#omori short hair girl

[sometimes-online]

🟥🟥RED FLAGS (this songs a bop )🟥🟥

[asterism-unknown]

guys,, guys,,, short hair girl and THE MAVERICK friendship?!?! perhaps?!?!

[dreamybasil]

holy fuck..

THIS TOOK ME LIKE 9 HOURS HOW???

WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG IT FELT LIKE A REALLY SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME 😭

(time to put 99999999 tags for this..... yeouch)

it all started just from a little soda

it started just from a little doodle of my baby....

how did it escalate into that

[astro-inthestars]

imagine

short hair aubrey

Yes. I am imagining. (Un)Surprisingly though, I have already imagined it very much, a lot.

(This is an old ask but I'm using it as an excuse to be gay this proud Pride Month–)

[welcome-to-grayspace]

I wonder how many boxes of hair dye and bleach aubrey goes through to keep her hair that long and that bright all the time

[greenandsorrow]

Hey, could u write a Basil from Omori oneshot x reader. Male reader that just met Basil at the park while Aubrey and her gang were bullying him. Reader at around the same age as Basil. Reader taller than Basil. Obviously Basil kinda crushes on reader but is shy. Thank u.

by your side•°

🌻Basil x male!reader, sfw🌻

-> fluff/comfort, dare I say cute, descriptive, tall!reader, Omori spoilers, Polly, the Hooligans, a bit of swearing

!!! I don't usually do male!readers, but I was so excited to write for this flower boy!

The artwork is by @/milkymilkyshark on X.🍃

FARAWAY TOWN, 200X

You always liked the peaceful and mundane environment of this place. It's the place you've spent most of your spring breaks in, visiting your grandparents and playing games on their fourth generation computer. The roads are never full of traffic, stray kittens are always at your disposal to pet and each house has its own front yard.

The weather in FARAWAY TOWN is mild, sunny for the most part, the clouds above your head white and fluffy and the grass under your feet bright green and freshly mowed.

Since you've grown out of carelessly playing with your Hot Wheels and bored of rebuilding the same Lego sets over and over again, you decided it's time for a detour at the nostalgic town of your childhood.

As I said, it's quiet and uneventful here... almost. Your grandma kept you up to date with the tragic death of a young girl, four years ago. A suicide that stains the backyard of one of the utopic looking houses.

A shame.

Still, as much as you may be fond of this little town, you don't know its residents all that well. Maybe your detour will change that. You could use some company...

A fresh tee, shoes, keys, a few coins and you're out of the door.

Luckily, everything is within walking distance, so it's easy for you to plan a route for today's outing in your head.

OTHERMART is your first destination of the day. Last time you were here the shop was much smaller. It must've been expanded and you're definitely not complaining about it. You buy two cans of lemonade and some discounted snacks.

After exiting the shop, you debate on whether you should sit by the fountain or walk all the way to FARAWAY PARK, but the thought of enjoying your snacks while being surrounded by nature wins. FARAWAY PARK it is! The possibilities of meeting people are also more favourable in the park.

As you get closer and closer to it, you start hearing birds chirping, kids laughing and yelling, even the occasional bark of some dog. You're tempted to give the venting machines on the entrance a go, but you've used all you had on your snacks and soft drinks.

To your surprise though, it's not just shouts of joy and laughter that can be heard...

"Creep!!!"

Your curiosity is peaked and before you know it, your legs have already carried you to where the -not so happy- shouts are coming from.

The scene in front of you is upsetting to say the least. Six kids your age have surrounded a short boy, who is hugging himself while whimpering, while the pink-haired girl of the group keeps hurling offences his way.

Your chest tightens. This is wrong. You don't know what the full story behind this whole ordeal is, but bullying is certainly not the way to deal with it.

Your height has always made you appear older than you really are and in this moment of havoc, you decide to use this advantage of yours to end this poor boy's suffering. Keeping your strides confident and determined, you get next to the pink-haired girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. You want to appear intimidating.

AUBREY jumps slightly at the unexpected contact and you seize the opportunity to talk first.

"Don't you have anything fucking better to do?!"

She does look furious, but still a bit startled.

"W- what d- did you say?!"

"I'm sure you heard me the first time! Six to one?! Are you really such a big jerk?!"

Some of the kids in her group have turned red in the face, or are avoiding looking your way. That's good. You're not looking for a full blown out fight anyway.

But what are you doing then? Meeting people like your initial goal was? No. You're defending this blonde boy.

Fortunately, after some angry glares and muttered curses, the group retreats from the park. The girl with the pink hair is the last to go.

"We're not done!"

You can't help but roll your eyes at her over the top, tough nut to crack persona. It doesn't matter that much though, she's walking away now and you're left with the victim of her fury.

Despite his stature, he must be your peer. He has fluffy, blond hair with a pink flower tucked behind his ear. He's wearing a green sweater vest over a white button-up shirt, beige shorts and black shoes. It's clear as day that he's a shy one, with a dose of insecurity -based on his body language-.

His teal eyes are kind. The blue in them is so light that they almost look like they're made out of glass... or the glass-like effect is due to how he's still sniffling and wiping tears off his delicate face. He's beautiful, fragile looking.

Have you been staring? Oops-

You don't want to make him feel any worse. AUBREY made him feel trashy enough.

"Thank you..."

His voice is shaky and soft. You nod in response. Oh gosh, you don't have it in you to leave him alone after what he just went through.

"Don't mention it..."

A pinkish blush surfaces on his cheeks and he starts fidgeting with the hem of his sweater vest.

"I- I- I... You really shouldn't have bothered with me... But I'm grateful for the way you interfered. Really."

"Told you it wasn't any trouble. Now, now... What's your name?"

"I'm BASIL. It's very nice to meet you."

How he manages to smile after the crap he endured momente ago is beyond you.

"I... I have some junk food in this bag. We can share it."

You impress yourself.

Spontaneousness means following your heart and you can't help but melt a little inside at his surprised and flustered expression.

"Are you sure? It's just... You bought these for your own enjoyment. I- I wouldn't like to be a nuisance... Y- you really don't have to share your food with me."

"Pick a bench."

BASIL complies silently, his gaze finding an unoccupied bench on a quiet corner.

"...that one?"

"Cool."

You begin walking towards the selected bench. Casting a quick glance behind, you notice that BASIL still is frozen in place, not believing you're not seeing him as a burden and that you actually want his company.

"C'mon!"

Your voice seems to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. His melancholy and anxiousness are the results of MARI's death, combined with AUBREY' bullying. Obviously, you wouldn't even imagine the first reason.

You sit in a slightly awkward, slightly soothing silence. You handed him one of the cans of lemonade and opened a pack of gummies, placing it between you.

"Thank you."

The eye contact he makes is fleeting, but you mentally give him kudos for trying.

"So, what was all this fuss about?"

"With AUBREY?"

"Yeah, not that I care about her stupid name."

BASIL makes a choked sound, maybe a failed attempt to chuckle.

"It's... It's just a misunderstanding. I don't want to tire you with the details."

"You won't tire me. I asked for the full story. You have my permission to start talking non-stop."

"You're very straightforward... You remind me of a friend of mine, KEL"

"Um, I really don't know anyone around here."

"That's okay. You know me now."

You smile at that. He blushes and looks at his shoes. Unbeknown to you, BASIL is starting to develop a strong sense of devotion towards you. You rescued him from the Hooligans, you're patient with him, you're even sharing your precious snacks!

"About the misunderstanding... I don't want to make you see AUBREY in a bad light because of what I'll say."

"She was so cruel to you! How can you defend her?!"

"We used to be friends and-

...she's been through a lot."

"That's not enough to justify her behaviour."

A shrug. He knows you're right. He drops the talk about AUBREY.

"I- I enjoy... enjoyed taking pictures. My memories with my friends are my most treasured possessions. It's nice to be able to capture a whole memory in just a single frame."

There's something really pleasant in his voice. BASIL still is nervous and flustered, however, he now appears to be more willing to talk and more at ease in your presence.

"And that's why I kept a PHOTO ALBUM that contained all the memories I made with my friends..."

"That's interesting... and sweet. Still, I haven't heard anything about misunderstandings."

A sad sigh.

"Are you sure I'm not making you bored with all the talking?"

"I'm invested, you can't stop now."

You sip your lemonade and he chews another gummie. BASIL can't suppress a smile. A sincere one at that, because it reaches his teal eyes. It's been a long time since he had any human contact with someone who isn't Polly.

From what he tells you, the misunderstanding happened because AUBREY got angry at him and stole his PHOTO ALBUM, thinking he had vandalized the photos, even though the photos were actually tampered with by another friend of theirs. She's practically blaming him for something he didn't do.

You want to ask him why would that other friend do such a thing in the first place, but something in his gaze holds you back from doing so.

Luckily, after his explanation of why that girl hates him, you move on to discussing lighter subjects. You don't even realise how much time has passed as you listen to him talk about his plants. That boy has quite the green thumb.

Whether it's some good old gardening, or tending to flowers, to trees, even growing vegetables... he's done it. You're certain his house must look very fairytale-like.

It's afternoon now! Did you spend the whole day rumbling with BASIL? Are you ready to say goodbye? No

"You can come over for dinner. My granny will be more than happy to have you."

BASIL's usual anxiousness gives way to excitement. Grandparents are a sensitive topic to him, but he's so giddy at the prospect of having you as a friend that he doesn't get triggered by the mention of your grandma. In all honesty, your invitation has his stomach doing backflips... That's not something he's felt for a friend before.

Strange.

Chicken with rice is today's main course, with apple pie for dessert. BASIL seemed really pleased, but you're not the biggest fan of pies. So you let him have your own slice as well. It's a good thing you took your dessert in your bedroom, otherwise grandma wouldn't let you rest without eating at least half a slice.

"You have a big Lego collection", observes BASIL on his esteemed place at the edge of your bed. You're sitting right next to him.

"Yeah I know, but I've kind of grown out of it as of late."

Your gazes meet almost involuntarily and you're sure that you're sharing the exact same thought. Moments like this have you believing in telepathy.

The evening passes by with you and him building brick houses, castles and more. You start simple, following the instructions of each set. Soon though, you both allow your creativity to take control.

BASIL has seen many butterflies in his garden, but he never thought possible he'd be able to feel them flutter their wings in his stomach.

When it's time for him to leave, he has a pitiful expression on his face.

"Don't worry, you can come over again tomorrow."

"R- really? I mean... I'd really like it if we kept in touch."

In the morning, the door bell wakes you up. You sit up slowly, stretching and rubbing the sleepiness off your eyes. It's a bit early for you, but you go answer the door anyway.

Your hair is a mess, your thoughts a blur. Who could it even be?

"Good morning! I wanted to give this!"

Here stands Basil, handing you a little flower pot.

"Oh... Hello. What's th- What kind of flower is that?"

He smiles brightly as you take the pot in your hands.

"I'm glad you asked. These are daffodils! As you can see they have a bright and joyful yellow colour. Daffodils are strong, resilient flowers that pop up year after year!"

You're happy. He makes you happy, even when you're hella eepy.

"They symbolize friendship... as well as new beginnings! They're one of the first signs of Spring. Well, you're my new friend, so I thought that you should have them!"

"And what about the new beginnings aspect?"

Another smile.

"Oh! Don't worry about that!"

You'll never know it, but you saved BASIL in the word's truest meaning. He gives you a quick but tight hug.

"That's all for now! I have to visit my granny at the hospital! But we can meet afterwards!"

Once he closes his mouth, you both fall silent and turn tomato red. You manage a smirk and then you're both laughing, giggling and planning your day.

Thank you so much for reading!💛🌼

Support a struggling writer! PayPal link🌻

My masterlist-> click here

The dividers are by @saradika-graphics .

[neoninglitchen]

my thoughts on all my irl moots cause they are all so sigma coded

@sn0w-o my amazing wife! literally so short and is a rat (/pos) she matches my freak very well even if i am freakier, still can't get over that toe cracking story it is so funny for no reason, skibidi queen wife coded little guy 2

@t1redofyourbs someone who i indoctrinate my hyperfixations onto, concerned for but always sending my support, she would break into my house in a good way, you remind me of nicole from class of '09 in a lot of funny ways

@calistra1star real trans buddies, thank you for starting the dnd groupchat always been watching to start one, you're hair table looks like a table in the positive way, your glasses are so crazy, make me feel like im flying never getting forced to wear again

@sci2946 always so silly, i always get surprised when you swear on here it's like a fourth wall break, always bringing the current hyperfixation to the party!!! yipee squad to the max, let your omoriness out girl sunny

@mocha-505 english class wouldn't be the same without you.. very loud which is good we can find you anywhere. very coquette, you will being tying bows around all of your food i imagine, just a girl core you really are

@loopy564 girl please make at least one post and decorate your account im begging!!! also can you stop twerking every second, but it's funny when i stand up from my locker and you scream it happens literally every time

@alyvrom my super cool sister that has made my say awesomesauce a lot. i treat you like kings to servent, making you get me everything lol. please hurry up tho you take so long to do everything! keep serving your cunty! MAKE MORE COOKIES PLEASE

@stxrpo so obsessed with birds like you can tell any bird you have a bird-dar. i can make my skibidi jokes to, never do your nerd voice again only i can do it. calling you cringe cause you do it to me like all the time so payback

@paranormalglass we are on the exact same wavelength, you understand any niche internet net thing its great, we share many hyperfixations we are like the same people but spilt in two and your older, i feel like you would've read dogman maybe

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Double Date [Hero x Brandi and Bebe x Mikhael Fic for OMORI Rare Pair Week 2023]

When Brandi discovers that Bebe and Mikhael have made their relationship official, she asks her friend, Hero, to accompany her on a double date with them in the hopes of convincing her sister to raise her standards. Hero hasn't even thought about dating in years, and though he knows this isn't a "real date," a fun evening out, the company of a good friend, and maybe even a surprisingly deep conversation with Mikhael might just get him thinking that maybe he'll be ready to put himself out there again someday. And, who knows, maybe "someday" might even be closer than he thinks...

Relationships: Hero/Brandi [Intimidating Girl] Developing Relationship and Friendship. Mikhael [The Maverick]/Bebe [Short Hair Girl] Established Relationship. Hero & Mikhael Friendship.

Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Bebe [Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl], and Mikhael [The Maverick].

Genre: Slice of Life, Fluff and Humor, Double Date, First Date, Developing Relationship, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Open Ending, Hopeful Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

Rating & Warnings: Rated T for brief depiction of college partying and some mentions of drinking. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death. Some OMORI spoilers.

Link to work on AO3. Full text below the cut.

A/N: Thank you so much for supporting our newest contribution to the "Hero Deserves To Be Happy" genre (if that isn't already a genre, it definitely should be)! We think that Hero and Brandi's relationship (whether romantic or platonic) is very underrated and have always been extremely fond of Mikhael x Bebe so we were really excited for the opportunity to write about them for OMORI Rare Pairs Week 2023 hosted by @omorirarepairweek Day 6 Prompt: "Double Date." Thank you for reading! 💙

“Tequila shots?” asked Hero with a concerned expression. Brandi huffed as he took a seat beside her on the rickety metal bench that was one of the only pieces of furniture in the backyard of her sorority house. She quirked an eyebrow at him and his bottled water, then stared him dead in the eyes as she threw back her shot glass.

“I don’t want to hear it tonight, Hero.” As she shook her head, Hero’s face flushed. He hadn’t meant to pry into her business or offer any sort of judgment on her beverage preferences. He had just been a little surprised. Brandi was the one familiar and often the only other mostly-soberface at the wild college parties he often found himself roped into, and while she usually indulged in a beer, a hard lemonade, or a rum and coke, he had never seen her throw back multiple shots of tequila. She always insisted the cheap booze they had at these parties wasn’t worth the headache she’d have the next morning, but he supposed it was none of his business—even if she was his friend and he was worried about her.

Before Hero could begin to apologize, however, Brandi huffed, then shrugged her shoulders. “My sister, Bebe, called earlier—completely ruined my night.”

“Is everything alright?”

“That bozo, Mikhael, finally made it official.” Rolling her eyes, she reached for another shot of tequila from a nearby table.

Hero scratched the back of his neck. “Well…uh…they have been talking for a while, haven’t they?”

“Don’t remind me,�� huffed Brandi rolling her eyes. “I guess I was just hoping he’d eventually get bored before he asked her to be his girlfriend.”

Hero sighed. He didn’t know Mikhael very well but from what he had heard from Kel he was so desperate for a relationship that he was actually paying girls to pretend to be interested in him at one point. Hero couldn’t imagine him giving up on a girl who was actually interested in him, but he wouldn’t say that to Brandi.

“I have no idea what she sees in him…” She huffed shaking her head bitterly again. “I’ve tried to tell her he’s bad news, but she never listens to me.”

“Well…you know…the Hooligans aren’t really that dangerous, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Hero tried to reassure her with a gentle smile. “Sure they mildly inconvenience people and engage in some petty theft, a little vandalism, and some bullying, but they’re not hardened criminals or anything like that so I’m sure Bebe is safe—”

“Yeah, I know they’re pathetic,” Brandi interrupted. “It’s not about that. It’s about Mikhael being a moron—running around town in that stupid wig, calling himself ‘the Maverick,’ and acting like he’s in Dragon Ball Z.”

Hero chuckled awkwardly. “Well…uh…it’s good have hobbies…and…you know, maybe he’s just…spirited…?” His voice hitched at the end of his sentence, as if he wasn’t entirely sure himself.

Brandi huffed—raising her eyebrows at him before she replied in her blunt, matter-of-fact way, “You’re too nice for your own good, you know? Sometimes people are just morons. You don’t have to reach to find something positive to say about them.”

“I’m not…reaching…” The crack in Hero’s voice implied otherwise. He had always been a bad liar. “I’m sure Mikhael has lots of good qualities. I mean…Aubrey is friends with him.”

“And does she have anything nice to say about him?”

Hero swallowed hard—his face growing warm. The honest answer was no. Aubrey had nothing but complaints about Mikhael even harsher than the ones Brandi had. “You know, Aubrey is not a very…openly…complimentary…person…” he stumbled, and Brandi just blinked at him with a huff.

“That’s what I thought,” she said shaking her head, but she sighed. “You know, as much as it pains me to admit it, the real problem here is Bebe. If she had higher standards and didn’t want to go out with him, it wouldn’t matter how much of a bozo Mikhael is. But she’s so…trusting and naïve.” Rolling her eyes, Brandi frowned, but Hero’s expression softened. He could tell she was worried about her sister, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

Brandi sighed again. “If I was home, I could keep a better eye on her, but I’m not sure what I can do from here…”

With a tilt of his head, Hero patted Brandi reassuringly on the arm. “I’m sure Bebe will be okay, and you know, even if you were at home, she probably wouldn’t let you tag along on her dates or anything anyway.”

“Yeah…I’d have to go on a double date with her and Mikhael which would be awful.” Brandi stopped abruptly—her brow furrowing, as she tilted her head thoughtfully. “I wonder if that would work. Maybe if Bebe saw me with a guy who was actually decent, she’d realize she should raise the bar. I just don’t know who that would be—it’s been slim pickings out there ever since I broke up with Trent.”

“Well…I have a lot of fraternity brothers who would be happy to go out with you. They think you’re…” Hero stopped—thinking of the best way to clean up his fraternity brothers’ penchant for referring to Brandi as his ‘hot friend.’ He cleared his throat. “Very attractive…”

Brandi shook her head. “No, I don’t date frat guys. I already told you. They’re barely a step up from Mikhael.”

“Okay…but some of them are nice…”

“You don’t count,” Brandi interjected with a pointed stare. Hero blushed. He hadn’t been talking about himself. “You’re not a frat guy—you’re a den mother. They just keep you around to do the cooking and cleaning and laundry.”

Hero supposed this was all true. He had basically been begged to join that fraternity, and ever since had been giving his fraternity brothers kind and helpful lessons about how to prevent their house from once again turning into a toxic wasteland. In exchange for teaching them how to wash windows, use fabric softener, and cook food that wasn’t instant ramen, they had affectionately given him the nickname “Mama.” He decided it would be best not to tell Brandi about that, but from the look she was giving him now, he was sure she already knew.

“What about a pre-med major? I have some friends in my classes I could ask. Steven is a really nice guy, and I think he’s here tonight actually…”

Brandi blinked at him, then asked with a blunt, matter-of-factness. “Is Steven the guy currently choking on that beer bong?”

With a roll of her eyes, Brandi tilted her head towards the far corner of the yard where,  sure enough, Steven was surrounded by a rowdy group of cheering people guzzling copious amounts of alcohol from a neon beer bong.

Hero sighed. “You know, he’s actually very smart and very polite…when he’s…not drunk…”

“I’m sure,” quipped Brandi, before she shook her head again. “Listen Hero. The goal here is to get Bebe to raise her standards. Drunk party guys are not going to cut it.” She sighed. “I’d need to take someone like you. You’re the nicest guy I know. If I showed up with someone like that, then maybe she’d start thinking she could do better, but that’s not going to happen if I show up with beer bong boy.”

Hero swallowed hard, and his face flushed red. “You…you want to take me? I…I don’t know…” he stumbled, but thankfully she cut him off.  

“It’s okay. I wasn’t going to ask. I figured it would be insensitive all things considered. I know you’re not ready to put yourself back out there.”

She paused, and Hero fidgeted with his hands. He wasn’t sure if it was more that Brandi knew him so well or if he was just obvious about it.  

“Um…it’s not…I mean it is…but I just meant…” With a heavy sigh, he stopped—running a hand through his unruly hair. “I haven’t been on a date since I was 15. I think I’d be terrible company.”

“Eh,” shrugged Brandi dryly. “Something tells me you’d be better than at least half the first dates I’ve ever been on. I’ve been on some pretty bad dates.” Brandi laughed, and Hero tried his best to stifle a chuckle behind his hand. He felt guilty for laughing. “But I get it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know you don’t feel right about dating anyone when you still…” She stopped abruptly, but Hero nodded. She didn’t have to finish that sentence. It was no secret he really hadn’t been interested in dating at all since Mari… It just didn’t feel fair to her, to her memory, and to whoever Hero could be with. They all deserved better. He swallowed hard. Maybe someday he’d be ready to put himself back out there, but he wasn’t there yet.

“I mean I hope you’ll put yourself back out there someday…” Brandi continued with a shrug of her shoulders. “If not for yourself then for the sake of the world and all the women out there desperate for decent men,”—she chuckled dryly—“but I just don’t think this is the way to do it. I mean, it wouldn’t be real, and”—she grimaced, gritting her teeth—“Mikhael would be there.”

As Brandi rolled her eyes, Hero stifled another laugh, but his brow furrowed thoughtfully and he tilted his head. “It…it really wouldn’t be real?”

“No, of course not.” She waved her hand dismissively. “We go out to dinner all the time. It would be just like that.”

“But Mikhael and Bebe would think we were dating…Do you really think they’d believe that?”

“Bebe believes Mikhael was in Top Gun,” quipped Brandi. “He was a toddler when that movie came out.”

A slight smile tugged at Hero’s mouth in spite of himself, but he bit his lip. “I just don’t feel right lying to them.”

Brandi shrugged with a lopsided smile. “You don’t have to. It’s not lying if you just leave out some information, and if someone runs with the information they do have, then that’s their problem.”

Hero chuckled and gently teased, “You’re going to be an awesome lawyer.”

“I know,” laughed Brandi playfully bumping him with her elbow, but she tilted her head at him. “You’re really considering it, huh?”

Though his face flushed, Hero somehow managed a nod. “You’re…one of my best friends, I…um…I want to help.”

Brandi’s expression softened, and she playfully ruffled his hair. “You’re really sweet, you know that?” Hero’s blush deepened. “Tell you what: if you agree to do this for me, we can take my car back to Faraway Town for the weekend and I’ll pay for all the gas and everything. You’ll get to see your family and your friends, and you’ll miss out on that awful keg party your frat is hosting. There’s a couple of unpleasant hours with Mikhael, but we’ll pick a good restaurant so hopefully the food will be worth it. Then we come back here and carry on like nothing ever happened—what do you say?”

Hero took a deep breath, but a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth as he met Brandi’s eyes. “Okay,” he said. “I’m in.”

*-*-*

“And then I said, ‘No. No, Mr. Mayor you don’t have to give me the key to the city. It was all in day’s work for I, The Maverick…” Mikhael flipped his hair—upsetting his wig which he swiftly readjusted, shifting in place in his booth at the nicest economically-priced Italian restaurant in Faraway Town. It had been difficult to pick a restaurant in Mikhael’s price range after Brandi had staunchly ruled out Gino’s—which Hero, somewhat guiltily, suspected she had done for his sake knowing that he had taken Mari there on their first date years ago. Hero appreciated her sensitivity but felt guilty for making things more difficult for everyone. After all, Hero supposed it didn’t really matter where they went—it was going to feel strange going out anywhere after all this time and after everything that had happened. Even though he knew it wasn’t a real date, Hero had been worried about it for days and spent far too long trying to pick out his clothes and get ready. He even picked up a potted plant for Brandi to be polite—an orchid which Basil had assured him was low-maintenance. Hero supposed that suited her best. She had always been so independent, strong, and self-reliant. Plus, he thought with a slight flush in his cheeks, it was pretty like her.

Hero cleared his throat pushing the thought away and turning his attention instead to Bebe who was staring at Mikhael positively enraptured. Despite what Brandi said, Hero honestly thought it was kind of sweet how smitten Bebe was with Mikhael. She was perhaps a little infatuated and misguided, but she was sincere and Hero could tell she thought the world of him. How Mikhael felt about Bebe, however, had yet to be seen and was likely the real problem.

“Wow!” she sighed wistfully. “You’re so amazing, the Maverick.”

“I know,” he hummed with a somewhat smug grin.

Brandi pressed her hand to her forehead and shook her head—rolling her eyes for what had to be the twentieth time that night. Hero sighed. It had only been half an hour. Their food hadn’t even arrived yet.

She shot Hero an exasperated look as she reached for her nearly empty glass of wine. “Regretting your decision to agree to this yet?” she quipped through her teeth. Hero stifled a laugh, but he shook his head.

Surprisingly enough, if he was being honest, Hero was actually having a really nice night so far, but he didn’t think it was the right time to tell Brandi that. Perhaps he never would, but he did sheepishly admit, “No.”

“I suppose it is better than that keg party…” Brandi twisted her mouth to one side, and Hero shrugged—his brow furrowing.

“I hope my fraternity’s okay. I made a bunch of food before I left and cleaned up the house and did everyone’s laundry. I even left some emergency numbers on the fridge and twenty bucks.”

“You’re such a mom,” Brandi teased. “You know they’re just going to use that money to buy beer.”

Hero sighed. “I left them a note asking them please not to use the money for alcohol.”

“Oh, a note. That’ll stop them,” Brandi replied with a dry sarcasm. With a slight shake of his head, Hero sighed again.

“Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. And who knows, it might be good for one of them to pass out on the lawn. Some lessons they need to learn the hard way, and if they trash the house, you make them clean it up—okay, Mama?” She shot him a lopsided grin, and Hero tried his best not to laugh.

“Brandi…” he began to protest, but she interrupted—pointing her finger at him.

“It’s like I always say—they can’t treat you like a doormat if you don’t let them. Saying ‘no’ every once and a while isn’t going to kill you. I say it all the time.”

“Most of the time,” teased Bebe, and Brandi rolled her eyes.

“Nice to see you’re acknowledging I exist,” she quipped as Mikhael continued to ramble on about “spirit bombs” and his “true form” or something.

“Of course, I acknowledge you. Just because I have a boyfriend now, doesn’t mean you’re not still my sister. You have a boyfriend too—you know what it’s like. You’re not going to forget about me just because you’re with Hero now, right?”

Hero’s face flushed—unsure of what to say and still very uncomfortable at the prospect of lying to Bebe. Future-lawyer, Brandi on the other hand jumped in immediately, “There isn’t a guy in the world that would make me forget about you, okay?”

“Okay but do you think there’s anyone who could make my sister forget about me?” Mikhael interrupted. “And my brother too?”

“Why do you want your siblings to forget about you?” asked Hero in concerned confusion.

Mikhael dramatically leaned across the table motioning for them all to come closer then he whispered, “Because they’re evil.”

“Evil?” scoffed Brandi. “How are they evil?”

“They always want to spend time with me, and they’re always asking me all these questions—trying to keep tabs on me so they can report back to my nemesis and help him thwart my plans. And they keep wanting to play evil hide-and-seek.”

“Hide and Seek?” Brandi repeated with an exasperated expression.

“Evil hide-and-seek,” Mikhael forcefully corrected.

With a bitter shake of her head, Brandi reached for her wine. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but how exactly is hide-and-seek evil?”

“Well, they’ve got these cardboard cutouts of themselves, and they hide them all around the house which makes them really hard to find. It’s horrible.”

Bebe wrapped her arm around him. “That sounds really awful, but Daphne and Bowen are so nice, maybe if you talk to them and tell them you don’t want to play anymore, they’ll understand.”

“I can’t talk to them!” exclaimed Mikhael so loudly that several people in the nearby booths turned to look at them. “They have spies everywhere, and they’ll just use what I say against me. I’m telling you—they are in league with the enemy. Your sister is too.”

“What?” Brandi asked, rolling her eyes.

Mikhael frowned, clinching his fist. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here. You’ve brought my nemesis’s brother down here to spy on me. Well it’s not going to work!” Hero jumped backward in surprise as Mikhael jabbed his finger at his face. “I’m not going to tell you anything. So there!”

“I…I don’t understand…” stumbled Hero.

“Oh my gosh, Mikhael, grow up!” huffed Brandi. “No one is here to spy on you. This is just a date. I can’t believe you actually have a date, but since you do, calm down, put your big boy pants on and stop acting like a toddler.”

“I—I know!” chimed in Bebe in a shaky attempt to diffuse the tension. “What if we ordered this chocolate cake? It looks good right? And everybody likes chocolate cake.”

As Bebe held up the little advertisement set up on their table, Hero watched as Mikhael’s face fell just for a moment and he mumbled, “I…I…uh…” Then he stopped abruptly—letting out a melodramatic gasp and declaring far too loudly for a restaurant, “That cake could be poisoned! We can never be too careful.”

Bebe stared down at her hands. “Oh…” she said quietly. “Okay…”

“For goodness sakes, Mikhael, the cake isn’t poisoned,” hissed Brandi before turning to Bebe. “Don’t worry. I’ll buy you the cake, Bebe.”  

“No…um…thank you, but it’s okay. I didn’t really want any anyway.” Bebe paused and sighed before standing up from the table. “I…um…have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

As Hero watched her go and watched Brandi get up from the table and chase after her sister, he also wished he had an exit strategy. Unfortunately, he did not and was left in heavy, awkward silence with Mikhael.

By the time their waiter came with their food, Hero had forgotten how long he had been sitting there in the heavy silence, swirling his straw around in his drink. He practically jumped at the chance to help the waiter pass out the plates of food, thankful Brandi and Bebe were still in the bathroom so he had something to do to make himself useful.

He was so busy setting the table that he almost didn’t hear Mikhael ask in a voice much quieter than any he had used all night, “Hey…uh…how expensive is this cake?” Mikhael reached for the advertisement Bebe had been holding up before, but when the waiter finally revealed the price, he set it back on the table with a somewhat defeated huff.

Hero bit his lip, unsure of what, if anything, he should say. He didn’t feel it was his place to pry especially since he didn’t know Mikhael very well, but he definitely had some sympathy for him, having once been that broke teenager who wanted to treat the girl he liked to something special but couldn’t afford it. It was one of his great regrets that he had never been able to take Mari out anywhere fancier than Gino’s when she had been alive, and he didn’t want Mikhael ever having to have similar regrets about Bebe.

“Hey uh…if you want to get that cake for Bebe—”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I was asking for me,” huffed Mikhael interrupting him, but there was a flush of pink in his cheeks.

“Oh uh…okay…” stumbled Hero, staring intently at his plate. He hadn’t started eating yet, thinking it was more polite to wait until the girls returned. Surprisingly, he noticed Mikhael was waiting as well.

“Bebe’s sister really hates me huh?” he mumbled folding and unfolding his napkin. Hero could tell he was trying and failing to appear nonchalant. “Do you think it’s because of the cake?”

“No,” Hero replied gently, shaking his head. “I think she’s just…worried about Bebe—just being a protective older sister.”

Mikhael frowned but wouldn’t look at him. “My sister loves Bebe. My brother too. They say she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. They always want to invite her over so she can teach her how to bake. She’s pretty good at it—wants to be a pastry chef now.” He paused and grinned then quipped, “I mean, she’s not as good as me but she’s alright.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Hero’s mouth, and his expression softened. “Bebe is a really nice girl, isn’t she?”

Though he tried his best to frown and shrug it off, Hero couldn’t help but notice the slightest flush of red in his face. “Well…yeah…I guess…She’s pretty awesome. Everybody thinks so. And you know…I’m awesome too, but not everybody appreciates that…” His smug smirk faded just a little. “But Bebe does… Brandi doesn’t though—faking a whole relationship just to break us up.”

“Wha—what?” choked Hero, though he was sure his blush had given him away.

“Listen, I’m not stupid. I knew from the first time Bebe mentioned it that it wasn’t real,” Mikhael shrugged. “Aubrey says you’re never going to love again.”

With a heavy sigh, Hero bit his lip. “Aubrey said that?”

“Well…I think what she actually said was that she hopes you put yourself back out there because, you know, you’re like a brother to her or whatever and she wants you to be happy,  but she knows you won’t.” Mikhael sighed, twisting his mouth to one side. “But I dunno…maybe she’d think differently if she was here tonight.”

“I doubt it,” Hero chuckled awkwardly. “Aubrey could always tell when I was lying.”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one here who’s actually having fun tonight. That doesn’t sound like someone who’s never gonna date again.”  

Hero blushed. It felt strange being called out by Mikhael of all people. He twisted his hands. “It’s…not like that. It’s not real.”

“Dude, you got her an orchid…”

“I was just trying to be nice,” Hero insisted hurriedly. “I…haven’t been on a date in a really long time, and I—” He stopped, realizing only then that he probably didn’t need to explain himself to Mikhael, but Mikhael just tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders.

“You wanna date Brandi for real?”  

The idea gave Hero pause, as did the fact that a resonant “no” did not immediately come to mind. The truth was he had never really thought about it. If he was being honest, he supposed up until this point he had agreed with Aubrey that he would probably never love again. He was okay with that, but now… ever since she had brought it up, ever since he was actually out at a restaurant on a date even if it wasn’t real… He just wasn’t sure anymore.

“If you do, you already have an ‘in’ you know?” Mikhael continued. “Brandi hates everybody, but she doesn’t hate you so…there you go.” Mikhael laughed before he took another drink of his water, and Hero sighed.

“She can do better than me.” Hero’s eyes widened. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. He was half expecting Mikhael to laugh or make fun of him, but Mikhael just stared down at his food.

He muttered so quietly that Hero almost couldn’t hear him, “Like me and Bebe…”

As Hero watched Mikhael hang his head and absentmindedly push his food around his plate, something twisted in his chest.

“No,” he reassured him, shaking his head with a kind smile. “You and Bebe are just fine. Here…” He paused, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and handing a 20 dollar bill to Mikhael. “Why don’t you buy her that cake?”

A wide, smarmy grin spread across Mikhael’s face as he took the money from Hero’s hands. “Sucker,” he muttered with a laugh before flagging down their waiter to order two pieces of chocolate cake.

Hero sighed. He supposed it was to be expected. It was Mikhael after all.

Before anyone could say anything more, however, Brandi and Bebe returned from the bathroom, and Brandi let out a heavy sigh and said, “Look Mikhael, I’m sorry if I came off a little too harsh. I’d like us to get along for the rest of the night.”

Mikhael’s eyes widened in surprise for just a moment, but he laughed and shrugged it off, “I guess, I, the Maverick, can accept your apology.”

Rolling her eyes again, Brandi sighed, but she turned her attention to her food. Hero stopped and smiled at her. She was so bold, so honest. The truth was, he admired that in her—he had learned that tonight.

He had also learned that Mikhael was full of surprises, and it turned out he had one more up his sleeve. When the two chocolate cakes he had ordered arrived, he gave one to Bebe, of course, but the other he gave to Brandi. Mikhael turned to Hero with an almost imperceptible wink as he handed the cake to a very perplexed Brandi and said, “Yours is from Hero.”

*-*-*

As they walked home that evening, Hero and Brandi hung back letting Mikhael and Bebe walk ahead of them, holding hands and laughing together about who knows what. Hero couldn’t help but smile at them. It was nice to see them so happy.

“Mission failed,” huffed Brandi sarcastically, but her mouth twitched in the corners. “Back to the drawing board I guess.”

“I don’t know…Mikhael’s a nice kid, and Bebe seems happy.”

Brandi sighed, playfully poking him in the arm. “What in the world happened when we went to the bathroom? You’re on ‘Team Mikhael’ now?”  

“I thought you were on ‘Team Mikhael’ now,” teased Hero. “You did apologize to him. That was really nice of you.”

“Yeah well, after Bebe told me off for being mean, I thought I should probably try to be a little nicer. I’ve been told I’m pretty intimidating.” She laughed—shrugging it off. “I’d say I’m sorry for taking you out for nothing, but you actually seemed to have a good time tonight.”

“I did,” Hero admitted with a slight smile. “It was really nice. I’m glad you invited me.”

“Yeah, me too. It was nice to see you enjoy yourself again. It’s…been a while.” As Brandi’s voice faded, she shrugged her shoulders. The expression on her face softened. “I know we weren’t really close friends back then, but…I do remember what you were like—back when you were happy. I kind of miss it.”

Hero stared down at the pavement, and his shuffling feet before he mumbled, “Me too.” His face flushed. He hadn’t meant to say that. Brandi, however, didn’t seem to mind.

“Well…you know, if you do decide you ever want to put yourself back out there, you are going to make somebody really, really happy.” As Brandi smiled, Hero’s face grew warm, and he turned away from her. “Even though Mikhael was there, this is still one of the best dates I’ve ever been on. You’re sweet, attentive, a great listener, and you bought me flowers and cake. You’re a good one, Hero.”

“I don’t know about that,” Hero chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “But I…uh…I did have a really good time tonight. You’re really great, Brandi.”

“Aww…” she teased before patting his cheek. “You don’t have to flatter me.”

“It’s…it’s not flattery. It’s just…I…want to thank you. I…uh…haven’t been on a date in a really long time, and this was really nice.” Though his face flushed, he somehow managed to meet her eyes. “Even if it wasn’t real.”

He turned away and bit his lip again—unable to face that look of confusion in Brandi’s expression.

“Did you…want it to be?” she asked, with as much bold bluntness as he would’ve expected from her.

“I…I…” he choked, the words getting caught in the back of his throat as his twisting hands began to shake. He thought he should try his best to be honest—to be bold like her. “I don’t know,” he admitted, but hurriedly added. “I’m sorry…is that okay?”

Brandi chuckled, but she smiled at him. “Yeah…that’s just fine, Hero. Tell you what…for now, how about we say, some of it was real.”

As her warm eyes met his, Hero felt a real, genuine tugging at his mouth and something warm fluttering in his chest, and Brandi leaned forward and lightly kissed his cheek with a kind, “Thank you, Hero. For everything.”

Then, she ran up ahead and grabbed Bebe right before Mikhael could kiss her and ran into the house. Mikhael started huffing about having had his chance at a goodnight kiss so rudely stolen away, but Hero didn’t even notice. He just stood there, frozen on the sidewalk, gently reaching up to pat his blushing cheek where Brandi had kissed it.

“Some of it was real…” she had said. Hero wasn’t sure what part of it was real and which part wasn’t. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure he was even ready to even begin to decipher it. But for now, he knew that some of it was real—that he had a wonderful night and that for the first time in a very long time, he felt like he could, maybe, just maybe, be happy again someday. And for now, that was more than enough.

[omosntn]

Beautiful Stranger (Suntan fanfic)

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Relationship: Kel/Sunny (OMORI)

Additional Tags: Suntan, Fated Encounter

Description: He catches his first glance of the boy on the northbound train on the morning commute to school

Based on Laufey’s song “Beautiful Stranger”

PREVIEW

The next time Kel sees him is on the way home weeks later.

He knows the moment he sees the jet black hair, the ghost pale appearance. The interesting fashion choice that makes him look quite studious; the white collared shirt complemented by a blue vest and beige shorts. The black violin case etched with “Sunny” in gold lettering.

His heartbeat picks up rapidly at the sight of him again, the girl with long hair trailing just behind him once again. He watches them enter the cart until they’re out of his sight, sighing at the fact that there are no empty seats in his line of vision.

Until he feels a presence sit down behind him.

The rest can be read here! So, I actually posted the fic without posting about it here … so ya oopsie!

[sunnybunny2468]

Do you have any information about your OCs?

OKAY SO!! short hand info abt each!!!

in order of pictures:

this is Bri! the excitable youngest member of this little group! she loves coffee rolls, vocaloid, animals, new people, and girls!! shes a clueless little sapphic and allie's younger sister! no matter what, if you meet her, she'll greet you with a wave and a smile! (she won't like it if you use her full first name, Brianna, since in her own words, "the only people who use it are fancy adults, teachers, and my big sis when i'm in trouble!'') she's very playful and childish, and a pacifist due to a promise with her older sister! closest character to her is DW!Aubrey and her voice claim is Homaru Naegi from Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls!

speaking of her, this is Allison/Allie! she’s the older sister of her friend group, quite literally! also the only adult, she tries her best to keep everything balanced with the chaos. while she used to do magic shows for fun, she stopped once she became a adult. though, she still wears her mini top hat and keeps her wand, just for fun. she’s also the most popular in her friend group, because of her charm and looks! Her voice claim is Monika from DDLC and she's also the character most like Allie personality-wise!

third, there's Miley! he's quite standoffish and rude, attempting to be distant. he doesn't trust people easily, but if you bring up a topic he likes he will ramble before realizing that he didn't mean to and stop. if you do become friends, though, he's very protective. him and Bri are the closest of the group, besides Bri and Allie since they're sisters. He curses a lot, and argues with Lavender somewhat. His voice is Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu from Danganronpa 2 and he's most like a mix of Fuuta Kajayama and Es from MILGRAM.

and last but not least, Lavender or Lav! she’s the second older of her friend group, only being passed by Allie. a bit more anxious and shy than most, she still tries her best to treat everyone with kind words along with snacks and drinks! she can be nonverbal when she becomes too anxious or overwhelmed, so she always carries a notepad and pencil in her basket, often along with flowers from the woods behind her house. with her almost always full picnic basket, she’s always happy for more people to comfort! she also refuses to curse, annoying Miley to no end. she's most like Mari from Omori and has no voice claim as of yet.

all of them have semi-dyed hair besides Bri due to a group tradition! (slight purple for Allie, mostly orange for Miley <blonde underneath> and fully pastel purple for Lavender <redheaded underneath>)

if you're wondering about Rini? he's a persona of mine as opposed to a oc, but here's how he looks if you're curious.

his pupils are heart monitors and are often white to show his own heartbeat. the colors change based on who he is watching. (dark purple for allie, yellow for bri, orange for miley, light purple for lavender) his watch is due to him basically being the only one who really knows the outside time. no voice claim for him at this time. ^^

any other specific questions? feel free to send more asks! thank you <3

[moog-enthusiast]

Very important question.

Flower’s trans, right? Just curious on how she figured herself out. Trying to write things out right is all, considering I’m not trans.

yes! she’s a trans woman. she from a young age leaned more towards traditionally feminine things, though she never really reached for them or talked to her parents about it. after going to live with her grandma though, she was given a lot of freedom to express herself however she wanted! she didn’t have a lot of friends and didn’t watch a lot of tv either (mostly sticking to helping granny with whatever she can and reading books, as well as trying to pick up arts and crafts and whatnot) so i imagine she didn’t have a lot of gender roles forced on her as a young’n. as such, she probably just kinda continued with being more “girly” with the toys and clothing she chose without much fear or anything. grandma supported this, until flower found the words to express her identity, and she changed her language and such with that. truth be told, flower probably just kinda rolled with the punches with other kids at school assuming she was a girl with short hair, before realizing she preferred the feminine terminology and pronouns and correcting anyone who referred to her in a masculine sense. as a result, she realized she was a girl, or at least not a boy pretty young, and just did what made her happy, & asked others to treat her the same!

flowers name (or nickname, rather) actually came from her grandma, who affectionately called the dean kids “sprouts” when they were young, until flower insisted she was a big kid, and therefore was a flower, not a sprout, which made granny laugh- and it ended up sticking. she picked her legal name (primrose marguerite dean) out when she was much older though, with Primrose being suggested by basil, representing renewal and eternal love, and marguerite being named after her grandma (at least in my hc!).

tldr; she figured it out pretty young, and had a relatively easy time figuring herself out and coming out after moving in with granny. even if it’s not necessarily realistic for the time period omori is implied to take place in, i’d rather imagine flower and the other kids get to have a nice supportive environment to grow up in!!

[arichaa-ut]

THE ULTIMATE POST

Every posts I’ve made in this very post. Is it normal to do that?

Undertale

weak fanart of undyne

waterfall

METTATON THE LEGEND I LOVE HIM

green fire girl npc

tea time with Muffet

muffet and other spiders crossover

💚 💙 🩵 🧡 💛 💜

alphys and mettaton chilling

frisk and chara chilling

omori and chara chilling

chara weird aah face

KRIS WHAT A CUTIE

muffet with a phone

integrity kny style

kindness kny style

patience kny style

Demon Slayer

cute hashiras

drawing kny oc

kny oc omori style

insta woman kny style

Daki new fit

mitsuri without braids

mitsuri low quality

mitsuri high quality

tanjiro eating noodles

Omori

sweetheart’s head

sweetheart winking

Lo Zelda

riju

woman with gerudo clothes

yiga girl

Super Mario Girls

princess peach 🩷

Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and Pauline🩷💛🩵❤️

princess rosalina 🩵

Other Fandoms

doki doki girls’s heads

disgust

Other

instagram woman

more instagram woman

purple woman

3 women being besties

woman with cat eyes

short haired girl

woman with a butterfly pin

sketches of girls

girl with an outfit I saw in a blackpink’s mv

chibi girl with pigtails

Girl wearing a flowery dress

blue and purple fairy 🧚‍♀️

girl with a white dress

y2k girly

[fruitdragon1a]

Welcome!

Hi! I'm Fruit Dragon. Writing tag: #my writing

Here's a list of all my published works so far:

Current Works: Short List (just titles and links)

Amphibia

Day 12: Alone (T)

The Owl House/Amphibia

Fighting the Stars (G)

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

The Butterfly Effect (G)

Friendship and Courage (G)

Off the Record (G)

When a Ladybug Flies Away (G)

Love is a Double Door (G)

Under the Umbrella (G)

Who Murdered Adrien??? (w/ Mickeyfan1) (G)

Cross Strike (G)

FruitDragon's Femslash Feb 2024 - collection (G-T)

FD and Nik's Fluff February 2024 - collection (w/ @niklovesladybug ) (G-T)

All the Times Mme Bustier Heard "Ladybug Erased My Homework" and Other Related Excuses (G)

you gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye (G)

The Art of Blossoms (T)

OMORI

hair dye on a rainy night (T)

Current Works: Extended Version (w/summaries, tags, and status)

Amphibia

Day 12: Alone (for Marcy March 2023) - Complete (T)

How Marcy lost her memories before waking up trapped in her own mind during All In.

The Owl House/Amphibia

Fighting the Stars - Ongoing (19/?) (G) Tag: #fighting the stars

Luz and her friends Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are inseparable. They would all do anything for one another, and they all wanted the best for one another… but for a while, Luz has kind of felt like the odd one out. Now they’ve been transported to Amphibia, and Luz gets confirmation from an ancient prophecy that her friends were destined to be with one another… and she wasn’t. But who cares what destiny thinks?

Miraculous Ladybug

The Butterfly Effect - Ongoing (8/?) (G) Tag: #the butterfly effect

Once Marinette was close enough, the person stuck his hand out in a handshake. “Are you the partner my kwami mentioned?” he said. He was dressed in red with black spots, with solid black panels on the sides of his suit. A red-and-black mask stretched across his face, with two red antennae sticking out of his blond hair. He had the greenest eyes Marinette had ever seen. “Yeah, I am,” Marinette told him. “You’re the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, right?” “That’d be me!” the boy said. “Nice to meet you. I’m, uh–” He thought for a moment. “Crimson Beetle. What’s your name?" “I’m Ma– uh–” Marinette shifted her weight, trying to think of a name, only to lose her balance and nearly topple off the side of the building. “Madly clumsy,” she finished, smiling sheepishly as Crimson Beetle let go of her arm. Nice going, Marinette. “Don’t have a name yet, Clumsy Girl?” he said with a light laugh. “That’s okay. You can think of one later.” -------------- Miraculous swap AU where Marinette has the Miraculous of the Black Cat and Adrien has the Ladybug Miraculous.

Friendship and Courage - Complete (G)

After making genuine friendships for the first time in her life, Sabrina finally gains the courage to stand up to Chloé.

Off the Record - Complete (G)

After her designs went global, Marinette's assistant insisted that she set up an interview with a major news outlet to solidify the company's newfound popularity. Marinette agreed, scheduling an interview with a journalist from the local TVi. Little did she know that decision would be the best one she'd ever made.

When a Ladybug Flies Away - Complete (G)

When Marinette finds reason to believe that Hawkmoth has figured out her identity, she has no choice but to give up her Miraculous. She decides to do it quickly and painlessly, telling Chat during their patrol and sending Tikki to him once she was back home, so he could decide to bring to Master Fu or to choose a partner as he saw fit. But imagine her surprise when he lands on her balcony with the Miraculous in hand, asking Marinette to be his partner in the absence of Ladybug.

Love is a Double Door - Complete (G)

Ladybug and Chat Noir are planning to propose to their respective beloveds. Adrien and Marinette go on a date.

Under the Umbrella - Complete (G)

Almost everyone has a soulmate. What are Adrien and Marinette supposed to do when they meet theirs?

Who Murdered Adrien??? - Complete (G)

Don't be fooled by the title, Adrien isn't actually dead. Ladybug has summoned all the heroes to a rooftop to tell them some awful news-- Adrien Agreste's amok was purified! Needless to say, Chat Noir is extremely confused.

Cross Strike - Complete (2/2) (G) Tag: #strikeback au

“There’s no point in going on any longer,” he sighed. “Come back home with Adrien, the ad campaign we planned is far too risky.” “Of course. But, sir, the thing is…” A new voice dryly cut into the conversation, and Gabriel looked up to see the new Dog hero that Ladybug had selected sitting on his desk. “Ladybug did make a mistake… Uncle.” The phone slipped through Gabriel’s fingers, landing with an indelicate crack against the tiles. “I’ve lost Adrien, sir. He’s no longer on the train,” Nathalie finished. “Sir? Are you still there?” Gabriel gaped at the Dog hero– no, at his nephew. “Félix?” he choked out. “The one and only,” Félix replied with an almost menacing smirk.

FruitDragon's Femslash Feb 2024 - Oneshot series (9/11)

Aurore/Ondine - Eye on Someone (G) Juleka/Zoé - What Is This Feeling (G) Sabrina/Alya - Heather (T) Fei/Zoé - Succinctly Yours (G) Chloé/Marinette - old ghosts cast long shadows (T) Juleka/Rose - holding onto the memory of you (T) Lila/Marinette - Forever Hers (T) Zoé/Alya - Meant to Be (G) Zoé/Marinette - A Neighbor In Need (G)

FD and Nik's Fluff February 2024 - Oneshot series (5/5)

Days 1/2 - walking along the seine (T) Days 3/4 - ice skating, and what it means (G) Days 5/6 - in sickness and in health (G) Days 7/8 - stood up and made a friend (G) Day 14 - unexpected valentine (G)

All the Times Mme Bustier Heard "Ladybug Erased My Homework" and Other Related Excuses - Ongoing (1/?) (G)

Ladybug's cure isn't perfect. Anyone can tell you that-- there's a cost to every life saved, to every brick laid back in its foundation. Its effects are completely random. Sometimes it's just a few loaves of bread in a bakery turning back to dough in the display case, sometimes it's an entire essay being unwritten, sometimes it's construction being undone or a person being teleported back to where they were at the start of the attack. The bad luck to balance the good luck.

you gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye - Complete (G)

Gabriel Agreste's greatest wish is to bring Émilie back to life. His greatest regret in life is letting Nathalie use the Peacock Miraculous. As time passes and his relationship with Nathalie sours, he's not sure what he wants anymore.

The Art of Blossoms - Ongoing (3/6) (T)

Marinette is a florist. Adrien needs a bouquet. Or: Five times Adrien walked out of Marinette's store with flowers, and one time he left with something far more precious.

OMORI

hair dye on a rainy night - Complete (T)

Two months after Sunny told the truth to all of their friends, Basil thinks he's going to be okay. Sure, he hasn't really left the house. But Polly always says it takes time to heal, and so he won't force himself. But one rainy night, a knock echoes on his door.

[acacia-may]

Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just A Best Friend (HERO-Centric OMORI fanfiction)

Description: While playing "Mom Friend" to his college buddies' shenanigans, Hero is shocked to learn that he is widely considered the "Prince" of their campus. Though flattered, he doesn't feel he deserves the praise, especially seeing as his heart still missed the best friend and childhood love he had lost far too soon. He would always miss her and simply couldn't imagine being with anyone else...but that didn't mean he wasn't lonely. Even self-imposed loneliness wasn't free from sadness. When an unexpected conversation drudges up bittersweet memories for him, however, Hero begins to wonder if he doesn't have to be nearly as lonely anymore. He might not be ready for love, but a best friend didn't sound too bad...

Relationships: Hero & Brandi [Intimidating Girl] Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship, Past Romantic Hero/Mari, Romantic Brandi/OC, Could be Hero/OC if you really wanted to see it/imagine it happening after the slowest of slow burns, but this is more about their platonic friendship and is very heavy on the past Hero/Mari angst. Mentioned Hero & Kel and Brandi & Bebe's sibling relationships and Bebe/Mikhael.

Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Original Characters, Mari's Memory, Mentioned Kel, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

Word Count: 7,779

Rating: T for some heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying) Some language.

Warnings: Major Spoilers for OMORI! Heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another website. All other interaction (likes, reblogs ect.) appreciated!

A/N: This story (including it's title) was heavily inspired by the song "Turning Out" by AJR (which is just a shot to the heart when thinking of poor Hero 🥺❤️ Highly recommend), and this "Hero's Life After Mari" Universe was co-created by @randomsprinkles. Full story text below the cut.

Thank you so much for reading and cheers to good & happy things for Hero in the future! 💕

“You know, sometimes I think Kel is fine, but then yesterday he called to tell me he ate a whole can of spray cheese”—Hero sighed and shook his head—"nothing with it just the spray cheese…” He shrugged his shoulders, and Brandi laughed. Swapping stories about their siblings was one of their favorite activities—especially at these wilder college parties where they tended to gravitate towards each other in want of a familiar face and company that wasn’t completely wasted. Even though Faraway Town was small, and he had known Brandi nearly his entire life, they hadn’t really become friends until college and the hours they spent together reminiscing about home or making each other laugh with stories about Bebe’s hopeless lovesickness or Kel’s well-meaning but often silly antics. It was a relief to have a friend and a familiar face around, and Hero could never quite tell her how much that meant to him.

“Well, that’s nothing. Bebe is still lovesick over that moron who wears that ridiculous wig and calls himself ‘The Maverick,’” huffed Brandi. “How many times do you think he’s seen Top Gun? I’m guessing at least fifty, possibly a hundred.” As Hero stifled a chuckle, Brandi rolled her eyes as she leaned her elbows on the kitchen counter and poured herself another glass of something, Hero wasn’t entirely sure what and he didn’t ask. He had learned it was better not to.

“Well…his family does run the best bakery in Faraway Town, and—” Hero stopped. He was going to mention how Aubrey had been good friends with Mikhael for quite a while, but then he realized she probably had even less positive things to say about him than Brandi did. 

“I guess, but that’s just his family, and even if they’re great, he’s just…”—she paused as if searching for the right word—“a bozo. I just can’t believe she’d throw away her future for some guy like that. She says she wants to go to pastry school now so she can work in the bakery. She doesn’t even bake! You just wait until Kel starts dating,” she warned with a heavy sigh. “He’ll be driving you up the wall.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Hero chuckled. Truthfully, he was a little surprised that hadn’t happened yet, but Kel didn’t seem particularly interested in a romantic relationship right now, which Hero could respect. He certainly felt the same way himself, though for different reasons, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away and buried them, changing the subject. “Speaking of dating, how are things going with you and C.J.?”

Brandi’s mouth twitched into a slight smile. “Checking up on your handiwork, matchmaker?” she teased dryly.

Hero’s face felt a bit flushed. That hadn’t been his intention, but he fidgeted.  “Are you upset that I set you up?”

“You didn’t set us up. You just…talked him up to me until I finally agreed to go out with him, there’s a difference,” Brandi insisted, and Hero chuckled. He supposed that was true. C.J. was one of Hero’s friends from his fraternity, and he had had the most obvious yet sincere interest in Brandi ever since they were paired up for a legal research course project. Hero had thought they had a lot in common—spirited personalities, strong sense of justice, same Pre-Law major and aspirations to become attorneys someday, and, though he usually tried to stay out of his friends’ business especially their love lives, C.J. had begged him to put in a good word for him so she wouldn’t see him as just another dumb, partying frat boy.

Hero couldn’t blame Brandi for her trepidation around fraternity guys. They didn’t have the best reputation, and if Hero was being honest, he likely would have tried to avoid them himself if he hadn’t been forcibly dragged…er…recruited into a fraternity last pledge term. He would say it was a long story, but it really wasn’t. They needed someone to cook and to clean around their garbage heap of a frat house—a “Mama,” as they quickly deemed him—and Hero was too polite and conflict-avoidant to refuse when Kyle, a sports medicine major in his organic chemistry class, practically begged him to pledge for his frat. His harrowing tale of how they had eaten practically nothing but instant ramen every day for the past year was really the final straw. Now he cooked not only for the fraternity but also for all their guests when they had parties since keeping everyone fed and hydrated with water when they were binge drinking resulted in less vomiting on the carpet and less passing out on the living room rug or in the yard.

That was what he was doing now, after all, making sandwiches on the stove, handing out glasses of water, and keeping an eye on the dwindling bottles of booze. He handed Brandi the grilled cheese he had been making for her with a smile, and Brandi hummed. “Thank you. And thank you for setting me up too, I guess. It’s nice not to be hit on all the time anymore. It was getting pretty annoying.” She laughed, playing with the red glow stick bracelet on her wrist, and Hero chuckled in spite of himself before she quickly added, “I’m really just teasing. C.J.’s a great guy, and we are very happy, so I really do owe you one.”

Hero smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He was glad to help, and it was honestly really nice having Brandi around more often. She cleaned up after herself at least.

“If you ever want me to return the favor, just let me know. I know a ton of girls who would kill to go out with you.”—she laughed as Hero blushed—“I’m pretty sure you’re like the prince of our campus.”

Hero’s face burned. He was sure it must be bright red by now. It wasn’t the first time he had heard that, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but he never could take a good compliment, even a joking one. “I’m sure that’s not…” he mumbled, but his voice trailed off as he grew suddenly interested in the spatula in his hands. He shook his head and ignored the heat in his cheeks as he changed directions. “Thank you…that’s very flattering, but um…I’m just…I’m not…It’s…” He began to trip over his words, unsure of what exactly he wanted to say, but Brandi thankfully cut him off with a tilt of her head and a knowing, sympathetic smile.

“It’s complicated?” She finished for him, pointing at the yellow glow stick on his wrist. He always picked ‘It’s Complicated’ yellow for these kinds of traffic light parties. It was just the easiest—saved him from the awkwardness of being flirted with and having to turn people down while also not lying that he was in a relationship already.

Hero nodded, and Brandi patted his hand with a soft, bittersweet expression and a knowing smile. She leaned closer to him so no one would hear her whisper, “Your heart’s still with her, isn’t it?”

Something panged in that all too familiar ache in Hero’s chest. He supposed that was one way of putting it. It wasn’t something he ever really talked about, but he supposed it was no secret that he had not had a relationship with anyone since Mari. The truth was, even if he had wanted one—even if he could move on from her, he didn’t think it would be fair—not to Mari’s memory or to whoever he could be with. He had already had a beautiful love story and, even though it was cut short, he felt that to even wish for anything more would be greedy and ungrateful for the time that he and Mari did have together. That said, doubt occasionally set in that that was a bit of an unreasonable notion all things considered—he had been only fifteen when she had passed and had his whole life ahead of him. In the deepest corners of his mind, he knew she would probably want him to move on and be happy again, but at the same time even if he could someday be ready to open up his heart again, he worried that he would never be able to give that other person the love she deserved. He would never be able to say that she was the one and only love of his life and would never be able to tell her that he had never felt this way about anyone. He would always miss Mari, and, now, the only heart he had to give had already been broken and painfully pieced back together. It was so busted and bruised that, if he was being perfectly honest, he had trouble believing that anyone would even want it.

“Hero…”

“It’s okay,” he cut her off with a slight, reassuring smile, and Brandi smiled back. “I’m okay.”

Brandi nodded. “I understand,” she said with a sigh before taking a sip of her drink. “But if you ever change your mind…if you’re ever ready…you know where to find me, and I know where to find a ton of girls who would definitely be interested.” She winked at him, and he playfully rolled his eyes though he scratched the back of his neck when he felt an arm drape around his shoulders.

“What’s going on?” exclaimed Kyle, his voice already starting to slur from too much liquor.

“Brandi’s trying to set me up,” sighed Hero in a dry, somewhat joking way.

Kyle burst into raucous laughter. “Good luck with that. We’ve been trying too—since I’m pretty sure there’s not a girl on this campus who wouldn’t date our very own ‘Prince Charming,’ here, but he’s practicing to be a monk or something.”

“Well, you know, Kyle, it is possible not to have a relationship—it won’t kill you,” bantered Brandi with a frown.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Kyle stuck his tongue out at her. “I know you think I’m a serial optometrist.”

“Monogamist,” corrected Brandi, as Hero covered his mouth with his hand and tried not to laugh. “How drunk are you?”

Kyle hummed, kind of teetering in place. “I dunno.” He turned to Hero. “Mama, how drunk am I?”

Hero sighed, reaching to pour Kyle what was clearly a much needed glass of water. “Here,” he said, avoiding the question. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

Kyle nodded and gulped down the water. Hero must have refilled his glass at least twice more, before Kyle leaned his elbows on the counter and asked for a BLT which Hero promptly went to work making. “Thanks. Look, I love my relationships. I just don’t want my friends missing out, you know? And hell, if I was that popular, I’d probably be taking full advantage of it—most guys would. Mama here is an actual saint.”

Hero’s face flushed red, but before he could begin to protest, Brandi interjected with a huffy, “I’m sure you would Kyle” conveniently ignoring his comments about Hero’s supposed sainthood. Her brow furrowed—her eyes narrowing at the green glow stick bracelet on Kyle’s wrist. “I see you’re on the market again. What happened to Tiffany?”

“Eh, didn’t work out,” shrugged Kyle. “We were too different.”

“Realized you didn’t have anything in common besides your love of sucking face?” quipped Brandi sarcastically. Kyle rolled his eyes.

“No,” he insisted, but then sighed. “Alright…sort of…but there were more problems than that.” He sighed. “You know…never mind. I didn’t come over here to talk about Tiffany.” He waved his hand dismissively before his face lit up like a little kid on Christmas. “I wanted to tell you guys, there’s this whole group of girls hanging out in the living room, and they think I look like Nick Carter.”

“How drunk are they?” scoffed Brandi.

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, I’ve always thought I looked like him. You think so, don’t you, Hero?”

Hero tilted his head. He supposed he could kind of see it. They had similarly shaped noses, heart-shaped faces, pale skin, light eyes, and blonde hair; however, the trait they had most in common was that curtain bangs haircut, and Hero was fairly certain Kyle had purposely styled his hair that way just to look like he could be in a boy band. Even so, he shrugged and said, “Yeah. You’re practically the sixth Backstreet Boy.”

“See,” he turned to Brandi with a triumphant huff, almost like the satisfied taunt a young boy might give his little sister. Hero chuckled lightly to himself. It reminded him a bit of Kel.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Brandi insisted. “Hero would say anything just to be nice.”

Hero’s face flushed. He hoped he wouldn’t get pulled back into this argument, but luckily Kyle didn’t seem to hear her, instead insisting, “And here I was going to say I think you look like Celine Dion, but now that you’ve been so rude to me, I don’t think I’ll say anything.”

“I don’t look like Celine Dion, Kyle.” Brandi shook her head before taking a sip of her drink.

“Aw, I think you kinda look like Celine Dion, babe,” C.J. interjected draping an arm around his girlfriend.

“Thanks, but I really don’t…” Brandi sighed, but C.J. cut her off.

“And I always thought I kinda look like Usher but with glasses.”

“Not you too…” she teased though there was a certain affection in her eyes and a twitch in the corners of her mouth. “What is it with guys comparing themselves to celebrities? I honestly thought that was just a girl thing.”

C.J. pouted playfully. “What? You don’t think I look like Usher?”

Once again, Hero could kind of see the similarities—oval shaped faces, wide cheekbones, warm eyes, dark skin, and bright, beaming smiles. They looked about as much alike as Kyle and Nick Carter though he wasn’t sure that was saying much, especially coming from him. Brandi, it seemed, was unconvinced.

“I think you look like C.J.” she said quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m not sure I know that celebrity,” he teased wrapping his arms around her neck. “Is he handsome?”

Brandi stifled a chuckle but playfully, pretended to ponder the question before finally meeting his gaze. “Yes.”

C.J.’s face lit up into that beaming, 100-watt smile as he looked into her eyes. Hero recognized that look, like Brandi was the only one in the room and they were lost in their own little corner of the world. She ruffled her hand through his tight curls, and he leaned in and kissed her.

“Get a room you two,” teased Kyle sticking his tongue out at them. With a flick of his finger, C.J. promptly told Kyle exactly what he thought of his comments before he cupped Brandi’s face in his hands.

With a bantering shake of his head, Kyle stared down at his green glow stick bracelet like it was watch. Hero turned away abruptly, his face feeling warm as if he had intruded on what should be a very private moment.

Truthfully, despite the awkwardness he currently felt at their extremely public display of affection, he really was happy for them—for all of his friends who wanted relationships and had found them. If he was being honest with himself, however, it did bring up some complicated feelings for him sometimes—made him feel lonely. It was a self-imposed loneliness, but that didn’t mean it was always free from sadness. He glanced down at the yellow glow stick on his wrist. The truth was it wasn’t all that complicated. Even after all these years, he still missed Mari, and he knew he would always miss her. It wouldn’t be fair to pursue anyone else while he felt this way—to put his new love in a situation where she’d feel like a second choice or a last resort, so he contented himself with being alone, probably forever. A bittersweet smile tugged at his mouth. Maybe he’d get a cat… he thought before turning his focus to making Kyle’s sandwich.  

As he added the finishing touches to Kyle’s BLT, Brandi finally disentangled herself from her boyfriend. “We’re making Kyle and Hero uncomfortable,” she said, but C.J. shrugged, draping an arm around her shoulders.

“Eh, they’re just jealous.” He stuck out his tongue at Kyle, who stuck his tongue out back. Hero sighed. It was very juvenile, but he still chuckled in spite of himself.

“Hey! I’m glad I’m not tied down,” Kyle insisted with a dismissive wave of his hand as he took a bite out of the sandwich Hero gave him.

Brandi frowned. “Tell me, Kyle. Have you ever had a relationship with a woman that lasted more than two weeks?”

“Yes!” He nodded emphatically. “With Zuzu.” He paused then called as loudly as he could out onto the patio. “Hey, Zuzu! Come tell these morons how long we’ve been friends.”

A redheaded girl in an oversized sweater whipped around with a somewhat affectionate if bantering roll of her green eyes. “Too long,” she quipped, wrinkling her lightly freckled nose at them, as she walked through the sliding door back into the kitchen.

“You wound me, Zuzu,” Kyle gasped in teasing melodrama, clutching his chest. “What were you doing outside anyway? Aren’t you usually glued to Mama at these things?”

“Because he’s the only sober person here,” she teased, but she smiled at him.  Hero’s face flushed. It was true that Zuzu, or Zoey as she was called by everyone who wasn’t Kyle, was generally his ‘partner in crime’ at all parties hosted by his fraternity or her sorority—spending the night helping him in the kitchen or passing out cups of water to the groups of plastered college students mingling around the house, and often helping with cleanup and dishes afterwards. Truthfully, he enjoyed her company and the conversations they had—talking and laughing for hours while making food, cleaning up or doing dishes together. Though he always felt guilty about putting a guest to work at his party, she always insisted she had a much better time spending the evening with a friend than she would have getting drunk and partying. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He felt the same way. 

“Like you haven’t had a thing to drink,” retorted Kyle, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and staring down into her cup. Zoey merely blinked at him.

“I haven’t. I have a thermodynamics exam on Monday and need to study tomorrow.” She always blamed her aversion to drinking on her difficult civil engineering major, but Hero knew she just didn’t care for drunk partying. Now that Hero was thinking about it, Zoey blamed a lot of things on her difficult civil engineering major—not least of all the red glow stick on her wrist despite being contentedly single. “Married to school,” she always joked, and Hero often joked the same thing.

“But that’s tomorrow,” Kyle whined.“You and Mama are both such old people.” He stuck his tongue out at them, but Zoey just shrugged with a lopsided smile.

“Old people have more fun. You’ll understand someday, Kyle.”

Hero stifled a chuckle behind his hand, before turning his attention back to the stove.

“Brandi and C.J., back me up here,” Kyle sighed, but when he turned around he realized they had gone, probably to continue their PDA somewhere a little more private, if Hero had to guess, but he didn’t really want to think about it. Kyle huffed. “Whatever. Be boring old grandparents together, I don’t care. You’re the ones missing out.” He grabbed his cup, a beer, and the rest of his sandwich, leaving them in the kitchen alone.

“Don’t mind Kyle,” said Zoey with a shake of her head. “He can be such a moron sometimes, but he’s a nice guy, even if he acts like a kid especially when he’s drunk…But I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.”

A slight smile tugged at Hero’s mouth. He had been roommates with Kyle for over a year now, and he could definitely attest to that.

“We’ve already hit ‘Touchy-Feely Drunk Kyle’”—Zoey tilted her head at him—“How hungover do you think he’ll be tomorrow?”

Hero quickly stifled a breathy chuckle, but he sighed. “I don’t know. He always thinks he can drink a lot more than he can handle.”

Zoey’s mouth twitched into a dry smile. “I bet you’re an expert on nursing hangovers now. It’s a shame that can’t go on your med school application.”

Hero laughed but immediately felt guilty for it.

“Give him one of those sports drinks with breakfast tomorrow—it’ll help. I keep a ton of them in our fridge back at the sorority house for when the girls go out partying or bar hopping.”

“You really are the mom, huh?” Hero replied dryly, and though Zoey smiled, she raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re one to talk.”  

Hero shrugged. He supposed she had a point and not just because she was currently holding his “World’s Best Mama” mug with a dry yet triumphant smile.

“Well,” sighed Zoey gathering up some more of the dirty dishes scattered around the kitchen. “Since you’ll probably be pretty busy playing nurse tomorrow, we should probably get started on the clean-up tonight.” She looked around the room with narrowed green eyes. “It looks like a tornado stormed through here.”

With a weary sigh, Hero rubbed his forehead. Unfortunately, she was right. Given the sorry state of the kitchen alone, to say that the party had trashed their place would be a bit of an understatement. It would probably take hours to clean everything up—to say nothing of the several hours of cleaning Hero had already done to prepare for the party in the first place. Hero supposed he could do most of the deep cleaning in the morning when some of his fraternity brothers might be awake to help out, if they weren’t too hungover that is, but, truthfully, he wouldn’t mind cleaning up on his own—after all, he did most of the cleaning around here anyway.

With a sigh, Hero conceded that Zoey was probably right and he might as well start cleaning now. He reached out to take the mug and the rest of the dishes from Zoey and turned on the sink to begin to rinse them out. Hero shook his head. If he had a nickel for every minute he spent doing dishes in this house…

He felt a nudge on his elbow as Zoey joined him, rinsing off some of the plates she had gathered from the table.

“You really don’t have to do that,” he insisted.

“And leave you to clean everything up by yourself?” She paused but not long enough for him to even begin to protest. “I’ve been there—it’s no fun at all.”

“We got our dishwasher fixed,” Hero sighed with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“Then this won’t take that long,” she continued. “All we’ll have to do is rinse them off.” She pointed a sponge at him with a certain determination in her green eyes that said this sorry excuse for an argument was over, and Hero knew she was right. 

No matter how guilty he may have felt about putting a guest and a friend to work cleaning up his house, he was compliant and conflict avoidant by nature and had no stamina for arguing. She had insisted she wanted to help, and goodness knows he could use an extra set of hands. He would ultimately concede and even though she would insist it was unnecessary, later this week, he’d send her a thank you card with a plate of her favorite cookies or some flowers—or a more thoughtful gift if he could think of one. The last time she had helped him clean up after a party, he had bought her a set of Papa Chip coasters since, while they were doing dishes for hours by hand on account of the then broken dishwasher, they had somehow started talking about how they had both loved Papa Chip back when they were kids.

“And you don’t have to send me any coasters this time,” she teased, and Hero’s cheeks felt suddenly warm, wondering if she could somehow read his mind. “Not that they’re not great,” she added hurriedly. “You’re very thoughtful, but you really don’t have to do that.”

Hero’s face flushed red—he never could take a compliment—but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I know, but I felt bad and…”

“Well don’t,” she interrupted. “We’re friends, and I don’t mind helping you out. Besides, a bunch of my sorority sisters were giving me dirty looks for about a week until I lied and told everyone they were from Jared. I don’t know if they really bought it or just got over it.”  

Hero’s brow furrowed. He supposed those coaters could be a gift someone’s younger brother would get for them—after all, Kel had gotten him a Papa Chip cookbook “just because,” once—but he wasn’t sure why Zoey had felt the need to lie to the other girls in the sorority house. “I’m sorry if I upset the other girls or made them angry with you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Zoey shrugged it off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “They’re just jealous that we’re actually friends.” She sighed. “I’ve tried to tell them that you’re actually pretty friendly and nice, so they could be friends with you too if they started treating you like an actual person instead of some kind of ‘Campus Prince.’”—she shook her head—“But I don’t think it’s been working.”

Hero blushed. Though he found it very flattering, he still couldn’t wrap his head around how he could have possibly become some sort of ‘Prince’ of their campus in the minds of so many girls.

“You should tell them I’m kind of a dork…” Hero sighed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

“I tried that too,” she bantered. “But they didn’t believe me.”

Hero laughed, but his smile quickly faded. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop sending you things.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she repeated, a little more forcefully. “They need to get over themselves. I’m honestly kind of sick of the Hero fan club that goes on in our house.”

Hero’s face felt suddenly warm, and he resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. “Fan club?” he choked.

“Yes. You, Mr. Prince, are always the hot topic of conversation,” she teased with a lopsided smile. “If you asked practically anyone, they’d say you are probably the perfect man—even my sister who has this awful obsession with bad boys thinks so, which is really saying a lot.” She paused, and Hero stifled a chuckle. Zoey’s twin sister, Lorraine, was a sweet and bubbly girl despite her terrible taste in boyfriends, a topic often bemoaned by both Zoey and Kyle. A slight tint of pink flushed in his cheeks, he supposed it really was quite the compliment coming from her. “And it doesn’t help that you’re so mysterious.”

“I don’t think I’m mysterious,” Hero chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.

“I know, you’re not,” Zoey cut him off with a reassuring smile. “And I’ve tried to explain that to them multiple times, but they don’t really listen to me since they’re convinced I’m trying to steal you away.”

A blush filled his cheeks, and he turned away from her abruptly. “What?”

“You know, the idea of men and women just being friends, is a little beyond them, I think,” she quipped. “It’s ridiculous, but can you blame them? I mean in their minds you’re a real life ‘Prince Charming,’ and even though you’re interested in women and could have pretty much any girl in the universe you wanted, you’re really, really single.” She chuckled, as Hero buried his face in his hands. He could almost picture that bright, cheeky grin on her face, though he wouldn’t—no, couldn’t turn to look at her again. “You’ve got to be hung up on somebody, otherwise why haven’t you chosen from the hoards of adoring women who would kill to be with you?”

Hero’s face grew hot. He was sure it must be bright red by now. “Zoey…”

“It’s a big topic of conversation is all I’m saying.”

Finally, Hero managed to pull his hands away from his face, if only because his eyes were beginning to burn from the soapy dishwater. “Can you please tell them that I’m very flattered,” he stumbled, still blushing furiously. “But I’m just so busy with school that I’m just not…really looking for a relationship right now?”

Zoey shrugged. “Tried and failed, but I’d be happy to tell them again. Don’t expect them to believe me though. At this point, everybody’s making up their own theories.”

“Theories?” Hero choked.

“You know you have your normal ones like you’re too busy for a relationship or you had a bad relationship in the past and just aren’t ready to put yourself back out there again. Then there are the ones that you actually already have a relationship, but you’re very private about it so no one has ever seen or heard of her. There are a couple of wild ones in this category like she’s a celebrity so you have to keep it a secret so the press doesn’t find out and you end up in a tabloid.” She winked at him. “Just like in a movie.”  

“You are making this up.”

Zoey shook her head. “No, I swear I’ve heard that one, and that’s not even the craziest one. I’ve also heard a rumor that you’ve been promised in an arranged marriage since birth so that you can take over as the CEO of a toaster strudel empire. And, of course, my personal favorite: that you have an eccentric billionaire uncle who wants you to inherit his vast fortune but only on the condition that you remain a reclusive bachelor just like him.”  

Hero laughed in spite of himself. “That’s—none of those are true…” He cleared his throat. “Except the first one about me being too busy.”

“I know, and that’s what I always say. Everybody keeps coming to me and asking about it like I have some secret, inside knowledge or something, but I have a theory just like everybody else,” she joked waving her hand dismissively.

“You have a theory?”

Zoey stopped but shrugged. “I mean…not one that I just sit around and think about, but you can only be asked the same question so many times before you start thinking…” Her voice trailed. “It’s not one I ever tell anyone,” she insisted. “If anyone asks me, I always tell them exactly what you just said, which is that you’re flattered but too focused on school and your future to worry about a relationship right now.”

“Then what’s your theory?” he asked half-jokingly, half-actually-interested.

“You really want to know?”

Hero put down the plate he was scrubbing and shrugged. “Kind of.”

Zoey paused, and when she sighed, Hero fidgeted. “But you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,” he hurriedly added.

“No, I…” She stopped though there was the slightest tint of rose in her pale cheeks. “But it’s just a theory. I don’t want to offend you or…”

Hero’s brow furrowed. Offend him? What in the world could she possibly be thinking? His breath caught in his throat. She couldn’t…know…could she?

“I won’t be offended,” he reassured her quietly, but his heart was beginning to pound. “Do you…not believe me? Because it really is true. I’m very busy with school and—”

“No. It’s…it’s not like that,” she cut him off with a sigh as she placed her sponge on the counter. “I really do think that you are very busy with school—studying for your classes and the MCAT and all of that. You just don’t have the time or energy for a relationship right now, but…I don’t think that means you don’t want one.” Zoey paused, her voice growing quiet, and she met his eyes. “I think you do want a relationship—otherwise you wouldn’t be so lonely.”

Hero inhaled sharply—his breath getting caught in his chest. Biting his lip, he looked away from her, staring down at his trembling hands. He wanted to hide—curl in on himself—maybe figure out a way to laugh it off like Kel or Kyle might be able to do, but he was frozen, shocked. Of all the things she could have possibly…? No, that wasn’t the question. The real question gnawing at him was had it really been so obvious?

“Hero?” He could hear the concern in her voice, but he wouldn’t—couldn’t look at her. “Listen, I can just…stop there…”  

“Is there more?” The question slipped out before he could stop it.

Zoey sighed. “Yes, but I feel bad. I can…”

“Go on,” Hero squeaked, barely managing a nod.

Zoey sighed again, and Hero wasn’t sure if she was even going to continue until she finally said, “But…the thing is…you don’t just want a relationship with just anyone. You—you want a relationship with someone you can never be with. And even though you know your love is doomed…”—she paused—“you gave your heart to her a long time ago and you can’t even imagine being with anyone else.”

Something ached in Hero’s chest. Somehow he knew that was what she was going to say, but he had to hear it for himself. He wished he could sink into the floor, could hide from her, from his memories, from himself again. And yet…there was a part of him that didn’t want to.

“Wow…” he barely managed, after a long, heavy silence.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” he quietly interjected, his voice hitching. “That was…pretty spot on actually…”

“Oh Hero…” Zoey sighed. “I’m sorry…I…”  

“Don’t be.” He fiddled with the sponge in his hands, and after a few intense scrubs at a particularly stubborn stain, he finally added as nonchalantly as he could manage. “I asked, and you were right…”

“I didn’t want to be right about this.”

Hero bit down hard on his lip as something burned behind his eyes. Scratching the nape of his neck, he let out a breathy, self-deprecating chuckle. “I guess I had just hoped that it wasn’t so obvious that I was so sad and pathetic...”

“I don’t think you’re pathetic.”

Truthfully, he hadn’t realized that he had even said those words aloud until she had spoken them back to him.

“And I don’t think it’s obvious—except to your close friends maybe?” She paused, sighing and placing a gentle hand on his arm. “She must have been special and very important to you. I think it’s sweet that you’re still devoted to her and there isn’t anything wrong with that, unless, you know, she’s married or something, in which case…”—she began to quip breathily, probably in an attempt to make him smile again—“but I don’t think you’re the type…”

Hero’s mouth twitched in the corners, but the ghost of his smile faded as he shook his head. “No, she…uh…” The words caught in the back of his throat. “She passed away.”

“Oh Hero, I’m so sorry.” Zoey wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. He took a deep shaky breath, staring up at the ceiling ignoring that prickling feeling in his eyes. When she pulled away from him, he somehow managed the slightest twitch in the corners of his mouth.

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago…” He wasn’t sure if his weak reassurances were for her or for himself. “I should probably be over it by now.”

As he couldn’t bear to look at her, he could only imagine what her face looked like right now. He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it. “I’m—I’m sorry,” he spluttered. “I’m sorry for making you sad. I—”

“No,” Zoey cut him off. “You didn’t make me sad. Hero…if you want to talk about it, you can tell me. I’m your friend—I care about you.” She paused, and Hero bit his lip. He could feel her gentle hand running comfortingly across his shoulders. “You’re not going to hurt me. I can take it.”

Hero finally breathed—a long deep exhale of the breath he had been holding for far too long. She had no idea how reassuring those words were. Still…try as he might, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her. He opened his mouth, but the words got garbled in the back of his throat.

“Take your time,” she whispered.

After several deep breaths he finally choked out, “Her name was Mari.” His voice hitched, then the words began to tumble out of his mouth. “She lived next door for as long as I can remember, and I…I always thought she was just the most amazing person. She was smart and funny and very talented—she was wonderful at arts and crafts and gardening and a really gifted pianist. We even used to play together sometimes, and she was so kind and very generous—she was always going out of her way to help someone and make them happy. And when she smiled”—his voice cracked—”You would have thought the sun shined brighter.”

He paused, sniffled. “I think I loved her before I even knew what that was…And I couldn’t believe it when she felt the same way about me.” As a bittersweet smile tugged at his lips, his eyes grew misty. “We were high school sweethearts, until she died.” He swallowed hard—that familiar, hollow pang in his chest ached.

“We were 15. It’s kind of a long story but…at the time, we didn’t know how she died. We thought—I thought—she had ended her own life”—he inhaled sharply, shakily, unable to stop the words even if he wanted to—“It was probably the darkest time of my life. I was a wreck, and I blamed myself. I…I didn’t even know she was depressed. I thought if I had just talked to her—had just held her tighter, just loved her more—better then maybe she…” He stopped. Blinking back the tears in his eyes, he sniffled and cleared his throat. “But it was an accident. There were…witnesses…we found out later. She—she had a bad knee, you see, and…and she fell down the stairs…landed wrong and…” He stopped abruptly. “You—You’d think learning that would make the guilt go away but it…”

Hero swallowed hard, but he managed a shaky sigh. “But…But with time…eventually I just…threw myself into school and work and extra-curriculars. My parents had always wanted me to be a doctor, and all I could see was years of school, years of residency, long hours of studying and clinicals and work and I thought I could just bury myself in it—stay so busy that I wouldn’t feel it anymore, but it doesn’t ever really go away.”

He sniffled and wiped his eyes again with a shaky chuckle. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but I…I’m usually pretty okay. It’s been so many years now, and it doesn’t hurt like it used to. But…but sometimes I’ll see a wave of dark hair or hear a name that sounds like hers or someone playing a waltz on a piano or our song on the radio and”—his voice hitched—“I just don’t know if I’m ever really going to be over it.”  

He swallowed hard. “And you’re right. I can’t even imagine being with anyone else. It wouldn’t be fair—to her, to that person, I mean. What if—I couldn’t love her as much? And you know, I think maybe we all get that ‘once in a lifetime’ love in our lives and I’ve already had mine. It would be greedy to even want anything else. But…but mostly I think it’s just that I wanted to be with her forever, and”—there was a hitch in his voice as tears began to pool in his eyes again—“even now, all these years later, I guess I…I just still don’t know what forever looks like without her.”

A tear finally struggled free from his eye and splashed down his cheek, followed by another, then another. Hero frantically swiped at them, but they wouldn’t stop. Zoey’s arms wrapped around his shoulders again, and she pulled him close.

He wasn’t sure how long she held him. How long he listened to the sound of her steady breathing, felt her hand gently tangling in the hair at the base of his neck. How long it was until she whispered, “I wish you had gotten your forever…”

It wasn’t until he felt the tremble of her shoulders, heard the way her voice had hitched over her words that he realized she was also crying.

He pulled away from her and finally looked in her green eyes—warm and teary. Hero swallowed hard. He had never learned what to say to someone who was crying for him. “Please don’t cry.”  

“Sorry,” she said with the twitch of a bittersweet smile. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything,” he began to ramble. “I just—I…I really should be over it and I just completely dumped all of that on you and I was so…”—he struggled to find the words—“weepy and melodramatic and needy and…”

“No,” she gently cut him off. “You were real. Don’t apologize for that.” She wiped her eyes, and her expression softened. “Hero, what happened was so awful, and the idea of you having to go through something like that, it just—” She stopped. “That’s why I cried. You didn’t hurt me. I told you I can take it, and I’m okay.” She sighed. “And you know for what it’s worth, I think the whole idea of ‘getting over it’ is bullshit. There are some things in our lives that we’ll just never get over. We can get past them, but they’re still going to be there—we just have to learn to build a new life around them, so don’t beat yourself up. You’re still entitled to feel sad. Heck, you’d be entitled to never leave your room again after something like that, but here you are, out living your life, so give yourself a break, okay?” She nodded at him with a slight, reassuring smile before she patted his hand. “And for goodness sakes, stop worrying about me of all people. You don’t have to be the hero all the time. I know it’s your name, but…you don’t have to take it too literally.”  

A light chuckle reverberated in his chest, and a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. Before he could say anything, however, Kyle burst through the patio door.

“Woah…what’s goin’ on?” He stopped abruptly, and his expression softened. “Are you okay?”

Flushing, Hero swallowed hard nodding and sniffling as he frantically wiped at his eyes. He had completely forgotten himself and couldn’t believe he had just shared what was arguably his biggest, deepest secret in the middle of a house party.

Zoey thankfully jumped to his rescue with a remarkably believable, “We were doing dishes, and poor Hero got some dish soap in his eyes. We’ve been trying to rinse them out, but they got all watery.”

Though it took a few moments, Kyle eventually nodded in understanding. “Oh. That sucks, man,” he said patting him on the back. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Hero managed a slight smile but shook his head. “No, Kyle. Thanks, but it’s okay. I’m fine.”

Kyle nodded again, but Hero saw him glance over at Zoey as if waiting for additional reassurance or instructions. When she nodded at him, Kyle sighed. “Alright, well if you need anything let me know, okay?”

Hero nodded at him then handed him a glass of water. Kyle took it with a smile then walked off towards the living room. When he was gone, Hero sniffled again and turned back to Zoey, sheepish and embarrassed.

“Zoey, I’m sor—” he began to apologize again, but she cut him off.

“No. None of that, Henry,” she insisted with a pointed emphasis on his real name. He could tell she was trying her best not to smile as she said it, probably strange and unnatural for her, if Hero had to guess. It was strange and unnatural for him too. No one ever called him that, ever. He had, of course, told her that she could if she wanted, but she never had—not until now that is. Hero’s eyes widened. Strangely enough, he felt a smile tugging at his mouth and the light flutter of a chuckle reverberating in his chest listening to her say it.

“I’m serious. I’m going to keep calling you that until you stop that,” she insisted. “Stop being a ‘Hero’—stop worrying about everybody else for just a second. It won’t kill you to be a little selfish for once…and it’ll honestly make the rest of us look better,” she quipped with a slight smile, clearly trying to brighten his mood.

It worked. His mouth twitched into a small smile as he replied dryly, “I’m sorry. I’ll try…”

“Good,” she said, but her expression softened as she reached out her hand to him. “But really…how are you? What do you need? What makes you happy when you feel like this?”

Hero shrugged his shoulders. If he was being honest, he didn’t know—even after all these years, he didn’t know, but… just having someone there, having someone listen to him…he already felt better. His face softened, and he felt something warm spreading through his chest as he met her kind eyes.

“Maybe a hero sandwich?” he shrugged his shoulders with a gentle smile, and her face brightened.

She gently nudged him in the arm before playfully taking his spatula. “Great,” she said. “I’ll make you one.”

[justsomeno1s]

BasilKel Swap Prologue Part 2

VAST FOREST PLAYGROUND

Basil breathed deeply, seemingly brightening as the group crawled out from under the stump.

“It’s so nice to get some fresh air, isn’t it?” He said, already smiling.

Hero chuckled, shaking his head fondly. “To quote Kel from this morning, ‘gotta love that nature.’” Basil giggled. “Hmm… Aubrey’s taking a while, isn’t she?”

As if on cue, her voice yelled from inside the stump. “Hey!! Wait a sec!!”

Turning back revealed Aubrey halfway out of the stump, leg stuck in place.

“Help me up guys! My foot’s stuck!” She said looking about as furious at a tree as a 12 year old could get.

“Oh! Hang on Aubrey, I’ll help!” Basil rushed over, pulling on her arms without hesitation. He strained as hard as he could, before falling backwards, Aubrey still firmly stuck. “Urf! S-sorry!”

“What the heck!? Did someone put glue down or something? Omori, get me out of here!” Aubrey grumbled.

Basil winced. “Sorry…” he muttered, shrinking into himself as Omori stepped past. The monochrome boy pocketed his knife, and grabbed onto her arms, yanking Aubrey out without issue.

“Hmph! Stupid tree!” She huffed, giving it a whack with Mr. Plantegg for good measure, then walking over to the others.

“I’m sure the stump didn’t mean it, Aubrey,” Hero said. She rolled her eyes.

‘Do you want to build sand castles with your friends?’

Basil drew in the sand as Omori and Aubrey worked on their castles. Hero sat on the dock, kicking his feet in the water.

Slowly but surely, Aubrey’s castle took the shape of a tall spire, Omori’s taking on a familiar cat statue, and Basil’s swirling patterns stretched out, spiraling and expanding across the sand.

‘Your creations may be fated to fade with the tide, but this memory will live on within you.’

Hero lost his balance as he stepped back onto the sand, tripping and destroying half of Basil’s art. He sputtered as he stood up, Basil and Aubrey both laughing at the sand on his face and in his hair.

‘Well, either the tide or Hero.’

FOREST PLAYGROUND

Omori looked over the playground as the four approached their destination, taking in the familiar swing set and slide already in use by other kids. He glanced at the nearby signboard for a second, catching sight of a colorful paper- 'Is that Berly's "No BOSS Zone" poster?'- but before he could get any closer, someone called out to them.

"OVER HERE, GUYS!!"

At the edge of the park, sitting on a familiar gingham blanket, Mari and Kel had been looking at a shiny thing the brunet was holding, talking to each other quietly; But after Kel spotted them, he shot to his feet, yelling and waving wildly with his free hand.

Kel wearing his favorite t-shirt and shorts. The shirt was clearly a hand-me-down from Hero, as it was at least two sizes too big on him, and had a graphic too faded to recognize. A brightly colored checkerboard blanket was tied tight around his shoulders.

“MARI!! HEY!” Aubrey cheered, rushing past Omori and Basil towards the picnic.

Immediately, Kel puffed up his chest and looked more like a frog than the superheroes he tried to emulate. “Hey yourself! I’m right here! Don’t ignore me!” Omori patted his shoulder as he stopped near his best friend, and Basil rushed to hide between Mari and Hero. Just in case Aubrey and Kel decided to get into another fight, clearly.

“Oh hello Aubrey! Hello, everyone!” Mari patted the flower-loving boy on the head as she continued. “What have you guys been up to?”

Aubrey yelled, “KEL’S BEING MEAN TO ME AGAIN!!” and Kel jumped in place, arms flailing and bouncing his cape as he did.

“HEY!!”

Ignoring Hero’s confused “what?” and Basil’s nervous chuckling, Mari gave a fake gasp.

“Oh, no! Not again… How could he?”

“AM NOT!! I’VE BEEN HERE WITH MARI THE WHOOOLE TIME!!” He stopped jumping and pointed at the younger girl, sticking out his tongue. She blew a raspberry back at him.

“Well, that’s a very good point, Kel! Hmm…” Mari tapped her chin, pretending to wonder if Kel could have really been mean to Aubrey while being with her all morning.

“Aubrey’s just being whiny!”

“Am not!

“Are too!”

“AM NOT! You put glue in the tree stump so I’d get stuck!”

"Hah! It was syrup, not glue!" He gloated, crossing his arms and puffing up his chest. “And you can't prove that I wasn't trying to lure some gross bugs!”

"Yeah right!"

He kept his 'heroic' pose, as he called it, until the fight drained out of him suddenly, and he tilted his head to the side, unable to stop grinning. “So, did it work? Did I catch anything gross in it?”

Aubrey flickered red, seething. "No, you just caught ME!"

"So it did work!"

“KEL!!!”

“O-kay!” Hero stepped in quickly, a hand on each shoulder to placate the warring children. “That’s enough, you two. Kel, you shouldn’t mess with Aubrey like that. She could’ve gotten really hurt. And Aubrey, you can’t blame Kel for everything. I know you two like to fight, but you need to tone it down, okay? No more prank wars.”

The two were silent, eyes lowered from the shame of being called out by the older brother. Kel was curling in on himself, and Aubrey was so red in the face Omori half thought she was going to combust.

“Well, well, looks like you handled that pretty well, Hero!” Mari smiled warmly. Her smile turned sly, and she raised an eyebrow. “I’m really glad you’re being all responsible. I really like that about you~ hehe!” She teased, and Hero flustered.

“I- C-come on Mari! Not now.”

She laughed.

“While we were waiting for you guys, Kel was showing off his new video camera!” Mari said, and Kel’s eyes brightened.

“Oh, yeah! Check it out!” Kel held out the silvery camcorder, and grinned wildly. “I use it to record cool stuff, so that we can see it again later! Y’know? Just like a movie!!”

Aubrey blew another raspberry at him. “What’s the point of that? Basil already does that with his camera! We’ve still got the photo album in the Neighbor’s Room, remember?” He rolled his eyes.

“Well, duh! Those are Basil’s memories! These are mine!” He pulled the viewing screen out, Omori and Basil leaning in to watch, and pulled up a video of Mari and Hero organizing the picnic basket from what must have been earlier that morning.

[“- key is to pack a lot of different things! After all, you guys like running around and fighting, right?” Mari asked.

“I wouldn’t say we like fighting. More of… Well, it’s kind of inevitable, isn’t it?” Hero shook his head as he placed a sandwich into the basket. “With the Sprout Moles that get lost, and the Forest Bunnys- Mari, stop laughing at me!”

She covered her mouth, but laughed anyway, shaking her head.

“Really? Forest Bunnys, bro?” Kel asked from behind the camera, and Hero jumped, turning gray for a split second from shock.

“KEL?! What are you-”]

“Tada!” Kel cheered! “That’s a One Hundred Percent Kel Original Memory!”

Basil blinked before grinning happily. “Well, I like it! This way, we’ll have more memories to look back on, won’t we?”

The caped boy grinned, bouncing in place. “Exactly! You get it!”

Aubrey crossed her arms, huffing. “I think I like Basil’s pictures more.” She grumbled. Kel made a face at her, then whipped around to face Omori, grinning to himself when his cape swatted Aubrey’s face.

“Hey, hey, Omori! You’re coming over to our house today, right? I got some new stuff I wanna show you!”

Omori tilted his head, and Kel beamed at him.

“I got some new movies for everyone, and! I got the latest edition of ‘Super Star Chasers‘! It finally updated again! And it’s ALL about Constella Ibis this time! Apparently, it’s super good, ‘cause she’s learning to use that new magic from last time, and-”

“Hey, slow down Kel,” Hero interrupted, ruffling his hair. Kel scrunched up his nose in annoyance. “I’m sure Omori’s interested, but it’s not fair to just invite one person over when you’re hanging out in a group.”

Kel blinked, as if just realizing the others were there. “Oh. Oh, right! Well, that’s okay, you guys can come over, too!” He gasped, suddenly elated, eyes shining. “Ohh! We could have a sleepover, and watch those new movies! And, and! We could even make a blanket fort! Hero and I are the /best/ fort makers, remember? IT’LL BE SO COOL!!”

“That sounds fun,” Basil smiled. “I grew some strawberries the other day; We could make muffins with them!”

Aubrey hummed to herself. “Mmm… I guess it could be kinda,” She paused, looking at Kel’s glowing cheer. “... alright-ish.”

“I think I’ll have to sit this one out,” Mari said, laughing softly. “You all go on and enjoy yourselves. And if you want a snack, you can always stop by!”

“Thanks Mari,” Hero smiled. He already looked a little tired.

‘Probably from having to babysit you all on his own. You almost feel bad, but the thought of the newest ‘Super Star Chasers’ edition makes it hard not to be excited.’

Kel either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. He cheered, pumping both arms in the air with a wild grin.

“Yeah!! Let’s go!”

‘Ah yes, some nutritious candy. Would you like to eat some?’

Basil dug through the pile for a moment, then frowned. “Huh? Aubrey, did you take all of the Watermelon flavored?”

“Should’ve grabbed them faster then, Basil!” She teased, nudging his arm and eating another in victory.

“That’s not fair!” He pouted. “I didn’t know we were eating yet.” The flower crown spat a single slim petal into the air, and Mari giggled.

Hero stepped over, trying to talk them into calming down, and Kel snickered as he chewed a piece of orange taffy. Omori had only just begun reaching for the pile when the shorter boy all but threw himself onto his shoulder.

“Hang on a sec!” He said, and dropped a small baggie of chocolate candies into his friend’s hand. “Here! I saved you some Chocolates! They’re your favorite, right?”

Omori looked over the sweets, then to the caped boy. ‘They aren’t your absolute favorite, but they’re pretty high up there. You’ll give him this one.’ He nodded, and Kel beamed brighter.

‘You obtained BAG OF CHOCOLATES.’

‘You and your friends feel like new!’

[pokemon-in-omori]

Transcribed directly from fanfiction.net

Pokémon in: Omori

Chapter 1

Whitespace. Omori had been living here as long as he could remember. He was a 12 year old, monochrome boy. He wore black and white shorts, knee high black socks, a black tank top, and a black knit cap. He looked around the white void. There was a black outlined square, a laptop, a tissue box, a sketchbook, a Purloin, a black light bulb, and a door. Omori stared at his laptop. Then looked at the light bulb. He stared at the door. He approached the Purloin, named Mewo, who simply said "Waiting for something to happen?"

Then he heard something fall. He ventured through Whitespace while Red Hands, known as Hands~kun, tried to bring him back to the square. Omori found a shiny knife. Then, he allowed Hands~kun to take him back. He opened the door, and entered Neighbor's Room. Upon entering, he saw his friends, his friends Pokémon, and his Pokémon. Omori's Pokémon, a Ralts, Mawile, and Musharna, ran up to the monochrome boy. His friend Aubrey, a young girl in a nightie and a purple casual cap, ran over the cards they were playing with her Azurill, named Bun Bun, close behind.

"Omori! You're here! We were playing cards, wanna join us?" She asked. Then she turned around and noticed she messed up the cards.

"Oh, maybe not…" She said

"What the heck, Aubrey?!" Kel yelled. Kel wore Pajamas and a cap, mostly purple, though the front was white with some pins.

"Now now, no need to fight." Hero said. Hero wore striped Pajamas and a hat that gave the appearance of Blue hair, though his natural purple could be seen on the bottom.

Omori went over to Kel.

"Check it out! I caught a Nacli!" Kel yelled, and showed off a Pokéball. Kel's Spinda was dancing and gesturing to it.

"I'm gonna name him Hector!" Kel yelled.

Omori went over to Hero.

"Hey there, it seems your Pokémon missed you." Hero said. Ralts was hiding behind Omori, Mawile was trying to get Omori's attention, and Musharna was just floating. Hero's Dolliv laughed a bit. Omori went to Aubrey.

"That Kel is so annoying! He stole Mr. Plantegg! Can you find him for me?" She asked. Omori grabbed a watermelon, broke it, and inside was Mr. Plantegg. Omori gave it back to Aubrey.

"You found him! Thank you Omori!" She said.

"What!? I thought I had a good hiding place!" Kel yelled.

"Well some people aren't jerks…" Aubrey said. Azurill and Spinda tried to separate there trainers. Hero stepped in.

"Guys, let's not fight. Mari and Basil are waiting for us." He said. Omori began to lead the group out, as an Ekans gave him an allowance.

Outside, the kids left from a stump. Aubrey got stuck, so Kel pulled her out. They went to the playground, where they saw many kids and Pokémon, including Mari and Basil. Mari wore a school uniform and a purple hat tied in the back, and Basil wore a green shirt, overalls, a flower crown and a white sun hat. They were sitting on a picnic blanket, all there Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. Mewo the Purloin was on Mari's lap. Her Pawmi was playing with the picnic basket. Mari's Vaporeon was curled up, asleep. Her Illumise was flying around, dancing as her Krikitot made music. Mari's Flittle was hoarding berries. As for Basil's Pokémon, his Roselia was making a flower crown. Basil's Flabèbè was hiding in his hair. Basil's Cherubi was happily wandering. Omori and the gang approached.

"Oh hey! You're just in time!" Mari said as the group went to the picnic basket. Everyone let out all their Pokémon. Hero's Volbeat danced with Illumise. His Milcery just happily played with his Sinistea. Audino tried to calm everyone down, to no avail. The Tandemaus snuggled each other. Kel was holding his new Nacli and showing it off. His Snom was riding on his shoulders while Spinda just started knocking things over. Aubrey's Minccino wasn't happy about this, and Audino had to stop Minccino from attacking Spinda. Aubrey's Nidoran ♀️ ️ ran around. Omori's Ralts shyly approached Mari, while Mawile tried to steal berries from Basil.

"So what were you guys up too?" Hero asked.

"We were just looking at my photo album!" Basil said. He took it out. There were lots of photos. From Kel drinking milk, everyone making flower crowns, Hero and Mari winning a double battle, and Omori asleep and more. Kel tries to get Basil to take a picture of him, but Basil explained he prefers candid photos. Basil offered to have them go to his house, while he returned all put Roselia to there Pokéballs. As the others did the same, Mari said she would sit this one out. Before they could leave, though, the group was stopped by Berly and her Druddigon.

"Hey, you're not leaving! I wanna play hide and seek!" She said.

"Again? Really?" Kel asked. A glare from Druddigon shut him up. Berly rounded everyone up. Omori was forced to be the seeker. He hated being alone, but at least he had his Pokémon. He found everyone except Basil when Berly rounded everyone up again.

Kel went to a tree he saw Basil go near earlier. The tree went away, revealing Boss holding Basil.

"How could you guys play hide and seek without me?!" He yelled.

"Boss! Put Basil down!" Kel yelled.

Boss simply threw Basil's flower crown and hat away.

"My headgear!" Basil yelled.

"Stop bullying Basil! What did he do to you?!" Aubrey yelled.

"You think this is about Basil? This about you leaving me out even though I taught you all how to play! You're not even doing it right! How can you play hide and seek without Pokémon battles?!" Boss yelled. He sent out a Granbull and attacked Omori, Aubrey, Kel, and Hero.

Omori sent out Ralts!

Aubrey sent out Bun Bun!

Kel sent out Spinda!

Hero sent out Dolliv!

Boss body slammed Kel. Kel hit him with a ball. Meanwhile, Granbull used Bite! It was Super effective on Ralts. Bun Bun used Water Gun. Omori attacked Boss with his knife. Aubrey cheered on Omori, making him happy? Dolliv used Absorb. Spinda used tackle. Ralts used Psychic. Granbull fainted. The Pokémon joined in attacking Boss. Eventually, Boss used his ultimate attack, fainting all the Pokémon and turning everyone but Omori into toast. Omori did not succumb. Boss got upset. He dropped Basil. Basil comforted him, as Boss tried to keep him safe during the fight. He took down the sign banning him, and Omori led his friends to Basil's house. After fighting Sprout Moles and learning about emotions, they reached Basil's house. But Aubrey and Kel had a fight, knocking over Basil and scattering his photos. They gathered the photos and put them back. When Basil went to get something, he dropped a photo. He looked at it. His eyes turned red.

"I didn't take this. Wait thats right! Mari, she's-"

Everything went black.

Omori awoke on Whitespace. A heartbeat could be heard. He took out his knife.

STAB

Omori collapsed.

Author's note

I know this chapter isn't that interesting. The next chapter though… that's where the interesting stuff starts. Thank you all for reading, please read and review! Also, everyone's hat is a reference to a playable Pokèmon character. Omori has Victor's hat, Aubrey has Selene's Sun/Moon hat, Kel has Red's original hat, Hero had Brendan's hat, Mari has May's hat, and Basil has Florian's Scarlet hat.