#it could also be that i have no idea whats going on in this game half the time

[heavenorhella2001]

This had never occurred to me way back when when I first watched playthroughs of the game/played it myself, but;

Seeing this post made me remember Max's meltdown, when she was trapped in her own mind/a broken version of reality.

And seeing this now?

Max definitely has PTSD.

Everyone always primarily discusses/ focuses on Chloe's trauma (which is understandable. I'll always be a Chloe defender and don't want to downplay her trauma by any means.)

But, unfortunately, Max's is overlooked.

Now, a lot of people might view this skeptically, question the idea of Max having PTSD. To many, it might seem like Max doesn't really have any lasting form of major trauma after the events of the game. Maybe she really was content and at peace and happy-go-lucky. (I've always scoffed at that scene at Chloe's funeral, when Max smiles at the butterfly.) And I'll admit, within the context of the story maybe we aren't supposed to think so. But if that's the case I just have to assume that's due to the developing team's lack of knowledge, experience with mental health and how it works, the impact things like this have on someone. Not that they are coming from a malicious place, of course. But very rarely does a person 'get it' unless they've been through it themselves. The average person simply won't understand.

But if you see everything I've described here as it's laid out, it makes total sense;

Let's talk about Jefferson. He is just one of many elements in the game contributing to Max's trauma. He was her teacher, someone she looked up to, respected, and was supposed to be able to trust. She truly felt safe around him. It's implied she had a crush on him. But her image of him completely shattered. After the truth about him was revealed, she was no longer able to trust her own judgement of people, her perception of reality.

He drugged her when she was vulnerable, and she was helpless to watch as he shot and killed the love of her life right in front of her. He kidnapped her, and she was thrown from the frying pan right into the fire. When she woke up she was tied up in a basement, helpless, and he had burned all her photos. Not only precious memories, but also one of her only means of going back and fixing things. He then took photos of her, over and over, this went on for who knows how long, while she was drugged, tied up and helpless, in order to satisfy his own perversions. Throughout, he mocked and tormented her.

Then, let's go into what happened with Chloe. Having to watch her best friend, the girl she loved, die over and over and over again. Max felt responsible for fixing it, preventing it, because she was the only one who possibly could. She would blame herself, think of it as a failure on her part each time Chloe died.

After watching her die in various ways, so many times, I'm sure Max questioned if she really even could save Chloe- or if Chloe was supposed to die from the start, and the universe was determined to restore the balance, no matter what Max did or how hard she tried.

And then there's Kate. This could go one of two ways depending on your choices, one of which is infinitely worse and more traumatizing, but either way it would definitely have haunted Max and left an impact on her.

Imagine how you would feel, knowing one of your closest friends was being bullied. Knowing they have been drunk/drugged and taken advantage of at a party. Yet instead of anyone coming forward, doing the right thing and helping Kate out of that situation, everyone at the party instead weaponized it, used it against her, slut-shamed her even though she wasn't in her right mind, was barely even conscious and was in no way able to consent to anything that was happening. Not that slut-shaming her would have in any way been okay or excusable even if Kate was acting of her own volition. Knowing that, even though you don't agree/don't identify with that, that your friend is deeply religious and clings to faith as a means of comfort. Knowing that she feels like a failure, that she feels like she's betrayed her faith, everything she stands for, and her family, even though she was in fact a victim in her situation. Being able to read letters, watching her family victim-blame her, hide behind their beliefs as a means to tear down someone they should feel obligated to protect, to support. Watching your friend be alienated by everyone around her, including her own family. Watching the school bullies write obscenities about your friend on the walls, and in the bathroom, make jabs at her and taunt her at every possible opportunity. Your friend's light has begun to dim, she starts pulling away from you, begins hiding away in her room more, which now feels like a dark, oppresive void. You know your friend is depressed, and you're trying to be supportive in any way you can, but there's a distance building between you you feel you can't bridge.

Then it happens. She kills herself/tries to kill herself. In front of you, and everyone who tormented her. Even then, the people who hurt her have no shame, laughing and recording her when she's in crisis. You begin to question and blame yourself, blaming youself for not noticing something was severely wrong earlier, not recognizing the impending signs for what they were. You want to help your friend, to save her, but your powers at failing you at the worst possible time. You only get one chance to do this, like everyone else, and you have to do it the right way.

If Max managed to talk Kate down, that's still an instense emotional weight, still a serious event to work through and process.

If Kate jumps…well…

Max feels like a failure. Like she contributed to Kate's death just as much as everyone else. Like she may as well have pushed Kate off that ledge herself. Not only watching your friend die in front of you, but knowing that it was self-inflicted in a moment of desperation, that they chose to do so and your words had no effect…

Now, the end of the game. Depending on what you choose, Max either has to to feel an immeasurable weight on her conscience, the responsibility for the destruction of the town where she was born. Where she grew up. Where she has countless memories, despite its' faults. The deaths of almost everyone there she's ever known.

Including (especially) Joyce.

The guilt of feeling like she took Chloe's mom away from her too, after Chloe had already lost her dad.

Oh. And that reminds me.

It was an incredible miracle, Max discovering her ability to go back through time via photos. Being able to go back 5 years, to when she and Chloe were only 13, before all the horror had happened, and save William. The sense of sheer relief, happiness and accomplishment she felt. She felt like a hero.

Only for it to all blow up in her face in the worst possible way.

Seeing Chloe, now a total shell of her former self. Completely disabled, and paralyzed. Helpless. Unable to live on her own. Seeing firsthand the emotional and financial stress William and Joyce are going through as a result of the accident. Chloe having so little quality of life that she pleads with Max to kill her, because she can't even do it herself.

(This is not my narrative or opinion on Chloe's situation, by the way. This is how it's portrayed. Quality of life, determining whether your life is worth living to due a life-changing accident or consequent disability is the choice of the invidual whom it effects. I'm not saying that anyone in Chloe's situation, who is paralyzed would inherently have no quality of life or no reason to live. That really depends on the invidiual, what that person needs in order to truly live and thrive, whether that person has family and friends and an emotional/practical support system in their life, etc. For Chloe, for me, and for many other people, though not all, living that kind of life would not be worth it.)

Max, depending on your choices, having to kill Chloe, to choose the merciful path, allow Chloe to exercise her autonomy in a world in which she can no longer do so and put her out of her misery. Knowing that she's doing for Chloe what she'd want someone to do for her if she were in that situation, yet still full of pain and regrets.

Max then having to go back and undo it all. Allow William to die again. Watch Chloe experience that horror and trauma again, knowing now she could've prevented it. But at what cost?

Lastly, if you chose to let Chloe go. To let her die.

That makes it immeasurably worse in my opinion.

The week she and Chloe spent together, reconnecting and rebulding their friendship, everything they went through together, would essentially never have happened.

Chloe, in this timeline, died alone in a bathroom. She never recieved any sort of closure, never got to know what happened to Rachel, questioning if Rachel perhaps just abandoned her, similarly to how Max did.

She never got to resolve things with Max, never heard from her again. She never got to know that Max still loved her, still cared about her and thought of her, but was too scared and guilty to reach out.

She never got to patch up things with her mom, or with David.

Everything Max went through. Everything she experienced.

To recap:

Having to watch her best friend, the woman she loves, die over and over again, feeling helpless, trapped in this endless, hellish cycle of death.

Being lulled into a false sense of security, betrayed and abducted by someone she thought she could trust, someone she looked up to.

Witnessing firsthand Kate's suicide/attempt, feeling like she failed her.

Being forced to let William die again, and force Joyce and Chloe to suffer that loss again.

Having to watch Joyce mourn her only daughter, after already losing her husband. Knowing she could've prevented it.

Everything that happened would still exist, but only in Max's mind.

She has no one she could ever confide in, talk to, or open up about it.

Chloe, for her, was that person.

No one would believe her, albeit understandably.

It's implied her powers vanish after she goes back that final time to let Chloe die.

She'd have no way to prove her story was true.

Carrying the weight of that burden, that knowledge and trauma, alone, would drive anyone insane.

Feeling like everything she went through, all the efforts she made to keep Chloe alive, were pointless.

I don't believe there is any way Max could be okay after that.

She'd be a hollow shell, just going through the motions. Totally disconnected from the world and the people around her. (Understandably. Who the hell could she connect to? Who would understand her?) Everyone at Blackwell, and their student lives and petty drama would feel so insignificant. So incredibly stupid and shallow to Max after what she's been through.

In fact, I've always felt - years after the events of the game, were you to choose to let Chloe die - that Max likely killed herself.

Over time, she probably began to question herself, to feel crazy, and begin wondering whether any of what happened, actually did, or if it was just something her mind created.

Max's trauma, her thoughts and emotions in regards to all of this are reflected in this part of the game, her mental breakdown. You can see her self-loathing, the way she blames and criticizes herself, in her interactions with herself and in her distorted journal entries.

Anyway. I never really liked Max all that much as a protagonist.

I thought she was a pushover, a little shallow, cared too much about what people like Victoria thought of her. I thought it was pretty unforgivable the way she ghosted Chloe, at the most traumatic, formative time of Chloe's life, when she had just lost the most important person in her life, besides Max. I understand anxiety, feeling awkward, helpless and flailing in that situation and not knowing what to say or do to make it better, but it just doesn't matter to me. Nothing excuses that.

However…

Max, did ultimately (well, depending on your choice at the ending,) make it right.

This has given me some perspective, and I have a lot more empathy for her now.

     you thought you could control everybody and everything, huh?      —   twist time around your fingers?

[lordprettyflackotara]

Can you do a Jeff the killer public type thing just an idea 🤷‍♀️

die for me || jeff the killer

‘good God she’s on the floor rolling her eyes at me, once i get inside she’ll wanna die with me’

sum: after a long mission, Jeff can’t help but admire your dedication to him. the longer the drive back to the mansion goes on, Jeff decides he can’t wait any longer, that needs you now.

tw:smut, minors dni, 18+. public sex, filthy gas station sex, jeff’s a cocky bastard (duh), threats of violence but in a horny way, choking, etc

a/n: first fic inna minute let’s gooo, also friendly reminder i only write for afab/fem readers, that is the only thing i am comfortable writing. my rules are in my pinned post :)

Jeff couldn’t take it anymore.

He always knew he was terrible at controlling impulses. From killing, to insults, to fighting. When Jeff wanted something, nothing was going to get in his way.

This time however, that just so happened to be you.

You were sitting beside him in a beat up toyota, your feet hanging out of the window as you mindlessly played on the nintendo switch Ben had lent you. The orange street lamps briefly illuminated your face every few seconds as Jeff drove past them. Your furrowed eyebrows and softer expression captivated him.

Before this mission Jeff had never thought twice about you, if he was being honest. He never paid attention to anyone at the mansion, especially not newer residents. Typically the newer ones left before he even gave them a second look. But contrary to his dismay, The Operator deemed the two of you to be a compatible duo for the task he had in mind. Jeff was not happy about this, not fearful to hide his anger when he found out the news. Jeff was aware living in the mansion required completing some task every now and then. It was apart of the unspoken contract. Usually The Operator knew better then to send someone with Jeff, given how impulsive and unhinged the killer could be.

To Jeff’s surprise, you kept up with him. You matched every move he made, your face discreetly lighting up with excitement when he made an absurd impulsive decision. You never complained or got annoyed when Jeff mindlessly made a move. You never worried about the consequences. You trusted Jeff’s judgment. That kind of respect was never given to him by any of the others, despite the fact that he was one of the oldest creeps in the mansion. He couldn’t help but continue to glance at you, soaking in your features. He cursed the Earth for making it nighttime, your mesmerizing facial features hidden every few seconds.

Endless words were on the tip of the pale killers tongue, Jeff desperate to have a conversation with you. He hardly even knew your name, shit, he wasn’t even sure he had the correct name in mind. What would you two talk about? How breath taking you looked with fresh blood splattered across your cheeks? How his heart thumped every-time you giggled at one of his shitty one liners? Or how you admired every time he wrote ‘go to sleep’ on the walls after his killing spree? Jeff gripped the steering wheel harshly, gritting his teeth.

Why was this so difficult? He’d never had a problem with this before. Talking to people was the least of his worries, given his appearance. That was another thing he liked about you. You never stared at him like he was some wild zoo animal. You looked at him like he was just another person. Most people, including new residents, always gawked at him like he was a fucked up science experiment. But you? Delightfully the opposite. He tried to keep his eyes on the road, shoving off his thoughts. He spread his legs just a little wider, ignoring the way his body felt ignited. He pressed against the gas pedal, pushing the ancient car to its limits. This caught your attention, causing you to put down the gaming device. You gave him a wicked grin as you rearranged your position, taking off your seatbelt.

This alarmed Jeff, his obsidian hardened gaze meeting yours.

“What the-, what are you doing?” He questioned, his voice sounding more concerned than he would’ve liked. You giggled as you propped yourself to lean out of the car window, your hair brushing past you in the wind. He could hear your cheers of excitement, your head spinning as you felt like you were soaring. Jeff was mesmerized watching you, so much so his eyes were barely on the road anymore. It wasn’t enough that you were so reckless, so effortlessly addicted to any possible danger. But what was sending him over the edge, were your legs. Bare and exposed, your skirt riding up your soft thighs. He swallowed as you parted your knees, revealing just enough of your black lacey panties.

Jeff had to stop himself from slamming on the brakes, his cock growing harder in his jeans. Were you doing this on purpose? Jeff couldn’t tell, your laughter flooding his ears as you leaned further out of the car. If Jeff could’ve had it his way, he would’ve bent you over the hood of the car on the side of the road and fucked you until you begged for him to stop. But he knew if anyone saw someone like him, police would immediately be involved. And if there’s one thing Jeff hated anything more than Jane, it was the police. So instead he abruptly turned the wheel to the left, grinning in satisfaction as he located a small gas station.

Driving through the middle of no where had its perks, meaning if anyone saw him, he definitely had a chance of just killing them all and leaving. But it also meant there would only be a few people to keep you quiet from. “You hungry or something?” You asked, your hair messy and tangled as you popped back into the car. Your cheeks were flushed red, your eyes forming with excitement at the mere idea of a proposition to do something unhinged. “Yeah i’m hungry alright, c’mon,” Jeff grunted, shoving his hood over his head before climbing out of the car. You followed him, the pale killer keeping his head down as he trudged into the store. You followed behind him closely, unsure of what his next move would be. That was another thing Jeff liked about you, your dedication to following his lead.

He could hear the satisfying clicking of your boots as you trailed behind him, the pale killer noting your eyes hovering over a bag of spicy doritos. “We’ll get those inna second, cmere,” Jeff beckoned, motioning for you to follow. You rejoined him, his slender fingers grabbing your wrist. You let out a gasp of surprise as he yanked you into the gas station restroom, locking the door behind you. His large hand covered your mouth, his other pushing you against the rough wall. His obsidian eyes bored into yours as he stared down at you, noting the way your gaze flickered back and forth. As if you were searching his eyes for an explanation. “I don’t know how you did it doll, but you’ve got my attention. Shit, you’ve got me wrapped around your little finger,” He growled. Jeff didn’t like vulnerable confessions, but he didn’t fail to notice the way your eyebrows were raised in confusion.

“Now tell me, did you wear those little black panties for me? Did you hope you’d get my attention with them? That i’d take them off of you?” Jeff huffed. He could feel your face growing warm under his touch, his pale hand slowly lifting off of your face. You were visibly flustered, a soft gasp escaping your lips as he nudged his knee in between your legs. “Answer me before I cut out your tongue,” He threatened, knowing it held no weight. You licked your dry lips before speaking, breathless as he brought his knee to your core. “Y-Yes, you have no idea how badly i’ve wanted y-you,” You sputtered, clearly embarrassed by the forced confession. Jeff tsked, grabbing your chin forcefully. You should’ve known better than to expect a fairytale kiss, Jeff was always known to do what he wants. No guidelines needed.

“Well you sure do know how to flatter a man. Think you can keep up with me doll?” He smirked, feeling himself growing harder in his jeans. With a shaky hand you boldly brought your hand to his bulge, palming at it through the fabric. Jeff’s painted grin grew wider, his eyes ignited with a feral flame. “Naughty naughty girl. You’ll get what you want, just keep quiet for me,” He purred. Without warning he threw himself down onto his knees, lifting up your skirt. “If you want me to keep going you gotta be quiet. Wouldn’t want anyone hearing you, would we?” Jeff asked, relishing in satisfaction as you nodded like a bobble head. He brought his hot mouth to your core, licking a stripe up your clothed cunt. He watched as you squirmed, biting your lower lip to remain silent. He nudged your thighs open wider, pulling your panties to the side.

Jeff stared at your wet cunt, your body practically begging for him to take you. Teasingly he hovered over your cunt for a moment, before diving in like a starved man. You let out a small gasp, before covering your mouth with your own hand. Your other found its way to his hair, your knees threatening to buckle as his tongue flickered across your sensitive clit. Jeff enjoyed using his large hands to pry your thighs open, his fingers harshly digging into the skin. You tilted your head back, your eyes fluttering shut as his tongue teased your entrance. He enjoyed feeling your body beg for more, squeezing around nothing as he enjoyed the nectar your pussy provided.

You were a slave to the way he pleased you, the feeling more erotic to you than you could’ve dreamed of. You had wanted Jeff from the moment you had entered the mansion. The pale killer was tall, dark, and mean. He was fearless, not fearing anyone, anything, or any possible repercussions that could come his way. You admired him for that, your first nights spent with your fingers deep in your cunt as you imagined him destroying your body for his own fun. Now he was on his knees in front of you, lapping at your drenched folds. You tasted divine, Jeff grinning in sick satisfaction as he knew all of his arousal was for him and him alone. You could feel your core begin to tighten, your legs shaking as you approached your first orgasm.

Jeff could feel this too, his lips attached to your clit and sucking harshly. He wanted to rip your first wave of euphoria right out of you. He demanded it. He needed it. He looked up, admiring your desperation to keep quiet as you came in his mouth. The pale killer only lapped at your folds harder, determined to clean you up as best as he could with his tongue. He smirked, chin and lips coated in your juices as he emerged from between your thighs. He rose to his feet, towering over you. You looked dazed, your heart pounding as his strong hands kept you upright. Swallowing, you stared up at him with lust filled eyes. He removed your hand from your mouth, listening to you pant quietly. “Don’t tell me you’re worn out already doll, we’re just getting started,” Jeff snickered, beaming with pride as he tucked some stray hairs behind your ear.

In a swift motion he dragged you over to the sink, bending you over and grabbing a handful of your hair. Your eyes landed on him in the filthy mirror, Jeff’s eyes darkening as he unzipped his pants. “You’re gonna watch me fuck you, understand? You’re gonna watch me ruin this little cunt for anyone else but me. If you look away I won’t hesitate to bash your head in, understood?” Jeff snarled, adjusting himself to your entrance. You verbalized agreement, your body on cloud nine as he began to shove himself inside of you. Your hands gripped the sides of the sink, your knuckles turning white as he abruptly bottomed out inside of you. The pale killer was not a gentle man, especially not when it came to abusing your cunt for his own pleasure. He released your hair, several strands messily falling into your face. His large hand wrapped itself around your neck, his slender fingers dedicated to forming bruises on your tender skin.

His dark obsidian eyes stared at you in the mirror, watching your face scrunch up in pleasure as your walls adjusted around him. “You’re a sick fuck, wanting someone like me to take you like this,” Jeff huffed, slowly moving his hips. Your whimper was muffled by his hand squeezing around your throat, restricting your airway. “In a filthy gas station bathroom too? Such a sick whore,” He seethed, watching your lips part and form into the shape of an O. He had to hold back his own sinful noises as he began to fuck you properly, his cock abusing your g spot with his each thrust. He could feel how tightly you squeezing him, how much your body craved his filthy words. “You like this? Hmm? Being used like a fuckin slut in public?” He grumbled in your ear, his breath hot against your skin. Your eyes threatened to roll back into your head, Jeff squeezing your throat harder.

“Eyes on us slut, don’t make me ruin that pretty face of yours,” He threatened, your fucked out eyes returning to the unholy sight in the mirror. He grinned sadistically as he nibbled at your earlobe, feeling your body grind against his as he did so. Your body felt like it was on fire, your legs trembling as you approached your next high. You had never felt so euphoric before, your body addicted to the pleasure you had only dreamed of. “Such a good fuck doll for me, fuck,” Jeff groaned, fucking into you harshly. You could feel your body growing closer to the edge of your final orgasm, your knuckles turning white from gripping the sink so hard. Jeff could sense this as well, shooting you a sadistic glance in the mirror. “C’mon pretty girl, cum on my cock. Make a mess for me,” He purred, licking your ear lobe. It felt so sickeningly pleasurable you came on his command, your eyes rolling back as euphoria washed over you.

The high of your orgasm didn’t last long, your vision hazy as Jeff forced you onto your knees. Your knees hit the gross sticky tile below, his cock covered in your juices and his precum as he stood before you.

“We aren’t done slut. Open up your mouth and suck.”

[nayaesworld]

Mafioso

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Warnings: Murder, manipulation, drugs and violence

Terry Richmond X OC!Marina

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The collective clink of champagne glasses filled the large venue as self-made millionaire and philanthropist Terry Richmond concluded his speech at the second annual charity event for Black women and children. Thunderous claps and cheers bounced off the walls as he exited the stage and came down to thank each and every single person that had come out to support and donate to the amazing cause. He was elated and proud of the turnout; truly grateful.

At 43 Terry felt at the height of his career. The comings and goings of life reflected well on his face and he carried all those trials and triumphs with him on his sleeve next to his heart. His story was a story of the people.

The night was a huge success. A large volume of high profile people had pledged and donated to this cause right along with him. Close family and friends came out in support and he circled around the room checking in on them and taking breaks to hit a shimmy or two on the dance floor.

He had also allowed some of his favorite black journalists and reporters to give interviews, but he was most interested in one in particular that had been very vocal and fierce about the safety of black children in spaces that society deemed not fit for them. How many times had a black child been harmed or put in a traumatic situation due to racism? Far too many times to count and they deserved a space to perfect their crafts without fear or judgement.

Marina Evans was a woman of poise, integrity, and culture, and at 25 she was at the top of her game. Not many could deny her journalistic credentials. She was the first person he wanted to give an interview to tonight and he sought her out quickly through the sea of people. The bold black gown had been a wondrous choice against her bronzed skin. Honey blond braids highlighting the warm undertones of her skin and dark expressive eyes styled with a natural set of wispy lashes. She was a show stopper. A true beauty.

She had just ended an interview with Weston Troy, a filthy rich middle aged man that owned a few hospitals in the area. Her eyes drifted over to him and she began to set up for his interview. A warm welcoming smile graced her face and he made sure to return it. Cameras and microphone ready, Terry adjusted his black suit and freed his mind.

“Tonight I am here speaking with local philanthropist and founder of ‘Hearts of Grace’ a charity founded to give aid and relief to underprivileged families…and without further ado I’d like to welcome Mr. Terry Richmond. How are you feeling about the turnout tonight… did you project the earnings for year two to surpass year one by so much?”

“ I’m feeling amazing tonight, the turnout was more than I could have ever imagined. When I initially started this charity I had no idea that anyone would ever give money to the cause at such a high volume, it's too often that things within the affiliation of the black community are not taken seriously or into consideration… I would like to change that, and with all the resources at my hand I'd be foolish not to invest it into people who look like me and sound like me.”

“I love that, what you did here tonight was jaw dropping. The kind of things I want to see more of, what does it mean for you to give back and support black families,businesses, and neighborhoods?” He pondered a bit before answering and pulled his lip from his teeth.

“It means that I have an opportunity to cater to and serve these underprivileged families, I too come from very humble beginnings. I grew up in a single parent household, it was just me and my mother so sharing this wealth with many people is top priority.”

“Terry, that is just amazing, I’m excited for more people to hear your story… for you it's been a long time coming, but for many of us this is our first time seeing someone who we relate to so much do as many great things as you have…and that brings me to my next question. How does being a role model to the younger generation speak to you?” Her questions were definitely living up to her reputation, she asked the real shit and he paused to gather his words, this was a passionate subject for him so finding the right words was essential.

“Being a role model for the younger generation entails a particular type of character and finesse… I want them to know that yes hard work and dedication can afford you the luxuries of life, but I also want them to understand that mental health is just as important um..if not more important than any career field or industry they choose.”

“I also saw that you named your charity after your mother Grace, how does it feel tonight to share this with her… I’m sure she is so proud of you.”

“My mother means the world to me…for any time I was ever in trouble or needed her she picked up the phone, she lifted me up, and she molded me into the man I am today. I don’t care how old I get or how many things I achieve, I'll always be her baby.”

“It was such a pleasure to interview you tonight, I thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to allow me to talk and pick your brain.” Marina had interviewed many men and women of different backgrounds and profiles, but none had ever struck her as truly genuine people quite as he did. He truly meant those words.

“Oh no anytime..you’ve had the best questions I thank you for that. And when I’m ready for another interview I know how to find you, thank you for coming out tonight Ms.Evans I truly appreciate it.” Terry left it plainly at that. He didn’t wanna seem weird by telling the young girl that he was an avid viewer of her podcast and hadn’t missed any episodes thus far.

The night carried on and people filled their bellies to the brim with liquor and a catered banquet of savory mouth watering food. Terry was on his second plate of food and had been cackling loudly in his mothers ear, all tipsy and giggly from the constant glasses of champagne.

“Boy you are just tickled to death ain’t you, what’s so funny son?” He rested his head onto her shoulder and squeezed her into a warm hug.

“I’m just happy ma..that’s it. Tonight turned out amazing and I get to honor you right along with it..I hope you’re proud.”

“Son is proud even the word for what I feel? You make me ecstatic, I hoped and prayed for so many long nights for you to have something…anything to call your own, and look at you now.” Grace pressed a kiss to her son's forehead before standing from her seat.

“Walk your mama to her car, I’m going to turn in for the night.”

Terry walked his mother to her car and watched her disappear into the distance before he walked back into the building. Standing with his hands in the pockets of his smooth slacks, he surveyed the area with calm eyes. He was looking for someone. Ahh there she is. Honey blond braids swaying gently behind her as she rocked in her chair to the music. Headed in her direction he grabbed a freshly poured glass of champagne from the table and handled the delicate glass in his hands carefully.

Cognac eyes met his as he finally made it into her line of vision. “Champagne? I wasn’t aware you were still here Ms.Evans.” Her pretty manicured hand accepted the drink from him and she sipped a little before answering him.

“Yeah I guess I’m a bit of a recluse…I prefer to fade into the background at events like these. Sometimes it’s better to just watch.” Terry hummed in his throat before taking a seat in front of her crossing his left leg over his right.

“And on that point we do agree…for causes such as these I can show up no questions asked, otherwise I’m home nose deep in a good podcast.” His deep rumbling laugh coaxed a cute chuckle from her mouth.

She sipped a little more of the sweet champagne before she answered him. ”Oh wow me too , so you have a favorite one you listen too?”

“Yes…yours. It’s the only one I can sit through and enjoy without a missed episode. You’re great at what you do Ms.Evans…very captivating topics.” Terry watched a hand press to her chest in shock as her mouth fell in shock.

“You watch lil ole’ me, wow Terry I really appreciate that. And I try to make things interesting as well as informative… I'm happy it reaches you well.”

“There’s nothing little about the work you do, remember that.” Maria shyly tilted her head to the side, peeking up into his face from under her lashes.

”Thank you so much Terry, you have the kindest eyes by the way…sorry if that was weird.” He dropped his head and let his eyes lock onto hers and watched her skin heat up under his gaze.

“No no, not weird at all. I receive that..thank you beautiful.”

Terry enjoyed picking her head for the reminder of their time together. By 9pm the event had wrapped and everyone filed out of the large double doors to head home. Terrys large hand graced the small of her back not wanting to lose her in the crowd of people, he hated that their time was cut short because he had really enjoyed chatting with the smart woman.

“Did you drive here?” He looked down at her once they’d made it outside, the middle of people around them creating the perfect bubble for tj to talk.

“Mhmh I did.. I’m right over there, the black Acura.” Her dainty finger pointed at the sleek Acura suv that was coincidentally parallel parked behind his Manhattan Green BMW X6.

“ I’ll walk you..we’re parked right by each other.” Her heels clicked against the dark asphalt and she let a yawn escape her pretty lips.

“Tired Ms.Evans? Sorry to keep you so late, I’m sure you have other obligations.”

“Mhm it’s all the food and champagne getting to me, and no please don’t apologize I had such a nice time tonight… thank you again for extending an invitation to me.” The two stopped in front of her suv and it had Terry wishing he could turn back time.

“And miss an opportunity to talk to the gorgeous and seriously intelligent Marina Evans… not a chance. Thank you for your support, and drive safe.” He helped her step into her vehicle before he closed her door and watched her leave before pulling out his phone to make a call.

“Yeah she just left..keep close to the plan and do exactly what I told y’all to do. I find out you niggas did anything other than what I asked…yall are finished.” He hung up the phone and hopped into his car heading to his house. He knew what he was doing was fucked up, but rarely did Terry ever not get what he wanted. Only this time he wanted Marina Evans and he was willing to stage whatever freak incident he could think of to appear as the white shining knight in her story.

The contemporary home was a perfect mix of neutral earth times and dark greys. Features within the home had donned it with eco friendly and smart house features putting it at a price point of a whopping 1.2 million dollars. A price point Terry would pay and then some for a house that was exclusive to him. The story he told the public about his upbringing was slightly altered and fabricated. The money was only halfway clean, but his appearance needed to be crystal. No past offenses or charges, no run-ins with the police, and no witnesses.

He put people in the dirt for a living and that was just the true facts. The true underground king with an empire spanning throughout the states.A dr. Jekyll and Hyde if you will. The boogeyman. An assassin with the precision to kil. Right now his cousins were ransacking the cute little craftsman style house that belonged to Marina Evans. A sick way of pushing her into his arms he knew but having her would make it all worth the risk.

A new obsession had squirmed its way into Terrys head one night during a masturbation session. The video practically screamed out at him and he had nutted enough that night to fill the Mississippi River; twice,his eyes were glued to the computer screen as he watched the younger woman be pumped full of grown mature dick. The idea had crossed his mind plenty of times, something young and hot to trick on and fuck whenever he wanted to. It seemed maybe he’d be getting his wish sooner or later.

__

Paranoia and fear gripped Marina in the coming days after the charity ball. When she had made it home and into her driveway that night she knew something was off. The linen curtains that lined her French doors to her kitchen blew in the night winds, signaling the doors had been smashed. Eyes wide with fear and shock she held her hand over her mouth in disbelief. She frantically dialed 911 to report a burglary. Her house was a mess, picture frames broken and everything rummaged through. The following nights she spent in the guest room at her moms house, too afraid to sleep in her own house.

She had called into the local newspaper that she worked for letting them know of her unfortunate situation. Work would have to be put on the back burner for a few days right along with her podcast episode. She was still practically new to this neighborhood having only just closed on her home two months prior. It was a quiet safe neighborhood, and all her neighbors had kindly welcomed her into it. But now she wasn’t so sure about it being safe. What if she had been home When this happened, would she have lived to tell the tale?

She felt hopeless and the police had no leads yet. What was life without a curveball? She was currently wrapped up in her mothers guest room

sick with the flu. Coughs and sniffles were the soundtrack of life right now and the pungent smell of Lysol was in the air. She had no appetite and a slight migraine sat at her temples, and yet her phone began to ring excessively loud into her ear.

|“Hello?” She was sure she sounded as stuffy as she looked.

|”Marina..hey sweetheart it’s Terry. I called as soon as I heard the bad news, I’m so sorry.” His deep voice sounded apologetic over the phone and she had almost forgotten the exchanging of numbers almost a week ago at the charity event.

[-My uncle works at the police department..he mentioned your name and burglary in the same sentence and I just had to call and check in on you. I hope I’m not overstepping.

[-No not at all I appreciate you calling me..um yeah it hasn't been the best week for me so far it’d be better if I could find out who did this to my house…and now I’m sick with the flu.She heard shuffling and muffled talking on his end and she sat up further on the headboard of the bed.

[-Let me send you something Marina, a little get well soon basket…if that’s okay with you I can have my assistant drop it to you. Marina pondered a bit, and honestly what was the harm in accepting it?

[-I don’t know Terry, I couldn’t ask you to do that. One day you'll have to let me repay you back for your kindness.

[-I insist, and pay me back in good health.. and let me take you out some time when you’re feeling better. Some time had lapsed and he had seriously caught her off guard with the question.

[-Marina? You don’t have to give me an answer right now… my ego can handle it, trust me.

[-Sometime when I’m better definitely, I’m completely in the dumps right now..but I could definitely use that basket if it’s still on the table.

[-It is..I’ll get my assistant to contact you and get everything delivered to you. Get well Marina I’ll talk to you soon.

The call ended and she finally felt some strength in her to get up and tend to herself. Her braids had been in her bonnet for the last 48 hours and her face looked drained of all her color. She definitely wasn’t in any shape to look Terry’s handsome ass in his face. Her moms house was quiet, and she knew her mother wouldn’t be home from the hospital until 7 that evening so trying to get better was definitely the plan for the next few hours.

As he said, Terry had his assistant message her about her location to send the basket. It arrived well packaged with an aroma that was clearing her nasal passage. Two dozen crimson red roses and a large woven basket was on the front porch waiting for her in less than an hour. She hurriedly sat it on her mothers dining table and pulled the contents from the basket. Each item she was excited to use. Multiple face masks to bring back the color to her face, an expensive looking full body massager, a cozy pajama set, and a container of chicken noodle soup that was still piping hot from the deli uptown.

“How freaking sweet, now these are gifts worth having for sure.”

She sent a picture over to Terry letting him know that everything was revived with the highest appreciation. He hearted her message but didn’t send back a written reply.

__

“Didn’t I tell you to stay out my fucking city?!” Terry let his bloodied fist fly into the man’s face for a third time, he winced and shook his hand quickly before his phone vibrated in his pocket. A picture from Marina showing him the basket had made it to her and would be used gratefully. But she'd have to wait. Terry was in his mode. The kill a nigga and ask questions later mode, he had two run ins prior to this one with the same pesky ass excuse for a human being.

“Pass me my shit, I’m ending this. Motherfuckers need to know that I don’t speak twice.” The heavy gun was laid in his hand and he screwed on the silencer. The man in front of him cried and begged for his life, but time was out for him.

“Mario Brown…I’m sentencing you to death for not obeying the nigga that owns you.” A quick pull of the trigger put a silver bullet right through his head. His crew needed no words as they immediately rolled the body into a tarp to be burned.

Terry shrugged off his suit using it to wipe the blood from his face and neck. He had a warehouse stacked to the brim with cocaine that needed to make it to El Paso, Texas. Terry wasn’t a cliche in the world of drugs, he chose the mafia life willingly; it didn’t choose him. It was all he knew and it was all he’s ever done outside of his coverups, that consisted of real estate and stocks. All three things he needed to know the ins and outs of to keep up the facade. He was no good person and he was no angel. He maneuvered through this life cunning and forcefully, and yet he did so with grace.

Drugs had afforded him the type of access he wanted in life. A payroll full of law enforcement, cars and houses, and the baddest bitches on the continent. But he was getting older and more irritable with it all, and that was bad for business. A man that stayed irritated was a man bad for business, he had stacked and put so much money away his grandchildren’s grandchildren would be rich. And yet having all he had he still longed for a woman to call his, someone to marry and give his last name and kids too. Marina Evans was what he wanted-no needed, and he would pull out any stop to have her.

His clothes would be a pile of ash by the time he finished using the warehouse shower, black and purple bruises littering his back and side from a recent brawl with a new business partner who would ultimately be his way out. He didn’t believe the old heads that told him he only had one way out of this kinda life, he refused to put that shit on himself. Death was not the only way out, past men just didn’t have his sharp mindset and it showed because they all rested eternally in cemeteries.

His matte black Range Rover practically drove itself home. He was worn out and needed food and sleep. Public speakings to keep the wool over the public’s eye and the night time escapades that always ended in a dead body or two lying around, were getting the best of him. For the next month he planned to pull back from the public slowly but surely, only popping out to speak when absolutely necessary. The only person he cared to be around was her. What a fucking joke. Terry knew better about this situation and still refused to do better, he wanted what he wanted. Marina… Just the sound of her name rolling off his tongue enticed him and his dick had jumped multiple times in his pants when she complimented him at the ball.

A pretty lil thing with a good head on her shoulders and outside of wanting to put her through his mattress he was actually genuinely intrigued by her. And when he finally laid down it was her pictures and voice that invaded his privacy so badly he stalked all her socials. Her vibrant colorful pictures on her Instagram page pulled a smile from him, such an interesting girl.

__

The next morning came to Terry in peace. No nightmares and no tossing and turning, he felt well rested above all else and the pain he felt from his bruised body had subsided and drowned out without painkillers. His morning routine came effortlessly and he ended it all with a 30 minute meditation to thoroughly decompress his body to prepare for his day.

He scarfed down a savory bagel sandwich and washed it down with his herbal tea. His agenda for the day was light as planned, he was to be kept updated on the whereabouts of his drugs every hour on the hour and not a second late. A large sum of money was headed his way if shit went smoothly.

His fingers itched to message Marina; so he did. He wanted another try at seeing her. To his surprise she had responded quickly and said she was feeling well enough to meet at her house. She spoke of wanting to replace the broken glass on her French doors so he dressed casually and responded letting her know he’d see her shortly.

His Ford Raptor rounded the block into a cute quaint neighborhood. Children rode their bikes and sprayed each other with water hoses as their parents watched, and the background noise of barking dogs made it all full circle. He spotted Marina’s suv quickly and pulled in alongside it in her driveway. Getting out he noticed her still sitting inside and tapped on her window lightly.

“Hi Terry… I know I look weird still sitting in here. I’m just scared to go alone.” She gave him a bashful smile and opened her driver side door. Black biker shorts showing off her thick thighs and plush lower half, had him shaking his head. A Tupac graphic tee shirt and white sneakers completed her looks and her neat braids rested atop her head in a tight bun.

“Come on I’ll go with you, nobody will mess with you while I’m here I promise.” She obliged and walked side by side with him to the side of her house where the doors were. Terry measured where the glass was supposed to be and got the measurements for replacements and let the tape measure shoot back into itself before turning to Marina.

“I have a guy that does this kind of work. I'll get in contact with him for you. No cost to you, but for now I’d say invest in security cameras…they’ll bring you a good peace of mind.”

“Will do, that’s not even out of the question anymore… thank you for extending this kind of generosity to me.”

A smirk graced his face as he stared down at her, hands itching to touch her. “Let’s get lunch and you can thank me all you want afterwards.” He helped her up into his truck with a hand on her waist, green eyes going wide at her ass in his face, and on his way around the truck he was silently praying to god.

She was definitely chatty when she got comfortable, but he didn’t mind listening. They filled their bellies with Korean bbq and sushi and Terry was still ordering appetizers.

“Please no more, are you trying to stuff me?” In more ways than one he thought to himself, he just loved watching her eat. When she tried something new amongst the appetizers she hit a little happy dance if she liked it. They had ate their fill in food with plenty to bring home, Terry paid the bill and carried their Togo bags and she kept up beside him sipping quietly on her lychee tea. His phone buzzed in the console a few times and he ignored it knowing it was about his shipment, he would get to it when she was no longer around.

“Do you need to get that… am I intruding or something? You can let me know, I’m sure you’re practically booked and busy. Please don’t let me hold you up.”

“They can wait, you’re more important right now.” She turned slightly in her seat and her cognac eyes held his for what felt like hours. And she leaned closer into his space, holding that eye contact.

“You have the most beautiful eyes… they just seem never ending.” His stare intensified and he watched her smile dreamily at him, whatever effect he thought he had on her had been confirmed.

“You keep complimenting me like that and I’ll start to think you got a little crush on me Ms.Evans.”

“Would that be so bad…me liking you?” He shook his head and tucked a braid back into her bun fingers slowly grazing her neck. How bold of her,

“Only if I didn’t like you back.” He smirked and rubbed his fingers against her open palm watching her fingers twitch slightly. “You’re an amazing woman Marina… I’ve been interested in you for a while, but things just didn’t make sense then.” He thought back to a few months ago when he had initially intended on meeting her but he was busy trying to wipe a whole bloodline out at the time and that was time consuming.

Her eyes danced around his face as she listened to him intently, and his right hand rose to her chin to focus them, letting her lean into him to initiate a kiss. But she put her hands up pulled back slowly.

“But Terry what if-“

“Shh.. put your hands down and let it happen, let me in.”

His hands found her face and he pressed his lips to hers in a rush. Her tongue tasted sweet from her drink and the strawberry flavored lip gloss had him sucking her lips into his mouth like a savage. She gripped his shirt and he pulled her into him with a hand on her waist hand rubbing along her back soothingly, chest to chest heads turning left to right to increase the experience. He pulled away from her reluctantly and brought a hand to his lips to kiss.

“Give me a chance to court you and prove myself…if you don’t like what I offer you, then that’ll be it and I won’t bother you again, but if you do..I have so much to show you.”

“A deal is a deal Mr.Richmond..let the games begin.”

__

A/N: The girls called for Mafia!Terry??? HERE HE GO😗. Like and reblog if you enjoyed this🫶🏾

@venusincleo @grlsbstshot @yassbishimvintage @avoidthings @pocketsizedpanther @writingsbytee @melodichaeuxx-lacritquexx @simplyzeeka @zillasvilla @blowmymbackout @kimuzostar @playgurlxoxo @kumkaniudaku @megamindsecretlair @theereina @keyaho @brattyfics @hotgrlcece @henneseyhoe @starcrossedxwriter @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @uzumaki-rebellion @blackmoonchilee @invisiblegiurl @blackerthings @19jammmy @ovohanna24 @talkswithdesi @notc0rtez @becauseimswagman1 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @mysteryuz

#terry richmond #aaron pierre #terry richmond x blackoc #rebrl ridge

[triglycercule]

so the dust smokes headcanon is really popular!!! i have an addition to it :33 cigarette smoke CLINGS to your body for a loooong loooong time,,,,, i don't know if monster dust has a smell but if it does maybe the cigarette smoke from his cigarettes could be used to cover up that smell so he doesn't have to deal with the scent of death all the time and yk,,,, feel the guilt :33

[fandomsandfeminism]

Sure. Thank you. That does reframe it some.

I think a big part of the issue might be a vocabulary one, and I'll own that.

See, in my head, it feels very obvious that when people say they are worried about keeping people safe and not letting people hurt others again, that very clearly, to me, is an issue of recidivism. People who have been through the justice system reoffending is the danger we are discussing. So interventions and solutions and sentences which REDUCE recidivism *is what makes people more safe.* (even if it doesn't LOOK safer for people who have been raised with the idea that prisons = safety.)

But that connection may not be so self evident to others.

It's also why I keep trying to get people to inspect how prisons compare in terms of recidivism. Because the evidence suggests that prisons *dont* make people safe. They don't reduce recidivism, which is the danger we are trying to mitigate, and there's a good bit of evidence that they actually make us LESS safe because someone who has been in prison could come out MORE likely to reoffend violently because of how the system can ingrain maladaptive violent behaviors.

Like. Maybe it's a numbers game. If the prison system locks up 1 serial killer forever, but also releases 100 guys who each go on go kill 1 more person VS a prisonless system where that 1 serial killer goes on to kill 5 more people but those 100 other guys DONT EVER REOFFEND then...fewer people have been harmed. (95 fewer people, actually.) Reducing recidivism is what actually, at scale, creates safety (along with efforts to PREVENT violence in the first place, of course, but that hasn't been the sticking point.)

It does sound scary to imagine Jeffrey Dahmer or the Devil murdering someone and then just going to a rehab center for a while and then getting to leave. But I'll emphasize again that the judge isn't Minority Report Psychic who can reliably just *know* whether someone is ~evil~. (I'd also push back against this idea that some people are irredeemably evil because it robs us of the ability to examine why people do these violent things, how to prevent it, and how to prevent it from happening again.)

Thank you for your patience, even when I was very frustrated in my replies.

Pretty sure @needabetternamelater has reblogged like 5 of my posts and then blocked me. So that's funny. But, just in case it's just a glitch that won't let me reblog those replies.

What do we do with rapists in a prisonless society? Well, 1. Fewer than 1% of rapists go to prison, so holding up prison as the standard that any other solution has to beat isn't hard. What do with do with rapists in a society with prisons? For 99+%? Not prison.

2. Prisons do not reduce the amount of rapes that happen. So again, prison fails pretty handedly at being both a prevention and a punishment. (It's a bit like arguing 'without the death penalty, what will we do with shop lifters?")

3. I've explain many times, on posts you've responded to, the variety of responses a justice system can have to any crime, including sexual assault. Mandatory counseling, restraining orders, restorative/reparation hearings, housing and employment restrictions, fines, caseworker check ins, mental health consults, and vocational training are all possible responses, and which would would have the best chance of preventing recidivism would depend on the specifics of that person and the risk factors in them reoffending.

In the past, we locked people in pillories and cut off their hands for crimes. Phasing out a cruel and ineffective punishment doesn't mean there's free reign for crime.

[insomniadreamzz]

Hi!

What do you think about Jinx x fem reader SNOWBALL FIGHT! I feel like it could be really fun. Maybe it could end getting tackled by Jinx and kissing in the snow!

This is just a thought I had, hope you have a great day!!!

Omg thats such a cute idea 😭😭❤️

———

Snowball fight

Jinx x Fem!Reader fluff

You hated that cold weather, you only went out because Jinx really wanted to go out in the snow with you and of course you couldn’t say no to her.

You hated the way that you couldn’t say no as the cold aur hit your face, only thing being warm was your hand which was holding Jinx‘s hand. Sometimes you wonder how she could do this, being out there without a jacket, clothed like always. You could figure out that she was already used to feeling cold so every attempt to make her wear warm clothing before going out failed.

„Jinx…you sure you’re not cold?“ You ask her the millionth time now, making her roll her eyes and a little grunt leaving her lips. „Nooo I am not“ She answered, letting go of your hand as she stormed through the snow, your legs freezing at only the look of her stomping through it as if it was nothing. You sighed, sometimes Jinx‘s inner child really took all of you but she was cute. You closed your eyes as you hugged herself, trying to warm yourself up before you felt something cold hit your face, followed by Jinx laughing at you.

„Oopsie! Your face is all white now toots!!“ She yelled at you, already having another snow ball in her hand. „You little-…“ You started with a chuckle but then decided to stop, forming a snowball in your hands before aiming at her. Of course Jinx used her shimmer for better speed so you didn’t hit her, only getting hit by another snowball of her.

„Hey! That’s not fair stop using your shimmer.“ You said, but there was still a smile on your face, already ready to throw again. „Well…okay I won’t do that again. Fair play.“ Jinx answered, giving in quickly and not wanting to be unfair towards you.

You both keep on throwing snowballs at each other, playing in the snow like little kids, letting both of your inner child out right now and it was beautiful, you even forgot about the cold, managing to hit Jinx every now and then as well.

You tried to dodge her attacks with a chuckle, running away from her to get a little time to form more nowballs but Jinx was already running after you, tripping over her own feet as she fell on you, making you both fall on the snow with a thud. Both of you laughing. Jinx lifted her head up, her hands on your shoulders as she looked down at you with a cute smile. „Got ya.“ She giggled and you moved your hands up in defense. „Alright alright I surrender. What does the winner want?“ You asked jokingly but she took your question serious. „Uhh…a kiss.“ She mentioned and the smile on your face couldn’t be wider.

You both kissed in the snow, both feeling warm and exhausted after the little game. It was a beautiful moment, you cupped her cheeks, pulling her more closer to kiss her even deeper, a hum leaving her lips. You both look at each other as you pulled back, both of your faces being red, probably because of the cold and the intimate moment you shared seconds ago. „I love you.“ You told her and she pecked your lips in response. „I love you too Toots.“

After admiring each other for a little more, Jinx got off you and helped you up. „How about getting home now into bed under our warm sheets?“ You suggested and Jinx nodded. „Yep! And maybe more cuddles??“

„Of course.“ You won‘t ever say no to cuddling, you loved it but of course you also know what cuddling meant especially when Jinx said it…knowing you will soon feel very hot.

You both made your way back home, holding hands like a fresh couple. You will always love her like the first time you fell for her.

[aventurineswife]

The dad Aventurine fic genuinely made me want to cry but now i can't stop thinking of something

Imagine Aventurine having an extremely chaotic kid, like one of those kids where u take your eyes off of them 00.1 seconds and they 10 broken bones, have broken at least 15 vases and is currently on a sugar rush from eating too much candy.

It can be either a boy or a girl! Im very in love with your writing and i'd love to see your own thoughts on this Idea. Overall just Aventurine having to deal with his little demon spawn

The Greatest Award

Summary: Aventurine’s life is a high-stakes game, but nothing could prepare him for the chaos of parenting his five-year-old child. In a single afternoon, his once-luxurious office is reduced to shambles, courtesy of a sugar-fueled miniature whirlwind. As Aventurine tries to reign in the chaos with his usual charm and strategy, he learns that even the sharpest gambler can’t outwit the boundless energy and imagination of their own child.

Tags: Dad!Aventurine and his demon spawn child, Parent-Child Bonding, Domestic Chaos, Fluff and Humor, Mischievous Child, Found Family Themes.

Warnings: Mildly Destructive Child Antics, Implied Past Trauma(?), Excessive Use of Candy and Paint.

A/N: I lost my previous fic i wrote about this req, seems like it didn't save... 😭😔💔. So, have this while I cry with my broken back 😪

The room, once an opulent display of Aventurine’s impeccable taste, now resembled the aftermath of a casino heist gone wrong. The velvet curtains had been pulled down, puddling on the floor like fallen royalty. His priceless roulette-themed rug? Drenched in some unidentifiable sticky substance that smelled faintly of caramel.

And in the center of it all stood the culprit—Aventurine’s five-year-old child, grinning like a miniature devil. Their hair, much like their father’s, was streaked with suspiciously bright blue paint. In their hand, they wielded what appeared to be the broken leg of an antique chair as if it were a sword, declaring, “I’m the Ruler of the Candy Castle!”

“Darling,” Aventurine’s voice was sharp but calm, his smile firmly in place despite the chaos around him. “Care to explain why my baccarat table is missing a leg?”

The child tilted their head, pretending to think. “A monster ate it.”

“A monster?” Aventurine pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a rare migraine brewing. “Was it the same monster who broke three vases, emptied my desk drawer of poker chips, and decided my coat rack was a jungle gym?”

They nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, and then it told me candy makes monsters go away!”

Before he could respond, they took off like a rocket, their tiny feet thundering across the marble floor.

“Darling—” Aventurine began, but they were already scaling a bookshelf like some kind of sugar-fueled mountain goat.

For a moment, he simply stared, calculating the odds of them not breaking a limb versus the likelihood of toppling the entire structure. Slim to none. He reached out just in time to catch them mid-leap, their laughter ringing in his ears as he set them firmly back on the ground.

“Listen, kitten,” he said, crouching down to meet their wild eyes. “You’re giving Daddy a run for his money, and I don’t lose. But if you keep this up, I might have to start betting on when you’ll turn the entire estate into rubble.”

They gasped dramatically. “You’d bet on me?”

“Absolutely.” He tapped their nose. “But I’d also bet that if you sat down for five minutes—five minutes, mind you—I’d let you pick out the next ridiculous hat I wear to work.”

Their eyes sparkled with devious glee. “Even the one with the feathers?”

Aventurine suppressed a groan. He had gambled with empires, conned royalty, and survived assassination attempts, yet this small, chaotic creature could bring him to his knees with a single demand. “Even the one with the feathers.”

They pretended to consider his offer before darting off again, leaving Aventurine in their wake. A crash echoed from the next room, followed by an enthusiastic, “Oops!”

He stood, smoothing his blazer as he surveyed the wreckage of his once-pristine office. This was just another high-stakes game, he reminded himself. The rules were unconventional, the opponent unpredictable, but Aventurine always played to win.

“Alright, darling,” he called, striding after them. “You’ve forced my hand. It’s time to introduce you to the most dangerous weapon in Daddy’s arsenal.”

They peeked out from behind an overturned chair, curious. “What is it?”

He smirked, pulling out a deck of cards. “A little thing called discipline.”

Their giggle echoed through the halls, and Aventurine couldn’t help but laugh too. Because despite the chaos, the broken vases, and the candy-fueled mayhem, he wouldn’t trade his little demon spawn for all the chips in the universe.

[dokidokitsuna]

GameSwap!AU

Just a random idea I had: what if Magolor and Hyness traded games with each other? Like, their character/personality remains the same, only now they each have the other’s roles and goals. I thought it would be fun~

-So making Magolor the main antagonist of Star Allies would be a trip; I feel it would change the whole ambiance of the game…probably in a detrimental way, from a gamedev point of view. You don’t really wanna put the super cute and charming new character with the most memorable heel-turn in the series…at the center of the “nostalgia” game. ^^; With the return of the Helpers and a dozen familiar faces cameoing as Dream Friends, Magolor’s theatrics would be too much of a distraction.

But whatever, let’s say we put him in anyway: now Magolor is the leader of Jambastion, trying to resurrect a god of emptiness and despair. I predict he snaps immediately. XD

I just think handing that kind of leadership role to an obviously power-hungry character like Mago would grow worms in his brain incredibly quickly. ^^; That isn’t to say that he’d do the cuckoo-4-coco-puffs schtick that Hyness does– I think instead he would be a sort of annoying “chuunibyou” character; constantly popping up to ramble about being Void Termina’s chosen one, destined to succeed because he’s the specialest and bestest ever, so you might as well give up now.

And he’d give off this completely unserious vibe like, “...Are you just making this up? Is this god you’re trying to resurrect actually real; or are you just a very lonely, understimulated, disturbed little egg…?”

And then by the end of the game we realize that he *wasn’t* making it up, and as he starts abusing the Mage Sisters (who probably hate working for him to begin with...) and rapidly becomes a real threat, suddenly we’re forced to take him seriously. ^^; We’ll rescue him from Void Termina’s innards anyway, though, because we’re nice, and similarly to his true character arc; he’ll probably realize that he got in over his head and beg to be saved.

-Hyness in Return to Dreamland would be interesting…primarily because he doesn’t seem like the ‘manipulator’ type to me. I think he’d be more of an ‘absentminded professor’ type: enthusiastic and silly but in an awkward, understated way. He’d just come right out and tell us he wants help to find the Master Crown, but he’d present it as a mysterious object of limitless possibilities that we should ALSO be interested in…y’know, just for curiosity’s sake. Conveniently leaving out the fact that he’s taking it for himself, and he’s more than just curious– he already knows exactly what he wants to do with it. ^^;

And similarly to *his* true character arc…I think Hyness would go all in. ‘_’ No hesitation, no regrets; he’d dive right into Mistilteinn’s clutches and become its twisted avatar, forcing us to literally carve him out of there if we want to stop him. This would probably call for a much tougher boss fight, with a more serious ambiance– none of Magolor Soul’s cutesy juggling; let’s aim for something more like Zero’s eyeball exploding out of his face, but in 3D~. Or all the horrific stuff Fecto Elfilis had going on, since we have the benefit of hindsight. XD

As for the end…this may hurt some folks, but I think it would make sense for Hyness to die, like the devs originally planned for Magolor before they decided to have mercy on him. The thing is, without the Mage-Sisters to highlight Hyness’ changes in behavior, there’s not as much to gain from redeeming him…maybe that’ll be part of his character arc too; seeking to become the instrument of the Master Crown because he has nothing and no one else. This version of Hyness still has his empty heart, devoid of care, but without Void Termina to pledge himself to, the tree-demon is the best he can do. ^^; And with a little fleshing-out of his backstory before he goes (perhaps a chance to learn more about the magic vs. science users…?) he could make a good tragic antagonist, the first of his kind in the series.

-...Seeing as RtDL was supposed to be like a fresh start for the Kirby series, though, all this lore and sadness would be a little heavy for that concept…from a gamedev point of view, I would reject the idea. But if we did go with it, I shudder to think how it would influence the rest of the games to follow…perhaps the franchise would actually have taken the grimdark turn that people like to think it has. ^^ Which would be cool to see, admittedly.

[erinwantstowrite]

Wait did Loki already know about Dick and Jason and all that because he did research /before/ Peter got sent there on not just he was there without telling Peter? And that's why he ended up in that universe specifically cuz he had family there? Or I did I misread something?

oh no Loki is fully lying out of his ass right now. but really he's not lying, it's more like he's not telling the full truth ? idk how much I can really tell you guys cuz I don't want to spoil it... alright, so i can't tell y'all what he was doing specifically but i can tell y'all his general plan and some character insight

i'm feeling in a slightly spoilery mood so!!! if you don't want to know anything about what Loki is up to, don't continue reading! but be aware that at this point in time, there are some things that we just won't know about Loki in the fic itself that i'll talk about here!

before all of this he had absolutely no intentions of teaming up with Peter, he was just exploiting a weakness and trying to get Peter out of the way (this is the same as to what he did with Thor). he knows that Tony would be distracted, and in their efforts to find Peter they would probably be stressed out and their forces would thin because finding usually involves splitting up. they would also have to deal with Mysterio and Ohnn (....and a secret third character 👀). it would give him plenty of opportunity to go in and try and pick them off one by one. except it's not working on the Avengers side. we'll get more to this later 😁

after his first meeting with Peter, Loki figured that Peter would probably be a good place to get some intel if he needed it, because Peter trusted him and was not aware about Loki and his past with the Avengers (or at least not fully aware). the more that he learned about the Bats and Peter's relation to them, as well as learning about Peter, the more he figured it wouldn't hurt to have Peter on his side. he thought that he could twist Peter into believing the Avengers weren't coming. his plans have been shifting around, meeting his needs since the beginning. he's been standing off to the side and pushing the characters around trying to figure out what they will and won't do, like he's observing a game and they have no idea he's moving pieces around when they weren't looking.

however this plan was going to take a lot more time... and Klarion summoning Thor ruined it completely. he had to speed up the process and make his offer quite literally months before he thought he would. so in a way, we can thank Klarion for derailing Loki's plot

Loki had no idea what would happen when he directed Ohnn and Mysterio towards Peter. he knew that Ohnn had been traveling between worlds for a couple of months, but he had no idea if Peter would even survive going to this other universe. he also had no idea about Peter's relation to the Bats until he started digging around for his new plan (Plan: Exploit Peter's Love for his Parents). the thing is, is that his plan would have failed no matter what, because Loki failed to see that Peter's adopted family cares deeply about him, and this bond means just as much as any blood ties he could have. his own insecurities about his standing within his own family got to him. when he was digging around in Peter's life he saw that Peter's foster experience had failed. and he might, maybe, just a little bit... feel bad that the family that was going to adopt Peter were killed because of what happened in the Battle of New York.

so: while he has been very intentionally manipulating Peter... he was thinking of Peter's best interest after a certain point. instead of him not caring what happened to him as long as he was out of the way, Loki did start preparing to make sure that Peter could stay in this world and that he would be taken care of. because i don't believe Loki is an evil person, and even now he's just a little silly. he might have been a little bit crazy with Thor, but to be fair, every other time Loki had a plan and he wasn't crazy enough, Thor came out of it. I feel like they have different standards than what we would as humans. because if you have a sibling then I feel like you'll understand me here... me and my brother used to fight a lot and while we never actually chased each other with knives, we did chase each other with other weapons (whatever wouldn't actually kill but was within our reach) and I think this is their version of that. like me and my brother are super close now but when we were kids we tried to kill each other a lot lmfao. so Thor will probably forgive Loki because that's his brother. (and I'm pretty sure that Loki was under some form of manipulation by Thanos during the Battle of Manhattan/New York??? correct me if I'm wrong, but if that's the case Peter would eventually see that Loki isn't an evil person.) Loki is very chaotic neutral in my eyes, leaning towards evil or good depending on the day. so he's gonna get his ass kicked for trying to take over the world, but like, that's just his enrichment... you gotta let him try every few months/once a year or you're not doing enough to entertain and care for your sneaky God Alien Guy

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

The Last Drop

|| Sevika x fem!reader

|| Warnings; bar settings, drunk reader, reader gets in a scuffle with Sevika, gambling mentions, drunk flirting, struggles with feelings, short drabble, maybe a series if the people want it

|| Summary; when reader's well into her drinks, she decides to mess with Sevika. Just a little more.

Requests open!!

Started; December 24th

Finished; December 24th

HurtCember2024; Day 21, Afraid

Request; i NEED an enemies to lovers

~~~

The bar was filled with various conversations, loud laughter, and the occasional scuffle.

You were sat down in a booth not too far from the counter. Well into your fourth drink and definitely starting to feel the effects of it. You'd been to The Last Drop enough times to be considered a regular by this point. The bartender knew you by name and your usual go to orders. You'd even been around enough to make some enemies.

The main one was definitely not someone you should have pissed off. Silco's right hand, Sevika. You'd been really drunk one night and after losing to her in a gamble, you'd thrown your drink at her. She did not take well to that. The two of you have kept at a distance ever since. You'd be on one side of The Last Drop while she'd go to the complete opposite end.

Today was no different. You were in your usual spot, while Sevika was far off in the corner. Playing a game of cards. Finishing your fourth drink, you went to the bartender and ordered another. This time going with something a little lighter. As he was mixing the drink, your drunken mind got a brilliant idea.

A grin slid its way across your lips and you marched right over to Sevika, reading off her cards out loud for the rest of the players. They shared confused glances while Sevika's hand crushed the cards she was holding. Turning to you with a glare so sharp that if looks could kill... you'd be a goner.

"You think you're funny?" Sevika asked. Though, you knew it was a rhetorical question. Not that that stopped you from answering, of course. Anything to push Sevika's gears a little further.

"Yeah, I do. Some other people here would agree too," you shrugged. Next thing you knew you were pinned up against the wall. Your heart raced as her prosthetic crossed your face. Keeping your mouth shut. The metal sending a shiver through your body.

There was a part of your feelings towards Sevika you'd always ignored. Being afraid to say anything about them. Probably a smart choice too because you could almost guarantee that Sevika didn't see you the same. Unless pissing each other off was also her way of flirting and honestly, you could see that for her. But you played it safe. For the most part... when you were drunk like this it was a different story.

"We gonna kiss or what?" You asked with a teasing smirk, after squirming your way up just enough to free your mouth. Sevika's eyes narrowed and she shoved you to the floor.

You hit the ground with a thud, a bouncer making his way over to separate the two of you.

Sevika just huffed and sat back down where she had been before. A deeper part of her felt a little flustered by your comment. A fluster she masked with anger. However, she wasn't sure if that was just the alcohol or if a dumb part of her was starting to feel things for you...

[mirai-e-jump]

Figure King No.322 2024 Making Report of Kamen Rider Gotchard (pages and translation below, VERY LONG POST)

Publication: November 27, 2024

ft. Chief Producer Minato Yosuke (Toei), Heads of Documents & Literature Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi (Ishimori Productions), Character Designer Kita Tojun (PLEX), and Producer of Toy Development Terakawa Ryo (Bandai)

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 1: The Combination of Rider and Youth

-Expanding on "touch points" and card demand-

"Fall of 2022…The broadcast of the TV series "Kamen Rider Geats" begins, where within the show, multiple people become Kamen Riders and take part in the survival game called the "Desire Grand Prix." Toei's Minato Yosuke was preoccupied as a Sub Producer, trying to establish the project of the new show "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger," which would start in March of the following year. In October, the "Virtual Production Division" was established at Toei Tokyo Studios. King-Ohger was an ambitious show that implemented new filming techniques through the use of LED walls. Minato was pushing forward with his work while getting a feel for these new techniques, but was forced to leave the project halfway through. This was because he had been appointed "Chief Producer" of the new Kamen Rider production that would begin in 2023. After working as a production assistant at anime studio Madhouse, in 2019, Minato joined Toei as a "full time tokusatsu Producer." Since then, Minato's been involved as an Assistant Producer on "Kamen Rider Zero-One" (2019), "Kamen Rider Saber" (2020), and "Avataro Sentai Donbrothers" (2022), but this was his first major role as Chief Producer. Likely due to the fact that he was appointed Chief within a few years of changing careers from the animation industry, he said he received a great deal of support when launching the project."

Minato: Shirakura Shinichiro from the Character Strategy Division and Tsukada Hideaki from the Drama Division participated and looked out for me in the form of advisers. As you're well aware, Shirakura's writing style and Tsukada's writing style are the complete opposite. Shirakura's the type of person who moves the story along through human relationships. I think Tsukada's characterized by his mystery drama format, where the build up of events lead to incidents being resolved. I refer to them as "the dragon and the tiger" (laughs), but they're such opposites, that I felt as if I had been worked twice as hard in such a short period of time due to their intense criticisms.

"Shirakura's the Producer behind many Kamen Rider productions, including "Agito" (2001) and "Den-O" (2007), and he was the driving force behind the branding of the Heisei Kamen Rider series. Meanwhile, Tsukada's produced hits in the Kamen Rider series, such as "W" (2009) and "Fourze" (2011), as well as many other TV dramas. Both also have experience as Chiefs of Super Sentai productions, and are indispensable figures in the history of Toei's tokusatsu productions."

Minato: Because of the way things unfolded, the idea of using cards as transformation items had already been proposed by the time I joined the project. I was told that it could change, but since I was super into "Magic the Gathering" during my entire school life, I thought I was lucky that we were going with the concept of card Riders.

"Joining the planning team as the head of toys was Bandai's Terakawa Ryo. After working in Gunpla promotion for many years up to that point, he became a developer in charge of Digimon and other figures."

Terakawa: We also felt that the environment for "having interest in watching these shows" had changed significantly. The company had been conducting their own surveys and found that the recognition of Kamen Rider had been declining year after year since the start of the covid pandemic. Given this situation, we at Bandai thought that what we could do was to increase the number of "touch points" through the toys. This would lead to greater visibility of the characters, and that the more people knew about the show, the more interest there would be in the toys. At the time, when we thought, "What's the easiest item to give to children who have never heard of Kamen Rider?," we decided that cards were the way to go. Cards can be produced at a low unit price, so along with them being easy for children to hold onto, they can be handed out for free at various places. We thought that if we could distribute them at events, in stores, and even put up "peel off posters" at places like large train stations and participating stores, that interested people would peel them off and take them home with them. If they had an actual card in their hand, they may become interested in Kamen Rider and be encouraged to watch the show. We couldn't just give out transformation belts (laughs), but cards are easy to distribute to a large number of people. That was the main reason that made us focus on cards.

"The cards are the ideal "size" to get children to recognize the Kamen Rider characters."

Terakawa: So far, Kamen Riders that have used cards were "Ryuki" (2002), "Blade" (2004), and "Decade" (2009), but it's been over 10 years since they've been used as "linked" items. That's when I felt like, "In that sense, wouldn't this be like a new experience for children?" For starters, cards are items that the Showa generation of Rider fans have a high affinity for. Calbee also released products with cards in them to line up with the release of the film "Shin Kamen Rider" (2023).

"The reason behind the implementation of cards was partly due to the rising marketplace for trading card games."

Terakawa: Even now, the market for card games is quite heated. The trading card games of various companies, including Bandai's own "One Piece Card Game" and "Battle Spirits" series have become so popular, that domestic card printing plants are operating at full capacity and are unable to keep up with production. The user base for purchasing third party games is expanding across all generations, and that excitement is also being passed onto children. Cards take up alot of floor space in toy departments and are easy to sell in convenience stores. As an example, it's pretty difficult to sell a 2,000 yen buckle, but a 200 yen card pack can be found at any convenience store. If it's a card, it can be sold with candy at an affordable price. It can also be sold with children's clothing, or as a bonus in magazines and other items.

-Reiwa Rider's Card Battle-

"The project was started in response to the enthusiasm of the card game market, but developing a transformation belt with a card based gimmick was extremely difficult. Minato, who at this point was in charge of the entire production, says that Ryuki was the first thing that came to mind when he started planning the card Rider project."

Minato: It was one of the shows that led me to becoming an otaku (laughs). I was in my second year of middle school at the time, and I was so absorbed in this show, that I even sent in a call to "Telegong" (a service where viewers voted by phone to decide on how the show would unfold).

"Kamen Rider Ryuki was the third entry in the Heisei Rider series, which ran for a year starting in February 2002. It's a shocking show where 13 Kamen Riders are pitted against one another in a Rider Battle, fighting by using the power of monsters called "Mirror Monsters," and its tagline being, "Those who don't fight won't survive!" Its "death game" style, in which only the last one standing can make their wish come true, caused it to gain alot of attention, making it a highly successful and legendary show. Minato's superior, Shirakura, who was present at the planning meeting, was also the Chief Producer of Ryuki. In planning the card Rider, Minato was handed materials by Shirakura that served as a template during Ryuki's proposal."

Minato: When I read it, a section with a discussion of how to incorporate card battles into a Rider production caught my eye. For example, in the case of "Pokemon," Pikachu plushies and figures are popular, but merch that features the main trainer Satoshi isn't as popular. In the case of Kamen Rider, the Riders are the main characters, so it's the Riders that you want to portray in an appealing way. If he were to summon Dragreder (a Mirror Monster) and have Dragreder fight for him, the Rider wouldn't be as appealing. If the Rider himself doesn't fight, he'd just exist to summon Dragreder. That being the case, the Rider summons a Mirror Monster in order to borrow their power. They can use sheer strength to unleash a special attack from the weapons they hold in their hands, or perform kicks themselves. In short, it's structured in such a way that the Riders themselves become the main part of the battle. The Mirror Monsters don't speak, and are depicted as enemy monsters, but there's a reason for this. Within the materials, there was something written like, "We want children to like the Kamen Rider, not Dragreder."

"There hadn't been a Rider production with cards as the main item since Decade in 2009. Furthermore, there was no concept of "linked items" at the time, and cards for multiple transformations and cards for form changes weren't developed in a very particular way. The cards used by the Riders were included "one at a time" with the toys (although there were 10 included in the main transformation belt), and weren't designed with the assumption that people would collect a complete set. Some of them were commercialized in the Data Carddass game "Kamen Rider Battle Ganbaride" (trading card arcade game), but the difficulty of obtaining them was high because the cards were ejected one at a time, causing collectors to cry. More than 10 years have already passed since Decade. It can be said that the development of cards unique to the Reiwa era would inevitably happen."

Minato: Bandai wanted to sell the cards as if they were part of a trading card game (in packs), rather than in a way where the contents of the cards are known. In other words, it was designed so that you wouldn't know what cards were inside. Selling them like that, you're bound to get duplicate cards, no? We had to think of ways to use those duplicate cards, so we first thought of a way to fight in a deck building style. As an example, I had to create a situation in the drama where you could put multiple copies of the same card in a deck. Then, I wondered about energy cards. For instance, there's always an energy card in a pack, and you have to consume three energy cards to get a powerful attack. I thought it'd be difficult to sell a large number of cards without doing something like that. The act of building a deck may seem abit difficult, but I thought it'd be better to have a gimmick like that, since it could broaden the age range of the audience.

"Younger children would enjoy the flashy card battles, while the older ones would also enjoy “tactics at its finest” when combining decks. It's an ambitious concept that would certainly captivate not only young children and elementary school students, but also the older generation."

Minato: At first, we thought of dividing the cards into multiple categories, including transformation cards, attack cards, special skill cards, monster cards, and so on. I tried to explain that things like skill cards can be used in the development of the show's story or battles, and that each card has value because interesting things could happen when they're combined, but it was hard for people to understand.

"The design team was led by Kita Tojun of PLEX. He's a key Designer who's worked on the Kamen Rider series since "Build" (2017), as well as "Mashin Sentai Kiramager" (2020), and as Chief Designer on "Ultraman Blazar" (2023)."

Kita: Among the countless ideas, there was one to combine 3 cards. The idea was to create a deck with three types of cards, that being, "Material + Shape + Movement," and then perform a move. Being more specific, it'd be something like, "Iron + Triangle + Rotation = Drill." In theory, it's easy to understand, but it'd be difficult for a child. Then there were talks of, "How about a simple "drill" or "bike" card, and then combining the two to make a "Drill Bike"?" From here, we felt that it'd be alittle sad to just use the word "drill," so we decided to turn the drill and bike into a character. In "Kamen Rider OOO" there were the mechs called "Candroids" that would help out, and I thought it'd be a good idea to make it a character with that kind of vibe. Riders are known for their compound eyes, so we came up with the idea of giving every character "bug like eyes."

Minato: When I saw the illustrations of the drill and bike with compound eyes, I thought that what was depicted on those cards looked like small animals. And the fact that all of them are alive……it made me think that they were like Pokemon (laughs). In that sense, the illustrations on the cards were all monsters…… it started to seem like a good idea with the ways things turned out.

"This idea became the prototype for the "Chemies," but at this point, he said they hadn't reached a definitive decision. It was like wandering in a long tunnel with no end in sight. The steam locomotive that would lead them to the exit hadn't arrived yet. The planning team's struggles continued as they hoped for a breakthrough in ideas……"

-Transform with alchemy by shaking the cards-

"In addition to the cards and structure of the transformation belt, meetings were underway in regards to the concept of the main Rider. This was because the concept of the Riders and items were linked to the worldview of the entire show."

Minato: Shirakura would constantly ask me, "What kind of program will people watch each week?" A Kamen Rider engaging in card battles wouldn't leave much of an impact. That's because there's already been so many. If you were to say an "Office President Rider," the audience's imaginations would run wild. A novelist Rider, a devil Rider……your imagination starts to overflow, doesn't it? That's where the word "magic" was brought up. If you were to give some meaning to the cards, then in some way or another, the magical elements would fit. Magical cards are easy to visualize, aren't they? For argument's sake, if you have materials "A" and "B" and then combine them, you can create something new. This is something that came up at a meeting with Tsukada. However, it didn't feel right that there was no logic behind the magic. With that being the situation I chose "alchemy," as it felt like there were more rules.

"So that's why the concept was an "Alchemist Rider." With the word "alchemy" being agreed upon, various elements started to connect to one another."

Minato: I remembered that something called a homunculus existed in alchemy. Then, I wondered if the compound eyed monsters depicted on the card illustrations could be homunculi. I thought it (artificial life forms) would be compatible with alchemy. From here, when responding to Shirakura's question, "What's so entertaining about this program?" my answer was, "Alchemy." Despite that, Shirakura would say, "Alchemy can't be a theme." He also said the words, "It's fine to use alchemy as a gimmick, but use something else as the theme." Trying to find the theme……I was at my limit, and yet, I remembered the conversation about how the illustrations on the cards were like Pokemon. This is where I finally landed on the word "collect."

"The cards depict monsters, and the idea was to create a story about collecting those monsters. At the same time, the word "alchemy" helped speed up the development of the transformation belt."

Kita: We talked about how to present the act of "mixing" multiple cards as a gimmick for the belt. One example, put three monster cards in the case and shake them. It'd be like a drink shaker. What we had in mind was when you pour them into a flask shaped belt, you'd transform through the power of the three monsters fusing.

"A wide variety of opinions were exchanged, among them, the idea of a transformation gimmick, in which the face of the Rider is completed by matching the patterns on the cards, was also conceived."

Kita: However, it was difficult from a design standpoint (making a flask shaped belt). Flasks have a protruding tip, so it'd be hard to fuse the square shaped cards with that design. Because of that, we decided to only keep the gimmick of shaking multiple cards and to make both the belt and the card holder in a square shape.

"A majority of people also said that the transformation action was lacking in excitement."

Kita: They said that simply shaking the card case and putting it in the buckle was weak as a transformation action. For the Build Driver (Build's transformation belt), there were the items called Full Bottles, but at the time, you had to shake the Full Bottles, put them in the belt, and then perform an additional action (turning the handle). It was pointed out that there was no action to that effect this time.

"At the same time, the number of cards were discussed, and it was decided that the total amount would be as large as 100 types."

Minato: That meant that there'd be 100 different linked items this time. I was pretty nervous because there were so many (laughs), but I decided to go along with it because it'd be a new perspective for me, and also because as cards, it might be worth collecting them.

"If three cards make one form, then you need more than 30 different forms, and if two cards make one form, then you need 50 different forms."

Kita: With that many forms, you'll want to swap cards from one to the next and play around with them. Some people voiced how it might be alittle hard to play with, and when we thought about it, the process of removing the holder from the belt, changing the cards, and putting it back on the belt again wasn't a good idea. So we talked about it with, "Instead of increasing the number of actions, wouldn't it be better to reduce them?" In the end, the card case was removed, and we decided to go in a simpler direction.

Terakawa: It took alot of trial and error, but if you want them to play with the intuition that you pair up the cards with the belt, just insert two cards into the belt and combine them together. I thought that was the simplest way to go. There's minimal belt action, since all you do is push and pull the buckle, but being that there'd be 50, possibly more, different forms, we decided that it'd be better to keep the actions as simple as possible. Each form also makes a distinctive sound effect. In addition, it can identify all 100 monster names and says them audibly, so just as a toy, we thought it'd be pretty fun.

"And so, with its colorful, neon like lights emanating, the transformation belt was completed. When two cards are inserted and the lever is pulled, the Rider's face appears. A truly mysterious gimmick was born."

-A Rider's failed transformation?!-

"Let's bring the conversation back to the time when the transformation system was being devised. At the beginning of the project, the idea was to just "insert a card pack directly into the buckle and transform!"

Minato: This was an idea from the design team. The concept was to make the packs structured like a storage box, where you could open and close them repeatedly, and then to "take out the real pack of cards inside and use them to transform!" The concept was to make even the act of opening a pack of cards part of the fun. This is where the drama comes in, as the question of "how do you deal with random cards?" came to mind. Opening a pack would be like a battle, where it's like, "So these are the five cards I got this time. Alright, how should I use them?" Then I was thinking that depending on the specs of the cards, it might be a less powerful form that it transforms into. That's the direction I had in mind for the drama.

"The main character fights by randomly transforming into different forms, taking advantage of the unique properties of his cards, which makes it impossible to know what will appear. Imagining a Rider surviving battles through wisdom and courage really gets your heart racing, don't you think? This led to the concept of a Rider who, depending on the cards he held, could transform into a "grotesque," non human form."

Minato: I imagined the main character as a young man who tries without giving up, even if he makes mistake after mistake. So I thought, "Why not visualize this attitude through his transformation?" Alchemy has a history of failures, so you could assume that the concept reflects that. In response to Shirakura's "what makes this program so entertaining to watch every week?" question, I thought, "what about a program that entertains the audience with its failed transformations?" Using various cards, trying again and again until finally achieving success, it made me think, "Isn't that kind of method abit like alchemy?"

"A failed transformation form that visualizes the act of repeated trial and error. The concept of capturing the form change from a different angle makes the new generation's sense of style shine through. However……"

Minato: When I tried to write the script using this format, it took way too long to reach victory. The sequence of a successful transformation from a failed one simply took too much time. Because of that, instead of repeating failed transformations, many people voiced their opinion that it'd be better to focus more on monster collecting.

"Thinking from a child's point of view, wouldn't it be more fun to have 10 successful transformation forms than to have 10 failed ones? After the planning team's feedback, it seemed like the failed transformation forms would be scrapped, and yet……"

Minato: There's a novel called "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, and in it, the main character turns into a "poisonous bug." I felt that the failed transformation form had a similar kind of impact. On the other hand, one of the design proposals had a strange form based on the concept of a non human "steam locomotive grasshopper,” which I thought was kind of interesting. I also thought of the main character as a person who would be guided towards "C" in his search for answers, rather than choosing between "A" or "B," so I felt that a bizarre form would fit well with him.

"Both Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi of Ishimori Productions are responsible for world building and repair within the Kamen Rider series. So far, they've been behind the scene figures that have caused many Rider productions to succeed."

Yamabe: It's alchemy, so failures can happen. You may end up with a form that's different from what you wanted, or, on the other hand, you could get a tremendous amount of power specifically for combat. A rough and wild form that causes him to abandon his human form. I think it's because we weren't concerned with the human form, that we could express that kind of excessive power. When I was a child, I used to enjoy thinking and fantasizing about things like, "What would happen if "A" and "B" combined?" So, even though we couldn't show all the forms, I thought it might be a good idea to set the rules as they are, and to let people imagine what it would look like if they put "this one" and "that one" together.

Kaneko: We thought that by removing the human form, the transformations could become more unexpected. I wondered if we could slightly deviate from the parts that the viewers would be expecting. We just needed to decide on the combinations, then we could consider using props instead of suits or CG to depict them. The idea was to keep viewers from getting bored and to give the program a sense of variety.

Minato: Although it was a good idea to sell this series with the fact that there are nearly 50 different forms (through the combination of 100 cards), we didn't have the time to depict those 50 forms (within the drama), and it would've taken a large budget to produce that many suits. So I thought, "Why not use the forms I was considering as failed transformation forms?"

"A strange creature that looks like a fusion between a grasshopper and a steam locomotive…These forms eventually came to be known as "Wild Mode." The naming embodies the "roughness of becoming wild." When the design is humanoid, there are limits to how the action can be depicted. By doing as they pleased with how they designed its appearance, it became possible to break away from those limits. This is how the new Kamen Rider of 2023 acquired its unique identity."

-A young Rider who crushes the old-

"The main character in 2023s Kamen Rider was a high school student. Why did you choose an overly straightforward youth, someone who was more than a boy but not quite a young man, to play the leading role?"

Minato: The opening of the drama is that the main character opens a secret door and finds himself in the world of alchemy, but at its roots, the story has an urban, legendary like worldview. There's a mysterious organization, similar to that of the Illuminati or Freemasons, that have already taken control of the world. The Alchemys Union gives off an image similar to a "dark government." Because of all this, you don't know the full picture. During a planning meeting, we asked ourselves who the Rider would fight against. The word "gerontocracy" came up. Usually, Shirakura and Tsukada are polar opposites, but on this one occasion, they both found it amusing (laughs). Because of their reaction, I thought it'd be interesting to have a story about a group of young people crushing leaders who hate change and only talk about things based on their own past achievements. However, I thought that "crushing the old" was too negative of a theme, but then the word "Gotcha" came up at a naming meeting. It's not a made up word, as it means "to obtain" in English. "To obtain" means to encounter something new that you don't have, in other words, that's what I believe the old have already stopped doing. The only thing the young can do to surpass the old is to "Gotcha." That was one of the reasons why I made the main character and his friends students.

"What the new Kamen Rider needed was "youth to fight off the old." The fact that the main Rider repeatedly changes into 50 different forms can be seen as a symbol of his youth."

Yamabe: The main character is a young and naive high school student. He's an amateur at alchemy, so he's not too specific about things, and he's not afraid to try out different things. I feel that the kind of "irresponsibility of youth" he possesses is reflected in the many form changes he makes.

"The design of the main Rider was done alongside his characterization."

Minato: Our initial plan was to use three or more cards. Since W and Build transformed by combining two elements together, we thought about whether we could create a gimmick that increased the number of cards so that there'd be no overlapping. We tried a variety of things, but considering the structure of the belt, the only way to read the barcodes printed on the cards was to scan them one at a time. After taking into account the transformation action and various other circumstances, in the end, we decided to proceed with just two cards.

"W's design is divided into two parts down the center, while Build combines two elements in a spiral shape. What would the next Rider look like?"

Kita: At first, I imagined him in a lightweight suit, as I thought it'd be a nice change from tradition. The style would be similar to "Riderman" and "Ride Kamens," where their faces are visible and armor is kept to a minimum. With this as the base, the direction was to strengthen him through the use of the cards. I tried to draw lines that made the most of the flat surface of a card, and to also add a flask motif to give off the image of alchemy, but I couldn't decide on the direction to take. It was pretty difficult.

Minato: There were tons of strange designs like that. However, since he's a card Rider, and since "people cards" were something that only Decade did, I wondered if there was a different direction to go in. We asked for an alchemy motif, but we couldn't come up with any words that would give him any hints for the design. During this, "plating" became the one thing we attached ourselves to. Alchemy is the secret art of manufacturing precious metals (like gold and silver) from base metals (like iron, lead and copper), so it gives off the image of something shiny. However, that was also just about the subject matter, not the actual design…..In the end, we decided that instead of combining the visuals of "A + B = AB," we would create a completely different form, that being "C." We wanted to proceed with a completely mixed design, a form where two elements were fused together through alchemy.

"Soon after, the motifs for the two cards were decided to be a grasshopper and steam locomotive."

Minato: A grasshopper wasn't exactly what I wanted. Or rather, there's a grasshopper (GodHopper) in King-Ohger, which I was apart of until just before this, so I was wondering……if this would be alright? (laughs). In the end, I thought that it wasn't a hero motif (in King-Ohger), and that this is Kamen Rider, so there was no issue.

"Grasshoppers are a well known motif going back to the first Kamen Rider, and it fits well with the bounciness of the main character's youth. The steam locomotive on the other hand was a suggestion by Minato."

Minato: When I met my nephew during New Years, he had a toy train. It made me think that children still love trains. I also watched the anime "Goldran" when I was a child, which had a steam locomotive transforming into a robot, and so I thought that a steam locomotive might end up being good. So, I went to a mass retailer near the office and bought a steam locomotive toy, brought it to a planning meeting, and presented it, saying, "Steam locomotives are pretty cool, huh?" (laughs). Grasshoppers and steam locomotives are opposites, one being biological and the other mechanical, but I had the idea of combining them together with the alchemy image in mind, so I thought they'd be a good match. "Jump and Power," that being the jumping power of a grasshopper and the charging power of a steam locomotive, it fit the image of a Rider's kick, so we decided to go ahead with this.

"The color of the armor that covers the new Rider entirely is "blue"…The color evokes a clear blue sky, and at the same time, evokes a sense of youthfulness. The blue shine is further enhanced by the dazzling plating. The motif is a grasshopper and steam locomotive. Its stylish silhouette is bold, it combines a grasshopper, which has been used frequently since Kamen Rider 1, with a steam locomotive, which is the first time it's been used as a main Rider's motif. The new hero would rise up, and his name was "Kamen Rider Gotchard"! The broadcast began on September 3, 2023. In the midst of this era's chaos, the dazzling blue hero jumps forward with ease!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 2: The Combination of Isolation and Gorgeous

-Alchemy of a local factory-

"Standing in the main character's way is Kurogane Spanner, a cool, super A class rank alchemist. He's a rival character who calls himself "Valvarad," and who wears a strengthened suit (alchemist armor) which he created himself for use against Malgams."

Minato: At the beginning of planning, among some of our options was the idea of "Agito 2." I brought it up partially because I like Agito (laughs), but personally, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I had no intention of it being a true part 2, rather, I wanted to create a show that would mirror its structure. This is because as I look back on the most recent productions, it feels like there are way too many Kamen Riders. Because of that, I wanted to bring it back down to three, just like in Agito. Furthermore, each of them comes from a different background, which is why each of them use distinctly different transformation belts. In addition, the structure is set up so that those three meet in the same place. The main character is pure and can't remember anything, the secondary is someone who's inherited some sort of knowledge from the past, and the tertiary is an outsider. I was wondering if it'd be possible to depict that kind of structure, where the three of them aren't very close with each other. I wanted to reject the traditional, rule based world. The secondary is Rinne, while the tertiary is Spanner. The structure isn't exactly the same, and there are some parts where multiple elements are mixed together, but I used that as a basis for the structure of the character arrangement.

"For 120 long years, no one has been able to attain that lost technology - alchemy for a Kamen Rider. In order to get as close as possible to this power, Spanner conducted his own research and developed "Valvarad's armor" as a system different from that of a Riders."

Minato: There were requests for more allies on the hero side to join the main Rider, but I had decided from the start to go with just Gotchard during the very beginning. Gotchard's diverse form changes were his selling point, so I wanted to focus on that first. I had decided from the beginning that we would have three Riders, but that there'd still only be one by the end of the year. That's when I decided to come up with a rival hero, and so a non Rider hero was born.

"Spanner dons his Valvarad "armor" not by shouting "Henshin!," but "Tekko!" instead. While Riders bodies are strengthened through transformation, Valvarad's an unorthodox warrior who fights with armor simply worn over his body."

Kaneko: Valvarad dons his armor using only one card. Only Kamen Riders can transform using two cards. This was a way to differentiate him from the others and to explain that this was the alchemy of this world.

"An outsider with a different background from the Kamen Rider. He could be considered the tertiary in the Agito inspired character arrangement that Minato originally had in mind."

Minato: He may be an alchemist warrior, but he's still an imperfect being, so we decided to make the rival rust. This is in contrast to the plated and sparkling Gotchard. The toy team voiced how they wanted car cards to appear, so we created a visual of a car covered in oil and being repaired with tools. He's like a warrior born from the alchemy of a local factory, if you will.

"These so called transformation items were also well thought out ideas (in terms of steel items)."

Kita: There were many ideas, including one based on scissors and another on a helicopter styled weapon, but the tool idea was selected from among them.

"Given his setting as a non Rider hero, some interesting ideas were exchanged on transformation and form changes."

Kita: I thought it'd be funny if he put the end of the Valvarusher (the wrench part) around his head and transformed by tightening screws on his head. Both of his shoulders have parts that look like hex bolts, but during the design stage, I imagined that the Valvarusher would be used by him to remove these bolts, and then to attach additional parts to the shoulders. Instead of transforming, he'd be a hero who tunes up his armor like a mechanical engineer.

"Equipping the armor and weapons with his own hands. That's quite an original idea, don't you think?! As a result, the method of changing his appearance instantaneously was used in the footage, but we can't help but hope that this kind of production technique will one day become more popular."

-The conception of a Rider Taisen Universe?!-

"A high school alchemist Rider finds himself in a different dimension. There, he witnessed a gorgeous, golden warrior who used the cards of past Riders to defeat his enemies in every direction. His name is Kamen Rider Legend!"

Minato: The cards sold in packs had "Chemies" printed on them, but at first, customers were still unfamiliar with the monsters. One of the roles of the show was to make the monsters more appealing, but we weren't sure how popular the Chemies would turn out during the planning stages. On the other hand, the lineup also included cards with Legend Riders printed on them. We thought this would be one of the motivations for customers to buy cards during the very early stages of the show. The toy team still raised their concerns with, "How can we make the cards more appealing?"

Terakawa: Card items are also targeted at adults, and the Card Division's view was that cards of past Riders would be particularly popular with them. If that was the case, then I wanted to highlight the Legend cards more. We consulted with Ishimori Productions and Toei about what steps we could take to achieve this.

Yamabe: Items related to past Riders, or "Legend merch" as they're called, have quite a few fans. We had the option of not adding them in the show, but I also understood what the toy team was thinking. We agreed that it'd be fun to have a hero who uses the cards of past Riders, and that we might as well give it a try with this series. However, if this character were to appear in the main story, it would affect the worldview, so that was something we had to think about for abit.

Terakawa: For example, we thought about things like someone who makes cards, who also makes Chemy cards, and who also makes cards of past Riders. A variety of opinions were exchanged, such as, "How about making a character who's a card shop owner, or a handyman who deals with Chemy cards and explains what a Chemy is?"

"Legend cards were difficult to work with. If Gotchard uses the Legend cards, that would give him unlimited power, which weakens the purpose of using the other Chemy cards. On the other hand, if a completely new and distinct character were to use them……"

Minato: A hero who uses Legend cards is by all accounts the most powerful character in the show, so wouldn't having him around solve everything? I wondered how it would affect the show if things ended up going in that direction. So, I decided to make him a Rider from a different world than the one in the TV series, and thought about developing it as a spin off. In this way, I thought we could fulfill both our goals of bringing Legend cards into the story, and to keep a Legend card using hero outside of Gotchard's narrative world.

"The platform chosen was Youtube. As the name suggests, "Toei Tokusatsu Youtube Official" is an official video site for Toei's tokusatsu productions, and has distributed spin offs of TV series, such as "Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders Souls!" (2016)."

Minato: If I depicted how he got the Legend Rider cards, I wouldn't be able to show his abilities in the limited time we had, so I decided to make him someone who had alot of cards right from the start. Initially, I was thinking of a setting where he was some incredible day trader. A successful businessman who's very rich. I even came up with a line like, "I'm a modern day alchemist" (laughs). However, I thought that was alittle too realistic for his occupation……so I changed his setting.

"Needless to say, the concept of "gorgeous" was born as a result of this process. But his appearance……?"

Kita: I had alot of ideas, such as looking like a businessman with a suit arrangement, or like a motorcycle riding police officer who cracks down on Riders from all over the world. Since Gotchard has a concept with arrows, I tried to draw a design with arrows all over his body, but in the end, a design based on the concept of "Rider No. 3 from Decade's world" was chosen.

"One way of describing his appearance would be……the Golden Decade!"

Minato: Gotchard aired on TV every week. A large number of toys were released. It's a production that finally took shape after months of working on the setting and designs. When you throw a new Rider with a completely different setting into the mix, it's only natural that he'd look inferior to Gotchard. That being the case, I thought it'd be better to just have him be a character like Decade.

"From here, they wanted him to borrow Decade's powers. One being his "visuals." The other being his "ability" to copy all past Riders."

Minato: The fact that he looks similar to Decade I thought could be cleared up by using the same logic as Twokaizer (laughs).

"Twokaizer is the additional fighter that appeared in "Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger" (2021), and his visuals are very similar to the Gokaigers (laughs). This isn't surprising. The reason for this is pretty simple, the character Flint, who went to the world of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, copied the appearance of the Gokaigers (laughs). However, the overall coloring and appearance of various parts aren't exactly the same as those on the Gokaigers. The plan was to use a similar approach."

Yamabe: A world where using Riders from other worlds as cards and using their abilities is an established technique. That's the world that Legend exists in. The resemblance in appearance is due out of respect for Decade. That's how I interpret it.

"The enemy that Legend fights against is a mysterious organization called "Hundred." Under their command is Kasshine, an enemy from Zi-O."

Yamabe: I've always thought that there's a world line between Decade and Zi-O, and that there are battles that take place in a different dimension from the Rider battles that we do every year. That's why we used the Aurora Curtain again and had a scene where Kasshine appears. Ishimori Productions wanted to unite the world views of Decade and Zi-O into one.

Kaneko: Legend also had the role of introducing Kamen Rider to the new generation who were unfamiliar with Riders, as well as to people overseas who had never seen a Rider broadcast before. It'd be difficult to ask the new generation of fans to watch all past Rider productions during that time, so we picked out and introduced only the most characteristic and interesting parts of every past Rider. This was the role that had been entrusted to this character.

"Even though the grand plan was unexpectedly surprising, the character of Kaguya-sama is amazing in that he seems to be able to handle his role without any difficulty. Although, Legend would eventually interfere with the world of Gotchard……"

-Cards and Riders, a deceptive duet-

"The very beginning of the program depicts a lively battle between Houtaro and his friends to capture Chemies. It was an unusual journey, going from west to east in pursuit of Chemies."

Minato: The concept of this production was a "story of collecting Chemies." There are friends and rivals, but it's not a battle, what's depicted is a "race" to catch the Chemies. This is because initially, I was going to use a basic storyline pattern……in which human criminals and a Chemy combine to become a Malgam. This is imagery seen in the story of episode 2. A hero who saves helpless Chemies from being trapped by evil people is a new concept, don't you think? However, that'd mean the very first episode wouldn't unravel properly. I thought it'd be fine to go without an enemy organization, but TV Asahi's Producer Inoue Chihiro-san advised me that it'd be better to have an enemy. And so, the "Three Dark Sisters" were born.

"If you ask me, the flow of Houtaro receiving the belt from Kudo Fuga in the first episode wouldn't have been possible without the Three Dark Sisters. The unexpected circumstances of their creation are surprising, but the Three Dark Sisters studied the Chemy cards and succeeded in developing the DreaDriver. It's an evil device that transforms a person into the form of a demon by consuming Repli Chemy cards."

Yamabe: The DreaDriver is a "sacrificial belt." It's a belt that disposes of the Chemy cards. If an enemy that used it were to appear, the Chemy loving main character would no doubt hate them immensely. At the time of planning, the details of the story hadn't been decided yet, so we introduced it with that intention in mind.

Kaneko: At the time of planning, we were thinking of a development in which Chemy cards would be taken by the enemy and then recovered. However, as the project progressed, it was decided that there'd be only one of each Chemy card, so we needed to do something else. Considering the importance that Houtaro places on his Chemy cards, he wouldn't simply hand them over to the enemy. That's when we came up with the idea of "Repli Chemy cards." Things would progress from the enemy feeling threatened by Gotchard, to them creating a card of their own and transforming.

"With a thunderous roar, a human who puts on the DreaDriver transforms into Kamen Rider Dread. The one manipulated by Atropos and forced to transform was……Sabimaru."

Kaneko: We wanted to create an evil Rider, one who would completely change the cheerful mood, but we had a hard time deciding who would transform. At first, we were thinking of the three tiered system, with Clotho using Type One, Lachesis using Type Two, and Atropos using Type Three. We wanted to make it seem like the opponent who used Chemies to create Malgams would then transform into a Rider and stand in the way as powerful enemies, but as of episode 11, I felt that the Three Dark Sisters just hadn't developed as characters yet. Even when they transformed, it was lacking in impact……

Minato: For example, I thought about having Clotho transform and then leave the show, but Screenwriter Hasegawa-san didn't want Clotho to make her exit just yet. Therefore, we decided that it'd be best to leave Dread as a sort of puppet like existence for the time being. With all that being the case, who would do the most damage to Houtaro? From this perspective, I chose Sabimaru as the one to transform. The reason was that up to that point, Houtaro's main motivation for taking action was the Chemies, he wasn't a Kamen Rider who protected humans. However, when his senior and important friend Sabimaru is taken away from him, he has a change in attitude to save both Chemies and humans.

Kaneko: I think we were able to depict Houtaro's consideration for human life and his determination to fight. However, to begin with, Sabimaru's character isn't suited for that kind of role. That's why Dread didn't feel like a formidable opponent. It didn't look like a threat was approaching. Instead, the feeling of pity for Sabimaru was what came out more strongly, which was quite different from what we were aiming for.

Minato: Personally, I didn't want to call Dread a "Kamen Rider." In this world, Kamen Riders are rare individuals who transform by combining two Chemy cards. The Repli Chemy cards are fakes, and Type Zero isn't a Rider, as you transform with just one card. Therefore, we made it possible for anyone to transform, although what they become is quite different from a Kamen Rider. We decided that we'd have Atropos be the one saying, "I'm Kamen Rider Dread."

"Dread would eventually mutate its forms one by one, from Type One to Three, and even altering the person that transforms, causing torment to Houtaro and his friends."

-Power up with the Legendary Chemies-

"Ride Chemy cards are sealed with Chemies, artificial life forms created by alchemy. Each card is assigned a 10 level number based on their attribute, from "level 1" to "level 10." A Level 10 is the strongest Chemy in each attribute. They're special beings with extraordinary power."

Minato: Simply put, the Level 10's are "Legendary Pokemon" (laughs). They're absurdly strong Chemies, so it's difficult to catch them. Houtaro, as well as Gotchard, become stronger when the Level 10s approve of him. I was careful when depicting this sequence, as I didn't want to portray him as becoming stronger just because he acquired a strong asset. So, the process I followed was that as a result of becoming stronger mentally, he gained new powers. I intended on sticking to this concept throughout the show.

"Gotchard's system was to use two Chemy cards to transform, but there was a rule that the sum of the numbers of the two cards that were paired had to equal 10. Like how Hopper1 is a Level 1 and Steamliner is a Level 9. So, 1+9=10, and there can be a transformation. Other forms basically followed this rule, but what about Level 10 cards?"

Terakawa: The basic concept was that you were allowed to power up with three cards. So by adding a Level 10 card to Steamhopper (which requires two cards), you can create a new form.

"There are no cards that can be paired with a Level 10, so instead, the idea was to "add on" to a standard form to increase its power."

Kita: In the beginning, we were thinking of removing the card holder like part from the new weapon and setting it on the belt, but the card holder was small in size. Adding this to the Gotchard Driver didn't change the appearance of the belt much. So, we decided to change our direction of transforming the weapon itself into an additional buckle.

"Transforming with a Level 10 Chemy required a new weapon (Exgotchalibur), which could change shape into a buckle. The main point was that the overall appearance of the belt could be changed by adding additional parts to it. He was told, "you shouldn't control a Level 10," as they're the most challenging of Chemies, but Houtaro becomes friends with these Level 10s thanks to his kindness and battle spirit. His unconventional ideas and drive allowed him to easily overcome the old teachings passed down at the Alchemys Union, and gradually, he began to change the hearts of those around him!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 3: The Combination of Past and Future

-Daybreak Incident-

"One after another, people were turned to stone by the super giant Orochi Malgam. The crowded Christmas town was in chaos as everyone was turned to stone, including his best friends, allies, and rivals. Would the panicking Houtaro also become a victim?! At that moment, a daybreak colored shadow appeared with a dazzling light. It was another Gotchard!!"

Minato: The toy sale report for the first month of the show's broadcast became available, and while card sales were strong, Driver sales weren't, and the adult fan base seemed to be shrinking. That was just the info I was given. So, I decided that it might be a good idea to prepare some kind of major development for the story.

Yamabe: I had abit of a bad feeling about this……In the last episode of the year (episode 16), the development we planned was to have Houtaro power up into Fire Gotchard. Gotchard would be defeated for a moment, but then complete his powered up transformation at the very end, and then the story would continue in the next episode. That's the process we were thinking of, but after hearing about the toys, I had a feeling that the story would take a turn for the worse if we did that.

Minato: Geats, the previous series, was said to be very popular with adults, while on the opposite end, the response from young children wasn't so good. That's why we had talked about making a show that would attract more children this time, and that it would be aimed more towards preschool aged children. Rider is a long running series that has many adult fans, so I thought I had to try and strike a balance in order to reach that generation, but then I wasn't sure what to do.

"If the primary target was younger children, then it's possible that middle and high school students, as well as the older generation, may not judge it positively. And, what if you didn't get support from those vital young children?"

Yamabe: We understand that it's cool when the main character loses for a brief moment and then gets back up. However, given the situation we were currently going down, we thought it wouldn't be appealing to anyone, regardless of whether they were a child or an adult.

Kaneko: It was probably because of our own lack in ability, but in any case, we hadn't been able to convey the appeal of Gotchard. Tons of Chemy cards were released, tons of form changes appeared, Dread appeared, the Exgotchalibur appeared and turned him into Super Gotchard, and soon, there'd be Fire Gotchard. Shortly after that, Valvarad's power up was scheduled. Taking all that into account, it makes it impossible to create an interesting story, and even if new items were released, viewers wouldn't want to buy those toys, as there'd be no excitement in them. At any rate, we were in a standstill.

Minato: I don't remember much about the meeting because I felt completely drained, but it was decided right then and there that a new character would suddenly appear. "But who'll be transforming?," we couldn't come to a decision. There was a strong divide between choosing either Fuga or Houtaro's father, but I thought that'd be too predictable and simply not interesting enough. This could make it look as if Houtaro, the main character, was having his role downsized and that a new main character was appearing. That would be a betrayal to the viewers, so I absolutely wanted to avoid that. During all this, the words "the hero's future appearance" came out of Yamabe-san, and I was like, "That's it!"

Yamabe: A character who would be known as a "skilled Gotchard," who can handle all kinds of weapons, appears. He also fights brilliantly, using red Chemy cards that no one's ever seen before. So, unlike the Gotchard that Houtaro transforms into, this guy would be showing off his professional fighting skills. Within the show is a picture book, which refers to the story "Alchemist of Daybreak," so we decided to make the character associated with those words. And so, that's how Daybreak was born.

"Following this meeting, Minato immediately set out to negotiate with the toy team."

Minato: Episode 16 would be the last episode to air at the end of the year. Gotcharigniter toys were scheduled to be available in stores by the end of that week. So, at the time of planning, they were thinking of making Kamen Rider Valvarad appear during that episode. The Gotcharigniter was set up to be an item that allowed them to become Fire Gotchard or Kamen Rider Valvarad respectively. However, Gotchard became UFO-X in episode 13 and XRex in episode 14, and when episode 15 was being aired, Majade was making her debut in movie theaters. I couldn't set up such an absurd storyline where Valvarad would power up next time during episode 16. It'd be easy to force something like that out, but as a creator, I didn't want to do it. In Gotchard's story, I can't give power ups to people who haven't "Gotcha!" (obtained) something. So, I asked to let Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad make their appearance after the New Year. As a work around, I explained that we'd be attaching the Gotcharigniter to the new character, Daybreak.

"It's highly unusual for these kinds of series, which are based on linking the show and the toys, to delay the release of characters and items that are set to be sold during the holiday shopping season. This must've been an unexpected situation for the toy team."

Minato: I was expecting them to not agree so easily……but it was still pretty rough. After much discussion, I managed to get them to agree that before the sales launch of the Igniter, Daybreak would appear in episode 16 and use the Igniter to become Fire Gotchard Daybreak, and that only the visuals of the new Riders would be released. That's how we ended up releasing the new visuals at the end of the year for the coming year, unveiling Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad. We had already decided in advance that another artist would participate in the theme song (FLOW in addition to BACK-ON), so we decided to release it at the same time. I was so nervous, that I approached things with the feeling that a new show was set to start in January of the coming year.

"The act of explaining the situation to all concerned parties and getting people to understand the intentions of the planning team must've been an indescribable task behind the scenes. On the other hand, this decision broke away from the conventional mindset of the Rider series and "Gotcha" (obtained) something new, which would no doubt give a big boost to future stories!"

-Time Travel Fire-

"After some difficult negotiations, Daybreak's emergency entry was granted. The appearance of two characters were delayed because of this. Let's talk about one of them, we'll start with Fire Gotchard."

Minato: No one knew the reason behind why Houtaro liked the Chemies. Still, from the very beginning, I heard many opinions. The reason is simply that he just met a Chemy randomly and suddenly started saying, "Chemies are great!" To support this, I decided to have a setting where Houtaro meets Chemies in the past. Houtaro doesn't remember this because his memories were erased (by an alchemist), but the Chemies remember. There's still something like a fragment of "cherished memories" in Houtaro's heart. So, I tried to "combine" Houtaro's past and what leads him to becoming Fire Gotchard. I decided on the details later, but Houtaro travels into the past due to Daybreak. I wondered if I could create that sequence of events……where by remembering his childhood memories that had been erased, that would make him more aware than ever that he must protect people and Chemies, and that he must become a stronger person.

"Daybreak speaks with Houtaro. He says, "A power that gives hope to the future. Use this…" Houtaro refuses Daybreak's offer to accept the Gotcharigniter, and declares that he'll try to produce the power up item with his own hands. Daybreak tells him that in order to do so, he needs to travel into the past. Using the power of Timelord, Houtaro travels to the past, where he learns various revelations. As a child, Houtaro was friends with the Chemies, and despite being young, he was skilled in alchemy……Eventually, Houtaro obtains the "one and only treasure in this world" that his childhood self had made through alchemy, and returns to the present, where he succeeds in refining the Gotcharigniter. He obtains the power of Fire Gotchard!"

Kaneko: It's a speed form with a booster on his back, but if it's just about gaining speed, we've seen so many different patterns up until now that viewers are getting tired of seeing, so we decided to make it alittle different. Ultimately, we decided that when on standby, his body is fixed in place with chains, and when he gains speed, he can only move in a straight line. Combined with Director Tasaki's direction, I think the form turned out really unique and cool.

"Upon seeing Gotchard's new appearance, Daybreak mutters, "That form…..so you're headed into the new future, huh?"…"

Kaneko: Daybreak also uses the Gotcharigniter, but Houtaro's Fire Gotchard has a different appearance. That's where the timeline changed (Daybreak's timeline and the present split).

"Seeing Houtaro in a form different from his own despite using the same item, Daybreak feels relieved and returns to the future. This story……is unexpectedly connected to the Summer film!"

-The girl who was supposed to become Gotchard-

"Kamen Rider Majade made her first appearance in the Winter Film. She's the first female fighter in the history of the series to become the secondary Rider. As the daughter of a renowned alchemist, Kudo Rinne has always been bound by rules and lived by them. Her friends refer to her as "honor student" and "rule follower," and her enemy Atropos teased her by calling her "Serious-chan." A girl who's lived her whole life hiding her own will decides to "make her own rules," and grows from becoming a Kamen Rider!"

Minato: I think Rinne was originally supposed to become Gotchard. Since she's the daughter of Kudo Fuga, an important alchemist, she receives a gifted education to also become a renowned alchemist, and she herself has been making efforts with that intention in mind. And yet, her own alchemy doesn't work against Malgams. However, Gotchard (Houtaro) suddenly appears and defeats the Malgams. This is why she's always wanted to become a Kamen Rider, she didn't want to be beside the hero as the heroine, which is the usual tradition. She may look like a cute girl, but within her heart, she's frustrated and impatient with herself for not being able to transform into a Kamen Rider. And so, by Gotcha (obtaining) her resolve to fight, she was finally able to become her true self (a Kamen Rider).

"The New Year's episodes were a rapid fire of events, with each week bringing a series of dramatic developments. Daybreak's intrusion, Houtaro's past, the truth about Kudo Fuga, the power up into Fire Gotchard, Glion's resurrection, and Majade's appearance gave off the impression that there were multiple surprises packed into a single episode. Additionally, the Alchemy Academy was taken over by Glion, and even Minato, whom she admires, switches to Glion's side!"

Yamabe: We wanted to create a situation where Houtaro and his friends had to figure things out on their own. The situation came to a point where Houtaro could no longer be naive, and he had to finally face himself.

"Minato, who has surrendered to Glion's side, uses the DreaDriver to change his appearance and attack Houtaro and his friends. Houtaro and his friends, who called themselves the "Kitchen ICHINOSE Union," were united in their resolve, but more challenges were coming for them. That would be the rampage of their precious friend Spanner…….and the appearance of Wheel Malgam!"

-Digging deeper into the ridiculous jokes-

"Kurogane Spanner is a lone, super A class rank alchemist, who wears the Valvarad armor he developed with his own hands. He's also a man who was previously promised he'd become a Kamen Rider."

Minato: I decided from the beginning that there would be three Riders starting from the beginning of the New Year. My own concept was to do "Kuuga" during the first year, and then after the New Year, the show would become "Agito."

"Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000) was the first Heisei Rider production. It features only one Kamen Rider. The story is about a lone fighter named Kuuga who fights with the help of the police. The next production was Kamen Rider Agito. This is an interwoven drama about three Kamen Riders (Agito, G3, Gills). Minato had reworked the Rider shows that fascinated him as a boy and incorporated them into Gotchard."

Kaneko: The toy team had requested that Houtaro and Spanner share the Gotcharigniter.

"It had already been decided that Spanner would become a Kamen Rider using the Gotcharigniter."

Kaneko: With such a setup, Spanner would need to use the Gotchard Driver. However, the Gotchard Driver has meaning, as it's one of a kind, but I wondered what would happen if there were more of them. If they lent or borrowed it from each other, there would be situations where neither Houtaro nor Spanner could transform, and in that regard, I thought the idea of lending and borrowing was a bad idea. As a result, we changed it so that Valvarad's enhanced belt was a reference to the Gotcharigniter.

"And so, they decided to have Houtaro's Gotcharigniter be an attachment, but for Spanner to have it appear in the show as a completely new belt, known as the Valvaradriver."

Minato: The timing of Kamen Rider Valvarad's appearance was later than expected, but I approached Director Sugihara when it came to making his first appearance (episodes 20 and 21). At that time, the first thing the Director said to me was, "I understand that you want to depict his first transformation in a cool way, but Spanner as he is now is unappealing. I don't think the Rider transformation will come off as well as you think it should unless you do something about Spanner." The planning team was aware of this, so we decided to rethink what kind of person Spanner was when it came time for his first transformation.

"Edami Kyoka was created to better paint Spanner's background…. She's a brilliant female alchemist, who also develops transformation drivers."

Kaneko: Kyoka's the only person that Spanner can open up to and be honest with. She's the one who accepts Spanner with full affirmation. She's also a mentor who supports Spanner more than anyone else.

"Kyoka is Spanner's emotional support. However, their relationship of trust is shattered by the appearance of Angel Malgam. Spanner's parents show up in front of him for the first time in 10 years. Soon after, they're both killed by Glion! Seeing this scene before his eyes, Spanner recalls memories from 10 years ago. And that's when he realizes what happened…His parents had already been killed by Glion 10 years ago, and the people in front of him were only temporarily revived through Angel Malgam's power. At the same time, he learns that his memory of that tragedy had been erased by someone…He's shocked to discover that the one who had performed the memory erasing technique on him was Edami Kyoka, his mentor, mother figure, sister figure, and woman he admired. Spanner feels his existence crumble beneath his feet as he's overcome with despair. And then, Spanner forms a bond. With help from the Chemy Madwell, who was a "tool," he became Valvarad……!"

Minato: 10 years ago, Spanner was a 14 year old boy who went to live with the 24 year old Kyoka-san, and with that happening, he would definitely fall in love with her, don't you think? (laughs). But since she's like a family member to him, they continue to live together while he keeps his feelings bottled up. That's why he became such a cool character. With the appearance of Kyoka, that background becomes clearer. Because of his cool and stylish position, Spanner had been holding back his performance up until then, but the explosive power he had the moment he let it all out was amazing.

"In order to protect the heart of the young Spanner, Kyoka erased those haunting memories, taught him alchemy, and showed him affection as they lived together. This eventually became Kyoka's reason for living. She also taught Spanner how to play chess, as it's a game that requires you to always calmly think ahead without being swayed by your emotions. Spanner possesses dangerous powers that make him easily susceptible to the power of darkness, so she tried to protect him by putting him in "armor" known as the "aesthetics of battle." When Spanner realized her wishes and feelings, he recognized that he wasn't alone. At the same time, memories of the deep love he received from his parents come back to him, and Spanner gains new powers. His name is Kamen Rider Valvarad!"

Minato: Gotchard and Majade transform through traditional alchemy, but Valvarad's transformation is alittle different. He transforms using alchemy that's been applied to modern industrial technology, or other words, alchemy from a local factory, so his appearance is purposely different from the other two. When I think, "What's the alchemy in this show?," I have a pretty good idea of what it is, but his still feels alittle more industrial. I have the impression that Kyoka's alchemy is the latest alchemy (the alchemy related items in Kyoka's lab are different from those in Fuga's room). Valvarad has a reinforced suit, but it's set up so that when he becomes a Rider, his body physically changes. Still, the pointed part on the left side of his mask (the silver part) is the only part that's armor. The design of Kamen Rider Valvarad was completed by combining physical changes (due to legitimate alchemy) with the alchemy techniques of a local factory.

"Spanner became more appealing as a character, and grew into an indispensable and reliable presence in the story."

-The Chemies become transformation items-

"Gotchard evolves with different concepts, including a 3 card transformation (Super Gotchard), transforming with a special card that combines 5 cards (Star Gotchard), and a transformation with an additional buckle (Fire Gotchard). What style would the next power be?"

Minato: Since we had finally reached the point where we had all 100 Chemy cards available for sale, the subject of coming up with a battle style using those 100 cards came up.

Kita: As part of the design team, I was looking for a different approach. Along with the idea of transforming with all cards of the same attribute, there were many other ideas…….but the best response we got was from the concept of a power up transformation for Hopper1 and Steamliner. There'd be a plate buckle (in the shape of a card case) that featured Hopper1 and Steamliner's forms, and he'd transform by inserting new cards into it one by one. I was thinking of a three phase transformation system with slots on the left and right sides, with Hopper1 for the enhanced form, Steamliner for the second enhanced form, and both Hopper1 and Steamliner for the third enhanced form.

Terakawa: After consulting with the design team, we found that there'd be some difficulties with the mechanics. Because of this, instead of a card case, we'd insert a solid item into it, and the three phase transformation became a two phased one. As a toy, the concept was a figure, and it'd be a transformation item that looked like Hopper1 and Steamliner's powered up forms.

"At the time, the new lineup of card products to be released would include ones with the attributes "Cosmic" and "Ancient," so they decided to combine those elements into the power ups for Hopper1 and Steamliner."

Minato: The concept was a two phase transformation, using two different Chemy shaped items. It's standard to start with a "rampaging" form, then a form that overcomes it, but I wondered what we could do to avoid going in that direction. So, I went back to the idea of the single and double card transformations.

"First, Steamliner (in its powered up form) transforms by itself, then adds Hopper1 (also in its powered up form) for a combined transformation! Although its appearance is of a Chemy, the logic is the same as to whether one or two cards are used to transform."

Minato: It's just like Valvarad, he transforms by incorporating the power of one Chemy that resides inside a human. Valvarad uses items so he doesn't have to become Malgam. I wondered if we could think of it in the same way. We had a request for an ancient element in connection with the cards, so I came up with the concept of the "Ancient Forbidden Arts," which used a similar method as alchemy.

Yamabe: At the time of planning, I thought that an enemy boss would appear during this time, and that we could go on to explain about the origins of alchemy. This is why I was thinking that it wouldn't be out of place if there were ancient designs.

"The general concept of the transformation system had been decided upon, but discussions were also held on how the Rider using it would transform, and in particular, how they would differentiate between the two forms."

Minato: The concept was that the first form would be heavily based off an ancient Egyptian styled design and specialize in punching, while the second form would be light due to its heavy armor being removed and specialize in kicking. Still, it had been determined that Gotchard would finish things with a kick in any form, so specializing in kicks makes it difficult to differentiate from the other forms. So, we started to think about a different way of presenting it.

"The result was the ability to activate the power of two scanned Chemy cards as his own technique. Its name, "Platina Shoot Fever"! It has a variety of techniques, including striking attacks from its spiked arms (Saboneedle + Wrestler G), dodging enemy attacks while moving at high speed and firing needle bullets at high speed from its legs (Kaiserbee + Mechanichani), and electric attacks while binding enemies with reinforced webs (Raidenji + Catchula). The more you know about the Chemies, the more excited you become, and their diverse attack styles have captured the hearts of children and won't let go. A new form was born, one that shines with the concept of fighting alongside the Chemies."

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha Final: The Combination of Hope and Challenge

-Arrow Transformation using the Kaiju Chemy!-

"What were known as the "strongest forms" became a staple during the last half of the show. What was the strongest form that the cheerful and positive high school student Gotcha (obtained)?"

Minato: Since we had Crosshopper and Tenliner, I thought it was possible that the power up item could be a Chemy. Still, I debated until the very last minute on whether or not I should make it the 101st Chemy. This was because at the time of planning, I hadn't decided on what the Summer film would be about yet……Personally, I wanted to save the 101st Chemy for the story in the Summer film. To use Pokemon movies as an example, I was thinking about a story in which the legendary Chemy appears in a similar fashion to "Mewtwo Strikes Back" or "Revelation Lugia." Originally, I was under the impression that the strongest form would likely appear about 40 episodes in. That's when I wondered if it would even be okay to collect all 101 of them. I thought that if it was done in that way, the show would practically be over, right? At the time, there were many parts of the setting that hadn't been decided on. "What should this program do after they're done collecting Chemies?," I hadn't fully figured that out yet. To begin with, 101 is the number that Shirakura advised me to prepare. The idea was to have an extra one in case of any problems, so that we could have more flexibility. That's why we left anything in relation to the 101st Chemy as a mystery. Was it really okay to use it as the final power up? This caused me alot of distress.

Kita: Minato-san wanted something different with the 101st Chemy, so we proceeded to work on the items and forms based on the concept of "all 100 Chemies included."

"He says that this direction was immediately "paused." The reason was that if all the Chemies combined, Gotchard's strongest form wouldn't be able to stand alongside Majade and Valvarad."

Kita: Would something other than the Chemies be better? I tried to design something with the image of a gadget based on "arrows," which had become synonymous with Gotchard, or a gadget that lets you put in all the cards you've collected and use the power of 100 cards, but they were all no good.

Minato: This was just around the time that I came up with the idea of a setting for Daybreak. I thought if I could make the Summer film into a Daybreak story, we could make it work. So, using that process, I decided to put the 101st one on TV. Although, the result was that the last two Chemies caught in the show were Pakuraptor and Ojilacanth (laughs).

"The decision was made to make the 101st Chemy a transformation item, and out of countless concepts, a Kaiju Chemy was chosen. It's appearance looks alot like Gotchard……"

Minato: Its design inherited elements of Gotchard, which reflects the setup that it was born from the Gotchard Driver. It also gives off a special feel when compared to the other Chemies. If it was raised as an egg inside the Gotchard Driver while watching Houtaro's actions, it'd be natural for it to have alot of trust in Houtaro, and it'd be easier to explain in many ways. So, I came up with the idea that Fuga had already placed the 101st inside the Gotchard Driver.

"The Kaiju Chemy is born from the egg thanks to Houtaro's ideals! Transformed by its power, Gotchard's strongest form is……arrows?!"

Kita: The words that came up in our discussions were along the lines of Houtaro's positivity and straightforwardness. So I drew the mask with arrows, Gotchard's symbol, meeting in the middle. Although I got the OK, I wasn't sure if it would actually work as a physical shape, so I decided to do a test by printing it out using a 3D printer.

Minato: I was surprised when I saw the 3D model of the mask. This was because I realized that such a mysterious design was actually possible to produce. I liked the design instantly because it seemed to be a direct expression of Houtaro's positive attitude.

Yamabe: Houtaro has experienced many things since becoming a Rider, so it was as if he had decided on his direction. That's why the arrow is so pronounced in the design. I love that face, because it gives the impression that a beautiful rainbow has formed at the end of the arrows.

Kaneko: The 101st Chemy contains some of the Philosopher's Stone, which explains why the strongest form is in fact the strongest, and I think we got it just right. There's backstory that the perfect form of alchemy is a "rainbow," and I thought the way this was expressed visually was a fantastic design.

"The strongest form, which received great support from the planning team, is called "Rainbow Gotchard"! The dynamic mask structure, which looks different from different angles, is the most energetic and explosive design in the history of Rider designs."

-The Daybreak Alchemist and the Secrets of the Picture Book-

"While it was a traditional Summer film, the decision to have the two Houtaros as the main characters was made very early on."

Minato: When we were in the process of asking DAIGO-san to voice Daybreak in the TV series, I knew that I wanted the next Summer film to focus on Daybreak. I wanted DAIGO-san to appear in the film and show his face. We had just finished filming the Winter film, but we got internal approval early on.

"The Winter film was "Gotchard & Geats." Apparently, deciding on the Summer film's cast before the New Year is unusually fast for a Sunday morning Rider."

Minato: Sometime after the New Year, I had a meeting with the Film Promotion Division and planning team. We were told that the box office revenue of the Winter film was almost the same as the previous film (Geats x Revice). However, looking closer at the details showed that the percentage of attendance for children's tickets had increased. With that being the case, we decided that the Summer film should be a fun, easy to understand movie that families can enjoy together. For the Winter film, we decided to promote the Chemies and put more focus on the Voice Actors. We tried to go in a direction that would appeal to Voice Actor fans who like anime, but it seemed like that wasn't enough, and TV Asahi wanted to supplement that with the guest cast. Based on all these things, we wanted to create an exciting tokusatsu hero action film. We didn't want to create a cluttered and complicated story, but rather, a single theme that would run through the entire film without stopping.

"The meeting also ordered that Gotchard and Daybreak appear in a film only form. In addition, there were even more requests……"

Minato: The Advertising Division asked us if we could bring in someone from the "Legendary cast" in order to appeal to the fan base that had continued to love Kamen Rider. It'd be something similar to the sequence in the Geats Winter film, where the Ryuki cast appeared. We agreed that if we could incorporate Decade, which was the basis for Kamen Rider Legend, into this project, it would be a good idea. That's how we decided on the appearance of Kadoya Tsukasa (Inoue Masahiro).

"The script was entrusted to Hasegawa Keiichi, who also worked on the TV series."

Minato: As for Hasegawa-san, he wanted to make a film that would make people cry. At the time, "Godzilla Minus One" was a huge hit. Hasegawa-san's analysis was that, "Japanese people who were forced to live in hardship after the war rose to their feet, and those kinds of dramas win the hearts of the audience." So I thought, "Let's also do a hero who rises from the ashes."

"The story follows Houtaro as he struggles in the Future World. The world has been taken over by Glion, and his precious friends are already dead. Unsurprisingly, Spanner and Minato are now under Glion's control. They're fake forms, masked with evil. A trap to mentally drain Houtaro……20 years later, the world has become a literal "living hell" for Houtaro. On Christmas Day, when Daybreak showed up to save him, Houtaro was supposed to have been defeated by Glion. To stop that tragedy, Daybreak had come from the future Even though he knew it was futile……."

Minato: I'd been thinking of connecting the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book with Daybreak, but nothing concrete had been decided at the time of episodes 16 to 18. As I was working on the script for the film, it was Kaneko-san of Ishimori Productions who recommended, "It'd be better to connect it to the past lore, with Daybreak crossing over into the past to become the Alchemist of Daybreak at the end."

"Originally, the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book is wearing a red hood. However, the picture book that appeared at the end of the film depicted "Shining Daybreak" defeating the Dark King……."

Minato: Strictly speaking, the illustrations of the picture book shouldn't have changed from the "Alchemist of Daybreak" to "Shining Daybreak" in the last part. If Future Houtaro was wearing a red hood, it would cause an unclear outline in the story……The reason why I did it that way is because if he goes back in time and "seals" the Dark King, it wouldn't feel like Daybreak had won. If the story unfolded that way, the history of Houtaro being defeated by Glion and suffering in despair would be repeated all over again. I wanted to put an end to that if possible. This was something that Hasegawa-san suggested. He said that unless I made it something like, "In the end, the Dark King was defeated, and they lived happily ever after," it'd be difficult to convey Daybreak's victory. If it came to that, the foreshadowing in the TV show of the picture book couldn't be resolved, but I thought people would understand that the story, which had been repeating itself, had entered a "new step," so we decided to just go with it.

"In the final scene, the Dark King, defeated by the two Houtaros, travels to a "past without Kamen Riders" to rule the world once more. Daybreak also follows him and travels back to the past. The film ends there……It's a very sharp and brilliant ending."

Minato: It was Hasegawa-san's wish that we didn't depict the battle between Daybreak and the Dark King in the past world. At the time, Matsuura asked Hasegawa-san a question. "It's fine as long as it's depicted that he goes back in time and becomes the Alchemist of Daybreak. But after that, would it be okay for Future Houtaro to return to the future and live with Atropos and Clotho and all the others in a world where the threat has disappeared?" Hasegawa-san said that it would be abit of a stretch to depict what happens after that. He said that it's a beautiful story because it ends with the picture book explaining Daybreak's victory by going back to the past. He said something along the lines of, "This film has many characters, but it's a story about two people, Houtaro and Rinne, so wouldn't it be a wonderful, happy ending if they went to the past together (even though Rinne had passed), defeated the enemy, and lived happily in that world?" I think the quality of the film was enhanced because of that decision. I'm extremely grateful to Hasegawa-san.

"This film is excellent in that it's the "final episode" of the story starring Future Houtaro, but what's even more remarkable is that this film is an important piece that ties the story of Gotchard together. Has there ever been a Kamen Rider film that's so completely linked to the TV series? "Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore, Tanjou!" (2007) was in a similar position, but it didn't leave such a deep impact on the overall story. Of course, there's a reason for this. The theory has always been that a film of a TV series should be considered "outside content." This is because it was believed that the content needed to be understandable to first time audience members who went to the theaters. However, in the age where the streaming environment has improved to the point where people can access old and new content as soon as they're interested, can this still be called a "theory" today? This truly "Gotcha" film attempts to break away from conventional thinking, and is also a "challenge" that presents a new form of Kamen Rider films in the age of distribution."

-Arrogant Gods and Homunculi Deception-

"As he works towards becoming a great alchemist, and to live in harmony with the Chemies, an enemy stands in Houtaro's way…was it the three Dark Kings? Or perhaps, Glion?"

Minato: At first, I thought of the Alchemys Union as the final boss. The reason why I didn't set up an enemy during the early stages of planning was because the enemy that the main character's were expected to fight were the higher ups of the organization. In a Rider's sence, it's "The Dark Society Gorgom." It's an evil that's skillfully infiltrated our society.

"The Dark Society Gorgom is an enemy organization that appears in Kamen Rider Black (1987). Their setup is that powerful political and business leaders and scientists were controlling the world of its members from behind the scenes."

Minato: The higher ups of the Alchemys Union have taken over the world from behind the scenes. That's why all they want is for the world to continue as it is. They don't want change. I had envisioned "the old" as the enemy and theme of the show, which is why I was thinking of such a structure. However, with the creation of the characters I called the Three Dark Sisters, the Alchemys Union was no longer the distinct enemy of the main characters. Instead, Glion and the Dark Kings were created. They were, as one would say, the founders of the Alchemys Union. In other words, they are the symbols of gerontocracy. They're like the ancestors of the old, desperate to preserve their own self interests.

Kaneko: Houtaro and the other youths are trying to move into the future through repeated trial and error. On the flip side, the Dark Kings don't want to think about the future, nor do they feel there's any need to. They're fine with the way things currently are. They believe that things will come to an end gracefully. That's why they're seeking "unending stillness." Glion was simply following those words. His "Golden Paradise" was just a simple way of saying that, but it may have been difficult for viewers to understand, in part due to our lack of explanation.

Yamabe: The Dark Kings were the ones that created Glion. They were originally human, so even though they said that as an analogy when they created Glion, with him being a homunculus, he was honestly trying to make it a realization.

"In other words, Glion, who was created by the Dark Kings, couldn't go beyond being their puppet, even though he saw the Dark Kings as his enemy."

Minato: Eventually, the younger generation who suffer from the burdens of the old won't be able to retort, and will just accept things as they are. As they grow older, they'll eventually find themselves in a similar position, becoming a burden on others, although it might be hard for them to notice.

"Glion's existence is also placed in this chain of events. Meanwhile, Glion's creators the three Dark Kings, or in other words, the ancestors of the old, also have a profound position."

Minato: Gigist likes to act like he "understands everything about humans." This is a metaphor for "thinking you know everything." Gaelijah says to "leave things to fate," which also means to "avoid your responsibilities." As Germain's "I love you" expression suggests, he thinks of himself as a "superior being" to humans. They all think that they're of a higher class compared to everyone else. Each and every one of them are "old."

"Although the Dark Kings expressions are pleasant and sound humble, they all have a hint of arrogance behind them."

Minato: The ones they must stand up to are those who have created the ruling structure of this world. By overlapping this with the Dark Kings, I wanted to depict a confrontation between youths and adults, between change and stagnation, and other issues like that throughout the story. However, the main focus isn't on battles, but on "Gotcha" (obtaining). I tried to keep that in mind as I worked on the story.

"A story of young confronting the old…….It's an unexpected theme, but from that perspective, the final battle between Glion and Houtaro can be seen as the culmination of all of this. Glion, who's turned the city and its people into gold, finally uses his golden technique on Houtaro, but for some reason, Houtaro can still move while in this golden form……"

Kaneko: Glion's gold making technique was actually just making things gold plated. It's simply a deception. The story goes that Glion can't make real gold. Glion is confronted by Houtaro with the truth. That his alchemy isn't perfect. Glion thought he was perfect. He had all the materials and knew how to do it. But when he tried, it was gold plated. He thought he had everything ready, but just about everything was missing.

"Come to think of it, Glion was always imperfect. Kamen Rider Eld appeared before Houtaro. Kamen Rider Dorado controlled the future world. Both were the transformed forms of two Glion's from different timelines, but the former could only produce fake gold plating, while the latter was merely a puppet for the Dark Kings. I guess that means the road to "El Dorado (Golden Paradise)" that Glion was looking for was just a fleeting illusion……"

-Houtaro's father and the adults who entrust-

"This production is also a story about young people breaking away from stereotypes and what's accepted to be common sense."

Yamabe: Alchemy has a history going back to ancient times, right? Its rules seem to be very strict, and we initially thought of a development where an amateur like Houtaro would come along and cause reforment with sound arguments like, "Isn't this what it's all about?" The fact that the people in the Alchemys Union shifted their blame and ran away from the situation was included as a way of portraying the old.

Kaneko: The Alchemys Union isn't an organization that gathers in a specific place and works on things collectively. They're scattered all over the world, each having their own profession and doing alchemy behind the scenes. They're what we'd call a "secret society." It's also because of that kind of set up that it's hard to see the full picture. They're the people at the top of the world's hierarchy, those who'll forever cling onto their status and reputation. In many ways, they're "people who have stopped growing up" and "people who undermine the youth." Those at the top don't take any responsibility, but they won't hesitate to say things like, "I don't know. You'll have to handle it on set" (bitter smile). They also don't take charge. They're positioned as people who seem to possess authority, but no one knows why they have it. Houtaro doesn't care about people like that. He doesn't pay attention to them, almost as if to say, "Huh, so there are people like that." Minato Sensei and Kyoka-san would have displeased looks on their faces as he resolved the situation at hand, but he would only wonder why they were making those faces. That's the kind of hero I was looking for in Houtaro.

"Houtaro's an easygoing high school student that can be found just about anywhere, but he's quite unusual for the main character of a hero production."

Minato: In the very beginning of the show, Spanner was working under Kyoka's directions, but initially, I hadn't made any decisions regarding who would become this character. There was even a time when I was thinking of making Glion the person giving instructions to Spanner. His superior's a bad guy, so Spanner would express hostility towards him. There'd be a development where he abandons his previous beliefs that he was on the side of the organization and becomes a Kamen Rider. I once thought, "What if Spanner's true identity was that he's a homunculus?" Learning such a fact would bother him like, "What has my life been up to this point?" But then again, a Chemy is a homunculus, isn't it? Since Houtaro's a Chemy loving character, it wouldn't shock him if Spanner were a homunculus. He'd be like, "I'm totally okay with that!" (laughs). He wouldn't mind. That's when I felt that it'd be better to go ahead with Spanner being human. That's how it happened.

"Houtaro's appeal lies in his generosity and tolerance caused by his carefree personality. It's strange how amazing it is that Houtaro's able to do something like that."

Minato: When the program first started, some people said they didn't understand why a young man named Houtaro wanted to pursue something called "Gotcha." What I was considering here was the presence of Houtaro's father. His father is an adventurer, and despite being an adult, he's a man who still travels the world in search of "Gotcha" (obtaining). That's why he never comes home (laughs). However, the son would grow up to be a boy who aspires to Gotcha just like his father. That's how I thought of it. Maybe I could've let Houtaro and his mother explain that alittle more.

Yamabe: Why did Houtaro go to the Ouroboros Realm to play as a child? It's not depicted, but I've always wondered if his father made a hole that led there. I think we could've tried to do a story where he's acquainted with Fuga……but we put it off because it would've been the start of yet another story. If we wanted to do it in a V-Cinext or through Youtube, we could, but to be honest, we just left things as they were.

"While the father isn't fully explored, his character as an adult seeking to Gotcha is pretty fresh in the context of this production."

Minato: The reason I didn't have the father appear, or rather, hesitated to include him, is because Gotchard is a show about fighting against the old. In other words, I didn't want to show the existence of adults who had "obtained." I wanted to depict all adults as old as much as I could. If the father who continued to Gotcha appeared, the theme of the program would be affected.

"Still, there are some reliable adults that appear throughout the show. There's Fuga, Kyoka, and Minato. Houtaro's mother (Ichinose Tamami) is also one of them."

Minato: This is because they're "adults who have entrusted themselves to the youth." They think that adults who decide to concede to the youth are good adults.

"Ichinose Tamami to Houtaro, Fuga to Rinne, and Kyoka to Spanner, each and every one of them is an "adult" who entrusts themselves to them. To entrust is to believe. This is why they're portrayed as good people for the youth."

Minato: The reason why Minato Sensei surrendered to Glion's forces and went to the enemy's side was because he felt that he "couldn't entrust" himself to Houtaro and the other youths. The incident 10 years ago made him make that decision. Minato chose the "safe side." He advised them to stay away from him because it was dangerous. There's an adult's logic to that. However, after everything that's happened, he got over that trauma and decided to trust Houtaro and the others, so he left the Alchemys Union and returned to the youths.

Yamabe: In that regard, Spanner was on the old's side at first. His elite mindset also contributed to him rejecting Houtaro, even though he's young. But, he eventually changed, trusted Houtaro and the others, and became his friend.

"This means that Future Houtaro, who appeared in the Summer film, was also considered old."

Yamabe: Having lost many friends and living in despair, Future Houtaro was looking for a place to die. Then, present day Houtaro appears and gives him angry encouragement. Seeing his younger self genuinely pushing forward strengthens his decision to fight together. He's determined to fight alongside him. He Gotcha (obtained) all over again.

"As Future Houtaro crosses over into the past, a new world line is created for present day Houtaro. Although the events took place in a different timeline, there's a world where his friends who should've died are still alive and well. This new world, which he had seized through his own decisions and actions……is what gave hope to Future Houtaro. Freed from the nightmare that happened 20 years prior, Future Houtaro forgives himself and was finally saved. The harm caused by the old isn't something that comes only from age or position. It's the refusal to accept new ideas, being bound by past experiences. It's about not taking a new step forward. Challenge is the key to the future, and only progress can be the light that leads us to what's beyond."

-Kamen Rider from a Business Perspective-

"Houtaro saves the world from Glion's plan, and even creates another Earth through alchemy for the Chemies to live on. The story ended with Houtaro showing us a glimpse of being a great alchemist……The days with Gotchard were now told……"I wanted to make a program that would convey the excitement I felt when I watched Agito during my first year of middle school." This was what Toei's Minato Yosuke, the Chief Producer responsible for the project, had said."

Minato: I feel that the Kamen Rider series, especially those produced during the Heisei era, have their own "strengths and weaknesses." The appeal of the series is that each year's unique worldview isn't connected, but on the other hand, I think the fact that the series ends after only one year reveals its character's weaknesses. At first I thought, "What is this?," but after five years of continuous production, the program "Paw Patrol" has become overwhelmingly popular among preschool aged children. I think one of the reasons is that it's been running for five years. If Gotchard continued for another five years, it could possibly surpass Paw Patrol in recognition. Because it's something that children can enjoy for a long time, their parents feel that it won't hurt to buy products related to the show for them. I can understand why parents would think it'd be a waste if they knew that another new program would start next year. I think times are changing in that way. I was also thinking about the question, "Should the character change every year?" When Heisei Rider started, it was probably nice to have a format where the characters changed every year, but I wonder if it's a good fit currently. Along with streaming services and Youtube becoming more normalized, the viewing environment is changing. I feel that our past successes are holding us back, or that we're not adapting to these changes. The strategy is to start a new program every September and have people buy a new transformation belt in time for Christmas. In an age where there's so much content available, is this really a good mindset to have? I've been thinking about that for alittle over a year.

"Bandai's Terakawa Ryo, who was involved in the development of the toys, weighs in on the importance of Kamen Rider's content."

Terakawa: When overlooking the toys, while the adult fans of Geats were excited, there was a point where the popularity among children stagnated. Currently, there are many products of the Kamen Rider characters that are aimed at adults. CSM and S.H.Figuarts are typical examples, but I think this business is only possible because the people who buy these products were exposed to these shows in their childhood and still love the characters. The Legend Chemy cards and Kamen Rider Legend were aimed at those adult fans. In order to increase the number of similar customers who'll continue to love Kamen Rider for a long time, I have a desire to help make the project more exciting for today's children. This production made me think more than ever about making shows and toys that children will love.

"Kamen Rider, a program aired on Sunday mornings, is an important "touch point" between today's children and the Kamen Rider IP. In the current age of streaming, the archive of Kamen Rider, including its past shows, is huge, but there are many rival shows. How to attract attention and increase popularity among them is a long term challenge for the future."

-Gotcha all around the World!-

"Although this production aimed to regain popularity among children, its style was too child oriented, which resulted in the alienation of the adult generation of fans. As discussed in Gotcha 3's "Daybreak Incident," the impact was so great, that they had to quickly introduce a new character. Yamabe Koichi of Ishimori Productions, who has overseen the setting of the Rider series for many years, opened his remarks with deep emotion."

Yamabe: This is well known among fans of the Showa era, but in the first "Kamen Rider" (1971), the lead actor Fujioka Hiroshi-san was injured during filming, which resulted in him being unable to perform. Normally, there would've been two choices. Either the show would end or another actor would take over the role, but the staff at that time came up with a new character, that being Kamen Rider No. 2. Amazingly, the program became even more popular. I believe that the Kamen Rider series was founded on the spirit of doing something in a pinch. Just like with Daybreak in this show, it gave me a strange sensation, like there was some kind of invisible force at work

Minato: This was my first time as Chief, but when making a program, there are times when you have to take risks. After all, everyone wants to be happy. That's why I think I learned that if you can make your "opponent" happy, you can win. Any proposal that makes the other person unhappy will only result in a "battle" and both sides "covered in blood." Even if my demands were met, I'd be unhappy too. I thought that in order to meet my own demands, I also need to be mindful of meeting the other's demands. If you think about it, it's the same thing that Shirakura's been doing up to now. "The show was a hit, don't you think?," and then it all works out peacefully. I'd have talks with Bandai, TV stations, and other relevant entities to explain my vision to them, saying, "I think this development will definitely be more interesting and will make the show more exciting, so I'll try to make it happen!" In someway or another, I managed to convince them, and I'm glad that it all worked out in the end. I'm grateful to all the staff members who came up with this type of arrangement, and to all the companies involved for accepting my plans.

"Kaneko Shinichi participated in the project as Ishimori Production's Literary Director. "It's become a lovable production," he said with a smile."

Kaneko: Many of them are young, including the three Producers Minato-san, Matsuura-san, and Harashima-san, as well as the Screenwriters. I think it was a year in which I learned alot about their new ways of thinking. For example, when you build a house, the theory is that you first lay down the foundation and then construct the exterior walls, right? Instead, it felt like we started with the roof and then raised up the pillars (laughs). And, it's really unstable, crap, we have to lay a foundation. So, we laid down a foundation, but it started to lean because we still didn't build any walls. I hope I conveyed that right (laughs). I've never done it that way before. But it was a really good experience. Should I have just said that the way it's put together was different…..? It may sound odd to say, but I think that nothing more may happen in the future. Including myself, there were parts that were too much and parts that we were unfamiliar with, so I think it's important to strike a good balance. I think this was a production that really left a strong impression on me. The pains of creating, and the joys of creating, things like that came in waves. And, it happened every episode (laughs). I've never experienced that before. For example, I had my own interpretation of what things Houtaro would say, and we talked about it during meetings, but then someone else would say, "Well, I'm sure someone Houtaro's age wouldn't think too much about that." I thought, "I see." When I was his age, I used to think about things deeply, or take it in a twisted way, but children today are different. I think Motojima-kun's character is one of them, but there were many things that made sense to me, things which were definitely typical of Houtaro. I found that really strange. Of course, there are differences among the younger generation, the way they approach things and the way they respond to things is different. I think that happened within Gotchard many times. It was a show that allowed me to experience things I had never experienced before, and I personally learned alot from it.

"PLEX's Kita Tojun, the design team leader for this production, said that the amount of designs had his eyes spinning."

Kita: This time, I designed many different types of Chemies, and there were 101 of them. Of course there were the designs, but the process of drawing each of them for the cards was also enormous. The Rider's mask was displayed on the back of the card, so the mask had to be designed at the same time. First of all, this was for 50 of them. We got through it with the help of Designers who weren't apart of the Rider team. In addition, I was also asked to design the illustrations and Chemies for the Legend Rider version of cards that were added to the collection. It was completed in part to having the company help put on the finishing touches. They then needed me to draw additional illustrations for the rare parallel cards……I was in a situation where I couldn't finish no matter how many drawings I did. It was really challenging. And it didn't end there, as I had to create full body designs for all the forms used in the app…..There were about 50 of those……I designed and illustrated so many Chemies, that I thought it would never end.

Terakawa: First off, I'd like to thank the design team at PLEX. This production allowed me to experience firsthand how a show progressed and developed. The process of bringing the "Chemies," who were at first mysterious illustrations, to life and gain popularity within the show was an exciting experience. Dozens, even hundreds of people do their very best to make Rider items, right? It was such a big project, that I was afraid to talk about it alone, and because of my inexperience, I spent alot of time wondering and worrying about it. The number of cards was quite large, and the management, as well as debugging work, was enormous, but everyone on the team worked hard together. Despite the difficulties we faced as creators, it was a memorable work that we all overcame together.

"For Chief Producer Minato, Gotchard wasn't only a show for the Japanese market, but for the international market as well."

Minato: Gotchard was designed to be an easy to understand and enjoyable show for children to watch every week. I made this show with the vision of making it understandable to children all over the world. This had something to do with the fact that the items are inexpensive cards that can be picked up by anyone and are linked to each other. I think that if a child gets even one Chemy card, it could be the beginning of their love for Kamen Rider. I hope that the number of people who watch Kamen Rider will grow on a global scale through the increase of experiences like that. I made Gotchard with that kind of spirit, as I wanted it to take on that kind of responsibility. So, I personally believe that the true assessment of Gotchard hasn't been made yet. Its outcome will be seen further ahead in the future. That's what I'm thinking. There's a show called "Voltes V Legacy" that was made in the Philippines, and it was made due to the passionate love for the original TV anime "Chodenji Machine Voltes V" (1977). The love of the fans brought the show back to life in the modern age. Learning about the Filipino Director's thoughts and feelings made me want to cry. That's why, let's say 20 years from now, if a foreigner said to me, "I loved Gotchard when I was younger," I might cry (laughs).

"The fact that the main character uses the English phrase "Gotcha!" was also done in anticipation of this kind of international expansion. I want you to imagine. Imagine that when children all over the world become adults, Gotchard items for adults will be on sale everywhere around the world, and they'll be playing with them. The future where children from all over the world will be shouting "Gotcha!" will be here soon enough."

-Gotchard Hymn-

Houtaro uses alchemy to create another Earth in order to move the Chemies there. Although the ending is absurd, it can be said that it's a typical characteristic of this show.

I won't say that it was a flawless show. It had its faults and shortcomings.

It had many weak points.

However, even after removing these complaints, there's still a sense of exhilaration that remains……That's what Gotchard definitely had. There are things that can only come from challenges. It was Gotchard that taught me that.

"Ichinose!" "Kudo!"

Two high school students who never called each other by their first names. A precious time, like a jewel box containing the brilliance of youth. The Kamen Rider born in the year 2023 depicts young people who never gave up and continued to challenge themselves despite their failures. Their never ending search for answers and their constant drive brought a bright light to these uncertain times.

This show was a story about the Chemy cards. There have been so many Rider productions, and they must've left a mark on the viewers hearts and minds. If each of these stories were sealed onto cards, what would they say?

What would be written on Gotchard's card?

"I'm Ichinose Houtaro! I'm a great alchemist who'll build the future world!"

A youth Rider who becomes stronger through support……

That's what we love about Gotchard.

[stellamancer]

ari have i ever told i love you? have i? have i?

i'm honestly so happy you feel like i characterized gojo well. it's been a while i feel like, and i do think i could have made him a little more annoying or something LMAO. sometimes writing bten!reader and gojo is like…. playing… what's that ball game where you hit a ball against a wall… like that. where bten!reader is the wall and gojo's playing solo (to compare infinite loop! reader and their gojo is a more traditional back and forth and sots!reader and their gojo… well. lol).

it's so funny to me that you said before you run out of tags and YET.

i know i talked to you a little bit about how he would react and i think i went in a different direction than what we talked about (gojo dramatically lamenting how he hasn't celebrated properly) partially because the conversation didn't end up flowing that way. but yeah, i kind of feel like he actually isn't the type to really hardcore celebrate despite him being the way he is LMAO.

i definitely had an idea what he was thinking at the end there but i do not recall any more LMAOO. tho i think it's very funny that bten!reader tells him he could be more selfish when a lot of characters think that he's pretty selfish… like. it's weird he's selfish but also not super selfish? he's such a a pain to write.

BUT YEAH SAYING THINGS WITHOUT REALIZING. i told someone else, but this happened in bten too iirc. bten!reader wasn't always like that though; it's a product of the loop LMAOOO.

I DO THINK IT IS PRETTY ROMANTIC OF THEM TO OFFER HIM TIME THOUGH. like… initially i was going to have gojo take the offer, and then drag them along to celebrate. but that didn't happen either… this is just me starting a fic and things not going to plan…..

but wahhhh ari…. sniffs u are so kind to me about my writing… i am just a little niku….

BUT YOU KNOW THIS MEME,. WHEN I SAW U HAD LEFT COMMENTS I THOUGHT OF IT LMAOOOOOOOO

notes: time is a construct that bten!reader no longer understands. anyway, yes hellow, late gojo birthday fic that i am pretending that i'm not posting on megumi's birthday LMAO.

takes place in the same universe as beyond the unending night, however reading that fic is not necessary, all you need to know is that reader has a CT that can rewind time. slight and implied reader x gojo if you're squinting. also. reader is very unreliable narrator (there are some things in the narration that gojo responds to because reader is unaware they said it aloud oops.) not proofread.

wc: 944

“Your birthday was a couple days ago?” 

Gojo tilts his head toward you, expression passive for a split second before a broad grin spreads across his face. “It was! How did you know! Wait, let me guess, you—”

“The students,” you supply flatly before he can make any outlandish suggestions regarding how you happened across the information. “Yuta-kun mentioned it.” 

There’s a slight pucker to Gojo’s lips, but it’s gone almost instantly as he remarks. “Oh Yuta… He’s always been an exemplary student! Even going so far as to remember his dear old teacher’s birthday…” 

You stare at Gojo. There’s a trap here. Bait. It’s not well hidden either, if his exaggerated tone is any indication. You consider telling him straight up: it’s not possible to remember something you never knew in the first place. But instead, you decide to indulge him. “Do people usually not remember?” 

Now that you say that, you find the words hard to believe. You can barely call yourself a part of jujutsu society, but there’s no denying that Gojo is something of a big deal. There’s no way that these illustrious ‘higher ups’ would forget the birthday of someone as important as Satoru Gojo.

“It’s not that they don’t remember,” Gojo says, “it’s that they just don’t care.” 

The nonchalance in his voice stuns you, more so than the fact that you cannot detect even a hint of bitterness in it. They… don’t care? You want to be in denial, to think that that simply cannot be true. And yet…

You cannot deny it. 

Not when you know what you do of the top brass.

“Well, not the students,” Gojo adds, fondness seeping into his tone as the tiniest smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Threw me a party and everything. As expected of students of the Great Teacher Gojo!”

He puffs his chest out a little, clearly pleased, no doubt proud. 

“...did you do anything else?” you ask. Knowing someone as whimsical as Gojo, you can imagine him spending the day as he pleased, going from sweet shop to sweet shop spending exorbitant amounts of money on any and every sugary item he could possibly get his hands on. 

“Nope.” 

You blink at him. “What.”

“I was waaaaaay too busy to do anything else,” Gojo says with a dramatic sigh. “Honestly, I’m lucky that the students love me so much that they took on a couple extra missions just so we could party for a half hour.”

Gojo’s words have you gawking at him, slack jawed and in awe. You’re well aware that he’s a busy guy, but to only have had a half hour of free time on his birthday to celebrate is just…

“Don’t make that face.” His voice is quiet. Gentle. “It’s fine; I’m used to it. Just a part of being an adult, you know?”

He’s not wrong, but… 

Somehow, it doesn’t sit well with you. 

“....you’re done with everything you have to do today, right?” you ask, reaching into your pocket to check the time; it’s nearly midnight.

“Yeah?” Gojo answers, and while he sounds mostly amused, you think you can hear the smallest hint of confusion. “You thinking of having a late night snack together to make up for missing my birthday? How romantic of you!” 

“Not exactly,” you shoot back without missing a beat, but Gojo doesn’t seem to be disappointed by you rebuffing him. You outstretch your palm toward him and he inclines his head down slightly to show that he’s looking down at it. 

Gojo hums. He knows what you’re thinking. Of course he does. “You know that’s technically against the rules.” 

“And?” you ask as you stare back at him.

“You could get in biiiiiiig trouble, you know.”

Your gaze doesn’t waver.

“Could even be sentenced to death for it!” 

Your hand doesn’t move.

Gojo tilts his head to the side before heaving a sigh and shaking his head. He raises his hand, but rather than take yours, he reaches up higher and moves to flick your forehead. That would work just as well, and for a split second you gather your cursed energy, ready to use your technique, but—

You merely wince and Gojo tilts his head to the side, raising an eyebrow as your energy quickly dissipates.

“Change your mind?” he asks.

“Wasn’t sure if you were actually going to do it,” you answer honestly. Did he actually flick you or did he just ‘pretend’ to? There wouldn't have been any point if he pretended. 

“What do you think?”

You frown as a playful, yet menacing grin spreads across Gojo's face. He knows full well that you can't tell, especially if you can't even see the point of contact. 

“Well wishes aside, the only other thing I can really offer you is time,” you deadpan. It wasn't like you were going to be stupid and give him a week or even a month, but…

Gojo wags his finger at you, tutting. “No, not true! There's something else!”

You give him a pointed look. What else could you possibly give? 

“Well, it's really more like an IOU,” he explains airily, before his tone shifts, growing quieter and more serious. “Just get stronger. Strong enough to take on missions just like me and maybe next year we can have a longer party.” 

You sigh. His suggestion is more practical, more useful in the long run, and while you can agree with what he's proposed… It's his birthday. He could afford to be a little more selfish. 

“Oh?” He raises an eyebrow, his smile ever wide and absolutely ominous. “I'll keep that in mind next time.” 

[wren-kitchens]

paint me in trust

2193 words

there are endless problems that etho could have foreseen if he had been told that the new game would be to link two people's souls with each other. just the premise of that sounds terrifying—what if something broke, and suddenly your souls are just- untethered from your bodies. etho doesn't know a whole lot about how souls work, but that does not sound very enjoyable. he’s still not sure how they’re meant to unlink after this whole song and dance is over, and for his own sanity, he’s decided to assume that grian has it all handled. although- etho doesn’t actually know if grian's own soul has been mixed with mumbo's this whole time. maybe he shouldn't think too hard about that.

and it only took me 5 months to write a part 2! here's part 1 :]

it's not necessarily chapters that follow immediately after one another, but these are all in the same universe, in order. I liked the idea of a slow burn esque kind of friendship between them and chapters felt like the easiest way to do it!

the sillies ever

there are endless problems that etho could have foreseen if he had been told that the new game would be to link two people's souls with each other. just the premise of that sounds terrifying—what if something broke, and suddenly your souls are just- untethered from your bodies. etho doesn't know a whole lot about how souls work, but that does not sound very enjoyable. he’s still not sure how they’re meant to unlink after this whole song and dance is over, and for his own sanity, he’s decided to assume that grian has it all handled. although- etho doesn’t actually know if grian's own soul has been mixed with mumbo's this whole time. maybe he shouldn't think too hard about that.

on top all of this existential threat, etho is quickly learning that, when you hang out with someone who you don’t really know all too well for a little while, you run out of things to say alarmingly soon. there are only so many small talk social scripts that don't sound rude when repeated more than once. after all, if you asked someone where they were from three times, you’d either look like you weren't paying attention, or very desperate. etho thinks he’s probably reached the very desperate stage. 

it's not like he doesn’t want to talk to joel, it's just- how do you keep up conversations when neither of you have anything much to say? there's so much left unsaid in the awkward remarks about the weather and laughter at jokes that finishes too soon, but there's nothing else either of them have to contribute. which is- an enormously dull problem to have in the face of soulmates and unbreakable bonds: they've run out of things to say. etho thinks he'd rather have to worry about his soul exploding, or something.

joel, it seems, has also noticed the predicament they’re both in, because his contributions to their failing conversations are a lot more out of pocket than etho ever expects. which, to be entirely honest, ends up creating far more entertaining conversations than etho's failed attempts at civility ever have. 

"okay- well, I have to ask," 

etho looks down at joel, where he's sat against the bed, on the floor. for the past half hour, he’s been idly carving what might be a wolf into the floorboards of the ship with what might be a completely different chisel than the last four etho has seen him using since joel made the ship last week. 

"go on." etho says, a little amused.

something shifts in joel's expression, and etho wonders if he was nervous to bring this up. "where'd you get the scar?"

etho hesitates, and joel visibly considers whether he should have said it or not. "it's not- I kinda-" he tilts his head to the side, as if that could kick his brain into gear and come up with a better lie than his last one. quite frankly, he has no idea why he thought scott would believe that he fought technoblade. "it's a long story." he settles on. 

joel nods. "well, I just- I was thinking we could swap stories." he shrugs, and etho gets the impression that he’s trying to disguise how much he liked the idea. "I- y’know, I have a few scars of my own. but- I don’t wanna, like- encroach." 

"it's not- you’re not encroaching." etho can’t help but smile, against his own fruition. stupid joel. "what stories do you have?"

something lights up in joel's face, and etho feels a kind of softness in his chest. not that- it's unrelated. it's probably joel's actually- which might not be much better. whatever. it's not important. "you- I mean, they're not all that interesting, but-" he pulls up his sleeve to display what looks like a wolf bite. "that's from geraldine- y’know, my dog in 3rd life. I think she got confused, right at the end. it was just before I died."

etho leans forward to have a better look, and joel moves to sit next to etho on the bed, crossing his legs. the impulse to rest his head on joel's shoulder sticks itself in the back of etho's mind, and he very purposefully looks closer at the bite.

"it's nice." joel is saying, entirely unaware. "'s like I have a part of her with me still, y’know?"

"yeah." etho nods. "I never really thought about that- you’d lose your dogs each season."

still looking at the bite, joel hums. "I try not to think about it too hard." he grins up at etho with a lot more nonchalance than etho would expect after a sentence like that. "might go insane again." he snorts a laugh, and etho is suddenly reminded of his final moments in last life. "anyway, it's your turn."

"oh- right." etho pauses, trying to recall a scar he has that isn't followed by a very dull story. "I- well, I guess I have the one you gave me." he says, and joel cackles. 

"i’d forgotten about that." he says, watching with interest as etho pulls his clothes up enough to display the scar. "oh- wow, I did a number on you, huh? sorry about that." he adds, a little sheepish.

etho grins. "there's no hard feelings. honestly- i’m still pretty impressed." he says, dropping his clothes again. "you got cleo and me in- what, maybe thirty seconds?"

joel gives a huff of laughter, glancing at his lap, and it occurs to etho that he’s embarrassed. wow, he didn’t even know that was a thing joel could be. "yeah- well, I didn’t really- yeah." he clears his throat, and there's something familiar about it that etho can't quite place. "i didn’t expect to- to win that." he grins awkwardly.

and- alright, maybe it's a little mean, but- etho doesn’t really know joel all too well. he’s just getting to know how he works! .. by intentionally trying to embarrass him. okay- in his defence, etho was fairly certain joel was impossible to embarrass, so- he’s doing science. yeah- sure, that's what he’s gonna go with. science. 

"it was very cool." etho says, as nonchalant as he can. helpfully, he does actually mean what he's saying—even if it did end up with him dead, it was pretty impressive (if terrifying) to watch. "honestly, with you as my soulmate, we're absolutely gonna win."

much to etho's delight, joel is blushing, which- he's happy because is funny. it's funny and not- there's no other reason, okay. it's just funny. "I- you- thank you. I wouldn’t-" he meets etho's eyes, and immediately frowns. "you’re doing this on purpose, aren't you?" 

"I- no, I-" even before he’s started a full sentence, etho knows he’s not gonna convince anyone. joel raises an eyebrow at him, and he immediately caves. "it- okay, I- maybe a little, but-"

joel gives an exaggerated scoff, and etho almost laughs. "I can't believe you would do such a thing, etho." he says, far more dramatically than the situation would require, but he seems to be enjoying the drama. "actually though- why?"

it's etho's turn to blush now, and joel's eyes light up with mischievous laughter the second he sees it. "it- there's not- it's unimportant. very unimportant, actually- it's just boring."

"go on." joel grins, teeth sharp. it suits him. 

etho shoots joel a glare, but he can’t pretend to be upset in the face of joel's laughter for long. "okay, I just- you’ve never been embarrassed. that- that I could see, so I kinda- I was curious. about- y’know. how far I could push it."

there's a muted kind of warmth in the centre of etho's chest, which has to be coming from joel. the man in question just smirks. "okay, well- now you have to tell me about your eye. since you were so horrible to me."

etho hesitates. "I- okay, it's not-"

"i'll tell you about this." joel says suddenly. etho looks up, and joel pulls his shirt to the side, revealing burn scarring across all the visible skin on his shoulder. "y’know- it's a trade."

"okay- for that, you get the truth." etho pulls his mask down, not really thinking about it. joel looks a little taken aback, and it occurs to etho that joel has never seen his face before. maybe it should feel more uncomfortable, but it doesn’t. "so- I never tell anyone how I actually got it, except like- cleo and bdubs."

joel blinks, and the warm thing in etho's chest grows a little. "I- wow, i’m up there with cleo?" 

"you- well, you’re my soulmate, right?" etho says without thinking. before he or joel has time to dwell on whatever that means, he says hurriedly, "it- everyone always assumes it's some huge traumatic thing, or like- a cool fight, or whatever, but. I- yeah, I literally just tripped. I was- I managed to land directly on the corner of my furnace." he gives a huff of a laugh. 

"that- you're such a nerd, etho." joel smirks, still looking somewhat stunned. he looks pleased too though, so maybe it's a good thing. "you- and no one else knows?" 

"well," etho pulls his mask back up. "now one more person knows." he finds himself smiling at the thought.

"okay, well- hang on." joel pulls his shirt over his head, revealing far more scarring than etho expected to see. the long sleeves of joel's shirt were the only things hiding it. "i’ve got them on my legs too, but i’m not taking my trousers off." he grins. 

"I- how did you get all that?" etho leans closer, pushing his hair out of his eyes to see better. 

"you remember when cleo set my house on fire in 3rd life?" joel says, looking far happier about this story than etho thinks he ought to be. or- maybe he’s just happy to tell the story to someone. etho decides not to think too hard about it. "well, I also set on fire." he grins. "they're also from that game tango made for those diamond boots."

etho winces sympathetically. "does- does it still hurt?" he asks, surprising himself with how nervous he is. 

joel hums, running a hand over the puckered skin absentmindedly. "not really. I mean, you should know." he looks up, grinning. "soulmate and everything. it's just- it aches a little when I respawn, but.. not much." 

before etho has time to think about what he’s asking, he reaches out a hand on instinct and glances at joel. "I- can I?"

"oh- yeah. yeah, I don't- I don’t mind." joel blinks, apparently surprised. etho is hit with a wave of embarrassment, but- well, it'd be a bit awkward to back out now, wouldn’t it?

the skin is surprisingly soft underneath etho's fingers, despite how textured it is from the scarring. it's interesting- etho has accumulated several scars over the years, but he’s never seen something so large as joel's. it's kind of cool. 

joel gives a huff of a laugh, and etho looks up to see him grinning. "didn’t think it'd be that interesting." 

etho shrugs, suddenly embarrassed but not wanting to back down. "it's pretty interesting." he says, and he can’t help smiling a little as he sits back again. "like- battle scars, or something. it's a cooler story than mine." he gestures at his eye and joel cackles. 

"you said I got the 'truth'," joel says, pulling his shirt back on. "does that mean you’ve been lying to people about what happened?" 

"I- well. a little?" etho says, awkward all of a sudden, and joel grins at it. "it- I just- it's not a good story, and I kinda- it adds to the mystery if no one knows."

joel nudges him, apparently entertained—or something similar, at least. "what have you told people?"

etho glances at the wall. "I- well, I told scar I fought herobrine-" he’s very rudely interrupted by joel's laughter, apparently overjoyed to learn this about his soulmate. "it- he believed it! that's not- I can’t be blamed if he believed that."

"I did think you were mysterious at one point." joel grins, and there's a kind of comfortable amusement in his expression. it's nice. 

"what- you don’t anymore?" etho pouts, and joel cackles at it. he can’t help feeling proud of how good he is at making joel laugh. 

"not now- you told scar you fought herobrine." joel says, and etho huffs a laugh. "you’re just- you’re a dork, etho."

etho pretends to be offended, and joel cackles at all the right moments, and frankly, etho's mask is the only thing preventing him from looking even more like a dork (in joel's words- he’s not a dork, for the record) as he can’t stop himself grinning along. it's weird, but etho keeps ending up being thankful for joel's bluntness or his loudness or his ability to take up so much space in conversation when it comes to these sorts of moments- all of which he used to find annoying last season. maybe it's the soulbound being weird. 

maybe he just likes the way the ship fills with laughter whenever they talk. 

[sunooqvrlsx]

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔⁺₊❆⋆

boyfriend! Niki x female reader

Warnings: kissing, Niki burning the the kitchen down (a daily occurrence), crack, back hugs/ cuddling, overall fluffy shit

A/N: @jinsouls-scalp gave me the idea of baking and Niki just burning the kitchen down😭 She also made the fake texts for me <3 I didn't really know how to write this, so it's a small fic

You and Niki have been together for about 2 years now, and you were known as sweetest couple when you were in high school. Now how you got together...is something you would expect from a cheesy romantic movie.

it was during a game of truth and dare at your school camp, ironic right? You and Niki were both crushing on each other for quite a long time, but neither of you had the guts to confess, scared of rejection. Your best friend Sunoo, also friends with Niki, knew about the hopeless situation you were both in. So when the bottle landed on Niki, you didn't miss the mischievous grin painting Sunoo's face.

"Niki, truth or dare?" he tilted his head and had that cute pout on his lips that led to every one believing that Sunoo was the most innocent boy they've ever met, but you could see right past his façade. You rolled your eyes, waiting for what was to come. "hmm...dare?" Niki also knew Sunoo long enough to know when he was up to no good.

Sunoo clasped his hand together and smirked. "i want you...to kiss your crush." As soon as he said this, you felt your heart fall a bit, because you knew that Niki didn't like you. Well, you thought you knew. Your eyes went wide when you saw Niki approaching you with hesitant steps. And you swore that you felt your heart completely stop when he bent down to your level and pressed his plush lips to your, leaving a quick peck before bolting to his tent and hiding in his sleeping bag.

Although you were still nervous, you decided to confess to him anyways. you quietly went up to the entrance of his tent, contemplating whether this was a good idea or not, but it was to late to go back now. "hey Niki?" you said in a small voice, hoping not to scare the boy. You heard some shuffling inside the tent with the tent entrance opened to reveal a blushing Niki. "Y-Y/N?" His eyes went wide, "W-what are you doing here?". You took a deep breath before looking at him in the eyes. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay." The warm smile that settled on your lips was enough to melt his heart.

It wasn't until a hand waved in front of his face that he realized that he was staring. "Oh um- sorry," Niki turned away, his face getting redder. "And um...yeah I'm good." "You sure?" He stood up, facing you with a confident gaze. "There's something that I want to tell, actually, I wanted to tell you this for a while now" You looked at him with wide eyes as Niki stepped closer and closer until he was face to face with you. "What is it?" You asked. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "I like you y/n, I really like you" You felt your cheeks heating up as you responded. "I like you too"

24/12/2024 8:27 AM

Blah blah blah the rest is history. Now two years later with Christmas around the corner, you were panicking. Panicking because you didn't put up the tree, or decorate the house, let alone go gift shopping. Just as you were pacing your kitchen the you heard the door bell ring, your head snapping towards it as the chewed skin on your fingers finally left your teeth. You walked towards the door and looked through the peephole to see another eye staring back at you. You giggled softly before opening the door to Niki bending down, his face where the peephole should have been. He looks up with a grin and throws himself onto you, staggering forward as you struggle to accommodate his weight. "Get off me before I break my back" You yelped. He chuckled before looking down at you "Not my fault you're so short", which earned him a punch in the arm. You sat down on the couch and turned towards him, an idea popping in your head. "We, good sir, are going to make brownies today" You pointed at him. He looked at you with a smile "Ok but I'm not doing the baking" "No i meant like go to your house and you bake your own brownies and I bake mine then you come over and we eat them together." His eyebrows rise as he looks at you. "And what if I burn my house down?" You cross your arms as you look back at him. "Then you deal with the consequences."

You chuckled, looking at the attempt of brownies that Riki made. before typing back a response.

You quickly cleaned up the kitchen, wiping down the counter so it's clear of flour, putting away the sugar and chocolate, before sitting down on the couch, counting down the seconds before his arrival. 5 minutes after you heard the door bell ring for the second time that day. You skipped over, threw the door open, and bounded into his arms, like he did earlier on. Giggling in his embrace you lead him to the couch, a Christmas movie playing on the tv while you two settled down and ate the brownies you made earlier. Niki grinned as he bit into the dessert, "I'm stealing these." You rolled your eyes, shuffling closer to him, if that was even possible. "Leave at least one for me"

Time skip ;4 hours later

8:26 pm (I didn't know what else to write😭)

You were lying in bed, wearing matching pyjamas you saw the other day, your head resting on Niki's chest. You slowly but surely drifted to sleep while listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beating. When he was sure you were asleep, he tucked the hair that fell on your face behind yours ears before craning his neck to his lips were next to your ears.

"Merry Christmas Y/N, I love you"

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE RACNIXJCMHN U Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad I can feel the evil coming but Felix never bad

<3

[cozzzynook]

I have a lot of ideas about how things could go with the idea of ​​child protection.

1. At first Bumblebee was constantly trying to escape and get away from both Soundwave and Shockwave and the Cassettes, but after a while his escape attempts turn into a strange and twisted game that no Decepticon can understand.

2. The Cassettes aren't sure if Bumblebee's care and affection is genuine or if it's just an act put on out of fear of Soundwave and Shockwave, although anyone could tell that the affection is 100% genuine.

3. Social services believe Soundwave and Shockwave kidnapped Bumblebee (true) and that more than affection, Bumblebee is terrified of the Cassettes (he will lie) and they proceed to do an investigation about it.

4. Bumblebee, Soundwave and Shockwave experience endless misunderstandings, while Bumblebee thinks "they only have me here to take care of the Cassettes :(", Soundwave and Shockwave think "he's only here for the Cassettes :(", all while the Cassettes live their best lives while being blissfully unaware of the anguish of those three (everyone in Nemesis suffers/is entertained by everything that happens between them)

5. You mentioned that Bumblebee is expecting a sparkling and that the father has no name, right? Well, a few weeks ago Soundwave and Shockwave ended up drinking too much due to the anxiety of not being able to get the Cassettes back and ended up sleeping with Bumblebee (who had also been drinking for other reasons), Soundwave and Shockwave remember what happened but Bumblebee doesn't.

And that would be all (I think), what do you think? I hope you like them.

PS: I have many other Transformers ideas that I would love to send you to see what you think.

I’m so sorry for the late reply but THANK YOU FOR ADDING TO IT & GIVING ME MORE FUEL TO ENJOY!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!

[rooksunday]

fluffcember day twenty three: confessions

"Tell me again who taught you this game?" Echo asked as he watched Fives fishing for something beneath Jesse's bunk. "If Jesse comes back, I'm pretending we've never met, by the way."

"No one taught me. It's a game, not a— Where the kriff did Jesse hide the— Not a lesson, ahah!" Fives triumphantly waved the small bottle of disarmingly clear alcohol that he'd retrieved. "Found it!"

"I'll stop holding my breath," Echo said drily.

Fives rolled his eyes then rolled just as easily to his feet.

"Don't be boring. You said you'd play."

"I said maybe I'd play."

"You said— It doesn’t matter. We're playing. Move over."

Echo obligingly shifted over on the bunk to make room for Fives. They sat opposite each other, with Echo at the head of the bunk, because only his own ass should be so close to his pillow. Fives splayed his legs out long, one either side of Echo, and leant back on his hands.

"Right. Now first we—“

"Get your stinking feet away from my pillow!" Echo swatted at Fives' shins. "You know the rules!"

Grumbling performatively—he did, after all, know the rules—Fives moved to sit cross-legged instead. After doing so, he stopped and his gaze went toward the floor, his mouth twisting. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and kept not saying anything. The purloined bottle of liquor remaining unopened in the gap between his crossed legs.

Echo rested his hands on Fives' knees and tilted his head.

"Fives? What’s wrong?" he asked.

Because something was definitely wrong. Something had been wrong for days, it seemed like, but Fives had put off the question every time Echo had asked, saying only it could wait until they were alone.

Yet now they were alone and Echo was still waiting. His stomach twisted like he'd already slugged back Hardcase's protato liquor but his mouth remained dry as Tatooine.

Then Fives started to speak, and it didn't help Echo's nerves at all.

"I was gonna— It was gonna be a whole thing. The game, I mean. It's called 'Never Have I Ever', and you say these things you haven't done and if someone has then they take a drink." Fives finally looked up. His familiar grin was strange and lopsided. "I know everything about you."

"No you don't, " Echo protested weakly.

Fives' smile turned softer, for some reason. "Echo."

"Fives."

Instead of continuing the game of repetition that had, on more than one occasion, driven Tup to throwing his boots at them, Fives looked away again, this time to the liquor. He picked up the bottle and sloshed the contents.

"I was going to use my superior Echo knowledge and this bottle to try and find out how you feel about me. Don't talk. Let me finish. It was a coward's idea. An attempt to have some kind of shield of deniability if it all went wrong. But the thing is, Echo, I don't want to love you like a coward. That isn't the love you deserve." Fives swallowed. His face had gone dark with a flush that Echo was sure he also wore. "I love you, Echo. So, uh, so there."

Echo blinked.

He blinked again.

"Fives," he said. It was what he always said when he had no idea what to say.

"Echo," Fives said, impossibly gently.

Moments ago, Echo would have confidently said that he knew everything about Fives, the same way his twin had claimed to know about him. And yet…

Echo traced the familiar shape of Fives' face with his eyes. The ridge of Fives' broken nose. The slope of his brow. That strange, soft quirk of his clever mouth. The face that the clones all had and only Fives wore in that particular way. Echo's twin. The stranger on Echo's bed.

The man Echo loved.

"You're staring at me," Fives said, shifting in place. He swallowed thickly. "Do you want me to go? I can go. Yeah, I should go—"

"Fives."

"Ec—"

"I love you."

"—oh. Oh."

When their first kiss ended—via kisses two, three, and four—Fives managed to paste on a somewhat dazed version of his usual smug grin.

"Okay, so maybe I don't know everything! Like where you learnt to kiss like that."

Echo shoved Fives playfully, then followed him down to the bed, spreading his weight over Fives like a blanket. The abandoned bottle of liquor thudded to the floor.

Echo grinned. "Oh, I think I can show you a few more new things than that…"

All in all, it became a very educational evening for them both.