#who are not the big bad themselves but rather the top ranked subordinate of said big bad

[neo--queen--serenity]

[tartglias]

undercover

characters: fatui harbinger ! reader x scaramouche + childe + signora (separate)

prompt: you had been away on an undercover mission for a while, but they find you at an unusual place

note: i was listening to yes or yes by twice when this came to my mind so idk I HAD TO WRITE IT (its a bit messy though i apologize)

☆☆☆☆

Scaramouche

He glared at the door of the tavern before taking a deep breath and walking in. He didn't even want to be there, but his subordinates were stupid enough to not be able to locate you themselves, so he felt forced to come himself.

It's been a while since he last saw you, he heard from the 11th harbinger that you got ordered to go undercover in the region of Fontaine.

But now, the Tsarista needed you back, reason why now he tracked you down and is currently standing awkwardly by the bar.

He tried to scan the area with his eyes in order to find you, but unfortunately for him, he was only met with the weird glances from strangers.

"Looking for someone?" He heard a deep voice coming from beside him, it was the bartender. He quickly put on his facade, and smiled at him. "Just a friend, they told me to meet them here today but I presume they haven't arrived yet"

"A nice place for a date, my friend. The show is about to start, can I serve you something to drink while you wait?" The bartender asked.

Scaramouche was about to thunder the man and correct him saying it was not a date, just business. But it's not like he cares, anyways. He smiled instead, and said "Just water will be fine, thank you"

Then, as the man behind the bar nodded, lights went out. Smoke started coming out from the stage in front of him, and then, a group of dancers appeared. Their backs were facing the audience, and their outfits were all colorful and sparkly. "How disgusting" he mumbled to himself.

The moment the dancers turned around and you appeared at the centre, looking as bright and beautiful as ever, his mouth dropped

What were you doing there?! It was supposed to be a top secret mission, so why were you performing in a tavern where the spotlight was clearly all on you?

To make it more unbelievable for him, you started singing a cheerful and bubbly song

Oh boy

His mouth and eyes were wide open, and Scaramouche has never been so shocked in his life

It was just very odd to see you like that, because he knew the real you. You were almost as sadistic as him, often laughing at the pain your vision brought to people. That's why he took a liking on you, because at the end of the day, you were almost as bad as him. The only difference is that you were mostly tolerated and respected by the fellow fatui harbingers, and also, you knew how to keep your mouth shut when necessary.

So this was a big contrast, now you were singing a cheerful song about love and positivity. It was a 180 degree turn, so he couldn't help but feel shocked, but slightly in a good way.

When the song finished, you quickly spot him and shot him a knowing glance that said "we'll talk later", before your smile reappeared in your face as you bowed and thanked the other customers.

Childe

Unlike Scaramouche, he was simply wandering around the city of Inazuma when he found the café you were currently working at.

He finished his mission a bit earlier than usual, so why not walk around the city his dear fellow fatui harbinger grew up in? Who knows? Maybe he will meet someone who is willing to exchange precious information about the 6th harbinger. That way, he would rile him up and eventually get to fight him.

That was, until he saw a much better source of entertainment.

He was standing outside of a themed café when he spot a familiar person dressed in a maid costume. He wasn't one to drink coffee, but why not try?

He walked in and sat at a random table, waiting to get served. Luckily for him, you got assigned his table.

When you saw him, your cheeks immediately reddened. Not only because of your attire and current situation, but also because he was not supposed to be there, and specially not when you were so close to finish the mission.

"My, my. What do we have here?" he said once you reached his table. You ignored him and handed him the menu. "Welcome to our humble café, master. How can I serve you today?"

Childe was screaming inside

"Master? I like that. I think I would like-" he started saying, quickly going through the menu. "A regular coffee and a wolfhood juice"

You eyed him questioningly. "That's a strange combination, master" "What can I say? I'm a man with many dualities" he said, smirking and making an emphasis on "many"

He knew you well, after all, you were his hardest challenge within the fatui harbingers. He once fought with you, and not even 10 minutes later you already had your foot pressing on his head against the floor.

He would be a fool to not admit that he has always been slightly interested in you. Not because of your fight style, or your agility to control your vision. But also because you didn't bow down to anyone that wasn't the Tsarista. He often thinks you would rather die than lower yourself like that

That's why he was enjoying this a little too much. Oh how he adored this unusual look of you roleplaying as a maid while you serve him coffee. Not to mention the use of the word "master".

He's definitely going to use this against you someday

Signora

Normally, lower rank fatuis would be assigned to locate the harbingers and deliver messages, but you were in an undercover mission.

To put it simple, those silly fatuis could not find you. That's why Signora was currently sitting on a dirty wooden bench facing a big stage. If someone could locate you, it was her. And she was 98% sure that you would appear in that stage at any moment.

"They should have picked a better place to perform." she thought, as she made a disgusted face at how dirty the bench was.

She was a bit curious though. Despite being a very respected fatui harbinger, you were also a very shy person. You didn't talk much in meetings, and if you did, your voice was small. You also stumble on your words while talking to people, and prefer smaller crowds.

Harbingers like Scaramouche often questioned why you were a harbinger at all.

But Signora knew better. She knew how powerful you were, and how confident you get in no time when the situation goes the way you planned. And if the situation goes the other way round, you're always quick enough to handle it smoothly. There was no doubt in her soul about the fact that you were perfect for the job.

But still

You were a very shy person who always ran away from crowded places. So why were you about to perform at such place? With a big audience?

Her questions were soon answered, when a tall man with a black moustache and a large hat appeared on stage. Lights were on him, as he exclaimed "Welcome everyone! It is my pleasure to present an acrobatic show you will never forget!"

The red courtain behind him opened, and there you stood in a yellow tight outfit and a big smile on your face. If Signora didn't know better, she would have believed you were the most innocent person in the world.

Once the man finished his speech and left the stage, the other acrobats started doing their performances. But Signora's eyes were on you, only.

She didn't expect you to use your pyro vision, as you lit up an acrobat hula hoop that was safely attached to a platform. And to make it more shocking, she did not expect you to smile at the audience before you made a cartwheel, landed on a trampoline, and jumped through the hula hoop.

You landed safely on the other side of it, and gave the audience a triumphant smile while you lifted up your arms.

That was the moment when you noticed Signora.

Signora rarely showed emotions, even less positive ones. But she just could not help the small smile that appeared on her face when her eyes met yours. She was shocked, amazed, starstruck

Your mission was nowhere near over, but as Signora smiled and clapped while you bowed down to express gratitude, you felt satisfied.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

620-622: "A Critical Situation! Punk Hazard Explodes!", "Capture Caesar! General Cannon Blasts!" and "A Touching Reunion! Momonosuke and Kinemon!"

Watched three in a row because Doflamingo was teased. He is currently air-leaping over the sea from Dressrosa, so, to be fair, that might take some time. Meanwhile, a whole lot of stuff happened during the wind-up phase of Punk Hazard.

The biggest twist was Caesar accidentally stabbing Monet in the heart. That was brutal and a genuine shock. Doubt he’ll care unless Doflamingo chews him out for it. The second biggest twist was the whole Kaidou thing. The third biggest was Kinemon returning from the “dead” (more on that later).

There is a fair bit to unpack, so I’ll get down to it.

The Ol’ Switcheroo

They really have to start labeling these things. Nametags, people! One of the first things you learn at school. A permanent marker. That’s all you need. Scrawl some initials on that box. Boom! There’s your protection from switcheroos. Job done.

The scene was great, though. I liked the disorientating switch between Caesar outside and Monet inside. It meant you didn’t really know what was truly happening until the action switched back to the escaping Strawhats.

At the start of 620, Caesar lay flat out, clutching that blade, fully intent on taking Smoker down with him.

Inside, Monet was still on the DDM to Doflamingo, fully prepared to sacrifice herself to clean up Punk Hazard. Her feathery appendage hovered over the Big Red Button. “The Strawhats. Trafalgar Law. G5. Those pitiable children. Everyone will disappear along with me.” Back in Dressrosa, Doflamingo perched on that window seat.

Then there was a big, confusing KABOOM and a slicing sound. Monet’s eyes widened. I had no idea what was going on. Neither did Doflamingo. He must have heard the explosion and wondered aloud why the DDM connection hadn’t cut out.

The explanation came from Law. The boom that rocked Punk Hazard came from the SAD room. 

So what had happened to Monet? She slumped to the floor, bleeding. Then the action switched back to Caesar. A vicious grin stretched his face and that shard of blade was buried deep in that heart.

Yup. Caesar stabbed Monet in the heart BY ACCIDENT. Caesar killed Monet.

How had he managed to screw up so badly?

Law played the ol’ switcheroo. In a flashback, it was revealed that Law had already returned Smoker’s heart. Smoker was puzzled because his heart had been handed to Caesar by Law as a “thoughtful gift.” How had Law clawed it back? 

To obtain Caesar’s trust in the first place, Law exchanged hearts. Law’s for Monet’s. That had been the deal. But when Law took Smoker’s heart later on, he now had two identical-looking hearts. Just before he handed over the “thoughtful gift” Law pocketed Caesar’s and handed over Monet’s instead. As Law said, “When you do something good, something good will happen to you”, right?

A genius move but a risky gamble, Law, you absolute madman. :D

Naturally, Doflamingo realised something was up. Monet did not answer. A horrific explosion had not cut the line. He grabbed his jacket. I cannot lie, he looked grim. Some little kid ran about looking for him. The Elders said Doflamingo would be in his room but the kid said she’d looked there. Oh well, the Elders said. Doflamingo had just left without taking any subordinates again. (I like that. Doflamingo is obviously confident he can take care of this mess himself.)

And sure enough, Doflamingo boosted across the sea, on the line with Baby 5 and Buffalo. Was Punk Hazard still intact? Yes. But an “Iron Security Guard” stood in their way.

“Make sure you kill him,” Doflamingo said. “I’m on my way now.”

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Things are hotting up again. I mean, RIP, Monet, but I won’t miss you too much. Sure, you said the children were pitiable but you went along with the blood-curdling experimentation because Doflamingo asked you to so...

Come to think of it, it was probably a good thing that Caesar screwed up.

Doflamingo just assumed Baby 5 and Buffalo would easily take care of retrieving Caesar. He didn’t contact them for an update until he was leaping across the sea. If Monet had pushed that button, everyone would have been killed in the explosion - including Caesar. (Probably. I’m assuming the gas fruit wouldn’t protect Caesar from that. If that’s wrong, then Doflamingo made a good call.)

Artists Taking the Michael Here, I Think

While Doflamingo was in transit, Baby 5 and Buffalo were having a hard time against Franky. Got to say that Franky is lovably eccentric. He sings these theme songs for himself while he’s fighting, “I am the Iron Pirate and I don’t take care of the seeeeeeeea... I am an invincible Iron Pirate!” He’s hilarious. 

The weapons/air battle was cool. That’s why Franky is such a useful character. He can inject a bit of variety into any fight. For a while, it switched from a pirate series into an air battle mecha fest! Baby 5 transformed into revolvers, gatling guns, flame throwers, sickles and spinning tops (super lame!) But Franky held out against them all. 

It was interesting that she said, “Even a Pacifista would have taken damage from that!” Does that imply that Franky has improved upon Vegapunk’s designs?? :D

At any rate, Franky had it all under control. “I praise you for penetrating my armour but this is like a mantis going up against a warship.” That was a good line! Franky revealed the Sunny’s secret weapon: the Gaon Cannon.

It was only when the smoke cleared that Franky finally noticed Caesar lying flat out. Then Baby 5 yelled, “In the name of Joker, we will recover Caesar no matter what!”

The penny finally dropped. They weren’t after his cola.

Oh, Franky.

Punk Hazard Survivors’ Team Photo

In the tunnel, the big explosm from the SAD Room made life difficult for the escapees. Large chunks of ceiling and boulders fell on the tracks. Luffy and Zoro took care of those. No problem. Standard procedure.

The only thing that really threatened their plan? The explosion caused the gas to leak into the tunnel. Yikes.

Law asked if there was anyone who could control wind. Loved that little moment when the G5 guys were like, “Oh yeah. And you’ll find someone with that highly specialised power here by random chance? We’re doomed!” 

And Nami stepped forward. xD

Her job was to redirect the gas cloud, blowing away the gas outside to clear a path to the ships. The G5 didn’t entirely trust Nami. I like how Sanji defended her here. “Those who don’t trust Nami, get off!” That trust was based on Strawhat solidarity and faith in Nami’s competence, not on comedic infatuation.

That unshakeable Strawhat solidarity was shown again after Nami played a blinder and the truck burst out of the tunnel to a huge victory fanfare! :D

Instead of finding more clouds of noxious gas, they found the area clear and Franky battling with Baby 5 and Buffalo. (Usopp was the only one who wondered where the outside gas was. That man always has his head screwed on.)

Before they nabbed Caesar and dashed, Baby 5 called out Law for being a traitor. She said something verrrrrry interesting too. “Are you really going against Joker? You traitor. Joker was saving the Seat of Hearts for you.”

Leaving aside the obvious card suit theme here (was Law to be promoted to a General like rank in Doflamingo’s crew?) Law told Luffy that Baby 5 and Buffalo were the enemy. When they realised they were outnumbered and outmatched, Baby 5 and Buffalo snatched Caesar and scarpered.

That triggered the Nami and Usopp dream team capture sequence.

Usopp was like, “Leave this to me.” Law attempted to step in, but Luffy had an “I’m just gonna stop you there moment”. If Usopp said he’d handle it, he’d handle it. It was said with a smile but you know Luffy meant business. Law had to learn to trust the other Strawhats just as much as Luffy already does.

Oda always plays with Nami and Usopp’s cowardice but honestly, it’s becoming more and more of a running joke rather than truth. Nami’s weather control powers are actually super destructive and she took out Baby 5, Buffalo and Caesar with no problems. Usopp finished the job by grabbing Buffalo and Baby 5. Caesar almost thought he’d get away because Usopp’s attacks phased through his logia form.

But no!

For Usopp had already thought about it. THOSE CUFFS!

That aside, let us give credit where it’s due: Luffy, your plan came good in the end. Great execution by Usopp. Now that’s what I call teamwork. :D

Nami and Usopp Come Through

The immediate danger past, it was time to literally draw a line (lmao G5) and get back to reality. Smoker agreed to wait with the pirates until a ship came to pick up his unit.

Oda set about tying up the loose ends. Brownbeard and the minions would hand themselves over to the Marines in exchange for treatment. It’s telling that he considers prison a better alternative than being Caesar’s guinea pig. Plus, he got to see Caesar go flying thanks to Luffy, so it was worth it.

Tashigi asked Nami if she could take the kids to Vegapunk for treatment. Nami was initially distrustful. It was the Marines’ fault the kids ended up with Caesar in the first place. Vergo had handed them over! The Marines weren’t doing their job. But Tashigi apologised, said she’d take personal responsibility for the kids and that she would get them back to their parents. Most of them should be okay now Law has operated on them and removed most of the bad stuff.

(Little bit cliched that the female characters are the ones always taking ultimate responsibility for the kids but it’s entirely expected considering the genre, Japan, etc.)

At least the kids recognised Nami and Chopper as the main people who stuck up for them and helped them pull through. When Chopper told them the Marines wanted to take care of them, they protested. Where’s the orange-haired lady? They wanted to thank her. What about Robo Man? Rubber Man? Curly Brow Guy?

But it was for the best. Nami and Usopp had a little chat on deck. I love moments like that when you catch the friendly, natural moments between the crew you don’t often get to see because they’re busy fighting. Usopp asked Nami if she’d sorted things with the Marines. Nami said yeah, that it was for the best that Tashigi took the kids. They were all pirates. Keeping the kids on deck even until they got them home would put them in danger (good call, as Doflamingo is on his way).

There was a nice callback to Bellmere too. Nami admitted the other reason was she has, “a weakness for the eyes of a female Marine. They’re just reassuring to me. It’s always best to be saved by a strong, kind-hearted female Marine.”

I like it when Oda does that. He never forgets his characters’ roots and motivations.

In Two Minds About This

While Sanji was cooking up some Newkama Kempo 99th Vital Recipe: Hormone Soup with Sea Pig (sounds horrendous but everyone was lining up for it) Brook backed into Kinemon.

I suspected Kinemon would be revived. Why else would Brook have dragged him all the way out of Punk Hazard? Plus, I felt sorry for poor Momonosuke knowing his dad was dead and having to bottle all that up because “samurai”.

The reunion was actually great. Not complaining about it in the slightest. True to the OPverse’s samurai culture, it wasn’t overly sappy. It was a worried sick dad hugging his little boy. Momonosuke did not touch a drop of food until his dad said it was okay, that they could trust these pirates, that they had saved his life. Watching little Momonosuke finally able to eat gave me a major case of HappySad. (If anyone’s curious about the ratio, it was 80% happy and 20% sad.)

This turned into straight up Happy when Luffy cheered up Momonosuke with his old chopsticks in nostrils trick. No one should be crying at a party, after all!

The only thing I was a bit meh about was that Kinemon - and all the other G5 guys - survived Caesar’s weapon. Would have preferred it if the G5 guys’ sacrifice remained that way. Not because I like edgy character death but because it was such a grave moment and a change in tone. It also obliterated most of the peril. I also don’t get how they survived if they were encased in that white substance. They would have suffocated!

Maybe if Kinemon was half frozen, it would have been more convincing to break the white casing and he was still alive underneath. But that would have ruined the reunion drama of him “rising from the dead”.

Also, what’s Caesar doing inventing weapons that don’t actually kill people?

Come on, Caesar. Step up your game! You should have stuck with Smiley, mate.

And Now For Someone Completely Different...

Now that everyone was free to party, Law attempted to kill the buzz by reminding Luffy that new enemies would be arriving shortly and it was best to make themselves scarce. Luffy responded to this by declaring everyone should “Hurry up and party!” Lmao.

The party montage showed that Mocha would be okay, the kids enjoyed Franky’s hair transformations, that Brownbeard and the Minions are friends again, the kids trooped onto the Marine ship, Chopper brought Law a bowl of soup (he freaked out watching Law operate on the kids, haha), the Minions forced Caesar to spill the secrets of how the gas worked and that Caesar was sitting there, absolutely battered, wondering how the hell Smoker was still alive.

Smoker was also wondering something. He asked his new Pirate Pal Law why the alliance with Luffy. “What are you planning on using Strawhat to do?”

Law’s reply? “Who’s the one who’s being used?”

Then, finally, we were treated to the real conversation. The one Luffy and Law had on that clifftop in the blizzard that cut away when the real good stuff happened.

And here is the news.

The target is Kaidou the Beast.

Kaidou? Already?

That is awesome.

It’ll be a long-term plan, though, because the Strawhats have business with Big Mom after Dressrosa (dat spoilery CR arc list).

I was right in thinking Luffy had reservations in fighting Shanks but I was totally wrong about him never wanting to go up against him. Luffy just doesn’t want to fight him first.

Luffy, you absolute madman.

(I now think someone else will take out Shanks, thus averting the friends into enemies situation. Maybe Blackbeard because he is persona non grata and he already has beef with Shanks.)

The only thing I’m worried about immediately (as in the next couple of episodes) is the imminent arrival of Doflamingo and the dude with the feather boa/fur trimmed collar who woke up on a tiny ship, said he’d slept in and... where was Punk Hazard again?

Hopefully, Luffy will take Law’s advice and scarper with Caesar on board before Doflamingo finds them.

That’ll make Doflamingo mad.

See that vein on his head? Something tells me you don’t wanna see that vein. That means he’s angry.

You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry...

Look, up in the sky! 

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a birdplane!

Faster than a streak of lightning. More powerful than the pounding surf. Mightier than a roaring hurricane... oh, wait. It’s Doflamingo.

[itsclydebitches]

Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball Z Dragon Ball Super. Which is your favorite?

Oh, anon. You poor soul. You’ve activated my current obsession. Okay. I preface this by saying that DBZ, imo, is the CLASSIC. Frieza, Cell, and Buu? Iconic. DBZ is what I think of as the core of the DB franchise and I adore it accordingly. That being said… I’m really, really loving Dragon Ball Super. 

(And I’m totally gonna tell you why because you made the mistake of starting this conversation in the first place :D)

I’m just? A sucker for lore filled with fallible gods?? This is my long-lived love of Greek mythology rearing its head. Even back in DBZ the Supreme Kai was instantly a favorite of mine. Yeah, yeah, the whole fandom rags on him for supposedly being “useless,” but that’s precisely why I love him? He starts out as this mysterious, incredibly powerful figure–powerful enough to scare the crap out of Piccolo–and then very quickly falls off that pedestal, making him relatable and humanized. Shin clearly has a shit ton of trauma from, you know, watching Buu kill and/or absorb his entire family. He’s been forced to take on a job meant for five and he definitely hasn’t been trained (or at least fully trained) for this particular position. He comes to Earth expecting to use mortals as a tool, as one would expect from a high-ranking god, and is just totally blindsided by how powerful they are. It’s an instant double-edged sword. On the one hand hell yeah defeating Buu just got a whole lot more likely. On the other hand, existential crisis much? Who am I–who are all the gods–if we’re not intrinsically more powerful, knowledgeable, or spiritually sturdier than the mortals we watch over? Goku, Vegeta, and especially Gohan upset the presumed hierarchy. It’s why we get such a good dichotomy between Shin and Kibito. Shin rolls with this new information and embraces it fully. Okay. Mortals are stronger than us in so many ways, how wonderful! We can learn from them and rely on them, forming equal partnerships to achieve our goals. Kibito is stuck in his assumptions. How dare you set foot on this world? How dare you think you can pull out the Z Sword? How dare you think yourself equal to a god? 

It’s a familiar theme for DB: humanizing the latest, all-powerful entity. And each new introduction becomes more extreme.

Kami was our original god… who got some awkward moments. Then King Kai is the top guy…who loves lame jokes and lets Goku tear up his sacred planet in the name of training. Then Shin, Supreme Kai of the whole damn universe… who is also an anxious bean Just Trying His Best. It’s a theme I love because it upholds humanity (or in this case Saiyans adopted by humanity) as beings of endless potential. DB is all about pushing past your limits, but that doesn’t just apply to physical power. It also ties into upending the status quo; showing those who think themselves arrogantly better–in this case the gods–that no, we all have worth here. When the chips fall it’s mortals who consistently manage what the gods cannot, reaching a point where, ki-wise at least, they’re indistinguishable from gods, raising the question of why they were ever above them in the first place. They’re not. We’re all on equal footing once those assumptions are acknowledged and done away with. Ancient Kais can like dirty magazines. Supreme Kais can have panic attacks. Destroyers can love pizza as much as the next, average anime watcher.

Indeed, we see in the Tournament of Power that these rules now apply to Goku in his god state. He might have reached incredible power that everyone else thought impossible… but that doesn’t make the rest of the cast “below” him. It’s only because of his friends–presumably “useless” friends like Krillin and Tien–that allow him to enter the tournament and get as far as he did. It’s his old mentors who he has far outpaced that remind him he still has much to learn and who help Goku tap into Ultra Instinct in the first place. It’s a simple android we haven’t seen in years who manages to win the whole damn thing. The story consistently applies that same message of equality and worth to everyone, including our original paragon who has now reached the status of the very beings he’s worked to outpace. Rather than turning Goku into the hypocrite, DB keeps reminding him that no amount of power is going to change his or anyone else’s worth. He’s still BFFs with Krillin. Still married to Chi-Chi. Still needs other “weak” people like Bulma to help him when things get tough. No time machine, money, or strategic smarts? Sorry, no win.

In short, Dragon Ball Super takes that fantastic message and dials it up to 11. Now suddenly we’ve got a scary Destroyer God… who is easily swayed by tasty Earth food and a good nap spot. Angels who are equally humanized in their humor and love of mortal creations. An omnipotent ruler who is recognizably child-like. It both makes Zeno lovable and downright terrifying. He’s human enough to form friendships and use his power inappropriately. Zeno has the capacity to fall in love with a simple handshake as well as destroy an entire universe with the same detachment that we might, say, walk through an ant hill. Why did I do it? Because I could and no one has taught me yet that this might be something I shouldn’t do. Everyone has the capacity for growth.

And it’s so goddamn funny? Literally this scene is everything to me because it slams godly assumptions together with simplistic, mortal friendships, then lets that contrast play out. The most powerful being ever, creator of it all, the god that makes every other god shake in their boots wants… a friend? Okay! Our equally intimidating Grand Priest cracking up at this development? Whis losing his shit in the background? Shin straight up fainting? Goku pressing his shiny new god button because who DOESN’T press a button when you’re suddenly presented with one? All of it slays me. Forget stories where you endlessly bow before your supposed betters, knowing that you will never be able to even fathom their power. I want more stories like this, where the hero introduces enough kindness and brazen communication that it upends everyones’ expectations and fun, crazy new relationships form. Goku moved from utter shock at learning the Supreme Kai even existed to hoisting him over his shoulder like a drunk friend who is still refusing to head home. I love this weird-ass family.

All of which of course introduces the opposite as well. What if we’re given Zamasu, a fallible god whose imperfections don’t result in him becoming another quirky family member, but lead him down a path that endangers the entire multiverse? Though Super hasn’t commented on it explicitly yet, we’re also starting to toy with the idea of exactly how “human” the top gods are and how much growth they are capable of. For example, I’m fascinated by the Grand Priest. The anime makes him out to be far darker than he is in the manga, and I know there’s a disconnect between the two, so I’m not currently inclined to think that he’s the end Big Bad. Rather, he seems to actually have a stronger moral sense than Zeno–he comments on how awful it is that mortals riot and kill one another after learning about the Tournament–but as Zeno’s subordinate, and being well aware of how easy it can be to displease him, he’s not in a good position to sway him. We see him introducing tiny bits of logic to the Zenos (like stopping the fight between Goku and Toppo in the anime), but that’s a far safer thing to suggest then, say, “How about we don’t erase a ton of universes at once, hmm?”

Like his angel children, the Grand Priest ultimately exists to serve his Lord… but Goku and his friends are in no such position. Not as overtly, anyway. Created through evolution and developing their own ideals, they have the freedom to challenge and ultimately teach all those high-level gods, including Zeno. He says it himself in that clip: “No one will try. You can do what no one else can do!” Goku, both as a mortal and a very straight forward one, has the capacity to charge past those expectations and hit on something grand.

However, we see with Whis that, wow… maybe angels really are so far removed from us that they don’t care in any meaningful way. Whis seems like a friend, but when push came to shove he wasn’t very upset about his entire universe–and a Destroyer he’s known for who knows how many thousands of years–getting destroyed. We can attribute this apathy to him assuming it will all turn out alright (if anyone would realize that whoever wins can just use their wish to revert everything back to normal, it’s Whis), but even if he actually doesn’t care much right now… he’s learning too. Whis went from shrugging about Beerus destroying the Earth (at least he has his leftovers!) to telling Trunks and Mai how to break more time rules–rules Whis originally thought were more important than anything else–just so they could get a happy ending. We’ve seen him form a legitimate friendship with Bulma. He does little things like waving a Universe 7 flag and having them hold hands that demonstrate care, outside of practicalities (like delivering Bulla so Vegeta can fight). He seems more invested in challenging the status quo than his brother and even his brother, notably, slips up and uses “Father” instead of “Grand Priest,” demonstrating a certain level of familial love that can sometimes override pure duty.

Vados copies Whis and sits with the Universe 7 team, shrugging off the other gods’ disgust. Whis then shows legit pride in Goku managing Ultra Instinct. It’s GREAT watching these beings move from seeing mortals as inconsequential specs in the multiverse to individuals worthy of their time, attention, and respect. We’re seeing that development with Whis most of all, slowly but surely.

And it helps that our protagonist is really worthy of that respect this arc. Beyond his innate capacity for kindness, Goku is wonderfully smart in Super. I myself have mentioned that being naive and battle obsessed to the point of endangering others is kind of his thing, but Super hits a wonderful middle ground. Goku is the one who thinks to use the future Zeno to destroy Zamasu. He figures out a good portion of Zamasu’s plan. He thought up the idea of using dead warriors in the Tournament of Power and instantly has a way of negating the danger Frieza would pose: let’s use Baba so he can only come back for 24 hours. The anime (strangely…) emphasizes how the Tournament is supposedly Goku’s fault, but Vados reminds everyone that Zeno planned to erase the universes regardless. Though he didn’t intend the outcome, Goku’s suggestion of a tournament gave all universes a fighting chance. Much more importantly, it introduced the reward that would ultimately save them all. Goku’s got a good head on his shoulders this time around and the story emphasizes that it’s his capacity to care that saves far more than his brute power. Sparing enemies leads to them turning over a new leaf. Cultivating a diverse family results in a team with the strength and strategy to win. The ability to look at anyone–even Zeno–and smile as you shake their hand results in allies who can save the day when your own strength fails. IT’S ABOUT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP AND I’M A WEAK GOODY-GOODY.

I just… fucking love DBS. It takes all of the best underdog themes of the DB franchise–Can a low-class warrior become the best? Can a normal human woman gain the love of a prince? Can mortals ever stand side-by-side with gods?–and homes in on those questions, emphasizing them to an almost meta extent. I could give you another hundred reasons of exactly how much I’ve enjoyed these new stories… but I should stop now lol

Last note though Ultra Instinct is AWESOME

[charminglatina]

Riverdale Characters as Tropes (Part II) ⭐️.

#9. Hiram Lodge (Main Trope: Fiction 500; Secondary Tropes: Big Bad, Evil Overlord, 0% Approval Rating, The Don, The Patriarch, Bad Boss, Corrupt Corporate Executive, Magnificent Bastard, Sharp Dressed Man, Badass In A Nice Suit, Man Of Wealth And Taste)

Fiction is loaded with Wish Fulfillment, and being rich enough to bend reality is one of them. These are characters whose wealth is almost impossible to quantify. More Money Than God is the bare minimum. Now this could happen in Real Life, like royalty who owned literally thousands of Pimped Out Dresses, or a man in India who built a private skyscraper for his family, staff, and fleet of cars, or Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had three times as much money as Bill Gates and personally funded the reconstruction of the Roman army. But in fiction, that's on the lower end of this scale. Stuff that generally does not qualify you to be a member of the Fiction 500: Big Fancy House, Cool Chair, Cool Boat, Cool Plane, Cool Car, Battle Butler, Maid Corps, or even simply having assets in the billions.

Stuff that generally does qualify you to be a member of the Fiction 500:

You have become a cultural symbol for absurd wealth, and the story leaves no doubt your reputation is completely justified.

You routinely spend money on a scale normal super-rich people might do once or twice in a lifetime, whether it be major investments or mere Conspicuous Consumption. If a real amount is given, even if in the hundreds of millions, or billions, it's chump change to these characters.

You personally fund projects associated with major corporations, governments, aliens, etc. This includes Crimefighting with Cash.

You have the resources of a global superpower without yourself ruling a global superpower.

You personally fund projects that apparently break the rules of physics using only wealth and the Rule of Cool, or sometimes Rule of Funny. In other words, Screw The Universe; I Have Money! But if some other convenient fictional trope makes something possible, it doesn't count. You don't buy sound in space when Space Is Noisy. It's not impressive to have Infinite Supplies when everyone else does. Building a Humongous Mechais not noteworthy when any random scientist can make five in a weekend.

You're surprised to discover your latest project's market success has not increased your net income because you have a monopoly on the product it's competing with.

You can do any of the above without leaving a paper trail or an electronic footprint. Many of these Fiction 500 rich characters operate either clandestinely or under a secret identity, especially if they are Crimefighting with Cash, The Chess Master or Evil Mastermind types. They must have methods for secretly diverting hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to their schemes (like building that army of Mooks, Elaborate Underground Base, Bat Cave, or Batmobile) while making it seem like a legit and legal expenditure or keeping it out of the books. It should be noted that even if a character uses their personal fortune, these transactions would still typically have to show up somewhere when tax time comes.

Now personality doesn't really matter. You could be a Rich Bitch or Uncle Pennybags. You could be a law abiding citizen and even be Batman, or instead think you can screw the rules. Name is based on the top 500 grossing companies annually compiled by "Fortune" Magazine. And despite the name implying otherwise, there can be any number of characters here. Also, there is almost no way to objectively rank them, although Forbes tries with their "Fictional 15" list. Compare Arbitrarily Large Bank Account, Conspicuous Consumption, Undisclosed Funds, Organization with Unlimited Funding, and N.G.O. Superpower. For real people who are considered the richest in the world, see The World's Billionaires, an annual ranking made by Forbes (which has its own article on The Other Wiki, BTW).

The cause of all bad happenings in a story. A Big Bad could be a character with Evil Plans or it could be an omnipresent situation, such as a comet heading towards the Earth. In a serial story, the Big Bad exerts an effect across a number of episodes, even an entire season. This trope is not a catch-all term for the biggest, ugliest villain of any given story. In fact, it doesn't have to be a villain at all, as we just said. If it is a villain, though, it should be identified correctly; the badass leader of the outlaw gang that causes the most personal trouble is not the Big Bad. The railroad tycoon who is using the gang as muscle is the Big Bad. The Man Behind the Manis very common for this trope, leaving the reveal of the big bad as The Chessmaster behind it all and proving themselves far more clever and resourceful than the Villain of the Week. Sometimes the Big Bad is the grand enemy of an entire franchise as an Overarching Villain. At other times, the Big Bad is an Arc Villain who causes trouble for a period of time only to be replaced by another Big Bad. When you look at a season-long story or a major Story Arc and you can identify one problem being the cause of everything, that is the Big Bad. In its most general form, a Big Bad will be at the center of the Myth Arc rather than just any Story Arc. The term "Big Bad" was popularized in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was characteristic of Buffy's Big Bads for their identity or nature, or even the fact that they are the Big Bad at all, to remain unclear for a considerable time. Occasionally, characters would even refer to themselves as "the Big Bad". Whether or not they were, though, this is a Big Bad Wannabe. The structure of Buffy placed the Big Bad as being crucial to the Half-Arc Season, half the episodes are filler dealing with unrelated enemies while the other half involved the ongoing Myth Arc with the Big Bad. Each season can easily be defined by who the Big Bad was. If a show has a series of Big Bad jeopardies, they can function like a series of Monsters of the Week that take more than one week to finish off. If there is a Legion of Doom, you can expect the Big Bad to be involved somehow. They're probably sorted by power, with the strongest for last, following the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. Evil Overlord, Diabolical Mastermind, The Chessmaster, Arch-Enemy, The Man Behind the Man, and often Manipulative Bastard are specific types of villains who are liable to show up as Big Bads. If they're a Magnificent Bastard or Hero Killer, the good guys are in big trouble. The heroic counterpart of this character is the Big Good, who will very often be the focus of this character's attention over The Hero at the beginning of a series. If a work of fiction is conspicuously lacking a Big Bad, it may be a case of No Antagonist. See also Big Bad Duumvirate for two (or more) Big Bads working together. Sometimes a Big Bad will get their start as a servant to another villain — if that's the case, they're a Dragon Ascendant. If the character who fills the role of Big Bad in most meaningful ways is nominally subordinate to someone else (someone significantly less menacing by comparison), they are a Dragon-in-Chief. If the story has many Big Bads at once who don't work together, see Big Bad Ensemble. The Big Bad Shuffle occurs when there are multiple candidates for the Big Bad position. If the Big Bad doesn't start out as bad but develops over the course of the story, it's Big Bad Slippage. If the Big Bad of one section of a work doesn't die on being defeated and stays around as a character in a different plot role (reformed or not), that's Ex-Big Bad. The Big Bad of a story is not always the most powerful or oldest existing evil force. Perhaps an evil presence along the lines of an Eldritch Abominationovershadows the work's setting, but is mainly divorced from the story's events — that would be the Greater-Scope Villain.

#10. Hermione Lodge (Main Trope: Femme Fatale; Secondary Tropes: Iron Lady, Proper Lady, Spicy Latina, Gold Digger, Corrupt Politician, Grande Dame, Silk Hiding Steel, The Woman Wearing The Queenly Mask, God Save Us From The Queen, Sugar-And-Ice-Personality)

First, she turns you on. Then, she turns on you. The typical client in a Hardboiled Detective story (French for "fatal woman," idiomatically "woman to die for"). You know the type. Dressed all in black with legs up to here and shady motives, she slinksinto the PI's office, sometimes holding a cigarette on a long, long holder, saying "Oh, Mr. Rockhammer, you're the only one who can help me find out who killed my extremely wealthy husband." Did she do it? Do I care? Wait, where'd that saxophone music come from? Whatever her story is, whether she did it or not, she's definitely keeping some secrets. The Femme Fatale is sexy and she knows it. Made famous by Film Noir and hard-boiled detective stories, she manipulates and confuses The Hero with her undeniable aura of sexiness and danger. Unlike the virginal and sweet Damsel in Distress (or possibly Action Girl), the Femme Fatale exploits with everything she's got to wrap men around her finger. (In some eras, use of make-up is a tell-tale sign.) He knows that she's walking trouble and knows much more about the bad guys than she should, but damn it if he can't resist her feminine wiles. If the Femme Fatale is vying for the hero's romantic attentions she will likely have a sweeter and purer rival. The hero might decide that she's not worth the trouble she causes, but if he doesn't, then they might become an Outlaw Couple. While related to The Vamp, the Femme Fatale is not just any seductress; she has a distinct look and feel. The main distinction is how she presents herself. If you know she's dangerous from the start, but she's sexy enough that you don't care, she's likely a Femme Fatale. On a lesser note, the Femme Fatale generally uses sensuality instead of upfront sexual advances. She may implythat you could have sex later, but she'll never promise it, not even say it—that would decrease her air of mystery and power. Her wiles may include apparent helplessness and distress, and appeals to the man's greed, desire for revenge, or gullibility, as well as the implication of possible romance or sexual rewards, while The Vamp more often reliances on raunchy sex or the promise of it sometime real soon. The Femme Fatale is generally villainous, and heroic exceptions—in an artificial context to snare the bad guy—are closer to Heroic Seductress. Frequently, she is a Wild Card, changing sides according to her own desires and goals; she does not often go through a High-Heel–Face Turn. If she's actually a kind-hearted person who puts on this facade just for fun, this is Trickster Girlfriend. She's often the Lady in Red but possibly dressed like everyone else so as to not be Colour-Coded for Your Convenience. The Femme Fatale is one of the female character types that can often be seen wearing High Class Gloves, especially in conjunction with her sexy evening gowns, and, during the daytime (particularly in old Film Noir movies), is often seen wearing a "fascinator" or "pillbox" hat with a partial- or full-face veil. She's definitely not above using the Kiss of Distraction. If she can fight, too, then she's really going to be trouble. Subtrope of Manipulative Bastard. The younger version of this is the Fille Fatale. The spy version of this is Femme Fatale Spy.

#11. FP Jones (Main Trope: The Casanova; Secondary Tropes: Action Dad, The Alcoholic, Alcoholic Parent, The Good King, The Quarterback, The Sheriff, Dirty Cop, Reasonable Authority Figure, Jaded Washout)

The (legal, and less repulsive than the better-known types) sexual predator — a man who relentlessly pursues, lands, loves, and then abandons members of the opposite sex, a skill bestowed upon him to demonstrate what a badass he is. Sometimes comic, sometimes a monster, always successful, this character leaves behind a string of broken hearts, and occasional vows ofrevenge that are rarely fulfilled. Casanova's only motivation is indulging his lust and desire, sating them with the bodies of his conquests.

This trope tends to suffer from three double standards when portrayed in media;

The first is that the Casanova is always male, given that women are usually shamed for having an active sex life. The comparatively rarer female version is an "aphrodite", but she’ll likely be portrayed as an evil character who exploits her sexuality to manipulate innocent men. The womanizing skills of the Casanova, on the other hand, will almost always be granted to him to make him look like a champion.

This trope also applies almost exclusively to straight men, given that queer people with an active sex life are usually villainized in media. Meanwhile, straight men get to be portrayed as badasses for having multiple women at their beck and call. Bisexuals or demisexuals are even rarer, though not unheard of; for example Oberyn Martell.

The Casanova trope is also usually only applied to Caucasian/white men. Non-white men having, expressing or giving into their sexual desires is often portrayed negatively or Played for Laughs. Also, while white male Casanovas being with non-white women is generally portrayed as fine, men of color are often limited in a work to dating, having sex, marrying or even flirting only with women of the same nationality or skin color as them. If they do have a romantic relationship or sexual encounter with a woman of a different nationality or skin-color, it is usually held in scorn by some in-universe (and sometimes out-of-universe, unfortunately).

Contrast with the unsuccessful Casanova Wannabe. Compare with the inexplicable Kavorka Man. A guy who gets the girls like a Casanova, but unintentionally, is a Chick Magnet. If kind-hearted, may overlap with Chivalrous Pervert. The Charmer is equally charming but less sex-obsessed. If they really get around but want to settle down, it's Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places. A Handsome Lech has more negative connotations and a sparser scorecard than the Casanova. The trope is named for Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798), a soldier, spy, diplomat, adventurer, and librarian whose extensive but unreliable autobiography (in which he almost literally described himself as God's Gift to Womennote ) established his eternal fame as a lover. It should be noted that the historical Casanova was closer to a Chivalrous Pervert who really was looking for love... just with women who were locked in loveless political marriages — and also gained his successes famously ugly. (Definitely◊ he was no Heath Ledger◊.) Interesting and prone to be noted for his modern wannabes, he was one of the few 18th century men who bathed almost dailyand asked the same thing from his partners. Many films, TV movies and TV mini-series are named for and based on that person. The best known are Fellini's 1976 film, the 2005 film starring Heath Ledger, and the 2005 BBC drama mini-series starring David Tennant. The latter is considered one of the more faithful adaptations of Casanova's memoirs, while Fellini's... wasn't. For the juvenile version — all of the above without the sex — see Kid-anova. Contrast the Serial Romeo (who falls in love with a long succession of women, one at a time and for reasonable periods). If the guy is actually only rumored to be a Casanova and has no evidence onscreen, it's the Urban Legend Love Life. If he develops feelings for one of his conquests (or someone who refuses him), he's a Ladykiller in Love. See More Friends, More Benefits for when the mechanics of a game encourage the player character to act this way. Note: It should be mentioned that even after the affairs were over, most of Casanova's ex-lovers still liked him, and he was reputedly quite the gentleman. This trope would probably fit (the fictional) Don Juan better.

#12. Gladys Jones (Main Trope: Evil Matriarch; Secondary Tropes: Dark Is Evil, Parental Abandonment, Action Mom, Drugs Are Bad, Bitch In Sheeps Clothing, Bait The Dog)

A mother is one of the most central figures that a character can have growing up, and her influence can have an impact on that character even as an adult. If the character is lucky, that mother will be a loving one, and if he or she is really lucky, she'll be an Action Mom who can kick ass and take names if the character is ever threatened. But if the character is really unlucky and isn't suffering from Parental Abandonment, the character's mother will be an Evil Matriarch and chances are, she will make that character's life a living hell.

The Evil Matriarch comes in two forms:

Comedic: Usually used in the Dom Com, this variety is usually the mother of one of the two parents on the show who comes to visit every so often, and someone on the cast dreads it. Usually (though not always) this variety of Evil Matriarch is a meddling parent, often to an irrational extreme. Classically, this is a Mother-in-Law situation, but from time to time, the kids themselves, or even the child of the mother is the one that dreads it. In some cases, everyone hates the Evil Matriarch, like in Malcolm in the Middle where everyone dreads Lois's mother coming to visit. In other cases, her visit is appreciated by everyone but the daughter or son of the Evil Matriarch, like in Family Ties, where the matriarch is evil because her daughter feels she can't live up to mom's perfection. Expect this variety of Evil Matriarch to have Power Hair and other Fashionable Evil.

Dramatic: This variety, which shows up in more dramatic media, is truly evil in a traditional sense, and is one of the worst villains one can face, especially if one of the Heroes or Love Interests is one of her children (or if she's married into his or her family as a stepmother). Many such Evil Matriarchs are completely convinced that they, and only they, know what's best for their children, and can be very controlling, manipulative, and perfectly willing to do anything they deem necessary for their children's sake, no matter how evil or destructive it may be. The most vicious examples of this variety of Evil Matriarch despise their children (or at least the one they've singled out as The Unfavorite) and are often physically or emotionally abusive towards them, and many of them are not above Offing the Offspring.

If she's not entirely human, then expect her to be a Hive Queen. If she is also the Queen, expect God Save Us from the Queen!. The Spear Counterpart of this character type is Archnemesis Dad. The inversion is Antagonistic Offspring. See Abusive Parents and Parental Neglect for the more mundane versions. See Offing the Offspring and/or Matricide for what this might lead to if the kids fight back. If it's not your mother but her replacement who's making your life a living Hell, see Wicked Stepmother.

#13. Hal Cooper (Main Trope: Ax-Crazy; Secondary Tropes: Serial Killer, The Bluebeard, Malevolent Masked Man, Knight Templar Parent, Insane Equals Violent, Light Is Not Good, Icy Blue Eyes)

An "ax-crazy" character is someone who is psychologically unstable and presents a clear and present danger to others. They are capable of extreme violence, whether carried out with a Slasher Smile, insane laughter, speaking in a Creepy Monotone, or out and out murderous rage, and with no way of knowing just what will set them off, which makes them extremely frightening to deal with. This mainly differentiates them from other eccentric characters who may themselves be obsessive, weird or seemingly crazy, but use this condition hand in hand with doing good, or at least not being in the way. However, some formerly established heroes can go through an episode of ax-craziness and still retain their heroic mantle. Despite the title, ax-crazies aren't limited to wielding axes. Any instrument of death will do, from knives or straight razors to swords to chainsaws and beyond. A good number of other ax-crazies are also Trigger Happy, preferring either Hand Cannons that blow really big holes in people, or weapons that allow them to kill lots of people with reckless abandon, such as any automatic weapon. And for the truly psychopathic among psychopaths for whom the above just won't do, a heaping helping of high explosives or a good-sized flamethrower will do quite nicely. Sometimes, they don't even need weapons and just use magic spells or other powers if they have them. There are also plenty who are just as happy to beat people into an unrecognizable pulp-like mass with their bare hands. It is rare for a truly Ax-Crazy character to be a protagonist, largely due to it being a Sub-Trope of Obviously Evil, and most Ax-Crazy characters usually are Obviously Evil. They're common as the antagonists in Superhero and Crime and Punishment Series, often serving as a Psycho for Hire. If they area protagonist, they will most certainly be a Nominal Hero or Villain Protagonist. The difference between them and Blood Knight is this trope is all about killing while the Blood Knight is only interested in fighting. There is, of course, plenty of room for overlap. See also Insane Equals Violent, The Butcher, The Dreaded, Mad Bomber, Cute and Psycho, Blood Knight, Psycho for Hire, Yandere, The Sociopath, Mad Doctor, Pyro Maniac, Hair-Trigger Temper, Colonel Kilgore, General Ripper, Insane Admiral, and Sociopathic Soldier. Compare and contrast Mama Bear, Papa Wolf, Big Brother Instinct, and Violently Protective Girlfriend, who may be capable of temporary Ax-Craziness when their kids, younger sibling(s) or mate are under threat, but are often played sympathetically. Contrast Suicidal Pacifism, when a character never, ever resorts to violence even if it is necessary; and Extreme Doormat, when a character is a complete pushover unable to fight back. The canonical Character Alignment for most Ax-Crazy characters is Chaotic or Neutral Evil, though a couple of Chaotic Neutral examples exist. Sometimes The Unfettered, depending on whether they feel freed or enslaved by their bloodlust. At least one or more examples are an Anti-Villian, where you kinda feel bad for them since their enemies pushed them too far with actions such as killing their family, their friends, or even the enemies trying to kill them, making them go Ax-Crazy. It's very common to be Played for Drama, usually as either the Big Bad, or The Dragon to the the Big Bad. It is far less common, but not unheard of, for it to be Played for Laughs; this is most likely to be seen in a Sadist Show, especially one featuring a lot of Comedic Sociopathy and/or heavy Satire, with it appearing most often in humorous comic strips, Anime, Web Originalworks, and the more adult-oriented Western Animation of the Renaissanceand Millennium periods. A very large number of pages link to this when they should link to An Axe to Grind. This page is about violent crazy people, not people whose Weapon of Choice is an axe (despite the potential for overlap).

#14. Alice Cooper (Main Trope: Ice Queen; Secondary Tropes: Education Mama, Control Freak, Former Teen Rebel, Female Misogynist, The Fundamentalist, Holier Than Thou)

Much like a Tomboy, the Ice Queen is a major character archetype which is somewhat hard to define. Her signature characteristic is that she is cold; the ambiguity comes from what "cold" means. She has a cold heart, a frosty demeanor; she attracts but will never be wooed. Scorned men are likely to call their failed conquests Ice Queens (after all, normal women would have given in to them). Due to the Double Standard, the Ice Queen is (almost) Always Female. The Ice Queen is considered dangerous to love because she will not (or cannot) love back. She's not much for friendship either, preferring to be alone. Situations where an Ice Queen "thaws" and learns to enjoy the company of others are so common that they have their own trope. Being an Ice Queen is purely about personality; having ice-related abilities does not make a character an Ice Queen. That said, it's not at all uncommon for a character with a cold personality to be given cold powers. Not to be confused with a character who has a royal title associated with ice or snow, though they two may overlap (and often do in more magical settings). An Ice Queen requires at least one "cold" personality trait that gets her labeled as an Ice Queen. 

#15. Fred Andrews (Main Trope: The Heart; Secondary Tropes: Like Father, Like Son, Betty And Veronica, Family Man, Standard 50′s Father, The Conscience, Big Good, Good Parents)

The Heart is a personality aspect that comes up in just about any ensemble. Their personality is based on getting the others to recognize that there are more things at stake than their personal vendettas, especially if The Team is becoming a group of Knights Templar, or if any individual becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist. This is the person who will argue and fight against the justification of "I Did What I Had to Do". Quite often The Heart character will also be an All-Loving Hero, where they go out of their way to help all of the little people. Within the ensemble this character will most often be merged with the role of The Chick. Like The Hero and The Leader, they aren't one and the same, but they often overlap since they are a good fit. If The Chick is usually a non-action character, having personality traits of The Heart will give them more to do, especially if the team is always at each other's throats. For the same reason, The Heart can also be The Hero (in the case of the Magnetic Hero) or The Leader, as their leadership skills keep the team from falling apart. May be part of the Command Roster. The character whose death or loss is most likely to trigger Losing the Team Spirit. Where Elemental Powers come into play, other characters may be in for a Heart Beatdown. Due to their usual relative introversion, and tendencies towards pacifism (whether technical or actual), this character is sadly often C-List Fodder and a prime target for a single-character (rather than the entire show) version of The Firefly Effect. Many series will start out with a Heart character, but the writers will begin to view them as boring and impossible to write for, so they end up being either Put on a Bus/kept Out of Focus at best, or Character Death at worst. This also tends to happen when studio executives want to replace the character with a more talented or physically attractive character, in an attempt to boost ratings. Given that said characters are usually sweet types (and peacekeepers), this also tends to seriously anger a certain portion of the fanbase, but because the studio executives care more about ratings than they do about upsetting what is normally a minority, the character will stay dead. If fan outrage is sufficiently vocal, and the executives haven't managed to completely alienate the actor, then the character may come back periodically as a ghost or a clone. Compare The Face who does the talking on The Team. See also Restored My Faith in Humanity and Morality Chain. Compare The Conscience, Token Good Teammate. Not to be confused with What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? or Heart Is an Awesome Power though this trope often overlaps with them. Contrast with Lack of Empathy.

#16. Mary Andrews (Main Trope: Fiery Redhead; Secondary Tropes: Missing Mom, Mama Bear, Heroes Want Redheads, Almighty Mom, Brutal Honesty)

A Fiery Redhead is a red-haired character who is strong, Hot-Blooded, out going, usually outspoken, and (if a love interest) often female. She has a big personality and she's not afraid to use it. Whatever you do, don't get on her bad side, or there will be hell to pay. (Especially if powers of personality and/or elements are present: she likes Playing with Fire. Thus, in a Four-Temperament Ensemble, expect her to be Choleric.) She will be unladylike unless it's the case of a redheaded Spirited Young Lady. She might be One of the Boys, a tomboy, or a lad-ette. Heroes do like redheads after all. This hair-color stereotype probably developed since red hair was associated with the Irish and Scottish (and before this, Horny Vikings) for a long time, and they ended up being stereotyped as loud, strong, and passionate (see the Fighting Irish and Violent Glaswegian tropes for more info on that). On the other hand, it's even found in Eastern Europe where any association would have been with Russians or Swedes, and these are nationalities not generally stereotyped as hotheaded. In addition to this, it extends even into ancient texts from Babylonian and Scandinavian Oral Historian. In the Prose Edda, Odin is depicted as blonde, green-eyed, cool, and calculating—while his son, Thor, is a redheaded, blue-eyed (something of an omen of war/perfection in Scandinavian culture) fire-breathing stereotypical Viking (the raiding kind) who treats Earth as a giant freshman mixer. Gilgamesh is also a Fiery Redhead with blue eyes whose duties include being a good precursor to Thor, for the most part—though with more reservation and a cooling trend near the end of his life (this makes both an eerie paradigm of Fiery Redheads at the creation of their respective people's writings). The whole "red-haired, blue-eyed" thing is usually split in Japan between two people. Although real redheads can have tempers like everyone else, this trait is exaggerated in fiction. Also, they can have Green Eyes and this association is also exaggerated in fiction. Compare Heroes Want Redheads, Dark-Skinned Redhead, Evil Redhead, Rose-Haired Sweetie, Red-Headed Stepchild, Redheads Are Uncool, Redheaded Hero. In anime, could be a Shana Clone. If you have a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead in close proximity (i.e. in the main cast), it's Blonde, Brunette, Redhead. Contrast Shy Blue-Haired Girl for Red Oni, Blue Oni and Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette for the realistic opposite hair color and personality. Please do not confuse this with a redhead being literally fiery, or having literal fiery head, although these tropes may overlap. And a red who's literally firey does have their hair color fit their elemental powers. See also Red Is Violent (in this case, the hair color).

#17. Clifford Blossom (Main Trope: Abusive Dad; Secondary Tropes: Archnemesis Dad, Faux Affably Evil, Offing The Offspring, Mean Boss)

Parents are supposed to be the protectors of children, but these parents are either so damaged themselves that they can't do the job, greedy or villainous to the point that they never had any interest in doing the job properly, or would rather use the child as a means to an end. Sometimes they're just sadistic assholes. This includes parents who are emotionally, verbally, physically, or mentally abusive, or who neglectfully allow their children to be abused by others if they don't abuse the child themselves; sexual abuse is typically treated as a special kind of evil. Sometimes, the abuse at the hands of their parents becomes a Freudian Excuse for a villain. Other times, the character manages to not grow up broken, bitter, and hateful, and instead a different and better person than the upbringing would incline one to think. Troubling Unchildlike Behavior is often a tell-tale sign that things are not right at home. Abusive Parents are commonplace in fairy tales and Classical Mythologywhich makes this trope Older Than Feudalism. Note that The Brothers Grimm, when they collected European fairy tales, were uncomfortable with the idea of Abusive Parents and so frequently changed the Abusive Parents in the traditional stories into abusive step parents. Sometimes, a parent will go as far as to kill the child in question, in which case this is Offing the Offspring. In other cases, the parent's abuse occasionally drives the offspring to snap, commit Revenge and finally kill them, thus becoming a Self-Made Orphan. Calling the Old Man Out occurs when a fed-up child retaliates with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech. If the child gets out of the broken family and forms healthy friendships, but reacts badly when their abusive parents show up again, well, Friends Are Chosen, Family Aren't. Bear in mind that not everyone agrees on the line between actual abuse and merely heavy-handed parenting (or even normal parenting). Is Moving the Goalposts merely inspiring the child to achieve more, or the most insidious form of abuse to instill mistrust and paranoia to the children? Some include spanking as abuse; others think it's appropriate given certain guidelines. Some believe it's okay to make a kid go without a meal (they won't starve that easily); others disagree. Making a kid miss a friend's birthday sleepover — is that emotional abuse? Raising a kid without exposure to TV? Telling your daughter she's getting fat? A little friendly name-calling? There's a line here somewhere, but not everyone agrees on where it is. If a parent has just dumped the child, for whatever reason, that's Parental Abandonment; if they aren't paying attention, that's Parental Neglect. If the parents refuse to discipline their kids, they are Pushover Parents. Contrast Mama Bear or Papa Wolf (where others abuse the children and the parents abuse the abusers), and the more extreme variant of Knight Templar Parent, where the abusive parent is violently overprotective. Abusive Precursors can be considered this on a metaphorical level. See Hilariously Abusive Childhood for when this is cranked up to absurd levels and played for laughs. Black Comedy is often connected in the comedic aspect of it, and a Big, Screwed-Up Family may be involved if it is adult comedy. In keeping with the above note, some may call the show on it and say Dude, Not Funny!. See Evil Matriarch and Archnemesis Dad for characters who are beyond abusiveand outright evil. For parents who are mostly abused by their children, see Pushover Parents. While they do not have to be the child's actual, technical parents to be part of this trope, it's pretty important that they are closely related and live together, like a Wicked Stepmother or an Evil Uncle taking care of the Parentally Deprived. After all, it's much more disgusting that somebody related to the child could bring themselves to hurt them, rather than a mere foster family. The polar opposite, of course, are Good Parents.

#18. Penelope Blossom (Main Trope: Black Widow; Secondary Tropes: Evil Redhead, Widow Woman, Straw Feminist, The Vamp, High Class Call Girl, Dark Mistress)

The man-eater, the woman whose husbands/Love Interests keep on dying. Usually, a Black Widow is a cross between a Con Artist and a Serial Killer, a woman who seduces, marries, and then murders men for their money, always using a different name and identity each time to keep the police and her intended victims from twigging to her real identity. She's very much a highly successful vamp. Black Widows' methods may vary, but poisoning is often favored: it doesn't demand superior strength or leave obvious marks, and it's traditional for wives to do the cooking for their husbands. Also, many types of poisoning can have symptoms similar to those of common illnesses, which makes it easier for a Black Widow to collect life insurance money (a very common motivation). There are too many Truth in Television instances to count. Occasionally there are more nefarious methods. The name "black widow" comes from the official FBI designation for this kind of killer and from the black widow spider, which is so named because of the occasional habit of female black widow spiders (particularly the Australian redback spiders and the southern black widows) to devour their mates after mating. For this reason the trope may be paired with Arachnid Appearance and Attire to really drive the spider metaphor home. A Sub-Trope of Sleeping Their Way to the Top, Murder in the Family, and Gold Digger (this one prefers to kill her Meal Ticket instead of living with him). A Sister Trope to The Bluebeard (the Spear Counterpart). Compare Yandere, Comforting the Widow, Widow Woman (for other widow tropes), Will and Inheritance Tropes and Cartwright Curse. When a pregnancy is involved, this intersects with Conceive and Kill. See also Literal Maneater, which is an actual monster that uses the disguise of a woman to lure in its prey.

Look out for Part III!