Growing Pains

GROWING PAINS

World Lore

A collection of stories taking place primarily in the modern United States... with a twist.Amidst the simple pleasures of modern life exist an assortment of the unknown, the undocumented, the fantastical. The world is filled with curiosities, and some of those curiosities just might be your friends, neighbors, lovers.

Alpha, Omega
Divine Loser
Full Dark, No Stars
... Is A Real Boy!
My Little Demon
Nearly Witches
Nine in the Afternoon
Parting Glass
Seafaring Strangers
Small Town Trap
Spinal Tap
Sun in an Empty Room
Things Done Changed
This, Too, Shall Pass
Thus Always to Tyrants
Tusk
Two Good Things
Welcome To Eden
Van Buren Blues

THE SPACES WE INHABIT

OVERVIEW

INTRO TO AUTECOLOGY

While many species have been outpaced by humans, some species have evolved and adapted over time to fit into the majority and co-exist with the humans that make up most of the modern world's population.

SPECIES

LORE

SPECIES

LORE

Homo sapiens lycanthropus

Also known as canus lupus sapiens, the common werewolf is a species of European origin. Old folklore places werewolves' origins primarily in the eastern european region, though early reports have seen them as far down as the Balkans pre-migration.Werewolves are long-lived with a lifespan around 300 years at the oldest.
Werewolves follow a "natural" (human) aging pattern until they reach their 40s, where the physical aging process in their bodies will significantly slow.Originally following what is know known as the Old Doctrine, werewolves have been shaped by the modern sphere and have adapted to the changing tides. In the modern time, many tenants of the old doctrine have been bred out or changed with the shifting tides of social standing as well as equality movements across the globe.Where Alphas were once unrivaled tops of the social ladder, larger and stronger than their smaller, weaker Omega counterparts rose a new norm; a shift in the overall societal view, wherein Omegas began to gain more respect and standing and bred out their intense sexual dimorphism. The change in society led to a change in the norm, one in which the secondary sexes would become more equal, defined primarily by things like scent and sexual cycle rather than status, size, and physical ability.BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION (CLICK HERE)Societies and packs that still follow the old doctrine and define one’s status in the pack based upon their secondary sex are still incredibly common, but there has also been a rise in equal societies, as well as individuals able to exist without a pack, or packs made up of found family rather than blood. The old doctrine is rapidly becoming more uncommon, but it is not without its few high-status families that abide by the Old Ways.Werewolves are incredibly common, though you'd be hard pressed to notice unless you, yourself, are a werewolf or other species familiar with the "scent". Werewolves can live simple, carefree lifestyles amongst humans with little to no threat of detection. Due to their nature, werewolves were one of the quickest non-human species to adapt to living alongside humans.

Thus Always to Tyrants

Urbana, Washington, as far as big cities go, is fairly average- unremarkable to those used to cities.Urbana is broken up into three primary districts; Historical (Once a bastion of scholarly research in the early days of the country’s founding, now repurposed into a sort of bastardization of itself; a collection of museums and historical sites interlaced with old neighborhoods, with little research into the relics and artifacts that had been found in the district in the old times ongoing), The Metropolitan- or, more colloquially, the Metro- (a sort of shrine to capitalism and modern life, the Metro was the place to be if you were anyone who was anyone, and as such, it tended to draw the most eyes from outside lookers-in), and the Academic district, or Collegetown (With Urbana Commons and the Urban University therein, the two schools had eaten up most of what was once a burgeoning, lower class district and taken over the DNA almost entirely, creating a subset of the city almost entirely focused on the housing and caretaking of the students that lived therein. The former residents were mostly displaced to the Historical District, or, if they were unlucky, sent to the streets of the Metro.Urbana, Washington would have been nothing special, just another city falling into the clutches of gentrification and capitalism- if Urbana, Washington didn't house an almost concerning number of superpowered entities living amongst the common man.With an influx of relics seemingly carrying strange powers from greater beings, a number of highly intelligent engineer-types creating their own power-imbued suits, and a non insignificant number of experiments done on common folk- some more hush-hush than others- Urbana's secret became a known commodity, something that both brought tourists in, and kept the world out.

Alpha, Omega

PLOT

Juliana Hale

BIO

Adeline Fenrir

BIO

Full Dark, NO Stars

PLOT

Dahlia Keller

BIO

April Woods

BIO

MY LITTLE DEMON

PLOT

Calamity "Callie"

BIO

Mira Jacobs

BIO

Nearly Witches

PLOT

Celeste Blackwell

BIO

STar Anise

BIO

Parting Glass

PLOT

Autumn Stamatis

BIO

Sylvie Morte

BIO

Seafaring Strangers

PLOT

Jack Somberg

BIO

Wesley Maryse

BIO

Small Town Trap

PLOT

Moira Buckley

BIO

Savannah Tucker

BIO

SPINAL TAP

Boulder, Colorado was supposed to be a hiatus for Jupiter King; a delay to her inevitable retreat back to Boston in the form of a small college town where she could lay low and recoup- or alternatively, drop all of her money on booze, drugs, and women before she'd have to run home in a few months to grovel for more.Boulder, Colorado is not where Eden Crowley wants to be. Just under two hours from her small Colorado hometown, she had planned for her pursuit of an art degree to take her somewhere further- at least, until her grandmother passed away and left her a house all her own, some measure of fresh air, peace, and quiet before she packed up and left the state for good.When Jupe moves into one of Eden's spare rooms, the two are able to fall into a sort of unexpected friendship- an unstoppable force built by rock-and-roll and an unstable early life meets an immovable object in the shape of an easily stressed Masters student seeking to push away from the life she seemed to be stuck in. But within six months of moving in together, Jupe and Eden are forced to face down a threat far greater than either of them could have ever known, and one that threatened the entirety of the town they called home- temporary and begrudging as it may have been.With lives at stake, a magic guitar, and a bloodline blessing- or curse- Jupe and Eden have no choice but to be thrust into the role of "hero" to ensure not just the survival of the town, but their own as well.

Jupiter King

BIO

Eden Crowley

BIO

SUN IN AN EMPTY ROOM

PLOT

Bella Kirk

BIO

Mackenzie Halloway

BIO

Things done Changed

PLOT

Jupiter King

BIO

Eden Crowley

A year after the defeat of the Shape eaters and her subsequent graduation, Eden Crowley doesn't much know what to do with her degree.Working as a remote graphic designer while indulging in some cross-country van life, Eden is decidedly content with the way things are going, even if she'd kind of like to set down some roots sooner rather than later. And a fateful trip to visit a rather renown queer bakery might just help her to do just that.

Moira Buckley

BIO

Savannah Tucker

Roughly a year after the cult fiasco, Sav now runs the business side of Momma's Girl- a breakfast and bakery joint nestled in what used to be Grandma Tucker's general store.With the success of Momma's as a queer safe haven, Sav and Moira have it made. A big house to themselves and a successful business. Things seem to have settled. At least, until Jupiter King and Eden Crowley come into town.

THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS

PLOT

Amalthea

BIO

Navarro

BIO

Tusk

Frances Cora needs out. Aphid Wake needs a home.Frances Cora spends her entire life working. From the moment she wakes to the moment she lays her head down for the night, all in the interest of getting the hell out of the no-name Alaska town she'd wasted so many years in. When Frankie stumbles across a strange girl gorging on raw fish in the back kitchen of Sockeye, though, her plans to get the hell out of dodge are temporarily put on pause.Separated from her pod and without a home or a family- Aphid Wake is forced to make the biggest decision of her life; return to the sea, or find home in the warm house of a small town chef, all while Frankie tries to navigate the idea of moving on with the additional baggage of a whole person.

Aphid Wake

Sheepish, kind, naive, and almost childish in nature, Aphe named herself off of two words that she thought sounded the best from a few magazines in Frankie’s living room.Aphid’s secret is that she’s a selkie-a creature from the ocean abandoned by the rest of her pod-and she’s ended up in Alaska, serving as second-chef to Frances “Frankie” Cora and trying to make a living, one way or another, while determining how to find her family-and if she should ever go back.

Frances "Frankie" Cora

Born, bred, and raised in Alaska, Frankie is a busybody, a workaholic, a chef slowly losing her passion for the art.Frankie dedicates herself wholly and entirely to whatever it is she sets her mind to, which has, for the most part, tanked her social life at the cost of bolstering her ‘get out’ fund.Frankie can almost exclusively be found at Sockeye- the primary restaurant in their small town and a favored of fishermen and the rare tourist- spending almost all of her time working the kitchen to squirrel away enough money to get herself out.