#save me...save me xanthe...

[mustasekittens]

i love chinese people i wish we were real

#me when i find a chracter who is literally me but they're a fucking obscure ass character #save me...save me xanthe... #xanthe zhou #cassandra cain #john constantine #dc comics #spirit world #mustasekittens #sketch

[dailycass-cain]

2023 was another big stepping stone with Cass. The character was featured in A LOT of stuff this year amongst a few negative antics.

But unlike prior years the good really outweighed the bad. BY A LOT.

So let's take a look back one final time #CAINAISSANCE2023...

The year started STRONG with the release of Batgirls #14 aka the BEST solo story that involved the character this year.

I've gone in LENGTH on how AMAZING this tale was. If you haven't read it DO SO. You don't need any context but to just take in the masterpiece given.

Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad gave artist Jonathan Case just this canvas of an issue to tell AN EPIC mostly silent issue.

If there's a tale Batgirls will be remembered for it'll BE THIS ISSUE.

I've lost count to just taking in the gorgeous art Case delivers here and just letting the actions and emotions tell the tale.

The only regret is well no full payoff to what is fully learned within this issue.

It just hits EVERY mark and is something any Cass fan CRAVED, but never got in Batgirl Vol. 1. Batgirls #14 was a worthy issue that should be talked about amongst fans of Cass for quite some time.

February gave us Cass's grand entrance to Ram V's Detective Comics run (#1069) and what an entrance it was! Literally, I can't let it go of how AMAZING it was.

And the run itself? It just keeps delivering as THE Batman book out currently.

It's a slow burn and when the run lays the payoffs IT HITS THOSE PAYOFFS. The series just ended an exceptional bi-weekly event that featured Cass and well, I'm extremely curious where this run goes with the character.

If anything, I just want MOAR from Ram V or a smaller secondary story involving Cass. But given the various characters he's been rotating and given next year is 2024 (more on that later) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL OF THIS.

This run does work in trade but I digress you'd be missing the GORGEOUS covers this series has been shelling out. If anything BUY the single issues and read the run this way until you get to the present.

Or reread them like I've been doing. 😋

The early half of 2023 marked Cass's surprise return to an actual role in mega crossovers. She took part in the final issue of Batman vs. Robin being one of the random factors to stall the possessed Batman until ALL of DC's magical users came to cast it out of him.

The weakest of the crossovers the character was involved in I have to say was Gotham War. It was a nothing burger that made me swear off the Chip Zdarsky run of Batman completely.

Honestly, I feel more rewarded reading Tec more. Unless Chip pulls off a miracle turnaround in 2024.

But I digress Zdarsky was only half of the problems with the other being Tini Howard and yeah, if you were a Bat Family member who wasn't Jason Todd (how did that mini turn out to be more entertaining then the ENTIRE event?!)?

This story SUUUUUUUUCKED. Quite possibly the worst Batman event story since War Games/Crimes for me.

Sadly, the most disappointing stories I'd have to say are on equal ground in Beast World and Knight Terrors. As there was interesting concepts with Cass involving them, and both stories just go NOWHERE.

I feel more so robbed with Knight Terrors as the design for Cass within it went hard. It's just that you give us THIS design and tease us with this little nugget and give us NOTHING?

COME ON!

Beast World was a whole nothing burger as well, save the pretty art and a full confirmation that Cass's old NML is now canonically her defacto one again.

Even if we had it mentioned earlier last year and again in the best crossover event involving Cass...

WHICH WAS IN LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE #1. It gave us Alyssa Wong returning for a THIRD time to write Cass and they were joined by Haining on art which introduced us to the world of Xanthe.

That in itself led to a spinoff mini-series that had Cass in it with SPIRIT WORLD. It did more with the new character Xanthe and laid out their origins and powerset nicely while also laying some seeds for MAYBE future Cass stories.

Again, I feel like a repeating record on how GOOD this series was. Like, I can't wait for the trade next year to take it all in again. But besides the creative team delivering it gave us Dustin Nguyen AND Marcio Takara drawing Cass again OFFICIALLY AS BATGIRL!!

Even when this series ended, I STILL WANT MOAR!! Like what memories did Cass lose? What the heck happened with Spirit World twisting her memories of Batgirl Vol. 1 #72?! How will Xanthe be with the Jade Court?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

Something else that left me with MANY questions was DCeased universe as even though the story ended back in April.

I still crave more starring Cass, because let's face it STEPH/TALIA DESERVE CLOSURE!! Cass could be the gateway to that.

Doing so would tie up the final loose ends as well. Let's see how Rose is raising her kid with Jason. Silent Olsen. Harley/Ivy. Ollie/Dinah. Jim Gordon.

But I digress. It gives us more Cazzam. We need more Cazzam.

But an alternate universe Cass just didn't pop up there we had a Cass show up in various other comics. Knights of Steel which also had me hankering for MOAR and Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats.

I know some didn't like it, but me? I think it was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what we got in the actual season of HQ.

Let us never talk about that season again…

Now something we SHOULD talk about more is the first actual appearance of Cass in a DC ANIMATED MOVIE!! Yes, Kai Li Cain from Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham.

I was blown away at the extended role they gave the character in the film (to the, "Oh right Tim is here and alive." role in the books).

Kai Li voiced perfectly by Tati Gabrielle gave a balance of innocence and reason with the batshit craziness this film throws at us.

Like, I really REALLY want a sequel. Just to see what she'd do now given full access to Bruce's fortune? Will she follow his path? I mean yeah we want steampunk Bat!

Speaking of which artists we need designs for this stat still!

It just adds that anchor where you want to see more of this universe and the characters that inhabit it. I mean that's the sign of a REALLY good Elseworlds. Where you want more and sometimes you get just that.

But with all this good came the sad, and that was the canceling of Batgirls. I know many were against the series (especially after #7-8), but the series found its footing with #9 and ran into something I hope more positively can be talked about it.

It's true failing wasn't the creators behind the series, more just elements outside that just slotted it's end (Batgirl movie getting canned making #7-8 more wasteful), Evil Oracle #4 aka the pitch, and just being something it couldn't be).

I'm grateful for each and every creator who worked on this book because it was a GIFT that I'll always be appreciative of.

I'll say it again, THANK YOU TO ALL! 🙏

And its spirit lived on in the Nightwing back up a few months ago. It was something that was TRULY needed after the garbage fire that was Gotham War. It gave us this Cass/Dick sibling stuff and GIVE ME MOAR!!!

Unlike the past where we'd be done, DC brought us back up giving us the current BIRDS OF PREY ongoing which has Cass in it.

Really the series is a revelation of giving us things I always wanted that I'd never thought we get. Cass with Dinah? CHECK.

Cass meeting Big Barda and the two having a bond? HELLS YEAH CHECK! Anytime that bond grows I squee even more.

Just give writer Kelly Thompson ALL the time and ideas she has to churn this out to the proper conclusion she has envisioned. Just give me fifty-plus issues of her, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire.

Finally of course there was Batman: Wayne Family Adventures which gave us THREE banger Cass stories. One where she and Steph are a MENANCE (as they should), Cass scaring the crapbaskets out of EVERYONE and of course...

Season 2 gave us A LOT of things I wanted in general (her interacting with Damian) and just showing the world why I really really love this character. Why I talk about her daily.

Really as 2023 closes and 2024 is about to begin... Well, it's the character's TWENTIETH-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 25 years of kicking ass and ripping our hearts out.

It's been a journey for sure.

really REALLY hope DC honors this anniversary and continues to mend the bridges burned all those years ago.

Give us that Omnibus. Give us a mini or SOMETHING to celebrate this character. If not, I'll take whatever Ram V and Thompson give us.

#CAINAISSANCE2023 may be over, but #CAINAISSANCE2024 will be the most important year yet.

25 YEARS OF CASS!! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN ON JANUARY 1st!

#cassandra cain #dc comics #cainaissance2023 #my thoughts #CAINAISSANCE2024 v

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics - we’re going to start some catch up editions.

Shazam! #2: hahaha SPACE PAPERWORK. Psycho Pirate? PSYCHO PIRATE? Look it’s Mr “the only thing anyone cares about me is that I remember COIE” himself! (Does he still remember? Has any further retcon destroyed the one thing that made him interesting?)

“did you lose your temper because of Mister Mind?” Look this is a valid question. This plus the Freddy stuff is practically the same plot as the middle section of Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! and it WAS Mister Mind that time, so…

Knight Terrors: Shazam! #2: gotta say I’m glad I gave in to this Knight Terrors as it’s mostly about Mary, and Mary is my girl ❤ She’s such a big sister and she’s out here saving her siblings. It’s! About! Family! Also contrariwise to what a lot of people have been saying about the Knight Terrors stuff, this is actually pretty solidly a sequel to Mary’s ongoing storyline for the past year or so. Given Waid’s on the writing though, I’m not shocked he’s used it to actually further plot and resolve tensions.

Spirit World #2-4: Cass!!!

Ooooh. OOOOOH. Everyone’s already commented on the portrayal of deadnaming, so I’ll just note it’s fascinating to see the discussion of identity tied up in a discussion of being dead/what you take with you/what remains behind. (Chrysanthemum portal!!)

“Less fighting…more fighting” That’s my Cass!!!

I already went into exhaustive detail about my feelings over Cass’ deaths being recanonised, and gotta say I’m happy it’s happened.

I'm really liking how they're using Xanthe, Constantine and Cass's different power sets together through this.

Also the art is reliably stunning but that fox spirit... wow.

#z canon read throughs #newish comics

[spartanxanthe]

˗ˏˋ ꒰ The Story of Spartan II Power Weapon’s Specialist, XNTE-1308 ꒱ ˎˊ˗ ׂ╰┈➤ Part Two of Halo Stories by @spartanxanthe : ̗̀➛ PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE (Coming Soon!) ╰┈➤ Full blender render credit AND writing to Hayabusa, (thewarriors989_) on Instagram. Please do not save/use! ׂ╰┈➤ Learn more about Xanthe here!

"Spartans 989 and 1308 report to the bridge for next mission brief." The intercom echoed throughout the Infinity, grabbing the attention of the majority of the crew... and nearly every spartan aboard the vessel.

Hearing 1308 was never a surprise, as Xanthe was always chosen for demolition missions to cause as much havoc as possible towards Banished outposts. 989... Hayabusa... he, on the other hand, was a ghost- which is why for a brief moment, all work ceased operations, hearing those numbers.

The crimson spartan, sitting in a small corner of the mess hall shrouded by darkness, slowly stood up. All eyes watched the figure as he motioned towards the door. Xanthe, sitting at a table, watched as Hayabusa moved towards the exit, knowing he was making his way to the bridge where no doubt, Captain Lasky would inform them of their mission.

She scrambled up, gathering her gear and putting on her helmet, racing to join him. She got over to his side, somewhat excited to join the legendary spartan.

"Commander Hayabusa, it's an honor." The pink spartan suddenly spoke.

Hayabusa stopped his advance and turned to face her. His verdant visor reflecting off her dark gray. "You know me, yes?" he questioned, to which she took the position of parade rest, aligning her hands behind the lower potion of her back. "Yes sir." she answered quickly. He barked, "Then you would know how I operate my missions. I am a lone wolf, an assassin, I do not work well with others." He continued walking, with more haste, to get this mission over with as quickly as possible.

After his last team fell in combat, he found it hard to trust others, especially spartans under his own command. But Xanthe trusted him to lead her, and accomplish the task at hand. "I'll do as you command sir, but you're not alone- not for this one," she paused for a moment, pondering, "think of it as a quick... tag team. Once it's done, we can go our separate ways- unless command says otherwise!"

The red spartan looked over his shoulder. He simply nodded at her and carried on. He couldn't see it, but underneath her helmet, he knew she was smiling.

It wasn't just anyone who got to work with Hayabusa-989.

#xanthe tag team #tag team #halo stories #my halo stories #halo fanfic #halo oc #spartan oc #blender #blender3d #halo infinite #halo oc fanfic #halo oc fanart #halo fanart #halo art #my stories

[savventeen]

ough i hate the fireworks too they're so annoying >:(((( sending you a nice cold drink and noise canceling headphones beloved 🫂🫂🫂

how about vernon + fireflies? seeing tiny twinkly lights blink on and off in an open field with nothing but the chirping of crickets would be so nice <3

🫂🫂🫂 tysm xanthe 💙 and this is the most precious prompt ohmygod (also definitely accidentally saved this as a draft last night instead of posting it oops)

[vernon + fireflies]

"When you said 'Let's go stargazing' this isn't what I expected."

You tilt your head where it rests on his shoulder — his profile is haloed in the soft glow of twilight, the twinkle of the fireflies creating an ephemeral galaxy around you.

"Yeah?"

"I like it, though." I like you.

[send me a svt member and a one-word prompt and i will write you something 50 words or less]

#vernon fluff #vernon drabble #vernon imagines #vernon scenarios #vernon x reader #vernon x y/n #vernon x you #savv writes #savv answers #xanthe 🐢

[andrewmoocow]

Little Homeworld Life chapter 9: To Err Is Human (originally published on October 10, 2022)

AN: As the talented comedic geniuses that made up Monty Python once said, "And now for something completely different." You know how rampant those human Gem AUs are? Well, allow me to present my spin on the concept inspired by the likes of Saved by the Bell and all the Disney sitcoms of old! I started watching the former on Hulu to get some inspiration, just FYI. Considering how the Alternate Future continuity I have created is a bit different from the Steven Universe we're used to, this should be an interesting take. Anyways, school's in session everybody, so strap in!

Synopsis: Welcome to Crystal High, where the quirky new girl in school Whitney Topaz falls for the captain of the football team Jasper Brooks as she helps her new classmates break free from Ruth Black's oppressive control! Wait, something isn't right.

Cast:

Lauren Ash as Whitney Topaz/White Topaz

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper Brooks/Jasper, Jazz Day/Dalmatian Jasper

Noël Wells as Ruth Black/Black Rutile

Estelle as Estelle Garrett/Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amy Thomas/Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl Hall/Pearl

Shelby Rabara as Dot Perry/Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lana Lance/Lapis Lazuli, Zoey Lance/Zuli, Lucy Lance/Laz

Uzo Aduba as Biddie Matthews/Bismuth

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon/Thea Zick

Della Saba as Marina Blue/Aquamarine

Christine Pedi as Agatha Holly/Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Catherine "Cat" Eyre/Cat's Eye

Charlyne Yi as Irene Charles/Eyeball

Featuring Avi Roque as Cindy Barr/Cinnabar

Awkwafina as Kylie Newman/Kyanite

Allison Janney as Piper Ryan/Pyrite

Zehra Fazal as Zelda Sullivan/Zoisite

Lena Hall as Blair Stone/Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xanthe Turner/Xenotime

Marc Diraison as Ash Topaz

April Winchell as Lauren Topaz

Zeno Robinson as Kenny Topaz

And Fred Stoller as Jameson Brooks

--

Little Homestead, Delmarva was much like any other small American town. Everybody knew each other's names, community get-togethers were a frequent affair, and most of its residents have lived there all their lives. However, one family that had just moved to town from the big city would prove to change its youth forever.

The Topaz family, consisting of husband-and-wife Ash and Lauren, their teenage daughter Whitney and young son Kenny, had moved into town from Riverdale, Empire State, over the weekend after Ash got an assignment from his boss Hiram Lodge to expand Lodge Industries' influence across the Mid-Atlantic. This meant Whitney had to leave her wholesome friends behind. Though it was tough to say goodbye, Whitney always knew she'd be a stone's throw away from seeing them again whenever she liked.

--

"Hi-diddly-ho, new neighborino!" the Topazes' new neighbor Ted greeted them on a warm September morning.

"You must be Ted Sanders, I presume." Ash Topaz replied as he shook Ted's hand. "Ash Topaz, my family and I came here from Riverdale last Saturday."

"Oh, my land, Riverdale?" Ted gasped in elation. "Home of Lodge Industries?!"

"Yep, that's the one." Ash smiled. "I moved the fam here under Hiram's orders, which reminds me. I should probably introduce them to you some time."

"Oh, my boys, the missus, and I would love to meet you!" Ted smiled. "Hey, that reminds me, shouldn't your youngins be getting ready for school right now?"

"Shoot, thanks for the heads up!" Ash gasped in realization. "Talk to you later, okay?"

"My door's always open!" Ted replied as Ash raced back inside his house to get his kids ready.

--

"Sis, sis, you gotta wake up." A ten-year-old platinum blonde-haired boy said while poking his older sister in her plump lips. "Sis, sis!" The boy was still wearing some Cookie Cat-themed pajamas, while the girl had on a Mister Universe T-shirt that was a little too big for her, along with some workout shorts.

"Dah, I'm awake, I'm awake!" sixteen-year-old Whitney Topaz yelled as she jolted awake. "Oh, thanks for the lift, Kenny. So, you ready for your first day of school?"

"Uh, I don't know." Kenny Topaz replied nervously. "What if I don't make any friends at my new school? I'm scared, Whitty."

"Hey, don't get so wound up, Ken." Whitney said with a comforting smile at her little brother. "Besides, I'm pretty nervous too. I'm sure my classmates will be nice, but they got nothing on good ol' Archie and pals!"

"Oh, Whitney, you're awake!" Whitney and Kenny's homemaking mother, Lauren Topaz, said delightedly as she peered into her daughter's room. "Hop to it, young lady, don't want to be late!"

"Don't worry, Mom." Whitney said as she got up and did some stretches that Kenny was quick to try imitating. "Aw, I see someone's already ready."

"Haha, Whitty!" Kenny laughed before suddenly falling over, only to be helped up by his big sister, and the two walked out of Whitney's room hand in hand.

--

Meanwhile, in a slightly grungier part of town frequented by purse snatchers, dognappers, and carjackers, a tall, muscular teen girl with stripe tattoos lining her arms and a jasper nose ring started her morning with a few rounds on her prized punching bag. This was Jasper Brooks, a tough-as-nails punk who grew up in the rough parts of Little Homestead and had to rely on her wits and her strength to survive.

"Oy, Jasper, rise and shine!" Jasper's father, Jameson Brooks, yelled from outside. "It's the first day of school; start prepping already!"

"Whatever." Jasper responded nonchalantly to her father as her punching stopped, and she looked fondly at a photo of herself as a baby with her mother. "Hey, Mom, miss you tons, but Dad and I are still pulling through." She said to the picture while trying not to get too emotional. She had a reputation to uphold, after all. "I know you would've been proud of me."

"Hey, what's keepin' ya?!" Jameson yelled again. "These pancakes ain't gonna eat themselves!"

"I'm coming!" Jasper yelled as she tossed a towel over her shoulders and marched out of her room.

--

"Have fun, Whitney!" Lauren called as she dropped Whitney off at her new high school. "Hope you can make at least one friend today!"

"I hope so too. Love you, Mom!" Whitney yelled back as she turned around to gaze at Crystal High, the number one high school in Little Homestead, and all the cliques that came with being a high school.

"Okay, Jasper, try not to get into too much trouble this year." Jameson said to his daughter as his tow truck pulled up right behind Whitney as the latter girl walked towards the building. "There are only so many football accidents I can help you out of."

"See you later, pops." Jasper responded as she prepared to get out, but her father interrupted her with a hand on her brawny shoulder. "Uh, what is it now?"

"Just wanna say I'm proud of ya for keeping it together." Jameson gave his daughter a genuine smile. "Welp, see ya later."

"Bye." Jasper waved goodbye to her crass but goodhearted dad as his tow truck drove away, and she turned on her heel to walk to another year of high school.

"Okay, Whitney, just gotta play it cool." Whitney said to herself as she looked around at all the various cliques surrounding her. "You're just a by-the-books, plain jane new girl in town who will no doubt initially be looked down upon by your peers for the first couple of weeks. Nothing too huge."

"Hey, new girl, over here!" an overeager dark-skinned girl dressed in teal colors yelled as she raced up to Whitney and gave her a welcoming handshake. "My name's Thea Zick. Welcome to Crystal High! You must be new in town. What's your name?!"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Whitney Topaz." Whitney introduced herself to Thea. "My family moved here from Riverdale a few days ago, and this is my first day here."

"I knew you were the new girl in town because I never saw your face before, and I know everyone's faces!" Thea replied happily. "Anyways, welcome to Crystal High, founded in 1987 by Dr. Rebecca Sucrose to further her goal of enriching the education of our youth community." She then began gesturing to each of the cliques. "Here, you can find all the usual cliques you'd see in all the high school movies. Like the cheerleaders, for example."

"They seem happy to be together again." Whitney nodded at the troupe of pink-and-blue uniform-wearing cheerleaders squeeing at seeing each other again after a long summer before taking notice of two in particular. The first had curly blonde hair with blue streaks, and the other had similarly colored hair tied into a ponytail with a golden bow.

"Wanna know a fun fact?" Thea asked. "The co-captains, Lucy and Zoey Lance, are the daughters of our art teacher, Lana Lance."

"Good to know." Whitney agreed before looking at a group of goths. "Those are the goths, right?"

"You bet." Thea proclaimed proudly before gesturing to other cliques. "You also got the nerds, the hipsters, the drama kids, the gamers, the artists, the preps, the delinquents, but our cream of the crop is the sports teams!"

"Yo Jasper, over here!" one of Jasper's fellow football players called for his captain, and they engaged in a secret handshake. "We missed ya, girl!"

"How did working in the old man's garage treat you?" another of Jasper's teammates asked.

"Check it!" Jasper replied as she flexed her muscles, amazing the football team and causing Whitney to gape in adoration.

"Oh yeah, the Crystal High Wildcats. Best football team in the school district!" Thea exclaimed before she noticed that her new friend was stunned. "Uh oh, somebody's got a crush!"

"What? No, I don't!" Whitney fibbed with a laugh. "I mean, she looks really cool and hot, but it's not like I'm going to lie awake at night thinking about her, right?"

"You keep telling yourself that." Thea smiled knowingly before she winced at another student approaching them. "Oh no, hide! It's her!"

"Who are you talking about?" Whitney asked as she saw her new classmates also tremble in fear, cuing the arrival of a tall, distinguished young woman with black hair sticking in an upward point, red-rimmed glasses, a black dress shirt, and matching pants. She was followed by a much smaller girl who could only reach up to her hips wearing a dark blue sweater-vest and pleated skirt, a woman with white high-heeled boots and a blue blouse with her hair in buns, and another cheerleader with a rather catlike face and a dark brown coat & matching hat. "Who are these girls?"

"I'll tell you later; just act natural!" Thea exclaimed as she nervously hid behind Whitney as the four girls approached the new students.

"We know you're hiding behind her, Thea." The lead girl in black announced, forcing Thea out of hiding. "Why didn't you tell us that we were getting a new student?"

"Oh, it's not my fault; she just got here!" Thea sweated in terror, her teeth chattering in fright, while Whitney stared blankly at the four high schoolers before her.

"Welcome to Crystal High, miss…." The lead girl greeted Whitney with a reach of her hand.

"Whitney Topaz." Whitney introduced herself as she shook the other girl's hand. "And you are?"

"My name is of no importance at the moment." The menacing greeter responded. "But since you asked, you may call me Ruth Black. Now, off to homeroom with you. Go on, vamoose!"

"Uhhhh…." Whitney said flatly as Ruth and her posse walked away.

"And the rest of you, get to your classes, or you're all getting a write-up!" Ruth yelled at her classmates, striking fear into their hearts as they scrambled to their homerooms. "That's right, stick to the status quo, everyone!"

"I'm guessing she's the mean girl I have to watch my step around?" Whitney asked Teal as the two blended in with the scrambling students.

"Ruth Black, student council president and effectively the ruler of this school." Thea replied. "We have a principal here, who's really great, by the way, but Ruth basically has everyone under her foot! We don't know why she wakes up in the morning feeling like making everyone's lives a nightmare, but I don't think we wanna know."

"That's terrible, she's terrible!" Whitney yelled loud enough for anyone around her to hear. "Some student council president she is; she's more like a psycho dictator!"

"You said it." Thea responded with a nod. "So many students have wanted to take her down a peg, but they're too scared to pull through with it because she's just that powerful!"

"Well, someone oughta do something about this!" Whitney declared. "In fact, I nominate myself to help everyone make their school year brighter!"

"Good on you for wanting to finish the fight!" Thea responded happily. "Hey, that reminds me, which homeroom teacher do you have?"

"Oh, I got Ms. Thomas." Whitney said. "How about you?"

"No way, me too!" Thea exclaimed. "She's in Room 111; I think you'll really like her!"

As the two girls searched for their homeroom, another girl whose left eye was hidden behind her bangs watched the duo's conversation before scurrying away to warn her superiors about Whitney's plans.

--

"I don't know, Miss Black, aren't these budget cuts a little drastic?" the guidance counselor Pearl Hall asked as she and Principal Estelle Garrett met with Ruth Black in the principal's office. "I mean, I consider music and art classes to be absolutely vital in youth development!"

"Oh please, I'm plenty developed as is." Ruth scoffed with a shrug. "I never required such classes, so why should everyone else?"

"Remember that regardless of your high status, you're just as much of a student here as the other teenagers here." Estelle tried to bring Ruth's egotism down a peg. "You may think that just because you emerged victorious in the student council elections, you'd use that as an excuse to abuse the power that comes with it, but-"

"Yeah, I know. I'm still just a girl at the end of the day!" Ruth unemphatically cut the principal off before she heard a knock at the door. "I'll get that." She opened the office door to find a panicked Irene on the other side, letting her in. "Irene, my trusted eyes and ears of the entire school, any updates?" Unfortunately, Irene was a little too exhausted and nervous to say any whole sentences, so Ruth just translated her panting. "Wait, Dripping Yellow Madness is back? I thought he moved out after the fifth grade!"

"I'm so sorry; I just ran fast because I needed to warn you." Irene replied. "It's that new girl, Whitney Topaz! She says she wants to change how you run this place, or something like that. She even outright called you a psycho dictator!"

"The new girl wants to help everyone?" Pearl exclaimed in delight. "I'm so excited!" An enraged Ruth glared at the guidance counselor. "I mean, I'm so scared!"

"Emergency council meeting at once." Ruth grumbled as she stormed out of Principal Garrett's office. "I will not tolerate this threat to my power!"

"Looks like someone can't tolerate change too." Estelle snarked as Ruth slammed the door on her way out. "Pearl, I suggest we keep an eye out on this Topaz girl. And tell the other teachers to do the same. I have a feeling she really could make a change here."

"I'll call them to your office during transition." Pearl smiled in response. "Ooh, finally, someone who can save us!"

--

Meanwhile, in Room 111, Mrs. Thomas's homeroom students were all sitting at their desks waiting for their teacher to arrive. Whitney and Thea were seated right next to each other, and unbeknownst to them at the moment, Jasper Brooks was sitting not too far away from the duo. Just then, a woman who looked more likely to be a student with an amethyst brooch attached to her black jacket strolled into the room and sat at her desk. "Morning, everyone. My name's Amy Thomas; I hope you had a great summer! Now, before we start rollcall, let's introduce the new student."

"Hi, everyone; my name's Whitney Topaz." Whitney greeted her new classmates with a smile. "I moved here from Riverdale in Empire State just last weekend, so I hope all of you are just as friendly as my old friends from there."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Whitney. Now let's get roll calling!" Mrs. Thomas said as she pulled out an attendance sheet. "Apologies if I'm going in random order; I didn't have enough time to alphabetize everything. Anyways, Tommy Oliver?"

"Here." A muscular man dressed in a green and white jacket said.

"Sue Heck?" Amy continued reading the attendance sheet.

"Present!" a dorky, brown-haired girl wearing braces exclaimed cheerfully.

"Joey Wheeler?"

"Nyeh, here." A blonde man shuffling a deck of cards responded with a Brooklyn accent.

"Candace Flynn?"

"Uh, here." An orange-haired girl with an unusually long neck said with an awkward wave of her hand.

"I think I like her already." Whitney said to Thea about Mrs. Thomas as the roll call continued. "She looks like she'd rather belong with us students, which makes her instantly relatable."

"Whitney Topaz?" Amy asked for Whitney's name.

"Here!" Whitney exclaimed while raising her hand.

"Good to know you're still onboard." Amy smiled at the new girl. "Thea Zick?"

"Ooh, that's me, that's me!" Thea waved her arms eagerly at hearing her name called.

"Chipper as always, TZ." Amy grinned before returning to roll call. "Okay, who's next? Jasper Brooks?"

"Here." Jasper snorted as she gazed out the window all nonchalantly, finally making Whitney realize that she had shared a homeroom with her new crush. Everything about her seemed perfect to the new student, from her big muscles to her punk rock outfit, the stripes on her arms, her wild hair, and that sense of rebellious nonchalance she carried with her.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing right now?!" Whitney muttered in shock to Thea. "That's the girl I had the hots for earlier! What was her name again?"

"Jasper Brooks, you have a crush on the Jasper Brooks!" Thea replied excitedly. "If you date her, maybe we could be in with the cool kids!"

"Okay everyone, that should be it for rollcall!" Amy declared as she finished listing off her homeroom students. "Go ahead and get comfortable until the bell rings." The students then began getting out of their desks to greet each other, talk about their summers, and get introduced to Whitney. But she had her eyes on someone else.

"Hi, my name's Whitney!" Whitney introduced herself to Jasper as she began blushing like no tomorrow. "I'm sure you've already heard my name a couple of dozen times, but I want to get to know you better! You're Jasper Brooks, right?"

"Yep." Jasper said tersely. "You said you were from Riverdale, right? Home of The Archies?"

"Oh yeah, Archie and his gang were all great pals." Whitney replied. "Maybe someday I could introduce you to them all. Speaking of which, you're on the football team, right?"

"Captain of the Crystal High Wildcats, to be precise." Jasper responded. "You want to come watch me practice after school?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I have to get home so I can help my family unpack all our stuff from the move." Whitney declined sadly. "But if you'd like, maybe I could text you. Want my phone number? It's 1 [phone]."

"Thanks for the number." Jasper responded after entering Whitney's number into her phone. "I'll, uh, see you around. What classes do you have next?"

"I got art with Mrs. Lance." Whitney answered. "Ooh, I love art! This is gonna be so much fun!"

"What a coincidence, I got that class too." Jasper grinned in realization. "Any other classes we might happen to share?"

"Well, after that is gym with Ms. Matthews, then science with Mrs. Perry, English with Mr. Sanchez, Spanish with Senor Esteban, lunch, and finally math with Mr. Powers." Whitney responded. "You?"

"I got Matthews, Perry, and Powers too, coincidentally." Jasper added. "Wow, we got a lot of classes together. It's almost like we were destined to meet or something."

"Yeah, maybe." Whitney chuckled awkwardly as her blush got even brighter. Before Jasper could catch on, the two were cut off by Thea squealing in delight over their conversation. "Thea!"

"I can't believe it. Only one conversation, and you got her number!" Thea yelled excitedly. "This is going to be so awesome!" But contrary to what Thea said, someone didn't think things were awesome. Ruth Black shared a homeroom with Whitney, Jasper, and Thea, and she was not happy with what she had just watched.

--

As Whitney began getting used to her new routine at Crystal High and becoming closer to Jasper once homeroom ended, they were unwise to the fact that a sinister plot was brewing right beneath their noses.

"If it cannot break out of its shell, the chick will die without being born. We are the chick; the world is our egg." Ruth monologued to herself as the student council assembled in a meeting room under her orders. "If we don't crack the world's shell, we will die without being born. Smash the world's shell."

"For the revolution of the world!" the student council concluded for Ruth as they were seated at their places at the table. Aside from Ruth herself as their leader, there was the secretary Marina Black, one of the highest-scoring students in Crystal High; the hall monitor Agatha Holly, social media expert, treasurer, and cheer squad representative Catherine "Cat" Eyre. In addition, there was the debate team leader and council advisor Cindy Barr; dance squad leader Kylie Newman, class representative Piper Ryan; sports team manager Jazz Day and her girlfriend Zelda Sullivan; extracurricular activity manager Blair Stone; and co-advisor Xanthe Turner.

"Now, you may wonder why I have gathered you all today." Ruth inquired her council.

"Let me guess, is it that new girl everyone's been talking about?" Marina responded.

"Yes, exactly, it is because of the new girl." Ruth answered quietly before she started yelling. "OF COURSE IT'S BECAUSE OF THE NEW GIRL! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SOMEONE BE THIS MUCH OF A THREAT TO MY CONTROL OVER THIS SCHOOL AFTER ONLY A FEW PERIODS?!"

"Pardon me for asking Miss Black, but could anyone tell me who the new girl is?" Cindy asked her superior.

"Whitney Topaz, age 16, born February 4, 2001, in Riverdale, Empire State." Agatha read from Whitney's new records. "She has only just started here after moving out of Riverdale due to a job transfer, but it seems the girl has already made a name for herself."

"Haven't seen a new student become this notorious since that Parker boy from a few years back." Catherine purred as she typed away on her phone with a lollipop in her mouth. "Anyone remember him, the little dweeb who suddenly became on par with an Olympian and started getting all the girls?"

"I actually kinda miss that guy." Kylie replied. "We only went on one date before he had to run off, but he was a pretty sweet guy. I hope he and his aunt are doing well."

"Back on subject, we cannot let Whitney's rebellion continue," Ruth stated. "I didn't win the council election in a landslide and earned myself a full-ride scholarship to Diamond University just to let the mother of all generic awkward new girls try to take my place as the talk of the town! And what's worse? She's apparently had eyes for Jasper Brooks, my ex-girlfriend, might I add!"

The rest of the council gasped in shock before they erupted into chattering. "Am I hearing things, or is Whitney having feelings for Brooks of all people?" Jazz asked Zelda.

"Those two won't last a week!" Zelda rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I'll give them eleven to twenty-two minutes." Piper added.

"We have to do something about this!" Blair yelled. "What kind of dirt on her family can we expose to the public and permanently tarnish her reputation? That always seems to work!"

"From what I've gathered, the Topazes seem to be your perfectly average upper-middle-class nuclear family." Xanthe answered coldly. "Not a one of them seems to have any criminal history, or at the very least have performed any dirty deeds for dirt cheap."

"Order everyone, order!" Ruth yelled as she commanded silence with a bang of a gavel. "We must act quickly before she does anything out of the ordinary! I have worked day and night, micromanaging this school to fit my expectations! Someone hand me Whitney's schedule!"

"Right here, Miss Black." Irene said as she handed the schedule to Ruth, who began looking it over.

"Well, what a surprise. It seems she and Jasper have some classes together this year." Ruth growled as she adjusted her glasses and was handed Jasper's schedule as well. "Girls, I have a little mission for you all."

--

Outside of the meeting, Whitney and Jasper were now at their next class of the day, which was art with Mrs. Lance, the mother of the cheerleading squad's co-captains Lucy and Zoey, dressed in a blue, short-sleeve sweater with gold cuffs, some blue jeans, and a pair of sandals.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm happy that you all made it today." Lana Lance greeted her students. "Considering that I'm in constant danger of losing my job because apparently, I don't teach any vital skills, I'm just delighted to see that people still want to learn art, or meep-morps as I call them."

"Uh, why do you call them meep-morps, anyways?" Whitney raised her hand with a question.

"I don't know, I just went out with the science teacher one night, and we thought it would be funny." Lana chuckled before she continued. "Anyways, over this school year, we'll be doing art projects together in groups of two, so pick your partner. You two will be stuck together for the whole year."

"I already know who I'm picking!" Whitney said as she looked at Jasper, who just blushed as she looked away.

"Oh, you're picking Jasper?" Lana asked Whitney. "What's your name, kid?"

"My name's Whitney Topaz." Whitney introduced herself to her art teacher. "Why, does Jasper not like working in pairs?"

"No, I just wanted to give you a little fun fact." Lana smirked at Jasper's expense. "Jasper actually had a crush on me the first time she was in my class."

"Mrs. Lance!" Jasper yelled in embarrassment. "I kept telling you, I was a dumb teenager at the time, and I'm over it now!"

"I know. I just find it so funny." Lana laughed. "Anyways, I want all my pairs to partner up and start drawing for the day. I shall hand out your sketchbooks immediately."

"What did Mrs. Lance say about constantly being in danger of joblessness?" Whitney murmured to Jasper as everyone received the sketchbooks they would keep for the year.

"Tyrannical student council thinks art isn't a valuable subject to teach." Jasper responded. "I'm sure you may have heard from Thea, but they rule this school."

"Art isn't valuable?!" Whitney exclaimed while Marina Blue secretly stole one of the sketchbooks to throw out, thus making Lana one book short of giving to a student. "Well, in my opinion, art is very valuable because it allows you to express yourself in infinite ways!"

"Ooh, sorry, Whitney, but I think we suddenly ran out of sketchbooks." Lana said sadly as she handed Jasper her empty sketchbook. "But if you'd like, I have some spares coming next week. Until then, maybe you can share with your partner."

"Sure, why not?" Jasper shrugged in agreement, making Whitney hug her new friend in excitement as Marina cursed herself for not considering the art teacher's quick thinking.

"Okay, now that we all have sketchbooks, let's start with a few basic portraits first." Lana stated as she guided her class through the lesson of the day.

--

Once art was finished, it was time for gym with Biddie Matthews, a powerfully built middle-aged woman easily identified by her dyed rainbow dreadlocks and a star tattoo on her upper arm. "Okay, gang, when you're in the gym with me, expect things to get a little intense! Now, I won't go so hard on you guys, but be warned that trips to the nurse's office will be frequent."

"Like, are you challenging me or something?" a hippie-looking boy with shaggy hair dared the gym teacher.

"Easy, Rogers." Biddie said to the student. "Now, in my gym, I got three rules you should all live by! One, be quick on your feet, because you never know when there's a bad situation where you need to hightail out of there. Two, keep a cool head. Gym can be stressful, but don't get too wound up when you screw up. And three, there's no such thing as "I can't do this." We don't go no time for such negativity. The only words you need are, "Let me give this a shot." Are we clear on that?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Biddie's students declared obediently.

"That's what I wanna hear out of my class!" Biddie exclaimed proudly. "Now then, first things first, let's indulge in an old classic." She whipped out a dodgeball from behind her back. "Last man standing wins!"

"Oh poo, dodgeball." Jasper groaned in disgust.

"Come on, Jasper, dodgeball is pretty fun." Whitney smiled happily as the madness began.

"Not with Ms. Matthews." Jasper said as she casually punched a dodgeball away from her and Whitney. "She means well, but when she's in the zone, there's no stopping her."

"Watch out!" Whitney yelled as she dove in front of Jasper to protect her from another dodgeball. This one seemed to hit harder than all the rest, as if it was filled with rocks or something. "I'm okay!"

"Thanks, Whitney!" Jasper thanked Whitney while helping her up, the two of them unaware that the rock-filled dodgeball was courtesy of Kylie, who chuckled mischievously as she retreated into the shadows.

"Okay, clods, listen up!" the diminutive science teacher Dot Perry declared harshly while dramatically blowing her green lab-coat back like a cape. "I run a pretty tight ship here, so I won't tolerate any kind of chicanery here!"

"Uh, Mrs. Perry, what will we do here?" Whitney asked while raising her hand.

"Come on, if you ever took science class, you should know what to expect here." Dot answered. "We'll be doing experiments, discussing the scientific method, learning about chemistry, anatomy, genetics, and all sorts of things! But thanks to a certain student council, they won't be as fun and exciting as you'd think science would be."

"Well, that's not very fair." Whitney pouted. "Someone should do something about this, someone like me!"

"Oh, I've heard about you around school lately." Dot proclaimed. "You're the new girl, Whitney Topaz, right? Maybe your free thinking could help make a change around here."

"Oh, thank you, I'd be honored to be your teaching assistant around here!" Whitney yelled excitedly and shook Mrs. Perry's hand. "I think this school needs a little touch of Riverdale friendliness!" Catherine simply rolled her eyes at Whitney's declaration before writing down ideas for sabotage in her notebook.

--

Next up on Whitney's schedule was English, which was the first class she didn't share with Jasper. On the plus side, she finally reunited with Thea at last, and Thea has already begun spreading the good word about Whitney's efforts to overturn Ruth's tyranny, making her the talk of the class as Mr. Sanchez began speaking.

"Okay, guys, if we're done talking about the new girl, then allow me to introduce myself." Mr. Sanchez said after gulping a can of soda and burping. "My name is Mr. Sanchez, and I'll be your English teacher for the year. Let's get some ground rules out of the way first." While the English teacher began his lecture, Cindy spied on Whitney and Thea from the back of the room, noticing how close the two had become today.

--

Another class Whitney and Thea shared together was Spanish with Senor Esteban, and they were in the same class as another student council member. Agatha Holly was recording their interactions and how close they seemed while balancing it with dutifully paying attention to Senor Esteban.

--

Following Spanish, it was time for lunch, but unfortunately for Whitney, the food being served didn't seem all that inviting to her.

"Beef jerky, clams, grape punch." The lunch lady said flatly as she served Whitney precisely that.

"Wait, is this all we're being served for lunch?" Whitney asked about her lunch. "Man, this is pretty boring."

"Student council says it's still good for you, no matter how bland it is." The lunch lady responded. "Clams are good for your heart, beef jerky is filled is protein, minerals, and vitamins, and grape punch has a decent amount of carbs."

"Yeah, but would it kill you to have more variety?" Whitney suggested. "Like, try something new like pizza, nachos, burgers, anything zestier than this!"

"You know, you got a good point." The lunch lady agreed with a smile. "Hey, you're that new kid, right? Thanks for the tip. Now please move. You're holding up the line."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Whitney apologized as she noticed all her impatient classmates in line to get their meals as she raced towards the nearest open table, which coincidentally was where Thea and Jasper were sitting. "Hey, guys! Did you save a spot for little ol' me?"

"You bet we did!" Thea replied happily and hugged Whitney. "So what took you so long?"

"I just wanted to point out to the lunchlady that she should have some more variety in our lunches." Whitney explained. "I mean seriously, beef jerky, clams, and grape punch every day?"

"Been that way ever since Ruth took power." Jasper revealed before she pulled out a paper bag with her name on it. "Luckily, I had my dad pack my lunch ever since."

"Aw, that's so sweet." Whitney cooed as Jasper pulled out a peanut butter sandwich, some tater tots, a bottle of chocolate milk, and a small pack of ketchup. "Anyone want to share?"

"How could I not?" Whitney laughed and reached for the same tot that Jasper was going to take, causing the two to blush at each other while Thea watched as she drank her grape punch. Meanwhile, some student council members gathered at another table not too far away.

"The others were right. They are close." Xanthe stated while sitting down with Jazz, Zelda, Piper, Blair, and Irene. "Maybe a little too close."

"What if we try breaking them up somehow?" Piper suggested while cracking open a clam. "You all know I love some good romantic drama."

"Unfortunately, as Xanthe said, there's nothing we can do to spoil her reputation." Zelda declared. "Unless one of us perhaps makes her an offer she can't possibly refuse."

"Are you suggesting we get her to join us?" Jazz wondered eagerly. "I love your thinking, honey bear!"

"Ooh, Jazzy, you dog!" Zelda barked seductively, much to the annoyance of Piper, Blair, and Irene.

"Get a room, you two!" Blair yelled at the couple. "Or, in this case, a doghouse."

"I'll do it." Irene nominated herself to make the offer without being prompted and marched over to Whitney, Jasper, and Thea's table. "Hello there, Miss Topaz. Since you are so popular around here, might I suggest an opportunity to join us at the student council?"

Thea was momentarily terrified, but thankfully her concerns were alleviated by Whitney's answer. "Oh, that'd be great, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline for now."

"Rats!" Irene shouted and marched back to her table in shame.

--

While Whitney had lunch with her new best friend and her crush, some of her new teachers had gotten together to discuss the new arrival to Crystal High.

"So, it's great that you all found the time to join us today." Pearl said to Lana, Biddie, Amy, and Dot. "And I suppose you might already know why you're here."

"Whitney." Lana and Dot said in unison.

"Whitney." Biddie added.

"Whitney!" Amy declared. "She really brightened my day the moment I called her name."

"Now, let's not shill Whitney too much, lest her head gets as big as Ruth's." Garrett snickered before looking up at a painting dedicated to their old friend and the school's former principal Rosemary Diamond. "But her kind heart and free-thinking really remind me of Rose back when we attended Diamond University together."

"I miss Rose." Amy replied nostalgically. "Maybe we should get back together for lunch someday."

"Oh, that would be great!" Pearl agreed with the homeroom teacher while trying to hide her blush, indicating that she still held a torch for Rose. "Now, back to Whitney, I find it amazing that she wants to change our student body for the better."

"Yeah, plus I'd no longer have to be in danger of unemployment now." Lana stated. "What do you think? Should I get Lucy and Zoey to put her on the cheer squad?"

"Ooh, I got a better idea!" Dot exclaimed. "Why don't we have her give a big speech at the big game in a few weeks?"

"That would be a great idea!" Biddie concurred with the science teacher's idea. "That way, everyone can do their part in cleaning up this school!"

"Then it's agreed." Estelle smiled. "I'll call her parents at once and see what they think. I'm sure they'll love to hear what we think about their daughter."

--

"Good grief, who had the bright idea of teaching math at the end of the day?" Jasper grumbled as she and Whitney headed to their final class for the day together. "I mean, school is already stressful enough, but putting the most stressful subject you can imagine at the end of the day? It's absurd!"

"Well, don't you worry your pretty little head because you got me to keep you sane till it's time to go." Whitney replied while patting Jasper on the head. "Besides, you got practice later, so that should allow you to vent your frustrations healthily."

"Hey, new girl!" Lucy Lance exclaimed as she and her younger sister Zoey approached Whitney and Jasper. "We've heard that you've been doing wonders for the other students, and personally, I think your positive attitude would be killer for the squad!"

"Yeah, wanna come practice with us?" Zoey added. "We got a spare pair of pom poms with your name on them!"

"Oh, I'd love to join the squad, but I think I'll have to turn you guys down for now." Whitney declined the Lance sisters' offer. "But I'd totally be open to joining later when I have the time. When can I come to tryouts?"

"We'll be holding them in a few weeks." Zoey revealed. "Be there or be square!"

"It's a date!" Whitney responded happily as she took Jasper's hand, and the four girls walked into math class together. Once again, however, not one of them realized that a student council member was watching them. Furious about Whitney possibly being on the same cheerleading team as her, Catherine gritted her teeth so hard that she broke the candy part into pieces.

--

"Hey everyone, I'm home!" Whitney called to her family once she returned home at the end of the day after saying goodbye to Jasper and Thea.

"Welcome back, Whitney!" Lauren replied as she fixed an after-school snack for Kenny. "How was your first day today?"

"It was good." Whitney answered as she sat down at the kitchen table. "I managed to make some new friends, but they were all being oppressed by this really horrible student council, and I saw fit to try and change things, which quickly made me the talk of the town."

"Oh, that reminds me, honey." Ash said as he emerged from another room with a phone in hand. "I got a call from the principal earlier, and apparently, they're so happy with what you're doing; they even said they want you to make a big speech at the big game later this month!"

"Oh my gosh, really?!" Kenny exclaimed in delight. "Whitty, that's awesome!"

"I know, right?!" Whitney replied as the Topaz family got together for a big group hug. "And even better, I think I got a crush on someone!"

"A crush already?" Ash grinned. "And on the first day of school, no less. Back when I was in high school, it only took until the Halloween party for your mother and I to get together."

"That reminds me, you need any help with your speech?" Lauren asked her daughter.

"Naw, I think I already know what to write." Whitney said as she left the kitchen and went to her room to write her speech. "Just wait till everyone back at Riverdale hears about this!" Opening up her laptop and creating a new document to type on, Whitney began jotting down her speech. "Thank you, Crystal High, for making me feel so welcome here."

--

As the weeks progressed, more students and teachers became influenced by Whitney's positive thinking and free spirit the more they got to know her. No longer would they be shackled by Ruth's tyranny. Instead, they'd be free to do whatever they wanted. Dot was able to make science class more interesting, the lunches had more variety, Lana could no longer worry about losing her job, and the student council's authority was being questioned more often by the day. Ruth Black couldn't stand it any longer, Whitney needed to be brought to her level no matter what, and she knew just what to do.

Eventually, it came time for the big football game to kick off the fall sports season between the Little Homestead Wildcats and the Keystone Oxen. Sports fans from across town gathered at the school football stadium, eager to watch the intense action between the rival teams. The two teams were evenly matched by halftime, with the score being 12 to 12.

"We are the Wildcats!" the school's cheerleading team sang, with Lucy and Zoey taking the lead. "We're here to win this game! And if you think we can't, we'll try all the same!" As their cheer concluded, the squad began forming a pyramid. "That's why the students of Little Homestead, will cheer for!"

"Lacey Carruthers!" Desirée Glass exclaimed.

"Toni Paul!" Catherine added.

"And Olivia Snow." Zoey sang.

"And Jasper Brooks!" Lucy concluded, to the rejoicing of their adoring fans as the pyramid came apart and Lucy was handed a megaphone. "Thanks for coming out, everyone! Yes, we're all very beautiful, and our players are the cream of the crop, but tonight, we got a special announcement to make."

"Everyone's favorite new kid in town, Whitney Topaz, is here to give a very special speech!" Zoey exclaimed as she ripped the megaphone from her sister's hands. "Now, let's make some noise!"

As the crowd began chanting for Whitney, Catherine snuck away from her fellow cheerleaders and saw Ruth in the audience before giving her a knowing wink. "Good luck out there, sweetheart!" Catherine purred as she passed by the Topaz family and Thea in the stadium halls, covertly stealing Whitney's speech and replacing it with a fake and more profane copy. "Trust me, word of mouth will spread fast."

"Hey, thanks Cat." Whitney smiled as she walked out to the stadium, blissfully unaware that her life could soon be over.

"Good luck, dear!" Ash called out to Whitney before he saw Jasper passing him by, ready to hit the showers. "Hello there! You must be Jasper, right?" he asked. "My name's Ash; I'm Whitney's father. Meet my wife Lauren and our son Kenny."

"Wow, you're just as big as I'd thought you'd be!" Kenny gasped in awe at Jasper's size.

"Ha, that's what she said!" Jasper cackled and tried giving Kenny a high-five, but he had no idea what she had just said.

"Uh, what did she say?" Kenny asked curiously, his innocent ears trying to comprehend the football player's dirty joke.

"You'll know when you're older." Lauren laughed as she covered her son's ears before she noticed something at her feet. "Hey, what's that paper for?"

"Let me see that." Jasper said as she picked up the paper and began to read it, coming to the slow and horrified realization that she was reading Whitney's speech and had seemingly forgotten it. "Oh no, I have to get this to her, quick!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ash replied. "Go, go, go!" At the father's command, Jasper raced out to the field to help Whitney before she could make a huge mistake.

--

"Everything is going according to plan." Ruth smirked as Whitney walked onto the green field, ready to give her speech. "Thanks to Irene, I learned that the teachers offered Whitney to make a speech about how much she will change the school. But luckily, I was able to forge a fake speech in the nick of time that will no doubt ruin her cred the moment she finishes it! All the profanity, all the prejudiced remarks, seeing the reactions will be so invigorating!"

"Good evening, everyone; thank you so much for having me here tonight." Whitney said to the spectators. "First off, I just want to thank Principal Garrett and all the wonderful teachers of Crystal High for giving me this opportunity to spread my mission of love and change to everyone here tonight." The crowd began cheering for the principal and her employees before Whitney continued. "Anyways, I've worked very hard on this speech for the past couple of weeks, and I'd be pleased as punch to share it with you all."

"Whitney, WAIT!" Jasper yelled as she raced back onto the field with Whitney's real speech in hand. "You forgot this. I found it on the floor."

"Wait, that can't be my speech; this is my speech!" Whitney said before she opened her paper to discover the false and very crude speech written to taint her reputation. And the one thing that indicated who the writer was. "Wait, "Student Council rules, Whitney Topaz drools"?!"

"Oh no, she's onto us!" Ruth exclaimed as the student council attempted to make a break for it, only to be cornered at every turn by their fellow spectators who were not happy with their attempted sabotage. "No, this can't be happening!"

"Oh yes, it is, Miss Black." Estelle said as she and Pearl loomed over Ruth. "Did you seriously forge a speech to ruin Whitney's reputation?"

"Yes, of course I did because I was jealous!" Ruth hurriedly admitted. "Jealous that this new girl who's only been in school for a few weeks, yet everyone loves her and fears me! Why is it always the nice people that get attention instead of the ones who demand your respect?!"

"Well, maybe it's because they actually do unto others as they would do to them." Pearl scoffed. "Honestly, Ruth, I expected better from you. As of today, you will be removed from the student council. And we need to discuss that scholarship of yours too."

This caused all the students to cheer over finally being freed from Ruth's tyranny as Ruth herself curled up into a ball of woe. And then, as if to hammer her despair in even further, her former slaves started singing.

"Finally free, finally free, finally free everyone!" everyone began performing an expertly choreographed musical number to celebrate. "Finally free, finally free, finally free, let's have fun! Finally free to just be me!"

"At long last, it's time for celebration! Let's bring down the house!" Whitney began singing along with the crowd and had her first kiss with Jasper in the process, sealing their romance. "It's meant to be that we can all be free; come on and sing it loud!"

"Did you think you'd have us all under control?! My, you took a real nasty fall!" Jasper tauntingly harmonized in Ruth's face, who was simply not having enough of it and decided to make herself scarce. "If we just loved each other for who we are, then we can-"

"TOPAZ!" Jasper's voice echoed throughout the field of dancing spectators, much to Whitney's surprise. "TOPAZ!"

"Wait, Jasper?" Whitney asked. "I thought we were all singing?"

"Singing?" Jasper replied. "You need to wake up!"

--

"Yo, is she gonna be okay?" Amethyst asked as she, Jasper, Garnet, Pearl, Teal Zircon, Lapis, Peridot, Bismuth, Black Rutile's gang, and the Lapis twins all gazed upon a sleeping White Topaz. "Can I poke her even harder?"

"AGH, FINALLY FREE!" White Topaz yelled as she finally woke up and saw all her friends, and others in her company, surrounding her. "What just happened?"

"You fell asleep binging all those Boarding School Broadway movies," Garnet replied. "Is anything the matter?"

"I had the craziest dream, and everyone I knew was there!" White Topaz exclaimed before pointing to everyone she saw in her dream. "And you were there, and you were there, and you! And we were all humans in high school!"

"High school?" Pearl raised an eyebrow at White Topaz's declaration. "Like in Peridot's fanfictions?"

"Ah yes, the high school AU." Peridot observed with a hand to her chin. "Tell me all the details, White Topaz."

"Well, I was the new girl in town, and Black Rutile was the student council president who ruled the school with an iron fist!" White Topaz explained, earning her a glare from her former superior. "Jasper was the football captain I had a crush on, Teal was my first best friend, my teachers included Amethyst, Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth, and I was about to accidentally ruin my reputation before the situation was resolved in a pretty rushed fashion."

"Okay, I think we need to simmer down on all those weird teen shows and movies for you." Lapis smirked as she turned off the movie. "And I thought chili gave you vivid dreams." The preceding one-liner incited mass laughter from the Gems gathered, but it quickly turned awkward and strained before stopping entirely.

"Now what?" Bismuth asked.

--

Now what indeed, Bismuth. This was certainly an interesting and very long chapter to write, and yes, I do admit I had to rush that ending to get it out on time. But in all seriousness, I think I had fun writing my take on a Human Gems AU and if you've seen my episode list, this won't be the last time the concept will be brought up. But in the meantime, next up is a very special two-parter featuring our favorite parody of the MI6 agent on her majesty's secret service with a license to kill. Ladies and gentlemen, next chapter will reintroduce us to Jones. Bane Jones.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #little homeworld life #white topaz #jasper #teal zircon #garnet #amethyst #pearl #peridot #lapis lazuli #bismuth #black rutile

[coyotechaos]

A California coastline at sunset from a nearby parking lot. Gulls shout above, hoping to spot a spare fry to squabble over. Crowds of strangers pass by, excited for a day near the waves. The water deep blue. Her crashing might a gentle swoosh at the distance.

Two pals sit in their car, staring at the distance. Not from the lot to the beach, but from their car to a nearby concrete structure. This building is not typically used, however, this pair has learned of criminal activity below ground. Following a trail of alarming clues, they learned that the gang may be holding a certain individual captive. All the way from Chicago, Illinois: Aiden Pearce. And they, Marcus and Xanth, were about to rescue him. Or something.

Now these guys know what they’re doing of course. Hacker this, hacker that. And it was definitely not intimidating to think that this gang may have already put the lights out for The (super cool) Fox (not an actual fox) already. The lemur in the driver’s seat took a deep breath.

“Squad said we’re good, we should get to it.” Marcus faced the cat beside him and held his arm out.

“Oh bet!” Xanth’s hand slammed into Marcus’ with the most satisfying sound following.

Both jumped out of the vehicle and made their way to the building, realizing that nothing seemed out of ordinary on the outside. Groups of friends were hanging around, partaking in different activities. Some chilling on top, their legs hanging down. Others dancing beside a wall.

“Psst, hop on those cameras. Let’s see what’s really going on huh?” The blue feline whispered to Marcus, who responded with a nod. The two of them huddled together, watching what they could see behind closed doors on the tiny screen. “Look at that big guy, strapped like the big bad wolf is gonna eat him.” Xanth chuckled, tossing his long tail playfully.

“Mhmm.” Marcus just stared at his compadre for a moment. “Well. Let’s go kick some ass.” He jumped up and down, stretching his shoulders as he took lead towards the door. Xanth followed and chaos ensued. Gun fight, hack a door, another gun fight, camera. Yes. They made it through and spied the man sitting down in a locked cell. A single guard pacing. Wow, look at that. Dude has a phone. Marcus sends some unhinged photo his way. Aiden takes a moment to process, nodding at the camera before taking the distracted guard out and running off. No way the squad would believe this! The two rushed out and to the car, Marcus sliding in to call the others. But hold on. His cat friend isn’t there. “Oh lord help that man.” He whispered before dialing up base. “Yo we totally saved him! It was awesome.”

“I don’t believe it.” Sitara expressed.

“You better have photos!” Wrench shouted.

“Guys. Guys. I don’t. But you’ll never guess.” The chatter quiet, waiting in suspense.

“Ummm, y’all are besties now?” Wrenched piped in.

“No but. Xanth.” A chorus of groans followed. “He has one. Hundred. Percent. Gone after the man. Dude ain’t with me.”

“Mhm. Yep. Yep. Called it.” Horatio could be heard in the background.

“Uuuuuugh just meet us back at base.” Sitara spat before hanging up.

And there it is where no one will find it

#i am cringe and i am free #I brought the orus (furries) to earth #I may have also Elli’siafied her as well #I’m just playing with words #I haven’t in a long long time

[happymeishappylife]

Books I’ve Read in 2022 - Part 1

I’m going to do this a literally differently this year. I didn’t do long reviews of each of the books I’ve read and so instead I’m going to be doing just short blurbs and thoughts from everything I read as a way to still document them. Enjoy!

1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Dickens has always been one of my favorite authors but this is definitely one of my favorite novels from him because it was so rich with such great characters and it really chrono called the life of a man who ultimately did good or always approached situations with good intentions. I thought all the side characters were equally as rich even if some of them were hard to like and unlike some of Dickens other characters like in Great Expectations, the bad influences didn’t feel so desperate or petty, it was just the difference between social classes.

2. Golem in the Gears by Piers Anthony (Book #9 of Xanth Novels)

Grundy isn’t my favorite character in this series and having a novel that made him the main focus was a little hard, but also helped in fleshing out his character so by the end of it I didn’t disklike him as much. Just in general I think Piers is pretty misogynistic and sexist and that only gets tames by writing either kids or female characters, but Grundy always with his snark and jokes made that more of a present feeling. Hooking him up with Rapunzel is a little weird and annoying but at least this usually writes off characters as we move forward in the Xanth timelines.

3. Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie

Such a fun and meaningful story bringing to life the world of imagination through family tall tales and a mix of video game atmosphere. I had a lot of fun reading this novel and experiencing not only the imagination of this boy, but the rich influences of middle eastern culture because you don’t get a whole lot of that anymore. Plus it had its truly tender moments since the whole story revolves around Luka’s journey to try and save his dad. I think that’s beautiful and well done.

4. A Hard Day’s Knight by Simon R. Green (Book #11 of The Nightside Novels)

This was a reread for me. In fact this book was the first Nightside novel I ever read and got me hooked in the series. Going back and reading all the stories that led up to this one though, made the sort of wild claims and fantasies more grounded and make more sense. Plus as the second to last book in the series, I could understand the build up to the final novel better so it was nice to reread it.

5. Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz (Book #1 in the Frankenstein Novels)

What if Victor Frankenstein never died and for over 200 years was actively working on making more “creatures” who were meant to replace human beings and become the supreme beings of the world? Honestly its a fascinating exploration and I had absolute trust that Dean Koontz could kill it and he did. He creates the perfect gothic supernatural horror setting that many of his books are based in but also perfectly balances the perspectives of these people both helping and trying to stop Frankenstein. Set in New Orleans too, we get a create backdrop as a race to understand and stop Victor becomes the priorities of two cops and Frankenstein’s original creature.

6. A Time of Omens by Katherine Kerr (Book # 6 of the Deverry Cycle Novels)

Now that we’ve moved past a lot of the problematic issues in the first couple novels, I’ve really grown to like the current stories and premises of the Deverry Novels. Plus now that Nevvyn has died, we get to see how well prepared Jill is and also now have a different focus as Jill and Rhodry know much more than everyone else. Though the mystery and struggles of Evandar’s world and Dallandra’s exploration of it is a little chilling and is going to be a prominent place of conflict in the novels to come and I can’t wait to see where it goes. My only complaint is that Rhodry really needs to stop sleeping with everyone. I’ll never understand allosexuals....

7. The Wild Places by Robert MacFarlane

So when my last company fell apart and I was the only one left, I took these book my former boss left in the office and thought I would check them out. And while this was nonfiction, I actually found that I really appreciate reading about peoples exploration of natural world, introducing me to wonders in places I didn’t know existed and expressing the reasons why we must cherish and hold onto them. While I may never climb a snowy mountain and sleep overnight, I do appreciate people who feel the calling and the need to connect to nature in these ways to write so expressively about it and its why I enjoyed this book.

8. Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Book #11 of the Dresden Files)

This was a fascinating spin in the series and the first time we’ve had a long break between the events of the novels. Set nearly a year after the previous story, Dresden is confronted with a challenge as the Wizard Morgan shows up wounded and on the run from the White Council seeking Harry’s help which is ironic given that Morgan wanted to execute Harry and has always had a bad relationship with him. To me that made the novel interesting and showed how much Harry has grown in order to be willing to help. Plus it actively showed that his suspicions of a Black Council is probably correct, leading for suspense in the upcoming novels.

9. Give and Take by Adam Grant

This was one of the other books I took from my previous job and in all honesty not my usual go to genre. I wasn’t a big fan of it too because essentially its message was maybe you don’t play the part of “I always get may” in order to succeed.... Duh? A lot of the skills he was introducing were not new to me and I have a hard time understanding who needs to hear these things as they seem like simple empathetic and and compassionate things to do.

10. Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz (Book #6 of the Odd Thomas Series)

I was very hesitant about jumping back into the adventures of Odd after his decision to actually kill people in the novel because I wasn’t sure where that would take him. And while his character has changed a lot because of that, I honestly felt he got pushed aside in this novel for the more interesting and bizarre events happening in this estate where there were too many other ‘odd’ characters running around and dealing with past and future timelines all converging together with various threats to end the world.

#2022 rewind #books i've read in 2022 #part 1 of idk how many

[m1ckeyb3rry]

🌫 https://m1ckeyb3rry.tumblr.com/post/686978394886455296

after reading sith i kind of understood why a lot of novels or fics have a few love interests because as much as i love colt, i feel like having other people around too gives y/n a wider experience of what it’s like to deal with different feelings for people? like romantic, platonic, everything.

LMFAOO xanthe is way too nice doing that for y/n, that is just insanely awkward because they’re siblings and she definitely does not want to hear the details or the experiences 😭😭 but she would understand because y/n is literally only friends with boys and imagine her talking to friedrich or colt about that 💀

AND YES that makes so much sense. having people yk in your stories probably makes it more fun to write as well, like when you write something funny or embarrassing you might giggle about it a little bc imagine the irl or inspo doing that😭

mrs l/n probably expected y/n to turn out like her because that was the impression y/n gave all throughout her childhood, so she was probably just unhappy that y/n did not turn out that way. and that really is weird to think about, y/n and the sith characters feel like they’re in a whole different world from the paradis characters. like just a whole diff story. well i sound stupid because that’s literally what it is LMAO but i couldn’t imagine them crossing paths is what i meant, even though they probably will.l much later on.

I LOVE COLT TOO but I agree it’s necessary for Y/N to branch out and have different experiences. SitH isn’t really a love story per se it’s more just a story with love in it?? Which is why Y/N’s life doesn’t revolve around Colt.

LMFAOO PLEASE SOMEONE SAVE XANTHE 😭 either way it would be awkward though because friedrich and colt would literally die if they had to hear about it omg. Y/N really has no good options.

STOP every time we talk abt Xanthe I remember that her and Friedrich were originally supposed to end up together in the last arc and it makes me laugh so hard PLSSS imagine Y/N’s horror if both Colt and Friedrich moved on from her at the same time 😩💔 ngl I’m happier with the way things turned out though, back when I was outlining I didn’t anticipate Friedrich becoming as big a part of the story as he did so him being with Xanthe made sense then. but now he’s like one of the main characters and with the way he feels abt Y/N it would’ve been weird if he moved on that quickly.

I AGREE TBH SOMETIMES I FORGET Y/N AND THE REST. LITERALLY EXIST IN AOT??? i mean the only canon characters we consistently see are magath and colt, and both were pretty minor. then ofc a couple of the warriors have been mentioned and zeke was there for a little bit during the Final Test but in general it just feels so far removed atm.

i will say that personally i think if the main three were training with the 104th they’d get along with them SO well. colt would probably be friends with jean and marco, and i can see friedrich hanging out with mikasa. Y/N…I think sasha and connie are the obvious choices but honestly I see her being closer with Ymir and Historia.

also fun fact Y/N in SitH is based off of the Y/N in 13T! if that gives you any hints on how things might go lol. i will say that her and colt will not have the same ending they did in 13T/Birdsong.

NO AND ALSO SPEAKING OF 13T/Birdsong I want to rewrite them sooo bad because I get so embarrassed whenever people comment on them. 13T was like the first fic I ever wrote and I’ve gotten sm better since the 😭 but at the same time part of the reason why they were so fun to do was because I literally did not gaf 😩 like around the time I was publishing Birdsong I was also posting endure chapters so I was like “I am just going to write whatever the hell I want” because I was more focused on endure. But at the same time ngl I kinda love the mythology I made up for it and the way Y/N saved the day by literally just…being nice and normal 🫡 no super powers she was just sweet and lowkey a side character in her own fic but yet not??? idk I’m torn so we’ll see. maybe one day 🤷🏽‍♀️

[thewebcomicsreview]

it's incredible how this sinfest new years is still from 2020 i think

Nah, it's 2021

This Time Storyline having the hero escape the bad guy's lair by walking on to a gaudy vehicle that's been turned into a flying car is probably not an intentional reference to Back To The Future 2, since I'm the only one on Earth who actually really likes that movie, but wow the Sinfest version is a much less exciting escape, isn't it? No one's actually chasing them and they and take their time. Look at Slick in that first panel there he's just kind of meandering to safety. Kind of a flat climax, innit?

But, of course, that's not the real important part of this climax, because if I'm the only one who loves BttF 2, I'm also the only one who remembers the plot of Sinfest.

Way way back in the 1980s, in 2013, Xanthe and Slick had this weird relationship where they weren't friends exactly but she was kind of trying to convert him to the Sisterhood, but there was an incident where a crowd attacked her and Slick didn't help (Assuming "Sleaze" is metaphorically Slick's evil side and not literally an evil clone, which to this day has not been made entirely clear).

This was actually a major event in Xanthe's life, and one of the very few plot beats in Sinfest to actually change the status quo, albeit slightly. It fucked her up so bad that she had an emotional reaction to something in Sinfest instead of it being immediately dropped. Xanthe no longer attempted to change anyone and hated men to the point where even the other members of the Sisterhood found it slightly weird.

Also she got her kewl sci-fi tricycle as a pick-me-up present out of the deal. But she never spoke about this with Slick because no one in Sinfest ever talks about anything because Tats keeps forgetting his plot points and after this Slick got a fembot and that whole deal got introduced.

But here we are, nearly eight years later, and there's a whole strip of Xanthe reacting to seeing Slick finally stand against The System because, um, he got banned from Facebook but whatever Slick is on Team Good Guy now and Xanthe is shown to be affected by this implying that Tats actually might remember a plot point. Like he planned for Slick and Xanthe to hook up back when he introduced her and then he went in a wildly different direction but that idea's been stuck in the back of his boomer brain.

And while it would be extremely funny for Slick to win a girlfriend as a prize for being feminist-adjacent, what's actually going to happen is what always happens in Sinfest, which is nothing. Slick finally coming to save Xanthe like he failed to seven years ago should be a major turning point in their relationship or at least a conversation and yet by next month it'll be dropped and there'll be no sign Tats even realized the import of his own plot.

#Sinfest

[daxieoclock]

hey hey shay! this is late but i wanted to thank you for the tags you wrote on my promo post!! it made me smile ;w; i love when my friends use both pronouns for me waahhh ALSO I DIDNT KNOW YOU LIKED NEO TWEWY???? what are your favorite character moments for everyone if you have any?

Thank you for the ask!!! :D and yeyeye of course! im glad to make my good friends smile C:

and YEAH i do! i didn't play the original, but you can thank @izabellwit's fics, especially all that's left in the world, for getting me invested in the characters. Then when NEO came out, I decided to hit up some playthroughs since I didn't have a switch, and. g-ddamn i was in love.

like the story FUCKED unequivocally but i got sucked in primarily because of the voice work, especially since most of the cast (VAs for Rindo, Nagi, Beat, Neku, Sho, Rhyme, Coco, Shiba, Tsugumi and Hishima) haven't really been in any projects on this scale that I can tell (besides for other TWEWY stuff and KH3D for the veteran characters). Even tho Neo TWEWY isn't like a huge pop culture phenomenon by any means, I'm still hoping this turns into a breakout role for them. Like if this doesn't pay off for Paul Castro Jr, Bailey Gambertoglio, Miranda Parkin, Crawford Wilson, Jessie David Corti, Andy Hirsh, Ashley Rose Orr, Shaun Conde and James Austin Kerr? I'm rioting, they ROCKED this fucking game.

And then on top of that, there's some fucking amazing VAs with history in the industry. Xanthe Huyn as Kuon, Xander Mobus as Tanzo Kubo, Nicolas Cantu as Hazuki and Aaron Spann as Joshua. All of them do phenomenally and it makes me so happy to see them here. Skylark, Kirk Thornton and Robert Buclotz did some damn good work on production and voice direction too, like, you can really tell the voice direction is on point when the entire cast is consistently hitting their vocal mark. Helps that they have some damn charming writing to go off of too.

Anyway uhhh sorry for rambling about VA stuff, ummmm, character things.....Nagi was an eternal delight, and I had the biggest dumbest grin whenever she was on screen. It's impossible to pick a specific favorite moment, she's just a delightfully unhinged weirdo and the loser girl bisexual representation we absolutely needed. Coco was similarly fucking delightful, I like fully came into this game expecting to hate her cause she shot Neku but. it took about two seconds of her being on screen before I forgot that completely and decided I loved her character. As far as actual moments though...tbh the entire last hour of the game was just fucking golden. Shiki showed up and I pogged out of my mind, the entire ensemble came together to fight off the noise, fucking JOSH arrived and was just as big of a condescending asshole (affectionate) as he always is, the protags used all of their powers in unison, the final boss fight was perfectly badass and then everything got wrapped up nice, and that final moment with Shoka getting grumpy at Rindo for not checking his inbox, just....amazing. All golden. I couldn't stop grinning.

But as far as favorite moments? Rindo and Haz's conversation nearly brought me to tears, holy shit.

Haz: "What makes [Shibuya] so special? Why fight so hard to protect it?"

Rindo: "I dunno. It doesn't feel very special right now."

Rindo: "I'm going back. I'm going to save the city and my friends. Without them, all of this means nothing. Shibuya isn't special without them here!"

lost my entire shit it was amazing. g-d what a fucking character moment. rindo's the best, love that kid.

#anyway uh djfgbj sorry this is so fucking long djhfbgjhb #i have normal thoughts and feelings about this game #neo twewy

[dailycass-cain]

Spirit World #6 concluded the series this past week. Did it end on a high note? How was Cass within it? Well, all answers will be found here...

I love that this series fills the final gaps of questions I have for certain characters in the series. Namely, Wan Yujing's motivations, WHY the Jade Court are so meh due to Po Po's warnings back in #4. and how this ALL ties into the origins of Xanthe Zhou.

But like poetry, it also ties into Cass as into what she was going through in #1. Said issue, Cass was lost, but also feeling awful in helping slay a creature (even dark) and it took a slight toll on her.

Here in #6, it all circles back.

Seeing why Wan's desperation. Seeing the souls she's trapped. Seeing the Jade Court's inability to "want" to save the situation. All it ties into this isn't a simple solution of just slaying the demon.

But this doesn't just tie into Cass, but also the series' central character Xanthe. We get their full origin here. The mystery all pulled back and the scope of their powers revealed.

Writer Alyssa Wong sprinkled teases of Xanthe's origins throughout, and here they are on full display. You can also see why they keep company with John Constantine but also now open themselves to Cassandra Cain.

Why these characters just gell so nicely to each other complimenting it all. With how Xanthe finds the way to end this all.

For now at least.

The ramifications of this issue interestingly bring up new ideas for the DCU at large. Both in the mystical portion and well in Cass (more on that soon).

I find the whole mystical area of DC fascinating because they aren't just bound to one corner. Each magical user always brings something new to the table. Xanthe Zhou is just another character that I hope more tales are showcased with the character going forward.

The fact that well, not everything is tied up at the end leaves me to think that Wong has still so many more stories to tell of Xanthe and Spirit World itself. We've only touched the first layer of that.

To that, I hope allows the creative team to return and tell more tales.

The artist for the series, Haining has been exceptional with the various designs and actions throughout. Like I'm still in awe of the designs used or even how horrific Wan's demonic can be but Haining brings a level of cracks of her humanity through the body horror drawn.

That's not even bringing up the fluidity to the action we've seen throughout the series.

Every bit of the creative team brought their A-game to the table in telling something truly unique. Like I really want more.

And you get that there MIGHT be more.

Clearly, Wong lays seeds at the end of the Verdant Sorcess not at all pleased with the new status quo of Spirit World going forward.

I'm REALLY curious about their origins now with the reveal of the prior ones.

Not only that but in the case of Cass, only one of her subplots is resolved in the series. I mean yeah it's the big one: she gets to go back home.

But the "missing" time of her being in Spirit World (due to Batgirl Vol. 1 #72)? Why incident is all screwed (Shiva never killed Cass in that particular issue)? What new memories Cass lost in #3? Was Shen posing as Steph?

It feels like Wan found her, that while she was absorbing Cass, THAT's when Shiva brought her back. But it still doesn't answer fully what occurred with Cass during that lost time?

These are riddles still left unanswered, and it can't be coincidental given what next year being. So hopefully maybe THEN they are.

Please let Alyssa Wong cook DC!

Wong truly has an amazing grasp on the character and is the first to really bridge the lingering cracks Batgirl Vol. 1 left and bring it into this modern era.

Regardless, Spirit World was an exceptional series. It was something I truly needed to wash the sadness of Batgirls ending and another event douring the characterization of Cass.

I really hope DC goes all out in collecting this series. Show us all the Haining concept art.

Give me some words by Wong on how this series came to be. How they developed Xanthe Zhou. Give me it all!

.....

I've become Shen. My greed knows no bounds. 😅

Anyway, to those who haven't read this series. You now have the full excuse to read it all in one sitting. It's even BETTER when you do that actually. To those who read it like me keep hyping this and the other new minis DC created this year.

We need more of this!

#cassandra cain #dc comics #my thoughts

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

i was tagged by the lovely @earnmysong to do this! i’m too lazy to actually upload pictures, so instead i will paint a picture ... with words.

these are: a) my phone’s lockscreen; b) the most recent song i listened to; c) the last picture i saved!

a) my lockscreen is a picture of my sweet doggy adventuring in the snowy woods!

b) i am currently listening to “my universe” by coldplay and bts for the first time in my life (as far as i know) on a pop station on amazon music. it’s pretty catchy!

c) the last picture i saved was a picture of the back of a book that my mother sent me with this absolutely earth-shaking summary:

Millie had been a ghost for 800 years. But now, restored by the magic of Xanth, she was again a maddeningly desirable woman. She could have had any man she wanted . . . except the one she did want, Jonathan the zombie. To grant Millie her desire, and to prove his right to rule Xanth in the future, young Magician Dor embarked on a quest for the elixir which would restore Jonathan to full life. But the potion could be found only in the past . . . so, through a magic tapestry, to the past he went, taking over the body of a barbarian warrior. The first person he encountered there was Jumper, a giant spider—a nightmare monster, but a staunch friend and much-needed ally in peril-haunted, ancient Xanth. Then Dor met Millie—800 years younger, but just as lovely. And he realized that, in his new body, he was no longer twelve years old . . .

JONATHAN THE ZOMBIE??? i ask you. NO LONGER TWELVE YEARS OLD??? i ask you again. also, i feel pretty sure that he IS still twelve years old. i’ve got a lot of questions.

(tagging nobody. whoever wants to do this, DO IT!)

#dollsome's deep thoughts

[spartanxanthe]

˗ˏˋ ꒰ The Story of Spartan II Power Weapon's Specialist, XNTE-1308 ꒱ ˎˊ˗ ׂ╰┈➤ Part one of Halo Stories by @spartanxanthe | WARNING: Violent Topics : ̗̀➛ PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE (Coming Soon!) ╰┈➤ Full blender render credit to thewarriors989_ on Instagram. Please do not save/use! ׂ╰┈➤ Learn more about Xanthe here!

Seven. That's how old she was when they took her, under the unlit village that was moments ago kissed by the sunset, and danced on top of by the cold, unmoving air. Scurrying footsteps, the sound of cloth from shoulders moving with haste from the hoods veiled over figures. The moment her eyes fluttered back open, the light had come back... too quickly. That was the only thing she remembered, simply: daylight had come too fast. The training and drills had come even faster. The meals and the breaks seemed to not come at all. The consistency of the classrooms was another promise life granted her besides eventual death. Every night, she looked at the modernized, clean, white clock on the dark grey wall in her quarters and knew exactly what she would be doing, where she would be, and who she would be with at every tick for the next day. It helped her sleep. In this time, she never once questioned authority or hosted the desire to ask who she was... even, growing to enjoy this lifestyle. Life before was the backwash of a dream she couldn't remember. Besides, she didn't have the time to try. The determination to grow better- stronger, leeched on to her like a disease, but not in the way she showed any disrespect towards her peers, thinking she was better than anyone else around her while they all learned the same things. It was more of an addiction to the study, knowledge: what makes an S7 so precise, what the Insurrectionists want.

At meal times, her peers would often ask her questions because they knew she had the answers. She was sociable, accepted by all, and always overjoyed to help a soldier who was struggling. Instructors noticed her hyper-fixation and attachment to specific weapons early on. She was named to be a Power Specialist at the age of eleven, and independent studies were implemented into her schedule. Life was like this for a long time, until she had reached the age of seventeen: the age of physical maturity to the UNSC. It was then she had a realization of finally feeling. A question. Why do these procedures hurt me?- Was I not good enough years prior, that they feel the need to make me better than what I am? Her desired clock became unpredictable. Vials. Syringes. The reoccurring surgical light she hallucinated as the daylight in a place foreign she soon pieced together, was a moment in time she had not experienced. Recovery. Sleep. Metal. Blue liquid. Strength. Computers. Electricity. Sleep. Recovery. Staring at her clock.

Finally seizing two years later, she had now lived a life of unpredictability, and she really began to notice the tones and attitudes of her childhood friends. The ones that made it through augmentation, anyway. They had received every procedure she had, but in turn, they were nothing like her. She felt everything, they felt... nothing. 'Pure Spartans', a name she presumable figured the program sought to title them. The days flashing by, Xanthe came to acknowledge this as a strength. It was something that made her different- something that made her a better fighter, a better thinker. Months later, she felt a swirl in her stomach after looking at another soldier in the lunch hall, laughing and lifting weights to prove his brawn to his friends. She knew damn better than to act upon it. She kept the secret of feeling completely swallowed, becoming an actress to her fireteam and leaders. Unknowingly, one of her first injections was classified procedure ONI-SRoHE 325: a human-made device planted in the lower spine to retract human emotion to make the perfect super solider. Human-made products can result faulty.

A mistake in the lab made by a lead scientist... a simple drink of replenishing water from the helmet made by an engineer. The helmet had been worn over a long duration by many to protect from potential harm in the lab. The tube that circulated water had worn away by the connecting plates of the head gear. All it took was an unseen molecule of that water in the paneled liquid that would be wrapped in metal and injected into the Spartan's spines, and it was rendered ineffective. Upon inspection of the helmet four days after use, it was incinerated and replaced for being two weeks past its use-life.

At age nineteen, the year was 2525: the start of the Human-Covenant war. Xanthe continued excelling not only as a Spartan, but covertly, as a human. With her love for learning and driven nature, she received points of taking lead in her fireteam, which were put on the field for both intent assassinations and aggressive, destructive missions. Now, a lieutenant, the soldiers around her know she's a loose canon, both in terms of personality... and explosives.

#xanthe intro #my halo stories #halo fanfic #halo oc #spartan oc #halo spartan #blender #blender3d #halo #halo infinite #halo fanart #halo au #halo oc story #halo oc fanfic #fanfic #my stories

[trespia]

LoA has saved me many diamonds because so far none of the random hook ups have appealed to me. f!robin is ugly tyler is ugly

I'm honestly just hoping they reuse her sprite as one of the hookups. they wasted the chance to have xanthe as a li in acor & I'll never forgive them for it

#answered #the way I'm in love with her #if they reused her sprite I'd buy her scene with zero hesitation

[waterloou]

Please, please, please tell me everything about Brân 🥺

HELLO YES I CAN

so by the time the show takes place, he’s a few centuries old at this point, and maybe 40 years ago, he split off from the group of high priestesses (much to his dismay, Nimueh was very dear to him), and he kind of spends the 40 years trying to figure out who tf he was before being a high priest (although, spectacularly, he still has his title due to a number of reasons). He did live in Camelot for a short while before Uther banished magic. He then wandered into the kingdom of Endora ( @randomfandomingwrites creation), and befriends its queen, Xanthe, who helps him with what he needs and in turn, he does teach magic to those who wish it.

One day, while he’s on a walk back from a quest, he runs into Guinevere, who is newly banished from Camelot and he swears then he will help her prove her innocence, since he can detect trace Magics on her (bc im mad that bracelet shit morgana pulled was never really talked ab) but that plan goes south and the two have to escape Camelot, ending up in Endora.

He also has a horse named Arial who he loves very much

He’s sometimes a little too helpful

Has respect for every type of magic used and can be very protective of it

Can be brutal if he needs to

Has accidentally adopted more than a few kids while saving them (Druid boys) nearly helped Mordred out but the boy ran away

#oc: high priest brân #I love him