#lena's magic teacher

[trashpandato]

Magic

“Ah fuck,” Alex growls as the coin clatters on the tile floor.

“Language, babe. You know with Kara here, Esme can still hear you even from her room.”

Kelly’s admonishment is firm but warm, and Lena has to smile when she sees Alex’s frustration morph into adoration for her wife.

“Sorry,” Alex mumbles, before she bends down to pick up the coin to try again.

“It’s okay to fumble a little,” Lena reminds her gently, “the key is going to be to create enough distraction with your voice and words that your subject won’t really be paying attention to your hand.”

They’ve been at it for a while now. It being Lena teaching Alex a couple of very simple magic tricks. Alex isn’t particularly good at learning them, but when Esme came home from preschool a couple of weeks ago babbling non-stop about the “cool tricks” her teacher showed them, Alex promised herself to learn a few so she could keep the glee going at home, too. After she spent a few evenings trying and failing miserably to teach them herself through some YouTube videos, she sent a call for help to the Superfriends. 

And here they are now, Lena sitting in front of Alex, teaching her to hide a coin behind her fingers long enough to pull them out of Lena’s hair.

“You know,” Alex says as she shakes out her hand to get ready for her next attempt, “I know you’re a witch and all, but I never thought Lena Luthor would know these kinds of party tricks.”

Lena laughs. She demonstrates again how to tuck the coin first between and then behind her fingers while Alex watches.

“Lex taught me. Long ago, when we were both young. I think initially, he was trying to impress me, to be the cool older brother. But I saw through the tricks very quickly, so he pivoted to teaching them to me.”

Alex nods. She knows that Lena doesn’t like talking about Lex, especially not about this version of him, the brother who welcomed her into the family when no one else did, the brother she loved. Admittedly, Alex struggles to reconcile what she knows about Lex Luthor with the fragments of stories Lena has shared over the years, but she keeps that to herself. Mostly.

“Alright. Let me try this again.” 

Alex concentrates, holds up her hand, and this time, the coin doesn’t fall. She lets out a loud whoop and gives Lena a high five. The excitement and noise must have drifted into Esme’s room because only a few moments later, both Esme and Kara appear in the kitchen.

“What’s all the ruckus about?” Kara asks.

Alex claps her hands together, beaming. “I learned a new skill. Here,” she waves at Esme to come closer. “Let me show you.”

Esme bounces over to her adoptive mom and Alex directs her to sit down on Lena’s lap. Esme is practically buzzing, kicking her legs out excitedly. 

“What is it, what is it?”

“Hold still,” Alex tells her, and then she focuses on the trick. “See how I have nothing in my hands?”

Alex waves her hands briefly and Esme nods.

“Okay. But you know what? I think you, you might have something riiiight here.”

Alex slowly lifts her hand toward Esme’s left ear and produces the coin. It’s a bit clumsy but the coin doesn’t fall. It sits right in Alex’s hand.

For a brief second, Esme is silent. Then, she frowns.

“You had it tucked between your fingers.”

Alex sighs. She should have known that Esme would see through it. She’s just about to explain that she just wanted to learn a fun trick for her when Lena interrupts.

“I think that was my fault, actually.”

Esme twists in Lena’s lap so she can look at her, and Alex tilts her head in surprise.

“How so?”

“Well, you see, I gave Alex the wrong coin.” 

Lena holds out her hand and Alex places the coin in her palm.

“This one,” Lena continues, “is just a regular coin. We need a magic coin for this to work, so let’s just, let’s get rid of this one, yeah?”

Esme nods, her gaze locked on Lena’s palm. Lena closes her hand, shakes it a couple of times and then opens it again and the coin is gone. Completely gone. Alex tries to see if Lena has it tucked behind her fingers but then Lena turns her hand around and spreads her fingers wide and the coin is nowhere to be seen.

“Now, should we try and find the magic coin?”

Esme nods vigorously this time, her eyes bright and curious.

“Alright. Let me see. Hm,” Lena turns to look over at Kara, who’s been standing a couple of feet behind her, observing. “Ah. I think I know where it is. Kara, could you come over here for a second?”

Kara smiles and steps closer. Lena gestures at her to bend down a little so she is face to face with both Lena and Esme. Then Lena turns to Esme.

“Can you see the coin?”

Esme shakes her head. “No. Where is it?”

“See if it is behind her ears maybe?”

Esme frowns a little but then both hands come up to move Kara’s hair aside. She checks both ears, several times.

“I don’t see it,” Esme pouts.

“Check again,” Lena encourages, giving Alex a quick wink.

And this time, when Esme’s hand moves towards Kara’s right ear to brush her hair to the side, a coin tumbles right into her little hand.

“It’s here!” Esme exclaims loudly, showing off the coin. She hops off Lena’s lap and runs into her room, squealing.

Kara looks a little stunned. “What? How did you do that?”

Alex huffs out a laugh. “You know, it’s not really fair to use actual magic. How am I supposed to keep up with that?”

But Lena just smiles. “No magic involved, Agent Danvers.”

And that leaves Alex just as stunned as her sister. “Wait. Really?”

“Mm,” Lena hums. 

From back behind the kitchen counter, Kelly laughs.

“You’ve always been good with your hands, Lena. Maybe Alex needs a bit more practice?” And then, she smirks: “I’m happy to volunteer as a test subject.”

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I’m literally sitting here with a rainstorm raging around me thinking about every single relationship (of any type) of Eddie’s that we’ve been shown. And I hope this makes sense after my app deleted what I had previously written for this meta!

Nearly every single one of them has been easy for him - except for a few, those with Buck, his father, Taylor and Josh (and arguably Ana which is a whole other interesting conversation point that I'll get to!) I'm not going to go into the Buck and Eddie relationship and its lack of ease - its a whole post on its own and I want to focus on the other aspects of Eddies journey through these other relationships he has.

Because he easily befriends Hen and Chim, there’s an easy relationship that develops with Bobby, and even with Athena. We’ve seen an easy friendship between him and Karen, easy friendships grow with the people at dispatch (lindaand May espeically). We saw an easy friendship with Michael (and David) and then at the firehouse with Lena, with Ravi and with Lucy (the two minutes of it we saw!)

He has a good realtionship with Abeula nad with Pepa - they're his family yes, but the show takes the time to show us that their relationships are close and good ones.

He even makes friends with the woman Pepa sets him up with (even if they have no further contact beyond that awkward date it was still friendly and reads like they could’ve pursued a friendship if they had wanted to beyond that meeting) even Marisol is easy and requires very little effort or energy on his part.

Even with Shannon - there might be a bit of suspicion initally, but he falls back into bed with her pretty easily, and then back into some form of a relationship with her. He re-finds that magic and it’s pretty easy for him, even if what we see heavily implies its all surface level and sex.

And now we have Tommy and this easy friendship that just clicks, but more on that a bit later.

If we look at the difficult or more complicated relationships he has, well they tell their own story and the subtext is delicious.

Let's start with Ramon. It not an easy relationship and Eddie feels a lot of resentment towards him. There are a million heart metaphors in play around this relationship and the moment we see it being repaired and beginning to heal is telling. Eddie has spent his entire journey through fatherhood scared of ending up the same type of father as his own and the moment he recognises and accepts that he isn't following the same path and that he doesn't have to/wont in the future, is the moment we see it heal and Eddie is able to move forward. from then on we're shown that relationship as being in a much more positive light and we see his own relationship with Chris improve as well.

Ramon is a mirror for Eddie and fatherhood.

Then there is Ana - while they had a good initial meeting it quickly turned sour when Chris fell of the skateboard and got injured. Ana stops being Christophers teacher and leaves the school and then when they meet back up in s4 it became easy once they’d cleared the air - but easy in the fact that Eddies heart wasn't really in it and he was ultimately sticking it out or Chris.

I find the Ana thing interesting because there is the fact that it doesn’t read to the audience like Eddie would’ve pursued anything with her had he not been pushed by his friends. and this plays into the theme surrounding Ana - she is a parallel of Shannon.

From what we know from what Eddie has told us - he met Shannon and it was magic, then she got pregnant so they go married, Eddie signs up and things turn sour. Eddie gets injured and comes home - they are at loggerheads with one another until she leaves. then they meet back up again once Eddie has moved to LA an they fall back into bed with one another and essentially pick back up their relationship. its easy, but again they are not truky in it for themselves or each other - they're sticking it out for Chris.

See where I'm going - the ups and downs of Eddie and Ana's relationship hits the same points at the same moments as Eddie nad Shannons relationship did.

So like Ramon, Ana is a mirror, just she is a mirror to Shannon rather than Eddie himself. Because the moment Eddie breaks up with Ana is also the moment he accepts the reality of his relationship with Shannon was about Christopher rather than about himself. from then on we see him building a more positive experience about Shannon for Christopher (we know as an audience that they have probably been talking about Shannon etc, but its actually from this moment on when we are shown it - its when start to see pictures of Shannon more explicitly being shown in the Diaz house outside of Christophers bedroom)

Then there is the Taylor Kelly of it all and this one is a fascinating one to me. Eddie dislikes Taylor because she is pretty damn similar to Helena Diaz. I know that sounds a bit far fetched, but they have the same personality traits and hit similar beats. Taylor is loud and forceful, her personality is domineering and we are shown her taking over and or inserting herself into every scene scene she's at and into places she does't belong. She has next to no qualms about throwing people under the bus for her own benefit and to ensure she stays the centre of attention.

Helena is the same - pretty much every scene we see her in she pulls focus she is domineering and controls the conversations and the narratives. She thinks she knows best and inserts herself into places she shouldn't be (the scene from Eddie begins where she sends Eddie back to get a juice box for Chris is a prime example of this and its implied by Shannons reaction and words that its a common occurrence) even down to making all the food for Ramon's retirement party because she doesn't trust the caterers. She, like Taylor, has no qualms throwing people under the bus to be the centre of attention - even her own son - at her husbands retirement party - an event manifestly not about her and yet she makes it about her.

And the thing is Ramon, personality wise, is very similar to Buck. This is particularly true when it comes to his relationship with Taylor - it mirrors Ramon a fair amount - going along with Taylors wants and needs rather than his own and allowing her to control things. Letting her be the centre of attention and dominate the relationship. The fact that things come to a head with her in the same episode (hero complex) as Eddie begins to reconcile with his father and we are shown Helena throwing Eddie under the bus (in the same way Taylor did with Buck (I can't reiterate enough this is in the very same episode).

One of the reasons I personally think Eddie dislikes Taylor as intensely as he does is because of these similarities between Ramon and Buck and Helena and Taylor. I couldn't say if its on a conscious or subconscious level, but Eddie knows that his parents marriage isn't perhaps an especially happy or good one, that they are fundamentally not really right for one another. I think he perhaps sees his father as downtrodden and under the thumb of his mother and that he's essentially trapped and won't get out because it's too late and he doesn't want that for Buck. Like I said its not necessarily on a conscious level, but it makes sense with the context we have that even if he isn't fully cognisant of his feelings/ the depth of his feelings for Buck, the last thing he would want is for his friend to become a shell of himself in the way his father has at the hands of a woman who is exactly like his mother.

This is such a choice by the show to parallel Ramon and Buck, especially if you entertain the concept of people marrying versions of their parents (generally taken as men marrying women similar to their mothers but it can also be applied to a queer relationship and the idea of a queer man marrying a man who is similar to his father), so Eddie ending up in a romantic relationship with Buck would play into this as a trope/ concept - one that I would actually love the show to explore.

Finally - Eddie has a difficult relationship with Josh at dispatch that we never really truly see resolved. So as far as we know, while the last time they interacted showed them in a slightly more friendly light, it was still evident that they are not friends and there is still tension there. the reason this is super interesting is that Josh is the only single gay guy on the show (and is loosely friends with buck and the show riffed on the idea of Maddie setting them up) and because Eddie hasn’t reckoned with his queerness yet, he can’t become friends with Josh. If the show continues the way it has - reconciling those relationships that are not easy for Eddie once he has accepted/confronted/ reckoned with that aspect of himself, I think we might see him become friends with Josh once he’s actually accepted he’s gay!

The fact that the Josh relationship hasn't been resolved is what makes this friendship Eddie has struck up with Tommy so interesting - it's looking like its going to play out along a similar (extended over multiple episodes) line to the Buck/Red friendship for Eddie (I'm not going into the Buck aspects of Tommys appearance in this meta). Its about Eddie reckoning with himself so all the dialogue that has seriously queer undertones to it and the directorial choices of bro high fives etc that are all just a little too much and trying a little too hard - its all about Eddie facing up to himself and looking in the mirror and accepting all the parts of himself.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Hold on, anon. Someone will get you a explanation (maybe future me) but for now have mine of random ones because I am tired, so sorry if I miss anything/if these aren’t the best explanations

Teddy!verse: Jason’s a single dad after someone close to him dies, leaving behind her son, Teddy. Jason takes in Teddy who’s a fan of Reader. The boy very much chose his mother. Reader is a voice actress who runs her own podcast company. Her ex is a jerk, that used to work with Reader. Jay and Reader end up together and expand the family. She’s very much a mama bear.

rabies!verse: Werewolf Reader, who helps Bruce, triggers something in Jason and he just suddenly gets “baby rabies”

Thirst Trap Thursdays: Ari just write thirst on Thursday sometimes.

BFF!reader: Bruce’s BFF gets pregnant and the dad isn’t really the best so Bruce steps up. Little Dick is also here. Said BFF eventually gives birth to a little baby girl named Emma.

hotmess!Jason: This verse is dead, so don’t request anything from it. Jason and Roy are stupid and upset Reader. That’s all you need to know honestly.

apprentice!reader: Reader is John Constantine’s daughter and he’s forced to take her in and he trains her. She shows up in place of him one day for some magic issue Bruce is having and Jason’s also there and ends up falling in love with her.

Internet friend!reader: Tim and Reader are online friends and are a popular duo honestly. They fall in love at some point and start dating. Don’t remember if that was before or after they met up irl. I think before?

softdom!Diana: What it says on the tin.

sugarbaby!Jason: Jason is Reader’s sugarbaby. He’s a pianist, she has a thing for artists. He gets nice things and so does she, they’re both less lonely, it’s good for both of them.

cowboy!Jason: Reader runs a farm after her dad passed and looks after her three younger sisters. Jason’s supposed to just be laying low after some trouble with Black Mask and passing through. After Reader gets a lift from him and lets him stay in the barn she ends up capturing his heart and vice versa though which makes things so much harder.

AI!reader: Reader dies and Tim tries to recreate her as an AI to cope because he’s Tim. But the AI and Reader are different in some many ways and he’s not very happy about that either.

teacher!Jason: Reader is a single mother and a college student, Jason’s her professor. Sometimes she brings her daughter, Lena to class. Jason doesn’t mind and she’s thankful for that. Jason’s also kind of into Reader.

werewolf!Jason: Reader and Jason both get taken and experimented on. Both of them get turned into werewolves. Reader used to be a kindergarten teacher in Chicago. Also both of them are now connected to each other for werewolf instinct reasons and keeping each other company during capture.

handyman!Jason: Jason leaves behind Gotham and the vigilante lifestyle. Instead fixing up random things in a specific area, including Reader’s Aunt Maggie. Maggie’s tries to set them up and succeeds quickly honestly.

circus!Reader: Dick’s childhood friend that comes to visit occasionally. They grew up in different circuses. They’re currently on a road trip together.

-signed, that one person who’s read most of Ari’s verses completely and occasionally re-reads some

Blessings on your house.

I hope you find the perfect pair of jeans in your exact size. On clearance.

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Kara and Lena's Adventure at Nevermore

Fandom: Supergirl, Wednesday

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Elizabeth Walsh, Lillian Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Alex Danvers, Lex Luthor, Sam Arias, Winn Schott Jr., J'onn J'onzz, Harley Quinn, Pamela Isley, Clark Kent, Zatanna

Summary: After an incident and the vanishing of her best friend, Lena is forced to attend Nevermore in hopes of learning to control her powers. She hates the idea because her cousin Morticia, who she detests with a passion, attends there. However, a certain blonde student captures Lena's attention and makes Nevermore more appealing to her.

Note: This this as a part of Supergirl May-hem. Like to give a special thanks to @theredcapeofk for providing art for this fic and @mad2balive for beta reading for me. This was the first time for me to participate in an event like this and I am glad they have helped me make this go as smoothly as possible.

Lena sat with her head against the limo window watching the vast green trees and valleys go by while listening to Don’t Speak by No Doubt. She was going over the things in her life that got her to this point and the unfairness of it all. She just wished that she was back at home underneath the covers. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a soft tap of her knee. 

She pressed pause on her CD player and looked up to see three adults staring up at her with concern: Her father and mother, Lionel Luthor and Elizabeth Walsh, were sitting across from her with Lionel’s wife, Lillian Luthor, sitting to her right. Lena had always found their relationship a little peculiar. Lionel and Lillian entered a polyamorous relationship with Elizabeth about a year before she was born and they had been together ever since. It was not the norm, but she liked it because she had an extra person to love and call Mom. However, now she can’t stand any of them because she feels betrayed by them all. 

Lena narrowed her eyes and snapped, “What?”

Lionel rubbed his temple and said, “You don’t have to answer with that tone.”

“You’re kicking me out of the house and abandoning me in the middle of nowhere. How do you expect me to sound?” seethed Lena. 

Her mother winced but tried to keep a passive look on her face.

“That is not what is happening here. Nevermore is a wonderful school. They have wonderful teachers, the students are friendly, and you will learn more ways to control your magic,” Elizabeth tried to reason.

“I control my magic just fine. I’m even better at magic than you!” scoffed Lena. 

Elizabeth grimaced at that last statement and tried to return to a more passive face. 

“That may be true sweetie, but the way you’ve been using your magic is… less than desirable.”

Lena scowled while looking back out the window. “I have been practicing magic wonderfully,” she muttered. 

Lena felt Lillian grabbed her hand softly. She looked over to Lillian staring at her with a soft smile on her face. 

“You have a gift with magic. While I found the last stunt hilarious….”

Lionel frowned and asked, “Really, Lillian?”

Lillian looked up startled and asked, “What? I’m not going to lie to the girl. It was funny.” She turned back to Lena with a soft smile and said, “As I was saying, it was a funny stunt and I get why you did it, but violence shouldn’t be your go-to when someone has slighted you or someone else in this household.”

“But Morgan Edge was being a jackass,” muttered Lena. 

Elizabeth sighed and said, “Language, sweetie.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “Morgan Edge is a butt face. Happy now?”

Lionel rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “You don’t think what you did was the least bit overkill?”

Lena thought back to what happened a week ago. After school, she walked to L-Corp to listen to a presentation that Lex and Edge were putting together about a new energy-saving initiative.

However, Lex never showed up to the meeting, just Edge. He went on to pitch his own idea of replacing steel with nth metal since a new supply of it was found in South America and it is stronger than any metal on Earth. Because of the large supply of it found, it would save energy costs.

While Edge was explaining the numbers, Lena found it odd that Lex was still missing and used her magic to try to locate him. She found him locked in a broom closet with a pit bull. Lex had managed to get to the top shelf where the dog couldn’t reach him. 

She used magic to poof the dog away, but the damage was done. Lex was a babbling mess with scratch marks everywhere, and a urine stain on his pants. She instantly poofed him to a hospital so that he could be treated and given a sedative to calm down. While the doctors were working on Lex, she poofed back to L-Corp and burst back into the boardroom where Edge was finishing up his presentation. She remembers the confrontation with Edge vividly. 

She approached him like a cat about to pounce on its prey. She tapped his shoulder while looking at him passively.

“Is there a reason why you locked my brother in the broom closet with a pit bull?” Lena demanded. 

Edge chuckled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lena looked down at her hands nonchalantly and said, “I found him in the closet not too long ago. The pit bull had run him up to the top shelf. The closet is only able to be locked with a key from the outside, so Lex couldn’t have done it himself. When I asked him what happened, all he could say was ‘Edge’ over and over again.”

Edge smirked and said, “‘Edge’ could refer to so many things. Besides, it’s kind of pathetic that Lex couldn’t stand up for himself against a dog. The most basic of people can do that.”

Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh really?”

Edge laughed obnoxiously which caused Lena’s skin to crawl. “Everybody knows that your brother doesn’t really have thick skin when it comes to business, or anything else for that matter. He comes from a Wasp-y upbringing, but he is anything but. L-Corp needs strong and dominant leaders who can take the reigns. Not those that cry in the corner.” 

Lena narrowed her eyes and frowned. Her eyes turned black and started walking toward Edge, which caused him to gulp. When Edge looked around, his face fell when he noticed that everyone in the room was frozen in place and silent.

Edged looked back at Lena and stuttered, “It’s…nothing…personal….kid….”

Lena stopped within inches of him and smirked. “I find it funny that you think that you’re a Wasp considering you’re really just a worker bee gathering things in attempts to make your mommy richer and hoping that she loves you more for it. Too bad that she’ll still ignore you no matter what you do.” 

Edge took a step back hesitantly and said more confidently, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lena smiled while brushing her hand against his arm which caused him to gasp. He was so nervous that he didn’t notice a purple glow going from her hand to his arm. 

“Maybe you should be reminded of what bees do when a Wasp tries to enter solo in their hive.”

Lena cackled as she turned around and left. The room became lively again after she left. Everybody left the room except for Edge, who sat in the room in stunned silence. 

Lena has thought back to that day with a smile on her face often. 

Lena looked back at Lionel smiling and said, “I don’t think that it was overkill at all.”

“You had bees burst through the wall at his home and attack him,” Elizabeth said with a deadpan stare.

Lena looked down while pulling at her dress and said, “They just bit him. It is not like any of them used their poison stingers to kill him. If I wanted that, I would’ve done something that didn’t leave a body.”

Lillian raised an eyebrow and said, “You realize that it’s comments like that which have us concerned?”

Read the rest on AO3

[daxieoclock]

Hunters Masterpost 2: First Dungeon

(Refer to this post for a summary of the protagonists.)

This will be a summary of all major plot events during the Hunters campaign during the first dungeon: hunting the Celestial Behemoth.

The first few months of sessions had a lot of growing pains, including multiple player characters retconned out of "canon" so I'll be summarizing events with those retcons in mind. Without any further ado...

Chapter 1: Icarus

Our curtain rises on a quiet Friday in January at Belknap College. It's modern day (minus covid), inner state New York, and we find ourselves in the office of Belknap's dean of humanities: Erin Sakio. She's not here. She triple-booked herself with three students at the same time and didn't show up. In the meantime, those students make small talk and introduce themselves.

Blake Leto, silver tongued young celebrity, famous for being falsely accused of killing a police officer and currently on tenuous parole.

Lena Tarr, rough-talking rabblerouser with a visable limp and a penchant for lashing out at teachers and counselors alike.

Ilse Belanger, who comfortably blends into a crowd. They might qualify for valedictorian if people remembered their name.

Awkward small talk is interrupted by a parcel dropping from the ceiling onto Miss Sakio's desk. A paper wrapped object and a very living bluebird, apparently a robin. Curioisity wins over shock, and the trio unwraps the package, finding a letter addressed to Sakio and an ornate dark key.

–ensuring that your standard issue equipment is accounted for, please insert the enclosed Tindalos Key into the nearest corner. You may count yourself lucky to be among our ranks, but please know we consider you and each of your peers to be your own unique blessing. The duty you perform is beyond vital, and your success ensures that your home, your Earth, will survive. The World Must Turn On. Signed, V.P. of the Daedalus Collective.

Blake jokingly calls the bird "Icarus," a name that sticks like glue. Ilse, fiddling with the key, tries to follow the letter's instructions. After touching it to a corner of the room, the key vanishes and the walls peel open, revealing an impossible purple hallway. A gate into another world. Curiosity wins out again, and the trio head inside.

Blake, Ilse and Lena find themselves in an enormous junkyard underneath a violet sky. While they're taking in the sights, they find themselves face to face with another person, a confused looking Camellia Pavel, college dropout, who was personally delivered their own key and letter and stumbled into this world...about a half hour ago.

While Camellia gratefully chows down on a snack Lena happened to bring, Blake and Ilse take inventory of their surroundings. Blake in particular finds a small purple book, a childhood journal they lost years ago, with everything within still as it once was. As they question that impossibility, the four hear a new voice.

The boy’s impish grin widened into a crocodile smile. “My name is Puck, and this,” he gestured to the junkyard around him, “is the Spiral of Forfeit.” He kicked his heels against the backrest of the chair. “It is where lost things are found, where the abandoned flock, where the discarded may be granted a second chance at life. It is also, as you have correctly identified, my home.”

Puck warns the four of nearby "scavengers," and suggests they arm themselves before vanishing as abruptly as he appeared. Sure enough, a swarm of monsters appear: floating Jack-o-Lantern creatures made of scrap metal, shrieking accusations of thievery. Our newfound party grabs improvised weapons from the junk around them and begins to fight.

While they hold their own as well as they can, the monsters and their fire magic is too much, and the party falters. Blake, however, stares down at their journal as light erupts from their left wrist. Silver text etching itself across childhood pages, a voice without tongue.

“Fuck it… no more. I hear you.” Eyes opening again to a determined stare. “Artemis!”

An ethereal maiden, eyes closed and expression drenched in serenity, a moonlit beauty, both her long hair and that gorgeous bow in her hands braided with the same five-petal white flowers. She reached up, elegantly pulling an arrow – wood woven into a beautiful spiral with a silver arrowhead – from the quiver on her back and nocking it.

Blake brushed a stray hair out of their face and locked their gaze at Camellia. A little smirk graced their lips, and their focus turned towards the scrambling scrap-metal monsters. “If I’m to be the Killer Prince, I might as well play the part. Come then, my other self.” And they snapped their journal closed, bright light spilling forth from some glowing sigil across their wrist. “Let us hunt.”

Artemis's first attack scatters the Pyro Junks, and rallies Blake's new allies. And, it seems, causes a chain reaction. Three more glowing sigils etch themselves in flesh. Three more names leap to lips. Three more Personas make their appearance.

Lena tenses every muscle in her body, then goes almost totally limp. "Well, I'm sure not gonna let myself get pushed around by these fuckers." When she lifts her head, her grin is manic and hungry. "Goliath!"

And a brand forms there. A stone, broken in half. And the giant stands by your side, this monstrous ethereal brute, clad in engorged armor. On his shoulder, a knight, sitting as if to direct the violence. Goliath laughs again, and you can all hear the war drums in his voice.

Ilse looks up to from where they hear the voice. Their call is more of a whisper. "Clotho"

And the string is pulled taught. You know where it leads. There is pain, sharp and intense, and it fades in an instant. A brand resembling a pair of scissors, a few inches below your throat. And a newfound strength in your lungs.

Running would be so easy… wouldn't it? … No. They had more pride than that. Camellia clenched the front of their sweater with their free hand and looked to the sky, eyes twinkling as if full of stars. "Hecate."

Everyone, you feel the bells. Echoing in your ears, ringing to and fro. Hecate rears up beside you, a woman's form wrapped in violet dress, but with four canine legs, and three white-fur wolf heads sprouting from her neck. A staff in one hand, a gem at its tip shining with otherworldly energy.

The four new Persona-wielders make quick work of the swarm and head back towards the gate they came through, only to be stopped by a more fearsome beastie: a lumbering Junk Frost.

While the party holds their own, the final blow is not theirs.

"Chorus!" There is a glimmer of light, and a sudden hum. Not a buzzing but a resonance, a dozen voices in harmony. White robed figures, in masks, floating around the Junk Frost. Singing. They raise their hands in unison, and a bolt of light descends from on high. It strikes the top of the Frost's head and pierces it cleanly, smashing into the earth with a loud crash. Those figures, that Chorus, fade. And the Junk Frost just sort of teeters there for a moment before falling back completely.

As the defeated Junk Frost lets off smoke, you can see someone standing behind the felled monster. A figure in the smoke. You can't make them out at first, but then as some nonexistent wind blows away the smoke, and you can see them clearly.

It's a woman, with reddish-brown hair tied into a tight bun. She's wearing something resembling a knight's armor, but it's made of white cloth, light but effective-looking. A cape-like cloth is draped over her right arm. In her left, she carries a rapier, which seems to shimmer in this odd light. And she is staring at you, with blue eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. You know this woman. You know her very well. But you don't quite remember her every having a tattoo – you think you might recall something as audacious as a musical note tattooed on her throat. And you definitely wouldn't have expected to see her here.

And Miss Sakio, dean of humanities, splutters out "what the absolute fuck."

Chapter 2: The World Turns On

Miss Sakio leads the party back through the gate into her office, her ostentatious outfit vanishing as she steps back into reality, replaced with the simple sharp suit she usually wears. Even though she, Camellia, Blake, Ilse and Lena are all exhausted, the five still field a long conversation, with the party catching Sakio up on what they just went through, and Sakio herself pulling back the curtain on the hidden world they've stumbled into.

The junkyard is the Spiral of Forfeit, one of many areas within a world known as Fractals, a dark mirror of our world. The monsters the party faced are variant species of Shadow, birthed from collective fear and imagination.

Shadows tend to obey even stronger creatures, the Behemoths, which act as deities. Before they're even fully born, a Behemoth's personality and whims shape the area they call home, and Shadows in that area will align themselves with this "aesthetic," as servants to their g-d.

Behemoths are not always malicious, but they have an insatiable hunger. Even the kinder ones will eat until they grow large enough to emerge into our world, shattering the barrier between Fractals and reality, ending the world as we know it.

The Daedalus Collective is an organization that funds teams of Persona users, giving them Tindilos keys to access Fractals and assigning them to scout areas or hunt Behemoths, culling them before they can grow large enough to threaten our world.

Erin Sakio, dean of humanities at Belknap College, moonlights as a Shadow Hunter for Daedalus. She's been assigned to find the currently-unborn Behemoth that rules over the Spiral, and kill it. Her Persona is Chorus (and her Arcana is Temperance).

Personas are powerful weapons born from oaths of self-actualization. If a human in Fractals swears this oath, their true inner self will manifest under that human's control, etching a "Brand" onto their skin as proof of their bond. Each Brand is distinct, and only other Persona users can see them.

Now that the party all has their own Brands, someone from Daedalus will eventually notice and scout them. To get out ahead of it, Sakio (who distrust the organization she works for) asks the party to join Daedalus as her teammates.

After some time to think, the party agrees, and are whisked off the next day to an unmarked white office building a few miles from the college, which they can now see ethereal blue lettering on, marking it as Daedalus's HQ. Miss Sakio takes them inside to meet with Amil Fischer, her assigned "Liaison"...and ex girlfriend.

Amil used to be Sakio's teammate, but an injury on the job exacerbated his existing physical disability, leaving them reliant on Daedalus's extremely generous employment benefits. Now they act as a Liaison, ferrying orders to various teams of Shadow-Hunters, and reporting their successes and failures to the hidden higher-ups. An anonymous meritocracy is maintained.

Blake, Ilse, Lena and Camellia work through their remaining concerns and agree to work for Daedalus. Blake, impromptu leader, names the team "the Hunters;" and they are given their first mission:

Travel to the spire within the Spiral of Forfeit, climb it and slay the Celestial Behemoth at its peak.

The next few days pass in a blur as the Hunters prepare in their own ways.

Lena meets up with "Twitch" Blum, a classmate and acquaintance with a campus reputation for his public displays of anxiousness and general jumpiness. Him and Lena hit it off pretty well, but it's still an awkward affair.

Blake has an unexpectedly tense back and forth with their RA, Masumi Saito, well-kept head of the student body and "sharpest motherfucker alive" award four years running. Rumor has it she keeps a gun in her dorm and gets away with it. She also has some manner of history with "Saint Sakio," and treats Blake with cold suspicion for their newfound affiliation. The two exchange veiled barbs and then part ways.

(Masumi, though an NPC, is the creation of @lilyhoshikawa who also plays Blake, and permitted me to use Masumi for this campaign)

Ilse visits Lena (and Lena's longtime friend and roommate Rita) and the two make clear their mutual distrust of Daedalus's shady bullshit, with Lena in particular suggesting that saving Behemoths might be an option, though neither knows how to go about it yet. When Ilse returns to their room, they ponder over an old damaged angel figurine, a knickknack from their childhood friend Stephen. They remember how alone they felt when they left him. They don't feel quite as alone anymore.

Blake sees a patch of flowers near campus and remembers the field of wild sunflowers next to their home, the one they'd sneak out to when their parents would fight. They wonder if it's still there, like the journal is. Lost. To be found again.

Lena heads to the student store to spend her first paycheck from Daedalus, and gets immediately distracted helping out the two deeply bisexual work-study employees: Bee and Theo. Bee is a neurotic control freak and Theo is a former surfer dude, and the two are fucking inseparable, the best of friends. Lena offers to help them find some stolen store product (initiating a detour sidequest with Ilse I won't cover in full) and fun banter is exchanged.

Camellia's rent anxieties drive them to stop by Amil, awkwardly asking about bonus opportunities. Maybe even solo work? Amil gently pushes them to stick to working with their team, and promises to advocate for early assignment pay if things go pear-shaped in Fractals. They've got Camellia's back, same as the rest of the Hunters.

Chapter 3: The First Hunt

The Hunters assemble in a small break room in one of Belknap's buildings. Sakio used it when she and Amil were on a team together: the Hound Table. It's a windowless room with a single round table, a bunch of chairs, and a plastic potted plant. Still, pomp and circumstance and legacy. Sakio produces a Tindilos Key (rationed to her by Daedalus), opens the Gate into Fractals, and the party heads inside.

And immediately gets seperated, with Sakio landing at the base of the Spire, while the rest of the Hunters are plopped back in Puck's "living room" for another round of Q&A with the fae boy – and a chance to show off the new Fractals-only combat outfits given to them by Daedalus. After reaffirming that he's on the Hunters' side, Puck magically opens the way forward, giving them a clear shot to the Spiral Spire, home of the Celestial Behemoth, where Sakio meets back up with them.

As they all travel inside, Artemis starts feeding Blake environmental information through text in their journal, her navigational skills making themselves apparent. The Hunters go floor by floor of this tower of junk, fighting a number of minor Shadows, each made of discarded scrap. It takes them a couple days of expedition, using an in-built dumbwaiter as shortcut, and taking multiple days of break in between to not burn out.

During one of these breaks, Camellia asks Sakio to come with them on what they present as an impromptu walk in one of Belknap's graveyards. Camellia spends the whole walk cracking wise, to the point where Sakio clearly starts to suspect they're forcing it, when they reach a particularly well maintained grave. "Frey," with the last name carefully scratched out so no trace of it remains.

Camellia's mask slips as they place a metal flower on the grave. This was a friend of theirs. This was their best friend. Sakio silently takes that in, and reaches into her pocket to pull out a small scuffed metal pin with an etching of a rose on it. She places it down on Frey's grave and thanks them for the chance to meet.

Meanwhile, Lena delivers a handmade flowerpot to Amil, Ilse and Twitch visit a nearby museum together, and Blake visits their favorite place: a cat cafe named Le Petit Prince with the very old and very friendly calico Herbert.

Finally, the Hunters return to Fractals and storm through the remaining floors of the Spire. However, on their way back, they end up running into a classmate fighting for their life against a powerful Shadow. They recognize them: Sammy Cabra, college freshman and general Silly Fellow (gender neutral). Sammy found the blue robin Icarus in reality and was guided to and through the gate, where they found themselves in Fractals and awakened to their persona: Neko Shogun The Hunters help rescue Sammy, and after a quick debate, agree to have them become part of the team. Sakio takes Sammy to get registered with Daedalus, and the rest of the Hunters crash, resting up for the Behemoth fight.

Chapter 4: Red Bloom

After a few days of rest, recuperation and bond-building with their new teammate, the Hunters return to Fractals. Sakio, Blake, Ilse, Lena, Camellia and Sammy use the dumbwaiter to ascend the Spire, stepping out into the tenth floor vestibule, beyond which the birthing Behemoth waits in his chamber.

There is someone in their way. Someone who radiates fury and strength. Someone who may not be exactly human.

The moment she sees the woman, Sakio lets out a sound like she's been stabbed, eyes wide and fearful. She stands motionless at the top of the stairs, frozen. Almost shaking.

The woman gazes to the side, through those cracks in the metal of the tower walls. Has the breeze picked up? Or had it always been nearly howling, quiet, like the distant sound of snarling wolves. "My father called me his little primrose, once. I would say that's the best of the names he called me." If her tone was calm before, this is anger. Fire boiling beneath every word. "But flowery language doesn't suit this place. Ugly, and garish." She looks back at you, almost through you, like you're made of paper. "You may refer to me as Prim. Or, if you like, you need not refer to me at all."

[Full dialogue for this scene is available here for those interested.]

Prim verbally dresses down the Hunters one by one, making clear she doesn't want to stop them from killing the Behemoth. She just wants to see if they're worthy of Puck's attention, of being his crusaders. This is a test. And every word is a failure.

Sakio, furthermore, clearly has a history with this woman, a history that fills her with dread. She doesn't take a step.

But Blake does.

They tuck their book under one arm, right hand reaching over and gripping their left wrist tightly. “To answer your question. I do intend to take full responsibility for my teammates here. And if you’re intent on interfering, I ask that you…” they flinch, muttering a curse under their breath. “I ask that you go through me first.”

While Prim isn't phased by this display, Blake's courage does soften her approach somewhat, giving the remaining Hunters a chance to freely advocate for their worth. When Lena openly mocks Prim's sharpness, Prim lists off three names: Vladamir, Amelie, Roland. Three of Daedalus's that she's killed. Three of Daedalus's that Sakio watched her kill.

When she turns her attention to Camellia, Prim finds an odd ethereal resistance, like the air itself wants her to leave them alone.

"How curious. And here I thought he didn’t pick favorites.”

After one last bout of open disdain, Prim manifests a shadowy flicker, like a Persona bathed in dark, and uses it to punch a hole in the vestibule wall, vanishing through it.

The Hunters explode in argument, all ire turned towards Sakio and her festering secrets, but she pleads with them to wait. She'll answer their questions, she promises, but they need to kill the Behemoth still. Begrudgingly, the party makes their way into the room beyond the vestibule and prepare for battle.

The world uncurls. Almost as if it's resisting the motion, pulling back into a form by strength of will alone. You finally see the thing before you, the so-called Celestial Behemoth, in all its horrid glory. His skin is grey and stretched, like a bodysuit pulled too tight, and it's covered in green lines and odd indentations like inconsistent scales. His hands are outstretched, fingers long as his palm. And his wide mouth is full of sharp teeth, and a long black tongue that lolls out the side. Bulging eyes spinning in a reptilian skull. Those eyes focus. First up, towards the sky. Then down, towards you. And he screams. A roar that could spit the heavens.

Blake, your journal snaps open. Shuddering with fear and hunger, Artemis writing not in silver but in crimson ink as dark as blood.

The Celestial Behemoth Star Arcana J A B B E R W O C K

[Full fight and extra art is available here for those interested]

The Jabberwock is a more powerful opponent than any they've faced before, protected by a divine veil and habitually charging up devastating attacks behind an anti-magic barrier. The Hunters are caught off-guard by one of these attacks, explosions rocking the room. Camellia uses their last Salvation to protect Ilse. But Sammy, just out of their reach, is knocked unconscious.

Sakio, in a panicked rush, crushes a golden bead – a late-game revival item – and sprinkles the dust over Sammy, who gasps back to lucidity. Still injured, but conscious again. When the Hunters recover from the shock of seeing their teammate collapse, they turn back to the Jabberwock with vengeance in their eyes and hearts. Sakio stops holding back, and empowers her students with an enhanced version of her Rebel Will skill.

The Counterstrike begins.

The Hunters unload damage on the Jabberwock, bringing it to its knees for Sakio to deliver the coup de gras, sending the reptilian Celestial through the floor of the arena, crashing down through layer after layer of its Spire. It does not rise again.

Part 1 Epilogue: Red Wilt

The Hunters return to the Hound Table, spent beyond belief. Once again, they turn to Sakio, waiting for her. The truth, as promised.

"After I left my first BaSH team – after Amil was injured – I joined a Daedalus operation requiring a large number of Persona-users, to slay multiple Behemoths which had cohabitated together and grown as one." She purses her lips. "The Director oversaw that operation firsthand. And, once it had been completed, that was when she struck." Her tone tense, eyes distant. "She injured multiple Daedalus operatives in a mad gambit to murder the Director. Two of the Director's personal aids were..." Sakio trails off. "From the reports afterwards, all I was told is she is likely some manner of rogue Persona-user who has decided to ally herself with the Behemoths, for whatever reason." And she looks at Blake. "That is all I know."

It's not the full truth. But it's not a lie either. The party leaves, exhausted, frustrated. Victorious and unsatisfied.

Blake, Lena, Ilse, Camellia and Sammy wake to the sound of a robin's song and the corner of their rooms peeling open. A gate not violet, but a steady velvet blue. Through it, they find themselves back in Fractals, in Puck's junkyard abode. The Spire collapsed, but the Spiral remains.

Puck greets the party warmly, congratulating them both on slaying their first Behemoth and being lucky enough to be visited by Prim – a joy he hasn't shared for months now. The two clearly have history, but Prim has resigned herself to solitude, and her visits have become more and more frequent. And, he won't tell the party what her "deal" is. Secrets better kept than confessed.

However, he does expand the limits of his services. Through his permission, the Hunters (Sakio excluded) may freely travel into Fractals to visit him without the use of a Tindilos key. He'll also keep a stock of valuable items, purchasable with simple and generous barter (a little snack here or there). And...should they wish to speak Prim again for whatever reason (Lena and Blake seem especially interested)...he'll find a way to let them.

The curtain closes on a little fae boy's impish smile, and the distant grumbling of a red-eyed murderer.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[thinenotthee]

OC-tober day 19: inspiration

Here are some of the obvious inspirations (that i can remember, since I did make her almost ten years ago) for Essa "S" Prochaine, everyone's favorite fire girlie!

Pictured clockwise from the top we have: Day/Daniel Altan Wing from Legend, Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, and Lena Duchannes from Beautiful Creatures. In-depth explanations under the read more!

Up top we have the man, the myth, the legend (😉) Daniel Altan Wing/Day himself. Day is the protagonist of the Legend series by Marie Lu, which is a book i read in middle school, and i have been trying to recreate the feelings it instilled in me ever since. In the very first draft of Above All Else, S was literally just a Day genderbend. She was blonde, she was an orphan, she was CoAm's most wanted criminal at the tender age of 14, and she liked to scale buildings. I cannot express how hard I laugh every time I read that original draft that I turned in to my 8th grade English teacher like "here is my totally original concept." If he knew about this book series I am sure his praise for my writing would not have been so high. Even True was just Tess #2. So thanks Marie Lu for giving me these kids I will never be able to let go of.

To the right we have none other than Edward Elric. I watched FMA for the first time the year after that initial draft, and needless to say the way i thought about story and character was forever changed. S got the personality from him, I'm sure. Also something something doing everything for the sibling (or in S's case, sibling-like relationship) that you Cannot Fail.

Lena Duchannes, rhymes with rain! I also read Beautiful Creatures after that initial draft, but I was absolutely entranced by the idea of a secret witch society that exists alongside our own. In Beautiful Creatures the magic users are called "Casters" and have Dark or Light affinity. In Above All Else, the magic users are called "Occultists" (I wanted to get really obscure with the vocabulary to counter the simplicity of "Caster," in true pretentious 14 year old fashion), and the two main characters with abilities are a fire user and a shadow manipulator. How about that?

Not depicted above: every YA dystopian heroine of the early 2010s. S is 1000% an inheritor of that genre and legacy. It's why she's 14 and eternally angry. Mwah, love you girlie

[animechick2015]

Do you mind if I ask, what are your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any anime (can be series or movies)? Sorry if you have answered this before.....

Oh wow I’ve never had to think about my top anime moments before. This is exciting! Off the top of my head and in no particular order I’d have to say :

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood when Ed was fighting Father by himself and everyone was calling his name to cheer him on….chills.

Another top moment for me (not necessarily my favorite but the emotions stuck with me for a while) was the last roll call in Assassination Classroom. I don’t think I’ve recovered from that to this day.

There’s so many moments in Fairy Tail (the anime that got me into anime): when they came back after being stuck on Tenrou Island for 7 years, Natsu beating the twin dragons for Lucy, fairy tail winning the grand magic games, Lucy reuniting with the guild after they all went their separate ways.

In Haikyuu when they were up against Shiratorizawa and they needed one more point to win. Man the animation for that was godly. With Ushijima holding down Tsuki and Hinata but the other teammates fighting to lift him up definitely a favorite anime moment of mine.

Gintama also has a lot of memorable moments for me. Just a few off the top of my head is the ladies absolutely kicking ass during the Courtesan of a Nation arc, when Gin found out his teacher was still alive, when everyone came together to fight Utsuro

In Eighty Six when Shin and Lena (and the entire squadron) officially met for the first time I cried my eyes out.

Attack on Titan had a lot of moments but the one that made me decide to stick to watching it was the sealing of Wall Rose. The animation, soundtrack and voice acting made me officially love this anime

In Demon Slayer, the fight between Uzui and Tanjiro vs Gyutaro will always be epic. I don’t know if any other animated fight could top that for me personally.

Again these are just a few moments that came to the top of my head, there’s probably more but this post will be too long lol. Thank you for asking such an awesome question!

[serphena]

Dha'veira Lavellan, cause I have no self-control

daughter of the Keeper of the Lavellan clan, who journeys from clan to clan in search of ancient knowledge, magic and traditions, mentor and teacher to Lena and Taren, Theo's liiiiiittle childhood crush

stoic, calm, loves books, doesn't really do that well with social interactions (prefers to be alone most of the time), enjoys looking at birds

joined thanks to her mother's request, in case she had any bits of information that could help Theo and his quests, even after officially joining she was leaving for some time here and there (became an agent)

and since you all said it, alright I'll bite Blackwall said heart eyes when she stumbled into the Inquisition thank you for coming to my ted talk

[nanowrimo]

Meet Our New NaNo Interns: Josie and Lena!

We feel super lucky here at NaNo HQ to be able to work with some excellent interns! Today, meet our newest cohort of interns: Josie and Lena. You’ll be getting to know them better throughout November, but today they’re here to tell you a little about themselves:

Josie, Editorial & Programs Intern:

I discovered NaNoWriMo at an important time in my life. I was in sixth grade and was known by my teachers as a lover of books, writing, and art. I never thought about combining those interests in a serious way, outside of the silly little comics I would produce.

And then I discovered there was a month-long challenge to write a novel. Anyone could do it, even if I was just a spunky twelve year old! I instantly signed up and dove right into the challenge. I don’t really remember what I wrote that year, since that word document was lost to the depths of time. I know it didn’t make any sense. I also know I didn’t even win that year. But I had fun writing way past my bedtime. I had fun drawing my characters and planning out wild shenanigans for them to get involved in. This experience with NaNoWriMo was something that would happen year after year and I enjoyed sharing that time with other young writers. 

Now, I’m an adult. I never lost my love for books, loving them so much I ended up getting a degree in analyzing them. I never stopped drawing either.

It would be a lie to say I stopped writing. I wrote plenty and I have many essays and scripts to prove that. It’s just been a while since I wrote 100% for myself, outside of a graded assignment. I started to miss that feeling of being surrounded by other writers and getting lost in the world I created. I was reminded of those Novembers long past and found myself thinking, “Hey, remember NaNoWriMo? When was the last time you did that?”

Then I saw there was a NaNoWriMo internship opening for this fall, and well, here I am, your new Editorial and Programs intern!  I’ll be writing alongside each and every one of you. It’s a daunting task and I have a lot to learn, but I know this journey will be an enjoyable one.

Lena, Marketing & Fund Development Intern:

Hello all! As someone whose been following NaNoWriMo since the age of thirteen, now that I’m starting 21 as the first Marketing & Fundraising Intern, I’ve been nothing but excited to be on this journey. I’ve been in love with stories since I was small, reading, writing, daydreaming to procrastinate my writing, all the things. My mother is Yaqui, Indigenous to a tribe from Sonora, Mexico, that later fled to the United States. In my journey to accessibility, education, and action, I’m hoping to tell stories of my family’s history and of the future of our world. It doesn’t hurt if there are magic and dragons involved though, right? My go-to stories are fairytale and mythology retellings and re-imaginings, predominantly in the fantasy genre. Give me Legendborn, Percy Jackson, or Cinderella is Dead any day! In lieu of my college career, I’ve become a full-time caregiver for a loved one. Being a part of a team that is so incredibly accommodating to that in my dream organization and being able to interact at community events has been the greatest blessing. I’m so excited to further engage with all of you this November!

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

I’ve had this idea for how an S7/spinoff focusing on Lena could’ve gone post-series finale. I’ll probably never have time to write it (just started a new job with zero free-time) but I wanted to share it because I think it’s such a cool idea:

Lena’s experimenting with a spell that accidentally sends her into another reality/parallel earth. One where Superman and Supergirl don’t exist (and neither do the Luthors); Alex Danvers is the CEO of Liberty Media (an anti-alien news platform); Cat Grant is head of the DEO (and secretly Miss Martian); Andrea is a high school teacher by day/vigilante by night; Brainy is the owner of Q-Corp (Liberty Media’s biggest rival and pro-alien platform) with Nxly as his anxious and bubbly secretary; and Nia is head of Obsidian Tech (secretly funded by Mon-El, the leader of Leviathan). Lena can’t figure out how to get back to her earth and seeks help from AU Andrea and AU Cat. But when AU Agent Liberty and his army starts an attack on AU National City’s alien residents, Lena decides this world needs a Supergirl… even if it has to be her in the suit. So she uses her magic to replicate some of Kara’s powers/substitute for them and her own take on Kara’s suit to be the hero this world needs (until she can find a way to return to Kara and her earth). But discovers during her first battle that the AU Agent Liberty is actually a she and a fellow witch! Which is why Lena’s spell accidentally brought her here and until she can solve the mystery of who this masked witch is she can’t return to her earth. With her taking leadership of the AU heroes of this world and being an-all new magic-based type of Supergirl (but still taking inspiration from her friendship with Kara, while doing things her way).

Interesting! This is a compelling concept.

[seldomscilence16]

What I should do in my free time: Work on my WIP's

What I do instead: OoO a new idea!

In other words; My Ducktales Harry Potter AU

The death of Della shook the family, the 'death' of the Dark Mistress shook the wizarding world as a whole. To the triplets left behind, it upturned everything they'd ever known. Their first birthday did not come with presents and celebration, but with new lives and years of unanswered questions. That is where our story begins.

Now to the characters! They're probably pretty simular to what others have done, but legit had a family breaking discussion about this stuff.

Headmaster: Scrooge McD(r)uck (Idk if its human or animal yet)

Gryffindor Head: Bentina Beakley Gryffindors: Scrooge, Della, Goslyn, Dewey

Ravenclaw Head: Gyro Gearloose Ravenclaws: Fethry, Violet, Huey, May

Hufflepuff Head: Fenton Cabrera Hufflepuffs: Donald, LP, Webby, Boyd, June

Slytherin Head: Goldie O' Gilt Slytherins: Gladstone, Lena, Louie, April

Classes/Teachers for First year (I havent gotten farther than that :/)

Transfiguration: Beakley Charms: Goldie Potions: Gyro History of Magic: Quackfaster and Manny DADA: J.D. Rockerduck (The Host) Flying&Herbology: Fenton Astronomy:Duckworth

As for where everyone ended up:

Penumbra: Della's old muggle roommate from flight school, is Deweys Guardian.

The Drakes: Frances(Gummeemama) used to be Ministry, her Son was squib and her DIL a muggle, her grandson a Squib. This is sadly where Louie ended up.

Fethry: The Uncle who's great at avoiding family conversations, this is where Huey was sent.

The compound: Full of random wizards and kids of teachers. Daisy, April, May, June, Goofy, Max, Boyd, Webby, and others live here.

I am actually writing these things, just not enough to post anywhere yet ya know? Like my avatar one is almost a chapter! And Im a few chapters in on the Dime a Dozen Au. Anyway, feel free to ask questions!

[orleans-jester]

Meanwhile in Halloweentown

Oogie Boogie has managed to spin some of what was happening in New Orleans in her favor. Of course she did. She had to throw the dice. Everyone was watching her do so. A shimmy, a shake, and she let them go and though it wasn’t perfect snake eyes, she was making do.

It was a shame that she lost her pretty sex ed teacher, and her prettier gym teacher over in New Orleans. She’d make a show out of it, of course. An assembly would be called for in the school - after New Years, of course. There was still a lot to celebrate. Fireworks went off in Halloweentown. She might not rule over the entire town but she had her sway with the ‘mayor’.

The assembly was to explain some of what was happening. The Horned King uprising. The dead attributed to him. The dancing? Well, that was Maleficent’s daughter of course. Delta, who had once been a part of this school. Where did she learn such magic? Well, it was a gamble but Oogie might insinuate she learned that sort of devilry from right here. Halloweentown High School.

Those that were lost were mourned, dramatically. Pictures of Aphrodite, of Bubbles, of the other staff and students whom they had lost. Prevalent were the Horned King’s own sons. Hypno and Lena. Ace and Libi. Even Maz, Jax and Babyface were on there, since they hadn’t been seen in a while. She wasn’t looking that deeply into Babyface. At least, not yet.

But she also took this opportunity for a little fun manipulation. By telling the truth. Those spells have not worked their way into Halloweentown. Even if the portals had become closed - well, that just meant that they were all the safer here.

She would take the survivors into her own large busom. Those that were affected by the magic, who lost loved ones, should consider themselves to be little Boogies, for she was going to take care of them. They were a family, here in Halloweentown.

Not many were left. Students used to come and go between school and the city all of the time. And it was around the holidays, so people were going through to do their holiday shopping. It was a mess. But there was still her loyal Spade. Her Barrel.

But there were the vultures. There were always vultures after the smoke cleared. Much like the redhead that they had seen darting through the halls, they helped themselves to what was left. Scavenging.

Christmas came early for the Vultur boys. Presents that people left behind, sitting gift wrapped and pretty. They had some solid finds. Watches and magical items, clothing and sex toys. Valentin felt like the luckiest boy alive when he unwrapped a present full of art supplies, hugging it close to his chest. Nicolai wasn’t as easily amused, but he found some trinkets, things that he could use, books that he could read.

Classes would continue. Not all of them of course, masters of their field were missing but some. The essentials. Oogie herself would put on a class in the auditorium each day, teaching about life. Not something that could be found in every class.

Things like how to brew your own Plan B, or a quick magical abortion. How to break a man’s penis before he could rape you with only one quick movement. How to best clean blood out of clothing, and get the red traces off of skin. How to frame someone else for murder. What essential things to have in your car if you plan on being on the road for a while. How to count cards while playing games. How to not get caught counting cards while playing games. How to use your physical assets to their utmost potential.

None of these were graded. You got an A just for showing up. The marking system was always more on the lax side here, with Oogie actually recognizing that different people were in different places education wise, learning wise, mentally, socially, and it all took it’s toll on how work was finished.

That was probably thanks to Barrel and his own deficiencies. He was brilliant in some ways, but ... very mentally challenged in others. It helped her to recognize it. And to recognize that recognizing it would earn her favor. It was an easy win.

So she’s laying low and taking care of what she’s gotta take care of. The timing was unfortunate. She did so hate when the holidays got ruined. And the door being closed was a pesky problem too but she would figure it out.

As a part of Halloweentown and not the high school, Jock chilled out in the cellar of the drag club. Not that there was much in the daytime when it came to sunshine but one can never be too cautious. The weird shirt selling, drug making, sometimes DJing vampire was affected by the changes in NOLA cause damn, there went his drug lab and now he’s gotta start from scratch. Gotta start again with the supercrack.

[lcngliive]

Was that [VANESSA KIRBY]? Oh no no, that was just [EDLIN DURA], an [ORIGINAL CHARACTER] from [STAR WARS]. They are [THIRTY FOUR] years old, use [SHE/HER], and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here

she's been here for four years.

what is your character's job

edlin is a doctor at george washington memorial hosp.

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom

after her death.

has any magic affected your character

nope!

and any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know!!

oop here comes jodie again with a tragic star wars milf :)))))

edlin was born on lothal to her parents anther and melia berren.

from a young age, edlin showed an interest in medicine, this was only furthered when she made friends with one of the only doctors in her village, an older man named zano who had once been a teacher on coruscant, but was now retired and living with his wife in the place they had raised their children.

as she grew older, she started to grow a more significant interest, and zano contacted some of his former students, putting the word out about someone who would be a good student when she was of age.

and it paid off, she had a place lined up in the top medical school on coruscant when she turned sixteen. 

her life was happy, up until it wasn't, her father was injured in a factory accident which caused him to be bedridden, leaving her mother to be the primary breadwinner for the family. 

it wasn't long after that when her father passed away, leaving her mother devastated and it forced edlin to go and find a job because her mother was too depressed to move from her bed.

it wasn't long after that when both her parents were gone and she was alone in the world.

zano and his wife lena took her in until she was almost sixteen, taking care of her until she was able to go off to courscant and study to become a doctor.

and before she knew it, she was on a transport off-world heading to the core world to start her new life.

she settled in well, the family she was boarding with were friends of zano's and they treated her like one of their own, she was good friends with their daughters, one of them being the same age as her and one just slightly younger.

edlin took to her studies very well and sailed through her training programme quicker than anyone else - she was good at picking up on details that other people didn't and this would prove valuable for her later in her life.

when she was twenty three, she graduated and started working as a doctor in the same place that she had done training at a few years prior.

during that time, she met her soon-to-be husband and they just clicked instantly. leaving this very vague bc ik maig is putting a wc out for papa dura :)

and they got married and had their first daughter, kriya. and then a few years later kaya followed.

but things weren't going to be happy for the dura family - kaya was force sensitive, and soon the jedi came knocking.

edlin was 100% against giving her baby up - kaya was her child and she wasn't about to let the jedi take her. but things wouldn't go the way she wanted them.

and even though she fought hard, kaya was still taken away from them.

soon after that, edlin started to resent her husband and resent the jedi - for letting their daughter be taken away so easily and the jedi for taking her away.

the days after her daughter was taken, she locked herself in the bedroom and refused to speak to anyone or see anyone, she even started to refuse to eat and go to work.

years passed with her being numb, but slowly she gained somewhat of a normal life back - she went to work and then came home and didn't speak to her family.

which is something she regrets, she regrets shutting kriya out - regrets not being there for her daughter.

one day, edlin just decided to pack a bag and leave, leave her family behind and go out into the world - it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and very much an intrusive thought that she gave into, but she left.

she helped around on different planets for a few years, that was until the clone wars happened and while she didn't like the jedi, the civilians didn't deserve to be caught in their war.

edlin doesn't really remember what happened in the end - but she was killed in an explosion that was done by the separatists and even until the end, she was making sure people were okay.

here in dc

edlin has been in the city for four years and has been slowly adjusting.

she was glad to go back to working as a doctor here, it made her feel better about everything and gave her a sense of normality.

the first year of her being here was very hard for her, she'd been away from what was left of her family for a year now at this point and she missed them, missed what her family could have been.

but she thew herself into work and started volunteering to pass the time when she wasn't working and that led her to work with a few different charities that help children after their parents had died.

edlin has recently been reunited with her daughters, and she doesn't know how that's going to go - with kriya, she knows it won't go well, but she hopes that with kaya things can be good.

[eumenidaes]

Ok, so my FE OCs I’ve been making for a thing with my friends

First off is Themis (she/her) aka my token Steadfast archetype C that I put into everything. Her FE archetype would be the Cornelius, with her being the queen of the currently unnamed kingdom. She’s perceived be her subjects as a little bit like a weird but well meaning and good celebrity, though some people think she’s a little airheaded and a lot of her efforts to make substantial changes in her kingdom are held back by the other nobles enacting policies to work around hers. She’s a lot more than she appears to be on the surface tho

And then my token Steadfast archetype J, Vidar (he/him) who is also the FE archetype of the Ogma. He was childhood friends with Themis, though he came from a commoner family. Though he did serve on her guard for a period, his squad was all killed in a disaster about a decade ago and he was severely burned in multiple places all over his body. He since retreated, isolating himself as a mercenary. He’s stubborn and a bit standoffish, but deeply loyal

Diana (she/her) is the Lena archetype, and she’s recently managed to get her freedom from a cult known as the Children of the Dragon. She’s got very distant dragon lineage which made her of significant interest to them, so she was locked away for years with minimal contact with the outside world. She’s someone who is sweet and caring if not a little bit naive, but absolutely shouldn’t be messed with. She refuses to be held captive ever again

Olokun (they/he) is a talented magic user under the Wendell archetype. They’re a teacher at an academy for other people who are studying magic, and their expertise is in Wind magic. He’s a mother to all of his students and other mentees, caring for them like his own children, and he’s very patient in teaching others regardless of age. Though they prefer strategic approaches to things, they’re a fierce fighter when it comes down to it

Yannick (they/them) is a cavalier under the Abel archetype. The best way that I can describe them is that they are just a guy. They’re pretty much just coasting on luck through life, though they are pretty good with a sword despite their tendency to slack on their training. They’re friendly and laidback, as well as a great person to be around when you want to relax, but they aren’t always the most reliable

Anjelika (she/her) is one of the Whitewing archetype characters, specifically Catria. She’s a Pegasus Knight that’s intent on protecting the people of her kingdom, but she does have very high standards for herself that can sometimes be impossible to live up to. She cares deeply for her fellow knights, but she ultimately can be her greatest enemy with her drive and perfectionism sometimes causing issues for her

And the last one atm is Myeongwol (she/her). She doesn’t fit an archetype necessarily other than being a shapeshifter-- specifically, she’s a kumiho. She’s the leader of the kumiho living in the unnamed kingdom, but she’s drawn to help fight for it when her people are under attack. She’s absolutely someone who loves to cause problems on purpose. She tends to be very good at reading people and using them to her advantage, but she is trying to use that to help people out for now

[mistwraiths]

2 stars

You know it's never good when your only favorite moments of a book is one sentence in the first page, a throwaway reference to WW1 coming up, and then the part where a character calls out the main character. I wanted to like this book badly from the beginning. It has things I like! Historical fiction, a murder mystery, witches, magic, a magical school, a looming magical war. It's very sad when none of those things make this book easier to read and enjoy.

This book started off really quickly, however I absolutely could have gone without the attempted sexual assault on page nine. I get her needing a trauma to jumpstart her magic but it's 2022!!!! I think this was published in 2021 or earlier but that's no excuse, it's so unnecessary. This did sour me right off the bat but I was determined to continue on. Frances seemed capable and smart, the promise of all those things I looked forward to.

Once we get to the school, the book stops being interesting and starts a very long and boring slog to the end. I knew I wasn't enjoying it by page 100 but I was at work and I pushed to finish. I should have just DNF'd.

First off, the magical school was a big let down. Not only was almost every teacher insufferable but they only taught girls how to be safe by being small. They only taught girls how to do small household magic. We don't even really get a sense of HOW magic works and there's only a brief mention of how there might be different types of magic like Finders and Clairvoyants, but we don't get go into depth. Also, you can move things with your mind or spells, and you DON'T teach women how to protect themselves??? I get the part where they're like men don't like women with power but damn. Also, I know students eventually leave once they master control or whatever, but why do some who leave die or go mad? Why does magic eat at you if you don't use it? What does it mean when the Headmistress said magic needs to connect? Also, the school just turning a blind eye to those that do go crazy and also giving students stipends to ensure obedience is pretty awful. Why is the magic school just so awful?

I really hated Frances. It felt like the first few pages we get to glimpse of Frances and the one for the rest of the series are two different people. She's the typical make bad decisions, complain, and is also so powerful wow YA MC. She's constantly asking pretty personal and even rude questions to people. Treats her friends like people she can use instead of getting to know about them. Everything you learn about Lena is like usually forced by a situation, there's no friends telling each other things about themselves to be close. She doesn't act like a friend either really, she's constantly like surprised by anything she learns by the girls in her classes. The moment someone doesn't immediately agree or line up for whatever decision she's decided, she gets angry and does it regardless. She constantly acts like she doesn't trust anyone. Only her feelings, what she wants, matters and its prevalent throughout the story.

I can get behind wanting to solve her brother's murder. I can even get behind her being angry with the school, Haxahaven, for trying to keep the girls small and only teaching them to be safe and use practical household magic. Her thirst for knowledge or power could be fine but it ultimately hinges on her one goal to see her brother again. Like, she doesn't want to learn spells, she wants to do the Resurrection spell only and gets annoyed constantly when people pump the brakes. Remember me commenting how she doesn't trust anyone? There is one person she somehow trusts implicitly despite only meeting him once???? But the boy she's known practically forever, the friend who was also likely grieving his friend both in dead and separation, the one in college who probably couldn't do much, she's mad at because I guess how dare he live his life? She can be mad he kinda disappeared but his explanation is a perfectly valid one.

The guy she trusts without a doubt for like 90% of the book is Finn and he's such an obvious walking red flag it's almost funny. Almost. Instead, I was mostly irritated because all it would have taken is one brain cell. How utterly convenient on the NIGHT you meet an Irish boy you come across a magic spell book in GAELIC. Like hello????? He's literally too conveniently placed in the story. Not to mention, he never does magic in the girls' presence. Also, when Frances ends up in a fighting ring (don't ask), he's mysteriously unable to help her or try to get to her. Oliver, who is injured and has no magic, does more. Finn says he's trying to find evidence that the Sons might be in on the killings and then wants her to join the Sons after she almost got beat up? Huh?? He also straight up tells her he's been dream stalking her she was like a young girl. Yikes.

And then, when they finally get to do the Resurrection spell and it doesn't work, Finn is like wait maybe this spell will help, but Finn supposedly never had the book ever so how would he know? But Frances naturally trusts him of course and that spectacularly backfires.

I didn't really get so much a magical war as much as two heads who hate each other and have a tenuous treaty. And that lasts all of a few pages. I guess the Sons were hiding factory accidents as murders because money/power/etc. And we learn the true murderer of Frances's brother is Finn. Shocker. He did it for her. For the them. Because he didn't love her like Finn did, which is what he actually says and I should HOPE not. Then, Finn goes Super Evil by killing tons of people and nonmagical people because they (Frances and him) should rule the world. And sends these boys to bully and kill the school girls and other people too. That's not really a war either. Also like... bro where did all the adults go? The only two adult characters that weren't insufferable were gone getting the little ones out but all the other teachers???? Gone.

Despite all that, she somehow still has feelings for him when he killed her brother, other people, stole her magic, and was pretty fine killing all her friends too. And somehow all the people who she never cared about trust her to save them and give her their magic to use. I don't know how she stops Finn. How did the dagger stop his magic? How even did it happen? I don't know!

I really didn't like that all this learning how to do powerful magic was all done by Finn helping the girls out because he's so knowledgeable, etc. There's a very good moment when thirteen girls go out and practice spells in the forest clearing. They're being silly and trying magic, and it's a very small moment of true camaraderie (Frances being all "with girls I barely know" and a little sour they're not doing important big magic). I would have liked MORE of that. The only reasons Maxine and Lena come along and learn beside her is they are better friends than Frances and Maxine kept the book out of Frances' clutches and Lena is clairvoyant.

I know this review is constantly everywhere and I know this isn't a bad book. But it was a major disappointment for me.

[lboogie1906]

John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is a singer-songwriter of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts to date. He has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings. Although described as a romantic singer, his discography includes traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, soul, rhythm and blues, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country music, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979. He has recorded six albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, he cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences. He was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He was a high jumper and hurdler, and he played on the basketball team. In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, intending to become an English and physical education teacher. While there, he set a high jump record. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CjISoeTLxfA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=