#chapter-wise we're only a third of the way

[lunarleonardo]

Ok, quick question, do you have an idea for how long you want Love Letter to be? Because I genuinely need a vague idea of how long it's going to be until the comfort because IM DYING. I NEED A RESOLUTION, PLEASE. YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE PLANNED OR ANYTHING, JUST AN APPROXIMATE ESTIMATE FOR HOW MANY CHAPTERS THE FIC WILL BE. I don't usually read stuff this gruesome, so I'm like suffering right now because of my own dumbassness because I need a happy ending. I'm slowly dying from the suspense. I eat your content up every time, and like out of the maybe 4 or 5 fics you recently have made on the saiouma tag, I've only recently realized you wrote them all. YOU WERE LITERALLY THE SAME PERSON AND I WAS JUST SHOCKED. (How are they pumping these out left and right?? What type of stuff do they think about to come up with this stuff? How do they stay so serious when writing?)<- genuine thoughts I had a few weeks ago. ANYWAYS, keep up the good work. I'll be waiting in dread until the comfort comes, but I'll still be eating the love letter chapters whenever they come out no matter what. Also, please shuichi do not cannibalize yourself. Please. Do not. That last paragraph in chapter 9 has e so worried.

Hi sorry! I would have answered this much sooner, but I got stuck in an Uno game that lasted for over an hour. BUT I'm finally free (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

I'm expecting Love Letter to be at least 20 chapters or so. There will be two more nighttime segment chapters (Shuichi's pov), and the rest will be the daytime segments with Kokichi and Maki. We're nearing the end of this arc, and after that, the recovery will start. I won't give away too much, but we're drawing ever closer! ^_^ As for an estimate until the recovery chapters... I'd say at least 7 or 8...? Maybe?? I don't have the last few days planned out chapter-wise, so we'll have to see for that one ;o; it's at least over 5

If you can't stomach the gruesome bits, I really don't recommend reading the fic (⁠｡⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠) at least not the nighttime segments. Don't force yourself to read anything that makes you uncomfortable or ill!!

I can answer those three questions!

I have a lot of free time @_@ . Whenever I'm bored, I start writing. I have sooo many ideas and I love to share them! Everyone has been so supportive, and it's given me the confidence to post more and more of my stuff :) I write a lot and I write fast lol

Ever since I was little, I enjoyed the darker parts of fiction. I enjoy whump especially :p so I'm always thinking about different whump tropes and applying them to my favs. I also take a lot of inspiration from music and games-- M5DP was born between my replaying Your Turn To Die and an event that happened in a roleplay between me and my gf. The base idea for Fever Frost was born from the third Wings of Fire book, and reinforced with Kitchen Fork by Jack Conte. Impermanent Attachment happened because I found it funny to give Shuichi a gun, but also mostly because I had a Komahina timeloop fic I wanted to write for ao3 and just never got the confidence to at the time. (If anyone wants me to go more in depth with how I put these fics together, just ask. I have lots of notes o_O) I'm ALWAYS thinking and having ideas ^_^ trust me i would have way more fics up if i came to ao3 with the confidence to post my mer / vampire / dragons fics

? Honestly I'm not sure what this means, sorry QwQ I've been writing since my hands could touch a keyboard. I submitted a Pokémon fanfic for one of my 1st grade creative writing assignments. I take every story as seriously as the writer wants me to, and in the case of my own fics, there are some parts where the tone is serious and some parts where it's just like "wtf is going on". That "two late!" joke in Love Letter wasn't planned at ALL, it only happened because the idea made me giggle ;P

Anyhow, thank you!! Dread is a good emotion to have when it comes to Love Letter updates <3 /j I PROMISE the comfort will come. I cannot physically handle an unhappy ending,, or at the very least a hopeful one xD

As for Shuichi... well. I can't promise anything. O_o

[psychotic4ghost]

Strength Together a story by Psychotic4Ghost

TW: Violence, language, death WC: 1.5k

Masterlist <- Chapter 7 // Chapter 9 ->

Thundering punches rang out in the training room of the base as Ghost landed swing after swing into the poor punching bag that was hanging on for dear life. This was his third punching bag since they came back from the last mission 24 hours ago. 

“Simon.” Price announced as he entered the training room. Ghost gave him no response as he continued to rain down punches. 

“Simon, stop.” Price put his hand against the punching bag, stopping the bag from swinging. Ghost stood up straight, annoyance written all over his eyes. 

“We found her.” Price informed Ghost as soon as he stopped punching. 

“Alive?” Ghost asked, no emotion showing in his eyes.

“We think so. We hacked into their coms from the handheld they left behind. Last we heard she was alive and they don’t have intentions of killing her.” 

“Where?” 

“200 clicks east.”

“I need stealth gear. All of it. I need a map of her location. Send me in Price.” Ghost demanded. 

Price cocked an eyebrow at Ghost, “Is this Simon or Ghost talking?”

“Doesn't matter.” Ghost said matter-of-factly. 

“It does. Because if I send Ghost in, you might be too irrational.” 

“You know I can handle this. Either way.” 

Price sighed, knowing his Lieutenant was correct. He never did like sending the rage fueled Ghost into missions like this. He knew that Ghost often saw red in situations like this one. But he also knew that Ghost would get the job done, even if that meant he took more lives than probably necessary. “Fine. But Gaz is going with you and you're taking a team.” 

“Negative. I'm doing this alone. Have a back up team if you need but I'm going solo. I let her get taken, Price. This is on me. If she dies, it's. On. Me.” Ghost said sternly as he jabbed his own thumb into his chest to better drive his point. 

Price let out another sigh, “fine. But if things go south, you are calling for backup. That's an order.” 

Ghost nodded. He knew Price was right, he knew he was making these decisions with sound mind and as much as Ghost wanted to deny it, he knew he wasn't in his right mind about this whole situation. 

“I'll get you a backup squad now and brief Gaz. I'll have you out in an hour tops, okay?” Price asked as he clasped a hand on Ghost's shoulder. Ghost nodded before turning to the showers without another word. 

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Gaz sat next to Ghost on the heli, asking more questions than Ghost cared for after Price convinced Ghost to take Gaz with him. “What's the plan LT? Go in, guns ablaze? Or stealth?” 

“Did Price not brief you? Stealth. And you're staying behind me. A good distance too.” Ghost spoke into his headphones mic. 

“Cap said to stick with yo-” 

“Don't care.” 

“Ghost, you know what happens when you disobey his orders, last time he didn't let you go on three missions.” Gaz said as he held up three gloves fingers a little too close to Ghost’s face. 

Ghost swatted his fingers away, a scuff leaving him. “I don't care, Kyle. We're getting Ophelia back and I know the best way to do it. Follow my lead or I'll zip tie you to the heli.” 

Gaz thought it best to not press the matter. He's seen Ghost zip tie Soap to the heli and Humvee before and leave him there for hours. 

“Wise choice, sergeant. We go in through the West window. We clear out floor one then two, then three until we get to the fourth level where she is. Keep low, only use your silencer if knives don't work.”

Gaz nodded along with Ghost’s plan. It was a good plan and not the first time they've gone off script. Price was following in a Humvee just behind the heli as he was going to set up a small comms base.

Once at the building, Ghost began to give only hand signals, refusing comms and he had told Gaz to do the same earlier. Only use comms if absolutely necessary. 

They infiltrated the first floor, West side window just as Ghost said they would. The first floor only had two guards, easy take down. The second floor only had a few more. 

“LT, where is everyone?” Gaz asked in a whisper almost too quiet to hear as they finished clearing the third floor. 

In the same volume of whisper, Ghost responded, “Not sure. Keep your head on a swivel, sarg.” Gaz nodded. 

They continued to the fourth floor, unsure of what to expect. It was nearly empty as they snaked their way through. All the lights in the building were off, giving Ghost and Gaz the upper hand in their stealth gear. A single light shown through the darkness, the room that held Ophelia no doubt. 

Ghost advanced, signaling for Gaz to stay put. Gaz was reluctant but stayed put, his hand on his silenced pistol, ready to fire at any moment. Ghost crept forward, his eyes locked on the ajar door where the light illuminated from. 

He could hear Nolan speaking, “You understand Russian no?” He asked, presumably to Ophelia. A soft whimper came in response, a no. “Ah, shame. I figured a beautiful and smart girl as yourself would know more languages. Nevertheless, do you know what your skull faced hero has done to my team? To me?” 

Ophelia muffled a ‘no’ in the form of another whimper. 

“That sick fuck beat my face in. I lost several teeth and he fractured so many bones.” More cries came from Ophelia as she listened to Nolan detail the things Ghost did to him during their last meeting. 

“But you see, I have something they want, something they need; you. Oh and the things I'm going to do to you–  Ophelia whimpered in fear–  oh don't worry, you should find pleasure in what I'm going to do to you.” At that moment Ghost had heard enough, red filled his vision as he slipped into the room, Gaz had already cleared the two guards outside the room and Nolan was dumb enough to leave himself alone in the room with Ophelia. 

Nolan’s bad decision making gave Ghost an opening as he slipped inside and directly behind Nolan. He didn’t hesitate to throw the man to the ground. “F-fuck” Nolan sputtered as he was pulled back.

Ghost swung a leg over Nolan, straddling him as he began raining his fists into Nolan’s already bruised face. A muffled yelp came from Ophelia as she watched the skull faced man beat into the now helpless Russian. 

“Ghost! Stop!” Gaz shouted as he entered the room. He immediately made way to Ophelia, untying and ungagging her.

“Ghost, please! Stop!” Ophelia shouted now that her mouth was free of rags. 

“Lieutenant!” Gaz attempted to reach for Ghost’s arm but he flung Gaz away with a single shove of his shoulder. 

“Simon!” Ophelia's soft but loud voice rang in Ghost's ears as he felt a small, frail hand take place on his bicep. Just before he was to shove her away, he realized who it was that had a light grip on him. 

“Simon, stop. Please. He's dead. Please.” Ophelia's eyes had glossed over with tears. Her cheeks were rosie and tear stained from her crying before Gaz had untied her. 

Ghost looked her in the eyes, seeing the fear as she looked at his skull covered face. Blood splattered all over his mask, making him seem scarier than before. 

“LT, we shouldn't stick around.” Gaz said as he checked for a pulse on Nolan’s beaten corpse. Shaking his head to show he found no pulse, he grabbed Ophelia's hand, helping her to her feet. “I'll let Price know to pull us out.” He informed though neither Ophelia or Ghost fully registered what he said. 

The two held each other's gaze for what felt like hours. Ghost wasn't sure what was happening as he stared into her eyes. Relief washed over him to see her free of the bindings but new emotions swirled within him, ones he didn't know how to process. 

Price's words pulled the two out of their small staring contest, “Ghost, Ophelia, let's go. Before his reinforcements arrive.” Price had an iron grip on Ghost's bicep, pulling him to his feet and Gaz helped Ophelia up. 

“Can you walk?” Gaz asked their damsel in distress. 

“Y-yeah. He didn't really hurt me.” Ophelia answered, taking Gaz’s hand to stand. 

“We’ll still have a nurse check you out once we get back. Both of you.” Price informed as the two were escorted out of the building and into a chopper. 

The ride was quiet as Ophelia sat nearly touching Ghost, who didn't protest to her closeness. Gaz and Price took notice but kept to themselves, letting the emotions bubble between the doctor and lieutenant. 

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

<- Chapter 7 // Chapter 9 -> Story Masterlist // Main Masterlist

AN: Sorry these last two chapters were so short. The way I have my layout done, it just made sense and another apology for taking such a long break. I've been having boy drama.

[overlyimmersed]

Yeah ok.

So I actually wasn't ever planning on doing a wing analysis for Lancelot since they're not...real... Like they're not a normal part of his body, he only has wings when he wants to and since it's a transformation he gets to choose what they look like... But it turns out his choice might be for a reason so let's go.

But first, as always, links to the other wing analyses; Harlequin Helbram (add 1) Gloxinia (additional) Dahlia Elaine General (add 1) (add 2)

Lancelot has a very standard wing type. They're like the third most common wing structure, the second most common vein configuration and the actual most common color. That being; a standard two set(upper and lower), a large/small cell vein config, and being more or less colorless, or white since Fairy wings are never as transparent as colorless insect wings.

They are consistent between his model in Grudge of Edinburgh and the Four Knights of the Apocalypse manga. So there's that anyway.

So they're consistent and they're very uninteresting. And, as I prefaced, that's on purpose which is the only reason I'm making this post.

Why did Lancelot choose these wings? Because there is one abnormality in Lance's choice. They're small.

It's been established that wing size corresponds to magical power in Fairies. And while we're still figuring out what all Lancelot can do, it's clear that he is very powerful. So why are his wings so small? That comes down to his personality and the place he's fit himself into in the world he lives in.

Lancelot is an assassin.

He spent the first 48 chapters disguised as a nearly powerless little red fox, doing everything in his -considerable- power to appear harmless, if not helpless. Working very much behind the scenes and very much under cover to keep Percival and his group alive till they got to Liones, without interfering with Percy's own growth and decision making.

He went out of his way to be unassuming and perceived as weak and inconsequential. A fine edge for an assassin to have, being able to totally and completely catch your target off guard like that. This can be further reinforced by his first Fairy appearance in the manga. The first time he appears as a Fairy, he actually chose this form

Which is...uh...yikes... But it was very deliberate. So much so that he actually explains, so I'm not even extrapolating.

(Tumblr did not like me putting these images next to each other no matter what :p)

The analysis for that set of wings can be summed up as "literally the most common wings in the Fairy Clan, literally". And also unimpressive size-wise.

And Lance pretty well straight-up tells Malascula, and by extension us, that he chose that form to throw her off.

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 228 Review: Horse-Trading

Introduction

HUZZAH! The Psychic Sisters Arc is over at last! It started well, it ended well, but there's only so long I can give a shit about Tatsumaki throwing a tantrum and throwing Saitama through things.

Story

Eh, let's make it short and sweet. The chapter deals with the immediate aftermath of Tatsumaki's tantrum through to the next day or two as the fallout looks set to begin in earnest. Along the way, a few sharp deals are struck.

Meta: Ho ho ho

Blackmailers Anonymous

Something I was very glad to see changed for the Blizzard Group in this arc was them being largely hapless. Earlier, we saw Eyelashes, Mountain Ape, Lily, and a few others valiantly try fighting to prevent Apollo from leaving with Fubuki and Tatsumaki. Amidst the air of general discouragement, Eyelashes leads the surviving group to follow Fubuki with purpose, and they don't back down even faced with Tatsumaki. This chapter, we see yet another Blizzard Group member, an as-yet unnamed guy with a distinctive mohawk, show another talent: hacking. Neither he nor Fubuki are slow on the uptake as to what

Thanks to a little negotiating, Fubuki is able to persuade McCoy to concoct a monster attack to explain away the damage to the Hero Association building, Tatsumaki obliges by scattering the monster parts outside -- and coincidentally smuggles Psykos out in the process.

Tatsumaki brazenly insists on being the one to apprehend the escaped Psykos, leveraging her knowledge that the executives didn't want their cover up blown.

However...

If McCoy is smiling, that's because as far as he's concerned, what Tatsumaki and Fubuki have been up to are amateur hours in the damaging information game. He's happy for them to run their hustle for now.

If the Psychic sisters were more astute, they'd be worrying about the operations chief being more amused than annoyed, but they're amateurs.

Speaking of amateurs, let's spare a moment to look at Gearsper. Lots of people have been giving him the side eye for insisting that Tsukoyomi couldn't possibly be real. We do think the gentleman protests too strenously, but what his angle is remains to be seen.

Enlightented Self-Interest Is Next To Altruism

It's official -- I am never getting over how bottle-blonde baby Forte is. No wonder he goes around with hat and sunglasses: he looks too young to be out unsupervised.

He wisely apologises to Saitama and tells the others that it's in their best interests to ensure that they stay on Saitama's good side. Oh, and feed his pets already. Good -- that's the third day of no food, water, or shelter that Rover and Black Sperm were looking forward to.

That said, there is a very strange translation choice in what Forte says, at least as translated by the fan group. Google Translate and individuals insist that what Forte offers to Saitama (other than his old clothes) is a visit to a restaurant that does delicious food and Saitama crying off sick. It has been translated as Forte offering to go clothes shopping with Saitama and Saitama being creeped out.

I'm waiting for Viz to translate, and if it doesn't agree, believe me, I'm asking questions.

Also acting with enlightened self-interest is Saitama, who asks Genos not to report Tatsumaki on the basis that she deserves her time in the limelight. Of course, we're aware that behind his apparent generosity of spirit is the awareness that shared credit means shared blame.

And a billion yen's worth of blame is really too much for one poor-ass hero.

The Chickenheads Come Home to Roost

Despite everything, the good ship Titanic (um, I mean the Hero Association) seems to have weathered the storm. The public, and their rich donors, are back onside having been reassured that the disturbance was just terrible monsters and all is well.

Well.

With that terrible security of the Hero Association's, it's not been hard for Child Emperor to find out the truth of what was actually going on. To say that he's not impressed is an understatement. All is forgiven, Phoenixman!

The only questions are: 1) How far has he dug? 2) How much damage will he cause?

Speaking of callbacks, remember way back when an inoffensive monster pangolin was systematically skinned alive for its scales until it bloomed into a highly-dangerous demon-level monster? Metal Knight looked cynically on the whole affair.

It looks like selling monsters on the black market is much more widespread than we initially thought. Fubuki having evidence of McCoy personally looking to enrich himself was very unedifying. And he's not the only one. However, that's not the worst of it.

Never mind the personal profit motive -- if they're lucky, the monsters are just going to wealthy individuals keen to have the most exotic pets ever.

If they're unlucky, there's outfits who have plans to use monsters to make weapons. I don't need the webcomic to point that out:

Maybe Drive Knight is ethical and above board (cynical laugh), but some of the outfits developing those weapons could be intending to use them against the Hero Association.

[sunflowerabyss]

The Phoenix Rises: Chapter 4

Pairing: Older!Remus Lupin x Professor!Fem!Reader

Series Masterlist

Plot Summary: Starting your third year at Hogwarts as the Charms professor proves to be difficult without having Remus by your side as you face new and irritating challenges at work, as well as joining a secret society.

____________________________________________________

The night before the official first day back at Hogwarts was filled with anticipation as students bustled into the Great Hall. Familiar faces mixed with new ones, and you couldn't help but smile as you thought back to your own days at Hogwarts, the countless memories created within these enchanted walls.

Your mind drifted to Remus, the image of him with his nose buried in a book, his hair falling over his eyes. A fond smile played on your lips as you remembered the day you offered him a barrette. His attempts to push his hair back were futile, but with a gentle touch, you slid the barrette in place, keeping his hair off to the side. He wore it ever since, a subtle reminder of your connection.

The chair beside you scraped against the floor, bringing you back to the present as Snape settled down. You offered a warm smile and a cheerful "Good evening," to which he responded with a gruff nod. Your relationship with Snape had improved over the past year, although it remained somewhat rocky. Still, the progress was something to be grateful for.

Your attention shifted as Dolores Umbridge waddled her way to the end of the table, her posture impeccable and hands neatly clasped in front of her. You rolled your eyes at the sight. The Sorting Ceremony began, and you clapped respectfully as each student was sorted into their respective houses. Dumbledore then commenced the welcoming feast, expressing his joy at seeing everyone again.

Introducing the new professors, Dumbledore announced Umbridge as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, sent by the Ministry. He encouraged the students to give her a warm welcome, but the applause was awkward and scattered.

Umbridge interrupted Dumbledore with a pointed "hem hem" before rising from her seat. You exchanged an incredulous glance with Snape, who shook his head before taking a sip from his goblet.

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. And how lovely to see all your bright happy faces smiling up at me," she began. You looked around the Great Hall to see not one student smiling. You snickered lightly, causing Snape to jab his elbow into your ribs, giving you a pointed look. "I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends," Dolores added, and you couldn't help but mutter under your breath, "That's likely." Snape looked sharply at you again. You smile sheepishly.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards of vital importance," she continued, earning only soft applause. "Although each Headmaster has brought something new to this historic school…" She nodded at Dumbledore. "Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited."

You snorted at her grandiloquence. Dumbledore, ever the diplomat, thanked Professor Umbridge for her enlightening words. She took her seat, looking smug, and it wasn't long before Dumbledore called for the feast to begin.

You loaded your plate with various dishes before turning to Snape. "What are your thoughts on her?" you asked quietly.

Snape, his expression darkening, drawled with his typical sardonic tone, "I despise her. But, for the sake of survival, it might be wise to stay on her good side. After all, she comes with the illustrious endorsement of the Ministry."

You nodded, realizing that Umbridge must be truly problematic if both Snape and McGonagall warned you to tread lightly around her. The two of you fell into small talk, discussing the summer and catching up on the events that had transpired during the break. Despite Snape's short and curt responses, the conversation felt surprisingly pleasant.

After dinner was over, Dumbledore released the students but reminded the staff to stay behind. As the students filed out of the Great Hall, a sense of dread settled in the pit of your stomach. Once the hall was cleared, Dolores wasted no time in calling out names, leading them just outside of the hall's doors. You tried to remain composed, knowing that soon it would be your turn to face Dolores Umbridge's scrutiny. As the other professors walked out of the Great Hall one by one, you waited patiently for your cue.

Finally, it was your turn--the last one. You walked over to Dolores, who sat with an air of authority. She wasted no time and delved into probing questions, her quill scratching on the parchment as she scrutinized your responses. "And your teaching methods, dear, are they effective? Any particular techniques you find yield better results?" she inquired with an unsettling sweetness.

"Well, I believe in a hands-on approach," you replied, carefully choosing your words. "Interactive spells, practical applications—students seem to grasp the concepts more readily when they're actively engaged."

Her scrutinizing gaze lingered on you. "Hmm, well, I suppose it might work for some. But we must always be mindful of Ministry guidelines, mustn't we?" she said, her smile never quite reaching her eyes.

"Yes..." you begin hesitantly, "Indeed."

"So, about that ex-colleague of yours, Remus Lu—"

Dumbledore's interruption provided a temporary reprieve. "It is rather late, Dolores, and everyone needs their rest. Perhaps we can continue this discussion another time," he suggested, his eyes twinkling with a knowing glint.

Umbridge, begrudgingly, agreed with an exaggerated nod. "Of course, Headmaster. Wouldn't want to keep anyone up past their bedtime," she spit out, her tone dripping with a forced civility.

As she reluctantly left, you bid her a goodnight, receiving no response, her kitten heels clicking against the stone floor. You couldn't help but feel a mix of relief and discomfort. Turning to Dumbledore, you expressed your gratitude.

Dumbledore turned to you with an apologetic smile. "I appreciate your patience, my dear. Dolores can be quite… thorough. How did you find the meeting?"

You offered a diplomatic smile, concealing the unease within. "It was enlightening, Headmaster. Always good to ensure we're aligned with the Ministry's standards."

He patted your shoulder gently and hummed. "Indeed. Now tell me, has Remus spoken to you yet?"

You look at him confused. "No, he hasn't. I haven't had the chance to see him in person since being at Hogwarts. I did write to him, but unfortunately, no response as of yet. I should see him next weekend."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with understanding, and he gave a simple nod. "Very well then. Now, off to bed. We have a long day ahead."

"Thank you, Headmaster. Goodnight," you replied, slightly puzzled by his interest in your communication with Remus.

Walking back to your room, you couldn't help but mull over Dumbledore's question. Why was he so curious about Remus reaching out? The corridors echoed with the clicking of your footsteps as you pondered the mystery, but with a shrug, you decided to let it go for the night. Perhaps there were more pressing matters on Dumbledore's mind, and you reassured yourself that you would find out in due time. With that, you entered your room.

You kicked off your heels, heading to the shower. After freshening up and changing into your pajamas, you noticed a letter on the kitchen table with Remus's owl perched beside it. Impeccable timing, babe.

You petted the owl and eagerly read the contents of the letter.

My Dearest Y/N,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I find myself sitting alone at night, longing for your presence. I miss you like crazy, more than words can aptly express.

First and foremost, I owe you an apology. I am sorry for the silence, for not reaching out sooner. I know I could have written shortly after your departure; however, I knew how extremely busy you had been and did not want to cause a distraction.

Your dedication to your work has never ceased to amaze me. You are, without a doubt, one of the hardest workers I know. I am immensely proud of all that you have accomplished, and your achievements do not go unnoticed. Your passion and commitment shine through, and I couldn't be prouder to have you by my side.

In your absence, I've been spending time with Sirius, and while his company is enjoyable, it is not the same without you here. Your absence is felt deeply, and I eagerly await the day when you'll grace me with your presence once more.

The prospect of seeing you next weekend fills my heart with anticipation. The days can't pass quickly enough, and I find myself counting down the hours until we are reunited. There's an undeniable joy that comes with the thought of being with you.

Now, my love, there are matters of urgency that weigh on my mind. Matters that I would rather discuss in person than through the limitations of a letter. I assure you; it is not a cause for worry, but rather a conversation that requires the depth and sincerity that only a face-to-face exchange can provide.

In the meantime, know that you are always in my thoughts, and my love for you grows with each passing day. Until we meet again, I remain faithfully yours.

Yours in eternal affection,

Remus

You smile at Remus's signature cheesiness before putting the letter down and begin composing your own response. You attached it to the owl and gave the creature a treat before watching it soar into the night.

Climbing into bed, your mind swirled with thoughts about what Remus had to talk to you about. The "what ifs" danced around your consciousness, but you pushed them aside, reasoning that it was best not to worry until you saw him, and he could explain himself. With that decision, you let the concerns fade away, and sleep claimed you.

[jebewonmorelike]

✰⋆⁺ Steal Your Heart ⁺⋆✰

*ੈ Part Two: The Chariot ♡ Kim Gyuvin

♡ Steal Your Heart Masterlist

♡ Read this Introductory Post and the Masterlist for details!

♡ Read Part One Here! Read Part Three (Jiwoong) Here!

˚☽˚｡⋆ Steal Your Heart: An Interactive Fanfiction Game

... Collect Points to Determine Your Love Interest and Special Ending!!

⁺⋆✰ wc: 5k (ik this chapter is long, but it's really good. literally, i promise. you won't regret reading. i'd cut it down but... i don't want to!!!!)

⁺⋆✰ reader-insert pronouns: none used; n/a -- reader is the 10th member of AU ZB1, but the group is referred to only as an "idol" group. no mentions or descriptions of gender of reader.

⁺⋆✰ chapter warnings: crime (reader was wrongfully convicted of a crime), swearing, mild violence, mentions of drinking and dui, angst... and a step further into a really fun adventure! all ages welcome; pg-13+ themes.

⁺⋆✰ summary: for series summary click here. after (y/n) stumbles upon a metaverse where they gain special powers and learn the truth about the secret that caused zb1's downfall, they regain the ability to speak. how will their best friend kim gyuvin react? and what will happen if he visits the metaverse, too? AU based on the jrpg persona 5.

⁺⋆✰ please download the scoresheet for the game here!

・゜゜ . . * ✧･ﾟ・ ✧･ﾟ: ・゜゜・．

Welcome back, Player! Get your scoresheet ready-- we're about to embark on the second part of our game. Are you ready to see how your Chapter Choice from Part One plays out? Remember to tally your points! Let's jump right into it then and check up with our best friend Gyuvin...

Wham.

The front door slams shut behind Gyuvin as he steps out into the fresh morning air. He sighs heavily, your angry words ringing in his ears.

His best friend could be so infuriating sometimes. What were you so afraid of? You’d already lost everything. Wouldn’t finally getting some media coverage of your company’s wrongdoings make things better for you?

Then again, it was mostly your story. He and the other members were unfortunately just collateral damage. If you were uncomfortable with your story being told, then maybe (in theory), he should respect that.

But your track record of being a stubborn pain in the ass points him in the opposite direction once more. He was going to help you whether you liked it or not… 

And he’d be remiss not to realize that helping you would help him and the others, too.

Gyuvin kicks the gravel on the pavement as he walks towards the side street beside the dorm building. Another sigh escapes him when he sees the space where his car is usually parked is empty; only just now remembering he brought it in for maintenance yesterday. He checks his phone for the time: he has his first appointment of the day with a reporter from SBS in an hour.

“Oh, come on,” he huffs as the car to his right beeps suddenly.

Hanbin waves at him as he walks to the driver’s side of his car. Gyuvin’s eyes widen as a plan forms in his head.

“Hanbin hyung! Wait up,” Gyuvin calls, much to the surprise of the older boy. “Could you give me a ride?”

“Oh, Binnie— I’m running late as it is,” Hanbin excuses politely, hopping into the driver’s seat.

Gyuvin’s not ready to give up just yet. He runs up to the passenger side, signaling for Hanbin to roll down the window. Reluctantly, he does.

“Could I just come with you then? I can walk the rest of the way,” Gyuvin pleads.

Hanbin caves, unlocking the door for him. Gyuvin scrambles inside, fastening his seatbelt happily. “You’re going to SBS first, right? You’re gonna walk all the way there from my studio?”

Gyuvin grins mischievously as he looks down at his keyring. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“Thank you, Gyuvin-sshi, but…” The reporter says, biting her lip uncomfortably. “We just don’t think it’s wise to crack open a story without substantial evidence.”

It’s the third no he’s gotten today. The 207th overall. 

“Without substantial evidence?” Gyuvin asks, shaking his head. “There’s video footage of management mistreatment! You looked at the flashdrives, right? You saw—.”

“We saw nothing that can’t be classified as the current industry standard,” the older reporter beside her interrupts. He runs his hand through his thinning hair and readjusts his glasses on his nose. “It’s disheartening to see the struggle you kids face in order to debut, but many would say that it's just the price you pay for success. And besides, none of this could ever be used to negate (Y/N)-sshi’s conviction.”

Gyuvin gulps, a lump forming in his throat. He always put on such a tough front at these meetings, but the truth is that they take an emotional toll on him. How could everyone see these things and say to his face that it's just the way things were meant to be? How could they not care about what happened to you?

Sure, maybe Gyuvin doesn’t know what really happened that night— hell, you don’t even know! But what he does know is you. And he knows that you would never make such a terrible decision.

The older reporter leans in with a sigh, a concerned look on his face. “Listen, young man. It must’ve been… hard. All of this happening to you and your friends. It must be very difficult to reckon with. But don’t you think your time would be better spent finding a way to move on instead of obsessing over the past?”

There’s that word again. Is that what Gyuvin was doing? Obsessing over the past? Obsessing over helping you?

It seemed on the outside that every one of Gyuvin’s group members had moved on in their own ways— including you. You’d already fulfilled almost a year of probation and your complaints had become fewer and farther between. 

Is it true that Gyuvin is… stuck?

Gyuvin stands up from his chair, bowing to the two reporters dejectedly as he gathers his things. “Thank you for your time,” he says quietly as he walks toward the door.

“Take care, Kim Gyubin-sshi,” the younger reporter calls as Gyuvin exits the office; a gloomy storm cloud, floating through the KBS building and into the parking garage. 

He pulls out his key ring and presses twice on the unlock button-- walking towards the flashing lights coming from the far right corner. Opening the car door, he climbs inside and throws his phone down on the passenger seat in frustration. 

Maybe that reporter is right, Gyuvin thinks with a sigh. Can I really keep putting myself through this? 

He turns the key into the ignition and buckles his seatbelt, sifting through the center console compartment to find his sunglasses when he hears a buzz from the passenger seat. Picking up his phone, he finds a message from Ricky.

“Idiot,” Gyuvin mutters to himself. In Gyuvin’s eyes, you had enough to deal with. Sometimes the other members could be so needlessly cruel to you. None of this was your fault. How hard could it really be to just believe (Y/N)?

Gyuvin frowns, suddenly feeling like he might be forgetting something. (Y/N)...

“(Y/N)!!” Gyuvin shouts, throwing his phone back down and shifting the gear as he steps on the gas pedal. He glances at the time on the car display, hitting the steering wheel with frustration as he finds he’s a little more than a few minutes behind schedule. 

“Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t...” He curses, weaving his way out of the parking garage and through the bustling streets of Seoul. Your bus back to the police station would arrive no later than 5:30 P.M. and, if Gyuvin wanted to beat you there (and he desperately did), he’d have to speed the whole way.

At 5:28 P.M, Gyuvin pulls up to the police station-- honking his horn in anger as the car in front of him backs into the last spot. “Oh, come on!”

It takes him another ten minutes to find a parking spot on the street and he knows there’s no way in hell he can gaslight you into thinking you parked your car five blocks away from where it was when Gyuvin “borrowed” it this morning. 

He gets out of your car, accepting his fate as he walks in the direction of the police station. Not only was he going to look like such a douche for taking your car without asking after your fight this morning, but he was also definitely going to get an earful for making you think your car was stolen. 

Gyuvin’s still three blocks away from the police station when he suddenly spots you-- bright orange vest and all, staring up at the Total Control Music building. His heart sinks. You’d probably wandered around looking for your car and ended up face-to-face with the company building in a casually cruel twist of fate.

He tries his best to blend in with other passersby as he approaches the building, not wanting to be responsible for causing a PR scene today. He’s almost right behind you, reaching out to touch your shoulder when he hears a voice seemingly come from where you’re standing.

“Holy sh*t,” it says. 

Gyuvin exhales in shock. No f*cking way. Was that your voice? Despite the fact he hasn’t heard it in ages, he recognizes it almost instantly.

“Holy sh*t,” Gyuvin echoes. You whip around to face him; eyes meeting his instantly. Maybe he’s mistaken, but he swears he sees a bit of panic in them.

“Did you just... speak?”

Okay, Player! Let's find out how your Part One Chapter Choice plays out... To refresh your memory, Choice 1 was to Lie to Gyuvin while Choice 2 was to Tell Gyuvin the Truth.

⁺⋆✰ If You Chose “LIE TO GYUVIN”:

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, you think as Gyuvin stares at you with those wide, angel eyes. How could you possibly tell him what just “happened”? He’d wheel you off to the looney bin once and for all. Gyuvin had always believed you, but this? This was asking too much.

Besides, you aren’t even sure what just happened. It was most likely some weird hallucination brought on by sun stroke or dehydration. Ugh, Hanbin had even reminded you to drink water this morning. 

But if it was a hallucination, how did I get my voice back? Was it just a fluke? You shut the thought down as soon as it arises. There was a reasonable explanation for this-- you just needed time to figure it out.

You bite your lip and decisively shake your head at Gyuvin. You hold your phone up instead and point at it; effectively telling him that it was your AI screenreader that spoke rather than you.

Gyuvin blinks back at you-- his lip trembling slightly. “I know what your phone’s voice sounds like, (Y/N). It wasn’t that. It was you. I know it was you.”

The jig was up before it began, but you continue to persist anyway. You type into your phone and the screenreader vocalizes for you, “It was a video of me... Talking. It was playing on my phone. That’s what I meant.”

“(Y/N),” Gyuvin says sadly. You’re on the verge of really hurting him this time. You’ve never lied to Gyuvin before-- not intentionally. You’ve gone too far already and it’s written all over his face. He turns around, taking a few steps away from you.

“Bin-ah.”

He freezes; eerily still at the sound of your voice.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize, tucking your lip between your teeth in shame. “I just--... Something happened just now while I was walking around trying to find my car and I have no idea how to explain it. I thought maybe you would think I was crazy.”

Gyuvin turns around, running to you and enveloping you in a giant hug. His arms squeeze you so tight, you’re afraid you’re losing oxygen. It feels nice.

“I already think you’re crazy,” Gyuvin says into the top of your head. “Don’t ever feel like you need to lie to me, okay? We’re in this together, right? And do you really think I couldn’t recognize your voice anywhere?”

You pull back and shake your head up at him as he gently scolds you, feeling the need to ease the lingering tension and guilt. “I can’t believe I get to call you a loser again.”

“I’ve missed hearing that so desperately,” he concurs with a roll of his eyes. “But maybe you should rethink calling me a loser, since you basically have me to thank for all this. If I hadn’t stolen your car this morning, you never would’ve had to walk around looking for it.”

“YOU DID WHAT!?” You shout, causing a couple of the girls in front of Total Control to look your way. Gyuvin gulps, grabbing your hand and starting to pull you down the street in the direction that he came.

“I’m sorry, I just forgot my car was in the shop and I remembered you gave me an extra key to your car in case of an emergency and...” Gyuvin rambles before pausing with a frown. “Okay, does this really matter now in the scheme of things?”

“Yes,” you answer dryly. “It does.”

Gyuvin nods, looking down at his shoes. “Well I’ll just have to make it up to you then. In the meantime, um... What did happen just now?”

You squeeze his hand, pulling him faster down the sidewalk. “I’ll tell you in the car.”

Your bond with Gyuvin has grown stronger. +0 Gyuvin Points.

・゜゜ . . * ✧･ﾟ・ ✧･ﾟ: ・゜゜・．

⁺⋆✰ If You Chose “TELL GYUVIN THE TRUTH”:

You gulp. Gyuvin had always believed you, even when nobody else would. What makes you think anything would be different this time? No, you were sure of it. Telling him the whole truth and nothing but the truth is the right choice to make.

You take a deep breath and then: 

“YouwillneverbelievewhatjusthappenedtherewasthisthingonmyphoneanditsaidIwasleavingtherealworldandthenacastlethisGIANTcastleappearedintheplaceofthecompanybuildingandIthoughtIwashallucinatingordyingsoIwentinsideandinsidethereweretheseportraitsofallofusonthewallsandtheseshadowfigurescapturedmeandthenPresidentKimcameoutdressedasakingandhetoldmeheframedmeforthecrimethatnightandthenmyfacebasicallyexplodedandIgotsuperpowersandmyvoicecamebackandthenIranawayandcamebacktotherealworldandnowI’mhere.”

Gyuvin stares at you; unblinking. After a few moments, he wraps his arms tightly around you in a hug. You were right. Of course Gyuvin still believed you.

He tightens the embrace; more and more until you’re suddenly very suspicious of what’s going on. Then, you’re in the air-- kicking your feet as Gyuvin lifts you up and begins to carry you down the street.

“Gyubin-ah! Put me down,” you complain from over your very tall friend’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He asks rhetorically, pulling out his keyring from his back pocket and hitting the unlock button on what you recognize to be your car keys. “Taking you to the hospital. You clearly hit your head or have sun poisoning or something.”

“Fine,” you huff furiously as he sets you back down on the ground. “As long as we stop back at the police station beforehand. I need to report a crime.”

Gyuvin takes your face in his hands worriedly; squishing up your cheeks as he examines every inch of it. “Why? Did someone hurt you? Huh? Is that why you’re acting like this?”

Through your squished up face, you manage to answer, “I need to turn in the culprit for my missing vehicle.”

His huge hand lets go of your cheeks; a glare immediately hardening your face as you stare at your spare key in his hand. Gyuvin follows your line of sight before shoving his keyring back in his pocket quickly. “Aw, come on now. You... you have no proof it was me!”

“How did you know it was missing then?” You ask with a smirk.

Gyuvin’s eyes widen; knowing he’s been caught. He smiles at you sheepishly. “That’s--... That’s hardly the most important thing right now, (Y/N). I mean, you got your voice back! This is...”

His brow furrows now; his smile becoming complex and genuine. “This is amazing,” he announces. With a laugh, he adds, “Even if you had to go completely bonkers to get it back. I still love you.”

Gyuvin blushes a bit when he realizes what he said. You were never too verbally affectionate with each other, but this was a very special circumstance. You’d let it slide this one time.

“I love you, too, loser,” you respond, pulling out your keys from your pocket and continuing down the sidewalk. “But just to be clear, I’m driving. And you are on thin ice.”

Your bond with Gyuvin has grown stronger. +1 Gyuvin Point. Please add +1 Gyuvin Point to your scoresheet.

All Continue Reading Below

The dinner table is quiet. It usually is when Hanbin’s not there to dote on all of you. Taerae slurps up the last of the glass noodles from his bowl of japchae happily.

Gyuvin shovels more meat into his mouth as something dawns on him. “Hey (Y/N), why did you decide to make japchae?”

You sigh despondently into your bowl. You and Gyuvin had decided not to tell anyone else just yet about the return of your voice. Instead, you pick up your phone and type; your trusty screenreader vocalizing, “Taerae said Ricky texted him to tell me he would come home for dinner if I made it.”

Gyuvin glares at Taerae. “Oh, did he now?”

Taerae clears his throat awkwardly before standing up and rushing his bowl to the sink. “Thanks for dinner, (Y/N)! It was actually really good. I’ve gotta head to work now!”

“You better f*cking run,” Gyuvin growls as Taerae runs out of the kitchen and through the front door.

“Something you’d like to tell me?” You ask, scooping the leftover japchae into two bowls. 

Gyuvin sighs. “I’m sorry. With everything going on, I forgot to mention that Ricky texted me to participate in his assh*lery. I guess Taerae got the same message.”

“It’s fine,” you shrug. “Honestly, we have way bigger things to worry about now.”

“Yeah,” Gyuvin agrees, but you can hear a bit of uncertainty in his voice. After you’d explained everything that happened on your drive home, your best friend had been unusually silent. It didn’t bother you much, though: you knew it was gonna be insanely hard to digest from the start. You’re pretty sure the only reason you’ve been dealing with it as well as you have is that you’ve convinced yourself you’re still just stuck in a dream.

You’d wake up soon. Wouldn’t you?

“Should I deliver one of these?” Gyuvin asks, pointing to the two bowls of japchae. 

You nod gratefully. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’ve got…”

Mini-Decision: Deliver your bowl to Yujin or Gunwook?

If you chose Yujin, read below:

“I’ve got Yujinnie,” you announce; running off to the youngest’s bedroom. You knock on the door to no response and jiggle the handle to find it locked. You can hear the furious scribbling of a pencil and the gentle humming of a focused student. It makes you smile knowing that your maknae was trying to make something of himself one way or another. Maybe one day you’d go back to university, too.

You know Yujin is busy studying for his last couple days of university exams, so you leave the bowl of japchae on the floor outside his door. Pulling out your phone, you message:

Your bond with Yujin has grown stronger. +1 Yujin Point. Please add +1 Yujin Point to your scoresheet.

・゜゜ . . * ✧･ﾟ・ ✧･ﾟ: ・゜゜・．

If you picked Gunwook, read below:

“I’ve got Gunwookie,” you announce, running off to the bedroom that belongs to your reclusive friend. You knock on the door to no response and jiggle the handle to find it locked. The colored LED lights flashing through the gap under the door and clicking sounds of a mouse and keyboard are the only signs of human life.

You know the chances of Gunwook opening the door for you aren’t slim to none... They’re none to none. But if you could get your voice back, then maybe Gunwook coming out of his room again would be possible one day, too. You place the bowl of japchae on the floor outside his door. Pulling out your phone, you message:

Your bond with Gunwook has grown stronger. +1 Gunwook Point. Please add +1 Gunwook Point to your scoresheet.

・゜゜ . . * ✧･ﾟ・ ✧･ﾟ: ・゜゜・．

All Continue Reading Below

“So…” Gyuvin exhales as you both stare up at the Total Control Music building. The rest of the members had been in meetings at the company all day and Gyuvin had messaged you to meet him after you got out of probation duty. “This is where the… castle… is?”

You sigh, looking down at the sidewalk dejectedly. “I know it sounds insane.”

Gyuvin taps your arm with his elbow. “Hey, don’t do that. We’re gonna figure this out! You said you there was some weird app on your phone, right?”

Your eyebrows raise at this reminder. “Yeah! Oh my god, I totally forgot about that,” you reply, pulling your phone out of your back pocket and swiping until your eyes land on the red-colored app with an eye at the center. 

Gyuvin takes your phone from your hand; examining the app. “MetaNav? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think it called the place I was in… the Metaverse,” you say with a frown. “Maybe the app emits some sort of harmful radiowave that messes with your brain and makes you hallucinate?”

“Maybe,” Gyuvin agrees absentmindedly. Thumb hovering over the app, he asks, “So you just pressed it like this and—?”

“GYUVIN, WAIT!” You shout as Gyuvin opens the app. It’s too late. The air around the both of you grows red and hazy; the buildings and cars shake wildly and the people on the streets disappear into thin air.. 

A familiar robotic voice booms from your phone: “WELCOME BACK TO THE METAVERSE. ENJOY YOUR STAY.”

“What the—….” Gyuvin whispers, marveling at the new world around you. As his attention finally shifts back in the direction of the company building, he’s met with the sight of a gigantic, golden castle in its place. It’s just like you’d described it. He’d never tell you this, but he had been pretty concerned you’d finally snapped.

You watch cautiously as Gyuvin takes a deep breath; steadying himself before finally saying:

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

“Oh, for f*ck’s sake,” you mumble, grabbing Gyuvin by the arm and dragging him behind a parked car. “Sssssh, Binnie.”

He’s still shouting despite your verbal efforts to quiet him. “Bin-ah, be quiet— there’s tons of guards in there and…”

You shrug and stick your hand in his open mouth.

“AAAA—ogugh…” The screaming stops. Gyuvin stares at you; shocked. You remove your hand and wipe it off on your reflector vest. Gyuvin pouts back at you, quietly asking, “Did you wash your hands after work?”

“Absolutely not,” you confirm, peering out from behind the parked car at the castle gates. Just as you expected, the noise had drawn the attention of several shadow guards. 

Gyuvin sits up on his knees, peeking out over your head and gasping at what he sees. “What are those things?” 

“They’re the palace guards, I guess,” you answer softly; the weight of reality finally creeping in. “They’re shadows and… and… This isn’t a dream, is it?”

Gyuvin exhales heavily. “No. I don’t think it is.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” you mumble, looking at the pavement in despair. This is real. The thought echoes in your head until something suddenly occurs to you.

If this alternate dimension is real... Is everything that happened yesterday real, too? 

Did you really have special powers? Was Arsène actually a guide... a persona... that would help you through this? Was the confession made by “King” Kim Hyunwoo the truth?

“It’s okay, (Y/N),” Gyuvin soothes, squeezing your shoulder with his large hand. “I don’t know what the f*ck is going on, but... We can figure it out. Together.”

I like your small-faced friend, a voice rings through your head. He could prove useful.

“Arsène?” You ask; an eyebrow raised.

“Bless you,” Gyuvin responds.

“No, that’s the voice in my head,” you explain with a laugh. “Its name is Arsène. I think it’s like... My true self... personified? Or something like that.”

“Huh,” your best friend affirms; chewing his cheek. “Well tell it I said hi. And also can you ask it what the hell we’re supposed to do?”

Hello to your little human companion, Arsène replies. There’s nothing you’re supposed to do here. But there is something you will want to accomplish here. Perhaps you should start by going inside.

You look up at the grand entrance which is being patrolled by several shadow guards. Maybe you could knock them down with your wind power again, but it would be easier to...

“Find a different way in,” you finish your thought aloud as you spot a narrow alley between the castle wall and the building to its right. You grab Gyuvin’s arm; pulling him out from behind the parked car with you and running to the entrance of the alleyway. 

Now if I may ask, Arsène ponders, What exactly is a Gyuvin?

“An idiot,” you reply, walking ahead of Gyuvin in search of an alternate route into the palace. 

“Hey,” Gyuvin replies annoyedly. “What’d that thing ask you just then?”

It’s then that you spot it: a silver, metal door that could be your alternate route inside. You run over to it-- assessing the situation. There’s two sliding locks at the very top of the door that could be easily unfastened, but they’re too high off the ground for you to reach. Gyuvin, on the other hand...

“My very tall, very gifted idiot of a best friend,” you amend your answer as Gyuvin walks up to the door. He rolls his eyes at you before extending his arms up and just barely reaching the top most lock on the balls of his feet.

“The tall idiot has completed his mission,” Gyuvin announces with a smirk after he unhinges both locks-- pulling the door handle and flinging it open. A small crashing sound follows.

“Bin-ah,” you scold in a whisper, walking up to the open doorway and taking a peek inside. You look left and right, rendering the coast clear. You motion him inside and he follows, letting the door slam behind him. “Bin-ah...”

“Sorry, sorry,” he mumbles passively as he takes a look around. You seem to be in some sort of back hallway and the walls and floors are made of grey stone. There’s even spiderwebs in the upper corners of the ceiling. “I can’t lie: this place looked nicer from the outside.”

There’s another door at the end of the long hallway, much taller than the one you used to get inside. There’s a gap, however, at the top of the door-- large enough to see what lies beyond it. You walk towards the door and, once you reach it, you look up at Gyuvin. If you sit on his shoulders, maybe...

“Give me a boost?” You ask with a grin, wiggling your eyebrows. He sighs in defeat, squatting down so you can sit on his shoulders. He straightens back up, noticeably unsteady but you pay little attention to it. Even on top of his shoulders, you’re struggling to see through the gap above the door. You shift a bit, trying to boost yourself just a couple centimeters more. 

“(Y/N), stop moving,” he warns, but you continue to ignore him. You shift a bit more, raising up just a bit off of Gyuvin’s shoulders. Your eyes are almost level to the gap, so you push up off of your tall friend just a bit more... but the uneven distribution of weight quickly proves too much for Gyuvin’s slight frame to handle. Both of you go flying through the door, landing with a big thud on ornate, velvet-carpeted floors.

You both blink at each other in shock, faces a bit too close together as a swarm of shadow guards surround you. 

Gyuvin coughs awkwardly, sitting up and brushing himself off. He offers a hand to you but you decline.

“Wouldn’t want the incredibly reasonable weight of my body to overwhelm you again,” you deadpan; turning your attention towards the approaching guards.

“I don’t think I should really be expected to perform acrobatics right off the bat,” Gyuvin retorts. “But I guess I should probably start working out again...”

A slow clap sounds in the distance and you both look in the direction of the noise. “King Hyunwoo” rounds the corner-- red, velvet robe trailing behind him and blending in with the floors. His massive crown is just slightly off-center on his head.

“Oh, f*ck no,” Gyuvin says, shaking his head. “No f*cking way. This assh*le’s really gonna roll up looking like the Cowardly f*cking Lion?”

“Gyuvin-sshi! It’s the utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance as well,” the Metaverse President Kim greets with a sh*t-eating grin. The shadow guards restrain you and Gyuvin as he lands in front of you; your arms twisted behind your backs as President Kim analyzes you with a patronizing smile. “You’ve arrived at my palace! Isn’t it marvelous?”

“The back hallways could use a good dusting,” Gyuvin replies with a frown.

“I’ll take that into consideration,” President Kim notes. “Look at the trouble (Y/N)-sshi has gotten you into once again. First, the premature ending of your career. And now: your execution. You should really start picking better friends!”

“(Y/N)’s my best friend in the whole f*cking world! And I know what you did, you scumbag. You’re a killer. And a liar. And I’m gonna make sure everyone knows it!” Gyuvin spits, the tips of his ears turning red.

“Is that so, Gyuvin-sshi?” President Kim asks with an unsettlingly calm smile. “And just how are you going to do that?”

“The media! They--... When they see all of this, you’re d-done for!” Gyuvin’s still yelling but his voice is starting to shake. “They have to b--... believe me now!”

“Really, Gyubin-sshi? You still think it’s possible to get them on your side? You haven’t yet questioned why there’s not a single media outlet willing to dive a bit deeper into your headline-worthy claims?” President Kim smiles as he smoothes the snow leopard fur trim of his royal robe. “Why when you always bring them the ‘additional evidence’ they require; it’s still somehow never enough?”

Gyuvin’s jaw is set in a way you’ve never seen before. You don’t think your playful, laid back best friend has ever been this solemn in his life. “What are you saying?”

“You kids always need everything done for you, don’t you? Fine, I’ll spell it out for you,” President Kim replies with a haughty laugh. “The reason no one will take your story is because they’ve already been paid off. Cost me a fortune, too. But the things I do to keep myself--... I mean, you-- safe. Now we can put all of this behind us-- right, Gyuvin-sshi?”

Tears are spilling down your best friend’s cheeks. You can feel his grief fill the room until something much redder drowns it out. Rage. Painful and palpable rage.

“No! I... I don’t want to put things behind us. I w-want them to go back to the way they were!” Gyuvin rips his arms out of the guards’ grasp. It must hurt him to use this much force, but he doesn’t seem to care. Instead, he’s gripping the sides of his head like it’s about to burst open. 

You want to comfort him; tell him it’s gonna be okay. Tell him you can just give up. You can just forget about all this and move on. 

Best stay put, Arsene interjects. You should not interfere in someone’s awakening.

Awakening... Wait, does that mean...?

“(Y/N)’s a convicted criminal because of you! You were always rude to us as trainees. Always working us to the bone so you could turn the largest profit off of us! I could live with that. But now my best friend lives in disgrace of the public-- of our own members-- because of something you did. So I’ll never give up! Not until you’re behind bars!”

Gyuvin doubles over now; screaming in what you know is agony. It kills you not to interfere. Just push through it, Binnie. Just push through.

Ahoy, me new matey! A voice rips through Gyuvin’s ears; nearly splintering his head in two. Ye've always had that fightin' spirit in ye, me lad! I be glad ye're finally unleashin' it. Me name be Cap'n Kidd! Perhaps ye've heard o' me?

“WHAT!?” Gyuvin screams, pounding his ears with his fists. “WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON!?”

I’ll be helpin' ye out from now on. Let's fight together forever, me hearty! Scallywags: beware!

Gyuvin falls silent, sweat pouring down the sides of his face. A mask begins to form around his face and meld to the flesh around his eyes. He clutches at it, pulling harder and harder until finally...

Sccccchrip.

You look away but still feel a phantom pain shoot through you, reliving the excruciating memory from just yesterday. A new mask materializes delicately in front of Gyuvin’s eyes. It's a skull with fangs and sweet, droopy ears.

New Confidant Unlocked: Chariot *ੈ Kim Gyuvin

・゜゜ . . * ✧･ﾟ・ ✧･ﾟ: ・゜゜・．

Gyuvin breathes haggardly for a few moments before looking up at President Kim, a menacing look in his eyes.

I’ll get a headline with your name in it one way or another. ‧ ₊ ✫ ˚・

Gyuvin reaches out his hand instinctively; a sudden blast of what appears to be icicles shooting from his fingertips.

New Skill Unlocked: Melting Point ‧*❆

A chill passes over you as you watch President Kim dodge the attack in the nick of time. 

“Need some help?” You ask, feeling your own mask synthesize in front of your eyes. You send a gust of wind President Kim’s way, which sweeps him off of his feet and down to the floor.

Gyuvin looks back at you smirking, one eyebrow raised cheekily. “Do I look like I need help?”

“Not really, but I’m getting a little bored,” you reply as you high-five Gyuvin. “And I was--.”

A bolt of electricity suddenly runs through you and knocks you to the ground. One second, two seconds, three seconds as a static pain courses through your body. 

“(Y/N)!? Oh my god,” you hear Gyuvin panic through ringing ears. He shakes you a bit until you open your eyes. “Are you okay!? What the f*ck was--.”

A cough comes from the direction of President Kim, jolting you upright to look at him. He’s on his feet now, clutching his chest. “GUARDS! Exterminate them.”

President Kim darts down a passageway to the left as shadow guards surround you. Back to back, you and Gyuvin assess the impending doom.

“Think we can take ‘em?” Gyuvin asks over his shoulder.

“Absolutely not,” you answer with a snort. “We don’t even really know how to use our powers yet. I say we get out of here and investigate some other time.”

Gyuvin nods. “Got it. So... let’s hit ‘em with what we got and make a run for it?”

“Count of three,” you confirm; reaching out your hands and taking a focusing breath. “One... Two... Three!”

You send a heavy gust of wind from your hands, knocking the group of guards rushing towards you to the ground. The sound of ice shards connecting with metal followed by a series of loud thuds alerts you that Gyuvin was successful in his attack as well.

You wrap your hand around his forearm, taking off and pulling your best friend with you in the direction out the door you’d fallen through. Down through the dusty, grey hallway and back out the side door, you run as fast as you can through the alleyway-- only stopping when you’ve reached the other side of the street where you first entered the Metaverse.

“TAKE US HOME,” you shout; out of breath and clutching your sides-- you and Gyuvin leaning on each other for support after such heavy physical exertion. Guess he isn’t the only one out of shape after this year of hiatus...

"TAKING YOU HOME TO THE REAL WORLD. COME BACK SOON."

The air and your surroundings shake wildly until the red haze finally lifts and the world returns to normal. Someone brushes by you, hitting you with their briefcase as they pass.

Gyuvin stares at you wide-eyed. “What--... what just--... What--...”

“Yeah,” you agree with a nod. “Do you... wanna talk about it?”

“F*ck no,” he laughs, anxiously chewing on his bottom lip. “I actually can’t even begin to process any of this right now. I need a distraction. Immediately.”

“How about we go eat our weight in food?” You suggest, starting off in the direction that you parked your car. Gyuvin follows behind you, oddly silent to your suggestion.

“That would be cool,” he replies finally, but there’s a hint of reservation in his voice that he can’t hide.

“Spit it out already, Binnie.”

“What about karaoke?” He suggests, eyes absolutely lighting up. “Have you sung at all since you got your voice back? I’ve been dying to hear you!”

You can’t lie: your heart swells a bit at your best friend’s complimentary excitement. You can tell this would make him really happy…

On the other hand, if you go out to sing in public, there’s a much greater danger that someone could find out you got your voice back...

⁺⋆✰ Chapter Choice ✰⋆⁺

What’ll it be, Player? Will you choose to...

CHOICE 1: Go Get Food

OR

CHOICE 2: Go to Karaoke

✰

[m0ther-of-p3arl]

can't start the fire without a spark

(robert aeor high au p14)

masterpost

ROB AEOR JUMPSCARE!!! probs two more chapters after this, we are drawing to a CLOSE!!! big big chapter today, lots of things happening we're jumping allllll around pov-wise :D very very fun to write i hope you like!! ohhh and also with the addition of this chapter, rob aeor is now 60,000 words in its entirety!! pretty cooool :D

Karissa watches from the upstairs window as the same white camper van pulls up outside her house, screeching to a stop under the streetlight. It’s finished making its rounds, and she can almost see from here the essences of the people pushed into the back, bound and gagged and drugged. She smiles, fake and manufactured yet still slightly psychotic, nails drumming against her thigh as she pulls on her heels and heads out the door, eyes searching for signs of life.

or, shit is Going Down. buckle in, buttercups, because we are going for a RIDE.

(6949 words)

Karissa Major stands, poised and perfect, posture impeccable as she gazes out from her balcony. The chill of very early morning digs silkily into her skin, her very bones, and a smile stretches across her face at the knowledge that everything she’s worked for could come crashing down at any moment. It’s a manic thing, desperate and rough around the edges, nothing like the polished facsimile of human emotion she displays around others.

If this goes wrong, if any mistakes are made- her game is ruined, her life’s work is all for naught. Her eyes watch nervously (or, as close to nervous as Karissa Major can be) as an inconspicuous white camper van passes through the street. This is the final moment, and if anything deviates even slightly from her plan-

But it can’t, it won’t, and Karissa knows it won’t- she’s crafted everything obsessively, meticulously- all the details gone over with her crew at least twenty times, the plan burned into all their skulls. There’s almost no way any of them could forget it now, especially considering the consequences she has laid out if someone deviates from the plan. Karissa almost can’t wait for the day she’s strapped to the chair, wires attached to her brain, her manipulative siren magic the sole thing keeping the game going.

Third Life.

It’s Karissa’s dream to have that much power, it’s been her goal ever since she was very young- ever since she watched the life drain out of a woodmouse as she crushed its windpipe with her foot. Since Karissa’s childhood years, she’s had an idea, a spark in the back of her mind that- until recently- she simply hasn’t had the time to pursue. But her cult is really coming together, it’s gained a fair amount of members recently- and with all the funds now pouring in, Karissa finally has the money to begin developing the technology that would let her great imagination become a reality.

The technology that allows a siren’s power to be amplified by ten thousand and broadcast across many multiple people through a chip in their brain, strong enough to even wipe their memories and convince them so thoroughly that the world she’s put them in is the only one they’ve ever known. She has all the rules laid out for her game, all the plans- she’s spent countless sleepless nights developing them, deciding what combination would produce the most carnage and emotion from which she can feed.

Because Karissa’s new tech, though insanely high-quality and as perfect as she can get it, is not a perpetual energy machine. It needs something to feed it, something to keep it active and working. And what she’s found, through extensive study, is that the best way to power the mind-control mechanism is the consumption of the negative emotions of those being controlled. 

Therefore, Karissa has decided that it has to be death, the game she will have the teenagers she preyed upon play. She has the perfect plot of land, close enough to her compound that the people within will be susceptible to her control, but not too close that the players will be able to see it outside the borders.

Of course, there won’t actually be any borders- that would be silly. Karissa will simply make the players believe that there are, and they will be physically incapable of crossing a certain point. It’s genius, this thing she’s concocted, and if it goes well, she can try and arrange one every couple of months for her and the other Watchers’ entertainment.

However, despite Third Life being a death game, the people inside won’t actually die. That would be ridiculous, completely unneeded carnage- and the loss of good players for later games. Well, wait- that’s a false statement. The players of the game will die, but they’ll be brought back to life. Just like the person with the flamethrower who Karissa had hunted through the woods so many years earlier.

She has been the prototype throughout all of this, she’s been the test subject, Karissa’s little guinea pig kept in a cage. Zombie, Their name is. Or, that’s what Karissa has named her, obviously. Their real name was something along the lines of- Cora? Cleo? 

Karissa thinks it was probably Cleo.

But she’s Zombie now, they have been ever since they joined up at sixteen- a vulnerable young person, lost and alone. Of course, she was the perfect specimen- as is the typical coming-of-age ritual of traditional gorgon families, when she turned sixteen, she was banished from the home for a year to learn of life in the real world. Afterwards, it’s the custom that the child can either return home to learn the traditional ways or continue life in the outside world.

Zombie had found safety with the Watchers- but when they’d wanted to leave, to go back to their traditional gorgon roots, to return to their family…

Well, Karissa couldn’t let that happen, now could she?

And so she hunted down the teen in the woods and murdered her. They were brought back to life, of course. It’s been many years, and Zombie’s been broken and stitched back together thrice as many times since. She is, obviously, going to be one of the players in Karissa’s new game. It’s just fitting, isn’t it, that they take part in the experiment of a lifetime after they’ve helped oh so much with it.

Karissa’s thoughts eventually lead back to where she’s still stood on the balcony, outlined in stark black against the early morning sky. She shakes her head, laughing slightly under her breath, and turns with a swish of fabric, treading back inside on two-inch stiletto heels.

Her ride will be here soon, and it’s time to get ready for the time of her life.

--

Scott never did get back to Jimmy’s house.

They’re on him before he can think twice, figures in white hazmat suits descending upon him from trees and rooftops all around him, roughly grabbing and throwing him into the back of camper van. He doesn’t even have time to be confused before thick, rough rope wraps around his wrists and ankles, binding him to the wall. An oily wad of fabric is stuffed into his mouth, a strip of duct tape pressed over his mouth before he can scream.

And now he’s sitting here, half-conscious of others being piled in beside him, an arm or two pressing up against him, feet touching his. A red sweater, a black headband and green shirt, a boy covered in scars- defining features jumping out at him in bright flashes before they descend back into the numbing murk that surrounds him now.

It’s so hazy here, previously well-defined images turning to nothing but colors and shapes now through the fog in his mind. The sky is so dark here, and the ground is gray, fuzzy. Where’s the grass? Where’s Jimmy?

With his limited ability of thought, Scott sluggishly thinks that it must be the shock that’s rendered him so helpless, though a sharper part of him in the back of his mind wonders if maybe he’s been drugged somehow. The rag in his mouth does have a strange taste to it beyond the oil, a sweetness he can’t quite place. Scott’s not quite sure how much time passes from one thought to the next, each realization taking eons of time to nail down.

That’s why he doesn’t quite catalogue the tapping on his shoulder until someone’s head slams roughly into his bone, and Scott starts, eyes widening. If he wasn’t gagged, he would have yelped in surprise. He turns his head, and even fighting as hard as he can through the drug-induced blurriness, he’s only able to make out two bright yellow wings, bound alongside him. A shoulder presses into his own, and Scott’s almost certain he can hear someone crying as his eyes drip shut yet again. It’s too much work to keep them open, it would be so much simpler to just drift in and out of consciousness, the figure with yellow wings the only thing keeping him grounded to reality.

He wonders, in the back of this camper van from hell, if somehow it’s an angel.

--

Jimmy is frantic, his heart beating out of control, head throbbing insanely and his mouth filled with a disgustingly smooth texture- maybe cloth of some sort? He’s not really sure- it’s been a blur most of the time he’s been in the van. The drug (he’s sure he’s been drugged in some way) doesn’t seem to have affected him as strongly as everyone else. Maybe it’s something with him being an avian- the other avian here, a parrot, is looking around in the same frantic way that he is, and their eyes meet across the camper.

His eyes are filled with tears, waffle-colored hair swinging back and forth as he shakes his head vehemently, and Jimmy’s chest fills with an aching sadness. He’s sure he’s seen this boy at school, he’s fairly certain his name’s Grian. A traditional avian name, not like his own of Jimmy. Of course, it won’t be Grian’s true name- that’s a closely guarded secret, as well as one known instinctively.

Jimmy makes a vow that if he ever gets out of the hands of his captors, he’ll tell Scott his own true name- Solidarity. He’s been meaning to for a while, of course- but it’s hard to get up the courage, to gift someone with something of that capacity. The level of trust it takes to tell someone, especially a non-avian, your secret name- well, needless to say it’s almost unfathomable.

He’s not quite sure how long he sits in the truck, watching with bated breath as the van stops every few minutes, another figure bound and gagged thrown in with them-  but none further that Jimmy recognizes. They all seem to be in the same drugged stupor, staring straight ahead with half-lidded eyes and offering no resistance to their white-suited captors. Again, he and Grian seem to be the only ones aware of the true weight and direness of their current situation.

Jimmy doesn’t really take note of anyone else in the van- sure, he’ll notice a detail here and there, but mostly he watches Grian and the gentle tears that slip down his face. All he can glean from the other avian’s slumped posture is an air of absolute hopelessness, one that threatens to spill over onto Jimmy and leech all the life from his soul as well.

Suddenly, Grian goes rigid, seemingly honing in on something Jimmy can’t quite see. His head shaking becomes even more vehement, and though the gag is never removed from his mouth, Grian’s voice cascades over him.

His tone is desperate and broken, his words streaming in a parade of syllables, a different tongue that makes no sense to Jimmy. Grian’s voice only switches back into something Jimmy’s familiar with when another captive is thrown into the van, a tall elf with scars carpeting almost every inch of his skin. Grian’s borderline begging, and as hard as Jimmy strains not to hear the words, they’re too sharp in his ear and he can’t push them away.

NO! Please, no, you promised, you PROMISED- you said that if I came, you wouldn’t take him, you said he would be SAFE! Please, I’ll do anything, anything, just let him go- I can’t let him go through this, I can’t, you have to understand, please! You promised me, you promised me- Scar, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, Scar- no, no no no, let him go, LET HIM GO- 

One of the people in white suits punches Grian hard in the skull, seemingly fed up with his tortured screams. Grian’s head pitches forward, his eyes dulling to their normal beady black and voice tapering out pathetically as he falls unconscious. 

Jimmy’s shaken- and not just because of the disembodied voice that everyone in the van could apparently hear. He’s mostly just confused about that. No, the thing that disturbs him most is the genuine fear coating Grian’s words, the desperate begging for them not to take the other boy- Scar, Jimmy remembers- and to leave him be.

That does not bode well for whatever’s going to happen to them all, and Jimmy shivers involuntarily, closing his eyes. He doesn’t open them again for several minutes until he feels the truck stop once more, the doors swinging wide and the white-suited people shoving in a new figure, right beside him.

Jimmy catches a glimpse of cyan out of the corner of his eye, and he just knows.

Scott’s here.

He looks the same as the rest of them, glazed-over eyes, seemingly undistressed. Jimmy has to get his attention. He needs to. But he’s bound, and Scott’s in no fit state to respond to the muffled grunts that happen to be the only sound Jimmy can make. He huffs, annoyed, and pushes his head back against the wall, fighting back an onslaught of tears.

Jimmy’s just a curious little bird. 

It’s been. SO LONG. Since he heard her voice, since he heard those words. But here they are, loud as anything, biting and taking and angry- no, worse than that, almost dismissive. Jimmy nearly wilts under the pressure like a wildflower when summer comes, he nearly lets it get to him, the situation he’s in. No one can blame him if he does, after all- any normal person would have broken a thousand times over by now.

But as Jimmy hears the words again, instead of hopelessness, all they spark is anger. A deep, simmering rage, unlike anything he’s ever felt before, burns through his veins like a monsoon flood. Who are these people to kidnap him, his boyfriend, and so many more presumably innocent people? Why would he even allow himself to be tied up like this, rendered so vulnerable that anything could happen to him?

Jim’s anger goes deeper than even that. He’s always balked in the face of authority, whether it be Patty, the only mother he’s ever known, or these hooded figures who stole him away in the dead of night. Jimmy has never had a shred of rebellion inside him, he’s never even entertained the possibility of doing anything other than what the present person in charge wishes him to do.

It’s one of his biggest shortcomings as a person, he realizes- and even though it’s too late to do anything to change the predicament he’s in, there is a small act of uprising that he can commit. He and Scott are bound closely enough- so close, in fact, that their bodies are pressed together, the feathers on Jimmy’s wings resting gently on Scott’s back. Obviously, Jim can’t move his arms or legs- or wings. All his limbs are out of commission, really.

But the one thing they neglected to bind was his neck, and by extension, his head.

Jimmy headbuts Scott in the shoulder as hard as he can without arousing the suspicion of the guards, which is admittedly pretty lightly. He does it again, and again, and again, but no response is received for Jimmy’s efforts and Scott stares straight ahead, eyes blank of any thought or emotion- blank of any of the things that make him quintessentially Scott. The canary almost gives up, tears of frustration and hopelessness springing to his eyes.

He headbuts Scott once more, one final time, not giving a shit about what the guards will think this time. He puts all his strength into the motion, and slowly, miraculously, Scott turns towards him.

But it’s all for naught, because when their eyes meet, Scott looks just as zombified as ever. Jimmy doesn’t even think he recognizes him.

Scott’s head drops down, back into place, and Jimmy cries.

The van moves through the night, and finally hopeless, Jimmy cries.

--

Martyn doesn’t know where he is.

He has no idea what’s happened to him, has no idea what anyone could ever want with him- he’s just a good-for-nothing twenty-year-old pufferfish seafolk who’s spent most of his life doing- well, doing absolutely nothing, if he’s honest.

And now, he’s been kidnapped.

Martyn Littlewood, ultimate disappointment to his parents and everyone else in his measly little life, has been kidnapped.

It still doesn’t really sink in, the absolute danger he’s sure he must be in. He just feels numb, brain muted and fuzzy. He knows that he’s tied up, he’s aware that he’s in the back of a vehicle of some sort, and he knows that there are other prisoners here with him. But that’s it. Try as he might, the drugs that must be on the rag that has been stuffed into his mouth have absolutely ruined his brain, normally sharp thoughts nothing more than clumsy, cankered fumbling.

It’s really quite frustrating.

Especially because all Martyn has got going for him, the only thing that’s saved him from being the ultimate loser, is his mind. Though, one has to understand that he’s not smart, per se- he’s not good at math or writing essays or any of the things that make someone excel in school or get a good job or create the next big instant messaging app or whatever. Nah, Martyn’s just clever.

Clever and really funny.

He wonders vaguely if his current situation has anything to do with that thing he’d signed up for last month, a flier on some lamp post somewhere advertising something called “Third Life” that was promising twenty thousand dollars to whoever participated. Martyn was the very first person to sign, to etch his name on the crisp lines- because for that kind of money, what wouldn’t he do? Even if he had no idea what this thing was (there had been no information given, not a single word that could’ve helped him to identify even remotely what this thing he’d just signed up for was.)

When he’d come back to the spot a week later, mainly just to check if there had been any updates or whatever, the paper was filled with signatures, cramming  into every nook and cranny, not a singular unfilled spot on the paper. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money, after all. Most folks like him would kill for that kinda cash, and he’s been struggling enough recently that he’s not surprised in the slightest others have been as well.

Martyn wonders, if this is truly what Third Life is, if he’ll get his money at all.

Martyn wonders, marveling at the words that flit quickly in and out of his slogging brain, if it’ll even be worth it.

--

Karissa watches from the upstairs window as the same white camper van pulls up outside her house, screeching to a stop under the streetlight. It’s finished making its rounds, and she can almost see from here the essences of the people pushed into the back, bound and gagged and drugged. She smiles, fake and manufactured yet still slightly psychotic, nails drumming against her thigh as she pulls on her heels and heads out the door, eyes searching for signs of life.

But it’s still and cold outside, no plausible or even remotely possible threats in sight. Karissa puffs a short sigh of relief out her lips, heels clacking along the cobbled path as she makes her way towards the van. It’s shining, gleaming brightly in the puddle of light cast  down from the fluorescent street lamp, a stylized purple symbol painted on the side- a rectangle, cut off before two corners diagonal to each other, small individual squares taking up the place where the corners would have been.

If there had been any doubt before that she’d somehow mistaken the vehicle, it’s erased now as the symbol of the Watchers glares back at her from the side of her van. Her smile only grows.

Karissa swings open the door of the van and climbs into the shotgun seat, flashing a simpering smile at Zombie- who, at the current moment, is driving the car. Zombie shoots a quick, light glare back at her, and Karissa laughs, high-pitched and ringing, even in her own ears.

“Now, now, Zombie,” she admonishes, glancing back to where her other thirteen contestants (excluding Zombie, of course) are tied and drugged, white-suited cult members looking after them, “remember what happens when you don’t show the proper respect.”

Zombie flinches, and Karissa feels a jolt of twisted pride that she’s managed to make this person break so easily that they’re terrified by any mere allusion to possible punishment. She’s just disappointed that her son has gone and been so strong-willed; he would’ve been the perfect experiment- more so than he already is, of course. 

It’s interesting, truly, to realize how the boy’s siren and gorgon traits have come out differently in combination with each other. Karissa wonders, was she to try the experiment again, have another kid- Karissa wonders if the results would be similar, or vastly different. She’s too old to bear a child by now, however, and there are some things that even one such as she will not force upon a person who does not want it.

“Zombie, stay en route to the compound. I’m going to go check in on the prisoners- make certain that Grian’s not having second thoughts about his task.” Zombie nods tersely, and Karissa pats their head condescendingly as she stands, moving smoothly through the vehicle until she’s standing aloof in the bare back compartment.

Thirteen different young adults, all drugged and tied and gagged, the perfect hamsters to run around Karissa’s proverbial maze. She smiles, a genuine expression for once, even if one of perverse satisfaction and power. Moving among her captives, Karissa takes in their appearances, the familiar yet unfamiliar face of one in particular catching her gaze. Karissa cocks her head to the side, confused, and sticks her hand roughly under their chin to tilt their head up so she can get a better look at them.

But instead of the drugged blankness she’s been expecting, Karissa is met with a glare full of pure venom. She startles, dropping their head in surprise, and scrutinizes the person further, eyes squinting as she stares them down. Straw-blond hair, golden canary wings… and the faint but unmistakable smell of rapport magic.

Ah. So unless she’s been poorly informed, this must be Jimmy.

Just as she’d instructed the guards a half-hour prior, Scott is hog-tied up right next to his lover, his snakes as limp and drooping as the rest of his limbs. But Jimmy seems alert, almost… aware. Karissa ruffles her eyebrows, flecks of dried foundation flaking off at the wrinkle. This shouldn’t be happening. But, no matter- if he’s awake, she might as well let him speak. The gag won’t do anything now, given how remote the area they’re traveling through is. Plus, it was only really needed for the administering of the drug.

Ripping the duct tape off his mouth, no consideration for the pain that might come afterwards, Karissa watches as he ejects the sopping wad of fabric out of his mouth and onto the floor, spitting out the last residue of the drug that had been soaked into the cloth with a look on his face that can only be known as disgust.

“Hello, Jimmy. My name is Karissa Major, and we are the Watchers. Welcome,” she spreads her arms, gesturing around the interior of the decrepit van, “to your new life.”

Two simple words spring from the young boy’s mouth, face contorted in a solid mask of hatred. Karissa’s eyes widen in delight. Oh, yes, he will be perfect.

--

Is that someone’s voice Scott can hear, through the daze of his own mind? It sounds like Jimmy. Scott wishes it was.

Everything’s better with Jimmy by his side.

--

“Fuck you,” Jimmy spits, lips curling up in a sneer. “You’re Scott’s mom, aren’t you? Why would you do this to me? To us? To your own son? What in all the world is wrong with you?!”

Jimmy hates the way that Karissa’s smile widens, as if he’s simply egging her on, playing into her little mind games and tricks. She doesn’t speak, just stands above and watches him as if he’s some haphazard experiment and she’s a twisted scientist waiting for results. So he screams it again, spit flying unbidden from his mouth, eyes squinted and angry, the rage building beneath him as he pulls at his bindings, tries to get as close to her face as he can.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” he bellows, voice breaking in half. He pretends not to notice how, next to him, Scott stirs lightly, eyes blinking slightly open to stare at Jimmy blurily.

Karissa stares down at him, nothing even slightly akin to pity on her face.

“I noticed you seemed interested in Grian,” Karissa states, a cold hand covering Jimmy’s mouth when he tries to speak. “Are you wondering if maybe he could be a friend, a little ally for you in all this? A fellow avian to share your sorrows?”

Jimmy feels his eyes betraying him, drifting to gaze upon Grian’s unconscious form. He had been hoping that, he’s never met another tropical avian before. He’s been naively wondering, in the back of his skull if maybe, once they get out of here, he and Grian could go out for coffee, maybe hang out together sometime. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Jimmy’s always been a curious little bird. 

But he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she’s correct. Karissa raises her eyebrows, as if impressed. It just makes the anger bubbling in Jimmy’s stomach increase tenfold, hatred marring his usually smooth face. Karissa keeps talking.

“Because you see, Jimmy dear- and I can tell you this because soon enough, you won’t remember anything at all and much less this conversation- Grian is not on your side. He’s on ours. He won’t have his memories, per se. I’m not stupid enough for that. He’d just throw everything away for that Scar boy.” Her head gestures to the elf slumped in the corner, and Jimmy realizes that must be Scar. A fitting name, really, when one notices the amount of long since healed over injuries covering his body.

“But, nonetheless, Grian is on our side. My side. He’ll follow our orders, keep things interesting so I can keep power. Think of it as a bit of a hazing ritual. If he succeeds, he gets to join the Watchers. If not…” Karissa lets the threat hang in midair, before presuming a cheery tone and finishing her sentence as if she was describing going to the fridge to grab a snack. “Well, if not, then we just do it all over again, don’t we?”

Jimmy feels his blood run cold. “What are you talking about? Take my memories? Grian is- he’ll be keeping what interesting? And what do you mean, do it all over again?”

Karissa hums gently, swiping a thumb over her perfectly manicured nails. “The game, darling. What you’re here for.”

“I didn’t- I’m not signed up for this, I know my rights, let me go.”

“Jimmy, dear! You really think you could do anything, even if you somehow manage to escape? You really are a misguided child, aren’t you. No, darling. We’re high in the Boatem Mountains by now, in an area so remote and unheard of that you’d never even be able to find out where we are, much less send for help. So, don’t worry your little head about escaping- because I’m afraid, at least for the moment, that you’re stuck with me.”

Jimmy feels all the air go out of him, replaced by a deep confusion. “How are we that far out of the city already?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, darling. But I’m afraid that a magician never spills her secrets.” Karissa’s eyes are dark and cold, not a speck of humanity left within the cyan irises. Hard lines form around her mouth, and she sneers.

Jimmy has a sinking feeling that she’s telling the truth.

He’s not getting out of here anytime soon.

--

Karissa is surprised that Jimmy has so much fight in him. She’s watched him from afar, of course (she’s done the same with all her contestants), and he’s always seemed almost too soft, someone who can be hurt and broken easy as that.  But then she’d come to the back of the van, and Jimmy had practically screamed in her face. It was an extreme whiplash from the kind of person Karissa had been expecting, but she can adapt.

It is, after all, the thing she’s best at. So she stuffs Jimmy’s gag back into his mouth once she bores of him and returns to the front of the van, not even bothering to buckle her seatbelt. “Zombie, drive quicker,” Karissa orders, arms crossed and staring straight ahead. For once, there’s not a trace of a smile, real or fake, painted across her all-too-perfect face.

“We’re already going twice the speed limit, ma’am,” Zombie replies, not even looking at her, hands clenched too tightly around the steering wheel. “I’d actually advise slowing down- if we speed up any more, we’ll get pulled over and rest assured they will find the people in the back, and even your siren magic won’t be able to convince them that it’s a normal thing to have thirteen drugged teenagers in the back of your van.”

Karissa huffs, rolling her eyes. “Fine. Do what you want. Just don’t get me caught, or I swear to god I’m tearing out all your stitches at the next possible opportunity.”

Predictably, Zombie flinches, memories of an enraged side of Karissa that only they see probably streaming through their mind. “I don’t doubt it, ma’am. I will try to the utmost of my ability not to get us caught.”

“Good girl,” Karissa purrs, reclining like a queen in her chair, “this is all going so well, I simply cannot wait for the games to begin.”

Zombie nods, eyes still straight on the road, and Karissa can see their throat bob as they do so, can feel the nervous tension bathing the air in a wash of sickly greens.

“Are you excited?” she asks, more as a form of sadistic manipulation than anything else. Zombie, of course, of course, isn’t excited. It’s a death game, she’ll lose all her memories, and worst of all, she’ll have to kill people. But if she says as much, she knows Karissa won’t hesitate to rip her throat out (and then stitch it back up, of course. It’s been done before.)

“Yes, ma’am, very excited.” Zombie spares a glance to the back of the van, something like guilt flashing across their face, so briefly that none but Karissa (master of manipulation) would have caught it.

“You’re lying to me,” she slithers back, voice smooth as honey yet twice as sharp. “Zombie, don’t you know what happens when you lie to Karissa? It doesn’t end well, does it.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Zombie says quickly, eyes darting nervously to Karissa’s enraged face. “Please don’t hurt me.” The plea in her tone is pitiful, voice withering away until it’s next to nothing, miniscule and timid.

Karissa scoffs, a hand reaching up to stroke Zombie’s sallow cheek. “You’re like a daughter to me, Zombie. Every child does bad things sometimes, and I think at heart, you’re still a child. You’ll always be a child to me. But remember, if you like to me like that ever again…”

She leaves the threat hanging in midair as her hand drifts down from Zombie’s face, their eyes turned resolutely back to the road, teeth clenched sharply. Karissa almost laughs, because it’s just all too easy, isn’t it. It’s just so simple to take advantage of this lost person, lightly masked threats all she needs to get Zombie in line. Honestly, she’s growing bored of it- bored of the complacency. She misses the days when Zombie would fight.

Maybe that’s part of the reason Karissa created the game, she muses, as she stares ahead at the sky lighting up with dawn beyond the trees. Zombie became boring- so Karissa created an environment so hostile that none could hope to survive. Even if somehow, all her players decide to be peace-loving idiots (and they won’t, Grian will make certain of that) then they’ll die by natural causes eventually- and probably sooner rather than later, one of them will feel the red haze clawing at their mind, begging them to turn on the others. And they will.

When that point is finally reached, Karissa will feel power. She will feel it beyond anything anyone else has ever known. She relishes in the thought, smile snaking sadistically behind her facade. In the corners of her vision, Zombie flinches.

--

Their hands grip the wheel of the car, the feeling of teeth grating together inside their mouth the only thing keeping them sane. Why are you doing this? 

Zombie- or is it Cleo? Cleo Zombie? Zombie Cleo? They’re not sure anymore. But they like Cleo better, so they decide to stick with it. Her other self is not falling for this orchestrated distraction, however, this thought of property and names- the question springs back up, unbidden, and Cleo flinches at the sound of their harsh words inside her skull.

I said, why are you doing this?

Cleo’s knuckles are white now, white with the exertion of keeping her hands on the wheel when all she wants to do, all her other self wants her to do, is jump out of this van and never stop running. They decide to refer to their other self as Zombie, because they do have two names, and best to make use of both of them.

Zombie scoffs, and Cleo doesn’t even realize that their body had made the sound until Karissa’s smile appears in their peripheral vision, teeth too sharp and flawlessly white to be natural. Cleo flinches back, muttering stuttered apologies as Zombie hums disapprovingly inside their mind, head shaking sadly back and forth.

There used to be more of them, used to be more than just Zombie and Cleo. But their time at the cult, before they tried to leave under the thinly veiled excuse of getting back to their family, had taken a toll on all of them. When she’d come clean about the others in her mind, others who had sprung up when their father died, or when they were in an awful car crash. Sometimes, she’d even get a new person just from being super interested in something. 

But Karissa had told them, hand on their shoulder and venom in her words, that they weren’t real, that Cleo was wrong- and one by one by one, all the people had drifted away. They’re still there- Cleo can be sure of that, and Zombie even more so- but they’ve all hidden themselves away, away from the pain and misery and everything else.

Zombie is the only one who’s stayed. And Cleo is forever grateful for them, because they make everything so much easier with their snarky quips and comments at Karissa, they make everything so much more bearable than if it had just been Cleo on her own.

Oy, little sheep, I appreciate the sentiment and all, but keep your eyes on the fucking road! Jesus Christ! 

Cleo shakes herself, blinking the thoughts out of her eyes and out of her mind. Zombie reclines angrily in the back of their mind, and Cleo can feel that it’s still not happy that she’s agreed to this.

It’s not like she had any choice- Cleo hadn’t had any more choice than the people tied and drugged in the back of the van. Or at least, that is what they tell themself, frantically fabricating a panicked reasoning for why she’s doing this. 

Cleo doesn’t want to get hurt again, and she doesn’t want Zombie to leave them. She doesn’t want Zombie to be forced out of their mind by Karissa’s prying talons, and they will do whatever it takes to keep their only friend safe with them.

Cleo exhales, calming the shaking of her hands. They’re okay. They’re fine. Cleo just needs to play the game, and then she can figure out a way to escape. They just need to be a part of the game, and then they can leave.

She tell herself this even when she knows she’s lying.

It’s the only way Zombie and her could ever keep going.

--

Scott feels the truck pull to a stop. He hears doors sliding open, and feels his body being lifted underneath him. The air is crisp and clear on his face, and he blinks as the tape is ripped off his mouth, his gag removed.

Immediately, his mind clears, and all the pieces click into place. He looks around frantically, eyes darting this way and that. He’s been slung over the shoulder of one of the white-suited cult members (because of course it’s Mother’s cult that’s kidnapping him, obviously that had been their plan from the start, and Scott curses himself for not realizing it sooner.)

He sees some of the people he’d half-noticed earlier, but his eyes flick over them quickly, not seeing what he’s looking for until the last person is carried out of the van, bright yellow feathers bound tightly to his back, eyes immediately meeting Scott’s, large and scared and pleading.

Joel is also here, Scott notices sadly, he’s been tied to the roof of the truck (as he’s much too big to fit inside). He’s being wrangled by at least ten employees, his eyes ablaze with anger, tail raised up protectively.

“Get off of me,” Scott hears him yell, “this is not what I signed up for, get off of me-”

He finally notices Scott, and his eyebrows raise in surprise. “S-scott? What are you doing here? And Jimmy? What’s going on-”

Before Joel can finish his sentence, the white suits jump on him, subduing him with a shot of something viscous and liquid-clear directly into the soft spot of the celestial’s neck. He howls, and drops to the floor, the last emotion on his face a potent hatred before he passes out.

Jimmy’s eyes lock to Scott’s again, fear apparent on his face. He must have no idea what’s going on, Scott realizes, and he feels such intense pain in his chest for his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry,” Scott whispers, guilt raking through his body like a hurricane of doubt. “This isn’t what I thought would happen.”Jimmy just shakes his head slowly, his gaze wrenched from Scott’s as he’s carried roughly inside the building. The sky shakes, and the world shakes, and everything comes crashing down because they got Jimmy. And, not for the first time, Scott doesn’t know what to do.

[natedogx15]

Kamen Rider Deku Mission 16: Movement

Previous Chapter / AO3 / Master List

Deku looks up at Terra Swoop as Plus Striker struggles in her grip before turning his attention to the approaching Stegogai. Suddenly, Stegogai charges at the Kamen Rider and goes for a wild haymaker. Deku ducks under the punch and jumps forward to get some distance between them, only to be met with Terra Swoop throwing Plus Striker at him. The Plus Striker slams atop him and pins him to the ground, giving Stegogai enough time to wrap his tail around Deku's ankle before pulling him from under the machine and slamming him into a fire hydrant.

"You're not escaping this time. We're taking you down here while your friend deals with someone else." Stegogai laughs as he walks toward the downed Deku.

"Quit laughing, and just get him already while I deal with the mechanical horse." Terra Swoop snaps at her teammate while moving to pick Plus Striker up again to prevent it from interfering.

"It's fine. We can afford to have some fun since the other one is clear across the city and duking it out with the other bastard." Stegogai waves her off before picking Deku up and throwing him across the street. He then turns around and launches a few scales at the hero.

Deku quickly reacts by rolling out of the way and avoiding them. But that doesn't do anything to help him with the Plus Striker being thrown at him again. Having been pinned down a second time, Deku quickly thinks about what he can do and pulls out another Power Coin before inserting it into the Mighty Knuckle.

"Bull Power Finish!" The Hero Driver announces as the green energy outline of a bull covers the Mighty Knuckle, and Deku punches into the ground below him and the Plus Striker.

The impact launches Deku to his feet and tosses the Plus Striker off of him, causing it to roll to its side to stand on its hooves. Terra Swoop moves to grab the Plus Striker again, but it isn't as easy this time. The Plus Striker has gotten wise to her moves and quickly turns in her direction while firing a wild blast of energy to try and stop her from reaching it. This attempt is successful, as Terra Swoop has to dodge to the side and fly backward to recover.

Having time to process everything happening around it, the Plus Striker runs toward Deku and throws the Kamen Rider atop it before quickly running off to gain some distance between them and the Nomu.

"After it!" Stegogai shouts in a panic as Terra Swoop quickly flies after the Plus Striker while he runs after it, the ground under him seemingly giving him an extra push to boost his speed.

As Deku rides on the Plus Striker, he tries to make a plan on how to deal with the Nomu. While doing this, he's thinking.

"Where is Hikage? Is there a third Nomu, and he's fighting it with Kacchan? How many people do we have to fight?"

-------------------

Chamber is hitting K.E.M. in the back with his whip while using his invisibility to prevent the other Kamen Rider from fighting back. While attacking the angry Kamen Rider, he's trying to cool him down.

"Will you stop already? We need to find out where she went! She might have gone after Deku, and he's getting double-teamed!" Chamber shouts before moving so K.E.M. doesn't get a lock on his position.

K.E.M. growls at Chamber while trying to hit him, ignoring his words.

"Great. He's gone rabid. I should have watched my temper. That was a stupid mistake." Chamber thinks as he backs away and tries to figure out how to subdue K.E.M.

Remembering one of his new items, he pulls out the Sprouting Power Coin he got from Plant Nomu and inserts it into the coin slot on the hilt of the whip. 

"Sprouting Power Finish!" The Hero Driver shouts, giving K.E.M. a direction to throw his attacks, as Chamber prepares to throw another attack.

Before K.E.M. can try anything, Chamber throws his attack and manages to land a strike across the other Kamen Rider's chest. Unlike any of his previous strikes, there's a line of seeds across K.E.M.'s chest and over his shoulder where he was struck. Not that K.E.M. notices, as he's too busy trying to hit Chamber before he can change positions.

Chamber manages to dodge to the side again, and the seeds soon sprout. Vines grow from them at a rapid pace, and K.E.M.'s entire body is soon enveloped and trapped, his arms held out on either side of him to make it harder for him to escape. The vines then break into the ground, and K.E.M. is raised into the air like he's chained to a prison wall.

K.E.M. tries to break out of his new position, but the vines hold tight against the force from his explosions, and he can't directly aim them at the vines.

"Let me out of here, Pompadour!" K.E.M. rages as he releases another set of explosions at a rapid pace while violently writhing within his new prison.

"After you calm down. We need to stop fighting each other and figure out where the Nomu went." Chamber tells him calmly as he drops the camouflage.

But his petty side causes him to smirk as he looks at K.E.M.'s condition while thinking.

"This is what you get."

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! You're not the old hag or my shitty old man!" K.E.M. screams at him while continuing his struggle.

"You do realize this is your third time attacking me, right? You could get in serious trouble if people find out about this. And people are going to find out about this." Chamber says while pointing his thumb behind him toward the school.

Multiple students are taking pictures or recording them from the windows or outside. Seeing this causes K.E.M. to growl in frustration. However, he isn't shouting this time. Instead, he's trying to figure out what he can do in this situation. He soon remembers his Rumble Hammer. He quickly summons it, and the grenade-shaped hammer head hits the vines under him. However, there's no real force behind it, given he can't move his arms and has to rely on the falling force. But the explosion from it hitting the vines was enough to give K.E.M. some leeway.

With his right arm free, K.E.M. launches it at the vines, still holding him. It takes a few attempts to escape the vines, but he manages to get free. Chamber quickly turns his camouflage back on and prepares to launch another whip strike in case K.E.M. still isn't done.

Once K.E.M. jumps down from his green prison, he growls and tightens his hands into fists but doesn't do anything else. That doesn't do much to put Chamber at ease. So, Chamber decides to try talking to him again to see what's happening.

"Have you calmed down enough so we can focus on the Nomu?" He asks cautiously while preparing to jump to the side if K.E.M. charges.

K.E.M. doesn't react to his question, and it causes Chamber to tense more by the second. Finally, the explosive Kamen Rider bellows into the air.

"Damn it!" He screams before throwing his palms into the ground to create a giant explosion.

He then turns toward the direction of Chamber's voice and growls.

"We're not fucking done here, Pompadour! After we finish off Prehistoric Bitch and whatever Deku's fighting, I'm going to fucking kill your ass for looking down on me! Do you fucking hear me!" Bakugou snaps at Chamber with a growl.

"Fine. Whatever. Come on. I got a text about where the first Nomu is. If we're lucky, Terra Swoop didn't take the battle somewhere else." Chamber says while removing his camouflage and pulling out the Fierce Wings Power Coin.

He quickly activates his finisher and flies off toward where Stegogai and Deku are fighting, K.E.M. following him using his explosive palm-propelled flight.

"Hopefully, Midoriya will be okay with the Plus Striker helping him. He at least has that advantage over us. He's never fighting alone as long as his bike is with him." Chamber thinks as he flies.

-------------------

Back with Deku. He and the Plus Striker are running through the streets with Terra Swoop hot on their heels and Stegogai following far behind. Despite using his other ability to manipulate the ground and increase his speed, he's still not fast enough to catch up with the robotic steed and its master.

As they're moving, Deku is trying to figure out what to do. He already lost the Power Blade to Stegogai and ranged options. He's looking through all the Power Coins he's collected to see if there's something he can use against them.

"Do I use the Creation Power Coin already? Dad said I should hold off on using it until I see that octopus Nomu. There might be something I can do with the other Power Coins." Deku thinks as he pulls out the Razor Edge Power Coin from defeating Mantis Nomu and looks toward the Plus Striker's coin slot.

"We're going to try something different," Deku tells the Plus Striker, who neighs in response before inserting the Power Coin into its coin slot.

"Razor Launching Power Finish!" The Hero Driver announces as the Plus Striker glows with dark green energy.

Deku expects the Plus Striker to turn around and charge at the duo. Instead, the next time the mechanical steed's back legs slam into the ground, they cause the ground to rise as razor-sharp blades toward Stegogai. At the same time, the wind around it seems to turn into blades of wind before launching toward Terra Swoop.

The Nomu and Deku are shocked at the sudden two-fold attack, and the Nomu don't have time to react. They get hit by two different elemental attacks and crash into the ground. After they do, the Plus Striker slows down and turns around. It then charges at the two and launches lightning bolts at them.

"Knock it off." Stegogai snaps in pain as he blocks some bolts with his arm while Terra Swoop uses her other power to make them avoid her.

Stegogai then jumps before slamming down onto Stegogai and begins stomping on him.

"Gah! Help! Get this thing off of me!" Stegogai shouts as he tries to get the Plus Striker off him.

Deku sweatdrops as he sees the brutality of the Plus Striker.

"They're really as violent as a real animal." He thinks as he watches the Plus Striker jump and stomp on Stegogai while wondering if he should stop this.

However, the Plus Striker stops itself and jumps off Stegogai to avoid an attack from Terra Swoop. The other Nomu flaps over Stegogai and lets him recover.

"Man. That thing hurts." Stegogai groans as he stands up and rubs his body in pain.

"Quit being a baby. If you have time to whine, you can rip that thing in half. Once we get rid of it, he's done for." Terra Swoop tells her partner while glaring at the Plus Striker and its master.

"Yeah. Good idea. But it's easier said than done. You have Meta Abilities that let you keep up with it while I'm a tank." Stegogai groans before getting slapped upside the head by a wing.

"Ow. What was that for?" Stegogai questions before getting lifted off the ground and flown up out of the hearing range of most people.

"Have you been using Meta Ability this whole time against Deku?" She asks him angrily.

Stegogai glares up at her before realizing what she's talking about.

"Shoot. It's out of habit now." He mutters.

"You idiot. It could give a hint toward the army. Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if that happens?" She asks.

Unknown to them, Deku can hear what they're saying thanks to his suit enhancing his hearing.

"There won't be a problem as long as we get rid of the guy. Now hurry up and drop me on him." Stegogai orders.

"Fine. But first. Take the inhaler. We've been in these forms for a while. I'm starting to feel more aggressive." Terra Swoop orders.

Stegogai pulls out the Time Enhancer from inside his body and takes it. While he does, Terra Swoop's own Time Enhancer appears inside her mouth, and she clamps her beak to activate it. After they both take it and the items reintegrate within their bodies, Terra Swoop drops Stegogai, and the land-based prehistoric Nomu folds into a ball while shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Cannonball!"

Deku panics when he sees Stegogai coming in and is about to have the Plus Striker take them away from danger. The mechanical steed is one step ahead of him, turning around and rushing to escape. As they're doing this, Terra Swoop dives after them faster than Stegogai is falling and is aiming to throw Deku off of his steed. The Plus Striker barely manages to avoid her attempt, but neither it nor Deku can get off a counter-attack from how fast she ascends into the sky.

Finally, Stegogai lands on the ground and uses his earth-manipulating power to enhance the impact of his dive. The result causes the ground to shake, like an earthquake, and a tsunami of earth rises around him, damaging all of the buildings, cars, and other objects in his vicinity while chasing after the Kamen Rider.

Upon seeing the attack coming, Deku screeches in worry and tries to escape it. However, Terra Swoop is one step ahead of him. She flies in front of his path and uses her massive wings to create enough force to make it difficult for the Plus Striker to pick up speed. 

Caught between a clash of the earth and wind, Deku can't figure out how to escape this situation. He then gets an idea. He pulls out the Overdrive Power Coin and inserts it into the Plus Striker's coin slot.

"Overdrive Power Charge!" The Hero Driver shouts as light blue energy builds around the Plus Striker's body and picks up speed.

With this extra force, the Plus Striker manages to push through Terra Swoop's attempts to keep it in place, and Deku manages to run past her. Terra Swoop turns after them, but the shock from them escaping her makes her forget to get away from the earth tsunami, causing her to get hit in the back.

The tsunami soon subsides, and Deku turns around to stare in shock at the destruction caused by the attack. Cars are smashed, buildings are breaking, and he can even see Terra Swoop trapped under some rubble.

"Get this crap off of me, you idiot! You're attack hit me instead of him!" Terra Swoop shouts angrily as she tries to lift the rubble off her.

"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten too close then," Stegogai tells her as he runs to her.

Before he can help her, the other Kamen Riders show up, and K.E.M. immediately pounces on Stegogai.

"Die!" He shouts as he launches a double explosive palm strike at Stegogai, causing the Nomu to back away in pain.

As he's doing this, Chamber is staring down at Terra Swoop with his Camo Whip ready to strike her should she make any moves.

"I want to say it's good someone used such a big move because it told us where you were. But this is a little excessive." Chamber says while looking around at the damage Stegogai caused, eyeing Terra Swoop as he does.

Deku is relieved to see his backup arrive. He's even happy to see K.E.M. because he knows that it puts them at the numbers advantage.

"I thought you two would still be fighting? I guess she didn't do a good job of making you want to kill each other." Stegogai says in annoyance as he glares at the two newly arrived Kamen Riders.

"Shut it!" Terra Swoop snaps as she tries to get up.

Deciding that she's been trapped long enough, Stegogai slams his foot into the ground and sends a wave of earth that makes Chamber lose his balance while freeing Terra Swoop. The aerial Nomu quickly takes advantage of this to try and get as much distance between her and Chamber as possible, but someone is one step ahead of her.

K.E.M. explodes ahead of her and delivers a wild explosive haymaker into Terra Swoop to send her crashing. He follows this up by launching himself at the downed Nomu to launch rapid dozens of explosions from each palm.

Stegogai sees her in trouble and charges at K.E.M. to help her.

But he can't do much, as he suddenly has to raise his guard to block lighting bolts fired at him from the Plus Striker. Chamber follows this up by throwing a few hits with his whip, causing Stegogai to grunt.

Seeing the tides turning in their favor, Deku's smile shines brighter under his helmet, and he quickly gets off the Plus Striker to join Chamber's side.

"He has an earth manipulation Quirk that lets him create waves on the ground along with his stegosaurus Quirk." Deku quickly explains to Chamber, who nods in understanding.

"Got it. Then let's try this." Chamber says as he pulls out the Burrowing Drill Power Coin, which he got from Plant Nomu.

He quickly places it into the coin slot on the hilt of his whip while Deku pulls out one of his own Power Coins and puts it in the Might Knuckle.

"Burrowing Whip Power Finish!"

"Mantis Power Finish!"

With those announcements from the Hero Drivers, the finishers activate. Chamber's Camo Whip spins like a drill while the Mighty Knuckle seems to gain a dark green energy blade around it that envelops Deku's arm.

As the two do this, K.E.M. resummons the Rumble Hammer and inserts the Explosion Power Coin into it. 

"Explosive Hammer Power Finish!"

He looks at the downed Terra Swoop while swirling orange energy builds around the head of his weapon and growls.

"Die!" K.E.M. shouts as all three Kamen Riders deliver their finisher upon the two Nomu.

Chamber launches his whip at Stegogai and uses its rapid spinning to cause more damage to the Nomu while Deku charges. When Deku jumps in the air, Chamber retracts his whip, and the rabbit-themed Kamen Rider delivers a Superman punch that pierces Stegogai's body and causes him to explode. At the same time, K.E.M. slams his hammer down on Terra Swoop and causes a massive column-like explosion.

When the smoke clears from the simultaneous explosions, it reveals the two Nomu back in their human forms, unconscious on the ground. As they lie there, blank Power Coins kept on each Kamen Rider suddenly fly out and surround the two. When they're done scanning the Quirks, Deku is the lucky one who gets two from the four, while K.E.M. and Chamber each get one. Deku's Power Coins show designs for a stegosaurus and pterodactyl, while Chamber's shows a path of arrows that bends over a barrier, and K.E.M.'s is a wave.

K.E.M. growls in annoyance as he stares at the Power Coin, and Chamber is about to take it from the violent Kamen Rider before something unexpected happens. K.E.M. turns to him and slams the Power Coin into his chest.

"We're not fucking done, Pompadour. I'm going to crush your ass for looking down on me like Deku." K.E.M. snarls at Chamber, causing him to tense as he prepares for a fight.

"W-wait. We shouldn't fight. We're supposed to be working together. Besides, heroes shouldn't be fighting each other. We need to b-be fighting the villains." Deku tells the two while getting between the two in panic.

However, that causes K.E.M.'s ire to be directed at him again. He grabs Deku by his chest plate and shouts in his face.

"Don't tell me what heroes are supposed to do like I don't know, Deku! I know we're supposed to crush the villains! That's the whole damn point of being a hero! But I'm sick of you and this bastard getting in the way!" K.E.M. screams at him before throwing him to the side.

Luckily, Deku catches himself and doesn't fall to the ground this time. Deku doesn't care about that, though. He gets into Chamber's face and snarls.

"The abandoned factory across town. I want you fucking there so I can put you in your goddamn place." K.E.M. tells Chamber before pushing him to the side and leaving.

The two Kamen Riders watch him leave before Deku nervously turns to Chamber.

"Are you going to be okay? Kacchan won't let it go if you don't meet him." Deku warns Chamber, knowing from experience what Katsuki will do if someone ignores his challenge.

"It's fine. I can handle this. Let's get these two out of here befo-" Chamber says before pausing as he turns around to see the two are missing.

The Kamen Riders' eyes widen, and they rush to where the two used to be. But they can't find any trace of where the two went. It's like the two just disappeared.

"Where did they go?" Deku panics as he tries to listen for footsteps or something that will help them find the two.

Chamber pulls out the Sonar Power Coin and activates it, but he can't find them either.

-------------------

In Giran's hotel room. He has three people with him. They're the two former Nomu and another man. The man is none other than the missing Samuel Abraham.

"You were a difficult man to find. It took me forever to figure out who was part of the Kamen Rider project and even longer to find you." Giran nonchalantly states as he looks at Samuel, the man tied to a chair.

Samuel looks at the man with nothing but pure fear. Seeing this causes Giran to grin more.

"So, I've got to ask. Do you know who you gave that Driver to?" Giran asks the man curiously.

"N-not much, no. A-all I know is that they work for the Commission." Samuel says nervously, and Giran can see he's not lying.

"Well. Unfortunately for you. That member is a spy for the second coming of the Meta Liberation Army." Giran tells him in a relaxed tone, causing Samuel's eyes to widen in panic.

He knows all about the Meta Liberation Army. Most people do. After all, they were a terrorist organization that managed to fight against the world for years before their defeat and the subsequent death of their leader in prison after he finished his book. Hearing that there's a second coming of it and that he handed the Driver to one of their members causes Samuel to look to the ground in shock and horror.

"Yeah. I get it, though. You felt like the world owed you something and took it into your own hands. I've seen it plenty of times as a broker and dealer. Plenty of people feel the same way, and that's why they become what society calls villains." Giran tells him with a smile.

"I'm not a villain. I thought I was giving it to someone who would still use it for heroics." Samuel shouts at Giran before realizing what he did and tensing in fear.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Giran says, uncaring at Samuel's sudden bravado.

"Now. I could take all the information about your Driver directly from your head. But I'm worried I won't be able to tell the doctor everything later. I'm not the most scientific person in the world." Giran states calmly before motioning toward the two former Nomu.

"That's why. We'll probably take you to our doctor's base, where you can directly explain to the doctor how to make your Drivers." Giran explains to him.

"Please, no. I can't tell you. The Driver's mechanics are so complex that it's hard to memorize everything." Samuel desperately tells Giran, causing the man to gain an unkind grin.

"Don't worry. We have ways of making you remember. And I don't mean torture. We may use that. But we have other more effective ways to get everything out of that head of yours that will let us know everything we need to know." Giran tells him while tapping the back of his cigarette on his forehead for emphasis.

Samuel grows more nervous when he hears this but isn't sure what to do. He's not sure what he can do at this point. All he can do is regret the past and hope for the future.

"Help. Someone." He begs in his mind, not realizing Giran can hear his thoughts.

"Sorry, buddy. But I highly doubt anyone will come to save you in time." Giran bluntly tells him.

Hearing this causes Samuel to start crying in terror.

-------------------

With Deku and Chamber. Deku had told Chamber everything he heard from these Nomu, and they immediately rushed to Uncountable Enterprises. Now, the rest of the group are listening to Izuku's discovery in the lab.

"So. These guys consistently refer to Quirks as Meta Abilities, and it wasn't just the Paper Nomu," Hisashi mutters as he rubs his chin in thought.

"And from the sounds of it, it seems like there might be an army of them. That's worrying. Just how big is this Nomu conspiracy that there's an entire army involved?" David asks worriedly.

"I feel like I've heard of something like this already," Hisashi mutters as he tries to remember before Momo says.

"That's because it's similar to the Meta Liberation Army led by Yotsubashi Chikara generations ago before All Might's debut." Momo quickly informs him in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hearing this causes Hisashi to snap his fingers.

"That's right. They were a group who wanted unrestricted Quirk usage and were willing to commit terrorism to get it done. It would actually make sense for them to use this type of technology since they also had a social Darwinistic belief with Quirks where the those with the strongest abilities would lead." Hisashi says in a tone of realization as he explains the group to the younger members.

"That's not completely different from how it is now. Those with strong and 'non-villainous' Quirks are often the most popular." Shiki says flatly as he makes air quotes at the term non-villainous.

"While that's true to some extent now. I remember reading that they would have taken it to the extreme. They didn't just want a pizza guy to be able to use his speed Quirk instead of a car. They wanted a system that relies entirely on how powerful your Quirk is." Hisashi explains.

"That's correct, Mr. Midoriya." Chairman Fumihito states as he connects to one of the computers in the lab.

"Hi, Grandfather." Shiki quickly waves to his grandpa, who waves back.

"Hello, Shiki. Now then. There's something important I believe you should all know." Fumihito states. But Hisashi is more interested in him being on the computer.

"Looks like that computer you had us install in your office links perfectly to the lab. That's good." Hisashi says with a grin.

"Yes. Thank you for coming in to install it again. But there's something important that you need to know." Fumihito quickly thanks the scientist before immediately trying to get back on track.

"What is it?" David says while quickly moving to cover Hisashi's mouth so he doesn't interrupt again.

"There's a possibility that Bakugo Katsuki is a young member of the Meta Liberation Army," Fumihito grimly says as he looks at the group with a matching expression.

Hearing this shocks everyone in the room.

"The heck do you mean?" Hisashi asks in a much more attentive tone as he glares at the screen.

"I've been researching his and your son's school history on the side. What I've found is very disturbing." Fumihito states while looking down.

Hearing this causes Hisashi to narrow his eyes in focus while the others in the room do similar things. Izuku and Melissa look worried, Shiki looks calm but has a raised eyebrow, and David has a hand to his chin.

"From the looks of it, there's a real chance of corruption within the school district. I've looked at various student files and noticed quite a few inconsistencies." Fumihito says.

"You mean like people who shouldn't have marks on their discipline files?" Hisashi asks, knowing that he and Inko faced this when he transferred Izuku out of Aldera. They nearly sued the school for that.

"Yes, and Bakugou has nothing on his record despite his clear violent behavior. It's not just him, though. I've noticed similar behavior among other students with seemingly powerful Quirks." Fumihito sighs.

"While that's bad and suspicious, I don't think it's enough to say Bakugou is a part of a new Meta Liberation Army. It could easily be the school not wanting to ruin the chances of hero hopefuls, so can say those students came from their school." David states.

"That's what I thought, too. Which is why I had a few of the faculty investigated. Again, nothing too out of the ordinary at first. However, that was before the underground heroes I requested noticed some interesting behavior and items." Fumihito says before showing a copy of the latest version of the Meta Liberation War, an autobiographical book by Destro, the former leader of the first Meta Liberation Army. 

"Each of the heroes told me the faculty members they were watching had this book in their possession when they secretly investigated their homes," Fumihito states, causing Izuku's eyes to widen.

"Wait, isn't that illegal? You can't enter someone's home without a warrant." He says panickly while looking at Fumihito in shock about his illegal actions to get information.

"It is indeed illegal. But we have more than enough evidence without this to lock them away anyway. You shouldn't worry about this kind of thing, though. You're far too young to be dealing with this. Stay focused on being a hero and leave the rest to the adults." Fumihito quickly tells Izuku, not wanting him to get too involved with the darker part of being a hero while he's still so young.

"He's right. You shouldn't worry about this kind of thing, Izuku." Hisashi agrees with the chairman's words toward his son.

Izuku looks between them nervously, but Shiki walks over and whispers into his ear.

"Sometimes, heroes must break the law to help prevent something from happening and save lives." Shiki calmly tells him before walking away.

Shiki has enough experience from being around the Commission to know that not everything is sunshine and rainbows. He doesn't know everything the Commission does as he only saw bits and pieces from his grandfather and a few other people growing up. However, that was enough for him to realize the darkness surrounding hero work that people try to hide in shadows that even underground heroes don't enter. That was quite the awakening growing up.

Izuku doesn't say anything to those words. He looks at the ground while thinking about all the underground heroes he's researched. He wonders how many of them have done something illegal. But not in disappointment, though. It's more out of curiosity than anything.

"That still doesn't completely prove there's another Meta Liberation Army or that Bakugou is a part of it. This situation could easily be the school being at an early stage in an attempted revival of the army by corrupting the youth. Then, the children would be innocent as they aren't members by choice." David calmly states in defense of Bakugou and against the Meta Liberation Army.

"While that is a possibility. I don't think that's the case. We don't know how long this has been going on. The worst-case scenario is that this has been a development decades in the making. That's what worries me. We don't know how strong their organization might be while they likely have people on the inside of multiple organizations." Fumihito sighs in worry.

"I can tell you it's been going on since Izuku and Bakugou have been in school. I'm not sure about their old elementary school, but it definitely happened during middle school." Hisashi states with narrowed eyes as he tries to remember everything back then for clues.

"Yes. And if it's the case where it's been going on for decades, I worry about Shinonome's position in this. She may very well be a spy for the Meta Liberation Army." Fumihito says gravely.

"That would be a serious problem, even if she didn't try to usurp your position. It would also explain why she went out of her way to choose Bakugou to be a Kamen Rider despite his attitude." Hisashi states before David calmly interjects again.

"She also could have easily done a background check into your son's past to find Bakugou." He adds before this can get too far.

Hisashi acknowledges that with a silent nod before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Well. Shit has really hit the fan at this point. I never expected our experiment to turn this bad so quickly. I thought we'd at least lose one of the Drivers to whoever is making these Nomu before things got this bad." Hisashi suddenly groans while rubbing his hands against his head in frustration.

David lets out a tired sigh as he agrees with Hisashi. Despite making claims against the idea, he understands there may be a good chance that something more is happening, and they're in the center. Though, like Hisashi, he knew this was going to happen eventually.

It's practically human nature to try and weaponize something for greed or other emotions. He's seen it plenty of times back on I-Island. They'll get people trying to steal inventions from there all the time. Luckily, they have plenty of heroes and robots to help act as security, making it almost impossible for people to steal anything by force. That still doesn't stop back alley deals where people surrender some of their inventions for more funding, both personal and for projects.

"Are things really that bad?" Melissa asks the two scientists worriedly.

Momo, Shiki, and Izuku aren't far behind her. Each of them shows different degrees of worry about the current situation. Shiki is tapping a finger on his arm while keeping them crossed while Momo and Izuku look nervous at the current situation. Finally, Shiki decides to speak.

"Not to add more bad news to what's already happening, but Bakugou wants me to fight him at an abandoned factory tomorrow." Shiki suddenly states, changing the subject a bit.

"He wants to what!" Fumihito shouts in protective anger while everyone but Izuku looks at him in shock.

Shiki waits a few seconds to let everyone calm down before continuing.

"He wants to fight me. Haven't you seen the videos of him and I fighting today online?" He asks no one in particular, causing the teens to pull out their phones and search.

Sure enough, some students made videos of Chamber and K.E.M. fighting. Luckily, two out of the three videos show K.E.M. throwing the first punch.

Fumihito groans when he hears about this.

"Shiki..." He groans before Shiki raises his hands defensively.

"I didn't start anything. He was the one who attacked me. Besides, I'm pretty sure that's what the Nomu we were fighting was after. She was trying to get us to kill each other while attacking Midoriya while he was alone." Shiki quickly says defensively, but Fumihito sighs in annoyance.

"You know what kind of controversies heroes fighting against each other provides." He says as if his grandson hadn't said anything.

"I know. And I got him to stop attacking me before things went too far. But now he wants to fight me somewhere else." Shiki explains.

"And knowing that kid. He won't be happy until you and him settle everything with a fight, and he shows his superiority." Hisashi states flatly.

"That's what your son said, too." Shiki sighs as he points toward Izuku with his arms still crossed as he does so.

"I'll discuss this sudden development with Shinonome and see if I can't notice anything suspicious while discussing it." Fumihito immediately states before Shiki stops him.

"No. I want to do this. I want to knock that bastard's pride down a couple of notches. Maybe he'll be more willing to work with us after." Shiki quickly states with a determined glint in his mind, his words causing Izuku to think about it while Hisashi says.

"That might not be a good idea. As much as I hate to say it, his stats far outclass yours, and the fight will be in his favor. There's only so much your camouflage can make up for." Hisashi warns the young man before Izuku says.

"It might work since Kacchan gave Hikage a nickname," Izuku states, causing the other room occupants to look at him weirdly.

Seeing this causes Izuku to blush slightly at the attention before saying.

"K-Kacchan only gives nicknames to people he somewhat acknowledges. He usually calls everyone else extras or something like that. S-since Hikage got a nickname from him. I-it means that he has some respect for him." Izuku quickly explains.

Hearing this causes Momo to put a hand to her mouth with disproving eyes before saying.

"How barbaric."

She's not the only one looking at him strangely. Most of the room's occupants, physical and digital, look at Izuku weirdly, unsure how to take those words. 

"...That's an interesting thing to know, son." Hisashi bluntly states as he looks at the teen with a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't know about this? I thought he and Bakugou were friends since they were childhood friends." Melissa asks in confusion as she looks at Hisashi.

"Back then, I was primarily in America before getting transferred here. When I got back, I learned how Izuku was treated and immediately had him transfer schools to something less toxic." Hisashi explains before returning to the more urgent discussion.

"Anyway. While beating him may make him more pleasant to be around, and that is a big may, there's the fact that we don't know if Hikage can defeat him in the first place. As I said, Bakugou's stats outclass you in every way. He'll eventually get wise on how to fight against your invisibility eventually. You're at a clear disadvantage." Hisashi warns Shiki, but he still looks determined.

"I know. But I still think I can take him. I can use more than the Rifle and Chameleon forms and beat him with variety, like how this Driver is supposed to be used." Shiki states calmly.

"That could burn out the Hero Driver if you're not careful. Izuku used a lot of power moves in his last fight and could've fried the systems in his weapons and the Plus Striker. You'll do the same thing if you're not careful." Hisashi warns.

"I'll watch for it. I may not have to if I play smart enough." Shiki says, his face not changing from its calm and confident expression as he stares into Hisashi's eyes so the older man can see the fire within Shiki's eyes.

When Hisashi sees this, he sighs before turning to Fumihito.

"You're grandson has his parents' eyes. He has yours, too. Is it a familial thing like my son and wife's tears?" He asks Fumihito with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"It is. We are well-known for being stubborn." Fumihito nods with a slight smirk, but there's worry behind his eyes.

"Anyway..." Shiki starts with an annoyed tone as he interrupts attempts at talking about his family.

"I can handle myself against the terrorist. Just leave that to me. I'll at least take his Driver if I can." Shiki promises to everyone in the room.

"Are you sure about confronting him alone?" Melissa asks worriedly as she and the other teens stare at Shiki in worry.

"It'll be fine. I can handle myself." Shiki tells them to try and ease their worries.

"Let's leave the kid alone. If he wants to fight, let him. For now, let's focus on the Nomu and see if there's a possible connection to a new Meta Liberation Army." Hisashi states as he turns his attention to the older Hikage.

"I'm already doing that. I'm investigating each of the different Nomu cases and am looking for anything that might connect them to it. If we're lucky, we might find something that connects them soon. However, I'm not sure if we'll find anything. We tried connecting the different Nomu to a specific group in the past, but that never worked." Fumihito sighs.

"Well. This time, you have more to go off of than a shady organization that deals in genetics." Hisashi says with a joking smile, causing Fumihito to chuckle slightly.

"You're not wrong. But I don't know how much that will help. We'll have to see how deep this rabbit hole goes before I can say anything else. Hopefully, we'll at least have something." Fumihito states before hanging up.

"Well, now that that's taken care of. Great job handling the situation, you two. You both got a couple of Power Coins out of this, and Izuku managed to find a lead on who's behind all of these Nomu attacks." Hisashi tells the two boys with a proud smile.

"If we're lucky, Chairman Hikage will find something from his investigations, and we'll finally put these genetic experiments to an end," David adds with his own smile.

"Genetic experiments?" Momo and Izuku ask in confusion simultaneously, causing the two to blush in embarrassment when they realize what they did.

Hisashi chuckles at this before answering.

"That's one of the theories we have about the Nomu. We think they're some form of experiment to evolve humanity. Mostly a test to see how well the human body can handle having multiple Quirks." Hisashi tells the two, causing Melissa to think about it before saying.

"That makes sense. Quirks have seemingly been getting stronger, and more support gear is required just for some people to live normal lives. Companies like Detnerat have risen drastically because of that." She muses with a slight smile as she thinks about how important support items are outside of hero work.

"Exactly. It wouldn't be out of place for people to experiment with Quirks to see how powerful they can become and, by association, humanity itself. It wouldn't be out of place in any era due to how sporadic and confusing Quirks seem to be still." Hisashi nods toward Melissa.

"That's true. Quirks are still not entirely understood despite appearing generations ago." Izuku agrees immediately with a bright smile as a hero and Quirk nerd who studied hundreds of different Quirks.

"Yep. Of course. It could be something else. But that's the most likely case we could come up with. It's the only other lead we had besides what Izuku found out today." Hisashi shrugs.

"So. The two leads we have are that they may be a new Meta Liberation Army and they may be Quirk researchers. Those go well together." Melissa states.

"Yeah. An organization bent on the free Quirk use and research that strengthens Quirks. A perfect combination." Shiki agrees.

"So we might have found our guys and finally know what we're looking for." Hisashi finishes for the two.

-------------------

Bakugou Katsuki gives Slidin' Go an annoyed look as the hero talks about his recent fight with Chamber.

"You shouldn't have fought against Chamber like that, Bakugou. You know you're on thin ice. This might cause Ms. Shinonome to revoke your Kamen Rider privileges." Slidin' Go chastises the teen with an angry and disappointed expression.

"The asshole was talking shit! He was asking for a damn fight!" Katsuki shouts back at the hero.

"I can't believe you did this again right as I returned your Driver privileges. You realize there's a reason I've taught you how to fight other pros, right?" Slidin' Go tells Katsuki, causing the teen to growl at him.

"You're not taking my Driver away, you bastard. I'll kill Pompadour tomorrow and show him who's the best." Katsuki snaps at him while clutching his bag containing the Hero Driver.

Hearing this causes Slidin' Go to pause and look at Katsuki with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean? You aren't going to attack him in broad daylight or at his house, are you?" He asks cautiously, causing Katsuki to growl at him again.

"Of course, I'm not attacking the bastard in broad daylight. He's supposed to meet me somewhere to fight me." Katsuki snaps at the hero with an irritated expression.

Hearing this causes Slidin' Go to raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Really? So you're finally following my advice? Where do you plan to fight him?" Slidin' Go asks curiously.

"None of you're fucking business! I'll handle it myself and don't need your help against Pompadour!" Katsuki immediately shouts at him with a glare.

This causes Slidin' Go to drop his cheery attitude and give Katsuki an annoyed glare.

"Bakugou. As your mentor, I need to know what you're doing at all times. I took a risk becoming your mentor after your first stunt. I and Ms. Shinonome could get in serious trouble if you don't talk to us and start taking your teachings seriously." Slidin' Go tells Katsuki in a no-nonsense tone, finally dropping all pretenses of his previous demeanor.

Katsuki is momentarily caught off guard by Slidin' Go's change in attitude. He never expected the wanna-be All Might he was stuck with to become so grim suddenly. However, he soon recovers and glares at the hero.

"I can handle this by myself. I'm just going to fight the bastard." Katsuki snaps at him.

"But what if he uses this to set up a trap for you? You both clearly don't like each other, and I wouldn't put it past him to take this chance to take away your Driver after everything you've done." Slidin' Go points out with a raised eyebrow.

Katsuki is again caught off guard but continues to glare at the hero.

"Do you think I'd lose to anything that bastard does?" He asks the hero with a dangerous tone.

"No. You've proven how powerful you are. I'm just saying that it would be smart to be cautious. The other Kamen Riders have gotten stronger and may not be willing to put up with you anymore." Sildin' Go warns him.

"It doesn't matter how strong those bastards have gotten. I'm still the strongest. They don't stand a chance against me." Katsuki snaps at him, causing Slidin' Go to raise his hands.

"Alright. I'm just worried about you. I'll let you keep the Hero Driver for tomorrow if you promise to be done attacking the other Kamen Riders in broad daylight." Slidin' Go tells him while emphasizing the if.

"Fine. Whatever." Katsuki tells him uncaringly before he walks away from the hero.

He doesn't notice Slidin' Go quickly making a call as he watches the teen leave.

Power Coins Deku Rabbit, Draco-Breath, Charge, Marsh, Solidification, Unicorn, Overdrive, Wheels, Division, Bull, Barrier, Creation, Razor Edge, Mantis, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl

Chamber Rifle, Fierce Wings, Shadow Stalk, Gatling, Chameleon, Dragonfly, Sonar, Burrowing Drill, Sprouting, Terra-Wave, Deflection

King Explosion Murder Explosion

Next Chapter

[denimbex1986]

If you follow movie opinions in social media—and more power to you if you're wise enough to do otherwise—you might have caught some discourse on the current hit film Oppenheimer addressing its sex scenes. Specifically, some folks online asserted that the sex scenes weren't "necessary," or didn't "advance the plot." And if you care at all about the art of filmmaking, the only possible response to these comments would go something along the lines of, "Oh noooooooo."

This will not be a rant about Puritan attitudes surrounding cinematic sexuality, although there are entire books to be written about that subject. Instead, I'm concerned about this as a microcosm of a bigger problem, one that is absolutely murdering the ability to talk thoughtfully about narrative art forms like movies, television, theater and books: the way anything with a story has been reduced to a level of "what happens."

If there's any place where this idea manifests most prominently, it's in the obsession with "spoilers" regarding any new piece of narrative storytelling. People like me who write about new releases often dodge talking about certain revelations as a matter of courtesy, but I've started to wonder if doing so is contributing to an infantilization of critical thinking. Every time we emphasize the fact that we're not going to talk about certain things, we inevitably emphasize their role in the overall experience. It's a cult of the "what happens," at the expense of the how it happens.

This notion was at the forefront of my mind recently when I watched for the first time the classic 1949 film noir The Third Man. By virtue of being immersed in the world of film, I was aware that certain plot developments were coming, in the same way that even someone who has never seen The Crying Game or The Empire Strikes Back or The Sixth Sense has probably absorbed from popular culture their respective third-act bombshells. Yet it never once occurred to me that I shouldn't watch The Third Man simply because I was already aware of some of the secrets of Harry Lime. There were so many other filmmaking elements to experience—performances, bits of dialogue, cinematography—besides those that could be contained in a Wikipedia plot summary. The movie was much more than that.

Yet we've become obsessed—perhaps even more so in the era of eternal serialized storytelling like the Marvel Cinematic Universe—with the essence of a movie being the "what happens" part. This damages aesthetic appreciation for a lot of reasons, but nowhere more clearly than with regard to movies and other stories where the artist is up to something more complicated than telling a simple story, as is the case with filmmakers like David Lynch. I studied literary criticism before getting into film, and there has always been a popular stigma around experimental works like James Joyce's Ulysses, which while it certainly included components of a narrative—it is, in the most rudimentary sense, a novel about what happens to one man over the course of one day—did so in unusual ways. Does it "advance the plot" that Joyce spends an entire chapter of Ulysses describing events in the question-and-answer format of a catechism? Not remotely. It is, however, a fascinating creative choice with thematic significance, just like the stream-of-consciousness chapter that closes the book from the point of view of protagonist Leopold Bloom's wife, Molly. Reading that chapter is an amazing experience for someone who loves literature, one that would be insanely oversimplified if you first encountered the book after having someone tell you, "Spoiler alert: Molly Bloom has an orgasm."

If you're interpreting all this as a blanket endorsement of letting loose with every possible plot revelation, you're missing the point. On any number of occasions, a narrative's impact on me has been amplified by lack of foreknowledge, and a sense of discovery. But the balance has been tipped too heavily in the direction of emphasizing plot—whether that means people behaving as though a story has been ruined by knowing something in advance, or by resisting aesthetic choices that are there simply to be aesthetic choices.

We can have a discussion about whether any given element of a movie, including a sex scene, works in the way the filmmakers intended. What we can't do is turn the discussion into one where that element is judged exclusively on its merits as a plot-driving mechanism. There's a whole world of art to experience beyond synopsis—and it's a world that can't be spoiled.'

[thevindicativevordan]

According to Henry Cavill's Instagram, he's officially done playing Superman since Gunn and Safran didn't want him to return. Now, I won't say that Cavill would necessarily make a perfect or even good Superman film, but it is kinda sad to see him not get his second chance, especially after he stepped away from the Witcher. Here's to hoping the rest of his career goes smoothly.

Folks after five years of back and forth regarding Cavill we at last have a definitive answer: he's done.

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Gunn is writing a Superman reboot that will return to the character's early days while not being an origin story. It will be set in Metropolis with Superman as a reporter for the Daily Planet where he will be meeting new versions of Lois, Jimmy, and all the rest. Gunn may even direct the project although he has said no director has been chosen just yet. Looks like Superman will be the first movie in Gunn's new slate coming 2024 or 2025. Gunn has said he's been working on the script for this for a while, and that makes me think the Lobo teases may be for this project, we might end up seeing something similar to what the animated Man of Tomorrow movie did.

For Cavill yes this sucks. Five years of waiting and he thinks he finally is getting the opportunity he's been longing for, only to have it snatched away from him again. Losing Geralt (to bad writing) and Superman (to hierarchy shake ups) so close to each other has got to sting. I was initially open to his return, thinking that maybe they could salvage his take with recasting the people around him. After seeing people get up in arms at the idea of recasting the roles of Adams or Eisenberg, I switched back to wanting a full reboot. Maybe Cavill will get another chance like Routh or Garfield did to play the character again in a way that shows us what he could have been. Perhaps he might even show up in the DCU, albeit as a different character. Momoa is supposedly going to play DCU Lobo, I would love to see Cavill play DCU Metallo.

Reaction wise I am ecstatic to say the least, apologies to you Cavill fans. We're finally free of Snyder's influence and closing the chapter on his era for good. No more Knightmare, or Eisenberg Lex, or Cuck Kent hanging over us anymore, Superman is getting what Batman got: a clean break with the past that offers a fresh start. First time in ages I've read some Superman news and just walked away feeling entirely satisfied, this is exactly what I wanted. No Cavill, no Coates/Abrams (which is seemingly still in development but we'll see if that actually gets made), this is the third option I always hoped they would take but didn't think they would. Of course there's lingering questions to address, like will Calle carry over as Supergirl? Will Gunn be smart enough to give Lex and Zod a rest, reach out to Morrison for advice when he has questions about the character, cast the right actor, and get a director who can do Superman justice? All questions we will have to wait for answers on, at least until next year. Ringing in his 85th anniversary next year with details about his upcoming movie is definitely a way to get off on the right foot with me at least.

And hey, the other good takeaway is that Gunn is going to be very invested in Superman's corner of the DCU. That means there's a very good chance that the extended Super Mythos is going to get treated well under Gunn, maybe we'll get Krypto and the Legion of Superheroes shows/cartoons, and all the awesome parts of Superman's lore that never would have showed up in the DCEU. A proper Fortress of Solitude even! I'm feeling optimistic about our chances to say the least.

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DC Cinematic Universe: Superman (Part III)

Chapter Three: American Gothic

We're gonna start this one by breaking into my idea for my movie, set to introduce a new Superman to a DC Cinematic Universe of my making. James Gunn, who's currently writing his Superman film, has been saying pretty ardently that this won't be an origin movie. And that's wise, in my opinion. We've had two Superman origin films, so why have a third in the docket. I think some of that should apply to the other members of the Trinity (Batman and Wonder Woman), but let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. In fact, I'll just say this: the origin story extent within the Trinity is gonna be on a three-part spectrum. Batman won't get any origin story stuff at all, Wonder Woman will get a LOT of origin story stuff (because I'll be changing some things significantly, compared to the Jenkins film), and Superman...well, he's in the middle. But OK, enough preamble; here's how this is kicking off.

Our film is going to take place mostly in Metropolis, from the jump. Because of that, there won't be much or any of the Kent Farm outside of brief scenes. In fact, the first time we see our Kents will be when they come to visit Clark in his Metropolis apartment. He'll have gotten a fairly new apartment, due to an improved status and salary at the Daily Planet, and that'll be an excuse for the Kents to visit their son (whom they're constantly worried about). I'll talk about what happens to the Kents over the course of this theoretical film as we go along, but just know for now that we'll be seeing them interact with Clark for the first time in Metropolis, not Smallville.

Since we're meeting the Kents now, let's talk about them right quick, one at a time, starting with...

Jonathan Kent: Farmer Until (Inevitable) Death

The Kents go WAY back to the Civil War, and are some of the first settlers of Kansas, according pervious DC Comics lore. Having settled the Smallville farm at least 100 years ago, they're the very definition of the American farmer. Because of this, Jonathan Kent is a dedicated farm-man, and has all the trappings of such. A traditionalist in some ways, and progressive in others, Jonathan believes in truth, justice, and the American way whole-heartedly, and his moral compass is a major influence on Clark's moral compass as an adult. It's pretty safe to say that ever Jonathan Kent is a hero to his adopted son, and I understand why. He was a good and loving father, who only wanted the best for his son, while also being aware that his son was meant for greater things.

But that said...Jonathan's characterization has danced around those points pretty considerably. In my opinion, the core tenets of Jonathan Kent are as follows:

He will do anything for his wife. Jonathan and Martha are one of the most loving and enduring couples in comic books, and their relationship is what Clark (and most other people) see as the ideal middle-aged/elderly couple. Jonathan takes his wedding vows as seriously as his life, and his love for his wife is still deeper than the ocean depths. It's sweet.

He will do anything for his son. Jonathan would be proud of Clark no matter what he did, but the fact that his son is a successful reporter and Superman makes him the proudest father that's ever lived. Only the fear of ruining his son's and Martha's life prevents him from shouting his son's secret from the mountaintops, just so the universe can love his son as much as he does. Oh, and one more thing: Clark is his son. Period.

His moral compass is as lawful good as you can get. You know how I said Clark would and should be aware that morality is in greyscale? Yeah, Jonathan believes in black-and-white, right vs. wrong, full stop. His moral compass is as monochromatic as it gets. Maybe that's him being old-fashioned; maybe it's him being isolated from larger populations...who knows? But to Jonathan Kent, right is right, and wrong is wrong. Period.

He has pretty severe heart problems. ...You'll see.

While I'd love to go into Jonathan's interesting comic book history, I'll save it for myself. However, if you're curious, my favorite Jonathan Kent story takes place mostly in Adventures of Superman #500 (1993), which happens in the fallout of The Death of Superman story, as well as being the first issue of the Reign of the Supermen story. It's also one of the few comics I physically own, and I treasure the SHIT out of it for various reasons. Anyway, check it out if you're curious! However, the first time you Jonathan in that issue, it hints as a recurring theme of his...and I'll get to that.

OK, so, Jonathan Kent adaptations real quick! Technically, Jonathan first appeared in Superman: The Movie, played by Golden Age superstar Glenn Ford. While he wasn't in the film for very long, the main thing he's remembered for is giving Clark advice about his role on Earth...and then dying of a massive heart attack immediately after that. This prompts a young Clark, eventually, into becoming the hero his dad dreamed he could be.

After this version of the character, DC rebooted its continuity in Crisis on Infinite Earths, bringing the Kents back to life in the universe's present day. Oh, uh...did I forget to mention that the Kents are fucking dead in the original comics? Yeah, we only met them in Superboy comics, which is...another story entirely. Anyway, after this, the Kent also appeared in media again. They were in Superboy and Lois and Clark, but the most famous incarnation of Jonathan Kent came in Smallville.

John Schneider's Jonathan Kent, to me and many, is THE Jonathan Kent. Still the family-oriented farmer, this Jonathan Kent comes with a few less years, a grudge against the Luthor family, and a massive anger issue. Still the supportive father, and still proud of Clark no matter what, he was a little more soap-opera-y than most versions, since...well, that's what Smallville was, to be honest. Financial issues, marital problems, etc. But still, he was a great father and a good man. So dedicated to his family was he, that he went to save his son from himself while Clark was being taken over by a supplanted Kryptonian version of himself (fucking...FUCKING DO NOT ASK), and made a deal with Jor-El in the process. This deal granted him power equivalent to Clark, because Smallville doesn't make sense. And in the process...it gave him heart problems. Time travel forward to episode 100 of the series and...yeah, Jonathan dies of a heart attack.

Seeing the pattern? Well, we haven't gotten to the dumbest example.

...Fuck you Man of Steel. This stupid-ass movies ruins Jonathan Kent. Played by a piece of cardboard given sentience by the Blue Fairy by accident, AKA Kevin Costner, This version of Jonathan wants to protect his son by sheltering him until the time is juuuuuuuust right for him to come out, like a fucking souffle. A Souperflee, if you goddamn will. Because of this, there is a point in this film when, while talking to his young son, he argues that maybe, just maybe, Clark should've let a SCHOOLBUS FULL OF CHILDREN DROWN, just to keep his secret. Yeah, Jonathan would NEVER suggest that. Absolutely not. And then, to top it all off, the man stops his son from saving him from a FUCKING TORNADO, and dies in a manner so unintentionally funny, it has a Know Your Meme page about it. #stopmyinvincibleson.

Well. In summary, Jonathan Kent is a farming man with strong morals and an intense devotion to family. And he always dies, or at the very least, almost dies. More of that later. For now, that's basically the summary. Now, let's talk about Mom.

Martha Kent: More Than a Farmer's Wife

Ever since Crisis on Infinite Earths, Martha Kent has been a part of Clark's life in the past and present. Like Jonathan, she loves her son and her husband endlessly. However, where Jonathan's morality is unbent by the world around her, Martha is traditionally a bit more practical. She's the grounding presence and the heart of the Kent household, as well as pretty much being the traditional stay-at-home mother character. Her core character traits, to me, are as follows:

Martha is a caring mother and wife. 'Nuff said.

...Shit. That actually might be it.

Yeah, unfortunately, Martha both does and doesn't get a lot of attention in the comics. I guess I could just say that Martha is compassionate and caring, for anybody who needs her help. She's taken in most people positively affiliated with the Superman mythos, especially Superboy (Conner Kent) and Krypto the Superdog, for starters. Other than that, though, you can play around with Martha a bit. And that's what the various adaptations have done with her.

Unfortunately, even though Martha's appeared in Superman: The Movie (played by Phyllis Thaxter), and Lois and Clark (played by K Callan), Martha hadn't had a lot of import in the mythos, outside of usually being the person who made Clark's iconic Superman suit. But then, Smallville came along with Annette O'Toole in the role, and this made the character WAY more dynamic. Now from high society Metropolis originally, she became a college-educated working mom, who started the series by managing the financial details of the farm. By the time the series ended, a widowed Martha Kent had been a United States Senator, a leading member of the covert-ops government agency Checkmate, and had remarried Perry White! Martha Kent is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated characters Smallville ever produced. And even though she was able to do ALL of those things, she never dipped into Mary Sue territory. She was just always...honestly, she was just always a good mom.

And honestly, so is MAARTHAAAA...sorry, Diane Lane as the character in the Snyderverse films. Infamous in name specifically, Martha "WHYDIDYOUSAYTHATNAME" Kent remained on the farm, and is an independent woman who loves her son, while recognizing his importance. Not entirely my Martha Kent, but definitely not a bad version of the character. Better than Jonathan, anyway.

With all of that said, Martha is sort-of an open book as these characters go. My version will be the caring mom who grounds Jonathan and Clark in reality, while allowing and inspiring them to reach for the stars. Also, she'll be involved in town matters, taking the politics angle from Smallville a bit more proactively.

And now, with THAT said...

My Jonathan and Martha Kent

As I said before, in my theoretical film, the Kents won't interact physically with Clark until they get to Metropolis. We'll see the farm itself, possibly while Clark and the Kents are on the phone with each other, talking about their upcoming visit, but the Kents will visit Clark in his new apartment, both alive and well. They'll also serve as a part of Clark's personal journey of discovery in this film, because they represent his earthly origins. See, we'll find out early on that while Clark does know a bit about Krypton and his origins, he's almost entirely in the dark about much of his past. There's no Fortress of Solitude, no communication from the dead, not even the names of his parents. So, a visit from the only parents he knows is welcomed.

But then, while the Kents are in Metropolis, the main villains of the piece strike. These villains, whose names will remain unsaid until later posts, have a weapon that SUperman has never seen before: Kryptonite. And yes, I know that Kryptonite has its own over-usage, but we'll get to that later. But Kryptonite, in this case, is meant to be a symbol of a piece of home that Clark doesn't know about or understand. Somebody else understands it, and has armed out villains with it. After a big climactic fight, Clark's going to be in recovery, cared for by his parents. While in recovery, Martha will give Clark an early homecoming present. They'd found it in his old room recently, and had forgotten about it. Said item is a crystal-laden necklace, which was the only thing he had on him as an infant in the ship. And when the now-adult and injured Clark makes contact with it, the device activates and creates an electronic pulse that rattles the apartment and shuts down all electronics. And detecting a comatose Clark, it also beams a message into his own mind.

And with that...it's time to talk about Krypton. Hoo boy.

Index: Superman

Part I: Why I Love Superman

Part II: On Lois Lane

Part III: The Kents

Part IV: The 'Rents

Part V: The...Frendts?

Part VI: Lex Luthor

Part VII: The Real Villains

Part VIII: Superman's Rogues Gallery

Part IX: The Story - Act One

Part X: The Story (Acts Two and Three)

Part XI: The Story - Climax

Part XII: Epilogue (Part One)

Part XIII: Epilogue (Part Two)

[howtotrainyournana]

All We Do anon here!!

I'm very happy to hear that interaction helps! It's one of the main reasons why I always try to engage with / show appreciation to authors with comments, asks, etc. The artist and audience thrive off of each other!! Creative mutualism is a thing that is to be cherished and nourished! And congratulations on those daily writing habits! I've been trying to write again after some years and it's been difficult breaking into it again. But I'm determined to do it!!

I love the new version of "Hello My Old Heart" so so much and I am very very happy to hear that you also love it!! Two very different perspectives shown by the two versions but both wonderful and heartfelt and human!!

Just started listening to some of your recommendations and I really like them! "Make This Timeline Brighter" is very soothing? Smooth? Not sure how to describe it but it's good!!

I will happily wait!! And also thank you so much for the snippet!! Love the homeliness of the descriptions!! All the thread and fabric makes me think of a warm cozy cottage. Very curious why Drea kidnapped a king? Is it before Techno gets controlled and this is a warning? Is it after and discussing what to do? Is it even after than that and Techno is a hero now?? Is this about winning the bet or something else entirely?? I'm so intrigued!

(also the "I am here, queer and ready to listen to music until my brain melts" made me happy. I too am here, queer, and ready to listen to music until my brain melts!! I love music so much!!! One of my absolute favorite artforms!!!)

(also hi mischeif-lileep, if you ever see this, I have no idea who you are but if you don't know Sleeping At Last, check them out!!! I realize my ask only refers to them as SAL, so here's the actual name so you can find the songs! SAL is really really good.)

(and one last note, yes having full conversations through asks is indeed very fun!! gives me something to look forward too as well everytime I check your blog!)

All We Do anon I love you and I'm kissing you gently on the forehead. *mwah*

Bless your entire face for being the person who gives feedback. You're doing blessed work and I hope every person you give encouragement and interaction to appreciates you. I know I do. Creative mutualism is so so real and we're propagating it together right now. Also, this is an encouragement and a threat - you ARE going to succeed getting back into writing and when you DO publish or share something, let me see it so I can scream encouragement at you like you've done for me. Because you deserve it. And whatever you create? I'm going to be proud of you for it. That is a threat.

I'm glad you liked the recommendations!!!! Scribe has so much good stuff. I got the chance to hang out and record stuff with Scribe and Nate a few years back and it was one of the most lovely experiences I've ever had. They're such good people and I love them.

I'm so glad you liked the snippet!!!! Timeline wise "so build me a cottage of sunlight and stone" takes place right after "and played like a record on endless repeat", which if you remember ends with a conversation between Dream and XD about escalating Dream's villainy to the next level. Up until this point Dream has been mostly small-scale, harassing farmers and burning down buildings and committing petty thievery. And bothering Technoblade. (mostly bothering Technoblade). Now, though, he's stepping it up, because that's the only way to keep and hold Techno's attention, which Dream desperately needs to do. You're going to get more information on the nature of Dream's bet and why he needs to win it in the next chapter or two of "to a familiar tune we resist"! I'm so so so excited to post that next chapter. I just have to finish writing it.

Just to make it a bit easier if it was hard to follow - timeline is that when Techno was eight, the Blood God possessed him and used him to go on a killing spree and kill like, a whole third of the world. Dream met Technoblade shortly before he was fully possessed, when he was dying in the Creative God's garden (read: graveyard) and Dream saved him. (these are the events of "to a familiar tune we resist"). The Blood God was stopped from continuing the spree by ~interferences yet unknown~ and now, over a decade later, Dream and Technoblade meet again, this time as villain and hero. (these are the events of the first three fics in the series, "all my foundations are laid next to yours", "in part, in whole, in pieces", "and played like a record on endless repeat"). At the point of "so build me a cottage of sunlight and stone" in the timeline, I believe Dream and Technoblade have been facing off for about a year or so? I'm not looking at any of my reference materials at the moment, so I might be wrong, but that's what I remember off the top of my head. Things are going to continue to escalate after this for about another year or so, before the fic and scene that's I've had written for nearly three years occurs. I'm so excited to publish that, when it finally happens. If you have any more "kill me softer" questions, let me at 'em! I'd love to answer them.

HELLO FELLOW MEMBER OF THE ALPHABET MAFIA. HAIL AND WELL MET!

(please continue the conversations through asks, I'm utterly delighted by them lol)

[joseph4inspiration]

(Proverbs 3: 7-8)

Often times when we quote from the third chapter of Proverbs it's usually verse 7; and not even the entire verse, just, "be not wise in your own eyes."

But verses 7 and 8 goes hand in hand because verse 7 list the actions we must take and verse 8 list the results of the action.

Verse 7 tells us not to rely solely on our own counsel nor should we have a self-serving mentality . Relying solely on intellect can lead us down a path that is contrary to the will of God. But when we fear God - I'm not just talking about the fear of hell (which is also true) but also the fear of operating outside of God's will - knowing that it's not only dangerous, but it also goes against any promise we may have made to God about putting our trust in Him.

Verse 7 also tells us to depart from evil. Evil isn't what we say it is, it's what God said it is. And it's those actions and ways that God wants us to depart from.

Verse 8 tells us that when we are not wise in our own eyes (not trusting in ourselves) but have enough faith to trust in God's plan(not solely in our own intellect), and when we're living a life that pleases God, it will be beneficial to the physical body.

Our wisdom can only bring us so far, and being a know-it-all proves you know nothing. But when you put your trust in God, and living accord to how He desires, it will always prove to be a blessing in our lives, in one way or another!

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

Rating The Strangers: Chapter 1 is something I'm finding difficult. On the one hand, the characters are dumb to the point of frustration and the plot is predictable. On the other, this is a weirdly ambitious picture and I really want to see more. This one's going to make me look like a hypocrite because I won't be recommending it, but I will be sticking with the series.

When their car breaks down in a small town, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and her boyfriend Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) are forced to stay the night in an Airbnb in the middle of the woods. They don’t realize being there is enough reason for three psychopathic, masked strangers to begin terrorizing them.

I haven’t liked the previous Strangers movies, but only because I love the setup and the films they should be but never become. There’s something elegantly creepy about the Scarecrow, Dollface and Pin-Up Girl masks the three strangers wear. The idea of minding your own business and still being attacked by psychopaths is terrifying, particularly because so much of what’s going on is unanswered. Do the strangers own the Airbnb and have been waiting for someone to rent it so they can play a twisted game? Have been following Maya and Ryan, since they stopped at the diner, hoping the couple would eventually find themselves alone? Is the couple just at the wrong place, at the wrong time? Why are the strangers doing what they’re doing? Are there really only three strangers? Could there be more, wearing duplicates of the masks we've already seen? Wisely, the film keeps these answers close to its chest. The title of “Chapter 1” might lead you to believe that this is a prequel that will demystify every detail from the meaning behind the enigmatic question "Is Tamara here?" to who hides behind the masks, but you’re wrong.

What makes this third chapter frustrating is that the characters only have a sense of self-preservation if the plot demands it. If you think the guy working at the only garage in town has messed with your vehicle, why would you accuse them to their face, unless you want to risk further damage to your car when you leave it in their care? Someone already knocked at their door acting all creepy, so why does Maya decide to answer - and open - the door again later that same night? Why would she and Ryan assume they can rest easy inside a bedroom when they’ve just seen Scarecrow hack his way through the front entrance with an axe? Stupid decisions aren’t limited to the protagonists either; I guess we're supposed to think the strangers are "so crazy" that they just don't care about anything, which is why - even when Maya and Ryan arm themselves with weapons that can inflict serious damage - the strangers still act like everything is under control.

If that weren't bad enough, the movie cheats. Unless we're going to get a big reveal that Scarecrow, Pin-Up Girl and Doll Face are ghosts who can move silently through walls and turn invisible, there's no way they could do what they're doing in this movie. I'm looking at you, screenplay writers Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland and director Renny Harlin. The characters' actions and the unearned "scares" are made even more frustrating because you came to this to be scared. You feel the tension in this scenario - far more than everyone on-screen apparently!

Without giving away too much, let me tell you what the Chapter 1 title means. No, it's not a new way to say that this is "the beginning", it's to warn you that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is part of a planned trilogy. The second and third have already been shot. This is important because it means this picture ends in a "to be continued". We've seen more horror movies end on a "dun-dun-duuuuun" note than I can count, and plenty of flicks have found ways to keep their stories going with a "Part 2" but that's not what we have here. The story isn't over; it's too big for 91 minutes! Furthermore, this is NOT a prequel to the 2008 film. It's more of a remake, if anything, as the plot is almost beat-for-beat the same. That should make me angry because that would normally make this a remake that doesn't improve on the original - and therefore begs the question "Why was this even made" - but the conclusion has me intrigued. More than intrigued. I NEED to know what's coming next. Even though this film is subpar and the mid-credit tease about what's coming next is ridiculous, I'll be there when Chapter 2 is released. (Theatrical version on the big screen, May 25, 2024)

[spinningbuster98]

And here we finally have our first Ashley escort section!

If you're expecting me to bitch...I won't!

She's nowhere near as bad as people make her out to be! Oh sure character-wise she's a cardboard cutout, this is one area where I will absolutely concede that the Remake did a far better job. But gameplay wise? Her AI is actually very responsive!

First off you can tell her to stay put at one spot, so if you know some place where you know enemies won't spawn you can put her there while you clear the area. This won't always be possible of course but even then, Ashley is smarter than she lets on

First off, every time you point a gun she will immediately either run behind Leon or duck out of the way, so if you accidentally kill her that's gonna be on you. Every other time she diligently follows you around with no issue. She can die very quickly, but you can replenish her health with your own healing items, even upgrade her max health like you can with Leon's

There are also only roughly 4 sections with her in total and, excluding this first one which lasts until the end of Chapter 3-1, every other only lasts about 20 minutes, so she's only gonna be present for about 30% of the whole game. Yeah she's kind of annoying, and the game doesn't really benefit from having her around, but she's by no means a deal breaker

And while we're at it let's delve into Resident Evil 4's gameplay itself shall we?

Now I'm not a big RE fan as a whole, but even I'm aware of the divide caused by this game for many, of how it essentially forever altered not only the series' identity but also horror as a whole.

No more fixed camera angles, no more pre rendered backgrounds, no more limited resources, no more non-linear design, no more having to carefully maneuver around enemies to avoid confrontation in order to save up on ammo and stuff. This game is very action focused, you're shooting stuff all the time, it drowns you in ammo, it's very linear, it's pretty much the opposite of classic RE in almost every way, leading to plenty of older fans to call this the game that essentially killed the series

...and I mean....they're not wrong? I know that these types of fans tend to get a bad rep in all kinds of fandoms, sometimes for good reasons as sometimes people can just be straight up dicks, but there's nothing inherently wrong with this general sentiment: you like a series due to a variety of elements which are unique to it. If those elements are gone you no longer enjoy it. Simple as that. Some cry "Oh but you just don't accept change!" but the truth is that one must first consider a specific change to be good before they can accept it

Despite this however...I can't fully agree with this sentiment myself, despite sympathising with it

It's often said that RE4 is not a horrot game, just an action game.

And it's true that this game is not a traditional Survival Horror game due to the aforementioned reasons. But I can't call thos just an action game because, even ignoring what I said about this game's very horror-like atmosphere, visual design and ost last time, there are a bunch of design elements that simply don't make much sense for a pure action game but do for a horror one

Yes this game revolutionized third person shooting in terms of precision and camera controls, not to mention that it features literal over the top melee attacks you can perform after stunning an enemy by shooting them in their weak points

But at the same time it also has old-school tank controls. They're snappier than in the classic games, but this still means you can't freely outmaneuver your enemies, creating tension that way

You also can't move while aiming, just like in the older games. You are pinned to the spot while trying to aim for enemy weak points, putting you in a vulnerable position if other enemies were to flank you in the meantime. While the aiming itself is precise, Leon's hands slightly tremble, forcing you to be careful, throwing you into a potential panic should you find yourself surrounded by enemies on all sides and you don't have the nerve to properly steady yourself. You are also completely immobile while reloading weapons. In the older games you could do this from the pause menu but here it HAS to be during gameplay and it may take a second or to, forcing you to be mindful of when and where you reload during a conflict. Weapons like the shotgun even have noticeable wind up after each shot which, again, anchors you to the spot for a second each time, putting you at risk of getting hit. Leon can die pretty easily here, a single hit can fell over half of your healthbar. You have healing items of course, but you nevertheless need to be careful

The over the shoulder camera may be criticized by older fans....but if you think about it it serves a very similar purpose to the old fixed camera angles: those obscured your view creating a sense of dread due to not knowing if you were gonna run into a zombie when passing the next camera angle.

While the over the shoulder camera is not as cinematic as the old one, people seem to forget that, unlike most other games inspired by RE4, you can't freely move this camera, only slightly pan it to the sides, otherwise you can only see what is strictly ahead of you. If you want to see what's behind you you have to turn around, which takes a second, a second that enemies may use to hit you during the animation. This is all 100% purposeful, as it creates very obvious blind spots for you that you have to be mindful of and that help create this overall sense of tension and paranoia

People say that RE4 is not scary, tense at most. I argue that fear is a very subjective thing that varies on the person. My first few playthroughs of RE4 gave me very similar feelings to my first times playing RE1-2-3. In those games I was afraid of all the zombies that I couldn't directly see because of the camera, with each encounter being tense due to tank controls and limited resources. In RE4 I was paranoid that at any second the game might spring yet another trap at me and flood a room with enemies, enemies that I couldn't always keep track of as they'd often surround me, coming from my blindspots, each encounter being tense because of needing to stop for a few seconds in the middle of a fight to take aim and fire, which is a risk because enemies can and will try to attack you from all directions as you're doing this.

Now of course nowadays RE4 is mostly no longer scary to me. But that's mostly because I've played this game about 20 times and I've grown accustomed to all of its tricks. Similarily Nemesis in OG RE3 was scary the first few times, but now I know how to take him on, that's normal. The only RE games that keep being scary to me even now are the OG RE1 and its Remake, mostly due to the whole haunted Mansion setup being inherently creepier to me and because they're far harder games than the rest I think

Perhaps no other section in the game makes any of this clearer than the dreaded Cabin Section at the end of this Chapter

Leon and Luis (Ashley thankfully locks herself in a closet so you don't have to worry about her for once) against an infinite horde of Ganados as they storm the tiny cabin, coming from all sides. There's barely any space to maneuver yourself, they keep coming without stopping, your ammo dwindles little by little. You will panic, you won't know exactly what to do, you'll screw up as you're being mercilessly overwhelmed from all sides, you'll dread ever having to redo this part....yet I can't absolutely say it's badly designed. They will only give up after a while, after which you'll finally breathe a sigh of relief as the danger is finally over...for now

Peak Resident Evil 4

Also Luis does this if you shoot him too many times

[casspurrjoybell-28]

Alpha's Temptation - Chapter 49 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

After the fall of Theo, there were a few things that happened.

The first is that the next day I woke up to the doorbell ringing incessantly.

I decide to go get it so Lucien doesn't have to, considering he got back to the house in the early morning and collapsed right into bed.

I open the door to see my three friends standing there, Lylah, Wren, and Jay.

I'm prepared to go into a whole explanation about why I never told them about being from Dark Moon when all three of them crush me in a hug.

"You don't have to explain anything."

"You're our best friend."

"We love you."

I hug them back as tight as I can, so grateful for their words.

"Thank you guys," I tear up. "You all mean the world to me."

The second thing that happened was that after Daemon, Tristan and Lucien all hassled the council, it was decided I could stay in the pack as long as I got my Dark Moon mark removed and replaced with a Shadow Pack one.

I gladly cooperated. Good riddance.

And the third thing... well it's happening tonight.

Right now I'm getting ready for Daemon to pick me up.

We're doing a kind of... redo, I guess, of our failed first date.

I've decided, though, that I'm going to count our first date as the time we snuck off to the lake together, right after we kissed for the first time.

That's one of the best memories in my life.

But anyways, I decide I'm going to have to do it up tonight, appearance wise.

I want to look nice for him.

And while Lylah says he'd love me even in a trash bag, I want to go above and beyond.

I shower and use all kinds of soaps and shampoos so I smell good.

I brush my hair and blow dry it so it fluffs up.

I also apply some light makeup, just a hint of blush and highlighter, nothing more because I don't want to conceal the freckles Daemon loves so much.

Lastly, I apply some chap-stick and white eyeliner to go with my all white outfit.

I was originally going to wear the outfit for prom but since that never happened I decide there's no better time to wear it than now.

As I'm pulling the clothes out of the dresser I spot the lacy underwear Lylah had given to me before everything went to shit.

My stomach twists in excitement.

I pull off my clothes and slip the panties on, walking over to the mirror to see how I look.

The underwear barely conceals anything with it's see through material but it compliments my figure and accentuates the dip of my waist and curve of my hips and butt.

I squeal, dancing around like an idiot because for once in my life I feel totally confident in my looks and I can't wait for him to see me.

It's rare and it's probably temporary but I'm too happy to care.

I pull on the rest of the outfit.

A cream croqueted shirt, some low-rise boot cut jeans in the same color and to top it off, a simple pearl choker.

Satisfied with everything, I slip on my shoes and bound downstairs.

Lucien's reading a book in the living room and he looks up when he sees me.

"Someone looks excited," he smiles, closing his book and getting up to walk over to me.

"Do you like my outfit?" I ask him giddily.

"It's very nice," he chuckles.

I hear the sound of a car pulling up outside and my heart jumps.

"I think he's here."

"Wait, Ash. Er... how do I say this?" Lucien scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

I tilt my head in confusion, waiting for him to continue.

What could it be?

"You two are using some form of contraceptive, right?"

"Oh," my face goes red and I look down, completely mortified.

So he knows. I mean, of course he does.

"Um D-Daemon gets the p-pill for me," I reply, embarrassing myself even further because I'm exposing the fact that we do it raw.

But when I was in heat, that was the only way to calm me down.

It also feels nicer, in general.

"Ah. Okay. Good," he chuckles nervously. "Fifty is too young to be a grandfather."

"L-Lucien," I squeak, covering my face with my hands.

I didn't know it could get worse from him knowing his own son bangs me.

"I'm sorry, my boy. Go have fun," he ruffles my hair and I give him a hug.

"Bye," I exclaim before I'm rushing out the door, thankful to leave that painfully awkward situation behind.

But it shows that Lucien cares, and I appreciate it. I walk down the steps to where my mate waits, a bouquet of roses in his hands.

He's not wearing a suit, of course he isn't and I wouldn't want him to.

I like him how he is.

My rugged Daemy dressed in his dark jeans and leather jacket.

When he sees me his eyes widen and fill with affection and I nearly tear up at how he's looking at me.

He holds a hand out to me but I don't take it, instead throwing myself into his arms.

Instantly he's picking me up and spinning me around as I bury my smiling face into his neck.

"You look beautiful," he says softly into my ear and I blush, my heart warming at the compliment.

Still holding me up, he observes my face, eyes trailing over my features.

"You put on white eyeliner, right?"

"Yes," I giggle, not expecting him to know a specific makeup term.

"It suits you. Matches your hair," he grins, kissing me again as he sets me down. "Your whole... thing," he refers to my outfit. "Its super cute," he says in adoration.

"I'm glad you like it," I blush. "You look so handsome, too," I say, adjusting the collar of his jacket.

It's his turn to blush now because his face reddens and he looks away, holding my hand as he guides me to his car.

Cutie. He can't take a compliment.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"It's a surprise," he grins to himself, obviously excited about whatever he's gonna show me.

When we reach our destination, I don't know what to expect.

He parks the car and we get out but I'm confused.

We're in a neighborhood with just a few houses.

But he takes me by the hand and leads me to one of them.

It's two story but small and it looks really cozy with the deep brown paneling and dark tinted windows.

"Are we visiting someone?" I ask.

He shakes his head, pulling me to him and wrapping an arm around my waist as we both face it.

"This is my house."

My eyes widen.

"What?"

"The council... they felt kind of responsible for everything that happened to me because of Theo. As compensation, they moved me out of the pack house. To here. So I can live close to Lucien. I mean, it's not free, exactly. I had to do some co-payments and of course the rent is on me but... I really wanted it."

"T-that's amazing. I'll be able to visit you more easily too."

"Baby," he has a knowing smile on his face. "I want you here. With me."

My jaw drops, the proposal taking me by surprise.

"What? Me??"

"No, that cricket on the ground," he says sarcastically and I look down, shrieking as said cricket jumps toward me.

He bursts out laughing and I cross my arms, pouting up at him.

"Still, Daemon. H-How can...are you sure? You wouldn't rather choose like, Tristan or someone?"

Daemon looks at me in disbelief.

"Why the hell would I want to live with Tristan and his cat that pisses everywhere?"

I can't help the giggle that escapes me but then I look down, uncertain.

I do want to live with Daemon, I really do.

But what if something goes wrong?

What if he starts to find the odd things about me annoying rather than endearing?

And I also can't contribute much money-wise.

His large hand encases my small one, giving it a light squeeze.

"Hey, look at me," he brings his other hand to my chin, tilting my face up. I look into his dark eyes, worrying at first but what I see is all warmth.

"I want to wake up with you every morning and fall asleep with you in my arms every night. Is that not good enough of a reason?" he says, stroking my cheek tenderly.

"But I... I have nightmares, Daemon. Y-you've witnessed how bad they are. W-what if you can never sleep properly?" I ask sadly.

"Why would I want to sleep when my mate can't?" Daemon looks at me like I'm crazy.

"I'll feel bad. A-and there's other things, too..."

"Whatever problems arise, we work through them together. I'm not going to let you hide away from me and keep everything to yourself. Okay?"

My lip trembles but then I nod, burying myself in his chest.

"O-Okay."