Webcomic / Muted

Muted is a Webtoon Original written and drawn by Miranda Mundt.

Camille Severin, a witch living in New Orleans who must summon a demon to perform a wish-granting ritual. She's been training for this her whole life, she can do the ritual in her sleep... The only problem is she doesn't want what her Aunt tells her to want, and she doesn't know if the ritual will go as planned. Her fears are quickly confirmed, as the summoning ritual quickly transforms her whole life, learning hidden truths about the world she lives in and about herself...

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The webcomic provides examples of the following tropes:

• Abusive Parent: Athalie is extremely controlling of her niece and daughter. She constantly hurls verbal abuse at her niece and isn't above shattering her daughters' self-esteem when she fails to nab any suitors. And it only gets worse. When Avaline finally snaps and begs to know if she was ever even loved at all, Athalie stone-cold admits she never wanted children to begin with and has despised her since she was born.
  Avaline: [crying] Was there even a a single point in your life ... Where you wanted or loved me? Tell me!
  Athalie: You really want the truth, Avaline? Very well. Not once in my whole life did I ever wish for children. I never wanted you. I can barely even stand to look at you.
  Avaline: THEN WHY DID YOU EVEN HAVE ME!?
  Athaline: IT WAS MY DUTY!
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Several between the original on Canvas and the rewrite once it was picked up by Webtoon Originals.
  • The original version lacked the drama with Strix entirely, so there was no mysterious force chasing Camille.
  • Camille went to the LeRoux orchard before the Dupre show up at Severin manor in the original version, which was a lot less dramatic. The author puts Camille's original reaction to the discovery of her LeRoux heritage as "Damn guess I’m a LeRoux since I summoned a plant, that’s wild." which they poke fun at as "not very compelling".
• Affectionate Nick Name:
  • Camille's cousin Avaline calls her 'Cammie'.
  • Camille calls her cousin Avaline 'Avi'.
  • Nyra calls Camille 'Princess', a patronizing insult that eventually turns into a genuine sign of affection.
  • Camille calls Dendrobium 'Dendro'
  • Kalen calls his wife Abrielle 'Ellie'.
  • Abrielle used to call Athalie 'Lee'.
  • Per Word of God, Sloane calls their familiar Sasuke "Sauce" for short.
• And I Must Scream:
  • The demon traps Camille in a mindscape where she can't die or pass out from the torture. She is forced to watch her family's brutal murder in vivid detail, something she has severe PTSD about even when the memories were hazy. The demon forces her to watch this 30 times.
  • Athalie basically turns Avaline into a mindless puppet by carving runes into her back. Not a part of her back, mind you, her entire upper back!
• Alas, Poor Villain: Athalie has a flashback to a conversation with Abrielle as she is being eaten by Babette's familiar, showing that she could have turned out differently, if only she had took the help she was being offered by Abrielle instead of rejecting it in favor of pursuing love from a mother that rejected Athalie even on her deathbed.
• Animal Metaphor: Athalie's vulture is meant to represent fighting for any scrap of love or validation from her mother.
• Animal Motif: Every witch family summons a specific kind of Familiar.
  • Birds for the Severin family.
  • Snakes for the Eloi.
  • Foxes and felines for the Dupre.
  • Alligators, toads, and lizards for the LaCour family.
  • Catfish for the Moreau.
  • Bull sharks for the Moran.
  • Woodland creatures for the LeRoux (though they can also summon Fairy Companions).
• Animal Talk: All familiars can talk to the witches that summoned them, but to everyone else, the familiar just making animal noises.
• Arranged Marriage: The Severin family witches summon demons for the purpose of finding rich husbands to marry and put money in their family bank.
  • Camille is sold off to an oil magnate early on, but she never actually marries him.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Zigzagged all over the place.
  • Inverted with Sloane, who despite using fire powers has blue hair and blue eyes.
  • Played straight with several Moran who are shown wearing blue turtlenecks.
  • Zigzagged with Camille, who does have dark brown eyes representing her Severin heritage, but also has red hair despite being a LeRoux.
  • Zigzagged with Jo Moreau, who can manipulate clay and has dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and tan skin; but wears a maroon jacket and scarf.
  • Averted with Nyra, who has fire magic and has emerald green eyes and brown hair.
  • Averted with Jaquille, whose green eyes and green clothing does nothing to hint at her Power Nullifier status.
• Babysitter from Hell: Sophia heavily bullied Avaline while babysitting her as a child to curry favour with Avaline's mother Athalie.
• Bad Bedroom, Bad Life: When Nyra and Dendro see the room Camille lived in after her family died, they comment that they can't feel any of Camille in it at all.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Zigzagged throughout the series.
  • Aversions:
    • Silvia and her sister Sophia have prominent scars on their faces.
    • Camille's entire back is covered in burn scars from the fire that killed her mother and sister.
    • Avaline has a massive rune carved into her back by her mother Athalie. Though later downplayed, as the scarring is almost completely healed by magic, and it is now barely visible.
  • Played straight with most of the Severins, who despite constantly cutting themselves to fuel their blood magic, don't seem to have any visible knife scars.
  • Camille doesn't have a scar on her arm where she cut herself twice for the wishing ritual.
• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • Camille forms a very strong friendship and later romantic relationship with Nyra because the latter invited the former to a party.
  • Avaline bonds with and later dates Raum because he had the decency to not grant her wish, because he could tell it wasn't what she actually wanted.
• Benevolent Monsters:
  • Dendro is an adorable plant demon that gives hugs and emotional support.
  • Raum is a loveable goofball of a demon that helps Avaline heal from decades of abuse.
• "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Nyra gives Silvia one in Episode 27 after Silvia asks if Camille put a barrier up around the greenhouse.
• Berserk Button: Don't light any fires around Camille; she will wander off into the swamp to fume about you.
• Betty and Veronica: Camille as Archie, although who's the Betty and who's the Veronica could work either way. On the one hand, Nyra could be the cool, fiery (pun intended) Veronica to Dendro's sweet and optimistic Betty. On the other hand, you have human Nyra as the Betty and demonic, otherworldly Dendro as the Veronica.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Raum is very eccentric to most people (he literally climbs to the top of the boardwalk instead of just taking the ramp), but he can take out most of the Severins without breaking a sweat.
• The Big Easy: The comic is mostly set around or in the city of New Orleans and heavily features the bayou, as in universe, it is a portal between this world and Trea, an alternate reality populated by demons.
• Big Damn Heroes: Nyra burning through the demon's illusion and punching it in the face to rescue Camille.
• Bland-Name Product: Nyra, Silvia, and Camille play a game of "Scribble" in Episode 22.
• Blessed with Suck: Camille's status as a Dude Magnet doesn't do her any favors due to Incompatible Orientation.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Avaline is the blonde, Nyra is the brunette, and Camille is the redhead.
• Blood Magic: The Severin family specializes in blood magic.
• Boyish Short Hair: Downplayed with Nyra. She has a bob and is definitely the most tomboyish out of the main cast, though still on the feminine side of tomboy.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Rowena LeRoux definitely counts. She was introduced at the end of Episode 10 wearing Camille's locket. When Camille tries to claim the locket back from her in the next episode, she refuses to hand it over, claiming that the locket was "a gift from the swamp" and makes excuses for why it belongs to her, even after the former tries to call attention to the engraved initials and the photo inside the locket (which would have proved ownership had Rowena opened it). When Camille eventually decides to just take the locket, Rowena smacks her in the face and uses the distraction to run back to the LeRoux orchard. She then gloats about how the barrier around said orchard can only be crossed by either the LeRoux themselves, or outsiders with explicit permission, and proudly proclaims that Camille is neither (or so she thinks), even Blowing a Raspberry just before she's completely past the barrier. She only returns the locket after Camille has a Heroic BSoD after the latter snaps at the former and demands to return the locket, only to be reminded of Athalie's abuse. However, when Camille mentions to Rowena how every plant in her care dies, Rowena uses her Green Thumb powers to trap Camille in a vine cage, calling her a "murderer". Luckily, another LeRoux, Jazmin, discovered Camille and freed her shortly after.
• Breaking Speech: Athalie gives Avaline one after Camille refuses to come home. Athalie tells Avaline Camille only pretended to care about her until something else better came, no one finds her attractive, and that she's had too much freedom with her appearance.
  Athalie: Oh Avaline... she is just like her mother... only thinking about her own needs. Putting her whims above her family that is damaged by every selfish decision. It's just like I've been telling you all week... she was only willing to play the role of your sister until something better came around. And then she would forget all about you. Leaving you alone with all the responsibility. I told you... and yet despite her growing ambivalence towards you... you insisted that you'd have better luck than me convincing her to come home. Is this proof enough for you? Proof of how little she cares?
  Avaline: Wouldn't it just be easier.. for me to marry him instead? Instead of forcing her?
  Athalie: No. He doesn't want you. No one does. When I completed the ritual... I selected your father from at least 15 men that had clamored to ask me to marry them... and yet despite the myriad of social gatherings you've been to since last week... you have not received... even one. Why do you think this is, Avaline?
  Avaline: ...I have no idea...
  Athalie: I do... I'm beginning to believe that I have been too lax in the way you present yourself.
• Butch Lesbian: Well, butch bisexual. While she does wear lipstick and is on the more feminine end of the spectrum, Nyra definitely counts. Contrast Camille's Lipstick Lesbian.
• But Not Too Bi:
  • According to Word of God Avaline is bisexual, but we haven't seen her show interest in women in the actual comic. Justified since her mother seems to be homophobic so Avaline is probably repressing her bisexuality.
  • Nyra is also bisexual per Word of God, but she is never shown having any interest in men.
• Calling the Old Woman Out: Silvia reams Athalie for her terrible treatment of Camille in Episode 6.
  Silvia: She is your niece! How can you expect her to thrive when you haven't even let her bond with her familiar for the past 8 years! It's astounding that she's even doing half as well as she is considering what you've put her through, Athalie.
  Athalie: How dare you- watch your tone!
  Silvia: No. I think we both know you're out of line. If it was you who had died and your sister took Avaline in instead, she would have never treated her the way that you are treating Camille. If I had known you'd go this far I would have insisted that she remained at the manor to spare her from enduring your tests.
• Can't Use Stairs: Downplayed with Dendro after she gets legs. Because she is using crutches while learning how to walk, it is slow and takes a long time for her to go up stairs. She also seems to have chronic pain from being burnt alive at the end of season 2.
• Cain and Abel: Abrielle was the Abel and her younger twin sister Athalie was the Cain. Abrielle tried her best to reform the Severins to be more accepting of outsiders, but Athalie murdered her and became Matriarch before her sister could put her reforms into place.
• Cast Full of Gay: The comic features several LGBT characters. Camille is a lesbian, Nyra and Avaline are bisexual, Silvia is asexual/aromantic, Jazmin (the woman making flowers for the tourists in Episode 1) and Kalen (Camille's father) are trans, and Sloane and Rowena are non-binary.
• Casting a Shadow: The Eloi can commute with spirits and manipulate darkness.
• Celibate Hero: Silvia was confused and disgusted by marriage and romance even as a child. Justified, as she is confirmed to be aromantic asexual.
• Changeling Fantasy: While at first Camille is horrified to learn that her father was a Leroux Camille eventually comes to appreciate having extended family that doesn't pressure her into an arranged marriage and encourages her to pursue her own happiness.
• Chekhov's Gun: Camille's locket. When she loses her locket and sees that Rowena Leroux found it, Camille chases her into the Leroux barrier, revealing her heritage.
• Clothing-Concealed Injury: Implied in Episode 98. Camille's outfit that she wears to the meeting with LaCour includes a choker, probably to disguise the scar she received when Athalie slit her throat.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Athalie tortures Beau, Avaline's familiar, in order to keep her in line after Camille leaves.
• Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: Inverted and subverted. Babette covers Avaline's eyes at her mother Athalie's execution, though that is mostly to spare her more trauma because Athalie ends up being eaten by a crocodile. Avaline is an adult who has seen her fair share of blood and violence, though she is also the only one who pleads for her mother's life. Avaline ends up seeing her mother die anyways, after Babette lets go of her after Athalie starts resisting.
• Creepy Crows: Zigzagged, though the only characters that have crow familiars (that we see in the story) are firmly on the side of good, Word of God states that Alette had a leucistic raven as a familiar.
• Curtains Match the Windows:
  • Downplayed with Inira, the matriarch of the Dupre. She has lilac hair and lilac eyes, though her black roots suggest that brown is her natural hair color and she dyes it purple.
  • Played straight with Dendro, who has pink hair and matching pink eyes. Justified, as she isn't from this world.
  • Sloane also has blue eyes and matching blue hair, though it isn't clear if the hair is natural or if they dye it.
• Dance of Romance: Camille tries to invoke this with Nyra at the LaCour's party, but gets distracted by the possessed Eloi girl.
• Dark Is Evil:
  • The Severin family is very strict and oppressive, and they usually wear dark clothes and have black feather birds as familiars.
  • The Eloi girl stalking Camille wears black and has pure black sclerae.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Abrielle, Silvia, and many other members of the Severin family, while wearing primarily dark colors (and in the case of Silvia, also has a black feather familiar), are also shown to be reasonable, compassionate, and open-minded.
• Deader than Dead: The Eloi matriarch tried to reach Diana's soul after she was possessed. There was so little of her left that they considered her this, and regard Camille killing the demon in her body as justified, even if it was an accident.
• Dead Guy Junior: According to Word of God, Rowena was named in honor of their uncle Rowan, who died in the car crash along with Kalen. Rowena is the feminine form of Rowan.
• Deadpan Snarker: Sloane is sarcastic about Nyra's crush on Camille.
• Death by Origin Story: Camille's twin sister and mother died in a fire, which led to her being given to Athalie. If she didn't end up in the care of Athalie, she probably would have less mental health issues and trauma to deal with as an adult.
• Death of a Child: Camille's twin sister Chloe died in the greenhouse fire when they were eight.
• Declaration of Protection: Silvia (as a child) swore to Abrielle to look out for baby Camille. She said that she would rather have a little sister than an "evil twin."
• Demonic Possession: The Eloi girl following Camille and Avaline turns out to be possessed by a spirit.
  • All Eloi witches must travel with at least one other Eloi witch in order to avert this, due to their individual sensitivity to spirits.
• Delusions of Parental Love: Avaline has thought since her childhood that her mother Athalie loves her and wants only the best for her, despite Athalie never shown her even a shred of anything remotely resembling love. She gets over this after she learns that Athalie never wanted her.
  Raum: A child wanting to be loved by their parent is not a crime... You shouldn't feel guilt for wanting her to care for you.
• Disappeared Dad: Much is made of Camille's dead mother, but most witches dismiss fathers as inconsequential. Camille learns from her paternal grandmother that he died in a car crash soon after she and her sister were born. Avaline's father isn't in her life because him and her mother went their separate ways.
• Disowned Parent: Avaline disowns her abusive mother Athalie and her legacy right before her mother is set to be executed because Athalie is incredibly rude to her daughter right before she is about to die. Athalie also had never shown anything remotely resembling love to Avaline or Camille, and actually tried to murder them both several times.
  Avaline: I said no... I reject your curse... The only time I will think of you in the future is to make sure I am as little like you as possible. I will miss what I dreamed you could be. Because you are right, you weren't enough. Not for me. Not for Camille. Not for anyone. You aren't even enough for yourself. Y-You-You're hollow. And I... r-refuse to grow up as sad and empty as you!
• Dies Wide Open : Diana Eloi, after Camille kills her body. To be more specific, after unleashing her LeRoux powers on the demon, Camille wakes up from her illusion only to find herself staring into the eyes of Diana's corpse.
• Dishing Out Dirt: The Moreau can bend mud and clay to their will, summoning pillars of earth and stone. They also can infuse mud with healing properties.
• Disposing of a Body: Nyra quickly cremates Diana Eloi with her magic after Camille skewered her, and hides what she couldn't burn.
• Dissimile: Camille pokes fun at Jazmin's metaphor in Episode 105; pointing out that comparing magic to credit cards sounds a bit silly.
  Jazmin: I actually have this theory that... we aren't actually born with magic... More that... we are born with genetics capable of potentially accessing that magic- If we meet the criteria and we just sign a bunch of paper work to use once we're older... like a credit card.
  Camille: We are born with the potential to use credit cards...
  Jazmin: It isn't a perfect analogy but you get my point!
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Word of God all but states that Camille's discovery of her Leroux heritage is a parallel of a young lesbian discovering that they're gay and hiding it from their family. Nyra even thinks she's trying to come out to her at the end of the party.
• The Dog Bites Back:
  • After years of abuse and finally being told that she was never wanted by her mother Athalie, Avaline comes up behind Athalie and knocks her out with a vase.
  • After Sophia reduces Avaline's trauma to a simple temper tantrum and she physically blocks her from going into Athalie's office, Avaline throws Sophia into the portait of her family, which fittingly comes crashing down.
• Dramatic Shattering: Avaline goes into her mother's former office and destroys everything in sight to help her heal from decades of her mother's abuse.
• Drives Like Crazy: Implied with Nyra. She states that she "broke every traffic law in existence" to get to Camille after she realized that Camille was alive.
• Drunken Glow: Camille gets a Luminescent Blush when she is drunk/hungover.
• Dude Magnet: Camille gets more men asking her to dance at a fancy socialite party than her more glamorous cousin, and is the first to get a marriage proposal.
• Edible Theme Naming: Nyra's familliar Beignet is named after a type of deep-fried bread.
• Elemental Hair Colors: Played straight with Silvia, Sophia, Abrielle, and Athalie. They summon demons and also have dark hair.
• Elemental Eye Colors:
  • Jazmin has brown eyes and can manipulate plants.
  • Harriet, the Matriarch of the LeRoux, can summon and manipulate plants at will and has green eyes.
• Emotional Powers: While the Severin tend to favor seals and blood pacts to direct their magic, the LeRoux have powers that are more closely tied to their emotional state. Camille is initially confused when she asks Dendro for instructions on how to utilize plant magic, asking for incantations or signs that she can use to shape her magic instead of having Dendro tell her to "just feel it". After her formalized pact with Dendro, Camille discovers that plants around her will react strongly to her negative emotions like rage and fear.
• Emotion Suppression: Camille suppressed her emotions for years due to Avaline's constant abuse of her. She gets better with the help of Nyla and Dendro.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Both Nyra and Dendro flirt with Camille constantly.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Avaline is much more sociable and inclined to wear fashionable clothing than her cousin. Subverted in that Camille is more of a Dude Magnet than her.
• Evil Matriarch: Exaggerated with Athalie, Matriarch of the Severin family, in more ways than one. She is both the mother of Avaline, and the leader of the Severins. She abused both her daughter and her niece, tortured her niece's familiar, carved runes into her daughter's back (for mind control purposes), tried to kill her niece and daughter several times, sacrifced the soul of her first born child, murdered her sister and 8 year old niece, tried to force her lesbian niece into an arranged marriage with a man, locked her niece's familiar in a cage for most of his life because she thought it was a cosmic joke that she summoned a red-headed woodpecker, and is an asshole to absolutely everybody.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Avaline is shown to have prominent eye bags while she is recovering from her injuries given to her by Athalie.
• Expy: Raum, the demon Avaline summoned in her ritual, is said In-Universe to have a resemblance to Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, although neither cousin can remember the titular character's name.
• Extreme Doormat: Justified. According to Word of God, Silvia and Sophia's mother Selene tried to be gentle with them, but never could respond with force for bad behavior because growing up under Alette left her believing that everything would be fine if she minimized herself as much as possible. This is actually part of Sophia's Freudian Excuse; she was bullied by Alette over the fact that her mother was a spineless twig, so she decided to be an asshole to get her cousin Athalie's approval.
• Eyes Are Unbreakable: Despite having a rather large scar over her left eye, Silvia seems to be able to see out of it just fine.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There:
  • Babette's familiar is a crocodile that is absolutely covered in eyes all over its body and arms.
  • Matriarch Dupre's familiar is a fox with an eye on its upper leg.
• Family of Choice: Camille and Avaline grew disillusioned of the Severins due to everything Athalie has done to them, so they make a makeshift family with Silvia, Nyra, Dendro, and Raum. As Silvia puts it, "Blood doesn't mean shit."
• Family Theme Naming: All of the women in the main branch of the Severin have names starting with the letter A (Alette, Abrielle, Athalie and Avaline). And the twin girls from other branches also all share the first letters of their names (Camille and Chloe, Sylvia and Sophia).
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Downplayed per Word of God. Nyra's father is fine with her magic, but he is confused why she would rather travel the country instead of going to college.
• Fate Worse than Death: What entails being "Muted", if you are a full-grown adult who already attuned with their magic and summoned a familiar: their link to magic is cut, ripping apart the link between the person and their familiar, bonded to the witch's soul, which dies in the process and the backlash is so severe that it leaves the witch as empty as a soulless husk. It is, in all but name, the death penalty. Do note that the process exists originally for children of mixed blood, who are prone to having magical outbursts that they can't control. While it does sever their link to magic, it is implied that the child can still live a normal life afterward.
• First Friend: Nyra is Camille's first friend outside of the latter's sheltered life and toxic family.
• Flower Motif: The LeRoux family, most have flower printed clothes, use magic to grow flowers, have flowery familiars, and nature-related names like Jazmin or Rowena.
• Foil: The LaCour's stabilization ritual vs. the Severin's demon summoning ritual. While the LaCour allow the parent or guardian to go along with the person the ritual is for, the Severins basically lock them in a room alone to summon a demon. The LaCour wear white during their ritual while the Severins wear black. The mood of the stabilization ritual is celebratory, with most people smiling, while the Severin's ritual is dour and somber. There's also arms pulling her in both times, but they are a bit more gentle with the stabilizing ritual. This really reinforces that this is a new beginning; Camille's here to come to terms from her past and heal, instead of being traumatized and nearly dying.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In episode 1, Avaline goes off on a tangent about wanting to marry a rich man so that she can leave Severin manor, and Camille only pretends (badly) to be interested, foreshadowing her coming out as lesbian later on.
    Avaline: Honestly, I'm just excited to wish for a rich husband so that I can finally leave home. Right? I'm sure you feel the same way.
    Camille: [looking away] Right... Yeah... A husband...
  • The green demon that Camille summons during her wish ceremony is an early clue to Camille's true LeRoux heritage.
• Gender-Restricted Ability: In New Orleans, women are the only people who can cast magic, while men cannot (however, they can pass down the magic, and any daughters they have will be able to cast magic). However, it is noted that the restriction works by gender self-identification, rather than physical sex, meaning Transgender female witches do get the ability to cast magic (and transgender men will lose theirs) once they come out as such, and genderfluid witches will have their power levels fluctuate unless stabilized by the LaCour. Nyra reveals in Episode 42 that there are some witch clusters that avert this trope and the "source family" in a given cluster (the LaCour in New Orleans' case) can decide whether to invoke this trope or not.
• Generational Trauma: The Severins hand down emotional damage and trauma from generation to generation like most families hand down heirlooms. Alette (Camille's grandmother) was convinced that Abrielle was perfect and that Athalie was evil and not to be trusted and encouraged their sibling rivalry, which led to Athalie murdering her sister. Abrielle tried her best to break the cycle, but ended up dead, leaving Camille at the mercy of her aunt Athalie. Athalie tried her best to get her mother to love her, but she didn't no matter what she did; even rejecting Athalie on her deathbed. Athalie is then convinced that love is pointless; only power and control are worthy of her time, and raised Camille and Avaline accordingly. Camille grew up thinking that she should have died along with her mother and sister in the fire that killed them, and is actually surprised when she is told that wanting to be happy isn't selfish at all. Athalie also forcefully changes Avaline's hair color back to its natural brown and straightens it, to make her more attractive to suitors. Avaline's dyed blonde hair was the only bit of individuality she had left. Avaline grew up thinking that what she feels doesn't matter; she is simply a vessel for the Severins to get what they want, until she snaps and smashes a vase over her mother's head. Luckily both Camille and Avaline break the cycle together, and after Avaline becomes Matriarch, she leads the Severins in a new, less toxic direction.
• Gold-Colored Superiority:
  • Babette's magic glows gold, in contrast to everyone else's, which glows white. This transfers over to her daughter, Jaquille, after Babette retires.
  • Several of the Matriarchs (Dupre, Eloi, and LaCour) have familiars with multiple glowing golden eyes.
• Gold Digger: Since the Severins put an emphasis on getting married for wealth (and the matriarch's children are trained to wish for Meal Tickets during their rituals), any Severin woman who does so would qualify as this. So far we've seen three subversions: Camille summoned Dendro instead of the traditional bird demon and hasn't made her wish, Abrielle used her wish to help Kalen transition so they could start a family, and Athalie wished for Abrielle's murder.
• Good Samaritan: Raum goes far and beyond what is mandated of him with his contract with Avaline. He helps her escape from Athalie several times, and saves Jaquille's familliar. He does all this at a high risk of death for himself and with no rewards. No wonder Avaline falls in love with him...
• Green Thumb: The LeRoux family have abilities based on creating and manipulating plants. Jazmin's introduction in Episode 1 showed her creating flowers out of thin air, while Rowena created a cage made of vines to trap Camille when Camille first crossed into LeRoux territory. And Camille summons a plant demon during her ritual, rather than a bird demon as expected of a Severin.
• Gone Horribly Right : While the demon has Camille and Nyra trapped in her illusion, she tries to aggravate Camille by making it look like she killed Nyra (she even "kills" her the same way she killed Camille's mother). Too bad she didn't account for the possibility of Camille still being able to use her magic in the demon's illusion. It did enrage Camille... who promptly skewers the body the demon was inhabiting with her LeRoux magic.
  Nyra: I think she wanted to rile you up more... but uh... seems like it worked better than she had hoped...
• Gory Discretion Shot: We never actually see Chloe getting killed by Strix, but we do see the resulting blood splatter on her mother's face. By all counts, Strix probably crushed her to death.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: Children of two magical lines have their powers taken away. Justified, as the genetic intermixing can create such volatile magic that it is only a matter of time before said child seriously injures or kills someone.
• Harmful to Minors: By all indication, Camille seems to have watched her mother die in front of her at the ripe old age of 8.
• Hate Sink: Athalie takes away Toben from Camille as a form of punishment, spends most of Camille's life verbally berating her and telling her she's only good for getting married and gives her own daughter a Breaking Speech at her lowest point.
• Held Gaze: After kissing, Camille and Nyra stare into each other's eyes for a bit before Nyra and Sloane leave Louisiana.
• Hereditary Twinhood: Severin girls are always born in pairs, with the exception of only child Avaline, until we learn that she wasn't always an only child, since Athalie sacrificed her own daughter and Avaline's twin in exchange for Abrielle and her daughters' deaths.
• Heroic BSoD: Camille has a mental breakdown after realizing that if she was successful in killing Athalie, three of the witches that Athalie killed would still be alive. She temporarily loses control of her powers and gives all the witches around her nosebleeds, until Jaquille uses her powers to stop her.
• Hufflepuff House: There are seven witch families in New Orleans. Only characters from five of those families appear in early on (Severin, Eloi, Dupre, LeRoux and LaCour), while the remaining two (Moran and Moreau) take until Season 3 to show up.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Camille impales the body that Strix was possessing with a vine.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Avaline ends up dating Raum, a demon.
  • Camille and maybe Nyra are dating Dendro, a plant demon.
• I Kiss Your Hand: Camille gets her hand kissed by Dendro, the demon she summoned, to seal their pact.
• In the Back: Abrielle was stabbed through the back by Strix while trying to run to her daughter Camille during the greenhouse fire.
• In Vino Veritas: Camille confesses to Nyra that she is a half-Leroux while drunk, which could get Camille essentially killed by the LaCour. Luckily, Nyra decides to keep this secret.
• I've Come Too Far: Implied with Athalie's conversation with Abrielle in a flashback during Episode 122. After Abrielle tells her sister Athalie that her husband has died, Athalie is about to comfort her, but is implied to have remembered the fact that she had sacrificed her first-born child to Strix in exchange for her sister's murder. She can't start loving her sister now; it's too late.
• Jacob and Esau: Camille looks and acts almost exactly like her mother Abrielle (studious and introverted), and her twin sister Chloe acted like their father Kalen (energetic and extroverted); though Abrielle seemed to be closer to Camille, Kalen died before we could see him interact much with either. The creator thinks that if the fire never happened, Camille would be more in tune with her Severin magic and Chloe would be closer to her LeRoux side.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Silvia was adamant against Camille going in-person to convince Avaline to run away from her mother. While it would be hard for the emotionally abused Avaline to leave on her own without support, Silvia was right about Athalie and the demon being too dangerous. The trip ends up futile, with Avaline too scared to leave, Camille accidentally revealing her Leroux powers to Athalie, and the demon kidnapping and torturing Camille and Nyra, it would have worked out safer for Camille if she stayed put. Camille later admits that Silvia was right.
• Karmic Death: Athalie is executed by being eaten by Babette's familiar. Fitting for a woman that ate her own and several other familiars.
• Kick the Dog: Right before Athalie is executed, Camille gives her a chance to apologize to Avaline for everything she has done, and she accepts, before taking back the one thing her daughter ever truly wanted. She then proceeds to spend her last moments giving her daughter a The Reason Why You Suck Speech to further break her.
  Athalie: I'm sorry, Avaline. And I'm so proud of you...For standing up for yourself. I'm sorry I didn't listen until it was too late. Or at least... That's what you want me to say, right?
  Avaline: [looks at her mother while crying]
  Athatlie: It's true, Avaline, we are a lot alike. Which is why, when I die, you're going to spend the rest of your days going mad...Wondering what else you could have done to fix things. You'll wonder every day why you weren't enough...Just. Like. Me. That's my gift to you...My curse...
• The Killer Becomes the Killed: Athalie, who murdered Camille's mother and sister, is skewered by Camille, which she wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for her eating her familiar. Later on, she is killed by Babette's familiar.
• Lawyer-Friendly Cameo:
  • Camille brings up the plot of "Pacific Edge" in Episode 34, comparing her emotional outbursts to the monsters that show up:
    Camille: Are my mental breaks going to be like in Pacific Edge — where the monsters are showing up with increased frequency and strength!? Fought off by a giant robot powered by a plant demon and a Dupre girl I just met? ...wait, what? This analogy is getting out of hand.
  • Silvia references "Agents In Black" in Episode 94 while warning Dendro to be careful of who sees her.
    Silvia: This isn't Agents in Black, we can't flash a light at people who stare at Dendro too hard and realize it's not makeup.
• Light/Darkness Juxtaposition: The oppressive and stifled Severins wear dark clothes, while the more free Leroux wears pastels.
• Limited Wardrobe:
  • Subverted, while Camille and Silvia usually have one iconic dress that they wear, all characters are seen sporting different outfits over the course of several pages.
  • Parodied with Camille. When Nyra and Dendro see her old room, they make fun of the fact that her closet is literally just white blouses and navy skirts.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Camille is a lesbian and she presents very femininely. She gets very flustered when Nyra and Dendro compliment her.
• Living Lie Detector: Demons can sense when humans are lying. This is actually how Silvia got her scar; when she was first summoning her familliar, she was trying to deceive it, and sensing her dishonesty, it attacked her.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: The demon separates Nyra from Camille and traps her in a pastel illusion of visiting her dad in New Mexico; this is in order to torture and kill Camille unfettered.
• Lunacy: Per Word of God, the Moran and Severin are stronger at night, and receive a power boost when the moon is fuller. This is probably why the Severins have their demon summoning ritual on the night of a full moon.
• Making a Splash: The Moran can summon water out of what seems like thin air.
• Maligned Mixed Marriage: Abrielle and Kalen's marriage. As intermarriage between families isn't allowed, because of the possiblity of creating children prone to uncontrolable magical outbursts, Abrielle and Kalen had to keep their relationship secret. After Kalen died, Abrielle used the excuse that she married a "rich businessman" at the courthouse to keep Chloe and Camille's true parentage a secret.
• Matriarchy: Women have a much bigger focus and importance in the New Orleans witch cluster, presumably due to the ability to cast magic in the cluster being a Gender-Restricted Ability to women. The leaders in the witch families are always female and are referred to as "Matriarchs".
• Matricide: According to the creator's Tumblr, Matriarch Vanessa was killed by her daughter Sagira because Vanessa was mind-controlling her husband, the King of Trea with her Blood Magic, and Sagira wanted out. She snuck up behind her mother and stabbed her In the Back.
• Meaningful Name: Downplayed.
  • Severin is Latin for "severe", obviously alluding to the severe rules for the Severin family.
  • LeRoux means "red-headed" which refers to how most of the family have red hair.
  • LaCour means "the court", a fitting name for the witch family in charge of inter-family conflicts and setting the rules of their witch cluster.
  • The creator confirmed that Camille's name is a reference to the Camellia flower, fitting for a Leroux.
  • Chloe means either "young green shoot" or "blooming", which is a fitting name for a Leroux.
  • Raum is a demon of truth in the The Lesser Key of Solomon, and he is also a demon of truth here.
  • The Strix is a bad omen in Greek myth; resembling a bird and feeding on human flesh, it is associated with witches. Here, the demon Strix murdered Camille's family on the orders of Athalie, who is the Matriarch of the Severins, a witch family.
• Mercy Kill: In a fashion. Diana's soul was too far gone to be saved, so Camille killing her body both got rid of the demon and allowed the Eloi to properly mourn by getting her ashes back.
• Misplaced Retribution: Camille blames the Dupre for the greenhouse fire, and her and Nyra almost throw hands until Silvia breaks it up.
• Missing Mom: Camille's mom died in the fire that destroyed the greenhouse.
• Mistaken for Dyed: Nyra admits that up until she learnt that Camille is a LeRoux, she thought that her hair was dyed that colour.
• My Beloved Smother: Silvia due to using her familiar Soot to track Camille. Justified, as though she tries her best to be there for Camille, she stil feels guilty that she let Athalie raise her.
• My Greatest Failure: Silvia still regrets giving Camille to Athalie 13 years ago, as if she had kept her, Camille probably would have had less mental health issues and trauma in the present.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Camille bawls her eyes out after realizing that she killed Diana Eloi. Downplayed, as there was nothing left of Diana in that body; it was just an empty husk.
• Never Gets Drunk: Subverted with the serious variant. Camille is cold and closed off until she drinks, then she's a lively drunken mess. This is exploited by Strix who possesses her in order to get her to walk off the boardwalk into the alligator infested waters of the swamp, so that everyone thinks she's just really, really drunk.
• Never Trust a Trailer: The official WEBTOON trailer for ''Muted'', implies that the comic is in the Horror genre through its tone when the comic is really a Drama/Fantasy comic with a Cast Full of Gay. The trailer also implies that Nyra is an antagonist when in the comic, Nyra is Camille's first friend and later girlfriend.
• Nonhuman Nonbinary: Per Word of God, all the demons identify as nonbinary because they don't really have a gender binary like we do. Averted with Sloane and Rowena, who are two totally human nonbinary people.
• Offing the Offspring:
  • Athalie offered the soul of Avaline's older twin to a demon in exchange for a triple murder.
  • Athalie also tries to kill Avaline to eat her heart.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations:
  • When Camille is really drunk, she tries to tell Nyra that she's a LeRoux, but ends up accidentally coming out as lesbian.
    Camille: Can I tell you a secret?
    Nyra: Of course...
    Camille: I'm.... I'm a le...
    Nyra: Shhh... It's okay, I already know.
    Camille: You do??? Oh God, is it that obvious??? So does everyone else know!?
    Nyra: I mean yeah - It's pretty obvious. But good for you, it's hard to come out of the closet.
    Camille: Huh?? No, Nyra! I'm talking about a secret way bigger than that!! My mother was Abrielle Severin, but... I'm also... a LeRoux.
  • Implied with Nyra and Camille's conversation about her "liking plants." Sloane thinks that she's trying to tell Camille that there is nothing wrong with being lesbian, but with a really weird metaphor. In reality, Nyra is trying to tell her that she doesn't care that Camille is half-LeRoux.
• One Head Taller: Both of Camille's girlfriends are taller than her, with Nyra being 5'7" and Dendro being 6'. ^note  Camille is 5'4".
• One Twin Must Die: It's odd that Avaline is an only child despite the fact that her family is legendary for producing twin daughters. Her mother sacrificed the firstborn twin to the demon she sent to kill Abrielle and her children.
• Orphan's Ordeal: Camille loses her mother and sister in a fire, is given to her abusive Aunt Athalie, and the plot kicks off when she starts discovering things about her parents' past.
• Orphan's Plot Trinket: Camille's locket given to her by her late mother. The enchantment inside it was what saved her life from the fire.
• Our Demons Are Different: Demons in Muted aren't hell-dwelling monsters. They can be summoned from their magical homeland of Trea and given a Glamour and kept as familiars. They can range in appearance from a woodpecker to a giant sentient plant.
• Our Witches Are Different: All witches in the world are divided into geographical "clusters". There is a "source family" in each cluster that dictates things like whether magic in the cluster is a Gender-Restricted Ability, and other laws pertaining to magic. Each family in a cluster is specialized in a specific brand of magic such as Blood Magic, Green Thumb, Playing with Fire, and Casting a Shadow, and have their own traditions, rituals, and even Spell Construction (consider the Severins' strict Ritual Magic, Magical Gestures, and Magical Incantations as opposed to the LeRoux's free-form magic being based on feeling and emotion).
• Outliving One's Offspring:
  • Harriet lost most of her children, including Camille's father, in a car crash.
  • Downplayed with Camille's mother, who seems to have survived Chloe for all of 2 seconds.
• Patchwork Kids: Camille looks almost exactly like a xerox of her mother, except for her hair which she got from her father.
• Parental Favoritism: Athalie reveals to Avaline during her "The Reason You Suck" Speech that she thinks that Avaline is a disappointment compared to Camille, who is subject to Half-Breed Discrimination} by Athalie. Athalie was also dismissed in favor of her sister Abrielle by her mother.
• Pet the Dog: Nyra inviting Camille to a party and lets her borrow a dress, even complimenting her on it.
• Playing with Fire: The Dupre can summon and manipulate fire at will.
• Plucky Girl: Despite being under her controlling mother's thumb and knowing that her entire life will be planned out for her, Avaline is still able to find small ways to express herself such as dying her hair blonde (under the pretense it's to honor the family founder) and dressing fashionably Athalie plans to put the kaibosh on that though. She's also extremely kind and loving to her cousin Camille, despite how coldly her mother treats her.
• Power Glows: Babette and Jaquille's magic makes their eyes glow when they are using it. Camille's eyes glow as well when she is having a breakdown.
• The Power of the Sun: Downplayed. Per Word of God, the Dupre and Leroux are most powerful during the day, but their magic is perfectly functional at night.
• Precision F-Strike:
  • Abrielle calls Athalie a "demon bitch" during her conversation with Camille. When Camille is shocked that her mother is cursing, Abrielle calls her out on thinking that she can't cuss because Abrielle is Camille's mother. They then both share a laugh.
  • Avaline uses the words "fucking" and "shit" while going on a rant to Sophia after throwing her to the ground because Sophia wouldn't let her go to Athalie's office. Especially notable, as Avaline doesn't cuss in the series other than this scene.
• Polyamory: Both Dendro and Nyra end up dating Camille, but there's no indication that they are also dating each other.
• Power Incontinence: Camille. When she gets extremely emotional giant thorned vines sprout out of the ground. Nyra's eyes glow slightly green when she is using a lot of magic.
  • After she learns that Athalie is still alive after their fight, she accidentally gives every witch in the vicinity nosebleeds.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Silvia, who upon realizing the depth of Athalie's emotional abuse, stands up to her. She even goes along with the plan to bring Avaline to the manor despite her reservations.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Basil, Athalie's familiar, has glowing red eyes.
• Red-Headed Stepchild: Unfavorite Camille to Wicked Stepmother Aunt Athalie
• Red Is Heroic: Camille, the heroine, has bright red hair. The kind, caring Leroux family has a tendency to produce redheads.
• Rejected Apology: Downplayed with Camille. When Silvia and Nyra apologize for keeping secrets from her and sending Soot to spy on her, she says though she understands why their rationale for their actions, she is still angry with them.
• Required Secondary Powers: Word of God states that the Moran can hold their breath for much longer than the average human, the Dupre are fire-resistant, and the Severin can regenerate blood much faster than normal and have spells to slow down bleeding.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Toben, Camille's red woodpecker familiar who can communicate telepathically with her.
• Rite of Passage:
  • When a Severin woman in the Matriarch's line turns 21, she must complete a ritual on the first full moon (usually with her twin sister). This ritual involves summoning a demon and making a deal for a rich husband in exchange for whatever the demon wants. The plot kicks off when Camille summons a plant demon (Dendro) during her ritual, instead of the intended Severin demon.
  • All of the magical families have familliar summoning rituals between the ages of 10-13.
    • At the age of 10, the LeRoux meditate under a tree and their familiar comes to them.
    • At 12, the Severin make a sigil out of their own blood to summon a bird familiar.
    • The Moran dive into a river by holding their breath underwater for extended periods of time and summon their familiar at a platform on the bottom.
    • At 11-12, the Dupre walk into a bonfire (they're fire resistant) and come out the other side with their familiar.
    • The LaCour would swim out to an island deep in the swamp and wait until their familiar swam out of the water.
    • The Eloi wait in a candlelit room until their familiar appears out of a shadow on the wall.
• Selfless Wish: Abrielle used her wish to help her husband Kalen transition so that they could conceive together.
• Scars Are Forever:
  • Silvia has several scars over one eye revealed to be the result of a failed first attempt to summon her familiar.
  • Camille has a massive red burn that covers her entire back as a result of the greenhouse fire.
• Scylla and Charybdis: After Camille loses control of her powers for the first time as an 8 year old, Silvia realizes that she has the choice between giving Camille up to her asshole aunt, or raising Camille herself and Camille losing control again and being executed by the LaCour. In the present, Silvia wonders if Camille would have been happier if she gave her to the Leroux instead.
• Sentenced Without Trial: Athalie is sentenced to death by the LaCour without a trial. Justified, as she would have had more opportunities to more kill people if she had a trial, and the Matriarchs had witnessed her crimes first hand.
• Splash of Color: Silvia's flashback during Episode 8 is mostly in monochrome except for her (blue) eye and the blood seeping out of her facial scar.
• Shout-Out: Sloane's fox familiar is named Sasuke, but they call him "Sauce".
• Slashed Throat: Camille has her throat slashed by Athalie/Strix; in a last ditch attempt to stop the bleeding, she wraps a vine around her throat. The bruising this causes leaves her unable to speak for a while.
• Sibling Rivalry:
  • Athalie absolutely loathes the fact that her twin Abrielle was chosen as Matriarch. She claims that this is out of a sense of duty to the clan, but the fact that she was practically giddy when Camille's powers were revealed because she could now ruin Abrielle's posthumous reputation lays bare a much darker jealousy. And it turns out her jealousy was so strong that she set up Abrielle's murder, to begin with.
  • This seems to run in the Severin family, and possibly even be encouraged. Sophia sucks up to Athalie's every whim and joins in the verbal taunting of Avaline specifically to get one over on her more caring twin, Silvia. When Avaline's finally had enough, she flatly informs Sophia that no matter how much kissing up she does, Silvia will be a better and stronger person/witch than she is.
• Sibling Yin-Yang:
  • Avaline and Camille are basically sisters, and they definitely have this; Avaline's outfits are usually stylish and show off skin, while Camille dresses more conservatively. Avaline accepts the idea of an arranged marriage and tries to make the best of it, while Camille is visibly uncomfortable with the idea of getting married to a man.
  • Camille and her twin sister Chloe were also an example of this when the latter was still alive, with Camille being the introvert who likes reading and drawing and Chloe was more active.
• Single Sex Offspring: The Severin family only seems to produce female children, and always in pairs.
• Sparing Them the Dirty Work: After Athalie attempts to escape from her execution, Camille loses it and tries to rip her apart with vines. Babette nullifies her powers, and summons her familliar to kill Athalie instead. When asked why by Camille, Babette explains it was to spare her from further trauma and regret.
• Stylistic Suck: In-universe. The birthday card that Camille drew Silvia in a flashback has Soot drawn to be more resembling of a dolphin with legs than a crow; wobbly letters that are a mix of upper and lowercase; and the whole thing is messily colored in with marker. Justified, as Camille can't be much older than 5 in the flashback, and most 5 year olds aren't exactly known for their artistic ability.
• Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person:
  • Trans witches gain or lose magic in accordance with their gender instead of sex. trans women gain the ability to use magic and trans men lose theirs. Nonbinary people seem to be able to gain/keep their magic and genderfluid people have to go through a ritual to keep their magic stable.
  • Abrielle used her wish to turn Kalen into a biological male, and they successfully conceived together. The demon even came to his bedroom to ask what exactly he'd like changed because Abrielle didn't want to assume what he wanted.
• Superpowerful Genetics: Justfied. Children of two families generally get both of their parent's magic because it is genetic in nature. This is why Camille has both blood and plant magic.
• Survivor Guilt: Camille, after losing her family in a fire coupled with the emotional abuse from her aunt has made her suicidal and suffering.
  Camille: What if... what if I was supposed to die in that fire... I've never felt right since then, I don't feel like I fit anywhere I...
• Swamps Are Evil: Not evil per se, but more otherworldly. The bayou is part of a portal between Earth and Trea, the magical homeland of demons. The bayou seems to be also infested with demons in particular ( probably due to its proximity with Trea), but some demons are good and some are evil. In addition, nearly all of the major fights take place in the swamp, with the exception of Athalie and Avaline's fight at the manor and Camille and Athalie's fight at the cafe.
• Symbolically Broken Object:
  • In Episode 95, Avaline throws Sophia into a portrait of Avaline, Athalie, and Avaline's father which comes crashing down; symbolizing her rejection of her mother's abuse.
  • Avaline also destroys a picture of her mother and grandmother during her rampage in Episode 96, further showing that she no longer wants to be a part of the Severin legacy.
• Talking with Signs: Camille writes in a notebook when she is unable to talk after getting her throat slashed.
• Technicolor Eyes: Though most characters have realistic eye colors, or aren't human, there are still a couple of human instances of this trope.
  • Nyra has vivid emerald green eyes in a shade that definitely doesn't occur in nature.
  • Inira has lilac eyes.
• Theme Twin Naming: Every set of Severin twin sisters shares the same first letter of their names.
  • Abrielle, Athalie
  • Sophia, Silvia
  • Chloe, Camille
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Downplayed and later averted. When Kalen and Abrielle started meeting each other in the swamp as teenagers, Kalen was a couple inches shorter than Abrielle. After Abrielle uses her wish to make him biologically male, he stands a couple inches taller than her.
• Title Drop: Athalie says one in Episode 45 after Camille exposes her Green Thumb powers in front of her.
  Athalie: You'll be Muted for this, Camille.
• Too Broken to Break: After Avaline asks Raum to take care of her familiar, he lampshades that that it is weird that she's trusting him so much after they just met. Avaline just responds that even if he does kill her familiar, he'd be doing her a favor because it's better than torturing him to keep Avaline in line.
• Traumatic Haircut: Traumatic dye job for Avaline. She is forced to go from her fluffy blonde hair to straightened brunette hair, which symbolizes Athalie's increasing control over her.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: Episode 47 has a flashback to the night Camille's family died. Justified, as Strix was forcing her to relive it as torture.
• Unusual Euphemism: Nyra refers to Camille being half-Leroux as her "liking plants". Justified, as Camille doesn't remember telling Nyra due to her being drunk at the time, and Sloane doesn't know either.
  Nyra: There is nothing wrong with ... liking plants... even if you are a Severin... okay?
  Sloane: What the fuck kind of metaphor was that, Sappho?
• Utility Magic:
  • Silvia uses a blood transfusion spell to save Camille's life.
  • Nyra uses her fire magic to get rid of a body quickly.
• Webcomic Time: The comic ran for about three years, but the events of the story take place in about three weeks.
• Weirdness Censor: The creator's explanation for nobody figuring out that witches exist is that basically that nobody would notice a lady carrying a fox, espicially in a city New Orleans, or nobody would believe them if someone did realize the existence of magic.
• Wham Line:
  • Episode 27 ends with Avaline texting Camille that Athalie is letting her come back home.
  • Episode 28 has Avaline telling Camille that Athalie betrothed Camille to a man. As Camille is lesbian, she can't have feelings for him even if she wanted to.
• Wham Shot: Episode 64 ends with a shot of Avaline smacking her mother over the head with a vase.
• Willfully Weak: The Severins restrict their power to runes and sigils because they are all emotionally stunted due to years of Generational Trauma even though there's nothing stopping them from essentially bloodbending, and it would be more efficient to do so, but they are such sticklers for tradition that they can't see it being done any other way.
• Would Hurt a Child: Strix killed Camille's twin sister Chloe when they were 8.
• Vile Vulture: Basil, Athalie's familiar, is a vulture and fights against the heroes. Downplayed in that it is an extension of Athalie and as such, isn't making its own choices.
• You Should Have Died Instead: According to Word of God, Athalie feels that Chloe should have survived instead of Camille.

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