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* RelationshipSabotage: Hal comes to Zatanna's house while she's out dealing with Nimue, meaning only Constantine is there to receive him, and Constantine takes the chance to tell Hal all about Zatanna's dangerous life, which frightens Hal enough that he gives up on pursuing Zatanna. She's pissed when she finds out, and although Constantine admits he ''was'' a bit jealous, if Hal couldn't handle the danger, she's better off knowing it sooner rather than later.
to:
* RelationshipSabotage: Hal comes to Zatanna's house while she's out dealing with Nimue, meaning only Constantine is there to receive him, and Constantine takes the chance to tell Hal all about Zatanna's dangerous life, which frightens Hal enough that he gives up on pursuing Zatanna. She's pissed when she finds out, and although Constantine admits he ''was'' a bit jealous, if Hal couldn't handle the danger, [[JerkassHasAPoint she's better off knowing it sooner rather than later.later]].
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** During Xatanna's LipstickAndLoadMontage, her eyes remain hidden, and they only become visible when she gets a full body shot showing that she's ready for her show.
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** During Xatanna's Zatanna's LipstickAndLoadMontage, her eyes remain hidden, and they only become visible when she gets a full body shot showing that she's ready for her show.
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* LivingAphrodisiac: Constantine would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap, but Zatanna says she uses a lot of spells and charms to make herself supernaturally irresistible to men.
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* LivingAphrodisiac: Constantine would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap, but Zatanna says she EvilSorceress Nimue uses a lot of spells and charms to make herself supernaturally irresistible to men.men, making her seduce even someone like Constantine, who would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap scheme.
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* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Subverted in a ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' special. She wonders how an evil sorceress was able to avoid her spell when Zatanna used what she thought was the sorceress' [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]], then suddenly realizes that no one is born with a name like "Nimue Ravensong". Zatanna then goes in search of the sorceress' birth name.
to:
* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Subverted in a ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' special. She Zatanna wonders how an evil sorceress she was able unable to avoid her undo a spell when Zatanna used what after she thought was forced the sorceress' [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]], EvilSorceress Nimue to swear it off with her real name, then suddenly she realizes that no one it's because she ''didn't'' use [[WithholdingTheirName her real name]] as nobody is born with a name like "Nimue Ravensong". Zatanna then goes in search of manages to undo the spell by using the sorceress' birth name.name: the much plainer "Mary-Ann".
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* AllergicToRoutine: Zatanna spends most of the story exhausted, and can't wait to have peacetime to relax from her duties as a StageMagician and as a hero... but she quickly gets bored of normal civilian life and goes back to her show quicker than her agent expected.
to:
* AllergicToRoutine: Zatanna spends most of the story exhausted, and can't wait to have peacetime to relax from her duties as a StageMagician and as a hero... superhero... but she quickly gets bored of the normal everyday civilian life and goes back to work on her show quicker than her agent expected.
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* AstralProjection: When Zatanna is saying goodbye to Constantine at the airport, she's actually just using her magic to project herself there and talk to him. When they're finished, her image just fades away, to the shock of the people watching.
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* AstralProjection: When Zatanna is saying goodbye to Constantine at the airport, she's [[MundaneUtility actually just using her magic to project herself there and talk to him.him]]. When they're finished, her image just fades away, to the shock of the people watching.
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* HoneyTrap: Nimue pulls this off on Constantine, luring him into bed in order to put a curse on him.
* HumanSacrifice: Nimue bartered away Constantine's soul in exchange for an object of power from the Traders. Now he's being relentlessly pursued by the demon.
* HumanSacrifice: Nimue bartered away Constantine's soul in exchange for an object of power from the Traders. Now he's being relentlessly pursued by the demon.
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* HumanSacrifice: Nimue [[OfferingAnotherInYourStead bartered
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* MundaneUtility: Zatanna is often seen using her magic to levitate objects around her like her luggage or a glass of wine.
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* MundaneUtility: Zatanna is often seen using her magic to levitate objects around her like her luggage or a glass of wine. She also says goodbye to Constantine at the airport via AstralProjection.
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* SupernaturalSensitivity: When Zatanna is coming back home after her tour, she feels an odd supernatural chill near the entrance. She dismisses it at first, but when she finds out Constantine is hiding inside to protect himself from a Trader demon, she figures it was the demon lurking nearby that she felt.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zatanna_everyday_magic_5.jpg]]
''Zatanna: Everyday Magic'' is a one-shot comic book story staring ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} and co-staring [[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]]. It was published by Creator/VertigoComics in 2003, written by Creator/PaulDini, and with art by Creator/RickMays.
While trying to juggle her busy schedule during Halloween, Zatanna's old friend and lover John Constantine get into trouble when he's seduced and cursed by rogue sorceress Nimue Ravensong, leading Zatanna into conflict with the wannabe witch.
Though it was released in 2003, this one-shot ended up being the basis from which Paul Dini would use for the ComicBook/Zatanna2010 solo series, utilizing some of the supporting cast and ideas introduced in the story.
-----
!Tropes
* AbsurdlySharpClaws: The Trade demon mostly attacks by slashing with its extremely sharp claws.
* AccidentalMisnaming: Zatanna is peeved that the announcer for her show in Reno keeps mispronouncing her name as Za'''n'''tanna instead of Zatanna.
* AllergicToRoutine: Zatanna spends most of the story exhausted, and can't wait to have peacetime to relax from her duties as a StageMagician and as a hero... but she quickly gets bored of normal civilian life and goes back to her show quicker than her agent expected.
* AmicableExes: Constantine and Zatanna both agree they're better off now as friends than they ever were as a couple. Doesn't stop her from being pissed at his antics or RelationshipSabotage.
* AstralProjection: When Zatanna is saying goodbye to Constantine at the airport, she's actually just using her magic to project herself there and talk to him. When they're finished, her image just fades away, to the shock of the people watching.
* AtrociousAlias: Neither Constantine nor Zatanna are impressed with Nimue naming herself after the sorceress from ''Myth/ArthurianLegend''. Apparently, she chooses it just because it "sounds Goth".
* BadDate: When Zatanna's backstory is being explained, there's a brief montage of her failed dates to illustrate how she's been unlucky in love.
* BadGuyBar: The start starts with Constantine hanging out at Bewitched, the nightclub owned by the villainous Tannark that was once destroyed by Zatanna and The Spectre. Unsurprisingly, he ends up meeting trouble there by way of Nimue.
* BathingBeauty: Zatanna spends most of the story talking about wanting to relax in a bath after her long tour, but she keeps getting interrupted. Even when she ''does'' get a BathtubScene, she herself ends up [[InterruptedBath interrupting]] when she gets a EurekaMoment in the middle of it and has to leave in a hurry.
* BathtubScene: Zatanna finally gets the chance to unwind and take a bath after she defeats Nimue, with CensorSuds bubbles and a glass of wine. It's mostly played for gratuitous {{Fanservice}}, with LegFocus shots and a SexySurfacingShot. Funny enough, she keeps her [[SignatureHeadgear top hat on during it]].
* BetterAsFriends: Zatanna and Constantine decide on this at the end of the story.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Nimue pretends to be a "dame in trouble" to lure Constantine into her house, when she then seduces and curses him. When Zatanna comes calling, she pretends to be helpful at first, but is just an act to catch Zatanna off guard.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: After being stabbed by the [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], Zatanna is quickly passing out, but before she does she manages she let out one last spell that blows Nimue across the room and knocks her out cold.
* CaughtMonologuing: Zatanna manages to defeat Nimue by tricking her into starting monologuing about what she'll do after she defeats Zatanna, not noticing Zatanna has been casting a silent ForcedTransformation spell until it's too late.
* CensorSuds: During Zatanna's BathtubScene the bubbles cover all of her important bits. Even when she [[SexySurfacingShot stands up in the tub]], the bubbles still stay glued to her chest to preserve her modesty.
* CensorShadow: When we see Constantine and Nimue having sex, strategically placed shadows are used to conceal their nudity.
* ContinuityCameo: The story begins with Constantine having a chat with Tannarak, an evil magician that Zatanna faced in the past.
* DealWithTheDevil: Nimue tried to offer Constantine as an HumanSacrifice to a group of demons known as "The Traders", in exchange for a [[MagicTool magic needle]] that could absorb the life force and magic out of whomever it pierces.
* DineAndDash: During the BadDate montage, one of Zatanna's dates wants her to use her magic so they can get away without paying, which Zatanna doesn't want to do for morality reasons, so she dumps him on the spot and teleports away by herself, leaving him to pay the bill by himself by [[WorkingOffTheDebt cleaning the dishes]].
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Constantine's "curse" that he got from sleeping with Nimue is treated as an allegory for getting an STD from an ill-advised one night stand.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Nimue is portrayed as a [[ReallyGetsAround slutty 'bad girl' for her promiscuous behavior]], but not for the fact that she uses QuestionableConsent methods for getting men into her bed (Zatanna mentions she uses spells and charms to making herself irresistible) and she's treated as a harmless joke villain despite the fact she's more of a SerialRapist who uses her magic to seduce men then callously disposing of her one by [[ForcedTransformation transforming them into frogs]].
* EnergyAbsorption: Nimue's barter with the Trader was to get her hands on a [[MagicTool magical needle]] capable of absorbing the life force of anyone she stabs, and transmitting it to her as raw magical power. She uses it to stab Zatanna after catching her off guard, to absorb her [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]] magic reserves, but they end up being [[PowerHigh too much for Nimue to handle]].
* EvilRedhead: The main villain of the story, Nimue Ravensong has short red hair and a nasty attitude.
* {{Fanservice}}: There's a lot of gratuitous nudity and sex in the story, from both male and female characters.
* ForcedOrgasm: When Nimue first absorbs Zatanna's magical energy, the feeling is [[PowerHigh so powerful]] that it causes Nimue to be overwhelmed with sexual pleasure, with her facial expression implying she had an involuntary orgasm. This it's likely because Nimue relates power with sex, rather than sexual pleasure being the intended effect of the needle.
* HawaiianShirtedTourist: Zatanna picks a random person from the crowd of her show to perform a trick, it just happens to be a tourist in Reno, with the stereotypical Hawaiian shirt.
* HalloweenEpisode: The episode takes place on Halloween, though there isn't any plot significance for it other than Zatanna being busier than usual with her StageMagician show.
* HiddenEyes:
** During Xatanna's LipstickAndLoadMontage, her eyes remain hidden, and they only become visible when she gets a full body shot showing that she's ready for her show.
** The Trader demon's face is always framed in shadow, making it look like he has no facial features other than his mouth. It's only in his last scene that his eyes are seen, open in shock at being banished by Zatanna.
* HoneyTrap: Nimue pulls this off on Constantine, luring him into bed in order to put a curse on him.
* HumanSacrifice: Nimue bartered away Constantine's soul in exchange for an object of power from the Traders. Now he's being relentlessly pursued by the demon.
* HumiliationConga: Nimue's defeat. First she's [[ForcedTransformation turned into a sloth]] and tossed around by Zatanna until she's made to dispel the curse on Constantine. When Zatanna does turn her back to human, [[ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing she has no clothes on]] and is surrounded by her previous victims who quickly chase her out of her own apartment, butt-naked and humiliated.
* ImplacableMan: The Trader, the demon that's after Constantine won't ever stop pursuing him until he gets him sacrificed, with even a powerful magician like Zatanna being unable to defeat him permanently, which is why she goes after Nimue instead. The only thing that manages to keep The Trader at bay at the protective spells around Shadowcrest, which means Constantine is trapped at Zatanna's house for most of the story.
* InstantSeduction:
** Nimue is flirting with Constantine at the bar and invites him back to her place. The next time we see them, they're already in bed.
** When Hal and Zatanna first meet, he asks her out for a drink, and she coyly accepts. The very next page is a shot of them lying in bed post-sex.
* ISurrenderSuckers: When Zatanna first confronts Nimue at her house, Nimue pretends to surrender and to hand over the MacGuffin needed to stop the Trader demon. But she hands it over by [[ThrowingTheDistraction throwing it into the air]] and using the moment of distraction to stab Zatana with the needle of magic absorption.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Hal is the one put off when Constantine tells him about all the dangers Zatanna faces daily, and ultimately decides not to pursue a romantic relationship with her for this reason.
* LecherousLicking: Nimue licks her lips in a lecherous fashion when absorbing some life energy of a voodoo doll, to illustrate she equivalates power with sexual pleasure.
* LegFocus:
** During Zatanna's BathtubScene, she stretches her legs out of the water, with them being the only thing visible among all the CensorSuds.
** The robe Nimue wears while fighting Zatanna in her house leaves her legs bare, and a lot of panels put them on emphasis.
* LipstickAndLoadMontage: Zatanna's introduced doing the finishing touches to her StageMagician costume for her last show in Reno.
* LivingAphrodisiac: Constantine would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap, but Zatanna says she uses a lot of spells and charms to make herself supernaturally irresistible to men.
* LovelyAssistant: Zatanna's stage show is accompanied by four {{Hunk}}s who are all {{Shirtless|Scene}}. Zatanna mentions this is her attempt to attract female fans to her show.
* MacGuffin: Nimue made a DealWithTheDevil with the Traders (and marked Constantine to be the HumanSacrifice for it) in order to get an object of power, in this case, a [[MagicTool magic needle]] made out of the Trader's bones that can absorb life energy/magic. Zatanna must retrieve it in order to banish the demons back to hell and save Constantine from them.
* MagicTool: The item of power that Nimue got from the trader happens to be a needle with magical properties: Being able to drain the life/magical energy of anyone she stabs.
* MaliciousMisnaming: When Nimue is talking to her latest one night stand that she turned into a frog, she mispronounces his name, showing she can't even be bothered to remember the name of the man she just slept with.
* MarkedByTheSupernatural: Nimue marks Constantine by biting his palm, making a mouth grow in its place. It marks him as a HumanSacrifice for The Trader.
* TheModestOrgasm: It's heavily implied by Nimue's pleasured and unfocused expression that she had a ForcedOrgasm when she first stabbed Zatanna with her [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], with the implication that the PowerHigh overwhelmed her.
* MorphicResonance: Nimue's past lovers that she [[ForcedTransformation turned into frogs]] retain some of their human characteristics, mostly their hairstyles. When Zatanna also transforms Nimue into a sloth the same thing occurs, with sloth-Nimue still keeping her red hair and a chin piercing.
* ModestyBedsheet:
** After they sleep together, Zatanna and Hal are seen under a single bedsheet that goes up to their shoulders. When Zatanna gets up after realizing she's late for her show, the sheet seems glued to her as if by magic (which ''might be'' in her case).
** When Arnie calls Zatanna while he's in bed with his boyfriend, he has a bedsheet wrapped around his waist.
* MundaneUtility: Zatanna is often seen using her magic to levitate objects around her like her luggage or a glass of wine.
* NakedFreakOut: Nimue is humiliated by Zatanna by leaving her naked with all the men she turned into frogs, who is chased out of her home by them with only her [[HandOrObjectUnderwear hands to cover herself]].
* NakedPeopleAreFunny:
** Zatanna's fury at finding Constantine [[SleepsInTheNude sleeping naked]] in her bed is played for laughs.
** Part of Nimue's HumiliationConga is being rendered naked via ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing and being chased off of her apartment naked by her previous victims.
* NavelDeepNeckline:
** The red robe Nimue has for most of the issue is open all the way to her navel.
** Zatanna wears a shirt that is unbuttoned all the way to her stomach.
* NearVillainVictory: Even after her HumiliationConga, Nimue still almost manages to win since she tricked Zatanna by not using her real name white un-cursing Constantine. Zatanna only realizes her mistake much later and barely arrives in time to save Constantine from the Trader.
* OfferingAnotherInYourStead: Nimue's EvilPlan was to make a DealWithTheDevil that requires a HumanSacrifice, but getting another person to be sacrificed instead of her by [[MarkedByTheSupernatural placing a curse mark on them]].
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Upon coming back home after her long tour as a StageMagician, Zatanna finds Constantine naked and passed out on her bed. Her first reaction is to kick him out and demand he get dressed.
* PowerHigh: Since Nimue is a normal human, when she stabs the [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]] Zatanna with the [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], Zatanna's life / magical energy are so potent that they overwhelm Nimue, who never felt anything like it before. It's heavily implied she actually gets sexual pleasure out of it due to her orgasmic expression and LecherousLicking.
* QuestionableConsent: Nimue uses spells and charms to make herself into a LivingAphrodisiac so men can't resist her advances, which is why she succeeds at even fooling Constantine, who would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap attitude.
* ReallyGetsAround: Villainous Nimue's promiscuity is portrayed as a bad thing, especially in the way she callously disposes of her lovers.
* RelationshipSabotage: Hal comes to Zatanna's house while she's out dealing with Nimue, meaning only Constantine is there to receive him, and Constantine takes the chance to tell Hal all about Zatanna's dangerous life, which frightens Hal enough that he gives up on pursuing Zatanna. She's pissed when she finds out, and although Constantine admits he ''was'' a bit jealous, if Hal couldn't handle the danger, she's better off knowing it sooner rather than later.
* RomanticFalseLead: Hal, Zatanna's LoveInterest in this story, ends up deciding not to pursue her due to having a hard time dealing with her superhero life.
* SexualKarma: Zatanna and her GuyOfTheWeek Hal have a mutually satisfying one night stand, with her even completely losing track of time while in bed with him. In contrast, her EvilCounterpart witch Nimue is [[ReallyGetsAround really promiscuous]] and turns her lovers [[ForcedTransformation into frogs]] after she's done with them, an allegory to her giving her partners an STD, which is even more obvious with her encounter with Constantine, which [[MarkedByTheSupernatural gets him cursed]].
* SexySilhouette: When Nimue and her lovers are reverted back to naked humans, there's a shot of all of them in silhouettes as Nimue attempts to order them around.
* SexySurfacingShot: When Zatanna has a EurekaMoment during her BathtubScene, she jumps out of the water in a hurry, with only some strategically placed CensorSuds over her breasts keeping things modest.
* ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing:
** All the men Nimue [[ForcedTransformation turned into frogs]] come back naked when Zatanna changes them back.
** Nimue herself falls out of her clothes when she's [[ForcedTransformation turned into a sloth]], and is naked when she's turned back human.
* ShirtlessScene: Zatanna's male LovelyAssistant for her show are all gratuitously shirtless.
* SleepsInTheNude: {{Subverted|Trope}}. When Zatanna first finds out Constantine passed out naked on her back, he assumes he's just being a slob who passed out after a night of drinking. But it's actually because he had to escape from an attempt on his life mid-coitus, and apparently found nothing to wear once he got to her place.
* SoftGlass: When Constantine does a SuperWindowJump out of Nimue's bedroom to escape the trader, he clearly breaks through the glass, but is seemingly unharmed, despite being naked.
* StageMagician: Zatanna's job as a stage magician takes up a significant part of the issue, as she's working extra hard due to it being Halloween.
* SuperWindowJump: Constantine first escapes from the Trader by dramatically jumping out of Nimue's bedroom window, [[SoftGlass breaking through the glass seemingly unharmed]].
* ThrowingTheDistraction: Nimue throws the (actually fake) MacGuffin toward Zatanna in order to distract her while she uses the opportunity to stab her with a [[MagicTool magic absorption needle]] (the ''real'' MacGuffin).
* TooManyMouths: Constantine grows one in his palm, thanks to Nimue's curse, which actually involved her biting into his palm during sex (he just thought she was kinky at first).
* ToplessnessFromTheBack: When we see the mid-coitus Constantine and Nimue turn to face the Tracer demon as he appears in her room, Nimue's modesty is preserved by the fact she has her back to the audience.
* VaporWear: Nimue and Zatanna's NavelDeepNeckline outfits make it clear they're not wearing bras under them. Nimue at least has an excuse, since she was lounging in the privacy of her bedroom.
* VillainousUnderdog: Nimue's just a normal human with ''some'' magical training and living in a modest house, in contrast to Zatanna who is a [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]], a [[LadyOfBlackMagic master magician]], and is wealthy and successful. Nimue is very jealous of her over it, but the fact that Nimue resorts to DealWithTheDevil and {{Human Sacrifice}}s to [[PowerAtAPrice obtain power]] makes her rant unsympathetic.
-->'''Nimue:''' That's not fair! Shall I tell you of the ''innocents'' I've sacrificed... or of the ''years'' I've traded off my life for the ''smallest'' fractions of your power?
* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Subverted in a ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' special. She wonders how an evil sorceress was able to avoid her spell when Zatanna used what she thought was the sorceress' [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]], then suddenly realizes that no one is born with a name like "Nimue Ravensong". Zatanna then goes in search of the sorceress' birth name.
* WithholdingTheirName: PlayedWith. When Zatanna makes Nimue swear off her DealWithTheDevil, she uses her NomDeGuerre of Nimue Ravensong, thus making the whole thing invalid. Zatanna only notices this later and manages to save Constantine from the Trade in the nick of time by swearing by Nimue's true name of Mary-Ann.
* WorkingWithTheEx: Constantine has to ask for Zatanna's help to dispel Nimue's curse, despite knowing how awkward it is to ask his ex to deal with the after-effects of a one night stand he had.
----
''Zatanna: Everyday Magic'' is a one-shot comic book story staring ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} and co-staring [[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]]. It was published by Creator/VertigoComics in 2003, written by Creator/PaulDini, and with art by Creator/RickMays.
While trying to juggle her busy schedule during Halloween, Zatanna's old friend and lover John Constantine get into trouble when he's seduced and cursed by rogue sorceress Nimue Ravensong, leading Zatanna into conflict with the wannabe witch.
Though it was released in 2003, this one-shot ended up being the basis from which Paul Dini would use for the ComicBook/Zatanna2010 solo series, utilizing some of the supporting cast and ideas introduced in the story.
-----
!Tropes
* AbsurdlySharpClaws: The Trade demon mostly attacks by slashing with its extremely sharp claws.
* AccidentalMisnaming: Zatanna is peeved that the announcer for her show in Reno keeps mispronouncing her name as Za'''n'''tanna instead of Zatanna.
* AllergicToRoutine: Zatanna spends most of the story exhausted, and can't wait to have peacetime to relax from her duties as a StageMagician and as a hero... but she quickly gets bored of normal civilian life and goes back to her show quicker than her agent expected.
* AmicableExes: Constantine and Zatanna both agree they're better off now as friends than they ever were as a couple. Doesn't stop her from being pissed at his antics or RelationshipSabotage.
* AstralProjection: When Zatanna is saying goodbye to Constantine at the airport, she's actually just using her magic to project herself there and talk to him. When they're finished, her image just fades away, to the shock of the people watching.
* AtrociousAlias: Neither Constantine nor Zatanna are impressed with Nimue naming herself after the sorceress from ''Myth/ArthurianLegend''. Apparently, she chooses it just because it "sounds Goth".
* BadDate: When Zatanna's backstory is being explained, there's a brief montage of her failed dates to illustrate how she's been unlucky in love.
* BadGuyBar: The start starts with Constantine hanging out at Bewitched, the nightclub owned by the villainous Tannark that was once destroyed by Zatanna and The Spectre. Unsurprisingly, he ends up meeting trouble there by way of Nimue.
* BathingBeauty: Zatanna spends most of the story talking about wanting to relax in a bath after her long tour, but she keeps getting interrupted. Even when she ''does'' get a BathtubScene, she herself ends up [[InterruptedBath interrupting]] when she gets a EurekaMoment in the middle of it and has to leave in a hurry.
* BathtubScene: Zatanna finally gets the chance to unwind and take a bath after she defeats Nimue, with CensorSuds bubbles and a glass of wine. It's mostly played for gratuitous {{Fanservice}}, with LegFocus shots and a SexySurfacingShot. Funny enough, she keeps her [[SignatureHeadgear top hat on during it]].
* BetterAsFriends: Zatanna and Constantine decide on this at the end of the story.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Nimue pretends to be a "dame in trouble" to lure Constantine into her house, when she then seduces and curses him. When Zatanna comes calling, she pretends to be helpful at first, but is just an act to catch Zatanna off guard.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: After being stabbed by the [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], Zatanna is quickly passing out, but before she does she manages she let out one last spell that blows Nimue across the room and knocks her out cold.
* CaughtMonologuing: Zatanna manages to defeat Nimue by tricking her into starting monologuing about what she'll do after she defeats Zatanna, not noticing Zatanna has been casting a silent ForcedTransformation spell until it's too late.
* CensorSuds: During Zatanna's BathtubScene the bubbles cover all of her important bits. Even when she [[SexySurfacingShot stands up in the tub]], the bubbles still stay glued to her chest to preserve her modesty.
* CensorShadow: When we see Constantine and Nimue having sex, strategically placed shadows are used to conceal their nudity.
* ContinuityCameo: The story begins with Constantine having a chat with Tannarak, an evil magician that Zatanna faced in the past.
* DealWithTheDevil: Nimue tried to offer Constantine as an HumanSacrifice to a group of demons known as "The Traders", in exchange for a [[MagicTool magic needle]] that could absorb the life force and magic out of whomever it pierces.
* DineAndDash: During the BadDate montage, one of Zatanna's dates wants her to use her magic so they can get away without paying, which Zatanna doesn't want to do for morality reasons, so she dumps him on the spot and teleports away by herself, leaving him to pay the bill by himself by [[WorkingOffTheDebt cleaning the dishes]].
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Constantine's "curse" that he got from sleeping with Nimue is treated as an allegory for getting an STD from an ill-advised one night stand.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Nimue is portrayed as a [[ReallyGetsAround slutty 'bad girl' for her promiscuous behavior]], but not for the fact that she uses QuestionableConsent methods for getting men into her bed (Zatanna mentions she uses spells and charms to making herself irresistible) and she's treated as a harmless joke villain despite the fact she's more of a SerialRapist who uses her magic to seduce men then callously disposing of her one by [[ForcedTransformation transforming them into frogs]].
* EnergyAbsorption: Nimue's barter with the Trader was to get her hands on a [[MagicTool magical needle]] capable of absorbing the life force of anyone she stabs, and transmitting it to her as raw magical power. She uses it to stab Zatanna after catching her off guard, to absorb her [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]] magic reserves, but they end up being [[PowerHigh too much for Nimue to handle]].
* EvilRedhead: The main villain of the story, Nimue Ravensong has short red hair and a nasty attitude.
* {{Fanservice}}: There's a lot of gratuitous nudity and sex in the story, from both male and female characters.
* ForcedOrgasm: When Nimue first absorbs Zatanna's magical energy, the feeling is [[PowerHigh so powerful]] that it causes Nimue to be overwhelmed with sexual pleasure, with her facial expression implying she had an involuntary orgasm. This it's likely because Nimue relates power with sex, rather than sexual pleasure being the intended effect of the needle.
* HawaiianShirtedTourist: Zatanna picks a random person from the crowd of her show to perform a trick, it just happens to be a tourist in Reno, with the stereotypical Hawaiian shirt.
* HalloweenEpisode: The episode takes place on Halloween, though there isn't any plot significance for it other than Zatanna being busier than usual with her StageMagician show.
* HiddenEyes:
** During Xatanna's LipstickAndLoadMontage, her eyes remain hidden, and they only become visible when she gets a full body shot showing that she's ready for her show.
** The Trader demon's face is always framed in shadow, making it look like he has no facial features other than his mouth. It's only in his last scene that his eyes are seen, open in shock at being banished by Zatanna.
* HoneyTrap: Nimue pulls this off on Constantine, luring him into bed in order to put a curse on him.
* HumanSacrifice: Nimue bartered away Constantine's soul in exchange for an object of power from the Traders. Now he's being relentlessly pursued by the demon.
* HumiliationConga: Nimue's defeat. First she's [[ForcedTransformation turned into a sloth]] and tossed around by Zatanna until she's made to dispel the curse on Constantine. When Zatanna does turn her back to human, [[ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing she has no clothes on]] and is surrounded by her previous victims who quickly chase her out of her own apartment, butt-naked and humiliated.
* ImplacableMan: The Trader, the demon that's after Constantine won't ever stop pursuing him until he gets him sacrificed, with even a powerful magician like Zatanna being unable to defeat him permanently, which is why she goes after Nimue instead. The only thing that manages to keep The Trader at bay at the protective spells around Shadowcrest, which means Constantine is trapped at Zatanna's house for most of the story.
* InstantSeduction:
** Nimue is flirting with Constantine at the bar and invites him back to her place. The next time we see them, they're already in bed.
** When Hal and Zatanna first meet, he asks her out for a drink, and she coyly accepts. The very next page is a shot of them lying in bed post-sex.
* ISurrenderSuckers: When Zatanna first confronts Nimue at her house, Nimue pretends to surrender and to hand over the MacGuffin needed to stop the Trader demon. But she hands it over by [[ThrowingTheDistraction throwing it into the air]] and using the moment of distraction to stab Zatana with the needle of magic absorption.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Hal is the one put off when Constantine tells him about all the dangers Zatanna faces daily, and ultimately decides not to pursue a romantic relationship with her for this reason.
* LecherousLicking: Nimue licks her lips in a lecherous fashion when absorbing some life energy of a voodoo doll, to illustrate she equivalates power with sexual pleasure.
* LegFocus:
** During Zatanna's BathtubScene, she stretches her legs out of the water, with them being the only thing visible among all the CensorSuds.
** The robe Nimue wears while fighting Zatanna in her house leaves her legs bare, and a lot of panels put them on emphasis.
* LipstickAndLoadMontage: Zatanna's introduced doing the finishing touches to her StageMagician costume for her last show in Reno.
* LivingAphrodisiac: Constantine would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap, but Zatanna says she uses a lot of spells and charms to make herself supernaturally irresistible to men.
* LovelyAssistant: Zatanna's stage show is accompanied by four {{Hunk}}s who are all {{Shirtless|Scene}}. Zatanna mentions this is her attempt to attract female fans to her show.
* MacGuffin: Nimue made a DealWithTheDevil with the Traders (and marked Constantine to be the HumanSacrifice for it) in order to get an object of power, in this case, a [[MagicTool magic needle]] made out of the Trader's bones that can absorb life energy/magic. Zatanna must retrieve it in order to banish the demons back to hell and save Constantine from them.
* MagicTool: The item of power that Nimue got from the trader happens to be a needle with magical properties: Being able to drain the life/magical energy of anyone she stabs.
* MaliciousMisnaming: When Nimue is talking to her latest one night stand that she turned into a frog, she mispronounces his name, showing she can't even be bothered to remember the name of the man she just slept with.
* MarkedByTheSupernatural: Nimue marks Constantine by biting his palm, making a mouth grow in its place. It marks him as a HumanSacrifice for The Trader.
* TheModestOrgasm: It's heavily implied by Nimue's pleasured and unfocused expression that she had a ForcedOrgasm when she first stabbed Zatanna with her [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], with the implication that the PowerHigh overwhelmed her.
* MorphicResonance: Nimue's past lovers that she [[ForcedTransformation turned into frogs]] retain some of their human characteristics, mostly their hairstyles. When Zatanna also transforms Nimue into a sloth the same thing occurs, with sloth-Nimue still keeping her red hair and a chin piercing.
* ModestyBedsheet:
** After they sleep together, Zatanna and Hal are seen under a single bedsheet that goes up to their shoulders. When Zatanna gets up after realizing she's late for her show, the sheet seems glued to her as if by magic (which ''might be'' in her case).
** When Arnie calls Zatanna while he's in bed with his boyfriend, he has a bedsheet wrapped around his waist.
* MundaneUtility: Zatanna is often seen using her magic to levitate objects around her like her luggage or a glass of wine.
* NakedFreakOut: Nimue is humiliated by Zatanna by leaving her naked with all the men she turned into frogs, who is chased out of her home by them with only her [[HandOrObjectUnderwear hands to cover herself]].
* NakedPeopleAreFunny:
** Zatanna's fury at finding Constantine [[SleepsInTheNude sleeping naked]] in her bed is played for laughs.
** Part of Nimue's HumiliationConga is being rendered naked via ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing and being chased off of her apartment naked by her previous victims.
* NavelDeepNeckline:
** The red robe Nimue has for most of the issue is open all the way to her navel.
** Zatanna wears a shirt that is unbuttoned all the way to her stomach.
* NearVillainVictory: Even after her HumiliationConga, Nimue still almost manages to win since she tricked Zatanna by not using her real name white un-cursing Constantine. Zatanna only realizes her mistake much later and barely arrives in time to save Constantine from the Trader.
* OfferingAnotherInYourStead: Nimue's EvilPlan was to make a DealWithTheDevil that requires a HumanSacrifice, but getting another person to be sacrificed instead of her by [[MarkedByTheSupernatural placing a curse mark on them]].
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Upon coming back home after her long tour as a StageMagician, Zatanna finds Constantine naked and passed out on her bed. Her first reaction is to kick him out and demand he get dressed.
* PowerHigh: Since Nimue is a normal human, when she stabs the [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]] Zatanna with the [[MagicTool life-draining needle]], Zatanna's life / magical energy are so potent that they overwhelm Nimue, who never felt anything like it before. It's heavily implied she actually gets sexual pleasure out of it due to her orgasmic expression and LecherousLicking.
* QuestionableConsent: Nimue uses spells and charms to make herself into a LivingAphrodisiac so men can't resist her advances, which is why she succeeds at even fooling Constantine, who would usually have the common sense to see through her obvious HoneyTrap attitude.
* ReallyGetsAround: Villainous Nimue's promiscuity is portrayed as a bad thing, especially in the way she callously disposes of her lovers.
* RelationshipSabotage: Hal comes to Zatanna's house while she's out dealing with Nimue, meaning only Constantine is there to receive him, and Constantine takes the chance to tell Hal all about Zatanna's dangerous life, which frightens Hal enough that he gives up on pursuing Zatanna. She's pissed when she finds out, and although Constantine admits he ''was'' a bit jealous, if Hal couldn't handle the danger, she's better off knowing it sooner rather than later.
* RomanticFalseLead: Hal, Zatanna's LoveInterest in this story, ends up deciding not to pursue her due to having a hard time dealing with her superhero life.
* SexualKarma: Zatanna and her GuyOfTheWeek Hal have a mutually satisfying one night stand, with her even completely losing track of time while in bed with him. In contrast, her EvilCounterpart witch Nimue is [[ReallyGetsAround really promiscuous]] and turns her lovers [[ForcedTransformation into frogs]] after she's done with them, an allegory to her giving her partners an STD, which is even more obvious with her encounter with Constantine, which [[MarkedByTheSupernatural gets him cursed]].
* SexySilhouette: When Nimue and her lovers are reverted back to naked humans, there's a shot of all of them in silhouettes as Nimue attempts to order them around.
* SexySurfacingShot: When Zatanna has a EurekaMoment during her BathtubScene, she jumps out of the water in a hurry, with only some strategically placed CensorSuds over her breasts keeping things modest.
* ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing:
** All the men Nimue [[ForcedTransformation turned into frogs]] come back naked when Zatanna changes them back.
** Nimue herself falls out of her clothes when she's [[ForcedTransformation turned into a sloth]], and is naked when she's turned back human.
* ShirtlessScene: Zatanna's male LovelyAssistant for her show are all gratuitously shirtless.
* SleepsInTheNude: {{Subverted|Trope}}. When Zatanna first finds out Constantine passed out naked on her back, he assumes he's just being a slob who passed out after a night of drinking. But it's actually because he had to escape from an attempt on his life mid-coitus, and apparently found nothing to wear once he got to her place.
* SoftGlass: When Constantine does a SuperWindowJump out of Nimue's bedroom to escape the trader, he clearly breaks through the glass, but is seemingly unharmed, despite being naked.
* StageMagician: Zatanna's job as a stage magician takes up a significant part of the issue, as she's working extra hard due to it being Halloween.
* SuperWindowJump: Constantine first escapes from the Trader by dramatically jumping out of Nimue's bedroom window, [[SoftGlass breaking through the glass seemingly unharmed]].
* ThrowingTheDistraction: Nimue throws the (actually fake) MacGuffin toward Zatanna in order to distract her while she uses the opportunity to stab her with a [[MagicTool magic absorption needle]] (the ''real'' MacGuffin).
* TooManyMouths: Constantine grows one in his palm, thanks to Nimue's curse, which actually involved her biting into his palm during sex (he just thought she was kinky at first).
* ToplessnessFromTheBack: When we see the mid-coitus Constantine and Nimue turn to face the Tracer demon as he appears in her room, Nimue's modesty is preserved by the fact she has her back to the audience.
* VaporWear: Nimue and Zatanna's NavelDeepNeckline outfits make it clear they're not wearing bras under them. Nimue at least has an excuse, since she was lounging in the privacy of her bedroom.
* VillainousUnderdog: Nimue's just a normal human with ''some'' magical training and living in a modest house, in contrast to Zatanna who is a [[MageSpecies Homo Magi]], a [[LadyOfBlackMagic master magician]], and is wealthy and successful. Nimue is very jealous of her over it, but the fact that Nimue resorts to DealWithTheDevil and {{Human Sacrifice}}s to [[PowerAtAPrice obtain power]] makes her rant unsympathetic.
-->'''Nimue:''' That's not fair! Shall I tell you of the ''innocents'' I've sacrificed... or of the ''years'' I've traded off my life for the ''smallest'' fractions of your power?
* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Subverted in a ''ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}'' special. She wonders how an evil sorceress was able to avoid her spell when Zatanna used what she thought was the sorceress' [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]], then suddenly realizes that no one is born with a name like "Nimue Ravensong". Zatanna then goes in search of the sorceress' birth name.
* WithholdingTheirName: PlayedWith. When Zatanna makes Nimue swear off her DealWithTheDevil, she uses her NomDeGuerre of Nimue Ravensong, thus making the whole thing invalid. Zatanna only notices this later and manages to save Constantine from the Trade in the nick of time by swearing by Nimue's true name of Mary-Ann.
* WorkingWithTheEx: Constantine has to ask for Zatanna's help to dispel Nimue's curse, despite knowing how awkward it is to ask his ex to deal with the after-effects of a one night stand he had.
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