welcome to my

[manofmyword]

The deck of Jokers keeps on enchanting. It takes a few days. The ones with various sweethearts get various visits.

Slowly, everybody's aura builds up.

They're not just less powerful than the Bells'; they're different. Joker auras don't tell you they're attached to magic and power; it's not 'look at me, I'm important' or 'look at me, I'm magical' but 'look at me', the end.

Except that that is not the end at all.

Their auras track emotions, like the Bells', but far more responsively. They can be whimsical one second and terrifying the next; they can laugh while their auras cry and cry while their auras laugh. It's all in how you play it.

The initial differences are subtle. Beast's aura can make him seem more human, or more beastly, whichever form he's in. The others of variable species don't seem to do anything similar, at least not to nearly the same degree. Ghosty's is the most interesting, because she can show her aura without manifesting physically; suddenly she has a presence even when she technically doesn't.

Micaiah's aura is the first one to manifest an obviously unique feature, although 'unique' isn't quite accurate, because after a few more hours of spellcasting they all have one:

A soundtrack.

Pretty soon, they're all cuddled up in one of the guest rooms and the music is going strong. With the whole pile of them together, somebody's aura will start playing a song and the rest will either pick it up or add embellishments. It's tremendous fun.

Comments

[lifes_sake]

"I don't know if it's going to feel meaningfully different from me as opposed to your own, but sure," laughs Cam, and to Saturn they go and through Alice he casts.

[edgeofyourseat]

"It's meaningfully different, it's just not practically that different," he explains.

He is just as fond of channeling as the rest of him. Slightly less cuddly about it, though. (He doesn't wanna squish the human.)

[lifes_sake]

"How d'you like being a vampire?" Cam asks conversationally betwixt spells. "Why'd Stella stab you with a syringe and nobody else has followed suit, is it not cool?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Well it hurt a lot," he says brightly. "And that was fun. And I love my Bella and all, but I think most of us don't wanna do the vampire thing 'cause of how it fucks with your head. Jokes for sure, he would've killed himself if it'd happened when he met Nate, I dunno about now."

[lifes_sake]

"How's the head-fuckery work? Or should I just wait and ask Golden?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Were mates not in the book?" he wonders. "Mates should be in the book. I'm not the best vampire to ask, anyway, I'm still a slut, most of us aren't still sluts."

[lifes_sake]

"They're in the book, but in a kinda summary way, it says if you want more detail you want to ask Golden's kid for pamphlets."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Do that, then," he advises.

[lifes_sake]

"Sure, but that doesn't tell me what it's like for you, and you're the one I asked," Cam says.

[edgeofyourseat]

"It's not that different from how I loved her before," he says, "there's just more of it."

[lifes_sake]

"Mm. 'Nother spell?"

Presuming acquiescence: 'nother spell.

[edgeofyourseat]

'Nother spell! Mmm.

[lifes_sake]

And so on and so forth.

Cam's aura's getting bits of distinctiveness now, and it's accumulating faster. He's - almost reminiscent of Elspeth. Not the same flavor, but the same general region of auraspace (come to think of it, her power gives off something almost auralike). Elspeth says I have such an honest face.

Cam says, This power I'm advertising is backed by my word. My word is good.

And, If you try to talk to me, I will try to understand you. We can talk about whatever it is.

His enchanter's aura wants him to be a diplomat, or maybe a psychologist.

[pythbox]

Jellybean is the first to remark on it, on the next break.

"You're like a super mega wizard or something," he says fondly.

[lifes_sake]

"A super mega wizard," deadpans Cam. "That's informative."

[pythbox]

"You're extra wizardy!" he insists.

[lifes_sake]

"What does that mean, is my enchanter's aura pretending it's a wizard's aura somehow?"

[pythbox]

"Kiiiiind of?" he says. "It's all... talky. Like you're trying to be me. Except not, because my aura wouldn't be that nice."

[lifes_sake]

"Can you explain or should I call in one of my alts and get her to do it?"

[pythbox]

"Make one of you do it."

[lifes_sake]

"Am I up to full strength yet or will I be putting whichever one out of her way making an extra trip just to be impatient about it?" muses Cam.

[pythbox]

"Do some more enchanting first," Jellybean advises cheerfully. "Just in case."

[lifes_sake]

Cam grins. "You offering?"

[pythbox]

"Yep!" says Jellybean.

[lifes_sake]

Cam draws him into a kiss and teleports them both to Saturn. "We keep making out on celestial bodies, at some point I'm gonna wanna tour at least one solar entire system just for completeness," he remarks. "Here goes nothing -"

"Nothing" is of course a spell.