Troping it up, because I can. <3
Anathema Device
"Anathema didn't only believe in ley-lines, but in seals, whales, bicycles, rainforests, whole grain in loves, recycled paper, white South Africans out of South Africa, and Americans out of practically everywhere down to and including Long Island."
Providing canon and in-game examples (AND SPOILERS) of:
• Aura Vision - An offshoot of Anathema's psychic powers. It causes slight troubles when she can't see a certain person's aura.
"It might, or might not, have helped Anathema get a clear view of things if she'd been allowed to spot the very obvious reason why she couldn't see Adam's aura. It was for the same reason that people in Trafalgar Square can't see England."
• Awesome McCoolname - The Devices were a real family who were involved in witch trials in the 17th century (so were the Nutters), and Anathema is a word that has a variety of meanings in a religious context; put them together and you have a perfect set-up for scenes like Agnes' prediction that ends in the sentence "And thou shalt be there also, Anethema" - which the modern Anathema assumes (correctly, it is implied) to be addressed to her.
• Badass Abnormal
• Badass Crew - [ hometrail ] The caravan's "Defense Force". (Well, that or a Ragtag Bunch Of Misfits.)
• Badass Pacifist
• Because Destiny Says So - Two of the main characters in Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens possess a book of highly accurate (if not always understandable) prophecies from Agnes Nutter, witch. The Because Destiny Says So reaches such a point that, toward the end of the book, these two characters realize correctly that they can pretty much select any prophecy at random and it will be exactly the one they need at that time.
◦ This is also the logic with which Anathema lives her life, until Newt convinces her to live her own life instead of sticking to her ancestor's prophecies. Though this part may also be playing it straight,as knowing Agnes Nutter, she might have predicted this too.
• Birds Of A Feather - Anathema Device and Newton Pulsifer have both given their vehicles names (hippy Anathema's is a bike; loser Newton's is the worst car ever.) They're literally destined to hook up.
◦ [ hometrail ] See also Anathema and her current caravan room mate, Cassandra. (Yes, that Cassandra.)
• The Chick - [ hometrail ] YMMV. While she does indeed offer much emotional/moral support and comes with a tiny bit of Team Mom on the side, she's still quite capable of getting things done on her own and taking care of herself. It just doesn't seem like much compared to the crazy skilled military types she works alongside with on patrol.
• Connect The Deaths - The "weirdness magnet" version shows up in Good Omens, where Anathema Device is charting ley lines, and discovers said lines are forming a spiral converging on the town of Lower Tadfield.
• Did The Earth Move For You Too? - Anathema and Newt during the Time of Troubles directly before the Apocalypse. Sure, the seas hadn't started boiling and the moon hadn't turned red a blood at that point, but things had definitely started. Besides, she actually said something along the lines of "Yes, the earth moved for everyone."
• Eerie Pale Skinned Brunette - While not that eerie once she becomes a major character, she has the coloration and she does start off as a bit of a Strange Girl.
• Embarrassing First Name/Unfortunate Names/Who Names Their Kid Dude - Apparently, her mother liked the pronunciation of it but was a little less clear on its meaning...
• Genre Savvy/Invoked Trope - Attempted in Good Omens, where Anathema Device, after trying all other methods to find her book, dramatically pretends to give up, flop down, and let her gaze casually fall on a patch of dirt.
• Getting Crap Past The Radar - One that's easy to miss. Early in the book when Aziraphale and Crowley nearly run over Anathema Device, they give her a ride back home. She finds them strange and worries that she might have to employ a knife she carries with her for protection until she hears Crowley call Aziraphale angel, after which she remarks to herself "Ah. Well, that explained it. She had been perfectly safe after all." Later on, she thinks of them as "two consenting bicycle repairmen".
• Granola Girl - Anathema Device from Good Omens is something of a Granola Girl. She's a witch (the latest in a long line of witches) who subscribes to a number of environmentally-conscious and/or New Age magazines.
◦ Much of the plot results from those very same magazines, which are rather persuasive to a budding Antichrist.
◦ Not a straight version of the trope, since Anathema is a good person and is actually factually right about most things. She's just socially conscious to a thousand percent - which is a bit strange, since she's one of the few people who knows for certain that there won't be any future generations to preserve the environment for...
◦ Also, she's quite practical and down to earth compared to most examples. The bread knife vs. protective amulets come to mind.
▪ She is, after all, a Pratchettian witch, which is less of a magical profession and more of a mindset.
• Green Eyes
• Hot Witch
• Lawful Neutral
• Musical Episode - [ hometrail ] Welcome to the cozy little village of Orvshire, won't you join us for a song?
• Namesake Gag - In Good Omens, Anathema Device is descended from the man who invented the device. She has an entire rant about forgotten inventors, who also include Humphrey Gadget, Pieter Gizmo, Cyrus T. Doodad, and Ella Reader Widget.
• Never Got To Say Goodbye - [ hometrail ] And how Being spirited away from everyone in Tadfield in the middle of the night with no warning, friends constantly vanishing from the caravan without a word....it gets tough.
• Occult Detective
• Odd Couple/Dating Catwoman - Played straight with Anathema, who's a witch, and Newt, who's a witch-hunter, albeit a not-very-enthusiastic one.
• Odd Friendship - [ hometrail ] Her relationships with Left 4 Dead 2's Nick and (previously with) Red vs. Blue's Church could be considered this, to a point.
◦ [ thisaccident ] The Rookie and Issac Clarke. They're alien blasting terminator wannabes. She's a witch. They fight crime.
• Parental Substitute - [ hometrail ] Gabe Weller (Dead Space) is very much becoming the closest thing she has to a father figure.
• Prophecy Twist
• Screw Destiny - The entire book is about breaking away from destiny and people's expectations of you, and finding your own path. At the end, Newton Pulsifer even convinces Anathema Device not to live her life trying to interpret prophecies left to her by a distant ancestor. Also, the Anti-Christ averts Armageddon. However, Agnes may have seen it all coming.
• Stick Em Up - Done by Anathema Device in Good Omens to get into an American air base. Used with a bit of Exact Words, as she told the soldier to put down his gun or else she will regret what she'll have to do. Her internal monologue continues with, "Because if you don't put down the gun, you'll find out this is a stick and then I will regret having to be shot."
• Tall Dark And Handsome - Anathema hoped that the man she was prophesized to meet would be a Tall Dark And Handsome stranger. Turned out, the stranger in question was Newton Pulsifer. She decided that she could live with two out of three.
• Took A Level In Badass - [ hometrail ] Lessons on using firearms from Dead Space's Sergeant Weller and routine close combat training with Halo 3: ODST's Rookie? She's definitely well on her way.
• You Don't Want To Die A Virgin Do You? - Happens in Good Omens when Newt and Anathema were caught in the big pre-Apocalypse storm. Made funnier because it was prophetized by Anathema's ancestor, Agnes Nutter, and subsequent family members had added encouraging comments and cat-calls on an index card with the prophecy.
◦ Read it again. It gets funnier. Said prophecy refers to something else entirely. Agnes must have deliberately wrote it that way to play matchmaker.
There's still bunches I'm missing and it's constantly under construction since I'm adding these as I go along. XD; If anyone has something they think should be up, feel free to suggest 'em!