#revenge & challenge event

[neerons]

Masquerade Kiss 💋

Revenge & Challenge event | All stories' summaries

[Warning: this is a long post. I have left aside the stories "That was actually..." as they were very short and didn't mention anything important about either the characters' development, or past]

ᴋᴀᴢᴜᴏᴍɪ

Mini Scoop 1 & 2

(Location: The US)

① In this story, Kazuomi surprises MC by visiting her at her new office (as a freelance agent). He suggests to her to go somewhere she might like, but she turns him down as she has something already planned which is… eating noodles! Instant noodles, something Kazuomi had never tasted in his entire life. MC asks him if he wants to try eating it as well, and as Kazuomi is adventurous and never misses a chance to try new things, he discovers the taste of instant noodles.

Kazuomi compares them to the flavorless noodles he had back in college and say they’re complete opposites. Kazuomi doesn’t seem to hate the taste too much, and MC says the taste is quite addictive, and that she will make him discover more flavors and foods common people would eat, and that he had never tried out. Kazuomi agrees but insists that he wants them to have steak for dinner later.

② It’s evening and time for their dinner date, but Kazuomi is late. MC waits for him in his living room at the Raven while watching the latest drops to a streamer. She then recognizes a location used for a movie, which happens to be the Raven. She's surprised, and this is how MC learns that not only a movie was shot at the Raven, but also had Kazuomi take part as an actor for a scene. Kazuomi comes back home right at this time, and seeing what she's looking at, he explains to MC he had a cameo* role in that movie years ago. He had also attended the awards ceremony. Kazuomi had to play his own role from real life, which is the owner of the Raven hotel.

MC thinks about how he looks younger, has a youthful energy on screen and acts a bit differently despite playing his own role. MC rewinds the movie to watch his scene again, but to MC’s disappointment Kazuomi snaps his finger which turns the screen off. He mentions they should get going or they’ll be late to dinner, and MC tells him he can tell her about this experience over delicious steaks. He agrees and smiles, and they eventually leave his place.

(*Cameo: a very brief appearance in a movie or play, usually played by celebrities or actors)

Fun Picnic Challenge 1 & 2

(Location: Japan)

① In this story, MC gets assigned a mission that leads her to fly to Japan. Kazuomi surprises her yet again by waiting for her at the airport, and knowing that her mission is not urgent, takes her somewhere.

Kazuomi and MC go on a picnic in a park in Japan. Among all the other families present there, MC mentions they both stand out and look out of place, like they don’t belong here, especially Kazuomi. Confirming her feeling, women whisper loudly enough for them to hear that they think Kazuomi looks like a celebrity. People soon gather to get a bit closer to see him, but still keep their distance. MC thinks to herself that in the US, people see Kazuomi as a hometown hero while he comes off as intimidating to Japanese people.

As they walk to find a nice picnic spot, they hold hands which reminds MC that they never really had classic, ordinary dates like this one. They end up finding a good spot on an open field, and as Kazuomi and her set up the blanket for their picnic, MC laughs about how it’s very strange to see Kazuomi doing this, not used to seeing him do ordinary things. She explains to him that he has to put weight on the corners of the blanket, to prevent it from moving because of the wind. He listens as he never did such things and isn't used to it.

② They start eating the bentos with the typical Japanese homey food Kazuomi brought for their lunch, which was made by a chef. Kazuomi, in a sort of somber tone, mentions how the food tastes really good, "too good, even". MC understands that it sounds like there’s a deeper meaning to his words, but doesn’t question him and enjoys her date with him.

They soon finish eating everything and relax by lying on the blanket. Out of the blue, Kazuomi starts telling MC a little bit about his past. He explains that his mother once brought him to a park to have a picnic between the two of them just like this. He doesn’t know why she suddenly did that, considering that it’s not something they ever did in their family. We learn that his mother came from a rather wealthy family, and that she never had to cook or do anything on her own due to this.

Despite her lack of knowledge, his mother had prepared a bento herself for the picnic she had planned for her and Kazuomi. She didn't know how to cook, but still tried. An overly sweet Japanese omelet. Burnt fried chicken. These are the traditional foods she tried to make for them. Kazuomi thinks back on these memories, which makes MC remember his earlier words about the food the chef made being "too good". She realizes that due to nostalgia, burnt chicken might taste better than a meal prepared by a chef to Kazuomi.

Understanding that this memory comes with sadness for him, MC decides not to ask anything and proposes to play badminton together, as a way of making him associate picnic to a happy memory instead. Smiling again, Kazuomi agrees and they start a bet for their match.

Redacted Lover: The Depths of His Heart 1 & 2

(Location: Japan & The US)

① In this story, Kazuomi suddenly wakes up from a dream in the middle of the night. Heart pounding and covered in sweat. He’s in his bedroom at his place in Japan, and had a dream he often has, especially when it’s Christmas. We don’t learn what he saw in that dream, but we understand it’s linked to the memory of when he lost everything.

Kazuomi once again is reminded that "forever" might not exist, which makes him think of MC and their relationship. He turns to look at his side, but she’s not lying next to him. She’s on a mission, so he’s sleeping alone. Kazuomi is thankful that she doesn’t have to see him in that state, as he doesn’t want to show her how pathetic and weak he can be. He doesn’t want anyone to see him like that, but especially her.

As he ponders on how he used to be like before, he mentions that not even Yuzu and Kei know the old him. Naive and sweet. He used to foolishly think that "her" love was forever. We understand he’s talking about his mother. He used to think a mother’s love lasted until death, but he was wrong.

(MC’s PoV)

Luca (Hugo’s cousin and MC’s new coworker) tells MC she got assigned a new mission by somebody she used to work for back when she was at the EAC. Being in the US, MC flies to Japan to work her mission, and she is led to a residential neighborhood with luxury homes. She’s done with her mission and prepares to head back, but she suddenly and surprisingly spots Kazuomi near her, looking at a house that seems even more luxurious among the other ones.

She wonders what he’s doing here, and realizes his behavior is strange compared to usual. He seems to not have noticed her presence, which is weird coming from him. She goes to walk towards him and wants to call out his name, but she stops herself. On Kazuomi’s face is an expression she has never seen before. A look of pure hatred and coldness.

She wonders what that house means to him. She decides it’d be weird to not talk to him, so she walks near him and casually greets him as if nothing happened. Kazuomi seems panicked to see her. It’s the first time she sees that expression on his face as well and is confused about his reaction. He asks her what she’s doing here, something he had never been concerned with whether she was working or not, which confuses MC even more.

Kazuomi appears to be shaking and looks down momentarily to gain his composure back. MC thinks he’s not being himself, and understands that the house he’s looking at must be the one he grew up in before losing everything. MC asks him if he wants to have a glass of champagne at the Raven since she’s done with her business, and he agrees in a small voice and starts walking along with her without looking at MC.

MC asks him where his limo is, and Kazuomi responds he came here alone. MC is surprised since it’s long to walk from the Raven to their current location, but when Kazuomi asks her if she wants him to call the driver, she refuses, as she feels like walking.

② Kazuomi and MC arrive at the hotel, and share a glass of champagne. Kazuomi is very quiet and doesn't look at her. MC remembers that during all the time they've been together, they had never pointed out each other's weaknesses, therefore she never asked him anything about his past. MC asks him if she can stay around with him a bit longer, and without saying anything, he shows his approval by pouring her another glass of champagne.

MC then notes how far they're sitting from each other, when normally they would be sitting next to each other and talk non-stop. She says their usual conversations increasingly became like tennis matches since they met, and were filled with banter which felt like home to them both. Now they're both sitting quietly as Kazuomi acts differently.

Considering how he has always accepted her for who she was no matter what, MC decides to see him for who he is as well, and asks him if he can tell her what happened. Kazuomi eventually opens up to her about his past.

(Kazuomi's PoV and flashback)

We learn he used to live in a grand house in Japan, with staff (butlers and maids) who greeted him when he came back home after school. His father was a self-made man with a successful business. His mother, (named "Mrs. Shido" in-game) came to see him and waited to have dinner for him even though he was a bit late coming home from school that day. She mentions she doesn't mind waiting for him as she likes to eat with him. Kazuomi, however, wonders if she actually means it, but deep down he hoped it was true.

He surprisingly mentions how he doesn't look like her at all. But how he's in fact the very spitting image of his father, like twins. We then learn that Kazuomi's father had many mistresses, and he doesn't know whether or not his father's wife is his actual mother. Kazuomi had checked the official documents of his birth, but he mentions that his dad could have very well changed the information about his birth mother to hide who his actual mother is.

Kazuomi remembers how his father was rarely coming home and would have done everything for his business. It's heavily hinted that his father got his hands dirty to make his business successful, too. He even sometimes came home with a group of threatening men with whom he had private conversations in a room.

Kazuomi recalls that despite the luxury and friendly staff, somehow the home was cold. He then mentions that the "too bright lights" and faked smiles of the staff were all used to better hide the truth. He couldn't stand any of these things anymore, except for one: his mother.

Despite not knowing if they're linked by blood, he says she loves him... or not. He thinks she only loves his father, who she's loving through Kazuomi since she's often ignored by her husband when he comes home. She was left feeling lonely and gave her affection to Kazuomi instead.

Kazuomi then tells MC how at that time he thought everything would last forever, but... He couldn't finish his sentence, stopped by his painful memories of the truth we have yet to discover. MC tells him that she won't ask any questions unless he wants her to, that she's focusing and is here for the current Kazuomi, and doesn't care about his past. Kazuomi smiles at that. They continue their night holding hands on the couch while sipping champagne.

Later on, they go to bed without being intimate with each other and sleep. Kazuomi wakes up again in the middle of the night, and at his side, there's MC sleeping, dreaming about Kazuomi taking away from her her DVD with Tom Cruise, which makes him laugh since she doesn't seem to have changed even though he confessed some revelations to her earlier.

This time, he didn't have a nightmare. Kazuomi appreciates that MC didn't ask him anything more about his past, as she valued what was important to him more than what she could have learned. His love for her is also even more affirmed as she wasn't weirded out by him or shocked with the way he acted. He thinks this:

"This is why you mean so much to me. This is why I want you my side. Maybe you are someone in whom I could confide everything."

He mentions how he tried to replace his old painful memories with new ones with Zack, the family, and motel. But he can never forget his mother and the past. He then asks MC something out loud while she's sleeping. About whether or not she'd still love him if he showed his true, actual self, and saw how pathetic he really is. He wonders if her love would sway upon learning how stuck in the past he is. But despite not believing in forever, he hopes that's what will define their relationship. He wants their relationship to last.

We understand finally that, the current Kazuomi Shido acts the way he does as a sort of persona, but that his behavior might be an act he uses to hide his past. He acts the way he thinks people, and even MC would want him, Kazuomi Shido, to act. But one day, he'll gamble everything, such as his life, and will risk losing everything again to hope taking everything back. Everything that was stolen from him back then. When that time comes, he'll have to let go of MC's hand, as "nothing is forever in this world".

ᴋᴇɪ

Mini Scoop 1 & 2

(Location: UK)

① Kei comes back to his hotel room at the Raven where MC greets him. Lately, MC mentions that he always goes straight to the bathroom to take a shower right after coming home, without coming near MC. MC says that ordinarily, this would look like he'd be cheating on her, but she knows him well enough to know he wouldn't do that. MC thinks that he must be trying to wash away scents that he doesn't like.

(Kei's PoV, at GoE's headquarters)

Kei and Josh try to find ways to improve security around the headquarters, but Kei asks Josh if he would want to build a tree house in the forest. Josh recalls that they always talked about building one as kids, but never got to do it. Kei thinks back to his past, where he, Maru (the puppy they found) and Josh found branches they could use for the tree house. In the end, they couldn't make that wish come to life.

MC came to headquarters and, as she found no one in the basement, followed the footprints in the back of the church which lead her to them. She sees Josh and Kei build the tree house based off of plans made by Victoria in the forest. She's surprised as she sees Kei climb a tree. She realizes in that moment he had been taking showers to wash off the dirt. Kei meaningfully tells Josh they're finally doing what they couldn't back then, and that there will be more to come. MC leaves the two friends as she doesn't want to intrude.

② MC is at GoE headquarters, drinking tea and eating cookies she brought from the Raven with Josh. Josh starts saying how he wishes he knew how to make cookies like these, to sell them faster for charity. MC starts to wonder if Kei should have kept religion as a part of his life, seeing how Josh turned out. She also wonders what Josh thinks of Kei giving up his faith, and ends up asking him if he thinks Kei has changed. MC assumes that Kei must have changed a lot compared to when he was a child, however Josh tells her he's very much like the Kei he knows, a protector and a leader.

We then get a flashback to Kei and Josh as children living at church. Kei gets openly angry at the priests and argues they don't feed them enough despite getting money from charity. The priest responds that it's to keep them from committing the sin of gluttony. Kei replies that he knows they keep all the food and drinks to themselves and leave them weak. Kei thinks they do this on purpose so they can't resist, since they usually barely feed the children when it's that time of the month. The time when the devil comes.

Josh tries to calm Kei down so he doesn't get punished, but Kei has a plan and violently throws a chair at a priest and starts pulling out his hair. This is a plan elaborated so that, hopefully, one of the sisters will discreetly share more food with them.

Hearing the story, MC wonders if the current Kei she sees is gaining his original self back by protecting others, like he used to.

Redacted Lover: Leading the Remains 1 & 2

(Location: France)

① This story happens around two weeks after Kei was involuntarily hospitalized by MI6 after a mental break. In order to try to recollect more of Kei's repressed memories, he and MC went from London to Paris, and have then taken the train to go to the Romleys' winery, located away from the city. They get a bit closer physically as they are sitting next to each other, and MC notices his body is seemingly colder than usual, like a doll's. MC eyes Kei looking at the mountains while on the train, and she recalls that Kei is often struggling to keep himself in the present moment as he often dissociates with his year-old self lately.

Kei asks her again if she really is okay with following him to the winery, and MC confirms that she'll keep her word and always be there next to him, which makes Kei smile. MC thinks that they both know how risky it is to try to discover Kei's repressed memories by going to the place where his traumatic experience began, but Kei is compelled to go. In order to stop Caleb who is an immediate danger, Kei wants and has to recover everything he can to be more stable quickly.

MC doesn't agree with Kei's plan as she is scared for him, but she knows Kei couldn't care less about his own pain and will respect his wishes. They arrive at the winery when it's still light outside, and they go to see Libre*, another horse that was then replaced after the last one with the same name was killed by Caleb. Kei greets the horse and he seems relieved to see him. Kei tells the horse apologetically that for his safety, he (the horse) will have to go to London for some time and that he can't stay here. MI6 will watch over the horse until things are over with Caleb.

(*Libre means "Free" in French)

MC remembers her conversation with Caleb from before and that he has taken the first Libre's mane after killing him. She also recalls how she learned that Caleb loves Chad, which is why he targeted Kei and Libre. She also learned that Chad and Anne are special agents who worked for MI6 before. MC hasn't told Kei about this conversation, and has a dilemma of whether she should tell him or not.

After that, they get closer to a storage building near the winery where unused barrels and tools are kept. Kei asks her if she remembers the time he told her he had built a secret hideout there. She says she does, and Kei starts walking towards the storehouse by taking little steps. He explains that his secret hideout served the purpose of hiding. She understands what he means when he says that, and Kei continues to mention it was to escape from Caleb. Kei mentions Caleb kept visiting this place even after what he had done to the original Libre.

MC asks Kei about Chad's and Anne's opinion about Caleb, but Kei replies he probably has never told anyone about what Caleb did and what happened at this winery, so they didn't have anything to say about Caleb still coming here. MC tells her she remembers that when Kei first took her to this winery before, he mentioned that he has wanted to be a "good boy" for his family. MC asks him if what he meant back then, about being a "good boy", meant that he had to keep what happened with Caleb a secret from Chad and Anne. Kei and MC are holding hands, and Kei starts gripping her hand more tightly. She looks at him, and he faintly nods.

They finally arrive in front of the storehouse, and Kei is visibly tense, which is very unusual of him, as he often wears a pokerface or mask. MC thinks that who he was the first time they came here and who he is now are like two different people. She thinks how now, Kei has changed so much and reclaimed his emotions, how he lets himself feel and want things. Reuniting with Josh, who he thought he had lost, also helped him recover his memories. She wonders, if Kei hadn't met her, would he have lived his life without remembering these memories? If he hadn't opened his heart to love her, Caleb wouldn't have targeted him. She thinks all of this happened because he met her. That all the root of his suffering is her presence in his life, as well as their love and romance.

Kei tells her to wait outside, and lets go of her hand. They're standing in front of the wooden double doors, and he says he needs to do this part alone. He opens the door with an old key, which can be a metaphor of Kei opening the door to the memories he's kept back.

② We are following Kei through his PoV as he enters the old storehouse. Since the area they're in is known for its safety and being low-crime, the caretaker of the storehouse once told Kei there isn't really a need to lock up the storehouse. That explains why Caleb managed to come here as he pleased. Kei mentions that if he had remembered that sooner, he wouldn't have taken MC into this hell. He thinks back on the choker, now tainted with bad memories for him and MC. Kei calls it cursed.

Kei finally opens the doors and closes them behind him as MC watched him enter. Kei finally remembers that this place isn't really his secret hideout, but a place he had built desperately to hide from Caleb. "What happened that night, the night that's stained with Libre's blood?". Kei remembers his shirt at that time, soaked in a deep red color.

(TW: the rest of the summary might become too graphic at some point, so please take caution)

We have a flashback of Kei as a child, with Caleb. Caleb calls Kei a good boy after the latter changed his clothes soaked with blood, and is now wearing a clean white shirt. Caleb and Kei are going to have dinner, which has been prepared by Caleb. Kei instantly recognizes the meat served on the plate. It's Libre. Kei recalls what just happened to Libre, and how he has vomitted. The 8 year-old Kei thinks that since he was raised in the dark in that church, he has adapted well to abnormal situations. He thinks that if he makes the wrong choice here, it could be fatal and he could die.

Caleb then proceeds to tell Kei they shouldn't wait too much to eat since the dish will be cold, and Libre would be sad if they don't enjoy the meal. Kei asks him "...Why Libre?" and if Chad said it was okay to eat him. Caleb tells him it's a secret from Chad.

C: "You're a smart cookie. You can understand that some secrets are born from love."

K: "Yeah. They told us that at the church, too."

Kei follows him along to protect himself from harm, but doesn't want to hear what Caleb wants to tell him any further. Kei keeps telling himself: I don't want to hear it. I don't want to eat it. However, seeing that the marquess has already taken his knife and fork, Kei does the same. Caleb then starts mentioning that he feels the deepest love for Chad (Kei's grandfather), but explains that Chad has Anne. He tells Kei about how good of a couple they look, that their love is beautiful. Kei agrees with him. He then tells Kei that he'll be satisfied with getting Chad's love indirectly instead. Kei, very quiet, proceeds to ask if that's why he's going to eat the horse that Chad loves, and Caleb confirms it.

Kei feels he's going to throw up. His hands are shaking, and he's scared that his knife and fork will clatter against the plate and make a sound. Knowing that Caleb takes manners very seriously, Kei wants to avoid offending him and get on his bad side. Kei quickly takes tiny piece of meat into his mouth, puts his knife and fork down while squeezing his fists in his lap. He chews and tries not to vomit.

Caleb talks more of his twisted version of love, and how people in love often want to become one, and he teaches Kei to always remember that "to love is to eat". Kei wonders if everyone who talks about love is a nutcase, because he already had bad experiences with the men at the church, and now him. Kei starts to think at this very moment that "Love" is disgusting. Kei downs a whole glass of water after finally swallowing his piece of meat.

Kei then asks him something else. About how Caleb said Kei's father is with him "too". Kei starts dissociating from the moment, too shocked of what has been going on that night. Like he's not really present. Kei realizes too late that he shouldn't have asked that question. He wants to get away and run, but his body won't move. Caleb starts telling him...

Suddenly, the flashback takes an abrupt stop as Kei, in the storehouse, starts dissociating after recollecting these memories. He sinks to the floor, panting hard. Kei finally remembers something he repressed. The memory of Caleb eating Kei's father. We follow the flashback again, and Caleb tells Kei that by being with him, he is with his father as well, as he is now inside Caleb. Kei doesn't particularly feel anything upon hearing this, as he had no parents growing up. He was also taught in church that the line between what's normal and what's not is blurry.

Kei is quite calm, but starts to wonder if he's going to eat him, and Chad or Anne. Since nothing happened to the Romley's, Kei realizes Caleb has a line drawn between who he will eat or not. He tries his hardest to stay part of the second category. To do that, he remembers that the men who came to visit them, children, at the church to abuse them once every month wore a mask. With a mask on, their ranks and identity were forgotten. Kei decides to start wearing a mask to protect himself, and change everything into "a dream of pleasure".

The current Kei then recalls what Caleb had shown him in his summer cottage. What remained of his father. Blue eyes, encased in a liquid. A strand of blond hair, same color as Kei's. And something (mysterious to us readers?) that was frozen, which according to Caleb was the most delicious part. Kei kept it all a secret to not burden the Romleys with his discoveries. The current Kei still remembers the blue eyes looking at him that day, and tells them to stop looking at him. Kei struggles to breathe, and accidentally turns over a barrel near him while trying to breathe properly again.

MC hears the sound of the barrel and runs inside. Kei keeps himself from dissociating by digging his nails into his neck. MC asks Kei if he's with her mentally, and he replies with a smile that he is, that he remembered things, even if maybe not everything, and that it will be over. Kei now understands the reason he repressed these memories. Caleb's version of love. Kei's disgust of others' warmth. He had put all that on his experiences in the church and rejected that other part of his life. In his mind, he had to bury these memories because he thought Chad couldn't know this. Because he wanted to protect the Romleys. So he erased himself.

MC touches his neck, now bleeding. Kei worries that now that he remembered all of this, he will find it difficult to accept MC's touch as well. Kei however thinks of how he is able to hug her, and how he finds himself relieved in her arms. He says he's glad she's here. She strokes his hair and doesn't press him for answers. He thinks that's very her, to not ask questions about what he remembered. He thinks she's spoiling him with her kindness. Kei then tells MC about something he had kept hidden in this winery.

They go towards a hiding spot of Kei's, and after opening the inside of a barrel with a knife, Kei retrieves a leather-bond journal. This journal had been kept by Kei at the time he lived in the church. Inside, there are notes written about the enemies he had, what they did to them (the children), and when. Kei tells MC that she always does everything in the name of justice, and he says that what he's going going to do might be justice, but what he does, the fact that he wants to protect the ones he couldn't protect back then, is because of her. She seems reluctant to have Kei face his past so openly as she is scared, but after a few seconds, she tells him she has faith in him, no matter which path he chooses. That she'll walk with him.

Seeing her, Kei tells himself that no matter how many times his heart is crushed, no matter the struggles he'll have to go through, one day, he'll give her what she wants. They smile at each other, two accomplices in their work, and two lovers. One day, he wants to tell her the words she wants to hear.

Caleb in London Challenge 1 & 2

(Location: The UK)

① It’s a few weeks after the GoE team has completed their mission with Caleb. Yuzu and Kei aren’t here, so MC, Josh and Theo are having a conversation. They start talking about Kei and MC informs them that he went to the Romleys’ winery recently and found a book he kept as a child where he wrote down about anyone who wronged him and the other children at church. Josh calls it a revenge book, and adds that he didn’t know Kei kept such a book back then. MC informs them that Kei is working on finding the individuals written in the book. The talk continues and they bring up Yuzuru. Theo wonders if he’s alright and if he’s traumatized after what he experienced. MC says that Kei referred him to a psychologist and that he’s doing what he can.

They all worry about Yuzu since he hasn’t undergone psychological and physical training to work on the field. Theo mentions that since he’s their technical advisor, he’s more suited to stay at SHIBA or GoE HQ than be on the field. Josh says that Yuzu actually thinks about joining the field and start training for it, that he doesn’t want to back down after what Caleb did. MC mentions that Yuzu doesn’t like to lose, to which Theo jokingly adds “That’s Italian men for you”.

Suddenly, they hear Yuzu run and enter the HQ base, out of breath. He tells them with difficulty while trying to breathe that Caleb was chasing him through the streets of London, and that he had to run. Yuzu is angry at Caleb and downs the glass of water Josh quickly offers him. They’re all shocked to know that Caleb managed to escape from the London police and is now walking in broad daylight without caring. Theo mentions that he seems to be in good physical shape to run that many kilometers, so his training might actually go well if he undergoes it.

They all start to worry about telling Kei that Caleb is back, since he is currently experiencing dissociative amnesia and would rather avoid triggering him any further if possible. Speaking of the devil, Kei enters the base and asks why they’re saying his name. They all keep quiet and avoid his gaze. Kei tells them that whatever they’re going to tell him is fine, and he reassures them that he’s not being his 8 year-old self right now. Josh tries to find an explanation, but Theo intervenes and says that Yuzu has ran kilometers all the way here through the streets of London, as a part of his training that he has just started. Kei congratulates Yuzu, and it’s secretly decided between them to keep the information about Caleb’s new whereabouts hidden from Kei.

② Without Kei, the team gathered for an emergency meeting. They had decided to keep tabs on Caleb and gather intelligence on him by figuring out his movements pattern. They are worried that he is going to try to see Kei in person. They want to keep Kei safe psychologically from any more truth he might not remember yet, just in case. They’re also worried about Kei dissociating and becoming his 8 year-old self in public if he sees Caleb, since if it were to happen, his public image would be compromised by the media instantly and add more trouble to the table.

MC and Kei are in a park, on a bench, after she suggested to him they should take a break from work for a bit. She actually wears a earpiece and is in contact with the other GoE members, as they are observing Caleb’s movements, if he’ll come or not. Kei and MC talk and she wears a scowl on her face, which makes Kei teasingly ask her if she’s really trying to relax from work given the face she’s making. She says she’s fine and is only looking to see if the ice cream van Kei likes will come.

Kei looks at the time and says it should almost be time for the van to be here. MC is right away informed by Theo, Yuzu and Josh that Caleb is trying to buy the ice cream van as an apology gift for Kei. Josh sounds sad as he says that this van is incredibly important to Kei and him, as they had promised each other as kids they would buy an ice cream from that van in the future.

MC tells Kei she is thirsty and will get drinks, and tells him to wait for her on the bench. She walks away to communicate with the team about Kei’s location and asks them about Caleb’s. It turns out they are both in opposite directions. Not knowing if Caleb will be headed towards Kei after buying the van, MC decides to be safe and leave the park with Kei, and asks them to keep Caleb far away as long as possible. They hear that Caleb is negociating for the price of the vehicle and wants to deliver the van to the Raven, which might be a hint that he doesn’t know Kei is here at the park.

MC thinks the delivery might just be a trick that’s part of Caleb’s game, and decides to stay safe and get out of the park. She goes back to Kei and finds the excuse that it’s getting cold and asks him to go to a café instead. He agrees, and she takes his hand and starts walking but he tells her they can stay here longer. She wonders why he’s saying that, and Kei says she might want to keep tabs on Caleb. MC is shocked and asks how he knew about it since they kept it secret.

Kei says she shouldn’t underestimate the boss and that he knows what his team does. MC is actually not surprised to learn Kei knew everything. They decide to work on the intelligence gathering all together, and Kei strongly affirms that he won’t let Caleb turn the ice cream van into a bad memory. MC thinks Kei is so strong despite having gone through a psychological break, and she thinks she needs to become stronger as well alongside him.

ʏᴜᴢᴜʀᴜ

Mini Scoop 1 & 2

(Location: The US & Japan)

① MC is at Yuzu's place cooking in the kitchen. Yuzu comes home from work and overhears her humming a song. Yuzu wonders why she particularly seems in a good mood. MC tells him to go wait at the table as she's almost done, and kisses him on the cheek. As they eat, Yuzu discovers that she cooked the kind of food he likes. Yuzu asks her if she's going to tell him what put her in such a good mood, and she announces her surprise: Victory Duck, a gift Yuzu gave to her, has been chosen as the official Mars exploratory duck.

She made it possible through an acquaintance of hers at NASA. Apparently, Victory Duck would be soon able to capture footage and take samples from Mars. By the time she announces this, Victory Duck was already on Mars. Yuzu looks at the footage through the tablet MC shows him. Yuzu thanks her as it is a lovely surprise and smiles.

② They're in Japan, and MC spends time over at Yuzu's place whenever she's free from work. MC asks Victoria if Yuzu is still working in his "secret room", to which Victoria notifies that he entered the room a bit less than a hour ago. MC then decides to get something to eat and discovers a brand of yogurt she recognizes in the fridge. It's the type Yuzu said he didn't like as a kid and decided not to buy them when he and MC were grocery shopping before.

MC mentions that he must have bought them due to nostalgia, after all. She finally hears Yuzu get out of the room, and goes to greet him. She notices that he left the door to the secret room open, and she sees a paper craft farm inside. Yuzu ends up showing to her what he was making, and explains that the yogurt labels are parts of a set. He has currently collected 42 of them.

He mentions how he never got many as a child, so he never was able to complete the set. He wanted to do it as an adult, but felt bashful about doing something so childish in front of MC. MC reassures him that it's nothing to be embarassed about. MC likes crafts as well, and asks him if she can help him put it together, Yuzu smiles and agrees, and they end up eating yogurt for the rest of their stay in Japan.

Redacted Lover: Italian School Days

(Location: Italy, Yuzuru's middle school)

① MC accompagnies Yuzuru as he was invited as the founder of SHIBA by the middle school he attended in Italy, for their homecoming celebration*. Yuzuru is giving a speech and everyone is very focused on what he says, when mostly people would not care about speeches. Knowing that this is SHIBA's CEO, the students are very interested in him. The audience applauds him once he is done speaking, and MC and Yuzu move to a classroom for a break.

(*Homecoming: the reunion of former students or members of an organization or school to celebrate said organization or school.)

MC asks him if this is the first school he attended once he came to Italy. Yuzuru explains that it was his first school and that in Italy, middle schools are from ages 11 to 14, but that he attended that school before turning 11 and went to high school before turning 13. He only stayed for about 2 years in this school. MC asks him if he's looking forward to the class reunion tomorrow, but Yuzu claims he won't be going and says that he only accepted the task of the speech to be of help to the students.

Yuzuru seems firm in his answer and furrows his brow, which makes MC think that he probably doesn't have good memories with this school. They end up leaving the school.

We then follow Yuzuru through his PoV. He remembers his past here, a country he never really felt at home. He recalls a conversation with Jun when he was younger. He got mad at Jun and told her he wouldn't go to a school in Italy, as he doesn't know any Italian. Jun responds that the best way to learn a language is to hear and speak it, that they'll teach him the language and other things, so that would be killing multiple birds with one stone.

Yuzu is still reluctant and doesn't want to go, but without a choice he starts attending the local middle school. We then witness the sad events that happen to him at school, as he gets bullied by the kids. The boys often grabbed him by the hood and stuff him in the locker. Yuzuru was quite big among the kids his age, but he was no match against these Italian middle schoolers. Being studious was seen as a negative quality by the other students.

Yuzuru remembers his school in Japan, where kids were mean to him as well. He felt lonely back there too, as he was separated from Takumi, his little brother. However, to him, it was better in Japan than here, in Italy. Suddenly, a girl named Carina rescues him from the locker. She's a popular girl from a grader higher than him. Yuzu thinks she's his ally until he discovers that she mocked him when he tried to thank her.

Everyone laughed at him when she "turned him down" and mentioned that Carina would never like someone like him, when he simply wanted to show her his gratitude. They then tied him to the basketball hoop at the gym, with the entire school watching and walking by. Yuzuru decides to get out of here as he didn't survive to end up in such a situation. He decided he would become the best physically as well, as he can't just rely on his wits for survival.

We're back with MC's PoV, and she's at Jun's looking at pictures of Yuzuru when he was a child. Jun mentions to her how she wished she could have sent Yuzu to a school for gifted children, but sadly she didn't have the money. As she hears Jun talk about Yuzu's experience, MC understands that rather than getting special treatment, Yuzu had a really hard time here and finally gets why he didn't want to go to the class reunion.

MC then goes back to the hotel she's staying at with Yuzuru. Once there, she asks him if he wants to get his revenge on his old classmates by turning up, now that he's internationally a known and respected figure. Yuzu, however, says that he doesn't see the value in that and would be left with disgust for his pettiness if he did that. MC gets what he says and thinks that they can even make fun of him for his success now. She has a hard time accepting how painful it must have been for him, but respects his feelings.

② It's the day after, and MC is reluctantly helping the school with the guests list for the homecoming celebration. It was originally Jun's task, but she asked MC to replace her since she had a business dinner she couldn't avoid. Jun is an old friend of the principal and often helps out the school with tech and art programs, so MC wanted to help Jun with this even if Yuzu told her she didn't have to.

MC notes that his classmates were all older than Yuzu, so they're now around 35 years old, which is Kei's age. MC notices that time doesn't bless everyone the same way compared to Kei (lmao girl that's savage I love you. Sorry. I broke out of my serious narrator phase. I'll be back) She understands why Yuzu wants to analyze Kei since he's like a vampire.

At that time, MC gets hit on by three guys who ask her what year she was, and someone who helps manage the event tells them she's only here to replace Jun. Hearing that name, they call Jun "Yuzuru's crazy old lady", which makes MC grateful Jun couldn't come, as she would probably have grabbed the guys by the ear and drag them behind the school if she had heard that.

A guy then puts two and two, and asks her if the reason she replaces Jun is because she's with Yuzuru. MC stays ambiguous and says she'll let them imagine whatever they want. MC came as Mia, an alias, and won't affirm she's dating him since he's a public figure. The men keep hitting on her and say she's wasting her whole self if she's with Yuzuru, and keep trying to get her to dance with them.

MC is wondering what the right move is, and as she's about to find an excuse, Yuzuru enters and ask them what they want from his partner, revealing their relationship. MC didn't expect him to come and is surprised, along with the other guys. As they see Yuzuru, they mention how tall he is now, but make a way of mentioning they know how small he used to be back then. Yuzuru replies to them in a smart and elegant way while approching, showing the big difference in height between them now.

He looks down at them. They're intimated and MC notes that Yuzuru really radiates the aura of an actually successful person, which scares them away since they can see it in person. A hierarchy forms and the guys think of an excuse to go away. MC asks Yuzuru why he came and he replies that he just felt like it. That the child in him was being asked to come. That when he's with MC, he can stand proud anywhere. Yuzuru helps MC out at the welcome desk until time to close the desk comes.

They decide to stay a little longer, and find out a dance is about to start in 10 minutes. Yuzuru goes to give his hand to MC but a woman tries to take his arm, happy to see him again. This woman is Carina. Yuzu asks her to let go of him, very displeased. Carina mentions how she's so happy to see him on TV. MC evaluates her and sees that she's a gorgeous woman. Carina asks Yuzu to dance with her, and says thzt she couldn't say it when they were kids, but that she ahd a crush on him.

MC sees that she's only saying it because Yuzu is now famous. Thinking that this woman tricked and humiliated Yuzuru before, MC thinks twisting her arm is called for. However, she decides to go away to let them dance, but Yuzu stops her. Yuzu tells the other girl that there's only one person he'll be dancing with. That there's only one woman for him. Yuzu says all of it sincerely and seeing how he has zero interest, Carina gets mad and childishly says that she's still the one everyone wants to dance with, even now. In true Yuzu fashion, he matter-of-factly replies that she can then dance with whoever she likes.

He ignores her and takes MC to the dance floor. As they dance, MC asks Yuzuru if it wouldn't have been better for him to dance with Carina, as she is the most popular girl. If he had danced with her, he would have gotten the last laugh and show everyone how successful he became. However, Yuzuru says "Objectively speaking, you're clearly the best woman". Yuzuru then explains that he doesn't need to show anyone anything of who he became. He understood that he wasn't bothered anymore with this school, that he didn't feel anything bad towards it anymore.

Other attendees are dancing, but everyone is looking at Yuzuru. Yuzuru keeps talking with MC as they dance, and Yuzu expresses his gratitude to her and whispers that he is only able to face his past because of her, as she holds his hand along the way. He realizes that while he doesn't love being here, his past troubles are now insignificant to him. That it's meaningless to carry these troubles with him.

MC says she had always wished to have a dance at school, and that she's happy to have it with Yuzuru. Yuzuru then retorts that she wouldn't have said yes to a dance with him if they were at school at the same time. She denies it and says she would have had a huge crush on him. Yuzu smiles and replies he would have probably watched her from afar. With affection, MC thinks to herself that it's pointless to compete over that, since she doesn't even know for sure who fell for the other first when they first met

Squirrel on Memory Lane Challenge 1 & 2

(Location: Japan, Yuzuru’s home & Inokashira Park + Zoo)

① Yuzuru and MC are hanging out in Yuzuru’s living room. MC gets a mail adressed to her birth name from her out of her bag. She doesn’t receive a lot of mail adressed to her actual name. Yuzuru asks her how she receives her mail since she has a particular lifestyle, and she explains that the EAC has a box for each of her aliases and birth name where she receives her mail. She explains that she often doesn’t get a lot of mail for her real name and it’s mostly junk. She finds out that this letter is from her college from when she was a student. It’s an invitation to a homecoming celebration.

Yuzuru asks her if she’ll go, since she did tell Yuzu to go to his own back in Italy. MC tells him that she probably won’t. He asks her why, and she replies that given the nature of her job and the years she’s been doing it, she finds it safer to avoid going to a gathering where there might be people she has met on missions. Therefore she prefers avoiding seeing people of the past. Yuzuru then remembers and says that he thought she didn’t talk about her visits to Ehime (where she was raised) often, and figured she just didn’t mention them, but now that he thinks about it, he asks her if she actually visited there. She replies she didn’t.

She mentions that she doesn’t even go back to her parents’ home, and only calls them from time to time, including a few video calls sometimes. However, since she doesn’t know if the calls might be traced, she tries to keep them as short as possible. While remembering these things, she remembers that before meeting Yuzuru, the only people she could open up to were Hugo and Theo. And even then, she didn’t tell them about personal things. Yuzuru tells her it must be lonely, and she agrees. Yuzuru tells her that while it’s not healthy to think this way, when they did the VR, he was a bit jealous of her school life and wished he was there to see it.

She says it’s normal to feel this way, reassuring him. And she mentions that if she had went to school with Yuzu, MC wouldn’t have let Carina do what she did to Yuzuru. Yuzuru is then reassured to know that it’s normal when you love someone to want to know more of their past and change things that made your lover sad. Yuzuru tells MC he’d like to know more of her past, if that’s okay with her. She’s surprised he wants to know but agrees to show him the areas she used to visit when she was younger, as a college student. Since Yuzuru doesn’t know what college life is like in Japan, he’s looking forward to it. They decide to make plans to visit the places the next day they have a day off.

② MC and Yuzu are hanging out together, visiting places MC often went to when she was in college. Their little tour led them to the Inokashira Park Zoo. MC explains she used to go there with her friends during the cherry blossom season. They start looking at the animals, and Yuzu stops to stare at the ducks. Seeing him, MC asks him if he likes ducks. Yuzu denies it and wants to change the subject.

Finding it odd, MC makes him confess what's on his mind, and Yuzuru tells her that Kei actually once said MC looked like a mallard duck. MC is surprised and asks Yuzu if he thinks the same. He adds that Kei said MC seems to like clothes that are the same colors of a mallard duck's head, and therefore claimed that Yuzu must like the color of mallard ducks.

MC says that she can't really claim Kei is wrong, and Yuzu reassures her that he likes the way she dresses. MC thanks him, but thinks deep down that she'll never be able to forget mallard ducks whenever she dresses now. They start walking only to stop again, as Yuzu sees squirrels. MC is happy to see their area has changed to a more natural environment, and Yuzu mentions that he noticed MC seems to really like squirrels. She confirms it and says that they're cute and don't carry diseases.

MC asks Yuzu to enter the squirrels' area, but he seems reluctant. She insists that they're safe for humans, and goes inside without noticing Yuzu furrowing his brow. Once they are in the area, MC finally notices that Yuzuru isn't comfortable. He tells her that he remembered the cage broke 10 years ago, and all the squirrels fled. They came back later once the cage was rebuilt, but there were more squirrels than before, which means there were wild ones as well.

Yuzu is scared a squirrel is wild and is going to bite him. Just when MC goes to tell him there are low chances of that happening, a squirrel stares at Yuzu, jumps on his leg to go all the way to his right ear, and bites him. It runs away soon after, and both MC and Yuzu are shocked. MC worriedly asks him if he's okay, and tells him they should get him some hand sanitizer, but Yuzu claims he has to go to a hospital.

MC thinks he's overreacting, but considers that since Yuzu grew up with limited access to medical care, it might be important for him to care for his health that much. MC apologizes to him for bringing him here, but Yuzu tells her it's okay. He says he lost this round, but that he'll have his revenge on the squirrels one day, which makes MC think Yuzu is really cool for admitting his defeat without giving up

ʙᴏss

Mini Scoop 1 & 2

(Location: The US, Seiichi's hideout)

① MC often goes to visit Seiichi at his new hideout whenever she isn't working. They're both hanging out in his living room when Seiichi goes onto the balcony and calls MC by the name "Akari", her old alias, and tells her to come here. MC wonders why he's suddenly calling her by that name considering she's not working but still joins him. She asks him what he wants, and he tells her he actually didn't mean to call "her". MC doesn't understand, but soon realizes a cat is coming to rub against Seiichi's feet. He was actually calling that cat "Akari" and he tells the cat it's time for dinner.

Seiichi feeds her and wears an expression of tranquility on his face, which MC had never seen before. She tells him she never pictured him as a cat person, to which he replies that in case she was wondering, he didn't adopt the cat, the cat is the one who decided she was going to live here. MC suddenly hears another cat coming from behind her, and soon a second cat joins to eat. Seiichi calls this one "Chloe", another one of MC's past aliases.

MC is surprised he called the cats by her aliases, and Seiichi says that he remembers how MC always wanted to choose her aliases herself. He also mentions that her actual name is special to him, therefore it can only belong to her. She's relieved to hear that, and mentions that she finds it a bit weird to name cats after your lover.

MC playfully asks him if she should keep rabbits and call them Nogi and Kazuya, Seiichi's own past aliases. He actually turns to her, seemingly unpleased with the suggestion and asks her if she means that. MC finds his reaction funny considering he can't take his own medicine. She's also very pleased to see that Seiichi, who always wears a poker face, is showing her this expression to her only. Seeing him, she smiles.

② MC is petting Akari's fur and feels at ease while doing so. She is thinking of Seiichi, and about how it must have been hard for him to leave the EAC and his past life as a result. She whispers to Akari to be a good companion to Seiichi. Seiichi comes back right at this time from the kitchen with a sake bottle and cups on a tray, asking "Sharing secrets?"

MC playfully replies that she's telling her secrets about him that only MC knows. He says he's curious, to which, as usual, MC replies he really doesn't look the least bit curious like he so claims. He actually tells her he really is, with a serious look on his face. They stare at each other seriously, and erupt into laughter simultaneously. MC tells him he never changes, which makes him ask her if she wants him to. SHe denies it and says him never changing is the greatest gift she could ever receive.

Hearing her say that, Seiichi says it's difficult for him to say it, but he suggests drinking sake together. MC is surprised, as he originally prefers drinking beer and asks him if he gave it up. Seiichi mentions he's grown homesick, but jokes and mentions it was simply a gift from one of his clients. They cheer and drink a cup of sake. Seiichi says he might like this occasional drink, and that it feels good to drink when he's not on a mission and smiles. MC notes that he looks very relaxed.

MC asks him if he doesn't do this kind of thing often, to which he replies he can't even remember the last time he did. He also mentions she's the only one he has drinks with. MC realizes that ever since leaving the EAC, Seiichi never had someone to relax with or open up to. Instead, he fought for justice and worked missions on his own. She hopes to help him find ease when they're together at least.

She asks him if she could make him his favorite Japanese-style rolled omelets. He says her idea sounds great, and actually tells her he had ordered jakoten, MC's own favorite dish from her hometown. MC tells him he's the best, and he sends the compliment right back at her. They had both thought of giving the other their favorite dish. They decide to give another toast of sake to celebrate their reunion and unchanging relationship. MC is joyful as she is spending time with the man she loves, eating food that she loves. They never run out of things to talk about, and keep talking about things to make up for the lost time, even after the sky grows light.

Partners in Work Again Challenge 1 & 2

(Location: The US, Seiichi's hideout)

① We are following this story through Seiichi's PoV, and MC suddenly asks him if he wants to work with the EAC. Now that MC is a boss at the agency and Seiichi an agent working in the shadows, she suggests it to him to help out with a mission through a contractor. Seiichi is surprised, and even though he thought of this possibility he didn't imagine it would become a reality.

Seiichi asks her why they need a contractor, and MC sarcastically answers that they don't have enough people, and that she wonders why that's the case, saying in a subtle way it's his fault. He tells her she should find a new person to hire, the same way he found her. She says they're working on that, but training them will take time. Seiichi playfully answers "Like it took time for you?" and she replies "No comment"

The reason why the EAC has less agents now is explained through Seiichi's thoughts. After leaving the EAC, he has taken with him the agents that had turned bad within the agency, therefore disposing of the "rot". Seiichi has been living well with the cost of leaving the agency but feels bad that MC is now in a difficult situation, now that the EAC is short on agents. He tells her he might be of help.

She understands that him working with her will depend on the conditions, with he agrees and adds that he's currently without employment. He has to hustle to earn his keep. MC shows his three fingers and asks him if that amount would do it for him. He says it depends on the job. She says it's simple intelligence gathering, which is child's play for him. He thinks that it'll depend where he'd be going undercover, but that it's a lot of money for a job like this. It's even too much according to him. He tells her that if it's really important to her, he'll do it for...

At that moment, he gently takes her hand and raises her remaining two fingers, elevating the pay for the job even higher, which makes MC's eyes widen. She says that that's a lot and ballsy of him, to which he replies he knows his worth, to which MC replies he also knows this is complicated for them. They smile as they feel each other out, as usual. Seiichi is wondering what her next move will be with this unreasonable demand, now that she's the boss.

He actually doesn't want such an enormous sum, he simply wants to see how she is developing. She says he's putting her in a difficult situation, but that's she's going to double her initial offer, therefore she's now putting up 6 fingers. She mentions that she has another condition, and boldly asks him to find something for her as well as the information.

Hearing this, he inwardly cracks a smile as he is proud of her, since she made it look like she was giving it up only to get what she really wants. He feels like he's seeing himself if he were in her position. He asks what she wants him to find, to which she says she can't tell him until they have an agreement, and he knows it. They keep feeling each other out, and MC tells her him accepting also depends on how much he trusts her.

He says that given how she looks confident, she couldn't fathom a world in which he doesn't trust her. She replies that he's the one who made her the boss, so it makes sense for him to trust her. She cups his cheek with what Seiichi describes to be her "slender little hand". He notes that when she negotiates, her tactics switch between hard and soft as he observes the way she is as the boss. He says out loud "Very interesting" as he realizes that she contructs her role of the boss partly shadowing him, and partly creating a persona of her own.

She asks him what is interesting, tilting her head with a look of innocence on her face. He's thinking that this is the only thing she'd have to work on, as otherwise he would have a lot of rivals with whom to compete (I'm guessing he's saying she's so cute she would attract many men with her behavior and look).

He finally tells her that he'd like to say yes to her proposal but that he has no interest to be involved with the EAC. He asks her if they could pretend this conversation never happened. She isn't pleased that that's his final answer, since he could have said that from the very beginning, frustrated that all her effort was for nothing. Seiichi then replis joyfully "That's the look".

She is confused of his reaction, and he thinks that she never would have let him see a look like this on her face when she worked under him. It's something he only got to see once they became lovers ocasionally. He tells her he missed that look. MC says that when she once made that face before, Kazuomi told her she looked like Seiichi.

Seiichi replies that he's honored. Her brow furrows as she doesn't get why that's an honor, while his own smile deepens in contradiction. He loves to see that an ace special agent like her sometimes shows him expressions of her human nature, and he thinks to himself that this is an expression that he loves "so very much"

② Seiichi is at his home, and opens a package of freshly roasted coffee beans that smell wonderfully. He takes an item that's slid between two cartons. This is a passport. The photograph is him, but the name is unknown. The passport will be used for his new mission. It was made by the same craftsman he used in his EAC days.

Seiichi is all ready for his new upcoming mission, except for one thing. He didn't actually replied to MC's proposal yet. Later, at night, he treats MC to coffee made with the new beans that arrived. MC says drinking this reminds her of when they used to drink coffee a lot together, and he replies that these beans are different since they have been roasted for one minute longer.

MC takes different sips but doesn't notice the difference and how he can tell there's one either. He tells her that's a shame, and shows her his fake passport. MC says the passport is a fantastic creation and asks if it was made by his usual contact, and he confirms it. She says that the craftsman has gotten even better at making them (who are they talking about?! I thought it might be Old Man Shige but maybe not since he's more of a tech guy??)

Seiichi mentions to MC that she can tell the difference between a true or fake passport, but fails to notice it with coffee. MC thanks him and shrugs. MC ends ups asking him where he's going now that he's made a passport, and he sends the question right back at her, explaining that he accepts the job she suggested.

She's surprised to learn that he only denied her request before to see a reproachful look on her face. She's relieved that he accepted, and mentions that loving him this much is going to cause "someone" a great deal of pain down the line (wait is she talking about herself or Kazuomi?!) Seiichi apologizes in a half-joking gesture as he bows a bit and calls her "boss", which makes her expression soften.

She opens her laptop and starts explaining the job to him. Her look shifts to one of a pro agent the moment the laptop turns on. She tells him he's going undercover to make contact with Dubai's royal family. The EAC has lost contact with the agent they had on the field, so his number one priority is intelligence gathering. MC wants him to dig into what happened within the royal family and to the agent.

Seiichi asks if they know if the agent is still alive. MC responds "I'd say that goes without saying" (I guess that's a way of saying that he's dead). All emotion is gone from her face as she says this. Seiichi is thinking while all agents accept their fate, this is the first time he's seen her be so businesslike about it. MC says he seems surprised, but Seiichi is simply thinking how much she's grown.

She does what needs to be done in her role as a senior agent. Seeing how professional she is has a reinvigorating effect on him. He thinks accepting the job was worth it since he got tot see her like this. Whether it's MC or anyone else at the EAC, witnessing someone show their commitment to the cause of justice is always special to him. MC ignores that he is currently moved, as she goes on with her explanation of the mission.

At this moment, he's thinking he's wrong to be so moved, as she's a senior operative at the EAC, and her boss as of now, while he's... He doesn't finish his thought, but he then tells her that maybe, he was still looking at her as a junior agent. MC stops and says she can't pretend she didn't hear that. She is upset that he might not have listenened to her at all. She looks testingly at him and he repeats the details she gave him about the mission, proving he did listen while thinking about other things.

MC smiles as she sees that he did listen and says he loves to make her job more difficult, so she wears a troubled expression but doesn't seem displeased at all. He says she resembles him in this way as well, and he can't get rid of the feeling that he raised her, seeing how alike they are.

He recalls their first time meeting, about how it was supposed to be him saving a girl that day, and it resulted in making her part of this, his, world deeply. He's thinking that there were times he have regretted that, but he now thinks that his judgement that day wasn't wrong, that her presence in this world isn't a mistake.

He tells her that she's not a junior agent anymore, and that he wants her to feel every bit the boss that she is. She replies that she does, that it comes naturally to her, as she smiles. Seiichi tells her he's happy to work with her again, and she replies that she is, as well. They give each other a firm handshake as they are happy to work together again

There you go! I hope the summaries were well explained enough. I did my best and I hope you enjoyed them just as much as me!

#revenge & challenge event #kazuomi shido #yuzuru shiba #kei soejima #seiichi setoyanagi #mk boss #masquerade kiss #masquerade kiss boss #vip event #mk #voltage inc #love 365 #otome game #voltage #love 365 find your story #otome games #voltage otome

[killacharacterbingo]

I Have The High Ground

A prompt inspired by this scene of Star Wars Episode III. In it, Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about the latter's decision to help the Sith. The Sith are an ancient religious organization devoted to the dark side of the Force, and consequently enemies of the Jedi Order both Obi-Wan and Anakin belong to. The two were once close as brothers, but this betrayal on Anakin's part forces Obi-Wan to fight him. He does not want to fight and states as much, but will still do so if Anakin doesn't stand down. He does not.

Anakin is rash, arrogant and hot-headed. Obi-Wan warns him that he has the tactical advantage of terrain, the high ground. Despite it, Anakin attacks and gets brutally mutilated, dying.

This is a prompt about standing up for what is right even if it entails standing against the people one loves, their own family. Alternatively, it is about being consumed by rage, vowing to kill everyone and everything who made one the person they are. At its core, irrespective of who's perspective it's written from, it is about fighting for what one believes in at the price of their own family if necessary

#killacharacter #killacharacterbingo #writing challenge #bingo challenge #writing event #whump #writing bingo #whumpee #bingo card #whump prompt #star wars #i have the high cround #revenge of the sith

[dannymayevent]

Dannymay 2024

Welcome back to Dannymay! We sincerely apologize for the delay this year, as we're releasing this just a day before the event is due to start. Life's been a bit hectic for all of us, but we're here now and ready to get this event started for you!

If you aren't aware, Dannymay is a yearly event where creators are given a daily prompt and are free to run with it! Any and all art is allowed; fanfiction, fanart, music, poetry, and anything else will be welcomed!

Feel free to complete as many or as few prompts as you'd like, and remember to have fun! When you're done, post your creations to Tumblr with the #Dannymay2024 tag so we can see it!

Like last year, we'll be compiling an ao3 collection under the tag Dannymay 2024, and we'll fire up the Dannymay discord for another year - the link is in our FAQ!

Full text prompt list and AU explanations are below the cut

Insect

2. Wish

3. Invisible

4. Wander

5. Nails

6. Immortal AU: What if Danny/Halfas couldn't die?

7. Mind Control

8. Style Challenge: A unique prompt to kick off the second week! Take the characters and draw them in the style of a different piece of media, or experiment with your own style and see what you can make!

9. Hunger

10. Mausoleum

11. Mutation

12. Time Travel

13. D&D AU: Drop the characters into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, or imagine them playing the game!

14. Light

15. Field Trip

16. Glowing Veins

17. Equilibrium

18. Revenge

19. Iron

20. Pitch AU: What if the show had aired as presented in the Pitch Bible, where Danny is a human with an owl named Spooky, rides a motorcycle, and has a psychic connection with Sam? For more information, the Bible has been uploaded to the Internet Archive

21. Funeral

22. Song Lyric: Just one week left! Take a line from a song you like and use that as inspiration!

23. Reflection

24. Electricity

25. Games

26. Shoes

27. Zombie AU: What if the ghosts were zombies, or what if canon Amity Park were to face a zombie apocalypse?

28. Healing

29. Fireworks

30. Goodbye

31. Free Day: You made it, thanks for participating in the event! For the last day, create anything you'd like!

#danny phantom #dannymay2024 #dannymay 2024 #can you tell nothuman made the calendar instead of lexx this year? #what can I say I am a slave to the Green #sorry for the delay dont worry I feel bad lmao :)

[writing-with-sophia]

Common character motivations

Revenge - seeking to get even with someone who has wronged them

Love - driven by romantic feelings for another character

Greed - motivated by a desire for material possessions or wealth

Power - seeking to gain control or influence over others

Justice - motivated by a sense of fairness and a desire to see justice served

Redemption - seeking to make up for past mistakes or wrongdoings

Curiosity - driven by a desire to learn or discover something new

Duty - motivated by a sense of responsibility or obligation to others or a cause

Ambition - driven by a desire to achieve a specific goal or succeed in a particular endeavor

Fear - motivated by a desire to avoid danger or harm

Guilt - driven by a sense of remorse for past actions or decisions

Jealousy - motivated by envy or a desire to possess what another character has

Betrayal - motivated by a sense of betrayal or desire for revenge against someone who has betrayed them.

Ambivalence - a character who is conflicted or uncertain about their goals or desires

Freedom - a character who seeks to escape from a restrictive situation or society

Fame - motivated by a desire for public recognition or notoriety

Identity - driven by a need to understand or define who they are

Family - motivated by a sense of loyalty or obligation to their family or loved ones

Discovery - driven by a desire to explore or uncover hidden knowledge

Patriotism - motivated by a love for their country or a desire to protect it

Rebellion - driven by a desire to challenge authority or the status quo

Artistic expression - motivated by a need to create or express oneself through art, music, or other creative endeavors

Religion or spirituality - driven by a desire to connect with a higher power or to live according to certain beliefs or values

Altruism - motivated by a desire to help others or make the world a better place

Atonement - driven by a need to make amends or seek forgiveness for past actions

Nostalgia - motivated by a desire to return to a simpler time or relive past experiences

Status - driven by a desire for social or professional standing or recognition.

Insecurity - driven by a need to prove their worth or gain acceptance from others

Legacy - motivated by a desire to leave a lasting impact or to be remembered in a certain way after they're gone

Survival - driven by the need to survive in extreme circumstances, such as a natural disaster, war, or an apocalyptic event

Belonging - motivated by a desire to fit in with a certain group or community

Love of knowledge - driven by a passion for learning and acquiring new information

Addiction - motivated by a compulsion to engage in a particular behavior or activity, such as drug use or gambling

Inciting incident - motivation driven by a specific event that triggers or sets the character on their journey

Fear of death - driven by a fear of their own mortality or the mortality of others

Intimidation - motivated by a fear of others or a desire to intimidate others for personal gain

Envy - driven by a desire to possess what others have or to be like someone else

Manipulation - motivated by a desire to control or manipulate others for their own benefit

Protecting others - driven by a desire to protect loved ones or innocent people from harm

Sense of duty - motivated by a sense of responsibility to fulfill a particular role or obligation.

If you want to read more posts about writing, please click here and give me a follow!

#creative writing #writing #writeblr #writerscommunity #writer things #writers #writersociety #on writing #writblr #writers on tumblr #write #writers and poets #writers block #female writers #writing community #ao3 writer #writing advice #writing adventures #writing things #writing tips #advice #my characters #original character #character design #own character #motivation #resources

[aethon-recs]

2024 Update to Tomarrymort Longfic Recs — 8 additional fics

I wanted to add 8 lovely new longfics that have been published since the last time I put together this rec list — 6 more for the Intermediate reads list and 2 more for Advanced. Hopefully you’ll find something within these additional 950k words of absolutely brilliant Tomarrymort fic to sink your teeth into and enjoy:

Longfic rec list collection:

Tomarrymort Beginner reads are the fics I would use to introduce someone to the ship and help them get a baseline for the variety, themes, and tropes that best represent our ship;

Intermediate reads are for readers that are already familiar/sold on the ship, and are looking for fics that explore interesting new facets of the Tomarrymort dynamic; 

Advanced reads comprise challenging works of some nature, whether the writing features more complex subject matter and/or pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in a piece of fanfic.

Please enjoy these 8 additions to the list, all of which are either completed or still updating as of 2024!

*

Intermediate Longfic Recs

A Light That Never Goes Out by @kippipies (M, 80k, WIP)

Setting: Non-Magical AU Premise: If Harry is the target of a dangerous crime lord called Voldemort and his gang of Death Eaters in a modern mafia AU. Why I rec it: This is a delightful, high-energy caper of a fic in which Harry is a scrappy low-time criminal who accidentally crosses crime boss Voldemort. Naturally, Voldemort sets his sights on getting revenge, but Harry slips through his fingers at the last minute each time. The action scenes in this fic are incredibly dynamic and super fun — I felt like I was watching an action movie at each confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.

And the Living Will Envy the Dead by @k-s-morgan (M, 81k, WIP)

Setting: Time Travel (1940s) Premise: If Harry were flung back in time to Tom’s sixth year and almost immediately reveals he is Tom’s horcrux, setting off a chain reaction of obsession and control.  Why I rec it: An intricately crafted character study of Tom and how he gained control over the rest of Slytherin House by the time Harry meets him at the start of sixth year. Harry’s arrival throws Tom’s plans off-kilter, especially once Harry reveals he was Tom’s horcrux in another timeline. This leads Tom to believe the other version of him had somehow loved Harry, and shows him that it’s possible to form such a connection with Harry here if he wants, despite how dark, cruel, and violent he turned out and how little he cares for others. 

By Any Means by @corpium (E, 74k, WIP)

Setting: Alternate Universe Premise: If Harry has a younger brother Evan who is the Boy-Who-Lived, yet Harry’s overprotective actions towards Evan end up attracting the attention of Voldemort directly onto himself. Why I rec it: This is a really engaging and fast-paced adaptation of canon events if Harry were born 2 years earlier and his younger brother were the one that the prophecy applied to. The relationship between Harry and Evan is really sweet, as they share the burden of growing up at the Dursleys and all the adventures that Harry underwent in canon. There’s also such a fascinating exploration of magic as Harry gradually becomes more powerful as a result of all the trials that he’s put through, eventually becoming powerful enough to attract the attention of Voldemort. 

Pledged by @moontearpensfic (E, 118k, WIP)

Setting: Alternate Universe Premise: If Harry and Tom are best friends that enter together into a Hunger Games-crossed-with-Triwizard Tournament in their seventh year.  Why I rec it: This fic depicts co-dependency to such an intense degree between Harry and Tom. Not only are they inseparable best friends throughout their time at Hogwarts, they also perform a cooperative magic ritual that binds their magic to each other permanently, and allows them to share thoughts and feelings with each other across a mental link. There’s also an intriguing mystery at the heart of this story, as Harry and Tom try to figure out the origins of the Triwizard-style tournament that they enter into in their seventh year. 

Revolution of Configured Stars by @tollingreminiscentbells (E, 153k, WIP)

Setting: Voldemort Wins AU Premise: If Harry was raised in a pureblood family in a universe where Voldemort wins, and ends up attracting the attention of Voldemort in his seventh year at Hogwarts.  Why I rec it: This is such an intricate, incredibly thoughtful depiction of a society where Voldemort won and Harry was raised as a ward of a pureblood family. By the time it’s Harry’s seventh year, he’s a budding Arithmancy scholar who wants to explore whether it’s possible to choose the optimal timeline via arithmantic calculations, which catches the attention of Voldemort. Voldemort and Harry’s relationship unfolds in such a steamy way, and they truly feel like equals who hold each other in high regard, as Voldemort reveals that they have been inextricably linked by fate, whether or not he ended up trying to kill Harry as a baby in this particular timeline. 

the stars, my destination by @milkandmoon-ao3 (M, 15k, WIP)

Setting: Time Travel (Marauders Era) Premise: If Harry is sent back in time as an infant and adopted into the Potter family, growing up and attending Hogwarts alongside James.  Why I rec it: There is a dearth of Harrymort fics set in Marauders Era so it is such a delight to read about Harry’s friendships and rivalries with Marauders Era characters, like being best friends with Regulus and Quidditch rivals with James. As Harry starts his sixth year, the First Wizarding War heats up in the background and begins spilling into their life at Hogwarts as many of their classmates are recruited to fight on either side of it. All the while that he has to keep secret the strange mental connection that he’s had with the Dark Lord all his life. 

*

Advanced Longfic Recs

Hearthstone Abbey (Series) by @ramabear (E, 152k, WIP series)

Setting: Soulmate AU Premise: If second year Harry is plucked away from his canon universe by Voldemort from another universe who is his soulmate. Why I rec it: I wholly melted at all the ways Voldemort takes care of Harry in this fic, better treatment than Harry’s ever gotten in his entire life, and Harry is so lovable and adorable in turn. Voldemort has established himself as a religious figurehead/cult leader in the alternate universe, and it was very interesting to read about his alternate path to power. The soft grooming in this fic was so so delicious, ramping up in intensity as the fic progresses; Voldemort completely dotes on Harry and their dynamic is so sweet and tender, a very nice counterbalance to the sinister and predatory tones that underlie their relationship.

if we were lovers by @reggieblk (E, 277k, complete)

Setting: Non-Magical AU Premise: If Harry and Tom meet in a prestigious drama programme and fall for each other against a backdrop of high stakes threatre productions.  Why I rec it: The character work is so rich and detailed in this coming-of-age story in a modern AU setting. It’s clear there was so much thought that went into all the character interactions here, not only between Harry and Tom, but also the ensemble cast of characters who inject so much heart and humor into this story as well. I love the way that @reggieblk cleverly weaves in elements from Shakespeare’s plays and uses the theatre backdrop to depict how the love story between Harry and Tom unfolds — their developing relationship feels, at the same time, both very immersive and cozy, as well as highly fraught with tension. (As a bonus, there is an absolutely amazing original play in the interlude chapter that was written specifically for this fic!)

*

#tomarrymort #tomarry #harrymort #aethon recs #tomarry recs #tomarrymort recs #harrymort recs #hp fic recs #longfic recs #ao3 recs #fanfic recs #tom riddle #voldemort #harry potter

[wileys-russo]

Writing challenge

Alexia Putellas, “you and Mapi are children”, training grounds

alexia putellas

"is this really a good idea?" you asked with an ounce of hesitation as mapi messed about with the shampoo. "yes! did you forget what they did first?" mapi scoffed giving you a look as you shrugged unable to argue.

it was juvenile, you knew that. but as mapi stated it was pina and jana who started this whole thing. the 'thing' being an unofficial prank war of sorts, which had all begun just a couple of weeks ago.

you'd been off in your own world, headphones on and preparing yourself mentally for the game. you'd been rummaging through your bag trying to find your lucky hair tie when you saw it.

a large black spider sat on top of your training jumper causing you to let out a scream and fall backwards off the bench, smacking your head and groaning as several of the girls rushed over.

"mi amor what happened?" your girlfriend was the first by your side, grabbing your face and checking you over as you winced and gently pushed her away. "claudia!" mapi roared catching her trying to subtly remove the spider, the younger girl sprinting off in the opposite direction.

though intended to be harmless and there wasn't any real lasting damage, it didn't mean you weren't out for revenge and with mapi your willing accomplice it set off a series of events into motion.

claudia roped in jana to help her and everything started small between the four of you. if it was you signing claudias phone number up for telemarketing calls, hiding one anothers belongings, fake lottery tickets or scratchies.

but when claudia took it one level further and shaved a slit in mapi's eyebrow while she was napping after training one day, the tattooed spaniard was filled with an entirely new passion for getting even.

of course you'd been well warned to stop this all together by the rest of the team especially your captain and girlfriend who made a point to remind that you were both in your late twenties and ought to know better than to stoop to the younger girls level.

but all of the warnings fell on deaf ears which is what lead to you and mapi being crouched down in the showers, filling the girls shampoo with blue hair dye which was supposed to wash out after two washes.

"and you're sure its not going to be permanent?" you stressed again, constantly checking over your shoulder nervously. the two of you had arrived much earlier in order to avoid being caught out but it did nothing to ease your worries you would be.

"relax amiga! no one is here." mapi rolled her eyes, screwing the tops back on as the two of you exited the showers and placed the bottles back in both jana and claudias cubby's.

nothing more came of it until hours later when the game was won and everyone was back in the change rooms, and on such a high from winning you'd actually forgotten about yours and mapi's activities.

well you had until you heard a scream and the two girls appeared, hair tinted blue with dye running down their faces as the change room erupted into laughter, mapi taking off as claudia sprinted after her and jana stormed off to the showers to try and wash it out.

"cariño." you looked up with an amused smile which dropped seeing the stern glare sent your way by your girlfriend. "i did not do anything, it was all maría." you threw your friend right under the bus and sent the taller girl an innocent smile.

"mmm sure amor. you will apologise to both of them!" alexia ordered crossing her arms as you scoffed. "no i will not!" you argued, the girls firm look unwavering as she refused to break eye contact knowing exactly how to break you.

"fine!" you huffed, getting to your feet and yelling into the showers that you were sorry, jana's hand which was stained blue popping up over one of the stalls and flipping you off.

"can we go now? capi." you jeered, never appreciating when your girlfriend would pull the captain card on you. the two of you made your way out to alexia's car, claudia and mapi sprinting past you still chasing one another around as poor ingrid followed trying to break it up.

"you and mapi are children." alexia sighed, starting up the car as you settled into your seat. "i never was until i met her. she is a bad influence!" you tutted crossing your arms, sending her an innocent smile as she looked unimpressed.

"you love me though." you sang out as she started the engine, the older girl letting out a deep sigh.

"you are lucky you're cute mi vida, thats all you have going for you sometimes." "hey!"

#woso x reader #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso #woso blurbs #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas #woso community

[augustofwhump]

AUGUSTOFWHUMP ’24

A new whump event/challenge set in August, run by @painonthebrain!

Write-up of prompts & rules under the cut!

AUGUSTOFWHUMP PROMPTS:

Day 1: food / risk / overexertion

Day 2: iv / shock / cry for help

Day 3: poison / shady business / freezing

Day 4: filth / screams / open wounds

Day 5: stranded / power tools / ache

Day 6: confusion / spark / veins

Day 7: time loop / rot / promise

Day 8: rejected apology / trap / attack

Day 9: role reversal / caged / body modification

Day 10: secret / exhaustion / publicity

Day 11: freedom / scars / insecurity

Day 12: deal / monstrous / anger

Day 13: witness / resigned obedience / bootlicking

Day 14: dehumanization / darkness / alone

Day 15: salt in wounds / phobia / revenge

Day 16: hunt / disaster / dread

Day 17: experimental serum / cramps / stress position

Day 18: came back wrong / unavoidable / muzzle

Day 19: salvation / midnight / mistake

Day 20: contaminated / escape / test

Day 21: set up to fail / bitter / creep

Day 22: stitches / robbery / insects

Day 23: feral / possession / fate

Day 24: humiliation / gilded cage / jewelry

Day 25: barbed wire / insults / tear stains

Day 26: sensory deprivation / heartbeat / tape

Day 27: proof / memory / machine

Day 28: bloody nose / medic / abandoned

Day 29: control / touchstarved / broken glass

Day 30: blindfolded / obsession / gift

EDIT: I forgot day 31 so that’s “fuck it we ball” day. Make whatever you want. LMAO

ALT PROMPTS:

Drowning

Broken trust

Claustrophobia

Guilt

Human shield

Locked outside

Whipping

Collapse

The only survivor

Scraps

Outcast

GUIDELINES:

Prompts should ideally be responded to in the form of whump

Creators can make any type of media they want (Yes, this includes any kind of media, no matter how niche. As long as it’s creative, it’s allowed)

You can do as few or as many prompts as you like

You can complete these prompts in tandem with any other event or other prompts (such as in combination with Bad Things Happen Bingo, @randowhump’s Birthday Whump Event, AU-gust, etc.)

DO NOT use ai. I can’t be entirely sure what is or isn’t, but I trust you to at least put some type of effort in your creations. These events are no fun otherwise!

Tag & trigger warn your content accordingly

NSFW is allowed, however because I’m currently a minor, I will not look at or reblog it (Again, tag and label it!)

Tag your works as #augustofwhump and #augustofwhump2024. In addition to that, you can also tag this account — @augustofwhump. (Do not @ me in NSFW works.) I’ll try to reblog whatever I can!

I’m really excited (and nervous) to do this and I know it’s a bit early to post these prompts but whatever — it just means more time for people to work on prompts if they choose to do this event, right?

#whump #whumplr #whump community #whump challenge #whump event #whump prompts #augustofwhump #augustofwhump2024

[whumpay]

babe wake up new whumpay prompts dropped. like last year, im posting early for more time to prepare

Welcome to Whumpay 2024! Up above you will see the basic prompt list and down below the cut you will see it written out in a list, as well as three mini challenges (and by extension, the extreme edition)

Rules are the same as usual

You only have to use one (Or two, if you’re doing the extreme edition.) prompt a day! But you’re welcome to use multiple if you want to, and it still counts for both.

I know the description of the blog says it’s a writing event, but if you want to draw or make other kinds of content, that’s cool too.

Have fun, tag content warnings (such as noncon, graphic violence, etc) and try not to be crushed by the mortifying ordeal of posting your writing.

This is a pretty chill event so you can start posting whenever but I’ll be reblogging posts made to the #Whumpay2024 tag throughout May. For real this time.

These all also apply to these three special mini challenges, consisting of a 7 day, a 10 day, and a 14 day prompt list.

EXTREME EDITION: This year's extreme edition doesn't have its own prompt list, but instead, youll be taking all three mini challenges in order along with the main prompt list. Some of these fit pretty well, others less so.

1 - Mad Science:

Day 1: Strapped To An Operating Table

Day 2: Paralytic Drug

Day 3: Made A Lab Rat

Day 4: Vivisection

Day 5: Truth Potion/Serum/Spell

Day 6: Russian Roulette

1 - Attacks, Mental & Physical:   

Day 7: Heart Attack

Day 8:  Asthma Attack

Day 9: Animal Attack

Day 10: Panic Attack

3 - Ineffective Medical Care:

Day 11: Medical Torture

Day 12: Withholding Medical Treatment

Day 13: Medication Tampering

Day 14: Injury Brushed Off

Day 15: No Anesthetic

4: Mindfuck

Day 16: Presumed Dead

Day 17: Memory Loss

Day 18: Stockholm Syndrome

Day 19: Phantom Pains

Day 20: Love Potion/Spell

Day 21: Role Reversal 

5. Nature's Revenge

Day 22: Slowly Running Out Of Air

Day 23: Natural Disaster 

Day 24: Struck By Lightning

Day 25: Snowed In

Day 26: Heatstroke

6. Traps & Trauma

Day 27: Caught In A Net

Day 28: Traumatic Touch Aversion

Day 29: Used As Bait

Day 30:  Flashbacks

Day 31: Choose Who Lives

Mini challenge #1: Torture

#1: Tortured For Information

#2: Whipping

#3: Branding

#4: Begging To Be Killed

#5: Recorded/Broadcast Torture

#6: False Execution

#7: Shock Collar

Mini Challenge #2: Dialogue

#8: “Why are you doing this?”

#9: “Don’t look.”

#10: “You look awful.”

#11: “Who did this to you?”

#12: “No one is coming for you.”

#13: “No one cares about me.”

#14: “Don’t lie to me.”

#15: “Stay with me, please.”

#16: ”You’re scaring me!”

#17: “You’re a monster.”

Mini Challenge #3: Aftermath

#18: Fighting Against Caretaker 

#19: Seeking Revenge

#20: Taking The Blame

#21: Barely Conscious

#22: Disassociation

#23: Carried To Safety

#24: Scars

#25: Unhealthy Codependency 

#26: Infected Wound

#27: Survivor’s Guilt

#28: Touch Starvation

#29: Abandonment Issues

#30: Cradled In Someone’s Arms

#31: Adrenaline Crash

Alt Prompts:

Death Game

Came Back Wrong

Attack The Injury

Healing Malfunction

Left For Dead 

Mistaken Identity

Dazed

Trapped Under Rubble

Drowning

Disowned By Family

Hostage Situation

Have fun everybody!

#whump #whump event #whump writing #writing #whumpay #writers #writing event #whump prompt #whumpay2024 #prompt list #whump prompt list

[opreaadriann]

High School Revenge

High School Revenge is an interactive fiction game set in the scariest imaginable location: high school. In this game, you will get to play as a teenager that was betrayed by his best friends and classmates 7 years ago, and get to come back to their high school, with a completely different look, preparing your revenge on them, Count of Monte-Cristo style. You will get to live a full academic year alongside your 8 targets, as you befriend, betray, and even romance them to get what you want. Will you forgive them after learning of their reasons or will you go through with your sweet, sweet revenge? The current version of the demo is 51k words.

Demo

The game is still a work-in-progress, so any suggestions are appreciated! If you find any bugs or issues, make sure to mention them.

Other places where you can follow the project or support me:

X/Twitter COG Forum Patreon

Features:

Play as male, female, or nonbinary.

Romance your 6 childhood bullies, your 2 childhood friends, or hidden allies.

Live the tragic childhood events that lead to the worst day of your life and decide how everything went down.

Almost all targets will have deep secrets that you’ll have to discover throughout the story and use against them.

Pretend to be a charismatic popular kid, a likeable klutz, a rebel that goes against the norm, or the edgy, silent type.

Lie, charm, spy, blackmail, everything is on the table to get your revenge. There is no “good” way to learn the targets’ secrets and there’s no perfect way to get the job done.

Your stats will almost never affect your capability to get revenge. All that will make a real difference will be your relationship with all the characters.

Spend a full academic year getting to know your targets, interacting with them through random events, relationship events, or hobby events, similar to a Persona game.

Romance Options:

Targets

Dylan Evans

The first friend the MC ever made, Dylan was once just a nerdy Asian kid with big square glasses, playing video games with you every single day. However, as time passed, he turned into a social media influencer, garnering over tens of thousands of likes on every post.

With an incredibly fake smile, Dylan manages to turn most people into his followers, as his strategy to suck up to the rest of the students seems to work quite well.

Though he seems to be quite irredeemable, you do remember him being a selfless kid with a big heart. There are so many memories with him helping you out whenever he could, being the only person you could confide in. What could have made him turn against you when you needed him most?

Olivia Hartley

If your MC had to choose the most unlikely person to ever do them wrong, then Olivia would be their first choice. Strong willed and incredibly sarcastic, this raven-haired tall girl has remained exactly the same 7 years later.

And yet, she did betray you on the day of the Tragedy, giving secret information to your bullies and allowing you to fall victim to their prank… What could have been her reason?

Olivia is an incredibly intuitive person, with a quick mind and a powerful personality to boot. Someone like her will likely be a huge challenge in the upcoming revenge, but not even her can stop this mastermind.

Michael Knox

This tall, dark, and handsome captain of the Baseball team can be, depending on your choices, the person that tricked you into falling in love with him, only to publicly humiliate you in front of the whole school.

He is an incredibly talented athlete with a very arrogant attitude, assuming that the world belongs to him. With a very rich dad to support him, nothing has ever gone wrong in his life, if we were to ignore his mother’s death during his birth.

Can he be considered one of the main antagonists of this story or is he just a secret follower that only followed orders during the Tragedy?

Cecily Knight

Ah yes, Cecily Knight. Everyone, everywhere knows who Cecily Knight is. This petite blue-eyed blonde is the captain of the swimming team, and regularly publicly humiliates anyone that attempts to get to know her romantically.

With such a strong reputation, Cecily manages to order around anyone in the school with ease, as they all lower their heads when she passes them on the hallways.

However, observing her more closely can reveal that she is much more docile with her friends and loved ones. Is she actually an ice queen or is it all a facade to protect herself?

Connor Cobb

With his long blond hair and piercing smile, Connor tends to attract every girl that passes his way. However, he manages to make them all leave once he opens his mouth, as his desperation can be seen from miles away.

As the star guitarist of The Fighting Rooster, Connor is an incredibly talented individual that planned the whole part of the Tragedy where they befriended you first before destroying your life.

Though he seems like a total idiot, looking into his life seems to reveal that there is more to him than just this fake persona he shows everyone. With 3 younger siblings, Connor seems to have a lot on his shoulders as many in his family look up to him.

Isaac Freeman

With his curly red locks and emerald eyes, Isaac manages to trick many people into thinking he is someone they would like to get to know. As the mastermind behind the Tragedy, he is the worst out of all the people on this list.

It is quite common for him, even 7 years later, to bully students so badly that they decide to move schools. By observing his behavior, it seems that all he cares about is being thoroughly entertained.

Either make him laugh, do something outrageous, or get out of his way, as he will do his best to make every day more interesting than the last.

Vivian Porter

Vivian turned from Isaac’s best friend in her childhood to Dylan’s current confidant. With a seemingly perfect appearance and an endless wardrobe, Vivian manages to impress anyone that sees her pass by.

She is incredibly empathic, being able to tell what anyone is feeling at a glance, allowing her to use this skill to make anyone fall for her ambitious tricks.

Is she just someone that just made a mistake during childhood or are her intentions impure at this age as well?

Haley Freeman

As Isaac’s twin sister, nobody would expect her to be the biggest goody two shoes the world has ever seen. Seemingly stuttering her way through most conversations, people usually tend to forget she even exists.

This curvy redhead has a deep passion for painting, as she spends most of her time in the school gardens, capturing the view.

Is there more to Isaac’s sister than meets the eye or is she just another victim of Isaac’s abuse?

Allies

Angela Slone

A swimmer with long, brown hair, Angela is part of the team alongside Cecily. After being bullied into submission by the harpy, she reluctantly decides to help the MC carry out their revenge against their many targets.

With a bubbly personality and a merciful soul, Angela is possibly the worst ally for this revenge you could find. However, this doesn’t mean she can’t be tricked into giving you what you want.

Marcus Parmer

Marcus has led a horrible life during high school. Being diagnosed with a medical condition forcing him to go bald, he has been constantly bullied by Isaac ever since he joined the Baseball team.

He is much more serious than any of the allies you can find in the school, but he isn’t the most capable person for the job. He is, however, excited to help you get rid of the scum pretending to be students in his school.

#interactive fiction #choicescript #interactive game #romance #high school revenge #dashingdon #if wip

[bucket-barnes]

I am slightly miffed about unrelated things: here’s some descendants headcannons

-if a version Rupaul’s Drag race exists in Auradon- Evie watches it solely for the design challenges and Jay will occasionally watch with her because he finds the lipsync for your life entertaining

-they complain about judges critiques together and Jay has a bias for any queen who can do acrobatics

-Gil sews (which is cannon- see Uma’s wicked book) so he ends up taking up a part time apprenticeship with Evie

-Harry has his sisters’ names tattooed over his heart. He didn’t tell anyone, but the lost revenge crew found out because of one of the massive holes in his shirt happened to act as a frame for the tattoos whenever his coat isn’t on

-once he comes to Auradon, he starts modeling for Evie and more people end up finding out about the tattoos and he ends up gaining a reputation in Auradon as a “bad but sad boy” which he has decided not to question…there are numerous fan edits

-while working his way through Vet school, Carlos ends up becoming royal tech support because king beast has zero clue how to use any form of technology and Ben has gotten tired of trying to explain it

-Gil adopted a dog during his and Jay’s travel around the world

-now he and Jay share custody of a perpetually angry looking Pomsky they named Scout

-they go on hiking trips together with Scout as family bonding time

- Mal still gets strawberries as fan gifts and gifts from other royals- castle beast now has a strawberry cellar to compensate for the overflow

-eventually the cellar became so full the “Auradon strawberry festival” was created to get rid of them. This has become an annual event, held the week after Mal’s birthday

- Mal also dresses up lizard Maleficent for special events with Gil and Evie making her little hats to put on the former mistress of evil

-Hades also partakes in this as a way to get back at his ex-wife

- As the unofficial “Queen of the Isle” Uma has to go to royal events, she brings Harry because he keeps the more annoying royals away by simply being himself

-Uma also comes in full pirate captain getup to these events for no other reason than she thinks the looks people give her when she walks into a room with a pirate’s hat and cutlass with Harry Hook on her arm are funny

#disney descendants #harry hook #disney #descendants 3 #gil descendants #ben descendants #carlos descendants #evie descendants #jay descendants #descendants 2 #descendants #descendants headcanons

[apolline-lucy]

my book, THE SILVER BIRDS, is out!!!

On a cursed island where birds steal hearts and blades of grass cut sharper than knives, two young women driven by revenge take on solving a series of mysterious deaths.

Every winter’s first snow, a flock of silver birds descends upon Namu Island and leaves with a heart. When River’s father is taken, she seeks vengeance.

But soon uncanny events unfold: islanders die in eerie ways, the woods turn green in the dead of winter, River’s brother disappears, and a strange woman turns up.

To save her brother and unravel the island’s mystery, River will be cast into an unexpected alliance that will challenge her beliefs, trust, and love.

THE SILVER BIRDS is a queer enemies-to-lovers dark fantasy novel, which features conflicted characters filled with rage and wants for revenge, yet fiercely protective of the ones they trust enough to love. There is no good and evil, but rather a beautifully dark grey where monsters who aren’t really monsters live.

#the silver birds #books #book release #horror book #romance books #wlw books #queer books #lgbt books #sapphic books #sapphic #sapphism #wlw #queer #queer recs #lgbtqia #queer representation #fantasy books #romantasy #queer fantasy #wlw fantasy #indie author #indie books #indie writer #sapphic september #writers of tumblr #writeblr #booklr #bookish #queer art #wlw art

[neerons]

It’s funny how Kei is mocking MC in Yuzu’s stories when he worships her so hard in his own 🤣

Revenge & Challenge event

Yuzuru: Squirrel on Memory Lane Challenge

#yuzuru shiba #masquerade kiss #mk #revenge & challenge event #voltage inc #love 365 #otome game #voltage #love 365 find your story #otome games #voltage otome

[the-crimson]

I need everyone to understand that q!Tubbo, q!Bbh and q!Aypierre spent seven hours fighting a psychological war today and they lost… but it prevented both teams from dying and no one will ever know.

(All talk about character not ccs etc etc)

Tubbo wasn’t there during the egg battle so he doesn’t feel the betrayal and humiliation that the other two do. He looks at green team and sees his friends. People he cares about. He doesn’t want them to lose especially not like this! He’d made up his mind the moment he learned of the event. No one was going to die.

Aypierre looked at green team and saw the snakes who broke their promise to tie the previous challenge. Why would they agree to tie this time when they’ve already proven to be untrustworthy? They betrayed him. They humiliated him and his entire team. This was his opportunity for revenge. Why shouldn’t blue team take it?

Bbh is much more in the middle. He agreed with the premise of a tie because he wanted to give green a fighting chance. He had a gut feeling it wasn’t going to work but he was willing to try. However, he didn’t trust green either. The whole time he was paranoid about green logging in at the last minute to scrounge together the quests to beat them. He was constantly reminding the group to stay together so they couldn’t be killed in case green logged in. He did not trust green to keep to the deal but he was willing to try.

For the first five or so hours of the streams the three had too many conversations to count where Aypierre would try to convince them to just say fuck it and turn in their tasks. To break the tie and be done with it! But each time bbh and Tubbo manage to hold him back and keep to the plan. It was only when bbh and Aypierre were in green’s secret base standing in front of green’s merchant that Aypierre finally caved and turned in his missions.

This was one battle lost. The next was Aypierre and Tubbo pulling bbh in two different directions and Tubbo choosing to give Green the quest items to rebalance the score. Two different battles that culminated in the single decisive moment of bbh claiming all of his missions. But what happened leading up to that moment? Chaos.

Various members of green team were logging in and out for the next two hours which only fueled bbh’s paranoia even more. Aypierre was trying to convince him to just claim the tasks the games already over! While Tubbo was confident they could still tie the score. It all went to shit in the last fifteen minutes.

Bbh and Aypierre discovered the quest items were gonna from the chest and Tubbo was lying to them about where he was. Tubbo made an executive decision to try and balance the score knowing the other two were too on the edge and chaotic at the moment. They’d discussed potentially giving green some items to tie the score but this was never agreed to and bbh and Aypierre had no idea what Tubbo was giving them.

They arrive at the center and the score starts changing and bbh starts panicking. Aypierre calls Tubbo a traitor for going behind their back and bbh is trying to mediate and figure out what’s going on - what did Tubbo do? Tubbo doesn’t explain fully so bbh assumes he gave both ElQuackity and Roier the quest items. Then Mouse logs in and bbh’s paranoia goes into overdrive. Did green have the items stockpiled and ready for Mouse to turn them in to sweep the victory last second? It’s happened twice before so it’s not out of the question. Bbh looked at the being Coco that acted so much like his son and asked, and it told him to cash in the quests. So he did.

At this point, everything was pure adrenaline. All bbh was thinking was save Dapper. “Run over anyone you need to to win”. If it ended as a tie or if blue won, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he could not LOSE.

All three of blue fought so incredibly hard today it’s incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ccs aren’t completely emotionally exhausted. Aypierre gave into his revenge after fighting it for nearly five hours straight. Bbh gave into his paranoia after fighting it for SEVEN HOURS straight. Tubbo gave into his need to do the right thing at any costs by going behind his team’s back which lead to the miscommunication that lead to that pivotal moment.

Blue failed today. They fought an internal war for seven hours and they lost at the very last moment. But in so doing, they saved their entire team. And they’ll never know. And no one will ever know. They will continue being the villains in this story even though no one on red or green knows what they went thought mentally today. None of them understand that it took seven hours of constant stress for them to break when they could have cashed the quests and secured victory within an hour.

In the end, Aypierre said it best “Either we win a fraud or die a villain.”

#qsmp #crimson speaks #if I see one more person say that bbh and Aypierre don’t respect Tubbo #and that Tubbo deserves better #or that he should join red team #I’m gonna lose it #todays conflict was so fricking insane #and I have 100% faith blue will come back together tomorrow and hash it out

[kimbappykidding]

Imagine playing hard to get with Yeonjun at the Hybe picnic

You and Yeonjun had been unofficially seeing one another for a while and things were going well until he asked you out...over text. You got he was a busy man but couldn't he atleast pick up the phone to ask you to be his girlfriend? It wasn't the sort of thing you just did over text. That took the least amount of effort possible and made you think Yeonjun didn't really care. So you didn't respond to the text hoping Yeonjun would realise why you were upset and call you or that he'd wonder why you'd gone all quiet on him. He didn't and a week passed without him checking what had happened or following through in any way. You wondered if he just thought you'd rejected him and so had closed off so you asked Soobin but he said Yeonjun was fine. As loud and happy as ever and that hurt. So any sympathy you had for him vanished and just in time too because you had the Hybe picnic. A few weeks ago you'd been excited about this! A chance to hang out with all the groups you hardly ever spoke to in one place...it'd be amazing. However, with recent events, it turned from a fun social event to one of revenge.   So when you arrived with your group and saw TxT you waved to them but made sure not to make eye contact with Yeonjun. You didn't register his presence and ignored how handsome he looked. You couldn't help but smile when TxT made their chaotic entrance but told yourself you were laughing because of the other guys, not him. One of the first games you played was a race. You'd get a mission and then have to select another person to help you do the mission. Yeonjun went first and he picked you for his mission. You acted like you didn't really know him and stood a safe distance apart only politely answering his questions. The challenge was to get someone who could do the crab and walk 3 meters. Yeonjun knew you'd always been flexible and loved gymnastics so was confident you'd smash this. When the host asked him why he picked you, Yeonjun said it was because you were the main dancer so he hoped you'd be flexible. He smiled at you when he said it and you smiled back but didn't meet his eye. You did the challenge and then quickly returned to your seat, giving Yeonjun nothing more than you needed to.

You went in the next round for your team and the challenge you had was to get someone to say an English tongue twister. You knew Yeonjun was famously good at pronouncing English words (RIP Beomgyu) but you couldn't pick him...then you remembered Seventeen had an American member. You raced to the table and just told them "English speaker" and they all pointed to Joshua. You gestured for him to come and the boy jumped up, running with you. You got there second and while stood in line waiting, you noticed this boy was cute. His eyes were kinda similar to Yeonjun's but his nose and lips were different. "Sorry I don't think we've been introduced before I yanked you away" you said "I'm Y/n". The man nodded chuckling slightly "nice to meet you Y/n I'm Joshua". "Nice to meet you too...so are you American or...". He nodded "yeah I'm American but came here to be an idol. I'm from LA". "Yes!" you cried happily and Joshua laughed. "That's really cool you're from LA, did you see a lot of famous people?". Joshua laughed and the two of you started chatting until the host noticed and shushed you both. Meanwhile, Yeonjun saw the whole thing and he wasn't happy. He could tell from your body language that you found Joshua attractive on some level and didn't like how well the conversation was flowing between the two of you. When you both got told off for talking you laughed together and shot each other looks like it was some big inside joke. You looked good together and Yeonjun couldn't help but glare. When you hadn't responded to his message he thought this was some sort of joke or that you were too busy. However now, watching you he began to reconsider that. The first duo succeeded and then it was your turn. The challenge was a tongue twister and Yeonjun sighed "well he's American so this will be easy". Yeonjun was praying Joshua would fail but how would he mess up his home language? Of course, Joshua said the whole thing perfectly and you cheered "wow that sounded so good!" making Joshua blush. You walked away together still chatting and took the long way around so Joshua could finish what he was saying. You then got back to your tables (which of course were next to each other) and said goodbye. Yeonjun felt better knowing you were away from one another but not for long. It was dinner time and everyone raced to get into line. Yeonjun was determined to get in between you and Joshua and was relieved to see you were 2 ahead of him and Joshua 1 behind him. So Yeonjun thought it would be safe until the people in between got the answers right leaving you, Yeonjun and Joshua all next to one. Yeonjun was pleased he was in the middle but now felt the pressure to keep getting answers wrong so as to keep separating you. He knew it was childish but he couldn't help it. He had no idea why you were acting like this but he wouldn't take it lying down. Finally on your 3rd time you were asked a question and Yeonjun knew you wouldn't know the answer. It was about Geography and Yeonjun knew that wasn't a strong point of yours. He searched his brain for the answer so he could whisper it to you but he didn't know it...but guess who did. Joshua whispered the answer and you heard it repeating it. The host paused "did you know that?". You nodded "totally, I love capital cities". The man didn't seem convinced and let you take the food. Yeonjun didn't miss how you shot Joshua a smile. Yeonjun was too nervous to eat properly and spent most of his time with his eyes glued to your table. Everything was going well until they brought the prizes out for people who won challenges. Yeonjun accepted his and watched as you headed to Joshua to split it with him. Yeonjun watched as Joshua tried to give you the money back but you wouldn't dream of it. In the end, Joshua agreed to take it but only if you took his ice cream. It was a cute exchange and Yeonjun could see Joshua's members smiling. Yeonjun wasn't the only one noticing the chemistry there.   After dinner, it was the dance challenge which comforted Yeonjun. He knew he was a good dancer and went all out hoping to show you why he was better than Joshua. Yeonjun hoped you were watching him but when he looked back you and Joshua were hiding near one another. He saw Joshua ask you what the move was and you helped him both laughing. The hosts soon caught on that you two were hiding at the back and asked Joshua to come forwards and dance. You got eliminated together and sat at the back. Yeonjun tried ignoring it but when he saw Joshua whisper something in your ear he lost it. He completely messed up the routine and got eliminated. You didn't even seem to notice too busy chatting to Joshua and Yeonjun took a seat near Beomgyu annoyed. "You okay?" Beomgyu asked and he nodded "I'm fine...". The day ended and Yeonjun called out to you. You were with your members but paused when you saw him. You said goodbye and made your way over to him. "So what are you into Joshua now?" Yeonjun asked. You shrugged "why do you care?". "Seriosuly?" Yeonjun asked "you're just going to pretend like there's nothing between us?". "Well officially there is nothing" you said "technically I can flirt with however many guys I want because we're not together!". Yeonjun heard the way you said that and paused. "But that's not my fault I...I asked you out". You sighed "yes but how did you do that Yeonjun? After 4 months of spending time together, hanging out, hooking up, talking all the time...you ask me by text?" you asked "that's cold Yeonjun". Yeonjun froze because he honestly hadn't thought of it like that. The two of you had been talking and you'd said something so hilarious he'd been laughing about it all day. He knew how he felt about you and was tired so it just came out. He asked if you wanted to make this official and went to bed hoping for an answer the next morning. He honestly hadn't considered that there were some things you should say in person and he agreed this probably should've been one. "Shit Y/n I'm so sorry!" he said and you looked at him with tears in your eyes "you mean a lot to me Yeonjun, am I really only worth a text?". "No of course not!" Yeonjun said touching your arm and you pulled away. "Y/n please let me explain of course you deserve better!" Yeonjun said. You went to talk when a figure appeared. "Hey is everything okay here?" Joshua asked looking at you crying. You thought it was really sweet that Joshua would come and check but Yeonjun didn't. He stepped forward, his patience for Joshua evaporating more and more by the second. "We're fine" he said through gritted teeth and Joshua smiled at him "that's great but I'd like to hear it from her". Yeonjun went to argue when you stepped between them "don't worry Joshua we're fine just bickering". "Then why are you crying?" he asked and you sighed "because we're kind of together and it hurts when the person closest to you hurts you...but don't worry Yeonjun isn't dangerous, we just need to discuss this. Thank you for checking and for being so great today". Joshua nodded "okay no problem, we're not leaving for a bit so call me if you need me". You nodded telling Joshua you would before turning back to Yeonjun "you have some explaining to do". Yeonjun earnestly explained everything, how he never thought it through, how he just wanted you to be with him and how sorry he was. "I'd been wanting to ask you for ages because I really like you Y/n. I'd never do anything to hurt you and please let me make it up to you...I swear I won't do something like this again". You paused looking at him again "but how do you know that?". He shook his head "because I will never forget how today felt. I was so panicked thinking I'd lost you and I will never be stupid enough to make that mistake twice. I never want to be without you" he said touching your arm and this time you didn't step back. "I believe you and I forgive you" you said. Yeonjun's face lit up into a smile and he hugged you letting out a huge sigh of relief "I'm so happy, thank you Y/n!". "Just don't do it again" you said relaxing into his hug "I thought I'd lost you too". Yeonjun shook his head holding you close "as long as you want me I'll be here and so on that note. Y/n, will you please be my girlfriend? These past few months with you have meant so much to me and I want you to be mine". You smiled "I will" and Yeonjun picked you up swinging you around before setting you down. "You're my girlfriend" he said looking at you before laughing "I'm never going to get used to saying that". "Then stop talking for a second" and you said and Yeonjun smiled reading your mind "good idea" and he kissed you. Yeonjun finally kissed his girlfriend.

#yeonjun fic #yeonjun imagine #yeonjun x reader #yeonjun x you #yeonjun x female reader #txt yeonjun #yeonjun txt #txt fic #txt imagine #txt x reader #txt x you #tomorrow by together #tomorrow by together x reader #tomorrow by together fic #tomorrow by together imagine #joshua #seventeen #beomgyu #soobin #kpop #kpop fic #kpop imagine

[em-dash-press]

Skills Writers Gain From Reading

We’ve all heard the old line of encouragement—reading makes you a better writer.

But how exactly does that work?

These are a few skills you’ll gain from reading with the viewpoint of a writer, not just a reader.

You’ll Flex Your Critical Thinking Skills

Reading made up events and imaginary people might not seem like critical thinking, but you’ll use your brain in more ways than one. While you’re sifting through a book, you’re also:

Observing cause and effect correlation

Analyzing how actions and events affect characters or the plot

Recognizing things like bias (narrative or otherwise)

Problem-solving to get ahead of the problem (Who’s the murder? The thief? The villain?)

Remember what you read before (simple, but takes practice!)

All of these skills are part of the drafting and writing process too. Grab a book or two—you’ll need these abilities to bring your stories to life.

You’ll Practice Your Grammar and Spelling

Whether you feel a secret thrill at finding a typo in a published novel or second-hand embarrassment for the people who made it happen, you automatically practice your grammar skills by spotting them.

You’re also reading words over and over again, which makes them easier to recall when you’re trying to spell them.

You’ll Discover New Writing Styles You Like or Dislike

You might also find that some writers vary their sentence structures in ways you like or dislike. The long, stretching sentences within a historical fantasy novel could draw you for the long haul. Maybe you prefer the short, conversational sentences that weave between longer ones in a comedic book.

Word choice is also a significant factor in enjoying a writer’s voice/style. Some writers will challenge you to keep a dictionary nearby at all times. Others will use modern slang or colloquialisms that might take you out of the story—or make it feel more real to you.

As you get used to the styles you prefer, your writing may naturally shadow those styles when you’re writing a story after putting the book down. That’s okay! Experimenting with style or tone isn’t plagiarism and doesn’t make you a bad writer. It’s another step in the journey of defining who you are as a creative wordsmith.

You’ll Learn New Ways to Describe Things

Imagine two writers describing a character walking across the street. One writer might focus on how the character feels, what they’re thinking, or what that moment in time means to them by writing in first-person POV. The other could write about the weather, the city, the cars passing by, or what another person thinks of the protagonist through third-person omniscient POV.

It’s always good to challenge how you might write a scene by reading how others do it. You’ll return to your work or start a story with a new perspective on standby.

You’ll Analyze the Plot

When you fall in love with a novel, it’s natural to think about the plot even after you finish the book. You’re likely reminiscing about the great plot points like two future best friends meeting at a pizza shop after stepping forward for the same order—they shared first and last names! Maybe you loved how each minor conflict built into a war between nations or how a character slowly lost their mind and sought revenge.

You’ll know what works and what doesn’t work about the plot structure based on how a novel grips you or not. Your brain will take note about the many things you feel and store it for instinct later. While you’re plotting that traditional mountain-shaped plot line, your creative side will find inspiration to drop conflict or positive moments that enrich your story.

You’ll Fall in Love With Characters

We’ve all written a good character and we��ve all written a bad one. Do you remember the first time you read a morally gray character? It likely blew your mind and made you want to write one too.

Falling in love with characters is like practice for writers. You won’t want to make the exact same character in all of your future stories (unless you only want to write fan fiction, and if that’s the case—enjoy every moment of it!), so you’ll use them as inspiration just like people in real life.

You’ll Improve Your Concentration

Not to sound like a cliche, but social media companies literally create their apps to monetize the brain’s ability to crave stimulation. Scrolling and swiping has likely had an effect on how long you can concentrate. I know it has for mine!

Even if you’re not on social media, things like the pressure to multitask and juggling responsibilities can wear on your focus too. If you miss those moments in your childhood or teenage years when you would spend an entire afternoon or weekend with a book, you don’t have to be sad for long.

Reading any length of a book can improve your concentration. Set a timer and read for five minutes. Next time, read for six. Slowly expand your time for reading (while there aren’t other distractions around, like notifications on your Kindle or your phone screen lighting up nearby).

As you read in longer stretches, you’ll write in longer stretches too. Your brain will feel more at rest with the one quiet activity you choose to do. Did I mention that makes editing way easier too?

-----

The next time you feel guilty for reading something instead of writing, remember that you’re also sharpening these skills! Reading is an invaluable way to get better at writing. All you have to do is pick up a book.

#writing tips #writing advice #writeblr #read to improve your writing #writers of tumblr #creative writing

[charlosvibesonly]

Racing Hearts - Part 2

A Max Verstappen Imagine

Part 1

pairing : max x fem! reader/driver

the aftermath of their unexpected kisses is driving the racing world crazy. and y/n can't help but fall for him.

please lmk if you want this to be a series!

The night air was filled with anticipation as you and Max stayed there, lingering in the aftermath of the unexpected kiss. As days passed, you found yourself inexplicably attracted to Max in a way that surpassed the excitement of the racetrack. The articles and headlines about your growing connection were impossible to ignore, and soon, even you were caught up in the romance that they portrayed.

Snippets from articles read,

"From fierce rivals to unexpected lovers, Y/N and Max's story is straight out of a Hollywood script. Once a battleground, the racetrack is now the backdrop for their burgeoning romance."

"Fans can't get enough of the unexpected chemistry between Y/N and Max. Is it love or a strategic move to keep the competition on track?"

"In a surprising turn of events, the racetrack has become the stage for a love story that transcends the finish line. Can these racing rivals make it work off the track?"

The tabloids and fans alike speculated on the authenticity of your relationship, dissecting every shared glance and lingering touch. Amid it all, you found yourself genuinely liking Max, a realization that both thrilled and terrified you. The thrill of racing was now accompanied by the happiness of stolen glances and the gentle brush of hands during press events.

It was the Silverstone weekend. Y/N went to a club at her friends’ persuasion. The dim, pulsating lights cast a hazy glow over the dance floor, where bodies swayed.

However, the vibrant energy took a swift downturn when you stumbled upon Max. His presence stood out amidst the chaotic dance floor, his sleek black attire making him an unmistakable figure in the sea of people. Your breath hitched as you caught sight of him, his arms wrapped around another girl, their laughter blending with the bass-heavy music.

At that moment, the world seemed to slow down, the rhythmic beats of the music fading into the background. Hurt and blindsided, you felt a sudden weight in your chest, and a knot tightened in the pit of your stomach.

His eyes met yours, you could see the realization dawning on his face. Without a word, you turned away, determined to escape the suffocating atmosphere.

Max hurried after you, pulling you back.

"Where are you going?" he asked a mix of concern in his eyes.

"Somewhere I don't bother you and your date," you replied, your anger palpable.

“Must have been so fun right? Playing with me.” your voice breaking.

Tears rolled down your cheeks, and you left without giving him a chance to explain. 

Arriving at the hotel, you retreated to the solitude of your room, hoping the night would make you hurt less. 

It was race day. And you wanted revenge. Max and you were in a very close fight for the championship, this win could give you an advantage. And you wanted it. 

Rain was forecasted. The downpour was obviously in Max’s favor. You cursed your luck. But decided to give him an equally tough fight. You weren’t the kind to back down.

As the cars navigated the treacherous turns, the rain intensified, challenging even the most seasoned drivers. The spray of water, illuminated by the headlights, created a dazzling display that added a layer of drama to the already high-stakes competition. The race unfolded like a dance between machines and elements, a battle not only against each other but also against the relentless forces of nature.

Amidst the chaos, Max executed a surprising move, a strategic decision that played a pivotal role in helping you secure the lead.

“Y/N wins the British Grand Prix!”

The noise was deafening.

But you weren’t celebrating. A thousand questions ran through your head. Your eyes searched for Max. Making your way towards to garage, you stood in front of him.

So many things you wanted to know, but all you could say was, “Why?”

"You stopped talking to me, Y/N," Max began, his voice cutting through the chaotic symphony of the rain and engines. His gaze bore into yours, seeking understanding. "You just went away. I wasn't playing around, and I certainly wasn't on a date. She was just a fan, a little too eager. You have to believe me; I'd never mess with you like that. I think I like you too much for it."

As he spoke, Max's emotions played out on his expressive face. There was a hint of regret for the misunderstanding, a touch of vulnerability in the admission of liking you, and a determination to set things right.

In the midst of it all, the call to the podium interrupted, leaving Max's explanation hanging in the air. 

On the podium, with rain still pouring down, the fans eagerly anticipated a kiss. The scent of wet asphalt mixed with the sweet champagne hung in the air as you stood next to Max. Your racing suits, now drenched, clung to your bodies, creating a scene that echoed the intensity of the race you both had just conquered.

In that charged moment, emotions swirled within you like a storm. The recent hurt and confusion from the club scene were still fresh, an ache in your chest that begged for resolution.

Seizing the moment, you took Max's face in your hands. Your eyes revealed a mix of emotions – anger and hurt were there, yes, but underneath it all, a burning desire to set things right, to redefine the narrative that had spiraled out of control. The kiss that followed caught Max off guard.

Surprised by your sudden boldness, Max responded with eagerness. He pulled you closer, the racing suits sticking to your bodies like a second skin. Max lifted you into the air, clearly showing how eager he was. As you hung in his arms, Fernando, sharing the podium, grabbed a bottle of champagne and poured it over both of you. The kiss continued, undeterred by the rain, and crowd.

As you broke away, you realized that you were no longer rivals; instead, you were something undefined, something that went beyond the racetrack.

The post-race interview was a chorus of questions about your evolving relationship. 

"Y/N, Max, can you confirm if this is a real romance or just a publicity stunt?" one reporter asked.

You exchanged a glance with Max, and laughing you replied, "It's as real as the rain pouring down on us."

Another reporter jumped in, "How did this happen? Weren't you arch-rivals just a while ago?"

Max, a playful smirk on his face, responded, "Well, sometimes, the best races happen when you least expect them."

The other drivers were caught equally off-guard. Charles said in his interview, ”I thought I was the only one with a surprising performance today, but clearly, I underestimated those two.” And he chuckled while watching their kiss being replayed over and over again.

During the interview, your phone buzzed with a text from Max, "Meet me at 9?"

Your smile was his answer. 

Clearly distracted, a reporter tried to grab Max’s attention, "So, are we going to see more public displays of affection in the future?"

Looking at you Max answered, "Well, you'll have to wait and see. We're just getting started."

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