The way he's holding them here makes me feel conflicted. Like, this scene is terrifying and I can't imagine what's it like to be on a receiving end of it but... just look at it.
- he's holding Zooble in a way so that their parts don't fall out
- he's not squeezing Gangle so that her fragile ribbons don't get tangled
- he's not putting too much pressure on Ragatha so that she doesn't get ripped apart
- he's only holding Pomni and Jax firmly because their bodies are solid and rubbery
And this scene is right after the torture too. You would think he would be more violent, but no. He wanted to hurt them, not break them.
Caine wanted them to listen. And because they never did, he made them feel what he felt when they poked at his biggest fears and insecurities.
I guess what I meant to say is - even when at his worst, there was still something considerate in him. Something resembling the real him and not the angry monster he'd become.
What in the HECK happened with Scotsman, Dominion, and Dwight during the Great Gathering?!
(Also, since Dutchess of Hamilton has also been to the US during the 1939 NY Worldâs Fair, did she get involved?)
Warning - extremely long post below
So, first of all, Duchess of Hamilton never went back to the UK.
Duchess of Hamilton (6229) and Coronation (6220) had their nameplates swapped by the LMS when an engine was sent over to the US. 6229, in the guise of 6220, went to the US.
Streamlined locomotives were all the rage at the time, and railroads practically fell over themselves to get Coronation (as she was now known) onto press trains. The B&O railroad in particular was so impressed with her capabilities that they extended a formal offer of employment to her for service on their streamlined Royal Blue service. The LMS were surprised to get an offer to "purchase" their locomotive, but accepted nonetheless, as it meant a welcome infusion of cash in the dark days during the beginning of WWII.
Coronation fit right in with the Americans, having only been about a year old when she was sent to New York. Following the end of steam traction on the Royal Blue in the late 40s, (the B&O were early adopters of diesels.) she and her B&O coworkers found good employment on the New York Central, where she still runs to this day.
Since then, she's fully "gone native", marrying a J3 Hudson, (yes one of the streamlined ones) adopting both an American accent and three children, and being fully repainted to NYC silver by 1956. Flying Scotsman met her in Albany in 1970, and neither one of them recognized the other.
Actually, most UK expats don't recognize her, to the point where a common interaction is for her to be held up as an example of "look at her, she's integrated well into the US", only for the British engines to say "that's preposterous, she isn't English".
When it's pointed out that she's still obviously an LMS Coronation, the next response is usually screaming.
All that being said, she has no interest to come back to the United Kingdom, and wasnât asked by the NRM anyways.Â
---------------
Second of all, the Great Gathering was... an event.
So, there are (officially) 6 preserved Gresley A4s.
Mallard - static, National Railway Museum (UK). Also an asshole.
Bittern - running, private owner, UK based
Sir Nigel Gresley - running, owned by a trust, UK based
Union of South Africa - running, private owner, UK based
Dwight D. Eisenhower - static (officially), National Railway Museum (USA)
Dominion of Canada - static (officially), Exporail (MontrĂŠal)
This is the official list, and for the first 4 engines, it's the truth.
However, things are a bit hazier on the other side of the Atlantic...
-----
So the thing that needs to be made clear right up front that in a sentient vehicle world, museums aren't like the NRM, where locomotives sit static for years on end, although obviously the English have museums like that because of course they do.
Rail museums in the rest of the world are much more like Colonial Williamsburg - a living history center staffed by volunteers who act out a prototypical setting from [insert decade here].
British Rail, being British Rail, didnât know that and didnât care.
-
4496, Dwight D. Eisenhower, having been named after the General-turned-President, had been earmarked for preservation by BR, and was summarily shipped off to the US National Railway Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
In an entirely unintentional move, this donation MONUMENTALLY snubbed the Smithsonian, who refused to have any dealings with BR for decades, even for archival purposes. This, combined with the fallout from Operation Smash Hit, and the fact that the Smithsonian is Petty AF, meant that there was virtually no official trans-Atlantic cooperation between British and US museums for decades.
Dwight hit the shores of the US in 1964 New York City and was greeted by a marching band, a ticker-tape parade, and Presidents Johnson and Eisenhower, who were on-hand to personally make the engine a US citizen.
Always keen to curry favor with the government, the Southern Pacific railroad had a job offer waiting for Dwight right alongside the Presidents and the parade, and when he accepted, he went off to Sunny Southern California - someplace so opposed to Britain the he fell in love with the place immediately and refused to leave!
The ladies may have also had something to do with it as well - while most engine classes fell into a typical 50-50 gender distribution, the SP GS-4 class was all female...
[Pictured above - one of 28 very good reasons to live in California if you're a single British steam engine.]
Dwight does not kiss and tell, but at his wedding in 1974, all 28 GS-4s showed up - and he was only marrying one of them!
Since the 70's, he's become a mainstay in California, having been repainted into Daylight Limited colors in 1969, and retiring from railroad duties in 1999. After that, he went into the movie business, and is currently the head of digital media development at Disney.
His wife Irene (SP 4437) is also an interesting figure as well - following in the wheelmarks of the great female locomotives before her, she had an eye for business and a Stanford education before she married her husband, and was an initial investor in multiple tech companies in Silicon Valley during the 70's and 80's, but stopped doing that after her investment in Apple proved very lucrative. In 1996, she was convinced by a few people in the Stanford Alumni association to invest in another tech startup, this one an "internet search engine" called Google.
So yeah, Dwight Eisenhower kept falling up and up and up all his life, and is now married to the richest woman in the world.
--
4489 Dominion of Canada was donated mostly by accident, having been forgotten in the back of Darlington sheds until 1966, when she was shipped off to the Canadian Railway Historical Society in Montreal.
As stated elsewhere, the Canadian Government considered any locomotive built in the UK to have UK citizenship, and therefore treated them as commonwealth citizens under existing Canadian law. (remember that Canada was still a colony at that time)
CN, the national rail carrier, was obligated to offer her a job under their charter, and she accepted, moving to Toronto to run intercity trains between Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.
Within two years she was displaced from those duties by the introduction of a new, shiny, jet turbine powered train, and was summarily demoted to local commuter runs in the Toronto suburbs.
Moving to suburbia did one thing more than anything else - expose her to the people who live there. They all had complaints, they all had problems, and they all had no idea on how to fix them.
Being a helpful sort, Dominion decided that she could help, and promptly ran for Toronto city council in 1974. She won, and has been a fixture in local Toronto politics ever since - she even got to be Chairwoman of Metro Toronto (the closest thing to being mayor because Toronto's governmental structure is weird) until 1998, when Toronto was merged with the surrounding area to create a massive new region.
Having then done everything there is to do in municipal Toronto government, Dominion went on to become the Chief Executive Officer of Metrolinx, the agency that controls almost all of the transit agencies in Ontario, because, as she puts it, "I'm still a commuter engine at heart".
She's now painted in the current GO Transit paint scheme, and still does commuter runs- which is really weird looking now that there are double deck commuter coaches in a push-pull configuration, with a Gresley A4 doing the pushing.
------
Now, I mentioned that those 6 were the only ones officially preserved - there were two unofficial preservations as well...
-
4486 Merlin was properly Shanghied - he was yanked off the docks in Southhampton by a cargo ship in August of 1965, and was spirited away to parts unknown.
Those unknown parts turned out to be South Korea. There, he was given citizenship by the US-aligned military dictatorship (Korean history is wild) and was employed by the State-run rail operator.
As the military government began a hardcore plan to increase their country's wealth and industrial output, rail lines were being built across the country, and Merlin was soon awarded a position on the fastest train in the network, the Seoul-Busan Saemaeul-ho.
Because of his experience in running high-speed express trains, Merlin not only became the public face of Korean high-speed rail, but also became an "honored elder" amongst the other Korean engines, a position he still holds to this day - as despite being over 70 years old, he still runs daily trains on the fast services, easily keeping time with the Korean schedules as well as training the new high speed trains, including the KTX sets. He's on his 24th boiler by now, and has more parts from Hyundai than Doncaster.
An additional fact - Merlin actually has had a linguistic effect on Korean railroading, as his strange amalgamation of an accent - a strong Yorkshire accent that tried to be Received Pronunciation for 30 years, mixed with almost 50 years of middle-to-upper-class Korean - has filtered down through the ranks of KoRail, because all of his students want to sound like him out of respect. Human British expats in Korea will occasionally hear a locomotive speaking in English, and the engine will sound like a Yorkshireman every time and the Brits cannot handle it.
---------
4495 Golden Fleece is the only A4 to preserve himself - he saw the writing on the wall in the early 60s, and hopped a car ferry to France at the end of 1962. From there, he bounced around Europe for a bit before making it to the United States in the late 70's.
Of the 8 surviving A4s, he's probably led the quietest life of all - he moved to Miami before it got nice, and basically got in on the ground floor of CSX when that merger happened in 1980. He's now the head of terminal operations for the Port of Miami, but he's generally kept a low profile - not even having a chance to meet Scotsman due to his time in Europe.
He's still in contact with Dwight and Dominion, and has no real bitterness over not being "famous" like they are - he likes the quiet, and still lives in a modest house in Boynton Beach with his long-term girlfriend.
----------------------
Soooo... the Great Gathering.
It was supposed to be a meeting of the 6 surviving A4s - a two year event held at the NRM in honor of the 75th anniversary of Mallard's record-setting run.
"Record setting" is a past-tense term here. While there have been no official runs, every single one of the Pennsylvania Railroad's T1 and S1 locomotives claim to have gone faster than 126 without meaning to, and numerous other locomotives on unofficial attempts done late at night on flat stretches of land across the country have hit 130+.
British Expats have also done better than 126 - Coronation claims to have hit at least 140 on a midnight mail train in 1980, and in Korea, Merlin claims to have hit 128 on a test train, although that was judged by timing mile markers as his speedometer wasn't functioning properly.
Problems arose before any of the engines had even reached the NRM, as Mallard's already sizeable ego had swelled to massive proportions, and several engines in the great hall were planning a justifiable homicide.
Then came the time restraints - none of the foreign locomotives were willing to uproot their lives and jobs for two years just to sit motionless in a shed. A two year exhibition was eventually negotiated down to a 6 month gala, much to the irritation and confusion of the NRM, who could not understand that the engines were still in service.
Then came the extra engines - Dwight and Dominion thought that the NRM knew about Fleece, and were quite insulted on his behalf when he wasn't invited - they threatened to not attend unless arrangements were made for Fleece to attend as well.
An utterly baffled NRM agreed, but also tore their record archives apart, as they knew that Fleece had been scrapped. The fact that his picture was plastered all over CSX's Florida Division website was all the more confusing as a result.
-
Meanwhile in Busan, nobody knew that Merlin had escaped the scrappers' torch and therefore did not invite him. He was only informed after K-Pop star Psy texted him from London to ask if he knew about the event, which was being advertised on television.
Merlin, having missed his friends from the LNER, decided that he would just crash the party, used some of his many vacation days, and took off for England on a cargo ship.
-
By sheer coincidence, all four foreign A4s hit the dock in Southhampton on the same day, and were delighted to see each other - especially Merlin, considering that everyone else had thought he'd died.
Meanwhile at the NRM, delight was not the word one would use. Befuddled, confused, shocked even, but not delighted. Their plans had revolved around 6Â A4s, most of which wouldnât be running - only to now discover that there were 7, all but one of which were functioning! (Mallard, the star of the show, was the odd one out, and it drove him crazy)Â
Then they got a phone call from their man at the docks saying that another one had showed up, looking like heâd driven out of a K-pop album cover, and they just gave up and started screaming.Â
-
Screaming is also what happened when the cavalcade of foreigners showed up in York - first of all, the quartet of new engines sounded nothing like they had when they left England.Â
Dwight had willfully unlearned his Upper Crust British accent by 1971, and had fallen deep into a California accent (quite similar to what Scotsman sounds like - coincidence? No.)
Dominion and Fleece hadnât tried to unlearn their accents, but 40+ years of living in North America can really dilute the Britishness. It doesnât help that Dominion has developed most Canadian vocal tics eh?
As stated above, Merlin has a weird fuckin accent, and now he speaks English with a strong Yorkshire accent, but will occasionally and without warning drop into a Korean/Yorkshire hybrid accent.
The screaming also happened because the NRM had wanted to repaint the duo trio! quartet?! into LNER garter blue, and were promptly informed that âweâre painted like this for work! Donât touch it!â (the sole exception was Dwight, who hadnât pulled a real train in 14 years, but he liked his Daylight Limited paint), so instead of the new arrivals showing up in LNER colours, they showed up looking like THIS:
Having their long-lost siblings show up looking and sounding like THATÂ had quite an affect on the A4s and the other NRM engines:Â
Bittern could not believe her eyes - to the point where she actually began making noise about seeing an optometrist
Union of South Africa almost backed through a wall
Sir Nigel Gresley was speechless for two days
Mallard was so angry that he actually chipped a tooth during one of his rants about âthe impropriety of it all!!â
Evening Star laughed so hard that he managed to derail himself without moving
City of Truro almost cracked a piston from shock
Alycidon spent the entire gala coming up with more and more laser focused jabs at Mallard - who was so easy to fluster that the Deltic neednât have botheredÂ
Oliver Cromwell and Green Arrow made fast friends with the new arrivals, and spent the entire time learning âAmericanismsâ to annoy the other engines with.
But what about Flying Scotsman? Where was he in all of this? He was generally considered to be the âleaderâ of the NRM fleet (much to Mallardâs annoyance), and was usually who the other engines turned to when things started getting out of control.Â
Did Scotsman calm things down? Like hell he did. The inmates were running the asylum from the moment that Scotsman saw the other A4s - more importantly saw Dwight - and immediately greeted them in flawless Californian.Â
This actually set off the buildingâs security alarm, as Flying Scotsman saying âDUDES! Wassup?!â caused such an uproar that the noise broke several exterior windows.Â
----
And all of this was in the first few days - there were six months left to go.Â
--
There was one railtour attempt. It was supposed to feature Bittern and Sir Nigel running in tandem, but instead featured Dwight and Merlin, mainly because Bittern wanted to see what would happen.Â
They exceeded the max speed limit for steam traction within 15 minutes, sparked a thorough investigation by the RAIB, and got all future steam powered railtours for the Gathering cancelled immediately.Â
On the plus side, the two engines did prove that it was still possible for a steam train to hit 100 safely.Â
--
One thing that baffled the other engines was the inordinately large number of people who turned up just to see Dominion, and the one person who kept turning up to see Fleece - it took a lot of explaining for them to understand that Dominion had been married three times, and had children (adopted) and grandchildren from all three marriages coming to see her. A similar amount of explaining was required to explain that Fleeceâs girlfriend/partner wanted to see him too.Â
The normally chatty Dwight and Scotsman would suddenly clam up whenever Dominion and Fleece teasingly tried to ask about their love lives, something which wasnât unnoticed by the other engines, but got similarly nowhere.Â
The answer to why they both shut the hell up was explained when a lot of shouting broke out in the yard of the NRM one day about a month into the exhibition:
Irene Eisenhower, not content to sit in California and count her billions, quickly grew bored without her husband, and decided to go to England and be with him. The fact that she definitely did not fit the UK loading gauge was never even a consideration, and so she just showed up in York on the back of a lorry, having informed no-one of her arrival, and content to just pay off the requisite people if a fuss occurred.Â
A fuss did occur, and it was only ended when Scotsman managed to convince the museumâs curator (who at this point in his life was regretting ever thinking of this damned gathering) that Irene was a âtemporary donationâ to the museum.Â
[Scotsman, who definitely hid his Cali accent from museum staff the entire time, has one of the best poker faces in the world]
Dwight was overjoyed, and so was Scotsman, for initially unclear reasons. Then Irene managed to grab both her husband and Scotsman, dragged them behind a shed, and [THIS IS A PG13 HEADCANON] the both of [PG13]. Turns out that while Scotsman may have slept his way across the US a few times, he was actually ready to settle down with Dwight and Irene - they were a throuple way back in the 70s, and those passions havenât faded. When Scotsman reluctantly left the US in 74, a lot of the reluctance was because of those two.Â
This bombshell of a revelation went over interestingly at the NRM. Some engines (Green Arrow) were happy for them, some were incensed (Mallard - although it was for anti-American reasons, not homophobic ones), and some were intensely curious about what was going on in the outside world (Bittern).Â
-
The âforeignersâ (as Mallard had taken to calling them), were deeply displeased at how their fellow engines were being treated - while a lot of them were âin steamâ, some were not and might never be again, something they found abhorrent. Unable to do anything at that time, as the NRM was not a for-profit entity and therefore did not have anyone to bribe, (Ireneâs solution to things is to throw money at the situation) the engines started talking about how life was different in the outside world - namely that engines were still working hard, even when they were over a century old and running on steam power.Â
This was of great interest to engines like Evening Star and (6220) Duchess of Hamilton, neither of whom were likely to be steamed again, and Bittern, who was growing more and more curious with each passing day. Dissent began to slowly build against the NRM curators, and the culture of the United Kingdom in general.
-
One thing the foreigners did try do something about was Ellerman Lines. The poor bastard had been sectioned to show his inner workings, much to the jaw-dropped horror of the foreign A4s, who made such a stink about it that he was moved outside the museum by NRM staff, who must have thought that the engines lacked object permanence or something, because that didnât make it better!
-
Irene Eisenhower, who was beginning to get really sick of the nonsense that the NRM called preservation, (Scotsman was not in running condition, and had been hastily reassembled mid-overhaul in order to be cosmetically ready for the event, and letâs not forget poor Ellerman Lines) elected to bring the event to a close on her own after only three months. She did this by eventually putting her immense wealth to good use, and called for a haulage service to rescue the engines from the NRM without the knowledge of the museum staff. Aside from the A4s, she also took Ellerman Lines, Scotsman, and Bittern (who had asked to go) with her, and only bothered to inform Ellerman and Bittern - she was not about risk Scotsman having another âthink of Englandâ moment and staying.Â
The haulage firm was efficient and the cargo ship was waiting, so the engines were in international waters before the NRM opened the next morning.Â
Much swearing occurred in England that day, and the NRMâs image has yet to fully recover from the PR story that they had sold Flying Scotsman (and Ellerman Lines) to a reclusive American billionaire.Â
Privately though, the NRM does not care, as that story is a lot better than âSomeone stole our engines and weâre not allowed to get them back because as it turns out weâre slaveowners, so no international court will help us.â
Also, despite their multimillion dollar âdonation" from the I. Eisenhower Opportunity Fund, they still havenât been able to fully pacify their engines, all of whom have somehow gotten the idea that they should be running in main line service like they live on Sodor or something...
--------
Dwight, Scotsman, and Irene all live happily together in the sprawling Eisenhower estate in Malibu. Irene is currently lobbying the California state government to legalize polygamy, with moderate success.Â
-
Ellerman Lines, after a lot of therapy and a full rebuild, is now working on a short line in Wyoming. He likes the scenery.
-
Bittern followed Dwight, Irene, and Scotsman to Los Angeles, and used her âconnectionsâ (Dwight) to get a supporting role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Since then, sheâs gotten several roles based on her own merits, including an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Appearance in a Comedy.
-
Merlin spent a few months in LA before he went back to Korea. He is very thankful that he was able to reconnect with his brothers and sisters, and that his homeland has good internet, as he video calls his family across the Pacific almost every day.
-
Golden Fleece still lives a quiet life in Florida, but finally decided to tie the knot, and married his girlfriend in 2017. The ceremony was supposed to be quiet, but Irene Eisenhower has no idea what that word means.Â
-
Dominion of Canada continues to baffle non-local trainspotters when she runs commuter trains into Toronto. She is now a great-grandmother.Â
-
7 years later, and the term âGreat Gatheringâ is still a forbidden phrase in the back rooms of the NRM.
Wow! I've gotten a lot of followers over the past month.
I should head to their profiles and see what they're...
Why do they all have the same posts?
I mean, seriously. Either an entire community of farmers found my small blog of primarily reposts interesting enough to follow, or somebody with a stupidly large number of alt accounts decided to have all of their accounts follow me.
The standard 'entire class gets isekai'd to a fantasy world and the outcast MC is basically discarded' anime setting, where the MC, now assumed dead, decides to instead help the class of Heroes in the shadows, making sure they live up to what the people need.
However, the entire class knows that he's alive and are hellbent on dragging that son of a bitch back into the spotlight and to give him the recognition he deserves.
(And maybe because he was basically the entire class's Little Guyâ˘.)
Like, his disguises and secrecy isn't even that bad. It fools a large amount of people and makes him rather mysterious.
Yet, he can't fool his classmates for some reason?? Like, they just Know⢠it's him whenever they get involved, forcing him to just dip out of dodge and replan everything.
He dresses up as a servant to kill a corrupt noble, but now just has to start from scratch because fuck, the class president is here now and can sniff him out like a damn bloodhound for some reason.
Meanwhile, the class president's Little Guy Radar is going off on this random servant and is now Very Suspicious.
Classmate, looking over a retinue of adventurers: "Hmmm... You seem familiar."
MC, disguised as a low-ranked mercenary and adventurer, sweating bullets behind the masked helmet: "Y-You must have me mistaken for someone else." 'Please buy it!'
Classmate, whose Little Guy Radar is going off on this random adventurer:
Hereâs some more: the whole class outcast bit is in the MCs own head. Perhaps he comes from a different school or something and has some imposter syndrome, zero self esteem, some anxiety, and a handful of other issues that makes him think heâs hated. Trauma from bullying, shit parents, whatever, makes it very hard on him to understand that his new schoolmates actually like him. Drives the Prez up a wall.
Not just the Class President, but every clique in the class has a pretty positive rapport with the dude, despite him thinking otherwise. He's basically just unknowingly ends up on the good side of basically the entirety of the class.
So, when he was basically just Yeeted, the entire class had the natural response;
Flipping Their Fucking Lid.
(That was also the first time they've seen the Prez look like he was about to kill a motherfucker. They'd rather not see it again.)
Cue them looking high and low for the MC while also doing Heroic Shit and saving (and even improving) villages.
It read like the typical dark and long-haired all serious girl whose love for the Little Guy is known to the class, and some of the other girls are jealous of how much time she spent with him.
Why would Prez be gay? Do bonds of brotherhood just not exist anymore? We canât have an Aragorn son of Arathorn type leader looking out for everyone? Why do we gotta make basic companionship, normal friendships, or even simple rivalries into some extension of Eros?
The Bully Tries so hard to be a violent Spearheading barbarian, but constantly saves his classmates when they really need it. At first it's on accident, but it slowly becomes genuine attempts to help others, eventually without any sort of promise of reward.
Like at the start MC and Pres are the only ones able to make Bully do anything (Usually through making deals) but he eventually starts just. Helping without any prompting.
Now, MC's Best friend, The Tomboy, Is she seen as a Princess and she gets sick of it immediately with the whole "Kidnapping" Thing, or is she annoyed that people constantly see her as the Paladin leading the charge, when she'd rather be a Princess?
Why not both, she pretends to be really princess like to be kidnapped so she can be first in line for some ass kicking.
By the time a rescue party reaches the bandit camp or whatever she is in, every enemy is already severely beaten, and she is just waiting for them so she can claim piggybacks on the MC.
Pres, looking over a map: "Alright, we know who we're dealing with and what they're capable of. Now all we need is some kind of bait..."
Prep Girl: "How about nobility? There's no way any bandit would pass that up."
Nerd: "No shot any noble would risk their neck out for something like this. We have influence, but even still."
Tomboy: "I could do it."
Entire Class: "...What?"
Tomboy, looking through the wardrobe of dresses: "We can't really convince any nobility to do this, so why not have one of us do it?"
Bully: "Why not any of the theater dorks? They ain't doing anything important."
Tomboy, already wearing a dress and looking for a fitting tiara: "They're currently in the middle of dealing with politicking within the court. Good idea to keep them fully staffed."
Pres: "Are you sure that you can do this. You'll be in enemy territory."
Tomboy, now fully in the princess get up: "Ah, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario, I just break out on my own. Now, let's get going. We got bandits to capture."
Random farmer: Oi! You lot betta' getch yer feet movin'! The lord O' the lands is on the hunt for a Fair beau, skin as white as cloud and soul as dark as Coal, Like yer friend o'er there, with the phone!
The pasty, greasy, depressed emo girl that made a deal with an extraplanar being to have Cell Service: Wha? Wait, did you say phone?
Random Farmer who definitely isn't MC: Er, What? Oh, no, Ahm afraid I said Stone! The Glowin' Rock in yer 'Ands Missy!
Pres, whose Little Guy radar is Going off: ... Really?
The MC is decently capable of getting them off of his scent. Yet, even despite that, there's just some things that some people in the class can just...sus out, for some reason?
Sometimes it's a slip of the tounge, which he can fix.
But other times, it's really minute things? What??
Like, one of the nerds knows exactly when he's a doing certain, specific accents.
The prep students knows whenever he's nervous, he taps his foot in a specific rhythm.
Hell, even the theater kids and delinquents can tell just by his own natural footstep cadence? (He has no idea how either of them know that and it frankly freaks him out a bit).
MC, in the persona of 'Vigilante Phantom Thief': "Well, dear heroes, it looks like you caught me."
The impressions nerd, immediately finding the voice familiar and deciding to try something: *in an old-money British accent* "Well, it was quite the hunt, to be honest."
MC, now realizing that his voice has been recognized: "...Smoke bomb!" *Chucks a smoke grenade into their face before running off.*
MC, pretending to a chef to a Lady, speaking in a wispy voice: I appreciate you coming all the way here just to try a meal of mine-
The Bully, who has stolen his lunch on more than one occasion: I Smell Bacon, roasted Poblano peppers, Onion, and too little garlic, with a pinch of cinnamon mixed into the spices. There is also Sugar being Caramelized but it's a bout to burn. You like a little bit of bitterness in your sweets, right MC?
Chess student: The cult has become locked itself in this building, we need to clear them out.
Football student: We know where they are, so letâs just bum rush them and take âem out.
CS: Donât be rash. We have to do this methodically so we ensure theyâre gone for good.
FS: We have them cornered, just get in there and get it done.
CS: We donât know how many of them are left, what kind of traps they have, escape routes, or what. We canât take any chances that theyâve set a trap themselves or that they can escape.
FS: They just got in there after two days of running. Theyâve been caught with their pants down! We need to bust down the walls before they have a chance to rest and regroup!
CS: Or walk right into a trap? This is the real deal, we canât make any half baked decisions.
FS: Youâre not the active type, even back in school. You donât have any idea on what actually goes down in the split seconds, nor any say on what it takes. Youâll let a perfectly good opportunity waltz by as you try to come up with some half clever scheme!
CS: Youâve never thought ahead once in your life. You always rush headlong into things and end up in a bigger mess than what was originally there. Or even create a mess because you didnât know left from right!
FS: At least I choose to do something instead of sit back like a coward!
CS: Iâve seen better intelligence in a monkey than anything you try to pull!
???: Guys!
FS and CS: WHAT?!
Art Student: You two need to find something to make up, your arguments almost broke my concentration several times. Guh. My farsighted isnât great, but I did manage to get as much information on the inside as I could. *hands over a stack of papers with sketches of the building and the insides*
CS: Thatâs great! The more intelligence we have the better we can plan ahead.
FS: Just point out where the boss man is so I can get in there and knock his head in.
AS: At least tell me you can tell what itâs supposed to be? Iâm an abstract expressionist not a realist.
FS: Looks clear enough for me.
CS, flipping through the drawings: Ok, so a dozen and so cultists, a couple of horses, a loft, I guess thatâs a weapons rack, so far so expected. Hey, whatâs the story with this one?
AS: Which one? Sorry my headache hasnât given me my sight yet so everythingâs kinda blurry still.
CS: The one guy with more details than the rest.
AS: Dunno yet. I can only draw what I see using my Sight. I donât know what it is Iâm looking at until I see what I drew.
FS: That sounds stupid.
AS: They say that itâll get better with time. Right now Iâm too low level for that. Huh, that one guy is a lot more detailed than the rest. Weird.
CS: I didnât get all the details on your Ability. Why is this so important?
AS: My mentor said something about things that Iâm more familiar with tend to come out clearer. People I know, places I frequent, they stick out a lot more. Even if the place has changed significantly like a fire or battle happened, or if a person is wearing a disguise or something.
FS: So who would be so familiar to you in this random group of cultists?
Realization dawns on the assembled trio.
FS: Ok CS, your plan is good. We surround the building and- huh?
AS: I just blinked. Where did CS go?
CS, punching a hole into the wall of the building like the Kool Aid man: YIPPE KAI YAY MOTHER FUCKERS!! WHERE YOU AT BLORBO?!
MC, who infiltrated the Cult to feed the local militia information: How the hell do you guys keep finding me?!
MC, tied up and dangling from a tree: "Okay, how did you two even find me? I was using magic to hide myself!"
Prep Girl, messing around with a dagger and petting a familiar: "Well, you see, it was a bit tricky, but you see-" *gives an entire detailed psychological profile about him, with facts that he didn't know about*
MC, now afraid and mentally re-assessing the duo: "...How do either of you know that shit?"
Goth Girl, standing next to the Prep: "Just picked up on a few things."
Also he knows there's not any point in trying to hide from the President, Prep, or Tomboy.
Theatre, Artist and Goth can be misdirected, and so long as they don't meet directly he can probably avoid them.
Bully, Jock, and Chess can be met Face to Face, if the disguise is good enough and he only interacts with them once for a short time
Most of the others he can bluff and lie too well enough to get by for a bit, and he can only hope none of the ones mentioned above join in before he can escape.
Football Student turned Paladin: *Adjusting pillows* Is that good, Lamelia?
Teen Mom, deep in the second Trimester: Yes, Gareth, Thank you.
FS: Seriously, if there's anyway-
TM: I'm good. Really. I'm just sorry I'm slowing you all down so much.
FS: You're not. Trust me, you'd weigh nothing in my arms! The real thing slowing us down is- You know. M.C's whole deal with being in the spotlight.
TM: Yeah. I'm just Glad MC's as kind as he is. It makes me feel safe knowing that he's always there when he's needed. Saved my ass more than once getting me to my appointments with the doc. Wouldn't be surprised if he literally saved my life a couple times Here.
FS: Yeah, He's a real good Guy.
TM: Mm-Hmm*Takes a bite of something*
FS: ... Is that Chocolate?
TM: 70% Dark.
FS: Where- MC?
TM: Yeah. *Looking at the ceiling* You didn't know my glass were enchanted now, so I can see through illusions and invisible things, huh MC?
MC, from the Rafters: *Clicks Tongue* No I did not.
The always smiling, closed eyed, rich, fashion conscious, cheerful, pampering, remembers everyoneâs birthday, has everything but the kitchen sink in her purse, presence literally lightens up a room, wide thighs and big boobied Mom Friend is the Heroes Party financial manager. She is so good at keeping a budget, finding great deals, haggling, the whole nine, and still finds the funds to give everyone gifts that itâs scary. She has been singlehandedly keeping the whole party fed, clothed, supplied, and everything. Even the nerdy number crunchers canât figure it out. She currently in a seedy part of a city, but why? She is checking in on a black market dealer and informant in a small back room. She was just about ready to leave when the Informant tipped her off that he has information regarding MC.
Informant: Heh, little missy wants to know about her wayward friend hm? Well, Iâm afraid this is going to cost you a bit extra. That is outside of what we agreed on previously after all.
Mom Friend: Oh dear, you see I think thereâs been a misunderstanding. You see I am willing to pay you for information about most things, even work some shady dealings with others here and there, but if itâs in regards to MC then you will give it to us pro bono.
Informant: Hahahaha! You donât have any power here to make such demands!
Mom Friend: Ohohohoho, itâs in your best interest to tell me what I want to know. Iâm not in the mood for bartering right now.
Informant: Someone from the so called Heroes Party obviously hasnât taught you that things donât work like that around here. Nor that you have any kind of protection here either. Letâs see if some time with Boris will straighten you out, eh?
Mom Friend, looks over to the large man eyeing her: Oh Iâm sorry dear, but youâre not my type!
Informant: Hahahaha! You donât understand your position here missy! This room is soundproof, thereâs nobody that will hear you! That door is the only way in or out and itâs locked!
Mom Friend, sighing unperturbed as Boris stalks over to her: Oh dear, it looks like weâre going to do this the hard way.
In an instant Boris in on the ground writhing in pain.
Mom Friend: Oh donât worry Mr Informant, Iâll get to you in just a moment. In the meantime, you can decide which of your fingers you want broken last.
Informant, uncomprehending what just happened: Y-y-y-you canât do anything to me! I have protection from the King of Beggars!
Mom Friend: Oh, is that so? You really think your âKingâ would protect someone who is stealing from him? Someone who is skimming a little extra gold, booze, women, off the top? Someone whoâs slicing his shipments to him? Someone who is trying to build up their own little âkingdomâ within his own kingdom in a plot to eventually overthrow him in oh 2 years? Someone who drinks with the corrupt government officials and dreaming about how youâre going to dump his body into the moat with a bag of lead coins shoved down his throat? Not that you would allow those officials to stay long anyway, only a few months or so. That is if everything went smoothly for you. Besides, itâs not like youâre going to give him his cut of your dealings with me. Our meetings are âoff the tableâ in your words, and I know you also meant to your âKingâ.
Informant: What?! How did you-?!
Mom Friend, casually dislocating limbs on Boris while he screams: If anything, I think heâll thank me. Iâm sure heâll appreciate knowing where those Antwon originals âdisappearedâ to. Heâd be one less rodent stealing from his table, and one less knife pointing at his back too. Sure heâll lose an informant, but itâs not like youâre a very high ranking one though. Thereâs no shortage of criminals whoâre envious of your position, theyâd jump at the chance to prove to your âKingâ they have what it takes to replace you and then some. And without the treasonous thoughts too! At least for a while. Even if he doesnât thank me, youâre going to be feeling the full extent of my âadministrationsâ for a very, very, very~ long time. I am nothing if not thorough!~
Informant, sweating: Ha! You canât frighten me with-
Mom Friend: You know I had a rebellious phase when I was twelve. I wanted to read those smutty Count Dracula stories because my parents told me not to, but I accidentally found myself reading about Vlad Dracul III of Romania. He was reportedly the inspiration of Bram Stokers original Count Dracula, but I found his other moniker of Vlad the Impaler far more interesting. That led me down a historical rabbit hole of our worlds historyâs darker side. Brazen Bulls, Interrogation Chairs, Iron Maidens, the Racks, oh mankind can be⌠inventive. Did you know there are 206 bones in the human body? Or that certain Chinese pressure points discovered to cause unimaginable pain when triggered? How many volts of lightning that can travel through a body before being permanently damaged? How long someone can laugh unstopped before dying? How long someone can survive in the extreme temperatures? How little food and water is needed to keep someone just barely alive? Iâve had some fascinating discoveries for someone so young on the dark web. While I may be limited to what I have on hand, Iâm sure Iâll manage.
Informant, now cowering: Why are you doing this?
Mom friend: Because Iâm what we call a âmom friendâ. Although I would prefer to be called big sis, âmommaâ makes me sound so old but thatâs not important. What is important is that you give me the information about MC, because we are missing our friend and want him back. Back home our towns mascot is the grey wolf. Oh I know theyâre a bit of a pest in your world but back home theyâre creatures of beauty. Theyâre strong, capable, adaptable, intelligent, and above all loyal.
We are a team. A family. We take care of each other, protect one another, will do crazy things for each other. We are going to save this world, and we are all going to go home. Together. We are going to bring MC with us. You are going to tell me everything you know about MC.
Mom Friend, now a looming presence who hasnât broken her smile once: Now then, care to make a deal? Or are we going to discover what happens when Mommy turns into Momma Bear?
MC: walks through the front door of the building being used as a front and gets one whiff of Mom Friends perfume
Despite that, they are so mentally synced up it actually gets mistaken for telepathy by a few of the otherworld denizens. Like, one of them could just walk into the room that the other was in and would just Understand each other.
Meanwhile, the Hero's Party will always be slightly concerned about both the shit the Mom Friend says and the very consistent and very large amounts of wealth that makes up a majority of the group's funds.
(Both the MC and Goth knows the sources, but both knowingly turn the other way bc the Goth is Used To This and the MC is ever-so-slightly scared of her.)
Now I'm curious as to the home lives of all the other students.
The Bully I think would come from a somewhat generic Lower-Class Nuclear Family household, one with the Stay-At-Home Mom, the Father that goes out and earns money, the Older Brother (Bully) and the Baby sister-
But it's a real version of the modern Nuclear Family.
The Dad's an authoritarian alcoholic, the Mom's a Karen, the Sister is a prissy little thing that's far and above more a bully than the Bully himself - yeah the Bully is Rude and crass and a Delinquent, but he rarely goes out of his way to hurt people (Until they end up in Fantasy Land.) His little sister (Who's like, 12-14) is a sadistic mean girl.
The biggest Reason he's coming around is that He's not sitting in the toxic environment of his home. He's always been a good person, he was just stuck surviving terrible circumstances.
The Prep Girl comes from a fairly well off Prepper Family - she lives just on the outskirts of (Home City/town) at a farm - she's the been keeping people fed and safe with her survival knowledge, at least in the beginning (Save for the time she killed the Nation's holy animal. That was almost really bad.)
Her family isn't a Nutso-selfish kind of Preppers, they're well thought out and prepared in a very real way - they have a plan with their neighbors set up in case of disaster, a Paddock for Chickens in their bunker, Grow places, replacement parts for Water Pumps and stuff - enough to last at least two decades in there, save for something like seeing the actual sun.
The Teen Mom is an only child, and she's currently living with her Aunt in a trailer park - very Penny from Stardew Valley - and in a night of simply wanting to feel wanted she got pregnant.
Her Aunt wasn't happy to learn this, but everyone else has been supportive about it. Pres makes sure she gets extensions on Tests and Classwork Deadlines, Prep has a schedule set up to get her to her appointments (MC Takes up most of the spots on there - He's got a lot of free time,) even the Bully protects her - makes sure no one who's actually nasty gets to her.
The Queen Bee has a normal Life. She's middle Class and her Parents are in a healthy relationship, and her siblings are well adjusted and don't have anything wrong.
The worst thing that happened to her was figuring out how to get a Double-Shot Mocha in Fantasy Land.
Okay, I understand that this was exploring the possible backstories for the characters, but I read the last part of Preppers' and my brain went to this:
*Prepper and Pres are staring at the corpse of a divine beast in the forest*
Prepper: So...What now, Pres?
Pres: ...You cut up the corpse and pack it away. I'm gonna see if this can be salvageable.
Prepper: What if it wasn't?
Pres: Than you better be ready to fight off entire Royal Guard regiments.
Might I humbly suggest a character, specifically expanding on the impressions nerd who was mentioned earlier?
The class clown, that one person who's always got a way to get a smile out of basically anyone in the class and even people from other classes. And in pursuing an ever-expanding repertoire of bits, they became something of a skill monkey - picked up impressions, ventriloquism, checks various dictionaries to expand their vocab and keep it wide, eventually branching into juggling, balancing acts, sleight of hand, etc.
But they hide two things about themselves.
Firstly, CC's family is actually filthy rich - like Oil Baron kinds of money.
The second thing is that they help out basically everyone in the class in all manner of ways. It's a secret partly because they think the others would take it as pity, partly because they don't wanna become the class fixer, and partly because they feel bad about being really well-off.
Sometimes they mask it by being their goofy, lucky self or making it look like the other person would be doing them a favor ("Hey the drink machine dropped me two lemonades, but I'm watching my sugar intake, take it off my hands will ya MC?" as they give MC his favorite brand of soft drink).
Other times they just make it look like the person with the problem solved it themselves (some mean girl-type from another class stole Emo Girl's phone to find dirt on her, Emo Girl just thinks she lost it, CC swipes it back and leaves in her locker before lunch period is over).
And very rarely, if it can be spinned into something resembling a cartoon gag, they'll just straight up offer to help (someone in the class accidentally got a collection of novelty car plates instead of something important they bought online and are now strapped for cash, and CC just so happens to know that their fifth cousin thrice removed who's filthy rich collects novelty car plates and is willing to pay for them, only there is no cousin, it's CC with a fake Facebook account buying the plates and getting their classmate the cash they need).
By the time the class is well-established heroes, CC has ramped up their helpfulness to actual comedic proportions.
Mostly because the Isekai Powers they got is literally just being a D&D Bard - whatever they're good at they get great at (they used to be somewhat good with a guitar and had musical instrument lessons because Rich Kid, now they're basically a one-person orchestra), they pick up new skills with incredible speed ("I was gonna do a bit about bird mating calls, but I ended up learning bird language in general"), they have a bag that can create whatever mundane or mildly-magical objects is needed at a given time, so long as it's taken out of the bag with enough dramatic flair (like the Prescient Planner feat line from Pathfinder, but it's always "Oh yeah something like that caught my eye on a street stall and I bought it" or "Oh I think I took it off the body of a bandit a few days ago"), they have an uncanny ability to just bullshit on the spot (not even magical, it's just honed from always making split-second jokes), and where everyone else seems to have a Little Guy Radar, CC has a Sixth Sense for when anyone needs a hand.
Football Club kinda misses his sports days? Class Clown learned leatherworking a week ago and just happened to make several balls while practicing, so now FC can teach some village kids the sport. Prep girl is working on something and her familiar is looking for attention like a house cat? CC just so happens to be missing their pet, Snuggles, and whatever creature Prep has as a familiar is close enough. It gets to the point where CC and Class Mom have entered a partnership like that one joke about the Wizard, the Rogue, and the nine pristine human skulls.
What the class isn't entirely aware of is that Class Clown will sometimes just... Leave a letter to MC with some advice on how to improve disguises, or tells him of a problem the party is having, or keeps him updated on where they're headed to next and who's doing what. They don't send the letter anywhere, just writes in a notebook like "I'm just keeping notes so I remember what's what, you know". Everyone is satisfied with that answer, makes sense yeah. And CC does so much everyday, no wonder they'll just leave the notebook wide open all over the place... where the MC can read it and keep updated on how the class is doing whenever he isn't around.
CC agrees with the class at large about bringing MC into the fold of the adventure. They just do it their own way, the kind where they didn't do anything, it was all you, or just a lucky coincidence on my part.
The Class Clown sounds like an amazing character. I love them just from the description.
I just imagined them being the one who has the need for the skull and it Makes Sense.
Boy Scout turned Ranger sounds rad. He just becomes part of the section of Hero Party who are a hybrid between support and combatant.
I can't help but imagine the CC end up both doing various forms of stand-up for the other-world nobility and causing Russianbadger-like conversations whenever the Hero Party get down time to themselves.
Just ways for everyone to decompress and talk about the stupidest shit possible.
They just end up being part of the Diplomacy Squad, alongside Theatre, Mom Friend, the Queen Bee, and Pres.
(The Influencer is also there, but has a weird, 'vaguely cult-leader' type of charm and none of them are fully sure what to do with that, themselves included. Like, they're good with their words, but it's probably best to not see where this goes bc there is a non-zero chance that something goes Wrongâ˘.)
I had this other idea right after I posted the first Mom Friend idea, only to find several more posts already made! Itâs all amazing work too, Iâm kinda jealous. Either Iâm slow as hell, or yâall write too damned fast! Either way, didnât wanna throw this away so here it is. Please enjoy!
Mom friend(now shortened to Mama) and Tomboy are sharing a cup of tea when Tomboy gets sleepy all of a sudden. Mama leads her to a room where MC has been knocked unconscious and dropped into a bed. Quickly putting Tomboy into the bed with MC, she covers them with a blanket and closes the room.
Goth, standing right by the door: Do you have to do that? And how did you snag MC in the first place? I didnât even know he was here.
Mom: Oh MC was actually because of Bully and Track Girl bringing him in. It was Bullyâs idea apparently. I was surprised too. Almost made my eyes open. I just wish MC wasnât literally dragged in with all those lumps on his head. Iâm sure Bully thought it was necessary, and heâs probably right, but stillâŚ
Goth: That still doesnât explain why you essentially drugged Tomboy and locked them in a room together. Trying to play matchmaker?
Mama: What? Can you blame me? Those two are cute. Oh I sure underestimated the strength of the sleeping herbs in the tea, thatâs on me. Not like I could tell how strong they were with MC being half unconscious when I gave some to him in the first place. Theyâll both be out for the rest of the day at least. They both need their rest and if anyone can help MC with his anxiety itâs- wait. Are you jealous?
Goth: Jealous? What? Now youâre being dumb.
Mama: Youâre jealous that theyâre cuddling like we used to! Youâre feeling lonely!
Goth: Now youâre delusional.
Mama, squishing Goths face: If you wanted some attention you just have to ask! Itâs not like I can deny my precious twin sister anything in the whole world!
Goth, swatting Mamas hands away: No! Go away! We havenât done that since we were like seven!
Mama, wrapping Goth up in a hug: Itâs perfectly normal to want some loving! Studies show that a healthy mind and body needs a minimum of four hugs a day for just surviving, eight for maintenance, and twelve for growth. When was the last time you got hugged since we were summoned here? You must be deep in hugging withdrawal!
Goth, groaning into her hands: What did I do in a past life to get cursed with you as a sister?
Mama: Oh donât be a Grumpy Joe! You know you love me!
Goth: He was such a good kitty. Had the stupidest face.
Mama: Weâll Iâm sure it wasnât his fault he had a medical condition that made his face scrunch like that. Cmon, letâs go take a bath! Iâll wash your back~!
Goth, squirming out of Mamaâs hug: No. Get away from me you perv.
Mama, smirking and in a dramatically flowery story voice: ââOh please Edward, not there! Not now!â Shania moaned, âWe canât be doing this!â But Edwards hands refused to stop, as if they had a mind of their own. Her breath hitched as he-â
Goth, now mortified: You read that?!
Mama: Youâre the one who posted it on wattpad ya goob! And those two other websites! You also should do a better job looking after your creative journal. The amount of places Iâve found it out in the open, oh dear~. I must say, for someone who claims to be âone of the darknessâ you are pretty innocent in love and even your perverse fantasies are mild! Oh wait, you did write that one about that modern Duke and his âfun roomâ. Although that was pretty mellow too. Where did you get the inspiration? I know you havenât read 50 Shades, so where did you- did you sneak into momâs stash again?
Goth, trying to pull her hair out: Argh! You and dad both! Thatâs it! You just volunteered yourself to be my first cursed subject! Whereâs that rat?! I need a sacrifice!
Mama, grabbing Goth by the shoulders and pushing her down the hall: Youâre so tense! Itâs not like I told them! Cmon, after a nice hot bath Iâll treat you to a nice massage~! Oh? And perhaps an adjustment, your cervical vertebrae donât feel right. What have you been using for a pillow?
Skater Boy, seated at a table with Queen Bee and Flower Girl, his eyes following them and locked onto Mamaâs dump truck of an ass: Now Iâm jealous.
Queen bee grabs him by the ear: Now you knock it off! Itâs disgusting to see men lusting after Mama! Especially a slacker like yourself!
Skater grabs her nose: Donât gimme that crap! I see you girls ogling her just as much as any guy! Probably even more so since you all share a locker room! And donât act like you donât drool whenever us guys have to train without shirts on!
Flower girl: Heâs not wrong Bee, on both counts. And itâs not like any of us would turn down one of Mamaâs massages either. Still boggles my mind that those two are twins. They look nothing alike and I get mistaken for any three of my sisters all the time! My younger brother a few times too.
Skater, rubbing his ear: Eh wait til he hits puberty and then thatâll stop. Genetics are weird sometimes. I still get told that I look like my great uncle when he was my age. Itâs more shocking to see Goth make those kinda faces. Only Mama can pull anything out of her. Sheâs so cooly collected with anyone else.
Bee, rubbing her nose: Me and my cousin are often mistaken for sisters too. It might help that our moms are sisters in the first place. Oh Skater, what were you doing out so late last night for?
Skater: Hm? Oh right! Thanks for reminding me. Here Flower, I was checking out the area for those weird plants that you were talking about.
Flower: What weird plants? Iâm donât- *le gasp* a whole bag of knucklebrom weed?! With the seeds and the flowers and roots and everything?!
Skater: MC helped me figure out where to even get some. He was just as lost as to why you wanted them in the first place.
Flower, smiling manically: Oh all the potions I can make with you~! Mix in some iodine, some powdered crows beak, maybe if I- *continues rambling on*
Skater, deadpan to Bee: She is such a Maomao when it comes to her plants and alchemy itâs not even funny.
Bee, equally deadpan: How has she not seen Apothecary Diaries? That would be right up her alley. Kinda looks like her too.
Skater: Throw a kimono on her, give her a haircut, get rid of her glasses, and I wouldnât be able to tell the difference.
Bee: If Netflix ever wants to do a live action of that show, and part of me prays that they wonât, but if they do they better cast her as Maomao.
Skater: Youâre kidding? We talking the same Netflix?
Bee: Nah, youâre right. Theyâll completely fuck it up.
~
Some minor backstory to the new characters
Skater boy is a slacker without a real direction in life, stays out of trouble but isnât very dependable. Chill and easygoing, largely nonthreatening, puts in the bare minimum of work to have a good time or just vibe, got that 90s âyo dudesâ surfer vibe. This trip has been giving him the kick in the ass he needs.
Flower Girl runs her familyâs flower shop and greenhouse with her siblings. Busy as a bee type, but only among plants and on a schedule who follows the rules to a tee. Sheâs becoming more confident and now is trying new things, even bending some rules. Having an alchemy instructor thatâs half mad due to a few too many screwed up recipes blowing up in his face will do that to someone. Just hope she doesnât absorb too much of his insanity.
Okay, them treating MC as a stray animal they're trying to care for is weirdly funny.
Like, they just use various tricks to try and get him into the fold, with varying levels of success. Most of the time, he gets wise to it and slips through, but sometimes they were able to grab him, if not only for a time.
One has to wonder like, who actually kicked MC to the curb? Was it like a king who had his court wizards make a summoning circle? A god that pulled them from their world to make them save the world they got sent to? Cause it was mentioned towards the start that the entire class saw MC get banished for his "weak" skills, and then all the class just immediately found their first Public Enemy #1.
But does anything happen from that? Is the plot just "Yeah let's get some more strength and skill under our belts, get MC, and then commit this world's first and most devastating drive-by on the PoS that chucked him away"?
Cause that just sounds like what's being built up here.
-------------------------
Prez: So, (Class Mom), you sure this tent has divination protection?
Class Mom: Yep, tested it with everyone who can use detection magic, future sight, and (Goth Girl)'s Patron even agreed to test it and said the inside couldn't be observed.
Goth Girl: We better use this as often as possible... A month of my cell service... Gone as a cost...
Prez: Your sacrifice is appreciated. Now, with our privacy secured, let's start the first meeting for the plan.
Delinquent/Bully: The "Fuck That Motherfucker That Banished MC To The Asscrack of Geography" plan?
Prez: We'll workshop the name but yes.
Tomboy: Don't think (MC) is here though. Shouldn't we include him?
Class Clown: Eh, he's a big strong boy, he'll find out one way or another. Not like we can't fill him in next time someone's sniffs him out like the IRS.
Class Mom: I'm still surprised they found us here. Good thing (Prep Girl's Familiar) is immune to bullets.
Prez: Tell me about it. Now, back to the topic at hand. The Plan.
Football Club: I mean, what's there to plan? We could just speed run the quest they sent us to, get to meet them again, and rush 'em.
Prez: Not devastating enough.
*Half the class looks at him weird. The other half, including Momma, Goth, Class Clown, and Tomboy, nod in agreement.*
Prez: As we all remember, the only thing that stopped us from actively jumping on the bastard was the confusion of being in a new world. Once we got teleported to the castle, some were immediately angry with what happened to MC, myself included. Others took a few days to acclimate, but once settled in, everyone was in agreement by the end of the week. That alone, that we were all in agreement that MC shouldn't have had that happen to him, should tell you well enough that this shouldn't be a run-of-the-mill beating. All of us have ideas. Everyone wants to give them a piece of our mind. If we just go in guns blazing, it'll be over before everyone gets their licks in. So, we'll be taking these meetings to plan an itinerary of who wants to do what, so that we can make a day out of it and have everyone's input matter.
*Silence*
Bully: Dude... You've really been stewing on that ever since you sent that one deaths tare in the throne room, huh?
Honestly, yes to most of this, with a few caveats:
The reason the MC got got was less 'powers are weak' and more 'powers were not what was expected, so most likely demonic possession'. (It wasn't and everyone in his class knew due to Hero Senseâ˘)
It was less 'banished' and more 'just actually fucking killed in front of everyone' (he got better tho).
Overall, everything is still the same: Save The World, Improve The Lives Of The People, Grab MC, and Run Fades With The Powers That Brought Them Here.
Bully while heâs going through his growth arc is in a form of suffering. Maybe he starts off with nobody liking him, and for good reason, but as he saves his classmates more often and just starts being a good person most others of the Party start teasing him and treating him like normal. Think on how Bakugo from MHA(who for some reason is the face and rough personality that Iâve been going with for some reason despite Bakugo not having a shit upbringing) has that kinda asshole personality and yet the members of his squad like to pick on him in a sense. He doesnât really know how to deal since heâs never really gotten positive feedback ever. Still quite a bit of a rebel heart, especially when the Nobility that tried to axe MC is involved.
Prep is weirdly excited to be roughing it, putting their preparatory, improv, and survival skills to work in a foreign environment. The extra hostility is just a bonus challenge. Also now has a low key rivalry with Mama in supporting and supplying the Party. Is quietly working with a few others in possibly making guns.
Chess Student has a PokĂŠmon esque summoning type ability that they use in combat as a chess type game. Generic, I know, but it fits perfectly. Canât think of too much else right now.
Teen Mom is limited in her mobility and nobody is going to risk the unborn, so she learns various forms of divination to help. Also learns a handful of other domestic skills to keep herself busy and aid the Party, like sewing, studying the Lore, and the like. Gods help you if you get between her and her chocolate.
CC and Mama both knew each otherâs big secret, CC being stupidly rich who helps everyone and Mamaâs dark side that she will never show to her friends, before being summoned to Fantasy Land. They both respect the other for it and have a donât ask donât tell policy. Itâs only after being Summoned that the Party start having suspicions with the duo but can never come up with anything concrete. Suspicions, the occasional odd statement, and circumstantial evidence is all they can gather. Otherwise they just get weird looks from how scarily capable they are at their jobs.
Influencer discovers her gift by accident sorta early on. They visit some port where everyone is gossiping about MC and how he was ârightly discardedâ due to the Courtâs spies spreading the rumors they want. Influencer simply tries to drum up some support for MC and set the record straight, only to almost have a full on riot on her hands. Itâs the first time CC takes a direct hand in stopping a problem before it spirals out of control, not that anyone notices due to Influencers discovery. Since then she is always with a buddy to keep an eye on things. She comically cannot hold her liquor, which is another reason she needs a buddy at all times since her first time drinking also accidentally started another almost cult. This time around booze as their âpatronâ. Several deities salivate at the idea of making her one of their priestesses and almost started a divine war over her. She is famous in all the ways that she doesnât want. Thank god that her gift doesnât affect the Party. At least not yetâŚ
Prez, walking through a small fortress up to a nervous Influencer: Are you ok?
Influencer, smile too wide and voice to chipper: Yeppers! Totally fine! A little sore from the ropes, but nothing a little rest canât fix! Hahahaha! How are you?
Prez: Fine, as you can tell. And relieved youâre alright.
Influencer: Thatâs just fantastic! Totally zippe dee do da dally!
Prez: Influencer, did you start up another Cult?
Influencer, sweating buckets: Yesnt?
Prez: Yesnt? As a question?
Influencer, poking her fingers together: Ah well they were a Cult to begin with, ya know they kidnapped me for a sacrifice in the first place. Yeah?
Prez: But?
Influencer, refusing to meet anyoneâs eyes: I may have⌠redirected their belief system ever so slightly??
CC laughing, Prez nodding begrudgingly: Yesnt.
Football guy, looking around at the cultists near frantically overhauling the place: âRedirectedâ? âSlightlyâ?!
Mama: Iâll go around this place and see how I can reorganize them to suit our goals. *teasingly* Under Influencers good name of course~.
Tomboy: Well, in the end itâs good that youâre alright-?! *gets glomped by Influencer*
Influencer, comically crying: How do you do it Tomboy?! How do you let yourself get kidnapped all the time?! Am I just a big chicken?!
Tomboy, awkwardly patting her back: Well normally itâs mostly planned, not random like you, and Iâm usually caught by regular bandits wanting money and not next in line to be sacrificed either. Wait a minute you were gagged when they took you, who took that off?
Goth, casually perusing the Cults cursed artifacts: Iâll give you two guesses, but youâre only going to need one.
They just end up with a workforce who is very dedicated and is slightly weird about it.
Antics ensue of their Base Of Operations being updated to what they want. It ranges from mundane "we're going to need more supplies and ingredients" to the insane "there is a rat the size of a pickup in the basement".
The Class learns a Village they're on fairly good terms with is about to be under siege. There's no time for reinforcements, hardly anytime to rally what meager defenses the Village has, so the Class pulls together and hunkers down.
When the fighting starts it goes on throughout the night, and the village puts up a good fight, the defenses bolstered by the Class hold up infinitely longer than if they hadn't been there, but even the mountain bends to the endless flow off the river
The Walls, ramshackle and scrappy are broken through, and Bandits begin flowing in.
So the Students continue holding the line as best they can, and hold it well, but they don't stop coming.
Chess runs out of many, is cornered, and out of options.
A Sword comes down.
Bully tanks the hit.
It doesn't hurt much - it's a little harder to breathe, and there's a nasty pinch in his gut, he's on his feet, he can still fight-
He turns on the bandits, and what he sees shocks him to his core.
The earth sprouts upward, giant needles of Stone and Root pierce through the bandits, culling them by the lot.
The Flow of Evil ebbs, and they begin falling back. No one gets back out of the walls.
the ones still trying to come in sprint, run, hide, and it's not enough. the wave of death continues out, thinning into ripples that chase down survivors.
It all slowly retracts back into the earth, and as everyone's eyes trace back to the origin they see him.
MC, sweating and breathing hard, and as he realizes everyone is staring at him, he stomps the ground and disappears in a gout of dirt and sand.
That is when the Legend of MC Starts.
The Village commemorates and celebrates the victory, mourning their admittedly few losses and allow the Class to set up a permanent Residence in town - their names inscribed upon the Town's history book, so that the future generations know the heroics of the day. Bully pulls through (Magic is a Hell of a thing) and only has some minor scarring on his back and stomach.
MC, not a name by any standards, is written down. Something special, unique, beloved and praised by these heroes - clearly otherworldly even among themselves.
~~~~~
Michael clung to the top of a pine, overlooking the village as brilliant lights of magic went off.
He wasn't anything special - he shouldn't be. He was someone as common as dirt, he didn't understand why his Class was so upset - Okay, Cory he understood, but everyone else? they should've focused on getting home not him.
This thing gets bigger and bigger and better and better every time I see it.
One thing that can happen for Bully, that I see as a really big big dude, is when the class finds an Orc Warband, and he personally defeats the Female Warchief in single combat.
The good news is that they stopped the Warband.
The bad(?) News is that now Bully has an Orc Wife, but he seems happy, and she is a total Muscle Mommy (wich he never realized he was into but man you can grate cheese on those abs).
Okay, this was a good exploration and building of possible character growth.
Now, it is time for Bitsâ˘:
Queen Bee having insect controlling powers, while having an intense fear of insects. (Courtesy of @rwby-encrusted-blog building on it.)
Goth, Flower Girl, and the general craftsmen of the class just having Experiments⢠go on and the occasionally funny results. (Sedan-sized rat)
MC occasionally just yoinking stuff from the food storage and leaving items around before escaping so he doesn't get noticed. (He takes pheasant more often than not)
The incident involving a wedding gone wrong, the Hero Party witnessing Noble Dramaâ˘, and MC dealing with drunk upper crust.
After an extremely chaotic wedding ceremony turned assassination attempt...
Pres, outfit torn to near tatters with cake and blood on his face: This was...the-
Skater, also in a ruined outfit and face also covered in alcohol and blood: Craziest wedding ever. Like, holy shit, dude.
Tomboy, outfit ruined the same way as the others, with a tied up and gagged MC over her shoulder: At least everyone is safe. Plus, we got this bastard in the process.
Bully, covered in the results of someone being turned into Mulchâ˘: And we also know what we're dealing with, so that's something.
So my head canon is that Tomboy and Bully HATED each other in the beginning. It was practically on sight even before they got isekaied. Then they got super powers, and the casualty count multiplied exponentially.
Tomboy has a massive sense of justice and will throw hands at anyone picking on someone else at the drop of a hat.
Meanwhile, Bully needs to put others down so he can have some sense of control. Plus, he's built like a brick house, and no one besides the football kid was physically capable of stopping him before the world shift.
Now all his normal marks can set him on fire with a magic word and Tomboy, defender of the weak and weilder of the magic sword that is not Excalibur but technically is but with a different name, has made it her prime mission to beat the ever living crap out of anyone who abuses their powers STARTING WITH YOU BULLY!!!! As such, he gets kicked out of the group quite literally, and his forced to go on his Journey of Redemption tm .
It's not until three seasons later and a 180 heel turn from Bully that Tomboy can even be in the same room with him without someone getting a broken nose. Surprisingly, MC is the primary victim as he tries to stop any fights by getting in between the two brawlers.
How is it that I can turn up absolutely doodoo on some of my own stories and yet churn out ideas for other peoples stories?
The Rat does not get a proper name. Itâs not for lack of trying, itâs that nobody can agree on a name! Every episode has them calling him something different. R.O.U.S., Ratatouille, Jimmy, anything in the book as long as itâs not an pre or will be established character to avoid confusion Even diplomacy and random names out of a hat do nothing to get the Party to agree on a name. Prez is plenty aware that while he does have final say in a large swath of decisions, thereâs some things that he just canât do. Rat also changes sizes every episode. Sometimes heâs normal rat sized, often heâs dog sized, occasionally heâs a Sedan, and one time he was the size of an elephant! Pray he never goes any bigger than that. For as much as Queen Bee hates insects, and who can blame her when the spiders are pulled right out of Skyrim, she loves Rat for some reason. Nobody can explain it, not even her. Out of everyone Bee pampers Rat the most. Rat can tell whenever MC is nearby though. MC canât fool Rat, but he can bribe him to keep quiet for a while. That is if Rat wasnât pre-bribed to sniff MC out first. He may be a rat, but he has standards after all. Iâm just picturing Rat sniffing an âemptyâ corner only for MC to hold out a piece of bread as hush money, and once Rat takes it with a specific âthank you for your patronageâ squeak, he slips back into the shadows.
Depending on how long the Quest takes, Teen Mom may very will give birth in Fantasy Land. This causes a whole motley of concerns, and even MC comes out of hiding to actually be there to help. Itâs all understandable for the kids, but people have been safely giving birth for millennia in worse conditions so itâs all fine in the end. They worked themselves into a well meaning frenzy over nothing in the midwifes words. The midwife also has a lot of fun saying misleading things to freak the Party out. These kids are so easy to rile up and string along, she hasnât had this much fun in years. The real trouble comes when various other groups want to use the Baby as leverage. The Nobles that summoned the Party arenât the only group that want to exploit their capabilities for themselves.
One chaotic episode is when the Party encounters a small Swarm of Faeries. The Faeries arenât your friendly Tinkerbell, but known and very annoying troublemakers. Itâs nothing catastrophically troublesome, but troublesome enough to warrant issues and near universal distaste for them. Labels changed, supplies changed or suddenly rotten, vines wrapped around things that shouldnât, animals suddenly using the wrong animal noises like horses speaking like chickens, plants suddenly in full bloom or reverted to a sprout, stealing your voice, switches your senses, inverting your senses, clothes suddenly the wrong size, your drink is suddenly chokingly sweet/unbearably spicy/drier than the Sahara/salty as the Dead Sea/some combination thereof, minor transformations to your person, all kinds of impermanent inconveniences. Oh thereâs loads of laughter, but all at your expense. The real concern lies when the Faeries discover there is a brand new baby in the area. The Party tries their damnedest to keep them away from Baby, but a handful do make their way there regardless. Thankfully Teen Mom is there and knows what to do. She communicates with the Faeries in a way they understand so they donât do anything harmful to Baby. They can look but not touch. The Faeries actually play nice and have their fun with Baby without causing any trouble! Little magic light shows, play acting, bits of music, all repaid with Babyâs joy, wonder, and laughter. Sitting around reading all these lore books pays off! And she did it while only half awake too! The Faeries essentially babysat Baby while Teen Mom took a nap. Yeah the Faeries wonât do anything bad to Baby or Teen Mom, everyone else is fair game. While the Party may be a loyal bunch, there isnât a single member that isnât struck with some level of burning jealousy here. One of those minor unforgivable grievances that you never let go of while the offending party lords it over you for the rest of time.
As a sign of thanks, and because this Swarm like Teen Mom and Baby so much, the Faeries gift Teen Mom and Baby a sign of friendship, like a small twinkling light in their eyes or something subtle. Not only does this sign to other Faeries that theyâre friends, it (Spoiler!) also warns the nearest Swarm that theyâre in trouble and need help. This part is a secret and comes in handy when someone eventually makes headway in using Baby as leverage on the Party, only to find their whole scheme thwarted by a sudden Swarm of Faeries and Baby is spirited away back to Teen Mom. A handful of mischievous Faeries is one thing, an enraged Swarm is quite another. Canât use Baby as a shield from the Partyâs wrath now can ya? Donât worry, the Heroes Partyâs justice is gender neutral!
As for the joke I previously made, I was inspired by a different post for more
MC, finally captured and sat down in a chair: Ok, you caught me. Give me your worst punishment. God knows I deserve it.
Mama, with a smile thatâs very loving but feels just slightly off even causing the usually unflappable Prez to worry: Oh donât worry, we have quite the suitable punishment for you~.
MC, now slightly weirded out and more than a little apprehensive: Y-yes?
Mama, slides a paper and pencil in front of him: Here. I want you to write down ten *positive* traits about yourself~!
Clown cringes in pain while MC stares at Mama in absolute horror. Even Bully and Tomboy are doing double takes and asking if they heard it right.
Mama, with a lovingly threatening aura: For every negative thing you say about yourself, and *I* will be the judge of that, you will write down another two positive traits as extra punishment~!
Also See; The Students accidentally cause and accelerate the world's technology, or at least one town, through the Industrial age into like, or some weird mix of old and new technology like - The best mode of transport is now Steam Locomotives, but also all the healers now know how to produce Penicillin and know about Diseases, and also there's Windmills, watermills, and Solar panel providing electricity for Incandescent Bulbs.
They still use Abacuses as the main form of calculation.
Ok, so after looking over everything written for this for the third time, I've got some ideas.
It was mentioned in one of the posts that MC was either murdered, or nearly murdered, but either way, came back seemingly completely unharmed later. Now, completely avoiding any and all grimdark implications from that, that does imply either a Princess Bride style "mostly dead" sequence that hasn't been written yet, or the fun option with more story potential, at least MC, and maybe all of the class have a respawn mechanic. (It probably can't be everyone in the universe with a respawn mechanic, because otherwise the king wouldn't have killed MC, knowing that he would just respawn.)
Maybe it's automatic, or there's a delay until after whatever battle or event that killed them is over, or maybe someone has to do something in order for their fallen friend/friends to be revived. Either way, it opens up story potential and humorous character opportunities.
For example, a student who's genuinely trying to be a useful member of the team, but who's comically terrible at everything, or is a glass cannon who's really good at doing certain things, but has such a low health pool that any form of combat is practically guaranteed to result in him being incapacitated for the next few hours until he respawns/gets revived/recovers, at which point he goes right back to working on whatever it is he's trying to accomplish.
Here's my personal Traintober list for 2024! I've given it to a few people who have asked but since a lot of people are asking, I've decided to release it so people can start to plan.
I had a few ideas I wanted to get out of my head, so this list is what resulted. Feel free to use it if you want or make your own.
Good luck and I can't wait to see what you do with the prompts if you decide to participate.
Theyâre basically a literary prankâ the sentence starts out in such a way that you think you know where itâs going, but the way it ends completely changes the meaning while still being a complete and logical sentence. Usually it deals with double meanings, or with words that can be multiple parts of speech, like nouns and verbs or nouns and adjectives.
So we get gems like
The old man the boat. (The old people are manning the boat)
The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families. (The apartment complex is home to both married and single soldiers, plus their families)
The prime number few. (People who are excellent are few in number.)
The cotton clothing is usually made of grows in Mississipi. (The cotton that clothing is made of)
The man who hunts ducks out on weekends. (As in he ducks out of his responsibilities)
We painted the wall with cracks. (The cracked wall is the one that was pained.)
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