#this is what’s keeping me going okaaay this is what’s getting me through my days now

[melancholicscoundrel]

Can’t wait to get me a 30+ year old sub with their own place and a good job so they could pamper me like I deserve. Not in the sugar baby way, bc with that dynamic a sugar baby takes a submissive role and earns gifts. As a Dom I don’t have to earn shit. I’ll receive gifts as tributes, and my sub will show their gratitude for my control through acts of service.

[peachsukii]

✮ content. pro-hero!bakugo x pro-hero fem!reader. late 20 somethings + married w/ a toddler. family fluff while he’s away on a mission. slightly suggestive (aka Katsuki’s down bad for his wife). ;)

“Momma!” Your daughter shouts from the living room, the little pitter patters of her feet echoing down the hall as she sprints toward you with glee. “Phone’s ringing, pick it up, please!”

Her small hands shove the phone against your thigh, bouncing up and down in place with excitement. You tuck the folded towel in your arms into the closet and bend down to her level. When you take the phone from her, your husband’s name —💥Katsuki 👑💕— is displayed across the screen, accompanied by a photo of the three of you on your last beach trip. Clicking the “Accept” button, the visual of Katsuki in his hero costume appears, his attention focused on removing his gloves while waiting for you to answer.

“Hey handsome,” you greet, heart swelling when you catch him smirk at the compliment. “Someone’s been waiting for you to call.”

“An’ where’s my little girl at?”

Your daughter hops into view, jumping up and down with her hands waving frantically.

“Hi Daddy!” She giggles, dancing back and forth on her tip toes. “Did ya beat up the bad guys today?”

Katsuki laughs heartily, finally sitting on the bed in his hotel room. “Sure did. I’m keepin’ you and Momma safe. How’s school goin’?”

“S’good! I got a gold star today for my drawing.”

“Yeah? Proud of you, sweetheart. Can’t wait for ya to show me when I come home.”

The time on your phone reads 7:30PM, and like clockwork, your daughter begins to stretch, yawning the same way Katsuki does when he’s exhausted after a long shift.

“Why don’t you get ready for bed, sweetie?” You suggest while rubbing her back. “I know you’re tired.”

“Okaaay,” she pouts, trying to fight off her sudden sleepiness. “G’night Daddy. I miss you!”

“Only two more days. Love an’ miss you, Princess. Sweet dreams.”

With a wave and a smile, she trots off toward her bedroom to change into her PJs, leaving you with a few minutes to talk with Katsuki before tucking her into bed. You walk back into your joint bedroom, leaving the door cracked as you lay on the bed. Katsuki does the same, shifting the camera to follow his movements as he stretches out across the sheets.

“Goddamn, I miss you somethin’ fierce,” he admits, sighing into his forearm as it crosses his face to hide the soft dusting of pink on his cheeks. “You put a spell on me or some shit?”

“Not this time,” you chuckle, feet swaying in the air behind you like a giddy schoolgirl. “I miss you, too. How was your day?”

“S’alright, nothin’ crazy. Can’t wait’ta be back home, sleepin’ alone sucks.”

“Yeah, the bed is cold without you.”

There’s a short lull in the conversation before it shifts into something more sensually charged. Katsuki tends to get clingier the longer he’s stationed away from home — all the telltale signs of it are reflecting in his eyes through the camera, sparkling under the dim moonlight from his hotel room window.

“Good thing I know how to keep ya warm,” he purrs with a wink, the mischievous grin stretched over his lips telling you how he’s truly feeling. “S’how you got knocked up the first time.”

There it is, that familiar warmth flooding into your belly and heat spreading from your ears to your toes.

“Kaaats!” you whine, shyly tucking your head into your chest. “Shut up.”

“Don’t get shy on me now, Peaches,” he teases, laughing quietly at your bashfulness. “S’cute how easy ya are to rile up.”

You wave him off and roll your eyes lovingly. “I should go put her to bed. Are you gonna be up in an hour?”

His brow furrows curiously. “Prob’ly. Why?”

“Gives me time to get her settled, put away the laundry and finish the dishes. Up for a little late night date?”

Oh, Katsuki knows exactly what that means. Why was the thought of watching you doing chores around the house and taking care of your daughter making him suddenly break out in a sweat?

“Earth to Katsuki?” You call again and recollect his attention. “If you’re too tired—”

“Never too tired for you, baby. Go do what ya gotta do, I’ll be waitin’.”

“Okay, I love you!” You sweetly sing as you roll off the bed. “Get comfy, bye babe.”

“Love you too, Peach. See ya.”

The “End Call” screen flashes briefly in front of Katsuki’s eyes, the darkness of the hotel room returning once the screen dims into nothingness. He mumbles a breathless ‘fuck’ into the air before jumping off the bed to stomp toward the bathroom.

Only you can leave him hanging by a thread on simple promises, even when he’s miles away. And damn, did he love it.

[chestersturniolo]

dealer!chris x fem!reader

Summary ; dealer!chris visits y/n for a top up of her usual, but intrigue consumes her and she decides to try something new.

Warnings ; strong mentions/use of drugs (don’t do them!) , use of y/n & pet names. 

============================

after a long, long day, i trudge through the door of my apartment with a deep sigh. 

i throw my bags down by the door and immediately head to my bedroom, to the pretty glass jar stashed in my dresser. 

i fumble around the draw and pull it out,eagerly snatching the lid off. 

“fuck” i mumble to myself, whilst staring down at nothing but pathetic crumbs laying at the bottom of the jar. i let out a frustrated huff,setting it down on top of my dresser.

i reach to my back pocket, pulling out my phone 

the upside to running out is needing more…and needing more meant seeing him. 

chris was my first ever dealer. and my only one since then. at first i was terrified of him, i had never smoked before. so having to meet a scary stranger guy to be able to do so, made it even more nerve wracking.

••••••••••flashback••••••••••••

my heart is in my throat as i walk towards his car. the soft glow of the streetlights that flicker slightly not helping my nerves. meeting a random guy in his car at night for illegal activity? what could go wrong?

the only thing that keep those thoughts at bay (not really) is the fact i got his number from a close friend who i trust. 

“here goes nothing” i sing to myself before reaching out to the handle, plopping down into the passenger seat. i keep my eyes at my lap, too nervous to even make eye contact. 

“uh-hi” i mumble, barely audible

“what’s up… what do you want, and how much?” 

i tear my eyes away from my lap, to meet the boys gaze.

woah

i open my mouth to talk but nothing comes out, partly because i didn’t expect him to look like this , and partly because i had no idea what to say. or how any of this works. 

i just sit, staring like an idiot , mouth agape.

“helloooo” he says with a slight underline of frustration in his voice, waving his hand across my eye line to grab my attention. 

“what do you want” he repeats, 

i force myself out of my trance “um…weed?” i squeak, coming out more like a question 

“okaaay? and how much?” he presses.

his face emotionless and stern

once again i have no idea what to say. this should be so simple, but i have no idea the terms and phrases, how much is too much, how much is too little????? i try my best to hide the thoughts running through my head with a simple “just a little i guess…”

what the fuck is wrong with me 

i watch as his eyebrows raise and he lets out a soft chuckle

“you’ve never done this before have you” 

i wave of embarrassment washes over me as i feel my cheeks burn up, realising that my inexperience is so blatantly obvious. my gaze once again falls to my lap.

“uh..no..no i haven’t” 

he must notice my humiliated state, as his whole demeanour shifts.

“hey,don’t worry about it” he reassures, his voice now soft. 

“i’m just glad you came to me” 

i glance up to him once again, a new set of eyes now looking back at me. warm and reassuring.

a soft smile on the corner of his lips.

“i’ll help you out okay? i don’t think you should do it alone” 

i nod softly. for some reason i trust him.

•••••••flashback end•••••••

the rest of that night was spent with chris. he wasn’t so scary after all. we went to a backstreet and he talked me through everything. we smoked, we talked , we laughed. He made me feel so comfortable and safe. and i will forever be grateful for it.

i have been going to him ever since. although it’s not just a transaction.

we’ve hung out every now and again (a/n iykyk) and an unspoken connection has been built between me and chris since we met that night. i’m honestly not sure what it is. 

i’m not just a customer.

he’s not just my dealer.

we care for eachother.

———————

i change into an oversize T and some shorts to get comfy, whipping my bra off and basking in the free feeling. i hear my phone ping, i look over to see a text from chris ,

“here”

i smirk and slip some shoes on, not bothering with any extra clothing, making my way out the the apartment.

 

i see his car parked in the complex lot, i rush over ,goosebump’s engulf my skin as the cold night air whips around my legs. i swing the door open, plopping into the passenger seat of the warm car, the smell of chris’ familiar cologne fills the air. 

“hey ma” he chirps, shooting me his signature smirk whilst his eyes trail down to my legs and back up again.

“want your usual?” he asked, starting to rummage through the backpack on his lap.

“pleaaaaseee” i smile. 

chris starts pulling out handfuls of baggies placing them on his lap, whilst looking for my usual. my nosey eyes fall on the pile, examining the contents of each bag. one in particular catches my eye. the bright white contents staring back at me. i had never had any interest in anything else other than smoking. but for some reason,in this moment, my intrigue was strong. 

“here” chris says, holding out a familiar bag. 

i grab the bag without looking up 

“thanks”

chris notices my fixation and follows my gaze down to his lap. 

“oh absolutely not!”  

i snap my head up, his slightly widened eyes already on me. his eyebrows are raised as he looks at me with a face full of disbelief. this quickly turns into a stern look.

“no way, i’m not selling that to you” 

“why not, you sell it to other people?” i challenge with a slight pout. 

chris sighs and tears his eyes away,setting them on the dashboard. 

“yes, but they’re other people ma. you’re you.” he glances back to me 

“i’m not selling that shit to you y/n” 

i roll my eyes with a defeated sigh. 

“fine” i mumble, crossing my arms, turning my head frontways away from chris.

“don’t sell it to me. i just kinda wanted to try it…” i speak quietly, whilst making sure the disappointment in my tone was clear. 

see i knew chris was a softy deep down. at least for me. so i figured i’d try and make him cave with my pouty tone. but just incase that wouldn’t work, i had the perfect back up. Chris was firm about me not buying from anyone else… it wasn’t about him losing business, it was about other peoples product. He’d warned me countless times about “stepped on shit” and he made it very clear he doesn’t want me to go anywhere else for a fix.

“i guess i’ll see if y/f/n has any other contacts, maybe they’ll sell it to me” i say casually

“god dammit” i hear chris hiss under his breath through gritted teeth.

i smirk internally knowing that comment was working exactly how it was meant to.

i feel him grab my jaw, guiding my head back towards him. his eyes staring intently into mine.

“one try” he states. pointing a finger at me with his free hand. 

my lips turn upward into a smirk,

he notices my satisfaction, releasing his grip on my jaw. he sighs with a shake of his head. stuffing the scattered baggies on his lap back into his bag, before opening the car door and stepping out. i watch him as he comes round to my door, opening it and reaching a hand out. 

“come on” he orders. 

i grab his hand, he pulls me up and starts leading me back to my apartment. 

—————

my leg bounces anxiously as i perch on the edge of my couch, watching as chris wades through his bag once again. finally he pulls out the bag i was fixated on. he holds it up to our eye level, his eyes move from the bag to me.

“you’re sure about this?” he asks, with a dead serious expression. searching my eyes for any traces of hesitancy.  

i nod my head 

“talk to me” he presses 

“yes chris i’m sure”

he gives a soft nod of his head before opening the bag.  i watch as he brings his finger to his mouth giving a small suck to the tip, getting it wet. 

he pauses, glancing up to me

“you trust me?” 

i nod once again  “of course” 

he reaches into the bag dipping his finger into the powder. i watch curiously as it sticks to his wet finger tip. he scoots closer to me on the couch and uses his free hand to hold my jaw. 

“open sweetheart” he whispers, giving my jaw a small squeeze.

my brows furrow slightly, but i obey, slowly opening my mouth.

chris brings his other hand towards me , and slowly slides the coated finger into the side of my mouth. i feel him find his way to my gums, slowly rubbing up and down. his reassuring eyes not leaving mine. 

he repeats the action to the other side,then slowly pulls his finger out, planting a sweet kiss onto my cheek whilst still holding my jaw. before placing the finger that was in my mouth, into his own, taking off the excess. 

he sits back into the couch and watches me.

a mixture of anticipation and nerves start to wash over me, my leg returning to its bouncing state. the fear of what will happen next starts swirling in my brain. 

chris noticed my shift immediately , he reaches over and grips my knee, holting the bounces. brushing his thumb in small soothing circles. 

“hey-” he coos, bobbing his head down slightly to meet my gaze that’s now resting on the floor

“-it’s okay ma, i’ve got you aight?” 

================================

a/n - thankyou for reading loves🤍🤍🤍 and thankyou again for 500 of you!!? this was a fun one i hope you enjoyed. requests open 🥰

- 𝑺𝒂𝒈𝒆 ♡

[avatarmerida]

Til You Make It

Okay so this was something I wanted to have finished for Valentines Day (and it shows) but then idk I just didn’t. But I wanted to finish it and at some point it became way longer than a drabble but I don’t have enough to do like a full multi chapter story so here’s some corny huntlow fake dating that’s king for no reason. Idk how I feel about it but maybe it’s just because I’ve been staring at it too long. Okay byyyyyeeee.

----

“...and then you pick truth or dare and we keep going back and forth like that,” Gus finished explaining the rules of the game. The boys had such a fun time sharing a room in the human realm they decided to have a sleepover and Gus was walking Hunter through the difference between sharing a room and sleeping over. The main difference was the games you played, according to Gus.

“Okay so I guess… truth?” Hunter said tentatively as they sat on the ground in front of Gus’ bed, their new matching Cosmic Frontier sleeping bags laid neatly beneath them.

“Okaaay,” Gus sang with a mischievous grin. “Tell me a secret…”

“Oh, well I don’t think we have any secrets anymore, I mean after everything that’s happened I think you must know most-.”

“... about Willow.” Gus finished, raising his eyebrow.

“Why would I know one of Willow’s secrets?” Hunter stuttered nervously. “A-and even if I did, I would never divulge one without her permission. Why would you-.”

“I’m preeeetty sure you have at least one secret involving Willow,” Gus cut him off as he reached for his juice box sitting on the nightstand. By now, Hunter’s massive crush on their friend was old news but Gus knew Hunter was making some progress, but getting him to open up about it presented its challenges. He thought this was the perfect game to get the ball rolling or at least see where the ball was. “But if you would rather do a dare…”

“No! No, it’s fine.” Hunter said, taking a deep breath. “There actually… is something I’ve been wanting to talk about. But everything stays confidential, right?”

“I’ll take the solemn vow of secrecy that Avery pledged to O’Bailey.” Gus said with a serious face that put Hunter at ease, knowing the severity of the oath. 

“Okay,” Hunter took another deep breath as he fiddled with his thumbs. “Right before… everything happened, I sent Willow a message…”

“Okaaay?” Said Gus, prompting him to continue. “What about?”

“I uh, well… we had been messaging a lot and I… really liked talking to her and she asked if I could push up my next day off so we could hang out and I said I might be able to after the Day of Unity and I said maybe we could even… goonadate.”

“What?!” Gus exclaimed, spitting out his juice. “Are you serious?!”

“That was before I knew what the Day of Unity really was!” Hunter sputtered. 

“I know that!” Said Gus, saving his mouth with a napkin. “I’m talking about you asking Willow out! Dude, that’s huge!”

“I know!” Hunter exclaimed, reaching for a pillow to scream into. “I nearly threw my scroll across the room afterwards. I-I don't know what came over me I just… said it! I didn’t really know what it meant! Darius joked about it, about me asking her on a date and so I just asked him what that meant and he said it was two people who liked each other spending time together alone and I… liked how it sounded. I didn’t really know about the romantic part until after but even then I… I think I still would’ve asked.”

“Hmm, I bet you would have,” Gus said with a smirk. “But, wait, why haven’t you guys gone on one?” Gus gave a little gasp. “Did she say no?”

“She never replied,” sighed Hunter. “Granted, it was late and she did mention she was tired so she might’ve fallen asleep. But then ya, know alot of stuff happened and then when I saw you guys at Hexside, I didn’t have my scroll to see if she saw it or responded. I mean, there was really no good time to bring it up! And I thought she didn’t bring it up because… maybe she did say no.”

“Well you have your scroll now! Did she ever reply?”

“Not to that message,” said Hunter, pulling it up and scrolling through a sea of messages. “After that it's mostly ‘are you okay?’ And ‘why are there scouts at the Owl House?’ She changed the subject, probably to let me down easy.”

“Or because she was worried about your safety?” Gus offered, knowing that was the real answer. “If we wanna know if she got it, we gotta ask her!”

Hunter’s eyes widened in panic. “No! There’s too many variables! What if she was gonna say no? What if she never saw it but would’ve said no? What if she said yes but she’s changed her mind? What if-?”

“What if she said ‘sure, when?’ but it never sent and she thinks that you left her on read?” Gus countered and Hunter gasped at the very notion.

“I would never!” He hissed. “Willow knows that! She knows… doesn’t she?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Gus.

“But… what if I waited too long and she lost interest or never had interest and I’ll just make her uncomfortable if I talk about it-.”

“Dude, stop.” Gus said firmly, cutting him off before he totally spiraled. “Even if Willow doesn’t like you that way, she’s still your friend and cares about you. She would never try to make you feel bad about having feelings.”

“You’re right Gus,” Hunter sighed, looking fondly at the profile picture of Willow smiling brightly back at him. “I should just come clean and express my feelings more directly.”

“Exactly!”

“In a handwritten note!” Hunter declared with flair.

“That’s… a start.”

---

So Hunter drafted his love note.

And then it turned into more of a novel, so he revised it so it wasn’t so overwhelming and got it down to a respectable page and a half. He carried it with him everywhere, waiting for the right moment. He had selected a simple light green envelope and doodled tiny flowers in the corners, as though he was worried the elegant way he wrote her name on the front in bold gold ink wasn’t clue enough that it was meant for her. 

He needed to ensure there was no confusion about whether or not she saw it.

---

“Guys, guys guys!” said Hunter in a panicky tone as he rushed to the lunch table with Gus and Willow sat and had just been wondering where he was. He quickly sat down beside Willow and lowered his voice as though he was on the run, his hazel eyes overrun with guilt. “I did something bad.”

“Cool! What?” asked Willow, in the middle of opening a pudding cup.

“Well, I was on my way here and I ran into Boscha-

“Ew.” said Willow, naturally. 

“And she… asked me out.” Hunter winced before proceeding to explain as fast as he could.  “And of course I said no but she wouldn’t drop it until I gave her a good reason so I panicked and I sort of lied and said that you’re my girlfriend so she’d leave me alone.” 

“Oh.” Willow said as Hunter examined her face for the disapproval he assumed his confession would warrant, but she seemed more focused on the stubborn top of her pudding. “So what’s the bad thing you did?” 

“I-I lied!” Hunter said, as though she had not heard.

“Yeah, to Boscha.” Willow shrugged, saying the name like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“But I lied about you!”

“Yeah, to Boscha,” Willow repeated again with a small laugh. “Hunter, I know better than anyone how persistent Boscha can be. If lying about me being your girlfriend gets her to leave you alone, I’m more than fine with it.”

“Really?” 

“Really.” Willow assured him, finally opening the cup and placing the pudding in front of him before turning to open her own. She knew he was always running late to lunch because he had a habit of staying after class to ask follow up questions and the run in with Boscha had only delayed him more. 

“Oh, okay…”

“Ya know, I’m surprised Boscha would ask you out,” chuckled Willow before fully hearing how her words could be taken. Her eyes widened in a slight panic and she raised her hands as she tried to explain. “Not that I don’t understand wanting to date you! No, it’s just that I’m surprised Boscha could see how amazing you are! She doesn’t normally have such great taste. I mean uh, well you know what I mean.”

“Heh, yeah,” said Hunter, sipping the drink Gus had brought him as he tried not to think too much into what she said. Not that I don’t understand wanting to date you…

“Okay, I get not wanting to date Boscha but why did you say you were dating Willow?” asked Gus.

“Well who else was I supposed to say?”

“Literally anyone else?” said Gus, fully aware that Willow was often already on Hunter’s mind and it was most likely the result of a reflex or wishful thinking. “Or like, don’t give her a name? You could’ve said she went to a different school or something. Even if Boscha did respect boundaries, you know how she treats Willow. She’ll probably try and break you up just to hurt her.”

“Hmmm maybe not,” said Willow, a thought forming behind her eyes. 

“What do you mean?” asked Gus.

“Well, she might try to break us up,” started Willow. “Ooor she might be too embarrassed for anyone to know that Hunter would rather go out with half-a-witch Willow over her.”

“I mean, I guess that’s not a lie,” Hunter reasoned. “Except for the half-a-witch part.” He reached over and placed his hand over hers and looked seriously into her eyes. “Please don’t call yourself that.”

Willow’s eyes fluttered from his hand on hers up to his face, looking at her with total sincerity, his value of her outweighing any nerves that could accompany the action. She felt like a butterfly was loose in her chest, flying rapidly around in her ribcage. 

“Ya know, I bet if she saw you holding my hand she would lose her mind,” said Willow with a mischievous grin, loving both parts of the sentence. 

“Oh! Uh, well yeah … I guess?” stuttered Hunter, not sure if he should remove his hand or not. “I mean, that’s not why I-.”

“I mean, if I’m gonna be your fake girlfriend then it’s gonna look convincing,” Willow decided, instantly onboard. “We should probably hold hands alot more, especially if we just started dating; we’ll have to be even more obnoxious than Amity and Luz.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Well, let’s find out,” said Willow slyly, turning her hand over to lace her fingers with Hunter’s. She continued to eat her lunch as though this multitasking was second nature. “Oh yeah, Boscha would hate this.”

“Haha yeah,” Hunter laughed nervously, unable to fully process what was happening but knowing it felt very nice. He put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his other hand as he admired their connected hands as he tried to convincingly convey a  teenager in love. “She’d totally hate this.” he sighed with a dopey grin. .

“You know I’d do anything for you, right?” Willow smiled. “And if sticking it to Boscha is a part of helping you, well how could I say no?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I know it wasn’t the smartest thing to-.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Willow insisted. “It’s kinda perfect actually, she was being a pest yesterday about how I didn’t have a date for Bleeding Hearts Day. It’s really none of her business but it’ll be kind of nice getting to see her face when it turns out that I do.”

“Oh, right.” 

“It kind of sounds like fun, actually, like an undercover mission. We can meet after school to plan our fake relationship, sound good?”

“S-sure, yeah.” 

“Well, I gotta go check on my bulbs before next period  to make sure they’re adjusting to their new soil, but wanna walk to class together, boyfriend?” She said the term in such an overly sweet way, Hunter thought his teeth might fall out. She said it the same way she would say his name when she thought he was keeping a secret that she knew she could work it out of him with very little effort. Was it because they shared a secret now or did she know something else was up? Either way, he wanted to hear her say it over and over again. 

“Oh, uh y-yeah of course!” He chuckled nervously. “We can uh hold hands too I guess…” he sheepishly sipped his drink and Willow just giggled, knowing he had not intended to get himself into this situation and felt out of place not being prepared. But luckily her mind was racing with solutions. 

“You betcha,” she confirmed, rising from the table and giving him a playful wink. “I’ll meet you by your locker?”

“I’ll be there!” he said with enthusiasm, waving to Willow as she walked away keeping his eyes on her until she left the cafeteria entirely. “Oh Titan I’ve made things worse.”  Hunter groaned into his hands once he knew Willow was out of earshot. 

“Sooo what happened to giving her the note?” Gus asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.“Isn’t this like skipping a few steps?”

“I-I don’t know! It all happened so fast!” Hunter mumbled. “I was about to put the note in Willow’s locker when Boscha walked by and took it from me!  She saw Willow’s name on the front and went to rip it up and hen I asked her not to, she read it. She read it in this ugly high pitched voice and threatened to tell everyone and I… panicked.”

“What did the note say exactly?”

Hunter’s face turned a bright shade of crimson, having intended for the note to remain personal and having it exposed once already today was a lot. “It… just said that I liked her and I wanted to see if she wanted to see a professional flyer derby game with me for Bleeding Hearts Day.” Hunter summarized, the real note had been hard enough to condense as he wanted to make sure he covered all his bases and thoroughly expressed his feelings. 

“Aww, Willow would love that!”

“Right?! Then Bocha tried to turn it into something bad like I should be embarrassed about liking her but I’m not. But she could tell I was embarrassed about something and so she threatened to tell everyone and I didn’t want Willow to find out from her so… I said that she was already my girlfriend. I mean, Luz and Amity send each other notes like that all the time so it’s believable, right?”

“So Boscha didn’t really ask you out?”

“No.” Hunter buried face in his hands and groaned. “Ugh, and I lied to Willow too! But I didn’t know how to explain to Willow why I lied to Boscha without telling her everything and now…”

“Now you get to show Willow what a great boyfriend you’d be.” Gus finished.

“What?”

“I mean, maybe you didn’t totally blow it,” Gus continued. “I mean, Willow didn’t seem upset about people thinking she was your girlfriend. Maybe that’s a good thing?”

“But it’s pulling her into my lie!” Hunter said. “Relationships shouldn’t be based on lies!”

“I mean, you tried pulling her into a coven and she still likes you,” Gus pointed out, as he continued to chew. “Fake it til you make it, right?”

“Right,” said Hunter with a small, uneasy smile. “Fake it til you make it.”

—-

“Hey boyfriend.” Willow smiled as she turned the corner to see Hunter gathering his books. Hearing her refer to him like that made his knees feel weak. It sounded so natural.

“Hey g-girlfriend,” he said, trying to summon the same confidence she had. But the word felt almost forbidden. But very nice. “H-how are your plants?”

“They’re great!” She exclaimed. “Thanks for asking, what a sweet attentive boyfriend I have.”

Hunter blushed, he had always asked her about her plants. 

“So Luz, Amity, and I are practically rom com experts,” said Willow proudly. “That, plus being around the two of them nonstop, makes me confident that I have the expertise to ensure that we can be a very convincing couple.”

“I mean, we would only have to be a couple around Bocha right? And we aren’t around Boscha that much so you don’t have to put yourself out for me.”

“Nonsense!” Willow insisted. “You’re still getting used to things but I know how high school works. Word travels fast, everyone is looking for gossip. We can’t risk the mission crumbling due to carelessness.” Her voice dived into a serious whisper that lured Hunter down to hear her better, her tone covered him in a sense of urgency as though this truly was the mission of a lifetime. “There are eyes everywhere.”

“Of course, Captain,” he said with a serious nod, his voice low and gravely which sent a chill down Willow’s spine.

“I won’t lie, there may be challenges,” said Willow embracing the theatrics of the moment. “After last time, Boscha will be looking for any reason to try and prove that I-.”

“‘Last time?’” Hunter asked. “What do you mean ‘last time?’” 

He knew he wasn’t referring to their scuffle at New Hexside. He knew Willow’s history with Bosha was complicated, but had he done something to worsen it?

“Okay, listen it’s not a big deal,” Willow began in a forced tone that suggested it definitely was. “But last year ago before Luz even got here, there was someone in a few of my classes that I kind of had a crush on,” she fiddled with her braid as she cleared her throat. “I thought they were really nice and cute but I was shy so I didn’t really have the confidence to talk to them. So I wrote a note to tell them how I felt and put it in their locker. A few days later they wrote me back and they… asked me to go to Grom.”

“And you said yes?”

Willow nodded. “I was really excited, I had never been asked out on a date before,” she recalled. “I even saved up to buy a new dress. And my dads were maybe even more excited than me, they were gonna take hundreds of pictures, and they waited with me for them to come pick me up like they said they would. And we waited, and waited, and waited. But they never showed up.”

“Did something happen to them?”

“When I asked them about it at school the next day…they just laughed. They laughed like it was the most ridiculous joke they had ever heard, going to a dance with me. Turns out, it was. They were never gonna show up for me because they had never really asked me. The note was from Boscha.”

 “No!”

Willow took a deep breath, it had been awhile since she had shared this story. “Yeah. She had somehow found out about the note and sent the fake one as a prank so I’d either show up and be humiliated or miss the dance all together. Kind of a win-win for her.”

“Willow, that’s awful.” said Hunter, feeling as though he was about to cry, sorry he was causing her to relive the painful memory. He wondered if Boscha had been planning to repeat herself when she caught Hunter trying to leave Willow his note. He shuddered at the idea of her getting a note like that thinking it was from him. His galdertone ached at the idea that she could've gotten his note and thought it was written as a cruel joke. 

“So it took me awhile to trust myself when I started liking someone, and even longer to believe that someone could ever like me like that.” said Willow. 

“Willow I'm so sorry that happened to you, that’s just… you don’t… Oh, I’m sorry I got you involved in this,” said Hunter. “I-I don’t know why I did, I mean I knew how Boscha treated you, I should've known she’d find a way to try and-.”

“Hunter, it’s fine really,” Willow assured him. “I know I still let Boscha get under my skin sometimes, but I know this time is nothing like that. Plus I’d hate for her to try and do something like that to you. We’re not doing this to prove anything to her, it’s to keep her away from you. But if she found out that we were pretending… she’d be unbearable.”

“I mean she’s already unbearable,” Hunter scoffed. 

“I won’t argue with you there,” said Willow with a light chuckle.

“So… have you liked anyone… since then?” Hunter tried to ask naturally.

“Um… maybe?” A subtle blush crept onto her face and she hoped he didn't notice. He thought he imagined it. “There is… someone I kind of…”

“There is?” Hunter's heart plummeted as his eyes widened in horror. “Oh my Titan, there’s someone you like and now I’ve roped you into dating me and now they’ll think you’re taken! Willow, I’m so sorry! If you wanna break up with me I can always see if-.”

“No! No, no it’s okay,” Willow insisted. “I think they’d understand. It’s fine, I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely,” she said sweetly. “I’m fairly certain that pretending to date you will not hurt my chances with him.”

“Okay,” Hunter sighed, confused and relieved. His mind raced with who this person would be, this lucky, mysterious, and apparently very secure person who Willow had her eye on. He didn’t ask more questions, not wanting to pry and not wanting to increase the creeping feeling of jealousy lurking in his chest. 

“Ya know, this will be my first Bleeding Hearts day with someone, even if it’s not totally legit,” mused Willow. “It’s still exciting though. It’ll be nice to spend it with someone I care about.”

“Yeah?” Hunter asked, unable to process that she had referred to him as someone special without air quotes or sarcasm. She really was looking forward to spending time with him on the most romantic day on the Isles? He had to make it worth her sacrifice. Luckily, he had the perfect day planned for months. “Well then, if you’re not doing anything already I was thinking we could go to a pro flyer derby match together.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Really? I would love- wait, do you mean the match on Bleeding Hearts day between the Sirens and the Harpies?”

“Yeah! I-if that’s okay….” Hunter started, pulling the tickets out of his pocket where he had been keeping them safe. “I actually already got us pretty good seats, so if you-.”

“Hunter!” Willow exclaimed, taking them carefully from him to admire them. “Are you serious? How did you ever… I mean this is so… I don’t even know what to say! This is so amazing I could just kiss you!”

“Hehehe uh well I guess technically you could…” he said quietly as he scratched his face. Willow was too engrossed in the tickets for Hunter to tell if she had heard him. “But I uh, got them as a thank you. For, ya know, being my… girlfriend.”

Willow smiled as she wrapped him in a tight hug, burying her face in his chest as she lifted him off the ground. “So that does that mean… you wanna go?” he strained to ask as she squeezed him tighter. She laughed as she gently put him back on his feet, taking delight in the red mesmerized look on his face. 

“Of course! What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?” She giggled, only slightly embarrassed at her impulse.She knew it was for show, but truthfully she couldn’t imagine a better evening than yelling in the crowd beside Hunter. How had Boscha managed to accidentally arrange one of the most perfect nights of her life? She was finally good for something, it seemed.

---

Pretending to date Hunter was unsurprisingly easy. 

They spent the day adjusting their routine to that of a couple, and it turns out they needed to adjust very little.

They already went out of their way to walk to class together, so now they walked closer and linked pinkies as they walked. 

When he dropped her off at her class, she always sent him away with an enthusiastic farwell, now she blew him a kiss before he left.

During study hall he sent her paragraphs worth of ideas for pet names. Terms of endearment tailor made for Willow that she couldn’t help but feel he thought of way too quickly, as though he already had them handy.

Such little things that made the biggest difference

During their time in the human realm, they would create little backstories for themselves to help them blend in and get adjusted to things. It was something silly they did to take their mind off the uncertainty of things and help the time pass, but now it was just a silly thing they did for reasons they couldn’t explain. Willow knew  plenty of couples weren’t overly affectionate and they didn’t need to go so deep undercover, but she was willing to commit to the bit as much as he was. It was another thing they would do back in human realm, see who would break first or who would be the first to have nothing new to add. But this was one time Willow was hoping for a draw.

 All through class she watched the clock, so eager to see him again and add another detail to their story. Her favorite part was when the bit reached a point where it felt like an elaborate inside joke that blurred the lines between fact and fiction. Hunter was always the best at creating with her. Sometimes it took him awhile to find the character, but if his Golden Guard days taught him anything it was how to adapt. 

---

At the end of their first day “together”, any guilt Hunter harbored had vanished with Willow's collection of ideas suggesting she really was excited for this plan. If only asking her for real could be this simple. As they walked to the Owl House for their usual Friday hang chatting as they always did, they did so hand in hand only to remember halfway there that since they were out of school they didn’t technically need to be. But neither said this aloud. They were both convinced the other was simply dedicated to the ruse.

“... and I thought we could go official on penstagram but we have to do matching profile pictures first,” continued Willow. “I thought we could do one where we’re each doing like half a heart with our hands so when the ‘in a relationship’ update happens they’ll be next to each other and it’ll look so cute.” 

Hunter had made it clear that he was fine with whatever Willow was comfortable with and he assumed that meant they would hold hands in the hallway for a couple of weeks (which was more than enough to make his head spin) but she was fine with everyone on the Isles thinking they were romantically involved. He knew Boshca didn’t have so much influence that the effort was necessary, but he convinced himself that Willow was simply covering all their bases.

It was for the bit.

As they reached the front door, Hooty was absent from his usual spot which signaled to Willow and Hunter that the weekend festivities were in full swing. Willow went to open the door with her free hand when suddenly a thought struck her and she turned to her co conspirator with a look of concern.

“Hunter, you did tell Luz we were only pretending to be dating, right?”

“I didn’t tell her anything,” he said, having not seen Luz since this morning when she saw them off before heading to her school in the human realm. “Only Gus knows that we’re pretending. I haven’t even talked to her since this morning, I don’t even know how she would know.”

“Oh Titan.” Willow said, the color draining from her face. “I think we might be in trouble.”

“Why would you say that?” Hunter asked as he opened the door for Willow and the answer to his question presented itself as they were instantly ambushed by the force that was Hooty. The bird tube wrapped them into a tight hug, crying about how excited he was for them as Hunter and Willow saw he was not alone in his sentiment. 

“Congratulations to the happy couple!” Luz exclaimed as Hooty loosened his grip on them so she could toss confetti in their faces. 

“Oh, that’s why.” Hunter whispered to Willow as they both regulated their breathing after being stuck in Hooty’s grip.  All they could do now was smile awkwardly as they both took in the display Luz had prepared. A “congratulations” sign hung behind Luz in the doorway, the letters decorated in pink, purple and blue and then pink, yellow and blue. They had set up Eda’s old projector and a slideshow of pictures of Willow and Hunter played on what appeared to be a loop. There were a decent amount. It was just the kind of celebration a new couple would really appreciate.

If only they were a real couple.

It also happened to include nearly everyone from school, so correcting Luz right away wasn’t an option.

“Wow this is so… uh, you guys really shouldn’t have,” said Willow as she took it all in. She didn’t dislike it, no that wasn’t it. Hunter tried to place her tone, thinking that by the redness in her cheeks she might be embarrassed. If he didn’t know any better he might think she was… committing to the bit. That’s all it was. 

But he couldn’t help but feel as though everyone had been expecting this celebration to take place sooner or later. 

“Are you kidding? It’s not everyday your best friend starts dating your brother!” said Luz as she pulled them both into a hug,and they looked at each other nervously behind her back. She leaned back to offer them both a wide smile, practically jumping out of her skin as Amity joined her. 

“Yeah! It’ll be nice to go on double dates!”

“Oh man, if I had known your crush didn’t go away, I would’ve set this up months ago!” added Luz.

Their eyes widened simultaneously, each thinking Luz was referring to them only, unaware how mutual the feeling was. They spoke at the same time, hoping to move on before she revealed too much. 

“Oh! Well you know we don’t have to-.”

“Actually, we were thinking that-.”

“Hey there lovebirds!” Gus said, rushing in to save the day. “Why don’t you come to the kitchen and get some pizza?”

“Yes! Yes, of course!” said Hunter, happy for the save as he took Willow’s hand before following Gus back. “My girlfriend loves pizza!”

“Awh, look at them,” sighed Luz, resting her head on Amity’s shoulder. “He knows that she loves pizza.”

Once in the kitchen, sure no one was listening in, Hunter turned to Gus in a panic but the younger boy simply offered him a calm, knowing look.

“Gus, why didn’t you tell them we were just pretending?” whispered Hunter.

“I didn’t have time!” he said. “I showed up and Luz told me before I could even say hello!”

“Well who told Luz?” asked Willow. 

“Who didn’t tell Luz?” laughed Gus. “Someone saw you two holding hands and one thing led to another and by the time I got here Luz had already talked to half the school. I didn’t wanna blow your cover so I went with it. I just assumed you two were just doing another bit like we used to do all the time.”

“Gus, this isn’t like trying to convince the lady at the flower shop that Willow used to be an actual willow tree and that’s why she can make the plants grow,” said Hunter. “This is serious!”

“Hunter, it’ll be fine,” assured Willow, placing her hand on his shoulder. “We can always explain things to her after, we just need to do some extra pretending tonight. If it’s too hard, we can always leave early.”

Hunter wasn’t worried about it being too hard, he was worried about it being too easy. He was worried Luz would let it slip exactly why it was too easy for him. Luz had honed in on his crush early on, maybe even before he was aware of it, and it stood to reason that she believed Willow was also aware of it now. How do you tell someone your girlfriend doesn’t know about your crush on her?

“Right,” he said, grateful for Willow’s support. They had been through worse, through deadlier and more dire things, surely they could survive a night of awkwardness. 

Surely they could survive the flyer derby team’s stream of questions as Willow convinced them they kept it secret as to avoid drama on the team.

Surely they could survive everyone at the party mentioning how they knew it all along.

Surely they could survive the video Luz had somehow made (dare they assume she had it prepared in advance?) to summarize their relationship becoming official. As they sat on the coach, watching every picture he and Willow had ever taken together move along the screen while a song neither of them had ever heard played softly in the background. From the corner of his eye he watched Willow watch as the screen zoom in on a group photo where he was standing beside her looking at her with a faint blush as she pulled him into frame, her hand tight on his waist. 

Her finger twirled her braid as he failed to read her expression for how she was feeling. He didn’t want to feel overwhelmed if she wasn’t. With the other bits, he always followed her lead. But the difference was that he had been the one to rope them into this one. And it wasn’t something they were doing to fool a stranger they would only see for five minutes, this was basically everyone they knew. 

But she didn’t seem to mind.

She actually really seemed to like it.

“Don’t worry I made you copy to show your dads when you tell them.” Said Luz as the presentation came to an end, proud of her work. “I mean, unless you’ve already told them.”

“Well, we-.”

“Oh, they must’ve,” interrupted Amity. “I know how strict they are about this type of thing, there’s no way Hunter would ask Willow out without their blessing.”

“Oh, actually-.”

“That’s right!” Hunter interrupted this time. “I did ask them! And they said… no!”

“They said no?” Amity asked, surprised.

“What?” said Luz and Gus together. 

“Wait, did you- I mean, yes! That’s right!” Said Willow, catching on. “He asked them and they said no but we are dating anyway! So it’s a secret!” 

“Yeah! We are secretly dating!” Confirmed Hunter. “So we should not mention it to them. Because of the secret aspect of it.”

“Oh, yeah of course.” Said Amity .

“Yeah, we won’t say anything.” promised Luz. 

“Good, because we-.”

“Why did they say no?” Amity asked. 

“Huh?”

“I mean, it’s kind of odd, right?” She went on, stroking her chin. “I mean, they seem like they really like Hunter and they always tease you about him being your boyfriend, so what changed?”

“Uh…” Willow thought nervously, having not told Hunter about all the time her dads had “accidentally” referred to him as her boyfriend when his name came up (which was honestly quite often). “They caught us… kissing?”

“Kissing?! You two have kissed already and neither of you told me???” Luz exclaimed. “How long have you been going out that you’re already kissing?”

“Uh, well…” Hunter tried to start, starting to sweat. He and Willow had established a fairly thorough cover story, but they had never discussed this. Even hypothetical, Hunter knew he couldn’t muster the courage to bring it up to Willow. But now it was all he could think about. Between imagining that and trying to create a story in which it could believably happen, Hunter felt as though he was about to malfunction. 

“Two weeks ago,” said Willow calmly.

“What?!” Luz exclaimed.

“What? I mean, yeah! We kissed two weeks ago!” said Hunter with a nervous laugh. 

“Well? C’mon! Do we not get a story?”

“Um it uh was… a day-.” started Hunter.

“It was after our match against Glandus, it had gone into double overtime so it was late and Hunter was walking me home like he always does,” started Willow, to a room of “awhs” and “how sweet.” “But we were still taking our time, talking  about the game and then all of a sudden, clouds start forming and we realize it’s gonna rain. We’re almost to my house so Hunter picks me up and uses his teleportation to rush me to the door before a drop can hit me. So then we’re standing on my porch and he’s standing really close so the rain won’t hit him and he just looks so cute… I dunno, I guess it was the adrenaline or something but I just pulled him down and kissed him.”

“Awh, that’s so sweet,” said Luz, brushing a tear away. “A first kiss in the boiling rain? It’s like something out of a book.”

“Yeah,” said Hunter, looking over at Willow. He remembered that day. It wasn’t something Willow invented to help sell their lie. They had gone into overtime and he had walked her home and he had rushed her onto her porch before the rain statered, But in reality, they had lingered there. He remembered their faces inches from each other, close enough to feel her breath on his face. She had been close enough that pulling him down would’ve been easy. And he thought about it, he did. Or at least, he knew this was the kind of moment where that kind of thing happened. They stood in silence for a few moments and he told himself later that it was because they wanted to make sure they were safely out of the rain. But truthfully he forgot about the rain, he could only focus on the lingering face paint clinging to the sides of Willow’s glasses and how he was close enough to see it so clearly. How he was close enough to… 

But her dads had opened the door and welcomed the pair inside for a celebratory dinner before that possibility could be explored 

That was the only thing she changed.

She didn’t need to pick that moment, she could have invented something totally new and Hunter would've gone along with it. But the fact that she did… well Hunter didn’t know what that meant. She would often sneak little jokes into their larger ones, but was this a joke within a joke or a reimagining?

“Yeah,” said Hunter, his voice soft and dreamy, transported to Willow’s improved version of the day. “That’s… that’s what happened.”

“So uh, actually we’d better get going,” said Willow, sitting up as she sensed Hunter was growing overstimulated. “Ever since then, they’ve been really strict about my curfew. And I know Hunter has a potions essay to work on.”

“Oh okay!” said Luz as she wrapped them both in a tight hug. “But I will be texting you a million follow up questions. You too, Hunter.”

“Cool, sure,” said Hunter, knowing that meant he and Willow would be on a video call making sure their answers lined up. He hated to think that he was enjoying inconveniencing her so much. 

“Now go walk your girlfriend to the door, I bet you wanna kiss her goodnight,” teased Luz and everyone in the room let out an ohhhh

“Haha! You bet!” Said Hunter with forced enthusiasm, his voice cracking ever so slightly  as he felt the room get hotter. “Willow! Let me walk you outside and we can kiss like we always do!”

Willow smiled in spite of herself  and followed Hunter outside, waving goodbye to her friends as to keep up appearances. She couldn’t help but take a little delight in how nervous Hunter was. She always really liked that part of the bit.

“How are we gonna convince them we’re out here kissing?” Hunter whispered on the verge of a panic attack as the door shut behind them (luckily Hooty promised them privacy). “I can see Luz peeping through the curtains. 

“Like this,” said Willow calmly, placing her hands on either side of his face and pulling him down close to her. As she did, she sneakily placed her thumbs over his lips and placed her lips against her thumbs, a nearly invisible barrier to the nosey on lookers inside

It was fake and staged but Hunter couldn’t help the way his heart raced, still being so close to her. He knew he had to sell his end but he didn’t know how to look like someone who was casual about kissing Willow Park. So he did the only thing he could think of and kept his arms at his sides, lest they do the wrong thing. He didn’t know if this was right, but he knew he wouldn’t know what was right so that made it right, right?

She closed her eyes and so he did too. He heard her hum and his lips formed a smile against her thumbs as their noses brushed against each other. 

When she pulled away she gave him a small wink and patted his cheek to signify it had worked. It really had. No one at the party could deny that he was head over heels for Willow Park. Absolutely no one.

“Oh, okay,” he said, not knowing what to say but feeling like he should say something. “Uh… thanks.”

“Sure, yeah,” she said, trying to remain composed. There was no reason not to be, nothing had happened.  “Anytime.”

It was just like that day on her porch. 

-

“Why do you bring Willow flowers everyday?” Gus asked 

“I don’t bring her flowers every day,” corrected Hunter as he handed Willow a small bouquet. “I mostly bring her seeds and clippings so she can grow her own flowers.”

“But why?”

“Because Willow loves plants? It’s kinda her whole thing? Well, that and-.”

“No I mean, why do you bring Willow flowers if you’re not actually dating?” Asked Gus.

“Because if I was really dating Willow I would try and bring her flowers everyday,” said Hunter simply and Willow hid her blush in the collection of red and yellow flowers Hunter had brought her.

“You mean if you were dating anyone, right?”

“Well not just anyone,” Hunter corrected him again. “Not everyone can handle the responsibility of plant care like Willow can.”

“But what if you were dating someone who wasn’t good with plants?” asked Gus.

Hunter looked at Gus like that was the most ridiculous question he had ever heard. “Why would I do that?”

Willow just giggled as she grabbed her books and held her flowers close to her chest to go add them to her garden in the greenhouse before class. As she walked away, she blew Hunter an over the top kiss as had become their tradition. He reached out his arm and pretended to reach for it as though it had nearly flown over his head before finally catching it and putting it in his breast pocket for safe keeping. Willow giggled as she turned the corner and Hunter wore a very convincing dopey grin as his eyes lingered on her until she completely left his sight.

“I know you’re trying to play it off as part of your ‘fake dating’ bit or whatever, but you always give Willow flowers before school and no one even sees you do it,” said Gus. 

“I mean I… I guess I just need to thank her for doing this,” he admitted. “I mean, it started out as lying to Boscha but I’ve been lying to her too! And I know it’s wrong but I’ve really liked spending time with her and it’s easier this way for some reason? And I’ve tried telling her, I really have, but everytime I try she adds something to the story and I just… I think I’m in too deep.”

“Hmm, it’s almost like she enjoys being your girlfriend,” said Gus as he closed his locker. “Go figure.”

---

Hunter sat on the end of the couch, his back against the armrest as his arm rested around Willow’s shoulder as she leaned against him with  her knees tucked to the side as she showed him a video on her scroll as they waited for Gus to started the movie .The scene was very cozy, very natural.

Very unnecessary. 

“You guys don’t have to do that, ya know.” said Gus, walking in and promptly sitting down on the ground in front of the couch, placing the popcorn on the coffee table. “I’m in on your little ruse, remember?”

“We know it’s just… an easier way to sit?” said Hunter as Willow let out a bright, airy giggle. “I mean, there’s not a lot of room so…”

“Uh-huh,” said Gus, looking next to them where two full cushions remained unoccupied. “Sure.”

“Plus, it’s like being undercover,” offered Hunter. “You need to be prepared, you never know who could be watching.”

“In my house?” Gus asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Yeah Gus we’re undercover,” said Willow, making herself even more comfortable at his side, resting her head on his shoulder as though that was where it was always meant to be. “Besides, we’re gonna break up soon.”

“Oh, really?” Gus asked skeptically, rolling his eyes as paused the opening of the movie, wondering when his third wheeling would become official. 

“Yes, really,” said Willow smugly, reaching behind her to grab the notebook off the end table. “We’ve been brainstorming.”

“Sure, that’s totally what you were doing,” he said, his sarcasm loud and clear. “So then, what do you have so far?”

“Okay, well…” Willow hesitated to start. “Here’s the thing…”

“It’s empty, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s empty,” said Willow, sitting back against Hunter’s arm. “We just… can’t think of a reason to break up.”

“Not a believable one, at least,” added Hunter. “We want it to be mutual so it won’t be suspicious when everyone thinks we’re just friends again. I mean well, not ‘again’ cause we always were, like the whole time, heh.”

 “Yeah,” she sighed, as though it was a real problem. “So we tried to think of something less personal. Like, not something about one of us but maybe because we’re too busy and don’t have time for a relationship.”

“But then we thought, that might not make sense since we do spend a lot of time together,” Hunter continued. “We still play flyer derby together and we’re in some classes together. Not to mention we have movie night with you every week…”

“I mean, it doesn’t have to be a big or flashy reason,” Gus offered, knowing they didn’t really try very hard. “You can just say you're better as friends. People shouldn’t question that.”

Except they definitely would, because Hunter would definitely still have a crush on Willow. He would still look at her with the same dopey grin, the same wide eyes, and the same rose colored flush in his cheeks. He knew he would because nothing about her had changed, she was still so wonderful and funny and smart and brave and beautiful. Titan, if anything this whole thing has made him like her more. And he didn’t mind still feeling this way, as confusing as it was, but he worried that his infatuation would make their story unconvincing. They would claim it was mutual and there were no lingering feelings, but now all eyes would be on them to see if it were true and there his feelings would be: lingering. 

And he worried people would somehow find a way to make Willow the bad guy. He knew Boscha was grasping at straws trying to ruin Willow’s reputation, and being a heartbreaker might be the straw she needed. He would deny she had broken his heart, but when it came down to it he didn’t think he could convincingly state he did not still have feelings for her. 

And that might be enough to make things weird. 

“I mean, we should at least stay together until Bleeding Hearts day,” said Willow. “We can figure out something after that.”

-

“Okay, I stand like this?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, and then you prop your elbow against the locker like this,” instructed Willow, guiding him into position. “And like you can put your other hand on your hip or something and then I’ll stand against my locker…” Willow carefully put herself between Hunter and the locker so she was looking up at him. “And there! Just like the movie poster.”

“So this is flirting? Standing like this?”

“Well, standing and talking technically,” said Willow. “But if we stand like this, everyone can tell just by looking at us that that’s what we’re doing. Like a real couple.”

“Okay,” said Hunter, starting to understand. “Do we have to say anything in particular?” “I dunno, maybe you can try and say something funny?” Willow suggested coyly as she twirled the end of her braid around her finger. “Oh, and twirling my hair will also let them know we’re flirting too.”

“Okay okay,” said Hunter. “But should it be funny like clever funny? Or something more low brow? A pun? Or maybe one of those door jokes?”

“Hmm, we can always just pretend you said something funny and I’ll do a fake laugh,” said Willow.

“Wait, am I not funny?” he said with a fake scoff.

“I didn’t say that,” she said with a chuckle as she flicked his hair noodle.”You can be very funny.”

“That doesn’t sound like you think I’m funny,” he teased, absentmindedly leaning down closer to her. 

“You are funny,” she insisted, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. “When you’re not trying to be.”

“When am I not trying?” he said, his voice carrying a certain twinkle in it. 

“I dunno,” she said, wrinkling her nose at him. For some reason she felt bubbly, seeing Hunter pretend to act as though he was in disbelief. She felt like laughing now but tried to suppress it. Hunter noticed. 

“You’re laughing right now!” he declared victoriously. 

“I am not!” she denied, trying to hide her smile.

“Yes you are!” he said, adopting a chuckle of his own. “I know what your laugh sounds like, Captain!”

“Well, maybe I’m-.”

“You guys know Boscha’s been out of school all week with the common mold, right?” Gus asked, breaking the trance the pair had reentered with ease and had forgotten he was there.

Hunter offered him a quizzical look. “So?”

“Huh, no wonder things have been so peaceful around here,” Willow realized.

“Yeah, so without her around there’s no reason for you two to keep up this little act of yours,” Gus pointed out and Willow and Hunter realized they hadn't noticed Boscha’s absence because at some point they had stopped checking for her all together. 

“Hmm, I guess you’re right…” said Willow slowly, wishing he wasn’t. “But, I mean, the common mold usually lasts a week so she’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed. “Plus, she might have spies reporting back to her while she’s out.”

“Spies?” Gus said, unconvinced with a rise of his eyebrow. “Really?”

“I mean, that does sound like Boscha,” said Willow. “Having…spies.” She knew it sounded silly. She knew what Boscha was capable of, but even that was a stretch. Hunter stopped leaning against the locker and stood up straight, trying to read Willow’s expression. 

“Congrats on being voted cutest couple!” Skara squeaked in delight as she bounced at them from seeming nowhere.

“What?” they exclaimed in unison.

“Awh!” Skara gushed. “You two are so in sync! So cute!”

“Skara, what do you mean-.”

“Just look!” she said happily, handing them a piece of paper. “It’s just a mock up, but that’s what it’s gonna be in the year book! I wanted to be the first to tell you, ya know in case you wanted to use a different picture or something.”

Willow looked down at the photo Skara had chosen. It was a photo of them after a flyer derby match, the photo captured Willow tackling him in a hug to celebrate their victory as Hunter caught her in his arms and spun her around, wearing a wide smile to match hers. They were looking at each other, totally unaware a photo was even being taken. He remembered that day, he could hear their laughter echoing as he spun her too quickly and they had fallen onto the ground right after the moment the photo was taken. He vividly remembered the smell of grass, the way the setting sun rested in her hair, and the way the sound of her laughter made his heart skip a beat. The picture was taken well before they had started “dating” and yet…

“It’s perfect Skara,” said Willow, her tone much different from what it was mere moments ago. He wondered why they stopped flirting if it was meant to convince people they were together. He had been enjoying himself and now he felt guilty. His cowardice had made this whole thing spiral out of control, and now their lie was to be preserved forever. In the back of his mind he remembered that Willow liked someone else. They were supposed to break up once everyone was convinced. How had they gotten so off task? How could he let Willow keep bailing him out in such a major way?

As Skara ran back to the classroom, an unsettling silence floated between the pair. Had it been any other story, any other bit, they would’ve come clean by now, right? 

They knew this. Gus had gone out of his way to remind them and they brushed it off. But now, it was hard to deny it was a harmless but. It was a pretty big commitment for someone you weren’t committed to. 

Willow had done all that for him and he couldn’t even be honest with her. He at least owed her that much. 

“Wow,” Willow chuckled nervously, trying to fill the silence. “That’s uh, that’s a pretty big honor.”

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed, searching his mind for how to word what he really needed to say. 

“I’m sure Amity will have something to say about it,” Willow chuckled lightly. “Since she and Luz have been together longer. But Luz doesn’t even technically go here, and I don’t think anyone would-.”

“I don’t wanna lie anymore.” 

She looked up to see Hunter’s face flushed, his fists balled at his sides as though it took all of his strength to bring out that sentence. Willow had to admit, it was not what she was expecting to hear. It was not what she was hoping to hear. 

“Oh.” was all she could manage to say. She didn’t need to ask what he meant. She could ask why, but she didn’t think she was up to it. “Um, okay.”

The bell screamed as Willow tried to process the whiplash that had just occurred. She could tell Hunter had more to say, but she felt as thought she had lost the ability to hear as static echoed in her mind. She was sure she said something about having to get to class, but she felt as though she was outside her body watching a blurry reenactment of a scene as her feet carried her away. They had joked about breaking up, because it was a joke. Because there was nothing really to break up. But then, why did it feel so real?

---

A few days went by and Willow and Hunter didn’t speak. He wasn’t waiting by her locker after class and miss practice after school. She assumed he needed space or assumed he assumed she needed it, but either way it was there. She knew the mature thing was to discuss the next steps, the story they would tell she had gotten so used to their new routine she had never prepared herself for its end. She thought he felt the same way.

“Well well well, if it isn’t Hexside’s most famous half-a-witch.” came a shrill voice Willow hadn’t heard in weeks interrupting her thoughts. She tried to ignore her, she knew that’s what was best. But of course, her timing was impeccable. 

“Where’s your loser boyfriend?” sneered Boscha, following her victim down the hall, having much lost time to make up for. “Oh let me guess, he finally dumped you right? He realized what a loser you really were and decided to cut his losses?”

Unbeknownst to Willow, Hunter was hiding nearby working up the courage to greet her by her locker to try and explain himself. He had tried writing another note, but this time would read from it instead of trying to get it to carry more than it should by itself. But he heard Boscha beat him to the location and any nervousness left his body and was promptly replaced by fury. He knew Willow could handle herself, but he knew his lie added fuel to the fire that were her words.

“It’s really none of your business, Boscha.”

“I’m right though, aren’t I? I knew there was no way someone like you could convince anyone to date them. What, did he lose a bet or something?”

Willow kept walking. Hunter wanted to scream. Boshca knew it wasn’t true and Willow was smarter than Bocha, surely she knew it too right? Surely she knew.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time, half-a-witch?” snickers Boscha. “The only way someone would ever date you would be as part of a joke. No doubt he got sick of having to see you everyday and realized-.”

Before he knew what he was doing, Hunter teleported beside Willow who looked surprised to see him. Before she could greet him or question him or say much of anything, he placed his hand on the side of her face and pulled her close to him as she had done that day after the party. 

But with one tiny major difference.

Willow quickly got over her surprise and leaned into the accidental kiss, dropping the books in her arm to the ground as she elected to rest her hands on Hunter’s chest, clinging to his shirt collar. He held her face in his hands like it was something delicate as their noses nestled beside each other like puzzle pieces meant to be like that. Willow did not need to rise to her tip toes to kiss him better as he leaned down to be closer to her and her foot popped in the air as his hold on her grew more secure. His lips were dry but surprisingly gentle as they found a comfortable placement against hers. Emotions of surprise and hesitation melted away as they had no place in a moment like this.

At some point during all of this, Bocha had left. Her grumbles and rude comments had gone unheard by the pair, far too engrossed in each other to consider there was anything else in the world worth caring about. 

Somehow Hunter managed to stop himself in the middle of what felt like a familiar yet impossible dream. He pulled back to see Willow’s eyes closed and her face flushed as reality caught up with him and prevented him from savoring the moment further. “Oh no, I didn’t do the thing.” 

“Really? I think you kinda did.” Willow giggled, looking at him with dreamy eyes, feeling like her chest was a fire bee hive as she allowed Hunter to be her balance, leaning forward happily to be caught any way he intended to catch her.

“No I mean the thing with my thumbs so I wouldn’t… so we wouldn’t…”

“But we did.” She said plainly, averting her gaze and playing with a loose thread on his uniform by his shoulder, she couldn’t bring herself to leave the bubble just yet. “Is that… okay?”

“I mean I… I don’t mind but I know that we’re technically broken up I think and that we were never even… I’m sorry,” he cast his eyes to the ground, and removed his hands from her face. “I-I just heard Boscha saying those awful things to you and I-I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t be sorry,” said Willow quickly, turning his face back to her to see his eyes. “For any of it. You just… got caught up in the moment. I’m sure I would’ve done the same thing.”

“Really?” Hunter squeaked and Willow nodded, her hand still resting on his check. “The uh… the exact same thing?”

Willow bit her lip as she moved her hand from his face to the back of his neck. Her other hand still had a steady hold of his collar and she planned to bring him back down to her to answer him without words but before she summoned the courage to do so, a loud gruff voice broke through their bubble as it flooded the hallway.

“Hey you two! Did you not hear the bell?” The voice demanded. They hadn’t, there were more important things holding their attention. So of course they didn’t know there was no one else left in the hallway. 

Except a very grumpy teacher who did not find lateness romantic. 

 “You’re late to class! Detention, both of you!”

---

“Willow, I… I owe you an apology.” Hunter said as they sat beside each other in detention, whispering as to not wake the teacher at the front of the classroom. 

“Hunter, it’s okay,” she whispered back. “It’s not the first time I’ve gotten detention.”

“No, not about that,” replied Hunter. “Well, yes about that too actually but I mean when I said I didn’t wanna lie anymore, I meant I didn’t want to lie to you anymore.”

“What? How were you-?”

He took a deep breath. “Okay, the truth is, I did run into Boscha that day,” he said quickly, trying to keep his voice steady. “But she didn’t ask me out… she caught me trying to ask you out.”

“What?”

“I was trying to put this in your locker,” he began, taking out the carefully folded note from his pocket and handing it to her. He had kept it, hoping there would be a right time for it. Hopefully this was it. “Because I didn’t know how else to do it and I thought it would be easier but she caught me and read it and threatened to tell everyone and I asked her not to because I didn’t want-

“People to know?”

“-you to think it wasn’t true,” he finished. “I-I thought if you heard that I liked you from Boscha, you’d never believe it since she’s always lying. And I didn’t wanna mess it up again so I panicked and that’s when I told her-.”

“Wait, ‘again?’” Willow repeated, confused. “What do you mean ‘again?’ When did you- oh! Do you mean your… wait.”

Her eyes told Hunter she knew exactly what he was referring to. He held his breath. “You did get it.”

“I did,” she said with a smile finding the answer to her question in his wide eyes. “I just… well, your autocorrect was always doing weird things and I didn’t want to assume… I mean not that I didn’t want to assume but I…”

She had hoped.

“But it doesn’t matter,” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have let this go on as king as it did, I’ve caused you so much trouble. You can keep the tickets, you can take Gus. I just… hope you’re not too mad and that maybe eventually we can-.”

“Hunter, when exactly did the thing with Boscha happen?” 

“Um about three weeks ago?”

“And you bought the flyer derby tickets for us to make it look like we were dating?”

“Well, I mean I knew you’d been wanting to go so I thought it would be a fun way to say thanks for being a great girlfriend.”

That was technically not a lie. He truly had been hoping he could say that by the time the event rolled around.

“But I guess what I’m asking is, when you bought the tickets you bought them with the intention of us going to the game as a date for Bleeding Hearts Day, right?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Hunter… the date on these tickets says they were purchased months ago.” Willow said with a smile.

“Well, it’s your favorite team playing their biggest rival so tickets we’re gonna sell out pretty quick and I wanted to make sure we got good seats so once it was announced I-.”

“But… you couldn’t have known months in advance that we would pretend to be dating when the game was happening,” Willow pointed out, a deep blush covering her face. 

“You… you knew?”

“Kinda? I mean, I knew a little bit,” she admitted. “I didn’t actually know what I knew but I… uh, anyway.” She cleared her throat as she tried to steady her voice. “What I do know is, I’ve really liked getting to be your girlfriend.”

“Oh uh, good. I’m glad I… just wanted to make sure you were uh…”

“I also know that I don’t wanna lie anymore either,” she said softly, inching her chair closer to his.

“Oh, yeah of course I mean I understand if you just want to-.”

She placed her hand atop his on the table, effortlessly lacing their fingers together. “So let’s stop lying.”

He looked down at their hands in awe. A part of him wanted to make an excuse, to link it to their ruse. But a louder, kinder voice in his mind told him to squeeze her hand back. That so many words weren’t needed right now, to stop complicating it. Questions rolled around his brain trying to make him doubt this was what it was but he pushed them back, but then one slipped through the cracks.

“But what about… the other person you like?” He asked sheepishly. “Don’t you… I mean, aren’t they…?”

Willow looked at him with playful eyes as she bit her lip and Hunter felt like the smartest and stupidest person in the world.

And also the luckiest.

“Oh.” He said, understanding her look and not questioning it. His face was red and he knew it but didn’t care. He tried to summon the coolness he was convinced he had when they were only pretending. “Don’t you uh, wanna read the note first?”

“How about you summarize it for me?” She smiled.

“Okay uh…” he tried to pick his favorite metaphor when he realized he was doing it again. She didn’t mind that he was complicated and careful in fact she liked it. She liked him. And she was waiting for him. “Willow, would you wanna… go on a date… with me?”

“I’d love to Hunter,” she said softly, and he felt as though he heart was melting and exploding at the same time. “Lucky for you, I happen to have two great seats for a flyer derby game this weekend.”

“Wow, what’re the odds?” He chuckled, over the moon to find them back in their rhythm as he rested his head on his hand, admiring the scene finally presented in reality.

“Ya know, this means you’ll have to actually ask for my dads blessing for real then right?”

Hunter beamed, his face envied the suns brightness at her response. “I’ll go as soon as we’re out of here,” he assured, his heart racing at securing her blessing to ask for his blessing. 

“Great, so you can explain to them why I got detention today,” she said, with a wink. Hunter laughed before realizing Willow was in detention because she had gotten caught kissing him. Not exactly the first impression Hunter was hoping to present as a suitor.

Maybe he’d ask her dads after their first date, just in case.  

[rachi-roo]

-----------------{ }------------------

Buddies Daddies: Play your cards right

Hi ho, peepo! This is the first tiggle fic I've written in quite some time, forgive me if I'm a little rusty dusty with my wording or if it's too long XD

Tw: Tiggles

Summary: TK fic. Switch roles.

Miri and her two fathers are trying to enjoy a game on a rainy day but Rei's lack of smiling needs to be fixed!

-----------------{ }------------------

Saturday came once again for the oddly bound family of three. Two hit-men and their adopted daughter.

Today was special, special because there was nothing special. Kazuki and Rei had no jobs scheduled and of course, Miri didn't have any preschool to attend. Unfortunately, on this day they all had spare, it was pouring rain outside, so that ruled out any chances of visiting the park or even going for a walk. Stuck inside together, all day.

But that was okay! There were plenty of activities to keep all three occupied.

"Papa! Papaaa!" Rather, whatever interesting-looking item little Miri found that might get them to play with her.

"Papaaaaa!" The excited young girl rushed to find her fathers, clutching a small box to her chest. The two men sat in the lounge, the blonde sat at the dining table, using his free time to check up on various parenting techniques online while the other sat staring vacantly at his video game on the couch.

"Look! Look!" The girl batted at Kazukis leg with the box she had found, wanting him to take it.

"Hey, what you got there? Huh. Uno? I haven't seen this in a long time." He chuckled, turning the box over, and reading its contents with a smile. "It's a game? Right?" Miri queried, pulling herself up onto Kazukis lap.

He petted her hair, opened the box, and showed her some of the colorful cards. "Yep. It might be a bit complicated for someone your age-"

"I wanna play! I'm big! I can play it!" The child puffed her cheeks in protest, looks like they didn't have a choice. The blonde sighed with a chuckle, closing his laptop.

"Okaaay, maybe papa Rei wants to play too." He chuckled, smirking at his roommate, who returned an un-amused glare before shaking his head in protest.

<Ten minutes later>

"BINGO!" Miri cheered, slapping down a blue seven on top of a green two. Rei gave an exasperated sigh, this kid was un-teachable.

The blonde chuckled, sitting beside the hopeless child on the floor whilst Rei refused to give up his spot on the couch. Despite the fun game the three were playing together, he was still wearing his signature 'resting bitch face'. Miri wasn't having it today.

She held up a skip-go card in her tiny hand, waving it at Rei angrily. "No more grumpy! You're banned from grumpy!"

"That's not how that works." He deadpanned, looking at Kazuki as he laughed. "Sure it is! C'mon, just give us a cheeky grin, papa Rei~" The teasing wasn't going to work, Rei just glared harder, he always hated when they made fun of his lack of smiling, it ruined his cool bad-ass aesthetic.

Miri grew more irritated, thumping her hands on the table, and scattering the cards slightly. "I want papa Rei to smile! Papa Kazukiiiii!" Kazuki looked between the two before smirking at Rei. "I think I know what to do."

Rei instantly knew what Kazuki was thinking, this was a technique that had been used on him only a few times before. An evil torture method. Quickly shifting his weight as Kazuki pounced upon him, Rei managed to pin the blonde on his back with ease. His arms were trapped by his sides as the cool-tempered assassin straddled his waist, trapping him on the couch cushions.

He struggled underneath his partner, huffing as he realised he was stuck good. "Damn it! I thought cold-blooded guys had slower reflexes."

"Very funny." A set of nimble fingers appeared from nowhere, wriggling into the stuck man's ribs through his thin shirt. The feeling made Kazuki gasp and buck his hips suddenly, letting out a strained squeak.

"Wahait! Wait wait wait! Rehehei!" His begging fell upon deaf ears as his attacker casually poked and squeezed up and down each rib.

"Stahap! Rei! Rh- C'mon!" Kazuki tugged and twisted his arms, finally managing to pull one free, an uno reverse card gripped between his thumb and finger. "Ha! Reverse card bozo!" He grinned, grabbing Rei's hoodie collar and throwing him onto the floor with a thud.

"Oh no you don't!" Rei tussled with Kazuki, grabbing his wrists, and wrestling for dominance against the oncoming tickle attack. Miri cheered Kazuki on, clapping excitedly as she jumped on the spot.

"Get him papa! Make papa Rei smile!"

"I'm trying! He's too squirmy! Move ya arms darn it!" For a split second, Rei's arms out of the way, that second was all Kazuki needed. He stuck his hands up under his victim's arms, instantly getting locked in as Rei clamped down, his cheeks puffed up as he held onto his breath. Tensing up as he tried to activate the 'I'm not ticklish' thing before it was too late.

Kazuki grinned, he had the guy right where he wanted him. "Awww, giving me the silent treatment now? Can't hold your breath forever buddy boy~" Kazuki chuckled, trying to wriggle his fingers in their snare.

Rei shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut, his cheeks turning a rosey pink as the tantalising teasing got to him. He wasn't going to break. Not now. Not ever-!

"Aaaalrighty then, you've given me no choice!" Kazuki exclaimed, sucking as much air into his lungs as possible before burying his face into the crook of the dark-haired man's neck, unleashing an earth-shaking raspberry onto his vulnerable skin.

Rei's eyes shot open in shock. The gates were open and there was no going back. His head flung back, mouth agape as loud boyish laughter filled the atmosphere. Along with it came a smile. Bright and precious.

"Stahahap! Kaz! Kahahaz! G-Get the f-"

"Ah ta ta ta! No swearing in front of little Miri." Kazuki scolded, finally able to free his hands and attack Rei's unsuspecting tummy, shaking his digits into the toned abs.

"This isn't f-AHAHAIR!" His legs flailed behind Kazuki, pushing and dragging along the floor in desperate attempts to buck the blonde off. It was no use. Once the laughter started, all his strength seemed to be sapped away with each breath. No matter how much of a grip he had on Kazukis wrists, he couldn't budge them. The fuzzy sensation in his belly was his krypnonite.

"Yaaaay! Papa Rei's smile is so big!" Miri giggled as she perched on the tabletop, looking down at her flustered father's fight for freedom.

"Isn't it? He's a little sweetheart really. And now you know how to make papa Rei smile whenever you want!" Kazuki chuckled, blowing another raspberry on the poor man's neck as he desperately pushed on Kazukis shoulders.

"Stahap! Gehet offa' me! Ahaha!" This evil torture continued for only a couple minutes, which seemed like ours for Rei, when Kazuki finally let up. Looking down at his flustered, tired-out friend with a cheery grin.

A set of small hands patted Rei's dark hair as he panted, looking up to see Miri standing by his side, giggling. At least she was happy.

Rei gave one last, brief, smile at her before it faded and he turned his attention to beating Kazuki with a cushion. He hadn't been tickled like that in quite some time, but he knew there was going to be a lot more coming his way in the days to come.

And it wasn't all that bad.

[maddieautobot273]

Silk & Cologne (54)

A Miguel O'Hara X OC Fanfic - link to AO3 (X)

Chapter 54: Dawn - previous chapter (X)

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Female! Spidersona OC

Words: 5.8K words

Warnings: PG for injury and implied weapon of mass destruction

Summary: Lisa and her friends shut down the poral threatening to collapse Earth-1218.

//////

We all stared up at the portal in the sky, watching as it slowly sparked and crackled. It was becoming unstable. If it collapsed, would it simply be over and done with? It would go out in style and take my universe with it?

“What do we do now?” Noir asked, raising his voice as a large and loud gust of wind rush passed us. 

“We need to figure out a way to contain it!” Miguel yelled back, using his body to brace and shield mine from the wind, or try to at least. 

Panic rattled in my mind about the multitude of things that could go wrong. Even if we do contain it, what about the authorities? People would talk, ask questions. What about the national guard? The military? 

Come to think of it, where are they? 

A wave of guilt washed over me, “I probably shouldn’t have been too quick to kick Chameleon to the curb.”

“If you hadn’t, he would have taken me to God knows where,” Kasey shook her head as she glanced my way, her arms raised to shield her face from the wind. “You saved me, Lisa.”

“Don’t ever apologize for something like that,” Miguel reassured me. “In fact, I may have an idea on how to stop this. Well, two actually!”

“Let's hear it then before we’re blown away like leaves!” Gwen screamed, trying to keep herself and Touga from falling over. 

“Lyla,” Miguel brought his gizmo up to his face, trying to scroll through the touch screen. “Remember Project: Reset? Back in the old Alchemax days?”

“Oh, do I!” Lyla grins as her holoform appears, rubbing her hands together like an eager grasshopper before cycling through the database on her personal screen. 

“What’s Project: Reset?” I asked him.

I watched as a small portal opened beside Miguel and he reached inside it. He pulled his hand out, holding a strange looking sleek white baton. “Back during my early days in Alchemax when I first started, my old boss would have me occasionally work with the company’s R&D department. They were experimenting with a weapon that– with enough charge– could wipe and realtor people’s memory on a massive scale.”

“Sounds like a weapon of mass destruction to me!” Toya commented. 

“It was, which was why I convinced my then boss at the time to shut it down before more could be made,” Miguel responded. 

“Okaaay, but how does that help us with that?” I asked again, pointing at the portal as the integrity seemed to be getting worse. 

“With the portal? Nothing.” Miguel yelled over the wind as he began to tweak and make altercations with the device. “Lyla, Margo, and Gabriel can work their magic from HQ and contain the blast, sending it directly back to Harry’s dimension and doing a number on his lab. At the same time, I can trigger this device to alter the town’s people’s memories so they won’t remember anything from the invasion.”

“That’s brilliant!” Hannah beamed, gripping onto Touga to keep still. “A little terrifying, but brilliant!”

“But what about everyone else all over the world that was watching the festival online or on TV?” Kasey asked. “They’ll know something is off if the people of New York suddenly act like this all never happened.”

“Remember the part I mentioned about charging the device?” Miguel recalled. His eyes scanned the area, looking up to the top of the Statue of Liberty, specifically the tip of the flame torch in Lady Liberty’s hand. “If I can get high enough, I can pick up the broadcast signal and transmit the wipe to everyone that was watching the show!”

“Perfect, let’s do that!” I exclaimed, eyes widening in relief. 

“But there’s a catch,” Miguel quickly added, hooking his arm around my shoulders to stop me from blowing away. “I need to replace the memory of the invasion with something else-!”

“Like a fake memory or an actual event?” Noir asked. 

“Definitely the ladder!” Miguel answered back in earnest. 

“Like. . . like a canon event?” My mind was racing as I tried to figure out what new memory we could create to replace the one of the invasion. 

I could sense the gears in his head turning as Miguel looked over at me. “Kind of, yeah!”

“We’re always saving the canon from breaking, so this will be a wonderful change of pace!” Gwen grimaced and pushed against the wind. 

“So what kind of canon event?” Toya asked, his voice yelling over the wind. “It has to be something big right?”

Think, Lisa, think! 

All of those people, in the audience and watching on TV, their phones, laptops, why were they all tuning in in the first place?

Then it hits me. How could I have been so blind?

“What about our show?” I suggested, looking out towards the team. 

“The show?” Kasey repeated with more emphasis. 

“Yes, the show. Our dance, you guys!” I exclaimed, my gaze washing over Kasey, Hannah, Toya, and Touga specifically. 

My Webslingers. 

“Everyone came to see our show, so let’s give them a show!” I fought against the wind with an encouraging smile as I took my mask off so they could see my face. 

My friends looked at each other, silently debating what to do. 

“But wait, you said it alters people’s memories,” Kasey spoke up, a look of worry on her face. “Does that mean our memories will be changed too?”

Miguel hesitated briefly as the eyelets of his mask drooped to a sad expression, his voice laced with apology. “The device has been altered to protect only those wearing a gizmo. So, yes. . . your memories will be altered.”

“Then. . . that means you guys won’t remember everything that’s happened. You all finally getting the chance to see the real Miguel. The real me. . .” The realization hit me as I felt my heart drop to my stomach. 

My body suddenly felt heavy and limb. For a second, I thought I wouldn’t have to hide such a big secret from them anymore. I thought I’d be able to finally be my complete self around them.

I felt the grip of Miguel’s arm tighten around my shoulders, his silent apology plucking at my heartstrings.  

“If by the odd chance this does work. . . might as well go out with a bang, right?” Touga shrugged with a contagious smile. 

“What?” My voice was barely a whisper being carried out into the wind as I looked up towards my friends. 

“Considering all of the crazy stuff that we’ve seen in the last hour?” Hannah gawked at her friend before sharing a glance with me and the rest of the group. “I’m in! I think this can work!”

“If Hannah’s in, I’m in!” Toya grinned, grabbing her hand before looking over at Kasey. “What about you, K?”

Kasey glanced between everyone else before her gaze fell upon me. My eyes poured into hers, pleading for her to trust me. She suddenly laughed, hysterical even, before waving her hands in the air. “You’re our friend, Lisa. Super hero or not. What the hell! This day can’t keep getting any weirder, right?”

I grinned in relief before looking over to Miguel, nodding my head. “Let’s go with your plan.”

“Alright, team, repair the stage as best as you can and get a camera set up. I’ll contact HQ and establish the signal at the top of the statue,” Miguel relayed his orders like the organized leader I knew him to be, watching as the Spiders set off to do their task. His gaze fell upon me and my friends. “Webslingers, do what you do best.”

I looked out to my friends, smiling confidently as I used my powers to leap for them, gathering them in my arms before web-slinging us closer to the stage. 

“Gabriel, are you there? Did Lyla fill you in?” Miguel spoke in the background as he began running for the statue. 

“Yeah, she did, but still struggling to believe it,” his little brother’s voice spoke through the com-link. “Project: Reset? Are you serious? You must be really desperate to whip that out all of a sudden.”

“Don’t start with me,” Miguel grumbled, muttering something else in Spanish that I couldn’t decipher, although I couldn’t help the faint smirk that formed on my lips when my friends and I arrived on the stage. 

We quickly helped the others clean up the stage while they patched up broken and loose panels with their webbing. There was a lightning crackle like noise as I whipped my head up to the statue of liberty to see another portal open up just feet away from Harry’s portal. It was a portal from Spider Society HQ. 

“Our portal is stabilized, Miguel,” Margo’s voice spoke up through the com-link. “Ready to go on your mark.”

“We’re just missing one more piece to this puzzle,” Miguel uttered softly in the com-link before raising his voice. “METRO! Are you still around?”

“Right here, boss man!” A new voice fluttered through the com-link as a white and black dressed spider swinged up onto the stage. 

METRO’s spider suit had a black and white colour scheme that almost reminded me of the anti-venom spider-suit, but this one felt more personalized with a white spider necklace hanging low on his chest and a black with white spider webbing bandana wrapped around his forehead. The top part of his head was uncovered, giving way to his immaculately tailored dreadlocks of black and light aubrey brown coloured hair. 

Wait a minute, METRO BOOMIN?!

“Wait, he’s a Spider-Man too?!” I gasped, eyes wide as I looked between him and the small speck of Miguel’s body clinging onto Lady Liberty’s torch. “But you said originally no spider-person could actually exist in my dimension!”

“That’s right.” Miguel responded quickly. “He’s not from your dimension.”

“Huh?” I gawked, my head trying to wrap around the concept as METRO quickly fixed and set up his DJ player and sound mixer. 

“It’s true, Muse! I’d do the whole ‘Okay let’s do this one last time’ speech, but clearly we don’t got time for that,” METRO chuckled anxiously as he finished setting up. “I’m from Earth-101, I developed a psychic connection to my other dimensions personas. It’s how I’m here. Call me Metro-Spider.”

“O-Okay?” I wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to that, but I at least offered him a reassuring thumbs up. 

“Okay, we’re ready!” Hannah exclaimed as she and the others joined me on stage.

Leave it to Hannah to accidentally leave her bag backstage with backup costumes for all of us in the event something horribly went wrong. Loose stitching? Fabric got ripped? Trying escaping an enemy anomaly invasion and potential dimensional destruction. 

“Okay, Miguel, we’re in position!” I exclaimed through the com-link as I looked around the newly rebuilt stage, held together miraculously by our spider friends webbing and looked over as they each got cameras set up aimed towards us. 

“Cameras are primed and ready to roll!” Gwen chimed in, attaching the reset adaptor to the camera and the little device blinked green, indicating its connection to Miguel’s wand. 

“Here goes nothing!” Miguel took a deep breath. “But if this doesn’t work–”

“It’s going to work, Miguel,” I insisted, my gaze locking on to his body. “Trust me.”

I could feel our gazes locked on to one another, even at such a long distance apart. I felt a long caress down our bond, soothing me, both of us, as I breathed in and out slowly. In that moment my mind flashed back to when we danced together for the first time, he way he held me close, and when he whispered to me those same words I sent out to him through our bond. 

‘Do you trust me, Miguel?’

‘With my life, Lisa.’ 

“Let’s do it!” I called out as I launched a web to connect with the webbing along the stage, my player syncing with METRO’s sound system. 

“We’re coming to you live!” Noir announced with a signature radio actor voice, signaling us to start. 

I suddenly felt a tap on my wrist. I glanced over to see Kasey had leaned in closer to me, whispering, “If you still want to tell us about the whole super hero spider thing after all this is over, just come talk to us. We’ll think it’s crazy, but I know you’ll convince us otherwise.” 

I smiled softly at her, giving her hand a squeeze. “Thanks Kasey. I’m glad to have you as my friend.”

She smiled back before pulling away. 

Music started to play, the familiar violins and drum beats fluttering our ears as my friends and I started to dance, picking it right up from where we left off before the world seemed to go to shit. 

“I'm still fighting, I don't fear I've lost

Am I dreamin', is there more like us?

Got me feelin', like it's all too much

I feel beaten, but I can't give up!”

I cast a comforting glance to Kasey who was startled at first, expecting us to start from the beginning. After giving her an encouraging nod, motioning for her to follow my lead, she immediately stepped up and danced in sync with us. 

“Here we go!” METRO yelled excitedly. 

“I can't find it in myself to just walk away

I can't find it in myself to lose everything!” 

I closed my eyes, and it was like we were back in our dance studio, learning this dance for the first time. 

We all turned, forming a circle as Touya, Touga, Hannah and I surrounded Kasey. We all reached our arms out towards her as she crossed her arms over her chest, something similar to the Wakanda Forever salute before flexing her arms down to her sides. As she did that, the rest of us dropped to one knee, kneeling as we bowed our heads to her.

Just like before. Just like we practiced. 

“You’re doing great,” I whispered softly to them all. 

“Feel everyone's against me, don't want me to be great

Things might look bad, I'm afraid to look death in the face!”

“One, two, three, LET’S GO-!” Metro-Spider shouted, a fist in the air. 

That’s the signal. 

I could hear the ringing of Miguel activating the reset device and quickly soon after, wave after wave of pulsing blue energy soared across the sky of the entire city, and with any luck, the entire world. 

The beat dropped as Kasey then propelled herself forward, sliding along the floor. Hannah and I steered clear of her entrance. As we faced in her direction, Toya stepped behind Hannah and Touga stepped behind me, the boys hoisting us up to our feet and became our dance partners. The pair of us did a sweet waltz as Kasey was up front performing her own solo.

“I'm good now, who's really bad? 

I choose me now, what's wrong with that?

Wish you could see me

Now, now, mm, who had my back, baby?

Know no love lost, good always will win~”

I looked up into the sky, towards the portal to Harry’s dimension. The waves of energy from Miguel’s reset wand and the counteractive sparks from the conduit portal Lyla, Margo, and Gabriel created fought back against the enemy portal. It started to shrink, contorting violently. 

It’s working!

“Just a little more power and we can shut it down!” Gabriel’s voice rang through the com-link.

‘Finish it strong for me.’ Miguel’s voice purred through the bond. 

He had said the same thing when we were fighting Isabella in Noir’s dimension, and I felt the same surge of confident, motivative energy as I poured my heart out into the last steps of the dance, my voice reaching out. 

“Not done fightin', I don't fear I've lost 

Am I dreamin', is there more like us?

Got me feeling, like it's all too much

I feel beaten, but I can't give up!”

Kasey stepped aside, pulling up to the front of the stage as she and the others danced behind me. I was confused at first, but seeing her encouraging nod gave me the push to keep going. Together, I danced along with my friends as I sang the last set of lyrics to help me focus, my heart pounding in my chest. 

“I'm still fighting, I don't fear I've lost

Am I dreamin', is there more like us?

Got me feelin', like it's all too much

I feel beaten, but I can't give up!”

The enemy portal shrank smaller and smaller until it blipped into a tiny spec. There was a blink of light before the energy dispersed and sparkled in the sky like a giant firework. It gave us the perfect backdrop as we closed out the song. 

“Can't give up

Can't give, can't give up

Can't give, can't give up

Can't give, can't give up

Can't give up!” 

The music faded and the shimmering spectacle of the exploding portal faded into nothingness, giving way to the stars and the beautiful night sky. I took in deep breaths, my chest rising and falling as I lowered my fist from pounding it into the air with my finishing pose before my friend's dog piled me to the floor of the stage, their cheers and exasperated laughter filling the air. At the same time, Noir and Gwen cut the live broadcast feed and turned off the cameras. 

“Holy shit we actually did it!” Kasey laughed with a beaming smile. 

“That was like something out of an anime, oh my god!” Touga chuckled over Toya’s cackling. 

Hannah hugged me tightly, her thin arms wrapping around me. “We did it, we did it! You were amazing!” 

“Yeah. . .” I exchanged bewildered looks with each of them, the moment slowly processing in my mind before I reached my arms out to pull them all into a group hug. “I love you guys!”

I didn’t know why I was suddenly getting so emotional, but when my friends each returned their own embrace, I felt like my beating heart finally got the chance to slow down. Swift movement caught my ear as I looked up to see Miguel land near us on the stage, his mask evaporating from his face to show off his stunning eyes filled with pride. “It worked!”

“It did!” I beamed. 

When I moved to stand up, I suddenly felt a horrible, aching pain in my ankle as I immediately dropped back down to the floor, whining in pain. “OW!”

My friends immediately backed away, startled. But Miguel moved in, kneeling in front of me but was careful to not completely overshadow my form and gave me room to breathe. “What’s wrong?”

“I think– I think I sprained my ankle.” I hissed, my hand brushing down to find the source of the pain before retracting itself quickly. 

Miguel’s eyes looked me over, his eyes pleading silently before speaking, “May I?”

I nodded and watched as Miguel’s fingers gently, carefully skimmed down the calf of my left leg and as soon as his rough fingers brushed over my ankle, I bit my tongue as I held back a pained groan, fighting the urge to recoil from the touch. “That's definitely a sprain. You’d be screaming in pain if it was broken.”

“Obviously,” I couldn’t help but laugh as I shook my head. “Out of all of the things that happened tonight, this is what brings me under?”

“I’m glad it was something like this and not worse.” Miguel stated firmly, but a ghost of a relieved smile formed on his lips. 

He carefully stepped around me before gently scooping me up in his arms, and lifted me up from the floor. He held me close to his chest and I pretended to not see Hannah quietly squealing at the action, hiding behind Touga as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“Lyla tracked your home addresses through your phones,” Miguel spoke as a portal opened up behind my friends. “You’ll have another minute or so before the memory reset takes effect. I’d like you all to be in the safety of your homes when it happens.”

“Thanks for the free ride, Miguel,” Kasey grinned, offering him a salute. “We’ll see you around?”

Miguel offered Kasey a small smile as he nodded. “I’ll be around.”

“Good. After tonight, I think you owe us all a little group dinner night out,” She grinned, “You should come hang out with us sometime.”

“It could be fun.” I encouraged him softly with a soft brush of my fingers against his jawline. 

Miguel chuckled softly at the action before nodding again. “Fair enough. My treat then, just set a date and time.”

“So. . . I guess we’ll see you later?” Toya offered us a small wave. 

“See you later.” I waved back with my own smile. 

See you after your memories are erased and you won’t remember anything that happened tonight. 

One by one, I watched as my friends jumped through the portal. Kasey was the last to leave, offering me one more friendly farewell before following behind the others. The portal closed quickly after her departure. 

“Lyla, what’s the status of the dimensional integrity?” Miguel asked as Lyla’s holographic form appeared beside him. 

“Earth-1218 is slowly stabilizing, Miguel!” Lyla reported with a salute. “Margo and Gabriel will continue to monitor it for the remainder of the night to make sure there’s no setbacks, but all things considered, Project: Reset appears to have worked flawlessly!”

“So. . . no one in my dimension will remember what happened tonight?” I asked Miguel, staring up at him as the rest of the spiders regrouped at our location. 

“No one, except for you,” Miguel confirmed with a nod before his hold on me tightened ever so slightly. “But that doesn’t diminish what you accomplished tonight.”

“You did good kid,” Noir approached, patting my head gently. “Real good.”

I smirked over at him. “Aren’t I older than you?”

“I’d argue I’m more mature and older in spirit!” Noir jabbed playfully. 

“Okay, wise guy,” Gwen came up to his side, nudging his shoulder. “Do you want me to steal and hide your hat again?”

“The technical term is fedora and no!” Noir clutched his hat close to his head, making me laugh. 

“Alright, alright, settle down,” Miguel coaxed the group to ease up with a cautious stare. “I believe our work here is done. Spiders, let's go back home.”

Miguel swiped his finger along the screen of his gizmo, activating another portal. The familiar orange and yellow swirls and hexagons were a comforting sight as Gwen started running a head. 

“I’ll go a head and let Doc know to get a bed ready!” She chimed in. 

“Thank you, Gwen-!” Miguel could barely finish his thanks before Gwen was already through the portal. 

“Kids these days, they can never stay still,” Noir shook his head before running after her, disappearing into the portal. 

With just the two of us remaining, Miguel looked down at me with a softened expression. “You mind if I bring you back? Just so Doc can take a look at you?”

I nodded softly. “That’s fine. I don’t know how a normal doctor would react if two spider costumed people showed up to an ER in the middle of the night.”

“Wouldn’t that just be a regular Saturday night for them?” He grinned back. 

“Oh, hardy har har,” I mocked, rolling my eyes. 

Miguel started walking towards the portal, his arm that held up my shoulders lifting up to bring me closer to his face. “All that said, I really am proud of you, Lisa. You were spectacular, Spider-Muse.”

I grinned back at Miguel, cupping his cheek. “You weren’t so bad yourself, Spider-Man.”

The look he gave me made my heart flutter as his eyes seemed to sparkle just like the stars above. “Come here,” he whispered, before capturing my lips in a tender kiss as we phased through the portal. 

**********

“Oh I feel so awful for missing it, I just don’t know what happened!” My mother apologized profusely for the umpteenth time as Miguel and I stood with her at the departure gate at JFK international airport. 

It was now the early afternoon the following day since the Marvel Day festival ended, specifically just over 12 hours since myself, my friends and the Spider Society saved my dimension from complete and potential annihilation. 

Miguel’s plan with Project: Reset worked. After Spider-Doc looked me over and gave me some pain meds to sleep it off for a few hours, I woke up to check the news on my phone and for a second I thought I had woken up from a dream. It was like the anomaly invasion never happened, and all the news reported on were highlights of the Marvel Day festivities. 

One of the bigger highlights was The Webslingers performance. 

The firework-like explosion of Harry’s portal was played off as just that. Fireworks and special effects, which was why due to safety reasons, we didn’t have an audience physically with us. Nobody was expecting such a grand display, and as it turned out the animators and special effects crew working behind the scenes were so burnt out from the work that they “didn’t remember doing all of this but must have done it in their sleep”, and since then there’s been a call online to give their industry better pay. 

Honestly, good for them. 

When it came to my friends, when I first woke up this morning, the group chat was lively with reactions to our performance and watching the live playback. According to them, we had celebrated together briefly before we quickly realized I had done something to my ankle. They said they had seen Miguel take me to a nearby hospital and kept them all updated as they had their own little party back at the twin’s penthouse before returning home in the wee hours of the night. 

It was only then did the memory reset really sunk in for me. They really don’t remember anything that actually happened last night. The invasion, Kasey’s kidnapping and rescue, fighting Oscorp with Miguel and the others, seeing my powers in action. . . 

Perhaps it was for the best. 

As for my mom on the other hand, when Miguel and I arrived at her hotel room to check on her, the poor woman was so frazzled. Miguel’s reasoning behind her fainting was due to a sudden episode, or at least that’s what the “doctor’s” had told him when he said he had immediately handed her over to the local authorities to be brought to a nearby emergency room and they had contacted him. She didn’t remember arriving back to the hotel, and so I had explained that after I got my ankle checked out, between her fainting and the medication the nurses gave her, she passed out, and that we personally drove her back to let her rest. 

Speaking of my ankle. 

“And your ankle! Oh, I’m just happy you had Miguel and your friends with you, dear,” Janet hugged me tightly, and for a second I thought she was going to crush me. 

“Mom, I’ll be okay, really!” I reassured her with a gentle laugh as I attempted to return the embrace. “You’re acting like this is the first time I’ve injured myself.”

“I know, I know, it’s just been awhile, that’s all,” She shook her head, pulling away from me as she offered me an apologetic smile. “I know I can always watch your show online, but I would have loved to see the whole thing in person.”

“You showed up mom,” I took her hands in mine, squeezing them tightly. “That’s what matters to me.”

That part wasn’t a lie or made up memory. It was the truth and nothing but the truth. 

“You’ll be alright on your flight home, Janet?” Miguel asked with concern in his eyes. 

“Oh, yes, Miguel, don’t you worry!” Janet smiled reassuringly as she patted her fanny pack. “I’ve got my gravol with me so I won’t even know if I’m feeling sick on the plane as soon as I’m on board.”

“Or as dad liked to call it, the gravol haze?” I teased with a knowing look, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh hush you!” Janet glared at me with a playful grin. 

There was an announcement overheard that a certain flight would begin boarding soon. My mom’s eyes lit up as she quickly checked to make sure she had all her bags with her. 

“Oh, I should get going.” She sighed, grabbing her purse as she looked over towards Miguel and I. She had a soft smile on her face before she suddenly looked at me with this look of. . . longing. “But before I leave, honey, may I talk to you for a moment?”

My eyes lit up at the recognition in her words. Growing up I quickly learned if my mother ever gave me that look, she wanted to talk to me in private. Usually it was always something important, so I never kept her waiting. I should know, the first time she ever gave me that look was when she first told me when dad got sick all those years ago. 

“Sure, mom, just don’t miss your boarding time.” I nodded softly before glancing up at Miguel. “Give us a minute?”

“Of course,” Miguel smiled softly as he squeezed my shoulder, leaning in to peck my temple before stepping away. 

Once he was far enough where I convinced myself that he wouldn’t be able to hear our conversation, I stepped closer to my mom. “What’s going on?”

Janet was silent briefly, her eyes shifting as if she were choosing her words carefully. But when she spoke, she was calm and collected. “Would you feel comfortable if. . . if I showed Jin your performance?”

I could feel my nerves become static, my grip on her hands tightening. My pupils went wide, my eyes searching hers to try and find out if she was joking or not. But when it came to my mother, and topics like this, she never joked. 

Other than her updating me on his therapy progress every now and then, I haven’t physically seen or heard from my step-father since I cut contact with him. Just over 2 years ago. But if she could update me on his progress, then I could just as easily update him on mine. 

I want to show him how far I’ve come since then. 

“Sure,” I nodded softly. 

Janet’s eyes lit up in surprise, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor. “Wait, really?!”

I nodded again, squeezing her hands tightly. 

“Oh, that’s great, sweetheart, I’m so happy to hear that!” She even bounced a little in excitement. “He really has been doing better. I think watching it will just be the thing he needs to show him how strong and powerful you are and how far you’ve come. Show him what he’s been missing.”

What she said suddenly made a lump form in my throat, tears swelling in my eyes. “Oh, mom. . .”

“I know, I know, I overdid it,” she grinned, pulling me into another hug. “There’s also one other thing. This one, you don’t have to decide now, if you need time to think about it.”

My heart suddenly skipped a beat as I pulled back, anxiously awaiting to hear what she had to say. “Yes?”

“How would you feel about. . . flying down to Korea for a few days?” Janet suggested, her eye meeting mine with a genuine expression. “To come see him?”

If I thought I was frazzled before, I definitely was now. “When?”

“Anytime you want to, sweetie!” Janet quickly reassured me, squeezing my hands. “Again, it’s entirely up to you, but I was with your step-father for his most recent session and his therapist suggested the idea. He believes Jin is about ready to. . . make amends.”

My eyes widened at that. “And is. . . Jin ready for it?”

“I’m not sure if he’ll know for sure until it happens,” Janet shook her head with uncertainty. “But he does wish to see you. Even just for a few minutes.”

My mind was racing as the multitude of possibilities swarmed in my head. All the things that could go right, or wrong. Why did it feel like one weighed more than the other?

Even still, there was this sudden burning sensation in the pit of my stomach.  I met my mom’s gaze, offering her a small smile as I spoke softly, “I’ll think about it.”

She smiled back at me, holding me close. “Take as long as you need dear. I love you.”

Janet hugged me one last time as another announcement chimed over the speakers. She gathered her bags and I saw her off as she waddled to the security checkpoint. As I lowered my hand from waving at her, Miguel’s footsteps caught my ear as I turned to glance at him. “I’m okay.” I quickly reassured him. 

“Are you sure?” He asked me with a hint of worry in his eyes as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his hand reaching up to wipe a stray tear from my cheek. 

I nodded softly, leaning into him. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Alright,” Miguel gave me a tight squeeze, kissing the top of my head before he motioned to the side. “Let’s get going, and don’t forget~”

“I know, I know,” I rolled my eyes in an annoyed manner as I reached over to a pillar and grabbed the walking crutch I had left on the side while seeing my mother off. I hooked it under my left armpit, holding Miguel close with my right. “Do I have to keep this cast on for 4 weeks? Didn’t Spider-Doc say this could heal in half the time thanks to the healing factor of the spider powers?”

“Yes, but because of the reset, your friends and family don’t know about your powers anymore,” Miguel reminded gently. “So you have to keep up the façade of being your friendly neighborhood self.”

“Did you just make a Spider-Man joke?” I gawked at Miguel.

Miguel didn’t hide his cheeky grin and I caught a small glimpse of his fangs as he spoke. “Maybe I did.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes again as we stepped out into the main entrance of the airport. “Your–”

“An asshole?” He quickly chimed in, leaning in closer to me. 

I smirked back at him, bringing my hand up from his hand to cup his chin. “My asshole.”

“No lo olvides, mi Mona Lisa.” Miguel's tone was flirtatious as his hand caught the small of my back, his warm breath fanning my lips before he kissed me in the sunshine. - Don't you forget it, my Mona Lisa

///////

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[dutifullyshamelessearthquake]

ITS TIME

ok okay okaaay, thinking about slow build stomach flus. With Cyno ofc. And I won’t apologize. But I’m thinking like, the kind where pain and nausea come and go. But like across the span of a whole day and a half. There be a pang of discomfort and maybe an uncomfortable roll of the stomach…and then it’ll pass and the character is fine again for a good few hours. And for cyno i feel like just because it’s stomach pain and no other symptoms and the nausea comes and goes with a fair amount of time in between he’s like….it’s probably fine? But what I love about a slow build flu is that the other stuff just kinda settles in..I love the idea of a Cyno who (this kinda goes back to the whole getting sick on the night that everyone is out but nari prompt too!!) where all day he’s just like a tiny bit off. He’s getting ready to go out and doing his hair but stops cuz it’s suddenly too much energy. He grabs a drink of water but doesn’t finish it cuz it’s just..not sitting right? But like not even that it’s vaguer. And ofc he’s finding himself dreading nari not being there at first just a little more than normal? Idk the internal feeling of malaise is so interesting to me cuz you’re just sort of dragging… but with the flu it’s unavoidable..

so eventually the pains come more often, and it’s more specifically in the stomach and the nausea kicks up and the dizzy ness too. Maybe it’s by now he’s asking nari to go home, he feels bad and it’s almost like…he can’t escape the gross icky feeling slowly filling him up. His discomfort is just seeping into all parts of him and it’s hard to process why everything (his clothes the lights the room even his favorite card game) feels *bad* que the whole kaveh and alhaitham summoning Tighnari to come get his man cuz he looks likes either gonna puke pass out or cry (or all ??) and they are scared cuz somehow he also looks close to biting one of them…

I ALSO like the idea of a Cyno where they get home and he’s just falling apart (emotional maybe? Frustrated? Overtired?) idk cranky icky baby. His stomach hurts pretty bad now but it still hasn’t reached the point of it being an issue- until the next day. Because there’s something so soul crushing about hoping you’re gonna feel better in the morning and waking up feeling *way worse* and then ofc, the vomiting begins and there’s no way out but through.

ALSO unrelated but related light head Cyno dealing with bad food poisoning and passing out in front of Tighnari for the first time. Idk if I said this before so it so I’m so sorry!! Feel free to ignore if that’s the case lol. But Tighnari calling someone like kaveh or collie or anyone to talk too after Cyno is asleep and confirmed not dying and just breaking down? Yes. But!! Follow it by Cyno calling out to nari from the room, which totally embarrasses him. And Tighnari goes running cuz he’s worried sick but it turns out Cyno wants to comfort HIM! And nari is all no you need sleep but Cyno insists and talks with him until he literally can’t keep his eyes open or maybe the nausea starts to kick up. I just think it would be sweet…Cyno agreeing to not get up with out tighnari there in case he falls and tighnari allowing himself to get some much needed comfort too cuz whole shit that was wild.

I feel like I have more but I’ll chill for now 😂😂 if I remember I’ll speak up FEAR NOT

Oh my word YES!! All this is simply brilliant. And it's so fitting considering I have a Cyno stomach flu prompt to fill next 👀 I might just have to use some of these ideas, if that's alright with you!

I absolutely adore slow build up as well, if it's done right it's just ARGH! I love it! I think it's one of the reasons I enjoyed writing Through the Snow so much. Having a character be primarily fine, but those tiny little hints that something is wrong start to rear their heads. And it's so vague and far between that the character just can't put a finger on something being actually wrong, until things are really wrong.

Ahh all those ideas are so good. I love things just slowly building up the way you described- his arms just starting to feel heavy as he's doing his hair and he just wants to sit for a moment. Deciding to get a glass of water but he can't quite bring himself to finish it. Dreading going out and spending time with friends when that's something he usually loves. Longing for Tighnari's presence in a way that's much too vulnerable-feeling for Cyno's comfort.

AND don't get me started on the going to bed, hoping to sleep it off, waking up feeling worse trope, I freaking love that! Like you said, that absolutely soul-crushing realisation of realising you're not feeling any better, actually no, you feel worse.

It somewhat ties into this vague idea I've been chewing on, I love the idea of a character coming home, (let's go with Tighnari and Cyno, they're the center of attention right now after all) Tighnari coming home, either from a class he couldn't skip or from getting some necessities from the store. And he comes home knowing Cyno isn't feeling well - he's been off for a while now and maybe that morning was the morning he woke up and realised okay he's not feeling good and told Tighnari. And I'm just picturing Tighnari looking for him and finding Cyno looking so vulnerable. The type of vulnerability he usually shows only when he's alone. There are classics like finding him lying on the bathroom floor, or just miserable sitting with his head over the toilet, but the scene I have in head is him just lying on the bed. Curled in on himself, knees drawn up to his stomach, arms close to his chest. His back is to the door and he just looks so small and defeated.

That scene has a very high likelihood of appearing in a fic soon ahh.

And back to what were saying, YES! I remember I had a long ramble a while back about the scenario of Cyno passing out for the first time around Tighnari, and argh, it's another scenario I really want to bring to life in a fic at some point when the story is right for it. I don't want to risk repeating anything I already said in that post (it's late and I'm planning on heading to bed right after I finish typing this out, so my brain definitely isn't at its sharpest) so I'll keep my rambles brief, but I'm so in love with this scenario. And especially Nari in this situation, like he was rattled after that (how couldn't he be??) And I just have this feeling that, even though he's the sick one and this is all entirely outside of his control, Cyno would just have so much immense guilt for 'putting Nari through this.'

ALSO before I wrap up! I did read your follow up ask, and I have thoughts, BUT I'm going to hold off on answering it, just because some of the rambles I wish to ramble relate to my coming fic, and I don't want to spoil anything 👀

[jujumin-translates]

Kasumi Hinamori | [SSR] Only On Blooming Days, | Papa’s Favorite Thing - Part 2

Girls: Zzz… zzz…

Kasumi: (All three of them are fast asleep. They must’ve played a lot today.)

Kasumi: …Parent-child theater day, huh?

Kasumi: (A play is always a wonderful experience.)

Kasumi: (I’ve always wanted to give them the chance to see a play someday.)

Kasumi: (But it’s dark in a theater, and there’s sometimes loud noises too. And above all, sitting for so long might be hard for children.)

Kasumi: (But when we had the act-off with the Newborn MANKAI Company, the girls came to see it…)

Kasumi: (But the seats are reserved, so I’d be able to keep my eye on the girls and be at ease.)

Kasumi: (Also, the Genpei theme was probably difficult for them to understand, so they likely didn’t really get it.)

Kasumi: (Sakura did her best to watch it all the way through, but Kaede and Tsubaki dozed off halfway through.)

Kasumi: (Still, all three of them at least watched my scenes and gave me lots of compliments saying how pretty I was…)

Kasumi: (But this would be the first time they’ve ever seen a play where I’m not in it and while sitting in the general seating area. There’d be a lot of things different from before.)

Kasumi: (What if they cause trouble for the others there…?)

Kasumi: Sakuya-kun did say that it’s for kids. Flier, flier… There.

*Pages flip*

Kasumi: (The performance time is shorter than usual, and it’s structured more like a short story, huh? And you can leave during the show, and there’s a monitoring room.)

Kasumi: …With that, they should be able to watch it.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Kasumi: Okay, it’s almost time to go. Do you all have your bags?

Kaede: Yes!

Sakura: I’ve got a handkerchief and tissues!

Tsubaki: We’re all ready!

Kasumi: Alright, okay then.

Kasumi: …Hey, hey, girls. Do you want to go and see Sakuya-kun’s play?

Sakura: Eh, I wanna go!

Tsubaki: I wanna go, I wanna go!

Kaede: I wanna see a play!

Sakura: But I thought you said we were too little, Papa…

Kaede: You said when we were bigger.

Tsubaki: Yeah, that’s what you said…

Kasumi: I did. But Sakuya-kun said that the play he’s in will be fun for kids as little as you three.

Kasumi: So if you promise that you can sit properly and watch the whole play quietly until the end, then it’s fine.

Kaede: Really!?

Tsubaki: We will, we will!

Sakura: Promise!

Kasumi: Well then, let’s go to watch the play.

Girls: Yaaay!!

Sakura: We need to tell Sakuya-sensei!

Kasumi: Wah, wait, wait, I haven’t gotten the tickets yet!

Kaede: Papa, hurry up and get them~!

Tsubaki: Pretty please!

Kasumi: Ahaha… Yeah, I’ll do my best.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Kasumi: (It’s finally the day of the play.)

Sakura: How is it? It’s no weird, right, Papa?

Kasumi: Nope, it looks very nice on you.

Kaede: Do my hair too, Papa!

Kasumi: Okay, okay, just wait one second.

Tsubaki: Papa! If we don’t hurry, it’s gonna start!

Kasumi: We’re still okay.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Kasumi: Okay, let’s go!

Girls: Yeah!

Kasumi: (Fufu, all three of them are so excited for it, so they wanted to get a little more dressed up than usual.)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Kasumi: Umm, the seats are… here. Okay, you can sit in these seats.

Girls: Okaaay.

Girls: …

Kasumi: (I thought they’d be a little more chatty than usual… Maybe they’re just nervous.)

Kasumi: Are you doing okay? When you’re watching a play, you can laugh if it’s funny or cry if it’s sad.

Tsubaki: We can?

Kaede: It’s okay? You won’t get mad?

Kasumi: Yeah, it’s okay. But if you feel sick or scared, make sure to tell Papa, okay?

Sakura: Mhm, okay.

Tsubaki: Papa will be right here the whole time.

Kaede: Yeah! Ehehe, I’m excited.

Sakura: Me too!

Tsubaki: Me three!

Kasumi: (I’m glad, they seem relieved.)

Kasumi: (Hopefully today will be a memorable experience for the girls.)

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[kate-bishops-waifu]

WLWweek day 3, @rexscanonwife

"After Work."

A/N: Okay this one's really quick and self indulgent. I cannot help wanting Kate to think I'm just the prettiest girl ever. Even if it's not really true, but also what if she was obsessed with me? But also I feel silly now so here is my silly little day 3 fic-

“You’re staring.” Ophelia ever so slightly smudged a bit of eyeliner in the corner of her eye.

“It’s been FORTY minutes,” Kate whined. She was laying on their bed, watching Ophelia in the vanity mirror with her head in her arms.

“Well it wouldn’t have taken forty minutes if you didn’t mess it up,”

Kate pouted.

“Just because it took you two minutes to get ready doesn’t mean I can get ready so fast.”

Kate looked down at her suit and shrugged, kicking her boots in the air.

“Okaaay done,” Ophelia capped her eyeliner, examining her work.

“Finally,” Kate hopped off the bed, running a hand through her hair, and winking at Ophelia in the mirror.

Ophelia hopped out of the chair, ready to run out the door, but Kate caught her. Stepping in Ophelia’s ways she put both hands on her hips, holding her in place so she could take in the loose black dress Ophelia was wearing.

“Hey,” Kate looked down the dress, not a hint of shame in her eyes.

“We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now,” Ophelia giggled. Kate could still make her blush with a glance. Which was a little embarrassing.

For a moment they stood there, Ophelia feeling a bit like a slab of meat.

“Kate.” She had to raise her voice to get her to respond.

“What? Yeah, right, let’s go.” Kate grabbed Ophelia’s hand, marching to the door, “Be good Lucky, I’ll bring you home a slice of pizza,”

‘Kate we really can’t keep-” Ophelia yelped, Kate had swung open the door and standing on the other side looking mildly surprised was Clint.

“Clint! Hi. What- what are you doing here?” Kate leaned a hand on the doorframe, doing her best to be casual.

Clint furrowed his brow, eyeing Ophelia. “That tracker arrow stopped a few hours ago.”

Kate’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Give me two minutes, I’ll get my stuff!” and took off, back up the stairs.

For a moment Ophelia and Clint stood there awkwardly. “You’re fancy,”

Ophelia looked down at herself, “Yes.”

There was a loud thud, making Ophelia jump. She whipped around and there was Kate, zipping up her Hawkeye jacket, balancing her bow and quiver on one arm. “Did you just jump from the loft!”

Kate smiled guiltily, her leather belt in her teeth. Suit zipped, and all her gear balanced in one arm she kissed Ophelia on the mouth and bounded out the door, waving. Clint bade his farewell and followed her.

Ophelia wrapped her arms around her stomach, watching Kate’s overexcited gait as she walked away. She took a deep breath of fresh night air, and closed the door, a smile passing her lips.

Lucky barked, lifting his head from Ophelia’s lap. Ophelia looked up from her book, the door knob turned and she hopped up, dropping the book with little care on the coffee table, running to the door. She caught Kate just as she got through the door, too nervous to jump she wrapped her arms around Kate’s neck, squeezing her tight.

“Heyyyy, sorry, we kinda got caught.”

“What? You got caught, how?”

“My fault, it’s fine. We’re out now, and I think we’ve just about got our guy. Sorry I was gone so long, and. . . missed our dinner.” Kate swallowed, realizing how ridiculous she had been. “I should have said something, at least a little. I mean imagine if the last time you saw me was when I was abandoning a date,” Kate giggled nervously, holding on a little tighter.

Ophelia shook her head in Kate’s neck and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay, you’re here, and look mostly intact.”

Kate made a face, “Did you get food?”

Ophelia smiled looking rather smug, “I got your favorite pizza, all your snacks, and that one whine that doesn’t taste awful. Also,” She was barely containing her excitement when she pointed to the couch where she had strung up fairy lights and layed out as many pillows and blankets in a sort of fancy looking pillow fort in front of the tv. “See?” She beamed.

Kate was staring at her, a dopey smile spread across her lips made her look sort of drunk.

“Is it okay? I had this plan B set up, I usually have one when we go out,”

“You’re still in your dress,” Kate said.

Ophelia nodded, “Well, technically I changed last night but, I am.” She fiddled with her fingers a moment, her cheeks turning red, “You look tired, I don’t want to make you, it’s fine if you just want to go to bed, really. We can do this tomorrow night, I just wanted to do something for you.”

“This is so cool,” Kate kissed Ophelia’s cheek, “I’m gonna take a shower so I don’t smell like a dead raccoon, I’ll be fifteen minutes,” she kissed Ophelia’s cheek again, “You’re the coolest,” and ran up stairs, tossing her bow on the table,

“A princess does not place her weapons on the table.” Ophelia did her best impression of a bad Scottish accent.

“Muuuum, it’s just my Booow,” Kate whined as she disappeared into the loft.

Ophelia giggled, and sat down in their little nest, queuing Kate’s favorite film as Lucky settled down next to her.

[newgenog]

REVENGE

Notes: I'm not done guys, but I'm making progress! 😭 So, I'm claiming it. This is the last teaser from chapter seven, dammit. 

If you're just stumbling across this, and haven't already done so, please stop and start by reading chapter one. 

This #Batwoman AU is based on the ABC tv series #Revenge. Ryan Wilder had just about everything taken from her when we met her, and she was doing her best to get it back. In this version of the story, that means taking some people down along the way. And, she's definitely no hero.

It's getting really hard to find teasers that won't spoil the fun too much. But, I can't leave you guys hanging. You've been holding me down for too long...I feel like we're really in this together!

So, thanks for the patience and good vibes, and happy teaser reading.

CHAPTER SEVEN SNEAK PEEK

Ryan sees Tommy Elliot standing in front of the chrome elevator doors, waiting for them to open and presumably take him to the same place she's headed. She doubts Kate’s expecting him, because she didn’t mention being double booked. And, even though Kate’s primary purpose in Ryan’s life is to get her access to the people who took her young life from her, to Robyn Wilde, Kate has become a close confidant. So, Tommy will need to quickly clarify if he’s here as friend or foe.

Ryan: “Surprise visit?”

Tommy tries to fight back the unexpectedness of hearing Robyn's voice with a small smirk. 

Tommy: “Kate’s used to my drop-ins…She’s had plenty of visits from me.” 

Ryan: “Because someone tolerates a lack of boundaries doesn’t mean they prefer them.” 

Tommy: “We’ve always had a very candid relationship. I’m sure she’d tell me if she wanted me to do something differently.” 

Ryan: “Fair enough. I have no doubt Kate’s the honest one in your friendship.” 

The doors open, and Jacob Kane is standing inside of the elevator. Neither of them walks into it, right away.

Jacob: “Tommy! It’s been a while…"

Tommy: “Yes, sir. It has been a while. It’s not the same without you around the house.”

Jacob: "Yes, well, hopefully I’ll be back soon… And, Robyn is it?”

Ryan nods, and offers a small smile as he steps out.. 

Jacob: “Do you both have a meeting with Kate?”

Ryan: ”I do, and I have to get back to Luke right after. So, I should head up.”

Tommy: “I was in the area and thought I’d stop in to see my friend.”

Jacob: “Well, if you have a moment, I’d like a word.” 

Tommy: “Sure…” 

Ryan takes the opportunity to get a head start, hitting the button to the top floor, and smirking at Tommy as the doors close in front of him.  

~~~~~

Ryan: “You’ve got company, and it isn’t just me.”

Kate: “Wow! Busy day. Who else is coming up?”

Ryan: “Oh, just your bestie.” 

Kate frowns, and then remembers.

Kate: “You don’t mean Tommy?”

Ryan: “Oh, but I do…”

Kate: “Okaaay…this should be interesting. Did you see him checking in, or something?”

Ryan: “Actually, he was here before me, but your dad wanted to talk to him, so I came up to warn you.”

Kate: “Thanks for that, and while I'm at it, thanks for the connection to Julia. My dad came by to tell me about their meeting, and to check on things with Luke… and apologize.” 

Ryan nods, trying to limit her words in reaction to Jacob Kane’s organization’s part in making Luke unconscious.  

Ryan: “So, are things going to work out with her?”

Kate: “I think so…but I also think he’s about to keep her pretty busy. I hope that’s not going to interfere with anything you needed.” 

Ryan: “So far, my stuff has been pretty easy. Simple contracts. I just wanted someone I knew I could trust involved. I can wait for her.” 

The elevator doors chime, and Tommy walks through them. Ryan glances over her shoulder, briefly and then takes her seat at Kate's desk. He tries not to be ruffled by her presence and smiles wide at Kate.

Tommy: "Kate…I've missed you."

Kate: "What are you doing here, Tommy? Shouldn't you be somewhere worshiping Catherine and trying to fast forward through the corporate ladder?"

Tommy: "I did start my internship yesterday, and it's great so far, thanks for asking."

Kate stares at him, already completely over his audacity. 

Kate: "So you're not here to make amends, but to gloat?"

He glances down at Robyn who hasn't looked back at him. He hates that she's here, and would much rather do this privately. But he made a commitment to Catherine and Evan. So, he decides to make an example out of her presence instead.

Tommy: "You're upset because I wasn't more honest, right? Consider this me turning over a new leaf."

Kate: "Seriously Tommy, as you can see, I'm busy. So, whatever you came for, can you get to it already?"

Tommy: "Okay, I can see your sense of humor is on limited supply, so I’ll cut straight to it. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I don’t want my recent behavior to ruin that. And, in the spirit of being more forthcoming, I’ll add that I was present when you texted Evan. I’m concerned that what’s been going on with us has had an impact on the two of you. I don’t want them caught in the middle, so if there’s anything I can do to improve our situation, let me know."

Kate looks down at Robyn, who she hasn’t shared the full story with, but who has been more supportive lately than her supposed best friend. Robyn looks back as if to say, ‘this choice is all yours.’

Kate: “I have a friend in the hospital, and my family is a wreck. I really don’t need any more drama in my life.” 

Tommy: “I was hoping you’d feel that way.” 

Kate: “Let me finish. If you’re going to be in my life, I’m going to need you to bring something positive to it. From where I stand, you’ve been using us and judging us, all at the same time. And because you’re my friend, I would have helped you if you’d just been honest with me. But because I’m your friend, and it seems you’re going through a hard time right now, which has evidently made you bitter and desperate, I’m going to forgive you. I don’t forget though, and I’m not huge on repeat chances. So this is it. I can’t really handle another thing…” 

Tommy drops his head, because that dig stung, but he’s also not surprised that she’d take the chance to get a lick in. He’s getting his way, and if that means he has to take a small verbal beating for them to move forward, he needs to find a way to do that. When his eyes return to hers, his expression is amicable. 

Tommy: “Understood. I’ll limit the drama. But you know us divas come with a little extra pizzazz.” 

Kate shakes her head, accepting his agreement, knowing that’s probably the best she’ll get from him. 

Kate: “Is there anything else…? I think we’ve kept Robyn waiting long enough.” 

Tommy: “Right. You two have a party to plan?”

Kate: “A fundraiser, but it’ll be a good time.” 

Ryan completely distrusts Tommy. She can tell he’s fishing, but if Kate wants to indulge him as a way to mend their bond, she doesn’t want to be outwardly discouraging. So when Kate smiles down at her, she simply grins back.

Tommy: “You’ve got the best in Gotham helping you with your plans, but if there’s anything I can do…” 

Kate: “I doubt Catherine is going to share two people from her team with us.” 

Tommy: “After all you’ve done for me, I’d figure out how to manage.” 

Kate: “I appreciate the offer.” 

Tommy: “Well, I’ll leave you to it, but maybe we can get a drink or dinner soon?” 

Kate: “We can do that…” 

Tommy nods, and then turns to leave. When they hear the elevator doors close, they give each other exasperated looks. Then Ryan shifts hers to one of sympathy. 

Ryan: “You okay?”

Kate: “Are you? Is okay even within the realm of possibility right now?”

Ryan: “I guess not…which makes me want to say thank you, again, for still wanting to do this right now.” 

Kate: “No, really, I’m grateful. It’s good to do something…good. I think Luke would prefer it too.” 

If only Kate knew how true that was. Luke has committed too much of himself to Ryan for her to squander his time and efforts because he wasn’t in shape enough to help her. If ever there was a time to rise to the occasion, and show how much she valued him, it was now. Kate’s gaze shifts to one of greater concern, and Ryan wonders if she’s shown too many of her cards.

Kate: “Can I ask you something off the cuff?”

~~~~~

To be continued...

What's Kate going to ask Ryan about? 😁 See you next week (ideally with a finished chapter)! 🤞🏽 Support the Writer and Actor strikes. #wgastrike #sagaftrastrike #StopCancellingDiverseShows

[twilightmalachite]

ABYSS - The Ocean of ■ That Drips Downwards 6

Author: Akira

Characters: Kanata, Madara

Translator: Mika Enstars

"All of it is Kanata’s fault. Because Kanata wanted to see Mother."

⚠️ Content warning: Contains references to child abuse.

Season: Winter

Location: The Abode of God

At the same time, at the establishment for a certain religious organization, nicknamed “The Abode of God”…

Kanata: So~, so-very~, so~ very~

So very bored Kanata’s about to melt.

…What are you doing, Mikejima?

God is so very bored.

Madara: —You wished to see this Mikejima? Oh sacred God of our worship.

Kanata: Wauh?

Madara: Kiiidding. Why hello there, you suuure look bored, God!

Kanata: Mikejima.

Mikejima~…♪

Kanata: —Wah, uu?

Madara: Are you okaaay!? You’re always falling, are you some little kid?

Kanata: Uu. Kanata is not yet used to this place. He doesn’t know what was where, so he tripped, and he fell.

Ouch… Kanata hit his forehead. It hurts…

Madara: If you’re God, you’ll have to bear through it.

Kanata: Mhm… It’s as Mikejima said. They bear through it.

Kanata: Sniff, hic… But, it hurts… Kanata doesn’t know if he can bear it.

Madara: Ah~, you’re bleeding. Don’t you move, I’ll disinfect it.

I’m always getting in fights with my parents—I mean, with bad guys, and getting hurt, sooo… I always keep first aid on me for general treatment.

Kanata: Hurt? Are you okay?

Even though it was Kanata who fell down, Mikejima looks like he’s hurting too.

Did Mikejima’s mother and father get angry with him again?

Madara: Ah~, well truthfully, I’m still getting nagged and nagged about what happened the other day.

Y’know, like, “How dare you take, of all people, the very being you are supposed to protect’s hand and take them outside?”

Seems my parents were blamed a lot by other believers. In other words, they’re basically complaining because their dignity was hurt.

That’s why they say “don’t bother other people”.

Kanata: There, there.

Madara: …Are you listening, God?

Don’t pet me. The antiseptic on your hands dripping down and stinging my eyes, God.

Kanata: Sorry. But, you looked like you were in pain.

Don’t cry… Mikejima hasn’t done anything wrong.

All of it is Kanata’s fault. Because Kanata wanted to see Mother.

Madara: I’m not crying, and in the end you didn’t even get to see her, so it was a mess.

Nothing went right at all. The mission was a massive failure.

I wonder why the body wasn’t there, thoughhh…?

Kanata: Don’t know. Didn’t the chief priest, I mean, Father say it was the work of Abyss?

Madara: Whether it was ABYSS or Ebisu[1], who knows, does something like that reaaally exist?

Kanata: Don’t know that either… Kanata is not yet a god, so he does not know anything.

Madara: Hmph. That doesn’t matter to me, you say I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m to blame too—What I did was wrong, you knooow.

That’s why I got scolded. Because I broke what’s taboo.

Kanata: Taboo… Why is it that Kanata cannot go outside?

Because Kanata falls down and gets hurt? And so, everyone is worried about him?

Madara: Probably because it diminishes the mystique. God is out of reach, always hidden behind a bamboo curtain or something.

Because they can’t see them, their delusions grow, and they will see you as more sacred.

Such misunderstandings of such believers is what’s necessary to maintain this religion.

That’s why you, who will someday become God, have been hidden from the world. If anyone meets you in person, they’ll find out you’re a dumb and stupid brat just like me.

Kanata: Dumb? Stupid? What does that mean?

Madara: It means “beautiful” and “cute”.

Kanata: I see… Then there’s nothing wrong with that, ehehe. ♪

Madara: Hmm, God really is stupid. He’s soooo stupid it’s hilarious!

Kanata: Worship and praise Kanata more! Ehem ehem. ♪

Madara: Haha. …Aaalright, treatment is over. As always, God’s hair was so uselessly long it got in the way and made things haaard!

Kanata: Mhm. Kanata thinks it gets in the way too.

Sometimes, Kanata’s hair gets in his mouth when he’s sleeping, and it gets hard to breathe. It’s troubling. If you can’t breathe, you die.

Madara: I’ll sneak you a haircut one of these days.

Kanata: You can’t. Hair can’t be cut. Eye veil can’t be taken off either.

It’s forbidden. And if Mikejima breaks what’s forbidden, he’ll get yelled at again.

Kanata doesn’t want Mikejima to get yelled at, be hurt, or feel sad.

Madara: I see. Thank you.

But, I really can’t just leave you be like this, you knooow?

Kanata: Kanata will be satisfied. He’ll be bored, but he has Mikejima for that.

But. That’s also why Kanata was very scared he wouldn’t ever get to see Mikejima again.

Madara: You’re such a spoiled child, God. Do you get lonely when I’m not here?

Kanata: Of course Kanata does.

Madara: I see. …But truth is, it’s forbidden to meet God so casually, you knooow! I snuck outta cram school again, today.

Studying for lower grades is boring because I already understand everything to a T. So I came here to play instead.

Kanata: W-Will everything be okay? Did you break what’s forbidden again? You’ll get yelled at.

Madara: It’s all good as long as they don’t find out. Hahaha!

Kanata: Once Kanata becomes a god, he will change many, many rules. He’ll make it so they can’t get angry even if Mikejima and Kanata are close.

So, wait for him. Because, it’ll be okay.

Just might have to wait a little bit longer.

Madara: Gotchaa. Well, I’ll wait and see, but I won’t expect too much.

Kanata: Mhm. You can count on it.

It’ll all work out, okay? God doesn’t lie.

← prev | story directory | next →

1. Ebisu is the Japanese god of fishing and commerce. It's brought up here because "ebisu" is similar to abyss "abisu".

[gachaparadise]

okaaay day 2 in the wu/wa trenches 🫡

got very verbose with this one... woops.

unfortunately i was under a time constraint once again today so i STILL haven't gotten to play as much as I'd like. everything here is initial impressions off 4ish hours of gameplay.

the movement is growing on me. there's no way to say this without sounding insane but. i just need to look at it more from a "this is a video game" perspective. like to compare, genshin is going for that immersive feel. sure it takes 5 minutes to get up this mountain but it feels RIGHT you know? whereas in wuwa it takes 3 seconds. why should it take longer this is a video game. we both know you have places to be get up there Rover :)

that sounds demented written out but I know what I mean so i'll leave it in i guess. i appreciate the expediency with which you can get around is the point i'm trying to make. it makes the animation a little clunkier and the world a little less immersive but from a moment to moment gameplay perspective it works.

the combat goes hard. its so flashy and feels good but... i need to test it against anything other then random mobs i found in the trash to see how deep it actually goes. i want to try parrying and stuff but everything keeps dying orz.

some of the button mapping on controller continues to be... eugh. the combo to get to the grapple especially i have trouble with. it's literally the same combo as the one for genshin but it just doesn't activate with the same certainty. sometimes it just keeps whipping out the sensor instead of the hook and i'm like. do you want me dead?

Scar gets his own paragraph. he came. he saw. he served cunt. he left. gamechangingly cute and charming. literally takes the game up a full point from a (preliminary)6 to a 7 he's so fucking good. his design ATE. his va SERVED. his message CRYPTIC. his little wink as he leaves CUTE AS FUCK. the way he called his little tête-à-tête with the Rover a date GAY. he's great. no notes that's a perfect man.

the va (with the exception of Scar) is just... okay. I really do not care for yangyang's voice (not her vas fault i just don't like it) and she's the person we've spent the most time with so far so that kinda sucks. i'm literally thinking about switching to jp instead orz. but some of the text boxes are still broken and there's no log function so i'm worried i'm gonna miss stuff, especially with how fast i'm whipping through some of this story.

on that note the story is just OK. it's not good, i can't say its really hooked me yet. its a little... generic. post magical disaster world wherein humans cling to life and have special powers. nothing wrong with that but so far it's just been a lot of throwing words at me. the characters themselves are also pretty bland (minus Scar). i really hope i will get to know them better in the future because chars are MAKE or BREAK for gacha games. the designs are also a little hit or miss. they're fine i guess but they don't really compel me.

also. they did just ape genshin whole cloth for like. basically everything. like the world puzzles where you follow little wispy things (seelies) and the glowing floaty things you collect (anemoculus) and the over world puzzles that are "get to the chest in time" or "shoot the targets" are just... from genshin. hoyo doesn't own those ideas! for sure! but. they're in THIS game because of genshin don't kid yourself. and thats not to mention the battelpass and banner and event and guide structures that are just. the same.

ARGH! all this makes it sound like i dislike the game. I don't!! i'm having fun!! it's just easier to catalogue things i disliked in detail. i don't have as much to say about the parts i liked. combat good. echoes cool. Rover cute. I'm having a pretty good time. thats about it orz.

i don't think I'll have anything new to report tomorrow? i can't see myself changing my mind on anything i've written so far. i might update in a week or two and see if the game grew on me or lost me completely. i could see it going either way. it's fun but i'm not sure i can see myself committing to it long term you know? but who knows. maybe it's just launch day growing pains and thing will look up soon.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 109

Hammer of the Gods/Journey’s End

I have about an hour before I need to leave so I’m hoping I can get through spn in that time

“Hammer of the Gods”

Plot Description: Sam and Dean are held hostage by a group of gods who want to use them as bargaining chips to stop the apocalypse

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: If a god wanted to kill me, I’d just be dead, let’s be real

My first thought was “THIS is where Jerry Parks and Rec has a timeshare and frequents for vacation? Okaaay”

Don’t you think that you’d REALIZE EARLIER that this place is too good to be true? Especially if you’re the WINCHESTERS

Hmmmm, now Sam’s bleeding JUST A LITTLE from the neck like Dean was earlier

I don’t have enough knowledge of ALL the pantheons of the world to say NONE of the gods have ever eaten humans, but I don’t think it’s out of line to say that it feels offensive to make it seem like ALL of them do (at least all of the ones gathered here)

(IMDb break to find out the actress playing Kali. Wouldn’t mind being invested in her career)

Thisssss is why I kept wondering how I was thinking Gabriel was also Loki. But I don’t remember who this gets reconciled

“Next time I say let’s keep driving, let’s keep driving” “oh. Yeah. *NEXT* time” boys, you’re being so funny about the impending doom of planet earth

Did they just make an AVATAR (like James Cameron avatar) reference???

Gabriel you dumbass.

Wait. Excuse me???? Why are we…why are we all of a sudden in a Ghostfacers episode? Was that just supposed to be part of a commercial break? Amazing

Well shit. RIP Gabriel, I guess

“Primitive screwheads”?! Well fuck you very much, Dean

Oh shit. Welcome back Gabriel, I guess

Oh, Luci, buddy, you’re not lookin so good.

Hear me out…I know how it looks. I know the optics. But there is something that gets my heart going watching someone take out their enemies one by one with ease. In a vacuum, this is hot

Why…why is THIS the Todoroki family drama? “Dad liked you best, more than Michael, more than me, but then he brought the new baby home and you couldn’t handle it” honestly, Natsuo as Gabriel makes sense…

RIP Gabriel…for real this time. We got the wings…

Convenient that they already have two of the four keys they need for Lucifer’s cage

Ew ew ew I’d be kicking him out with a QUICKNESS. The physical embodiment of pestilence would not be able to get that close to me

“Been On My Mind…”: Dean tried to hit on Kali, but got shot down QUICK. 5?

“Journey’s End”

Plot Description: The entire universe is in danger as Davros and the Daleks activate their master plan

I’m glad I had good things happen earlier today and will be spending the rest of my evening watching a concert livestream because otherwise I’d lose the will to live watching this episode

MICKEYYYYY!!! AND JACKIEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Well that’s terrifying, why did those bullets stop? They’re in a time bubble?? Ok sure

I don’t like that this is the kind of interaction Donna and Jack get

The Daleks know German too?

Donna’s fluctuating self esteem is so real. She so often sees herself as “just a temp from Chiswick” but then will stand up to the Doctor about saving Pompeii and demanding salutes from high ranking members of UNIT and yelling at the rich over their treatment of the Ood. I love her

Truly, I don’t think I’d want to travel with the Doctor after this…getting trapped in the TARDIS and nearly incinerated inside it

One, that was a supremely stupid show of anger, Jack. But also like…he’s not DEAD dead, right??

This must have been a fun scene for them to film, the “oi watch it spaceman” “oi watch it earth girl”

I’m really confused about what Martha’s doing…

I did not expect to hear the Doctor tell Davros “we’re not doing the nostalgia tour.” Bud, I hate to break it to ya, but that’s exactly what I’m doing here

Wait……I love the way they either don’t explain shit or explain it so quickly that you’d have to listen to it more than once.

The Empire (Star Wars) WISHES they had what Davros has. The Death Star? Cute. Davros has a Reality Bomb

Martha, you don’t give Rose enough credit. SHE found the Doctor

Ok but so many of those people DIDN’T die…

Cool…glad we made a wholeass weapon and then it gets destroyed seconds before it gets used

ABSOLUTELY NOT LYING, I am laying on my bed crying and just saying “noooooo” over and over as Donna’s speech patterns get more and more like the Doctor’s. I’m so distraught

Hey. Hey. Hey. Isn’t “No More” also the name of the painting from the 50th anniversary special? I’m interested in the parallels between the Doctor and Dalek Khan

There’s no way this little trip back to the Milky Way wouldn’t have serious repercussions that would destroy all life on Earth, but also I know this isn’t that kind of show so I’ll let it slide

The whole Ten Too situation is so weird. New game. No more “would you fuck your own clone?” Now it’s “would you stand by and watch the person you’re in love with kiss your clone?”

No no no no no no nooooooooooooo I hate this part.

Oh. And Wilf’s heartbreak for her and everything she’s lost

You gotta love how both Donna and Wilf took the time to ask the Doctor who he’s got to travel with him now. Donna in her first appearance and Wilf just now

[mistress-ofmagic]

Around the Realms in 80 Days- Chapter 13

Pairing: Reader x Loki

Story summary: You have fallen through a portal during the convergence into Asgard and come face to face with Thor, and his brother Loki. With no way to return, you must travel with the two men and their hoard of asgardian soldiers to get back home. Things get from bad to worse when you have to share a tent with the god of mischief himself.

Notes: Um... I'm back bitches...Sorry this has taken me so so long to get the next chapter up. If you haven't been keeping up with my life (then where have you been...?) I basically got covid and was in bed for ages and fell out of a writing routine. Also my last chapter didn't do so great on here so I was like meh is anyone interested in more. But I still love writing this fic! Anyway this one is a bit shorter than others and a bit plot/ dialogue heavy but I hope you still enjoy!

Tony Stark? 

Tony Stark??????

“Well.” He continued, “Not entirely at your service. In fact, I was kind of hoping you could be of service to us.” 

You shook your head trying desperately to take in the scene before you. In your defence, the others seemed just as confused as you did. For a while no one spoke. 

“So, did I come at a bad time or something?” 

“Tony!” Thor stepped forward, chuckling uncertainty. “Excuse us my friend, you have taken us by surprise. How did you wield the Bifrost?”

“Oh this old thing? Eh, took me a couple of days to figure it out I’ll give you that. I had Friday run some tests on the funky pattern thing you left on the ground the last time you departed Earth; once I figured out the dimensional energy it used it wasn’t too hard to reverse it. I set it up ages ago incase we ever needed to call you off-world. Until now we haven’t needed to.”

Tony stepped forward dusting off his jacket. 

“You need our help?” Thor asked.

“Hm it would seem so.” He peered round at your group stood in the observatory.

“Reindeer games, where’s your helmet?” 

Loki seethed, “Stark.” 

Tony turned to face you. “Don’t recognise you, have we met?” 

You cleared your throat. “Er, no.” 

“Okaaay. Well, as fun as this is, are you going to invite me in so we can talk properly?”

                                                          ***

You were sat in a very grand looking sitting room, albeit, not a comfortable one. With tall columns, and golden chairs the overall feeling was quite cold. You were concentrating hard on being as quiet as you could; in the excitement your departure home had been forgotten about and you were concerned that if they remembered you existed they might send you home. This was not a conversation you wanted to miss. 

Thor closed the door behind him. 

“Look, we're going to have to be quick, mortals aren’t that welcome on Asgard.” 

 Don’t I know it. 

“What, no famous Asgarian hospitality? Do I at least get offered a cup of tea, or whatever it is you guys drink here?.”

“What do you want Stark?” Loki spat. He was stood, half hidden by shadow, by one of the far columns, looking even more sullen than he had all day if that were even possible. 

You had seen footage from New York, and it didn’t surprise you much to find that Loki wasn’t a fan of Tony.

“Attempted any hostile takeovers recently?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Nice to see you not incarcerated, I see Asgarian criminals are treated differently here.” 

Loki stepped forward menacingly and you braced yourself for a fight but Thor spoke, 

“Loki aided me in defeating the dark elves, saving Asgard and the rest of the 9 realms. He nearly gave his life doing so. I know you dislike my brother Stark but our decision to exonerate Loki is none of your concern.” 

Stark looked for a second as though he was going to argue, but then he rolled his eyes and rubbed his face, looking tired. He looked older suddenly, and you were desperate to hear what he had to say. 

“I didn’t come here to discuss the finer points of the Asgardian justice system. There is an actual reason for my visit.” 

“Prey tell.” Loki said sarcastically. 

Thor glared at him but Stark ignored him and continued. 

“There is a threat facing earth.” 

“And your little avengers can’t deal with it?” 

“What is it?” 

Loki and Thor spoke at the same time. 

Stark sighed heavily.

“It started off with small but unusual events; multiple fires throughout cities, people dying without any discernible reason, disappearances, mysterious illnesses wiping out groups of people.” He began to explain. 

You frowned, you had been aware of the odd news story related to some of these.

“At first nothing was really thought about it, although global warming activists were up in arms, but that’s when the attacks started.”

“Attacks, what attacks?”

“They started, I don’t know, 4 days ago? A hoard of… aliens seemed to come out of nowhere and attacked in three cities, Havana, Johannesburg and Toronto.” 

You felt sick suddenly, that could have coincided with the day you arrived on Asgard. 

Thor seemed to be thinking the same as you, as his eyes flicked over to you briefly. 

“So someone’s using the convergence to make attacks on Earth?” 

“Right…the convergence…”

“Every 5,000 years the nine realms are placed into alignment, this means boundaries between the realms become weaker, wormholes can appear at random. When the dimensions are weaker it allows realms to be more permeable, it’s how the dark elves used the Aether to…”

Thor caught a glance of Tony’s glazed over look.

“Never mind. The effects of the convergence can last for a while, even after its peak; random wormholes, weaker boundaries. They make attacking the realms much easier.” 

“So this fire-monster things used these portals to attack earth?”

“Fire-monsters?” 

“Sure, big ugly rock looking things, constantly on fire?”

Thor and Loki swapped looks. 

“Why would the fire demons attack Midgard? Surtur has no quarrel with the mortals.” 

“You know these guys?” 

“The fire demons live on a planet called Muspelheim, they’re ruled by Surtur. Sounds like they used the convergence to make an attack on Midgard.”

“Well most of them went back through the portals…”

Thor frowned and began pacing the room.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Loki stated. 

“I know brother. We thought someone might make an attack on Asgard… but Migard? And how did they know when the portals would open…then to return? Why such small scale attacks…” 

Thor seemed to mainly be speaking to himself. 

“We captured one of the fire monsters.” 

This got Thors attention. 

“Where is it?” 

“We have it in a secure facility…”

“When can I speak with it?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Loki asked.

“It’s a better idea than going to Muspelheim and demanding to speak with Surtur” He shot back. 

There was a pause for a moment and you cleared your throat as you prepared to speak

“Do you… do you think someone paid the fire demons to attack Earth? Like someone paid Ragnar?” You asked.

Everyone stared at you, looking mildly surprised that you were still here. 

“Who are you again?” Stark asked pointing at you. 

You quickly introduced yourself. 

“Latte fell through one of the portals the same day the fire demons attacked. There must have been a plethora of them opening across Midgard at the same time. But only three cities were attacked?” Thor resumed his frowny-pacing.

You flicked your eyes to Loki, who was staring at you with knitted brows. 

“Fire demons wouldn’t be interested in money, power perhaps.” He pursed his lips. 

“Why would anyone make a deal with the fire demons to attack Earth? And do a shoddy job at that? And why would those same people also pay a second rate bandit to kidnap Loki…it doesn’t make sense, I doubt the two are related.” 

You looked at Thor and grinned despite yourself.

“Shoddy?”

He reddened,

“Just a little slang I picked up during my time on Midgard.” 

“I don’t think we should rule out any connections, the mortal could be right, maybe there is some pattern in this.”

You looked over to Loki in surprise, at least someone was taking your theory seriously, you just didn’t expect that person to be Loki. Also he talked about you as if you weren’t in the room, but still. 

You were about to bring up the fact that he had referred to you as “mortal” again, when there was a tentative knock at the door. 

“Enter.” Thor called. 

A young boy you assumed was a servant opened the door, looking around nervously. 

“Prince Thor?” 

Thor rolled his eyes, and stepped outside to speak with him, leaving you, Tony and Loki alone. 

You tensed up immediately expecting the worst, and there was a pause of awkward silence. 

“So, fellow Earthling, nice to see you survived your stay here.” Tony offered you the Vulcan salute. 

You sniggered and offered him the salute back. 

“Living long and prospering.” 

Man was this really your life now? Casually chatting to gods and superheroes? 

You must have looked more stricken at the thought than you realised as Tony mistook it for general concern for being on Asgard.

“Don’t worry kid, I’ll get you home.” 

“We were about to send her home before you graced us with your presence.” Loki stepped forward.

“Then why is the poor girl still here having to deal with you.”

Oh god please don’t bring me into your hatred of each other. 

Loki narrowed his eyes. 

“You know, your brother may have forgiven you, but I and the rest of Earth have not.”

“Just as well I do not care for your forgiveness then.”

“You are just as incorrigible as I remember.” 

“Thank you.”

“It’s a shame. Maybe if you actually focused on something other than yourself for once in your life and started acting like an adult you could have been something great.”

Loki seemed to pale out of anger. The men had been slowly stepping closer to each other as they argued. 

“Great like you, you mean? I don’t see what’s particularly great about parading around in a tin outfit and fucking things up.” 

“Got to be better than parading around cosplaying as Snape and fucking things up.” 

You laughed inwardly, you didn’t want Loki to kill Tony so you kept it inside as best as possible. You were pretty sure Loki didn’t know who Snape was, but he did a good job of hiding it. 

“I had almost considered helping you with your little problem, but now I refuse.”

“Good. Earth doesn’t need your help.” 

The men were almost nose to nose now. Before Loki could retaliate, something possessed you to speak.

“I’d like to help, if I can.” 

For a while, they continued to stare at each other furiously. Then they span round and looked at you, having forgotten again that you still stood there. 

You took a second, your statement having surprised even yourself. You took the mens equally surprised silence to continue your apparent job interview. Now or never you supposed.

“When I go back to Earth, I’d like to stick around. I have survived a kidnapping, a troll fight, being constantly belittled by everyone around me. I deserve to see this to the end.”

“Kid I…” Tony began. 

“I know I’m not an avenger and I don’t have any special powers or martial art prowess, but I am smart and a quick learner. I can think on my feet. I have some experience now with extra terrestrial beings and I think I’ve done alright. I’ll fill out spreadsheets all day if that’s what you want, but I’d like to do something.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows, considering your words. 

“Well…”

Just before he could finish his sentence, Thor entered back into the room.

“We have to leave, now.” 

“Great!” Tony clapped his hands “All aboard the rainbow express” 

“I will not be returning to Midgard.” Loki sniffed and crossed his arms. 

Thors mouth formed a thin line. 

“Hm. Unfortunately you have no choice in the matter.” 

“What?” Loki said incredulously.

Thor fidgeted slightly in his spot. 

“Father has…he has requested that you return to Midgard with the mortals. 

“That’s preposterous!”

“He has stated that as part of your demonstrations to prove you are worthy of a crown, you must make peace with Midgard and assist them.”

“What about protecting Asgard? We cannot leave when it’s defences are lowered, we know there will be a play for the crown.” Loki stated. 

Thor sighed and shrugged. “It is what he wishes.”

“And he hasn’t even bothered to talk to us himself? He sends a boy in his place to tell us of his oh so wise plans?”

“Loki I am not your enemy here-”

“Ah I thought I recognised that irritating whining.” A ladies voice spoke from the doorway. 

Two woman entered the room. One of course you were familiar with having caught a glimpse of her earlier, the Princes mother, Frigga. The one that had spoke, you did not recognise.

The queen looked over to you and smiled in greeting. You panicked for a second, would she expect you to bow? Or curtsy? Could you even curtsy properly? 

In a quick fluster you moved to start bowing and then changed your mind, resulting in a strange bodily jerk. You were pretty sure Frigga noticed but she graciously ignored it. Loki however definitely saw, and you recognised the first hint of mirth on his face that you had seen all day. 

The other lady that entered the room was of a medium hight with long brown hair. She carried a heavy looking sword on her hip that you had no desire to see the other end of.  

“Thor! You didn’t tell me you had an older sister!” Stark practically leapt forward to offer the Queen his hand.

Frigga laughed and rolled her eyes. 

“I’m only thousands of years older than you Mr Stark.”

“Mother, Lady Sif, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Thor asked a little stiffly. 

“Can’t a mother come to say goodbye to her sons before they depart?” 

“You can’t, if they’re not departing.”  Loki remarked.

Frigga smiled sadly. 

“Your father -“

“He is not my father!” Loki yelled.

You flinched at the sudden loudness, and then your brain started turning quickly. Did he mean that literally? Or figuratively in that he had renounced him as his father or something? Had Frigga had an affair? Scandalous. 

“Earth needs your help Loki. And so does Asgard.” 

Stark made a “meh” sort of noise but everyone ignored him. 

“Then I should stay here to help Asgard.” 

“You will be helping. Both of you. The recent events seem connected.” 

Hah! That’s what you had said! You almost did an “I told you so” but you were still feeling rather embarrassed. 

“Far be it for Loki Odinson to do something that benefits someone else.” The woman Thor called Sif taunted. 

He quickly shot back,

“Your hair is looking lovely today Sif.” 

She reached for her sword.

“Enough.” 

Frigga’s voice was quiet but commanding and everyone was quiet. 

Loki shook his head, stared hard at his brother and then swept out of the room. 

“Always the flare for dramatics…” Stark said under his breath. 

“We should go. Father will not be happy that the mortals are still here.” Thor sighed.

Frigga nodded. 

“Come on.” Thor motioned to follow him out of the room, Stark and Sif followed. 

You were about to step out too when Frigga stopped you.

“A moment, child.” 

“Is this about the weird bowing thing I did?” You blurted, worried you’d offended her.

She smiled, not unkindly. 

“He might come to Earth, if you ask him to.”

You were confused for a second,

“Loki? I doubt it.” You paused “I think if I asked him to, it would make him more likely to say no.”

She smiled again, with a strange knowing look on her face.

You waited but she didn’t give you anything else. Were all Asgardians this vague?

“Well I should go before I loose them and then can’t find my way back…”

“Of course.”

You nodded in a way you hoped was respectful but not overly pious, and quickly left the room. 

You were unfortunately correct; spacial awareness and directions had never particularly been your strong point, and you had no idea how to get back to the bridge. Given you couldn’t see Tony and Thor in either direction, you picked a direction and hoped for the best. 

Several twists and turns later, including one where you walked back on yourself you had to admit you were lost. 

“Ugh!” You muttered to yourself.

Surely Thor and Tony wouldn’t leave without you? Why hadn’t they come and looked for you yet? Also why were there not more people around? You hadn’t come across another living soul, which was probably for the best given how much they all hated you. God forbid you should run into Odin, who would probably smite you down on the spot just for existing. 

Just when you were about to sit on the floor and wail until someone found you, you saw a flash down the next corridor. 

Preying it was a friendly servant who might show you the way, you quickly headed towards it. 

You saw the flash again but further away. In fact, every time you thought you were close, it moved further backwards. You picked up the pace, and pretty soon you were hurtling towards. You turned sharply around a corner and then… 

“Ow what the fuck?” Something smacked into your forehead. 

Unfortunately, that thing happened to be Loki’s chest. 

You looked up and him holding your head. It throbbed almost as badly as the headache did this morning.

“Ow! You repeated. 

“You’re the one who ran into me! What are you doing running down the corridors like Ratatoskr?” 

“What did you just call me?” You started rubbing your head. 

He rolled his eyes. 

“What are you still doing here?”

“I got lost! Why isn’t there a map or something Jesus I could have been stuck here for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, someone would have found you sooner or later. Why are you not with my brother?” 

“They abandoned me.” You whined. “My head really hurts why is your chest so hard?”

He sighed.

“You’re going in the wrong direction, you need to go back the way you came.” 

“Thanks.” You mumbled. 

There was a silence, and Loki shifted uncomfortably. You weren’t sure what to do, and internally cringed before you opened your mouth.

“Hey, why don’t you come to Earth?”

“Why would I do that mortal?” He exhaled, looking tired.

You were kind of stumped, you probably should have expected that one; you’d been anticipating a “no” and a harsh laugh in the face. 

“Could be kind of fun? I’ll need someone to help me solve this thing after all, and I haven’t got much hope with Thor and Stark as my assistants.” 

You hoped to get a little laugh out of him but he stared you with an unreadable expression. 

Bloody Frigga, I knew he wouldn’t come if I asked. At least I tried I guess.

“Well, goodbye I guess. See you…” You were going to say ‘soon’ but realised you probably wouldn’t see him soon.  Or ever. You tried again,

“It’s been…well, it’s definitely… been.”

Loki stayed silent and continued to look at you with a strange expression.

You turned on your heels and quickly made your way back to the room you had started in. This time you turned left, and found it easier to make your way back to the Bifrost. 

“Latte!” Thor yelled and waved. 

“Oh hey…” You panted, embarrassingly out of breath. 

“What happened?”

“I got lost! Why did you walk so quickly! I didn’t know where you were!”

Thor laughed although you failed to see the joke. 

“Come on, let’s return. Heimdall.” He nodded at the gentleman by the sword.

God this was like deja-vu, you wondered who was going to pop out next. Captain America? 

There was a loud roaring noise as the Bifrost burst into life again. 

“You go first my lady, and Stark and I will follow.”

“Erm, what do I do?” You anxiety started to raise as the noise got louder. 

“Just step through. It will feel a little strange, you will be travelling extremely fast.” He shouted to be heard

“Okay…” 

“Oh and stay in the tube of light at all times, if you fall out you might end up somewhere you’re not supposed to be, or worse, you might die.”

“What?” You screeched. 

You were seconds from running back into the castle and begging Odin to let you stay.

“I’ll give you a push. Trust me it’s better to just go for it!” Thor suggested. 

Oh god, here goes nothing. You scrunched your eyes shut, preparing for the drop. 

When…a different noise was coming from behind you. You span round, and saw Loki thundering towards your group on a horse.

“Brother!” Thor roared. “You decided to come.”

“Loki?” You exclaimed.  

Why had he decided to turn up? You watched him get closer and where about to shout to him and ask, however, while you were distracted by the current happenings, Thor decided to be helpful and lightly shoved you straight into the beam of light.

Taglist:

@creationsbyme  

@kikster606  @slytherinintj13  @th0rswh0res @huntress-artemiss @jannieka394 

@stefffrs  @misswimberly 

@thedistractedagglomeration 

@yoongissidebitchh  @mischief2sarawr

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Twisted Tarot XX — Judgement

“People are too quick to pass judgement, and too slow to self reflect.”

Judgement, Reversed: judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution

Judgement, Reversed: self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call

He is a servant to others, granting their deepest desires—at a price—for he is so benevolent. Having experienced his own awakening, he realizes he is destined for great things with his intellect... but he is not above using others as stepping stones to achieve it. Answer the call, release the old self and its sadness, forget regrets, and reach absolution.

Reveal the Shape of thy Soul...

... Azul Ashengrotto!

The glitter of gold never got old.

A coin, set up and spinning, light bouncing off its rim in a hypnotizing way. The glory of a golden dawn, beckoning the arrival of a new day. Sunshine slipping through the sea. Contracts piled high, shimmering with stolen powers and traits.

Azul loved them all—loved reveling in his trove of treasures.

Loved collecting.

There was no thrill quite like it.

Azul smiled as he laced his fingers together. There was a cruelty to how pleasant he looked—a silver-haired, silver-tongued angel reigning judgement upon the sinners.

“Floyd,” he called, calmly motioning with a hand.

“Yeees?” The eel leaned over, providing a sharp-toothed grin.

“Show our guest what we do to those who violate the terms of their contract.”

“Roger~” Floyd’s grin widened as he advanced on his target. He stretched his neck with each languid stride, ominous crackling filling the still lounge air.

“N-No, wait...!” the frightened mob student cried, flying out of their seat. “Please wait!! I-I can get you the money, really! A few more days... A-A few more days is all I ask for!”

This, too, Azul loved.

The desperate flailing like some beached fish. Struggling for a means out. Reaching a spider’s thread in the underworld.

Only to be completely and utterly crushed, then robbed blind of everything. Dignity included.

A sad, sinking feeling that Azul understood very well.

“I’m afraid the time for negotiations has long since passed,” he sighed, waving a hand. “Floyd, you may proceed.”

“Okaaay! C’mere, bad guppy! I’ll squeeze you real good.”

“N-No, stay back...!! STAY BACK!!” The mob student scrambled back—and pathetically fell on his bum as the eel descended upon him.

“I would suggest not struggling,” Jade advised from Azul’s side. “Though my brother does enjoy it when his prey puts up a fight... you’ll be of much more use to us with fewer scratches and bruises.”

“Grk...!”

The mob student couldn’t respond, even if he wanted to. Floyd had already latched onto them, fingers digging into flesh.

Azul let out an exaggerated sigh as he adjusted his glasses. The motion was too casual—as though there wasn’t someone being choked out right before his very eyes. And by his own command, no less.

“If you want to cross a bridge, then you’ve got to pay the toll. This is common knowledge, yes? Accept your punishment gracefully.”

The mob rasped something out—most likely another plea, or maybe a cuss directed at the octopus—and weakly kicked. His eyes fluttered rapidly, fighting to keep conscious. Gasping, sputtering.

Barely audible over Floyd’s gleeful cackling.

Until the mob had passed out entirely, going limp in his assailant’s hands.

“Fufu. How relentless of you, Azul,” Jade chuckled into a hand. “You seem to have cemented into this new persona of yours quite well.”

“Ehehe! Jade’s right. You used to be so squishy and soft. Now you’re just pretending that you’re not.”

“New persona? Pretending? Hmph! Speak for yourselves! This is me,” Azul insisted with an indignant huff. “The old crybaby octopus you once knew is no more.”

I never want to return to those days... not when I was sad, alone, and pathetic. Stupid, slow, overweight. Always spitting out ink and crying in my octopus pot...

He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts before they overstayed their welcome. A foot or the tide running across the sand, erasing the footsteps and the shapes once there.

“This is me,” Azul repeated firmly, “and I don’t want to hear about word from either of you about that topic. This stays between us. Is that clear?”

“... Understood.”

“Crystal~”

“Good.”

Azul pressed a finger against his temple, gently massaging away some of his tension—and, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the time. A grin slowly crept back onto his lips.

“... My, is it that time already? It looks like the final exam results will be announced shortly.”

The twins exchanges knowing looks and sinister smiles. The golden orbs of their hetrochromatic irises flared brightly.

Gold, gold.

He loved it so.

How it glittered, how it shone.

Just like him.

He was gold—golden.

Azul rose from his seat, clacking the end of his magical staff against the floor. The sound was sharp and absolute, reverberating through his office and dominating the space.

“Jade! Floyd! Come. It is time for us to collect on our anemones.”

All that glitters.

[steamberrystudio]

25/07/2022 Devlog

Hello everyone!

Just popping in with an update on Quill's route

Summary:

Finished the second big revision of Quill's route

Finished up proofreading/typo correction (round 1)

Scripted Quill's route into Renpy

Created the chapter title cards

Staged all the BG and major sprite changes

Set up preliminary scoring

The Ramble:

Okaaay.

So I've finished the second big revision of Quill's route, fixing some lingering issues and cleaning up the dialogue a little more.

I also finished running the script through editing software to catch as many typos and minor style/grammar issues as possible. Fortunately this only takes a couple of days because it's incredibly boring compared to other revisions.

But when that was done, the writing was ready to be scripted into Renpy. =O

By "scripting", I just mean I take the raw draft from scrivener, put it into Renpy, and turn it into functional code. This doesn't really take that long as I write in sort..."pseudo-code" anyway, so I mostly have to make indentation fixes and correct any small errors like forgetting a quotation mark, colon, or bracket.

I set up the preliminary scoring of the "romance points" - I don't really keep track of these while I write; I just make note of where the "stat checks" will appear. So after the route is all scripted, I go through and make a spreadsheet that tracks all the choices and what they're doing point-wise. Then tally up what is the total possible points a player can have at a given moment and I calculate whatever percentage I want to have the game check for. Again, doesn't take a terribly long time to get that done.

I created the chapter title cards for Quill's route and put them in the game.

And finally I have done the basic staging for major background and sprite changes. So this is basically me marking in the script where we change backgrounds (and what we change to and, if necessary, what transition is being used) as well as marking down any places a sprite newly appears on screen or gets hidden as well as the position that sprite needs to be in.

Even though none of the assets are ready yet, by noting the basic staging, once I have the assets ready, it'll make it much easier to code the backgrounds and sprites into the game.

So...in summary, I have moved into the next phase of getting Quill's route ready, which is where I'm no longer focused on writing but am starting to focus on the initial coding and asset preparation.

Sneak Peeks and Previews:

None yet unless you want a screen cap of the code. LoL

Upcoming Weeks:

So now that the bulk of the writing phase is over (there's still beta testing which involves a lot of typo and continuity fixing. Which is technically writing...but the script is complete. Just needs to continue to be polished - though that will come later), I am moving into the phase of "There are literally 300 things on this to-do list and I am not sure which ones I'll tackle this week."

I do know that my immediate focus will be on prepping all the backgrounds for Quill's route. Quill's route, like Lance's route, is relatively contained in terms of backgrounds, so it shouldn't take long.

And, unfortunately, as a lot of the BGs are indoors, I don't think there's a lot of space for BG animations like in some of the other routes.

Once I have those completed, I'll put them into the game and go back through to make sure all the BG changes are set up correctly.

After that, I'm not totally sure. I may shift to working on some sprite stuff. Some characters already have sprites in the game - Quill, Morgan, Rory, and any Endgame people who show up. However, Quill, Morgan, and Rory all need additional variations or edits to their sprites. 

I have two other character sprites (Locke and Vale) nearly completed. Neither is in the game and both need more variations.

There are three additional unique sprites needed (Neel, Aritz, and Vic), then an assortment of "Bobs"

So there's a fair amount of sprite related work to be done.

At some point in this mix I will also be putting in the music cues. I'm excited to be able to use some tracks that didn't appear in other routes. OWO

And that's kind of it for now I think. The writing is really the biggest hurdle in terms of route completion and it's now out of the way. So I'm excited to be able to move to the next phase of Quill's route.

There is still a lot of work to be done but it's always a relief to be done with the writing portion since it's such a huge chunk of the process.

Anyway, I will see you all next update! *wave*