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Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/M

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationships:

Male OC/Taylor HebertMale OC/other female characters

Characters:

male OCTaylor Hebertother character tags to be added eventuallyCrystal Pelham | LaserdreamCarol Dallon | BrandishVictoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares

Additional Tags:

Celestial GrimoireAlternate UniverseAged UpRough SexSmutHarems

Language:

English

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Published:2024-05-02Updated:2026-02-10Words:222,318Chapters:84/?Comments:560Kudos:2,104Bookmarks:605Hits:303,181

The Grimoire's Chosen

CambrianBeckett

Summary:

Summary: A young man in an aged-up AU of Worm finds himself with a power that seems to have almost nothing but potential. The Celestial Grimoire. But not all potential is good. Can he navigate the possible pitfalls of the Grimoire while also navigating the life he finds himself leading after gaining more and more strength? Read on and find out!

One of my current ongoing stories. This story will update every week, usually.

Links to my profiles on other websites can be found in the Notes at the end of the chapters.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Chapter Text

Ding!

Temple & Sanctuary - Domain - 400 Points

In each of the four Realms of New Hyrule lies an ancient temple, built to power the Spirit Tracks and watched over by one of the Lokomo. The Ocean Realm has two, but the fifth temple doesn't generate power. As I was saying, these temples absorb energy from the land, from what little prayer is still directed to the old gods of Hyrule and the Spirits of Good, and from the simple goodwill of those living nearby.

This energy would normally power the Spirit Tracks, but in the absence of that, it instead channels that energy directly into you. Well, not you specifically. A temple isn't a very good house, so you've also been provided with a small refuge from the prying eyes of the world, a Sanctuary of sorts. The energy is channeled there, in part to maintain its defenses, both physical and mystical. So long as you're inside the Sanctuary, you have more or less complete control over the energy flowing from the Temple.

You now have 500 points saved up!

Jason lets out a shuddering sigh, not letting on that anything out of the ordinary is happening at the moment. After all, he's in a public place right now. Specifically, he's behind the counter of his part-time job, working as a barista in the coffee shop closest to his university.

Besides, by this point the… eccentricities of his power are old hat to him. Five days in and Jason is almost used to being thrown random prompts from his power. Of course, this is the first one that seems to be moderately useful. However, there's several major issues with this one.

For one, Jason didn't fucking know what the 'Realms of New Hyrule' even were. He lived in America, in Brockton Bay, and while his home was a shithole of epic proportions, that didn't change the facts. As far as he could tell, there was no such thing as Hyrule. And that meant there probably wouldn't be much praying directed to the old gods of Hyrule and 'the Spirits of Good'… to say nothing of there not being much simple good will in most Brocktonites anyways.

On top of that, while the idea of being able to stop paying rent on his apartment and instead move into a hidden 'Sanctuary' was appealing to him, it said nothing about the Temple that came along with the Sanctuary being hidden too. Jason could just picture it, him paying four hundred points for this power, only for the Temple to sprout up around him, utterly annihilating the coffee shop and half of the city block. Or even if it wasn't that unintuitive, it would probably still show up nearby, likely on the city outskirts… and attract the attention of the authorities in a heartbeat.

No. While Jason might have the points for it, he doesn't actually want to spend practically all of his saved up points on Temple & Sanctuary. Luckily, he doesn't have to.

Pass.

Just the thought causes the prompt to disappear. From what he understands of his powers, of this 'Celestial Grimoire', he might pull it again one day, but for now, he's passed on the opportunity and will have to wait for another power to come up. It's funny, he'd been so excited when he first realized he was a parahuman.

Well no, first he'd been freaked out. But once he realized he wasn't going crazy and he had actual powers, he was definitely a little excited. Especially because his power reminded him a little bit of Eidolon, the most powerful hero in the world. Eidolon's powers allowed him to have any three powers at any time. In comparison, Jason's powers apparently allowed him to save up points and then every day or so, offer him something he could buy with those points.

As far as he could tell, those powers, once he bought them, should be permanent… and while he didn't know if there was an upper limit to how many powers he could buy, it certainly seemed like it had the potential to get out of hand in a good way. Unfortunately, he'd quickly realized that it had the potential to get out of hand in a bad way as well. Not to mention, his powers were a lot more unwieldy then Eidolon's were, on account of him having to pay for them for some ungodly reason.

His first few offers had either been way too expensive or came with detrimental side effects like Temple & Sanctuary. Seeing how Jason only got a hundred new points with each 'pull' of his power, he had to admit that he was playing things safe and being as conservative as possible… but at the same time, he figured he had to get something usable soon enough, right?

"… Hey Taylor."

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if you had superpowers?"

He doesn't look up from the drink he's currently making as he questions his coworker, Taylor Hebert. Technically, she's both his subordinate and a colleague. Younger than him by a couple years, a brand new Freshman at the University, she doesn't have quite the seniority he does. But at the same time, it's not like Jason is a manager or anything in this shithole of a coffee shop. No, he's just 'Senior Barista on Duty', which as can probably be guessed, comes with all of the work of being a manager, but none of the benefits or increased pay. Yay.

Taylor is quiet for a time after his question, but Jason doesn't worry too much about it. The young woman is quiet by her very nature, and also rather thoughtful from what Jason has observed so far. She's probably just giving his question its due diligence really. And indeed, after a moment…

"… I'd use them to help people."

Jason smiles slightly. It sounds like a canned response, but he knows better. Taylor is being sincere right now.

"Oh? What if your powers weren't very good for helping people? Or what if they were particularly unwieldy?"

Another comfortable silence between them as they continue working. Jason doesn't get impatient. They've both got a few more hours left in their shifts after all, so they have all the time in the world. Finally, Taylor speaks up again.

"Doesn't matter. I'd find a way. There are too many villains in the world. Too many bad guys. The world… the world needs more heroes. So I'd find a way."

As she repeats herself, Jason just nods, humming.

"What about being a rogue, maybe? Not committing crimes, not fighting crime… just using your powers for your own ends to make some money? You and I both know you could use it… so could I."

This time around, Taylor doesn't hesitate very long at all. Even though Jason knows he's right, even though he knows she still lives at home with her dad and that the whole reason she's working this job is to help her old man make ends meet. She doesn't even need to think about it.

"That would be selfish. Selfishness is what got us to where we are now in the first place."

Jason just chuckles, lifting his head up at long last as he sets the latest finished drinks in the 'out window' with the names scrawled on them facing outward. As a result, he sees their newest customer approaching the front door before Taylor does, his words to his coworker dying on his lips as he instead changes tact immediately.

"Swap."

Taylor doesn't question it. He might not be a manager, but as 'Senior Barista', he was still in charge of the shop during their shifts. He could have left her to do everything up front while he pretended to work in the back, but Jason liked hanging out with people, and he actually didn't mind sharing the load with Taylor. She was a good sort. That's why, when he sees a familiar red head approaching the door, he calls for Taylor and him to switch places.

As Taylor moves over to the workstation, Jason moves to the cash register… just in time for Emma Barnes to finish her approach. She has a sweet smile on her admittedly beautiful face, though the way her eyes dart to Taylor makes it clear she's upset that she won't get to address the young woman directly. In fact, Jason's quick thinking doesn't stop her from doing so, at least a little bit.

"Hey Taylor! Fancy seeing you here today!"

Emma's voice is disgustingly sweet, Jason notes. It's crazy how good the beautiful red head is at sounding both well-intentioned and poisonous at the same time. Truthfully, he doesn't know everything that there is between Emma and Taylor. All he really knows is that the first girl has it in for the second, and if they were any younger, Emma would be Taylor's bully through and through. As it is, she's just Taylor's chief tormentor, showing up like clockwork on most of the young woman's shifts in order to be a royal pain in the ass.

Unfortunately, there's nothing that either he or Taylor can do about it. Neither of them can really afford to lose this job at the end of the day. And he doesn't have the authority to ban Emma from the shop. Senior Baristas don't have that right, go figure.

However, there are ways he can alleviate the issue at least a little bit. Before Taylor feels forced to answer Emma, Jason speaks up, a broad smile on his face and his voice as loud and chipper as ever.

"Hi there, welcome to The Bean Shop! May I take your order?"

Emma barely spares him a glance.

"The usual, please."

Even her 'please' manages to sound less polite and more insanely contempt-filled and dismissive. But Jason isn't going to let her have this one.

"Sorry, my memory is pretty bad. Please remind me what your usual is?"

Now Emma is forced to give him her full attention. From what he knows about her, the red head is a model. Went straight from high school into being on the front covers of magazines. No university for her. Clearly, she's a bit of a spoiled brat and used to getting her way.

"Oh, sure."

Then, without hesitation, the red head immediately begins listing out the most ridiculous, overly complicated drink that one could ever imagine. Jason doesn't hesitate to punch it in though, every single request Emma makes is something that's allowed in the computer program that the shop runs on, so it's not even hard. That doesn't mean the drink itself won't be stupidly difficult to actually create by hand, however.

Just as Taylor is grabbing a cup and preparing to try to do so though, Jason clears his throat, letting his voice get a little gruff.

"Taylor, I need you in the back to put that latest shipment in the freezer."

Taylor pauses, but before she can unthinkingly question him, Jason all but barks at her.

"Now, Taylor."

"U-Uh… y-yes sir."

With that, the tall, willowy coed hurries into the back of the shop, leaving a flummoxed Emma to stare after her, her mouth slightly ajar in surprise. Until Jason finally speaks up, smiling slightly.

"Sorry, good help is so hard to find these days, you know? You can tap, swipe, or insert your card whenever, ma'am."

Looking back at him, it's clear that the red head doesn't know whether to be angry with him or happy with him. Finally, she smiles sweetly and presses her credit card against the scanner until it beeps, signifying that the payment has gone through.

"Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I actually knew Taylor in high school if you'll believe it… she was always such a slacker back then. Still incredible to me that she's going to university! Really, they'll accept anyone these days! You know-!"

As Jason prepares Emma Barnes' insanely complex, ridiculously complicated drink, the red head drones on and on about Taylor, badmouthing the other woman now that she's no longer there. It would seem Emma had decided Jason is an ally in her torment of Taylor at this point, rather than an obstacle. If only she knew.

Regardless, he largely tunes out the young woman, barely listening to the increasingly outlandish things she's trying to lay at poor Taylor's feet. Finally though, just as Emma is winding down from one story and trying to gather steam for the next, he places her drink in front of her with a big smile on his face.

"All done, ma'am. Here you go."

"I- oh! Well… thank you."

Her hesitation makes it obvious that she was definitely planning to say there was something wrong with the drink originally, back when she thought Taylor would be making it. But now… well, she just takes it from him, gives him a flirtatious wink and grin, and turns to begin heading out. Jason wonders if she really thinks he doesn't notice her throwing the drink in the trashcan just outside once she leaves, but in the end he supposes it doesn't matter. Crisis averted for now.

He-

Ding!

Flash Air - Domain - 400 Points

Flash Air is a displacement Magecraft that substitutes one thing for another. It can be used to change the makeup of a building displacing doors and windows to different locations. By displacing a portion of space it can also create portals that lead from one spot to another, this can be used to shift projectiles to a different trajectory or to cause an opponent's attacks to hit themselves for example.

You now have 600 points saved up!

What? That was… way too fast. His power had just gone from once a day to twice in under an hour. What the hell was going on? More than that, Jason reads the description of this 'Flash Air'… and then reads it again. And again. For a long moment, he just stands there, frozen in place. Fortunately, it's a slow time of day and nobody else comes up to the counter while he's having his out of body experience.

Flash Air… seemed ridiculously overpowered. It was expensive too, but his bearish attitude towards his power was apparently paying off, because he had enough to buy it. And better still, it didn't seem to have any obvious detrimental effects like making a whole-ass temple that would cause the relevant authorities to come down on his head and investigate.

Jason finds himself thinking back to his short conversation with Taylor about powers and what to do with them. And… he smiles as he finally purchases his first power.

Keep.

Flash Air Purchased! 200 Points Remain!

Immediately, knowledge of 'Flash Air' enters his mind. He knows what he can do with it on a purely intuitive level… and he also knows what others far better than him were able to do with it in the past. Jason's eyes widen a little at some of the things they managed to accomplish… as well as the implication that there were other wielders of this power before him to begin with.

As far as he knew, parahuman powers weren't supposed to work like that. They weren't supposed to be passed down. But then, at the same time, the Celestial Grimoire was entirely unlike almost any power he'd ever heard of before.

Smiling slightly, Jason looks down at the counter, hidden behind the large industrial coffee machine. He pulls two cups down from the stacks of plastic cups off to the side, each of different sizes. And then… he uses Flash Air to swap their locations. It's a very minor application of his power. He knows that beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he can do so much more with this. But a small giggle leaves Jason's throat all the same.

He had power. Real power.

Of course, he also still had a real job to take care of. Someone comes up to the counter and Jason has to focus back on the mundanity of his day to day existence, even as applications for Flash Air fill his every spare thought.

The hours both drag on and fly by from there, with Taylor eventually coming back up front to help him. But they don't exchange another word with each other, Jason too lost in his own thoughts and Taylor too naturally quiet to engage him herself.

Or at least, that's what he assumes because after night has fallen and they close up the shop, Taylor does actually speak up while they're finishing things up in the back.

"… Thanks. For earlier."

Jason lets out a startled little laugh.

"Oh, don't mention it. Hate entitled, spoilt bitches like that. Consider it my civic duty, real-mmph!"

Mid-sentence, he finds himself going wide-eyed as Taylor suddenly seizes him by the front of his shirt and pulls him into a kiss. It's not a very experienced kiss… but it is a kiss, nonetheless. It also lasts for quite a while, a good twenty seconds of awkward lip smacking and tongue entanglement. When Taylor finally pulls back, her face is flushed and her eyes are wide, as if she can hardly believe what she's just done. Jason, meanwhile, is wondering what HE should do in response…

-x-X-x-

A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.

Jason's current banked points: 200 Celestial Points

Jason's current powers:

- Flash Air (Gained in Chapter 1)

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Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Comments Share Download

Work Header

Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/M

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationships:

Male OC/Taylor HebertMale OC/other female characters

Characters:

male OCTaylor Hebertother character tags to be added eventuallyCrystal Pelham | LaserdreamCarol Dallon | BrandishVictoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares

Additional Tags:

Celestial GrimoireAlternate UniverseAged UpRough SexSmutHarems

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2024-05-02Updated:2026-02-10Words:222,318Chapters:84/?Comments:560Kudos:2,104Bookmarks:605Hits:303,185

The Grimoire's Chosen

CambrianBeckett

Chapter 2: Taylor Hebert

Chapter Text

A/N: Jason and Taylor have a talk and things escalate and deescalate. This is fine.

-x-X-x-

Jason was a young man in his early twenties with a healthy libido. And Taylor, while not conventionally beautiful, definitely wasn't ugly by any stretch of the imagination. Suffice to say, under normal circumstances he probably would have just gone for it, kissing her back and letting things progress however they were bound to progress.

Indeed, before he'd suddenly gotten powers, Jason definitely wouldn't have turned down a pretty young woman coming onto him this strong. However… the fact that, he had a lot on his mind right now. Not just work, not just school, not just Taylor's problem with that Emma chick… but literal superpowers.

And he'd just purchased his first real power to boot. Flash Air… from the sound of things, it was an incredibly impressive power. Just from the instinctive understanding that came along with it, Jason couldn't wait to begin playing around with the power. Unfortunately, before he could do that, he needed to figure out what was going on with Taylor.

"Uh… not that I'm complaining Taylor, but where did that come from?"

The tall young woman bites her lower lip for a moment and almost seems to shut down in real time right before his eyes. He'd gone out of his way to make it clear he wasn't upset, but that didn't stop her from taking his words in the worst possible way it would seem.

"S-Sorry. I shouldn't have… I know I'm not particularly good looking, I promise I won't-!"

Stepping forward, Jason grabs Taylor by the shoulders. They're both plenty tall, but where Taylor is abnormally tall for a woman, he's just about average for a man. So they even out pretty well.

"Hey. Don't talk shit about yourself like that. Based on what nonsense that red head out front was spewing, you get enough of that from skanks like her."

Taylor flinches and Jason wonders if maybe he should have kept that to himself. He tries for a crooked grin.

"It's alright. Like I said before, I hate entitled, spoilt bitches like her. Frankly, her personality is so rotten that she'd have to throw herself at my feet and beg before I'd so much as spit on her. Everything she said, whether it was about you or not, went in one ear and out the other."

Taylor hesitantly nods, though she still looks rather uncertain and downtrodden. The only thing that causes a flicker of amusement in her eyes is when he mentions spitting on her tormentor. Not surprising, all things considered.

Suddenly though, she seems to find her resolve, going from uncertain to determined in the blink of an eye.

"S-Still… I want to thank you… properly. I-Is that alright?"

Jason tilts his head to the side. He doesn't want to reject her, especially when that would damage her already destroyed self-esteem even further. At the same time though…

"You already have thanked me, Taylor. You don't need to-!"

"Please… I want to…"

Wordlessly, Jason watches as she slowly sinks to her knees. The tall, dark-haired girl looks up at him with wide eyes, as if making sure he hasn't suddenly decided to hate her in the last few seconds. Then, she reaches up with trembling fingers and begins the process of unbuttoning and unzipping his pants.

He should probably stop this. The only problem is, he doesn't know how to stop it without hurting Taylor. Or maybe that's just an excuse. Maybe the truth of the matter is that Jason wants to see where she takes this.

Her hands are neither deft nor experienced as she reaches into his boxers and pulls out his cock. Doesn't stop her from stroking him up and down his length though, biting her lower lip as she studies his hardening member in a mixture of trepidation and determination. She's resolved to do this, that much is obvious. And for all that Taylor has clearly had a hard time of it, when she decides to do something, it seems she sees it through.

Still, Jason is caught off guard when Taylor suddenly leans forward and takes him in her mouth. A handjob was one thing… a blowjob was another entirely.

"Fuck, Taylor…"

Even he can't quite describe his voice as those words escape his lips. But Taylor must not hear anything objectionable in his tone, because she quietly nurses on the first inch or so of his cock, sucking on just the tip of his dick for a few moments as her hands continue to slide up and down the rest of his member.

Looking down into those big dark eyes of hers, Jason lets out a shuddering breath… and reaches out to rest a hand on her hair. She startles briefly at the touch, but he's not gripping down or anything like that, more just looping his fingers through some of her locks.

"You're not ugly, Taylor. No matter what anyone says, they're lying. You've got plenty of great features… and I'd be lying myself if I said I hadn't noticed them."

Taylor's cheeks blaze with a burning blush as he speaks, and she looks briefly like she wants to run away rather than listen to his compliments. Alas, she can't escape now. Her mouth suckling at his dick, her hands around his cock… if she ran away now, she'd be insulting him more than anything. Basically, she's his captive audience right now, albeit a captivity of her own making, one of the mind.

"Your hair, for instance, is absolutely gorgeous. Such beautiful dark, lush locks. It frames your face well. And sure, you have freckles. Who cares? Freckles are cute and in some cases even hot."

Taylor shudders, and her hands drop to his legs as she begins to take him deeper into her mouth, sliding further down his cock. He's not sure whether that's because she's trying to distract herself AND him from his words, or whether she's enjoying being complimented. Either way, Jason continues on, still not holding back even a little bit.

"And your legs… your legs are to die for. Long and beautiful. I'm sure you had a few years as a teenager where you were lanky and awkward, like a newborn deer. But those days are behind you Taylor, no matter what anyone might say. I've seen you working alongside me since you started here. You move so gracefully it's not even funny."

That seems to be her limit. The barrage of compliments finally proves to be too much as Taylor abruptly pulls off of his cock with a gasp.

"S-Stop… please, s-stop."

Jason frowns slightly, even as Taylor averts her eyes from his, barely able to look at him while her hands return to stroking his member. After a moment of silence, she lets out a shuddering breath.

"Y-You don't… you don't have to make me feel better about any of that s-stuff. I know that Emma is a bitch. I know not to trust anything that comes out of her mouth. And… and I know I outgrew my ugly duckling phase a while ago."

That was nice to hear, but it sort of ran counter to what Taylor had said earlier. She'd said 'I know I'm not particularly good looking' like it was a fact. Like it was indisputable. Letting out a sigh, Jason shakes his head.

"But knowing it and believing it are two different things, aren't they Taylor? You might know that everything that red head says isn't true, but it's another thing entirely to avoid internalizing it when she never actually stops. Isn't it?"

Jason might not have known Taylor and Emma's complete history. He'd only met Taylor herself a few months ago after all. But he'd had his own experiences with bullying. He had first hand experience with what he was saying right now. And as Taylor stares up at him with wide eyes, he knows she realizes that fact.

Coming to a sudden decision, Jason reaches down, grabs Taylor by the shoulders, and lifts her back up to her feet. She squeaks a little as he does so, her hands still wrapped around his dick.

"W-Wait… I w-wasn't done…"

Letting out a sigh, Jason shakes his head. He could hardly believe he was doing this. And yet…

"Taylor, you don't actually want to suck my cock. You just want a friend."

Taylor freezes like a deer caught in headlights at being called out so bluntly. Jason just smiles in order to lessen the blow.

"Consider us friends, Taylor. No strings attached; no extra benefits needed. Now if you WANT to fuck some time, I'd be down because as I previously mentioned, you're pretty hot regardless of what you think of yourself. But only if you want to fuck, not because you think you need to keep me interested."

Slowly, Taylor comes out of her freeze, seeming to mull over his words for a long moment before finally nodding. At the same time though, that determination blazes back to life in her eyes, even as she looks down at his throbbing cock in her hands.

"A-Alright… but I'm going to finish you off with my hands. Friends don't give friends blue balls."

Jason laughed at that, even as Taylor went back to jerking him with her hands. He grunts at her admittedly poor technique and after a moment breaks his silence.

"Less yanking, more tugging and stroking, Taylor. No need to try and tear my dick off or anything…"

She blushes but seems to assimilate the lesson eagerly, almost like a sponge in the way she was willing to take his advice and learn from him in the short time that followed. Soon enough though, Jason was nearing the edge.

"Getting close now, Taylor…"

Reaching over, Taylor grabs a nearby towel and brings it up, even as she continues stroking his cock with her other hand. With a low groan, Jason proceeds to ejaculate into the towel as Taylor watches, her face bright red. If he was less of a gentleman, he could have had that bright red face covered in his cum right now. Or maybe those angular cheeks of hers chipmunked outwards from his seed filling her mouth.

But no. Jason mentally pushes away such thoughts. He wasn't the kind of guy who took advantage of girls like that. Especially not hurt young women like Taylor, who really did just need a friend in this cruel, heartless world. Though he had to admit, getting jacked off into a towel was definitely the weirdest way he'd ever started a friendship.

Taylor moves away, washing the towel off in the sink while Jason tucks his cock back into his boxers and fixes up his pants. After they're both done with their respective tasks, she gives him a brief smile and a nod before heading out. Left all alone, Jason lets out an explosive breath… only to jolt a moment later.

Ding!

Psychic Abilities - Astral Projection (Four Dots) – Transformation – 100 Points

In the World of Darkness, psychic abilities and mythic sorcery are, at first glance, completely different. However, both manipulate the same powers, albeit in very different ways, and are both considered forms of linear magic. While a sorcerer utilizes numerous tools and ceremonies to harness supernatural powers, a psychic makes do with lots, and lots, of willpower. Furthermore, the majority of psychic powers are innate, and can be improved, but not gained, without outside interference, in stark contrast to sorcery.

Splitting one's spirit from their body, becoming a living ghost. In this state, they cannot affect the material world, except through the use of their psychic powers. They may also perceive other astral projections, but other forms of spirits appear hazy and indistinct, except to those with other spiritual senses. While outside their physical form, the psychic loses all awareness of it, leaving it vulnerable to attack. Should the body die without its spirit, a ghost will almost certainly result. Unfortunately, this will still count as a death for the purposes of this jump. Fortunately, short of outside intervention, the psychic may return to their body at will, regardless of distance.

[4] The astral form of the psychic may travel 1,000 miles from its body and remain outside for up to five hours. With effort, they may also manifest visibly for mundane observers as a silent and translucent, ghostly apparition.

(CG Note: Requires Psychic Abilities - Astral Projection (Three Dots) - World of Darkness: Sorcerer first.)

You now have 300 points saved up!

… What the fuck? Jason's eyes widen, not just because of how his power seems to be escalating in frequency, but also from the first words he reads in this latest pull. Initially, he's over the moon. But then he keeps reading and begins to properly understand what he's looking at. It's not actual psychic abilities… or at least, it's not ALL psychic abilities. Instead, it's specifically Astral Projection. Worse than that, it's apparently a higher rank of Astral Projection that he needs the previous ranks to actually be able to use.

Jason doesn't really understand this Four Dot and Three Dot bullshit. Does that mean there's a Two Dot and a One Dot that he has to pick up before he can pick up Three Dot as well? It seemed rather likely, to be honest. Maybe there was a world in which he could bank the Four Dot version and one day be able to use it after purchasing the Three Dot version and whatever versions came before it, but admittedly, Jason wasn't convinced.

Shaking his head, he ultimately decides it's just not worth it. Especially not when there are things like Flash Air that he can purchase for four hundred points just waiting for him in the wings. If he starts spending a hundred points on powers he might literally never get to use, then he won't ever have the points free to buy the things that will actually make him powerful.

Pass.

Sighing as he feels the power fade away, Jason shakes his head and presses his lips together in a thin line. With Taylor already gone, he finishes his own duties as 'Senior Barista' and then locks up the coffee shop before heading out onto the streets of Brockton Bay. Fortunately, since their business is less of a nighttime establishment and more of a morning to afternoon, the sun has just set in the last hour and while it is dark out, it's not too late.

Even with how dangerous Brockton Bay is, he should be able to get back to his apartment along his usual route without any issues.

… However, there was also Flash Air to consider. The power, from what Jason understood, allowed him to do all sorts of things. It allowed him to teleport objects for instance, but not outright teleport living beings. However, he didn't need to be able to teleport living things… because he could instead open portals by swapping the air itself from one location to the next.

His limits meant that he couldn't swap the air between his apartment and right in front of him, unfortunately… but he COULD swap the air from here to that nearby rooftop and then travel from roof to roof all the way home with relatively rapid speed.

Or he could head to the Boat Graveyard instead and really put his power through its paces. Just a stray thought, but one that sticks as Jason groans and rubs the bridge of his nose. He had a full day tomorrow… just as full as today and the day before it had been. And just as full as the next day and the day after would be.

The life of a university student didn't leave much room for anything… extracurricular. But on the other hand, his powers were the most interesting thing in his life right now. Could he really bring himself to ignore them for something as mundane as keeping his schooling and work on track?

-x-X-x-

A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, will turn it into its own post and link back to it later.

Jason's current banked points:

300 Celestial Points

Jason's current powers:

- Flash Air (Gained in Chapter 1)

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Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/M

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationships:

Male OC/Taylor HebertMale OC/other female characters

Characters:

male OCTaylor Hebertother character tags to be added eventuallyCrystal Pelham | LaserdreamCarol Dallon | BrandishVictoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares

Additional Tags:

Celestial GrimoireAlternate UniverseAged UpRough SexSmutHarems

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2024-05-02Updated:2026-02-10Words:222,318Chapters:84/?Comments:560Kudos:2,104Bookmarks:605Hits:303,185

The Grimoire's Chosen

CambrianBeckett

Chapter 3: Day Job

Chapter Text

A/N: Just because Jason gets home safe doesn't mean he's gonna get a good night's rest...

-x-X-x-

No… no, he knew better. Of course he knew better. Jason shakes his head, dispelling his own idiotic thoughts. Go to the Boat Graveyard to practice his powers? Yeah, him and ever other new cape who had ever fucking triggered while living in Brockton Bay. Everyone had heard the stories. Hell, it felt like they couldn't go more than a handful of months without there being some news report about a new trigger getting caught by the PRT destroying things with their powers out in the Boat Graveyard.

And those were the lucky ones, really.

It was sort of a rite of passage… if rites of passage had a tendency to get you fucking conscripted or killed by the cops or the gangs. Because yeah, if you were a new trigger, you tended to try and find a place to experiment. But also, you were liable to be caught by one of the movers and shakers in the city.

If you were really lucky, you'd be picked up by the Protectorate and the PRT, the two organizations in charge of trying to police parahuman crime and keep the peace in the city. Key word there being try. Most of Brockton's new triggers who were caught by the PRT wound up being transferred to somewhere else in the United States.

On the other hand, if you weren't very lucky, you could wind up being scouted by one of Brockton Bay's shit-tier gangs instead. And considering your choices were between the White Racists, the Asian Racists, and the Druggies, it was a crapshoot either way. If the Empire or the ABB found you and you weren't either white or Asian, you were usually fucked. If the Merchants found you, you were just plain fucked. Oh sure they might not kill you, but they'd do worse than that for sure.

Not many were fully aware of it, but Jason remembered a blonde tinker who'd named herself Gearshift posting a couple times on the PHO forums about her vehicle work a couple years back. She'd been a little shy, but also more than willing to throw profanity laced tirades at anyone who so much as questioned any of her work.

Gearshift had never shown her face or even appeared in public, but Jason wasn't an idiot and he suspected the Powers That Be probably made the same connection he was able to make when Gearshift suddenly stopped posting pictures of her tinkering around the same time that Skidmark got a new vehicle tinker in the form of his druggie girlfriend 'Squealer'.

So yeah, the Boat Graveyard was a death sentence, as much as Jason really, really wanted to go. And frankly, roof hopping without a proper costume and without some training in using Flash Air was just as bad.

As frustrating as it was, Jason had no other choice… he had to go home the normal way. With the coffee shop locked up nice and tight behind him, he tucks his hands into his pockets, keeps his head down, and follows his usual route through the city to start heading back to his apartment. With the sun not fully set yet, he doesn't need to really worry too much. The route he's taking is firmly within the territory of the Asian Bad Boyz but isn't actually populated with mostly Asian people. This means that not only do the ABB barely patrol it, but the Empire isn't likely to invade it to try and make a statement by committing hate crimes against its residents.

Basically, the only time Jason and his neighbors would need to worry about the gangs is if something happened to weaken the ABB. Because they were prime real estate if the E88 decided that they wanted to carve off some more permanent territory from their rival gang. However, doing that would only piss Lung off, which was probably why it practically never happened.

And today wasn't the day that changed either. Taking the safe route home, Jason makes it back to his apartment with plenty of time to spare, letting out a long exhale once he has the door closed and locked behind him. Leaning back against it for a moment, he lets his head droop as he considers the day. Not only the strange increase in power offers, but also the whole interaction with Taylor.

Did he really just make a friends with benefits relationship with his coworker? Yes, yes he did. Did he really just pass on a blowjob and only avoid getting blue balled because Taylor insisted on jacking him off to completion? Yes, yes he had.

"Fuck… I'm a self-sacrificing idiot, aren't I?

Yes. Yes he was.

Still, even with all of that… a small grin spreads across Jason's face as he glances over to the refrigerator. A moment later and there's a square space where the refrigerator door is supposed to be, a window opened into the refrigerator itself thanks to his power. On top of that… Jason reaches out and twists, managing to open up a second space in the fridge, replacing a small square on one of the shelves with air and…

As a chilled soda can drops into his waiting palm, Jason crows a little in delight. He had an actual power now! Not just some sort of lottery system that slowly fed him points and threw random shit at him until something stuck, but an actual honest to god power! Flash Air was definitely one of the more versatile things he'd heard of parahumans being able to do too.

… Though to be fair, his true power, the aforementioned lottery and points system… that was probably THE most versatile thing Jason had ever heard of. Even as he pops the tab on the soda can and takes a long drink, moving through his apartment to drop onto his couch, he can't help but reflect on what he knew so far.

The shit that had been offered to him over the past few days since he'd triggered was… well, it was all very diverse. Some of it was useless, to put it bluntly. And some of it was out of this world and insane. Some of it was stuff he would have liked to have if he had other powers backing them up, and some of it was stuff that was just too expensive for his savings at the time.

All of it painted a disturbing picture though and raised some interesting questions. How many powers could he buy? If he bought too many, would he eventually lose the first ones he purchased or be forced to pick and choose? So far, Jason hadn't seen any sign of any of that… but to be fair, he only had one power at this point in time.

Brow furrowing, Jason uses Flash Air to swap some things in his apartment back and forth. Just because he didn't go to the Boat Graveyard or use his power to go roof hopping didn't mean he wasn't going to practice, after all. Just meant he couldn't do any big scale experiments. Not if he didn't want to destroy his apartment.

Though, Flash Air was pretty good about putting things back where it found them. His refrigerator was completely whole once he let go of those two uses of his power to get himself a soda. And even as he bounces things back and forth all across his apartment, everything is mostly fine.

With Flash Air alone, Jason thinks he could maybe be a hero. And… he thinks he wants that, after the conversation he had with Taylor. He's not sure though, just yet. His life is already pretty full at the moment. There's a lot on his plate. Trying to go out as a hero might be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Only… what about when he got more than just Flash Air? How could he justify not using his powers to help people once he was as strong as say… Eidolon?

Yeah, okay. So maybe that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Eidolon was one of the strongest heroes in the world, only behind Scion. The Golden Man, as Scion was knowing, was said to have every power ever. But Eidolon could have any three powers he wanted at any time. They were both so strong that it was a little silly for Jason to ever think he could match them in power.

And yet… eyes flitting around his apartment as he continues to practice swapping items with Flash Air, Jason allows himself to dream… just a little bit.

-x-X-x-

"Jason! Where have you been?"

"S-Sorry… I stayed up too late. Passed out on my couch. Wound up missing my first two alarms."

"Just… prepare yourself. My Aunt is furious."

Jason blanches and hurries to sit down next to his fellow TA at the side table. While he had his own classes he was attending at Brockton Bay University, Jason was also far enough along at this point to start working as a TA for one of the Professors. It made for excellent extra credit… when it wasn't driving him mad with the additional workload anyways.

There was one bright, shining spot in the madness though. He wasn't this Professor's only Teacher's Aid. There was also Crystal… specifically Crystal Pelham. She was a year further in her studies than he was, and basically had one foot out the door already. However, back when Jason was a Freshman, Crystal had been his tutor for a class and they'd been friendly acquaintances ever since.

She'd been the reason he got this TA position in the first place after all, though whether he was supposed to thank her or curse her for that, Jason didn't really know sometimes. Especially since-

"Mr. Allen. You're late."

Jason winces as Crystal Pelham's aunt, Carol Dallon, glares him down, her arms crossed over her chest. He plasters the strongest smile he can on his face and bows his head in apology.

"Sorry Professor Dallon! I swear it won't happen again!"

For a second, he thinks she might respond with something like 'no it will not, because you're through as my TA, get out of my sight'. And maybe if it wasn't for Crystal, that's exactly what would have happened. Especially since Jason catches Crystal giving her aunt a pleading look out of the corner of his eye, one that seems to save him, at least in the moment.

"… See that it doesn't, Mr. Allen. If you truly want that internship with my firm when this year is up, you're going to have to prove it to me. Tardiness is the exact opposite of what I should be seeing from you."

… Fuck him. Even as the domineering, short-haired older woman turns on her heel and walks away, Jason is left letting out an explosive breath. Crystal reaches over and gives him a reassuring shoulder squeeze, prompting him to give her a weak smile of thanks.

Truthfully, he'd been working incredibly hard all year to try to earn that internship that Carol had been dangling in front of his face. Crystal had told him all about the situation when she'd gotten him this opportunity in the first place. Basically, her aunt was taking something of a forces sabbatical from not just being a lawyer, but also from active hero work.

Oh yeah, both Crystal and Carol were actually heroes. Independent Heroes, and maskless ones at that. Ninety percent of all heroes and villains were masked up and had secret identities and everything… but not New Wave, the Hero Group made up of the Pelham and Dallon Families. Their voluntary unmasking had taken place back before Crystal had ever even gotten powers, and had something to do with accountability if Jason was remembering correctly.

Regardless, while Carol Dallon was technically the heroine Brandish and Crystal Pelham was technically the heroine Laserdream… they were both on a heroic hiatus right now. Crystal was focusing on finishing up her studies and had hung up the Laserdream identity until she had her degree. And Carol… well, Carol had not taken the death of her husband Mark Dallon well. Hence teaching as a Guest Professor at Brockton Bay University for a year, rather than her normal vocation as a lawyer by day and a heroine by night.

Unfortunately for Jason, nothing he did was ever good enough for Carol. As hard as he worked, as much as he struggled… it was like the short-haired woman had it out for him in particular. He knew that was nonsense of course, Crystal herself had said that Carol was just like that with everyone, and he'd seen how she interacted with her students as well. Put bluntly, Carol Dallon was just a hardass.

… But when she held his entire future in her hands, the fact that she was 'just like that with everyone' didn't exactly make Jason feel better. He was beginning to feel like nothing he did could make Carol happy. And if he couldn't make Carol happy, what sort of future did he have after University?

Though, now that he had powers-

Ding!

Dust Refinery – Magitek – 100 Points

Able to infuse Dust with new life, the Refinery is the staple of Dust Enchantment. While Dust infused iron is common, it pales compared to the Dust enchantments this refinery allows. Allows for the crafting of Foci and magic rings, talismans, insignias, and tomes.

You now have 400 points saved up!

Speak of the devil. Jason tries not to stiffen too much as he suddenly gets another alert from his powers. To be fair, it's not the first time that he's been offered something while at school. Not even the first time he's been offered something in front of Crystal. He was a lot less subtle the actual first time, and convincing Crystal that he was fine had taken some doing.

This time though, he's able to keep his cool. Reading through this lates offering, he finds himself at a bit of a loss though. What was Dust in the first place? Why was a Dust Refinery so cheap?

… How big was a Dust Refinery? Fuck. He couldn't take this power here. It was a building, wasn't it? So even though it sounded cool…

Pass.

He tries not to let it get to him. Another roll he can't take. But hey, he has Flash Air now! And four hundred points saved up as well. One of these days, he'll get something else useful. And until then, he hasn't even been able to deploy Flash Air in action just yet. So… so it's fine.

"Hey. You okay, Jason?"

Apparently it wasn't fine if Crystal could tell he was feeling downtrodden. Offering her a stronger smile than before, Jason nods.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine Crystal. Just gotta get to work, yeah?"

Indeed, they both had plenty of TA work to do for Carol, and he needed to get as much done before his actual classes came along or else it would just pile up more and more and Carol would consider him all the more worthless for it. Before Jason can really dig in however…

"Sure, yeah. Uh, before that though, I was just wondering… if maybe you wanted to go and get coffee later?"

… Wait, what? Was Crystal Pelham asking him out… on a date? Maybe… maybe he was reading into things too much. There could be plenty of reasons for why she was offering to go out for coffee. Maybe school-related reasons. Or maybe her aunt had decided he was never getting that internship and had conscripted Crystal to let him down gently.

'Gently' and 'Carol Dallon' didn't exactly go hand in hand, so it probably wasn't that last one. Fuck, he hoped it wasn't that last one. Still… Jason finds himself at a loss for words as he tries to figure out how to respond.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.

Jason's current banked points:

400 Celestial Points

Jason's current powers:

- Flash Air (Gained in Chapter 1)

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Chapter 825 - the grimoire's chosen 1 - 3