Question Written in Blood

Written in Blood Part 1

The origin of Glyph/Bianca/Bryan St.Claire !

Discuss Glyph here !

From the Announcement :

Bianca St. Claire, Glyph: A life lived in another’s shadow, an unspeakable tragedy, an impossible inheritance, and the future of the Family on her shoulders. Bryan St. Claire never asked for any of these, but growing up as the grandson of a notorious supervillain and mob boss, he was no stranger to the idea that his family had enemies. Due to one of these enemies, Bryan’s life is forever shattered, and now Bianca finds herself forced onto a path that she never wanted or imagined.

So, Mario , Luigi and Yoshi . I wonder if they've made reappearances...

I want to know how the Assistant turned leader of the family is going to make everyone believe they still have the legacy, but no one can see him/her for a while. Won't it seem like she's trying to hold things together with a lie?

And yeah I'd bet money we've seen the former White Lady in 2007. That White Lady was also based in Chicago.

Domoviye wrote: I want to know how the Assistant turned leader of the family is going to make everyone believe they still have the legacy, but no one can see him/her for a while. Won't it seem like she's trying to hold things together with a lie?

Interesting.

Domoviye wrote: And yeah I'd bet money we've seen the former White Lady in 2007. That White Lady was also based in Chicago.

What in my "Same as Imp's White Lady" section isn't iron-clad proof of them being the same person?

Edit: Okay. "Iron-clad" is a bit much...

Mission Imp-probable Part 2 wrote: She had pure white skin, the same color as freshly fallen snow or a piece of chalk. Her long hair was the same white color as her skin and was done up in some kind of fancy braided style. The dress she currently wore was both elegant and old fashioned, not to mention completely white. In fact, the only real color to this woman was provided by her crimson nail polish and lipstick, and of course, the ruby earrings and necklace she wore. One look at her was enough to see why she was called the White Lady.

“Bounjour, Madame Imp,” the White Lady greeted me politely.

Written in Blood Part 1 wrote: After a moment, I tore my eyes away from them and looked over the room again. This time, my attention settled on a very distinctive woman, one who looked to be in her thirties, but who had pure white skin and hair…the same color as chalk or freshly fallen snow. She wore a long white dress, which was elegant and undoubtedly very expensive. About the only real color that she possessed was in the red lipstick she wore, and the ruby necklace and earrings. There was a reason that my grandmother was known as the White Lady.

...

“Bonjour, Bryan,” she greeted me.

Is this iron-clad enough?



Also, Marcus is described as short and stocky - I wouldn't be surprised if he was "Mario"

Written in Blood Part 1 comments
Aptly named room, Sanctuary. Kid has more tolerance than I do for authors putting their personal biases and conspiracy theories into their books. I would love to read everything I like in actual books, but if I did by now I would have enough books to fill up at least our entire living room, if not more. Kid is lucky to have the space for them all. Oh, with how the Family is in capital letters, that must means they are involved in organized crime of some sort.

Just how scary is their mom to not want her noticing you? Magic lessons and guessing not a mutant, this is an unusual family. Grandmother is powerful magic user, and mom might have just married so her daughter or granddaughter could inherit the name and power when she passes. Who is this grandmother and just how powerful is she? Parental affection that comes with a cost, messed up family. Favoring one child over the other, I will never understand how some people can do this. And Bryan likes classic movies, interesting. Plus I noted he was both jealous of his sister for learning magic and afraid of learning it himself; this can't be good.

Grandma is head of the Family, haven't we heard of them in Gen 1 stories before? Seeing faults in her son, but treating her daughter like she could do no wrong or have no faults; raising a kid like this tends to backfire big-time sooner or later. Just how short is Marcus for an adult male, to be as tall as a teen who isn't quite 15 yet? Still, sounds like a good man who has taken on the role Bryan's father should have.

Turning the daughter into a miniature version of herself, I have less respect for their mom than before. Ugh, Paige is already starting to act like a brat, pulling the stunt with the purse just to see her brother sent for it. Treating her son like that, I've said it is going to backfire big time; in the real world children have killed their parents for such treatment.

I suspect Marcus didn't tell Bryan about the old bootlegger tunnels not only because they are still in use, but because he knows a young boy like Bryan would love to go down in them to explore, which might not be that safe. Becoming a doctor only to work for a criminal organization, I suspect Shawn doesn't know the full depths of what he has gotten himself into.

Mom and Paige being polite to Aunt Clarice [why do I get a Silence of the Lambs vibe of her?] and cousin Nicolette, yet inside wishing they would both die so Paige could be 1st in line of succession, that is vibe I got from their meeting. And another spoiled brat to the ranks, these mothers don't realize they are setting themselves up for a fall; without morals what would hold the girls back from striking down their own mothers to gain more power or become higher ranked in the Family.

*eyes bug out* The White Lady! Even I remember her being mentioned in a past story, faced off against Champion back in the '40s and '50s if I recall. And still looks the same, no wonder everyone bows down to her, she is a powerful magic-wielder. And helped rebuild an organization that was nearly crushed in WW2 back into power, she has skill. And she goes back even further than that, 1930s when she first faced the original Champion. She is older than even I thought.

Guessing the marks on White Lady's skin are runes or glyphs of some sort, enchantments she placed on her own body. Figures, Bryan gets to talk to grandma for a few minutes at most with polite greetings and such, and it still ticks off mom and Paige he got grandma first. There is just no winning with them. His Uncle is several decades older than his dad, dang. Never heard of kids being more than 20 years apart in age at most before.

A white raven named Lenore, nice nod to Edger Allen Poe. Poor Uncle Andre, having a mother young enough to look like she could be his granddaughter. Ugh, already planning on him being the Family accountant, why do parents do stuff like that without asking what their kids want, I will never understand it. Poor Bryan has lost his safe refuge at the party with his dad and Uncle Andre now.

A robbery by supervillains, oh brother. Oops, not a robbery, planned multiple murders and their targets are at the party, probably White Lady and all the people in line to replace her, if my guess is right. Father daughter villain team, this definitely makes things worse. And they are taking out the head of the Family and her successors all in one fell swoop, would thing White Lady would have had security enchantments on her own mansion to prevent such an incident.

Flames from the White Lady and this guy is unharmed!?! Mutant highly resistant or immune to magic, or someone with ridiculous amount of anti-magic gear on. One of his gifts is certain protection from magic, still curious as to the source of it. Someone with a vendetta against the Family hired this team; considering they are a criminal organization that doesn't narrow things down a lot.

Marcus at least kept a clear head, too bad he is dealing with an experienced teleporter, a pain to deal with at best, a nightmare at worst. *** it! Dad is dead and mom truly loved him, that actually brought tears to my eyes. Marcus gets in a shot and she is wearing kevra or something similar, arrgggh! Mom tried to have her revenge for dad, only for the psycho woman teleport away, then cut down Paige. Paige didn't deserve that, she was a spoiled brat, but to be killed in cold blood; these two are going to die one way or another before this is over.

Oh boy, White Lady is in a blind rage and her spell is targeting anyone in contact with the patterns on the ballroom floor. Old man potentially severely hurt, blonde girl aka Bethany is dead along with two of the guests. Kills Bryan's mom for his daughter's death, despite White Lady having done it, though I have to agree with Bryan on the villains deserving what they get. And the old man would kill everyone here just for Marcus forcing him to fight; proves he is a monster. His whole family is dead, I wouldn't be shocked if Bryan went catatonic at this point.

Bryan, it was a chaotic situation, it couldn't have been more than 3-4 minutes from start to finish for the whole thing, I doubt most people wouldn't have frozen up like that in a similar situation. Hopefully Marcus is Bryan's legal guardian or was named his godfather in case of something like this happening. Ouch, I was reading the same fight and didn't note when Marcus got hit either. Double ouch, to lose his dad to a vigilante gunning for the White Lady, Marcus is a tough to weather that and not let it keep him down.

The White Lady may have run a criminal empire but she treated those loyal to her with respect; that is something some of newbie supervillains could learn a thing or two about. Some has a vendetta against the Family and in the process an innocent loses his whole family; I would want to make those responsible pay too. Bryan needs to be taken to a psychologist to talk about what happened, or he will keep slipping deeper and deeper into depression.

Nasty itch in the middle of his back, with reason for it; never a good sign. Survivor's guilt, and yet they have to worry about the Family. A third of their numbers lost, a lot more people died than I thought. After all she has survived through for the White Lady to die because of someone hiring a guy who has protection from magic, seems like a bad nightmare for those who knew her. The Messenger, talk about a big ego to use a name like that. And no one claiming credit for hiring him, would have to be an idiot to claim credit for this.

Another criminal organization run by someone named Scorn, just how many criminal organizations dealing in the kind of things the Family does exist? Oh boy, with Bryan so angry I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to hire some people to go after Scorn for what happened to his family.

Part itch, part tingle, and part cold chill; signs of Bryan manifesting, the stress of the attack triggered it most likely or being near all that magic which was flying around. You can't kill people and say you are just delivering a message, killing someone makes it personal, only someone arrogant or a complete idiot wouldn't get that. So Marcus isn't his godfather like I thought before, at least he still has a large extended family.

Oh boy, the marks from White Lady transfered to Bryan, this is not good. 7 in total and the White Lady made Bryan her successor, majorly not good. He wanted to grow up, leave the Family behind, now that looks impossible. And if the person/people who hired the Messenger and his daughter find out, it is a big target painted on Bryan.

Bryan holds the power of the White Lady, that is a lot of power; plus the fact it has to be a female heir otherwise it would be lost, Brian is going to be going through some changes soon. That is a lot of symbols, wonder how much of White Lady's power was contained in the symbols alone? Oh crud, he is turning into a young version of the White Lady! And all this is another source of guilt for the poor kid, just great.

Keeping the fact that Bryan is the successor is smart; if the others found out they might think if they killed him it would transfer to the next male in line. Or at least manipulate him for their own ends. Tessa is too quick to take silence as acceptance, instead of a kid in shock over everything that is happening. At least Marcus and Tessa finally figure out it is too much, too soon for the poor boy.

And further changing to be like his grandmother, yet doesn't fully realize what that entails just yet. Bryan is going to be in for a further shock once he realizes he is becoming a female heir; only explanation for the changes happening so quick plus the hair growth. Pure white hair, white skin, and pale silvery eyes, definitely will stand out. Poor Bryan is having to deal with almost everyone he loved dying and now this; crying and breaking down is understandable. If he didn't I would be even more worried for his mental health.

An excellent start to an interesting origin story and character. Can't wait to read more.

I can't help but notice that Lenore disappears rather abruptly from the narrative. Not without cause, due to the events at the time of course, but still notably absent.

So while there's very little canon exposition of familiars to go on, I find myself wondering if Lenore might possibly become Glyph's familiar too, as an extension of the White Lady's legacy.

OF COURSE it's the same White Lady.
They are both based in Chicago.
They both have been around for decades.
If they WEREN'T the same, don't you think one of them would have taken exception at the other using the name by now?

Yes, Grandmother is indeed the same White Lady that the Imp met. And in response to previous comments, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi do have appearances in the story.

The three mentioned as being dead at the end?

Maybe they have an extra life.

With Marcus being described as short and stocky, he's probably Imp's Mario, and we know he survived THIS installment.

What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

NeoMagus wrote:

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

Nah, that's just what Morpheus WANTS us to think...

NeoMagus wrote:

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

Unless he is being inspired by the Godfather. At the start of that story Michael Corleone, the 3rd son, dosn't want anything to do with the Family business either. Then his Father and older brother get assasinated, and by the end of the story he is running the whole show. Bianca may well be following the same path.

konzill wrote:

NeoMagus wrote:

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

Unless he is being inspired by the Godfather. At the start of that story Michael Corleone, the 3rd son, dosn't want anything to do with the Family business either. Then his Father and older brother get assasinated, and by the end of the story he is running the whole show. Bianca may well be following the same path.

When has Morpheus ever been predictable with his plans for his characters?

Kristin Darken wrote: Morpheus is only predictable when he's lulling you into a false sense of security. As soon as you take off your jacket and settle in, he'll pull the rug out from under you.

That's why I stand on the hardwood floors.

So Bianca's the second member of the 2G froshes who'd be eligible to join the Bad Seeds (AJ being the other) - as well as the second member to join the "cursed with the appearance and powers of an ancestor" club. (Tanya being the other)...

In a way, Bianca and Tanya have similar problems (including that of believing they're expected to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors rather than forming their own path through life) but from opposite ends of the alignment spectrum - if they meet and find out about each other at Whateley, they could potentially have an interesting relationship dynamic.

Kristin Darken wrote: They (Tanya and Bianca) already met in Calimari 1 at the airport. And fought together (poorly) in Calimari 2's Squid fight.

They've met and fought, but as of Calarmari don't yet know each other - they only met a few hours ago (largely being thrown together due to circumstances) with others in their intake cohort, and while the cohort have made initial attempts to 'gel', they are still largely ignorant about each other. It's certainly likely that over the coming day or two they'll find out more about each other and share very selected edited highlights (or lowlights, especially in the cases of Tanya and Bianca) of their backstories with each other. It's obviously still too early to determine who'll be acquaintances / friends / close friends with whom once they settle down to life at Whateley (statuses which of course are separate from cottagemates / roommates and partially separate from teammates), but depending on what information Tanya and Bianca reveal to each other over the coming hours / days, there's certainly potential for some form of interaction between them at Whateley (other than merely attending some of the same classes).

konzill wrote:

NeoMagus wrote:

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

Unless he is being inspired by the Godfather. At the start of that story Michael Corleone, the 3rd son, dosn't want anything to do with the Family business either. Then his Father and older brother get assasinated, and by the end of the story he is running the whole show. Bianca may well be following the same path.

NeoMagus wrote:

jmhyp wrote: What if a "mob boss" ended up going to Whateley? Is that how this story started, M?

It should be pretty obvious even from just Part 1 that Bryan/Bianca is pretty far from being a "mob boss" as far as personality and outlook are concerned.

I asked how the story STARTED, the kernel of genesis that started it. Not how it ended up.

I just keep feeling more and more sorry for Bryan. I can understand and sympathize with his impromptu guardians, they're trying to keep him and everyone in the family alive and as safe as possible, but taking away every bit of his identity. Harsh.
Great work, I'll say more tomorrow after digesting it

Written in Blood Part 2 comments
After everything Bryan has been through I doubt anyone wouldn't be trying to make him feel better, if they have even an ounce of empathy. Does Mama Carlotti's actually exist? At least Bryan knows why he is changing the way he is, well, except for his hair getting longer. Little comfort but it could be worse, not knowing in what way you were going to change. And what Marcus said is obvious, staying in the same city and looking the way Bryan does now would be like a big bull's-eye on him. And if the White Lady's mansion was broken into and assaulted like that, his former home would be like a paper bag compared to a bank vault in comparison.

I wonder, would turning down random streets to shake a tail work if magic was involved in tailing them? Oh boy, having people kissing up to you for favor and favors, trying to manipulate you for their own ends. Bryan has a lot more to learn about what he inherited than I thought if he can't even imagine it happening to him now. Dang, White Lady had an understanding with a retired superhero, now that is impressive. And Lenore is definately a powerful familiar to already be at the safe house ahead of them. But why was she so focused on Bryan; is it because he inherited the White Lady's magic and status or something more? Could Lenore have betrayed her mistress or am I just being paranoid now?

Very nice safe house, though I suspect Bryan will regret it if he finds a way into the locked basement. Oh boy, noticing the changes already and face already that of a girl. And Bryan proves how smart he is, rather than living in denial, he realizes he is turning into a girl, but is too numb from everything else to react. And I wonder how Tessa will react to this new development?

And she is waiting for him, making breakfast. Crepes with cheese, spinach, and chicken, now I'm hungry again! No matter what has happened, you shouldn't feel guilty for enjoying something. And it figures Marcus and Tessa noticed Bryan's changes and know what is happening, both trained in observation and noticing little details as part of their jobs. Even having to wait until 18 to direct access the funds and having a guardian, half of the White Lady's assets is a whole lot. And his parent's wills with him as the only beneficiary, that is a lot to take in at once on top of everything else which has happened.

Shouldn't be possible, which means in addition to inheriting his grandmother's powers Bryan is a mutant, or something else unusual is going on. Poor Bryan, being given no choice simply because of the power he inherited. A regent until Bryan turns 18, at least that gives the poor kid a few things to figure out what to do about his new role in the Family. Dress and behave like the White Lady is expected to; the poor kid just lost his family and had his world turned upside down, now they want him to become more like his grandmother was. Not showing any weakness, even to those in the Family, Bryan's life become more of a nightmare by the minute.

Marcus should know this is freaking Bryan out more than he is showing; just because it is needed for survival doesn't mean he can simply change and adapt like that. Great, a few men learned some magic and thought they were better than the White Lady, ruining it for all males from then on. Idiots, corrupted by a little bit of power and thought themselves powerful enough to take on a person who had practiced for decades if not longer at that point.

Great, all information about anything on the full powers of the White Lady died with her and the other successors. Poor Bryan is going to be starting from scratch learning what he, soon to be she at this rate, can do. Dang, with that set-up with the Hands it is like the old saying, take out the head and rest will follow. Lessons on how essence and magic work, along with meditation exercises; wonder how much of that will be the same stuff taught at Whateley and which parts of it are taught by the Family exclusively.

I know the magical essence is fueling Bryan's transformation into a girl, but that is fast. Just based on the changes seen already, we know she is going to be an exotic beauty. Bryan, you got lucky with the clothes, by this point most changelings have cute outfits forced on them or stumble into a situation where they have to wear one. Uh oh, Tessa kept Bryan too busy to worry about everything that was happening; with time alone to think how will Bryan react. The changes are almost finished on the outside with just a few more hours, essence fueled transformations can be quick, in some cases.

If Bryan hadn't hit something soon, I would have really worried; at least he is reacting to what is happening, even if it isn't in the most healthy way.

"You can't always control where fate leads you, only how you choose to deal with it."

Easier said than done most of the time. And Lenore brings Bryan a mysterious book; proof she is probably his/her familiar now.

And suddenly able to read a language in symbols he/she couldn't before, definitely a part of the White Lady's powers to keep her secrets to herself. A journal started by the 3rd White Lady, in a language she came up with herself, definitely something other magic-users would love to learn. A translation key for the language, including symbols and meanings, as a means of passing on how to write it. Ingenious.

Roselle, living under that curse and being raised as the old man's granddaughter, became the 1st White Lady. All started because of an old man's wish to protect the young girl he adopted as his own granddaughter; hard to believe what the White Lady legacy has become since then. Translation spell to read nearly any language, how difficult would that be to duplicate in the modern age? Runes and glyph magic, I would think those would be considered harder to learn than spoken spells. Permanently tied all the spells together and transferable to the next White Lady, Roselle was a lot more powerful than she probably knew. And a list of the gifts the old sorcerer gave to Roselle which Bryan has now, but how much have them changed in the centuries since, I wonder. Plus now we know why Glyph needs to write her spells down.

Read almost any language but not understand them when they are spoken unless she learns the languages herself, interesting. Wait, if she is deaf and mute to magic, would that actually protect her against spells which you have to hear to be affected by? Translation spell to understand almost any written language, 5 spells to call upon the elements briefly to defend herself, powerful healing spell that heals her quickly along with slowed aging and long life, and a spell that gathers essence to recharge the other spells and can be tapped into to cast other magic spells. All that plus rune and glyph magic, Glyph is a lot more powerful than first suspected.

Lessons on being lady-like, poor Bryan hasn't even been given the worst of it yet, hygiene. Learn or die is one of the harshest ways to learn, even when neccessary. At least Uncle Andre knows, another person to help keep the secret and protect Bryan. Pretending to be his own uncle's granddaughter and White Lady having kept it secret, definitely something believable with the Family involved. Only days to build up Bryan's new identity, now more pressure on the poor kid. If Fate was a physical entity, Bryan would probably hunt her down and beat her up at this point.

Uh oh is going be like Opps for Bryan. Triggers one of her elemental spells and gets a new tattoo mark on her right palm, causing a mini-hurricane around her and making a mess. Opps indeed. At least it was the air one, imagine if it had been one of the others in that enclosed space.

It is a good thing Bryan didn't show up at Whateley looking like that, guys would have been fighting over here within moments. Already have the image of the new White Lady down, now just the image of confidence. Yet forced to be something she isn't, hopefully at Whateley she can relax and find her real self instead of this image she is being groomed for. Not even a week and expected to be like that, hopefully after this show Marcus realizes how close to blowing up or breaking Bryan is with everything that has happened.

Ah, so Marcus was called Mario in the past because of a mustache. Want to bet Tessa is going to have Bryan tested to see if she is a mutant, can't think of what else they could check for why he inherited his grandmother's powers and became female. Guess I was wrong about the basement, figures she would have a safe house designed with a place to practice magic in. Magical safe room, with wards and protection spells strong enough to contain anything Bryan can probably do.

The magic her grandmother and now she specializes in, along the glyphs on her skin, gave her the perfect codename. Learning the languages used with the runes and glyphs, Bryan has her work cut out for her. Ah, was wondering when some of the laws of magic would come up, precedence and similarity, glad to be learning more about them. Ouch, to believe without a shadow of a doubt his mother would blame her for stealing Paige's future, Bryan was messed up by how his mother and sister treated him.

Focusing on the meaning of the symbol and your intent while you charge it with essence, glad to have that spelled out, always was curious how it would work. Primary runes, is that older than Fulthark runes used by the Nordic people?

"It seems I have a built in spell checker."

Double meaning and bad pun at the same time. Ack! Tessa expects her to practice the same rune over and over until she can do it perfectly each time.

Lots of questions from the 1st part answered and details about both the White Lady, the origin of their legacy, and even details on magic which I loved. Can't wait for the next part.

My Story Page Comment:

Huh. Feels shorter than the first part. But the worldbuilding's great!

Oldest Written Magical Language... Five Fold Script?

And I glanced at Xenolalia recently... Confirmation Bias! ... There's not much variation on Written Powers...

Well, this White Lady wouldn't be able to help with Zulu Sumerian, but what about her grandmother? ...

I don't think the Translation Spell is a Code-Breaker too? ... Utility in Computer Programming... 0?

***

The White Lady Mantle can be transferred other than through Ancestry, like a gift or something? Or are all the White Ladies related to each other, and the Fourth was Fifth's Great-Grandmother or something?

Has anyone here read the Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians? In it, (spoilers for the first book) a pair of glasses that can translate any language are considered one of the most powerful magical artifacts around. Of course, this is partially because they have a lot of untranslatable documents from their magi-tech precursor civilization* lying around. But still. Being able to understand any written language is a fairly impressive power.


*The documents are untranslatable because the language was broken. It's not entirely clear how that works, but it's hard to argue with the results.

Arcanist Lupus wrote: Has anyone here read the Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians?

Yes.

Amazon recommends that book for me, but I haven't read it yet.

Morpheus wrote: Amazon recommends that book for me, but I haven't read it yet.

The series is great fun, although admittedly not to everyone's tastes. It's Brandon Sanderson's middle grade series, and he relaxes some of the rigor that he uses when worldbuilding his epic fantasy or YA stories, and replaces it with a narrator that rivals Lemony Snicket for absurdity. Magical powers include Arriving Late, Getting Lost, and Breaking Things. Entities encountered include British dinosaurs and evil librarians (although you probably guessed that one). Narrator rants include subjects such as bunnies with bazookas and stories where the dogs die.

Perhaps a separate topic for book reviews, and take this back to discussing "Written in Blood" .....

So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

Possibly nothing, if it needs the proper power source.

If it auto-draws power, then the writer might die from the glyph feeding off their lifeforce, or a massive? decrease in ambient essence...

Or a disaster, if it auto-draws from a leyline, and the effect somehow doesn't erase the glyph...

So poor Bryan is taken further down the proverbial rabbit hole - hopefully (s)he will currently only need to adopt the mannerisms, grace and seriousness of the role of the White Lady when meeting The Family and can get some time to discover her new self in amongst all the rituals and magic training. Evidently at some point in the next month, Whateley will be discovered and Bryan!Biana shipped off - although as in Calamari she was travelling on public transport, evidently Marcus and co thought she'd be safe enough in public without anyone twigging she was the new White Lady and tracking her down to eliminate.

The glyph powers are interesting - potentially powerful, but with some serious limitations. It's likely that once on campus she'll learn about spell cards and prepare a bunch with just one obscure detail missing, so a spell can be performed with only one stroke of a pen needed - or perhaps discover how to control and 'write' glyphs on her skin via concentration (c.f. the G1 character with similar abilities, but not the ability to launch spells from the markings on her skin) - to help overcome that significant handicap.

As for the transformation, given the amount of contingency planning the White Ladies have done in the past, it's not beyond the realms of possibility to think they prepared a contingency for no surviving female relatives when they die - one that hasn't been needed until now so was unknown. It may even be that the metagene complex is inherent in the family's (biological rather than organisational) bloodline but normally inactive in males and higher ordinal female siblings.

Meanwhile, it seems as though Maggie inadvertently created a running gag when writing Nikki's origin: "Oops!" (you just know when a magic user utters that single word that they've enacted [or attempted to enact] a spell which has somehow gone [comically for us] wrong).

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

what normally happens in the Whateley Verse if someone untrained tries to say a magic spell? I suspect that the answer is that feeding essence into a spell requires training and if you don't know how to do it, then it won't work. Ditto if you don't have enough essence to power the spell.

konzill wrote:

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

what normally happens in the Whateley Verse if someone untrained tries to say a magic spell? I suspect that the answer is that feeding essence into a spell requires training and if you don't know how to do it, then it won't work. Ditto if you don't have enough essence to power the spell.

I meant a person who can do magic but not that type. If they try enough they should be able to get something, but will it mostly fizzle, explode or do something unexpected.

Domoviye wrote:

konzill wrote:

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

what normally happens in the Whateley Verse if someone untrained tries to say a magic spell? I suspect that the answer is that feeding essence into a spell requires training and if you don't know how to do it, then it won't work. Ditto if you don't have enough essence to power the spell.

I meant a person who can do magic but not that type. If they try enough they should be able to get something, but will it mostly fizzle, explode or do something unexpected.

It's like with a spell composed of verbal and somatic components... if they're just going through the motions without actually learning to do it as a spell, with the studying entailed, then they'll more than likely get the fizzle, explode or unexpected results.

Primarily an exposition piece, this second part. What with the history of the White Lady and some detail on the nature of her powers. Not to mention how Bryan feels about it all, and how dangerous for all his new position is.

One thing I note though, is that a number of points would indicate Dickinson as Glyph's likely cottage at Whateley rather than Poe. Most notably in support of this is Bryan's assumed identity of being born female, and how this identity needs to pass testing by the Family. If the Family accepts it, there's probably little to make Whateley suspect Glyph belongs in Poe, much less act on it. Furthermore in support of this pretense, Bryan is donning a ladylike disguise to feign poise and confidence when it's lacking, and Dickinson would thus be a good fit.

Of course, that's just what I read into it thus far - plenty of time yet for wrenches to be tossed into the gears of my extrapolation.

Domoviye wrote:

konzill wrote:

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

what normally happens in the Whateley Verse if someone untrained tries to say a magic spell? I suspect that the answer is that feeding essence into a spell requires training and if you don't know how to do it, then it won't work. Ditto if you don't have enough essence to power the spell.

I meant a person who can do magic but not that type. If they try enough they should be able to get something, but will it mostly fizzle, explode or do something unexpected.

See Fey's first attempts to cast a spell.

I wonder if Aquerna can talk to psychedelic squirrel hobgoblins.

Valentine wrote:

Domoviye wrote:

konzill wrote:

Domoviye wrote: So what would happen if someone tries to copy the glyphs to make magic, without the training?

what normally happens in the Whateley Verse if someone untrained tries to say a magic spell? I suspect that the answer is that feeding essence into a spell requires training and if you don't know how to do it, then it won't work. Ditto if you don't have enough essence to power the spell.

I meant a person who can do magic but not that type. If they try enough they should be able to get something, but will it mostly fizzle, explode or do something unexpected.

See Fey's first attempts to cast a spell.

I wonder if Aquerna can talk to psychedelic squirrel hobgoblins.

Of course, Glyph only does monochrome...

Shouldn't they be bleached white?

Ametros wrote: One thing I note though, is that a number of points would indicate Dickinson as Glyph's likely cottage at Whateley rather than Poe. Most notably in support of this is Bryan's assumed identity of being born female, and how this identity needs to pass testing by the Family. If the Family accepts it, there's probably little to make Whateley suspect Glyph belongs in Poe, much less act on it. Furthermore in support of this pretense, Bryan is donning a ladylike disguise to feign poise and confidence when it's lacking, and Dickinson would thus be a good fit.

OTOH, Bianca's bleached-white coloring and skin markings might count as minor GSD, so Whitman could be a better fit.

On the gripping hand... this is 2016.
2006 saw the tunnels extended to Poe, which Phase saw as an excellent idea for more than his own selfish concerns -- in fact, he sorta kicked himself for not thinking of it first.
And Ayla is paying for the cottage renovations. He manifested intention of renovate all of them eventually. Wanna bet that one of the things he would push for would be tunnel access from all the cottages?
Once Dickinson has tunnel access, there would be no longer a reason to keep GSD cases from there.

Sir Lee wrote:

Ametros wrote: One thing I note though, is that a number of points would indicate Dickinson as Glyph's likely cottage at Whateley rather than Poe. Most notably in support of this is Bryan's assumed identity of being born female, and how this identity needs to pass testing by the Family. If the Family accepts it, there's probably little to make Whateley suspect Glyph belongs in Poe, much less act on it. Furthermore in support of this pretense, Bryan is donning a ladylike disguise to feign poise and confidence when it's lacking, and Dickinson would thus be a good fit.

OTOH, Bianca's bleached-white coloring and skin markings might count as minor GSD, so Whitman could be a better fit.

On the gripping hand... this is 2016.
2006 saw the tunnels extended to Poe, which Phase saw as an excellent idea for more than his own selfish concerns -- in fact, he sorta kicked himself for not thinking of it first.
And Ayla is paying for the cottage renovations. He manifested intention of renovate all of them eventually. Wanna bet that one of the things he would push for would be tunnel access from all the cottages?
Once Dickinson has tunnel access, there would be no longer a reason to keep GSD cases from there.

Unless there was an alumni-funded endowment by the 'pretties' from Dickinson with the caveat that the money went away if their cottage ever changed policy on GSD cases.

Well it seems that Bianca is going to Whateley inburrito. That means that she could admit her changeling status, it's not like Whateley is going to admit that. So she could end up in any of the appropriate dorms.

I wonder if Imp is still teaching at Whateley, that could prove to be an interesting meeting.

See I was right, a holdout pistol is a great thing to carry. You don't even have to magic it up.

I still wonder exactly what Tony did to get tossed off the plane, and what sort of punishment he's going to get from the Family.

Now I wonder if Morpheus is ever going to write a character that actually has some time before they become a mutant and are rushed off to Whateley.

Valentine wrote: Well it seems that Bianca is going to Whateley inburrito.

Are you sure she's not going intaco or inquesadilla instead?


Hm... Given Glyph's fondness for spy novels, I bet she'll get a kick out of meeting Eisenmadel's family.

Actually, there seems to be a bit of a "family history" theme to G2 so far. Glyph, Eisenmadel, and Invictus are all dealing with family legacies.

Oh, she could join the Spy Kids. The training will be useful for helping her stay alive and get one over on her enemies.

I think the masterminds would be a better fit, but it would have to be the real Masterminds, with formal induction through the syndicate rep on the faculty, not the front masterminds.

Written in Blood Part 3 comments
Practicing the rune even after lessons were over, Bianca is proving herself to be a hard worker, plus it is something which interest so that makes it easier. Tessa is right, why waste magic on something which a simple piece of technology can do, plus not draw attention to yourself. Dominic, another Loyal, wonder how many of them there are. And more of having to adjust to her new life, including keeping her old identity a secret, Bianca seems to have it the roughest out of all the Gen 2 characters from what we have seen so far.

It's not paranoid if people really are out to get you, Bianca. Oh boy, the fear of a changeling, that people can tell what you once were. Arnold Bosk, Citizen X, wonder what his powers are. Mysterious woman who his grandmother had an arrangement with, plus she can possibly answer some of their questions, but might not. Oh boy. Dark-haired woman in mid-30s, guessing she is older, possibly a lot older.

Very polite, plus it is like she knew what they would want even before they arrived, with those eyes she has to be a mutant or strong magical power. Mrs. Merchell, superhero or possibly another criminal family grandma made a deal with. Insightful and straight to the point, interesting woman, plus I'm getting a precog vibe off her for some reason. Questions answered for one of the remaining favors, what will the final favor be.

Finally, answers about why he got the White Lady power, plus it figures she is a retired superhero, Soothsayer, interesting name. Ah, deal to protect her family after her real identity was outed, in exchange for leaving the Family's operations alone. Helping them to fake their deaths and given new identities, his grandmother may have been a criminal but she was an honorable one, in her own way.

And her powers see to the truth immediately, despite Bianca's fears. Ah, I knew it! Bianca is a mutant, thus he changeling status and inheriting the mantle of the White Lady. And an avatar no less, hosting a spirit, in this case the White Lady's power, which changed him into a suitable host. It is alive, having evolved into something greater than the collection of spells it began as, very interesting. Ouch, hopes up only to learn it is complete and permanent now. Plus what her being an avatar means for the White Lady's power is a mystery, no predicting what could be the same and how it could evolve due to this new aspect for it to tap into. Just what I would expect, even with them knowing about how the White Lady's powers have worked in the past, with the avatar deal it could change in new and unexpected ways. Which makes it more interesting to continue watching Bianca than if the power remained static somehow.

Just a week since this started, I would be surprised if Bianca wasn't having crying fits from time to time due to memories of what she has lost, it can take years just to think about such things without crying. Forced to pretend like that, to adapt and change so quickly otherwise it could mean her life, Bianca is living a nightmare with no way to wake up imo. Smart move, using Uncle Andre's home for the meeting, going to her grandmother's mansion would be inviting trouble. Lenore watching over the passing of the mantle, still wondering if the raven will somehow show up at Whateley.

Sabine, Alice, and Tanya, so there are only 4 remaining Hands. Alice is the eldest but Tessa was left in charge, oh boy, hope that doesn't blow up any time soon. Tanya, never underestimate someone based on appearance. Sabine, second cousin on Bianca's mom side, babysat her and Paige when younger but treated him as invisible because he was a boy. Great, except for Tessa I wouldn't completely trust any of the Hands. And Alice's comment about Bianca being younger than expected, I wouldn't put it past her to try and use the fact the new White Lady is inexperienced to try and take over the Family or control her using magic.

Uncle Andre is good at keeping the act up, despite his age he is sharp as ever. Plus despite the act Bianca must put on, he knows how hard this burden is for her, vowing to always be there for her, guess his mother instilled a sense of honor and duty to family into him from an early age. And back to the act. 4 people run the Family operations for his grandmother and now Bianca, with an operation that large I would think twice that at least.

Robert Montagne, aka Bobby the Mountain, older man but big, bet he could still win in a fight. Martina Lambert, professional business women and related to Bianca through marriage on her mom's side, at least she knows to put the phone away and be polite.. Madelyn Bell, housewife who was nice to Bianca when she was still a boy, already like her for not being a kiss up. Debora Hanson, looks 15 years younger than she actually is, long red hair, killer body, and tendency to dress in revealing fashion, no wonder she is popular among the men. Patch over left eye, plus rumor of her being a former supervillain, could the incident grandmother saved her from have cost her her left eye.

Boy, they practiced her new 'history' well, changed last name to show she cut ties to her old life to focus on her responsibilities in the new one, anyone who questions that will look paranoid or foolish. With Lenore backing her now, any who question her being the legitimate heir are going to be in serious trouble. Story about keeping an heir hidden holding up, especially after the events of last week. Debora calling her near useless, she is going to regret that later on.

Marcus as the regent makes sense, need someone younger and who can defend themselves as well. Not sure I trust Martina, the way she questioned Marcus being the regent and looking at Andre, makes me think she has plans to try and manipulate the regent for her own ends. Good to have Marcus and Tessa by her side now, even in official meetings. Oh boy, having to keep up the act even in a boring meeting, Bianca is stronger willed and more focused for her age than I imagined.

Even the Outfit, another criminal organization, can't stand the thought of someone going after kids and promise to give them space and any information on the hit they get. This, I can understand, even criminals know children are off-limits and only the lowest of scum go after them. Scorn playing it close to the hip and not revealing it was him, so no way to make a move without evidence, darn. Pressuring associates, yet backing off once he heard there was a new White Lady, sounds like he wasn't expecting that.

The new White Lady being a complete mystery is an advantage, one which they intend to keep, which is probably a good reason to send her to Whateley, less chance of information leaking out to their enemies that way. And Marcus let's the cat out of the bag about the new White Lady being a mutant, which means even those in the Family who thought of moving against her or trying to manipulate her are wary, no mention of what her powers are and keep it that way. Great, Martina knows they are being played as well with the mutant deal, how much trouble will she be in the future. Poor Bianca, being put through all this, this is why I'm hoping at Whateley she can have time to explore who she is without having to put on this act all the time.

Cremated body for grandmother, along with sealing the casket with various spells, makes sense with their enemies, no respect for the dead. Loyals to keep the rest of the Family away while she grieves, plus black outfit with veil to hide her crying. And only getting to stay in the car at the funeral for everyone else, not getting to grieve over her parents or sister, double ouch. Missing her grandmother, but blaming her for everything that happened, Bianca is at the angry and bitter part of grief now. Believing she was invincible and let him/her down by not defeating the Messenger, thus losing her family, along with her own identity and life. I know they are trying to save her life by making her adjust so quickly, but she needs help with her mental and emotional health, stat.

Grief, rage and frustration at having this life thrust upon her finally come crashing down. 300 years ago the 3rd White Lady formed the Family, now poor Bianca doesn't wish to let it fall after her grandmother saved it from the ashes of ruin and rebuilt it. Too much responsibility, duty, and stress to put on the head of a young teenager. Turned into a girl against her will by the White Lady's power, pulled into the Family after wanting nothing to do with it, it is enough to drive a person insane. How can people do this to others, forcing them to put some organization, and their family, over their own personal feelings? If she doesn't blow up at one point while at Whateley, screaming and ranting, I will be shocked.

Only someone you care about can inspire such grief alongside such anger and frustration. Yikes, Tony still has his arm in a cast and walking with a limp despite the healing spells, that is some serious injuries. Someone needs to shoot the Messenger, saying it isn't personal and he is just doing a job while he murders people is the height of arrogance. Only a few more minutes, then run for the vehicle! And no chance of fishing, rats; don't like it myself but can understand why others enjoy it.

Oh boy, Debora asking about Bianca's MID, not good. Debora has a good point, knowing the strengths and limits of your powers is important. Ah, Imbued, but has some mutant friends, guess the rumors about Debora being a retired supervillain are true. D'oh! Marcus hadn't thought of the MCO or H1! messing with the Family if news of the White Lady being a mutant got out. Debora turning liabilities into assets like grandmother did, at least someone learned that lesson well. Small limo and armored car with spells cast on it by grandmother, that thing could probably get hit by a rocket launcher and barely get damaged.

Black Cauldron root bear, nice to have something for Bianca after having to put on an act for so long. Gunfire and not a single ding, that sucker is tough. Coming from above, and unable to lose them, plus hit by what sounds like a rocket launcher which flipped them and killed the engine. Still stood up well under that level of firepower. Oh boy, sitting ducks with Dominic and Marcus having to go out and see if they can deal with it, please let it not be the Messenger.

And now the exterior of the car is burning, yet nothing got inside yet, this vehicle seems tougher than a tank. Oh boy, Bianca put on the spot and their only hope of getting out of this alive. She can sense the power and meaning behind runes being greater or lesser than ones she has learned, even more impressive. Using the Fire rune power gifted to her, she takes control, but now faces the man behind the attack. Overstrike, power-armor using creep who plans to kill her, another hired goon most likely.

Freezing up, seeing Marcus try to distract Overstrike, realizing if she ran Marcus and Dominic would most likely be killed, awakens something inside her. Blast Overstrike with the gathered flames and forced him from the air, only to see it burnt off the paint on his armor, oh boy. But it was enough to distract him so Dominic could get a Giz-Tech plasma weapon which actually damages the armor if not the man inside yet. 3 shots and it overheats, dang, at least that was enough to hurt Overstrike.

Bianca about to use another rune on him when Sensation shows up, with that description of her the name fits. Glad to see one of the Chicago Crusaders around, even if she loves media attention. Playing to the ground and providing a distraction, which they use to flee and let her deal with Overstrike. While Bianca thinks it is her responsibility to get stronger so she can protect her extended family, poor girl is taking on the weight of the world almost.

Spending time learning from the journal of the previous White Lady's, when Bianca puts her mind to something she does it whole-heartedly. Ways to manipulate the runes for various effects, nice. Handy, to practice runes without wasting essence. Plus a rune for rust or corrosion, wonder if there is a way to draw the rune on a piece of paper and cast it at the target from the distance.

Oh boy, Bianca seeing her bodyguards like she is a little kid who needs a babysitter, even after the attack by Overstrike. Ah, so they almost crippled his armor before Sensation even showed up, so the flames did more damage than they appeared to. Idiot, newcomer trying to take down the new White Lady to make a name for himself. Figures, Overstrike didn't seem smart enough to do this on his own, wonder who put him up to this. No proof to go after Scorn and he can just send any suggestible idiot after Bianca who wants to try and make a name for themselves with impunity, really starting to hate Scorn.

Poor Bianca, being told the White Lady persona would protect her and feeling it was worthless now. Poor kid, being told to be patient while her enemies are out there, plotting against her and nothing she or her allies can do about it yet. Dominic gives Bianca a gun, both him and Marcus happy she can handle it, always have a back-up to your powers. Ah, so this is how they get her tested by the MCO without any muss or fuss, nice. And Bianca wants a second opinion on if she is really a mutant, she is going to be disappointed if she wants to hear she isn't one.

Written in Blood Part 4 comments
Humanity First and similar groups still having a big presence in Gen 2, figures they would believe the MCO's main job is locking up or killing mutants. And due to reading things online, Bianca thinks they have armored guards standing around 24/7, what kind of sites did she read. Yikes, the Chicago Crusaders possibly being a bigger threat to her right now than the MCO due to the White Lady's history. But would heroes go after an obvious teen new to their powers?

Bwahaha, the image of Marcus with a fake mustache, glasses, and a red baseball cap, really playing up the Mario connection. Poor Bianca, having to worry about an assassin waiting nearby, get her to Whateley asap! Dr. Hascolm, feel like I've heard that name before. Glyph, as a means of establishing her own identity, it is a good start. Avatars are not uncommon, wonder if they became more common since Gen 1. Vague to keep even Dr. Hascolm in the dark, who knows what kind of information could be leaked if he even suspected she was the new White Lady.

No psychic abilities, no gadgeteer, devisor, or technopathic ability, and a baseline magic user brought in for magic testing. Mrs. James might be a problem, like Bianca fears, especially if she knows anything about the White Lady and her style of magic. Oh boy, she knows of a group of women who work that kind of magic, does she suspect who Bianca is. Either Bianca is right and the runes were simply copied or drawn wrong or some of them were placed as fakes to test for certain abilities without telling the test taker. Wiz-3 rating is a powerful magic-user, especially with time and experience, Bianca. Especially compared to a baseline, you have a lot more essence available.

Worried about someone figuring out she is the new White Lady, right across from the MCO most will just assume she is a mutant there for testing, perfect cover. Normalcy of eating a hot dog with the works ruined by a bigoted idiot who automatically thinks any mutant found in public should be arrested by the MCO. I would have held him at gunpoint to shut him up as well, doesn't even know the laws pertaining to mutants. That man is lucky, he pissed on Marcus and lived to tell about it, hurting an innocent girl like that simply for looking different.

Ah, physical testing, what makes everyone think the MCO testers are sadists. Av-2, Wiz-3, Reg-3, surprised, thought she should be Av-3, but the other ratings don't surprise me, healing rate seemed like Reg-3. A barebones MID, just like promised, that will change once she is up at Whateley though, they like to be thorough. Ouch, in debt to a criminal organization for his wife's medical bills, Dr. Hascolm is a good man who made a bad deal.

In pain due to the physical testing the previous day and in a haze, poor kid still hasn't had time to adjust. Even feeling haunted by his grandmother just by looking in the mirror, hopefully in time this feeling will pass. Long, wet hair, got that right about it feeling like it weighs a ton when wet, to the point of being tempted to cut it short every time you have to wash it. Using the water rune to dry her hair, only to spray the bath. "Ooops...", that is going to a warning to others to run or duck, I just know it. 5 elemental spells each only last 30 seconds, shorter if she used up the energy and need hours to recharge, definitely emergency backup spells at best.

Oh boy, worried about telling Tessa about her new discovery for fear of being chewed out, despite having other practical uses she could figure out from this little experiment. Darn, the MCO is still selling that old lie of that they can harass or arrest any mutant who doesn't have their MID on them at all times, despite only needing it to fly on airplanes. Ouch, thinking her mutant power just let her become the White Lady, I think the Av-2 rating is more important than she realizes, it could lead to the White Lady's power growing and evolving in new ways.

Dang, could be a low-level magic-user, or regenerator, or both but her spirit is masking it due to doing the same thing. Ouch, if Marcus and Tessa were here she could relax, having to keep up the act constantly is going to wear her down eventually. Wishing to relax and enjoy some entertainment, but driven by her own need to become stronger, if she doesn't learn how to balance things she is going to become a basket case.

Learning magic being repetitious and boring, but the benefits after you have learned it far outweigh that. Light spell, not much need in modern society but useful in those rare times you actually need it. Exercises on focus and discipline to avoid leaking essence, with a Wiz-3 rating I wonder how much essence she would have to use before she started feeling it was low.

Wishing to learn more about avatars to the point of losing focus, oh boy, might wish to let her have some time to do that so it is easier to focus, hard to keep a thought out that constantly nags at you. Storing essence in external objects, yet having to master the basics first, frustrating to a teen to not get to do something cool immediately. Ah, so that is why the Loyal and Hands still have their enchantments and something to draw upon, good planning ahead on grandmother's part.

D'oh! Dinner party so an influential member of the Family can meet and feel out Bianca as the new White Lady. If it wasn't important to her future, I think Bianca would insist on staying home, citing possible threats which might show up. Simple wards and protection spells as part of going to a dinner party, boy, Family politics must be complex. And she is planning on how to learn to make the same runes like the safe room's walls and floor have, ambitious and possibly risking.

And going to a party, so soon after the disaster which cost her her family and normal life, guess she was drilled about responsibility and duty from an early age, otherwise I would see a teen making a break for it. At least she avoided wearing a dress. Protective wards and runes, unless someone is magic-resistant or immune they help, and I think such individuals with strong magic-resistance or basically immune to it are rare at best.

Maddy Bell organized the part, but the high ranking Family members who she did it for might not even be there, politics are weird sometimes. Poor Bianca's nerves are frayed from everything, she must be an incredible actor to keep it up despite all the stress she is under. Malcom Prentiss, I know I have heard that last name somewhere before but can't recall it. Family lawyer and grandmother's personal lawyer, which means he is probably trustworthy. Ouch, more reminders of her new position and what she has lost due to legal documents.

Wine to someone her age, guess they have different standards. At least she has a history of it thanks to her parents, so she didn't cough or gag from tasting the wine. Subtle probing with seemingly innocent questions, yet she answered that perfectly. Trying to be polite while trying to enjoy a meal, glad it isn't me, after the 3rd question interrupts my eating I would be upset and show it. Especially with such an exquisite meal before them. Ouch, reminder of Aunt Clarice's death making everyone somber, that is one way to stop the questions. Though Maddy cheers everyone up again except for Bianca, poor kid having to endure all this and can't even think of the safe house as home. Hopefully she can find a home at Whateley with her new friends.

Attacked on the way home, rammed by a car and Marcus shot in front of Bianca, hopefully all her determined study will help. The Messenger and he gives that crap message about it being nothing personal again, triggering a rage in Bianca. Used the fire rune and was proud of herself, only to see the truth, the Messenger is immune to magic, what can she do, will the pistol she was given be enough to stop this monster. And the Messenger is just here to complete a contract he thought was already finished, this monster needs to die.

Talk about losing his daughter, yet he doesn't care he killed Bianca's whole family in the process of him and his daughter's attack, he acts like only their lives matter. And for that he needs to suffer. Police are coming and he takes Bianca hostage, not knowing if there are other potential White Lady heirs, great. As if I didn't think of him as a monster already, with his attitude that it is nothing personal and he is merely the messenger delivering the will of another; you kill someone or try to and it becomes personal, pal.

Great, every one in the vehicle wants her dead and she can't think of anything she can do to stop it. Used Overstrike to confirm she is the new White Lady and contacted the Messenger afterwards. And Bianca proves her cunning by tricking him into saying who his employer is, by stating how can you deliver a message if you don't even say who it's from, very nice. Scorn, we have confirmation he was behind this whole thing, he is toast once Bianca relays this news.

An old abandoned factory, cliché but it works for the Messenger's needs. Why would she tell him anything if he is just going to kill her anyways, just for the promise of making it quick and arranging it so the Family can find her body for a proper burial. He is nuts if he thinks anyone would talk with the promise of death either way held over their head. Slashed her thighs so she can't run and has her locked up, he is ruthless. Isolated and injured, fearing she will die here like she believes she should have that night with her family, the Messenger and his men are going to regret this.

Goodie, righteous anger, about time she started thinking about living and making them pay. The Messenger doesn't know about the healing spell permanently bound to the White Lady, first mistake. The rune of rust or corrosion to take out the metal door, perfect. And now we know why she goes everywhere with some markers and chalk. And the runes drawn in her own blood, all because the Messenger injured her, priceless. And we learn about how much more potent a rune is when drawn in your own blood, dang.

Fireball rune trap on the floor in front of the doorway, nice. A rune that explodes like a land mine, yikes, she has a lot more firepower than expected. One guy down and burning, while the van driver pulls a gun on her, a bubble of unmoving air like a force field and blasting him into the way with a gust of air, impressive. And the Messenger shows up right as she is near freedom, oh course he does. Using the earth rune to cause the very concrete floor to move like a wave and throw the Messenger back, very creative.

The building is in danger of starting to collapse anytime soon, she tries to run for it and the Messenger is up and hurling chunks of concrete at her, good grief. Stabs her with the sword going right through her body and still say it is nothing personal, just a message from Scorn. Makes me want to see him ripped apart already. Finally Bianca realizes she has a non-magic trick left, while goading the Messenger on.

Shooting him in the gut repeatedly and him collapsing on the floor after says she has some bite after all, just perfect. Having killed her personal boogeyman and survived [yay!], Bianca's adrenaline rush wears off and she collapses to her knees. With her injuries, she is did great. Plus she knows she might actually be able to BE the White Lady, something which will help her in many ways.

Recovered and called up Tessa to come pick her up, while the guards show up with Bianca standing despite the pain to keep up her new appearance and reputation. Taking down the Messenger and using him to send a message of their own to Scorn, anyone who doubts she is the rightful heir and new White Lady needs to have their loyalty questioned.

Ah, to be able to read any languages and enjoy any story, Bianca has to enjoy that part of her heritage. Darn it! With the Messenger dead, there is no way to concern what Bianca says is the truth and the Family's business associates won't accept that as proof enough to go after Scorn. Ouch, Marcus walking with a cane, that is bad. T-boned deliberately by another vehicle and only 2 weeks to recover, I want to be able to heal that quickly.

Martina complaining about the Messenger being dead, yet not seeing the silver lining of Bianca being the one who took him down. I would keep an eye on her. Maddy has a point, plus there would be no way to force the Messenger to repeat what he said to Bianca when he thought she was going to die by his hand. Subtle retaliation, thought not as satisfying, can be more effective, especially if they don't know it is you doing it. Though sending the Messenger's body to Scorn was a good message, he now knows to be wary concerning the Family.

Poor Uncle Andre, to lose so many he cared about, his own mother, brother, and sister, and for Bianca to be forced into the position of having to avenge them. Good, Scorn got the message and is playing defensive, just where we want him. Uncle Andre doesn't know what the message they sent was yet. Sent him the Messenger's head, which Uncle Andre chuckles at and says his mother would have approved, perfect message that we know you sent him but can't prove it yet. Ouch, Bianca feeling nauseous thinking about how to threaten rivals, another hit to her mental and emotional health.

Oh boy, taking out the Messenger drew more attention to her. Keep Scorn distracted and given Bianca time to train, yet her training with Tessa isn't enough, I see where this is going and pretty sure Bianca is going to be upset about being sent away to a school she has never even heard of, away from her family. And Bianca is shocked to hear of boarding school for mutants, thinking it would be in the news, not knowing its secrecy is part of why it is safe. And Uncle Andre worries about keeping her safe at a boarding school, if he knew about Whateley he wouldn't worry so much.

And Debora knows about the school being neutral and the Syndicate helping fund it, that shocks most people when they learn it. Mess with Whateley, you mess with all sides and will have a very short, very messy end in most cases. Being anonymous and not having the pressure of her position as the White Lady are selling points in Bianca's case. Tessa says a lot without saying a word and Bianca picks it up, Whateley is the perfect place for her get used to what she's become and discover who she was now. Just as I hoped since she underwent her transformation, she needs a place to do that in, otherwise all the stress and pressure would keep building until she exploded.

Even Uncle Andre agrees now, so off to Whateley with Glyph. And Bianca thinks to herself about all the positives of going to Whateley, especially being anonymous, which would be a blessing after everything that has happened. Lenore is there and even Lenore thinks Bianca should go to Whateley, which settles that matter. Lenore being no ordinary bird, I think that might be the understatement of the century, that bird has plans for Bianca and Whateley is part of them. And Bianca finally learns the name of the school she is going to, Whateley Academy.

From start to finish this has been an emotional journey, starting with a young man who wished to have nothing to do with the criminal organization his family was a part of, to having his destiny changed due to the schemes of a criminal and his hired goons, to a journey of self discovery about responsibility and duty, along with the source of inheriting something she thought was impossible, to growth in strength and confidence to the point of taking down the murderer who slew her family, to accepting she has a role to play but also now has a place she can go to discover who she is now and just be herself. A wonderful story and I can't wait to read more of Bianca's story in the future.

By the way, I really want this to be Scorn's superpower (if he has one).

Arcanist Lupus wrote: By the way, I really want this to be Scorn's superpower (if he has one).

Read that page a long time ago and forgot about that, thanks for linking it. And yes, if Scorn has a superpower it would funny, yet effective for him to have something like that. Something voice and sound-based to contrast the written powers of the White Lady.

It will be awhile before I can introduce Scorn, but i do have plans for him.

Morpheus wrote: It will be awhile before I can introduce Scorn, but i do have plans for him.

He's going to teach Polo at Whateley.

I ended up reading all 4 parts at once so I got to get all of the impact without any real wait, and poor Bryan/Bianca. I'll say as an ex-Chicagoian it was interesting and kinda fun for me to have as story there and catch names of places that I knew.

As to the character, it felt at the beginning like we were getting our Ayla 2.0 but outside of the initial impression Bryan quickly became his own character and I have to say having his whole family die right after I decided I couldn't stand the sister or mother was a nice punch to the feels. I tend to think part of her acceptance of her new sex has to be because of the shock and pretty much pressure/trauma coming one after the other but it'll be interesting to see how she handles stuff at Whateley where she feels there is 'less' pressure to conform but obviously more peer pressure and I'm sure fear of being found out.

As to her magic, I know she has the magic tattoos that have shown up already but I wonder if she could use her runes etc to create more ones to draw her essence and grant her abilities so she wouldn't have to write new ones each time. I'd also have to wonder how the school would treat that as minors aren't allowed to go and get them typically.

Whew, I was a little bit worried there until they went with decapitation. Thought maybe we'd be in for a sequel titled "The Message Just Got Personal".

Actually, I have a different title planned for the sequel.

Morpheus wrote: Actually, I have a different title planned for the sequel.

Spoken in Phlegm?

Heard in Yellow Bile?

Inscribed in Black Bile?

Unmentionable Ink

An Offer They Can't Refuse

In most Jadis stories a theme we saw often was the concept of certain types trying to latch onto her and her brother as an in to hooking up with their dad as a hench.

But Bianca is already the future leader of a major criminal organization, and while she didn't know about Whateley, it is a given that there are going to be lots of students there who are fully aware of the White Lady's org.

I'm thinking that she's going to be wooed by a lot of wanna-bees, And of course targeted by future heros.

She might even get instructions from her advisors to keep an eye out for good candidates. And some of the other students might get instructions from their families, on either side of the line, to keep an eye on her.

peter wrote: In most Jadis stories a theme we saw often was the concept of certain types trying to latch onto her and her brother as an in to hooking up with their dad as a hench.

But Bianca is already the future leader of a major criminal organization, and while she didn't know about Whateley, it is a given that there are going to be lots of students there who are fully aware of the White Lady's org.

I'm thinking that she's going to be wooed by a lot of wanna-bees, And of course targeted by future heros.

She might even get instructions from her advisors to keep an eye out for good candidates. And some of the other students might get instructions from their families, on either side of the line, to keep an eye on her.

Maybe. But while the White Lady is a criminal, she's not really a supervillain the same way Dr. Diabolik is, and doesn't attract the same kind of notice and publicity. Sure, the Bad Seeds, and other players will likely recognize her for what she is (assuming that the Seeds haven't gone to seed in the decade since G1), but the riffraff are far less likely to figure out who she is.

Besides, she doesn't exactly have to cop to being the White Lady. Sure, her appearance matches, but stranger things have happened. And the White Lady wasn't a mutant until now.

When you come across something Written in Blood, and you read it, you can then say that you have Read Blood. That's what I'm putting my Pop Tarts on.

I'm afraid you'll lose your pop tarts on that bet.

Having read the whole story I have one thing to say:

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

While it usually referes to a completely different situation it's undeniable that Bianca owes some serious grief to Scorn, and I doubt she will refrain from paying her debt in full, given the opportunity. What can I say? That's a way to start with a bang.... nice story.

Anyway, I have to say that Morpheus really put Bryan through hell, it's a miracle that she is functional at all at the end of the story, the shrinks at Whateley are going to have a field day on her. Anyway, I have to say that one of the worst parts (for Bryan/Bianca) of the story is that she might be better off without her family, ok, the loss of his father is bad (even though he didn't seem to do much for Bryan beside moral support), but seriously, Bryan spent most of his time being ignored and the times he wasn't he was just ordered around like a servant (or a slave) if not subjected to outright abuse (as mild as it might be, the way Elaine and Paige treated him before leaving for the party is still abuse).... I mean, Tessa is way more maternal than Elaine was (which is telling considering that she hasn't done much beside being a teacher, so far), Marcus was the only 'relative' that seemed to care about him and he's still around, Uncle Andre is still around and he seems to offer about as much support as Bianca's father did, if only he could have gotten away from his family in a different way it would have been called freedom.

Anyway, no matter what I think about his/her family it doesn't change the fact that he still loved them and that his/her psyche was heavily scarred that night.... if I think about the fact that she has to play the White Lady persona while being broken inside I can't help thinking that The Show Must Go On by Queen should be the theme of this story the same way Who Wants To Live Forever is for Highlander.

So, speculation about Bianca's power, or more specifically her Avatar trait, well.... personally I don't think that Bianca's power as an Avatar is impacted by the presence of the Legacy, once it has finished turning Bryan into Bianca it had the proper host so it could bond with her without needing to use the avatar trait, freeing the 'slot' for other spirits. After all we know that the Legacy doesn't need an Avatar trait if it has a proper host and Bianca is still rated an Avatar 2, which means that she still has the ability of being a host for spirits. In short, I think that Soothsayer's educated guess is simply wrong.

BTW, speaking of Soothsayer, am I the only one thinking she playing dirty with her debt? I mean, she owe three favors to the White Lady, but she demands one of such favors to be spent just for her to listen and another for actually doing anything at all, that a single favor at the price of two, the next time what is going to happen? She demands a favor to listen and then demand Bianca owing her a favor for doing anything? What a bitch?.... Ok, maybe my gut reaction is exagerated but seriously, if it's illegal, puts her family at risk or she finds it morally reprensible she can simply say no, she has the tools to avoid doing anything she doesn't want, and yet she is betrying the spirit of her agreedment with the White Lady, the person that saved her family despite being enemies, that's.... uncool, especially considering that the favor is something completely innocent for someone who's just a teenager who just wants to know what is happening to her...... On a different note Mrs NotSoHelpful has a son almost as old as Bianca, it would be interesting having him show up at Whateley, and then join the Capes while supporting Bianca anyway (especially if her background becomes common knowledge at Whateley) because he feels he owes her grandmother for keeping his family safe

Now going back to her avatar trait and assuming that she can still host spirits, what kind of spirit would fit her role/character? Personally I think something akin a succubus could help her with seduction/manipulation/politics, basically granting her an exemplar body (if her body doesn't fit the criteria already), some kind of glamour/aura to enhance her allure and maybe a lttle bit of telepathy (and maybe some sort of life drain and/or some kind of boost from people being infatuated with her, you know, putting the 'V' in 'vamp'). Another possibility is tied to the nature of Lenore, when she delivers the Journal of the White Lady in Part 2 she flies through a closed window like it wasn't there, that makes me wonder if she's actually a spirit. My theory is that rather than being a simple familiar (as assumed by the members of the Family) she might be a manifestation of the Legacy, more precisely the manifestation of the communal coscence of the previous White Ladies (kind like an hivemind, the single minds still existing with their own individuality within it but acting as a single entity when interacting with the world), were Bianca to bond with Lenore she would become the Avatar of the White Lady on the top of being the sixth White Lady herself, she wouldn't gain any power but she would have the previous White Ladies mentoring her in magic politics and being a lady (and about being a woman).

Now, speaking about classes, beside Math, English, Power Theory, Intro to Magic and Basic Martial Arts (and maybe a class specific for Avatars) I think she should consider taking some classes about firearms (after the Messenger I doubt she wants to be without some firepower of the mundane kind), as well as classes about economy and manegement or politics, you know, classes that might help her once she assumes the leadership of the Family, later I would see her taking survival and exemplar grace, I mean, she probably hasn't a snowball's chance in hell to avoid combat but she should at least try and she needs to be able to be ladylike while kicking ass, she's the White Lady after all. As for the special topics in the winter term I think that good options are Team Tactics (useful if she ever finds herself in a combat situation) and the class about evasion techniques (in the case that she gets kidnapped again). And obviously once she's old enough to have a driving licence (it's a useful thing to have even if she travels around mostly in a limusine) she could take Defensive Driving (I have no idea about what it is but it sounds like something useful to escape)..... She could also take those dance classes that Tennyo took so that she can dance and be all ladylike if it's ever required at one of the Family's parties.

Now speaking of her social life, there are two clubs that she's eligible to join: the Bad Seeds and the Golden Kids..... However I don't think she will want to join either, the Bad Seeds are a support group for children of criminals, Bianca would be in for being a member of the Family (let alone the future leader), however Bianca is going at Whateley to hide, to be just a student among the others, joining the Bad Seeds would be the equivalent of wearing a badge saying "Related to Crime", it would take less than a second before someone starts digging for info about her past and eventually her identity would be revealed, so unless she's exposed she should probably try to limit her interactions with them at the bare minimum possible. The Golden Kids, on the other hand, are a completely different can of worms. They could provide good opportunities for making contacts and socializing, however people would probably wonder what her portfolio is and discover her connection to the Family and criminal world, even if they can't link her to anything illegal her cover is blown and she's likely to be blackballed by the Golden Kids, losing whatever support she might have garnered and getting her projects of a (relatively) normal life a Whateley, that is unless the Golden Kids decide that her background is no worse than some of the more legit families.

Changing subject a bit, my contribution about the discussion over whether the White Lady is the same person seen in Mission Imp-probable (part 2) or not is the following:

1. it's the same White Lady, same name, identical look, matching backstory (seen in Mission Imp-probable part 1 and Written in Blood part 1), operating in the same area. Yes, I know that this point is not up to debate anymore, I have put this here for sake of completeness
2. Mario was indeed Marcus, revealed in Written in Blood part 2 when Bianca calls him "Jeeves"
3. Yoshi was Tessa, she was described her as a young woman in Mission Imp-probable part 2 when Imp met her in May 20th, 2007 and Tessa said Bianca that she had been the previous White Lady's personal assistant for over a decade, and she said it the day July 24th, 2016, nine years from the meeting with the Imp
4. I have no clue about who Luigi might be

If all of this had already been stated and this part is purely redundant, bear with me, if it isn't, well, I hope to have been useful. Reguardlessly I kinda hope the Imp is still teaching art at Whateley and recognizes Bianca for who she is and takes calling her Peach.

As last thing, who the hell is Scorn? With a name like that he doesn't sound like an ordinary mob boss, did he do something particularry memorable or is he a supervillain to have a such nom de guerre? Was the 'message' sent by the mean of the Messenger just getting rid of competition or was it something personal? Maybe a suitor scorned by the White Lady?

I will confirm that Tessa is Yoshi. So far, no one has really guessed who Luigi is, but he is in Written in Blood.

Morpheus wrote: I will confirm that Tessa is Yoshi. So far, no one has really guessed who Luigi is, but he is in Written in Blood.

If that is the case then I would guess it's Dominic, he's the only one being described beside Marcus and he's described as being tall and athleic, complementing Marcus who's short and stocky.

However he has ginger hair, that gave me a pause because it doesn't fit the immage of Luigi.

Do I get the cookie?

Well, a quick search of Written in Blood, gives us three people described as tall.

The Messenger is tall and thin, but I doubt he was working as security for the White Lady.
Dominic is tall and athletic, and likely to be a guard type.
Bianca's dad is tall and slender, but not likely to be a guard.

Valentine wrote: Well, a quick search of Written in Blood, gives us three people described as tall.

The Messenger is tall and thin, but I doubt he was working as security for the White Lady.
Dominic is tall and athletic, and likely to be a guard type.
Bianca's dad is tall and slender, but not likely to be a guard.

Well, I'm kind like going with the assumption that the White Lady goes around being escorted by the Family's elite security: the Loyals. Therefore I haven't considered anyone who isn't a Loyal. In the story there are three named Loyals: Marcus (who is Mario), Tony (of whom we haven't been given a description) and Dominic.

So my guess is Dominic.

Actually, I'd always intended Tony to have been Luigi, though I'm not surprised that no one guessed that since I never really gave much of a description for him.

So, once the Family finds out how dangerous Whateley actually is, are we likely to see two guys apply to be plumbers, with a side job of keeping an eye on her?
After all, Whateley always needs plumbers..

Astrodragon wrote: So, once the Family finds out how dangerous Whateley actually is, are we likely to see two guys apply to be plumbers, with a side job of keeping an eye on her?
After all, Whateley always needs plumbers..

I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but the way you just said they always need plumbers just got me thinking about how that's what the intergalactic police are called in the Ben 10 universe. Certainly some of THOSE plumbers would be interesting to see in the WU...

The trouble is, when I think of Galaxy police I tend to think of Mihoshi...

Astrodragon wrote: So, once the Family finds out how dangerous Whateley actually is, are we likely to see two guys apply to be plumbers, with a side job of keeping an eye on her?
After all, Whateley always needs plumbers..

Unlikely, Marcus has his job as Bianca's regent, which is kind of critical.

However I can see them paying a visit and running into the Imp:

(Imp)"Well, if that's not Mario and Luigi again, long time no see"

(Marcus)"Toadette, it's good to see you. Did you find Bowser?"

(Imp)"Yep, I stomped him out of his shell and dropped him in a lake of Hexfire."

(Marcus)"Good to hear, did you see Peach around here?"

(Imp)"Sorry, but your princess is in another castle. Most likely the Crystal Hall, it's the glass dome, it contains the caff... Nevermind, there she is. Hey, Peach!"

(Bianca)"....?"

Astrodragon wrote: The trouble is, when I think of Galaxy police I tend to think of Mihoshi...

Now that is a terrifying prospect.

Aunt Clarice was called "my dad’s older sister"...

Does that mean that there's a younger sister? Or just that she's older?

Well, I assume no, 'cause if there was a younger sister, she would've been mentioned as another candidate for the White Lady powers, at least?

I would assume older sister as opposed to "younger sister," so just the one. Especially in a story where succession comes into play.

There's also the possibility of death to successors over a multi-year hiatus. The family business isn't completely safe.