#big red radio demon chicken

[teanster123]

and now, a civil conversation between Alastor and Sir Pentious…

Sir Pentious: Alright, my little egg bois, listen up.

Egg Bois: Okay, Boss!

Alastor: *clucking*

Frank: Ooh, lookie; a chicken!

Egg Bois: *running towards Alastor*

Sir Pentious: Umm, hello? This is very serious, my eggies…

Frank: Coming, Boss! We’re coming!

Egg Bois: *running towards Sir Pentious*

Alastor: Here chick, chick, chick…

Frank: Did you hear that? There it is again!

Egg Bois: *running towards Alastor*

Sir Pentious: No! It’s probably just your imaginations! Now, please come here at once!

Frank: Right away, Boss!

Egg Bois: *running towards Sir Pentious*

Alastor: Come along, my little chickens! Your momma hen Papa Alastor’s here!

Sir Pentious: Don’t listen to him, my precious clutch of cohorts!

Alastor: Bawk! I’ll scratch up some delicious delicacies for you!

Sir Pentious: What do you think you’re doing?

Alastor: No worries, I’ll make sure you’re cozy and warm.

Sir Pentious: How’s about…

Alastor: I’ll take care you.

Sir Pentious: I should be the one…

Alastor: And I’ll make sure to…

Alastor and Sir Pentious: keep you entertained.

Egg Bois: *walk up to Sir Pentious*

Frank: *looks up at Sir Pentious* Umm, what it is you wanted to tell us, Boss?

Sir Pentious: *hugs his egg bois* Oh, my egg bois! I am forever grateful to be your boss, eggies!

Egg Bois: *hug Sir Pentious*

Frank: Awww, we’re really lucky to be your minions, too, Boss!

Alastor: No! My clutch of eggs! My brood! My precious chicks! Bugawk! *snarls at Sir Pentious and then breaks down crying*

Angel Dust: Hey Smiles, what’s turned your smile upside down?

Lucifer: Uhhh, I think maybe we should let him cool down, perhaps?

Alastor: *sitting, like a broody chicken, in a makeshift nest of a pillow and a blanket* *sniff* *glares at Lucifer* I can’t believe that I’m going to say this, but, thank you, Your Highness.

this has been a civil conversation between Alastor and Sir Pentious.

[vxnuslogy]

🍿lights, camera, action .ᐟ

a modern/actor au | alastor x gn! reader

summary: after the initial success of hazbin hotel’s first season, it was no surprise that season two would already be in production as we speak — now focused on heaven and how a soul is judged in purgatory. and luck you! you’ve landed the role of the main character “libra”.

as an angel, life in heaven was supposed to be fine and dandy — if you ignore your script and the potential angst your character holds. well, that is until, you get paired up with the infamous radio demon for an interview after adam decided to chicken out.

warnings: swearing (lots of it) and use of foul language, crack, mentions of alcohol consumption, fast-burn-ish (?), the use of a friend's original character, ooc-ness, will be updated as the series continues

status: work in progress

writer's notes:

this will be my first series in this account so please bare with me

apologies in advance for any grammatical errors, english isn't my first language and i haven't written anything in a hot minute (and i find alastor a bit hard to write so please bare with me as i try to write him)

this series will serve as my gateway to writing again and starting anew on this account

im currently busy with school so updates will be irregular

taglist ━ open .ᐟ

if you'd like to be tagged, please don't be afraid to shoot me an ask or comment! if your user is in bold you might want to check your visibility settings.

chapter 1 — red suit

preview: one can only wonder what alastor did to adam for him to suddenly thrust his responsibility of attending this interview to you. well, you aren't really mad, who were you to decline a chance to meet the ever so charming radio demon.

chapter 2 — hang on for deer life!

preview: “what in the seraphim’s names is radioscales?” you ask genuinely, eyes filled with confusion as azrail just laughed at your side. he’s been telling you how much you’ve been embracing your role as ‘libra’, so much that you’ve adopted their way of speech. rolling your eyes in mild-annoyance, you elbow the man beside you, nearly making him loose his hold on the coffee cup in his hand.

chapter 3 — drinkin’ time

preview: “and the nominees for the best actor and actress awards from hazbin hotel are…” everyone waited with bated breath as sera’s eyes glazed over everyone that’s been on the edge of their seat.

chapter 4 — let the good times roll!

preview: azrail laughed at his theatrics, and kept throwing you glances and elbowing you lightly. and being the ever so mature person that you are, you elbow him back — throwing a kick at his shin from under the table as a bonus before listening to the radio demon that was perched on the stage.

chapter 5 — get me with those brown eyes

preview: he paid no mind when the two overly enthusiastic children asked him to review this new cafe, and he agreed. what a big surprise (not) to see you at one of the seats waving at him with an amused smile on your lips.

chapter 6 — wife stealer

preview: you looked at alastor with wide eyes as he grinned down at you. azrail’s mouth hung open in both shock and excitement as alastor said with a smile, “i hope you don’t mind me stealing your wife.”

tba . . .

© vxnuslogy 2024. do not plagiarize, repost, or translate any of my works without my knowledge or consent in other platforms or websites.

[azlan-snow]

Broadcast Husbands

Chapter Twenty: Revelations

(Told from Angel’s POV. Trigger Warning for Violence) 

Now that I realized my purpose, I went to find the King. Knocking on his room door, I hear a small faint voice.

“Coming!” He says, singing the words. I patiently wait at the door, twirling my fingers.

“Hello Angel! How can I help you?”

“I wanted to get your opinion.”

“Oh? On what?”

“Killing an Overlord.” He stops in his tracks, freezing up.

“Why me? Why come ask me for help?”

“Cause you’re the fuckin’ King of Hell! You must have some experience!”

“It’s not that I don’t, I just was curious. And surprised.”

“Surprised? ‘Bout what?”

“That you didn’t ask Al. He’s killed plenty, too.”

“He has?”

“You really don’t know anything about Hell’s politics, do you?”

“Not a dime.”

“He’s not the Radio Demon for no reason. He would tear souls apart and broadcast their screams across the entire Pentagram. Even I would hear them from time to time.”

“So that’s why Vags an’ Char were afraid when they got here.”

“She shouldn’t have been. She’s significantly stronger than the two of them combined.”

“If ya’ daughter wasn’t a chicken, sure. She’s too scared and kind for all that shit.”

“What?”

“Have ya met your daughter? She’s sunshine an’ rainbows! Too positive in my opinion.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You just make her nervous.”

“I know that.”

“There’s hurt underneath all that. Ever since I’ve been here, Charlie has had nights of just cryin’ on multiple occasions. Alot. An’ her girl sleeps through it. She’s a heavy one. I’ve witnessed the gnarliest one, too.” I shudder at the thought, remembering it all too well.

“What happened?”

“She’d never been soo pissed. She was full demon, setting things ablaze and turned half the hotel to brimstone. It was frustrating to clean. I swear, she don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“She doesn’t. Maybe I should tell and teach her. In case the angels come here. 

“Dat’s a good idea there, short king! Teach ‘er!”

“I will. But back to the task at hand, yes?”

“Why not? Do ya know how I can kill an Overlord?”

“Angelic steel can kill anyone except me and Charlie. But if you kill an Overlord, there will probably be consequences. Ask Al about them, cause I have no clue.”

“Thanks, short king. See ya later?”

“You know it!” 

I leave to find big red, twisting an’ turning’ down the halls, the crimson red blurring in with the rest of it. After around ten minutes of searching, I hear a coarse static ringing from all around.

“What do you want, Anthony?” Alastor looks down at me, radio dials and symbols floating around ominously.

“Hey Red. I need some info. Luci said you could help.”

“Oh? The king sent you to me? How can I help?”

“I need to know how to kill an Overlord. Smalls said you knew how.”

“I do. Why are you seeking this information?”

“I wanna kill Val.”

“I had suspected as much. Why?”

“He deserves it. All the shit he put me through. It can’t happen to someone else. No one deserves that cruelty. No one. So tell me how to kill an Overlord.”

“You’ll need power. Much more than you have right now. A deal can give you that power.”

“I ain’t makin a deal with ya, pimp. I know who ta ask. I just need to know how.

“Angelic steel through and through. A knife to the head or heart can end it quickly. But if you want to savor it, bullets can make that happen.”

“Thanks, Al.”

“The consequences only apply if an Overlord kills another.”

“Thanks. See ya’ around.”

“Of course. Next time just use a radio instead of searching for my room, yes?”

“Oh yeah. I can reach ya with that thing. My bad.”

“No worries.”

I walk back down the winding hallway and back down to Lucifer’s room, knocking on the door softly. “Short King?”

“Yes?” He opens the door, and looks up at Angel. “Hey Angel! What brings you back?”

“I wanna make a deal. With you.” Again, Lucifer is surprised by my words as he stops dead in his tracks.

“So you wanna make a deal with the Devil, huh?” He turns to face me, face dead serious as he looks at me.

“You freed me. I figured it would make sense.”

“I’m flattered but I don’t make soul deals.”

“Then how about a favor?” 

“I’m listening.”

“You give me a small amount of power for an hour, an’ I do anything you want for one hour as payment.”

“This is risky, Anthony. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I want the fucker dead. If this is how it happens, so be it.”

“Very well. You will have your favor. You have an hour and a half. When you return, you will complete your half of the favor. I will have a decision for what I want to do for 30 minutes.”

“Thanks, Ya Majesty.”

“No problem, Angel. Now go get him. And bring back a feather!”

I run off flying out of the hotel, heading straight towards the Sex Dungeon. After a couple minutes of running, I arrive, walking into the building, and head straight for the elevator, taking me up to the top floor. Walking towards Val’s office, I pull out the angelic knife I had received from Niff’ and twirl it around before knocking on the door and hearing him say, “Come in” in sultry voice. 

“Hey Val.”

“Angel Cakes! Where've you been? I was beginning to miss you, mi amor.”

“Cut the shit, Val. That’s not what I’m here for.”

“You can’t talk to me that way!” He begins to try and summon my chain but fails.

“Weren’t expecting that, now were you?”

“What did you do!”

“I didn’t do anything. I’m just here to kill you.” I stab him square in the heart, grinning at him maliciously.

“You think that’s enough to kill me!?” He spreads his wings, beginning to use his full powers. I try to summon the magic Lucifer gave me , and a strong blast of gold light comes out of my hand, striking Valentino straight through his torso, gutting him out completely. Stunned, I stand there staring at his torn body. Then, I begin to laugh. Cackle, even.

“This is for all the Shit you put me through, you fucker. Never again shall this happen to someone else. I’ll make sure of it.”

I rip off a wing, draping over my shoulder, and walk out of the room, heading down and hailin’ a cab to take me back to the hotel. Arriving, I pay the man who drove me and walked in covered in blood.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Husk sees me from the bar,  stepping out and walking over to the door, drinkin’ his usual bottle of whiskey.

“Just had ta do a little somethin’ is all.” 

“Need any help with that?”

“Nah, just need to find-”

“ANGEL!” Charlie rushes to me, a worried expression on her face

“What happened?”

“Relax, Char. It’s not mine.”

“What’s with the wing?”

“Just a token for Al an’ Short King. Have ya’ seen either of em’?”

“My dad’s in his room and Al’s in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” I head over to the kitchen, and see Al, dicing at some vegetables. 

“Al.”

“Welcome back. I assume your outing wasn’t frivolous?”

“Yup. I even brought you something.” He turns around slowly and looks at me curiously.

“He better be tender.”

“That’s fuckin’ gross, Al.” I hand him the wing, watching him clean off the leather-like skin and feathers, gathering them in a pile for me.

“Thanks, Pimp.”

“You’re welcome.”

I grab the pile of feathers and leather and carry it out the kitchen and up the stairs towards Lucifer’s room. I knock on his door and he answers for the third time.

“Come in, Anthony.”

“I come bearing stuff.” I walk inside and he looks at me and laughs.

“I didn’t think you took me seriously.”

“Of course I did. You did me a favor. I intend to complete it to the fullest.”

“Good on you, Tony. Bring that here.” I walk over to his desk and place it down, sorting out and folding the skin. 

“Did Al cut this?”

“Yep. He kept the meat from the wing.  Where do you want this?”

“Over there, in the second drawer. He places his vestcoat on the chair and helps collect feathers. 

“Al said the skin can be used like leather.”

“Interesting. Any requests?”

“A hat maybe?”

“Smart choice.”

“Your end of the deal?”

“Ah, yes. I did have a request for you. Earlier, you said you wanted to make a deal with me and I turned you down. But I did think of something else. I want you to make a pact with me. A covenant, if you will.” We get interrupted by a knock at the door. “Who is it?” “Your Majesty, is Anthony with you? Someone is here to see him.” 

“I’m comin’ Alastor, hold on.” I turn to the king, nodding as a gesture of understanding, then exiting the room, following Al downstairs and see a skinny woman in ballet attire standing in the middle of the foyer. 

“Angel, this is Carmilla Carmine, the Artillery Overlord. Carmilla, this is Anthony.”

“Hello Anthony. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You as well. I hear ya wanted to see me?”

“Did you kill Valentino?”

“Yeah. And?”

“Were you under a deal when you did?”

“Nah. Short King broke it.”

“The King? Is he here?”

“Yup. He lives here.”

“Interesting. Do you admit to killing an Overlord, not under the influence of a soul deal?

“Correct.”

“Then, by law, you are required to take his place as Overlord.”

“Weird. Can I get a sec to think about it?”

“Of course.” She walks away towards the lounge and takes a seat. 

“Al. What’s being an Overlord like?”

“Powerful, attending meetings, owning souls and  having territory.”

“Not half bad. Thanks.” I walk over to Carmilla and answer. “I’ll take it.”

“Excellent. I now appoint you an Overlord. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” A burst of magic emitted from me as I received my title.

“Welcome to the club, Angel,” Husk says from behind the bar.

“Thanks, Husk.”

“You should probably get started. You’ll need territory. I suggest you talk to Velvette. You killed her business partner, after all.”

“I will.” Carmilla takes her leave and I head back upstairs to finish my conversation with Luci. “I’m back.”

“Hello again. For the fourth or fifth time today. How’s it feel?”

“Weird. Bein’ an Overlord is fuckin’ weird.” Luci chuckles.

“My proposal was that you make a contract with me. Not a soul-binding one, but a blood binding one. Eternal servitude, but not like the kind you’ve experienced. Better. And kinder. Protect my daughter and the portion of power that I gave you is yours to keep. Understand?”

“Can I make some adjustments to me?”

“Of course. What would you like?” “To mold the power into my own. I don’t want it to just be a replication of yours.”

“Of course. Anything else?”

“A cool outfit?”

“Of course. Is that it?”

“I think so.” He hands me an angelic blade and I cut my hand and join it with him, creating a pact. “Good job, Overlord Anthony.”

[llamagoddessofficial]

Okay for supernatural/demon lads and ghosthunting MC though.... imagine one of their haunted house sleepovers. The guys torn between scaring off the actual hauntings and *also* liking the way MC snuggles up close when spooky sounds and blips on her camera/sound equipment/etc happen.... Maybe a ouija board session at the witching hour where some narc ghost tries to warn her about three demons clinging to her >:Dc

WAAA omg. omg. omg this gave me an idea i had to-

“... The collapse of the roof in 1755 crushed 4 residents of the asylum.” You were deliberately using your spookiest voice, drained of all but the bare essentials of emotion to get the point across, flashlight in hand. “Since the accident they’ve cleared the damage and fixed the ceiling... but some say the spirits of those killed still wander the halls today, trapped not by rubble... but by the pain that binds their energy to this location.” 

You were still amazed at how steadily Skull could hold a camera. Whenever you looked through footage, even the stuff taken when he was walking, it was as if you had it on a professional electronic rig... you honestly had no idea what you’d do without him. It was pretty damn cold in the building, as it was completely derelict and abandoned, with no windows to furnishings to retain heat- only the concrete foundations remained.

“Visitors to the site have reported tapping on the walls, footsteps, shadows in the corridors, and the smell of brick dus-”

At the sound of tapping very nearby on the old plaster asylum wall, you spun around in shock, shining your flashlight...

... On Red, who was grinning like a bastard, rapping his phalanges on the wall.

“... s’pretty sturdy for an old ass wall.” He purred, pulling an ‘innocent’ face and putting his hand back in his pocket.

“hearing creaks and smelling dust in an old building.” Sans said, with his usual unbothered smile, like all this was just a bad haunted house attraction. “shocking. must be ghosts.”

“Oh, sure, act smug now, you’ll be apologising later when I get paranormal activity on camera.” You mumbled, deliberately shining the light into his face for a moment. You removed your spirit box from your pocket, ignoring the little joking vampire-like hissing sound he made.

The spirit box was your prized possession, your favourite method of communicating with spirits. It was a small black device that somewhat resembled an old walkie talkie; its purpose was to rapidly cycle between radio stations, producing static noise that ghosts could communicate directly with you through. It sounded sharp and horrible and always made the ugliest jittering sound, but even just holding it in your hands made you feel more and more excited.

“... I’ve got a device in my hand.” You said, addressing the room, the building... this was the part you never got over. The part where you spoke directly into the darkness that somehow seemed both smoggy and veil-thin, the part where you could almost feel the unseen eyes in the area turn to you. A shiver ran up your spine... you were certain that if you weren’t flanked by the comforting presences of Sans, Red and Skull, you’d chicken out before you could capture any video. “It’s going to play static that’ll allow you to communicate with us. If you want to, please speak, tell us what happened here.”

“geez. i hate this thing...

... You turned it on. Sans pulled a face, but didn’t make any of his usual complaints, which you appreciated. You stood there, waiting, all four of you staring at the device in your hand... it usually took a little while for something to come through so you weren’t expecting-

“ - - D E M O - N S -”

It blurted out of the box, clear as day, the clearest voice you’d ever heard coming from the box with only a slight jitter from the skipping. It sounded like a man. You jumped, your chest and your eyes widening- “Oh my God... I- what did it say? Did you say demons?”

“- E M O N S - - - I - N - -”

Your hands were shaking- he repeated it. Your full attention was on the box now, your heart was starting to pound. “There are demons here? In the building?”

“- YES-”

It was the same voice, giving you clear replies! This was huge! You couldn’t believe it! You were holding the box like it was a winning lottery ticket, just about losing your mind. “What’s your name? Tell me your name.”

“- -  PLE A S E -” 

You didn’t see the expressions on the guys’ faces. You didn’t notice Red and Sans slip away into the dark, too exhilarated to be expecting their usual cutthroat humour and cynicism.

"Where are the demons? Are they in the building? Can you tell me where they are?”

Something came through the box, but it was too mangled by the static, too impossible to make out. “What did you say? Say that again!”

“- W - - TH -” It was like something was interfering with the transmission. “W I T H - Y O U.”

... What?

“... With me?”

“ T H E - S K E L E T - ”

... It turned off.

...

Everything turned off. Your fully charged torch went dead, Skull’s torch went dead, the camera's lights blinked out. Suddenly, all the noise in the world had vanished... it was so, so deafeningly quiet...

... and the only light was Skull’s blood red iris, staring at you.

...

“... All the stuff just...” 

... You looked around the room, trying to see something in the murky darkness, as if searching the shadows for a reason for the sudden powercut to all your individual devices at once.

“... something wrong?” Skull asked. 

His voice was incredibly gentle.

... It was as if a cloud descended over your mind. Suddenly, just like that, you felt like you’d been plunged into a dream. Nothing seemed... real. You couldn’t think, you couldn’t process... a horrible wave of dizziness accompanied the cloud, creeping over you, prickling at your temples and muddying everything that was going in and out of your brain.

“I-I...” You stopped being able to feel your hands or your death grip on the useless flashlight. The pitch black room was beginning to spin, slowly... “I don’t...”

“hm?” 

“Where’s...” Your eyes were darting about. Pounding head, like it’d been stuffed full of cotton... your lips weighed too much, it was hard to speak. “Where... Sans... Red...?”

“... shh... it’s okay.” 

A big hand softly closed over yours. You knew Skull had big hands, that was something you loved about him... but the one that held you was huge. Your tiny appendage was swallowed whole by thick bones with long, cruel claws... it felt like him, but it didn’t... feel like him...

... What’s going on? Where am I?

... The hand gently led you closer, easily moving you like you were little more than a confused child. His eyelight was in view... his huge, red eyelight... your own eyes were stinging, strained, wide and afraid. The other hand moved close to you but you didn’t even have the presence of mind to flinch as it gently brushed hair out of your face... you just stared up into the eyelight.

He had horns. Skull’s silhouette had huge, curved horns.

“it’s alright.” He murmured, cupping you like a precious baby bird. His voice had become distorted, warped... and even in your state of delirium, you were certain it wasn’t from the headache. “you’re with me. you can let go.” 

The dizziness was becoming too much to bear. You couldn’t even focus on his iris anymore, you couldn’t see, you were either going to pass out or be sick. The distant sound of your flashlight hitting the floor... You pressed your eyes shut to relieve the aching, and tried to say something, but it was just a bleary mumble...

“that’s it.” He purred, the hand holding yours instead moving to your back to support your swaying body. You couldn’t open your eyes again... you didn’t want to. It felt so much nicer closed, the discomfort was muffled. “don’t need fight. none of this... ever happened.”

... You were vaguely aware of him catching your tipping body and scooping you up into his arms before everything went completely dark.

[blueroseblaze]

Devil May Cry INK

New Devil May Cry Nero x GN!Reader tattoo!AU series based on the lovely work by @hennatheantenna​ 

also available on Ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203587

Please enjoy this first installment

The shop was quiet, save for the soft sweeping and the low hum of the radio. The Sunday early evening light shining through the windows was blinding if you weren’t sitting in the right spot. The orange lights cascading through the front windows warming the waiting area. It was a nice respite from an otherwise busy day.

Nero sat behind the counter, thumbing through, and counting the stack of cash with practiced speed and rhythm before placing it back in the register drawer. He glanced up at V who was too preoccupied sweeping the storefront floor and being distracted by the sleeping black shop cat on the windowsill.

“When is this new artist coming in?” V asked in his normal low poetic voice, not even looking In Nero’s direction while speaking.

“They should be here in a few minutes, we agreed on 6:30 for the interview,” Nero replied.

“Are you going to hire them? Dante did give you the final say on it.”

“Their portfolio is really impressive, and Nico spoke highly of them. So, we’ll see. We’re short-staffed anyway so I don’t think we’re in the business of being super picky.

“Right,” V hummed before continued his cleaning.

Devil May Cry Ink had been short-staffed for a long time despite being located in a relatively popular area, close to many clubs, shops, and an active nightlife. With only 3 artists and one financial manager, they could hardly keep up with patrons when there were rarely all three artists present. Dante, Nero’s uncle and official co-owner of the establishment was remarkably popular and often traveled to meet in person with more high-end clients rather than have them come to their humble little shop. Luckily, Nero’s Father, Vergil, was more than capable of keeping them afloat handling the financial side of the equation.

Nero leaned back in his chair behind the counter, balancing on the back legs with his feet propped up on the countertop. He shut his eyes and sighed, listening to the low drawl of the radio and the humming of the vents that kicked on overhead.

But soon the young man was shaken from his half nap when he heard a knock on the front door, which had been locked at the end of the day.

“Is that them?” V asked.

“Probably,” Nero replied before standing to answer the door.

Nero approached the door and unlocked it, opening it enough only for him to stick his head out to greet the person and make sure that she was in fact their new possible hire.

“Hi,” they greeted in an excited but polite voice, “I’m here for an interview, I’m looking for Nero.”

“You found him,” Nero replied confidently, “Are you Y/N?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” they said.

Nero welcomed them inside, stepping out of the way of the door so that they could slip through and he could lock the door again behind him. they faced him, waiting for any extra greeting or instruction as V approached the two.

“This is my half-brother, Vitalie,” Nero introduced.

V held out a lanky tatted arm and Y/N took his hand, giving a professional shake.

“You can call me V,” he said.

“Noted,” they said with a smile glancing down as something rubbed against their leg making them jump.

“That our shop cat, Shadow,” Nero explained, “Don’t worry she’s had all her shots.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Nero led the young artist towards the back of the shop where there would be little disturbance. They tried taking in the atmosphere of the shop but found the man walking before them too distracting. Their eyes traced over the intricate blue and red roses that sleeved his arms, all the way up to the ink covering a sizable portion of his neck leading right up to the snowy white undercut he was sporting.

“Hey um, is your…”

“My hair is natural, yes,” Nero replied before they could even get a word out.

Y/N started to internally panic, their face going red as they averted their gaze trying to explain themselves and apologize, stumbling over their words like a flustered cartoon.

Nero chuckled, “It’s ok I get it a lot.”

Y/N huffed in embarrassment as they continued to follow him to the back room. The office wasn’t particularly big, just enough to fit some shelves, a desk, and a couch. It was mostly just a place for Vergil to get away to do work or discuss business, and for Dante to take naps.

Nero took a seat at the desk, pulling out a large portfolio as he instructed Y/N to sit down. He opened the portfolio and began flipping through it for what was probably the twentieth time.

“You can take your jacket off,” he said, “Make yourself comfortable.”

Y/N shrugged out of their jacket, adjusting their shirt as they laid it nicely on the arm of the sofa. Nero glanced up from the portfolio and stared at their bare arms and chest in confusion.

“Do you have any ink?” he asked incredulously.

Y/N huffed out a nervous laugh, hand moving to the back of their neck as they looked away.

“Yeah, I know how it looks. I’m just not a fan of needles is all. But I promise all that work is mine. You wouldn’t be the first to think it wasn’t.”

Nero looked back down at the portfolio. He was surprised at the lack of ink but had no reason to think it was plagiarism. He trusted Nico’s judgment so if she recommended an artist he would trust she knew what she was talking about.

“It’s not a problem I’m just surprised. I mean I was really impressed by your work it was just a surprise that you didn’t have any on you. So anyway, how long have you been tattooing,” he asked attempting to dodge the now awkward tension.

“About 3 years,” Y/N began, “I started getting interested in body art when I was young because my best friend’s dad owned a tattoo parlor in my hometown. I actually did my apprenticeship there before moving out here. I met Nico about a year and a half ago and we became fast friends and she asked me to do one or two pieces for her.”

“You ever been to art school?” Nero asked.

“Yeah! Majored in drawing and illustration,” they replied.

The interview went on with more questions and straightforward answers. Mostly about Y/N’s experience and a walk-through of their best work. A few quips and jokes thrown in here and there. Nero couldn’t keep his eyes off them as they went on and on about their artistic process and what inspires them. He couldn’t deny that they were cute. The way their eyes lit up as they spoke about what they were passionate about.

“So when did you first start?” Y/N asked, turning the questions back around on Nero.

“Pretty long time ago,” he answered, “My uncle started this place when I was like a toddler and roped my dad into it. Once I turned sixteen the old man finally let me get my first one. And when I turned eighteen my uncle let me start working.”

“I see you like roses,” they said, eyeing the expansive work on Nero’s arms.

“Yeah, they’re my favorite,” Nero explained, “Had them done by my uncle.”

The two of them had ended up talking for almost two hours, changing subjects to things like movies and music that they liked, and they found they had a lot in common. It was only when V poked his head through the door and reminded Nero of the time that they decided to call it quits.

“Can you start Monday?” Nero asked.

Y/N’s eyes grew wide and they vigorously nodded, almost jumping in their spot with excitement. They thanked both of them for their time before Nero offered to walk them to the door. They wished him a goodnight and he locked the door behind them. But not before exchanging phone numbers.

“They seem nice,” V said, smirking at Nero’s confused face, “And attractive it seems.”

Nero sputtered a broken response before playfully slugging his brother in the arm, causing the thin man to laugh.

“Just making an observation,” V excused.

“Yeah well keep your observations to yourself,” Nero chided, as he walked back behind the front counter. He reached over and picked up his leather jacket and blue helmet that matched the floral print on his sleeves that were hanging off the barstool. He slung the jacket over his shoulder and tucked the helmet under his arm.

“It has been a while since your last relationship, perhaps something could blossom from this.”

“Work is work, V. Don’t make it sound like I hired them just because they’re hot.”

“Did you?” V asked with a grin.

“No of course not!” Nero cried out defensively, “Anyway whatever, are you good to lock up by yourself?”

“Yes it shouldn’t take me too long,” V replied, “Can you feed Griffon when you get home?

Nero huffed in annoyance at the thought of feeding that little demon chicken.

“Yes, I’ll feed Griffon. See ya at home.”

V gave a subtle goodbye to Nero as he exited the shop and gave one last head pat to Shadow. Still smiling to himself at his sibling's flustered response.

Nero threw on the leather jacket and forced the helmet on his head, rounding the corner to the back of the shop where Red Queen was parked. He paused, letting his brother’s words playback in his head. It had been a while since he was in the dating game. It wasn’t like he was sad after his breakup; it was mutual and they remained on good terms, but he was getting antsy to the point that V had noticed.

Nero huffed, and mounted the motorcycle, kicking it into gear and speeding off.

Hope you enjoyed :)

[luvknow]

entangled | kim seungmin

genre: spider-man!seungmin x radio dj!reader feat. 3racha & kim woojin | spider-man au ; radio dj au ; college au ; friends-to-lovers  summary: you hate spiders and you hate man and the gods above blessed you with spider-man. wc: 17.3k

It was 10:00 pm on a Wednesday - just after your weekly broadcast of the college town’s beloved radio show, Moonlight Radio. You’re backed up in the corner farthest from the door and it seems there’s no way for you to escape your current situation. With your hands shaking, goosebumps crawling over every inch of your skin, and having absolutely no weapon to save yourself, you thought about how your plants were going to die now that you were one hundred percent certain that you, too, were going to perish.

“Hey, ready to go -?” Seungmin entered the studio, raising a curious brow at your jittery form on the opposite side of the room. As his co-host and close friend, of course he knows you quite well and he knew you were a bit, um, unique but this was beyond his scope of knowledge filed under your name in his mental filing cabinet.

“What the heck are you doing?” he asked.

“S-Spider,” you stuttered, shakily pointing in a direction that lead him to nowhere.

“Another one? That’s like the fifth one this week. Where?”

“N-Near this mic stand.”

“Really? They keep getting closer to you... Maybe they like you ~”

Your glossy eyes glared at the playful brunette. “I hope it bites you when you kill it.”

“Well, I’m not going to kill it, so either way you lose.”

“You’re such a spider sympathizer.”

“Hey, spiders play a vital role in our ecosystem! They’re excellent at regulating insect populations. Would you rather have an overpopulation of mosquitoes and other bugs that can fly and easily jump on your face?”

“No…”

“Ok then, let me do my good deed for the day and set this little guy free.”

Seungmin took one of your script papers that sat next to the eight-legged demon and scooped it up without a problem. It was moments like these when you thought he was the bravest boy you’ve ever met and you hated how often those moments came because one day, without thinking, you’d slip up and say it out loud. He cracked one of the windows open and gently shook the spider free from the paper.

“Can spiders survive a ten-story drop like that?” you asked once the waves of relief calmed your body, mind, and soul.

“I’ve seen a few that have,” he answered simply. “Now are you ready to go? I’m starving.”

“Yeah, let me get my stuff. Where are we going?”

“Where do you think?”

“Five-star restaurant where the bathrooms have those people that hand you a towel after washing your hands and you should tip them out of courtesy.”

“How about a five-piece fried chicken meal with a grumpy Woojin who demands a 25 percent tip?”

“Not quite as luxurious, but seeing Woojin makes up for that. Lead the way, my trusty steed!”

“I should be the knight riding the steed after saving you from spiders all the time, not the steed itself!”

“Same difference.”

Wednesdays followed a very strict schedule: your morning routine, classes until late afternoon, studying and a snack, meet up with Seungmin to go over the script and listen to what music he and the boys picked out, run through the show, and finally end the night with a super late dinner at the chicken place Woojin worked at. Sometimes you and Seungmin would spice it up and eat somewhere with vegetables, but that was only when consecutive Wednesdays at Woojin’s Work made you both feel gross. Even though you were in the last stretch of college and your courses were piling on the difficulty and workload, the weeks were bearable when it was spent in the studio with Seungmin and the town listening in for a couple of hours.

The idea of co-hosting a radio show together sounded ridiculous when him, Chan, Changbin, and Jisung first proposed it to you. The show was already super successful without you, so what was the point? What would three up-and-coming producers and Seungmin with his superstar personality want with someone like you? You had no idea how to work a Launchpad or whatever applications they used to make music. Hyunjin was already in charge of the social media aspect and Jeongin took care of the website and design stuff. Their team was pretty much complete and ready to go on-air - really, you’d just be taking up space.

“Don’t think of it like that,” Seungmin reassured that night. “You’d be like a co-host!”

“Wouldn’t you three be the co-hosts?” you asked the oh-so internet famous 3RACHA.

“I’d love to, but I already have a ton on my plate,” Chan sighed. “It’d be too much for me to handle.”

“I don’t like doing that corny radio talk,” Changbin wrinkled his nose.

“I just didn’t wanna do it,” Jisung admitted shamelessly.

“Ah, so I’m your last resort?” you teased.

“Yes, but you’re our first last resort ~”

“Well, when you say it that way… What exactly does being a co-host entail?”

Seungmin pulled up the radio show’s website on his laptop that had an unthinkable number in bright red located near the envelope icon. “All the questions in the inbox on our website are overflowing and it’s getting harder for me to answer all of it. It’s hard for me to answer them when we’re on-air, too. And these three aren’t exactly the best when it comes to the more relationship-centric asks… You were the only one I could think of that I could trust handling and answering these properly.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course! I’d come to you for advice all the time in high school, remember?”

Yes, you remembered Seungmin would come to you now and again ask for advice on college, or dating, or even what he should have for dinner, but you never thought much of it until now. To have him ask you to handle such a heavy role on a radio show all because he treasured those late-night phone calls with you made your heart do that weird fluttery thing you didn’t dare try to decipher.

Curse Seungmin and his weird poetic way with words… Who allowed him to read fiction after high school?

“Is that the reason why you asked me?” Clearly, your cheeks were blushing only because the sun was shining brightly on the Quad and not because you were flattered he asked you first.

“I truly can’t think of another person who would be more capable of this job than you,” he told you sincerely.

“So will you join our shit show?” Changbin begged with his big, puppy eyes. Now how could you refuse after that?

“Fine, but the second I get hate mail, I’m tapping out.”

“Deal. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Surprisingly, it didn’t happen, at least not in the past six months since you’ve joined the show. The audience welcomed you with open arms the second they heard you answer their questions with such honesty and care. There were some questions that you’d struggle with, like very boy-specific questions that only a dude could answer, so Seungmin took care of those. But together, you and Seungmin were an unstoppable duo with great chemistry and everyone could hear it in the way you’d giggle at his lame jokes or the way he’d ‘wow ~’ at one of your more profound answers.

The only questions you both struggled answering were ones that delved into either of your love lives. You both would get tripped up just a little bit when asked if either of you were seeing someone or were interested in someone, but the questions that had you both stuttering like the air was below freezing to the point that no coherent sentences were being formed?

“Are you two dating?”

“Have you two ever thought about it before?”

“You guys fit the friends-to-lovers trope so perfectly!”

“N-No, that’s not how it is at all…!” you argued to the callers after the millionth time. No matter how many times you’d get asked this, you don’t think you’ll ever overcome the embarrassment. “We’re just really good friends!”

“I don’t know, _____, maybe we should face the inevitable,” a flirty Seungmin winked.

“Seungmin!” you hissed while a giggling 3RACHA fell out of their chairs. Well, he clearly got over the embarrassment...

Almost every show, the chatroom and inbox had sprinkles of comments about how cute you two would be if you ever got together. Because you see those same sentences nearly every single time you opened up the inbox, the thought of it was hard to ignore and push to the back of your mind.

What would it be like if you two actually dated?

“Yo, _____ ~” Seungmin sang across from you  at the table.

“Huh?”

“Spider got ya that spooked?”

“Nah, I’m ok now. Thanks to my hero.”

“That’s right, I am your hero,” he boasted proudly. “But really, is there something on your mind? You seem a bit spacey-er than usual.”

“It’s nothing bad. I was just reminiscing about my up-and-coming on the show for some reason.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’ve improved a lot since then.”

“You think so? I feel like I haven’t done much… Like I haven’t made an impact yet.”

“You’re crazy! The show wouldn’t be where it is now without you. You know, Minho did the math for fun last week -”

“Ha!”

“... and calculated how much more often people are sending stuff in since the day you joined, and he said it’s increased by like 100 percent since then!”

“That’s just double, isn’t it…?”

“Yeah, but a bigger number sounds better, so that’s what we tell the department heads when they ask. So don’t think you haven’t left an impact on this show - it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Really, when was he so poetic!? It was a dangerous trait. “Thanks, Seungmin. I wouldn’t be as confident if you weren’t my co-host.”

“I’m sure you would have done just fine if it were Changbin or anyone else.”

“Maybe so, but it wouldn’t be as fun or memorable.”

“Stop being so soft and order your chicken.” He was terrible at faking being grumpy because his cheeky smile shined brightly anyways.

“Hey, moochers,” a tired Woojin greeted before falling in the seat next to Seungmin. “The usual?”

“You know it.”

“Ok, let me just sit here for a couple minutes.”

“Go do your job!”

“Hey, while you guys get to sit on nice comfy chairs in the studio for a couple of hours, I have to stand for six while waiting on people!’

“It’s not even that busy today!” Seungmin was right - you two and another couple were the only ones in the restaurant at the moment.

“It was busy earlier, ok.”

“Earlier today around 5:00 pm, during the city’s busiest hours, Spider-Man has yet again saved a citizen from tragedy -”

“Ugh,” you shuddered in disgust at the sight of the famous vigilante popping up on the screen.

Seungmin tried not to look too offended. He’s known your incessant fear of spiders for how long now? And he’s been Spider-Man for what, a hot minute? And he had no idea you felt this strongly about him? He’s not that surprised, but at the same time he is because it’s not like Spider-Man was a real spider… His suit didn’t even really resemble one! Maybe it was the big, buggy eyes that haunted you. He’d have to consult with Woojin about that later.

“You don’t like Spider-Man…?” he dared to ask.

“Not really. He has spider in his name, for Christ’s sake. Doesn’t he know how common arachnophobia is? How is he supposed to save the town when a hefty chunk of citizens are probably scared of him!?”

“But he doesn’t even look like a spider?”

“He doesn’t need to when he has a huge black one on his chest.”

He’ll consult Woojin about that, too. “So if you were in danger - like, backed up against an alley with a gun pointed at your head, or something - and Spider-Man swooped down, scooped you up, and jumped far away from the gunman using his web, you’d be more scared of Spider-Man than the bad guy?”

“Of course! I hate heights, too, remember? A man dressed like a spider capturing me in their arms and swinging from skyscraper-to-skyscraper is literally my biggest fear.”

If that was really how you felt about Spider-Man, then Seungmin prayed you would stay out of trouble. He couldn’t even imagine how loud you’d scream if he ever saved you from a situation you got yourself stuck in, not to mention how hard it would be to not tease you about it face-to-face. But knowing you and knowing his terrible luck, one of these days he was going to have to save you from God-knows-what. The only possible situation he could think of was you getting stuck high up on the fire escape, or something stupid like that.

Up on the television, the city’s hero was recorded swinging down using his web thingies like some man spider hybrid pendulum kicking one of the several armed robbers right in the chin. With the second robber, he used his weird webby thing again, but this time used one hand to aim it at his gun and yanked it away from him while using the other hand to trap him between the webs and concrete floor. The other robbers tried to run away, but not before Man-Spider-Dude flung himself forward like some alternate universe Tarzan and used his webbing to cuff their limbs together.

“See, that was kind of cool, wasn’t it?” Seungmin asked, hoping the reporters recorded him cool enough for you to change your mind.

“Eh. Kind of showy, if you ask me.”

Just as you said that, you had to suffer through witnessing Spider-Man finger-gun at the phone camera and salute the citizens of the town before swinging deep into the concrete jungle once more. Was that necessary? Sheesh, what a dramatic exit.

Your co-host watched you roll your eyes at his showboating and turn your attention back on the totally normal boys. Beside him, a snickering Woojin teasingly nudged him with his elbow. He wasn’t that cringey, was he!?

“Well, he saved some innocent people and a lot of money, at least,” Seungmin frowned, so desperately trying to redeem himself.

“That’s really the only upside to superhero-wannabe vigilantes. Otherwise, they’re totally cocky. They’re like a bunch of frat bros.”

Woojin audibly laughed at that one and that’s when Seungmin knew there was no hope in trying to persuade you… But Kims never backed down! That’s what made him and Woojin so unstoppable!

So it couldn’t hurt to try anyways, right?

On a warm and early Sunday evening, when the night was still young, the sun fell between golden hour and dusk. This was when walking home was a pain in the ass because the rays would hit building windows at all the right angles and attempt to burn your retinas. Even so, you couldn’t be mad in the least, because the paper bag filled with crispy french fries cradled in your arms was going to be inhaled in just a couple of blocks once you reached home.

It was beautiful nights like tonight where you felt a little lonely. Yes, living and being alone was calming after a stressful week at school and your social meter was at an all time low, but sometimes you just wanted to share a night in with someone special. You first tried to hang out with Seungmin to avoid the pressure of actually finding a significant other, but when he told you that his internship scheduled him at ungodly hours, including Sundays, you now had to find someone to take his place if you ever wanted to.

Kim Seungmin… your co-host, confidant, and the only boy you wanted to spend your Sundays with. What did that say about you? Were you desperate? Missing him? A typical friends-to-lovers trope, as your audience had put it? You’d worry about that later.

The sun wasn’t so blinding anymore when a shadowed figure blocked the light. Before you could make sense of who or what the figure was, you were promptly knocked down by said thing onto the very hard, very cold sidewalk.

Ginormous, white bug eyes with no pupils stared deep into your frightened soul. Spider-Man, dressed in all his spandex glory, scuffed up and a little disheveled, hovered over your heavily breathing form. From behind the mask, Seungmin froze when he realized that yes, this was definitely you he had knocked down and he couldn’t tell if you were terrified, surprised, furious, or all of the above. He felt so bad that he almost gave you a heart attack, but he had to admit you looked kind of cute looking at him with your big, curious eyes like you wanted to swat him off of you with an over-sized fly swatter. He had to hold back wanting to brush your hair that stuck to your face.

What a coincidence for him to have run into you, huh? It must have been fate, or just really bad karma on your end.

“Hi,” Spider-Man greeted you casually, his face hovering very close to your own. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“N-N-No…!”

“Good. Hurting citizens is kind of against my mission.”

“He went this way!” you both heard off in the distance.

Spider-Man groaned loudly before hopping off of you and extending a hand to help you up. Before you could verbally reject, your body was already moving before you knew it and you took his hand graciously.

He leaned in closely and you hoped his spidey sense couldn’t detect the goosebumps erupting all over your skin.

“If those journalists ask, you didn’t see me,” You could only nod silently. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

In a blink of an eye, the town’s hero shot his web to some random building and flew away, but not before giving you a little salute. The last two minutes didn’t seem real - had you really just met Spider-Man? Well, more like did Spider-Man really just knock you flat on your ass? You were standing in your spot not moving a single muscle as the entire block took pictures and videos of your wide-eyed face staring blankly at where the hero you feared most once stood. A swarm of journalists turned the corner and following the audience’s attention, going straight to you.

“Did Spider-Man fly through here?” one of them asked frantically.

Mindlessly, without blinking, you pointed in the opposite direction he flew to and that’s when you watched the parasitic flock search for the town’s hero.

From up above on a rooftop of a corporate building not too far away, Seungmin watched you keep your word about not revealing his location like he asked, despite your fear of both spiders and man. Did he scare you even more? Or maybe you were just being nice. Either way, something about you protecting his location was kind of adorable… like you might kind of like his other self now.

Oh, but that wasn’t the case at all.

“My french fries!” you cried out to the Gods above.

Every single french fry you were dying to devour from the paper bag scattered in an artistic gradient behind your shadow, with fat pigeons picking at what once was yours. Seungmin sighed tiredly, watching you sadly walk away from the kit of pigeons. His wishful thinking barely lasted a second and now not only did he owe you ‘one’ of something, he now owes you a bag of french fries, too. Maybe if he got the extra large size, you’d hate him a little less.

Your fear of Spider-Man because he had ‘spider’ in his name and a silhouette embroidered on his suit? Nonexistent. Hatred for Spider-Man because he was clumsy, insensitive, and most definitely A Man? Absolutely.

‘I owe you one,’ was what he told you last, and you’d make sure that he’d owe you one big time.

You spent the entire walk home trying to process if what just happened actually happened. Let’s rewind and review: you were studying at the library until you got too tired and too hungry to care anymore; got the freshest, crispiest bag of french fries you could find; happily made your way home; got the shit knocked out of you by Spider-Man; and now you were walking home french fry-less. It sounds like a poorly-written fan fiction, but yup, that’s truly what happened and there was no denying it

The night was no longer young or beautiful now that you didn’t have a bag full of golden, crispy deliciousness. It was miserable.

Seungmin, while still in his suit and hiding in a random alley from the journalists, felt his phone buzz that was tucked away inside of the suit. After taking it out, he was too afraid to answer once he saw your photo glow up the screen. The picture was from your eighteenth birthday, your last birthday before you both entered college. Seungmin booked a reservation at this fancy restaurant that you two would promise one day, when you both had money, that you’d dine there like it was no one’s business. Little did you know, he planned a small get together with a handful of friends and ate like kings! When it was time for dessert, Seungmin brought out your favorite cake, sang happy birthday with everyone, then smudged a whole bunch of the cream frosting onto your cheeks and nose. Normally, you’d be mad, but how could you when he planned all of this?

With the dark surroundings and the only thing lighting up your face was the candles, he captured the perfect moment of you laughing and tasting the cake.

After taking off his mask, Seungmin answered awkwardly. “Hello?”

“Guess what the fuck just happened to me!?”

“You saw a spider?”

“Worse! I saw that no good Spider-Man!”

Seungmin could only pout at your response. “Why do you sound so bitter?”

“That asshat swung down like a vulture and landed on top of me!”

“Sounds like a dream come true, if you ask me.”

“No, because that clumsy, pompous vigilante made me drop all of my french fries from my favorite place!”

Although you were complaining to Spider-Man about Spider-Man, said Spider-Man always thought your whining was adorable. “The place next to the bakery?”

“The very same! Ugh, I just wanted to call you to complain.”

“Seems like that’s all I’m good for these days.”

“Hey, that’s not the only reason I call you.”

“Besides discussing the show, for what other reasons do you call me?”

“I…” In retrospect, maybe he had a point - when was the last time you asked your dearest friend how he was doing? “Seungmin, my favorite friend, how have you been lately?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m sorry. I promise to call and not complain to you more often.”

“Thank you. And to answer your question. I’ve been ok.”

“Just ok? Do you wanna talk about it?”

Did he want to talk about how Spider-Man, the show, school, and how his lack of love-life was consuming his entire life to his closest friend? Not really. “Maybe another time. Are you free to hang out, though? I could use some company.”

“For you, of course. At what time?”

“Hm…” Seungmin took a quick second to listen to his surroundings. It seemed that the reporters and passers-by stopped looking for him by now, so maybe he was in the clear. “I can be at your place in half an hour?”

“Sounds good, I’ll be waiting. Can we get food? I’m hungry ~”

“Sure thing. I’ll see you soon.”

After hanging up, Seungmin dared to put his mask back on and swing as fast as he could all the way back to his apartment. It was unavoidable that a couple citizens were able to sneak in a few pictures as he was swinging, but as long as they didn’t see him land on his apartment complex rooftop and run inside, he was in the clear. After changing, there was one stop he had to make before heading over.

You waited patiently for your boredom-saving, famished-fulfilling hero to arrive at your doorstep. It’s true that neither of you had the time to hang out outside of planning the show. Other than that, there was not enough time in the day throughout the school week to see each other. With your classes piling up and his internship, neither of you could match up your schedules or make enough time to grab some dinner. At least tonight would make up for lost time.

You happily greeted a sneaky Seungmin when you heard him knocking. He was holding something behind his back and had his creepy, mischievous smile on his lips.

“What are you hiding…?” you hesitated.

Without a word, he pulled out an extra big paper bag full of french fries from your favorite restaurant - the very same french fries Spider-Man had knocked out of your hands. Only this time, there were more and it came with a handsome boy on the side.

Seungmin adored the way your eyes lit up at his little gift.

“You didn’t!” you gasped, clutching your heart to your chest.

“Do you love me or do you love me?”

“I love you ~!” you sang, welcoming your beloved guest into your humble abode. “Ah, what did I do to deserve you, Kim Seungmin?”

You didn’t do anything. You already had him wrapped around your finger the moment you two met.

Another Wednesday had arrived and that meant another show was to air. Tonight, the moon was so full that even at the darkest hour, the town was still brightly lit. It was the perfect night for Moonlight Radio.

“And we’re back!” you cheered happily into the microphone. “For those of you just joining in, you are listening to Moonlight Radio with me, _____, my partner in crime Seungmin, and our city’s version of Migos, Djs 3RACHA ~!”

“Our city’s version of Migos…?” Seungmin asked, quirking a brow.

“Yeah, you know… The American rappers?”

“I know who they are, but what makes them like the Migos in any way?”

“There’s three of them and they rap, what else is there to compare?”

“Multi-platinum album sales.”

“They’ll get there someday.”

“At least someone believes in us,” Jisung pouted.

“Speaking of beliefs, you guys wouldn’t believe who _____ ran into last Sunday.”

You squint your eyes at your smirking co-host. “The listeners don’t need to know.”

“Of course they do! Who doesn’t want to brag about meeting Spider-Man?”

“I didn’t even meet him, he body-slammed into me!”

“Ah, you’re just being dramatic. What do you guys think?” But in his mind, Seungmin knew you were totally not being dramatic. Was your body still a little sore from that night, too?

The phone lines were lighting up at the mention of the oh-so famous and widely-beloved superhero. Now you had to spend the remaining half of the show talking about how you met the hybrid of your two worst fears.

“Caller on line nine, you are on-air,” Seungmin answered.

“Holy shit, did you really meet Spider-Man?”

You sighed heavily into your mic. “If that’s what you call meeting someone these days, then I guess I met Spider-Man.”

“Whoa, that’s so dope! What’s he like?”

“He’s… charming… I’ll give him that.”

Seungmin’s ears perked up, his ego already escalating into the clouds before he could stop it. You, the first person he’s ever met to admit that they don’t like his alter-ego aloud, thought he was charming? You should have said so earlier!

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, I guess. He was like, ‘I didn’t hurt you, did I?’ and I was like, ‘No?’ and he was all like, ‘Good, ‘cuz hurting citizens isn’t in my agenda’ or something corny like that. I guess it comes with the whole superhero package.”

Hey, that was not corny… “He sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

“Yeah, until he made me catapult my french fries behind me.”

“Is that literally the only reason why you don’t like him?”

“No, it’s mainly because I hate spiders. But also yes, because he said he owes me one for chasing away those pesky journalists that were hunting him down. Spider-Man, if you’re out there listening, this is my reminder to you that I’ll be waiting on my ‘one’ that you owe.”

Oh, great. Seungmin thought that if there was anyone he wouldn’t have to see again as Spider-Man, he thought it’d be you, but now you were actually waiting for him to find you! And for what, because he ‘owed’ you something? Although those journalists were annoying and he was very thankful you got them off his back... But what exactly were you expecting from him? What were you thinking he owed you?

Seeing you for a second time posed some high risks. You’re not dumb, and Seungmin knows that. If he were to slip up and give away his identity in some form just once during his interactions with you, you’d figure him out in an instant! But this was kind of exciting, wasn’t it? You not knowing it’s him behind the red suit, scaring you a little, pretending he doesn’t know who you are - it was kind of like a game to him. So fine, he’ll give you whatever you want the next time he meets you to satiate his excitement that isn’t fighting crime, but after that, he’ll stay as far away from you as possible.

“No matter where I go, spiders somehow always find me.”

“Isn’t it scary to be around something you fear all the time?”

“It’s absolutely terrifying. I guess it’s time I face my fears of spiders, man, and Spider-Man superheroes alike.”

“You’re so brave. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Hey, I hear that sarcasm,” you scolded at your chuckling partner. “But I hope this encourages you all to do the same one day. Go skydiving, ask out that cute person in your class, try something different from the menu! Whatever your fears may be, Moonlight Radio will always be here to support you. And with that, we bid you goodnight.”

“Stay safe out there, everyone! This is Moonlight Radio, signing off.”

When the glowing red light shut off, both you and Seungmin sighed in relief. This concluded the most stressful point of your week and you could relax a little until next time. Per usual, you and Seungmin were supposed to eat with Woojin at his chicken restaurant, but you noticed how he was packing up his stuff in urgency.

“What are you in a rush for?”

Shit. How was Seungmin supposed to tell you that he had a sixth spidey sense and sensed someone nearby was in big trouble and he had to change into his spandex right away? “Uh, I forgot I have an assignment due at midnight.”

“Aw, so no chicken tonight?”

“I’ll make it up to you next time, I promise.”

Your favorite boy ruffled your hair into a clumpy mess in front of your face. If he were to see the tiny pout on your lips, then there was a chance he’d give up being Spider-Man tonight just to be with you and what kind of hero would he be if he did that? Not a very good one.

He’ll see you later, anyways.

Before you could object, he was already out the door.

“Hi hello, we would like some chicken, too,” a whiny Changbin noted.

At least you’d have some company tonight. Hanging out with Seungmin versus hanging out with 3RACHA had two totally different vibes. One was chill, relaxing, and comforting while the other was loud, exciting, but oh-so tiring. So much so that you had to tap out early, luckily right before the news came on with yet again another segment on Spider-Man.

On the walk home, you wondered what kind of hours he worked. Was he fighting crime right now, at the peak of darkness? He couldn’t have been a nine-to-five kind of man because crime didn’t have an hourly paycheck. Maybe he strictly worked the night shift and slept in the daytime? That couldn’t have been very fun though, everyone needs a little sun to feel some sort of joy, even if he was a nasty, buggy, creepy little crawler -

“Hey.”

“Ah!!”

From the street lamp above, the bug of the hour dropped just inches from your face, hanging upside down on a thin string of web from his wrists. He was so close and came down so fast that you screamed and fell backwards. Was this it? Was this how you were going to die? From a heart attack and choking on air?

Seungmin mentally slapped himself for not knowing you’d react that way. Idiot-min, of course they would! They practically cry at the sight of a real spider! Now he probably owed you 'two' of whatever you were going to ask...

After getting down from the streetlight, he rushed over to help you up. “Are you all right?”

This time, you swatted his hand away and got up on your own, just as you wished you’d done to the damn arachnid the first time. It took a couple more moments to catch your breath and ease your heart rate, like you just finished running a marathon. If you didn’t hate Spider-Man before, Seungmin’s sure as hell you do now.

“I think I just had a mini heart-attack.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

“Aren’t you supposed to help citizens, not crash into them or fall from the clouds and be all up in their faces!?”

The masked man scratched his head sheepishly. “There’s a bit of a gray area between ‘help’ and ‘harm’.”

“Yeah, clearly!” Now that you’ve come to your senses, it just occurred to you that Spider-Man recognized you from the first time. Why else would he pop up on you specifically just to say ‘hey’? “Wait, do you remember me?”

Time to turn up that charm _____ talked about so much, Spider-min! “It’s hard to forget the people I crash into.”

“It must not happen often then.”

“I promise you, it doesn’t. Otherwise the town would be wiped out… Literally.”

“Wow, lucky me, huh?”

"Of course. And it’s not everyday I get to crash into someone so cute."

"Oh, don't you try and flatter me!"

It was rare for Seungmin to see you so bothered just by one person. Normally, you'd let it go and move on, but with Spider-Man, it seemed like all current and future interactions would be a lot of bickering and furrowed brows. If you were anyone else, he'd be a little hurt that someone could hate him so much, but you weren't just anyone else. You were you, and even with your annoyed expression, your blushing cheeks gave you away. You didn’t hate him.

Oh yeah, this was going to be a lot of fun for Seungmin.

"I'm not trying to flatter you, but it seems to be working regardless," he teased.

"Why are you stalking me?"

"Whoa, what do you mean!? I'm simply taking a break from saving a citizen in trouble! You and I just happened to cross paths once more, like it was fate. Didn't you want to see me again, anyways?"

"Who said that?"

"Well to paraphrase the famous _____ on Moonlight Radio, you're waiting for me to 'owe you one', isn't that right?"

You didn’t have to see his face to know that he was smirking. Regardless, you were quite starstruck - when you said that he owed you one, you didn’t think he’d actually hear you! But it was kind of cool that someone so famous listened in, even if it was him of all people. “You heard that…?”

“Of course I did. It’s my favorite radio show. I also heard you think I’m charming.”

Spidey-Boy took a step forward, but you didn’t dare take one step back. You weren’t about to let some spandex-clad dude intimidate you with his flirtatious wording, even if you were totally embarrassed and wished you could go back in time and stop yourself from saying that. Really, it was so cute the way you tried to stand up to Seungmin, but again, the pink gracing your cheeks put your effort into your unwavering persona to waste. You couldn’t make eye contact with his huge, buggy eye mask, so you focused on the creepy crawly spider right on his chest that kept on growing the closer he came to you.

Then it stopped. Now you’re no longer looking at his chest, but looking at those things he called eyes. They were reflective and you could see clearly how terrified you actually looked.

He leaned in.

"Is that true, _____?" he asked. "Do you think I'm charming?"

"I-I think you're terrifying."

"But also charming, right?"

"If I say yes, will you step back?"

"Oh, sorry." Awkwardly and boyishly, the hero cleared his throat and took a step back. From a safe distance, he wasn't so bad - it's when he's ten centimeters away from your face that scared you.

"You… have a way with words."

A cute laugh came from Spidey. "That's one way to put it."

There's a short silence in between. He knew you wanted to say something by the way you were awkwardly avoiding looking at him. Seungmin would patiently wait for you, but Spider-Man…

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering… Is Moonlight Radio really your favorite show?" you asked shyly.

"Of course. I wouldn't lie about something like that."

There was a little twinkle in your eyes like they held all the stars and your expression finally softened. Seungmin watched you struggle hiding your sweet smile while you stared at your shoes.

With the help of his masked identity, Seungmin could finally say the things he always wished he told you in the moment, from infinite moments before.

"You have a pretty smile."

"Huh?" Did you hear that right? Did the city's superhero call your smile pretty?

"I said…" Spidey-boy took a step closer, but kept his distance. "You have a pretty smile."

"Do you say that to all the people you crash into while running away from paparazzi?"

"No. Just the cute ones."

“Oh, my God, you are so corny! ‘Just the cute ones’, how many is that exactly? A dozen? Several dozen?”

“You know, most people would say thank you after I call them cute.”

“Well, I’m not falling for it! I’m not like most people!”

The boy chuckled again, and it sounded so sweet. “You most definitely are not.”

If this… this boy thought he could just flirt his way into your heart and forget nearly breaking your ribs, he was dead wrong! How dare he be so friendly and casual with you! It’s not like you were friends! What was his deal!?

You straightened your back and smoothed out the wrinkles in your shirt. “If that’s all, I’ll be on my way now.”

“Already? What about the ‘one’ I owe you?”

“Forget I ever said that. You’re off the hook.”

“No, that’s not right. I feel bad.” He wasn’t about to let you go that easily.

“I don’t even know what you’d owe me.”

“How about you think about it until we meet again?”

“Again? When would I even see you?”

The boy in red and blue shrugged. “By circumstance? Or perhaps you’ll get into some trouble? You seem like the type to pick fights.”

“Even if I was in trouble, who says I’d call you?”

“You wouldn’t have to. I’d come flying to your side the second I sensed something was wrong.”

You didn’t understand what that meant, but you really didn’t want to open a can of worms past midnight. “How chivalrous.”

“Thanks. So I’ll get to see you again?” he asked. Seungmin hoped he didn’t sound too desperate. He was just a simple boy who wouldn’t allow his best friend to hate his alter ego they knew nothing about, that’s all.

“If the opportunity arises ~” you sighed casually, walking past the stunned hero.

This was a side of you that Seungmin didn’t know how to handle. Never have you been so standoffish and awkward, but weirdly confident around him before. You were always your cutesy, dorky, loving self. Even when you weren’t talking to him directly, you were just as yourself around other people, even to strangers. But to Spider-Man? He didn’t know this side of you - the one that looked at him like you couldn’t tolerate breathing the same air as him. It was like he was meeting you for the very first time.

You may not like Spider-Man now, but the way you smiled for that split second and the way you entertained his stupid words with your witty responses, somewhere deep inside your cold heart, there had to be a chance that you’d come to like him. Maybe then he’ll reveal himself to you, but for now, he had to figure out how to stop his heart from beating so fast as he watched you walk away. Only you could affect him like that.

He’ll get you to like him, whether you like it or not.

It took you three days to crack and spend Saturday night researching who the fuck Spider-Man was. Thursday was spent being pouty and bitter about the night before. (“What’s up with you?” Seungmin asked. “Nothing, I just hate everyone.” “Sounds about right...”) Friday was spent playing as your own devil’s advocate trying to justify why he was the way he was. (“I guess he wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t mean to me, or anything. And he did want to pay me back for the french fries…”) And Saturday morning and afternoon was spent resisting the urge to care enough that you’d really spend a night on a weekend looking him up while texting Seungmin the entire time.

He loved every second of it.

you [6:05 pm]: did you know his suit doesn’t have any pockets? what genius designed that!?

seungminion [6:08 pm]: maybe they just forgot?

you [6:09 pm]: rookie mistake.

you [7:56 pm]: god, i really don’t like the blue and red... 

seungminion [7:59 pm]: have you just been judging his uniform for the past 2 hours?

you [8:04 pm]: yeah? can’t be a great hero if he doesn’t look cool or have pockets.

seungminion [8:06 pm]: red and blue is cool!

you [8:07 pm]: if you’re 5.

you [9:42 pm]: ohhhh he visits children at the hospital! that’s actually super sweet.

seungminion [9:47 pm]: see, he’s a good guy.

you [9:54 pm]: i didn’t say he wasn’t, i just didn’t like him.

seungminion [9:55 pm]: “didn’t” like him? do you like him now?

you [9:57 pm]: i didn’t say that.

seungminion [10:01 pm]: just admit it, _____! life will be less stressful if you admit your faults.

you [10:04 pm]: i’ll never admit my faults because i’m always right.

seungminion [10:10 pm]: you’re so difficult… just open the door.

you [10:11 pm]: huh? are you here?

Seungmin couldn’t hold back his smile when he read your message. Something about you taking the time to look up what Spider-Man was all about made him miss you. It didn’t help that this gig felt like a full time job on top of everything else, taking time away to spend with you. 

Things were different now that high school was over - no longer did either of you have free time after school to hang out in his car listening to music he picked out for you, or to eat at your heart’s content at whatever fast food place was open past midnight. Nights like those only come once in a blue moon nowadays. One of his biggest fears is that one day, you two would grow apart so gradually that the show would stop, spending time with you would stop, and your friendship would stop, and he wasn’t going to let that happen just because he was Spider-Man.

Seungmin was tired. Because he stayed up late on weekdays to save the city from chaos, his only time to catch up on sleep was sleeping in on the weekends and even afterwards, he felt like he could barely keep his eyes open. But when you opened the door with that adoring smile on your face, he thinks staying up for a few more hours to be with you would be worth it.

Seungmin looked tired. His hair was messy, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his shirt was missing a button. He looked like an absolute hot mess, but his warm smile said otherwise. For him to make the surprise trip over here in this state made your heart hurt.

“Are you ok?” you asked, deeply concerned.

“Yeah, I just had a rough morning… Rough week… Month…”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe another time.”

“Oh, ok.” That was the second time he rejected talking about how he was feeling. You knew he wasn’t one to open up and show his vulnerability, but this couldn’t have been healthy. You would argue if you could, but his tired eyes told you he wasn’t in the mood.

You widened the door gap to let in the tired puppy and he went straight for the couch. There was a little space between his feet and the opposite arm rest and you took your spot there. Soon after though, the sleepy puppy named Seungmin took one of your couch pillows and set them on your lap for him to lay his head on.

Whoa, this was new.

“Wh-What are you…?”

“Can I just rest my eyes for a few minutes?” he mumbled.

“Of course.”

With that, and your hand gently running through his messy hair, Seungmin fell into a deep sleep within seconds. You learned that night that Seungmin snored softly, like an unworried child tucked under his blanket. This boy was such a hard worker and always put everyone before himself that it was no wonder he gets burned out so easily, but this was the first time you’ve ever seen it to this extent. Normally, he’d yawn here and there and flake on hanging out once in a while, but never had he come to your home unannounced just so he could fall asleep on your lap.

Why he found solace in a place like your couch and your lap, you had no idea, but it was nice. It felt so right, but at the same time it didn’t, but neither of you were going to question it after tonight. You would let it take its course and move on with your lives like it didn’t happen because that’s what friends do in situations like this, right?

You’d let your racing heart calm down and erase it from your memory in the morning.

Seungmin woke up with the sun and his head still on your lap. Oh no, had he fallen asleep through the whole night!? Looking up, he saw how awkwardly your neck craned just so you could sleep semi-comfortably in your position. You stayed with him the entire night. You could have woken him up for a few seconds, got off the couch, and sleep soundly in your own bed, but no, you decided to stay here with him instead.

If he could spend the entire day napping with you, he would, but not today. Today he had to get fitted into his new Spidey suit that Woojin designed.

After getting up and carefully laying you on your couch, he did the unthinkable and kissed your forehead. He’s not sure why he did that… Actually, he didn’t even realize he did that until a few seconds after. Maybe it was how cute you looked that prompted him to do so. Maybe it was a thank you for putting up with him all these years. Regardless, it felt good but it made his heart flutter, causing him to smile like an idiot. He probably shouldn’t have done that and he hoped you didn’t feel it, but it felt so right. He left your apartment with his face buried in his hands trying to stop his face heating up and massaging his cheeks because he kept on smiling too hard.

When the front door closed, you rubbed the spot on your forehead and screamed into your pillow.

You haven’t seen Seungmin in a couple of weeks. You avoided seeing him, you called in sick and skipped the show, hell you even tried going to your hometown for the weekend all because you’re sure that you were going to make a fool out of yourself the second you saw him. This was so stupid - one boy laid his head on your lap, stayed the night, then kissed your forehead and suddenly you didn't know how to act!

The only communication you two had was over text. No phone calls or facetime, hell, not even Snapchat. Just short texts of you saying you were sick, stressed, and needed your space. This wasn't so unusual, as Seungmin experienced this side of you a lot throughout college, but this happening after that night was too coincidental. Did he do something wrong? Did you know he kissed you? Fuck, he knew he shouldn't have fallen asleep!

It’s a Saturday night once more and you’ve yet again bailed on him for not feeling well. Of course at this point, he knew you were avoiding him, but were you avoiding him because he overstepped his boundaries and you were fading him out, or because you were just being your awkward self and weren’t sure how to handle this weird limbo in your relationship? He really really hoped for the latter.

Since Seungmin wasn’t going to see you tonight, Woojin had put him on duty to test out the finished version of his new all-black suit - with pockets! The spider on his chest was still just as big, but he hoped that it blended in with the black enough that you wouldn’t be so spooked when you see it, whenever that would be.

On a Saturday night, you’re stuck on the balcony of your apartment flipping through old photos of you and Seungmin. From high school to just a couple of weeks ago, you lazily flipped through the memories like you were playing with a rolodex. You’re not sure how you got here, all by your lonesome - maybe it was because his stupidly cute smile that stuck in your head even while avoiding him, or because your forehead still tingled from his lips, or because even after all your ghosting he still put in the effort to want to see you that made you miss him and go through your mobile rolodex of pictures. Seeing him in person was way too risky, so you’ll stick to this for now.

Was this it? Was this the end of the dynamic duo, live on Moonlight Radio? The two doofuses who got a little too turnt at Prom together? The two idiots who couldn’t form coherent thoughts around each other?

“_____?”

“Ah!!”

The night was dead silent until a black upside down figure called your name and popped up from behind the branches of a nearby tree. By some weird instinct, your startled self dropped your phone in case you had to defend yourself from the over-sized arachnid, all the way from your fifth floor balcony. You were thankful to Spidey-Boy for once in your life, who had caught your phone using his web thingies just before it hit the floor and shattered to pieces.

Seungmin got a hold of your phone and noticed all the pictures of him cluttering in an album dubbed ‘Seungminion’. There were pics of him with his braces, him smiling, him eating, sleeping, crying - you name it, you had it, and he remembered every moment of every picture.

What were you doing just now? Were you thinking about him? His blush couldn’t be seen through his mask, could it?

“Can I get my phone back, please?”

Your balcony railing didn’t look like it could hold a fat squirrel, but somehow a superhero was able to balance on it, squatting like a mischievous cat. Seungmin ignored your tired plea and teasingly shook the phone in front of your pouty face. 

“Who’s this ~?” he asked in a sing-songy voice.

“No one, now give it back.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Even in the dark, your blush burned brightly. “No!”

“You have a lo~ot of pictures together ~”

“It’s…” you sighed, feeling your heart sink little by little. “It’s not like that.”

And his felt like it was sinking, too. “Do you want to talk about it?”

It’s funny. You would ask Seungmin that all the time and wished he’d answer you, but now that the tables have turned, you realized why he wouldn’t - you didn’t want to burden anyone with your worries.

“Maybe next time.”

“Why not now? I’m not busy, or anything. Besides, it can’t be healthy holding in whatever you’re feeling.” Seungmin was the epitome of a walking contradiction.

“I’m ok, I promise.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

“How would you know? We’ve met only once before. One and a half, if you count the first time, and both were very short encounters. I don’t think you’d know how I’m feeling based on that and how my face looks.”

“Then let me get to know you.”

“H-Huh?”

“I know you don’t know me very well, and it might be weird talking to me, but I don’t like you like this.”

“Like how…?”

“When you’re not smiling.” Of course, your body failed you and you smiled softly at his corny-ass words. Fine, you’ll give him that one… “There’s that pretty smile.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious by the way - do you want to talk about it? I’m not busy for a while.”

Were you really about to tell a stranger in black spandex that you were crushing hard on your friend? What has this world come to!? But you had nothing better to do and neither did he, so why not entertain the town’s hero for a little bit?

“Have you ever liked someone before?”

“Sure,” he shrugged casually. “I like you.”

Your eye roll could not have been more dramatic. He must do this with all of his damsels he saved, right? Clearly, he's had practice trying to woo others before.

Seungmin’s favorite color was the color of your cheeks.

“No, idiot! I mean like… you know… like-like.”

“I didn’t know our beloved radio host was in middle school.”

“Ok, I knew this was a bad idea -” you said, turning to the sliding door.

“Wait, I’m kidding!” Before you could head inside, Spider-Man grabbed your hand. “I was just trying to get you to smile again. Don’t go.”

When you squeezed his hand so he wouldn’t let go, Seungmin’s confidence and ego launched into space. You definitely were starting to like Spider-Man, whether it was school-girl crush type of like-like or you just tolerated him a little more. Seungmin was living the best of both worlds with you, but by the way you were avoiding the real him because of that night and the way you blushed at every word that came out of his masked mouth, was it possible you were starting to like his other self more?

He’ll find out right now.

“So what is this about like-liking someone?” he asked, tugging your forward a bit.

You're much closer to him than you have ever been before. Not considering the first time you met, of course. You've only met less than a handful of times, but somehow the distance in between wasn't so weird.

Seungmin felt your fingers run over the webbing design on his hands. “I’m… confused?” you questioned. That’s one way to put it.

“About?”

“It’s just… I don’t know, it’s weird because I’ve known him for a long time.”

You and Seungmin have known each other for a long time: check.

“Shouldn’t that make it easier on the both of you?”

“No, that makes it harder! With any hot guy on the street, I could go up to him, confess my undying attraction to him, and if he rejects me, then fine, I’ll just never see him again. But with a friend, I gotta consider all possible outcomes if I ever had to confess to him.”

“What’s there to consider?”

“Outcome number one: he could return my feelings, we kiss, and live happily ever after.”

“Sounds promising.”

“Outcome number two: he admits to not returning my feelings, says he would like to stay friends, but it’s too awkward now and we both drift apart until we no longer can stand in the same room together.”

“Now you’re just listing the extremes.”

“That’s not extreme, outcome number three is extreme: he doesn’t return my feelings, says he would like to stay friends but only said that to be nice and he turns up at the next hangout with his new boo thang.”

“Oh, come on, you really think he would do that!?” he whined, completely insulted you’d ever think so.

“It’s a possibility! And I’m not ready to take that risk yet.”

“So you’re stuck in some limbo now, is that it?”

“Yeah… we haven’t really talked since…”

You were this close to talking about the night Seungmin blurred the black and white between friends and more than that with an eagerly-awaiting Spider-Boy, who had moved from squatting like a cat on your porch to standing like a human for once. This was the first time you've seen him posed like a human and for once, goosebumps weren't crawling on your skin at the sight of the spider on his chest.

Seungmin awaited patiently for you to continue on, but you seemed more preoccupied with his chest than your story.

"I just realized your uniform's different," you noted, taking a step back to appreciate the new color.

"Ya like? Black's pretty sexy, huh?"

"Yeah, it's much better than the red and blue."

"And look! Pockets!!"

Spider-Man shoved his hands into the depths of his pockets and you thought to yourself that your FBI agent listening in on your devices must work for Spider-Man, considering he altered his uniform per your suggestions.

You tried to play it off like you weren't creeped out. "What the heck do you need pockets for? Your Spidey-Cell?"

"Ha-ha, there's no such thing as a Spidey-Cell. It's to hold my snacks. But it can hold your phone, if you'd like?"

"Why would I want you to hold my phone…?"

"When I take you on a tour through the city tonight."

You took a big step back and wiggled your finger at the mischievous hero. "You're crazy if you think I'm consenting to that."

"What, jumping around buildings and having citizens take videos of you during the busiest night of the week doesn't sound appealing to you?"

"Not at all!"

"C'mon, you look like you need some excitement and cheering up right now! What else do you have going on tonight?"

"I… have laundry to do…!"

"Just throw it in and come with me! It won't take that long."

"I also have homework."

"That's what Sundays are for."

"I also have to answer some questions listeners sent this week, and make dinner, and oh my God, my blinds are so dusty, and -"

"_____."

Spider-Man took a step forward and held his hand out. The night was alive, and you both could hear it coming deep within the city, where close friends and couples in love enjoyed each other's company. It's been lonely the last couple of weeks and you'll admit seeing Spider-Man tonight was the most exciting thing that's happened for a while, but…

Somehow, this felt like you were cheating on Seungmin.

"Give me thirty minutes," Spidey pleaded. "That's all."

You held his hand once more. There's something about the mystery man behind the suit that painstakingly attracted you to him. It was like fate had plans in stored just meant for the two of you.

"I'm scared of heights," you admitted shyly.

"I'll hold you tight."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I'd never let anything happen to you." And he meant it.

"Ok. Thirty minutes."

Seungmin pulled you in close to his chest and instructed you to wrap your arms around his shoulders. This was the closest he's gotten to a hug for a couple of weeks and he missed it, but he'll deal with your mess of a friendship later. What mattered most right now was how cutely and innocently you looked up at him while clinging on to your dear life like he was already swinging through the concrete jungle.

"Are you ready?" he asked, taking hold of your waist.

"Nope!"

"On the count of three, we'll go, ok?" You nodded nervously. "Ready? One… I lied!"

On the second count, Spider-Man stuck his webbing from the tree he was on and swung from branch-to-branch like some modern day Tarzan. Your shrill screams were the soundtrack to his flight and his boyish laughs mixed in between. 

"You're such an asshole!!" you cried out, burying your face into his shoulder.

"I know and I'm sorry, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up! But you'll take it back if you open your eyes."

“No way!”

“C’mon, don’t be such a baby!”

“I will cry.”

“No, you won’t. Now please, open your eyes!”

So you did, and your world in the arms of Spider-Man was filled with nothing but color. In a city you often saw as black and white, tonight was like seeing color for the very first time in shades you haven’t even heard of. Every color of light - from the tri-color street lights to the infinite shades of neon - all bounced off of every skyscraper the city held, reflecting off of every square of glass. The lights made your eyes twinkle like there were billions of rainbow stars stuck inside.

Seungmin was so glad to have you here with him.

The people below, as cliche as it sounds, looked like tiny little ants with cell phones recording every swing, every scream, and every smile. The idea of this going worldwide was absolutely terrifying, maybe even more-so than this, but it was so worth it. Never had anyone convince you to do something this crazy before. It seems like you’re sharing a lot of weird firsts with Spidey-Boy.

Seungmin took you to an empty rooftop that was thankfully not too high up, but high enough so that neither of you could be seen. As soon as your feet touched the concrete, your body turned to jello and fell to the floor.

“Oh, hey-!” Seungmin began, worried that you passed out.

But instead, you were in a fit of giggles, clutching your sides and covering your face from embarrassment.

You’re so, so cute, but so… so weird… 

“Uh… are you ok?” he asked, hovering over your still-giggling form.

“No! I feel like I died, went to the seventh layer of hell, and got resurrected twenty times!”

“Then why do you look so happy?”

“I don’t know!” A long, content sigh left your lips before you grinned at your reflection through spidery lenses. “I am happy.”

Seungmin already knew he loved you. But now, he was in trouble - he was in too deep, and there was no way out.

He was crazily, unapologetically, immensely in love with you.

After you collected yourself from the floor, you joined a patient and careful Spider-Man at the edge of the roof. The fearless boy swung his legs freely overboard, and though you weren’t at that level yet, you were brave enough to straddle the parapet.

“Wow, I’m kind of proud of you,” Spidey snickered.

“Sh-Shut up.”

“Don’t fall ~”

“No promises, so you better catch me ~”

“Of course I will.”

For a moment, the two of you enjoyed each other’s company in silence, watching over the city folk who were either trying to get home after a long day, leaving home for a night out, or simply spending it with someone else. The perspective made you feel small - like your situation with Seungmin, the radio show, all the stress of school meant nothing because this, right in front of you, was the bigger picture. It didn’t make sense though, how none of your personal problems mean nothing in this moment.

Maybe Spider-Man had powers other than shooting webs.

“Hungry?” he asked, distracting you from your thoughts.

“Kind of. Are you?”

“Starving.”

“I’d ask if you want to get something to eat, but I don’t know how that would work.”

“We can still get something to eat. See that skewer stand over there?”

Spandex-Man pointed to a busy stand full of chicken, beef, pork, fried tofu, veggie, you-name-it skewer stand. You could smell the delicious spices all the way from the roof. “Mhm.”

“Watch this.”

In the blink of an eye, the webs from his wrist grab onto several sticks and he yanked them back, handing you several scrumptious, juicy skewers faster than you could blink. Then, he took out cash from his wallet (which he kept in his new fancy pockets) and shot back enough bills to cover the tip jar.

“Wow, I bet that’s handy at home when you’re couch potato-ing.”

“You have no idea - I barely get up on my days off.”

The skewers taste better with a side of company. “By the way, you never answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Have you ever like-liked someone?”

“Ah, that one,” he sighed, unbothered. “Of course I have.”

“Oh? What were they like?”

“Where should I begin? They’re quite spunky. They have that no bullshit attitude that’s very attractive. They’re very smart, too, it’s hard for me to keep up sometimes. Most of all they’re so dorky… Dorky like they get scared over the littlest things like bugs and they get excited about things like free snacks in the library. But they’re also kind. I can’t recall a time when they weren’t thinking about others before themselves. And oh man, they have that little twinkle in their eyes whenever they see me - that’s what I love the most.”

“Did you ever tell them you like them?”

He shook his head lazily. “Nah. I didn’t see a point at the time.”

“You’re crazy! You should have told them!”

“Why, so I could get rejected!?”

“But what if they would have returned your feelings!? You just lost something great!”

“Eh, that was a long time ago so it doesn’t matter anymore,” he lied.

“You’re so lame…”

“Says the one who’s making made-up scenarios in your head to avoid your own jump to the death confession!”

“Hey, those are completely possible!”

“And you call me crazy…”

“Bet you won’t tell the next person that comes along that you like them ~”

“Jokes on you because I already did ~”

“When!?”

“Twenty minutes ago. I said I liked you, remember?”

Soon, blushing cheeks would become permanent on your face. “Shut up.”

A loud crash was heard far in the distance, just north of where you two were. You and the citizens below halted for a couple of seconds, like someone had pressed the pause button on the country. Another loud crash was heard and the rumbling of big, heavy footsteps echoed in the night. It was coming in your direction. Then, all warning sirens within the entire city went off, blinking a bright red.

“Please evacuate immediately,” the intercom said robotically. “Threat level: Demon. Please evacuate immediately. Threat level -”

“Demon?” you muttered to no one in particular. “There hasn’t been a Demon-level threat in over a decade -”

“I’m taking you home.”

“Wait -!”

There was no time to wait. Seungmin had to get you out of here and swing back to the city to find out whatever this thing was that made it so dangerous. Instead of flying through the buildings on the busiest and plugged-up streets, he detoured onto the smaller buildings on the safer routes near the outskirts of town where no one could see you. If that thing caught a glimpse of you, kidnapped you somehow, and made you a pawn in its game just to lure in Seungmin, he would never forgive himself. In fact, meeting you as Spider-Man was a complete mistake in the first place.

You made it back to your balcony in no time. The brave boy held you close by the shoulders and even if you couldn’t see through his reflecting eyes, you knew he was staring into your soul.

“Stay inside, ok? “ Spidey demanded.

“Don’t go. Stay with me.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Can’t someone else go instead!?”

The footsteps got louder - closer.

Seungmin took your face in his hands, drawing tiny circles with the pads of his thumbs. When that didn’t help you calm down, you watched him carefully begin to remove his mask. What the hell was he doing!? Was he going to reveal himself NOW, of all times!? But no, your panic subsided when he only revealed just below his nose. Then, as if your life was a fairy tale, your prince pressed a soft, loving kiss to your forehead. Time slowed.

“I’ll come back to check on you.”

“Wait -!”

He had already jumped off your balcony before you could grab him and pull him back in the safety of your home. Whatever the thing was, you had no doubt he could stop it. Tomorrow, everything would be back to normal.

There was a shelter in the basement of your apartment complex whenever supernatural things caused the sirens to go off. You’ve lived through multiple Snake-level threats, Tiger-levels, hell even Dragon-level, but never Demon, the highest-level threat to exist. In the dusty and overcrowded basement, all of the panicked residents crowded over the television that hung on the wall.

Before you joined the crowd, you texted every possible friend to check-in and make sure they were safe. Seungmin was the only one who didn’t respond right away. You tried calling, sending multiple texts, snapchats, but received nothing, and you felt like your heart was collapsing in your chest.

seungminion [10:07 pm]: i’m ok, i promise.

You were about to cry on the spot. Slowly, your whole world would come back together, and everything would be fine.

The news reporters were showing live footage of what was out there, with the recording crew bravely hiding in the bushes and rubble of what was left of some buildings. The camera couldn’t get a full view of the thing because its appendages were too long. It looked like some big mechanical spider with claws on the ends of its legs. Just the sight of it on the screen made your skin crawl… why was this city so obsessed with spiders?

In the corner of the screen, a teeny tiny Spider-Man faced the enemy.

Oh my God, he’s doomed! He’s so tiny compared to that thing! And it has claws that could probably cut through the webbing! Every doubtful thoughts and whispers from your neighbors flooded your brain and you couldn’t stand to watch without peaking through your fingers in front of your face.

Seungmin was face-to-face with some other spider-wannabe being. He had no idea who or what this thing or person was other than it looked like it was crafted in an underground laboratory. With long, heavy, and sturdy appendages, it was hard for him to make out the pilot in the cephalothorax. What seemed to be human really didn’t look human at all - more like a crazy, power-hungry scientist on crack.

“Spider-Man! What a coincidence, I was just on my way to see you ~” the man sang. “I’ve been watching you.”

“That’s not creepy at all…”

“But it’s only because I admire you so much! Look, I even made myself a big spider to impress you!”

So he was just some crazy super fan. Seungmin wondered if his intentions were to hurt any citizens at all, or if the pilot didn’t even think about them as he made his way to show Seungmin his creation.

“Do you like it?” he asked desperately. “It’s an homage of sorts - like a sculpture! It’s art!”

“Um… I don’t fully understand it? It doesn’t look anything like me at all.”

There’s a short, eerie silence that followed. Everyone watching in their shelters embedded into the Earth’s crust held their breath, waiting for how the super fan was going to react. If you could hit Spider-Man across the television screen, you would until he was sent into the next dimension. Spidey, you idiot, entertain him a little, would you!? Are you trying to doom us all!?

“So you hate it…”

“No, that’s not what I.”

“I knew it! I knew you would hate it!”

The mechanical spider threw an obnoxious temper tantrum like an angry child without his nap time, swinging its appendages in every which way, hitting everything in its path like a lethal tornado. Nothing was left but dust and gravel by the time the spider sliced through a building. Seungmin did his best to dodge and avoid getting hit, but it wasn’t easy when there were eight things to dodge all at once. Between jumping from buildings to running on the ground, while trying to transition from one platform to the other, one of the legs hit him and sent him flying through a cement wall.

You could practically hear the whole city gasp in unison, with your soft one mixed in as you hide your face in your hands. Oh my God, he was going to get crushed!

But as if nothing had hit him just moments before, the city’s hero jumped back on his feet and went back to the demon.

First, Seungmin tried to tie up his legs together with his webbing. That didn’t work even though the chemical make-up of the silk was comparable to woven steel. The claws were still able to cut through every strand like it was cutting though tissue paper.

“I spent countless hours…! Endless months...!! Sometimes without food or sleep, and you ended up hating it!! I made this for you!”

Another blow to Spider-Man sent him through several concrete walls this time, crumbling the foundation of the buildings as he passed. At this rate, the entire city would be destroyed in no time.

“Come on, you can do it,” you whispered to no one in particular. You hoped his spidey-sense, or whatever, could hear your thoughts.

The more buildings that were destroyed, the more the enemy moved forward, looking for other things to destroy and toss like they meant nothing. Seungmin did his best to follow and try to lure him in a direction that was mostly rubble, but it was no use. Before he could be stopped, the two of them were already at the city’s main bridge that connected it to the other city. It was clear they didn’t get the evacuation memo quick enough as people parked their cars in the middle of the highway and ran in the opposite direction.

The view of the fight could now be seen thanks to two brave men recording in a helicopter. You saw the thing toss cars behind him, at Spider-Man, into the river, and to panicked citizens. Luckily, Spidey was able to catch the cars with ease and you think to yourself that maybe you don’t know him as well as you thought you did, even after all that research. Truly, this man was absolutely incredible in action.

“You hate it, everyone else hates it, where is the culture in this town!? The artistic knowledge!? Lack thereof is absolutely mortifying!” Another car tossed into the river. “No city can thrive without appreciation of the arts! I’ll do you all a favor and rebuild this city from the ground up!!”

You assumed that meant he would eliminate everyone in the city and start with nothing. That was comforting…

A car filled with a small family and a baby were lifted overhead. “I’ll start with them!”

He tossed the car over the bridge like they were just one of many to end up with an unfortunate fate in his metal claws. Spider-Man paid no mind to the cackling man in the body of a mechanic spider and used both of his web shooters to aim at the falling car. They hadn’t fallen too far off the bridge, but if Spidey couldn’t hold on to them, then the drop would be horrendous.

Maybe if the car wasn’t a huge suburban mom-van, this would be a piece of cake to pull up, but it was and no amount of leg days at the gym could have prepared Seungmin for this gnarly dead lift. Since all of his attention was on the van below, Seungmin had a hard time multi-focusing on the demon threat that was aiming a car at him.

“You’re next ~!”

Then there’s a beam of… light? Fire, perhaps? That blinded the television screen. A flying, red and gold-colored armored man swooped in and saved Spider-Man’s and the family’s ass.

“You ok?” he asked, flipping open his helmet to get a good look at him. “No, the suit! I was so sure the material would hold this time!”

Wait a minute… “Is that Woojin!?” you screeched on your end. “What the fuck -!!”

“Eh?” Seungmin looked down at his suit. Only parts of it were torn up and scathed, but otherwise he thought it was holding together rather nicely. “I mean,I think it’s still ok.”

“We’ll discuss that later. Do you need some help with this guy?”

“That would be nice, yes.”

“Bet I can beat him before you pull up the car.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

Once Seungmin got into competitive mode, there was no going back, and Woojin knew that. There was no way he’d beat this super fan, but he needed Seungmin’s help fast because this heavy iron suit could only dodge for so long.

You’re on your tippy toes as you watched Woojin tease and fight the demon-threat. There was no way that was really him... But when you saw his fluffy brown curls and his mischievous smirk before he closed his helmet, you were positive that was the one and only sexy fried chicken master himself. It was just so hard to believe because you’ve never seen him move so much before. You were so used to him slouched over in your booth every Wednesday night.

The car was brought up with some struggling, but nonetheless, the family was safe. Seungmin would feel this in his legs and biceps tomorrow morning, but that was for him to dwell on tomorrow. While Woojin kept distracting the enemy, Seungmin jumped in to help.

“If you can pin him down, I’ll incinerate the appendages.”

“I can’t, I already tried that.”

“What? He can still cut through them? Dammit!” Woojin sighed loudly. “Make sure I modify that along with the fabric.”

“Duly noted. I could try tying the legs together?”

“Let’s try it.”

It was a cat and mouse chase, where Spidey-Boy played the sneaky mouse Jerry and the spider droid was Tom the cat. You watched the clever man weave in and out and in between all the legs, with an appendage following closely behind. With a quickness, he shot his webs towards the limb and pulled close. With his free hand, he took another hold of a limb, and brought it close also. Then the tying ensued, trying to bend and twist the unforgiving metal into what was almost a knot.

“Close enough,” Woojin shrugged. “Step aside.”

You watched a floating Woojin blast a beam of light from the palm of his hand. At the joint where the limb met with the thorax, the mass of energy blew them off one-by-one as Spider-Man did his part. Two legs fell to the floor. Then four, then six, but the seventh and eight limbs were able to fight back. The tips of the claws acted like the tips of knives, piercing and poking everything it came in contact with. Seungmin got hit on his side, the spidey suit ripping along with his skin, and dark, crimson blood flowed freely.

Another eruption of gasps were made in your basement, this time yours being the loudest. You covered your mouth and tried to stop the worrying tears from forming.

“F-Fuck,” he cursed painfully, jumping back to hide behind Woojin.

“I can handle two limbs. Just stay back.”

Seungmin didn’t hear what his boss said. He was too focused on the blood pooling in his hands. It hurt like a bitch, but luckily he wasn’t losing too much of it that he was going to pass out. It was just harder for him to move. In the background, Seungmin could hear the maniacal laughter from the crazy scientist who was having fun playing with his toy. Woojin, on the other hand, wasn’t having any of it today and opted to just incinerate every piece on the spider until there was no more. For a moment, it rained shards of metal, distracting everyone from keeping their eye on the demon-threat. The super fan was able to miraculously escape the explosion, but not before Seungmin tied his defenseless body up like silken chrysalis.

“It’s Spider-Man’s silk…! The intricacy of it! It’s phenomenal, Spider-Man!! Truly, modern art in its final form!!”

“Seungmin, you good?” Woojin asked, bending at his level.

“Yeah… Can you stay with him until the cops come? I need to go somewhere to fix this.”

“Do what you gotta do, but text me once you’re there.”

A drowsy, light-headed Spider-Man nodded before jumping off to God only knows where. There weren’t many places where he could hide from citizens once the word got out it was safe to come back again, so he had to make his way to someone fast, but when the trees looked like clouds and the street lamps blurred to nothing, that might take longer than he expected.

The ‘Threat Level Eliminated’ alarm popped up on everyone’s phones, meaning it was safe to go back to your apartment. Luckily and conveniently, your apartment was one of the few buildings located on the outskirts of the city that was left unscated, so you thankfully still had a home. You’re not sure how you’re going to sleep without knowing if Spidey was ok or not, but you were so tired that your body was sure to forget about it once it hit your mattress.

In the midst of all the chaos, you were so happy that Seungmin was ok. You hoped he was thinking about you, too.

A place for everything and everything in its place - nothing was scathed or shattered or touched, and for that you’re thankful. After a quick scan of your apartment, you headed to bed feeling empty, like you should have someone here to be with and distract you from all the evil in the world.

As if on cue, a knock on your balcony window startled you to death. Outside was a heavy-breathing silhouette of Spider-Man clutching his side from when he was almost cut in half by that thing. You never ran to the window faster.

“Hey,” you whispered worriedly. “What are you doing here...?”

“Please help me...”

Your eyes widened at the size of his wound. It looked much smaller on the television. “You need to go to a hospital!”

“No! No one else can see this.”

“But -!”

“_____, please.”

Reluctantly, you helped the poor boy into your home. He collapsed on one of the chairs in your kitchen while you ran to the bathroom to find anything that would stop the bleeding. Several damp but clean towels and soap were in one hand and a roll of gauze was in another. WebMD said to first apply gentle pressure to stop the bleeding. You were ok with baby wounds and small paper cut drips of blood, but being up close and personal with a gashing, open wound with lots of blood made you lightheaded. Oh my God, why did humans have so much blood!

The next step was to clean the wound, so you used a new towel and some soap to clean around, but not on the open cuts. At this point, Spider-Man’s breathing was slow and steady.

“Hey,” you said, gently patting his masked face. “Stay with me.”

“Hm…?”

“Don’t fall asleep.”

“I’m pretty sure that rule only goes for head injuries.”

“Just don’t, ok? For me? At least not yet, because I’m scared you won’t wake up again.”

You felt like such a whiny baby for not wanting an injured hero to rest just yet, but Seungmin knew you were just worried. Even in disguise, you were always so thoughtful for him, and it was just one of the many reasons why he loved you.

Spidey-Boy ruffled your hair playfully. “Ok. For you.”

Cleaning the wound took a while (“Ah, that stings!” “Then sit still!” “No!”), but regardless, you think you did a pretty swell job and almost considered a change in your major (NCLEX, anyone?). The difficult part was patching up the wound.

Your cheeks blushed for the millionth time. “Hey, uh…”

“What’s up?”

“Can you, uh… Take your uniform off…?”

Seungmin’s heart jumped. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not? How am I going to wrap up your wound?”

“I’ll do it myself. Can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure… First door on the left.”

Spidey nodded, taking the roll of gauze in your hands and slowly making his way towards the bathroom with whatever strength he had left in him. After taking off his suit and mask, he used the door as a means of support while he messily wrapped the gauze around his torso. It thankfully stopped the bleeding, but the problem now was how he was going to get home when he could barely walk.

He felt a knock on his back and panicked, pressing up against it more so you couldn’t open it.

“Y-Yeah?” he asked.

“Are you ok in there? Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“I’m fine…!”

You left it at that, going back to your seat in the kitchen as you impatiently waited for his return. You knew the reason he wanted to do it himself was so he could hide his identity, but you couldn’t help but feel a little hurt that he didn’t trust you like that yet. I mean fine, this was only technically your fifth time meeting him, but this situation was different - he needed your help.

After half an hour of wrapping and trying to catch his breath, a fully-costumed Spider-Man came out of the bathroom with the gauze sticking out where the cut used to be. You smiled up at him and Seungmin thought that everything would be all right.

Then he collapsed.

With a loud thug, your hero fell to the floor and didn’t move. You ran to him, fell to your knees, and laid his head on your lap.

“Hey hey!” you cried out, lightly slapping his masked face. “Come on, wake up!”

“Mmff…”

“I’m going to take off your mask, ok?”

“No, don’t…!” He tried to object, but the more he talked, the more he lost his strength.

You didn’t listen because how could you just let him slowly suffocate under his mask!? You didn’t care if he’d be mad at you and you didn’t care if Woojin or whomever the fuck his boss was barged in and blasted some memory-wiping light in your eyes because you cared about Spidey-Boy too much for you to just let him do this on his own.

After removing his mask, you felt the walls of your home begin to crumble.

A sweaty, exhausted Seungmin laid in your lap, barely breathing. Seeing him like this brought back every memory you’ve ever shared with him, from high school until now. You’ve only ever come to know the adorable and sunshiny Seungmin, never the one that’s been saving the city from chaos and destruction. You thought you knew everything about him, but it was clear you really didn’t know him at all, and it broke your heart.

It wasn’t fair. He knew everything about you, from your odd habits, to your favorite everything, and now he knew how you felt about being in love. Granted, you never explicitly told him it was him, but he wasn’t an idiot, he knew it all along. Tonight, you trusted him as Spider-Man with your heartfelt feelings thinking that the real him would never find out until you were ready, but that trust was already broken the moment he flew into you on that fateful Sunday evening.

Your entire friendship was a lie.

Seungmin tried opening his eyes after feeling your tears fall on his cheeks and forehead.

“_____…” he mumbled.

You shook your head, unable to look at him as you quietly sobbed.

“I hate you, Seungmin,” you whispered.

His vision goes black.

When Seungmin passed out, you kneeled there until you could no longer feel the blood flowing below your knees and you sobbed. You were heartbroken, you were furious, you were absolutely terrified, and everything came crashing down like every other building in the center of the city tonight. But at least Seungmin (slash Spider-Man) was here with you, right where you needed him to be, so could you really be mad?

There was no way you were able to carry him to your bed or even the couch, so you did your best to make him comfortable as he laid on the floor. A few pillows and several soft blankets would do the trick. Afterwards, you headed to bed yourself, unable to deal with everything that happened today. Somehow, you’d deal with it in the morning.

But you couldn’t sleep. After tossing and turning and flipping through old memories shared with the boy practically dead on your floor outside, sleep would not have you, as if you were cursed until you dealt with your feelings head-on. What the fuck were you supposed to do, though!? He was unconscious, for God’s sake, he wouldn’t even hear anything you’d say! And it would make you seem weak, wouldn’t it? Caving into what your heart wanted and going to him… That would mean you’d forgive pretty much anything Seungmin was at fault for, and that was not going to be the case!

It was four in the morning when you decided that yes, you were a weak, weak person, but only for your best friend.

On your sixteenth birthday, Seungmin gifted you the stars. Literally - there was this lamp thing on Amazon that had a slow-spinning black dome with a bunch of holes in it that mimicked the stars above. When the lights turned off and the glow of the lamp was on, the entire room was filled with constellations and stardust and it was like he gave you the universe and everything that was beneath it. In retrospect, he’d always go above and beyond, not just with gifts, but with anything that involved you just to make you happy.

Maybe it was time for you to do the same. The least you could do was try to understand his side. You wouldn’t even let him explain earlier… You told him you hated him.

So in the midst of heartbreak, you brought the lantern, a pillow, and a blanket and laid beside him until he would wake again. As the stars twinkled and twirled like a mobile above a crib, you watched a sleepy Seungmin beside you breathe softly. You counted every eyelash, every breath per minute, and traced his silhouette.

Even when you should be mad at him, how could you be? The moment he wakes up, you'd forgive and forget about everything - you loved him too much to stay mad for so long.

Before you fell asleep next to him, you made sure to hold his hand so he wouldn't slip away.

Nine in the morning was when Seungmin woke up with enough strength to leave you alone. He awoke beside you, with his hand entwined with yours, and he thought to himself how there was no way he deserved you. You stayed with him the whole night, healing him, making sure he was ok, and even after his identity was revealed - even after you told him you hated him - you stayed by his side on the uncomfortable hardness of the floor.

You hated him. Even with you by his side and your hand in his, he lied to you and kept his identity a secret and you hated him for it.

Seungmin tried to get up, but his side stung too much. Looking at his gash, his blood had soaked through the gauze and he knew he needed Woojin's money to help him with this one.

Your best friend pressed one last kiss to your forehead before leaving.

"I love you," he whispered. Then he hopped out the balcony and journeyed to Woojin.

When you woke up alone and with Seungmin nowhere in sight, you panicked. You called his cell phone, left text messages, called Woojin's cell phone, called all of 3RACHA's cell phones, anyone who you suspected to be a part of this super secret Spider-Man Team of Friendship, but no one would answer or knew where he was.

First he hid a whole alternate persona from you, even after you grew a connection with him, and then he injuries himself and then he falls off the face of the Earth!? How was that fair to you!? After everything you do for him!?

You needed answers. You needed him to be safe, with you, and to answer every question you had. He owed you that much.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, so went live on the radio straight from home.

Seungmin slept on Woojin's couch for hours after he arrived. He was drugged with some weird shit Woojin's brother concocted, patched and stitched up by said brother, and was instructed to stay bed ridden until the drugs took on its full effect. Something was working because his side felt numb and wasn't bleeding out anymore.

As he waited for the medicine to work, he passed the time by reading and listening to all the messages you left him.

you [9:23 am]: hey, are you awake?

you [9:38 am]: please answer me…

"Seungmin? Where are you? Please call me back."

you [10:56 am]: seungmin please

you [11:21 am]: i'm not mad, i promise!! i don't hate you!!

you [12:03 pm]: you're so mean.

you [12:52 pm]: i'm sorry.

He'll never be able to face you again. Not for a very long time.

'Moonlight Radio is now live!' his phone screen read.

Today was Sunday. "What the…?"

Even when the city barely started to recuperate from mass destruction, a good chunk of your regular listeners still tuned in to Moonlight Radio.

"Hey, guys!" you greeted cheerfully. "It's me, _____, going solo at the mic today. How are you all doing this Sunday afternoon? I hope you're all safe and sound, resting from last night's chaos. Team Moonlight is just fine, so no need to worry about us.

"Now I know, it's not 8:00 pm Wednesday, but I have a really good reason for this surprise short broadcast. I… I need your help."

There's a long pause on your end. How were you going to word this?

"So there's this guy, right? There's always a guy, that's how stories like this start. He's a really close friend of mine and I've been battling with some weird feelings for a very long time. You guys know how it goes, right? You think you like them, you're in denial, things get kind of awkward, then you're avoiding each other, and now your friendship is ruined, all because you're avoiding these… these stupid feelings! And you haven't even told him yet!"

Seungmin heard you sniffle through his phone. You were crying. All because of him.

"So I need your guys' help," you cried out. "I hate feeling this way. What should I do…?"

On your laptop, tons of answers flowed in through the group chat and inbox on what you should do. There were only two answers, and one of them was a question.

"You guys are so funny," you said, genuinely happy that your listeners knew you so well. "The only options are variations of 'just tell him!' and 'is this about Seungmin?'"

The tired boy's heart felt like it was aching when you said his name, but why was he so happy?

"You guys are right - I should tell Seungmin I love him. Seungmin…" you paused, choked up on the tears that were ready to fall. This wasn’t going to be easy. "If you're listening, please answer my calls… I-I'm not mad at you! I just can't help but worry about you sometimes. You mean so much to me, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. So please, just let me know you’re out there and safe somewhere. I love you, ok? I love you."

Seungmin cried a little, too. His heart ached, his whole entire body, mind, and soul ached, but he was so, so happy.

"Ok! Enough sad sappy stuff! I'm going to eat tubs of ice cream and maybe cry a little until I hear a response. Stay tuned on Wednesday to find out the results of my undying confession to my co-host. Oh, also! While I have you all listening, could I ask you all for another favor? If you guys see Spider-Man today, could you drop the location in our inbox? I know I know, I used to be disgusted by that vermin, but now I'm kind of a huge fan. Spider-Man, if you're listening… I guess I like you, too. Have a good Sunday, everyone. This is _____ signing off."

Seungmin had to find you. He had to run to you, hold you in his arms, and kiss you until you were out of breath. But when he tried getting up from the bed, he couldn't.

"Hyung!” he called out. “Why can't I move!?"

"The sedative isn't going to wear off for a couple more hours," Woojin explained.

"Hours? No, I need it to wear off now!”

“Sorry dude, I can’t just reverse it like that.”

“Fuck!”

“Can’t you just call _____?”

“No, I have to see her in person. They deserve that much.”

Woojin ruffled his comrade’s bedhead adoringly. “Ah, young love.”

Seungmin was bed-ridden for another six hours until he was fine to move again and leave to do his ‘young love activities’, as Woojin put it. Throughout the entire six hours, he recited and played in his head all possible scripts and scenarios of what it’d be like when he saw you again, asking Woojin for some input on how likely each of them would happen.

“Scenario one is that they return my feelings and hug me ‘til I can’t breathe and maybe we kiss and live happily ever after as Spider-Man and _____.”

“Sounds fake, but ok.”

“... Scenario two is that they’re mad at me for a little while, the show goes on hiatus because it’s a little awkward, but in the end we’re together and live happily ever after as Spider-Man and _____…?

“What is with this happily ever after stuff? Do you really think it’ll be that easy?”

“No, but a man can dream.”

“Instead of dreaming about it and stressing yourself out, just wait until you actually do it. You always overthink things, it’s not good for you, dude.”

“I can’t help it ~!” the injured boy whined. “I’ve never had this problem before!”

“Neither have I, but I’m always right, so you should listen.”

Six and a half hours, a tub of ice cream, and half a box of tissues later, you were still alone in your apartment watching sappy romances to cry your eyes out to. After you ended your pop-up broadcasting, you waited by your phone hoping that the message got to Seungmin. It had to have, because there was always an alert whenever the show went live. Unless he didn’t have his phone, but that was unlikely - didn’t he need it for superhero-y Spidey things? The first hour of waiting was the worst because every time your phone rang with some notification, your heart would jump in your throat and it was hard to breathe, but it wasn’t him, it was always some listener congratulating you on your confession or that they haven’t seen Spider-Man all day. The following hours were just you wallowing in your sadness knowing that Seungmin probably wasn’t going to respond anytime soon.

A knock on your window sent the spoon in your hand flying. You clutched your startled and fragile glass heart when you saw Seungmin standing on your balcony in his torn-up suit without his mask on. Your long-time friend looked so tired - tired of hiding from you, from protecting the city, and from being a normal college kid. Your nurturing instincts silently scolded him and wished he’d just gone home to rest instead, but truthfully, you’d much rather have him here with you.

You ran to your balcony door, opened it, and jumped right into his arms.

Seungmin didn’t say anything about how you were squeezing his stitches or how he wished you weren’t crying because of him. He simply held you in his arms and stroked your hair while you buried your head in his shoulder. Your body shook as you sobbed and it damaged Seungmin’s heart to an extent he couldn’t describe, but he hoped the kisses he planted on the side of your head healed you even just a little.

After an immeasurable amount of time, you broke away, and hit his chest.

“Ow, hey! What was that for!?”

“That was for crashing into me when we first met. If I could hit you for everything that’s happened to us over the past few months, you would need more stitches.”

“... I guess I deserve that…”

“Why are you here? You should be at home resting, not flying around dressed up in this cursed suit. What if another threat pops up!? And why do you have your mask off, what if somebody saw you!? And -!!”

“Shh,” the grinning boy hushed, pulling you back in for another hug. You should be pushing him away and scolding him some more, but your body failed you and you wrapped your arms around him once more. “I am home. You’re my home.”

“Don’t pull that cheesy shit with me, Kim Seungmin, I’m not buying it.”

“I know. I’m so, so sorry.”

“You better be!”

“Do you still hate me?”

“Kind of, you ass.”

“Do you still love me?”

Your cheeks burned. “... You heard me on-air, huh?”

“I love you, too ~” he sang, showering you in little kisses.

“Ew, stop it!”

“Ha ha, you love your best friend ~”

“Shut up!”

“You love spiders ~”

“No, I don’t!”

“C’mon, kiss me. Kiss your favorite spider.”

“Kim Seungmin, you’re so gross!”

You kissed him anyways. Then, for the entire night, you both sat on your couch and made him apologize for every single thing he’s done to you as Spider-Man, from spilling your french fries (“But I bought you some the same night!” “That was Seungmin, not Spider-Man.”) to flirting with you, and to when he left without waking you up. You forgave every single incident by kissing him and Seungmin tried to think up a hundred little things to apologize for.

“I’m sorry that you fell for me twice,” he teased.

“What kind of apology is that!? And I didn’t fall for you twice!”

“Admit it, you started to really like Spider-Man.”

“No.”

“You’re so cute when you’re in denial.”

“I hate you.”

He held your face in his hands and pulled you in for another soft kiss. “I love you, too.”

[theentiregdtime]

ready when you are.

“It went okay! I mean, it wasn’t great… Plus, our rating is totally trashed on AirBNB. We’re gonna have to set up a different account- you know, for next time.”

Dennis swallows the swig of warm vanilla coffee in his mouth and sets the mug down on the counter. His eyes dart up to focus on Mac, standing on the other side of the kitchen, struggling to work his fingers around the delicate buttons of his denim shirt.

He can’t remember the last time he saw Mac wearing an actual shirt- with actual buttons- but it’s a good look on him. 

Yeah… Mac’s a good-looking guy.

Dennis lets those sorts of thoughts cross his mind now, because the hole in the bottom of his stomach is full. It’s full of the things he’s buried and repressed and denied for the past forty years of his life, and there’s no more room down there. Trying to ignore those feelings about Mac is like stuffing a pile of laundry into an overpacked suitcase, and Dennis is so tired of balling everything up and sitting on top of it and fighting with the zipper. 

He’s not fighting anymore. He’s starting to let go of things he imprisoned a long, long time ago. He starting to set them free.

It doesn’t feel as bad as he thought it would. Sometimes it’s better to look at the monster in the corner of the room dead-on. Sometimes it turns out to just be a shadow- the light playing tricks on you. 

Dennis sees the light now, and it’s not nearly as scary as he expected.

“Next time?” he asks; he doesn’t want there to be a next time.

“Yeah, next time. I’m not giving up on you, dude,” Mac swears as he secures the last button. When his promising eyes glance up at Dennis, they’re so big and brown that he can see his face in them, and he wants to keep seeing himself like that- as a reflection of Mac- but he can only do that if they always stay this close. “You know, you could try a little harder to make people fall in love with you.”

But what if they didn’t try?

What if they stopped searching in all the wrong places? What if they stopped searching at all?

Dennis likes how he looks in Mac’s eyes, and he knows that he doesn’t need to search anymore, because he’s found himself right there and he thinks he could see himself there for the rest of his life.

“I am,” he answers softly. It isn’t a lie.

What if they did give up- not on each other, but on everything else in the world? What if they said fuck it to what people think of them? What if they never even left the apartment again, because everything they need is right here- coffee and red wine and warm blankets and each other’s clothes? What if they wasted the rest of their days playing board games and watching movies and dancing to the radio and getting hammered, until they end up on the floor, soft-touching and slow-kissing and laughing, because nothing so complicated ever seemed so simple?

Suddenly, after twenty-five years, it’s clear to Dennis how ridiculous it is that they’ve done all the hard parts of a relationship without the easy ones.

They’ve fought and fallen apart, moved out and moved back in, cleaned up after each other and taken care of one another. Mac’s kneaded circles into his head when it hurt and rubbed at his back when he threw up into the toilet and carried him to bed when he passed out on the couch. Dennis has washed the blood off of Mac’s hands when he did something reckless and ran his laundry through the drier when he was cold and pulled him back to reality when he woke up in the middle of an anxiety attack.

They’ve seen the worst of each other: the ugliest, most disgusting parts; the parts no one else could possibly love- seen each other bare, vulnerable, weak, raging, and scared- and they’ve stayed.

So why not finally let themselves enjoy the good stuff? Why not kiss and fuck and sleep wrapped around one another? Why not shower together and touch each other’s bare skin and let the water wash away the paper-thin walls between them? Why not do the easy shit if they’ve already fought for it, if they fight for it every day?

After all, Dennis doesn’t think he could do much better than Mac. He doesn’t think he’s ever met anyone better than Mac. He tries to imagine it, what they would look like and the way they would act and how the two of them would fit together, and he can’t.

“-and I don’t know if there’s, like, a box you can check for singles only, but if not, we can just message some people and feel it out, you know-”

“Mac,” Dennis stops him. He hasn’t really been listening, but he understands the sentiment well enough.

Mac’s attention is on him all at once.

There’s something about him nowadays- not his chiseled jaw or his broad shoulders or his washboard abs... Sure, those things certainly don’t hurt, but that’s not what makes him glow.

It’s how gently he’s settled into himself, like he’s getting too old to be uncomfortable with who he is, so he’s stared down all his demons and made peace with them. It’s in the warmth of his eyes and the curve of his lips when he smiles, and there’s something about the way he looks at Dennis that makes him wonder if maybe he could be like that, too- like maybe he’s beautiful in Mac’s eyes.

He doesn’t know why he was so afraid of that before. It’s not such a bad feeling after all.

“Look, just… let it go.” He crosses his arms over his chest and shrugs his shoulders. “Why are you suddenly so obsessed with setting me up, anyways?”

Mac laughs like it’s obvious.

“’Cause I want you to be happy, man.”

Huh.

It’s crazy… but he is.

For the first time in a long time, he is.

Maybe not all the way, not all the time, but he’s content. He’s comfortable. There’s no sense in trying to change a good thing, just because they feel they’re supposed to. They don’t have to concoct schemes in the hopes of finding the perfect domestic picture-frame family. They can keep living like this as long as they want- and maybe it won’t be normal, and maybe society’s not ready for it, but it’ll be Mac and Dennis and nothing else in the entire world sounds better than that.

“Do I seem unhappy?” Dennis prods, trying to keep his voice from getting too defensive. He doesn’t want to turn this into an argument- not when Mac is doing something so selfless, not when he’s trying his best. He doesn’t want to act like that anymore simply because he’s too chicken-shit to be kind and attached and codependent.

“Not, like, all the time, but… Don’t you want to spend your life with someone?”

It’s a stupid question.

He already is. All he’s ever wanted is here.

Dennis stares at Mac for a long time, waiting patiently for a response. He wishes Mac could see right through him; it would make this so much simpler. He wishes Mac would laugh and wink at him and grin and say You want me, don’t you? 

Maybe that wasn’t what he needed before, but it’s what he needs now. He’s finally ready to let himself need it.

“Yes,” is all he whispers back.

For a couple of seconds, nearly gone before Dennis can recognize it, he thinks he sees a wave of clarity glaze over Mac’s eyes like they’re getting the picture. If only his hands and his lips would do the same- but they don’t. He just stands there, balanced against the counter, rolling his teeth over his mouth, standing much too far away.

It’s selfish of Dennis to ask for these things- for Mac to slip his arms around him, to crush his lips against his and kiss him until his lungs buckle, to press him into the wall and tell him he doesn’t need anything else, doesn’t even want it, because they’re a good thing just the way they are. It’s selfish of him, because he so bluntly told Mac not to, and now he’s being all respectful and minding his boundaries and moving on, and Dennis can’t take it anymore.  

He doesn’t want him to move on. He doesn’t want him to move anywhere. He wants him to stay right here where he’s always been- where he belongs.

“Me too,” Mac mumbles in reply.

A fire can only burn quietly for so long before something’s engulfed. A bubble can only hold so much air before it bursts. A barrier can only stand so much weight until it breaks. And they’re about to break, they’re about to burst, they’re about to burn. They can’t go on much longer like this. Eventually, something is going to have to explode.

He thinks Mac wants that, too- at least, he hopes he still does. Dennis doesn’t want him to move on. He can’t move on.

Mac is his best friend, his roommate, his blood brother, his partner in crime, his guy, his everything. Mac is his and he’s Mac’s and they belong to each other. They always have, no matter how difficult it’s gotten and no matter how far they’ve roamed, because you can only run for so long before you come back home to the things you love.

Dennis is home again. And it’s time to stop running.

He bites his lip and takes a step closer, running his fingers along the counter, moving towards Mac more sure of anything than he’s been in his entire life- because fuck it, there’s no fight left in him. His hands are tired of gripping the cliff and he’s ready to fall, and he wants Mac to fall with him.

Mac does, for a moment. He leans forward and ducks his head down and reaches out, and this is happening, this is going to happen, because it hasn’t happened for twenty-five years and Dennis is so fucking tired of waiting.

He’s only just shut his eyes when loud, jarring techno music startles him. He and Mac jump apart like they’ve been caught in the act, and Mac fumbles for his phone to turn the ringer off.

Afterwards, they’re silent, breathing a little harder than normal, still in a daze. No two people in history have ever been so afraid of an alarm.

“I guess we better go,” Mac sighs, pointing his thumb in the direction of the door. 

When he starts to walk away, Dennis reaches out to stop him.

“Wait,” he says as his hand clasps onto Mac’s shoulder. “Just- one more thing.”

Mac turns around and looks at him like he could do anything- like one more thing could mean whatever he wants it to and he’d trust Dennis to make it feel good, to make it feel safe- like he’s never blindly trusted love before but he’d do anything if it was in Dennis’ arms.

He doesn’t take advantage of that.

Instead, he winds gentle fingers around Mac’s neck to adjust the collar of his shirt until it’s straight. He tucks the tag underneath the fabric with his thumb, but doesn’t pull back right away. His hands linger and their bodies stay close together, not touching, but so close.

And there’s this moment… this moment where he swears they both see this for what it is. There’s a moment where the veil is lifted and the expression on Mac’s face is telling him he can be his if he wants to, and that he doesn’t have to keep looking for something he’s already found, something he found when he was young and something he’s always kept, something he’s had close to his heart every day but held too tightly to see it for what it really was all along.

Dennis thinks he’s probably looking at Mac the same way.

But there’s no movie moment- there’s no impassioned kiss or tender embrace or cloying one-liner. That’s not how it is with them. They aren’t the kind of couple you see on a screen. Hell, they aren’t even the kind you see on the street. And they certainly aren’t a romantic comedy.

But they aren’t a tragedy, either. It’s taken Dennis a few years too long to realize that. They aren’t doomed or star-crossed or destined to be apart by some cruel twist of fate. They’re right here, standing at the threshold of their apartment- the apartment where they’ve shared the last two decades of their life and counting, the apartment where they talk for hours and have dinner on the sofa and sleep in the same bed, the apartment where they spend nearly every waking minute together, where everything is softer and easier, where the world’s a safer place, where they’ve lived so much like a couple for so long that it’s impossible to tell they aren’t from the outside.

“You, uh... ready to go?”

They’re so close. There’s just one more step, one last leg of the race, one final twist in the tunnel- and they’re almost at the end. And maybe they are something like a movie, because it feels like there’s going to be a culmination to this story any day now, any minute, because they’ve spent so long with it paused, pretending they could stay there- in that safe space- forever, pretending there wasn’t a finale at all. But there is and it's about time they let it play.

No point in starting a movie without finishing it, right?

And Dennis doesn’t think the ending is going to be as scary as he always pictured. Because this isn’t a horror film. It’s a love story in a lot of ways, and what’s so bad about the possibility of being gazed at like you’re young and beautiful and being wrapped up in strong arms like you’re never going to have to fall alone again and being kissed like some things are more important than breathing?

He wasn’t ready for that before, but he thinks he’s ready now; in fact, he’s sure of it. Because what is his ending, if it isn’t Mac? What was it that he always thought would be so much better than him? Than living like this forever, as long as he’s here?

Women? Casual sex? A bachelor pad where he could be alone for once and only care for himself and do whatever he wanted all the time, where there’d be no one to argue with, to fight with, to fuck it up with over and over and over again?

It sounds pretty goddamn awful.

They’re going to keep messing it up in their own special, shitty, dysfunctional way- and hey, maybe they’re never going to be all smiles and sweetness and perfect chemistry like other couples are.

But maybe that’s okay. Because those people grow out of phases. They change and they get old and suddenly they’re bitter and tired of one another, suddenly they’ve lost something they used to have when they were young.

And Mac and Dennis might be real pieces of shit to each other, but they’ve never lost anything.

It’s been twenty-five years and Dennis is still Mac’s leading man.

And that’s a lot better than most people have.

He just has to wait for Mac to sweep him off his feet. Maybe it won’t be this morning, maybe it won’t be today, maybe it won’t be this week- but it’s going to be soon. Dennis can feel it in the air. He can sense it all around him. It’s here, and it’s warm and promising and forgiving. It feels like the start of the rest of his life. It feels less like the end and more like the first page.

Mac and Dennis are a love story their whole lives in the making, and somehow, this is only the beginning.

And Dennis has a feeling it’s going to be a pretty good story.

He doesn’t say all of that, though, because it isn’t quite time for it. They’re not in the final act just yet.

But they’re right on schedule.

Instead, he pats Mac on the shoulder, and gives him his best leading-man smile.

“Ready when you are.”

[spookyspaghettisundae]

Pancakes Buried Under Ketchup

Kim checked the small leather pouch for its contents: chicken bones, dust of a pearl, rose petals, and a crumpled up poker card. She tied it up with the thin red thread and placed it onto the simple wooden coffin underneath her feet.

It had taken a while to dig a hole this deep and she swore at herself for doing so, but this is how it had to be. She grunted and struggled to clamber back out of the pit, then paused to catch her breath once she had made it back out. Continuous flurries of drizzle made her flannel jacket unpleasantly damp. The smell of ozone and fresh soil permeated the air all around her.

Looking at her weary, shaking hands, dirt clung underneath her fingernails. She grabbed the heavy shovel and winced as its rough wooden handle rubbed against the blisters forming on her fingers as soft red spots.

She sighed deeply before she stabbed the shovel’s blade into the mound of dirt piled up next to the grave. Then she heaved the first shovelful of loose earth onto the coffin’s lid and commenced the drudgery of burying the body down there.

After covering up the grave, she stumbled to an old water pump and a bucket on the same property. The toil this burial had taken on her had left every part of her body sore. It acquainted her with muscles she hadn’t even known before, because now they ached.

With another groan, the metal squeaked away as she pumped. The cold wet wasn’t as clear as she had hoped it to be, but it would suffice for her purposes. Whatever collected in the bucket, she stuck her hands straight into it and then scrubbed her fingers and palms as good as she could.

After flicking and wringing her hands, she splashed her face with handfuls of water carried in her cupped hands, over and over again. She wiped over her face and felt a bit more awake, but yearned for the smell and taste of coffee and its sharp kick to fully keep her up. The breeze combing through the trees around the estate reached her and cut deep into her exposed skin, rendered even colder by the water and dampness clinging onto her face and clothes.

She returned the shovel into her trunk and drove away from the abandoned old home in the woods. During the time that followed, rows and rows of pine trees against a dreary gray sky passed her by, dragging on for an eternity. It might as well have only been a matter of minutes, or it might have been hours—but it all took entirely too long.

Kim found herself fighting against the weight of her eyelids, threatening to shut down on her every few heartbeats. That damned coffee would really be great. Any time now.

Between stretches of clearings and copses, wide grassy hillocks opened up to a vista of mountains in the distance. Somewhere down that road, salvation awaited her.

A lonesome silvery diner stood by the roadside, complete with its red neon sign up top reading, “Jones Diner.”

She swore under her breath to express gratitude to whatever power might hear her and pulled up into a parking space in front of the diner. No other visitors—her car was the only one. Just seeing the bright fluorescent lights inside the big windows helped lift her spirits and wake her up some more. Kim could practically smell the coffee already.

A little bell jingled as she entered. A waitress behind the counter, leaning against it on an elbow, greeted her with a bright cheery smile.

Something about the place was surreal. The dream catcher hanging from the shelf where an old-timey radio stood only cemented that impression. Soft jazz music played its way out of the radio with a tinny tinge to it.

Nevertheless, a sigh of relief escaped Kim when she slid into one of the booths on the side and stretched her tired legs underneath the table.

The waitress was upon her before she knew it. Like she just appeared out of thin air after Kim had blinked. Still with that cheery smile; wide and toothy and lined by bright red lipstick.

“What can I getcha?”

“Coffee. Black, milk. And some pie, I guess?”

“Any particular—”

“Cheapest pie you got,” Kim said with a deadpan stare.

“Apple pie it is. Comin’ right up,” the waitress replied. Whether she concealed a change in mood in response to Kim’s clipped order, or she found it refreshingly honest and to the point, her big smile never faltered.

Like a living whirlwind, she scooted off to take care of the order.

The clink of ceramic pieces made Kim blink and emerge from a haze of dozing off. A cup of piping hot coffee stood on the table in front of her and the waitress put down a plate with a slice of pie on it.

“Enjoy,” the waitress said. Still smiling all the while.

Kim didn’t need anybody to tell her twice. She took a greedy sip from that coffee, relishing its powerful smell as it rose into her nostrils.

Thick fog arose outside. It started to suffocate the view of the mountains and swallow the trees nearby. Kim realized that the coffee failed to wake her up—instead, it calmed her down, making her sleepier than even before.

Kim also realized that the waitress still stood there at the side of her booth. The smile vanished from her face and she took a seat across from her. Kim shot a confused glance over her shoulder just to make sure that nobody else was in the diner, because every warning light inside her mind went on simultaneously.

“You know, folks ‘round here are pretty superstitious,” said the waitress.

Kim just stared at her in disbelief, trying to size her up. Fairly tall, lanky. No tattoos, no piercings, simple make-up, dressed to fit into the diner’s environment as if she had been transported from the 1950s into current day North America.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember asking you anything,” Kim said with an arched brow, delivering her first attempt at telling the waitress to leave her alone and mind her own business without directly saying it.

“My name’s Kim, by the way,” the waitress said.

Kim leaned back and the leather cushions of the booth’s seats crinkled and crunched audibly as she shifted her weight. She was poised to toss the coffee into the waitress’ face and bolt. Something was utterly wrong about all this.

“That’s funny—”

“Your name is Kim too, right?” she asked Kim, her smile returning to her face. All bright pearly-whites. Knowing.

“Lemme guess. You were over at the old McLaughlin residence? It’s a great place to bury bodies for sympathetic magick rituals,” Waitress Kim said.

Kim narrowed her eyes and truly held back now. Her muscles tensed, almost cramping up from the exertion that had strained them earlier. Judging by how Waitress Kim’s eyes darted down and back up to meet Kim’s gaze, she had definitely seen how Kim’s knuckles turned white from gripping the coffee mug tightly.

“The thing about proxy spells is that one simple mistake can cause some really weird things to happen,” Waitress Kim droned on. “One time I screwed up a less dangerous ritual and everything tasted like candle wax and cardboard for a whole month.”

“Who the hell are you? What are you?”

Waitress Kim’s smile widened. It carried an air of something sadistic. Something sinister.

“I told ya, hun. I’m Kim. Question is, who are you?”

Silence draped itself over them while Kim’s mind raced, searching it for possibilities of what any of this meant. Kevin had warned her about strange things happening and taking extra care to perform this ritual correctly, but what sat in front of her now gave off the air of something inhuman. Still, there was no certainty, no knowing.

Its presence reminded her of the entity she had encountered in the otherspace in that coffee shop in Chicago. Why was it always the coffee places?

“Are you a demon?” Kim asked, settling on a straightforward approach.

Waitress Kim maintained her smile. Her gaze stayed locked onto Kim’s eyes, smoldering.

“I’m just the shadows flitting out of sight whenever you turn, honey. What’s in your pocket?”

Kim found that a great question. She crammed a fist into her jacket pocket and dug around until she could produce some folded dollar bills. She tossed them onto the table and leaned over it to counter Waitress Kim’s eerie calm.

“Keep the change,” Kim said.

“Shucks. You never tried the pie,” Waitress Kim said, her smile fading and making way to a cartoonish frown.

She tilted her head as she watched Kim slide out of the booth to get up. But the world spun around Kim, powered by the force of dizziness, making it hard for her to stand. Her knees buckled and her consciousness began to fade. Her vision blurred, and she tried to focus on Waitress Kim to see what she would do. The waitress slid out of the booth as well, standing up.

Wanting to give her no chance, Kim lunged at her but gravity got the better of her. The world tilted sideways and she crashed onto the cold squeaky-shining checkered floor of the diner.

Waitress Kim knelt on the floor beside her and hunched over. She brought her face so close to Kim’s that she could feel the warmth of her breath sweeping over her cheeks, flushing with a strange heat. Kim wanted to get up and lash out. Plant a fist in Waitress Kim’s throat. Up and run to her car. But her body disobeyed her.

“I love New York this time of year. I plan to spend a few weeks there this summer,” Waitress Kim mused. “Have you ever tried pancakes with ketchup on top?”

Kim struggled to understand what she was saying, or what any of it meant.

But none of that mattered.

The wet, weighty sound of a shovelful of dirt hitting something hollow startled her—made her jolt awake. With eyes wide open, all around Kim was darkness but she knew exactly where she found herself. Trapped inside a tight space with no real room to move. It didn’t matter how much she banged her fists against the coffin lid—the person shoveling dirt onto it didn’t give a damn. Or couldn’t hear it.

As the panic pumped adrenaline throughout her body, like a wildfire spreading in her veins, her mind reeled. Her thoughts spun in hopeless circles, praying that this was all just a bad dream. But it was all for naught. She was wide awake.

Another shovelful of dirt hit the lid, piling up. Burying her alive.

—Submitted by Wratts

[kathyprior4200]

Behind the Innocent Mask

(Evil Niffty AU)

 With a snap of Alastor’s fingers, a fire blazed to life with a whoosh in a small circular fireplace. A dark figure fell into the flames, the head poking out and one dark claw resting on the side. He Radio Demon walked over and picked up the figure with his hand. A large yellow eyeball opened up, taking in the curious faces of Angel, Charlie, and Vaggie.

With a poof and a squeak, the smoke and ash cleared and the demon was revealed.

“This little darling is Niffty!” Alastor introduced before letting go. She landed on her feet. The short cyclops demon wore a bright pink 50’s dress with three white polka dots near the top and a poodle off to the right. Her arms and legs were stick thin. Her short hair was fiery magenta with one portion of it yellow. Like other demons, her teeth were razor sharp.

“Hi! I’m Niffty!” she greeted with a wave. “It’s nice to meet you! It’s been a while since I’ve made new friends! Her pupil grew smaller and darted in circles.

“Why are you all women?” she asked. “Have any men here?! I’m sorry, that’s rude,” she added quickly.

She briefly picked up Charlie, while Vaggie angrily pointed her spear at her. Angel flinched back in surprise. Due to his feminine appearance, Niffty thought Angel was a woman.

She darted behind an overturned couch. “Oh man, this place is filthy!” she exclaimed. She lifted up a couch cushion and spotted a spider dangling from a string of web. She chomped on the spider and continued talking. “It really needs a ladies’ touch, which is weird, because you’re all ladies, no offence.”

She rushed toward stained glass windows with a dust ruffle.

“Oh my gosh, this is awful! No, no, no…” She darted around, removing cobwebs. She ran forward and poked at a piece of cloth with a sewing needle, then continued to clean the room. Alastor grinned in amusement and wondered away while the others stared in disbelief.

The blue piece of cloth which looked like a bug was, in fact, one of many Voodoo like critters that Alastor summoned. Or, in this case, he had stabbed it with a sewing needle before Niffty picked it up and delightfully gobbled it down before continuing her work. It was Alastor’s ways of rewarding her for both being polite and being a source of entertainment.

Later on, Niffty had finished tidying up the room. She walked into the lobby and happened to find Alastor pulling Vaggie and Charlie close and remarking, “This is going to be very entertaining!” Pricks of jealousy stabbed through her mind. Ever the hopeless romantic, Niffty had an obsession with men for as long as she could remember. In her life as a human, she had fantasized about meeting the love of her life and going on various adventures with him. But working as a maid and chimney cleaner to make ends meet in America wasn’t particularly ideal. There were the additional problems of discrimination against women and the Japanese. Indeed, the Pearl Harbor military strike happened in her human lifetime, traumatizing her and her family for many months. If that wasn’t enough, Niffty had been molested by her conservative uncle. That event became one of her angst-filled poem themes she kept in her hot pink notebook.

Things went from bad to worse, when as a young teen, she died in a house fire, after a bad incident while serving an upper class European-American family. It occurred in the 1950s.

Niffty soon ended up in Hell, but could only witness events while living in fire. Fortunately, Hell was full of fire and brimstone, so the servant demon could wonder around. From afar, she admired all the powerful overlords, eventually working for Alastor after he charmed her and offered her a deal. To gain a physical body and meet new friends, assist the Radio Demon. She eagerly accepted.

 Sewing, cooking, cleaning, reading and writing were Niffty’s favorite hobbies. She did all of them when she was a human and still enjoyed them in Hell. Additionally, she could speak some Japanese.

  When Niffty was cleaning the room, she could see concern in the eyes of Vaggie, Angel, and Charlie. She figured that they weren’t used to seeing a demon so hyperactive, with strokes of a chaotic nature thrown in. (With being summoned by Alastor several times, she was bound to pick up a few of his traits).

 Niffty watched from a distance as Alastor changed Charlie’s outfit and shoved Vaggie aside. She briefly looked down at her dress and admired the poodle design. Every time Alastor looked at it, disgust would reach his red eyes, but Niffty also sensed some deeper discomfort. It was amusing during the few times when he let his guard down like that.

 Back when she was human, short with black hair, Niffty would often slip into other characters to practice her acting. Dressing up and “being” other characters was a fun experience, and practical, too. In her spare time as a human, Niffty would sew costumes for herself and even play instruments such as the piano, harmonica, and saxophone.

In many ways, she was similar to Alastor; almost always smiling, energetic, enjoying the thrill of theater. It was so easy for Niffty to get immersed in the realm of fantasy and romance.

 After all, fantasies were better than hell-filled lives of low self-esteem and self-doubt.

 Even now, Niffty was putting on a happy face after dusting off the old grandfather clock in the corner. (It always seemed to stay dirty no matter how hard she tried to clean it). With more demon guests supposedly arriving, she would have to prepare some meals soon. Cooking was fun most of the time, but being pressured to serve fast without any form of gratitude from customers, was tiresome.

 Although Niffty wouldn’t admit it to anyone, she had an awareness of the social structure of Hell, based on her observations hidden within flames. When putting her mind to it, Niffty could be quite manipulative. In fact, she wasn’t hesitant to concoct plans by herself for her own ends. It gave her something to think about while her hands were busy.

When Niffty was cleaning the room, she could see concern in the eyes of Vaggie, Angel, and Charlie. She figured that they weren’t used to seeing a demon so hyperactive, with strokes of a chaotic nature thrown in. (With being summoned by Alastor several times, she was bound to pick up a few of his traits).

  As Alastor sang his reprise, Niffty happily looked at her new outfit conjured by Alastor’s magic: a black and pink dress with a round hat with daisies on the top. Alastor pulled the residents into a hug as Voodoo spirits appeared from the darkness. Niffty admired the show, briefly wishing she had powers like that.

There was a quote that Alastor used that stuck with her: “The world is a stage, and a stage is a world of entertainment.”

If only she could create that worldly stage for herself.

 Alastor kicked a skull away and Niffty rushed to clean up the pieces with a broom and dustpan. A boom rattled the hotel and blew out the windows. Niffty, mesmerized, soon witnessed a door flying straight into her face. Knocked back by the force, she knew that no human could survive that.

Niffty soon appeared outside with the rest of the group, watching as Sir Pentious arrived with his blimp. She watched with a small smile on her face as Alastor wrapped the blimp with black tentacles and causing everything to explode.

“Well, I’m starved!” Alastor exclaimed to the shocked group. “Who wants some jambalaya?”

Niffty darted around Alastor, a big smile on her face. Despite resenting being ordered around by him, she still blushed whenever she got close to him. She skipped up to the hotel with the others, imagining what Alastor’s soft red and black hair would feel like in her dainty hands.

 Niffty headed to the kitchen to prepare jambalaya for the group. She was used to making this New Orleans cuisine for Alastor several times a week when she was summoned. (It did get pretty boring in the fire.)

Niffty poured a tablespoon of oil in a frypan and then cut up slices of chicken and sausage. She removed the tails from shrimp and used another cutting board to chop green onions. Stirring in the tomatoes, meat, and vegetables, she added all the hot sauces: hot pepper, Cajun, and Worcestershire.

Finally, she added rice, chicken broth and the shrimp on top. Before long, she brought out five hot steaming plates for the group at the bar. Husk was drinking the remainder of his booze on his stool, still pouting at not being able to win his prizes. Vaggie looked around at the bar in disgust, clearly appalled that alcohol wasn’t going to be removed from the hotel. Angel Dust lounged on a pool table, drinking a Shirley Temple in a glass while sucking on a straw. Charlie was chatting with Vaggie about new plans for the hotel.

“Oh, this is exciting!” she smiled. “Now that we have a maid and a person to welcome the guests, I’d say things are looking even better.”

Husk scoffed. “Fuck that bullshit. Thanks to that talk show clown over there…” he mentioned to Alastor leaning smugly against a nearby wall… “…I’m stuck here doing a stupid charity job. If I had my bets, I’d say I’ll go insane spending several more hours here.”

“Oh don’t be such a sourpuss,” Charlie said. “Alastor said you’d make a great addition to the hotel.”

“Stuff your mockery, princess. You know how annoying and deceitful he is. I’d fare better being chased by hellhounds than being stuck here with him.”

“Just give him a chance, Husk,” Charlie said. “You’ll see that even the most sinful among us can be redeemed.”

Husk rolled his eyes. “With your singing and cheer? Good luck with that.”

Charlie glared at the cat demon, Vaggie holding her back.

“I, for, one, welcome our new Hazbin overlord,” Angel remarked, from the pool table. “He’s classy and has those cute furry ears…”

Vaggie stomped over to Angel and grabbed him by the collar. “Don’t let him hear you say that!” she hissed. “You’ll be vaporized in an instant.”

“Geez, calm your tits, Vag,” he replied, backing up and hopping off the table. “Though his eyes and smile are kinda creepy. I wonder how it would feel for him to make work of me with those claws of his…”

He sighed in content and sucked his straw again.

“Fuck you,” she spat in revulsion. “You have a messed up death wish.”

“You mean, a double death wish?” he asked with a laugh. “Double Hell, here I come!”

Vaggie growled and stormed back to the bar table.

Niffty came into the room, holding up the plates of food.

“Ah Niffty!” Alastor exclaimed, moving from the wall. “What perfect timing! Jambalaya, just how I like it.”

Niffty placed the plates in front of the five individuals. Another plate of dead voodoo looking rats appeared off to the side, Niffty eagerly gobbling them down, much to the shock of Vaggie, Angel, Charlie, and Husk. Alastor winked at her, causing the maid to blush, a rat tail hanging from her mouth. She slurped it up and ran off with a nervous giggle.

“Such a sweet little darling, isn’t she?” he mentioned. Charlie smiled nervously while the others remained silent.

“Well, dig in everybody! This food won’t eat itself. Unless you’d like me to demonstrate…”

He wiggled his fingers while Husk, Vaggie, and Charlie rapidly shook their heads.

“Aww, come on,” Angel murmured, almost to himself. “It’s been a while since I’ve watched vore…”

“I’m gonna be sick and I haven’t eaten yet,” Vaggie groaned. Husk, too, was picky about the mesh up of food in front of him. Charlie, and Angel, however, dug in in delight. Angel ate with four hands.

“Oh, Alastor! This stuff is marvelous,” Charlie exclaimed. “So spicy and full of flavor. I haven’t had spicy food like this in a while.”

Alastor laughed. “It’s my mother’s special recipe. She made it so well, it almost blew her straight into Hell. Ah, memories of times so swell. I figured you’d like it. A charming belle, eager to try new things.”

“Rhyming asshole,” Husk scoffed, staring at his empty green bottle.

Angel sat on a bar stool with his tongue hanging out, red from the heat of the sauces. His eyes were shining.

“Wha…what are you doing now?” Vaggie asked, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

“The tingling feeling of the heat, seeping into my taste buds. Fantastic. I’d love more of this from that musical strawberry pimp.”

“Angel!” Vaggie seethed under her breath.

Angel shrugged. “What? That’s what he looks like to me.”

Vaggie tentatively tried a taste of it, as if it were spiked with poison.

“Not too bad…” she began. Then the heat of the sauces kicked in.

She swore in Spanish under her breath then rushed off for some water.

Alastor was already almost finished with his meal. “It can be pretty intense for some people.”

Vaggie came back and glared at Alastor. “Are you trying to kill us?”

“Did you not hear what I said earlier, dear? If I wanted to hurt you all, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

“How do I know you won’t try to kill us in the future, huh?” she asked, pointing her weapon.

“You know it’s rude to have weapons present at dinner,” he added.

“What? You afraid of this or something?” she continued, holding it out.

“Vaggie!” Charlie called, lowering her friend’s arm. “There no need to get into a fight like this. Alastor’s been nice to us so far. At the very least, he’s trying his best.”

“Trying his best?!” Vaggie asked. “He’s nothing but a talk-show pervert lord.”

Charlie turned to Vaggie and thought for a moment. “Are you jealous that I danced with Alastor?”

“No!”

An awkward silence.

“We were just having fun,” Charlie said. “It was his way of livening things up for the Happy Hotel. You were more than welcome to join us.”

“I’d rather fall from grace again than dance with that son of a bitch.”

“Wait…” Angel Dust asked. “What do you mean by ‘falling again’?”

Vaggie paused. “None of your business!” she snapped.

Niffty sat in the corner, giggling at their confrontation. Oh how she loved seeing people embarrassed when their dark secrets and thoughts came out.

 “You girls done?” Alastor asked. He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Yes,” Charlie said, taking a deep breath.

“I’m out,” Husk muttered, heading toward the back to search for more booze. After stumbling, he heaved and vomited the contents out. Then he groaned and promptly passed out on the floor.

Charlie gasped, hands covering her mouth. Angel stared in shock. Vaggie face-palmed with an “oh, no.” Alastor turned his head backwards to look at the giggling Niffty. He tilted his head and Niffty’s giggles fell flat. Without a word, she rushed over and helped Husk onto a nearby couch before cleaning up the mess.

“Well, that was a satisfying supper!” said Alastor breaking the silence. He got up and held out his arm to Charlie. “Now, how about you give me a tour of your hotel and I can provide you guys with some entertaining dad jokes?”

“How wonderful. I’d love that,” Charlie replied. She turned to Vaggie. “I just want to make sure that my friend is okay.” She looked at Vaggie with concern.

“I’m fine, Charlie,” she said with a sigh. Charlie looped her arm with Alastor’s and held out her hand to Vaggie. Reluctantly, Vaggie took it and the group headed off down the hall.

“Say,” Alastor said as they walked. “The graveyard’s getting overcrowded, don’t you think?”

“What?” asked Angel.

“What graveyard?” asked Vaggie, her eyebrows raised. She shuddered at the thought of Alastor posing in a graveyard of his murder victims.

“You know, the one where people are just dying to get in. Hahaha!”

“Oh, I get it! Good one, Al!” said Charlie.

“Ha ha,” Angel said with sarcasm. They arrived in a larger room with tables and a stage off to the side. Alastor turned to shadow, then materialized in front of the microphone.

“Uh, nobody asked for this,” Vaggie said. Charlie, Angel, Niffty, and Vaggie took their seats.

“Let’s just see how it goes,” said Charlie. “Jokes will surely remind demons of the good things in life.”

“Besides drugs?”

“Yes, Angel.”

“Besides dancing in the nude?”

“Yes, Angel.”

“Besides steamy sex?”

Charlie sighed in frustration as Angel laughed.

 Alastor tapped the microphone. “Testing, testing, is this thing on?” The mic made a screeching sound that made the viewers cover their ears.

“Apologies for that,” he said. He chuckled and summoned a black tentacle from the ground. It tossed the metal microphone to the side before vanishing. His own vintage microphone appeared in front of him.

“Thankfully mine always works.”

“You ready?” Alastor asked, speaking into it. The microphone came to life, and the being inside it rolled his eye.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

He cleared his throat as a spotlight shone on him. “Did you hear about the guy who invented the knock-knock joke?”

“Yeah, what about him?” Angel asked in a bored voice.

“He won the no-bell prize! Ahhahaha!”

Charlie smiled. Niffty said “ha…ha…ha…” bored too.

“What did the buck say to his traveling doe? ‘Come home soon, dear.’”

“Yeah, you’d know all about deer, wouldn’t you?” Angel remarked. Charlie laughed, and even Vaggie let out a small smile.

“Hey, Charlie,” said Alastor.

“Yes?” she asked with a faint blush.

“Can February march?”

“I don’t know. Can it?”

“No, but April may!”

Charlie broke into fits of laughter.

“This is torture,” Vaggie said.

“Boo! Get off the stage!” Angel called.

“How many more jokes do we need?” asked Alastor.

“Zero!” booed Angel.

“Well, I was going to make a joke about paper, but no, it’s tear-ible!”

“Uh, god damn it,” Vaggie groaned. “I’m glad Husk doesn’t have to witness this.”

“What’s a demon’s favorite dessert?”

“Your mom!” yelled Angel.

“No, it’s actually devil’s food cake. Hahaha!”

Charlie giggled some more. “The hotel residents will love these!”

“Yeah, sure,” Niffty deadpanned, walking away.

“Hey Vaggie?” Alastor asked.

“What?!”

“Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?”

Vaggie’s eyes went wide, her face beet red. “Why…you…”

“Don’t worry, crawling up from Hell hurts like hell!”

“Why not have the best of both worlds?” Charlie asked. “I’d love to visit Heaven someday.”

“Foreshadowing…” Angel said in a stupor.

 Niffty smiled sinisterly in a dark corner. Her plan was coming into motion.

[teanster123]

a cool idea would Cursed Cat Alastors being like chickens (behaviorally) with Alastor as their owner.

oh yes.

Cursed Cat Alastors clucking like chickens and also crowing like roosters (and maybe even also making cat noises (such as meows, purrs, hisses, etc.)).

Cursed Cat Alastors pecking at deer venison.

Alastor scattering jambalaya for the Cursed Cat Alastors to peck at and scratch for, like how someone would scatter corn, seeds, and other chicken feed for chickens to peck at and scratch for.

Cursed Cat Alastors dust-bathing and rolling around in their dust baths.

Cursed Cat Alastors laying eggs, like hens, and Alastor collecting the eggs.

Cursed Cat Alastors going broody and sitting on eggs, the way a broody hen would sit on eggs, for three whole weeks.

newly-hatched baby Cursed Cat Alastors hatching from the eggs, peeping and chirping like baby chicks but also being as helpless as newborn kittens.

fledgling baby Cursed Cat Alastors learning from their Cursed Cat Alastor parents on how to peck, scratch, etc.

Cursed Cat Alastors being such wonderful, loving, doting, nurturing, and caring parents to their offspring, like a mother hen should.

this would all be a dream come true…

ah yes, …

to be a Cursed Cat Alastor farmer.

[itsakpopalypse]

Sit Boy :Meetings

Han Sanghyuk/ Reader

fluff, general hijinks, no warnings. this is all set up.

First in a oneshot/ drabble series

After being given a guardian demon at birth instead of an angel, Y/N struggles to not feel cursed. One day, she is left with a new protector, and honestly. he has a habit of getting under her skin.

You were cursed. Your very existence was an insult.  You felt that way for as long as you could remember,  but especially after your long standing imaginary friend told you what he truly was… a guardian demon.  

As silly as it may seem, all people had a guardian angel. You,  however, due to some heavenly clerical  error, had a demon instead.  He was…. Honestly not all bad. Just pretty flippant.  He didn't  cause trouble, or torture  or hurt you…. Or even try to make you give up your soul (not his business, souls, he insisted) just kept you out of the biggest dangers and told really stupid jokes.  More than anything,  he was like a really awkward dad who no one else could see.  He DID help you prank some bullies with a ouija  board once,  that was pretty cool.  

Kael'eth stood before you,  his normal relaxed posture,  shrugging.  "Sorry little one. I'm getting reassigned. "

"How? Aren't you bound to me until I die?"

He patted your head gently,  yellow glint in his eyes.  "Well…. I was never supposed to be what I am,  and I guess the Big Guy wouldn't overlook it anymore.  I have a task now.  But listen.  I couldn't leave you without some protection. So I've brought a friend." 

When you began to pout he put a finger on your forehead and grumbled.  "Don't. Pout. I have a reputation." 

"What we have is FINE. I'm already cursed enough  I don't want anything else." You grumbled like a kid, even though you were well into adulthood.  You plopped on your couch and threw your feet up, looking at him expectantly. "So?"

"A. Hellhound. He's… well. You'll see." When the poof and (quite common) sulfur smell filled your apartment sat a black dog. It was huge. So long that you estimated if it stood on rear legs it would double you in height.  "Hyuk, what the home, dude. We talked about this." 

Another  poof, and the black  dog was a tall man. He had sharp, deep red eyes and  an incredibly straight brow, a wide nose and a very square jaw. His hair was pushed back, slicked tight on the sides and he sported a dark, well fitted suit.

He was…. Impressive to look at, you noticed immediately.  

"Fine. Whatever. Bipedal is dumb though, just for the record. "  he said to Kael'eth. "Watch over the girl. I got you.  Piece of cake. Get out of here." He scrunched his nose up playfully and waved the other man away, you realized his very impressive and foreboding aura had evaporated and he seemed…. Kind of fun?

Kael’eth patted your head once more, and eyed Hyuk pointedly. “Take care of her. Do your job.” he looked back down at you and gave you an almost worried glance. “Don’t take any SHIT from this one okay? You spoil him and he will never listen.”  

“Got it. Will I see you around?” 

“We’ll see kiddo. Go raise some hell, eh?”

You laughed as he poofed out, leaving you alone with the very tall and almost imposing figure who was now towering over you, small smirk on his face. You stood, reaching out a hand to shake his in greeting. “So I’m Y/N.” 

His eyes traveled up and down you for a moment, eyebrow cocked. “Yeah, you are. You have any video games?” He asked while flopping his large frame over your couch, sprawled out with limbs askew so there was no room for you. 

“I... I mean. I don’t really have anything? Can’t you .. use your… poof...powers?” You put a hand on your hip, kind of unprepared for this entire situation, and for his attitude.

He gave you a big, disarming smile, reaching out for your hand from his spot. He snagged it, tugging you with impressive strength towards him. “But I can’t do that. I’m not a demon. I’m a hellhound. It’s different.”  He pouted but mischief played in his eyes and you were for a moment- almost- distracted by the cuteness of it all. “I don’t..” Another tug, dragging you to your knees until your noses almost bumped. “Poof.”  He said the word softly, making sure to pout his lips on the ‘f’ , hand engulfing yours. His eyes appeared a bit rounder, still the same devilish red, but more imploring.

You fought the confused cycle of irritation and attraction, pulling back just enough to regain your thoughts.

“You have a lot of nerve, but I’ll consider it.”  

You were rewarded but the biggest smile you had ever seen in your life, it took up most of his face and it was… if you were being honest, quite endearing. 

You stood and forced some space between yourself and the alarmingly attractive man sprawled out on your sofa.

“Hey, Y/N?” His voice was inquiring, so you met his eyes once more. “I think we are both going to have a lot of fun, here.” 

You were not having fun. Hyuk had eaten half the contents of your refrigerator, and played games non stop. He wasn’t really underfoot, otherwise, but he had a knack for getting under your skin.

Right now, you were considering it, but had not decided if it would impact him at all in his current far too hyper state. He was, in fact, sitting at the edge of your bed bouncing, which at his considerable size, made you nearly fly off once or twice. 

That alone, would not earn  your ire, after decades of being tied to a demon, some level of patience was necessary. This however, was  your only day off, and it was 6 am. 

“Y/n. Y/n. COME ON. I need to get out of here. I am hungry, and my legs are restless.” He was whining, now, and flopped back, landing with his face beside yours and his far too adorable pout on his lips. Too cute for how irritated  you were.

“Y/N pleeeaaase. I promise not to hide your socks anymore. Please?”

You pried your eyelids open just enough to see him more clearly. He was expectant, full of life, and once again, you decided firmly, that you must be cursed. Even as much as you wanted to, you could not hate the excitable hellhound when he pouted. Or smiled. Or generally when he wasn’t causing mischief. Even then, sometimes. 

After throwing on your most comfortable sweats, you followed him to the car. 

“Buckle up.” You insisted.  His head rolled on his neck, turning to you with almost amusement. 

“I can’t get hurt that easy, Y/N. I am made of more durable stuff.”

“That’s fine. And that durable stuff is going to be planted directly behind a seatbelt before we start moving, Sanghyuk, no negotiations.”

His upper lip curled in annoyance but he did as told.

Once you began your travels, he would softly sing to the radio, a sound you rather liked, and when you put down the window, you were only mildly surprised when he stuck half his head out of it.

“Get back in here, Hyuk.” Your tone was one that brook no argument, but when he turned to pout you relented. “Just… For now. When we go to the park you can do it for a while I guess.”

His sly smile indicated he knew what he was doing, but you had already given your word. You pulled into the drive through for some fast food so that you could help with his restless legs.

“So are you just going to… I don’t know. Go full dog and run?” You asked between bites of chicken, flipping on your blinker as you were preparing for the turn. 

His fingertips drummed on the windowsill for a moment before he answered. “Yeah. Full dog.” 

This time, the smile wasn’t in his voice. You wondered briefly why, but kept your eyes ahead for safety’s sake. Turns out, in the week you’d lived together, you had learned that hellhounds could bring bad luck so… somethings are just better not left to chance. 

“Alright.”

“Hyuk what do you think?” You came out of your room in your date outfit, a simple black skirt and blue blouse, low black booties adorning your feet. You kept it simple, since it was a blind date. 

You had now lived together for 2 months, and you were used to Hyuk’s enthusiastic behavior. This however, was not that. He looked you up and down, before turning back to some anime on the television. “It’s fine. You don’t need to get all dolled up anyway.” He was totally and completely non reactive. It was… abnormal to say the least. 

You sat beside him, settling a hand onto the top of his thigh to draw his eyes back to you. It worked, but his face was dark, and his eyes flashed brighter for a moment. “I didn’t, it’s just coffee. I asked you because you usually have good insight.” 

Sure, it was a half truth, but stroking his ego usually brought him around. He laced your fingers in his and opened his mouth to speak, when your doorbell rang, effectively silencing his thoughts. 

You hopped up and gestured for him to make himself a dog, or scarce, or both. He glared, but he went into your bedroom and left the door cracked. You heard rather than saw his transformation.  Glamour allowed his dog to look smaller than he actually was, while maintaining mass. So you had a doberman now that looked about average but weighed more than a grown man. When he nosed out of your room, you went to get the door. 

After ushering in your date, you told him to have a seat while you grabbed your purse, but when you came back, he was at the door, looking quite pale. “I’ve just remembered this isn’t going to work out I-I’ve got to uh, water my aunts flowers. In the country. I won’t be back.” He stuttered and stumbled his way out of your home, and you knew the culprit wasn’t far. Hyuk sat with his ears back, mirroring his earlier bad mood. 

“What did you do??”

“Nothing. I just. Suggested he find somewhere else to be.”  Hyuk whined, turning back into the form you were more used to, now go get out of those. Get in those sweatpants and come cuddle and watch tv.” 

You glared, pointing a finger up at him, and he matched your glare. “Why?”

“I saw what he wanted, and I didn’t like it.” He responded, looking away while clearing his throat. 

“You’re not a demon, you can’t read thoughts.” You said. Throwing back his own reasons for never doing things that benefited you.  When he looked back at you, his eyes looked intimidating for the first time since your first meeting. His face icy and hardened. 

“I saw it in his eyes. That’s enough.” His jaw flexed as his lips pursed, and he used the moment you were taking to process his words to leave the room entirely. Going into the one across the hall his bed was in. 

You weren’t sure why he was acting so territorial. Maybe he was really leaning into his roll as guardian? 

You were unsure, but for the moment, it was best to let the subject rest. 

Instead you went to the convenience store and purchased two pints of ice cream, and beconed him once you were in your normal tv watching clothes. He peeked out fo his room, muzzle first, before slinking out and into the space beside you. “No ice cream? You really must not be feeling well.”

 After putting it away, he crawled almost entirely into your lap as you scratched his ears, hoping to calm whatever fears he was feeling. It seemed to work, and  you were rewarded when his eyes drifted shut and his body relaxed. 

Conversations could come soon, for now, he deserved it.

[etlunainmorte]

✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

***

XI

***

"Okay, so, listen up!" Nico announced later that afternoon as she faced all the occupants in the dining room, including herself ( who was at the head of the table ), V ( who was standing next to the fireplace away from the others, arms crossed over his chest, and Shadow lying on the floor next to his feet ), Avery ( who was sitting next to Nico on her right ), Roman ( who was sitting very close to his fiancée, feeling nervous and frightened ), and Griffon ( who was perched on Roman's chair and making the man much more nervous ). "The wedding is in five days, and we need everyone to participate in this. Ya don't want any frickin' ghosts photobombin' on yer wedding pictures and worse, yeah?"

"We'll gladly help." Avery asked as she took Roman's hand in hers and began squeezing it.

Roman, who bravely nodded and placed a hand on top of hers, spoke, his voice sounding admirably resolute. "How can we help you?"

Nico looked at V's direction and nodded at him, gesturing for him to come forward, and a few seconds later, (Y/N)'s journal, the old wooden box of photographs, and the radio containing all the voice recordings were scattered on the table for everyone to see.

"During our investigation, we managed to find these items that, we think, are vital clues to what's really happenin' here." Nico explained, then opened the wooden box to let the couple see the various photographs in it, especially the ones where (Y/N) and Victor were involved.

With furrowed eyebrows, Avery took some photographs and stared at them in disbelief. "Hey, this is great gran! I didn't know I still have these!"

"This man looks like V!" Roman added as he pointed at Victor in the pictures. "Why is he with her? I thought she's married to Doctor Lancaster in 1898!"

"That's exactly what we have to find out." V answered as he opened the journal and showed them the writings in it, which baffled the couple. "Apparently, Ms. Avery, your great grandmother was in love with someone else. She's in love with a man by the name of Victor Blake."

"Shut the fucking door up!" Avery exclaimed as she took the journal and read (Y/N)'s entries in it, herself. She, then, looked up at V and gave him a scrutinizing gaze as if he was telling them lies. "So, you're telling me that this man, this Victor Blake, is a third wheel, or something?"

"We're not yet sure. That's why we have to investigate further into this matter. Because," V said as he pointed at the strange image in one of the photographs showing (Y/N) and Victor's wedding. " ... something else was at play there."

"And because of that, we believe that we finally have a suspect." Nico added as she threw another photograph at the table. It wasn't an old photo, though. It was a printed screenshot of the strange man in white who materialized last night. And when Avery and Roman looked at it, the two felt shivers run up and down their spine.

"Oh, my God!" Avery exclaimed.

"It's the same man from the pictures!" Roman observed.

"And we're not done!" Nico said as she took her radio and played the recording in it, which made Roman's skin go pale. She turned it off before it could make the poor man faint.

"That strange man, these hauntings, and great gran's connection to this Victor." Avery hummed as she pondered for a while with all the available clues in front of them. "Something doesn't connect! It doesn't make any sense, at all!"

"We have our own,... suspicions. However, it would stay as that - suspicion. Unless we do something to uncover the truth. Only then,... can we put an end to these,... hauntings." V replied.

"So, here's what we need to do." Nico relayed, her tone as gravely serious as it can possibly be. "We need to split up into three teams. V, of course, would investigate on his own. Each team would have a radio and a spy cam, just like that one that the little chicken is wearing. The plan is simple, we just need to find more clues such as these. Along the way, we should also record every single thing with these gadgets. We might find the recordings useful later on."

"Saying that we need to split into groups, do you mean to say that we also have to check what's on the upper floors?" Avery questioned as she took one radio for herself.

"Exactly."

"Okay. I would go upstairs with V, then. I have access to the other rooms, after all." Avery offered as she stood up, determined to help with the investigation.

"No."

All the occupants in the room stared at Roman as he held his fiancée’s arm. He stood up and took one radio for himself. And with a brief nod and a sigh, he said, "I'll do it. I'll investigate the upper floors."

"But, sweetie!" Avery complained.

"Sshh, sshh. It's okay. It's time for me to prove I'm not always this poor scaredy - cat man you knew. I'll do it. You investigate here."

"Oh, sweetie!"

Nico and V awkwardly looked away as the lovers began smooching in front of them. And if it weren't for the tattooed woman clearing her throat, the two won't stop showering each other with kisses.

"I'll go with you, then - " Nico began but, she was interrupted as Roman's hand went up. Really showing off now, aren't we?

"I'll take the bird with me." The man announced, which made Griffon's eyes widen in shock and his beak drop in awe. "If you would allow me, Mr. V?"

The poet saw the horrified look on his familiar's face as the poor bird shook his head over and over again, probably in a gesture to not allow Roman to take him along.

Unfortunately for Griffon, though, V was moved by Roman's decision to finally man up and actually face his own fears.

"Of course." V answered, making Griffon almost fall off Roman's chair.

"Alright then. You go with me, Ms. Avery." Nico decided as she also stood up.

"Umm,..." Avery began. "Can we take the big black cat, V?"

V looked down at Shadow and nodded at her. The familiar understood this and went over to the ladies.

"So, good luck to all of us, then." Avery said as she took her own camera.

Nico turned to V as she playfully punched him on the arm, just like that one time before all the hauntings messed up their life. And with a sweet smile that V hasn't seen from her in a while, she said, "See ya later, V."

*

Strangely enough, Nico's words seemed to leave behind an impression on V. Over the last two days, he realized how reliable she was and how friendly she actually was compared to Dante, who just bossed him around. While he did survive the Qliphoth incident, he's still learning to live as a free man without having to worry about dying, or being judged by others due to his physical appearance and his unique personality. And Nico was actually the first person who welcomed him as a new member of the Devil May Cry squad. Not Dante, and not even Nero. It was her. She even went to such lengths to help with this mission of his, albeit with personal agenda of delving more into something paranormal and not demonic for a change.

But, still. Nico extending some extra effort with this,...

She deserved a token of appreciation. After all, they're kind of like friends now. When they see each other in the morning again, he would tell her that he agreed on splitting the pay in half. And maybe surprise her with a little gift after the mission. A new toolbox, maybe? Or a new hammer? Would she like that?

These things were still in V's mind as he made his way to (Y/N)'s room, and as he was about to enter the room ( there's no door now since Griffon destroyed it last night ), he heard a very pleasant noise that was coming from the first floor.

It was,... a piano? And a trumpet?

V turned and noticed that he was, once again, plunged into the past with the sudden change in the atmosphere. And as he searched for the source of the music, he noticed that there were few people in the place unlike the last time he went for a visit. He made his way to the library / music room and found a small group of people gathered there as they listened to some musicians performing some sweet and soothing music.

He turned to his right and actually noticed Victor Blake standing alone in one corner of the room, leaning on his cane, and looking intently at something in the distance. V followed his gaze and saw (Y/N) sitting in one of the plush maroon sofas. The beautiful evening gown she's wearing and the way her hair was styled suited her perfectly, and she was holding a fan just like the rest of the distinguished females in the room.

Yes, everyone else looked beautiful. But, to V, (Y/N) simply stood out among others. And Victor seemed to think of the same, as well, as he slowly made his way towards her. The girl noticed this and looked shyly away as she covered her blushing cheeks with her fan. And when the poet arrived and kneeled before her once more, she finally gave in and held out a gloved hand, which he proudly took and kissed. It was the actual scene from the first photograph of them he ever saw.

Then, the music slowly changed as the atmosphere around him seemed to morph, as well. And a few moments later, V found the two sitting in front of the piano. Victor played the instrument as (Y/N)'s angelic voice filled the room.

The atmosphere morphed once more and V saw them sitting together in one of the maroon sofas. Victor was now reading something to her, and as she listened with a look of wonder in those beautiful eyes, the poet looked at her with much more. It was deep, and, in a way, possessive. Like his eyes refused to leave her for even a second. Again, this was one of the scenes from those old photographs.

The surroundings around V changed and morphed several more times, showing him how Victor and (Y/N) grew close with each other, until it led him to the part where they were surrounded by other people, by very close and loving friends, who were trying to push them together to stand on a makeshift platform made of pillows. Daniella placed a veil on (Y/N)'s head and her maidservant gave her a single stem of a deep red rose. A man, who was standing in front of them, cleared his throat and began reading something from what looked like an encyclopedia. He fished out something from his pocket, making the others laugh, and produced two rings. He gave one to each lover and went on reading his book.

V smiled to himself as he watched the couple speak their vows and how they slid the ring on the other's finger. And when the people began cheering for them, Victor cupped (Y/N)'s cheeks and gave her a very sweet and gentle kiss that lasted for at least a minute.

The atmosphere changed once more and V saw (Y/N) dragging Victor upstairs towards her bedroom. He followed closely behind them and noticed the girl taking a folded stationery from her pocket and giving it to Victor. She, then, pressed a kiss against two of her fingers and pressed them on the note on Victor's hand. She smiled, stood on her toes, and gave the man a chaste peck on the cheek. She waved good night and opened her door, went in, and gave him another smile before finally closing it.

Victor didn't wait a moment longer and unfolded the note, and what he read there made his eyes widen. He abruptly knocked on the door, and when (Y/N) opened it, he hastily engulfed her in a tight embrace.

V felt his heart swell as the lovers shared a very passionate kiss.

Hands caressing and exploring. Lips moving in a rhythmic pattern. For a moment, V saw himself as Victor.

For a brief moment, he saw himself passionately kissing and caressing (Y/N).

The girl stepped backwards, leading Victor inside but never breaking the sweet kiss. After a while, V's eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he saw Victor's, his, metal cane flying from the room to the hallway, along with his cravat and one of (Y/N)'s shoes. Victor came out a few seconds later, looking so in love and excited, to retrieve the items. Then, he entered the room and closed the door.

Then, everything went quiet. V was about to turn and leave when he saw (Y/N) dragging Victor once more to her room. They kissed. They embraced. The cane flew once more. Victor retrieved the cane. They laughed.

Then, the same thing happened for several more times. Of them kissing. Of them embracing. Of the cane flying.

And after a few moments, everything went silent.

However, V didn't see the two of them again.

All of a sudden, a hand swiftly went down to V's shoulders. He turned around to see Maria, Avery's old housekeeper, looking worriedly at him.

"Young master, you've stayed too long! We must go!" She told him, took his arm, and dragged him away from the room. "Your friend needs you! You must hurry!"

"My friend?!" V felt like he was suddenly punched in the stomach upon hearing the words from Maria and immediately went down to see for himself.

No, no, no,...

This can't be! It can't happen! It can't -

V's shoulders dropped as he saw Avery, Roman, and Griffon looking down at something on the floor with pained looks on their faces.

"She was attacked, V." Avery told him. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything,..."

V ran to where they were and saw, in his utter shock, Nico's unconscious form on the floor. There were slashes all over her body but, what stood out the most was the wound on her right palm, looking as though it was intentionally put there. He took a closer look at it, and finally saw what it was.

The wound,...

... was in the form of three digits.

749

***

✒ @la-vita , @micaelagua , @v-vic , and @birdgirl69 .✒

***

✒✒✒

***

[n3bel]

Got tagged by @kennyhickeyapologist and @lovedelux , thank you so much. You have no idea how much things like these help when a person is stuck bored at work!

LAST:

1. Drink: Cappucino from a vending machine

2. Phone call: A few days ago, I was calling my dad because we wanted to meet up and we had to decide where and when :0

3. Text message: “...Richard is such a creative soul. He understands.” , on behalf of discussing Reesh’s opinion on fanfics.

4. Song you listened to: Queen - We Are The Champions

5. Time you cried: I actually don’t remember.

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: Yeah

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Of course

8. Been cheated on: Technically no but there was a guy who wasn’t 100 % loyal 

9. Lost someone special: Yeah

10. Been depressed: Yeah

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Thankfully I haven’t thrown up from being drunk yet!

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12. pastel/dark blue

13. white

14. black

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Yos!

16. Fallen out of love: Absolutely

17. Laughed until you cried: Yeah. Yesterday. At the fucking cookie story.

18. Found out someone was talking about you: I don’t think so

19. Met someone who changed you: A b s o l u t e l y

20. Found out who your friends are: Yos

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Hell y e a h 

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Most of them.

24. Do you want to change your name: Probably not, even though I hate it. 

25. What did you do for your last Birthday: Absolute nothing. Mostly was anxious because the entire family would gather and all the attention was making me fucking sick - but these birthdays are gonna be a fucking blast lmao

26. What time did you wake up: 5:40 AM

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Well there were bunch of Reesh gifs you know? Go try and figure 

28. Name something you can’t wait for: for Rammstein to come back to Prague... and for me managing to get tickets.

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: She’s literally sitting a few meters away from me as I’m writing this

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Having more work ethic, being completely resistant to writer’s block because that shit ruins my life

31. What are you listening right now: A track from a Bojack Horseman edit asdfhash

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yup

34. Most visited Website: Tumblr because I have no fucking life

LOST QUESTIONS

35. Mole/s: Hmm none

36. Mark/s: Also none I guess

37. Childhood dream: To be an astronaut, but it changed to astronomer over the years lol

38. Hair colour: dirty blonde

40. Do you have a crush on someone: My s/o probably,, always

41. What do you like about yourself: my bIGASS BROWN EYES OOF also nose is big but i lived up to it and now i actually like it

42. Piercings: None :(

43. Blood type: Shid,,, not even my mom knows

44. Nickname: Hmmm... I don’t have nicknames when I come to think of it. Oh. Wait. Actually I do. “Chlebíček” (I hope you’re reading this, Pomidorek).

45. Relationship status: in a relationship that feels pretty distant but yeah we have each other’s backs

46. Zodiac: Sagittarius Sun, Capricorn rising and Pisces Moon

47. Pronouns: she/her

48. Favorite TV Show: The Office/Red Dwarf/Bojack Horseman/LD&R I honestly can’t choose just one those are all bangers

49. Tattoos: So far none

50. Right or left hand: Right

51. Surgery: When I was very young another small sharp bone began growing out of my normal bone under the knee?? So I had to get that removed lol

52. Hair dyed in different color: Dark blue

55. Vacation: Croatia!!!

56. Pair of trainers: Shit I don’t think I have any,,, okay I got like 1 pair of some offbrand light shoes but that’s about it

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: I. Can. Eat. Shittons. Junk food especially, sign me up for those chicken strips flavored Lays 

58. Drinking: Cappucino, Coke, bottled waters.

59. I’m about to: Well shit, probably work, probably also figure out some fanfic things while doing so

61. Waiting for: my workshift to end

62. Want: TO START WRITING THE FANFIC ALREADY HFDHH

63. Get married: Noooooooooooooope nope nonono

64. Career: Astronomer!

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs

66. Lips or eyes: Eyes

67. Shorter or taller: Taller

68. Older or younger: Older

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: ARMS

71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive

72. Hook up or relationship: It depends. Currently, relationship

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant but hey troublemakers are fun?

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: No

75. Drank hard liquor: Yes

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: No

77. Turned someone down: Yes

78. Sex in the first date: Nope

79. Broken someone’s heart: Yes

80. Had your heart broken: Yes

81. Been arrested: No

82. Cried when someone died: Yes

83. Fallen for a friend: Y E S 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: Mostly, I try to

85. Miracles: Yes

86. Love at first sight: No

87. Santa Claus: No

88. Kiss on the first date: Yaaas

89. Angels: I don’t believe in Angels/Demons, but I believe in entities such as ghosts, personal guidances etc. Angel or Demon is for me, just a determination whether the being is good or not, but that depends on person’s point of view, hence relativity. So I don’t really choose to believe in these terms personally.

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: Luca

91. Eye colour: Brown

92. Favorite movie: Interstellar

I’m tagging @extinctsunset, @rammquotes and @mein-radio to do this! Have fun lol

[fandomtrash-16]

The Demon’s Trap

So I’ve been working on something and I finally finished it! It’s kinda long so read it at your own choice if you want idk. this is basically an intro to my version of the ink demon, his beast form at least. (i have nothing more to say so ima stop while im ahead)

Lost. Lost as hell, in hell.

Henry stumbled, his feet catching on the upturned planks of the old floor; most of which had been broken inwards by something that was clearly much larger than a human. It was unsettling, to say the least. The layers of claw marks, some new and some old, on the nearly desecrated walls that lined the hallway told Henry that this something could still be quite alive.

And if so, he was running right towards it.

At least, he thought he was?

It was nearly impossible to tell. The walls had begun to blend together a while back, and now the twists and turns of adjacent corridors seemed to simply be mirrors of the one Henry was already in. It was disorienting, but then again the blonde hadn’t much time to study his surroundings considering he was being chased- no, hunted, by those freaks with the masks. It was either run or be killed, and he took the chance to run even if he had no clue where he was.

The animator ran past a few more hallways before he finally stopped, leaning his aching body against the wall and gulping down swallows of air, like he were a fish out of the water. Tired, hungry, sore. He didn’t know how much longer he could last like this. He needed this break, but he needed to be somewhere safe even more. Desperately.

But that was the one thing he couldn’t be, not while he was being chased like pray. So all he could do was look around. “It just goes on and on forever, doesn’t it?”

Who was he asking? Himself? Joey? Henry didn’t know.

The creaking of the rotting boards combined with several hushed voices caused the man to tense.

“Shit-!” He muttered, brushing stray strands of blonde hair out of his face. Henry rose, stepping away from the sound. They found him?! How!? He didn’t want to stay and find out, however. The animator began to sprint. Where to? He had no clue. He just had to get out of there.

So he ran. He ran for what seemed like hours, the hallway continuing to twist and turn: like a maze with no exit. He couldn’t tell where he had come from, which halls he’d traveled and which ones were brand new but he didn’t care. He just ran, and he ran for a long time.

So long, that Henry began to think that perhaps he had lost his mind. Maybe he’d been consumed by the ink, or maybe, just maybe, it was all a horrid nightmare. Yes. Yes, perhaps he just fell asleep and this was a dream. But the pain... it felt real. It was real. His exhaustion was real. This was no dream. It was simply a maze of never-ending corridors, one that held no entrance nor exit; as if it were meant as a trap for people. To keep them in.

Or...

Perhaps, it was meant to keep them, or something worse, from getting out.

The animator was about to collapse; ready to accept his death in these endless halls. Until that is, the winding maze of corridors finally opened up into a large room. It was a massive ballroom; elegantly decorated with a deep red carpet, barely worn down as if it never had the chance to be the scene of a waltz. Large columns adorned with crimson ribbons held the ceiling up, the balconies adorned with ribbons of similar color; empty planters hanging from each post of their railings. The lights flickered in brightness, fully illuminated one minute, dim the next. They never went out, however, which Henry found more unsettling than if they were to simply flicker on and off. Despite the rest of the rooms untouched state, the walls and columns were torn half to hell.

“Just what were you trying to contain here Joey?” Henry’s voice echoed out, a question to himself and the creature that once, or still, resided here.

Just across the ballroom rested an audio tape on an old half-table, a message painted out thickly on the wall behind in the accursed black venom that ran through the studio. It read: ‘BLOOD, NOT INK’

....in Henry’s handwriting.

He did a double take as the distance between him and the tape closed. That was definitely his handwriting. His, not the normal chicken-scratch of those other people. Were they even people anymore? What happened while he was gone?

He gingerly pressed down the play button on the recorder, listening as the device clicked the tape into place. It was a second or two before the tape began to play if you could even call it that. The only audio the device produced was like radio static combined with a screeching noise- like nails on a chalkboard. If he wasn’t so busy keeping his hands clamped over his ears to prevent bleeding, Henry would’ve slammed an ax right into the recorder. It played on for a minute more before cutting into absolute silence.

Then he heard it.

Breathing. Low and calm.

And one little staticky word.

“Run.”

Henry’s heartbeat rang in his ears as he stepped back from the recorder, his blue opticals never leaving the table. The static noise returned- though this time it lacked the god awful screeching. (Thankfully). Though it made the animator's heart race even faster. Because this time...

It was coming from behind him.

Slowly he turned coming face to face.... with him.

“B-Bendy?” Panic ravaged his voice, exhaustion giving way to fear. The demon raised its head upwards towards the ceiling in an almost wistful manner. Henry stumbled backward as he took in the beast before him. This wasn’t his creation, it couldn’t be! Yet... it was. And he didn’t seem... too... happy.....

Bendy’s jaws clicked together in slight amusement, jagged teeth grinding against each other as if it were the demons attempt at mocking Henry’s fear. His massive talons gripped the floor with an anger unprecedented in his stance; seemingly seeping towards Henry in waves. The poor man hadn’t even realized he’d bumped into the table until the tape landed against the ground with an audible clatter.

“....r..un...”

Sound crackled through the now damaged tape, though it no longer played the horrid static from before. This time, it was a voice. Unidentifiable yet so damn familiar. A hum against the recorders high pitched whines, fading out, but always returning.

Henry froze. There wasn’t much, but it was there: the bubbly energy of the staticky voice, the perfect forgery of his handwriting, the circumstances of his meeting with the demon. This wasn’t some.. cultist freak’s fever dream.

This was all Bendy’s doing. Wasn’t it?

“The demon...”

“.... call him...”

The recorder cut, leaving only the dying hum of the device.

Static cut through the air once more, but it was different- garbled and low, and coming from the demon.

“S n a g g l e t o o t h”

Bendy seemed to form a smile, his jaw creasing upward in delight as he crawled forwards towards the animator; the low rumble in his throat a hint of what was to come. He snapped his jaws open...

And slammed right into the wall; wood splintering with a jarring crack from the impact. Luckily, Henry had sprinted at the last second, bolting up the barren staircase with zero hesitation- no mind to where he’s going. He didn’t care.

Run, Henry. You heard him.

And run he did, the floor rattling beneath him as the demon shrieked in anger- the same nails on a chalkboard sound as from the tape. Snaggletooth leaped at the balcony, massive talons splintering the wood as he pulled himself upwards, once again lunging for the blonde man. His serrated teeth just barely missed the animator, leaving only a big scratch on his back as the beast’s jaws slammed shut.

This new corridor only had one exit: to a small balcony, the stairs long since collapsed.

“Nonono! Shit!” Henry skid to a stop, facing the creature as it crept ever closer. At least until the crackling sound pulled his attention away. The rotted wood was splintering under their weights, something Snaggletooth took note of- considering he was pressing down evermore with a merciless grin. Thoughts racing, all Henry could think was ‘He doesn’t care if I die, does he?’

With a thunderous crack, the balcony fell, a deep eruptious static sound emitting from the demon.

Laughter.

He was laughing at him.

It was the last thing Henry heard before he hit the floor.

He lay there, vision swirling as a loud ring echoed through his ears. He couldn’t move. All Henry could do was watch as something came into view. It wasn’t the demon, nor did it seem to be a cultist. It was human, a feminine figure whose long blonde hair fell in waves across her back and shoulders. Axe tied across her back, the shirt she wore tattered and torn at the sleeves- much like his own. Her arms and legs were stained with the black ichor Henry had come to despise. But her approach brought something else to light: her mask. It was entirely different from before, a metallic thing in the form of a wolf. It covered her entire face like it was hiding deep secrets behind it.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing, one could say.

She was the last thing Henry would see for a while as everything faded to black.

[gigawaya-blog]

PC

Bold = currently playing

Strikethrough = Finished

100% Orange Juice 1bitHeart ABZU ACE Academy Aeon Command AER Memories of Old AirMech Strike AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed Alicemare Alien Swarm Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Amnesia: The Dark Descent ARAYA Armored Evolution Astebreed: Definitive Edition Atlas Reactor Audiosurf 2 AZURA Azure Strike Gunvolt Backyard Basketball Backyard Football Bad Rats Show Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition Batman: Arkham City GOTY Batman: Arkham Origins Batman: Arkham Knight Battleblock Theater Beat Hazard A Bird Story Black & White Bushido Black Dream

Bladed Fury BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Blue Whale The Boogie Man Borderlands Borderlands 2 Bot Vice

Brawlhalla Breathing Fear Castle Crashers Choose Wisely Cinderella Escape 2 Revenge Closers Cloudbuilt CODE OF PRINCESS Coffin of Ashes Confess My Love Consummate: Missing World Copy Kitty Corpse Party

Cortex Command Crazy Machines 3 The Crooked Man Crown Champion: Legends of the Arena Cuphead (awaiting DLC) Cyber Utopia D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die Darkness Assault Dead Rising Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut The Deed The Deed: Dynasty DEEP SPACE WAIFU DEEP SPACE WAIFU: FLAT JUSTICE Depth Doki Doki Literature Club Door Kickers Double Dragon Neon Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (awaiting DLC) Dragon Knight DreadOut: Keepers of The Dark Dreaming Sarah DubWars Duck Game Dungeon Nightmares 2: The Memory EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1: WINGDIVER THE SHOOTER

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition Eternal Senia Fable Anniversary Fairy Bloom Freesia Fairy Fencer F Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force Fallout: New Vegas Final Fantasy 7 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster The Final Station Finding Paradise Firewood The First Tree Flower Design For Honor (may continue playing) Fort Meow Forward to the Sky

Gal*Gun: Double Peace Gang Beasts Garry's Mod Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy Girl X Mushrooms Glass Wing Go Go Electric Samurai Goat Simulator GOCCO OF WAR GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst GOD EATER RESURRECTION Golf With Your Friends Grand Theft Auto 5 Grass Cutter GUN Gun Metal

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure Half-Life Half-Life 2 Halo: Spartan Assult Halo: Spartan Strike The Hanged Man

Hello? Hell... o?

Hero and Daughter+ High School Simulator 2018 House Party how do you Do It? Human: Fall Flat Hyper Universe Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 Sisters Generation Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 V Generation Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed I am Bread I Am The Hero I Can't Believe It's Not Gambling GOTY Edition The Initial INVERSUS Deluxe ISLANDS: Non-Places Jet Set Radio JetmanGo Just Ignore Them Knight Bewitched Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards] Kritika Online Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior's Rise Kung Fury: Street Rage Lakeview Cabin Collection The Last NightMary - A Lenda do Cabeca de Cuia Learn Japanese To Survive - Hiragana Battle Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War Left 4 Dead Left 4 Dead 2 Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Uncut and Uncensored LiEat Life Goes On: Done to Death Lili: Child of Geos Mad Father Magical Battle Fiesta MapleStory Master Reboot Mega Man Legacy Collection Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 Megabyte Punch

MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies Melody's Escape Midnight at the Red Light: An Investigation

Minecraft: Java Edition Mini Ninjas Mini Thief Misao: Definitive Edition Misturugi Kamui Hikae

Moero Chronicle MONITOR: The Game Monster Monpiece Montaro Moon Hunters Mother Simulator

Mountain Move or Die My Big Sister Neon Chrome Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna)

Niche - a genetics survival game NieR: Automata Nippon Marathon (awaiting updates) Notch - The Innocent LunA: Eclipsed SinnerS Office Battle OKAMI HD Orbital Gear Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition Our Love Will Grow Outland Over The Moonlight Overlord Oxenfree

Pale Moon Crisis Panty Party Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Phoning Home

PLAYNE Polygon Attack Pool Nation Portal Portal 2 Power Hover Proxy Blade Zero Psychiatrist Simulator Quantum Conundrum Ragtag Adventurers Rakuen Red Haze Richochet Riff Racer RiME Rise to Ruins Robo Do It Rogue Legacy Root Letter Salty Fish Go! The Sand Man Saviors SAWKOBAN Sayona Umihara Kawase SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics Selenophobia SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI VERSUS Sentience: The Android's Tale Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Shelter 1 Shelter 2 ShineG In The Bullethell ShineG In The Zombies Shoujo City Simply Chess The Sims 3 (+plus most expansion packs) Sins Of The Demon RPG Slender: The Arrival SMASHING THE BATTLE Solaria Moon Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection Sonic Adventure 2 Sonic Adventure DX Sonic Forces Sonic Generations SoulCalibur 6 Soul Saber 2 Space Pilgrim Academy: Year 1 Space Pilgrim Episode 1: Alpha Centauri Space Pilgrim Episode 2: Epsilon Indi Space Pilgrim Episode 3: Delta Pavonis Space Pilgrim Episode 4: Sol SpeedRunners Spermination Split Of Knight Stairs Star Wars Battlefront 2 (old version) (non-steam) STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords Starbound Stardew Valley (on a break, will continue later if requested enough) Stardust Galaxy Warriors Stick Fight: The Game Storm of Spears Stray Cat Crossing Strider Strikey Sisters Subnautica Sudoku Universe Surgeon Simulator Sweetest Monster Sword of Asumi Symphony Tales of Berseria Tales of Symphonia Tales of Winds: Tomb of the Sol Empire Tales of Zestria Telophase TERA Terraria There's Poop In My Soup To The Moon Total War: SHOGUN 2 Turmoil Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Turok 2: Seeds of Evil Ultimate Chicken Horse Umihara Kawase Umihara Kawase Shun Steam Edition

Undercity Undertale The Vagrant Valkyria Chronicles Vanguard Princess Vanquish VRCHAT Way of the Samurai 3 Way of the Samurai 4 The Way We ALL GO We Were Here What is love? What's under your blanket !? What's under your blanket 2 !? The Witch’s House MV Wolf & Rabbit X-Blades Yomawari: Night Alone Yume Nikki

[heir-to-the-diamond-throne]

Masterlist

I’ve actually received a few people interested in my current list of podcasts so I’m writing them all down (also it’ll be helpful in case my podcast app decides to crash and wipe my library for the fourth time)

I just want to preface this by saying I’m probably still missing a few that I haven’t been able to remember. Also there’s a few on here that have finished, a few I’ve stopped listening to and am waiting to see if I’ll go back to, and a few that I haven’t gotten around to listening to yet.

1. 2 Dope Queens 2. 36 Questions 3. A New Winter 4. A Scottish Podcast 5. Action Science Theatre 6. Active Radioactive Radio 7. The Adventure Zone 8. The Adventures of Mechabetty 9. The After Disaster Broadcast 10. Alba Salix, Royal Physician 11. The Alexandra Archives 12. Alice isn’t Dead 13. All in the Mind 14. And that’s why we Drink 15. Anything Ghost 16. Archive 81 17. Ark City 18. Ars Paradoxica 19. Astonishing Legends 20. Athiest Apocalypse 21. Attention Hellmart Shoppers 22. Audio Diary of a Superhero 23. Audio Drama Production 24. Audio Verse Awards 25. Augustine 26. Aural Traditions: Anthology 27. Aural Traditions: Crosswired 28. Beast of Bardon College 29. Bedtime Stories 30. Beef and Dairy Network 31. Big Data 32. Bizarre States 33. The Black Tapes 34. The Blood Crow Stories 35. Boone Shepard 36. The Box 37. The Bridge 38. The Bright Sessions 39. Bronzeville 40. The Bunker 41. Bunker Buddies 42. Busy Gamer Nation presents I Love Bees 43. The Call of Cthulhu Mysteries 44. Carpe DM 45. Celestial Blood 46. The Cleansed 47. Code: Severe 48. Coffee Break Chinese 49. Conversations with People who Hate Me 50. Cool Games 51. Cop Doctors 52. Corpse Club 53. Creepy 54. Critical Hit 55. Critical Role 56. Crossing Wires 57. The Cryptid Keeper 58. Cthulhu and Friends 59. Cults 60. D&D is for Nerds 61. The Dark Tome 62. Darkest Night 63. Dead Oaks 64. Dead Ringers 65. Dead Serious 66. Deadly Manners 67. Dear Hank + John 68. Deck the Halls 69. The Deep Vault 70. Defence Learning Portal 71. Detective 72. Diana’s Monster 73. Diary of a Mad Man 74. Dinosaur Park 75. Discovery 76. The Discovery Adventures 77. Don’t Worry; It’s Only the End of the World 78. Dopple Avenue Hurt 79. The Drift and Ramble 80. Drywater 81. DWM presents Unwritten 82. The Earth Collective 83. Easy Japanese 84. Edict Zero 85. The Elysium Project 86. Empty 87. End of All Hope 88. EOS 10 89. Fables Radio 90. The Faculty of Horror 91. Fall of the House of Sunshine 92. The Family Tree 93. The Far Meridian 94. Fictional 95. Field Craft Survival 96. Flash Forward 97. Focused AF 98. Freed 99. Friends at the Table 100. Gallowtree Radio 101. Geek by Night 102. Generation Why 103. The Ghost Radio Project 104. Ghosts in the Burbs 105. Girl in Space 106. The Good Friends of Jackson Elias 107. Good Morning Zahera Ward 108. The Gray Area 109. Greater Boston 110. Hackable? 111. The Harry Strange Radio Drama 112. Haunted Places 113. The Haven Chronicles 114. Hayward Sanitarium 115. Heaven’s Gate 116. Hector vs the Future 117. Hello from the Magic Tavern 118. Help Me 119. Henderson + Havner 120. Herbarium Podcasts 121. History of Alchemy 122. The History of Rome 123. Hollywood and Crime 124. Homecoming 125. Horror City 126. How to do Everything 127. How we Roll 128. Hunt the Truth 129. Hush 130. I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats 131. Illusionoid 132. Immunities 133. In Darkness Vast 134. The Infinite 135. The Infinite Bad 136. The Infinite Now 137. Inkwyrm 138. Inner Sanctum 139. Inside the Exorcist 140. Inside the NYPD 141. International Waters 142. It Makes A Sound 143. Jim Robbie and the Wanderers 144. Join the Party 145. Junction 146. Kakos Industries 147. Kevin’s Cryptids 148. King Falls AM 149. The Kingery 150. Knifepoint Horror 151. Knights of the Night 152. Knite Coffee! 153. Lake Clarity 154. The Last Podcast on the Left 155. The Late Night Driving Show 156. LEARN 157. The Lesbian Romantic 158. Lesser Gods 159. The Leviathan 160. Liberty 161. LifeAfter 162. The Lift 163. Limetown 164. Lore 165. The Lost Cat 166. The Lovecraft Covenant 167. Lucyd 168. Mabel 169. Magic Lessons 170. The Magnus Archives 171. Mars Corp 172. Marsfall 173. The McElroy Brothers will be in Trolls 2 174. The Meat Blockade 175. The Mental Illness Happy Hour 176. Misadventure by Death 177. Miskatonic University 178. Mission to Zyxx 179. Modern Audio Drama 180. Mollyville 181. The Moonlit Road 182. My Brother, My Brother, and Me 183. My Brother, My Brother, and Me: Fantasy Football League 184. My Favourite Murder 185. Mysterious Universe 186. The Mythology Podcast 187. Myths and Legends 188. Neon Nights 189. The Night Blogger 190. Night Time 191. No Extra Words 192. No Such Thing as a Fish 193. The No Sleep Podcast 194. Oak Podcast 195. The Orbiting Human Circus (of the air) 196. Organism 197. The Orphans 198. The Orpheus Protocol 199. Ostium 200. The Other Stories 201. Otherverse 202. Our Fair City 203. Paralyzed 204. Passage 205. The Penumbra Podcast 206. Pleasure Town 207. Plumbing the Death Star 208. Podcast Detected 209. The Podcast Method 210. Podcasts Collected 211. Point Mystic 212. Poplar Cove 213. Powder Burns 214. Public Domain Universe 215. Purrcast 216. Qwerpline 217. Rabbits 218. Radiation World 219. Radio Demons 220. Ray Gunn + Starburst 221. Real Ghost Stories Online 222. Return Home 223. Rex Rivetter: Private Eye 224. Rippercast 225. The Rogues Gallery 226. Rose Drive 227. Rover Red 228. Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe 229. Rusty Quill Gaming 230. S-Town 231. Sable 232. Saffron and Peri 233. Sage + Savant 234. Sawbones 235. Sayer 236. Scared? 237. Secret Cabinet 238. Seminar 239. Serial 240. Serial Killers 241. The Shadowvane Podcast 242. Shattered Worlds RPG 243. Shut up a Second 244. Sirenicide 245. Small Town Horror 246. Snap Judgements Presents: Spooked 247. SOFREP Radio 248. Someone Knows Something 249. Space 250. Space Log 251. Spines 252. Spire 253. Spirits 254. Star Talk 255. Station to Station 256. Stay Talkingish 257. Steal the Stars 258. The Strange Case of Starship Iris 259. Strange 260. Strangers in Space 261. Stuff to Blow your Mind 262. Stuff you Should Know 263. Subject: Found 264. Subvercity Transmit 265. Supervillian Corner 266. Synesthesia Theatre 267. Taking Care of Paul 278. Tales of Nowhere 269. Tales of THATTOWN 270. Tanis 271. Terms 272. Theatre for the Mind 273. The Theatre of Tomorrow 274. The Thrilling Adventure Hour 275. Timelapse 276. Tokyo Hotel 277. Tribulation 278. True Crime Garage 279. The Tunnels 280. Twelve Chimes it’s Midnight 281. Uncanny County 282. Uncanny Japan 283. Under Pressure 284. Undiscovered 285. Unexplained 286. Unsolved Murders 287. Urban Chicken Podcast 288. Urban Decay 289. Victoriocity 290. We’re Alive 291. We’re Alive: Lockdown 292. We’re so Bad at Adventuring 293. Weird Work 294. Welcome to Night Vale 295. What the Cluck 296. What’s the Frequency 297. The White Vault 298. The Wicked Library 299. Wisecracks: The Squanch 300. Within the Wires 301. Wolf 359 302. Wooden Overcoats 303. The Writers Panel 304. You Are Here 305. Zoolaplex And a couple of podcasts that haven’t come out yet: 306. The Big Loop 307. Tarnum