Quince Graféas

== Appearance ==
Quince's appearance has changed much beyond the norm in the previous eight or so years, his physical features changing drastically in accordance to all the physical trauma he's experienced, and as a result of his forbidden magic from PE-RI-CA.
Similar to most males from his family, Quince has sharp distinct features that hold boyish charm, and while if a bit older might make him look handsome, at current age they make him seem just a bit more immature, though not fully kiddy. He has light lavender hair with a more reddish tint, the left-side neatly combed and clipped back with three yellow bobbypins, his right side crisp and wavy, his bangs hanging to cover the right side of his face. As well as those, he also has a chest-length ponytail thrown over his left shoulder, tied in place with neat crease-less cloth in the style of a ribbon, gold accents on it as it's tied in the center of the ponytail. His eyes are a childish lightish red, bordering more on magenta than pink, though if one looked closely enough they would see a more hardened edge behind them, seeming to have experienced great pain. Though his hair covers it, the entirety of the right-side of his face is horribly scarred from intense burns, the rest of his right-side being equally as bad. This heavily contrasts with his incredibly pale skin, having the same quality of seeming to even reflect of light as the rest of his kind.
When it comes to clothes, what he wears isn't necessarily flashy, but it definitely stands out within a crowd. Wearing a black knee-length cloak with crisp gold patterning, it serves to cover a good majority of his torso, having a folded collar and a silverchain tying the two sides together and keeping it up. Underneath it is a dark cyan suit-jacket, similar gold patterning on the trimming with its chest collar folded. Further underneath that he wears a purple suit-vest with a more reddish swirl tint pattern near the bottom, the buttons on it being a shiny silver with a tidy neat white lace cravat tucked in at the collar. His pants match his suit-jacket's in color, if just a bit darker, his shoes being a rich black leather dress-boots with heels pumping them up, the top of them having gold patterning.
In terms of accesories, he wears a near shoulder-length white glove on his right-hand, having a gold crisscross pattern going along it, the back of his hand having a small red diamond shaped crystal. His left arm is bare. He has gold dangling earrings on both his ears, sparkling red diamonds at the end of them, something he wears because Cosmo told him "it'll look cool" and "ladies will love it." He occasionally wears glasses to help him read when alone or out in public, and wears a top-hat plus cane for more formal and private occasions.
== Personality ==
Many who have the misfortune to know or have seen Quince would just about all say he's annoying. He has a habit to grandiosely narrate his actions or what's happening in the world around him, making them all much more melodramatic than it needs to be. Similarly, he writes (most) of these down in a notebook he keeps, though most of this notebook is filled with his own homebrewed revenge plots and schemes, essentially acting as a diary of sorts. While that wouldn't be so bad in of itself, it's made worse off by how he constantly tries to shove it into people's faces for them to read.
Outside of his narrations, he has a habit to boast how incredibly evil and nefarious he is, referring to himself as an avenger that will reign in vengeance and appease the souls of the damned, his own included. He tends to do a complete 180 whenever someone he perceives as a higher authority figure approaches him however, then becoming extremely obedient and polite, similar to any good-mannered boy his age. He heavily dislikes those who can't accept reality and face the facts of the matter, people pretending to be who they aren't and all-in-all delusional. Something which is quite ironic, given that's what many would label him as.
If one were to peel back this layers, they would see the darker more serious side of Quince, seeing that his lust for revenge isn't some sort of joke or delusional. He very much wants to claim vengeance on the brother that killed their family, as well as on the father-figure that ended up betraying and selling him out. Outside of that, he doesn't think in much else, having a one-tract mind of getting it, nearly everything he's done being all in favor of making it possible. He's quite capable when he puts his mind to it, able to plan schemes far into the future, though he's just as capable to act and think on the fly as well, relying strictly on the gut and instinct that have gotten him so far.
He has trust-issues due to both major times he was betrayed by people he looked up to and admired, one being family and one being something very close to it. As such he's surprisingly dark and closed off, his goofy exterior belying this fact. In the end though, what he really wants is to just feel some form of validation or garner some attention from others, something that was never given to him as a child and was stolen away from him on the fateful night his family was slaughtered. On top of that, the figure he knew as his father treated him rather poorly, never once acknowledging his efforts and always referring to him as "sub-par at best."
He is still just a kid though, so he does display qualities of this. He has an extreme liking of anything berry related, down to the sight, taste, smell, and even sound. He's also terrible with women, not knowing how to interact around one he likes and in general fumbling around horribly when around one he finds pretty. More self-consciously, he's also poor with heights, bugs, ghosts, water (in that he can't swim), physical exercise, and he also becomes queasy at the smell of bleed to the point he can't stand it.
Overall, he is similar to a teenage goofball, his revenge being very much real and wanting it to the point it's all he can think about, but at the moment he seems to be indulging himself a bit in the surroundings of Osaka Gakuen. It's very possible he might be trying to make up for the childhood that was stolen from him both times, attempting to enjoy some time with people with age. If he's ever reminded of his deep pain and scars though, or pushed too far over the edge, he's very capable in abandoning all aspects of his humanity and simply focus on getting his revenge by any means necessary, anything else around him becoming small and insignificant.
== Backstory ==
Quince Grafeas isn't his real name. It's a name he was given when he decided to walk the path of getting his revenge
First born in Romania, Quince was raised as the second-born of the most prominent crime family in the country, being who was really behind running it. Being the second born, he obviously wasn't the heir, that would have been his older brother. Neglected and ignored by a majority of his family, all Quince wanted was some validation or attention, but instead everyone rushed aside to go teach his older sibling. He never hated his brother for it, rather, he looked up to and admired him for his skills, wishing to be as great as him while clutching to his coat-tails. His brother didn't share this sentiment, bullying and goading him whenever the opportunity was available, all while claiming it was "it's all in good fun!" or "that's just what siblings do, so quit being a baby!"
It all ended for him one night at the age of 7, when at its highest hours of everyone resting, Vampires suddenly flooded in and butchered everyone. The guards, the staff, his family. No one was left alive, and he was left watching and hearing it all go down as he ran and hid for his life. Simply put, he survived through sheer dumb luck. Injuring himself as he ran, he ended up tripping and falling unconscious, falling over and ending up in one of the pile of corpses the vampires were making. Waking up hours later, it was to the smell of burning bodies and the sensation of extreme heat coming at him, only able to futilely struggle with the weight of more corpses above him. He was however able to barely squirm his way out through sheer panic alone, happening upon a gap by chance and bursting out, but not before the flames claimed half his body.
His right-side horribly injured and reduced to a hobble from his earlier injury, he made his way into an alley where he promptly passed out. For the next few weeks, he lived on the streets as something akin to a sewer rat, if not a lower status. Used to a pompous lifestyle, he was entirely lost, failing to get any food and often beaten by people and attacked by rabid animals. The only brightside he had was that none of the wondering Vampires would recognize him due to burns and hobble. Infection from his injuries, exhaustion, and starvation were set to take his life away, when his luck struck again and he found himself before a funny looking mage.
Apparently there on Vampire Politics, he found the boy curious in how warped his fate was, and so deciding to humor him he took the boy in temporarily and tended to his wounds. As they were basic, it wasn't any issue for the Mage, and easily deduced the boy's identity, wondering just what he would do next. Quince, recalling the pain he's felt up to that moment, the screaming, running, hobbling, burning, and starving, said he wanted to pay back the people responsible. Deciding to humor the thought further, the mage showed Quince the truth of that night, the key figures responsible and the person who let them in, and in that moment swore vengeance against his brother and took up the name Quince.
As revenge flicks were his favorite, the Mage pushed him along, throwing him into a hellish training regime over the next years. He was thrown into harsh deserts, the arctic, rain forests, the ocean, a lair of magical beasts, volcanic plains, and similar such treacherous places. While sounding impressive, the results were all the same, with Quince half dead and his adopted Mage father coming to the rescue. Such an experience could hardly be called training now, something more akin to idiocy or torture, but Quince kept begging for more practice in order achieve power, with little results to show.
Annoyed at the progress made, Quince begged his Adopted Father for more power, wanted to give his revenge done as soon as possible. All but casually, the Mage simply tossed him a book of forbidden magic then turned Quince into a Vampire. Shortly after training with his book and becoming adjusted to being a Lesser Vampire, he decided it was time to enact his revenge, something his adopted father warned against, yet he left in haste. Going to the Vampire Family's headquarters, he was ready to burst in gallantly and declare his vengeance then and there, but found himself immediately ambushed and captured.
Once in the dungeon, it was revealed to him that his own Adoptive Father had betrayed him, having earlier told the Family about his coming and his forbidden tome. Betrayed by a trusted family member yet again, Quince was crushed, his hate and cynicism only further deepening, boiling up within him as he sat in silence for the next few days, until eventually it burst out, freeing him from his prison. Eventually ending up before the Family head, he challenged him, where the head was brutally torn apart by Quince's most powerful curse. Reveling in his power and boasting of his supremacy, he ended up passing out from overexerting himself. Waking up later, he found himself the new head of the Family, as per Vampire custom, and being tended to by his new servants.
Asking for the whereabouts of his father, he was informed that he had departed to Japan, and so after taking some weeks to heal, he chased after his father to Japan, once again swearing his revenge upon him to then learn the whereabouts of his brother. This little escapade lead to some trouble with Japan's Vampire families, as he was the still acting Head of the Romania Family, which was one of the most powerful Families in the world. Chased after by assassins, bounty hunters, and exorcists alike, he somehow ended up tracing his father's steps to Osaka Gakuen, ready to cause mischief to the town in order to find his quarry. That was cut short by being beaten into submission by one of the faculty, where he was then forcibly dragged in and more or less coerced into signing up as a student to keep him shut-up and under watch.
== Abilities ==
Quince, normally, isn't that overall impressive. Physically weak, less than stellar intelligence, unable to hold even a butter knife properly to save his life, and even being rather frail. The only things he has going for him are his remarkable will and resilience, his odd affinity for writing, and his apparent ability to think and act on the fly. Having been (self) subjugated to various treacherous environments, even before becoming a Vampire, his perseverance to keep on going even with how horribly bloodied and damaged he is is bordering on demonic, sometimes having looked more akin to a corpse as he drudged along.
After some studying on where Cosmo had given him his name, Quince became invested in the books he wrote, being enamored with them and their every word, decided to take up writing into practice to mimic them and found he had a knack for it. Too much of one, in fact, bordering on obsession. While he has a knack for writing, at the moment, he's just barely above average, if using basic words and sentence structure with flowery pretexts. At the least, his handwriting is very neat and pretty. His ability to follow his instincts and listen to his gut is just about the only reason he's currently alive, if not for that he would have died on that fateful night alongside the rest of his family.
While not much of a schemer and more of a doer, he has learned the powerful potential of setting up things behind the scenes, something that has been drilled into him rather harshly twice now in both betrayals he's faced (even if the latter one wasn't even a full betrayal).
Studying from his forbidden tome PE-RI-CA, Quince does know a bit about shadowy magic and some of the forbidden varieties, able to recognize if there's any around and it's origin, but not know it by name.
=== Vampire ===
Plain Vamp after turning into one at like 13, having turned into one partially during the natural evolution process and partially from taking the blood and power of other vampires on the night he attacked the Romanian Headquarters. Speaking in terms of his vampiric abilities however, he's less than stellar.
He's hardly practiced with any of them, his main focus instead on the forbidden magic given to him by his tome, PE-RI-CA. His hypnotism he can hardly convince a child to hand over it's candy, his shapeshifting is non-existent, he can only bring back about one to two skeletons (which even then are fairly weak), and his Dark Magic is still fairly budding, only able to apply basic debuffs onto people at best. Which even then aren't too significant, if just somewhat noticeable. He seems oddly resistant to the sun however, or at least, doesn't seem to mind (or notice) any of the pain it causes him
His added strength of being a Vampire is mediocre at best, able to match a group of average opponents with it. His regeneration is about similar, able to heal minor cuts and bruises, to just a bit more severe major gashes and holes. In the case of limbs, the wound ends up being sealed to stop bleeding, the reattaching process taking about one to three days.
=== PE-RI-CA ===
A Dark Forbidden Tome that was casually given to him by his adopted father Cosmo. A powerful tome of magical and supernatural origin, much like all of Cosmo's possession. Black and leathery, despite beyond thousands upon thousands of years old, it still somehow retains the appearance of something brand-new, appearing slick and rubbery, holding a firm springy feel that's comfortable to hold. On the front however is an odd more worn brown and leathery patch, colorful vibrant string wrapping around the book and sealing it shut. On the front of this old seal lies a blue and white ringed eye, it's pupil a colorless void.
For those knowledgeable, they would certainly recognize this symbol as the Evil Eye, a powerful sources of curses passed around the wild. PE-RI-CA is it's true origin, being the famed Evil Eye that charms are made to defend against around the world. Certainly more peculiar when compared to what else Cosmo holds, but now it belongs to Quince. It has an odd tick in that all of it's spells are verbal based. Or rather, verbal trap based. They rely on getting the user to say certain things to make them happen, and getting targets to say and do certain things as well to apply curses.
All of these are separated into a wide variety of spells, of which he does not have full access to, as he is just a beginner and earnestly has no idea what half the spells do. Even then, the book isn't fully attached to him, it's full power not awakened. It feeds off negative emotions and will from the user, revealing more of its hidden contents and its curses increasing in power and capacity the more broken and hateful the user is, and less when it's the inverse.
As such, the book is totally useless for anyone absolutely confident in themselves and their abilities, only showing it's fully potential in the hands of someone who tends to abandon their humanity and desperately seek for any solution, something which suits Quince fine.
The whole verbal traps though and set-up is an oddity in off itself, especially when looking over the spells, but it's not something he minds much, giving his written and narrator tendencies in the first place. It should be noted that some curses take a more elaborate set-up than this, and some can also be applied even by being written. All can also be applied when said through a device, such as a phone or some long-range communication crystal.
However, due to his level, he does need to have the different curses of PE-RI-CA prepped beforehand in order to make use of them. Otherwise, reading it aloud fully and applying it takes too long and just ends up making him a target. Some don't need to be prepared, but his more complicated ones should be for his easier usage. Along that, he can't use too many curses at once, if at all, only able to use about one simple one and one complicated one at the same time. And as said before, due to PE-RI-CA being fueled by his own negative emotions, his spells at the moment are weakened and some capabilities even sealed as he is not at his peak.
While it may not seem like it, at it's full power, PE-RI-CA's curses can work in conjunction. Something like using Styx Helix to learn certain information from someone, such as their phobia, then using L.L.L to help Quince get them to actually ask the question, then use Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy to summon it. That does require nothing sort of mastery however, something which he is far from. Though, all of those are more just side-dishes to PE-RI-CA's main course, something that's hidden within its ultimate curse of Theater D.
==== Straight Bet ====
One of Quince's most used spells within PE-RI-CA, going under a self-applied verbal curse that acts as a form of self-hypnosis that applies buff, but also at a heavy price.
By convincing themself to do "X" thing, the user can push themselves harder than normal and essentially put their all into something. If it succeeds, then they're able to chain it with more "X" tasks that gradually increases their limits. If they fail though, they get heavily debuffed for a large amount of time. Even then though, after succeeding, multiple times, the user is then drained from having pushed their limit further and further away from the norm, draining them immensely. Either way, the end result is the same, it's just the process of getting there and what can be done is different.
The time limit to complete "X" task, no matter how daunting or simple, is always 10 seconds. The task also always must be something that can be considered one action and that can be completed as a challenge. Something like "I will throw this knife" is easy to accomplish, so it's not a challenge. "I will hit that person with this knife" is both an action and can be taken as a challenge. As another example, "jump" is too simple, but "I will land this jump" is too subjective, so something like "I will land this jump from the air" or "I will land this jump across the cliff" would work better in the context of Straight Bet.
The benefits of doing a phrase, as said before, last 10 seconds, and likewise once completing it it lasts another ten seconds. Linking phrases together only adds 10 more seconds each time, never going exponentially time wise, but going exponentially power wise in raising Quince's by 2 each time. Failing a phrase however lasts a minute for all the phrases stacked up, the amount of times his limit being halved equal to the amount of phrases failed as well.
As such, it's a high risk high reward Spell, typical of any curse, promising great capabilities the more Quince succeeds, but taking a turn for the worse once he fails even once.
==== L.L.L ====
A "Simon Says" type of spell, but rather working in reverse. Instead of saying a phrase, action, or command to someone and having them do it, they need to be tricked into saying the command themselves. So getting them to say "jump" aloud would then force their bodies to jump. While simple, in extreme cases, could be very problematic. Joking phrases such as "I could kill him" could become forced to be acted out, the target's body being controlled as they then go and attempt to kill the person they said they jokingly would. Just because they're following the action though doesn't mean they have some supernatural ability to complete it. Things like "I can jump over that cliff," if the person who said it cannot jump over the cliff, then they will simply instead try and fail.
Any action said aloud will do, and must be completely down to the letter. In all cases, the target is still conscious, their body is simply being controlled against their will. They can still do things like speak, but they are physically incapable of going against the curse. Anything or one that attempts to stop them from completing the task is pushed aside in favor of completing this task, even using violence if it comes down to it. With such a potent curse, even things such as rhetorical questions become dangerous around him, such things such as "why would I rob a bank."
While actions are taken into account, it could get people to say a certain phrase. However, they would need to say that phrase in the first place, such as "Why would I say I bathe in mayonnaise showers with snakes?" So, it is rather redundant, as it would mostly have no purpose in having them say it again after already said.
One of the few spells that also works if the person writes it, holding there own word against them. While powerful, it is one of his weakened curses, only able to apply simple actions such as "jump," "run," or "attack." It can also be resisted a bit at its current level, and he can only apply it to one person at a time.
==== ANGER/ANGER ====
A more simplistic spell in that it just reverses a target's emotions. If they deny that they're feeling a current emotion while making eye contact with Quince, such as saying "I'm not mad" then the spell will flip that around and make them extremely mad. Like if someone ever said "I don't get sad," then they'd promptly fall under a state of severe depression. There is no moderation for this curse, the set emotions always put up the most extreme state possible. While under its effects, those affected don't know that they're affected, believing themselves to still be perfectly fine and in the state before the curse was replied. It's akin to being put under something like a haze, not recalling what they did while under its affect once all is said and done.
Quince can also apply this to himself, should he ever feel like it.
Another one of his more used curses, if only because it's simplicity. If he focused on it primarily without using any other curses, than it could last for several hours. Otherwise, with other curse usages in play, it lasts only about a few minutes.
==== Frozen Rain ====
A curse that selectively affects everyone around him in a 20 meter radius, freezing them all in place. Or rather, a select group. To explain this curse, it completely freezes a select group of people around Quince, their consciousness and positions even frozen, as if stuck in time.. How this select group of people is selected is reliant on Quince and his target.
He may either ask them what "they are," they implying to themselves or a group of people, or to describe themselves or someone else around them. To give an example, he could ask a stranger what they are, and they could say they're an Aoquid. Then, all Aoquid in a 20 meter radius of Quince are frozen. Or, similarly, they could say something like "I have red hair," "I'm Japanese," or "I'm wearing a red-shirt." In all instances, those groups of people are frozen.
Only one group of people can be frozen at a time, and the trait for them being frozen must be easily recognizable in a physical sense. In simpler terms, it just needs to be easy to tell what something is to freeze it. Something like "They're kind" whatever freeze all kind people, since that's both too subjective and hard to tell. Things like "I'm a student" get trickier, being in some cases it does and doesn't work. If they're easily recognizable as a student, such as wearing their uniform, then it would freeze that group of people. Things like "Magus" and "tech users" also fall under this sometimes does and doesn't work effect, only being applicably if they're easily recognizable as one or the other. As such, it is possible for some people to ignore this effect.
One of his harder to execute curses, and also one he has trouble maintaining due to its wide scope. Because of that, it only last about 10-20 seconds at best. He has trouble using it with other curses in effect as well. One of the few that works when written out by the other person.
==== Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy ====
A peculiar curse in that the set-up is odd, though highly effective if executed correctly. It involves a verbal trick of getting people to summon their own phobias and fears through PE-RI-CA, then having them deal with it as said summoned phobia is in it's most terrifying state as perceived by that person. In other words, whatever the person finds terrifying about that fear/phobia is exemplified and especially focused on.
In order to get someone to summon their own phobia is tricky, in that Quince needs to get them to start talking about it, or he needs some written detail about them that lists their fear. In both cases, he needs them to acknowledge that they have some sort of uncomfortable relationship with whatever fear it is, some link of sorts. For pesky people that deny they're scared of whatever it is they're scared of, they don't need to admit they're scared of it, something like "I hate spiders," "I just don't like heights," "Bugs just freak me out," and similar phrases work, if weakly. In the case of weak phrases like that, a full summoning of their fear isn't possible, only summoning something that's bare minimum. However, the more they deny their fear, the more it grows, continuing to grow more and more until they finally admit they're scared of it, but at that point it's typically too late.
This curse isn't an illusion based one, it's physically, summoning that person's fear for all to see. While they or other people could try to deal with it physically, should the fear be slain or destroyed it will simply come back later as if nothing had ever happened. Quince could disband the summon if he felt like it, but the only way for the person to do it themselves is by conquering their said fear fully, no longer being afraid of whatever it is they're afraid of, therefore rendering the curse null. As it is a summon, it could be possible to dispel it magically or through supernatural means, but targeting the summoned fear does nothing. Rather, they'd need to target PE-RI-CA instead, and as it's an ancient forbidden tome of unbelievable power, only something like a person of equal status could dispel the summon.
For odd very particular fears and phobias though, such as a meteor hitting the earth suddenly, falling down the stairs, heights, unnatural holes, crooked objects, etc, PE-RI-CA can summon them, if in an odd way. In the case of the meteor, a giant meteor does appear, but it's only about the size of a city, and as it comes closer and closer to the ground it shrinks more and more until it's about the person's size, and only ends up crushing and killing them rather than the planet.
In the case of the stairs, it will summon a plain of stairs that the person is trapped in, falling down all of them no matter what movements or procedures are made to avoid it. In the case of heights, it will summon a tower underneath the power that takes them high up into the air, another tower appearing underneath them as they approach the ground (if they do). For unnatural holes, a creature with several unnatural holes littering it's body would appear, and for crooked objects, a plethora of them would appear and follow the person continuously. Should the person fear nothing, and they say so, an odd case happens. At Quince's current level, the curse does just that, nothing, falling flat. At much higher levels, PE-RI-CA could summon a physical concept of nothing, having that swallow the target in suspended black orb of nothingness that keeps them trapped.
What is summoned doesn't necessarily try to kill the target, but some might based on their nature, or simply based on what the target does. The stair one for instance, they could die from falling down too many times, and the height one from jumping off repeatedly. In the case of a creature, it may maim them, or it may simply hover very uncomfortably close to them. If what they're afraid of is a person, then a PE-RI-CA made version of that person will appear and follow all it's rules, being a perception of what that person fears about that person rather than actually being the person themselves, therefore acting differently.
An extremely potent curse, but of course the major hurdle is needing to know what that person is afraid of in the first place. Randomly guessing is horribly inefficient and not very likely to occur, so it tends to be more situational. It's also one of his fully sealed ones, being unable to use it at all at the current moment.
==== Tragedy:Eternity ====
Similar to the curse Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy, in that it relates to fears and phobias, but rather a more extreme variation of them, while also being mental whereas the other is physical. Rather than going from a fear, it focuses on the source of that fear, going to the event that caused it to plague or haunt them. Something like what could have caused them a great trauma, intense fear, or a deep scar. Loosely translated, a "tragedy."
A fear of cars would be translated by Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy by just summoning a car, but Tragedy:Eternity instead goes to the root of that fear, which may have stemmed from a traumatic car accident, then has them relive the event over and over and over again in their mind, the kicker being that the event is amplified about ten times over within their mind, making it much much worse than they remember it. Similar, if the person has a tragedy of nothing, than they'd be implemented into a mental realm of pure nothingness, unable to feel any of their five senses, potentially going mad from the experience.
While affected by it, the target is stuck perfectly still in whatever position they were in previously, completely frozen and unmoving with their eyes totally clouded over. Occasionally, the target's body may speak out what they're saying in their mind, being choice words, sometimes full sentences, and more often than not screaming or crying. For anyone watching, it's quite the unnerving experience.
Of course, there's the situation of applying it. Firstly, the target needs to make eye-contact with Quince, and Quince needs to know this trauma or event exists in the first place. After that, he needs them to verbally acknowledge the event in some way, though something like a written message works as well. After those conditions are met, the target is momentarily stunned, and Quince must then show them the contents of PE-RI-CA while saying the curse aloud. As soon as all of those are complete, then the target is put under its effects.
There is no definite end to this spell, acting similar to a Coma, and dispelling it takes a great amount of effort equal to in power of PE-RI-CA. It renders its target nothing short of a potato, having them experience their ultimate suffering for as long as its kept up. He could disband it whenever he wants, however, but he'd need to touch the person. While even more dangerous than it's pairing spell (arguably), it falls under the same problem that he'd need to know about their trauma in the first place. Aside from that, it's also sealed from him.
==== Jingo Jungle ====
One of PE-RI-CA's curses that is likely much more popularly known due to how wide-spread its become, now under the misconception of it as a "jinx." With it, Quince can use this curse to minorly control probability around his target. In simpler terms, he can drain their "luck," making them "unlucky." Or in this case, much more likely to befall misfortune. While with minor usage, it could just be inconveniences such as tripping constantly on cracks in the ground or on untied shoelaces, to some of their things breaking (such as pencils or appliances), to being caught in a scenario that would cause a huge social stigma (falling into the girl's locker room pants less).
With more major usage, it falls under things that can be considered life threatening. Getting hit by a car, falling down a long row of stairs, spells malfunctioning and exploding, technological equipment doing the same, rogue animal attacks, run-ins with dangerous individuals, etc. In all cases, Quince is not directly involved, but his curse is affecting the probability in the area around the target and manipulating the small variables to make the event happen. Or in other words, it just uses magic to set-up the desired misfortune.
If he wanted to, he could set up specific misfortunes to befall the target. Such things such as "your first born will die in the crib," "within 5 days your life will be stolen on the full moon," "your business will be unsuccessful and fall to ruin," etc. He can't do these too well however, only being able to apply minor ones such as the pencil breaking one from before.
Of course, there's the problem of applying them, as per all his curses. In order to apply this curse, he and his target must end up saying the same thing at the exact same time. Upon doing that, then saying the phrase "jinx," he can apply a jinx onto the target as a punishment. The longer the phrase that was said, the more severe punishment he may apply, or even longer duration. Similarly, if the target continues to say the same thing as him, such as copying him whenever he says "jinx," he can continue to add onto the "punishment" of his curse. That's only in applying a general misfortune jinx however, in order to apply a more specific one, he needs to have jinxed the person before, and that person needs to deny his ability to jinx them or "luck."
At his current level, the duration of the curse depends on how long the phrase said was, along with how much power he decides to put into it. While he could affect multiple people at once, that lowers the power of all the jinxes over all. At more advanced levels, he could jinx anyone around him that say the same sentence, able to jinx either one or both of them. He could even end up jinxing entire groups, in the future.
At further advanced levels, this curse can be applied to be a more colloquial form of jinx, something that applies someone's basic sentence and then makes that more event more likely to happen. Something casually said such as "well, at least we still have our house" or "the car is still fine." Those sorts of events and silver-linings become jinxed, making it all but guaranteed they will be lost as well and only bring further misfortune unto the target.
Those two functions are sealed however, Quince only having the more basic ones.
==== Styx Helix ====
One of PE-RI-CA's odder curses. In order to set it up, Quince first needs some sort of sample from his target. Hair, blood, skin, etc. Hair and skin don't work too well though, and only last temporarily. Something like blood though, which is constantly in the body and doesn't shed, works much better and near permanently. Upon getting such a sample from his target and sealing it within PE-RI-CA, the target is then applied with a dark stigma, one that quietly hangs over them and that is barely noticeable by even advanced mages.
Once applied, Quince needs full confirmation from his target that they will tell him what he wants to know, or at least answer his questions, phrases such as "I'll tell you" or "Only one question." Even a grunt or nod will do. Upon saying something like that, PE-RI-CA writes down the target's answer within its pages, or the true answer anyway. It's possible for the target to lie to Quince aloud, but upon their speaking and answering, their true answer appears on the book, making it possible for Quince to read later. It tends to be barebones though, unless Quince specifically asks for an explanation, and they answer with an affirmative.
It is picky and finnicky however, being heavily reliant on what the person says. If they say they will only answer one question, then only one answer will appear withing PE-RI-CA. If they say they will answer multiple, it keeps going until they directly say they will no longer answer anymore of his questions. And while the true answer is giving inside PE-RI-CA, as said before, it might not reveal all of it. Weak samples tend to be temporary as well, dispelling the stigma and as a result the answers written within PE-RI-CA. Strong ones like blood or saliva tend to keep the stigma going however, keeping the answer written down as a result.
While useful to see through things like lies and half-truths, he can't currently use it very well, only giving him basic one-word answers to extremely simple sentences, making it not particularly useful in getting specific information, if any information at all.
At higher levels, it's possible that even just responding to his question is enough to trigger an answer to appear, said answer being extremely elaborate in both description and detail. Said those higher levels, it's even possible to warp PE-RI-CA a bit, able to count what is written there was would the target has written, at least with their soul, and therefore usuable with other spells of PE-RI-CA. However, he's far from such levels of power, so there's no worry.
==== Paradisus Paradoxum ====
The most powerful mental curse hidden within PE-RI-CA, something of which he can only limitedly use at its most basic level. What the target perceives as illusion becomes reality, and what they perceive as reality becomes illusion. It mixes up and jumbles the two from the user's perspective, causing them to overlap and physically inflict the user. In order to apply the curse, Quince must ask his target a question, than have them deny it. It's a simple explanation, but what he can do with it broadens out much more.
Saying something like, "watch out for that stampede over there," doesn't hold any impact, that is until the person looks over there and says something like "there is no stampede there" or "I don't see anything." Upon those kinds of phrases, they would start to perceive an illusionary stampede heading towards them. While this stampede isn't real and perceivable to anyone else in the area, it is very much real to them, acting as a real stampede would and having the illusion of people being crushed under it and trees knocked to the side, the same thing awaiting them should they cross it.
Unlike other illusions, rather than being applied by Quince, these are self-applied by the person's perception, their own mind tricking them into believing what isn't real, and thus making what isn't real affect them as if it was real. A more proper example of this would be getting the set-up to have the person deny a fire being on there arm. Immediately, a fire would start there, burning away at them. While not real, as the target perceives it as real, the fire does burn away at their clothes and even at their skin, damaging them in a very real sense. While one else can see the fire, they can see the burns it leaves on the person's skin and their clothes as well.
In the case of illusionary people or animals, they behave as the target thinks they would behave towards them or in that scenario. In the case of items, such as making them perceive an all powerful magic sword, it doesn't end up doing anything. It is just an illusion after all, and while the mind can affect the body, it can't actually affect the outside world around it. While sounding potent (because it is), due to many of its full functions being sealed, he's stuck to simple illusions and phrases as perceptions, not able to do anything majorly complex or hugely threatening.
He can only apply it to one person at a time as well, though the duration is odder as he isn't the one applying it, the target is applying it to themselves. While he could disband it at any moment, the duration entirely depends on how long the target keeps perceiving it. While they could themselves try to "defeat," "break," or "get rid of" whatever is plaguing them, this is exceptionally hard as it isn't real in the first place, even if they perceive it as such, though it is certainly possible.
One of the particular locked features is the ability the curse has to do the inverse of it's normal affect. That is, make what is reality appear as illusion by having Quince make his target confirm it's there. So something like, "is that a tree over there," "yeah that's a tree." With a phrase of affirmation, the tree disappears entirely from the person's perception, not being real. As a result of such strong perception, they can ignore the tree entirely, able to even walk through it as if it wasn't real. The mind's perception affects the body so much so to the point that they can treat the tree as if it never existed in the first place. In the place of people, this becomes scarily potent, and even more when one takes landscapes into the equation. It is, however, sealed, and if he ever unlocked it at his current level, it'd only be at it's most basic level similar to its main function.
This Curse over-all is incredibly dangerous, particularly in its versatility to warp one's mind and how they perceive the world around them. At higher levels, it becomes effectively possible to rewrite entire landscapes for anyone caught in his trick, or at even higher levels able to even rewrite entire events as if they never existed for that person, or even rewrite concepts so that they don't affect them. As said before though, he's stuck with simple phrases, and to reach such devastating level of power would take him years on end, if not much more. A forbidden tome doesn't open it's secrets so easily.
==== Theater D ====
The most powerful offensive curse hidden within PE-RI-CA, of which currently can't be used due to it being sealed, but of which he also has used once before. One of the more oddly specific spells, given just how powerful it is, having the potential to wipe away someone's life and very soul in an instant.
The target must talk about their own morality and life, and claim themselves to be unbeatable, immortal, invincible, or anything similar to those lines. Following that, the target then breaks or damages PE-RI-CA, and Quince then speaks the spell's name. Upon activation, the book's corpse burns away completely into a miasma, before then turning into a horde of ravenous dark spirits that then tear the user apart. Should magic be thrown at them, the spirit's will simply eat it. Should they be physically harmed, the spirits will simply bounce back as if weightless. Should they actually be damaged, the spirits will simply regenerate itself and keep going. Should they run, the spirits will endlessly chase after them in a continuous stream, offering no escape. Upon the target being torn apart and eaten, their spirit then becomes a part of the horde, trapped within the book.
While destroying PE-RI-CA sounds horrible, the tome then later reappears in the same Dark Miasma within the owner's hand, perfectly fine as if nothing had happened.
Theater D does have other variations of which he can use, if only lightly. While at first it may seem their power is nothing comparable to that of above, their is one that trumps over it in terms of brutality and efficiency, a form of the Curse that could be said to be the "true" power and potential of Theater D, if not PE-RI-CA as a whole.
When broken or torn, automatically Theater D activates to a much weaker degree, aiming to devour whatever it was that dared damage it. In this case, at Quince's current level of having most of PE-RI-CA sealed and weakened, the spirits can be dealt with with relative ease, if posing a mediocre threat.
In the case of Quince breaking or tearing it himself however, the full potential of Theater D unleashes, the spirits then obeying his orders as he is able to control and weaponize them. Their black miasma surrounds the wielder and oozes off their body, appearing akin to damned souls making up the flames of hell. It provides a passive defensive barrier around the user, the souls eating and tearing away at any perceived threat approaching them, able to even weaponize it by simply laying his hand on something or to shoot them out as projectiles. Should he be damaged, the spirits end up even healing him as well, giving up their own esdence to offer a super high-speed healing process to assist Quince.
In order to do this however, Quince must paint out a target as his quarry for vengeance, then have the target accept that would they did calls for revenge or at least acknowledge his own vengeance. After those two requirements are met, Quince must utter the phrase "This is my revenge!" or label himself as some sort of avenger, and the spirits will then appear. If the requirements are not met, then the book is just uselessly destroyed, but will still appear later all the same a day later. The spirits only last about ten minutes to a max of an hour, though end prematurely once he has slain his revenge target. So in the end, it is a last resort type ultimate attack move, since it leaves him completely defenseless afterwards.
At it's highest, in the hands of someone who has mastered PE-RI-CA in its entirety and has accepted their own darkness to utilize it to its fullest potential, becoming something more akin to a demon rather than a person, Theater D may become a continuously active effect around the user. Their own spiraling hatred and self-loathing serve as the continuous fuel to this fire, keeping its scorning light lit for all to witness and suffer. The true purpose of PE-RI-CA and Theater D, it could be said, the book itself desiring to reign vengeance on the world and simply manipulating its wielder.
=== Curses ===
While not being too proficient with them himself at his current level, he does have bonus proficiency in casting basic curses and hexes by doing so through PE-RI-CA. Additionally, he can also identity them by reading through PE-RI-CA's contents, or at least try to find them. He doesn't really do that though, not seeing the merit of knowing other curses, or even casting other curses, besides the ones specified to only be usable by PE-RI-CA. It's just something to note if he ever did it.
=== Equipment ===
He doesn't carry much in the name of equipment, just a bunch of supplies with utility usage. Aside from PE-RI-CA, he keeps a notebook where he writes all his revenge fiction, written in several different languages learned from Cosmo. While the writing itself is rather childish (mediocre at best), the grammar is perfect and the aesthetic of the handwriting looks nearly divine. When out of paper, he will however instead use PE-RI-CA to write down his stories, due to the book self-repairing should he rip out a page.
He keeps a feather pen-tucked inside it as a bookmark, also substituting this feather-pen as a blade and occasional writing with blood within PE-RI-CA. Ironically, as despite needing the blood of others to survive, he hates its smell, and thus keeps a nightshade scented nosegay tucked in his collar to ward off it's scent.
== Trivia ==
* Novelist Vamp
* Revenge-o Boy
* Edgy Edge McEdgestein
* Fun-fact: All his spells are named after MYTH&ROID songs.
* His first name of Quince comes from a Shakespearean play, A Midsummer's Night Dream. Named after one of the people acting in the play within a play.
* Note for Self: Cosmo didn't betray him perse, what he did was all put of his own scheme to give Quince the fuel needed to fully awaken PE-RI-CA, if only temporarily, because Cosmo finds the idea of that idiot 14 year old running the Romanian family hilarious. Also a test to see if he was actually worth investing him, viewing his revenge as shod if he failed to pass.
Category:Male
Category:Student
Category:Vampire
Category:Supernatural
Category:Character
Category:Soup's Kitchen