Nightshade

"But I enjoy breakfast, babe," she said faking contempt. She pulled up from her resting position with a yawn. Man, that was tiring, being rested. She slowly stood up looking at the trashed up living room. If it weren't for her lazy streak at the moment, she'd start cleaning. "But lunch is fine," she said pulling on a shirt. Modesty? Not really, but going out meant you had to be fully dressed, not just in your underwear. She really didn't care for the food quality at this moment. Gluttony was not picky. Oh she had preferences. She remembered the burgers that brought the two together in the first place. Looking down at Jack she almost sat down on him. But then she'd have to find a reason to get back up. "Come on," she pleaded playfully, pulling at one of his arms.

So much time had passed, Jessica hadn't even noticed. She and Jack met last year and, despite that one little 'disappearance', they'd been at each other's side ever since. At first as friends, but they grew closer and closer. A fun romp of two people who generally enjoyed each other's attention and company. After Jack's graduation, Jessica snagged him as a roommate. Not that he had anywhere to go, but not that she would let him go. She just loved having Jack around. And awake. Like he was just doing now. "Afternoon, sleepyhead," she said, kissing him on the cheek as he groaned into the land of the living. They took up most of the couch as she slept on top of him.

I have missed the last THREE months of post counts October 2018 Long Time Coming (8) Halloween on the Boardwalk (3) Fire, Water, Fist and Coding (3) 14 posts. November 2018 Most Wonderful Time (1) 1 post. December 2018 Most Wonderful Time (7) I'm Idaho (3) Freedom City's Finest: And the Half-blood Princess (4) 14 posts.

"Well, it seems I am the tiebreaker," not-Triakosia smiled. Though her being the odd one out did raise questions. Dimension hopping brought questions. None that she vocalized at first, but giving a confused furled brow. "Yeah," she nodded, "I'm in for the experience. That hero thing is less thinking and more doing." "My name is," she paused for a moment, wondering since this new Triakosia had no idea who she was, if it would matter, "Red... Synn?" She's been wanting a superhero name for a while.And that was the worst. But she was sticking by it. For now. "I'm a hero, just in case, you can do your scans on me and whatever." She looked at the two doppelgangers, "there's going to be a mix up, but if you'll allow me monikers. Well, something better than A and B." She pointed to the original and the captain respectively.

Jessica knew the implications of the visit. Even knowing of such things and contacting others about it put alarms in certain people's heads. Lynn was right to judge, whether or not it was fear of her or not. But she didn't sense fear or hatred in the woman's voice or movements. She much enjoyed the formalities. of such grillings. Free drinks was even better. "Oh sure," she said following the sociable manager, "let's get to the fun part where you ask me awkward questions. Maybe take some blood. That'll be fun." Not that the store was privy to their conversation, but she tried to keep her normal showy attitude to less than eleven. As the door closed behind them she looked at the surroundings, "pretty swank."

Jessica looked at the second person coming aboard. Like, a black female Centurion? Wait, was this the one looking to take his mantle? She had a... certain following on the internet. Then again any hero or villain with notoriety did. That cat woman from Emerald City was big up right now. "Hey," she looked between the two having a moment, "nice meeting you in person, Triakosia." There was a short silence, "am I interrupting anything?"

"All this boat and only one person, huh," Jessica said floating toward the ship. She touched down, "permission to come aboard, captain," she said asking in hindsight. It was a pretty place, really. She couldn't help but look around. Especially the armored ship driver. She wasn't the type to remember official titles. Even though she was in awe, she steeled herself. Just in case it was one of those moments where a bunch of mooks would pop out of nowhere. Walking towards, but not hovering over, the ship driver, she took one last picture before putting her phone away. "So, me being the nosy, curious hero type, I gotta ask: What's up, doc?"

Of course, stares, the other people in here probably had never seen a real life demon before. but hey, there Jessica was, walking around in broad daylight. Much to the chagrin, or maybe delight, of the customers of Silberman's Books. She could absolutely feel Lust, Envy, Pride, and definitely Greed in this place. Though the last one wasn't pointed at her, she was sure. Tsk, Christmas. That was Lynn greeting her. Jessica knew even before the greeting. She had such a powerful presence. Elegant. Proud. It was reassuring and startling at the same time. But Jessica kept her composure. When you met great people every day, you learn to roll with it and do your best to not 'look evil'. "Good evening," Jessica said greeting Lynn with an almost serpentine smile. The size difference between the ladies now was very much noticeable. She took a step back, a laugh under her breathe. "I do believe we've talked on the phone before. You have one of the copies of," she looked around to see if anyone was listening, of course they were. She leaned in and whispered, "The Heretical Ravings of the Demon Lover Kyson."

Not that she was going to mash up a concoction on the spot, but she had ideas. Still, there were other places to go today. The maca and mistletoe would be for later. Gathering a few specimens, among others, they wrapped it up and she paid. A short trip all things told. She could spend hours in the aromatics alone. "So, now we do something you want to do," she said as they walked out. Her holding his arm, she looked up, "going back to sleep isn't an option." Whether he had something in mind or not, she knew which way she was going after that.

@Heritage! I call thee from the depths!

Christmas was a touchy time for Jessica. Sure, Freedom City loved their heroes. But those of her type were not seen as heroes at first glance. And especially since the holidays had been co-opted by Christianity. Well, Jessica didn't invited to go caroling. At all. Still, she had a lot to keep her busy. Gift giving was irreligious. Her magic lessons with Jack were the highlights of her days some times. Jack was the highlight of her days most of the time. She had already went shopping with him earlier, but this time she wanted to get a special something. She poked through her contacts to see where she could get to the weirder side of Freedom. She knew his style of magic was different than hers, but he barely knew about his. So she taught him hers. Quite fun. What she found was Silberman's Books. A bookstore, naturally, but something of a seller of magical things to the mundane. Magic For Dummies. How To Summon Confidence. Annotated Necronomicon. It all looked like a cash grab. But her sources knew better. She was here for something more advanced. And real. Arcane musings aside, Jessica's carnal spirits knew that there was something there that she needed. Most of demonblooded didn't take stock in writing, but a treatise was written a few hundred years ago. Only seven copies remained of it. And it was in reach. So much for buying the SO a gift. She was sure something would pop up.

"This is a normal sight in this city," Jessica thought to herself, "isn't it? I mean, dudes in tights were just knocking each other around a couple hours ago." Not that she disdained the hero lifestyle. She'd been in it for a while. But her curiosity got the better of her some times. "Damned envy." Shooting up into the sky at what the fly boys and girls would call a leisurely pace, she eventually reached the sky barge. Floating around it conspicuously, she took in the sights, taking a few pictures. "Neat."

@KnightDisciple This will be starting after the first of the year. So do you think anything's changed in six years?

You are from Anti-Earth. A place where everyone is evil. You are a villain. Everything is 'great' until reality blows up. That kinda sucks. You may be evil, but you like having reality to be evil in. The Norn, an all powerful being who cannot interfere herself, pulls you out of reality to save reality from destruction. Again, you're evil, but not omnicidally so. It's nice to have things to push around and take things and do things evilly. I'm looking for interested parties on being the bad guys. Don't worry about who it is. If we're short staffed, or over/underpowered, I can adjust on the fly. This will be in the noncanon forum. If you are interested, put forth a character you wish to play and how they fit in this world. Freedom is called Empire City. There's sections dedicated to it in Worlds of Freedom and Iron Age. Bedlam is called Paradise, and is possibly the nicest place in America. Doesn't mean the villains don't have their hands there. Emerald City is called Wonderland. People aren't so much villains there as much as they're 'people with powers'. Your Neutral city with Evil tendencies. If you wish to add something to the Bedlam/Paradise or Emerald City/Wonderland narrative, I'm all ears as those are my interpretations of them right now since they dont have canon sections.

Her Russian was faint enough to know that was an endearment. Like snow leopard. And Red. Something he called her. "Let's go, Bear," she said happily. Like him, but for different reasons, the cold didn't bother her. His big wall of muscle and her demonic blood. She tried to continue her Ket language lessons, <"you and I should make herbs first,"> she was trying to look for a word, <"Plant seeds?"> She shook her head, "well, not intricate is it," shrugging with a smile. Their first stop was an herb shop. Cooking and other practical effects. She showed him all that she knew about the properties, mundane and otherwise. Him being a wilderness expert, he probably knew all about these. "I used to have a spot like this with your friend, Alexa. Zhu. Unfortunately we haven't spoken in a while. Hope she's OK."

Pulling him with no real force (he wouldn't budge if he didn't want to!) from the kitchen to the living room, she stood in front of the front door. "Me and you are just gonna have a nice day together. Without distractions. It doesn't matter what we do. But I planned to get gifts." She put her hands in his hoodie pockets, still looking at him. There was nothing there as usual, but her envy made her check. "I've been working a lot. You've been in school. You get a winter break, don't you? I wanna be prepared for that." Though really she just was prideful of her boyfriend, she wanted the world to know they were a couple. She was his. He was hers. They rarely got out during the day. And during the night there were magic lessons, among other shenanigans. He was a very slow learner and, for him, she didn't mind spelling everything out for him. "So," she stood on her toes, still not reaching his height, "wanna?"

She winced happily when he came up behind her. Not that she had a weak spot, but he was just stronger than her! Also being more than a head taller than her, there was a menacing factor. Though fear was replaced with love or lust, depending on the situation. "Oh yeah," she said with a small laugh, "Ultimate Chef Witchblood," she affected an English accent, "your egg and bacon sandwich has a delightful amount of mayonnaise. Tell us your secret!" She looked up at him and handed him, like, three of them. Knowing it wouldn't be enough to sate the beast's hunger, she watched him tear through them. "Just a little snack before we go out. Not the burgers you love so much, but that's for later." His gluttony aside, she was glad he liked whatever she cooked. Or didn't cook. That raw fury of everything he did. She didn't have a nose like him, but he always smelled like her love.

If it wasn't for the connection they had, it would be for pure aesthetics. His appearance and voice. Unf. She straightened herself, almost teasing him, after picking him up. She wore a red long t-shirt with a three presents on the chest, also her favorite pair of normal formed jeans. She smirked as he grumbled, walking towards the bathroom. "We could have went last night," she verbally prodded him in a playful tone. She stopped herself from following him, or nothing would get done this morning. She went to the kitchen, it was a small apartment, and started up eggs and bacon for sandwiches. Sure it wasn't his favorite meat, but she had nothing of that sort. A mental note to pick up some large cuts today. She quite enjoyed feasting with him as well. She enjoyed doing a lot with him. Carnal or not.

The 'red snow leopard' was taken off her feet easily by her stronger partner. The loud shouting turned into a gleeful scream as he pulled her down. "You almost broke it last night," she laughed before putting his head to his. She spoke softly in the Ket language, which he had been teaching her, <"good morning, Bear. I hope you enjoyed your sleep."> She was sorry for waking him up, but not really, much more enjoying when he was awake than asleep. "C'mon," she said kissing his nose, "lets go. If you remember what we're going to do today."

Ah right, her bear had to sleep more during the colder months. She'd known the saying 'don't wake a sleeping bear'. Or something like that. The pillow wouldn't budge off his head, but there was enough of neck to see. Slowly tracing a finger up his back, she ended where his neck was, stroking it softly. But he was really asleep. Soundly, even. She enjoyed watching his sloth. If she didn't want to spend more waking time with him, she'd be right there with him, being lazy. This little conundrum would have to be solved somehow! "Wake up," she said, louder this time. Taking the other pillow from her side she swatted him, "I'm a red snow leopard, remember," she said getting louder, "I'm gonna gonna make you my breakfast if you don't. Wake! UP!"

Jessica was still growing into this monogamous relationship with Jack, but she felt content with him. And that was enough to keep her eyes on her pride and joy. Waking up next to him made her happy. It didn't feel like almost two months had passed (59 days but who was counting? Her, that's who). He had school, but they shared time together in his off time. Last night was one of those nights, and today was one of those days, It was the weekend and they had actual plans. Shopping. For Christmas? Maybe, but definitely for each other. She had to contain the carnal spirit of Greed. Having a shower before he had even woke up, she stood stood over his sleeping form. She knew how he slept. Kissing him on the cheek before whispering in his ear, "time to wake the dead," she chided him playfully.

Looking for threads with Jessica. She's a Freedom City character. Triakosia and Jessica find some hijinks to get into? Maybe some find them?

She watched him shuffle through his pockets to see if he was going to pull anything funny, but apparently, to her eyes at least, nothing happened. Diamond Clover, huh? She shuffled to remember anything about it. Nope. Well, no news is good news? But man, an audience to perform in front of was right up her alley. It being a late night, there was maybe a few carnal spirits she could gather before time with the family. She smirked at the flyer, taking it in her hands to inspect facetiously. "A few hours," she asked, "well I do have midnight plans. But getting paid to make people look good? I'm for that. How long should it be?"

The old man was most likely hitting on her. Cute. She smiled, thinking she would break the poor fellow. Not that she was going to act on it. Then again, Freedom City held a lot of surprises. "Stage magic, Leo," she asked, faking ignorance, "well I've seen enough beautiful assistants to know how to go through the motions." She pantomimed pointing at things. But with flair! Stage magic was fun, but once she saw through the strings and mirrors, she only paid attention to the pretty girl on stage and the rubes in the audience. And sometimes, the thieves in the audience. This guy, she would have to keep a close eye on. She stopped doing the silly, but accurate, movements, putting her hands on her hips, "so, Leonardo, what do you think?"

Doink.