onebehind: (this is gospel for the fallen ones)
Special Agent Dylan Rhodes ([personal profile] onebehind) wrote in [community profile] self_inflictedexhile2019-09-26 04:11 pm

nysm / tvd } { if you will, please move in closer

In another lifetime, Dylan Rhodes never existed. In another lifetime, he didn't need to, because Lionel Shrike never drown in the Hudson River, Dylan Rhodes stayed Jacob Shrike, and his life went in a very different direction.

At age fifteen, his father started teaching him the tricks of the trade: sleight of hand, how to build a rig, how to do a little bit of actual magic, despite the fact that probably wasn't something he should be sharing, just yet. Shortly after that, Jacob met a young Alma Dray, tagging along with her grandfather, a friend of his father's, stopping by to check up on him. They grew up together, life continued on, and Jacob eventually went to college for Theatre Design and Stagecraft. At twenty-two, just after graduation, Jacob was chosen to join the Eye, his test to help the LVPD clear the name of another magician, despite all the evidence in the world making him seem guilty as sin. There, Jacob met Michael Fuller, his partner a lifetime away, and the two became friends as they managed, despite all odds, to pull off what had been asked of Jacob by the Eye. He continued on into a career as a stage magician in the Eye, eventually married Alma, and continued to occasionally work with Fuller as a consultant, when time allowed.

Over the course of the next few decades, Jacob and Alma tried to have children and failed, and eventually adopted one Jack Wilder, age 10. Using Eye resources, he helped Merritt McKinney get a good lawyer and clear his name after his brother screwed him over. He followed the rising stars that were J. Daniel Atlas and Henley Reeves, and when they decided to call it quits, pulled the both of them back together, forcing Daniel to give Henley a more active role in the show. And eventually, yes, he called the four of them together, not for revenge but something similar, to get them into the Eye. And somewhere along the way, Jacob and Alma tried for children again, and this time managed, giving Jack a brother, Lio, Lionel, named after his grandfather.

Basically, this is the best possible timeline.

And now, it's just after dinner, Jacob off to his nightly rehearsal at 5Pointz, that his space, now, like his father before him. He takes a detour tonight, though, to grab a cup of coffee, beforehand, a little bit of magic pulled around him, to make himself not completely invisible, but at least a little less noticeable. Normally, he doesn't mind showing off or signing autographs, when a fan approaches, and fans do often approach, his notoriety somewhere up there with Penn and Teller, Seigfried and Roy, but -- not tonight. He's not feeling it tonight, a little tired for whatever reason, hence the coffee, so magic it is. And now he's sitting at a table, idly people-watching as he leans into his cup. Have at him, if you can still see him (or, maybe, in certain party's cases, sense him) despite his best efforts.
polydeukes: (84)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2022-10-20 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
"There's not much of a coven left."

It's pretty much just Josie and Lizzie, and even then they're not really part of the coven. They're just beholden to this by genetics, nothing else.

"The other side effect of this curse is that when the Merge is complete, the lives of all the coven members are tied to the coven leader. So if they die before a new Merge is completed so does the rest of the coven. Which is basically what happened at my parents wedding."
polydeukes: (83)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2022-10-27 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
"The coven leader."

If her tone there is dry, it's because it is. She settles into her seat before leaning back for a long story.

"My mom's twin was a siphoner, like me. He was also a psychopath. And he was determined to win the merge and take control of the coven, because in his mind, there was no way that he could lose. But the coven knew that he would be terrible for the job, so they started trying to find ways around him. My grandparents kept having more children until they had another set of twins - Olivia and Lucas."

She swallows hard, because this is where things get messy. "When Kai caught on to what they were doing, he went nuts. Slaughtered most of his other siblings and tried to kill the twins, but my mother managed to hide them, and told him that she would complete the Merge with him, right then, but it was a trap. She had put her magic away and the rest of the coven used the opportunity to trap him in a prison world with an ascendant. My mom went off to the military and medical school, Liv and Luke were set to complete the Merge when they turned twenty-two, life moved on. At least until a Bennett witch and a Salvatore vampire got caught in Kai's prison world."

Which is an even longer story, so she's going to skip that for right now.

"Bennett blood activates the ascendant, so Kai saw Bonnie as his way out. She tried to hold out for as long as he could, but eventually he managed to escape. By the time that happened, my bio mom was forty and a successful doctor and in love with my dad, but Kai wanted what he felt was his birthright. He attempted the merge with Luke, because Luke thought he could win, but in the end, it didn't work - at least not fully. The ritual recognized that it was the wrong magic, but it was enough to make him the head of the coven. The rejected magic could kill him, which would kill all of them including my mother who was pregnant with us at this point, so they found a way around it. My mother sacrificed her magic for Kai to absorb, stabilizing him and saving the coven. A coven which quickly sent him into another ascendant. They thought it was taken care of. Again."

The tone in her voice indicates that it is not. But that is a lot to start with so she's going to pause for any questions.
polydeukes: (87)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2022-11-15 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Y e p, the Parkers are a mess, and it's probably for the best they're gone, even though not all of them were bad people. Still, she needs to get all of the story out.

"No, it wasn't. The ascendant they put him in was full of heretics - siphoner witches that were turned into vampires, so they could still practice magic. When they managed to escape, one of them gave Kai some of his blood. He then crashed my parents wedding, stabbed my mom and then killed himself. And since he's the head of the coven, everyone connected to the coven died. But, before they did, the coven cast one last spell, transferring me and Lizzie to the nearest non-Gemini available womb. Which happened to belong to a vampire named Caroline Forbes."

Aka her actual mom who raised her. But it's still real weird.
polydeukes: (Default)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2022-12-18 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Josie shrugs. "I don't know. While I was technically there, it's not like I can really explain to you what happened." She was a fetus at the time, so. "I know it wasn't easy for her though. Both me and my sister are siphons and vampires are basically made of magic, but if you take too much they start to dessicate."
polydeukes: (84)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-01-16 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
"More like six, I think? Jo was far enough along to know she was pregnant when she died." Far enough to know she was having twins. "But the Gemini did a cloaking spell so even Caroline didn't know she had us until she was a couple months from being due."

So basically yes, this is weird, she knows it's weird, but there's still a lot of question marks about what exactly it is that spell did.

"I guess it worked well enough because as long as she has a steady diet of blood, vampires can do things like eat, and their body functions normally? I don't know, I try not to look too closely at it."
polydeukes: (83)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-05-29 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
"No. You are definitely allowed to say that, because you don't know how much I wish mine was."

She sighs as she leans back in her seat, looking over all of the various notes in front of them. She shouldn't have to be trying to chase down a curse to save her life, and Lizzie's life. But she is, and she will.

"Hopefully once we break this curse, that'll be the end of the crazy."
polydeukes: (84)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-06-21 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
She nods as she looks down at the books in front of her.

"Just because there isn't much of a coven left now doesn't mean they didn't have enemies then. I wonder if ..."

Her nose wrinkles. After they turned eighteen, she and Lizzie got access to all the assets that were held in trust for them. She's never had any reason to care about what Joshua Parker left behind given how he handled his children. She also thought that maybe her father had gone through it and not found anything helpful. But Alaric is not the most forthcoming father, and he didn't know what she knows now - namely, names and dates.

"Lizzie and I inherited our grandfather's estate. I'm not sure what's left in that house, but maybe there are some family histories or something."
polydeukes: (86)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-06-23 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
She nods, taking a deep breath. "Okay. So I guess we're taking a trip to Seattle."

Or just her. He probably has magician things to do, and this trip will probably have to involve Lizzie, so it'd make sense if he'd just want to avoid the complications of all that. But she won't say no if he wanted to come.

"And probably picking up my sister on the way."
polydeukes: (96)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-06-28 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
She nods, because that's fair enough. And as much as she would like to go right now ...

"I should check in with Finch and give her an update and probably pack because we might be there a while." Hence all the more reason she's okay with Jacob coming and going as he needs to. Going through all of Joshua Parker's earthly possessions might take a while.

"How many people can we take with us?" In case Finch wants to come.
polydeukes: (89)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-07-07 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, definitely not that many."

If any of the other Salvatore School kids want to come for support, they can pay their own way to Seattle. A lot of them can afford it. But since Finch is already here, it would make sense for them to go together.

"Just wanted to make sure if Finch wants to come."
polydeukes: (93)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-07-21 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
"The yelling would definitely be more directed to me. But yeah. I'll talk to her tonight, and will let you know."

She knows Finch is going to want to come and Lizzie will have opinions on it, but Lizzie irritating her significant others is just par for the course.

"And I have to figure out where Lizzie is so we can pick her up."
polydeukes: (93)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-11-07 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
"I will." She's going to go home right now and sort all of that out. But she'll give him one last smile before she goes. "But thanks again, Jacob. This really means a lot."
Edited (one day i will remember he's jacob in this verse) 2023-11-07 03:27 (UTC)
polydeukes: (93)

[personal profile] polydeukes 2023-12-16 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
It doesn't take long to make the arrangements. Finch says yes, she does intend to follow the twins on this cross-country adventure. She also makes the arrangements to pick up Lizzie in Chicago, though she said she would probably talk MG out of tagging along. They don't want to tax their resources.

There was also a rant about her meeting and learning magic from Jacob Shrike and not telling her sister, but Josie will spare Jacob that too.

And she and Finch will arrive at the agreed upon meeting spot, and when she spots Jacob, she smiles.

"Hey. So how specific can these portals be? Does it have to be somewhere you've seen?"

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