Zephyr was grateful that the hacker was able to do what was needed.  And she was assured that he'd stay on the job.  She wasn't sure where Jaxen would take the information.  Go for the fortune or allow his brother to be pinned for his antics.

But she also knew that Jaxen wasn't about to give up his freedoms.  The night she'd told Jaxen she'd be back, she donned the little slinky red dress with nothing underneath and a brown trench coat. She went to Jaxen's apartment building and coaxed the door man to let her up.  It hadn't taken much to convince him.  It had helped it was the same man that had been on duty the night she went up with him.  And sex was all her game right now.  

And it wouldn't have been hard to just break in with some other lie.  But this was more fun.

And she knew Jaxen wasn't home as she unlocked the door with a quick twist of her lockpick set and was inside.  There was one thing she had to do before he got home to alleviate her problem and give Jaxen that false security he'd not be giving her a child.  The best of both worlds -- hopefully.

Ezvin waited in the lobby of the stylish Radiance Hotel. Tonight, it was the epicenter of the city's artistic scene, hosting the launch party for a new album by one of the CCD’s up and coming – a project that Ezvin had poured his heart into as a producer.

Dressed in a sharp ensemble that struck the perfect balance between elegant and artistic flair, Ezvin's attention occasionally swept over the entrance. He was waiting for Jensen, feeling a mix of excitement and a slight nervous anticipation. The party, set in one of the hotel’s event spaces, promised to be a vibrant affair, teeming with artists, musicians, and various creatives from the industry. For Ezvin, such events were familiar territory, but tonight felt different with the anticipation of such an intriguing date.

The lobby around him buzzed with activity. Guests arrived in groups, laughter and conversation flowing freely. Others filed into the Radiance’s lounge bar, teeming with life already.

Ezvin checked his Wallet casually, ensuring he hadn’t missed a message from Jensen.

Days passed and Jensen didn’t see Kaleb at all. When he finally worked the nerve to inquire why, he was informed that the Agent had been reassigned. They wouldn’t tell Jensen where nor how long he would be gone, and no amount of internet searching revealed anything of Kaleb’s fate. The guilt tore him up.

A great deal of time had lapsed since Jensen last took to his knees. Not since those last prayers with the Carpenters, and while he was sincere in his desire for Cayli’s safety, hope was never quite restored and he felt like a fraud. Yet despite the trepidation, Jensen went through the motions one night. Not for himself, but for Kaleb, and asked that the agent be spared hardship and eventually find the peace he deserved. That was all, though, and Jensen was quite numb afterward.

He was introduced to a new agent, and Jensen intended to behave according to the rules this time, but he was informed there were no missions that night nor for the next several after that.

Jensen was also allowed to go home, but as he locked the door to Doulou’s loft, he could practically feel Custody eyes watching him. A sigh was the extent of action they would witness, and Jensen spent the night alone... Again.

The next morning he realized he was out of coffee, and while an order could be delivered relatively easy, he looked around the empty loft and saw nothing but solitude. He briefly wondered if Doulou was well since the man hadn’t sent a message in a long time, and with a furrow of his brow, Jensen opted to go out instead. Surely nobody cared if he went to a coffee shop.

Several years in Moscow and he was still not quite accustomed to their winters, and the leaves indicated it was only autumn even if the wind said it was promising a deep freeze. He wore a denim jacket over a sweater as a result. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and gloves wrapped his hands though they were plunged deep into his pockets. He wore slacks and nice shoes also, but the wind tousled his attempts to style his hair as soon as he stepped outside. There was a shop nearby that he used to visit, though that hadn’t visited since before he went to America with Jay and Natalie.

He didn’t recognize any of the workers, and a quick scan of the patrons was just as unrecognizable. He ordered his drink black with cream in a mug along with a muffin, and sat near one of the windows to watch people walk. The room was comfortable, though not full to the brim, and yet, he still felt alone.

So I need to update the Operating system, the version of PHP we run on, WordPress, and the forums.

I won't be doing it until December, but it needs to be done.  

We haven't done it yet because I have been unable to get the forums to work on later versions of PHP.   Having said that, in December I will put a new server together and install the forums and the extensions and see how what we need to do to make them work on the latest versions.

I have started the process and have the most important one installed and working: Account Switcher.

I haven't found a fresh copy of My Alerts yet, which may or may not be needed for the notification of PMs I know we all rely on.  I haven't tested it yet to see if it's need or not.

@Mentions has been disabled for a while now it seems.  It breaks the site, but there are other ones we can try or when I get back to testing see if we can get it to work at all.

The only other two plugins that ya'll might care about are the Table Generator and the Spoiler bbcode.  (Does anyone use them?)

Discord and the Cookie Law will be used as well should they both work fine on the new code base.  (shouldn't be any issues don't think they gave me any problems in the past)

We won't lose any data, pictures or anything in the upgrade, but we might be done for a little while while I do the upgrade.  Chat will likely need to be reinstalled as well and if you use a third party app you should still be able to chat, but if you use the Lounge on our site, then it will go down.  Discord is also always available.

[[Continued from Almaz; this scene isn't in the world of dreams, but this was the best option.]]


The room with the far was brighter than he remembered.

The walls were white? They should be stone. Wood beams. A sophisticated bar.

He glanced over his shoulder to see if Ashton saw what he saw, only, there was no Ashton. Instead, a curtain of light shimmered floor to ceiling like a portal.

“Uhh—“ he licked his lips, but when he reached out to swipe the curtain, it disappeared.

He turned in a circle. Almaz had transformed into an impossibly smooth tunnel. The world around him was awash with a brightness that seemed to have no source; the light simply was, as if the air itself exuded a soft glow. Everything curved and spiraled into itself—the ceiling, the floor, even the air seemed to twist in a gentle helix above him.

Now this should normally be a little distressing. Jumping from Almaz’s underground club to some sort of sci-fi looking world, but given that Jaxen lived through two similar experiences, he was more annoyed than disturbed.

He began to walk, stepping lightly to avoid drawing attention to himself until he better understood what was happening.

The architecture was a marvel, he admitted, an endless enigma of snakelike structures that defied the laws of physics as he knew them. The walls bowed outward, ceilings arched into impossible heights before curling back into themselves, and the doorways were rounded, as if carved by the spinning of a giant potter’s wheel. Jaxen walked through one of these doorways, entering a chamber that seemed to lead into another, and then another, each one a perfect circle, each one leading back to the last.

At first, there was a calm curiosity in his stride. He admired the fluidity of the design, the way the circular windows refracted the light into rainbows that danced across the curved walls. He might have thought it an elaborate illusion until he ran his hand along a banister, feeling the smoothness of its twist, impressed by the craftsmanship and appreciating how real it truly was. But as he walked, a realization began to dawn on him: no matter how far he walked, he was getting nowhere. Each turn, each spiral staircase, brought him back to a place eerily similar to the last.

Panic fluttered in his chest, and with a frown, Jaxen picked up his pace. The rounded hallways seemed to stretch and grow with his expanding alarm. He started to run, the sound of his footsteps echoing against the undulating surfaces, a maddening cacophony in the brightness. Doors that once seemed inviting now mocked him, leading him in looping paths that had no end, no escape.

His breaths came in ragged gasps as he pushed himself to run faster, the world blurring into a whirl of light and color. But no matter how desperately he sprinted, the realm kept him ensnared within its serpentine grasp, an endless maze designed not to confine the body, but almost as if meant to entrap the mind. Jaxen was beginning to realize that this alien world of curves and spirals might be more than just a labyrinth—it might be a trap from which there was no escape.

At the end of a final spiral, he clenched his fists and summoned the Ancient Power to his grasp. One way or another, he was getting out of there. A sly lick of the lips and he prepared to hurl a knot toward the wall.

That was when he heard a voice, not unlike the speech of the naga, but more sinister.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” it said.

Anyone got any other ideas for places Spectra can cameo?    I promise she will be good! 

Kristian was contacted to meet with Pavel Vasiliev people and they scheduled a mid afternoon meeting.  Xander didn't exactly want to get down with the Russian mob, but he also felt he had very little choice in the matter.  Refusing the meeting could spell dangerous vibes and/or his rousting from the city, and Xander rather liked Moscow.  He hadn't yet found a big mark, not that he hadn't been trying, but it was almost as good as Vegas or New York -- Almost.  He missed home a little bit.

But he did visit the New Orleans joint run by Rowan often.  It gave him a good bit of nostalgia just enough to not miss the bayou anymore.

Xander dressed in one of his finer suits and pulled Kristian's guise over him like it was second nature.  All of them were riffs off other characters he'd played.  A fence, a broker, a dealer, a rocker, a slacker, a hacker.  Didn't matter, they all came from someplace.  And he knew the grift well.  And he got to use a few of his good ole'boys now and then like Z since there weren't many people who'd know him round town anyway.

They were to meet at the Casino again.  Xander went early, Kristian sat at the bar and wait until it was nearly time sipping at a drink -- it was happy hour somewhere right?  

When it was closer to time he'd make his way on over to the receptionist and inquire to how he was to meet with Mr. Vasiliev but for now he scoped out the place.

Happy Samhain. 

*dark laughter fades into the night.

There weren't any wake-up times for wrestlers. They had nights that could last until morning.
Alistair awoke, clad only in a thin sheet draped over his frame. He still harbored sensations from his recent escapade a few nights prior. His initial night out had been marked by discussions with a mystical man, listening to tales, and ended in a warm embrace.
A knock sounded at Alistair's door. He hurriedly approached, scarcely managing to cover himself with the sheet, and peered through the peephole, finding no one. Only a note had been slipped beneath the door.

Note read:
- Second match
- Location:  Busted
- Time midnight
- Type:  Bare Knuckle
- Ask for your gift

“What the fuck is with the notes. I guess this is their thing.” Alistair grumpily murmured after he had tossed the note on the island in his kitchen. Alistair had become accustomed to quirky wrestling promotors and patrons.  He had once wrestled privately for a man in a cemetery. Wealthy benefactors had their kinks and peculiar interests, so a note was not much of a shock.

Ezvin is one of Scion’s sons through an ex-wife. He is a few years younger than Maksim, but the two half-brothers have always been close. Ezvin is not particularly close with his father, and has no interest in working in the family owned business. He works in the music industry as a producer and singer-songwriter, and he and Maksim share a love for music. He's been trying to convince Maksim to record an album for years.

Ezvin is single. He’s had a lot of boyfriends over the years, but he has no interest in becoming a parent or settling down. He is more strong-willed than Maksim, but no where near as wild as his younger half-brother, Jaxen. He is generally protective of his family. He’s the kind of guy that gets along with a lot of different types of people. He has fun, but he will stand up for injustice. He won’t say no to an interesting party. He's a good guy.

Appearance:

Ezvin is in his mid 30's. He has brunette hair the same color as Jaxen's, though he wears it long around the ears. He has the same big eyes as his brothers, but most closely resembles Maksim. He's lean, and average height, and not particularly muscular or imposing.



((This guy might get his own account at some point. Will see where it goes.))