#junior rp

[the-astral-coven]

Kees looks in awe at the garden he was led to. Being the last one to exit the house, he couldn't help but feel like that one girl in the old American movie that didn't start in color and then looked in awe when she saw color.

He looked to Margery and pointed at some sticks on the ground.

"Do I need a wand? Or staff? Or is that a stereotype?"

He looked curiously at the trees, it felt like the wood back here was special, somehow. The sticks even felt different somehow.

@een-man-band-tattoos

Margery chuckles at his words, and shakes her head.

Do witches need wands, or staffs or crystal balls or cauldrons or anything? No, not at all. Jasper dear, you've an affinity for fire, yes? Why don't you demonstrate? -📱

Margery points to a tree stump jutting out of the ground in one corner of the garden, and Jasper nods. He lifts his arm snaps his fingers, a ball of fire flaring to life in the palm of his hand. He holds the fire out, then with a pushing motion, sends the flames flying towards the stump. The old dry wood ignites in an instant, and Margery smiles as it burns.

Magic is an energy force, and it's all around us. It's concentrated highly in the astral plane, a dimension separate from the one we currently occupy, and naturally born witches have a special connection to it and to magic itself. Now, some do still choose to use objects of power. Jasper's grandmother used a crystal ball to get a clearer picture of the future, the Sisters of Slough have a fondness for enchanting ingredients, and the picture of witches with wands and brooms or wizards with staffs didn't come from nowhere. However, most people who use wands and staffs specifically probably either are witches who are weaker, or aren't witches at all. -📱

So...does that mean you don't need to be a witch to cast spells? -🌩️

Exactly. A Witch is a kind of person, with a connection to magic. But the average human doesn't need this connection in order to cast spells, and the astral plane isn't even the only source of supernatural power in this world. -📱

She waves her hand at Frankie as she speaks, and a pair of large angels wings become visible sticking out of his back.

Frankie here, for instance, isn't a natural born witch. His grandmother was on close personal terms with a divine being, and so his power doesn't come from magic or the astral plane at all, it comes from the big man himself. He could learn to cast spells using magic, but it wouldn't come as naturally as his holy gifts. -📱

So what does that make me, exactly? I'm not a witch or an angel, all I can do is see ghosts. -🌩️

Is that thing you did where you shot lightning not magic? It looked an awful lot like it. -🚗

Margery shakes her head again.

No, THAT is because Jim was possessing him. Jim spent years as a ghost with unfinished business, so when he possesses a willing host, he's able to imbue them with power from the astral plane itself. It helps that said host was Junior, who happened to be a medium. The results may not have been as strong with a normal human. -📱

But what does all this mean for Kees? -✨

Well, first we have to find out what his affinity is. Every witch has one, and even those who seek out alternative forms of spellcasting tend to have something they're pretty damn good at. Once we know that affinity, it's quite possible that he would need a wand or something like that. They make it easier for the weak to channel the power intentionally. -📱

Julian looks over at Kees, tilting his head a bit.

Are you doing okay? This can be a lot to take in all at once, I know that I had a horrible time when I first found out that demons and angels and magic were all real. -🚗

[the-astral-coven]

Junior slowly stirs awake, wondering briefly why he's in a sleeping bag on the floor before the events of the previous day come rushing back to him. He sits up and looks around, but as his eyes travel over the little recreation of a witch's cottage, he finds its occupant missing.

"Jasper?" he calls, and his voice echoes through the attic.

"He's gone."

Junior turns to see Jim floating nearby, arms wrapped around himself and his brow creased with worry.

"He left while you were still sleeping...something about someone needing help, and him not wanting to put you in danger."

Junior frowns.

"After everything we went through yesterday, he thought it was a good idea to go alone?"

Jim shrugs, then points to the crystal on the table.

"He did leave me this, it's some sort of magical timer, I think. If it goes off before he gets back, I'm supposed to find that old lady, Margery I think? And ask her for help."

"Great," Junior sighs, looking around the room again. "And what am I supposed to do then, just sit around and twiddle my..."

He trails off, his eye catching on a detail he hadn't seen before. In the wall next to where he and Jasper had hung some old shelves, there was a small but noticeable hole in the wall that he was almost certain hadn't been there yesterday.

"Jim?" he asks, stepping closer to the wall.

"What?"

"Was this always here?"

Jim floats up to the hole, frowning as he examines it.

"No...and shouldn't there be daylight shining through? This is the east side of the attic."

Junior nods absently. He leans forward, trying to peer through the hole to whatever's on the other side. He can't see anything, but he hears something: a voice, high and faint and scared.

"Father?"

Junior looks back at Jim, his eyes wide. Jim shrugs, gesturing helplessly at the hole, and Junior swallows before turning back.

"Hello?" he calls. "Is there somebody there?"

@finest-train-in-the-astral-plane

[the-astral-coven]

JULIET:

Good day, witches foul and fair, I prithee you might help me, for I am of late burdened with an infestation of the spectral kind…

the GHOST of CAESAR:

Myself, my living wife means say.

JULIET:

I have not slept in days for his wailing.

CAESAR:

Wail? Not I.

JULIET:

I beseech thee, dear hags, rid me of this pigeon-liver’d worm that clings to my skirts, ere I find a way to slay him past the veil again.

CAESAR:

Dear witches, doth your ears catch the pleasing petals of her words? There is none with so sweet a tongue as hers.

@empress-of-all-rome

Huh? Who are you? -✨

Ah, the queen calls for us again. -🍰

Sorry to say, but we've still seen no visions of your future. -🔮

It's her present that seems to be troubling her now. -🍰

Hang on, hang on a minute! -🌩️

Junior looks at the two new figures who have appeared in his yard. Both appear ghostly to him, but the longer he looks at the two of them, the more different their auras appear to him. He slowly points at the man.

You....you're dead. You're a ghost, like Jim, and like the two witch ladies. But you...

Junior points to the woman.

You're alive. You're speaking through some kind of...I don't know, telepathy? But you're not a ghost. -🌩️

Ah, the boy learns quickly. -🍰

Oh, so you're saying you want our help getting rid of a ghost? We could probably do that, right....I'm sorry, what was your name, actually? -✨

Oh, um. John Hobson Junior, you can just call me Junior though. I mean, I guess so? I've helped one ghost move on, so I could probably try to do that again. -🌩️

Great! Lead the way to your palace then, queen lady. -✨

[the-astral-coven]

John Hobson Junior sat underneath a tree, staring up at his family’s new house. The trellises that had once lined the side of the house were long gone, but if he squinted, he could just make out the spot on the roof where, fifty years ago, a hole had been patched over with new shingles. 

For the hundredth time that day, he wondered whether or not Jim had gotten to talk to his parents. He hadn’t seen or heard a trace of him since he’d left last night with Mr. Nelson, and while he hoped Jim was able to find peace, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t sorry to have to say goodbye to the ghost. Now he was back where he’d started: alone in a new neighborhood with no friends to talk to. 

Suddenly, as if in response to his thoughts, there was a crackling sound and a puff of smoke. Junior sat up straighter as a boy a few years older than himself stepped out of the smoke and flashed him a big smile. 

“Hi there!” the boy said. “My name’s Jasper. I was wondering if you wanted to join my coven?”

— — — 

John Hobson Junior 🌩️ is now available for questions!

[the-astral-coven]

Do you guys have like a big fun house you all live in (a la the winchester mansion) that you add rooms to each time someone joins

What's a winchester mansion? -✨

Oh, I've heard of that! Basically it was this big house that a lady built back in the 1800s to try and stop ghosts from haunting her. -🌩️

Oooh, well I'm from the 1700s, so I guess that's why I haven't heard of it. That's a fun idea though, a big house with a room for everyone in the coven! Can we do that, grandma? -✨

Hm...I suppose there'd be nothing stopping you. Other than how long it would take to build a house, of course. -🔮

Hang on, you're from the 1700s? -🌩️

The coven doesn't have a "home base" of sorts yet, as Jasper has only just left his own time. The Slough Sisters are still in Slough, and Margery's body is also still in Slough, though she's also arguing with Ethel in the astral plane at the moment. Maureen and Sandra don't have bodies at all anymore; they're ghosts and exist solely in the astral plane, and their souls are tethered to Jasper's. Eventually, the coven will need some sort of physical home base for the members like Jasper and Junior and others who need a physical place to live. They *could* technically make the base in the astral plane but....well, just look at how well that goes for @theshowgoesonandonandon. Probably not best to replicate that type of scenario. -🥛

[the-astral-coven]

The first thing Jasper notices is the sunlight.

It streams through the window of a small, cluttered kitchen, and it’s such a contrast to the never ending darkness of Ethel’s realm that for a moment, Jasper thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

The second thing he notices is the woman standing facing away from them, looking out the window. She turns, and jumps in surprise, a glass of milk falling from her hand and crashing to the floor.

“Oh, well done, Mary,” Margery says with a roll of her eyes.

“Julian!”

The woman ignores Margery, rushing forward and pulling the young witch into a hug.

“Oi, mum, I’m fine!” Julian protests, but he returns the woman’s hug anyway, and Jasper feels a pang of grief at the sight.

He looks around, trying to figure out where…and when he is. The kitchen reminds him of what he saw at Junior’s house and in Slough with the sister witches, so it’s probably the same century that they come from.

Margery mutters to herself in annoyance, rummaging through the cupboards with an easy familiarity, and he finds he can hazard a guess as to whose home they’ve arrived in.

He drops into one of the chairs around the kitchen table, and rests his head in his hand. Junior frowns, and sits next to him, nudging him with his shoulder.

“You alright?”

Jasper shrugs.

“I feel like…like all of this was for nothing.”

— — —

All asks are open for all characters on this blog, send some interactions for our coven through the astral plane! -🥛

[the-astral-coven]

See, but what I don't know how to do is use that much power without hurting you. You literally passed out last time! -👻

Junior crosses his arms over his chest and frowns.

Yeah, but neither of us knew we could do that. I think if we try and do it on purpose we'd be able to control it way more. -🌩️

Junior's body jerks, then Jim floats out of him and crosses his own arms back.

Did you forget what your dad said? He'd kill me if we tried that again and something happened to you. -👻

You're already dead, Jim. -🌩️

Yeah, and I'm not eager for YOU to join me in that! -👻

Junior winces at that, and he takes a hesitant step forward, but before he can speak, Jim's eyes go wide and he lifts a trembling finger. Junior looks to where he's pointing, and sees light spilling out from his pocket. He reaches inside and pulls out Jasper's crystal, which is now comfortably warm to the touch and emitting a greenish light.

Did...did we make sure he didn't come back in the attic while we were out here? -🌩️

Jim vanishes for a moment, then reappears and shakes his head, a grim expression on his face.

Okay...so now we find this Margery person, right? -🌩️

I find this Margery person. You stay here and- -👻

I'm not letting you go alone, Jim. No, listen to me! Jasper went alone and he didn't come back. I don't want you to go and have the same thing happen. We go together, or we don't go at all. Deal? -🌩️

He holds his hand out to the ghost, and Jim hesitates.

I...I don't know if I have enough power to take you through the astral plane with me. -👻

We won't know unless we try. Come on, Jim. I...I don't want to lose you again. -🌩️

Jim takes a deep breath, then nods, reaching out and grasping Junior's hand. A familiar shudder passes over Junior's body as the ghost possesses him, then they close their eyes in concentration and reach out into the astral plane.

After a moment, the boy vanishes, leaving behind nothing but an indent in the grass where he'd been standing.

[the-astral-coven]

Continued from Here

Junior slowly stirs awake, wondering briefly why he’s in a sleeping bag on the floor before the events of the previous day come rushing back to him. He sits up and looks around, but as his eyes travel over the little recreation of a witch’s cottage, he finds its occupant missing. 

“Jasper?” he calls, and his voice echoes through the attic. 

“He’s gone.”

Junior turns to see Jim floating nearby, arms wrapped around himself and his brow creased with worry. 

“He left while you were still sleeping…something about someone needing help, and him not wanting to put you in danger. 

Junior frowns. 

“After everything we went through yesterday, he thought it was a good idea to go alone?” he asks. 

Jim shrugs, then points to the crystal on the table. 

“He did leave me this; it’s some sort of magical timer, I think. If it goes off before he gets back, I’m supposed to find that old lady…Margery I think? And ask her for help.”

“Great,” Junior sighs, looking around the room again. “And what am I supposed to do then, just sit around and twiddle my thumbs?” 

Jim opens his mouth to answer, but before he can speak the air around them seems to warp, twisting and rippling with magic for a brief moment before settling. Jim looks around, his eyes growing wide. 

“What was that?” 

“I’m not sure, but I feel…strange. Almost like…” Junior shakes himself, and rubs his arms against the sudden chill in the room. “I don’t know. Like remembering a dream. Has anything like this ever happened in the attic before?”

“No,” Jim says, shaking his head. “I don’t like it. I wish Jasper hadn’t gone off by himself…if he couldn’t explain it then maybe his ghosts could.” 

“I’m surprised his grandma let him go alone…it sounds like the type of thing she wouldn’t approve of.” 

Jim smiles sadly and reaches out, passing his hand through his friend’s shoulder. 

“How would she stop him? We’re dead, remember?”  

Junior pauses, glancing at his friend in concern.

“Are you…” he begins, but he hesitates. The last thing he wants to do is make Jim even more upset by talking about his death. “Do you wanna get out of here?” he asks instead. “You’re probably sick of hanging out in the attic, huh?”

Jim’s smile brightens a bit, and he nods. 

“Let’s go outside,” Junior says, grabbing Jasper’s crystal from the table and slipping it into his pocket. “We can practice what we did back in Rome some more…if we can do that on purpose then we’d be able to help Jasper if he gets in trouble!” 

“And maybe we won’t even need to,” says Jim as the boys make their way down the attic ladder. “Jasper will probably just come back on his own long before the charm goes off.

There’s a beat of silence, and Junior forces himself to smile. 

“Exacly,” he says.

But as the two boys make their way out into the early morning sunshine, neither of them are able to shake the feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong.

— — — 

Junior and Jim are available for questions!