Question Brief Glimpses 2

Scales[/b]

Home Montana, Friday July 27th, 2007

Ouch, a month after Sapphire manifested, poor girl, is a wreck. Losing the last of her scales even now, having grown up with them, to go through such drastic changes in such a short time. So the changes started just over 4 months ago, I hope their local doctor can help out. Feeling like it isn't even her anymore, a stranger, a pretty, yikes.

Wishes to have her tail back, if wishes were horses...

“I know it isn’t easy,” her mother told her with a sigh. “But it will get easier with time…”

Sapphire bitterly spat out, “How would you know?”

The giant snake woman let out a sigh and lowered her body to be on Sapphire’s level. “I didn’t always look like this,” she reminded Sapphire. “Once, long ago…I looked similar to how you do now… For me, it was very difficult to lose my legs and grow a tail…but eventually…I got used to it. Now, I can’t even remember what it felt like to have legs.”

At least she has her mother there to comfort and assure her, even if Sapphire isn't exactly listening fully. And cool home, a cave made up like a house and in a tunnel system that makes up the town.

The town of Home had once been a ghost town, completely abandoned until the founders bought the property, renamed the town, and then made it a sanctuary for those with GSD. Before long, they’d excavated numerous tunnels and living chambers, so now, more of the town was located beneath the surface than above it.

Great idea for a town, if it isn't in a seismically active area. *winces* To get looks like that from neighbors she grew up around, that is pain. Mary, a friend since they were little, to run off like that, this is just wrong. For Mrs. Toad to say that to Sapphire, ugh.

Opal trying to be nice to Sapphire, but Sapphire snaps and Mom tells Opal to go play with Ruby and Emerald.

“They don’t hate you,” her mother told her with a sad smile. “But some people have a hard time…being reminded that outside of Home…that they’re the ones who are different. Some people don’t like that reminder.”

*sigh* Her Mom made the cloak out of Sapphire's scales that she could save, brings tears to my eyes. Now, this is a mother's love.

Of Stryff and Games

Whitman Cottage, Sunday Nov 4th, 2007

Stryff has four arms and good dexterity with them to shuffle two decks at once. Claire Babich, unique last name, never heard it before.

With four arms, blue skin, and red eyes, some people might mistake her as some kind of fiend from Hell. In fact, there were a few people back home who’d done exactly that.

Oh, good grief. She has an interesting look, even all of it taken together doesn't scream demon to me. Mischief, Darqueheart, and Porcelain, yup, Mischief is the strangest out of this group of girls.

Stryff nodded back. “Yeah, the extra arms really made me take a hit to my dexterity score.”

She smiled faintly at the Dungeons and Dragons joke, thinking of her brother and how he loved that game. He’d even talked her into playing a couple times, though it had never really been her thing.

Nice, knows some D&D stuff. And great exercise to improve coordination surprised it isn't prescribed more.

Mischief pointed to the box that the game had come in, indicating the cover art. There was a picture of two cartoon rabbits, one of whom was wielding a flaming chainsaw while the other had an axe that was dripping blood. In the background, there was the shadowy silhouette of third rabbit, one with horns and a devil tail, very similar to what Darqueheart possessed.

Bunnies of the Damned, only Mischief would find those kinds of card games.

This is a very...unique card game. A Mr. T reference, funny. Ouch, what kind of life did Claire have before manifesting she doesn't mind losing it?

She probably would have dropped out of high school, maybe getting knocked up first. Then would have come welfare and a series of bad jobs, leaving her trapped in a crappy trailer park for the rest of her life. It had happened to her mom, her aunt, and a lot of other people she knew. In fact, her friend Tina, whom she’d grown up with, had already gotten pregnant.

Okay, losing that potential life isn't bad. Magic, so does Stryff have a Wiz trait?

Yikes! Wrecked the trailer park she grew up in, that is some accident with her new powers. Brings a tear to my eye, such a loving family to do all that for Claire, plus now I'm wondering how her Dad has connections to Whateley. Heh, answered in the next sentence, nice to have helpful customers. Mischief just has to bring up that particular form of attack some kaiju have, eesh.

Stryff had always been wary of anyone she didn’t know well, and even more so since her manifestation, which often made her come across as extremely shy.

Go and talk to Diamondback already, she is friendly. A card like the Bunzai card, a game of strategy and luck as well I see, a fun card game.

Tricks of the Trade[/quote

Whateley Academy, Thursday Nov 8th, 2007

Now who is Abigail Preston watching from behind a bush? A box, a gift-wrapped box, it's a trap! Buster, this idiot chose to pick on the wrong person it seems, one who gets back with pranks, good for her. Trixie! He bullied Trixie, I knew Buster was an idiot, but not lacking in common sense this much.

Glitter bomb, priceless, he will never get it all out, never.

She’d custom made the glitter out of a special material that really held a static charge. That stuff would cling to Buster and hang around for WEEKS…

Oh, that just makes it much worse than regular glitter, so much the better. Imp standing behind Trixie and clapping.

“From the color and shape of that box,” the Imp continued with a grin, “I assume that you’ve been watching the Smurfs…”

“What?” Abigail asked, surprised that any teacher would catch the source of her inspiration from something like that. Then she defensively admitted, “Jokey is my favorite…”

The teacher leaned forward and in a conspiratorial tone, said, “Mine too.”

It figures, prank-pulling goofball probably inspired some of Imp's pranks.

And Abigail already planning how to deal with Buster when he comes for revenge, at this rate Buster will be the biggest laughingstock at Whateley for at least a week. I swear she is going to run a joke shop filled with her creations when she grows up. Nooo! Don't use Miasma's stink as the base for a stink bomb, the world can't handle that level of stench.

“I’VE GOT IT!” Abigail exclaimed, jumping to her feet and laughing maniacally. “I’M GONNA MAKE THE MOST POWERFUL STINK BOMB IN THE WORLD!”

Everybody head for the hills!

True Grit

Schuster Hall, Monday Nov 19th, 2007

Hugh Pryce early for history class, doesn't want to be yelled at by Mr. Williams aka Barney as Imp calls him. Hugh rooms with Boojum who already sounds like an interesting fellow.

The same couldn’t be said for Mr. Williams, who liked to intimidate and even insult his students, especially the ones with GSD.

Why hasn't someone recorded him doing this and taken it straight to Carson already? No teacher should treat students like this.

Control over sand, wonder if it extends to other types of earth.

“Miss Imp said I should practice making art with my sand whenever I can,” Hugh thought aloud. “She said it would help me learn to control my powers better…” And he had to admit, making sand sculptures instead of just moving it around, was helping him learn better control over his powers.

Hugh was a terrakinetic, a type of specialized telekinetic who would only move various types of stone and rocks. Unfortunately, he was not a very powerful terrakinetic. In fact, he was only rated as a TK-1, which meant that if it hadn’t been for his GSD as well, he probably wouldn’t even be at Whateley.

It isn't about how powerful you are, it is how you use what power you've got. And tiny sandcastles, Hugh is showing impressive control.

While he could move rock with his mind, he couldn’t move anything very large. The larger the rock, the harder and more unwieldy it felt to his mind. The smaller the stone, the easier it was for him to move, even if there was much more of it. He could move a cup of sand around with relative ease, but a single rock with the same mass, was extremely difficult to move at all.

Interesting power limitation, but still potent in my book, imagine if he could use it as a sandblaster. Whoa, very impressive control to shift between all those shapes and make a tiny sphinx.

Stryff there to give Hugh aka Grit a pin for the Imp's fan club, hehe, Mr. Williams head might look like a tomato if he sees enough of them in class. Almost everyone wearing one of them, this is going to be good. Excessive homework over the weekend, Barney is a power-tripping bully who is taking it out on his students now. Ripping the pin right off Achoo's uniform, Barney has some serious temper issues and shouldn't be teaching.

“JUST PINS?” Mr. Williams spat out. “THAT EVIL FREAK GOT TO YOU! SHE GOT TO ALL OF YOU!”

Mr. Williams was yelling even louder, growing larger as he did so. The teacher increased in size, reaching seven feet tall and then eight. It only took a few seconds before his head contacted the ceiling.

Okay, this incident should be enough to fire him imo, endangering students with his temper. Going rager, a clear threat to the students right now all because of his issues with Imp, I wouldn't set foot into a classroom with him again after this.

“COME OUT AND FACE ME, YOU UGLY BITCH,” Mr. Williams yelled. “I KNOW YOU’RE HIDING AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE…LAUGHING AT YOUR LATEST PREANK.”

At least all the students are fleeing from him, any who aren't are either very brave or very foolish.

Head in the Clouds

Poe Cottage, Sunday Nov 25th, 2007

Emily Tran aka Downpour, water running down her body in the girl's shower from her own power. Lina asking her to tone it down, I wish there was some way to help Emily with her depression.

Emily considered her powers to be more curse than ‘power’, as did most other people near her. The ever-present cloud above her head made most people avoid her, even when it wasn’t raining, though that was hardly the worst part of her mutation, merely the most visible.

The worst part of her mutation wasn’t her powers, but a simple side-effect to the change in her body and brain chemistry from being a mutant. Specifically, the medications which once helped to control her depression, no longer worked on her.

It is painful to watch this, depression runs in my family and I've experienced it myself many times, to not be able to treat it is a nightmare.

Ugh, Rose, try to be more sensitive to other's feelings. At least Iron Rose apologizes. Plus too bad Vulpine isn't into girls, or Emily might cheer up.

“I’m checking the shower for any tricks,” Victory answered from just outside the closest stall. She just stood there, examining the inside. “With Jade and Beltane going at each other, it pays to be careful.”

Crud, the Jade and Beltane prank war are back in full swing, everyone be careful. About a month, I'm surprised Mrs. Horton hasn't put a stop to this prank war yet.

Jade running along with a cloud of bubbles that is Jinn, oh boy. Breakdown aka Pamela is her roommate, not back yet from Thanksgiving vacation, hhm. Devisor grade dehumidifier, neat, glad they have it so Emily can stay in Poe. Emily, I would be keeping a close eye on you too. Going to the common room for privacy, in Poe that is complicated even shortly after a vacation break ends.

Jade and Beltane arguing.

“YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS,” Jade loudly accused. “YOU MADE ME WEAR JERICHO CLOTHES! THAT’S UNFORGIVABLE!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Beltane demanded in an equally loud voice, just shy of actually yelling. “YOU STARTERD THIS WHEN YOU THREW THAT PIE AT ME…”

“Pie?” Jade asked, sounding confused.

“You know,” Beltane pointed out. “The one you had that flying Hello Kitty doll throw in my face…”

Emily peaked into the room and saw Jade staring at Beltane with a look of confusion on her face. “That sounds awesome…but I didn’t do that…”

They have been set-up and I'm betting it was Absinthe if I remember correctly. Beltane has figured it out, hallucinations or magic illusions, Gwen has bit off more than she can chew with this one.

“We both pranked Absinthe,” Beltane pointed out to Jade. “So, if she retaliated and made both of us think the other one did it…”

Well, you both pranked her, you started this.

She thought about all the pranks… The paint filled water balloons… The cockroaches in the shower… Bubbles in the hallway… All that chaos and insanity… To think that Gwen had caused all of that, just by pranking Jade and Beltane…

A faint giggled escaped from Emily’s throat, nearly surprising her with the unfamiliar sound. This whole situation was so ridiculous…so funny…

“Of course, you know,” Jade loudly proclaimed with an evil grin on her face, “this means WAR!”

With those words, Emily burst out laughing. She laughed harder than she had in…in longer than she could even remember. Above her, the dark cloud began to lighten and fade away until only a few faint wisps were left. The cloud remained like this for the next two hours.

Emily laughing and happy, so glad to see this after all she has been through. They need to get her to laugh more often.

Care Package

Emerson Cottage, Sunday Nov 25th, 2007

Collin Reynolds has a care package from his Aunt Kelly, delivered by the MCO, what kind of connections does his Aunt Kelly have? Gauntlet and Cagliostro talking about the MCO being allowed on Whateley Academy grounds, how Absinthe is allowed to go there despite being an MCO agent, great, when idiots like this think they know everything it is never good.

Now Collin is pissed, talks about "teaching her a lesson", the bunch of thugs needs to read the school rules again. I love his 'flytrap' power, so useful for non-lethal capture and containment.

“But I don’t need to stop you,” Collin pointed out. “The worst thing I could do would be to let you go after Gwen…” He chuckled. “Trust me, it wouldn’t go good for you…”

Let's see, she has her 'pixies', her magic, her Sidhe nature, and training as well, yup, these two are outmatched.

At least Collin has reflected on his past and realized he was the jerk and bully, seeking to change. All these warnings and Gauntlet and Cagliostro just don't get it, always thinking they are stronger than their victim, never thinking about the potential victims' friends and allies. Fixx as his roommate, a handy guy to have around.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies, yum. A fully-outfitted utility belt, awesome. Agent Wylann, so Gwen's dad came for a visit and delivered the package as a favor, nice. Slippery escaped from custody, crap. The holdouts are just in case Slippery shows up at Whateley somehow, stranger things have happened. And now he wishes to warn Gwen in case her dad hasn't already, Slippery lives up to his name all too well. At least Collin and Gwen will be prepared.

That Voodoo That You Do

Crystal Hall, Monday Dec 3rd, 2007

Jon Homer looking around to check out all the exemplars around him instead of eating his lunch, not smart with some of the girls there. And bugging Chris if he has asked out Darqueheart yet, from his reaction I'm guessing not, rats. Chris hasn't found the pendant, oh boy, when he finds out Imp is his mother...

Uh oh, they know Chris has a blood relative on campus and might be another way to find them, drama explosion impending! Ooo, Jon, that is just cruel, making him think any girl he dates might be his long-lost sister, even for teasing a bit far. Chris going to get possible holdouts from Monkeywrench, he will be brutal to fight if he gets any of that stuff.

California boy and doesn't like the cold, buckle up, Jon, you will adjust with time. Hehe, I like his grandma already. A bi-kid in a school like this, Jon is going to never be the same by the time he graduates. TNT, those 3 need lessons repeated as often as possible. So Jon is pan, just remember not to flirt with teachers, my boy.

This ‘watch’ was Jon’s gris-gris, a powerful talisman that had been spelled with protective magics. It wasn’t a traditional gris-gris by any measure, but Jon was not a traditional practitioner.

Very nice, love non-traditional magic tools. Made TNT wander off in another direction, a bit of blood is a small price to pay to do that to those idiots.

Normally, Jon’s gris-gris helped protect him from hostile spirits and magic, but it did have this additional feature, a ‘nothing to see here’ effect which could briefly divert attention away from him. There was a reason he was able to be so open about his sexuality without fearing the bullies, and this was it.

Now that is something any magic-user should have, very handy in many situations.

Floating in the air above the quad, there was balloon, like one of the ones he often saw in parades, though a bit smaller. This one was about seven feet tall and looked like Hello Kitty. And what was even more surprising was the fact that this balloon was holding a giant pie above its head, one that had to be ten feet across, and which was definitely NOT a balloon.

Oh crud, the colors of the pie, Jade and Beltane worked together to prank back Gwen! A dozen bystanders hit with the pie cream as well, never any prank this big without fallout. The balloon explodes with confetti, now that is just insult to injury. Smart move by Jon to book it out of there.

Fun bunch of stories tonight. Seeing Sapphire so soon after her manifesting, how her community outside of her family treated her, how she got her cloak, it was great to read. I teared up with joy when she got her cloak. Stryff is an interesting new girl and I love her family for doing everything to protect her and get her someplace safe. I hope to see more of her in the future.

And we see why Trixie is not to be messed with unless you want to be pranked and pranked hard, we knew from previous stories she makes her own stuff and loves pranks, especially with Mischief, but this was next level. Her stink bomb plan at the end is a bit scary to contemplate.

Grit shows you don't have to have a strong power to be interesting, his power certainly interests me and the potential of what he can do with it. Though seeing Mr. Williams' meltdown I have to wonder if he is still employed at Whateley afterward.

Emily aka Downpour, my family has a history of depression, I'm prone to depression, and seeing her go through it is rough every time. So thank you for this story and the last part of it, I was so happy to see her laughing and happy even if it is just for a short while. She needs more of this in her life.

Collin's Aunt Kelly is great, love he gets his sense of justice from a good role model like her. Standing up for his girlfriend, he may have made mistakes in the past but he is making up for them in spades. I just hope Slippery doesn't come calling while they are at Whateley, he is a criminal with murderous intent but I don't think being curbstompped by so many people will leave anything intact for the authorities to lock up.

Jon is an interesting character, I wish we got to meet his grandmother on parent's day, she seems great just from his one thought on her. He is right though, Chris and Darqueheart are too cute, need to get over their shyness and one of them ask the other out already. Jon's 'gris-gris' is a great magic item, love incorporating the modern with old practices. And yikes, I knew Jade and Beltane's revenge prank would be big but this takes the cake. A reminder for everyone to stay on their good sides.