Black Roses

(A possible series in the making, by The Gentleman Anachronism)

Black Roses is set in an analogue of modern Earth, or rather, a parallel world existing alongside an analogue of modern Earth, and concerns the efforts of the Halt Duke, Mephistophilis, to regain his rightful place as Lord of Hell from his insane and sadistic cousin, the Lady Lucifer. Or, to be more correct, the efforts both of him and his somewhat ragged band of men (and women), all of whom live in what seems to be a base set up in an abandoned (and haunted) Victorian asylum. The world in which this is set (which shall be called Dusk for ease of argument) is an odd one, in that it has the power to pull people from other worlds to it. This is why several rather familiar faces (from Saranados) make a reappearance in this book- although time does seem to have altered them a little...

Black Roses will possibly have both a sequel and a prequel, or one and not the other, or neither, depending on what the author's brain is up to. If it gets both, the sequel will be Tulips on a Grave, and the prequel Burning Lilies - the sequel will probably follow several of the characters from Black Roses and possibly introduce some new ones, whereas Burning Lilies would be the stories of how all the characters got to where they are at the start of Black Roses (with the possible exception of Sabbat and Archer, depending on how far A Dragon of Blood takes them). This would, of course, get very confusing very quickly, and so if it is written, it may be completely online. Of course, it may never get written, so who knows?

The most recent pieces written in the Black Roses verse can be found here, and a few older ones here

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Provides Examples Of:

• Action Girl: Kay and Cionne. Also Ella, at the very end.
• Agony Beam: The Duke uses an variant of this to keep his ragtag army in check (though mainly he uses it as a mental Shock Collar to stop Sabbat murdering the wrong people).
• Badass Crew: The core group of the Duke's army, by the end.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Sabbat and Archer's preferred fighting style, when things get tough.
• Band of Brothers: Our heroes, after a while.
• Battle Couple: Three of 'em - Sabbat and Archer, Kay and Ella, Cionne and Malben.
• Bedlam House: Hightower Insane Asylum, while it was in operation, was very much an example of this trope. Though it's now being used as a base for the Duke's army, the general disturbing feel of the place still remains.
• Butch Lesbian: Kay, very much so.
• Cat Boy: Felix. Well, his father was a tomcat...
• Cold Sniper: Malben moreso after Cionne and Pelita die
• Combat Medic: Malben's a damn good sniper, and handy with a scalpel too.
• Creepy Child: Pelita
• Cold-Blooded Torture: The Lady is rather fond of this.
• Diagnosis From Dr. Badass: Malben indulges in this when he gets into close combat.
• Dissonant Laughter: Sabbat bloody loves fighting, and tends to break into this when the battle's going his way. Disturbingly enough, Kay has also indulged in it.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Malben's reaction after the first few days whenever anyone brings up the affect of Cionne and Pelita's deaths on him
• Dr. Jerk: Malben ,moreso after his wife and child are killed.
• From the Mouths of Babes: Pelita's vocabulary is a little rougher than the average five-year-old's. And she also knows far more about autopsies, surgery and the best ways to kill people than she really should.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: The vampires end up taking some seriously wince-worthy damage.
• Go Out with a Smile: Malben
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Sabbat. Also Malben, when he's tired enough.
• Hallucinations: Sabbat hallucinates that Archer is with him when he's locked up in the asylum. Malben convinces himself he's hallucinating when he sees Pelita. It turns out it's her ghost.
• Harmful to Minors: Pelita's parents try to shield her from the worst of the war, but she sees far more than she should do.
• Uncles and Aunts: The rest of the army, to Pelita.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: "Hawekeye- Malben, don't you fuckin' dare do this to me!" - Kay, during the final battle.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Malben, after being seriously wounded, asks Kay to inject him with the poison he keeps for mercy kills
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Malben is rather fond of this one. "I'm a doctor, not a stepladder," indeed. And, more seriously, from Kay: "I'm a bouncer, not a surgeon."
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Archer and Sabbat, run through back-to-back during the last battle
• Informed Self Diagnosis: Malben, any time he gets injured.
• Instant Sedation: Malben's drugs can sometimes have this effect. Hopefully justified in that his homeworld has exceptionally advanced medical knowledge in some areas.
• Kill the Cutie: Pelita
• Last-Name Basis: Malben insists on calling everyone except his own family by their surnames.
• Libation for the Dead: The survivors at the end of Black Roses pour out whiskey (and gin) for their fallen comrades.
• Lipstick Lesbian}}: Ella
• Madness Mantra: "Ain't crazy. Insane, yes. Crazy, no." - Sabbat, while incarcerated in the asylum in the late 1800s. Reappears a few times when he relapses.
• Meaningful Funeral}}: Two. Pelita and Cionne's, at which we first see Malben's grimmer side, and Malben, Sabbat and Archer's.
• Noble Demon: The Duke, quite literally.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Felix.
• Psycho for Hire: Sabbat's only working for the Duke because it means he gets carte blanche to murder, maim and mutilate.
• Sorry That I'm Dying: Malben to Kay, just after she's injected him with the poison. He doesn't entirely mean it.
• Tearful Smile: Pre-series, Sabbat, of all people, after he's reunited with Archer, at the end of the asylum arc.. Somewhat justified in that he's practically broken at this point.
• Teeth Clenched Teamwork}}: The Duke's army aren't too happy to be working with one another at first.
• The Fair Folk: Implied. Felix is half-Fae, and has problems sometimes with little things like 'empathy' and 'responsibility'.
• Together in Death: Implied with Malben, Cionne and Pelita.
• Trust Me I'm a Doctor: Usually used by Malben as a threat more than anything else (after having informed unruly patients exactly what the contents of the syringe he's holding would do to them.)
• Would Hurt a Child}: The Lady