#redacted Inversion

[poedays]

I fully believe if Darlin had been in the inversion, they would have died

I have zero doubts

Now, not from a story perspective, that wouldn’t be fun for anyone involved. I don’t think Erik would kill off a listener and we wouldn’t like our Sam supply cut off.

However! Darlin, as a person, would absolutely die. Die saving Lovely, die saving Asher, die saving Damien even - they would shift, get lost, not use their radio, and die in some random hallway while the rest of the pack try and fail to find them, begging that it was just the radio that died and not the wolf on the other line. And they would’ve said no if Vincent or Sam had found them before that. They would have died, probably on their first security gig back too.

Milo would’ve been able to save all of his family - just not them - David wouldn’t have to organise a funeral for someone he’d known since childhood - if it wasn’t for them - Asher would have someone to compare scars with - if they’d have survived.

[prince-damien-of-darkness]

I have an idea for an animatic but I can't draw for shit

I’m Just a Man (Redacted) But when does a comet become a meteor (Milo throws himself against the ward) When does a candle become a blaze (Damien fights Kody) When does a man become a monster (David calls for the ward to be sealed) When does a ripple become a tidal wave (Kody pushes people towards the shades) When does the reason become the blame (Freelancer lets the ward close behind them) When does a man become a monster (Lasko breaking down) Forgive me (Gavin loses Xavier) Forgive me (David holding Asher) Forgive me I’m just a man (Vincent turns Lovely)

[righteous-r0de0]

david who has a personal lawyer and a habit of regularly making sure his affairs are legally in order should he meet an untimely end. after his father’s death, he figured it was the least he could do for his mate and his pack.

none of the pack know about it, but it names asher to be first considered for alpha and angel to remain part of the pack, regardless of his fate. all of his physical possessions have a pretty even 50/50 split between asher and angel, except all pack properties and the company, which will be left to milo. anything physical left of his dad’s will go to darlin.

he combs through the will with his lawyer at least once a year, if not, twice

he visited his lawyer directly after the inversion to double, triple, quadruple check that everything was in order and that his mate and family will be taken care of, even if he can’t be the one to do it.

[grilledcheezy92]

Lovely is probably listed as one of the 1500 dead due to the Inversion.

[puffin-smoke]

Huxley has burn scars all over his wrist. Actually, it's more so his forearm. The skin is warped and discoloured; some of the flesh is a pale white, almost sickly, the rest a subdued pink. He has to put cream on it twice a day, once in the morning and once just before he goes to sleep.

Its in the shape of a hand.

Damien's hand.

When Huxley was dragged away by the shades during the Inversion, Damien grabbed his arm. He wrapped his hand around his forearm, his nails digged into the flesh, drawing blood. In that moment all his concentration and work and knowledge abandoned him, all those years of study and keeping a careful lid on his emotions were for nought. Because all he knew was the need to get Huxley back to him.

Its difficult to hear above the snarling shades and near constant screams, but Damien does. A hissing. Steam, rising in between his fingers.

For a moment his grip went limp. Red flesh peeked out from beneath his palm, bubbling like magma. Huxley was hauled away from him, even as Damien scrambled to regain both his grasp and his composure, painting burning fingerprints further across Huxley's arm.

Its been years since the Inversion, but Damien can still remember what it felt like. The power underneath his skin, the smell of burning flesh, the roaring in his ears. The complete and utter loss of control. His swears that would never happen again, that he would never let it happen again.

So he throws himself into his work. He refines each one his magics down to a fine point, until it becomes essentially an extension of himself. Its still not enough. It'd never be enough, and yet he works anyway.

It somehow gets worse after the confession. The reminder of how he failed is closer, nearer to the knuckle. Its there when he wakes up in Huxley's arms. Its in the way Huxley looks at him; gentle. With a kindness he doesn't believe he deserves.

But he will. One day. He hopes.

[dahlia-tourism-board]

Damien fidgeted with the bronze medal around his neck, contemplating his prize.

Third Place in The Energetic and Elemental Games, out of everyone in every magical school. Damien hadn't been expecting to medal at all. His friends were so excited for him; even his mom had hugged him tight, her eyes shining with pride.

"That was brilliant," she had said. "You're going to do such great things, I know it. You should be proud of yourself. "

Damien was. He also knew himself well enough to know that normally, a part of his brain would be nagging at him too, wondering if he could've done more to get second or first.

But he looked over at Huxley, a gold medal on his neck, smiling and chatting with another competitor. Huxley had been glowing ever since he'd placed first in the first round.

Damien looked at Huxley's smile, as bright as he'd ever seen it, and he found he didn't mind bronze so much. As long as it was enough to be by Huxley's side.

'I should tell him how I feel, tonight,' Damien thought.

After the crew goes to dinner to celebrate, he'll ask Huxley to hang back, to talk to him alone, and he'll tell him exactly how he feels.

Damien had no idea how it would go. Huxley was so kind and sweet and gentle with everyone. But in his more hopeful moments, Damien felt Huxley's eyes on him and thought there had to be something there.

A hush fell over the winners as they were told to get ready for the procession. The other competitors all got in line, and Huxley looked over at Damien, and all that joy directed at him nearly set Damien's core on fire.

Tonight. No matter how it went down, Huxley would be kind and sweet and gentle. And seeing how that smile and those eyes softened when they locked eyes, Damien felt a flutter of hope that maybe, just maybe...

And then the gates of hell opened in front of them.

[honeysghost]

Angel loved to sleep with their head on David’s chest. 

It had been something he teased them relentlessly about toward the beginning of their relationship; how clingy they were—how needy. 

He didn’t mean it, of course, and Angel knew that. If anything, he was just as needy as they were. The only difference was that he’d never own up to it.

Both of them sought comfort in any form of contact they could get.

After the Inversion, it was the only thing that soothed them. 

For the first month, they barely slept at all. They would lay there until the early hours of the morning, just listening to his heartbeat, slow and steady. 

The memories of that day haunted them, took up every waking thought until it became impossible to focus on anything but the bone chilling fear they felt when they got the call that something happened.

They were a nervous wreck the entire drive to the stadium, playing worst-case-scenarios over and over in their head until they had answers… and even then they persisted

The smell of his leather jacket gripped tight in their hands, held close to their heart, thinking “what if?” until it made them feel sick

Asher’s mate by their side, digging their nails into the palm of their hands so hard they were bleeding—time was standing still. 

What if?

At the end of it all, when David and Asher emerged from the crowd, it felt like the entire world collapsed in on itself. 

He was safe, he was here… so why wasn’t the dread going away?

And every night after, like clockwork, they would climb into bed, David would pull them tight against his side, and they would just listen—waiting for something awful to happen.

[penumbra-mayhem]

Instinct

Tank is struggling after the Inversion, and there is only one person they can go to for help.

(I hc Tank with a stutter, more on that here.)

————————————————

“Hey,” Tank murmured as they settled in the dew-coated grass, “It’s b-been a wwhile…mmmy b-bad.”

The waking sun unfurled its rays in languor. Mourning doves stirred, greeting the light with their periwinkle coos. 

A small, cocky smile cracked across Tank’s face. “B-B-But, in mmmy defense, y-you haven’t reached out either, so…” Deflating, they hung their head and muttered, “…b-bad joke, I-I kn-know.”

Tank fiddled with the bundle of wild rosemary in their hands. They’d picked it on Sam’s land and tied the sprigs together with a strip of fabric from an old shirt. Such a pathetic offering. Why couldn’t they have brought something nicer? Why was everything they did so thoughtless?

No planning. No forethought. Just instinct.

“I-I hate t-t-to come t-t-to you wwith all mmmy shit, b-b-but I-I don’t have anyone else t-t-to t-talk t-to ab-bout this,” they explained, “Everyone I-I kn-know wwwas there. And they wwere all actually in-inside, actually d-dealing wwwith that shit and I-I wwwas just…”

Tears bubbled up in their vision. They gnawed at the raw flesh on the inside of their cheek, trying not to take their pain out on the gift in their hands or the grass around them.

They were made for destruction. It came more naturally to Tank than anything else; it was easy and safe, in its own way. There was certainty in knowing they had the power to tear everything apart. If they had been there, at least they could have used that proclivity to protect people.

“WWWhy wwwasn’t I-I there?” they whimpered, “Fuck, I-I feel guilty that I-I wwwasn’t there and-and then I-I feel guilty for wwwwishing I-I had b-b-been.”

How selfish of them. How utterly pathetic. 

“If I-I had, I-I could have at-at least fought wwwith them. I-I could have d-done something, in-instead of-of fucking n-n-n-nothing.”

Tank was at constant war with their emotions—always had been. They could do little to control them and nothing to stop them. But still they fought, trying to breathe deep and ground themself with their senses.

As they raised a shaking hand to clear their face of tears, the scent of rosemary bloomed in their nose like the breaking dawn.

It eased the onslaught within them, somewhat. 

“I-I got off easy. So I-I’m trying t-to b-b-be there for everyone. The p-pack. Sam. MMilo and Asher and-and David. Their mmmates. V-Vincent and his. I-I’m trying to rep-p-prioritize. I-I have t-to. I-I came so close t-t-to l-l-l-l-l—fuck,” they took a few shallow breaths before blubbering, “…l-l-l-l-losing e-everyone.”

The doves gathered in the boughs over Tank’s head, cooing them into a calmer state like a gentle chorus. They sat above like a crown of mourning, the weight of which was familiar, and in that familiarity was some sort of comfort.

“I-I wwwasn’t there. I-I shouldn’t b-b-be l-like this. I-I should b-be strong. I-I should b-b-be their rock. B-B-But I-I’m n-n-not. Shocker,” they sighed, bitterness sinking its fangs into their tone. 

“I-I’ve torn the in-insides of mmmy cheeks t-to shreds,” they admitted, “I-I can’t st-top checking everyone’s l-l-location on mmmy phone, it-it's b-b-becoming...obsessive. And I-I can’t go p-p-practically anywwhere wwwithout Sam.”

That morning had been difficult. Sam had offered to accompany Tank, not even knowing yet where they were headed. But they insisted on going alone, assuring him they’d be back in a couple hours and that they’d keep their location on. They couldn’t let him hear all of this. He was already dealing with enough. Far more than they were.

“WWhenever I-I l-l-lose sight of him, it-it’s l-like…it-it’s l-l-like wwwhen wwwwe l-lost the l-live feed. L-L-L…l-l-l-like I-I wwas suddenly on strings. MMMy mmmmovements wweren’t mmmy own, it-it wwwas all animal, all in-instinct. I-I wwwas shifted and sp-printing b-b-b-before I-I had even p-p-processed wwwhy.”

The morning air was steadily growing warmer, yet chills ran through Tank’s body. Tears muddled their vision. When they spoke, their voice was barely audible:

“I-I’m having n-n-n-nightmares…of-of the wwwward. That godawful st-tatic feeling it-it filled mmmy t-t-teeth wwith wwhen I-I b-b-bit at it-it. The fucking carnage I-I saw wwwhen it-it finally l-l-lifted. The b-b-bodies...if-if you could c-call them that. The b-blood. Asher’s b-b-blood, c-c-covering him and-and David and-and Sam.”

Sam.

“Fuck, I-I’ve n-n-never seen him l-l-look at-at mmmme l-l-like that b-b-before. Grab at-at mmme l-like that b-b-b-before. L-L-Like he wwwas dr-drowning, l-l-l-like he wwwwas s-suffoc-cating, and I-I-I wwwas his l-l-l-last t-t-t-tank of-of air.”

The nightmares always ended with him. Relief juddering through his body. Terror flooding down his cheeks. Anguish clawing out of his mouth. 

“B-B-B-But I-I-I wwwwwasn’t there!” Tank shouted, startling the doves from their perches in a cacophony of whistles. 

“SSo I-I sh-shouldn’t f-feel this wwwway. I-I-I sh-shouldn’t b-b-be having these d-damn dreams and-and th-these th-thoughts and-and th-these ffffffeelings. B-B-B-But I-I-I am…I-I’m hurting, d-d-dad. And-And I-I-I d-don’t kn-kn-know wwwwhat t-t-to d-do.”

Tank crumbled, every tear they’d fought against and tore at and bit back since the Inversion finally breaking through. All the while, Gabe’s gravestone sat before them, providing them shade from the sun now glaring on the horizon.

[mythallia]

david might not have had a death wish during the inversion, but i bet he had a moment where he wished a shade would just kill him, so he wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of the 1500 people that died during the inversion.

[thatpadfooted-boy]

COMING SOON

stay tuned. ;)

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[urfrenfishy]

what if

now hear me out here

what if during the inversion

one of the shades was sam’s grandma

and he fought her and killed her

with no idea

[poedays]

We know the damn crew have other friends at DAMN, so after the inversion do you think Huxley’s phone was blowing up on their team group chat? Do you think Damien’s study groups were frantically calling each other to see who made it out? Did Lasko call Saul? Was Huxley asking around for an electro energetic? Do you think Freelancer had a moment where they worried for Kody’s life despite it all?

People must’ve been running around, frantically grabbing people by the shoulders only for them to turn around and reveal themselves to be different to the ones the people were looking for.

Did people ask around for Xavier? By the time people noticed he wasn’t messaging back, wasn’t calling, his location hadn’t left the middle of the arena - did they know? Did Freelancer have to tell him? Was it Gavin?

[damn-student-news]

BREAKING: Tommorow marks the anniversary of the Inversion. On the 31st of December 2021, during the medal ceremony of the Energetic and Elemental Games at DAMN, a portal was opened at the centre of the stadium, releasing hundreds of shades onto the crowd. 1500 people died. 1500 people. Siblings, friends, partners, and strangers. All of them killed in a senseless act of violence.

Things will be difficult. Things will feel impossible. Grief dug up, wounds opened anew.

Take all the time you need tommorow, even for the next couple days. Do you whatever you need to distract yourself, to cope. Whether that be hanging around with friends, or holing up in the library, or whatever you need to do. Here are a few things that DAMN is offering:

Many people will still be setting off fireworks, which some may find triggering, so students can take out a pair of noise cancelling headphones from the library. All they need is your name and when you'll hand them back in.

@unofficial-damn-support is running a teaparty in a lecture hall. They plan to sound-proof the hall for the event. Bring a friend, make some new ones. Go to them for details on times, rules, ect.

DAMN has listed many hotline numbers on their website, some catered to the specific struggles of different magical classes. There's no shame in giving them a call.

There's also therapists you can go see, on site. They take in person and online appointments.

If none of these appeal to you, and you'd rather just stay alone for a while, do so. DAMN has uploaded past Christmas pantomime performances to their YouTube channel, so feel free to check those out for a laugh. Just rest. Don't do anything you might regret.

Be safe.

[simplynims]

Okay but like how fucked would it be if Lovely died before they were able to give their decision on if they wanted to be turned into a vampire or not in the Inversion.

[everything-redacted00]

listening to redacted audio is like falling asleep to a grumpy old southern man and waking up to the screams of the damned

[dollvre]

you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me