OC&C/Tropes

## General

**Accidental Misnaming** - Jenna repeatedly refers to Jacob as “Mr. Jacobs”; he claims he hasn’t been bothered enough to correct her on it, likewise, Jacob is comically bad at remembering the names of the goons he’s killed.

**Adult Fear** -

**The Alcoholic** - Jacob, May, Hank, Lyla and (to-an-extent) Chuck are all known for their drinking, the latter seems to be the only one capable of putting a lid on it though.

**All Bikers Are Hells Angels** - Hades Legion MC seems to be the in-universe equivalent of the real-life Hells Angels or at least on their level in terms of notoriety and members, being a one-percenter MC with numerous influential chapters around the world and having a pretty large hand in the criminal side of the Sacchitello business, dealing with nearly all drug trafficking, extortion, and prostitution in the greater New York area.

**All Men Are Perverts** - Nearly every male character (with the exception of Chuck) falls into this trope to some extent; even the main character (Jacob) despite his modest behavior is included due to his promiscuity.

**All Women Are Lustful** - Likewise, most of the female cast falls under this trope to an extent; May is not above sleeping with members of the Sacchitello organization for both information and her own benefit while Jennifer has had a string of no-strings-attached hookups with Jacob.

**Alternate History** - As with the other books in the series, OC&C takes place in an alternate universe to our own, where a large-scale economic depression occurred in the early noughties and the reverberations of which continue to impact into the modern-day, leading to an increase in crime, illegal activities, poverty and urban decay in many urban centers, such as Seattle and New York City, which Michael Sacchitello has used to his advantage in gaining control of the city and respect of those living in it.

**Always Night** - Despite taking place over the span of two weeks, very few scenes in the novel take place at any other time of day. This is explained in part because of being on the run, but also because of Jacob and May’s respective night owl lifestyles.

**Anti-Hero** - The majority of the novel’s protagonists fall easily into this trope, Jacob Delsin is a bitter cynic and murderous vigilante, May is a literal femme fatale to the point of notoriety, and Travis and Elijah are both key figures of prominent and violent criminal gangs.

**Anti-Villain** -

**Assassin Outclassin’** -

**Asshole Victim** -

**The Atoner** - Jacob Delsin’s character arc in 'Of Cigarettes & Copulation' serves as that of redemption, his proactive actions mirror and counter his apathy and indifference throughout Blank Earth, while in that story he came out relatively unscathed, his friends suffered and died partially as a result of his actions. As he strives to do right by those who’ve been impacted by his lack of motivation to do anything, Jacob takes the brunt of the conflict in hope of redeeming himself and it inevitably costs his life, though he helps save the lives of several others along the way.

**Back-to-Back Badasses** - May and Jacob ,

**Bad To The Last Drop** -

**Badass Boast** -

**Badass Bystander** -

**Badass Grandpa** - Chuck Garland and Hank both fit this role, with the former being a veteran police detective with skills in badassery, and the latter simply being a smart-mouthed alcoholic hobo who knows how to throw a punch.

**Battle Couple** - May and Jacob,

**Belligerent Sexual Tension** -

**Berserk Button** -

**Big Bad** - Michael Sacchitello

**The Big Rotten Apple** -

**Big Brother Is Watching** -

**Bigger Is Better in Bed** -

**Bittersweet Ending** - The final chapter details May finding Jacob laying fatally wounded after a final rooftop confrontation with Michael Sacchitello. Not only ending the

**Black and Grey Morality** -

**Black Comedy** - Even more so than Blank Earth, since Of Cigarettes & Copulation is narrated from the viewpoint of Jacob, who is a deadpan snarker.

**Blood Knight** -

**Brand X** -

**Brooklyn Rage** -

**Bulletproof Vest** - Jacob

**But For Me, It Was Tuesday** -

**Byronic Hero** -

**Call-Back** -

**The Call Knows Where You Live** -

**The Cameo** -

**Caper Rationalization** -

**Cartwright Curse** -

**Checkov’s Skill** - Jacob’s use of mixed offensive and defensive martial arts stems from the near-decade he spent learning them, combined with a somewhat efficient use of firearms which he learned from bonding with his government-trained brothers-in-law over a year before the events of the book.

**Chiaroscuro** -

**The City Narrows** -

**City Noir** -

**Clear My Name** -

**Climatic Elevator Ride** -

**Climbing** -

**Clue, Evidence and A Smoking Gun** -

**Cluster F-Bomb** -

**Cold-Blooded Torture** -

**Cold Sniper** -

**Cool Car** -

**Cool Shades** -

**Corrupt Corporate Executive** -

**Crapsack World** -

**Cue The Sun** -

**Curb Stomp Battle** -

**Dark Action Girl** -

**Darkened Building Shootout** -

**Darker And Edgier** -

Deadpan Snarker -

Defrosting Ice Queen -

Determinator -

Do You Want To Copulate? -

Does Not Like Shoes -

The Don -

Doomed New Clothes -

The Dulcinea Effect -

Erotic Asphyxiation -

Establishing Character Moment -

Ethical Slut -

Even Evil Has Standards -

Everybody Smokes -

Evil Gloating -

Evil Tower of Ominousness -

Executive Suite Fight -

Expanded Universe -

Expository Hairstyle Change -

Faux Affably Evil -

Film Noir -

Final Battle -

Friends With Benefits - Jacob and Jen.

From Bad To Worse -

Genre Savvy -

Genre Shift -

Gray Rain of Depression -

Guilt Complex - Jacob

Guns Akimbo - Jacob

Her Heart Will Go On - May

Heroic Self-Deprecation - Jacob, and to a lesser extent, May.

Hitman With A Heart -

Hookers and Blow -

I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed -

I Gave My Word -

I Have No Son -

In Harm’s Way -

Interrupted Intimacy -

It’s Personal -

Just Between You and Me -

Lampshade Hanging -

Last Stand -

Leaning On The Fourth Wall -

A Lighter Shade of Black -

Lipstick Mark -

Literary Allusion Title - The book’s title ‘Of Cigarettes & Copulation’ is an implicative reference to the famous John Steinback novel, 'Of Mice And Men', which itself takes its name from the Robert Burns poem ‘To A Mouse, On Turning Up Her Nest’ in which the famous passage “The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men / Gang aft agley (oft go astray),” is written.

Love Martyr -

The Killer Becomes The Killed -

The Mafia -

The Mafiya -

Mugging The Monster -

Names To Run Away From Real Fast -

Nobody Poops - Averted. Jacob takes a piss twice, and May uses the toilet once while Jacob violently interrogates a goon in the next stall.

Paranoia Fuel -

Pay Evil Unto Evil -

Police Brutality -

Pre-Climax Climax -

Private Eye Monologue -

Professional Killer -

Property of Love -

Psycho For Hire -

Rape and Revenge -

Rape Is A Special Kind of Evil -

Reality Ensues -

Reasonable Authority Figure -

Resigned To The Call -

The Reveal -

Rewarded As A Traitor Deserves -

Roaring Rampage of Revenge -

Rule of Cool -

Safe Word -

Sex For Solace -

Sinister Subways -

Sleazy Politician -

Slobs vs. Snobs -

Smoking Is Cool -

Snow Means Death -

Snow Means Love -

Someone To Remember Him By -

Tempting Fate -

The Reason You Suck Speech -

The Summation -

Title Drop -

Tranquil Fury -

Truce Zone -

Vice City -

Villainous Breakdown -

Well, Excuse Me, Princess! -

Well-Intentioned Extremist -

Why Won’t You Die? -

World of Cardboard Speech -

Wretched Hive -

You Are Not Alone -

You Can Keep Her -

You Have No Chance To Survive -

## Characters

### Jacob Delsin

'**90s Anti-Hero** -

**Abusive Parents** -

**The Alcoholic** -

**Anorgasmia** -

**Anti-Hero** -

**Ascended Extra** - Jacob Delsin was little more than a side-character in Blank Earth, despite his large impact on the events of the novel as a whole. In *Of Cigarettes & Copulation*, Jacob is not only promoted to the role of main character but the literal narrator as well.

**Badass Boast** -

**Battle Couple** -

**Bigger Is Better in Bed** - Zigzagged. Noting the title of the book and Jacob’s return as the main character, Jacob doesn’t mention this being an issue between him and Jen but notes that he seems to cause May a considerable amount of pain in the bedroom. However, being the masochist she is, May seems to relish in it.

**Beard of Sorrow** -

**Brilliant, But Lazy** -

**Broken Ace** -

**The Call Knows Where You Live** -

**Casual Danger Dialogue** -

**Character Development** -

**Close-Range Combatant** -

**Cold Ham** -

**Color Motif** - Black/White. This changes over the course of the story, however. By the third act, Jacob has begun to adopt hints of May’s colour -- switching to a red tie to draw his enemy's eyes and attacks towards his chest, and by the time of his death, his dress shirt has become red due to being completely soaked in blood.

**Combat Pragmatist** -

**Contrasting Sequel, Main Character** -

**Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass** -

**Crusading Widower** -

**Cutting The Knot** -

**Dark and Troubled Past** -

**Dark Is Not Evil** -

**Declaration of Protection** -

**Defiant To The End** -

**Dented Iron** -

**Despair Event Horizon** -

**Destructive Savior** -

**The Determinator** -

**Do Not Go Gentle** -

**Don’t Create A Martyr** -

**Doomed Protagonist** -

**Down The Rabbit Hole** -

**The Dreaded** -

**Drink Order** -

**Easily Forgiven** -

**Einstein Sue** - Somewhat averted. Jacob is not only the only one to figure out May’s identity, but also manages to track her down relatively easily, despite the fact that there are numerous highly-experienced and well-trained hitmen and the entire NYPD out looking for her due to her reputation, even having her fingerprints and DNA on file from the crime scenes. This is explained away by the fact that she had a clear criminal record prior and simply wasn’t in the police database to cross-reference, and nobody who is looking for her actually knows who she is or even what she looks like aside from vague, changing depictions and poor security camera footage.

**Empty Shell** -

**Erudite Stoner** - Despite being a full-on alcoholic and junkie who relishes in a minimalist lifestyle, Jacob is exceptionally intelligent, physically capable, oft-philosophical, educated and all around well-versed, compare this to some of the more undesirable characters he surrounds himself with. He uses this to his advantage, however, as most of his opponents tend to underestimate him.

**Expy** - Jacob Delsin bares a strong resemblance to *Max Payne, John Wick* and *Frank Castle/The Punisher*. He’s a snarky quiet loner, alcoholic, and nihilist with a deceased wife and child, dressed in a three-piece suit and a leather jacket, who decides to engage in brutal one-man vigilante warfare against a notorious underground crime family and its many allies, being notoriously skilled in firearms, various martial arts, stealth, and psychological warfare. Jacob differs most notably in that unlike the other three, he has no background military, police, or spec-ops experience. The three also share similar physical characteristics, being adult caucasian males with dark brown hair, a grizzled, stubbled jawed, and a general rough-around-the-edges appearance. Word of God states that Jacob was based primarily on *Travis Bickle*, and that his suited attire was a later development.

**Foil** -

**Gangsta Style** -

**Genius Bruiser** -

**Good Is Not Nice** -

**Gray and Gray Morality** -

**Great Detective** -

**Guile Hero** -

**Gun Fu** -

**The Gunslinger** -

**Happily Married** -

**Hardboiled Detective** -

**Hates Everyone Equally** -

**Heartbroken Badass** -

**The Hedonist** -

**Hell-Bent For Leather** -

**The Hero** -

**The Hero Dies** -

**Heroic Sacrifice** -

**Heroic Self-Deprecation** -

**Implacable Man** -

**Improvised Weapon** -

**Jerk with a Heart of Gold** -

**Karma Houdini** -

**Kick The Son of a Bitch** -

**King of the Homeless** -

**The Klutz** -

**Knight In Sour Armor** -

**Le Parkour** -

**Limited Wardrobe** -

**Living Legend** -

**Loser Protagonist** -

**Made of Iron** -

**Man Bites Man** -

**Martial Pacifist** - Zigzagged.

**Memetic Badass** -

**My Greatest Second Chance** -

**Mysterious Past** -

**Never Hurt An Innocent** -

**Nice Guy** -

**Nice To The Waiter** -

**No-Nonsense Nemesis** -

**Noble Demon** -

**Nominal Hero** -

**Not A Morning Person** -

**Not So Stoic** -

**One-Man Army** -

**Pay Evil Unto Evil** -

**Perpetual Frowner** -

**The Pornomancer** -

**The Quiet One** -

**Really Gets Around** -

**Refusal of the Call** -

**Reluctant Hero** -

**Rich Idiot With No Day Job** -

**Rule of Cool** -

**Safe, Sane and Consensual** -

**Sex-Heel Turn** -

**Sharp Dressed Man** -

**Sherlock Scan** -

**Shut Up, Hannibal!** -

**Sir Swears-A-Lot** -

**The Snark Knight** -

**Stealth Expert** -

**Stepford Snarker** -

**The Stoic** -

**Survivor Guilt** -

**Tall, Dark and Handsome** -

**Tall, Dark and Snarky** -

**Terror Hero** -

**Throwing Your Gun At The Enemy** -

**To The Pain** -

**Tragic Hero** -

**Tranquil Fury** -

**Undying Loyalty** -

**Unskilled, But Strong** -

**Unspoken Plan Guarantee** -

**Vigilante Man** -

**Weapon of Choice** -

**Wife-Basher Basher** -

**Worthy Opponent** -

**You Are Already Dead** -

**You Keep Telling Yourself That** -

**You Will Be Spared** -

**Younger Than They Look** - A lot of people confuse Jacob for being much older than he is, May even calls him a ‘greasy old man’ when they first meet. It’s a reasonable mistake, he’s been married and widowed, as well as over-drinking and abusing drugs for years. He’s already balding, his face is wrinkled and he seldom keeps himself healthy and in good shape, let alone shaves, but lord knows he’s only twenty-four.

### May Lawson

**Abusive Parents** - May’s mother was like this, verbally, emotionally and even occasionally physically. It at least got to such a point that May’s older brother Ethan insisted they leave for the streets instead. May herself insists she holds no ill will towards her mother considering all she was going through but is still somewhat glad to have left that life behind her.

**Action Girl** - Not initially, but becomes one as the story progresses, partially out of necessity, but also out of a burning desire for her long-overdue vengeance.

**The Alcoholic** - May is just as much, if not more of an alcoholic than Jacob is, she has a long history of partying with full blackouts and large chunks of missing memory associated with such periods. It’s to such an extent that she has numerous liver-related problems and a straight-up non-functional kidney.

**Aloof Dark-Haired Girl** - While she can be snarky as hell and is perfectly capable of playing up the ‘ditzy, innocent girl’ role when needed, in truth, May is bitter, distant and emotionally detached, and herself admits to being exactly the serial killer that the tabloids make her out to be.

**Anti-Hero** - She (reasonably enough) just wants revenge for her brother’s murder, but she isn’t above doing some morally ambiguous things and racking up a major body count in order to get it.

**Auto Erotica** -

**Barefoot Loon** -

**Battle Couple** -

**Berserker Tears** -

**Black Widow** -

**Broken Bird** - This pretty much from the get-go, she was neglected and abused as a child, then frequently manipulated, beaten, and even raped by numerous boyfriends as a teenager, even her ex-fiancé was viciously rude and inconsiderate towards her feelings, the final straw comes when her brother is murdered.

**Celebrity Resemblance** - May is compared by other characters in dialogue to *Helena Bonham-Carter*, *Aubrey Plaza*, *Jessica Jones (Kristin Ritter)*, *Joan Jett*, and *Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth-Winstead)* .

Character Development -
**Color Motif** - Red/Black. May starts out associated with red, but black slowly seeps more and more into her colour scheme as the story progresses and she becomes more closely attached to Jacob.

**Contralto of Danger** - May has a very deep, sluggish and tired-sounding monotone voice when speaking casually, but is capable of putting on a strangely-convincing ‘pretty’ tone when she wants to. Jacob also refers to her as having a beautifully soft and fragile singing voice.

**Creepy Monotone** - Per above, her neutral voice can come off as extremely jarring to people who haven’t heard it before, or when alternating between tones and can even come across as downright terrifying when paired with a threat or statement.

**Cynicism Catalyst** -

**Dark Action Girl** -

**Deadpan Snarker** -

**Does Not Like Shoes** -

**Driven To Suicide** -

**Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette** -

**Femme Fatale** -

**Functional Addict** -

**Hard-Drinking Party Girl** -

**Hates Being Touched** -

**Heroic BSOD** -

**I Work Alone** -

**Immodest Orgasm** - May

**In Love With The Mark** -

**It’s Personal** -

**Jerk With A Heart of Gold** -

**Lady Swears A Lot** -

**Love Redeems** -

**Manic Pixie Dream Girl** - Averted.

**Never Hurt An Innocent** -

**New-Age Retro Hippie** -

**Not So Stoic** -

**Paper-Thin Disguise** -

**Posthumous Sibling** - Ethan. He is implied to have been involved with the crime syndicates for years as a way to keep him and May afloat financially after running away from home but was unfortunate enough to end up in their crosshairs after finding out about his involvement in a substantial human trafficking operation between Stansfield and Moriarty and threatening to blow the whistle.

**Rape As Backstory** -

**Raven Hair, Ivory Skin** -

**Really Gets Around** -

**Revenge Before Reason** -

**Roaring Rampage of Revenge** -

**Romantic Fake-Real Turn** -

**Scars Are Forever** -

**Serial Killer** -

**Shotguns Are Just Better** -

**The Snark Knight** -

**Sour Outside, Sad Inside** -

**Stepford Snarker** -

**Tall, Dark and Snarky** -

**Tank-Top Tomboy** -

**Tragic Keepsake** -

**Unstoppable Rage** -

### Sophia Proctor

**All Girls Want Bad Boys** -

**Flower Motifs** -

**Ill Girl** -

**The Lost Lenore** -

**Love Redeems** -

**Posthumous Character** -

**Small Role, Big Impact** -

**Tragic Keepsake** -

### Chuck Garland

**Friend On The Force** -

**Hardboiled Detective** - Complete with the old-school revolver, fedora, trenchcoat, and ‘too old for this bullshit’ attitude.

**Reasonable Authority Figure** -

**Retirony** -

**Stepping Out For A Quick Cup Of Coffee** -

### Travis Renton

**Meaningful Name** - The name ‘Travis Renton’ is a clever nod to several of Jacob Delsin’s character origins, namely in both Robert DeNiro’s character of Travis Bickle from Martin Scorcese’s 1976 hit ‘Taxi Driver’ and Mark Renton from the 1993 novel ‘Trainspotting’ by Irvine Welsh, as well as director Danny Boyle’s film adaptation of the same name in which this shot of Renton (played by Ewen MacGregor) smoking a cigarette, lined perfectly in front of a painted mural of Bickle, is briefly seen. It is also a shout out to the similarly emaciated character of Trevor Reznik from the 2005 cult film The Machinist who is in-turn named after both the Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.