Her angelic wings point upwards when spread and have feathers in three different hues. The secondary feathers are the same sky blue as her stripes, primary coverts are softer powder blue and the lesser coverts are as snowy white as her fur. Tacoma's iridescent hair is silky and long, with chin-length sideswept bangs. She has a long ponytail pulled up on the top of her head with a metallic star hairtie.
Tacoma has a dominant, yet playful personality. She can be a little vain, taking pride in her appearance and abilities. In the right company, Tacoma can be flirtateous with a lewd sense of humor.
While confident in her skills, she rarely turns down an opportunity to learn something new and is always seeking to further her knowledge of Cosmic Magic, Natural Medicine and Technology.
Calm and reserved in social settings, Tacoma prefers to stick beside a small group of close friends over a large gathering. She's selective about the company she keeps and earning her trust can take considerable time. Tacoma will readily extend her loyalty to those who have proven themselves.
She's quick to pick up on the emotions of others, however subtle. She can tell when someone's being dishonest and will maintain a healthy distance from them. Apathy and laziness are extremely unattractive to her. Tacoma is sympathetic to the concerns of others, even those she does not necessarily see eye to eye with. Her generosity only goes as far as she feels she can trust an individual.
Fiercely determined, she doesn't back down easily once her mind is set on completing a task. Tacoma is well organized and orderly in her own affairs, but often fails to seek help when something is too much to handle alone. Catastrophy often results from her taking on more duties than she can realistically fulfill. Tacoma prefers to observes a scene quietly from a distance before taking action. She generally refrains from passing judgment until she's certain that she has enough information.
In difficult situations, Tacoma tends to act more stoic, preferring not to show too much emotion. As a child, she was more transparent with her feelings and was ridiculed for it. She values her solitude when she's in a reflective or sad mood. While her demeanour may seem a bit distant and cold to outsiders, Tacoma loves and protects those dear to her with great passion. She would willingly throw herself in harm's way to keep a loved one safe.
Tacoma has a blue spiked collar around her neck, and occasionally a smaller one around her tail. Casual wear includes short skirts with fitted matching tops, striped stockings and knee-high leather buckle boots. For formal occasions, Tacoma wears a short fitted dress with fur-trimmed robe.
Tacoma's battle armor consists of a shimmering blue breastplate with matching shoulder and knee guards, armlets, sandals and a belt with inlaid turqouise. In especially dangerous areas, she will wear a head tie with poison-tipped demon horns for added defense.
Tacoma's primary weapon is the Starcaller, a long staff with a crescent emblem. It's undergone several revisions over the course of her life. The first version was carved from birchwood and adorned with phoenix feathers and leather straps. The emblem's origin is as of yet unknown. She was later able to construct a more advanced model known as Starcaller v2 with navigational and precision enhancements to the weapon to allow for higher accuracy in battle. Using the Starcaller, Tacoma is able to call down starshowers and meteor storms to smite her enemies, or simply to put on a show.
Tacoma's enchanted staff, The Starcaller v1.
Tacoma's abilities with the Starcaller have piqued the interest of an entity from the far reaches of space. During a dangerous battle where Tacoma was unsure if she should continue to fight, she had an encounter with this stranger from another world who, to her, resembled an otter. While Tacoma's memory of the event is fuzzy, she clearly recalls that the stranger had bioluminescent skin, webbed digits and a long tail. When she regained consciousness, Tacoma found a weird emblem in her hair. This entity was later revealed to be the leader of the Lutria. (More coming on that later).
Without the Starcaller, Tacoma's abilities are limited to the Storm school of magic. She's capable of summoning powerful lightning storms in battle. These abilities aren't the strongest offensively, but they can buy Tacoma time to make a strategic escape. Paralyzing bolts, harsh rain and obstructive snow give Tacoma the opportunity to launch a more devestating attack with her staff. She's capable of using Storm Magics so long as she has the energy stored for it. Energy can be pulled from the dust of stars, but requires the aid of the Starcaller.
Her energy reserves build as she gathers stardust. Unfortunately, when those reserves are full, she grows incredibly anxious and her heart rate increases to an uncomfortable level. To lower this energy, she must form something from the energy or shapeshift when she reaches her limit. Burning off excess energy keeps her body and mind in good shape.
Tacoma occasionally summons a gentle rain or flurry to follow her around when she's melancholy.
While Tacoma is capable of altering her appearance, the process drains a large amount of energy and she may require a period of rest afterwards where spells cannot be casted. Unlike Glimm, Tacoma is limited to the same colors in her chosen shape. She's easily recognizable by her white and blue striping in any form which makes it nearly impossible to use her shapeshifting in a deceptive manner.
Tacoma uses her shapeshifting ability most often to alter the shape of her wings. Keeping the rest of her body the same, she alternates between primarily between two wing styles; large, umbrella-like feathered wings that point downward and smaller angelic wings that point upwards. Each wing style gives a distinct advantage. Different wing styles allow for higher altitude flight, faster speeds or increased stamina.
Tacoma's enjoys outfitting her Starcaller with new upgrades, listening to heavy metal, smoking cigarettes, reading and practicing her Cosmic Magic. She loves soft fabrics such as silk and satin. Tacoma carries a tarnished piece of peacock ore in one of her pockets and a quartz data-storage device in another.
For food, any spicy or savory foods are preferred. Desserts like chocolate muffins, frosted cookies and mint chocolate ice cream are always appreciated. Her favorite drinks include mint tea, bubble tea and cream soda. She avoids bitter herbs, cilantro and red meat.
Tacoma despises hot, damp weather and much prefers dry, colder climates such as the kind found on Nimbaterra.
Tacoma is attracted exclusively to other femmes. She has no romantic interest in any male characters. Her lifelong partner is the fairy-mouse Lunati. The two met in a city tavern at their former residence, the lower Isle of Zephyr after a series of personal losses. They took an immediate liking to one another, finding solace and great conversation in each other's company. It soon became a nightly ritual to meet up at the tavern and enjoy long discussions about whatever came to mind. In time, they fell madly in love and were inseperable.
Lunati and Tacoma were eventually handfasted and spent many years together on their native Isle of Zephyr. Lunati worked to perfect her Fae magic while Tacoma learned how to best apply Cosmic magic in battle. The two worked hard to master their spellcraft and used these skills to protect their hometown from invasion.
Eventually, a horrendous storm ravaged their home and the two were forced to embark on a difficult journey into the clouds to find the mythical Isles of Nimbaterra, where they now reside.
Upon arrival, Lunati and Tacoma found many new forms of plant and animal life on the Isles of Nimbaterra. Most abundant were the isle's native poppies, which grew rapidly on every isle. Tacoma spent some time researching local plants as she recovered from her injuries while Lunati organized transport to any other friends who had their homes devestated by the storm. A construction crew was hired to build various structures on this newly established island. A port town allowed the shipment of building materials and a tavern was opened to offer refreshment to builders and laborers. This became "Cloud Nine," a peaceful haven to retire to after a long day's work. Under the guidance of its founders, Cloud Nine would bloom into a popular resort as many travelers came to indulge in good food, alcohol and opium tea from the isle's native poppies.
These were peaceful times, but that peace would be short lived. Bouncer Blacktalon was terminated from Cloud Nine on allegations of murder and running an illegal gambling ring on the resort. In response, he formed the Cirrus Cartel. The increase in illicit activity prompted officials to ban the export of opium out of Nimbaterra which denied Cassandra pain medication for her dying father. Thus began the chain of events that led to Cassandra going completely mad, assembling Zengre and sending these constructs of war to ravage the Isles.
Tacoma has several conflicts to deal with over the course of her life. There are four main parts to her story I have written so far. More is always being added, but the stories that take place on Nimbaterra are just the start of it.
