#outlaw project group shows

[dippyface]

fast forwarded through all of mixnine for a.c.e donghun lore and him and omega x hangyeom and onf hyojin are in love? crazy

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

One thing I’ve grown to appreciate about the “Red Dead Redemption” series now that I’m older is that you can tell Rockstar approached this project as an anti-western. It lures you in with the promise of Wild West, yeehaw goodness, but when you actually play the games, you get hit with the brutal reality of this world.

Examples of what I mean:

1) The Mexican Revolution arc isn’t romanticized. At first, you think it’s a simple tale of the evil fascist government fighting against the heroic rebellion. But then you meet the rebel leader and he turns out to be just as bad as the government. It’s a true “both sides are in the wrong” situation and, unfortunately, the ones who truly suffer are the peasants (such as Luisa Fortuna).

2) Frontier life isn’t just shooting and action. It was also watching over animals, building farms and ranches, and trading with towns. The games really make you feel the monotony of doing chores and yard work, especially when John was in his Jim Milton phase.

3) Outlaw life isn’t romanticized either. Although you start off as a happy family, it eventually devolved into backstabbing, despair, and self-destruction. Even before then, your group aren’t the greatest of people, especially with the whole robbing people at gunpoint and shooting up towns.

4) Good guys don’t always get a happy ending. Also, every action has a consequence. John Marston had to learn that the hard way.

5) The racism. I feel like a lot of Western-themed media tries to skirt around this issue, or even avoid the topic (such as the 2016 remake of Magnificent Seven, which had a diverse group of fighters). Red Dead doesn’t pull back its punches. You have the Ivy League professor who treated Native Americans as subjects for his racist research. Abraham Reyes straight up calls Chinese people an inferior race. Then there’s the Blackwater short film playfully talking about the massacre of Native American tribes.

6) Along the same lines as point 5, the sexism. For example, there was the propaganda short film about opposing the women’s suffrage movement. And, of course, Sadie Adler not wanting to be relegated to cooking for the group since she can shoot.

7) This is more for RDR2. You actually have to pay attention to the maintenance of the horses and the guns. I’ve never seen this in a Wild West movie/TV show, and yet it’s integral to someone whose life revolves around horseback riding and shooting people!

8) Not skirting around the issue of disease, especially when healthcare wasn’t as advanced as it is nowadays. You can see that especially with Arthur and Abigail.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Gabriella Ferrigine at Salon:

John Oliver on Sunday's episode of "Last Week Tonight" delved into how former President Donald Trump's second term could hypothetically play out given that polls give him an edge over President Joe Biden. “You can go on his website and see it all laid out, and it’s pretty alarming,” Oliver said, before playing a clip of Trump articulating his plans to dismantle trans rights. "I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth," Trump said in the clip. "No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong with the wrong gender," he added, claiming that it is a concept "never heard of in all of human history" until it was recently invented by "the radical left." "That is really the Trump experience in a nutshell right there," Oliver said. "Hateful ideology, a promise to make life harder for minorities, all wrapped up in a non sequitur so stupid it is inconveniently funny. The radical left invented trans people a few years ago? I’m sorry. What?!? Did they put it on 'Shark Tank' and I somehow missed it?” The host then brought up a number of Trump's other plans if he assumes the presidency again, including mass deportation, requiring local law enforcement agencies to implement controversial policing tactics such as stop-and-frisk, slashing funding for schools that implement a mask or vaccine mandate, and impose a universal tariff of at least 10% on all imports.

"He's promising to get revenge on his enemies," Oliver said. "At rallies he’s told supporters that ‘I am your retribution,’ which sounds like something you’d hear out of the mouth of Megatron rather than a major presidential candidate." "He's been specific about who will be on the receiving end of that retribution," Oliver added, before showing footage of Trump claiming that he will "root out communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections and will do anything possible — they'll do anything — whether legally or illegally to destroy America and destroy the American dream." "Was he falling asleep at the end there?" Oliver jokingly asked. "Second, it's not usually a great sign when a politician starts referring to groups as vermin, unless of course they're running for mayor of Zootopia and they're gunning for the little Rodentia votes."

[...] Project 2025's 900-page handbook, for example, includes plans for dismantling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration because it is "one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry." Oliver observed other initiatives included in the handbook, such as installing a pro-life task force to replace Biden's reproductive healthcare task force, disassembling the FBI, defunding the Department of Justice, outlawing pornography, and more. Speaking about the two figures spearheading Project 2025, Trump associates Russ Vought and John McEntee, Oliver said, “Their goal here is clear: To assemble an army of vetted, trained staff who can begin dismantling the administrative state from day one."

On the most recent episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight that aired last Sunday, host John Oliver had an alarming segment about how Project 2025 would harm America in a multitude of ways.

See Also:

The Guardian: On HBO's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver on a second Trump term: ‘Really does promise to be far, far worse’

Can We Still Govern?: The Public Opposes Trump's Plans to Politicize Public Services

From the 06.16.2024 edition of HBO's Last Week Tonight:

[mariacallous]

United States intelligence officials have been quietly issuing warnings to government agencies all summer about a rising threat of extremist violence tied to the 2024 presidential election, including plots to destroy bins full of paper ballots and promote "lone wolf" attacks against election facilities throughout the country.

In a series of reports between July and September, analysts at the Department of Homeland Security warned of a “heightened risk” of extremists carrying out attacks in response to the race. Copies of the reports, first reported by WIRED, describe efforts by violent groups to provoke attacks against election infrastructure and spread calls for the assassinations of lawmakers and law enforcement agents.

Last month, the agency’s intelligence office emphasized in a report that “perceptions of voter fraud” had risen to become a primary “trigger” for the “mobilization to violence.” This is particularly true, the report says, among groups working to leverage the “concept of a potential civil war.” Fears about “crimes by migrants or minorities” are among other top “triggers,” it says.

The documents show that DHS alerted dozens of agencies this summer to online chatter indicating potential attacks on election drop boxes—secured receptacles used in more than 30 states to collect mail-in voter ballots. The text highlights the efforts of an unnamed group to crowdsource information about “incendiary and explosive materials” capable of destroying the boxes and ballots. An extensive list of household mixtures and solvents, which are said to render voter ballots “impossible to process,” was also compiled by members of the group, the report says, and openly shared online.

“The United States remains in a heightened, dynamic threat environment and we continue to share information with our law enforcement partners about the threats posed by domestic violent extremists in the context of the 2024 election,” a spokesperson from DHS tells WIRED. "Violence has no place in our politics, and DHS continues to work with our partners to evaluate and mitigate emerging threats that may arise from domestic or foreign actors. DHS, through CISA, is also helping  election officials and election infrastructure partners bolster resilience in their cyber, physical, and operational security.  The Department continues to advise federal, state, and local partners to remain vigilant to potential threats and encourages the public to report any suspicious activity to local authorities."

The FBI, which is on a distribution list for several of the reports, declined to comment.

The reports were first obtained by Property of the People, a nonprofit focused on transparency and national security, under open records law. The reports contain details about how to commit crimes and avoid law enforcement, which WIRED is not publishing.

Wendy Via, cofounder and president of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), says the conclusion reached by DHS matches the consensus of experts in the field: “Election denialism is going to be the primary motivator—if there is going to be violence.”

For decades, a growing number of states have adopted election drop boxes as a way to offer voters a dedicated, secure, and convenient way to submit voter ballots ahead of elections. Today, as many as 35 states allow drop boxes in some capacity, though a handful—nearly all southern—have outlawed their use, mostly over baseless claims about fraud and ballot stuffing. While drop boxes are no less secure than other forms of voting, Republicans have scrambled to block their use in key states, including Wisconsin, where Donald Trump blasted legislation expanding drop boxes as “only good for Democrats and cheating.” Via points to the Republican-led campaign aimed at banning and restricting access to election drop boxes in Wisconsin as a flash point for election denialism and possible violence.

The obsession with the otherwise mundane practice of dropping off ballots prior to election day stems in large part from the widely discredited film 2,000 Mules. The “documentary” depicts a shadowy network of operatives attempting to sway the 2020 election by stuffing ballots in Joe Biden’s favor; the film’s publisher, a conservative media company, has since issued an apology.

While the film’s evidence turned out to be false, it nevertheless provoked a surge of intimidation from far-right groups targeting drop-box voters and the officials defending their use. For the November election, some groups have committed to fundraising in order to surveil the boxes around the clock over public livestream. Others have hosted events near the locations to push conspiracy theories about immigrants. Election denial groups such as True the Vote, meanwhile, are working with myriad others across the country, as WIRED reported this summer, and are establishing a web of operations for waging legal warfare in the aftermath of the vote—if Trump fails to retake the White House a second time.

Spurious claims of voter fraud have remained a mainstay of the former president’s reelection efforts, with Trump preemptively and baselessly claiming that should he lose in November, the election will have been rigged. Claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen have been exhaustively investigated and debunked by countless judges and state election officials across the country. Property of the People executive director Ryan Shapiro says that though DHS does not mention the political leanings of the subjects in its reports, he believes “the documents make plain that US intelligence is bracing for election- and immigration-related violence from Trump's MAGA minions.”

The concerns of DHS today are reminiscent of warnings shared by the agency two years ago during the midterm elections. Similar bulletins leaked then showing fears among federal security officials that extremists would mount an attack, threaten poll workers, or sabotage infrastructure. The concerns proved largely unwarranted, outside of scattered instances of armed men in paramilitary gear showing up to “monitor” ballot boxes across Arizona—an effort quietly spearheaded in part by True the Vote, which helped make 2,000 mules, involving militias that included the American Patriots Three Percent, an anti-government group.

The election threats flagged in the reports by DHS appear to be growing more extreme over time. No longer restricted to aggressive surveillance and loitering outside polling locations, the risks associated by DHS with election fraud conspiracies today more closely resemble traditional acts of terrorism.

There are, however, some deterrents. The arrests and prosecutions of rioters involved in the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol building are credited by DHS, as well as groups such as GPAHE, with stifling much of the enthusiasm that far-rights groups once held for turning out in big numbers.

“In my lifetime of working in civil rights, the January 6 arrests are the only time I’ve ever seen an arrest or prosecution work as a deterrent,” says Via. “They really do not want to go to jail.”

[wolves-and-stars]

Go to Fics (Easy Reads)

(A list of fics for when you're in a reading rut and want something easy, i keep going back to these ones they never let me down. Nothing too heavy, but please read the tags.)

1. How Remus Got His Groove Back by RealityShowJunky (ao3) 42k

Category: fluff? crack humor

I love this fic, the conversations are so well thought out, the characters are so interesting, you'll hate sirius, and Remus is kind of a pushover giving 2014 nerd, lonely, poorly written personality archtype. BUT, only when it comes to sirius, otherwise he's brilliant.

2. Succession of Halos by orphan_account (ao3) 7k

Category: fluffr

Remus runs a bookstore and sometimes minds harry, lily and james' brilliant son. Remus reads harry a book written by prof. sirius black about astronomy and the stars, and happens to attend a lecture to get their signature. Lily might be playing match maker.

3. See But One Moon by orphan_account (ao3) 9k

Category: fluff

Sirius Black has been pining for the nerdy Barista, Remus Lupin, for three months, but can't seem to get his attention. Remus, however, has noticed the over-excited law student, but isn't interested in being a conquest of the week. When Remus starts listening to the Marauding Hour--a University radio programme, he finds himself enraptured by one of the DJs, and starts to crush on him--hard. Little does he know that Padfoot has known him all along, and is looking for something much more than a one-off.

The summary explains it well enough, its very cute.

4. Sun In My Eyes by orphan_account (ao3) 12k

Category: not fluff, not angst either? non magic?

Remus Lupin struggles with a lot of things in life. Bipolar disorder, being poor, and working as an artist. He has a strict routine and plans to keep it that way with the help of his best friends Lily and James until one day James' best mate from school shows up and turns everything upside down. When art model Sirius enters Remus' life like a whirlwind, nothing will ever be the same.

I love this one, read it in 2016, still do every once in a while.

5. Other's Woe by orphan_account (ao3) 2k

Category: fluff

Forced to attend a group project meeting for a theology class, Remus thinks his day will be miserable until a gorgeous, grey-eyed stranger plants himself at their table and challenges the archaic thinking of the rest of the group. And in the end, it works out very well for Remus Lupin.

very fluffy, very soft, very short.

6. Living Like We're Renegades by orphan_account (ao3) 24k

Category: fluff

Exuberant, proud, genderfluid, cheerleader, self-described narcissist. All things to describe Sirius Black. It's a stark contrast from the self-imposed loner, Journalist, and Gender Studies major Remus Lupin who is thrown into Sirius' world after accepting a project for a class. When the two worlds collide, both lives are changed for the better.

 Sirius leant forward a bit, meeting Remus’ eyes. “Are you asking if I go for cute boys in beanies and jumpers, Remus Lupin?”

 Remus’ face went hot. “Er. No. I mean…er…”

 Sirius laughed. “Find your chill, love. I’m joking.” He winked at Remus and sat back again.

sorry for staright up copy pasting the summaries by the author, but i feel like they cover it well enough.

7. Miles To Go Before I Sleep by orphan_account (ao3) 4k

Category: fluff, mostly

Working the front door at a posh block of flats, Remus Lupin spends their nights watching the door, and occasionally taking a sleep-walking Sirius Black back to the arms of his flatmate. Pining quietly, everything changes for Remus one night when Sirius' sleep-walking leads to comfort and emotional revelations.

8. All Hail the Outlaws by orphan_account (ao3) 29k

Category: fluff, fluff, fluff

One of Remus Lupin's three jobs happens to be working maintenance for their flat building. He gets to meet all sorts, most of whom he would rather have nothing to do with. Until James Potter and Sirius Black move in across the hall. Engineering students and self-proclaimed geniuses, the pair set out to make their neighbours new best friends, and everyone's life is turned upside down, but in the best way possible.

9. A Cure For Nightmares [+podfic] by picascribit (ao3) 36k

Category: hurt/comfort, angst, emotional

Sirius Black is not happy about their new roomate, who seems up himself, except the both of them suffer from nightmares and happen to get each other through the night. Will the secrets behind their nightmares get them together or will it tear them apart?

A couple of trigger warning for this one: mentions of SA, Physical A*buse, S*lf H*rm, De*th, H*m*phobia. i would proceed with caution, and read the tags carefully.

10. take me as I am by orphan_account, Shira_a 48k

Category: fluff, humor, but also sort of emotional and moments of angst.

Sirius is a sleep demon who gives nightmares to humans. Remus is an insomniac with hallucinations.

I will offer no other explanation. Love, Love, Love this one. its odd and well written and the characters are real and so is the relationship. Sirius the sleep demon and the hardship of humans and their mortality,

[fantabulisticity]

The hacktivist collective SiegedSec, previously responsible for leaking the info of a bunch of people who subscribed to a far-right media outlet, breaching the computer systems of various anti-trans state governments, and infiltrating a nuclear lab to demand catgirl research, has done it again. This time, as part of what the group calls #OpTransRights, they have targeted the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, obtaining and leaking the passwords, email addresses, and full names of the site’s users, according to cybersecurity outlet SC Media. The group posted to its Telegram channel on Tuesday to announce the hack, which they say was the culmination of seven days of hacks of various entities, “from NATO to Israel.” SiegedSec called the Heritage Foundation “among the most influential public policy organizations,” and cited the organization’s key role in creating Project 2025, a proposed blueprint for a conservative takeover of the U.S. government in the event that Republican nominee Donald Trump wins reelection this November. The Heritage Foundation has a long history of pushing for anti-LGBTQ+ policy, from opposing same-sex marriage to spreading anti-trans disinformation to backing voter suppression efforts. Among many other nightmare scenarios, the Project 2025 proposal includes calling for the Food and Drug Administration to reverse the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone and create a “pro-life task force to ensure that all of the department’s divisions seek to use their authority to promote the life and health of women and their unborn children.” Project 2025 also calls for the outlawing of “pornography,” which has become widespread conservative shorthand for anything “concerning sexuality and gender that they say is harmful to children,” as Melissa Gira Grant recently wrote for The New Republic.

Accordingly, in its Telegram message, SiegedSec wrote, “Project 2025 threatens the rights of abortion healthcare and LGBTQ+ communities in particular. so of course, we won’t stand for that!” punctuating with a “^-^” emote to boot. The group claimed to have gained access to the Heritage Foundation’s database, “with user data, logs, and other juicy info :D.” “mew mew i wonder what would happen if we leaked the passwords, email addresses, and full names of every user :3 every US government employee, even the Heritage president Kevin Roberts,” the message continued, ending with the classic adage, “be gay do crime~” In a comment provided to Them over Signal, SiegedSec representative vio said that the organization targeted Heritage Foundation for two main reasons. “it shines light on people who support an organization built on hatred, the freedom of the everyday person is threatened as long as Heritage continues leading Project 2025,” they said. They also added that SiegedSec’s attack has “encouraged more people to step up and fight.” “we have received countless messages from other hackers, activists, and even organizations who wish to support the fight against Heritage,” vio said. “with this overwhelming support to stop Project 2025, i believe its actually possible to stop them before more rights are threatened.” They added that it was particularly important for SiegedSec to target the Heritage Foundation “to show everyone what we stand for.” “we want to support LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups however we can, and we can demonstrate that by targeting the people who hate them most,” they said.

[ateez-himari]

Agust D Tour 230625 : Surprise Appearance

An emotional roller coaster brought about by an unexpected guest.

June 26, 2023 (5:13PM)

Only a day after bringing solo artist PSY to the stage in order to perform their song 'That That', rapper Agust D announced another guest appearance. Many expected the artist to be a member of boy group BTS and were quite taken aback when ATEEZ vocalist Himari stepped on stage to perform their recently released single 'Pray'.

With the artist's group being in the midst of promoting their comeback album 'The World Ep.2 : Outlaw' her schedule seems to be quite busy yet she pushed herself to perform alongside her adoptive brother. Not only did the audience consist of the rapper's fans but it so happens that BTS members Jimin, Jungkook and V were present that day along with her eight group members who came in support of their maknae, placing a heavy spotlight on the young star.

While ATEEZ is well known for their powerful stage presence, it shocked many that the vocalist was able to put on such a strong rap performance throughout the setlist. Although it did serve as a reminder that despite her soft demeanor, she has well earned her place in the group's 'demon line'. The silky voice fans had grown enamored with showed impressive flexibility in its ability to endure switches in flows as well as Agust D's famous growling delivery.

Though their live vocals proved to be impressive it was their bond and pain that was shared to all those in the stadium that made this a truly unforgettable concert. The audience was almost silent during their set as if completely immersed in the story told through the verses, only to erupt in loud cheers barely a moment after the last note. Their duo performance's setlist included: Snooze, Confessions and Hikikomori (from their single) as well as Burn it, People Pt.2 and so far away.

During their title track 'Snooze' her hand would not leave the safety of her brother's and it was only whilst singing the lyrics "다 괜찮아질 거야" that the song's emotion finally got the better of her. Unable to keep going whilst sobbing she went to hide herself in his arms, making many attendees swoon at the unconditional love share between the two as well as the rapper's gummy smile breaking through whilst he gently held her. The several warm embraces from their set are sure to be stored away in many fans' camera rolls for a very long time.

After six performances packed in both emotions and energy, the two began walking around the stage to greet fans and as the younger idol played around, the rapper was caught looking at her with what looked to be tears in his eyes. It was explained in a live later that night as being pure pride in seeing that his sister was no longer the child he remembered, which also flooded him with sadness. It has become clear that these artists have a deep relationship we could fawn over without ever getting tired of it.

It seems as though we can have high hopes for the maknae's future endeavors as she is the first member of her group to have a solo project such as this. ATEEZ Captain, Hongjoong, sent out a twitter update containing a picture of the whole group together after Himari had joined them in the stands to finish watching the concert which contained a caption saying : "So proud of our little tiger ! You have faced so many obstacles since our debut yet found the strength to push through and ended up creating such a beautiful single ❤ Not to mention how mesmerizing your performance was. Forever our beautiful little star"

That same night a few hours after the concert the tiger in question sent a message to ATEEZ's b.stage platform saying : "I am very grateful to all of those who came to tonight's show and wanted to say a special thank you to my members. Without them I would not be where I am today as they are the ones who gave me the strength to continue, they were the ones who showered me with love, care and support throughout the years we have been together. They taught me how to better my dancing, to strengthen my vocals, to rap and most importantly they have shown me what it feels like when friends love you from the bottom of their hearts all the way to the ends of the Earth. They have made me unbelievably happy through the darkest of times and held my hand every step of the way. Please continue to hold my hand, and thank you again. I love you from the deepest parts of my soul ❤"

She also extended her thanks to rapper Agust D in a separate post that read : "To Yoongi-oppa : Tonight was truly wonderful because I got to perform alongside you for the first time, like you promised the day of your debut. From my very first audition you have supported me tirelessly, called me to make sure I was alright, kept up with our schedule just to send me encouraging texts before our stages and took me under your care when I had to move away. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and for every single moment we shared together even with busy schedules. Please stay healthy and be safe during the rest of your tour. I hope we see each other very soon. I love you ❤"

Unbeknownst to the younger idol, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captain, Min Hanzo attended his little sister's first solo stage and flooded his fans with numerous photos as well as videos of her performance. He then shared a photo of the two backstage with the caption : "Words cannot describe how proud I am of you. It's crazy to me just how fast you grew up my little Hima. Well you're not so little now it seems. I truly am speechless and I regret not being able to tell you the extent of my pride but please know this. The universe blessed me by making you my sister, by giving me such a bright sun to light up my days in this life. Forever and I always I will love you ❤️🌞."

Stream 'PRAY' here !

Stream 'THE WORLD EP.2 : OUTLAW' here !

[evolvedclown]

a bit of a political rant:

tldr: this country sucks and we need more community before it’s too late. sorry if i sound like i’m wearing a tinfoil hat but this world is going to break me.

we should really bring back political/informational zines on a bigger scale than they currently are. the type people would handdraw stacks of and leave them tucked around their town or sell them at hole in the wall’s. we’re getting into a time where it’s a very high possibility that the range of communication we have now may be taken away from us. we need ways to spread information without it being traced back to us at the risk of being silenced or separated even more than our current social climate is doing.

we need community and as someone who can’t find community in my home town, maybe if go back to the 80’s with zines and code words and signaling (our own. the types from the 80’s are too recognizable and searchable) before we’re cut off from eachother, it can help start building the foundations of these communications before we’re trapped. and we can’t spread it online. everyone will know and then we’ll be found out.

with internet censoring and the way we’re always being watched and traced without our consent, we cant let the wastes of space we call our government continue to take our rights and autonomy away.

things like project 2025, white supremacy groups, neo-nazis, etc existing in todays day’n’age shows that this country doesn’t care about it’s marginalized groups. if it did, they’d outlaw hate groups and not allow plans of complete conservative overthrows of a democratic political system to be introduced.

this isn’t a country that protects its people and we need to start connecting with eachother before they block those connections.

the second you start posting about political issues or being to radical in your views, typically in a leftist direction (when has a radical conservative ever been silenced by the media), you get silenced by the platform you posted on. information is being suppressed and has always been suppressed by this fucked up nation’s government.

we need to be able to reach eachother before we are forced to stay separated in a censored, controlled dictatorship that a large portion of this country’s citizens support. for some reason.

we need to stop not wanting to be seen as the ‘bad’ guy by society. protest. riot. sit in. activism in the park. rallies. pamphlets. zines. burning bras. take up space. let’s go back to our roots and fight for our rights to exist.

[butterscotch-goat]

Your oc lore, please give it to me, I arrived very late and am rather confused but also incredibly intrigued! (Also side not idk how to explain it but your art is very comforting! Says the man who has seen 2 drawings. But my point still stands lol)

This means so much to me 🥹🥹 Im glad ur interested!!! I'll give u some quick summaries (quick as I can be bc once I start talking about my silly little blorbos it's hard for me to stop-)

IF YOU EVER HAVE QUESTIONS PLS ASK IM DYING TO TALK ABOUT MY GUYS

SO! First group of OCs is a project I'm currently calling "Escapism" which takes place in 1890s England. (Check the #buttersketch-escapism tag for content of em)

Okay so I started typing and realized I included WAYYY TOO MUCH info but I worked hard on it so I'll still include it, bUT

TLDR: Aster (tired, anxious, hopeful) is magic (plant magic) and is being used for experiments and tests by Charles(friendly guy, stubborn, cheery) and Beatrice(joyful, caring, passionate) until Beatrice herself becomes and experiment when Charles wants to find out what would happen if you attached wings to a human being. Also aster and Beatrice are girlfriends. Charles accidentally kidnaps Martha (extroverted, curious, peppy) because her magical(healing magic) girlfriend Grace died and Martha has info about her magic. Eventually Aster kills Charles and is haunted by her guilt, which is manifested in a character I call Ghost!Charles (self-explanatory)

Here's uhhh escapism for ya!! Sorry,, you don't have to read it there's a lot of text I know-

Second story which I haven't posted about as much as one I'm calling "Dawn" which takes place in the modern day, and is about demons & angels, heaven & hell & earth type stuff. Simpler than escapism, thank God- (check the #buttersketch-dawn tag for some content of dawn!!!!!)

Here's the cast!! Refs are somewhat outdated but do the job. (Sorry for the last image I don't have a ref for him yet)

I'll keep this short, for real this time!!

In 2019, Chigs accidentally falls off the edge of heaven and misses earth so they fall straight to hell. They didn't have any evil intent so are still an angel, but they need to find a way back to heaven. They stumble into Dawn's office and Dawn reluctantly agrees to help them. Frappe also barges into Dawn's office to hide, as she's on the run from the police. Gene comes around to check on Dawn and finds an outlaw and an angel. Dawn, Chigs, and Frappe run away to earth. Gene recruits Ronnette to help him track down the trio. The trio accidentally gets separated on their way to earth; Frappe and Chigs find each other but Dawn is left to navigate a modern day earth on her own. HIJINKS ENSUE!

time for some lore that's BARELY plot relevant!

Gene and Lucy used to be boyfriends but Gene broke up with Lucy in the 1920s because Lucy was so drowned in his work and wouldn't care about anything else. They get back together eventually tho :3 I make a lot of Lucy & Abigail content even tho he only shows up in like one flashback scene maybe??? Sorry about that.

Anyway THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABOUT MY GUYSSS I tried to keep it short, also bc it is getting late and I have school tomorrow OFBSHHDHFHDHSJ.

my inbox is ALWAYS open for questions of any kind so hmu if you ever have any!! Sorry again for all the info!!

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Without a Trace [Ch. 9]

Vigilantes AU TW: Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Descriptions of Blood, Minor Character Death, Gun Use, Knife Use, Major Character Death, Mentions of Falsified Suicide, Descriptions of Murder Genre: Drama, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: ATEEZ x Reader Y/N Pronouns: Not Specified Word Count: 10.0K Summary: Vigilante work has been outlawed, thus sending nine prominent vigilantes either into retirement or into lower ground and, while some abide by the law, a few continue on. Then, one day, a greater threat forces these vigilantes to come together once again, regardless of the law.

(9/11) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [Other Groups Masterlist] | [Without a Trace Masterlist]

Notes: Breaking my hiatus for a bit to finally post this monster of a chapter AHAHAHAHAHAHA Have fun lovelies Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

“Shit, shit,” you cursed more under your breath as you and San ran out of the building. San more of limping, to be exact, but still able to keep up with you easily. You turned over to the corner where Mingi was originally parked at, the car he’d been inside turned into a complete mess of bullet holes through the windshield and splashes of red. “Oh god, oh no,” you shook your head, running over to it and pulling open the already broken door. There was no sign of Mingi or whoever was in there with him. Just as you were about to run off, three patrol cars blast past you. Hongjoong must have finally heard from Yeosang.

Yeosang, what the hell happened to the signals? Could it really have been Radiohead? She was a total sweetheart, though, you’d worked with her a number of times. Unless the Charlatan got to her, that is. You shook the thought out.

“Spades!” Seonghwa pulls over next to you, tossing you your keys. He revs the engine on your motorcycle. “Yeosang texted us the car, we’ll get to him first before anyone else,” he says. “Just get me close enough to the van, we’ll get him back,” he taps the rifle slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah, got it,” you climbed on in front of him.

“Hey! What about me?” San winces.

“Rendezvous with Cheshire and Broker!” And you took off, speeding between other cars and narrowly avoiding obstacles. Seonghwa looked at his watch and, with the press of a button, a holographic screen projected from it, showing the vehicle that Mingi had been shoved into.

“Got it?” You asked.

“Got it, just focus on driving!” Seonghwa stood up on the bike, just enough to see over your head as you moved faster. Then, speeding nearly as fast as the two of you, was a van matching the exact description from Yeosang. 

“It’s on our right,” you shout and speed up, weaving through traffic like you’d done many times before. As you started to gain on the van, you felt Seonghwa steady with the rifle just inches above your head, and you tried to keep the motorcycle as still as it could be just as Seonghwa took the shot. The bullet whizzed above you and into the van, causing it to crash onto the sidewalk. You skid to a stop and Seonghwa jumped off, practically throwing the door open and…

“Empty,” Seonghwa’s voice wavered. You ran next to him and, true to his words, the only thing in the van was its driver, who had a blossoming bullet wound on his shoulder now. Then another van sped behind you.

“That one!” You pointed after it and, in seconds, another car comes barreling down the street with three of your teammates inside and keeping their eye on it. “Damn, let’s catch up,” you and Seonghwa were quick to follow after the rev of your engine.

~

“No, no,” Yeosang stood up fast and his chair clattered to the ground behind him. His eyes darted between all screens and one hand tangled into his hair. “This is all wrong, it’s all screwed up…” he pulls on the strands now, pulling a few out in the process. He looks at the loose hairs hanging off of his fingers and takes a deep breath. Then there were rapid knocks at his door, causing his head to whip toward it. His breathing, although labored, rang loud in his ears, second only to the loud bangs at his door. He picks up the pistol under his desk before approaching the door and threw it open, training the barrel at the intruder.

“Just me,” Hongjoong held his hands up.

“And me,” Jongho walks into view. “Let’s go, no time for questions.” Yeosang could only nod, they were working against time now.

No doubt, this will be the first time they face the real Charlatan.

It didn’t take long for them to catch up, though.

Yeosang was quick to run up to the other five who were at the door to the complex, trying different ways to get in. Hongjoong was next to follow, and finally Jongho.

“What’s the situation?” Hongjoong asks.

“We just got here too,” you tried the keypad once again and with blinking red lights, you stopped. “Been trying to get in. We already surveilled the place and this is the only entrance. Even the vents are welded shut.”

“They’re clever,” Hongjoong grumbles. You all cleared for him to stare at the keypad. A sticky note was placed above it, with the simple message ‘To the smartest A.’

“I already tried it, but it didn’t work,” San scoffs.

“Who the hell said you’re the smartest?” You snarked.

“It didn’t work for you either!” He fought back.

“Alright, alright, I got this,” Wooyoung stepped forward, skimming over the message under the sticky note, and punching in a code. The red light laughed at him. “It’s broken. Yunho, you’re good with numbers, you try,” Wooyoung invites him.

“Don’t look at me, I’m too dumb for that contraption,” Yunho shrugs.

“I already know I won’t get it,” Seonghwa leans against the door.

“Haa…” Hongjoong sighs and grabs the note. “There are how many of me a day, there are how many suits, there are how many As, and there are how many of me,” he recites the hint carefully. His hand hovers over the keypad and presses on the first code that came to mind: Four, Four, Nine, One. Four parts of a day, Dawn, Day, Dusk, Night. Four suits, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades. Nine members of their team. And one Charlatan. The green light is like a beacon as the doors slid open.

“Well, that was expected,” Seonghwa led the group in. The complex was as big as it was empty, with their footsteps seemingly bouncing off of the walls. There was another floor early accessible by the ladder against the wall, and to make the task harder there were four doors that Mingi could be in, each sporting a different sticky note. The door shut behind them, a simple sticky note stating ‘Good luck!’ written on it.

“How childish… Looks like we’re going to have to split up to be efficient,” Hongjoong says. “Read the notes, what do they say?” He looks at the closest one to him. To the most agile and the most watchful.

“This one says to the smartest and to the most cautious,” you called out across from him.

“This one says to the most confident and the most greedy,” Seonghwa announces on the top floor.

“And this one says to the most secretive and the most deceived,” San crumples the note in his hand.

“We know one, at least. Mastermind’s the smartest,” you crossed your arms once everyone had regrouped.

“The most cautious, then, who would we say that is?” Hongjoong asks.

“Huntsman?” Wooyoung nudges his head toward Seonghwa.

“Safe bet, I’d assume any hunter would have to be cautious,” Yeosang adds.

“But if we follow that line of reasoning, then I’d nominate you too,” you cut in. “Who can be more cautious than the one who avoids conflict?” You reasoned.

“Possible but now you have to consider the other positions. I’d argue that Huntsman is the most confident, considering that you know every shot hits their target,” he says.

“And with Cypher, I’d argue that you’re either the most watchful or the most secretive,” Yunho chimes.

“For most cautious then…” Hongjoong hummed and looked around the group. “Timekeeper.” Jongho, pointed to himself, a curious look on his face. “Who is more cautious than the one who meticulously picks out their targets?”

“I guess,” Jongho shrugged.

“The most confident has to be Huntsman!” Wooyoung volunteered Seonghwa for him.

“I never miss,” Seonghwa confirms and Wooyoung grins.

“I rest my case,” he rests his hands on his hips. “As for the most greedy…” everyone’s eyes settle on Yunho.

“Wow, you’re not even going to debate it?” Yunho’s eyebrows scrunch together. “I mean, you’re not wrong, but ouch.”

“Can I take the most agile?” Wooyoung points at himself. “I was known for my quick attacks, you know!”

“We know!” The group resounded.

“I can’t think of anyone faster anyway,” you hummed. “We all agree that Cypher’s the most watchful then, right?”

“Has to be, I know you’ve been spying on me, creep,” San glowers at Yeosang, who responds by rolling his eyes.

“And by process of elimination that leaves you two,” Hongjoong looks at you and San, standing side by side. “The most secretive and the most deceived, huh?” He hums.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what it means either,” you shrugged. “Blackguard?” You looked next to you, but San just shrugged too.

“Well, that settles it then, Blackguard and Spades, take the left top door, Cheshire and Cypher you take the right, Huntsman and Broker will take the left bottom door, while Timekeeper and I take the right, am I clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Wooyoung was the only one to respond while everyone else broke off. Wooyoung followed Yeosang into the door and the two stopped as soon as they saw themselves through a mirror. The door slammed shut behind them and they steadied themselves. “Looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore,” Wooyoung mutters. The room was dark except for the light under the mirror. Then the sound of others lighting up filled the room.

“Great, my worst enemy,” Yeosang rolls his eyes. “Myself,” he huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Is it really just a mirror though?” Wooyoung knocks on it and looks around. “Looks like we’re in the middle of a maze,” he points out. “Oh, look, this one’s a trick mirror,” Wooyoung chuckles and pointed to the mirror that made them look longer.

“Hm… there has to be some kind of gimmick,” Yeosang looked behind him, the door they had entered from was now replaced with a mirror. Then, he turned to his side and, thankfully, it was an opening. “Let’s go this way,” he waves Wooyoung over to follow him and they both walk through cautiously, their peripherals occupied by their own reflections. Wooyoung rolls his shoulders enough that his uniform’s sleeves become looser around his joints and he rolls his neck after. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?” He throws a few air punches to test his mobility.

“You only do that when you know something bad’s going to happen, it’s like an instinct,” Yeosang shudders.

“Oh, relax, we’ll be fi—” Before Wooyoung could finish his sentence, the mirror next to them shattered. “Fuck, what the hell?!” Wooyoung stumbles back, steadied only by the arm Yeosang threw out to catch him before he could fall completely. Wooyoung froze in Yeosang’s arms now, core strength just barely holding him up otherwise while the two stared at each other. “When did you…?” Wooyoung stutters, not fully grasping his friend’s newfound strength until now that he stared at his arms. “Oh…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Yeosang drops him and straightens himself before offering Wooyoung his hand, which the latter politely obliged. The two stared at the now shattered mirror pieces before them. 

“That’s bad luck.”

“Hmm… it’s weird too,” Yeosang lowers himself to observe the shards.

“What’s weird?” Wooyoung follows suit.

“The shards… why are they on the other side of the mirror?” Yeosang asks.

“What do you mean?”

“If the shards were on both sides, which would make more sense, then the force of impact would have been above the mirror. If they were on our side then that means something behind the mirror broke it. But they’re on the opposite side so that means one of us must have hit it,” Yeosang explains. Wooyoung hums and grabs one of the shards.

“Wait… yeah, you’re right,” Wooyoung mumbles and twists the shard in his gloved hands. Then, on the shard's reflection, Wooyoung saw it and was quick on his feet to hurl the shard towards the figure behind them.

“Shit,” Yeosang bounces up just as the masked figure fires a warning shot between the two, shoulder impeded by the mirror shard Wooyoung had embedded into them.

“Run!” Wooyoung pushed Yeosang forward through the opening and the two took off.

“Who do you think this one is?” Yeosang asks just as he moved out of the way of the red aim light.

“Uh… can’t tell under that godawful uniform,” Wooyoung pulls Yeosang down the corridor. "One thing’s for sure though, it’s not Mingi,” Wooyoung ducks under the shot and makes a sharp turn, Yeosang just barely running into the mirror before he turned too.

“What are we supposed to do in here?! Survive?!”

“Maybe find the exit? Mingi in the middle? Who knows?!” Wooyoung shouts and turns quickly again, only this time smashing into a mirror. “Ow, fuck,” Wooyoung winces and Yeosang tugs him along.

“We don’t have time for this!” Yeosang skids to a stop just as the mirror in front of them shatters. On the other side of the mirror is yet another masked figure, only this time, a glint of red shone beneath the mask and Yeosang swallowed harshly. There was only one vigilante who was crazy enough to indulge in that kind of bodily modification. Lee Sangyeon, or better known, as “Crosshair,” he shudders.

“If only we had Huntsman,” Wooyoung looks around for another way out, but the mention of the vigilante seemed to have triggered something in their second pursuer, enough to make him pissed.

“Why’d you have to go and mention Huntsman?! You pissed him off! You…” Yeosang stops.

This was new. This revealed something very important.

Though under control, the Charlatan’s henchmen were still somewhat conscious underneath the brainwashing.

“Cypher! Focus!” Wooyoung pulled Yeosang back to reality and they began to run again.

“Wait, I think we can reason with them! If Crosshair’s upset over the mere mention of the Huntsman then that means they still have some autonomy in there somewhere, and I think we can tap into that somehow,” Yeosang looks over his shoulder, only one of the henchmen was following them, Crosshairto be specific.

“Sangyeon! Come on, listen to me! I know we were never the closest friends, but you gotta come back,” Yeosang kept a reasonable distance while shouting toward their attacker. But Crosshair instead trained his gun on him.

“Leave it, Cypher, they can’t be reasoned with! The brainwashing is too strong while that mask is on!” Wooyoung insists, then, right as they turned the corner, their second pursuer blocked the way. They raised the butt of their rifle and swung it down on Yeosang’s leg.

“Fuck!” Yeosang’s pained voice rang out in the room, the only thing louder than the sound of his leg snapping in half, leaving Wooyoung to look around him for any possible solution. They were cornered, and there wasn’t an opening in sight. Anything, Wooyoung would take anything right now. He pulled Yeosang up and slung his arm over his shoulders.

“Sorry, buddy, this is going to get crazy,” Wooyoung pivoted on his heel and broke the mirror with his elbow before running through the new opening with Yeosang essentially dragging behind.

“Just drop me off here, you need to tell Mastermind that the henchmen are still somewhat in control, it could change everything,” Yeosang insists.

“No way, I’m not leaving you, Yeo,” Wooyoung adjusts him over his shoulder and continues running down the corridor while keeping an eye out for the openings. “We’ll get out of here together or not at all,” Wooyoung taps on the comm in his ear but is met with dead static. Wooyoung could barely make out the faint outline of a staircase just ahead, but how he was going to get there he wasn’t sure. “Come on,” Wooyoung takes a deep breath and continues to run.

~

“This looks… eerie,” Yunho’s comment bounced off the walls of the empty room. Though his hands were in his pockets, it was clear that he was ready to defend at a moment’s notice. His eyes scanned the empty room, his discerning eye was one that he had long prided himself on, and for good reason. Being in the business that he is his instincts had never been wrong, he couldn’t afford to let them be wrong, he had to be able to see any threats before they could even be considered one.

And it is those same instincts that flared inside of him now. Something was horribly wrong about this wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly. What was it that put him on edge like this? The room was empty except for the two of them, it was so empty that he could hear their footsteps echoing behind them. There wasn’t a single camera in sight, either, no windows, and two sets of doors, the one they entered in from and the one before them now. It was a large and foreboding thing too, at that, ready to slide open once it was ready.

“Empty room, nowhere to hide, no vantage points, almost like an arena,” Seonghwa hummed.

“An arena, huh?” Yunho’s voice was tense.

“What are you sensing?” Seonghwa asks with a narrowed glance.

“I’m not sure yet,” Yunho followed Seonghwa around the room. There were no signs of any trap tiles or loose sections of the wall. “You feel it too, right?”

“Yeah,” Seonghwa walks over to the large door now and knocks on it lightly. The clang of metal filled the room and Seonghwa turned away from it. “That’s not opening until we finish something, that’s for sure,” he says.

“You think Mingi’s back there?” Yunho asks.

“Who knows?” Seonghwa and Yunho approach the middle of the room now. Yunho throws his arm out now, stopping Seonghwa from proceeding any further. Yunho takes a deep breath and, he was certain, he still heard it. He still heard it echoing, the footsteps. Yunho looks around, then, right before they could take a step further, Seonghwa is somehow shoved aside right as a knife grazes Yunho. 

“What the hell?!” Yunho stumbles back, trying to figure out where the attack came from, all the while Seonghwa rolled to the side and grabbed his rifle, aiming it at particularly nothing. Then, when his rifle is shoved out of his hands, he realized what was happening.

“They’re invisible!” Seonghwa called to Yunho.

“Yeah, I kind of got that!” Yunho barked back. Seonghwa grabbed his rifle just as the doors opposite to them slid open. Another one of the Charlatan’s henchmen stomped out, one of a noticeably larger build, and the doors behind him shut quickly after. “Well… safe to say that that is not Mingi.” Yunho pulled his revolvers out of his pockets and trained them on the larger henchman before firing a few incapacitating shots, which unsurprisingly did very little to stop him. Yunho twists his head toward Seonghwa, who’d gained a considerable distance from the large henchman and was now training his rifle on him. “Huntsman, stop! Remember who we’re fighting, we can’t take reckless shots!”

“Speak for yourself,” Seonghwa fires his rifle and the bullet pierced through the large henchman’s arm. Then, right before he could reload, the rifle is once again pulled from his hands. “Got a way to deal with the invisible one?!” He shouts.

“Maybe!” Yunho ducks under the heavy swing of his opponent and falls back while digging through his pockets again. Knives, lighters, bullets, and playing cards all toppled from his hands before he finally found what he was looking for. “Aha!” Yunho pulled out a pair of large goggles and pulled them over his head.

“You look ridiculous, man,” Seonghwa groans while swinging the end of his rifle aimlessly, hoping to hit the invisible henchman somewhere. Yunho turned on the goggles, his vision filled with a technological interface for a brief moment before activating its true purpose, heat-seeking. Then, just like that, the heat traces of everything in the room was visible. And, to his curiosity, he noticed the large heat traces concealed in the walls. Ignoring the tank of a man heading his way, Yunho trained his sights on Seonghwa, spotting the two figures close enough to each other.

“He’s on your left!” Yunho shouts. Seonghwa pivoted on his heel and swung his rifle again, and he heard the crunch of bones after. “He’s on the ground, you got his arm! Don’t shoot to kill!” Yunho commands.

“I heard you the first time,” Seonghwa slams the rifle down one last time, hitting the invisible henchman’s abdomen hard enough that the invisibility device strapped to the henchman’s chest ceased to function, rendering them passed out on the floor. Seonghwa wiped the sweat from the side of his forehead with a handkerchief and took a deep breath.

“Geez… pretentious mu—” before Yunho could finish his thought, the last henchman swung at him, sending Yunho tumbling across the ground. He winced and groaned loudly and clawed beneath him to get up, but it was hard with his sudden blurred vision and ringing ears. He could barely make out the heavy footsteps, let alone the way Seonghwa grappled for a bullet to reload. Yunho’s hands moved beneath him quickly, all of the contents of his pockets had been for the most part emptied in his search for the goggles, if he could find even one thing to use he’d be set. Luckily enough for him, that one thing was all he needed, the cold steel of a knife, a recent buy of his and one he spent both a pretty penny and a select few lives for, but nevertheless it was meant as a gift for none other than you. The one reason why he hadn’t given it to you yet is the lack of testing, but it should be fine. He grabbed at it, wincing again as he felt the flesh under the blade slice open, and flung it forth before passing out.

“Shit,” Seonghwa slung his rifle over his shoulder and ran toward Yunho just in time for the large henchman to fall backward with a loud thud. Seonghwa eyed the one knife that had embedded itself into the henchman’s chest before refocusing on his teammate. “Yunho, wake up,” Seonghwa shook him awake, but Yunho didn’t stir. “Get up! We don’t have time for this!” Seonghwa said it louder. The door once again started to open, painstakingly slow at this rate. Seonghwa shook his head in frustration and smacked Yunho across the face, waking him up in an instant. Yunho touched his stinging face and glared and Seonghwa.

“The hell was that for?!”

“Pull yourself together! There’s more coming!”

“Fine!” Yunho looked down at his right hand, the thing frozen in the same way it was when he flung the knife.

“What happened?” The doors are fully open now.

“Cut my hand with Mono’s prized weapon,” Yunho glanced behind Seonghwa, seeing two new henchmen enter, “paralysis tonic, great.” Yunho grips one of his revolvers in his good hand.

“You don’t have an antidote?!”

“Not on me, but it should wear off in a few… hours,” he lets Seonghwa pull him up.

“Talk about timing,” Seonghwa takes a couple of steps back, watching one of the henchmen taunt him with their mace. “You can tap out at any time, of course, I can handle things.”

“Don’t praise yourself too much,” Yunho shoves him forward and the next round begins

~

“What do you think this room is?” Jongho looks down at all the cables running through the floors.

“Hard to say, let’s find a light switch,” Hongjoong starts feeling around the walls while Jongho minds the floor. The only light source at the moment came from the open door behind them, but aside from that, they were working in the dark. Finally, Hongjoong flips the light on and the room illuminates with a bright light. Jongho shut his eyes and allowed them to readjust before he opened them again and saw that the room’s purpose was apparent.

“Looks like we found where he brainwashes them, huh?” Jongho mumbles. The cables led to various machines, and in between those machines was “Mingi!” Jongho, who in his concern and excitement could care less about code names, ran forward and pulled the mask off of him. Mingi’s eyes slowly opened before looking around before he groaned and hung his head low.

“Hold on, friend, I’ll help you out of this,” Hongjoong pulled out his pocket knife and sawed at the ropes before Mingi was free. Without standing up, Mingi rubbed his wrists and pulled at the white jumpsuit he now wore. “That was a close one, we almost lost you,” Hongjoong shakes his head while Jongho examined the mask.

“Mastermind, come over here,” Jongho waved him over while taking steps away from the machines.

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Jongho insisted. Once Hongjoong was close enough, Jongho turned the mask around and showed him the inside. Unlike the mask they had already, this one was completely empty, it was just like a mask from a costume store, and behind them Mingi stood up and grabbed the back of the chair, the metal screeching against the floors. Hongjoong pulled the sticky note off of the mask.

‘You found your treasure! But now you must earn it. You must face the opponent no one sees coming, the opponent who is as swift as he is efficient, the one who moves just like a Shadow,’ is all it read before Jongho pulled Hongjoong out of the way in time for the chair to slam against the wall and leaving a large dent in its attack.

“Shit,” Hongjoong turns around quickly just in time for Mingi to slide a Charlatan mask over his head.”

“They actually got him,” Jongho slides on his brass knuckles before rolling his head.

“Pull your punches.”

“I know.”

“We can’t hurt him.”

“I know.”

“We can’t save him.”

“I know.” Jongho’s answers were short, he knew what he had to do. They had to break Mingi out of whatever hypnotism he was under first. Jongho toyed with his wristwatch before stepping forward and blocking every hit that Mingi threw at him. Hongjoong, meanwhile, looked around the room for something, anything, to use. They were able to break Juyeon out of his trance by breaking the mask, but would it be the same for Mingi? He wasn’t wearing one earlier, so there was no telling. “Aim for the mask!”

“Right!” Hongjoong pulled his pistol out. “Sorry for this, Mingi, I don’t have a choice,” Hongjoong pointed the gun at Mingi’s leg and fired, a shot that missed only by a thread. Mingi stopped in his tracks and reached behind one of the machines before pulling out a pair of gauntlets, heavy-set ones at that. But Hongjoong could’ve sworn up and down that he recognized them, he had to, and every weapon the Charlatan used was stolen.

“Mastermind! Don’t let him hit you under any circumstance!” Jongho pushed Hongjoong toward the door and Mingi started to follow. “Run!” Jongho ushered him forward, but the door slammed shut. Then, the ceiling above them slid open just as the floor beneath them started to rise.

“Talk about avant-garde,” Hongjoong keeps his pistol trained on Mingi, who slammed the knuckles of the gauntlets together. Then, the dust settled, and Hongjoong and Jongho found themselves standing in the middle of a large room.

“Mastermind! Timekeeper! Thank fucking god,” Yunho runs up to them, beaten, bloodied, and bruised, but notably dragging a worn-out Seonghwa with him.

“The hell happened to you two?!” Hongjoong exclaimed. He looked around and saw the scattered bodies of henchmen around him and, to say the least, he was a little impressed.

“Too much,” Seonghwa used his rifle to support him.

“How about this one, then?” Yunho flipped the knife in his hands, having grown used to using it after being paralyzed at least once.

“Don’t hurt him,” Hongjoong says quickly.

“They got him, we were too late,” Jongho stretches his arms.

“No…” Yunho looks over just when the doors behind Mingi slid open again. “No!” Yunho wailed.

“Did we lose them?!” Wooyoung shouts with Yeosang slumped on his back.

“Yes!” Yunho shouts. Then, when a bullet grazed his face, leaving a shallow cut in its path, he exclaimed again. “No!” Wooyoung and Yeosang ran out of the double doors, past Mingi, and toward them.

“The whole gang’s here!” Wooyoung looked relieved and Yeosang waved weakly. “Wait, where are Blackguard and Spades?” He asks. “Did we find Mingi?” The other members pointed behind them and Wooyoung turned quickly. “No!”

“Yeah,” Jongho sighed. Yeosang climbed off of Wooyoung’s back carefully and fell on the floor.

“Nothing is going well,” he mutters. Again, Mingi slammed his fists together and the click of a bullet sliding into place is heard.

“Fuck, where did he get that?” Seonghwa’s voice wavered.

“What is that?” Wooyoung asks.

“You don’t recognize them?” Seonghwa fights to hold his rifle up. “Those are the Ace of Diamonds’ gauntlets,” he takes a stabilizing step back.

“Oh shit,” Yeosang frowns. Where was Spades when they needed them?

~

“Huh… two roads diverged in a wood,” you looked at the two doors, each with their respective sticky note written on it. “How’s your leg?” Your hand naturally brushed against the shallow wound.

“I’ve been through worse,” San tightened the cloth around it. You and San naturally went to either side and ripped the note from their place. “The Seeker,” you read it aloud. San remained silent.

“This room is mine,” he says. “Guaranteed,” he put his hand on the doorknob and, as soon as he turned it, iron bars rose from the middle of the room and San was quick to run toward you. “What the hell?!” San gripped one of the bars and you approached it slowly while observing the floor beneath you.

“Oh they’re good, I’ll give them that,” you muttered. “Whatever is in our doors… we’re on our own,” your voice trailed off as you wondered what could be awaiting you on either side. “I’m guessing that once we’ve both completed what we had to in our rooms we’d be able to regroup,” you theorized.

“Probably, but then again I really can’t think of anything else it could be,” San leans against the bars and closer to you. “Don’t die, (Y/N),” he says just barely above a whisper.

“I should say that to you,” you responded. You tapped your finger against his enclosed fist and turned away from him. “Be careful.”

“I will.” You heard him reply behind you before you entered the room. San pushed away from the bars and toward his own door, staring down at the note in his hand.

The Liar.

It’s always going to follow him, isn’t it? San could only shake his head as he pushed his way into the room. It was small, no larger than a bedroom, and at the end was another door. But, most noticeable, was the collage of news articles splayed against the wall.

The Newest Vigilante on the Block: Aegis!

Capital Bank Stormed! New Vigilante Saves the Day!

A Breath of Vitality Into a Dying Movement: Aegis!

Who is Aegis?

Aegis: The Shield of Zeus Personified

Aegis’ Debut at the Capital Bank!

Aegis.

Aegis.

Aegis.

San tore the news articles down and crumpled them in his hands. The ones he didn’t crumple he ripped. And the ones he didn’t rip he ground beneath his boot. Aegis, Aegis, Aegis! What did the world see in him anyway?! All he was was a coward with a shield. San hesitated before pulling the last article from the wall.

Who Could Aegis Be?

The headline was simple, but it was the first paragraph that somehow caught his attention.

Who is Aegis? We decided to ask a group of students who seem to be excited about the emergence of the new vigilante. (L/N) (Y/N) comments that “it’s nice to see a younger vigilante, he even looks like he’s around our age! The older vigilantes will always be cool, but at one point we have to look forward to the younger wave!”

It’s always going to follow him, isn’t it?

San shook his head and went for the next room. It was nearly identical to the one he had just left, even down to the collage of news articles on the wall next to him

Aegis Saves the Day Again!

Aegis Becomes a Ray of Hope.

Aegis in the Center of Action.

Aegis Throws Himself into Danger to Save Everyone!

Aegis Has Gotten More Active!

Aegis Sighted in Further Zones from the City.

Aegis.

Aegis.

Aegis!

San found himself tearing the articles again. But, once his frustration had quelled, he stopped. He stopped and he took steps back until his back hit the wall. Aegis. The name loomed over him like an untouchable monster. Then, just under the articles, San made out the faint hint of writing on the wall, and again San found himself tearing the papers off until the sentence was visible.

Uneasy is the head that wears the crown.

San stared at the writing, an undefinable ringing starting in his ears as his head started to feel heavier. He looked back at the door he entered and backtracked to pull the rest of the articles from the wall and, just as he had expected, there was writing there too.

In the beginning, was the myth.

San walked back to the next room.

The myth is the beginning of Aegis, the impenetrable shield wielded by Zeus and Athena. And as for the second quote, San would rather not dwell on it. He knew what he was signing up for when he became a vigilante.

The next room, as expected, was just like the last two.

Aegis Becomes the Forerunner of Vigilantes.

The Dawn of a New Age: Aegis.

The Shield of Light Aegis!

Aegis Spotted Running Toward the Scene of the Altercation. Mass Casualties Avoided!

Aegis vs. TNT: An Explosive Battle with Few Injuries

Aegis Becomes the Forerunner of the Dawn of a New Age for Vigilantes!

Aegis!

Aegis!

Aegis.

San ripped the papers off again to reveal the message underneath.

The truth is often one’s best shield.

The shield strapped to his back weighed heavier now. Or had it always been heavy? If it was so great then how the hell did he break it so easily? San looked at one of the now torn articles. Aegis stood proud with the senator, hands locked in a strong handshake. It’s clear to everyone, Aegis was never the shield, it was always the person. Against all possible odds, Aegis stood strong, and it was that strength that would later become Aegis’ downfall. An impossible standard to herald, it was a fool’s errand to begin with. San continued forth. The next room was different. Each wall had a door on it except for the one directly in front of him with a single news article taped to the wall.

College Student Eric Son Found Dead in Rose Haven Apartments.

Eyewitness (Y/N) (L/N) reports that after checking in on a neighbor, they found their partner dead in their shared apartment. Officers on the scene ruled it as a suicide with a single gunshot to the head. (L/N) was cleared from suspicion after confirmation of their alibi, but the residents around the area remain on red alert. Everyone has commented that Son didn’t seem the type to die in such a tragic way. Some sources share that Son was wrapped up with shady figures and events. Who knows? Is it really the case that you can’t run from the past? We will update the story as it continues.

Eric Son, his greatest failure. There was no writing on the wall this time, there didn’t need to be. No, instead, there was a passage highlighted. You can’t run from the past. San tore it off and ripped the article to shreds. He destroyed it to the point that no one would be able to tell that it was a news article to begin with. The Son case was a turning point in the career of Aegis. It was a turning point in the creation of Blackguard. It was a turning point in the founding of the Aces. It was a turning point in the Vigilante Ban. Everything revolved around this one case.

And it was his fault.

The doors slid open next to him.

“Blackguard!” Wooyoung called him over. San turned around just in time to dodge the knife that lodged into the wall behind him. San pulled the shield from his back and secured it to his arm. “Don’t be too harsh! It’s Mingi!” Wooyoung shouts after.

“Mingi?” San looks at the Charlatan in front of him. He looked at the gauntlets around his hands. Then, Mingi turned away from San and started to walk toward Yunho, who was still paralyzed from moments before.

“Shit, shit… I have to think of something,” Yeosang looks around the room, but there was nothing to work with, nothing they could use to distract Mingi long enough to get the mask off of him.

And of course, came his aha moment.

“Blackguard! That’s still Mingi! He’s brainwashed, but it’s still him! Talk to him and he’ll respond!” Yeosang, though nursing his leg, was able to stagger up somehow.

“The hell’s wrong with the rest of you?!” San shouts.

“Yeosang’s leg’s busted and Yunho’s shooting hand’s paralyzed!” Hongjoong explains. “Plus, you were the one who broke Juyeon out of his brainwashing! You’re the best person to do this!”

“Ugh,” San charges toward Mingi, shield in front of him and ready for impact, and finally he smashed the shield against Mingi’s side, effectively sending Mingi staggering back. “Fuck… I forgot this dude was built like a goddamn tank,” San ducks behind his shield just as Mingi throws a right hook, the gauntlet collided with the shield and the firearm inside of it went off, leaving the loud clang of a bullet hitting metal resounding in the room. The bullet ricocheted off the shield and around the room before it embedded into Seonghwa’s shoulder.

“Argh, fuck,” Seonghwa gripped his shoulder but half his rifle up regardless.

“Don’t shoot!” Jongho stopped him. “We can’t afford it!”

“I won’t hit anywhere vital!”

“That’s Mingi!”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Seonghwa squeezed the trigger and Hongjoong pointed the rifle up. The bullet hit a ceiling tile and sent it crashing against the floor.

“Where’s Spades? They should be able to do something!” Wooyoung pleads.

“No time,” Yunho dug through his pockets and pulled out a first aid kit, “Mingi’s preoccupied with Blackguard, we have to use this opportunity now.” San looked over to the group. Realistically, Seonghwa was his best bet but he won’t be much if Hongjoong is holding him back. Then he tossed a hopeful glance to Jongho, who just adjusted his wristwatch and shook his head. Wooyoung wasn’t even an option, with Yeosang out of commission then Wooyoung’s first thought would be to keep him safe.

Yup, he’s on his own. As usual.

“Mingi! Hey, buddy,” San took careful steps around Mingi, who seemed to follow him with his gaze. “Remember me? Blackguard?” He asks. No response, instead, Mingi loaded his gauntlets again and San took steps to distance himself away from him. “Come on, big guy, how about Bobby? Remember him?” Mingi seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Gotcha.” San’s excitement was clear, he found his way in and all he had to do was pull that sentiment out.

~

The door shut behind you as soon as you cleared it, but you were too busy staring at the scene before you paid much mind to the sudden slam. The room you were in was small enough with a large control console in front of you with six large monitors behind a simple setup consisting of a keyboard and mouse. But it wasn’t this that caught your attention, no, it was the display on the bottom center screen.

For the eyes of (Y/N) (L/N), the Ace of Spades, only.

Just how much did he know about you?

“Take a seat, (Y/N).” The Charlatan’s voice filled the room. You did so, you had no reason not to oblige. Whatever was going on, it was clear, he had the upper hand in this already dangerous gamble. As soon as you were situated, the screen changed to a singular man hidden by the darkness. “Hello, Vigilante.”

“Charlatan, I assume? The real one,” you asked. The figure nodded.

“I’m sure you have questions.”

“I have plenty.”

“Ask away then, we have time.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“All will be revealed, the Mastermind isn’t the only chess master in this game.”

“And I can ask anything? Anything at all?”

“Sure.”

“Who are you then?”

“Everything except that.”

“Of course,” you rolled your eyes. “Why then? Why do all of this?”

“Mm… I’ve always hated vigilantes,” he says bluntly, “it was through their reckless behavior many times that I lost something or someone important to me, and many others share my sentiment. So, now, I wish to rid the world of them completely.”

Talk about textbook answer. You didn’t expect anything else from someone who despised vigilantes, but you did expect a little more. The way he spoke, you wondered, which vigilante ruined him?

“If you hate them so much, why bring other vigilantes into it?”

“I alone cannot execute my plan, but I have a way to make others do it for me.”

“The masks.”

“Yes. Your friend, Cypher, he got very close to decoding it.”

“What is it then?” You pressed.

“Rhythmic flashes and certain sounds.”

“So nothing more than common hypnosis?”

“Common, sure, but effective. But, (Y/N), you must remember that the fundamentals of hypnosis still apply. I can’t force someone to do something they wouldn’t want to do already. And, with that, you realize what point I’m getting at, don’t you?”

“What can I say? Vigilantes crave action.”

“You’re all destructive. And here you are, cracking jokes.”

“It can’t be possible that every vigilante is that bloodthirsty though.”

“Of course not. That’s why I killed them.” You didn’t know why, but that statement did send chills down your spine.

“So you killed him then?”

“Your friend?”

“Yes.” The Charlatan didn’t answer, instead, the screen next to you turned on to show CCTV. You recognized San’s shield from anywhere, and it wasn’t long before you noticed the others.

He got him.

You watched Mingi thrust his fists together and your throat ran dry.

“They’re a magnificent weapon.”

“You shouldn’t have those.”

“I apologize, I know they’re something of a sentiment to you.”

“Where did you get them?”

“Where do you think? You only put it in one place.”

“How did you get there?”

“Obviously, I had access.”

“Who are you?!” You repeated your question from earlier, but the Charlatan didn’t respond, so instead you took a deep breath. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“I want to make a deal with you.”

“Hell no.”

“You haven’t even heard what I had to offer yet.”

“Why would I work with you? All you’ve done is kill people I’ve cared about.”

“I’m just offering an exchange,” his voice was uncomfortably calm. Then you saw the panel next to you open up, revealing the Charlatan’s signature mask next to you.

“I’m not putting that shit on,”

“It’s just there for insurance, if I do this correctly, you won’t even need it.”

“Fuck you, I won’t agree to any deal you offer me.”

“Do you mean that? Even if I can provide you with the answer you’ve been looking for since the beginning?”

“Likely story, I’m not looking for anything right now.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing,” you stood up from your seat now, ready to turn around and leave.

“Shame. I thought you were still interested in the Eric Son case, but it appears that I was wrong.” That’s one way to stop you. “What do you think about it, (Y/N)? The foundation of your career, the Eric Son case. It’s fascinating.”

“What do you want me to say about it? What more than the facts?” You sat back down on the chair and the screen in front of you changed showing a basic profile of Eric. “He killed himself, that’s all there is to it.”

“But he didn’t though, you know that.”

“I don’t have proof.”

“You had plenty, you had enough to found the Aces with your group, right?” You stayed silent. “A fantastic group you all were, the five of you were all friends, right? How sweet.” Still, you stayed silent. “I must applaud your sentiment, did you ever find out who killed him?”

“No.”

“Would you like to know?” You swallowed harshly. It had been years already, though that was the original cause of the Aces, your purpose grew, you all grew. You all grieved, you all moved on,  and you all left. “You’re the last active Ace, you owe it to them to find out what they fought for. What he died for.” You could feel the cold sweat run down your neck. “I will ask you one last time, Ace of Spades. Would you like to know what happened to Eric Son?”

“…” You took slow and deep breaths. After all these years, were you really going to find out your life’s work from a villain of all things? “Yes, tell me.”

“I’d rather show you.” Then the screen in front of you went black. After a few moments, it sparked to life once again and you felt your heart stop.

Eric tapped on the screen of the lens.

“Man… (Y/N) is so going to kill me if they see this,” Eric adjusted the camera to better get a good range around the bedroom. “Okay…” he looks at his phone screen. “Should be fine… I’ll just turn it on when I’m out, I guess…” he continues to mumble to himself while walking around the room. Your bedroom to be exact. The camera caught everything, from the bed, the closet, to the window, it had a good vantage point. “Crap, the one in the living room’s offline again.”

“How do you have this?” You asked aloud. The Charlatan didn’t answer. Instead, the image flipped off again and turned back on to show a different day and in a different position, the living room. You didn’t even have to look at the date stamp to know what day this was, you remembered that conversation verbatim. It haunted you in your nightmares as much as it did your waking hours. You watched your past self collapse on the couch with Eric following shortly after, the way his arms opened for you so naturally was like a habit to you and him at that point and the way you saw yourself melting into them was a common occurrence. How bittersweet this all was, and how tragically poet.

“Are you really sure you don’t want to have the others over?” Your voice sounded so different back then.

“Yeah, the worst case scenario is that our neighbors over there have hate sex while we’re playing Mario Kart,” Eric’s voice, just as it always had, warmed your heart. “Sorry, I know you really wanted to do it.”

“No, no, it’s fine. You have a point too.”

“Yeah, it was nice just going out with them, even if it got so rudely interrupted.”

“Rude interruption is a nice way to put it! I thought you died!”

“But I didn’t!”

“Christ, Eric, you can’t just rush into danger like that, you could get seriously hurt.” How ironic. This whole conversation. The feed was silent for a while and you remembered why, you remembered the way Eric looked at you when you said that, you could even catch a hint of that expression from this footage. You couldn’t hear it, but you remembered what he said next.

“You know I would never put you in that situation, right?” You watched him tighten his arms around you. You remembered that embrace being the most comforting thing in the world, you really were so scared for him that day the bank got robbed, you were so stressed about it that you could barely hold in whatever was inside of you.

“I know.”

“I love you, (Y/N), I would never want you to get caught up in danger.”

“I know, I love you too.” You felt your chest tightening. You knew what came next. That glass shatter must have been loud if you heard it through this footage. You saw the way Eric turned to the front door, followed by you.

“There goes Mr. Shin again,” Eric shook his head.

“I should go check on Yuna, I’m so worried about her.” You felt your breathing pick up now. This was it. The truth.

“Yeah, go ahead. Let me know if she’s okay, and if Mr. Shin tries something, you call for me right away.”

“I will, I’ll be quick.” You watched your past self stand up and leave the unit, all the while Eric watched you go. As soon as you heard the door shut, you saw Eric’s shoulders visibly relax.

“Hooo boy, I have got to figure out (Y/N)’s new schedule, that was close…” Eric ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, “it’s a good thing that I wasn’t in uniform.” He lifts one of the couch cushions and pulls out something, keeping it well concealed in his hand before getting up to leave.

“How do you have this footage?!” You asked it more forcefully this time, but the Charlatan still didn’t answer. Instead, the camera flipped to the bedroom, where you watched Eric walk to the closet and open it wide, then, after some clothes were removed, he pulled off the backboard of the closet and placed whatever he had taken inside. Suddenly, you saw Eric shut the closet quickly as he turned around faster than you would’ve thought possible from him.

Were you really ready to see what was next? You turned away from the screen and you heard the footage stop.

“Did you want to stop?” The Charlatan’s voice cut through your thoughts. You shook your head and steeled your nerves before turning back to the screen and allowing the footage to resume.

You watched Eric stare toward the window that slowly opened to allow for his murderer to walk in. Clad in black with lightning motifs you recognized this second person well.

“Blackout!” Eric’s voice was ecstatic, of course, it was what with how excited he always got about vigilantes. But when you saw Blackout load his gun you felt a stone in your stomach and, just as if a switch flipped, Eric grew serious, you could see it in the way his shoulders rolled back. “You know… a villain hiding under the guise of a vigilante, it’s not a good look. Let’s make this fast, my partner’s out helping one of our neighbors and I’d rather keep this between us.” His voice was steady, a tone he didn’t usually use and one you weren’t too used to hearing from him.

The fight was surprisingly evenly matched, Eric held his own well despite the odds, but with every punch and every block you knew what the end result was and it made the whole thing even more heartbreaking. You wondered why Blackout didn’t just shoot him there, you wondered why Blackout even let him fight, but then you realized why. You realized why he let Eric struggle when he finally pinned him to the ground, loaded gun held to the side of his head, and you heard Blackout laugh. He did this because he enjoyed it, the thrill of it, the inhumanity. A true villain.

“Senator Johnson sends his regards.” Blackout’s voice was gruff, maybe strained from the fight before, but it was the name that got you. Senator Johnson was the head senator who proposed the Vigilante Ban in the first place, and yet here he was working with one.

Bang.

You shut your eyes and the audio came to an abrupt stop. Why was he making you watch the whole thing? You opened the slowly and you could still hear the aftersound of the gunshot. You watched blood stain the floor under him and you tried to ignore the blood splatters against the wall. Blackout stepped over Eric now and he wiped the gun in his hands before placing it in Eric’s, curling his fingers over the handle carefully while he started to set the scene. You had to hand it to Blackout, he really did well in making it look like a suicide. You watched Blackout move things around the room and move some things back, then, he reaches the closet, which he opens without a care, but then he hesitates. You watched Blackout bring a fist to cover his mouth while he takes a few steps back from the closet. Then he turns around to look at Eric, and back at the closet, and back to Eric again, and back to the closet again.

Blackout takes a step forward and pulls something from the closet. Something you, no, everyone would recognize.

“Aegis…” the name slipped out of your mouth so naturally.

“No, no, no… this wasn’t what they told me,” Blackout’s voice shook and he walked back to Eric and fell on his knees, checking for a pulse that wasn’t there. “What have I done? It was just a job, it was just supposed to be a job, how could I have killed Aegis? I… oh god,” Blackout drops the shield and holds the side of his head, clearly thinking to himself and clearly trying to find out what to do.

“Oh fuck… I killed Aegis…” he repeats again. “I killed Aegis and I have to hide that…” his breathing grows labored and he grabs onto his mask, pulling it off quickly to breathe easier. It was like something clicked in his mind because his next move was to run back to the closet, taking a duffle bag from it and shoving the contents of the closet into it. Aegis’ uniform, Aegis’ mask, Aegis’ tools, and, of course, Aegis’ shield. He packed them tightly and headed toward the window, but he stops next to Eric, he stops for a moment before leaving the way he came. And when he turned to close the window?

You saw him.

You saw who murdered Eric Son.

~

“I’m sorry, buddy.” After who knows how long of fighting, San had finally pinned Mingi down. Mingi took labored breaths and San held the shield above his head before bringing it down on the mask, leaving a large fissure in it’s wake until it finally broke in half and slid down either side of Mingi’s face. Beneath him Mingi was winded, he gasped for air like he’d been drowning moments before, and he looked around like a madman who’d never seen light. He scrambles away from San and spots the others.

“Mingi?” Wooyoung asks shakily.

“Woo?” Mingi swallows nervously.

“Oh, he’s back!” Wooyoung cheered and started to run over, but San beat him to it and offered a hand to Mingi, who just stared at it. After some deliberation, he took it and San pulled him up.

“I still can’t forgive you for what you did,” Mingi says quietly.

“I didn’t expect you to.”

“I don’t care that I know the whole story now.”

“I figured.”

“But… I will work with you,” Mingi shakes San’s hand and pulls away from him.

“All’s well that ends well, right?” Wooyoung hugs Mingi and helps him to reach the others. “Let’s go find Spades, they went with you, right, San?”

“Yeah, there were two rooms, so Spades went in the other one while I came here, it was just through that door,” he point to the large doors in the back.

“So much shit came out of that door,” Seonghwa clicks his tongue.

“I know, right? No wonder Blackguard came running out of it,” Yeosang chides. The doors started to slide open again, and the group went quiet.

“Jokes aside… I don’t think we can handle another Charlatan in this state,” Hongjoong watches in tense silence, but then relaxes upon seeing who entered.

“Spades! You’re okay! We were just about to come check in on you!” Wooyoung was always the first to reach out, but your eyes were glued to the floor. You pulled your mask off and tossed it aside. “Spades?” Wooyoung’s voice grew uneasy.

“Shit, did they get you too?” Yunho’s voice wavered, but his gaze never broke away from you.

“Spades?” San approached you slowly. “Everything alright?” He really didn’t want to break another Charlatan mask, and knowing your skills, there’s no way he’s getting out with all four limbs intact.

“You…” your voice was shakier now.

“(Y/N)?” He said your name quietly, his hand reaching out to break you out of whatever trance you were in, then you snapped.

Everything moved so quickly. You wrapped your hands around his neck and shoved him to the ground, thumbs pressing down on his windpipe with strength that was fueled by adrenaline alone. San grabbed onto your wrists, trying to pull your hands off of him but struggling because of his exhaustion from the fight before. The shouts around you fell on deaf ears while you readjusted your grip to apply more force, letting go only to push off Mingi’s hand on your shoulder.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?!” San shouts despite the strain on his voice. “(Y/N)! Snap out of it!”

“Fuck the Charlatan, he couldn’t get me if he fucking tried,” you grabbed the knife strapped to your belt and held it up. “It was you! It was always you and I trusted you!” You brought the knife down and San just narrowly avoided it.

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

“It was you! You killed him!” You saw the realization in his eyes, the way they widened, and the way he shook his head. He knew. He knew what you saw in that room. All the tears you held back in that room came out now. It all made sense. The way you’d suddenly run into San so much more after Eric died, the way he treated you, and the way he took care of you. Was it some sort of twisted guilt he felt toward you? Guilt not just from killing Aegis but also from killing someone you loved? “How fucked is that, San?! You sick bastard! You killed Eric and you had the audacity to pretend that you had nothing to do with it!” San grabbed your wrist before you could bring the knife down on his neck.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I didn’t know who he was, I didn’t know!” You’d never heard a more genuine apology from him until now. Someone grabbed onto your shoulder, but you couldn’t care to see who it was. You couldn’t care to push them away, whatever they tried wouldn’t be fast enough anyway.

“I don’t care.” With your free hand, you grabbed another knife and plunged it first into San’s shoulder, causing him to release your other hand to allow you to

General Tag List: @stopeatread @bat-shark-repellant @raeincitizen @umbralhelwolf @yangsrose @kazooms @sadcoffeecritic 

Without a Trace: @naiify @sunsethw4 @leesalts

If you want to be added to either tag list or removed just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

[sturmovik]

GUND, Quiet Zero, and how giant mecha killing machines are connected to space medical technology

[G-Witch S1-S2 spoilers]

[wrote this responding to a YT comment asking how Gundams and QZ are connected to medical tech in the AS timeline considering how lethal they have been in the show, thought i’d put it here too]

Essentially, GUND format tech in the AS timeline was developed by the Vanadis Institute as a way for the human brain to directly interface w/ technology thru the use of "Permet," a fictional element that is capable of transferring information to and from a multitude of mediums/formats (whether machine-to-machine or in the case of GUND, human-to-machine). GUND tech could enable you to have artificial limbs, for example, that you could control as naturally as real ones or replacement/artificial organs that wouldn't be rejected by the body. The hope was that this tech would help humans survive in harsh environments across space - that was the original purpose of the GUND Format.

But what happened was that the Ochs Earth corporation saw its potential for warfare and bought out Vanadis so they could make mobile suits utilizing GUND - which gave pilots much finer control of their mechs as well as enabling the use of Gund-bits and similar swarm weapons. But controlling a mobile suit and its weapon systems with GUND put far too much strain on the human brain compared to things like medical equipment or cybernetic limbs, leading to the death of pilots. 

This is where Delling comes in; he uses the ethical issues as an excuse to crack down on Ochs Earth, annihilate Vanadis, and seize GUND technology for himself, having the GUND format outlawed but later secretly using it to develop Quiet Zero - a GUND system so powerful it can take control of anything that uses Permet (which in the AS is almost all their technology) - with the delusional idea that he can enforce peace all throughout the Earth Sphere by basically preventing anyone from fighting at all. Of course, enter Prospera, who becomes essential for the project and subsequently uses QZ to enact her revenge on Delling and the Benerit Group.

[elguritch-art]

Contributor Work for the 2023 BIPOC Vampire Day Zine!

Thrilled to finally have permission to share this work publicly! This is my biggest and most complicated rendered work to date, and I'm so excited to finally be able to show it!

Just a big group piece featuring my ragtag family band of vampire outlaws who'll be featured in an upcoming comic project I'm currently thumbnailing for!

If you're interested in picking up the Zine to see mine, and other's works, you can check out the kofi shop here for PDF purchases, and a few physical copies as well starting November 4th!

[googly-eyed-plank]

If The Outlaws Had YouTube Channels (Part 5)

CHRISTIAN • Rebellious as he was, Christian made a YouTube channel a few years before he was supposed to at 10 years old, in order to impress and show off to his friends. He lied about his age to get it, but never revealed to this friend group exactly how he did it, leaving them to wonder in awe and be impressed at his acclaimed "hacking skills". • A lot of the early videos were just silly playground moments, and hangouts with people from his school. Ben got most of the limelight in his videos though, as Christian was always pestering him with the camera at school or on their outings. Even at that young age, it was always clear who the more responsable of the two was. • Christian enjoyed making those videos greatly, and the feeling of doing wreckless stunts and challenges for possible publicity always started a certain buzz inside of him. An excitement that he was all to happy to please. Ben often advised him against a lot of the things he tried, but he was too stuck on dreaming about potentially being famous for his content one day. People liking him for him. • Once he started getting involved with The Dean, the posts lessened and lessened as things got more and more serious, until the channel was entriely abandoned in favour of focusing on running the organisation he was put in charge of. His dreams of making it big on the platform were washed away and forgotten. • The channel is still up, but it's mostly inactive; Christian had forgotten about it almost entirely until recently when he happened to come across it again by sheer chance, and spent the better part of the day reminiscing on all the good times he had before he got too involved with The Dean. • Chris' channel has about 13 subscribers, all of which were friends of his that eventually figured out the same trick he used.

CLAIRE • Claire always had her own YouTube account for as long as she can remember, but rarely did a lot with it until her "main" (in amount of effort she'd put into) channel started picking up further, which was a channel for the Bristol Justice Collective, which she made about after a year of co-owning the BJC with Myrna. • The Bristol Justice Collective channel is where Claire discussing up and coming projects they are working on, how you can assist, and where. She often gets recordings of the events themselves to showcase all the details, and then reviews everything afterwards with her team to see how much progress was made. The channel was slightly hindered initially with Myrna's disagreement on what sort of content should be uploaded, but since giving ownership over to Claire, she took a step back from determining this, so Claire has been more free to post how she likes, and the channel has done well for it. • Sometimes the BJC channel would even livestream charity fundraising events or showcases of real life events, just to gather up support and attendees. • Her own personal channel is mostly vlogs about working on tasks for the BJC, or her other work surrounding it. From time to time, she'll mention something non-work-related, but this isn't often. • The BJC channel has around 5k subscribers and counting, much to everyone's delight, and Claire's own personal channel has about 650, mostly those who know her from the BJC videos, and some real life friends, family, and members.

SEAN • Created his channel at the start of a new year, deciding his New Year's resolution would be to reach out to and assist as many people as possible with his professional help. He knew he couldn't help every single person on a deeply official level, and tries to make this clear in the aspects its required, so the point gets across just fine. • The channel content was originally talking through certain issues and using different types of popular media as examples, since he knew people were more likely to understand the concepts when things were related to content they liked in this way, and these videos ended up being rather successful, so he started a casual series. • The popularity of this series was what inspired him to write his book, answering all of the frequently asked questions he got in the comment section, as well as even more unshared facts and explanations than before, really trying to make it as useful as possible. • From here, a lot of the videos focuses tmeporarily shifted from help videos to updates/tutorials on how he was writing his book, and what topics it would cover. These were slightly less popualr as videos, but they did well in his eyes, because even one person helped is still one person helped. • Sean currently has around 1k subscribers, his favourite of which is Myrna.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andra Watkins at How Project 2025 Will Ruin YOUR Life:

We’ve heard Republicans talk about fetal personhood. Why don’t Christian Nationalist Republicans believe in female personhood? Liberals use words like misogyny and patriarchy to describe the right’s general subjugation of women. While those words are true, they don’t consider the extreme religious zealotry that is truly a denial of what I’m calling female personhood. It’s easier to say “Republicans are cruel” than it is to dig into what makes people fanatics hellbent on denying personhood to half the American population.

Why Christian Nationalists don’t believe in Female Personhood

Christian Nationalists interpret the Bible literally. In Genesis, it says God created Adam first and crafted Eve from his rib. This is not a metaphor or an allegory to Christian Nationalists. They believe God’s design makes Eve (females) part (and property of) Adam (males). And because Eve ate the forbidden fruit first and convinced Adam to fall with her, females will always be weak, inferior temptresses who must be reminded of their rightful place: One whose personhood (or lack thereof) is defined by men.

How Project 2025 Attacks Female Personhood

In red states, we’ve already seen how Project 2025’s goal to protect life from conception to natural death does not apply to women. Women with unviable pregnancies are forced to carry to term regardless of the risk to their own life or health. To advance the right’s priority on the fetus, women are sent to the parking lot to bleed out. Or they die of sepsis. Or they’re forced to endure a cesarean section when a simple D&C would’ve been safer and less traumatic. We’ve watched women be charged with crimes for miscarriages. They’ve been denied life-saving medical treatments and have been incarcerated for taking doctor-prescribed medications for illnesses. Many conservative voters shrug and say Don’t exaggerate! Project 2025 doesn’t say anything about taking away women’s right to vote or own property or exit an abusive marriage. But red states show what the framers of Project 2025 intend to inflict upon females around the country if Republicans win in November.

How Red States Have Attacked Female Personhood

Red states have forced women to be evacuated by helicopter to neighboring jurisdictions for basic healthcare, even as they (Idaho) falsely deny this is happening in the nation’s highest court. They’ve threatened women’s healthcare providers with steep fines and jail time (Texas, Florida, and many other red states) and tried to restrict women’s free state-to-state movement (most notably in Alabama.) In Oklahoma, a state representative (and Christian Nationalist minister) proposed legislation to outlaw no-fault divorce. They believe the Bible says adultery is the only cause for divorce, locking women and children in abusive marriages and untenable controlling situations. In Texas, the state made a change to property databases that lists all property as being owned by the first name on the deed, usually a man, which could be used to deprive women and children of property rights (reported by Texan Kelley Smoot on Substack.) They have also promoted voting-by-household, where one person (the man) would cast a vote for every eligible voter living under his roof.

How Congressional Republicans Have Attacked Female Personhood

Republicans continually refuse to protect our right to contraception and IVF. They roll their eyes and gaslight us by claiming it’s hysterical to think these things need legal protection, while taking billions from far-right anti-abortion groups that classify hormonal birth control as an abortifacient and call for an end to IVF.

Andra Watkins succinctly explains why this election is about female personhood, because if Donald Trump gets back in office, female autonomy will come under attack.

[mariacallous]

Over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced since 2023 alone in the U.S., ranging from limiting drag shows to outlawing gender-affirming health care. These bills have almost all been introduced by Republican lawmakers throughout state legislatures with 77 bills becoming law last year. Even bills that do not become law have a negative impact on the well-being of the LGBTQ+ community. The Trevor Project reports that 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted by recent politics and the constant exposure to discriminatory bills. An astonishing 39% of LGBTQ+ young people have seriously considered attempting suicide this past year alone, with people of color reporting higher rates than their white counterparts. 

This subgroup of the electorate has been targeted by hateful rhetoric that has impacted the community physically and emotionally. For instance, a March 2024 GLAAD poll found that 49% of LGBTQ+ voters stated they experienced bullying and harassment and 72% said their mental health declined directly due to the negative political discourse in this country.  

The weaponization of policies targeting this vulnerable community has also resulted in an increase of violence which disproportionately impacts people of color, highlighting the intersection of racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia implicit in the bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community.  

Anti-LGBTQ+ laws also have the potential to stir animosity and fear among voters who support conservative candidates and help them gain an edge in the upcoming 2024 elections. It remains to be seen if this strategy will be successful or if it will energize the people to vote repressive leadership out. This post intends to shed some light on this question and explore the long-term electoral consequences of these discriminatory policies. 

Republicans have a negative perspective on LGBTQ+ Americans 

There is unfortunately an audience for anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which motivates conservative candidates to appeal to them to energize their base. LGBTQ+ rights are highly partisan, as 77% of Republicans believe that LGBTQ+ people have a somewhat or very negative influence on society. Furthermore, Republican support for the LGBTQ+ community has dropped from 66% to 59% from 2022 to 2023. The 2024 Republican platform explicitly states they will oppose “left-wing gender insanity” and has no endorsement for equal rights. This is nothing new for the GOP. In fact, in 2004, the party campaigned for a constitutional same-sex marriage ban. Twenty years later, it appears that now the focus has shifted from attempting to pass federal policy to passing legislation in state legislatures and focusing on state level restrictions to access care and resources for the LGBTQ+ community. There has also been a strategic shift in conservative circles to focus policy action on transgender and non-binary people, as there is less support among Americans for this segment of the population (67%) compared to gay and lesbian people (80%). 

By centering LGBTQ+ issues around gender identity controversies, the Republican Party has capitalized on Americans’ uncertainty about gender expression and the potential impact on their children. The focus on children is effective given the distinction Americans make between children and adults regarding policies associated with gender and sexuality. For example, Americans are much less supportive of children receiving gender-affirming care relative to adults, and regulations on controversial medical practices for minors like puberty blockers or surgery are highly contentious.  

While its evident there is a strong and loud base that supports anti-LGBTQ+ measures, the extreme nature of these laws that discriminate against a specific sub-group of the American population may motivate the LGBTQ+ electorate, as well as their allies, all of whom are directly impacted by these policies, to turn out for the 2024 election.   

The electoral map is evolving due to the increase of the LGBTQ+ population 

LGBTQ+ voters are an emerging voting bloc that will be key in future elections given underlying demographics. With 7.6% of the American population identifying as LGBTQ+, this electoral sub-group could have a marked impact on the presidential race, which is projected to be decided by a small number of votes in a handful of battleground states. The Human Rights Campaign reports that there is a growing number of youth voters who identify as LGBTQ+, including 27% of Gen Z and 15.6% of millennials. In most cases, LGBTQ+ Americans are highly engaged in politics and vote in record numbers, with a 2020 exit poll showing LGBTQ+ adults accounted for seven percent of all voters despite only representing 4.5% of adults. In the 2022 midterm elections, over one in 10 (11.3%) of eligible voters were LGBTQ+, with this voting bloc expected to surge nearing one in five (17.8%) by 2040. As their numbers grow, so does their influence in the electorate.  

This increase in the LGBTQ+ population is projected to transform the electoral map, tipping the scales from “red” to “purple” in several consequential swing states like Georgia, Texas, and Ohio. This transpired in the 2022 election when 53% of non-LGBTQ+ voters in Georgia voted for Trump, but 88% of LGBTQ+ voters voted for Biden, helping to flip the state blue. By 2030, key states will see an increase in LGBTQ+ voters with Arizona (15.7%), Texas (16%), and Nevada (17.1%) expected to have a higher proportion than the national average (14.3%). Ohio is projected to have the highest increase (86%) of LGBTQ+ voters from 9.5% in 2020 to 17.7% in 2040. 

LGBTQ+ voters overwhelmingly support Democrats 

Given the policy agenda of the GOP, it is not surprising that young voters who identify as LGBTQ+ are overwhelmingly Democratic in their party identification; 93% identify as Democrat compared to just five percent who identify as Republican. For decades, lesbian and gay activists were building rapport with leaders in the Democratic Party to synthesize a new collective identity that encompasses the interests, experiences, and goals of the of broader LGBTQ+ community. It’s theorized that because of this constitutive group mobilization on the part of leadership in both groups, the Democratic Party was able to expand its boundaries to let what was originally seen as a fringe minority into the base of a new solidified political identity. The need to use voting to fight back against the discriminatory legislation pushed these past few years has made the community more enthusiastic about the 2024 election and highly motivated to get to the polls. In fact, a recent September poll found that 95% of LGBTQ+ adults are registered to vote, with 93% of those surveyed saying they are motivated to vote in November 2024 with a clear preference for the Democrats. The poll shows that 67% of LGBTQ+ voters plan to vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in part due to their top priorities (52%) being advancing LGBTQ+ equality and combating anti-LGBTQ+ laws. 

It’s in the interest of the GOP to move away from these extreme policies and to reject candidates who support this type of legislation. Americans’ opinions on the LGBTQ+ community are largely supportive and accepting. According to respondents from a February 2023 GLAAD poll, 91% of non-LGBTQ+ Americans agree that LGBTQ+ people should have the freedom to live their life and not be discriminated against.  

Among young Americans (aged 18 to 29), there has historically been more support for the LGBTQ+ community compared to other sub-groups. The last three elections have shown the increasing involvement of young people in politics and that they are very interested in social issues. An exit poll from the 2022 elections showed a youth voter turnout of 27%, the second highest in over three decades, with 63% voting for Democrats. This generation has some of the highest acceptance rates of the LGBTQ+ community, and they are willing to go to the polls to fight for people’s rights. The long-term electoral consequences of these anti-LGBTQ+ policy efforts are potentially much more interesting than what might transpire in 2024.   

LGBTQ+ legislative representation is crucial to bringing about change 

The presence of LGBTQ+ elected officials can reduce the likelihood that discriminatory bills are introduced and passed. The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ leaders to public office, reports that there are now over 1,100 LGBTQ+ officials holding public office in the U.S. Since 2017, when the report was first commissioned, this number has grown from 448 LGBTQ+ elected officials to 1,303 in 2024, and of the LGBTQ+ candidates that ran for office, 70.8% of them are Democrats. 

While this only represents 0.25% of U.S. elected officials, the projected growth in representation will eventually have an impact on policy outcomes. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, (D-Wis.), one of three openly LGBTQ+ people in the Senate, reached out to Republicans to garner support for the Respect for Marriage Act, which 12 Republican Senators voted for. The impact of having this representation is also felt at the local level, such as when the first openly gay mayor of San Diego appointed an LGBTQ+ Advisory Board and established LGBTQ+ liaisons with the police department.

There are political consequences for discriminatory platforms 

Discriminatory policies could have a significant impact on election outcomes across the country in November. Twenty candidates in the 2022 election cycle ran on largely discriminatory platforms, and many lost their races, including Tudor Dixon in Michigan, Blake Masters in Arizona, and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania.  

Anti-LGBTQ+ politics are mobilizing more LGBTQ+ voters than those who oppose LGBTQ+ rights. Trends from the past elections show that LGBTQ+ people vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party and will keep doing so as long as the Republican Party continues to push extreme laws that are harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.  

[askbeannuts]

Guild Attire

Head Researcher notes and comments

Simple bandannas and scarves had sufficed for decades, however, with the push for the Xerneas Guild to have one set base of operations in the newly built Harmony Town, it has come to our attention to consider Guild-specific uniforms of sorts. This decision was formed on the request of the Xerneas Guild, who had a heavy focus on endurance, since outlaw groups were far bigger than they had ever been in the past. As such cloak was designed, with the inclusion of materials for defense and special defense scarves being woven in. As such all Xerneas Guild uniforms greatly raise their defenses against physical and special attacks. Unfortunately this does not save them from being damaged or destroyed by harsh attacks, so tailors have been commissioned to design and repair them... quite often unfortunately. (Consider having the Guilds themselves pay for repairs... resources or money... either or... sheesh...) The other guilds followed thereafter, though their needs varied and as such further study was required. With the advent of "Pins" replacing badges and being produced for everyone to hold onto, we've decided to use the leftover metals as a form of recycling them into the uniforms that'd make up the Shaymin Guild's equipment. Their aggressive investigation of the dungeons pushed for us to find ways to improve their protective auras, since the Pins were designed for both convenience and for a single Pokemon to hold without the adverse effects of the larger chunk of metals we provided in the past. We decided to provide the tailor with notes that state a Shaymin Guild uniform should have shards of the same metals used for Pins and various anti-toxin/venom materials to raise their resistances to poisons and other unknowns that may have evolved since our time in the skies. Their new Guildmaster is pushing for "Lands Below" investigations as well... we have to be prepared for unique evolutions down there-if things are anything like they are up here... The Landorus Guild has become a farmer's guild... not sure what pushed them to focus on that, but it is a great help, taking the task of understanding how plants and such are impacted by the higher altitudes off our hands... either way, they requested materials woven into their cloaks, scarves, etc, have boosting effects on Ground and Grass types. Simple enough, though their reasoning was more about training Grass types to have some kind of impact on those strange bean-like seeds discovered in the Tree of Life... Either way, a boon for them. As for us Researchers, the newly formed Council has begun to agree with the Shaymin Guild about investigating down below, and finding ways to get back to the surface safely. A huge project is underway, so I've considered having some of us venture down there with them for the sake of collecting data, I'm certain there are things those "rough and tough" Pokemon'll damage... as such I've put a request for equipment for us Researchers to have the benefits of the Xerneas and Shaymin Guild's uniforms (and also all of the Guild's logos, for the sake of showing our support for each of them). As for colors... hrm... it was awkward coming up with the Landorus Guild's and our own's, but I'll leave the final decisions up to the Guildmaster. As for us Researchers... I think grey will work just fine... Now to figure out how to incorporate old badge mechanisms into these tiny Pin devices...

>The documentation ends there..