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The Shadowspawn

554 statements
108 feature instances
22 referencing feature instances

The Shadowspawn	type	TVTItem
The Shadowspawn	label	The Shadowspawn
The Shadowspawn	page	TheShadowspawn
The Shadowspawn	comment	Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The Shadowspawn is a Gothic Punk Urban Fantasy trilogy by S. M. Stirling, set in a world where the Shadowspawn, a vampire-like Mage Species, secretly rule the world. In many ways, the series is a sort of Spiritual Successor to Jack Williamson's Darker Than You Think, or at any rate heavily inspired by it—though with Stirling's familiar emphases. You Have Been Warned...With three volumes published, the series, though ending on a cliffhanger, is by all accounts complete. They are: A Taint in the Blood (2010) The Council of Shadows (2011) Shadows of Falling Night (2011)The background: In ancient times, there existed a subspecies of humanity that, thanks to strange quantum-scale interactions, possessed essentially supernatural abilities. Since this humanity was also essentially autistic and sociopathic, psychologically resembling solitary predators much more than anatomically modern humans, they were defeated and exterminated by the team-working Homo sapiens, but not before there was some interbreeding between the species, producing human psychopaths as well as occasional mildly magic-using genetic reverts.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Fast-forward to the nineteenth century, when infant modern genetics rediscovered the admixture of the witch species, now dubbed the Shadowspawn, in the human race. A French nobleman and occultist, the Duke of Bealoup, then took it upon himself to sponsor a breeding program to isolate and refine the vampiric race. Within only a few generations, this produced a species of nigh-immortal, bloodthirsty sorcerers, who seized control of the US Federal Government at some point during or just after World War I, and most of Europe not long afterward. Simultaneously, various human and dissident vampire elements secretly organized an anti-conspiracy, the Brotherhood, to resist them.By the present day, 20 Minutes into the Future, the main plotline commences, focusing on Adrian de Brezé, a pureblood Beauloup descendant and Reluctant Monster, and his girlfriend Ellen, who are tormented by his not-at-all-reluctantly monstrous sister Adrienne. Initially, Adrienne kidnaps Ellen to annoy and manipulate her brother, and he marshals his Brotherhood connections to help him free her; later, thanks to Adrienne's machinations, he becomes aware of the Shadowspawn plot to seize power openly and depopulate most of the world. Being a hero, he naturally sets about to do his best to prevent this, gathering additional allies along the way. Ironically, this is precisely what his sister wants, since she, despite being a senior Shadowspawn agent, doesn't want to destroy civilization--just rule it forever. While Adrian and the Brotherhood bash heads with the master vampires on the Council of Shadows, she prepares her own plans to capitalize on the outcome and replace whoever turns out the victor as the supreme power in the supernatural underworld...Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })
The Shadowspawn	fetched	2023-02-13T02:12:50Z
The Shadowspawn	parsed	2023-02-13T02:12:50Z
The Shadowspawn	processingComment	Dropped link to DirtyCommies: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Shadowspawn	processingComment	Dropped link to ManipulativeBitch: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Shadowspawn	processingComment	Dropped link to TheEvilPrincess: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Shadowspawn	processingUnknown	DirtyCommies
The Shadowspawn	processingUnknown	ManipulativeBitch
The Shadowspawn	processingUnknown	TheEvilPrincess
The Shadowspawn	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Shadowspawn / int_116a648e	type	Half-Identical Twins
The Shadowspawn / int_116a648e	comment	Half-Identical Twins: Adrian and Adrienne, to the point that even Ellen can't always initially tell them apart. Even when they aren't impersonating each other.
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The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_116a648e
The Shadowspawn / int_130436b9	type	Annoying Younger Sibling
The Shadowspawn / int_130436b9	comment	Annoying Younger Sibling: Adrienne is the darkest type imaginable to her brother.
The Shadowspawn / int_130436b9	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Shadowspawn / int_137f2d7	type	Card-Carrying Villain
The Shadowspawn / int_137f2d7	comment	Card-Carrying Villain: Adrienne and Michiko are totally self-aware about it, casually discussing torture and murder over lunch in among the other girl-talk. All with a playful wink. ... And then, when we think they're over the top, we meet the older Brezés, who take it up to eleven and make them look almost restrained by contrast.
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The Shadowspawn / int_143c304b	type	Vegetarian Vampire
The Shadowspawn / int_143c304b	comment	Vegetarian Vampire: Adrian. The new Michiko presumably becomes one, as well.
The Shadowspawn / int_143c304b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_143c304b	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Shadowspawn / int_18bf4326	type	Anti-Magic
The Shadowspawn / int_18bf4326	comment	Anti-Magic: To really resist vampire magic, one needs the ability to do counter-spells. But it is possible to put these on indefinite hold, subject to activation on certain triggering conditions. Such spells, when rightly deployed, can offer a location or non-wizard an at least somewhat effective protection against hostile magics. Also, silver. It disrupts the vampires' ghost-forms, as well as most forms of magic. Radioactive substances can also have similar effects, and they are, moreover, usually extremely poisonous to vampires of all flavors.
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The Shadowspawn / int_18f2b2b	type	Hypocritical Heartwarming
The Shadowspawn / int_18f2b2b	comment	Hypocritical Heartwarming: Killing any given human doesn't even raise an eyebrow in vampire society, but killing or hurting someone else's human without permission is frowned on, and a valid excuse for a death duel.
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The Shadowspawn / int_19851b86	type	The Sociopath
The Shadowspawn / int_19851b86	comment	The Sociopath: All Shadowspawn (except, apparently, Adrian) have at least elements of sociopathy in their personality. Though some are a lot worse than others. The higher-class ones (e.g., Duke Bealoup, Adrienne, Seraphine) are the suave, charismatic archetype.
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The Shadowspawn / int_1badfbbb	type	The Heavy
The Shadowspawn / int_1badfbbb	comment	The Heavy: Adrienne drives the plot, with the heroes largely reacting to her schemes. There are other, higher-ranking vampires (who are also heavier hitters), but they generally play a less active role in the battles with the Brotherhood.
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The Shadowspawn / int_1cc527d7	type	Asskicking Leads to Leadership
The Shadowspawn / int_1cc527d7	comment	Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Given the predatory nature of the vampires, whoever is in charge will be the one strong enough to keep the others in line. Frequently, this will be the elders, since their powers continue to grow slowly with time, though the young purebloods can give all but a handful of them a good match.
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The Shadowspawn / int_1fb440a6	type	Voluntary Shapeshifting
The Shadowspawn / int_1fb440a6	comment	Voluntary Shapeshifting: Shadowspawn can assume the form of any creature whose DNA they have ingested, which has given rise to the werewolf and vampire myths of Europe.
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The Shadowspawn / int_21d70919	type	Crapsack World
The Shadowspawn / int_21d70919	comment	Crapsack World: Every country is secretly ruled by a global conspiracy that siphons off the wealth of the world to feed a spoiled supernatural elite. Worse, they're nearly all of them sociopathic serial killers with magic powers who are accountable to no one and treats anyone and everyone as they please. Good luck getting any help if you catch their attention. Democracy is a sham, the stock markets and media are controlled throughout, and the only La Résistance of any consequence is basically made up of the vampires who weren't pure enough to qualify for admission to the Order of the Black Dawn.
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The Shadowspawn / int_270c1778	type	Blood Magic
The Shadowspawn / int_270c1778	comment	Blood Magic: Shadowspawn don't metabolically require blood, but they do use it to mystically power their sorceries.
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The Shadowspawn / int_2a02e5c9	type	Guile Hero
The Shadowspawn / int_2a02e5c9	comment	While Adrian can't match his sister, he does play both several of the vampire elders and a number of more mundane agencies quite adeptly. But he is more of a Guile Hero, naturally.
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The Shadowspawn / int_2d2c26c1	type	Daddy's Little Villain
The Shadowspawn / int_2d2c26c1	comment	Daddy's Little Villain: Adrienne and Michiko, to their respective parents.
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The Shadowspawn / int_2de7bbf1	type	Nominal Hero
The Shadowspawn / int_2de7bbf1	comment	Nominal Hero: Many of the people in the Brotherhood are borderline Shadowspawn who would have liked to be part of the Order of the Black Dawn, but are of insufficiently pure blood to qualify. So now they fight the "real" vampires out of resentment more than anything else. As well as safety in numbers, since lone Shadowspawn quickly tend to become the prey of others.
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The Shadowspawn / int_2ed5e99d	type	Depraved Bisexual
The Shadowspawn / int_2ed5e99d	comment	Depraved Bisexual: All Shadowspawn are this genetically. Even Adrian, supposedly, though in his case it is an Informed Attribute merely. His sister plays it very straight, however.
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The Shadowspawn / int_2f36d97	type	Older Than They Look
The Shadowspawn / int_2f36d97	comment	Older Than They Look: Vampires age more slowly than normal humans, even before they become fully supernatural ghosts. Adrian is in his sixties, but looks barely half his age.
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The Shadowspawn / int_30d4f2a	type	Narcissist
The Shadowspawn / int_30d4f2a	comment	Narcissist: All Shadowspawn, though in varying degrees, due to the mental disposition of their non-human ancestor species.
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The Shadowspawn / int_31e92640	type	Japan Takes Over the World
The Shadowspawn / int_31e92640	comment	Japan Takes Over the World: Supernatural example, with the Japanese Shadowspawn (an originally separate tradition, based more on animesque ninja sorcery than vampire lore) taking over the Western United States from the Brezé clan. Hajime even killed Adrian's parents, and they're still upset about it decades later.
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The Shadowspawn / int_34f8042a	type	Gratuitous French
The Shadowspawn / int_34f8042a	comment	Gratuitous French: The main villainous characters are both Old World nobility and actual Frenchmen, and so make not altogether inconsiderable use of this. Notably, while sometimes gratuitous it's still mostly good French, correctly spelled and composed.
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The Shadowspawn / int_3b99a9e0	type	Reality Warper
The Shadowspawn / int_3b99a9e0	comment	Reality Warper: Shadowspawn can mentally manipulate the quantum-level functions of mass and energy, somehow, which allows for everything from shapeshifting to telepathy and more.
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The Shadowspawn / int_3cb1d38d	type	Bad Boss
The Shadowspawn / int_3cb1d38d	comment	Bad Boss: When Adrian uses a magic-enhanced disguise to pass for his sister, he throws around a lot of silky death threats and physical abuse to her attendants. Another agent notes that he's doing OK with the characterization, but still bowdlerizing it: the real Adrienne has a much lower threats-to-action ratio, and would have killed someone by now, if annoyed enough to complain that much.
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The Shadowspawn / int_3e06b5c7	type	Your Vampires Suck
The Shadowspawn / int_3e06b5c7	comment	Your Vampires Suck: There is a fairly unsubtle Take That! to Twilight in the first book. Dracula gets a minor one, with characters on both sides commenting on the assassination of a very Dracula-like Roumanian vampire elder, to the effect that while his style (sleeping in a crypt guarded by Gypsies, etc) might have worked in the 19th century, it's not very up-to-date in the 21st.
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The Shadowspawn / int_3f11ef74	type	Parental Substitute
The Shadowspawn / int_3f11ef74	comment	Parental Substitute: Harvey Ledbetter to Adrian. He led the Brotherhood team that abducted him, and later raised him to be human, rather than a monster.
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The Shadowspawn / int_40c57041	type	Manipulative Bastard
The Shadowspawn / int_40c57041	comment	But even she is outplayed by Great-Uncle Arnaud, who is even more of a Manipulative Bastard.
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The Shadowspawn / int_48ca7c29	type	Broken Ace
The Shadowspawn / int_48ca7c29	comment	Broken Ace: Adrian, when introduced. He used to be a top Brotherhood operative, but gave up and retired in shell-shock and despair, fed up with killing other vampires in a struggle that led nowhere. However, Ellen's abduction pushes him back into the game.
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The Shadowspawn / int_51a3ba7	type	We Used to Be Friends
The Shadowspawn / int_51a3ba7	comment	We Used to Be Friends: Adrian and Adrienne used to be very close when they grew up together, but Adrian was kidnapped by the Brotherhood and raised by them, thereby learning to care about the ordinary humans, and so coming to recognize the villainy of the Shadowspawn. Adrienne, raised into the family traditions, obviously never did, and continues to serve the Council of Shadows (at least insofar as she ever "serves" anything or anyone). While they have racked up good reasons to hate each other over the years, both still very much regret that they must be enemies, and that the other was raised by such stupid and evil people and twisted into someone they shouldn't be.
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The Shadowspawn / int_53407671	type	Action Survivor
The Shadowspawn / int_53407671	comment	Action Survivor: Also Ellen, especially in the first book.
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The Shadowspawn / int_537dd8fe	type	Affably Evil
The Shadowspawn / int_537dd8fe	comment	Affably Evil/Faux Affably Evil: A really weird treatment which straddles the line between the tropes. Many/most of the Shadowspawn are actually quite courteous, friendly and even genuinely nice—among themselves. For example, Adrian's parents are still caring and solicitous for his welfare, and perfectly willing to forgive him little trifles like killing Council operatives and ruining their plans, ascribing such things to youthful rebelliousness. On the other hand, they also don't mind politely discussing how fun his (human) girlfriend would be to kill. And sometimes when she's present, too. Adrienne is quite friendly and helpful explaining the world of darkness to Ellen, and generally in many of their interactions. At other times, she's horribly abusive in the worst possible ways. It's not quite clear how much of this is deliberate, and how much is just craziness, and/or severe in-universe values dissonance, though generally, she seems to know what she's doing and why.
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The Shadowspawn / int_5ba5a470	type	Here There Were Dragons
The Shadowspawn / int_5ba5a470	comment	Here There Were Dragons: It is believed by those in the know that the gods, god-kings and monsters of legend were vampires or shapeshifters of increasingly impure blood. This would also explain why such entities frequently demanded human sacrifices of their followers, and why they became rarer and less impressive over time, until they finally disappeared and became mere myths.
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The Shadowspawn / int_5ca80293	type	Pragmatic Villainy
The Shadowspawn / int_5ca80293	comment	Pragmatic Villainy: Adrienne and her "Young Turks" faction among the Shadowspawn, who oppose the genocidal and ultra-reactionary plans of the Council of Shadows. Not because they care about the people, of course; peasants are a dime a dozen. But they do like modern conveniences and high living standards, and realize that a large and advanced human economy is needed to supply these, so killing off 90+ per cent of the population and banning electric power will cause problems.
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The Shadowspawn / int_63b12059	type	Villainous Friendship
The Shadowspawn / int_63b12059	comment	Villainous Friendship: Adrienne and Michiko, who are best friends forever as only girl-vampires can.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6411dac8	type	BadassNormal
The Shadowspawn / int_6411dac8	comment	Badass Normal: Ellen is one by the second book. Harvey Ledbetter would be one, except that he has a few minor magical abilities, too.
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The Shadowspawn / int_658f7193	type	Lack of Empathy
The Shadowspawn / int_658f7193	comment	Lack of Empathy: Several vampires feel obliged to point out to Ellen that she is the sort of person that would be extra fun to kill slowly and painfully. Some think it's quite fun just to see how she reacts. And others are crazy enough that they don't even notice that they're making her uncomfortable.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6627695f	type	Author Appeal
The Shadowspawn / int_6627695f	comment	Author Appeal: As customarily for Stirling's works, there is a prominent strong but girlishly beautiful lesbian character, and lots and lots of semi-creepily (though not explicitly) described rape and assorted horrors.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6b750ec9	type	I Am a Monster
The Shadowspawn / int_6b750ec9	comment	I Am a Monster: Adrian. Adrienne is quite more monstrous, but she rather likes it that way.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6bbeff0b	type	Asian Airhead
The Shadowspawn / int_6bbeff0b	comment	Asian Airhead: Michiko is the darkest type imaginable. Also a subversion, since she's not nearly as stupid as she wants you to think.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6c553873	type	Private Military Contractors
The Shadowspawn / int_6c553873	comment	Private Military Contractors: Adrienne has a whole company devoted solely to protecting her assets and residences. For her personal bodyguard, she prefers gurkhas for its human component.
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The Shadowspawn / int_6fd3c176	type	Shapeshifting Squick
The Shadowspawn / int_6fd3c176	comment	Shapeshifting Squick: Also done deliberately by Adrienne, for the same reasons.
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The Shadowspawn / int_727a65e0	type	Gaslighting
The Shadowspawn / int_727a65e0	comment	Gaslighting. Poor Ellen gets it from Adrienne. With various flavors of telepathy, reality warping and shapeshifting at her beck and call, as well as a nasty imagination, she can do this in a lot of creative ways.
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The Shadowspawn / int_729c69f3	type	Politically Incorrect Villain
The Shadowspawn / int_729c69f3	comment	Politically Incorrect Villain: The Shadowspawn elder, Duke Brezé de Bealoup, considers Europeans mere cattle, but the colored races aren't even that to him: more like vermin, if they deserve any appellation at all. He also thinks the Germans are little better than barbarians. Justified to some extent, in that he grew up in the late 19th century, when racism and national chauvinism were at their all-times high, and imbibed that whole atmosphere, only adding vampiric arrogance and sociopathy to the mix. And then there's the German vampire lord, who's a literal Nazi werewolf.
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The Shadowspawn / int_72b0dfd2	type	Being Good Sucks
The Shadowspawn / int_72b0dfd2	comment	Being Good Sucks: For starters, when the bad guys rule the world, it means you have to live the life of a refugee in hiding. And if you are a vampire, it means you need to subsist off packed blood, which supposedly tastes absolutely horrible.
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The Shadowspawn / int_74b85afd	type	If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!
The Shadowspawn / int_74b85afd	comment	If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Senior vampire familiars are forced to perform a human sacrifice to show that they are serious in their commitment to the Empire of Shadow.
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The Shadowspawn / int_75402a71	type	Shapeshifting Seducer
The Shadowspawn / int_75402a71	comment	Shapeshifting Seducer: Adrienne, though strictly for fun.
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The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_75402a71
The Shadowspawn / int_76df59f1	type	Thicker Than Water
The Shadowspawn / int_76df59f1	comment	Thicker Than Water: The Brezé twins. While they were friends as children, Adrienne now wants to torment and annoy Adrian for various reasons, and has done enough of this (and hurt various other people enough in the process) that, by mid-series at the latest, he quite sincerely wants her dead in return. But neither of them has quite given up on turning his sister/her brother to the "right" side, either; both keep trying to reach out to each other.
The Shadowspawn / int_76df59f1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_76df59f1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_76df59f1
The Shadowspawn / int_771f6307	type	Brother–Sister Incest
The Shadowspawn / int_771f6307	comment	Brother–Sister Incest: It's strongly implied that Adrienne raped Adrian in a backstory encounter, making him the father of her children.
The Shadowspawn / int_771f6307	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_771f6307	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_771f6307
The Shadowspawn / int_776a06eb	type	All Myths Are True
The Shadowspawn / int_776a06eb	comment	All Myths Are True: Or at least many, with stories of everything from obscure Japanese deities to Celtic folklore having their ultimate origin in the prehistoric Shadowspawn.
The Shadowspawn / int_776a06eb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_776a06eb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_776a06eb
The Shadowspawn / int_7b454a57	type	White Sheep
The Shadowspawn / int_7b454a57	comment	Though Adrian, the White Sheep among the Brezés, does get it, suggesting that the condition is at least not completely genetic.
The Shadowspawn / int_7b454a57	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_7b454a57	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_7b454a57
The Shadowspawn / int_7c4b9d2	type	Sailor Fuku
The Shadowspawn / int_7c4b9d2	comment	Sailor Fuku: Michiko, sometimes. Mostly to annoy her conservative vampire ancestor and clan leader, who prefers traditional Japanese dress.
The Shadowspawn / int_7c4b9d2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_7c4b9d2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_7c4b9d2
The Shadowspawn / int_86bb7d97	type	Cultured Badass
The Shadowspawn / int_86bb7d97	comment	Cultured Badass: Most of the leading Shadowspawn, who are well-versed in languages, culture and the humanities, as well as food, drink, fashion and other such accoutrements. It helps that most are raised as nobility, and further that their vampire genes give them above-average intelligence and superior linguistic ability.
The Shadowspawn / int_86bb7d97	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_86bb7d97	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_86bb7d97
The Shadowspawn / int_8767b1f3	type	Black-and-Gray Morality
The Shadowspawn / int_8767b1f3	comment	Black-and-Gray Morality: The Council of Shadows is pretty much as mustache-twirlingly evil as they could be if they tried, but the Brotherhood is morally gray at best. It does include some genuine idealists, but also anti-heroes of every caliber from Knight Templar to Nominal Hero.
The Shadowspawn / int_8767b1f3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_8767b1f3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_8767b1f3
The Shadowspawn / int_905438eb	type	Recycled IN SPACE!
The Shadowspawn / int_905438eb	comment	Recycled IN SPACE!: Inverted. In several ways, the Shadowspawn resemble the Drakas, the villains in one of Stirling's most famous series, once these become fully post-human predatory space cyborgs. Adrienne also more personally resembles the female lead in the late Drakas books, except that she's even more over the top.
The Shadowspawn / int_905438eb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_905438eb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_905438eb
The Shadowspawn / int_96144372	type	Aristocrats Are Evil
The Shadowspawn / int_96144372	comment	Aristocrats Are Evil: The Brezé family are old high nobility, and every single one of them is a horrible monster, and/or a vampire, too. Except Adrian.
The Shadowspawn / int_96144372	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_96144372	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_96144372
The Shadowspawn / int_97bc51a8	type	Sliding Scale of Vampire Friendliness
The Shadowspawn / int_97bc51a8	comment	Sliding Scale of Vampire Friendliness: Very unfriendly. Shadowspawn are attractive, noncontagious and relatively blood-independent... But they are also very powerful, as well as Always Chaotic Evil to a massive and gratuitous extent, with very few exceptions.
The Shadowspawn / int_97bc51a8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_97bc51a8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_97bc51a8
The Shadowspawn / int_984ef9ef	type	"Not So Different" Remark
The Shadowspawn / int_984ef9ef	comment	"Not So Different" Remark: Adrian thinks he is this to Adrienne. Several other characters beat him over the head with the fact that he really isn't, not being, you know, a crazy mass murderer and all that.
The Shadowspawn / int_984ef9ef	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_984ef9ef	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_984ef9ef
The Shadowspawn / int_9b54d536	type	Evil Counterpart
The Shadowspawn / int_9b54d536	comment	Evil Counterpart: Adrienne to Adrian, obviously.
The Shadowspawn / int_9b54d536	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9b54d536	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9b54d536
The Shadowspawn / int_9bcd82c0	type	Took a Level in Badass
The Shadowspawn / int_9bcd82c0	comment	Took a Level in Badass: Ellen, who persuaded Adrian to teach her to fight, since she did not want to be caught helpless again by the vampires if she could help it. She still does not stand much of a chance against Adrienne or her associates themselves, but now she can at least deal with their human flunkies if not outnumbered by too much.
The Shadowspawn / int_9bcd82c0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9bcd82c0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9bcd82c0
The Shadowspawn / int_9cde2df1	type	Hand Cannon
The Shadowspawn / int_9cde2df1	comment	Hand Cannon: Harvey Ledbetter's custom-modded pistol.
The Shadowspawn / int_9cde2df1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9cde2df1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9cde2df1
The Shadowspawn / int_9de2bf95	type	Filler
The Shadowspawn / int_9de2bf95	comment	Filler: Extensive descriptions of food, wine, interior decoration and various other snobbery, as well as repetitive gratuitous villainy and semi-introspective discussion by the vampires that does nothing to advance the plot, serve to pad out the trilogy.
The Shadowspawn / int_9de2bf95	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9de2bf95	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9de2bf95
The Shadowspawn / int_9ebfc83a	type	Japanese Politeness
The Shadowspawn / int_9ebfc83a	comment	Japanese Politeness: The Tokairin expects it of all supplicants, and offers it in return to those who deserve it.
The Shadowspawn / int_9ebfc83a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9ebfc83a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9ebfc83a
The Shadowspawn / int_9f63d4f1	type	Our Vampires Are Different
The Shadowspawn / int_9f63d4f1	comment	Our Vampires Are Different/Our Werewolves Are Different: Biological, pseudo-scientifically justified vampires/werewolves/witches/ghouls/etc, who are basically low-level Reality Warpers with a certain fondness for human blood. They have a number of odd abilities, including shapeshifting, probability manipulation (conscious and otherwise), low-level precognition and psychic powers, and the ability to assume an extra-super-powered ethereal form upon physical death. Vulnerabilities include silver, sunlight (the ghost form only) and radioactivity. Vampirism is an innate genetic condition, and not contagious or otherwise transferable, except by really wonky technobabble.
The Shadowspawn / int_9f63d4f1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_9f63d4f1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_9f63d4f1
The Shadowspawn / int_a19a70f8	type	Evil Luddite
The Shadowspawn / int_a19a70f8	comment	Evil Luddite: The Shadowspawn elders, who want society to be the way it was when they were young, and hate modern technology and culture shift. Their preferred solution to the problem is to kill off 95 % of the world population and destroy all advanced technology, reducing life back to the simpler and better model of the (early) 19th century or thereabouts.
The Shadowspawn / int_a19a70f8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a19a70f8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a19a70f8
The Shadowspawn / int_a2484b0e	type	The Beautiful Elite
The Shadowspawn / int_a2484b0e	comment	The Beautiful Elite: The Shadowspawn collectively, some exceptions notwithstanding. Justified, as they are the product of deliberate eugenics, and/or magic.
The Shadowspawn / int_a2484b0e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a2484b0e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a2484b0e
The Shadowspawn / int_a6e8221e	type	Status Quo Is God
The Shadowspawn / int_a6e8221e	comment	Status Quo Is God: In-universe example. Adrienne lampoons the Shadowspawn elders for being silly reactionary dinosaurs who want the world to be just like it was when they were young, and stay that way forever. Adrian agrees, but points out that she wants the exact same thing, except that she wants it to stay the way it is now, rather than first revert back a century or two.
The Shadowspawn / int_a6e8221e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a6e8221e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a6e8221e
The Shadowspawn / int_a8660c25	type	Soft-Spoken Sadist
The Shadowspawn / int_a8660c25	comment	Soft-Spoken Sadist: Great-Uncle Arnaud, at least as we see him: cool, calm, poised and polite, even in the middle of killing a man. Hajime's wife, a vampiric Yamato Nadeshiko, also seems to be one.
The Shadowspawn / int_a8660c25	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a8660c25	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a8660c25
The Shadowspawn / int_a8c462db	type	Super-Senses
The Shadowspawn / int_a8c462db	comment	Super Senses: Shadowspawn have enhanced normal senses, in addition to supernatural ones. This is one reason why they tend to be gourmets: an extra-sensitive sense of smell and taste.
The Shadowspawn / int_a8c462db	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a8c462db	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a8c462db
The Shadowspawn / int_a8d9ac65	type	Mage Species
The Shadowspawn / int_a8d9ac65	comment	Mage Species: The Shadowspawn are descended from supernatural humanoids who managed to admix their genes into the human population before being defeated by mankind. The Shadowspawn can assume the form of any creature (the individual, as well as the species) whose DNA they have ingested, which has given rise to the werewolf and vampire myths of Europe.
The Shadowspawn / int_a8d9ac65	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_a8d9ac65	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_a8d9ac65
The Shadowspawn / int_adfd3165	type	For the Evulz
The Shadowspawn / int_adfd3165	comment	For the Evulz: The vampires have rational enough objectives to justify most of the big things they do, but they also commit all sorts of random, petty evil as they go along. Usually just for fun.
The Shadowspawn / int_adfd3165	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_adfd3165	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_adfd3165
The Shadowspawn / int_b11ac9f5	type	Abusive Parents
The Shadowspawn / int_b11ac9f5	comment	Abusive Parents: Played with. Adrian and Adrienne's parents were, by all accounts, quite loving and affectionate, in a somewhat restrained, "Old World" style, as is Adrienne to her own children... But they also raised them to be murderous vampires as a matter of course, which has left them both various degrees of mentally damaged, at least by human standards.
The Shadowspawn / int_b11ac9f5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b11ac9f5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b11ac9f5
The Shadowspawn / int_b1346878	type	Fate Worse than Death
The Shadowspawn / int_b1346878	comment	Fate Worse than Death: When he kills someone, a vampire can catch his quantum-mechanical "soul" in his own mind, and keep it trapped there in a hallucinatory environment under his complete control. Effectively, this serves as a living hell for however long the vampire wishes. (It can equally easily be a paradise, but, well, they generally aren't inclined to do things that way.) Making it worse, it also runs on Narnia Time, so the perceived torments last subjective orders of magnitude longer than the vampire's physical life, measured in real years.
The Shadowspawn / int_b1346878	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b1346878	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b1346878
The Shadowspawn / int_b2598054	type	Dhampyr
The Shadowspawn / int_b2598054	comment	Dhampyr: Technically all Shadowspawn are these, since they are bred from human hybrids, and even the purest still have a lot of human material in them. Older vampires are perhaps a quarter to half vampire, while the purebloods are there by 75-80 % or so.
The Shadowspawn / int_b2598054	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b2598054	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b2598054
The Shadowspawn / int_b39d5719	type	Sadist
The Shadowspawn / int_b39d5719	comment	Sadist: Again, one of the hereditary traits of the Shadowspawn. Though this, too, varies between individuals.
The Shadowspawn / int_b39d5719	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b39d5719	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b39d5719
The Shadowspawn / int_b42b7e7b	type	Moral Myopia
The Shadowspawn / int_b42b7e7b	comment	Moral Myopia: Adrian is the one Shadowspawn who seems to give any bit of a damn about ordinary humans. Well, he and Wilbur, to some extent.
The Shadowspawn / int_b42b7e7b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b42b7e7b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b42b7e7b
The Shadowspawn / int_b53077b3	type	Take That!
The Shadowspawn / int_b53077b3	comment	Take That!: Various historical figures the author presumably does not like are painted as murderous sadists, Satanists and vampires. Among those explicitly named are Leopold II of Belgium and William Randolph Hearst, and there are subtler references to others.
The Shadowspawn / int_b53077b3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b53077b3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b53077b3
The Shadowspawn / int_b9123661	type	Welcomed to the Masquerade
The Shadowspawn / int_b9123661	comment	Adrienne is quite friendly and helpful explaining the world of darkness to Ellen, and generally in many of their interactions. At other times, she's horribly abusive in the worst possible ways. It's not quite clear how much of this is deliberate, and how much is just craziness, and/or severe in-universe values dissonance, though generally, she seems to know what she's doing and why.
The Shadowspawn / int_b9123661	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_b9123661	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_b9123661
The Shadowspawn / int_bbfaa837	type	Knight Templar
The Shadowspawn / int_bbfaa837	comment	Knight Templar: Harvey Ledbetter, Adrian's old Brotherhood mentor, who has gotten more extreme with time. Also several other Brotherhood characters.
The Shadowspawn / int_bbfaa837	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_bbfaa837	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_bbfaa837
The Shadowspawn / int_be0ad6b7	type	Used to Be a Sweet Kid
The Shadowspawn / int_be0ad6b7	comment	Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Adrian thinks this is true of Adrienne. The rest of the Brezés think this of him: He was such a nice boy before he joined the good guys...
The Shadowspawn / int_be0ad6b7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_be0ad6b7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_be0ad6b7
The Shadowspawn / int_c042eee9	type	Invisible to Normals
The Shadowspawn / int_c042eee9	comment	Invisible to Normals: The astral form of any Shadowspawn, if he wants it to be.
The Shadowspawn / int_c042eee9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c042eee9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c042eee9
The Shadowspawn / int_c287be68	type	Family-Values Villain
The Shadowspawn / int_c287be68	comment	Family-Values Villain: The vampires generally care very much about their own families, and to a lesser extent those of their familiars. Neither sentiment gets in the way of regularly killing humans they don't personally care about. Or mentally/physically/sexually abusing the familiars themselves, within "accepted" limits.
The Shadowspawn / int_c287be68	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c287be68	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c287be68
The Shadowspawn / int_c420a553	type	We Can Rule Together
The Shadowspawn / int_c420a553	comment	We Can Rule Together: Adrienne with Adrian. No more kooky old vampire lords and their plans for global genocide, just the two of them ruling the world of darkness for the next few thousand years or so. They can do it relatively benevolently, even, if he really must insist on it.
The Shadowspawn / int_c420a553	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c420a553	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c420a553
The Shadowspawn / int_c47f7ce6	type	Evil Reactionary
The Shadowspawn / int_c47f7ce6	comment	Evil Reactionary: See above under Evil Luddite.
The Shadowspawn / int_c47f7ce6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c47f7ce6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c47f7ce6
The Shadowspawn / int_c5fe6c81	type	Strong Family Resemblance
The Shadowspawn / int_c5fe6c81	comment	Strong Family Resemblance: The Brezés share one, due to some inbreeding in feudal times, and more recently in Duke Beauloup's eugenics program. The Duke himself appears much like Adrian's older brother, and he and Adrienne are Half-Identical Twins. More generally, vampires tend to share certain vaguely "Mediterranean" features, since this was somewhat like how their species originally looked.
The Shadowspawn / int_c5fe6c81	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c5fe6c81	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c5fe6c81
The Shadowspawn / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
The Shadowspawn / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: The mention of an author of speculative fiction in "this very state" (New Mexico), who discovered the Shadowspawn, and indeed wrote a book about them decades ago.
The Shadowspawn / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_c75df49a
The Shadowspawn / int_d40e1a9f	type	Break Out the Museum Piece
The Shadowspawn / int_d40e1a9f	comment	Break Out the Museum Piece: Since most of the vampires are probability warpers, hunters are advised to use really rugged equipment with as few delicate moving parts as possible, or else it can be highly likely to malfunction when needed. Going in with assault rifles is downright suicidal, and semi-automatics and even revolvers are in trouble when facing an elder. So fighters on both sides tend to use very simple, old-fashioned guns, or even crossbows and melee weapons, rather than anything built after World War I.
The Shadowspawn / int_d40e1a9f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_d40e1a9f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_d40e1a9f
The Shadowspawn / int_d5b3df2d	type	Dark Action Girl
The Shadowspawn / int_d5b3df2d	comment	Dark Action Girl: Adrienne, of course. Also Michiko.
The Shadowspawn / int_d5b3df2d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_d5b3df2d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_d5b3df2d
The Shadowspawn / int_d6a33187	type	We Didn't Start the Führer
The Shadowspawn / int_d6a33187	comment	We Didn't Start the Führer: In this setting, Shadowspawn race admixture is the explanation for the ruthlessness, high intelligence, nocturnal habits and uncanny luck of many historical dictators, and Hitler is said to be one example. Mildly subverted, in that he wasn't either a full Shadowspawn or in any way in on their massive global conspiracy; if anything, he fought against it, the Western Allied nations and the Communist USSR being its firmest strongholds. He just had some unusual abilities and talents that helped him seize and keep power.
The Shadowspawn / int_d6a33187	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Shadowspawn / int_d6a33187	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_d6a33187
The Shadowspawn / int_dae5c997	type	Action Girl
The Shadowspawn / int_dae5c997	comment	Action Girl: Ellen becomes one eventually, both out of inclination and necessity.
The Shadowspawn / int_dae5c997	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_dae5c997	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_dae5c997
The Shadowspawn / int_dbc41ba9	type	Aloof Dark-Haired Girl
The Shadowspawn / int_dbc41ba9	comment	Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Adrienne.
The Shadowspawn / int_dbc41ba9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_dbc41ba9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_dbc41ba9
The Shadowspawn / int_dc2c2968	type	Superpowerful Genetics
The Shadowspawn / int_dc2c2968	comment	Superpowerful Genetics: The vampire genes, which, when assembled together, grant Psychic Powers. As well as sharper teeth and a number of other, smaller augmentations.
The Shadowspawn / int_dc2c2968	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_dc2c2968	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_dc2c2968
The Shadowspawn / int_e16217f8	type	Historical Villain Upgrade
The Shadowspawn / int_e16217f8	comment	Historical Villain Upgrade: Leopold II of Belgium was a rather crooked and greedy monarch in real life, but here he's portrayed as a murderous vampire.
The Shadowspawn / int_e16217f8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_e16217f8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_e16217f8
The Shadowspawn / int_e2ccee25	type	Animal Motifs
The Shadowspawn / int_e2ccee25	comment	Animal Motifs: The Shadowspawn are shapeshifters, pseudo-werebeasts as well as vampires, and often assume the forms of predatory animals. Adrienne's favorite non-human shape is that of a dire wolf; Adrian's is a saber-tooth tiger.
The Shadowspawn / int_e2ccee25	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_e2ccee25	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_e2ccee25
The Shadowspawn / int_e2e55e86	type	Super Supremacist
The Shadowspawn / int_e2e55e86	comment	Super Supremacist: The vampires, or at least the Brezés, will generally give at least a modicum of courtesy and respect to anyone who shares their powers, even downright enemies. By contrast, no one cares a whit about ordinary humans, except that it is considered rude to kill or otherwise hurt them without permission if they have already been claimed by someone else. It is, naturally, taken absolutely for granted that only the vampire race is fit to rule the world.
The Shadowspawn / int_e2e55e86	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_e2e55e86	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_e2e55e86
The Shadowspawn / int_e567510d	type	Determinator
The Shadowspawn / int_e567510d	comment	Determinator: Harvey Ledbetter, who will finish his last mission, even should he, the Brotherhood and all the world perish for it. And he will allow nothing and no one to stop him.
The Shadowspawn / int_e567510d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_e567510d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_e567510d
The Shadowspawn / int_e8b3ee16	type	Ghostapo
The Shadowspawn / int_e8b3ee16	comment	And then there's the German vampire lord, who's a literal Nazi werewolf.
The Shadowspawn / int_e8b3ee16	featureApplicability	1.0
The Shadowspawn / int_e8b3ee16	featureConfidence	1.0
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	The Shadowspawn / int_e8b3ee16
The Shadowspawn / int_e8cfde67	type	Ambiguous Disorder
The Shadowspawn / int_e8cfde67	comment	Ambiguous Disorder: Resulting from the psychological traits of the original vampire species, which was an essentially solitary predator, as opposed to a social animal like modern humans. Modern Shadowspawn tend, in varying degrees, toward symptoms and characteristics reminiscent of sociopathy, sadism, autism, abnormal sexualities and a whole slew of other diagnoses. They're weird and difficult people to be around at the best of times, and the more intelligent among them recognize this as a problem in the running of their conspiracy. That said, there is a lot of variation, with individual examples ranging from mildly quirky to dysfunctionally Ax-Crazy and everything in between.
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The Shadowspawn / int_e993da98	type	Equal-Opportunity Evil
The Shadowspawn / int_e993da98	comment	Equal-Opportunity Evil: The vampires, or at least the older ones, tend toward racism (fantastic and otherwise) and various other foibles, but there does not appear to be any real discrimination against women among them. Presumably justified, in that their supernatural powers are not in any way sex-specific, and they can use humans for reproduction, lessening the functional differences between the sexes. (And indeed, once they attain their etheric form, they can choose freely what sex they wish to be on any given day.) Adrienne feels that they are discriminating, since there are only a few women on the Dark Council. But in practice, neither she nor Michiko ever experience any problems because of their sex.
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The Shadowspawn / int_eb9afb9d	type	Evil Old Folks
The Shadowspawn / int_eb9afb9d	comment	Evil Old Folks: The Japanese Tokairin, a Shadowspawn elder who displays his age and is rather obviously old-fashioned in many ways. Though relatively speaking, he is a lot less evil (or less obviously so, at any rate) than most of his peers, precisely because he considers himself bound by a bunch of archaic honor rules.
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The Shadowspawn / int_eba6a077	type	Cain and Abel
The Shadowspawn / int_eba6a077	comment	Cain and Abel: Adrian and Adrienne. They're exactly alike, except that she's a girl. Oh, and she's an evil, murderous villain and he, well, isn't, so they don't exactly get along. They're also on opposing sides in the shadow war between two ancient conspiracies, one that wants to destroy the Shadowspawn and another that wants to destroy the world. (No extra credit for figuring out who is with whom.)
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The Shadowspawn / int_ebb6aa3c	type	Impersonating the Evil Twin
The Shadowspawn / int_ebb6aa3c	comment	Impersonating the Evil Twin: At one point, Adrian impersonates Adrienne as part of a rescue mission, and fools her lieutenants. They are Half-Identical Twins, but it also helps that he can use magic to look even more like her.
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The Shadowspawn / int_ec7da60a	type	Beethoven Was an Alien Spy
The Shadowspawn / int_ec7da60a	comment	Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: While real vampires are mostly a recent rediscovery, various historical figures have inherited more or less expressed fragments of their powers. For example, Adrian and Harvey speculate that Hitler had some such powers, which allowed him to survive the entirety of World War I and the street battles of the 1920s, as well as achieve his revolutionary political successes in the 1930s. This would then also explain his nocturnal habits, as well as his vegetarianism.note The latter to avoid the smell and taste of blood, which do funny things with near-but-not-quite-vampires in this setting. Likewise, other figures from Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais to Joseph Stalin are ascribed similar lineages.
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The Shadowspawn / int_f283319c	type	Tortured Monster
The Shadowspawn / int_f283319c	comment	Tortured Monster: Wilbur Patterson, the vampire elder whom Adrian impersonates to gain admittance to Adrienne's ball. While it is hinted that he, too, was a murderous vampire in younger days, he fell in love with a human woman, and by all tokens quite sincerely. When he was unable to save her, he became depressed and moved into complete isolation, finally staying up to watch the sun rise when he could no longer bear it.
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The Shadowspawn / int_f2c895f	type	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters
The Shadowspawn / int_f2c895f	comment	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The vampires' human helpers consider the Brotherhood to be little better than terrorists, since the latter consider them traitors to humanity, and very expendable in their war against their masters.
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The Shadowspawn / int_f4cc32ce	type	Creepy Twins
The Shadowspawn / int_f4cc32ce	comment	Creepy Twins: Adrienne's children.
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The Shadowspawn / int_f8e010ce	type	Evil Cannot Comprehend Good
The Shadowspawn / int_f8e010ce	comment	Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The vampires, being various degrees of either autistics or sociopaths by human standards, don't really understand human emotions all that well, and empathy in particular. Adrienne is better than most at it, but even she has to fake it at several points. Though Adrian, the White Sheep among the Brezés, does get it, suggesting that the condition is at least not completely genetic.
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The Shadowspawn / int_fdf22cfd	type	Evil Is Hammy
The Shadowspawn / int_fdf22cfd	comment	Evil Is Hammy: Adrienne does it totally on purpose. She can also be cool and controlled when she desires to.
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The Shadowspawn / int_fe64d5a1	type	Evil Is Petty
The Shadowspawn / int_fe64d5a1	comment	Evil Is Petty: Constantly demonstrated by the Shadowspawn. Early in the first book, Adrienne uses her powers to give a beggar that annoys her a stroke.
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The Shadowspawn / int_ff7f34c5	type	Pet the Dog
The Shadowspawn / int_ff7f34c5	comment	Pet the Dog: Adrienne gets one in the second book, when she reads a fairytale to her children (though she does put her own touch on it). It's also mentioned that she sometimes plays with them by shapeshifting into a giant wolf and letting them ride on her back, though this is not seen here.
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	All Myths Are True / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	American Literature (N to S) / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Ancient Conspiracy / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Black Speech / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Council of Vampires / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Depopulation Bomb / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Dhampyr / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Evil Luddite / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Gothic Punk / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Gratuitous French / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Japanese Politeness / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Mage Species / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Psychic Stories / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Raven Hair, Ivory Skin / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Sci-Fi Horror / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Supernatural Fiction / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Urban Fantasy / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Vegetarian Vampire / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Villainous Friendship / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	We Didn't Start the Führer / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Witch Species / int_6826d077
The Shadowspawn	hasFeature	Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters / int_6826d077

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