Banned Movie Guide – "David's Blooming" Summary:

  A lifetime coward, Mid-tier David Reed (David Fadel) can't use his Space Manipulation for anything but teleporting out of trouble. When God-tier Charlotte Cartwright (Madison Torres) transfers to his high school, he morphs into an entirely new person in his attempts to pursue her.

  I finished reading from the movie guide and put it down. It was the following Sunday after the match with Agwin High, and I sat in a cushy red theatre seat, watching the final scene of David's Blooming play on the massive screen before me. After a moment of thought, I chewed on a handful of popcorn, rinsed my mouth with soda, and sighed.

  It wasn't because the movie was bad. The actors could act, the plot wasn't too contrived, the editing worked well, and the music fit the story. There was even a message - a theme - unlike the brainless action/thrillers this world pumped out endlessly. So I had little issue with the movie, only what had ended up happening to it.

  The protagonist, David Reed, was a late-bloomer: a catch-all term for those whose abilities remained underdeveloped as children before developing rapidly in their later teens. Nobody with Space Manipulation could be a mid-tier in high school otherwise. After running out of stamina in an ambush with three bullies, he was rescued by a mysterious, beautiful girl - only for her to promptly dump him in a river after learning his ability level.

  The following day, he learned the girl's name was Charlotte Cartwright, a new transfer to his school. On the day of her arrival, she crowned herself the school's Queen by overwhelming victory, and David became instantly infatuated with her. After some personal soul-searching, encouragement from his wisecrack best friend, and the grand reveal of his deceased father's 7.2 ability level, he set off on a journey of self-improvement to be worthy of her and his family line.

  As it turned out for David, becoming stronger was easy, but being strong was hard. With only a new eagerness to fight and a confidence that his ability could be used in combat, his power level began to skyrocket. But going from 2.5 to 5.1 came with its own difficulties: the utter destruction of all his previous relationships. Whether it was jealousy, feeling pitied and patronized, or the simple pressure of having a friend so far 'above' them, David lost all his friendships one by one - including the same best friend who'd inspired him to improve.

  "I don't know you anymore, okay? I don't know you!"

  "Marco, I… What does my level have to do with-"

  "Everything, Dave! It has to do with everything!"

  When he earned the position of King, David attempted to befriend the other High-rankers at his school but found himself alienated from them. They held completely different views, came from drastically different families, and treated people altogether differently than he did. Having spent an entire childhood as a mid-tier, his old, 'normal' tendencies and worldview were now dysfunctional and maladjusted. His level had grown too quickly for his mind to catch up.

  "You? Are you kidding me? Someone like you, so awkward and placeless that you don't even know where to place your hands and feet for a jumping jack? You could be a 9.0, and I still wouldn't look at you."

  Finally, after Charlotte's uncompromising rejection, David was left with a lonely existence. He couldn't imagine himself fitting in anywhere, with low or high or anything in between. So he turned to fighting, with hopes (same as before) that increasing his level would bring good things to his life. He fought in turf wars, fought with the others at his school (often four or five at a time), fought with random people he bumped into and provoked on the street…

  After the final scene, the film faded to white with grungy, foreboding music, and David's power level crept into view as a big, black number. It ticked upward slowly but consistently: 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 6.0, and so on. Each tick upward didn't evoke sunny images of a happy, successful existence. As far as I could tell, that was exactly what the movie was trying to say.

  I picked up the movie guide and turned the page, though the words were hard to make out in the dimly lit theatre.

  Banned Movie Guide – "David's Blooming" Director Interview Excerpt:

  "Hello, everyone! Joining me today is actor-director David Fadel. We're here to talk about his new movie, 'David's Blooming.'"

  "Thank you for having me."

  "My pleasure. Our first question is one that the audience has been burning to ask. What was your inspiration for making this movie? Why pick the subject of late bloomers in particular?"

  "Well, I got into this very philosophical debate with my filmmaking buddies about a year ago. My point was that the ultimate goal of living is to live a good life, not to push your power level up as high as it can go."

  "Is there a difference?"

  "I certaintly think so, and I'll explain. But the other side held that there wasn't a real difference between the two. They say the way to live a good life is to increase your level, that there's no distinction to be drawn. And so it's only natural for them to look at late bloomers with envy. 'I wish my level would've jumped a few digits when I was fifteen,' they told me."

  "You disagree?"

  "I don't think it's so simple. The social component is a big part of living a good life, one which late bloomers seem to struggle with universally. Are power, wealth, or status all that great if you have nobody close in your life to share them with? This film was partially a response to my friends and partially an exploration of how my life could have gone wrong if I were a late bloomer. It's why the protagonist shares my first name."

  "I'm still not sure I understand. Could you explain a little more about what you mean by-"

  I set the guide down once again.

  In real life, David Fadel had also been a 2.5 as a sixteen-year-old. The difference was that he'd developed normally from then onward, peaking at 3.2 - a high enough power level for modest success as an indie filmmaker and actor. Unfortunately, it had been far from enough to protect him from being blacklisted. I studied the small list of names on the movie's ending credits, ultimately finding that I didn't recognize a single one of them. It made me wonder, discomfortingly, how many were still working in the film industry. Nearly five years of living in my new world had gotten me used to things like that, but I still wasn't so happy to know that someone's work of art had been shut down and scrubbed clean from the world.

  At the same time, I was lucky to be able to watch the movie at all. David's Blooming hadn't even gotten popular before The Authorities erased it, so it was a minor miracle that I could find a private theatre showing it. Maybe impossible, even - had I never become a Lingard Clan Affiliate.

  "I know this is saying something, Arlo, but I'm starting to think that the theatre is the most impressive room in this mansion."

  I turned to Arlo, who had been sitting silently beside me as the ending credits rolled. There was very little light with the movie over, so I could only perceive the outline of his silhouette - in my thoughts and the darkness, I had all but forgotten he was there.

  He seemed stunned by the ending, sitting there in what looked like silent, dazed thoughtfulness, and took a while to respond. "Are you more impressed by the physical place or my mother's film collection?"

  I stood up and interweaved my fingers, stretching my palms up toward the cavernous ceiling.

  "Both, I guess," I said. "To me, a basement is supposed to be - well, it never includes a massive underground theatre, no matter what it's supposed to be. And the number of movies she has is unbelievable."

  "Including films banned for harmful messaging." Arlo's tone was pointedly neutral, not negative. He stood up and looked down at my seat, where I'd left my near-empty bag of popcorn and a can of soda. "You're not taking your trash with you this time?"

  "This is what, my eighth visit? I'm starting to figure out how things work around here." I made a face. "Actually, I'm still confused: why did the staff freak out when they saw me collecting my trash? I know I shouldn't do it, but I don't know why."

  "It's their job," Arlo said. "If they're made to stop doing their job, their first reaction is to assume they made a mistake or assume they'll lose it." I could make out an upturn of his lips in the faint light. "That's the explanation I rehearsed when I realized you'd inevitably ask that, anyway."

  "No way. Shut up!" I pushed him lightly, smiling. "You predicted that? Out of everything I could possibly talk about?"

  "As if you would willingly keep yourself from understanding something." Arlo turned on his heel, heading toward the elevator (yes, Lingard mansion had an elevator, it had thirty-five). "Come on. Now that it's over, we should get some sunlight."

  Wordlessly, I followed after him.

  Although he'd become more talkative with me through the school year, Arlo was still usually averse to longer conversations. So we naturally gravitated toward watching a movie or two whenever I visited; he would occasionally pick one out, but the choice was up to me far more often than not. David's Blooming had been my selection, but I usually played it much, much safer. If I were to choose something from Linette's pile of banned films every time I visited, some God-tier clan member would inevitably become suspicious. At a lower frequency, I hoped, my questionable selections would be explained away as normal teenage volatility.

  In a perfect world, I would have avoided the risk altogether, but banned movies were incredibly useful for information gathering. David's Blooming featured a high-tier who couldn't keep his friends, couldn't live life the way he wanted, because of his ability level. If this contributed to its ban, then that told me something concrete about The Authorities. They were actively repressing the idea that the hierarchy system could work against a high-tier's happiness or freedom. I had already guessed that on my own (if even the people at the very top didn't like the hierarchy, then what was the point?), but I preferred having evidence to back my guesses. I was also hopeful that a banned film would bring something entirely new to my attention, something I could've never even guessed The Authorities cared about.

  When we were just a few stairsteps from the theatre's exit, I asked, "So what did you think?"

  Arlo glanced down at my left hand, where I was holding Linette's banned movie guide.

  "I think the summaries in that guide my mother gave you are a little vague. We could hardly tell what the movie would be about with just that slight description."

  "I thought so, too, but what else would we use?" I said. "There's nothing better, given that all the movies it covers don't exist online. And I don't think it's too bad, anyway – you should check out the interview with the director."

  I passed the guide over to him, shaking my impromptu napkin bookmark with my finger to make sure he knew where to read. "You're not trying to set up a soft, blameless landing for when you tell me you hated it, are you?"

  Arlo shook his head. "Not really. There are parts I liked. David's realization of his heritage, the desire he feels to live up to a legacy and pursue a higher place in life… I thought all of that was good. Having a late-bloomer as the protagonist instead of a typical high-tier made things unique."

  "But you're still trying to process that second half, right?" I finished. "That's where I am, too. I should've expected such a massive difference from everything else, given the ban, but wow…"

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Of course, I was being disingenuous about exactly what I found surprising. The themes in the movie were unique in this world, but alienation from relationships due to the acquisition of power and status had been a common theme in my previous one. Citizen Kane and The Great Gatsby were two, and they were two among many.

  Arlo stared blankly into the air for a moment, then nodded to himself. He opened the banned movie guide and flipped to my bookmark.

  "It was realistic," he said, like he'd just decided. "A late-bloomer who can't adapt quickly enough would become a high-tier with the mindset and perspective of a mid-tier - like in the movie. It's not surprising that someone like that would struggle to find their place, and I'm not sure I could blame them."

  "You think so?" I said. "I guess I'll try to be extra understanding if I ever meet one. They're pretty rare." I projected uncertainty on my face, but inwardly, I was grinning like an insane person.

  It worked, I thought. I was right.

  The best way to change someone's mind wasn't a ten-point, foolproof logical syllogism. It wasn't an impassioned appeal to emotions or an angry shouting match. When I'd started wanting to soften Arlo's hardball chauvanist views on the hierarchy, I shied away from any direct approach . Instead, my strategy was to show him things that would let him come to realizations independently... The best way to convince someone of something was to make them come up with it on their own.

  John, the protagonist of unOrdinary, was a late bloomer among late bloomers. He was supposed to rocket from 3.0 to 7.0 within a single school year, a 'blooming' that would ultimately cause him more pain than even David Reed's. If things went similarly to the canon plot, John and Arlo would hold irreconcilable ideological differences, a poisonous grudge, and bring each other near death on multiple occasions… But after seeing Arlo's thoughtful expression, it seemed very likely that David's Blooming would help to prevent the worst of it.

  He seemed engrossed, reading that interview with the movie's director.

  From what I could find, David Fadel died five months after the movie's release - due to an unknown medical condition at age 24. In truth, he had probably died in regret, choking in the hands of The Authorities and cursing himself for the day he'd devised the movie's very concept.

  But I still felt grateful that he'd martyred himself for it. Would he have been happy, if he'd known his film could influence someone like Arlo, a one in ten million talent?

  .

  .

  .

  No. Don't let that be her.

  A few minutes later, we arrived at the mansion's ground floor and headed to the living room. I stopped still once I saw a tall, blonde woman occupying it. She looked like a thirty-something professional, wearing a dressy shirt and pants, and I noticed a matching suit jacket draped neatly over the back of a nearby chair. Her golden eyes were dotted with a distinctive orange eyeshadow, and the way her hair pulled into a long, straight ponytail was uncomfortably familiar.

  Be anyone else. Please.

  She was flipping through a book, yet to have seen us. I tried to get Arlo's attention with a shoulder tap, then thought to muffle his mouth with a hand, but he was far too quick to greet her.

  "Aunt Val! You're home!" The woman put down her book at Arlo's voice, and he nearly rushed to meet her in a tight embrace. "I haven't seen you since Winter Break."

  "I know. I missed you." The woman kissed him on the head, lingering for a few seconds, and they separated. She put her hands on his shoulders, leaning lower to his eye level. "It's simply unfortunate - criminals aren't going to catch themselves, you understand?"

  Arlo frowned. "Are you still too busy to take the weekends off?"

  "Oh, you know it. I hope there's a day I can say no to that question."

  I had frozen, unable to do anything but watch as they talked – unable to hide or run before she could turn in my direction and notice me. In my panic, my mental search for everything I knew about the woman came up lacking. I couldn't remember whether her kill count was three or four digits long, couldn't remember whether her position was 'Chief of Law Enforcement,' 'Chief Law Enforcer,' or something else, and couldn't remember if she had a problem murdering 14-year-olds or not. Still, I remembered this: her name was Valerie Lingard, and all my plans and aspirations risked being figuratively and literally killed by her.

  After a few more words, Arlo nudged Valerie in my direction.

  "Oh! Forgive me!" She quickly glanced me up and down. "I rarely find a new face in the mansion, but I don't think we've been acquainted, miss…(?)" She met me dead in the eye, straightened herself to her full, intimidating height, and extended a hand.

  "Meili Strauss." I had to keep myself from shivering. Thankfully, some rehearsed muscle memory kicked in to let me take the handshake with an acceptably subservient bow. "It's an honor and privilege to meet you - Valerie Lingard?"

  "Ah. So you've heard of me." She nodded, seeming unsurprised, and let go. I discretely flexed my hand.

  Valerie's handshake wasn't especially forceful, but it left my hand weak from its unnatural solidity. Was unbreakable the right word? Like you can't escape if she won't let you?

  Strong perfume, I thought. To cover up scents from work?

  A memory flashed in my mind: a pink-haired girl with her ribs spored through, crimson blood staining her hoodie as she lay helplessly against the pavement. A tall, blonde woman stood above her, golden eyes shining with cold professionalism.

  No problem killing teenagers.

  "Now that I think of it, your name is familiar. I believe Arlo's told me about you before." She turned back to him momentarily. "Isn't that right?"

  "I'm sure I have," Arlo said. "But don't you make it your business to know a little of each of our affiliates, Aunt Val? Whatever you remember, it might not be from me."

  "Ah, so you're a clan affiliate." She snapped her fingers, leaning slightly on her axis to glance at my face from the side. (From the front, my hair obscured my Lingard clan earring from view). "Now I remember. Meili Strauss… Soon to be the Jack of Wellston High School, correct?"

  Mentally, I blanched. When I had met Arlo's mother earlier in the school year, she'd disarmed me with a relaxed, informal cheer. Valerie was entirely different; I remembered exactly the sort of person she was from canon. What was the best way to carry myself, talking with someone like her, the third-strongest being in the sector?

  I settled on deferential modesty.

  "My chances seem high, but only with the clan's support. Arlo's the real impressive one to be King so young." Then I intermixed a jab to avoid seeming too fake, "...Since he's the first to claim the title before entering puberty and all."

  At Arlo's expression of indignation, I put on a grin. I glanced between him and Valerie, making it extra clear I was comparing their heights with exaggerated head motions. He was maybe 8 inches shorter, and there was the male-female difference on top of that.

  "…I grew an inch recently," Arlo said weakly. "I might be in the early stages already."

  I shrugged. "I'm sure. Everyone in your family is so tall – those Agwin kids won't have anything left to insult if you have room left for a large growth spurt."

  It was an (admittedly sloppy) attempt to steer clear from anything about myself. A single 'What have you two been up to?' from Valerie would leave me scrambling to explain why I picked out a banned movie to watch – to the literal human personification of The Authorities, no less. Arlo saw her as an admirable, trustworthy role model, so chances were high that he'd call out anything he knew wasn't true. I could try to push it off on Linette, say she ordered me to watch it, but that ran the chance of being caught in the lie later down the line…

  "I could be a flawless human being, and they would still find something to pick at." Arlo scoffed, turning to Valerie. "Did you have time to watch our match with Agwin from a week ago? I beat their King handily, and now they're all clamoring to say that I cheated with an unfair information advantage."

  "I saw a report of your victory in the news," Valerie replied, smiling mildly. "I wouldn't take anything from them to heart, dear. Agwin has done nothing but decline for a long while. They couldn't secure a qualified headmaster despite all the benefits we've afforded them over the years. Now that we've moved on from them, they are crippled while we are thriving."

  "We had an information advantage in the match," I added. "But I wouldn't call it cheating. It's the Agwin Royals' fault, really, for not knowing exactly how your barrier works. If they dislike us so much, researching our future king shouldn't have been an issue."

  In truth, I wanted to defend Agwin. Their headmaster, with her level of 6.1, was still a god-tier – so for the vast majority of students, the prestige of learning under her would be no less than learning under a 7.8 like headmaster Vaughn. Only people like the Lingards would feel the difference in any significant capacity, and they were the ones pre-guaranteed to do just fine in life from the day of their birth. Meanwhile, the difference in cost between hiring a 6.1 and a 7.8 was astronomical, and by saving money there, Agwin could invest in things that would benefit the whole student body.

  The benefits were only hypothetical now. After the Lingard Clan left, many smaller high-tier families followed their example, and I doubted Agwin High would recover anytime soon.

  Arlo began enumerating the fine details of the match to Valerie. Then, just as I thought I was in the clear (I knew Arlo had a lot to say), I noticed Valerie staring near the spot my left hand met the table it rested on. I had forgotten in my panic, but I'd also placed the banned movie guide right there: face-up instead of face-down.

  She could read the title. Her look hardened.

  "Sorry, just a minute, Arlo - How many times have I told Linette to get rid of this thing?" She strode to it purposefully, then snatched it up in her grip. "Or at least not leave it lying around in the living room. If we had any guests over, they'd think-"

  The banned movie guide's proximity to my hand seemed to register. Valerie turned to me, seeming entirely too close.

  "Ah, Meili, was this…?"

  Two streams of thought ran through my head at once. One lulled in the background, a kind of idle, scientific wondering: is this how defendants feel when there's a chance for the death penalty? The other was much more frantic, trying to think of something that would let me weasal my way out unscathed.

  Alicia kept texting me that she was fully commited to spying on the Lingards, but she was also a full-time student. After only a week, there wasn't much to report on them. I had a single solid observation to work with: apparently, multiple emails she spied on read like there was some sort of ideological, factional split among the clan members. 'The kind of situation where someone can only stand on side A or side B' was how she'd described it.

  "Arlo's Mother lent it to me. She meant it as some kind of present or reward, I think." I started my lie with a truth. "I wasn't really sure if I should use it or not, but I also thought it might be improper or disrespectful if I didn't make use of it…"

  Valerie grimaced, looking to the side and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "The two of you watched some of the films listed in this book? Using Linette's collection?"

  "We've watched a lot of movies… I can't quite remember, but I think two or three were from the guide." I faked confusion and looked to Arlo for confirmation, to which he nodded. "One was today, actually. I chose it because the summary made it seem like an interesting romance, but I was surprised."

  I set my face in a deep, contemplative frown. "We weren't really sure how to feel about it. Honestly, I found it hard to understand and a bit depressing." Just so my answer wasn't suspiciously clean, I added, "Still, I'm not sure which part of it made it deserving of being banned."

  I met Valerie's eyes for a few long-feeling seconds, mentally praying she didn't see through me.

  "Okay." She broke it off with a sigh. "If that's how it is, I believe I can give you some advice: my sister is the matriarch, but that doesn't mean the whole clan lives as she does. A high ability level doesn't have to equate to being totally unrestrained, and many of us give more credence and respect to The Authorities - to the law - than her. Being swept into her pace isn't the only way to fit in."

  "And this is my stance as a person," she added, "not as a member of The Authorities, but I believe illegal media is illegal because it has a higher-than-normal chance to inspire certain people negatively. For most people, any of the films covered in this book," she tapped on its cover, "may be perfectly reasonable or even productive. But for any risky piece of media, it's impossible to know beforehand who exactly will be radicalized or otherwise influenced. The unfortunate result is that everyone loses access, even if ideally it wouldn't be necessary."

  Awfully good rhetoric, I thought. If this wasn't my second life, that would've totally gotten me. Turning it around on people questioning The Authorities, implying that any bans are their fault… "That makes a lot of sense." I gave a relieved smile, as though she'd resolved some inner conflict or question. "I'll keep what you said about the matriarch in mind, too."

  "Good." She nodded, seeming content. "Now, why don't you tell me a little about-" My relief became very real when a phone started ringing.

  "That's mine," Valerie said, pulling it out of her pant pocket and turning it on. "Ah. Back to business with me."

  She looked back at me and handed me the guide. "Linette dislikes it when I 'interfere,' so I'll give this back to you." She glanced between us, alternating. "Make sure to be responsible, alright?" Then to Arlo specifically: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

  We nodded our agreement and said a quick goodbye. Arlo gave her a final hug, and then Valerie hurried off, her phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulder as she shrugged on her suit jacket.

  My relief melted into shame as I recalled violent, ugly images of what her business was. Twice today, I realized, I've been oh-so thankful for someone else's murder.

  I allowed myself a scowl at her receding figure. 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do?'

  He's not even going to like you, I thought. He'll know exactly who you are.