Kihri both have white hair, but it's never treated as anything other than a somewhat-distinctive racial feature.
35	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Kihri, who operates on 'standard' ghost rules, except for the fact that she can somehow [[spoiler:absorb other people's memories by touching/passing through ghostlight they've created.]]
36	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Remy has to consciously remember to breathe, has cold skin, and is utterly impervious to physical harm (at least, so far)]].
37	* OutsideContextProblem: At first, it seems as if blacklight and ghostlight is this for the twins, as it's completely different to Kihri's situation. As they learn more, though, it becomes clear that it's actually the other way around, and ''Kihri'' is the odd one out.
38	* SadClown: It's not exactly difficult to see that Kihri is not as jovial and sarcastic as she acts.
39	* SoulJar: [[spoiler:Shades]] seem to function something like this - someone drawing on blacklight have been shown to regenerate from extremely lethal wounds, many times in a row, up to and including RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain. Destroying the shade seems to affect their capacity to draw on the blacklight to some extent, but as [[spoiler:Paose]] showed, it's not necessarily an instant-win button.
40	* SwitchToEnglish: Kihri makes Zarah talk with her in Brechtin to try and improve her ability to speak the language, to limited success.
41	* TheBeastmaster: [[spoiler:The stranger from Chapter Seven operates like this, directing their dog with a system of whistles while they hang back and harass/distract]].
42	* TwinTelepathy: Yes and no. Zarah has to speak out loud to communicate with Kihri, but both of them can hear the other's voice regardless of the distance/obstructions between them. Considering no-one but Zarah can hear Kihri, it makes for a limited version of the trope.
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Context Literature / Blacklight