FernStone

[On hold, Will return]

It was actually my fault this once sooooo i will accept the blame for not rereading Sabrina's backstory enough

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

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Maya looked a little put out that Trevor himself wasn’t coming along, but whatever. A giant orgy sounded just like Blake Schmidt… and it sounded like the perfect thing to crash. She’d already slept with his wife so why not go right in there and steal some of his other women? Would certainly serve him right for trying to kill her.

Both Herik and Vashti seemed to think going right now was a bad idea. Maya rolled her eyes but decided to hear her out. Either way, they would be going to Blake’s orgy yacht one way or another. Maya wasn’t going to wait for him to send someone else to kill her.

“...stupidest fucking thing I’ve heard since Maya insisted that she fingerbanged a lady so good that it gave her magical powers.”

Vashti

Maya’s mouth fell open as Vashti just went and said it… in front of Trevor. First of all, she was annoyed that people still didn’t believe her on that one. She wasn’t creative enough to make that shit off. Second, was it really important right now?

Okay, it was always important, because she’d been so good she made Phillis awaken. She wasn’t going to be embarrassed about that. After a moment of shock about what was said a smug smile crossed her lips. She listened to all the reasons that the DENS wouldn’t be helping them with little care for it. It was old news that they didn’t really give a fuck about them. Her smile widened as Trevor finally realised what Vashti had said and turned to her in shock.

“I did exactly what Vashti said,” she shrugged, even though she looked pretty smug about it. “I was so good that I made someone awaken when we slept together. Buuuut that’s not important right now.” She lowered her voice slightly as she leaned forward, even though Madison was in between her and Trevor and it was kind of awkward but she ignored that. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

She winked at him before leaning back, and going back to the conversation she probably should’ve been participating in the whole time. If he was upset for some reason that she’d slept with someone else, well that was his fault for playing hard to get.

“I agree with Madison that we should go now, while he’s not expecting it,” Maya spoke up, glanced between Herik and Vashti. “Without waiting for Kayla.”

Madison mentioned the whole leader thing and Maya didn’t have to think much on it.

“She’s basically not done anything since she became leader,” Maya shrugged as she looked between Claudette and Lyss. “You two were here kinda second in commands or whatever, right? If anyone is going to become leader now…”

Well, it certainly wasn’t going to be her. As much as the power trip would be nice Maya knew she’d be the worst leader ever and also it would be too much work.

“Lyss has basically been acting as our leader anyway.”

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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“The fuck!” Isla yelled as the train suddenly fell out from beneath their feet… but they didn’t plummet to their death with it. Instead they were just floating in a void. Right, because that was exactly where they wanted to be. Great! Getting on that train had worked out very well for them all.

She slowly, cautiously, followed Zoey towards the source of the crying. A red haired little girl who seemed all too happy to see them. Yeah, yeah, getting stuck in a void for all eternity must suck. But what also sucked? Being dragged into this mess when just one person could suffer for it.

Isla had absolutely no sympathy for her, that was certain. She remained silent with a frown as Zoey talked to her.

“Yeah, I definitely ain’t here for that being stuck together bullshit,” Isla huffed out, folding her arms as she glanced around at everyone. There were six other people here besides her. The most she’d ever teleported was… maybe one or two. She hadn’t had many other opportunities to cause, y’know, how do you just explain the fact you can teleport to a normal person? She had no idea if she could teleport so many of them, especially out of here. To where? Did the station still exist, like Zoey had said earlier.

“I can try,” Isla replied eventually, her usual confidence faltering even as she tried to cover it up. She then held out her hand towards Zoey, and the little girl. The other she directed towards everyone else. “But we’re all gonna be holding hands or have some kinda chain contact cause I ain’t gonna be able to guarantee I bring everyone along with it. I know some of you ain’t happy with each other but it’s worth it for the shot of getting out, ay?”

She smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She began to prepare as she waited for everyone to link up in some way, thinking about the station (most likely to be “close” enough, if distance even existed here) so that she could teleport them as soon as everyone was ready.

Recollections: The Coven [COMPLETED]

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Maya couldn’t say she was particularly fond of being in a hospital. Still, in the time before they got kicked out for being themselves she’d managed to get into a bathroom to clean herself up. She couldn’t do much about her clothes but she’d reapplied her makeup and brushed her hair out a little, before tying it back in two braids (so it looked less messy). She no longer looked like she’d been dragged through a building site.

In the parking garage she crouched just next to Madison’s car, boredly tapping at a mind numbing app on her phone as she waited for someone to talk. She looked up when Madison started even though she didn’t properly stand up.

“Yeah, we have to show him that we’re not just going to sit around and take whatever he sends at us,” Maya instantly agreed with a nod. “He really wants me dead so we should beat him up before he sends something else…”

“... Or, y’know, just show him we won’t let him do this,” she put her hands up as Madison went on to very much specify no big scenes. Okay, sure, she could do that. It wasn’t like her entire power was based around making a loud of noise or anything. She could do it subtly. Maybe she’d just kick Blake in the nuts instead.

"... Well, how will we find Blake?"

Trevor?

Maya tilted her head at the strangely familiar, very obviously falsely feminine, voice. Her dark eyes lit up as she saw who it was and she jumped up onto her feet. “Trevor!”

She paused before she actually went over to him, forcing herself to stay exactly where she was. She didn’t want to look too eager when he was playing so hard to get. She wasn’t desperate. So she just shot him a slightly coy smile and listened.

“Wait,” Maya folded her arms. “How did you hear we have a problem with Blake? None of us said about it earlier.”

She glanced at the other girls to see if any of them had any inkling about that. They definitely hadn’t talked about why they were fighting an incredibly evil spirit lady when the DENS had rolled up.

Wait.

Had he somehow seen her private instagram post boasting about banging the wife of a Tampa millionaire? No way, she was incredibly fussy about who she allowed to follow that account. And she hadn’t even mentioned Blake! Though it was probably easy to put two and two together… Maya’s cheeks turned red. If he’d somehow seen that then he’d seen a lot more “tasteful” photos of her.

Wait, why was she even embarrassed about that? It was perfectly normal to sleep with the wife of a scumbag millionaire. None of it was something she should be blushing over. It probably wasn’t even the case anyway!

She pursed her lips as she looked back up at everyone. She completely ignored the interrogation bit of his speech because that was boring bullshit Lyss could deal with. “If you’re helping, does that mean you’re coming along?” She kept her voice completely completely, completely cool, as if she couldn’t care less (and very much failed to do so). “And know where he is?”

FernStone's Character Archive

Recollections, Magnanimous

Patricia M. Vanburen

“Oh fuck off, will you.”

More _______________________________________________ Patricia Malaya Vanburen _______________________________________________ She/Her | 22 | British, Filipino, Saudia Arabian | 5'5" | 115lb _______________________________________________ Bitterness _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "Imagine being good at something you weren’t ashamed of." ___________________________________ [+] Computer Programming ⫻ The kind of thing that Trisha used to scorn, she discovered her talents for the field when she went to college. She had to take it as a course and found out she had a natural talent in it (which was a first). However she found it embarrassing considering the stereotypes and how nerdy she’d always called it to her friends, so it’s something she’s been learning in secret. She’s gotten quite good over the last three years through various online courses and late night coding sessions. Bilingual ⫻ Trisha is technically bilingual, since she was taught Filipino in her formative years and it stuck. She’s quite rusty because she only ever uses it on the rare occasions that she visits her mother. She also speaks basic conversational Arabic.

Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "The one good thing my mother gave me is her looks." Considering her mixed heritage, Trisha always says that she’s surprised that she turned out so pretty. Of course her proclamation about her looks comes from her own self confidence along with many compliments from guys (and girls) she’s been together with. Her natural expression is one of annoyance or grumpiness and this is something that rarely changes around her family. However when she is away from them, around friends or people she doesn’t know, she adopts a much more friendly if flirtatious persona. Without makeup Trisha has a soft face, albeit with a clear jawline. However she is always found with makeup on to help define this and bring a bit more shape to her rather small face. Her hair is long and naturally wavy, a dark brown almost black in colour. Her skin is a tanned gold and freckles dash across her wide, button nose and cheeks when she gets the sun. Her wide lips are often left with just a bit of lip gloss on them. Her eyes, clearly showing her Asian side, are probably one of her most unique features: seemingly changing colours with the light. They are actually hazel in colour, with a warm brown towards the centre and green at the edges. However under a lot of lighting they just look medium brown, if not darker brown. Trisha has three piercings in both ears: two lobe piercings and one helix. Now, while Trisha is lucky to have a slim if average height stature that she can keep up very easily, she didn’t luck out in other departments (in her opinion). She’s flat to the point where in anything but form fitting clothes she doesn’t have any curves. But that’s something that can be fixed with a push up bra when she wants to. She’s a bit more curvy behind and at her hips, with a slim waist. She has long, slender legs that half make up for it. Trisha tends to wear a wide variety of clothing depending on the group she's with. She tries to be fashionable with friends, especially at parties where she'll wear nicer and more revealing clothing. On the other hand when around her family she couldn't care less and will choose comfort over anything else.

_{Psychology
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"What have other people ever done for me?"

MAIN GOAL ⫻ Surprising considering how she generally acts, but Trisha ultimately wants to find someone to get married to and settle down to start her own family. She wants to have kids and treat them right, giving them what she’d deem a better life than her own. Along with this, she secretly wants to change her degree and instead pursue computing since she discovered she was talented at this… which would require her getting over her shame at that fact.

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

SEXUALITY ⫻ Pansexual, Trisha has been with many people with no care for gender. Though she often questions how much she actually likes men beyond the attention and easy compliments they give her.

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

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

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

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

_{Backstory
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"Fuck everyone that made me who I am today."

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

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

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

Trisha wasn’t good at school.

No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t wrap her head around the most basic concepts. She was near the bottom of the class for learning to read and write, the only thing she was slightly above average for was mathematics. None of it was good enough to satisfy Maria - who even at a distance kept a constant check on how she was doing. It was obvious by the time she reached highschool that she wasn’t academically gifted. It didn’t matter that she went above and beyond when it came to effort. She had a whole folder of “tried the hardest” awards but nothing important came of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_{Abstraction
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"Finally, something I can do well."
NOTE TO SELF: Update this (keeping the minion creation)

TYPE ⫻ Aberration (Agent)

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

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

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

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

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

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

^{Other
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"I never wanted to come back here."

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FernStone's Character Archive

Recollections, Magnanimous

Oscar P. Vanburen

_______________________________________________ Oscar Joshua Price Vanburen _______________________________________________ He/Him | 24 | British & African-American | 6’1" | 189lb _______________________________________________ Capricious _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I know about a lot of shit, but I don’t know how much of it is useful." ___________________________________ [+] Sciences ⫻ Oscar is quite academically inclined, and in particular is good at Sciences and Mathematics. He has a degree in Biochemistry and is currently doing a PHD in Pharmacology. He generally has a heavy interest in most fields of science and will look into a lot of it in his free time. Trivia ⫻ Both from his varying interests and hobbies, and his nerdy years in highschool, Oscar knows all sorts of odd Trivia and facts. Incredibly useful when it comes to winning a family quiz night but not so much in general life. Extra-Normal Knowledge ⫻ Since discovering he was an Adept, Oscar has become somewhat obsessed with the Extra-Normal. He has learned a decent amount both from talking to his mother, getting family knowledge handed down to him, and his own research. He knows in theory how to seal Apparitions but he lacks completely in any real life experience, having yet to come across many other Extra-Normals.

Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "What can I say, I got pretty good genetics." Just a bit taller than average, Oscar stands with confidence. He has a laid back and friendly air to him which is often punctuated by a smile that makes him seem welcoming. Even when he isn’t smiling it is clear by his generally relaxed posture that he’s fairly approachable. He’s a handsome man with wide shoulders and a somewhat muscular build. He isn’t a fitness nut but he does enough exercise to keep himself in good shape and have some nice muscle definition. Overall Oscar would say he takes more after his mother than he does his father, he certainly claims his good looks came from her. His medium brown skin comes from a mix of both. He has a sharp, well defined jawline and cheekbones along with a fairly wide nose and thick lips. His eyes are a dark, almost black brown that often makes him look more intense than he is - but just as often sparkle with a cheerful light. He has dark, afro textured hair that he keeps short at the sides and slightly longer at the top. He takes good care of himself and his appearance because while he’s not vain he thinks it's important to look good. In general, Oscar is found in a style that would best be described as smart casual. He tends to favour simple button up shirts or sweatshirts along with dark, often ripped jeans and long jackets. He tends to dress in blues, browns, blacks and shades of grey. However this does vary a lot as he owns a wide variety of clothing and will occasionally wear something bright and colourful, if he’s feeling it.

_{Psychology
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"Y’know, I’m not really feeling up to that right now."

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

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Oscar believes in the importance of relationships and connections, and what makes a person is who he is close to and who he knows. In general he thinks you should treat others as you wish to be treated and not expect to get something from someone unless you give them something in return. To him, family is very important as in his opinion it is one of the strongest relationships that can be formed. As a result in his mind, family is a priority - especially those family members who give you the most. In regards to individuals he is strongly for pursuing what you are interested in and not giving time to mind numbing tasks you don’t care about. He also wants to one day have his own family.

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

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

REPUTATION ⫻ Oscar has an overall positive reputation in Araminta, though it is directly tied to his parents. He’s one of the many Vanburen children, and the heir to his mother’s long standing business. He’s well received due to his intelligence and friendliness. Within the Vanburen family he has a decent reputation, as he gets along well with most of his siblings, but he’s also known for getting weirdly passionate about specific things along with easily brushing off conversation with others if it doesn’t interest him.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Oscar respected his father, and he got on with him even when they didn’t always see eye to eye. The main contention in their relationship was that James didn’t agree with Oscar’s plans for the future - not because he disapproved of Oscar’s plans, because he thought Oscar was submitting to his mother’s wishes rather than doing what he wanted to himself. On the other side, Oscar was close to his mother and disliked how easily James dismissed the women he had been with. He spent much more time with her and this caused something of a distance with James. However they still had a good relationship… he just regrets how he left it before James died.

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

_{Backstory
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"I’m following a path set out by my family, but I’m unsure if I want to keep going."

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

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

As expected of a Vanburen, and with a mother who was setting him up to take over her business, Oscar was sent to some of the best schools in Araminta. Here he flourished, both academically and socially. He was intelligent with particular strengths in the sciences. Along with this he made a good group of friends - you couldn’t call him popular, as he was a bit nerdy and got along best with people with as much passion for science as he had. However his natural friendliness meant that there were very few people that disliked him.

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

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

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

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

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

_{Abstraction
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"Just like me, my powers are pretty variable."

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Red Lux. Channeler: An intricate, metal bookmark that his mother gave him at a young age, that he now always keeps on him rather than using as a bookmark.

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

Water Creation: Oscar can essentially “create” water by pulling it out of something it is contained within. Whether this is a plant, water soaked up in the walls or even moisture in the air. This requires there to be something that contains water in his nearby vicinity.

Water & Liquid Manipulation: After Oscar learned to “create” water, he learned how to manipulate it. He can control pre-existing water to a variety of cool effects. It can be weaponised to cut through things, hit people, absolutely soak people for a prank or to keep the rain off him along with much more. He’s not limited to just water, however, but rather has taught himself to manipulate all sorts of liquids: which is incredibly useful for him when doing chemistry experiments. But he has stronger control over water itself, and can only move other liquids.

Electrify: Oscar essentially “electrifies” his hands, so that electricity is coursing through them. These can be used on a person to cause a severe electric shock, to short circuit electronics or to singe flammable objects. It's quite damaging if weaponised by touching people but he rarely uses it for this purpose (yet).

Electrical Charge: Oscar uses this spell to become some kind of electricity generator, allowing him to charge electrical devices by touching them to act as a conduit to flow energy into them. He can also use the electrical energy to heat things up. He can vary the strength of this especially in regards to heating something up, from the level needed to warm something to burning hot.

Earth Wall: Taught to him by his mother, Oscar can create a protective wall directly in front of him from the ground beneath him (assuming it’s not made of some non-earth/rock material). This comes to a few inches above his height and has a width just larger than he is: essentially covering him from the front. He barely uses this spell since it’s not particularly compatible with his personality, unless absolutely necessary.

LIMITS ⫻

Water Creation: Oscar's water creation ability has a range of five meters and given that there isn't really a whole lot of moisture in most environments (You can get a handful of water out the air).

Water & Liquid Manipulation: The Manipulation ability has a range of twelve meters and is linked to his stamina. Using it tires him out and he can roughly keep it going for about five or ten minutes consistently.

Electrification & Electrical Charge: Oscar can only keep the electrification going for a short amount of time, about a minute, and needs to rest for five before he can do it again.

Earth Wall: Because it's not exactly in tune with his personality it's very difficult to keep going. Oscar will have to dedicate all of his energy, focus, and more, towards keeping it standing. He also can't go any more than three feet away from it.

WEAKNESSES ⫻

Water Creation/Water & Liquid Manipulation: The usage of these two spells drains Oscar of his internal water and leaves him dry, dehydrated, and more. It also renders him weak against electrical attacks... which is why he should never use his electric powers with his water one.

Electrification/Electrical Charge: Using these abilities are bright, loud, and thus make it difficult to see and hear. In addition, he's not immune to electricity and any water touching him will cause him to electrocute himself.

Earth Wall: The wall isn't the most solid thing and while it can take individual blows, it won't be able to stop huge, area of effect attacks. In addition, Oscar basically has to be glued to it in order for it to be effective.

^{Other
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"The more I learn about dad, the more interested I get."

icon

[On hold, Will return]

@The Ghost Note And number 2. I'll add a theme song to him later

Oscar Price Vanburen

╚══════════════╝

"I wouldn't call it an obsession, just a really strong interest."

[ 24 | 6’1” | British & African-American | He/Him | 189lbs ]

[Capricious]

APPEARANCE

"What can I say, I got pretty good genetics."

Just a bit taller than average, Oscar stands with confidence. He has a laid back and friendly air to him which is often punctuated by a smile that makes him seem welcoming. Even when he isn’t smiling it is clear by his generally relaxed posture that he’s fairly approachable. He’s a handsome man with wide shoulders and a somewhat muscular build. He isn’t a fitness nut but he does enough exercise to keep himself in good shape and have some nice muscle definition.

Overall Oscar would say he takes more after his mother than he does his father, he certainly claims his good looks came from her. His medium brown skin comes from a mix of both. He has a sharp, well defined jawline and cheekbones along with a fairly wide nose and thick lips. His eyes are a dark, almost black brown that often makes him look more intense than he is - but just as often sparkle with a cheerful light. He has dark, afro textured hair that he keeps short at the sides and slightly longer at the top. He takes good care of himself and his appearance because while he’s not vain he thinks it's important to look good.

In general, Oscar is found in a style that would best be described as smart casual. He tends to favour simple button up shirts or sweatshirts along with dark, often ripped jeans and long jackets. He tends to dress in blues, browns, blacks and shades of grey. However this does vary a lot as he owns a wide variety of clothing and will occasionally wear something bright and colourful, if he’s feeling it.

PSYCHOLOGY

"Y’know, I’m not really feeling up to that right now."

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

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Oscar believes in the importance of relationships and connections, and what makes a person is who he is close to and who he knows. In general he thinks you should treat others as you wish to be treated and not expect to get something from someone unless you give them something in return. To him, family is very important as in his opinion it is one of the strongest relationships that can be formed. As a result in his mind, family is a priority - especially those family members who give you the most. In regards to individuals he is strongly for pursuing what you are interested in and not giving time to mind numbing tasks you don’t care about. He also wants to one day have his own family.

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

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

REPUTATION ⫻ Oscar has an overall positive reputation in Araminta, though it is directly tied to his parents. He’s one of the many Vanburen children, and the heir to his mother’s long standing business. He’s well received due to his intelligence and friendliness. Within the Vanburen family he has a decent reputation, as he gets along well with most of his siblings, but he’s also known for getting weirdly passionate about specific things along with easily brushing off conversation with others if it doesn’t interest him.

THOUGHTS ABOUT FATHER ⫻ Oscar respected his father, and he got on with him even when they didn’t always see eye to eye. The main contention in their relationship was that James didn’t agree with Oscar’s plans for the future - not because he disapproved of Oscar’s plans, because he thought Oscar was submitting to his mother’s wishes rather than doing what he wanted to himself. On the other side, Oscar was close to his mother and disliked how easily James dismissed the women he had been with. He spent much more time with her and this caused something of a distance with James. However they still had a good relationship… he just regrets how he left it before James died.

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

BACKSTORY

"I’m following a path set out by my family, but I’m unsure if I want to keep going."

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

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

As expected of a Vanburen, and with a mother who was setting him up to take over her business, Oscar was sent to some of the best schools in Araminta. Here he flourished, both academically and socially. He was intelligent with particular strengths in the sciences. Along with this he made a good group of friends - you couldn’t call him popular, as he was a bit nerdy and got along best with people with as much passion for science as he had. However his natural friendliness meant that there were very few people that disliked him.

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

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

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

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

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

SKILLS & TALENTS

"I know about a lot of shit, but I don’t know how much of it is useful."

Sciences ⫻ Oscar is quite academically inclined, and in particular is good at Sciences and Mathematics. He has a degree in Biochemistry and is currently doing a PHD in Pharmacology. He generally has a heavy interest in most fields of science and will look into a lot of it in his free time.

Trivia ⫻ Both from his varying interests and hobbies, and his nerdy years in highschool, Oscar knows all sorts of odd Trivia and facts. Incredibly useful when it comes to winning a family quiz night but not so much in general life.

Extra-Normal Knowledge ⫻ Since discovering he was an Adept, Oscar has become somewhat obsessed with the Extra-Normal. He has learned a decent amount both from talking to his mother, getting family knowledge handed down to him, and his own research. He knows in theory how to seal Apparitions but he lacks completely in any real life experience, having yet to come across many other Extra-Normals.

ABSTRACTION

"I can charge your phone for you, and get you a drink while I’m at it."

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Red Lux. Channeler: An intricate, metal bookmark that his mother gave him at a young age, that he now always keeps on him rather than using as a bookmark.

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

Water Creation: Oscar can essentially “create” water by pulling it out of something it is contained within. Whether this is a plant, water soaked up in the walls or even moisture in the air. This requires there to be something that contains water in his nearby vicinity.

Water & Liquid Manipulation: After Oscar learned to “create” water, he learned how to manipulate it. He can control pre-existing water to a variety of cool effects. It can be weaponised to cut through things, hit people, absolutely soak people for a prank or to keep the rain off him along with much more. He’s not limited to just water, however, but rather has taught himself to manipulate all sorts of liquids: which is incredibly useful for him when doing chemistry experiments. But he has stronger control over water itself, and can only move other liquids.

Electrification: Oscar essentially “electrifies” his hands, so that electricity is coursing through them. These can be used on a person to cause a severe electric shock, to short circuit electronics or to singe flammable objects. It's quite damaging if weaponised by touching people but he rarely uses it for this purpose (yet).

Electrical Charge: Oscar uses this spell to become some kind of electricity generator, allowing him to charge electrical devices by touching them to act as a conduit to flow energy into them. He can also use the electrical energy to heat things up. He can vary the strength of this especially in regards to heating something up, from the level needed to warm something to burning hot.

Earth Wall: Taught to him by his mother, Oscar can create a protective wall directly in front of him from the ground beneath him (assuming it’s not made of some non-earth/rock material). This comes to a few inches above his height and has a width just larger than he is: essentially covering him from the front. He barely uses this spell since it’s not particularly compatible with his personality, unless absolutely necessary.

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

"The more I learn about dad, the more interested I get."

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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“Guess we don’t have to worry about figuring out how to start the train,” Isla commented after the doors slammed shut and the train started moving. Her mouth was set in a thin line and one hand gripped onto her hair, while she used the other to grab hold of a seat railing. Except it didn’t really feel like it was moving.

Shit only got stranger as the buildings started to collapse and that creepy, little girl voice spoke again. Because sending them on a joy ride towards who knew where wasn’t enough.

“Oh fuck off, you can’t just keep us here because you’re lonely!” she shouted at the ceiling, accent getting thicker towards the end of her sentence. She took a step back and into the centre of the carriage before her face screwed up in concentration. Purple symbols shone around her beanie as she forcefully tried to stop the train from moving.

Of course it did shit all. She groaned as the glowing stopped, as if she’d exerted a great amount of effort (but she really hadn’t).

Isla turned back to the group with a frown. “I can teleport us all back to the station… but it doesn’t seem like a good idea, since whatever that voice is seems to want us on this train!”

Of course, she wasn’t actually confident that she could teleport them back. For a start they might not be close enough not to mention the whole magical shit going on with the train just jumping into action itself. She was really, really unconfident on it working but it was technically an option. She was sure the others would shoot it down.

“Maybe we just need to sit tight,” Isla said, before shaking her head. That was a ridiculous idea. “Or maybe there’s something on this train that’ll help us!”

Nomadic Odyssey: Fallen Virtue [Cancelled]

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Isko did not feel safe on this plane.

More precisely, he didn’t feel safe with the idea of riding into a probable battle zone in a plane with his reckless sister on board. Especially when combined with another girl who actively didn’t want to use a parachute when jumping out… something that Aline seemed to latch onto far too much. Not to mention how rickety the plane was.

“This feels incredibly restrictive,” Aline muttered, yanking at the parachute that had been forced on her by Jonas earlier.

“And important, for safety,” Isko rolled his eyes at his sister as he stood close to her, staring out at the window. “I’d rather we didn’t come all this way for you to die jumping from a plane.”

“As if I ever would!” Aline retorted, jabbing her elbow into her brother’s side. “I ain’t about to die before we get to the fight!”

With that she seemed to vibrate with excitement, wide smile at the prospect of this being the final battle against Oh-One. Isko just shook his head, even as he smiled slightly at her enthusiasm. He turned his head to Askin to reply to his comment on the scenery, but his lips had barely opened when red lit up the sky and loud crashes began to sound.

In the short time that he had before they got sucked out the plane Isko grabbed onto one of the straps of Aline’s parachute. He yanked the cord as they spun out into the sky and began to plummet to the ground. He quickly let go and pushed her away from him, waiting a few moments to deploy his own.

Isko landed first, solidly on his feet in the snow just a bit from the coast. He turned around to find the others: He could see Askin easily in his bright yellow overcoat, but no one else. He turned as Aline landed not too far away from him.

“It’s so fucking cold,” she shouted over the wind as she pushed through the deep snow to get over to her brother. The short girl had her arms wrapped around herself as her teeth were already chattering. It didn’t matter that she was wearing as many layers as she could… it was far too cold! She wasn’t used to this.

“Told you it would be,” Isko smiled slightly, even as he too had to ignore the intense cold. The Antarctic was not the place for the people used to the temperature of the Philippines (and Brazil). “Come on.”

He began to walk through the snow towards Askin, his sister following right behind him in the trail that he made. He waved to the short man as he grew near.

“Seen the others?” Isko asked, before he looked over Askin’s head and spotted Brown a little away. “...Is she alright? She didn’t pull the parachute, did she?”

“I don’t think she did!” Aline piped up, peering around her brother even as she pressed against him for warmth. She waved towards Brown and shouted, “hey, Brown, that was super cool! I wish I’d been able to not use a parachute most of the way if someone hadn’t pulled it for me.”

Isko snorted, ignoring her glare. Of course his sister had watched. He completely brushed off what she’d said. “We should find the other two, gather up, and head towards the tower.”

Recollections: The Othergrounds [Complete]

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---

Isla looked a bit put out by what Zoey said, but stopped smiling anyway. She was just trying to be cheerful and all in the face of all the weird shit going on! But she guessed smiling was the totally not normal thing to do in this situation. Well, whatever. She shrugged as she followed behind the group in a nice adventure towards the train station.

She looked around her as she walked, taking in the overly colourful buildings with a raised eyebrow. Unlike most of the others she seemed relaxed with her hands stuffed in her hoodie and a neutral expression on her face. It was a look that she had perfected even as she was constantly expecting something to jump out at them, masking her constant looks around as interest in the buildings lining the streets.

By some miracle they made it to the train station without getting stops and it actually was a train station. Isla wandering away towards a different, old looking coke machine. She tilted her head as she looked at it before kicking it a few times. Eventually, after quite a few kicks, she managed to dislodge one of the bottles inside. She let out a soft sigh as she cracked it open, holding it away from her as half of the contents burst out. She turned back to the group as she chugged down the drink (it felt like it had been days since she’d had a drink).

Just in time to see Zoey shoving cigarettes into her pockets. Isla snorted, holding back a comment about her clearly having a problem. She probably already knew that.

“Maybe you should find a bag to carry all of them,” she said instead, with a slight grin and she finished the coke she’d grabbed and threw it in a nearby bin. She followed Hagan to the nearby gate and just blinked past it while he was destroying the entire thing.

She found it strange that a train was just there. In her experience, trains were only waiting in a station if they were about to go somewhere or it was the end of the day and no more were running. They didn’t just sit there. But then again everything in here had been weird as fuck. Why wouldn’t there just be a train?

"Let's find a way to get this thing started... as bad of an idea as that is."

Hagan

“There’ll be something in the front to start it, right?” Isla piped up, squeezing past Hagan and into the train. “Normally the driver sits in the front carriage… Bet it’s just a nice big lever or something on a train like this. It won’t be that hard.”

She paused to wait for the others rather than just powering ahead to find that. She didn't want to accidentally start a train and have to somehow teleport anyone on.

“... Do we have any idea where this train will go if we start it? Not that it matters if it goes outta here but shouldn’t we try figure that out before we go off to some other equally weird place. Though that does sound like a fun adventure.”