-Of Pranks and Finals by Morpheus

Imp having an off morning. I had to look back to see what her most recent dedicated story was, and her weekend certainly was emotionally (and physically) draining.

When the giant dog was mentioned in Broadsword's final, I first wondered if they'd scanned in Cookie for a model. Then I remembered that Cookie was gen 2. However, that left me with the mental image of the sim team somehow stuffing Cookie into a sim suit. The bestest doggie would them be turned loose to rescue his boy from the clutches of wondercute.

Absinthe vs Jerico. That just screams 'crash' to me, probably for Absinthe. But I think she got the message the arena team was trying to send her.

I think Team Absinthe (after suitable rebranding) is almost certainly going to be a thing. Hopefully Porcelain will warn them of her entanglements before they get wrapped up in them.

Jade and Beltane getting their revenge on Absinthe - I recall seeing the short of that from Voodude's prospective. Interesting to see how Absinthe handled it. If Trixie gets into the prank war, the administration may have to force the pranksters into an arena battle, complete with racks of pies.

Melissa trying to prank the Imp. Of course it would backfire. But on the plus side, she's learned a new trick, as those puppets should have gone invisible with her.

Ribbon vs stopable was a fun one. The only difference between Stopable and Aegis is that Stopable's higher rating has shielded him from learning the lessons that Aegis did.

I suppose one 'good' effect of the prank war spreading cross-campus is that it helps keep the tensions from finals down. If only because everyone who isn't inclined towards pranks is trying to keep their heads down.

Morpheus
Crystal Hall, Monday morning, Dec 3rd, 2007

Ouch, what has killed the Imp's appetite? Maria Ricardo asks if Imp is okay, could a rough weekend really get Imp's spirits down that much? The distraction of the combat finals certainly got her mood up. Louis shows up and it seems the combat finals are a popular topic currently.

“I’ll take your word for that,” Imp told her with an enthusiastic flick of her tail. “But I am looking forward to this… I’m teaching an urban escape and evasion class next month, for winter term, so this will give me a better idea of what I have to work with.”

I almost pity the kids in her class, she can be a fun teacher, but also tough when she knows they need to learn it to survive. Imp, don't you dare sneak into a combat final.

Morpheus
Monday morning, Dec 3rd, 2007

Doug Kelly aka Broadsword up against Geist in his combat final, oh boy. A giant, zombie dog, he got to encounter a tough one right at the start. Smart move, even if a zombie seems harmless always remove the head to be safe. Oh, Doug, you poor soul. Killing a zombie dog is bad, wait until you have to kill a zombie human.

Dang, his power makes that sword the ultimate weapon for him to use. And has an easier time taking out human zombies, oh well. Doug, think less about impressing people, especially the ladies, and more about passing the final. A narrow alley and Doug has to get cocky about keeping the audience watching. Nearly a dozen human zombies and crowded due to the narrow alley, yikes.

No room to swing his sword, crud, run away! Hold the blade horizontally in front of himself and it is like a video game, the zombies charge into the blade or are slowed by their attempts to maneuver around it. Oh, even better strategy. A four-way intersection with more alleys with no way out down each one, who is the sadist who designed this combat final area?

Forced to go on the defensive and retreat, that four-way intersection is the perfect trap if you don't realize it before getting into a fight there. Doug finally realizes he is outside and there is no ceiling, so he uses his sword like a surfboard and flies up, now able to see where he needs to go.

And good thing too, as he spots over two dozen zombies with 3 big ones in the mix, the people who designed this sim have played one zombie survival video game too many. A man with a glowing green vial by a wrecked helicopter being ignored, seesh, it couldn't be obvious what the target was for this mission. The old "zombie virus cure that has to be rescued by the heroes".

Doug spots Geist running for the helicopter, he has taken too long with the zombies if she has gotten this far on foot. Ah, it is an illusion of Geist, the real one is invisible nearby, a very smart plan. Geist has the bottle and is running for the goal, Doug is annoyed, he better not go too far in his attempt to win the combat final.

A dramatic entrance, Doug, you need to learn showboating can get innocents hurt in a real-life situation. Taking one of the giant zombies out in a flashy move, he tries to spot the real Geist. No way to find the real Geist if you won't hit a girl even with the flat of your sword. Earn credit for an assist, a yell announcing what he is doing so Geist can act, yet he still thinks about impressing girls, good grief. Clears the way and Geist gets through to hand in the 'antidote' for the zombie plague, the final is over. He may have an ego, but at least he isn't willing to hurt someone else to win and take his own victory from it.

Domoviye
Monday morning, Dec 3rd, 2007

Tink and her friends get one of the best spots for watching the Combat Finals, and even the older students don't want to risk Tink's wrath to make them move, that is some reputation. Aww, I hope Tink gets a good opponent too, she needs it to get some energy burned off. Fetch and his materialized spirit dog Mutt, aww, I want art of these two now. Samson, I'm with you on this, Pin Cushion is a psycho I wouldn't want to face.

Aww, Horizon, just because it is a combat final doesn't mean you have to hurt anyone, you can find your own way of winning and avoid that. Towels, ropes, and nets, what is Horizon's power? Mary is there as well. Samson is up against Peccary, forget who that is. Oh no, Tink got a 'good idea' and drags Mary along by flying, she is taking over the announcer's booth, isn't she?

I'm with Samson, this deserves facepalms all around. Taking over because they are too boring, Tink needs some way of restraining her. Manifested shell and extra protection for his real body inside, Samson is thinking ahead. Ooo, good holdouts. Peccary, pig-based GSD, I wonder if he has any powers beyond what might be obvious. Samson doesn't want to embarrass himself, especially in front of Fetch, aww, how sweet.

Tink's descriptions are good, I give her that. Samson goes with a biker look, interesting. Tink! Have more tact when describing a student with GSD, seesh. Ah, Peccary must have Spirit Mismatch Syndrome since he is an avatar. Superman or nearly so hearing and sense of smell, dang, Peccary might have the edge in this. And fast despite his short legs, that one is a big advantage, opponents who don't know him can be taken off-guard more easily. Heading for the center of the arena already, his sense of smell is superhuman.

Ouch, good thing his body is ectoplasm right now, zombie bites, even fake ones, can be nasty. Crap! Peccary isn't going for the target, he is going after Samson and has him into a grapple as he squeezes with both arms, the two steel sheets have become a liability and Samson is in trouble.

Tink is right, what is Peccary thinking with an attack like this? *eyes bug out* Samson can shift his manifested shell around like clay to reform, that just shifted the balance in this fight. *facepalms* Tink, you lecture Mary about her language and then say something like that.

An ear clap attack, Samson is brutal when pushed. Distracted by Peccary's vomit, Samson gets his ectoplasm head punched straight through and Peccary has a look of horror on his face. Fighting headless, Samson strikes back but then starts to hit nothing but air since he can't see. Ectoplasmic head remade, Peccary is down and gets cuffed by Samson.

“Good fight,” he said, smiling at his opponent. “You almost had me for a second there. If you want a friendly match later, let me know.”

Peccary nodded, but didn't say anything.

Huh, didn't see that coming. He stored his club in the crotch of the ectoplasm body just for the image when he drew it out.

Bwahaha, I didn't think anyone would get Tink to turn red like that. Mary, not you too, there goes the PG13 rating for the jokes.

Morpheus
Crystal Hall, Monday late morning, Dec 3rd, 2007

Ouch, Gwen Wylann was one of the first freshmen to do a combat final and didn't do well. Dana and FIxx try to comfort her that she would have done better if she had just gone later, while Porcelain is blunt and to the point, ouch. Oh crud, up against a blind kid so her illusions and glamour didn't work, they made her face Jericho, which isn't fair to any freshman. Even if he could have seen her illusions I'm not sure they would have fazed him.

Collin is right, Jericho's 'sight' is psychic in nature and he has classes for it, probably training in shielding his mind as well. Dana, no picking on your roommate when she is down unless you want her to prank you. A C, ouch.

“You can’t afford to underestimate your opponent… You should have changed tactics sooner…”

The adults sometimes forget it is easy to remember those things due to practice and experience, what were they like when just starting out, could they have followed their own advice in the heat of a combat final?

Collin is right, with the number of threats you have already faced on and off campus, you need to be on a training team, Gwen.

Porcelain was silent for several seconds, then sounded almost amused when she finally said, “I believe that I might surprise you.”

That is the understatement of the decade. Ouch, Gwen lost her appetite after how badly she did.

Uh oh, don't tell me Beltane and Jade have finally decided to retaliate for Gwen starting the prank war between them.

It was a parade float that looked like Hello Kitty, which had been above her pixie scouts but was quickly descending. The giant Hello Kitty float was holding an enormous pie, which it was lifting to throw.

When they retaliate, they go big.

No direct hit on Gwen, but the massive splatter is something only a speedster could have possibly escaped. A giant marshmallow fluff pie, nooo, don't waste marshmallow fluff on a prank. So many are caught in the crossfire of this. Trixie throwing fluff because it is fun, but she is vowing revenge for whoever did this, uh oh. People are listing off suspects, this is bad. Beltane and Jade laughing, bow to Gwen and run off so only Gwen knows who is behind this. Crap, Gwen is probably right that is just round one of retaliation.

Domoviye
Monday early afternoon, Dec 3rd, 2007

Tink commented, Smile has to face an opponent that sucks for her, worse than Miasma, Tar, or Achoo. Gunny and Sensei Ito, what did the poor girl do that you would do this? Tink, why are you calling her the most boring fairy ever?

“Please just kill me now,” Smile silently pleaded, looking up at the uncaring ceiling, wondering why god seemed to hate her.

Oh god, they put her in a combat final with Fairy Girl, the biggest fairy fanatic at Whateley, that is sadistic.

“Hi Jenny,” Smile said, forcing herself to smile. It wasn't that her opponent was bad, she was actually really upbeat and excitable, and wanted to play, and have fun and pretend to be a fairy all the time. And since Smile could turn into a fairy, well that just made the sickeningly sweet girl want to hang out whenever she could and talk about fairies and do fun fairy things together.

Gunny, Ito, you know Smile is going to find some way to torture you for this. I suggest making it so they hear "The Wheels on the Bus" but no one else hears it.

Yanked around by a TK-2 power, Fairy Girl needs to learn boundaries. A quick and merciful death, why wish for that when you can have revenge on Gunny and Ito for setting up this combat final?

Ooo, Smile can change her fairy face and include a blue opera mask when she transforms this time, that is a great disguise ability. Ack! Fairy Girl can activate an enchantment on her costume dragonfly wings to actually fly now, helpful right now, but I pity Smile losing one of her only means to escape FG. They thought about fliers for the scenario! Zombie birds are incoming.

In the sewers to avoid the zombies and Fairy Girl has a spell that lets them keep track of where the center of the arena is, okay, she is excitable and a bit silly, but her spells are pretty good. Zombies in the sewers, Smile numbs their legs and Fairy Girl TK knocks them into the muck, nice teamwork. Even if they are just ANTs and not real it still can be traumatic to put them down.

Smile goes to protect some innocent humans from zombies, but has the zombies distracted by a swarm of ethereal fairies, nice spell by Fairy Girl. Civilian ANTS saved, time to get to the zombie lab and win this.

Actual praise from Gunny about their teamwork, saving civilians, and even taking to the sewers when flying proved too dangerous. Fairy Girl, A+; Smile, A-, they need to shower after their time in the sewer. Dinner tonight with Fairy Girl, I guess Smile is warming up to her.

Morpheus
Devisor labs, Monday evening, Dec 3rd, 2007

Monkeywrench has a theme for his devises, I like it. Balderdash shows up to ask what he is doing.

Balderdash looked a little self-conscious as she gestured back towards her own workspace. “Trixie is making something new…and she’s making me kind of nervous.”

“Manic giggling again?” Monkeywrench asked with a chuckle.

The petite girl nodded. “Yeah. It’s kind of creepy, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think she has Diedricks.”

Have the staff not diagnosed Trixie with Diedricks yet, because her rant earlier seems textbook case. He was inspired by the giant pie to finish a couple of his projects, do I want to know what they are? In the shape of a fruit and not a banana, good, and smart to mix it up once in a while to keep people guessing.

“This is my new pineapple grenade…”

The other devisor just groaned, facepalmed, and walked away without saying another word.

Bwahaha, now that is priceless.

Domoviye
Hawthorne Cottage, Monday evening, Dec 3rd, 2007

Scrubbing the Hawthorne toilet with a toothbrush, is this part of detention for Tink taking over the announcer's booth? *eyes bug out* I knew it was bad for Raptor, but an egg that size instead of a period, I would rather have a period.

She rubbed her hands together. “Perfect, I have everything ready. This is going to be awesome!”

Giving the closed door one last pitying look, Tink flew back to her job. She could finally put her plan into action, and if everything went well she'd put a smile on the girl's face in the morning.

Is Tink doing something to help Raptor out or is she doing something that she thinks is nice, but Raptor will think isn't?

Domoviye
Hawthorne Cottage, Tuesday morning, Dec 4th, 2007

*eyes go wide in horror* Tink, how could you think this would put a smile on Raptor's face!?! Roulette is helping her, it just gets worse. Raptor turns green in the face at the thought of what Tink has done with her egg. Sanguine is upset, someone replaced her blood with tomato juice, but it wasn't Tink.

Roulette smiled and unscrewed the top of the 'egg'. “Tink had it made in the workshop last month. It scrambles the eggs inside and you can pour it out through the hole.”

“Fooled ya!” Tink shouted.

Tink! It is a harmless prank, but you made her think people were eating an egg she laid. Don't do that again or any similar pranks.

Morpheus
Tuesday morning, Dec 4th, 2007

Imp has to do paperwork while still running a class, oof. That mini-Imp trying to tempt Imp into doing all the pranks, is one of Beltane's constructs, isn't it? An angel version of Imp is now on the other shoulder, oh no, the shoulder angels were banned on campus.

The teacher looked back and forth between the little devil and the little angel, holding back a smile. “I don’t know… I think you both need to do a better job of convincing me. Do either of you have a presentation ready?”

That got them for a moment.

When the 'angel Imp' joins in and says to do the prank because it will make the students laugh, it has to be Beltane behind these two.

“All right, I’ll do it,” Imp announced as she jumped to her feet and started towards her classroom door. “I’ll find Melissa and paint her plaid…”

All the students stared at the Imp as she left the classroom, their expressions a mixture of surprise, confusion, and amusement. Laugher suddenly broke out from several sources and spread around the room.

Behind the teacher’s desk, Mischief suddenly appeared as she dropped her invisibility, holding an Imp puppet in each hand. With a nervous gulp and a visible wince, she muttered, “Ooops.”

I was not expecting Mischief to be invisible using hand puppets. Funny it backfired on her and now Imp is going to prank her.

Domoviye
Combat Finals Announcer, Tuesday morning, Dec 4th, 2007

Tink and Mary in the announcer's booth once again. Tink tries to make the fight sound exciting, but Mary says it is a literal slapfest. Release the actual announcers so they can comment on this boring fight while Tink and Mary go to get snacks.

Morpheus
Tuesday afternoon, Dec 4th, 2007

Ribbon and Unstoppable, please let them work together or the arena is going to need some repairs before the next match. Melissa already had her combat final, and Amy and Monkeywrench still waiting for theirs. Mellisa tried to get the zombies to dance, this isn't Thriller and you aren't Michael Jackson, Melissa. Boojum was Melissa's opponent, and he got lost or she would have lost.

Darn, no smoke bomb from Monkeywrench for Ribbon today. A smoke bomb from Melissa, Alyss has plans for it. Wait, the smoke bomb isn't for the main match, why did Alyss want it then?

A city in ruins, cars that are rusted wrecks, the apocalypse is brutal. Starts off in a small neighborhood park, how close to the target is she? Ah, a smoke bomb to hide her while she changes into a new outfit using her powers.

Alyss now wore a long dress, black with white trim, in her usual gothic Lolita style, though with a little extra magical girl flair added in. In addition, she’d replaced her generic domino mask with a purple masquerade style mask that covered the top half of her face.

Extra credit for dramatic costume changes, I hope the older students weren't lying to her.

Going onto the rooftops to rush to the targets, she spots human survivors moving from building to building to hide from the zombies. Good reasoning on where the cure would be in the arena. Changing things between each match, yeah, I can see Gunny insisting on it.

Drawn by noise, Alyss finds Unstoppable fighting zombies. Poor kid has a body like that, just shopping for clothes must be a nightmare.

“You,” Unstoppable called out. “Creepy little doll girl…”

“No,” Alyss responded. “That would be Porcelain. I’m the creepy little goth girl.”

This guy is either a rager or an Ultraviolent to go on the attack like this. *eyes bug out* Alyss has some skills as a fighter to do that and make it look easy, even with EX-6 abilities. Even after all that Unstoppable still wants to fight. Alyss gives him a chance to walk away, but he is an Exemplar 5 and thinks he is stronger and tougher than Alyss just because of her apparent age.

Ooo, taunting him with how people call him Stoppable. He hits, but just enough it might leave a bruise. Ebidium bracelets with her ribbons, Unstoppable is going to wish he had walked away. Hits 15 times in 30 seconds while avoiding his attacks, dang. Darn it, plan ruined, human survivors in the building she wanted to slam Unstoppable into.

Sure, they were robots and not really people at all, but the very idea of killing innocent people as collateral damage made her sick to her stomach.

This is one reason I respect Alyss so much. Even distracted she uses BMA move to slam him into the ground then kicks him down the street, and he still thinks he can beat her.

Alyss does a good job keeping her temper under control, uses a ribbon to pull Unstoppable off his feet, spins around to pull him into the air, and then finally lets go letting the momentum send him flying. Bracelets back on, at least a dozen zombies taken down, and only a short distance from where she fought Unstoppable is her goal.

A metal platform with a metallic cube and a holographic woman explains what they need Alyss to do. She takes the cube and is on her way, using the rooftops once more, when the sounds of Unstoppable heading her way can be heard. Another platform with a satellite dish, but there is a 10-foot-tall zombie in the way. Unstoppable would have to show up right at this moment. Alyss judo throws Unstoppable into the giant zombie and finishes the mission with trouble. Unstoppable needs help with his temper issues.

Gunny Bardue and Sensei Ito watch the match from the arena control room, Ito set up this particular crash for a reason.

“Miss Morgan,” Ito explained, “always holds back against opponents, no matter who she is matched against. She fears hurting her fellow students. And while this restraint would normally be commendable, I needed to see if she is capable of releasing that restraint when necessary.”

“And she still showed restraint when she needed to,” Bardue mused. “As soon as she spotted those civilian ANTs, she changed gears immediately.”

Alyss will defend herself and others when needed, but she will never take things too far. So glad the staff can finally see that.

“Mister Hanson has a different issue entirely,” Ito continued. “He is…”

“Arrogant,” Bardue stated. “Reckless. Stupid.”

Ito smiled faintly at that. “I was going to say overconfident.”

“You’re more generous than I am,” Bardue told him.

The kid has issues upon issues, he needs to be taught that raw power isn't enough to win a fight and that skill matters more than power or he will never get over these issues.

Morpheus
Tuesday afternoon, Dec 4th, 2007

If ever there are the funds for it, I want a drawing of Unstoppable being thrown by Alyss and the look on his face being shown. Melissa Chambers, Darqueheart, and Chris Matthews are all there, watching the combat finals is one of the main events each year at Whateley for a reason. Monkeywrench working on a prank, he should be working on gear for when his match happens.

Miasma versus Mina aka Darqueheart's roommate, I hope she is right about this being interesting. Ouch, Mina has to run from the zombies and each escape is narrower than the last. Miasma deals with the zombies using a lighter and his own gas, butt flamethrower, gross but effective. Melissa, please never talk with Miasma about this and encourage his antics, he is bad enough as it is already.

Mina has the cure and is heading for the drop-off spot, now it is a race against the zombies and MIasma. Mina hasn't used any powers yet, and Melissa just grins about that, interesting. Zombies on both sides and Mina uses a high-powered flare gun to leave one group stunned and confused as she escapes. Her powers are useless against zombies, oh boy.

“Or just about anyone else,” Melissa quickly added with another giggle.

Okay, I have to know what her powers are now.

Darn, Miasma caught up to her, they talk, but she isn't giving up the cure. He pulls out one of his grenades and sets it off, poor MIna. Mina was unaffected by the gas attack, didn't see that coming. Another flare at the ground between them and Mina is off once again.

“THAT was Mina’s power,” Darqueheart answered with an amused smirk. “She’s a PK…like you…except she’s only a PK 1. Her powers are really weak, only strong enough to block mosquito bites and bee stings, but not much else…”

Melissa nodded her agreement before enthusiastically adding, “Yeah, but her field is REALLY good at filtering out things like germs and poisons…”

Her codename is Filter and she is immune to Miasma's power, Gunny and Ito set this up on purpose to teach Miasma a lesson about relying on one trick so much to win, didn't they.

The darn gas mask hid Miasma's face, I wanted to see his reaction to her no-selling the grenade. Mina reaches the drop-off point and wins, yay!

Still, that bit about using her PK shell to filter out Miasma’s miasma had really caught his attention and made him wonder if he might be able to learn how to do something like that with his. He’d have to ask his power tutor, the Imp about that.

Chris, if you can figure out how to do that with your PK shell it will be a bigger edge than you realize outside of Whateley.

Domoviye
Tuesday late afternoon, Dec 4th, 2007

Uh oh, they are doing a solo crash with Tink, this is going to involve a lot of damage or be weird, isn't it? Tink, now you are getting overconfident, there are still the Spring combat finals to bring you back down to Earth if this one doesn't.

“For a hero, you're sounding a lot like a supervillain. A really annoying one,” her co-host said.

Yeah, Tink, you were starting to go into villain monologue territory.

Tink, all the planning in the world won't help if you don't know the environment or the threats you will face. That poor door never stood a chance, this is one of the reasons for Whateley's huge budget, repairs from students damaging things.

Rottie was given a map of the arena for his 'team'. Wait, they are making Tink play tower defense on a small base at the center of the arena, oh boy. Rottie was teamed up with Buster, Thud, and Dump Truck, dang, I feel a little sorry for him. Pucelle and Bravo, good lord, this is sounding more and more like cruel and unusual punishment for Rottie. This is basically an anti-Tink squad, with Rottie the most likable of the bunch.

Make Tink the villain holding something important inside the building, is that what they told Tink she was for the crash though? Pucelle and Bravo prove they are idiots by charging off on their own, Rottie studies the map and can guide the other three if they listen to him. He can grow his claws that big, yikes.

Of course, nothing smells right, it is a simulated environment, and they can't duplicate the smells of real rot and decay easily over the whole thing. Rottie wants to go into the sewers, but the others don't want to because it smells, good grief. 4 to 1 and think that means they can beat Tink, it seems they have not learned from their past encounters with Tink.

Tink grabbed Pucelle, flew her down hard, then took her mask, she is playing the villain.

That's when they all saw Tink dressed in her feathery purple costume with a tiny bird mask. She was holding Pucelle's mask like a trophy.

And looks the part too. Tink tosses the mask across the arena and Pucelle goes running after it, she seriously needs more time with the counselors about her issues. Rottie sics the three bullies on Tink as he heads for the center of the arena.

He moves fast in an attempt to escape Tink and make it to the goal, but underestimates her as Tink catches up and an almost invisible wire is wrapped around his ankles and shins. She set up traps! Tink grabs him by a shoe and flies him into the sky before dropping him off on a rooftop at the edge of the arena. Rottie frees himself and gets back down to ground level, stating the idiots had better not be lost. You destroyed their maps, and so of course they are lost.

Rottie finds Pucelle wearing a dirty bandana to hide her face, Bravo walked in the wrong direction for three minutes. Tink is ahead and at least one of the idiots, so they send Bravo on to get her attention so they can set up an ambush, they keep underestimating her. Bravo is sent back flying through the air and Rottie thinks Tink is tiring out, once against assuming things without complete data.

Tink sitting on a brick gasping for air, could be an act. Oh no, don't tell me Tink is drinking a sugar-laden beverage. Run! At this point just escape and avoid being sent to Doyle in traction, don't care about winning, just run. Eyes glowing, yup, sugar-laden beverage, this is bad. Pucelle takes a hard slam into a wall, ow. Rottie, those three yelling and doing war cries don't mean they are doing anything helpful.

Rottie smashes through the door where the goal is only for Tink to grab his arm. *eyes bug out in fear* Tink's eyes go black, dozens of crying kids in that room between Rottie and the buzzer, what was the real scenario? Tink is furious and Rottie jumps backward out of the building, ripping the fur off his arm without realizing. Tink smashed the buzzer and set it off, so Rottie and his team won. Never put kids in danger when Tink is around, and never make them cry, even if they are just ANTs she will think they are real and react as such.

“Good game Rottie!” she said far too cheerfully. “You win.”

Great job, Gunny and Ito, you traumatized Tink! Rottie doesn't think Tink should be alone right now, okay, this proves he is nothing like his teammates for this mission, he has a heart.

His sensitive ears picked up the sound of shrieking and high pitched cursing well before he reached it. A security guard met him before he could get too close to the dented door.

“You don't want to go in there,” the man said.

Something that sounded like a chair being flung against a wall told him that going in would be a very bad idea. “Is she going to be OK?”

“We called for help. You should probably go. I'm not sure how she'll feel if she sees you right now,” the guard told him.

Tink is pissed and rightfully so, I hope Carson chews out Gunny and Ito for setting this one up.

Still, he couldn't help wondering about Tink. He'd seen her angry before, but never like that. Even at her worst, she treated everything like a game, but the sight of those kids had shown him a whole new side of her.

He hoped he would never see it again.

Hurting children is the one thing that will make Tink lose all restraint when dealing with someone. And with her history I don't blame her one bit.

Domoviye
Whitman Cottage, Tuesday evening, Dec 4th, 2007

Tink sneaking in, what is in all those jars, what does she have planned for Darqueheart?

Tink wasn't about to let it slip by. The cute demon girl had turned down all her offers to make her look cute and cheerful, but now, finally, it was going to happen.

I predict we will hear a lot of yelling and cussing from Darqueheart later on.

Oh god, she did that to Darqueheart's horns, at least it is watercolor and easy to remove. Harpy isn't impressed.

Lodestone just rolled her eyes and shook her head, while Twinkle giggled.

When Darqueheart looks in a mirror I wonder what her reaction will be. Tink back in her room with a gap in it so she can hear Darqueheart's reaction.

And then Darqueheart's voice could be heard all over the floor. “WHAT THE HELL! WHO DID THIS?!”

Laughing so hard, she forgot to fly, Tink hit the floor and bounced. “SUCCESS!” she crowed.

Less cussing than I expected, but still loud.

Morpheus
The Village, Tuesday evening, Dec 4th, 2007

Practical jokes out of hand, it sounds like it isn't just Beltane and Jade now, oh boy. Maria Ricardo had to deal with a whoopie cushion, a stink bomb in her classroom, and an exploding apple in her desk, good grief. Imp is right, it is the serious pranksters you have to worry about.

“The serious pranksters,” Imp explained with a grin. “Those are the ones who see a good prank as an art form and a challenge. Those are the ones who really get inspired from each other. Prank. Counter prank. Retaliation. For the real pranksters, this could just be the start of an escalating cycle.”

Sorry, Maria, but Imp is right about this one.

“Oh yes,” the Imp mused with a chuckle before shifting into a bad Yoda impression. “Begun, the prank war has…”

The other teacher just glared at the Imp in response while demanding, “And why are you grinning at that?”

Oh no, Imp grinning, if the students don't stop the prank war soon then she is going to get in on it to teach them a lesson.

Domoviye
Monday morning, Dec 3rd, 2007

Tink and her friends get one of the best spots for watching the Combat Finals, and even the older students don't want to risk Tink's wrath to make them move, that is some reputation.
Aww, Horizon, just because it is a combat final doesn't mean you have to hurt anyone, you can find your own way of winning and avoid that. Towels, ropes, and nets, what is Horizon's power? Mary is there as well. Oh no, Tink got a 'good idea' and drags Mary along by flying, she is taking over the announcer's booth, isn't she?

Tink is far from the strongest, isn't the fastest, and certainly isn't the smartest. But she's unpredictable, tenacious and can be surprisingly vicious. It's easier to just not start things with her, and let her be her ditzy no filter self.
Horizon and the rest can be seen in www.whateley.academy/index.php/component...ngs-a-tink-anthology, I really should have had them in a Tink story by now, but shit keeps happening.
And yes, this is the moment Tink decides that being an announcer would be cool, and Mary needs to join her.

Tink's descriptions are good, I give her that. Samson goes with a biker look, interesting. Tink! Have more tact when describing a student with GSD, seesh. Ah, Peccary must have Spirit Mismatch Syndrome since he is an avatar. Superman or nearly so hearing and sense of smell, dang, Peccary might have the edge in this. And fast despite his short legs, that one is a big advantage, opponents who don't know him can be taken off-guard more easily. Heading for the center of the arena already, his sense of smell is superhuman.

I had fun with the announcements, and I had a bit of help with this one, I believe from Rose. Peccary was first and possibly last seen in Straight From The Squirrel's Mouth, in Special Topics Escape class. He's a brick with bad eye sight and a good sense of smell. I made him a light brick for the story.

Tink is right, what is Peccary thinking with an attack like this? *eyes bug out* Samson can shift his manifested shell around like clay to reform, that just shifted the balance in this fight. *facepalms* Tink, you lecture Mary about her language and then say something like that.

Peccary saw Samson's MID, so he knew he was fighting someone who could take it. He's a bit gruff, but doesn't want to really hurt someone, just take them out of the fight.
And the pigskin comment came from Rose, it had me laughing, it had to go in.

An ear clap attack, Samson is brutal when pushed.

Yeah, Samson is a very nice kid. But when push comes to shove, he can get a little violent.

He stored his club in the crotch of the ectoplasm body just for the image when he drew it out.
Bwahaha, I didn't think anyone would get Tink to turn red like that. Mary, not you too, there goes the PG13 rating for the jokes.

I will honestly say I made Samson's combat final just so I could make this joke.
And Tink is usually very innocent when it comes to sex. Unless she gets really distracted.

Domoviye
Monday early afternoon, Dec 3rd, 2007
Tink commented, Smile has to face an opponent that sucks for her, worse than Miasma, Tar, or Achoo. Gunny and Sensei Ito, what did the poor girl do that you would do this? Tink, why are you calling her the most boring fairy ever?

Smile is much more sensible than Tink, so usually tries to ignore her. Hence, most boring fairy ever.

“Please just kill me now,” Smile silently pleaded, looking up at the uncaring ceiling, wondering why god seemed to hate her.

Oh god, they put her in a combat final with Fairy Girl, the biggest fairy fanatic at Whateley, that is sadistic. ... Gunny, Ito, you know Smile is going to find some way to torture you for this. I suggest making it so they hear "The Wheels on the Bus" but no one else hears it.

Smile is far too nice to do something like that. And she'd be afraid of getting Gunny and Ito angry at her, she doesn't do well around adults.
And when I thought about potential matches for the finals, I HAD to match Fairy Girl up with Smile or Tink. Since Tink was already taken, and her final has been planned out for literal years, Smile was the lucky fairy.

Ooo, Smile can change her fairy face and include a blue opera mask when she transforms this time, that is a great disguise ability. Ack! Fairy Girl can activate an enchantment on her costume dragonfly wings to actually fly now, helpful right now, but I pity Smile losing one of her only means to escape FG. They thought about fliers for the scenario! Zombie birds are incoming.

Smile being able to change her fairy appearance is more cool than anything really useful. She's still a foot tall fairy with dragonfly wings, blue hair and dress, and a magic wand.
I wanted Fairy Girl to be useful, not just a weak joke character. So she's handy with her magic, while not being a powerhouse.
And having anti-air zombies made sense. Can't let students just fly over all the dangers.

Actual praise from Gunny about their teamwork, saving civilians, and even taking to the sewers when flying proved too dangerous. Fairy Girl, A+; Smile, A-, they need to shower after their time in the sewer. Dinner tonight with Fairy Girl, I guess Smile is warming up to her.

I thought I'd show Gunny's soft side here. And Fairy Girl isn't really annoying when she doesn't keep gushing about fairies. She just tends to be a bit too one track minded.

Domoviye
Hawthorne Cottage, Monday evening, Dec 3rd, 2007
Scrubbing the Hawthorne toilet with a toothbrush, is this part of detention for Tink taking over the announcer's booth? *eyes bug out* I knew it was bad for Raptor, but an egg that size instead of a period, I would rather have a period.

She rubbed her hands together. “Perfect, I have everything ready. This is going to be awesome!”

Giving the closed door one last pitying look, Tink flew back to her job. She could finally put her plan into action, and if everything went well she'd put a smile on the girl's face in the morning.

Is Tink doing something to help Raptor out or is she doing something that she thinks is nice, but Raptor will think isn't?

Tink is one step away from being a permanent resident of Hawthorne due to detentions. We'll see that later on.
And Tink doesn't have much of a filter, or forethought. Sweet girl, but she pretty much lives in the now.

Domoviye
Hawthorne Cottage, Tuesday morning, Dec 4th, 2007
*eyes go wide in horror* Tink, how could you think this would put a smile on Raptor's face!?! Roulette is helping her, it just gets worse. Raptor turns green in the face at the thought of what Tink has done with her egg. Sanguine is upset, someone replaced her blood with tomato juice, but it wasn't Tink.

Roulette smiled and unscrewed the top of the 'egg'. “Tink had it made in the workshop last month. It scrambles the eggs inside and you can pour it out through the hole.”

“Fooled ya!” Tink shouted.

Tink! It is a harmless prank, but you made her think people were eating an egg she laid. Don't do that again or any similar pranks.

Tink is all about harmless pranks. She doesn't always think about the consequences.

Domoviye
Tuesday late afternoon, Dec 4th, 2007
Uh oh, they are doing a solo crash with Tink, this is going to involve a lot of damage or be weird, isn't it? Tink, now you are getting overconfident, there are still the Spring combat finals to bring you back down to Earth if this one doesn't.

“For a hero, you're sounding a lot like a supervillain. A really annoying one,” her co-host said.

Yeah, Tink, you were starting to go into villain monologue territory.

Tink, all the planning in the world won't help if you don't know the environment or the threats you will face. That poor door never stood a chance, this is one of the reasons for Whateley's huge budget, repairs from students damaging things.

This was a fun bit to write, since I knew exactly what was going to happen, I wanted to get the laughs in early. And the teachers planning out this combat final can be found in 'Old Habits', Just Me's disastrous combat final.

Rottie was given a map of the arena for his 'team'. Wait, they are making Tink play tower defense on a small base at the center of the arena, oh boy. Rottie was teamed up with Buster, Thud, and Dump Truck, dang, I feel a little sorry for him. Pucelle and Bravo, good lord, this is sounding more and more like cruel and unusual punishment for Rottie. This is basically an anti-Tink squad, with Rottie the most likable of the bunch.

Make Tink the villain holding something important inside the building, is that what they told Tink she was for the crash though?

Yeah, the teachers planned this out to have students who have a grudge against Tink and can survive if she goes berserk.
All that Tink knows is that she has to keep everyone out of the little building, and not let them hit the button. The longer she holds out the better her grade.

He moves fast in an attempt to escape Tink and make it to the goal, but underestimates her as Tink catches up and an almost invisible wire is wrapped around his ankles and shins. She set up traps! Tink grabs him by a shoe and flies him into the sky before dropping him off on a rooftop at the edge of the arena. Rottie frees himself and gets back down to ground level, stating the idiots had better not be lost. You destroyed their maps, and so of course they are lost.

No trap, just very fast and she uses a steel wire for a holdout. And he's not underestimating her, he just doesn't have a better plan then to hope she is kept busy by the three stooges and forgets about him.
By lost, he meant they had better be heading for the center of the arena.

Rottie smashes through the door where the goal is only for Tink to grab his arm. *eyes bug out in fear* Tink's eyes go black, dozens of crying kids in that room between Rottie and the buzzer, what was the real scenario? Tink is furious and Rottie jumps backward out of the building, ripping the fur off his arm without realizing. Tink smashed the buzzer and set it off, so Rottie and his team won. Never put kids in danger when Tink is around, and never make them cry, even if they are just ANTs she will think they are real and react as such.

This was the real scenario. Tink is playing the villain and has to guard something, so it's hostages. Just because the school specifically chose children to get a real idea of how Tink would handle herself in a situation that pushes her very big red button, doesn't mean the scenario wasn't real from the start.
And this is why they chose students who could handle her going rager, especially after she's been tired out.

“Good game Rottie!” she said far too cheerfully. “You win.”

Great job, Gunny and Ito, you traumatized Tink! Rottie doesn't think Tink should be alone right now, okay, this proves he is nothing like his teammates for this mission, he has a heart.

His sensitive ears picked up the sound of shrieking and high pitched cursing well before he reached it. A security guard met him before he could get too close to the dented door.
“You don't want to go in there,” the man said.
Something that sounded like a chair being flung against a wall told him that going in would be a very bad idea. “Is she going to be OK?”
“We called for help. You should probably go. I'm not sure how she'll feel if she sees you right now,” the guard told him.

Tink is pissed and rightfully so, I hope Carson chews out Gunny and Ito for setting this one up.

Still, he couldn't help wondering about Tink. He'd seen her angry before, but never like that. Even at her worst, she treated everything like a game, but the sight of those kids had shown him a whole new side of her.
He hoped he would never see it again.

Hurting children is the one thing that will make Tink lose all restraint when dealing with someone. And with her history I don't blame her one bit.

I wanted to be further along with Tink's story before this, but stuff happened. This is pretty important for some characters.
And Carson and Tink's psychiatrist signed off on this. We'll see why eventually.

Domoviye
Whitman Cottage, Tuesday evening, Dec 4th, 2007

Laughing so hard, she forgot to fly, Tink hit the floor and bounced. “SUCCESS!” she crowed.

Less cussing than I expected, but still loud. [/QUOTE]
In situations where Tink is the POV or important, I will not have swearing. I'll say people 'cursed' or 'swore', use innuendo, and have cut off swears, but when there is an actual curse word, it will be very carefully placed for maximum effect.
So far there is just one scene where a swear is written, and it's far in the future.