Seraphim is a Worm/High School D×D crossover fic written by HistoricalHijinks
(formerly called Shadows of Vanity), author of Because Of The War, Nothing Is True, and Herald (Worm).
Official Summary: Alternate Earths have been theorized for centuries, confirmed for scant decades, and not yet understood in any detail. However, across them all, it was thought, only humanity existed in sentience upon the physical plane. The truth, however, could not have been more different. From one of these far worlds came the Fallen Angel, known to Earth Bet as Annette Hebert, who hid her nature behind the guise of the parahuman Uaibhreach, and the day would come when her daughter would take up the Mantle of Power and continue her works.
Can be found on SpaceBattles, Sufficient Velocity, Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Questionable Questing.
Seraphim contains examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Subverted Trope with Taylor from the canon story due to her Nephilim bloodline. Her mother gleefully notes in Prologue Two that her daughter will never have to worry about this, even name-dropping the trope in question.
- Action Mom: Annette, Taylor's mother, was one of the original Fallen Angels alongside the likes of Azazel or Baraqiel, and had a power level and reputation to match on her homeworld. When she reached Earth Bet, she masqueraded as an independent parahuman vigilante during and after her association with the villain/cult leader Lustrum.
- Adaptation Personality Change: While Purity did in fact distance herself from the Empire in canon, she still held on to some of her more racist beliefs and only targeted minorities that her heroism was met with rational skepticism, here the E88 have basically forced a nonaggression treaty on her by way of her civilian identity and her daughter.
- Adaptation Species Change: In Canon, Miria/Mouse Protector was a regular parahuman. Here, she's a devil. Specifically a six-winged devil, hinting that she is a direct descendant of one of the Four Great Satans instead of a resurrection via Evil Pieces.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In canon, Taylor could best be described as plain, and makes a note that the only part of her appearance she's proud of is her hair. Here Taylor is so attractive that everybody in Winslow stops what their doing the moment she walks through the door.
- Adaptational Curves: Taylor and any other member of her Peerage, given the fact that they are no longer human, but instead Fallen Angels. Given that the original Succubi were said to be female Fallen...well, you get the picture.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- In canon, Emma stopped being friends with Taylor when they started attending Winslow and led a brutal bullying campaign that caused Taylor to Trigger. Here, she doesn't stop being Taylor's best friend and even becomes part of Taylor's superhero team after joining her Peerage.
- Madison also isn't a bully in this fic like her canon self, likely due to Taylor being the queen bee of Winslow instead of Emma.
- Adaptational Sexuality:
- Quite a few female characters who in canon never showed any interest in women do in this fic. They include Taylor, Charlotte, Sophia (Shadow Stalker), Lisa (Tattletale), and Paige (Canary).
- There are hints that Miss Militia was a lover of Annette/Uhaibreach while in canon there was no evidence that she was interested in women.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Or parent, in this case, as Charlotte's mother had no problem casually mentioning she and Annette were lovers in college. She was gearing up to explain how she helped Annette 'recover' every time the Fallen Angel came home from patrol when a deeply embarrassed Charlotte cut her off.
- Anger Born of Worry: Taylor's distant personality angers both Emma and Danny during the two years since Annette's death. Emma even more so, as many of Taylor's actions are similar to those seen in suicidal people.
- Ascended Extra: Charlotte, a minor character who becomes a minion of the Undersiders in canon, turns up as a Secret-Keeper to Taylor being a Nephilim. And later, a member of Taylor's peerage.
- Badass in Distress: Annette was a former Archangel before her fall, and is now at the mercy of Rizevim Livan Lucifer after her so-called death.
- Battle Harem: Unsurprising, given that this is a crossover with High School D×D and involves a Peerage for the main character. The author also tends to write specific stories. However,
Word of God specifically states that not everyone in the Harem will be in the Peerage, and not everyone in the Peerage will be in the Harem. - Big "YES!": Taylor's reaction when Charlotte's mom tells her about the existence of Annette's superhero lair and asks her whether she would like to see it.
- Breast Expansion: A nicer figure is part of the enhancements when gaining a holy piece, even if you're already very well-endowed, as Taylor found out.
- Class Princess: In a total inversion from canon, Taylor pretty much establishes herself as the queen of the school the moment she walks through the door due to her literally inhumanly good looks. It doesn't make Taylor any less nice of a person.
- Death by Adaptation: It is confirmed in chapter 13 that Lung was killed by Taylor/Seraphim.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- In canon, Ravager died when she was killed by Bonesaw so her corpse and Mouse Protector's could be used to create Murder Rat. Here, she died using her body to protect Miria/Mouse Protector from the shrapnel caused by Shatterbird's scream.
- In canon, Shatterbird was killed by being crushed under the rubble of Coil's base. Here, her heart was literally punched out of her chest by an extremely pissed-off Miria/Mouse Protector.
- Dimensional Traveler: Annette is an inter-dimensional immigrant from what is in-story referred to as Earth Trifecta, or the home dimension of High School D×D.
- Divine Parentage: Taylor, through her mother Annette, is a Nephilim, half-Human and half-Fallen Angel.
- Disappeared Dad: Charlotte's father, thus far unnamed, is known only to have been a PRT officer in New York who abandoned Charlotte and Claire (Charlotte's mother) without a word a long time ago.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: While meditating, Taylor has a vision of her father being in a relationship with two other women. Unlike most examples of this trope, however, Taylor knows that this is simply one possible future.
- The Empath: Taylor and her Peerage can sense human emotions.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Sophia comes to believe that Taylor is a parahuman with a Master ability after noticing how she draws the admiration of everyone around her and seeing just how devoted Emma and Charlotte are to her.
- Even the Girls Want Her:
- Taylor/Seraphim on her first day pretty much attracts the attention of the entirety of Winslow High.
- Sophia/Shadow Stalker says that both guys and girls find her alluring.
- Emma/Solace, if her interactions with Amy and Victoria are any indication.
- The Evils of Free Will: Annette is a big believer in this, which is why her Fall was caused when she tried to destroy the very core of Free Will itself, believing it to be necessary in order to protect humanity from itself as a good older sibling should.
- Half-Human Hybrid: As above under Divine Parentage, Taylor is one of these as a Nephilim.
- Happily Married: Danny and Annette, before Annette's untimely "death", were one of those 'once in a lifetime soulmate' deals.
- Have You Seen My God?: The lack of a presence by the Christian God, Devils, Angels, and Fallen of Earth Bet puzzles both Annette and her daughter, who can sense that Heaven and Hell do exist there but are largely sealed off from the mortal world for some reason they can't figure out.
- Heel Realization: Part of Purity's was when raiding an ABB safe-house in a civilian neighborhood, and came across a mother trying to hide from the fighting and realizing that she was scared out of her wits that Purity was going to hurt her baby.
- Ineffectual Death Threats: Both Sophia's brother Bobby and Taylor find the warning sign on her door more adorable than threatening.
- Inhumanly Beautiful Race: While in their canon universe, Fallen Angels are beautiful but not overly so; on Earth Bet, Fallen Angels are so beautiful that it catches everyone's attention.
- In Spite of a Nail: Taylor still develops a distrust of authority figures like her canon self, albeit for different reasons. In canon, it was because none of the school staff at Winslow stepped in or did anything to help her when she was being bullied for two years. Here, it's because she dislikes how the government has done little to fix Brockton Bay's failing economy or clean up the rampant crime.
- Jumped at the Call: Both Emma and Charlotte immediately offer themselves up to become Fallen Angels and join Taylor's Peerage.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Annette somehow made it so that everyone forgot about her cape identity's existence after her supposed death to protect Taylor and Danny from her enemies if something happened to her, affecting everyone on Earth Bet. Taylor using her armor against Lung breaks the effect.
- Mama Bear: Kayden as in canon, it is what makes her stay independent rather than join the PRT, knowing that someone with her record would have her children taken away from her.
- Meaningful Rename: Annette's angel name was Azrael, Archangel of Death, Retribution, and Renewal.
- Missing Mom: Taylor's mother Annette was killed in an apparent vehicular murder/suicide by a fanatical Lustrum loyalist when Taylor was twelve years old. At least, that's the official story.
- Named by the Adaptation:
- Charlotte's last name is Aronin.
- Lung's full name is Kenta Hideyoshi.
- Rune's full name is Cassandra "Cassie" Herren.
- Othala's full name is Ariana Vikers (née Herren).
- Mouse Protector's full name is Miria "Miri" Wilberforce.
- Victor's full name is Matthew Vikers.
- Ravager's first name is Laura.
- Shatterbird's full name is Samira Khadem.
- Noodle Incident: All that's known about Annette's Fall is that she wished to save humanity; this is later subverted when it's revealed that Annette attacked the core of humanity and Free Will.
- Perception Filter: Taylor and her Peerage protect their identities with one of these, which even works over cameras.
- Polyamory:
- Taylor will eventually wind up with Amy, Lisa, and Paige, at the very least. As Shadows of Vanity notes, "It's High School D×D, what do you expect?"
- Taylor has a vision of a possible future where her father is in a relationship with two women. One is revealed to be Hana/Miss Militia, while the identity of the second woman is still unknown.
- Popularity Food Chain: Due to her adaptational angelic beauty, incredible figure and assets, an air of power and a pre-established posse of only slightly less attractive girls following her Taylor pretty much establishes herself as the new queen bee of Winslow on day one the moment she, Emma and Charlotte walk through the door.
- Power Limiter: Annette made a set of these for Taylor so she could avoid hurting anyone while adjusting to her King Piece-boosted power levels. Taylor puts Charlotte to work on reverse-engineering them in the hopes of not only helping her Peerage with similar problems but also imprison villainous capes.
- Praetorian Guard: Taylor's peerage will fill/does fill this role.
- Properly Paranoid: Taylor doesn't like it when Charlotte addresses her as "My King" in public even when no one else is seemingly around because of the possibility that someone might overhear them. She's quickly proven right as Charlotte's use of that phrase is what outs their secret identities to Sophia.
- Required Secondary Powers: Lampshaded regarding Mouse Protector during her spar with Seraphim, with Artificer noting that it makes sense for her to have a minor Thinker ability to allow her mind to function at a sufficient speed to keep up with her body when using her Mover powers.
- Ret-Gone: Annette, formerly known as Azrael, unlike most of her fellow Fallen was given this treatment after her Fall. The reason being that not only did she try to destroy the core of Free Will, she did it with the belief that she knew better than the God. The reason she is Fallen, as opposed to Devil, is that her motivation was to love and protect mankind, not to dominate and rule them. Annette somehow did this to herself on Earth Bet after her 'death', removing herself from all memories and other forms of records in order to protect her friends and family from her enemies.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Charlotte's mom is one to Taylor, being a regular Secret-Keeper to Annette, the one other person to know of Annette's true origins and acted as her alibi when Annette was off acting as a vigilante.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When forced to pull an Enemy Mine with Kaiser, Charlotte quickly shuts him up when he makes one of his little speeches, making it clear that she detests him and is aware of what he's trying to do, leaving him gobsmacked and speechless.
- Slave to PR: Discussed, Word of God says that Seraphim is to be Taylor's cape name even though technically she is a Nephilim; this is due to the possible negative connotations of choosing "Nephilim" as a cape name would earn her.
- Subordinate Excuse: Charlotte, having heard about Annette and Taylor (to a lesser degree) from her mother for years, had a bit of a hero worship-type crush on her before she even met her. These feelings quickly developed further after actually meeting her, but Taylor is wary about going any further until Charlotte can convince her that she cares for the real her instead of just the image she had in her head from her mother's stories.
- Super-Empowering: Taylor has a set of modified Evil Pieces that can turn humans into Fallen, and a King Piece to boost her own powers.
- Taken for Granite: How Taylor/Seraphim kills Lung. After it becomes clear that there is no other way to stop his rampage, she removes her Power Limiter and blasts him with a massive amount of lightning while Artificer and Solace cover him with a sandstorm. The electricity overwhelms Lung's Healing Factor and kills him while the extreme heat from the blast causes the surrounding sand to cocoon his corpse, forming a gigantic glass statue.
- Team Power Walk: Taylor and her first two Pawns, Emma and Charlotte, make quite the impression when they walk through the doors of Winslow High School for the first time.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Annette, back when she was Azrael, attempted to destroy the core of Free Will under the presumption that she knew better than God and was protecting humanity from The Evils of Free Will; this is why she is only a Fallen rather than a Devil.
