Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone gathered online, as instructed by the conductor of this little virtual get-together, having created a Discord server for themselves. There they were: Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura, Goro Akechi, Sumire Yoshizawa, and, of course, the ringleader of this “brilliant scheme”, Futaba Sakura.

“I’m telling you guys,” Futaba assured them, “this will be a great time with possible monetary gain!”

“You don’t need to convince me,” Ren stated. “You said something about ‘playing games for people who watch people play games’, and I was in!”

“Yo, same, dude!” Ryuji seconded.

“Like I could say no, Futaba-senpai!” Sumire beamed.

“It could be a worthwhile venture,” Yusuke accepted.

“It seems silly, but if it’s worth it, why not?” Makoto caved.

“I’m definitely down to try new things,” Haru sweetly replied.

“I can join, whenever I’m not busy!” Ann approved.

“If it means showing up Amamiya, I’m in!” Akechi slyly responded.

“What about Morgana?” Ren asked. “He wants in.”

“If a cat can play games and stream them, sure!” Futaba answered.

And so, Morgana was added in, and everyone decided to use their long-unused Phantom Thief code names as their usernames for the brand new live-streaming website, SophiTube! Now all that was left to do was to pick a game for everyone to play for the Phantom Thieves’ streaming debut…

***

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to our first stream ever!” Oracle announced in a voice that sounded confident; being behind a screen helped. “I’m Oracle, and since this isn't my first rendezvous with online gaming, I was elected to do the intro today! I am joined by Joker, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Noir, Violet, Crow, and Mona! Say hi, everyone!”

A resounding off-tune chorus of “hey”, “hi”, and “hello” rang into the mics, and the few people in the PT crew’s chats had a lot to say, mostly one thing in particular.

[Wait, is one of the players a cat?] - multiple users

“Oh, yeah, that’s Mona,” Ren explained. “He’s sensitive about the c-word.”

“I AM NOT A CAT!” Mona shrieked, but all chat heard was kitty grumblings.

“Anyway, we’ll be playing Among Us today,” Oracle explained, “a social deception game where we’re a bunch of space travellers on a ship, but two of us are secretly alien imposters! Crewmates, fix the ship! Imposters, stealthily slaughter the crewmates! Everyone good on the basics? Oh, one more thing! Mute your mics in the Discord chat until we’re in meetings, okay?”

“Very well, I will go along with this,” Fox agreed.

“If I’m impostor, I’m killing Joker first,” Crow announced.

“You heard it here, folks,” Joker smirked as he spoke, “if I die, it’s Crow’s fault!”

“Good luck, everyone!” Violet and Noir simultaneously said as the first round began.

Everyone took off in multiple directions, though there was obvious difficulty for Mona, given that he lacked opposable thumbs. As they went about their tasks, it did not take long for a body to be reported. The meeting was called, and everyone, aside from the dead crewmate, unmuted themselves in Discord.

“Well, well, well, Crow!” Skull grinned. “Care to explain why Joker’s dead?”

“Okay, I know what I said,” Crow stammered, “but I swear to god, it wasn’t me!”

“Hey, you said Joker would be the first one dead if it was you!” Queen chimed in.

“And lo and behold, his body is stilled, his spirit awaiting vengeance,” Fox declared.

“Time to vote, everyone!” Oracle announced.

Aside from Crow’s random vote to Skull for starting this meeting, it was unanimous. Crow was ejected into space. He was not an Imposter.

“What the eff?!?” Skull gasped before everyone muted in Discord once more.

While the living took off in different directions once more, Crow spoke with Joker in the in-game chat.

[Who fucking did it?] - Crow

[It was Queen.] - Joker

[Huh. Never thought she’d go for you.] - Crow

[I think she did that to get you out. You were a detective once, after all. You’d be considered a threat to the imposter.] - Joker

[I see. How cunning of her!] - Crow

At that moment, a second meeting was called, and two more were reported dead. Rest in peace, Skull and Violet.

“This is not looking good for the crewmates,” Noir started.

“Well, I have a suspicion,” Oracle announced.

“Oh yeah? Who are you thinking, Oracle?” Panther questioned.

“I think it’s you, Panther!” Oracle accused.

“Wh-What?!?” Panther was taken aback.

“I see,” Fox interjected. “She would be one to try and knock out Skull if at all possible.”

“That’s besides the point!” Panther pleaded. “Hell, I reported Skull’s body!”

“Can you report a body you take out?” Noir inquired.

“You can!” Oracle answered. “It’s called a self-report, and I believe that’s what Panther did!”

Voting happened, and all but Panther voted for her (she voted for Oracle out of spite). She was an Impostor.

“One down, one to go!” Oracle smugly stated as everyone muted.

While everyone went about doing tasks again, the dead spoke with each other in in-game chat.

[I can’t believe I outed myself by taking out Skull!] - Panther

[Sucks to suck.] - Skull

[Shut up!] - Panther

[Do you think Queen can win this?] - Violet

[Depends on if she takes out Oracle or not.] - Joker

[It would increase her chances of winning.] - Crow

A couple seconds after Crow hit enter, a new body was found. It was Oracle.

“Well, there goes our only hope,” Queen sullenly stated.

“Don’t be so down about this, Queen!” Noir exclaimed. “I’m sure you’ll find them!”

“I’m thinking it’s Mona,” Fox spoke up.

“What?!?” Mona shouted.

“I doubt it,” Noir disputed. “I’ve been with Mona-chan this whole round!”

“And I’ve been alone,” Fox mused. “Queen?”

[Oh shit.] - Skull

“I’ve finished tasks and have been waiting in the cafeteria,” Queen firmly stated.

“I didn’t see you there when I passed through there,” Fox elaborated.

[Oh shit!] - Skull

“I did,” Noir butted in.

Voting occurred. Fox was voted out. He was not the Imposter. The next round began with the remaining imposter setting off a time-wasting sabotage on lights.

[Aw, shit…] - Skull

[It was Queen, wasn’t it?] - Fox

[Yup.] - Skull

[Yeah.] - Oracle

[Mhm.] - Joker

[This is bullshit!] - Crow

The round ended. Victory for the Imposters!

“Motherfucker!” Crow yelled. “We got played like a damn fiddle!”

“I guess that means I’m a better Imposter than you’ll ever be!” Queen teased.

“Sorry, Fox,” Noir apologized.

“No worries, Noir,” Fox waved it off. “It’s merely a game, after all.”

“Hey, where’s my apology?!?” Crow shouted.

Noir, Oracle, and Skull all blew raspberries at him.

“Ha, ha! Mature!” Crow scoffed.

“One more round?” Joker inquired.

“Yeah, we can do one more!” Oracle approved, pressing the countdown timer button and kicking off the next round.

Everyone dashed off quickly to their tasks, but the imposters were quick and ruthless in this round. By the time a body was found, the game mentioned that three were dead: rest in peace Panther, Fox, and Mona.

“Okay, I found Mona’s body in electrical,” Oracle announced, “and Skull had immediately walked out of there beforehand.”

“What?!?” Skull was taken aback. “There wasn’t a body in there!”

“Either the game is wrong, you’re just blind, or you’re a terrible liar!” Oracle retorted.

“Joker, please back me up!” Skull pleaded. “I may have playful spats with Mona, but I wouldn’t take advantage of someone lacking in ability to play this game like that!”

“That is true, you’re too sweet for your own good sometimes,” Joker agreed, “but does anyone have anything to say to help Skull’s claim?”

The Discord call was silent.

“Well, I’ll abstain,” Joker shrugged.

Joker was joined by Violet in abstention. Oracle, Crow, and Queen voted for Skull. Noir voted Crow. Skull voted Oracle in retaliation. Skull was not an Imposter.

“Oh,” Oracle sighed. “I stand corrected.”

The remaining six players continued about their tasks while the dead spoke with each other.

[Okay, who are the assholes?!?] - Skull

[Oracle got me.] - Mona

[Crow struck me down.] - Fox

[Crow also got me.] - Panther

[How did Oracle get you, MonaMona?] - Skull

[She popped out of the vent, slashed me, and went back into the vent.] - Mona

[Holy shit, we’re effed!] - Skull

[Also, is anyone else amazed at how well MonaMona types for a cat?] - Skull

Quite a few people in chat agreed with Skull, with one saying “uh-oh”.

[What do you mean, uh-oh?] - Skull

[You used the c-word.] - Panther

[Oh. Shit! Sorry!] - Skull

[You better be!] - Mona

And right after that, the game ended. Crow had found Joker, Oracle found Noir, and that was game, set, match! Imposters win again!

“A clean victory!” Crow sneered.

“Yeah, yeah, enjoy the moment!” Joker said as he rolled his eyes.

“No one can beat me when I'm an imposter!” Oracle stated with a flashy grin that no one could see, but her friend could envision it.

“Well, what’s the plan for next stream?” Skull questioned.

“No idea! Depends on who all’s available!” Oracle shrugged.

“I have a fairly free schedule right now,” Fox admitted, “so I should be able to attend without issue.”

“I believe you, Inari,” Oracle teased.

“As for me, well…” Joker sighed, “good luck getting me back often. I have a busy schedule.”

“That’s because you work, like, ten jobs, man!” Skull blurted out.

The chat had a field day with that one, with many demanding Joker to take a vacation.

“Anyway, before this carries on too long,” Oracle concluded, “we’re gonna go! Some of us have school and university tomorrow morning, and we need to sleep! Good night, everyone!”

“Good night,” yelled out the others (yes, even Crow, though he was quieter than the others).

Thus came the end of the first Phantom Thief stream, though no one in chat would have ever assumed they were such, once upon a time.

Chapter Text

There were two things that should be considered about Makoto Niijima. The first is that she is always determined to help her friends where she can. The second is that she is deathly afraid of anything horror-related. Despite knowing the second thing about herself, she agreed, against her better judgment, to join Futaba, Haru, and Yusuke in a spooky game called Phasmophobia. Whether it was the urge to stream again on SophiTube or the first fact about herself, none may never know, but she and her friends once again donned their code names as they went live.

“Hello again, everyone!” Oracle kicked off the stream. “Oracle here, and I’m joined by Queen, Noir, and Fox tonight as we venture into the spookiness of ghost hunting! I’ve put in a handful of hours-”

“Oracle, we can see how much you’ve played this game,” Fox interjected. “We’re all friends on Steam.”

“Shut it, Inari!” Oracle clapped back. “Anyway, I’m not new, and neither is Noir, but Queen and Fox are! So, tonight, we’re taking it easy on them by not upping the difficulty too much! I’m thinking intermediate difficulty, since there’s four of us. Thoughts, Noir?”

“Intermediate should work well, yes!” Noir chirped.

“Before we begin, how spooky is spooky for you?” Queen asked, her voice slightly shaky.

“Well, you shouldn’t end up wetting yourself, Queen, but you might want to learn how to mute yourself, just so you don’t blow out any eardrums should you scream!” Oracle answered.

“Oh, great,” Queen sighed, “regretting this already!”

“You’ll be fine, Queen!” Noir assured her. “Just stay calm and listen to Oracle and me if things go wrong!”

“I shall do the same!” Fox butted in.

“Okay, keeping it simple for our first round, choosing the starter house!” Oracle announced as she clicked on 6 Tanglewood Drive. The others readied up and she started the round.

“Oh! Fancy gear!” Noir beamed as she looked upon a wall of Tier III ghost hunting tools and apparatuses.

“Mhm! I’m dono-bitch,” Oracle proclaimed, “so I’ll help you find the ghost room then stick to the van afterward!”

“I’m assuming we all need a flashlight?” Fox inquired.

“Yes,” Oracle confirmed, “and everyone should grab at least two other things. Fox, Queen, since this is your first time, I’d give you two recommendations of carrying a crucifix each while one takes the EMF reader and the other takes the thermometer!”

Fox and Queen did as Oracle suggested, with Fox taking the EMF reader and Queen taking the thermometer. She turned it on and was glad to see it in Celsius. While she understood Fahrenheit well enough, she did not want to confuse the others by saying it was 32 degrees if the temperatures were freezing.

“As for me,” Noir mused, “I’ll take a flashlight, a camera, and a spirit box! I’ll see if I can commune with the dead!”

“Wait, the ghost can talk to you?!?” Queen panicked.

“Only certain kinds, but yes,” Noir affirmed.

“I hope we don’t get that,” Queen whimpered.

“It’ll be fine!” Oracle assured her. “Okay, my turn! Flashlight, UV light, and video camera! Now that we’re geared up, open the door, Noir, and keep your eyes peeled for the cursed object!”

“Cursed object?!?” Queen shivered with fear.

“I, too, am curious about this cursed object you speak of,” Fox added.

“Most of the time, if not always, these houses have what is called a cursed object. They can help us find the ghost or save our friends, but usually at a cost,” Oracle explained.

“Mhm! There’s seven in total!” Noir continued for Oracle. “There’s a Ouija board, tarot cards, a music box, a haunted mirror, a monkey’s paw, a voodoo doll, and a summoning circle!”

“My personal favorite’s the tarot cards!” Oracle chimed back in. “Tarot card roulette!”

“You’re way too excited about this,” Queen sighed again.

“Or perhaps you’re not excited enough!” Oracle said, and from behind the screen, where no one can see her, she stuck her tongue out at Queen.

“Okay, door’s open!” Noir interjected, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Let’s go!”

The four of them exited the van, with Queen and Fox taking their time checking through the rooms while Noir and Oracle hunted down the cursed object.

“I found it!” Noir announced. “It’s tarot cards!”

“Aw yeah!” Oracle gleamed.

“I think I found the ghost room,” Queen said with a shaky voice.

“Oh? Freezing temps?” Oracle inquired.

“Yes, in the basement…” Queen’s voice faltered at the end.

“Shit! I hate basement ghosts!” Oracle cursed their rotten luck.

“It should still be fine, though, yes?” Fox questioned.

“As long as we don’t anger the ghost too much,” Noir assured him. “By the way, be sure to put down evidence in your journals! J accesses the journal!”

Everyone did as Noir instructed, and Queen saw some options that chilled her very bones remaining among the potential culprits.

“God, I hope it’s not a Revenant!” Oracle blurted out. “Those bastards are fast! Anyway, dono-bitch out, off to the van!”

As Oracle left, Noir pulled out the spirit box.

“Are you here?” Noir inquired.

Nothing.

“Where are you?”

Silence.

“Are you friendly?”

A ghost event happened, and Queen shrieked loudly into the mic, startling everyone playing and watching.

[Poor Queen!] - AQuestADay

[Think she’ll make it?] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Oh, she’ll be fine, chat!” Oracle assured them. “She’s just easily spooked!”

The event ended, and the front door slammed.

“Oh fuck! Guys! Hide now! It’s a hunt!” Oracle ordered.

Noir and Fox managed to get to hiding places, but Queen was too freaked out to move. Her character crouched as she did the same in real life, struggling to bring herself to save her character.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msosorry! Savemesispleasesaveme!” Queen rattled off quickly.

“Mako-chan, please calm down!” Noir pleaded with her friend.

[I don’t think she’ll make it.] - PhanMan (a mod for the Phantom Thieves)

“Somebodypleasehelpme, I’msorryI’m- AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Queen screamed, causing everyone to pull their headsets off until she stopped.

“Well, Queen’s down. Inari, go draw the tarot cards!” Oracle commanded.

“Very well, give me one second,” Fox replied, and everyone could hear him get up and leave his computer.

“Um…Fox?” Noir called out.

“Inari, you dumbass! I meant draw a card from the deck of cards!” Oracle yelled.

“Huh?” Fox’s voice came from a distance. “So I’m not designing new cards right now?”

“WHY WOULD I ASK YOU TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW?!?” Oracle was flabbergasted with the artist.

“Okay, I’m back,” Fox said, sitting back down and adjusting his headset. “What should I do again?”

“Grab the cards from the living room, return to your hiding spot, and draw cards one at a time, but not too fast!” Noir explained.

“Very well, I will go along with this,” Fox did as Noir asked. “Okay, the first card is…the Fool. Next…the Tower. Third…Hanged Man.”

At that point, Oracle and Noir sighed as Fox was instantly killed by the ghost.

“I’ll save them, Oracle!” Noir assured the friend in the van as she took Fox’s place. “Let’s see…Wheel of Fortune. Oh, I got sanity! Next is…oh no…”

“Let me guess, Hanged Man?” Oracle asked, thankful that they were in a Discord call.

“Unfortunately,” Noir sighed.

“I’m so sorry, everyone,” Queen apologized, having finally calmed down. “It’s my fault that this happened!”

“It’s fine, Queen!” Noir comforted her friend. “It was a lot to ask of you, knowing how easily scared you are!”

“Yeah, no harm, no foul!” Oracle seconded. “I figured if anyone could show real fear in this game, it was you, and hoo boy, you delivered! Wait, did I just say ‘hoo boy’?!?”

“Yes, you did,” Fox confirmed.

“Great, I’m starting to talk like my dad!” Oracle began acting overly exasperated, which the others took as a joke for chat to enjoy, which they certainly did.

[It happens, Oracle!] - PhanMan

[It happens to everyone!] - Axelle

[Don’t feel bad! I sometimes say things I pick up from my mom! We just do what our parents do sometimes!] -GetSmoked

“Well, what do you think the ghost is?” Noir inquired. “I’m thinking Demon.”

“It has to be!” Oracle agreed. “It started attacking so quickly, even when our sanity wasn’t that low! Mark it in the journals! We’re headed out!”

Everyone marked down Demon as their choice of prediction, and the return to base confirmed it.

“Damn, it really was an ass-eating Demon!” sighed Oracle.

“Indeed,” Fox seconded. “Our asses were thoroughly devoured.”

At the sound of Fox’s innocent tone with his statement, the chat blew up with snickering comments.

“Anyway, I think I better head out for the night,” Queen sighed. “That was rougher than I thought!”

“Understandable, Queen! Have a good night!” Noir cheerfully bid Queen farewell.

“Take care, Queen,” Fox added.

“Don’t forget to do something fun and relaxing to fight off the possibility of nightmares!” Oracle concluded the goodbyes. “So, shall we continue?”

“I’m down! Noir?” Fox stated.

“I’m in!” Noir accepted.

As the trio began setting up the next round, one chatter got themselves in hot water quickly.

[Mako-chan? Is that a name reveal?!?]

“Nope! Stop right there, criminal scum!” Oracle snapped. “Respect the streamer’s privacy!”

[Respect the streamer’s privacy!] - A chorus of comments that repeated over and over, properly ensuring that the random that inquired about Queen’s true identity was lost in a sea of chat spam.

Chapter Text

“Akechi, Sumire,” Ren called out to his friends, “I’ve got an idea for us to stream on SophiTube!”

“I’m listening, Ren-senpai!” Sumire beamed.

“I’ll admit, I am intrigued as well,” Akechi stated. “I figured we would be depending on Futaba to determine our next outing.”

“Well, she did help me set up this idea, so in a way, she did determine this,” Ren admitted.

“Go on,” Akechi said.

“Well, do you two know about the game Skyrim?” Ren inquired.

“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never played it,” Akechi confessed.

“Same here,” Sumire added. “Isn't that a single player game, though?”

“Not without mods,” Ren grinned.

And that was how Ren, Akechi, and Sumire began working on setting up their next stream.

***

“Hello, everyone! Joker here!” Joker announced the opening of the stream. “I’m joined by Crow and Violet as we do our best to complete Skyrim Together! Now, I’ve played the game before, thanks to Oracle’s begging me to try it out, but Crow and Violet have never played the game before! This will be an interesting situation!”

“I’ll do my best to keep up, Joker!” Violet beamed.

“As shall I,” Crow muttered, “though I will surpass you, just know that!”

“I’m sure you will,” taunted Joker.

[Oh my god! This is my favorite game!] - AQuestADay

“It is, Quest? Well, guess you’re in for a treat!” Joker smiled. “Unfortunately, we have to start the game individually, so get your games started, Crow, Violet! We have a tutorial to complete and a dragon to evade!”

As they ran through the tutorial, they discussed what kind of characters they would like to be. Joker, ever the Phantom Thief at heart, chose to be a Wood Elf that specializes in thievery, archery, and charming folks. Violet, having considered the dangers of this in-game world, chose a Breton that would provide healing and supporting magics while brandishing a sword. Crow, true to his past, chose a Khajiit after some deliberation, and he made it known that whether it would be a fight in the fray or a knife in the dark, all of his targets would fall.

Having completed the tutorial, Joker, Crow, and Violet completed the final setup and were now in the same Skyrim playthrough.

“Dark grey fur, huh?” Joker teased Crow.

“What’s it to you?” Crow snapped.

“Oh, nothing, just didn’t expect you to be a furry!” Joker could not contain his giggling.

“I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, Joker,” Crow seethed. “I hate you!”

“So, where to?” Violet inquired.

“Follow me!” Joker commanded. “We’re going to Riverwood!”

***

After Riverwood, the trio made their way to Whiterun and ran into some interesting characters, one of which especially pissed off Crow.

“Do you get to the Cloud District very often? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you don’t!” sneered Nazeem.

“Something about his voice really irritates me,” Crow grumbled. “Before this playthrough ends, I’m killing him!”

“Worry about it later,” Joker tried to drag Crow along, “we have a jarl to see!”

“Why is there a child beggar?” Violet whined. “I’m giving her money!”

“Ah, you met Lucia!” Joker pointed out. “If you play the game enough, you can adopt her!”

“I can?!?” Violet perked up.

“We don’t have time!” growled Crow. “Jarl! Now!”

“Party pooper,” pouted Violet.

***

“Okay, that’s not a dragon,” Crow scoffed as Mirmulnir approached the western watchtower. “That’s technically-”

“A wyvern, yes, but that’s not the point of being here!” Joker finished Crow’s statement as his Wood Elf let loose an arrow. “Just bring it down!”

“Would a summon help?” Violet asked.

“Yes, most of them will!” Joker answered.

Violet summoned a familiar, which came in the shape of a wolf.

“And one of the few that won’t help,” Joker chuckled.

“Oh no! I’m sorry!” Violet apologized.

“Don’t worry about that!” Crow shouted. “Drink a potion and keep us healed! I’m going in!”

“What do you mean-” Joker started to say, but he got his answer as Crow got a cinematic killcam of himself slaying the dragon.

“Ha! Yes! First dragon slain! I win, Joker!” gloated Crow.

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Joker sighed.

***

“Is this really 7000 steps?” Violet inquired.

“I don’t know, I never bothered counting,” Joker shrugged. “I heard someone tried once. Don’t know if they ever found out or not.”

“If it really is 7000 steps, then this mountain isn't that impressive,” Crow smirked.

“How do you figure?” Joker questioned.

“Let’s assume every step is the general stride of three-quarters of a meter, and let’s assume each step is a step up,” Crow began, but he did not get to finish as he saw someone’s comment in chat.

[You’re really doing math in a fantasy game?] - GetSmoked

“I didn’t ask for your sass, GetSmoked!” Crow snapped, which prompted giggles from Joker and Violet.

***

“Okay, we got two words of Unrelenting Force,” Crow mused. “How do we obtain the third and final word?”

“By continuing the story,” Joker replied.

“But does that really mean we have to be in a place full of zombies?” sighed Violet.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Joker answered, “and again, they’re called draugr.”

[Draugr deez nuts.] - GetSmoked

“GetSmoked, shouldn’t you be in school?” Joker tried his best to glare through his computer screen.

[I’m sick.] - GetSmoked

“Oh! We’re sorry, GetSmoked!” Violet exclaimed. “Get well soon!”

“Drink room temp water,” Crow ordered, “and be sure to enjoy some light soup.”

“And be sure not to spread your ligma,” Joker added.

[Nice try, Joker.] - GetSmoked

“Damn,” Joker muttered.

***

“Yes! Third word!” Crow yelled. “Joker, hold still!”

“Oh, hell no, you don’t!” Joker ran around as Crow tried to aim his shout.

The two boys could not get the angles right and kept barely missing the other by mere inches, so they were both shocked when they were sent flying.

“Aren’t we supposed to be meeting Delphine?” asked Violet, who had shouted them into the walls of High Hrothgar.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Crow chuckled.

“Let’s go,” Joker smirked.

***

Slaying dragons had come easily for them, especially Crow who had gotten well-acquainted with charging them with dual-wielded swords. What he and Violet were not ready for, however, was infiltrating the Thalmor embassy. Joker, on the other hand, was having a blast. With his incredible sneaking and thieving abilities, he would pick the pockets of the soldiers around the embassy, relieving them of their weapons so that Crow and Violet could fight them with an unfair advantage.

“How are you so good at this, Joker?!?” Violet inquired.

“Lots of practice,” Joker responded, “and the right setup of perks.”

[He really did choose the right perks for his ideal character!] - AQuestADay

“See, even Quest agrees!” Joker smirked.

“How about me?” Crow inquired.

[Your setup screams death to your enemies, but you won’t be able to pickpocket anything!] - AQuestADay

“I can live with that,” Crow nodded.

“And me?” Violet politely asked.

[You are definitely a healer and summoner! Breton was the right choice for you!] - AQuestADay

“Thank you, Quest-senpai!” Violet beamed.

“Why are you calling them senpai?” Crow questioned.

“Well, they clearly know a lot about this game, so they’re like a higher-year student!” offered Violet.

“I can see it,” Joker assured her.

[Senpai, huh? I like it!] - AQuestADay

***

“Do we really have to go through this massive place?” Crow groaned.

“Well, if I could remember where another place to go was, I’d have opted for it over Alftand,” Joker explained, “but if you think this is bad, wait until you see Blackreach!”

[Oh god, Blackreach…] - PhanMan

“PhanMan’s comment worries me even more,” Violet sulked.

“Just stay close,” Joker commanded, “and don’t draw the attention of the giant.”

“The what?!?” Crow and Violet questioned in unison.

Thankfully for them, Blackreach was easy to traverse with Joker leading the way. Crow and Violet were about to start worrying when they saw buttons to press to obtain an Elder Scroll, but Joker went to mashing away until the Elder Scroll was in his inventory.

“It’s really easy,” Joker explained. “Just press a button until the one next to it lights up.”

And with that, they were free from the clutches of Blackreach and the surrounding Dwemer ruins.

***

“Ugh, this part sucks,” Joker complained as the leaders of the Empire and the Stormcloaks gathered together to discuss a truce.

“Was there a way around this?” Crow inquired.

“Depends,” Joker muttered. “Want to single-handedly end a civil war?”

“With how much time we have left in the day?” Violet gawked. “I’ll pass!”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Crow sighed. “Otherwise, I would say yes.”

And so they sat, bored out of their minds as the bickering of NPCs droned on and on until decisions were made and a truce was reached.

***

“Wait, we get to ride a dragon?” Violet exclaimed.

“Yes, yes we do!” Joker confirmed.

“Then let’s get to it! I can’t wait to see how it looks!” Crow ran forward.

“Someone’s enthusiastic!” Violet followed after him.

[Another Elder Scrolls convert!] -AQuestADay

[Of course, you would be excited about that.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Hey, if he likes the game, he likes the game!” Joker responded to chat. “Though I doubt it’ll be enough to convince him to try Oblivion!”

“What’s Oblivion?” Crow questioned.

[You and your group need a skull emote! I can’t with this man right now!] - AQuestADay

***

“Okay, it’s time for the final battle!” Joker announced.

“I’ll bring down Alduin myself!” Crow chanted.

“Actually, if I may suggest it,” Joker chimed in once more, “let Violet do the honors.”

“Me?!?” Violet gasped.

“Well, it’s been myself and Crow doing the actual slaying,” Joker explained, “so I think it’s only fair if you get the final hit on the BBEG!”

“BBEG?” Violet inquired, and Joker could practically sense her head tilting in curiosity.

“Big Bad Evil Guy,” Crow deciphered.

“Oh! Okay! I’ll do it!” Violet enthusiastically accepted.

True to their words, once Alduin had stopped fighting while having only one health point left, Crow and Joker backed away as Violet took her sword and slashed him once. The final boss was defeated!

“And now, for one last mission!” Crow sinisterly laughed to himself.

“Yes, I’ll let you deal the killing blow to Nazeem!”

Crow was not quick or kind with his utter evisceration of Nazeem once they returned to Whiterun.

“Why don’t YOU go to the Cloud District now?!?” Crow sneered. “Oh, what am I saying? You can’t!”

As Crow laughed maniacally, the Whiterun guards approached him to arrest him, seeing as he did not even attempt to be subtle with killing Nazeem. Joker and Violet sat back and watched as Crow fought droves of guards and was doing well until he ran out of potions and could not keep up any longer.

“Worth it!” Crow gloated.

“I’m glad you had fun, Crow,” Joker smirked. “Did you, Violet?”

“Yes!” she beamed.

“Okay, with that,” Joker concluded, “I think we’ll call this game complete! Thank you, everyone, for stopping by! Come by again for the next showtime!”

And with that, the stream ended, though a single comment was posted in the chat right afterward.

[That was fun to watch! Can’t wait for the next stream!] - GeckoJr

Chapter Text

Ryuji entered Leblanc, an idea for the next stream fresh in his mind. He raced upstairs to speak with Ren about it.

“Hey, Ren! Hey Morgana! I got an idea!” Ryuji shouted.

“That’s a first,” Morgana teased.

“What’s up?” Ren inquired.

“So I just got this cool pirate game, right? It looks totally badass, and it’s a multiplayer game! You thinking what I’m thinking?” Ryuji’s grin grew slowly with each word.

“When’s the stream?” Ren asked.

“I’m thinking tomorrow,” Ryuji stated.

“Sorry, Ryuji,” Ren apologized, “but I’ve already made plans with Sumire and Akechi tomorrow.”

“I can join!” Morgana offered.

“Hell yeah! You’re my first mate, then!” Ryuji beamed.

“Sounds good to me!” Morgana chirped. “Send a message to the Phantom Thieves chat! Let’s see if we can get anyone else!”

***

The next day came, and Skull and Mona were joined by Fox, Noir, and Oracle for Sea of Thieves. They quickly made their characters before going live, leaving the introduction to Skull.

“Hey hey, everyone!” he started. “This is Skull here, and I’m joined by Mona, Oracle, Noir, and Fox today for some high seas adventures on Sea of Thieves! I can’t speak for the others, but I love pirates, so this was a no-brainer for me!”

“You’re a no-brainer,” Oracle teased.

“Can it, Oracle!” Skull smirked. “I’m captain of this ship, and I’ll have you in the brig if you keep up the snark!”

[You’re captain? Who’s first mate?] - Cowser

“My first mate is Mona,” Skull announced. “I know he and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I trust the little furball to watch my back!”

“Little furball?!?” Mona was taken aback.

“Just roll with it, Mona!” Skull urged him. “The people will love you for it!”

[I love Mona already!] - AQuestADay

[Me too.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“We’ve barely been streaming, and already the public has a favorite,” Fox mused.

“Well, who doesn’t love Mona-chan!” Noir said with a squeal of delight in her voice.

“Heh, I guess my roguish charm is shining through!” Mona grinned widely.

[O Captain, My Captain! What be the goal of the stream?] - PhanMan

“The goal is to find that sweet, sweet booty, sell it, and brave the winds and the waves while we’re at it!” Skull explained. “Is the crew ready to set sail?”

“Aye aye, captain!” Fox, Noir, and Oracle announced in unison.

“By your orders, captain!” Mona purred.

“Then let’s head out!” Skull commanded.

It was a calm moment on the sea for them. Fox commented on the beauty of the simplistic graphics of the game while Noir listened intently. About halfway to their faraway destination, Oracle pulled out an accordion.

“Who’s up for sea shanties?” she questioned.

“What seafaring adventure is complete without them?” Fox smiled.

“Which one should we do?” Noir inquired.

“How about the Wellerman?” Skull offered.

“Does this game have it in their files?” Noir asked.

“I had a feeling we’d do that one, so I took the liberty of adding the song to my personal repertoire in advance,” Oracle triumphantly announced. “You can thank me later! Start us off, Captain Skull!”

She started playing the accordion as Skull started the song.

“There once was a ship that was put to sea,” Skull sang, “the name of the ship was the Billy O’ Tea; the winds blew hard, her bow dipped down! Oh blow, my bully boys, blow!”

“Huh!” the crew chanted together, jumping into the chorus. “Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“She had not been two weeks from shore,” Oracle continued the song, “when down on her a right whale bore! The captain all hands and swore he’d take that whale in tow!”

“Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“Before the boat had hit the water,” Fox jumped in, “the whale’s tail came up and caught her! All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her when she dived down low!”

“Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“No line was cut, no whale was freed,” Mona went next, despite no one in chat understanding. They went along with it, anyway. “The captain’s mind was not of greed, for he belonged to the Whaleman’s creed! She took that ship in tow!”

“Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“For forty days or even more,” Noir chimed in, “the line went slack then tight once more! All boats were lost; there were only four, but still that whale did go!”

“Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“As far as I’ve heard,” Ryuji continued, “the fight’s still on! The line’s not cut-”

“-and the whale’s not gone!” his crew sang in unison.

“The Wellerman makes his regular call,” Ryuji wrapped up the verse, “to encourage the captain, crew and all!”

“Huh! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go! Soon may the Wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum! One day, when the tonguing is done, we’ll take our leave and go!”

“That was amazing!” Noir beamed with giddiness.

“And perfect timing!” Fox pointed out. “Our destination awaits us!”

“Drop anchor!” Skull commanded, and the crew obeyed, bringing the ship to a stop just mere meters away from the shore.

“Who’s got the map?” Mona inquired.

“Leave the map to me!” Oracle announced. “I shall navigate us to the treasure!”

[Was it just me, or did everyone harmonize way too good during the sea shanty?] - GeckoJr

[You’re not alone! They did great!] - Axelle

[Even the cat did great!] - GetSmoked

“Hey now!” Mona hissed.

“He doesn’t like the C-word,” Skull pointed out to GetSmoked. “I screw up on that, too, sometimes.”

[My bad, Mona!] - GetSmoked

“Forgiven,” Mona chirped.

[I think he accepts your apology.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

[Honey, you speak cat?] - AQuestADay

[Maybe.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“I found the treasure!” Oracle shouted. “I also found skeletons!”

“Alright, crew!” Skull ordered. “Time to send these bony bastards back to Davy Jones’s Locker!”

“I shall put them to the sword!” Fox yelled as he charged in.

“Wait, Fox!” Noir called out. “I’ve got a barrel!”

“A barrel?” Fox was confused.

“An explosive barrel!” Noir beamed.

“Okay, who gave explosives to Noir?!?” Oracle questioned as she put distance between herself and the sword-swinging skeletons.

“Do it, Noir!” Skull commanded.

“You got it, captain!” Noir raced forward, dropped the barrel, and ran back.

“Fire away, Mona!” Skull gave the order, and Mona blew the skeletons sky high.

“That was pure skill!” Mona chirped.

“And I’ve got the chest in hand!” Fox announced.

“Okay, back to the ship, everyone!” Skull yelled, and the five of them were seabound once more.

[So, is Noir too dangerous to be trusted with explosives or something? Oracle seemed to be panicking back there!] - Cowser

“She likes things that go boom!” Oracle explained. “I just didn’t want to be one of those things!”

[That’s fair.] - Axelle

“Uh, captain?” Mona called out.

“Yeah, what’s up, Mona?” Skull asked from the helm of the ship.

“LOOK BEHIND US!” Mona and Oracle both screamed.

Another ship was fast approaching them, and shots began firing upon them.

“Oh, hell no!” Skull growled. “All hands on deck! Man the cannons!”

A sea battle began as two pirate ships began waging war among themselves. Unfortunately for the instigators, there were only three of them to the Phantom Thieves’ five-person crew, and they found their ship taking in water too quickly.

“Hey!” Skull called out to the other ship. “I’ll let you all go if you give up half the treasure you’re carrying!”

“We don’t have any!” the other ship’s captain responded. “We saw you guys grab some and tried to steal it from you! We didn’t expect you all to be so damn good!”

“Well, do you have anything to give at all?”

“We have extra cannonballs?”

“We’ll take those.”

And so a trade was made, with Skull and his crew accepting their newly-obtained munitions and the other ship was left to sail away slowly, defeated but alive.

“You make a good pirate captain, Skull!” Mona chirped.

“Indeed,” Fox mused. “Skull’s leadership skills were on full display today.”

“I didn’t even know he had any!” Oracle pitched in.

“Hey!” Skull playfully snapped. He could not truly be angry. It was a good day, after all.

“So what next, captain?” Noir asked.

“Next stop,” Skull pondered, “wherever the horizon leads us.”

And they continued playing a while longer before they had to call it quits for the day and run off for dinner. Skull knew he’d have to come back; it truly was a pirate’s life for him.

Chapter Text

Ann got everything set up quietly, even though no one was home. She was giddy to play this game again, especially since no one was available to play other games. It was a day all to herself, and she was going to make it count. She took a steadying deep breath and hit the ‘start streaming’ button.

“Hello again, everybody!” Panther greeted. “It’s me, Panther, and today, I’ll be playing alone, but don’t feel bad about it! I’m getting to play my all-time favorite game! I’m sure some of you have heard of Kingdom Hearts, right?”

[It’s been a while since I’ve thought of that game!] - PhanMan

[I’ve seen some gameplay?] - GeckoJr

[I love Kingdom Hearts!] - Axelle

“Good to see the warm replies,” Panther smiled. “Now, let’s see if I’m still as good as I remember being!”

She set the difficulty to Proud Mode and started the game. She sang along to “Simple and Clean” as the opening animatic played, and based on the chat’s emote spamming, it seemed like everyone was raving to the music, too. She rushed through the tutorial level, “Awakening”, and took out the first boss with ease.

[Who’s your favorite character in the series?] - PhanMan

“Oh, it easily has to be Riku!” Panther answered PhanMan’s question. “Speaking of…”

Everyone paid attention to the cutscene of Sora, Kairi, and Riku getting ready to prepare a raft to leave their home island. Panther breezed through this part of the game, getting the supplies for the raft and the food for traveling aboard it. She knocked around the kids on the island in one-on-one matches like they were flies, and even the three-on-one could not slow her down. Going against Riku, though, she slightly struggled, actually getting hit, but even he was defeated, not just in combat but in the foot race, too.

[Damn! You’re good at this game!] - GetSmoked

“Thanks, GetSmoked!” Panther beamed. “It comes with practice, though. I was an amateur once!”

The story continued with Panther fighting the Destiny Islands boss, Darkside, and ending up in another world. She continued through this new world, Traverse Town, and eventually met up with some Final Fantasy characters and two characters that would be her companions for the rest of the game, Donald Duck and Goofy. From there, it was three Disney worlds, back to back to back.

Wonderland came first, a zany and colorful place with talking animals, playing cards acting as soldiers, and a queen that never stops screaming. Panther collected evidence to prove the innocence of the resident “normal” character, Alice, finding quite a lot of proof that pointed to the Heartless, beings of Darkness that wanted to steal hearts in a not-Phantom-Thief way. The Queen of Hearts, loud as always and full of herself, presented her own “evidence” and told Panther’s character, Sora, to choose only one.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” Panther assured chat, “I’ve never guessed wrong on this.”

She proceeded to pick the queen’s “evidence”, which locked Donald and Goofy away from Sora.

“Shit,” Panther’s tone slightly dropped, and everyone could tell that she got serious.

Card soldiers came flying at Panther, but she knocked them away while focusing on the tower that spawned in the middle of the battlefield as well. She won, of course, though it was obvious that she had to put some effort into this. After the battle, it was made known to everyone that, while everyone was fighting, Alice was kidnapped. Panther continued through the world and eventually came upon the final boss of Wonderland, a Heartless named Trickmaster.

[Oh, this guy!] - AQuestADay

[Be careful, Panther.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Don’t worry, he’s nothing!” Panther assured her chat once more. “Just got to stay focused and be precise!”

She did as she said, and she defeated Trickmaster with little trouble and proceeded to lock the Keyhole to Wonderland. Donald, of course, got knocked out in the process, causing Panther to have to rely on her potions for healing when necessary.

[Classic Donald Duck moments.] - Cowser

“Yeah, and yet he’s Skull’s favorite,” Panther sighed.

[Really?] - Cowser

The second Disney world, Deep Jungle, started with an argument between Sora and Donald. Sora and his companions become separated, and Tarzan saves Sora’s ass from becoming a big cat’s dinner. Sora and gang are reunited, Tarzan leads the characters to his gorilla family, and soon Clayton, the obvious villain that he is, attracts the Heartless to this world.

[Why does he say imbeciles funny?] - GeckoJr

“No idea,” Panther shrugged.

Panther proceeded to save some gorillas, beat up Clayton, and locked the Keyhole to Deep Jungle. Sora and Donald made amends, Donald got hit on by a gorilla, and off they went to the third and final Disney world before making a roundtrip. Olympus Coliseum, where a satyr named Phil was hosting the preliminaries for some games that would be held in time. Despite going through some trials involving smacking around barrels, Phil refused Sora and friends entry. That was when the villain of the world came in and offered Sora a pass to enter the preliminaries.

[He may be evil, but damn, is he funny!] - PhanMan

“Agreed,” Panther smirked. “He’s a villain that you don’t mind hearing a monologue from!”

The preliminaries went well, even once Panther reached the end and had to fight Cloud Strife, but the fight was cut short by Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld. Panther had her team rush in and fight it, prompting Phil to dub Sora, Donald, and Goofy as “junior heroes”.

[That’s a backhanded compliment.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“At least I can keep participating in the games,” Panther responded nonchalantly.

And with that world done for now, Panther had no choice but to return to Traverse Town, where she was sent on a series of quests to find Leon, then deliver a book to a wizard, run into Riku (who was now hanging out with the wrong crowd), and ring a bell three times to summon the Keyhole to the world as well as another Heartless. Panther, to no one’s surprise at this point, defeated it with relative ease. Everyone watched as Sora locked the Keyhole, got some cutscenes, and Panther saved the game for the day.

“I am far from done,” she admitted, “but we’ve been here for hours! So for now, I’m calling it for the day and picking the game back up another time, when I have free time and no one’s up for multiplayer! Thanks for coming in, everyone! Take care!”

And with that, she signed off after everyone in chat bid her farewell.

***

Ann had settled down for dinner and popped on a newly released rom-com starring Yukari Takeba when her phone pinged, alerting her to a message. It was from Ren.

[You really prefer Riku?] - Ren

[Uh, yeah! Why?] - Ann

[Sora’s where it’s at.] - Ren

[But Riku has such an amazing character development arc across multiple games! What does Sora have that Riku does not?] - Ann

[Hair that doesn’t get chopped off, leading to so many fans being upset.] - Ren

[You win this round.] - Ann

Ann set her phone down and pressed play to enjoy her movie in peace.

Chapter Text

“Guys! Guys!” Futaba yelled, grabbing the attention of everyone. “We’ve been asked to do a charity stream!”

“Oh?” Ren was intrigued. “What does the charity support?”

“It helps orphans, from what I can tell,” Futaba answered after checking her phone. “They seem legit, too, so that’s a plus!”

“Hell yeah!” Ryuji grinned. “Let’s do it!”

“I agree!” Haru beamed.

“But what should we stream?” Ann asked.

“I’ve got that covered,” Futaba smirked before revealing a bowl with crumpled papers inside it, “but first, draw a number! We’re splitting into four teams for this!”

All of the numbers were drawn, and this was how they found themselves:

Ann and Akechi were part of Team One.

Makoto, Ryuji, and Morgana were part of Team Two.

Futaba, Haru, and Yusuke were part of Team Three.

Ren and Sumire were part of Team Four.

“Now we just need to find people who’ll join us,” Futaba declared. “Each team will need four people! Let’s spread out and find them! Good luck!”

Everyone parted ways except for Ren and Akechi.

“So, we’re on opposite teams once more,” Akechi smiled.

“May the best man win,” Ren smirked.

***

The day came for the charity stream, and Oracle revealed that the game of choice would be Fortnite. Before they got started, all team leaders (those being Crow, Queen, Oracle, and Joker) were asked to reveal their found teammates.

“I let Panther grab a couple people from previous stream chats,” Crow admitted, “so we have GetSmoked and Axelle.”

“Skull vouched for PhanMan, so we have him,” Queen stated.

“I reached out to WolfCub,” Oracle beamed, “and she accepted!”

“Tell her I said hi,” Joker said nonchalantly. “Well, Violet and I have GeckoJr and one other who wishes to remain anonymous for now.”

“Ooh, a secret teammate!” Oracle was giddy with excitement. “This will be a fun mystery to unravel!”

“The stream is starting!” Mona cried out.

“It’s showtime,” Joker whispered.

“Hello, everyone!” Oracle greeted the chat. “Welcome to our very first charity stream! We’ll be playing Fortnite while raising money to help orphans! Confession time: This one’s important to us on this channel because quite a few of us are orphans, so we’re happy to help here! Anyway, we’ve split into four teams of four, so if chat doesn’t seem as active today, it’s because we’ve snagged some of you to join us today! Is everyone ready?”

“Let’s do it!” was the resounding response.

“Then let’s drop in,” Oracle announced, “and don’t forget to thank the bus driver!”

And so the daring match began, as they consisted of four teams among multitudes of people. There was no guarantee of victory, but they had worse odds before.

***

“How did you already get downed?!?” Skull was flabbergasted with PhanMan.

“Sorry,” PhanMan apologized. “I’m used to JRPGs, not shooter games.”

“I thought you vouched for him,” Queen glared at Skull.

“He said he played a lot of games!” Skull explained.

“Oh, Skull,” Mona shook his head, “you didn’t think to ask what kind of games?”

“It’s fine,” Queen sighed. “We’ll just have to buy him back.”

“Sorry, everyone,” PhanMan apologized once more.

“Nah, it’s cool, man,” Skull cheered him up. “At least you tried.”

***

“This is certainly a more colorful game than most of the ones we’ve played,” Fox mused.

“If not for everyone trying to kill each other, it might have been a simple cozy game!” Noir smiled.

“Eh, if it was cozy, it wouldn’t make for a fun challenge for us being split into teams,” Oracle explained.

“Everything okay, WolfCub?” Noir asked. “You’ve been quiet this whole time.”

“Sorry, just nervous,” WolfCub apologized.

“It’s all good,” Oracle assured her. “I’m like that IRL.”

“Can confirm, Oracle prefers quiet company. Crowds make her nervous,” Fox seconded.

“No one asked you, Inari!” Oracle snapped.

“And yet, I still explained,” Fox smugly replied.

***

“Damn, GetSmoked!” Panther was shocked. “You handled that team all by yourself?”

“It’s nothing!” GetSmoked confidently responded. “When you’re among the top Gun About players in the world, you get used to facing teams for a challenge.”

“Panther, he was a great choice to bring along,” Crow nodded. “You should learn from him!”

“Oh, shut up, Crow!” Panther snapped as Axelle did her best to hide her giggling.

***

“How much have we raised so far, Joker-Senpai?” Violet asked.

“Let’s see…” Joker muttered. “Oh wow! We’re fast approaching a million yen!”

“That’s great!” GeckoJr beamed. “Your chat is amazing!”

“That they are,” Joker smirked.

***

“Mona’s down!” Queen shouted.

“Shit!” Skull yelled. “Crow’s team found us! GetSmoked is on my ass!”

“I’ll try and help, just give me a second!” Queen replied as she finished reviving Mona.

“That was too close!” Mona huffed.

“Dammit, double-teamed!” Skull screamed as he went down! “GetSmoked and Crow are deadly together!”

“I’m coming to help!” Mona chirped, but he was stopped.

“No, you’re not!” Panther smirked as she aimed at Mona.

“Lady Ann, why-” was all Mona could say before going down once more.

“Get out of here, Queen!” Skull begged. “You can still revive PhanMan!”

“No, I don’t think she can!” Axelle stated as she sniped Queen from afar.

“Well, at least we placed in the top half,” Queen contently said.

“I feel so betrayed,” Mona whined.

***

“Fox is down! I repeat, Fox is down!” Noir cried out. “Joker and Violet ambushed him!”

“How many of their team are left?” Oracle inquired.

“I only see those two!” Noir said before someone snuck up on her.

“Hi,” said GeckoJr before capping Noir, “and bye!”

“Hi and bye yourself,” WolfCub shouted as she took down GeckoJr.

Joker and Violet kept their distance from Oracle and WolfCub, firing seemingly aimlessly at them.

“Something’s up,” Oracle mused.

“What do you mean?” WolfCub questioned.

“Joker’s usually bold enough to risk danger,” Oracle explained. “It doesn’t always go in his favor, but him holding back makes me worried…”

“Do you think-” WolfCub started, but a sniper shot took her down in one hit.

“I knew it! Their surprise fourth!” Oracle shouted before getting downed. She watched as Joker approached to finish her off.

“You never saw it coming,” he smugly said as he aimed down the sights.

***

“We’re down to two teams left!” GetSmoked announced.

“Victory’s so close, I can almost taste it!” Crow smirked.

“What does it taste like to you?” Axelle asked.

“Joker’s tears,” Crow laughed to himself.

“My god, get a room, you two!” Axelle teased, causing Panther to burst out laughing.

“Speaking of,” Crow drew their attention, ignoring the playful teasing, “I see Joker on the hill over there.”

Everyone looked to see Joker emoting.

“Is that Joker hitting the griddy?!?” GetSmoked was exacerbated.

“The what?” Panther questioned.

“It’s the dance he’s doing,” GetSmoked explained.

“Well, he’ll be dancing no more,” Crow took aim, but a shot startled him.

“I’ve been hit!” Panther cried out.

“From where?” Axelle asked.

“I don’t know!” Panther yelled.

At that moment, while everyone on Crow’s team was distracted, Violet ran in and downed and finished off GetSmoked, severing their strongest player from the rest of the team.

“Oh, you little shit!” Crow snarled as he took her down. “It’s over, Joker! Come on out and let’s end this!”

Joker did as Crow asked, surprisingly, and took down Axelle, seemingly leaving it to be a duel between Joker and Crow. They jumped around, they sprayed and prayed, and, in the end, Crow knocked down Joker.

“Yes! I’ve done it!” Crow gloated. “Victory is mine!”

“If it was, the game would be over,” Joker pointed out.

“Wait…” Crow realized too late what that meant. A sniper shot brought him down, giving Joker’s team the win. Crow had enough time to see the username. His eyes widened as a familiar voice hit his ears.

“It happened just as you predicted, Joker,” DrSnax said. “He really is too focused on you!”

“You win this round,” Crow snarked as he conceded.

“Good job, Doc,” Joker congratulated DrSnax. “You did great.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” DrSnax nodded, “and hey, look at how much was raised.

Everyone saw the final few yen get dropped in, pushing the total to just over three million yen.

“Well, I’d say the charity was the true winner today,” Joker announced.

“I agree!” Oracle seconded.

“That was a lot of fun,” Queen stated. “We should do it again!”

“Agreed,” Fox mused. “It was well worth the intensity of the game to help such a worthy cause!”

“Well, this was a lot of fun, but I have to go now!” WolfCub chimed in. “Dad’s home, and he’s preparing dinner. He may or may not need my help!”

“Tell him we said hi!” Skull smiled.

“Will do!” WolfCub concluded before signing out.

“Yeah, dinner does sound good,” Noir mused. “The usual place?”

“Sounds good to me,” Oracle nodded. “In that case, we’re signing out for the night! Thanks for coming in, everyone!”

The chat gave their various messages of farewells before the screen froze, indicating the stream had ended for the night. The former Phantom Thieves and their in-town friends gathered at Leblanc for a well-earned meal and continued merriment.

Chapter Text

Of all the people to recommend a game to play, no one ever expected it to be Haru. Given that she was occasionally away from the group, dealing with Okumura Foods management, none of the team expected her to have the time to find a game to recommend that they play.

“So, what’s the game called?” Ryuji asked.

“Stardew Valley!” Haru announced with a gleeful tone. “It’s a farming game that also lets you mine, forage, fight monsters, fish, and get along with a small town!”

“That sounds pleasantly cozy,” Makoto mused. “This will definitely be better for me than Phasmophobia!”

“Count me in, too!” Ann stated.

“Yeah, sounds like fun!” Ryuji beamed. “And hey, if I like it enough, maybe I could get my mom a copy of the game, too!”

“You’re such a sweetheart when it comes to your mom!” Haru complimented.

“Eh, what can I say?” Ryuji said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I owe her a lot!”

“So, Stardew tonight?” Makoto got the conversation back on topic.

“Works for me!” Ann approved.

“Yes, I’m good to go, too!” Haru seconded.

“Let’s do this!” Ryuji grinned.

***

“Hello, everyone!” Noir began the stream. “Today, we’ll be playing Stardew Valley, a farming game with so much more to offer than just farming! I’m joined by Queen, Panther, and Skull!”

“I’m excited for this!” Panther added. “So, what’s the name of the farm?”

“I struggled to think of a good name for it,” Noir admitted, “so I hope everyone’s okay with ‘Beauty Thief Farm!’”

“That inside joke is never going to die, is it?” Skull teased.

“What can I say?” Noir rolled with it. “My name is Beauty Thief!”

[Noir says that so seriously, and it’s adorable!] - Axelle

“Thank you, Axelle!” Noir beamed.

“So, what do we need to do today?” Queen asked.

“Judging from the seeds we were given by the mayor and the flashing exclamation point,” Panther pointed out, “I’m guessing we plant parsnips then go say hi to the townsfolk!”

“Already planted mine!” Skull announced as he left the farm.

“Did you remember to water them?” Queen inquired.

“...Shit!” Skull came running back.

[Classic Skull moment!] - AQuestADay

[I’ve seen you do the same, honey.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

[Hush it!] - AQuestADay

“Okay, parsnips are planted and watered,” Noir said sweetly. “Now to say hi to everyone!”

***

“Man, this chick is hot!” Skull stated.

“What?” Panther questioned.

“Haley!” Skull explained. “Talk about a blonde bombshell!”

“Oh, Skull,” Panther sighed.

“I spoke with her earlier,” Queen chimed in. “She seemed kind of mean.”

“Yeah, but I bet she’ll warm up to me,” Skull smirked. “You know, given that I’m a Ph- uh, a farmer!”

Skull may have been alone in his room, but he could still feel the glares of the girls he was playing with.

***

A few days had passed in-game, and the four of them entered a cutscene where Mayor Lewis told them about the community center. As the cutscene played out, they all saw a green creature that was shaped like an apple.

“I don’t know what it is,” Queen said, “but I want a plush of it!”

“Duly noted,” Noir smiled. “I’ll see if I can find one!”

“Noir, you don’t have to,” Queen gasped.

“I know I don’t have to,” Noir grinned, “but I want to!”

“Good luck changing her mind,” Panther interjected. “I mentioned wanting crepes while we were out one day and she bought six for us to split. I was in sugar high heaven!”

“You know that’s not good to eat all those sweets,” Skull butted in. “You might get fat.”

[He did not just say!] - Vblu

[Dead man streaming! We got a dead man streaming!] - PhanMan

[Can we get everyone to post o7 in the chat? Skull’s funeral is soon.] - GetSmoked

“Wow, that’s a lot of o7’s,” Queen announced as they started piling.

“Yeah, I effed up,” Skull sulked. “Sorry, Panther.”

“You’re fine,” Panther smirked, “for now.”

“For now?!?” Skull panicked.

***

“Okay, what the hell was in that cauldron?!?” Skull shouted.

“Wizard stuff!” Noir answered nonchalantly. “Now we can speak with the Junimos!”

“Are we the Lorax now?” Panther inquired.

“I doubt it,” Queen mused, “but still, that should be a fervent reminder of why you shouldn’t do drugs, everyone!”

[Unless your doctor prescribes it to you!] - PhanMan

[Well, duh!] - Cowser

[So don’t 420 blaze it?] - GetSmoked

“GetSmoked, you’re a child!” Skull chastised. “You shouldn’t be ‘blazing’ anything!”

“Wow, Skull saying something sensible!” Panther teased.

“Can it, Panther!” Skull retorted. “I get enough of that from Mona!”

“Well, he’s not here, so I guess Panther thought she had to step up!” Queen added.

“Yeah!” Panther smugly replied.

“Anyway,” Noir dragged the attention away from the current conversation, “I just went to the community center! They want forageables!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Queen asked. “Let’s find them!”

***

“They really dedicated a whole day to eggs?” Panther questioned.

“What’s wrong with that?” Skull inquired.

“Nothing, I guess,” Panther mulled it over, “but there’s so much better food out there!”

“Okay, but hear me out,” Skull proclaimed, “fried egg on ramen!”

“That does sound good!” Panther and Queen said in unison.

“I don’t think I’ve ever tried that,” Noir exclaimed, “so I say we wrap up the stream soon and go try it!”

“Aw yeah! I’m all for it!” Skull beamed.

[Oh! While you’re all here, buy strawberry seeds if you want to make a lot of money!] - AQuestADay

“Already did, Quest,” Queen announced, “but thank you for confirming my suspicions!”

[I got your back, Queen!] - AQuestADay

“Anyway, looks like we have an event to do?” Noir mused. “An egg hunt?”

“Doesn’t that seem a little childish?” Queen questioned.

“Well, Abigail’s joining in,” Panther pointed out, “so I will, too!”

“Count me in!” Skull yelled. “I’m going to find them all!”

“It sounds like a lot of fun!” Noir giddily said.

“Well, I’ll let you three do the egg hunt,” Queen conceded. “Maybe by stepping aside, it’ll be easier for you!”

“Okay, if that’s what you want to do!” Panther shrugged.

And so the egg hunt began. They had fifty seconds to find as many eggs as they could, but Panther and Skull were fighting over eggs in one path while Noir took off in a different direction. Time seemed to speed by quickly for them (not so much for Queen, who waited for the countdown to end), so it eventually came to a halt.

“Well, how did everyone do?” Queen inquired.

“I got two eggs because Skull kept stealing the ones I was going for!” Panther snapped.

“Oh, please!” Skull scoffed. “I only got three!”

“How about you, Noir?” Queen turned her attention away from the bickering duo.

“I found five,” Noir announced. “I hope it’s enough to win!”

As it turned out, it was, and Noir got a straw hat for her success. Once the event ended, they found themselves in front of their respective homes and it was late at night.

“I like the straw hat,” Noir beamed.

“Glad you like it!” Panther grinned.

“Well, I don’t know about you three, but I’m worn out and hungry,” Skull said as he stretched.

“Agreed,” Queen acknowledged. “We should go ahead and call it for today.”

“Well, definitely be back with this game in the future,” Noir told the chat, “but we should be going! Thank you for stopping in today!”

Chat typed away all their farewells to the four streamers as the stream came to a close, and the four of them went off to Shibuya to hit up Ryuji’s favorite ramen shop to get a bowl of ramen with fried egg, just as they had planned.

Chapter Text

Morgana was nestled on Ren’s lap, sleeping away as the young man scrolled away on his computer. All was quiet until the cat felt a hand lightly tap him awake.

“Hey, what’s up?” Morgana sleepily inquired.

“I found a game that is a four-player co-op game and I just sent the link to Sumire and Akechi,” Ren explained. “Do you want in?”

“Let me take a look,” Morgana sat up straight and read the screen carefully. “I think I could handle being a charming knight in shining armor!”

“Awesome. Let’s stream it tomorrow night.”

“Yeah! For now, I need some sleep.”

“You were just asleep, though.”

“And I can go for some more.”

“Suit yourself. I’ve been asked by Ann to go on a shopping trip.”

“On second thought, who needs sleep? I’m coming with you!”

Ren chuckled to himself as Morgana got himself situated in Ren’s bag.

***

“Hello, everyone!” Joker started the stream as Crow, Violet, and Mona readied themselves. “Welcome to Castle Crashers! None of us have played this game before, but it looked fun enough to me, so I asked Crow, Violet, and Mona to join me!”

“I am always happy to join in on new fun games!” Violet beamed.

“As am I,” Crow smirked, “though if I have the chance to one-up Joker in this game, just know that I will!”

“So, how do we decide which character to play?” Mona inquired.

“Yeah, we should consider our options,” Joker mused, “of which we have four.”

All of them looked at the screen, where they saw four knights: a red knight, an orange knight, a blue knight, and a green knight.

[I know just enough about this game to help you all decide, if you wish.] - PhanMan

“Fire away, PhanMan!” Crow obliged.

[The red knight starts with a mace and uses electricity, the orange knight starts with an axe and uses fire, the green knight has a thin sword and uses poison, and the blue knight has a sword and uses ice.] - PhanMan

“A thin sword, huh?” Violet pondered. “Can I take the green one?”

“Okay, that’s one knight claimed,” Joker stated. “I’ll take the red knight.”

“Blue knight for me,” Crow claimed.

“I guess I’m left with orange,” Mona chirped.

“Ready to start the game?” Joker asked the others.

“Yes,” Mona affirmed.

“Let’s do this!” Violet cheered.

“I’m always ready,” Crow smugly replied.

“And here we go!” Joker announced as the story began.

The four of them watched as invaders of a castle stole away four princesses, one of which was being dragged along the ground face-down.

“That has got to hurt!” Violet said as she sucked in air through her mouth.

“Just leave it to me!” Mona exclaimed. “I’ll save them and win their hearts!”

[Sounds like Mona’s fired up.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

[Again, I question if you can actually understand him!] - AQuestADay

[Wait, is Mona a boy cat? I always forget to ask.] - PhanMan

“I’m a MAN, not a cat!” Mona hissed.

[The mod used the C-word!] - Axelle

[Go to your room and think about what you did!] - Cowser

[I’m already in my room!] - PhanMan

[Then get on the fridge!] - Vblu

[This house is a nightmare!] - PhanMan

As chat continued joking among themselves with ridiculous “punishments” for PhanMan, the four brave knights ran through the levels, hacking and slashing through the multitudes of enemies until they reached an arena that was clearly meant for a boss.

“Hey, there’s the princesses!” Violet pointed out before three of the four princesses were taken away.

“Correction: there’s A princess,” Crow muttered.

“And there’s a boss!” Joker announced.

A big barbarian came forward to fight them, but the gate behind him slammed down on top of him, revealing a behemoth of a barbarian. The real boss had arrived.

“Oh shit,” Mona mumbled.

“You’re big,” Joker playfully commented. “I’ve fought bigger.”

And so the four knights began doing their best to whittle down the boss’s health, occasionally finding themselves slammed into the dirt and trying to free themselves frantically to get back in the fight. In the end, as anyone would expect, they emerged victorious. They thought that was it, but then their characters hopped in front of each other as if to fight among themselves.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Violet asked.

[You’re now fighting to see who gets to free the princess and kiss her.] - PhanMan

“I don’t care about that,” Crow admitted, “but if it means I can fight Joker, I’ll do it!”

“Sheesh, you’re just an outpouring source of love, aren’t you, Crow?” Joker teased.

Joker and Crow dueled each other while Mona and Violet fought each other. Mona and Joker were the winners of their respective duels.

“You got lucky!” Crow snapped.

“Nuh-uh,” Joker smirked.

“The fuck you mean, ‘nuh-uh?!?’” Crow yelled.

“It’s okay, Crow, I lost, too,” Violet tried to ease her co-streamer’s tensions.

“Can we fight already?” Mona inquired. “I have a princess to kiss!”

“Oh, I guess we should duel, too!” Joker stated.

It was admittedly a close duel, and Mona struggled as Joker had the upper hand. However, Joker lost in the end, and Mona could tell that Joker threw the match to let Mona have this one win. The cat could be heard purring as his knight smooched the recently-rescued princess.

[He really wanted that win.] - GeckoJr

“I guess he did,” Joker shrugged. “After all, I almost had him until he beat me, fair and square.”

“Bullshit, you threw that match!” Crow snarled.

“Fair and square,” Joker repeated, this time a little slower.

[Purring Mona is best Mona, so it works for me!] - AQuestADay

[Agreed.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Seems you have fans, Mona,” Joker pointed out.

“Of course, I do!” Mona boasted. “I’m the most charming streamer on this site, probably!”

“Can we get going?” Crow huffed.

“So pushy,” Violet teased, and they continued their travels after dealing with level ups.

They found themselves in a forest with a handful of enemies and a few animals, most of whom were shitting themselves in fear of something approaching, something big enough to shake the forest. The four brave knights were slightly amused and slightly grossed out, but the bear shitting in the woods in fear shocked them.

“What’s out here that can scare a bear that bad?!?” Mona questioned.

“I have no idea what’s out there, but I think we should get inside to avoid it!” Joker commanded, ushering everyone into a barn.

Inside the barn, they found a handful of deer that had the same idea as them. Unfortunately, the idea was not a foolproof plan. First, a bulging eye came through, then the front of the barn was torn off to reveal…

[It’s Mona’s big cousin!] - GetSmoked

[Oh my god, GetSmoked!] - GeckoJr

[Go join PhanMan on top of the fridge!] - Axelle

As chat joked once more about “punishments”, the four brave knights hopped onto a deer and began racing down the longest barn they had ever seen. While Joker, Violet, and Mona grabbed a deer that ran, Crow’s deer was propelled by it shitting itself in fear.

“What the fuck is wrong with these animals?!?” Crow grumbled.

“Maybe it’s scared of you?” Joker teased.

“Don’t even,” Crow grumbled some more.

The four of them continued even further, eventually finding a stopping point to call it for the day.

“Well, this was definitely fun,” Joker started, “but unfortunately, we have to call it for tonight.”

“Yeah, I have to be up early tomorrow,” Violet pointed out. “Gymnastics practice and all.”

“And some of us have daily lives outside of the internet that they don’t feel comfortable mentioning aloud,” Crow muttered.

“And Mona is due for a visit with the vet,” Joker stated.

“Wait, what?!?” Mona shrieked.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding, chill out!” Joker stifled his laughter as best as he could.

[That was cold, man!] - Vblu

[Everyone who thinks Joker belongs on the fridge for that, say aye!] - Cowser

Chat filled up quickly, mostly with commenters typing and sending “aye”.

“Looks like you’re in trouble, Joker!” Violet teased.

“It happens,” Joker shrugged. “That’s why everyone likes me. I’m such a bad boy.”

“...I am not commenting on that,” Crow concluded before personally signing out.

“I guess Crow couldn’t take anymore shenanigans tonight!” Mona chirped.

“Well, Crow’s gone, so I guess that’s a sign,” Joker said calmly. “Thank you for coming in! Take care!”

And with that, another stream was done.

Chapter Text

Futaba, Yusuke, Haru, Makoto, and Ryuji had gathered to enjoy some quiet friend time. At least, it was meant to be quiet, but one of them was humming, and it was a tune that Futaba recognized.

“Haru,” Futaba started, “is that the Huntress’s humming from Dead by Daylight?”

“It is!” Haru exclaimed. “I love playing as her!”

“Is that another horror game?” Makoto inquired.

“It is,” Futaba and Haru confirmed simultaneously.

“Nope!” Makoto got up, gathered her belongings, and proceeded to leave before the idea could be pitched and she would end up dragged into it. “Nope, nope, nope, nope!”

“She still hasn’t recovered from Phasmophobia, has she?” Yusuke asked.

“Probably not,” Futaba shrugged. “She really can’t handle her horror games, I guess.”

“So you’re thinking what I’m thinking?” Haru beamed.

“Dead by Daylight stream night!” Futaba proclaimed.

“Very well. I’ll go along with this,” Yusuke agreed.

“A scary game, huh?” Ryuji chimed in, having somehow remained quiet this entire time. “Count me in!”

“That’s four people,” Futaba pointed out. “If we can get a fifth person to join in, we can do a custom lobby and avoid wait times!”

“I know just who to ask!” Ryuji exclaimed.

***

“Good evening, everyone!” Oracle greeted chat as the stream started. “Tonight, we’ll be playing Dead by Daylight! I am joined by Noir, who came up with the idea, as well as Fox, Skull, and Mona!”

“This is going to be so fun!” Noir giddily added.

“We’ll be doing custom lobbies to avoid wait times, and some of us will be playing the killer of the match!” Oracle explained. “For those unaware, the killer wants to take out the survivors, while the survivors want to evade the killer’s attacks and get generators running to escape!”

“It’s also fair to point out that Oracle and Noir are the only ones who have played this before,” Skull interjected, “so we asked them to save being killer for later.”

“Eh, I’m not crazy about playing killer, honestly,” Oracle stated. “Noir, on the other hand…”

“I’m so excited!” Noir giddily replied.

“She’s really into this,” Mona chirped.

“You said it, Mona,” Skull responded.

[Best of luck, everyone!] - PhanMan

“Our first killer of the night will be Fox!” Oracle announced. “As such, he’s waiting for us survivors to ready up and get started while not being present in the voice chat! Ready up, everyone!”

Everyone did as Oracle asked, and the five Phantom Thieves found themselves dropped into a dreary, dark, rundown junkyard filled with stacks of cars and a dimly-lit gas station.

“This is eerie!” Skull pointed out the obvious.

“On a gen!” Oracle announced.

“Joining you!” Mona chirped.

“I just saw Fox!” Noir alerted everyone. “He’s playing the Trapper!”

“The Trapper?” Skull questioned. “You mean the guy who can- aw, what the eff?!?”

Skull found one of the Trapper’s bear traps by stepping on it. As he struggled to free himself, Fox found him and downed him.

“Damn, no remorse!” Skull playfully pouted as he was thrown onto a hook. Luckily for him, Noir was nearby, and she freed him within seconds.

“That’s gen one down!” Oracle shouted as the first generator was completed.

“Only four to go!” Noir cheered.

“Fox is on me! I’ll try and lead him away from everyone!” Mona yelled, doing as he said he would. Fox struggled to catch up with Mona as the tiniest Phantom Thief knew how to dodge hits.

“Two gens down!” Oracle announced. “It looks like Inari’s screwed!”

“He just got me!” Mona squeaked.

“Goddamn traps!” Skull complained.

[Skull, what the hell?!?] - GetSmoked

“Can it, GetSmoked!” Skull grunted as he tried his best to free himself.

As Noir got Mona off the hook, Skull barely managed to free himself and escaped Fox’s swing in the nick of time.

“How’s gen three looking, Oracle?” Noir inquired.

“Done!” Oracle shouted as the third generator came to life. “Two more, everyone! Keep it up!”

[I think Fox is out of his element as killer.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

[Maybe a little bit!] - AQuestADay

By the time the fourth generator was completed, Fox finally caught Skull a second time and hooked him. Noir, ever the heroine, was quick to free him.

“Go help Oracle, Skull!” Noir instructed. “I’ll keep Fox off of you!”

“You got it!” Skull did as he was told.

“What should I do?” Mona asked.

“Keep Skull out of trouble,” Noir commanded. “If he runs into a trap again, help him escape faster, one way or another!”

“On it!” Mona chirped.

“Come on, Fox! Let’s dance!” Noir goaded Fox into chasing after her.

Everyone playing knew she would be a deadly killer, but none of them expected her to easily dodge every swing from Fox and avoid every trap on the ground. By the time Fox could land a hit, the fifth generator had been completed and the door to escape was opened. Fox did not get a single kill.

“You four were quite the challenge,” Fox said as he entered the voice chat. “Especially you, Noir!”

“Thank you!” Noir giddily replied.

“You almost had me, bud!” Skull consoled.

“I’ll improve in time,” Fox shrugged.

“Okay, Mona’s up next as killer,” Oracle announced.

“Leave it to me!” Mona chirped before leaving the voice chat.

[How does Mona even connect to the voice chat?] - Vblu

[I’ve wondered that myself.] - Cowser

[One of life’s greatest mysteries!] - GGAnna

[He’s just that good!] - GeckoJr

The next match started, and the five Phantom Thieves found themselves in Haddonfield, home of Michael Myers. However, Oracle learned quickly that Mona was not playing as the Shape.

“He’s the Wraith!” she shouted as she narrowly avoided being hit by the suddenly-appearing killer.

“What’s the Wraith’s deal?” Skull asked as he was nowhere near Oracle.

“He can turn invisible and visible with the use of a bell,” Noir explained. “On the bright side, he can’t attack if he’s invisible, so he’ll announce his presence!”

“I have the first generator finished!” Fox interjected as he saw Oracle’s character get downed by Mona. “That’s not good.”

Fox ran away as Mona left Oracle on the ground to chase after Fox. Noir rushed to Oracle’s aid picking her back up.

“Mona really didn’t think this through, did he?” Oracle giggled to herself.

“Well, he still got Fox,” Noir pointed out as Fox’s character screamed in agony as they were hooked.

“I’ve got him,” Skull yelled, followed by “never mind, I’m being chased!”

“Oh, Skull!” Oracle playfully chastised.

Fox was rescued by Noir, who was really on top of everything as she left Oracle to fix a generator. All the while, Skull was hooked and Mona found Noir trying to sneak up on the hook. The resulting chase allowed Fox to rescue Skull.

“Thanks, man,” Skull smiled.

“Of course,” Fox nodded.

That was when their worst nightmare happened. As Oracle finished the second generator, Noir was downed. However, Mona left her alone as he chased after both Fox and Skull, who were tripping over each other to try and escape.

“This is insane!” Skull shouted.

“Don’t worry, I got this!” Oracle yelled as she came to the rescue, her character taking a hit for them to escape while dropping a little present for Mona - a firecracker that temporarily stunned him.

“What about Noir?” Fox inquired.

“I’m fine,” Noir assured them. “I have Unbreakable!”

“Unbreakable?” Skull questioned.

“It’s a perk that allows a survivor to pick themselves up when others are unavailable, but only once per match!” Noir explained.

“Aw shit, that’s cool!” Skull grinned.

The game continued as such until the remaining necessary generators were completed. During that time, Skull and Fox were hooked once more each, while Oracle was hooked once as well. Noir had evaded Mona since being downed.

“The door is open!” Oracle shouted. “Come on!”

It was too little too late, though. Fox was downed and was being picked up.

“Oh no you don’t, you furball!” Skull shouted.

Skull chased after Mona, blocking his path to the nearest hook. He saved Fox from inevitable demise, but, in doing so, accepted that demise for himself. Skull was killed as the remaining survivors made it to safety.

[That deserves an o7 in the chat!] - PhanMan

The chat filled up with many dropping an o7 for Skull.

“That was the bravest and dumbest thing you’ve ever done in a video game, Skull!” Oracle smirked.

“I couldn’t let Fox die,” Skull shrugged. “It was nothing.”

“At least I got a kill!” Mona chirped as he entered the voice chat once more.

“And now, for the final match of the night…Noir, you’re up!” Oracle announced with hesitation in her voice.

“I’ll see you all in the game!” Noir sweetly threatened before leaving the voice chat.

“We’re effed, aren’t we?” Skull inquired.

“Let me put it this way,” Oracle explained. “You know how I put a lot of time into video games? Noir’s put in more than double what I have in Dead by Daylight.”

“We are indeed ‘effed’, as Skull would put it,” Fox deadpanned.

And so the final match of the night began, and the crew found themselves in the Raccoon City police station. It did not take long before Noir had hooked her first victim. This would not have bothered the team of survivors, but it was Oracle on the hook.

“Damn!” Skull shouted. “How did she get you so fast?!?”

“She’s playing as Huntress,” Oracle explained. “I should’ve seen that coming. She threw two hatchets at me and downed me quickly!”

“I’m coming to help!” Skull stated.

“I’m going with you,” Mona chimed in. “Noir will have a hard time getting both of us if we coordinate this just right!”

Mona was right. While he managed to save Oracle before she entered the second hook phase, Skull was downed by Noir’s hatchets as well.

“Her precision with those is terrifying!” Oracle admitted.

“I have one generator done!” Fox confirmed.

“That’s good! Let’s keep it together! No panicking!” Mona ordered.

[Do you think they’ll make it through this?] - GeckoJr

[Probably not.] - Axelle

By the time the second generator was completed, everyone had been hooked once, and Skull was on his second hook. This worried the team of survivors greatly. Noir was an absolute menace with her hatchets. She was constantly resupplying after downing a character, so she never ran short of them. By the time the third generator was completed, Skull and Mona were gone. Fox and Oracle each had a second hook to their name.

“Okay, long story short, we’re fucked, unless…” Oracle murmured.

“Unless what?” Fox did not like being kept in suspense.

“One of us needs to take a hook for the other’s chances to survive increase.”

“Explain.”

“Once there’s only one survivor left, an escape hatch will randomly spawn somewhere on the map. If the survivor finds it before the killer does, they’ll escape.”

“In that case, godspeed, Oracle!”

Fox ran forward and drew Noir’s attention away from Oracle, who waited in a locker until Fox was downed. Once he was, she left and began searching around as Fox’s body was claimed by the entity. Oracle did not get super lucky to have the hatch spawn right next to her, but she did see it. She bolted for it, ready to jump in-

Only for a hatchet to catch her and down her.

“That’s all, folks!” Oracle joked as she was carried off by Noir to a hook.

“That was invigorating!” Noir giggled as she entered the voice chat once again.

“Noir, you scare me sometimes,” Skull confessed.

Noir only giggled in response to that.

“Well, that’s all the games we have for tonight!” Oracle concluded. “Good night, everyone!”

The other Phantom Thieves bid their chat farewell, and the stream was wrapped up.

Chapter Text

Ren had gathered all of his friends together for a quick meeting. He had received word from Shinya that a Gun About tournament was being held, and their little streaming group had been invited to participate in it. Morgana, knowing what kind of controllers are used for Gun About, had to decline, given that he lacked opposable thumbs. Haru, not wanting to leave Morgana out of the fun, declined as well, vouching to provide commentary with the not-a-cat as they streamed the matches. Everyone else agreed and sent in their usernames as contestants.

***

“Hello, everyone!” Noir greeted the members of chat. “I am Noir, and I’m joined by Mona-chan to give commentary on a Gun About tournament that we were alerted to by the Champion of Gun About himself! Sixteen contestants had entered for a chance to win 100,000 yen and a shot at the championship!”

“It’s going to be fun to watch everyone face each other!” Mona chirped.

“The first match will be starting soon,” Noir concluded. “Good luck, everyone!”

[I know who I’m rooting for!] - PhanMan

[And who’s that?] - Michio

[My best friend, of course!] - PhanMan

***

Round One, Match One: Panther vs. AQuestADay

“Do you have any experience with games like these?” AQuestADay asked.

“A little,” Panther admitted. “You?”

“Same. Guess it’s a tossup!”

“May the best blonde girl win!”

Panther and AQuestADay were off, firing round after round at each other. As they had predicted, it was a close match, but, at the very last possible second, AQuestADay pulled off a miracle final shot that prevented the match from going into overtime.

“Damn, Quest!” Panther was smiling at her competition. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time!”

“It was all luck, really!” AQuestADay assured her. “You did great!”

The two girls hugged it out and parted ways.

***

Round One, Match Two: WolfCub vs. Fox

“To think my first opponent should be you, WolfCub,” Fox mused. “Our battle shall be legendary!”

“Bring it, Fox!” WolfCub smirked.

“I intend to. Hold nothing back!”

The match began, and WolfCub gave it her best effort. However, Fox had more skill with handling guns (though the public did not know this), so he defeated her fairly easily.

“You were incredible, Fox!” WolfCub stated. “I should take some lessons from you!”

“Might I recommend lessons from Joker instead?” Fox suggested. “He is better at this game than I am.”

“Okay!”

The two of them shook hands and gave way to the next match.

***

Round One, Match Three: Skull vs. TheFireFoxOfLore

“Hey, man!” Skull greeted his opponent. “I’ve seen you in chat pretty often! How’s it bonking?”

TheFireFoxOfLore did not respond verbally. He instead handed Skull a handwritten card that informed Skull of him being mute.

“Oh! That’s cool, man!” Skull assured him. “Besides, knowing what my friends would say, they’d think I run my mouth enough for the both of us!”

TheFireFoxOfLore nodded while smiling as he and Skull grabbed a gun controller and began their match. It became obvious to everyone watching that TheFireFoxOfLore was not someone who played shooter games often, and Skull won easily. He conceded graciously, giving Skull a courteous bow.

“I think you did great, given everything!” Skull cheered. “Just practice a little from time to time, alright?”

TheFireFoxOfLore nodded and shook Skull’s hand, and thus their match ended.

***

Round One, Match Four: Vblu vs. Queen

“Just for fair warning,” Queen spoke to Vblu, “I’m fairly skilled at shooter games.”

“So am I,” Vblu smiled. “Are you ready for this?”

“Always!”

“Then let’s do this!”

It was an intense match, certainly more intense than any up to this point. Both of them were true to their word - they were indeed skilled in shooters. The match even went into overtime, and one minor slip-up from Vblu was all it took for Queen to snag the win.

“That was incredible,” Queen panted, catching her breath as if she had been holding it for a bit. “I’m glad that last shot landed.”

“Well, if I had to lose in the first round, I’m glad it was to one of my favorite streamers!”

The two of them politely bow before parting ways.

***

Round One, Match Five: Axelle vs. Joker

“I was kind of hoping to get teamed up with Crow,” Axelle confessed. “I got to mess with him a bit in Fortnite and wanted to see if I could throw his game off by flustering him.”

“It is fun to fluster him,” Joker agreed, “but I don’t fluster so easily.”

“Damn. Guess I’ll have to try my best!”

“Good luck!”

For as skilled as Joker was, Axelle managed to give him a run for his money. However, only one of them had been trained by the Champion of Gun About, and Axelle had to admit defeat in the end.

“I gave it my all, but that could only get me so far,” Axelle shrugged. “Congrats, Joker!”

“And congrats to you,” Joker replied. “You held up well out there.”

The pair shook hands before they left the stage.

***

Round One, Match Six: Cowser vs. Oracle

“Are you ready to go up against a master of shooter games?” Cowser inquired.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Oracle grinned, “though I’d say I’m more of a master of gaming in general!”

“So that makes you a worthy opponent!”

“Our battle will be legendary!”

And off they went, with both of them giving it their all. However, it became clear that a jack of all trades really was better than a master of one, and Oracle snagged the win from Cowser.

“You win some, you lose some,” Cowser shrugged.

“Maybe you can join in on other games in the future,” Oracle offered. “Maybe if we team up, everyone else will be screwed!”

“Hell yeah!”

They gave each other a crisp high-five before stepping aside for the next match.

***

Round One, Match Seven: GeckoSr vs. GeckoJr

“To think I’d be going against my own son,” GeckoSr mumbled aloud. “You better be ready to give this all you’ve got, GeckoJr!”

“I’d never do anything less, dad!” GeckoJr assured his father.

Despite the fact that no one had ever seen or heard of GeckoSr playing video games, he held up amazingly against his son, who had played games before. (Joker had a feeling that his skill came from personal experiences in the man’s darker past.) However, GeckoJr lucked out in the end and clipped his father in overtime, netting him the win.

“You were amazing, GeckoJr,” GeckoSr told his son. “You have made the Gecko Clan proud today!”

“Thanks, dad!” GeckoJr responded as he and his father hugged before departing from the stage.

***

Round One, Match Eight: Violet vs. Crow

“Of all the people I could’ve been pitted against, it had to be you,” Violet sighed. “Well, enjoy the easy victory!”

“I had hoped to fight Joker instead,” Crow admitted. “Just know that this isn't personal, okay?”

“Understood, Crow-Senpai!”

It was an absolutely unfair match. Violet did have great aim, but Crow was much too fast for her. In the end, she was defeated mercilessly.

“Again, nothing personal,” Crow reiterated. “I just need my path to Joker cleared.”

“Well, good luck in your future matches, Crow-Senpai!” Violet smiled.

The two of them shook hands and parted ways.

***

“Some of those matches were intense!” Noir announced. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mona-chan?”

“Yeah!” Mona chirped.

“I’m a little surprised that I was knocked out in the first round,” Panther stated, “but Quest was a tough opponent for me.”

[Yeah, my wife has played a lot of Star Wars shooters, so she had a fair chance.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Crow is a merciless opponent,” Violet added, “but he made it clear that he only wanted to fight Joker.”

[They really need to get a room!] - Axelle

[Queen did great herself!] - Vblu

[So did Oracle!] - Cowser

[Skull’s no pushover, either.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

[I’m just glad to be a part of this! I’m surprised my dad let me come to the city for this!] - WolfCub

“Well, we’re glad you did!” Panther beamed.

[The next matches are about to start!] - Michio

“Ah, you’re right!” Noir noticed. “Let’s see how they go!”

***

Quarterfinals, Match One: AQuestADay vs. Fox

“Are you skilled in shooters, Fox?” AQuestADay asked.

“I do have some skill,” Fox confirmed, “but I lack in comparison to others from my group of friends.”

“Well, I think you’ll do just fine!”

“As shall you! En garde, Quest!”

It was another tough match for a former Phantom Thief against a member of their chat, but within the last few seconds, the final strike left Fox as the assured winner of the match.

“Darn,” AQuestADay playfully pouted. “I was hoping for a chance to reach the top.”

“There is always next time,” Fox assured her.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The pair of them shook hands and left the stage.

***

Quarterfinals, Match Two: Skull vs. Queen

“Ready to get your ass kicked, Queen?” Skull taunted.

“I was thinking of asking you the same thing, Skull!” Queen retorted.

“May the best streamer win!”

And with that, the guns were drawn and opening fire on their respective opponent. Both of them held on pretty well, even going into overtime, but Queen won in the end. Skull was speechless for once.

“For what it’s worth, you did nearly have me there!” Queen pointed out.

“Yeah,” Skull shrugged. “Next time’s the charm, or something like that!”

They high-fived each other before stepping aside for the next contestants.

***

Quarterfinals, Match Three: Joker vs. Oracle

“So, we meet again!” Oracle jokingly started.

“When last we fought, I was but the learner,” Joker played along, “but now, I am the master!”

“We’ll see if your training has paid off!”

“Bring it!”

Oracle and Joker allowed a semblance of sibling rivalry play out in the game, neither of them willing to let the other prove themselves better. However, Joker snagged the win in the last ten seconds of the match, leaving Oracle defeated and playfully pouting.

“Impressive, most impressive,” Oracle snarked, “but you are not a champion yet!”

“Well, if there’s a day for that to happen,” Joker smugly smirked.

The two of them laughed it off and hugged each other tightly, walking off the gaming stage together.

***

Quarterfinals, Match Four: GeckoJr vs. Crow

“Please take it easy on me?” GeckoJr begged, knowing how tough of an opponent Crow would be.

“No,” Crow chuckled softly as the match began.

To put it bluntly, it was an absolute slaughter. GeckoJr did not stand a chance, and Crow was overwhelmingly victorious.

“For the record, it was nothing personal,” Crow said as he patted GeckoJr’s shoulder. “I just needed to secure my match against Joker.”

“Well, good luck going against him!” GeckoJr nodded in understanding.

The two young men shook hands before parting ways.

***

“The matches are really heating up out there!” Noir announced.

“Yeah, it’s coming down to the ruthless among us!” Skull stated. “Oh, and Fox.”

“Inari’s plenty ruthless, if he wants to be,” Oracle smirked.

“I don’t know about that,” Panther said with an unsure voice.

[Well, he held up well against me!] - AQuestADay

[Better luck next time!] - Michio

[She’ll definitely recover from this.] - TheFireFoxOfLore

“Anyone else notice that it’s only members of our stream team left?” Violet asked.

[I noticed!] - Cowser

[You guys are awesome, so I’m not shocked!] - Vblu

[Crow is especially capable in this game. He might be able to beat Joker!] - GeckoJr

[I don’t know about that.] -PhanMan

[One way to find out!] - Axelle

“Good luck out there, Fox, Queen, Joker, and Crow!” Noir concluded as the semi-finals began.

***

Semi-Finals, Round One: Fox vs. Queen

“If I am being entirely honest,” Fox said, “I’m amazed that I’ve made it as far as I have.”

“Well, you can always concede, though I’d rather you didn’t,” Queen teased.

“Not a chance! I shall show the true beauty of my skills!”

“Then give it your all, Fox! You know I will!”

Queen was not joking when she said she would give it her all. Fox was decimated quickly, but not without landing a few good clean hits on his opponent. Still, the victor was clear. Queen had won.

“Outstanding as always, Queen,” Fox mused. “Your skills are unquestionably of a higher standard than mine!”

“It just takes practice,” Queen assured him. “You did great, Fox!”

The two of them bowed politely before giving the stage over to the next two contestants.

***

Semi-Finals, Match Two: Joker vs. Crow

“It’s a shame we couldn’t meet in the finals,” Joker mused, “but I’m glad to go against you once more!”

“I’d rather have fought against you sooner,” Crow confessed. “We both know we’re among the best at this game.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Give me everything you’ve got, Joker. No holding back!”

“As you wish, Crow.”

It was, by far, the most intense Gun About match of the tournament thus far. Neither Joker nor Crow were relenting in their unbridled determination to best the other. By the time the match went into overtime, they had only managed to hit each other twice. Five minutes of overtime had passed, Joker had finally pulled off a miraculous shot to defeat Crow.

“Dammit!” Crow shouted.

“Better luck next time,” Joker smirked.

“Oh, there will definitely be a next time!”

“I’m counting on it.”

Joker and Crow shook on it, their hopes for a rematch weighing heavily on their shoulders.

***

“Damn, Crow! You nearly had Joker there!” Skull was shocked.

“Of course,” Crow nonchalantly replied. “After all, I refused to let him win. He earned his victory fair and square.”

“Queen did the same, as well,” Fox mused aloud. “She and Joker will be formidable opponents for each other.”

[So far, I’ve been right in predicting who would win the tournament!] - PhanMan

“We get it, PhanMan,” Panther sighed, “you have a bromance crush on Joker!”

“For real?!?” Skull gasped.

[What?!? No!] - PhanMan

[It’s cool if you do! Joker’s pretty cool, after all!] - Cowser

[Yeah, man! We’d get it!] - Vblu

[But won’t Crow get jealous?] - Axelle

“I’m ignoring that,” Crow dismissed.

“But you acknowledged it, so you didn’t ignore it,” Mona chirped.

[Queen or Joker…who will win?] - AQuestADay

[The match is starting. Let’s find out!] - TheFireFoxOfLore

***

Finals: Queen vs. Joker

“To think that I’d be facing you at the top,” Queen smiled. “After all, you were the one who introduced me to this game.”

“Perhaps your skills at your day job have helped you?” Joker questioned.

“Maybe. Shall we put them to the test?”

“With you? Always.”

And Queen and Joker gave it their all, but it became clear about halfway through the match that Queen was out of her depth. Joker handily defeated her, but not without a modicum of difficulty provided by Queen.

“I have more to learn,” Queen mused.

“And I’m sure you shall,” Joker smirked.

The two of them gave each other a high-five and left the stage.

***

[All that’s left is the championship match.] - Michio

[Time for GetSmoked to get out there!] - GeckoJr

“I’m not shocked Joker gets to fight GetSmoked,” Skull spoke up. “I mean, GetSmoked did teach Joker!”

“I see,” Crow pondered. “So if I were to learn from GetSmoked, maybe I’d have the upper hand next time…”

“No promises!” Oracle giggled to herself.

“Perhaps I should learn from him, too,” Queen mused.

[The match is starting!] - PhanMan

[Let’s go!] - Vblu

[You got this, Joker!] - Cowser

[May the best gamer win!] - WolfCub

***

Championship Match: Joker vs. GetSmoked

“Any advice before we begin, oh great sensei?” Joker teased.

“Only this: Be ready to accept defeat gracefully!” GetSmoked grinned.

Without any further ado, the two of them began their match. It was an incredibly close match, and everyone thought that there was a chance that Joker would end up getting crowned the new champion. However, he screwed up in overtime unintentionally, and GetSmoked kept his crown.

“Very well, I accept defeat gracefully,” Joker offered his hand.

“You have learned well,” GetSmoked shook Joker’s hand, “but you’re not quite on my level yet! Keep practicing and you’ll get there!”

And with that, the tournament was concluded.

***

“So, Ren,” Ryuji started, “what did you do with the 100,000 yen?”

“I split it into four parts,” Joker divulged. “25,000 yen went into getting Yusuke food; 25,000 went to Iwai and Kaoru for a father-son trip; 25,000 was put into savings; and the final 25,000 yen was used to hire someone to help us on SophiTube, even though I’m sure we could’ve asked for their assistance for free.”

“Oh?” Ryuji questioned, but Ren just pulled up SophiTube to show him.

[Hello, Joker and Skull! It’s me, Sophia! How can I help you today?]

Chapter Text

It had been a while, and the team was unavailable to stream once again. This, Ann deemed, was another perfect opportunity to get some quality time streaming Kingdom Hearts again. She made sure that her setup was as she liked it and started up the stream.

“Hey, everyone!” Panther greeted the chat. “It’s just me again, back with more Kingdom Hearts! My plan is to get through the next five worlds tonight, so buckle in and enjoy!”

[Yay! Another Panther Kingdom Hearts stream!] - Axelle

[I’ve been waiting for this.] - PhanMan

[Can’t wait to see where you take us today!] - Quest (formerly AQuestADay)

Panther’s first stop was to Agrabah, the world of Aladdin. She fought her way through a bunch of Heartless to meet with the princess of the world, Jasmine. It was a short-lived visit, as the villain of the world, a vizier named Jafar, unleashed more Heartless upon Panther’s character, Sora, and his two companions, Donald and Goofy. Aladdin himself was nowhere to be found in the city; Panther had to head all the way out into the desert to meet him, his monkey friend Abu, and…

[IT’S THE GENIE! I love this character!] - WolfCub

[Who doesn’t?] - FireFox (formerly TheFireFoxOfLore)

[FireFox has a point.] - GeckoJr

Panther continued through the world of Agrabah, going through the city once more, heading back to the desert, and diving into the Cave of Wonders, where she fought and defeated Jafar, who had used his final wish from the Genie to make himself a genie, too. This, of course, led to his downfall, but someone nabbed Princess Jasmine and swept her away to another world.

[That’s a real “the princess is in another castle” moment if I’ve ever seen one!] - Cowser

“Oh my god, it is!” Panther exclaimed.

[What would you wish for, Panther?] - Michio

“Unlimited crepes without gaining any weight!” Panther immediately blurted out.

[Amen to that!] - Quest

[I should’ve guessed you would pick sweets!] - VolleyStar

“Oh my god…is that…” Panther was shocked.

[Hey, bestie!] - VolleyStar

The next few minutes were spent with Panther and VolleyStar getting reacquainted without divulging either of their real-life names, leaving the rest of chat to simply drop emotes from time to time so as not to interrupt too much.

“Sorry about that, everyone, I just haven’t heard from VolleyStar in a while! We should get together sometime!” Panther exclaimed.

[We really should!] - VolleyStar

With that said, Panther continued on, perfectly handling the maze that is Monstro and somehow breezing through Atlantica with little trouble. She lamented the dark path that Riku was heading down, with the game having revealed that he is helping the Disney villain collect the Princesses of Heart in exchange for help reuniting with Kairi. This continued even as she defeated Ursula, the final boss of Atlantica. After that, it was off to Halloween Town.

[One of my best friends loves this world!] - Axelle

“Then I bet they’ll be sad at missing seeing me play this world, huh?” Panther teased.

[They should’ve been here if they wanted to see it!] - Vblu

[Maybe another time?] - FireFox

[I’ll tell him about it when I get the chance!] - Axelle

Running through Halloween Town was a bit nuts, but Panther explained everything to her chat with relative ease as she went about collecting parts for a heart and subsequently chasing after Oogie Boogie’s trio of miscreants after they stole the heart. In the end, Oogie Boogie was defeated twice, technically, and, just like in Agrabah and Atlantica, the Keyhole was sealed.

“Okay, I have one more world to cover before I call it a night,” Panther stated. “Before I do, I just wanted to state that Joker and I differ in opinion of who the best Kingdom Hearts character is. Apparently, he thinks Sora is the best while I stand firmly in believing Riku’s the best. You all agree with me, right?”

Some agreed with Panther while some agreed with Joker. Some branched away from the two choices and mentioned other characters. Even VolleyStar disagreed with Panther.

“Really, bestie?!?” Panther was taken aback. “Who do you choose?”

[Aqua, clearly!] - VolleyStar

“Okay, I can’t fault you there. She is hot!” Panther conceded.

[Exactly!] - VolleyStar

Panther made her way to the final world of the night, where everyone watched as Sora was captured by Captain Hook aboard the Jolly Roger while Riku showed his best friend that Kairi was with him.

[This is your favorite character? Really?] - GetSmoked

[Hey! This isn't the only thing he does! Promise!] - Axelle

[Yeah, he does other things, too. Like smelling darkness!] - Michio

[...What?] - GetSmoked

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Panther pleaded as she maneuvered around the pirate ship, fought her own shadow, and proceeded to attempt to feed Captain Hook to a crocodile.

“Okay, that’s it for tonight!” Panther proclaimed as she sealed the Keyhole to Neverland. “I know it wasn’t a long stream tonight, but I did cover a lot of ground! I’ll be back with more in the future, promise! It’ll take another stream or two to wrap up the game!”

[You’re getting pretty far into it quickly! Can I request something?] - GGAnna

“Oh? What is it?” Panther inquired.

[Can you fight Sephiroth in the future?] - GGAnna

Panther felt a shiver run down her spine. Could she beat Sephiroth? Yes…in Kingdom Hearts II. In the first game? Oh my, no!

“I’ll consider it,” was what Panther answered with.

[I’d love to see that!] - PhanMan

[Me too!] - Cowser

[Please do it!] - Vblu

[Who’s Sephiroth?] - GetSmoked

[How do you not know?!?] - PhanMan

[He’s young.] - FireFox

[And more in shooters!] - Quest

[Okay, fair enough.] - PhanMan

“Anyway, good night, everyone!” Panther bid the chat farewell, and they responded in kind.

***

“I was so happy to see you in the chat yesterday!” Ann said as she bit into a chocolate crepe.

“Well, I would’ve been there sooner, but I’ve had a lot going on lately,” Shiho shrugged. “I take it the others are also streaming with you?”

“Mhm! It was Futaba’s idea!”

“That makes sense.”

“So, was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?”

“There is, but you can’t tell anyone, okay?”

“You know me! I’ll keep whatever you tell me to myself until you’re ready to say something yourself!”

Shiho smiled and whispered into Ann’s ear. The blonde girl’s response was instantaneous, her eyes widening and her mouth agape.

“No way!” was all Ann could say.