I'm writing a fic about a character unlocking her powers to fight back against heaven and hell. The planet's being invaded by nephalem, which are hybrids between angels and demons.

The character in question lived a pretty shitty life. She had no family, and the few friends she did make abandoned her in her teens. She joined the military after that, having reached out to one of her last associates working under their special operations program. She trained with him for fifteen years, and eventually befriended their former adversary. She came to see the latter as a sort of grandfatherly figure in her young adult years.

The interesting thing about her character progression is that it isn't entirely linear. Despite the strength and resilience she gained from her training, she was never able to fully cope with the grim reality her life held next to no value. It wasn't until she was attacked and nearly killed by supernatural entities that her inner power awakened, healing her while she was unconscious. I think there's a powerful lesson to be learned from this scenario. Even when her mind told her it wouldn't matter if she died, her body begged to differ. She didn't learn about her abilities or lineage until some time after that. It strikes me as humorous in an ironic sense, because it was the moment she threw in the towel that inborn power came to her aid. You never know where help will come from, even if it's another facet of your being you didn't know was there. We can only hope for something similar to happen in our darkest hours. I've had plenty of bad days, and I'm sure you guys have too. That's what makes it all the more worthwhile when good ones come along.

7960220
I like this concept, although the Nephilim were hybrids between Human women and rebel angels.

I always love a good 'underdog' story, where the protagonist is faced with overwhelming odds yet doesn't back down. Throw in the need to protect someone or someones else and the story is even better! Though you didn't directly state it, this post ties into yesterday's post concerning 'Which of MLP's main characters would take a life?' and the interesting responses. I'm of the opinion that anyone can if pressed hard enough. Your heroine seems like she could also if she needed to, especially given the fact she'll be battling monsters.

As far as 'good days and bad days' go, any day you wake up can be counted as a good day, when you think about it.

It's what happens after that which is the difference.

7960220
Congrats, you discovered The Inmost Cave in the Hero's Journey story arc.

7960225
That seems to be why Nephalem is spelled differently. They mentioned this on the Ninja Theory DMC game when they rebooted Dante and Vergil's story. Eva was an angel in that one.

7960284
Pretty much. Just a more mature and grim version.