#This disease wipes out half the human population

[lokalblackie]

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

This program was interrupted to give you the following news: A NEW VIRAL OUTBREAK TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM.

There is a new sickness sweeping through country after country, leaving citizens dazed and heavily influenced. US government officials have named it LS-24. Short for Love Sickness '24.

The source of this horrid disease has been discovered to be a young high schoolgirl from South Africa. Witnesses stated that she had gone completely crazy for a young boy in her same class, resulting in the unfortunate murder of 14 others in that school, over the span of just two months.

More Information will be given. Stay inside and stay safe.

[gngkook]

phoenix | prologue

summary: it's the year 2025, and the world has been ravaged by a new disease. what was intended to be a cure for cancer has turned into a fatal, contagious virus that has wiped out over half of the world's population. with scarce resources and the world left devastated, the remaining survivors turn on each other in a desperate attempt to salvage what little is left.

genre: post-apocalyptic au, strangers to enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, smut

pairing: jungkook x reader

word count: 1.8k

warnings: mentions of death, implications of sexual assault, use of weapons (bow and arrow), description of dead bodies, mentions of hunting

note: so, this is the prologue! i haven't edited it that much i only read over it once, so i'm sorry for any mistakes! as always, if you have questions, feel free to send in an ask!

also, if you want to be in the taglist for the future chapters, please leave a comment, message me, or leave me an ask!

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prologue

You gradually rouse from your sleep, the sound of raindrops softly pattering against the leaves of the trees that encircle you. You blink a few times, clearing the sleep from your eyes, and stretch your neck before pushing yourself upright from the tree trunk you rested against. Tilting your face upward, you allow the rain to wash away the last remnants of drowsiness.

Night had passed, and a new day had begun. 

You had grown accustomed to the forest during your stay of the past few weeks. It was tranquil, with only the wildlife for company. You had no desire to go back to civilization, or at least what it used to be. It brought back too many painful memories and served as a pointless reminder of the past. However, you would make an exception and return when you needed to replenish your supplies.

Looks like today’s that day

You sigh as you hoist the bag of supplies over your shoulder, and pick up your trusty bow and arrow, which had become your sole means of defense in this new world. You slide the arrows down your back, securing them in place, and take a firm grip on the bow with your left hand before beginning your trek to the nearby town.

You stride through the dense forest, carefully retracing your steps where you marked the trees to ensure you won't get lost. The morning is eerily dark, with heavy clouds obscuring any light from penetrating the thick canopy. However, you pay it no heed, your thoughts consumed solely with surviving another day. Eventually, the path leads you out of the forest and into a vast meadow that overlooks ruined buildings and demolished roads.

The sight triggers painful memories of the tragic event that wiped out most of humanity. The disease had come suddenly, spreading rapidly all over the world, and there was no time to develop vaccines or a cure.

Your mind drifts back to your last day with your family. You had just returned home from your first semester in college, and your grandparents were home to greet you. You spent the day talking to them about your college experience and your upcoming 19th birthday that you would've celebrated with them. You hadn’t realized then that those were your last moments with them.

The virus took lives quickly and without mercy. One wouldn't have realized they were infected until the virus began to disrupt their bodily functions. The virus started with the limbs, paralyzing the entire body, followed by the brain, causing unconsciousness, and finally, the heart, ceasing the flow of blood and resulting in death. The aftermath was catastrophic with increased rates of car and airplane crashes, buildings collapsing on civilians, and roads being destroyed. The disaster wiped out most of the world's population, leaving only a handful of survivors.

Including you.

Being alive in this world is harder than being dead. It’d only been a few months since that day and most of your days now consisted of you stocking up on food, water, and other survival necessities. Sometimes, you practice hunting in the forest with your bow and arrow to prepare yourself in case you run into other humans.

You cannot rely or trust anyone anymore. The scarcity of resources has pitted the remaining survivors against each other, creating a dangerous environment for any encounter. You are aware that some have joined forces to increase their chances of survival, but you steer clear of them. Their sheer numbers and superior weaponry make it unlikely that you would come out unscathed. Nevertheless, at times, you yearn to be part of a group. Life would be more bearable if you had others to share your struggles with. However, fear and apprehension holds you back. You have no desire to discover what these individuals are like. They are not the same people from before the outbreak. They have changed since then, and you are not willing to risk staying around to find out.

You knew that going into town was a risky move as you were more likely to run into people there compared to the forest. However, you had always been good at staying hidden, and you planned to use that skill to your advantage.

You start steadily moving down the meadow towards the direction of the town. You’d been here several times before to replenish on supplies from the old convenience store near the edge of town. As you approach, you notice the telltale signs of decomposing bodies scattered about, and you quickly wrap a piece of cloth around your nose and mouth to filter out the putrid odor. You make a conscious effort to avoid looking at the bodies, not wanting to confront the gruesome reality of how devastating the disease had been. 

When you arrive at the front of the store, you pause and peer inside. The lack of electricity makes it dark, which also means that you would be vulnerable if you were to enter.

Just make it quick

Determined, you bolted into the dark store, scanning the first aisle as you reached for your bag hanging on your shoulder. Grasping multiple bottles of water with one hand and your bow with the other, you swiftly tossed them into your bag before moving to the next aisle in search of any edible food. Your breath became heavy from the adrenaline of sprinting as you gathered the supplies you needed. However, you couldn't forget about the medical supplies, so you hurried towards the pharmacy section of the store. In a rush, you grabbed anything and everything, not having the luxury of time to discern what was necessary. The eerie silence and darkness only added to your growing anxiety.

Once you were sure you had everything you needed, you quickly zipped up your bag and made your way towards the entrance to exit the store. As soon as you stepped out into the open, you let out a sigh of relief. You were not particularly scared of the dark, but being in the store made you feel more exposed than you would have liked.

Turning in the direction back towards the forest you came from, you start heading back up to the meadow. Your mind was still reeling from the anxiety that you hadn’t noticed the presence behind you until—

“Well, look what we have here,” 

His voice was raspy and gruff and his grip on you tightened as you struggled to break free from his grasp.

“Haven’t seen a woman in so long. Looks like I got lucky today,” He rasped. You couldn't ignore the sinister tone in his voice, and the implications of his words were not lost on you. You knew that if you didn't find a way to escape from him soon, the consequences could be dire.

The old man abruptly spun you around, exposing his rough and rugged face, but before he could do anything else, your instincts took over and you delivered a swift knee to his groin.

“Fuckin’ bitch!”

He groans and releases his grasp on your arm. 

You didn't have much time left, so you quickly readjusted your grip on the bow and reached for an arrow, taking careful aim at his heart while he was still recovering from your knee strike. You pulled the arrow back and released it, hitting your intended target with precision. Moving quickly, you retrieved the arrow from his chest, where it had not lodged too deeply, and thrust it back into your quiver with the rest of your arrows. You didn't care if there was still blood on the arrow; you would just have to clean it later.

Your immediate priority was to put distance between yourself and the danger you had just encountered. You didn't want to take any chances by running back in the direction you had come from, fearing that there might be more men like him waiting for you. So, you chose to run in the opposite direction, not caring if you were running out of breath or becoming dehydrated. Your sole focus was to put as much distance as possible between yourself and the danger that lurked behind.

After running for what felt like an uncertain amount of time, you eventually found yourself gasping for breath and in desperate need of water. You spotted a nearby tree and leaned against it for support, placing your bow beside you. You focused on slowing down your breathing, allowing it to gradually return to normal. Then, you rummaged through your supply bag until you found a bottle of water you had grabbed from the store earlier. You opened the cap and took several large gulps, feeling the cool liquid quench your thirst and relieve your dehydration.

You took a few moments to calm your racing heart before taking stock of your surroundings. You were in a part of the forest you had never been to before. The trees were tall and thick, and the foliage was dense, making it difficult to see too far ahead. You knew that you had to keep moving, but you also needed to rest a bit longer.

You sat down on the ground, leaning your back against the tree and closing your eyes for a moment. The events from earlier replayed in your mind, and you couldn't shake off the fear and adrenaline that still coursed through your body. But you knew that you couldn't afford to dwell on it for too long.

You toss the empty water bottle back into your bag and stand up, taking a few moments to collect yourself. As you go to pick up your bow from beside you, you freeze when you hear voices in the distance.

You strain your ears, trying to make out what the person is saying. You cautiously pick up your bow and adjust your grip on it, preparing an arrow in case you need it. As you move in the direction of the voice, you tread carefully, trying to remain silent. Your eyes scan the surroundings, searching for any sign of human presence.

You suddenly spot a flash of dark brown hair and your nerves start kicking in. You grip your bow tightly and point an arrow in that direction. But before you can shoot, a hand covers your mouth, muffling your screams. The distinct smell of chemicals instantly fill your nose but you don’t have time to react.

Your eyelids begin to feel heavy, and your fingers loosen their grip on your bow and arrow until they fall to the ground with a dull thud.

“Jungkook! No!”

You hear another voice faintly yelling in the distance before your vision fades to black and your senses go numb.

[sindulgence666]

The brothers with an MC that has Dysautonomia (POTS)

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Hi! So… this is kind of a self indulgent post? I just wanted to think about the brothers taking care of MC when they have no spoons or just are having a crisis 🤧 I never have anyone to help when I'm on my worst health days so yeah!

Warnings: mentions of chronic illness, cursing

Characters: Seven demon brothers

Category: Shortfic, bulleted… whatever that thing’s name is

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Humans are complex yet fragile creatures. Their body works in complicated and fascinating ways, almost being too perfect. Yet, illnesses exist. Humanity has always lived with diseases, from things like the common flu to terrible plagues that threatened to wipe out half of a continent. Modern medicine has worked hard to mantain the population's health, treating and curing any disease that installs itself in the host’s body.

That is, unless it’s a chronic illness.

Oh, humans. Such intelligent yet incapable creatures.

When you arrived to Devildom, you didn't even think about how life would be there while dealing with your “problem”, as how you used to refer to it. However, as time passed by it became increasingly obvious to you that the weather and the lack of your medication were making it really difficult for you to continue living and ignoring your symptoms.

The first months were hell (heh) for you, as you weren't as close to the brothers nor the other exchange students to ask for help or to talk to them about your health. As time passed by and your relationships started getting stronger, you started pondering about the possibility of telling them. Would that affect the way they treated you? You weren’t sure you actually would want that.

One day, you had to be practically dragged out of bed by an angry Lucifer; you were running late. A pounding migraine made itself present and made you groan in pain, but surely you could handle it. Lazily, you dressed yourself with the uniform and walked slowly to the dining room; your head felt funny and you could feel your heart pounding in your chest. It definitely was a bad day.

— Hurry up or you won't be able to eat before going to RAD, MC. —Lucifer spoke and you just nodded while you sat down.

Your stomach growled and your nose wrinkled in disgust. You definitely felt like you were going to throw up. Actually, was it cold or was it just you? Lord, you were even trembling.

— I’m sorry… —You tried to excuse yourself— I think I'm not feeling too good…

But you stood up too quickly and your legs gave up on you as your vision went dark for a few seconds just to come back unfocused and blurry.

Lucifer immediately stood up and ran up to you, crouching by your side. He gently cradled you in his arms and was surprised by your corporal temperature. It wasn't normal for a human to be so cold, right? Surely blue lips weren't a good sign either. This situation was something he didn't know how to manage, and that really stressed him.

— MC? —he called out to you as he softly slapped your cheek just to check if you really were conscious. You groaned as your eyes darted all around the room. You could feel a strong body holding you and six distinct voices yelling and panicking.

— Lucifer! What’s wrong with them!?

— Hey, human!!!! Doncha dare die on me!!!!

— MC, please hang in there!!

Even Satan, the smartest one, and Belphie, the one who knew the most about humans, were amiss. What was going on with their human? Were you going to die?

— Legs… —You said, covering your eyes with a trembling hand.— Help me raise my legs…

— What?

— They're telling you to raise your legs! what are you, deaf!?

And finally, after you recovered of your sudden crisis, you were taken to your room so you could rest. At least after arguing with seven worried demons that insisted on rushing you to a human hospital. You knew that wasn't strictly necessary, but certainly having a blood pressure monitor would come in very handy.

Laying down on the matress, an exhausted sigh left your lips; your head was starting to hurt. Lucifer had to make sure his brothers didn't bother you (mainly Mammon and Asmodeus, who nearly had a heart attack when they saw you suddenly collapsing), but Satan wasn't going to just leave you alone after that. The door quietly creaked as it opened and the blond man stepped inside the room.

— How are you feeling? —He gently closed the door behing him and walked up to your bed, sitting on it.

— I’m fine —You answered.— Just a bit tired… —You extended your arms towards him, asking for a hug.

He nodded and scooped closer to you, laying down beside your tired form and softly passing an arm over your shoulders. You closed your eyes and rested your head against him.

— Care to explain what was that about?

— Hmm…

— MC?

— I didn't want to worry you… —neither did you want them to feel sorry for you.— I know I should've told you sooner, but I thought I could manage by myself like before-…

— This has happened before? —The demon inspected you with his gaze

— Yeah, I have dysautonomia

…

— What?

Right. Human chronic illnesses surely aren't known in the Devildom; why would they need to know them anyway? You sigh and stay quiet for a few seconds before trying to explain to the blond demon your health condition.

— You mean one of the main things that keeps you alive is not working!? —Satan was practically yelling now.

— Okay, Satan, let's calm down, I’m not dying-…

— Well it sounds like you are!

And before you can stop him, he's already sprinting out of your room to tell his brothers.

Lucifer

WHAT!?

MC is DYING!?

You have to take him away from his now stunned brothers in order to clearly explain to him that you are, in fact, not dying

It sounds like your body just gave up on keeping you alive, and you know it

But you're okay!

You only need medicine to help your heart regulate itself!

And probably having a blood pressure monitor in the HoL would be nice too

Overall, he is quick to catch on after the initial panic passes

He will now make sure you have all your needs covered

Still freaks out whenever you have a bad day or faint, but overall is very reliable and helpful

Mammon

Definitely wants to cry

When you come back after Satan he's the first one to throw himself at you

You can't die again!

You really need to try and calm him down before successfully explaining to him that you were going to be okay

He is very upset about you having to deal with something like that for your entire life

Believe it or not, now he sticks to you even more

Panics whenever you start feeling funny and tries to help

It’s the thought that counts

Leviathan

Henry!!! You can't die!!!!

He is one that definitely DOES cry along Asmodeus

Sitting down with them in the living room to explain is the best option

He isn't sure if your explanation made him feel better or more nervous

But you’re not going to die! That's good!!

He will actually offer to buy anything you need from Akuzon

He prefers to help you by buying anything you need rather than tending to you

Don't get him wrong, he loves you

But it will be two unconscious individuals if he gets too overwhelmed

Satan

Sit down, Sherlock

It’s actually quite hard to convince him you're gonna be okay

Although calmer, he’ll now proceed to investigate everything he can about it and how it affects you

He definitely will basically become an expert in a very short time

Another one that is very reliable and helpful

Less busy than Lucifer, so he can actually make sure to take care of you until you are back to a 100%

Asmodeus

NO!!

His dear MC can’t be sick! They look so healthy!!!

He, like Levi, is crying

Someone give him tissues please

Baths, massages and everything that can remotely help you feel better will never not be an option with him around

If you thought he pampered too much before, buckle up

He too panicks if you faint, but he doesn't freeze in place

Beelzebub

Actually VERY worried

His frown gives it away despite his naturally stoic face

Sits beside Belphie and in front of you while you're explaining them everything

He shakes his head after hearing you, not quite being okay with you being sick

It also takes a lot of reassurance with him to help him be at ease

He will be the first to catch you if you fall! Or to carry you if you need so

You can count on him too

He just wants to protect you

Belphegor

At first thought you just fell asleep (no Belphie, MC isn't you)

Huh? Fainted?

MC's sick!?

He's angry before being sad

Calms down almost at the same time that Beel does

Probably won't be helpful since he’s always asleep

But he definitely will help when sleeping is difficult for you

Probably will carry an extra pillow around to cushion your fall

Please don't expect him to actually catch you if you collapse

[angsttronaut]

A story about a prion disease apocalypse could be so fucked up fun.

Perhaps the disease has been spreading for a while, but appeared to not harm humans like CWD, or it's an entirely new one that a cow just developed one day. It can spread through their waste, their spit, their blood. Quite a few animals have already been infected by the time the first few enter the human food chain.

It's another while before the new prion disease is noticed; people aren't getting sick, and it takes a while before infected animals show symptoms. Eventually the weird symptoms are noticed, and the new disease is found, but it's already too late. It's spread so far that it proves very difficult to stamp out no matter how many infected animals get destroyed, and every day it isn't wiped out means more humans coming into contact with the prions. Although right now, no-one knows for sure if it can even jump the species barrier.

A few years later, it starts. A few people with mysterious and deadly neurological issues here and there, who's autospies reveal their brains have been turned to sponge. The numbers slowly climb upwards with each year. It's still spreading in farm animals.

Efforts to resist the disease increase; there isn't any treatment, but there are better tests. Through these it's discovered that not only are carrier animals that can spread the disease everywhere, but an eyewatering percentage of the population harbour the abnormal prions too- spreading not just through tainted food at this point, but also blood transfusions and surgical instruments. Even the water in the worst affected places isn't safe any more. Reassurances that not everyone will develop the prion disease are no comfort for many.

Every year the numbers climb. It goes from a very rare illness, to an unusual one, to one that's so common that you probably know someone who got killed by it. Attempts at a cure all fail, no matter how promising they seem. A suffocating cloak of dread falls over the world, even as many people try to ignore it and go about their daily lives. It isn't uncommon now to see someone with obvious symptoms who is in denial. Not that confronting their death head on would help; healthcare is underfunded and overwhelmed, they would be waiting months for anything that might alleviate their suffering.

The collapse begins a decade into the pandemic. People are dying left, right and centre, even children who weren't born when it first began to spread; it might have spread to them in the womb, but there are so few scientists left and they're so focused on finding a cure that not much research is done. Take a walk in a city and you'll see dozens of empty buildings and massive queues by the hospitals. Walk in the countryside and you'll probably see a half dead animal wracked with spasms. Mammals have become rarer; even dogs and cats are a bit unusual to see. Anything that hasn't reduced in numbers is studied intently to discover its secrets, all to no avail.

Infrastructure begins break down; there aren't many people left to maintain it, and a lot of them aren't well. Medical care is borderline impossible to get because there's so many people and so few living doctors and nurses; more and more people are dying of curable afflictions without ever being seen. Food is scarce because animal products are off the menu and it's nigh impossible to transport and grow food when so many people have died. Costs shoot up, and people protest because no-one can afford the prices- especially when not that many people work any more, being too ill to work or having to care for their ill loved ones. The only thing that gets cheaper is housing.

Protesting does help, and resources are more evenly distributed in the last few years. But there's still nothing that can be done for the illness, and the sick are actually dying faster because some places now have no medical staff. Medicines get scarce as manufacturing plants shut down for want of staff. Whole regions lose their electricity as the final workers are forced to turn off the grid lest the power plant cause a disaster once the prion disease has killed them. Governments can't fill the empty seats in their parliaments, and high voter turnout amounts to thousands of people casting their ballots. Quite a few governments just throw in the towel at that point. In places with newspapers, it isn't uncommon for them to run emotional stories about people from areas so badly hit that they thought they could be the last living people.

Eventually things begin to level out. A couple of people were lucky enough to never be exposed, or to have some resistance. It's the same for other mammals, although they're scarce and many are extinct. Most areas are forced into subsistence farming on poisoned land, without the help of domesticated animals. Most strive to rebuild, but to some it seems like the final, tortured days before the end.

[andiwriteordie]

OH OH for the prompt thing after vol 2 will stays at the wheelers and mike has to lend him some clothes. will with his hair still wet wearing mike’s hellfire shirt. mike has a huge sexuality crisis lol

NIC oh my god this prompt. thank you for making me write this, thank you thank you THANK YOU I LOVE IT. you know i love my post s4 pining mike wheeler.

—

you look so good it hurts (in my favorite t-shirt)

The end of the world is really weird.

Honestly, it’s nothing like Mike would’ve expected. When he imagined the end of the world, he always imagined it would happen… a lot faster than it’s happening right now. He imagined that the world would just suddenly explode or there would be some disease that would suddenly wipe out half the world’s population or there would be fire and brimstone and monsters that led to the fall of humanity.

The end of the world is nothing like Mike imagined.

Most people don’t actually realize that the world is ending, including Mike’s dad and the majority of people in Hawkins. The government creates some bullshit lie to explain the gaping fissures in the ground (an earthquake? Seriously?) and the storms from the Upside Down that have been periodically happening over the past couple weeks. Though many people flee Hawkins, many people stay, reserving their front row seats to the end of the world like a bunch of idiots.

… 

Mike and his family are among the idiots staying for the end of the world. He can’t leave, after all. He’s been involved with the Upside Down for as long as it started breaking through to the real world, and when this all finally comes to blows, Mike has to be there. Maybe he doesn’t have much to offer, but he has to be here. He’s not leaving Hawkins.

…

He’s not leaving Will.

And that’s exactly what Mike tells his mom when he and Nancy finally sit her down and explain everything. It’s a difficult conversation, but it’s a necessary one. With the Byers and Argyle staying at their house for the time being and with the bright red target on Will’s back, there’s no way to avoid telling Mike’s mom about the situation. She has to know, so Mike and Nancy can stay in Hawkins and join the fight when it comes.

She takes it surprisingly well and welcomes Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and Argyle into their home with open arms. It’s… nice having his mom on their side now, and it’s nice not having to hide this from her. Maybe Mike’s relationship with his family isn’t the best, but over the past couple weeks, he… hasn’t felt as alone. 

(It’s a feeling he’d almost forgotten.)

So yeah, now there are nine people living in Mike’s house, all waiting in nervous anticipation for the end of the fucking world. 

It’s great. Really, really great.

There’s not a lot that any of them can do right now with the world ending and with the governor’s recent stay-at-home order issues for Hawkins and its neighboring towns. They’re literally not allowed to go anywhere, so Mike spends most of his time reading the books he’d been putting off for several months, playing video games with Jonathan, Will, and Argyle, or simply staying up and talking to Will.

It’s… nice. 

It’s nice being so damn close to Will again, after a year of feeling far away from him. Their friendship still isn’t quite what it used to be, and maybe it will never go back to what it used to be. Maybe the harsh words Mike had spat at his childhood best friend had simply damaged their relationship past the point of full repair, and maybe he’ll spend the rest of his life regretting that day and everything that led them to that place.

But… the world’s ending, and Will is close. And they’re friends again… best friends even. Their friendship may not be what it used to be, but it’s still good. It’s still really, really nice having Will so close to him, and God, Mike feels more at home amidst the end of the world than he has in a year.

(He tries not to think about the implications of those feelings, because that… that’s not something Mike wants to think about. He can’t let himself think about that.)

With a soft sigh, Mike tosses his old hacky sack up in the air, catching it absentmindedly. He and Will had found the old thing down in the basement a few days ago, and ever since then, they’d been attempting—keyword: attempting—to play with it, the way they used to as kids. And um, yeah, they weren’t really good at kicking the hacky sack back and forth when they were seven, but they’re really bad now. It’s fine though, because Mike had tripped and fallen, and Will had laughed and laughed and laughed, and…

And Mike had missed that—Will’s laugh.

He’d missed Will, more than he even realized.

Someone knocks on Mike’s bedroom door, and Mike’s brow furrows. “Come in!” he calls, turning towards the door.

To Mike’s surprise, the door opens, revealing none other than Will himself, and Mike’s breath catches.

Oh.

Oh.

Will’s dressed in an old pair of pajama pants that Mike had grown out of a year or so ago, and he’s also wearing Mike’s Hellfire Club t-shirt. His hair is still wet from the shower, and there’s a tentative smile on his face as he walks into the room.

He… he looks good. Like really, really good, and for some weird reason, Mike’s stomach suddenly feels like there are dozens of little butterflies flying around in it. His cheeks feel really, really warm, and no matter how hard he tries, Mike can’t look away from Will.

He looks so good. 

“Hey,” Will greets, his voice soft.

Mike swallows the lump in his throat, and he blinks, sitting up. “H-hey,” he stammers, offering Will a smile. “Um… you know you don’t have to knock, right? This… this is your room too now.”

A rosy blush spreads across Will’s cheeks, and he sits down, where the little yellow sleeping bag that’s been designated as Will’s for so long is spread out on the floor. “Sorry,” he says with a little shrug. “I guess I’m still getting used to all of this, you know? It’s, um… it’s all still a little weird.”

“Yeah… I know what you mean,” Mike agrees softly, absently fiddling with the hacky sack in his hands. His heart still pounds inside his chest, and his stomach still feels like it has butterflies in it, but Mike can’t look away from Will. He just can’t. 

It’s just… Will looks really, really nice. The pajama pants Mike had grown out of fit him pretty well, but Mike’s Hellfire shirt is a little too big for him. It’s… kind of adorable actually, and when Will rolls his sleeves up to reveal his California, sun-kissed tan skin, Mike feels the lump in the back of his throat grow.

Shit. What the hell is wrong with him? This is Will. This is Will, and… and Mike… Mike can’t be thinking about him like this. Especially when Mike still has a girlfriend, even if El hasn’t spoken to him in two weeks. 

But even without El, this is Will. It’s Will, and…

And what? a voice in the back of his mind questions. What’s wrong with Will?

Nothing, Mike thinks immediately. Nothing’s wrong with Will.

… Okay, then what’s wrong with you?

(Isn’t that the million dollar question?)

“Um… are you okay if I shut the overhead lights off?” Will asks softly, and Mike blinks, looking down at his best friend. There’s an uncertain look on Will’s face, and he quietly adds, “I didn’t sleep very well last night, so I think I’m, um… gonna try to sleep early tonight. If you’re still planning on staying up though, we can leave them on.”

“No, no, we can turn them off,” Mike reassures quickly. Immediately, Will visibly relaxes, and Mike offers him a shy grin. “What’s the likelihood I can turn them off with the hacky sack?”

Will scoffs. “Unlikely.”

“Okay, rude.” Mike makes a face at his best friend, and he narrows his eyes at the light switch across the room. “I bet if I just aim and get it right, I totally could knock them off…”

Mike’s voice trails off, and he tosses the hacky sack across the room.

He misses spectacularly.

Will bursts into laughter, and he offers Mike a crooked little grin. “Told you so,” he deadpans, standing up and switching the lights off. “You’ve got terrible aim, Mike.”

“Shut up, Will.”

Once again, Will just laughs, and he climbs into his sleeping bag, pulling his blankets close. Thanks to the dim glow of the Star Wars night light that Mike has in his room, it’s easy to see the softness in Will’s eyes and the redness still on his cheeks as he looks at Mike. 

“Goodnight, Mike,” Will whispers. 

Mike swallows the lump in his throat. The butterflies in his stomach feel relentless, and his own cheeks feel warm. Everything inside of him just wants to keep looking at Will and wants to keep him as close as humanly possible, and… and that’s… that’s not normal, right? That’s not how people are supposed to feel about their best friends. 

God. What is wrong with him?

Finally, Mike manages to give Will a tiny smile. “Night, Will,” he whispers back, and with one last smile, Will rolls back over onto his side and goes quiet, trying to fall asleep.

Mike doesn’t sleep for another few hours that night, and though he’d never tell anyone, he finds himself stealing glances at Will throughout the night.

(And look… if Will ends up waking up from a nightmare that night, and Mike pulls him up into his own bed, and they both end up holding each other through the darkest hours of the night, that’s only for the two of them to know.)

[rjzimmerman]

Earth’s wildlife populations have disappeared at a ‘catastrophic’ rate in the past half-century, new analysis says. (Washington Post)

This Washington Post article summarizes the "Living Planet Report 2024," recently published by the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund). I'm providing you with a link to the report, hoping that you'll go there and wander through the report, including its various infographics. Adding this report to the recent weather/climate developments around the world (thinking hurricanes smacking into the US) just adds to my personal anxiety about the future of our species and our creature and botanical friends that support us.

In a very simple nutshell, this is what the report is telling us:

If you prefer a video introduction to the report, here you go:

Excerpt from this Washington Post story:

Earth’s wildlife populations have fallen on average by a “catastrophic” rate of 73 percent in the past half-century, according to a new analysis the World Wildlife Fund released Wednesday.

The WWF and the Zoological Society of London track 5,495 species of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles around the world through the Living Planet Index, and the database shows the extent to which human activity is decimating them. Freshwater populations fell by an average of 85 percent, according to the new Living Planet report, while terrestrial populations by 69 percent and marine populations by 56 percent in the five decades between 1970 and 2020.

“It really does indicate to us that the fabric of nature is unraveling,” Rebecca Shaw, WWF’s chief scientist said of the report’s findings.

Shaw added that the global decline of these animal populations is likely to have cascading effects.

“Vertebrate populations underpin ecosystem health and the services we get from ecosystems like stable climate, abundant and clean water, healthy soils to grow food, productive fisheries that supply people with protein,” she said. “If you have that kind of decline in vertebrate populations around the globe, you’re going to have troubles supporting and sustaining human health and well-being over time.”

The worst declines were in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a 95 percent average drop, followed by Africa, 76 percent, and Asia and the Pacific, 60 percent. But the report said that is at least partly because in Europe, Central Asia and North America — whose animal populations declined by more than a third — people living there had already wiped out nature on a wide scale by 1970.

Habitat destruction and loss — driven primarily by human food production, including clearing rainforest to make way for cattle ranches ��� ranks as the top cause of population declines. About 40 percent of all habitable land on Earth is used for food production, the report notes.

“To maintain a living planet where people and nature thrive, we need action that meets the scale of the challenge,” the report says. It calls for “nothing less than a transformation of our food, energy and finance systems.”

Individuals can also help make a difference in their food choices, Shaw said, particularly around food waste and eating less animal protein, because raising plants uses less land.

Humans are decimating animal populations in other ways, including through overexploitation, invasive species, disease, climate change and pollution. The report called for renewed focus on and funding for existing international goals, such as to conserve and protect 30 percent of lands, oceans, coastal areas and inland waters by 2030.

Both individuals and governments should take responsibility for how their actions play a role in whether we can save nature, Ritchie said. The report noted that while Europe and Central Asia had the lowest rate of wildlife population decline, those regions rely on imports from more nature-rich parts of the world and have the highest “ecological footprint of consumption.”

[oliversrarebooks]

More world building questions lol cause they're fun to ask (and in my experience, also fun to answer)

-What other magical creatures are in this world other than vampires, witches, and fae? Are they gonna show up later in the story? How do they interact with each other and with the human world? Is this a "magical creatures secretly run the world and don't tell humans because that would be inconvenient" type of story, or a "magical creatures have to hide in the shadows to avoid being wiped out" kind of story?

-How many vampires are there? How widespread are they? Are there vampire communities or do they all live among humans like Alexander?

-What other vampire powers do they have? Can they turn into bats, fly, etc?

-Is there vampire religion? Is it structured or informal? Is it common?

-How much of vampires are science and how much is magic?

-Assuming no shortage of blood, are vampires immortal? If a child was turned, would they be a child vampire forever?

-Can/do vampires have biological families (with children from after they're turned)?

As before, no pressure to answer these lmao

Yay more questions! I hope my worldbuilding isn't too half-baked. Obviously this story is mostly focused on a narrow slice of the supernatural world.

Apart from vampires, witches (and wizards), and faefolk, there are definitely also merfolk, werewolves, and various types of ghosts and spirits. I reserve the right to include whatever supernatural creatures float my boat at the moment. None of these apart from the vampires are going to play a huge role in this story, but I might keep it in mind for spinoffs / AUs.

I think I'd classify this as more of a "secret parallel society" situation. Certainly in the past the supernatural creatures have been in danger of being wiped out, and there have also been times when supernatural creatures have hidden among humans and risen to positions of power, but for the most part, vampires and the like concern themselves with their own business.

I'm not going to put an exact number on how many vampires there are because that's how writers get into trouble. It's not like anyone's conducting a vampire census, anyway, so the number in-universe is not known. The vampire population is very small compared to the human population -- perhaps around 0.3% or so.

Vampires exist all over the world. They nearly all live in cities, because the thick population makes it easier to feed and take thralls. While vampire communities may have existed at some point, it is very much not the norm. Vampires tend to be paranoid and suspicious of other vampires, especially if there's competition for blood involved, so they do much better spread out in areas that have an ample human population. Vampires also rely on human production for most kinds of luxury and leisure goods, which is another reason why they stay near population centers.

Vampire powers -- I'll make a separate post on this.

There is no vampire religion. Vampires generally renounce all religion, although some still practice the trappings of whatever religion they had while alive, such as holiday festivities. (For example, Alexander, who was Catholic when he was human, still has a bit of affection for Christmas festivities).

Science vs. magic - let's just go with magic. There are rules behind it, but the only way vampires could work as they're laid out in this series is by magic.

Vampires are effectively immortal, and remain at the age at which they're turned forever. They are largely immune to disease and heal all wounds quickly, except for those caused by silver weapons which take much longer.

A child who is turned would be a child vampire forever. Drinking from and especially siring children is extremely taboo.

Vampires cannot have children after they've been turned, on account of being technically dead.

Thanks for asking so many questions! It's fun to consider the answers.

[paldean-ranger-brandy]

Just spoke to Marina, who was handling morning patrol. The chronic wasting has spread to nearly the entire herd. She found one little deerling that tested negative, but at this point we're going to have to cull back the rest of the sawsbuck in that area.

But listen. I'm a little sleep deprived, but this is a perfect situation to explain why humans are such an important part of the eco-system. You know what would have happened if we (humans) weren't here? The disease would have spread to the other herds in the area, wiping them out as well and inflicted an awful death. It would have kept spreading, possibly making the jump to the grafaiai population as well (jury's still out on whether or not that's possible). The impact on the entire forest's eco-system would be huge, and would have taken 10, 20, 30 years for it to recover. If it's able to recover at all - it would be entirely possible that the trophic cascade and subsequent decline of the pokemon populations around that keep the forest healthy the local flora would die off and that ugly ass rock field would simply overtake the area.

But we are here. The infected pokemon got a quick, painless death. The spread of the disease was contained to one area of the forest. And while this will still have a terrible impact on the population balance between predator/prey pokemon, we have the resources to fix that. There are areas where the deerling line is overpopulated, there are sanctuaries with deerling that are ready for wild release. We can clean the infected area, and migrate deerling from an area where they may get crowded out of their food source.

This could have been a disaster that spanned years, and instead it was detected and contained within what, a week and a half? There is no other species on earth that could have healed this area as quickly as humans. There is no other species that can coordinate across such far distances to share information and reintroduce a healthy wild deerling population. We have just as much a role to play in our environments as pollinators and predators and whatever else.

Idk. Whenever I hear that kind of team plasma-esque rhetoric of human and pokemon segregation or removing one or the other from the world I just think of situations like this. I firmly believe that removing humans from an area would have just as much of a disastrous impact as removing any other species of pokemon.

[ghastlybin]

Hello, can i make a request? 🥺🥺 what do you think about some zombie / post apocalypse AU with Handong? Idk, maybe reader and her met in some horde killing, they team up and ... Love blossoms 🤣 i leave it to you ☺️

Yoooooo first series, this first part is more of an introduction. I've edited this like four times so if there's any mistakes, disregard. PFFT. Anyways, thank you for requesting! I'm excited for this and as always, check the warnings!!!! Ily and I love Handong :,)

▾

▾Zombie Apocalypse! AU ▾ Series ▾ Angst ▾ Fluff ▾ Reader x Handong are endgame ▾ Some zombies are mutated but that'll show up later ▾ Survival ▾ gun usage▾ Hurt/comfort? ▾ some profanity ▾ FT. The rest of Dreamcatcher ▾ Also featuring a number of other idols that won’t show up until… Later chapters. ▾ I’ve waited my whole life to write a zombie AU. I fcking love post-apocalyptic stuff, as you will soon find out. ▾ Let’s MF goooooooo ▾ I will add more tags as we go lol▾

▾

W.C▾2.6k

Synopsis▾ For weeks after the outbreak of violent outbursts from people infected with a mysterious virus, you were alone and slowly running out of food and places to go. After running from a horde of infected, you meet Handong, the person who saved your life.

-> Part 02

You were numb to it by now, seeing infected roam the streets. Some ran, most walked, and others started showing signs of mutation.

It’s not like you didn’t care though. It bothered you knowing that the infected you’ve had to run from for months now, were once people living day-to-day just as you were.

The same infection that wiped half— If not most of the population. The ones that survived, are in a constant state of survival mode. The infected weren’t the only ones you needed to outlast.

There was also famine, disease, other humans— The hostiles, and the loneliness you faced being one of the few left alive.

You moved around the city, trying to always stay one step ahead of the infected. You made your way towards a small grocery store that was mostly looted during the first week of the outbreak.

A bell rang out through the store as soon as you opened the door, hoping you were completely alone in the store. And to your luck, you were. Though the quiet made you feel uneasy about your surroundings.

The store proved futile as a source of food, but there were pretty sufficient hiding spots in the event you would need a place to hide. You were low on food, though, and you weren’t entirely sure on how long the rest of your supply would last.

A loud gunshot startled you, dropping the mangled can you barely picked up. Then you heard shouting from outside, distant, but nearby.

“This way! There are too many!” The voice of a woman shrilled through the streets outside. You ran out of the store, the same bell ringing as you were curious to see another human.

You immediately regretted letting curiosity get the best of you when the lifeless eyes of the infected— A horde, had seen you, hearing the chiming of the bell on the door.

“Shit.” You mumbled.

And you ran. You always have been. It’s either you run, or you let the infected rip you apart.

You always thought being lonely was better than being dead, and from the looks of it, you would be lonely again and the women you heard would be another infected in the city soon.

Every non-hostile person has ended up turning or dying in some way.

You weren’t an exception either.

You ran through the streets, turning into an alleyway the first chance you got, trying to throw off the infected.

Most walked, but the ones that ran? They were faster than you anticipated.

You made the mistake of looking back to get a sense of how close they were. You could hear their hungry growls and shrieks, but seeing how close they got to you caused a panic to take over your body and you tripped, falling on the hard concrete, skidding as the friction burned into your shins, knees, and hands as you tried to catch yourself.

When an infected jumped on you, hungrily gnashing its teeth, you thought you were done. That it would soon be over, and you wouldn’t have to live in survival mode anymore, wondering where your next meal would come from or if you would ever meet another person out there that didn’t want to kill or rob you.

You felt yourself give up, thinking that was the only thing to do.

In that moment, a loud gunshot had your ears ringing and the infected was harshly kicked off of you. Attempting to regain your bearings, a hand wrapped around your arm, pulling you up.

“Can you run?”

Another gunshot rang out as this mysterious woman fended off the horde of infected long enough for you to reassess your priorities.

“Yes.” You answered, the stinging from the fall lingering. It wasn’t enough to render you immobile, but you weren't going to deny that it hurt.

“Run!” She stopped shooting and pulled you along, breaking into a sprint. This time, you didn’t look back.

You and the woman ran until you circled back to the grocery store, only this time, you avoided the main door and redirected the woman around the back of the store, entering through the back.

You shut the door after she ran in, collapsing against the door from the exhaustion after running. The woman joined you, sitting across from you and against the wall beside an empty shelf.

“Thank you, for saving me.” You panted, speaking lowly as to avoid attracting attention. She lightly shrugged.

“I would like to think you would’ve done the same if it were the other way around.”

“You have a lot of faith in strangers.” You commented. She cracked a smile, taking a deep breath as her breathing began to calm.

“I’m Handong.”

“I’m Y/N.” You introduced, hearing the infected outside. Luckily none of them saw you two enter the small grocery store.

“There. Now we aren’t strangers anymore.” Handong reached into her backpack, pulling out a smaller bag. She pulled out a water bottle before opening the smaller bag.

“Show me your wounds.” Handong spoke, nodding for you to pull up your pant leg— Which you did, a bit hesitant.

“They aren’t that bad. Could’ve been worse.” You dismissed as Handong moved closer, washing the blood and dirt off of your scraped knees and shins.

“Maybe. But infection is one hell of a way to go out. Better safe than sorry.” Handong glanced up from your scrapes to meet your eyes. You noticed how close she was, the woman that saved your life, and how beautiful she was.

You felt for a moment that it was the wrong time to think about something like that, especially when there were hundreds of hungry infected outside that almost killed the two of you moments before.

But it was justified. You hadn’t seen another human— That didn’t leave you for dead or try to kill you— Since the early days of the outbreak. Handong lacked enough bandages, but she seemed to know how to even out the placement to where it looked like it was enough.

She took your hands gently, pouring the cool liquid against your palms, cleaning the scrape on your palms as best as she could with what she had.

“You fell pretty hard.” Handong used the rest of the bandage wrap to wrap your palms.

“Yeah.” You stared at her, unsure what else to say. You were still mesmerized by her beauty and how much kindness she showed you.

“I can clean your wounds better back at our hideout, but for now, this will help until the horde leaves this area.” Handong moved back to her previous spot, her back against the wall again.

“Are you a doctor?” You asked. Handong smiled, shaking her head.

“Hardly. I’m just the stand-in until we find an actual doctor.”

You hung onto her every word, finding her fascinating. Her voice, her looks, and her personality— From what you’ve been exposed to thus far.

“Do you have a place to stay? A group?” Handong asked, steering the conversation to you.

“No and no. You are the first non-hostile person I’ve met in months.”

Handong checked the magazine of her gun as you said that, almost triggering your fight or flight.

“You’re not alone there.” Handong holstered her gun after seeing how many bullets she had. “I can recall the number of times we kept ourselves awake because of hostiles in the area. If I could count on my hands how many times that was, that’s a bad sign because then I would be one of the mutated infected and I’d suggest you back away from me.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, and even though she was serious, she ended up smiling at you for thinking she was funny.

And for a moment, you had forgotten the state of the world. You forgot the lonely days that turned into weeks, which turned into months. Having an actual conversation with an actual person rather than making comments to yourself just to fill the noise, felt a whole world better.

You hoped with every ounce left in you that you wouldn’t part ways.

The loneliness would’ve killed you before any infected would’ve. And maybe it was because of that fact that Handong saved you in more ways than one.

“I think the horde is gone.”

Standing up from the dirty tile, you peeked outside, seeing the horde was, for sure, gone, and left a trail of blood in their wake.

“Thank you, again.” You felt the dread of your moment with her coming to an end. She seemed to notice you stepping in the opposite direction of her and grabbed your wrist, careful as to not graze her hand against your scrapes.

“Come with me.”

You would have cried— If you could. You wouldn’t be alone anymore.

“To your group?” You hoped she wouldn’t change her mind.

But the smile on her face eased your worries, “yes. Where else?”

You shrugged and she grabbed your hand, adding to the relief and security she made you feel. As long as you stuck with Handong and you played your cards right, you wouldn’t be alone again.

With Handong, you felt you didn’t have to tip-toe or walk on eggshells around her. You followed her through short cuts she took all the way back to where her group was waiting— She hoped, at least.

It didn’t matter to you either that the city around you was painted in the blood of the dead or the wreckage of those who initially panicked when the outbreak happened, it was horrible, but you were able to ignore it this time because Handong was holding your hand.

Maybe it was too early to already have feelings for her.

Maybe you didn’t have feelings for her and was just glad someone saw enough value in you to save your life the way she did.

Handong looked back at you, an expression on her face that translated to ‘still alive?’. Whether she was actually thinking that or not, it felt nice, and you were certain that you were developing feelings for her.

She briefly let go of your hand, looking ahead at an old hotel that had barricades of dead cars and makeshift wooden fences surrounding the building.

“Don’t move.” Handong whispered. Handong proceeded to pick up a rock, throwing it at one of the cars. The rock caused a much louder sound than expected.

“Handong?” Another woman walked into view, holding a crowbar.

“Oh good, you all made it.” Handong sighed a breath of relief, motioning for you to follow her as the other woman opened the gate.

“We were worried about you.” The woman hugged Handong as she eyed you on your way into the safe zone.

“Who is this?” They pulled apart and Handong nodded towards you, giving you the go-ahead to introduce yourself.

“I’m Y/N. Handong saved my life.” You slowly smiled widely, trying to ease the tension. The other woman glanced at Handong, then back at you.

“I’m Yoobin.” She eased up on you, still showing caution at your arrival. You didn’t blame her either. You knew you weren’t bad, but they didn’t.

Just as you didn’t know whether they were actually good people or not. That’s how the world was. You didn’t know who to trust and who not to trust.

Who would save a person's life just to kill them?

“Handong’s back? I heard her signal but I—” Another woman appeared; She was holding a baseball bat that was latched to a makeshift holster on her back.

“Ah, Gahyeon, meet Y/N. The person Handong saved.” Yoobin glanced at you. And for a split second, you swore she smiled.

“Nice to meet you… Please don’t turn into a bad person. We are… Jumpy.” Gahyeon shook your hand. You couldn’t tell if she was threatening you or not, but you were more appeased that she showed willingness to trust you.

The three women walked inside and Handong motioned for you to follow them.

You were met with four more women, each holding a weapon of their own and varying differently from each other.

“I’m Y/N.” You introduced once more, feeling your nerves wracking as they each stared at you in varying degrees of caution.

“I’m Minji.” One of them spoke up. She was holding a hammer, gripping the handle as if ready for you to try something.

“I’m Bora.” The woman beside her spoke. Bora was holding a hatchet, also gripping it like her life depended on it. In her mind, it did.

You reminded yourself, you would be the same way. The hostiles ruined trust for those surviving.

“I’m Siyeon.” The woman holding a switchblade introduced herself next. It wasn’t open or ready to use, but you weren’t going to underestimate her speed— Or try her, for that matter.

“And I’m Yoohyeon, assuming you’ve already met Handong, Gahyeon, and Yoobin.” She was the only not holding a weapon. Nor did you see one attached to her.

It was about a week into you moving in that you found out her weapon was using and setting up traps for infected and hostiles alike.

Minji seemed to lead the place. She proved to be a great leader, in fact, and gave you a chance to prove yourself that you weren’t going to try anything that would get yourself or anyone else killed or hurt. She warmed up to you after you brought back food on a supply run and actually came back.

You deemed Bora as the ‘builder’, learning about how she’s the one that built the barricades around the hotel. It made more sense to you, seeing her weapon being a hatchet. She was impressed when you offered to help reinforce the fences, which greatly improved the defenses.

Siyeon is quick on her feet and quick to using her switchblade when needed. It isn’t clear exactly what her position was in the group, but that didn’t matter. You were just glad you were on her ‘shit-list’. Despite her clearly being a good fighter, she was actually very kind to you, and you offered to help her clear out the upper levels of the hotel.

You dubbed Yoohyeon as the strategic one in the group and she even taught you have to create a trap, which was tested on a roaming infected. She did laugh at your reaction when your trap worked, pinning the infected to a nearby tree.

Yoobin typically went on the food and supply runs. She was the first person you accompanied, learning the ropes from someone who did this routinely. She had a crowbar mainly to break into locked doors that she would run into around the city, and rarely ever used it to take down an infected.

Gahyeon usually kept watch for anything suspicious around the outside of the hotel. She knew how to keep hidden as to not alert any potential thieves or murderers. She uses her advantages to warn the group.

And Handong, the stand-in medic, is still the woman you’ve developed feelings for starting from the day you met her. Since then, you’ve gotten closer to her specifically.

Whether it was just in your mind or not, you had a feeling that she felt the same for you.

[theqhreator42]

Decline and fall of the Commonwealth Provisional Government, 2281

[tw: mass murder, Fallout 4]

The Commonwealth as we see it in 2287 is so chaotic and backward because it recently underwent a second apocalypse.

The Commonwealth Provisional Government emerged shortly after the bombs fell, as a decentralized confederation of rural villagers, and even began to industrialize before the NCR did — by 2161, with the help of the Institute, it had formed a thriving socialized economy that provided food, shelter, and electricity to its inhabitants, and reached a population of 100,000. The CPG’s crowning achievements were the erection of the Diamond City fortress, the integration of Vault 81, and the partial renovation of Vault 111.

However, as its economy began to stagnate in the 2260s, some of the CPG’s scientists defected to the Institute in search of superior pay and better job opportunities, while the Institute began to expand onto the surface in defiance of the CPG. The Institute’s rising demand for manual labor led them to enter the slave trade, initially buying slaves from local slavers, then forming links with territories as far as the Capital Wasteland and Caesar’s Legion, then cloning slaves into synths. This rapid degeneration in relations led the CPG to consider war against the Institute.

In 2281, the CPG passed a resolution launching an embargo against the Institute and severing all ties. In response, the Institute entered a secret alliance with three states bordering the CPG, New Haven, the Springfield Collective, and the White Mountain Khanate, to dissolve the CPG and partition its territories among them. On 28 June 2281, the coalition invaded the Commonwealth, and by 2 August they had destroyed the CPG’s Minutemen. The coalition then besieged the CPG’s capital at Quincy for six weeks. On 18 September, Quincy surrendered unconditionally; the coalition forces entered unopposed and murdered 95% of the city’s inhabitants (about 8000 people, nearly ten percent of the entire Commonwealth’s surviving population), handing over the last 300 survivors — all civilians, half of them children — to the Institute for experimentation. Only 150 people escaped the massacre, including a lieutenant named Preston Garvey, who led a small group of them into Sanctuary Hills.

During the siege, the inhabitants of Quincy had resorted to eating wild seafood from the polluted waters surrounding the city. As Quincy fell, some of the refugees brought a mysterious waterborne disease with them that wiped out all of the adjacent villages, leaving the landscape as devoid of human geography as though no one had settled it since the Great War.

Six years after the war, the coalition forces, now calling themselves “Gunners,” remain totally derelict in their stated goals as peacekeepers, and instead indulge in petty raiding and mass murder. The three states and the Institute use the Commonwealth as a source of agricultural taxes and slave raiding, although they have been reluctant to settle the country themselves; for the most part, the only foreigners are young men and women who come to the Commonwealth to raid, build up a store of personal wealth, and return home. Most local people now live by subsistence agriculture or prospecting, and the extreme tributes imposed by the Gunners and other raiders leave them constantly on the brink of famine.

[courtneykistheway]

Space Dancer: New Adult Fantasy. In space (sometimes). Side project.

Prologue:

 In the year of 2030 on May the twentieth, seven astronauts went into space on a routine training mission. 

 On May twenty-first, one astronaut returned; he walked down from the sky on his own two feet. 

 Some called him God. 

 Exactly three days after his return to earth a virus was spread to all of humankind, wiping out more than half of the population; those that remained gave the man a new name.

Devil. 

 They weren’t prepared to give the same name to themselves, but nearly four years after the man's execution on November third of 2034, they learned not only of their fate, but of their broken humanity. 

 The virus that the man brought down from space wasn’t a virus at all-it was magic. 

  Those that survived its onset were touted as warriors-and those previously thought to be immune to the supposed disease were given a new name of their own: slave.

Weak.

Chapter One:

 ‘Focus, Lala’. 

   The voice of Captain Eren drifts through the cool metal piece in my right ear, but I’m far past the point of hearing him. 

 I can’t even hear my own insane pleas to turn around. 

 All of my senses are lost-stolen-in their place is magic. Hot and flowing and so full that I’m left numb, and clenching my stomach is all I can do to keep from passing out. 

 That would be very, very bad in the middle of space. I shouldn’t die, but the asteroid coming my way might not have the courtesy to veer left and avoid my failing body.

 ‘Don’t let it win.’ 

 These words make less contact to my mind than the last string. My mouth moves, but I don’t know what happens to roll off of my tongue. 

 It could be anything. When I pull this much magic in-especially up here- it takes my mind to strange, forgotten places, and I do, apparently, say some interesting things to the handler on the other end of the call. 

 Captain Eren chuckles, and that’s the last I hear of him or the staticky earpiece, struggling to make contact through the veil of space. It’s powered by magic, but due to the endless amount of it floating around up here-and my inability to control the flow of my own-it’s having a hard time working properly, and if this were five minutes ago it would have been ripped away, tossed into the vast blackness of space.

 Littering fines be damned. 

 Unfortunately, the only time to be alive is in the present, and my current blip in time is about to be freaking toast if I don’t get rid of this thing. 

 It would be a lot easier on earth. The magic on earth doesn’t make my body zing and zap like it has nowhere else to go. 

 In space, it feels like I’m dying. 

 But you’re the one they chose for this mission, Lala. Don’t let that jackass Fei win.

  The thought of that royal prick's smug, poisonous smile, laughing at me from the docks below when he inevitably makes it back first, provides enough of an edge to get me moving, and some of what the magic took of my senses clears. 

 The stars and planets in the distance are bright against the blackness, and the moon peeks out from the other side of earth. My fingers and toes are left at a slight gut-pinching tingle rather than a full-blown nauseous fit, and my mind continues on at the same whirlwind pace that I’m not sure is actually the magic’s fault anymore. 

 Captain Eren is calm, but louder than normal. 

 ‘Lala, what’s going on up there?’

 “Sorry, it was extra this time.” My voice cracks like I haven’t spoken in days.

 ‘Extra?’ 

 I will the wind to boost my step, tapping off a few pieces of broken rock as I make my way straight towards the slugging asteroid, “Intense.” and I watch the sparkling trail of peach-hued magic that surrounds my white-leather boots as I go, getting lost in the trails all over again. With control as poor as mine is, the magic taking over my body is far more than intoxicating-I’m absolutely polluted. If I don’t get it together I’ll start hallucinating for real. If I have to live through that embarrassment again I’ll go into hiding on Pluto and never come back. 

Ever.

 ‘I get that,’ the captain chirps in my ear again. ‘Are you ok now? I’ll send a call-’

“No. I’m fine. Thank you, Captain.” 

   Captain Eren understands because he’s one of the few-like myself and that idiot Fei-who can use multiple types of magics, giving us alone the ability to not only walk in space, but to destroy any foes who happen to wander too close. He understands how hard it is to control this much magic, how overstimulating it is, not just in space but in general, living in bodies like ours. 

 He knows what it means to live as a curse when everyone else sees you as their savior. 

 But he also gets the danger that brings up here more than anyone, and regardless of our feud he will call the closest cadet, and that just so happens to be Fei Gao. 

  I picture his face as I close in on the asteroid-his dark, irksome eyes and that stupid dimpled chin that was the object of my violent fantasies more often than not the past three days after he intruded on our two-person team, turning us into an unwanted trio. I knew I was going to get a teammate eventually as it couldn’t just be the captain and I forever-having a team of at least three was the general rule- but why the hell that third person had to be Fei Gao of all people was beyond me. He’s the Army Commander's one and only son, for heaven's sake. He could have chosen any team. Surely one with a stronger teammate, one who had more control, would have been the better option. The proper option. 

 Expected of the Commander's son. 

  Instead he chose to piss off everyone, myself and his father included, and showed up at our apartment a few days ago with his bags and a angrily-signed note stating his presence to be fucking mandated. 

  From the moment we entered the academy eight years ago until the time he graduated- six months earlier than I did, and I never heard the end of it- last summer, he made my life a living hell. Not like he was violent or anything-but my god is he annoying. I think he came straight from the womb with the intention of showing me up. 

 ‘Get ready, Lala! It’s coming faster!’

 “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

 ‘This isn’t the time for jokes.’

I grumble, “Sorry.” and pull my focus at the hurling rock.

   A silent predator is far more terrifying than one who makes noise. Save for the invisible wall of magic surrounding my mouth and ears allowing for the use of the earpiece, the vacuum of space is so silent, I can hear the blood moving through my veins if I let my mind wander too far.

 Normally when something moves, a sound follows. I can prepare for an attack because of it. Before the sound even registers to my consciousness my body will know and prepare accordingly. 

 Those are the laws of earth. 

   I stopped paying attention for less than three seconds up here while looking away to gripe over Fei, and the asteroid is so close now that if I don’t get my magic moving in some way, my life will be over. 

 Smashed to pieces, just like the bit of rock under my toes.

 ‘Lala!’ 

 “Quite!” I scream, pushing off the little rock and forcing my wind magic to carry my body, arching up and back to get some distance. 

 ‘Upright, Lala! On your feet!’ 

 “I got it!” 

   My feet and head find a way to be that seems like ‘straight’ and ‘up, ' while my hands seem to be almost magnetized by the asteroid, moving towards it with a calm, hollow sort of stir. 

 Magic is a feeling. It’s why I never got that textbook version of control everyone always tried to shove down my throat. I can’t just think of the word ‘lightning’ and make it appear. I have to feel it. I have to think about the hot tingles it shoots through the muscle under my skin, making the entire suit of flesh and bones seem thinner, somehow, like air itself could pass through. 

 Once that happens, the black in the surrounding space turns into a licking wave of white flame, and the lightning magic can’t help but to release itself from the prison of my body any way that it can-usually, like it does now, violently, through my arms from tip to shoulder. 

 If there was noise, surely, the crackling would overpower my screaming, and the captain’s voice would fall to the wayside. Instead, all I can hear is my own screaming and Captain Eren’s low timbre doing his best to talk me through it. 

 ‘Almost there, Lala, just hold on a little longer.’

 “Fuck this,” I grit out, wincing through the spray of rock and dust, “why do I keep doing this? I can’t control it. This is going to kill me.” 

 “It won’t if you don’t let it. Focus, Lala. Focus on my voice.”

 “With all due respect, Captain: go fuck yourself.”

 I wish magic wasn’t a feeling so I could ignore all the pain it caused. Faster than it shot from my skin, that pleasant, zippy warmth sulked down to an inescapable shroud of tuff and grit, misting in through the edge of my sight from gray to black to white and back again. 

 I’m stuck in a kaleidoscope. 

 ‘Enough! It’s done! You’re going to hit someone!’

 “Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!” 

 I scream and fucking focus on the captains stupid voice but I can’t get the staticky fever of magic to turn down any, and the hot, aching pain threatens to take me out.  

 ‘There’s our girl!’

 I would recognize that assholes voice anywhere, even in the state I’m in now. Sly and humored it creeps through my earpiece, mingling with Captain Eren’s.

 ‘Are you done yet? I’m hungry.’

 Fei Gao. 

  “Go away, Fei, I got this!”

 ‘We’re teammates! How can I turn my back on a friend in need?’

 He’s so sincere; it’s sickening. Fei isn’t close enough to see the tell-tale glow of the snaking white magic against the uniform of black yet and I can’t feel anything but rage and pain, but somehow my body knows he’s close, and a different sort of tingling starts up at the base of my spine. 

 “We aren’t friends, Fei! Go back to base before you get hurt!”

 ‘Don’t say that,’ his gloved hand is firm on my hip, ‘I might get sad.’ and all of my magic dies. 

 Poof. 

 Gone; just like that. 

 I grab Fei’s hand and spin to face him, glaring up into his warm face, still pretty dark considering how much time we spend in space. 

 “Why the hell would I care?”

His lip quirks, hardly a twitch but enough to make mine turn down from muscle memory, ‘Because, I just saved your ass. You almost hit another team.’

 I’ll never get used to it, no matter how many months pass-seeing someone's lips move but only hearing their voice through the earpiece. Knowing that Captain Eren, or whoever else is close enough to tune in, can hear our entire conversation doesn’t help, either. 

 I don’t want to ask Fei of all people for any information, but this is the second time it’s happened.

 “How do you do it?”

‘What?’ he smiles, bright and full.

“Stop my magic so suddenly.”

‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ 

 I’m really going to kill this piece of trash. 

 ‘Ok, kids, the mission is over,’ the captain chimes in, ‘you did well, both of you. Back to the landing dock.’

[indrawnilsas]

Blogpost #1: Analyzing the Trope of ‘World Domination’ Narratives Through the Lens of Binary Oppositions

Through this blog post, I would like to analyze the narrative of world domination, a very common trope employed in popular media, and how it aligns with Claude Lévi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions. For this, I will examine the Planet of the Apes franchise, the Marvel Avengers franchise, Plague Inc. (a mobile game by Ndemic Creations), and finally Risk (a game by Hasbro). I will be exploring the various binary oppositions in each of these works and attempting to see if there is an overarching theme among them.

When it comes to the trope of world domination, most narratives feature a central character, generally followed by a group of people or a completely third-party entity, often in a non-human form such as aliens or divine beings. More often than not, these characters are motivated to achieve world domination or control over the other party due to reasons such as personal gain, revenge, or even ideas that emphasize the rightful existence of one party over the other. Broadly speaking, these ideas are often polar, as Strauss suggests, such as good and bad, right and wrong, and order and chaos (The Media Insider, 2021). Now, I would like to analyze the movies and games individually.

Planet of the Apes Franchise

In Planet of the Apes, multiple binary oppositions are at play. One of the first instances we see is morality versus immorality when Will Rodman and Robert Franklin refuse to take the life of the baby chimpanzee, later known as Caesar, after being ordered to do so by their superior. As the franchise progresses, we see two very polar sides: the apes, who are fighting for their freedom after all the abuse they have endured, and the humans, who are trying to regain control of the apes. We also see the spread of the Simian virus, which wipes out about 90% of the human population. This can be viewed as a third party opposing humanity (science versus nature), with the overarching theme being apes versus humans. Further down the line, there is a binary opposition in the form of peace versus war when Caesar, who wants to coexist with humans, is opposed by his counterparts who desire war and the takeover of humanity.

Plague Inc.

Plague Inc. is a strategy game created by Ndemic Creations where the player's aim is to infect the world with a deadly virus and exterminate all humans. The overarching binary opposition is good versus evil, where the player represents the evil while world governments and organizations such as the WHO work toward finding a cure for the disease you create. As you play the game, more subtle oppositions arise, such as order versus anarchy, where the disease causes governments to collapse, leading to riots and chaos. Here, anarchy feeds into the evil, making it stronger.

The Marvel Avengers Franchise

The Marvel Avengers franchise is one of the highest-grossing franchises in history due to its widely loved characters and the stories it presents. The Avengers preach ideals such as justice and peace and are portrayed as the good guys, always fighting to prevail over the evil that manifests as villains such as Loki, Ultron, and Thanos. Regarding Thanos, he is depicted as an evil entity on a quest to eradicate half of the world's population, believing this would solve issues such as hunger and poverty. However, the Avengers oppose his methods. In Infinity War, when the Guardians meet the Avengers for the first time, we are greeted with a fight scene where both parties ultimately realize they are fighting against Thanos. However, their goals differ: Starlord is fighting to rescue his girlfriend (which can be seen as a personal reason), whereas the Avengers fight for the safety of Earth. Eventually, these two parties combine their efforts under one unified cause, illustrating how two binary oppositions can merge for the greater good of mankind.

Risk

Risk is a strategy game by Hasbro where the player's goal is to achieve world domination by defeating enemies and forming alliances with other players. However, these alliances do not last, as ultimately there is only one victor. The narrative here is somewhat lacking in terms of a complete structure, but the game seems inspired by history, featuring various versions starring historical leaders like Napoleon. There are also versions of the game where you can play as the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Fleet from Star Wars, again exemplifying good versus evil or dark versus light. The game can also be viewed through the lens of democracy versus dictatorship and peace versus war.

Closing Comments and Insights

After analyzing these different media, I can confidently say that when it comes to the trope of world domination, multiple binary oppositions often come into play. These binary oppositions tend to aid different trains of thought in the major narrative, often making the viewer question their biases. For example, the production of the Alzheimer’s drug was expedited without Will Rodman's consent, despite his objections. This was done for monetary gain, which ultimately led to a fatal pandemic. Here, greed triumphed over morals and aided the cause of the apes. When examining Thanos, who is clearly portrayed as the villain, one could question whether he was a ‘necessary evil’ and whether achieving an equilibrium that benefited everyone required a price to be paid. His motives were ultimately not for personal gain or power but to ensure that everyone had enough to survive (Weyant, 2022). Most of these narratives fall under the umbrella of good versus evil, but to classify them as such would detract from the smaller narratives and nuances of the characters. As mentioned earlier, these oppositions feed into each other and are like tributaries to a river, each having its own story but eventually contributing to the river of good versus evil.

While examining, I also realized that the ‘world domination’ narrative generally follows Todorov’s Narrative Theory, which occurs in a five-act linear and chronological order (BBC Bitesize, n.d.). First, we have an established equilibrium: the apes being caged and experimented upon (in Planet of the Apes), Tony Stark enjoying a walk in the park (in Avengers: Infinity War), or the world in its normal state with regular news, like the release of books by authors (in Plague Inc.). Then comes a disruption of the equilibrium: Caesar is able to say the word ‘No’ for the first time, the Children of Thanos make contact with Earth, or the spread of the virus is recognized. This is followed by disequilibrium, as seen when the Avengers leave the planet to neutralize Thanos’ threat, the apes break free from their cages and run amok, or the virus mutates and becomes fatal, leading to multiple deaths and countries locking down their borders. Penultimately, there is a struggle to repair or restore equilibrium, shown as a final showdown between the two sides where the Avengers face Thanos and his army, the apes confront the U.S. military, and the WHO, along with multiple first-world countries, increase funding and research to cure the virus. Finally, there is a new equilibrium: Thanos's infamous snap reduces the population by half, Caesar and his fellow apes overpower the military and retreat into the jungle, and the extinction of humans occurs in Plague Inc.

As for Risk, the game doesn't seem to have a very clear narrative structure. It lacks in terms of clear action and causation and doesn’t seem to have a clear timeline as well. It focuses more on ludology than narratology as this would make the game less strategy based and more predictable.

Citations

The Media Insider (2021). Binary Opposition: Claude Lévi-Strauss Media Studies Structural Theory Explained. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO0O8IyMCBU

Weyant, J.E. (2022). MCU: Why Thanos Wasn’t The Bad Guy (And Why He Still Is). [online] Game Rant. Available at: https://gamerant.com/mcu-reasons-thanos-bad-guy-right/.

BBC Bitesize (n.d.). What is Narrative? - GCSE Media Studies Revision. [online] BBC Bitesize. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqdhrdm/revision/3.

Here is a summary of what I have written using Chat-Gpt incase the blogpost is too long:

In my blog, I explore the common narrative trope of world domination in popular media, analyzing how it aligns with Claude Lévi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions. I examine four works: the Planet of the Apes franchise, the Marvel Avengers franchise, the mobile game Plague Inc., and the board game Risk. Through this analysis, I illustrate how these narratives often rely on opposing forces to create tension and complexity.

In the Planet of the Apes franchise, I identify prevalent binary oppositions, such as morality vs. immorality and peace vs. war. Characters like Will Rodman and Caesar navigate their roles within the conflict between oppressed apes seeking freedom and the humans trying to regain control. The narrative underscores themes of survival and coexistence, particularly in Caesar’s struggle against more violent factions among his own kind.

With Plague Inc., I see a stark contrast between good and evil, where players embody a virus attempting to exterminate humanity, while global organizations work to contain the outbreak. Here, the opposition of order vs. anarchy emerges as the disease causes societal collapse, complicating the notion of good versus evil even further.

In the Marvel Avengers franchise, I explore the binary opposition of heroes vs. villains through characters like Thanos. Although he plays the antagonist, Thanos raises complex questions about morality and sacrifice. The Avengers embody ideals of justice, and their confrontation with Thanos reveals the different motivations among characters, showing how personal desires intersect with broader moral goals. The merging of their efforts against a common enemy illustrates how opposing forces can collaborate for a greater cause.

In Risk, I note that the narrative is more straightforward, focusing on strategy and competition for world domination. The game features historical and fictional characters, reinforcing themes of democracy vs. dictatorship and good vs. evil, though it lacks the coherent narrative structure of the other examples.

Ultimately, I conclude that these narratives not only follow Todorov’s Narrative Theory—progressing from equilibrium to disruption and resolution—but also invite audiences to question their biases and moral frameworks. By intertwining binary oppositions, these stories reveal deeper complexities within the overarching battle between good and evil, illustrating how individual motives and societal dynamics shape the quest for control and survival.

[duckpaddling]

"Every human invention and ideology is a three-sided knife: the good side, the bad side, and the stupid side you didn’t anticipate. As every planner and inventor and policy wonk knows, part of the job is to ask yourself: What could go wrong? Often, quite a few things. Dare I whisper the words “plastic” and “social media”?  The first is in your blood stream right now, the second is addling your brain, not to mention your kids’ brains. Is there a good side to either of them? Yes. It will be your task to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. Though that’s easier said than done. However – I bring a message to you from a planet far, far away and in another time – namely, the past. That message is: Cheer up, it’s been worse. Once, there were no avocadoes in North America. Once, children were taught to duck under their school desks in case of an atomic bomb attack. Once, there was a world war that involved over seventy countries and every continent except Antarctica, and killed an estimated 80 million people. Once, deadly plagues swept the earth – the bubonic plague that killed half the population of Europe, the European diseases that wiped out an estimated 80 percent of the populations of North and South America, the 1918-1919 flu that killed 50 million people, its victims dying within hours while bleeding from the ears. But so far, the human race has come through it all. And you can, too." Margaret Atwood: in Montreal at the One Young World Congress

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

Id actually be interested in reading something on how apocalyptic thinking has evolved throughout human history

Cuz clearly its not a new thing.

But also how it shows up in different cultures

Like I assume it started because of widespread disease and famine and sort of a "the gods are trying to wipe us out and start over" sort of thing

And it sort of evolved into "WE need to kill THOSE people cuz clearly THEY'RE the problem and if we just get ride of THEM then we can fix the world"

And that seems to still be alive in a lot of the world but also in my predominantly white, culturally Christian atheist circles you get a lot of "we just need to kill ALL humans. Humans are the problem" or "thanos (from marvel) was right. We just need to kill half the worlds population" and its really fucking frustrating cuz its such a conversation killer. Like. How the fuck am I supposed to argue with that? Cuz I get the feeling YOU know thats not actually a viable solution to anything. But instead of looking into things that are actually being done, you're just slipping directly into defeatist apocalyptic type thinking and acting like you're soo smart and original

Anyway. I would be interested in knowing how that type of thinking shows up in other cultures

[caijuu]

'this entire world deserves to burn down down' no it fucking doesnt. humanity deserves to stay and live on earth. do not blame the actions of a few on everybody else. there are parts of this world that are actually dependent on human care and intervention, in nature. dont lose sight of your humanity just because some are destructive and wicked. thats defeatist talk, man. the world will be better when we get better at taking care of it.

I wish I could believe that, but I dont. Human suffering exponentially increases day-by-day at the hands of an oppressive and wholly morally-bankrupt class of autocrats, imperialists, and capitalists, who all have a monopoly on violence, commerce, culture, industry, and capital. Even aside from that, half the population of the world has been wholly convinced of the necessity of the systems that oppress them and fight back against against progress with as much ferocity as the dogs that our overlords put on their payroll.

Society around the world is divided across basically every socio-cultural and economic line you can conceive of, while the biosphere of our planet actively disintegrates around us and the powers that be, at best, do NOTHING, and at worse actively contribute to making it worse. The same is true for the millions of people around the world that are dying of preventable diseases, or starvation and lack of access to clean water, or being murdered for an aspect of their existence their society finds distasteful, or being enslaved or murdered in service to a repugnant end or some executive's bottom line. The human race could turn around tomorrow and solve every single issue facing the world with relative ease. We have the knowledge to do so, the requisite industry, the skill, the technology. But you know what's going to happen tomorrow? The exact same thing that happened today, and the day before that, and the day before that, all the way back in time to the first miserable primate that tied a sharp rock to the end of a long stick. It's inevitable, it's fundamental to our very nature as a species.

Even if Palestine and Ukraine are freed, even if the genocides in Congo and Sudan and Palestine are ended, even if Russia repeals its draconian anti-LGBT laws, even if the United States ends its backwards slide into a repressive theocracy, even child slavery is eradicated and COVID is wiped out and every species under threat of extinction is conserved, I do not think for a single solitary moment that it will last. I'm not that naïve, and the history of our race tells me everything I need to know about what the future holds.

A person can be good or evil, but people are only capable of self-annihilation.

[king-of-better]

Number.08: Bird -PHOENIX-

1

Heart Clover formally instates Taiga as Special Chief of GGG, with authority over both GGG Green, Gai now officially Chief, and GGG Blue, still under Akamatsu. Mikoto, among many others, is returning to active duty. J, Renais, and a few more Ruin Acolyte GGG members still need rescuing, and umbrage of earth continues. Due to the increased role of GGG Green, the Main Order Room has been renovated to accommodate them.

On the shuttle back to earth, Heart Clover, making note of Taiga's charms, offers to arrange Ms Cherry’s transfer to GGG. But Isogai Sakura refuses the offer. She isn't sure if her feelings for Taiga are gone, or of she has just matured, but she is happy I'm her current position, and seems to have a similar respect for Clover.

The first joint briefing begins. Liger believes he can get Disc X production up to requirements in a month. Umbrage has slown after the recovery of the two strongest Conqueror Acolytes, and with Disc X mass-produced should begin reversing. Akamatsu is very annoyed to see his father imply attraction to Hinoki and Tamara, angrily yelling he has enough siblings already (Liger has 28 children across the world, 20+ younger than Akamatsu), Yang moves proceedings to discuss the Umbrage. Taiga recalls the Battle of Jupiter, and how the Z-Master used THE POWER to send Zonder spores to earth, briefly turning half the population into Zonders. The Conqueror Acolytes are attempting essentially the same, turning earth into a seedbed for Zero Spores, to scatter them across the universe, so all intelligent life in the universe will be destroyed. With the need for Disc X now greater than ever, Akamatsu promises his father he can meet Sakura if he succeeds, something he has never allowed before. Liger had also managed to hypothesise something about Triple Zero while a Conqueror Acolyte, speculating that the Z-Master, originally a stress reduction system developed on the Purple Planet, had been made into a Conqueror Acolyte, and that was why it started wiping life out. There's no real way to verify, but he hopes to discuss it with Yang, Stallion, and the three doctors, and once things calm he wants to go to Jupiter and ask Leo. Entoji reports an estimated 26 GGG Green members not recovered, possibly all on Kushinada and leaderless. Hinoki scans the lost and sees Saginomiya Takashi is not among them, concluding Kamuy’s words had been delusions born of Algernon. Taiga has one more important thing to reveal, that Kushinada was regenerated into its original state, not Takehaya, but the Goldion Crusher, and the approval keys Taiga and Swan held are in J and Renais’ hands, Conqueror King King J-Der will surely use it in the next battle.

2

Even though it's been 10 days since they were purified, only now have Gai and Mikoto been able to be alone. After discussing the surprise at the kids, Mikoto asks Gai what Ikumi had been speaking to him about. Ikumi had related Lamia speaking to him during the previous battle, and while he hadn't answered him about Gai, it was clear they held no ill will for humanity, just Gai, Gai thinks he knows the reason now.

Mikoto asks what the reason is, but instead of answering, he decides to finally have the talk. He asks her to marry him.

2 (cont)

Mikoto immediately agrees, but wants to know the rest. Gai explains that after the test Papillon and Swan ran on his Evoluder body, and samples analysed elsewhere, it was determined his genes are super dominant, any children he had would be guaranteed to be Evoluders, and if he has genes that contribute to disease or the like, those are also guaranteed to be passed on. He doesn't mention the possibility that, after the Evoluder population grows enough, of discrimination. And he also believes the potential for humanity to all become Evoluders in time, because of him, is why Somniums view him as the root of evil, and he only wants children with her anyway. She is also not really human, a Semi-Evoluder after mutation by the New Machine Species, though the name does not imply an actual link. There's no telling what might happen if G and Z fuse in the DNA of their children. He thinks, personally, that they shouldn't have children, but wants her to think for herself. She says they can get married after they save everyone, then laughs imagining J in regalia and Renais fighting over the bouquet. He does clarify he does want to have children, just they would have to be adopted, and recalls the words of Amami Isamu, that they will be their children, just coming to them a little differently.

3

Battles continue, and the dragons are deployed in mixed pairs, Shoryu moving between brothers and sisters as the situation calls for it, but Rairyu and Enryu chafe under the constant simulations, their AI blocks are not yet installed, as whole new units have to be prepared, the old, Triple Zero infested ones had to be destroyed. As such, they have been focused on training, especially for Shoryu to Trinity Docking with ChoRyuJin, GekiRyuJin and TenRyuJin, all of the dragons debate who Shoryu should pair up with. Hyoryu, as the oldest, tries to mediate, but then Enryu argues with him.

While Keita and Hinoki are on a mission in GaoGaiGo, Liger suddenly visits the Diving Chamber, joking about wanting to see Hinoki in her Dive Suit, but he seems tense. Gai asks him if he's seen Sakura, he has, but her current state troubles him, even if she has been in that since before Liger left, he didn't know until now, he wishes he could help his granddaughter,as much as he wishes he could save Renais. Knowing the danger his daughter poses, Liger asks Gai to do what he must, but Gai refuses, not just because he wants to save his cousin, but also because he doesn't believe this will end with Conquror King King J-Der. Liger realises he is correct. Ikumi has similar determination to save J and Tomoro, and recalls Renais’ words to him as the ES Missiles left, to treasure his parents, and believes she needs to take her own advice. Liger, encouraged by the boys, starts tearing up and leaves.

Mamoru and Ikumi, now alone. Feeling like Liger in his heart wants to forcibly enter King J-Der and scold Renais, Ikumi finds it hard to relate, he has never had a father, Mamoru relates a childhood incident when his own father had had to scold him.

Big Volfogg, fighting in South Africa alongside GaoGaiGo, reports in an emergency broadcast, that GaoGaiGo has become a Conqueror Acolyte.

3 (Cont)

The pink haze in the Bolivia Sepulchrum announces the new Conqueror Acolyte that has been born. Rakan puzzles over the increased danger while conducting research. He asks the haze what the new Acolyte is, and it declares it is Conqueror GaoGaiGo.

Ten minutes before, Wadatsumi hovers over Johannesburg, where a large horde of Zero Robos had appeared. GaoGaiGao fights, Hinoki and Keita having to deploy in it as Kakuseijin V2 had been having Linker Gel swapped. A Double Synapse Attack traps Zero Robos, Kaita revelling in piloting the King of Braves, debuts an original technique, the Crest Cutter, pulling off the mane parts from StealthGao II and using them as projectiles, Hinoki scolds him for damaging it. Fragments of Zero Robos suddenly engulf GaoGaiGo, and trap Volfogg. Recognising signs of Triple Zero corruption, Big Volfogg uses the Silver Moon to rip off his right leg before the corruption can spread, then uses Chou Bunshin Sappo, blasting the Zero Robos off GaoGaiGo, but sees, as Hana reports high levels of Z0-Similar, everyone can see GaoGaiGo is now a Conqueror Acolyte.

4

The mood is dire in the Big Order Room. The dragon siblings have had their bodies restored. Yamajii reports Conqueror GaoGaiGo disappeared near Tristan da Cunha, Porc-Auto and the Gun Machines unable to find it, with his leg now restored Volfogg plans to join the search. Mamoru is concerned for Valnar, Hinoki and Keita, and feeling responsible for their getting caught up, but Akamatsu insists he bears the blame, Yamajii privately noting his old boss has treated those two as his own kids. Taiga has to insist Akamatsu focus, as they need to work out how to save GaoGaiGo, and the existing plans to counter Conqueror King King J-Der need revising without GaoGaiGo, Keita and Hinoki. Hana suddenly leaves, and Ikumi signals Mamoru to follow, subbing for him.

Hana sits, trying to compose herself, and sends someone a message of her location, when Mamoru interrupts. He’s been aware of her poor health lately thanks to Alouette, and asks her to make their marriage official. Instead on answering though, Hana turns downcast and doesn't answer. Mikoto shows up, telling Mamoru that Akamatsu needs to speak to him. Mikoto, the one Hana had called, starts comforting Hana, and admits to the younger woman how she was always a little jealous that Gai got a little brother in Mamoru, but she didn't get her own little sibling. Hana comprehends, but doesn't relate, as her relationship with Ayame has always been as close as sisters, still, the fact Hana has come to her for advice makes Mikoto happy. Before Hana can explain her worry, worried the mention of baring the seed of the New Machine Species will be traumatic, the conversation is disrupted by an S-Class emergency alarm. The J-Ark and Division Fleet have appeared above Orbit Base, which is now under threat from the Conqueror Silverion Crusher.

5

Conqueror Acolytes Keita and Hinoki, immediately after being corrupted by Triple Zero, with no plan, flew Conqueror GaoGaiGo away, trying to avoid detection. They land at Tristan da Cunha and power down, hoping the Linker Gel will recover enough on its own. Keita descends to Womb Head, only to find Hinoki unconscious. A voice informs him they knocked her out using Flavum. What appears to be a child, talking over LC, appears, and also knocks Keita out. The figure, who had opened the external hatch using Viride, exits again, and then Deus takes an Animus Flower growing off his flesh, despite the fact he is not a human corpse, but a living Somnium. He takes the small Tempus Seed, and throws it on the ground, it takes root, becoming a giant tree. Deus uses Viride again, and manipulates the Super Neuromechanoid like a marionette, manipulating it into the tree, vanishing within. The tree resembles the ES Windows or Socius Road, yet different. GaoGaiGo vanishes, but Deus is interrupted by a figure emerging from the Socius Road, indeed, all 7 appear, now finally witness to his power, Tempus, having suspected their was more to the legendary Somnium and his knowledge of the future. Rather than answer, he invites them to follow, and leaps into the tree. Lamia resolves to see the future for the Somniums Deus intends to lead them to, and follows, the others joins, Sara, exhausted, insists Gajumaru follow rather than stay with her.

This is how GaoGaiGo, rendered into a Conqueror Acolyte, vanished from satellite tracking, and when GGG America’s intelligence Robo investigates all it finds is a bizarre withered tree. Even if they could have know where it had gone, GGG is about to face it’s greatest threat.

6

Orbit Base confirms visual of J-Ark, Tsukuyomi, Takehaya and Hirume. GGG Green's Mobile Unit deploy immediately, but Mamoru, in Kakuseijin V2’s Cereb Head, doesn't immediately obey Akamatsu's orders, hesitant given the circumstances but as Akamatsu insists despite Sakura being in Womb Head, as enough Dual Impulses are generated, there's no choice, as Ikumi is required for a separate task. When Liger questions the decision, it's clear Akamatsu is regretful as a father, but has done what he must as Chief.

Aboard J-Ark, the man in armour acknowledges Gai and Arma have acted, the Cyborg woman recognises Koryu, Anryu and Porc-Auto’s deployment, those closest to them. But Soldato-J and Renais Kerdif Shishioh are still determined to follow the will of Triple Zero, and gripping the Keys to Victory, initiate Mega Fusion, Conqueror King King J-Der is born.

On GGG’s side, Fusion, Symmetrical Docking Sanmittai, System Change and Trinity Docking are initiated, then Gai orders Final Fusion, and for the first time in along time, Mikoto delivers the Program Drive, Hana and Alouette marvelling at the original Operator doing it. Taiga then approved the Goldion Double Hammer, which connects to GaoFighGar after Mikoto’s Safety Relieve. ShoChoRyuJin is leading the other braves, as Gai acts.

The Goldion Crusher will complete in 140 seconds, and there are 26 Conqueror Acolytes aboard Kushinada, the last of the missing GGG Green crew members, preventing use of Disc X, and attempts to hack have naturally failed. Hana, Alouette and Mikoto; Swan and Tamara; Entoji and Yamajii all work in concert. Taiga reassures a stressed Akamatsu, as Hyuma and Urchin, Liger and Yang, Kazuo, Tsuguo and Sueo all work with their counterparts, and Akamatsu regains his composure, and thinks for a moment he sees Sakura on the feed smile.

Formation G is still forming, but Liger notes the absence of the Goldy head, thus there is no control AI, this proves his theory that a body cannot be regenerated by Triple Zero if the spirit exists elsewhere, seen with Goldy now and Leo a decade ago. Without the control AI, the hope is Formation G cannot actually be used, as GaoFighGar charges.

Conqueror King King J-Der's head unit Plug Outs, the flaming aura shaping into a head that fills the empty gap, as the actual head unit docks into the empty space on the Goldion Crusher where Goldy would be, and Tomoro 0117 declares Curser Connect, as the Conqueror King docks. J and Renais grasp hands, and the J-Jewel and G-Stone resonate, the silver light twisting with the orange aura into a single glow, and the most devastating weapon ever seen on earth, the Silverion Crusher, is born.

6 (Cont)

Conqueror GaoGaiGo “falls” along the river of time, it's two occupants mercifully unconscious, as otherwise the visual information would put a heavy strain on them, 7 smaller figures are falling behind them. Rice is astonished by the sight, and the truth it reveals, Deus is not immortal, but has travelled across time to appear in various eras. Rakan is more concerned with how such a rare Animus was acquired, but Deus explains he just happened to be born with it. Lamia is incensed by his neglect of other Animus plants, but Deus mocks the way the other Somniums care for humanity. Lamia finally challenges Deus in the fact he has seen humanity fall to the Dawn Aura. Deus says the first peril will be overcome by the Somniums and the humans, the second, against a flaming raptor, will destroy many of both, and the final one will eliminate the survivors. But he intends to do something about it again. They recognise he has changed humanity's fate before. Months ago he gave Chandi’s ward, Kei, several ideas, leading to GaoGaiGo overcoming the Conqueror Acolytes, he admits to be one of a few who have guided the flow of time for humanity to survive. Hiiragi approves of saving humanity, as Deus explains he is using Conqueror GaoGaiGo to divert history to a new course.

7

2005/04/11, GaoGaiGar has just defeated EI-02, but Shishioh Gai and Amami Mamoru witness a tear in space, the effect of Tempus, and the giant emerging. A fog enveloping the area means the GGG Bay Tower Base have no idea what is happening. Deus leaps off the Conqueror Acolyte, bidding his fellows to fight with the King of Braves. Forte, Ougu, Ahriman, Lume, Pondus, Turbo leap into action, appearing in front of Mamoru and GaoGaiGar. Mamoru, who has already had a bizarre day that started as a field trip to Yumenoshima. Gai has no idea what these new arrivals are, GGG found no trace of them in Galeon's black box. Ougu uses Sanctus, combining six Bettermen into their ultimate form, Betterman Cataphract. Deus intends to see Cataphract and GaoGaiGar defeat the Dawn's Hound, meaning humanity can study it and find a way to overcome it in 2017. Instead of doing as Deus suggests though, Cataphract rounds on GaoGaiGar, using Viride to knock Gai out via his cyborg body, then Flavum to knock out Mamoru and the former host of EI-02. Deus questions their madness, but while they seek to fight the Dawn Aura alongside humanity, they refuse to follow Deus’ plan, recognising his actions do not change history, merely branch it off, they refuse to survive into the new timeline and abandon everyone in 2017. Deus attempts to tempt them with the opportunity to save those who have already died, Pachira, Bodaiju and Seeme, and Hiiragi, Gajumaru and Yewya are briefly moved by the thought of saving their relatives, but they know that nullifying their sacrifice will be but an insult to them. Lamia also recognises that if history diverges they cannot return to that 2017, and this they would be abandoning the world Seeme and co died to protect. Deus considers, then decides to simply change history in another era, leaving them to their fates, and reaches for his Tempus Seeds, but the Ahriman tail has snatched the pouch, so they can leave for the future, Deus will have to wait it out until he grows a new Tempus Seed. Deus now will come for revenge on them, and leaves. Gajumaru expresses thanks to Lamia, as if they had stayed they would have lost Sara. They still cannot leave any trace of their interference in 2005. Gai and Mamoru will need their memories erased, and Lamia decides they will unite their power with humanity, gazing at the two Kings of Braves.

Gai refocuses his vision, wondering where the boy went and what he was. Mamoru had flown away the moment he woke. After this, the two will surmount many ordeals starting in 2005, their greatest coming in 2017.

7 (Still)

The Silverion Crusher represents a massive threat to GGG, Mic, TenRyuJin and SeiRyuJin panic, but ShoChoRyuJin warns them to keep heart and follow the plan. Big Volfogg adds to his words, supported by GekiRyuJin and Big Porc-Auto. In GaoFighGar, Gai is reassured by his allies being with him again, as the Silverion Crusher activates. In the Main Order Room, Alouette reports to Taiga that Formation P needs another 400 seconds. Mikoto takes over managing GGG Green's units so Alouette can focus on Formation P. Mikoto recalls the bond she had had with Alouette when she was 5, lost when she lost her memory, and then the shock when the girl welcomed her back to the Orbit Base, barely recognising this dignified woman as the 15 year old girl. There is no hope of the Silverion Crusher being delayed long enough for long enough for Formation P, but then the Braves attack the 8 GGDs, Mamoru leading with a Double Synapse Attack, ShoChoRyuJin uses a Full Volley, Shuang Tou Long, Dance of Light and Darkness, Sonnenfinsternis, Daikaiten Daima'dan, Daikaiten Ma'rin and a Disc F Wave Riser follow on, successfully destroying the GGDs that emit the Crusher. Tomoro tries to prevent further interference, clashing with Big Volfogg once again. Triple Zero immediately starts recreating the GGDs at J’s roar, but the Braves are committed to continuing to destroy them, resisting the valley of attacks from the Conqueror King. Mamoru checks with Hana on Sakura's condition, but the risk is high that Kakuseijin V2, which onlyn uses Linker Gel, will be rendered inactive long before the GS-Ride reliant Braves are, Mamoru briefly wishes Ikumi was there so they could sustain longer, but knows his role is important.

GekiRyuJin and TenRyuJin are becoming unable to completely destroy their GGDs, but Alouette reports readiness. Akamatsu orders Formation P, and Mizuha, Wadatsumi and Yamatsumi launch from Orbit Base. While the newer Divisions had been developed to supplement Mizuha for Project Z by forming the Division Train, there was another function they had been developed for, planned by Yang and Takanohashi, then improved by Alouette and Liger. The Braves are ordered to break formation, ending the assault on the GGDs, and the Silverion Crusher is fully formed. Mizuha has formed a ring, with Yamatsumi and Wadatsumi filling the centre. The Silverion Crusher energy field becomes like a phoenix, and flies towards Orbit Base, but is met by the Protect Reflexer. Hyuma makes light of the UN Council proving useful, as after the GGG Rebellion, taking both the Division Fleet and the safety keys, the fear of them turning the Goldion Crusher on earth had lingered, even after Mamoru and Ikumi returned, so a method of blocking it, the Protect Reflexer, was created. The Reflexer sends the Firebird back towards Conqueror King King J-Der, or rather the space within the Reflexer is inverted, sending it back even though it moves in a single direction. The full force of the Silverion Crusher strikes the Conqueror King. They don't relax yet, and GaoFighGar, Ikumi aboard, flies towards the struck spot, using the Double Hammer to nullify the shockwaves, and flies right to the centre, and Conqueror King King J-Der, and closes in on it while there is an opening.

7 (cont)

Conqueror King King J-Der was instantly regenerated by Triple Zero from it's becoming light via reflected Silverion Crusher, barely avoiding the fate of Pisa Sol. Most of Tsukuyomi and Hirume were lost, but King J-Der and Takehaya have already regenerated. The Braves watching are astonished, but take solace in the fact it was affected. J and Renais witness GaoFighGar flying in, and using Hammer Hell. J mocks the attempt to save them still, and activates the Plasma Swords, which pierce the Marg Hand and GaoFighGar’s torso, the aura and nails vanish. Mamoru screams in horror from the immobilised Kakuseijin V2. GaoFighGar is dead. J claims his final victory over Gai, his rival since his time as a Zonderian. However, J’s belief is wrong. Hammer Hell was not used with intent to extract J and Renais, and the death of GaoFighGar's eyes is due to a Fusion Out, and now Gai and Ikumi leap off the King of Braves into the bridge.

8

On seeing Gai and Arma within, J and Renais also Fusion Out, recognising the operation has been all for this, bringing an even match of Gai and Ikumi against J and Renais, but claim victory thanks to Triple Zero. J pulls the Radiant Ripper, and Renais two Smython pistols, and Gai matches with the Will Knife. But Gai and Ikumi surprise them by instead starting their purification rituals. They both had to go to for the sake of purification, which is why V2 needed Sakura. However, they had never purified an enemy not in Core form. Ikumi's barrier and Gai’s knife block attacks, but even so, Gai’s ID Armour is being shredded, but they keep on. Deep inside, J wishes for Arma to flee, not seeking to kill, and Renais noting Hair could easily force her to stop. They falter for a moment, as the last word of the ritual is completed. The light of the ritual is visible to Mamoru, who knows they have succeeded. Renais opens her eyes to a young man offering her a hand, who apologises for earlier fighting, and says he'd like her to consider his hand Liger's. Renais rejects that, leading Ikumi to remind her of her last words to him, to treasure his parents, saying she must too. Renais discovers that unlike Gai as a Cyborg, she still has tear ducts. J takes Gai’s hand, and admits his final loss, not in this moment but at the Orange Site by being controlled by Triple Zero, while Gai was not. Gai accepts his words, and then apologises to Arma. While they reunite, Gai has Renais help him get to Takehaya and the other Acolytes there. J looks at the crying Arma and tells him that he isn't a warrior, but something else, a Brave. Ikumi finally welcomed J back.

9

26 Zero Cores are recovered from Takehaya, but then Gai and Renais find a 27th in medbay, Gai has an idea of who it will be. Before he can call Mamoru over, everything shakes. He has Renais evacuate the Zero Core, and rushes into space recognising the sign from Jupiter, the Conqueror King moving on its own.

Ikumi, J, Renais and the Zero Cores are escaping in a lifeboat. Gai returned to GaoFighGar, but it is too damaged to fight, and everyone else has used their power up. Nobody had anticipated Conqueror King King J-Der moving after J and Renais were purified. Sakura in Womb Head mumbles that Cataphract is coming, as it emerges from a Tempus portal behind the Conqueror King. Gai has been unable to use his Evoluder abilities to make it move, so Cataphract appearing is a relief. Further, along with it, everyone in the Main Order Room is surprised to see GaoGaiGo, though as they reconnect Hinoki and Keita are still unconscious. Conqueror King King J-Der suddenly turns it’s attention away from Orbit Base, not at Betterman Cataphract, but the third thing that has come through Tempus. Mamoru and Gai are both shocked to see ther old partner, Galeon appearing. Shaking free from Cataphract, the lion charges to his partner who needs his assistance, and Gai in turn leaps across space from GaoFighGar to him, and uses Fusion.

9 (Cont)

GaiGar forms, and Gai can immediately confirm his suspicion about this Galeon. Akamatsu is confused by Galeon's presence given he was last seen falling in a wormhole, but Mikoto notes this isn't Genesic Galeon, Gai confirming. Hyuma wonders if it is a Replijin, but there is no telltale hypopigmentation, but Gai only knows this is the partner he fought with. Taiga approves Final Fusion at Gai’s request, Mikoto initiates the Program Drive, and and the backup 1st Generation GaoMachines are launched from Orbit Base, and for the first time in 11 years, the original King of Braves is born, the Brave Robos marvel at this sight, and catch the newest King of Braves sent drifting to them by Betterman Cataphract. ShoChoRyuJin retrieves it, but realises there is no trace of Z0-Similar. They cannot know Rakan had purified it before leaving 2005. If it had been possible for it to communicate with the Brave Robos, they might ask them to protect their hope. Mamoru knows he can rely on Gai and Galeon, and so docks Kakuseijin V2 in Orbit Base, and is sent to meet with Ikumi as the lifeboat docks to purify the cores, and then be ready for Keita and Hinoki when GaiGaiGo is brought back, so Mamoru leaves Sakura at Akamatsu's insistence, as they do not know GaoGaiGo and the Head Divers were both purified already. This decision is one Mamoru and Akamatsu will come to regret.

10

Tomoro 0117, still a Conqueror Acolyte, is determined to fight for Cosmic Law. Aboard the lifeboat, J begs for Gai to save his friend. Renais, knowing how difficult it is for J to ask for help, comforts him, and tells him to believe in the Braves.

Conqueror King King J-Der has discarded the remains of Takehaya, and instead prepares to launch all weapons in Orbit Base, the Protect Reflexer needs 302 seconds to start, and the Mobile Units are out of action, all they can rely on is Betterman and GaoGaiGar.

Gai uses his Evoluder abilities to optimize all of GaiGaiGar’s components, updating this Galeon, still missing Black Box data, to be compatible with the software of these 2017 GaoMachines. Unfortunately, as StealthGao II is on GaoGaiGo, the movement in space is hampered with only StealthGao. Lamia appears to promise his strength, and Gai accepts. Cataphract splits apart, then with the use of Sanctus, are now equipped to GaoGaiGar like an armour, Musou GaoGaiGar is born, able to move easily thanks to Pondus.

Unknown to everyone else, Big Volfogg, while damaged, has entered Takehaya to rescue the very last Conqueror Acolyte, Conqueror Piggy.

Tomoro unleashes the simultaneous volley, but everyone aboard Orbit Base remains resolute, and the attack is blocked by Musou GaoGaiGar’s Protect Shade, but the J-Quath breaks through the barrier, but is glanced off the torso Lume's cell layer, and Forte’s arm grabs it, launching it back via Broken Magnum, ripping into the robo, Tomoro resisting by Triple Zero enhanced Generating Armour. Before the Conqueror King can unleash another volley Musou GaoGaiGar has closed the distance via Pondus' gravity and Turbo’s wings, Ahriman stretches out into a Crush Ripper to pummel King J-Der, and creates a crumble point. At Lamia's prompting, Gai uses Hell and Heaven there, combining the right attack and left defence energies, supplemented by Forte in the right and Ougu on the left, and rips into the torso, extracting Tomoro and the Jewel Generator. Conquror King King J-Der is now, separated from its power sources, left to crumble to dust.

The half destroyed purple Robo, floating in space, expresses gladness he can fight with Tomoro 0117 again, and looks down at the core block he has recovered from the final Acolyte.

Ikumi and J are glad to be reunited, the three of them had become a group by coincidence on earth, having lost their original partners when the Red Planet fell. But they can be a trio again, once Tomoro is restored and they will bring J-Ark back eventually. Renais observes The reunion, and is confused briefly by the Robo who comments on her warm look at the reunion, not initially recognising her partner, who had just been a car when she left earth, but is now a full Vehicle Robo able to combine with Gun Machines. She mocks him, but Chasseur’s Lion Reine finally feels home.

On a corner of the deck, a small silhouette approaches Sakura, still in V2’s Womb Head, noting the other Somniums have returned at last. He has waited the last 12 years for Cataphract to come back. He notes Lamia has overcome two of the ideals, but will make sure the third is harder, and so Deus grabs Sakura.

The Bettermen fibrise and fall off from GaoGaiGar, the Somniums floating in empty space. Gai Fusion Outs and meets Lamia face to face. Lamia tells Gai he only helped him to defeat the Conqueror King, Gai senses this is true. Gai already understands this Galeon is from 2005, not the one who disappeared into the wormhole as part of the Conqueror King, but questions how this happened, as Galeon never disappeared, Rice explains they will return it to its proper place, and warns not to let it be destroyed, before the Somniums all vanish via Socius Gate. He doesn't question their saying the battle is ongoing, knowing he must once more face Conqueror King Genesic.