#new town velocity

[alfairb]

Left home a mystery, leave school for poetry I say goodbye to them and me, mission velocity It made me just run faster now I'm gonna take it off driving round Make up my mind, leave the windows down It turned out like I said it would Can I get the world right here?

[gilliontidestriderchampionoftheu]

MY BEAUTIFUL RIPTIDE OCS... their names are catalina and milo avery <3 catalina's a water genasi, and milo's a tiefling :] !!

[prismit]

i love thinking i'm good at a game, and then watching someone else play it and realizing "oh my god i'm an idiot"

[five-rivers]

“Huh,” said Danny, lowering the binoculars.

“Huh what?” asked Jazz, glancing up from her book. They were watching their parents test new ghost hunting ordinance in the abandoned quarry an hour south of town.

“I think that the top of that garbage can reached escape velocity.”

“Literally?” Jazz was… dubious, but Danny could sometimes just tell things like that, when it came to space.

“Pretty sure, yeah.” He craned his head back and waved, looking a little dazed. “Goodbye from Earth.” He sighed. “Wish that was me.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Hey, I'd come back.”

“Desiree.”

“Oh yeah. Oops.”

[thewitchblue]

Recluse, Part One: The Encounter

"Duck!"

Nightwing heard in the distance. He turned around just in time to see a spinning bus being thrown his way attached to a web about to snap at the velocity of which the bus is being thrown at. He was fighting Bane with Batman, and some weird new villain called the green goblin.

Batman didn't appear to have heard you as he was still distracted with Bane, but Nightwing tackles Batman to the ground just in time to dodge the bus, which rams into both villains.

The heroes groaned and flinched as the goblin rose above with his glider while laughing at the destruction he was the root of. Bane, fortunately, was knocked out for the moment.

Much to the horror of the two heroes, the goblin throws bombs at the three heroes. However, you were fast. Faster than most other heroes. Before they could go off, you already threw the bombs into the sea using your webs.

You yelled a quick apology as you ran past the duo and swung to meet the goblin in the sky. He needed to go immediately.

You were new to town with spider-like abilities with their first official run in being now. They had no idea why you were here until they saw the new villains start popping up.

You hiss in pain as you tackle the glider the green goblin was trying to run away with. It sliced your side like a hot knife through butter. You groaned,

"This is not a good Tuesday!"

You quickly tried to hijack the glider as you two grappled and steered the thing. The two heroes could only watch in disbelief as you tied up the glider while crawling on top of it.

You grunted when the goblin attempted to push you off, sticking your feet quickly to the glider to keep the edge.

"Give up, Recluse! This is my city now."

He attempted again to push you off the glider, but you stayed firm. Surprisingly, your webs work long enough for you to finish hacking into the glider. Score! The fight is in your favour now!

"Harry, don't do this! Don't follow his example!"

You then noticed his stare straight ahead. You look back to see what the Goblin was smirking at. What was more important than fighting you?

Your eyes widen in horror as you see the glider quickly heading towards a building. If he's going down, he wants to drag you with him.

"Not tonight, Harry!"

You managed to tackle the goblin to the ground as his glider ran into a nearby building. This is definitely not a good Tuesday.

You huffed as you attempted to web the goblin's legs and arms together with mild success. The goblin, annoyingly, has superstrength that matches yours. The webs don't work especially great on him, and you forgot your stronger ones at home. You have organic webs, but you also have web fluid for different purposes such as electricity or antidotes when you have to bandage your wounds. He practically purrs,

"Oh, Recluse... I'm following his legacy. You stole his research."

He broke the webs just in time for you to throw a crane to squash him. He managed to dodge, but the building behind him fell on top of him.

You shuddered as the goblin laughter rang out as the dust settled. His arms were pinned down by the building, so he couldn't stand up. He'll be squashed like a grape.

He's a pain in the neck to fight every time, but it's getting really annoying chasing down these anomalies. You were alone on this mission, thankfully. Miguel would give you an earful over the damage.

Suddenly, your body dodged the glider that was coming back to him as he struggled against the building, which was pinning him down. With wide eyes, you watched the glider decapitate the goblin.

Batman narrowed his eyes as he watched you. Who are you, and where did you come from? Why are you in Gotham? What are you? Are you an alien or a meta? How did you know to dodge when you did?

With a sorrowful wail, you ran and tackled Bane like a truck when you noticed he's conscious and standing once more. You snapped the tube that was pumping his venom using your superstrength and pinned him to the ground. You're not sure what the venom does, but if it's a power source, you were willing to take it out of the equation.

You crawled around him and covered his entire body in webs, which caused him to fall to the ground after failing to hit you off him.

He struggled and flailed like a fish, but the webs held firm. You asked the two heroes behind you as you heaved him up,

"Can you two tell me what you do to him?"

The two heroes shared a look before they took the massive man from you and shuffled him to the policemen who gathered to witness the incredibly one-sided fight that just happened. They said they would take care of him, so you rushed to the corpse of your best friend.

You fell to your knees in front of the body with teary eyes. You whispered,

"Harry, what have you done?"

You took off the mask of the deceased and sobbed. You know he's not your Harry (your Harry never went evil), but it hurts so badly to see him fall each time you fight a green goblin.

You sobbed as you hugged his head to your chest. Oh, Harry. You love him deeply.

Nightwing placed a hand on your shoulder and gave you a comforting smile. You shakily sighed before apologising,

"I'm sorry. He's my problem, not yours. I'll be taking him with me."

He replied smoothly,

"It's okay. We appreciate the help. Will you be staying?"

You shook your head. The Spider Society needs you. Anomalies are popping up more and more often.

"I can't even if I wanted to. I might see you again or I might never see you for the rest of my life."

You shrugged and stood up. Blood soaked your suit, but still, you picked up Green Goblin's body with concerning ease in the eyes of the Bats.

"So, uh, goodbye. If there are any more of my bad guys, just ask for Recluse and I'll come swinging."

Batman placed a hand on your shoulder and stopped you. He eyed the corpse carefully. The cut was clean, almost perfect, in fact. The glider would have easily cut you in half if you didn't seemingly psychically dodge. Batman tried to smoothly say,

"At least let us bury him. It seems like he meant a lot to you."

You frowned. That would be a terrible idea. If Lizard ever came around and resurrected him, Gotham would be in for a much worse situation. At least in New York, you'll have more help.

"He should come with me. I want to be able to visit his grave regularly. Although we're neighbouring cities, I'm too broke for the flights, and swinging might lead to trouble for you guys. My villains are a bit more hard-core than yours."

Batman narrowed his eyes. He figured the villains would be harder, but he wanted to keep you around. He needed to study you in case you ever return.

"You might need us again. How about you come home with us and at least have breakfast with us. We appreciate the help."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes at Batman but seemed to catch the angle he was going for. Besides, Nightwing wouldn't mind having you around. He loves being a mentor.

Meanwhile, you were worried about the heroes dying tragically as the rest of your loved ones have. The curse that follows you is like a tumour you can't quite cut out.

"I'm sorry. I can't leave a corpse for the police to deal with. I have to bury him before something bad happens with his remains."

Batman frowned. You wouldn't be easy to trick. Why would something bad happen to the remains?

You moved the body to get a better grip on it, wincing as your blood seeps out of your suit. All of your injuries will be gone in a few minutes, but you'll need to stitch up your suit. Nightwing eyed the wound before saying,

"Let us heal your wounds then. We have to repay you somehow."

You pursed your lips but waved off his help. You gestured to the already healed wound and told them not to worry about it. They were really persistent. What's their deal? They don't even know you. Why are they so demanding?

Your body jerked away as you saw another hero suddenly at your side. He seemed to have injected you with something with a stoic expression on his face. His eyes looked slightly guilty, but they were still hardened with determination for something. As if he's trying to protect Nightwing and Batman or something to a similar resolve.

"What the fuck, man?! Miguel's going to be pissed!"

You hissed out as your hand pressed against the already healed puncture wound. The man would be far from happy about your spider sense not considering Red Robin as a threat. He's the "everything is a threat until proven otherwise" type of man, forever cautious and oftentimes proven correct.

The Bats needed to know you aren't a threat. You may be young, but you were still a danger to Gotham. A loose end that Batman couldn't afford to leave undone. You felt arms catch you as you groan before falling unconscious.

[lexkent]

clex fic rec part 1:

Identical Series by Lanning (400,450 words)

summary: Lex loses everything, and finds something better.

If He Would Fall by sabershadowkat (5,291 words)

summary: Lex realizes Clark will always catch him.

Most Regretted by Tallihensia (5,062 words)

summary: A meteor mutant shows Clark what he will most regret in his future. Will Clark learn from it?

Reconcilable Differences by astolat (38,799 words)

summary: Luthor Family Values.

Soothing out the Hurts by Tallihensia (4,977 words)

summary: If one learns to harm people, one must also learn to heal. Superman accidentally hurts Lex and decides he has to make up for it.

The Perfect Life by A_Fallen_Sister (9,042 words)

summary: A little Thanksgiving tale. Lex and Clark have been angst-free for years, but life is not entirely without problems.

To Legends by Tallihensia (655 words)

summary: A final toast to legends.

Ants And Other Higher Lifeforms by Dayspring (3,123 words)

summary: He really didn't want to come back as an ant.

Escape Velocity by Bagheera (7,119 words)

summary: What if the meteor rocks had given Lex super speed?

Two Halves by Dolimir (31,254 words)

summary: A 'what if' Lex found Clark before the Kents did story.

Lex and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman by arysteia (16,816 words)

summary: Evil-doers have seized control of the Daily Planet building. Can Clark save the day, rescue Lois, Perry and Jimmy, and reconcile with Lex, all without revealing his secret identity?

Of Gods and Men by Lenore (17,176 words)

summary: What does it mean to be great?

i think that possibly maybe i'm falling for you by Nicnac (3,058 words)

summary: After the incident with Duncan, Lex is quietly asked to transfer to a different school. Lionel decides to send him to Smallville High as punishment for his misconduct, and Lex is chosen as that year's Scarecrow. Luckily, he's saved by local college student and unofficial town hero, Clark Kent.

Sealed with a Kiss by laceymcbain (28,613 words)

summary: Pete: "We're standing in Lex's office with Lana serving coffee right outside and I'm waiting for you to kiss me so we can see if you poison me or not. That's weird, Clark--even by Smallville standards."

Not a Villain by Tallihensia (156,782 words)

summary: When Clark makes a discovery about Conner, honor forces him to tell Lex. Lex comes by to see for himself.

Dancing at The Purple Parrot by laceymcbain (17,965 words)

summary: Lex couldn’t believe it, but the man seemed to be blushing. An awkward stripper in plaid who was blushing. “Oh, no,” Lex murmured to himself. “Oh God, no.”

Fixing Things by Tallihensia (45,049 words)

summary: Lex Luthor is his father's fix-it man for failing companies. But when Lex unexpectedly comes across Clark Kent again, can he fix what went wrong between them eight years ago? And will Clark let him? Through the meteor mutants trying to kill them, Clark and Lex try to find their way again.

Someone To Watch Over Me by Dolimir (22,034 words)

summary: What if the government had stepped in and collected people affected by the meteors when Clark was still a toddler?

Lover's Choice by Tallihensia (3,383 words)

summary: Lex's old lover wants him back in her cold embrace. Clark doesn't want to let him go.

Catharsis by arysteia (4,285 words)

summary: Aristotle says that tragedy purges the negative emotions of the audience. Can angsty porn purge the negative emotions of the Smallville audience? Let's give it a shot. Lex finally calls Clark on a few things.

Devil's Deal by Bagheera (29,560 words)

summary: Lex sells his soul to the devil to bring his son back from the dead. Can Clark get it back for him? 

Cookie Dough & Candy Hearts by Dayspring (3,853 words)

summary: Lex, liquor, and Martha Kent make for an interesting Valentine's Day.

iHero by I I B N F (iibnf) (80,571 words)

summary: Bitten by a radioactive CD player, Lex gets super powers and just about everything he ever wanted, not that he'd ever admit he wanted what he gets.

Cooking Considered As One Of The Fine Arts by Caro (thestarsexist) (2,906 words)

summary: Sometimes part of being a good mother is knowing the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Manifest Destiny by Liviapenn (24,180 words)

summary: Giant robots and things exploding.

The Lost Soul by tasabian (4,975 words)

summary: When a malicious act of magic separates Clark's soul from his body, only one person realizes how to help him.

Run by Dayspring (31,667 words)

summary: "The castle blew up right after I dragged him from the shower. We've…we've been running ever since." 

The Reset by tasabian (4,764 words)

summary: An unexpected portal opening in Smallville causes Lex Luthor from 2002 to trade places with Lex Luthor from 2018. How will it change the timeline as we know it?

Purple by Dayspring (13,922 words)

summary: Martha doesn't need an advanced degree in Art to figure it out, but Jonathan might.

Shadows & Stone: Smallville Stories by laceymcbain (83,680 words)

summary: Lex's evening has scored particularly high on the Luthor Scale of Tragic Dates. When he confesses to Toby that he thinks he's destined to be alone, an eavesdropping Clark is determined to change his mind.

Pheromones by Tallihensia (4,009 words)

summary: Lex and Batman take on the Bee Queen. It doesn't quite end up the way they planned and Superman has to step in to save Lex.

Time and Chance by Dayspring (111,267 words)

summary: Lex is pregnant. Nobody's happy. This is an mpreg (male pregnancy story). But this isn't one of those funny, life-is-great mpregs. It's full of bad days and sad days and people being ordinary pain-in-the-butts.

A Mad Season by Dolimir (22,683 words)

summary: An AU look at what might have happened if all of Lex's Smallville memories had been erased when Lionel ordered electroshock therapy.

Golden by CJAndre, Noelle (28,676 words)

summary: Lex smirked at his wishful thinking, but he knew that whatever the situation, he could handle it.

Then, confronted with the sight in front of him, he realized that maybe he couldn't handle it at all.

Memoirs Of An Alien Who Fell To Earth by Dayspring (10,566 words)

summary: See the title. FUTUREFIC.

Feel free to message me if you'd like trigger warnings on any specific fic listed. There's some very dark content here and not all is tagged.

Also @clarklexlois has an excellent clex fic rec list with descriptions, and it's actually what got me into fanfic!💖

[soul-controller]

The Man of Steal II

When Clark Kent first left his farmhouse in Smallville to help assist a nearby town with a museum break-in, the man also known as Superman thought it would be a quick and simple encounter of disarming the criminal and handing them over to the police. Unfortunately for him though, this was proven to not be the case as Clark’s attempt to stop the criminal led to a huge fight that traversed through several areas of the museum. In fact, one of these areas included a special Krypton-themed exhibit, which proved to be quite detrimental to the superhero.

As the fight continued through this area, the criminal that broke into the museum (whose name was Darren) was desperately trying anything possible to stop Superman and allow himself to escape from him and the authorities. Searching through all of the rubble and toppled over display cases, Darren was able to stumble upon a rock that he thought could potentially give him an opportunity to flee. Upon slamming the rock against the hero’s impenetrable skull though, Darren found himself blessed with a perfect weapon in the form of a small piece of red Kryptonite.

Given the fact that Clark knew about the random effects that the crystal could have on him, the hero tried his best to deter the man from using the crystal for both of their sakes. The stubbornness of Darren was unwavering though and Clark was unable to stop the man in time before his broad chest was pierced by the crystal. Now after that impact, Clark immediately began to regret his constant desire for helping others as he found himself staring back at his own smiling body and realizing that he was now in the weak and unattractive form of Darren.

“Darren, did you hear me? It’s that kryptonite! That red one is super rare and has too many possible side effects for me to count. That must have caused us to swap bodies! Grab it and walk over here so we can swap back,” Clark desperately said, his voice shifting to a whimper as he struggled to sit up and deal with the intense pain of the impact with the wall. In fact, he was in such pain that the superhero didn’t even pick up on how he was now speaking with an awkward Midwestern accent that was a far cry from his formerly deep and booming voice.

Hearing the declaration of wanting to swap back though, the imposter Superman was adamant about not making that reality. As such, he slowly sauntered his way over to the now-frail superhero while puffing out his chest. “Like I’ve already told you Darren, by the looks of it, I’m Superman now,” he began, his lips pulling into a cocky smirk before letting out a chuckle seeing Clark’s terrified face. “I don’t really care about how this happened to us, all I know is that I’m not going to go back to that pitiful body just to go back to jail for whoever knows how many years!”

To punctuate the sentence then, Darren gripped onto the piece of kryptonite stuck in his chest and pulled it out. Grunting while this occurred, the man breathed heavily for a few seconds and stared intensely into his former eyes. Luckily for the terrified hero, this only lasted for a moment before Darren’s head soon began to turn and scan the expansive museum. Watching as the imposter Superman clenched his fist and pulled the arm holding the kryptonite back, Clark couldn’t even gasp in shock or scream for the man to stop before Darren’s new superhero strength sent the kryptonite flying through the air and shattering against the concrete wall from the velocity of the throw.

Feeling completely hopeless at what was going on, Clark found himself getting understandably quite emotional. It was absolutely infuriating to find himself graveling for the first time (and to his own body nonetheless), but it was something that he was more than willing to do in order to get his body and life back. He couldn’t allow some random criminal getting close to his wife and kids or taking over the role of Superman, Darren would surely destroy his family and his reputation as a good guy!

“Please Darren, don’t do this. We both know that these aren’t our real bodies, so let’s just be grown adults and I can find a shard or something so we can swap back,” he started. But as he finished his first sentence, his extreme sadness and fear finally caused the usually composed man to crack and begin crying. With those tears beginning to stream down his face, Clark tried his best to beg for his own body back. “Please, I’ll do anything you want to get my body back. I’m the real Superman, and I just want to get back to my family,” he continued, his sentence abruptly stopping as he began to full-on sob. Just the simple thought of having this stranger going to bed with his wife or going to his sons’ high school events was enough to break down the last remaining morsel of Clark’s pride. Despite his passionate plea though, Clark was absolutely appalled to find that his own hearty laugh was being used against him and filling the empty atrium of the museum.

“Wow, that was so pitiful and pathetic. With behavior like that, I don’t think we should swap back,” Darren began, his laughter continuing as he put his hands on his hips and looked down at the frail man who was sobbing and desperately wrapping an arm around his right leg. “Honestly, all of that emotion and desperate whining is perfectly fitting for such a weak body. In fact, I think I’m rather content with remaining as Superman,” he continued before suddenly stopping himself. “Or would you rather I refer to myself by my real name? Do you prefer I go with Clark Kent or Kal-El?” he said as he cockily placed his hands on his hips, finally causing Clark to look up in horror at the revelation that the criminal somehow knew everything about him.

“H-how did you know that,” Clark desperately inquired, struggling to comprehend what’s going on.

“What are you talking about Darren, I’m just thinking about my life and memories... especially my gorgeous wife and those two teenage boys that are eagerly waiting for their father to show up back in Smallville. You know what I really can't stop thinking about though? Getting Lois to moan my name as I fuck her mercilessly, a reward for continuing to make the world a better and safer place," he began, the smile turning quite devious as he easily recounted Clark’s last encounter with his family before heading to the museum. To make matters worse for the terrified superhero though, the man’s next statement proved to leave him weak in the knees. “I mean, I don’t think any of those memories feel fitting for a petty criminal and low-level gang member that would stage some break-in at a museum right? Go ahead and try and think about your life though Darren, I think you’ll find that those are more fitting for your life!”

Desperately, Clark tried to recount a recent and important moment in his life. The first thing that came to mind was the reason behind the family’s move to Smallville - the death of Clark’s mother. But to his horror, a brief glimpse through his mind was unable to pull up that memory. Instead, he found countless memories that informed him of a frail and sickly looking woman that was constantly in and out of the hospital. Even more bizarre, those memories also referred to Clark by the name belonging to the body he was now in: Darren.

Gasping in shock at what was going on, Clark tried his hardest to recall more important events and information about his life. But instead, all that happened was that a broader picture was painted about Darren’s life. By doing so, Clark was able to learn more about Darren such as his last name being Hyde and his history of going in and out of jail countless times in his youth. Continuing to pull on this string of Darren’s past allowed Clark to learn more about the man’s history with a local gang who first recruited him when he was 14 and got caught stealing some cigarettes for his mother.

Despite the gang’s best attempts at helping the man bulk up and gain more muscle to become some sort of brute to help them during any heists, Darren’s body was unwilling to grow beyond the pale and bony frame that he’d been stuck with since his childhood. With no real incentive for keeping the man around, the gang soon found a special job for Darren - by being their personal guinea pig and constant fall guy. Whenever he wasn’t in prison for one of the gang’s crimes, the man had no other options but to stick with the gang and endure their various tortures that came in the form of the knife scars that adorned Clark’s new pale skin. As he ran his fingers along the various cuts that crisscrossed on his skin, Clark found himself instantly cringing as he could somehow recall the pain Darren felt as he tried his best to flee and escape the rugged and bulkier men who tormented him.

“This isn’t right,” Clark cried out, the words coming out as a bizarre warble as he struggled to comprehend the extreme yet widely different expressions of his shame, fear, and pure rage. “You’re going to give me back my body one way or another,” he continued, his voice shifting into a surprisingly aggressive scream as he suddenly got up onto his feet and began to rush towards the shattered remnants of the red kryptonite. As he watched for a moment, Clark smirked seeing that the criminal was seemingly so caught off-guard that he hadn’t even attempted to chase after him yet. In a moment of athleticism that Darren’s body had never experienced before, Superman slid along the glass-shattered floor and allowed the pants he was wearing to be torn to shreds as he reached down to quickly pick up a small shard of red kryptonite that was the size of a paperclip. Given his multiple experiences with kryptonite in the past, Clark knew that the small piece was more than enough to hopefully restart the transformation and place him back in his original body.

Upon grabbing the piece, the man slid up from his knees and jumped back into a standing position to face the criminal who had stolen his body. But to his shock though, all he saw was a blur as Clark’s body flew directly at him before grabbing him and throwing him against the thick concrete wall. As Clark gasped and attempted to catch his breath from the impact, the imposter Superman was able to quickly grip onto the man’s kryptonite-wearing hand and slam it against the wall as well. But despite the struggle to regain his breathing, Clark kept a death grip around the shard in hopes of eventually stabbing the criminal with it. However, this quickly changed as Clark looked directly into the eyes of his former body and watched as they began to quickly redden.

“If you want to keep that hand of yours, you better drop the shard. Right now,” Darren warned, causing Clark’s friendly face to shift into a terrifyingly ill-fitting expression of pure rage.

Fearing the concept of losing a limb to his own laser vision, Clark let out a defeated whimper as he dropped the shard and watched as it slowly fell down and clattered against the tiled floor. Feeling as tears once again began to stream down his sunken-looking face, Clark lifted his head up to avoid making eye contact with the body thief who had easily outsmarted and outpowered him.

“Hey hey hey,” Darren lightly cooed, the friendly and calming tone he was speaking with being severely at odds with the reality of the situation. “Don’t worry Clark, I’ll be taking good care of those wife and kids of yours. Hell, based on how poorly your relationship with Jordan is right now, I think you could use all of the help you could get,” he continued with a chuckle, finding great amusement in being able to not only so easily defeat the indestructible Superman but also seamlessly take over his life as well.

“You motherfuck-,” Clark began, growing enraged as he heard the imposter bring up his strained relationship with his son.

But before the superhero could even finish his rare moment of profanity, Darren was quick to grab the man’s head and slam it back against the concrete wall. With his former body immediately slumping into a state of unconsciousness after the impact, Darren couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that he had overtaken the apparent Man of Steel. Although he had found such glee in tormenting the superhero and watching him plead for his body back though, the imposter Clark was growing increasingly antsy in terms of getting home and meeting his new family.

So as he dragged the still-unconscious “criminal” out through the front doors of the museum by the collar of his shirt, the brand new Superman flashed a wide smile as the various police officers were unaware of the fact that the criminal that they were searching for was who they were congratulating. Just as he prepared to fly off though to the house that his memories informed him was the Kent household, the former criminal tried his best to cover his tracks for once the real Clark woke up. This attempt came in the form of some dialogue with the paramedics who had quickly handcuffed Darren’s former body to a gurney and began to inspect his head for any potential damage.

“Hey, just so you guys now, that guy refused to go down without a fight,” Darren began, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest as he tried to appear overly heroic to the paramedics. “Obviously I didn’t want it to get that far, but he left me with no choice other than to rough him up a bit. Just in case he starts saying some crazy and unbelievable things, please check and make sure about whether he’s concussed or not. I know he hit his head pretty hard against one of the concrete walls while we were fighting,” he continued, giving a light grin and nodding his head towards the duo of workers before flying off to meet his new family.

* * * * *

Just a few minutes later, Darren had traversed the several miles of vast farmland before arriving on the Kent property. Opting to have a bit of time to mentally prepare before encountering his new family, the man made a landing near a large barn and slowly began to prepare to adopt the identity of a sweet father and husband rather than the gritty gang member he once was. After reaching the front door of the house, the brand new Clark Kent took a deep breath before turning the doorknob and walking in.

To his surprise though, the house was completely dead and silent beyond the TV in the living room that was still playing the local news station. “Uh hello,” he said aloud, continuing to walk around and looking for his new family. Instead though, the only thing he saw was a lone plate of food resting on the dinner table while all of the lights remained off. Thinking that his new family may have gone somewhere in town, Darren made his way through the hallways before entering the bedroom that his inherited memories told him was Clark and Lois’ bedroom.

After entering and finding that the room was just as empty as the rest of the house, the imposter took a moment to take in the sights of his new residence before noticing an ajar bathroom door connected to the main bedroom. Eager to get out of this suit and see what his new body looked like, the man eagerly made his way in there and began to undress.

As the suit finally slumped down to the floor and Darren stepped out of it, the man was in awe at just how godly his body looked now. Not only did the superhero opt to wear no underwear beneath the suit so the man was in immediate awe of Clark’s impressive 8.5” cock, but the sight of such a buff physique left Darren quite slack-jawed as well. It was incredible to feel such intense strength buried deep within the thick biceps and firm hairy pecs that he now possessed, so much so that the man’s brand new manhood was immediately hardening in response. Fuck yeah, I can definitely get used to this, the man thought to himself as he used one hand to graze his fingers along the well-defined ripples of his six-pack abs and the other to slowly squeeze the shaft of his new cock.

Before he could get too deep into the fondling though, a sudden flick of a lamp caused Darren’s eyes to widen and turn to face the source of the disturbance. Upon doing so, his eyes suddenly found himself staring at his new wife Lois sitting on her side of the bed and watching with a curious expression. As he observed the woman, Darren’s cock couldn’t help but firm up further due to just how gorgeous she was to him.

“Hmm,” she began, her lips curling into a light smirk as she looked her nude husband up and down. “I presume your trip to the museum went well?” Lois coyly asked, her eyes clearly narrowing in on the rock hard cock that was jutting out and pointing directly at her from across the room.

Attempting to come up with a response, Darren found his words beginning to jumble as he attempted to explain himself. “I- um, yeah the whole trip went great. It took a bit because the intruder was wearing this mechanical suit, but as soon as I got him out of it, it was a piece of cake getting him handed over to the authorities,” he said, his words coming across quite direct and intense due to his inner worry of somehow having Lois figure out that something had happened to her real husband.

Luckily though, Lois seemed to think that nothing was amiss, especially as Darren watched her stand up and slowly make her way over to him. As one hand ran her fingers along Clark’s pecs and twirled his chest hair, Darren found himself gasping as his new wife delicately wrapped her hand around the sizable manhood and began to slowly stroke it.

“Wha- what about the kids,” Darren asked, worried about any possible intruders before he truly gave into his newfound attraction towards the woman and fucked her senseless.

“Oh don’t worry, Jordan’s playing video games in his room while Jonathan is video-chatting with his girlfriend,” Lois purred into Clark’s ear. “There’s nothing to stop us from having a little fun tonight babe,” she continued, which immediately pushed Darren over the edge.

Feeling his attraction reaching its limit, the man put his superhero skills to use as he effortlessly pulled the woman into bed at impressive speeds and tore off the woman’s clothing. As they leaned in and passionately kissed each other, Darren’s bad boy tendencies began to quickly come out in full force.

It started out small, with Lois finding her lip bit by her hunky husband as he tightly gripped onto her breasts and sensually massaged the nipples. To her surprise though, she found the action oddly erotic, so she told Clark to keep going as he finally took a moment to slide his massive cock into her needy pussy. With the man sliding in and out with a surprising amount of force and conviction, the journalist couldn’t help but gasp and moan for Clark to “go harder”.

Luckily, Lois’ imposter husband was more than willing to comply with the request, using his wide hands to grip the back of her skull and pull her into a deep and passionate kiss as he ran his tongue down her throat. When pulling away from those kisses though, the brand new Clark was quick to dive into some dirty talk as he told his wife to beg for his cock and to call herself “daddy’s little cunt” if she wanted him to keep going. To Darren’s surprise though, the journalist was all too willing to allow “Clark” to assert dominance as she begged for more and referred to herself as that kinky nickname. As such, it didn’t take long before Darren reached climax and shot his superhero seed into his brand new wife’s eager pussy.

After finishing up and falling back into bed, Darren couldn’t help but smirk as Lois raved about how great that was and talked about how it felt like he was “a brand new man”. As he chuckled and retorted that the woman had no idea how true she was, the brand new Superman decided to flick off the light and head to bed. With Lois now fully believing that nothing was amiss, Darren was somewhat excited to meet his new children the next day and become a better father to them than the real Clark Kent could ever be!

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[fushipurro]

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy

Chapter 2 - Synched Spirits

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☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, cowboy!au, fluff smut & a bit of angst in between, guns, mentions of blood, pet names, creampie, anal, threesome (f/m/m), gangs

☆ Word Count: 5.4k

“So, you must be Clementine then, huh?”

The palomino huffs back, examining you with big brown eyes. Her ears flicker with interest, no doubt curious to the strange new human holding taking her by the lead to the other end of town. You can’t blame her for being wary, you’d feel the same if your beloved companion left you for another so you can only imagine how she and your Valentine are feeling right now.

She’s not the only one cautious of you. It’s hard not to miss the many townsfolk eyeing you down, what with how last night went. Between the robbery and your duel, everyone’s on high alert for the foreseeable future.

One would like to believe they’d be more grateful you didn’t outright kill the guy. Maybe they wouldn’t care so much if you were a man instead of a natural born, gunslingin’ woman, but sucks to suck. That drunken fool is lucky you decided to be nice and let him off with just a mangled hand. Had it happened after Valentine was stolen, the results would have been much different.

You hitch Clementine up outside the gun store, pushing past the door and greeting the shopkeeper. They’re about the only person so far today not afraid of you, but in all fairness, he’s the one with a dozen guns an arm’s length away.

“Lookin’ for anything in particular, Ma’am?”

You hum in response, scanning the available goods displayed out across the various shelves. There’s plenty of ammunition for a good price; wouldn’t hurt to replenish your pistol stocks after that duel. You decide on a few, bringing them over to the checkout counter.

“I’ll take these and…” Glancing up behind the clerk, there’s several cabinets containing an assortment of larger weaponry. A little voice creeps up from the back of your head offering a wonderful idea. “…maybe a rifle, depending on what ya have.”

He turns his back to you, unlocking one of the many units. Across the empty counter in front of you, he places down a few options, naming them as he goes, “Rolling Block, Varmint, Springfield, Bolt Action…take your pick.”

You’re instantly drawn to the Rolling Block, a girthy beauty that screams power and fine craftsmanship. “How’s the firepower on this one?” you ask, lifting the weapon up to better examine.

“You won’t find much competition with that one,” he tells you, and that’s exactly what you like to hear.

If someone dares to so much as think they can get away with stealing your horse, then you’re sure as hell going to track them down and put a gaping hole right where their heart should be. That black-haired outlaw better watch his back if he knows what’s coming. Once all is said and done with, Calamity Jane will be needing a new nickname after you usurp that throne.

“How much?”

“$187 even, Ma’am.”

Tch, that’s steep. And more than you have on hand thanks to the rest being buried in Valentine’s satchel.

You sigh, begrudgingly looking over the rest of the artillery. “How about the rest?”

“The Varmint here is our cheapest at $72 if you’re goal is hunting rabbits and other small game; otherwise the Springfield is our next cheapest at $120.”

You replace the Rolling Block in your hands with the Springfield Rifle, trying it out just like you did with the former. It’s lighter in weight with less range on the scope, but the clerk assures you that with some express or high velocity bullets, distance won’t be an issue.

“I’ll take this then.” You pass a billfold to the clerk, seething once again over why you’re doing this to begin with. Money’s hard to come by in this day and age, as far as legal opportunities go for someone like you. So help that bastard if he finds the rest of your stash and decides to take that for himself.

Leaving the store with your new weapon in hand, you’re quick to notice a gathering of lawmen outside the Sheriff’s office just across the street. A dozen uniforms with an equal number of horses all geared and ready to go.

“Who’s the Sheriff around here?” you call out, approaching the group.

“That would be me, Miss.” The crowd parts, making room for a young, white-haired man. “Sheriff Satoru Gojo. How may I be of service to you on this lovely day?”

You scoff, This guy? He’s clean as a whistle. Even the star on his chest could be mistaken for a mirror with how much he’s shined it.

Any other time and his equally bright smile might feel akin to fresh rain in the New Austin desert, but currently, it’s more like greeting the sun after a wicked night in the saloon.

“I’d like to know what’s being done about those thieves from last night.”

His blue eyes wander your figure up and down. Curious, but invasive. “You’re not with the bank, are you?”

Does it look like I’m wearing a suit or a fancy dress?

“My horse was stolen by one of those bastards and I intend on getting her back. Today,” you hiss impatiently.

Giving attitude to a man of the law may not be the smartest decision lest you desire a night behind bars, but to be fair, you have every right to be pissed given the circumstances. Had they have been competent in their line of work, then the criminals wouldn’t have gotten as far as they had or even been able to leave town in the first place.

It’s infuriating.

And the nonchalant nature of this man only pisses you off further.

“You’re in luck then, Miss…?”

You reply to the man with your name, sternness evident in your tone.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” he remarks, earning a glare of disapproval from you that he shrugs off with a laugh. “My deputies and I are heading out on a lead if you want to sit tight inside.”

You place a hand over your hip, all nice and sassy with your face anything but. “I’d rather come with y’all than sit on my ass.”

Satoru takes the lead of a pristinely clean cremello stallion, its fur almost as perfectly white as the hair on its rider’s head. “I won’t stop you, but…” He pauses, hoisting himself up and over the saddle effortlessly, showing off those long legs of his. “…it could be dangerous.”

You pat the gun holster attached to your hip, just another way of showing that you’re anything but the normalcy ‘round here. “I think I’ll be just fine.”

The rim of his darkly colored cattleman hat dims his facial expression as he hunches down over the horn of the saddle, but not the light coming from that toothy grin stretching ear to ear.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, I’m aware of the duel that occurred last night.”

“Good, so then you know I mean business,” you warn, not once wavering from the eye contact with Satoru.

He outstretches his hand, beckoning for you to accept. “Of course. You want to ride up here with me then so we can get going?”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” you respond, pointing your thumb behind you at Clementine. “This girl will do just fine.”

“Didn’t steal her, I hope?” he teases in an effort to lighten the situation. It doesn’t necessarily work as you roll your eyes the moment your back turns on him. From there, you and the rest of the deputies mount up to leave town, destination unknown.

You hunker back from the rest of the posse, allowing the mare to instinctively follow while you take in the surrounding sights. You had come to this town from a different path than the one you’re marching on now, but given the view, you’ll for sure find yourself adventuring out here again in the future. The settlers here picked a beautiful spot to build the city of Valentine on. In the distance lie snow-kissed peaks and plateaus in nearly every direction, a wide-open prairie, and now the freshwater stream trailing at your side.

The stream runs clear as crystal, giving you an easy view of all the trout and pike that call it home. Measly shadows darting around in search of food and the ducks swimming along the surface. Sunlight catches on all the ripples, reflecting a dazzling lightshow of effects.

“So… what brings you to our fair city?”

You turn to your opposite side where Satoru and his majestic stallion ─ Mugen as you’ve come to discover its name to be ─ are nestled up at your side, stirrups annoyingly clashing with utter disregard for personal space.

“Do I need a reason or permission to come?”

“Well, no,” he pouts, “but as Sheriff I like to know who all is coming and going.” He further invades your bubble by leaning over in front of your line of sight, leather scrunching with every motion. “Besides, you’re an interesting change to the usual visitors. How could I not be curious?” he adds pointedly.

You sigh, giving in to his questioning. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy after all, compared to the horse thief you’re eagerly waiting to meet later. Satoru’s merely caught you on a bad day is all.

“I’m just a traveler like any other,” you drawl, a seldom undertone in your voice. “I used to call Tall Trees home, but that’s long in my past.”

“Bear country, huh?” He whistles out of surprise. “No wonder you’ve got the balls of one.”

“You could say that.” An amused huff leaves you. “Hunting bears is what ensured our survival up around Aurora Basin,” you explain, looking off in the direction of the mountains you at one point called home. “Had to watch our asses at all times to avoid Brumas or Lobo’s pack always hanging around our house.”

“Brumas?”

“Yeah, she’s a local legend in those parts. ‘A giant clad in golden fur.’” You exaggerate with your hands the sheer size of the bear. “Many doubt her existence, but my dad and I saw her firsthand one winter while hunting elk. Barely made it out intact but we made sure to leave her with a memorable scar on her face.” The memory of that day pulls the edges of your lips upwards.

“It's kill or be killed,” the words of your father sound in your head. “Either you stand your ground and fight back, or you won’t survive in this world.”

As they say, there’s always a method to the madness. Grizzly hunting as a kid is what geared you up to take no shit from others today. Especially for a lone woman carving her way through the frontier, you need to have the balls of a bear as the man next to you so sweetly described.

“Yikes,” Satoru grimaces at the fierce display of your nature stretching across your face. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“Help me get my horse back today in one piece and you won’t have to worry.” You wink.

“By my honor as Sheriff of Valentine, I will get your steed back.” He pulls a semi-auto pistol from his belt, twirling it around his finger like you’d find in those animated photographs big cities always show off. The cocky cowboy, slick as could be with the metallic extension of themselves. “I’m the strongest, after all.” He winks back.

You have to hand it to him; he knows how to make an insufferable day a little less so; like a chaser you’d have following some throat-burning liquor. All it took was just some conversation and fond thoughts to get you back in the right mindset.

A pungent smell wafts your way sooner down the path, the luscious greens of the shrubbery abruptly turn to charred remains covering the expanse of land before you. A thin boundary of life and death.

“Forest fire?” you question rhetorically at first, but Satoru offers an answer.

“Kinda, we’re approaching what used to be a town by the name of Limpany.” He pauses, exhaling a discontent sigh. “Burned to the ground last year along with the rest of what you see.”

Kinda?

“Do you know how it started?”

There’s another brief pause, enough to shift the atmosphere in an awkward direction. You aim your head at Satoru, finding his downcast expression and a bittersweet smile. He brushes his fingers through Mugen’s mane, finding comfort with his trusted familiar.

“Since you told me your story, I’ll tell you some of mine,” he begins, taking in a focused breath. “My best friend and I were once deputies together, our sights set on becoming the sheriffs of a town no one would dare mess with thanks to our presence.” A flicker of remorse passes through the depths of his blue orbs. “We had a job that went sideways, and it wasn’t the same for us after.”

“How so?”

“I went on to become sheriff like we originally planned, but Suguru started to pull back and decided on going home to Limpany for a while.”

A pit in your stomach forms, giving you a sinking suspicion as to where this story could go. Considering his mood, the destination ahead, and the reveal of someone important to his life, there appears to be more to this as a whole than just a bank robbery. Nevertheless, you allow him to speak freely.

“Suguru discovered some serious corruption going on in the town by its people. In response, he ended up decimating nearly the entire town in one night, sparing no one. From that day forward, he became a wanted criminal in the eyes of the law.”

You wonder what could have been so severe to require that much lethal force, but at the same time if you were in his shoes, you might make the same choices. It wouldn’t be that far off on things you’d do considering how you decided to get back at the men who stole the lives of your parents.

Now here you are sympathizing with the man you’re hunting for your own personal vendetta. Oh how the tables have turned once you see the other side.

“I take it this Suguru is your gold thief?”

He sighs, “Unfortunately, that looks to be the case.” As you already expected to hear.

The town comes into sight, and with that, an end to your conversation. You’re surprised to see that despite the raging inferno that had occurred, buildings remain standing all along the settlement. Crumbling and disregarded, but still feasibly sturdy.

Smoke still hovers in the air as nature has yet to blossom and overtake the land once more. Maybe once spring has truly set in, new life will occur in its wake. So far, It’s quiet, but that may not necessarily be a good sign. Satoru orders his men to disperse throughout the town, going door to door in search of any signs of the gang.

The two of you hitch your horses out front of what used to be the Limpany Sheriff’s Department. The lettering on the building has long since faded from the flames but remains legible to a degree. Next door however is a jailhouse that stands without issue, and scarce of any blemishes. While Satoru is occupied with the main building, you decide to check out what lies beyond the iron door. There’s a click as you pull the safety of the gun, cautiously opening the door and ready for whatever lies inside.

Come to find out, it’s empty. The eeriness of the room sets off a trail of goosebumps down your spine. There’s smoke damage on the walls inside, but elsewhere nothing is damaged as far as you can tell. One of the locked cells houses two adult skeletons shackled to the wall. The bones of their wrists still nestled between the cuffs. The cell across somehow felt more ominous. The door is opened, leading to an empty room which in itself isn’t a cause for concern, but the scattered loot tells a different story. You bend down to pick up once such piece.

Is this… a child’s shoe?

Your eyes widen.

No doubt that one, but multiple children were being held in this very cell for reasons unknown. Is this what Suguru had come home to find…?

“Surprised? I know I was when I first saw this.”

His voice startles you, causing your sudden turn to meet him. “Satoru, what is this?”

“Corruption,” he answers bluntly.

What a cruel world this can be to live in. And with that thought, you can’t blame Suguru for crossing that threshold of sin.

A commotion sparks up outside, drawing both of you to the door. “Sheriff, come quick!” One of the deputies calls out. You get up to follow Satoru out as the two of you are led to another section of town where lawmen have quickly begun to circle. “It looks like they camped here and left this morning! There’s fresh hoofprints everywhere too.”

“Mount up!” Satoru shouts confidently, “They couldn’t have gotten far, let’s not waste any more daylight here!”

You’re about to whistle for your horse off muscle memory when you immediately have to remind yourself that she wouldn’t be able to hear your call.

They don’t prepare you for these things.

Valentine is all you have left right now. Losing her is like losing family. As much as you find yourself resonating with Suguru, the fact remains that you’re heartbroken without her. Hopefully she’s safe and the two of you will be reunited again soon. You brush the thoughts, running off with Satoru before galloping off with the rest of the posse.

The roads outside Limpany aren’t the most well-travelled, so for any decent enough tracker, the thousand-pound impressions in the dirt are easy enough to spot. There’s evidence a wagon or two may have joined the group, all leading down the Dakota river towards the Upper Montana. Trees quickly become scarcer as you enter this new area thanks to logging companies, making it easier to see everything in front of you but at the same time, everyone can see you as well.

The group stops short of a tree line near the river to use as cover. Up ahead lies a small home and barn to match looking all too lively and full for its size. A fatal flaw in their attempt at laying low, but one you’re thankful for. Pulling out a pair of binoculars from your satchel, you investigate the scene. There’s a long, gray-haired man and another shorter bald guy walking around, weaponry in hand, and several more interesting characters around. Among the dozen horses grazing from their posts, none are Valentine.

“Are those the men we’re looking for?”

“Looks like it,” the white-haired man sighs, tightening the grip on his own pair of binoculars. “I see some other wanted faces the Outlaw Killer was looking into.”

“The Outlaw Killer?” you scoff, quirking a brow. Interesting title that speaks for itself.

“Yeah,” he snickers. “He’s a crazy bounty hunter. You’d know him if you saw him, I’m sure. Grouchy asshole that only ever wears black ─ hell, I think all his guns and even his lasso are the same color.” He rolls his eyes and an image of the blacked-out stallion and its flirt of an owner came to mind from the night before. So much for a bad temperament.

“Good to know,” you hum, raising your new rifle from its holster, taking aim at the gray-haired man first on instinct.

“Woah woah woah, what are you doing?” Satoru’s urgent voice fills your ear.

“What’s it look like?” you calmly reply, “I’m gonna pick them off one by one.” The safety clicks just as the man reaches out with a hand on the barrel to low the gun.

“I’m itching to get this done with as much as you are, but I’d like to arrest them, not kill.”

You click your tongue out of annoyance, “What’s your plan then, Sheriff?”

“Let’s just get a little closer and see what more we can learn first. It won’t do us any good if they’ve stashed the gold, and I doubt they’ll tell us anyways.”

He has a point, sadly. For now, you’ll just have to go along with it. You lean on the reins with a tap of your heel to guide Clementine. “Have it your way, but just remember that I’m not the one wearing a silver star.”

“Hey if this goes well, I’m more than happy to give you one.” He smiles, following your lead with the rest of his men. Once again, he’s got Mugen right up at your side, hunched over the saddle to see your face. “You’re just the kind of attitude we could use; that and I’m enjoying your company.” You roll your eyes but the faint smile tugging at your lips gives you away all too easily.

Being a deputy isn’t something you’ve had in mind before given your sense of exploration and all, but another way one could view it is imagining it as a means of settling down somewhere. An ever-growing supply of work paired with using your favorite set of skills to earn money; all and all giving you stability and a place to call home if you ever decide that’s what you want in life.

It's worth thinking about if he’s serious. A second option to consider on top of Kento’s.

To avoid spooking the gang, you and the rest of the posse tie the reins of your mounts to some trees a few yards back from the tree line closer to the homestead. From there, it’s all about maintaining a stealthy approach. Plenty of shrubbery dots the property, so even with the lack of tall standing trees, you’re able to keep as low a profile as you can without inciting a shootout. The rest of the men can have their fun with their hunt for gold or apprehending dangerous individuals. Your first and foremost objective is securing Valentine.

Since she’s not outside, one can only assume she’s in the barn out of sight. It’s a good size, but in desperate need of some TLC as you learn the moment some rotted wood snaps cleanly off with a simple tug. You crawl through from the back, entering the structure into a bed of hay. Looking up from the ground, you quickly find that it’s not just you stuck in a 12x12 box.

A familiar tobiano paint stands proudly, turning his head in your direction. Beautiful black and white markings cover the gelding with a splash of white on one side of its face revealing a sole blue eye. The other eye is a rich shade of brown, surrounded by black fur.

“Good boy,” you whisper to the horse, hoping to not frighten him or anyone else that may be inside to your presence. He eyes you back with a huff and some widened eyes, but thankfully their ears move in attentive patterns rather than that of aggression.

You measle around to the front of the stall, managing to swoon him with your pets between soft whispering coos. “I should steal you and show him how it feels. You want that, big guy?”

A high-pitched whinny pierces the air, drawing your eyes to your long-lost Valentine one stall over. She stomps her foot aggressively, but her warning comes all too slow before the stall door flings open. Before you can reprimand yourself for being snuck up on, let alone draw your gun, the opposing force already has their own aimed nearly point blank.

“My, I didn’t expect anyone to check here first, let alone wish to steal Uzumaki from me?”

You turn slowly towards the man you’ve been wanting to see all night and day. The same silky-haired bastard that made off with your mare. He stares you down the iron sight of a Cattleman’s revolver, holding a salacious grin as he takes amusement in this whole ordeal.

“I think it’s only fair, seeing as you stole my own horse after your little escapade in town last night.” Unlike his suave tones, your voice is laced with the venom of a diamondback rattlesnake. Just because he has you cornered, doesn’t mean you’re any less dangerous than a pit viper itching to strike.

The sound of gunfire alerts you both to the events unfolding outside the shabby walls of the stable, all with the shouting of a dozen men. The sliding door to the entrance of the barn opens with a bang, and the outlaw is quick to draw up a second revolver at the new arrival.

“Suguru, put your guns down.” Satoru says, trying to mask the hints of pain and grief beneath a stoic demeanor.

On the other end, Suguru is cheerful and keeps his sight set on the other with a cheshire smile. “Satoru~ long time no see.”

You clear your throat, reminding the two of your third wheeling presence. “Nice reunion and all, but you’re outnumbered here.”

“That may be.” he pauses, rolling his head in your direction once more. “But I’m holding the guns here so it’s up to you both to decide how you want to walk out of here.”

Funny how things ended up working out after that.

Between some more bickering, monologues, thundering hooves, and dwindling gunfire, who knew a simple suggestion to “kiss and make up” would lead to you being sandwiched between them in one of the empty available stalls occupying square bales of hay to use as surfacing.

Straw digs into your back annoyingly, but the pleasure of two cocks in either end transition you to a state of euphoria. Muffled whimpers fail to escape, instead warping around Satoru buried deep in your throat. It’s long, veiny, and curves in all the right directions. His hands find comfort over the mound of your breasts, kneading into the flesh with each thrust.

You can’t see it, but those breathtaking blue eyes look in awe of your figure adorned with a sheen of sweat and the sight of Suguru’s cock disappearing into your perfect little pussy. “So pretty,” he purrs, noting how you’re glowing brighter than any star could hope to achieve, silver or not.

Suguru’s hands brand the dipping of your hips with a bruising grip, rutting into you with his especially girthy extension. Each jerk of his body hits right into a sweet spot bringing you ever closer to undoing the knot at the base of your core.

They both momentarily pause as you begin to unravel, choking out cries that leave Satoru reeling with pleasure from the tightness of your throat. Suguru feels it too. Your gummy walls encasing around him in erratic motions. The two of them aren’t far away from their own release.

The sounds each make only serve to keep the wings of your pussy fluttering for more. Irresistibly charming, and all the more passionate given the shared history they share, and you now caught in the middle.

Suguru leans forward over you, cupping Satoru’s cheek to draw him closer, crashing their lips together in a messy embrace. That one action forces each to come undone, painting both ends of you so perfectly white. They pull out, savoring the whining noise you release from the loss. The black-haired man takes a moment to admire how you clench around nothing and the cum gushing out like a waterfall of love.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Suguru asks, and both Satoru and you simultaneously answer positively making him chuckle all low and honey-like.

“You’re doing so well, but we’re not done just yet…” Both men exchange a look, as if reading one another’s mind. Soulmatism at its finest. “Well, Satoru?”

“It’s been too long, Suguru,” he responds gleefully. Satoru then proceeds to lift your tiring body up and onto his lap, making you straddle him as the other comes around into your view. “Ready for more, princess?”

“Less talk, more stuffing,” you scoff, taking it upon yourself to line his tip with your eager cunt, graciously accepting him into the depths beyond what Suguru could reach.

“You heard the pretty lady, Satoru,” the other whispers into his ear, nibbling the lobe as he slowly thrusts up into the man. The slick coating his shaft that you provided just moments ago make for a smooth entry, earning a deep fulfilling rumble from Satoru.

His fingers slid up your thighs and over the curves of your body, pressing into the plush to bounce you on him. You saw plenty before of the cobweb of veins that marble his cock, but feeling the ridges trailing along your insides leaves you breathing out such sinful sounds. He works it like the most formal of fountain pens, writing poetry on velvet walls that could put even Shakespeare to shame.

“Fuuh-uck,” you murmur, burying your face in the crook of Satoru’s neck, shamelessly letting him contort your body however he desires. Your arms wrap tightly around his neck and hair, locking him in against your bare chest.

“Now now, don’t go hiding yourself,” Suguru says between disheveled breaths, trying not to let his pace falter as he urges your face up. He overtakes your lips, mixing sloppy kisses with nips across your bottom lip.

Satoru uses this chance to pepper your open neck with marks fashioned all in his name, biting down with more force each time his lover hits that sweet spot inside. He can feel not only his own chest tighten, but his balls as well.

Suguru breaks the kiss, but only to push the two in front of him down. The weight of Satoru comes down over you, taking your mouth against his and soaking up the taste of all the combined flavors. Suguru unleashes powerful thrusts into Satoru that force him in and out of your own body as he chases his high.

“You missed me this much, Suguru?” He gazes over his shoulder, smiling as he tries to form cock-drunk words. “S-so much more aggressive than usual, f-feels good.”

“Not a day goes by where I don’t see a reminder of you.” You can just barely make out the seldom, yet saccharine face Suguru makes, your own vision clouded with a hazy white. “It’s just like the old days with o-our new friend here.”

“Our princess here is taking us so well, isn’t she?”

“She is,” he says, and you feel feather-light touches come over your thighs that attempt to coil around Satoru for closeness. “You’re such a good girl, I bet you want to cum, don’t you?” You feverishly nod, unsure how much longer you can hold out.

“Come on, baby.” A finger moves over your clit drawing star-shaped patterns until that’s all you’re able to see. “T-that’s it,” he drawls, following soon after.

Hot ropes of cum spill out inside you once more, making a beautiful cocktail of three. Suguru mercilessly ruts into Satoru until he himself finishes, savoring the feeling he’s long since missed and relishing in the new ones you’ve brought him.

Satoru’s body relaxes leaving you trapped underneath. You take the time to brush your fingers through his hair as you come down off your high, feeling yourself ground to the Earth in the process.

Suguru pulls out, leaving a chaste kiss to you both. His delicate fingers push the hair of your face, admiring the beauty of your afterglow. You close your eyes, soaking up the feeling of one another, completely oblivious to anything else.

Well, almost oblivious.

“It’s been fun seeing you again and meeting such a lovely new woman,” Suguru starts. You open your eyes and Satoru as well to see Suguru dressed and mounted atop the tobiano. “I’ve got to get home before my daughters begin to worry. See you around sometime.” He winks, galloping out of the stable before either of you can say another word.

Satoru stands up, exhaling a defeated sigh. The plan to arrest Suguru ended up with the two of you being detained by love. Both his gang and the gold are long gone to wherever his hideout lies.

Satoru helps you up, cleaning you off as best he can before readying the horses, and yes, that means yours too.

Valentine is home, back with her family.

You.

As you sit atop her on route back to the city of Valentine, you feel a discomfort in your clothes and the crunching of parchment to follow. The source of which is a pamphlet courtesy of Suguru, detailing drawings and hints on how if you’re interested, you can use these clues to find him and his camp of outlaws.

And so, a third opportunity for your future presents itself, but that’s for the future. For now, the only thing on your mind is a steak dinner. Here’s hoping the Butcher has finished his job.

☆ Notes: KFC breakup – saloon edition

Fr this chapter was hard for me to write. I love satosugu but I’m not confident in writing them just yet :( I cursed myself so many times and had to close to document. march weather also has got me not feeling too well so that sucks.

I was kinda stumped how to transition from gunpoint to dickpoint in a way that wasn’t so dubious or noncon so I hope you don’t mind me just skipping straight to the action :3 threesome smut is hard to write for me

[sevenboarproductions]

[IDOliSH7] [Part 6] Chapter 11: Hectic days

6.11.1. - A town where sound falls

Takanashi Tsumugi: Heading towards “New Black or White”, hectic days had begun at Takanashi agency.

--

Ousaka Sougo: …How about this?

Rokuya Nagi: Hm… That’s a little too dark. 

Ousaka Sougo: Dark…

Rokuya Nagi: It might also be a little too aggressive

Ousaka Sougo: Aggressive…！ Really… I was trying to give off a sense of velocity, though…

Rokuya Nagi: Sougo, aren’t you overthinking it a little? Relax, relax.

Ousaka Sougo: Relaxing…

Rokuya Nagi: Close your eyes and think of an animal, anything is fine. 

Ousaka Sougo: I thought of it…

Rokuya Nagi: What animal came to mind? 

Ousaka Sougo: A stonefish.

Rokuya Nagi: OH, how warlike… We are happy, happy, cutie idols! Let’s make it a sweet feeling like shangri-la!

Ousaka Sougo: Shangri-la…  Happy, happy, cutie idols…

Rokuya Nagi: OK, close your eyes… Try to think of an animal once more. What came to mind? 

Ousaka Sougo: A frilled shark.

Rokuya Nagi: OKOK…That’s the way…

--

Yotsuba Tamaki: If we do it like this… what if we do something like this?

Oogami Banri: Isn’t that nice? And the formation is 3 + 4?

Yotsuba Tamaki: What about a V shape? Would it be strange? Starting from a V formation like this… 

Oogami Banri: Aaah, isn’t that good? From V into 3 + 4. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: We could have only one side move like this, like dominoes… 

Oogami Banri: Aah, yes, yes. Then like that, they are divided into 3 and 4 again…

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ooh, that’s cool!

Oogami Banri: It is cool.

Yotsuba Tamaki: IDOLiSH7 is cool, isn’t it~.

Oogami Banri: IDOLiSH7 is cool!

--

Momo: For the new song, I wanna sing about how we felt when we debuted.

Yuki: Isn’t that fine?

Momo: Really?

Yuki: Really, really.  Like, “can’t you sell yourself from the time you were fresh”?

Momo: I get that! Like overcoming ourselves!

Yuki: Did we overcome ourselves? Momo, you were earnest. You were hardworking and everyone likes you. 

Momo: Is that so? I was so desperate I couldn’t afford to relax. People like IDOLiSH7 are cute, aren’t they?

Yuki: They are. Thinking about it now, I was an irritating newcomer.

Momo: I’m telling you, that’s not true! I wanna protect such an awkward person. Yamato and ŹOOḼ are like that, too. 

Yuki: That’s true. But, freshness, huh… 

Momo: Is there a difference in freshness? Between idols and those wanting to be idols. 

Yuki: Momo, what is being an idol to you? Last time, you said it was to make me win. 

Yuki: But that isn’t all, is it? Since you’re kind, Momo. 

Momo: I wonder…

Momo: Because I met you during a difficult time, Yuki, because I was able to find new happiness, I want to be that kind of person for someone else. 

Yuki: Happiness?

Momo: Yeah. Being glad, being happy, a feeling of fulfillment… Like I’m glad to be here.

Momo: At that time, I was very happy, I felt like I’d been saved, how do I put it… I felt like I wasn’t wrong. 

Yuki: About coming to Re:vale’s live?

Momo: Not… Not just that; everything.

Momo: Like when you see something amazing, when you see something wonderful, it becomes a feeling like you’ve been given a miracle. 

Momo: It became a feeling of being loved by a godlike person. 

Momo: That night, seeing Yuki and Ban-san, that’s what I thought. Thank you for letting me meet you. And… 

Momo: I thought that with such a wonderful thing, even I who was able to see it cannot be all that bad. Like I wasn’t thrown away.

Momo: I had the feeling I could love myself again.

Yuki: …I’m glad… That you would think of me that way… It was worth singing that desperately.

Momo: Ehehe.

Momo: That kind of thing, I want to give it to everyone. They met us, right? So they’ll definitely be happy.

Momo: So they’ll definitely be happy in the next year, too. I mean, they were with us in the same space and heard our sound, after all!

Momo: I’m sure we’ll be able to meet the ones who couldn’t be in the same space as us, too! When that time comes, I’ll be the happiest person in the world!

Momo: I will definitely, definitely make those who saw me on camera as well as those who will come to see me happy! 

Momo: I’ve never been so happy! Everyone, cheer up! Look at my Yuki! 

Yuki: Ahaha! That’s nice, isn’t it?

Momo: I’ll be the happiest in the world!

Yuki: Seems so.

Momo: Let’s make the best live in our own way. The customers like our cool side the best.

Yuki: That’s true.

Momo: I am the happiest when Yuki is cool, too. Above all, I want Yuki to win! 

Yuki: I’ll do my best. But I am happy even if we don’t win. 

Momo: I know… But I wanna do my best! 

Yuki: I understand. Let’s do our best.

Momo: Yeah!

~ to be continued ~ 

--

6.11.2. - Good City

Staff: So you’ll have a meeting with the owner.

Kujou Tenn: Understood. I’ll be in your care.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: This is a specialty store for manual coffee brewing. I’ve improved quite a bit.

Yaotome Gaku: Me, too. I was told I could open a store anytime.

Kujou Tenn: Me, too. I like to make espresso using a moka pot*.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I like it, too! It’s the one you don’t have froth on, right?

Yaotome Gaku: Maybe I should buy an espresso maker sometime.

Kujou Tenn: It might be good to have one…

Student: Uhm…

Kujou Tenn: Yes.

Student: Uhm, I, well…. I am the son of this store’s manager.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Aah! Thanks for having us today. It’s a nice store.

Kujou Tenn: It’s nice to meet you.

Yaotome Gaku: Nice to meet you. I’m Yaotome Gaku.

Student: Uhm, that hand of yours… May I hold it?

Yaotome Gaku: If you don’t mind a handshake. Sorry to impose on you today. Sorry about causing so much noise, too.

Student: No, uhm, as a TRIGGER fan, I watched your show and found out you were looking for filming locations, so I asked my father to apply.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: So that’s how it was! I’m glad. Your name is…?

Mage Takara: My surname is Mage, and my given name is Takara! Also, I had my mails read out loud at the TRIGGER radio!

Kujou Tenn: So that’s how it is. I am glad to meet you, Mage Takara-san.

Mage Takara: …Uwaaah, Kujou-san shook my hand, too! Would you do it, too, Tsunashi-san!?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Of course! Takara-kun, thank you. Thanks to you, we are able to work at a wonderful shop.

Mage Takara: No, that’s not… My father will be happy. He’ll be glad to have opened a coffee shop…

Yaotome Gaku: Ahaha, that’s cute. Who do you like, Takara?

Mage Takara: Uhm, within TRIGGER-san?

Yaotome Gaku: Yes, that.

Mage Takara: Is it okay to say it…? In front of the actual people involved…

Yaotome Gaku: Don’t hold back. I’ll take a picture of you with the one you pick. Gimme your phone?

Mage Takara: Is that fine!? Uhm…. Uhm, uuuuhm, I’m sorry! It’s Kujou-san!

Yaotome Gaku: Tenn, huh…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It was Tenn, huh…

Kujou Tenn: Yay.

Mage Takara: No, well, I really like him… I think he’s the best idol! He’s a star who’s even better than Zero!

Kujou Tenn: I’m happy. I might cry.

Mage Takara: Uhm, you’re the type of people who don’t cry, right!?

Yaotome Gaku: We’ve become quite amicable lately.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: But I don’t think we’ll show you our crying selves.

Mage Takara: Eh~!　I don’t really get it, but you’re cool…!!

Yaotome Gaku: Then I’ll take a picture now.

Mage Takara: Uwaah… To have the shutter pressed by Yaotome Gaku… I wanna become a smartphone, too…

Kujou Tenn: Is it alright if I stay like this? What about poses…

Mage Takara: When it comes to poses, is it okay to just decide that the way I want???

Kujou Tenn: Of course.

Mage Takara: Oh my god, what should I do…! I’d be fine dying right now… Aah, uhm, then let’s shake hands…

Kujou Tenn: Yes.

Mage Takara: Ah, I’m, I’m sorry for having sweaty hands…

Kujou Tenn: Mine are, too. It’s fine.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Well then, I’ll fan you with this menu.

Mage Takara: Thank you very much. To have Tsunashi-san fan me… I will never use an air conditioner again!

Yaotome Gaku: Use it. The recent temperatures are crazy. Because of global warming.

Mage Takara: Yes! I will use it…!

Yaotome Gaku: Let’s go, one, two…

Kujou Tenn: Smile, Takara-san.

Mage Takara: I’ll smile…!

(click)

Mage Takara: …. Ha…

Yaotome Gaku: I’ll take another one. One, two…

(click)

Kujou Tenn: Thank you very much.

Mage Takara: Thank you very much! Ah, ah, uhm… Can I get your autograph, too!?

Kujou Tenn: Of course. Is it fine if I write “To Takara-san”?

Mage Takara: Uhm, I think my father will be mad, so please address it to “Café MAGENTA”…

Kujou Tenn: Understood.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That’s a wonderful name for a store. Do you like the color magenta?

Mage Takara: Ah, ‘our surname is Mage, so let’s add a little to it’, is what my dad said!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Ah, I see. You did mention him earlier. Mage-san.

Mage Takara: Yes!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: My ‘Tsunashi’ is rare, but ‘Mage-san’ is also quite rare.

Mage Takara: Yes! Ehehe…

Yaotome Gaku: We’re lucky to be meeting friends at work. Please continue to support us, Takara.

Mage Takara: Yes! I’ll always support you! Or rather, I will on TRIGGER-san’s radio…

Staff: Please get ready soon!

Kujou Tenn: Understood. Takara-san, you sent us a radio message, right.

Mage Takara: Yes! Lately, I’ve been busy studying for exams, so I couldn’t listen to it, but I’ll send you a message again…

Yaotome Gaku: I get it. I’m looking forward to it.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Thanks, Takara-kun. Here, have TRIGGER’s autograph.

Mage Takara: Uwaaah…! It’s me who’s really thankful to you!

Kujou Tenn: Thank you very much.

Yaotome Gaku: Thank you.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Thanks!

Mage Takara: …Haa… Amazing…

Mage Takara: …

--

Staff: Well then, let’s begin with an explanation of a simple arrangement.

Kujou Tenn: I’ll be in your care.

Mage Takara: Uh, uhm…! Excuse me!

Staff: Ah, excuse me. We have to start preparing for shooting soon…

Kujou Tenn: Excuse me, give us just a moment. Takara-san, what happened?

Mage Takara: Excuse me! I got in the way! I won’t bother you anymore, but…

Mage Takara: Could you write “To Magechon” next to “To Café MAGENTA”!?

Staff: Magechon? Is that your nickname?

Mage Takara: Yes! It’s a band name, and if I can be on TV in the future, I’ll definitely use it…!

Staff: Ahaha! How about it, TRIGGER-san?

Staff: TRIGGER-san…？

Kujou Tenn: …Magechon…？

Yaotome Gaku: Magechon…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Is it possible that, Magechon…!?

Kujou Tenn: The one who made ‘BE AUTHENTIC’!?

Mage Takara: Uwaaaaaah…! TRIGGER knows my song! I don’t mind dying ten more times…

Yaotome Gaku: For real…!! We’ve been looking for you forever!

Mage Takara: Eh…!?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: We listened to ‘BE AUTHENTIC’! It’s the best song!

Mage Takara: Eh, eh…!?

Kujou Tenn: We want to take on ‘New Black or White’ with ‘BE AUTHENTIC’.

Mage Takara: Eeeh……!?

Kujou Tenn: Can we have permission?

Mage Takara: (crying) What’s this, it’s like a dream… No way TRIGGER would…

Kujou Tenn: Hey, don’t cry. Does that mean ‘no’…?

Mage Takara: …It’s the feeling of having achieved the biggest affirmation in history! I lovingly permit, permit, super permit you to use it!

Mage Takara: Please sing my song…!

Kujou Tenn: …Thank you!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Thank you, Takara-kun! To meet you this way, it’s like a miracle!

Yaotome Gaku: I see it wasn’t just just ‘(lol)’. I’m glad you told us seriously.

Mage Takara: Gaku-san…

Yaotome Gaku: We’ll sing it seriously, too. Magechon, that song is the best.

Yaotome Gaku: Thank you for bringing this song into the world and letting us listen to it.

Mage Takara: …You, too… I love TRIGGER…!

Mage Takara: Please win “New Black or White”!!

TRIGGER: Yeah…!

~ to be continued ~

--

6.11.3. - Storyteller

Cameraman: Good morning, everyone.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Good morning.

Anesagi Kaoru: Good morning. Oh, you’re holding a camera. That means you’re from “Backyard Magic”, aren’t you?

Cameraman: I have some questions for both of you, so…

Anesagi Kaoru: You should have told us about that earlier! My makeup is terrible right now, so don’t film my face! 

Cameraman: Ah, I won’t film your face, so is it okay if we just talk?

Takanashi Tsumugi: What kind of questions do you have?

Cameraman: I want to ask you about what you think is special about IDOLiSH7 and TRIGGER’s lives.

Cameraman: How do things look from a manager’s point of view? How do things come together the way they do? 

Anesagi Kaoru:  Well, IDOLiSH7 is like… It really feels like a school festival, in a good way.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Oh, I understand that.

Anesagi Kaoru: Rather than just strictly sticking to doing their job cleanly, it feels like they’re freely doing it and having fun.

Anesagi Kaoru: Not that they don’t have a sense of professionalism, of course.

Anesagi Kaoru: Even though they have sung these songs countless times and rehearsed everything seriously, it still feels like a school festival. The atmosphere is always free.

Anesagi Kaoru: That fact itself is really amazing I think and… Ah, sorry, I talked a lot just now.

Takanashi Tsumugi: I was really happy to hear that! I’m glad you think about them like that. 

Anesagi Kaoru: It wasn’t like that from the start. I thought those kids seemed more like a school club who debuted just for fun.

Anesagi Kaoru: But they have properly done their work up until here, without getting too used to it, while still feeling fresh. I think that’s a great thing. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Thank you so much!

Cameraman: What about IDOLiSH7’s manager, then? What is your opinion?

Takanashi Tsumugi: Let’s see…

Takanashi Tsumugi: IDOLiSH7’s lives are kind of like a party between friends; there’s a feeling of closeness and warmth…

Takanashi Tsumugi: I think that’s what makes the lives special.

Anesagi Kaoru: Yes, yes! That’s what I meant when I said it’s like a school festival. Their performances are like a party between friends. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Thank you so much!

Cameraman: How do you think they managed to preserve that atmosphere?

Cameraman: Of course, everyone’s friendly personalities are part of that, but…

Cameraman: Usually, you would expect the group eventually gets used to it, but they are giving their all every single time to create a fresh live experience for everyone. What is the reason for that?

Takanashi Tsumugi: …

Takanashi Tsumugi: I think there are a lot of factors to it, but I think the main reason is Riku-san. 

Cameraman: You mean Nanase Riku, your center? 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes, him.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Riku-san seems like he was born to be a center, but surprisingly he also easily gets nervous. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: All the members are very close, so when Riku-san gets nervous, everyone’s attention shifts to him. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: They’re willing to back him up anytime and want to put his mind at ease… These kind feelings they hold just naturally gather…

Takanashi Tsumugi: And then, when the curtain opens and it’s time for the actual show, Riku-san is also really capable and goes ahead with a big “Wow!”.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Feeling the atmosphere when Riku-san is having fun makes the others really relieved, so they get pumped up, like “Let’s go, we’ll make some noise tonight!”.

Cameraman: So, every time…That tension and relief, it’s like a bow that has been drawn all the way getting released? 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes… Maybe you could describe it like that.

Takanashi Tsumugi: “Is this fine?”, “Does he need back-up?”, “If he does, I’ll do anything for that”... That kind of feeling between the members…

Takanashi Tsumugi: When they hear Riku-san’s singing, it just completely transforms in a second. 

Cameraman: “Our center is amazing!”, “Let’s follow him and get this show going!”; to that kind of feeling?

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes, I think at that point they’re already not really thinking about helping Riku-san out there. Rather than that, you get the feeling that they are having so much fun. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Once the live starts, Riku-san’s view broadens and he passes that feeling to everyone around him. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: They begin to synergize, and… Because these seven are having so much fun on stage, the audience also enjoys themselves from the bottom of their heart.

Takanashi Tsumugi: And that’s why I think those seven together are the strongest! 

Cameraman: Thank you very much! Hearing an opinion from a manager’s viewpoint was very interesting.

Cameraman: How about TRIGGER? TRIGGER’s lives kind of give the exact opposite impression of IDOLiSH7’s performances, right. 

Anesagi Kaoru: In what way? Please tell me. You keep making us talk the entire time. 

Cameraman: Uhm… well…

Cameraman: Compared to IDOLiSH7, where the audience feels like the idols are their friends, with TRIGGER they get more of a mysterious feeling.  Like they’re waiting for a god to descend…

Takanashi Tsumugi: I agree!

Cameraman: The atmosphere at the venue is truly impressive… All of these people who are waiting for them, they know just how amazing TRIGGER is. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes, that! The atmosphere isn’t strained, but there is that looming excitement that they’ll appear soon!

Cameraman: It’s truly amazing. It feels like if you poked that atmosphere with a needle, it might just burst like a balloon. But it’s never in a bad way. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Right! The fans aren’t on edge because they’re anxious. It’s because they believe in TRIGGER.　

Takanashi Tsumugi: Their nervousness is because they know they’re about to witness something great and don’t know if they’re ready.

Anesagi Kaoru: Look at you talk suddenly.

Takanashi Tsumugi: I’m sorry, I just…

Anesagi Kaoru: It’s fine! I’m really happy! You make me want to go for drinks with you two right now. 

Cameraman: That’s an honor!

Cameraman: But compared to their debut, TRIGGER’s performances have less of an “exciting party” feel now.

Cameraman: That feeling isn’t completely gone now, but their image has gotten a lot more stoic now.

Cameraman: How do you see TRIGGER’s lives, Anesagi-san? 

Anesagi Kaoru: About the same as Takanashi-san, I’d say. These three are the stoic type, who take their work seriously and don’t cut corners. 

Cameraman: TRIGGER doesn’t talk all that much, so the audience needs the knowledge and imagination to fill the gaps, right? 

Cameraman: It’s not like they just miraculously appeared in this world and got together, looking all cool like they could ace anything… 

Cameraman: Even when they’re not saying anything, you can tell that they’re giving it their all on the inside. You see that they put all their skill into it.

Anesagi Kaoru: You see, they aren’t trying to burden the audience or make them take a guess at their skill at all.

Anesagi Kaoru: It feels like things just naturally lined up that way… People who start to like TRIGGER because of their outward appearance become interested in how they are on the inside, as well.

Anesagi Kaoru: They think about it and then, slowly, little by little, they put in more and more acts of wordless communication. 

Anesagi Kaoru: That alone is enough to open up their hearts and from there on TRIGGER also becomes the fan’s pride.

Anesagi Kaoru: And at the lives, these prides collide.

Cameraman: It’s like the classy kind of tension you feel in a tearoom, right? The servicing side doesn’t say a single thing, yet still delivers the highest class experience. 

Cameraman: And even though the side being serviced just watches, they have deep knowledge and understanding of everything, but don’t talk much. 

Anesagi Kaoru: It is quite a bit like a tea ceremony, isn’t it? Ahaha, that might be true. 

Anesagi Kaoru: TRIGGER’s members are all strong and serious at their core, but they also have their clumsy spots.

Anesagi Kaoru: That’s why instead of saying all of those things out loud, they express them with their performances. That is what makes their lives so strong. 

Anesagi Kaoru: After all, these kids really want to be loved, too. 

Cameraman: Right, it’s touching. Thank you very much! Sorry, I ended up holding you up quite a lot…

Anesagi Kaoru: Don’t worry about it, please continue to do your best.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Thank you for the opportunity!

~ to be continued ~

--

6.11.4. - Conversation

Cameraman: Good morning.

Okazaki Rinto: Good morning.

Utsugi Shirou: Good morning. Ah, you’re from BackMagic.

Cameraman: Nice to meet you. I have some questions to ask both of you. Do you have some time?

Okazaki Rinto: I do, at least.

Utsugi Shirou: Me too. And since we have this opportunity now, is it okay if I also ask you some questions, Okazaki-san? 

Okazaki Rinto: Uh, for example…?

Utsugi Shirou: Like what your type is or something.

Okazaki Rinto: Um, please stop the camera.

Cameraman: I’m interested in that too.

Okazaki Rinto: Why? I mean if you talk about that kind of thing then we should do it when the cameras aren’t running…

Utsugi Shirou: Like their annual income for example…

Okazaki Rinto: When the cameras aren’t running.

Cameraman: Well, then once again: I have some questions for you two, do you have some time?

Okazaki Rinto: Of course.

Utsugi Shirou: Go ahead.

Cameraman: Please tell us what makes Re:vale’s and ŹOOḼ’s lives special.

Cameraman: From a manager’s point of view, what aspects do you think can you leverage in the lives?

Cameraman: Though, the idols’ personalities have a big impact when making a live, too, I think. 

Okazaki Rinto: Ahh, I see!

Okazaki Rinto: Well, both of Re:vale’s idols are entertainers. They really like giving the audience or each other fanservice.

Okazaki Rinto: Yuki-kun used to be kind of unpredictable, but working together with Momo-kun, it seems like he eventually learned how to do things on stage…

Okazaki Rinto: The distance with the guests and the staff as well… dealing with that in a relaxed manner, doing their best. I think that is the kind of atmosphere they have. 

Okazaki Rinto: Obviously, there are exciting parts, too, but that comfortable feeling…

Utsugi Shirou: It makes you feel at ease watching them, right? Kind of like the relaxed beauty of flying business class.

Okazaki Rinto: Yes, that could fit. 

Okazaki Rinto: Generally, both the fans and the staff love Re:vale, so there’s a feeling of unity because they share the same passion.  

Okazaki Rinto: “If you want to try this, how about doing it like that”, “If you’re doing this, what about that”... you end up collecting suggestions like that. 

Okazaki Rinto: Re:vale, the staff, the guests, they all want to enjoy the live. They want it to be a success. So you have amazing teamwork from everyone.

Utsugi Shirou: Ah, that’s thanks to Momo-san, right? Well, Yuki-san’s leadership and charisma are also doing an important part, though, I think. 

Utsugi Shirou: He’s great at pulling people along and opening their hearts. 

Utsugi Shirou: Everyone wants to help Momo-san and they’re happy if he depends on them for that. 

Okazaki Rinto: That’s true. Momo-kun truly is the moodmaker of Re:vale’s lives. 

Okazaki Rinto: And yet, something does happen, Yuki-kun who's always with Momo-kun comes forward and speaks up, so...

Utsugi Shirou: It's easy to convey opinions, and it might be easier to coordinate, too. Ah, this will be a useful point of reference.

Cameraman: So basically, Momo-san's team building... his effort in teamwork is working?

Okazaki Rinto: Maybe you have heard about that already, but Momo-kun used to play soccer and was the captain of the team at his school's elite soccer team.

Okazaki Rinto: So he knows that, even if just one person doesn’t have motivation, or feels unhappy, the energy of the team is going to decline.

Okazaki Rinto: And because he knows that, he pays attention as close as he can and does his best to choose and use his words carefully. 

Okazaki Rinto: He does everything in his power to make sure everyone is on the same page so their pace matches. 

Okazaki Rinto: There is the danger of opinions clashing when you exchange ideas, of course, but if you manage to overcome that, you become much stronger as a team. 

Okazaki Rinto: I always learn a lot through that, too. 

Cameraman: But Momo-san is quite busy, he can’t do everything all the time, right? 

Okazaki Rinto: In that case, I go as a representative and talk to the promoters beforehand to properly discuss our vision. 

Okazaki Rinto: If you go on a trip with someone else and you don’t tell them about your plans, you would obviously end up fighting, right?

Okazaki Rinto: And when it comes to a live with several tenthousand people, there’s no way there won’t be conflicting opinions. That’s why it’s crucial to discuss things beforehand.

Okazaki Rinto: With everyone facing in the same direction, you can bring out a great result. Like in soccer when you shoot a goal. 

Cameraman: So on the flipside of the safe and secure Re:vale lives, you find all that careful effort to teamwork… 

Cameraman: So, what’s the appeal of ŹOOḼ’s lives? 

Okazaki Rinto: Ah, I’d like to know that too.

Utsugi Shirou: I thought about that myself, too, and I think it’s probably the gap moe.

Okazaki Rinto: Gap moe…

Utsugi Shirou: Do people still say “gap moe”? 

Okazaki Rinto: Um, probably…

Utsugi Shirou: Usually, ŹOOḼ’s members have a unwelcoming atmosphere, right? 

Utsugi Shirou: And well, our agency also promotes them like that. 

Utsugi Shirou: They’re not easily tamed. And that’s what makes them into a sharp group that offers a new kind of thrill. 

Okazaki Rinto: Yes, I understand.

Utsugi Shirou: But in reality, all of them really want to be loved, so they can’t help but be excited for their lives. 

Utsugi Shirou: You can see that excitement overflow from within them.

Okazaki Rinto: Ah! That certainly is gap moe… They really start to look cute like that, right. 

Utsugi Shirou: They do.

Utsugi Shirou: I know I’m praising our own idols, but their singing and performances are really high level. 

Utsugi Shirou: “I kind of want to support them”, I think it’s really easy to start thinking that. 

Utsugi Shirou: So please, do come to their lives. 

Okazaki Rinto: Certainly… A live is kind of like their own garden, right. 

Okazaki Rinto: Rather than going to someone else’s garden, ŹOOḼ seem to be more lively when they’re in their own domain. 

Utsugi Shirou: Yes, they can be kind of shy… they’re the exact opposite of Re:vale. 

Okazaki Rinto: They love being in other people’s area. Their own garden is comfortable, but they get really energetic when they’re at someone else’s place.

Utsugi Shirou: That kind of characteristic is really strong in show business. Having exchanges with many different people, and that kind of give-and-take… 

Okazaki Rinto: Barging into ŹOOḼ-san’s live, jumping in as a surprise guest at a show and stuff like that is what makes Re:vale really shine. 

Utsugi Shirou: Our members are really weak to surprises…

Okazaki Rinto: That’s cute. 

Utsugi Shirou: It is! But it’s not like they don’t know how to hold out until the end either. 

Utsugi Shirou: Especially Inumaru-san and Isumi-san are actually the type to take the lead and thrive under adversity.

Utsugi Shirou: Midou-san and Natsume-san are more on the cautious side, but once they break out of their shell you really feel things get on a new level.

Utsugi Shirou: Their persistence, the feeling of “we won’t falter anymore, we won't be shaken anymore” really comes out then. 

Utsugi Shirou: Once that happens, their real power comes out. It’s extremely cool. 

Okazaki Rinto: They have that imposing impact of a bare, unsheathed knife, right?

Utsugi Shirou: Thanks a lot.

Okazaki Rinto: But they’re very cute at their lives.

Utsugi Shirou: They are. So please, come visit ŹOOḼ’s lives.

Cameraman: Thank you for the interview. Tying it up with an advertisement… 

Okazaki Rinto: As expected of a Tsukumo employee, you’re shrewd. 

Utsugi Shirou: Feel free to come to Re:vale-san’s lives, too.

– 

Woman: …… The pre-”New Black or White” special issue…… Ahhh, there’s so much info in this article, I’m happy!

Woman: Riku-kun’s comment… “We came up with the setlist with everyone in the group. I think it’ll help us make a live that fits the current IDOLiSH7”.

Woman:  “Our new song is great too, so please look forward to it!”

Woman: A new song… Ahh, I’m super, super excited. I wonder what the costumes will look like. Maybe they go with a different hairstyle or something, too. 

Woman: I can’t wait. It’s gonna be the best New Year’s Ever ever! It feels like I might just skip over two centuries.

Woman: My senpai told me today that I look like I’m having fun lately. 

Woman: She was surprised to see me like that, but said she’s glad for me since it seems like something good happened. That was so nice of her…

Woman: I should’ve said that it’s because of IDOLiSH7’s lives. Maybe I would have gotten to talk about them.  

Woman: Riku-kun’s drama is starting, too, after all. There’s just nothing but good things happening lately. I’m so glad I got into IDOLiSH7! 

Woman: I wonder what Riku-kun is like live… I’ve watched footage of him countless times, but maybe it’s different when you see it in real life. 

Woman: I hope Riku-kun will have fun, he seemed to really look forward to it in the BackMagic videos. 

Woman: I wonder if IDOLiSH7 can win this… No, even if they don’t, being part of this lineup is already amazing. 

Woman: Riku-kun and everyone else are working so hard and earnestly on winning, I want to make them succeed… 

Woman: I want IDOLiSH7 to win, even if that means I never win any lottery in my life… 

Woman: …Ah, the other groups’ fans probably all think like that too, eh. 

Woman: I want my oshi to be the happiest person in the world! All the others are so kind to Riku-kun, too. I love them all! 

Woman: Ahhhh, I’m so excited! 

~to be continued~

--

TL note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot ...It's what you use when you're an espresso person and feeling fancy.

...We made it! When we started this project, I told Haruka-kun I was unwilling to do 11.3 and 11.4 under any circumstances because I knew it would be very troublesome to translate, haha. So, thanks, Haruka-kun! I'd cry if I had to do it.

That being said, time flies... thanks for the continued support, everyone!

- Mod Riku

[kim-jongin-s]

svt fic recs (mostly nc-17; jeongcheol, minwon, wonchan + other)

JEONGCHEOL

"after dinner". oneshot, 1k. nc-17.

“This,” Jeonghan says, unbuttoning the front of Seungcheol’s fancy black shirt, “is mine.” He grabs the collar and strips it off Seungcheol’s arms. “Mine,” Jeonghan repeats, and takes the hem of the t-shirt, lifting, and Seungcheol can’t think to do anything but obediently raise his hands in surrender, and let it come off too.

"he saw the lightning in the east and longed for it". royalty!au, omegaverse: alpha!sc, omega!jh. oneshot, 5k. r.

The king is old, Jeonghan is his favorite omega, and Alpha Choi Seungcheol is a rebel.

""the incident" (or, an ordinary thursday night)". omegaverse: alpha!sc, omega!jh. oneshot, 6k. nc-17.

An ordinary Thursday night before another full day of practice really isn't the best time for Seungcheol and Jeonghan to start being reckless. Oh well.

"delicate". omegaverse: alpha!sc, omega!jh. oneshot, 8k. nc-17 (pls check the tags).

Licking his lips, the taste of his boyfriend fresh on his mouth, he asked, “And how do you deserve to be fucked?”

Jeonghan shivered in his hold, pressing closer to the warmth of the rutting alpha as he whispered, “Like I’m yours to break.”

"oh, it's automatic". oneshot, 8.6k. pg-13.

Everyone seems to have a crush on the same trainee and Jeonghan doesn’t know what the big deal is.

Until he does.

"like a dog with a bird at your door". oneshot, 13k. nc-17. ♡

Even when Seungcheol was breaking up with you, he would still want to make sure you were going to be alright.

Or: Seungcheol gets a boyfriend. Jeonghan is fine.

"everything's growing (in our garden)". college!au, mpreg. oneshot, 16.6k. pg-13.

When Jeonghan finds out that he is expecting, his world tilts on its axis. Luckily, he has Seungcheol to straighten it out.

"i'll take my steps towards you again". college roommates!au, omegaverse: alpha!sc, omega!jh. 12 chapters, 41k. nc-17. ♡

Jeonghan is in college pretending to be an alpha, per his father's demands. His secret doesn't last long when his roommate—and family friend—Seungcheol gets added to the mix.

"espionage". spy!au. 7 chapters, 73k. r. ♡

When Choi Seungcheol is promised one last mission as an exchange for a simpler life, he agrees easily. What he doesn’t expect is to be paired with Yoon Jeonghan, a well known, charming agent with an unexpected hatred for Seungcheol.

The task is easy—pose as a happily married couple in the middle of the suburbs.

"wrong side of the tracks". gang!au. 24 chapters, 160k. nc-17. ♡

Jeonghan doesn't like serving drinks in the sketchiest part of town but the pay's good and a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. When Seungcheol walks in and immediately becomes smitten, he takes one look at him and decides that he isn't worth his time.

It's funny how quickly your mind changes when someone saves your life...

MINWON

"heatsick". omegaverse: omega!ww, alpha!mg. oneshot, 14.5k. nc-17. ♡

Wonwoo collapses in the middle of dance practice and is rushed to the hospital. He’s heatsick—a common side effect of prolonged use of heat suppressants and scent blockers. Seventeen has two options. Hire a comfort alpha, or:

“I’ll do it,” Mingyu burst out. “Let me do it.”

"achieving escape velocity". high school!au, omegaverse: omega teacher!ww, alpha student!mg. 22 chapters, 105k. nc-17. ♡♡

Wonwoo finds himself drawn into Mingyu's orbit and unable to break free of the alpha's charms. There's a joke about escape velocity somewhere here, but Wonwoo is too busy sneaking around with his student to formulate one.

WONCHAN

"baby said". college!au. oneshot, 6k. nc-17.

Wonwoo is forced to go to a party with friends who seem to not care about his well-being. What he isn’t planning on is having sex with the hot dancer that approaches him and tells him to shut up. It may be the best night of his life, he quickly realizes.

"in a spring way". au, single dad!ww. oneshot, 10k. pg-13.

Wonwoo's heart been safely locked inside his chest for six years. A new chance at love is not what he expects when he signs his daughter up for dance lessons, even less for her teacher to be the one to make him start looking for the key.

OTHER

"weak at your will". gyucheol. omegaverse: alpha!sc, alpha!mg. oneshot, 8k. nc-17.

He nods along to something the pretty omega whispers in his ears but his eyes, they don’t leave Mingyu even for a brief second. What Mingyu has to do so he isn't crushed under this presence? His fingers close around his glass until his knuckles turn white. He looks away in hopes of not buckling under.

↳ "in your embrace, i find me". minwoncheol. omegaverse: alpha!sc, alpha!mg, beta!ww. oneshot, 13k. nc-17.

When there's an emergency, Mingyu struggles to be the grounding force to his pack. He seeks for any guidance to find himself for the sake of his pack, to become a better leader to them. Then he finds what he is looking for where he doesn't expect to.

"buckle up, buttercup". seoksoon. zombie apocalypse!au. oneshot, 15k. nc-17.

It was carnal, glory, a celebration of the lives they still got to live even after looking death straight in its five thousand faces, and Soonyoung revelled in the shockwaves, would be quite content to drown if it was with Seokmin’s lips at his neck.

"a matter of heart and soul". booseoksoon. theater!au. 3 chapters, 43k. nc-17.

Seokmin and Seungkwan are cast as love interests for a musical film, and clash from the start. Seokmin has his sights set on their choreographer—but Seungkwan does too.

[baby-alien11]

Late Prom Night (Y/N Ulrich Universe)

This is long, so grab something to eat and drink and make yourselves comfortables

taglist: @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @aonungsgirlfriend @ethanlandryluver @wenvierismycomfort @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo

Thanks to the fact that Jack just finished filming his new movie last week he was back in town, which meant make up for the time they were separated (except for the birthday weekend and the TS concert)

The gym dates every morning were also back, so after Jack picked you from your house in his car, both of you entered the gym greeting Josh, Hayley and baby Rogue to start streaching for the workout of the day

"Y/N, thirty minutes in the treadmill", Hayley instructed next to you, "The first ten minutes at velocity three, the next ten at five, and the last ten at seven, understood?"

"Absolutely", you nodded

Placing your phone, water bottle and towel in the small table next to you, you configured the treadmill to start with your workout, at the same time that yours and Jacks workout playlist started to sound throught the speakers

While you were focused on the first part of your routine, you couldn't ignore how your phone started to sound with a lot of notifications of messagges, which you asumed they were from the groupchat with Jakob and Naiia

After finishing with the treadmill, you took a big sip of water and grabed your phone to see a lot of messages from your old high school group

'This is weird', you though while frowned, the group was dead since the graduation

Openning the group chat, you were quick to notice a lot of excited text along with gifs, stickers and memes making you smile in fun, until you saw a flyer

"You've got to be kidding me", you murmured

"Are you okay?", Jack asked aproaching you

"Remember how I didn't had a prom because of covid and ended up graduating via zoom?", you asked at which Jack nodded in response, "Well, the school is making a dance for us in two weeks"

"I would say that sounds cool, but based on what you told me about your high school experience I don't know exactly what to say"

Smiling with sweetness bacause of what he said, you were quick to tangle your fingers in his hair, which caused Jack to put his head in your shoulder

"So, what are you going to do?", Jack questioned

"I don't know, I mean I hope the two years of quarantine helped some people to be better", you rambled, "But I still friends have from there who I rarely talk lately and it will be nice to see them in person again"

"In that case, what's the veredict?"

"We are going to that dance"

"Yes!", Jack exclaimed rasing his hand for a high five which you did, "Is there a theme?"

"Hollywood Extravaganza", you responded looking at the flyer, "Babe, this is our theme"

"We are going to be the best dressed", Jack nodded

"Guys, we are happy that you're having a prom night", Josh interrupted, "But we still have to finish the training"

Laughing a little, you and Jack shared a small kiss before continuing with your routines

When Jack said to be the best dressed, you didn't expected to see two designers from the Armani team in your doorway, and even more surprised when they started to fill the dinner table with books with designs and fabric samples

"Dad, what the hell is happening?", you murmured next to him, both with cups full of coffee

"First, don't say bad words in my presence", Skeet said in the same low tone making you smile in fun, "Second, I don't know"

"Y/N", one of them called interrupting the little conversation, "We are ready to start"

Sharing a glance with your dad you aproach the table to sit in front of them, while Skeet went to his office

"We can see the confussion in your eyes, so here it goes the explanation", the other one spoke, "First, we loved to work with you and Jack for the looks for the LA premier of Avatar, and his stylist called us a few days ago about asking for some options of suits for a prom dance, and we instantly asked for you, about what you were going to wear"

"That explains why the other day Jack called me for a second asking me that", you joked making them laugh

"After he told us that you didn't even started to look for outfits, we decided to pay you a surprise visit", the first one continued, "Armani is going to dress you both, so, is there a theme?"

"Hollywood Extravaganza", you nodded

"This is perfect", one of them commented, "You are a legacy child and VFX artist in the making and Jack is a rising star"

Starting with the meeting, they show you some haute couture and ready to wear which none of them catched your attention even if they were beautiful, so the next option was to do something custom made

During the next hour, the three of you spend the time making different designs acording to the theme and looking at the fabric samples, until one of them was the chosen one

"You are going to shine with this dress", one of the designers commented making you smile, "Before we start taking your measurements, we need to disscus the shoes for the lenght of the dress, do you have any that can go with the dress, if isn't the case we can also provide them?"

"I have a pair of black Aevitas that Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart gave me this Christmas", you answered, "The ones with the 15.5 cm heels"

"They perfect, those are kinda like universal shoes, they go with everything", the other designer said, "Can you bring them so that way we can start with the measurements?"

Nodding, you were quick to go to your room and take the shoes and return to the living room to continue with the dress making process

When the day of the dance arrived, your living room was full since early in the morning with your dads stylist who were also yours arrived to get you ready for the night, starting with some facials to get your skin ready and get your nails done during noon

At lunch time, Jakob and Naiia arrived with food for everyone before starting with the hair and make up

"Look at you, getting all glamed for your prom dance", Naiia joked sitting next to you while the team started with their work, "By the way, the dress is beautiful"

"Thank you", you smiled in response

"So, how do you feel going this late to your prom?", Jakob asked eating french fries

"It's only like year and a half later but a little nervous", you answered with sincerity, "I don't know, I haven't seen any of them in person since the pandemic started"

"And now you are returning in your way to be succesful, and with a boyfriend that we all love, and both dressed in Armani", Jakob said, "Let's hope that that girl Kira has changed in these years"

"Amen", you and Naiia exclaimed

A few minutes later, the front door was knocked which made Skeet leave his spot on the dinning room to attend, returning two minutes later with a big floral arragement

"Tornado, this is for you", Skeet announced leaving it in the center of the dinning table

"Oh my God, they are so beautiful", you exclaimed streching your hand to take the note attached to them reading the envelope, "It's from Jack"

Happy prom night gorgeous! I'm so happy that we get to do this together

I can't wait to see you in a few hours

Love, Jack

Smiling because of the sweetness of his words, you took your phone to send him a text thanking him the flowers, before taking a photo of them and uploading it to your instagram stories tagging him

"I don't know where are going to put them", Jakob commented, "This isn't the Kardashians household"

Thanks to that comment, you, Naiia, Skeet and the rest of the glam team started to laugh

"We are not the Kardashians", Naiia said still laughing

"We should have our own reality show", you joked, "Keeping up with the Ulrichs"

"Screaming with the Ulrichs sound better", Skeet pointed

Keeping with the little jokes and conversations, the hours spend quickly until the front door was knocked again, when your make up in dark blue and silver colors with your nude lipstick and hair styled like Gigi Hadid in the 2018 MET Gala were ready, and again, Skeet went to answer the door this time returning with Jack (who was completely ready) and Anna

"Hi, beautiful", Jack greeted sitting next to you taking your hand, "You look absolutely gorgeous"

"You look handsome as well", you responded smiling, "I love the flowers, they're beautiful"

"I'm glad you loved them"

"Guys, sorry for interrupting the moment", one of the stylist spoke, "But we have to get you dressed right know, but the shoes are going first"

"Okay", you nodded

With the help of the girl who did your nails, you put on the high heels adjusting the straps in your ankles in a way that they don't feel loose before walking to the makeshift dresser in the living room with Naiia and two more styilist to help with the dress and gloves

Once everything was put in place with the outfit, you along with the little crew came out of the makeshift dresser getting instant reactions for everyone

While the glam team put the silver earings and a small and simple silver chain style choker (one of Bailey's gifts for your birthday), the Armani photographers started to take photos of Jack to post later on Instagram, then it was your turn with the whole outfit, and last of both of you, and they were lucky to have two serious photos because after that, the rest were doing funny faces and silly poses

Lastly, before leaving, family photos were taken which ended up being funny because your dad and siblings were basically in pajamas

After a twenty minute car ride, your old school was in sight, also noticing some students of your generation in the entrance

"I haven't been here since march 2020", you sighed while Jack drove towards the entrance were a red carpet was placed, "It feels weird and nostalgic"

"Are you comfortable with this?", Jack asked before stepping out of the car

"Totally", you nodded, "Besides, as you said, we are the best dressed"

Kissing your gloved hand, Jack got out of the car which caused a reaction in some of the ex-students because they didn't expected to see one of the young actors of the moment in there, and they were more surprised when he opened the passenger side streching his hand to help you get out of the car and helping to fix your dress, while one valet went to park the car

Interwining hands, both of you started walking throught the carpet to the inside of the school towards the gym

"Y/N!"

You heard someone screaming your name, which caused both of you to turn in that direction

"Sarah!", you exclaimed with excitement

Happy to see one of your friends in person after months, you almost run towards her which ended up in a hug, while Jack stayed a few steps behind smiling

"I thought that you wouldn't come", Sarah said breaking the hug but still holding your hands, "That dress is amazing"

"I contemplate about coming or not, believe me", you laughed, "Your dress is also amazing, and I want to introduce you to someone"

Being his cue, Jack stepped closer taking your waist

"This is Jack, my boyfriend", you introduced proudly, "Jack, this is my high school best friend Sarah"

"Nice to meet you", Jack smiled with a hand shake

"It's nice to see my best friend happy", Sarah responded watching your face, "Let's go to the gym, almost all our group is in there"

Interwining your free arm with hers and Jack now holding your small purse, the three of you walked towards the gym now decorated as if it was from an award ceremony

"This remind me of the Critics Choice", Jack commented

"But with more space between tables", you joked remembering how small the space was

"One of you has to invite me to a future premiere or event", Sarah spoked with fun, "I want to experience that world"

"Dude, you went with me and my dad to the season one premiere of Riverdale", you pointed with fun

"Yeah, in 2017", she reminded

Laughing, the three of you continue walking throught the gym until a table with familiar faces for you and Sarah, ending in an excited reunion with hugs and meetings, before taking seats

"Dude, I'm going to be honest with you", Noah, another friend of the group spoke towards Jack, "I was scared of you in Scream"

"Thanks, I guess", Jack laughed with his arm in the back of your chair

"You went all psycho killer", Abby, one of the girls of the group said, "Y/N, you nailed your five second cameo, I actually went to see the movie multiple times just to spot you"

"Abby, I love you, you are the sweetest", you said with sincerity, "So, what is everyone doing?"

"Studying fashion design in New York", Scott said

"Training to be a cast member at Disneyland", Abby continued

"Studying law at Standford", Sarah spoke

"Gamer in twitch", Noah finished, "What about you?"

"Practicing to be a VFX make up artist", you answered proudly

"She is awesome at that", Jack exclaimed showing some of your early works making you blush, "Like, this looks so real"

Before anyone of your friends could say something, one of your former classmates stopped by the table interrupting the conversation

"Y/N, hi!", Diana greeted at what you get up from your chair to hug her since she was polite and friendly during your school years, "I'm so happy you are here"

"I'm also happy to be here, I missed you girl", you responded breaking the hug

"Me too, I'm glad that you changed your mind and actually came", Diana smiled making confussion in you and your group, "See you around"

Waiting until she was far, you turned facing your group

"First Sarah told me something similar, now Diana", you pointed taking a seat in your chair, "What the hell is happening?"

With a hand signal from Scott everyone inclined in a way to be closer and listen

"I heard from Irma, who heard it from Daniel, who heard it from Bethany, that Kira said that fame just got to your head and you felt superior to any of us", Scott explained leaving you shocked, "Kira actually tweeted it"

"Is she fucking for real?", you yelled-murmured, "I'm not the egocentric one, she is"

"She has always been ridiculous and jealous of you", Abby pointed, "Like, starting rumours about you is pathetic"

"Here is the tweet", Noah gave you his phone with the tweet on screen

Recieving the phone you read the tweet that only had two likes, but what caught your attention was the username

Leaving the phone on the table you reached your phone which was on one of Jack's jacket pockets unlocking it to enter to your saved tweets

"I thought you quit them for there", Jack frowned looking at the hate tweets from two months ago

"I forgot to do it", you responded finding the ones with the user name, "For context, two months ago I found hate tweets towards me, some of them were from the user name ReginaGeorgeHeir"

"That's Kira's username", Sarah exclaimed

"Yeah, two of them were 'she isn't that pretty' and 'she's a nepo baby, you know how they are'", you read with anger in your voice

"Fucking bitch", Noah exclaimed noticing movement at the entrance, "Speaking of the devil"

Hearing that sentence, the six of you turned towards the entrance of the gym to watch how Kira and her minion Bethany entering

"Wait, that dress looks familiar", you pointed with narrow eyes

"I think is the same one that you wore to the Los Angeles premier of Avatar", Jack said remebering were he had seen it

"More like a dupe", Abby commented

"Girl, if you want to let go your Billy Loomis side on her we won't blame you", Sarah spoke in your direction, "We will help you hide the body and be your alibis"

"And if they ask where we were, let's say we where at econ", Jack joked, "It worked for me"

After that reference joke, your whole table started to laugh incontrolable gaining the attention of people next to you, including from the mean duo

"I give you an advice", Scott talked after the laughs calmed, "First, what are you wearing?"

"Custom Armani", you answered

"Girl, you already won the one sided battle", Scott continued, "I mean, your dad is an icon, you are starting to gain more fame of your own, you are wearing Armani to your prom, you and Jack are the IT young couple of the moment, Kira is the girl who peaked at high school and stayed mean because is everything she has"

"Scott, is right", Sarah nodded, "So let's forget about her and have some fucking fun!"

Agreeing with her, the six of you continued to talk and update about everything, taking pictures, even the boys imitated Jacks "chad face" for some pictures, doing tik toks and sharing the snacks the school provided

When people started to fill the asignated dance floor, your group did the same founding a spot for the six of you

During the next hour and a half, the time was spent dancing the popular songs of the moment that the DJ played and having fun with each other, until a slow song "Love On The Brain" by Rihanna started to sound causing the couples in there to start dancing slowly

"Are you having fun?", Jack asked with his arms circling your waist

"Lots", you smiled with your arms around his neck, "I'm glad that we came"

"Me too", Jack smiled in returned, "And your friends are really cool"

"I think they like you more than they like me", you joked making him laugh

"I actually think that they are testing me to see if I'm good for you"

"You are perfect for me"

Following that small conversation, both of you shared a small kiss that was followed with smaller ones accompanied with giggles from both of you

A few more slow songs followed after the music was stopped causing everyone to look at the stage were Kira was taking a microphone and Bethany was standing in the corner behind her

"Don't tell me she's going to do a speech", Noah groaned

"Hi everyone!", Kira exclaimed

Hearing her voice made your group (and some other people in there) groan in silence

"It's so nice to see everyone here in person", Kira continued with a fake smile, "Like we all look so expensive with our dresses and suits, so as former student president I'm honnored to give a little speech, first of all, I'm so happy to see that every one of you is being succesful, some in college, some working, some having personal bussiness, others taking advantage of parents fame"

"Someone shut her up", you murmured making your group to hold back the laughs

Unfortunately, she heard that thanks to the silence in the room noticing your group a few meters from the stage

"Y/N Ulrich!", Kira exclaimed which made all the heads to turn in your direction including a light from the stage focusing in the six of you almost blinding your group, "So happy to see that your fame didn't stop you from being here with your friends and your famous boyfriend"

"Yeah, I'm not happy to see you ReginaGeorgeHeir", at the moment you said that phrase her face fell, "I know you were one of the people who send hate tweets towards me two months ago"

"I don't know what your talking about", Kira laughed nervously

"Wasn't you the one who tweeted 'she isn't that pretty'?", Abby exclaimed reading her phone

"Or 'she's a nepo baby, we know how they are'?", Scott continued

"It was a little joke", she tried to minimized the situation but you already were walking to the stage with Jack behind you

"It's not funny to bully someone, online or in person", you replied starting to climb the stairs with the help of Jacks hand on your waist and holding one of your hands, "Thanks babe"

"Anytime, gorgeous", Jack nodded staying in the gym floor

"Okey, I tweeted that", Kira admited rolling her eyes, "But everyone was doing it, I just jumped in"

"It's wrong to do that", you claimed, "You bullied me for years in person until you knew who my dad was, and it was because you saw him on Riverdale, and tried to be my friend after years of torture, that's hypocrite, and you and Bethany also torture a lot of us during school years, and know you claim to be happy to see us?"

"You need to chill", Kira replied not knowing what to say, "And if I were you, I would use my dad connections to be succesful as an actress, not singer because your voice is horrible"

"There is the bitch, and your voice is also horrible, well, all your personality is horrible", you spoked causing all the ex-students to cheer, "Fuck, it feels good to finally say this!"

"You know all this that you said people are going to twisted make you seem like the bully, right?", Kira tried to intimidate

"Actually not, I'm live on instagram!", one of your former classmates yelled with his phone up, "1,504 people are seeing this"

"See, I'm not the only one in here that you bullied", you shrugged

"So what, you are going all ghostface on me?", Kira joked

"I mean, people callme the 'Ghostface Princess', my dad was a ghostface, my uncle Matthew was a ghostface, my boyfriend was a ghostface, it wouldn't be weird", you threatened now close to her face, "Boo"

Even if that was a whispered word, she still jumped in fear a little causing everyone to laugh at her

Smiling because she now felt how it was, you started to walk to the stairs taking the hand that Jack was holding to help you

"Oh", you exclaimed turning to look at her, "Nice dupe dress"

"It's original, idiot", Kira argued trying to gain the situation

"It isn't, I know it because I wear the same dress in december, to the Los Angeles premier of Avatar", you smiled, "The original has higher neckline"

"I had it to do some changes"

"It's actually a 2009 Giorgio Armani, basically an archive piece, those are only borrowed, which means no drastical changes can be done"

Smiling and feeling powerful, you and Jack walked with your hands interwined followed by your friends who soon joined you while the rest of ex-students laughed at Kira and Bethany

jackchampion, naiia, madelyncline, and 97, 216 more

yn.ulrich succesful prom night

tagged jackchampion, sarah_woods, abbycutie, not.scott.disick, noahtwitch

jackchampion I said it before, but I'm glad we get to do this together

› yn.ulrich I love you

› jackchampion I love you more

not.scott.disick thank you mom and dad for taking us for a snack after prom

› jackchampion anytime my child

madelame shine my baby, you deserve it

› yn.ulrich thank you favourite red

[orionchildofhades]

steddie swapping soulmate au part 7

part 1 |[...]| part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | Ao3

---

Steve first year in highschool trickles by slowly.

He grows into his skin, more comfortable with the dynamics of the school, accepting bit by bit the way people expect him to act. This is not middle school anymore. This is where the first steps of his future begin, this is where he can write a name for himself, remind the world of the meaning beind the name Harrington.

Or so his father says. And his mother. Or at least she nods like it's one of the wisest thing she heard. And then she comes see him after dinner, sit on the edge of his bed and look at him, remind him how she loves him and how proud the whole family will be when he graduates and join the firm.

We'll all move to New York, honey, over with this town, don't worry.

And then she, and Father, leave once more, leaving Hawkins until they decide it's time to show themselves again.

So Steve plays basket, he swims. He tries as hard as he can on his work, on essays and history dates. He doesn't get much of the things his english teacher says, but he never did. Who could even know what a writer thought when saying the tableclothe was red? Not Steve.

But he likes when the teacher explains how the universe came to be, how all matter comes from the stars. The way we're all stardusts, linked to each other and the world around us. He likes when they tell him about the velocity and aerodynamics.

Tests are a bore and he loves complaining with his friends.

Carol swaps during winter break but doesn't say much about it. No one tries to pry. And Steve would really be an hypocrite if he did. Soulmate is private buisiness. If he doesn't want to talk about it, he shouldn't have to. Same for Carol.

Tommy swaps with his soulmate, Natalie, during a cold day in January. "It's not cold. This is pretty acceptable actually, for this month. Where are we again?" She had said with a thick accent. If this wasn't cold, Steve didn't want to know what was.

Steve doesn't swap again. Not for seven entire months.

Seven months spent thinking about Eddie.

Why Eddie rejected him, why he sneers in his direction when they cross path in the corridor.

Why he still hasn't swapped.

Because what could it mean? What exept that his soulmate doesn't want him and the universe apparently agrees with it.

Long nights are spent staring at the ceiling, both fearing and hoping to swap the next day. Thinking about what he did. Replaying each words and actions of this time before the club room.

He is a mistake. Maybe what people say is true, soulmates of the same gender shouldn't exist, and Eddie hates him for it. For being there, for being the body he woke up in when he was sent by the universe itself.

If we're all made of the same stardusts, what does it matter if I'm boy?

The universe had not sent an answer to that.

So Steve watches.

Richard picks on Eddie's friends, on the kids who play chest, on the drama club. And Steve watches.

He watches when Eddie is shoved into a locker, his heart aching and tears pricking with tears that he would not let fall. He watches as the sneers Eddie bears become more violent, when he is hit by a violent growth spurt and he grows into it, using the hight advantage he has against most people. He watches as rumors starts flying around about Eddie, listen to the words people use, The Loveless, the Freak.

All wrong. But Steve doesn't say anything.

For spring break, Steve leaves Hawkins. Instead of coming back, his parents send him a plane ticket for him to come to the city. To New York. His mother swore to take him to own of her favorite broadway show, his father to show him the firm properly. He is a man now after all, he has to learn the proper way to live his life. To follow into his father's footsteps.

He leaves Hawkins and he leaves behind the worries and the dread of having a soulmate who doesn't like him.

In the late hours of night, he sometimes thinks he'd rather have what his parents have, which is not fucking much, rather than whatever it is that Eddie feels for him. Even less than not much. Even worse.

New York is big. Bigger than he remembers. Bigger than Hawkins and his school, bigger than all his problems and he let the light of the city sip into his skin and bones, the lives shaking the entire ground, the noises and voices and faces all mixing in a fury of colours and movements.

That's when he swaps again.

[littlegeecko]

Thoughts on Carl x Flynn?

EEEEEHHEHFOEAOEODJFDJABSODNJEHBEHJ!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUMPS UP AN DOWN AT MAXIMUM VELOCITY sorry anyways

This is gonna be a long one so buckle up! some spoilers for METAPHOR, BENEFITS, Jenna's good ending and parts of Flynn's route

You already kno thats my shit fr fr lmao

But if i had to go in depth about em, i would point out many things, such as the way that both pretty much sway with each other effortlessly, their interactions feel natural and nice, and granted, theres no hanging tension on them compared to Flynn and everyone else in this fucking group.I think thats moreso a side effect to Carl being so chill tho, you just...vibe with him.

I think first and foremost they're good friends, and that's what they really need in a fucked up place such as Echo, people they can trust and be with without much conflict and be themselves, hell, Flynn states multiple times that Carl is the one thing keeping him sane in this town and giving him a reason to keep going on about his life there, and i dont doubt Carl feels the same by the way he reacts to Flynn possibly leaving (and he even steps up and says he'll go back to Pueblo after they escape Echo, promising to bring Flynn with him. So its not about "Stay here with me" like someone, it's "Anywhere as long you're there")

I can totally understand how people can see their relationship as platonic considering Flynn shows mannerisms with Carl that he shared with Sydney when young, and the fact it's implied Flynn and Syd viewed each other as brothers, but i think that's just how Flynn is; a protector, making sure the people he cares about are alright to the best of his abilities regardless of how fucked up the situation might be, keeping his head high and levered so the others can hang on to him- with some exceptions, of course.

Do I think they make a good couple? i believe yes!

Their presonalities could seem clashing for some but they make it work very well, and they attend each other's weaknesses, such as Flynn helping Carl on his anxiety an depression to the best of his abilities, and Carl allowing Flynn to open up about what's on his mind and being there for him when he needs him the most, and defending him given the chance, no strings attached. Those are their sore spots as characters, and they just make it work without it seeming toxic or one-sided, at least for me

They already have good chemistry as friends, and theres a growing feeling there if you pay attention to the small little things on almost each route when it comes to them, blink and u miss it type stuff, until u get to Flynn's route and its straight up longing for each other: Carl shows jealousy for Flynn talking about Chase and what transpired between em, but he doesn't intervene (Perhaps his own low self-steem?) because he still cares for Flynn's happiness. And Flynn on the other hand is looking for a meaningful emotional relationship, and literally all the interactions he has with both Chase and Leo are turbulent and bring in a new layer of issues to the friend group, this doesn't happen with Carl, he even says he's happy to have this loser around- wishes he could sit beside him in Leo's van- and even indirectly asks him about his feelings about him ("If this wasn't real...is there anything you want to tell to not-real me?")

LIKE YOU TWO ARE SO DOWN FOR EACH OTHER IT MAKES YOU BOTH LOOK STUPID!!! and the part where they talk in Flynn's room??? JENNA'S REACTION? CARL'S REACTION??!??!?! you won't see me shutting up about it. The fact characters keep interrupting them on those moments is just so telling

and man if i had to go in depth about Flynn's route when it comes to Carl uguhhhhhhuhuuhufhdsjfsj rips my hair out

But yea, i love them as a couple, they bounce off each other and vibe together so well, and i think they can both help each other become the best versions of themselves once they leave Echo, together. Thats why i like Jenna's Good ending so much, at least there, theres a promise of them actually getting to that point in their relationship, and living together comfortably (like the waffle house scene....im obsessed, ill never be the same...)

Extra notes!

The fact Flynn fell for Carl despite him not fitting the type of guys he likes to bang just tells me he's genuinely interested in him for his feelings, personality and the way Carl treats him

AND I MIGHT JUST BE INSANEEEE BUT AFTER WATCHING METAPHOR? FLYNN GIFTING CARL A LIGHTER THAT WORKS JUST FINE ITS LIKEEEEEEE HMMMMM EEEEHEHEHEHHE YOU KNOWWWW

Carl caring MORE about Flynn leaving than him possibly having something with Chase because he feels thats how he could genuinely loose him guughhhhhgugh

AND THE WAY FLYNN IS THE ONE COMFORTING HIM IN THE JENNA ROUTE AND CARL HUGS HIM TIGHTER WHEN THEY JOKE ABOUT THEM GETTING MARRIED LIKE ??????EEEEHEHEHEH

I wish they kissed at least once womp

[howlinchickhowl]

one thing about me is I used to be obsessed with Carnivale, but in the kind of way where I never finished a whole season of it and mostly just sat around thinking about the vibe. Today is circus day for a.u.gust, do carnivals count? I'm not sure. @gallavichthings can be the judge of that. But this is what we got.

Shake Some Dust eight - circus

The guy on the gate shoots him a quizzical look as he takes Ian’s dollar and hands him back his ticket. It’s not surprising, he probably doesn’t get a lot of return visitors, let alone ones who come back four nights in a row. Ian might be the first person who’s ever done that.

He shouldn’t have, really. Fiona would go, well, Fiona on him if she knew that he was spending his hard earned cash on multiple visits to a traveling circus. One night he could probably justify, but four tickets? She’d think he’d gone doolally. And maybe he has.

The thing is, there’s something about this place, some kind of strange magic. The smell of ozone burning on the breeze and everywhere Ian turns it’s like there is something, someone, just on the edge of his vision, in the corner of his eye. Melodic laughter follows him from ferris wheel to shooting gallery to merry-go-round, but when he turns to find who it belongs to, there is nothing but the lights and the chime of the penny organ lilting through its cheerful cycle forever and ever and ever.

But aside from the way he feels like he is being drawn here, night after night, the electric thrill of being tugged along by some invisible force, always with him but always just beyond his reach, there’s another reason Ian keeps coming back.

The first night he was running the High Striker, oversized mallet flung casually over his shoulder as he took cash from well-muscled guys looking to make an impression on their sweethearts. Yesterday he was barking the carousel, hanging with a weird sort of grace from the necks of the spare horses, surveying the riders and shooting signals back and forth with the ticket booth and the operator.  On Thursday he guarded the entrance to the model show, and Ian wasn’t particularly interested in seeing half-naked girls jump and jiggle their tits in his face, but he waited in line for a while anyway, just to watch him.  

Tonight, to Ian’s gut-clenching disappointment, he’s nowhere to be found. He walks the whole place twice around, all up the midway and over to every attraction. He’s not there. And Ian doesn’t know what to do. Tonight is the last night. Tomorrow night if he were to stand on this exact spot he would just be standing in a dusty field on the edge of a town that no one ever visits and no one ever leaves. Tonight’s the last night, and if he doesn’t get a glimpse of his guy, he knows it’s dramatic but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he feels like he might just die.

There’s a team doing acrobatic stunts in a pen out in the open, a crowd of excited kids gathered round cooing and gasping in all the right moments. He saunters over, leaning against the fence and watching with unseeing eyes as a set of triplets launch themselves at and over each other, flipping and springboarding with impressive height and velocity into different poses, each earning them a new and bigger round of applause.

The breeze changes direction, a sudden gust washing over Ian’s face and carrying with it that burning ozone scent, along with another that has the hairs on Ian’s arms standing straight up on end. He can feel him, his guy, can’t bear to look even a fraction of an inch to the side of him but Ian can feel that he’s there. The inch or two of air between their elbows crackles with static electricity, a tiny lightning storm that rumbles and flashes and burns as Ian’s lungs fill with air as thick as treacle.

“Seen you here yesterday.” The guy says, his voice deeper than his face might suggest, but clear, soft.

“You might have.” Ian replies, just as soft, like the guy is a horse Ian’s wary of spooking.

“Day before that too.”

Busted. He’d known he’d been spotted yesterday, but the other days, well he’d hoped he’d been a little less conspicuous.

“It’s possible.” He admits, ducking his head, glancing away.

“Fact I think I probably seen you every night this week.”

Ian winces, cuts his eyes across to find the guy staring straight at him, eyes bright blue and shrewd, like he sees straight through Ian, like Ian’s body is a window-pane and he’s stood outside looking right on in.

“You must really like the circus.”

Not for the first time, Ian wishes he were smart, like Lip, or at least quick, like Fiona. Heck, even some of Carl’s unwarranted confidence would come in handy right now if it would help him figure out what to say.

Now those bright blue eyes are roaming his face, and it’s like Ian can feel them everywhere they alight on his skin. They drop down his body, a full once over that sends a whole-body shiver quaking through him before they settle back on Ian’s own.

“Seems like you comin’ out here every night, must be something particular you’re looking to find.”

It’s knowing, thoughtful, gentle in a way that Ian doesn’t expect, and his surprise must show on his face because the guy smiles, a little huff of a thing that Ian finds impossibly sweet.

“You ever had your cards read, Red?” The guy asks, and it’s such a total left turn, Ian doesn’t even think before his answers.

“No.”

He smiles again, Ian’s guy, sucks his lips inside his mouth for a second before knocking his knuckles against the fence and cocking his head behind him.

“Come on. I’ll tell you your fortune.”

He takes off toward the back of the field where they keep all the trailers and the equipment not in use, and that strange magic must be extending its hand again to give him a little nudge, because Ian is powerless. He follows.

[demifiendrsa]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth details Kalm and Under Junon characters, playable Red XIII, synergy abilities and skills, more

"The Story So Far" Recap trailer

■ New Art

■ Regions of the World

The world is comprised of multiple regions, each boasting unique environments for players to explore and experience on their adventure.

Kalm

A halcyon hamlet kept safe from the outside world by a sturdy stone wall. Though it lacks a reactor of its own, it thrives thanks to a steady supply of mako piped in from the metropolis of Midgar, which is visible from atop the town’s famous clock tower.

Mythril Mine

A once-bustling mine that connects the grasslands with Junon. Though once prized for its rich mythril deposits, the quarry fell into disuse after Shinra developed a superior mineral of their own, and the miners that once worked its tunnels have been replaced with monsters.

■ New Characters

Broden (voiced by Mick Lauer in English, Shinshu Fuji in Japanese)

Owner and operator of the Inn at Kalm. He bears a grudge against Shinra, offering to help Cloud and friends escape their would-be corporate captors. His gaunt appearance may be due to his recent bout with an unknown illness.

Rhonda (voiced by G.K. Bowes in English, Rei Igarashi in Japanese)

Mayor and sheriff of Under Junon. Her home, once a prosperous fishing village, fell into decline after Shinra constructed a military fortress overhead and a deep-sea mako reactor offshore. Despite Cloud and friends’ status as alleged terrorists, Rhonda still allows them to pass through her town.

Priscilla (Voiced by Reese Warren in English, Rikako Oota in Japanese)

A cheerful young girl who lives in Under Junon, often seen swimming with the dolphin she trains. The offshore mako reactor has contaminated the surrounding waters, and Priscilla fears for the safety of her dolphin friend and other aquatic creatures.

Billy (voiced by Paul Castro Jr. in English, Yuusuke Shirai in Japanese)

Grandson of Bill, owner of a chocobo ranch in the grasslands. Having lost his parents at a young age, he and his sister were raised by their grandfather. This young ranch hand kindly offers to teach Cloud and company the ropes of chocobo wrangling—on the condition that they patronize his sister’s shop.

Chloe (voiced by Trinity Bliss in English, Hisui Kimura in Japanese)

Billy’s younger sister, she runs a shop on the ranch where she sells crafting materials and other curios. Warm and kindhearted, she engages politely with Cloud and company and is grateful for their patronage. At the same time, she is worried about her brother’s fixation on making money.

■ Combat

Red XIII

—Basic Attacks

Red XIII slashes at foes with his sharp claws. Hold down the button to unleash a wide-range attack that helps build ATB quickly.

—Abilities

Red XIII boasts a vast array of skills, from lightning-fast physical strikes to ranged magical attacks. Stardust Ray conjures an exploding orb of light that scorches all foes caught in the blast.

—Vengeance Mode

Block incoming attacks to fill the vengeance gauge, and unleash that energy to enter vengeance mode, enhancing his physical attacks and his evasive prowess. Siphon Fang delivers a powerful blow while absorbing some of the enemy’s HP—all without expending ATB.

Aerith

—Unique Ability: Ward Shift

Aerith can instantaneously warp to any sigils she has created, allowing her to move about the field with ease and maximize the impact of her magic.

New System: Synergy Abilities

Powerful attacks in which two characters team up to turn the tide of battle. More abilities will unlock as you increase the party level─ a numerical expression of how closely-knit your team is─and deepen the affinity between party members. Fill the synergy gauge by using abilities, then unleash a synchronized assault!

—Cloud / Tifa: Relentless Rush

Cloud launches Tifa toward an enemy to attack in tandem.

—Barret / Red XIII: Overfang

Barret sends Red XIII flying toward an enemy at high velocity.

New System: Synergy Skills

Two party members team up to activate useful abilities without consuming ATB. These commands can be executed while blocking, and provide a wide array of beneficial effects. Each pair has their own unique set of abilities; some deal damage, while others offer support.

—Cloud / Aerith: Spell Blade

Gather strength, then team up to unleash a charged magical attack.

—Barret / Cloud: Mad Dash

Team up to charge forward while guarding against incoming attacks. Activate in sequence to trigger a three-hit combo.

Summons

Setting summoning materia will grant access to the power of the gods. A conjured deity will follow the player’s lead and fight enemies automatically, but you can also instruct them to use special abilities. Before they depart the battlefield, summons will unleash one final attack that will wreak immense havoc.

Kujata

A bovine deity that charges around the battlefield wielding the power of fire, ice, and lightning. It throws foes with its enormous horns and unleashes magical attacks that strike even distant enemies’ weaknesses.

—Kujata bounds towards foes with reckless abandon and manipulates its elemental affinities to deliver magical attacks. Blazing Horn launches a concentrated burst of fiery energy at an enemy, blasting them back.

—Kujata unleashes Tri-Disaster just before leaving the battlefield, a powerful wide-range attack imbued with the powers of fire, ice, and lightning—sure to hit many foes right where it hurts and potentially wipe them out.

■ World Intel

Chadley enlists your help with deepening his understanding of the world. As you explore the various regions, you will uncover new areas rich with treasures and natural wonders. Data points accumulated in your travels can then be spent to develop useful new materia.

Protorelics

Protorelics are artifacts of unknown origin that emit a unique energy signal. These elusive antiquities are hidden throughout the world─but with the aid of activated remnawave towers, Chadley should be able to point you in their direction. Be warned, however: they seem to alter space-time, and are known to cause strange phenomena.

Materia Development

Assisting Chadley with his world-spanning research will allow you to accrue data points, which can then be spent to develop new materia. Some offer access to spells of multiple affinities, while others grant the use of unique abilities—all of which are sure to prove useful against even the most formidable foes.

■ World: Customization

Chocoboutiques

Chocobo ranches are also home to chocoboutiques, stalls at which you can freely customize and recolor your bird’s equipment from head to talon. Gear will impact its performance in chocobo races, so find an ensemble that suits your style and go for the gold!

■ System: Combat Styles / Difficulty Levels

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth offers multiple combat styles and difficulty levels for players of all persuasions.

Combat Styles

“Active” mode offers players total control over their characters’ every move, allowing them to execute advanced strategies. “Classic” mode automates characters’ basic actions, giving players time to focus on specific command selection.

Difficulty Levels

“Easy” difficulty allows people to focus on the story rather than battles, while “Normal” provides a reasonable challenge for most players. In the newly added “Dynamic” difficulty, enemies grow stronger as your characters do—perfect for players who crave constant challenge.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second game in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, will launch for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.

[laikaspotlight]

One Frame At A Time

An Article about LAIKA's upcoming film, Wildwood, from Empire Magazine. Transcript by Rampage for visibility.

"THIS MONTH I found myself in a staring contest with an owl. (Spoiler: I lost.) It's not every issue this happens, but then again, it's not every Issue you get to go to Portland, Oregon for a visit to the stop-motion magic factory that is Laika. Portland itself may have been a bit of a let-down, in that I didn't encounter a single Carrie Brownstein or Fred Armisen (if you haven't watched Portlandia, do so immediately), but there was nothing disappointing about the place behind Kubo and the Two Strings and the upcoming Wildwood, the movie that will feature said bird. It was a total treat to get a glimpse of their new animated epic coming together (though the box of tiny puppet eyeballs might haunt me for a while). Head to page 66 for our report.

Wildwood isn't out until 2025 (there's no rushing a puppet owl), but this issue also dives deep into more imminent excitement…"

"Laika isn't just a studio, it's a way of life. As the masters of stop-motion animation painstakingly put together their biggest project yet, we visit their Portland HQ to discover their slow-moving secrets."

"The Dogfight was going to look awesome. The boy was sure of it. Buzzing from the movies he had sat through, enthralled, on Saturday-morning TV or at cinema matinées in his farm town outside of Portland, Oregon- stop-motion classics such as Ray Harryhausen-enhanced The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Rankin/Bass' Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer- he had already attempted to inject life into Star Wars action figures. Now, it was time for something a little more spectacular. He marched to his X-Wing toy, like a titchy Wedge Antilles, grasped it in his eager hands and proceeded to film it, frame by frame, soaring through the sky, little explosions created using balls of cotton. His mind boggled at how incredible it was going to look when he unveiled his final cut. "Well, it looked like garbage." laughs Travis Knight now. "I was like, 'I'm going to have this amazing aerial battle here!' It was so fun to imagine what it could be. And then you see the end result, and it wasn't what you imagined. So that was heartbreaking."

Flash-forward some 40-odd years, and Knight is still tinkering with his toys. He's still just outside Portland, Oregon except now those toys are no longer purchased from the nearest Walmart. And, rather than his parent's basement, all alone, he's in a giant warehouse complex, assisted by roughly 400 ridiculously talented people. This is Laika, the studio behind the likes of Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings; 964 miles up the coast from Hollywood but light years away in terms of how things are done. No sequels, no chatter about "IP". Productions that are not rushed through the system like fast food, but baked like gourmet dishes in a clay oven. Their new stop-motion epic, Wildwood, has been in development for 12 years; it's finally due out in 2025.

It's not always been smooth sailing here, but this is still a place where dreams come true.

Very, very slowly.

"I have a big aerial scene in this movie, with a giant bird," smiles Knight. "So, you know, good things come to pass.""

"There's a go-kart track around the corner from Laika, called K1 Speed. Every now and again, somebody from the studio will head there, clamber inside a buggy and hit the throttle, hard. Whizzing around a circuit at high velocity is a form of recalibration. Because at Laika, despite the presence of an in-studio coffee shop called Dripster's (named after a location in Wildwood). things move at, well, puppet pace.

When Empire visits the studio in early April, it proves to be the quietest set visit, by far, that we've ever experienced. The usual sounds of a busy shoot- walkie-talkies, clapperboards, Michael Bay yelling at a grip - are absent. In fact, it's hard to detect any activity at all. But as we stroll around the hushed, 400,000 square-foot warehouse complex, we find incredible things happening behind curtains. A massive eagle, wings outspread. A study, complete with marble fireplace and grand piano, the dwelling of an oversized owl. Forest tableaux with tangled trees and creeping ivy. All in miniature, and precisely put together by hand or using nifty tech: even the tiny leaves for the foliage have been laser-cut. And rather than a bustling crew gathered around the camera at each micro-set, there's just a single, hyperfocused person. "Until we shout action, you'll have set dressers, cameramen, motion control, lighting, gaffer, and somebody from puppets doing final checks," says Laika's Dan Pascall. "But as soon as we get launched, everyone's out and then the animator's in there. I mean, for a 20- or 30-second shot they can be in here for months on their own. It's a pretty solitary thing."

Wildwood is a fantasy epic directed by Knight, based on a book by Colin Meloy, frontman of the band The Decemberists, it's a sprawling tale that's actually set in and around Portland, in which a young woman, Prue McKeel, finds herself in an enchanted forest world. On the day of Empire's visit, there are 25 animators working on the project. But those animators are hidden away and silent, like monks in prayer, rapt in focus over the tiniest of details. When we encounter Jason Stalman, who's worked on Laika productions since 2012's ParaNorman, he's attending a throne room the size of Prince George, concentrating on the puppet of a female character who is reacting to something in the scene.

"She's doing very little, but you have to keep the character alive" he explains. "She's trying to be alluring, so she's doing all these little movements and body adjustments, which is really hard to do." Another challenge is her dress, which has to move independently too. The solution: tiny foam pads beneath the dress, to which the fabric can be pinned to, creating- eventually- the illusion of a swishing, real-looking costume.

Creating a performance frame by frame requires an enormous amount of mental energy. 

"It's Strange; it takes you a minute to come back to the normal world after you've done a day of this," admits Stalman. "People could think, 'how the hell do you do it? it's so boring.' But I like it, because the world is so crazy and fast. This feels nice, to do this little, delicate thing."

One animator at Laika is likely to, in a week, create three-and-a-half [3 ½] seconds of screentime. That's the kind of stat that might prompt some studio executives to kick over a watercooler in frustration. But Knight knows from experience that you can't rush these things.

Puppets move at their own tempo. "You could take shortcuts," he says. "But to me, the film requires whatever it requires. I do think making a movie like this is stupid. It's the stupidest way to make a movie. It's harder, there's more pain. But I also think there's more joy as well. I'm aware of the ticking of the clock and the mortal coil and everything else. I do want to tell as many stories as I can before my time is done. But when this group of people come together to create something, it's the most satisfying thing I've ever been a part of.""

"Back in 2009, stop-motion was on life-support (quite possibly hooked up to a tiny, hand-crafted IV). Tim Burton's Corpse Bride had barely made its money back a few years earlier, but nobody in Hollywood was baying for more. And advances in CG animation had led to studios looking for the next Shrek, not the next Nightmare Before Christmas. "Stop-motion has always been the red-headed stepchild of animation" says Knight. "And CG could effectively do everything we do in stop-motion, but better. There was certainly a moment where I think any of us who were practitioners of the craft were asking ourselves, 'Is there a future here?'"

But he, and others were deeply in love with both the process and the vibe of stop-motion. Knight, whose father is Nike magnate Phil Knight (as played recently in Air by Ben Affleck), had abandoned plans for a career in finance, deciding to follow that passion, wherever it might lead him. And it led him (after a brief stint as rapper ‘Chilly Tee’) to Laika- formerly Will Vinton studios which Phil Knight acquired in 2002, Travis becoming CEO. Laika is the name of a dog sent into space by the soviet union in the 1950's; Knight's career choice seemed as daunting an odyssey as that of the cosmic pooch. Especially when the studio embarked on its first feature film, Coraline, directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas' Henry Selick and on which Knight worked as lead animator. Not only were financers reluctant to back a stop-motion animation, but they proved unenthusiastic about the lead character being female- and not a Disney princess, but a regular teenage girl. Despite it being based on a book by Neil Gaiman, despite Selick's pedigree, despite the stunning visuals that Laika was orchestrating, the mood was grim. "There was a lot of anxiety," remembers Knight. "When we were trying to find partners who understood what we were trying to do, we were getting nothing but rejection. It was like high school all over again."

Then, at the premiere the weekend before it came out, a studio executive approached him. "According to the data it was going to bomb tremendously. And I remember an exec put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'I'm sorry. You gave it your best shot.' In this moment where we're trying to have this big celebration of what the crew had created, it was just tainted by this fact that it didn't work, and we were going to fail."

But it did work: after a surprisingly strong opening weekend, Coraline found legs, going to make $125 million. "Fast-forward a couple of months from the premiere, and that same executive team was asking me to make 'Coraline 2'," Knight recalls, "I was like, 'No, we're not gonna make Coraline 2. We're gonna tell a different story.'" Laika were off and running. Their follow-up, 2012's ParaNorman, was a zesty zombie comedy. 2014's The Boxtrolls was a raucous romp featuring mischievous creatures and industrious quantities of cheese. 2016's Kubo and the Two Strings, Knight's directorial debut, was an elegiac stop motion samurai epic. And 2019's Missing Link was a massively fun riff on Around The World In 80 Days, with a male Sasquatch named Susan. The studio's fare has remained artisanal, original and eccentric. And while the box-office figures have not been astronomical, those who do see their films tend to treasure them. In fact, some viewers became so inspired that they've ended up as employees at Laika themselves. "There are people who saw ParaNorman who work here now." Says the studio's head of production, Arianne Sutner, "Same thing with Coraline. You know, we don't make tons and tons of stuff, but what we have has a special impact. People love it for all its unusualness.""

"In Laika's 'Story room', where Empire meets Knight, bookshelves teem with thick volumes: subjects include P.T. Barnum, Art Deco, Cape Cod houses and fashions of the Victorian age. In a cabinet, meanwhile, are DVDs, many of which seem like unusual references for an animated adventure: the documentary Fires of Kuwait, The Lord of The Rings, The Birds, Micheal Clayton, Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster. "The Grandmaster is a beautiful film." Knight enthuses. "That was a huge inspiration when I was working on Kubo, because of how gorgeously it was shot. Micheal Clayton is more to do with lighting and composition, that sort of thing. But yeah, we pluck inspiration from a variety of sources." The stop-motion process is intrinsically difficult and time-consuming: boxes of replacement faces (each bearing a unique code) are trolleyed to set to create every smile, smirk and splutter. Nine 3D printers work overtime to make moulds of characters, which are then dressed with bespoke costumes, fitted with wigs and prepared for their moment in the spotlight. The quantities required are mind-boggling: Missing Link called for 106,000 unique faces; Wildwood will have far more, while also boasting 120 sets, double the number built for Kubo. But Laika is determined to keep crashing through the technical obstacles encountered, in a quest to become ever more cinematic. For Kubo, the studio tackled water, a giant skeleton and origami animation. For Wildwood, Knight is thinking bigger. He has the benefit of being fresh off his first live-action venture as director, 2018's Bumblebee, the best film in the Transformers franchise to date. And he's brought on cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, veteran of such non-puppetry epics such as The Right Stuff and The Patriot. With the rest of the team, they're making innovations both large and small. They've cracked a way to put muscles into puppets' arms ("We've never done that before," says Knight, "it looks amazing when I see it on-screen") and to create a fully articulated rat puppet so miniscule that it can rest on your pinkie ("The joints are so small - if you drop it, it looks like a human hair"). Most dauntingly, they are orchestrating a vast battle sequence, which would make Jason and the Argonauts' skeleton brawl look like a pub barney. "It's the single most difficult thing we're tackling on this movie." Says Knight. "We're starting to chip away and tentatively stepping into, like, 'Oh God, oh God, oh God, how are we gonna do this?' But I think it's going to work. And you'll tell me when the film's done if it did. Stop-motion films tend to look like they're shot on a table-top, because they are. Moving a physical object one frame at a time and trying to give it life, that's its own challenge. And then you bring all the kineticism you would have in a live action movie... it's so hard." 

Spectacle is one thing, but Laika's filmmakers are equally focused on their characters. Hailed for their progressiveness and inclusivity, they have brought the world Coraline Jones, a female animated hero like no other. ParaNorman's Mitch (voiced by Casey Affleck) was mainstream cinema's first openly gay character, leading to Laika being nominated for a GLAAD award. And they're determined for Wildwood's characters, including Prue, another young female hero, to connect powerfully with viewers.

To create nuanced puppet performances, Laika animators study live-action ones. "There's a moment in Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close on a sofa, and John Malkovich is asking her, 'What's your story?'" says Jason Stalman of a touchstone for the scene he's animating today. "The way she delivers her lines- I'm getting the shivers - I'm reacting so much to that that I thought if I could get even one tiny piece of stardust from that and put it into this, I'm going to try. It's nice to show a thought process happening in a two-inch piece of plastic head."

The animators also study themselves. Study their colleagues. And even their own families. "The design of the little baby in Wildwood is actually based on my nine-year-old son. That's how long we've been developing this damn thing," reveals Knight. "But he's voiced by my two-year-old son. It's a really strange thing to hear that little guy's voice come out of my older guy's puppet body. There's a scene in the film that's incredibly intense and the baby's screaming and crying and people go, 'Oh my God, how did you get that baby to do that?' I'm like, 'Well, I changed his diaper.'""

"2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the very first stop-motion film ever created: 1898's The Humpty Dumpty Circus, in which dolls of circus acrobats, elephants and donkeys came to life. That historical artifact has been lost forever, but the artform itself has refused to follow suit. Last year saw Guillermo Del Toro venture into Stop-motion with Pinocchio and Henry Selick return with Wendell & Wild. Aardman recently teamed up with Lucasfilm for a stop-motion Star Wars: Visions short (like Travis Knight's childhood film, it features an X-wing, plus actual Wedge Antilles), while a Chicken Run sequel is clucking its way to Netflix. Much of the credit for the reanimation of stop-motion must go to Laika. They've kept on ploughing forward, dedicated to the medium. The studio is expanding and transforming, with Laika set to move into the live-action realm. The first of those projects will be Seventeen, based on a John Brownlow book about the world's most lethal hitman. "It's a thriller with soul," says Knight. "Whatever we're developing, be it animation or live-action, it's going to be something that's emotionally resonant, that blends darkness and light and humor and heart."

But at the core of the studio, despite the fact they've incorporated elements of CG into their films since the start, will remain those patient-testing puppets.

While Wildwood is their biggest, most ambitious project yet, they're rolling other dice even before that's out. Including The Night Gardener, a stop-motion movie based on a script by Bill Dubuque, creator of Ozark, and described as "A neo-noir folk tale.", which is Laika's first that's not for kids. "This film is not a family film, at all," Knight says. "There's never been a film made like this in our medium. And that really excites me. It's a beautiful story, it scares me, And it's going to be an extraordinary piece of cinema, I think. Or at least has the potential to be."

The Laika philosophy is an admirable one: keep pushing in new directions, never repeat yourself. But one thing remains consistent for these pioneers in the drizzly Pacific Northwest. The pain of making one of these damn films, and the pleasure of -finally- watching the results.

"You know, these things are like little vampires," Knight reflects of the puppets that fill his warehouse. "They suck the life out of the people that touch them. At times it's really frustrating - they won't do what you want them to do. But when I see a puppet that's been imbued with life, because an animator on stage has had an emotional connection with an intimate thing, an assemblage of silicon and steel... Well, it's the closest thing to magic I've ever witnessed.""