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

[yovahs_kisses]

Snuggly lovey hugs! He, too, gets the fine-tuned emotional resonance. In addition to the music.

[jovahs_heiress]

"It turns out I get music, too. Accompaniment when I sing unless I deliberately want to be a capella," says Angela.

[yovahs_kisses]

"We should go sing together," Micaiah asserts. His aura of innocence sparkles wickedly.

[jovahs_heiress]

"All right. Home, or somewhere here?"

[yovahs_kisses]

"Somewhere here," he says, "I don't think we're done enchanting yet."

[jovahs_heiress]

"If we sing here we'll disrupt this - whatever song this is," says Angela, "I imagine, so -" She teleports them to a spot in the garden, under arching trellises that drip cone-shaped flower clusters.

[yovahs_kisses]

"And I don't think you want to sing with me in front of the whole deck," says Micaiah. "Not with what happens when you sing with me."

[jovahs_heiress]

"There is that. Maybe we should be indoors somewhere with a door that closes," Angela muses. "We do sometimes sing harmonics, in public, though."

[yovahs_kisses]

"But do we stay in public for long afterward?"

[jovahs_heiress]

"Admittedly, no." She laughs and kisses him and teleports them again to a spare bedroom in the palace.

[yovahs_kisses]

"Sing for me, my angel," he murmurs.

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela tilts her head back and launches into a hymn. She still loves sacred music, in spite of everything, and her aura does too, it accompanies her with swelling strings and woodwinds.

[yovahs_kisses]

Micaiah sings with her.

His aura's mood resonance makes it very, very clear what he thinks of the experience.

[jovahs_heiress]

It's a good thing she picked a short hymn, because this new aura feature is distracting. As soon as she amens, Micaiah's engulfed in a feathery embrace.

[yovahs_kisses]

He flings himself into her arms and kisses her like he's drowning and her breath the only available air.

[self_composed]

Meanwhile, downstairs, here's Stella!

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice is in Queenie's lap. It is the cuddliest lap. He waves to his Bella.

[self_composed]

"Hey you. How goes?" Stella asks.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Queenie's aura is the best aura," he says cheerfully. "Mine doesn't do anything special yet, except the music."

[self_composed]

"Yeah, you don't seem all extra-vampirey like Golden or anything," says Stella. "That's okay, I'm still in the dark about mine, too."

[edgeofyourseat]

"I probably just haven't done enough enchanting yet. I think we're all gonna go for one more round once we're done cuddling."

[self_composed]

"Ah, I appeared prematurely if I expected to take you home, then."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Mmhmm. But we can go have sex again if you want," he says brightly.

[self_composed]

"I would complain about announcing that casually in front of such an audience but I suppose they could all guess, couldn't they," she laughs. "All right." Port!

[dark_light]

Amariah shows up a moment later. "Hi, sweeties!"