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Recent Statuses

4 mos ago
Current That was the worst three months of my life. Health is close to normal again. Here's to making the insurance company cry!
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8 mos ago
"Your copay today is $20,000" How about no.
3 likes
2 yrs ago
Well, the "I am but an ally" to "queer af" pipeline is real.

Bio


I have gone by many names over my life, and the one I go by here is Nori.

I am a non-binary individual who has a love of participating in these stories and creating my own. I am incredibly chronically ill. If my illness flares up too much I may be pulled away.

Most Recent Posts





Halloween Festival -> Lila’s House



After Ken went off to deal with Emily G. Reed, Luca, Stormy and the trio made their way off the island. Thanks to Stormy tagging along Luca didn’t have to worry about the Rot coming back yet, using Jasper for support the whole way.

The ferry journey was uneventful, and they headed for Lila’s place first - so she could shower and change. They’d hopefully have time to hit a shop on the way to Luca’s, since they didn’t have many snacks left… Then they could have a proper party! Luca couldn’t wait!

Luca turned to the two girls once they reached Lila’s house, and got out of Jasper’s car. ”Why don’t you two stay at mine for a while? You can have Olivia’s room, she has a really nice double bed! Me and Jasper will figure out the rest… It’ll be safer, y’know, after the stuff with Emily.”

He then turned to Jasper, eyes narrowing slightly. He really wanted to ask who Kikyo was… it had been playing on his mind since they’d seen Ken. Maybe he could ask Ken when he arrived later instead. No, he could just ask Jasper, why was he worried about asking Jasper? She was probably just a friend. A friend he didn’t know about. Or something else? No, no… anyway, he couldn’t ask right now, when they were all there.

Instead, he turned to Stormy with a grin. ”I’m really glad you’re coming along, Stormy, the more the merrier! Oh- we can crack out the good furniture from Olivia’s room since there’s no risk of me damaging it! She has this really comfy looking beanbag I’ve always wanted to try out.”

Lila looked to Lynn and raised an eyebrow. Lynn returned the gaze, tilted her head and smiled. The two looked back to Luca as they exited the vehicle. “A slumber party, at Lucas?” Lynn laughed as she began to walk towards the door, “I think that sounds grand!”

“Amazing idea Luca, who knows what floorboard Emily is hiding under. Safety! Safety,” Lila spoke somewhere between a chant and a drunken slur as she walked over to Lynn and threw her arms around her shoulders, draping her body onto Lynn’s back. “Take me to the shower! Boys, follow. Make yourself at hooome!”

Jasper chuckled at the sight. He knew Lila was in for a night when she downed both of Lynn’s flask on the ferry ride over, and that night was only just beginning. He looked around the area and smiled. He had been in Victorian village over the years but it had been far too long since he set foot at Lila’s. Jasper looked back to Stormy and Luca, ”I know where Lila hides the good snacks,” he waved for the boys to follow.

“Don’t you dare, Jasper, I want those” Lila pleaded as Lynn pulled Lila onto her back and carried her inside.

Stormy didn’t have a lot to say until now, as they walked inside. He made sure to keep his Phantombane aura up this entire time, so the Rot didn’t do anything stupid, and was mostly focusing on maintaining it for as long as possivle. ”We won’t eat everything, don’t worry.” He waited for Lynn and Lila to wander off before speaking up about something.

”Jasper, you said you could use my help with something. What was it?”

”It’s,” Jasper stated as he looked up to the sky above, ”super easy to explain,” he winced as the words were already stolen, ”we’re trying to fight off a swarm of bee’s and all we have to kill them is our bare hands,” Jasper sighed as he looked over to Luca, ” You want to try?”

"I guess," Luca took a deep breath and steeled himself for not being able to say what was actually happening. "Everytime we relax and start enjoying ourselves-" oh so far so good, "- the bees invade my flat and start stinging us! They can even resist the rot- ah, fuck."

Luca groaned, leaning in against Jasper and hiding his face in frustration. "Maybe we should just ask Stormy to stay, and drop the aura so the bees…" he whispered.

”can sting us,” Jasper sighed as he placed his hand on Luca’s shoulder. An interesting idea, if they could somehow coax the skeleton out while someone was nearby they could possibly get help.

”…What?” Bees? Stormy could see it on their faces that something was off about this. ”Is this some kind of metaphor for something?”

"Yes!" Luca got immediately excited and popped back up from his hiding place against Jasper, nudging him multiple times. Maybe they could explain it like that, without directly mentioning it. But how could they get it across? "It's a metaphor for something that's really been bothering us. It's as painful and as annoying as bees, it's…" Luca's face visibly screwed up as he tried to say something about skeletons or bones or even ghosts. "... Unresolved sexual tension!"

No! Luca turned bright red, shaking off Jasper's shoulder and distancing himself so both him and Stormy didn't get the wrong idea.

Jasper’s face went beet red as Luca said something that was somewhat correct, for him at least, but not what was intended. ”Oh wow is it hot out tonight? It feels hot out tonight” Jasper paused as he took a deep breath in, and flashed a quick look towards Luca before going back to Stormy. ”The bees may not be the best metaphor, this is more like a hornet,” Jasper started as he spoke plainly, ” one that liked to show up and sting us,” he groaned as his words were changed again, ” basically we can only talk about the bees and the hornets and not about the crazy clown that likes to pie us in the face.”

Stormy’s eyes narrowed at both of them. “Hornets” was one step away from this sounding awful, but then “pie us in the face” was two steps back to it.

”Luca… Has the Rot made you so intolerant to alcohol that you’re going delusional?”

”I haven’t even-” Luca cut himself off, hanging his head. There really wasn’t any point in explaining it, was there? They’d just have to hope Skelly appeared at some point tonight… then they could point them out to everyone. ”Yeah. There’s a lot of things I can’t handle anymore because of the rot, alcohol being one.”

”So, you can be straight with me about that, but not about… Whatever it is you’re talking about,” Stormy was picking up that something was up here. Were they trying to keep a secret?

”Are you being spied on by something?”

”Oh, sort of! It’s more like-” being hunted, is what Luca wanted to say, but it came out as- ”a parent walking into the room whenever you’re trying to kiss.”

What the fuck, why were all of his forced lies ended up like that?! Why did Jasper get to talk about clowns and he was being forced to talk about kissing, something he really would love to do with Jasper but Jasper wouldn’t want to do with him and… Not the point right now. Luca sighed. ”Maybe if you stay over at mine tonight we’ll be able to show you? The bees, not the kissing.”

Not the kissing? Jasper frowned a little at those words. ”Hopefully Luca and I can hold hands while the bees come out to sting us,” Jasper said honestly but winced to sell the fake out. ” That way if we get dog pilled by clowns you’ll be able to see it for yourself, Jasper winced again as his words were stolen from him. ” Let’s get some snacks, I think some snacks are in order.”

”Yeah there’s no point talking about this,” Luca waved a hand, looking around Lila’s house curiously. He hadn’t actually been properly inside before… and he could without worry since Stormy was there and the Rot wasn’t! ”So where does she keep her secret snack stash?”

”She needs to hide them from her grandma, and from the crows,” Jasper pointed to the murder which dotted the landscape, ”so she puts them in a spot where neither can get to it,” Jasper spoke as he led the group into the house and then into the kitchen. The kitchen was outdated, and it looked like the group had walked into a kitchen that belonged four decades prior rather than modern times. It was neat, and clean, but it had a certain rustic charm to it. There were cabinets and a pantry on the one wall, and cabinets that filled the one corner along with the sink. Jasper walked over to that corner and leaned down. ”If you grab onto this corner just right,” Jasper said as he pulled on the edge of the corner, pulling open a hidden cabinet, ” you’ll find treasure inside,” Jasper paused as he pulled out a variety of fancy European chocolate in a bowl. There was more snacks in there, mostly stuff that Lila bought from the various Asian and European food stores in the area.

”Whoooaa,” Luca looked at all the fancy snacks with wide eyes. The hidden cabinet was super cool. ”Are you sure we should be taking this? It looks kinda expensive, we could just hit up the shops on the way…”

Stormy followed them in. He made sure to keep near Luca. ”Or both.”

”Oh, yeah, both sounds good,” Luca tilted his head back to grin up at Stormy, then Jasper. ”We’re gonna need to grab some alcohol to keep the girls happy, we don’t have any in the flat, since Jasper and I don’t really drink.” He paused, cheeks heating up slightly. He was speaking as if he and Jasper lived together… Which they temporarily did, but it was a flatmate situation! Sort of! Definitely not a domestic, cute living together that he’d like…

”How much could they possibly drink,” Jasper wondered aloud, ” they’ve had so much tonight,” Jasper turned to Stormy, tossing him a chocolate before he tossed one to Luca, ” but who am I to judge.” he paused as he heard a shout from upstairs. He fixated his hearing on the source, and it appeared to be coming from the shower. He turned back to the group and shook his head as he opened the wrapper on the chocolate in his hand and tossed it into his mouth.

”Well, we don’t have a single bottle at home, so if they want anything to drink we need to buy it,” Luca shrugged, catching the chocolate. He popped it in his mouth with a grin. ”It’s so nice eating food without having to worry… Oh, we never got proper food! Maybe you could cook us something, Jasper? Oh, oh, can we have something with loads of fresh vegetables for once, since I won’t rot them!”

Stormy caught the chocolate thrown his way. ”I don’t have a spell to protect anyone against a hangover, fair warning.” He probably should have made a spell for such a thing. But then again, how often would it be used? ”It’s getting late, most places will probably be closed.”

”We can still grab some from a gas station,” Jasper whispered as he walked over to the fridge, ”or we can have the girls supply it with what they already have,” he paused as he opened the fridge, spotting an entire shelf filled with beer. His eyes lingered for a second as a singular eyebrow raised. ”I think we should still stop for some variety, I don’t know if Ken will join but he seems like a wine kinda guy.”

”That’s a lot of beer,” Luca had followed Jasper, and peered around him to stare into the fridge. He hoped it was between the two girls and not just Lynn who… seemed to be drinking more often than not. ”Oh yeah, I have no idea what Ken drinks… wine is probably right. Or some fancy Japanese alcohol? What’s it called… Dunno, I’ve never drank before, so I don’t know this shit. What I do know is we’ll need popcorn and ice cream if we’re going to watch movies.”

He grinned, looking at Jasper and Stormy. ”This is really great, you know. I haven’t been around so many people in years, and having a whole party in my place… well I’d never really imagined it.”

”All will be in hand soon,” Jasper said with a smirk. He knew that Luca had missed out on much that life could offer due to his condition, and he knew that Emily Reed robbred him of a good night away from it. Tonight would need to be special still, and if that meant he cooked the best meal of his life and bought a lot of popcorn and ice cream than so be it he would cook the best meal of his life and buy a lot of popcorn and ice cream. ”I don’t know how long it will take to get beer out of her hair but I don’t imagine we’ll be here for much longer.” The sound of the water turning off upstairs echoed through the kitchen and it was soon followed by the sound of a blow dryer being used.

”I’m always grateful for a chance to spend time with my friend,” Stormy grinned at Luca. ”Maybe I should start teaching my spells to others so you can have people over more often,” he joked.

"Start up the Stormy School of apparition banishing," Luca laughed, smiling brightly as them both. He was truly happy and grateful to be able to spend time with them, and honestly didn't mind if it was the only time he ended up with a larger gathering at his house. Though, even with the rot around he could have people over… there was just some distancing required. "Or you'll just have to come along every time."

He glanced towards the stairs. "Should we start gathering Lila's snacks and the beers then, so we're ready to go when they're done?"

”I can teach you a spell or two in return, and I think that’s smart,” Jasper said as he walked over to the sink and opened the cabinet underneath it. He reached in a grabbed a few plastic bags and returned to the group. ”Let’s fill these up with the beers, i think Lila is almost finished by the sounds of things.”

”I can only offer my wonderful company when you guys learn spells!” Luca laughed, taking one of the plastic bags from Jasper. His fingers gently brushed against Jasper’s before he withdrew his hand. He turned to the fridge and stuffed as much beer as he could into the bag, wincing a little as it got heavier and heavier. His arms still ached, wounds scabbed but unhealed. But he could totally carry this bag! He had to show that he was perfectly fine and strong! ”We better grab some of her snacks quick, then, before she gets down!”

”Oh yes,” Jasper said as he walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a few of the snacks and put them in a bag, ” I’ll replace them, of course, but tonight they’ll make quite the treat!”

Stormy walked over and helped to put things in a bag, raiding the cabinets with Jasper. ”If I thought we were going to have a party at Luca’s house, I would’ve just gone straight there and skipped the festival,” he joked.

”You gotta go through the festival shitshow to truly enjoy a Luca party,” Luca laughed, eyes lighting up and scrunching up in sheer joy. He’d finished putting the beer into a bag, stepping back and lugging it with a grunt. ”Next time we’ll just skip the rest and start the night at mine!”

Ah, but there might not be a next halloween festival… but it didn’t just have to be for that. ”No more coven meetings, just Luca house parties.”

“You got my vote,” Lynn said as she appeared from around the corner. Gone was the costume, instead she simply wore leggings and a cropped hoodie, “we should be ready in a minute or so. Just gotta pack some supplies for the sleep,” Lynn’s eyes narrowed at the snacks in Jasper’s hand, “-over. Dangerous game,” Lynn said with a laugh, “just like ten years ago.”

” You know it” Jasper said with a wink. ” And you know I’m down for that Luca, as long as we don’t invite Sloane!”

”Pack for a few days,” Luca said, smiling at Lynn. ”Just in case. Honestly, you guys can stay as long as you like- And hey. I wouldn’t invite Sloane if it made you uncomfortable but…” Luca trailed off, trying to think of how to say this. “You need to stop dwelling on that negativity so much, Jasper! Sloane isn’t that bad! Why bring it up when talking about something fun?

” You’re absolutely right, Luca,” Jasper said as he smiled genuinely. As long as Jasper could see Lucas’s beautiful smile it did not matter who was there, that was the lesson, ”I doubt I’d even see her with you by my side,” nailed it.

”Gay,” Lynn thought with a smile. ”I’m good to go, Lila is finishing up selecting the wardrobe. I’ll go help her finish!”

”Luca’s right. Sloane isn’t so bad when you try and get to know her,” he hasn’t spoken to her much since their reunion. Though, most people in the coven didn’t seem to change much at all, and he remembered thinking she was alright back then.

Stormy hefted some bags of pilfered snacks and drinks up and stood near the others, keeping close for safety reasons. ”Ready when you are.”

Luca was standing there, holding a bag and staring at Jasper. His cheeks were burning again. Did he really mean it? That having Luca there would be enough to ignore his hatred for Sloane? Of course it would be, since they were such great friends! It wasn’t anything else! No point getting embarrassed. ”Yeah, everyone deserves a second chance, anyway! Especially after two years.”

He held up the bag he was holding with a grunt. ”Should we get these in the car and meet the girls out there then?”

”Sounds like a plan!”

A few minutes later they were in the car. Jasper made sure all the bags containing the high value treats were placed up front, away from the prying eyes of Lila and her crows. The crew did not have to wait for long. Jasper opened the trunk allowing two women to put their bags and stuff in, and a moment later they were in the car. They quickly found the open seats and got buckled in.

”Alright, let’s go!”


Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Town Vendor Stalls - Cracker Town Costume Contest


Aaron had seen enough. The group in front of him had insulted him and these insults had shook him to his core. Did they not know who he was? Did they realize just how colossal of a mistake they’ve made when they stepped in front of him? The nerve, the absolute nerve of these children among adults. If this was any other place besides the Halloween festival they would be giving them a piece of his mind, right here, right now. Instead, he would be forced to swallow his pride and just deal with this injustice and store it deep inside until a later date when he could let out all this built up, pent up, aggression on a punching bag or some unlucky punk who dared challenge him and his-

“Who gets your vote, Aaron?” Jason asked as he pointed to the group of young children who stood before them. The 317 was holding an impromptu costume contest, the prize being a free course of the winners choosing at the 317. Apparently they had met their goal in sales today and were looking to give back. The children were obviously dressed by their parents, with a few cheap costumes bought at the local target and a few even cheaper home made costumes. None of them really fit, and none of them looked particularly good.

And Aaron had a problem with that. “If I had to choose, I’d pick the kid dressed as Goku,” Aaron lied as he held back the rage. His eyes slid down to his own costume. He had decided to go as one of his recent comic book obsession, Nimona, and had created a faithful adaptation of the live action look to the titular character. Sure, right now it did not fit entirely well because he had made it a few sizes too big just in case he needed to shift tonight. The fact remained that these children had a lot to learn when it came to celebrating this most awesome of holidays.

“A surprise to be sure,” Jason chuckled, “another point to Goku!”

Great, just great. The kid would probably win. That would mean that every weekend, for an entire month, that kid would be paraded through the 317 and learn from the best artist in the 317 simply because they bought a cheap costume from some soulless corporation. Aaron sighed. He was being to harsh, these kids were just here to have fun. And this costume contest was a way to encourage more young people to get into the arts. He was just grumpy. This night was already turning out a bit more boring than he had hoped, he wanted to check out the haunted house. As the new guy on the block, however, he was asked if he was comfortable manning the fort and he incorrectly said yes. The only thing that could turn a boring night into a fun one would be running into some of his friends. The only thing that could turn a boring night into a terrible one was…..

Aaron gasped, “Emily fucking Reed,” Aaron whispered as they spotted the chalice in her arms. “Emily…fucking…Reed,” Aaron spit through grated teeth.

“Hey,” Summer said as they punched Aaron in the shoulder. She looked out into the crowd and saw angry glares from a few parents in the crowd, a few shook their head in disgust at what they just heard, “watch the language bro.”

Aaron looked out into the crowd, saw the disappointment rising, and simply mouthed a “sorry” with a gentle wave. He slid back behind the other artist as he fanned his neck.

“What’s she to you,” Jason whispered as he leaned in.

“One of the old members of sycamore. Pretended she was a part of the leadership. She hated me and I hated her,” Aaron said as he watched her run off with the chalice. If she had that, that means the cup bearer would not be far behind. Would that mean the rest of the coven would be there? Would Linqian, Sloane, Stormy, and the rest of the cool ones be there? Would they fight? Aaron knew he would want to be there if things went south, but he knew he couldn’t if he wanted to remain with the 317. He was making good enough money for the first time in his life, and he needed that money to pay off the mountain of debt that awaited him whenever he logged into his bank accounts. Damn their rule of not getting involved. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like the 8th street coven could just force them out or defeat them, right? “I think I saw a few friends out in the crowd,” Aaron lied, “imma go say hi to them real quick!”. He did not leave room for a complaint, or second thought. Instead, he simply slipped out the back of the tent and looked around. He saw not a soul on the other side. Happy, he engaged his power and soon he saw the world around her from a higher vantage point.



Aryin looked down at their costume, it fit their form perfectly now that they were taller and had hips. This was perfect. She did not know if she would have had the chance to truly wear it the way she intended tonight, or if this would be yet another costume that she was forced to wear again at a con. The struggles of being known as the artist Aaron but always making costumes for Aryin alone. Aryin looked back at the tent, knowing that they’d left their new friends out to dry. The thought of going back there to judge those awesome costumes was enticing her to stay, forget what she saw. But she knew if Emily fucking Reed was up to no good, she’d want to be closer to either see her get her teeth kicked in or to help a friend if the need arises.

Aryin looked around again, hoping no one saw their transformation before they took off in the general direction of Emily fucking Reed. They weaved through the crowd, though as always it was just a bit more difficult to do so. Still, they floated their way down the road, saying an occasional “Opps, pardon me,” as they did. Eventually they found their target. Emily was standing off with… Ken? Was it Ken? She listened to him speak and the righteous anger found in his words confirmed it. It was her friend Ken, and he was not happy about her stealing the chalice. “Fuck yes, Ken” was all she could say before she saw Emily erupted in flames and swing a punch towards Ken. A surge in adrenaline, a sudden burst of speed, Aryin sensed their friend in danger and was ready to jump in front to take the hit before they felt a strong hand on their shoulder pulling them back.

No matter how they writhed they could not free themself from this unseen assailant nor could they see them. They were pulled back and spun around, coming face to face with Jordan with a stern look on his face. “Chill out,” he said quickly, “we don’t get involved in any of that bullshit.”

“Fuck,” Aryin whispered back as they turned around. She saw the literal grim reaper working some shadow magic. Was that Jack? “Fuck,” she spoke louder as she gritted her teeth. Her friends were fighting the whore who Aryin hated the most, and she was unable to do anything about it. It was like when Auri put out the call to reform the coven. Aryin wanted to rejoin, to protect her friends once more and to avenge those who were dead. But those in charge of the 317 said she’d have to leave the group. She’d have to pack up her shop and find another job. The debt she was finally paying back would start to run away from her again. And the comfortable life she had now would be replaced by scarcity and boredom once more. “Fuck,” she said even louder than before, “i hate this.”

“I know,” Jordan said as he watched the fight, “but we’re not here to get pulled into their bullshit. I know sycamore has your friends, but don’t get involved.”

“Why do we let that asshole do whatever she wants, she’s not even that strong,” Aryin whispered again as they stopped trying to wiggle our of Jordan’s grasp. There was no point in trying to break free, and the longer they struggled the less of the fight they would be able to see. Instead, they used their hand to pull out their phone and started to record a video.



Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Town Bar - Cracker Town Drink Table - Cracker Town Conversations

INTERACTIONS PRA, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone


Lynn chuckled a little at Meifeng. Was she spiraling out of control? Lila? Lila spiraling out of control in the middle of a festival? Never. It was not possible. Lila knew that despite her sudden feathered nature she was still in control, not the maiden, not her emotions, she was. Meifeng was wrong, so so so wrong in her assessment, as was the other maid. How could they think she was spiraling? She just sprouted feathers and had literal claws poke through the top of her fingers. That happens. That literally happened. That literally just happened and it was one of the most painful experiences in her life. Despite that plethora of evidence that she was spiraling, Lila was fine.

Thankfully her confidence and bravado paid off as Meifeng agreed to have her healed and did not drag her off to the drunk monster tank. Lila was awesome at this lying thing. Should she lie more about how she felt to others? She’d need to drink like Lynn to do so and she knew her liver would never hold up to the rigorous training routine needed to drink that much. She could only manage this night filled with happy lies and suffer for it tomorrow. A night of happy lies wouldn’t be the worst though, and Lila looked to the PRA agent who healed her as the healing was finished and her arms returned to normal.

“Thanks Dr. Strangelove,” Lila said with a warmth that only the alcohol could bring out, she turned her attention back to Meifeng and was finally able to look her in the eyes without worry, “she won’t get under my skin again. I hadn’t seen her in a decade and thought she might’ve changed. She did, but for the worse,” Lila shrugged, “and I will be fine, I don’t need any more help than what my friends can do, and-” Lynn’s voice cut out when she saw the first petal fall before her eyes. She watched in wonder before she heard Luca utter a name she hadn’t heard in nearly ten years and it caused her heart to skip a beat and her breath to be stolen from her. Her eyes slowly and carefully followed Luca’s before she finally spotted the man and gasped. She could not meet Ken again with hair that smelled like beer, that would be a disaster of a colossal magnitude. Yet she knew it was too late to take a shower, get clean, or get sober so she needed to be on her best behavior in case he decided to join their group for a drink. Lila pulled herself up to proper posture, her back straight and her chin up, and she crossed her hands over her lap as she brought her attention back to Meifeng.

“-and I am sure we can find help from unexpected places if the need arises.”



Lynn smiled as the possible future played out in front of her. Thankfully it was one of the better ones, and the one that she had hoped would happen. There was a small chance that the PRA would have been in a worse mood and taken Lila’s display of power as a threat and dragged her off to god-knows-where. In this reality, the one they were living now, they should be able to make it to the ferry without much worry from the 8th street, without much threat of Lila turning into a bird on them, and with Luca and Jasper keeping themselves well within the personal space of each other. This was the good future, and Lynn took another drink as she leaned back into her chair. She caught a pedal as it fell right on time, and her smile only grew. She was truly better at this seer business when she was at this perfect stage of being drunk. The possible future was easier to navigate, the correct path was much more clear, and she was much more confident in her predictions. She knew that as long as Emily did not do something as stupid as stealing the chalice from Sully the fair would continue without much else happening to her friends here, and the coven as a whole.

“You say that Meifeng but my magic is much more potent with alcohol involved,” Lynn joked to try and pull attention away from Lila, “The possible future is a bitch to navigate but when I drink a little it’s like I have a GPS. Maybe that’s why the oracle of Delphi was high as a kite all the time.” Lynn smiled as she shifted her focus to Lila. Lynn looked at her smile, her posture, and the way she spoke. Lynn would need to sober her up a bit before the after-party. She shifted her focus to Stormy and she hoped that he’d join them for a bit, if for no other reason than to ensure that the two monsters remained as caged as possible. She did enjoy hanging out with the diplomat though, and she hoped they could catch up without the threat of a murder happening. She then shifted her focus to Jasper. Lynn knew that he had driven there, and he would be able to take them to Luca’s nice and easy. She would need to convince him to stop at the local market again to pick up more refreshments, drinks that were not alcoholic, and snacks if the movie night was to be a success. When the tall PRA agent mentioned escorting them to the docks.

“Maybe next time,” Lynn said in mention of the after-party snub, “and as long as Emily doesn’t do something stupid in the toga line we should be fine,” Lynn paused as she took another swig of her drink “like what’s the chance she would do something stupid again tonight?” Lynn blinked a few times before she answered her question. Emily would do something that stupid. Lynn slipped into the possible future and remained there for a second before she came back and frowned. “One second,” Lynn paused as she returned to the possible future, coming back a few seconds later. “The chance is rather high,” Lynn groaned as she leaned back into her chair. “What the fuck is her problem?”




”Her problem is she was never loved as a child and has decided to make it all of our problem,” Jasper said with a straight face. His eyes caught the pedals and Luca mentioned it was the man, the myth, the legend himself Ken. A smile fell over his face at the thought of being reunited with the man who could summon the salamander priestesses. Jasper knew that he had changed much over the past ten years, and he wondered how his idol had changed as well. He wondered how the PRA would react to seeing a brazen use of magical power in a public space in front of them. Hopefully, Lynn’s cryptic warning about Emily would be enough to draw their ire elsewhere. ”Ken, my man,” Jasper shouted as he turned his attention fully to him and waved him down,, ”come join us!”

Jasper did not wait for Ken to respond, instead, he turned his attention towards Stormy. “Hey, you going to join us? It has been ages since I saw you, not including the brief time at the church. You free to come have a drink and catch up?” Jasper smiled gently as he finished the thought. His time with the coven had been a whirlwind of emotions and situations that made him regret ever showing back up. However, this was what he missed the most. The people, like Luca, Lynn, Lila, and Stormy, and the calm after the storm. After the Snake would ravage the town in the night, he enjoyed the time he spent with these people in the mornings. Jasper hoped that Stormy would come with them for this reason, and to help Luca and Lila get a break from the monsters. ”There is an issue you could help with as well,,” Jasper whispered to Stormy specifically. This was it. He is in Stormy’s aura and thus Skelly would not be able to use it’s magic on them, and he would be able to tell someone that they were being haunted, and then someone could do something about it. This was his moment to shine, this was his moment to free Luca of one curse, and this was his moment to be the protector he always wanted to be. “Luca and I are being bored to death by someone here and I think a change of scenery is in order…..FUCK.” Jasper threw his hands up in the air as he looked over to Luca, shook his head in defeat, and back to Stormy. Jasper had a defeated look in his eyes, a defeated look that hid a sea of boiling rage that he wanted to share.

Jasper shook the thought of Skelly from his mind, the mention of Emily being the worst resurfaced to replace it. Jasper wondered what stupid action she would be taking that might threaten their return home. ”Lynn, what is a toga conga line, and what shitty thing will Emily be doing?”

“Sully is passing out Toga’s, and they are in a conga line passing my one true love back and forth,” Lynn responded with a warm smile as the thought of the chalice filled her mind, “and Emily might steal it,” Lynn said crypticly. She knew that her coven would understand the reference, and she hoped that the PRA would be none the wiser.

Lila and Jasper looked at each other and then back to Lynn. Lila knew right away what that meant, and if Emily was making a move on the chalice. Jasper, meanwhile, had a dumbfounded expression on his face as the gears tried to turn, not realizing what Lynn meant for a moment. A second later his eyes shot wide, darting from a drink cup back to Lynn as he realized what she meant. Jasper looked to Lila, and the two met their eyes again. The trio then all looked towards Luca. They knew that they could not pull Luca into a possible fight, and they knew that if Lila showed up it would escalate it into a situation that the PRA would not be very happy about. Jasper looked to Lila and shook his head no, and Lila did the same in return.

”Luca, do you need help walking to the ferry? I think we should get out of here.”

“Bianca, it has been a pleasure catching up with you again. You all should go check in with Emily, she is right over there," Lynn pointed towards where she expected Emily to be. “Or don't. Things might get heated though when the toga conga line catches up with her." As Lynn finished her sentence she downed the rest of her drink and flashed Bianca a smile. She stood up and walked over to where Lila was and helped her out of her seat. The two waited for Luca and Jasper, and hopefully Stormy, and began to keep their heads on a swivel for any possible start to a possible fight. Lila meanwhile stopped her search as she spotted Ken once more, her smile grew with drunken intensity as it lingered. She simply waved him down once more, offering him a place within the group and a night filled with possible adventures. “What do you say, Stormy,” Lila shifted her eyes to the side and looked at the coven's protector, “You joining us?”
<Snipped quote by Atrophy>

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On it.

Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Bar - The Cracked Pysche of Lila

INTERACTIONS PRA, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone


Jasper blushed as Luca vomited out his words. His mission was a success, With just one phrase he now had a little bit more information about where Luca was, and he couldn’t help but smile wider at the revelation. He kept the smile up as his thoughts began to race. These thoughts were still very new to Jasper, the thought of what might come next was scary. Like, really, really scary. He kept telling himself that this was not a feeling that he wanted to confront tonight but he could not help himself from feeling them. He knew that he would need to slow down, not only for Luca’s sake but also his own. He thought that but did not mean it. There was something deep within him that made him want to experience more firsts with Luca. Jasper would need to confront these feelings before long but he once again told himself that tonight was not the night for it. Too much had happened, and much more might happen later in the night. Still, he found it hard to pull his eyes off his friend.

Instead of pressing the advantage while he had it, Jasper kept his smile up as he looked over the group again. He listened to the PRA as they explained themselves further, and listened to the agent named Maximilian as he smoothed things over. Jasper let out a deep breath of relief as he said the right words in the moment. They were still words, and Jasper would want to see something more concrete than those, but it was still progress. Sycamore Tree was the new kid on the block, and having peace with the town’s ‘police’ would be useful as time passed. Also, if the Snake ever managed to free itself, all-verse forbid, he knew everyone would push their feelings to the side, even Lila and Linqian. Jasper turned his head towards Stormy. He managed to play the diplomat well, and his natural charm, confidence, and teacher's voice allowed the coven to get an explanation and an apology from the PRA agents who had hurt them. Jasper would need to thank him later. He flashed the diplomat a smile before he turned his head towards Meifeng before his head was drawn towards Luca standing up. His first instinct was to jump up alongside him and help him to wherever he needed to go but Luca had this determined look to him.

Jasper watched as he walked to Lila, and he raised an eyebrow at the mention of continuing the party at Luca’s. That sounded much more fun than talking to the PRA, facing off with 8th Street, and even going through with the rest of the festival itself. That was not because he did not want to eat the festival food, visit the haunted house, hang out with the coven, or anything like that. He was more concerned with making sure Luca, and Lila, were okay. And if that meant he needed to stop at the store on the way home to grab a maid outfit then so be it. ”Yeah, we’ve been through a lot tonight already Lila. Plus, if we do have an after-party we can be selective with the guest list. Do you want to head home?” Jasper looked at Luca and knew he needed the same. ”What about you Luca?”




Lynn whispered a soft “yay” as Bianca confirmed she had the same number as a decade prior. Lynn knew that the text history was empty, but she also knew that it would not remain that way for long. Lynn grinned at the comment about kidnapping someone. “I’ll need to find a sidekick for my kidnapping schemes then,” Lynn chuckled before she took a drink from her drink. Lynn sighed happily as the buzz was finally here. She wasn’t drunk, however, she was feeling pretty good. Right now all she wanted to do was drink slowly to stay at this level of drunk, get some good food, make some poor choices with a man or a woman, and then have a great night's sleep. She took another sip. If life was good she would be able to stick to the plan. If life was not good she would be able to adjust the plan as needed to ensure she maintained this buzz.

Lynn pulled her focus back to Bianca and smiled when she confirmed she would want to catch up again soon. “I can always check for you when you might be free, or I can leave it a mystery for you. Regardless,” Lynn paused as she raised a glass, “Whenever you are free I am sure it will be great to catch up in a less chaotic setting.” Lynn watched as Stormy put his money on the table and raised an eyebrow as a smile crossed her face. He seriously doubted her liver at that moment by putting that little money down. And then, Bianca made a comment about drinking Stormy under the table and this caused Lynn to smile the hardest she smiled in a while. “How did we never hang out more ten years ago?”

Lynn pulled herself away when the Pink Power Ranger began to ask if Lila was okay. Okay, they noticed the obvious and the obvious was strange enough to force the entire PRA congregation to stare her down. Lynn did not like that. Lila was having a moment unlike any other before, and right now her power was not only unpredictable but also unable to be suppressed by Stormy sitting nearby with his aura on. Lynn knew they were making amends with the PRA right now, however, if Lila was going to become a threat she worried they might shepherd her away. Lynn quickly slipped into the possible future, checking to see if Lila was in any danger from the PRA and if Luca’s suggestion was the right move for her. Her eyes glazed over in an instant and her head remained steady for a few seconds, coming back to the present a second or two after Jasper finished speaking. She had a bewildered look on her face as she looked towards the festival and the faint sound of a conga line was present in the air. Lynn looked back to Lila with a concerned look on her face, and her eyes shifted to Lila’s dress.

“An after-party sounds much more fun than what is coming our way,” Lynn paused as she pointed in the direction of the toga crew. “Sully and Drake are drunk and have formed a toga conga line, and it is heading straight towards us right now. Emily and Vashti are in the line and will not be happy to see us. If we leave now, we can avoid all of that,” Lynn paused as she waited for Lila to respond.






Anxiety, Lila’s old friend, had returned in full as she caught sight of just what happened with her hand. It wasn’t the feathered arm or the claws that caused her heart to sink, but rather the crimson-red color that dropped down from them both. She felt the stares of the table as the one PRA asked if she was okay. Lila was anything but okay. She did not know why, but this transformation had ended up feeling different, and painful, like the claws themselves had dug their way through her fingers to get out. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the tips of where her fingers would have been. The skin was broken and bloody, and the claws themselves carried with them specks of both flesh and blood. Her fingernails were in pain as they were forced upward at a sharp angle to make room for the claws and she felt like the bones in her fingers were misaligned or pushed out of place. It hurt. It hurt really, really, bad and that pain was finally allowing itself to be felt in this moment. The pain wasn’t localized to her hands either, all up her arm she felt like she had experienced a hundred cuts where the feathers had pushed their way through her skin. The bones in her arm also felt like they were not where they were supposed to be, and she felt something ielse alongside them. Under the canopy of feathers, she felt the steady, consistent trickle of blood which alerted her to the bleeding. Lila tried to take a deep breath but all she could manage was shallow and quick. When her eyes drifted down to her dress she could see a splattering of her blood on it.

What the fuck was going on? Lila thought back to the first transformation she underwent earlier in the night. Did this happen then and she did not notice? She would’ve remembered the pain, but she did not look at her arms after the claws and the feathers went away. Was the Maiden hiding the pain from her then? She looked over to Lynn who was staring at her dress and Lila made herself look even smaller in response. Maybe? But then again, Lynn and Luca would have noticed if she was bleeding. Jasper would have been too busy staring at Luca to notice a thing. Something changed with this latest transformation, and she wondered if it was the ‘gifts’ becoming permanent. She took a deep breath and looked back down to the clawed hands that rested on the table. They looked familiar as she looked them over like she had seen them before many times in a forest far away. This was beginning to scare her.

Lila pulled her hands back across the table, claws digging a path clean into the wood before she hid them under the table. She did not mind that she had a feathered hand, or arm, nor that her eyes were as black as the sky above if it were devoid of stars. What she was worried about was looking not in control in front of these PRA agents. She needed to calm her mind, she needed to push out The Maiden, and she needed this to happen right now. Thankfully, Luca showed up and gave her an out. His words had a calming effect on her mind, he had gone through something like this many times and had managed to pull himself back out the other side. He had The Rot inside of him for the better part of the past decade and he was still here, and still able to live a normal life regardless. If Luca could do it, Lila could too. Lila took a deep breath and shook her head up and down. She thought about the after-party at Luca’s. They could just put on a crappy movie, eat some popcorn, invite everyone who was chill, and then go to bed. Before the party she could take a shower, fix her hair and makeup, and make herself look and smell cute again. The thoughts calmed her mind even more, and a moment later pain in her hand doubled as the claws began to pull themself back into her hand. Slowly, inch by inch, they retreated back into the holes at her fingertips before the claws were gone from sight once more. As they retreated she felt her bones inside her hands and arm readjust and she nearly collapsed over in pain. The holes remained, more or less, and they would not be able to grab, grasp, or use them at all. All across her arms the feathers also found themselves pulled back inside. As they left sight, they left a feather-width hole in her skin. While not large, it still continued to allow blood to flow out easily, and soon her arm was covered in small streams of it.

As the final feather disappeared, and her eyes returned to normal, Lila looked to her friends and smiled. “We’re good, but let’s get out of here,” Lila shifted her focus to Meifeng, shifting it to Cindy, and then to the next agent as Lila still could not look at the maids without blushing, “I’m fine, Emily said something that messed with my head a bit and my power is tied to my emotions,” Lila thought to herself ’ apparently’ as she shook her head, “could I borrow your healer, if they are here?” Inside, Lila vomited. She did not want to ask for help, she was fine. Totally fine. There was nothing wrong with what was going on, the bleeding was normal and happened to everyone who was cursed by a fucking bird. She was cool, calm, collected, and confident. She was not panicking. Lila knew that asking for help was her way of telling the group that she was cool talking to the feds now, and that she was okay with Stormy playing the diplomat and nothing more. There was nothing else it could possibly be. Right? Lila forced a smile across her face, a pained smile. She held it as she forced herself to look at Meifeng and stared her in her eyes. She hoped that the stare read along the lines of ’‘we’re cool, we’re chill, nothing else is going on and we’re totally okay and nothing else will happen tonight I promise, and if something did happen tonight it totally won't spiral out of control, I'm not that drunk so you don’t need to worry about me……………please.’
Lila’s updated abstraction + weakness, Jasper soon up!

Abstraction
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"Let..me…in”

TYPE Aberration (Agent)

ABSTRACTION Due to having The Maiden sealed inside of her body, Lila can now utilize all the powers of The Maiden freely.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION
Lila is now the Aspect of the Maiden after Britney's failed attempt at sealing The Maiden away. As such, as an Agent Lila now has access to the full power of The Maiden, however, the power she has access to is corruptive.

A MURDER IN ST. PORTWELL Lila, every since becoming the agent of The Maiden, has gained full control over the murder of The Maiden. She no longer needs to offer them gifts or even verbalize her command, she simply needs to think it so and they will do it. They do like their gifts still, and Lila will get a stronger reaction out of them if she gives them a little something for their struggles. She can use the crows in three different ways.

  • ASSAULT Lila can have her crows attack her target in many different ways. From going for the easy spots like a throat or eyes, to completely enveloping a target in an angry swarm, Lila has a few easy ways to hurt someone. In a fight, she can use her crows to do more complex attacks. She can have her crows fly together in a tight stream, flowing over and attacking her target as a massive swarm. Each one will strike with its claws.
  • PROTECTIVE SWARM When an enemy gets in too close, Lila can command her swarm to protect her. In this form, the crows will often fly circles around her in either a loose or tight shell. The crows will take the brunt of an attack, whether physical or magical, and replenish the shell as needed with fresh bodies. This shell will also lash out at targets that get too close.
  • THE HIVE MIND Lila has gained a small telepathic connection with the birds. She still can’t understand them, and they can’t communicate with her, however she’s gained the ability to glean information from them. This is useful when she sends the murder out to scout and or look for something. She’ll never get the complete picture but she gains something from them all the same.


THE CORRUPTIVE VOICE OF THE MAIDEN As well, a side effect of Lila having to maiden sealed inside of her is that she is beginning to adopt a lot of characteristics of the maiden, and her crows. She has already begun to develop talons, and feathered arms. As time goes on she’ll eventually sport the wings, and a more feathered body on her legs, arms, and face. The maiden has also begin to influence Lila on an emotional level, forcing her own feelings and thoughts into Lila’s mind to push her to let more of The Maiden out.

  • THE MAIDENS GIFTS As Lila and The Maiden now share a body, the maiden has begun to offer Lila her gifts. This has started with the black eyes and the feathered arms and claws of The Maiden appearing on her body. This augmentation brings with it terrifyingly sharp claws that cut through flesh and armor alike with ease. As well, she’ll gain strength that pushes her towards peak human strength. The black eyes also bring with it enhanced vision. Eventually the maiden will bring further gifts, the extent of them remain to be seen. Eventually, these gifts will become permanent if Lila uses them too much.
  • THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAIDEN The Maiden knows what Lila is feeling, even if Lila does not know it yet. As well, The Maiden knows what Lila should be feeling. As time goes on, The Maiden’s influence will grow stronger and stronger. As The Maiden gains influence, she will begin to pull Lila away from the present world and into the realm of The Maiden.
  • THE MAIDEN TAKES FLIGHT One of the most powerful gifts the Maiden brings to Lila is her wings. While they are not functional in the sense that she can not fly (she can glide), they bring with it added defenses and a terrifying hex that can turn her enemies into the very crows she controls. The wings come in two forms, active and inert. The inert wings are jet black and offer limited applications outside of a shield that Lila can use in a fight. In their active form they have an enchanting green glow that seems to come from every feather. This green glow is a curse that compels those that fall under its allure to move towards the wings. This can achieve a few different things. Either it will leave the victim open to attacks with get claws and her crows, or she’ll let them get close to grab one of the cursed feathers. If they pull one from the wing they will have a curse mark burned onto their hands, and will be forced to turn into a crow within the next day


WEAKNESSES ⫻
A MURDER IN ST. PORTWELL Despite the change in abstraction, the crows will still follow Lila everywhere subconsciously, and the only way to make them go away for a while is to offer them a gift. This still creates a massive and conspicuous mass of birds that anyone can identify, making stealth very difficult. The crows are weak against pyromancy, aeromancy, pyromancy, etc., and any other magic area-of-effect magic that can take out a large chunk of them at a time. Because she is more connected to the crows, every time one of them dies or is injured, she feels their pain and receives a psychic backlash. This psychic backlash is a brief but intense headache and the more crows are killed at once, the longer and more intense this backlash is - with a large amount of her murder dying at once being enough to knock her unconscious.

THE CORRUPTIVE VOICE OF THE MAIDEN The act of transforming Lila's body is an incredibly painful process as flesh and bone are forced into the strange image of a crow. However, using the Maiden's abstraction allows the Crow Maiden to be in her mind, and by overusing it, she will allow the Maiden to influence her mind. Eventually, allowing the Maiden to temporarily (or maybe permanently) take over her body.


Abstraction
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"If I don't make them perfect they will never be able to help."”

TYPE Adept - Red/Yellow/Gold Lux with his channeler being a paintbrush.

Abstraction A stroke of paint - Jasper can bring his paintings to life and enhance them with different colored paint

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION
Jasper can pull his paintings from canvas and bring them to life with specific purposes. He needs to paint the figure or object first and channel his intention for it as he does. If he wanted to create a figure to attack something he would need to channel that attack into his brush as he paints, and if he wanted to create a barrier unit he would need to also channel that defensive intention. While he can still pull paintings from the canvas without this specific intention, they would be much weaker and melt faster than ones with a specific intention. Jasper can enhance these constructs by using color.

Ever since Luca and Jasper came under the constant assault of Skelly, Jasper has learned that even at his fastest his constructs still take too long. As such, he’s expanded his skill set into creating easy-to-make weaponry and has begun to explore this application of his power further.

PAINT IT BLACK Jasper can pull his paintings from the canvas and bring them to life. The first step in the creation of any of these constructs is painting the Canvas black. While he can instead outline the construct with the brush, the spell works best when the entire canvas serves as the channeling surface. If he chooses to go forward with the outline instead the construct will be weaker and may melt into a puddle of acrylic or oil within a few minutes. During the process, he must constantly make his intention known and channel it into the paint itself. By using his channeling power, the oil or acrylic paint will dry instantly and be ready for the next part and he uses the other end of the paintbrush to channel this effect.

  • A DASH OF DETAIL Once the canvas is dried, he can then move on to creating the construct. Detail is incredibly important in this step. Any mistake he makes, such as a leg being shorter or disproportional, will make its way into the summoned construct. The more detail he adds will also make the construct more powerful. Depending on the situation he can spend three minutes on creating a basic construct that would serve for its intended function, or ten minutes to make an incredibly skilled and powerful construct. He has practiced the creation of three basic constructs to a near-machine level efficiency and can now get them out in three minutes. The knight, the paladin, and the ranger. The knight is modeled after the typical knight in armor with a long two-handed sword. The Paladin has a large shield and nothing else while having a bulkier armor style than the knight. The ranger has a longbow and is devoid of any armor. Much like painting the canvas black, he can quickly use his Lux to dry the painting allowing a rapid application of the next layer.
  • A SPLASH OF COLOR If the situation calls for it, Jasper can spend more time on each painting and can add different effects to each one. The two colors that he focuses on are red and yellow. The red color is an offensive-focused one. When he paints the knight's sword, the paladin's shield, or the ranger's arrow if he paints them in a red color he can channel his Lux to give his constructs a fire effect. The knight's sword is engulfed in flames, the paladin's shield radiates intense heat, and the ranger's arrow explodes in a firey spray. As well, if he paints the Paladin with a yellow hue, or adds yellow to the knight's sword, it makes the construct more durable in those locations. He can only work with red and yellow paint for this purpose, and he can not combine the colors to combine their properties.
  • PUT IT TOGETHER When he finishes the painting, he can use his paintbrush to pull the construct from the canvas and into the real world. As they are pulled, they grow in size at a rate of three to one. Thus, a painting that is two feet by one foot will become a construct that is six feet by three feet. It is here where any imperfections will be truly highlighted. The more complex constructs, like the knight, paladin, and ranger, can last five minutes on average, meanwhile, a quick outline without doing the full spell may last a minute at most.
  • A fine paintbrush Jasper's paintbrush is a special one. He only uses it to create his constructs and for no other painting. It, when combined with his lux, ensures that not a drop of paint is left on the bristles after use. As well, the bristles themselves remain as new as the day he picked it up.


ARISITAN ARSENAL Jasper can take the lessons he has learned in creating his powerful soldiers to create short-lived, but powerful, weaponry for himself and his friends. These weapons all draw power from his innate connection with his red lux and typically exhibit a powerful fiery effect. These are not artifacts, and much like his constructs, these will only last for a specific duration before they are turned back into the ink, oil, or paint used to create them. These weapons follow many of the same rules as his constructs. He can only have one canvas worth active at any given time, whether that is one or three weapons, they require a high attention to detail, and require Jasper to channel his intention into the weapon. Colors become even more important for this aspect of his craft, as a plain white hammer will be a plain hammer.t.

  • ARTISIANS FURY
    The first tool that Jasper created with this new focus was a hammer much alike the sledgehammer he bought to defend both himself and Luca. This hammer is a vivid red color, matching the color of the sun as it descends across the horizon. It is embellished with fine details with a yellow vine wrapping around most of the handle save for the designated area for his hands. This hammer is a powerful tool with its enhancements, and any blow that Jasper connects with will create a small but powerful explosion at the point of impact. The harder he swings the hammer the more powerful the explosion will be. It is protected with a weak barrier spell from its heat, though this does not mean it will not break down in time. Indeed, Jasper has tested it to be able to hit a target five times before the barrier breaks and one time more before the hammer is ruined by the heat. Jasper can paint two such hammers at once, summoning both at the same time. He can use both however he is not strong enough to truly wield them together. As such, he will gift the second one to another fighter.
  • THE BULWARK The second tool is The Bulwark, a large heater shield that is colored a yellow as vivid as the dandelions found in nature at their most beautiful stage. It is a pure defensive instrument that can withstand an enormous amount of punishment. The shield itself finds detail on the front surface, facing outward from the user. It has numerous decals most resembling his paintbrush, and other tools used in his art and these add a layer of protection for the shield. While he has been unable to test it against any form of magic, he suspects that it would be at least twice as strong as his paladin’s and able to withstand blows from even the strongest monster for a hit or two at most. The shield itself draws power from his yellow lux, and if needed he can add in a splash of red to enhance it with a radiating heat that can singe anyone who dares get close.
  • MAGNUM OPUS The third and final tool that Jasper has been able to develop thus far is his Magnum Opus. It is a large, bolt-action-styled rifle-looking weapon that is a combination of colors in both the gun and the painted bullets it fires. The barrel itself appears to be twisted together, with three noticeable groves that snake down the barrel. It is a vivid yellow color much like the sun on a hot summer day at noon. These twists and Yellow lux fuel its stability and durability which allows for the barrel itself to withstand the heat and power of the shots it fires. The gun is very much his first attempt at creating a weapon like this through his art and there are many unknowns with it. As such, Jasper opted for the bolt-action style to limit the number of shots he could send before failure, and to test if his magical barriers were even strong enough to withstand the power of the weapon. The bullets are all colored red, and the spell behind them is designed to help them penetrate a target before exploding inside a moment later. He can only create one of these at a time due to the space needed to get the details right.


WEAKNESSES ⫻ Jasper’s spells have an elemental weakness in the form of water and heat. Water will instantly destroy his constructs and cause them to wash away. Heat will cause them to dry up, lose their mobility, and become more frail until they cannot move. By bringing his art to life, he puts a little of himself into it... As in his life force. By doing so, he will make himself weak, and pushing himself too far can cause organ failure. Drawing requires focus and leaves him vulnerable and open to attack, so it's not advised he draws while being attacked.

ARISITAN ARSENAL ⫻ Same weaknesses as his regular constructs.

ARTISIAN’S FURY ⫻ The hammer's explosion is enough to cause a sort of "recoil" that could knock Jasper over or off balance. Jasper is alson't impervious to the heat generated by the hammer, and it will eventually begin to burn him.

THE BULWARK ⫻ While the shield can block attacks, it cannot fully stop impact, and specific strong attacks will be enough to break Jasper's arms or send him flying.

MAGNUM OPUS ⫻ Much like regular rifles, the Magnum Opus has a recoil, and its enough to throw Jasper off balance with each shot.



Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Bar

INTERACTIONS PRA, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone


Jasper once again traced his fingers across Luca’s back, moving slower and more deliberate as if he wanted to feel every available spot in his path to his side. Jasper felt how close Luca got for the photo, and Jasper wanted him just a little closer still. As his hand reached Luca’s side Jasper grabbed just above his hip, his large hands easily covering the real estate, before he pulled at his friend ever so gently and pulled him closer.

”Alright Luca,” Jasper paused as he looked over to Luca and smiled. He looked back towards his phone, raised it to the perfect angel, and hovered his hand over the photo button. “Three, two,” his smile grew ever so slightly as he felt Luca on his side, “one,” as he finished the countdown he flashed the camera a big smile. This photo was the greatest photo he’d ever taken. And it was all thanks to Luca. Jasper looked over at him and smiled again. “You always have that amazing smile, instantly made that photo twice as good” Jasper said as he let go of his grip on Luca’s side, “I might steal a few more moments from you if you’d let me!”.

Jasper did not know what he meant by that. More photos? More hand holding? A close hug? Maybe a…. Jasper shook his head. There was absolutely no way Luca felt like they were anything more than buddies, best of friends, comrades, compatriots, allies , associates, homies, bros. Absolutely no way. But Jasper looked at how close Luca had moved, he was practically sitting in his lap and his head was practically on his shoulder, still. This was not something that was found in the very accurate bro code. He needed more information, he needed to gauge how he felt. And he needed to do it slowly and with purpose.

“Hey Luca,” Jasper paused as he leaned in oh, so close to Luca. His hand rose up and placed his hand on Luca’s shoulder. “I hope you know that photo was just the start,” he paused as he thought over what words he would use to begin his investigation. He found the perfect sentence, and showed Luca the amazing photo he’d just taken. “You know, your smile always brightens my day.”




“… Then don’t.”

Lila turned her head back towards Meifeng. This bitch. Lila’s hand managed to find her drink without the use of her eyes and she pulled the straw out and pulled the drink to her lips. She drank, without break, until the drink was completely finished. A strong taste of alcohol lingered on her lips and tounge, and Lila was not done there. No, no she was not done. Her hand found her second drink and she once again removed the blemish that was a ‘straw’ and once again forced the alcohol into her system. Tonight may have been a wash but it might get better if she got drunk. Meifeng was a cunt, but maybe Lila could eke out the rest of this meeting if she was just a little more drunk. Lila hoped that her pre-gaming and general lack of food tonight would help her see this shit-show through to the end.

“It won’t ever happen again; I can only promise that.”

Fuck. This bitch. This colossal bitch was lying, lying, to Lila right to her face. It didn’t matter that she was on a short leash, it didn’t matter that her agents were upset about the raid. No.. She was a biiiitch. Lila knew she was a bitch. This alcohol was just making the thought that much more powerful. Lila shot her eyes over to the other side of the table and saw Lynn still had a few beers in front of her, and Lila pointed towards them. Lynn’s thumb up was all that was needed. A hand, suddenly feathered, shot across the table and grabbed one of the beers. A second later it was back at Lila’s side, open beer in the clawed hand. A singular feather floated down to the table below, a beautiful and vivid black color. Lila did not seem to notice, nor care as she began to drink from the beer. She did not seem to notice that her eyes slipped back to that pitch black color as well.

Lila wished there she could just keep an eye on these federal fucks. Just a few eyes, a thousand plus eyes would be a few. She’d be able to make sure she’d keep them to their word. Catch them in the act when they fuck up or something like that. The more she thought the more she felt something different in her mind. She felt power, authority, and command. “We’ll see,” Lila's eyes twitched as the sound of a thousand faces shifting at once filled the area around them. The entire murder had shifted their focus onto the PRA agents. Lila’s eyes shifted and caught the feathered hand once again and could only mouth a ‘fuck’ as she shook her hand trying to get it to turn off. Another feather fell as she did and this one landed right in front of her. This was killing her mood. She needed another drink, she needed excitement, she needed fun. And she knew she could find something fun to do. But most importantly, she needed to get away from the PRA agents when she was birding out. No, most importantly she needed to find that fun that she so craved in this moment.

No. No, no that’s not what she needed. She needed water, she needed rest, and she needed to suck it up and stay with her group. Not just for protection, she needed to be here for Luca. She needed to talk to them. And if that meant she’d get drunk while half bird with a bunch of feds then so be it. Actually she would need to be much more drunk. She looked to Stormy with a look in her eye that she hoped read as ‘sorry, I will pay you back for this but you brought this on yourself’ before she looked to the bartender.

“A Moscow mule,” as she ordered she turned her attention to Jasper and Luca. The way Jasper was pulling at Luca made Lila smile. She was going to protect them, and she wanted her crows to do so much to do so. She felt that feeling return, that command and authority. She thought to herself that she wanted her crows to keep an eye on the 8th street, on Emily in particular. To never leave sight of her new enemies. In an instant her crows took to the sky and flew across the island. Anywhere an 8th street tread a hundred crows would follow.




Lynn was not going to let Lila hog all the free drinks. “Make that two Moscow mules,” Lynn said as she winked at Stormy. She was not going to let Lila drink herself into oblivion… alone. And she was enjoying the conversation to this point. “To greener pastures, and to the friends who help us get there,” Lynn raised her drink up towards Bianca.

Lynn watched as the entire murder departed from the scene and raised an eyebrow back to Lila who had suddenly turned into a chimera once more. “That one worries me,” Lynn whispered hopefully to herself but it was loud enough that Bianca may have overheard. She shook her head as she took another sip from her drink. What she would give for her one true love to make an appearance right now. Lynn shook her head, the chalice would appear when she needed it most and she knew this.

Lynn shook herself from her dreams. “You still got your same number from before,” Lynn pulled out her phone and pulled up the contact card for Bianca, “since I’m back in town we should catch up, away from the chaos that this festival,” Lynn paused as took another sip, making room for the Moscow mule that was put in front of her. “Off the record, of course,” Lynn chuckled as she drank from the new drink.





Halloween Festival

INTERACTIONSSully @Atrophy Leon @AtomicEmperor Linqian. @FernStone


“Why are they doing that,” Alex whispered as their eyes locked onto the most strange display of adulting they’d ever seen.

“I suppose it’s fun,” Jordan pondered as he stroked his beard, “like they’re bonding over a moment of public intoxication and humiliation?”

“It’s got to be deeper than that,” Lori chimed in.

“In what way,” Zeri shifted in place, raising an eyebrow as they did.

“I mean look at that one,” Lori pointed with her violin bow at a tattooed woman trying to make her move on the douchey looking dude, “obviously this is some weird coven mating dance..”

“What,” Jordan sighed as he rubbed his temple, “no, it’s literally not. They are just drunk and having fun, there’s nothing more to it..”

“You’re right,” Zeri said as she pointed at an out of place dragon under a toga. She just caught a singular glance at the face of the woman underneath but there was no mistaking who it was. “That, right there, is Emily Reed.”

“No way she’s allergic to fun,” Alex scoffed as they searched the area for Emily, wasting several seconds before they gave up on the search.

The group all pondered on the information. Alex was right. If Emily Reed was here it was nothing more than it seemed. Emily was well known as an anti-fun, anti-sex, tyrant who ran the 8th street with a viciously tight fist. If she was involved in the toga conga line, that would dispel any chance that these covens were up to some freaky sex ritual or anything of the sort.

“I told you,” Jordan smirked.

“I was wrong,” Lori sighed.

“These covens and their,” Zeri gasped

The group gasped. They all looked on as one at a giant of a man as he ripped his clothes off in front of them, and they all saw the pillar and stones that held up the body of Adonis. Jordan shifted his glasses up his face with his mouth agape, Lori fanned her face with her bow, Zeri tilted her head as her mouth dropped open, and Alex turned their head away from it all, their face a shade of red that Bob Ross would have used to paint his autumn trees. A second later the offending jewels were thankfully put away and the group looked at each other.

“Okay that changes nothing,” Jordan coughed. His eyes searching the heavens above for distraction.

“He’s just a little too drunk,” Lori lowered her gaze as she mouthed an ‘oh my’.

“These covens and their hot members,” Zeri gasped.

The group gasped. They all looked on as one as little red riding hood changed into an toga underneath her cloak. While they did not see anything, the fact that two sycamore’s had stripped down, in public, with families all around, had stunned the art world. Jordan pulled his glasses off his face and wiped them with his robe, he mouthed a ‘what the fuck’ as he did. Lori fanned her face with her bow as she stared a little too long. Zeri’s eyes were back on the Adonis of a man, meanwhile Alex had decided to walk towards the conga line.

There was a curiosity in their eyes. This was something that they had never quite experienced before. The brazen disrespect for those around, the public intoxication, the weird fun. The 317 had their fun moments but there was always so many arbitrary rules that the leadership broke all the time. They looked at the toga’s and then down at their button up shirt. Would they need to strip down as well if they joined? They quite liked the costume, and did not want to ruin it by taking it off. They sighed. Obviously they could just put the toga overtop.

“Alex,” Jordan whispered as he rushed up next to Alex, “careful, they might rope you in to-“ Jordan paused as he looked over and saw the toga line too close. “Alex,” Jordan sighed, “you want to join don’t you?”

Faith’s word echoed in Alex’s mind. They wanted to have fun, they wanted to brave the weird crowd, the noisy situation, the gross smells, and the complete lack of personal space. Or did they? Their head tilted to the side. No, no they did not want to. They just wanted to go home, get some snacks, and just listen to their music as they painted and… Alex’s face snapped up as they saw the giant man with a mustache getting closer and closer. A decision loomed. And Alex needed to make it.

“Hey,” Alex spoke somewhere between a question and a statement, directed towards the ringleader of this circus “can I join?” The sudden flutter of wings pulled Alex’s attention as they shifted their eyes. The crows were back, and they had eyes for the dragon and the tattooed woman.


Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker Bar

INTERACTIONS Britney, Meifeng, @Punished GN Stormy@Blizz Luca, Bianca @FernStone


Britney was here and she said it was time to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with The Maiden. Nothing would distract her, nothing would pull her away, and nothing would happen from here on out. The Maiden would get sealed again, Lila wouldn’t have to worry about turning into a fucking bird, and she’d no longer want to rip throats out of people. This was good. This proved that Britney was changing, and would be a good person to not just herself but everyone else she affected ten years ago.

Lila watched as Britney was informed about the Feds. Linqian was good at telling the details in a unique way that somehow gave a more or less correct portrayal of what had happened. Which was good, Britney deserved to know what happened in her absence and she deserved to know that it was these fucking Feds right here that did it. Lila smiled at Linqian as she described how big of a bitch Meifeng was.

And then Britney spotted Luca and her whole demeanor changed. Lila gasped as Britney took a step back, waved uncontrollably at Luca, before she spoke a series of words so fast that Lila could only hear the final ‘bye’ at the end and left. Britney just left her. She was ready to help and decided, in the blink of an eye, that it was no longer worth it because of the fucking Feds and her guilt. Lila snarled as she crossed her arms. A rage began to form in her mind, and it was only going to grow from here. Lila was scared, whatever Britney did had messed up the sealing and she was being subjected to a horror that she did not ever consider a possibility. And all Britney could do was not know what she did, and then run away? All good will Britney had been given by Lila dried up, and Lila knew that she would find it very difficult to get back on her good side again.

Lila shook her head and with it the thoughts. That rage wasn’t her own. Britney did not know what happened, yet, but that did not mean she wouldn’t help. Lila knew that she was just informed about Emily and the other whores from 8th street being here, a group that wanted her dead. She was also just introduced to the group who had attacked her friends just a week ago. It made sense that she did not want to stay around. Just because she ran today does not mean she ran from Lila, and Lila focused on the thoughts of reaching back out after this night was done. Lila shifted her focus to Luca. She hoped, above all, that Britney would help him too. Luca deserved some happiness after all. When the duo of Jasper and Luca began to follow Stormy, Lila did the same and took a seat next to them. She hated being here. Being near the agents that had hurt them last week. Breaking bread. Though Lila also hated the idea of walking off on her own, being away from the aura of Stormy, and away from her friends. She did not feel safe now with 8th street having ammunition to attack her. She ordered a tequila sunrise, and then she ordered a second moments later.

“Lynn would never forgive us if we didn’t take this opportunity for a group photo,” Lila whispered to Luca and Jasper to distract her from those thoughts, “especially if you’re rotless and I’m not a bird.”. Lila knew that she’d take a good photo of Luca and Jasper together just in case, but hopefully someone could help them take a nice group photo. Maybe she could use a few crows?

“I am fine here Luca, Stormy’s aura is helping and I don’t want you to have the rot come back quite yet,” Lila smiled, Luca was truly too kind.

Lila’s attention was pulled by Meifeng talking and it made her blood boil. On one hand Lila thanked the stars that Meifeng had the bare minimum self awareness to know that she fucked up least week. Like wow, congratulations Meifeng for stating the fucking obvious. At least the leader of the local PRA wasn’t a complete waste of air. On the other hand, how dare she try to make amends without taking action to make things better. Would there be someone there to check the bitch who had a clear problem with her anger? Would there be any accountability? Lila eyes shifted from Luca to Meifeng and immediately shifted them again to the PRA agent next to her. Lila still could not look at Meifeng while she wore that costume. And then Meifeng said that she hoped that the coven and the PRA would have a positive relationship going forward and Lila’s eyes finally allowed her to look Meifeng directly in the face.

“A positive relationship, a positive-” Lila pulled the words back as she shot her arms up to the sky, turning her head to Stormy. She did not know if he would understand the look she was giving him but she hoped it read as ‘you fucking dick, how dare you fucking play nice with these fucking Feds after what they did to us’. Lila hated talking to the Feds, she hated that she was silencing herself because Stormy was trying to play diplomat, and this anger was uniquely her own. Lila shifted her eyes back to Meifeng as she leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms as she did. “It’s going to take more than words for some of us. We got gassed, I got tased, Jasper got tased twice, Luca nearly died, a fucking church burned down,” Lila paused as she shook her head. It was a mistake for her to come over here, it would’ve been a mistake to go anywhere else alone right now, and all Lila wanted to do was go home and take a shower to get the smell of beer out of her hair. This sucked. “I do appreciate the apology but you’re not forgiven.”




“I’ll have sex on the beach,” Lynn said to the bartender before she returned to her beer.

Lynn turned her attention to Bianca and her smile faded just a little. Thinking about her past with Kari was not something she expected when she started this day, but she would need to keep her mind off of the subject as much as possible if she was going to keep up the facade of being okay. “That’s rough, I’m sorry you were on the other end of all that. Maybe she was just not ready for a relationship at the time, you know?” Lynn knew that these words were originally used against her, and the memory made her smile fade even more.

Lynn looked around the table, at all the unfamiliar faces and waved. No one had listened to Bianca and introduced themselves but Lynn would not let that last. “I’m Lynn, I’m sure you all know who we are because you’re the Feds and are in our phones,” she smiled as she finished. She turned to Bianca and winked. It was nice catching up with Bianca, while the two were not exactly close back then it was still refreshing to actually be able to hold a conversation with someone that wasn’t Lila, Luca, or Jasper. Bianca was also a good drinking buddy thus far, proper etiquette and all. Lynn knew that she would want to hang out more after tonight, even if she was a fed.

Luca suggested the greatest thing in the world in that moment, however, and somehow Lynn’s phone had appeared in her hand with the camera ready to go before she even moved a muscle. She quickly took one photo of the group together and frowned at the results. Luca and Jasper looked cute, but Lila was just staring off into space. “Lila, come on! Smile,” Lynn said with a playful tone. Lila turned her attention to the camera, flipped it off, and then smiled a big smile. Lynn quickly snapped the photo and looked at the result and smiled. Perfection. “Now lean in close,” Lynn said and she watched as Jasper pulled Luca in from his shoulder, and Lila leaned over with an annoyed look on her face. Lynn clicked the camera several times before she looked at the photos. Not quite perfection but Jasper and Luca, once again, looked cute. “We will need a group photo though once we’re done here.”.

Lynn turned to Meifeng and smirked. “Yeah, it’s going to take a minute for us to really get over all that. I’m lucky that whoever shot at me was a bad shot,” Lynn’s smirk grew larger, “though I think I’d be more partial to forgive and forget if a certain wolf figure is found and the threat of a sudden death removed from my and my friends possible futures.”





Jasper made sure to support Luca by holding him as tightly as he could without crushing the smaller man. Jasper was beyond happy that Luca appeared back to normal more so than just before, and having him this close only made that happiness swell. Jasper followed Luca’s lead and helped walk them towards the new drinking area and even after they sat down he kept his arm across Luca’s shoulders. Jasper squeezed his friend as he leaned in. ”As soon as you want to go we’ll go,” Jasper paused as he watched Lynn begin to take some photos, posing for them as she requested, ” I’m on your schedule for the rest of the night.”. He pulled his hand off Luca’s shoulder but carried it gently across his back as he did. For some reason Jasper really liked having his hands on Luca.

Jasper listened to Lila and Lynn as they aired their grievances about the PRA raid but it appeared they were keeping themselves calm for this meeting. Jasper knew that Lila was only here for Luca, and for Stormys aura. Lynn was only here because there were free drinks. He also knew that he was here for Luca, and whatever that meant. He did not expect this meeting to last forever and he was ready for a long nights sleep. But he was not apart of the conversation, nor was it something he was particularly interested in joining in on. Maybe it was actually time to think about whatever he was feeling? It was in this somewhat calm meeting that Jasper took a deep breath, closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and looked inward for just a minute.

Despite him trying to clear it his mind refused to fully vacate. He felt like he was not doing enough to help this coven, that he was worthless if a fight broke out, and that his whole life had been turned upside down within a weeks time. There was so much he still needed to do with his art, so much expectations on the pieces he had not finished, and a constant worry that if he did not keep pushing himself artistically he’d be forgotten and worthless. But then he thought shot Luca, and his smile, and all that fear, doubt, and insecurity melted away. He opened his eyes and looked back to Luca with a smile. A warmth radiated from within once more. Jasper still did not want to question anything much further tonight, but he knew better than to not embrace the feeling he was feeling. It was a cozy place to be after all.

Jasper turned to Luca as he pulled out his phone. ”I know we got one earlier but let’s take another one,” Jasper said as he pulled out his camera app and pointed to the camera, ”a proper photo, just for us.”.


Interactions: Bianca @FernStone
Cracker Island - Cracker Town - Cracker eating area



“Why can I tell even though he’s wearing a costume,” Lynn joked as her eyes remained locked on the power ranger in question. There was a creepy aura that seeped out of the costume, one that screamed ‘HR code ppl violation speedrun champion’ and Lynn couldn’t help but laugh some more. He even stood like a guy who has a book of violations on file. Lynn joked about being in HR because of her behavior but she knew that she would never actually be a problem like that. Lynn shifted her eye from PRA member to PRA member. In this place, they did not seem all that bad. Maybe they were truly just trying to make the world a safer place. Maybe they weren’t all that different from a coven. Maybe they did not really mean to tear gas a peaceful gathering of people. Maybe. Regardless, Bianca believed it so and, as a good drinking partner, Lynn would not question it much further. Lynn turned her attention back to Bianca. “I’ll trust you on this,” Lynn paused as she pointed to her eyes, slipped to the possible future, before she returned back a second later. “I’d be able to tell if you lie,” she smirked as she returned to her drink.

Lynn shook her head as Bianca mentioned that her last boss was much worse. “What was bad about the last boss, I’ve been out of the magical scene for a minute.”She took another sip of her beer, slowing down to match Bianca. Lynn caught sight of Linqian and Lynn leaned forward as a quiet rage filled her face. It remained there for a minute before she pushed it back. Lynn could be angry all she wanted, but she fucked up when she said what she did, even though she was still very happy that it hurt Linqian the way it did. People that fought alongside Jinhai were also hurt by what she said. Lynn wondered if Bianca had known Linqian brother well. Still, the frost bitch of the sycamore tree coven seemed to be not paying attention to her so Lynn did the same. Fuck her.

Lynn knew that she would need to make amends to everyone who was hurt by her words, but tonight was not the night to start. It will come soon. Words would not be to tell her friends how sorry she was, instead it will be her actions.

Lynn looked over to Lila, and then Jasper. Her eyes caught Lila’s and Lynn made a movement sign with her hand (her pointer and middle finger walking on top of her other palm) before she pointed to Stormy. Lila waved her off, and used her thumb to point to Britney. Lila gave her a thumbs up and flashed a smile before she returned her attention to Britney. “I’ll follow the group for now, I don’t know if I want to stick around here much longer,” Lynn said in reference to Linqian, “though you’ll have to introduce your friends to me, I only know mommy Meifeng, Lynn whispered the name as she snuck a quick look back to the maids.

“Let me clean up my mess first,” Lynn said as she grabbed the empty bottles and walked over to the rubbish bin and disposed of them.

“I’ve been there with ex’s though, on both sides of the block button. I had to block my one ex Kari at..” Lynn winced as she dammed the alcohol for making her say something she otherwise would’ve kept secret. Lynn did not like revealing that the two dated. “.. the end of our relationship. I’ve had a few dudes block me as well though they were all giant pieces of shit.” Lynn tried to steer the conversation away from Kari.

The accidental reveal caused Lynn to think about her relationship with Kari for a brief moment. It was her introduction to the queer world she now frequents, and it was the last time she had a serious relationship with a woman. She would tell her stories about the possible future and what it could bring and Kari would do the same but with tales from the other dimensions. Lynn smiled at the thought. Their relationship wasn’t perfect but Lynn was happy back then, happier than she was now.

“Shall we,” Lynn motioned with her arm towards the departing PRA agents and Stormy.
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