Chapter 16

Pursuit of Greatness

Izuku put a lot of thought into his hero costume since accepting his quirk. It terrified him when he was young. Actually, it terrified him until the day he used it to save Katsuki's life. Now, it's become second nature, and it took a lot of thought to do it proper justice with his costume design.

And so, of course, he turned to Auntie Mitsuki for advice, and brought a huge collection of Kamen Rider references. They argued, he got an earful about a few terrible ideas, but eventually they managed to settle on something that'd work well with his quirk and the general concept of the kind of Rider he wished to be.

Thankfully, she agreed that a blue-green would be the best color to suit him and properly reference the lineage of Riders.

And so, as he strides out into today's training ground, he's not surprised he manages to turn a few heads.

His pants are black and baggy, but a thin, comfortable material made of a nanofiber mesh for durability, covered in various zippers and pockets, strategically placed just over top a series of green-lined velcro slits, placed at each point of his legs from which his henshin suit emerges. A stripe of red runs down each leg before wrapping around his ankles, swaying over a pair of armored boots. His top is a blue-green hoodie with a small chestguard plate emblazoned with a transparent infinity sign. The hem of the hoodie is hidden by his sample belt, with a buckle presenting the same symbol between a few armored cases of sample vials. It's all then topped off with a long white lab coat and his shoulderpad injector on his left arm. He lastly pulls a pair of green and red goggles with a black strap over his face with a wide, cheerful grin. "This couldn't have turned out better."

Katsuki hums and shrugs. "Not bad, but if you're gonna get the look down, you need a fuckin' henshin belt. Maybe have it inject through a tube up to your shoulder or some shit."

Tenya nods and adjusts his helmet. "For once, I must agree with him. The Kamen Rider look has always focused on their henshin belts. So as such a fan, how is it you've failed to ask for one?"

"O-oh, well uh…" Izuku chuckles nervously and rubs the back of his head. "I'm still trying to come up with a good design with a unique trigger mechanism instead of copying one of them."

"An excellent point. I wish you luck!"

"W-Wow…" Everyone turns to see Ochako stepping onto the field.

Her costume has undergone quite a few changes since moving into the dorms and getting a look at it early in the lab. For one, the skintight suit is replaced with something a bit thicker and baggier, rippled to reflect her personal hero's suit. But, the armor over it keeps it thinner and much more form-fitting than Thirteen's. A pink belt with a few pouches binds with a round buckle containing a sigil of a pink streak circling the grid of a globe. Her boots are as large as before, but now much more functional. Multiple rounded vents for compressed air blasts sit at a variety of angles and positions, while ankles are now fully apposable again and the soles beneath are full instead of high-heeled. The kneepads are now also a deeper magenta to border the pink and black. The same can be said of her new armguards, which have notable large holes by her wrist with magenta balls embedded half way into them, placed in long tracks that run back to her elbows. The central pink stripe up her front ends at her belt, and rises up to a partial chestplate with a pair of shoulder pads arced back like fins with another set of jets on the back. Her helmet is full and properly secured, but still has the full-face visor with a pair of diagonal antennas on the sides. Just beneath and behind the antennae, her hair slips through a gap and flows free, but the back of her head is still mostly guarded.

But, rather than fussing with her own costume, Ochako is much more focused on Izuku's. "That… makes you look really cool, Deku."

"O-Oh, well…" He nervously rubs the back of his head and looks away to hide a blush. "T-Thanks, U-Uraraka-chan! I, uh.. r-really like how yours turned out, t-too. I think Thirteen would be really proud of it!"

Bakugou marches between them with a huff. "Will you two stop fucking each other with your eyes for one minute and focus on the goddamn class? He got hero training to do!"

His own costume isn't much different from what he and Izuku designed together years ago, actually. The gauntlets are a bit different taking the more angular and segmented design of modern fragmentation grenades, with visible separations between each piece, suggesting they're detachable. His belt carries a few extra grenades, and his mask comes with a pair of high-decibel-activated noise-suppressing headphones.

Of course, his comment breaks the two anxious lovebirds up near instantly, and has them too flustered to comment on others as they step out.

Toru now finally has a DNA-encoded costume, but it seems to have a visible switch on the belt to activate the cells within and trigger its function. In shadows, it appears a sparking silver, tight and form-fitting, with multiple pockets for various tools and potentially weapons if need be. Her head is kept visible through a largely transparent visor connected to her collar by a cord, which projects a digital display of fake eyes that give her a good deal of extra personality. Her boots and gloves are much the same as her old costume that was literally just the boots and gloves. But the moment she steps into the light, the silver portions of her costume become iridescent, reflecting all manner of color in its brightest possible tint and shifting constantly with the slightest movement.

She almost dances her way onto the training ground, giggling to herself over how incredible she looks in this new gear.

Hitoshi is just behind her, and his costume couldn't be more different. It's a deep violet and gray lightly-armored getup with a mix of modern trim and classical shinobi that Eraserhead and Edgeshot could both easily be proud of, complete with several sections of exposed carbon fiber mesh along joints and on his forearms. For now, he's lacking any combat tools or headgear, but he does seem to be disappointed in his violet scarf.

Momo's costume is much more modest now as well. Not quite as much of her chest is showing at standard, but as gifted as she is, there's still some, and a sturdy zipper to assist in adjusting that when need be. Her arms and legs remain largely bare, save for a pair of shorts with notably wide pockets on her hips, but elastically sealed. Rather than a large shelf with a book on her back, that spine injury hazard is replaced with a white-framed visor with a mint screen paired to a wrist-mounted touchscreen computer on her right arm. She did opt to keep the heels on her costume, having been raised high-class and acclimated to them all her life, but they're shorter now and the boots appear more armored, as does her plated gold belt.

Kyoka ends up side-eyeing Momo with a dusting of a blush, and peeking down to her own costume in disappointment. She swiftly decides to upgrade her own the first chance she gets.

Ahead of them all, All Might stands tall and beaming in his silver age costume, with his back turned to an enormous urban obstacle course, looking like a typical city with small sections based on open streets, high-rise rooftops, open-air malls, and construction zones.

He couldn't care less that's behind him, as his eyes are focused on his students. "You're all just so damn cool! I swear, in my day, young hero hopefuls didn't have half the fashion sense some of you do." He chuckles. "Honestly wasn't ever much good at designing my costumes. There's a good reason you rarely see any photos of me from before my debut. My own designs were terrible, didn't really improve until David Shield got a hold of me."

Katsuki chuckles. "Oh, yeah, you looked goddamn awful in your 2nd year Sports Festival footage."

Al Might grumbles. "Well, you don't have to rub it in my face." That draws a round of subtle laughter from his students, and half the tension in the crowd fades instantly. "Now, I believe it's time for your first lesson! Today, we're focus on the most important physical facet of hero work." He turns and gestures to the obstacle course with open arms. "Agility! Whether it's to rescue a civilian or fallen hero, or in pursuit of a villain on the run, your ability to get where you're needed as quickly as possible is paramount!" He peeks back towards Tenya as his grin widens. "Many of the top heroes are intimately familiar with the importance of speed in every facet of hero work, from actions and adjustments to just quick thinking. This obstacle course will show you where you stand with that essential set of skills, and we'll be sure to return here before the year ends to see just how much you've all improved."

He turns around and claps, producing a burst of wind that almost knocks some of them over. "Be sure to give it your all and Go Beyond!"

The whole class cheers out in a chorus of "PLUS ULTRA!"

"Now that's the school spirit! Alright, our first round for lap one will be Aoyama, Uraraka, Koda, Sero, and Yaoyorozu!"

The party in question assembles at the starting line. Yuga has his back turned and peeks over his shoulder, Ochako lightens her costume and the gyroscopes in her boots whir to life. Koda paces in place as his eyes dart about for potential routes. Hanta stretches and cracks his neck. Momo of course generates her motorized scooter and hops on ahead of time.

The moment the buzzer goes off, the winners become clear. Hanta's tape is followed by a grappling hook from Ochako, latching onto nearby lampposts to pull themselves into the lead. Momo's cart pulls up to the middle of the pack just ahead of Yuga when his stomach cramps up and halts his laser-propelled flight. Koji ends up stuck at the back of the pack, lacking in mobility thanks to his lack of applicable quirk and stocky body. The first leg is open street with a few cars scattered about and housing on each side. Beyond that is a quick climb onto a set of rooftops. Hanta chuckles as he rapidly reels himself up with his tape, only to look back and see Ochako make herself weightless and boost herself up with her air jets. This proves poorly aimed soon after though, and she crashes into part of the fire escape, letting Hanta get ahead and remaining stunned long enough for Momo to catch up as she climbs the fire escape, with Aoyama and Koji just reaching the bottom of it. From there, they cross the rooftops, and although Hanta has sure footing, Ochako pulls ahead here with relative ease. The third stretch returning to ground gives Ochako some advantage as well, but once in the mall section, Hanta pulls ahead again with ease, and maintains his lead in the construction zone. In the end, the pass order is Hanta, Ochako, Momo, Aoyama, and Koji.

The second wave of racers is Mina, Mashirao, Sato, Fumikage, and Hitoshi. Fumikage allows Dark Shadow to pull him around frequently to act as a living grappling hook, while Machirao's tail and martial prowess help him greatly in the rooftop and construction segments in general, while having the stamina and speed to stay just ahead of Mina at all times. Hitoshi falls furthest behind, but proves to have a few quick solutions, particularly when he finds a beam he can knock over for a shortcut in the construction zone. Sato seems to have no strict advantage anywhere, and his excess muscle slows him down, leaving him in last.

Wave three is Tsu, Denki, Mezo, Shoto, and Izuku. Izuku quickly activates his Gran Torino sample and bests everyone by a great deal, but Mezo, Shoto, and Tsu keep up with ease, thanks to Mezo's extending limbs, Shoto's skating and ice platforms, and Tsu's overall agility. Denki ends up falling behind a good deal and lamenting his lack of physical training, insisting Izuku tell him his training regimen as they return to the observation deck.

The final wave then becomes Tenya, Eijiro, Kyoka, Toru, and Katsuki. This one turns into a bit of a lopsided contest between Tenya and Katsuki, with the explosive Pomeranian proving far better in the more vertical segments, but Tenya gains quite the lead in the flat sections that puts him far ahead in the end. Eijiro, with all his physical training, ends up well ahead of Toru and Kyoka at the middle of the pack, while Kyoka is shocked to find she's well behind Toru, who seems insanely toned and agile beneath that new suit.

But as this series of races came to a close, the period was less than half over, and All Might was chuckling to himself in the observation room. "You all did wonderfully, and gave me a solid idea where you stand. So now, it's time for the real test." He slams a button on the console, and suddenly, a bunch of compartments open and dump out light-weight robotic dummies to represent civilians. "From here, four of you will be selected to take the role of villain, and the rest of you will have to give chase and keep civilians safe." He peeks back with a sadistic grin. "The villains will be Sero, Ashido, Todoroki, and Hagakure."

The four selected students look to one another and their pursuers as strategies form. Mina slowly develops a demented grin. "Oh, you guys are in so much trouble."

Hanta chuckles and steps up to the front of the line. "Do villains get a head start?"

"You do indeed get a five second head start."

"Awesome." Hanta lashes out without warning, pulling himself ahead and turning around mid-air to lay out a few lines of tape traps both between the buildings and across the ground. Five seconds later, he's a good fifty meters ahead and the heroes whose begun to chase him has a gauntlet of tape to dodge through. Momo produces a very fine-edged sword to cut through it, making openings as she jumps over the grounded traps, but she's too slow to catch up. Seeing her speed as a liability, she passes copies of the sword off to her teammates to supply distractions. Ochako makes it weightless for faster swings and manages to pull ahead, but there's just too many.

Aoyama though offers a solution. He blasts through them and leaves a large opening, only for Ochako to make herself weightless and stand on Aoyama's back and he blasts, launching her straight at Hanta. He tries to cut her off by using a tape line to reel in a civilian dummy and throw it at her, forcing her to drop the sword or risk injuring them.

Ochako throws her sword at the tape line just as she catches the dummy, separating it from the faux villain and providing a long enough distraction for the small swarm of birds Koji called to harass and peck him to a standstill. A moment later, Sero's getting tied up with Ochako's capture tape, and the buzzer sounds. "Excellent work, all of you! Sero, your strategy was sound and surely would stump many a villain's escape attempts. As for the hero team, your teamwork was magnificent! It seems getting to know each other for a week before class proved to be a boon to your education here." He peeks back to the second group. "We'll just need two minutes to clean up the arena, and Ashido may step in."

Mina takes off through the starting line with massive splash of neutralized, slippery acid, leaving random patches of it everywhere as she flails her arms around and skates back and forth across the street. Mashirao takes to the air with his tail, sticking to swinging off street lamps to stay away from the acid. He almost succeeds, but a splash of much higher acidity weakens the base of one and causes it to bend from his weight. Mashirao misses his swing and splashes down into a puddle of slime that slides him into a wall. Rikido slips and slides aimlessly, having tried to power through with his extra speed and muscle, but all it earns him is a headache as he slides head-first into a car. Fumikage, finding himself in a creative mood, surfs on Dark Shadow's back, who seems to be having a blast sliding across it all and busting themselves with flaps of their massive hands. Hitoshi has a bit more luck, using a folding grappling hook tucked in one of his pockets to swing himself over and around with a little trial and error.

Fumikage manages to catch up first, but finds Mina with a dummy in one hand, a coating of acid on the other, and a grin that sure as hell does not belong on someone with a hostage. "I don't think you know that's at stake here. Either back off, or this nice young lady loses her face!"

Fumikage slides to a stop, stuck in a standoff as he looks for some way to save the dummy faster than Mina's trigger finger.

Hitoshi provides the exact solution he was looking for as he slides up in her blind spot and says "I knew you were flexible, but I can't believe you spread your legs enough to leave this huge of a snail trail."

"What the FU-" She's frozen on the spot and captured with no collateral.

Once the capture's confirmed, she's quickly released from his quirk, and everyone enjoys a good long laugh on the way back. Mina's sure to give Hitoshi a few more lines to rile people up with, and by the time they've gotten back, All Might and Kyoka are struggling not to burst into laughter from overhearing it all. Mezo isn't having so much trouble, just shaking his head in discontent at how vulgar it all is.

"Shinso, Tokoyami, both of you performed excellently under pressure. Shinso, do try and keep public perception in mind, lines like that can result in some misconduct suits depending on how far you go to rile up your foes. As an underground hero, it's far less of a problem, but do keep it in mind for any daylight work. Sato, Ojiro, you may want some practice in unfavorable conditions and some training for situational awareness, but considering your skillsets, you were both at a considerable disadvantage here. Ashido, keep up the good work. Your productivity and aim are impressive already."

Group three kicks off with Shoto rushing ahead and leaving a frozen road behind him. Tsu steps back as the cold stuns her, but Izuku pulls up his Omnislash sample and absorbs a large discharge from Denki. With his Raikiri in hand, he slashes ahead and melts the ice away with the heat of the lightning, before holding it up like a javelin and throwing it ahead as Shoto reaches the climb up to rooftops. With enough melted by the combined electrical assault, Tsu starts rushing up through the steam with Mezo close behind. Shoto sees the lightning javelin coming and throws up an ice barrier to block it, filling the entire width of the course and giving himself an enormous lead as all four heroes are trapped behind the ice. Shoto is the first villain to get away.

"I commend you for your teamwork and attempts to assist and protect your fellow heroes. In this situation, you were simply outgunned, and for that, there is little fault. You did your best, and have a stronger idea of the threats ahead of you that you must learn to overcome. Todoroki, as a villain, that was a logical course of action, but I would advise against attacks of such a large scale in hero work. That much ice can easily harm civilians and cause collateral damage you'll struggle to pay off."

Group four then comes down to Toru getting ahead and triggering her suit. The moment it activates, she's faded out of sight and disappeared completely, resulting in much less of a chase and more of a manhunt. Kyoka hears her a few times, but ends up eluding them every time, Katsuki keeps blasting his way around and making hearing her far harder. Whenever Toru runs, she gets picked up on easily, so she takes it slow at first. Tenya dashing around and covering as much ground as possible makes for a few narrow dodges, and Eijiro largely stands beside Kyoka and waits for orders. It's not until Toru reaches the fire escape to climb to the rooftops that things are complicated. They're prepared to try the rooftops, and Katsuki is blasting around above them, but Kyoka doesn't hear anyone on the rickety metal. It's not until Katsuki gets to the other side and sees a door open that they realize she went through them instead of over! She could be a good distance ahead, but Katsuki is faster, so he rushes ahead and stops at the far end of the mall zone. With a thunderous blast, the glass shatters and scatters. It's not long before she shifts some of the glass in her attempt to sneak through, and Katsuki nabs her in one sudden lurch.

As they return, Toru is slouching, Katsuki has a wide, overconfident grin plastered on his face, and Kyoka is gently rubbing her ear lobes. All Might hums as he looks them over. "Now, this round was the one I was most uncertain of the outcome on. I knew it would be less of a race and more of a hunt, and it was indeed just that. Hagakure, your evasion tactics and stealth skills are exceptional! Hone them, and you will become an excellent underground hero, the likes of which even Eraserhead would be proud of. Iida, your aid was wide-spread and functional, but your movements are much too rigid and direct! Be sure to work on that. Jiro, your hearing was lynchpin in this operation. You did your best, and although you weren't involved in capture, your vigilance heavily reduced her options. Kirishima, your options were slim, but your support and fervently backing the team's plan to leap into action when needed was certainly your best course of action. Not to mention, sensory-focused heroes tend to be considered and treated as easy targets in the field, so defending them is always essential. And Bakugou, your quick thinking sealed this mission, in a manner that may have caused some collateral, but it was a way to ensure capture with relatively simple and cheap collateral damage. Sometimes, that much may be necessary to prevent a villain's escape, and so long as you can pay the damages, you should be just fine. I also noticed you were careful not to cause any explosions too close to Jiro! Be sure to remain as considerate of allies' weaknesses, and you're well on your way to being an excellent hero."

He turns around and whips his cape as he faces the rest of the class. "You all did wonderfully today! I don't think UA has seen such a competent and functional class of hero hopefuls in all it's years in academia. But be sure not to rest on your laurels! This is only the beginning, and having a starting line further up the track just means we expect you to go farther and faster. Give it your all in every class, every day, and show the world what it means to go PLUS ULTRA!" He flexes into a traditional strongman pose. "Now, class dismissed! Feel free to use the showers here or back at your dorms, whichever you're more comfortable with. The dorm system really is giving you all a lot more options!" He chuckles. "Almost wish we had dorms when I stayed here."

As everyone breaks away, Izuku stays behind to speak with him, waiting for everyone to finish giving their various thanks for teaching them, and saving their lives in a few cases. Once they've left, all that remains is Izuku and Katsuki leaning against a nearby wall. "So, my wonderful young protegees, how can I help you?"

"Well…" Izuku crosses his arms. "I'm still not having much luck with safely using One for All. Every time I try to channel it, I feel it about to become another Full Robo attack, and I quickly shut it down before it starts to form. Feels like a massive cramp when I do that, too."

Katasuki snorts. "No shit, your muscles get so tight and tangled it looks like there's a snake buried under your skin."

All Might cringes at the though. "Well, that's unpleasant. Have you considered talking to Tokoyami yet about his control training?"

"I, uh, haven't had the chance to ask yet. I suppose I'll get to that tonight, then."

He nods. "Just try not to practice too heavily with it without supervision. Only act if you're entirely certain you have control to a degree that won't injure you. Limit yourself to single percent of One for All's power if you must."

Izuku sighs and hunches. "Got it. Ok… you go and find a safe place to deflate, then."

He nods. "And I'll be sure to give your mother your regards tonight. We have a dinner date at a mixed-culture grill across town tonight! Magnificent place, I'm sure she'll love it. Not the fanciest, but she did complain a bit about me spoiling her a bit too much…"

"Yeah, she'll do that. But ya haven't messed up so far, so I think you'll be fine."

Katsuki snorts. "Better not. If you hurt Auntie Inko, you'll have both of us, her, and the old hag all after your ass."

"Bakugou-shonen, I believe I fear Inko's reaction most of all. She may not state it, but I do know that the definition of 'small objects' effected by her quirk includes small bones and organs, and she sure as hell knows it."

He grins maliciously. "Oh, we both know that. Ask her about the time she used her quirk on some perv's malleus and almost ripped it right through their ear drum."

Izuku groans. "Mom's so lucky she got away with that on grounds of self defense and lack of witnesses."

All Might chuckles as he heads for the door. "The more of these wild stories I hear, the more I realize she's just my kind of woman."

"The kind that can and will kick your ass?"

"A woman who's not afraid to take down anyone efficiently and brutally if she's in the right. But yes, I do appreciate that she's one of few people who could probably kick my ass."

Back at the dorms, in the communal shower, separated into stalls and with a few tubs off to the side for anyone injured or with water-reliant quirks to soak in, a small chunk of the boys of Class 1-A are gathered. Izuku steps in from the lockers with a sigh as he heads for an empty stall on the far end, only for Eijiro to call out. He's uncharacteristically quiet. "Hey, uh, Izuku… You alright, man?"

He hums as he just barely peeks over. As modest as he is, he's always been careful not to look too closely in communal baths, despite them being commonplace in Japan. "Yeah, why do ya ask?"

"Well, uh… I just.. couldn't help but notice a few… scars."

Izuku shivers and looks away quickly. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. They're… old. It's been about two years now, so I've m-mostly gotten over it…"

"Dude…" He shakes his head. "I-I know for a fact that kinda stuff doesn't heal that easy. I get if you don't wanna talk about it, but… you should, with someone, at least."

After a moment of silence he nods. "You seem… pretty knowledgeable about this kinda stuff."

"Yeah, well…" He rubs the back of his neck. "There was a time I wasn't very heroic. I was just… a coward. As unmanly as I was, I knew I had to work hard to fix it. Not just working out, but research, to understand all the things I was doing wrong, and to help people who're a lot worse off than I was."

Izuku slowly smiles as he takes that in. "You're gonna be the manliest hero in Japan if you keep this up, then." He sighs and steps into a stall, and under the water. "Thanks for caring enough to ask. I… think most people are afraid to."

A much deeper voice speaks up from a nearby stall. "Most people fear the dark. Not only in the world, but within their own hearts and the hearts of others. But not all darkness is threatening. Much of it is simply devoid of hope, and many people fear that more than the threat."

Izuku pauses to think that over. "That's… wow, Fumikage, where do you read this stuff?"

"Surprisingly, that one comes from experience. Many people have been afraid of Dark Shadow over the years, but I've spent a lot of time studying those fears, and others that supersede it. In a society of heroes, where hope incarnate walks the streets, people who have had the burden of action lifted from them are often afraid of the hopeless. They are afraid of what it means for our society, and their self-imposed inability to act on it."

Izuku hums as he lathers himself up. "I guess I never thought of that. I was... too wrapped up in being treated as quirkless most of my life. Being unable to use mine most of my life, people just thought I was and treated me like shit all my life. I had enough problems in my face already, so it got kinda hard to see the rest of them…"

"Everyone has a different perspective to learn from. Yours was trapped in deep, murky water until recently, barely glimpsing light through the surface. Only now that your head is above the surface can you see the forest fires and hurricanes above."

"And the award for wisest member of Class 1-A goes to…" Eijiro chuckles. "Thanks for the insight, man."

"You are more than welcome."

"Actually, now that I've got you here, I needed to ask…" Izuku sighs as he rinses off the soap. "I've been needing some help with controlling some aspects of my quirk. The stockpile element didn't build up until I started seriously working out, but now it's kinda too much for me to handle without… well, breaking myself. I was hoping you could share some techniques you use to reign Dark Shadow in at night."

Silence falls for a moment as his classmate considers it. "Being the teacher for once sounds like an interesting opportunity. I suppose I could attempt it, at very least. But I'm not certain how similar my experience will be to yours."

"In my case, it's like trying to open a floodgate enough to power a garden hose without just causing the hose to explode from the water pressure."

"… that is going to take a good deal of trial and error, but I believe I may be able to lead you to a baseline understanding to work off of. We may begin tonight, then."

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A.N.: Hey! Sorry this took so long. Various nervous breakdowns from social anxiety and chronic depression, overworking myself on my youtube channel, and continued failure to sell my book made working on this chapter pretty difficult. But, I've just gotten past a huge hurdle here and managed to mentally recover for the most part, with a lighter work load for the next couple months.

So yeah, it got a bit dark at the end there, but I wanna be realistic with Izuku's depression. He's had some really low days, he's having mostly good ones now. But there will be some bad ones ahead, especially after more traumatic events. So expect to read more about that down the line, but I won't be going full whump with it either. He's got a support system, he's gonna be alright. Eventually.

For now, just comment, subscribe, go check out my youtube channel, my book (C.O.N.T.R.O.L: Ubiquity of Chaos), and feel free to pop into my discord, got a few other fans in there recently. Good luck with your fic, Matt!