GP - Wild Magic 2: Chaotic Evil Boogaloo

[londoncallingmods]

London was a magic epicenter of sorts. Between doors to The Otherside, dormant and active portals, and an active wizarding community, it was a hub of energy, more so now than it had been for quite some time. The city was experiencing a magical renaissance of sorts- Which sounded lovely and made it a prime place to be for those exploring and studying magical energies, but wasn't so wonderful for London's more 'normal' sorts.

Magic didn't care if you were a dark lord or a banker, if it liked you, it liked you- And it was impossible to guess who it would like.

Today magic energy was at an all time high. Another blip in the usually somewhat steady stream of power that flowed through the streets. As a result, odd things were afoot- From mischievous inconveniences, to darker disruptions. Unlike the portals, these bothers were a touch more subtle, creeping up unseen on the unsuspecting.

Last time around the magic had seemed lighthearted and playful- And some of it still was, but... There was an intensity to some of it this time, harking back to the troubles that seemed to roll around every Halloween now. Something wicked was caught in the current, and while it wasn't out to harm everyone, it did seem keen to target a few.

(OTA. Just like the last time, the magic can affect your pup however you see fit. Unlike last time, however, some of the magic has taken a darker turn. It doesn't have to do something wicked to your pup, of course, but the option is there now. This post will be open from 7/18-7/28 or longer if needed. Tag in, tag others, and check back often.)

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[winter_wisp]

Vacation with Phouka back with his kin had been grand. The grandest. The most grandy-grand anything could ever be. However, Winter was pleased to be back in London. He'd spent most of his time around his kin walking on eggshells, terrified he might infect them all with his new mortal sensibilities. They didn't need that, they had pure joy, and deserved to hold onto it forever and ever. Here among the mortals, however, Winter was free to have as many existential crises as a pixie could possibly have.

And gosh, had he ever been having them.

There was the matter of death and dying, which crept up on the pixie often, leaving him wide-eyed on the sofa in the middle of the night very quietly weeping over those he'd lost, and those he'd inevitably lose eventually. This was always followed by fear of his own death, where the pixie would pour over his phone looking up all the ways his body could fail him if it ever got too mortal- And all the ways it could be destroyed by mortals, many of whom seemed prone to that sort of thing.

The pixie worried about money, the pixie worried about abandonment. The pixie worried about the current political climate, and if a nuclear war could end him. He worried about his friends, he worried about Phouka. ...He worried until he felt sick, then did what any sensible pixie would do- He ate pizza and watched telly to make his brain shut up for a while. Still, pizza and cartoons could only do so much, and while he had considered living the rest of his life on the sofa, that nagging feeling of wasting precious time (that was constantly being taken away from him every time the clock ticked) was enough to nudge him out of the tree house for a bit.

He'd spent the morning busking (without charming anyone for a change), and was trying to decide if he should buy pizza or actual groceries when he felt a sudden chill. It was familiar, too familiar. That feeling of being watched- Watched in a way that made him want to curl up in a corner and wrap his wings around himself.

He felt eyes on him, and when he turned on the sidewalk to see who it was, it was as if his heart had stopped.

Aspid looked younger than Winter had ever known him to be, but the pixie knew those eyes. He'd know them anywhere. They haunted his dreams even now, after all this time. They were etched into his skull, where he knew they'd remain forever.

"You're not here," the pixie said softly. "You're not here, it's a trick- You're not here, Aspid."

Aspid said nothing, he only moved closer. Winter wanted to run, but he found himself stone still, taking in the short brown locks that he'd always known to be white and stringy, and the short cropped beard that was nothing like the wiry stubble the wizard had so often sported.

"I am though. I'm right here, Winter. Look at me- Touch me, if you like," the wizard offered. The suggestion alone made the pixie recoil.

Aspid moved closer, and Winter- Winter was lost. In that moment he was nothing more than a child. A tiny creature, helpless and lost, and when Aspid gently caught hold of his arm, the pixie whimpered.

"No, I don't want to go back. Please, don't make me go back," he whispered.

"I'm not making you do anything, Winter. You'll come back, because you want to come back," Aspid assured him, giving his arm a light tug, and smiling when the pixxie seemed to let himself be pulled closer.

[wispofathing]

Back at Halloween, Winter had gotten her away from Rockhouse at a time she'd been just as frozen by horror even though all the logic in the world had told her that it couldn't have been her father before her.

Whoever this was, he had Winter in the same way, fear and sick longing and old trodden paths of habit. Winter wasn't screaming like she had, but it was in every line of him.

Humming a tune of comfort and protection, Curnen reached out and took his hand, giving it a little tug.

[winter_wisp]

Aspid, or the image of him, seemed to break apart, splitting into horizontal lines as his skin and hair altered colours. It was magic of some sort, but the way it malfunctioned in the face of Curnen's tune seemed almost electronic. It was like some sort of magical glitch, pixelated and correcting itself as best it could.

That disruption in the spell was enough to snap Winter out of it, and he pulled away from Aspid to stand closer to Curnen.

"You're not Aspid," he told it, looking over at Curnen with a worried glance. "It's wearing the image of my dead master, but that's not him."

The creature seemed to glitch again, the features shifting slowly as it started to focus on Curnen instead.

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley was all for widespread sin. The more people he could taint with a simple, small action pleased him greatly. Some demons were traditionalists, working on one soul for a whole lifetime. Crowley, on the other hand, preferred a patina of evil over the whole of the country. He'd orchestrated things like the inconvenience of spotty cell service, and he'd devised the Odegra formation of the M to breed unhappiness.

But today he'd come up with a truly diabolical plan. It was simple really, just a bit of backdoor coding and a bit of obfuscation so it couldn't be so easily undone.

Crowley had implemented autoplay on Facebook videos.

As people scrolled on their phones, every video they passed screamed at them. Cooking videos, politics, tear-jerking tales of survival, and all the drunk videos of people's mates last night. Every single one of them played, and played loudly. On the tube, on buses, at work, in cafes and on the street. People were so angry to be forced to listen rather than read captions. It destroyed privacy and the ire of the entire world went up ten notches.

Crowley was so very pleased with himself. His magic was truly diabolical today.

He sat at a cafe sipping a lovely red wine and watching the crowd go by. Magic was thick in the air today which was, frankly, a bit of a concern. But the demon was radiating Pride and no flittery bit of sparkle in the air was going to drag down his mood.

[harrowgate]

Felix placed his order with the server at the outdoor cafe, having clearly not inspected his surroundings well enough when he chose this location for a relaxing drink after work. He stretched out his long legs and reached for the tablet in the green leather case that had been waiting for him on the table.

Barely had he tapped the device before he was redirected to an app he didn't even know was installed, flourishing a page at him that he'd never seen. Felix Harrowgate was not on Facebook. It was beneath his dignity. How he had landed on the blasted site, he didn't understand, but there it was -- and it was suddenly, loudly, shouting a pop song at him in Korean whilst simultaneously spewing a deeply unamusing American comedy routine and attempting to suggest that he prepare "unicorn cupcakes" in just twenty-seven easy steps. All at once, all at top volume.

"Oh for the love of cats," Felix snarled, poking desperately at the screen in a vain attempt to shut the thing up.

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley chuckled darkly, the smoke he'd just inhaled rolling out of his mouth. He looked to Felix and smiled. A thin smile, a viper's smile.

"The cupcakes do sound tasty, don't they?" he asked. The day was just so delightful he could hardly stand it.

[wispofathing]

At the next table, taking a break both from her playing and from chasing hints of her husband, Curnen was scrolling through her Facebook feed. She hadn't particularly wanted to get any sort of social media; when she'd been lost to the world back in the 60s you could pretend at privacy in a way that you couldn't anymore. That was worth missing, as far as she was concerned.

A video started playing--blasting, really--and at first she tried to find a way to turn it off... until she saw what it was.

Her baby cousin Page had shared it, some girls from the high school. Janet Harper was supposed to be a savant, proficient in any instrument she lay her hands on. Most any Tufa could play and sing better than a normal human, but Janet's band, Little Trouble Girls, showed signs of actually having a decent shot at a career. The song was one of their own, and it had energy, heart, and craft beyond what you'd expect of teenage girls in a garage.

Curnen stopped to watch, smiling for real for the first time in hours. "Awww..."

[sauntereddownward]

That was hardly the reaction he'd been aiming for. Of course the law of averages said that at least some of the people might enjoy this, but he knew most would not.

"Wipe that smile off your face, pigeon. You're in public," he scolded.

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin didn't do Facebook, but that didn't matter because it seemed like literally every other being on the planet did. Noise came from the phones of everyone around him, which was annoying, but not the end of the world. It was little more than a nuisance- Right up until the moment he heard his own voice. It was a video of him doing promo for the theatre where he'd gotten his start. ...Embarrassing, but not totally cringe worthy.

No, the cringe came when someone's phone started playing a sex scene he'd done for a horror mini series he'd done years ago.

It was about then that he spotted Crowley. "This is your doing?" he asked as he approached the demon's table.

[sauntereddownward]

"Oh, yes," the demon said, wearing a Proud smile. "Isn't it lovely? But really, Facebook touches so many lives. How could I resist messing people around a bit?" he chuckled as he took a drag.

[wispofathing]

He was always just there at the edge of her perception.

It should be impossible. Rockhouse had turned Brushy to stone, and as far as she or anybody else was aware, he was quite literally stone dead. And yet...

And yet today as she played her set on the corner, she had seen him passing by across the street. She had seen him on the train, she'd seen him in the convenience store, she was watching him now as he ducked into an alley just as twilight was fading into dark. She knew what would come next and she stood and watched as a shape shot up toward the sky and flashed across the moon.

Her eyes blurred with tears. "Brushy, you get the fuck back here!"

[pecked_by_birds]

Prometheus looked at the petite fae, then up at the sky, frowning in confusion. These eyes weren't as talented as the last pair, but rather than slip on his glasses, he looked back at the small woman. She was much closer, after all.

"What, may I ask, is a Brushy?" he asked curiously. "I honestly can't tell. Are you yelling at a bird? That's certainly something I could get behind..." he muttered, looking up again in case it was closer now.

[wispofathing]

He wasn't human. She could tell that right away.

And while she'd been prepared to make up some lie, it died right there. "My husband," she said, right hand rubbing over the left where her ring no longer was.

timed to 7/25

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin returned to London as quietly as he'd left. He'd shuffled off a plane, dragging his single bag, avoiding the paps and people's phones as best he could, leaving his return to be little more than whispers on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. From the airport he'd Ubered home, back to the flat that was now empty. ...Will had left, and Fin wasn't sure how he felt about that. He thought he ought to be heartbroken, but he wasn't. After all, he'd left first.

He was looking thin again, a bit boney and a touch scruffy, and after scowling at his reflection for a while he'd slunk off to get a haircut and a proper shave. His hair had been creeping past his shoulders, but after a snip it was just below his ears and looking much tidier.

Cleaned up and settling back into his usual routine, Fin was making his way to his favourite pub when he felt it. ...Magic. Wild and intense. Though this time it didn't trigger a transformation into the fox. Instead it clung to him, fizzing quietly in the air around him and tugging at his fae sensibilities. It left him looking paler than usual, slightly less human, and he seemed deeply distracted as he came to a stop on the side of the pavement.

Re: timed to 7/25

[pippa_flynn]

Pippa had been keeping an eye on Twitter since she'd received Fin's postcard. It had mostly been silent. Every now and again an American who knew who he was would say they'd spotted him on the train or some such. But today the SMS was blowing up comparatively. In an hour she'd gotten seven messages that he'd been spotted at Heathrow and then later at a salon. Pip had set out to his flat, and finding nothing there she let her magic reach out. She was getting better at this, but the only time she had any real success she was proud of was when she was trying to connect with Fin. Then it was so powerful it nearly took her breath away.

She knew his favorite pub and found her way there. Outside she spotted Fin stopped on the street. She was overjoyed, and yet a bit angry with him. She couldn't tell if she wanted to hug him or kick him. Or both.

Pip got closer and magic tickled all over her skin, like bubbles in a jacuzzi. She rubbed her forearm and looked around, but then she was by Fin and she threw her arms around to hug him.

"You're a basterd. I was so worried, Fin," she said.

Re: timed to 7/25

[prince_of_nymphs]

The embrace snapped him out of his odd little trance, and he blinked in surprise before relaxing a little.

"I didn't mean to worry you. It was just a vacation, Pip," he said softly. "I sent a postcard, didn't you get it?" he asked.

Re: timed to 7/25

[drfeelbad]

House saw Fin from across the street. For a second he wasn't sure it was him. And then when he realized it was, he wasn't really sure what to do. After all, he'd taken off without a word - not that he owed House anything. But it still left him feeling a bit like he didn't want to cross the street.

As he considered this, suddenly he felt a chill, like a cold wind coming from Fin's direction. There was something familiar about it, about the strange, cold buzzing of the feeling washing over him. It reminded him at first of the way his body buzzed slightly when Fin took away his pain, except...

Whatever it was this time, it had the completely opposite effect. Pain suddenly slammed hard into House, his leg feeling like it was being crushed and lit on fire at the same time. He stumbled, the only thing keeping him from collapsing to the ground the fact that he was able to grab onto the street lamp he was standing right next to. As it was, he dropped his cane and grabbed his thigh, doubling over and groaning.

Re: timed to 7/25

[prince_of_nymphs]

It was the cane hitting the pavement that snapped him out of it, And Fin stared for a beat before realising what he was seeing.

"Shit," he said softly, waiting for the road to clear before rushing across to House's side. "Greg? Here, here, let me help," he insisted, not waiting for an okay as he let his magic work over the man's leg.

[harrowgate]

Felix Harrowgate was having a picnic.

He was stretched out comfortably on a blanket in a shady area of a park in a rather posh part of town, surrounded by various sizes of earthenware containers, some with lids and some without. Now and then he nibbled from a glass bowl or drank from a paper cup, and turned a page in the satisfyingly enormous book he had spread out over his lap. From a distance, he seemed to be having a grand time.

Felix Harrowgate was not -- of course -- actually having a picnic.

Beneath the natural cotton blanket, the ground had been carefully cleared of leaves, twigs, and the tiniest little pieces of wood or rock. The wizard had sketched a painstaking runic circle in the earth, and then set his concealing disguise over the top of it. The small ceramic containers held a variety of alchemical materials, grounded in their containers. Only the tea in his cup and the fruit in his glassware were not actually part of the magical experiment that Felix was conducting, all under the guise of a relaxing summer afternoon.

[dr_spencer_reid]

Spencer wasn't a social creature. ...Well, no, actually, he kind of was, he just wasn't very good at being a social creature. He was twitchy and strange, and had a tendency to ramble on with facts that were either morbid or of interest to no one but himself. He didn't shake hands, never knew how to introduce himself, and definitely didn't know how to say hello to a complete stranger who was sitting on a large blanket reading a very large book that he had never seen before (but desperately wanted to look at).

He'd just been passing through the park with the intention of eventually making his way to the police station to speak to a contact he had there, and instead found himself lingering on a nearby path, watching the man and trying to think of a way to approach. ...The time to just casually stroll over and introduce himself was swiftly passing though, and the longer he stood there holding his coffee, the odder he looked.

By now the man had to have noticed him staring, and in an attempt to save face Spencer turned to leave- Only to trip over his own feet and drop his coffee. ...Thankfully he was far enough away that the book, and the man holding it, weren't caught in the splash zone.

[akatawitch]

"You're in nerd heaven, aren't you?"

Sunny's voice was full of (definitely not at all affectionate) teasing. She had stopped just at the edge of the blanket, not intruding the space. Not yet. While the Lambs of London might not have seen anything out of place, most of the things that were laid out here were not materials they would ever encounter.

[dr_spencer_reid]

He'd been in London for 78 hours, ten minutes, and approximately 43 seconds as of right... Now. The decision to come had been impulsive, and maybe not well thought out, but with his mother back in full-time care and his badge and gun still locked away somewhere with no known timeline on when they'd been returned, it had seemed like a good idea.

It had been the only idea he'd had, actually, but Spencer stood by it. He needed to see Hotch, and while no one would tell him where the other man was, Spencer had narrowed it down to London. He probably should have narrowed it down a little more than that before hopping on a plane and finding an Air B&B to call home, but- Well, he was already here. No turning back now.

JJ had called, Emily had called, Garcia had called (maybe eight times), and he'd lied to them all. He'd insisted he was just on a much needed and overdue vacation, but he knew none of them believed him. ...He also knew none of them could just drop everything and come get him. ...Maybe Emily, but he wanted to believe she trusted him enough to let him do what he needed to do.

Honestly, right now he wasn't even sure what his next step should be, and he let himself get lost in thought as he cut through a park to avoid the temptation of a bookstore across the way. ...Though maybe that was a mistake since today the park seemed to be packed with distractions, starting with the group of people who were standing on a small bridge, watching tiny lights dance across the water. It was an illusion, it had to be, though at a glance Spencer couldn't see how it was being done.

"You know, a lot of British folklore talks about pixy-light or pixie lights. It comes from the idea that pixies would lead travellers away from the safer and well worn paths and into the bogs with soft glowing lights. In Cornish folklore, Pixy-Light also has associations with the Colt pixie, which is a pixie that's taken the shape of a horse so it can lead other horses astray..." he told the person next to him, before catching himself and looking sheepish. "Obviously this is just an illusion though. There are probably lights under the bridge and mirrors in the water."

[wispofathing]

The girl beside him was barely of drinking age in the US (as far as anyone could tell) and had a guitar case strapped to her back. Her answering look was full of lighthearted teasing. The country in her accent was just as plain as the city in his. "Or maybe they're tryin' to get someone to dance with 'em. Though as they can just skim right across the water, maybe it's that they don't know or that they don't care we'd just sink."

[offthebeatenpath]

There was a particular quality to the chill that came from ghosts, and when Em felt it curl along her spine to raise the hair at her nape, she turned, looking, not letting herself hope she'd see the walking chiaroscuro that was her cousin or any of the Soul Train. No Sabine, but the flickery blue glow of a spirit as its form resolved into something recognizable – a 70s era punk cussing out his mates for leaving him behind, then asking Em for a fag when he realized she could see and hear him.

A couple hours later, Em had the start of a headache from the ghosts surrounding her needing help or wanting attention or just to talk to someone, anyone after however long they'd been dead. The ends of her hair caught and flicked by the spectral wind raised by having so many ghosts around. "One at a time. Please!" she snapped in exasperation, beyond thinking what she must look like to anyone who couldn't see her phantasmal following.

[wispofathing]

If Curnen hadn't recognized the young woman and known she'd already glimpsed past her glamour, she might not have stopped to help at all. It would not have been a kind to do, leaving someone in a cloud of haints, but she did still have secrets to keep.

But she did recognize Em. So even tiny as she was, she marched right up to the ghosts and put her hands on her hips and said as sternly as she could manage, "Y'all get."