MAIN GOAL ⫻ (What does your character hope to accomplish in life?)

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ (What is your character's outlook on life?)

SEXUALITY ⫻ (Your character's sexual preference?)

FEARS ⫻ (What does your character fear?)

REPUTATION ⫻ (What is your character's reputation in Araminta and in the Vanburen family?)

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ (What is your character's relationship with James like? What did they think about him?)

FLAWS ⫻ (What holds your character back?)

Pretty standard affair. I'm not going to expect a super long essay here, just the basics and whatever. Make sure you explain how and why they got their abstraction.

TYPE ⫻ (Put Adept, Awakened, Apparition, Aberration (Afflicted/Affixed/Agent/Adjoined/Abscised), Blind or One-Eyed-Open)

ABSTRACTION ⫻ (Put the name of the Abstraction here, with a one sentence description of what the Abstraction does. If Adept put what color their light is and what their channeler is.)

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ (Go in-depth with how the ability functions normally. Explain everything I need to know.)

AURA SENSING ⫻ (Optional. What auras can your character see, how far, and under what circumstance?)

LIMITS ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)

WEAKNESSES ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)

Anyyyything else?

What is your character hiding from the rest of the Vanburens?

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Sabrina guesses her main goal is to become a model, but deep down she wants to escape from her father's shadow and to that extent the Vanburen family's. All her life she was just known as one of his children and then the little publicity stunt. Sabrina wants to step out of that shadow and establish to the world that she is her own person and that she isn't some political statement.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Sabrina is a very spiritual person, despite the fact that she doesn't really believe in any religion (it's still a fun little hobby of hers to research them). She believes that everyone needs to explore their own spirituality and find a deeper meaning in things. Sabrina believes that there are so many layers to a person's soul that it's impossible to decipher in its entirety. The world is a big place, bigger than all of them, but to Sabrina, it's much smaller and less daunting if she connects to other people. Sabrina just loves to explore the symbolism and meanings of animals and even the most mundane things such as colors.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Sabrina is pansexual. Before she transitioned, Sabrina thought that she was attracted to just men but realized that she's attracted to people. All people regardless of what they identify as or even look. The idea of a relationship is kind of daunting to her because she has never been in a serious one... and wonders if she even wants one.

FEARS ⫻ Sabrina constantly fears the growing looming thought that society would reject her for what she is. Sabrina just desires the ability to step out of Vanburen's shadow, but when she gets down to it; they are what made her into what she is. And she will always find herself crawling back to them when she needs them the most.

REPUTATION ⫻ Sabrina's known in Araminta as that one child of James that transitioned. Her reputation varies as some people who are a bit more archaic see her rather poorly (and at worst, a freak). However, the newer more forward-thinking citizens of Araminta see her as brave, as a shining example... and that doesn't really make Sabrina think any better of them. Online Sabrina is seen a bit more positivity among the LGBT and other such people.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Sabrina loves father unconditionally and with all of her heart. James accepted her with open arms and paid for everything that she needed to be the best person that she wants to be. Sabrina is very taken back by his death... but she asserts that she's going to love him regardless of how many skeletons they find in his closet.

FLAWS ⫻ At her worst, Sabrina is very naive and it shows in her decision making. While she sees herself as an open-minded free thinker, she's very green in a lot of ways. She doesn't have a lot of experience dealing with situations that put pressure on her and she's quick to crack. And the result will end in her fleeing from the situation or exploding in rage towards the aggressor. Sabrina tries a bit too hard to ignore the ugly parts of life and focus on the good, even when it comes to people. Because of this, she's quick to trust people, far too quickly, which can be very dangerous. At the end of the day Sabrina is only trying to do the right thing, even if it can cloud her judgment to doing the more aggressive, harsh things in life.

Sabrina Vanburen was born as Tyler Vanburen in Araminta... to his wife Willow Price, the daughter of a football star that hit it off with James. They married and had one child... Tyler Vanburen. The family was nice and snug under their father's care, as he provided everything for them. Although he would go on trips abruptly for months at a time, he made sure his children were happy, well-adjusted people. The family was close-knit and most of the time, the Vanburens only interacted with each other. But, the young Tyler already felt like an outcast among his peers growing up.

It started as a fascination with femininity - the color pink, their clothes, and their toys. It started relatively harmless, but he felt like an alien in his skin. The Vanburens forced conventional gender norms on Tyler but he didn't exactly gel too well with it. The Vanburens had a lot of power and influence in the city of Araminta and, thus, that meant Tyler was sent to the best schools that Araminta had to offer. Of course, it was private intuitions and other such places. It was there that Tyler learned that these thoughts of his had to be... suppressed. Mainly because acting like a girl in public only meant that he was seen as some kind of a weirdo and ended with him being bullied.

This was where Tyler put on the facade of being one hundred percent male and merely hiding his interests. Tyler started growing up to be fairly tall... and thus the most logical conclusion was for Tyler to join his school's basketball team. Sports wasn't exactly in his interests, but man, he sure found it fun. Joining the school's basketball team he found himself getting closer to his fellow teammates and thus met a man that would change a huge chunk of his life: Zachery Gordan. Zachary and Tyler just vibed... they were both two shy rich kids that just got along. Throughout the months, they got along more and more... and eventually the two shared a kiss. This threw Tyler into disarray... was he just gay or something, or what? The one thing that he had to keep in mind was that he had to keep this a secret from the Vanburens and the school.

Unfortunately, life wasn't that simple when word got out... and it was relentless bullying and other such mean pranks. It was a huge weight on Tyler, but his only comfort was the Vanburens... and father. James Vanburen himself got involved and decided to take it up with the school and when that didn't work; Tyler was plucked out of the academy and sent to an international boarding school in France. Where Tyler was free to learn about himself as he chose and the one person that he made bonds with was a girl named Linda Liu. Now the Lius were a loose associate of the Vanburens, they attended each other's parties. Linda was Tyler's closet friend during his time in France... and eventually helped Tyler discover himself.

Or more accurately, herself.

With the help of Lin, Tyler realized that he had gender dysphoria and everything that came with that. Tyler was profoundly uncomfortable in his skin and didn't like being something that he was, well, not. It was not possible, not even in the slightest, for Tyler to go on like this. Even if people were to hate him for this, make fun of him, he would still be in a better place than before. He began to buy female clothing and started using female pronouns as he demanded that people call him... Sabrina. And this was where Tyler Vanburen "died" and Sabrina Vanburen was born anew. Like a butterfly that broke free of its cocoon.

Going home for summer vacation was a doozy as they were expecting Tyler but got Sabrina instead. This was when she came out as transgendered and expected the worst, but with the feeling that, whatever happened, she would be happy with the choice. James Vanburen took her in with open arms, and so did the rest of the family. James paid for everything that Sabrina wanted so that she would be happy... even if he didn't entirely understand it. James paid for Sabrina's Estrogen therapy and then paid for her surgery almost a year later. It was daunting going under for the first time, but Sabrina knew that she would be happy.

And that she was officially Sabrina Vanburen, her name was legally changed to that and now she was a very happy woman. There were some comments from the general public that she was merely a "publicity stunt" but Sabrina didn't care even in the slightest. Sabrina had graduated from high school, but she didn't know what to do with her life afterward. Sabrina wanted to go into the fashion world, and not just that, she wanted to become a model. James would, naturally, pay for everything that she wanted so the world was her oyster.

Eventually, Sabrina went into school for Fashion and intended to become a master's in it. She kept her past a secret as she lived a glorious life that was new and renewed. On the side, Sabrina found her true calling: being a model. The first thing that she did was try to get herself in shape... to mixed results but she wasn't some fat slob. It started as an amateur thing on the side but eventually became more and more of a free time consumer. It was to the point where Sabrina would pass out in class due to being so tired.

Most of her work was posted on Instagram and other places where she gained a following, but it came out that she was transgendered. And that was when the hate comments started to the point where she had to disable them... however, she also gained a following in the LGBT community. So hey, at least it was something. Sabrina, after many painful and stressful years of college, earned her master's degree in fashion and entered the insane, insane, world of the fashion industry. As a stylist for a modeling company in LA, she came up with kooky outfits for these models. And it was a fun, stressful, time for Sabrina.

On Christmas Eve, Sabrina went home with the rest of the Vanburen family to enjoy a nice time in the Vanburen estate before they went home. Tensions rose and eventually a fight broke out but Sabrina went back to her old room. She fell asleep and that morning, she found out that James... was dead. She was devastated by this. She took some time off, got her head straight... then buried James along with the rest of the Vanburens.
She got some time off to grieve and spent it in the Vanburen estate... and wandering it she got to learn about Jame's rather colorful collection. She was confused by the existence of them... magic and ghosts and shit aren't real, why is this locket talking?

Sabrina went outside to get some air when she saw a shirt flying through the air... and then it attached itself to her like some kind of parasite and understandably freaked out. However, it introduced herself... as Mary Roberts. And it introduced itself glowingly: like a total pretentious twat. Mary called herself the spirit of high fashion and wanted to find James for personal reasons. However, finding out that he was dead was not good with her plans, but she knew James personally... and latched onto his daughter. She saw Sabrina as a fellow connoisseur of high fashion and worthy of working with her.

Mary's ability was incredible... except not like shooting lasers or being supergirl. Sabrina made use of it as she practiced and made herself acquainted with an apparition from the God damn early nineteen-hundreds. Sabrina didn't feel the effects of the curse as she stuck around in the Vanburen estate...but she was the one there to coordinate her family coming home and heard all about the curse of the Vanburens.

Maybe she'd get to the bottom of this.

TYPE ⫻ Aberration (Affixed)

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Clothing Manipulation, Sabrina is affixed to an Apparition that has the ability to manipulate clothing near limitlessly and even generate it.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Mary Roberts in her life was a red Adept that focused on the manipulation of fabrics and after her very untimely death she returned as an Apparition. One with similar abilities that changed and altered in time, but remained as the manipulation of the materials clothing is comprised of. Mary Roberts is an apparition that inhabits clothing and thus has the ability to manipulate herself. Her favorite thing to do is be the clothing for her current host that'll constantly shift depending on their form. And she and Sabrina are really close and thus she can more or less channel Mary Roberts power (Something like that, it's really confusing). This allows Sabrina to change her outfit on the fly.

Now to begin, Mary's ability at its basest is that she can telekinetically manipulate all fibers/fabrics (wool, silk, cotton, etc), denim, nylons, polyester, rayon, flannel, leather, feather down, linen, and spandex. Naturally, she can move large quantities of this along with the ability to more or less create all sorts of constructions out of it. It's limited only by the materials that she has on hand. This is fairly versatile... just not in a combat setting. She can create barriers, ropes to swing with, and a kickass wardrobe. This ability is naturally on the lower end of the scale, but it has a large amount of versatility... and can still take on the strongest Extra-Normals with a bit of versatility.

One aspect of Mary Roberts's abstraction is the ability to create fabric from her body, and also absorb this fabric. She can create several meters worth of cloth near instantly from her body, and it appears that Sabrina's outfit stretched. This ability mainly allows Sabrina to have an outfit for any situation, at any time. Most likely the most powerful aspect of Mary Roberts's abstraction is the ability to manipulate the tensile strength of clothes. Basically, tensile strength is how much stress a single thread can withstand before it snaps, Mary Roberts can adjust how much it takes before it snaps. She can, at most, give a single thread the tensile strength of diamonds, or she can make it shred like wet tissue paper.

AURA-SENSING ⫻ In life, Mary Roberts was a very egotistical and vain woman that took far too much pride in her handiwork as an Adept. Which is why she can sense the auras of any outfit or piece of clothing she creates while it's being worn. Now how far she can aura sense depends on how much of an outfit she created for a person, if it's just a shirt (or pants) then she can sense them in a fifteen-meter radius. If it's something insignificant like a hat or shoes then five meters. If it's a full outfit, on the other hand, she can sense them within a fifty-meter radius.

LIMITS ⫻ Emotional-Fields are a very difficult thing that hampers her ability... normally, Sabrina could use Mary to strangle anyone, but with the existence of the Extra-Normals, she has a hard time penetrating emotional fields. To make it short, she can't do anything like strangling someone with clothes (Unless they're into that). Sabrina/Mary can manipulate large amounts of clothes at a time in an effective range of around fifteen meters, outside of that her abstraction is a bit harder to use. Mary Roberts can instantly create around six meters of cloths, but at the very most she can create around twenty-six meters. After she reached that limit she has to retract it and it'll take her a while to "replenish" her supply. Mary Roberts's ability to manipulate a clothing's tensile strength is temporary, and it will wear off after she stops applying the effect. How fast it wears off is dependant on how durable she makes it, if she gives it the tensile strength of diamonds it'll more or less instantly wear off. It's also a huge drain of her stamina and requires a lot of focus to maintain.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ There's not really a whole lot of weaknesses to her abstraction due to it's relatively low nature. Regardless of how much she changes the textile strength clothing can still be destroyed by fire and other corrosive materials. Of course, she can be destroyed by such things. Also getting clothes wet is not ideal as it makes manipulating clothes a lot heavier, which makes it difficult to manipulate.

Sabrina smokes weed.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Justin's primary goal is to honor his grandmother's last wishes and stop the illusive Thorton Walters. He loved his grandmother more than anything and now that he understands where she comes from and what she's done, he understands what he must do. He's going to do all he can to help the Vanburen family break their curse and stop Thorton Walters in the process. Afterward, he plans on getting his fucking degree.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Now, Justin knows that there are horrors and powers out there much, bigger and frightening than him. Shit that makes him an insect. Does that make him a nihilistic mess? Hell no! He knows those threats can be conquered with passion alone - he's seen it done himself! He believes that strength, passion, and love are everything and they'll conquer the coming storm. Besides, he defeated an eldritch God, the most powerful thing in the multiverse; anything else is going to be a cakewalk. He also believes in bloodlines and family names, so that puts makes him a bit sympathetic to the Vanburen family blight. However, he believes in nothing ventured, nothing gained... you can't get anything done without some risks. In the past, he was a lot more hot-blooded, aggressive, and headstrong but now he can stop and take a look at things.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Justin used to spend a lifetime not being sure of himself. Originally he thought that he was into women but he realized that it was his family making him think that he should be into women. Every time he touched a girl he felt something that couldn't exist. Eventually, Justin realized that he must be gay but was repressing it until he could no one do so. Justin's homosexual and proud of it, but he's still a bit unsure of how to proceed in this new world of his given that his whole life he was raised to romance women. He keeps it to himself, however, given that there are bigger and more important things right now than finding love and sex.

FEARS ⫻ Justin fears that his life will forever be a puppet at the hands of his grandmother's whims and wishes. He feels that he'll forever be facing whatever comes his way because he knows with the return of magic the world's a lot different... a lot more dangerous. He also fears that he'll never be able to continue the bloodline and the Zhao-Liao family name because of his sexuality but he'll find a way. Also Justin does not like needles.

REPUTATION ⫻ Given that he's an outsider: none.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Justin never met the guy! But he heard a lot of good things about him from his grandmother and her recollections. And his grandmother rarely slung praises. So that must mean he's something.

FLAWS ⫻ Justin has made strides in acting without thinking, however, he still makes actions without considering how people feel about them or how they affect other people. He still has a hard time grasping that even the smallest actions have consequences and some people might not see them the way he does. Justin, as a trait that's passed down his family, is prideful and overconfident in his abilities - believing that because he conquered a supernatural God that he's seen worse. That he can handle anything less real easily - and sometimes lords that over other people who haven't. He also really hates things being out of his control... his grandmother's death was the biggest thing on his mind, and he beats himself up for not being there to stop it. This leads to Justin being very prideful, and has a hard time asking for help - he wants to handle everything himself

Also, he's haunted by some of the memories he's received from his grandmother's abstraction.

Justin's early life didn't have much of note, Meifeng was at home raising them while his father was making the money for them to live comfortably. This built up a deep innate connection between the twins and their mother, who imparted many of her ideas and philosophy upon the twins - though she was unhappy with staying home by herself. Their grandmother, Lihua, stepped in and offered to take some of the workloads off Meifeng so she could pursue a career as a forensic scientist. Their dual-earner family is what earned them a lot of money, and in turn, helped them live comfortably in Los Angeles.

Though the absence of his mother didn't impact him that much, what did was his first bullies at a young age. Just a group of young thugs that thought it'd be funny to pick on Justin. It started light, then it got more intense as Justin let it continue. Eventually, it got violent, and Justin came home bruised and battered, as the teachers didn't seem to care. Well, Meifeng caught wind of it and was having none of it. She decided to sign Justin up for martial arts lessons - specifically Kick-Boxing. After a few months, Justin felt a lot more confident in himself and stood up to the bullies. It ended with some broken noses and teeth, but it also ended.

This earned the attention of Lihua Zhao... whom he had a relationship he'd call "weird". He enjoyed driving his grandmother up the wall and Lihua returned the favor. By screwing with him in her way, but he loved her nonetheless. She tried to discipline him but she was... unused to raising boys. What she was used to was girls, and his sister, Kaitlyn, got most of the attention. Now, the two of them were the shadows of each other: Kaitlyn was wild and emotional. A force to be reckoned with when combined with Justin. Their relationship was great, they screwed with their grandmother, got into trouble, and had fun. But, once she got of age her grandmother started grooming her. Teaching her all sorts of lessons on "nobility" and being ladylike... and this put a wedge between Justin and Kaitlyn. As she was getting all the attention of their beloved grandmother and she changed a lot too.

Which caused him to go to other places for companionship. Justin's confidence helped him make a scene for himself, and find people like him. He made a friend or two in the skater scene, and after a lot of fumbling, and falling on his ass, became a confident skateboarder (The coordination training from Kick-Boxing helped). Falling into the skating scene meant he fell into the punk crowd. The kind of kids that liked to smoke (both tobacco and weed). It leads him to become, in his own words, "an impetuous shithead." His behavior took a nosedive as he also became wild and disrespectful. Which wasn't going to fly in the Liao household. Meifeng took all sorts of measures to discipline Justin, but nothing short of drastic measures did anything to curb this ill behavior.

After getting through school and graduation through sheer dumb luck, Justin didn't have any real commitments, so Meifeng sent him to stay with his Grandmother in Farmer Hill. A little shithole of a town in the middle of nowhere, Montana: perfect for somebody who doesn't like to be bothered. Of course, Lihua appreciated Justin's company... while Justin hated the town. He hated everything about it. From its location to the people in it. He wanted to get the hell out of there, but Meifeng didn't want to send him home until he learned how to act. Lihua made sure to discipline the child and give him a bit more perspective on life.

It took him a while, but Justin adjusted to life in this backwater shithole of a town and was humbled over time (after many ass whoopings). Eventually, he came to like it over time, after making a few friends in the town, he decided to change. To try to become the best person he can be because of life's short. He decided to try to attend college, and get started on his education. His first attempt was to get into a college in Los Angeles that failed horribly and his mother got him into Grand Ridge. He was salty as any human being could be but accepted that this town would never let him go no matter how hard he tried.

He aimed towards a master's degree in psychology, because of his interest in how the human mind worked (and because he wanted to have something to brag about). He bounced back and forth between school, hanging out with friends, and his grandmother's house... until one day he came home from class, and saw a bunch of police outside his grandmother's house... carrying out a body in a black bag. Justin was immediately filled with dread, and he asked a cop what had happened, only for his suspicions to be confirmed: Lihua was dead. They said that somebody had broken in and killed her, but stole absolutely nothing. They said that they had no idea what could have happened to her, and absolutely no leads. Which was, from the way Justin interpreted it, their way of saying they were completely useless. The Liao family was devastated by Lihua's death, and they all had no idea how to cope with it.

But, Justin wouldn't let it go. Even as the months passed, and he ended up getting a dorm in Grand Ridge, the haunting sight of what happened to his grandmother made it hard to focus. He felt that this was his higher calling in life: figuring out the mystery of his grandmother. He made a lot of friends in Farmer Hill... but the town got weird after a camping trip. Well, it started with the dickweed of the town, Scott Reese, hulking out and going on a rampage and ended with a godlike eye in the sky knocking them out.

That was when he got close to the town misfit, Claire O'Sullivan, as he was dragged along by the support group from A to B... where they found out the real problem was this ancient thing known as the Glutton. They battled the thing where ever they could and Justin fought his hardest to avenge all the people who were killed by it. After it was defeated the deceased were resurrected and Justin talked with his ghostly grandmother who told him everything. Along with giving him her Abstraction and some resolution about who killed her. And his task: Defeating Thornton Walters. He was unsure of his task, but she shunted him to Araminta, Pennsylvania, and told him to go find a man named James Vanburen.

Cool.

He managed to get in contact with the Vanburen Family and agreed to help them with their little plight. Justin would love to help anyway.

TYPE ⫻ Awakened

Justin carries around a bunch of steel bearing balls to supplement his ability. Justin is trying to break his smoking habit... by switching to using Juul's.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Oscar’s main goal at the moment is to become good enough to take over his mother’s pharmaceutical business, and continue its success. Below that he wants to further pursue his own interests, particularly in science outside of Pharmacology. Since he discovered the Extra-Normal he has wanted to learn more about it and get as much knowledge as he can.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Oscar believes in the importance of relationships and connections, and what makes a person is who he is close to and who he knows. In general he thinks you should treat others as you wish to be treated and not expect to get something from someone unless you give them something in return. To him, family is very important as in his opinion it is one of the strongest relationships that can be formed. As a result in his mind, family is a priority - especially those family members who give you the most. In regards to individuals he is strongly for pursuing what you are interested in and not giving time to mind numbing tasks you don’t care about. He also believes in always striving to improve yourself and in never stopping learning.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Oscar is bisexual, with a preference for men, but it’s not something he’s told his family.

FEARS ⫻ One of Oscar’s greatest fears is boredom, to end up stuck in a life of drudgery forced to perform tasks he couldn’t care less about. He fears that he will never find the one thing he wants to do in life and will always be jumping between different interests. He is also scared of snakes.

REPUTATION ⫻ Oscar has an overall positive reputation in Araminta, though it is directly tied to his parents. He’s one of the many Vanburen children, and the heir to his mother’s long standing business. He’s well received due to his intelligence and friendliness.

As someone who is relatively easy to get on with, Oscar has a good reputation within the Vanburen family. He gets along with most of his siblings - and those he doesn’t he merely shares a neutral relationship with. He’s always been very friendly and this extended to getting along with all the siblings he could. He’s also known as the smart one of the family, if also unreliable. He was always happy to help his siblings, both younger and older, with work they couldn’t do, but just as likely to brush them off if he had no interest in what they were talking about.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Oscar didn’t always see eye to eye with his father, but he respected him. They were friendly enough, as much as you can be when Oscar was constantly shifting between two houses and James had far too many kids to pay attention to. The main contention in their relationship was a more recent one. James didn’t agree with Oscar’s plans for the future, thinking that he was submitting to his mother’s wishes rather than doing what he himself wanted. On the other side, Oscar was close to his mother and disliked how easily James swapped between women. He thought in many ways James was hypocritical - he would foist his own business on the oldest yet criticised Oscar for planning to take over his mother’s? Even though Oscar is closer to his mother, he still had a good relationship with his father… He just regrets how he left it before James died.

FLAWS ⫻ With Oscar’s intense, borderline obsessive, passion for his most recent interest comes a lot of self destruction. He will pour everything of himself into this at the expense of all other aspects of his life, including even eating. It will often be all he can think about and, much to the chagrin of others, the one thing he wants to talk about. Even when he isn’t intensively into something there is almost always something he is interested in more than other things. On the other hand, Oscar is too relaxed in many ways. He doesn’t really care if someone wants to talk shit about him, everyone’s welcome to their own opinions. His laidback attitude contrasts with his intense interests and he can be quite lazy, not willing to put the work into anything he isn’t passionate about. If it’s not something he’s interested in he won’t bother. This includes relationships - he is incredibly friendly in person but won’t make the effort to actually meet with people, or keep in contact when he’s not physically with someone. While he puts a lot of importance on his relationships he can be fairly insensitive at times, struggling to understand difficulties that others have gone through and not putting in the effort to understand someone else. He is a man of extremes: obsessive when it comes to things he’s interested in but incredibly lazy with things he’s not. Often he will switch between the two in the blink of an eye, making him a rather unpredictable person to be around - one who is easily bored and switched off from a conversation.

Oscar was the result of a short lived relationship between James Vanburen and Eloise Price, owner of a small pharmaceutical business that she founded herself. They got together in between his marriages (probably) and didn’t even last the full length of Eloise’s pregnancy. Things ended between them amicably but with one main contention - where Oscar would live and grow up (as his mother refused to consider moving to the Vanburen Estate) along with whose name he would take. Eventually they had to compromise and as a result Oscar was mostly raised in his mother’s home, but spent just under half his time in the Vanburen Estate and took the Vanburen name.

Of course, this wasn’t much of an issue for the young boy since he could easily travel between both in Araminta. In many ways it worked out well due to his mother working full time - he could spend time with his siblings when he wasn’t at school but his mother was at work. This meant that he was never lacking company as a child, growing up to be an incredibly sociable boy.

As expected of a Vanburen, and with a mother who was setting him up to take over her business, Oscar was sent to some of the best schools in Araminta. Here he flourished, both academically and socially. He was intelligent with particular strengths in the sciences. Along with this he made a good group of friends - you couldn’t call him popular, as he was a bit nerdy and got along best with people with as much passion for science as he had. But he was friendly enough, so he mostly managed to avoid ostracisation.

He flew through school without any troubles, until he reached the point that he had to decide what to do when he finished. He realised he didn’t know because there was a lot he was passionate about but he also wanted a degree so he could help his mother when he was finished. While he considered a lot of physics based degrees along the lines of his interests, in the end he decided on getting a degree in Biochemistry (which his mother encouraged). This was the first time he properly left Araminta, moving to College in a completely different location. It was strange for him but enjoyable to be outside the influence of his family (as much as he enjoyed time with them). He spent the four years making more friends and working hard (maybe less than he should have), and managed to graduate with a good degree. Once again he was left uncertain of what to do: his mother was pushing him to do a Pharmacology PHD while he wasn’t certain if he could dedicate around six more years to school when there were other things he had much more interest in. After some uncertainty he went for it: since he got paid for tutoring and he did still find it interesting. It was that, or doing a different postgraduate degree anyway.

He was one year into his PHD when he was home for Christmas Eve, spending the night with the Vanburen family (to avoid his mother’s nagging). What was meant to be a normal discussion looking for advice from his father turned into a large argument between the two, and Oscar stormed out of the house in a fit of rage early on in the evening. It was on his walk back to his mother’s that he was hit by a vision in which his maternal grandmother, who he’d never met, appeared. She explained to him that he was an adept just like she was, along with every member of her family. Once the vision was over suddenly his eyes were opened to a world entirely outside of the normal one he was used to. He hurried back to his mother’s and questioned her on it, getting an even more in depth description of the Extra-Normal world along with what it was like to be an adept.

The next morning he woke up regretting what had happened the night before, the harsh words he’d said to his father. But he arrived at the Vanburen Estate to find that the unthinkable had happened: his father was dead. This was a shock to him, like it was to many. He took days to recover enough from the grief combined with regret to even leave his room - finally managing it to attend the burial along with the rest of the Vanburens.

After this he went back to College, barely scraping by the rest of his second year. Instead of concentrating on his PHD all he could think about was the Extra-Normal. He threw himself into learning about it and ended up taking a year out (much to his mother’s annoyance), returning to Araminta and moving back in with his mother. To make up for it he’s been spending half his time working for her while the rest he spends learning to use his spells and learning more about the Extra-Normal. While he has mostly been in Araminta, Oscar felt the effects of the curse when he tried to visit a college friend: as he travelled out his hands slowly began to turn to stone. He headed right back to Araminta as this happened and quickly realised he went back to normal when he got there… and that it was happening to his siblings too.

Whatever it was, it was Extra-Normal in nature, which means that Oscar is dead set on figuring out the cause.

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Red Lux. Channeler: A fancy calligraphy pen his mother gave him when he graduated from his first degree, with his name engraved on it.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Oscar’s spells tend to fall under two categories, those that reflect him when he is at his most passionate, with incredibly high energy and those that reflect him when he is more relaxed.



LIMITS ⫻



WEAKNESSES ⫻

Oscar has illegible handwriting. If someone else needs to read what he's writing he'll try his harder to make it readable, but otherwise it looks like a horrendous scrawl.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Surprising considering how she generally acts, but Trisha ultimately wants to find someone to get married to and settle down to start her own family. She wants to have kids and treat them right, giving them what she’d deem a better life than her own. She want's the "perfect family" she never had. Along with this, she secretly wants to change her degree and instead pursue computing since she discovered she was talented at this… which would require her getting over her shame at that fact.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Trisha first and foremost believes that you have to look after yourself, and that no one else will bother. Ironically she thinks that everyone has their purpose and it’s perfectly fine to discard them after you’ve used them. You should use whatever skills you have, whatever they are, to benefit yourself and your life. Along with all these you shouldn’t show others how what they say affects you, but instead remember it and make them regret it.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Pansexual, Trisha has been with many people with no care for gender. Though she often questions how much she actually likes men beyond the attention and easy compliments they give her. If she didn't need the validation that came so easily from straight men she'd probably much prefer women.

FEARS ⫻ Deep down Trisha fears that she’ll always be stuck in this state, never settling down both for her degree (and future career) and romantic partners. What if she ends up like her mother, putting everything into a relationship that ends up failing? She fears being alone even when she is the one that causes her isolation the most. Above all she fears living the rest of her life in the shadows of others and not finding anything, or anyone, that is truly her own. Trisha also has an intense fear of heights.

REPUTATION ⫻ Within Araminta Trisha doesn't have a great, or widely known, reputation. As one of the Vanburen kids she was always in the shadows - never making any big noise, negative or positive. Those who went to school with her (or know of her school results) would think of her as one of the less impressive Vanburen. Within the family, her reputation is negative. Trisha has always been incredibly standoffish at best and mean at worst, especially to certain people. What didn't help was her bad relationship with James himself which soured her reputation with many of her siblings.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Trisha is one of the few Vanburens that views James negatively. At a young age her opinions were twisted by her mother, who’s relationship was ruined by his affair, and this continued into a bitterness towards him as she grew up. Still, she is upset that she never had a chance to fix their relationship even though there was only a slim chance of that ever happening.

FLAWS ⫻ Trisha is quick to anger and blame, with her rage coming in a cold and scathing manner. Unlike others she doesn’t blow up but instead resorts to incredibly harsh, biting words. When something goes wrong she is one of the first to point fingers as she’s grown up being taught that someone is to blame for what happened in her life (namely her father’s affair). Trisha is very bitter and holds a lot of resentment towards certain family members, and is one to hold grudges. Aside from this she tends to close herself off when it comes to sharing anything but the surface level of herself - even to those she would call her closest friends. She’s very quick to jump between relationships, quickly jumping between people to seek validation she doesn't get anywhere else. Fickle is an apt word to describe her. As much as she outwardly projects confidence and a don’t give a fuck attitude, she has crippling self confidence issues in relation to other people which have lead to her heavily relying on her looks to get her through situations.

Trisha was born to James Vanburen and his wife at the time, Maria Mendoza. The two had met while James was on one of his trips outside of Araminta and “fell in love”. Or, more accurately Maria one sidedly fell head over heels for James. So much so that she put her career as a Professor at MIT (in Mechanical Engineering) on hold to marry him and move to Araminta. Shortly afterwards, she was pregnant with Trisha and happily gave birth. Sadly this happiness was short-lived as it was only a year later that James had an affair with another woman (that she found out about, he undoubtedly had more as well), resulting in her pregnancy. The events that followed ruined any love Maria had for him and completely destroyed their marriage.

This ended with Maria leaving Araminta, and her daughter there in the Vanburen Estate. She went back to the job she’d had previously. Trisha spent most of her early years in Araminta. She would visit her mother for around a month a year during various holidays, which involved minimal time spent together around her research. Even in these short times Maria was sure to tell Trisha who was at fault for the situation: her father and his wife afterwards. As a young and impressionable girl it wasn’t hard to influence her and instill a bitterness towards those that stopped her from having a mother that was around. Even with the short time spent together, Trisha was incredibly attached to her mother. There was always a hope that once she got older she would be able to move out of Araminta and into her Mother’s in Massachusetts. On the other hand as soon as she could think for herself she did her best to avoid her father, which wasn’t exactly difficult.

There was one thing that Maria wished for when it came to Trisha: that she would excel in school just as she had. So Trisha started learning young from her, and kept this up when she started school. Most of her time was spent locked in her room trying to learn and completely ignoring the family she lived with.

Trisha wasn’t good at school.

No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t wrap her head around the most basic concepts. She was near the bottom of the class for learning to read and write, the only thing she was slightly above average for was mathematics. None of it was good enough to satisfy Maria - who even at a distance kept a constant check on how she was doing. It was obvious by the time she reached highschool that she wasn’t academically gifted. It didn’t matter that she went above and beyond when it came to effort. She had a whole folder of “tried the hardest” awards but no good grades to go along with them.

With her daughter not improving, Maria gave up. The already short visits Trisha got to her mother got shorter and their relationship quickly grew tenuous. Suddenly she was blamed for everything that went wrong. Because the least she could’ve done was be smart enough to make up for what had happened rather than being a failure just like her parent's relationship.

This left Trisha going into her teenage years already full of anger. She was ridiculed by her mother, basically shoved aside by a father she’d always disliked for her better siblings. She felt angry towards everything and would often lash out with sharp, cold words towards her siblings and parents that got her in trouble more than once. Still, she didn’t give up and continued to try even when it didn’t yield results. There was only one thing that kept her going: the small number of friends she’d made at school.

It was when she turned 16 that she realised she did have something. She had her good looks, something that may not help with her family but drew in friends and those interested in her for other reasons. She quickly began to use this for some form, any form, of validation. It wasn’t extreme throughout highschool, just making loads of friends (especially boys) and dating a few of them. It never went anywhere. Somehow she managed to get into a below average college to do mathematics.

Trisha was glad to finally escape Araminta and the Vanburens. While she didn’t excel academically at college, she did when it came to friendships. Along with this she delved deep into the world of romance… or more accurately, the physical side of it with no feelings on her part. She found it was easy to feel good about yourself when you had people complimenting your looks. She didn't bother trying her best anymore. Instead she spent all her time socialising and partying, indulging in drinking, drugs and one night stands.

Christmas Eve of her second year came, and Trisha reluctantly went home because she wasn’t allowed to stay in her dorms. To her it was a horrible time spent with people she wanted to avoid the most. But that didn’t mean she wanted to wake up the next morning to find out that James was dead. She was conflicted with how to feel, grieving in her own way and suddenly realising there was no chance to fix their relationship now that he was gone. She didn’t stay long in Araminta, returning to college immediately after the funeral.

During the next year she pretended it didn’t happen. She didn’t know about the world of the Extra Normal until just a few months ago, while she was in the computing department of her school she found an old looking laptop hidden in a closet when poking around. She was shocked when it talked to her and introduced itself and after talking, it explained that it was an Apparition sealed inside the laptop and that it could lend her its powers through that. Not quite believing this Trisha took the laptop and spent all her spare time, outside of socialising, learning how to use it.

Then almost a year after James’ death she was forced to go back to Araminta, because she suddenly started to turn to stone.

TYPE ⫻ Aberration (Agent)

ABSTRACTION ⫻ The Trojan, an Apparition that allows Trisha to create multiple "workers", minions to do small tasks for her.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ With the creation of the computer, computer code and viruses came the Trojan, an apparition that is the embodiment of that which makes technology run (and destroys it). He’s lent part of his power to Trisha in exchange for a price. This gives her the ability to perform a specific ability through the use of computer code. The basis of this is that Trisha must first write the code for the specific thing she wants to do, in the laptop that the Trojan is sealed in, and “run” it to have the effect come into place. While she can write a basic code framework in advance, saving it to be pulled up later, all the specifics need to be filled in at the time she wants to use the abstraction. Under time pressure this could be difficult without causing errors in the program. The Trojan has given her access to one program.

Master / Worker ⫻ Based on a pattern used in Parallel Programming, Trisha can create up to 5 “workers”. These are little creatures that are essentially two blobs on top of each other, with dinky arms and large eyes (kinda like this). Through the code that Trisha wrote when creating them, they can perform basic tasks for her. This could be collecting something, sneaking in somewhere, listening to a conversation, cleaning, seeing far away for her ect. They can communicate with very basic words to her and more complicated information they get is shown through the computer terminal, which she would have to figure out. Each worked can do something different assuming she codes it correctly and are all controlled through the 'master', her computer. They will follow what is written out in the code, nothing more and nothing less.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Trisha can sense the auras of people using a device connected to the internet within around 50 metres of where she is, assuming that she also has a device connected to the internet.

LIMITS ⫻ Trisha can create up to five Workers and they can travel around a hundred meters away from her. They are limited in what they can do by what code Trisha writes for them, and in order for Trisha to give them a different command, she'll have to change the code.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ The Workers are frail and not suited for combat, even a Blind can easily handle them. Other than that, due to the low power nature of the ability, it doesn't have a whole lot of drawbacks or weaknesses.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ To live for herself. Tuyen wants to rediscover herself and to see the world outside of the small town she spent all her life in. She’s no longer going to live in the shadow of others. Her short term goal is to help the Vanburen family get rid of their curse along with Justin. Maybe along the way she’ll be able to improve her self confidence and figure out what she wants to do with her life.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Tuyen believes in helping others - especially with all the supernatural shit that she’s been through. She strongly believes that she, as someone who’s got experience in it, has to be there to try and help with other problems that might come up. She still believes in putting on a brave face and smile, even if it’s just an illusion, because you shouldn’t worry other people over personal matters. Who would she even talk to anyway? She believes that being positive around others is important and will almost always put others’ feelings, and happiness, above her own.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Tuyen is gay, though this is something she’s only recently accepted about herself. She spent a long time in denial, telling herself her lack of attraction to men was because she wasn’t good enough. She’s finally admitted to herself that she’s gay, but she’s not open about it. She doesn’t have time for romance right now anyway.

FEARS ⫻ Tuyen still fears failure, but in a different way to before. She’s free from the judgement of her family and instead fears that she will never get anywhere in life. She still feels just as worthless if she always did before. What if she is never truly able to be herself, or never discovers what she wants to do with her life? There’s always a fear in the back of her mind that she’ll never escape her insecurities, and the shadow that haunts her along with them. She wants it gone but fears it never will be. After the fight with the glutton she fears what might be next, what other supernatural threats there are out there especially as more people begin to obtain abstractions.

REPUTATION ⫻ None, Tuyen’s a newcomer to Araminta.

FLAWS ⫻ As much as she’s improved a bit, Tuyen’s lack of self confidence is still one of her biggest flaws. She’s no longer the girl to take all criticism without questioning it and she doesn’t hate herself as much as she did before. However she is still plagued with self doubts and her insecurities. She may have come to accept some things she previously couldn’t, such as her sexuality, there are still many things about herself she dislikes. This is not helped by the presence of her Shadow - which may not torment her in such a dramatic fashion anymore, but is still always bringing up deep feelings of dread in an effort to stop her from ever truly accepting herself. Still, she’s taking steps forward in accepting herself even with the massive setback that it is. Along with this she is very private about her problems, unlikely to tell anyone when she has a hard time. She likes to put on a brave face until she can’t anymore. There are times when she should prioritise herself or let it out, but she always refuses to do so. She also has some trust issues after everything that happened - there are very few people she’d trust (most fellow survivors of the glutton group), and even fewer that she’d talk to about her problems. This is added to by her not always trusting that something is real, having gotten too used to seeing illusions created by the shadow in her everyday life.

Tuyen was an accident. Her mother was a farmer hill native, with parents who moved over from South Korea to set up a business. Her father, on the other hand, was a postgraduate student who had moved over from Vietnam to study. The two hit it off and hooked up after a little too much to drink, resulting in Tuyen. It was safe to say her mother’s parents weren’t too happy about the child out of wedlock.

Things didn’t get much better after her birth – her mother had always been poorly and the pregnancy took its toll on her, meaning she passed away when Tuyen was only a few months old. Her father did everything to try and raise her himself – including submitting to the whims of her mother’s family. Tuyen doesn’t have many memories of this time, but what she has are happy ones.

Tuyen was only four when her father disappeared without a trace. His name was added to the list of people in Farmer Hill who had just gone missing and everyone went on without saying anything. Tuyen was taken in by her mother’s brother and his wife, since they had a son just a bit older than her.

After this her life wasn’t anything spectacular. She got on very well with her cousin, Min-Jun, even as they became very different as the years proceeded. She was always in his shadow – she couldn’t live up to her aunt and uncle’s expectations. She couldn’t be as smart as Min or as perfect as Min. She pretended she didn’t care, especially to him, but deep down it slowly chipped away at her self confidence. It didn’t help that they disapproved of what she was good at.

Still, Tuyen pursued her dreams and managed to get a place to study English Literature and Creative Writing at the college. Here she’s managed to get out of her cousin’s shadow just a little bit, easily making friends in different circles from him.

After murders that happened during a camping trip Tuyen was haunted by her shadow and constant hallucinations. Still, she joined a group of fellow students in investigating – discovering that this was some kind abstraction she had. During the fight with Scott her shadow manifested physically – allowing her to help finish him for good. But like all the others she wasn’t prepared for what was to follow and barely made it out alive.

Things continued to go more and more downhill as they tried their best to defeat the Glutton. Eventually through working together, though not without losses, they managed to defeat it. Through ascending Tuyen got to speak with her father again and gained some semblance of confidence in herself, accepting parts of who she was. After it was defeated Tuyen made the decision to strike off on her own, refusing to move with her Aunt and Uncle. She ended up offering to help Justin with his next “adventure”, and surprisingly he accepted, so she set off with him to Araminta.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ In a narrow and immediate sense of the word ‘goals’, all Shane seemingly wishes to do is drink and forget. Shane’s long term goals have shrunk little by little since he moved back into Araminta beyond moving on to the next day. With his lack of communication and separation of himself from his family, despite having moved back to their home town, it would seem Shane's primary goal is to keep himself dethatched from the people he cared most about. A goal that current circumstances have made difficult.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Shane was never much for religion nor does he consider himself a particularly spiritually intelligent person. Instead, Shane held himself to the lessons imparted by his father, in his own way. Help and protect others, family especially. Nowadays he seems to regard this previous line of thinking with contempt for his naivete. Though his own isolation could be considered a manner of protecting in its own way. Shielding his family from the person he's become.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Shane's heterosexual but hasn't acted on anything romantically in a long time. Even in his current state, his familial connections still make him a desirable partner for the less choosy hopefuls of Araminta, a fact which makes dating a lucky lady even less appealing for him than it already is.

FEARS ⫻ While not a fear in the traditional sense, Shane is openly disdainful and distrusting of most figures of authority. Cops especially. It's generally masked under his standard cold demeanour, but their presence puts him on a much greater edge than he's normally on. There's a marked degree of self-loathing along with his outward hostility towards these people.

REPUTATION ⫻ It's an open secret and subject of ridicule or sadness for the majority of people living in Araminta that Shane Vanburen has become a washed alcoholic since his return to the town. Although he keeps largely to himself, Shane’s past as a friendly and outgoing person growing up and prior to his leaving has left his supporters and friends alienated at his current state. Although harbouring no animosity towards his family, it is an unspoken fact among them that Shane is difficult to get a hold of and extremely short if they do.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Shane has mixed feelings towards James. He'd generally patterned his life around the ideals and principles of his father but nothing in his life turned out the way he'd have liked it to. Shane, personally, didn't have much of a relationship with James, due to how often his attention was focused elsewhere. It's not something he's especially broken up over, but it has caused him to examine the man with greater scrutiny in his now more cynical state. Wondering how much he'd emulated an idea of his father than the person he really was.

FLAWS ⫻ Naturally, Shane's alcoholism is the primary one. A damaging form of self-medication that is slowly poisoning him. Shane's incredible caginess and inability to relate to his friends or family anymore does not help in this regard, even potentially becoming aggressive if pushed repeatedly into discussing uncomfortable subjects. Ironically, his pre-New York flaws were more or less reversed, where once he was overly defensive of his family and somewhat overbearing, he is now apathetic and isolated.

James Vanburen was a magnetic man, even disregarding his wealth and countless acts of charity, people couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Naturally, this extended to the help on his estate. Kathryn Walsh was one such case. A young redheaded maid who'd worked for James long enough for him to take an interest. As he was known to do, James cheated on his then current significant other with Kathryn. As soon as Walsh became noticeably pregnant, the jig was up. James lady-in-waiting broke off their relationship and as soon as Kathryn bore James a son, their fling fizzled out shortly after.

She didn't have much interest in raising a child with a man she began to have her doubts about. Not that James was in much rush to keep her around either, not long after their son was born, Kathryn left. Given some, likely significant, financial aid from James and contributing to their son only his first name. Shane.

Despite being one of the few Vanburen children growing up without any knowledge of his other family members, save James, Shane was relatively well adjusted. Often cheerful and excitable as any other young boy would be, often much more personable and easy to get along with than some of his siblings. In spite of the vast money and power being a Vanburen offered him. That said, he was not perfect.

Shane often got himself into trouble at school the older he got. He didn't set out to pick fights but his temper coupled with the insults his classmates would give his siblings set him off on multiple occasions. While this began initially due to the constant bullying of Sabrina, it never really died down even after Sab transferred schools. It ultimately didn't take much to set Shane off, even implying a bad word against members of his family or especially his lack of one would result in incident. No matter how many grandiose speeches his father James would sparingly give him or cold reprimanding from Ezra.

Since Shane wasn't really ever used to seeing James act much as a father, he was sent to counselling to quell the problem as he entered his teens. It was there that Shane's passion was directed to more constructive uses. Entering him into various sport clubs, namely track and being one of the few times Shane was felt comfortable enough to expose his worries and insecurities rather than be a caring protective figure for his "family".

His protective instincts were also given a constructive outlet as he came closer to the age where he'd have to figure out what to do with his life. Deciding to use his physical strengths, understanding and charm to try his hand at being a police officer.

The decision was generally well received by his family, James especially. Clean cut, friendly and optimistic Shane seemed like a natural fit to join the force. It was one of the only times Shane could recall having a complete conversation with James as he commended his son after graduating basic training. In spite of the praise however, Shane felt he needed to use the opportunity to help elsewhere. Araminta already had a magnanimous man, so why not apply his, sparing, lessons somewhere else?

Thus, Shane made the move to New York City. Keeping only sparing contact with his family members as he settled in and began his new life. Everyone was leading their own lives of course, it didn't bother Shane. If anything he relished the freedom. Early on Shane attended the odd family function and most of the major holiday soirees Tansy organised. Even meeting up with Tansy on a very infrequent basis when she'd be in New York. Over time though, the visits slowed. Gradually, at first. Then none at all.

Then Shane returned home.

Distant, quiet, angry, broken.

About all he told anyone was that he'd quit the force and had no desire to return. Gone was the well groomed and charming but energetic man who, though overbearing, always clearly had his family's best interests at heart. His hair grew out, he never bothered to meet with his family despite being in the area. James had even made the rare effort to get in touch now and then but was rebuked every time. Shane lived in a run down apartment with his own money in Araminta's much less polished east side. Working menial jobs and drinking. Alienating his old friends and seemingly disowning his family. Not that that was very hard, most of them had left already to their own lives or had given up trying to re-connect with him.

Shane did, extremely grudgingly, return for what would be James' last Christmas party. Only realising in retrospect that his final interaction with his father was a polite nod before he squared himself away in a corner and drank away the rest of the night before returning home. He'd wake up to the news next morning that his father had died.

It was a hard thing to process. On one hand it didn't seem much to Shane with what he was already going through, James had been a man he admired but also not one who'd been much of a father to him. But on the other, it was another lost connection. Initially Shane went on with his life, under the impression it was just another unfortunate part of a life that was already rife with them. But it became clearer to Shane as he continued to work, drink and ruminate, that he was less unaffected by James' death than initially believed.

One night, after downing an impressive amount of his local bar's stock, he stumbled out into the woods. Shambling like a corpse along the dirt path as he let the cool air hit against his swollen pale face. He came across a small drop, where the path ended and the wilderness truly began. Shane finished the remainder of the drink in his hand and stumbled around his coat pocket. Pulling out a dull metal revolver. For what may have been seconds, minutes or hours he merely stared at the gun in his hand. Before quietly placing it under his chin.

From then, it's unclear. Shane vividly remembers the barrel trembling beneath his jaw, then a blur. He can't even really remember if he went through with squeezing the trigger before a blue flash knocked him on his ass and the gun out of his hand. An aura surrounded him, a mark seared itself onto the left side of his neck. He had awakened.

Understandably alarmed at this development, Shane returned home and tried to write the entire night off as further drunken stupidity in the life of Shane Vanburen. But the mark on his neck confirmed the events were real. In private, like far out into the woods by himself private, Shane tried to come to terms with what was going on with him. He could withstand damage that really should at the least hurt him. He could toss the shock back like a wave of force, or imbue it into his fists and break rocks in half with enough force. It was... Certainly an interesting experience.

Not long after, Shane was invited to another family gathering he couldn't weasel out of. Chiefly because his family had discovered abilities of their own.

And they were turning to stone.

TYPE ⫻ Awakened

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Guardian Angel, a light blue sheen that can envelope Shane or appear as a wall in front of him, able to withstand physical pressure and explode it back at attackers.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Shane’s abstraction enables him to surround himself in a light blue aura which can soak up damage from attackers and throw it back in a kinetic blast when it accrues enough physical trauma, this technique is called a Guardian Release. The shield can be altered to take the form of a translucent blue wall which can be held up by Shane and enables others to hide behind it if need be.

The more damaging/greater amount of trauma Shane or the wall receive while active will determine how powerful the Guardian Release becomes. At its lowest being essentially a knockback to being powerful enough to throw enemies through solid objects with ease. While the release can be used as a sort of pseudo projectile, Shane generally releases the concussive force through his punches or kicks.

AURA-SENSING ⫻ Shane can feel the aura of those about to be struck by physical damage, supernatural or otherwise, a few moments before it happens. The range of this sensing is short however, around ten feet before this sensing begins to fall off.

LIMITS ⫻ The physical barrier can only manifest on Shane and thus cannot be used to protect someone unless it's being used as a stationary wall. The wall only being active for as long as Shane stands and holds it up The kinetic blast can travel around twenty or so feet ahead of him. The barrier can only absorb physical damage and so attacks from energy such as fire, electricity, are not absorbed - though are still blocked from harming the user. The barrier expands to around Shane's body, appearing like a blue sheen. However, there's only so much that the barrier can take and if it absorbs too much energy then the barrier will explode - injuring Shane in the process. Shane's barrier also can't do much to save him from being grabbed and moved around by something strong enough.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Shane's barrier weakens quicker from any non-physical/energy-based damage. A constant barrage of damage will pin Shane in place and force him to stand still... which may expose him to even more damage. Now, taking too much energy into his barrier can be dangerous as he can overload and cause all that kinetic energy to explode out. Injuring himself and anybody around him.

Shane's preferred drink is Jack Daniels.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Georgie wants to be an art curator, especially at the Louvre. Georgie loves art movements that came before the 1920s and most of those works are at the Louvre. Art was elegant then and had interesting historical events at that sparked the movements. Now a piece of tissue stuck to the wall with gum can be called art if there's a contrived enough meaning attached. She's well aware that art movements during the 20s and afterwards are influenced by social issues at the time, but she could careless about anything involved with WWI and after.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Georgie believes that objectivity and logic are the keys to life. It's human nature to get attached to someone or something and it could easily ruin a person's life goals. However, if people were to take a step back and consider what they'll gain without certain attachments they're more likely to get what they want. Useless things lead to useless ends.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Asexual with a side of aesthetic attraction. Some days Georgie wants to vomit just thinking about swapping bodily fluids with someone else, and on others she can't think of a less stimulating experience than sex (no one could do better at pleasing her than her own hand). She'd rather listen to WWI enthusiast. There are times when she sees someone that makes her heart flutter. It could be the way they wear their hair, or their outfit is just right, or maybe a physical feature is absolutely beautiful. Bring aesthetics to the table and she'll wanna flirt.

FEARS ⫻ Georgie fears attachments that lead to failure. For every goal she's set in her life she had to sacrifice personal relationships to get there. She couldn't be close with her friends, because she used her free time to study. England had one of the best schools for art, so she didn't live with her family growing up and as consequence doesn't know them well nor do they know her. She broke up with her boyfriend, because they were going to different universities in different countries and she wouldn't make the commitment to try long distance if it interfered with her studies. Her sacrifices will not be in vain for people that aren't permanent.

REPUTATION ⫻ Georgie is James's foreign child that Araminta citizens tend to forget exist. She's only around during the summer and some Christmases if it isn't too inconvenient. She doesn't see it as home. More of a vacation spot if anything. In the family she is the sister her siblings don't really know anymore. She used to be the annoying little sister that followed them anywhere, but she grew out of that when she went away. Any attempts to get to know her are met with superficial answers and general disinterest. It's not hard to be away year after year if she doesn't truly know who they are and vice versa. However, she does leave a bouquet of flowers from her garden every Monday morning, during the summer, in each of their bedrooms. She may not know them well, but she does still care in her own half-heart way.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ James is more so a sponsor that funds her education at private schools and university, than a father. She ask for monetary support for her goals and he gives it freely with the stipulation that she comes to spend her summers in Araminta every year. Two months out of a year of her time isn't a big sacrifice on her part. She threw in a personal garden she can tend to and is well kept by a gardener when she's not there as part of the deal. She resents him a smidge of a bit for not coming to see her in private school. She doesn't think it's genuine for him to want her around once a year just to leave on some escapade when she's around. Whatever. Vaguely wanting the attention of a man she hardly knows doesn't pertain to her goals.

FLAWS ⫻ Georgie's unwillingness to have emotional attachments keep her from fully experiencing love the way normal people do. It's always business, 'What can you do for me?' and 'What can I do for you?' Anything that's not gainful isn't worth her time. She misses out on birthday parties, vacations, real human connections. She thinks logically when she's emotionally overwhelmed. She's prone to shutting down, resetting herself, and using logic to solve her problems. People tend to thing she's a heartless robot with a pleasant smile, but she's not. She buries negative emotions deep. She'll express positive emotions, because that means something went right. Achieving goals makes her happy. She doesn't know if anything else can. Things that should make her happy don't. Not birthdays, holidays, her family, friends, and lovers when she has them. Here and there thoughts of whether she's broken slips through and she pencils in when she's available for her next breakdown.

Georgie can say with confidence she doesn't know her mother. She was some woman from somewhere that stayed with James at the Vanburen estate at sometime. James couldn't tell her anything other than Georgie looks like her and that she was set on naming her baby some iteration of George. Georgiana is the name she settled on, before leaving her with James. She'd nearly forgotten there was something James could tell her. Her mother was hellbent on a goal she had to complete. As much as she talked about it at length with James it went in through one ear and out the other. Money exchanged hands, Georgiana was born, and her mother was off in the wind. She's not surprised. Up until she left she's seen plenty women come and go from James's life. Whatever he wanted from them at the time, they gave it, then they left. Georgie played with her siblings when they had the time for her. Tyler and Shane were almost a teenagers by the time she was old enough to keep up, and she and Oscar didn't share the same interest. There was a disconnect, but she was still the annoying little sister that wanted her big brothers' attention.

Georgie got into art when she was five. James, on the occasion he wanted to bond, would take her to the art museum in downtown Araminta. The portraits were beautiful, the sculptures magnificent, the most visually gratifying thing she's ever seen. James, taking an interest in Georgie's interest, read her books that explained different art movements throughout history. Her favorite was the Classical period. Everything was crisp, clean, and perfect. Georgie likes perfect. Around the time James sent Tyler to boarding school in France he got the idea to send Georgie to England to study at a prestigious art school. Only children with rich enough parents and an aptitude for the arts could get in. That wasn't an issue for Georgie. She passed the interview with flying colors. Of course she did. There's no doubting her knowledge on art, even as a child.

The first year Georgie had a hard time adjusting to British culture and their way of speaking. While she was a well spoken child, she was still too American, so she adapted. Catching onto the accent was easy, she's heard James's accent all her life. The posh way of speaking was the hard part. She had to broaden her vocabulary, pronounce words the Southern English way, she even had a tutor that taught her RP English, though she doesn't have a practical use for it if she's not meeting the Queen. She doubts that's ever going to happen. Slowly, but surely anything she was like at home shifted into a new girl that wasn't annoying and in her siblings' faces. She was posh, proper, darling Georgie. She was afraid of going home during her first year for fear that being in America would ruin all the hard work she put into being acceptable in the eyes of her British peers. For three years she didn't come home and James had to bribe her with continuing to pay for her school and a personal garden to get her to come back. Gardening was a hobby she picked up at school. There was a club that did arrangements out of the flowers they tended to and they were an aesthetic Georgie was attracted to.

In the three years she was away, Georgie learned bullies were starved for emotional reactions, so she stopped reacting. If they said anything about where she came from, her family, or anything to insult her she'd smile and politely insult them, then go about their day. Most of the time she'd forget their name. No better way to hurt a bully's pride than to ask "Who are you again?" She became known as a steel wall at her school.

When she came home for the first time in three years she wasn't expecting Tyler to be Sabrina. It was a change she hadn't seen coming. Quite jarring actually with England's anti-trans stances. Not that she bought into bigotry. Like anything she adjusted. It'd been so long, since she'd last seen Tyler that he would've been just as much a stranger as Sabrina is if she didn't transition at all. Georgie still kept her distance, even though it ate at her little by little not to have the relationships she used to with her siblings. She sucked it up and dealt with it. She didn't put in all that work to become Americanized. She did what she could to show she cared from her corner of the manor. She tended to her new garden and made flower arrangements she left in her sibling's bedrooms every Monday morning to show off the skills she learned in club.

Through the years, Georgie excelled in her classes and when she graduated from Secondary school James was ready to bring her home, but England was her home now. It'd be too weird to permanently be around people she didn't much care to be around minus the obligatory presents during Christmas and birthday cards. She'd built up an outline of her life to succeed in becoming an art curator:
- Further Education
- University of Edinburgh for a History of Arts degree
- Internship at the Louvre
- Louvre art curator

Her life of art was set and James's wants to bring her "home" weren't going to derail her plans. James relented and got her a condo to stay in while she took her A-level classes in art, history, and design.

During her two years of study, she established a relationship with a boy from secondary school. Lucien was nice, he had floppy blond hair, and baby blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled at her. He treated her well, even during arguments about not spending enough time together, ones she shut down every time. He even accepted her when she blew him off to study. Lucien wanted to be a patisserie, she loved that he had a dream for himself. He was her first everything. They had sex whenever he was in the mood, but she didn't enjoy herself. It got to the point she didn't want to anymore, because it was gross or she was bored. Heavy petting was good on occasion. Other than little hiccups their relationship was fine. The downside was that she was going to university in Scotland after she passed A-levels and he was going to France. She couldn't get distracted from her goals by splitting her attention between university work and a long distance relationship. Lucien didn't want them to be over, but it wasn't up for discussion. She promptly broke his heart, then forgot he ever existed.

University was much the same as all her education exploits, best grades, brightest future, each goal checked off the list. Everything changed when James dropped dead. She was home for Christmas that year, sipping her wine, and ignoring the argument between James and Oscar. She didn't care what it was about. Had nothing to do with her, ergo not her business. Oscar stormed from the house like an upset maiden and she retreated to her room when she finished her food. She didn't know that'd be the last time she'd see James alive. The news was shocking and she cried not for his death, but not knowing the content of his will. What if she didn't get a dime for being away for so long? That wasn't a problem after the reading of the will stating most of the money went to the biological children along with ownership in the family business, and the orphans got the scraps. Good. She can continue her goals without disruption. She had gone out to her garden to take care of her winter flowers and found a gold carnation ring in the dirt. When she touched it a spirit whispered in her ear, said that it watched her take care of flowers for years and that it thought her garden was perfect. She put the ring on and spoke to it every day for the duration of her visit. She didn't think about it too hard. James exposed her to supernatural artifacts and happening young. She said she's take care of it always if she could bring it with her everywhere. The spirit agreed with her. Before she left back to Scotland, a dimension opened in her ring and sucked it in.

After his death she had no intentions of ever stepping into Araminta again, unless someone else died, but her joints stiffen up around the anniversary of James's death. At first she thought it was arthritis, which was weird. She wasn't aware that it was a medical condition James suffered, then again it could be from her mother's side, but the next morning she couldn't move her right hand. It was solid stiff like stone. She felt it had something to do with James and magic, so she booked a flight home. The moment she stepped foot on the Vanburen grounds her hand healed. She learned she couldn't leave the estate and had to request her school to put her education on hold for medical purposes. This is not perfect.

TYPE ⫻ Aberration: Agent

ABSTRACTION ⫻ The Garden is a dimension of Georgie's own creation with all the flowers she can control or summon for attack and defense.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Georgie moved the personal garden James made for her to a different dimension after his death, so she could have it with her always. It's her way of grieving, but she hasn't processed it yet. The Garden is accessed through her gold carnation ring. She can summon a big portal to fit people through or a small one the size of a sunflower. If anyone gets caught in her dimension they're in a spot of trouble. She can control all the flowers there to do her bidding, such as root and petal manipulation, size manipulation, and petal imprisonment. Outside the dimension she can't control her flowers the same way. The flower petals she summons shoot out from the small portal like razor sharp bullets. Bigger portals release a blizzard of razor sharp petals. Anyone in the path gets cut up. She can escape through the portal to get out of a situation, but she'll come back in the same spot she left. And she can summon a giant flower that's as hard as steel to protect her.

LIMITS ⫻ Emotional-Fields prevent Georgie from closing her portals on other extra-normals, however, she doesn't have too many limitations from Emotional-Fields. Opening a portal to her Garden isn't an instant process. She can open a portal in a few seconds, however, the process strains Georgie. She can have the portal to the Garden open for about five minutes straight and afterward, she'll have to take a break. Once Georgie opens a portal, it's completely static and she can't make it turn or change its size. Meaning if she has a portal opened parallel to the ground and there's an opponent above her, she'd have to close the portal and open a new one facing in the same direction and is the same size. Rapidly opening and closing portals exhausts her. In the Garden she can manipulate all plant-life in her field of vision. However, if she's not present in the Garden the ability is greatly limited and she can't manipulate plants as she normally could.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Fire is a huge weakness for Georgie's ability. Fire can even destroy the petals that are hard as steel. The portal can also be destroyed by fire and extreme heat. When Georgie grows plants, she's putting a bit of herself into it - literally. She uses her life-force to cause rapid plant growth and it'll run if she uses it excessively. It replenishes an hour, but overuse can cause exhaustion, hair-loss, starvation/dehydration - and even kill her if she goes too far.

Georgiana is a terrible name. Quite dreadful. For someone as magnificent as her she could've been an Alexandria, Victoria, or Olivia. Something pretty and strong sounding. Georgiana is what she's stuck with, so she settled for at least making it cute. Georgie is what she prefers to be called. Not Georgiana, George, Geordie or Geor, a cheeky boy called her that once. Georgie.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Really, the man just needs a break. Ezra is looking to escape the current responsibility he has as the business head of the family, but he has stated many times over that he won’t relinquish control until he is certain that stepping down won’t hinder the future of Araminta or the Vanburens.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Ezra views the world through a scope of negativity that sets his expectations low, because he knows that high hopes only makes the fall hurt so much worse. However, he is not strictly a pessimist, or at least he doesn’t consider himself one. He’s a realist, and reality can be a pain in the ass. His views fall in line heavily with Stoicism, believing that the bad in life is unavoidable, natural, and yet wholly possible to survive through. Therefore, he shouldn’t even worry about the terrible things. Instead, Ezra tries his hardest to only worry about the things he can control—namely, his own actions and feelings—and strives to be a virtuous, just person who always does the right thing. In other words, he wants to be perfect. Sometimes, it’s a maddening task.

SEXUALITY ⫻ If it ever was questioned or brought up, Ezra would likely shrug and say that he was straight. If Ezra was to consider his sexuality with more than just a shrug he would identify more as a demisexual than a heterosexual.

FEARS ⫻ In theory, Ezra believes that he has nothing to fear. It’s the creation of an overactive imagination, a negative emotion heightened by the desire for a different outcome. Things happen, and that’s all they ever do. He has a sense of indestructibility. In actuality, he is terrified of being hypocritical. He strives to be a good person that isn’t controlled by his emotions, but he questions his own authenticity all of the time. It’s a fear that feeds upon itself. The more he worries about being a hypocrite, the more of a hypocrite he sees himself to be.

REPUTATION ⫻ Reliable but severe. Ezra served as a business consultant and occasional manager for the many mom and pop stores James acquired. James Vanburen might’ve been Magnanimous, but he didn’t want his investments to be money pits. If a business was in a bad enough spot that it needed a bailout to survive, then something needed to be changed about its management and focus—and Ezra was the one who helped execute the change. Although he was often a boon for the businesses, his strict no-nonsense professionalism could be grating.

Generally too busy to ever even be present, Ezra was often quiet and reserved around the Vanburens when it came to large family gatherings. Many thought he bore some kind of grudge towards his half-siblings, but he has proven that impression wrong many times throughout the years. Almost every Vanburen can recall at least one time that Ezra has gone out of his way to help them. Be it as simple as offering a shoulder to cry on to privately posting bail so that their father doesn’t have to hear about them drinking and driving, Ezra has proven himself time and time again to the guardian angel for the Vanburen children. Yet despite his benevolence, nearly none of them can say for certain if he truly cares about them or if he is just begrudgingly following some kind of brotherly obligation.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Ezra will give him this: James was a decent businessman and a kindhearted, charitable individual. Unfortunately, those things do not make him a good person nor a good father. If anything, they only serve to highlight how their dad was kind of a huge piece of shit. In the last couple of years it was obvious to anyone that there was bad blood growing between Ezra and James, but neither of them ever spoke about what it was over. However, despite their growing animosity, Ezra is seemingly incapable of openly saying a bad thing about his father. There’s still a deeply seated respect, admiration, jealousy, and fear rooted in Ezra for the man. He doubts he’d ever manage to shake it, no matter how hard he tries to remove the man’s influence from his life.

FLAWS ⫻ Ezra is jackknifing off of the highest diving board straight down into the empty pool of a massive burnout. Between work, family, a goddamn curse, and his own perfectionist idealism, he is spread to his absolute limits. He sees himself as too much of a protector of the other Vanburen children to share his burden with them, but unfortunately it has gotten to the point where his stress and exhaustion has worn him down to a near breaking point. He forgets things regularly, even seeming to blank out on people he’s known for years, and easily gets frustrated. While he doesn’t get visibly angry or openly snap at others, the silent treatments he implores when he has reached his limits with someone or something have become nearly legendary. It’s amusing when it’s used against the paparazzi, but downright terrifying when turned on the family.

The rivalry between the Harrisburgs and the Vanburens was already burning between the two, but Ezra was the can of gasoline that turned the flame into a raging bonfire. Ezra was the product of a secret affair between James and Slyvia, the aunt of Richard Harrisburg and sister to his father. The two, against the wishes of the Harrisburgs, got hitched not so long after Slyvia started to show, and for a spell the couple seemed happy. At least, they were until James’ business ventures began bleeding her family dry and his eyes started to wander towards other women. By the time the divorce came Slyvia could barely even look at her son, only ever referring to him as “the mistake” while looking straight through him. She went back to the Harrisburgs; James was stuck with the mistake.

James ended up sending his son to a prestigious boarding school, both to prep his son for one day taking over the family business and to ensure that he wasn’t left alone at home for months at a time to be raised by the staff. Ezra may have hated school, but he was a bright kid and an even better student. However, it didn’t take too long for the kid to realize that he was practically being cultivated by James. That occurred when Ezra told his dad he was going to join the basketball team. Sports were trivial, said his old man, you’re joining the debate team. So he did. It became the song and dance for the rest of Ezra’s life. When deciding on a major for college Ezra expressed an interest in studying art. While art was seen as a nice hobby, it wasn’t a respectable profession according to James—his boy would go for business. So he did.

Ezra attended Wharton, where he studied and drank and dated and did the usual college shit while on the path towards getting his MBA. When Ezra graduated, he planned to move to New York with his girlfriend Autumn against the wishes of James, who wanted him back in Araminta to work for him. The goal was to establish a base, make some money, and open up an art gallery on the side. However, for the six months he lived there Ezra was unable to find a job, despite his connections, his legacy, and his degree. Eventually, he was forced to take his father’s offer to come work for him as his business manager, overseeing the various mom and pop stores he owned around Araminta.

Autumn joined him in Araminta and the two were married in a small ceremony that Ezra’s mother did not attend. However, Ezra soon found himself practically married to working for James, trying to work miracles on the charity cases he took in to turn them around into actual functioning businesses. There were a few failures here and there, but for a vast majority of them the acquisition turned into a brilliant success. While Ezra didn’t necessarily enjoy his work, he was good at it and there was something rewarding to helping the little guys out...even if the little guys ended up kicking them some cutback after. Of the “independent” boutiques operating downtown, nearly a third of them have had Ezra meddle in their business affairs at some point.

However, bad blood began to form between father and son. Normally, his time spent in Araminta was so short Ezra barely had a chance to even speak to his siblings, let alone actually get to know them. By being back in Araminta for good, Ezra was able to see how James pandered and bent over backwards for his other children; meanwhile, he’d hammered his oldest into a James-shaped mold. It planted a bad seed in the depths of Ezra’s mind that blossomed into the idea that, like his mother, his father also viewed him as a mistake, one that he was retroactively trying to fix by turning him into little more than a carbon copy. The worst part was that he succeeded—which only occurred when Autumn cited him turning into a James Jr. for being one of the reasons why she was leaving.

They were divorced before Thanksgiving. When James passed away on Christmas Day, Ezra almost looked relieved—or he did until he was assigned the executor of James’ will and left in control of all of James' businesses. In horror, Ezra realized that by dying and leaving him in charge James had trapped him: Ezra would always be working for his father, indefinitely, until he himself croaked. He would become the new magnanimous man, but it would be James, not Ezra, that people saw when they asked for a bail out. Ezra was just the hand that fed them, puppeted by James’ ghost from the afterlife.

Screw that.

To escape Ezra began setting to work to dismantle his father’s empire, but he had to find the proper balance to not destroy the businesses or the lives of others in the process. It has been slow going, but he has started to turn full independence back to some of the stores and pass responsibility down on to people he can trust. Ezra imagined that in a handful of years he’d be able to leave Araminta in the hands of someone else and to start living his life for once. Maybe he’d even try and get Autumn back.

Turning into stone kind of threw a wrench in that plan. Ezra was hit by a wave of despair. He went to his father’s office to search for any sort of clues as to what was happening to his family. When he searched through his father’s desk he found an old childhood puzzle of his, one of those annoying metal ones where they’re locked together and you have to somehow untangle them. In a flash of youthful impatience and ingenuity he’d gone to the shed, grabbed some bolt cutters, and cut the puzzle in two instead of banging his head against the solution. Seeing it now made him laugh, in part because he was surprised James would save such a thing but also because of his own reaction to the curse. It was stupid to waste time moping. Every problem had a solution. They just weren’t always obvious.

As he touched the broken puzzle, he flashed to a memory that wasn’t his own. He was still in his father’s office but it looked different, as if a fog had encroached through the window and filled up the edges of his periphery. He saw hands reassembling an antique rifle, aligning the sights and sliding back in the bolt. He watched as they affixed a bayonet to the end and slowly leveled the rifle up against their shoulder. It felt good; almost perfect. There was just one more touch. A glow of orange radiated around the rifle and then faded. The bayonet slashed through the air, there was a cackle of energy, and the world tore open in front of it. Ezra felt a wave of satisfaction hit him. There! Now it was a Masterpiece.

The vision faded, but the orange glow lingered around the broken puzzle. Ezra still didn’t know why his family was cursed, but he had a feeling he was already on the path to curing it. All he needed to do was put on a brave face and endure his responsibilities a little bit longer.

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Orange Lux. Ezra’s channeler is a broken wire puzzle that he’d cut apart with bolt cutters in frustration when he was a child. It has been looped through a leather strap to become some kind of wristband.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Ezra attributes characteristics to items and people, making them wondrous by thinking outside of the box. His spells require physical touch to cast and can continue indefinitely as long as he maintains a small amount of concentration that can be canceled by emotional turmoil, physical pain, or loss of consciousness.

Masterpiece ⫻ Ezra infuses an object and turns it into a perfect version of itself, better than it ever could possibly be. For example, a pencil would never go dull and the eraser would completely remove any errant graphite. Likewise, a lock would become unpickable or a door would become unbreakable while affected by the spell. A Masterpiece spell affects the whole, not just a part. A Masterpiece car would make the entire car perfect: the tires would never go flat, the engine would never rust, and the windshield would never crack. Once an item has become a Masterpiece it no longer has to operate in the realm of logic, like a Masterpiece jug of milk would never empty or spoil while a Masterpiece computer would still operate without any electricity or wi-fi.

Masterpiece is largely ineffective on a person. They only appear perfect on a surface-level, like an airbrushed version of themselves designed to sell ads. Masterpiece items vary in effectiveness against Apparitions, but are generally more useful than normal items.

Currently, he can keep one Masterpiece item and one Masterpiece person spell going at a time. The cast time requires channeling Lux from one to five minutes, depending on the complexity and size of the target, and requires a decent amount of concentration.

Configure ⫻ Ezra can dramatically increase or decrease the size of an item while allowing it to continue to perform its function, including Masterpiece items. Configure does not change the weight of an item. Like Masterpiece, a Configure spell affects the whole. Therefore, if he has a box full of clothes, the clothes will shrink or expand with the box. However, the moment that a sweater is pulled from the box it will return to its original size because it is no longer contained in the field of the Configure spell.

While people can have Configured items used against them, they themselves cannot be Configured. Likewise, their bodies act as a natural barrier against things when they are being Configured. Therefore, Ezra could Configure a necklace to shrink and become uncomfortably tight, but he cannot push it to the point of being smaller than that person’s neck until they take it off. Configured items typically amplify the usefulness of items against Apparitions, and while they are Configured they are extremely difficult to destroy outside of Extra-Normal means.

Currently, he can keep one Configure spell going at a time. The scale of an item can range from 1/5th to 5x. The cast time is instant, but items take a few seconds to change in size.

Prodigy ⫻ Ezra makes a person an instant expert on a subject relating to any Masterpiece item they are currently using. A person with a Masterpiece scalpel will become a top level surgeon, while that behind the wheels of a Masterpiece car would make any Hollywood stunt driver jealous. The moment their connection to the Masterpiece item is severed they return to their base skill level with no residual hold over in talent, regardless of how long they were using the Masterpiece item. So, while the person might know they are performing brain surgery, they won’t know what lobe to poke at until they pick the scalpel back up.

Prodigy is curbed by someone’s own physical limitations. A person decked out in Masterpiece boxing gloves might know how to fight like Ali, but if they’re weak they’ll hit and go down like Glass Joe. Prodigy can only be cast on a person. He can only have one Prodigy spell up at a time. The cast time is instant.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Ezra can detect the location of an item or person he has enchanted within 100 meters.

LIMITS ⫻ Naturally, Emotional-Fields protect the Extra-Normal from some of the nastier effects of his spells like being shrunk, strangled, and so forth. Ezra can only have one type of spell cast at one time, and if he has cast Configure and he wants to cast Masterpiece; then he'll have to drop Configure. His imbuing spells have a range limit and if he goes further than twelve meters from an object or person that he has imbued with his magic then it'll revert back to normal.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ It seems that improving objects have a cost, that Erza has to give something. To make something a masterpiece, he weakens himself in the process. He finds that he has shortness of breath, that he's a lot more susceptible to pain, not as strong as usual, and so on. He finds out this debuff is active as long as he has the spell going. The Configure spell changes Erza's weight, as making an object larger makes him heavier, and making an object smaller makes him lighter - easier to toss around and stuff.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Tansy says she desires to make the world a better place, although that’s just the shallow textbook response she’s been regurgitating since the Miss Araminta pageant she won over fifteen years ago. It’s become a lot clearer lately: Tansy just wants to be adored.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ The best life is the one she has absolute control over. Tansy believes that people can be divided between being a sheep or being a wolf. However, Tansy knows that she is different; she is no animal. She sees herself as a shepherd, someone who can protect the flock of sheep by controlling where they graze and flay the pelts off of the wolves hiding amongst them.

SEXUALITY ⫻ She’s straight. Tansy has taken after her father when it comes to long-term relationships. If she brings a man home for Thanksgiving by now the family knows there will be another by Christmas. Until recently she hasn’t technically been single since the eighth grade, but since the funeral she hasn’t been dating.

FEARS ⫻ She has a massive fear of rejection. Tansy is openly afraid that her reputation and the Vanburen name will be tarnished by her family. The amount of effort she puts in to appear to be a perfect, polished princess can be so quickly dismantled by one of her indignant siblings making an ass of themselves. Conversely, she wants those siblings to adore her as much as those rich elites minglings at her wine mixers. She endlessly worries that she alienates herself from her family, yet continues to project this image where she sees herself as their superior.

Tansy is also so terrified of driving that she never learned and struggles with anxiety attacks even when just being a passenger. She limits her travel by car as much as possible, lest she run the upholster by death gripping the leather. These fears do not arise in other forms of transportation.

REPUTATION ⫻ She’s Araminta’s favorite daughter. Despite a few rumors of promiscuity flying around, Tansy has a squeaky clean reputation in town and has been lauded for her efforts in assisting the town in tackling its troubles through charity work and fundraising events she’d organized with her father. While a few of the “rougher” individuals around town might consider her a bit hoity-toity and question her motivations, it’s difficult to deny the good work she has done for Araminta. Even those naysayers have seemed to be coming around ever since James’s death.

Tansy's reputation within her own family is dubious. She attempted to establish herself as the matriarch of the household, treating her siblings with a smothering presence of saccharine sweetness that would rapidly swap to veiled insults and passive-aggressiveness when they questioned her authority. It didn’t help that she was notably brusque with the staff, treated most of their mothers with thinly veiled hostility, or attempted to monopolize their father’s limited freetime in hopes of continuing to seal in her spot as “the favorite”. Although she regularly tries to keep in touch with everyone as they’ve left the nest, it was difficult for many of the Vanburen children to see Tansy as anything but a holier-than-thou fake.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Tansy absolutely adored James because Daddy, as she worrisomely refers to her adopted father as to this day, gave her everything she ever wanted. While the other children tried to flee from out underneath his shadow, she fully embraced living in the shade. He was a great man and she plans to honor his greatness by opening a rehabilitation clinic in his name. She won’t stand to listen to any hearsay about his relationship struggles or his own substance abuse. Daddy was a hero and he deserves to be recognized as one.

FLAWS ⫻ Tansy is a control freak who is quick to send others on a guilt trip when they do not do things the way she wants them to be done. Although she isn’t a stupid person, she is one of those frustrating individuals who believes she is smarter than she actually is and struggles to accept others as being able to come up with a better idea. She turns disagreements personal, acting as if attacks on ideas are attacks on her as a person. As well, she isn’t above threatening to spread malicious gossip to get someone to acquiesce to her will.

James Vanburen adopted Tansy when she was barely a toddler. She cannot recall anything from her life before, but when growing up she suffered from recurring nightmares of shrieking voices, a blinding light, the sound of metal grinding on metal, and an intense cold. She liked to imagine that James saved her from a terrible life. Nightmares aside, her childhood was wonderful, an idyllic life spent waited upon by other people and granted whatever she wanted. Compared to the other children, Tansy was spoiled by James. It became clearer to her when she realized he’d picked her from dozens of other children up for adoption. James had other kids, but he’d chosen her. She was special, and because she was special she knew she couldn’t let him down.

By the time she was a teenager, Tansy had taken it upon herself to become the, as some of the staff teasingly called her, lady of the estate, organizing family dinners and prepping for holiday parties. She often found herself at odds with James's current wife, but always tried to harness the affection of his other children to various levels of success and failure. A fear of driving meant she spent a lot of her later teen years on the estate horseback riding or playing tennis with her latest boyfriend, occasionally whiteknuckling a ride into town for a change of scenery or riding her bike there when she didn’t want to fight off a panic attack.

As an adult, Tansy stayed in Araminta but did not attend the local college. Rather she doubled-down on her dedication to assisting James and began organizing and hosting fundraising events to help him tackle the city’s drug epidemic. She found she had a knack for calling the shots and began to oversee more of James's charitable endeavors, allowing her father to galavant off on wherever his business took him. Her talent for event planning became noticed by the limited pool of Araminta social elite and she began taking hosting requests for other exquisite events.

Eventually, Tansy found herself soaring amongst the socialites, hosting galas in Araminta and nearby major cities. She inevitably began to split time between Araminta and New York City, ideally commuting by train and subway whenever possible, and spent her adulthood drinking out of champagne flutes, hosting galas, and guilting the rich into returning a paltry amount of the money they’d exploited from the poor to boost their social standings. Life was perfect. Tansy could not be happier. She enjoyed planning events and saw a successful evening as proof that what she did was important.

Call it self-centered but there was nothing she enjoyed more than planning the Vanburen Family Christma every year. It was James’s favorite day of the year after all, and she spent weeks of hard work making sure everything was just right. Weeks that only took his ungrateful bastards minutes to ruin with their bickering the moment their precious little egos got scratched. The image of her father’s sad, tired face as he drained his Manhattan, poured himself a whiskey neat, and closed his library’s door in her face is etched in her mind. The next day she was planning his funeral. The extra burden kept her from lambasting his children. It’d be perfect. A perfect funeral to honor a perfect father.

Only she couldn’t go. How could she possibly stomach seeing James in a box surrounded by a carnival of bastards and social parasites? How could she bear to witness one of them make a mockery out of something she helped create again? Tansy feigned being ill and sequestered herself in the manor. While alone in the house she heard the sound of a glass shattering come from James’s room. Knowing that all the staff had been given the day off she felt a cold dread take hold of her as she approached his closed door, an otherworldly light pulsing from under the door. She froze in fear as her hand touched the handle and then she heard a choir of voices in her head say, “Do not be afraid.” She opened the door, screamed as she witnessed the horrifying form of what lies beyond, and was swallowed by its golden light.

Tansy couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak. The creature was gone but she could feel it in her head. The choir chimed up again, telling her to be calm and so she did. It introduced itself as Dominion and told Tansy to consider it as an old so-called business partner of James. It just wanted to see the man one last time and pay its respects, but given the circumstances of its appearance needed a host. What better host was there than Tansy? She found that she couldn’t possibly disagree with Dominion. She joined her family at the graveyard, a bore witness as her father was buried in the ground. She felt her head swirl and then there was no more input from Dominion.

The following day she’d rationalize it as a delusion caused by intense grief. She returned to New York shortly thereafter with the goal of raising funds for a new rehabilitation clinic in Araminta named after her father to honor his memory. However, she found that her typical donors were not so interested in pursuing a pet project that offered little prestige. At least that was the case before Dominion began speaking to her again. It offered its power to Tansy to help win over her investors, insisting that it would be its own way of honoring its old business partner. Dominion explained to her what it could do. At first Tansy was a bit apprehensive, moral quandaries and all, but if it was for the greater good then she couldn’t say no. She accepted Dominion’s deal and fully became adjoined with the Apparition. She found little difficulty securing funding since then.

Tansy moved back to Araminta to drum up local support for the rehab clinic and to settle on a location to build it. She purchased the nicest apartment she could find downtown so she could avoid commuting. Tansy made a decent headway on finding a lot in East Araminta where she could begin construction after winter. However, she didn’t plan on spending the holidays at home. No matter, it’d be nice to have everyone around again. What other choice did they have?

TYPE ⫻ Aberration (Affixed)

ABSTRACTION ⫻Dominion’s Majesty, the ability to take on an otherworldly form and subjugate someone who witnesses her.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻Dominion’s Majesty allows Tansy to unleash the Apparition hiding inside of her and manifest it. When Dominion is manifested the Apparition tries to mesmerize a being of Tansy’s choice, attempting to snap them into a hypnotic stupor. Someone without an emotional field is almost immediately enchanted, unable to take their eyes off of Tansy and allowing her to turn them into a subject that she can command with simple verbal orders. If she does not issue a new command upon the completion of an order then the subject returns to its hypnotic state and await her next demand. Tansy can seal Dominion to release her subject from its hypnosis or to cancel an order. Upon releasing a subject they regain their consciousness but are unaware of what happened or what they did as if they were sleepwalking.

Alternatively, Tansy can choose to fully possess her subject by touching them and staring into their eyes for a handful of unbroken seconds. However doing so enters her own body into a hypnotic, nearly defenseless state. While in possession of her subject she has absolute control over them and can access their memory, allowing her to pass as them in conversation, stockpile dangerous secrets, or get her ego battered by finding out how somebody really thinks of her. To one of the Blind it would be almost impossible to tell the difference between a person and Tansy possessing a person. However, someone capable of witnessing the Extra-Normal could catch the occasional flicker of gold in their eyes when they are hit by a bright light. Tansy can end a possession at will, immediately snapping back to her body and freeing her subject. As with her orders, they do not recall the possession.

Emotional Fields absolutely hamper Dominion’s Majesty, turning Tansy’s divine right to reign into a monarch’s brutal attempt to quell a peasant rebellion through pure attrition. The worst thing that typically happens to her unruly subject with an Emotional Field when she manifests Dominion is that they experience a temporary flash of blindness and rush of fear. As long as Tansy is using Dominion’s Majesty on this revolting peon, they will continue to be blinded when looking at her as if they were trying to stare into the sun. As well, they will begin to feel the horror of Tansy’s royal mandate breaking through their Emotional Field. Looking away almost immediately frees a would-be subject from Tansy’s grasp (as does forcing Tansy to divert her gaze), but if they do not or cannot they will eventually be snapped into a hypnotic state just like the Blind.

However, unlike the Blind an Extra-Normal subject of Tansy’s can attempt to resist her orders, either following it out ineffectively or even completely breaking free of her subjugation. How hard it is to resist an order depends on how unlikely her subject would’ve done it on their own free will. For example, telling someone who doesn’t like violence, “Don’t hurt anyone!” would be almost impossible to resist because they wouldn’t hurt anyone in the first place, telling them, “Don’t hurt me, hurt him!” would make it more uncertain if they would follow the order fully or not, and telling them, “Don’t hurt me, but kill that bastard!” almost certainly wouldn’t work—nor is it something that Tansy believes she would ever request.

Theoretically, Tansy could attempt to possess an Extra-Normal. Honestly, Tansy fears that doing so might allow her to be Abscised by the very being she possesses.

While the target of Dominion’s Majesty either cannot see Dominion or is blinded by its Majesty, those around Tansy can witness it—although what it is difficult to say. Upon first manifesting the Apparition, Tansy’s eyes ignite in a golden light and her voice echoes as if it was backed by a choir. Her skin begins to glow and radiate, clothes and hair flowing as if they were in a warm, heavenly breeze. Eventually, a halo of light emerges from behind her head, growing in its radius until it seems as if it were about to swallow Tansy whole. Beyond her in the circle of light, accompanied by the beating of wings and the cries of some otherworldly language harmonizing with Tansy’s commands, lies Dominion, its form an incomprehensible nightmare that wavers and shifts like a mirage as it stretches out towards its herald, looming closer and closer but never quite reaching her. Not yet, at least.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Dominion watches over Tansy while she is in possession of her subject. She can detect the aura of entities within 10 meters of her body, although she cannot determine their identity.

LIMITS ⫻ Tansy, unfortunately, can only use the power of Dominion's Majesty on one target at a time and to change targets; Tansy has to release her hold on the one target she's focusing on. The Extra-Normal are heavily resistant, if not outright immune, to the effect of Tansy's abstraction due to Emotional-Fields protecting them - if they know of Tansy's ability they can easily resist the effects if they are aware of them. Tansy can use the Dominion's Majesty and use its effects in a range of thirty meters, or if she chooses to use it herself, far, far closer (which is the more effective way to use it). Tansy is able to control a blind for around a few hours before they become more and more aware of the control and is able to break free. An Extra-Normal can only be affected for a few minutes.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ Due to the low-powered nature of the abstraction; there are few drawbacks or weaknesses. The Dominion's Majesty is a very fragile Apparition not designed for combat; it's easily destroyed by attacks. If it's destroyed, Tansy will fall unconscious until the Apparition regenerates. The primary counter to this ability is awareness, if even the Blind are aware of Tansy's abstraction and somebody tells them she's using it on them; they can resist and break free of its influence.

Tansy has recently begun to have her childhood nightmares again.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ To continue life as a musician. He hopes that his music will touch the hearts of others and inspire them to want to be better people for each other, themselves, and the planet. His goals may be unrealistic and too altruistic, but they are his goals nonetheless. If he can touch one person with his music, he is satisfied.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Blu believes that life and death are a vital part of the universe and that both are sacred and necessary to keep the balance. However, he feels as though the world does not value human life as it should, which leads to unnecessary and premature death. Through his music, he believes people can unite and put an end to the ridiculous bloodshed and stop causing each other so much suffering.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Blu is probably gay—but maybe bi. He's not really sure to be honest. He's never had sex with anyone before. He's never had a significant other or even had a first kiss. Although, since coming to Armaminta, he finds himself fancying other boys more than anyone else.

FEARS ⫻ Blu fears that he'll never have the chance to amend his actions and regain the favor of his Native American tribe. At the time, he fell for the allure and wonder of a new world outside of being a Funérailles. But at what cost? Will his tribe ever take him back? He fears that they may never. He also fears that he has disgraced his parents, grandparents, and ancestors by abruptly cutting off the legacy he was supposed to carry on—his supposed destiny.

REPUTATION ⫻ In Araminta, Blu has a favorable reputation with his audience. He regularly performs his music at small venues throughout the city, but nothing major. He doesn't want a big performance—he likes the intimacy and connections he can make with people at smaller shows. As a freelance music teacher, the parents of his students also see him as a positive member of the local community. No one really knows of his connection to James though.

Within the Vanburen family, Blu is a mysterious figure. For some reason, James kept Blu relatively hidden from most of the Vanburen family, including the children. James might have mentioned that he'd taken in a Native American ward in passing, but no formal introductions between Blu and his children were made before his death. Blu may have met some of the extended family once or twice (like a cousin or aunt), but mostly, Blu was a treasured jewel that James tried to keep away from everyone.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Blu had a very rose-tinted and limited view of James. He sees James as a generous beacon of holy light. James must have been very meticulous about the sides of himself that he showed to Blu. James was someone who helped Blu discover a new world and gain new experiences. Most importantly, Blu could rediscover himself outside of his identity as a Funérailles thanks to James.

FLAWS ⫻ Blu is hypersensitive to the emotions of other people around him. So much so, that it can have a direct impact on his immediate psychological temperament and make him somewhat susceptible to manipulation and deception. He feels empathy and compassion for others to a fault and can become saddened or angered when someone else is feeling that way too. Sometimes, he loses himself in the moment and is unable to differentiate between his own feelings and someone else's. The pain and hardships of others weigh on him heavily, so he has to work on not drowning in the pain of others. It is this empathic nature that drives him to be quite stubborn and headstrong. Once he comes to a decision, it's nearly impossible to convince him otherwise-even if the decision is wrong (even though his intentions are benevolent). Because of his sensitive nature, he cries easily, is very sentimental, highly nostalgic, and can become clingy.

Also, Blu tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve. He is the epitome of an open book. He's very easy to read. Because he is so innately open with his feelings, some people may try to use that to take advantage of him.

Death is a fascinating phenomenon. The one and only thing that is guaranteed in this world. It's all around us even when we may not notice it. Each day that passes, it beckons for us, sings its siren song to drag us into the depths. And there are those in this world who come face to face with it. These people are what this world calls, Funérailles. The role of a Funérailles is a peculiar profession and those who become one don't usually live their lives hoping to be such. For most, it chose them. The Funérailles oversee and perform a cultural custom called Mer de rêves (The Sea of Dreams).

It is a profession unique to Blu's Native American tribe, a seafaring folk who've lived near the ocean for centuries and pride themselves on being (what they believe) the descendants of their ocean fae and star celestial ancestors. But even within this tribe, Funérailles are few and far between.

Why you might ask?

Most Funérailles are sent off by their tribe to live their entire lives in isolation on very small islands far off the coast—most of which have long since fallen under U.S. jurisdiction. And aside from the regular U.S. military operatives who sentinel these small islands, a Funérailles's interactions usually only occur when people from the mainland bring them the dead bodies of their loved ones, escorted by the U.S. operatives of course. Upon being brought the dead, a Funérailles will perform the funeral rites or Mer de rêves on the body and bury the body at sea, along with a Mementeau, an object that represents the individual's life and dreams. And in the act of burying the body (in an aquatic eco-friendly sarcaphagous) with the Mementau, that person's soul can finally find peace now that their dreams have been released to the sea.



These underwater burials originated from the Old Religion of Blu's tribe and were closely tied to an ancient ceremony called the Festival of the Quiet. Nowadays, most of the religious aspects about it have been significantly diminished. Nonetheless, to have a loved one's remains cast to the depths of the sea by a Funérailles continues to be a great honour and way of showing respect to the dead. But it is an expensive alternative to traditional funerals and therefore, only the affluent can afford it. The Department of Justice Policy on Indian Sovereignty and Government-to-Government Relations with Indian Tribes reaffirms the value and significance of such a custom for Blu's tribe. Even still, it is a highly regulated tradition in collaboration with the U.S. government and Blu's tribe.

People who know about the custom understand that Mer de rêves is a privilege. It is much more honorable than having the bodies of your loved ones thrown into a giant heat vac or buried with hundreds of other random bodies.

Blu's grandparents knew that he was destined to become a Funérailles—even before he was born. After his parents met their untimely demise in a sea-faring accident, Blu's tribe chose him as the next Funérailles (as his grandparents had predicted) and his grandfather began training him in the ways of the profession—day in and day out. You can only become an official Funérailles if the teachings are directly taught and passed down to you by another Funérailles. Also, a true Funérailles has a small marking under their tongue, signifying them as such. This marking or birthmark—if you will—is believed to come from the ancestors.

At the age of 11, Blu was sent off to an island off the coast to begin performing the Mer de rêves-the replacement for a previous Funérailles who passed away. Over the course of six years, Blu would continue to fulfill his role, as he was seemingly destined to do so. Burying the dead at sea, laying out their ashes, and playing a melody to help their spirits pass on. Eventually, a man named James Vanburen would arrive on the island, seeking Blu's services for the burial of one of his many many children—Blu would eventually come to learn. James seemed like any other affluent individual who came to perform this special burial. But, there was a light that burned within the man—none like any other—and yet—an unimaginable sadness lingered there too.

It was this interaction—the strong emotion shared between Blu and James—that a Kindling-Event triggered. It was like a dream—a vision of the past where his ancestors spoke to him about his heritage, his role as a Funérailles, and the magic they would bestow to him through the use of his Ocarina. And their final message to him you might ask...

"You will have the power to unite us all..."

Whatever that meant, Blu would not know for a very long time.

Throughout that year, James Vanburen made several visits to Blu, greeting him with the untimely demise of one child after another. Over time, they would learn more about each other and begin to form a familial bond that almost reminded Blu of his own dearly departed father. The following year, at the age of 18, Blu's paternal grandparents passed away from illness (Blu had never met his maternal side of the family). With no other immediate family members to speak of and having not received any formal/traditional education since age 11, James took Blu in as his ward. In turn, Blu gained a father figure that he'd been lacking for so long.

Leaving his life as a Funérailles behind him (and disgraced by his tribe for leaving his duty), an 18 year old Blu would spend the next seven years integrating into the foreign city of Araminta—catching up on education, meeting new people, and forging a new way of living for himself. Eventually, Blu would begin working as a freelance music teacher and with the continued generosity of James, got his own apartment in the heart of the city—where he currently resides till this day.

He still misses the ocean from time to time though—the smell of the sea mist—the sound of the waves. Perhaps, one day, he'll return to his duty as a Funérailles and regain the favor of his tribe.

Maybe.
Someday.

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Pink-Lavender Lux. Channeler; An indigenous vessel flute--like an ocarina--passed down through the generations of his Native American tribe.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Blu channels his spells through his ocarina, which he uses to play different melodies—with each melody having a different effect. As he plays the vessel flute, it generates a stream of iridescent 'starlight', connecting like a tether to anyone that hears it--though it's more potent on The Blind. The stream of 'starlight' tethering from himself to other people is only visible to other Extra Normal Beings—but he can selectively decide who can and cannot hear it.

First Melody - Hope: This melody inspires feelings of hope, adoration, inspiration, and joy.

Second Melody - Vitesse: This melody amplifies the powers of other Extra Normal Beings and increases other people's physical capabilities—like stamina and running speed.

Third Melody - Pacify: This melody can placate and pacify people—making them less hostile, a bit more suggestive—and overall filling them with a general feeling of calm and peace within.

Fourth Melody - Dream: This melody can make people feel drowsy, and then eventually, it puts them to sleep.

Fifth Melody - Heal: This melody can nullify emotional and physical pain, though overuse on an individual can create a sort of addictive reliance or continued desire for it.

Six Melody - Hither: This melody can draw people to him, even from far away.

Seventh Melody - Scream: This melody has destructive qualities and can bring despair, fear, misery, anguish, and pain. (NOT YET LEARNED)

Hidden Melody - Sing: With time, he may learn to use his spells with his singing voice alone—but not just yet. (NOT YET LEARNED)

LIMITS ⫻ The obvious limitation is that the subject has to hear the Melodies that are being played. So they are limited but as far as people can logically hear them, they're still effective if enhanced or replayed by any devices. After the subject no longer hears the Melody; they will no longer be affected by the Abstraction. Their effects are not instant, however, and they become more and more effective the longer they hear it.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ While Blu is able to pick and choose who gets affected by his Melodies, he will receive the effects of ANY of the melodies he plays. While they may not be a problem with the First and Sixth melody (and he receives no effects from the Second), in the event of the Third, Fourth, and Seventh, he will receive the effects in full. In addition, an Extra-Normal being may severe the bind that connects his songs to others.

- That's his favorite line from one of his songs.
- Blu also loves animals and has a dog, two cats, and a rabbit.

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Arabelle just wants to find a piece of life for herself. She’s thought about visiting her family back in England. Maybe she’ll move there to live a different life, but she couldn’t stand to lose her teaching position. To name a specific goal, she wishes to cut her ties to the Vanburen’s eventually.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ The past defines you, but it does not define your future.

SEXUALITY ⫻ Bisexual. Arabelle has only been with men, but she does feel attracted towards women as well.

FEARS ⫻ Arabelle doesn’t have much to lose, but she fears losing her purpose for this world. She also fears that her awakened magic will affect her life in the real world. She even fears that one day she’ll wake up, and it will all have been a dream.

REPUTATION ⫻ Arabelle was always with her mother within the Vanburen estate, so she was known as Marie’s daughter by most of the staff and Vanburen family until she could speak for herself. Among the staff, she was a vibrant and extremely helpful colleague. To the Vanburen children, she was quiet and distant. She may have played with the youngest Vanburens, but today she isn’t sure if any of the children even remember her.

THOUGHTS ABOUT JAMES VANBUREN ⫻ James was a distant father figure to Arabelle. She’d see him around the estate and he was kind to her, but he was a busy man. She only grew close to him after her mother’s passing and her awakening. His death brought a different kind of pain. She didn’t have another emotional breakdown, but she grieved for the loss of her last connection to her mother’s past.

FLAWS ⫻ While the Vanburen children grew up with everything they could ever want, Arabelle did not. Her jealousy and subconscious bitterness towards them have emerged now that the Vanburen’s are returning to the estate. She even spites them for taking too much of her mother’s time, although now that she is older she understands that her mother may have been the only constant in their life other than James.

Arabelle’s mother moved from England to the US to find a better life. How she ended up in Pennsylvania, Arabelle has no idea, but she knows that at 17 it was hard for her mother to find work. She travelled the east coast working part time as kitchen staff for small diners and restaurants until a staff position at the Vanburen estate was advertised in the newspaper. Her mother, recognizing that the pay would be substantially better, immediately convinced the estate’s manager that she’d been a servant to countless Dukes and Duchesses in England. She was hired on that day.

Her mother remained a member of the staff for years. She cooked, cleaned, nannied the kids, served dinner, and tended to the gardens wherever she was needed. She didn’t mean to stay forever. She was putting money away on the side to go to school. She had just been about to sign up for her first year when she found out she was with child.

Arabelle was born, and her mother put her college savings away not for herself, but for her little girl. She continued to work at the Vanburen estate. Arabelle grew up helping her mother with the morning preparations, then she’d go to a nearby public school, and then she’d come home to help her mother with the evening dinner. It wasn’t a perfect life, but it was their own.

Arabelle’s mother never told her who her father was. The only father figure in her life was James Vanburen himself, but he had many children to care for and she often felt jealous of them. Her mother helped raise them after James would find new lovers. Arabelle would be busy helping her mother with work, or she would stand to the side, as she watched her mother care for his kids. She was never sure if any of them returned the same care for her mother or herself, but at some point she stopped caring. She was an outsider within the Vanburen walls. Once she was old enough, she’d leave them for a better life.

As she grew older, Arabelle withdrew herself more and more from the Vanburen’s. Once she was eighteen, her mother surprised her with college funds. She was sad to leave her mother behind, but her mother decided that Araminta was her home. Most of James’s children had left by then. She felt like she was the only thing that remained of James’s past still within the walls. Arabelle left for college that same year.

Arabelle will always remember the night she heard that her mother passed. It was James Vanburen himself that showed up at her door. He was quite distraught, himself. He brought the news that would shatter her world. He told her that she would always be welcomed back to the estate, but Arabelle told him to leave. In her grief and shock, Arabelle smashed the nearest mirror to her and found herself sobbing over her broken reflection. She found herself wishing to be by her mother’s side more than anything. She’d never gotten to say goodbye.

Arabelle slowly moved on. She finished school and began to teach, but she still carried the weight of her past with her. She began to visit the Vanburen estate, and had quietly awkward dinners with James. She wanted to hear stories about her mother, from before she was born and after she left the estate.

She continued to visit him until his death. After his passing, Arabelle couldn't stand to see the estate wither away. Her mother would be turning in her grave. So after school and on the weekends Arabelle would return to the Vanburens to help with the cooking and cleaning. A month after James Vanburen passed she came across a letter from her mother. It had fallen behind a dresser at some time and was forgotten. Arabelle was overcome with the same anguish she felt the day her mother died. She felt an energy from herself erupt and smash a nearby window. As she cleaned up the pieces, she suddenly found herself within the mirror. On the other side of it was the old room she used to share with her mother in the estate. When she reemerged from the first mirror, the broken glass cut her as if she'd broken through it herself.

Over time, Arabelle discovered that she could do much more with mirrors. She never really understood why she was able to do it until she did some digging in James's office. Slowly, Arabelle became aware of the world of magic, the sealed apparitions within the house, and his troubled past with the Harrisburg family.

His children slowly returned because of his death, but Arabelle remained an outside observer. The Vanburens life was never her own, so why bother with it now but to continue her mother’s legacy? Even if she knew the secrets of James Vanburen.

TYPE ⫻ Awakened

ABSTRACTION ⫻ The Looking Glass: Arabelle uses mirrors to move over long distances, to see into another space, and to listen into conversations.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻

Mirror Portal: Arabelle is able to create a pocket dimension within a mirror. By stepping into this dimension, Arabelle can open the portal to any mirror in a place she has been before. She must come into contact with the mirror before she steps inside, and the mirror must be intact unless she will risk serious injury. She has not yet tried to bring anyone else through a mirror with her, and she most likely will not try it because she worries for their safety.

Mirror Spying: Arabelle can use a mirror's pocket dimension to hear or see into different spaces. She doesn't have to be inside of the mirror in order to do this. Instead, she just needs to be in contact with the surface. As before, Arabelle must have seen or been in the place that she’s spying into.

AURA SENSING ⫻ Arabelle is able to sense the aura of anyone standing in front of a mirror before she chooses which mirror to emerge from or spy on. This makes it easier for her to hide her abstraction and to go from one place to another without suspicion.

LIMITS ⫻ Arabelle can only scry on one location at a time, and her ability only works on locations that she has been to. The act of teleportation is more straining the further away she teleports - theoretically, she can teleport any distance long as she has been there, but teleporting far distances will tire her out. Teleporting from one end of Araminta to the other will feel like she just ran a mile at top speed, but say teleporting from one end of the Vanburen manor to the other will be easy.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ If Arabelle teleports through a broken mirror then she'll receive a cut from it. If the mirror is broken while she is inside of it (before she teleports) then Arabelle will be forced out of it and injured in the process.