History Literature / DarkHeavens

* ActionGirl: Emma Donahoe, after she starts learning martial arts. Also, Lady Win Chun, though she never actually makes an appearance, is implied to be this. [[spoiler: During Heaven to Wudang, Xuan Wu is unable to assume male form for a time. During this period she is definitely an ActionGirl.]]
* AllPowerfulBystander: Kwan Yin. As a Bodhisattva, she's of nearly incomprehensible power, and she's actually friendly to the protagonists. Also as a Bodhisattva, she doesn't get involved in wars or kill demons - the best she can do is heal John, and even that's over once Hell declares war. If the world falls to evil, she will merely retreat to the Second Platform and mourn.

* AscendedDemon: Demons can climb above their station. Normally, this is done through taming them with the Fire Essence Pill, which enslaves them to their new master until they develop free will and Ascend to human status. [[spoiler: It's very rare, but possible, for a demon to turn to the Celestial by its own will. The only known examples of this happening are Xuan Wu and the part-demon Emma.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Bai Hu is a BoisterousBruiser who's constantly chasing skirt and sleeping around with his hundred wives, and is often cooling his heels in Hell because he can't keep his mouth shut, but he's Emperor of the West and Xuan Wu's chief lieutenant ''for a reason''. He's probably the second-most-capable warrior in the Celestial hierarchy, he's Heaven's weapons researcher, and his subordinates are often more capable than Xuan Wu and Emma's staff - because unlike them, he delegates everything with superb skill so that he has more time to debauch himself.

* CantHaveSexEver: Certainly puts Literature/TheTwilightSaga in perspective. Although [[spoiler: they get around it a few times.]]

* TheChessmaster: The Demon King is probably the most skilled player in the cosmos.[[note]]The Jade Emperor doesn't count, being essentially omniscient.[[/note]] [[spoiler: He builds up a reputation as a scrupulously honest and AffablyEvil NobleDemon for millennia, while using false identities and traitors against himself to set up a plan to entrap his greatest adversary, then discards it all in one masterstroke that damages the Celestial enough to ''win him the war''.]]
* CultureClash: This is actually pretty useful for Xuan Wu's demon staff. Because Emma was raised in Australia and fundamentally thinks like a Westerner, her strange mannerisms are a major pain in the tail for her staff to adapt to, forcing them to think for themselves when trying to serve her needs - which is the number one requirement for becoming an AscendedDemon.

* DeathIsCheap: By the second trilogy death is just a minor nuisance to most of the main characters with the exception of [[spoiler: Emma and Simone,]] as most other main characters are immortal.
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Demons.

* EldritchAbomination: Xuan Wu, God of Martial Arts and Dark Emperor of the Northern Heavens, is both a giant turtle and a snake at the same time, as well as being successful businessman John Chen, and a wild-haired giant warrior - often all at once. He's the defender of the Celestial realm, but still a being who thrives in chaos, and so utterly powerful that he has to restrain himself from inadvertently destroying the world.
-->'''John''': You are attempting to label something that is the essence of the Tao. I cannot be labelled, categorized, analysed or comprehended, because I just ''am''.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Leo is a mortal with no divine blood, and is unable to practice energy work [[HandicappedBadass because he's HIV-positive]]. [[spoiler: At the end of the first series, he dies and is Raised to Immortality. Incidentally, the latter fixes his HIV problem and allows him to engage in chi work.]]

** The Demon King does not condone rape, [[spoiler: due to her experiences when she was human]].

* FauxAffablyEvil: The Demon King [[NobleDemon always keeps his word, deals honorably with Emma and John]], and is generally a FriendlyEnemy to them despite the fact that he's constantly assaulting Wudang and will sentence prisoners to ColdBloodedTorture at the hands of the Snake Mothers. It's just what he does as Demon King, after all. [[spoiler: Except that ''absolutely none of this is true''. All that honor and friendliness is an act that he runs throughout the first two trilogies, while he uses his alternate identity as Kitty Kwok to engage in the most reprehensible acts of depraved [[MadScientist Mad Science]] she can think of. And in ''Heaven to Wudang'', he finally discards his affability and his honor to finally capture the Dark Serpent, Xuan Wu's female half.]]

* GambitRoulette: [[spoiler: Emma's entire life was set up so that she'd turn into a DeathSeeker heroine and become John's troublesome love interest, despite her not even living in Hong Kong for most of it.]]

** Just about every Celestial can assume either gender, [[spoiler: as can the Demon King]]. Xuan Wu is ''exceptionally'' flexible in this regard, normally being a male Turtle and a female Serpent - but either Turtle or Serpent can be either gender, and the combined being is beyond such labels entirely. The Phoenix is also traditionally male (as the Greater Yang), but chooses to be female. And the extremely male Bai Hu [[GirlOnGirlIsHot enjoys lesbian sex]], if [[PowerPerversionPotential his attempt to join Emma and Female!John]] is any indication.

* GirlOnGirlIsHot: After [[spoiler: John returns to Emma in female form]], Bai Hu needs about one minute to figure out that they've been having sex. His first thought is to [[GenderBender gender-bend]] and try to get in on it, and his second thought is to get a video camera.

* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler: Emma, Rhonda. Much to the latter's misfortune.]] Simone and Michael also qualify (Half-Shen). In Michael's words; "And I really am half goddamn Tiger!"
* HellInvadesHeaven: Constantly in the second two trilogies, usually focused on the Celestial Wudang Mountain, as Xuan Wu is several kinds of out of commission and Hell is developing new weapons. [[spoiler: Southern Heaven falls in ''Demon Child'', just as Xuan Wu returns at full power.]]
* HellOnEarth: [[spoiler: In ''Demon Child'', it's revealed that Europe has already fallen to demons. It's not directly visible, but mundane life in Europe is implied to be heading downhill.]]
* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: In ''Demon Child'', Simone kills Emma to free her from the Serpent. However, she attains the Tao and is raised to Immortality by Xuan Wu.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Fairly common, though not always permanent - it's often performed by Immortals, or by mortals who are Worthy of Immortality. [[spoiler: And then there's Franklin, who is in the middle of [[AscendedDemon Ascending]] as of ''Demon Child'', but stays in the Western Palace to lure the demonic army in so that Michael can yang it to bedrock. He doesn't complete his Ascension, and is permanently destroyed.]]
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Qing Long is actually a gentle and effeminate soul, but for thousands of years he's had to conform to the expectations of society and act like a proper alpha male dick, and now he's trapped in the facade.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: The Jade Emperor will not allow Heaven to break the many complex rules that it operates under just because it's in a war for its survival, leading to such problems as Emma being restricted from vital advisory functions because of an order from the Emperor, or worse, ObstructiveBureaucrat Judge Pao being allowed to slow down vital resurrections in wartime [[spoiler: or make misogynistic judgments about a prospective Immortal's Worthiness]] because that's what he does. In his view, if the Celestial has to compromise itself for the sake of victory, then it doesn't matter whether Heaven or Hell wins.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: [[spoiler: Emma is heterosexual and in love with John, who is also Xuan Wu. Xuan Wu is [[GenderBender capable of assuming either sex]], though John had been "firmly male" for the past thirty years before meeting Emma, and he identifies as male. However, [[ItMakesSenseInContext because of circumstances]], in ''Heaven to Wudang'' John is stuck in a female ModeLock upon reuniting with Emma. Emma promptly has sex with her, and when John asks if Emma would be interested in occasionally sleeping with Female!John, she's okay with the idea.]]

** Xuan Wu's oaths have enough power that reality bends itself around them. [[spoiler: His vow to Raise and marry Emma is a major plot point, and remains so even though Emma shouldn't have needed him to Raise her in the first place.]]
** The Demon King's oaths aren't as powerful, but he has never broken his word and has always dealt honorably with Heaven. [[spoiler: Actually, he's never broken his word, but that doesn't mean he ''can't'', if the prize is great enough.]]

* {{Immortality}}: A major plot element is the question of humans attaining Immortality, either by following the Tao and cultivating themselves, or by drinking the Elixir of Immortality, which is usually gotten by marrying a deity with sufficient rank to order them Raised. [[spoiler: Leo and Michael are both Raised by attaining the Tao upon their deaths, though because of circumstances, Leo also needed the Elixir.]] In ''Demon Child'', [[spoiler: Emma Raises Simone through the Elixir as Simone is mortally wounded, and upon her own death, attains the Tao and is raised by Xuan Wu.]]
* ImmortalLifeIsCheap: When a god or Immortal dies, they just get a short time-out in Hell (and not even in torment; they just go to the waiting room until their case is judged), and Celestial culture understands this. Accordingly, fights to the death are not unknown and executions are seen as a fairly minor punishment (one that Emma repeatedly and deservedly threatens the White Tiger with in the second trilogy). John Chen is an exception: [[spoiler: when he dies, he's out of commission for several years, because he'd spent far too long without assuming Celestial Form]].

* JesusWasWayCool: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]]. On the one hand, the Western gods were convinced that Christianity really was a better way than how they'd been operating previously. [[spoiler: Their answer to that was to give up and quit their jobs, letting demons take over the West. Also, there's an implication at one point that Jesus is a Western Buddha, or at least that his teachings are similar to those of Buddhism from a Chinese perspective.]]
* LayeredWorld: Hell and Heaven overlap with real China, Heaven more so - there's an entire Celestial Wudang that is separate from, yet linked to, the real Wudangshan. Also, several of the gates to the Forbidden City mirror gates in the Celestial Palace. ''Above'' Heaven are the higher platforms, where the Bodhisattvas and even higher beings reside, but we aren't shown any correspondences - then again, the platforms have a great deal of YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm to them.

* LoopholeAbuse: After Emma's mistakes in ''Heaven to Wudang'' come to light, Qing Long files an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink petition to have Xuan Wu and Emma sacked from their positions in the Celestial Hierarchy. [[spoiler: The petition is designed to fail. But it's going to take its sweet time failing, gumming up the bureaucracy in the meantime, and while Qing Long's petition is in the works, nobody ''else'' can petition for their firing. The Blue Dragon has Xuan Wu's back.]]
* LoveRuinsTheRealm: Xuan Wu's romance with Michelle. Michelle didn't like John doing god stuff, so he stayed in human form for decades, which led to him being seriously weakened and unable to effectively protect Heaven and caused the Serpent to disappear. [[spoiler: His daughter by Michelle, however, is key to ''saving'' Heaven.]]
* LoveTriangle: Subverted and averted. [[spoiler: Emma believes Jade's dislike of her to be jealousy over Mr. Chen. Actually, Jade just thinks she's a gold-digging bitch.]] Also, The Tiger really, ''really'' wants Emma to be Wife #102.

* {{Matricide}}: [[spoiler: Simone performs a MercyKill on Emma to prevent her from being absorbed into the Dark Serpent.]]

* NumberTwo: A "Number One" is an Emperor, General or other dignitary's highest-ranking son. (Not necessarily the eldest.) They serve this function, acting in place of their fathers when they aren't around. Bai Hu eventually selects [[spoiler: Michael]] as his Number One, and a major plot of the first trilogy is about the villain's plan to become the Demon King's Number One by bringing his father the head of Xuan Wu.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: Near the beginning of ''Black Jade'', Judge Pao ditches his ObstructiveBureaucrat attitude, closes the Courts of Hell, and issues blanket release orders for anyone who comes up for judgment; Immortals are automatically cleared to Heaven, mortals to [[{{Reincarnation}} the Wheel]], and nobody is getting Raised to Immortality because that would just put them at risk of eternal torment. This is completely at odds with his normal approach, and shows just how fucked the Celestial is at this point.]]

** While John is a good parent to Simone (as much as he can be given [[spoiler: his inconvenient death at the end of the first trilogy]]), the same is not true for his turtle Shen son, Martin. As a reptile, he's a terrible parent, Martin largely grew up without parental guidance, and Xuan Wu's usual answer to his screwups is to banish him rather than try to help him; while Martin is largely TheLoad, that's partly his dad's fault for not being there. Emma forces them to reconcile, but even then, they really don't get along.

** Simone, Xuan Wu's daughter, is almost as powerful as he is even as a child, and in many ways even more destructive. She's even more prone to call upon ThePowerOfTheVoid to annihilate her enemies than her father, and like him, can freeze the world to Absolute Zero - though unlike him, she actually has to decide to do that.
-->'''Zhu Que:''' No destroying the world for fun.
-->'''Simone:''' Awww!

* PluckyGirl: Emma does not know the meaning of fear. When the lives of the ones she loves are on the line, she won't even blink at laying down her own life, and when she's in danger, she keeps a cool head and will damned well get out of it. [[spoiler: Also a DeconstructedTrope. She's got such superheroic characteristics because they were programmed into her by the BigBad, to the point of being a DeathSeeker, because this causes trouble for John and those around him.]]

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Discussed at length. Also serves as a BerserkButton for John.
* ScaryBlackMan: Leo.
* SheIsTheKing: [[spoiler: The Demon King was female during her human lifetime.]]

* ShoutOut[=/=]MemeticMutation:
** The first time Emma [[spoiler: transforms into a snake]], she's [[spoiler: [[Film/SnakesOnAPlane on a plane]]]]. Leo, of course, is there to point out that she's a [[spoiler: motherfucking snake]]. John later complains of a similar joke regarding his serpent half.
** There are also frequent {{Shout Out}}s to geek favourites such as ''Literature/GoodOmens'', ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', ''Series/DoctorWho'' and others. Kylie Chan is obviously JustForFun/OneOfUs.

* StayingAlive: {{Lampshaded}} when an official in the courts of Hell complains about Emma's Retainers constantly getting killed.
* SupernaturalMartialArts: Of course.
* TakingYouWithMe: A variation occurs in Earth to Hell, the BigBad of the book attacks Emma when she is alone at the end of the book, she is unable to defeat him [[spoiler: because if she gets any demon essence on her she will fully transform into a extremely powerful demon, luckily Leo returns just in time to take the demon down.]]
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: These guys are foot soldiers for Simon Wong, "the Big Brother of all the Big Brothers" of Hong Kong. Human gangsters only show up in a couple of places, though - any trained Celestial martial artist could take them apart without effort.

** [[spoiler: Emma Donahoe is a descendant of a Western snake demon bloodline who was modified and manipulated from birth as part of a massively intricate plot. Many of her most heroic characteristics were, in fact, originally built into her by the BigBad]].

* TwoferTokenMinority: Leo. Black, gay, and human. [[spoiler: The last one ceases to be a problem following the end of Earth to Hell.]] Also, HIV-positive, [[spoiler: and later paraplegic]].

** All the shit hits all the fans in ''Heaven to Wudang''. [[spoiler: John regains his human form, for keeps this time. Emma's true nature and destiny are finally explained. And the Demon King reveals ''his'' game to magnificent success, capturing the Dark Serpent and forcing Heaven into a war for survival while its greatest warrior is only half present.]]
** ''Demon Child'' sets up the board for the grand finale. [[spoiler: Xuan Wu's Turtle and Serpent reunite in their full glory, Emma and Simone die and attain Immortality...and at the very end, the South of Heaven falls into demon hands.]]
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Leo really doesn't like them. And look who he ended up working for. And also water.

* WouldNotShootACivilian: Very early on, this seems to be a rule for demons - they won't attack mortals who aren't trained in Celestial martial arts, because there's no honor to be gained by killing them. The rule protects Emma until she and Leo first show off their skills in public, but like the rest of the "rules" for the conflict between gods and demons, it goes the way of the dinosaur once the demons start playing for keeps.

* MayflyDecemberRomance: Pretty much any human/Shen relationship. Notably Emma/John, Rhonda/Bai Hu, and Gold/Amy. However, [[SubvertedTrope subverting this trope]] is possible, as a powerful enough god can just Raise their spouse (as John has promised to do for Emma). DoubleSubverted with [[spoiler: Rhonda. Bai Hu tries to Raise her, but because she's half-demon and doesn't know it, she explodes when given the Elixir.]]
* MightyWhitey: A young, white Australian nanny with no previous training goes to Hong Kong, develops superhuman martial-arts skills and magic ''qi'' powers in just a couple of years (certainly by the end of the first book in the first trilogy), beats up demons and generally proves herself the equal of Chinese ''gods'', never mind mere mortals.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: ''Dark Serpent'' reveals that [[spoiler: the western gods did this repeatedly, until in the end they just gave up. Which was yet another example, because in the absence of its gods, Europe fell under the control of demonkind.]]
* NobleBigot: Subverted. The Jade Emperor has no problem with homosexuality; if your nature is to be attracted to your own sex, you can't follow the Tao without doing so. But he considers marriage to be strictly between men and women. [[spoiler: Actually, this was because [[GambitRoulette he wanted to forbid one specific marriage that had been set in motion by a demon plot]]. The moment that's foiled, he changes the rules to allow same-sex marriage, and tells Leo and Martin to get on with it.]]

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: When someone dies, Immortal or not, they have to go to Hell for a meeting with Judge Pao. Even the Jade Emperor can't force him to expedite the hearing, and he doesn't - the only time in which he does bend the rules is when Hell has been invaded by demons. [[spoiler: It's revealed that he's a CorruptBureaucrat as well, in that he has been censured for illegally finding every woman whose case crossed his desk Unworthy of Immortality, even if they've attained the position - as he tries to do to Emma, before the Dark Lord intervenes.]]

* AwesomeButImpractical: [[spoiler: Emma is able to generate an ultra-rare black chi, which can instantly annihilate demons, or turn them human... sometimes. Other times, it does nothing at all. Eventually, Emma decides it's too unreliable and stops using it... [[ChekhovsGun for now]].]]

* BreakTheCutie: Simone. Emma, for certain values of 'Cutie'.

* CantHaveSexEver: Certainly puts Literature/{{Twilight}} in perspective. Although [[spoiler: they get around it a few times.]]

* TurtlePower: John Chen, the Turtle half of Xuan Wu, is indeed a wise and powerful turtle. His son Martin...less wise, but still quite powerful.

* TheChessmaster: The Demon King is probably the most skilled player in the cosmos.[[note]]The Jade Emperor doesn't count, being essentially omniscient.[[/note]] [[spoiler: He builds up a reputation as a scrupulously honest and AffablyEvil NobleDemon for millenia, while using false identities and traitors against himself to set up a plan to entrap his greatest adversary, then discards it all in one masterstroke that damages the Celestial enough to ''win him the war''.]]

* GreatWhiteFeline: Big cats with white fur are depicted as powerful, majestic, heroic or rare.

* BadassGay: Leo. He's in love with John Chen and later Martin, and despite being terminally ill with AIDS, he's probably the strongest true mortal in the series. [[spoiler: At the end of the first trilogy, the latter stops being true.]]

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: Through following the Tao, a human can gain the control of chi necessary to perform [[KiAttacks superhuman feats]], or even be raised to {{Immortality}} upon death.

* JerkassFacade: [[spoiler: Qing Long is actually a gentle and effeminate soul, but for thousands of years he's had to conform to the expectations of society and act like a proper alpha male dick, and now he's trapped in the facade.]]

* OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous: Shen don't have an inherent sex at all, and what sex they do assume is merely "an instrument." Most Shen have a less-flexible ''gender'' identity, but even that's not universal; Xuan Wu is ''both'' male and female in his True Form, Zhu Que is genderfluid (but currently female), and Bai Hu is entirely male but enjoys [[ShapeshiftersDoItForAChange assuming female form]] for [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian sex]]. On the other side, the Demon King is male in his primary identity, but was born a human woman, and is whatever sex or gender they need to be in other identities.

* ParentalSexualitySquick: Poor Simone. In general, she doesn't like listening to her parental figures' frank talk about sex and tends to revert to a twelve-year-old when she hears it, even when she's well older than that. Given that one of her "uncles" is [[ReallyGetsAround the White Tiger]], she tends to have to cover her poor ears a lot.

** There are also frequent {{Shout Out}}s to geek favourites such as ''Literature/GoodOmens'', ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', ''Series/DoctorWho'' and others. Kylie Chan is obviously OneOfUs.

* PowerLevels: Demons are rated by levels. For comparison, a level fifty is pretty heavy.

* IGaveMyWord: Xuan Wu's oaths have enough power that reality bends itself around them. [[spoiler: His vow to Raise and marry Emma is a major plot point, and remains so even though Emma shouldn't have needed him to Raise her in the first place.]]