Chapter 80: Callout

As the Thunder prep for the second part of the exam, Pyre has a callout with Dabi which gets heated, while the Thunder as a whole challenges the heroes for all to see.

Technohead was still antsy after that major rally carried out by the Thunder, as being in the crowd, he saw how Nine's words, how the entire performance impacted the rest. He wouldn't pretend to have been the best student, or was he really that big a history fan? So, he couldn't really dissect the entire thing's thesis, but he knew that didn't matter.

It seemed he was the only one who walked out of there without becoming a Thunder supporter, or one whose support for them had been reinforced. Learning what their second test would be only made him feel all the more nervous, but it gave him a window of opportunity. If he could leak this to the pros and possibly undermine another team while deflecting heat from himself.

At least, that had been the plan till Slice and Chimera announced that they would be pairing them up. Targets would be assigned randomly, which meant they wouldn't know who had what unless someone talked. That would be a challenge, as if he learned about it through normal conversation and leaked that, it would tie him to it.

He needed a plan, and he needed one fast. “Looks like you’re with us.” He nearly jumped out of his skin as someone spoke to him. When he looked up, he saw that he was approached by his new team, who, to his surprise, weren't his regular ones.

Jason, the one who approached him, looked at him with scepticism. The rest followed as he wished to kick himself. If he acted like a skittish bird, it would only attract more attention.

Hibiki, with a low opinion of their 5th teammate, stated. "Well, I'll say don't slow us down, but if you lasted through that first round, you're either smart, strong, or lucky. We could use any of those things."

“Don’t worry about me, we’re gonna ace this!” Technohead tried to assure them, swallowing his fear as he attempted to salvage his reputation with them.

“Evening, it seems that I’ll be paired with you all. Let us have a fruitful cooperation.” Kalee bowed as she and Shearwolf approached their unit, which by chance, was made up of two of the 3 members of the Volcano thieves. However, it seemed like the leader of the group was paired with another group.

"Oh, one of the fancy types," Dusty smirked as she looked the two women over, and how different they looked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna break into anywhere they want, and just to be extra stylish, we’ll leave the place filled with mittens and little booties.” Shearwolf cheered, already thinking of designs she could cook up.

This also drew odd looks, but unlike Technohead, she just stared back, her head leaning to one side. “What? People need to keep warm, especially kids.”

"I doubt we're going to break into an elementary school," Gust stated, as breaking into a school like U.A seemed impressive. Still, it's been done twice now…technically, he wasn't sure if the summer camp counted.

"No, but the guards probably have kids or relatives who could use them. You heard them, we ain’t after blood, we want change.” Shearwolf smirked right back, flashing teeth that, despite being small and herbivorous, still looked menacing.

"Which means we'll spill blood, and odds are, a lot of it," Kallee noted, patting one of her blades as she was outraged, having never known just how depraved their society was. But it wasn't a world order that would go quietly into the night. The police, the government, and the heroes would try to stop them.

“Don’t mean we gotta be mean about it.” Shearwolf sighed, as she didn’t want to hurt people, but she wouldn’t pull her punches either, especially as this might be their only real chance to change things.

"She's weird," Gust told his original teammate, who only smiled wider as she watched the two bicker about this.

“I like her. Has a lot more spunk than you.” Dusty replied before they marched up to get their folder on their target. Once each team had them, they were given just 2 days and 2 nights, excluding the present, to review them and plan their heist. When midnight struck on the last night, their 72 hours would start.

Line Break

It was during that planning phase that the Thunder carried out the final stages for the big day. Mummy and Slice handled broad logistics while Chimera coordinated the examination board build for the second test; Nine took care of other affairs, chiefly business with Giran.

Pyre, meanwhile, had received a request to meet someone he hadn’t seen since All For One hired them after the I-Island job, and despite the distance, he happily accepted it.

Most civilians, even inexperienced pros, pictured such meetings in shuttered warehouses and back alleys. However, those more acquainted with underworld habits knew villains frequented clubs and borderline establishments. The chosen venue fit: an older restaurant-dance club that didn’t check IDs and could shrug off features that might otherwise raise alarms. As long as you paid, kept your head down, and didn't wreck the place, the staff at the Kyushu restaurant would serve anyone.

They also happened to do excellent burgers, which was appreciated as not every criminal enjoyed cheap fast food or could afford to walk into a grocery store and buy healthier foods.

Dabi sat with her chin propped on her hand, elbow on the table, the clink of beer glasses and low laughter punctuating the air. It smelled of old leather, cheap whiskey, fries, cheese, and the sizzling of beef and pork on grills. When she arrived, the place had gone quiet, partly because she wasn't a Kyushu native, and partly out of fear as the League of Villains still carried weight. Whispers placed Dabi's body count higher than the rest combined.

She didn't mind the hush. She took her seat and waited; Pyre arrived exactly when he said he would. He scanned the room, spotted her, and made a beeline for her. Rather than launch into conversation, he waved over a waitress who looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up. He ordered enough food for three, including a serving of raw pork.

Odd—but the girl, wise enough to avoid trouble, didn’t argue. She scribbled the order and nearly ran back to the kitchen, returning fifteen minutes later with his meal. Dabi spotted how the raw meat was for Koharu, as the giant snake slithered off her human and went about enjoying the rich raw pork, as Pyre enjoyed the rest of the meal.

"Slow down, not like anyone's going to steal your food.' Dabi reminded him as Pyre ate, which should have been vulgar, beastly, given how fast food was disappearing. Still, the kid managed to eat with impeccable table manners, making little sounds and no mess. If she were the sort, she would say she was impressed.

Prye slowed, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a napkin before tossing it into the nearby garbage bin. "Habit," he stated, his words polite and soft. "When you're used to doing chores or running in a criminal group, you learn not to waste time on meals. That doesn't mean one should eat like a pig, however."

"Well, at least you try, can't say the same about the rest," Dabi glanced out to the other tables, some filled with parties of low level criminals and villains, day drinking like failures as they loudly talked stories, insulted each other or bragged about escaping some no name hero or robbing a convenience store and getting away with it, one even looked drunk already. It wasn't even 2PM yet.

"I don't think you called me over so we can gossip about others; maybe you wanted to talk about the League?" Pyre kept up the smile, eager to discuss them, as he had grown somewhat closer to Twice and Toga during their Shie Hassaikai job.

Dabi toyed with the rim of her glass, half-filled with carbonated pineapple soda. "You want to talk to them, contact them yourself. I called because I got a new recruit, or someone looking to join us." She stated. "Hawks."

Pyre's brow furrowed. "Hawks…as in, the hero Hawks? The third-ranked hero in all of Japan?" He asked as Koharu lifted her head, laying it across the table so that Pyre would stroke it.

“The winged pretty boy himself. Wanted to pick your brain on him.” Dabi confirmed as she reached to take a sip of her drink.

Pyre learned back, contemplative about this, as it wasn't normal. Sure, he knew pros could change sides; he knew of a couple, but they were all low-ranked and did so because of something petty. Hawks was different.

“Speed and aerial mobility are off the charts; he's the best at it in the top tier. Even All Might wasn't as mobile in the air as he was. He also has an exceptional reaction time; most villains are taken down before they even know what hit them. His quirk is the main reason for that; he's shown that he's incredibly versatile with them." Pyre started, recalling all he knew about the winged hero, and what he could dig up since he became a villain.

“He can not only fly, but each feather can hold the average person without issue, he can control dozens of them at a time to handle several things, and he can even use them as swords, which can cut pretty badly, but they aren't as good as regular blades. Basically, he's offense, speed, and defensive distance…well, his being second to giants like All Might and Endeavour tells you enough about him and his skills. As a villain, he would be one of the greats." Pyre finished.

"But what? Don't think that's all I would expect from you. There's got to be more." Dabi pressed, as she could have gotten all that herself in an afternoon. She sought out Pyre because he was a hero nerd, as Twice and Toga had said, given that they would regularly bring up random pro trivia during their last job together.

“That’s the thing, there isn’t.” Pyre drummed his perfectly manicured fingers on the table. “No records of his early years, no mention of a hero school he attended or graduated from, no pro who mentored him is known.

Dabi allowed a grin to form across her horribly scared face. "You should be almost offended."

"Suspicious." Pyre corrected. "Other pros, you can trace. Such information can be found, and they sometimes even share little bits of their personal lives. Even odds ones like Mirko."

“What’s so weird about the bunny hero?” Dabi asked, to which Pyre almost rolled his eyes at how dismissive Dabi was of the Rabbit Hero.

"She was expelled from her middle school in her 3rd year and from 2 high schools in her 2nd and 3rd years. Why? She kept getting into underground fighting clubs. She would have failed to earn a full license if not for a pro who saw her potential and helped her finish her education." Pyre stated that, as such things weren't even secrets, Mirko never hid it and, at times, bragged about it.

She claimed that she could be one of the worst students and still made it as far as she had because she wasn't weak, which…Pyre couldn't lie; he hated the woman. She was brash, unapologetic, and seemed to take pleasure in riling people up.

“But Hawk?” He ceased his finger tapping. “Nothing, we don’t even know his first or last name. Just rumours.” He kept it to himself, but the last time a pro had hidden so much about their lives was All Might, and he had been hiding the fact that he had been nearly killed by All-Father for one year prior. Even though little was known about his life, what was known was much more than what was known about Hawks.

But it only made him curious. Who was Hawks? What was his story? And why did those in power keep such a tight seal on it?

"So, not much to look into to see if he's full of shit or not," Dabi muttered, leaning forward as she finished her drink. "Lucky for us, we don't trust him to watch our drinks when we go to the bathroom, so I have some tests lined up for him. The first one should be right after the upcoming Hero Billboard Charts."

“Oh?” Pyre asked, his eyes starting to glow just a little as he tapped into his flames. "What chance, we have something coming up for then as well. Perhaps we can help each other in turn. It would make it much easier for both of us if the pros are running around trying to handle both of us. A win-win for our goals, I'll say."

"And what do you think my goals are?" Dabi smiled thinly, leaning forward as she met his gaze.

Pyre leaned in as well, green meeting blue as fire burned within both of them. "You wish to burn." He spoke softly, intimately even, yet his smile flashed of a being enthralled with the inferno. "And I want to help you do just that."

There I was. That was what she had seen in him in the bar. There was something raw in his voice, unyielding in his tone, an energy and fascination she had only seen in her reflection. Not Spinner, not Toga, not Compress, not Kurogiri-not even Shigaraki had it.

But Pyre did, and she couldn’t help but be drawn to it, to the inferno which raged behind that smile.

She reached across the table, a hand landing on his cheek. It seemed romantic, perhaps a bit scandalous considering who she was, and Pyre’s growing popularity as a villain’s idol.

But then the smell hit those closest. Burnt pork, followed by smoke floating from her hand as her touch burned away at his cheek. Her grip only tightened as her flames grew stronger, not enough to cause her hand to burst into flames, but more than enough for everyone to realize what was happening.”

“You’re cute…a hell of a lot better than most I’ve met,” She whispered, leaning further ahead as if she wished to kiss him. Yet, her hand only grew hotter, burning away his cheek as others pulled back in fright, wondering what had happened between them to get such a reaction out of her.

"But I'm not the sort you should be so obsessed with. I'm in this game for one thing and one thing only. And when it's said and done, I've already planned my funeral, my proof that I existed." Her eyes hardened, the always-present edge exploding into shards that gathered around a single point, a storm of glass shards —beautiful, full, reflective, and yet, dangerous to all life that dared get close.

The rest of the restaurant's patrons continued to pull back, believing a fight was about to break out, that Koharu would burst into flames and incinerate Dabi for daring to grievously wound her…master, wait, why was the snake just snacking on pork? Why wasn't Pyre reacting? Was he scared stiff, was he paralysed?

The answer was none of those things. Pyre didn't flinch, he didn't move, say-he didn't let his gaze fall away from the violent, fiery storm of hatred within Dabi's gaze.

And in turn, she didn't look away from the eruption of joyous flames which bloomed in his eyes as his gaze only lit up, almost to the point of his literal eyeballs melting in their sockets with how much heat he was putting off.

What he did do was lean into her touch, even as more of his cheek and now jaw burned; it healed nearly as fast, allowing him to speak with a content smile across his lips. "But that's just the thing, I can't. I don't want to give this up. So, what if you burn for hate?” He asked. “I burn for love; I don’t think that makes us incompatible. I think our two flames complete each other, reaching a balance.”

Reaching for her hand, she felt-even with her nerves as shot as they were, she felt his heat, his touch more than she had felt anything else in years. She could trace the groves, the muscles as they twitched. But it came back to the heat. His hands would make others flinch and pull back, beg for mercy, but to her, it was the first true loving embrace she's felt from such arms in…had she ever felt this to begin with?

She didn't know, but she knew she wouldn't mind keeping this one. The temperature around their table rose, smoke billowing off the two as their flames consumed their bodies, the leather of their seats, and the wood of their table. Yet, they didn't stop; they couldn't escape the gaze of the other, as blue and green didn't battle but danced with one another.

When Pyre smiled, it was a horrifying thing, one which could turn stomachs and disgust. Half his face was gone; his cheek had burned down to the most basic muscles, keeping it from falling loose on one side. His teeth, blackened by soot, gums boiling like stew in a pot.

And yet he smiled all the same. “And from that, we can burn even brighter, hotter, stronger-till all we wish to see in flames are left but ash. So would you like to dance?”

Dabi could have done many things; the people around them expected a few of them, most of which would have ended with the entire building ablaze. What they hadn't counted on was Dabi throwing her head back and laughing. Her laugh was a harsh, rough sound, a product of vocal cords that had long been burned and never fully healed. The voice of a woman who never truly laughed up to this moment. It was perhaps the most honest and free sound she's let out in years, and to Pyre, it was as beautiful as the heat of the rising sun on his skin.

Koharu certainly felt the same way as when Dabi pulled back, their quirks dying out and leaving soot and smoke, the snake returned to her spot wrapped around her human, settling on his shoulders to look the same way as him.

All the while, Dabi laughed until she finally managed to regain control over herself; her smile stretched her face so much that it was pulling on the staples that kept her face together. “Oh, you are one insane bastard, just like the rest of them. No wonder Toga and Twice like you so much.”

She got up and walked around the table, still smiling as she offered her hand for him to accept, as if he were the prince of the ball and she the rouge there to sweep him off his feet. It certainly matched their appearances, so firmly at odds with their genders.

Pyre smiled, but deployed one of his war fans to cover his face, the two falling into their unexpected roles like pieces in a puzzle. Accepting the hand, she allowed Dabi to pull him to his feet and lean in close, other patrons leaning forward, trying to see if she had kissed Pyre, or if Pyre had dared to steal a kiss from his fellow pyromaniac, but alas, they couldn't see anything with the fan in the way.

“Unfortunately, little Ms. Maiden of Purgatory, I got plans and no time for that dance, not now anyway," Dabi replied, leading to Pyre pouting.

“Bummer, but could you at least tell me about your plans? I’ll share ours.” Pyre offered as Dabi sat down once more, but not in her old seat, but sliding up next to Pyre, her arms wide on the seat.

“I’m game,” She called out before she snapped her fingers, glaring at the waitress who seemed to think that if she didn't move, she wouldn't be seen. “Waiter, another drink!”

Pyre chuckled, also waving towards the poor before she could leave. “Same here, also bring me the tab for the damages.”

"Softie," Dabi grunted, but didn't move as Pyre snuggled close to her. Only when she seemed content did the scared woman allow her arm to pull her close.

Pyre, closing his eyes, leaned into the warmth of Dabi's body, just like Koharu, who enjoyed having 2 human heaters. “What? I can’t wreck stuff and not pay; this place has too good food to behave like a savage.”

Line Break

Tsutsumi Kaina wasn't one for beating around the bush or platitudes. She had become someone who valued honesty. It was why she turned. It was why she killed the former commission head in cold blood in his own office. It was why she didn’t resist when she was arrested.

But she hadn't expected to live past it. She had, in that moment, resigned herself to death like so many whom she had been sent after. And yet, through no move of her own, she hadn't been shot. Instead, she received the ‘mercy’ of being sent to Tartarus on a life sentence. She spent many nights wondering about it, and the meaning behind why she still drew breath, but as the years went by, she stopped caring.

Either way, what did it matter if she was killed in the moment, or sent to rot in a prison so vile polite society pretended it didn't exist? Either way, she'll end up dead, and no one would notice, no one would care, all to maintain this false peace, a mockery of a just world.

‘And yet, here I am. Back in the role I thought I left behind.’ She thought as she stood by herself in Task Force G’s Tokyo headquarters. The former pro should have been back in her cell, but she had been offered a deal she would have thought impossible.

Be recruited into the commission’s latest tools of maintaining order, and in exchange, she’ll get a pardon from the government. Along with it, a new identity, 50 million yen, and a ticket to any country she so pleased.

A more disciplined person would have refused. The woman she had been when she shot the former commission president might have tried the same with the current commission president, a woman she recalled being the VP back then and nothing else.

But she had no desire to rot in a prison kept in the shadows of their blood-stained society. Besides, if not her, they'll bring in some other desperate bastard, so why not be that desperate bastard? At least when it was said and done, she could get her money, pardon, new name, and book it out of Japan. She already was thinking a place in Peru might be good, maybe Brazil-both had sizable Japanese populations she could melt into.

‘But I can’t talk about it too much,’ She thought to herself, as she wasn’t blind to the fact that Nighteye, Kido, Pixie-bob, and Best Jeanist were all on the other side of the room as they watched the Billboard announcement. All kept an eye on her as they believed, as her official arrest claimed, that she gunned down 2 heroes after an argument.

She didn't know the details, she never asked, and they didn't tell, but if her suspicions were true, the commission managed to kill 2 birds with a single bullet. It certainly was all about the pageantry of it all as she watched them announce the new top ten, with Endeavour officially taking the number one spot.

“Hard to believe the big guy’s retired.” Tsutsumi-not Lady Nagant, she rejected taking her old hero name, mused.

“Upset you didn’t get to do him in?” Kido muttered loud enough that she could still hear him, but she didn’t react.

“Quiet, we should focus on this.” Best Jeanist, still present only via video link, scolded Endeavour's sidekicks. The proceedings didn't go as they typically did, as the commission regularly chose to just announce the rankings via a TV and internet special, one which pros didn't attend.

But this one was different, as with so much happening, perhaps their heroes needed to take to the stage, acting as a united front against this rise in crime. Starting from 10th place, Ryukyu, each hero had a chance to speak, with only Best Jeanist being absent. However, even before it was their turn, Hawk spoke up.

The winged hero seemingly wants to publicly question the entire thing, calling for the rankings to be built solely on public approval, in which case their number one, Endeavour, would only be fourth, while Jeanist would be at the top of the rankings.

“As I expected, Hawks is a wild card," Nighteye noted, hardly surprised with the young hero’s antics.

Pixie frowned at the screen. “Does anyone know what’s going through that head of his?”

“Whatever it may be, I trust that it has a purpose.” Jeanist stated as Hawks flew down and handed the microphone to Endeavour, who, as Tsutsumi expected from the oh so ‘lovable’ Endeavour, was not pleased with it.

'What do you know, the kid's got some claws. Madam president must not like that, but then again, he's built his whole persona off such a stunt.' She mused, smiling as she imagined how the president must have been reacting to this.

It wasn't a smile that lasted as she doubted Hawks would be so bold, not without reason. ‘Still, despite an act of rebellion, as anyone trained by the commission, it also has a purpose of reinforcing the image they’re aiming for.’ That seems to have been proven with Endeavour's response to it.

Watch me

A simple phrase, perhaps a bit underwhelming considering the circus Hawks put on, but it would do the job nicely. Endeavour had earned his spot as runner-up to All Might, and no one had ever questioned that. This was just a repeat of that, a reminder that he had accomplished things and that, under his leadership, these uncertain times would come to an end.

It wouldn't have just that, but it seemed not everyone had that idea, as the door burst open and one of Nighteye’s sidekicks came running in, a laptop in her hands. “Sir, it’s the Thunder!”

Immediately, the room was on high alert. They wouldn’t have some of their members, but they could work with what they had. Maybe this time, Tsutsumi wouldn't need to hold back, and she could handle the Thunder from a distance. “Where are they? How fast can we get there?” Nighteye asked, but Bubble Girl shook her head.

"It's not an attack; they're uploading something to a dark website, and the IT team has only just found it." She explained, showing him the site, which wasn't even in Japanese but Russian; however, they could clearly read the video title 'Thunder's first video – Please watch' with an emoji of a smiling fire demon next to it.

“Put it on the main monitor," Jeanist called out, though he was already pulling his phone out to search for the sight himself.

"I don't like this; they wouldn't have chosen today for no reason," Kido muttered, but that would go unanswered as Pyre's face appeared on the screen. The villain's background looks old, worn, and impossible to identify.

“Is this on? Well, I don’t know about it, I wasn-oh, it is? Oh, that's great!” Pyre bounced further back from the camera someone else was manning, his giant snake wrapped around him as he smiled like a madman.

“Hey, hey, viewers. I might not know me, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Pyre, and I have some exciting news to share! We're going to start uploading things to this very channel. Don't worry, the site's one of the best on the dark web, so you won't need to worry about anyone taking things down or figuring out who you are. We can't have the pros cracking down on us.” He giggled, acting like this was a friend passing you chocolate when you weren’t meant to have it.

“You’re probably wondering why we’re even doing this, why lean into this-well, the answer is simple, it’s because we need to. The media, the narrative-all of it is controlled by the pros, by those who keep us down!” How he finished, his smile didn't drop, but it grew hungrier, his eyes glowing as he called upon his power.

Wiggling his finger in front of the camera, the wanted villain continued. “Oh, nononono, we can't just leave things to our crimes and word of mouth. We wanted to set things right, and after watching that billboard chat, well, well-I can see it's badly needed.”

“The pros still think this is something they can handle, that we’re just some nuisance they can take out,” Pyre continued, Koharu shifting so her human could pet her head. “Well, they’re dead wrong, but you all must have friends who think so. You have people in your lives who believe us monsters.”

“Well, let's tell our side. Let's show the entire world the history that the pros would kill to keep suppressed. And to do that, we have a fun little video! Don't worry, if you missed out on the live performance, we're going to have more like it!”

With that, the feed shifted from the live footage to a recording. One that took the task force moments to recognise as being from the rally. It had been edited, and some effects had to be added, but that didn't matter.

What was important was the message, as they watched Nine blast against the current order, dig up old wounds, and use them to justify their current actions. With each previous villain or victim brought up, he fed the frenzy of the crowd, one which was just barely kept out of view so they couldn’t identify those who hadn’t been seen by Technohead’s body camera.

“Status?” Nighteye asked, as this was bad, this was incredibly bad. All Might had worked hard to help people forget such tragedies, and these villains were digging them up like corpses.

"We're already on the line with the major news agencies-none of them are running with the story, but it's spreading." Bubble girl replied.

“Can we cut the feed?” Pixie-bob asked, as they couldn’t just do nothing, could they?

"We're still trying to locate where it's coming from; the signal's being routed through dozens of servers across 11 countries." Bubble girl seemed frantic, typing away at her computer as she tried to gather more information, but even with dozens of police already on the case, it was taking time.

“Can’t you, I don’t know, stop it from coming in then?” Kido asked, as they needed a means to cut the feed.

"It's being broadcast via 3 companies. One of which is Feel Good Inc., and I can't get through.”

Tsutsumi wasn’t listening as the ret fell into action, all pulling out phones or rushing to find computers to get started. Instead, she kept her focus on the screen. She hadn't seen this, she couldn't have heard this, but…she couldn't look away. All of it. She had been aware of the rot, but she had no idea just how deep it went.

She had thought it was just under All Might, that it was just this variant of the hero commission that was the problem, but if this were true, then it was a disease that had been going back decades. One which had propped itself up on ignorance, complacency, blood, and lies.

And as Nine finished off his words, she almost cried out in support for them, her gaze shifting from the leader of the group to its public face to Pyre and his large back tattoo. To his gaze, which seemed as innocent as she had once been, but he wasn't acting to protect the status quo. He wasn't brainwashed like she had been.

Maybe…she wouldn’t be so quick to take that plane ticket after all, but first, she needed to be sure. She had to know, were they serious, did they truly wish to tear this corrupt farce of a peaceful society down?

Line Break

And we're back with another chapter. Unlike last week, I didn't start this project late, so I was able to complete it and post it on time. However, I do admit that it's becoming a habit for me to post just minutes before midnight, at least according to local time here. Still, when you have responsibilities along with chapters to post every day, it really doesn't leave you with much time.

Speaking of time, I have an announcement that may have already been shared with those who have read A World of Quirks and Path of Waves, but I don't want to make assumptions. As usual, I will be taking time off from November 23rd to January 5th. I'll have time to relax, see the family, and sit down for shorter, less frequent planning and brainstorming sessions. Good Lord, I have so many ideas. So yeah, just 2 more chapters for the year, not including this one.