#this just summoned two different ideas in my head so i decided to act on them!!

[waterfallofspace]

Another one for @onetrickponi's lovely ask

The second idea I had for this request! from ~this list~ In celebration of you starting B/uddy D/addies, here is a little R/ei content! (Featuring K/azuki, he's the other buddy after all!) Bit of a shorter one, so hopefully you can forgive two fics for the one request (and two tags haha sorry <3) There isn't anything spoiler-wise in this, just basic knowledge of the characters, though maybe a touch of implication you'll understand after watching more of it! 1.6k words, prompt #17, story under cut! 17. "What did you do to your nose to piss it off like this?" (References to swearing, and mild violence, in case anyone doesn't like those!)

~~~~~~~

“hahh’gnnt-! eh’knngt-!uhhh” 

“Bless you.”

“hihh- dntsh’uh-! ah’gnxt-!” 

“And again.”

“knndt-ingxt-hh’enDGT’uhh-!”

“Christ, Rei.” 

Kazuki lifts his eyes from the meal he’s preparing to stare at the figure on the couch. Each burst has Rei ducking into his chest, controller never leaving his hands. Despite the onslaught, he’s maintaining a solid lead in the race he’s playing. ‘It would be impressive if it wasn’t so concerning.’ 

“htxxgt-! ingdt’uh-!”

“Are you gonna live?”

“I’m f- huhh’knGDT’guhh-! fine.” 

Rolling his eyes pointedly, Kazuki lets a huff fall from his throat. Rei responds by attempting to rub his nose on his shoulder without looking away from the screen. ‘Honestly a little pathetic… Man, I wish I had my phone on me. This would look great as my new wallpaper.’ 

“Maybe I’d believe you if-”

“hh’dznxt’huhh-!”

“-You could get through the word fine-”

“aH’INdxxt’uhh-!” 

“-without sneezing. Or let me get through it for that matter.”

“That’s not a g- ih’gnxxt’huhh-! good system.”  

“Jeez, you sound awful.”

“Thanks.” 

The silence resumes its place over the room, Kazuki trying to focus on his steak as the strangled noises from Rei carry on. ‘At this rate he’s gonna pass out. I’ve never heard him go at it this much… sure, he has a few allergies, maybe the odd sneeze here or there, but nothing like this…’

Kazuki yelps as the smell of smoke pulls him from his thoughts. He turns the stove off with a hiss, pouring the steak onto a plate. Over on the couch, Rei turns his gaze towards the noise.

“You knxgt’uhh-! burnt it.” 

“Yeah I know! I was a little distracted by your-”

“eh’dngt-! knnxxt’huh-!”

“Exactly. This is your fault, you hear me! You’re eating the burnt one!”

“No I’m not. heh’dnNT’uhh-!”

“You- Fine! But I’m not eating it either!” 

“Okay.” 

“I really hate you sometimes, have I mentioned that?”

“eh’gznGT-! Yes.” 

Rei faces back towards the game, muttering to himself as the character on screen takes a sharp turn. Kazuki feels his eyebrow twitch, his mouth hanging open at the outright disregard for his food.

‘I work all day to make a nice meal, but does he appreciate it? No! No he does not! I’ll give him the burnt one- not like he was gonna compliment my food anyways… but maybe he’ll just not eat it… then it goes to waste… what a-’ 

“------- Kazuki?” 

“Huh?”

Pulling his attention back into the room, Kazuki attempts to decode the nonsense Rei just threw his direction in his mind. ‘Something something my name… Uh… Something about food maybe… Damn I wasn’t listening.’ His hands idly continue plating the food as he tries to recall the words.

“hh’knGT’uh-!”

“Bless you.”

“You didn’t hear me.”

It’s not a question, more of a statement. Feeling a heat rise into his face, Kazuki considers lying to save his pride. ‘As if there’s any left to save anyways…’ Curiosity wins in the end, and he brings a hand to the back of his neck, offering a sheepish smile. 

“No, I didn’t. Can you repeat it?”

“I asked if- hh’enDT-! eh’dxNGT’shoo-! heh’knTISH’iew-!” 

Rei brings a hand to his face as the third one breaks through, both wincing at the loss of control. He pinches his nose, Kazuki flinching again at the harsh nature of the action. With a small shudder, Rei attempts to speak again, keeping his fingers gripping his nose. ‘That’s gotta be painful-’ 

“I asked if the food was ready.” 

“Uh… Y- yeah…”

“Okay.”

Kazuki finds himself setting the table, mind still focused on the way Rei’s nose is shivering behind his hand. ‘He should just let it out… but it’s not really my place to tell him that. I know it’s a ‘thing’ with him.’ Still, as Rei sits down and Kazuki notices the water lingering in his eyes, it’s too much for him to ignore. 

“Why are you doing that?”

“Doihhng what? nnGt-! knxt-!”

“Doing that. Stopping them like that.”

“Oh. Habit, I suppose.”

“It can’t be good for you. It’s giving me a headache, and I’m not even the one sneezing!”

“I’m not- ihh’gnt-! hH’gNxxt-! in pain.”

“Oh really? Because the way you just winced says you’re lying.” 

There’s no answer, but Rei does drop his hand, starting to cut his steak into smaller pieces. ‘Not admittance, but maybe as close as I’m gonna get with him. I’ll accept it.’ Starting to eat his own, Kazuki groans as the burnt taste invades his mouth. Across from him Rei ducks into his shoulder with a smile that gets Kazuki’s blood boiling.

“And what’s so funny?! This is your fault after all. You should be thanking me for giving you the good one! Even though I know you’re not gonna appreciate all the effort that it took.” 

“ih’tischhiew-! heh’kieshh’tiew-!” 

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t think this means we’re through! Just because I still have manners, unlike some people, doesn’t mean I’m forgiving you for ruining my beautiful creation.”

“Okay. hh’keshh’tiew-!”

“I gotta ask… what’s up with that?” 

Rei gives him a measured look, raising his napkin to scrub at his nose. ‘Mental note: wash that one separately.’ Opening his mouth, likely with the intention to reply, Rei suddenly freezes, bringing his wrist up and flinching delicately in it with another round. 

“eh’tishhiew-! heh’kieshh’tiew-! ashhh’iew-!”

“Seriously Rei, what did you do to your nose to piss it off like this?”

“I don’t- ah’tishhiew-! heHh-! ih’keschh’tiew-! know.”

“What?! How do you not know?”

“I haven’t done- huh’teAZSHH’kiew-! Oh-”

“Bless you.”

“-Haven’t done anything different today.” 

As Rei pauses to scrub at his face, with his hands this time, Kazuki feels his mind start to race through the day. ‘I woke up early, Rei was still asleep in the tub. I made breakfast, everything was fine. He woke up, he was fine, we ate. He played games, I did laundry, then he chang-’ A realization dawns in Kazuki’s eyes as they widen and begin to scan Rei. In return he pauses the attack on his sinuses to meet the stare being thrown his way.

“What..?” 

“I uh… I think this might be my fault…” 

“How? hh’keZZShh’tiew-! knnt’shiew-! ihh’nnGT’iew-!”

“Bless you. W- well, I bought this new detergent, it was on sale ‘buy one get two free’, I couldn’t pass up that offer!”

“Okay?”

“And so I used it for the first time today… including when I washed your clothes, like the hoodie you put on about halfway through the day.”

“Oh. hH’DNtzshh’kiew-!”

“Bless you- I’m sorry, if I knew you were so allergic I never would have-”

“I’m not.”

Kazuki feels his eye start to twitch again. He tries to form words, but only succeeds in gaping in Rei’s direction, mouth opening and shutting silently. ‘He’s… is he actually… It wouldn’t be wrong to punch him, would it? Maybe just knock him on the back of the head? He’s a tough assassin, he could take it, right?’ Instead of following through, Kazuki finds himself simply staring at Rei until the other man starts to shift nervously under his gaze.

“You’re making me uncomfortable. eh’kZSHhh’tiew-!”  

“What. The hell. Do you mean. ‘You’re not’.” 

“I’m not allergic.” 

“You’re messing with me, right? Hilarious, Rei.”

“It’s not a joke. I d- heh’knNGt-! don’t have allergies.”

Standing slowly, Kazuki makes his way around the table, a smile void of any emotion starting to form across his face. Rei watches vaguely as he resumes picking at his food, until a slap to the back of his head brings his focus squarely onto Kazuki.

“Ow. What wa-”

“What the shit do you mean you ‘don’t have allergies’? Have you heard yourself? You think this is just how normal people sneeze? It’s not!”

“I’ve never been allergic hH’KEShhh’tiew-! to anything before.” 

“Are- Do you not remember the time we had that job where you had to wait in the garden? By the time we’d got the information we needed you could barely open your eyes they were so swollen.”

A faint blush starts to show across Rei’s face as he attempts to hide behind his hair, bringing his hands up again to scrub at his rapidly pinkening nose. Deciding not to wait for the inevitable denial, Kazuki stands and heads to the kitchen. Rummaging through a drawer he grabs the allergy meds, making another mental note to return the detergent and rewash Rei’s clothes. 

Returning to the table he hands Rei the pills, chuckling at the confused look he’s met with. ‘For a trained assassin who’s practically a master at his craft, man he can be dumb when it comes to… well… anything else.’ He grabs a glass of water, popping out a couple from the blister pack and grabbing Rei’s hand, placing them in it.

“You swallow those.”

“Why?”

“They will help with the allergies that you refuse to acknowledge.”

“I don-”

“Predictable as ever, Rei. I don’t care if you admit it or not, I’m not eager for you to disrupt the rest of the day with that constant-”

“heH’TISHhh’kiew-!”

“Exactly. You also need to change out of that hoodie. You’re literally just soaking in your ‘non allergen’. Though, the sneezes have slowed down a bit. Maybe that’s from not suppressing them into oblivion constantly!”

“Maybe.”

“You sure are a man of few words, aren’t you?” 

Rei simply grunts in response, swallowing the pills with a grimace ‘Such a child-’ before pulling off the hoodie and tossing it on the floor ‘Are you serious?!’ and curling back up on the couch. Kazuki lets out a deep sigh, grabbing the hoodie and throwing it into the laundry room before starting to clean up the plates. 

“hH’kesschh’tiew-!”

“Bless you, Rei.”

“Th- thanks…”

The response shakes Kazuki to his core, a dramatic tear starting to form in his eye. ‘He thanked me… I’m so proud! Still can’t clean up after himself… but I’ll fix that too.’ Casting his gaze back over to Rei, Kazuki allows himself to pause and for a moment, just a moment, feel content.

I’ll fix him. And maybe doing that… maybe that’ll fix me too. 

[kozmicmizuu]

guys please PLEASE here me out on this kny au idea

————————————————————————

ok yall watched Puss in Boots the last wish?? and have seen the 2019 kny halloween costumes???

guys…. them as puss and death…

PLEASE

idk how this cooked in my head but i can’t get it out after rewatching the movie

so obviously the others would be in this- i’ll get there don’t worry let me cook

tengen would obviously be a bit of a cocky bastard because he’s never been caught or killed, being the successful pirate he is, he considers himself almost untouchable. but he’s avoided death too many times— he was supposed to be dead ages ago. and then giyuu comes in.

giyuu was of course pissed off and agitated that some albino lil pirate bitch kept avoiding his clutches, so he decided to take him himself

then this scene is probably gonna be the first scene of this au, just them meeting in a bar

and the sizes would, of course, be swapped. tengens a big guy who is currently sitting next to the embodiment of death and the purge of the sea and doesn’t suspect a thing— because no way he’s taller than death! he’s not looking up at death, he’s looking down

just like he has been for his whole life

giyuu didn’t say anything (typical) and simply drank with him until tengen got a bit suspicious and felt uneasy about him. giyuu then pulled the same thing death did and told tengen “i’m a big fan- could you sign this for me?”

then pulls out the “wanted- dead or alive” thing and points to dead. then the whole fight scene happens, but it’s a bit different. tengen did land a hit on giyuu, successfully cutting giyuu in half at the stomach. but nothing happened. giyuu just simply put himself back together and acted like nothing happened, he simply said “you do live up to the legends.”

of course, tengen was confused and a bit worried now, giyuu didn’t care, he had an objective and he would complete it

the famous scene of puss actually getting touched by a blade would be blue, a bright yet dark blue— like the seas tengen rules, he just didn’t know that they’d be ruled by someone else (giyuu). also another overall headcanon for giyuu is that he’s a scary guy when he really wants to be

as for the others, i do have some ideas for them

these two are giyuu’s angel and devil on his shoulders, throughout the au, these two are helping giyuu with his decisions and even with fights! they’re like giyuu’s lil summons

i had to add genya my beloved

but yes, giyuu’s lil hell hound babygi— i mean super tough and cool is sanemi ft. two other lil hounds. genya just came along because sanemi made him(he couldn’t find a babysitter). but genya is very determined to impress his big brother.

instead of death being alone i just thought it’d be cool to have a little team for death hehe

also just found out i have a limit of ten images so ima just let yall find the 2019 halloween pics for kny (can be found of pinterest and google!) sigh 😔

but yeah, the rest of the hashira are helping tengen! most of em at least. himejina, kyojuro and muichiro are spirits that are simply wondering around, kinda sorta avoiding being put in the underworld (giyuu is going insane because of that)

and shinobu is a witch! she’s a very talented (and scary) one at that, she’s more than willing to help(may or may not have questions for death about a certain sister of hers)

mitsuri and obanai come together DO NOT SEPARATE! mitsuri is a kitsune while obanai has a big old snake buddy (with kaburamaru) (long ass name for a snake) also obanai did NOT want to go.

the kamaboko squad id also here!! but they’re the comedic breaks for this au, god bless their souls for that

and yes, giyuu shall speak spanish in this too, cause why not

————————————————————————

wowzers this is long (that’s what she said)

[mncxbe]

Please Ignore this if you aren't taking requests rn, but I had an Idea, Like how would Fukuzawa, Oda, etc react if you would accidentally call them Dad? If you want you can add other characters by accidentally calling them brother or sister :3 (omg imagine Yosano)

Omg yes that's so good. Sorry it took so long to write this piece I'm currently a bit busy at work but I finally managed. I hope you like it♡

4:05

𝑭𝒖𝒌𝒖𝒛𝒂𝒘𝒂, 𝑶𝒅𝒂, 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒐, 𝒀𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: fluff♡

𝑭𝒖𝒌𝒖𝒛𝒂𝒘𝒂

he is so so surprised when you accidently call him "dad"

oh boy he tries to keep it cool to keep up appearances, but as soon as he's alone he smiles so much

he's so happy that you see him like that

will remember your words for longer than you expected

A wave of fear washed over you when Dazai informed you that the president has just summoned you in his office. It wasn't like you did anything bad, yet you couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to see you.

"Mr. President?" you asked in a hushed voice as you stepped into his office with your head bowed. "You wanted to see me."

"Ah, Y/N, yes. Please take a seat" said the silver haired man as he motioned you towards a cushioned pillow on the ground. "Would you like some tea?"

You mumbled a small 'mhm' before sitting on the mat. "So why did you want to see me, sir? Did I do something?"

Your tried to hide your anxiety but the tone of your voice betrayed you. Fukuzawa lifted his gaze from the tea he was pouring, his ocean eyes narrowing at you.

"Why would you assume you did something wrong?" he inquired.

"Well..." you stuttered "You don't usually ask me to come to your office so I figured that I messed something up."

A heavy silence fell between the two of you; you could even hear your own racing heartbeat. But then Fukuzawa's lips curled into a gentle smile.

"Oh, Y/N. I just wanted to congratulate you for doing such a great job. Your work is invaluable to our organization and I wanted to personally thank you for your contribution."

The relief you felt upon hearing his praise could hardly be put into words; your lips stretched into a gleeful smile as you bowed your head.

"Thank you sir. I'm honoured to be a member of this agency and I really cannot express how happy I am that my hard work pays off, dad. I promise I won't disappoint you and-"

The look of surprise on Fukuzawa's face made you stop in dead in your tracks. What was wrong? You asked yourself as you went over your speech in your mind. And then you realized that you had just called him dad.

"Oh God I'm sorry, sir. I didn't think when I said that"

Fukuzawa's expression softened as he handed you your cup of tea; steam curling on its surface like grape vines.

"Don't worry about it" he said reassuringly "I don't mind it."

The two of you quietly sipped your sweet tea before he let you return to work. After you shut the door, Fukuzawa finally allowed himself to externalize the sheer amount of happiness he felt. There was nothing he loved more than being able to take care of the Agency's members, and the fact that you considered him a father figure was proof that he was doing a good job.

𝑶𝒅𝒂

he smiles so gently♡

if you get embarassed he pets your head and reassures you that it's alright

Oda's really proud of himself; from then on he always brings you curry at work

It was only eight months ago that the Port Mafia decided to recruit you as an assistant. Your job was pretty basic: compling reports for different missions and sorting paperwork but you loved it since it allowed you to meet almost all higher ups in the organization.

This is how you ended up getting acquainted with Oda. Although he was around seven years older than you, he was surprisingly high spirited and young at heart and unlike other members of the Mafia he was always kind to you. Oda would often swing by the dusty underground room that acted as your office and ask how you day was, bringing you snacks and tea.

After a few months his visits became something natural and at times, when you were absorbed in your work, you didn't fully acknowledge his presence.

"Hi, Y/N. How's your day going?" asked the brunette as he shut the wooden door, causing a cloud of dust to rise from the floor.

"Jesus" he coughed "You really need to clean this place one day"

"Yea, I know. I just cannot find a damn broom in this entire building. Oh and I'm good thanks for asking. What about you?" you replied, typing away on your laptop. The keys on the computer board clicked faintly as you quickly ran your digits over them.

Your comment made Oda chuckle lightly "Well, my day's fine too. I'm gonna go on a mission later but I wanted to bring you lunch first" he said as he placed a cardboard box on your desk.

"Oh, thanks dad" you babbled out, still not taking your eyes off of the glowing screen.

It was only when the man let out a hoarse laughter that you actually snapped out of your trance.

"Did you just call me dad?" he asked in a playful voice, causing your face to heat up.

"Uh... Did I? I guess I did" you said in attempt to play it off. "Do you mind it?"

"Of course not, Y/N. It's really nice to know that you see me as a father figure."

For a few seconds your gaze held his and you could see the joy sparkling in his eyes; he was giddy, like a kid in a candy store.

The wholesome moment was however abruptly interrupted by a blink; you had just received another e mail from your boss, asking you to go over some old documents from the archive.

"Uuh this work just never ends!" you cried out, throwing your hands in the air in a desperate gesture.

Oda only chuckled at your outburst, his smile widening. "Well then I'll leave you to it, but don't forget to eat something too"

"I won't. Thanks Oda and good luck on the mission"

The man lazily waved at you before stepping out of the room, a gentle smile making its way to his lips. She called me dad. He kept chanting those words to himself throughout the whole day, his heart swelling with unbounded pride and joy.

𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒐

sweet baby, he already knew that you saw him as a brother, but actually calling him that makes him smile so much

he pinches your cheeks till they're red, good luck getting rid of him now

as someone who never actually had a family until he met Fukuzawa, having someone else see him as an older brother is such an honour

from then on, Ranpo shares more of his sweets with you

You've been working at the Detective Agency for a couple of months now and Ranpo was your mentor. He had found you one day at a crime scene, hovering over the body with an inquisitive look on your face.

"Sirs, it may look like this man committed suicide but based on the angle the blade was tilted at I can rule it a homicide. There's no way he could've held the knife like that" you announced confidently as one of the police officers dragged you away from the corpse.

You were hectically swinging your arms and legs in attempt to free yourself. "I'm telling you, it wasn't suicide. You're jumping to conclusions."

"Shut up, brat" spat the vexed policeman as he showed you past the yellow tape that restricted the perimeter. "You better not cross the line again unless you wanna end up in jail. This is your last warning" he said before walking away from you.

You huffed in annoyance, turning on your heels when you suddenly bumped into the young detective.

"You're quite observant, young lady" he said in his usual jovial voice. "Tell me, how old are you?"

"Seventeen..." you mumbled, your eyes narrowing at him "And who are you?"

The young man chuckled as a wide smile made its way to his lips. "I'm Ranpo Edogawa, the world greatest detective. And you, miss, are in great luck. I want to rectruit you as my apprentice."

From then on you accompanied Ranpo to crime scenes and solved countless cases together, the friendship between you growing stronger by the day.

One Monday evening as you returned to the office from a crime site, you enthusiastically pulled Ranpo in for a hug.

"Thanks, nii-chan. This was my biggest case so far and I couldn't have solved it without you." you beamed.

For a brief moment the detective was awestruck; he was accustomed to your sudden affections, but it was the first time you've ever called him big bro.

As if sensing his bewilderment you quickly pulled away from him, a deep shade of pink tinting your cheeks as you fumbled for words.

"I'm sorry Ranpo I don't know why I said that."

The detective regained his composure, flashing you his signature smirk "Hey, hey don't worry, Y/N" he said gently as he caressed the crown of your head. "You can always count on your big bro. Let's go get some sweets now, ok? My treat."

You nodded eagerly and began walking towards the closest convenience store; Ranpo stood behind, his emerald eyes following your movements. A warm feeling, which was most likely a blend of love and pride, bloomed in his chest as he watched you open the glassy door of the shop.

"You coming?" you yelled at him in attempt to cover the sound of the incoming traffic and he quickly followed you. The door closed behind him with a thud as you entered the shop.

𝒀𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒐

she blushes so much but she's so happy

much like Ranpo she's deeply moved when she hears your words

expect her to take you on more shopping sprees

"Keep up, Y/N. We still have a few more shops to check out" said the woman with a wide grin on her face as she entered yet another store.

It was the beginning of summer and almost all boutiques had clothes on sale, which meant that your colleague ought to take you on one of her infamous shopping sprees. Since you only started your job only a few months ago, you couldn't afford most of the ellegant garments displayed in the shop windows, so you simply resolved to carrying around Yosano's bags.

"Naa girly wait for me" you whined as you struggled to balance the shiny box Yosano just handed you.

The woman, seemingly ignoring your complaints, walked to a nearby mannequin and scanned the dress it was wearing with narrowed eyes.

"Tell me, Y/N. Do you like this?" she asked in a contemplative voice.

You considered the dress for a moment before speaking; it was truly gorgeous, a black piece adorned with intricate purple and pink patters which looked like curls of smoke.

"It's very beautiful, Akiko. You'd look great in it."

Your friend sighed, her head dropping to the side as her violet eyes met yours "That wasn't the question, Y/N. I asked if you like it."

You were taken aback by her blunt words but quickly nodded, earning a smile from the woman.

"Good. Then try it on" she said, taking a clothes hanger from a nearby rack.

You didn't bother to hide your excitement as you rushed to the changing rooms and slipped into the dress; and it fit you like a glove, perfectly hugging all your curves. With excitement burning in your eyes, you stepped out of the dressing room.

"Soo what do you think?" you asked your friend, performing a twirl.

"Oyy you look so hot girl" she cheered "Wear this to the next event we go to and you'll sweep everyone off their feet."

"I highly doubt that" you giggled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "Plus I can't afford it anyway"

"Nonsense! I'm buying it for you" announced the woman with a proud smile on her face.

"But I can't accept it, Aki. It's way too-"

Yosano cut you short with a swift motion of her hand "Then consider it a birthday gift. You're turning 20 next month right?"

An ecstatic smile made it's way to your lips as you hugged her. "Thanks, nee chan" you whispered, your arms snaking around her neck.

Upon hearing your words Yosano's face turned a light shade of pink but she wasted no time to slip her hands around your torso, pulling you closer to her. Happiness bubbled up inside her when she felt you giggle agaist her shoulder.

"Anytime, Y/N" she smiled back

[deconstructthesoup]

Decided to finally revisit my Fantasy High class swap AU, Closer To Fine, and I've ironed out their journey to fit with Junior Year:

Riz: Stays a School of Illusion wizard throughout the story, though his thing of being a wizard in part to prove a point comes to a head in JY, when he's the only person in class who doesn't have the money to afford spell components---and he also has to worry about scholarships on top of that. Not only is he joining every school activity, but he's also doing whatever job will take him, and he's definitely stretching himself too thin.

Adaine: Stays a College of Creation bard throughout the story, but she does take two levels of wizard in JY due to her finally accepting that she's the Oracle---not the Elven Oracle, just the Oracle. (Adaine's Furious Fist is a bard and wizard spell in this story, btw!) She also struggles with inspiration and writing songs due to how stressful school has become---not to mention, she also has to worry about her own financial troubles---which leads to her both falling behind in class and having a hard time with her label. Knowing that she's a bard and has Fig's fame in this story, I figured it would be interesting to balance learning how to be a kid after leaving a shitty situation with the pressures of being in the public eye, especially when you're still struggling with anxiety.

Fabian: Stays a Swashbuckler rogue throughout the story, but becomes a Fiend/Pact of the Blade warlock in Sophomore Year after he meets Bill in Hell. His arc in JY is about how he's struggling to balance wanting to make his own name for himself while still showing his father that he's beginning to appreciate what he did for him, and his warlock pact and powers reflect that---his spells are more unpredictable if he's feeling in conflict with Bill, and they're easier to manage when Fabian thinks that he's doing something that'll make Bill proud... and yeah, he definitely feels some self-esteem issues when his spells get better the more he acts like a Seacaster. I always love it when a warlock's patron is their estranged parent.

Gorgug: Starts out as an Eldritch Knight fighter in Freshman Year, switches up to be a Samurai fighter in Sophomore Year after he reconnects with his birth parents and stops letting his fear of not being good enough get in the way of what he does, and multiclasses into a College of Valor bard in the middle of Sophomore Year with Adaine's help. His JY arc was harder to figure out, since the canon one is so specific to him being a Barbarian/Artificer, but I decided that it's still about him learning how to be his own kind of adventurer and combining the skills that come from his biological and adoptive parents, just in a different light. No longer just a protector, now something that's freer and wilder and more him. (Also, I just love the idea of him having enchanted drumsticks that can turn into swords. And him fighting with a magic drumset that he can summon at will. Fighter bards are so cool.)

Kristen: Starts out as a Zealot barbarian in Freshman Year, switches up to Wild Magic barbarian after trying out Yes!/? and realizing that it doesn't work for her (almost rejecting religion entirely), and multiclasses into a paladin once she makes the decision to have Cassandra as her deity---specifically, an Oath of Redemption paladin. Her arc in JY is not only learning how to properly deal with a god that works for her while balancing her own mental health struggles (ADHD queen, we stan), but also about balancing her own rage and deciding to lean more into a pacifist stance of reaching out and finding comfort in the unknown and unpredictable... which is difficult to do, seeing as she's Porter's student and he's in charge of her MCAT, and he wants her to be an angry Zealot instead of what she's got going on.

Fig: Starts out as a Trickster Domain cleric in Freshman Year, multiclasses into an Alchemist artificer in Sophomore Year after becoming close with Ayda and realizing that she likes experimentation and learning way more about how truly weird and wonderful magic is, and switches to a Light Domain cleric in Junior Year. She still gets the Gilear curse, though it's her Blesses that have a backlash and not Bardics, and I think she decides in part to worship Ankarna because, well, as an Archdevil, she's a peer of Asmodeus now, and the time in her life when she really needed them has passed. They're cool with it, though.

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground 10: Who do you think you are?

AKA: The required amnesia episode

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): While exploring an unfamiliar city, Sonia knocks her head and loses her memory! Can her brothers find her and remind her of her true self, or will she make a life with her new friend, the street urchin Raphie?

Raphie’s episode! I like Raphie, he’s very sweet.

Okay, so Aleena opens this episode implying that the triplets are going to realise they need to learn from each other. This is not going to happen. Sonia is going to learn about life on the streets from a bit character and make absolutely no connection between his life and Manic’s.

In today’s episode, Sonic is the responsible one. Sonia is flighty and more concerned with clothes and fashion.

This episode also mentions a palace. This is not Robotnik’s palace, nor is it in M/Robotropolis: it’s in Tashistahn, further confusing the question of whether Mobius (which Aleena rules) is a country, an empire, a – STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.

Tashistahn is definitely not Agrabah, by the way. Or the real world Constantinople. By the way.

Mobius is definitely not the Roman Empire, by the way.

Aleena IS DEFINITELY NOT JUSTINIA—

So furthering Sonia’s being the irresponsible one in this episode, she refuses to discuss plans with her brothers and just decides she’s going to sneak in with a disguise despite the other two being firmly against taking the risk. Because she doesn’t want to get dirty. This is funny, and because the boys don’t understand her, not poor teamwork. Have I mentioned how much I dislike Sonia’s character type?

Sonia super strength +1

Okay, so this was a common theme in the 90s, and for all I know it’s still a common theme and I just don’t know because I don’t watch kids shows that much anymore. But the amnesia thing had this trope where the amnesiac becomes really credulous and innocent. It kind of frustrates me, because it implies that they are only cautious because they’ve been hurt before, but they usually remember things they only learned in battle. It’s like… pick a lane, writers!

(Also, off topic, I watched the Fallout show the other week and can I just say Maximus acting like a credulous child in the vault—particularly when the subject of sex came up—legitimately pissed me off?) (Basically I get annoyed about infantilisation) (There is a long rant about the difference between lack of knowledge and childishness in here somewhere)

Manic is being so ridiculously competent this episode. As he often is when he gets sidelined. Yes I make too much of this.

Sonia is a snob even without her memory.

Sonia is such a snob without her memory that she trades her necklace for bread and ten gold pieces. Because it’s odd looking. I just… this… ugh.

Manic comes up with the idea to play music to summon their sister. You know, like Sonic did in the first episode. Sonic does not make this connection until Manic reminds him that’s how it works. -facepalm-

The Song: We need to be Free. It’s good, but slightly distracting is that Sonia specifically notes that she thinks she’s what’s missing and does NOTHING ABOUT THAT but dance for the crowd, also there’s very definitely a… ney, google tells me it’s called, playing and no way for Sonic’s guitar to be making that sound. I am making faces at my screen.

And of course knocking her head restores her memory while removing everything since she got amnesia. There are tropes that must occur.

…Sonic says Sonia was right about using disguises over the sewers… because of the smell. This never usually bothers him. He then comments on hating water though, so maybe it’s just a bit too close to the Moby Deep episode and he’s bitter. It better not be because we need Sonia to look good this episode.

But Dingo’s in there so yes, they use disguises.

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality +1 (this time in drag!)(You cannot deny even in contemporary media that he prefers skirts over pants)

Manic, however, does not seem nearly as comfortable and is way more patronising. He does not have good fem!vibes.

Aleena distracts Sonia from her friend, getting him caught…

…Sleet is 100% loving Sonic as a courtesan. “Wow, what a woman” indeed.

And Sonia is way more surprised to see Manic in a dress. Yes I make too much of this.

And Raphie gets partially robotocised! Nooo! But he’s mostly okay. Unlike with Cyrus, there is no angst to be had here. Only good vibes.

Sonia says Manic makes a much prettier girl than Sonic. I disagree. But luckily, Sonic is too cool to actually care. Slay.

Overall, a decent start to the week, with multiple OCs that I love dearly. We’ll never see Raphie again, sadly, which is probably just as well because Tashistahn leans into some slightly skeevy tropes, but the ANGST THAT COULD HAVE BEEN GUYS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. He lost his entire lower half! Bunnie Rabbot without the arm! There are REASONS she was subtextually horrifying!

Anyway.

The counters:

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality: 3

Sonia in love with Bartleby: 1/37

Sonia’s got super strength: 3

Manic's Thievery Is A Problem: 1

Next up, I think we meet Stripes, who I don’t actually remember why I made him into a Nice Guy TM, so we’ll see what happens.

[typically-untypical]

Idea for a fic - Thomas wonders how the sides are affected when he gets drunk, and decides to call them all up and test it. Virgil passes out first since alcohol dulls a lot of anxiety around how you're perceived by others, and Logan gets quite silly as it lets him loosen up. Patton is super giggly and floppy, but lasts longer than the first two. The twins go wild with ideas that get more and more ridiculous, with Remuss ideas starting to sound more and more interesting as time goes on. And as the night goes on, Janus' mask drops and it's revealed that he's a super cuddly snek boi with the most genuine declarations of (platonic) love and adoration Thomas has ever heard from any of his sides. He also lasts until the end, when he suggests Thomas stop before he passes out because it would just leave Remus left and that would be a mess to clean up in the morning.

Feel free to take or leave any details, whatever works for you!

I wasn't able to get all of the sides quite like you suggested, but I still had a lot of fun with this one!

Drunk Thomas

As Thomas stumbled into his house Logan was the first to appear. He couldn't rationalize why his logical side would be the first side to show up after a night of drinking, but it probably meant a lecture he very much didn't want to hear right now. "I told you that we should have been more careful," Logan's words were slurred and his hands flittered around as if trying to figure out what to do with them. It was kind of funny to see the normally cool and composed teacher a bit lost. Eventually, one of his hands landed on his tie to straighten it while the other went to push up his glasses, neither were straight after his attention and Thomas had to fight back a laugh. Logan was completely disheveled while trying to act presentable; he was also obviously drunk. Thomas had never really thought about it, but if they were all just parts of him, of course they also got drunk when he did, but that meant all of his sides were drunk and this was going to be hilarious to see. Before he could even try to summon anyone else, Roman appeared.

"Lighten up you, you... something." Roman looked thoughtful as he was trying to figure out a nickname for Logan, but then he actually turned to look at the nerd and he began laughing, pointing at Logan with his Katana. "You look like... woah, did you all know I have a sword?" His eyes were wide as he looked at his signature weapon as if he had never seen it before, marveling as he turned it over in his hands a few times. "Ouch, the foul beast has offended me!" He had a small cut on his hand from the sharpness of the blade.

"Shut up Princey," Virgil called from the couch. His voice was quiet, laden with exhaustion and they were all pretty sure he had fallen asleep as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Roman looked like he was debating whether or not he should attack the emo so Thomas attempted to step in. He walked towards Roman, hand out to help with the cut, but Roman apparently made a different assumption.

"How dare you attempt to steal my protection, back foul beast this is mine and mine alone!" Logan looked about ready to strangle Roman for his shouting. He even reached out towards Roman, but being so close it looked as if he was reaching out towards Thomas. The host of this montly crew didn't have time to react as he was swept into someone else's many arms, squished against a black and yellow capelet.

"All of you need to stop bullying Thomas!" Janus was hiding Thomas from the other sides who were very much not bullying him but Thomas couldn't help but be a bit touched by Janus' sudden protectiveness and he hugged his deceitful side back, pulling him in close. Janus reacted immediately, gently petting Thomas' hair and cooing at his favorite person. 

"You are a complicated snake, but you are my snake." Thomas began to gently rub Janus' back and it seemed the returned affection made Janus completely melt, knocking his own hat off as he rubbed his head against Thomas' the way a cat might. 

"This is a mess," Logan muttered, turning to sink out but bumping into the wall instead, almost falling on his back. "I am extremely functional and none of you saw that!" He insisted, causing Roman to laugh with his full body.

"The nerd can't stand!" He laughed, stepping forward and tripping over Logan only to land on top of him. "Oh my gods! I'm bleeding!" Roman continued to shout and Logan groaned.

"Maybe Virgil had the right idea, a nap sounds like the correct course of action." He wasn't able to get up though, currently squished under Roman and without the proper dexterity to move.

"Bedtime for everyone!" Patton popped up, a little wobbly on his feet but he faked sobriety pretty well. He started with Virgil, touching him and sending him back into the mindscape. Then he moved over to Logan and Roman, sending both of them back. He had to stop for a moment after that, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. Pretending to be sober was far harder than just existing. When he finally caught his balance again, he walked over to Janus and Thomas, the former hissing at him and turning away so that Patton couldn't touch the later.

"Leave my angel alone. He doesn't have to do what you tell him." Janus stuck out his tongue in a completely failed attempt at being intimidating. 

"I just... I'm just trying to get him to bed." Patton looked at the both of them with puppy dog eyes, round and vulnerable. He wasn't doing anything wrong this time.

Janus completely ignored him, pulling away from Thomas just enough to actually look him in the face. Two of his hands came up to cup Thomas' cheeks, looking into his eyes. "Do you want to go to bed? It's okay if you say no, no one can force you to sleep. Not if you don't want to."

Thomas laughed, gently nodding even if it was hard to move his head in Janus' grip. "It was a long night, and we had a lot of fun, but I think now, sleep is good."

Janus hummed, nodding gently, still not letting go of the sides of Thomas' face. "Sleep is good, self-care."

Thomas nodded, trying to move away but Janus still had him held. He had a sheen of tiredness to his eyes, and Thomas knew he wasn't going to make it up the stairs tonight. "Let's all sleep here, there's too many stairs."

"I can agree to that," Patton said, letting Janus shuffle Thomas over to the couch, "Even if we might not feel too comfortable in the morning."

"I'll survive," Thomas said, thankful that the couch was now empty. Somewhere behind the buzz of alcohol, Thomas knew his sides weren't real, that he couldn't touch them but there was no time to actually think about all of that right now, not when he was ready to relax into the comfort of his cushioned sofa. Not when Janus was laying on top of him to keep him safe and warm. "Do-" he was cut off by a yawn before Patton began tucking the two of them in with a blanket. "Do all of you get silly when I drink?"

"Only when you drink a bit too much," Patton said, sitting down next to the couch and leaning his head against it, looking up at Thomas with a soft smile.

"Psh..." Janus shook his head, "Not too much, this isn't a regular thing, and you stopped before you got sick. Still have your memories, only drank because you know you were in a safe environment, and you are safe at home. You did perfect." He gently patted Thomas' head. "Safe... safe, safe, safe." Janus repeated the word until it didn't feel like a word anymore. Then, surprisingly, he turned to look at Patton.

"You should relax papa bear, you're working too hard, even Annie is asleep. All of us deserve rest."

Patton bit his lip and it looked like he was honestly thinking about it for a while, but then he shook his head no. "I'll watch out for the rest of you."

Janus just rolled his eyes and curled up against Thomas, listening to the sound of his host's heartbeat. "I'll protect him," He hissed, gently patting Thomas' chest. The snake began to relax, closing his eyes softly. "I'll always protect you."

"We will all protect him." Patton responded, letting out a big yawn. "You aren't the only one."

No, he knew he wasn't. Janus smiled softly. They all loved Thomas and they were all going to do their best to protect him. That's what it meant to be one of Thomas' sides.

[somegirlontheinternet135]

*Sigh*

. . . I'd never thought I'd do this. . .

A few months ago, I said that I could never pull off proper fanfic because my fear of it not getting attention. But here I am, with several WIPs, taking a break from playing video games to create content along with other things, so it made all the weirder when I decided on what I wanted to do. . .

Folks, after a bit, I decided to make write my first ever, proper fanfiction. I'm not talking about just visual storytelling like my other AUs, I'm talking about actually ao3 level fanfic, except on tumblr. Unfortunately, I can't force on this entirely, due to having such a cramp schedule and my other WIPs

Till I finish those, I hoping I can begin work on the prologue before anything big happens. What exactly is this chunk of fiction about? Well don't ask. . .

Might you be interested in. . .

⏰Anything And Everything, All Of The Time⏰

~A Cookie Run Kingdom AU, Created By Mei_TheBear~

For those who don't know about my recent ramble, the plot of this AU is such; The Five Ancient Heroes accidentally summon our favorite sci-fi eldridge being and cyprid, Timekeeper, and have to be their main sources of entertainment. Originally, I made this AU to comeback the lack of content we've been getting with these six, and it ended becoming way bigger. I had so many other ideas for this AU, one of making TK Pure Vanilla Cookie's long-lost siblings. But after a few tweets, I ended up with something I'm generally happy with

But that, however, is now why I made this. I made this post to explain major factors in the story (roles, etc.) That without, may confuse first-time readers. So, if you're reading this now, you're in luck. Let's get into it!

Millennia Tree and the other legendaries probably plays the biggest role in the main plot. MT was also the closest with Timekeeper before the "incident." Key word here is "was," in my AU, they have an ex-boyfriend/crazy ex-girlfriend relationship.TK is obsessed in MT, in more ways than one, wanting to do more than put his head on a spike

Twizzly Gummy plays a major role in the story, starting the domino-effect that led to the Timekeeper being freed. Other than that, Twizzly is going to be the "Sammy Lawrence" of the story, influenced by TK and treating them like a god. Clotted Cream Cookie will also play a big part in this. Playing as our antagonist, he became fixated on the Timekeeper and wanting to know to anything and everything about them, nearly being driven to break of insanity trying to find a possible weakness. Characters like Gingerbrave won't be as important, but will serve as support for Clotted Cream and will make appearances

Anyone that exposed themselves all types of different media be prepared, there's going to be a lot of references to different songs, movies, musicals, tv shows, even other video games, all of which well be tied into the story. Speaking songs, I have tons of songs planned for this AU, we are talking about the Timekeeper; hard to say they wouldn't be a fan of musical theater

Another thing is slight similarities between the backstories of Timekeeper and Dark Enchantress, I'm saying "slight" because I've recently done a bit tweaking to TK orginal story. Timekeeper, becoming the way they are through boredom, whilst White Lily Cookie turning into DE was an act of curiosity

Speaking of curiosity, the first half of the story I view as a cautionary tale in two ways:

1. The dangers of curiosity

How we as a society try to find logic in what is unknown. We a need to question every little detail to have a better understanding of it. And how some are better unsolved. . .

2. Don't be cocky

Doesn't matter who you are, your status, how many weapons you have or how much a$$ you kick on a daily; they'll always someone bigger and stronger, ready to take you down. Whether that be from jesus christ or time itself, they'll always someone after you

Tldr: 'Anything and Everything, All of The Time' will officially become a fanfic on tumblr, not ao3 though- I made this post to prepare you for the possible sh*t storm you'll read. I do plan on making and posting a prologue the next month given the chance, so that's something to be on the lookout for

And as always, stay tuned^^

[violetsareblue-selfships]

Twins?

Ship: Raiden Ei x April [Background EiMiko x April] | Word Count: 1473 | Warnings/Tags: First Person POV, food mention, very mild jealousy (like hinted at mostly)

A/N: happy birthday, ei~ -- so it's interesting that she was like alluding to makoto in her birthday letter when I already planned on posting this today hehe <3 I hope you enjoy it~

Hearing that I've been summoned to Tenshukaku would ordinarily be a cause for concern. Why would the Raiden Shogun call for someone personally if they weren't in trouble or needed for something?

But after our last date together, both Yae and Raiden have expressed a desire to have one-on-one dates with me. I get it. They likely want to see if I act different or show a different side of myself to them alone.

If we're going to keep dating, it was bound to happen eventually.

Yae hasn't yet found me for a date, but it seems that Raiden's found enough free time to call me to her.

So, instead of panicking and rushing there like the same announcement would have caused me to weeks ago, I smile and thank the soldiers and ask for a moment to get ready. They relax a little at the fact I didn't try to send them away (apparently Raiden had requested they accompany me there so I didn't get stopped at the gates).

I dress up a tiny bit, switching out my plain shirt for a pretty blouse and deciding that the skirt I'm wearing is pretty enough. I grab a light jacket in case the wind picks up as well as my keys and everything else I usually leave the house with.

"Hmm…" It feels a bit odd to be going to Tenshukaku without anything to give to Raiden. I hear it's considered good etiquette to bring her something, and while this may not be usual circumstances, it likely would still be a good idea…

I scan the room for literally anything, my eyes brightening when I spot the tray of brownies I had made earlier. I pack a few of them up, enough that she could give some to Yae if she so desires, and I finally leave my house.

"Are you ready to go?" One of the soldiers asks and I nod. They accompany me the entire walk, which feels a little weird.

Everyone in town is staring at me. No doubt they think I've done something wrong to be accompanied by the Shogunate soldiers like this, but I wonder if my calmness is confusing them. Normally a person would look anxious, not like they're headed to afternoon tea.

Once we set foot into Tenshukaku, there's another person waiting to accompany me to the room Raiden's in. I thank them and follow behind them, surprised to hear two voices coming from the room as we draw close, both voices sounding similar.

My questions are both answered and doubled when I'm allowed to enter the room. Is this some kind of trick of my imagination? There are two of them sitting in front of me.

It's a little odd the way their expressions both soften, though in slightly different ways. I feel a sense of familiarity with one more than the other, even though they're identical, I can still tell somehow. The one on the right is the Raiden I've been going out with along with Yae. The one on the left… I don't know what to make of her.

"Hmm, I suppose this was a confusing way to do this." My Raiden says, her expression turning apologetic. "I should have considered how odd it would be for you."

"So you're twins?" I ask quietly, looking between the two.

"In a way." My Raiden holds her hand out to me and I step forward to take it, allowing her to pull me to sit beside her. "April, meet my sister, Makoto."

Makoto smiles at me. "Sorry to have confused you. It is lovely to meet the girl Ei's talking so sweetly about."

"It's nice to meet you too." I say softly. She's nice, really sweet actually. Not that Ei isn't, Ei just has a more stoic side to her at times.

"What is it you have there?" She asks and I blink. I'd nearly forgotten the brownies in my hands. If I had known about Makoto, I would have packed more…

I pass the package over to Raiden (is it too early for me to call her Ei?) and she opens them up, gasping softly at the sight of the brownies. It makes Makoto smile and she giggles at my confusion. "Didn't you know? My sister has a weak spot for desserts."

"Ah, I didn't. I made some this morning and figured it'd be a good enough thing to bring… Besides, I thought this was going to be…" I trail off and Raiden looks at me.

"It is what you're thinking. I merely wanted to introduce you to Makoto. You'd need to meet her eventually given that you might run into her out on the streets of Inazuma City." Raiden explains and I nod. I could see why she'd need to explain.

"How is it I never knew there were two of you?" I ask quietly. It would be major news to have twin archons or is only one of them the archon? I don't know the specifics here…

"We rule jointly. You would have never needed to know if not for the way you're growing close to Miko and I." Raiden says and I hum.

Makoto smiles a little. "We're both good at different things so we each handle what our strengths are. Which is why you would see me in Inazuma City. I tend to be the one interacting most directly with our people."

"Okay. If no one knows that you're twins, then in public, should I treat you both the same?" I ask, more referring to the way I'm dating Raiden than anything.

"Mm. Most likely, yes. Hand-holding and hugs would be fine." Raiden says, her eyes flashing a little. "However, I'd prefer to keep anything else to just us."

Makoto laughs. "Calm down, sister. I think she meant the first two. It would be confusing for the people for her to not be close to us on certain days."

"True." Raiden says with a sigh. "I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me."

"Yes, you do!" Makoto teases. "You were the same way with Miko when you introduced her to me."

Raiden huffs and Makoto laughs, leaning over and patting her shoulder softly. "I think I'll take my leave now. Have fun, you two." With that, she carefully rises to her feet and leaves the room.

"Again, I apologize. I didn't mean to sound so possessive of you." Raiden says once we're alone. I giggle and lean up against her a little shyly.

"It's alright. But, if I may ask, why did your mind jump to kisses? We haven't yet…" I trail off and her cheeks go pink.

"I… I might have been considering it. I still need to talk it over with Miko, so I'm afraid it won't happen today, but it's still been on my mind." Raiden says and my heart skips a beat, leaving me feeling a little shaky.

"If it makes you feel better, I've been thinking about it too." I say and her next breath is shaky. "Why don't you have one of the brownies?" I ask with a grin. "You should have told me you liked sweets! I'd be bringing them to our dates more often."

Her eyes widen and start to sparkle a little and I giggle. Uh-oh. Have I created a monster in saying that? "You're too sweet." She murmurs, carefully picking up one of the brownies and taking a bite. Her eyes flutter a little as a grin spreads across her face. "This is exquisite. You never told me you could bake."

I laugh softly. "Uhh, I'm pretty sure I did. Back when we met. I think Yae immediately tried to distract you from it though." I say and she hums.

"You're right. Well, I wouldn't mind if you baked more for me in the future."

"I can do that." I say with a grin. "Though, Raiden…"

"Ei. I think we've been dating long enough that you're allowed that privilege by now."

A small smile spreads across my face, "Then, Ei, you'll have to give me a list of your favorite desserts so I know which would be best to bring you."

She laughs softly. "That won't be necessary. Anything sweet is to my tastes. Honestly, I don't know if I have a favorite." She says and I giggle softly.

"Noted."

"So, since this is a date, what do you say to a walk around the gardens after I finish this?" She asks, gesturing with the brownie.

"That sounds perfect." I say and she smiles at me, wrapping her free arm around me and tugging me a little closer.

"Good."

I lean against her while she eats the brownie, looking forward to spending the next few hours with her. It's going to be so fun getting to be alone with her.

[sir-subpar]

What do we call this? (Ringo x Saizo x Arrow)

Relationship: Ringo x Arrow x Saizo

Summary:

Arrow's been thinking about how Ringo and Saizo have started treating him differently, flirting with him, cuddling him... Surely that's because they're friends, right?

Aka: Arrow can't seem to fathom that it's possible for people to like him back, so Ringo and Saizo spell it out for him.

*Author Note: I recently bought Soul Hackers 2, I wouldn't say it's my favorite game, and I don't think it was worth the high price, but I do like it! I especially like these 3 characters. It's a gorgeous game, and the story so far is interesting. I think the crew should have just made it a movie. I haven't finished the game yet, so there shouldn't be many spoilers here, but I don't know. It's "post canon", but I'm kinda making it up here as I don't know how the game actually ends yet.

With the world saved, and the apocalypse prevented, things went back to normal.

Well, as normal as they could be, anyway. Arrow, Milady, and Saizo were all still summoners, and Ringo had decided to stick around instead of returning to Aion.

So, now Arrow had basically a sentient, humanoid supercomputer as his safehouse roommate and travel partner. He wasn't complaining though, Ringo made good company.

Ringo's presence wasn't the only thing that changed, Saizo decided to spend more time with the two of them as well, and occasionally Milady joined in, but not too often if it wasn't battle-related.

Not that it bothered Arrow much, it was still hard for him to get along with her. Saizo was much easier to get along with, thankfully.

Speaking of Saizo, Arrow had noticed a bit of a… shift regarding him.

One thing that was clear about Saizo, was that he was kind of a flirt. Though thankfully not pushy or too inappropriate, it took Arrow some getting used to.

"Looking good, Arrow."

"Are you Cupid's Arrow? Because I think I'm in love."

Arrow hadn't thought that much about it at first. After all, Saizo flirted with Ringo and Milady too.

They were heading out for some relaxation time and drinks. Walking through the city, there were puddles everywhere from last night's rainstorm. With that post-rain smell, and the neon lights of the town reflecting off the remaining water, it was a pleasant day for the four of them.

After waiting for the crosswalk to be cleared of vehicles, Saizo stepped off the sidewalk and halted. He turned around and delicately set his white jacket onto a muddy puddle.

With a slight bow, and one arm behind his back, he held his free hand out, palm up towards Ringo. A small toothy smile on his face.

Ringo may not have been an expert on humans, but she knew exactly what Saizo was doing. She gave him a knowing but still friendly smile, and took him up on his non verbal offer. Her hand in his, she lightly stepped on the soaked jacket, and walked towards dryer ground. He gave her a quick spin before letting go of her hand, the act gaining a light giggle from Ringo. Once their hands were no longer linked, he turned back to face Milady with the same smile, and offered his hand to her.

Which was met with a punch to his gut.

Saizo let out an "OOF!" and doubled over, his hands on his now injured abdomen. The air forcibly knocked out of him, he stumbled.

Arrow wouldn't be surprised if it ended up bruising.

Milady sauntered past all of them, not batting an eye and leaving them a bit shocked. Despite her attack on Saizo, the man stood straight again and composed himself. He smiled again, even if it was slightly strained.

He faced Arrow, and, much to his surprise, held his hand out to him. Just as he did for Ringo and Milady.

Arrow hesitated, not so much out of discomfort as much as out of… confusion? Maybe just shock? For whatever reason. Arrow just hadn't expected to be treated the same way.

The same way Saizo treated people he was interested in.

Arrow couldn't ignore the heat rushing into his cheeks at that idea. Unsure of what else to do, he placed his hand on Saizo's palm. Gloved fingers curled around his hand in a gentle grip. Saizo gently tugged Arrow's arm, guiding him over the puddle, letting him step on his jacket.

Arrow wasn't ready to admit it, but it made him feel… special. Saizo taking the time to do this, letting his own jacket be ruined for the sake of being charming to the others, it felt nice.

Arrow took a bite of pizza, sitting back on the couch in his safe house. The others were out doing their own missions, giving him time to think things over. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this strange "shift" wasn't just with Saizo, but Ringo as well.

Ah yes, Ringo.

The one who brought him back from the dead when they first met. WWhat a memorable day that was.

When the world was saved, he expected her to return to Aion, what with her discomfort with her physical form and all. He didn’t expect her to stay, or want to stay. Looking back, it seemed silly to think that. She was naturally curious, and she liked being friends with the whole gang. It made sense that she wouldn’t want to abandon the people she spent so much time and effort protecting. Honestly, Arrow was glad she stayed. He got used to her being around. She kept life interesting. Sure, he wished she was a little less reckless sometimes, but if she were, would she really be Ringo anymore?

He learned a lot from her, and she from him. That was probably one of his favorite things about spending time with her. Even if it did result in him having an existential crisis sometimes.

It wasn’t always something big like Devil Summoning, sometimes it was something as small as baking, or gardening. There were so many human experiences that Ringo hadn’t tried before, and there was a part of Arrow that was excited to show her. She made some of the most mundane human things sound amazing, in a way, it reminded him of how intricate the world was.

Arrow hadn’t seen Ringo in almost an hour, she took off randomly and just disappeared. It made nerves twist in Arrow’s gut. Where had she gone? Why? What if something was wrong? It was freezing outside, ice and snow everywhere. What if she got hypothermia? Or frostbite?

He wasn’t sure if she could suffer from those things, but if she could pass out from exhaustion, it wasn’t weird to think of it as a possibility, right?

Bundled in his winter attire, he opened the door and let the freezing air rush over him. He quickly shut the door behind him, not letting the heat escape. A gray sky stretched endlessly above him, small flurrying flakes of snow softly fell around him, coating everything it touched. He could see his own breath, brief clouds that disappeared in seconds. He looked at the ground below him, completely blanketed by white, he noticed faded imprints in the snow. Their shape wasn’t a solid silhouette, as snow began to fill the holes, but he could tell they were most likely made by high heels.

That’s probably a good lead.

He followed the trail, his own boots leaving fresh prints in the snow, he could hear the frozen water crunch beneath his feet with every step. The prints lead him through the wooded area around him, as he continued, the prints got more and more defined.

Eventually, he spotted a clearing in the trees ahead of him, a weeping willow stood before him, all the wispy leaves and branches frozen over, icicles hung from each branch, he felt like he was watching a waterfall that had been frozen in time, completely still. As he got closer, he noticed a warped but familiar green reflection.

He stepped into the clearing, Ringo mere feet in front of him. Her head tilted back, and she held her hands up high.

He sighed. Looks like she wasn’t hurt, that was a relief, but what was she doing? Was this all she had been doing this whole time? Just standing out here?

She stood in her usual attire, her suit top, flashing green jacket and shorts, the longer strands of her hair waved in the breeze.

He approached her, standing by her side, she looked up at him, her magenta eyes wide with what he assumed was either surprise or intrigue.

“What are you doing out here?” He quizzed.

She looked up towards the sky again. “I feel strange.” was all she said.

Arrow raised a brow at this, “What do you mean?”

“I can’t stop shaking,” she held her hand out to him, “My hands, they’re stiff, I can’t feel them as much as usual. And my skin has developed an unusual texture.” She avoided eye contact, “I think something is wrong.”

Upon closer inspection, Arrow confirmed that she was, in fact, trembling. Her usually pale cheeks were much more red, and there was a considerable amount of snow in her hair. Her legs were covered in goosebumps. His eyes widened a bit.

“You’re cold.”

Ringo tilted her head, looking up at him with questioning eyes.

“Your body, it’s reacting to the cold weather, trying to warm up.”

He gently gathered her hands in his, they felt like ice themselves. He cupped his hands around her’s, and held them up to his lips. He began to puff warm air onto them. The same hands that had brought him back to life, that healed him when a bullet had violated his skull, that held a sword and tore demons asunder… seemed so delicate now in his own hands.

“You just need to warm up, and you'll feel better.” Arrow reluctantly pulled away for a moment and removed his outer jacket. He was glad he wore layers.

He draped it across Ringo's shoulders, it was large on her, the thick fabric practically drowning her. Unfortunately it still didn't cover her legs, so she was still going to be cold, but it was something, at least.

"There, that should be better. Now, why don't we head back and-"

"No."

Arrow chuckled at the memory. Ringo was stubborn, and she made the decision to fool around in the snow. When he had suggested going inside again, she grabbed a clump of snow and smashed it into his face. And thus, an intense snowball fight began.

It took a while before they returned to the safehouse. He swore it must have been over an hour.

"Jeez, I can't even bring you home without you causing trouble, can I?" He said as he made hot chocolate for the two of them.

Ringo laughed from her spot on the couch, curled up in a blanket.

"You're just grumpy 'cause you lost." She teased.

"Am not." He rolled his eyes.

"Mmm… doubt it."

Arrow brushed off the light teasing, and sat next to her, he handed her a warm mug of hot chocolate. She took a sip, then snuggled up into his side. Forcing a chill to run through his body at the physical contact. Like he just hugged a glacier.

"Ah! Y-You're C-cold-!" He protested.

"You mentioned that earlier."

He tried to wriggle away, but to no avail. She only gripped him tighter.

"Yeah, but now you're making ME feel cold!"

"And you're making me feel warm. It seems we're at an impasse."

He tried to squirm away again, but it proved useless.

"W-Well will you at least share the blanket?"

They stayed bundled up on the couch for the rest of the night, after they warmed up, he actually found himself falling asleep. As strange of a day that was, he looked back on it with fond memories.

As he thought more about the two Summoners, he realized he felt that "shift" again.

He noticed the shift wasn't just in the others' behaviors, but his own too.

Saizo started flirting less with Milady. (probably a smart choice), and more with Ringo and him.

Ringo also began flirting a bit.

Now that felt weird.

It somehow felt even weirder when they would both flirt with him.

Surely they were just playing around, trying to get a reaction out of him, they didn't mean anything by it, right?

… Right?

As soon as he had that thought, he felt a sharp pang in his chest. Like a small needle just jabbed his heart.

What the-?

Why did he have that reaction? Was he… hurt by that? Why would he be upset? It wasn't his business whether or not his friends were attracted to him. Even if… he was maybe drawn to them.

He was pulled from his train of thought when he heard the clicks of the safe house's front door being unlocked.

Saizo held the door open, Ringo trotting past him. The two were in the midst of a light hearted conversation, laughing and joking before they noticed Arrow on the couch.

Ringo jogged up to him first and plopped onto the couch right next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder.

She was so close to him.

"Hey, why the long face? Did you miss us or something?" She asked, lightly teasing him.

Always.

Before Arrow could reply, Saizo settled in next to him in his usual laid-back way, with one leg crossed over the other, leaning back on the couch.

Arrow couldn't help but be surprised when he felt something lightly tugging his hair. A quick sideways look revealed that Saizo was playing with it. Grasping the ebony strands, he very gently twirled them around his finger.

"Aww, Arrow, are you feeling lonely?"

Arrow wasn't able to ignore the warmth rising in his cheeks. Or the sudden pounding in his chest.

Why was he so nervous? It wasn't like they were bothering him, right? He… didn't dislike it when they did things like this. But every time they did, there was a part of him that just remembered that it didn't mean anything. It wasn't real.

His muscles tensed, especially in his chest.

Did he want it to be real? To be touched and have it mean something? If he asked for that, wouldn't it put Saizo and Ringo in an unfair spot? Wouldn't that be asking too much from them?

But if they kept playfully teasing him, and he kept wanting it to be 'real', would he still feel this way?

Every time Ringo or Saizo held his hand, leaned on his shoulder, messed with his hair, it was jarring, but when they stopped he immediately craved their touch again.

He didn't want to keep feeling good for a few seconds, only for reality to barge in and remind him that his feelings were irrelevant.

"Arrow! What's wrong!?"

He jumped, wide eyed.

Ringo's magenta colored eyes met his own. They were full of shock and concern. Her brows knitted together, focussed and tense.

"H-Huh? What-?" He tried to speak, but his voice was uneven. Shaking.

Suddenly he heard Saizo's voice interject.

"Arrow, why are you crying? What happened?" His voice asked, ever so delicately.

Arrow brought his hand to his eyes, rubbing them. His fingers turned damp. Saizo was right.

How long had he been crying? How did he not notice?

He tried to find his voice.

"I-I'm sorry- I don't- I just… I'm sorry, I don't have the words.."

Ringo grasped his hand.

"Can you tell us what happened?" She questioned.

"Yeah," Saizo added, "Maybe we can help?" He wrapped an arm around Arrow.

There it was, that feeling again. They were touching him, and he prayed they wouldn't let go.

He wanted…

No, he needed…

"What are we?" He murmured, but since both of them were so close, they could still hear him, as evident by their shocked and confused faces.

"What do you mean?" Ringo asked.

Arrow avoided eye contact with either of them, instead his eyes glued themselves to the floor, his brows knitted together.

"I mean… how do you feel about me?"

Both seemed taken aback. Ringo quickly shook her head a few times, as if trying to see if she was malfunctioning. Saizo's eye widened, briefly freed from the curtain of green hair that usually concealed it.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ringo began.

"We're crazy about you, Arrow." Saizo answered.

Arrow's face took on a dubious expression.

"We love you, Arrow. We thought you knew that." Ringo added.

"In what way though?" He asked.

"Arrow… what brought this up?" Saizo questioned as he put a hand on Arrow's back. His laid back posture was lost.

Arrow avoided eye contact with either of them.

"Please, just…" Arrow let out a shaky breath and clenched his fists, desperate not to lose his composer more than he already had, "..just answer the question.." He pleaded, voice barely above a whisper.

The two green haired summoners exchanged a look, then refocused on Arrow. Ringo carefully grabbed Arrows arm, one hand on his upper arm, the other resting on his shoulder.

Saizo was the first to answer.

"Well. I can't exactly speak for both of us, but I know how I feel. I mean, I thought I made it pretty clear that I find you pretty attractive. I don't just mean looks, either. I do have feelings for you romantically."

Saizo's lips curled up, exposing his sharp teeth in a goofy, nervous smile.

Ringo nodded at his words, she held her fingers to her chin, like she always did when she was analyzing something.

"I'll admit, I'm still inexperienced in these types of feelings as I haven't exactly been 'human' for as long as you two have, but from what I understand, I have similar thoughts towards you as Saizo does," she shot Saizo a small smile.

"It would be a lie for me to say that I haven't imagined us bonding in a more romantic setting."

Arrow looked into Ringo's eyes, her magenta irises seemed like they were tugging at his soul, trying to bring him back to reality. Like when they first met, but different...

He glanced to his right, at Saizo. Saizo's blue eye peered through the green hair that usually acted like a curtain. Shielding the beautiful opal-like iris from the world.

They both looked so earnest… but if that was the case, then why…?

"I thought you two liked each other?"

"We do." Saizo said.

"But we also like you." Ringo finished.

"Look, Arrow. If you don't feel the same way, that's alright-" Ringo began, but Arrow shortly shut it down with:

"It's not that! I just…"

The greenettes leaned in, both hanging on his every word.. They really liked him?

"Why me?"

Both seemed taken aback. Ringo in particular gave him a look like he said something really stupid.

"Really Arrow? Come on. There's so much to appreciate." She began.

"You're loyal and helpful…"

Saizo then decided to jump in.

"You're always looking out for people, even when they aren't all that kind to you."

"You work hard. Everything you do, you do it with your best effort." Ringo added with a smile.

"You ground us when we're lost, you make everything seem simpler. When things get overwhelming, you're the one who makes it easier to handle."

"You're kind."

The two kept taking turns listing different qualities. Arrow couldn't help but turn bright red. There was never a moment in his life where he'd been complimented this much.

His face became even redder somehow when they started complimenting his appearance.

"It certainly helps that you're smokin hot." Saizo said shamelessly, which was met with a face palm from Ringo. Saizo gave a defensive shrug. "What? It's true!"

"Yes, but you could phrase it better." She replied, trying to be serious, but both men could see her struggling to hold back a smile.

"Okay then, how about I get more specific?" Saizo scooted closer, his leg against Arrow's, and he held Arrow's hand. He brought it up to his lips, and gave a gentle kiss to his knuckles.

"Arrow, you are beautiful. Allow me to be a bit superficial for a second, but honestly, you are." Saizo used his free hand to comb through Arrow's hair.

"Your hair is so soft," Saizo's hand moved down to cup his cheek, "Your face is honestly just very nice, your eyes are like a golden amber, so warm and welcoming."

"I love it when you smile.."

Ringo decided it was her turn to make some observations.

"You're so warm," she maneuvered onto his lap, (her legs extended onto Saizo's as well, since she sat sideways) and wrapped her arm around him. "I love holding you, and I like it when you hold me too."

"We adore you, Arrow." Saizo said, deciding to get closer, he nuzzled the side of Arrow's head.

Arrow's breath hitched. He started trembling.

Arrow was sure his blood pressure was through the roof. He must've been as red as an entire tomato garden. If he got any more flustered, he was sure his head would pop.

"Okay okay! Y-You can stop! I get it!" He yelled flustered.

"I…um.. I love you guys too." Arrow looked at their smiling faces. Priceless, beautiful smiles.

"So… do we.. Should we be romantic then? The three of us?"

Ringo shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Saizo smiled. "In down if you two are."

"Have either of you… well I guess Ringo probably hasn't, but have you guys ever been in a poly relationship?"

Ringo shook her head.

Saizo shrugged. "Nah, but I've always been open to the idea."

"It's alright, we'll figure it out as we go. No need to scare ourselves over it." Ringo chimed.

Saizo beamed. "Yeah, we can just do what feels right to us."

"So, what do you say, Arrow?" Ringo quizzed. "Wanna go out with us?"

Arrow turned his head away for a moment, but made no effort to get away from them. He closed his eyes.

He could feel the warmth of Saizo's hand as the man's fingers intertwined with his own. The feeling of Ringo sitting in his lap, with her arm around him wasn't lost. He felt so warm.

The felt the sparks within him again, but this time, no jabbing in his heart.

They loved him. They loved him.

He couldn't help but sniffle a bit, tears returned to his eyes. This time, however, there was no shame.

He looked back at the two, and grinned.

"Yes, I'd love to."

Ringo threw her hands into the air. "Nice!"

Saizo's toothy grin welcomed him. He gripped Arrow's face and kissed his cheek.

"There's the smile we love!"

[psychewritesbs]

It's a bit disheartening seeing the last few 10s shikigami reveals through sukuna, but I'm really convinced this is to show the difference in mindset between sukuna and megumi and its probable that megumi can tap into this completely in this fight. After all, megumi already seems to know what he needs to be strong, but still chose to fall back into bad habits like trying to summon mahoraga against sukuna again. He probably thought he couldn't beat him, and while it may have been true, trying anyway freely says something different than resorting to that same tactic. I've read your other meta and I do believe that megumi needs to accept those darker accepts inside of him and that they can coexist with those ideals he learned from tsumiki. He has tapped into those thoughts before just recently with reggie, instead of summoning mahoraga when pushed, he found a new path with the same risks, so I think he just can't find it in him to accept those aspects of himself he's acknowledged in his head. I guess he has to "want" to become strong rather than strength just being a necessity if that makes sense idk 🤷‍♀️ I think he has the imagination to do so, but I'm just wondering how.

Plus, sukuna's way of using it is in a way more unique and kind of gives us an idea of how broad the ct can be depending on its user. With that in mind, if megumi ever summons these new shikigami (don't know if he would have to tame them ot not), would his version be different than sukuna's after another realization? Its possible even while both being strong, the shikigami doesn't have a fixed way to look.

I'm not nitpicking much on yorozu, though, I'm not sure what's going to happen with her or if she's just here to allow us to see sukuna use the 10s ct 🤔 and possessing tsumiki's body of course. I would like to know more about her too. She's wild, but I love her confidence and even though she loves sukuna, she's alright with killing him lol. People want this fight to end quickly, but I need appropriate time spent on the eventual goodbye between megumi and tsumiki. I guess her living can depend on whether megumi can save tsumiki or if sukuna kills her first. Megumi will probably reach a new height but my question is will saving tsumiki right here right now push megumi to those heights (he has to fight against someone like sukuna) or will her death cause the growth. In a sense, a detachment or distance to the people around you can decide your strength. We already know megumi loves his sister and has killed for her, though he acted like a brat as he was growing up, but it'd be insane to see megumi push his ct and mentality to the most he can in this moment in a desperate bid to save the person he chose to be a sorcerer for even though love in jjk can be a curse. I wouldn't be upset if tsumiki survived (happy even, something something about siblings trying to survive horror after horror is appealing) but there's something really interesting in seeing characters push themselves desperately towards a goal that's been against them from the beginning. Is tsumiki still there, or have they both been doomed from the start? I do hope megumi and tsumiki come into play soon, but I guess we need to establish some things first. An emotional and heartbreaking conversation between those two siblings might just destroy me or any flashbacks too 💔

It's tough looking at the continous stream of slander that comes his way, but I've always enjoyed his fights and character, and I'm choosing to believe that he'll surpass not only the expectations of others (gojo and sukuna), but he may just surprise himself and move beyond reggie's curse. With the word "fate", in this series I always think about toji and how he broke fate in a sense and perhaps megumi may do the same. Or, will he be like kamo said, a pillar for the clans? It may have been just a throwaway line, but megumi seems to lack the vision and desire for a greater version of himself even though he's aware of how stronger he is when he thinks more freely. Megumi is his own enemy and he's very flawed, but I love him all the more for it, and this allows for improvement, so I'll try to be excited overall.

OFC, I only say this if gege plans to keep his character to develop him, and not just show all the 10s ct cards to tell us "well this is what megumi could've done, but he's his own worst enemy, so he's gone now, hehe" - gege probably

I'm still hoping we can see an actual ritual of taming a shikigami through megumi, but after being shown sukuna's standard use of the ct, it seems megumi has a lot to live up to again. It reminds me of megumi saying he could not match gojo, and it's obvious being gojo's ward just ruined any healthy goals to become stronger, and he regressed. If I was under the strongest, I probably would feel loads of pressure and eventually just not care 💯

Again, knowing megumi's inner thoughts and dynamics with other characters is like my fav thing ever about him. With that being said, I doubt megumi came out the womb stoic and tsundere, so I'm curious to know how his dynamic and opinions with toji especially changed or began. Was he looking forward to seeing toji again? When did his indifference to toji begin? How was his relationship with tsumiki when they met. I think the abandonment and trusting only tsumiki messed him up, but there's barely anything to go off of 😫 the same with tsumiki, how does she feel about her mother leaving, or about toji, or how much she loves megumi and if she warmed up to him immediately?

Sukuna, I ADORE you, but I'll be so happy to see megumi again

Another long ask, oh brother...

Thanks for reading!!

HOLA! ok I know you sent the other ask after the leaks for chapter 219 dropped, but there's so much good stuff here that I wanted to share too.

My thoughts under the cut...

It's a bit disheartening seeing the last few 10s shikigami reveals through sukuna, but I'm really convinced this is to show the difference in mindset between sukuna and megumi and its probable that megumi can tap into this completely in this fight.

I really think this is the case too, or at least I'm hoping this is the case!

It just goes back to Sukuna telling Megumi that he was wasting his talent.

And it's been kind of interesting to see the fandom make fun of Megumi's inability to control his cursed technique the way Sukuna has demonstrated mastery over it, because Sukuna is a literal prodigy with a lifetime of experience, if not more.

Megumi, on the other hand, is a teenage boy who has demonstrated to be plagued by insecurities about his abilities and who lacks the proper mentorship to understand his cursed technique and what it is capable of.

So I am hoping that Sukuna is inadvertently teaching Megumi what he's capable of and it will come back to bite him in the ass.

I've read your other meta and I do believe that megumi needs to accept those darker accepts inside of him and that they can coexist with those ideals he learned from tsumiki.

Oh man... this is the crux of the matter rn because Megumi's symbolism kind of points at "unification of opposites".

Especially rn, as he's facing evil because of the bath, the symbolism screams having to face the Jungian shadow (evil) before he can face the light (good).

So we'll see if Gege executes on that.

He has tapped into those thoughts before just recently with reggie, instead of summoning mahoraga when pushed, he found a new path with the same risks, so I think he just can't find it in him to accept those aspects of himself he's acknowledged in his head.

Oh I love this so much!

This is good stuff. I like this idea that Megumi was afraid to take Sukuna on because he's not ready to acknowledge the aspects of himself that Sukuna represents. I think that's what you mean, right?

I think he has the imagination to do so, but I'm just wondering how

Curious how your thoughts on this have changed since chapter 219 dropped lol.

Ngl, I'm low-key hoping he snaps and goes feral. He's defo traumatized af because of what's happened, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens and how Gege executes.

if megumi ever summons these new shikigami (don't know if he would have to tame them ot not), would his version be different than sukuna's after another realization? Its possible even while both being strong, the shikigami doesn't have a fixed way to look.

Um Gege gave a bullshit (affectionate) answer for this.

Something something... I see, I don't get it.

I THINK the whole point of this goes back to the idea of the barrierless domain where the lack of boundaries allow the domain to have more flexibility.

So it sounds like the deer and the ox will look exactly the same for Megumi since he kept their forms?

Mahoraga looked the same too...

lol I have zero clue.

I would like to know more about [Yorozu] too. She's wild, but I love her confidence and even though she loves sukuna, she's alright with killing him lol

Skipping the Yorozu comments for... #reasons.

I know. I ABSOLUTELY love that her love language is killing the Beloved. It's so twisted and ridiculous.

People want this fight to end quickly, but I need appropriate time spent on the eventual goodbye between megumi and tsumiki.

I think you were the one who shared with me you had hoped we'd get that apology? Because... I mean... we all know how that went and it really sucks we didn't get to see Megumi apologize to Tsumiki.

I guess we'll find out next week whether she's dead or alive but... it looks like it's safe to say she's dead.

Megumi will probably reach a new height but my question is will saving tsumiki right here right now push megumi to those heights (he has to fight against someone like sukuna) or will her death cause the growth. In a sense, a detachment or distance to the people around you can decide your strength.

MAN. So I was really hoping that Megumi would snap trying to save Tsumiki from Sukuna, but alas... instead Megumi regressed psychologically and appears to be experiencing a heavy dose of learned helplessness and it's so, so, SO sad to see him like that.

So to your point about how detachment can decide your strength, given how things have unfolded, I wonder how Megumi is going to get himself out of this in terms of his imagination and his will to live, etc.

it'd be insane to see megumi push his ct and mentality to the most he can in this moment in a desperate bid to save the person he chose to be a sorcerer for even though love in jjk can be a curse.

what I'll say about this is... look at Gege subverting expectations. I think we were all hoping for this if I'm honest.

With the word "fate", in this series I always think about toji and how he broke fate in a sense and perhaps megumi may do the same.

I remain cautiously optimistic if only because I can totally see Gege just making Megumi's tragedy THE point of his arc. But I also love the idea of Megumi overcoming his fate.

Honestly? I NEED it in my bones.

I NEED TO SEE MEGUMI DO THIS FOR HIMSELF.

Learned helplessness is a bitch. I NEED to see him empower himself again.

megumi seems to lack the vision and desire for a greater version of himself even though he's aware of how stronger he is when he thinks more freely. Megumi is his own enemy and he's very flawed, but I love him all the more for it, and this allows for improvement, so I'll try to be excited overall.

He's so beautifully written. I adore Megumi so much in a way I haven't loved a character in a long time.

Everything you mention about him rings so true and I have to say that it makes it all the more inspiring that he redefine himself so that he can find meaning in growing stronger.

OFC, I only say this if gege plans to keep his character to develop him, and not just show all the 10s ct cards to tell us "well this is what megumi could've done, but he's his own worst enemy, so he's gone now, hehe" - gege probably

I WOULD NOT PUT IT PAST HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*SCREAMS IN MEGUMI WHILE RUNNING IN CIRCLES*

It reminds me of megumi saying he could not match gojo, and it's obvious being gojo's ward just ruined any healthy goals to become stronger, and he regressed. If I was under the strongest, I probably would feel loads of pressure and eventually just not care 💯

And this is another thing I find so relatable about Megumi. My dad is a perfectionist and nothing I ever do is right so my brother and I always complain about what the point is in trying. It's not worth the pressure.

Unfortunately this attitude is insidious and carries into other aspects of my life outside of whether the dishes were cleaned properly lol. So, yeah, back to Megumi, I headcanon Gojo did not have the best influence on Megumi in the sense that it stunted Megumi's perception of himself as he compared himself to Gojo.

Of course, that is not to say Gojo was a bad mentor, but rather that Megumi felt the burden of the pressure and felt he could not perform on Gojo's level, so why try? Something like that. I'm lacking nuance in my argument.

I doubt megumi came out the womb stoic and tsundere

I have a vivid imagination and I just had a visual of newborn stoic Megumi thanks to your comment.

But I really do think it's a combination of a defense mechanism AND his personality just being chill.

so I'm curious to know how his dynamic and opinions with toji especially changed or began. Was he looking forward to seeing toji again? When did his indifference to toji begin? How was his relationship with tsumiki when they met. I think the abandonment and trusting only tsumiki messed him up, but there's barely anything to go off of 😫 the same with tsumiki, how does she feel about her mother leaving, or about toji, or how much she loves megumi and if she warmed up to him immediately?

Isn't all of this so sad tho? One of my favorite panels of Megumi is from Toji's memory of him right before he dies.

And to your point about Megumi's emotional self, the panels we are seeing now of Megumi are the closest to the image above. Almost like there's a gap during which he learned to mask and hide his emotions and how he's expressing them now that he's lost Tsumiki.

I headcanon Megumi being old enough to realize his dad was a deadbeat dude and needing emotional closeness but knowing he would not find it in Toji.

I also like the idea that Tsumiki was totally in love with the idea of a little brother as a sort of playmate to keep her company. You can see in canon how much she wants to bond with him and how seriously she takes her big sister role. It's quite endearing.

Sukuna, I ADORE you, but I'll be so happy to see megumi again

Sukuna, I SECOND THIS SENTIMENT! Can you please just... go back to Yuji?

Thanks for reading!!

Thanks for reaching out!

ok so its 130 am in my neck of the woods so off to sleep I go and then I'll get to the other ask asap!

Thank you again and have a great week!

[10moonymhrivertam]

*pushes my Hazbin doc titles at y'all*

Adding Words to these is escaping me but maybe talking about them would help? Anybody wanna ask me about them?

Alastor Discovers WTNV

Stalled out for logistics reasons (either I couldn't decide how they were getting Earth media or felt I was underestimating how much Alastor has picked up about modern tech against his will)

Alastor Forced to Wrangle Tweens

I got hyper-aware that three of our main cast lived through the 20s and I like time travel, lol I think I just ran out of dopamine to chase here, but there was gonna be a thing where Angel and Husk attempt to summon Lucifer partly to see if he can put them back where they're supposed to be, partly to piss Alastor off.

Charlie v the 20s

Really similar to the above, but starts differently and has more than just the main cast remembering. Specifically, I had a bit of dialogue between Angel and Alstor's Mom occur while I was driving and wrote around it when I got home.

Helluva-Hazbin-Grand-Reopening

I just wanna mash them all together like action figures but writing the introduction has eluded me. Probably I just need to skip forward but I haven't tried yet. Main vehicle for the smashing together is: Blitz and Stolas are invited to the Grand Reopening separately (by Fizz and Charlie). Vague intention to set it after Stolas has given Blitz the crystal, so there are two angles I could write it from - so far I've only tried it on the 'they pulled their heads out of their asses' angle.

Molly Charlie ep 6 Meeting

This predated the Pentious fic, so they share some vibes, but I could see them being different if I expanded this one properly.

Pentious-Molly thing

The Pentious fic! I've made four drafts for the third installment but it isn't budging. I probably just need a new angle but I desperately wanna bring Alastor's Mom into the fic. Then again, I did imply in the first installment that his parents were in Heaven and then didn't touch that again, so maybe I aim for that instead. Or address how self-conscious I'm becoming of the fact that Heaven has the ability to contact Hell. I kinda wanted Hell to be oblivious to redemption but that's not super in-character for Emily. I guess Sera could block her... (can you tell I've worked on this one the most, lol? This post itself may be acting as a Coding Duck to help me start working on stuff again, we'll see. I'll still take questions if you've got some tho ❤️️ I'd love especially if there's anything you'd like to know about the drafts that may be DOA)

Why Am I So Bad at GC Fics

I dunno if it's the dialogue-only, the screen-names, the jokey atmosphere, or what, but I am in fact bad at group chat fics so this one may never happen even if I have really good ideas. ANYWAY! I wanted to do something with Vox being more powerful than anyone (even he) knew, and Hell's cell signals reach all the way to Heaven and they find out Pentious is redeemed when he responds to the group chat. I also love me some Alastor but would be forced to exclude him for OOC reasons. Maybe I could have him reading over Niffty's shoulder or something...

[beetle-the-boy]

So I Wanna Talk About Final Fantasy XV

Spoilers for chapter 8 onwards

Specifically the story. Before I even start, there's an immediately 10 pentafucktrillion points taken off for needing to watch like 8 different pieces of media to understand what's happening. To get into the actual story, I've been able to take a lot of it seriously thanks in no small part to the banter and chemistry that Noctis and his troupe have with each other. But the characters and story became a car crash in slow motion once Ignis became blind.

In the scene directly right before it, Noctis watches his cardboard box love interest Lunafreya die in his dreams as a final message. Even though there were barely any scenes between the two of them, Noctis is really upset about watching his fucking fiancè die in front of him.

So Noctis and his gaggle are on a train and Noctis is obviously grieving. Gladiolus, in his infinite wisdom, decides to start getting angry Noctis for "moping around" and telling him to get his "head out his ass" DESPITE THE FACT HE LITERALLY WATCHED HIS FIANCÈ DIE. His reasoning behind this is...

*budda budda budda badda badda badda badda*

Ignis is injured.

This obviously means that everything that Noctis is going through is bullshit and him grieving means he's unfit to be king. This creates, honest to God, one of the worst manufactured tensions I've ever experienced in any sort of media.

This is only made worse by the fact that Gladiolus is the main star of one of the most shameless product placement quests in gaming for Nissan Cup fucking Noodles. And during this section where Ignis is blind, he obviously can't cook so you have to settle with some shit food that gives barely any benefits. This is a really good idea, intertwining story and gameplay is a good idea. This is IMMEDIATELY ruined by the prescence of fucking Nissan Cup Noodles.

The bickering between Noctis and Gladio gets to the point where Ignis basically has to say "shut the fuck up both of you. I'm not quitting until I'm dead." Noctis and Gladio say effectively nothing to each other but the game says they'be made up their differences so it must be true.

Afterwards their train gets attacked and Ardyn, who remembered "oh yeah I'm the villain" in Altissia and began to act as such. After a really cool set piece, Ardyn tricks Noctis into punching Prompto off the train. Now this is a fairly simple set up right. But the chapter loading screen aftet this accidentally ruins the entire tone of the game. Ardyn used a "stitch in time" to make himself look like Prompto. They could've easily said anything other than that but since they specifically, named an ability, described what it does, and showed the person using it, it made me and my friend's imagination run wild with the idea. Since Ardyn can just stitch-in-time himself as anyone, whose to say he isn't Arenea, or a train captain, or a little kid, or LITERALLY FUCKING ANYONE.

We all imagined Ardyn basically turing into this scene of Handsome Jack (https://youtu.be/SxcOAh6h2b0?t=725).

At this point everyone in chat had lost the ability to take the game seriously and then it just gave us more and more to laugh at in chapter 13 aka:

You Like Doom 3?

Apparently it's widely hated, I honestly like it but it's literally Doom 3.

Spooky comically evil voice taunting

Having to kill demons with limited supplies

Murky, gray industrial complex

Spooky comically evil voice literally gassing you

The final piece of the pie is getting the Alterna spell which is so hilariously over the top powerful that I can't help but laugh. The effect of feeling powerless is lost when you literally summon a blackhole and watch your enemies get spaghettified.

I haven't finished the game yet but I'm very close. I don't think theres anything the story can do to save itself but God have I loved watching the ride.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mechakoopa

Debut: Super Mario World

So a very polite anon has humbly requested we write a post about Mechakoopa! They are apparently this person's favorite, so today's their lucky day! See I don't like to brag but, I'd definitely consider myself as part of the top 100 most qualified people to talk about Mechakoopas in the world! And who am I to turn down such a request?

Now the 90s you see, were a turning point for good Mr. Bowser here. With a brand new clown-helicopter thing to pilot around you might think he's all set, but what kind of self-respecting villain would he be without filling his evil lair with a number of Evil Wind-up Toys based on himself? So he does exactly that- a whole fourteen years before Mario stole his idea, mind you!

Yes, you read that right! Despite their name, Mechakoopas are tiny mechanical versions of Big Bowser himself, not just any run of the mill Koopa, which explains their green heads and funky hair! You know how Koopa is actually Bowser's Japanese name? Yeah! They could've localized them as Mecha-Bowsers, but Mechakoopa just flows nicer doesn't it? And he is still technically a Koopa!

"Yo, somebody rang?"

No!! Not you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Sunshine (2002)!! You'll get your turn eventually! Geez! Anyway. Where was I. Oh! Yes!

This is the obligatory part of the post where I'm like “Get a load of this funky guy”! Get a load of this funky guy! Instead of reinterpreting Bowser’s design very literally in toy form, the Mechakoopa is very much its own beast, with its funny beak and little funny legs. Our aforementioned anon mentioned the wind-up key, and oh, what a wind-up key it is! And of course the raisin d’eclair- the fantastic little googly eyes! Oh where would we be without those googly eyes?

Naturally though, Bowser doesn’t just use his toys to populate his spooky castle- he always has to keep a few on his person! So he chucks them at you in the game’s final boss fight, but he didn’t account for the fact that, in this game only, Mario can throw upwards! Oh no! His one weakness! Being pelted with plastic!

By the by, I’ve always thought the original Mechakoopa sprite from Super Mario World looked super funky! The hair almost looks like its on fire! And I like the goofy grin. 

The Super Mario World cartoon decided to interpret this sprite by turning him into a horrible little man. No, I don’t want this! He shouldn’t have arms!

The Mechakoopa’s next appearance in a mainline Mario platformer was in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they act... exactly the same as they do in Super Mario World! Cool! This basically established them as modern Mario enemies, but there isn’t much to say other than that!

Like all our posts about Common Mario Enemies, it would probably be boring if I just listed off their every appearance, so I will just bring up the ones that are worth mentioning. For example, Super Mario RPG! In this game, Bowser’s strongest special attack is Bowser Crush, which summons a giant Mechakoopa to stop on foes! According to the Player’s Guide, this Mechakoopa was a top secret weapon developed by Koopa researchers... to stomp flowers and scare butterflies! Wow! That is so so evil! These big guys would definitely live up to the name “Mecha-Bowser”! 

“Hey guys, are you talking about me?”

NO, we are NOT talking about you, Mecha Bowser (with no hyphen) from Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003)’s Bowser’s Castle course! Get the heck outta here! Gosh, some people just don’t know when they’re not wanted!

I am sure after all this you are wondering, they may be mechanical toys but can they do math? The answer is yes obviously! This is Mechakoopa from Mario Party Advance, and they’re a mathematician! They invented Mechakoopa’s Theorem, the very real mathematical theorem that we all used in school! Everyone give them a round of applause!

I’d like to bring up their appearances in the Mario & Luigi games, not because it’s particularly notable, but because of how much I like their sprite and idle animation! Look at the wind-up key spin around and the eyes go up and down! So cute! Oh, and also because in the Superstar Saga remake they replaced the Mecha-Chomp enemies (may god rest their souls)!

Super Mario Maker 2′s final update was an epic win and a #1 victory royale for Mechakoopa fans anywhere, since it not only added Mechakoopas to all four main game themes, but also two brand new variants: the Blasta Mechakoopa (in red) and the Zappa Mechakoopa (in blue)! 

As you might expect, they can Blast (missiles) and Zap (lasers) respectively! I’ve no idea why they added these random functionalities to Mechakoopas specifically, but they’re a lot of fun and some of the most unique projectiles in the game! Zappa? I barely know ‘a! 

Oh, and I almost forgot! They are in Super Smash Bros. as well! Bowser Jr.’s moveset is a treasure trove of little references to Mario gadgets, and even though Bowser no longer tosses these guys from his Clown Car, his son has taken up the job! Only in this game, Mechakoopas explode. Uh oh! They didn’t do that before! Still, I really like popping a Mechakoopa out of its Mechakoopa Compartment just to see it wander around the stage. It’s fun!

Now that’s all I have to say about good old Mechakoopas, but I’d like to give a special shoutout to this guy in particular- the Micro Mecha-Bowser, from Super Mario Galaxy! For a long time, I assumed they were just Mechakoopas with a different design... But this definitely looks like a beefed up version of the Mechakoopa, with their big goofy teeth, their pig nose and their funky cross-hair eyes! These dudes can breathe fire too, so they really are more like Bowser! And if there’s a Micro Mecha-Bowser, there’s gotta be a normal one!

“Whassup? I heard somebody call my name!”

Harumph! Nobody called you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Galaxy (2007)’s Toy Time Ga- Er... hold on a second. You actually are exactly the person I was talking about after all! My mistake! Though I do wish you’d at least give us a heads up when you’re gonna show up, given you’re the size of a small planetoid!

Yeah, the Micro Mecha-Bowsers are named after this big robot from Toy Time Galaxy, Mecha-Bowser (not to be confused with Mecha-Bowser or Mecha Bowser)! Though I have to say, there isn’t much family resemblance! He’s so blue and un-turtle like! Still, this must’ve been my favorite mission in Galaxy as a kid- I’d replay it over and over again just because the idea of climbing on a giant planet-sized robot and dismantling it piece by piece was so cool! It was like Shadow of the Colossus before I knew what the heck that was!

Well that’s about the extent of the Mechakoopa family. Isn’t it fun? There’s a moral to be learned here, and it’s that, uh... little wind-up toys are very charming! Um, I suppose. Look, writing conclusions is hard! 

Mechakoopa

[ignitedbynatsu]

He Makes You Feel Insecure ~ Natsu

A/N: Woowie it has been a while hasn’t it 😅 Writers block can be a bitch but I think I have a few more ideas for the other boys. Let me know who you want me to write for next!!

warnings: insecurities (he makes you feel like you feel like your magic isn’t compatible, cursing

genre: angst to fluff

Other versions:

Gray ~ Laxus ~ Cobra/Erik ~ Bickslow ~ Gajeel ~ Jellal ~ Freed ~ Sting ~ Rogue

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Tension had been running high for Natsu when his fire attacks had been cancelled one after the other by the wind magic user, but when you were the one that accidentally nullified his attack with your water magic, that’s when he completely snapped.

You had taken note of the rising irritation in your boyfriend's behaviour, and you thought that he hadn’t noticed the attack coming his way so in the heat of the moment you decided to step in. As a result, your water extinguished his flames and you both could dodge his attack your opponent’s attack just in time.

“Natsu, I’m so sorry-“ “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

You were a bit taken back by his sudden tone as he had never yelled at you before. He took notice of your sudden state of shock, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the vicious word from coming from his mouth “Why the fuck did you think that was a good idea? Don’t you see that you’re a nuisance to me? All you do is fuck up my fire and get in my way. I don’t want your magic near me, can you get that through your thick skull?”

“Natsu!” Erza called out to the stressed fire dragon slayer “This is not the time nor the place”

“I won’t get in your way next time” You whispered before heading over to help Lucy with her opponent.

After a while, you overpowered your foes and were now on a train making your way back to Magnolia. You sat next to Lucy, while Carla and Wendy were seated in front of you. Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy were seated in the boot next to yours.

“(Y/N)” Natsu whined “I’m dying, please help me” You usually summoned some water in the palm of your hand and let it softly swirl against his forehead. For some reason, it helped with the nauseous feeling, and you were about to give in until you realized his words from earlier. He wanted your magic nowhere near him. What if you somehow fucked up and splashed water all over him. You did not want to be yelled at again.

“Tell Natsu I’m asleep or something” You mumbled lowly, so only Lucy could hear, while you laid your head on her shoulder. She gave you a sad smile, knowing the outburst was still fresh on your mind. She complied, making Natsu groan in response but eventually gave up. He didn’t look too much in it as he knew how tired you could get from these jobs.

Once out of the train, you didn’t spare Natsu a second look. You walked in front of everyone, but Erza quickly caught up to walk next to you, while the other looked after the two Dragon Slayers that were still feeling a bit nauseous from the train ride “Are you okay?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” You asked.

Erza clicked her tongue as she looked at you from the corner of her eyes, absolutely not believing the lie that just fell from your tongue “Natsu was way out of line”

“He was just stressed, it can happen to the best of us” You shrugged it off, hoping that if you treated it lightly it wouldn’t weight down later in your mind.

“Still not an excuse to work it out on you” She pointed out.

“I know, thank you for caring, but really Erza, I promise I’m okay.” You gave her a small genuine smile which she returned.

You didn’t return to the guild as the others did, instead, you went home, telling the others you were too tired from the mission to deal with the shenanigans from Fairy Tail. Natsu offered to walk you home, but you kindly denied it, leaving him a bit confused. He realized he should probably give you some space since he lashed out at you. He made a mental note to apologize next thing in the morning when he’d see you.

“(Y/N)! Baby!” Natsu ran over to you and hugged you tightly while spinning you around making you squeal in surprise “put me down, Natsu”

“Only if you forgive me for what happened yesterday,” he said.

“I forgive you. You were stressed, I get it, it’s no big deal” You forgave him.

“I knew you’d understand, you’re the best” He kissed your cheek as he placed you back on your feet “anyway Happy and I found this job and-“

“I think I’m gonna take a day off, still feel a little tired from yesterday, you can go, though, have fun” you cut him off before he could fully explain the mission.

“Alright, make sure you take care of yourself today! I’ll be home as soon as I can, so we can cuddle” He kissed your forehead before turning to the Exceed “Let’s go Happy! Let’s go ask if Lucy wants to join”

That’s how the following weeks went. You always found an excuse to not join Natsu and Happy on the job. Sure you had forgiven him for his outburst since he was under a lot of stress. He shouldn’t have taken it out on you, but you also knew it could happen to the best of us when you’ve hit your limit. However, you couldn’t help but see some truth in his words.

Your magic was not compatible and made you doubt yourself. You associated yourself strongly with your magic, as every wizard did, so I made you think if you and Natsu were suited for each other. After all, that was one of the many reasons why Natsu and Gray shared such a peculiar friendship.

You had often heard of the saying that opposites attracted, but nothing could be further from the truth. The human race is a narcissistic species and wants nothing more than finding themselves in their significant others. Huge differences might be exciting and fun at first but are bound to break in the long run.

“(Y/N), you wanna go on a mission with us?” Natsu asked as you stood in front of the board with job applications.

“Can’t, I promised Gajeel I-“ You started to explain but cut yourself off when Natsu threw you over his shoulder “Natsu! Let me go! Natsu!”

“No we need to talk,” He said in a serious tone, making you stop struggling against his grip and let him take you outside, so you could talk in private.

“What do you wanna talk about?” You asked softly as you took notice of the sincere expression on his face.

“Why are you avoiding me?” He asked as his black orbs were searching for answers in your eyes.

“I am not” you deflected his question, but you breaking eye contact as soon as the words past your lips proved you were lying.

“Ever since that day I lashed out at you, you haven’t gone on a mission with me” He pressed.

“That’s not true” you denied once again which made him frown. Why were you dishonest with him?

“Okay, when was the last time we went on a job together?” He asked. Your silence was a clear answer and you both knew it. Your gaze averted to the ground, but he refused to let you shy away from him as he placed a finger under your chin to tilt your head back up until your eyes meet once again. His hand softly from underneath your chin to lay on your cheek “are you still upset with me?”

Your heart shattered at how vulnerable he was right now. His playful antics long replaced by guilt that had been slowly eating away at him for the past days. “No, of course not”

“Then please tell me what I did wrong. I can’t stand the thought of me deliberately hurting you. Please tell me what’s troubling you, so I can fix it” He pleaded.

“Do you-“ You paused to collect your thoughts “do you think we’re right for each other?”

“What do you mean?” 

“That day you said my magic was a nuisance. It got me thinking and you were right. You have to evade my magic so often, and it's all because it isn’t compatible with one another. I just didn’t want to be more of a hinder than I already was, that’s why I started to join others on their jobs just so I wouldn’t mess up yours. I just sometimes wonder if my magic isn’t the only thing that isn’t compatible with you.” You frowned as you hear yourself your insecurities out loud.

“Hey, no, stop. What I said that day was completely out of line. I took my frustration and took them out on you and I shouldn’t have. I have no excuse for how I acted that day. You didn’t deserve it, and I’m sorry for making you feel bad. So what if we’re a little different. I thought you always liked a good challenge?” He apologized.

“Sure I like the thrill of our relationship, but it doesn’t take away from the fact our magic isn’t suitable for one another. I just think we’re setting ourselves up for failure. A challenge is fun for a little while but we both know that stability is what you need if you want a relationship to survive in the long run” You explained.

“Then we’ll defy those odds. I’ll show everyone and especially you that you don’t need something like psychology to prove if a relationship will work or not. Please let me prove to you how much I can love you and let me prove to you that I’ll eventually become that stability you crave.” He vowed. “I always thought you weren’t one to be quick on giving up when things get rough”

“I’m not, I just don’t want to put my heart out there if I know from the start it’ll only get broken” You uttered somberly.

“I promise you it won’t. I’ll love you with every fiber in my body until the day I die. I will never make you doubt yourself or our relationship again” He told you, sincerity audible in his voice.

You smiled softly at him as your arms sneaked around his waist while your head laid on his chest. His arms immediately reacted at your touch, shielding you away from the world as his lips planted a soft kiss on your head “I love you”

[labomi]

a demon’s promise | (18+)

summary: You didn't want to spend your Friday night trying to summon the king of all demons in your tiny apartment, but here you are with your best friend by your side reciting an incantation from a strange book. To your utter relief, the spell doesn't work or so you seem to think.

pairing: sukuna ryomen x f!reader

words: 4.2k

warnings: explicit sexual content, slight dubcon, smut, explicit language, choking, overstimulation, rough sex, pet names, not a particularly happy ending

notes: read on ao3 here! first sukuna piece and i don’t have much to say except aahhhhh!! i initially planned it to be more of a cute, fluffy story but obviously that didn’t happen oops. well anyways thanks for reading!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” you ask hesitantly, watching your best friend finish drawing a pentagram on your living room floor. Kimi dusts the chalk off her fingers, admiring her work with a satisfied smile.

“Oh, come on,” she says, a little exasperated at you. “Don’t bail on me now. Aren’t you the tiniest bit excited?”

“About summoning a demon from a weird book you found in the back of a sketchy thrift shop? Yea, I’m absolutely thrilled,” you deadpan.

It was about a week ago when Kimi surprised you with her new find. The book was bound in torn leather and filled with handwritten notes about how to conjure the supernatural on ink stained, wrinkled pages. It certainly looked old, but you couldn’t help but think it was a scam. Some kid might have decided to replicate the look and feel of an ancient book, filling it with absolute nonsense that your best friend was clearing falling for. 

Unfortunately, once Kimi had gotten a hold of this book, she would not shut up about it. For the past week, you tried your best to feign interest in her new obsession as she flipped through pages, oohing and aahing at the sketches and descriptions of different types of demons. They ranged from little mischievous creatures to incubi and succubi and even a terrifying being that ate the souls of its prey.

For the most part, you think the book is absolutely absurd, but you can't ignore the tiny voice in your head that is just a little terrified about the potential existence of demons. Kimi had begged you nonstop to try one of the spells. You were hesitant and initially said no, but she kept begging you over and over again. Eventually you gave in because she was your best friend, and she was clearly excited about trying out the book with you. There is no harm in humoring her a little, right?

Kimi finishes lighting the five candles that surround the pentagram as you place a small bowl in the center.

“Alright!” Kimi says, clapping her hands. She looks at the open spell book next to her, double checking the instructions. “The only thing left is a drop of human blood.” Kimi looks at you expectantly.

You blink and point a finger at yourself. “Me?” you squeak. “But isn’t this your idea?”

“But you know how squeamish I get about pain and blood! Pretty pretty pleaassee,” your best friend begs.

You sigh. “Alright, alright. You owe me big time for this. Hand me the knife.” Kimi happily gives you the small knife that you had grabbed earlier from the kitchen. Scrunching your face, you make a tiny little cut on your index finger and squeeze one drop of blood into the bowl. You suck on your finger, hoping it would scab over quickly. “Ok, now what?”

Kimi turns the page. “Now we just have to say this incantation together. Come here.” You scoot over to sit next to your friend as she holds the book between the two of you. Together, you both recite the words scribbled down on the crumbled page.

You wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And nothing happens.

“Umm,” you break the awkward silence. “Nothing happened.”

“No, this can’t be right.” Kimi groans and starts aggressively flipping through the pages. “We followed the instructions exactly. It should have worked!”

Part of you feels relieved. You weren’t particularly thrilled about inviting the supernatural into your tiny apartment on a Friday night. Now you’re more convinced that the book really is a fake.

“What were we supposed to summon anyway?” you ask, a little curious.

Kimi frowns, still re-reading the instructions. “A creature named Sukuna Ryomen. Apparently he’s the king of all demons.”

Your mouth falls open in shock. “What the fuck, Kimi? The king? You chose to summon the king of all demons? What were you thinking? I thought we were going to summon those harmless creatures that steal people’s left socks or something like that!”

Kimi huffs. “Well, I did ask you what we should summon, but you said you didn’t care and that I should pick something. So I did!”

You rub your temples, trying to keep calm. “You’re right, you’re right. My bad. I’m sorry.” You could tell that Kimi is already quite upset that the spell didn’t work, and you were just adding fuel to the fire. “Hey! It’s ok. Let’s just take the rest of the night off. I’ll clean everything up, don’t worry about it. And listen, maybe we can try a different spell next week. Perhaps there’s not enough spiritual energy in this room or something to summon the big guy.”

Kimi perks up a little at your words. “We can try again next week? Really?”

You nod. “Promise. Take the book back to your place and choose something a little bit more tame, ok?”

Kimi giggles. “Ok, I promise too!” She grabs the book and carefully places it in her bag before getting up and heading towards the door. You follow her and give her a quick hug.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” you say.

“Yep! Good night!”

Once Kimi leaves your apartment, you let out a deep breath. You survey the mess on your living room floor with a frown. You truly love your best friend to death, but she’s just a little too adventurous for your tastes sometimes.

A sudden wave of lethargy washes over you, causing you to lean against your kitchen counter for support. You rub your eyes, struggling to keep them open as your eyelids start to feel unusually heavy. 

Weird.

It isn’t particularly late, so you are a bit surprised to feel so tired out of the blue. You figure the excitement of tonight’s activities likely got the best of you, so you decide to retire early for the night. Walking into the living room, you blow out all the candles around the pentagram before retreating into your bedroom. You will clean up everything tomorrow. No harm in letting it sit out for the night.

---

You wake up with a start. The darkness of your bedroom greets you. Groaning, you grab your phone in order to check the time but it was dead. You silently curse at yourself for forgetting to charge it before passing out. You lean back in your bed with a sigh. Normally, you sleep through the night undisturbed. You briefly wonder what had woken you up. 

Crash!

You instantly freeze and hold your breath. The noise came from the living room. It sounded like something had fallen. You try to calm your racing heart as you convince yourself that it was just one of your decorations falling off the wall. But you know you won’t be able to comfortably go back to sleep without checking, so you quietly slip out of bed and open your bedroom door. You peek into the living room, but you’re unable to make out anything clearly in the darkness. 

You fully step out of your bedroom and hit the light switch for the living room. Squinting your eyes, you try to adjust to the sudden brightness. Once your vision finally clears, you gasp. 

There’s someone in your living room.

The first thing you notice about the intruder is his tattoos. Intricate symbols mark his entire body, including his face.

The second thing you realize is that he’s completely naked.

You open your mouth to scream, but the intruder appears right in front of you within the blink of an eye and clamps his large hand over your mouth to shush you.

“Be quiet,” he growls deeply. “You can’t act so surprised. After all, you’re the one who called me here.”

You feel a chill crawl down your spine as your eyes widen in realization.

No. No. It can’t be.

Once the intruder is convinced you won’t start screaming, he removes his hand from your mouth. He stands back and takes in your appearance as you stand there numbly in your pajama shirt and shorts.

“A woman, huh.” He licks his lips. “I wasn’t expecting a woman to be the one to resurrect me, but I’m not complaining.”

This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening!

You try to convince yourself that you’re still dead asleep in your bed and dreaming about this entire encounter. There is no way that damn book actually worked!

“Ryomen Sukuna,” you whisper to yourself, suddenly recalling the name of the demon you tried to summon with Kimi.

You don’t miss the way his eyes light up. “Oh! You’ve heard of me!” He grins. “You should feel honored to be in the presence of the Great King of Demons.”

You shudder at his voice. There’s a certain aura of power, strength, and pure evil that you can feel radiating from the demon, but his appearance is still rather surprising. For the Great King of Demons, he looks rather...human. You could have easily mistaken him as a normal man who just really liked tattoos. No tail. No wings. No horns. Perhaps your view of demons was a bit outdated.

“I have to admit. I’m a little disappointed,” Sukuna says with a small frown, surveying his own body. “It seems you didn’t summon me correctly. My power is nowhere near what it should be, and it took me forever to spawn into this measly physical form. I normally have four arms and two faces.”

Your eyes bulge out of your head. Did he say four arms? And two faces?

The demon taps a finger on his chin in thought. “I did start off as a human before becoming a demon, so I guess it makes sense I’m reborn looking like a human at first.”

You silently thank your friend for messing up the ritual. If Sukuna had spawned immediately at full power, the two of you would have both been in danger. At least it’s only you in harm’s way. Kimi is safe and sound, far away from your tiny apartment.

“It’s ok,” Sukuna purrs, approaching you. “It doesn’t matter that you messed up the ritual a little. You can help me fix it now, pet.”

You stumble backwards, heart racing and body quivering in fear. He reaches out to place his hands on your shoulders, steadying you before pushing you against the wall. You instantly freeze, breath caught in your throat as you wonder what he’ll ask of you.

Sukuna lightly strokes your cheek with one hand. You want to recoil in fear and disgust, but your body remains frozen in horror.

“You haven’t noticed?” he asks. “It was your blood used in the summoning ritual. That means we are bonded.”

No. No.

Sukuna places two fingers underneath your chin and lifts them up so you look directly up into his eyes. You tremble uncontrollably as you meet his dark gaze.

“The way I regain my strength is by sucking the energy out of you. You might have noticed that you felt tired and sluggish after the ritual. That’s because the it took a lot of energy from you to give me a physical form. Don’t worry though, it’s not enough to kill you. But you are pretty weak, so it might take me awhile to regain my full strength.”

You gulp. The Great King of Demons at full strength? You know you have to prevent this from happening somehow, but your phone is dead, the book is gone, and Sukuna is not likely to let you leave his sight long enough for you to figure out a plan. Was it even possible to fight back against him? Maybe your best bet was to comply with his demands and hope he spares you.

“But there is a way to speed up the process.” He looks down at your body hungrily before leaning his head towards you until his lips hover over your left ear. “Sex,” he whispers huskily.

You stiffen slightly and try to ignore the spark that travels down your body and lights up your core.

“Wh-what do you mean?” you stammer nervously.

“I feed off your body’s energy, and everyone knows that there’s nothing more powerful than sexual energy. Sex gets your heart racing and blood pumping. It’s the perfect energy source for my complete resurrection.” Sukuna moves away from your ear and grins at your stricken face. “You are the one who summoned me here. It would be rude to not feed your guest and accommodate his needs.”

He places a thumb on your bottom lip, rubbing it back and forth. You try not to react, but your body won’t listen to you. Sukuna’s presence is overwhelming. His bare chest is practically pressed against your body. His eyes are dark with lust as he gazes at your face. His thumb continues to rub your lips which leaves you flustered. Your mind feels hazy, and your body feels unusually warm. A small, sane part of you tries to fight back. A little voice in your head reminds that this is the king of all demons. How could you fall for the literal embodiment of pure evil?

“I know you’re turned on,” Sukuna says smugly. You look away feeling absolutely mortified, but the demon grabs your head and forces you to look back at him. “Ah ah. Keep your eyes on me. No need to get embarrassed. Like I said before, I was resurrected from your blood, so we share a connection. This means I can feel your blood pumping in your own body, and I can tell exactly where it’s headed.” Sukuna drops his gaze down your body to emphasize his point. He doesn’t miss how your thighs suddenly clench together.

With a dangerous flash in his eyes, Sukuna hoists you over his shoulder and throws you on your bed. Before you could even think about saying no, Sukuna is on top of you harshly nipping and sucking at your neck. One hand is already underneath your shirt, fondling one of your breasts and playing with your hard nipple. He sucks at a particularly sensitive spot on your neck which leaves you moaning shamelessly underneath him. Any doubts or reservations immediately leave your mind. 

Your body feels like it’s on fire being this close to Sukuna. He chuckles darkly, leaving your neck and pulling out his hand from underneath your skirt. “That’s my good pet,” he purrs. “So eager just for me.” Sukuna kisses you roughly, leaving you gasping as you try to match his fervor. Eventually he leans back and admires how swollen your lips look after his harsh treatment. Your pupils are blown wide with lust. With Sukuna’s face hovering just above yours, you can’t help but admire his unique markings. Without realizing, you reach a hand out and start tracing the lines on his cheek. Sukuna stills for a moment, enjoying your tender touch. 

The moment of gentleness shatters when Sukuna rips open your shirt with his bare hands. He immediately latches onto one of your breasts with his mouth and roughly gropes the other. You grip the back of his head, digging your fingers in his short hair. He bites down a little too sharply on your nipple, causing you to yelp in slight pain. Sukuna lightly chuckles at your reaction and finally pulls away, giving your now sore breasts a break. He suddenly flips your positions so that you are now hovering over him as his back hits the bed.

You stare at his chiseled chest and can’t resist rubbing your hands up and down his prominent muscles. Sukuna observes you with an amused look as you openly admire his body. 

“You like what you see?” he smirks.

You ignore the question and begin peppering light kisses down his chest and over his abs. The demon hums, enjoying your soft touch all over his body. However, he eventually has enough of your teasing. He pushes your head down until you’re forced to look at something you’ve tried to avoid glancing at the entire night. Your heart flutters with a little nervousness as you’re greeted with Sukuna’s dick. It’s long and thick with just the slightest curve. You wonder how you’re going to be able to handle his impressive size.

Sukuna can sense your hesitation, so he decides to give you a little push. He grabs your hair roughly and brings your face closer to his throbbing dick. “Be a good girl and open wide.” With a shaky breath, you take the tip of Sukuna’s cock into your mouth. He’s so thick that you can barely fit him in your mouth. With the demon’s hand still on your head, he coaxes you take him in deeper and you oblige. Sukuna groans as your hot, wet mouth takes more and more of his length. You look so good with your lips wrapped around his cock. 

You start to bob your head up and down to Sukuna’s delight, but he’s rather annoyed at your languid pace. “Too slow,” he growls and that’s the only warning you get before the demon jerks his hips up sharpy. You gag as his dick hits the back of your throat, but Sukuna's firm grasp on your head keeps you in place. He tightens his grip and then begins to roughly thrust into your mouth. You try to relax your throat and keep your composure even as tears start to fall from your eyes as the demon ruthlessly fucks your face.

“You feel so good,” Sukuna groans. “You were made to take my dick.” A particularly rough thrust leaves you gagging again and drooling all over his cock. “Fuck yea, just like that.”

Once the demon is satisfied, he releases his grip on your hair and you immediately pull back to catch your breath. You wipe the spit from your mouth and the tears from your eyes, panting heavily from the rough treatment. Sukuna silently admires the way your breasts look against your heaving chest.

“Take the rest of your clothes off,” he demands. You shakily get off the bed and shimmy out of your pajama shorts. As you roll down your underwear, Sukuna doesn’t miss how it’s already drenched with your arousal. As you climb back on the bed, Sukuna roughly places you underneath him once again. He spreads open your legs and presses a finger against your entrance to test your wetness.

“Damn,” Sukuna growls. “You’re this wet from choking on my cock.” You moan in relief as you finally feel some friction against your throbbing core. “A good little whore just for me.”

The demon strokes your folds at a leisurely pace which drives you insane. You unconsciously grind against his hand, silently begging him to pick up the tempo, but Sukuna just chuckles and continues to tease you. He barely brushes your swollen clit with each stroke, causing you to whine in frustration.

“Please,” you whimper.

Sukuna raises his eyebrows with a smirk. “Please what?” He suddenly stops his ministrations to your immediate displeasure.

You bite your lip feeling slightly embarrassed, but you decide to swallow whatever pride you have left. “T-touch me. I want to feel you. I n-need to feel you.”

“Only because you asked so sweetly,” Sukuna hums. He finally rubs his thumb over your throbbing clit, and you immediately cry out as pleasure wracks your body. The demon’s touch becomes faster and rougher, leaving you a writhing mess underneath him. Just as you’re about to hit your climax, Sukuna pulls away and you can’t stop the frustrated whine that leaves your mouth. He strokes his dick amused by your reaction and leans down to whisper in your ear. “Wouldn’t it feel better to cum around my cock? Come on. Tell me that’s what you want, pet.”

The fire between your legs only grows as you listen to his words. Desperate for any sort of release, you beg for Sukuna’s cock. “P-please fuck me. I need your dick so badly. Please please please.”

Sukuna answers your pleas by lining his cock against your sopping entrance before pushing into you in one go. You groan at the slight burn as your walls stretch around his wide girth, but you’re so wet he manages to slide his entire length into you without much resistance. Once he’s fully sheathed, the feeling is completely overwhelming. You feel absolutely stuffed to the brim with his giant cock pulsing inside you.

“Oh my god,” you breath. “You’re so big. Fuck.”

Sukuna doesn’t give you much chance to adjust to his size as he immediately pulls out until only his tip remains before ramming back into you at full force. You yelp at the sudden movement, while the demon softly groans. He sets a brutal pace that leaves you absolutely breathless. With every snap of his hips, you can feel yourself getting closer and closer to the edge. Your toes curl in pleasure, and you rake your nails down his muscular back as the demon fucks you senseless.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Sukuna growls as you continue to moan and whimper wantonly underneath him. When the head of his cock hits that sensitive spot inside you at just the right angle, the tension in your body finally snaps and a wave of pleasure completely washes over you. You cry out as you reach your climax, squeezing your eyes shut as you surrender yourself to the sensations of pure bliss.

Once you start to come down from your high, Sukuna pulls out of you and adjusts your body so that you’re on your hands and knees. Your arms are still quivering from your orgasm but you have just enough strength to keep yourself from collapsing. Both you and Sukuna groan as he enters you once again. He somehow fucks you even harder than before. The lewd, wet noises of your bodies slamming against one of another fill the bedroom. Sukuna grips your waist with such force as he slams into you over and over again that you know you’ll wake up with nasty bruises tomorrow. In this position, it feels like his cock is pushing even deeper inside you at such a brutal pace.

“You going to cum on my cock again?” Sukuna pants. He slaps your ass, and you squeak at the unexpected sting. “Answer the question, pet.” He gives you another slap.

“Oh god, yes,” you gasp as your cunt clenches around him. “F-fuck. Your cock feels s-so good.” Satisfied with your answer, Sukuna reaches around to rub your clit. It was just the right amount of extra stimulation you needed to reach your climax again. Your body shudders as you lose yourself to the white hot pleasure. Sukuna pulls out of you, and you immediately collapse on the bed.

“Who said we were done yet, pet?” The demon picks you up and places you on top of him as he lays back on the bed. You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck as your hard nipples rub against his chest. You can feel his still erect cock poking at your entrance. “I want to watch your face as I fill you up with my cum.” 

You wince as he slips back into you. You’re already starting to feel overstimulated and sore, but Sukuna hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet. He ruts into your limp body, only concerned about chasing his own pleasure.

You don’t think it’s possible for you to cum again, but Sukuna’s cock is continuing to hit all the right places. The pain from overstimulation only seems to egg you on further as you feel the familiar tension building within your body once again. Sukuna groans as your walls start to clench down on him. His thrusts become more erratic as he approaches his own release. 

As he continues to pound into you as you’re splayed across his chest, the demon tells you about all the humans he’ll kill once he’s at full power. Not even women or children will be safe from his destruction. He’ll lay siege to all Japan, perhaps even the world. Sukuna mentions how the golden age of demons will begin once again. 

You begin crying, but you can’t even tell if it’s from the overstimulation, the shame of letting him use you like this, or the guilt of bringing such a horrifying demon back to Earth. With one more rough thrust, you come undone again for the third time during the night. Sukuna follows right after you, pumping you full of his cum. There’s so much that you can already feel his seed leaking out of you.

Sukuna remains still, trying to catch his breath as you quietly sob against his chest. The demon rubs your head with surprising tenderness. 

“Don’t worry, pet. I promise I’ll spare you,” Sukuna says. “You’re mine now. No one else will ever touch you again.”

You hiccup through your tears as Sukuna’s words fill you with dread. It’s all your fault. He’s going to be reborn at full power and wipe out human civilization because of you. The guilt tears at your heart.

What have you done?

Sukuna can already feel his power returning to him. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll be unstoppable. Perhaps a couple of more days of indulging himself with your body will get the job done. He rubs your back, feeling how your sobs rack your body. Your tears only amuse him. Just another sign of how weak humans really are.

“Get ready for the new age, pet. And it’s all thanks to you.”

[fortuositywritings]

I Said No (Wanda x R): Pt 6

Summary: You kissed Wanda. Where do you go from here? Camping. You go camping is where.

Challenge: Take a shot of preferred drink (water for you youngsters, stay hydrated) every time you read "s'mores".

Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5

Wanda is beyond frustrated. It has been eight hours since you kissed her on the ferris wheel. Eight painful hours of rewinding the moment in her mind over and over again, wondering what it means because you haven’t said anything about it. You acted no different when you met back with everyone else. No different when Laura asked with a knowing smile how the view was from the top. No different on the car ride home nor when you said goodnight to her like you did to everyone else even if she had lingered behind a little longer in case you maybe wanted to say something while no one else was near.

It’s like it never even happened and now she’s wondering if she’s somehow messing with her own mind. 

No, it definitely happened. Maybe there’s a reason. Maybe you’ll explain. Maybe she needs to sleep. 

She can feel Nat stirring beside her, signaling her to close her eyes and feign sleep.

“I know you’re awake, Wanda. You’re going to have to do better than that,” Nat says. Wanda huffs. She should know better than try to pretend in front of the spy. “What’s wrong? You’ve been tossing and turning all night.”

Wanda doesn’t think Nat would like to hear the reason for her restlessness, but she also knows she can’t get away with lying, so she chooses to say, “I don’t think you would want to know.”

“Wanda,” Nat sighs, almost defeatedly, “I know I have my reservations about you and Y/N but I meant what I said. You are both adults who can make your own choices and if this is really something you both want then I’ll be here for you and her both. I know you might not believe this, but I’d much rather be here to help you prove me wrong than you two go and prove me right.”

Nat is lying on her back now staring at the ceiling waiting patiently for Wanda to say something. Wanda follows Nat’s lead and stares at the blank ceiling trying to get her thoughts in order. Wanda doesn’t like talking about her feelings. She’s one to figure things out on her own but if she doesn’t get answers soon, she is going to go insane. Nat knows Y/N well enough. Maybe she knows why Y/N acted so indifferent. So Wanda decides to trust Nat. “She kissed me.”

Wanda turns her head to see Nat’s expression. Nat’s face remains stoic. “Are you mad?” Wanda asks warily.

“No, but I am surprised,” Nat says with what Wanda could swear is amusement. “I didn’t think she had it in her to go against anything Clint or I say.”

Wanda smiles, “You don’t give her enough credit.”

“Maybe. I think I also give you too much credit. I thought it would be you to do it. You Maximoffs tend to be relentless until you get what you want.” Wanda chuckles acknowledging that sometimes she and her brother annoy the rest of the team until things go their way. “So she kissed you. What’s the problem?”

Wanda’s good mood comes back down as she falls back to reality. “I don’t know if there is a problem is the problem,” Wanda groans in frustration.

“You’ve lost me.”

Wanda can’t have this conversation lying down so she sits up. Nat does the same, giving Wanda her full attention. “It’s just, it’s so push and pull with her. She flirts and I flirt back. Then she says she can’t so I let it go, but later she pulls me in again but then reminds me we can only be friends only to kiss me at the fair. And now she’s acting like it didn’t even happen and it’s all so frustrating,” Wanda vents.

Nat takes a moment to process everything. “You have to keep in mind that Y/N doesn’t do the whole relationship thing. She tried it once and well it didn’t work out. Now when things get serious, she likes to ignore them or as I’m sure you’ve noticed she likes to joke her way out. So if you want to work this out, you’ll have to find a way to talk to her without her freaking out,” Nat advises. 

The mention of a past relationship piques Wanda’s interest. “Y/N’s been in a relationship before? She’s never mentioned it.”

Nat smirks shaking her head, “Of course out of everything I said, that’s what you got. Tell me, have you told her about the robot boyfriend you had not too long ago?” Wanda looks down at the bedsheets in embarrassment. Nat wants to laugh but decides to give Wanda a break. “Look, if you really want to know you can ask Y/N later, okay? Now get some rest. You shouldn’t let guy, girl, or robot problems keep you from sleeping,” she finishes chuckling and gets up from the bed. 

“Where are you off to?” Wanda still goes to lie down but looks up at Nat with tired eyes.

“Going to go for a hike with your girl,” Nat teases as she grabs her clothes and clothes for you.

“She’s not my girl,” Wanda says, tucking her head into her pillow to hide her blush but Nat still caught it. She also catches when Wanda mumbles, “yet.”

“And there’s that bratty Maximoff attitude. I see you’re feeling better now,” Nat laughs and leaves the room without giving Wanda the time to respond, not that Wanda was planning to because Nat was right. Wanda was feeling better now having talked it out with someone. She’ll do as Natasha said and ask you later. With that she closes her eyes and tries to get some sleep.

You didn’t fare too well last either, much like Wanda. You were trying so hard not to think about your kiss with Wanda, but it’s all you could think about. You don’t know what possessed you to do it, but you know you should not have done it. You should not have done it because now all you can think about is doing it again, about doing it again and letting her kiss you back. You shouldn’t have kissed her because you don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, including yourself. It’s happened to you once before and you’re scared because it is happening to you again. 

So, you tried to play it cool. If you act like it was a friendly kiss that didn’t really mean anything, then Wanda will take the hint and when she inevitably goes, so will your feelings. No harm done. Friends kiss sometimes, right? At least that’s what you’ve been trying to convince yourself all night until you fell asleep.

You awaken from your two hours of Wanda-filled dreams by gym clothes smacking your face. You groan, “No, please. Not today, Nat. I barely got any sleep last night.”

“Oh, not you too,” she comments, rolling her eyes at you. You lift your head at that to look at her confused by what she meant. “Come on, some exercise will take your mind off whatever kept you up,” she continues with a knowing smile as she takes a sip of her coffee.  You narrow your eyes at her but eventually give in. Maybe she’s right and it will help you take your mind off of Wanda for even a moment. 

You still need the energy though, so you steal her coffee as you pass by her with your clothes in hand.

The one time you actually hoped Nat would be right, she wasn’t. You’re an hour into your hike and your brain has no vacancy for anything other than Wanda. You want to scream. Instead you push yourself harder. Another hour goes by and your head is still spinning, except this time it might also be because of the lack of oxygen reaching your brain. You go to lay on the dirty ground and attempt to catch your breath. Nat stops, not hearing your footsteps behind her. 

She looks at you a little worried. You are heaving and you are sweaty and you are frustrated and it’s official; a pretty girl named Wanda Maximoff broke you. You start chuckling and soon a full resounding laugh comes out of you like you heard the funniest joke. Nat goes to sit by you warily but doesn’t say anything.

Your laughter dies, replaced by a solemn attitude. You sit up, your shoulder touching Nat’s. She still doesn’t say anything and you’re thankful for that. Without looking at her, you tell her earnestly, “I really like her.”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighs.

“She told you,” you say, no surprise in your voice. You were clued in this morning with Nat’s knowing smile. Nat hums in confirmation. “I know you and Clint warned me, but-”

“But we were wrong,” Nat cuts you off. That has you looking at her, your eyebrows raised in shock. You never thought you’d hear her admit being wrong so blatantly. She laughs, “Don’t get used to hearing that. Seriously though, you don’t need someone telling you what you can or cannot do. It wasn’t right for us to try. So, I’ll tell you what I told Wanda, whatever happens, I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Aww, look who’s taking accountability. Little Romanov is all grown up!” you joke. She rolls her eyes and nudges you saying, “I guess serious talk is over.”

She knows you too well. You smile anyway in appreciation. You both get up and start making your way back to the car. You feel lighter after that conversation. On your walk back, you begin to think, maybe you can give it a shot with Wanda now that it seems Nat and Clint are giving into the idea of you two together. You smile at the thought of you and Wanda together. You can make it work, you think. That is if you can allow trust in yourself to not hurt her and trust her not to do the same. But you have time to work on that. 

When you reach the car, a daunting thought stops you. You don’t have time. “She’s leaving soon.”

Nat opening the car door simply says, “Yeah, guess you have to decide what you want to do quickly.” 

“I’ve decided,” Clint says to everyone at breakfast. When you and Nat had gotten to the house, almost everyone was still asleep. You and Nat only saw Sam and Laura up in the kitchen. You’d guessed the fair wore everyone out yesterday. You and Nat helped Sam and Laura make breakfast. Well, Nat helped. You had been told to sit at the table and let the adults do the cooking. How were you meant to learn if they didn’t let you? At least Wanda had let you help.

Wanda, as if summoned by your thoughts, had appeared then. You saw her hesitate walking into the kitchen. You knew you messed up by ignoring what happened between the two of you. You gave her a smile and patted the seat next to you hoping to alleviate the tension. Luckily for you it seemed to do the trick. You two were back to your usual selves though you both knew you would have to talk about what happened at some point.

Everyone came downstairs one by one and when breakfast was ready, you all headed into the dining room to eat together. Everyone was having their own side conversations but they all hushed down when Clint spoke up saying he decided something.

“And what did you decide?” Laura asks him. You try hard not to laugh, recognizing the same tone she gave you two days ago when you told everyone you were going to the fair. Wanda sees you try to hide your amusement and pinches your side to get you to stop. Being ticklish, you nearly squeal but hold it in. By the way Wanda’s eyes spark up, you know she noticed. You give her a warning stare and mouth “no”.

“My sweet, beautiful wife,” Clint begins sweet talking your cousin, but you’re not paying too much attention as Wanda is trying to tickle your side discreetly with one hand and you are trying hard to keep it away. Across the table, Pietro is not paying attention to Clint either, instead watching you and Wanda interact. He feels so dumb for not noticing it before, but seeing you bring out the playfulness in Wanda, which he hadn’t seen in the longest time, you could make him feel like the dullest bulb in the box and he wouldn’t complain. All three of your attention is brought back to the subject at hand when Clint says, “I’ve decided we’re going camping today!”

The kids, Peter, Sam, and you let out a cheer. You squeeze Wanda’s hand that you managed to catch in yours. You don’t feel any excitement coming from her so you turn to her. She looks discontent at the thought of camping. “Oh, come on. Don’t say you don’t like camping.”

“Pietro and I have not gone camping but the thought of bugs and sleeping on the ground does not sound appealing,” she says tentatively.

“Thank you. She gets it,” your cousin says and Nat nods her head in agreement.

“Don’t listen to the two buzzkills. They never want to do anything.” You ignore the scoff and “excuse me” they give you to instead try to convince Wanda. “I promise it’s going to be fun,” you look into her eyes, practically pleading with her. She huffs, closes her eyes, and says, “Fine.”

“Yes! What about you Pietro?” you ask her brother though you already know where one twin goes the other follows. “Yeah, let’s see what camping is about. Maybe we can share a tent,” Pietro flirts throwing a wink your way, mostly teasing to see his sister’s reaction. You ignore his last comment and start chanting “Camping! Camping!” until Peter, Cooper, and Lila chant along. You don’t notice the glare Wanda throws her brother or said brother trying to hide his smirk.

You take two cars like you had yesterday. This time you ride with Nat, Sam, Wanda, and Peter. Cooper and Lila refused to let Pietro ride in Nat’s car, wanting him to ride with them. Nat is driving with Sam sitting in the passenger seat after having called shotgun. You sat in the middle between Peter and Wanda, having offered her the window seat. The ride to the lake where you usually went camping isn’t long, only about an hour and a half away, but you find yourself falling asleep twenty minutes in when Wanda rests her head on your shoulder to take a nap. 

You and Wanda wake to the car door slamming shut. You both look out the window and see you’ve arrived and it had been Nat who stepped out of the car. From the car, you can see her stretch and take in the view with a disgruntled face. 

“Well someone’s excited,” Sam said sarcastically, having noticed Nat’s attitude toward this trip also. All of you in the car watch her as she sprays a ton of bug repellant on herself while grumbling, “Stupid Clint. I should be relaxing somewhere with AC. But nooo, Mr. ‘I’ve decided we’re going camping’ and Ms. ‘I promise it’s gonna be fun’ want to go camping. Fun my ass.”

You can’t help but laugh when she mocks you and Clint, and everyone in the car joins in. Nat turns to glare at all of you through the windows. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Just don’t come crying to me when you can’t stop scratching your legs tomorrow. Now chop chop. We’ve got things to bring out.” 

She leaves to help Laura out of the family car that just pulled up beside Nat’s own. She’s always so grumpy when you go camping. At the thought, a joke pops in your head that you can’t help but repeat out loud, “Yeah, she’s never really been a happy camper.”

“Did you just? Nice one!” Peter gives you a high five. Wanda and Sam shake their heads at you but you can see Wanda trying not to smile. Sam catches it and throws his head back groaning, “Bad puns? Really? I gotta start writing things down.” He pulls out his phone and goes to his notes to start a list. “Okay, confident but geeky, talk about Star Wars, bad jokes. Am I missing anything, Wanda?”

You and Peter look at her confused. You are especially intrigued to know what Wanda has to do with whatever the hell Sam is talking about when she flushes and kicks his seat. “We should go help now,” she says, opening the door and hurrying out. You follow behind asking, “What’s he talking about, Wanda?” 

She ignores you. Peter reaches you and says, “I thought it was a good joke.”

Everyone helps out setting the tents, Clint wanting to get that out of the way first. No matter how much of a downer Nat can be on camping trips, you’re always glad she’s there or no tent would stand a chance holding upright. There are three sturdy tents set up a little ways away from the dock by the time you finish. Peter, the kids, the twins, and you run over to the dock in excitement, you pulling Wanda along with you. None of you are in the proper attire to jump in as Laura points out. “Hey, go put on your swim suits if you want to get in!” she shouts from where the rest are setting up everything for grilling.

You all turn back around to put on your swimwear. Best not to anger the pregnant lady. Before you can take a step forward, you feel like someone sweeps you up in their arms but it happens too fast to be sure and suddenly you are falling into the water. Everyone turns back around at the sound of you hitting the water. When your head springs from the water, you look for the culprit and see him smiling at you next to Sam. You do the only thing you can think of as revenge. You pretend to drown. “Help! I can’t-” you spit water everywhere waving your arms hysterically. You can hear footsteps running on the dock but ignore them to see Pietro’s reaction. His eyes widen and in a blink he is gone. 

You hear a splash. Correction, you hear three different splashes. You knew one had to be Pietro and you’re right. He pulls you into him with one arm, saying, “I got you. I got you.” 

You turn in his arm and say, “No, I got you.” He looks confused and you take the opportunity to wriggle loose and dunk his head in the water. The second and third splashes had come from Peter and Wanda, you note, when you hear them behind you say, “Y/N!” and “Are you okay?” You can’t answer because the sight of Pietro coming back up spluttering has you cracking up. 

“I thought you couldn’t swim,” Peter says. This time you do answer, “I told you guys, I was learning on the job.”

Peter starts laughing then, swimming towards Pietro, who took it easy laughing as well. “She got you so good. You should have seen your face,” Peter chuckles. You grin, but that smile falls when you look at Wanda and find her glaring at you.The joy on your face morphs into confusion. You ask, “What’s wrong?”

“That wasn’t funny, Y/N.” She leaves you there with your mouth agape and heads to the shore without another word, swimming past Peter and Pietro who are basically water fighting. You float there for a second wondering what just happened. You don’t know what to do but you think you have to fix it somehow. 

You swim after her. Pietro and Peter stop splashing water at each other, turning their bodies to look at you as you pass by them now able to touch the ground with your feet. Pietro teases, “Oooh, someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight.” 

You wanted to point out that you have been sleeping on the couch the whole week and that technically you’ll be sleeping in a tent tonight. Instead you splash some water at him behind you and try to walk faster against the water to catch Wanda. When you are close enough, you reach out and pull on her wrist to get her to stop walking. You walk around her to stand face to face. She pulls her arm free from your hold and crosses her arms in front of her body looking everywhere but at you. You see her clenching her jaw in irritation and if you’re honest with yourself, you find this angry Wanda pretty attractive, but you remember she’s mad at you and you focus on the matter at hand.

Unbeknownst to you both, everyone’s watching. “Oh, she’s mad mad. Let’s see Y/N try to joke her way out of this one,” Sam says chuckling. Clint and Nat turn to him, Nat smirking and Clint chuckling. Laura is preoccupied putting sunscreen on the kids to be aware of what is going on.

“Oh, come on. Sure, Y/N is smooth but I know Wanda, and that girl is stubborn as hell,” Sam says confidently, remembering the time Wanda had not spoken to her brother for three days because he went to a party with some of the guys forgetting he was supposed to go to the movies with her. 

“Want to bet?” Clint says. 

“20, easy.” Sam shakes Clint’s hand. Off in the water, Peter and Pietro are having a similar conversation. Peter asks if Wanda is actually mad. Peter doesn’t live on the compound and has not had much interaction with Wanda, so it makes sense to Pietro why he would ask. Pietro laughs, “Oh, yes. One time I forgot to go to the movies with her and she did not speak with me for days. She has the same face now.”

You don’t really have a plan here, so you start the way you always do, using humor. “Wanda, are you actually mad? Am I in hot … water?” you flick some water for effect. She doesn’t find it amusing. She scoffs at you, but at least she’s looking at you now. “The water’s cold and jokes won’t get you out of this one.”

“We’ll just have to sea about that,” you try again. You didn’t think she could look more peeved, but look at you making the impossible happen. She says, “It’s a lake,” unamused, and she moves to go around you. So humor is a no go in this situation.

“What did I tell you,” Sam boasts, seeing Wanda look more irritated. “Easiest 20 dollars, I made.”

“Just wait,” Clint says. Laura goes to sit beside him and asks, “What’s happening?”

“Wanda is mad at Y/N. Sam bet Clint 20 dollars that Wanda will stay mad at her,” Nat explains. Suddenly, Sam doesn’t feel so confident when Laura shakes her head at him like he just got played and says, “Oh, Sam.”

“Okay, wait, wait, wait.” You step to the side making sure Wanda doesn’t leave. “I’m sorry. It was just a dumb way to get back at Pietro. I didn’t mean to upset you or freak you out,” you say, pulling her arms apart from where they are still crossed. “The last thing I want to do is make you mad or sad or any of the -ad’s.” You see her tense shoulders loosen up so you add, “You already know how I feel about Brads.”

You know you made the right choice when you hear her giggle at your last comment. You smile and tug on her arm. “So are we good? Or do I have to pull out the famous puppy dog eyes?” you jest and she gives you a real laugh when you actually go for the puppy dog eyes along with a pout. She shoves you playfully and you nearly stumble backwards but you hold onto her arms and pull yourself forward. In consequence you end up closer to each other and Wanda takes the opportunity to pull you into a hug. 

“Just don’t do it again,” Wanda says. You wrap your arms around her waist, welcoming in her hug. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Now let’s go swimming,” you say quickly. She barely catches what you say before you pick her up and take off back in Peter and Pietro’s direction, Wanda laughing the whole way.

“What the hell was that?” Sam refuses to believe what he just saw. 

“Easiest 20 dollars I ever made,” Clint chuckles.

“No, see she’s gotta have some kind of persuasion powers or something. Why isn’t that girl on the team? We could just give her a microphone before we go fight and have her convince the bad dudes to turn themselves in,” Sam says as he reluctantly takes out a twenty dollar bill and gives it to Clint.

Pietro is very much on the same boat as Sam. He decides he needs to learn your secrets. Peter says, “Maybe the movie she wanted to watch was really good?”

You have your fun in the water, especially when the kids and Sam join you deciding they want to play chicken fight. Cooper goes against Lila and despite her being younger and smaller, she manages to push Cooper off Sam’s shoulder. Pietro holds Sam up as he goes against Peter. Sam cheers when Peter falls backwards into the water. Most would be surprised by the win but it was mostly your fault, not having a good stance when trying to hold Peter on your shoulders. 

You go to fight against Wanda next; she takes Sam’s place on Pietro’s shoulders and you sit on Sam’s shoulders. Cooper and Lila count down and when they yell go, you and Wanda are pushing each other’s shoulders. Wanda removes a hand from your shoulder and reaches for your stomach, but you catch her arm quickly. “Not today. You’re going down, Maximoff!”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that-” Wanda begins but doesn’t finish. You can feel her grip loosen on your shoulder when she gives you a look of befuddlement. “Actually, I don’t know your last name.” You smirk, taking this as your opportunity, and say, “Good. Now you can see how I felt.” Then you push her shoulder and she loses her balance. You can smell the victory, but the smell wafts away when you see what looks like a red mist coming from her and hurling towards you. You are practically flung from Sam’s shoulder into the water. 

You resurface, spluttering water. You look around for the person of interest and head towards her when she gets up beside Pietro. “You cheated!” you yell. You’re not actually mad but you are a sore loser. She sees you coming toward her and Wanda can’t help but laugh at how silly you look trying to stomp over to her intimidatingly when you are moving so slowly against the water. “I thought you and I had agreed on no powers.”

“No, you said no more mind reading,” she corrects you with a pleased smile on her face. 

“Well new rule, no powers in general and wipe that grin off your face, no one likes a smart-ass,” you huff. She replies whilst giving your cheek a poke, “Then wipe that pout off your face. No one likes a sore loser.” You shake your head to get her finger off your face, making her laugh again.

Pietro challenges Wanda next and before either of them have a chance to decide who will be carrying them, you dive under Wanda and between her legs, making her yelp in surprise as you lift her up on your shoulders. You hold on tight to her thighs and then reach for her arms to keep her steady. She giggles when she looks down not able to see you behind all the hair in your face. She helps you out and pulls your hair back out of your face. You look up at her, who keeps her hands on your head, and smile in thanks.

You look at Wanda’s opponent. Pietro, who is situated on Sam’s shoulders, is already looking at you like he’s thinking something over. Then he looks above you at Wanda and challenges, “If I win, you have to tell me what Y/N said to not make you angry anymore.”

Sam under him adds, “Yeah, I wanna know why I lost 20 dollars!” You give him a look of bewilderment. Wanda thinks it over and decides, “Okay, but if I win, Sam has to stop trying to be geeky like Y/N and Peter.” You pinch her thigh and Peter shouts “Hey!” at being called geeky. She ignores the two of you, continuing, “And you have to stop flirting with Y/N.”

“Why? Are you jealous, Wanda?” her brother baits her. Your ears perk up awaiting her response.

“No, you’re just annoying,” Wanda says trying to sound nonchalant, but Pietro knows her well. He continues badgering, “Well, what if Y/N likes it?” 

You decide to partake in his teasing her and add, “Yeah, Wanda. What if I like it?” You look up at her with a cheeky smile and find her already looking down at you with an eyebrow raised and her tongue poking at her cheek, a look you feel says “you don’t want to test me”. Gut feelings shouldn’t be ignored, you think, so you look back to Pietro, “Sorry, I guess I don’t like it.” You follow with a dramatic whisper, “Totally jealous.” She tugs your hair in retaliation for your comment.

“So, is it a deal or not, ‘cause my shoulders are starting to hurt,” Sam says. The twins agree and you are thankful Sam got the ball rolling because you didn’t know how much longer you could hold up Wanda. Peter counts down this time. It’s over in less than 3 seconds. It seems Wanda likes to cheat. Everyone sees the red mist fading after Pietro falls into the water. 

“That’s not fair. You used your powers. That’s cheating,” Pietro says when he comes back up and Sam nodding in agreement while Wanda defends herself saying they never said they couldn’t use powers. You tell Wanda to take a breath and close her nose and then fall backwards to get her off your shoulders. Another few minutes of swimming pass by before Clint yells for all of you to get out and go eat. You all head to the little cabin that has the restrooms and showers. Laura meets you there with towels. Those of you that jumped in the lake enter the showers with clothes and all to wash away the lake water and then head outside to rinse off. 

Clint watches you hand your towel to Wanda for her to dry off first. You say something that makes Wanda let out a resonant laugh and in turn makes you smile vibrantly. He’s only ever seen you look at someone like that once. He grimaces at how that turned out. And Wanda he’s actually never seen act like this, so jubilant and lively, playfully rolling her eyes and pushing you away after you make a stupid joke. It brings a smile to his face despite the voice in the back of his head saying this can’t end well.

As everyone eats, they unintentionally group off to have different conversations. Clint, Sam, and Peter stand by the mini grill, Laura and Nat sit in some camping chairs complaining about the bugs, the kids are drawing things on the ground with a stick they found, and you, Wanda, and Pietro are sitting on other camping chairs.

Pietro and Wanda tell you stories of when they were children, both their eyes seem to almost glaze over as they reminisce on fond memories. Though their storytelling styles differ, Pietro with his animated gestures and Wanda with her attention for detail, they both have you captivated. You offer them a few stories of your own childhood, including the ones you found embarrassing like the three different times you called one teacher “mom” and the time you walked straight into a pole talking to your crush in middle school.

“So you weren’t always so smooth as I hear you are,” Wanda comments through her laughter.

“Nope, this awesome personality took years in the making,” you joke, making Wanda shake her head at you. Pietro comments, “Yeah, not everyone can be born with it like I was.”

Wanda laughs at this, which offends Pietro and soon the twins are bickering much to your amusement. Wanda recounts times Pietro was very much not so smooth with the ladies including things he’s done that caused certain girlfriends to leave him, Pietro obviously having excuses as to why something happened. He fires his shot at her when he tells her she can’t begin to talk about relationships when she’s only had one and it was 3D printed. 

You tune them out after this due to shock and confusion. You’re shocked that Wanda’s only ever dated one person. You never really thought to ask about her exes because you thought it might bring up some bad memories knowing she had just gone through a breakup not so long ago. So you also find it shocking that she was so brazenly forward about wanting to try something with you if she doesn’t date like her brother does-like you do which you don’t even consider dating. You kind of want to smile thinking about it. You just know that she has people left and right who would kill for a chance to be with her, but she likes you. You are trying hard not to let it go to your head but can already feel your ego growing in size. The confusion comes from the 3D printed comment. You’ll have to ask about that later.

“-ask Y/N.” You bring your attention back to the conversation when hearing your name.

“She doesn’t do relationships. She’s too busy playing the game and winning,” Sam chuckles standing between the twins’ chairs. You hadn’t even noticed when he joined you three. You don’t know where they were in the conversation and don’t want to explain what you were thinking about if you ask them to repeat the question because you were distracted, so you decide to go along with Sam. You fake a laugh and say, “Yeah, tried it once and it wasn’t for me.”

“You? In a relationship?” You nod at both of Pietro’s questions. “With who?”

“Her name’s Skye and no, she doesn’t live here so don’t try going around town asking about her. I may not have known you for long, but I can just tell you’re both nosy.” You point at Pietro and Sam.

“Then don’t leave us wondering. What happened?” Sam asks. From the look in his eye, you know he won’t let it go. You don’t feel like recounting the details of how you were falling for someone who left you saying they couldn’t do relationships because they were distracting her from trying to do something important. It was a blow to the gut then; you’re sure your face would show it. You don’t want to be a drag. 

“Nothing exciting. She told me relationships weren’t for her at the time,” you say nonchalantly,  shrugging your shoulders like it doesn’t still hurt to think about.

“So you decided relationships weren’t for you,” Wanda speaks up, her stare hard on your profile like she’s trying to figure you out. You think she reads you too well already, there can’t be anything you hide that she won’t find.

“If you can’t beat them, join them,” you say, trying to look unfazed by it all. It seems to work because the guys move on, Sam joking saying that was the reason you partnered with Wanda after you lost the chicken fight. Wanda, however, is still staring at you, trying to decipher your words. You try not to focus on that. The guys laugh when you say that technically you won because Wanda cheated using her powers.

“So it is cheating! If you say you won, that means Sam and I won, so Sam can try to be geeky and I can flirt with you and you have to tell us how Wanda’s mood changed so fast,” Pietro says matter-of-factly. Now this gets Wanda to quit staring at you. Instead she turns her head to Pietro to give him a glare when he mentions flirting with you. You don’t know too much about Wanda’s powers but you would not be surprised if one was killing someone with a look; Pietro would be pulverized from being on the receiving end of her glare and you from how attractive you found it. 

But now is not the time. As much as it hurts your ego that has now flown through the roof, you reach your foot over to loop your ankle around Wanda and say to Pietro, “Okay, then I didn’t win. It was a draw.” Wanda turns her attention back over to you when she feels your ankle against hers.

“Oh, come on! Just tell us how you did it,” Sam says. 

“Guess she just likes me more than you two,” you offer with a cheeky smile. You miss Wanda blushing when Sam says, “That’s for sure.” You didn’t even catch that because the smell of marshmallows roasting called you. You look over Sam’s shoulder and see Clint helping Cooper and Lila make a s’more. You notice Peter talking to Nat and Laura sitting around a small makeshift fire pit starting to poke marshmallows on the ends of some steel sticks Clint must have bought. “Um, what the hell, guys? Was no one going to call us for s’mores?” you yell more so towards your cousin. 

Everyone turns to look at you but your group who look over to see the reason you were yelling. Your cousin gives you a well-job-done look when Lila says, “Ooo, Y/N said a bad word.” As your group heads over to the rest, you give your cousin your don’t-worry-I’ll-fix-it look you’ve given her countless times and tell Lila, “Yes, I did but you can’t. Not until you’re ten.”

“Y/N!” Both Clint and Laura yell while Nat actually tries to fix it and says, “Y/N was just being funny. Don’t listen to her.”

“But you say Y/N is never funny,” Cooper chimes in. Everyone stifles a laugh when you scoff. “That’s because your Aunt Nat wouldn’t know a joke if it bit her in the ass,” you say the last part directly looking at her. You hear Clint say something like “not this again” while most are saying “oooh” including the kids but they say it to point out you said another bad word.

“I don’t know about that one. Why don’t you bite mine and I’ll tell you?” Nat comes back at you and so do the oohs from everyone and a bonus “burn” from Sam. You reply, “No, thank you. Wouldn’t want to accidentally bite into the stick stuck up there.”

“DAMN!” Sam says and before Nat could respond from what you’re sure would be what ends you tonight, your cousin cuts in. “Enough! I thought I would be raising 3 children. I didn’t sign up for 5. Lila, don’t listen to Y/N about the bad words and if she and Aunt Nat keep arguing,” your cousin threatens, “neither will be having s’mores.”

Both your and Nat’s eyes go wide at that. One thing you and she will never argue about is how s’mores are one of the greatest contributions the US has given the world in terms of culinary delicacies. 

“That got them quiet very fast. How good can s’mores be?” Pietro asks. You and Nat gasp so dramatically one would think Pietro insulted your mothers. “You’ve never had a s’more?” you ask both him and Wanda who shake their heads.

“Why was I never made aware of this?” Nat reprimands them as if it’s the twins’ fault they’ve never had s’mores. “Someone get these two a stick and some marshmallows ASAP,” Nat snaps, and you fetch four sticks and the bag of marshmallows, handing Nat, Pietro, and Wanda a stick each. 

“Prepare to have your mind blown,” you say dramatically. Wanda finds your passion for s’mores adorable. She gives you a smile in thanks when you stick two marshmallows at the end of her stick. Pietro is excited to try s’mores after you and Nat having raved about them; he can’t help but wiggle the stick back and forth while you are trying to put some marshmallows on it. You and Nat are helping the twins make their first s’mores when Wanda asks, “Why don’t Lila and Cooper call you Aunt Y/N?” 

“Because children recognize children,” Nat jests, but your cousin says her name as a warning anyway in case you two started up again. You call over Lila and Cooper for them to answer the question for you. Together they recite verbatim what you had told them to say when someone asked. “Aunt is for when you are old, boring, or married and Y/N is young, cool, and single.” You mouth along and give them a proud smile after.

“Exactly! Thank you, critters.” You give each a high five and they run back to their dad. Wanda looks impressed as do the rest. Nat, on the other hand, looks ready to argue again. “Excuse me, so which of the three am I, huh?”

“Well, you’re not married yet, so you take your pick between the other two choices.” Your eyes shimmer in merriment when she says nothing, opting to glare at you. Sam laughs and asks, “How long did it take them to remember that?”

“A whole summer two years ago. I told them I’d buy 4 pints of ice cream to whoever memorizes it first,” you explain. Everyone enjoys their s’mores, Pietro eating too many for his own good, as the sun disappears below the horizon. It’s not too long before Nat starts complaining about the bugs again. She’s cut off by her phone ringing. She stands off to the side to take the call. You joke around with Wanda saying it’s Bruce calling and you play out the conversation you think they’re having. Wanda laughs at your terrible attempt to mimic Nat and Bruce’s voices.

Nat comes back with news. “So, Rodgers can’t pick us up this weekend. He was called on a mission and had to take the jet, but Tony arranged for two agents named Bobby and Daisy to pick us up in 5 days.”

“You’re staying longer?” Lila asks and when Nat nods, she runs to hug Pietro cheering. You and Wanda look at each other after the news, both trying to see the other’s reaction. You give each other a shy smile. Wanda is happy to have more time with you. She was not ready to leave so soon not knowing when she would be able to see you next. You didn’t really know how you felt. You’re suddenly aware of your heart pounding aggressively against your chest. You were dreading your time with Wanda coming to a close but you were also somewhat prepared to hang on until the weekend without messing anything up. Hearing she’s staying for longer is a relief but you are not sure how long you can go without breaking and kissing her again, getting both your hopes up only for it to all come crashing down when she inevitably leaves. 

Nat interrupts your internal turmoil by ways of complaining again about the bugs. “Okay, this is not gonna happen. Clint, let me see your keys.” Clint tosses her his car keys. She pulls the house key from the key ring and tosses the car keys back to Clint. “Cool, see you all at the house tomorrow. Whoever wants to sleep on an actual bed and not in this AC-less mosquito infested site, you are welcome to tag along.”

Laura stands up way too quickly for someone who is pregnant and says she’s going with Nat. Lila tags along, apparently not wanting to sleep here without her mom. “What a baby,” you say shaking your head as you watch Nat’s car’s lights disappear. 

“Well at least now you’ll have more privacy in the tent,” Sam says, smirking at you and Wanda pointing out that you’ll be alone with Wanda in the tent, which you hadn’t put together until this moment. If your heart wasn’t beating like a drum before, it sure is trying to beat out of your chest now. You gulp at his insinuation. Maybe it isn’t too late to run after the car. 

“Ew, I don’t want to hear anything,” Pietro says, Sam and surprisingly Clint agreeing by nodding their heads. Wanda rolls her eyes at him and Peter on the hand is blushing, trying not to look at you or Wanda like he’s already seen something. You’re suddenly aware that all of them are heading to their tents. The fire had been put out and all the leftover food had been put away sometime while you were watching Nat’s group drive away. Pietro and Peter share one tent and Sam, Clint, and Cooper another. 

Wanda stands and looks down at you expectantly. You see she’s holding the lantern Lila always uses cause it’s in her favorite color of blue. “Do you plan to sleep outside?”

You roll your eyes and stand up to follow Wanda into your tent. There are three sleeping bags rolled out in front of you. “Guess we won’t be needing one of those,” Wanda comments behind you. The comment itself should make you nervous but what actually does it is the sound of her zipping the entrance closed. You gulp and can only let out a simple, “Mhm.”

If that alone had you acting this way, you didn’t want to find out what actually looking her way would do to you, so you quickly move, back hunching, to the back pack you brought. You kneel to comfortably search it. You gave her a better answer, clearing your throat. “Actually, Nat was right about the hard ground. You could use it as a double layer.”

“Or we could share it?” Wanda suggests. You stop digging in the bag as your breath catches. You reply, your voice an octave higher, “No, that-that’s okay.” You clear your throat when you notice your pitch and hope Wanda hadn’t. “I’m used to it, but I wouldn’t want to give you a bad impression of camping.” Wanda had. You are back to searching your bag for the sweats you had brought to sleep in.

Wanda notices you seem a little tense, having dug around that bag for awhile. She walks up to you and places a hand on your shoulder. Your body stiffens like a board under her hand. She has to ask, “Are you nervous?”

“Nervous? Pft, why would I be nervous?” You finally find your damn sweats. “I’ve done this a million times.” You are quick to change the subject when the only clothes apart from Nat’s you find beside your sweats are some pyjama shorts and a tank top. “Is this all you brought to sleep in?”

“I didn’t think we were going to be camping when I packed,” Wanda replies to your inquiry but she still has questions of her own she’d like answered. For example, why are you so nervous and what did the kiss yesterday mean for you two. “Y/N, we need to talk.”

“Luckily, Nat left her stuff so you can wear her clothes. Here.” You hand Wanda Nat’s sleepwear. She can obviously tell you were avoiding the conversation. “You can change. I’ll face the other way.” You turn around and change into your sweats. You would have to leave your top on not having planned for it to have gotten wet. You try not to let the sound of Wanda’s quick intake of breath make you blush knowing you didn’t give her any warning. You try really hard not to guess what Wanda is doing based on the sounds you’re hearing when you think she begins changing but your mind tends to wander especially when it comes to the girl behind you. 

“I don’t see why you have to turn around. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of women undress.” The sound of clothes falling to the ground makes you gulp. You are never so nervous and it’s killing you. You try your hardest to find something funny to say but come up empty. Wanda is still waiting on a response, so you say facing a tent wall, “None of those women are you.”

Your words spark something in each of your heads- a decision. You decide to take a chance with Wanda because you do believe it in your heart. Wanda is not like any of the other women including Skye. Even though she has to leave in five days, you can make it work. Wanda, however, is reminded of how she isn’t like other women. She is reminded of what Nat had said before. She decides maybe Vision was right.

As much as you wish you could avoid a serious talk, you know you owe it to her. They do say the secret to a good relationship is open communication. The term relationship usually makes you want to run for the hills but when you think of it tied to Wanda, a flutter tickles your stomach. It’s a feeling you never thought you would welcome again and you have to suppress a smile.

“Okay, you can turn around now,” Wanda says. She notices you hiding a smile and she’s wondering what brought it on. Wanda watches you move Nat’s sleeping bag under the one meant for her and then settle into your own. Your kind consideration makes her smile weakly, thinking of all the things she’ll miss such as you opening doors for her or letting her have your blanket and remain sitting still for the sake of her comfort. You stare up at Wanda who you see is lost in thought but staring in your direction and finally manage to act like yourself. “I’m sure the view is nice from there, but I can assure you I look good from all angles,” you joke and pat her sleeping bag beside you. 

The sound of your hand patting her sleeping bag brings her out of her head and when she processes what you said, she rolls her eyes at you. She grabs the lantern, setting it a little aways from both of you once she gets into her sleeping bag. Both of you turn onto your sides placing your hands under your heads to face one another. You stare at each other for a while before a question pops up in your head. You ask, “What did Pietro mean by 3D printed?”

“Sorry?” Wanda looks confused so you clarify. “When you and your brother were arguing, he said your last relationship was 3D printed.” A light bulb goes off in her head, now knowing you were referring to Vision. “That was just Pietro being a jerk,” Wanda says and then she goes on to explain her relationship with this synthetic being to you. You try really hard not to let the fact that this ex-boyfriend of hers quite literally has a connection to her because how were you supposed to compare to that. 

You shake that off and scrape every corner of your mind for any trace of confidence and gather that to work up the nerve to say, “Off topic, or maybe on topic, but I feel like we need to talk about yesterday on the ferris wheel.”

Wanda sees you struggle trying to start a serious conversation. Trying not to have you freak out, as Natasha had implied would practically be impossible, Wanda meets you in the middle. She tries a bit of humor, something you are more comfortable with. “You mean our friendly date?” She adds in a chuckle so you would know she is kidding with you.

You smile, appreciating her trying to make it easier on you to talk to her. If she’s trying for you, you can try for her, you think. You sober up and a more serious expression falls upon your face. You want Wanda to know you mean everything you are about to say next. Wanda, however, misreads the intent behind your expression. What she sees is you finding the words to let her down slowly again. You had said relationships weren’t for you and talk of past flings proved that, so she took a page out of your book- if you can’t beat them, join them. She can play nonchalant too.

“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I acted so weird after, like it didn’t happen. The truth is I tried to ignore it, but I can’t because it’s constantly replaying in my head. All I can think about is doing it again and I know I said we could only be friends, but-”

“You were right.” Wanda cuts you off early. “What?” you ask thoroughly confused. She continues, “When you said we should just be friends, you were right. It was silly of me to even suggest anything. I mean I’m leaving in five days, so what is the point right?” Wanda reasons with you and as you are about to rebut to say you can make it work, she continues, “I mean I’m probably not in the right headspace to start anything serious. Vision just broke up with me like a month ago.” 

You are starting to feel like you were gathering up courage for no reason, Wanda not letting you speak and stepping on every butterfly that had flapped its wings in your stomach with every word she says. “I came here to take my mind off of it and like magic, you appeared at the door- the perfect distraction.”

That is the blow to the gut you thought you could forget. You thought Clint was the one with perfect aim but Wanda impresses you with her accuracy, choosing the exact word that kills the last bit of hope left in you. On her side of things, Wanda thinks she is doing the right thing even though it kills her to push aside her feelings. Wanda thinks she is sparing you from having to turn her down again and sparing her feelings from having to hear you reject her once more. 

“So don’t worry about the fair. I can definitely say I was not thinking about Vision on the ferris wheel. You are most welcome to do it again anytime.” Wanda forces out a laugh. You didn’t think the sound that would always make you smile would ever make you want to cry. No, you were not going to cry about a girl, especially in front of said girl no less. 

You are angry with yourself. Angry for being so silly as to think this wouldn’t happen. You really played yourself here believing she would be nothing like Skye. It’s not Wanda’s fault. You know this. Still, you can’t help but place some blame on her, her and her stunning smile and her witty remarks and her gorgeous hair and her soft hands that would hold yours or playfully punch you when you joke around. You are angry and upset, and there are normal ways to deal with those emotions. You could yell, you could cry, you could mope and eat all the ice cream you wish, you could even, god forbid, go for a run, but all of those options are too rational for someone with impulsive tendencies. 

Instead, you blink away the tears that were forming, from anger or sadness you don’t know, and move exceptionally closer to Wanda reaching out to run your fingers through her hair. Her breath catches as she watches your eyes take in every inch of her face with a look she can’t quite place. Her heartbeat paces quickly when she catches your eyes glancing down to her lips and then coming back up to peer into her eyes.

“Friends kiss friends all the time, right?”

You hardly give Wanda any time to nod before you crash your lips onto hers. This time you give her time to respond and the second you feel her kissing you back, you push her to lie on her back. 

If a distraction is what she wants, you’ll show her just how distracting you can be.

______________________________________________________________________

One eternity later... je suis retournée! Thank you kind person who asked about me. I’ve been busy with school stuff but I’m done and graduating in two days so I finally have time to get back to this. So next update will probably be Sunday or Monday. Two more chapters left. 

Next chapter: ;) (aka writer struggles to describe things having no experience of doing such things)

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