#we're planning another one oops spoilers ^^

[purplehanfu]

Warrior: Episode 1

notes: Spoilers! It's the 4th of July! (that's not the spoiler) Master list of all recaps

An American show? In my primarily cdrama blog? Sure, why not. The show is Warrior and the first two seasons were on Skinemax Cinemax so you know it has all the non-stop swearing, graphic violence and gratuitous nudity one expects from premium cable. What an unwelcome detour from my usual fare! And that's not even taking into account all the crimes against costuming:

All of this character’s outfits look like things you would wear to seduce Captain Kirk. Everyone else gets to be from 1878, however. More on this phenomenon later.

Read on!

The Story            

It's 1878 and we are on the docks of San Francisco. Debarking from the hold of a ship that has just arrived from China is Ah Sahm- he's a master of martial arts (of course) who speaks perfect English due to having an American grandfather (sure), and has a head of artfully tousled modern hair filled with styling product (everyone else has a queue though). Side note: get used to this inconsistency in character styling. Why has Ah Sahm undertaken this arduous journey? He's here to look for his sister Mai Ling who ran away from an abusive marriage to a despotic warlord. Did I mention she only married him in exchange for her brother's life? Achievement unlocked: tragic backstory.

time to first altercation: 3 minutes 33 seconds

Due to his superior fighting skills Ah Sahm gets sold to the Hop Wei Tong (a tong is secret society that was often the front for organized crime) by Wang Chao whom I adore. 

Loveable sleazeball Wang Chao is consistently the smartest man in the room- loyal to none and profiting from all.

Ah Sahm impresses his new Hop Wei manager with his fighting skills and as a reward gets to go on a work outing to a local brothel where we meet Ah Toy, the madam. 

I hope she has that on her LinkedIn profile!

Ah Sahm immediately asks her and all the ladies there if any of them know his sister. Dude you had weeks on that ship to think up a plan, and this is the best you can come up with?

But Ah Sahm isn't the only one investigating here in Chinatown. We also meet "Big Bill" O'Hara an Irish police officer who was voluntold to be the head of a new task force looking into anti-Chinese crime. The only other member of his task force? Richard Henry Lee, the new recruit from Savannah Georgia. Many of the police, including O'Hara, are union veterans of the civil war. This brings up a certain amount of awkwardness. Richard mentions that even though he was too young to fight, the Civil War destroyed his family:

oof.

Ah Sahm doesn't have to look too hard for Mai Ling; she comes looking for him. Their reunion isn't very sweet- she tells him she's done waiting for others to rescue her and she is now her own #girlboss. 

To that end, she's married the aged head of a rival Tong, the Long Zii. She's the one running the Long Zii's business from the shadows. Oops, maybe Ah Sahm shouldn't have joined the first Tong he ran across. Now the siblings are on opposite sides of a war that's brewing in Chinatown.

It's Dark in Here

Both the subject matter and the actual show. There's quite a lot of graphic violence even outside the choreographed fight scenes. No spitting blood here, we're just straight up hitting people in the face with hammers. 

When all you have is a hammer, anything in the dark might be a nail

The show itself was shot in that murky unlit way that gritty action shows use to say "this is so intense that you don't need to see it". Don't worry, we'll soon be getting an eyeful of other things:

Nudity

Wow! You won't be seeing this on Chinese television anytime soon. 

Or this!

I would like to point out that we see full frontal on the ladies but no action jangling on the men. Another win for the patriarchy, I guess. But things only get nominally better when the clothes go back on:

Costuming

Look, I get it. This is meant to be in the style of an old western, so historical accuracy might not be a top priority. However, it is so jarring to see everyone in a reasonable approximation of 1870's clothing with the exception of a few characters- namely Ah Toy and Mai Ling. Make of that what you will. It really takes the viewer out of the show to have some characters dressed like this:

And to make it worse, these costumes are all wildly unflattering and poorly constructed. Olivia Cheng, the actress who plays Ah Toy is objectively a beautiful woman. Why are they doing this to her? Who wants a dress that pulls focus to your inner thighs? And go back to the picture at the beginning of this review- the thigh slit (very Victorian) on that green gown has wonky seams and the neck piece(?) looks like it’s bolstered with a cardboard insert. Again I ask why. 

Below: is this a bathing suit cover up? Are we headed to brunch at the beach?

This red look is giving “Mars Attacks but make it prom night”.

I don’t know what’s going on here but I do know that if you want to see what Ah Toy might have actually been wearing in the 1870′s, you can do no better than Chinese fashion history ramblings by @audreydoeskaren​. I’ve learned a lot there!

In Conclusion

The Good

I had a $2 digital credit from amazon, so this episode was free.

Opening theme song pretty good

Hoon Lee as Wang Chao 

Based on a show idea by Bruce Lee, hopefully his estate benefits from this

The Bad

Andrew Koji not selling it as a hero;  brings all the passion of running Saturday errands to his search for his sister. Nice abs, though.

Tom Weston Jones, who is British, playing a character from the deep south. At times his accent veers dangerously into Foghorn Leghorn territory. But I forgive him because he was Lt. Gore in The Terror.

Everything else outlined above

Bonus Round

We Now Resume Our Regularly Scheduled Programming:

oh thank goodness.

Master List of all recaps

[mrpenguinpants]

YOU POSTED A THING! Ignore how long it took me to write this up, I've been,,, honestly? I've not been doing things, I've also not been doing this, but-

So the two plots stolen from Genshin is the Chenyu Vale story quest, and I've forgotten the second one, oops- I thiiiink it's kinda like the Mondstadt festival (the one where u have to pick that fuckin flower and it didn't matter abracafuckyou /lh)

LOOKING AT MY THINGS THERE WERE MORE okay hold on-

So the concept of the campaign is every character is a fallen god who's forgotten their divine life, and they regain a shred of their memory and now must find a way to ascend due to the fact that only Whole Mortals can reincarnate/be reborn, but if you die as a mortal-body divine-soul That's It (yadda yadda, non-dnd approved type shit; there are actually multiple ways they could go about it but I have no idea what they'll do beyond revive the sun) - One player didn't do that, but it's fine, he is instead POSESSED by a goddess, it's chill, and I adore his backstory and he's the only one with a backstory tightly interwoven with the world's lore and local area the campaign takes place in he is THE ONLY MAN WHO MATTERS T O M E (/j)

The Genshin Quests that I have plots for bc I stole them are as follows; Natzissenkreuz Ordo, Chenyu Vale, and the Windblume Festival. I won't get into it rn so you don't have to tag this ask as spoilers (unless... thinking emoji) BUT oooOOOOooOoOOo you wanna hear abt my dnd So Bad sdfsdfsdfg (I just wanna talk abt it SO BAD bc we're on a month hiatus bc one player's in the middle of bumfuck nowhere for a while)

I ALSO HAVE A ONESHOT PLANNED FOLLOWING/INSPIRED BY THIS YEAR'S SUMMER EVENT IN GENSHIN! I'm planning on running it at two tables (different groups) and potentially even a third when I get to sorting it out, ASK ME ABOUT IT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE asdfgh

DND ASIDE- I recently found out one of my irls plays Genshin and I've been talking to him about it and honestly??? very nice, very fun (very demure /j) asdfgh I got into genshin to play w/ some other irls but now I am the last,,, genshin player standing,,,, and we're gonna help eachother farm when Natlan comes out bc I love running domains >:3 I'm a lil domain fiend

-Lucky

Ignore the fact that I'm responding backwards. But the pressure did work 👀 now I just need it to happen again because I blinked, and a month rolled around. I thought it was at most a week but no, my sense of time is fucked.

I'm so bad at names, and I barely do the story in any game I play unless I'm forced to (I missed an event in ZZZ because I wasn't on the third chapter yet ;-;). So I don't remember if I've done, seen, or even heard of the Chenyu Vale story, but I do know Mondstadt, at least.

I love it when my friends actually get invested enough with my imagination/ideas that they actually tie things into the ever-working narrative ;u; sometimes I feel like people don't do it because (they don't fucking care lol) they don't want to overstep on something that's made up by you. I understand, but man, it feels so uplifting when it happens. Keep that man alive. Are you planning on revealing parts of their divine life as the campaign goes on? I remember watching this youtube short about DND where they basically say that each player is given a blank sheet, and as they progress through the story they learn more things about their characters based on outside reactions.

I only know Windblume Festival but if it's a required quest/event quest, then I've most likely played the others. But yess, feel absolutely free to dump all your DND lore since I know you can't say it to your players unless you reveal too much. I'll tag spoilers in case you want to get more specific with the genshin quests because I do not remember any of them.

Here is your spotlight Lucky, lay it on me. What is this summer event-inspired oneshot?

I was talking to an old anon on another blog and it kinda makes me sad how the genshin community died out. Not in the sense that there's no fandom there, but that old players have either quit or lost interest. It makes me wonder if I even like genshin or if I write it because it's what I've been doing for so long.

[betweenlands]

okay. decem theory time, as coherently as we can possibly get; contains spoilers for like 90% of stuff so far, except for the in-progress ARG puzzles (edit: and also stuff from the viewer SMP, which we're not currently on/may not be canon atm). this is also like 50% lore primer because we went overboard in citing our sources. oops

TL;DR -- there's a possibility Legundo was the leader of Decem prior to his disappearance.

----

Let's start off with some facts.

We know Decem, the presumed antagonists of the 100 Days Multiverse series, consist of various Aspects (1), each of which has a title and an associated color (2) -- the latter is either ascended fanon or straight-up canon, since we do have instances of Legundo both confirming and correcting (3) color associations.

We know there's nine members of Decem (4), and that Legundo is an ex-member (5), bringing their "ideal" total members up to ten. We even have two possibilities as to what his name as a member of their organization is -- either the Architect or the Traveler (5/Alterans 1). We also know they can "manipulate reality within their local group" and do, like, basically anything they want (1).

We know Decem wants Legundo back. Like, really wants Legundo back. Their communications towards him range from aggressive and ominous (anything with the monoliths, and the Warrior's intervention in the Dimensional Doors video) to... weirdly sweet, if still extremely ominous (6, other sources not linked). They don't really agree on how to get him back, though, if their internal squabbles are anything to go by (5/History, 7).

There's also another faction in all this -- the Alterans (5). Their exact motives are uncertain, but they seem to be extremely underpowered compared to Decem, to the point where they talk a lot about their survival being predicated on some plan they put into motion...

...Somehow, the Alterans were able to separate the Architect from the rest of Decem, erase his memories (5/Alterans 2), and therefore buy themselves time. (It's possible Legundo may have left on his own and then had his memories erased, but either way the Alterans did something to his memory.)

----

Facts recounted, let's take a look at where we stand after that and start theorycrafting.

We currently have the names of six different Decem members -- the Warrior, the Historian, the Merchant, the Politician, the Philosopher, and ex-member Legundo as either the Architect or the Traveler. It's been theorized that Decem has some kind of ringleader, but we have no canon confirmation as to whether this is the case or what color/name they'd correspond to.

However, we know that Decem want Legundo back, and that they hold a lot of fondness for him -- it's possible that the Traveler is a nickname given to him after he lost the title of Architect and started worldhopping, and considering it still fits Decem's title theme it's either a really petty nickname or a way of still honoring him. (Could go either way, Decem seem kinda prone to petty squabbles -- see 5/History and 7).

Out of the six names we have so far, one of them is a job title that seems a lot more suited to altering the fabric of reality than any other. One that can be associated with things like living locations and engineering (both manipulating situations to benefit themselves and literal engineering). That name is, of course, the Architect.

The Alterans are fighting a war against what they call "entropy" and "a scourge across the multiverse", and they're clearly desperate. And while they could have gone for any piece of that scourge to take out of the equation -- if you need to sabotage an opposing organization as quickly and efficiently as possible, you should probably aim for the figurehead.

So, the Architect falls, and his memories are erased, and Decem really want Legundo back. Is it enough to maybe imply that the Architect was the total leader of Decem, given how important both factions think he is? Maybe, maybe not.

But there's one more thing we can glean from Deliberation -- White has Black in check, according to hidden text on the page.

And that only happens when a king is under threat of capture.

----

Footnotes (additional sources):

the 12/12/2022 stream, specifically this clip

this chart of Decem members, presumably by Eanaro (from the Multiverse Forum channel in Legundo's Discord)

this comment in the Multiverse Lore channel on 9/9/2022, and this comment in the Multiverse Lore channel on 9/15/2022

common knowledge, but confirmed explicitly in the Dimensional Doors modpack puzzles -- "Our Selves" in the nixie tube room correlates directly to the number 9.

lore books from the Hardcore Season 2 world download; specific book cited if relevant

the edited days text at the end of the 100 Nights video

Deliberation, a lore snippet revealed through the QR code puzzle in the Dimensional Doors modpack puzzle. (audio transcript here, thank you Leo!)

[inkedkoi]

Bingo Card: Part Five

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

Shadow saving Sonic

ohshitwhatthehellishappening?!?!?!

ahem, uh so Shadow’s saving Sonic this time huh.

This is definitely going to be a parallel to S2 EP1 when Sonic saved Shadow from the Dark Abyss after Shadow failed to get into Boscage Maze. If there’s a callback to any of these lines, I die happily:

Sonic: “On the bright side, I’ll get to hold this over you forever.” [...] Sonic: "Together, we're gonna fix this." [...]

Transcript:

Sonic: “Man, you must really hate having to admit you need me” Shadow: “You need me” Sonic: “Sure, I’m big enough to admit that. But not as much as you need me.”

[S2 EP1]

One thing I noticed in the Trailer (Dec. 16) was our Amy Rose (captions only said Rose but the voice kind of fits, here's a video to see what I mean: Link) says,

Transcript:

Rose: “Hurry! He’s not going to make it.”

This line can’t be talking about Sonic in this scene since Green Hill can’t peek into the Void so the question remains, what is Amy talking about here? For all we know, it doesn’t have to be Sonic, it could be Shadow or someone other than our hedgehogs.

Label: “X”

Transcript:

Sonic: I never knew you were a hugger. Shadow: Do you want me to save you or not?

[S3 EP7]

…nope, I’m happy with what we got (i’m so normal). And I was wrong about the voice being Amy’s, it was Thorn oops.

Free Box (lol)

Label: “X”

Nine gets what he wanted + Shadow being the one to convince him to do it (unintentionally, then attempts to convince Nine to save the Shatterverse)

[PARALLEL TIME 2!! Also, I have to involve some of the canon lore for this.]

Nine will redeem himself, that’s only logical. But for him to acknowledge his own mistakes, he would have to see it for himself. From the Clip (Nov. 11) and other previous instances, Sonic tries to convince Nine to think differently by simply talking to him. In all of those times, he fails. BUT, remember when S1 EP 1 Sonic saved Nine from the train, it cracked through Nine, just enough to let Sonic show him that he’s serious. It just makes sense that, since he doesn’t trust anyone, Nine values ACTIONS over WORDS, as it is why he attaches himself to Sonic. Of course, Nine would be against Shadow since Shadow is the one trying to rebuild the Prism and would be the one to have Sonic go against Nine. It may be the push that would make Nine go along with creating his home in the Grim without hesitation, all because Shadow is basically taking his only (well sort-of) friend away from him. That’s why, I want to see Nine getting the world he wanted. Not only to see what Nine really wanted and to see the power of the Prism’s energy, but also for Nine to see why he shouldn’t have done it.

There is a great YT video by Raihani Julie (here’s the link, please go check it out), an animatic based on an angsty scene from the show Amphibia I think really fits. Nine has a good reason to dislike Sonic but he still cares for him, leaving him completely conflicted. So, if Nine did make his own world, he would recreate Sonic, one that agrees with Nine’s plans. He would then realize what he wanted wasn’t a new world, but a friend. Now, for this realization, Nine could do this by himself, but if someone has to be there to help convince him, I think the best option would be Shadow. (Yeah, remember the trust theory?)

💬 "Why?"

Yes, Shadow would be the last person you would expect to help Nine. But hear me out: it’s all based on this exchange alone,

Transcript:

Nine: “You’re not another version of Sonic. But you could be twins.” Shadow: “Hardly, I am the ultimate life form.“

[S2 EP7]

It isn’t just a callback or a reference, this shows Shadow would probably be the only one who can relate to Nine.

Both of them have a lot in common:

1) they closed themselves off and lashed out at the world, believing everyone else doesn’t deserve to be “saved” due to their trauma (Shadow formerly having this way of thinking)

2) they have been confused about their identity. For the most part, they get confused for someone else, but also, what they are meant to be (Shadow being a weapon/robot/etc. and Nine being a threat)

3) they value ACTIONS over WORDS

And what made them change? The truth. If it weren’t for Sonic and his friends, Shadow may have not known what he promised Maria in SA2 and later one realized the truth behind his existence in the Shadow the Hedgehog game. Without the truth, he wouldn't be able to move on from his trauma. Sure, Sonic and Shadow don’t always meet eye-to-eye but they do have mutual respect for each other. For Nine, it was when Sonic saved him in the first EP, seeing that Sonic was being genuine with him, not out to get him.

So, a conversation between Nine and Shadow is possible. Because of the green Chaos Emerald, Shadow may not be affected by the Prism or he may have retrieved it from the Darkness before the final fight, either way works. Since the show showed the pixel origins of Sonic’s first encounters with Tails and Knuckles, they could show one for Shadow. (”It all starts with this…” ok I’m sorry…) Just as Shadow said back in S2 EP7, he doesn’t trust Nine. But he has also seen how much Sonic defended him. It was naive, but Sonic sees the good in people. At the end of all, especially if Shadow saw that Sonic learned to listen, Sonic is trying to do the right thing, even if stopping Nine hurts.

Label for both: “N/A” — …don’t look at me. [internal screaming]

Possible Sonic "Look-Alikes"

(Refer back to the Connections section and the Ultimate Sacrifice box if needed)

All you need to know is that if Sonic makes to get back to Green Hill in time = possibility of Sonic’s “look-alikes” appearing after he gets back (that could explain the “Sonic gets shattered” part), but I don’t think Shadow would have “look-alikes” (BUT LET ME HOPE MAN, I WANNA SEE PIRATE SHADOW)

Label for both: “N/A” — [sigh] I miss creative decisions, chat. I miss them a lot, I’ll be back (in my rewrite section).

The Prism has been broken before

[So, we have to consider the canon timeline, again…]

Ever since S1, something has been bothering me about the Prism but I couldn’t put my finger on it. But, what got my theory being created was when the Trailer (Dec. 16) released, where it all started. In the end, where Shadow is in a hurry to take Sonic back to Green Hill, the portal gateway is green.

Now, it may be just to point out the obvious, that it’s Green Hill. Ok, side tangent: why is it green? Boscage Maze is already green, why then would there be two green portals? Wouldn’t it be logical for the portal to be a mix of the Prism colors? Green Hill = NOT Ghost Hill so it can’t be yellow. WHY GREEN??? Tangent over.

Anyway, I went down this mind rabbit hole from the portal design to questioning the existence of the Void before the incident. So, I went back to S1 EP1, and saw something interesting: notice how there are cracks in between each of the Shards, that are separating the colors?

It isn’t the same as the Shards’ edges, they looked like they were glued together. Someone broke Prism and fixed it before it was discovered by EP1. Rouge can actually support this:

Transcript:

Rouge: “You see, I’ve been searching for years for a super rare and shiny gem called the Paradox Prism. Legend speaks of untold power, and it’s buried deep within the Green Hill bedrock.”

[S1 EP1]

Are we just going to brush past this, who had this information? If someone knew about this a long time ago, why share this secret with anyone (except probably to gloat that they have encountered it)? That will be for us to speculate, but the possibilty still stands that there was a whole different Green Hill before the one we know.

💬 "What does this have to do with the canon timeline?"

Back in S2 EP1, Shadow shows Sonic the Prism blueprint, and in EP7, Nine states that the Shards have to be perfectly placed, a slight error would change a huge part of reality.

Transcript:

Nine: It’s not that simple. The alignment must be perfect. The slightest variation could have massive repercussions. People, places, and things can be ripped from existence. One small mistake, and poof! Reality is changed forever.

[S2 EP7]

If they manage to restore Green Hill, would it be the same as before or would it be a whole new Green Hill? Even if the Shards were “perfectly” placed, those would be the main Shards, they didn’t account for any of the smaller pieces that may have happened when Sonic crashed into the Prism. Who knows? Maybe we could get the version of Green Hill that’s in Sonic canon.

Label “N/A”: [starts spinning into insanity]

sonadow canon/j

For the viewers who happened to be shippers, we all had a fine course of our preferred ships. Especially for the sonadow shippers, myself included. this show was practically sonadow propaganda and my god, it worked.

Label “X”: LOVE WINS!!! 💙 in all seriousness though, I am happy everyone got to feast on the shipping moments they were able to get. (yes I screamed in the "i heart you too" and the "never knew you were a hugger" scenes)

Nine initiates the Hug

We had a lot of moments of Sonic's way of showing affection to the ones he's closest to, including Nine. As much Nine isn't as affectionate, he lets Sonic do his thing. It's not just limited to hugs though, they also high-fived. I think this is a build-up to a moment when Nine is the one who hugs Sonic, most likely near the end of the season. It would be the last stage of vulnerability, letting his defenses down for Sonic.

Label "X":

And I was right, awww. (Though I wish there was a bigger payoff for it.)

“Home”

Transcript:

Sonic: “Home is where your friends are, as they say…”

[S1 EP1]

This line will definitely come back around at the end, because it’s too unique for it not to. Probably at the end of the series.

SIDE RAMBLE: I just wanted to point out when Shadow tells Sonic:

Transcript:

Shadow: “Home doesn’t exist anymore. Because of you.”

[S1 EP8, S2 EP1]

It meant a lot more, “They don’t exist anymore. Because of you.” Also, when Sonic is taken to Ghost Hill and finds the ghosts of his gang, Shadow explains that its existence is:

Transcript:

Shadow: “A cruel version to make us suffer.”

[S2 EP1]

There are people who still dub Ghost Hill as Green Hill, but it is very clear: Green Hill is gone for good (at least the one we had at the beginning of the series) and, in technicality, the gang is dead, all that is left are ghosts/clones of the gang. Also, Shadow included himself in that last sentence (”us”). Think about it: the only Shatterspace he was able to access was Ghost Hill’s, went in and explored it for himself. We already know about the time difference that happens between Shatterspaces so we don’t even know how long he stayed in there. Days? Months? Did he grieve for the world he vowed to protect? All we know was that he determined the situation with the Prism blueprint and how Ghost Hill operated, along with the small glimpses into whatever Shatterspace Sonic was. That it was, in his words, cruel. It teased him that everyone he knew about was there, his home was there. But it also was gone (a callback to what Sonic said). If he stayed any longer, he might’ve gone insane. Notice that his hand was shaking during that scene. I thought it was good character depth that he really does care and he isn’t some edgy counterpart of Sonic. What he said to Sonic really gave a double punch to the gut because Shadow, if Sonic informed him of what Eggman was up to, could’ve prevented the incident from happening in the first place and they wouldn’t have lost their (first) home.

Label: “N/A”: [LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER x 100]

To be continued...

Previous Part || Next Part || Masterpost

[palimpsessed]

Friends! Hello! I have completed the first draft of Chapter 28 of Slings and Eros after...idk. Two months? A while. I spent 10 hours yesterday writing another fucking prophecy for some ungodly reason. But I’m not sharing that because it’s probably all spoilery or indecipherable. (Don’t try dactylic hexameter. Do not. Just👏 say👏 no👏)

Here’s some Baz POV I haven’t decided I’m keeping yet. I think I just need to build out the scene. (Slightly redacted because after I grabbed this section I realized there were spoilers for the previous chapter oops.)

He's been tearing a piece of bread into shreds in what can only be described as anxious mutilation. If he hadn't also been eating each of the pieces in turn, I'd be truly worried about his mental state.

We're sitting on some larger stones in a rock formation facing the river, shaded by a stand of olive trees. The sun is bright in my eyes and sparkles as it hops around the surface of the rushing water.

It's picturesque, but I can't really enjoy it, as my stomach is still very much tying itself up in knots. Perhaps I can use one of those knots to loop around my throat so I won't have to answer Simon's inane questions about floral arrangements.

Art stuff and tags below ⬇️

I have one more art thing planned for COC. A late add on unplanned. Hmm. Here’s a small sketch that won’t tell you much.

Also here’s a banner I made that has all my art from this year except for the porn which I’m pretending doesn’t exist 😅 I have maxed out the allowed 100 links on my masterlist and I’ve been meaning to reorganize it for a while. So. That’ll be a vacation time project I think.

Thanks for all the tags the past couple weeks while I’ve spent too much time on art to post anything. This is me giving you all a tag back for today or any day. 🫂❤️🥰 @ionlydrinkhotwater @martsonmars @facewithoutheart @cutestkilla @bookish-bogwitch @artsyunderstudy @takitalks @ivelovedhimthroughworse @confused-bi-queer @urban-sith @shrek-gogurt @fatalfangirl @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @johnwgrey @onepintobean

[its-short-for-jackalope]

lol okay, hi.

i know ive been memeing about it tonight but i have some actual serious thoughts & feelings about Pulp Musicals rn so I'm going to ramble!

⚠️ This will contain spoilers for the first episode, The Great Moon Hoax !

Okay so one of my favorite, favorite songs in this episode is "John's Choice." (I will be listening to it on loop while I make this post.)

I love the whole song but I absolutely adore the part when Herschel is telling the crowd that the story is true. He adopts the phrasing that is familiar and easily recognizable after the "Great Astronomical Discoveries," we've heard, but now we hear it from his perspective, and my god it doesn't seem like it would do much but the shift in pronouns (he to I, his to my, etc) is SO impactful! (Especially when you're listening for the first time and you're expecting him to reveal the hoax like he'd said he was going to!) It gave me major chills the first time I heard it, and I still get chills every time. Every time.

Another bit that makes me go insane is when we get the line "I pointed it at the moon, our companion," and then the chorus/ensemble chimes in with "Always there, watching us, from Eden to Edinburgh. As we grow..." and then Herschel picks it up again with "As she glows," and he keeps going. But here it's the ensemble that gets me.

In "Great Astronomical Discoveries, Pt. 1" it's just Samuel and Rose singing those lines. Now, we're hearing the crowd singing them, and I think that's really cool and interesting. To me, it really reflects how it's a story that's grown and been passed around a lot, that people have been talking about it and telling each other. The crowd chiming in is like when someone interrupts to finish a story they already know by heart, or when people start singing along to a beloved song that's being played by a stranger in the street.

The crowd that's gathered at The Sun already know this story, and they start singing with Herschel because they already know all the words. It's not just his story—it has become theirs, too. And that just does something in my brain. Like.. it shows how much this story about the moon means to everyone, how important it is. (As Margaret says: "So many people have nothing to believe in...") They're so happy that Herschel is saying it's all real that they can't help but tell the story with him. And the way they whoop and cheer when he says it's true? That's beautiful.

...aaaaand also pretty tragic and heartbreaking if you think about the fact that we all know it really IS a hoax, haha oops, but we'll just not think about that right now, okay? okay. 😅

Of course, I can't ramble about my favorite things in this song without a huge shoutout to Curt Mega for his amazing singing. He puts so much feeling into this song in his roles as Benjamin and John. As Benjamin, we get to hear his vindication, frustration, and impatience, as well as his anger when his plan backfires. As John, singing about his made-up telescope, we can hear so much passion. Herschel's really trying to sell the story now, and I'd say he does a damn good job of it. (Sorry Benjamin!)

Basically, this song really lets Curt show off, and I am so grateful for that because my ears and my brain have been blessed. Thank you Matt, thank you Curt. 🙏🖤

now that I'm done rambling for the time being, I am currently in the middle of an art project that I'm hoping to finish tonight, so I'm gonna try and get back to that. If anybody else wants to add their thoughts, I welcome it!!! please, come experience brainrot with me!!!! :D

someday I'd love to make more posts like this (but hopefully better and more organized) so we'll see if that actually happens lol. I love this show so much. I wanna talk/write about it. 😍

[seasidesapphix]

At Long Last, the Hugo Best Review (spoilers)

_-🦢-_

On the 31st of January, I finished Erin Somers’ Stay Up with Hugo Best. I initially found myself at a bit of a loss for whether I actually liked it or not.

It’s a book that didn’t live up to the hype for me, but I still think there’s something really special about it. Hugo Best is a fascinating book, with some excellent subtle character writing and tension, some genuinely great comedic timing, but in the end, it feels like a long joke with a bad punchline. Let’s discuss it.

I would generally consider the main thesis of Hugo Best to be "meet your heroes, but don’t meet their asshole friends." Or perhaps more simply, "don’t meet your heroes, please." In any case, the central concern is that of the social implications of celebrity. Our protagonist June is a great choice for such a story, as she is both religiously obsessed with the details of Hugo’s career, as well as being a disillusioned comedian herself who regularly parodies and crucifies Hugo internally.

The one issue I have with June is one I saw mentioned by another reviewer, Juli Weiner: she’s so BAD at being a comedian. There’s a bit where she cracks a joke ("baseball is about as comprehensible to me as particle physics") and another comedian flatly says she isn’t funny. And he’s completely right, what we do see of her stand-up is totally dull and the jokes she makes in dialogue are god-awful observational comedy. We're meant to sympathise with June but like. The joke was a total stinker, and all her jokes are like that. And yet, June’s internal narration is great! Her narration is packed with wit and genuinely fun to read, but it doesn’t carry over. I figured it was to show that she struggles to communicate? In that case, I feel like it might’ve been worth making her external attempts at jokes slightly more entertaining, considering how much of the book is made up of them.

Hugo, on the other hand, is an interesting case. Somers completely sold him to me as a celebrity, with the descriptions of his previous TV shows and controversies standing out as totally convincing, but he still felt undercooked as a person. I never really got the sense he was more than he first appeared, and perhaps it was a clever subversion of expectations: June’s roommate immediately suspects in the first chapter he has some horrible secret when he invites her to his home for the weekend but… He doesn’t. Hugo’s exactly as he appears. He’s a retired TV show host who doesn’t understand his teenage son, resents his younger replacement, and only dates his own fans. The best (I’m afraid the puns are unavoidable with this one) scene with Hugo is on the second night, when June comes into his room. I think it was more for the fact that at this point, I was so invested in their relationship as the first two days had been so promising, but the rising romantic tension just kinda… falters.

This bit is AMAZING. I loved it so much when I read it for the first time, and if the novel was a short story, it could've ended right there and I'd be happy. It's this excellent blend of unexpected intimacy and forcing down the words they want to say. The back-and-forth chemistry in the first two days between them is actually fantastic.

Unfortunately, it all goes a bit sour.

(This narration's actually great but also. This is directly following three pages of old people fighting)

I'm not exactly sure where Hugo Best loses its way but the story starts stagnating hard. The first two days are great, both fun to read and thoughtful about the ideas of celebrity and ambition, but on the morning of the third day, it basically overstays its welcome. The jokes are still good but the day after June meets Roman (Hugo's obnoxious, racist comedian friend), which is genuinely well-written and interesting, the story doesn't do much of anything afterwards. There's the big party that Hugo's been planning but oops, the rain was so bad, it ends up being cancelled.

(free my man comrade julian)

June and Hugo go to a bar in the evening, Hugo does his last ever comedy routine, and he shoots down her idea to promote new comedians from minority backgrounds, because he considers it to be "making ammends" for his past, rather than just. yknow. a good thing to do.

THEN the next day, in an interview about his retirement, he repeats June's idea verbatim and presents it as his own. It's a pretty good way to make his character feel scummy but I wish June had actually confronted him. She immediately notes it's her words he's saying, but never pursues it. I think that would've been a great scene, because leaving it as is without any follow-up just makes it feel like a very on-the-nose way of saying "Hugo's not all that great". In the climax of the back, June and Hugo have some incredibly tense and awkward sex on his boat (earlier scenes of their flirt-banter had more chemistry), and June leaves the mansion. The two never meet again, as Hugo dies not long after. This actually caught me by surprise when I read it, and this bit did admittedly make me cry.

It's so unflatteringly realistic, and it did actually hurt. I ended up not liking Hugo all too much, and I liked the decision to effectively have him die without achieving much of anything he wanted to do in his retirement. It's not cruel for the sake of being cruel, considering what we'd seen of Hugo, he wasn't likely to keep his promises, but it still works surprisingly well at making you feel miserable. June goes to his funeral, and tells the story of their weekend together to her colleagues, where it becomes nothing more than "a three-minute anecdote". The final paragraph is also actually great: on her way home, June looks at the constellations of the ceiling of Grand Central and says this:

I love this ending. It's smart and punchy, and I like how it is entirely based on a pun. It's fitting! I think that the ending is remarkably strong, but it just doesn't make up for the weakness of the story's middle and climax. It's an interesting case where the story does stick the landing, but the actual flight was boring and seemed to be going around in circles. This ending works incredibly well as a culmination of the story's themes, but after such a tedious climax, it feels like it's out of place. Hugo's death is a great idea, but it's dropped on the third last page, after far too much time being spent on boring bickering in the story's middle.

In conclusion, I think Hugo Best has some great moments and excellent commentary on celebrity. However, it loses its way half-way in - the pacing grinds almost to a halt, and it loses the breezy pace it originally had. It's still got good moments here and there, the ending being a highlight, but lacks the punch of the beginning. The romance, similarly, starts great, with June constantly reminding herself that the dynamic feels exploitative considering he was her boss and a celebrity but still finding genuine connection with Hugo - until the penny drops and it just feels like someone with no ideas creatively exploiting their partner. The sexual climax of the relationship just feels mechanical. They're literally just acting out the motions before it ends. That in of itself is interesting, but it lacks the emotional spark it should have had. I think most readers will root for them to get together, but the disappointment of that idea doesn't feel as disappointing as it could have. The relationship was always going to fail, but I wish it had been more explosive. In the end, Hugo Best feels... somewhat lifeless in what should be its most dramatic moments.

To sum it all up, I'd treat Stay Up with Hugo Best like a party: leave when you're having the most fun, before it goes dead.

Thank you for reading! 🦢

[rainswept]

OKAY. I’M BACK AT IT AGAIN. kazuha fic poll 2.0, this time featuring more songs + some lyrics from all of them + the tone of the fic/my general ideas

(can you tell i really like kazuha and modest mouse paired)

OKAY. ahem. ideas and such below the read more because it got a bit long.

OCEAN BREATHES SALTY:

.. sad, obviously. i plan to focus this one a bit more on kazuha’s past, with his friend, the vision hunt decree, and joining the crux.

“Your body may be gone, I'm gonna carry you in In my head, in my heart, in my soul.”

FLOAT ON:

still focusing on his past but also his future — has a more optimistic tone. however, it may still have a bad ending (oops) due to the idea that the song may just be about false hope (tied to the music video, i believe).

“No, don't you worry, we'll all float on, alright Already, we'll all float on, alright Don't worry, we'll all float on.”

MIDDLE DISTANCE RUNNER:

focusing more on the reader and kazuha’s relationship than kazuha’s past. basically about how i think kazuha would do in a relationship (spoiler alert: not well.) from my interpretation, the song is about having a hard time with commitment/knowing that even while you’re with someone, you know you won’t be their last. not a happy ending.

“So won't you run to me tonight? Tonight, we could pretend that we're just lovers But I'll only ever be a middle distance runner.”

MISSED THE BOAT:

another sad one, sorry. focusing more on the reader and kazuha’s relationship again. spoiler alert .. this one doesn’t go well either

“While we're on the subject, could we change the subject now? I was knocking on your ear's door, but you were always out Looking towards the future, we were begging for the past Well, we knew we had the good things, but those never seemed to last Oh, please just last.”

ON BOARD:

same as the last two but an actual happy ending⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️ wow!1! this one has a bittersweet tone, too, but unlike the last two where both characters are attempting to force themselves into a relationship that will not work, this is the opposite — they’re both trying to run from a relationship they know actually could work because they’re afraid of it. eventually, though, it has a happy ending! yay!

“Don't forget, ships were not built to be safe And in all my life's mistakes You were not one 'Cause all I've ever done All I've ever done Is love you To the bottom of the deep blue sea.”

[elcall]

Understanding the Show

Aikatsu Stars Oneshot

Hello everyone!! Have I got a treat for everyone! @ikuyeah and I have teamed up to create this beautiful story as a gift for @crimson-shell! This is based on the movie The Greatest Showman, but you don’t have to watch it to enjoy!

Summary: When Four Star Academy holds their annual film festival, everyone can't help but notice the two stars fall in love.

Pairings: KanAko / AkoKana and slight SubaYume

Characters: Subaru, Yume, Laura, Kanata, Ako, Asahi, Mahiru, & Koharu

Words: 11,410

Make sure you take your time with this because it's long! @ikuyeah and I are super excited to share this with everyone! Please enjoy! 

[ Subaru ]

Brandishing a large bowl, Nijino Yume stepped up to the front of the crowd gathered in the covered court. “It’s time to draw names on roles for this year’s musical performance!” She cheered.

The new students and underclassmen blinked owlishly at the blonde in confusion. In front of the crowd, Yume’s friends all groaned in unison at their friend’s carefree nature. Laura - ever the responsible student - stepped up next to Yume and cleared her throat. “So, we are all aware that every year, Four Star Academy has a fair of which the main event is a show. This year that show will be based on a popular musical from America called The Greatest Showman.” Laura surveyed the crowd, noticing the students who recognized the name. “Who has heard of or seen the musical?” She asked.

Mahiru raised her hand and so did her brother, Asahi. “It’s the musical about the ringmaster of a circus with curious and strange people,” Asahi piped up.

“Different people,” Mahiru interjected, raising a brow at her brother who sheepishly rubbed at the back of her head in embarrassment.

Laura nodded. “In this bowl, we have the names of every female student here,” She explained, signalling for Subaru to step up with a bowl of his own. The brunette came to a stop next to Yume, looking strangely fidgety. “And in Yuki-san’s bowl, the names of the male students. We’ll be picking from each bowl depending on the nature of the role. Any questions?” No hands shot up, Laura smiled. “Good, we will start by explaining the roles.”

Kanata stepped up to the stage with a clipboard. “First, we have the main character of the musical. P.T. Barnum was a tailor’s son who fell in love with a wealthy girl when he was young. In the show, they will have several songs together and apart but, in summary, Barnum is claimed to have cheated on his wife while touring with an opera singer from England. At the end of the musical, he will have reconciled with his wife.” He explained, gesturing to Subaru’s bowl.

“And the Showman will be…” Subaru reached into the bowl and pulled out a piece of paper, reading it with a grin, “looks like it’s going to be you, Kanata.”

Kanata raised a brow at him. “Don’t cry, Subaru,” He snickered.

“As if,” Subaru retorted.

“Next, we have the wife of P.T. Barnum. Charity Barnum. For most of the musical she’s often seen supporting Barnum’s dreams and she sings a heartbreaking song when Barnum leaves to tour with the British opera singer, knowing that her husband is likely enamoured with her. She stays behind to care for their two daughters and, as I said, reconciles with Barnum at the end of the musical.” Kanata continued, ignoring Subaru’s protests.

“And the role of Charity goes to…” Yume snatched a paper out of her bowl and gaped at the name written on it, “it’s me!”

“Eh?” Subaru stared at Yume and then at Kanata, disbelieving.

Asahi snickered, Nozomu smirking next to him. “Don’t cry, Subaru!” They both yelled.

“I’m not going to cry.” Subaru protested, frowning at his friends.

With a sigh, Kanata kept going, “Next is Barnum’s prodigy, Phillip Carlyle. He’s from a rich family of producers. Barnum invites him to become his partner at the circus and he falls in love with a trapeze artist, Anne Wheeler. By the end of the musical, he will become the circus’ ringleader.” Kanata shrugged. “Interesting role, he does some songs with some trapeze stunts-”

“Woah, it’s you, Subaru-kun,” Yume said loudly, smiling as she tilted her head in his direction. “Don’t cry, Su-”

“Stop that,” Subaru cut her off, blushing slightly at her teasing.

“Keep going, Kira-san,” Laura said, shaking her head at them.

Kanata cleared his throat, going back to the list. “Next, Anne Wheeler, the trapeze artist. Whoever is cast will need some trapeze training,” He pointed out.

Subaru turned to observe Kanata who looked on edge. He’d noticed earlier that Kanata looked a bit anxious but now he seemed almost anticipative. His gaze kept going to the front of the crowd, where the S4 members were. To Saotome Ako.

It would make sense, he thought, if Kanata anticipated whatever role she would get. She was a talented actress, a prodigy in her own right. But, Subaru peered at Kanata, something about his gaze seemed off.

“Whoever will be playing her will have several stunts as well as a song with Phillip Carlyle,” He turned to Yume and nodded.

Yume gave him a thumbs up and then pulled the topmost paper out of the bowl. She gasped, raising the slip of paper into the air, “Ako-chan!”

“Huh,” Saotome Ako, who had been quiet throughout the proceedings, stood up abruptly, her face red. “I mean, yes. Understood. Of course.” She bowed, the students clapping for her. “Thank you, I’ll do my best.”

Kanata stared at her and then at Subaru, then back at her. And Subaru understood.

Subaru smirked. “Hey, Kanata,” He called out.

Kanata turned to him, a dazed look on his face.

“Don’t cry.”

[ Laura ]

    Is it impossible? Say that it’s possible-

Laura winced as she watched the two bodies clash. Literally, and figuratively. Subaru and Ako were practicing the hardest scene of the musical, one that required cooperation from both parties to effectively pull off. But, to Laura, the two of them weren’t working together in technique but also in their style.

Ako’s body had a stiffness to it; one that she had never seen her have, especially since Laura had witnessed her friend’s amazing skills multiple times before. As for Subaru, well, she hadn’t seen his live acting for a long time now, but it seemed to her that he was slouching- holding back or not putting his full potential into it somehow.

That angered Laura slightly. Her friend was working her hardest and Subaru wasn’t even trying to do the same.

Laura sighed, reaching a hand up to her forehead and massaging it around. She glanced at the clipboard in her arms with the schedule of their practice on it, then at the clock on the wall; it was past noon. She held the clipboard against her body as she clapped with her hands, gaining everyone’s attention, “Okay everyone! I think that’s enough for now. Let’s take a lunch break; thirty minutes.”

Mutters spread across the room as everyone gathered themselves up, and Laura put her clipboard down on the bench beside her. She joined Yume and Koharu as they stepped out of the auditorium they were practicing in, looking over to the blonde as she spoke.

“I’m worried about Ako-chan…” Yume said softly, as if it were a secret.

Koharu nodded mutely.

Laura glanced away, sighing, “Something isn’t working. But I’ll figure it out.”

Koharu snapped her gaze at Laura, then smiled, “I’m sure you will. I hate seeing Ako-chan struggle like this.”

Laura and Yume nodded in agreement.

They continued in silence, until Laura stopped halfway on their way to the cafeteria. “I need to go check some papers of the musical. Yume, bring me back a box to the auditorium?”

Yume smiled at the request, shooting her a thumbs up, “You got it! Come on, Koharu-chan, we don’t have much time to eat!”

Koharu gasped as Yume tugged her, and Laura giggled.

She brushed her hands and turned down the path to quickly head to the song class building where she had her papers. Once she arrived, however, she realized that she left her clipboard in the auditorium. With a huff, she gathered her papers and took them back with her. When she entered the lobby area of the building, she heard some voices from the inside.

Curiosity peaked, Laura carefully placed her papers down and peered around the corner of the auditorium.

“-You even trying?”

Laura blinked. Was that Kanata? Who was he talking to?

He continued after a moment of silence, “You don’t always have to compromise for Subaru. You have to let him compromise for you too.”

Laura’s eyes widened, and she turned her head further to see Ako, twisting the large performance ring that she was practicing with.

Is that what was happening? Ako was working herself to adjust her acting for Subaru? Now that she was thinking about it,  Laura saw it now; Ako’s stiffness- because she was trying to accommodate for Subaru.

Ako twisted the ring sharply, then retorted, “I’d like to see you do better, Kira Kanata!”

Laura watched as Kanata stalked closer to Ako. He grabbed her arm, replying with a simple, “Okay.”

    It’s up to you, and it’s up to me. No one can say what we get to be.

Then, Laura felt her breath get taken away. Kanata and Ako began performing the routine that they were trying to perfect with Subaru and Ako all morning. Laura watched as the two of them never took their eyes off each other, their bodies flowing perfectly to the rhythm of the other. The maneuvered gracefully, despite the tension rising out of both figures in thick waves.

Laura couldn’t peel her eye away, not even when she heard the doors open behind her.

“Laura!” Yume called, waving an arm to gain her attention, but frowning when she didn’t get a response. She stepped closer, “What are you…” she trailed off, catching sight of the inside of the auditorium.

    It feels impossible! It’s not impossible. Is it impossible? Say that it’s possible!

It seemed that everyone had returned, as Laura heard other footsteps, turning into silence and sharp intakes of breath, but she never turned her gaze away from the wonderful performance in front of her.

Kanata and Ako were finally finished, standing very close and staring at each other deeply.

Something hit the ground and crashed.

The two performers jumped away, only just catching sight of the crowd that had grew. Cheers erupted for the two of them, and the group rushed forward.

Yume shook excitedly, “That was amazing Kanata!”

“Ako-chan too!” Koharu added, “I knew you could pull it off!”

Laura noticed Ako scoot away from Kanata slightly, her face bright red. A glance at Laura made her see the tinges of pink on his own cheeks.

A wicked grin striked itself on Laura’s face. Oh, now she understood.

She toned it down and stepped forward, “Well I think that settles it.”

“Settles what?” Yume blinked owlishly.

Laura put her hands on her hips, “Yuki-san and Kira-san should switch places.”

After an initial phase of shocked “what?”s, there where many voices of agreement.

“Agreed!” Asahi called out, from where he was wiping water that had spilled from the cup he dropped earlier, Mahiru standing beside him handing him more towels, “Kanata, that was great!” He paused, looking down at the spill again, “Ah, sorry… I was bringing this back for you…”  

Kanata brushed past everyone to go to him, “Thanks.” He took the tray from Mahiru with a nod.

Laura grabbed her clipboard from the bench, clicking the pen, “So Kira-san, you up for it? Yuki-san? What do you say?”

Subaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “I think you’re right. Saotome-san and I couldn’t get it right, but obviously Kanata has got it down already.”

Nozomu smiled at his friend, “That’s Kanata for you.”

Subaru grinned and said, “So if you want to switch our parts, I’m fine with it.”

Laura smiled, turning it to Kanata.

He nodded, “That would be fine.”

Laura turned to the last person she wanted to make sure was okay. “Ako?”

Ako was still frozen, Koharu and Yume standing near her. Her jaw opened, then closed, then opened again, and she seemed to struggle with words. Laura waited until she nodded, replying, “Yes.”

Laura eyes sparkled as she scribbled on her clipboard quickly, as if they would change their minds if she didn’t do it fast enough. “So that keeps Ako as Anne Wheeler, Kira-san as Phillip Carlyle, Yuki-san as Barnum, and Yume as his wife.”

Yume pumped her arm in the air, “Alright! Let’s do our best!” She cheered, patting Subaru’s arm.

His cheeks blushed a cute pink, and Laura covered her grin as she watched all of them.

[ Asahi ]

“Yuki-san! A little more to the center. You need to make it snappier,” Laura directed. Nodding to Asahi, she paused the music. “Can you do something about Yuki-san’s hat. I think it’s not the right weight. He keeps missing the brim when he has to throw it up and catch it.”

Asahi nodded assent. It did look off when he threw it up and he hadn’t caught it once during practice. “I’ll see what we can do.” He scurried up the stage to Subaru and inspected the hat.

“It’s probably the design, more of the aesthetic additions are on one side so it’s not even in weight.” He muttered to himself, taking the hat with him off-stage to hand over to Koharu.

By the time he returned to the rehearsal with Subaru’s new hat, it seemed like the choreography had been cleaned up and everyone was being called to the stage for blocking.

“Alright, from the top.” Laura clapped her hands loudly.

Asahi walked towards the front of the stage where Kanata was on standby. His scene was after everything they were working on now, when Barnum would meet Phillip Carlyle, the producer and playwright. “What did I miss?” He asked quietly as Subaru began to sing, stomping his feet to the rhythm.

‘You stumble through your days. Got your head hung low, your skies' a shade of grey.’ He sang, slowly walking up the steps to Barnum’s circus building.

“Sakuraba just finished with the choreography and Ak-” Kanata seemed to catch himself and cleared his throat to hide the rising redness in his cheeks. “Saotome’s got her harness on.”

Asahi’s eyes went to Saotome Ako who was discreetly harnessed so she could transition from the trapeze two feet above the stage floor down to the stage floor. He winced, it was one thing to see her do those stunts from afar and another to be this close while she did her death defying act. The scale wasn’t as large as a real circus but he’d seen her get hurt several times from falling the wrong way.

Really, it was no wonder Kanata was worried.

…wait a second.

Asahi side-eyed Kanata whose focus was yet again on Saotome. Now that Asahi really thought about it, he’d been that way ever since he met Saotome, eyes glued to her as if anticipating what would happen next. And while Asahi thought it was funny that Saotome seemed to near despise Kanata for teasing her all the time, it was also notable that Kanata was always around to tease her. Kanata, the busybody who never rested in his career, made time for each of Saotome’s performances and idol activities even if she was only selling sweets at a school festival.

‘No more living in those shadows. You and me we know how that goes.’ Yuri, who’d taken the role of the singing bearded lady, sang as she stepped forward with the rest of the cast.

Saotome swung out with Nozomu, meeting him in the middle and then switching over to his rope while he switched to hers. Nozomu was playing Anne’s brother and was going to be in several scenes with Saotome up on the trapeze.

‘We'll be the light that's shining. Bottle up and keep on trying.’ She and Nozomu sang together as they swung back, Nozomu catching Ako’s hands and then gently letting her go when she reached the side of the stage where the jump off board was.

Kanata sighed softly, relieved, and then clapped with the rest of the support crew. There were several times Saotome had fallen and the harness wasn’t enough to absorb the blow of the fall resulting in several bumps that Koharu needed to treat.

The curtains dropped and when they drew backup Subaru was wearing his ringmaster outfit with the rest of the cast in formation behind him including Nozomu and Saotome. ‘Come alive, come alive.’ They sang together. ‘Go and ride your light, let it burn so bright.’ Nozomu and Saotome nodded to each other before bending back and doing a truly impressive and synchronized backflip through strategically placed hoops.

“Alright, this is it. Let’s make it perfect.” Laura yelled from off stage.

Yume got up on stage as part of the audience holding two younger kids - twins - with her who were playing hers and Subaru’s children for the musical.

“1, 2, 3. Go.” Kanata muttered to himself, pointing at the ensemble.

‘When the world becomes a fantasy.’ They slid left and right before shaking their hands downward snappily. ‘And you’re more than you could ever be.’ Alternating their arms up and down three times, they stepped right and then slid left. ‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open!’ Facing left, Subaru pushed his coattails back with a dramatic flourish.

“So come alive!” They all cheered, the backstage cast came forward acting as a mob who rallied against Barnum’s circus with signs saying ‘Go Home, Freaks!’ while behind them the main cast changed to another set of costumes.

When the mob cleared, the ensemble sans Subaru was performing in a circle with a clear gap in the middle where Yuzu cartwheeled in next to Haruka, both dancers holding onto each other as they did a synchronized split.

‘To anyone who's bursting with a dream.’ Saotome sang, swinging down on a rope and then strutted past them.

The ensemble cheered, all of them turning to the right to welcome Subaru back to the stage in another outfit.

Asahi gasped and then threw the hat to Subaru, both him and Kanata smiling when the brunette caught it and winked at them.

‘To anyone who's searching for a way to break free!’ He gestured to Yuri as she took to his right and Saotome took Subaru’s left.

‘Break free!’ Yuri echoed.

‘Break free!’ Saotome took the lyric to a higher note.

All of them stomped down in unison, clapping to the beat. ‘And the world becomes a fantasy and you're more than you could ever be-’ Subaru spun around on his knees, gesturing to Yume in the pseudo-crowd. 'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.’ The twins spun around and then imitated their dance steps.

Yume, feeling confident in her adlibbing, blew a kiss in Subaru’s direction which caused the brunette to nearly miss his cue.

‘And we know we can't be go back again to the world that we were living in.’ The ensemble lined up and Subaru ran, sliding across the stage on his knees, waving his hat in the air. When he reached the end of the line, he stood up and winked at Yume who just laughed and clapped her hands while the twins both jumped up.

‘Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open-’ Two ropes came down just in time for Nozomu and Saotome to grab onto. Both of them were pulled up to the air where they tied the rope around their waist and then allowed themselves to fall downward while twirling their bodies along the rope.

‘So come alive!’ The ensemble sang, the music coming to a stop as Nozomu and Saotome hit the ground with a loud thump.

“Nozo-”

“Ako-”

Asahi turned and stared at Kanata who surged forward into the crowd of ensemble members. The blonde followed shortly after, ready to bring anyone who was injured over to Koharu.

“We’re okay.” Nozomu said, trying to reassure everyone while also checking if Saotome was hurt.

Kanata was leaning over Saotome with his hands jammed into his pockets probably to keep his hands to himself and not creepily pulling the girl up to check on her or hug her or anything, a worried and frustrated look on his face. “Don’t be an idiot. Tell your cast if you’re hurt.”

Saotome huffed. “Of course, I’d tell my cast if I was hurt. Not telling them will only make it worse.” She looked up at Kanata, noticing how concerned he was and blinking up at him in shock. “I really am… fine. Just a little sore from falling on my side.”

Kanata leaned back and gave Laura a look that the director immediately understood.

“You need to take a break-” Kanata scolded, stopping abruptly when a familiar hand shot up in front of his face.

Saotome wiggled her hand in his direction. “I’m not going to say no to a break so you might as well stop your lecture right there and help me up.” She said quietly, the ensemble sans Asahi leaving them so they could have their moment in peace.

With a smirk, Kanata grabbed her forearm and gently pulled her up until she crashed into his chest. “Could it be that I’ve managed to get your attention?” He teased.

“D-Don’t flatter yourself!” Saotome shoved him a little but not too far since her side was still sore and she needed him to be her human crutch.

Asahi watched them - Ako-chan, he’d call her Ako-chan now that its clear that Kanata liked her - bicker and smiled.

“Way to go, Kanata.” He said softly in understanding.

Mahiru stared at her brother and at the ensemble, a little confused at their behavior. “First it was Yuki, and then Laura… now, Asahi.” She turned to watch as Kanata smirked at her friend. “What’s going on, here?”

[ Mahiru ]

Mahiru inspected the scene; the set was still half built, but it was beginning to form. The current scene they were practicing was when Subaru’s character was showing Kanata’s character around the circus to introduce him. Kanata was to witness the show that Ako’s and Nozomu’s character was performing on the other side of the set, and Ako was to swing over to Kanata and they would meet gazes.

It was a “love at first sight”- like scene, Mahiru had to admit, and that from there the story radiated a romantic aura between the two characters.

Mahiru turned her gaze to Ako, who, for the sake of it just being a practice, was standing at the opposite side of the stage on the podium, preparing to jump off with her harness and meet at the other side with Kanata for the brief moment. She was fiddling with her harness, then her hands, then her hair.

Mahiru briefly wondered what was bothering her, but then thought that it was probably the act. She gulped, knowing that she herself would have trouble with it, and with the amount of times that Ako was falling and tripping up, she would be worried too.

Ako kept her gaze ahead of her though, it was unmoving despite her body fidgeting. Mahiru raised an eyebrow to herself, then carefully followed her line of sight back to where Subaru and Kanata were.

Oh of course, she was watching the performance play out, probably waiting for her cue.

‘You can do like you do, or you could do like me-’ Suddenly, Subaru’s voice gave out and he coughed.

Mahiru immediately grabbed a water bottle and went over to hand it to him.

“Yuki-san! Be careful with your throat!” Laura shouted just as soon. “We don't want it to be sore before the final show even arrives!”

Subaru waved his hand at her in response, pulling the bottle away, “I know, sorry, my voice just dropped.”

Laura gave him a stink eye, and Mahiru appreciated that it wasn't directed at her.

“Alright then, let's take five everyone,” Laura said, putting her board down and going to chat with the teachers.

Mahiru glanced up in the set where Ako remained, with other set members of Four Star behind her. But Ako was still staring down at the scene, her expression unreadable to Mahiru. Mahiru followed her gaze, and found it directed at Kanata. But since Subaru had stepped offset, Ako must have been watching Kanata.

Mahiru’s eyebrows furrowed in a frown. Why would Ako be-

“Back on set, everyone!” Laura shouted once again.

Mahiru blinked, startled out of her thoughts. She stepped back to the side of the set, watching Ako, as she prepared for her jump.

‘We’re going to the other side-’

When Subaru’s character gestured to Kanata to look out at the stage, Ako leaped from her position, swinging across the air, meeting Kanata’s gaze closely.

Mahiru looked to Kanata, checking his expression. She deadpanned; it was in his usual stoic mode. She flicked her eyes to Ako briefly, whose eyes were sparkling with determination… and something else Mahiru couldn’t catch.

But then things froze in Mahiru’s eyes. Ako’s legs weren’t hooked around the bar enough, and she had swung out too far, causing her legs to slip and her body to fall.

Ako let out a sharp cry; the harness caught most of her weight, but she still hit the ground. Luckily, they had set out mats just in case of that.

Mahiru briskly went up to check on her, holding her shoulder as she helped roll her, “Are you okay?”

Ako blinked, sitting up. She rubbed her head, “Yes, I’m fine.”

Mahiru narrowed her eyes, “Did you hit your head?”

Ako shook her head, “No, I just got a little dizzy at the last moment, I think.”

Mahiru digested the response, then nodded. She turned upward at the balcony, where Subaru and Kanata were peering over. Subaru’s eyes were wide in surprise and worry, and Kanata… his eyes were wide as well, but his expression was, dare Mahiru say, worried? Something like helplessness seeped into the gaze he sent down at Ako.

At the same time, Laura was shouting, “Cut! Ako, you need to practice that move more! And Kira-san! What was that? Your face was so plain! Put your emotion into it!” she sighed and rubbed her head, glancing at Ako again. “Are you okay, Ako?”

Ako nodded, standing up with Mahiru’s assistance, “Yes. I think I swung too hard and I was worried I would hit Kana- uh, Kira-san.”

She choked on her words, and Mahiru sent her a strange look. Mahiru turned to Laura, who was smirking at the red head.

“Okay. Well how about you go practice more. You’re going to have to be in the air the whole time in the real show, anyways,” Laura said.

Ako resigned, nodding at Laura, then trudging to the side where the director for the performance stunts was.

Laura then instructed Subaru and Kanata to restart their scene. Mahiru moved to the side, to help the other students working on the set building. While working, Mahiru glanced over at Ako, to see her glancing back at Kanata again. Mahiru frowned.

Minutes later, Mahiru glanced at Kanata and Subaru, only to spot Kanata looking at Ako when she had her back to him, catching a helpless looking expression.

Mahiru huffed, then crossed her arms. What in the world was going on?

A hand placed itself on her shoulder. Mahiru followed the arm to see Laura.

“Do you see it?” Laura grinned deviously, “Those two… are hopeless.”

Mahiru blinked at her, then back at the two they were talking about. She blinked, seeing them casting glances at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. “Wait…” something clicked in Mahiru’s head, “you don’t mean…”

Laura covered a laugh, nodding, “Yup. It gets me going.”

Mahiru’s eyebrows raised, then shared a smile with Laura. Now she understood what the secret was.

Hours filled with practice and training later, Laura called the group together again to perform the scene full out.  

Mahiru and the rest of the cast and crew gathered to watch if the hard work of the actors were paying off.

Having already called “action,” the group was performing on the stage. Subaru sang his line, gesturing off the balcony past Kanata to the performers, ‘We’re going to the other side-.’

Ako and Nozomu, along with other students, were on the other side of the stage doing their routines. Then, just as Kanata turned his gaze in the direction, Ako came swinging by at just the perfect moment.

Mahiru took a look at Kanata’s face. His eyes were bright and glassy, his lips parted in an awe and whisper of a smile.

Mahiru flicked her gaze to Ako, whose eyes widened at Kanata and lips spread into a wider smile than it already was in. Mahiru felt the surprise of his acting radiate off of him, making her feel the surprise as well.

The next part was Ako and the rest of the actors finishing up their routines and heading to the “back” of the circus, which was the part of the set, and meet Subaru and Kanata.

They concluded the rest of the scene smoothly, going further than they had in previous rehearsals.

As soon as Laura shouted “cut!” to end the scene, everyone burst into loud cheers.

Mahiru clapped her own hands excitedly; Ako and Kanata pulled off their parts perfectly, and everyone witnessed it happen. She looked over at Laura, whose eyes were bright and proud of the duo especially. Their eyes met, and Mahiru could see the twinkle of mischief and happiness in her eyes, surely reflecting her own.

[ Koharu ]

Koharu’s always known that Mahiru was an impressive performer. All that experience she had as a model gave her a particular aura, an aura that she employed in her role as Jenny Lind, the British Opera singer who fell in love with Barnum.

‘You set off a dream in me,’ Mahiru turned her head to the left, smiling a breathtakingly beautiful smile at Subaru. ‘Getting louder now. Can you hear it echoing?’ She continued, not letting Subaru’s deadpan expression put a stutter to her performance.

“Yuki-san needs to stop being so touchy about this scene. Barnum doesn’t cheat on his wife,” Laura sighed.

Koharu let out a soft laugh, “He won’t give Yume any reason to doubt.” She winked.

“Yume doesn’t even know he likes her,” Laura rolled her eyes at Subaru’s behavior.

‘Take my hand,’ Mahiru extended a hand to the crowd.

Koharu blinked as the spotlight drifted over to the side of the stage where the cast of Barnum’s circus show was watching the performance.

Kanata looked discreetly at Ako, hesitantly reaching for her hand which rested on the rails of the balcony to emphasise the moment happening between them.

'Cause darling without you,’ Ako started, perfectly on cue, smiling subtly to herself.

Mahiru took a deep breath, ‘All the shine of a thousand spotlights, all the stars we steal from the night sky will never be enough. Never be enough.’ Another spotlight lit up Yume watching from the seats on the second tier of the stage below where Ako and Nozomu climb to do their stunts.

By the time the second chorus came around, Yume was staring at Subaru with so much hurt that the brunette nearly bolted towards her to make sure she was okay.

‘Towers of gold are still too little. These hands could hold the world but it'll-’ Laura leaned forward, watching as Kanata turned around, noticing several upper class people staring and gossiping about him. ‘Never be enough.’ Slowly, he let go of Ako’s hand and stepped away. ‘Never be enough-’

Ako, tears gathering in her eyes, took one look at Kanata before turning and leaving. ‘For me.’

“Great! That was perfect! Shift the stage for This Is Me,” Laura called out, signalling for the curtains to drop so that the extras could come onto the stage dressed as rich people and the extras dressed as the mob of haters to be ready when the set up changes.

When the curtains rose, Kanata was in the second level and Ako was crying quietly in the middle of the stage. ‘I am not a stranger to the dark.’ Yuri walked up to her and turned her around, hugging her. ‘Hide away, they say, cause we don't want your broken parts.’

Ako let out a whimper and wrapped her arms around Yuri, the circus cast surrounding her. Nozomu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. ‘I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars. Run away, they say, no one'll love you as you are.’ Yuri’s expression became fierce as she lifted Ako’s chin. ‘But I won't let them break me down to dust. I know that there's a place for us-’

‘For we are glorious.’ Ako nodded, wiping her tears away.

Transitioning through the party, to the streets, and then into the circus stage they danced in unison.

‘I’m not scared to be seen,’ Ako made eye contact with Nozomu in the second tier and then glared up at him. ‘I make no apologies. This is me-’

Stomping down, Ako’s foot slid and she fell back with a startled scream. The rough surface of the stage floor leaving slight bruises on her legs and faint scratches on her palms.

“Koharu-chan,” Laura shot up from her seat, trying to get up the stage and past the other performers.

Kanata, having witnessed the whole thing, grabbed for one of the ropes and swung down toting a first aid kit with him. “Give her some room, will you?” He nearly sneered at the rest of the cast and carefully reached for Ako’s ankle. “You need to extend your leg-”

“Where did you get a first aid kit?” Ako asked, blinking at him.

“You get hurt often enough. Now, extend your leg,” He huffed, applying pressure to her foot and rotating it the way he remembered seeing on the internet. “It doesn’t look like it’s too bad, probably just leaned on it the wrong way. Show me your hands.”

Ako blushed, realizing that Kanata was really close, close enough to kiss and Koharu watched as Ako shook her head as if to do away with those thoughts even as her eyes lingered on his face. Koharu focused on Kanata’s expression, serious but with a hint of relief, his eyes darting everywhere to check if Ako really was okay. He seemed to just be thankful being able to help her.

Ah, Koharu thought. That explained a lot of Kanata’s helpless looks and the way Ako - calm and confident Ako - was reduced to a blushing and stuttering mess whenever the M4 member was involved.

Koharu sat down. She’d let Kanata handle this. He’d worked hard to be able to help the girl her loved after all, who was she to get in the way of that?

With a soft smile, she glanced at Asahi who seemed to be pointing at Kanata excitedly while exchanging knowing looks with Subaru.

She understood the feeling too well.

[ Yume ]

Yume liked to think that she was a good actress, if not, at least a bit decent. However, with the last scene, before Ako had tripped and when she was supposed to be emotional at the sight of Mahiru’s character singing to Subaru, she was doubting it. Subaru kept sending her the oddest stares, as if she was dressed as the bearded lady instead of the wife she was supposed to be.

Of course, she acted as if she didn’t see them, but she did. And it unnerved her to think that one of her rivals probably thought that she wasn’t good enough for her role.

She sighed, patting the skirt of her dress down.

“What’s up, Yume?” Mahiru popped up beside her, still dressed in her costume too.

Yume smiled up at her, “Oh nothing…”

Mahiru raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you sure? You look troubled.”

Yume turned her head away, “Do you think I’m a bad actress?” she asked suddenly.

Mahiru frowned with concern, “No, of course I don’t. Why would you think that?”

Yume wrung her hands together, “Well, I don’t know if you noticed… but Subaru-kun was giving me some really strange looks during our run just now. I tried to ignore it and do a better job of looking heart broken like Charity would have… but he kept doing it. So I think I did a bad job. Did you see me?”

Mahiru’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “You think… you actually think that Yuki-san thinks that?”

Yume shrugged, “I dunno.”

Mahiru placed a hand over Yume’s suddenly, “Yume. Just think of all the times he’s helped you, and think if that’s something he would do. Maybe there’s something else you just aren’t seeing.” She patted the back of her hand, then stood up, “I’m going to see what’s happening next.”

Yume nodded, but kept thinking. Something about the way Subaru was looking at her made it stick in her mind. Maybe Mahiru was right, and Yume was only reading this incorrectly. What Mahiru said was true, Subaru helped and assisted Yume in so many ways since she first met him.

A smile spread on her lips and she laughed to herself as she recalled their first meeting. And then their second encounter when he had helped her, whether he knew it or not. And since then, many more ways, especially since she had claimed him as her rival. Whenever someone would even mention M4, she would automatically remember Subaru and want to work harder.

And she knew it was a mutual feeling. The way Subaru looked at her when she announced their rivalry; Yume didn’t regret it.

“Yume-chan!”

Yume looked up to see two small bodies scurrying over to her. Yume waved at them, “Hana-chan, Kao-chan!” The two girls were acting as Yume’s and Subaru’s character’s children. “What’s going on?”

Hana shook her head, “Kira-san is helping Saotome-san with her foot.”

Kaoru smiled and said, “Yea, and you did a good job on this scene!”

Yume smiled warmly, “Thanks Kao-chan!”

“Mhm!” Hana hummed, “And you and Subaru-kun make good parents! Subaru-kun is a nice dad!”

Yume covered her smile, “Subaru-kun is really nice, isn’t he?” Something shifted in Yume’s chest as she spoke those words.

The two girls nodded, and Kaoru spoke again, “You and Subaru-kun make a nice couple!”

“Just like a real mommy and daddy!” Hana added with a grin.

Yume laughed awkwardly as her face heated up, “I don’t think…”

“But you are!” they insisted.

“She’s what?” a new voice appeared.

Oh no, Yume gulped.

The two little girls spun around to face Subaru, “You and Yume-chan look cute together!”

The unsuspecting soul froze in his spot, his friendly smile dropping and his face turning a bright red, “Wh-at?”

Yume covered her face, “Hana-chan, Kao-chan, can we drop it?”

The two girls smiled deviously, but nodded at Yume silently.

Yume glanced at Subaru, “What’s the news?”

Subaru blinked at her in confusion, then cleared his throat, “Right. Sakuraba-san said to get ready, we’re gonna run through that scene again in a few minutes.”

Yume turned her head away, thinking. She let out a breath, then looked up, stepping up to Subaru. She patted his shoulder, “Thank you. I’ll do better this time.”

Subaru stared at her, “Uh… sure?”

Yume nodded, letting out a smile. “Okay girls, let’s go.”

[ Kanata ]

The curtain rose on the day of the Four Star Academy School Festival. The popularity of the school being at an all time high, more visitors came to watch than they did the year previous to come see how the new S4 would perform. Laura stepped backstage, surveying the cast members lined up waiting for their cues.

“Let's do this,” she nodded, the music starting.

Lights bathing the stage in sepia, the extras sat in the benches around the back of the stage with Subaru standing in the middle of the stage with his back turned.

‘Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for.’ He sang, the cast singing to support him. ‘Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor.’

Kanata watched as the stage came alive, the circus joining Subaru for the opening salvo. He would be replacing Subaru at the end of the musical when Barnum decides to retire to be with his family.

‘A million dreams are all it’s gonna take.’ He continued to watch as Subaru and Yume started dancing together, singing through the early days of Barnum’s life and the birth of their two daughters up to Barnum being fired from his job. ‘A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.’

Next to him, Ako reached for his hand with her steady fingers.

Kanata gasped, quietly, softly, as if a single sound would startle her and make her let go. She couldn't. The very thought of her letting go shook him. Clasping her hand in his, he said nothing.

“Th-This is just me making sure you don’t chicken out, alright?” She stuttered, but her hand stayed in his.

Kanata nodded, squeezing her hand once, “If it’s with you, I’m sure I can do anything.” He smirked at her.

Ako blinked up at him in confusion. “Who are you and what did you do to that jerk, Kira Kanata?” She asked, tilting her head.

‘You stumble through your days-’ Subaru started singing as more extras filtered out onto the stage and the circus cast were all getting ready along with Nozomu. ‘Got your head hung low, your skies' a shade of grey.’

The M4 member was staring at Kanata and Ako’s joined hands with a smirk, not knowing if now was a good time to mention that he and Ako had to be on the third tier for their stunts.

With a short burst of laughter, Kanata reluctantly let go.

“Show them what Saotome Ako can do,” He shoved his hands in his pockets and let an admiring expression take the place of his usual bored one, smiling brightly at the S4 member.

Ako, her cheeks strangely red, squared her shoulders and grinned. “I intend to,” she nodded before rushing up the stairs to the third tier with Nozomu hot on her heels.

Kanata walked around the stage to watch them perform, everyone perfectly in sync with one another. When the number was finished, the crowd stood up and applauded. The curtains dropped in time for the scenery to change.

Subaru was back on stage, leading his family to the house he’d bought for them because of the circus’ success. Quickly, it shifted to Subaru giving one of his daughter’s ballet shoes which she used in a recital.

Kanata straightened his formal jacket and then walked onto the stage in time for the scene to shift to a party full of socialites. Subaru pointed at him and turned to Yume while Kanata pretended to mingle with several girls from Four Star Academy.

The music picked up as he and Subaru slid over to the bar. ‘Right here, right now. I put the offer out. I don't want to chase you down, I know you see it.’ Subaru sang, twirling around him as if showing off his prowess. ‘You run with me and I can cut you free, out of the drudgery and walls you keep in.’

The bartender, Asahi, slid a shot glass with water in it towards Subaru who caught it and drank it. ‘Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play. Cause I got what you need so come with me and take the ride. It'll take you to the other side.’ Stepping onto one of the prop tables, Subaru started tap dancing on its surface while sliding his suit jacket off causing a bunch of girls in the audience to cheer.

Kanata rolled his eyes at Subaru and waited for his turn until pushing himself and his chair away from the bar. ‘Okay, my friend, you want to cut me in-’ He turned and faced Subaru. ‘Well I hate to tell you, but it just won't happen. So thanks, but no. I think I’m good to go. Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in.’ Sliding off his own suit jacket, he hopped up so he was standing on his high chair.

‘Now I admire you, and that whole show you do. You're onto something, really it's something.’ He shrugged in admission. ‘But I live among the swells, and we don't pick up peanut shells. I'll have to leave that up to you-’

Jumping off his seat, Kanata landed on the bartop and started dancing revelling in the cheers of the M4 fans in the audience. ‘Don't you know that I'm okay with this uptown part I get to play. 'Cause I got what I need and I don't want to take the ride. I don't need to see the other side-’ From his high vantage point, he saw Ako in the second tier getting harnessed for her stunt. ‘So go and do like you do. I'm good to do like me.’ He did a complicated step sequence and then winked up at her, smiling when her face reddened.

‘Oh, damn! Can't you see I'm doing fine. I don't need to see the other side-’ He let himself get swept up in the rest of the song and Barnum convincing Carlyle to be his partner. Subaru led him to the front of the stage in time for the set to change back to the circus.

‘Don't you wanna get away to a whole new part you're gonna play.’ Asahi gave them their respective coats and hats with a smile. They both nodded at him and put their costumes on. ‘Cause if we do we're going to the other side-’ Climbing up to the second tier, Subaru led Kanata forward.

‘We’re going to the other side.’

Stepping forward, Kanata closed his eyes to recall how he’d first met Ako, his pride at how she’s grown as an idol and as a person. When he opened them again, she was there dangling dangerously upside down as she swung his way on the trapeze. He didn’t have to fake the look of complete awe and affection that was on his face and he had a feeling the look of pleased surprise and fondness in Ako’s eyes was equally genuine.

“W-Who was that?” Kanata stuttered, his heart stopping when Ako stared and reached out to him.

Subaru stepped forward, his hand on Kanata’s shoulder bringing him back to reality. “Let me introduce you.” He smiled knowingly.

The rest of the show, his character getting to know the members of the circus and falling more and more for the trapeze artist that Ako was playing, went smoothly. Each perfectly executed scene built up tension and Kanata’s heart welled up with love proportionate to his character’s growing feelings for Anne Wheeler.

By the time he had to let go of Ako’s hand during Never Enough, he’d had to force himself to let go resulting in a bit of a delay in timing.

Kanata was on his way up to tier two when he bumped into Subaru.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re kind of off today,” he asked, gripping Kanata’s arm.

Kanata looked over to the stage. They were still in the second verse for This Is Me but Kanata would be needed in the scene soon and he already messed up the last scene.

He also really wanted to watch Ako but that wasn’t really relevant at the moment.

“I’m working on it,” Kanata admitted with a sigh.

Subaru smiled softly, something like understanding in his gaze. “Good luck, Kanata,” he patted Kanata’s shoulder twice and then rushed down the stairs.

Kanata blinked, confused, before rushing towards the balcony of tier two just in time for the spotlight to hit him and for Ako to pointedly stare up at him with a fiercely determined look on her face.

Coming down the steps, Subaru went up to Ako, stage whispering that he’d gotten her a ticket to see the opera, a long time dream of Anne Wheeler’s. Ako rushed off stage to dress up and Kanata walked back to the stage to argue with Subaru about Barnum’s decision to leave to go on tour with Mahiru’s character, Jenny Lind.

Yume replaced him as he dove backstage, singing her solo Tightrope whilst Barnum traveled with another woman.

When Kanata reached the changing rooms, he caught Ako on her way out dressed in her elegant opera dress, her trapeze outfit underneath. “O-Oh, hi.” She waved, brushing her dress so it sat beautifully around her waist.

Kanata reached out to grip her arm. “You look great.”

Ako blinked up at him and smiled faintly. “Thanks, you look dashing.” She muttered, striding past him, “W-Which is to be expected since you’re an idol.”

Kanata laughed, going into the guys’ dressing room to change into his suit.

“Saotome is really impressive, isn’t she?”

Stiffening, Kanata continued putting on his costume, one ear open for the other boys from Four Star who served as extras.

“Did you see how she mastered the tightrope? Amazing,” they laughed. “I wonder if I sent her something, if she’d give me the time of day-”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than gossip? Like, I don’t know- be onstage for the next act?” Kanata projected his voice so that it echoed threateningly.

The group of guys quieted and shuffled out of the room with faint apologies.

Kanata’s hands curled into fists as simmering rage built up in his gut. He brought that rage with him as he met Ako on stage. Carlyle had asked Barnum to arrange for two tickets to the opera for himself and Anne so Kanata smoothly cut in to join Ako in the ‘reception area’ of the theater setup.

One of the guys who was talking about Ako in the changing rooms was playing Kanata’s father.

“Have you no shame?” The girl, Shirogane Lillienne, placed a hand on her chest and gasped dramatically.

Ako, acting uncomfortable and slightly hurt, deftly turned around and fled holding her skirt so she wouldn’t trip on her way off the stage.

The guy, he didn’t recall his name, puffed his chest out and stared sternly at Kanata. “You must know your place,” he spat.

“How dare you speak to her that way?” Kanata gritted his teeth, glaring at the boy. “If this is my place-” his fists balled up in rage, “I don’t want any part of it.”

Feeling sufficiently emancipated, he strode off the stage as the curtain dropped for the set change.

This was it. Their scene.

Kanata breathed in deeply, taking off his suit jacket. Ako was already out there, removing her opera dress to reveal the trapeze outfit underneath. With smooth and graceful movements, she unraveled several ropes for the stunts she’d be executing. The very sight of her took his breath away.

‘You know I want you.’ He sang, walking towards her.

Ako’s face went from distressed to furious when she’d caught sight of him. She continued unraveling the rope.

‘It’s not a secret I try to hide. I know you want me. So don't keep saying our hands are tied.’ Kanta moved forward faster, placing himself in front of Ako so they would look each other in the eye. ‘You claim it's not in the cards and fate is pulling you miles away and out of reach from me.’

Ako walked past him, leaving him in center stage while she went to grab another rope that dangled from the ceiling. ‘But you're here in my heart, so who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?’ Kanata reached a hand out in Ako’s direction.

‘What if we rewrite the stars?’ Rushing forward, Kanata grabbed Ako’s free hand. ‘Say you were made to be mine.’ He turned her around to face him, guiding her hand to his face. ‘Nothing could keep us apart-’ Kanata started moving her back so they stood center stage together. ‘You'd be the one I was meant to find-’

‘It's up to you.’ Ako broke away, fixing the rope so it fell directly center stage. ‘And it's up to me.’ Kanata reached for her again and they spun together in a give and take tug of war for the rope. ‘No one can say what we get to be-’ Ako grabbed the rope and started walking away from him but Kanata pulled on the rope bringing Ako careening into his chest, her hands on his forearms.

‘So why don't we rewrite the stars?’ Kanata rested his forehead on hers and pushed the hair in her face back with one hand. ‘Maybe the world could be ours-’ Ako snagged the rope from him again, wrapping it securely around her forearm in one graceful movement.

‘Tonight.’

Ako kicked a sandbag by her foot and the rope pulled her up to the third tier where she quickly climbed onto the ring suspended from the ceiling by - you guessed it - more rope.

‘You think it's easy. You think I don't want to run to you.’ She sang as she descended, sitting inside the hoop. ‘But there are mountains-’ She touched the ground and stepped into Kanata’s personal space.

‘And there are doors that we can't walk through.’ Kanata took her hands and raised both their hands along the top of the hoop. They both nodded, ready for the complicated sequence of stunts that followed.

‘I know you're wondering why.’ Ako swing the hoop around Kanata before sitting on it again. ‘Because we're able to be-’ Leaning back she held the hoop with her right hand and then fell back, her left hand extended as she hung from the circle. ‘Just you and me.’ Kanata helped her position herself, his hands on her waist as he gave her a light shove making the hoop go around until she was in front of him again. ‘Within these walls.’ Ako pulled herself upright spinning the hoop until Kanata stopped it with his arms. ‘But when we go outside-’

Turning so that she was upside down, Ako wrapped her legs around the juncture where the hoop met the rope. ‘You're gonna wake up and see that it was hopeless after all.’ Kanata clung to the bottom half of the hoop as it ascended into the air, letting go and falling to the ground with a loud thump. The hoop disappeared up into the ceiling again and Ako got off, wrapping the rope around her arm to swing down from the third tier.

Kanata stared up at the darkness, waiting for her to return.

‘No one can-’

‘Rewrite the stars,’ Ako descended, looping around once. ‘How can you say you'll be mine-’

Changing the trajectory, Ako rammed right into him and Kanata curled his body around her as they rolled across the stage. ‘Everything keeps us apart-’ Ako managed to keep singing as they rolled.

Coming to a stop, Ako sat on his lap, leaning down to cup his face in her free hand, her other hand still wrapped around the rope. He couldn’t help but think that the stage lights haloing her fiery orange hair made her look angelic. ‘And I'm not the one you were meant to find-’

‘It's not up to you.’ Pulling on the rope, Ako ascended to the air again. ‘It's not up to me-’ Almost missing the rope, Kanata frantically grabbed it in time for it to pull him to his feet.

‘When everyone tells us what we can be.’ Above him, Ako managed to position herself so she hung upside down on the rope doing several poses that looked even more terrifying when she didn’t have a harness.

Wrapping the rope around her waist, she let herself fall aided by the rope. ‘How can we rewrite the stars?’ Kanata caught her in his arms, setting her down. ‘Say that the world can be ours.’ He pulled her towards him in an embrace before turning her around and stealing the rope from her, wrapping it around his forearm. ‘Tonight.’

‘All I want is to fly-’ Kanata slung an arm around Ako’s waist and held tight onto the rope as they shot into the air together with only Kanata keeping her from falling to the ground. ‘With you.’

Kanata took a deep breath. This was the tricky part and he had to be careful to catch Ako or else he’d never forgive himself.

‘All I want is to fall-’ He let go of her waist and caught her by the arm as she fell. ‘With you.’ Ako’s sudden fall dragged both of them back down to the ground, Kanata still gripping tightly to the rope. ‘So just give me all of you.’ Ako reached up to cup his face with one hand again, another rope coming down from the ceiling in time for Ako to grab it.

‘It feels impossible!’ Ako sang, running as far away from the center in one direction while Kanata ran the opposite direction.

‘It's not impossible,’ Kanata answered.

‘Is it impossible?’ Ako jumped, letting the momentum swing her back to the center, Kanata doing the same from his end.

They met in the center, arms locking together and spinning. ‘Say that it's possible.’

The crowd started cheering, a standing ovation as Kanata stepped onto the ground and swinging Ako away so she circled the stage in a wide arc.

‘How do we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine? Nothing can keep us apart. Cause you are the one I was meant to find.’ Kanata rushed up the stairs to the second tier, swinging a leg over the railings and dangling over the edge. ‘It's up to you and it's up to me. No one can say what we get to be.’ He eyed Ako as she circled, steeling himself. ‘Why don't we rewrite the stars?’ Kanata jumped, his eyes and Ako’s meeting as his hand found the rope and the other wound itself around Ako’s waist.

The crowd started cheering louder, their screams shaking the auditorium. But, Kanata and Ako just stared at each other smiling from pure elation.

They both laughed, foreheads touching. ‘Changing the world to be ours.’ They landed at the center, still holding each other.

The way Ako’s face contorted from glee to regret made the tingling feeling in Kanata’s gut return. He wanted to push her hair out of her face again, to kiss her forehead and tell her it was fine. That she’d never have to worry about him leaving because if she was his he’d gladly shout it from the rooftops and to each news station and every journalist and M4 fan. He’d gladly tell anyone that he was head over heels in love with Saotome Ako.

‘You know I want you-’ Ako rubbed a hand down Kanata’s forearm sending shivers down Kanata’s arm. ‘It's not a secret I try to hide.’ She smiled sadly.

“Saotome-” He started to say, realizing belatedly that he’s never said her name before. Not like this. He wonders if it’s weird to call her Ako. What would it feel like to say her name? For her to call him Kanata? He wants to hear her say his name.

‘But I can't have you.’ Her hands dropped away from him completely and Kanata craved the touch. ‘We're bound to break and my hands…’ She looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes. ‘Are tied.’

Kanata forgot the script, the audience, and the entire musical. What was clear in that moment was one thing.

“I love you.”

[ Ako ]

Ako was freaking out. She had no idea what to do. Here she was on stage, just completing her complex routine scene with Kanata, when he jumps off script to say that he loved her, and she had no idea what to do.

And it could have been an ad-lib he decided to add into the script, but oh no. Staring into his beautiful eyes that were for once glasses-free on his beautiful face, Ako knew he was being genuine true.

Ako was so delighted; but in the moment, didn't know how to respond.

The whole audience was silently staring at the two of them, waiting for a reaction.

Something caught Ako’s gaze from behind Kanata and she turned to see Yume frantically waving her arms. She suddenly realized that she had been staring at Kanata for too long in the scene, and they had to keep moving.

Ako cleared her throat and stepped away, loud shouts of annoyance at the action coming from the crowd.

She rolled her eyes to herself, away from the audience. As if. Even if she did say something, it would be as Saotome Ako, because she doubted that Anne Wheeler was ready to confess at this scene anyways.

She turned around, letting her gaze sweep over Kanata as she made her way to exit the stage to end the scene. She almost stopped at his expression. It was anticipating, and now, disappointed. Was he expecting her to reply? On stage? Really now, Kanata.

In a brisk change, the scenes continued. Subaru’s character returns home from his travels with Mahiru’s character, but then disaster strikes the characters. A fire engulfs the circus, and while trying to make sure that everyone is alright, Kanata’s character rushes in, thinking that Ako’s character was still inside when she wasn’t. It was a mistake for him since Ako’s character wasn’t even inside when it caught fire (a fact that Kanata always thought was stupid), and he got badly injured, causing him to be sent to the hospital after Subaru’s character goes and rescues him.

Then, all the circus characters were crowded in the hospital room with Kanata’s lifeless form. When they left, Ako was allowed to mourn him in peace, singing Rewrite the Stars softly to him, crying silently with it.

The next scene was Subaru’s character in a bar, drinking his sorrows away, as Yume’s character as his wife took their children back to her parents home as rumors of him being in an affair with Mahiru’s character rose out. The members of the circus arrive to comfort him and tell him to get his act together, for the circus and for his family. And he does, a song erupting for the characters as he regains his family and determination for the circus to live on.  

The next scene was Kanata’s character waking up, with only Ako there with him.

Kanata twitched, waking up.

Ako took his hand, staring at his face worriedly.

“Hey…” Kanata spoke, as he blinked his eyes open.

“Hey,” Ako replied immediately, watching his eyes slowly clear up.

“What happened?”

Ako scowled, shoving his shoulder lightly, “You ran into the fire, that’s what happened! Why would you do that?”

Kanata blinked at her in confusion, “I thought you were in there.”

Despite it being an act, Ako felt her heart warm. The words were so genuine that for a moment Ako thought it was real. She eased into her seat, her hand still with Kanata’s. “Well I wasn’t. Barnum had to pull you out.”

Kanata lifted his free hand to rub his face, wincing slightly. “What’s happened since?”

“Barnum’s wife left him because of the rumors with Jenny, and he… went down in the bar,” Ako explained. “But we all went to talk with him, and he should be better now.” She looked away, her hand tightening around Kanata’s, “But then building… burnt down. It’s ruined.”

Kanata took a sharp breath in.

Ako glanced over at him, where he was beginning to feign sleepiness. After all, he had just woken up from an accident.

The moments of silence in this scene gave her a chance to think. Kanata had already gone off script once, what would another time do for them?

He raised a hand to cup her face, and Ako leaned closer to let him do it. “It’s gonna… be okay…”

Ako smiled sadly, nodding in his hand, “I know.”

Ako’s heart thudded loudly in her chest. The blood was rushing through her body and she breathed in shakily as Kanata finally faked sleep.

The curtain was already beginning to fall from the top of the stage to signal a scene change.

Taking his hand in both of hers, Ako closed her eyes, uttering, “I love you, too.”

And then the lights blacked out on the scene as the curtain finished their decent. The audience behind the curtain roared with chatter. The backstage dim lights turned on so the crew could see to work on the next setting, but Ako could only focus on Kanata’s gaze. He had snapped his eyes open the moment the lights went out.

He had no words, and nor did she. They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like forever. Ako felt so warm, despite her heart rushing in her chest.

But the moment ended as crew members pulled the two apart to prepare for the final scenes.

Ako casted a look back at Kanata as he did the same, and they shared a smile as they moved in opposite directions.

The rest of the play was happy. Subaru’s and Yume’s characters made up, and then the whole group of the circus members gathered in front of the destroyed rubble of their building and discussed what they would do next. They decided to get a spot near the water of the city, and buying a huge striped tent to continue their show in.

The play ended with a song as the circus members put on their first show in the new circus. The curtain dropped for the final time and the audience cheered greatly.

Ako felt her heart pumping excitedly as she quickly got down from her trapeze and rushed to the changing room to get dressed in her S4 uniform for the cast and crew bow.

She joined Yume and Mahiru on the side of the stage, sharing a smile at them, as they waited for Laura to introduce them in.

“Kira Kanata as Phillip Carlyle! Saotome Ako as Anne Wheeler!” Laura called out the names, and Ako ran out, waving at the audience happily as she joined the group gathered in the front already.

Ako felt her face warm slightly as Kanata glanced at her grabbing her hand like they were doing with each other. She gazed at him for a moment, his regular white rimmed glasses returned to his still handsome face.

Nozomu came up on Ako’s free side, taking her hand gently. She sent him a smile as more of the characters lined up beside him.

“Thank you to everyone for coming out to see our wonderful performance!” Laura called out. “Let’s have it for our full cast and crew!”

Taking that as the cue, the whole line up bowed deeply at the audience, clapping and cheers rising loudly from them.

Ako breathed deeply, smiling so much her cheeks were beginning to feel numb.

But then suddenly Kanata’s hand tugged her hard, causing her to lose the grip she had with Nozomu and bump into him. She looked up just in time for their lips to meet.

Screams and cheers erupted from all around her, but all Ako could think of was the kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut against him, one of their hands interlocked and one of hers on his chest and his around her waist.

He pulled away too soon, the sounds around them a blur, with a smirk and pink cheeks.

Ako’s own face was bright red, and she frowned weakly, “I wasn’t ready, you jerk.” She fisted his shirt and tugged him closer, bringing them in on another kiss.

She pulled away quickly, glancing to the side only to see everyone watching them. Face burning bright, Ako quickly turned and hid her face in Kanata’s jacket.

He laughed at her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

“Why are you laughing? This is all your fault,” Ako mumbled up at him, taking in the warmth from him.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“You’re not,” Ako said, “I’m not.” She finally pulled away to look up at him, his rosy cheeks wide like her own.

“Okay,” he laughed again.

Ako pulled herself away, but not too far, and they shifted their position so she was still hugging Kanata and his arm was around her shoulders. She looked up at her friends; Yume, Mahiru, Koharu, and Laura, who were all smiling at her. Ako smiled back, then reached out to grab Kanata’s hand again.

Laura smirked, then turned back to the crowd, “Congratulations to everyone in our show, but especially these two lovebirds!”

THE END

I want to thank @ikuyeah for working with me on this! We spent about a week or more on this and we love how it turned out!

[ladytheebug]

9 Very Specific Things I'd love to see in Miraculous Season 5

Disclaimer: these are strictly my personal opinions, and obviously spoilers for the S4 Finale: Strike Back are below...

1. Everything L A D Y N O I R

Oops, not very specific, but there's sooooo much to unpack now that we're back to the cat and bug team. They have to rebuild their trust in one another after a season of distance, secrets and lies. They need to plan together. They need to discuss Chat Blanc. They need to lean on each other while all the odds are against them.

Ladynoir Nation is set up to thrive and I can't wait. Speaking of these two...

2. The Guardian Trains Chat Noir to Upgrade Powers

It's essential, with only two heroes left, that the remaining heroes are at their strongest. Season 4 showed us how Ladybug was able to elevate her abilities to create charms, while Hawkmoth created mega-akumas. Maybe I've just been reading too much 'Truth and Consequences' by @siderealscribblings (major fic rec alert), but it's time for Chat to get his power upgrade. We've been told many times just how powerful the Black Cat Miraculous is. Will there be new weapons? Different magical abilities? Let's see this in action.

Season 4 was about Ladybug building out her team. Now, she needs to build UP her partner. I believe it's necessary for Marinette to step up and help Chat reach his full potential, as he is willing to do for her.

Plus, I want to see what his upgraded suit might look like. It's gonna be sick.

3. Identity Reveal IN THE FIRST 6 EPISODES

No waiting. No season finale reveal garbage. Let's get the ball rolling and get AT LEAST a one-sided reveal in the first mini-arc of the season. Maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir are putting in the work and growing closer. Marinette is seeing how much she can trust Chat to have her back in battle and in their daily interactions (curtesy of some premium Marichat nonsense).

Then they win a Miraculous or two back. Their plan works, the plan they built together and something clicks in Marinette's brain. It's time to reveal. We get the rest of the season for post-reveal pre-relationship development, dorky interactions on all sides of the love square, and the shippers get the last laugh mwahahhaha.

In summary, I want this meme: NO SLEEP. REVEAL. REVEAL. ANOTHER REVEAL. CHAT BLANC. CONFESSION. NEXT REVEAL.

4. Adrien vs Felix Smack Down

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Adrien knows Felix betrayed Ladybug to steal the Miraculous for Hawkmoth, but Felix doesn't know that. Felix doesn't know how personally he's betrayed Adrien, or that Adrien is Chat Noir and saw him up close during the final battle.

Game of Thrones had the Cleganebowl. Miraculous has the Senti Smackdown. Yes I am open to alternative names suggestions.

Eventually these two need to duke it out, and once Felix knows everything he is going to hit Adrien with THIS:

Adrien, honey, I am so sorry.

5. Adrien Evolves from Smooth-Brain Boi to Maximum Surface Area-Brain Boi

Or, we see Adrien put the pieces together of 'what the hell is going on in this family.' He has the spy device Felix left behind to discover the painting. He knows his cousin helped Hawkmoth, but he doesn't know why. He investigates and finds answers, because he's the spy on the inside that Gabriel will never seen coming. And when the time comes, I hope Adrien is able to confront his father.

6. Ladybug and Adrien Establish 2-Factor Authentication

Ladrien know Felix can (very successfully) impersonate Adrien. They know Hawkmoth (even though he's very stupid) has the Miraculous of illusion. Please, kids, come up with code words or something to ensure you know who you're talking to. A secret handshake would be adorable.

7. Gabriel vs Marinette but it's stupid

One of my favorite television scenes of all time is in the Trollhunters episode Recipe for Disaster. Jim and Strickler have a literal battle at the dinner table while Jim's mom is totally oblivious. She leaves, they fight. She returns with the next course of the meal, they detransform and pretend like they weren't just trying to literally stab each other. Imagine Marinette and Gabriel rapidly feeding kwamis under the table while Adrien is clueless to the fight happening every time he leaves the room. You can't convince me that this wouldn't be hilarious.

I know we will never have this exact scene, but I need something just as weird. Gabriel is an idiot, Adrien is oblivious, and Marinette is a walking disaster. It's what we deserve.

8. Kwami Shenanigans in the Mansion

This one is simple: I hope the Kwamis fuck with Gabe. Hawkmoth hurt the Guardian and deserves zero rights. If the Kwamis get the zoomies and annoy the shit out of him, so be it. With 16 Kwamis hidden in that house (not counting Plagg binge-eating cheese upstairs) there is bound to be some chaos.

9. Paris' #1 Dad Goes to JAIL BABYYY WOOO!!!

Really can't wait for smooth-brained Gabe to rot in prison. NO REDEMPTION ARC. GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. Bye LOSER!

Shameless self promo: here's a very relevant playlist.

[🗑 gabriel agreste is going to jail party - Spotify]

In conclusion: I loved Season 4 of Miraculous and I'm so pumped for Season 5. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[ruksahiroku]

So.. here is an unfinished fic for female MC x Barbatos. Yes, I did borrow a scene from the Mammon 2022 birthday event Yes I know, I delay. My bad, it will totally happen again...

Minors, go away. Don't Interact. DNI. MATURE CONTENT.

Warnings/info: electrostim, masochist MC, Dom Barbatos, hair pulling, light bondage, You/your, MC called slut/whore, blowjob(mc receiving), pain, choking(on cock), tailfucking(barely), electroshock, degredation/humiliation (due to embarrassment, talking with "food" in mouth)

Let me know if I missed anything. I proofread it, then I forgot if I changed errors. Oops.

I guess I could have stuck tags for Levi, Beel, and Mammon, but... they aren't really relevant.

Also, spoilers for the mammon birthday 2022 event, sort of.

Let me know what you think. I'll stick a note at the end too.

"Wh-what the?! It's a trap!" Levi cried as Beel opened the box in front of them.

"I can't move. I'm stuck in the net." Beel remarked as the two of them hung from a tree in the Mythical Beast exhibit.

"How could you fall for that? It was obviously a trap!" Mammon cried, but looked just as shocked as Levi did.

"Maybe it's the treasure disguised as a trap?" You shrug, taking note of the box, stepping closer.

"No way... Nobody's smart enough to pull a stunt like that except... Lucifer.. What do you think? There could be another trap waiting for us.." Mammon took a step closer, looking over your shoulder.

"Um, HELLO?! Mind helping us down from here?!" Levi yelled, struggling in the net, tangling himself further.

"Give us a minute! We're thinkin'!" Mammon grumbled to his brother.

"I wouldn't take too long if I were you.. Do forgive me MC." In an instant, you were ten feet away from Mammon, in Barbatos' strong grasp. One hand held your wrists behind your back, his opposite arm snaking across your shoulders to hold you still against his chest.

"You bastard! What do you plan on doin' with MC?!" Mammon shouted in alarm, turning to face you and your captor.

"If you wish for me to return MC to you, then you'll hand over that box at once." You could hear the dangerous intent in his voice, hidden just beneath his perfect polite tone. You'd be lying if it didn't turn you on.

"So you're after the box after all!" Mammon called, picking up the box.

"What will you choose? MC, or the box?" Barbatos took a step back with you, a slow, measured thing, so as to keep your balance. He moved his hand from your shoulder to your throat, giving a gentle squeeze to elicit a squeak from you. You alone could hear his soft chuckle.

"Tsk..!" Mammon stared between you and the box which may or may not have treasure inside. You almost rolled your eyes at him. Wasn't he the one who said he'd be the one to save you, and if he wasn't how you'd better die waiting?

"Mammon!" You called, causing Barbatos to reflexively pull you against him tighter. "Get that treasure! But you better sa--!" You were cut off by the gloved hand squeezing you tighter. It didn't cut your breathing off completely, but it was enough to make you freeze.

"I apologize MC. Mammon, it seems your choice has been made. I do hope you can find us." He chuckled, and in an instant, your surroundings changed. You were in a clearing, dense forest all around, the moon shining brightly, casting long, deep shadows. Not used to teleporting, your knees buckled. Ever at the ready, Barbatos caught you, releasing his earlier grip, and sweeping you up into his arms.

"I've prepared some tea and sweets for you, in case this was the outcome chosen. Although, I must say.. I believed Mammon would be the one to choose the treasure over you, not you yourself." He spoke softly, politely as ever as he walked to a nearby blanket and set you down.

"Thank you, Barbatos. Although.. I think you know why I chose to let Mammon have the box." Your tone was coquettish, as you pointedly stared at the tea being poured into your cup.

"I'm afraid I do not, MC. Please, explain it to me." He smiled, pulling back the teapot and pouring some for himself. He waited patiently, silently offering you a delicate selection of sweets.

"It's embarrassing every time you make me say it, Barbatos.." You mumbled, picking up a macaron and setting it on the side of your saucer.

"Hmm.. Say what, my dearest MC?" He was teasing you, his voice not wandering from his polite professionalism.

"I.. want you to take me." You blushed, staring at your hands. No matter how many times he teased you the same way, you could never meet his eyes. You weren't ashamed or embarrassed of asking this glorious demonic man to bed. The way he feigned ignorance was what drove you crazy, sent butterflies to the pit of your stomach like a grade-school crush.

"Oh? Take you where?" He chuckled now, staring at you, his eyes glittering dark gems in the moonlight.

"Stop teasing me, Barbatos.." You dared meet his eyes for a second, and he lunged at you, animalistic and graceful. Your moonlight picnic was undisturbed as he reached you and again your surroundings morphed. At the edge of the clearing, you were on your back, Barbatos on top of you, pinning your arms to your sides with his thighs as he straddled your waist. He removed his gloves with his teeth, folding them neatly and placing them on the grass, his form shifting, horns and tail appearing as he leaned down for a gentle kiss.

"Are you sure this is what you want? We both know I can get carried away." He breathes into the crook of your neck, gently nipping at your ear lobe and neck waiting for your reply.

"My safeword is Lilith. Barbatos... Please, ruin me. I need you."

"As you wish." He bit down and sucked on your neck, marking you. One hand moved to your hair, pulling your head to give better access to your neck, the other shredding your shirt with his claws.

Gasping at the cold air, you tried to struggle, only for a jolt of electricity to crackle on your chest.

"Ah!" You immediately still, eyes locking with the demon above you as he straightens up.

"You are mine. And I will ruin you as I see fit. Problem?" He leans down for a kiss, hovering just out of reach, waiting.

"No."

And he kisses you deeply, mixing his tongue with yours as he removes his belt, easily moving your hands over your head and tying them together with it. You're both breathing heavily when the kiss is broken, and he moves off you to remove your bottoms. His tail comes to your lips and as it explores where his tongue has already claimed, you feel a gentle buzzing from it. Unlike a vibrator, it leaves you tingling and numb almost the same way an asleep limb does.

"Aren't you good with your mouth.." Barbatos muttered close to your ear, removing his tail and sitting on your chest. "Don't let me stop you. Continue." His voice was commanding as he looked down at you, his cock barely hovering over your lips.

Eagerly, you leaned forward, tongue out to capture him in your mouth. You sucked on the tip, trying to get more of him in your mouth, but failing. A jolt on your thigh, you gasped out.

"You can do better than that, can't you?" Barbatos cocked his head slightly, his tail running up and down your thigh.

"Ah, please..  I can't reach, let me si- Aah!" Electricity shot through your body as Barbatos' tails shocked you, moving up your inner thigh towards your core.

"Tsk." Barbatos got off you, a distasteful look on his face, but before you could move, he pulled you up to your feet by the hair and toward a tree. Not caring about your whimpers, he shoved your back against the tree and you fell forward to his feet on your stomach.

"Aahh... Barbatos... Please.." You whimpered, struggling to your knees.

"No please, slut. Just take it like I tell you." He pulled you up by the belt restraint, hanging you off a low branch, and shoving his cock in your face. "Open."

You did. His tail stroked your body gently, occasionally sending jolts of electricity through your body, causing you to moan pitifully as you drooled down your front.

"Mmm... who's my good whore..? Fuck.. beg me to shock you while you choke on my cock.." Barbatos' eyes were dark and hungry, never leaving your face, which burned from embarrassment and lust. Slowly you tried to figure out how to form words.

"Pleeeze.. sssck me..." You stopped, embarrassed you couldn't form sentences and tried to back off so your mouth was free. Barbatos wasn't having it, leaning further into you until you were trapped between his cock and the tree.

"I wan' choke... on your cock..." You managed out, garbled and embarrassed. Even though your cheeks burned, you spread your legs wider, waiting for Barbatos' tail to shock you. You needed this man. More than just giving him the control he desperately needs. Your body yearned to please him, to be as one. Your moans were muffled as he pushed his cock as far as it would go down your throat, blocking your breathing, and you could hear a low grunt from him. His tail sent jolts up your thigh, across your labia, and down the other thigh.

You couldn't help it. Running out of air, you wiggled your body as much as you could, trying to make any noise you could.

"Hmm... Does my good slut want to breathe..?" You could see those deep emeralds glint as you nodded your head silently. Slowly, painfully so, he pulled back, allowing you to cough, gag, and gulp down fresh air.

He took a few steps back so he could fully look at you in the moonlight.

"So beautiful.."

Which of you said it wasn't clear, but the gap was closed before more words could be said.

Your body was being covered, head to toe, in love bites and darkened electrical marks where Barbatos' lips and tails passed. You screamed when he zapped your foot, only for you to be muffled by tongue and teeth. Next was you hand, and Barbatos pulled back, you both gasping for air. You were too slow to catch the appendage in your hands, and it slowly trailed down your arm, leaving it numb, as you breath caught and hitched. Catching a sensitive spot on your bicep, you screamed again, only to be silenced by the other tail being shoved down your throat. It tingled, but even as the other tail shocked you in other places, it never ramped up.

His lips went to your ear, kissing and licking, leaving a different tingling trail to your neck. Where he sucked and bit gently. Further down to the collarbone where he sucked harder, following the bones. He didn't stop until you had a bruise necklace, easily hidden by a shirt.

He grunted as he pulled his tail from your mouth, kissing you gently before standing and pressing the tip of his cock against your lips.

"My beautiful whore.. Suck. Don't make me punish you now.." His voice was a handsome growl you couldn't resist.

You meant to respond, but as you licked your lips, tasting him, you lost yourself. Taking him as far as you could, you hummed happily.

"Perfect.." Barbatos reached out to release your hands, undoing the belt easily as he set a slow pace for you. One hand went to your hair, while his other braced against the tree.

"Mmphh!" You shrieked around him as his tails shocked both nipples at the same time.

"Do you want more, slut?" He chuckled, his tails brushing gently against your nipples again, making you flinch.

You were silent for a moment, doing your best to look up at him.

"Yeshh peeze" you garbled out, your face burning hot as your eyes lock.

You cry past his cock again as he starts on your nipples, spiraling outwards until your breasts are tingling from the aftershocks, and you're sure there isn't a single spot he missed. His tails twist together as one as they travel down past your navel and around your crotch.

He pulls back and, hearing your whimper, his tails thrust into your sopping hole. The tingling is there, as soft as it was in your mouth and his tails stay buried deep in you, even as you buck your hips, he doesn't move.

"Tell me what you want.." Barbatos pulls himself out of your mouth and bends down to look you in the eye, grabbing your chin to prevent your escape.

A/N ...So, I know I'm a total dick leaving it like this, however I have two different endings in my mind.

One - Mammon comes in, shit goes down, threesome?

Two - Barbatos only, MC gets a happy ending, complete with aftercare, because that's important friends!

Let me know what you want. Or if you don't I'll finish it how I want. (Take that! Lol) okay. Thanks for reading.

[virtual-viruviru]

|| CV - Special Episode 1 ->

-> ALSO CHARACTER SPOILERS!! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED LATE-

-> Ready?

Tonight was a special night, they're holding a major game of UNO with Mori invited! Insane right!? Blossom managed to convince him to come peacefully for once and have fun with them!

"Alright everyone it's UNO time!" Virtual annouced as all 10 people gather around a big round table. She took the pack of UNO cards and before handing out cards, shuffled them up until no one could know which card was which. Everyone was then handed 7 cards, while everyone was busy organizing their cards and planning out their strategies, she picked up a card from the pile.

"Yellow, nine!"

"CLOCK-WISE!"

Lorel yelled back all smug looking, to the left of Virtual sat Lorel with her cards, her legs crossed sitting like a queen would. To the right of her was Nobody who bursted out laughing at Andrew as he pouted with his arms crossed. "No fair!" Said Ava, who sat next to Andrew while Slime nodded beside her. "Don't worry buddy-" Virtual whispered as she counted, starting from Lorel:

"1"

"2"

"3"

"4"

"5"

"6"

"7"

"8"

"9"

"Andrew you're up first buddy!" She said happily as his face lights up, "Awh yeah!!" he squealed as he put down a 'Choose color', "Blue" he replied immediately. Virtual chuckled as they placed down a double six, blue and red, without hesitation. Lorel thought carefully for a moment before placing down a red, five. Nobody replied back with a green, five- " Hah, no u!" PP laughed as they placed down a green reverse card, "Jokes on you I'm into that!" They said as they placed down a green, three. Lorel whispered something softly to herself as she played a green zero before the turn went to Virtual. They wondered which card should they play? They strategized for a minute before placing down a green skip, "Sorry buddy-" They said softly to Andrew as he gasped, I think he'd died a bit inside.

Ava giggled and played a double 2, green and yellow before Slime who placed down a yellow five. It was now Shandy's turn, she looked Mori with a smirk on her face as she raise up a plus 2 for him to see, "Don't you DARE!" Mori gasped as she placed it down. Mori flipped her off as he drew two cards from the deck, the turn was now given to Blossom. "Hey PP, would you like a 2 or a 4?" Blossom said innocently, PP seeing as they had both a two and a four, "Any!" They said happily with a smile before it faded away as Blossom puts down a pair of double plus 2 cards, green and yellow. Everyone else gasped as Blossom laughed ominously, they've been hanging around Mori too much it seems. "But the r-"

"No one said we couldn't play a double plus in one turn!" Blossom cut them off immediately.

PP hesitatingly took four cards from the deck as they cried inside while Mori looked at Blossom impressed, who knew they could also be so evil?

"Oh no... uh... Hey Lorel?" Nobody asked

"Yes?"

"You know how we're really good friends right?"

"... Yes, go on."

" Well... “

As they had no other cards they could use, nobody placed down a green plus 2 onto the pile. Lorel stared them right in the eye as she picked up two cards from the deck, "I'll have my revenge just you wait!" She said as she sat back down with her arms crossed. Virtual sighed happily as they said-

“UNO!" Before placing down a triple eight, green, blue and red.

"What!?" Andrew said as he stared at his cool buddy while she hummed a song. He placed down a double two, red and blue before passing the turn off to Ava who quickly placed down a plus 4.

"N-No hesitant at all?" Slime said weakly as they looked at their friend, "No~" Ava replied.

Slime immediately smashed their head down onto their poor cards as Andrew took four cards from the deck and passed it onto the passed out Slime, "Yellow!". Shandy placed down double ones, yellow and green. Mori replied with a pair of double eights, green and red before Blossom then placed down a blue eight. "Phew!" Said PP as they placed down quarduple sevens, blue, green and two reds. Nobody placed down a yellow seven happily, Lorel peeked over Virtual's shoulder before placing down a plus 4.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry I TOTALLY didn't have any other card I could've played!"

"Lorel that's cheating!" Launch said from behind her, "You do have a card you can play! And she wouldn't win anyways!"

"Hey wait you're right! Oops sorry Virtual~"

Lorel took back her plus 4 and replaced it with a yellow skip. "You cheater!" She whined as her turn was skipped to Andrew, he comforted his cool buddy but laughed evilly inside, she'd skipped him too remember? He looked back at his cards and smirked, "Oh Ava~ Oh Slime~ Do you have any cards you can play?" Slime woke up from their smol coma.

"A lot!" They said in unison

"Whoops-" He said as he placed down a pair of skips, blue and green.

A sudden realization hit him, "Uh-"

"Uno? Too late!" Slime yelled out while laughing, "NoooooOOOOOO!" Andrew yelled in defeat, karma went back to get him real quick as he went to pick up two new cards from the deck. Ava and Slime laughed together while Shandy grumbled to herself as she reached out to grab a card from the deck. A sudden an idea hit Mori, he snapped his fingers behind his back as he summoned a 'WB' or otherwise known as 'Writer's block' right behind Virtual. "WATCH OUT!" Blossom yelled as Lorel turned to whack WB in the face with her wings, knocking it fifty feet away from them. "You alright?" Virtual was dumbfounded, what just happened? She thought as she looked at the hole in her hide out's wall. This, while everyone was distracted, gave Mori enough time to switch three of his cards with Slime, PP and Shandy. He switch a blue three for Shandy's blue reverse, blue nine for PP's blue skip and blue two for Slime's plus 2 with an additional of putting his blue one back into the shuffled deck.

They finally settled down and Mori placed down PP's blue skip which he stole, "Sorry Blossom." He whispered quietly to them, "No worries!" They replied as they smiled at their friend. PP looked at their cards and reached out to where her blue skip was to only find out a blue nine replaced it, 'Wait I thought I had a blue skip!?' They thought but shrugged it off, it's probably just their imagination as they placed down the nine already in their hand. Nobody the placed down their green nine, "Phew-" Lorel said as she placed down double nines, green and red. Virtual sighed as she picked up a card from the deck before passing the turn to her cool buddy Andrew. Andrew smiled and placed down double ones, red and yellow before yelling out "UNO!" really fast yet you could still hear the excitement in his voice.

Ava glanced over to Slime before deciding to place down her yellow seven instead of her yellow plus 2, let's just cut Slime some slack and let them play shall we? Slime squeaked excitingly before placing down one of their plus 4 and looked happily over to Shandy as they clapped their hands cutely while Shandy picked up four new cards from the deck sadly. Mori laughed as and happily placed down a yellow five onto the pile. Blossom let out a sigh and put down their 'Choose color' card, "Red..." They said as PP placed down their red four happily. Nobody groaned as they went to pick up a card from the perfectly shuffled deck while Lorel smirks as she placed down a red reverse.

"WHAT!? Are you kidding meeeeee!' Nobody whined as they went to pick up another card whole Lorel stuck her tongue out all smug at them while Virtual bonked her on the head.

PP happily placed down her red one before it turned over to Blossom, they then placed down a green reverse. "... no u" Said PP as they smacked Blossom in the face gently with another green reverse before placing it down also. Blossom groaned and picked up a card from the deck while Mori shrugged, "No complaints." They said as they set down a blue reverse onto the pile. "THANK YOU MORI I APPRECIATE THAT A LOT!!" Blossom said frustratingly as they picked up yet another card while Mori snickered quietly, it was funny to him when Blossom gets impatient. PP placed down a 'choose color' card, "Eh-"

Nobody whispered "Red~"

"Red? Sure thing then, red!"

"YES!" Nobody said as they slam down their red plus 2 onto the pile as they looked up with a smirk towards Lorel as she grumbled while she picked up two cards from the deck. Virtual sighed impatiently as she picked up another card from the deck while Andrew happily placed down their LAST DOUBLE GREEN AND BLUE THREE CARDS!?!?

"I WIN!!!" Andrew screamed as everyone clapped while groaning except for Slime who was now conveniently unconscious again, you see there was a catch to this Uno game as well.

Everyone had a special request IF they win first place and Andrew's request was that someone would have to buy him a giant Nightmare plushie. That 'someone' was Ava and Slime.

"Let's just continue, we'll get you your prize later buddy!" Virtual said while clapping their hands to get everyone's attention. Andrew sat back down, happily eating some chips while Ava sighed and placed down double fours, green and yellow, onto Andrew's winning cards. Virtual tapped Slime's head to wake them up, Slime looked at their cards and picked out a yellow eight then placed it down, Shandy followed in by placing down quarduple threes, blue, yellow, red and another blue. Mori decided to spare Blossom of his plus 2 and passed a blue five onto the pile instead. Blossom breathed in as they picked out another card from the deck and so did PP AND apparently so did Nobody! That chain of pain gave Lorel a happy feeling as she placed down a blue zero, Virtual smiled as she placed down a blue one. Ava with no hesitation, picked up a card from the deck before Slime placed slid a blue five onto the pile. Shandy played a pair of ones, blue and green, Mori frowned as they picked up a card from the shuffled deck but it faded as he as able to play the green six he'd gotten. Blossom squealed happily as they now get to play their yellow six! PP snickered, "Hey Nobody, what's your favorite thing to do outside?"

"Oh I like-"

"I really like skipping!" PP interrupted them as they placed down a yellow skip, Nobody was left speechless as the turn went on to Lorel.

Lorel was about to place down a plus 4 but noticed that she had another card and placed down a 'choose color' card instead, "Red," She smirked.

"Lucky~" She whispered to Virtual. She laughed nervously as she placed down her red four card onto the pile. "Uno!" Virtual said quickly while sweating. Ava glanced at her before picking up a card from the deck, Slime placed down their yellow four. "It's a fortune! (Four chain - Lmfao I'm sorry)" Shandy said while placing down her blue four, "Uno then." Said Mori as he placed down his plus 2, "Sorry Blossom~". Blossom sighed but picked up the two cards anyways, PP also had to pick up one from the shuffled deck and again the chain began as Nobody also picked up a card. "Ah I don't have a card! Whatever shall I do!?" Lorel said in a dramatic voice while she picked up her plus 4 and played it. "Red!"

"You-!" Lorel slapped a hand on Virtual's mouth, picking up four cards and handed it to her. "Shhhhh it's okay~"

Ava snickered and placed down her yellow plus 2 before bursting out laughing, "Here comes the chain!" She said while Slime picks up two more cards. "And you'd be right!" Said Shandy who played her blue plus 2 happily, "UNO!"

"GOD DA-" Blossom puts their hand over Mori's mouth before he could continue while picking up two cards for him and playing a blue four of their own. PP then played a blue six, allowing Nobody to finally play their double sixes, red and green. "Uno~!" Said Lorel happily as she placed down a green four. "Hmph well UNO as well!" Virtual said as she placed down triple nines, two green and a blue. "Ah I wish I could've continued the Uno train..." Ava said sadly as they picked up a card from the newly shuffled deck. Slime played a blue two leaving Shandy having to let go of her winning chance for now as she picked a card from the deck. Mori groaned as he picked another card from the deck again while Blossom played their red two. PP placed down a yellow two, "Two choo train!" Nobody laughed while placing down their green two. Lorel pouted and picked up a card as did Virtual. Ava played a green skip since it was all they had left. "Stop it Avaaaaaa!" Slime whined as their turn was skipped again, "Thanks Avaaaaaa!" Shandy said as she played a green one, "Uno!". Mori huffed and played his yellow one and Blossom played their yellow nine straight after. Those cards gave PP no chance to play, they drew a card from the deck as Nobody played a yellow eight, "Uno! Let's see who's winning second place huh?" They nudged Lorel's by the shoulder. She groaned and picked up a card from the deck, Virtual laughed, "And that person would be me!" She said as she placed down a pair of reverses, yellow and red, then immediately after she said "UNO!" She placed down her last card, a red eight. She turned to Andrew and gave him a high-five and sat back, took a plastic container that holds three pieces of churros and started munching on them.

"You were just lucky!" Said Nobody, "I'll be third for sure!"

"No I will!" Lorel replied

"Then try~"

"It's on!"

Ava sigh happily as she watch her friends goof around trying to see each other's cards as she took one from the deck. Slime played double nines, red and blue, forcing Shandy to pick up another card. Mori relaxed as he played his red nine card down onto the pile, Blossom played down double skips with a smirk on their face. "Uno~!" Said Lorel again, "Thanks Blossom!"

"Hmph-" Ava huffed while picking up another card, Slime happily placed down double sevens, blue and green, peacefully without any tricks. Too bad the trick has already been played. "Uno!!" Said Shandy excitingly, "Uno.' Said Mori as he placed his green eight down, looking directly at her. "No!" Blossom said as they sadly pick up a card from the deck but that sadness faded as they could play the card they'd just picked up, a green five "Uno!". "You guys are so lucky!!" PP said as they picked up another card from the deck, "Oh wait nevermind-" They play the green four as soon as they got it. "Ack come on Lady Luck!" Nobody prayed as they picked up their new card, "Lady luck wasn't on your side and neither was she on mine, sadly." Lorel said picking up a new card from the deck. "Oops actually she was on mine, Uno!" Lorel laughed while placing down her new green six as Nobody whined. "She's on mine too apparently!" Ava said as she played the card she'd just picked up, a yellow six. "Is she on yours as well?" Slime shrugged and played their yellow zero. "SHE'S SURE HELL IS ON MINE!!" Shandy yelled as she slammed her last card down on the pile, a yellow nine. "I'm with you this time." Mori said confidently as he played his last card as well, a yellow five.

"Lucky y- Oh hey she's on my side as well!" Blossom said as she picked up her new card and played it, a yellow skip. "Yeah she's not on mine anymore apparently..." PP said sadly while Nobody laughed, "Yeah, and she sure isn't on Lorel's side!" They said as they played a blue skip. "Awh no fair!" Lorel whined, "Don't worry Lorel you can do this!" Virtual patted Lorel on the back as Andrew sat beside her, fallen asleep, seems like it was too boring for him to handle. "Thank you lady luck~" Ava said as she played her newly picked 'choose color' card, "Red!".

"Uno! Thanks Ava!" Slime said as they placed down a red one, "I never thought I'd hear myself say that!"

"Me too." Andrew said sleepily

"Andrew!!!"

Blossom sighed as they picked up a card which lady luck didn't bless. PP happily played their red one as well, "Lady Luck abandoned you too?" Blossom nodded as PP pat their head. Mori scoffed. "She's not on my side anymore!!" Nobody said as they picked up a card they couldn't play, "Yeah, because she's on MY SIDE!" Lorel slammed her last card down onto the pile, on her face expressed a victory smile. "NoooOO!!" Nobody said in a dramatic defeat. "Meh." Ava said as they played a red three, "Meh? MEH!? HAH, MEH WON!" Said Slime who jumped in victory as Ava sighed when Slime put down their plus 4 card, "Yellow!". "Evil, just, evil." Said Blossom who had to draw four new cards. "Yeah, evil definitely but I'm gonna change that, red." PP said after placing a 'choose color' card they'd just picked up. "You're Evil PP!" Nobody said as they picked up a card but luck for them, lady Luck was back on their side, they played a red four down onto the pile. "LADY LUCK WAS ON MY SIDE!!" Ava exclaimed as she yelled out "UNO!" Before placing down a pair of reverses and then her last card, a yellow seven just like how Virtual won. Blossom managed to play their double yellow four, "Awh she's not here!" PP said as they picked up a card they couldn't play. "UNO!!" Screamed Nobody, "I'm not gonna be last!!".

"We'll see about that~!" Said Mori smuggly who sat on the opposite side of the table.

"Whatever!"

"Uno!" Said Blossom in the most adorable voice ever, even Mori's heart skipped a beat. Blossom sat back down happily, awaiting their victory. PP placed down a blue eight with hesitation while looking at Nobody. "I!!!! Don't have it..." Nobody started and went down hill as quickly as a athletic's heartbeat while running a race, they picked up a card, "I win!!" Blossom said happily as they hugged Mori, "D-Don't touch me!" Mori pushed them away quickly, "Awhh, UNO!" Said Nobody as they played a green reverse, "Hah Uno you!" PP replied back. It was now an intense battle between PP and Nobody! Nobody picked up a blue reverse and played it,

"Uno u!"

"UNO RED!" PP said as they placed down a 'color choose' card, "Heh there's no way you could-"

"Uno u." Said Nobody as they put down a red plus 2, "There IS a way~!"

"Oh my God how!?" Ava said while Slime gasped, they thought PP had it in the bag!

"No idea but it's gone now." Nobody picked up a card they couldn't play. "Uno u!" Said PP as they played a red zero card down onto the pile. Nobody concentrated and played the red seven they'd just picked up. Surprisingly PP also picked up the same card and played it down, Nobody picked up another card, a yellow seven and it was like faith failed them as they put down the card.

"I WIN!!" Yelled PP as they placed down a pair of yellow and blue skip.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Nobody yelled out as they placed their cards back down onto the table for everyone to see. "You'll be buying the ice creams then!" PP patted Nobody's back as they groaned.

"Slime, Ava don't forget about my plushie!!" Andrew yelled out happily, "Yeah yeah we got it!" Ava said as they dragged Slime out of the hideout to get Andrew his Nightmare plushie. "That was fun!" Blossom squealed as they hugged Mori, "For goodness sake Blossom!" Mori scoffed as Blossom laughed.

"What do you guys wanna do in next?”

—————————————————————————————————

Oh woah, that took longer than expected! Haha, I actually had to laid out ten pile of uno cards with each person’s name on it- It took hours to play AND write at the same time so this was as accurate as it could be, I have no idea how Andrew won because the discord suggested him finishing 9th out of 10 but yay you got yourself a NM plushie that Slime and Ava had to pay for! :D

Here is the list of everyone in this!

@andrew-imposter

@is-this-the-real-slime

@onlyplatonicirl

@digital-template

@shandycandy278

@lordterronus

@ava-the-lost-artist

@greetings-and-yeetings

@blossomtato

And Mori <3

Mini mention: <3

@joho-the-travelling-merchant