Author: Vaal

Landon Porter is the author of The Descendants and Rune Breaker. Follow him on Twitter @ParadoxOmni or sign up for his newsletter. You can also purchase his books from all major platforms from the bookstore

The Descendants #103 – Power and Responsibility Chp.1

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After months, the Descendants and the loose alliance of heroes under the semi-private banner of Life Savers, Inc had still failed to bring the former ROCIC installation they had been gifted as a headquarters to full operational capacity.

Nonetheless, Laurel had taken one of the higher level offices for her own even if she rarely used it and it was here that she was holding a meeting that she knew would change a lot of things when it came to the team.

“I get that you’ve got a lot to do,” Warrick Kaine was saying, sitting across from her with his palms on his knees as he leaned far forward in his seat, staring at the floor, “And I get that Mr. Smythe and Miss Keyes have to go to California for the thing with Mr. Smythe’s mom… but can’t we wait until they get back? I mean, we’ve waited all this time to go after these things.”

Across from him, Laurel’s expression was not unsympathetic. She knew she was putting a lot on his shoulders, but in order to move forward, she knew this was for the best. “We could, but they’re also going to be visiting Alexis’s family … Continue reading

The Descendants 102 – Tales of Consequence

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This entry is part 8 of 39 in the series Current

Cynthia MacAl— Cynthia Brant— thrived in a mess. Her room was a chaotic jumble even though she didn’t exactly need clothing to strew about the floor, her class schedule was all over the place by design, and nothing exhilarated her more than how her career as a superhero mean that there was no telling what was coming next. One day she was beating up random thugs, the next she was giving a psychic lobotomy to a parasite world in an alternate reality. It pleased her immensely to lock horns with the chaos of the world an wrestle it into submission.

Which was why she’d been kind of glad when she and her team got outed. Not that she wanted her friends’ family put in danger or anything, nor did she want her home nearly destroyed, but she’d expected the chaos to amp way up after that.

She hadn’t counted on her adoptive mother. Laurel had put the clamps down on all the places where the team was bleeding: putting everyone who still lived at Freeland House up at hotels, putting Lily in charge of fielding all the calls for interviews and scheduling, arranging matters with everyone’s family—she’d been the one … Continue reading

The Delay is Good News This Time!

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Okay guys, the first chapter of Descendants 102 – Tales of Consequence is a few pages from being done, but it’s not because of anything bad… mostly.

Thanks to the 4th of July, I had to work four ten hour shifts at my new job and didn’t get to write much. What I did get to write though is something I’m sure a lot of you were wondering when I’d get back to it: Soul Battery 3.

So one more week of delay, but for the best of reasons. Don’t worry, thinks will get back to normal. Even more normal once I get my next-next check and actually get a bed to replace my air matteress, which decided to spring a leak last night.

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Descendants Special #9 – Outted

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This entry is part 7 of 39 in the series Current

“Are you sure this is the best way to take care of this?” Ian turned his costume’s visor over in his hands, feeling the weight more keenly than he usually did in the face of what they were discussing. Despite his protest, they were already past the point of no return seeing as the press conference had already been called and the mayor was providing his own press briefing room for them.

Laurel nodded. Her usual open posture replaced with crossed arms as she leaned against the wall. “We need to get out ahead of speculation and make sure the majority of the public is very clear on the fact that just because we’re superheroes, it doesn’t mean we’re not human. I’ve given everyone the option to back out—except Christina of course, seeing as she no longer has a choice.”

“It’s also a show of solidarity,” Alexis added. “We can’t let her got through this alone. So we’ll stand together and show a united front.”

Ian nodded. “Just trying one more time to see if there’s another way. I suppose there’s no magic spell in the Books that would erase everyone’s memory, huh?”

“Well that’d just be too easy, now … Continue reading

The Return

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I want to thank everyone who commented or emailed me after hearing my sad news.

You’ve all convinced me of the value of what I’m doing and I will be getting back on the horse. Patrons will be getting the next chapter of the series on Memorial Day, there will be a blog entry the following Friday, and the next new Descendants will go up for everyone the Monday after.

Again thank you so much for your support and patience during my time of grief.

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In Remembrance of Barbara Porter, Loving Mother and Friend

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If you’ve followed this site for very long, you will know that my mother has been a huge influence on not only me, but my work. Her stories inspired me to tell stories. Her encouragement led me to start this site. Her presence is part of the reason why I focus so much on creating female characters with heart and meaning.

Unfortunately, if you follow this site, you also know that my mother has suffered a long string of misfortunes, usually with only this single son at her side. I know you know because this wonderful little community we’ve built here has been so incredibly supportive and kind to me throughout; from her hospitalizations and diagnosis of congestive heart failure years ago, to her gall bladder rupture last year, to the essential theft of her home by a predatory mortgage company also during that time and our subsequent move halfway across the country only to end up moving from motel to motel.

Last month, we found an apartment and I thought the parade of disasters was over. I thought I’d been able to see my mother through all the hardship and could hope to start something better.

I was wrong.

… Continue reading

The Worst Anime I have Ever Seen

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So during the four months I was living in motels looking for a home, my only solace was the free high-speed wi-fi and the various free streaming services. I’ve watched a lot of stuff. I’m even up to date on modern shows I wanted to watch like The Flash, Supergirl, the Librarians, etc.

And I’ve watched a lot of anime. Lots. Like so much anime.

The thing about anime is that it’s a mine field. Saying you’re going to watch some anime is like saying you’re going to watch live action western television: there are so many different genres and styles and brands of humor and drama that you could get anything just picking up a random series. Add in certain proclivities not necessarily in Japanese culture but in the anime and manga culture, and one wrong step and you can be deep in weird-ass panty-sniffing, underaged-girl-obsessed terrible. Even a lot of good or even great shows often have way too much jiggle and fan service.

And if you’re a fan of the medium, you build up a certain tolerance to all that. Otherwise you’ll miss out on some real gems like A Certain Magical Index or Spice and Wolf, … Continue reading

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