Welcome to Recollections: Magnanimous, another RP set in the supernatural horror/urban fantasy universe known as the Recollections universe. Set in a strange and unique urban-fantasy where the magic returned merely a year ago.
In Magnanimous, it's all about the Vanburen family. An illustrious family that is set in Araminta, Pennslyvania. The Vanburens were lead by their patriarch, James Vanburen, who various different children from past relations and adopted orphans and street rats out of the kindness of his heart. He was known as the world's greatest man; he was venerated by many as the kindest, self-sacrificing, generous man in the world - doing anything for his home city of Araminta. And then he died due to mysterious circumstances on Christmas day. However, a year after his death, a curse activated that would turn his children (by blood or not) into stone if they left Araminta. So now his children have to put aside their differences and solve the curse. However, James was not as great as he seemed to be as his many crimes, sins and past mistakes come back to haunt the family. It's up to them to set things right.
This story will be an urban-fantasy story that will cast a certain light on "magic" while leaving it ambiguous whether or not it's truly magic or not. The storyline will have elements of superpowers, urban fantasy, horror, and more. The primary thematic of this RP will be Idols or Magnanmity. The Vanburen family idolized James for his kindness, but they'll quickly find out that he wasn't that perfect. Tension will rise as they try to come to terms with the problems he left for the family. The secondary theme will be Secrets as every member of the family has their own secrets they've been hiding from each other - which will also have to be faced. Above all else it's thematic will be Connection, Emotion, and Memories.
RULES & NOTES
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1. First and foremost I reserve the right to reject anyone from the RP and boot them out at any time. I hate to do this and I will try to avoid it but sometimes some people are too disruptive to the RP or aren't a good fit and have to be removed.
2. Please try to be respectful towards all other players.
3. The Recollections Universe is a dark off-urban fantasy set in the real world, so it'll be relatively realistic. This means I want all characters to make sense, have a realistic (or real) faceclaim, etc. You can pretty much go crazy with any type of character of mostly any sexuality, gender, race, religion, etc, etc. Just stray away from sociopaths/psychopaths.
4. The tone of the RP will be fairly dark and brooding... not like super gritty or edgy (only a little). It'll have plenty of dark moments and probably some pretty graphic moments. However, it'll be offset by the absurdist humor inherent to the setting.
5. Please no "wip" sheets on the OOC. Post a complete sheet or don't post anything at all. If you need something looked over, feel free to private message me. Speaking of which, the character tab is for accepted characters only.
6. Keep in mind that your character can totally die. If they make the wrong move it can result in their death and I will not jeopardize the story to save them.
7. You're allowed to have as many characters as you can handle... just don't go too crazy. I'd like to keep it about three characters max per person, but if you got a real good idea I'll allow more.
8. Keep in mind that this RP isn't quite a regular superpower RP (even though you'll ignore this). It's honestly a weird blend of like thirty different genres but that's beside the point. I want the abilities in this setting to be more grounded in magic, the fantastical, and the thematic over everything. I like abilities that reflect the user in some way, but I'd appreciate seeing how you interpret it. I would prefer if you stray away from scientific abilities like gravity/magnetism manipulation, but I will allow it if you insist.
9. I intend for most of the cast to be James' children and relatives, either by blood or adoption. However, if you can provide a valid reason for an outsider to be apart of the story then I will allow it. I just want a majority of the cast to be his children.
10. I only describe the essential lore for making a character. That is because I like doing stuff from top-to-bottom, meaning I like to explore the supernatural world in-character. If you want any details about the lore for making a character please let me know.
11. The following abilities are banned: Power Replication/Negation, "instant death" powers, reality-warping, anything with "Omni" attached to it, and complete defense/indestructibility.
12. This is optional, but I can write a power for your character. It'll be a fun little thing for both of us.
13. Also, don't fill out the weaknesses/limits section of the character sheet. I'll fill that out for you!
14. This RP will strictly be "first come, first serve." Meaning I will not reserve any powers/character roles/etc, and they will go to whoever finishes their character sheet first. If there's a conflict over it, I will decide the outcome.
15. All I ask for is one post a week. If it's been a week since your last post, your character will be placed into the inactive section until they are written off (mostly by death). Please be aware that once your character is inactive they can be killed off.
16. The RP is set in late 2015, but it runs off of Ambiguous Time Period. Basically meaning the rp will have aspects from different time periods so it'd be ambiguous.
17. There are the rules that are so beaten into your head that it should be obvious.
"The world of the Extra-Normal is the gateway to infinite possibilities." ____________________________________ . . . There out there exists a force, a force like no other. One that allows a person to go further beyond the limits of what is considered natural and become something more... or less, depending on how you look at it. The simplest word for it all is Magic, and it's the gateway to infinite possibilities. Magic returned in December, 2014 and has remained a closely kept secret since then - a "if you know, you know" type deal.
The collective term for it all is Extra-Normal, and there are many different types of Extra-Normal beings. Each of them gets their abilities depending on mere circumstance. Some get their abilities from a moment of powerful emotions, others inherit it, some are phantasms of the deceased or spawned from belief and emotion, and others are the result of a chance encounter with those phantasms.
Each of them has innate abilities that each of them has across the board. To begin many magical abilities are completely invisible to those who aren't Extra-Normal (Known as Blind). Only the Extra-Normal can perceive them but there are certain abilities that can be seen by all. The Extra-Normal can read the auras of things that they have a connection through walls and over distances, have a barrier around them known as an Emotional Field which protects them from each other's abilities (but some abstractions can bypass it), and can experience a Recollection, a vision of the past that is somewhat related to them.
However, these are merely sub-abilities, and every Extra-Normal being has an ability that is unique to them known as an Abstraction. Abstractions are the collective term used for a magical ability of any time and it's determined by the type of being. However, Abstractions are vast, strange, and no two abstractions are ever the same. However, abstractions are fueled and connected to the very soul and emotions of a person. If you were to take the soul out of an Extra-Normal being's body and put it in another, the abstraction would follow. Removing their emotions would remove their abstraction but an abstraction that can not only negate emotions but bypass emotional fields is extremely rare.
AWAKENED
________________________________________________________________ "Open your mind, heart, body, and soul to the universe..."
The Awakened are the most common and versatile type of Extra-Normal beings. They open their minds to the greater universe via a moment of powerful emotion, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a negative emotion. The abstraction they gain reflects them in some way or another (Such a person who desires control would get a telekinetic power or an angry person would gain pyromancery) and they have a brand on them known as a Sigil on them that denotes their ability. However, they would never get a biological or physical ability such as super strength or regeneration, they would get a spiritual, elemental or psychic one. Sigils are invisible to the Blind and the Awakened have their own set of abilities. The Awakened are capable of transferring their abstractions amongst other Awakened (or to Blind that they have a particular connection to), either wholly or bits and pieces. However, once an Awaken dies their abstraction is up for grabs.
An Awakened can have several abstractions but they can only use one at a time. In addition, they have to replicate and understand the emotions behind that abstraction in order to use it to its fullest potential... unless they're in a Collective-Awakening. Which many people Awaken at the same time and they each get a piece of everyone's ability in the Collective along with a mechanic in which their abstractions interact. A member of the Collective can use every ability at the same time. However, there's something known as a Semi-Awakening in which a person changes enough so that the finer details of their abstractions shift - while still retaining the core abilities and possibly gain or lose new sub-abilities. They won't have a shell of their former abstraction, however. Finally, there's the Subsequent-Awakening, in which, after great change, an Awakened can manifest a brand new ability to reflect them. It's possible for a Subsequent-Awakening to be a Collective.
The bread and butter of the setting and probably the most common and simplistic of the types. All I ask for is that the abstraction reflects some part of their character, I'm pretty loose about that. Just don't be lame and say something like "Likes running so has super speed". I'm thinking stuff like somebody gets the ability to launch people because they were attacked, someone with kindness gets healing, etc. The Collective-Awakening can also be interesting.
ADEPTS
_______________________________________________ "Transcend the limitations you have placed on your mind and soul."
The Adepts are a long line of people who passed down a connection to magical lights known as Luminscience granted to them by beings known as the Ancients. The Adepts are more in line with traditional wizards and mages, and they use an object known as a Channeler to cast their spells. A channeler is an object in which the Adept has an emotional connection to and it's possible to use an object that they don't have a connection to but the casting is far weaker.
Each Adept is connected to a different light known as Lux which unlocks different magical abilities, the more kinds of Lux an Adept is attached to, the less powerful they are overall. Each light of Lux corresponds with a particular emotion and when the Blind carrying Adept genes experiences that emotion they undergo a Kindling Event. A Kindling-Event is when the Blind receives a vision of their ancestors who tells them about their heritage, or alternatively a vision of the future of them using their spells. An Adept can in fact have several Kindling-Events and interact with their ancestors whenever they go through a high-stress situation. However, it's possible for a Severence to occur during one of these events. A Severence is when an Adept cuts their spiritual connection to the Lux during a Kindling Event or their ancestor severs it when they feel sufficiently disgraced.
In any case, an Adept has a collection of Spells they must learn and practice before they are able to utilize them - Adepts find it easier to learn spells that correspond with their personality. This is known as an Affinity. Older Adepts are among the most powerful due to practicing a wide range of different spells. It's possible for an Adept to seal an Apparition within their channeler for a power boost if it corresponds with their color. This will grant an increase in all the current spells, however, the Apparition inside can cause some problems. They can make the casting unstable, dangerous, and there's a risk for the Apparition to break free. There's also such a thing as Joint-Casting. It's the event where two Adepts of the same and different Lux put their minds together and cast a powerful Spell. It usually requires an emotional bond with each other and some practice in order to pull.
Red (Rage/Hatred): Elemental Lux, the most common type of Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Bull. Examples: Fire, ice, electricity, earth, plant manipulation, and similar abilities.
Green (Happiness): Biological Lux, the second most common type of Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Deer. Examples: Healing, shape-shifting, wing generation, etc,
Yellow (Fear/Caution): Stealth & Defensive Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Spider. Examples: Invisibility, barrier generation/forcefields, dumbing sound down, etc.
Pink (Love/Lust): Mental & Emotional Lux, and the fourth most common type of Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Dove. Examples: Emotion manipulation, mind control, telepathy, illusion creation, etc.
Gold (Pride): Summoning & Minion Creation Lux, the third rarest type of Lux - allows an Adept to create or summon a minion. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Lion. Examples include: Creating minions of choice, summoning a defeated monster, etc
Purple (Anticipation): Movement Lux, the third most common type of Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is The Owl. Examples include: Teleportation, Portal Creation, telekinesis, etc
Cyan (Nostalgia): Sight & Sensory Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is the Mustang. Examples include: Observing locations remotely, seeing into the past/future, enhanced vision, etc.
Orange (Courage): Infusion Lux, the ability to infuse objects and people with Extra-Normal properties. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is the Tiger. Examples: Creating a magic sword, making an object levitate, etc, etc.
Blue (Sadness): Curse-Lux, the rarest form of Lux. The ability to cast curses, but needs a stipulation to be broken - synergizes often with Black and Gold Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is the Swan. Examples: Cursing someone to turn into a monster, creating a deadly illness, cursing someone to be haunted by the dead, etc
Lavender (Hope): Purification and Strengthening Lux. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is the Butterfly. Examples: Boosting other Extra-Normal beings power, removal of curses, removing diseases, etc
Black (Apathy): Necromancery Lux, the ability to manipulate the dead. The Ancient that embodies this Lux is the Hound. Examples: Creating zombie minions, manipulating apparitions and spirits, etc
Adepts are probably my second favorite out of the types so I'm biased. They're probably the most complex given how Lux n' shit works. I should note that newer adepts (aka what should be most of the cast) should only have access to three or five spells at a time - and I demand a list of spells they can cast in their abstraction section. Keep in mind the more types of Lux they have access to, the overall weaker their abilities should be. Also please run any new spells by me first.
APPARITIONS
________________________________________________________________ "They emerge from a world that shouldn't even exist."
Ghosts, Phantasms, Demons, whatever you call them, they are strange beings. Apparitions are likely the vaguest and esoteric of all the Extra-Normal beings but are among the most impactful. They are in line with ghosts as they are not comprised of flesh and blood, but instead, magic. They are beings that were created a particularly powerful emotion or belief or they're the phantasm of a deceased with strong emotion in them. The Awakened are more likely to become Apparitions just from their nature. They are powered by the same emotions/belief that created them and can grow exponentially powerful depending on how great it is.
However, on the flip side, they can fade from existence if it wanes - this is why some Apparitions are ancient in age. Apparitions can have any type of abstraction reflecting their belief or the person they once were when they passed - but their abstractions can shift in time. If an Apparition is destroyed they'll merely regenerate in time, which is why a technique known as Sealing is used to imprison them in an object. Apparitions are invisible to the Blind unless they choose to be visible.
It's simple to seal an Apparition. First one needs an object to seal them inside of, something small preferably so it can be easily hidden. Then a person has to draw sigils, or any symbol that they truly believe will seal the Apparition into the object. Then they must battle the Apparition, damage it enough, and get it to the sigils. Then they can activate the seal and trap the Apparition inside the object. Larger and other more powerful apparitions require bigger sigils to be drawn or for them to be far weaker, but all an Apparition has to do is be in the area to be sealed.
Apparitions are going to be heavily restricted for a number of reasons, you can only make an Apparition if you get permission for me. Apparitions apart of an Aberration are fully allowed.
ABERRATION
_________________________________________________ "Freak, monsters, predators, prey, Aberrations. Do not take them lightly."
Aberrations are what are considered to be "outside the lines". Aberrations are people who have had contact with the Extra-Normal and gained either a blessing or a curse from their abilities. Almost all Abberattions are created from Blind interacting with Apparitions in one way or another but there are cases of Aberrations being created from other Extra-Normals. Unlike the other types of Extra-Normals; Animals and humans alike can become Aberrations due to their strange nature. Aberrations are considered to be extra-normal beings, so they can use all of the baseline abilities, but only the Blind can become an Aberration. Due to the odd nature of the Aberrations, they are separated into five subclasses:
Affixed: Are those who have an Apparition attached to their soul and utilize their abilities. Either the Apparition uses their own abstraction or the Affixed is allowed to use it - or both.
Afflicted: A person who gained an abstraction through being cursed by an Apparition.
Agent: A person who has contact with an Apparition that has been sealed inside an object and can use their abstraction by proxy.
Adjoined: A person who has been fused with an Apparition on a physical or mental level. Is either capable of shifting into the Apparition's form, mentally combined and can use their abstraction, or is a full fusion.
Abscised: An Abscised is an Apparition that has taken over somebody's body and can use their abstraction through them. The Abscised are varying amounts of undead.
My favorite type of Extra-Normal beings. They'll require a bit of thought as you'll have to come up with how they'll become an Aberrant (mainly running into an Apparition). But with Aberrants you aren't limited by belief or personality or whatever and can come up with anything.
OTHER.BEINGS
_________________________________________________ "They live blissfully unaware of the bigger picture."
The Blind: The term used for people who do not have an Extra-Normal ability of any type. After coming in contact with the Extra-Normal enough a Blind can become One-Eye-Open and perceive the Extra-Normal.
Traveler/Counterpart: A person from one of the many strange universes out there. In proximity to their counterpart, they'll gain a mental link that'll allow them to share thoughts/memories and possibly see each other's auras.
You can be a Blind or have One-Eye-Open along with being a Traveler (If you're making a traveler run the universe they're from by me first; certain things are out the question). Just know that your character won't have an Emotional-Field and will be susceptible to the wide range of powers!
ANCIENT
_________________________________________________ "Their power eclipses whole worlds."
When the universe was born the twelve lights of Luminscience were created, and with them, they each got an embodiment. A God-Like entity that embodies that type of Lux, and eons ago they came and granted certain groups of humans access to Lux. They are the Bull (Red), the Dove (Pink), the Lion (Gold), the Deer (Green), the Spider (Yellow), the Hound (Black), the Butterfly (Lavender), the Swan (Blue), the Owl (Purple), the Tiger (Orange), the Mustang (Cyan), and the Child (White). They are extremely powerful and not even the strongest Extra-Normal can hold a candle to them. Though certain abilities can affect them (abilities that interact with magic itself), but they are few and in between. They are all infinitely strong and durable, can teleport (even to other dimensions), are capable of telepathy, can manipulate themselves near limitlessly, can warp reality, in addition to their own personal abstraction. However, in the battle against the Glutton, they heavily wounded and went in to rest and they are scattered throughout the universe. After the destruction of the old timeline and the creation of the new one, they've been awakening one by one and getting to know this new timeline. They generally stay out of the affairs of the mortals, but they can be swayed.
The Hound: The strange and mysterious Ancient of black Lux and death, but takes the shape of a black wolf as both a form that people can comprehend. The Hound is ancient and anyone who has more than the barest experience with the Extra-Normal should know about him. The Hound is there when people die and he leads them to the other side, the Extra-Normal can comprehend him. The Hound cannot be defeated through conventional or Extra-Normal means, but he's restricted by laws that stop him from taking souls freely... which he can circumvent by making deals, which are known to be in his favor most of the time. When the Hound speaks he is quite sarcastic, however despite his insurmountable power the Hound willingly holds back to make things interesting for him.
No one can play as an Ancient, they are strictly NPC.
"After turning a blind eye to the carnage going on around them for so long; they really had it coming." ____________________________________ .
Farmer Hill, Montana.
A place few people have heard of, being a small town in the middle of nowhere. However, it couldn't have been more important. Eons ago, all the magic in the universe was used to seal a powerful God-like being known as the Glutton. This thing was an incomprehensible ball of orange light that tortured countless universes and then devoured them and has feasted to the point where it was near invincible. Its rampage was brought to an end in the universe of Glint where combined forces brought the thing down and sealed it in a mountain in a different universe. That different universe is the world where the story takes place, and that mountain was Mount Ever Reaching in Farmer Hill.
It was where the Glutton lied dormant for ages upon ages - the League of Luminscience manipulated Farmer Hill to keep the citizens away from the mountain and the existence of magic a secret. However, it all changed when the seals that kept the Glutton dormant were broken by somebody's foolishness and it was allowed to feast off of what sustained it: emotions. The Glutton's first action was attacking a campsite full of people by corrupting one powerful minion and inadvertently Awakened the people that would defeat it. It tormented this group as they tried to find a way to defeat it; ultimately knocking them into a coma for a few months.
In this few months, the Glutton turned Farmer Hill upside-down - mind-controlling countless people and turning the town into a chaotic warzone. Anyone who entered Farmer Hill was enthralled as well and in this chaos; the Glutton slaughtered any Awakened or Extra-Normal beings that it could with impunity and tortured them endlessly in its domain. However, the Awakened that was put into a coma, well, awakened from it and rebelled against it. Ultimately, they engaged in one final battle against the Glutton in the mountain, and, out of desperation to escape, the Glutton broke the seals that were binding it. However, by doing this the Glutton injured itself to the point where it was eliminated and the multiverse was free from it.
However, these events were reversed as a new timeline was born from the "death" of the Glutton. A new timeline where Farmer Hill was destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake and the Awakened that the Glutton killed were resurrected. However, with the death of the Glutton, the magic was returned.
The Vanburen estate is a massive building that's on the outskirts of Araminta. It's a mansion that's in its own little field once you pass the massive gates to keep the commoners out. The first thing you'd see when you approached was the Statue of a kneeling World War II soldier. This is strange given that the Vanburens seemingly has no relations to WWII, but James had it made. Surrounded by woods, and hidden in the forest: it was the perfect place for the young Vanburens to grow up. It had many pathways and fountains and fields, and all gated off to keep the outside world out. The estate itself is two stories tall and was stocked with everything the Vanburens needed. Food, water, entertainment, everything they ever could have wanted to keep them happened. Whatever they didn't have James would get. However, what's peculiar is that the estate had many, many, strange artifacts and other items that James stipulated that they explicitly do not touch. Some of these things have strange powers in fact.
The Vanburen Family got its wealth from mysterious means - James said that they inherited the wealth, but from whom? However, they maintain that wealth by owning many businesses in Araminta and beyond and investing. Apart from James' kindness is that he saves family businesses by buying them and only stipulates that they give him a cut of their wealth. This is one source of income, but one cannot find out just how James got his money. He just up and appeared one day! Few try and find out how, but only to come up at a dead end... or at the business end of Jame's rifle.
The Family has a wide range of different people apart from them. James seemingly wanted to have a massive amount of children, but it didn't exactly make his wives happy. He had a wide number of failed relationships and other mishaps that ended with him jumping to the next wife or woman to have his kids. There was a strange lack of... passion in the relationships. Like he just wanted children to continue his lifeblood - which shows in how he usually dumps the children on his wives. James gave his children all the love he could and did it with a smile. He encouraged the children to follow all of their dreams while trying to groom his successor to the business. He also tended to adopt a wide range of orphans and street rats... whatever catches his ear it seems. Because of this, Vanburens are a diverse amount of people in terms of gender, sex, and personality.
However, all the Vanburen children and anyone who bears the Vanburen name has been afflicted with a mysterious curse after his death - it was known as the Curse of the Vanburns and it triggered around one year after his death. Slowly, they realized that, as they left Araminta they were slowly turning to stone (if they were gone from Araminta for more than a week they'd almost be completely stone). When they got back within the bounds of Araminta they reverted to their human flesh. They're unsure of what would happen if they fully transformed into stone, but they figured that it would be death.
A few weeks ago; somebody broke into the Vanburen estate and stole some sealed Apparitions.
James Vanburen is an older (62), a rugged British man with a big heart and a sense of morality like no other. They don't call him magnanimous for anything, after all. He did all he could to improve Araminta by funneling money into the drug problem, adopting orphans and street rats, and helping other people in need however he could. He's a man of few words, usually quick to the point but he liked conversation. He was a father to his children, making sure they all grew up well and moral people like him. James, however, had his flaws - he seemingly was obsessed with siring as many children as he could and being quite dismissive of his wives. Still, he did what he thought was right... however, much of his duties were by proxy. He used servants and other such people to raise his children. He was an exceptional alcoholic who always had a glass of whiskey or wine on him at all times but still could function.
Had one last Christmas party with his family before he died on Christmas day.
FATHERS THINGS
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James, throughout the manor, had a wide variety of different artifacts for some reason that is unknown to the children. He told them never to touch it, but now that he's gone they're reluctant to follow that rule. Some of these artifacts are discovered to have supernatural properties that make them crucial to finding the truth about James Vanburen and breaking the curse.
FATHER'S RIFLE Perhaps the strangest of father's collection and his most prized possession it seems. The Lee–Enfield Rifle with a bayonet attached that has obviously seen quite a lot of use if one were to take it apart. Father's Rifle can still fire, but that's not the strange part about it. It seemingly has a supernatural ability; if one were to slash at the air, they could make portals to alternate universes, and portals to destinations in their own universe. It seems that only Vanburens can use the rifle to its full effects.
SEALED APPARITION COLLECTION Many of the artifacts and other things within the Vanburen estate have an Apparition sealed inside of them. Hundreds of different Apparitions are vying for a master... or a way out. Some time ago someone came in and stole some Apparitions that were sealed.
. Father's Library isn't exactly like a conventional library, it's a collection of information detailing James encounters with the supernatural. Not just in this universe but beyond, and the room was originally locked off until James' death. Inside of it is a treasure trove of information that many would love to have.
Extra-Normal Beings - "I thought that magic was the stuff of legends, but now I've seen things most people couldn't believe. Adepts, Awakened, Apparitions, Aberrants..."
The All-Verse"Apart from opening my eyes to the greater universe was learning about the existence of parallel worlds. I could drop a pin and it'd cause a universe where I didn't drop a pen to spawn into existence. These universes are infinite in... potential."
The Hound - "Throughout my travels throughout other universes there's one constant; the Black Hound. This thing is the agent of death in its rawest form, acting as the grim reaper that transports the dead to the other side. He's mighty, and of all the times I've fought the thing I never even done more than drive it off. I feel like he's toying with me... that he has the power to destroy worlds. He seems more concerned with going after those who "cheat death" than anything, but worst-case scenario, never challenge or deal with the Hound. He possesses The Black Fog of Apathy... a substance that can do many things. Most importantly you need to know that it can negate your ability to feel. Which means he can negate your abstractions."
The Ancients - "I found out about the Ancients after I discovered the Hound, they're his kin... a collection of eleven twelve God-like entities that represent each color of Lux. I've encountered a hand full of them, but they each have a trait consistent with each other; they're far more powerful than anything I've ever seen. I can't even tell what they are, but they are dangerous. I can't decipher their motives but do not make deals or engage them if possible."
The Glutton - I've never seen this thing with my own two eyes but I've seen Recollection after Recollection of the slaughter. It takes the appearance of a vast ball of orange light, formed out of sparks and embers powered by emotions. It can do many things but subsumes the mind and can eat worlds. This thing... it almost brought all life to an end but it was sealed in Shimmer and eventually destroyed. Everything that has happened so far was because of it.
The Hands - "I... I don't know what to put here. This thing is the Apparition of some groper and appears as a mass of hands. Its abstraction allows it to grow hands on any surface... that it uses to grope people's backsides. Please don't let it out."
Shimmer - "Look to your left, then look to your right. Guess what? You're in Shimmer. I would advise against leaving because you may never find your way back."
The Triple Goddess & The Horned God - A pair of Apparitions that take the appearance of Pagan deities... they usually form two separate cults and gain power from them. They're, together, an insanely dangerous threat but fortunately for you all, the Horned God is sealed. The Triple Goddess cut and run before I could seal her but she's likely going to be after her counterpart. They have similar abilities; elemental control over natural elements like water, lightning, fire, earth... and they can gift their followers with knowledge or strength. On their own, they're incredibly dangerous but together they are unstoppable.
Mayor Crest - "Do not trust her."
The Swan - "The Ancient of sadness that I came across... or matter fact, I found her. I think-" The rest of the entry is awkwardly scribbled out of his journal. Seemingly recently.
The Teeth - "The first of the "Primal Fears", a group of apparitions based on humanity's basic fears. In this case, it's predation by animals, and by far it's the most powerful. A massive vaguely humanoid creature that has massive claws and has floating teeth in the face of its head. The Apparition's abilities are simple but dangerous - it's immensely strong, durable, fast, and its senses are impeccable - what makes it dangerous is that these abilities scale depending on how many people fear it at one single instance. It's to the point where it took on the Jaws at his peak... the peak where I suspect that he was nearly as strong as the Hound."Stolen.
The Forgotten King - "The second Primal Fear... and not as dangerous as the Teeth it's still incredibly dangerous. The Forgotten King represents the fear of the unknown and darkness and takes the appearance of a smooth and nearly featureless humanoid with a red crown hovering above his head. Nearly featureless due to the needle-like claws that tip his fingers. His ability is difficult to explain, he can create constructs in shaded areas - not completely illuminated or dark - and these constructs can bypass an Emotional-Field so be extra careful when facing him... if you face him."Stolen.
The Many Eyed One - "Harmless on her own, but she's definitely a tricky one to deal with. As her name suggests she's an Apparition with many, many, different eyes and, as you may have expected, she has the ability to scry in different locations. I don't know the exact distance but she's capable of spying on many different places, from a far radius. Her reflexes are also fast enough to dodge anything that doesn't move faster than sight... or you can just think outside the box. She's fond of abscising people, so keep that in mind. "Stolen.
The Housekeeper - "A very... fickle, Apparition to deal with. In a direct fight, she's absolutely defenseless and can easily be dispatched by even the most basic of all magic users. However, in the right circumstances... she's more or less invincible. I don't know how exactly her ability works but it seems to be a form of long-ranged automatic telekinesis that fulfills a command that she sets out. In my confrontation with her (which was in a castle) she barricaded herself behind wall after wall. Moving objects and setting up traps all over the place... I don't believe she can directly injure you, but give her time and the right circumstances; you're better off leaving and reassessing. However, I've discovered her weakness: she loves cleanliness and you can use that to distract her."Stolen.
Babylon - "When I first laid eyes on her, I could tell she was a great evil in the world. I don't use that word lightly... because that's her nature. She's an Apparition that is the physical representation of all sin in her home universe and some dumbass had the great idea to shunt her into another world. All this did was make her think bigger... she has terrorized dozens of worlds in her attempts to become all-powerful and rebuild her empire of sin across all the universes. Babylon's abstraction is incredibly dangerous, as she has the ability to summon hellfire that burns far hotter and brighter than regular flames. She can also cast many, many, different curses - one that can cause you to compulsively make love to whoever you see, and other nasty things - but due to your emotional fields, you are immune to it. The Blind on the other hand doesn't have that luxury. Fortunately, I sealed her and she's staying in the mansion unless some fool lets her free."
The Fragile Goddess - "An Apparition that deemed itself a God, it's from one of the many alternate worlds out there where Apparitions have taken the appearance of Gods. This Apparition was the weakest one, hence her name, being the offspring of several larger, more powerful beings. Her intentions are benevolent, but her actions make her a threat. Her abstraction allows her to create glass on any surface, turn objects into glass, cause glass to shatter, and manipulate glass in general, but she can pass an affliction off on other people that gives them a weaker version of her abstraction. That makes her dangerous but... useful. She's staying sealed in a statue behind the mansion and I would keep her there. Unless the situation really calls for it; do not let her loose. Just be prepared for the fight of your life."
Shade - "Honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen..."
The Jaws - "The All-Verse's greatest predator and (formerly) one of the most dangerous and feared Apparitions out there. The Jaws is an Apparitioned spawned from the death of dinosaurs that used to be the guardian of a certain something before his universe was destroyed. I was probably one of the few people to survive these hunts. You couldn't beat the Jaws with brute strength alone because he could take a lot more than anyone could dish out - and he was easily strong as an Ancient. You had to outsmart him, exploit his strange line of thinking, to survive. However, the Bull erased his universe and his power began to fade. I couldn't let such a proud creature go out without a whimper, especially since I knew he was noble, kind, and benevolent deep down. I sealed him inside of a key chain, but I gave it to a friend. Now I don't know where he could be."
The Nightmare - "One of the most dangerous Apparitions out there, I've seen this thing completely wipe out entire worlds. The Nightmare is an Apparition that feasts on blood and to accomplish this, it creates The Breed. A unique brand of vampire that is a mixture of man, mosquito, and tick... they are individually physically formidable but pained individuals. They collect blood for the Nightmare and infect whoever survives and turns them into more of them. The Nightmare on its own is fragile but possesses immense telekinetic abilities, but it always flees. I don't know where the Nightmare is, it's not in my collection. You need to find the Nightmare as soon as possible and seal it, I'm begging you."
The Swarm - "This one is probably the most powerful apparition I've seen; it's a mass of several hundred different insect Apparitions that act as a unison. The Swarm has several dozen different abilities that make it near unbeatable in a direct fight - however, I found a way to seal it. By taking it apart piece by piece and sealing each Apparition in a different object I've rendered it inert. However, if it comes back together... I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop it again."
Thornton Walters - "Stop him at all costs, I am begging you."
The Rage of Dying Animals - "He used to be benevolent. He used to be good. Keep him sealed if you know what's good for you, he's his greatest ally. Also extremely dangerous as the Rage of Dying Animals can reanimate animals that have been killed and summon them from throughout the All-Verse. Which is not something you want. He has a limitless supply and he will win a battle of attrition, you can't even destroy his body as he'll just use one of the animals he'll summon. To seal him: you will have to force him out of his body and then seal him before he jumps into another one. The problem is that you'll probably have to deal with getting mauled by reanimated animals."
The Child - "The kindest and most generous being I ever meant... originally I was under the impression there were only eleven Ancients, but as it turns out there is another. They are the creator-God that are above the other Ancients... and they opened my eyes to the bigger picture."
Lihua Zhao - "Someone that got roped into all of this... she was a beautiful moral. albeit vain and prideful woman. Her abstraction, the ability to open portals in other dimensions, was crucial... She settled down in Shimmer and had some kids, I'm glad. But, I heard someone killed her, I hope it wasn't him."
Mary Roberts - "An old friend of mine from my childhood... she unfortunately died but she returned as an Apparition. She was one of Thornton's allies, but she turned against him and joined me. Mary's a very difficult one to work with, but she's a very cunning woman don't underestimate her."
The Bull - "The counterpart to the Hound... where the Hound represents death the Red Bull represents rage and vengeance. And thus his domain is the Red Lux, and he has near limitless elemental abilities, even if it prefers using fire. I've seen his rage first hand... he cannot be contained. Nor stopped. That thing... burned it all, drowned my home in rage and blood."
Farmer Hill - "It's the only place that has magic. I've vowed never to go here and neither should you."
My rifle - "My Rifle is a very useful object, it can teleport you anywhere long as you carry my blood. It'll take a bit of practice, but I know you'll get the hang of it. Take care of it. You'll need it."
The Oasis - "The most beautiful place I've seen... you must stop him from getting here."
There's a treasure trove of other information on the Extra-Normal and his adventures.
Araminta, Pennslyvania is a small city set in Williams county, it's in the northern-centermost part of the state. It's merely a stone's throw away from New York state. In the 1700s a man named Richard Williams discovered the land that would be called Araminta. He mapped it out, brought his people there, and eventually named it Araminta after his beloved daughter. It functioned as a military base during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary war - afterward the base was defunct and is now a tourist attraction. The city's main claim to fame is its railroad system, Araminta's railroad system is the nexus of various railroads in Pennsylvania that connect it to other cities. However, many of them have been retired, and you can barely walk a few blocks without stepping over some railroads. The city has a large train yard that is the hideout for various dredges and degenerates.
Araminta is a suburban city first and foremost - the most urban part of the city is its downtown area. That isn't to say that there aren't businesses every stone's throw away for everyone to get their decorations. The city is full of very nice houses that people flock to if they want to escape the droning city life, whether they are retired or not. Araminta is known for its very nice houses, but the whole city isn't kittens and sunshine. Like the rest of Pennsylvania, Araminta has a heavy drug problem. They flock to the more decrepit areas of Araminta, but those houses may look nice but the people inside of them are not perfect. A large portion of Araminta's city limits is woodlands and inside of those woods are the more remote houses and areas. The train tracks in the woods are known for being the hangouts for drug addicts and other misfits of Araminta. However, the woods contain many secrets.
Araminta isn't an extremely urban city. As stated before it's primarily suburban houses and woodlands, but it's right next to the Williams River. A massive river that was also named after the founder of the city that breaks off from the Schuylkill and Delaware River. As far as demographics go, Caucasians are the primary sight in Araminta with Asians and African-Americans being the second most common sight. Hispanics, Middle-Easterners, and Pacific Islanders are a very rare sight in Araminta.
Despite the drug, problem crime is relatively low. Most arrests are for petty crimes and being caught with drugs and murders were few and in between. However, lately, the town has been changing.
DOWNTOWN: The Heart of Araminta, this is where all the big businesses, clubs, and other places are located. Mostly it's where the tourists come, but it's where the town hall, police department, and more, are located. Famously, this is where the old military base was located before it was retired and turned into a tourist attraction.
NORTH: North Araminta is primarily woodlands, but it's the part of the city that is attached to the Williams River. North Araminta is where the most secluded and expensive houses are located.
SOUTH: South Araminta is the most suburban part of Araminta, and it's where all the nice houses and schools and mom and pop businesses are located.
EAST: East Araminta is like North Araminta, but worse. It's the most run-down part of the place and it's where all of trailer parks, methheads, and other strange things are located. If you go further out east, Araminta is woodlands... and you don't want to know what lurks in those woods.
WEST: West Araminta is where the trainyard is located and it's where most of the train tracks are located. It's also another place for the dredges of society to the hideout. This is where all of the factories and warehouses are located.
FORT GOODMAN: A former United States Army base that hasn't been used since the Revolutionary War. Due to the fact that it was in a tactically insignificant location after that conflict, it has been more or less converted to a neighborhood slash tourist attraction. Which is funny given that most of the original buildings were torn down and rebuilt.
SPECIFIC LOCATIONS _______________________________________________
"The Rails": The unofficial name for the massive and defunct trainyard that the city is more or less famous for. It contains hundreds of different train cars and various little camps set up by the methheads.
The Woods: The massive woods that make up the outskirts of Araminta, and are unofficially apart of the north and eastern parts of the city. It was once said that you can find all sorts of adventure in the woods. However, with the return of magic, they have become a lot more dangerous... you can find anything in the woods.
The Williams River: The Williams River is the small river that Araminta is attached to. It's about fifty miles long and twenty-two feet deep. Back in the days of old, it was a major method of travel, but since then it's used more for recreation. There's plenty of riverside parties.
University of Araminta: The famous university of Araminta that attracts many prospective youths to Araminta. It boasts an impressive science and technology classes, but it also offers other degrees at this college. It's located in Downtown Araminta.
The Serenity Library: The famous Library in Araminta that's towards East Araminta. It's known for having a comprehensive collection of books (even on the occult) even if people just primarily go there for the computers. They rent rooms.
Galaxy Island: An old amusement park in the North that went into bankruptcy not too long ago. It was known for being outer space-themed with rocket, planet, space, themed rides. Now it's known for being a crackhead den.
Note: This is not a guide or anything like that. You're free to come up with symbolism and your own interpretations of what's below and I've probably gone against it a few times myself. This is just how I interpret mechanics n' shit about abstractions.
Elemental Abstractions:
_______________________________________________ In general: Connection to the world, creativity, focus on the outside, being outrospective, desire to build/shape, change.
Fire: Passion, rage, raw and destructive emotion.
Water: Calmness/Peace, easily influenced, having multiple states.
Telepathy: Invasiveness/lack of boundaries, desire to communicate, wanting information/secrets.
Inventor/Gadgeteer Desire to find a solution to a problem, having a singular goal that cannot be solved with the present tools.
Intelligence/Minds: Lack of knowledge, perceived worthlessness, presented with problems that cannot be physical solve.
Dreams: Imaginative, wishes, interpretiveness.
Memory: Stress/past grievances, desire to forget/inform, desire to change things, looking to the past, external struggle.
Emotion Compassion, understanding people (or lack thereof), closer connection to people, internal struggle.
Mind Control: Desire to control, feeling out of control, social isolation/exile.
Illusions: Deception (on both sides), belief/thought being proven wrong, desire for something that cannot be gained.
Other Abstractions
_______________________________________________
Animal: Noticeable lack of connection to people, outcast, connection to nature/love of nature. (This was going to be its own section but I was like nope fuck that lol)
Summoning/Minion Creation: Desire for companionship, social isolation/exile.
Transformation/Shape-Shifting: Issues involving identity, self-hatred/wanting to be different.
Teleportation: Feeling trap/stuck, desire to escape, needing something.
Speed: Impatience, desire to get to goal instantly, has problem approaching, a problem that can be ran from, down to earth.
Flight: Needing to reach goals/expectations, freedom, idealism.
Strength: Being faced with situations that can't be mentally solved, violence/rage, perceived lack of strength/desire to grow stronger, authority.
Healing/Repairing: Desire to help people, compassion/kindness, other people's mental scars/past trauma, seeing beauty in something, restoring something else.
Regeneration: Desire to fix self, fixing own mental/physical wounds, a goal that they need to see through, self-restoration.
Time: Past/Future mistakes, pressure of time, having limited time, lack of management
Shields: Protection/desire to protect, danger/damage, caring, imminent threat to self.
Creation/Building: The need for something, wanting to build up something new, creativity/self-expression, having problems.
Close-Range: Immediate up in your face issue/question, close and personal problems/struggles, problems/solutions being in reach, single or few problems/threats.
Long-Range: Looming/upcoming problems, threats approaching/attacking from a distance, multiple threats/problems, things being out of reach.
Enchanting/Imbuing: Inadquency, current tools not being sufficient.
Beam: Focusing on one thing/task.
Enhanced Senses: Desiring awareness or understanding of environmental/task.
O for fuck sake I gotta fix all the links jesus fucking christ.
If you've already been accepted just repost your characters in the character tab long as they're not drastically different. I'm going to be away on a trip next week but I'll see about getting the ic up.
I'm piecing together a character for this. This is such a unique and thoughtful concept! So detailed, I love it. And now that I have free time, I'm interested in seeing how this story unfolds.
I'm piecing together a character for this. This is such a unique and thoughtful concept! So detailed, I love it. And now that I have free time, I'm interested in seeing how this story unfolds.
Cheers!
Hey there I was honestly not expecting to get anyone new in the rp. I am currently away on a business trip and very very busy. So uhhhhh come by the discord and we can chat n shit. We can share character ideas there.
Singing ⫻ Blu has a beautiful singing voice—which others have described as otherworldly. He believes he inherited this gift from his ancestors. You can often hear him idly humming a lullaby.
Sleeping ⫻ This may sound like a useless skill, but it's actually really beneficial. Blu can fall asleep anywhere—literally anywhere. Even short naps are enough to give him a substantial second wind.
Bilingual ⫻ He speaks two languages: The indigenous language of his tribe and English.
Musical Instruments ⫻ He is a master of playing his ocarina, a vessel flute that can create beautiful melodies. It's very handheld, so he wears it on a necklace made of horsehair. Blu has a natural affinity for music though and learned how to play several other musical instruments.
Burial Rites ⫻ Due to his upbringing and profession, Blu knows how to perform a unique form of funeral rites and is knowledgeable about matters relating to the dead.
Swimming ⫻ Also a product of his upbringing, Blu is an above-average swimmer and can hold his breath underwater for about 4-5 minutes.
Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Even after I leave this world, I hope to stay this way. It's familiar..."
Everyone says that he resembles his paternal grandmother—an expression of wistfulness and that soft gaze forever searching into the beyond. Without thinking, he emulates her dispositions as though they were second nature. Blu's voice is kind of low and airy, with a sort of smoothness that makes it calm and ideal for reading bedtime stories. He has a prim way of speaking—shaping his words in a poetic or dreamlike manner.
His most striking characteristic is his long thick hair—coupled with dark almond eyes, a cute nose, and kissable lips. Blu's got high cheekbones, a defined jawline, and a round face—giving him an overall soft and boyish appearance. He's only 5'9", with a slim body and such little body hair that he practically looks as hairless as a girl. When he is focusing/concentrating on a really important task, he instinctively puts his hair into a ponytail.
He has a Native American tribal tattoo on the back of his neck and a birthmark-like marking on the underside of his tongue. His staple piece is a dangling feather earring that he wears in his left ear—though you can't really see it until he pulls his hair back. He also wears his vessel flute on a necklace. Sometimes he wears his tribal rings and wrist cuffs. Other than that, his style changes based on how he feels, though he predominately wears long sleeve sweaters, jackets, and loose flowy-earthy garbs.
Psychology ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "We must do what we can to preserve the humanity of people, even for the dead."
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.
Backstory ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "May my requiem accompany you on the journey to the afterlife."
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.
"There is nothing more honourable in this world than a proper burial."
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.
Abstraction ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Follow the starlight—and you'll find hope."
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. (NOT YET LEARNED)
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 ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)
WEAKNESSES ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)
Other ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ♪♫♬ "Let the wind blow, and carry my heart away with it." ♪♫♬
- That's his favorite line from one of his songs. - Blu also loves animals and has a dog, two cats, and a rabbit.
“The world has never seemed darker. Be the shining light that’ll bring about a brighter tomorrow."
_______________________________________________ Tansy Monroe Vanburen
She/Her | 35 | American |5’9” | 150lbs _______________________________________________ Gilded _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I’m just playing my part. Anyone in my position would do the same." ___________________________________
[Hostess Mostest] ⫻ Tansy has spent the better part of her adult life rubbing elbows with the social elite in support of her father’s philanthropy efforts. She’s graduated beyond being a basic socialite into being a full-blown party planner who has organized several charity and fundraising events, set up art exhibitions and debutante balls, and hosted extravagant dinner parties. If there’s a ritzy social event happening in Pennsylvania or New York odds are that Tansy’s involved in some shape. [Rumor Mill] ⫻ Gossip gravitates towards Tansy like spiteful little meteorites and she’s mastered the ability of flinging the rumors back into outer space for them to be disappeared into a blackhole. Somebody’s got to keep daddy’s reputation untarnished, especially as the grace period of speaking ill of the dead expires. Alternatively, she’s more than capable of adding the necessary oomph to a rumor to really get it going, turning a minor freckle on one’s surface into a socially catastrophic extinction level impact. [Tennis Ace] ⫻ She’s been playing the sport since grade school. While by no means near a professional, Tansy stuck with the game enough that James eventually added a court to the mansion’s grounds. He said that it was out of fear she’d start trying to beat the house’s walls in a match after she’d worked her way through the staff and her siblings. [Horse Girl] ⫻ Of course she wanted a pony when she was a little girl. She just happened to be one of those little girls whose daddy was rich enough to buy her one. She typically goes riding several times a week.
Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "I’m expected to look my best and I always outdo the expectations."
Tansy presents herself in the old-fashioned mold of a “proper” lady, all primed and poised while veiled in the drapes of modesty and sensibility. She tends to overeunciate her words and enthusiastically moves her hands as if she were conducting her own sentences as she speaks, almost as if she were a kindergarten teacher talking to her young students. Thriving on the spotlight, Tansy carries herself in such a way that not only does she make people think she is important but she also makes them question their own value.
Her blonde hair falls below her shoulders and the ends are constructed into loose curls. Her darker eyebrows are meticulously plucked to perfection, her lashes are long, and her eyes are big, bright, and blue. Laugh lines and a beauty mark are the only source of blemish not hidden by creams or concealers on her pale skin. A polite smile is seemingly fixed upon her face, serving as a social shield she can deflect her sharp tongue off of so she swallows any spiteful words instead of performing a faux pas. Her nails are manicured and sharply filed.
She is tall and doesn’t shy from high heels, allowing her the pleasure of another way to look down upon others. She has a shapely figure and stays fit through her various outdoor hobbies, capable of displaying a level of athleticism unexpected of a woman who basically throws parties for a living. Her wardrobe is lavish in price and quality yet modest and conservative style, trending towards a vintage look that she’d define as timeless. Tansy is almost never seen in the same thing twice and insists that she donates most of her old outfits, yet several rooms in the manor are dedicated towards storing her clothes.
Psychology ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "I was raised with a strong moral compass, so I'd appreciate it if you just let me give directions."
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.
Backstory ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "It's silly but I just cannot imagine what my life would've been life if he hadn't chosen me. Less champagne, I suppose."
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?
Abstraction ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Do not be afraid, my sweet submissive subject."
TYPE ⫻ Aberration (Adjoined)
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 ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)
WEAKNESSES ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)
Other ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Now I know you’re probably all tired of hearing from me, but—"
Tansy has recently begun to have her childhood nightmares again.
@Aeolian I like Blu and his ties to the Vanburens. My only complaint is that his tie to James could probably be his secret but w/e.
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.
_______________________________________________ Arabelle Marie Matthews
She/Her | 23 | English-American | 5’7” | 135 lbs _______________________________________________ Resilient _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I’m just a teacher who grew up taking care of others." ___________________________________
[Teacher] ⫻ Arabelle is patient, attentive, observant, and inquisitive. These are the traits that she chooses to teach her students to be. She applies these traits to her everyday life.
[Stealth] ⫻ Thanks to her abstraction, Arabelle can easily appear and disappear from any situation. Locked doors aren’t a thing to her, unless there is no mirror behind it.
Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "My mom tells me I look like her father and my own father combined. As if I knew what either of them looked like."
Arabelle is slightly above average in height. She has a curvy build shaped like an hourglass, and is of a healthy weight instead of a flat stomach or thigh gap. Her hair is an auburn color with loose waves that fall just barely down to the middle of her back. She often clips her hair up so that it is out of her way for work, but lets it down while she is helping around the estate. Her face is in the shape of an apple, with light freckles across her cheekbones and nose thanks to her European descent. Her eyes are brown.
Arabelle dresses well under the salary of a teacher. She is often in straight ankle jeans, slacks, or knee length skirts. She often tucks satin tanks, sweaters, blouses, or shirts into her pants. She rarely wears heels because she is on her feet all day. Instead she prefers mules, slip on sneakers, chelsea boots, or flats. Arabelle wears long sleeves to cover the scars from her awakening. There are three scars total. Two slashes on her left forearm and one slash on her upper right arm. They are just thin white lines from her past now.
Psychology ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "No one but my students know me well."
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.
Backstory ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "It was just my mother and I, unless you count the Vanburens as family too."
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.
Abstraction ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Mirrors are everywhere."
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.
@Atrophy I totally meant to take two weeks to accept a character.
She's more of an Affixed but I'll let that slide.
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.
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